Daydream » VKook

17. More to Life

A month had passed since the first day of the Sohtai Dosa class and I was feeling very confident in my training so far. I was excelling at the drills and mini-assessments that tested my techniques. I practiced mostly by myself at home or at the temple. Although it was a long way to that temple, I loved spending sunrise to sunset training on the open terrace facing the water and city views. If I could, I would just move and live up there forever. It provided exposure to serenity and patience that my mind truly needed after a long week of intensive partner training.

Speaking of partner training, Taehyung had proven to be a worthy partner. He told me he had some training in Japan for a couple of years before he moved here. He was advancing much faster than the other kids in class and I was right about the same level as him. However, I knew I was always one step behind him. During those mini-assessments, Taehyung and I did those drills together and almost every time, my father praised him for his excellent skills. The other partners were usually half-and-half when it came to those assessments, but not me. I hadn't been praised for my skills yet and I wished I knew why. It didn't seem fair and my father tended to favorite Taehyung.

On one Saturday afternoon, I was at the training facility by myself. I was practicing some of the new techniques we learned two days ago until I heard the main door open. A beam of light shined through the dark facility and a shadow of a person appeared. I couldn't clearly see who it was, but that person came skipping over to me, and I instantly knew who it was.

"Ayo, Jungkook!" Taehyung cheerfully greeted.

"Hey there," I shyly greeted back. "What are you doing here?"

"The better question is... what are you doing here on a Saturday afternoon? Don't you get tired of being here already?" He poked at me.

"I am practicing new techniques from the last class."

Taehyung made a tiresome face. "Ugh, you know there's more to life than just Kendo, right?"

I tilted my head to the side. "Kendo is my life."

"That's a sad way to live."

I felt slightly aggravated by what he said. "Well, it's my life. I can live it the way I want to."

"Nope, I refuse that answer." He shook his head hard and then grabbed and pulled me by my arm.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I demanded as I tried to shake his grip away.

"To show you what life is all about." He smiled tenderly. "Come on, let's go!"

He forcefully pulled my arm towards the exit. Although I wanted to continue training, a part of me was curious about what kind of things he would show me. I allowed Taehyung to guide me out to town, where it seemed like there was a street festival going on. There were many people around with family, friends, and significant others enjoying live music, food, and games. There were a couple of vendors selling crafted arts and local businesses pitching their products. It all looked interesting, but I usually didn't like to be in crowded places with so many people moving around. I resisted a bit of Taehyung's pull as we passed through more groups and he noticed my apprehensive expression.

"What's wrong?" He came closer to me and shouted a bit above the music.

"N-Nothing..." I stammered. "I didn't expect you to take me out to a festival."

"Don't worry, it'll be fun!" He looked around the area, noticing the thick crowds populating. "Here, take my hand. Don't want you to get lost here."

I stared at his hand with a blank expression. I was reluctant at first, thinking that it would be weird for two guys to be holding hands. However, there were lots of people around and I did get lost easily, so took a hold of his hand and he pulled me by his side. He smiled earnestly as we strolled through the blocks. About a couple of minutes in, we entered the carnival section and observed the variety of games that people were playing. There were even small rides and roller coasters with kids screaming their heads off. I even saw a kid or two puking their stomachs out into the trash cans after one of those spinning rides. Now those were my favorite kind of rides; ride them until I get sick.