What Should We Do From Now On?
What should we do from now on? During the early stages of the match, when Kim Donghu was only throwing jabs, Baek Sangha had thought it was just nerves.
He's way different from our sparring sessions.
He wondered if it was because the opponent was different, leading to such passive movement. Kim Donghu was throwing jabs so straightforwardly. Of course, even that alone was enough to pressure his opponent and push him into a defensive corner.
Hold on—enough with just jabs?
At that moment, Baek Sangha instantly understood why Kim Donghu was operating the fight that way. Shin Yerim, who was filming the sparring, Kim Sansu—Kim Donghu's opponent—and even Geumjin, the referee watching the judge's table, none of them grasped why Kim Donghu was doing this. In a way, it was a truth only Baek Sangha, who had observed him for so long, could reach.
They'll think it's because he's young and naive.
But that wasn't it.
He's deliberately not knocking him down.
It was blatant intent. By only throwing jabs, he was relentlessly draining his opponent's stamina, letting him cling to false hope until the end, then watching his desperate flailing—a ruthlessly cruel strategy. That's why jabs. Straight punches, hooks, and uppercuts could drop him in an instant. Only jabs could slowly kill him, and it continued right up until the end of the first round.
Then, just before the bell.
He deliberately left an opening for a counter, waited for the opponent to come, and nailed a perfectly timed reverse shot. It was a design on the level of art.
"...I’d love to chat more, but the situation won’t allow it."
Baek Sangha snapped out of his thoughts at Geumjin’s words.
Right, yeah.
This wasn’t the time to marvel at his disciple’s skill and savor every moment of the match.
The mood’s off.
He wanted to replay the recording and point out the praiseworthy details second by second. But with his junior disciple about to soil himself and collapse, handling the current mess took priority.
"Middle schoolers dominating high schoolers like this is so rare..."
Geumjin trailed off, spilling words haphazardly as he tried to make sense of it.
"We knew there was a skill gap to some extent, but creating this result feels like there was some intent mixed in..."
And woven into that was a hint of resentment toward Kim Donghu. Even in sparring, he’d gone too hard. Baek Sangha had no defense for that and was about to apologize—right then.
"That’s not it! He started it—he picked the fight first!"
Yerim cut off Baek Sangha’s apology preemptively.
"They trash-talked first, making it impossible not to get emotional!"
Before filming the sparring, they’d done a camera test. Who knew it would pay off like this? Shin Yerim rewound the footage to the part where Kim Sansu provoked Kim Donghu. Only feet were visible on screen, faces blurred, but it was clear enough to infer the situation perfectly.
"...."
Now Geumjin was the one in an awkward spot. Baek Sangha quickly gathered his kids and hustled out of the gym.
Our junior’s got a real nasty temper.
Provoked, lost the spar, and now humiliated.
That guy’s done for.
Baek Sangha prayed for Kim Sansu’s soul.
After the minor commotion from the sparring ended, time flew by until the airing of Ilsik episode 10.
Kim Donghu’s diehard fan Ji Eunbi, 18, sat glued to the TV waiting for Ilsik.
Donghu oppa’s almost done appearing now.
Even if the character knew nothing beyond the script’s “si,” she knew the story was reaching the point where the child actor would no longer appear. Plus, the plot had turned gravely serious. They’d become lovers, promised marriage, and were ready to embrace the future together—right at that moment, his partner suddenly suffered mysterious agony, forcing the crown prince to watch his other half slowly fade away, his sorrow deepening.
"Oh, here it comes."
And today was the peak of that sorrow. The endless opening ads finally ended, and Ilsik episode 10 began. The first shot: Kim Donghu’s desolate face. He synced so perfectly with the role that distinguishing actor from character was pointless.
"...Do you intend to forget our promise and leave me first like this?"
The first emotion shown was resentment. Watching his partner die without being able to do a thing, he demands why she’s there, urges her to get up quickly.
"I’m sorry, Your Highness."
But all that returns is an apology.
"...It’s because I’m so worthless."
The static frame shows only Kim Donghu and Kim Sujin up close. No fancy directing—just their eyes conveying everything to each other.
"Forget a ungrateful wretch like me quickly and start anew, Your Highness."
Tears naturally stream down Kim Donghu’s face at those words. How can you say that? How can you utter it so easily? Forget? How am I supposed to forget? Tears spill endlessly in place of those thoughts.
A brief silence. Kim Donghu catches his breath, his words coming out strained.
"Even with my eyes closed, I can picture you. That means I can