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“Esperanza, can you come over for a second, please?” You act polite because you feel like whatever you’re about to say is going to cause some ire.
“You two. Keep heating up this match.” Esperanza wants the other two to continue disliking each other. She leaves the megaphone on the judge's stand and jumps off to get closer to you. “What is it now?”
“Uhm, do they really have to kill each other?” You aren’t comfortable with this in the slightest.
“It’s a <span class="mu-i">deathmatch</span>.” Esperanza glares at you asking herself what part of <span class="mu-i">deathmatch</span> you didn’t understand.
“Can it end on a count to 10 instead?” You meekly ask.
“Count to 10?” Esperanza isn’t following.
“Like in Boxing.” You shadow box for a second like a doofus.
“I don’t know what that is.” Esperanza knows she won’t like it.
“It’s a combat sport.” You begin explaining.
“Like fishing?” Esperanza retorts. You wonder what Mr. Won-Jae is teaching her actually.
“You think fishing is a combat sport?” You raise an eyebrow.
“The old man I met at the pond said it’s a sport. And the fish are fighting for their lives, so yes.” Esperanza is confident in her ignorance.
“Huuh, you may have a point there. But where I’m getting at is…” You begin explaining everything somewhat important about how combat sports and martial arts operate.
“Sounds boring to me. What’s the point if they’re not fighting for their lives?” Esperanza frowns.
“To learn who’s better?” You think it’s obvious.
“That doesn’t decide who’s right or wrong.” Esperanza doesn’t like your answer.
“Beating someone up doesn’t do that either.” You think in technical terms, anyway.
“But they kill each other in colosseums, right? What’s different here?” Esperanza built specifically because of this.
“They used to, Esperanza, it doesn’t happen anymore.” You think she should’ve noticed if she was out there in the wild.
“Oh.” Esperanza sees the error of her ways. “Can you explain again how people resolve their differences now?”
