I'm the One Who's Hurt
I already knew Do Jeong-hyeok’s body was sturdy.
But learning the martial arts of the Iron Mountain Old Monster required more than mere toughness.
He needs pain tolerance as well.
So where to begin?
“Do Jeong-hyeok.”
“Yes.”
“From now on, you won’t attend regular classes. You’ll only receive my teachings.”
“Understood!”
The fact that Baek Yu-yeon had abandoned every regular class was already famous across campus. Do Jeong-hyeok had secretly hoped Kang Hyun would take exclusive care of him too—and that wish had just been granted on the spot.
Simply because he was a disciple.
The problem was—
“……”
Even though it was already nine, the group still hadn’t left.
“What are you lot doing?”
“Professor, you said it yourself.”
Cha Yu-sik spoke for them all.
“If anything blocks us, we can come to you anytime.”
“……You’re already stuck?”
“I’m not attending regular classes starting today either. I’ll train right beside you, Professor. The moment something blocks me, I’ll ask on the spot.”
Kwak Do-jin and Yoon Hyun-jong stepped forward next.
“Same here!”
“Credits don’t matter. My midterm scores are solid enough that I won’t get expelled anyway.”
They had already learned the hard way: a hundred hours of lectures from the academy’s regular professors were worth less than one extra word from Kang Hyun.
“I-I’ll stay too.”
“……Me as well.”
Even Han Tae-ho and Seo Hae-in had made up their minds.
Hmm.
Kang Hyun closed his eyes for a moment. He had long sensed their impatience and sense of exclusion, and he had no desire to ignore it.
You have no idea what kind of hell awaits once you become my disciples.
Under the name of training, their bones and flesh would be torn. When the Demon God eventually appeared, they would have to stand at the very front and risk their lives. There would be no running to safety—because if they did, they would die by Kang Hyun’s own hand.
The privilege he offered was simply the price for that future.
“Do as you like.”
Kang Hyun answered indifferently and jerked his chin at Do Jeong-hyeok.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
With a sharp leap, Kang Hyun shot toward a peak of Bukhansan, stopping before a suitably sized boulder he had already marked.
“Starting today, you will smash this rock with your bare fists.”
“……With bare fists?”
Do Jeong-hyeok swallowed hard. His body had been tough since childhood, but not tough enough to pulverize stone with bare hands.
“This is the foundation of external arts. At the very least, you must become harder than rock. Climb up every day and strike it. The day you finish destroying it, we move on.”
Whoosh—
With those final words, Kang Hyun vanished.
Do Jeong-hyeok stood dazed for a moment, then tore off his upper clothes. He had decided to trust, so he would follow to the end.
“Hoo—”
He exhaled long and low, rooted his lower body, and drove his fist into the rock without hesitation.
Thud! Thuuud!
The brutal sound of bone meeting solid stone rang out.
“Crazy.”
Kwak Do-jin stuck out his tongue in disbelief.
“……He just leaves us like this? What are we supposed to do?”
There was nothing they could say. The professor had told them to do as they pleased—he had never told them to follow.
Cha Yu-sik’s eyes, however, grew still and deep.
Is this it? The training method the professor wants?
He had said he wouldn’t take disciples because they were still weak. Cha Yu-sik was beginning to understand what that meant. Right now, none of them could endure such crude training.
No. Who decided that? I can do it too!
Shiiing—
Cha Yu-sik drew his sword and took position in front of a similarly sized boulder near Do Jeong-hyeok.
“Cha? What are you doing?”
Kwak Do-jin asked, puzzled. Cha Yu-sik tightened his grip.
“I’m going to try as well.”
He had to defeat Do Jeong-hyeok. He had to become Kang Hyun’s disciple. And for that, anything the other could do, he had to be able to do as well. Only then could he win in a spar.
“That so? Then I can’t lose either.”
Clang—
Kwak Do-jin drew his own sword. That became the signal. Yoon Hyun-jong, Seo Hae-in, and Han Tae-ho all seized their weapons and lined up before the rock face.
“Fine, whatever!”
“Let’s do this!”
“Aja-aja-aja!”
And so the six cadets’ unauthorized training began.
After descending the mountain, Kang Hyun went straight to the dean’s office.
“Professor Kang, you’re here.”
Seo Il-hyun greeted him with open delight.
“You called for me?”
“Ahem. Do you remember the exchange match I mentioned last time?”
“The Global Exchange?”
“Yes. Before the main event, we run a preliminary exchange program with academies that have sister relationships with us. Something like a short-term exchange student arrangement.”
“I see.”
“This time it’s Mongolia Academy’s turn to come to us.”
Mongolia ranked higher than South Korea—roughly mid-tier on the global scale. It was a reminder of just how weak Korea still was on the world stage.
“Understood. So why call me?”
“Clear some time and prepare. Mongolia is sending their top ten from each year, and of course our own year-top tens will participate. I’d like you to take command of the students.”
“Me?”
Kang Hyun’s brow furrowed.
“This is an official inter-nation exchange. Wouldn’t it look better for Head Professor Jin Myeong-hoon to step forward rather than a contract professor like me?”
“I’m asking you as a favor. Right now every year-top is one of your students. Do you really think they’ll obediently follow Professor Jin’s orders?”
There was more. Exchange matches always involved fierce posturing and psychological warfare between the professors. Mongolia’s faculty, in particular, were known for their rough, aggressive presence.
Jin Myeong-hoon greeting them?
Seo Il-hyun shook his head. Jin would definitely be overwhelmed and looked down upon.
But Kang Hyun?
He would never be pushed back.
“Please. I’m begging you. Do you know how much I suffered handling that land deal last time? Can’t you do this one clean favor for me?”
“Hmm.”
Kang Hyun let out a short sigh. Might as well use the chance to size up Mongolia’s talent.
“I won’t do it for free.”
“Oh?”
Color returned to Seo Il-hyun’s face.
“You’ll really take it? Excellent! I wouldn’t send you empty-handed either! Tell me what you want!”
“Later, when I ask for one favor, don’t ask questions—just grant it cleanly.”
“What kind of favor?”
“I don’t know yet myself.”
As long as he stayed at the academy, there would be plenty of times he needed the dean’s authority. Might as well bank one debt.
“Fine. If it’s something within my power, I’ll do it!”
Coming down from the mountain, Cha Yu-sik’s hands trembled violently.
Cut a boulder with a sword.
Easy to say. Reality was merciless. The rock was so hard it didn’t even take a scratch; the impact rebounded instead, making his grip feel as if it would tear apart.
Damn it.
Do Jeong-hyeok was clearly different. His fists were gouging deep pits into the stone. Seo Hae-in had at least managed shallow cracks across the surface. Everyone else? Complete failure. Zero results.
Is this really a talent gap? Me, Cha Yu-sik, lacking talent?
He was the top of the 19th batch at an academy that gathered only the nation’s best. He had always been praised for his talent, so the self-loathing hit even harder.
He was walking blankly toward the dormitory when—
Ziiing!
The smartphone in his pocket vibrated.
“Yes, Father.”
“I heard about your first place in the midterms. Good work.”
“Thank you.”
“How far have you progressed in the Emperor’s Sword Form?”
Cha Yu-sik’s breath caught in his throat.
How far…?
He hadn’t even reached the first star. He had been grinding only the Changgung Muae Sword Technique the entire time. The road ahead was still long.
“……I’m still laying the foundation.”
A short sigh came through the receiver.
“Your brother has already reached the second star.”
“……”
“Don’t rest on first place in the midterms. Attend the professors’ classes only as much as necessary and focus solely on the Emperor’s Sword Form. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Click.
The call ended. Cha Yu-sik stood frozen in place.
Brother’s already at the second star.
More than anything else, that fact made him frantic. Was this really the time to be smashing rocks with a sword just to beat Do Jeong-hyeok? Shouldn’t he be mastering the Emperor’s Sword Form as fast as possible?
“Cha.”
Someone clapped him on the shoulder from behind. It was Kwak Do-jin. They hadn’t even exchanged greetings before, but after Kang Hyun’s classes they had grown close at lightning speed.
“Senior Kwak.”
“What’s with that face? Our always-haughty Cha looking like that?”
Kwak Do-jin was clutching his own right wrist; he hadn’t left a single mark on the rock either.
“Is your wrist okay?”
“Nah. Gonna hit the infirmary later for a needle. You know how popular the place got after Baek Yu-yeon started working there.”
“……”
Kwak Do-jin sensed that Cha Yu-sik’s mood was even heavier than usual, so he spoke.
“Wanna grab a drink?”
“Excuse me?”
Cha Yu-sik’s voice was pure disbelief. Ever since the group had formed, they had never once set aside night training to go drinking.
“Drinks?”
“It’s that Do Jeong-hyeok bastard. For some reason I suddenly want alcohol.”
Cha Yu-sik agreed. Yes—everything that had been rattling his mind had started after that guy appeared.
“And look at the professor. He lives with liquor in his mouth and he’s still that strong. Maybe the secret to his power is in the booze. Let’s go check.”
Alcohol. Of course the academy had a bustling commercial street right outside, but cadets rarely drank. Most came from elite backgrounds, and competition inside never stopped. Fall into drinking and training suffered; one lost day could drop your ranking.
But today Cha Yu-sik was off. He simply wanted to empty the clutter in his head.
“Let’s do it.”
“Okay. While we’re at it, I’ll call everyone.”
“Sounds good.”
Second floor of an izakaya.
“Kyaah!”
Kwak Do-jin downed a glass of draft beer in one go and huffed.
“That monster Do Jeong-hyeok. I thought maybe, but the rock was actually getting gouged out! And how the hell does he hold a horse stance for three hours without a single drop of sweat? Hyun-jong, how long can you last these days?”
“Not even an hour.”
“See! That’s normal! Normally you shouldn’t last ten minutes!”
The group sat around complaining about Do Jeong-hyeok—how they hated admitting the talent gap, how they still felt a wall, how it still pissed them off.
Meanwhile Seo Hae-in’s eyes sparkled in a way they never had before.
This is amazing.
Ever since enrollment she had been treated like a transparent person. She ate alone, trained alone. And now here she was, sitting face-to-face with fellow cadets in a bar, clinking glasses.
“Come on, drink! Forget it all!”
“Cheers!”
Clink!
Every time Cha Yu-sik and Kwak Do-jin knocked glasses, Seo Hae-in hurriedly lifted her own and timidly touched the rim. She didn’t want to ruin the mood. The sense of belonging—of being accepted as a comrade—was too sweet.
So whenever the seniors emptied a glass, she watched carefully and gulped hers down too.
One glass, two, three……
As the alcohol circulated, her pale cheeks flushed red. Her slightly unfocused eyes smiled foolishly.
“No, but seriously!”
Kwak Do-jin, now properly drunk, slammed the table and raised his voice.
“Isn’t the professor going too far? Huh? What the hell is this favoritism!”
“……It is favoritism, yeah.”
Normally Seo Hae-in wouldn’t have opened her mouth, but tonight the alcohol lent her courage and she chimed in.
“Make us disciples too! We were the founding contributors who crossed the line first, so why are the newcomers pushing us out? Right, Hae-in?”
“Uh……”
Seo Hae-in shook her head.
“But I’m only grateful to the professor.”
Without him? She wouldn’t even be sitting here. She would have stayed the eternal bottom-ranker, gotten expelled, and gone looking for some other job.
“I’m sure the professor has deep reasons for doing things this way.”
Boldly she poured herself another shot of soju, then tossed it back with a “Kyaah!”
Of course, she couldn’t be completely honest. That would get her ostracized. The current mood was for trash-talking the professor!
Matching the atmosphere was just social skill!
“But honestly, just a tiiiny bit, I do feel a little left out!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes! He just tosses us formulas and tells Jeong-hyeok to punch rocks! You saw me leave a mark on the rock today, right? I can do it too. And Senior Yu-yeon—every other day she’s training alone with him in the professor’s office. Why doesn’t he look after us? Discrimination is the worst thing in the world. Right? Isn’t it?”
Seo Hae-in beamed and sought agreement.
But—
“……”
No one answered. Kwak Do-jin, who had been ranting moments earlier, clamped his mouth shut. Cha Yu-sik lowered his gaze. Yoon Hyun-jong’s and Han Tae-ho’s eyes were a little wider than usual.
The instant she sensed something wrong with the atmosphere, a chill ran down Seo Hae-in’s spine.
D-don’t tell me…?
She whipped her head around—and there it was, the one thing that absolutely should not have been there.
“I taught you all so diligently, and here you are badmouthing me behind my back.”
Professor Kang Hyun’s voice.
“I’m the one who’s hurt.”
“Hic!”
Seo Hae-in hiccupped. The alcohol vanished in an instant.
This is unfair!
She hadn’t meant it! She had only been matching the mood!
“Th-that’s not it, Professor—”
“Enough.”
Scrape—
Kang Hyun dragged an empty chair over and sat down. Settling among the cadets, he casually pushed an empty soju glass into their midst.
“Pour me a glass.”