The Crash Begins
The great crash began with something utterly trivial.
It started as a rumor.
A policy risk out of the United States. Word spread across social media that the SEC might shut down several major exchanges.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had often signaled tighter crypto regulations before, but a rumor that they might actually close exchanges was a first.
At the same time, rumors of a U.S. interest-rate hike and a global exchange hack flared up together.
The timing of those two rare pieces of bad news coinciding was uncanny.
The coin market began to shake violently, and soon the first symptoms of panic selling appeared.
It started with the newer, barely established coins, then even the ones with decent name recognition began to wobble hard and fast.
And at the decisive moment, the real disaster struck.
‘Tora,’ which had climbed as high as seventh in market capitalization, could not withstand the panic selling and collapsed completely.
It had survived several crises before by the skin of its teeth.
This time it plummeted straight into the abyss.
The incident had already inflicted more than twenty-five trillion won in losses worldwide and was delivering a massive shock to the entire cryptocurrency market.
When I finished explaining, Junseok stared blankly at the articles on his smartphone. Then he looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Tora delisted… is this real?”
I nodded with a bitter smile.
“Yeah. The one that used to sit inside the top seven by market cap. They rebranded it as ‘Neo Tora’ this time, but it still went under. The DeFi-linked tokens blew up in a chain reaction. Right now every coin is sitting on the floor.”
“Crazy… this is basically the Lehman Brothers of the crypto world, isn’t it?”
“Pretty much.”
“…Thank god. Seriously.”
Junseok stared blankly at the ceiling and muttered under his breath.
“For what?”
“Last night my hands were itching. The swings were huge, so I figured I could make a real killing. But for some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to touch it.”
“That was your instincts saving you.”
After a short pause I looked at him and continued.
“Are you still going to keep trading coins?”
“Of course. You think it’ll stay down forever? It’ll rebound for sure. That’s when we strike.”
Junseok’s eyes widened as he answered.
“That’s true. It’ll go up eventually. But you can’t hold out in your current condition. You’ll die of malnutrition before then.”
“Well…”
Junseok bit his lip slightly. For a long time he couldn’t answer me.
“I’ve got a good idea, though.”
I stared at him for a moment before speaking again.
“Hmm? A good idea? What is it?”
Junseok looked at me with open curiosity.
I took the subway back to Seoul.
I had originally planned to touch coins that afternoon, but with this mess I would have to sit on the sidelines for a while.
I thought about working in the basement, but the materials I ordered weren’t due until Monday.
When I got off the subway it was four in the afternoon.
An awkward hour.
“In that case…”
I thought of the MMA Gangcheolgwan Gym that sat on the way home.
A quick look around wouldn’t hurt.
And if I liked it, I was ready to start training. Learning with others would be far easier and more effective than teaching myself.
Facing those loan-shark thugs the other day had driven the point home: if I hadn’t used the environment, I would have struggled badly.
I needed a body that could win no matter the conditions.
After about ten minutes of walking, the gym on the fourth floor came into view in the distance.
I headed straight for it without hesitation.
I climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. The gym door stood wide open and voices poured out without pause.
I peeked inside. The distinctive smell of sweat and the thick, humid air greeted me first.
I looked around with genuine interest.
Sandbags stood in a row in one corner. On the far wall, under the large sign that read MMA Gangcheolgwan, hung photographs of various tournament victories.
The owner must have been quite famous once.
Thud. Thud-thud!
“Ugh!”
Heavy impact sounds and a groan came from deeper inside.
Curiosity pulled me farther in. On the mat two young men were sparring fiercely while the people watching them cheered.
“Oh~ Nice! Hongrok! You’re throwing those fists well today.”
Someone standing right beside me suddenly bellowed.
The voice was thunderous.
I flinched and stepped sideways.
When did he get this close?
The owner of the voice looked well over six feet, built of solid muscle, with fierce eyes that somehow still carried a playful edge.
He stood with his arms crossed, looking down at me.
The pressure was considerable.
“So who are you? Here to register? Or a former pro? You sure as hell don’t look like a regular civilian.”
He stared straight through me. I dipped my head slightly.
“I came to learn some martial arts.”
“What did you train before?”
“Nothing specific.”
“What?”
He squinted in mild surprise, then suddenly planted a hand on my shoulder. His eyes went wide.
“Whoa… what is this? What the hell is this?”
He ran his hands over my arms, shoulders, and chest, letting out a stream of admiring noises.
“All natural? This body is no joke. Where are you lying? You might fool other people, but you can’t fool me!”
His eyes flashed as he shouted.
What a boisterous personality.
Members nearby stopped hitting the mitts and glanced our way.
It was embarrassing, but he wasn’t wrong.
Ever since the brain anomaly, my body had been approaching perfection without any special training.
The owner thrust out his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the owner of Gangcheolgwan.”
“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Noh Hoojin.”
“Noh Hoojin? Name as unique as mine! Hahaha!”
He slapped my shoulder and roared with laughter.
Huh? Name? Ah—Gangcheolgwan was his actual name?
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-three.”
“Perfect age! Great! Today we warm up lightly, then full training starts tomorrow!”
He threw an arm around my shoulders and tried to haul me inside.
“…Excuse me?”
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you come here to learn?”
He narrowed his brow slightly.
His intense presence pressed down on me. If I refused outright, I might not leave with my bones intact.
“That’s true, but for today I’ll just look around. I’ll register soon.”
“Sure, sure! Think of it as home and look around freely! Hahaha!”
I walked slowly through the gym.
On one side a member in boxing gloves worked punch combinations. On the other, people built base fitness with bodyweight drills.
On the mat they were teaching various ground techniques. I figured I could handle that much already.
The real advantage here was being able to clash bodies with actual opponents.
I couldn’t keep training against imaginary enemies forever.
Definitely better to start coming to a gym.
He had told me to look around freely, yet the owner still trailed me, quietly selling how excellent and impressive his gym was.
A truly unique owner.
I stayed quite a while.
I had questions of my own, and he had plenty about me. He did his best to answer every one.
This place passed.
It looked like a solid training ground where I could test my physical abilities head-on.
“Thanks for letting me look around. I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Mmm! You’re welcome anytime.”
He patted my shoulder.
It almost felt like I was the one who needed permission.
Interesting guy.
By the time I got home it was already evening.
My younger brother was clattering around the kitchen, deep in dinner prep.
The smell that hit me was spicy yet sweet. My mouth started watering. I hadn’t had a proper meal all day.
“Where have you been running around since dawn?”
Beomjin scraped the high-heat osam bulgogi—squid and pork belly—onto a plate and set it on the table.
Side dishes, garlic, lettuce, and the rest were already laid out.
“It’s a long story.”
I let out a short sigh and sat down quickly.
“I’m starving. Let’s eat first. Rice, now.”
He clicked his tongue and filled a bowl with steaming fresh rice.
I piled meat and squid onto a big leaf of lettuce, dipped garlic in doenjang, added a generous scoop of rice, and wrapped it all up.
My mouth nearly burst, but the longer I chewed the more the flavors blended into something deep and rich.
“Oh, this is good.”
I kept muttering praise while wrapping and devouring one after another.
Only after two full bowls of rice and the last of the osam bulgogi did my chopsticks finally slow.
I had eaten like I forgot how to breathe.
“Phew!”
Only then did I catch my breath.
“Did you starve today?”
We had eaten without a single word of conversation, yet Beomjin poured water without complaint and pushed the glass toward me.
“Hey. That was seriously good. Just open a restaurant already. Business would boom.”
“Forget it. Restaurants aren’t that easy.”
“As long as the food’s good, right?”
He shook his head and roughly cleared the table.
A moment later:
“Hyung.”
“Beomjin.”
We called each other at the exact same time.
Our eyes met. Beomjin jerked his chin.
“You first, hyung.”
“Okay. I’ll be direct. I need your help with something. You’re freeloading at my place, so you’ve got to earn your keep, right?”
“What do I need to help with?”
He narrowed his eyes at my bluntness.
“Soon we’ll have a new family member.”
“New family member?”
“Yeah. Ryu Junseok, a college friend. In a week…”
“You have a friend, hyung?”
He cut me off, looking mildly shocked.
What does he take me for…
“…Anyway, he’ll move into our place in a week. Your job is just one thing. Once a day. Just cook him good meals.”
“What does that even mean.”
He frowned.
I had stripped out every bit of context, so of course he couldn’t follow.
“Well… he’s, how do I put it. A person with zero appetite?”
“Zero appetite?”
“Yeah. He almost died of malnutrition. He’s in the hospital right now.”
“Whoa.”
Beomjin made a dumbfounded face and exhaled.
The reaction was only natural.
In this day and age, how many people almost die of malnutrition?
True, dramas and movies sometimes show people with anorexia.
But this was a different situation entirely.
Especially for a brother who treated food like a religion, it had to be a shock.
“Your mission is to help Junseok get his appetite back. He’s fragile, so take good care of him.”
“Oho?”
Suddenly his eyes changed.
They looked like the determined eyes of a chef challenging for the throne on a cooking variety show. I could almost see flames roaring in his pupils.
“I feel competitive all of a sudden?”
“Suddenly?”
The unexpected reaction left me slightly flustered.
“Not knowing the joy of eating is the most dangerous opponent for cooks like us. And at the same time, the one we absolutely have to defeat.”
He clenched both fists, radiating fierce resolve.
“Th-that far…”
“Tell him to come quick. My food is better than hospital food. What kind of dishes does he like? Ah—maybe he doesn’t have any favorites? Better start light. Too heavy would be a burden. Salads might work? Porridge wouldn’t be bad either…”
“Um… Beomjin?”