Ch.137There was no need to explain in detail.

After the interview with Kim Donghu in the boxing magazine “Boxing One-Two” was published.

The marketing teams of companies that had Kim Donghu as their advertising model couldn’t hide their excitement.

“…Kim Donghu is going for an Olympic boxing gold medal?”

“And next year? In Rio?!”

“While he’s under contract with us as a model?!”

Of course, this was just a contract with actor Kim Donghu.

Since it had no connection to the sports side,

they would need additional contracts if they wanted to use that for promotion.

But.

“We at least have an advantage over others.”

Other companies didn’t even have connections.

They wouldn’t even know he was pursuing such an honorable challenge.

“If he goes to the Asian qualifiers with our FJ Rice Meal logo… that’s it, right?”

“Exactly. The advertising effect would be… incredible. What if he makes it to the Olympics!”

“And what if he wins gold? Huh? The contract… different terms based on performance… you know what I mean, right?!”

“Yes. I can see you’re very excited, team leader.”

But this excitement wasn’t limited to FJ alone.

“I’m dying to get in on this! Is Kim Donghu, I mean, Athlete Kim busy?”

“The spiciness of gold! How about this?! The spicy punch meets the spiciness of Hot Chicken Noodles! The slogans just come to mind so easily!”

From Ilyang Foods, which had just signed a contract the day before.

“A 19-year-old… the school uniform worn by a student challenging for the national team…? How could this not sell?”

To Brilliant Uniforms, which had maintained a steady good relationship with him for a long time.

Companies that were already in contractual relationships with Kim Donghu quickly drafted new contracts.

And.

“…I heard there’s an amazing prospect in Korea?”

As this news began to spread in the sports industry.

“Could this be the continuation of Korea’s spirit in boxing, which hasn’t touched gold since 1988?”

How wonderful would it be to join this great journey.

“With us, Red Horn.”

The first to respond was.

Red Horn, a company famous for sports drinks.

++++++

Domestic heavyweight boxers are extremely rare.

There might be more globally,

but domestically, there were very few.

‘Even when I competed in high school, there weren’t even 16 competitors.’

At most 8, at least 4 competitors.

That didn’t change much in the adult division.

Considering that last year’s National Sports Festival heavyweight boxing competition started from the semifinals,

it shows how barren the heavyweight division is.

‘But I guess it can’t be helped due to physical differences.’

Since heavyweight was the world stage and the Western world’s domain,

it was somewhat natural that there would be a small talent pool in the East.

Perhaps because of that.

“Donghu, I’ve been looking for people, but it’s not as easy as I thought.”

“It can’t be helped, I understand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing for something that can’t be helped? There are just few domestic players.”

Finding domestic sparring partners was extremely difficult.

Of course, that didn’t mean training stopped completely.

‘It’s good that the coach’s skills are improving.’

Under the training of Coach Paek Sangha, who was quickly regaining his form from his active days,

I was building up my practical sense fiercely when.

“Donghu, I got a call! I got a call but….”

He said he found a sparring partner.

But normally one should be happy about this.

Hyung Sangha’s expression looked very uncomfortable.

“Since there are so few players, we get a lot of thugs coming around.”

It was the first time I heard Hyung Sangha curse.

Judging by his sour expression, he didn’t like the person.

“Some guy who thinks he can conquer boxing just because he’s been in some street fights.”

“What?”

“You know, like those guys who claim they’ve ‘eaten Incheon’ or whatever….”

But somehow he had talent and managed to register as a player.

He was even a rookie champion.

Hyung Sangha continued speaking with a very complex expression.

He seemed reluctant because while the person was suitable for sparring, his character was disagreeable.

But he also looked troubled because there weren’t many options available.

“I’m fine with it, just bring him in.”

“Huh? But still….”

Coach Paek Sangha genuinely seemed to despise thugs.

He repeatedly rubbed his face with a sour expression I’d never seen before.

“…Well, sparring is more important, right, yes. Nothing bad will happen, right?”

“Yes, even if something does, I’ll trust only you, coach.”

“Right, trust this hyung. I’ll make sure nothing strange happens.”

“Yes.”

With those words, training resumed.

The most important thing in boxing is stamina.

Without stamina, you can’t do steps, punches, or anything else,

so we focused thoroughly on stamina-based training.

Fundamentals and mental strength.

With only a year left before important competitions.

‘It might be considered very basic and fundamental.’

But considering my situation, nothing was better than this.

‘What I need now isn’t technique, but skill and basics.’

I’ve downloaded perfect talent,

and simultaneously have the physical ability to perfectly digest it.

But there was one thing I needed to fill in myself.

‘It’s mindset.’

My attitude in handling that talent.

Simply getting good talent,

being able to handle it freely isn’t the end.

I needed to maintain the right mindset to develop even further.

“Sandbag internal 5 minutes! How many minutes?!”

“5 minutes!”

5 minutes of hitting the sandbag with full power without rest.

Since it was the last sequence, I put my fists into the sandbag with all my heart.

‘Here’s the chin, temple, face, liver, heart.’

Strikes focused solely on vital points to perfectly subdue a human.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The sandbag doesn’t move excessively.

After 5 minutes of quietly hitting the sandbag in a static state.

Ding!

As soon as the sound signaling the end of the round was heard.

“Huff… huff… hoo.”

I exhaled deeply, knowing that the three-hour stamina training was over.

And at the same time, as if she had been waiting.

“Towel and water! Drink the water slowly!”

Yerim, who appointed herself as my manager, came with a towel and water bottle.

“You don’t need to do this, don’t you have school?”

“Why would a manager go to school when her athlete is training? I’m just doing this.”

“….”

Of course, Yerim wasn’t really just doing manager work.

This was just for a short time; she was investing the rest of her time in modeling work.

As Yerim’s time for success was approaching,

it was time to prepare the groundwork to perfectly seize the opportunity.

‘Since she’s taking modeling classes well while doing this, it’s hard to say anything.’

Perhaps my thoughts showed in my eyes.

“I know, I’m working hard on modeling too. So don’t look at me like that.”

Yerim looked at me with a bright smile.

“Come to think of it, is it one year left now?”

“Huh? Until the Olympics?”

“No? Until we become adults, remember that time?”

That time…

‘What is she talking about?’

A moment of doubt.

And then immediately following.

“I promised to show you everything of mine.”

A sweet whisper close to my ear.

“W-what are you saying?!”

I stepped back in surprise.

This girl has no fear at all.

“You don’t know how scary men can be.”

“That’s why I want to learn from you, how scary they are.”

There’s no reasoning with her.

‘Why can’t I win when talking with her?’

It’s really puzzling.

After wasting time with such frivolous conversation.

“Oh, Donghu, the schedule is set. They want to do it next week?”

“Really? That’s fine with me. But can we designate the location?”

“Location? Huh? Where do you want to do it?”

“I just want to do it here.”

“Ah, I already told them that. They agreed to come. Honestly, should the national prince Kim Donghu go somewhere for a match? Right?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

The last answer was Yerim’s.

Why are the people around me getting better at gilding my face?

It was mortifying to hear every time.

+++++

“A fucking high school kid telling us where to go?!”

“Can’t be helped, we’re the ones who need this.”

Hwang Hyeongcheol, the man who wanted to teach Kim Donghu a lesson, frowned.

“Even a mutt is king in front of its own house….”

“You’re not going to lose because of that, are you?”

Hwang Hyeongcheol’s coach and manager stopped there.

He had good skills, but why did he talk so much?

If he entertained it, he’d probably grumble all the way.

“Take it easy, and warm up. We’ll probably start in about an hour.”

“Ah… warming up for some high school kid, how embarrassing.”

Despite his words, Hwang Hyeongcheol immediately prepared to warm up as soon as they arrived at Baeksang MMA Gym.

Swoosh.

Taking off his top was a bonus.

This was a kind of show-off.

To intimidate with the sight of his writhing tattoos.

But.

“Hello, I’m Kim Donghu. Looking forward to our sparring today.”

“Ah… yeah, whatever.”

Despite deliberately giving a half-hearted, delinquent-like response,

the high school kid didn’t seem intimidated at all and calmly greeted him.

A handshake along with the greeting.

‘Usually people get scared when they see me up close like this.’

Not showing any fear at all, that too was irritating.

‘Ah, I want to smash this bastard’s face somehow.’

Since it wasn’t unusual to provoke before a match,

Hwang Hyeongcheol rolled his eyes around and finally spotted a target.

“Is that your bitch?”

“Excuse me?”

“That, the girl standing behind you. She’s pretty hot.”

Hwang Hyeongcheol expected Kim Donghu to turn his head at those words, but.

“What are you saying?”

Kim Donghu looked at Hwang Hyeongcheol without even flinching.

Still smiling with his mouth but not with his eyes.

“Does talking like that make you feel better?”

“What?”

Since this was the first time he’d gotten such a response, Hwang Hyeongcheol was taken aback.

And at that moment.

Crunch.

Tremendous pressure was applied to the hand he was shaking.

“Kuh…ugh…!”

Hwang Hyeongcheol desperately tried to apply force back, but it was futile.

‘My grip strength is 55kg!’

Just before Hwang Hyeongcheol’s hand could be injured, as he was in shock.

“Let’s warm up and start the match.”

Kim Donghu, still smiling only with his mouth, dealt with Hwang Hyeongcheol politely.

As if the conversation just now was absolutely nothing.

“…Who the hell are you?!”

Hwang Hyeongcheol shouted belatedly, but Kim Donghu didn’t respond.

“Donghu, did something happen?”

“Nothing. Just… yeah.”

When Coach Paek Sangha sensed something was wrong and asked,

Kim Donghu wrapped bandages around his fists without saying much.

There was no need to explain in detail.

He could show what wrong had been done with his fists.