IRON FISTS || Axel Kovacevic

VII - Below The Surface

chapter 7: Below The Surface
warnings: violence

The walk to the Cobra Kai locker room felt like dragging deadweight. Every step Jisoo took was accompanied by a dull thud of resentment. The loss earlier that day still burned in her chest, replaying in vivid detail every time she blinked. Zara's smug whisper, "Welcome to Barcelona, bitch," rang in her ears like a siren, mocking her in the quiet corridors.

Once she entered the locker room, she didn't waste time. She tore her sweaty gi off and tossed it into the bottom of her locker with more force than necessary. The cool shower did little to extinguish the heat of frustration simmering beneath her skin. She scrubbed herself clean, not just of sweat but of the shame that came with being knocked out in the first round. First round. Cobra Kai. It wasn't supposed to happen.

Pulling her black gi from her bag after drying off, she stared at the emblem stitched onto it for a moment. The snake was coiled, teeth bared, ready to strike, yet all she felt was the weight of failure. How unfair was it that she had trained relentlessly only for the fight to be lost by someone else? It wasn't just the loss that stung; it was the humiliation that came with it.

She tied the belt around her waist, the motion tight and deliberate, before slamming her locker door shut. The sound reverberated through the empty room, bouncing off the walls like her anger had nowhere else to go.

She squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath before stepping out into the hallway. She still had the rest of the tournament to face, and if there was one thing she wouldn't allow, it was for Cobra Kai's name to sink further into disgrace.

The corridors leading back to the arena were eerily silent. Jisoo welcomed the stillness—it gave her a moment to gather herself, to shove her emotions down where they couldn't affect her focus. But then her phone buzzed in her bag. She glanced at the caller ID: Seo-joon.

Her brother never called during tournaments. Furrowing her brows, she stopped in her tracks and answered. "Oppa? What is it?"

There was a strange pause before he responded. His voice, usually so self-assured, carried an edge of unease. "Jisoo, I... I needed to check in on you. How's it going?"

She blinked, momentarily caught off guard by his tone. "What's going on?" she asked, suspicion laced in her words.

"It's nothing," Seo-joon replied, though his voice cracked ever so slightly. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

Jisoo's brows knit together. Something was definitely wrong. "Seo-joon, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"I..." He hesitated again, and Jisoo's stomach twisted. "I'll call you back later, okay? There's something I need to do."

"Wait, oppa—"

But the line went dead before she could finish her sentence. She stared at her phone, her reflection in the black screen distorted by confusion and concern. Quickly, she typed out a message:

What the hell, Seo-joon? Call me back.

After sending it, she tucked her phone into her bag with a frustrated sigh and continued walking. The conversation had left her uneasy, but she couldn't dwell on it now.

As Jisoo neared a fork in the hallway, faint voices reached her ears. She slowed her pace, glancing around to locate the source. The sound seemed to come from one of the training rooms to her right. Curiosity flickered in her chest as she approached the door.

Peeking through the small window, she froze.

Inside the room, Axel stood across from his sensei, fists raised in a fighting stance. His expression was sharp, focused, though there was a tension in his movements that she couldn't quite place. His sensei wore padded gloves and held them up, ready to take Axel's punches.