I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 53

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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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Fighting Genius, Unaware of Her Bullying 053
Press Conference Hall.
A belt lay on a long table.
The Asia Continental Cup Lightweight Provisional Champion Belt.
Do Yun sat behind it.
Bandaging covered her right eye.
Her lip was split.
Her posture remained slouched regardless.
Kuroda’s seat was empty.
Only a nameplate remained.
The journalists glanced at the vacant spot.
A Korean reporter raised her hand.
“I understand Kuroda has been hospitalized immediately due to severe injuries. Would you care to comment on that?”
The interpreter relayed the question.
Do Yun let out a short, bitter laugh.
Clipped. Cold.
“Alive and all.”
A microphone stood before her.
She tilted her head slightly.
“Lucky, wouldn’t you say?”
The hall stirred.
A Japanese reporter’s hand shot up immediately.
Her voice cut sharp.
The interpreter conveyed it swiftly.
“Have you no respect for your opponent? The match is over.”
Do Yun looked at the journalist.
Her expression didn’t shift.
“Respect?”
She placed a finger on the belt.
Tap.
“I’d respect her if she’d fought like an athlete.”
The reporters fell silent.
Do Yun’s voice was low.
“Eye strikes.
She gestured to her own eye as she continued.
“Headbutts.
Her hand drifted away from her eye and tapped gently at her head.
“Filthy trash talk hurled at my corner man.”
She leaned closer to the microphone.
“I have no respect for someone who isn’t human.”
As the interpreter relayed those words,
the room erupted again.
Camera flashes ignited.
Click! Click!
Do Yun didn’t blink.
She reclined against her chair.
Another reporter spoke up.
“In the final moments of the first round, you seemed to face a critical situation due to vision problems. Did you ever feel you were truly in danger?”
Do Yun shrugged.
“If I couldn’t throw a punch because one eye wasn’t working,
She tapped the belt lightly.
I wouldn’t have made it here.”
“Did you ever consider stopping the match?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“Even when the doctor advised it?”
Do Yun smiled faintly.
“Her jaw was still attached.”
Laughter leaked from some of the press seats.
The Japanese journalists kept their faces hard.
The Korean journalists’ eyes sharpened.
Another question flew out.
“You’re now a Provisional Champion. Are you considering a Unification Match with the Official Champion?”
Do Yun’s eyes turned keen for the first time.
“Of course.”
He lifted the Belt.
“This is a temporary marker.”
Silence settled over the Press Conference Hall.
Do Yun spoke.
“The real Belt is somewhere else.”

* * *
Backstage.
The Team Jugjak crew watched the press conference on the monitors.
Tae Soo’s jaw dropped.
“Wow.”
He crossed his arms and nodded slowly.
“When our Coach Do Yun becomes Champion, he carries a whole different weight to him.”
Jin Hyuk murmured from beside him.
“He’s still just as irritating as ever though.”
“Come on, read the room a little.”
Tae Soo snapped at him.
Jin Hyuk said nothing back.
A Yeon watched Do Yun quietly on the monitor.
The Bandage around his eyes.
The Belt on the table.
His composure unwavering even before the camera.
She let out a quiet breath.
Baek Seojun stood silent.
His gaze fixed on the Belt.
The Belt laid before Do Yun.
The Belt he would one day have to face.
And six months from now.
Lee Sung Jun.
Seojun’s hands slowly clenched.
Tae Soo looked at him.
“Why so serious?”
Seojun kept his eyes on the monitor.
He spoke quietly.
“I want to…….”
His voice was low.
But it was clear.
“I want to become Champion too.”
Tae Soo’s face lit up.
He slapped Seojun’s shoulder hard.
Thwack.
“Of course you do!”
Seojun staggered slightly.
“That hurts.”
“Tough it out. A future Champion can’t handle a little thing like that?”
Tae Soo grinned.
“You can do it!”
He raised his fist.
“Let’s go for a Double Title for our Gymnasium!”
Kim Ji Hoon shouted from behind immediately.
“It’s possible with athlete Baek Seojun!”
Jin Hyuk spoke quietly.
“Here we go again.”
Tae Soo paid him no mind.
“Double Title! Team Jugjak Double Champion!”
Baek Seojun lowered his head, his expression troubled.
But he didn’t unclench his fists.
On the monitor, Do Yun was setting down the Belt.
Baek Seojun watched until the very end.
Heat bloomed inside his chest.
Now the goal was no longer distant.
It was right in front of him.

* * *
Do Yun and A Yeon remained in Japan.
Detailed eye injury examination.
Additional treatment.
Continental Cup Office meetings.
It was Baek Seojun, Tae Soo, and Jin Hyuk who returned to Korea first.
Team Jugjak Gymnasium didn’t pause for a moment.
The door stood open.
The heavy bag swayed.
Sweat fell onto the Mat.
At the center of it all stood Ryu Tae Hwan.
Ryu Jin Hyuk’s father.
A retired veteran.
A coach who’d come up through the All-rounder ranks.
He didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t speak at length.
He simply watched.
Baek Seojun’s feet.
His shoulders.
His hips.
The path his fist traveled.
“Stop.”
Baek Seojun’s jab froze in mid-air.
Ryu Tae Hwan stepped closer.
“Again.”
Baek Seojun set his stance.
Jab.
Thwack.
Straight.
Crack.
Ryu Tae Hwan’s eyes narrowed.
“You’ve grown too fast on raw talent alone.”
Baek Seojun’s breath caught.
“Because of that, there are fundamentals you’ve overlooked along the way.”
Tae Soo fell quiet beside him.
Jin Hyuk stopped his jump rope.
Ryu Tae Hwan pressed the tips of his fingers into Baek Seojun’s shoulder.
“Here.”
Baek Seojun’s shoulder dropped slightly.
“Your power comes first. You see with your eyes and then strike, so your body lags behind.”
Now he pointed to the hip.
“A Straight isn’t driven by the hand. It starts from the feet, passes through the hip, and travels out through the fingertips.”
Ryu Tae Hwan took the stance himself.
A fist extended lightly.
Crack.
The Mitts rang out sharply.
It wasn’t loud.
But it was deep.
“This is the form.”
Baek Seojun watched that movement.
Burned it into his eyes.
The feet.
Knee.
Hip.
Shoulder.
Elbow.
Wrist.
All in one line.
“Again.”
Baek Seojun moved.
Thud.
“No.”
Again.
Snap.
“No.”
Again.
Snap!
Ryu Tae Hwan nodded for the first time.
“That’s it.”
Baek Seojun absorbed it immediately.
He stripped the power from his shoulder.
He planted his feet first.
He rotated his hips late.
His punch became slightly shorter.
But straighter instead.
Ryu Tae Hwan never diminished his talent.
Instead, he refined it with greater precision.
“Your eyes are a weapon.”
Thud.
“But if you rely only on your eyes, one day you’ll be too slow.”
Snap.
“Your body must learn the fundamentals first.”
Baek Seojun nodded.
“Yes.”
From that day on, training changed.
Basic Footwork over flashy Counters.
Center Shift over explosive Rushes.
Precise stance over raw power.
Baek Seojun never complained it was tedious.
Sweat pooled on the floor.
His wrists ached.
The soles of his feet burned.
Still, he repeated.
He absorbed it like a sponge.
Ryu Tae Hwan spoke tersely.
“Good.”
That one word was enough.

* * *
Two weeks later.
Jingle.
The gymnasium door opened.
All eyes turned.
Do Yun walked in.
The swelling in his face had faded.
A thin scar still lingered around his eyes.
Beside him was A Yeon.
And in her hands hung a belt.
The Asia Continental Cup Lightweight Provisional Champion Belt.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
The gymnasium erupted.
Tae Soo rushed forward first.
“The champion’s here!”
The new staff members erupted in applause.
Kim Ji Hoon looked ready to cry.
“The belt is real…….”
Jin Hyuk spoke with his arms crossed.
“It’s in better shape than I expected.”
Do Yun laughed softly.
“Disappointed?”
“A little.”
“Rotten.”
A Yeon set the belt on the counter.
“Do Yun takes about six months off fighting.”
The cheers died down somewhat.
A Yeon continued, her tone steady.
“His eyes need recovery time and a vision check. The diagnosis came back that he can’t push himself.”
Tae Soo asked immediately.
“What about the Unification Match?”
“The Official Champion is out on a year-long injury anyway. The schedule works out.”
A Yeon’s gaze turned to Baek Seojun.
“So.”
She spoke.
“It’s your turn now.”
The air in the gymnasium shifted.
Baek Seojun lifted his head quietly.
Do Yun handed the belt to the staff.
“Go on, touch it. Drop it and you’re dead.”
The staff gathered carefully around it.
Do Yun threaded through them and stopped in front of Baek Seojun.
The scar near his eye was still vivid.
But his smile was the same as before.
“You didn’t slack off, did you?”
Baek Seojun answered at once.
“No.”
His gaze didn’t waver.
“I’ve been working my bones to the core.”
Do Yun’s mouth curled upward.
“Okay.”
He tossed the Gloves to Baek Seojun.
Catch.
Baek Seojun snatched them out of the air.
Do Yun jerked his chin toward the Cage.
“Then let’s see what you’ve got.”
Baek Seojun began pulling on the Gloves.
Ryu Tae Hwan folded his arms quietly.
A Yeon opened the Tablet.
Do Yun was already stepping into the Cage.
“Korean Championship preparation.”
He loosened his wrists.
“This is where the real work starts.”

* * *
Seoul.
Blackleaf Gym.
Beyond the glass wall, the Han River gleamed.
The inside was far from quiet.
Heavy bags swayed.
Mitts cracked.
Steel equipment rang against the floor.
Top-tier facilities.
A spacious Cage.
A dedicated weight training zone.
Coaches assigned to each athlete.
The place where Hwang Dae Gun once trained, grinding his teeth.
Seo Ha Yoon walked through it.
A black suit.
High heels.
An unwavering stride.
The athletes parted to let her pass.
She headed toward the back.
Bang!
A massive sandbag swayed as if it might split.
Bang!
Again.
The ceiling hook screamed in protest.
A man stood before it.
Lee Sung Jun.
Current AXIS Korea Featherweight Champion.
His torso was drenched in sweat.
His shoulders were broad and thick.
His back was carved in deep lines, as if etched by a blade.
His waist was narrow.
His legs were like columns driven into the ground.
Each time he threw a punch, his entire body moved as a single line.
Feet.
Hips.
Back.
Shoulders.
Fist.
Bang!
The sandbag flew backward.
Before it could return, it was struck again.
Bang!
Ha Yoon stopped.
“Champion.”
Lee Sung Jun’s fist halted.
He turned his head slowly.
His gaze was cold.
The eyes of a beast mid-training.
“Are you preparing well for the match?”
Lee Sung Jun shook out his wrists once.
Beads of sweat fell to the floor.
Drip.
“Of course.”
The reply was terse.
Ha Yoon picked up the tablet.
“If you lose this Title Defense Match—”
Her voice was cool.
“The Continental Championship we’ve been discussing next will be off the table.”
The ambient noise dimmed slightly.
Nearby athletes glanced in their direction.
Lee Sung Jun’s eyes narrowed.
“You think I’ll lose?”
The air pressed down at his words.
Ha Yoon’s feet shifted a half-step backward.
Pure instinct.
But she held her ground.
She lifted her chin.
“No. I don’t think that.”
Lee Sung Jun regarded her.
Ha Yoon continued.
“But that arrogant fighter lost to Baek Seojun before, so…”
Hwang Dae Gun.
The Blackleaf athlete came to mind.
Trampled. Broken.
A fighter who’d never expected to lose had crumbled beneath Baek Seojun.
Lee Sung Jun said nothing.
He simply looked at Ha Yoon.
Cold.
Long.
Ha Yoon’s fingers stiffened behind the Tablet.
Then Lee Sung Jun turned his body.
Back to the heavy bag.
He adopted his stance.
Left foot forward.
Right foot back.
Chin low.
Shoulders closed.
Pure Basic Footwork stance.
But the pressure was different.
It felt like a colossal wall had been erected.
Lee Sung Jun spoke quietly.
“The probability of me losing.”
His right foot pressed into the floor.
His hips rotated.
His back muscles exploded with tension.
His right fist extended.
A line.
An unwavering Straight.
Bang—!!
A thunderous crack.
The hundreds-of-kilos heavy bag snapped backward.
It rippled as though surging toward the ceiling.
The chains screamed.
The metal frame shuddered.
Every fighter in the gym froze at once.
Even the coach holding the Mitts lowered his hands.
The heavy bag took an age to swing back.
Lee Sung Jun stood before it.
Not a single breath out of place.
He lowered his fist slowly.
Beyond the swaying bag, his eyes found Ha Yoon.
“Zero.”
His voice was quiet.
“Percent.”
Ha Yoon couldn’t answer.
The heavy bag swung back belatedly.
A colossal shadow wavered in front of Lee Sung Jun.
He didn’t step aside.
With one hand, he caught the swaying bag.
Thud.
The motion ceased.
The Champion stood there.
Like an unbreakable wall.
The next world Baek Seojun had to surpass.
It stood before him.

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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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