Ch.289For the first time, doubt arose.

“Please think about this seriously.”

-…Is this something to think about seriously? Isn’t it… isn’t it too novel an approach?

“We’ve already had celebrities in games before, like rappers… YouTubers, so is there a rule saying actors can’t participate?”

-They can, they definitely can….

“Then please consider it seriously, I’m being sincere.”

-Even so, a running back? And you’re saying you’ll put him on your team?

“That arrogant bastard doesn’t want to play in event matches anyway, right? Saying he’s not a clown.”

Living well and getting paid thanks to fans’ popularity—isn’t that being a clown?

What productive thing is he doing anyway?

Just getting paid a lot for bouncing a ball on the floor, why develop such an elitist attitude?

Cade frowned as he rambled on.

Sensing it was futile, he quickly brought the conversation back to the starting point.

“Event match, Kim Donghu on our team, running back. Full time. If we do it for charity, rich people will contribute a lot to get tax deductions.”

-Alright, I’ll try it, but this will take quite a while. Even if we do it, it’ll be the year after next.

“By then, I’ll be playing with Batman instead of Tarzan.”

Click.

After ending the call, Cade exhaled deeply.

‘Says he doesn’t want to fall behind, yet he’s so conservative about these things.’

It’s not like he was demanding Kim Donghu be included in an event match unconditionally.

Just suggesting to make a proposal to his agency.

He wondered if his influence had really become this weak.

“Isn’t it stupid not to capitalize on this momentum?”

Muttering to himself,

Cade Walker checked the Physical 300 rankings.

Real-time ranking: #1.

Number one in both English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries.

In other words, number one worldwide.

What could be more foolish than not taking advantage of this?

‘They’ll contact me soon enough; they’re not stupid.’

Why does the league want victories?

Why do they pay good players high salaries?

Because ultimately, it brings in more money.

In that sense, Physical 300 is money rolling around right now.

Even at this moment, inquiries were constantly coming in through DMs.

The agency was struggling to select which advertisements to accept.

As a pioneer of a new trend,

The first to feel that trend is…

“Dad, are you really friends with Tarzan?”

His own son, who was looking at him with sparkling eyes.

“Of course. We exchanged contact information and… well, we video called, remember?”

“B-but…! I still can’t believe it. It could just be business, you know.”

“…”

Maybe because his dad is famous.

He’s only seven years old, but he’s already too perceptive about how the world works.

Cade shook his head and showed him Kim Donghu’s Instagram again.

“See? We’re following each other.”

“But they say Tarzan follows people easily because he’s nice….”

“…”

No point in hiding it.

His son was a Kim Donghu fan.

More precisely, a Tarzan fan.

And now he’s even more excited because he’s Batman too, or something like that.

Anyway.

While spending time with his son,

“Dad, so who won between Kim Donghu and Angus?!”

His son asked.

“It’s a Netflix contract violation, so I absolutely cannot tell you!”

“…”

Cade answered calmly.

He definitely wasn’t upset that his son was only curious about Kim Donghu.

Really.

++++++

Kim Donghu vs. Angus.

Episode 2 ended without revealing the exact winner.

Because of this, people were predicting the outcome whenever they had time.

“Kim, did you see that? That Physical thing?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Who do you think will win?”

“Definitely Angus, right? He applied a choke hold, and once that’s applied, you can’t escape.”

“Come on, but you know? Kim Donghu is Tarzan and Batman—couldn’t he escape by doing this? Like swoosh!”

In a company break room,

Kim smiled at Manager Park’s elaborate movements.

“Manager Park, try putting me in the choke hold Angus used.”

“M-me?”

“If I do it, it would be insubordination. Go ahead. You can use both arms.”

“L-like this?”

“Yes. Now if Manager Park applies just a little pressure here… Keck! Kugh! Tap tap!”

“S-sorry…!”

“See what happens? Look how red my face is getting. There’s absolutely no escaping this.”

“Y-you’re right… Wow… So Angus wins?”

“Still, if there’s a bomb necklace on the line, I’d bet on Kim Donghu.”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

After saying Angus would win earlier.

At Manager Park’s question, Kim silently prepared coffee.

Two instant coffees.

Handing one to Manager Park,

“I’m a man who dies for loyalty, you know.”

“Huh? You have loyalty to Kim Donghu?”

“Korean loyalty.”

“Ah, well in that case, I’m definitely with you.”

They had a friendly conversation.

But this was a minority case.

About a week until Netflix released episode 3.

During that time, numerous fighting YouTubers seized the opportunity to upload analysis videos.

-“Hello everyone! There’s a really hot program these days, right? Actor Kim Donghu got caught in a choke hold…”

-“Can you escape a choke hold? To be honest, it’s impossible. Even in UFC, it’s the most definitive…”

-“Even women can easily subdue strong men with this…”

-“A strongman’s choke can break wooden boards! Is this really true?”

A well-known rule for those trained in martial arts:

A properly applied choke hold cannot be escaped.

Just as the mythical lion

Couldn’t escape Hercules’ choke hold.

The choke in the video was applied with one hand, but

When the arm is thicker than most women’s thighs, does that even matter?

So the conclusion was:

-“Kim Donghu will definitely lose. Unfortunately.”

100% chance of Kim Donghu’s defeat.

But that was just in the realm of expert analysis.

From an entertainment perspective, opinions were divided.

ㄴIt’s a variety show but feels like a documentary lol

ㄴThen why did they make the preview like that?

ㄴKim Donghu wins, that’s why they showed it that way for dramatic effect lol

Under the assumption that Netflix would never abandon Kim Donghu,

Some people said Angus would be disqualified for rule violations.

Unable to escape the choke hold?

Acknowledged.

But they claimed it violated the rules.

While wrestling was allowed,

Did anyone say to use techniques that completely knock someone out?

Their position was that it was excessive,

And it actually sounded plausible.

ㄴKim Donghu definitely wins

ㄴEvidence?

ㄴI like Kim Donghu

ㄴTrust in Dongpyeong lolololol

ㄴFaith in Dongpyeong lolololol

ㄴHope too? Dongpyeong lolololol

ㄴReligion? DongTube lolololol

Angus winning was based on facts.

Kim Donghu winning was based on faith and hope.

While most situations were unfolding like this,

Netflix released episode 3.

And what appeared was:

ㄴ???????

ㄴ???????

ㄴWait what the fuck?

ㄴWait a minute wait a minute

ㄴWhat?lolololololol

ㄴI thought you can’t escape a choke hold? I thought you can’t escape a choke hold? I thought you can’t escape a choke hold? I thought you can’t escape a choke hold?

ㄴThe standards of ordinary humans are so pathetic (ㅡㅡ)/ The standards of ordinary humans are so pathetic (ㅡㅡ)/ The standards of ordinary humans are so pathetic (ㅡㅡ)/

It was Kim Donghu escaping Angus’s one-handed choke hold with just one hand of his own.

+++++

-“AAAAARGH!”

Crunch.

The scene of a thigh-sized forearm being compressed by someone else’s hand.

It was an astonishing sight.

What kind of grip strength would make this possible?

The participants looked down at the arena in disbelief,

Where Kim Donghu, having easily escaped the choke hold, was smiling brightly and saying:

-“Come on, put some effort into it.”

Overwhelming power, telling a strongman to try harder.

Actually, it had been like this from the beginning.

-“Angus was running around… but he was just walking, which made me wonder.”

-“I thought, couldn’t Angus just hide the ball inside his body and be done with it?”

His relaxed demeanor made people think he had given up on the game.

-“Is he even human? Is he really natural?”

But it wasn’t that—he was simply confident he could easily defeat Angus.

And he had the skills to back it up.

Unlike the tension in the preview,

Kim Donghu subdued Angus with ease.

“Subdued with ease.”

This simple phrase contained many complex processes.

ㄴRolling cradle lololololol

ㄴWow he just picks up Angus who’s flat on the ground like a turtle

ㄴ

The game ended in an instant,

And an announcement stated that 150 participants had been eliminated.

Then came:

-“We will now vote for the championship candidates.”

Championship candidate voting.

Each person had five votes.

People made sure to use one of their five votes for Kim Donghu.

-“Team leaders will be selected based on the championship candidate votes.”

-“150 votes, first place Kim Donghu. He is our first team leader.”

Soon it was revealed to the whole world.

ㄴKim Donghu votes for himself too lololololololol

ㄴThis guy lololololololol his expression when voting is so cute

-“…I can vote for myself too, right?”

The screen briefly showed him voting.

ㄴWho’s your sincere vote for? The Great Donghu

ㄴI mean, he’s right lolololololol

ㄴAh I’m a championship candidate lolololololol

ㄴSo Kim Donghu self-promotes too lolololololol

ㄴHumanity +1 lolololololol

The second mission was immediately revealed.

-“The second mission is Noah’s Ark.”

Then came the explanation time.

The explanation was very simple.

Noah’s Ark weighs 3 tons.

Ten people need to pull it together, and that’s it.

But that’s easier said than done.

How are they supposed to pull this?

In reality:

ㄴEveryone seems to lose their breath just looking at Noah’s Ark

ㄴOf course, it’s clearly huge, right? Looks about as tall as a 4-story apartment building

ㄴAnd that’s 3 tons… imagine having to pull something like that shaped like a ship right in front of you

Noah’s Ark was as imposing as its size suggested.

The weight crushed their thoughts, you could say.

People’s shock was understandable.

And at this moment, one team skillfully directed people and

Just started pulling without hesitation:

ㄴIs it you again?

ㄴThe Great Donghu

ㄴBut this is definitely impossible to pull

ㄴKim Donghu, I like you, but this is too brute force

ㄴAgree, this requires using the principles of force properly…

It was Kim Donghu’s team.

+++++

Creeeeak.

Noah’s Ark moves by the effort of just one person.

Of course, there were people supporting from behind,

But without the leader, it would have been impossible.

Overwhelming strength.

The world was marveling at him,

And only one being was expressing dissatisfaction:

This is impossible.

It was Fate itself.

According to the predetermined schedule,

Kim Donghu absolutely had to die two years from now.

It was already annoying that his parents were still alive,

And with an unplanned second child born,

Killing the firstborn was necessary to save face.

But.

Things were going wrong in every possible way.

What exactly was the problem?

Boxing matches, UFC fights—everything was arranged.

And all that remained was to kill him there.

Planning to kill him through a minor accident during a match,

Using every permissible form of death.

Why was he getting stronger?

In Fate’s astonished gaze, Kim Donghu comes into view.

Creeeeak!

Noah’s Ark, weighing about 3 tons.

Making a mockery of that weight,

A single person was slowly pulling it.

He must be killed the year after next.

Will that be possible?

For the first time, doubt arose.