CAUSE I'M YOURS | WINRINA

Chapter 22

"May the two fighters please come to the center." The host announced.

Both Jimin and Minjeong walked to the middle where the host and referee were waiting.

Minjeong looked at Jimin and couldn't help but momentarily get lost in those familiar eyes.

Meanwhile, Jimin felt somehow comfortable and at peace every time she stared into her eyes, but she knew no one could beat the gaze of Minjeong.

Outside the ring, six friends were waiting near Jimin's side, each of them growing nervous for their friend. But someone in particular was getting anxious for both players.

"Hey isn't that Ryujin on the other side?" Jisu asked as she brought everyone's attention to the anxious girl on Minjeong's side of the ring.

"Is she rooting for Jimin unnie's opponent?" Chaeryeong asked in disbelief.

Yeji looked at her ex-girlfriend and hated how much the younger girl still had an effect on her.

"Just ignore her. We need to focus on Jiminie right now." Yeji said as she quietly sniffed and refocused her eyes on Jimin and her opponent.

In the ring, the two girls stared at the referee as he went over protocols.

"I want a fair match and keep it clean." The two girls nodded and stared back at each other. "Touch gloves." They bumped gloves and went back to their side for a final check.

"You know what to do Jimin-ah. You're just one match away and you're qualified for the UFC." Coach Choi said as he gave his pep talk. Jimin nodded.

"Okay Minjeongie, I don't really have much to say but good luck, I guess. Don't hurt yourself too much and..." Seulgi thought for a moment as she cleared her throat. "...and it's been fun coaching you." She said.

Minjeong smiled under her mask which was a bit hard with her mouth piece inside, but nevertheless she appreciated the talk.

Okay just breathe. Minjeong thought.

The two girls turned around and waited for everyone to clear out of the ring except for the referee. Finally the bell rang and the match started.

Both girls slowly walked to the center with their hands ready as they exchanged touches with gloves as a sign of respect before checking each other again.

Jimin started the attack and attempted to land a side kick with her right leg to Minjeong's left. However, Minjeong saw through this and evaded the attack before she could make contact.

Again, Jimin went for a roundhouse just to get some movement, but Minjeong still avoided it.

The push and pull of attacks went on for another three minutes and the crowd was getting irritated.

The girls circles around once again. Each time, Jimin kept looking for a weak spot that she could attack, but when she looked up, she met Minjeong's eyes. Although she didn't recognize it to be her, Minjeong got lost for a split second. And that was Jimin's opening.

Jimin swept Minjeong's left leg with her right and brought her to the ground. In that moment, she got on top of the latter as she locked her legs in place and landed punches on the side of her body or the side of her head. Minjeong kept her arms up around her head as she endured the pain coming from the left and right. Jimin landed a strong right onto Minjeong's ribs which momentarily brought the younger girl's arms downwards. Jimin took this opportunity to hit a strong left hook onto Minjeong's face which earned loud cheers from the crowd.

Ringing filled Minjeong's ears as she brought her arms back up to protect her head. Fortunately the bell rang, indicating the end of the round and stopped the punches.