I'm Actually Grateful
Except for taking Purdy to the animal hospital the next day, Jun-ho’s daily routine remained largely unchanged. He ran 16 kilometers every dawn, performed consistent bodyweight exercises at home, and visited the gym four times a week for over an hour of strength training to build his physique. Amidst all this, he steadily acquired various knowledge and information in preparation for the apocalypse, while simultaneously studying for drone certifications, hunting licenses, and firearm permits. The brothers easily passed the written exam for their drone operator licenses. Jun-hyeok seemed to have taken a liking to drones, flying them every day while walking Purdy. He did manage to wreck one quite spectacularly, but since it was a low-cost model bought for practice, it didn't matter much. Jun-ho purchased two more low-cost practice drones and two high-performance drones to be used in actual apocalyptic situations. On a 48-month installment plan, of course.
Purdy adapted quickly to living at home with the brothers. While he moved freely between the yard and the house, he always slept in the kennel prepared in the yard. Jun-ho hadn't forced him outside or trained him to do so; he simply did it on his own as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It made Jun-ho feel a pang of pity, thinking it was likely due to his history as a stray who had passed through an animal shelter, but on the other hand, it was a relief since the dog would eventually play an important role in the shelter. Originally, Jun-ho had planned to let him adjust at home for about a month before starting training, but he decided to move the schedule forward. As it happened, there was a pet hotel and training center near the gym, so he decided to entrust Purdy to them. Although he had learned basic knowledge from a military dog handler during his service, he judged that it was better to leave proper training to the experts. Of course, he didn't just leave Purdy there alone; Jun-ho went along to participate in training sessions with his guardian. Perhaps because the dog was so intelligent, the trainer praised him highly, saying he was nearly perfect whether Jun-ho was there or not.
During that time, the final payment from the newlyweds who bought his previous apartment was deposited. They had moved in earlier than expected. Without a moment's hesitation, Jun-ho poured all of that money into additional purchases of the coin. The Selene Coin had already surpassed 8,000 KRW, and looking at the graph, it seemed like it would soon begin a full-scale surge. There were only a few million won left in his bank account, but Jun-ho wasn't worried at all. His salary would come in at the end of the month, and at the end of the following month, over 10 million won would be deposited, including his severance pay. That would be more than enough to survive for three or four months until he liquidated the coins. Jun-ho checked the coin's market price in his spare time. As expected, the coin was drawing a steady upward curve, rising by several hundred won every other day. There were even days when it jumped by nearly 1,000 KRW. With no further plans for additional purchases and only the surge left to wait for, Jun-ho decided not to pay attention to the coin until March. A month passed by in a flash, and the end of the year was fast approaching.
Thump, thump, thump, thump! Jun-ho ran rapidly on the treadmill. The coach, a former professional fighter, nodded with a satisfied expression as he checked the speed and distance on the display. Here was a man who had run 8 kilometers at dawn, done an hour of strength training at the gym, come to the martial arts gym to perform various drills, and finished two rounds of striking sparring—all while running on the treadmill for over three minutes at a pace of 18 kilometers per hour, covering 100 meters in 20 seconds. From a coach's perspective, it was impossible not to be pleased.
It had already been over three weeks since Jun-ho registered at the MMA gym where his younger brother, Jun-hyeok, trained. Normally, a new member like Jun-ho would have to participate in group classes, but due to quarantine guidelines and Jun-ho's exceptional talent, the coach had taken him on for one-on-one training. Even though Jun-ho had practiced Taekwondo consistently until his second year of middle school and had his body somewhat "shaped" from his time in the search unit, he showed an absurd talent, mastering footwork, steps, head movement like weaving, and combos mixing boxing combinations with kicks in just three weeks. This week, he had even started 3-minute, 2-round sparring sessions with the coach under kickboxing rules. It wasn't full-contact sparring, and the coach, who was a weight class above him, was holding back, but considering Jun-ho's age—which was a bit old to be entering combat sports—it was an astonishing feat with almost no precedent.
"Done. You worked hard today, too."
"Yes, thank you. You too, Coach."
As Jun-ho wiped off his sweat, the coach asked casually, "But are you really going to stop at just amateur level? You haven't thought about competing in tournaments at all?"
Jun-ho shook his head with an apologetic expression. "It hasn't even been a month yet, what kind of tournament would I compete in?"
"No, I'm not joking. You have talent, you know? Wouldn't it be great to get some experience by entering an amateur tournament? In my opinion, if you train hard for about half a year—or a year at most—you could even go pro. Seriously."
"I'm truly grateful that you think so highly of me, but I have no plans for that right now. I'll just keep learning diligently."
"Aigoo... what a waste, what a waste. Anyway, take your time and think about it. If you ever want to compete, just let me know."
"Yes."
Avoiding the coach's gaze—which was strangely similar to that of his gym trainer—Jun-ho finished his shower quickly and headed home.
The next day. Jun-ho, who had finished his workout routine and had breakfast at home as usual, tilted his head as he arrived at the gym. The gym was a bit noisy.
"Yeong-chan, is something going on?" Since his brother Jun-hyeok usually trained in the afternoon, Jun-ho asked a member he had become familiar with.
"Oh, you're here, Jun-ho. People from Team South in Busan are here. I heard there's some kind of sparring session."
"Oh, really?"
As quarantine guidelines eased, inter-gym exchanges for mixed martial arts, which had been suspended for a long time, had resumed. Of course, they couldn't have many people moving around like in the old days, but the industry atmosphere was that it was a blessing to have even a small number of people able to meet.
"But... why are they so loud?"
"The guys from Team South are naturally a bit talkative. They're funny and entertaining guys, but honestly, you get drained just being around them for 10 minutes."
Sure enough, laughter mixed with a Gyeongsang dialect burst out from behind the door that had just opened.
"That ain't it. That guy over there, he's lying. Hey, tell the truth. You're the reason Yu-chan hyung is misunderstanding things, ain't ya?"
"I ain't misunderstanding. It's true that Seok has been more reliable than you, Tae-su, for a long time."
"Hyung, did you hear that? Yu-chan hyung is admitting it, ain't he?"
"Wow... the two of you are throwing me under the bus again."
Men with rugged, fierce impressions that matched their rough dialect poured out with the gym director. However, unlike their intimidating appearances, they acted very friendly toward the director, appearing to be quite close.
The director, who had been laughing with them for a while, said with an apologetic expression, "Anyway, I'm sorry you came all this way. Who knew Yeong-jin would suddenly test positive?"
"We stopped by Incheon on the way, so what can you do. Anyway, is Yeong-jin doing okay?"
"He tested positive, but he says he's perfectly fine. He's just holed up at home."
"That guy, he's always failing his weight cuts, so he's probably just coming out all bloated, ain't he?"
"Then we should roll him around. Anyway, I'm sorry to you too, Tae-su. You said their names were Jeong-su and Sang-ho?"
"Yes, Director!"
Two young men with slightly youthful faces, though they had the imposing physiques of fighters, bowed their heads deeply.
"Our Yeong-jin was looking forward to today too, he said he's very disappointed. He asked me to tell you he's sorry."
"It's fine. We can see him when he's healthy next time. It's an honor to meet you today, Director."
"Yeah. It's nice to meet you too. I'll make sure to have our youngest, Sang-ho, spar with Yeong-jin next time."
"Yes. We'll train hard until then."
The director, a first-generation MMA fighter, was a respected senior in the industry. Although he hadn't been able to enter the UFC due to various circumstances, he had been a great fighter in Korea and Japan, and he was still a legendary athlete often mentioned by fans when playing "VS" games.
"Hyung. In that case, we'll be going now."
"Yeah. Are you heading to Gangnam?"
"Yes. We have to see Dong-yeo hyung before we go."
"Go ahead."
The Team South people walked toward the gym entrance, chatting with the director. Then, suddenly, the gaze of the Team South member called Tae-su rested on Jun-ho.
"Oh?"
"...?"
He rushed over, scanned Jun-ho's body from top to bottom, and asked, "What weight class are you, by any chance?"
"Excuse me? Me?"
"Yes, you."
"Oh, this hyung is doing it again." Another Team South member hurriedly intervened and bowed politely to Jun-ho. "I'm sorry. Our hyung has a sickness where he goes crazy whenever he sees someone with a good body. Please don't take it the wrong way."
"Oh, was I a bit much? I'm sorry. It's not a sickness, I just have a short temper. Anyway, I apologize."
"Why are you adding 'anyway' again? You should just say you're sorry."
"Oh, is that so? Then I'm just unconditionally sorry."
"Oh... no, it's fine."
It was exactly as he had heard earlier. Not even a minute had passed, let alone 10, but Jun-ho already felt drained, so he waved his hands and bowed back.
Then, the director, who had been watching this scene with a smile, approached. "Tae-su, why? Are you interested in our Jun-ho?"
"Oh, is your name Jun-ho? I'm Kim Tae-su from Team South. Nice to meet you."
"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Lee Jun-ho."
Kim Tae-su, who had greeted him politely, scanned Jun-ho's body once more and asked in a subtle voice, "But your body is really insanely good. I guess you've been working out for a long time, right? What's your weight class?"
"Oh, I've been working out here for less than a month. My weight class is probably Welterweight."
"A month? Did you say a month?" Kim Tae-su's eyes widened. At his gaze, which seemed to ask for confirmation, the director nodded with a proud expression.
"It's true. It's been a little over three weeks, right? But he's already doing kickboxing sparring with Tae-young."
"Jun-ho is really good. Even though I hold back considering the weight difference, he has real power, so it's refreshing."
When Coach Tae-young chimed in, Kim Tae-su's eyes grew even wider. "Really? Wow..."
He had seen it so often that he should have been used to it by now, but receiving such intense stares from a man—not a woman, and a muscular giant at that—was still chilling.
"Jun-ho, you said you were Welterweight, right?"
"Yes."
Kim Tae-su, who had been thinking about something, turned his head to the director. "Hyung, since it's come to this, how about Jun-ho has a go with our youngest, Sang-ho?"
"What? Jun-ho with the youngest?"
"Yes. The weight class matches, and I heard you're planning to raise him big, right?"
"I'm not trying to raise him because he's a hobbyist..."
The director, who was looking at the bewildered Jun-ho while smacking his lips, soon said cautiously, "How about it, Jun-ho? Do you want to try sparring once?"
"Sparring?"
"Yeah. Originally, Yeong-jin was supposed to do it with these guys, but I got a call this morning that he tested positive."
Jun-ho's gaze shifted to the side. Two young men who looked like they were in their early twenties, with youthful faces but who didn't seem like pushovers. Among them, the young man named Sang-ho looked even younger than his brother Jun-hyeok, but he had an impression that suggested he had quite a temper.
"I feel too sorry to just send them back after they came all the way up from Busan. Oh, of course, it'll be a good experience for you too. Sang-ho is a promising prospect who has been learning at Team South for over a year."
Following the director, Kim Tae-su stepped up. "Yeah, he's our Team South Welterweight prospect. Because of COVID, he only spars with us, so the kid seems a bit bored. Since the quarantine eased, we came up to have him spar with some athletes in the metropolitan area. Sang-ho doesn't have any matches until summer, so full sparring is fine. I ask for your favor."
"How about it, Jun-ho? It's kickboxing, so there'll be less pressure. Of course, it's fine if you want to refuse."
"I'll give it a try."
Jun-ho immediately accepted the director's cautious suggestion. It wasn't something he needed to worry about. The very purpose of learning martial arts was to prepare for "real-life situations" in the apocalypse. He would have to hide his physical abilities to some extent, but he had the chance to do full sparring with a semi-pro who had been training systematically since high school and was scheduled for a debut? Moreover, the moment they heard his answer, they were burning with fighting spirit, looking at him as if to say, "Let's see what you've got."
"I'm actually grateful that you're giving me the opportunity."