I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 28

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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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Mixed Martial Arts Genius, Bullied Without Knowing It – Episode 28
Spring of first-year Middle School.
Hwang Dae-gun’s name had already spread by the first week after enrollment.
“Don’t mess with him.”
“He runs with older guys.”
“I heard he brings around all the neighborhood kids.”
The rumors circulated fast.
And soon enough, they became truth.
Hwang Dae-gun never walked alone through the school.
There were always three or four with him.
At the end of the corridor.
In front of the vending machines.
In the corner of the sports grounds.
Wherever he stood became their territory.
At first it was the tall kids.
The ones who stood out.
Then it trickled down to the quiet ones.
The method was always the same.
Money.
“Hey, lend me ten thousand won.”
He called it lending.
He never paid it back.
“Fifty thousand by tomorrow.”
Next time the amount went up.
“Hundred thousand this week.”
If they couldn’t bring it, they got beaten.
In the bathroom.
Behind the stairs.
In the back of the classroom.
Any place where adult eyes couldn’t reach worked fine.
Hwang Dae-gun rarely threw many punches himself.
He only laid hands on them once or twice at the start.
After that, the kids who stuck around him did the work.
But everyone watched Hwang Dae-gun.
When he nodded his head, it began.
When he smiled, it got worse.

* * *
Seo Jun was quiet back then too.
Even during breaks, he sat at his desk.
He ate lunch quickly and came straight back.
He tried not to get too tangled up with anyone.
He had no money.
He had nowhere to borrow from either.
That day was also break time before homeroom.
Seo Jun was putting his textbooks into his bag.
A shadow fell across his desk.
It was Hwang Dae-gun.
There were two more with him.
“Hey.”
Seo Jun looked up.
Hwang Dae-gun perched on the corner of the desk.
“You’re Seo Jun, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Lend me some money.”
The classroom went quiet.
The kids nearby turned their heads, then quickly looked down again.
Seo Jun looked at Hwang Dae-gun’s hand.
Between his fingers, a few crumpled ten-thousand-won bills.
That money too had been torn from someone else.
“I don’t have any.”
Seo Jun said it quietly.
His voice was small.
But it was a refusal.
Hwang Dae-gun’s eyebrows rose.
“What?”
“No money.”
The boy next to him laughed.
“Hey, he says he doesn’t have any.”
Hwang Dae-gun laughed along.
“Then bring it by tomorrow.”
“I can’t.”
“Tell your family.”
Seo Jun pressed his lips together.
Family.
He hated that word even more.
There was no money there either.
There was no one to tell.
“I can’t get it.”
The air in the classroom stiffened.
Hwang Dae-gun’s smile vanished.
He climbed down from the desk slowly.
“Are you talking back to me right now?”
Seo Jun’s hand gripped the strap of his bag.
It trembled.
He wasn’t unafraid.
He knew Hwang Dae-gun’s reputation.
He’d already seen the kids who’d been beaten.
But he had no money to give.
He had no money to bring back.
So he spoke again.
“No money.”
Thwack!
A fist drove into his belly.
Seo Jun’s body slammed against the desk.
The chair skidded backward.
Screech.
Someone in the classroom caught their breath.
Hwang Dae-gun grabbed Seo Jun by the hair.
He forced his head up.
“If you don’t have it, you make it.”
Seo Jun couldn’t breathe.
His stomach folded in on itself.
Hwang Dae-gun shoved his face close.
“Ten thousand won by tomorrow.”
…….
“You don’t bring it, you get beaten every day.”
That’s where it began.
The next day.
Seo Jun didn’t bring the money.
He was dragged to the bathroom.
Thwack!
Gut.
Thwack!
Ribs.
His knees met the wet floor.
“Where’s the money?”
Seo Jun shook his head.
Thwack!
The day after was the same.
“Where’s the money?”
“I don’t have it.”
Crack!
After a week, the amount stopped mattering.
There was no borrowed money.
There was nothing to repay.
It was just an excuse.
The reason Seo Jun got hit.
The reason Hwang Dae-gun laughed.
The reason his gang kept showing up.
“Hey, grab us some bread.”
“And water.”
“What’s left from the money?”
Seo Jun returned with a plastic bag from the convenience store.
Hwang Dae-gun rummaged through it.
“You trying to pocket the change, you bastard?”
“No.”
Crack!
An answer wasn’t needed.
Seo Jun spoke less and less as time went on.
He began keeping his head down more often.
But his eyes never closed.
When a fist came flying.
When a foot rose up.
He watched all the way through.
Where it was coming from.
Which spot would hurt less if it landed there.
When to hold his breath.
He watched to survive.
That was all there was to it.

* * *
Team Jwajak Gym.
The sound of the heavy bag had stopped.
Seo Jun sat on a bench.
Do Yoon, A-yeon, Tae-su.
And Ryu Jin-hyeok stood before him.
No one spoke first.
Seo Jun’s voice was steady.
“He’s someone I knew from middle school.”
Do Yoon’s eyes narrowed.
“That tattoo guy from earlier?”
“Yes.”
“Hwang Dae-gun.”
Seo Jun let the name leave his lips.
His voice was quiet.
“In first year, he asked me for money. I said I didn’t have any, and that’s when he started hitting me.”
Tae-su’s face hardened into something ugly.
A-yeon pressed her lips together tightly.
Do Yoon asked, “So you’ve been taking it ever since then?”
“No.”
Seo Jun shook his head.
“He went into the Juvenile Detention Center in second year. It didn’t last long.”
Tae-su reacted immediately.
“Juvie in middle school?”
He laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.
“What kind of trouble did he get into?”
Seo Jun’s face went rigid.
He spoke quietly.

“There were rumors that he’d killed someone.”
The air in the gym froze.
Tae-su’s mouth went shut.
A-yeon’s pupils wavered.
Ryu Jin-hyeok straightened from where he’d been leaning against the Heavy Bag.
Do Yoon studied Seo Jun for a long moment.
“Rumors?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not certain?”
“Nobody really knew back then. He just vanished from school one day, and talk started circulating among the students.”
Seo Jun’s hands uncurled slowly across his knees.
“Some said he used a blade. Some said he pushed someone. Not dead, but badly injured. The story kept changing.”
“But the Juvenile Detention Center part—that’s confirmed?”
“Yes. That much I heard.”
A-yeon picked up the Tablet without a word.
Her fingers moved quickly across the screen.
She typed a name into the search bar.

Results appeared.
A-yeon’s face hardened incrementally.
“Found it.”
Tae-su looked up.
“Found what?”
A-yeon set the Tablet down on the table.
A video thumbnail glowed on the screen.

The host’s face was also displayed.
A former Axis World fighter.
Kim Gun-woo.
It was his famous combat sports YouTube channel.
1.8 million subscribers.
3.4 million views on the video.
Hwang Dae-gun in the thumbnail was smiling.
His neck and chest bore Irezumi tattoos, fully visible.
A-yeon tapped the video.
After a brief ad, the playback began.
[Today’s guest is a fighter who came straight up from the streets.]
Kim Gun-woo’s voice cut through.
[Former Juvenile Detention Center resident. Street fighting experience. And right now, the most dangerous man in KCR’s Featherweight Division—Hwang Dae-gun.]
Hwang Dae-gun in the video laughed.
[Well, I got into some trouble when I was younger.]
Kim Gun-woo asked a follow-up.
[A lot of fighters try to hide their time in the Detention Center, but you seem pretty open about it?]
Hwang Dae-gun shrugged.
[What’s to hide? Weak guys hide behind the law. Me? I just fought then, and I fight now.]
Tae-su’s face flushed crimson.
“How does a bastard like that even exist?”
A-yeon paused the video.
Hwang Dae-gun’s grinning face froze on screen.
Tae-su turned to Do Yoon.
“How is trash like that allowed to compete on a professional stage?”
Do Yoon didn’t answer.
Tae-su’s voice grew louder.
“He doesn’t even hide being from the Detention Center—he flaunts it like this. And there are rumors he killed someone.”
Do Yoon looked at Tae-su coldly.
“Tae-su.”
“Yes?”
“Do you really think this world runs on fairness?”
Tae-su’s mouth closed.
Do Yoon tapped the Tablet screen with his finger.
Hwang Dae-gun’s face.
3.4 million views.
“In this business, the one who fights best is king.”
The gym fell silent.
Do Yoon’s voice dropped lower.
“The Octagon doesn’t care if you’re a convict who beat someone to death—they’ll put you up there if it draws a crowd.”
A-yeon’s brow furrowed.
But she couldn’t deny it.
Do Yoon looked at Seo Jun.
Seo Jun sat on the bench.
He didn’t bow his head.
His hands weren’t trembling.
But Do Yoon knew better.
Looking fine on the surface isn’t the same as being fine underneath.
‘This is bad.’
Do Yoon’s eyes narrowed.
Hwang Dae-gun wasn’t just a strong opponent.
He was an opponent who touched the past directly.
The time when Seo Jun was at rock bottom.
The time when he couldn’t speak even after being hit.
The time when he was robbed, when he hung his head, when he held his breath.
The face from that time was rising into the Octagon again.
‘Fear can stay in the body.’
Do Yoon crossed his arms.
‘Your eyes might be fine, but your legs seize up.’
Your fists lag.
Your breathing breaks.
You can see the opponent’s movements, but your body won’t respond.
In Mixed Martial Arts, that’s fatal.
Especially for a fighter like Seo Jun, one who reads the opponent’s rhythm and lands Counter-attacks.
Hesitate even slightly, and you get hit.
Freeze even slightly, and you get caught.
‘The matchup is terrible.’
It’s not because the opponent is a wrestler.
It’s not because he’s a hard puncher.
It’s because he’s the kind of fighter who can shake Seo Jun from the inside out.
Tae-su still hadn’t swallowed his rage.
“If it actually happens, we’re supposed to kill him, right?”
A-yeon spoke quietly.
“Tae-su.”
“No, manager. That guy—he ruins people’s lives and shows up on screen grinning like it’s nothing. How does that make sense?”
Ryu Jin-hyeok stood leaning against the Heavy Bag.
He said nothing.
But his eyes were fixed on Seo Jun.
Do Yoon’s were too.
They waited to see what Seo Jun would say.
After a long silence, Seo Jun slowly opened his mouth.
“I.”
Everyone went quiet.
Seo Jun’s voice was low.
“I’m grateful that the Octagon is the place where I can fight that bastard.”
Tae-su’s eyes widened.
A-yeon looked at Seo Jun too.
Do Yoon’s eyebrows moved slightly.
“What do you mean.”
Seo Jun raised his head.
His gaze was cold and settled.
It wasn’t the face of someone afraid.
It wasn’t the face of someone swept up in rage.
Rather, it was too quiet.
That was precisely why his strikes were so sharp.
“It used to be the streets,” Seo Jun said.
Seo Jun spoke.
“Classrooms. Bathrooms. Behind stairwells.”
Tae-su’s jaw clenched shut.
“Back then there were no rules. Nobody stopped us. No beginning, no end. Just violence.”
Seo Jun’s hands dried slowly on his knees.
“But this time is different.”
His gaze turned toward the Octagon.
Chain-link fence.
Mat.
The Cage sitting beneath the lights.
“This isn’t a street fight.”
Seo Jun repeated himself.
“It’s inside a Cage with strict, rigid rules.”
Do Yoon’s eyes shifted.
Seo Jun continued.
“I can fight using the Mixed Martial Arts I’ve learned. No fouls. No running. No hiding behind anyone.”
The words were few.
But each one struck like a hammer blow.
“I can destroy him legally.”
Tae-su’s mouth curled slightly upward.
“Well…….”
A-yeon said nothing.
Only her hands slowly curled into fists.
Do Yoon studied Seo Jun.
Better than expected.
No—
It was more than just acceptable.
This one wasn’t running from his past.
He was dragging it into the Cage with him.
Not fighting purely on vengeance.
He was taking street violence and crushing it under the rules of combat.
That was more dangerous, though.
Far more powerful.
Do Yoon asked quietly.
“Can you control your emotions?”
“I will.”
“It’s not about will. You have to do it.”
“Yes.”
“Lose your mind in that Cage and you lose the fight. A man like Hwang Dae-gun will hunt for exactly that. He’ll scratch you deliberately, mock you, bring up the old days, wreck your breathing.”
“I know.”
“Then throw it away. Old memories. Anger. Revenge. All of it. Fight clean.”
Seo Jun shook his head.
Do Yoon’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“I won’t throw it away.”
The air in the gym tightened again.
Seo Jun looked directly at Do Yoon.
“I’ll use it instead.”
…….
“Whatever he does, I’ll convert it into motion. Into fists. Into kicks. Into timing.”
Do Yoon said nothing.
Seo Jun’s eyes did not waver.
“I won’t freeze like I did before.”
That single sentence silenced the gym.
Do Yoon suddenly recalled the first time he’d seen Seo Jun—in that alley.
He was taking a beating.
Covered in blood.
And yet his eyes never closed.
Then and now were different.
Then, he’d watched to survive.
Now, he watches to win.
Do Yoon’s mouth curved upward, slowly.
“Good.”
He laughed, brief and sharp.
“That’s all I need.”
A-yeon exhaled softly.
Tae-su’s fists clenched.
“Just step in the ring. I’m serious.”
Ryu Jin-hyeok tossed the words from beside him.
“You lose the moment you get heated.”
Tae-su snapped his head around.
“You need to stay quiet.”
Jin-hyeok only shrugged.
Seo Jun looked back at Do Yoon.
“Coach.”
“What is it.”
Seo Jun’s voice dropped lower.
“This match.”
A beat of silence hung between them.
“No matter what happens, I have to win.”
Do Yoon met his gaze.
There was no fear in those eyes.
No wavering.
Only venom.
Something long compressed.
Accumulated through blows absorbed, pain swallowed, breath held down.
It was ready to detonate now, right there on the mat.
Do Yoon’s lips twisted into a grin.
“Good.”
He gestured toward the Octagon with a tilt of his chin.
“Then we start today.”
Seo Jun rose from his seat.
Do Yoon’s voice settled low across the gym.
“This isn’t just training to win anymore.”
His eyes had turned cold.
“This is training to consume your past.”

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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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