I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Unaware of Being a Combat Genius, Bullied — Episode 12
The room was pitch dark.
Only the pale glow of a smartphone wavered across Seo Jun’s face as he lay on his bed, back against the wall.
The name typed into the search bar was Cho Min-sung.
The opponent he would face in tomorrow’s final.
Seo Jun’s finger stopped as he scrolled down the screen.
A small amateur prospect interview in the sports section caught his eye.
[Elite Wrestler’s Bold Detour. Cho Min-sung Heads for the Cage.]
[Bronze Medalist in Middle School Wrestling at the National Sports Festival. Why Did He Choose the Iron Mesh Over the Mat?]
Seo Jun’s eyes raced across the article’s body text.
Cho Min-sung was a traditional wrestler, groomed in elite athletics from the bone.
But the piece described how he’d abruptly changed course, drawn to the raw allure of mixed martial arts.
[Cho Min-sung’s greatest weapon is limitless stamina and overwhelming chin. His physical capabilities, honed through an elite career path, have already transcended the amateur level. Moreover, he’s recently absorbed Jiu-jitsu at an impressive pace and is evolving into a perfect grappler.]
The more Seo Jun read, the tighter his brow furrowed.
A striker’s worst nightmare.
The kind who doesn’t dodge punches clumsily, but instead swallows them with an iron jaw and closes the distance — relentless.
Once caught, escape becomes impossible; a vicious bog from which no insect trapped in a web can break free.
‘His Jiu-jitsu experience is short, but that Wrestling base covers everything.’
Seo Jun switched off his phone screen.
The room sank back into deep darkness.
Yet Seo Jun’s mind was haunted by the disturbingly long arms of Cho Min-sung he’d just glimpsed.
Those repulsive limbs wrapping around his waist, dragging him down to the canvas.
Tremor.
His right hand, gripping the phone, began to shake.
The air in the room suddenly felt heavy, pressing down on him.
That terrible suffocating sensation from his first Grappling sparring with Jin Hyuk swept across his entire body.
‘If I get caught, it’s over.’
That brutal movement that had broken an opponent in thirty seconds.
Do Yoon’s explanation: not once had striking been mixed in, yet the opponent was laid flat.
A primordial dread clenched his throat and seized his entire being.
This was a raw, instinctive fear of an overwhelming superior — different in texture from the alley thugs’ kicks he used to await.
Thump. Thump.
His heart hammered against his ribs as though it might shatter them.
Seo Jun clenched his trembling right hand tightly with his left.
‘I’m afraid.’
It was an undeniable emotion.
The wall of elite athletics was high, and his opponent was a formidable warrior who’d sweated far longer than he had.
But Seo Jun had no intention of running.
Instead of squeezing his eyes shut, he opened them wide in the darkness and stared straight at the ceiling.
“Haa.”
Seo Jun exhaled a long, hot breath.
The trembling didn’t stop, but his fists gripped with steady resolve.
‘But I won’t back down.’
He closed his eyes with a vow to himself.

* * *
Morning came.
The morning of the final.
Seo Jun zipped up his gym bag while looking at his mother standing by the kitchen.
“Mom. You won’t come watch my match today?”
A careful question.
His mother’s hands, removing rubber gloves, froze in mid-air.
She approached him with a forced, faint smile.
“How could I watch my son get hurt with these two eyes?”
“…….”
“Next time, when mom has truly steeled myself, I’ll go then. Understood?”
It was a refusal, but deep affection was woven through it.
His mother gave his firm shoulders a light pat.
“Don’t get hurt in today’s match either. Be careful and come back victorious.”
“Yes. I’ll come back victorious no matter what.”
Seo Jun bowed deeply and stepped out through the entrance.

* * *
In the alley outside the house.
With the familiar rumble of an engine, a heavy black Carnival slid to a stop.
The window descended with a soft whine, and Do Yoon leaned his head out from the driver’s seat.
“Get in. We’re running late.”
“Hello.”
Seo Jun opened the rear door.
But the car’s interior looked different from usual.
A-yeon, Do Yoon’s older sister and the gym’s master, sat in the passenger seat.
In the back seat was Tae-su, who’d tasted defeat yesterday, and in the very back row sat Jin Hyuk and his father, Ryu Tae-hwan.
‘How did they all…’
When Seo Jun froze in confusion, A-yeon turned from the passenger seat and beamed at him.
“Surprised? It’s a tradition at our gym. When the Axis Rookies makes it to the finals, everyone from Team Jwajak goes to cheer together.”
A-yeon’s vibrant voice warmed the air inside the car.
She gestured with her chin toward Jin Hyuk, who sat in the very back.
“The last time we went as a group was last year. For that stoic bastard’s finals.”
Seo Jun’s gaze naturally turned toward Jin Hyuk.
Jin Hyuk stared out the window with earbuds in, saying nothing.
‘Last year’s Rookies tournament champion.’
Deep admiration stirred in a corner of Seo Jun’s chest.
The same age, but already stepping onto the professional stage—a genuine monster.
When Seo Jun carefully sat in the empty seat, the Carnival pulled away smoothly.
“Hey, Seo Jun.”
Do Yoon, checking the back seat in the rearview mirror, tossed out a casual remark.
“Your face looks rough. Did you sleep well last night?”
“No. Honestly, I barely slept at all.”
At Seo Jun’s candid answer, Do Yoon’s eyebrows flickered.
The guy had slept soundly the night before his first match.
“What’s the matter? I thought you had nerves of steel.”
“The opponent is too strong. I was scared and shaking.”
There was no awkward excuse or false bravado in his words.
The car fell quiet for a moment at Seo Jun’s candor in acknowledging his fear.
Tae-su chimed in with a cough.
“Yeah, the opponent is pretty strong.”
Do Yoon nodded silently in agreement.
An elite wrestler turned into an elite grappler.
By any objective measure or matchup analysis, this was decisively unfavorable for Seo Jun.
Then A-yeon twisted around toward the back row.
“Hey, Jin Hyuk. What do you think?”
A question seeking the defending champion’s opinion.
Jin Hyuk irritably pulled out one of the earbuds he’d been wearing.
“What am I supposed to think?”
His voice was cold and cynical.
“If he can’t get past someone at that level, he’s got no business being on the professional stage anyway. Might as well pack his bags and go home.”
A ruthlessly honest assessment.
Tae-su let out a sharp breath and looked around nervously, while Ryu Tae-hwan sat still with his arms crossed, eyes closed.
A-yeon bristled and kicked Jin Hyuk’s seat with her foot.
“You bastard! You’re going to demoralize your own teammate? Skip the harsh truth and give some actual advice that’ll help!”
“God, you’re so annoying…”
Jin Hyuk irritably ruffled his hair.
Then he shifted his gaze, meeting Seo Jun’s eyes briefly through the rearview mirror.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
Seo Jun answered reflexively.
Jin Hyuk’s lips twisted into something like a smile.
“Use information your opponent doesn’t have.”
A single line, thrown out casually.
With that, Jin Hyuk put his earbuds back in and closed his eyes.
It was an unmistakable refusal to continue the conversation.
‘Information the opponent doesn’t have.’
Seo Jun’s pupils flickered with sudden alertness.
He gazed out at the passing landscape beyond the car window, turning over Jin Hyuk’s cryptic words in his mind again and again.
What Cho Min-sung knew about him.
Team Jwajak. Striker. First-round knockout victory.
Then what card did he hold that Cho Min-sung could never know—something only he possessed?
‘Joint mobility. And…’
The grappling defense system that had been beaten into his body through hundreds of repetitions pinned to the mat by Tae-su.
Cho Min-sung had zero information about his grappling.
The moment that realization took hold, the thick dread that had been pressing down on Seo Jun’s mind began to lift.
‘I can lay a trap.’
Vague fear was being honed into sharp strategy.
Seo Jun’s hands clenched hard.
The final stage, Axis Korea Stadium, loomed in the distance with imposing grandeur.

* * *
[Ladies and gentlemen, here we are at last—the Axis Rookies high school division featherweight finals!]
[YouTube concurrent viewers have skyrocketed a full fifty percent higher than yesterday. That alone proves how hot the fan energy is for this matchup.]
The caster’s excited voice crackled through the speakers.
Viewer numbers climbed steadily across the bottom of the screen.
[Exactly. A classic matchup—perfect striking against absolute grappling.]
The commentator chimed in with fervent tone.
[Blue Corner’s Cho Min-sung. A former middle school wrestling bronze medalist. Throughout this tournament, he hasn’t thrown a single strike—just pressed his opponents flat on the mat.]
[And facing him in the Red Corner, we have Seo Jun. Yesterday’s fearsome striker who flipped the entire tournament with a nine-second countout knockout.]
The chat window on the right side of the screen cascaded like a waterfall.
-Concurrent viewers actually skyrocketing lol
-Can anyone stop Cho Min-sung’s takedown? If it lands, it’s over.
-You didn’t see Seo Jun’s striking form yesterday? One touch and jaws turn sideways
-Spear and shield lol literally so hyped
The screen cut to the Blue Corner.
[Ah, Blue Corner Cho Min-sung entering first!]
Cho Min-sung strode out, swinging arms grotesquely long—long enough to brush his knees.
Crack.
He twisted his neck lightly and flashed a confident grin toward the camera lens.
[True to his elite athlete pedigree—no trace of nerves on this massive stage.]
[A display of confidence. He’s certain that once he drags it to the ground—his domain—victory is assured.]
Cho Min-sung bounded up the cage steps and ducked through the chain-link fence.
And moments later.
[Next, Red Corner! Seo Jun entering!]
The arena announcer’s sonorous call.
The camera swung sharply toward the dark corridor entrance on the opposite side.
From the shadows, Seo Jun in red fight shorts walked out, each step deliberate and steady.
‘Information the opponent doesn’t have.’
The hint Jin Hyuk had thrown his way dominated his mind with clear composure.
Unlike Cho Min-sung, he displayed no casual ease, no showmanship for the camera.
Only forward. He fixed his gaze unflinchingly on Cho Min-sung waiting inside the cage.
-Look at Seo Jun’s eyes.
-Knocked someone cold yesterday and his mind isn’t shaken one bit.
-Not even scared lol mental game is insane
The viewers’ awe filled the chat window.
Behind him, Do Yoon, his second, followed in resolute silence.
Do Yoon too, arms folded, scanned Cho Min-sung’s stance with piercing eyes.
Seo Jun stopped at the steps leading up to the cage ringed with chain-link.
“Huh.”
A short, hot breath escaped him.
Seo Jun tucked his chin and stepped forward with heavy resolve.
Into the chain-link cage of final reckoning, Seo Jun walked.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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