Taebong, Wooseok, and Hyungjae sat in a circle on the dirt. Taebong looked at the others and asked the question that occupied all their thoughts.
"Hey, Jewoo, is she really as strong as you say? How could she be stronger than Teacher?"
Jewoo snorted and shook his head.
"You guys just do not get it. She is not human. She is an elephant! How is Teacher supposed to beat an elephant?"
Wooseok rubbed his chin while he considered the possibility.
"What if Baki-hyung and Teacher go together?"
Jewoo took the suggestion seriously and gave a slow nod.
"If Baki-hyung and Teacher team up, they should be able to take the Empress of Two Seconds."
Hyungjae threw his hands up because he had heard enough.
"Aren't you guys way overthinking this? She is just a girl our age. How could she beat Baki-hyung or Teacher?"
Taebong nodded in agreement with Hyungjae. Jewoo just leaned back with a confident smirk.
"You do not understand. She isn't just anyone. Till now, she has never lost."
The other three fell silent. Jewoo made a satisfied sound and opened his mouth to keep bragging. A heavy hand tapped his shoulder from behind.
Jewoo turned around slowly. Baki stood right there with a grin that sent a shiver down the boy's spine.
"Looks like Seongji hasn't been working you hard enough if you've got time to sit around comparing people."
Baki reached down and grabbed Jewoo by the back of his collar. He lifted the boy clean off the ground with one hand.
The door of the nearby house creaked open. Seongji stepped outside and looked at the group.
"What is all the noise?"
Baki heard the voice and dropped Jewoo without ceremony. Jewoo hit the dirt with a dull thud.
"Your students are slacking. Instead of training, they're out here ranking us against some Empress of Two Seconds."
Seongji walked over and let out a short laugh. He looked at the boys and realized they were becoming young men.
"Empress of Two Seconds?"
Jewoo scrambled to his feet and brushed the dust off his pants.
"Teacher, you won't believe it. A girl joined our judo class and she throws everyone in two seconds flat. No exceptions. She even demolished our judo instructor. That's why everyone calls her the Empress of Two Seconds."
Baki creased his brow and looked annoyed.
"Tch. You little punks. Your classmate is better than you, so you go around calling her an elephant? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Jewoo shrank away from Baki's tan, muscular frame.
"She really does look like one, Baki-hyung... If you don't believe me, I'll bring her here tomorrow so you can see for yourself."
Seongji watched the exchange and let out a quiet sigh. Baki waved a hand dismissively.
"Fine. Bring your Empress of Two Seconds. I want to see what she's got."
---
The next day arrived with a clear sky. Jewoo led the way up the mountain path with his friends following close behind.
A figure followed them at the back of the group. She stood a full head taller than any of the boys. Her blonde hair caught the sunlight over her white judo uniform.
"Jewoo, how much farther?"
Jewoo glanced back and almost used a nickname. He caught himself just in time.
"Almost there, El— Mary Kim."
The wooden house finally came into view at the top of the trail. In the yard, Baki held a one-armed side crow pose. Both his legs remained suspended in the air without a single tremor.
At the sound of footsteps, Baki pushed off the ground and stood up. His gaze swept over the group and stopped on Mary Kim.
He walked toward them with the corner of his mouth pulled up.
"So this is the classmate you were talking about? The one you called an elephant?"
All four boys felt a cold chill run down their spines at the same time. Taebong jumped in to save them.
"Not elephant, hyung. Empress of Two Seconds."
Baki looked completely innocent as he tilted his head.
"Oh? I'm pretty sure Jewoo said he was bringing an elephant today. Must have been mistaken."
Jewoo started sweating through his shirt. The door of the house opened and Seongji walked out. He looked drowsy and carried an axe over his shoulder.
"Baki, I'm going to chop some wood, alright?"
He took a few steps and then stopped when he saw Mary. He scratched his messy hair.
"Oh. Jewoo, is this the classmate you mentioned? What did you call her... an elephant? Yeah, that should be it."
Jewoo did not even have time to move his feet. Mary grabbed him and he left the ground instantly.
CRASH!
He hit the earth with incredible force. He stared blankly at the sky for two full seconds before the pain arrived.
Mary walked slowly toward him. Jewoo called out for help, but his friends had already vanished behind the trees.
The sound of repeated impacts echoed in the yard.
WHACK!
The yard went silent after a few minutes. Taebong peeked out from behind a thick oak tree.
"Hyungjae... she didn't actually kill Jewoo, right?"
Hyungjae did not answer. He just kept watching the clearing.
Fortunately, Jewoo eventually staggered back into view. Mary followed behind him with a calm expression.
Jewoo walked up to Baki and tried to keep some dignity.
"Hyung, this is Mary Kim."
Baki looked at the bruises on Jewoo's face. He felt a rare moment of sympathy for the boy.
"Alright. No training for you today. Go rest."
Jewoo limped away toward the porch. Taebong and the others moved to help him but Mary gave them a sharp glare. They froze in place.
Baki turned his attention to Mary.
"Pretty strong. So what did you come here for? Train with them?"
Mary looked Baki directly in the eyes.
"No. I want to fight you."
Baki's eye twitched with surprise.
"You sure? Hold on though. I heard you're best at throws, I'll give you a chance. If you can throw me to the ground, you win. If you can't, you lose. Deal?"
Mary thought about the terms for a moment. She gave a firm nod.
She stepped into his space and gripped his uniform with both hands. Baki stood there with a faint smile and remained completely still.
Mary loaded her weight and pulled with everything she had. It was the same motion that had worked on every opponent she had ever faced.
Nothing happened. Baki did not move a single inch.
She felt a surge of confusion. She reset her footing and changed the angle for a second attempt.
Still nothing.
"Come on, Empress," Baki said easily. "Is that all?"
Mary stepped back and stared at him. In her entire life, there had never been a person she could not throw.
"Your form is fine," Baki said while rolling his shoulders. "But you have to try harder."
She went at him again with everything she knew. She tried different grips and every variation in her arsenal.
The result was the same every single time.
Nearly twenty minutes passed. Sweat soaked through her heavy uniform. Her arms burned with exhaustion. Baki stood exactly where he had started.
The kids watched the scene in total silence.
"Baki-hyung isn't even trying," Hyungjae whispered.
"That's the scary part," Wooseok replied.
Seongji came back from the woods with an armful of logs. He set them down and watched the girl struggle.
"Baki. That's enough."
Baki looked over with a look of pure innocence.
"I'm just standing here."
Mary finally stopped and leaned over. Her breathing was ragged and her arms shook uncontrollably.
Baki took a step closer to her.
"Want to know why you can't throw me?"
Mary looked up at him through her blonde bangs.
"You're strong and your technique is good. But that alone isn't what makes someone powerful. You're failing to disrupt the my balance before initiating the technique. I guess that you mostly overpower your opponent through sheer strength. But you see, I am stronger."
Baki shifted his weight and his body seemed to drop slightly lower.
"One last time. Come at me."
Mary took several deep breaths and charged forward. She poured every ounce of her remaining strength into the move and disrupted Baki's balance.
For a split second, Baki's heel lifted from the dirt.
Then Baki made a tiny adjustment. His weight slid sideways and Mary's force found nothing to push against. She fell forward with her own momentum.
THUD!
She lay on her back and stared at the clouds. The wind was knocked out of her lungs.
Baki crouched down and held out a hand for her.
"Not bad. You almost had it, but I shifted my weight at the last second. That's why it fell apart."
Mary slapped his hand away and pushed herself up. Her arms trembled as she stood.
"Teach me."
Baki raised an eyebrow at the request.
"I want to learn from you," Mary said. "I have never met someone as strong as you're."
Baki glanced at Seongji for help. Seongji just shrugged and gave him a look that offered no advice.
Baki turned back to Mary.
"Why not just train judo harder on your own? You're already strong."
"Because today I felt completely powerless for the first time in my life," Mary said. "I hated it. But I also want to chase that feeling. Knowing there's someone that far ahead means I still have somewhere to go."
Silence sat over the clearing for a long moment. Baki broke it by laughing out loud.
"Did you hear that, Seongji? This kid's something else."
Baki studied her face for a few more seconds.
"Alright. You can start training with the boys from tomorrow. Seongji and I will overview it."
Then he pointed a finger at Jewoo.
"And you two sort things out first."
Jewoo stepped forward immediately with his head down.
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have called you... you know..."
Mary finished the sentence for him.
"An elephant."
Jewoo sighed.
"Yeah."
Mary stood straight and performed a deep, formal judo bow.
"I'm sorry for losing my temper over a stupid nickname. That was wrong of me."
Laughter broke out among the boys. Even the corner of Mary's mouth moved into a small smile.
Jewoo extended his hand toward her.
"Welcome to the Cheonliang fam."
Mary shook his hand with a firm grip.
"Thank you."
Taebong leaned toward Hyungjae as they watched them.
"You think she can actually learn to beat Baki-hyung?"
Hyungjae shook his head slowly.
"Beat Baki-hyung, I don't know. But she's going to get really strong trying."