Ch.167Come on, everyone! Let’s do our best! Today’s the highlight!

The normally bustling Drake Gym in Colorado, USA was unusually quiet today.

“Jack! Draco! Homkin! Where is everyone?”

But today the gym was eerily silent.

If the lights had been off too, one might have thought the gym had gone out of business.

“Keep it down, the match is about to start.”

Perry Jaco looked puzzled at the person who appeared behind him.

“Match? What match?”

“The Asian qualifiers today, for the Olympic spot.”

“Heavyweight?”

“Yeah, everyone flew to Asia to watch it. We’re waiting to see it too.”

“Wait, both Drake and Draco went?”

“Young Boss is fighting, of course they did.”

In truth, their reason for going wasn’t just to watch.

“There’s always so much to learn from Young Boss’s matches, so we have to be there in person to record it.”

“Is he that good?”

The people around Perry Jaco gave him looks that said, “You still have a lot to learn.”

“You see as much as you know. Watching for yourself is the fastest way to understand.”

Following his seniors’ advice, Perry Jaco turned his attention to the TV.

On screen, Kim Donghu was slowly climbing into the ring.

“But seriously, how can someone be such a beast?”

“His body is just… wow, that presence… No wonder his photo book sold 1.2 million copies. I bought one for my wife and she loved it.”

“Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Philippines? They’ll be seeing Donghu for the first time.”

The senior boxers shrugged as they named the boxing powerhouses in Asia.

“Is this the first time our Young Boss is appearing to the whole world?”

“You could call it his world debut.”

“Wow, they’re in for a treat. That feeling when you first face our Young Boss—you never get to experience that again.”

“Oh, that feeling? I know it, I know it so well, it’s really something.”

The boxers nodded in agreement with their colleague’s words.

Everyone had the same experience when first facing Kim Donghu.

‘Small country Korea, Asian, heavyweight.’

They laugh at these three things.

Plus, Korea is considered weak in boxing, making it even more laughable.

But then.

“The moment you face him, you feel something’s different, and you get tense for no reason.”

“It doesn’t take long, you know as soon as the bell rings.”

“Ah, this guy… he’s a hitman who’s come to kill me.”

Hitman.

The colleagues focused back on the screen after mentioning that word.

There, as they expected, was the Mongolian boxer with a relaxed expression.

‘No matter how much he’s built up his weight class, this Solongos guy is still small.’

The Mongolian boxer slowly started warming up, lowering his guard slightly.

Even though their weights might be similar, Mongolia’s physique was overwhelming.

He thought one punch to the chin would end it.

‘How should I cook you, Solongos?’

With that thought, he waited for the bell to ring.

Ding!

Finally, when the bell rang.

“?!”

The opponent disappeared from his sight.

A moment of carelessness. Just a few seconds.

In that time, the opponent—no, Kim Donghu—burrowed into the Mongolian boxer’s space.

Too late to react.

The Mongolian boxer instinctively lowered his guard and tried to tense his body, but.

BOOM!

Kim Donghu’s punch extended faster.

CRACK!

A single strike.

The rib cracked.

“Kuhek…!”

As the bone cracked, his guard dropped from the unbearable pain.

His standing body collapsed pathetically.

But as if all his training hadn’t been in vain,

his legs firmly supported the Mongolian boxer.

‘I can do this!’

Just as he felt hope.

BOOM!

Kim Donghu’s rear uppercut struck his chin directly.

Despite the impact sound, the movement was concise and clean.

Perfect striking form with efficient power transfer.

Just two strikes to kill the opponent.

The hitman of the ring ended the match in just 13 seconds.

Seeing this amazing display, Coach Jack Drake smiled deeply.

“Young Boss, show the world who you are.”

The world realizes.

Forfeiting is the safest defeat they can choose.

Kim Donghu’s interview answers were never just bravado.

++++++

Boxing novices in the general public.

“Wow, wow… what just happened?”

“It was too fast to see properly, he just went whoosh and boom, and the other guy was done?”

They couldn’t grasp what happened because the match ended so quickly.

All they knew for sure was that Kim Donghu had won.

Kim Donghu’s acquaintances immediately picked up their phones to send congratulations.

Tap tap tap tap tap.

As if by agreement, everyone wrote long congratulatory messages saying they enjoyed watching his first match.

“So the preliminaries run until March 30th?”

“No, the preliminaries are until March 29th, semifinals on the 30th, and finals and third-place match on April 2nd.”

“Ah, okay, okay.”

Everyone casually confirmed the schedule.

Being prominent actors, checking schedules was essential.

“So we should plan for about a week’s vacation.”

“But Donghu is so cool.”

“I know, wow… our maknae fights so well?”

“We shouldn’t call him maknae or youngest anymore, right? He’s the boss now.”

“…I’ll ask for his permission next time we meet, if it’s okay to call him maknae….”

While everyone was joking around.

‘I could have done it more perfectly.’

Kim Donghu was constantly honing himself sharply.

A 13-second match.

Even those 13 seconds he reviewed, looking for improvements.

“Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are strong in Asia. I’ve analyzed their styles already, so let’s look at them when we have time.”

Meanwhile, Coach Paek Sangha quickly figured out what Kim Donghu needed.

“We recorded the match, so you don’t need to think about it now. Let’s rest first and watch it later.”

“Yes, we should.”

“You’re already doing well enough, there are improvements to make, but let’s look at them after resting.”

What a person pushing themselves hard needed wasn’t unconditional rest.

‘I need to make him recognize that rest is also part of the growth process.’

If he simply told him to rest, Donghu would think he was falling behind by not training.

But by saying rest was essential for the next stage, he would accept it.

‘Plus, if he’s not just resting but watching videos too, he’ll have to take a break.’

Coach Paek Sangha adjusted Kim Donghu’s tight training schedule this way.

When you run too fast forward, your body leans and falls.

Managing this balance was a coach’s true capability.

‘But he really is scary.’

Coach Paek Sangha recalled the recent match while caring for Kim Donghu.

The opponent may have been careless for a moment, but it was literally just a moment.

‘How many fighters can exploit that gap in those few seconds?’

Probably only world-class ones.

‘That hook and short uppercut were truly spine-chilling.’

The nickname “Hitman” wasn’t given for nothing.

And Paek Sangha’s astonishment wasn’t just his personal reaction.

ㄴWhat was that just now? Kim Donghu, this crazy bastard, he’s a real alpha

ㄴForeign news just dropped lol Kim Donghu is called Young Boss at American Drake Gym, and his ring nickname is Hitman

ㄴIs he really going for gold? Donghu, are you showing us?

South Korea, a country that originally had little interest in boxing.

He was now shocking the entire nation.

++++++

ㄴHe’s really insane, is that the same guy from High Dream?

ㄴHe used to be our friend… now he’s shooting people with his fists

ㄴThe funny thing is Kim Donghu wasn’t much smaller than the Mongolian boxer

ㄴJust an alpha

Even though he’d only had one match so far.

Perhaps because his performance was so overwhelming.

1. Kim Donghu

2. Kim Donghu boxing

3. Asian qualifiers Kim Donghu

4. 13 seconds

5. Drake Gym Kim Donghu

6. Hitman

The real-time search rankings were all about Kim Donghu.

『13 seconds, lightning flash, no one saw it. Hitman Kim Donghu, heading to the Olympics?』

『Alpha incarnate, destruction tank Kim Donghu launches!』

『Even experts were surprised. “Near perfect performance.”』

Articles were full of praise for Kim Donghu’s greatness.

And this wasn’t limited to just Korea.

After Kim Donghu’s GOT magazine interview in October,

podcasts that had reacted to it immediately broadcast reaction shows.

“Wow, wow, wow.”

“Honestly, really honestly, is he professional level? There’s so much talk about that.”

“Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan fighters are really good, that’s true, but they don’t have this impact.”

“Who knew Korea had such a monster, and in heavyweight!”

“I understand why he gave that interview back then.”

“Drake Gym’s Young Boss, Hitman! Whoo! This is crazy! His face is so handsome, and his body is amazing.”

Before the host could even guide the discussion,

the guests poured their excitement directly into the microphones.

“If he maintains this form, I don’t know about medals, but he’ll definitely qualify.”

“Especially that short uppercut after the hook is insane.”

“Yeah, exactly. Wait, everyone calm down! Can we analyze the match content first? It’s only 13 seconds.”

“Oh my God! Are you really a boxing podcast MC? Only 13 seconds? There’s so much packed in there.”

The guests continued their excitement as they played the match video.

It showed Kim Donghu lowering his stance and approaching.

“He disappears from sight and throws a hook at the relatively open area!”

“I’m guessing this broke the rib, from the sound of it.”

“His stance is low, right? So as he rises, he delivers that short uppercut.”

“Even though it looks like a short punch, it’s powerful because he’s rising with it.”

And that ended the match.

Just 13 seconds, but the strategy contained within was mind-blowing.

“I really want to see his other matches, this is driving me crazy.”

“I guarantee, I really guarantee. When these preliminaries end? Countless brands will be rushing to collaborate with Kim Donghu.”

“Oh, I agree, totally agree. This face with these skills? It’s insane.”

The guests and host actively promoted and praised Kim Donghu.

ㄴAren’t they overhyping this Asian guy?

ㄴThey’re obsessed with praising this ching chong, did they get paid?

Of course, there were viewers who found this annoying.

“Block these comments right away. Or do you want to come up here? I can’t believe people still say things like this.”

The host immediately kicked out such people.

‘We have 20,000 viewers, we don’t need assholes saying this crap.’

Praising Kim Donghu was already increasing their viewership.

There was absolutely no need to respond to the haters.

And this response led to:

『America is shocked! Unconditional praise for Kim Donghu on podcasts?!』

ㄴWow lol all the guests are famous boxers and they’re fanboying over Donghu

ㄴThis national pride is off the charts, it’s insane lol

Once again, it was packaged into articles in Korea.

A reaction to the reaction.

The infinite cycle of the Kim Donghu praise train was in full operation.

++++++

As time passed,

Kim Donghu achieved more perfect victories as he climbed higher,

and the Korean public’s interest in boxing grew accordingly.

Additionally,

People naturally began looking up famous anecdotes about heavyweight boxers.

“…Mi, Mike… Tyson relieved stress by having sex with women before matches?”

Kim Sujin was shocked to belatedly discover this very famous anecdote.

“So… he consumed energy this way… to control his power.”

Does that mean Donghu might do the same?!

“Me… with Donghu… doing… that?”

With flesh like this….

“Dirty thoughts are not allowed yet!”

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Kim Sujin unconsciously pounded her pillow like a punching bag.

And that night.

“Huh… ah… Do-Donghu… I, I can help you release… just a little… okay? I’ll… I’ll help you, even though it’s my first time….”

For the first time in her life, Kim Sujin had an erotic dream.

And the partner was, of course, Kim Donghu.