Editing Out the Villain
Kim Chun-sik and one lucky athlete were having a warm, friendly sparring session. They tapped gloves, traded light blows... It was a heartwarming scene filled with friendly banter: "Ah, you should do it like this here, Chun-sik," and "As expected of a veteran, haha!" Chun-sik smiled, the production crew smiled, and the athlete who got on camera smiled. Meanwhile, the other athletes who hadn't been chosen jeered from the sidelines.
"Boo!"
"What kind of movement is that?! I didn't teach you to fight like that!"
"Just retire already! You're completely washed up!"
"Let's... edit that audio out."
At the producer's words, the crew nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, a chilling, murderous aura was emanating from another corner of the gym.
"Hey, old man. I don't know if I'm just imagining things, but is that guy over there glaring at me?"
Tae-hyun pointed at Kim Sang-cheol, who was standing on the opposite side of the ring, and asked Yang Sung-gyu.
"Yeah. He is."
"I have so many haters these days that it's hard to keep track. Did I do something to him?"
"No. You didn't do anything to him."
"Really? Then why is he acting like that? Is he always that hostile?"
"It's more like... well... because you're doing so well..."
"Don't tell me it's because I'm incredibly successful, and everyone from you to the other athletes here likes me, which hurt his pride and made him explode with jealousy?"
Tae-hyun had pierced right to the core of the matter in a single sentence! Yang Sung-gyu shook his head inwardly. Usually, this punk was completely oblivious to other people's feelings, but the moment someone became his opponent, he had an uncanny knack for reading their exact thoughts.
"...Well, you're not wrong."
"Tsk, tsk. His mental discipline is severely lacking."
"He's actually quite good, you know? He was doing perfectly fine until you showed up, you punk! Why did you have to come here and trigger the poor kid!"
"How is that my fault?"
"Anyway, I'm sorry."
Yang Sung-gyu smacked his lips and apologized. After all, Kim Sang-cheol was a kid he was personally training.
"Haha. Don't make that apology just yet."
"?"
Yang Sung-gyu tilted his head at Tae-hyun's warning to hold the apology. But as the true meaning of those words dawned on him, his face turned pale.
"...Hey! Hey!! Go easy on him!"
"Oh, I plan to go easy... but only if my opponent does. Don't you agree? He's a professional athlete making a living here, so how could I insult him by holding back? That would be disrespectful. Besides, wasn't it your teaching to always give it your all?"
"That teaching is for everyone else, not you! You need to hold back!"
But Tae-hyun was already plugging his ears. Yang Sung-gyu's anxiety began to spike rapidly.
"I'm really curious to see how good Kim Tae-hyun is. Honestly, when people think of pro gamers, they usually imagine someone far removed from physical athleticism, right?"
"That's true, but just looking at Kim Tae-hyun's build..."
Ignoring the idle chatter of the broadcast crew behind him, Kim Sang-cheol's eyes burned with determination. He wasn't underestimating his opponent. Having trained at this gym for a long time and hearing what his seniors said, he knew Tae-hyun definitely had some skills.
But there's no way he's better than me!
With the signal to begin, Kim Sang-cheol lunged forward. Closing the distance in the blink of an eye with rapid footwork, he threw a sharp one-two!
Thud, thud, thud!
A crisp sound echoed through the gym. Although they were wearing headgear and gloves, there was bound to be a significant impact when throwing punches with full intent.
"??"
Kim Sang-cheol was startled.
What? He just took that head-on?
He had thrown a light probe, expecting Tae-hyun to dodge, but the punches landed cleanly. Sang-cheol immediately shifted gears. He unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, leaving no room to breathe.
"Sang-cheol! Stop while you're ahead!"
"You're going to get yourself killed!"
The sincere warnings of his seniors echoed from behind, but they failed to reach Sang-cheol's ears.
The producer was the one panicking. He turned to Yang Sung-gyu and asked, "Is this really okay? Shouldn't we stop them? Kim Tae-hyun is going to get hurt!"
To the producer's eyes, it looked like a professional athlete was brutally beating up a helpless amateur.
"Who's getting hurt...? Just shut up and watch."
Whoosh—
Finishing blow!
Kim Sang-cheol aimed a decisive strike right at Tae-hyun's chin. After taking such a beating, a clean hit to a vital point would surely buckle his knees and send him straight to the canvas.
"Huh?"
However, he felt no impact on his glove. Instead, a low, calm voice drifted into his ears.
"Are you done?"
A shiver ran down his spine!
Seized by sudden dread, Kim Sang-cheol tried to back away immediately, but a devastating impact slammed into his body before he could move.
"Urgh!"
A perfectly executed body blow. Kim Sang-cheol's body folded forward into a perfect right angle.
This is impossible...!
Normally, body blows required repeated accumulation to deal significant damage. They weren't meant to take someone's breath away in a single strike! Furthermore, they were wearing sparring gloves much thicker than usual, yet the impact was this agonizing.
"Oh, boy!"
"It's over!"
"That idiot! I told him to stop while he was ahead!"
The groans of his seniors finally began to register in his ringing ears.
As the professional athlete stumbled from a single blow, the producer asked in utter bewilderment, "W-what just happened?"
"What else? Tae-hyun was just playing with him."
Yang Sung-gyu sighed and began to explain. While Kim Sang-cheol had been eagerly rushing in, Tae-hyun had been deflecting and slipping every single punch. He had completely read Sang-cheol's movements. Then, the exact moment Sang-cheol inhaled, Tae-hyun delivered a precise counter to the liver!
"Normally, getting hit there doesn't do much damage, especially for someone as well-conditioned as Sang-cheol. But if you hit the exact spot at the exact microsecond they inhale, it completely shuts down the body."
"No way...!"
The producer nodded, deeply impressed.
Wait, more importantly, how does a pro gamer even know stuff like that?
At this point, he seemed less like a pro gamer and more like a professional martial artist!
Seeing the producer's awe, Yang Sung-gyu continued his explanation. It was always a pleasure to witness and explain such high-level techniques in real life!
However, the producer's jaw dropped, and he began to stammer, seemingly overwhelmed by the explanation.
"U-uh, wait..."
"Hey, the advanced stuff hasn't even started yet. Why are you so amazed already—"
"S-shouldn't we stop them?!"
"I told you, Tae-hyun is perfectly fine... Wait!"
Yang Sung-gyu whipped his head around. If someone was shouting to stop the fight, there was only one person who could be in danger.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Kim Sang-cheol was being systematically pulverized.
"Who said you could fall? Stand up, you punk!"
Tae-hyun held up Sang-cheol, whose knees were buckling, propping him up with his own body just to pummel him again! Watching this, the senior athletes shook their heads in horror.
"H-his eyes have gone wild again!"
"That absolute maniac!"
"And he said he'd go easy! What a complete piece of trash!"
Before the fight, he had been all smiles, saying, "Haha, I'll go easy," and "Haha, he's my senior, how could I hit him hard?" But the moment the bell rang, his eyes flipped, and he went feral. It was terrifying.
Rattle, rattle, rattle—
Kim Se-hyeong, who had been grinning and thrilled to see the broadcast crew earlier, was now shaking like a leaf. He really was holding back against me earlier!
"S-Su-hyeok. I think I'm going to head out now... so please tell senior Tae-hyun that—"
"How could I possibly say anything to him?! I'm not saying a word!"
Jeong Su-hyeok, who used to be so obedient, flatly refused with a deadpan face!
"Why are you being so cold?!"
In the meantime, Yang Sung-gyu quickly climbed into the ring and smacked the back of Tae-hyun's head.
"Stop it, you crazy punk!"
"Ah. Hey, old man."
"Don't 'hey' me! Seriously, you absolute menace! Do you not know the meaning of moderation?!"
"Haha. Do you want to make that apology again now?"
"Get out of the ring!"
Watching Yang Sung-gyu drag Tae-hyun out of the ring by his ear, the producer muttered quietly, "Yeah... let's edit this out."
What the producer had wanted was a scene of Tae-hyun putting up a valiant fight against a professional athlete. Even if winning was impossible, if he did his best to hold his ground, the other athletes or Gym Director Yang Sung-gyu would naturally chime in with praise like, "Tae-hyun is really good. For a regular guy, he's amazing!" That would have made for a perfect broadcast narrative. A guy who was great at gaming and great at sports... a character that perfectly matched his handsome, athletic appearance.
But this was... a bit much.
Holding up a semi-conscious professional athlete just to keep pummeling him was definitely not the vibe. No matter how you looked at it, Tae-hyun was the villain here!
"Is there any way we can spin this positively?"
"Are you crazy? How do you expect us to package that? Just cut it. Cut the whole thing."
"Kim Tae-hyun appeared on another broadcast?"
"I'm telling you, he did. I was so shocked when they contacted me out of the blue."
"Ah. When I met that producer, I did mention Kim Tae-hyun. I knew he liked Pan-On, so I suggested they do something together."
"Did you really, my dear niece? You truly are brilliant."
Lee Se-yeon was currently talking to Lee Dong-pal. Dong-pal, who had received the call from the producer, was full of admiration. His niece was practically bringing business right to their doorstep!
The producer who had called had showered Tae-hyun with praise. Of course, it was likely driven by a desire to secure a Pan-On collaboration, but surely not all of that praise was empty flattery.
"He told me to contact him the moment Kim Tae-hyun starts living on his own so they can cast him immediately. He even recommended a sports variety show that would be perfect for him."
"I figured Kim Tae-hyun would be good at sports."
Se-yeon nodded in agreement. After all, he had the perfect athletic build for it.
"But he also mentioned that we might need to keep him on a tight leash. I have no idea what he meant by that, though."
"?"
Both of them tilted their heads, unable to comprehend the producer's warning.
"Well, whatever it means, it sounds like they liked him, so it can't be bad. I was planning to send him on more shows anyway, so this is perfect. If he's athletic, he'll do great there too."
"Uh... but did Kim Tae-hyun actually agree to go on that show?"
"I haven't told him yet, but why wouldn't he? It's incredibly popular. Other people would die for a chance to appear on it."
Se-yeon was about to say, I don't think Kim Tae-hyun would care about that, but she stopped herself. Speaking up would only bring her unnecessary headaches.
"I suppose so!"
"Right? Anyway, my dear niece. Only the grand finals are left for the tournament, right? How do you think it'll go?"
"It's going to be tough. Fifty-fifty, maybe?"
Se-yeon sighed as she answered. Only the grand finals remained. And their opponents in the finals were none other than another Korean representative team, Team Eight. Because of this, the international community was already buzzing with reactions.
"Fifty-fifty? Why is that?"
"Our opponents have been meticulously hiding their true strength on their way up. You can tell just by watching them play. They've definitely kept several key skills under wraps. Meanwhile, we..."
Se-yeon shrugged.
"Is that Do Dong-su fellow causing trouble again?"
"It's not just Do Dong-su. We literally have zero teamwork..."
"That's so strange. To me and the rest of the audience, your teamwork looked absolutely incredible."
On the surface, they indeed looked like a well-oiled machine executing a highly sophisticated strategy!
"That's exactly why it's so absurd—because it somehow ends up looking that way! Kim Tae-hyun doesn't plan any of that. He doesn't care about his image at all, yet people just naturally interpret everything he does in the best possible light... Ugh, seriously. And his relationship with Do Dong-su is only getting worse. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only one on the team actually stressing over this."
Se-yeon grumbled, venting her frustration. Dong-pal chuckled inwardly. It was rare for his near-perfect niece to show this much raw emotion.
"We might have some hidden skills of our own, but our weakness is far too glaring. It's not something we can hide."
Their complete lack of teamwork. It was a fatal flaw that would be incredibly easy to exploit if the enemy caught on. They had managed to scrape by so far through bizarre strategies and sheer luck, but would that really work in the grand finals? Especially when their opponents would have thoroughly analyzed all of their previous matches and would be giving it their absolute all?
"Then shouldn't the odds be worse than fifty-fifty? It sounds like it'll be a much harder uphill battle."
"...Well, we have Kim Tae-hyun, so that brings it back up to fifty-fifty."