Daydream » VKook

13. Assessment

Today was the day. I pleaded for my mother to iron out my uniform the night before so it was clean and sharp. The appearance was one part of the assessment that was scored based on neatness and professionalism. It was scheduled to commence at 8 AM, so I started three hours earlier to complete my morning routine. It consisted of a mile run around the neighborhood, shower, and breakfast. My father already left for the training facility at 6 AM to prepare for the assessment, so I managed my own preparations. I knew he would be one of the examiners, so I was already faced with a tough challenge.

When I finished breakfast, my mother came into the kitchen and presented my uniform. She did a great job making it look very polished. I smiled and shared my excitement and some nerves with her as I examined the fabric.

"Jungkook-ah, you are going to do well today." My mother patted my head. "Good luck, sweetheart!"

"Thanks, umma." I smiled. "I feel like appa will be really tough on me."

"It's okay, you will do fine." She comforted me. "You've trained very hard so I'm sure your father will see that."

I nodded and dashed into my bedroom to change. I was ahead of schedule, so I took some time to look at myself in front of my standing mirror and practice some techniques one last time. I stopped using my footwork diagrams three weeks ago to memorize the movements. I went down the lists of techniques on my cheat sheet and performed each one. I felt pretty proud of myself after being able to do all of them without mistakes, so I knew I was prepared for this assessment. I just hoped that I wouldn't blank out.

When I arrived at the facility about 30 minutes early, all of the kids were meditating or practicing on one side of the gym and the other side was set up with a large mat and a table with three chairs. I assumed that those chairs will be occupied by the examiners. There were kids not just from my classes, but a combination of three other classes that were held during different times of the week. All of the kids had their parents with them for support or reinforcement. I watched how a few of them were feeling very nervous with a glimmer of tears swelling up in their eyes while their parents were reassuring them. I didn't have a parent with me for encouragement, so I felt a bit alone. I assume my father was too busy preparing for the assessments to be found right now.

I broke my focus away from that thought and returned to concentrate on my upcoming assessment. With the last five minutes, I quickly recapped the techniques in my head as I walked around the facility. I must be deep in my thoughts because a boy ran right into me. We bumped shoulders and we were both taken aback for a bit. However, I didn't recognize this boy from the class before.

"Oh, so sorry." The boy apologized.

"It's alright." I acknowledged. "Um, are you here for the assessment?"

I looked at him carefully. He had dark hair that ruffled a bit at the front and really sharp eyes that elongated at the corners. I guessed that he was around my age, but maybe a year or two older. He wasn't wearing a uniform and walking around in regular street clothes. It seemed like he had no business here, but he lightly smiled at me with benevolent eyes.

"Good luck out there." The boy singularly replied.

Before I could even ask him anything else, he turned around and walked out to the doors. It was a really odd moment, but I shook that encounter to the side. I probably wouldn't see him again.

I heard the sound of the gong vibrating throughout the facility, signifying that the assessment was about to begin. All of the students hurriedly ran to their spots, then bowed to our seonsaengnim and the two examiners. We sat down in the seiza position to hear the schedule and rules of the assessment.