Gwen slightly parted her lips.
She looked at the dust, still showing the shape of the punching bag, slowly floating away at a visible speed in the sunlight, feeling incredulous.
A heavy sword has no edge; great skill appears clumsy!
Hawk stood still, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then turned around to look.
Gwen also shifted her gaze back to Hawk at this moment.
Their eyes met.
Gwen looked at Hawk, who was slightly sweaty on the forehead, wearing a white tank top that showcased his muscular build, with hands wrapped in bandages, and suddenly felt an indescribable sensation.
Hawk, on the other hand, was surprised to see Gwen here.
"Need something?"
"Nope."
Gwen shook her head, placed her hands behind her, and walked toward Hawk while inspecting the old gym she hadn't frequented since the new gym was built: "The new gym has air conditioning. Why not go there?"
Hawk thought for a moment.
"It's quiet here."
"It really is quite quiet."
Gwen affirmed Hawk's explanation.
Hawk was a bit stunned watching Gwen walking to the bench where he left his bag and sit down.
"Need something, Gwen?"
"Nope."
Gwen, resting her hands on the bench, smiled slightly at Hawk standing by the punching bag and said with a smile, "Since I'm free anyway, I thought I'd come watch a friend's boxing scene."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
He looked at Gwen, who was smiling, feeling like there was an underlying message.
But…
Never mind, boxing is important.
Hawk thought, shook his head, and looked away from Gwen, focusing back on the punching bag to finish his daily goal of ten thousand punches.
After all, he was almost done just a moment ago.
Then Gwen came in.
Now, he had to start all over again.
Hawk thought, adjusting his breathing, continuing with his daily routine of ten thousand punches using just his physical strength, without using Little Cosmos.
As for Gwen beside him?
If she wants to watch, she can, this is a public gym after all; he can't stop others from coming in.
No reason to.
Soon.
As Hawk swung another punch, the rhythmic and impactful sound echoed through the old gym once more.
Only this time, compared to the previous rhythm, Hawk subconsciously sped up to complete the task quickly.
Punch after punch, another punch.
And then…
Punching shadows appeared.
Sitting on the bench, Gwen just felt a blur in front of her eyes and saw what looked like countless punch shadows, her expression turning dazed.
What's going on?
I didn't even blink.
Gwen thought, instinctively pulling out her phone and aiming it at Hawk.
Hawk, focused on punching, saw this from the corner of his eye.
"No recording."
"...Oh."
Upon hearing this, Gwen blinked at Hawk, who continued his actions without even looking at her. Though she doubted whether she imagined hearing it, she still put her phone down.
After a while.
The myriad punch shadows gradually disappeared, and Hawk's movements came to a halt as the gym quieted down again.
Hawk then pulled down the suspended punching bag from the chain, swung it back to the corner with one hand, and under Gwen's gaze, walked to the bench, retrieved a towel from his bag, and looked at Gwen sitting beside him.
He thought for a moment and asked again, "Are you sure you're fine, Gwen?"
Gwen nodded.
"Actually, I do have something."
"..."
Hawk's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
But Gwen caught it.
She laughed.
However, Gwen didn't continue teasing Hawk and directly stated her purpose for finding him: "They're starting to count the number of attendees for this year's grade ball. Are you going this year?"
Midtown High School, although a private elite high school, still holds various balls and parties like the opening ball, masquerade ball, and grade ball.
Gwen almost asks Hawk every year if he'll attend.
But Hawk never attended.
He's a lone wolf, enjoys peace, and dislikes noisy environments.
But that's putting it nicely.
The real reason is quite simple.
He's broke, can't afford a suit for the ball, doesn't own a car, not even a driver's license, can't possibly walk his date home after it's over.
Most importantly.
He doesn't even have a date.
Why go to the dance alone, to watch couples flaunt their romance right in front of him?
This year is no exception.
"Not going."
Hawk shook his head without any hesitation.
Compared to attending a ball, he prefers stargazing on the apartment rooftop.
Peaceful.
Most importantly.
Costs nothing.
He needs to save or spend as necessary since he's already living independently, without Federation aid, spending this week on rent and some provisions, his savings have shrunk significantly.
Hawk even thought buying a car was a rash idea a few days ago.
So he's given up on that thought now.
Best to save some money for emergencies.
After all, there's a free school bus to Bridge Park station, why need a car.
He doesn't even have a driver's license!
Even if he buys one, he can't drive it.
Damn.
Maybe I should consider robbing a bank since even a meteorite costs money.
No, wait.
If I'm thinking of robbing one, why not rob a meteorite directly instead of a bank?
You can't rob a bank and then use the stolen money to buy meteorites from the rich, can you?
That's stupid.
Hawk's thoughts wandered.
He was considering the feasibility of robbing a meteorite directly.
Anyway, Vibranium, Wakanda wouldn't just hand it over.
Probably have to rob it anyway.
If robbing Vibranium counts as robbery, then robbing a meteorite is too, having both Vibranium and a meteorite makes robbing a bank seem trivial.
Gwen watched Hawk, who after saying he wouldn't attend the grade ball, suddenly seemed lost in thought, seemingly contemplating something, and was a bit curious.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Robbing a bank."
"..."
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
Hawk snapped back, instinctively looking at Gwen.
Their eyes met.
The next second.
With a thoughtful expression and a smile, Gwen asked Hawk, "Which bank are you planning to rob? I'd recommend the Pacific Bank under Nineteen District's jurisdiction."
Hawk frowned slightly.
"Is Pacific Bank easy to rob?"
"No."
Gwen grinned brightly, "But my dad's the sheriff of Nineteen District."
Hawk remained silent.
After a while.
He looked seriously at Gwen, "I was kidding."
Decided, if he ever does rob a bank, he won't go for those under Nineteen District's jurisdiction.
Gwen got up from her seat with a bright smile, but just as she was about to speak, her phone rang from her pocket.
"Lady Snow…"
"Hawk?"
"Okay."
"I know where he is."
Soon after hanging up, Gwen looked at Hawk and said, "Let's go, Lady Snow's looking for you."
Hawk: "..."