Real Man

Chapter 317:

Chapter 317

It was after I finished all my schedules.

As I came out after saying goodbye, Manager Park Doo-sik spoke to me.

“I heard that Ilseong Electronics had a big setback today.”

“You look happy about it.”

“Well, they were annoying anyway. It’s more satisfying to see them suffer. This is the small pleasure of life, isn’t it?”

“I’m glad for you.”

I smiled, and Manager Park stopped.

He looked into my eyes and reached out his hand.

“I owe you a big debt. Thanks to you, I saved my face.”

“Just don’t forget today’s debt. That’s enough for me.”

“Of course.”

The two men shook hands and smiled pleasantly.

It was time to part ways.

“Are you going back to Ulsan now?”

“No. I have somewhere else to go.”

“I see. Have a good time while you’re here.”

Manager Park said, and I muttered a meaningful answer.

“I don’t know if it will be fun.”

He looked puzzled, and I winked at him and turned around.

It was time to go to the people who were waiting for me.

I headed to the gym.

When I arrived at the gym, it was already after sunset.

Thump. Thump.

Despite the late hour, the gym was full of heat.

As soon as I entered, Park Young-hoon, who was hitting a sandbag, greeted me.

“Yoo-hyun.”

He was soaked in sweat from head to toe.

He had a match tomorrow, but there was no reason to overdo it like this the day before.

“Hyung, you won’t be able to get up tomorrow if you do this.”

“No. I have to do my best until the end.”

He spat out a hoarse voice, and the gym owner shook his head.

“Young-hoon is hopeless. He keeps doing that shit even when I tell him to rest.”

“Gym owner, please let me do this a little more and I’ll really stop.”

The gym owner ignored Park Young-hoon’s words and asked me.

“Yoo-hyun, how’s your condition?”

“What does it matter to me? I’m just filling in the numbers.”

“Still, it would be nice if you win anyway.”

“No. I’ll pass on that.”

I cut him off firmly.

That’s when Lee Jang-woo, who had fought with me a while ago, came over and bowed deeply.

“Hello, senior.”

“Oh, hi.”

His voice was so loud that it startled me.

His eyes were full of respect for me.

It was burdensome.

Really burdensome.

I had met him several times, but every time I stood next to him, I felt that way.

He was so passionate and too humble for his own good.

The gym owner put his hand on Lee Jang-woo’s shoulder and said.

“Jang-woo, you know Yoo-hyun is also participating in the tournament tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. I know.”

“Good. Learn from him. He’s your senior and he’s amazing.”

“Please teach me a lesson again, senior.”

Lee Jang-woo bowed his waist again.

The gym owner looked at me with a look that said, ‘You can’t beat him even like this.’

I smiled back at him and said.

“Gym owner, it won’t work.”

The next day.

I went to the gym located in Sangam with the gym members.

As we got off the van, we saw a big banner hanging in front of the gym.

-The 5th Federation Chairman’s Cup Amateur Martial Arts Tournament

Seeing that, Kang Dong-sik exclaimed.

“Wow. A tournament for me is unfolding.”

I asked him incredulously as I followed him down.

“I thought you came here just to fill in the numbers too.”

“No way. There’s prize money in front of me. If I give up, I’m not a man.”

Then the gym owner poked my side again.

“How about it? Have you changed your mind a bit?”

“No. Let’s go.”

He chuckled as he watched me go ahead.

“Kid. You’re playing coy.”

The number of participants from Number One Gym was four in total.

Han Yoo-hyun, Lee Jang-woo, Park Young-hoon, Kang Dong-sik.

At the entrance of the gym, we confirmed our identity and put on name tags around our necks.

There were two large rings in the spacious gym.

This place was where we would fight today.

As we approached an usher under the ring, he checked our name tags and guided us to the dressing room.

“Please change into your uniforms in the dressing room and come out when you’re ready.”

There were quite a few people in the dressing room too.

Hiss. Hiss.

Some people were warming up their bodies without their shirts on, and some people were sitting in the corner with their eyes closed, maybe nervous.

It was just an amateur tournament, but everyone’s eyes were full of ambition.

The most intense one was Lee Jang-woo.

He stared at my bare upper body and I asked him.

“Jang-woo, why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m trying to figure out how you can be so fast, senior.”

“What are you talking about? Your body is better than mine.”

“No. I don’t think I have real muscles like you, senior.”

His body was like a tank, with a small height and a wide shoulder.

He was so impressive that people passing by admired him.

But his eyes were only on me.

He wanted to learn everything from me.

It was a burdensome look, and I quickly put on a T-shirt with the gym logo and waved my hand.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, senior.”

His answer echoed as always.

A little later.

Following the usher’s guidance, we started the group draw under the ring.

The total number of participants was 62.

Two people dropped out of the original 64 applicants.

The game was a tournament format, and it was divided into Group A and Group B. The winners of the two groups would play in the final.

The usher walked around with a square box and conducted the group draw.

It was when I drew a ball.

Park Young-hoon showed me his ball and said.

“Oh, Yoo-hyun, you’ll meet me in the final.”

“Stop kidding. You’ll meet me.”

Kang Dong-sik, who was next to him, chimed in.

I was in Group A, so I wouldn’t meet them unless it was the final.

The problem was Lee Jang-woo.

He was also in Group A, and he clenched his fist and said.

“Senior, I’ll do my best.”

I patted his shoulder and said seriously.

“Good. The victory is yours.”

“No. I’m not even close to your level, senior.”

“What are you talking about? You’re good.”

“I’m still lacking. But I’ll show you how much I’ve improved, senior.”

I didn’t want to lose on purpose, but I was too ambitious. So I tried to dodge his questions.

“Alright. Let’s meet then.”

“Yes, senior. I’ll definitely win.”

Lee Jang-woo answered loudly.

His excessive loyalty made me roll my eyes.

To meet Lee Jang-woo in the tournament, I had to make it to the quarterfinals of Group A.

But that was impossible.

I planned to enjoy the atmosphere a bit and end the game quickly.

I didn’t want to crush the people who were serious about becoming pros.

But what do you know?

My first opponent happened to be absent.

I naturally advanced to the round of 16 in Group A, which had 32 participants.

Soon after, the usher’s voice came out.

“Number One Gym’s Han Yoo-hyun, please come up to the ring.”

I put on a headgear and thick gloves and climbed up to the ring.

On the other side, there was a man who looked nervous in the dressing room.

He had a solid physique, but his eyes were weak.

“Jo Jun-hyun. Fighting.”

“You can do it. You’re our hope.”

I heard cheers from the audience and he raised his hand.

“Woohoo.”

People who looked like his family shouted with joy.

Then Jo Jun-hyun’s eyes sparkled.

He looked very serious.

He was passionate about martial arts.

He was running full speed towards his dream.

He was different from me, who had a job and exercised as a hobby.

“Right. You deserve to win.”

I muttered quietly and made up my mind.

My goal was to lose in the first round.

I would feel the vibe a little and finish it off.

As I turned my head slightly, I saw the gym owner and Lee Jang-woo under the ring.

Lee Jang-woo had won his previous match and already advanced to the quarterfinals.

If I won this time, we would face each other.

“Senior, good luck.”

Lee Jang-woo shouted loudly.

His voice showed how much he wanted to fight me.

I was sorry for Lee Jang-woo, but I decided to end it here.

He needed to fight someone who was serious about martial arts to grow more.

With that in mind, I faced my opponent.

Jo Jun-hyun twisted his face as if he wanted to intimidate me.

He narrowed his eyes and lifted one corner of his mouth.

I didn’t care at all.

I even smiled faintly at his aggressive attitude.

It seemed like I could lose this time.

Ding.

The bell rang and Jo Jun-hyun rushed at me fiercely.

He seemed to have some basic skills by his speed.

Whoosh.

But he was too tense and put too much force into his movements.

I dodged his fist that cut through the air and threw a punch at him.

It was an unusually big move for me.

And my fist aimed not at his head but at his side.

I planned to break my balance with a fake punch and fall down after getting hit by his next attack.

I already had a scenario in my head for that.

But then,

A sudden attack flew at me and Jo Jun-hyun twisted his body sideways.

In an awkward posture, his chin jutted out into my trajectory.

I was startled and tried to pull my fist further out, but it was too late.

My fist grazed his chin tip by chance.

Tick

It was such a big move that my fist had quite some power in it.

Jo Jun-hyun fell down like a paper doll after getting hit by my fist

Thud

I screamed and reached out my hand in panic

“Hey. Get up. You can’t fall down here.”

“…”

But there was no answer from him

The other players who were waiting under the ring murmured

Whisper whisper

“Did you see that? That cross counter was art.”

“Wow. He’s really pro-level.”

“He made a name for himself in Japan too, right?”

“But why did he enter this amateur tournament?”

Of course, I couldn’t hear their voices

I was dumbfounded

Then, the gym owner cheered loudly

“Yoo-hyun, you did it as expected.”

As I came down with his encouragement, I quietly reviewed the last match

It was a big mistake to set my opponent as Lee Jang-woo or Kim Tae-soo level

There were many amateurs who hadn’t polished their skills yet in this tournament

If I wanted to lose, I should have used less force

I loosened my clenched fist and muttered softly

“That’s it. I won’t even fight anymore”

And so the next match began

I went up to the ring with a firm mind

My opponent in the quarterfinals of Group A was Lee Bang-hak

He had a fierce look in his eyes that was impressive

People in the audience whispered

“Lee Bang-hak will surely win”

“Yeah. He’s a strong contender for the championship”

“He also made a splash in Japan, didn’t he?”

“But why did he join this amateur tournament?”

I didn’t care about their voices

I set Lee Bang-hak’s skill level as Jo Jun-hyun’s

I intended to stumble as soon as I started and get hit by a punch and fall down

I glanced at the gym owner and Lee Jang-woo under the ring

Lee Jang-woo had already advanced to the semifinals

If I won this time, we would face each other in the finals

“Senior, please do your best”

Lee Jang-woo shouted loudly

His voice showed how much he wanted to fight me

I was sorry for Lee Jang-woo, but I decided to end it here

He needed to fight someone who was serious about martial arts to grow more

With that in mind, I faced my opponent

Lee Bang-hak made a grimace as if he wanted to intimidate me

He narrowed his eyes and lifted one corner of his mouth

I didn’t care at all

I even smiled faintly at his aggressive attitude

It seemed like I could lose this time

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