Chapter 17: Change (3)
I climbed into the [Octagon].
Jung Doo-chul, seeing Kim Hyunsung following him in, reacted irritably as he put on his gloves.
“Think carefully. I’m not going to go easy.”
This situation.
If anyone saw it, they would laugh.
A man who had tarnished the reputation of mixed martial arts with drugs was now accepting the proposal of a young boy who wanted to become strong to fight against school violence. He himself felt ashamed. If he still considered mixed martial arts a sport, he should have refused without hesitation.
However.
It was one hundred million won.
As the breadwinner of a family, one hundred million won was enough for his family to live comfortably for years. He didn’t care about people’s finger-pointing. Even if he was ridiculed and scorned in this field, it was enough if he could bring home food his family liked on his way back.
He swallowed his disgust.
Even as he condemned himself, Jung Doo-chul did not turn away from reality.
“I’ve met all kinds of people since I started training. Thugs who thought they were something special would show up at gyms all the time, and plenty of people, like you, started training because they didn’t want to get beaten up at school. No matter their reasons, I never cared. Purposes spoken aloud, toughness spoken aloud. Once they stood in the Octagon, none of it meant anything. Even those who had pride in themselves would, after a few punches to the face, drool and beg to quit.”
Frustration boiled up.
That boy.
Just how lightly did he think of him?
The certainty that he could be swayed with one hundred million won, and the ridiculous resolve to beat up school bullies by learning mixed martial arts.
It made his blood boil.
It was such an enticing offer that his heart had already tilted, but he still wanted to find a reason to cool his seething emotions. A minimum qualification to be taught by him. He wanted Kim Hyunsung to show a desire to become strong that wasn’t just talk, even if it meant risking his life.
Jung Doo-chul said.
“Three minutes, one round. No ground fighting. Just survive for one round—no more, no less. If you can prove your resolve, I’ll make you strong without question, worth every bit of that one hundred million.”
Tap tap.
Their gloves met.
Feeling the solid grip, Jung Doo-chul charged forward without hesitation.
“Let’s begin.”
He advanced in big strides.
Kim Hyunsung quickly took a stance, and Jung Doo-chul gave a surprised look.
‘His stance is stable. Did he get some training somewhere?’
He couldn’t know.
In his previous life.
Back when Kim Hyunsung was heavily bullied, he had trained in mixed martial arts, trying desperately to resolve his situation with strength. Of course, he hadn’t received formal training. With the rise of media, he had learned through the internet, throwing punches alone in his room—that was all his training.
Even so.
The difference between training and not training was significant.
Kim Hyunsung showed no signs of fear, but the problem was that his opponent was a former UFC champion.
Whoosh.
A light punch extended forward.
It was definitely light.
He thought it was just a light jab, but the shock broke through Kim Hyunsung’s guard instantly.
Wham.
Thud!
His head spun.
As soon as his guard broke, a right straight landed, and even though the gloves cushioned the blow, the impact far exceeded what Kim Hyunsung could handle. It took just a single strike. As Kim Hyunsung staggered backward and fell, Jung Doo-chul looked down at him coldly.
“Get up.”
Only ten seconds had passed.
And yet he was already down.
Thinking it was just empty bravado, Jung Doo-chul naturally grew harsher.
Kim Hyunsung stood up.
Calmly regaining his stance, Jung Doo-chul charged without giving any signal.
Thwack thwack.
He jabbed.
The weight difference between them was over ten kilograms.
With each powerful jab, Kim Hyunsung’s body shook violently, and as he curled up like a turtle, Jung Doo-chul kicked out at him. A [low kick]. Kim Hyunsung’s body lifted into the air before crashing back down. Without even time to groan from the pain, he got back up immediately, but the reality was clear: two knockdowns in under thirty seconds.
Kim Hyunsung.
He wouldn’t last.
Confident in that, Jung Doo-chul pressed on, continuously unleashing strikes, and Kim Hyunsung’s face quickly became a mess.
Counterattack?
Not a chance.
The moment he left even the slightest gap to strike back, Jung Doo-chul’s fists, breaking through his guard, would send his head snapping back. People say the difference between a pro and an amateur is like heaven and earth. But Jung Doo-chul wasn’t just any pro—he was a UFC champion. For a mere seventeen-year-old like Kim Hyunsung, it was impossible to endure. No, even showing the slightest possibility was absurd.
Smack!
A chilling sound.
Blood sprayed from his nose.
Kim Hyunsung staggered and dropped to his knees.
Jung Doo-chul thought it was over, but Kim Hyunsung casually wiped his bloody nose and stood up.
“Let’s continue.”
‘This bastard.’
It was unexpected.
He had been disappointed by Kim Hyunsung’s utter helplessness, but despite being beaten down again and again, Kim Hyunsung kept getting back up like a roly-poly toy. Pain racking his entire body? Blood flowing from his nose? None of it mattered. The venom in his eyes, glaring up at him, made Jung Doo-chul think that maybe Kim Hyunsung’s resolve wasn’t just talk.
But that was it.
Even this hellish moment for Kim Hyunsung was still Jung Doo-chul holding back.
If he truly meant it, he could kill someone with his fists. So he couldn’t fight with full force.
Now things would change.
If that look in his eyes was genuine.
He needed to be crushed properly.
To earn that one hundred million, he had no intention of going easy on Kim Hyunsung.
“Alright, let’s see how long you last.”
Whoosh.
Thwack thwack.
The violence continued.
He struck Kim Hyunsung’s guard repeatedly, forcing him into a corner, and Kim Hyunsung raised his arms high to protect his face. It was a desperate attempt to shield his vital points. But self-taught techniques picked up in a bedroom were useless against a professional. Jung Doo-chul, pressing him relentlessly, exploded with power the moment he saw an opening.
‘He won’t be able to endure a vital point hit.’
Smack!
An incredible sound echoed.
A direct blow to the liver, the so-called liver shot.
With a strike to a vital point—
“Argh!”
Kim Hyunsung screamed and collapsed.
—
“Uwek.”
He spat out a milky fluid.
As if about to vomit at any moment, Kim Hyunsung buried his face against the floor, dry heaving.
“One minute and thirty seconds left. If you don’t get up within ten seconds, I’ll consider it over.”
A cold voice rang out.
Even after taking such a brutal beating, only half the time had passed.
Kim Hyunsung gritted his teeth and tried to stand.
But his body refused to move.
Staggering like a newborn calf, Kim Hyunsung kept collapsing, and Jung Doo-chul thought it was finally over.
At that moment.
“Fuuuuuck. Get up, get the hell up!”
Kim Hyunsung shouted.
His bloodshot eyes were filled with venom.
He couldn’t breathe.
Even amid pain that felt like it would kill him, Kim Hyunsung couldn’t accept reality.
‘You pathetic bastard. This is the moment you wished for. You spent ten years lying uselessly in a hospital bed, praying again and again for just one chance to turn back time. You begged every day for death, and now you can’t even endure this? Get up. If you don’t want to repeat that past, get the hell up.’
He was fueled by rage.
Once upon a time.
Kim Hyunsung had hope too.
Maybe one day he could walk again. Maybe those who had tormented him would eventually face their karmic retribution and live miserable lives. But reality was brutal. Ten years passed, and he remained a vegetable. Sometimes his younger sibling would talk about the bullies’ lives, and it crushed him.
Park Min-chul.
He became the head of a family.
He got a stable job and was known as a doting father.
Jung Min-ho.
He became a doctor.
Working at Seoul University Hospital, he was called the pride of Cheonil High School.
The others were no different.
Each bully lived a respectable life in their own way. Since then, Kim Hyunsung stopped believing in karma. He was the victim, they were the perpetrators—yet why did the perpetrators live well? He cursed God. Every day he fantasized about tearing them apart, begging for just one chance.
Maybe, just maybe.
This was the settling of karma.
Maybe he was allowed to exist at this moment to punish the lives the perpetrators had built.
If so, then his revenge—
Would also be part of that karma.
If that were true.
If this was karma, Kim Hyunsung would rip them apart and gladly fall into hell.
Crunch.
He ground his teeth.
The sound of his teeth cracking was audible.
He bit the inside of his mouth, desperately trying to stay conscious.
‘I’ll fall into hell. So until I tear those bastards apart, I can’t fall here.’
Tap.
He stepped forward.
Raising his guard, he glared at Jung Doo-chul with a pained expression.
Exactly ten seconds.
Jung Doo-chul, who was about to remove his gloves thinking it was over, was momentarily speechless seeing him.
—
He was genuinely shocked.
That last attack—
Even professional fighters would struggle to withstand it.
Yet Kim Hyunsung, trembling violently, managed to stand, filling Jung Doo-chul with indescribable emotions.
‘What kind of life have you lived?’
His talk of crushing bullies.
That rage-filled face.
Kim Hyunsung clearly had his own circumstances.
At first, Jung Doo-chul thought it was just typical school violence, but after seeing Kim Hyunsung’s eyes, he changed his mind. A seventeen-year-old was showing a desperation strong enough to stake his life. His resolve wasn’t just empty words—he had proven it himself.
And because of that—
‘He’s dangerous.’
The urge to stop him grew stronger.
After using steroids.
Jung Doo-chul had regretted that day endlessly.
There were better choices, but he destroyed his whole life because he couldn’t resist temptation. Kim Hyunsung reminded him of his past self. Whatever situation he was in, the path he was trying to walk seemed dangerous enough to ruin his entire life.
If he gave him strength—
Who knew what might happen?
Knowing Kim Hyunsung’s desperation, he didn’t want him to live a life filled with regrets like his own.
“Alright, then endure until the end.”
Crack.
No hesitation.
He rushed in quickly, pouring his weight into a brutal assault.
Whack.
Smack!
Blood splattered.
With every punch that twisted his head, pale liquid spilled onto the floor.
There were no limits on knockdowns.
Kim Hyunsung kept collapsing but stood back up, and Jung Doo-chul didn’t stop pressing forward regardless of Kim Hyunsung’s condition. Every five seconds, he fell. In the first minute and thirty seconds, he managed to endure somewhat, but now he fell so much that the floor was soaked with blood.
It was getting too dangerous.
Even as Kim Hyunsung’s health became a serious concern, he stood back up with bloodshot eyes flashing.
Thud.
“Guh.”
His eyes widened.
Another blow to the abdomen.
Kim Hyunsung hunched over but refused to fall to his knees, and Jung Doo-chul moved to strike his face.
But then.
Beep.
Beep-beep-beep.
The timer rang.
The timer on the wall signaled that three minutes had passed.
“…Damn it.”
Jung Doo-chul lowered his fists.
Kim Hyunsung stood there, still holding up his guard.
He was furious.
The sheer desperation that made Kim Hyunsung endure this much lit a fire in Jung Doo-chul’s heart.
Jung Doo-chul threw his gloves to the floor irritably and said.
“Start coming to the gym tomorrow. As promised, I’ll teach you.”
He left the [Octagon].
Just before completely stepping out, he turned back and, looking at the still barely conscious Kim Hyunsung, threw out a line.
“Of course, make sure you wire that one hundred million.”
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(T/N: Im back! Lol, kidding. I had a free time so I’m trying to do some TL work. Mind you, we are still not on the regular upload schedule!)`
