Chapter 36
“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you. I won’t take you down in one move p>
Owen’s words were reassuring, but Mira knew that if she hadn’t been practicing diligently these past two days, he would make sure she learned a lesson.
That’s how martial arts worked. Without pain, you couldn’t stir your emotions. If you weren’t willing to suffer, you wouldn’t improve.
She had no choice but to face him. Thankfully, she hadn’t been slacking off.
Having already practiced that morning, she did a quick warm-up and began to spar with Owen.
Mira stood at one end of the sparring area, nimbly adjusting her stance while her eyes remained fixed on her opponent’s every move.
Owen, on the other hand, was far more relaxed. He stood casually, then suddenly threw a punch.
Mira’s body swayed as she dodged the attack with surprising agility, then followed up with a spinning side kick aimed at his waist.
The instructor on the sidelines couldn’t help but nod. “Not bad. She’s bold but careful p>
After dodging her kick, Owen began to attack more frequently, constantly changing the rhythm and direction of his strikes.
At first, Mira could keep up. But after more than a dozen exchanges, she found it increasingly difficult to defend herself. She couldn’t predict his next move and started taking hits repeatedly.
Unable to take any more, she had no choice but to concede.
“That’s enough. Your training partner just lowered his skill to a red belt level. The
fact that you lasted more than ten exchanges is very good.
It seems you put in a lot of work after you went home yesterday p>
“Thank you for the praise, instructor p>
Mira’s spirits lifted again.
Owen also chimed in, “Instructor, she’s improving really fast. Do you think she’s ready to practice the green-blue belt moves p>
“I passed the green belt p>
The instructor nodded. “Yes, but don’t rush things. You have to build a solid foundation, one step at a time p>
“No problem p>
Mira was thrilled. Her Taekwondo level had surpassed the green belt; she was now at the green-blue belt level.
This rank was the sixth of the eleven belt ranks, placing her in the intermediate stage. A practitioner at this level was considered capable of competing.
Under normal circumstances, this level of skill provided a considerable degree of self-defense, unless one encountered a true expert.
When the class ended, Mira asked her classmates about being backup dancers. To her surprise, all but two, who had prior commitments, agreed to help.
“Thank you. I’ll pay you for your time p>
“No need. We’re your classmates, after all. It’s just helping out. We should do it p>
“But this will involve regular rehearsals. It’s not a one-time thing. I have to pay you p>
In the end, Owen made the decision: today’s rehearsal would be a favor, but they would accept payment starting next time.
Mira had planned to pay each person one hundred dollars per session, but they felt it was too much.
day
In this age, a construction
worker made less than a hundred dollars a day, and a typical office workers monthly salary was only about three thousand dollars.
Therefore, a hundred dollars for an hour or two of work was far too high. Finally, Mira decided. “Fifty dollars per person, per session. That’s final p>
Owen helped her select eight people whose builds and ages were a good fit.
But Mark, the receptionist at the front desk, heard about the chance to earn money and have some fun, and insisted on joining.
He came from a single-parent family, and his mother’s salary wasn’t high, so he had been looking for ways to earn money during the summer break.
Mira glanced at him, then at the three disappointed classmates who hadn’t been chosen.
“You can all come. If someone has an emergency and can’t make it, we’ll have substitutes ready p>
She needed to become part of this group; she would need their help in the future.
Besides, it wasn’t like she couldn’t afford it, and she would need people to help on the day of the competition anyway.
She just hadn’t expected Owen to offer to help as well.
He would be in charge of the martial
arts choreography, while Lania would serve as the artistic director, ensuring the Taekwondo dance was. aesthetically pleasing and blended well with the music.
Mira hadn’t interacted much with Owen in her past life and didn’t know him well He was usually serious demanding during training, ama never held back in a fight, but he was a good person.