Chapter 7

Chapter 7. The New Superstar

Representative Jo, along with the audience filling the stands, all rose to their feet in unison.

The same was true in the fighters’ waiting room.

“Huh?”

“What?!”

Most of the boys who had been sitting and watching jumped to their feet, looking at the TV with shocked expressions.

Even Go Junkyung, who had not yet stood up, thought,

‘That punch just now… what was it?’

He looked at the TV with an expression of disbelief.

However, the match was not over yet.

Kang Kyungmo, who had fallen, got up like a roly-poly toy.

He stepped forward as if he hadn’t taken any damage, but his appearance suggested the opposite.

His eyes were slightly unfocused from the shock, and thick streams of blood ran from his mouth.

What caught Go Junkyung’s attention the most was…

‘His jawbone is completely dislocated?’

It was the left side of Kang Kyungmo’s jaw, indented from Kim Jinsung’s punch, looking grotesquely hollowed out.

Go Junkyung himself hadn’t been able to break Kang Kyungmo’s jaw, and now it was shattered with one punch?

“The guy who took my punches for five rounds without breaking anything?”

Go Junkyung, who had personally fought Kang Kyungmo, found it even harder to believe.

Five rounds in the ring is a very long time.

Yet, Kang Kyungmo had only suffered a broken nose and a few cracks here and there.

He was known for his natural toughness and robust bones, but how could this be…?

‘No way he has a stronger punch than me… No, that’s impossible.’

Go Junkyung quickly dismissed the suspicion that had crossed his mind.

It was an impossible scenario. No matter how rare Kim Jinsung’s traits were, it was impossible to increase punch power so drastically in a short period.

Go Junkyung, more than anyone else in the waiting room, could objectively assess the situation in the ring. That’s why he thought the assumption he had just considered was utterly ridiculous.

“It must be because of the aftereffects from fighting me. His bones must have weakened. He did crack his jawbone during our fight.”

In other words, it was a lucky punch that landed. That was the conclusion Go Junkyung came to internally.

Denying reality was also true for Kang Kyungmo, who was standing in the ring.

“…I, I got careless.”

Regaining his focus, Kang Kyungmo dismissed the previous situation as a simple mistake.

‘Focus, Kang Kyungmo. One more hit like that could be really dangerous.’

Kang Kyungmo clenched his fists and corrected his stance. This time, his guard was raised higher, a more cautious posture.

A veteran of over twenty matches,

He knew very well how to handle a fight when sustaining serious injuries mid-match.

‘That guy relies on outboxing due to his lack of fighting experience, trying to wear down stamina and aiming for the later rounds.’

Outboxing involved hitting and running, a strategy that could be executed by Kang Kyungmo with his quick feet and much longer reach.

Kim Jinsung was a complete novice, having only fought in one match.

Chasing after Kang Kyungmo, who was using outboxing, would surely exhaust him.

So Kang Kyungmo planned to drag the fight to the 4th or 5th round, then take advantage of Kim Jinsung’s weakened state to win.

‘If he comes in with a jab, I’ll keep him at bay, and if there’s distance, I’ll go for a low kick.’

With his guard up, Kang Kyungmo kept jabbing to maintain distance and then suddenly launched a surprise low kick.

‘There’s no way he can block this.’

The whip-like low kick from Kang Kyungmo made a satisfying impact sound against Kim Jinsung’s calf.

But…

-?

Kang Kyungmo’s eyes widened at the sight of Kim Jinsung, who continued to charge without slowing down, seemingly unaffected by the kick.

No, he had landed a solid hit while his trait was active, how could this be?

Kim Jinsung closed the distance in an instant.

Despite being flustered, Kang Kyungmo raised his guard as high as he could.

Over it, Kim Jinsung’s fist swung down.

Kang Kyungmo quickly turned his head.

‘First, I’ll block and then retreat…’

Thump!

With a dull sound that echoed through the arena, Kang Kyungmo’s thoughts came to an abrupt stop.

Kim Jinsung’s fist had penetrated the guard and struck Kang Kyungmo’s right jaw precisely.

As Kang Kyungmo flew backward, several broken teeth, along with droplets of blood, were sent flying into the air, all captured live on the broadcast.

“What?!”

Representative Jo, along with the entire audience, was taken aback, and with a loud crash,

Go Junkyung’s chair toppled over.

He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed.

‘He broke through the guard with sheer power?!’

He had seen it clearly.

Kim Jinsung’s fist had shattered Kang Kyungmo’s forearm bone and continued through to smash his jawbone.

‘It’s impossible!’

Overwhelmed by the shock, Go Junkyung stared blankly at the TV.

Meanwhile, on the TV, the match was nearing its end.

Kim Jinsung, having mounted Kang Kyungmo, began to strangle him with all his might.

Kang Kyungmo, with his eyes rolling back, could only flail weakly, unable to resist.

He had sustained significant damage to his brain from the second attack.

Therefore,

“Do you have any last words?”

Unable to respond to Kim Jinsung’s question, Kang Kyungmo received no mercy. Kim Jinsung tightened his grip even more, hastening the end.

After confirming that Kang Kyungmo’s head had dropped powerlessly, Kim Jinsung finally withdrew the killing intent from his eyes.

‘Good. Perfect.’

A perfect victory without a scratch.

Thanks to his control over his killing intent, he showed no weakness throughout the match and finished it decisively when the opportunity arose.

Soon, the referee lifted Kim Jinsung’s hand high.

“The winner of this match is! Kim! Jin! Sung!”

Only then could Kim Jinsung take in the crowd.

A mix of cheers, shock, screams, and cries of anger – the match had delivered a huge shock to all who watched.

Even Representative Jo Kanghyun was so absorbed in shock that he rambled to himself,

“Was he really that strong? Kim Jinsung, what kind of trait does he have…?”

“…No, no. I can’t be like this now. Hey!”

Regaining his composure, Representative Jo shouted to Daejoon sitting next to him,

“Bring that guy to my office right now! Immediately!”

He then hurriedly rushed to his office himself.

It was a rare sight to see the portly Representative Jo running so urgently, even for the staff who had worked with him for years.

***

“Ah, welcome! Hahaha!”

As soon as Kim Jinsung entered the office, Representative Jo warmly embraced him with a friendly laugh.

“I saw your fantastic performance, our club’s future superstar! How’s your leg? All good? No torn ligaments or fractures?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“If there’s any problem, let me know right away! I’ll have medical staff on you 24/7!”

“Okay…”

Just two weeks ago, they had told him to reuse bandages after washing them… but Kim Jinsung held his tongue.

“Sit down! Sit down! What would you like to drink? Coffee? No, no! You’ve just finished a match, have a cold cola!”

Representative Jo placed Kim Jinsung on the sofa and personally brought him a glass of cola with ice.

“Drink up, relax. So, how’s life in the waiting room? No one’s giving you trouble, right?”

“Uh… it’s okay.”

Go Junkyung’s gang immediately came to mind, but Kim Jinsung responded that way.

Compared to the past when he was tormented by Yang Dongju’s gang, the current lack of physical bullying was almost like heaven.

“Which room are you using now? Go Junkyung should have moved you after your first match, right?”

Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened at that, and Representative Jo’s expression changed upon seeing his reaction.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re still in room 99?”

“Yes.”

“Go Junkyung, that guy, I told him to move any surviving newcomers to better rooms!”

Kim Jinsung then realized,

‘Go Junkyung had the authority to change rooms?’

The conversations of the gang members echoed in his mind.

– Stay in that room forever and just burn corpses! Hahaha.

– Keep taking care of those corpses for us! Hehehe!

‘Those bastards, that’s why they were smirking.’

Realizing it was deliberate, a hint of killing intent flickered in Kim Jinsung’s eyes, but it quickly faded.

‘Well, it worked out for the best. Thanks to that, I could handle all the corpses.’

If he had changed rooms right away, it’s more likely that he would have been the one turned into a cold corpse in the previous match, not Kang Kyungmo.

“Why has that guy been so obedient until now? Hey, Jinsung, when you go back to the waiting room, change rooms immediately. Got it?”

“Choose the best available room among the empty ones! You can tell the other kids to vacate their rooms if necessary! Just not the champion Junkyung’s room, okay?”

Kim Jinsung nodded.

Of course, he had no intention of changing rooms. Why would he, when he needed to keep handling the crematorium to continue getting stronger?

Unaware of his true thoughts, Representative Jo brought up another topic.

“I called you here to let you know in advance who you’ll be fighting next.”

Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened. They were going to tell him his matchups in advance?

“For the time being, you’ll be matched with fighters weaker than Kang Kyungmo. You know why?”

“There are only five fighters stronger than Kang Kyungmo left. If I match you with them, one of you will end up dead like today, right?”

“That would mean losing one of our key players, one who could bring in a lot of money as a star. You get what I’m saying?”

Representative Jo was passionately making his case.

“Lee Hyungjun and Kang Kyungmo were stars too, but it’s okay! We’ve discovered a new star in you. My instincts tell me you’re going to become even more famous and rake in a ton of money!”

His words were sincere.

To break Kang Kyungmo’s guard and shatter his jaw with a single punch? Not even Go Junkyung could do that, nor would he be able to in the future.

With that overwhelming destructive power alone, Kim Jinsung had all the makings of the Fight Club’s new superstar.

“But! You absolutely must not end fights with just one or two punches. You need to ‘act’ like you’re fighting fiercely, so the audience doesn’t feel the skill gap is too wide. ‘Act’!”

“People bet money when they see a fight. If the skill gap is too wide, the odds are too extreme, and people won’t bet! It’s important to ‘act’ to rake in the gamblers’ money! Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Kim Jinsung showed little reaction to his words.

Seeing his indifferent expression, Representative Jo said, as if he had expected it,

“At this point, you’re probably thinking, what do I gain from ‘acting’? Whether I win easily or with difficulty, I’m still trapped underground, right?”

‘You know well…’ Kim Jinsung thought to himself.

“Jinsung.”

Then, Representative Jo leaned in close to Kim Jinsung and asked in a whisper,

“Don’t you want to be free?”

Kim Jinsung’s eyes shook at the word.

Freedom!

Wasn’t that the reward all the boys trapped underground wanted the most?

Representative Jo continued to persuade him.

“If you follow my instructions, I guarantee I’ll get you out of here.”