Chapter 52 – Rookie King (4)
The qualifier match between Ichie and Kim Joo-sung was prepared ahead of my match. I said to Ichie, who was confidently sharpening a wooden sword in front of me.
“It makes sense. Can you do it well?”
“You win. I did special training with Yoojung unnie.”
“Special training?”
I looked at Yoojung senior. She told me, startled at what was so stung by her special training.
“No, what… It’s a team So that’s what it is.”
Did she think I would be disappointed? I smiled and nodded her head to dispel those doubts. Senior Yu-jeong met my smile and showed her teeth and smiled. The game board notification rang, and it was time for Ichie to step out. She put her wooden sword around her waist and said to me.
“Soo Hyun-sang. Cheer me on.”
“Cheer up. Uh… Cheer up! That’s right! Go for it!”
“Work hard, you will win. I have to meet Suhyeon in the finals.”
“That’s right. In the final, we will meet Suhyeon-sang and win.”
Ichie listened to Yu-jeong’s encouragement and nodded her head. After Ichie left the door to her waiting room, we sat in her chairs and looked at each other. Senior Yoojung said.
“Mr. Suhyun. How is your condition today? Can you win?”
“Very good. This time, Seong Ha-yeon also introduced a hunter who uses a shield, so I learned how to use a shield properly. When I looked at who my next opponent was, he was a kid with acceleration skills. I think there will be a lot of close combat.”
“Are you thorough? I really want to win this way.”
I laughed awkwardly at the word win. It was because Yoo-jung decided to give a prize if he won. Looking at senior Yoo-jeong, she too was smiling with a strange expression. Behind the awkward laughter, the stadium was proceeding with the player’s position.
At the venue across from Ichie, Kim Joo-seong showed off a tight gym suit that fits snugly. He swept his short-cropped hair back once, stretched, and watched Ichie come out. Then Ichie walked out from the other side. She was looking at Kim Joo-seong, waving her wooden sword.
Kim Joo-sung said.
“Please take good care of me. Ichie-san, right?”
Ichie nodded her head. The referee looked at the two men alternately and then shouted.
“3 vs 500 Kim Joo-sung vs 1 Ichigaya Ichiae! The match begins!”
A blank shot signaled the start of the match. Ichie didn’t cheat or run as fast as he did last time. She straightened her wooden sword with her tense face, then moved her steps little by little to her side, checking her gaps.
Kim Joo-seong stood in his place, massaged his shoulder once, and then bent down and exclaimed.
“Aaaaa!”
Then, the rugged muscles that had been supporting his body in a balanced way began to expand even more thickly. Seeing the muscles swollen in an instant, as if the wind was blowing into a balloon, Ichie took a step back in surprise.
“How will you surrender?”
Kim Joo-seong asked Ichie. Ichie tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. And he said
“Water muscle.”
At those words, Kim Joo-sung raised the corner of her mouth slightly and narrowed her brows. He leaned over her slightly and started walking towards Ichie. Judging by the way he walks, he doesn’t seem to have learned martial arts professionally, and he just seems to be the type to push with force.
Ichie stood still until Kim Joo-sung came closer, then suddenly staggered his body. Kim Joo-sung’s outstretched arm sliced through the air as his body swayed at an unexpected angle. He looked at Ichie with a puzzled face.
Ichie opened his eyes and hit his outstretched arm one after another with his wooden sword.
“Ah!”
Kim Joo-seong frowned and grabbed his wrist. The reason why his arm was awkwardly bent was that he had been beaten up to the elbow. Ichie thrust his wooden sword toward his empty knee.
Fuck!
With a clear sound like hitting a wooden table, Kim Joo-seong stumbled. He frowned and waved his hand at Ichie. Her hand hit her head as it flew much faster than her reasoning expected. Even though she was big, her speed was incredible.
“Huh?”
Senior Yoo-jung and I both got up from our seats in shock. Ichie bounced like a soccer ball and rolled across the arena floor. She quickly raised herself up, supporting her floor with her wooden sword. Her face was fine, but her arm was shaking. In the meantime, it seemed to have just been blocked.
She blinked her eyes several times to straighten her vision. Kim Joo-seong, who had recently recovered from her damage, was running towards Ichie again. He didn’t try to catch her this time. As if to end it in one blow, Kim Joo-seong struck him with his fist.
Ichie narrowly avoided her fist and dug into Kim Joo-sung. He swung his fist so hard that his stomach was empty. Ichie thrust her sword, which had been pulled all the way behind her, into her belly as if she were shooting an arrow.
“Uh oh oh oh oh!”
Kim Joo-sung screamed in agony. His stomach skin was not pierced, but as far as the naked eye could see, a wooden sword was pierced into his stomach by more than a span. Kim Joo-seong’s body was pushed back and he retched while holding his stomach.
Ichie shook her head once more. Then, staggering to her feet, she aimed a wooden sword at Kim Joo-seong. She said.
“Water muscle.”
“No!”
Kim Joo-seong cried out and stood up from her seat again. Even though he got hit right in the stomach, he got up unscathed and charged like someone who hadn’t been hurt. Unexpectedly, Ichie hit her back with her embarrassed face.
“Yaaaaa!”
Kim Joo-seong swung her fist with a spirited performance. Every time he swung his fist, a wind of sand rose in the arena. Boom- boom-. A bloody sound seemed to be heard in my ears. Ichie, who had been avoiding the fist a few times, suddenly staggered his body and frowned at him.
He staggered and let go of his wooden sword as if he was going to fall at any moment. At that moment, Kim Joo-sung’s eyes shone. He smiled his contrition and turned his back wide to prepare for his punch. The wooden sword seemed to fall from Ichie’s fingertips. We were watching the game with our mouth shut.
Does it end like this?
Ichie smiled.
In that moment, we knew. That Ichie lied.
Ichie grabbed hold of the wooden sword struggling at the tip of her finger. She rolled in front of her and slipped through Kim Joo-sung’s legs before he could swing her fist. Kim Joo-sung hurriedly looked behind her, but she was already jumping, holding her wooden sword with both hands.
Kim Joo-seong reached out her hand to catch her reason. However, it was faster for her wooden sword to slash Kim Joo-sung between the foreheads than for him to reach out and grab her reason. She slashed her wooden sword down with all her might, as if her executioner had struck her throat.
Fuck!
A clear ringing sound, we saw a wooden sword striking Kim Joo-sung in the head with precision. The outstretched hand on his side stopped for an instant, and Ichie, with all his might, clenched his teeth and floated in the air. Her recoil from striking her with a wooden sword made her come to mind a little. The eyes of Kim Joo-sung, who had been hit by her, turned over, and her mouth hung open.
I thought I won It would have been the same for senior Yoo Jung. Because she was looking back at me with a bright smile on her face. I too was about to turn around to congratulate Yu-jeong by hugging him.
“Aaaaa!”
Kim Joo-sung let out a scream as she threw her fist at Ichie, who was floating in the air. No matter how great Ichie was, he couldn’t avoid her fist while floating in the air.
“Uh?”
We all screamed the same thing. Even Ichi, who was floating in the air, and all of us who wanted to say that we had won by embracing each other were staring at the monitor with stiff faces. A huge fist flew towards Ichie. Trying to block it by raising her arm, she was pushed into her fist and flew away like a paper doll. Her battered Ichie fell to the ground.
Bang!
It was a blow heavy enough to land on the floor a little bit. Kim Joo-sung staggered and exhaled heavily. He looked at Ichie, who had fallen to the floor. The referee confirmed that Ichie couldn’t get up and shouted in a calm tone.
“3 to 500 Kim Joo-seong wins!”
We were frozen, unable to accept the outcome. Senior Yoo-jeong had an expression of incomprehension.
“That strong? Apprenticeship now? Was that really dangerous?”
I couldn’t understand either. Why are you so strong? The medical team was running toward Ichie. We belatedly moved to Ichie in a hurry. Inside the arena, Kim Joo-seong was shaking his head as he brushed his hair. A man wearing a suit with a diamond club badge was patting Kim Joo-sung on the shoulder. He was a man with the appearance of a salesman.
And behind him stood Kim Chun-bae. Even if he did not participate in the competition, it seemed that he had come to support Kim Joo-sung. He was wearing a short-sleeved tee and had his glasses pressed down tightly. His face was awkwardly contorted, and his forehead was dripping with sweat.
“Mr. Suhyeon!”
I turned my head to the voice calling me. Ichie was put on a stretcher. I was startled and asked the medical staff.
“How are you?”
“I just passed out. No problem, don’t worry.”
The medical staff reassured me that it was a familiar occurrence. Ichie’s hand was wriggling under the stretcher. I held her hand tightly.
I thought something was strange. I wasn’t sure, but a little while ago, Kim Joo-seong had an idea that something was wrong.
