"Hey, how’s your gym doing these days?"
"It’s doing okay, just enough to keep things going."
"Huh? Why? Isn’t it doing exceptionally well?"

Geumjin, the gym master, was puzzled by Baek Sangha’s response.

After all, Kim Donghu, the child actor at the peak of his fame, trained at Baek Sangha’s gym.
Shouldn't the place be packed to the point of bursting?
Then, suddenly, Geumjin remembered what kind of person Baek Sangha was.

"Wait, hyung, don’t tell me... you didn’t tell anyone? That Kim Donghu is training at your gym?!"
"Hey, quiet down, the kids might hear."
"Are you insane? Why didn’t you tell anyone?!"

In an era where gyms were popping up all over, advertising was the best marketing strategy.

Even if you just casually dropped a flyer, hinting that Kim Donghu was training there,
it would undoubtedly cause a massive influx of new members.
But why wasn’t he doing that?
And it wasn’t like it was something he could hide forever.

Once one or two members joined, word would naturally spread that Kim Donghu trained there.
Come to think of it, it was a wonder that no rumors had spread yet.

"Keep it down, will you?"
"...But why? Seriously, why?"
"The kids are here to train. They shouldn’t be disturbed by things like that."
"Hyung, you know sticking to principles doesn’t pay the bills, right? And you still do this?"

Baek Sangha simply shut his mouth in response to Geumjin’s words.
He knew there was no bridging this difference in perspective.

'Man, he’s so stubborn.'

Geumjin found it frustrating.

Honestly, it had been like this from the start.
Ever since Baek Sangha had taken on the burden of leading and enforcing strict discipline.

"You’re just like yourself, hyung."

Baek Sangha moved according to his principles,
and there was no room for compromise in that.

So, deciding to put things to rest once and for all,
Baek Sangha spoke up again.

"Donghu is my student, my best student. I’ve been training him since he was a kid."

From the days when Kim Donghu was just a snot-nosed elementary school kid to now,
it had been almost nine years.

"He’s like a nephew to me. How could I use a kid like that? He’s here to train, not to show off his face."
"I know, I know... but hyung, you get what I’m saying, right? Yet you’re still like this?"
"Only people who come to my gym to train are welcome. This isn’t a place for people to come just to gawk at a celebrity."
"...Unbelievable."

Geumjin stared at the word printed across the chest of Baek Sangha’s shirt.

武道 (Martial Arts)

Was there anyone who embodied the word “martial arts” more than Baek Sangha?
He was truly a martial artist to his core.

To run a gym, you needed a bit of a business mindset,
but Baek Sangha didn’t have an ounce of that.

That was why people saw him as inflexible,
but also why he was so respected by his juniors.

'He really never changes.'

Anyway, that was that.

"Are you sure about this, though? Donghu doesn’t have much sparring experience, does he?"
"True, aside from sparring with me, he hasn’t done much with others his age."

The conversation quickly shifted to the real issue at hand.

They had planned the sparring match because Donghu and Sansoo were roughly the same weight and skill level,
but now that Geumjin saw them side by side, he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

"Now that I think about it, I’m getting a bit concerned. I’m not trying to brag, but our Sansoo hits pretty hard."

As soon as he said that, Baek Sangha started to keep a straight face as much as possible.

"Uh, right, yeah... sure."

Sorry, I’ve actually been keeping something to myself.
I lost to Kim Donghu in a sparring match.

He couldn’t bring himself to admit that yet.
But just as he was thinking that maybe it was time to come clean...

"Coach! Let’s start the sparring with that punk—no, with Kim Donghu! Right now!"
"Hey, what kind of tone is that?"
"That’s not important, let’s just start sparring with Kim Donghu, now!"
"You brat, watch your mouth."

Kim Sansoo’s rough tone continued.
Geumjin was shocked and tried to stop him, but it was already too late for Baek Sangha.

'Did he just try to call Donghu a punk?'

Even if he was a brat, he was my brat, not your brat.
Has this kid lost his mind?

'Should I show my junior some tough love for the first time in a while?'

As that thought crossed his mind,
Baek Sangha made eye contact with Kim Donghu, who was standing behind Kim Sansoo.

Nod.

Donghu simply nodded as soon as their eyes met.
His expression made it clear that there was something going on.
Seeing this, Baek Sangha’s face relaxed.

"Alright, he seems really eager, so let’s let him spar."
"Huh? Hyung, why are you agreeing too? Shouldn’t he warm up first?"
"They probably warmed up enough. It’d be weird not to start when he’s this excited."
"Uh... should I really set this up then?"
"Yeah, go ahead."

Geumjin scratched his head and moved to set up for the match.
Kim Sansoo followed closely behind him.

As soon as they were out of sight, Baek Sangha...

Swish.

He pointed at Kim Sansoo and then made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.
There couldn’t have been a clearer signal.
Donghu saw it and smiled deeply.

The preparations were completed in no time.

With their hands wrapped, gloves on, and headgear secured,
they listened to the explanation of the rules and pledged to fight fairly.

'I just want to get this over with and start fighting!'

Thud, thud!

Kim Sansoo knocked his gloves together, showing off his strength.

'A punk two years younger than me? What did he say, I’m scared? He said that to me?'

In your teens, even a one-year age difference felt like a massive gap.
For Kim Donghu to act so casually, disregarding that, was something Kim Sansoo couldn’t forgive.

'I’ll crush you like a dog, you little shit.'

He’d show him what it felt like to get beaten like a wet dog in the rain.

Huff, huff.

His harsh breathing filled the gym.

Ding!

At last, the bell rang to signal the start of the round.

Swish.

With a light breeze, suddenly...

Smack!

The sound of a whip echoed through the gym.

"...Huh?"

Unlike Kim Sansoo, who was still trying to figure out what had just hit him...

'Holy...!'

Geumjin, watching from the sidelines, was so shocked he momentarily forgot his role as a referee.

'Did... did he just throw a flicker jab?'

If it had been a clumsy imitation, he wouldn’t have been surprised.

'It’s perfect.'

It was an ideal flicker jab.
If there was a boxing textbook, you could use this as an example.
Kim Donghu’s flicker jab was flawless.

His long arms and legs, the precision with which his fist was fired—it was all perfect.
There was nothing to criticize.

'Sansoo, that guy’s something else. Stay calm, you really need to stay calm!'

If Geumjin could have coached from the corner, that’s what he would have said.
But as the referee, all he could do was watch helplessly as Kim Sansoo grew more agitated.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Geumjin could only watch as Sansoo lost his cool.
And then it began.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Kim Sansoo, full of rage, charged in.
But Donghu toyed with him, as if bullfighting, lightly flicking his jab.

What was remarkable was Donghu’s calm footwork and his lightning-fast steps.

'What’s with that footwork?'

Even calling it light was an understatement.
Strangely enough, Geumjin found himself thinking of Muhammad Ali.
It was as if that legendary boxer had possessed Kim Donghu.

Sansoo’s rage-filled punches couldn’t even come close to hitting Donghu.

Huff... huff...

The fury that had seemed unstoppable was quickly dying out.
Of course it was.

He hadn’t landed a single punch,
and in his blind rage, he hadn’t conserved his energy at all.

Getting tired was inevitable.

Glance.

Geumjin instinctively checked the clock.

'Only 30 seconds have passed.'

In that short time, Donghu had completely drained Kim Sansoo’s stamina.
This wasn’t just being good at sports—it was chillingly calculated.

With 2 minutes and 30 seconds left,
Donghu started to move in for real.

But.

Tap, tap, tap.

Even though he had completely worn Sansoo out,
Donghu kept jabbing, applying pressure without making any rash movements.

As if he were a fighter who knew nothing but how to jab.
This gave Kim Sansoo a false sense of hope.

'So, he’s just one of those guys who only knows how to use one trick, huh?'

That must be it. There’s no other reason for me to be getting tired like this.

'A jab isn’t that threatening, I can handle this.'

For now, I’ll just take the hits and wait for my stamina to recover, then I’ll find my opportunity.
But contrary to his thoughts, Kim Sansoo’s body was wearing down rapidly.

Like a mouse caught in water,
or a beast sinking into quicksand, unaware that the more it struggled, the tighter the trap became.

Donghu’s jabs were slowly choking the life out of him.

Tremble.

What? I just need to endure, so why are my legs shaking?
Kim Sansoo couldn’t understand why his legs were trembling.
How could these jabs, which didn’t even hurt, be causing this?

His mind wasn’t working properly.
As his oxygen levels dropped and his breathing became unstable, his thoughts slowed.

So when...

Swish.

Another jab came in, just like before.

'It’s slow. This is my chance for a counter!'

Kim Sansoo threw a sluggish punch,
but in that moment, Donghu swiftly closed the distance.

For the first time, Kim Sansoo was face to face with Donghu.

Shiver.

A completely expressionless face.
Eyes filled with cold, quiet fury.

"S-s-spare me..."

Just as those words were about to escape Kim Sansoo’s mouth,
Donghu’s hook slammed into his liver.

It wasn’t just a simple liver shot—
it was a perfectly timed counter liver shot.

Crack!

Sansoo’s body involuntarily followed the direction of Donghu’s punch.

"Guh...!"

His stomach churned and breathing became difficult.
Though in truth, it was hard to even assess what had happened.

Because with that one blow...

Thud.

Kim Sansoo collapsed immediately.

Drip, drip.

As the tension left his body in his unconscious state, a yellow liquid began to flow.
Looking down calmly at the scene, Kim Donghu thought to himself,

'...What have I done?'

Only then did he realize what he’d done.

'I didn’t even get an apology.'

He had planned to knock him out after making him apologize.
Guess he’d have to get that apology once Sansoo woke up.

It was a one-sided massacre.
Baek Sangha watched in a daze as Kim Donghu stood there, still breathing steadily.

'...Did I really train him?'

He couldn’t remember teaching him any of this.
But after a moment, Baek Sangha came to a neat conclusion.

'Well, he turned out great, so that’s a win.'

Kim Donghu—no problem!