Chapter 80
“Augh...!”
Thud!
My left heel slammed into the crown of the head of the world taekwondo official rankings' number two. The sound of his skull reverberating. He staggered, but he hadn't gone down yet.
“You're holding up?”
Number two was definitely different. But that just meant he hadn't dropped in one hit like the others.
Pow!
A front kick straight to the face of number two as his torso folded and he bent at the waist.
'I'll spare that pretty nose bone.' If I kicked him for real, even an athlete tougher than a regular person could die, so I went easy. He was a next-Olympics national team candidate, after all! No matter how justified, sending all the first-string players to the ICU would draw unavoidable backlash.
“Who's number one?”
“......”
“......”
No spectators kindly answered my question.
“No one?”
“Number one's a foreigner...”
“Ah!”
A sparring match with zero tension. At first, winning felt great each time, but now it just left a nagging guilt, like bullying the weak.
'Alright, now...'
Time to hear the coach's evaluation.
“What the hell are you? That reaction speed and explosiveness...”
Back in the old days, taekwondo players became instructors as they aged, and if they had the skills to run their own gym, they became head coaches. But ever since P's Aptitude Test came along, taekwondo got professional educators instead of retired players!
The difference with players? The biggest one I'd felt as a swimmer was “observational skill.”
“Coach, you already forgot? I'm a shaman.”
“A shaman who can do that...?!”
“A ghost-hunting shaman can't be weaker than a human, right?”
“That's nonsense! Yoo Il-chung's brother, Yuil-am, was a shaman too, but he wasn't a monster like you!”
The coach vehemently denied it. He'd figured it out. It wasn't that his prized disciples he'd raised lacked skill—they'd just lost to me.
“Don't compare me to him. I only called him 'sunbae' out of courtesy because he became a shaman before me.”
“Hah...”
“I'm not here to disrupt the other players' training. Just guarantee me a spot in the Olympics.”
“...And if I can't?”
“I'll spread the word everywhere that you lost to a swimmer.”
“You're a shaman, aren't you?”
“Then I'll say you lost to a shaman. That'd hit you harder since shamans aren't athletes, but if that's what you want—”
“Don't!”
The negotiation wrapped up peacefully.
Olympic national team spot secured!
At that moment, Yoo Il-chung—his beaten face now swollen—shouted out.
“You're nothing compared to Go Yun-kyung!”
“Go Yun-kyung?”
“Yeah!”
“Sounds like a girl's name.”
“Right! She's my girlfriend! Go Yun-kyung is the women's world taekwondo official number one!”
“She's a woman.”
“You sexist!”
“Wanna die? Don't stir shit. I meant women compete against women.”
Go Yun-kyung. It was natural I didn't know her—I'd had zero interest in taekwondo until recently. Women's world number one. So what? The men's number two hadn't laid a finger on me before going down. Would the women's number one be any different?
But then,
“Yeah, if it was Go Yun-kyung...”
“Il-chung's girlfriend is the real deal!”
“She wouldn't lose.”
The players I'd beaten were backing Yoo Il-chung's claim! It didn't sound like bluffing.
“Kang Moon-soo.”
“Yes.”
I'd thought we were done, but the coach called me over.
“I admit it. You're strong. But Go Yun-kyung is stronger. Women's number one? Wrong. She's the world number one.”
“......”
“Wanna spar her?”
“No.”
I refused without hesitation.
“Running away?!”
“Seems like a misunderstanding, Coach. I don't like unnecessary violence.”
“Hah! You turned the players into that and you hate violence?!”
The coach flew into a rage.
“I hate getting hit too, don't I? Am I wrong?”
“Guh!”
“If you're out of words, I'll be going...”
“Wait!”
“......”
The coach, not ready to give up, stopped me again.
“What if it's necessary?”
“Provocation won't work. What's in it for me beating the women's taekwondo number one? Lucky if I don't get flak for hitting a woman.”
Win, and I lose. Lose, and I lose worse! Zero upside.
“Kang Moon-soo. What's your taekwondo dan rank?”
“Don't have one yet.”
“Damn! What now? Olympics require at least second dan!”
“......”
I hadn't heard about that rule in Nam Hae-su's dream. New one? Didn't seem like a lie.
“To take the first dan test at Kukkiwon, it's one year from enrollment day. Then another year to qualify for second dan.”
“...So?”
“If you beat Go Yun-kyung, I'll pull strings for the next Olympics.”
“Illegally?”
“Legally.”
“Hmm...”
The coach and players desperate to hand me even one loss. Despite seeing my skills, their confidence in “Go Yun-kyung” sparked interest I hadn't felt before.
'How strong is she?'
I wanted to check if it was hype or real.
“Deal.”
“Good choice!”
“But don't we need Go Yun-kyung's okay?”
“No worries there. You think she'll let the guy who did that to her boyfriend slide?”
“Ah!”
I'd forgotten Yoo Il-chung was her boyfriend.
“Tell me a day that's tough for sparring due to prior commitments.”
“Not today?”
“She trains mostly at her relative's taekwondo academy, so we gotta schedule.”
“Busy girl.”
“But if she hears her boyfriend's hurt, she'll come running.”
“Just give me a day's notice via text or call.”
“Oh! I'll contact her right now!”
“...Hold up.”
“What?”
Seo Hye-ju's texts were piling up on my smartphone.
「Missed calls: 3」
「Seo Hye-ju: Remember that patient I mentioned before?」
「Seo Hye-ju: The deputy director's trying to dump him on me again.」
「Seo Hye-ju: Save me!」
“...Looks like I'm getting busy too. Text me open dates.”
Policy change.
'New patients? Always welcome!'
* * *
A few days before heading to the mid-Pacific for training camp, Seo Hye-ju had asked me for a favor. The patient had been asleep for about three years. He'd bounced around hospitals worldwide, then heard about Choi Kang-min—a similar case—getting treated and came to Elmolrans Hospital...
“Wanna try?”
“Yeah.”
“...You've changed. I haven't even mentioned treatment fees yet.”
Seo Hye-ju eyed me suspiciously.
“It's about saving lives, right? Can't pick and choose patients by money.”
“Be honest.”
“Seems like dream experience partially carries over to reality.”
I could've hidden it for now, but since we were partners, she'd find out eventually. Better to tell her straight.
“...For real?”
“Yeah. Yesterday, I went to the Olympic national taekwondo dojo, took down every player. All one-shots—oh! World number two took two.”
“You said you learned from a legendary taekwondo master in the dream?”
“Less learned, more got my ass handed to me one-sidedly.”
Gomushin Coach. I'd thought he was just a decent old-era player, but after Nam Hae-su's dream, I looked him up for fun and burst out laughing. One Olympic gold. But his disciples who'd trained under him daily swept Olympic golds across history.
'What a difference.'
Nam Hae-su had crushed rivals by any means to monopolize medals. But Coach Gomushin, despite his talent, gave up fame and pensions to nurture the next generation his whole life... He was a saint, foot odor aside.
“Your director—who treats you like a son-in-law—said something similar. I thought it was weird too.”
“My grades jumped noticeably after entering dreams.”
“But they tank just as hard if you die in one. Right?”
“Yep.”
She grasped it fast without long explanations. Or maybe she'd suspected before I said it. Either way, convenient for me.
“Gotta be careful from now on.”
“Yeah. Die in a dream, and you lose everything—time, skills...”
Bit of a gamble.
“Tricky part is, if we knew the patient's dream world, risk would drop big time.”
“True.”
“Hell, facing a monster beyond human limits like Magic Boy Choi Kang-min? Dead meat.”
“Huh? You worried about me?”
“Of course! Might sound harsh, but doctors treasure their tools.”
“Ah!”
Medical tool. Not wrong. Even if we pinpoint the coma cause, no me, no treatment.
“Hmm... Might hire a detective for your safety.”
“A detective?”
“Could run into more like Nam Hae-su, all surface and secrets. Proper background checks needed.”
“Good idea.”
Figuring regrets or grudges lets us guess dream world and goals. My power's systematizing as info builds. Nice feeling.
“Since we're on it, proper background on this patient first?”
“Sure.”
No reason for me to refuse.
* * *
Me, a swimmer, basically conquering domestic taekwondo! Even if it was an unofficial spar to test my skills, word was bound to spread.
And it did.
“Kang Moon-soo! Hold up!”
“When'd you learn taekwondo?”
“Is the rumor true?”
“A moment of your time...!”
Reporters waiting at the Sports University dorm entrance bombarded me as I emerged, teaching me the hard way.
'This scene feels familiar.'
I'd gotten attention after beating fencing and swimming national teamers in Nam Hae-su's dream. No panic—I gave short answers.
“Sorry, training in five. Gotta run.”
“Kang Moon-soo~!”
“Whoa! Kang Moon-soo?!”
Whoosh—I put distance between me and the reporters the second I sprinted for real.
Destination: Sports University pool. Normally I'd lap the campus once in morning workout first, but skipped today.
And yet,
“It's Kang Moon-soo!”
“Whoa! Kang Moon-soo~!”
“Just a quick chat...!”
More reporters waiting at the gym entrance with the pool.
'What a shitshow!'
I'd expected rumors eventually, but not exploding overnight.
I dodged their pursuit via the rarely used gym back door...
“Moon-soo!”
“Oh! Coach. You look swamped.”
“Then help out!”
The coach's private office—off-limits except to her athletes and staff. Jang Seo-yeon's room, usually isolated due to her “wrong aptitude,” was packed today. Cop, gym manager, taekwondo master, swimming coach, taekwondo players... All sorts.
“Nice to meet you. Kang Moon-soo?”
“Yes.”
The cop was a mixed pair; the man behind the woman talking to Coach Jang turned businesslike as I approached.
“We got a report you took down four taekwondo players from this university yesterday. Admit it?”
“I do.”
I answered with a glance at the coach and players from the dojo.
“It was a consented spar, so no fault on Kang Moon-soo's part.”
“Then why...”
Uncomfortable much? Why're you here?
“Apologies for the hassle, but we have to. Sparring abuse cases happen too often.”
“Ah, got it.”
Made sense right away. P's Aptitude Test only checks physical talent for athletes. Zero on morals. Murder, prostitution, assault, drugs, DUI, profanity, gambling... Coaches monitor constantly to prevent scandals. Basically parenting on personality.
“Most complaints we get are athlete assaults. They say 'just a tap,' but taps hurt normals plenty.”
“Yes. I'll be care—”
“And a key issue we must address: You went to the taekwondo dojo first and provoked them, correct?”
“Uh... yes.”
“Even consented, that can mean punishment. It slid quietly under 'skill verification,' but watch it next time.”
“......”
Cops value responsibility, integrity—mental metrics.
“And this is purely personal...”
“Yes.”
“Seeing the late-night convenience store kid grown into this? Proud as hell.”
“Ah... thanks.”
“See? Wasn't wrong about you.”
“Huh?”
“You're turning twenty this year, right? But I saw you at that store way back. When'd you start part-timing there?”
“......”
'Coach! Save me!'
Crisis in my life hit totally out of nowhere!