Real Man

Chapter 407:

Time flew by.

It was a busy afternoon preparing for the group leaders report.

Swoosh.

Deputy Kwon Se-jung leaned over to Yoo-hyuns seat and talked about the changed atmosphere.

Other team members are so jealous of us.

They have a reason to be. Its like a different world across the partition.

Some people even asked for a transfer.

Really? They dont have to do that.

This shaky organization was not far from getting back on track.

When that time came, they wouldnt need to switch teams. Kim Hyun-min, the section chief, would take care of everything.

Deputy Kwon Se-jung, who sensed Yoo-hyuns thoughts, handed him a snack.

Swoosh.

Whats this?

What do you mean? I bought it for you because you like fish-shaped bread.

Why? Well, thanks.

He could see the intention clearly, but Yoo-hyun didnt bring it up first.

Instead, he nibbled on the fish-shaped bread and looked at the monitor.

Deputy Kwon Se-jung, who was staring at him, asked.

G20 summit? Thats a big deal, right?

Yeah. A lot of people are working hard for it.

Youre really into social news, huh?

I just watch what I need.

Yoo-hyun shook his head at Deputy Kwon Se-jungs words.

He used to devour all the news while reflecting on his past memories, but not anymore.

He was living in the present now.

So he only watched the news that he really needed.

The news about meeting Jeong Da-hye soon was obviously included in that.

And there were other news as well.

Click.

As Yoo-hyun clicked on the fresh news that just came out, Deputy Kwon Se-jung blinked his eyes.

Huh? MMA? Do you know him?

Yeah. Hes my gym junior.

Wow. Youre hanging out with a fierce junior.

Deputy Kwon Se-jung stuck out his tongue as he saw the news title with Lee Jang-woos interview.

Not only the news title, but also the aura from the photo was no joke.

He wondered if he was really the kind junior he knew well.

Yoo-hyun wanted to see the details quickly and went straight to the point.

Se-jung, say what you want to say. You want me to teach you something again, right?

Yeah. I have no clue how to do the group leaders report. Do you have any tips on how to persuade the group leader?

Yoo-hyun chuckled at his colleague who came in bluntly.

Dude, how do you persuade other group leaders?

Damn. Cant you? No fishing or golden connections?

Nah. None.

Then what are you going to do? Your tower of effort will collapse.

Yoo-hyun gave a completely different answer to Deputy Kwon Se-jung, who looked gloomy.

If you cant persuade the group leader, you have to persuade the business director.

Deputy Kwon Se-jungs eyes widened.

Huh? Are you going to challenge the crown prince or something?

As expected, he had a great sense of humor.

Yoo-hyun laughed and waved his hand.

I dont know about that. But itll work out.

Really?

Of course. If you want it badly enough, the whole universe will help you. So dont be like that and pray.

Huh.

Yoo-hyun winked at Deputy Kwon Se-jung, who stuck out his tongue.

He patted his back and Deputy Kwon Se-jung quietly returned to his seat.

Click.

Deputy Kwon Se-jung didnt hesitate and took out his report materials.

Then he started to look over them.

As a countermeasure for customers.

He soon concentrated and muttered to himself.

Not with prayer, but with effort.

Yoo-hyun gave a thumbs up to his colleague, who was trying to create his own crisis.

Lee Jang-woo was not the type to give long interviews.

He had never been in the newspapers for doing an interview.

But today.

His name boldly appeared on the news section of an internet portal site.

The interview content was quite long, considering how much he had practiced.

Most of the content focused on the championship belt and Kim Choonsik.

-Kim Choonsiks fist makes me yawn. Others say hes fast, but to my eyes, he looks like a child playing. He knows that best himself. Thats why hes running away with the champion belt he got by chance.

It was a childish but uplifting remark that was included in the interview.

Yoo-hyun nodded as he read the content.

This is what Jeongwook hyung coached him to do.

He avoided personal attacks, but his unique sarcasm had Oh Jeongwooks vibe all over it.

-Hes a coward who needs a whip. He must be afraid of me, so he keeps avoiding the match. This time, Ill smash him to pieces and make sure he never sets foot in the martial arts world again.

He not only taunted him, but also used harsh words in the interview.

His expression was grim in the article photo, and his words matched it well.

This is what Dongsik hyungnim told him to do.

Just by looking at the remark, he could imagine Kang Dongsiks strong accent.

Not bad.

That was Yoo-hyuns short impression of Lee Jang-woos interview.

It was enough to show the challengers spirit.

Compared to foreign cases, it wasnt too extreme.

But this was Korea, where manners were valued.

Was that why?

While Yoo-hyun was talking with his colleague for a moment, the comments increased rapidly.

He had a rough idea of what direction they were going, but he still had to check them out.

Click.

As he pressed the button, the comments popped up.

-A champion is a coward? What kind of trashy personality is this?

-Did he copy the foreign pro wrestling interviews? Its so clumsy and unpleasant.

-Kim Choonsik may be a thug, but hes not worth being ridiculed by this brat. Choonsik, beat him up.

-Huh? He has four wins in a row? There was such a guy?

-His skills are not bad. But his matches are boring.

-He seems to have played a desperate card because he has no popularity. Its a pity. Hell be totally disliked.

-Someone like him needs a life lesson from the champion.

-Didnt he hear about Kim Choonsiks rumor? He should go find him and get his ass kicked.

As expected, the public opinion was harsh.

Kim Choonsik wasnt a nice image either, but he was still a champion who drew attention with his issues.

It was natural that this kind of reaction would come out when Lee Jang-woo, who had no recognition and was young, belittled him.

The only good thing was that thanks to this, some people started to notice Lee Jang-woo.

It was unusual for a martial arts fighters interview to get this much attention, so the strategy was successful enough.

But how did Lee Jang-woo feel right now?

No one likes being cursed by the world.

I wonder if that nice guy is okay.

Yoo-hyun held his phone and hesitated to press the call button.

Instead, he headed straight to the gym as soon as the closing song rang out.

At that time.

Ace Gym located in the suburbs of Seoul

A man who received a phone call had a very hard expression on his face.

Yes, hyungnim. Ignore that stupid interview. He just spouted nonsense. Yes. Yes. Haha. Im champion Kim Choonsik. I dont care about this stuff.

This was already his tenth phone call.

Kim Choonsik, who forced a smile, threw his phone away as soon as he hung up.

Bang.

He broke his phone regularly, but this time the cycle was especially fast.

That blue-eyed brat belittled me?

He entered the gym managers office with a grim expression on his face.

Bang!

Manager-nim, where is that guy who made useless noise with an interview?

The man who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed fiddled with his sunglasses and answered nonchalantly.

Choonsik-ah, just ignore it. Hes just trying to provoke you and get a match.

So what? Do you think I can just let it go? Ill just go and beat him up, so tell me where he is.

I knew youd say that. Lets go together. But dont break his bones like before. Itll make trouble.

Of course. Ill only hit him until he shivers.

Some possible ways to continue my response are:

Kim Chun-siks mouth curled up in a smirk.

A few moments later.

Yoo-hyun entered the gym and looked for Lee Jang-woo right away.

Lee Jang-woo was in a corner, hitting a sandbag with a heavy expression.

Bang. Bapang. Bang.

The sound was so fierce that no one dared to approach him.

Thud thud.

Park Young-hoon, who was skipping rope, stopped Yoo-hyun in his tracks.

Leave Jang-woo alone.

Since when is he like this?

Its been a while. Hes been acting like that since he got a call from home.

Yoo-hyun nodded, knowing what kind of son Lee Jang-woo was at home.

He was a dutiful son who never said anything bad about anyone.

But now he had made a disparaging remark about someone else.

And many people were criticizing his son for it.

Even if it was for the sake of making an issue, it must have hurt the parents feelings.

Yoo-hyun replied, He must have gotten calls from all kinds of places since the article came out.

I know, right? It could have been taken as a playful provocation, but our people are so rigid.

Park Young-hoon defended Lee Jang-woo, but Yoo-hyun had a different opinion.

No. If they dont take it playfully, it wont work. You saw it, right? The article got published because it was provocative.

Yeah, but Jang-woo is so weak at this kind of thing.

He has to go through this to get higher. Let me talk to him.

Yoo-hyun pushed Park Young-hoon aside and approached Lee Jang-woo.

Lee Jang-woo didnt even notice Yoo-hyuns presence and kept hitting the sandbag mindlessly.

His back was soaked with sweat.

Thud.

Yoo-hyun put his palm on the swinging sandbag and Lee Jang-woo finally paused.

Huh, huh. Senior.

Are you trying to make it burst?

What?

Come up here. Ill hold the mitt for you for old times sake.

Yoo-hyun gestured to him and Lee Jang-woo bowed his head as he wiped his sweat.

Thank you, senior.

His personality was still kind and polite.

Yoo-hyun climbed onto the ring and put on the mitt that the coach usually used.

It was long enough to cover his elbow and thick enough to cushion a strong kick.

He thought he could handle it, but when he took Lee Jang-woos attack, it was no joke.

Thwack. Thwack.

Yoo-hyun caught Lee Jang-woos rough punches with the mitt.

He felt a tingling sensation in his forearm even though he hadnt been hit much.

Thwump.

He took a kick to his waist and felt like he was lifted off the ground for a moment.

Was this how he was?

It was incomparable to when Yoo-hyun sparred with him in the past.

It wasnt just his power that improved.

His speed and balance were also much better than before.

Yoo-hyun felt proud of his juniors progress.

But he didnt express his feelings directly.

Instead, he pushed Lee Jang-woo hard who was hesitating.

Jang-woo, you dont need to look back. Youre not wrong. I trust you.

Yes.

At Yoo-hyuns words, Lee Jang-woo rushed in and threw a punch.

Bapang.

Lee Jang-woo had grown as a fighter not only externally but also internally.

Shed your old shell. If you deliver the results, all the finger-pointing people are doing now will turn into praise for you.

Its my choice. I wont back down.

Thwump.

Lee Jang-woo was stronger mentally than Yoo-hyun had thought.

He could read his determination from his focused eyes.

He struggled to prepare for the next step even in a situation where he could easily be shaken.

How would things go?

The match with Kim Chun-sik was unlikely to be decided right away.

But he had gathered enough attention to have a chance to fight a higher-ranked fighter.

He just had to move forward one step at a time.

Yoo-hyun gave his beloved junior sincere advice.

Dont be anxious. The opportunity will come soon.

Yes, senior. I believe you.

Lee Jang-woo answered with bright eyes.