Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: UFC Champion VS Asiatic Black Bear
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“Go Eun-ha. From today, be my girlfriend.”
Behind the school building.
A cocky love confession flew through the thick haze of cigarette smoke from the delinquents.
My response was, of course—
“No.”
Rejection.
“What...?”
The delinquent guy's face twisted up.
He clearly hadn't expected to be turned down.
“Why not? Playing hard to get?”
“You're a thug.”
Shim Ju-wan.
A guy from the same high school.
The type far removed from studying.
He ground his teeth.
“Thug? Are you crazy?”
I get why he's mad.
It's like calling a dumbass dumb—they get scratched up about it. Same with thugs.
“Booze, smokes, motorcycles, tattoos. If that's not thug trash, what is?”
But I'm a facts guy.
I break out in hives if I can't say my piece.
“Go Eun-ha's finally causing trouble.”
“She's been acting weird lately...”
“Weird how?”
“Dunno. Something about Asiatic Black Bears and blah blah... Just weird stuff.”
The kids surrounding us started whispering.
It was a public confession.
The spot was the delinquents' post-meal hangout in the backyard.
Complete with thick loogie hocks.
“Think you're hot shit 'cause you got a bunch of Insta followers?”
“Never did.”
“And why didn't you follow me back?”
“'Cause you're a thug.”
“You fucking bitch!”
Swearing after rejection.
The pinnacle of pathetic.
Truth be told, thug or loser didn't matter.
I had no plans for dating anyway.
I'm a guy trapped in a high school girl's body.
A big dark dude clinging on? Gross.
“Fuck! Thought I'd hit it once 'cause your face is pretty! Nerd bitch doesn't know her place!”
Shim Ju-wan's face turned beet red.
Dumbass, so his swears were basic too.
Just a monkey who knew a few words, huh?
“I beat the shit outta girls all the time? Wanna find out for real?”
The guy started flipping out like a monkey robbed of its snack.
Looked ready to throw a punch.
“Right on cue, no surprises.”
I'd faced punks like Shim Ju-wan countless times in my past life.
Gym work meant dealing with thugs now and then.
Their common trait?
“Low class.”
“Shut your trap!”
Shim Ju-wan swung wildly.
To him, me being a girl didn't matter much.
Life's losers are like that.
They run on brute force logic.
Full of openings.
And me?
I'd lived by similar logic.
Except I was out in the light, not the shadows like these punks.
Whoosh!
Forward step, duck the waist.
His fist grazed past my flying long hair.
Drop the upper body to evade—the Ducking.
At the same time, big backhand swing.
Full power punch loaded with body weight arced wide.
Crack—!
“Guh...?!”
My curled middle knuckle nailed Shim Ju-wan's nose bone.
His head snapped back.
Blood from his nose immediately arced through the air.
“Kuhuk...!”
Shim Ju-wan staggered back.
Like a newborn giraffe, wobbling.
Meant solid brain damage.
I pressed forward, asking,
“You know who wins if a UFC Champion fights an Asiatic Black Bear?”
“Wha, what...?”
UFC Champion.
Height 188cm.
Weight 86kg.
Reach 196cm.
VS
Asiatic Black Bear.
Body length 180cm.
Weight 120kg.
Possesses sharp teeth and claws.
“What kinda bullshit is that outta nowhere...?”
His eyes showed confusion at the random VS quiz.
But this was a crucial debate.
At least to me.
The winner?
“The Asiatic Black Bear wins.”
“What the— ”
“Even the strongest human can't beat a bear.”
No matter the training, no matter the proof.
Humans can't beat a bear they run into out of nowhere.
Biological gap you can't cross.
“Same with you and me.”
There was that kind of difference between Shim Ju-wan and me.
Innate talent was worlds apart.
Thwack—!
Follow-up High Kick.
Instep smashed his left cheek dead-on.
Face twisted, body straightened out flat.
“Kyaak...”
He toppled stiff like a log.
“Someone drag him to the hospital.”
I dropped the advice and left.
Whispers rose behind me.
“G-Go Eun-ha beat Shim Ju-wan?”
“What the hell just happened?”
“What kinda girl swings like that savage?”
Beating Shim Ju-wan was a given.
I'm set to become a UFC Champion, after all.
Double champ in a domestic league two years after pro debut.
UFC entry in year three, 7-0 undefeated.
The guy who earned Korea's first UFC middleweight title shot.
“Mr. KO.” Go Eun-ha.
That was my past life.
I died in the dumbest accident.
Right before my UFC title fight.
Deep into camp training.
Venue was Seoul, so training there too.
I'd hike the back mountain pretty often.
Once in the morning, once at night.
That night, I was fired up and ran late.
Then I ran into it.
—Groooar!
—A bear...?
Asiatic Black Bear.
Full-grown adult.
No idea why it was prowling Seoul's back hills.
Probably escaped from a nearby zoo.
Didn't matter.
I met a starving bear,
And a nearby family was in danger of getting hunted.
—Run!
I fought the bear.
Better me than a family massacre.
Honestly, I had confidence.
My skills were at their peak.
No match in my weight class.
Could I take a bear barehanded?
—Groooaaarrr!!
The bear was a bear.
Thick skull—strikes didn't faze it.
Takedown was my only shot.
Drag it to the ground, I'd have a chance.
Bears don't know jiu-jitsu.
But.
—This flexible?
No joint locks worked on the bear.
Muscles way softer than they looked.
After that bloody brawl, I came to.
As a high school girl.
Just like that.
Reincarnation? Possession?
Dunno the details.
Name stayed the same, everything else changed.
Family, school, age, even gender.
Maybe a parallel me?
But why a girl, of all things?
I look at my hands.
Long, slender fingers.
Skin so soft and white.
Unforgivable for a total dudebro.
Not just hands.
First mirror glimpse shocked me.
Way too pretty for no reason.
Beauty hard to describe.
Features pretty, sure,
But the harmony in that face? Unreal.
Stare and you zone out.
Three seconds in, time slows.
Breeze blows, surroundings sparkle like an illusion.
Hate to say it myself, but I'm a face genius.
No wonder everyone's staring.
Gazes are blatant.
Walk the street, all ages and genders gawk.
Same at school.
Students, teachers—everyone.
Body's killer too.
Cup my chest with both hands.
Soft, squishy feel.
Slight overflow from my grip.
Born to be an actress or idol level.
Then someone grabbed my wrist from the side.
Snap!
“She's groping her boobs in class again.”
Pyo Hye-in.
Go Eun-ha's close friend as a high schooler.
She looked at me with worried eyes.
“Go Eun-ha. You really okay?”
“Huh?”
“You've been off the last few days. Groping in class, bolting at pork stir-fry lunch... And you fought Shim Ju-wan today?”
“I won.”
“You think winning matters right now?”
“Then what does?”
I tilt my head, and Pyo Hye-in sighs.
Like she can't believe it.
“I just can't figure out what you're thinking.”
“Thinking about Asiatic Black Bears.”
“That bear crap again?”
“Gotta find a way to beat it.”
“Why obsess over beating a bear? When would you even fight one?”
Fight a bear?
Probably never again.
Just that the past fight ain't over.
Defeat's not the end.
Defeat's just process.
Why lose? How to win? Best strategy?
Endless thought.
Only ends when you get a satisfying answer.
That's a champion's fight.
“Quit the bear talk before we drag you to the hospital.”
“Nah. I don't give up.”
My fight's still going.
Asiatic Black Bear.
Won't stop till I dominate you, even in imagination.
“Snap out of it. How's a girl gonna beat a bear? A guy, maybe.”
“Ugh...”
Pyo Hye-in's words stabbed my heart.
Of course, simulated me's a guy.
Past life's Go Eun-ha.
What can a girl's body do?
Beat cafeteria thugs, sure. That's the limit.
Even I couldn't beat a bear as a woman.
“Why the long face? You sick?”
“Nah... Just hungry...”
“You scarfed two bags of bread.”
Sudden gloom hit me.
I dreamed of becoming the ultimate man.
Why end up a girl?
“C'mon, cheer up. Post on Insta or something.”
“Don't do Insta.”
“Why not? Your fans are waiting.”
“Fans?”
“Yeah. Your followers.”
I have fans?
Makes sense.
With this face, bound to have some.
Wonder how original Go Eun-ha lived.
Suddenly curious about high school Go Eun-ha's life.
Seemed Insta was big for her.
Shim Ju-wan mentioned it earlier.
Said I had lots of followers.
How many could it be?
Just a high school girl anyway.
Past life's me hit 200k.
Decent for a fighter.
189k exactly.
Champ would've blown up way more.
Whatever.
Truth? Macho guys like me don't care about follower counts.
Numbers don't measure a man's worth.
Same for high school Go Eun-ha's followers.
Many or few, irrelevant.
Just bored, gonna check.
Open the app, check the page.
“Tw-two hundred thirty-eight thousand?!”
Forty-nine thousand more than past life's me.
“Go Eun-ha. You okay?”
“...”
Faced with unbelievable reality, I froze like a statue for a while.
