Park Ji-hoon vs Kim Tae-oh.
Park Ji-hoon vs Kim Tae-oh.
The day after the athletic meet.
Da-yeon and I were swimming in the apartment complex pool.
And I noticed one of the security guards.
A guard I was on familiar terms with.
I beckoned him over, and the guard approached after glancing around at the others nearby.
"You called?"
"You know Tae-oh, right?"
"Of course~"
The guard smiled fondly, thinking of their young youngest member.
"He's supposed to spar with a friend of mine tomorrow."
"...Excuse me?"
The guard tilted his head as if the idea of Kim Tae-oh doing something like that was impossible.
Because Kim Tae-oh, the little monster HSW had raised, would never fight someone his own age.
"But from what I know, my friend is the strongest among kids our age."
"Ahaha, there's no way."
I leisurely stared at the guard who was laughing at me.
"You can just see for yourself~ It's tomorrow anyway. His opponent is a friend named Park Ji-hoon, and he fights athletes."
"...Athletes?"
"He might stand a chance in a street brawl, but there's absolutely no way he wins a sparring match with rules."
"We also train in various martial arts."
From what I'd heard, HSW recruited the finest talents in the Republic of Korea.
And accordingly, their pride and self-esteem ran just as deep.
"Aren't you curious? Who the strongest little kid really is..."
"....."
"Keep it a secret from Tae-oh. Gather up some people to watch."
"Yes."
I imagined the popcorn-worthy spectacle set for tomorrow, brimming with anticipation.
The most entertaining thing in the world was watching a fight, and I hoped this bout would serve as a spark for HSW's little monster.
That it would make him even stronger, so he could protect Da-yeon...
I was leaning against Dad on the sofa.
"Dad."
"Hm?"
"Have you been lonely lately?"
Dad looked at me and gave a warm smile.
And as he stroked my hair, he said,
"How could I ever be lonely when I have Si-yoon~"
"Oh, is that so~ I figured since we sleep in separate rooms now, my dad must be lonely~"
"Si-yoon's all grown up now, you can't sleep with Dad anymore~"
Dad's warm smile put anyone who saw it at ease.
I nodded while watching TV.
"Ah, right. I thought so because tissues kept showing up in your room."
".....Huh?"
Dad abruptly began to stiffen.
Speechless, the hand that had been stroking my hair trembled faintly.
"Whenever I drop by your room, it reeks of chestnut blossoms sometimes. It's great you're keeping healthy, but please take care of the cleanup properly~"
"......"
Dad's face rapidly started turning red, and soon it looked like it was about to burst.
"And Beta keeps digging through the trash, so I, your daughter, cleaned it up."
"......"
"Good grief, they're my poor little siblings. As their big sister, I had to clean up after them."
Stiff as a board, Dad couldn't move.
I pulled away from his arms and stretched.
"You washed your hands before touching me, right? Right? I'll believe you did~ Goodnight, Dad~"
"......"
With his face still bright red, Dad fixed his gaze on the TV and said absolutely nothing.
Dad was thirty-six years old now.
'Right in his prime.'
The next day, after school...
I brought Da-yeon along and followed behind Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh.
The place where Park Ji-hoon trained was a mixed martial arts gym that had produced quite a few famous fighters.
And among them, Park Ji-hoon stood out as a superstar prospect.
At fourteen, Park Ji-hoon had a monstrous physique, exceptional instincts, and a fearless, beast-like fighting style.
Even in his previous life, he'd never shown fear in the face of a blade...
Now, with a seemingly limitless physique and twenty-first-century mixed martial arts, his talent had blossomed even further.
Inside the gym, people shook their heads as they looked at Kim Tae-oh in his school uniform.
"Ji-hoon... what are you doing picking on a kid..."
"He's strong as hell."
"...Haah..."
The head coach and members couldn't believe Ji-hoon's words...
When Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh returned after changing into their gym clothes, the people who saw Kim Tae-oh's body were at a loss for words.
Kim Tae-oh's body, ripped and shredded, was sleekly built as if every ounce of effort had been poured into endurance and speed, and his frame was lined with compact, wiry, practical muscle.
In contrast, Park Ji-hoon's body was so bulging and rugged you'd never guess he was fourteen.
But the people were admiring me and Da-yeon.
The moment two schoolgirls at the pinnacle of beauty walked into this sweat-drenched place, everyone looked incredibly excited.
"Is that... Si-yoon? I'm a genuine fan!?"
"What the—!!! Ji-hoon, you know Si-yoon!? You little shit, why didn't you say so!!!"
In the end, people came up with autograph paper and I had to sign for them.
"What's your relationship with Ji-hoon?"
"Girlfriend."
""!!!!!""
The room went silent—Park Ji-hoon, Kim Tae-oh, Da-yeon, everyone.
"Ji-hoon and I are dating."
"Really?!"
Da-yeon looked at me in shock.
"Yep."
Just then, Park Ji-hoon came rushing down and shouted at me.
"Hey!!! Quit bullshitting!"
I grinned and stroked Da-yeon's hair.
"It's bullshit~ Do you really think I wouldn't have told Da-yeon by now?"
"Right?!"
"Yeah."
And then, people began to appear at the entrance.
Twenty large men in suits came surging in, and the people inside the gym panicked.
Among them, a man with a knife scar on his face greeted Da-yeon and me.
"It's been a while, young ladies."
"Yes! Dong-hoon, it's been so long~"
Most of them were from Team 5, Da-yeon's protection detail, and people from other teams.
I waved vaguely at the man I was seeing for the first time in a while.
At Da-yeon's bright greeting, the man called Dong-hoon smiled and nodded.
The people greeting Tae-oh—Tae-oh, who was in the middle of putting on his gear, rubbed his forehead and spoke.
"How did you find out...?"
"How could we not be curious when our youngest is supposedly taking it easy for the first time ever~"
Just then, a man from the back spoke up.
"Whoa~ that little kid is the same age? Look at that body... whew... guess Miss Si-yoon wasn't lying after all~"
Everyone nodded at that, but Kim Tae-oh, as if he now understood exactly why they were here, stared at me.
I avoided his eyes and pulled out the popcorn I'd bought beforehand from my bag.
The head coach demanded Ji-hoon explain about all these people, and I answered with a smile.
"That little kid there is a bodyguard, and these folks here are his colleagues."
Inside the cage that resembled an octagon, Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon both let out sighs.
With Da-yeon and me as the dividing line, the people who used the gym sat on my side, while the people in suits sat on Da-yeon's side.
A scene reminiscent of the famous fighting program UMC.
This was top-tier popcorn material.
Before the match started, during the three-minute warm-up period, Ji-hoon spoke while loosening up.
"I know you think you're different from the other guys, but from where I'm standing, you're pretty similar."
"That's rich, coming from you..."
"If this were a real fight... no... a real fight probably wouldn't be much different, but inside this cage, you can't beat me."
"Ha..."
"If you don't wanna get embarrassed, focus up~"
Kim Tae-oh ignored Park Ji-hoon's words as if they weren't even worth acknowledging and kept warming up.
The match began. Kim Tae-oh shot a fast jab, and Park Ji-hoon dodged it lightly.
I could clearly gauge Park Ji-hoon's level now—lately, he'd been dodging my punches too.
When he evaded as if this much was easy, Kim Tae-oh and the HSW guards couldn't hide their shock.
Then Park Ji-hoon lightly body-slammed him, flipped him over, and moved to ground control, but Kim Tae-oh's pride wouldn't let him tap.
Park Ji-hoon could easily have wrenched the arm, but he just shrugged and let Kim Tae-oh go.
"Told you to focus."
Park Ji-hoon was overwhelming.
The HSW guards were sitting with their jaws dropped wide open at what they had just witnessed.
Kim Tae-oh, his pride wounded, tried to seize the advantage by accelerating his speed.
But Park Ji-hoon, with his overwhelming wingspan—a ratio rarely seen in Korea—used that reach to drive a deep body shot into Kim Tae-oh's ribs.
After taking the hit, Kim Tae-oh stayed propped up on the floor for a moment, panting, then stared at Park Ji-hoon as if he were looking at a monster.
Park Ji-hoon started to rush in again to seize a decisive advantage, then stopped.
While watching the match, the head coach spoke from beside me.
"If you think of Ji-hoon as just a fourteen-year-old, you'll never beat him. That little bastard can hold his own even against pros. I'm dying to see how far he'll go..."
Taking after his dad's build, his arms and legs were long and lanky.
And Park Ji-hoon, who ate enormous amounts and burned it all off with training, was a monster just by his physique alone.
Watching this, Kim Tae-oh's father—Deputy Director Kim Dong-hoon—stared at Park Ji-hoon with grave eyes.
The overwhelming skill difference displayed by the monstrous Park Ji-hoon seemed to show Kim Tae-oh, HSW's little monster, his true place in the pecking order.
Kim Tae-oh nimbly dodged a punch from Park Ji-hoon flying toward his face.
But a cold sweat ran down Kim Tae-oh's forehead—he'd sensed that even a graze would knock him out.
Then came a light leg kick from Ji-hoon.
It was just a leg kick thrown casually without even setting his stance, yet Kim Tae-oh's body floated into the air, and while trying to dodge the follow-up punch, he lost his center and toppled over.
Park Ji-hoon used his body language to show that if he engaged now, it was over, but he didn't close in on Kim Tae-oh.
Da-yeon, who had been watching, squeezed my hand between both of hers and shut her eyes.
Kim Tae-oh's face had gone red.
He looked like he was struggling to accept the fact that there was someone out there he could lose to.
'Kid, that guy is forty-six years old if you add up all the years he's lived...'
Kim Tae-oh slammed the floor once, as if trying to swallow his rage, and stood back up. His eyes had changed, and the guards watching said,
"Isn't this about to turn ugly? Looks like Tae-oh's lost it..."
But only Deputy Director Kim Dong-hoon seemed to grasp the situation precisely.
That no matter what dirty trick Tae-oh pulled, he wouldn't beat the little kid standing in front of him.
Sure enough, he pressured Ji-hoon with even greater speed than before, but his body lifted off the ground from a light tap of Ji-hoon's fist.
Pak!
Now Ji-hoon wasn't even using his kicks.
I'll admit it—that little kid called Kim Tae-oh really was a once-in-a-generation genius.
Kim Tae-oh's hands shooting toward Ji-hoon were so fast they were nearly invisible,
and from the techniques flowing smoothly into elbows to the high kicks, watching them was so clean it was almost beautiful.
Judging solely by the thickness of Ji-hoon's arms, it didn't look like he could generate the kind of power he was putting out, but Park Ji-hoon's muscle fibers seemed to be on a completely different level from an ordinary person's.
No matter how much of a generational genius Kim Tae-oh was, his body was far too frail to challenge the monstrous physique of Park Ji-hoon, and his technique still seemed lacking.
Ji-hoon carried the match as if he were playing with him. He seemed to allow Kim Tae-oh's high kick, but at some point he'd raised his arm to block it lightly, and then drove straight into Kim Tae-oh's space, stopping just before burying his fist.
Seeing that he was being toyed with and shown mercy, Kim Tae-oh charged in even more enraged.
And in the end, Park Ji-hoon looked at Kim Tae-oh and tapped his own left jaw with his fingers.
Tap, tap.
As if to say, I'm going to hit you there, so try to block it.
And then Park Ji-hoon's hook landed flush.
Kim Tae-oh was knocked out cold.
Watching that, I couldn't suppress my smile from sheer anticipation, and I laughed naturally.
'Please, I hope this growing sprout doesn't wither...'
Park Ji-hoon, breathing evenly despite having just finished sparring, seemed to have truly become a monster.
To the point where the thought crossed my mind: 'Could I beat him with my bare hands in this body?'
Though I would win, of course.
In the chilly atmosphere, the head coach who had been watching applauded.
"That little kid is incredible! Going up against Ji-hoon... whew..."
The guards bristled at that remark but couldn't find the words to respond.
Because they had just witnessed Park Ji-hoon's tremendous skill in the ring with their own eyes...
Most of the people sitting there felt they'd probably lose if they fought Ji-hoon themselves.
Kim Dong-hoon spoke to me.
"I have to admit it... he's a genuine monster."
I answered while eating popcorn.
"Right? My minion's crazy strong, isn't he?"
"But... he won't lose next time."
"Hm... that could happen. The physical difference is huge right now, after all."
Kim Dong-hoon nodded and looked toward Park Ji-hoon before saying,
"If I may, you don't look tired yet... could I ask you for a round?"
Park Ji-hoon looked at the guards.
"Let me get some water first~"
"Ahahaha!!!"
This time an adult man climbed into the ring, and Park Ji-hoon put on his finger gloves and said,
"You're sturdy, right?"
"Heh-heh... of course."
The match started, and they realized that Ji-hoon had been holding back against Tae-oh.
Now facing an adult, Park Ji-hoon didn't bulldoze him with physical strength but began using speed and technique.
A clean counterpunch from Ji-hoon's right hand made the man stiffen for a moment, and then a follow-up straight landed flush on his chin, causing his legs to give out and him to collapse.
"Wow..."
Beside me, Da-yeon was worrying about Tae-oh.
And Da-yeon was watching Park Ji-hoon with trembling eyes.
"He's gotten crazy strong, huh?"
"Yeah..."
"Who do you think would win?"
"...You and him...?"
"I'm curious too..."
Whatever he was thinking, Kim Tae-oh stared intensely at Park Ji-hoon as he laid out the men from his own family.
After two more matches, Park Ji-hoon came out of the cage sweating.
Kim Tae-oh looked at Park Ji-hoon and nodded.
"I lost... I was complacent too... One year... no, would you fight me again two years from now?"
Park Ji-hoon looked at Kim Tae-oh and nodded.
"I'm looking forward to it too. What you'll look like in two years."
Even back when he was Jae-hyeong, Park Ji-hoon had one talent that stood above all the rest.
He was absolutely obsessed with training.
The amount Park Ji-hoon trained left anyone watching speechless.
Unless he had something else to do, he always trained right up until the moment he slept.
Even now, Park Ji-hoon finished sparring and seamlessly started another workout.