Roommate
The girl who dreamed only of martial arts finally steps into the ring.
Finally, the D-Day of Ga Yeon's professional debut.
[The sound of Ga Yeon breathing.]
The first round begins!
[The sound of the crowd's roar.]
[But we couldn't make a sound.]
[We held our breaths.]
[And kept holding back the tears...]
[And the sighs.]
Can she do it? Yes!
[The fighter Song Ga Yeon begins her story now.]
Let's go!
Ga Yeon is visiting Jeju Island with Se Ho and Dong Wook.
- This feels strange. - Why?
It's where our little Ga Yeon grew up.
We came to Jeju Island before her fight because we wanted to go up Mount Halla
which she used to hike often, to bring us some good energy.
[Bring some good energy.]
Oh, this is hard.
My legs!
[Ah.]
[He's out of energy and sapping other people of their energy.]
[Will Se Ho soon climb back down.]
[Waiting to board the plane.]
Song Ga Yeon, you're from Jeju Island, aren't you?
Yes.
What's good to eat in Jeju Island?
- Is there anything? - Noodle soup with pork!
Noodle soup with pork!
Let's go to Jeju Island and come back safely, for Ga Yeon!
Ga Yeon, fighting!
[To the site of Ga Yeon's childhood memories.]
[Let's set off for Jeju Island.]
[We arrive in Jeju Island after about an hour.]
Why did Ga Yeon want to come to Jeju Island with only a week left until her fight?
Let's go!
Let's go to Mount Halla.
- Can I eat while we drive? - Of course.
- Let's go! - Let's go!
Honk honk!
[Her face has grown thin from her strict diet.]
How many days are left exactly?
One week.
- One week? - Yeah.
Now we've escaped the airport.
Wow. It's Jeju Island.
They're on the road towards where Ga Yeon wants to go -- Mount Halla.
Maybe it's because she's in her hometown, but she looks excited.
How long were you here, Ga Yeon?
I lived in Jeju Island until middle school.
What year in middle school?
Right after I graduated middle school, I started attending high school in Busan.
Which neighborhood did you live in?
- Right around here. - Right around here?
- Around Shin Jeju? - Yes.
If you go this way you'll see my middle school.
Really?
I did hapkido in middle school.
Back then there was some kind of hill over there.
We used to run there all the time.
- To train? - Yeah, to train.
So you started hapkido in middle school?
Yes, middle school.
What level are you in hapkido?
I also did bodyguard martial arts then, and in both of them I got to the second level.
Do you know other kinds too?
In high school I learned taekwondo, judo, kendo, bodyguarding, jeet kune do...
All together I've earned 12 levels.
You're impressive! Seriously.
- Martial arts is the only thing... - 12 levels?
- Yes. - Wow.
People usually start learning things like that because the opportunity came up.
Usually girls ask to learn piano, or things like that.
Well, my father raised me to be active when I was little.
Hiking, or...
My father liked golf.
And right next to the indoor driving range there was a boxing gym.
I would always watch the boxers and I thought they were so cool.
That looked cool to you?
I kept thinking, 'Man, I want to box in that ring too.'
Fighting was in Ga Yeon's blood from the start.
They used to say that my father was a great athlete and fighter when he was young.
They said I took after my father.
You know they say that blood will tell.
[A natural fighter.]
Finally we're at Mount Halla.
- Okay, good work. - Good work.
[Ah, how refreshing.]
Ga Yeon says Mount Halla is a place she used to come to often with her father.
Ga Yeon has decided to gather strength before her fight
from this place where she has many memories with her father.
Her father passed away when Ga Yeon was 17.
The climb she used to make with her father, now she makes it with her new family.
Ah, the smell of dirt.
[He spreads his arms and breathes in.]
There's a smell you can only smell in the mountains.
- You can only find it here. - That's right.
[They stack rocks too.]
- Ga Yeon, did you make a wish? - I'm making one now.
[They each make a wish.]
- Dong Wook, you made a wish? - I did.
What did Ga Yeon wish for?
- Ah, how nice. - How nice.
[The path grows steeper.]
[Whew.]
[Huff, huff.]
[Let's rest a bit.]
Se Ho, take a look at the view.
I can't.
- Take a look. - I can't.
- Turn your head. - I can't turn my head.
Is it normal to sweat this much?
We climbed really hard.
Aren't you tired?
No.
[Ga Yeon isn't fazed at all.]
Let's go, Mister Se Ho.
Leave me.
[We can't do that.]
They keep climbing as the path grows steeper.
[1,500 meters to the top.]
The view is killer.
Mount Halla, covered in mist.
The mist doesn't seem to be clearing.
[On the other hand...]
[Let's stop...please.]
Se Ho.
Almost there.
I can't do it.
Hey, we came here to cheer on Ga Yeon, you can't give up.
I can't go any further.
This is the end for me.
Ga Yeon, good luck on your fight.
[Cheer her on? He's just bringing spirits down.]
My legs!
Ah!
[Ah.]
[His scream echoes from the mountains.]
Let's rest here.
Let's rest.
Wow.
I really feel like I'm up in the clouds.
[I don't care if we're in the clouds, I can't go on.]
[It's like he's been knocked down in the ring.]
[Ow, ow.]
You worked hard.
The three of them caught their breath on the deck.
- It's so hard. - It's nice.
- It's nice to be up here. - It is. This is why people climb up.
Do you remember how old you were when you first came here?
- Yes. - How old?
I was in second grade.
Who did you come with?
- With my father. - Your father.
Ga Yeon begins to open up.
- It must have felt nice climbing up here. - Yes.
- It made me think a lot about the past. - A lot of memories.
A long time ago.
Coming here with my dad.
Was your father an emotional kind of person, or...
Yeah, he was.
He thought I was his world.
About when I was starting fifth grade, there were some troubles in the household.
I think he had a really hard time.
I knew in his heart he loved me.
But after that he changed a little.
He was so defeated... but I couldn't really help him back then.
I didn't have the power to.
The funny thing is
the week before he passed away, he said to me
- 'Ga Yeon, want to go up Mount Halla?' - Really?
I think there was a lot he just wanted to think about alone
and I think he was lonely.
So I think he wanted to do things like this with his daughter.
And then he passed away.
What I felt from watching him was that I should never give up.
When you give up...
Because my father gave up too easily.
I don't want to live like that. That's my mindset.
Looking at her father, Ga Yeon realized she never wanted to give up.
I'm sorry, but when did you say he passed away?
Winter of tenth grade.
- Then while you were in Busan? - Yeah.
He passed away while I was on break.
When I was on break.
After that things must have been really difficult for you.
Right after my father's funeral I went up to Busan.
If I let my feelings get to me then I thought I'd get nothing done.
My only thought then was not to lose focus.
I came up to Busan and worked like crazy...
That's when I started kickboxing, I had two part-time jobs...
I studied English too, which I hadn't done before.
I relied on just my strength.
I survived on that mindset.
[She kept herself busy to keep the grief at bay.]
And then one day, about four months later, it hit me.
All at once.
So I thought, 'Ah...'
I was lost for the first time in my life.
I was in pieces.
It was really, really hard then.
It wasn't like being hungry, it wasn't that kind of hard.
- Mentally. - Yeah.
Didn't you kind of resent him a bit?
- My father? - Yeah.
The adults around me told me this.
'Don't resent your father.'
But I swear to the heavens, I never once resented my father.
In fact, a long time ago
my father used to leave me notes for me on my desk before I went to school.
And I still have them.
The first note I got said, 'No one is a match for someone who enjoys his work.'
'Just enjoy everything you do.'
'You don't need to be the best nor the worst.'
'You can just take the middle road and enjoy what you do.'
That was the gist of it.
[Ga Yeon enjoyed even the most brutal training.]
[And it was her father's words that helped her do that.]
Just enjoy what you do.
The second note he left me said, 'Don't feel inferior.'
'Learn to accept things and embrace them.'
These words a great help to me while I was going to high school in Busan.
So even when things were most difficult
that's when I first realized what it meant to enjoy what I do.
And I realized that there's nothing as stupid as feeling inferior.
My father was someone who taught me a lot of different things.
I think he worried about me a lot.
I was his only daughter.
He thanked me for growing up well.
If I could say something to him
I would tell him that I'm going to continue doing well
and that it's because I'm his daughter that I think the way I do.
I think he's smiling with me right now.
This is something I felt today.
I realized I'm really happy, but I've been hiding it
because I'm afraid it will wear off.
So other people only see the outer shell.
Song Ga Yeon the fighter -- but they've never seen me actually fight.
The people telling me that I'm most beautiful when I fight
are the ones that gave me strength to keep training with a smile.
But I realized today that most people haven't seen the most important part of me.
So what makes this trip to Jeju Island meaningful for me is that I realized
that I need to get in that cage and show everyone once and for all.
I don't want to show everyone an image of me crying, but happy and celebrating
The summer of her 21st year, Ga Yeon tries to make her dream come true.
Se Ho, I think going back down will be even harder.
Still, it feels good to be going down.
I have to pee!
[Bwahahaha.]
She has to go pee pee, let's hurry.
- It's really urgent. - Are you going to be okay?
- If we run. - Okay, let's run.
We're hungry, and Ga Yeon has to pee too.
It must be really urgent.
She's so cute.
When you see her like that she seems like a kid still. It's cute.
This won't be in the show, right?
[How naive, Ga Yeon...]
[The mist clears up and the day grows sunny.]
- The mist cleared up! - Yeah!
As the mist clears, Mount Halla reveals itself in all its glory.
[Visiting Mount Halla again for the first time in a while, with Se Ho and Dong Wook.]
[As soon as the picture is taken, Ga Yeon rushes off again.]
I feel really great.
This is a work of art.
Ga Yeon feels strengthened by her hike up the beautiful Mount Halla.
I look forward to your first fight!
[She ran down and found the bathrooms.]
I thought I was going to die.
- Let's go see the ocean. - The ocean!
The ocean!
Ah, Michael Jackson.
- I really love this song. - 'Feel so good...'
[Michael Jackson's 'Love Never Felt So Good.']
Perhaps because she talked about those things she had difficulty saying before
It looks like a burden has been lifted from Ga Yeon.
Ga Yeon -- don't keep things to yourself anymore. Let it out!
Jeju Island's green grasslands and emerald sea!
It's so picturesque.
Let's look at the horse first.
The Jeju Island horse is famous.
This is perfect.
- It looks like a painting. - Yeah.
Now that we're looking at the ocean, don't you think we should give a shout?
- Let it out. - Let it out.
We found out today that Ga Yeon genuinely enjoys what she does.
Let's all shout, 'Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon!'
The sound has to reach the end of the ocean over there.
And then probably 'Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon'
will rise up from the end of the ocean like this.
- Oh God! - Do it.
Do the CG animation.
It'll rise up like this.
- How about raising your right arm? - Okay.
Fight pose!
One, two, three!
Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon!
[Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon.]
[We did the CG...]
[In the midst of her last training session.]
The focus now is on just maintaining my weight.
[Sparring -- training to practice offensive and defensive techniques.]
[Acting cute.]
Ga Yeon trains every day for the fight that's just around the corner.
In Korea there might be just one female fighter on any given team.
I've always had to practice with men.
[She can easily gain control over men too.]
Focus! You're not focused at all right now, are you?
The day is almost here.
I have a fight soon, so...
Seeing the way Ga Yeon eats made me feel sorry for her.
I'm sorry.
Ga Yeon works out with a sweat suit on to help keep her weight down.
Hurry, you're going to stop sweating.
[She changes clothes and immediately heads to the cage.]
That's right!
Good!
Focus!
[The dizzyingly intense training continues.]
[Her feet are soaked in sweat.]
Let go!
Put your guard up!
Lower your stance!
Come here!
[Ah.]
[Ga Yeon even lets out a yell to keep her focus.]
[Suh Doo Won, who knows the feeling of urgency in the cage better than anyone.]
[Because the outcome of the fight can be decided in a single careless second.]
If you don't block, you get hit.
[She's so tired that her eyes are drooping.]
Get Ga Yeon's shoes!
[Her shoes? Why.]
[Ga Yeon doesn't give up until she hears the bell.]
[She fights against herself with malice.]
[As soon as it's over, she's being dragged somewhere else.]
[She puts on her shoes and jumps on the treadmill.]
When you're trying to reduce weight, if you drag on training too long
you'll be too fatigued and not sweat as much.
So we train intensely for a shorter time, without rest.
[Even as she runs, Ga Yeon trains for her image.]
- Kick. - Kick and get up.
[In case any heat is escaping from her body.]
[she's even wrapped a towel around her neck.]
Come down.
[Surely not anything else.]
One, two, three four!
[Even though she's out of breath and her mouth is dry.]
[because she has a goal, she never thinks to give up.]
Sit down.
[Training over.]
[They wrap her entire body in order to get her to sweat more.]
[Instead of a 'good job,' her colleagues express the sentiment with a massage.]
She keeps getting prettier.
Let's finish up.
One, two, three.
[The difficult training wraps up with some stretching.]
[Now all that's left is the weigh-in.]
My goal weight is 47.5 kilograms for the fight.
After that day my weight was at 48.9, so I have to lose 1.4 kilograms more.
I'll probably have to work even harder tomorrow to lose the weight.
Will Ga Yeon be able to succeed?
Finally, the day before the fight.
[Today the competitors are weighed.]
[A limousine arrives.]
[Ga Yeon has come to participate in the weigh-in.]
[The competitors are officially weighed.]
[in order to see if they qualify for their weight class.]
[Where is Ga Yeon heading?]
Ga Yeon is heading to the sauna before the weigh-in.
I usually try not to go to the sauna, because I get fatigued.
But because this is my first time being officially weighed for a competition
I went to one to sweat some more, just in case.
Having seeing her earlier, I think she can lose some more.
She sweats a lot.
She's already lost about 8.3 kilograms.
Hard for a woman to lose more than that...
We can't go in.
So it would be nice if one of the staff could go in and check up on her.
To see if she's sweating.
She shouldn't cover up her whole body.
Just up to here.
Above that she should leave bare.
Including her hands.
Please just check on that.
[Can Ga Yeon lose 200 grams.]
[Meanwhile, at the weigh-in]
[journalists have filled up the banquet hall.]
All the competitors are weighed on the same stage.
[After her sauna, Ga Yeon immediately starts to run.]
[In order to lose even one more gram.]
[Her first fight! Her first weigh-in.]
[She heads to the weigh-in without taking even a sip of water.]
[Ga Yeon looks nervous.]
['We will now begin the weigh-in.']
[Without taking even a sip of water]
[and having trained hard with male fighters]
[all in order to reduce her weight.]
- Did you sweat a little? - Yes.
Earlier it was 47.74 kilos. Just now it was 47.60 kilograms.
[Over her goal of 47.5.]
It'll drop as time passes anyway. We still have another hour.
It's okay, don't feel pressured.
Ga Yeon looks nervous.
[Meanwhile, at the weigh-in.]
This is Ga Yeon's opponent, Emi Yamamoto.
[August 15, Incheon International Airport.]
[Emi Yamamoto arrives from Yamaguchi for the fight.]
[Looking confident.]
[Yes, I've done all that I can to prepare.]
She uses a very aggressive style, with relentless and furious attacks
so we prepared for this fight in light of that style.
['I saw her fighting in a video. She's a pretty and strong fighter.']
['I will fight hard not to lose! I look forward to it!']
[Finally, the weigh-in begins.]
[Both Ga Yeon and Emi Yamamoto appear nervous.]
At 61.2 kilograms, the competitor has failed to qualify.
[Ga Yeon's expression looks more somber.]
Wear this underneath.
[While Ga Yeon changes her clothes]
[the weigh-ins continue.]
57.5! Pass!
The competitor qualifies at 57.5 kilograms!
[She wonders if all of her hard work will be for nothing.]
[She grows more and more tense as her turn grows nearer.]
[Emi Yamamoto is called up.]
[Soon Ga Yeon will go up on the stage too.]
[As of yet she looks composed.]
The athlete has qualified at 70.4 kilograms!
[The two opponents meet for the first time.]
[Yamamoto lays eyes on Ga Yeon for the first time.]
Ga Yeon and Emi Yamamoto prepare for the weigh-in.
[While the other competitors are being weighed.]
[The two of them wait silently next to the stage.]
Will the two of them be able to qualify at 47.5 kilograms?
We will not begin the weigh-ins for Emi Yamamoto and Song Ga Yeon.
We will begin with Emi Yamamoto.
[She steps on the scale.]
[Will she make weight?]
47.25! Pass!
Emi Yamamoto qualifies at 47.25 kilograms!
[At last, Ga Yeon's turn.]
We will continue with Song Ga Yeon's weigh-in.
[She steps up onto the stage confidently]
[and steps on the scale.]
Finally Ga Yeon's weigh-in begins.
[But...]
[Something is strange.]
[What's going on?]
What is happening?
[Even Suh Doo Won looks stricken.]
[Ga Yeon, the judge, her opponent, everyone all huddle up.]
[Suh Doo Won tries to comfort Ga Yeon.]
We'd like to make an announcement.
Currently, Song Ga Yeon is about 200 grams over the weight.
[200 grams is about the weight of her clothes.]
[Because most female fighters do not step on without clothes.]
[they have decided to weigh her again an hour later.]
[Ga Yeon...]
[The coaches are tense too.]
But Ga Yeon doesn't want to wait for the second round, and decides to step on again.
[Please...]
[With the help of the ring girls]
[having covered her body with a towel, she takes off her clothes.]
[Will Ga Yeon make it into her weight class.]
[Her opponent's coach checks the scale.]
[High tension.]
[Minus 50 grams.]
[She qualifies at 47.45 kilograms.]
After having taken off her uniform, Ga Yeon qualifies at 47.45 kilograms!
It was no time to be worried about what other people thought.
I had to qualify in order to compete.
I worked hard to lose the weight.
So I didn't care what other people thought.
[Both fighters safely passed the weigh-in.]
[Ga Yeon downs the water she couldn't drink before.]
That's better.
Don't eat yet.
Bit by bit.
Don't eat yet!
Wow!
Don't give her the watermelon yet.
[I want to drink the watermelon juice...]
[Let... let me just look at it.]
- When can I drink it? - I'm watching the time.
[Ga Yeon loves watermelon juice...]
Now I'm back to normal. Earlier, I wasn't in my right mind.
[Preparing hot honey water.]
[Making an announcement about the competition on stage.]
[Her coach slowly allows her some honey water first.]
Prepare it after she drinks it.
[I'm going to savor this.]
[Honey water never tasted so good.]
I feel great.
I want to compete already.
You said you wanted to compete right now?
In a minute you're going to ask to go eat something delicious.
[Her appetite returns now that the weigh-in is over.]
[She eats and eats and eats some more...]
[I've missed you.]
- Can I eat something else now? - No, not yet.
Five minutes have passed.
- Next you're going to drink this. - And then this?
No, you can't drink that. What is this?
- Watermelon... - You can't drink anything cold yet.
Then when can I?
Later. Sit down.
Chief, would you like this?
[No! Not my watermelon.]
[Hmph.]
[And so they finish up all their activities before the fight.]
[Ga Yeon heads to the hospital.]
[I want to drink some watermelon juice.]
Can we leave now?
[Obsessed with the watermelon even in the car.]
- I packed some. - You did?
I packed some watermelon.
[Let's go.]
- Good work, everyone! - Good work!
I was really craving some beer.
I thought I was going to go crazy.
And today I really wanted some watermelon.
When can I eat pasta?
Are we going there to eat it?
I don't know what you're talking about.
This pasta is really good.
Meanwhile, back at the house, we're in the middle of preparing dinner for Ga Yeon.
Soo Hyun, what are you up to?
Oh, hello. I'm preparing a salad for Song Ga Yeon.
Oh, is that so?
Leave a message for Song Ga Yeon about what you're making for her.
Ga Yeon, I'm making a caprese salad for you.
Hurry home, try the cheese and tomatoes, and win your fight tomorrow!
- One, two, one, two! - Okay!
[Ga Yeon, fighting.]
In the summertime, eating octopus gives you as much strength as a heap of ginseng.
[Ooh.]
- Where did you hear that? - On the internet.
- Another piece of knowledge. - Yes.
There's taurine, vitamin B2 and... more stuff like that in octopus.
[Cooking begins.]
[They prepare dishes to increase her stamina.]
[and brownies for dessert.]
It melts easily.
It's getting watery!
I think we put in too much chocolate!
It tastes better that way.
You have to put in a lot of chocolate.
Let's just eat it like this, it's warm.
[Meanwhile, Kang Jun prepares some warty sea squirt.]
Ah, smells like the ocean!
[Should I try touching it.]
Ew, so gross!
[Please look forward to Kang Jun's octopus soup.]
Oh no!
[At the hospital...]
In order to replenish the nutrition they lost while losing weight quickly
the athletes get put on IV drips.
[Coach Suh Doo Won comes looking for Ga Yeon.]
[Her old face is coming back already.]
The average person might find it all strange. Including going on an IV drip.
They might think, 'The weigh-in is over, can't they just start eating?'
Eating doesn't necessarily mean the nutrients will just be absorbed.
Once you pass the weigh-in, I think that the fight is half won.
Losing weight to pass the weigh-in is harder than the fight.
She's done everything well so far.
So all that's left tomorrow is for her to fight how she wants, without regret.
Whether she wins or loses, this is enough.
Look how happy she is.
She kept going on about how much she wanted to eat.
[Suh Doo Won is warmer than he looks.]
[A carton of cream pasta.]
[brings her so much happiness.]
[At times like this, she's just a normal 21-year-old girl.]
Over here is our team captain, Lee Yoon Joon.
And here is the man who loves to curse, Kwon Ah Sol.
- Do you want me to curse again? - Yeah, do it!
[Hahaha.]
Please censor him.
[Kwon Ah Sol is fighting for the championship title.]
[Lee Yoon Joon will fight against a Brazilian opponent.]
What I like about right now is that if I'd done this alone
I would be eating alone right now.
But since we're all competing, it's nice.
That's true. I ate alone when I competed.
[Hmph.]
[Because they weren't alone, they could get through it all.]
If you control how much you eat like us...
Dieting isn't that hard.
It's cutting that kind of drives you crazy.
Before the weigh-in, you seemed like a different person.
I don't even remember it anymore.
Your face looks different.
[Before the weigh-in...]
[Her lips are dry because she can't even drink anything.]
[Her mind is hazy because she hasn't slept enough.]
- How are you feeling? - Good.
- You're good? - Yes.
I feel really good.
- Are you worried about anything? - No, nothing.
Yes, I'm fine.
You can't talk at that point.
At my last competition, I think it was two days before the weigh-in?
I laid down on my training mat and cried.
Really hard.
But the three of them are in it together.
I was overcome with emotion that day.
I was overwhelmed.
I swore that I'd kill my opponent after I lost the weight, and cried.
I didn't think you were such a weak person.
Because that's the first time I ever saw you cry.
So it was sad and funny at the same time.
Do you really see your opponent for the first time at the weigh-in?
The weigh-in is where you first face them.
But actually their opponents are really good fighters.
Ah Sol's opponent, even though the weight class is different
basically is ranked number one in Japan.
He's one of the top five fighters in Asia.
He's prepared to fight him though.
And Yoon Joon's opponent is from Brazil.
And Brazil is a top nation for MMA fighters.
Most of the world's top MMA fighters are from Brazil.
And they compete a lot.
The unfortunate part is Ga Yeon's opponent.
Ga Yeon only has videos from her amateur fights.
And the same goes for her opponent.
Mori Gym, which is Yamamoto's gym is a famous place in Japan.
There is a trainer there who developed his own style of fighting.
I've competed against fighters from that gym too.
Their style is always relentless. Always attacking and striking.
That's their way, so we had to prepare for that.
We're not worried, because she's a fighter at heart.
I think she'll get in there and do well.
No one on her team doubts her victory.
Fighting!
You didn't wear socks again, did you?
Ga Yeon can't wear a pair of running shoes for more than three months.
She doesn't wear socks so the smell gets terrible...
[Over here too...]
[Kwon Ah Sol isn't wearing socks either.]
You have to wear socks.
What about you?
[Surely not...]
[Ack.]
[Hahaha.]
I'm usually not like this!
[You don't wear them either.]
You're a woman!
And we're men!
Don't all women wear socks?
Don't they wear them when it's cold?
She's not like other women.
[Soo Hyun and Nana are watching something intently.]
We decided to create a cheer from one of Nana's new songs.
Oh, this is nice!
[How fun.]
'Win, Ga Yeon!'
And then go like this and spin around here.
It's really hard.
The steps have to go like this.
But when we go forward we have to step like this.
Do you get it? Like this.
[Dong Wook and Kang Jun find the dancing fun.]
Oh, you're doing well! That's right.
Ga Yeon will win no matter what!
Go, Ga Yeon!
One, two, three, four!
[Gentlemen, let's go.]
[Do it like me.]
[They follow Nana's lead.]
[What are they doing now.]
Hey, this is addictive.
[He can't stop dancing.]
It's addictive, addictive!
Nana, you say something.
Ga Yeon, be careful.
Ga Yeon, don't get hurt.
Ga Yeon, win!
Ga Yeon, now it's already been...
[Too long, too long.]
Ga Yeon, fighting!
Ga Yeon, give me a hug! Ah!
Okay.
- Should we say, 'Ga Yeon, we love you?' - Okay.
Then you say, 'Ga Yeon!'
We love you!
That was hard.
Hey, this is good exercise.
This is really addictive.
And the dance is easy to learn.
I'm going to have a drink.
[Bottles with every roommate's names on them.]
[After dancing, she quenches her thirst with a drink.]
I want a seltzer.
[Why with Nana's water bottle.]
[It's okay, since we're roommates.]
[A cold glass, for victory.]
- Who is it? - I'll go see.
- I think it's Ga Yeon. - She's already here!
It's Ga Yeon!
Our cheer, our cheer!
- Who is it? - It's Ga Yeon.
- Yes, who? - The youngest!
We don't have a youngest here.
[Pfft.]
'We don't have a youngest here...'
She opened the door, she opened the door.
My cell phone!
Here!
Not yet!
Lock the door!
Please lock the door!
[Ga Yeon is already in the foyer.]
[Finally, the music is set.]
Make the volume louder!
Ga Yeon will win no matter what!
One, two, three, four!
[Let's go, guys.]
What is this?
I don't think this is really cheering her on.
Ga Yeon, don't move!
[Overwhelmed.]
Nana!
Ga Yeon, stay healthy.
Ga Yeon, win tomorrow!
Ga Yeon, be careful!
- Ga Yeon, now it's already been... - Oh, Dong Wook...
Ga Yeon, give me a hug!
[Bam.]
Enjoy it!
Ga Yeon, we love you!
Thank you.
- Look at how much weight you lost. - I'm fine, I'm fine.
[She's braided her hair so it won't get in the way during the fight.]
Your hair is Harlem style.
Ga Yeon lost so much weight.
- I'm going to go to the bathroom. - Yeah, go, go.
Walk like this, Ga Yeon.
What is that?
Nana's new song.
- Oh, really? - Yeah, go like this.
How?
[Now that Ga Yeon has arrived]
[they finish preparing dinner.]
The taste of the sea, octopus soup!
- Is it good? - Yeah. Wow!
Looks delicious!
[It looks like food from an expensive restaurant.]
Ga Yeon, your stomach could go into shock
so just try a little bit of this salad first.
Wow.
- What is it called again? Capre... - Caprese!
You look so weak.
I just need to sleep.
Did you eat something after the weigh-in?
Yes, I did.
Why do you look so weak?
I just didn't get enough sleep.
[She was too nervous to sleep much.]
Just eat a little of this.
If I fight Ga Yeon now, I think I could win.
You look tired.
I've still got a lot of fighting spirit in me.
That's even scarier.
[Don't you dare cross her.]
[First on the menu, octopus soup.]
The octopus was alive.
- It still is! - It's wriggling.
It's wriggling.
Wow, this is amazing.
- This is octopus soup? - Yeah.
For your stamina.
I'll explain it to you.
Why do you suddenly look older?
He's exhausted from cooking.
This restores your energy as much as a heap of ginseng.
You did well!
I can't believe that Kang Jun made this!
Sung Woo helped me with almost all of it.
You must be nervous, right?
I'm not really.
How many hours did you sleep?
I could only sleep 30 minutes last night.
Ga Yeon, eat and go right to sleep.
- Right now your mind is... - Nana!
It's ready!
Chopsticks.
[Brownies in the rice cooker.]
[But...]
[Poke, poke.]
Should we run it again?
Do it again.
- But it's better than before, right? - A lot better.
What do we eat now?
We didn't make rice, did we?
I think the brownies will go well with the octopus soup!
You like brownies, right?
You made brownies too?
I made them.
I knew you would like them. And you crave sweets when you're tired.
You have to recharge on sugar.
Look at how she hurt her hand.
[Ga Yeon's hands are pocked with injuries.]
[Wielding chopsticks isn't easy for her.]
[The hard work she's put in shows on her hands.]
[Eat the food we made you and find renewed strength.]
[We hope the food is to your liking...]
- Wow. It's really good. - It is?
Wow, it's so good. So good.
Me too, Soo Hyun!
- Wow. - It's the taste of the sea.
Is it good?
- It's really good. - That's a relief.
[She ends the suffering of losing the weight]
[and now she can finally eat real meals again.]
I felt so happy seeing her enjoy the food.
It's so good.
It's almost ridiculous.
[We can't win the fight for you.]
[We can only hope you fight hard.]
Hearing that makes me want to keep cooking.
Yeah, since she says it's so good.
[Seeing Ga Yeon enjoy her food makes us feel grateful and touched.]
I feel solemn.
[Ga Yeon, you did well.]
[And Sung Woo's first words of the night...]
- You worked so hard. Now it's here. - Yes.
Whatever happens... it won't be a loss. Right?
You'll win.
Take it easy and win.
- Can we come cheer you on tomorrow? - Of course.
[Ga Yeon in the cage]
[while her family watches from outside of it.]
[The cage stands between them]
[but soon their hearts are one.]
What strategy are you focusing on?
- I don't have a strategy. - Oh, you don't?
Just going to use my instincts.
Ooh!
The way you hit Min Woo usually?
Ah, like that? You'll win.
I think it'll be okay as long as I don't get nervous.
You practiced like it was the real thing.
You saw your opponent today.
- It was the first time? - Yeah. It was.
You faced one another. How was it?
I felt nothing.
I just wanted to get the fight over with.
It's been about a year since I started MMA fighting.
It's been about four for her.
A lot of people have been saying things like
'Song Ga Yeon's been fighting all her life'
'but she's going against this woman...'
They say you're going against someone with little experience, an easy opponent?
But if they brought in someone who's just done taekwondo for 15 years
would the taekwondo fighter be better?
MMA is different from other martial arts.
I don't pay attention to their words.
Because I've waited for this for so long, I don't even hear their words anymore.
I don't care if they're looking or not.
I just think that it's something I've wanted to do, so I have to do it.
And that day is already here.
I just need to do it and that's it, no need to feel pressure or anything.
I'm sure my opponent is thinking only of winning right now too.
Of course. You don't step into the ring to lose.
Every fighter is in it for the win. That's why she came to Korea too.
What I'm curious about is, in the cage...
Whether I'll fight calmly or be taken over my by instincts.
Whether I'll fight in a style that's new to me.
I'm really curious about that.
Because it's my first fight.
[As of yet she's never seen herself in the cage before.]
[What will the MMA fighter Song Ga Yeon look like?]
- Wow! - Sorry, sorry!
Brownies!
Brownies that Nana made.
I really wanted some.
Min Woo and I made them.
Nana took over the rice cooker making these.
- Wow, it smells great. - Wow, they came out great!
They're great, right?
[Yum.]
Are they good?
You're being honest, right? You don't have to lie.
It's really good.
If you look at the way she made it, there's not way it's good.
It's so strange how it actually worked.
Ga Yeon's expression just now was genuine.
We put a lot of chocolate in.
- How is it so good? - It's so intense.
- Right? - It's good.
[Everywhere people keep saying, 'it's good!']
[Rice cooker brownies, success.]
I like hard brownies like this.
It's hard and chewy, that's why it's good.
[It gets even better as you chew it.]
[Ga Yeon's banquet ends successfully.]
[But Ga Yeon still looks exhausted.]
- You look sleepy. - Yeah, you should sleep.
You seem tired. You should go to the dorm.
Really? She has to go there?
- Yeah, because the fight is tomorrow. - She can't sleep here.
Thank you.
- Ga Yeon. - Yes?
[Bam.]
Give me a hug.
[The roommates sincerely root for Ga Yeon.]
Thank you.
[So the short dinner ends.]
[And Ga Yeon heads to the dormitories for tomorrow's fight.]
- Is it here? - Yeah.
- It's here. - It's here.
[Today we want to give her a big embrace more than ever.]
[Though we know she'll do well, we can't help but worry.]
Get there safely!
I'm going now!
Oh, she rides in the front.
Ga Yeon, sleep well, and we'll see you at the arena tomorrow.
How hard must it be for her?
It must be really hard.
She couldn't even eat.
Finally, it's D-Day.
The morning of the fight
it started raining.
[Ga Yeon looks to be in better shape than expected.]
I still thought that I would get at least a little nervous.
But I worried so much beforehand
and waited so long for the fight...
If anything the people around me were nervous
and I was floating with happiness.
[They set off for the arena.]
[The long-awaited moment is almost here.]
[Whether rain or snow, she never slacked off on her training.]
[Song Ga Yeon and Emi Yamamoto.]
[During the bus ride there is a suffocating kind of tension.]
['I've done everything I could to prepare.']
['Because it's a challenge, I'm not afraid at all.']
[The bus approaches the arena.]
[Song Ga Yeon's debut fight.]
[Five hours before the fight.]
[The athletes' bus arrives.]
[Excitement.]
[Ga Yeon finally makes her appearance.]
[She swallows back her nerves and greets her fans with a smile.]
[Song Ga Yeon enters the arena.]
[Emi Yamamoto also makes her appearance.]
[Both fighters look nervous as they enter.]
[They head to the site of today's battle.]
[Who will win.]
[So it begins...]
It's finally D-Day.
Where's Dong Wook?
Dong Wook is going to meet us there after a script reading.
Let's go!
We're leaving!
[They leave for the arena.]
It's finally the day of Ga Yeon's fight.
Today is Ga Yeon's first fight.
I feel more nervous than she does.
What are some songs that will cheer her on?
'Hakuna Matata.'
'Hakuna Matata'?
It means everything will be fine.
[A song from the animated film 'The Lion King']
[How fun.]
[Hahaha.]
'Hakuna Matata'!
'When things are hard, look to the sky!'
[Swept up by the song.]
My Chemical Romance?
Huh? I know that song!
That's right. The lyrics are really good.
This is about growing up.
Don't let the world get you down no matter what
and be prepared to fight.
Don't ever submit.
[Hopefully Ga Yeon will have a great fight today...]
Ga Yeon's opponent is still getting ready for the fight too.
[Ga Yeon's corner studies them carefully.]
[Nervous.]
[Ga Yeon goes through the moves one last time.]
[She's waited a long time for today.]
[I will pour all my energy into this fight.]
Sorry to disturb your rest!
Sorry.
[Huh?]
[Who is this?]
[A friend they met in Japan.]
Like this, and then this.
[Former WBC world champion, Hong Chang Soo.]
- Go for the win. - I will.
- I'll be rooting for you. - Okay!
[In order to keep that promise, Hong Chang Soo has arrived.]
A man is only a man if he keeps his promises!
Thank you.
He says, maybe you feel nervous.
['But if you believe in yourself, you will do well.']
She doesn't look that nervous to me anyway.
Right?
May good energy be sent in her way.
[Receive the good energy.]
You brought your WBC championship belt...
[Really?]
I brought it.
I think you should just put it on.
[She receives the spirit of victory from the belt again.]
I'm feeling some good energy from this.
[Fighting.]
[8:00 a.m., Jamsil Olympic Hall.]
The opening stage introduces all the fights to come.
[The entrances have come to an end.]
[Song Ga Yeon, fighting.]
[Song Ga Yeon returns to the locker room.]
Stretch her out!
[After three more fights, it will be Ga Yeon's turn.]
[Relaxing both her body and mind.]
[Meanwhile...]
[As the fight grows closer.]
[Emi Yamamoto gets in the zone.]
[Bam.]
[With her resolute gaze, she seems to be no easy opponent.]
['Emi Yamamoto has trained well and is experienced.']
['I look forward to a good fight and believe she will win.']
[During that time, the athletes who have competed already exit.]
[Pat, pat.]
[Clockwise: relieved, anxious, nervous, excited.]
[They're all in the same place, yet each feeling differently.]
Lee Yoon Joon, who trained with Ga Yeon, is up next.
The first round begins.
Look at his fighting stance.
Lee Yoon Joon taking a left hand position.
He's knocked him over right away!
He's doing very well.
[Never let your guard down.]
[They grow invested as they watch.]
[Please...]
[Emi Yamamoto exits the locker room.]
[Ga Yeon moves toward the upper floor waiting area.]
The round continues.
[And then.]
[A strong left-footed middle kick.]
Lee Yoon Joon keeps pounding!
The match is over! Lee Yoon Joon!
[The brutal world of MMA fighting]
[doesn't allow you to rest for even a second.]
The captain of Ga Yeon's team, Lee Yoon Joon, wins with a TKO victory.
[The crowd roars.]
Lee Yoon Joon, that's five straight wins!
[Meanwhile, in front of the athlete's entrance.]
[Suddenly Ga Yeon is quiet.]
[Her nervousness grows deeper as her turn approaches.]
[She greets her colleague Lee Joon Joon.]
[She's eager to congratulate him]
[but she's still trying to focus on her own upcoming match.]
[The woman who's probably as nervous as Ga Yeon at this moment.]
[She waits her turn from the other side.]
[She keeps doing her stretches to relieve the tension.]
[But she can't shake the anxiety.]
This time the lightweight match is between Kwon Ah Sol and Takasuke Kume.
[Fiercer than the match before it.]
Kume is getting pounded!
[What if Ga Yeon is beaten like that too.]
[And so the match ends...]
Next up is Korea's Song Ga Yeon, against Emi Yamamoto.
I'm shaking.
Finally, it's Ga Yeon's turn!
- Ga Yeon, fighting! - Ga Yeon, good luck!
Don't get hurt! Fighting!
Ga Yeon's match is just about to start.
[It finally begins.]
[Heart pounding.]
Emi Yamamoto enters the arena.
[Images of Ga Yeon appear on the screen.]
[Even in here the tension is high.]
[Suddenly Ga Yeon and her coaches bow.]
[Takasuke Kume, who lost his match.]
[What will I look like as I pass by here a few minutes later.]
Please welcome Emi Yamamoto!
[She's going over her strategy again.]
[Yamamoto's fans look nervous too.]
[They are resolute.]
[They both settle themselves down.]
[Emi Yamamoto enters.]
[Kwon Ah Sol, who's become a champion.]
Song Ga Yeon, fighting!
Fighting!
Ga Yeon!
Lower your stance no matter what.
Please welcome Song Ga Yeon!
Song Ga Yeon!
Finally, as she steps onto the stage...
Hello, I'm Song Ga Yeon, an MMA fighter on the Road FC team.
Ga Yeon has suffered through a lot to get inside the cage.
Along with a painful past that must have been hard for a 21-year-old to bear.
[Sparring with male fighters.]
[Training every day, and then training some more.]
[There was blood, sweat, and tears.]
[But she could get through it all...]
[Thanks to her late father's words.]
Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon!
Right now, it's time to reap the rewards of all that hard work.
Finally, the moment Song Ga Yeon the fighter steps into the ring.
Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon!
[- There are tears in my eyes] [- Me too.]
[Fighting.]
[She makes her way to the stage confidently.]
[ Song Ga Yeon, the Amazon of 'Roommate.']
[It's a happy day, but the tears keep coming...]
[Gathering strength from everyone's cheers...]
[Come back a winner.]
[Why are you crying.]
[I don't know.]
I don't know why I was crying. I think just because that's our Ga Yeon.
I must really think of Ga Yeon as a sister.
So I started crying. I can't really explain it.
The sight of her walking up there made me proud
and gave me a lot of different emotions.
[At last she arrives beneath the cage.]
[Now all preparations are over.]
[For tomorrow.]
Let me introduce the two fighters!
Emi Yamamoto!
[Woo.]
At 160 centimeters and 47.45 kilograms
From Korea -- Song Ga Yeon!
Song Ga Yeon, fighting!
There will be two rounds in this match. The referee will be Jang Duk Young.
[The people watching look anxious too.]
Build the pressure slowly!
Don't jump it, take it slow!
Ga Yeon, don't run, we're going to go slow!
[The tension hangs between them.]
[Round 1 begins.]
[Song Ga Yeon.]
[Emi Yamamoto.]
In the beginning we touched gloves, and I realized she was southpaw... left-handed.
I first found out she was left-handed inside the cage.
[Left-handed stance.]
At that point I started to panic.
[But the match has already begun.]
Ga Yeon, lower your stance!
[With a prayer in our heart...]
[Ga Yeon, fighting.]
[The two athletes touch gloves in the center of the ring.]
[And so the recon ends.]
[And she begins with a punch.]
[Right-handed counter.]
[She staggers.]
[She grabs Ga Yeon's waist.]
[But with a large outer reap, the tables turn.]
[Ga Yeon's taken the advantageous side position.]
[Just the way she practiced...]
[Bit by bit...]
She's so good.
She's doing so well but I can't watch.
[It's difficult to watch.]
[Just then.]
[Emi Yamamoto pushes forward.]
[Ack.]
[Emi Yamamoto launches a knee.]
Put your head down!
When she turns, hook her with your thigh!
[The roommates watch with bated breath.]
[The kneeing continue.]
[Her waist is trapped and it's difficult to escape.]
[The fierce confrontation continues.]
[She's grabbing her waist tightly and not letting go.]
[It isn't easy to escape.]
[Please.]
Move back and forth! Okay, that's good!
[Breathing hard...]
[Even if the path is difficult, go down it with a smile.]
[She seems quite fatigued.]
[Our poor Ga Yeon...]
What I realized from watching him was to never give up.
Because...
He gave up too easily.
I don't want to live that way. That's my mindset.
I relied on just my strength.
That's how I survived.
[Because they know why Ga Yeon's worked so doggedly all these years...]
[And because she'll never give up.]
[With utmost sincerity, we say, 'Enjoy yourself, Song Ga Yeon!']
[Just then.]
[This is the large outer reap she's practiced countless times.]
[The training shows its usefulness in this moment.]
Good, good!
[Tearing up.]
[Song Ga Yeon stands up and gets into position.]
[But Emi Yamamoto's counterattack is not to be ignored.]
[Anxious.]
[A large outer reap here.]
[She presses down from above and sees her chance.]
[Nervous.]
[She's climbed on top.]
[She's in the top mount position.]
[And then she moves onto pounding.]
Keep going!
[The opponent's coaches shout urgently.]
[Three minutes before the end.]
[Yamamoto continues to use her guard.]
She's keeping up her guard very well.
[But her guard starts to slip.]
[She takes this opportunity to start pounding away.]
[Song Ga Yeon wins her first fight with a TKO victory.]
[Oh yeah.]
[Father...]
[I did it.]
[She charges toward her coaches.]
[Good job! Amazing! Wow.]
[Ah.]
[Looking around.]
[Ga Yeon! We're over here.]
Ga Yeon really showed us an impressive fight!
I don't know what's come over me.
Good job, Song Ga Yeon!
[Emi Yamamoto put up a great fight.]
[Ga Yeon helps her up.]
[I know that fist.]
This match's winner...
in one round, 2 minutes and 23 seconds
by the referee's intervention
is Korea's Song Ga Yeon!
[Woo.]
[She ends her first match with a win.]
[The two athletes shake hands.]
[Good job.]
[Today's star was decided in this moment.]
[Emi Yamamoto leaves the arena.]
[The tears of defeat.]
[Failure, which hurts worse than any physical pain for the athlete.]
Please tell us how you feel.
I'm really excited.
[They fought in the same cage]
[but their outcomes couldn't be more different.]
[A mixture of joy and sorrow.]
[The world of fighters... when I laugh, someone else must cry.]
[Good work, keep your chin up.]
[Her friends greet her with warm words of encouragement.]
[As soon as she sits down they go over the day's fight.]
['I'm not angry, because I fought hard!']
['You swung like this.']
[As the coach jokes around, she bursts into laughter.]
[Regardless of victory or defeat, being together with colleagues brings happiness.]
[Ga Yeon has come to the locker room.]
[It seems as though the hurried goodbye weighed on her.]
You did really well.
[A picture.]
[They commemorate the match with a picture...]
[A picture with the coaches too.]
[Click.]
['My mind went black and I couldn't do anything.']
['I will return to Japan and practice even harder.']
['Thank you for cheering me on.']
['I will practice even harder.']
['I will work hard.']
I'm not sure if you will see this, Miss Yamamoto
but I am very grateful that you received me with a smile
when I came to say goodbye to you.
Since this was the debut fight for us both
I hope we can meet again one day when we are both even better fighters.
The joys and sorrows of the winners and losers are bound to become entangled here.
But when the match is over, we are all friends who share a strong connection.
[Win: Park Jung Gyo, Loss: Kim Dae Sung.]
We'll keep on rooting for a passionate match next time around too.
[Regardless of victory or defeat, we've become friends.]
Through hard work, Song Ga Yeon was able to prove
that she was a real fighter during her match.
Ga Yeon's efforts are just now beginning.
Subtitles by DramaFever
[The road to finding precious relationships]
[The tough guys' emotion-filled trip]
[Today we're taking over Sokcho.]
Ride and Roll!
[A time when past memories come up again]
- Hello. - This is my younger sister.
You've arrived! Hello!
[The two expose everything!] He used to eat so much.
With the nursing bottle.
You're making a mistake saying these things!
[Looking for a familiar location...]
I wonder how much the school has changed. I feel like it would have changed a lot.
[Going back to school for the first time since graduating]
- Roommate loads up on love. - Teacher!
[I've missed you.]