Chapter 938: Something Called Fate (5) |
In the yard of a corporate training center on Chilsasan, twenty men in suits stood in a wide circle. And right in front of them, Noh Tae-Soo, the man I had faced in the national team trials, was standing there with a fistful of Han Dae-Man's collar.
"Let go of him right now!" I shouted so loudly it felt like Chilsasan itself would split apart.
However, Han Dae-Man, his face badly swollen as he was grabbed by the collar, cried out urgently, "Yoon-Ho! No! You can't come here!"
At Han Dae-Man's words, my steps stopped on instinct.
Just then, Noh Tae-Soo let out a crooked little laugh and spoke to Han Dae-Man. "Old man. I told you. If you contact that bastard, I'd kill you both."
At that, Han Dae-Man, still seized by the collar, shouted at the top of his lungs. "You punk! If you're going to kill someone, kill only me! Yoon-Ho doesn't know anything. So kill only me!"
I had no idea why this was happening when he said he was going to meet a reporter, but saving Han Dae-Man came first.
"Mr. Han. I'm not the Jung Yoon-Ho I used to be. I'm not weak enough to get beaten by trash like him."
And even if I couldn't handle this easily, I still couldn't back down here. I had only just been reunited with the coach who was like a father to me, after losing him because of a misunderstanding.
Nine years ago, it wasn't that I lacked the ability to knock him out when I lost to him on points. It was only because Han Dae-Man had ordered me not to finish him with a KO and to take it to a decision instead.
Then Noh Tae-Soo raised a hand with a vile grin on his face. "What are you idiots doing? Wreck him."
At that moment, the twenty men who had been hanging back all rushed forward at once. Most of them, though, were guys I knew.
"Go Hyung-Jin. Kim In-Cheol. Baek Seok-Hyung. Oh Ji-Sung. You guys... did you really end up becoming gangsters?"
The younger guys I had grown up boxing with in Gwangju lowered their heads.
"Yoon-Ho hyung-nim, we're sorry. We're not gangsters... We work for Tae-Soo hyung's company."
"We're sorry, hyung-nim."
It looked like they worked for one of NK Construction's subsidiaries or something, but there was no way that kind of excuse was going to mean anything to me.
"If you're working under Noh Tae-Soo, it's all the same. So decide. Either move aside or come at me."
When all twenty of them hesitated, unable to do either, Noh Tae-Soo saw it and started yelling.
"You sons of bitches! What the hell are you doing right now? There's twenty of you, and you're scared of one man? This is driving me insane. What am I supposed to get done with a bunch of morons like you?"
Just then, Team Lead Oh Cheol-Min, who had come with me, shouted urgently, "Hold it right there!"
"And who the hell are you?"
Oh Cheol-Min glared at Noh Tae-Soo and shouted back. "A large security team is on its way here. If you release Mr. Han Dae-Man now and leave, we'll let this matter go. So step back while you still can."
"A large security team? On this tiny little Gwangju turf, there's only so many people who could throw their weight around. Who do you think you're fooling?"
"People all over Gwangju are already moving to find Mr. Han Dae-Man. And I am Oh Cheol-Min, Team Lead of Team 1 at Daeheung Security, directly under Daeheung Savings Bank. Unless you're planning to start a war with us, let's end this here."
Oh Cheol-Min, the man Chairman Choi Eun-Tae had sent to protect Gwangju Angel Orphanage, revealed who he was and made the threat.
Nevertheless, Noh Tae-Soo, a collateral relative of HK Inc., only snorted. "Hey, even a dog owns half its yard when it's at home. So you think I'm supposed to get scared just because you dropped the name Daeheung here in Gwangju? This place, asshole, is NK territory. We run this town."
Noh Tae-Soo had lived his whole life without ever really being hit. He had always swaggered around with his younger guys and underlings at his back, puffing himself up. That was why he had no fear.
Oh Cheol-Min looked like he was about to say something, but I raised a hand and stopped him. "Mr. Oh. It's fine. He won't believe it until your men get here. Oh, and... don't call the police under any circumstances."
"Instead of telling me to contact the police, you're telling me not to call them?"
I clenched my fists tight and answered, "I'm... going to wreck every last one of these bastards today."
Just as the hoobaes hesitated, Kim In-Cheol, a year younger than me, suddenly stepped forward.
"What kind of bullshit is that? Hey, Jung Yoon-Ho. You know me, right? I always figured if I stuck around Gwangju, a day would come when I'd run into you again. Guess that day's today."
Kim In-Cheol, who I had fought about ten times in the past and knocked out five times, charged at me full of momentum.
"You're dead today!"
The sound of his fist cutting through the air was no joke. I tilted my head slightly to dodge his punch, then threw a counter right away.
Thud!
Kim In-Cheol took my punch square on the jaw and lost consciousness instantly, collapsing straight into my arms with the same forward momentum.
"The one who's dead is you, idiot."
I tossed the unconscious Kim In-Cheol out of my arms.
Thud.
As soon as Kim In-Cheol hit the ground and sprawled out, I spoke again to the hoobaes blocking my way. "Alright. Next."
At that, the remaining nineteen hesitated, glancing at each other.
"Isn't he stronger than when he was active?"
"Hey. You go first."
"Are you crazy? I fought in the regional circuit, and that guy was at the very top nationwide…"
"Then should we just rush him together?"
"You think that'd even work? Before we take him down, half of us are gonna end up crippled."
Since all of them had been roughed up by me at least once before, those memories were holding them back.
At that moment, I took advantage of the situation and started bluffing. "The guy lying there was just a warm-up. Anyone who comes at me now, I'll smash your jaw so bad you'll be eating porridge for the rest of your life. Come on!"
Strictly speaking, if they all rushed me at once, I couldn't win. After all, they were elite boxers too. And there were twenty of them. Still, I kept my momentum up, threatening to cripple a few of them for life. In a fight, momentum was half the battle anyway.
"So what'll it be, huh? You gonna fight or move aside?"
"Well, uh..."
That was when I heard a loud noise.
Vroom.
Thankfully, vehicles started coming up the road toward the training center. The security team's cars, Chief Choi Go-Yoon's agency staff, and even cars driven by Eun-Gi's guys were here. Just at a glance, there were more than ten vans coming up the narrow road, packed tight with people.
At that, the hoobaes quickly backed away.
"W-we'll step out, Yoon-Ho hyung."
"We didn't know it was going to be something like this."
"Yeah, we were just told to gather."
As the hoobaes moved aside, the space between me and Noh Tae-Soo opened up completely.
Just as I was about to rush forward and save Han Dae-Man, the flustered Noh Tae-Soo pulled something from his suit waist.
"Shit!"
Flash.
What caught the light was a small hunting knife.
'That bastard hasn't changed at all.'
Even back in high school, he had always carried a knife around for intimidation. Now, just like then, he still had it on him.
Noh Tae-Soo immediately pressed the hunting knife against Han Dae-Man's neck. "If you don't want to see this old man die, get all those bastards out of here."
The moment a weapon appeared, the mood on our side turned tense.
"Hey. You use that knife, there's no coming back from it. Let's stop this here."
"If you're not planning to kill all of us, put the knife down."
"Just let Mr. Han go. Then we'll let you walk away quietly."
With our side now numbering fifty, Noh Tae-Soo panicked and shouted, "Don't screw with me!"
As I briefly considered what to do, an idea flashed through my mind to make him let go of Han Dae-Man. I just had to poke at Noh Tae-Soo's inferiority complex.
I scoffed and said, "Figures. You can't beat me unless you pull something dirty, right? Nine years ago, if Mr. Han hadn't told me not to knock you out, I would've dropped you in ten seconds."
He had never beaten me even once, so if I prodded him enough, there was a good chance he would come at me.
Sure enough, Noh Tae-Soo snapped. "What the hell are you talking about? You're the one who lost to me!"
"Yeah. I lost. Not to you, but to your father's money. But I'm curious, so let me ask you something."
"What?"
"That decision nine years ago. Did your dad make the first move? Or did you go running to him, whining that you'd lose to Jung Yoon-Ho and begging him to throw some money around? I've always wondered about that."
"You bastard..."
"It was you, wasn't it? You knew those soft fists of yours couldn't beat me, so you begged your daddy for help. Right?"
At that moment, furious to the very top of his head, Noh Tae-Soo shoved Han Dae-Man aside and even threw the knife away, clenching his fists.
"You piece of shit. I'll show you exactly what a medalist's fists are like. Come on."
'Got him.'
Letting out a quiet breath of relief, I shouted with all the hatred I had built up. "Yeah. I'm coming, Noh Tae-Soo."
Just like that day nine years ago, I raised my fists and approached Noh Tae-Soo. At the same time, Noh Tae-Soo raised his fists and came at me. He was the first to throw a punch from a distance.
Whoosh!
Maybe because he had put on weight since his active days, his punch was slower than before. In that instant, I twisted my hip to slip his punch.
Whoosh.
As his punch missed, Noh Tae-Soo reset his stance and started throwing punches in quick succession. In that gap, I quickly brought both hands up to guard my face, deflecting his blows.
Thud, thud, thud.
His punches glanced off my guard, but they were still heavy. Even rusty, they still felt like the punches of an Asian Games gold medalist. That being said, they were nothing compared to mine.
At the same time, memories of that day nine years ago flashed through my mind.
"Yoon-Ho. Your opponent is the son of the vice president of the Boxing Association. If you knock him out, we won't be able to handle the aftermath, so just score points and take it to a decision. You understand what I'm saying, right? No KO. Just endure it, Yoon-Ho. You have to endure it."
Back then, I held back again and again, saving my punches. Now, there was no reason to do that anymore.
'You're dead today.'
Just as I was about to settle the grudge from nine years ago, my eyes met Han Dae-Man, who was sitting on the ground watching me.
Thud, thud, thud.
As I kept deflecting and dodging Noh Tae-Soo's punches, I sent a signal to Han Dae-Man—the kind only the two of us used during matches.
'Mr. Han. What should I do? Hold back again?'
Right then, reading my eyes, Han Dae-Man shouted at the top of his lungs the words he hadn't been able to say nine years ago.
"Finish him, Yoon-Ho!"
It was a bold command to go for the KO. In that instant, I dropped my guard and slapped aside Noh Tae-Soo's incoming punch with my palm.
Smack.
As Noh Tae-Soo's right arm was knocked aside, his face opened up completely. I saw the panic on his face. And without hesitation, I began throwing the punches I had held back for so long.
First target was his left side.
Thud.
"Ugh."
Noh Tae-Soo clutched his side and staggered sideways.
'That's for daring to harm Mr. Han's family and tear a father and son apart nine years ago!'
Without pause, I drove my fist straight into his right side.
Thud.
"Keuk."
Noh Tae-Soo's tilted body snapped back upright like a roly-poly toy.
'That's for kidnapping Mr. Han today!'
After taking heavy blows to both sides in the blink of an eye, Noh Tae-Soo staggered backward, gasping for breath. However, I closed the distance instantly and started throwing punches in rapid succession.
'And from here on, this is for daring to put a blade to Mr. Han's throat!'
At the same time, I hammered his entire body with a frenzied combination as if I were repaying nine years of resentment with compound interest.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
As I unleashed punches at a manic pace, his body began to topple backward. Nevertheless, I grabbed him by the collar to keep him from falling and continued striking.
Thud, thud, thud.
"Yoon-Ho! Stop! Stop! It's over! Ding, ding, ding!"
At Han Dae-Man's shout, I came to my senses and stepped back. Noh Tae-Soo was already unconscious, but still standing. I was only just getting started, and it was already a KO.
'Should I wake him up and hit him again?'
That thought crossed my mind for a brief moment.
***
Thud.
The unconscious Noh Tae-Soo collapsed like a rotting tree. Part of me wanted to wake him up and finish it properly, but checking on Han Dae-Man came first.
Leaving Noh Tae-Soo where he fell, I rushed straight over to Han Dae-Man. "Mr. Han!"
His face swollen badly, Han Dae-Man sat there with a faint smile. "Maybe it's because you moved up a weight class, but your punches feel even stronger than when you were active. That's my boy, Yoon-Ho. Hahaha."
"Please, stop talking. Let's get you to a hospital first."
Whether it was Noh Tae-Soo or NK Construction, none of that mattered right now. Getting Han Dae-Man to the hospital came first.
As I moved to help him up, Han Dae-Man grabbed my arm tightly. "There's something I need to tell you first."
"Mr. Han, you can tell me on the way. Get on my back."
It was 10:40 p.m. Since the day's fortune hadn't cleared yet, I needed to get him to the hospital first.
As I turned my back to him, Han Dae-Man climbed on, breathing heavily. "To think I'd be carried by you again, Yoon-Ho... hahaha..."
"Ah, please don't laugh. What's so funny anyway..."
Now sixty-two, he felt far lighter than he used to. Seeing someone who had once been so strong now so frail made my chest ache sharply. It was a relief he wasn't more seriously injured, but until the fortune disappeared, I couldn't let my guard down.
Then, from my back, Han Dae-Man spoke. "Yoon-Ho. Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault."
Even in this situation, he was worrying about me. I didn't know what to say in response.
Just then, Oh Cheol-Min approached. "I've already contacted Woojung Hospital. You can head straight there."
Woojung Hospital was only five minutes away. It wasn't large, but it had good equipment and skilled medical staff.
"Thank you."
"And as for Noh Tae-Soo and his people, I'll report it to Mr. Chairman and have it handled."
I shook my head firmly. "That won't be necessary."
"...Pardon?"
NK Construction was an affiliate tied to HK Inc. If Choi Eun-Tae stepped in, HK Inc.—who were already at odds with me—would mobilize in full force. And that would only lead to more people getting hurt.
I just needed to use what I knew and cut out a small number of people. The ones at fault were Noh Tae-Soo and his father, not the employees of NK Construction. And above all, I wanted to take revenge on those two with my own hands.
'Before the regression, I didn't have the power to face them and could only watch. But not anymore. Noh Tae-Soo. Noh Sang-Jin.'
With a resolute expression, I spoke to Oh Cheol-Min. "Please tell Mr. Chairman that I'll deal with NK Construction myself."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes. If I need help, I'll personally ask at that time."
"Understood. Then I'll inform Mr. Chairman and take Noh Tae-Soo to Woojung Hospital as well. We can discuss the details there."
"Alright. And secure that hunting knife as evidence."
"Don't worry."
At that moment, the boxing hoobaes who had followed Noh Tae-Soo all dropped to their knees at once.
Thud, thud.
"Hyung-nim, we're sorry."
They pressed their heads to the ground, but I shouted at them. I couldn't forgive the fact that they had stood by and watched while Han Dae-Man, someone who had once taught them, was being beaten.
"Even if you didn't know, you just stood there while an elderly man was getting beaten? Are you even fucking human?"
With their heads still lowered, they cried out.
"We're sorry. We... we felt like dying too."
"If we got on Tae-Soo hyung-nim's bad side in this small city, we wouldn't have any way to survive..."
As I clenched my fists at their excuses, Han Dae-Man tapped my shoulder lightly. "Yoon-Ho. Don't be too angry. They didn't have much of a choice either."
"But Mr. Han!"
"If they didn't want to get fired, they had no choice. Some of them already have families, and some are supporting their parents. If they lose their salaries, their families could starve. So try to understand them."
"Mr. Han!"
"Yoon-Ho. If you want to become a great man, you need to know how to forgive. You mustn't become a small-minded person who only follows his emotions."
Han Dae-Man wasn't just someone who taught me boxing. He taught me countless lessons in life. He used to say he was uneducated because he only trained, so after reading books, he would always share the good lessons with me. But right now, I felt like I wouldn't mind becoming small-minded.
"Mr. Han, I..."
Just then, a bitter voice came from my back. "Ah, right... you're not my boxer anymore, and I'm not your coach. Sorry. I got carried away and started telling you what to do like before. Do as you wish."
I swallowed the surge of emotion and shook my head. "Mr. Han, please don't say that. I'll always be your student. I'll do as you say."
After saying that, I spoke to the hoobaes while carrying Han Dae-Man on my back. "All of you—quit NK. I'll find you jobs later. And until the day you die, apologize to Mr. Han and live doing volunteer work here in Gwangju. Can you do that?"
I could place them in Kang Eun-Gi's Reverse Entertainment or with the Daeheung Security team that came with me. Both were run by people with real gangster backgrounds, so they wouldn't dare step out of line. And if needed, I could find them work myself.
At that moment, the hoobaes who had been watching carefully all stood up at once and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Yoon-Ho hyung-nim!"
They bowed repeatedly, clearly relieved.
Then, Han Dae-Man gently patted my head. "Yes... yes... that's my boy Yoon-Ho..."
Suddenly, I was reminded of when Han Dae-Man used to pat my head like this when I was younger. Back then, he never praised me for winning a match, but if I bowed respectfully to an opponent I had knocked out and showed proper sportsmanship, he would smile and pat my head.
Only now did I truly realize how much care he had put into teaching me not just boxing, but how to be a decent person.
My nose stung, and my voice trembled without me realizing it. "Mr. Han... I'm... I'm twenty-eight now."
"To me, you're still the same Yoon-Ho I first met. Hahaha."
His gentle voice and touch made me feel at ease, but also oddly embarrassed, so I quickly changed the subject.
"Ahem. Still, Mr. Han... I can't forgive NK Construction."
"I won't stop you from that."
Hearing the warmth in his voice, I quietly checked today's fortune on my phone.
[Everyday V13]
[Date: April 28, 2021]
[Fortune of the Day: The last chance to clear up long-standing misunderstandings. Miss this moment, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life.]
However, the fortune still hadn't disappeared.
'Why hasn't it cleared yet? Is there still a misunderstanding I haven't resolved?'
