Untold Part 1: The Strength Within

Chapter 7: Growth Mindset

Fall season arrives in the first week of September. Mabaru is comfortable to train solo. It is 6AM in the morning and Mabaru opens the front door. He whispers Iteijyu goodbye as he pulls a thumbs up in the air.

Mabaru walks down the staircase and jogs to the park. His stamina lessens all the pain he has felt before.

"Ah good morning Mabaru. Doing another run?" Nakari is in her wheelchair in front of her door with Fusae.

"Yeah! Keeping at it while I can." He waves to her

"Good luck!" Fusae yells in excitement.

Shoulders tuck into his stomach, balanced breathing, and an adamant look forward, he realizes how much training he got with Iteijyu.

"Wow... Can't believe I was able to handle this for so long."

Each step he takes is another struggle to breathe. His voice irregularly huffs out of his chest. Nonetheless, he pushes through non-stop. He arrives at the park later on and chooses a spot to shadowbox. Hands in front of his face, feet in position for his stance, he starts throwing different combinations, moving around to the rhythm of his pivots and step-ins. He bobs his head, weaves his body side to side and counter punches. He talks to himself smugly as he continues.

"Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right! Over here! Over there!" Mabaru moves his fists and head around, circling his feet on the pavement.

Nothing is holding him back. The emptiness of the park tunes out his distractions and concentrates what's front of him. He throws in a straight and follows up with a body uppercut. He lifts his guard up, moves his head, and weaves back and forth.

After a cooldown of shadowboxing, Mabaru sits by himself at a bench with a cold water bottle next to him. The warmth of the sunlight bathes the bottle with a slight touch, dripping with excess water.

"Hey. You know you shouldn't be training on your own right?" Shidan sarcastically asks, walking up to him. He is wearing a dark blue hoodie, sweatpants, and white running shoes.

"Ah Shidan. Looks like you still train here too. How come I don't see you in the morning?"

"I work at a warehouse that drains me so I always wake up late without my early runs. You've been going solo for quite a while. You know running alone is difficult right?"
"I know. Have you competed before?" Mabaru questions.

"Sort of. He was a cocky guy. I fought similarly like you, aimlessly threw punches. You should've seen Cole when he kicked his ass haha. Cole hates bullies."

"Damn. What kind of guy was he?" Mabaru adds.

"Don't worry about it. He got kicked out. When are you going to the gym?"

"Maybe after two laps or so. I have to warm myself before I go."

"Come jog with me! Let's go!"

"Aha, alright."

They open up some conversations about their journey and themselves as they jog.

"I can't believe you were introverted back then. You look out-going if you ask me." Shidan replies. He pats Mabaru's back and sways his head to the side.

"I was lucky I made a good first impression. Two month's worth of training led me to this. Weird." Mabaru squints his eyes in confusion.

"I think it's awesome you're consistent. This sport is hard. You gain a lot of resilience. Something Cole told me a while back."

"Iteijyu kept pestering me to join him. He did it by himself and now wants to do it with me. I'm grateful for him."

"Did something happen between you guys that brought you here?"