I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 20

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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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A Martial Arts Genius Bullied Without Knowing It – Episode 020
The Octagon door shut behind them.
Click.
Choi Tae San stood across from him.
The smile that had lingered moments ago vanished.
What remained was a blank stare.
The face of a predator confronting prey.
‘He’s changed.’
Seo Jun’s feet pressed into the mat.
He bit down on the Mouthpiece.
Do Yun raised his hand from outside the Cage.
“Round 1. Three minutes.”
Tae San cracked his neck side to side.
Pop-pop.
He spoke quietly.
“I’ll take it easy.”
His tone was gentle.
But his eyes held nothing of that lightness.
Do Yun’s hand dropped.
“Fight.”
In that instant.
Tae San’s body vanished.
No—
it collapsed downward.
A stance impossibly low.
His torso caved toward the mat as he drove into the inside of Seo Jun’s thigh.
‘Fast.’
Seo Jun’s right arm shot out reflexively.
But there was nothing to hit.
Tae San’s head was too low, his shoulders already beneath Seo Jun’s waist.
Thump!
Tae San’s forehead drove into Seo Jun’s solar plexus.
Both arms locked around the back of his thighs.
Seo Jun arched his hips, attempting a Sprawl.
Too late.
“Hup.”
Tae San’s waist snapped short and sharp.
Flip.
Seo Jun’s feet left the mat.
The world inverted.
Crash!
His back slammed into the ground.
The breath stopped in his chest.
“Ghk—!”
Tae San didn’t stop.
He folded his weight across the top.
His shoulder drove against Seo Jun’s chin.
His elbow pressed into the chest.
His knee wedged between Seo Jun’s thighs, spreading them.
Heavy.
Heavier than Jo Min Seong.
It wasn’t just the weight itself.
The placement of pressure was different.
Seo Jun created a Frame, pushing against Tae San’s neck and hip.
Tae San adjusted his angles, shutting down Seo Jun’s every movement.
Slide.
One knee threaded through Seo Jun’s Guard.
“No space,” Tae San murmured.
His voice, low.

Choi Tae San’s forearm crushed down across Seo Jun’s face.
Seo Jun twisted at the waist.
Shrimp Escape.
But before his body could slip free, Choi Tae San’s chest followed, pinning him down.
Thump.
Pressed down again.
‘Not escaping.’
Seo Jun’s eyes went wide.
He could see the movements coming.
But he couldn’t stop them.
Reach with his hands and his arms got tangled.
Rotate his hips and his knees followed.
Lift his head and shoulders drove his chin down.
Choi Tae San never moved large.
Only small adjustments.
Minute pressure that erased every avenue of escape.
Thwack.
A short Pounding strike landed across his Guard.
Not a heavy fist.
But enough to disrupt his posture.
In that opening, Seo Jun tried to roll his body and push up.
Choi Tae San’s hand caught his ankle.
Whoosh.
Seo Jun’s body rolled again.
Like a wheel tumbling.
One full rotation across the Mat, and his back slammed down once more.
“Uh—ack!”
The breath drove out of him.
Outside the Cage, Tae Su’s mouth fell open.
“Jesus…….”
A Yeon’s face had gone rigid.
Only Do Yun stood watching, arms crossed.
Seo Jun managed to get his knees up.
The moment he tried to rise.
Choi Tae San’s shoulder drove into his ribs again.
Crack.
The Cage fence shook behind his back.
Seo Jun braced himself against the steel mesh.
Wall Walk.
Just as Do Yun had taught him, he planted his hands to push up.
Choi Tae San’s forehead came up under his chin.
His head snapped backward.
Seo Jun’s posture collapsed.
At the same moment, both his legs got trapped again.
“Ah.”
A brief gasp.
Slam.
Back to the canvas.
Beep.
The Timer sounded.
Round One ended.
Choi Tae San released his grip immediately.
The suffocating pressure that had held him down moments before vanished like a lie.
He smiled again.
“You all right?”
Seo Jun couldn’t answer.
His hands planted on the Mat, he could only suck in ragged breaths.
Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose.
“Uh—ack, hah…….”
His chest heaved like it was possessed.
Do Yun opened the Cage door and stepped inside.
“Feel the difference?”
Seo Jun lifted his head.
“That wrestler you caught before was a rookie.”
Jo Min Seong.
The Rookies final.
Even then, he’d been breathless.
But this was different.
“That’s a real wrestler who’s rolled on a pro stage.”
Seo Jun looked at Tae San.
Tae San was drinking water on the far side of the Cage.
A face that looked friendly.
Yet that same body had just been driving him into the Mat.
Do Yun asked.
“Want to stop?”
Seo Jun gripped the Towel harder.
Tendons rose across the back of his hand.
His arms trembled.
His legs felt heavy too.
Still, he shook his head.
“No.”
“You couldn’t even breathe.”
“I want to go again.”
“Yeah?”
Seo Jun rose slowly.
The moments he’d just endured replayed in his mind’s eye.
He couldn’t stop them yet.
But he’d seen them.
Seo Jun looked at Do Yun squarely.
“How to counter.”
He swallowed breath in short gasps.
“Teach me.”
Do Yun’s lips curved up, just barely.
‘That’s right. This is Seo Jun.’
He wasn’t the type to just take a beating and call it done.
When he got pinned, he found the reason why.
When he got thrown, he asked for the escape.
When he was afraid, he looked closer.
Do Yun held back his satisfaction and raised a finger.
“First.”
Seo Jun’s eyes locked in.
“Don’t watch his eyes. Wrestlers don’t come in through the eyes.”
Do Yun’s finger pressed against his own chest.
“Watch the chest. Specifically, the solar plexus and the space between both shoulders.”
“Solar plexus and shoulders.”
“The moment the shoulders drop is when the takedown’s coming. The shoulders speak before the eyes do.”
Seo Jun nodded.
Do Yun raised a second finger.
“Second. Your center’s too high.”
“Understood.”
“You come from striking, so you keep standing like you’re ready to throw. That gives a guy like him your thighs for free. Bend your knees more. Lower your hips.”
Seo Jun’s knees naturally bent.
Do Yun spoke immediately.
“Lower than that.”
Seo Jun dropped further.
“Good.”
A third finger came up.
“Last one.”
Do Yun’s eyes sharpened.
“Win the hand fight before you get grabbed. Always start with the Underhook.”
“Underhook.”
“Get your arm inside his armpit first. If you don’t, you’ll get pushed back. If you do it right, you hold your ground.”
Do Yun tapped Seo Jun’s shoulder.
“Don’t rely only on the Sprawl. Guys like him will follow through even if you sprawl. Don’t block him—break his entry so he can’t get in.”
Seo Jun exhaled sharply.
The strategy lodged itself in his mind.
Choi Tae San grinned from across the Mat and waved his hand.
“Second Round?”
Seo Jun fitted the Mouthpiece back in.
This time he didn’t look at Choi Tae San’s face.
He watched his chest instead.
Seo Jun’s feet settled low on the Mat.
“Yeah.”
The second Round was about to begin.

* * *
“Fight.”
The second Round started.
Seo Jun didn’t look at Choi Tae San’s eyes.
Sternum. Both shoulders.
He fixed his gaze on the points Do Yun had named.
Choi Tae San’s right shoulder lifted slightly.
‘He’s coming.’
Seo Jun bent his knees and pulled his hips back.
At the same moment, he drove his left arm inside the armpit.
Underhook.
But then.
Bang!
His back slammed into the Mat again.
“Ugh!”
Choi Tae San hadn’t relied on strength alone.
He’d lifted Seo Jun’s arm and hooked the opposite leg, changing his angle.
Seo Jun went over.
The floor again.
But this time was different.
The first time, he hadn’t even touched him.
This time, he’d gotten one arm in.
‘The timing was right. The angle was off.’

* * *
The same sequence repeated for days.
Bang!
“Again.”
Thud!
“Again.”
Choi Tae San drove low.
Seo Jun kept falling.
Bruises bloomed across his shoulders.
His back throbbed.
The inside of his thighs burned.
Still, Seo Jun fitted the Mouthpiece back in.
Getting thrown was a loss.
But every time he fell, he saw one more piece of Choi Tae San’s entry.
That was a gain.
‘I need to see more.’
Choi Tae San lowered his stance.
Seo Jun’s eyes locked onto his chest.
The muscle below the collarbone contracted—barely perceptible.
His right shoulder rolled inward first.
A movement an ordinary person would never see.
Seo Jun saw it clearly.
‘Now.’
The instant before Tae San exploded forward.
Seo Jun dropped his center first.
Thud!
Their bodies collided.
This time he didn’t go down immediately.
His left arm wedged deep under Tae San’s armpit.
His right hand drove against Tae San’s head.
One step.
Two steps.
He was pushed back.
But he held.
Something shifted in Tae San’s eyes.
“You’re holding that?”
Tae San switched his leg position.
From Single Leg to Double Leg.
Seo Jun couldn’t follow that far.
Crash!
Down again.
But the time had lengthened.
He was staying up longer before the takedown landed.
Do Yun outside the Cage uncrossed his arms.
“……I saw it.”
A Yeon looked up.
“Saw what?”
“Tae San’s entry timing.”
Do Yun’s eyes locked onto Seo Jun.
“That bastard’s starting to read it.”

* * *
The next round of Sparring.
Tae San wasn’t smiling.
He hid his footwork.
He cut down his shoulder movement.
He mixed in upper body Feints.
Still, Seo Jun stayed with him.
Not perfectly defended.
He still went down.
But now he wasn’t simply hurled to the Mat.
He held on.
He resisted.
He was a half-beat late.
Thud!
Tae San’s shoulder grazed his thigh.
Seo Jun pivoted his hips away a half-beat sooner, rolling to the side.
Tae San’s fingertips raked empty air.
For the first time, the takedown whiffed.
The Cage fell silent.
Tae San slowly lifted his head.
“You.”
The smile drained from his face.
“Did you just read my timing?”
Seo Jun breathed hard and ragged.
His eyes still fixed on Tae San’s chest.
“A little.”
Tae San’s mouth curved upward.
“Crazy bastard.”
Outside the Cage.
Excitement blazed across Do Yun’s eyes.
Seo Jun lowered his stance again.
Whether he fell, he would be late.
Whether he was caught, he would be deep in it.
Observe, calculate, correct.
A monstrous adaptation was beginning.

* * *
One month remained until the tournament.
Sparring with Choi Tae San continued every day.
Seo Jun was taken down dozens of times.
Thrown.
Pinned.
Rolled.
Yet each time, it was slower.
The moment he fell.
The angle at which he was caught.
The instant his breath was cut off.
One month now until his KCR debut match.
Do Yun stood outside the Cage holding the Timer.
“Last Round.”
Tae San rolled his neck.
Crack-crack.
The simple smile from the beginning was gone.
Over the past month, Seo Jun had become a troublesome opponent even for Tae San.
Now a sloppy entry would be shut down.
Even with Feints mixed in, he would follow.
When the angle changed, he’d pursue just half a beat late.
Tae San’s eyes dimmed.
“This time I’m going for real.”
Seo Jun didn’t respond.
His gaze wasn’t on Tae San’s face.
The solar plexus.
Both shoulders.
The center of the chest.
His eyes were fixed there.
“Fight.”
Do Yun’s hand dropped.
Tae San moved.
At first he was slow.
His right foot stepped forward half a pace.
His upper body swayed slightly.
He opened his shoulder as if to strike from the left.
A Feint.
Seo Jun didn’t move.
‘No.’
The next instant.
Tae San’s left pectoral briefly contracted.
His right shoulder dipped low.
His knees bent toward the floor.
‘Real.’
Seo Jun’s eyes narrowed.
Time slowed.
The arc of Tae San’s back lowering.
The line of his head driving toward Seo Jun’s pelvis.
The angle of his fingers reaching for the back of the thigh.
He saw it all.
‘Now.’
Seo Jun didn’t retreat backward.
By reflex, he extended both legs long behind him.
Snap!
His sole scraped against the Mat.
In the same motion, he dropped his chest onto Tae San’s back.
Slam!
A heavy, grinding impact echoed through the Cage.
Tae San’s charge halted completely.
His arms couldn’t reach Seo Jun’s thighs.
His head was driven downward.
His shoulders were pinned to the mat.
Seo Jun’s full weight settled onto Tae San’s back.
A perfect Sprawl.
Outside the Cage, Tae Su swallowed hard.
“He stopped it…….”
A Yeon’s hand froze over her Notebook.
Tae San lay prone on the mat, motionless.
No.
He tried to move.
But Seo Jun’s chest compression crushed his back, and his legs were spread wide and useless.
No legs to grab.
No space to push off from.
Tae San’s eyes widened.
“……you really…….”
His voice came out muffled against the mat, flattened and low.
“Did you really just stop it?”
Seo Jun exhaled roughly.
“Hah…….”
His shoulders heaved.
His arms trembled.
But his gaze had gone cold and still.
Seo Jun looked down at Tae San’s back.
The wall that had driven him to the ground for an entire month.
That wall now lay beneath him.
Outside the Cage.
Do Yun let out a short laugh.
“That’s it.”
Three words.
In that instant, Seo Jun’s hands tightened with purpose.
One month until KCR.
A different door was opening—one he’d never stepped through as an amateur.

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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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