Full-Power KO and Sujin's Pimple Meltdown
Kim Sujin just resented the world. 'Sparring with my coach, and I'm this nervous.' Baek Sangha suppressed his tension and took slow, deep breaths. In truth, it wasn't strange at all to feel this intimidated. 'Donghu's specs are about 180cm and 81kg right now.' By Olympic standards, that put him in the heavyweight class. Meaning every single punch could pack the destructive force of getting hit by a truck. 'Pretty much the same as me—though I'm still a bit taller.' The difference was that Donghu was still growing steadily. Anyway, he'd told him to go all out against someone in a similar weight class, so—gulp. His throat tightened involuntarily, and the bell's ring echoed in his ears with agonizing slowness. Ding! Then it finally rang out, signaling the start of the round.
Out of sportsmanship, they lightly touched gloves. 'Box!' Should he start by creating some distance? As Baek Sangha raised his gaze just a fraction—whoosh. Kim Donghu vanished from his sight. It transcended the mere speed of The King. It was as if he'd hidden gunpowder in his forefoot. In an instant, Kim Donghu burrowed into his guard. 'What the hell is this speed?'
Thud! Before he could even react to the follow-up attack, a shock like an iron hammer slamming into his gut hit him. He staggered back involuntarily from the sheer power. Thank goodness he'd twisted his body just enough to dodge; otherwise, that punch would've drilled straight into his liver. 'Is this really my disciple's 100%?' There was no time to be purely shocked. He had to counter immediately. 'No sport is won by defense alone.'
Baek Sangha threw a punch. A motion honed for at least thirty years since childhood sprang from his body like it had been waiting. But—whoosh. It harmlessly grazed past thanks to Kim Donghu's shoulder roll. Unfazed, Baek Sangha pressed the attack. No sport was won by defense alone. Attack was the only key to breaking through any situation.
Huuuuh—in. He inhaled deeply, then exploded into a fierce dash. He had to overwhelm without giving a moment to think. 'Pin him into the corner of the ring.' That was the way to seal Kim Donghu's movement right now. There was no other breakthrough. Better to settle it in ultra-close range. With that conclusion, Baek Sangha summoned every ounce of strength and charged.
Whoosh. In just a few steps, Kim Donghu slipped the pressure. High guard protecting his face, eyes barely peeking out—the peek-a-boo style, once used by one of boxing's legends. 'This crazy bastard!' Then came the duck, slip, rolling. And from that motion—boom! A devastating punch. Even knowing it was coming, he couldn't block it. No, his guard shattered outright. After one clash, his forearm felt like it had burst. After two, his arm floated limply into the air.
Baek Sangha desperately tried an overhand counter, but Kim Donghu was already gone. Like no sniper fires twice from the same spot. He'd already shifted position. 'Predicting even instinctual reactions?' What was this, some comic book character? As Baek Sangha felt a ridiculous disbelief, a fist slammed straight into his solar plexus. Thump!
For the first time in his life, Baek Sangha felt what dying might be like. 'Why'd I tell him to go full power...' One to the gut. One to the solar plexus. The impact made his mind hazy, his legs gave out, and his body toppled backward from the unrelenting shock. Crash! The silver lining was Kim Donghu urgently grabbing his head to prevent a concussion.
"Coach! Coach! You okay?!"
"Ha, haha... hng... huuuh...."
His breath wouldn't come steadily, so Baek Sangha couldn't speak properly. 'Shouldn't have said full power...' In the past, he'd thought he'd raised a tiger. But after clashing once for real, he realized it wasn't raising—it was unleashing. 'Never even taught him peek-a-boo.' He should've known when Donghu flawlessly used the flicker jab in a real fight. 'Did I just get one-round KO'd by my own disciple?'
Normally, it'd be utterly humiliating. But 'Hmm... why does it feel good?' A strange sense of pride welled up. The first man to be KO'd by Kim Donghu's full 100% power. Not a bad title, he thought suddenly.
About three minutes later, when he could finally speak properly, Baek Sangha said sincerely,
"Thanks for not hitting my face."
"Even so, hitting your face felt wrong."
"...."
Hearing Kim Donghu's calm reply, Baek Sangha thought, 'You're not at 100% either, huh.' At true 100%, there'd be no reason to spare his face. Sure, he hadn't aimed there either, but strictly speaking, he'd been unable to. But his prized disciple? 'He absolutely could've landed it.' When that first effective gut shot landed, he could've followed straight to the jaw without hesitation. 'He held back.'
He was truly grateful—and a bit regretful. The title of first KO victim had just vanished before his eyes.
"Yeah, Donghu, if you'd hit my face, I'd have blacked out right then."
"Haha, blackout? Come on. Honestly, Coach, you could've taken it, right?"
"Y-yeah... uh? Hm, yeah? Ah, right, yeah. I'm your coach after all... of course!"
"I really can't keep up with your jokes, Coach."
It wasn't a joke. I really thought I was gonna pass out. 'I'm risking my life to joke around here.'
Chatting and bantering lightly with Kim Donghu like that, Baek Sangha suddenly thought, 'What about in an actual match?' When Kim Donghu went in at true 100%? For some reason, 119—the emergency number—flashed in his mind.
"Oh yeah, the September tournament's scheduled for end of the month. Your calendar good?"
"Yeah, my schedule's wide open lately, no problem."
"Good. If something comes up, let me know—acting's your main gig, after all."
"Yep, thanks."
Kim Donghu replied, thinking of his upcoming schedule. One variety show he'd really enjoyed watching before. 'Rush Man.' He hoped the name-tag ripping would be fun.
++++++
Rush Man PD Ji Yujin grinned contentedly at the upcoming shoot's planning doc.
"This is gonna be a massive hit, no doubt."
The current Rush Man cast was in a golden age, practically an invincible fleet. And the new recruits? Absolute jackpot. 'Rising star special, and we snagged Kim Donghu and Kim Sujin.' Beyond just rising stars, these two were making positive waves with their theater troupe Bonkkot. Kids their age showing their human side on Rush Man? 'Bound to explode.' No restrictions on their activity either—they were at prime running-and-playing age.
Then a sudden curiosity hit. 'Just how good is Kim Donghu at sports?' He knew a fair bit already. Pre-interviews done, tons of research. But he'd stumbled on the boxing tournament win. Youth division or not, it was a championship. 'Main job's acting, but wins boxing tourneys, rings Golden Bell...' Handsome, great personality, and that huge donation last time. Just fascinating. 'Next week, right?' He hoped filming day would hurry up.
++++++
At the same time—thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack! A delicate girl was mercilessly pounding her blanket.
"Kyaaah! Why, why?! How?!"
The girl's name was Kim Sujin. The girl juggling first love and a crush simultaneously. Right now, she was cursing the world.
"Why, I say! How could this happen?!"
No matter how she thought about it, Kim Sujin couldn't believe it. Denying reality, she dashed back to the vanity mirror. Poke.
"Aaaah!"
What was wrong? Where was the problem that caused this? A single pimple had popped up on her forehead. She went to the dermatologist monthly—how?! 'Okay, any other day, fine.' But why today of all days? No worries for Rush Man filming. It'd be gone by then, surely. But tomorrow was the issue.
Kim Sujin scowled deeply and checked KakaoTalk.
She'd finally scored a long-awaited date with Kim Donghu after mustering her courage! 'Why a pimple just hours later?!' Was it the nap? Kim Sujin just resented the world.