Chapter 112

< Stepping Through the Seasons (5) >

Wow! Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The residents cheered enthusiastically at the dazzling and powerful martial arts demonstration.

One SSS Agent slammed the mat with his body, and applause erupted as the next sparring partner stepped up.

“Next!”

Until Team Leader Bear, with his surprisingly flashy moves for his size, pinned all the SSS members to the mat, Moon Seok-il stood by Jin-hyuk’s side with his arms crossed.

Jin-hyuk glanced at Moon Seok-il.

“How does he compare to you, Uncle?”

When Jin-hyuk pointed at Yang Gang-wook with his chin, Moon Seok-il replied dryly, “No one can beat Team Leader Yang with just judo. He could even go to the Olympics.”

Is that so? Well, he does look like a complete warrior even without technique, just pure strength.

Jin-hyuk had asked out of curiosity, wanting to see Moon Seok-il and Yang Gang-wook spar, but Moon Seok-il seemed uninterested.

“Young man over there! You look strong. Care to give it a try?”

Yang Gang-wook, still channeling a Three Kingdoms character, pointed at Choi Tae-yang.

Choi Tae-yang, with his arm around Choi Mi-kyung’s shoulder, awkwardly laughed. “I’m a wrestler, so I don’t know judo…”

“Then let’s wrestle!”

Thud!

Yang Gang-wook knelt on the mat. Or rather, it looked like he was slammed down. Did it hurt?

Whoa! Clap, clap, clap.

The crowd cheered, pushing Choi Tae-yang forward with their applause.

The residents seemed to hope Choi Tae-yang would restore the village’s pride.

Even Jin-hyuk, who usually didn’t enjoy such entertainment, had a glint of interest in his eyes.

‘Brother Tae-yang might be worth a shot.’

After a moment of hesitation, Choi Tae-yang, who had been watching the fierce sparring matches with rising excitement, stepped forward. He was one of the best wrestlers in Korea—how could he lose? He took off his jacket, handed it to Choi Mi-kyung, removed his socks, and stepped onto the mat.

The silent tension radiating from the two giants made both the residents and the SSS members swallow hard.

“I am Gio, the vanguard of the land!”

“I-I am Choi Tae-yang of the Sun Army.”

He’s doing it again.

Choi Tae-yang, his face red, bowed slightly.

With a chuckle, the two giants grabbed each other’s belts.

‘Ugh!’

As Yang Gang-wook pulled on the belt, Choi Tae-yang felt his head spin and his strength drain. The sheer force felt like it could snap his waist.

‘When was the last time I felt like this?’

Choi Tae-yang’s eyes searched for the person who had given him such an experience in the past.

Jin-hyuk, cheering for his neighborhood hyung, gave a thumbs-up and smirked.

That brat. Choi Tae-yang, grimacing, managed to flash an awkward smile at Jin-hyuk.

“Stand up!”

At Cheon Gil-ryong’s signal, the two giants stood up, gripping their belts.

Jin-hyuk thought he heard a faint creaking sound.

It was a sensation only his sensitive ears could pick up—not quite a sound, but a feeling.

The sound of power surging like a tidal wave through the tense muscles of the two giants.

“Dong-sim-iyo!”

With a strange command, Cheon Gil-ryong slapped the backs of the two giants.

And then.

Thud!

Choi Tae-yang’s legs seemed to lift before he spun 90 degrees and fell to the ground. His posture was so artistic it could have been a Leonardo da Vinci sketch.

And just like that, Choi Tae-yang was pinned by the bear.

No time to react.

It was the moment the Hwaran wrestler was completely defeated by the bear.

Choi Tae-yang, lying on the ground, blinked a few times and growled softly.

“Again.”

Shouldn’t someone stop this? A few murmured.

But Jin-hyuk, who knew Choi Tae-yang and Yang Gang-wook’s personalities, wasn’t worried.

He was just looking forward to how Choi Tae-yang would get his revenge in the next round.

At the same time, a thrilling excitement coursed through his limbs.

‘Am I getting too into this?’

Maybe it was the warrior’s blood flowing through him. Jin-hyuk suppressed his pounding heart.

Though he lost the first round due to overwhelming strength and mistimed moves, the Hwaran wrestler was still the Hwaran wrestler.

Choi Tae-yang won the next two rounds, restoring his honor.

“Young man, you’re amazing!”

“Hey, you’re the one who won the first round. This guy won the Hwaran wrestler title at the Chuseok wrestling festival.”

At Cheon Gil-ryong’s explanation, Yang Gang-wook’s eyes widened.

Wow, he wrestled with the Hwaran wrestler.

“It was an honor. If you’re not busy, let’s spar again over there.”

Yang Gang-wook pointed to the sandpit, prepared for Jin-hyuk’s long jump and Yoo-jin’s sand play. It was filled with fine sand, almost like a wrestling ring.

“Sure. Next time, I’ll bring a sash.”

Though he won 2-1, the first-round loss still stung. And someone like Yang Gang-wook would make a great training partner. Choi Tae-yang bowed politely and stepped back.

Then, suddenly, he was curious.

“Try sparring with Jin-hyuk.”

Yang Gang-wook, without a trace of fatigue, placed his hands on his hips and laughed.

“Even if he’s a beast, kids’ bones aren’t fully developed. They could break—”

“Jin-hyuk won’t break.”

Choi Tae-yang was confident.

Even an ordinary person could tell how tough someone was just by shaking their hand or feeling their forearm. How could Choi Tae-yang, who lived and breathed wrestling, not know Son Jin-hyuk? Just last year, he had wrestled with Jin-hyuk whenever he had the chance. Those memories were etched into his cells forever.

Choi Tae-yang winked at Jin-hyuk.

‘There are too many people watching.’

Jin-hyuk tried to ignore Choi Tae-yang and Yang Gang-wook.

But he couldn’t ignore his beloved younger sister’s wish.

“Oppa is strong, right? You can beat a wild boar, right? You can beat a bear, right?”

To little Yoo-jin, Yang Gang-wook looked like a bear.

Anyway, it was a part of Jin-hyuk’s history only Son Yoo-jin knew.

Her brother, who had an undefeated record against wild boars.

And it wasn’t wrestling or judo—it was a life-and-death struggle.

“Yeah! Let’s see what our son can do!”

“Our son might get hurt, he’s not that strong…”

Amidst the parents’ mixed expectations and concerns, Cheon Gil-ryong whispered in Yang Gang-wook’s ear.

‘Do you have life insurance?’

‘Huh?’

The company provided it, but…

What’s this about? Yang Gang-wook, not looking tired at all, tilted his head.

As Jin-hyuk stepped onto the mat, a strange tension filled the air.

Even if it wasn’t a life-and-death struggle, Jin-hyuk knew he couldn’t hold back against this bear-like man. He began to exude an aura of determination.

“Hmph! I am Ogi, the vanguard of the land! Who are you?”

Ugh, this is so embarrassing.

But that bear-like man doesn’t know when to quit.

Jin-hyuk recited a line he used during his military service.

“I am Zhao Zilong of Zhangpan…”

It was a nickname he had used in his past life, reserved for sparring with Yang Gang-wook.

Huh?

The quiet crowd began to murmur.

Even the usually silent SSS members were puzzled.

“Wasn’t Zhangpan Zhang Fei?”

“I only know Zhang Fei from Zhangpan Bridge.”

Yang Gang-wook tilted his head, confused.

“Zhao Zilong? Not Zhang Fei?”

“Zhang Fei was ugly…”

Ah.

That was a convincing answer for everyone.

Given the image of Zhang Fei.

Appearances can be persuasive.

Anyway, it seemed to pass naturally.

“Let’s begin.”

“What event should we do? I’ll adjust for the young man.”

“Just judo.”

Jin-hyuk took off Myeong Hyeon-woo’s judo uniform and put it on.

Slap, slap! Jin-hyuk slapped his cheeks and moved his jaw side to side.

It was his first time doing judo since returning, but it was a habit from his past life.

No other reason. He saw Olympic judo athletes doing it.

Yang Gang-wook, staring at Jin-hyuk and targeting his sleeves, pondered.

He’s the son of an important figure. I can’t hurt him.

I’ll just trip him gently onto the mat—

Thud!

—Instead, Yang Gang-wook ended up on the mat.

He thought he had perfectly wrapped his arms around Jin-hyuk’s neck and back and hooked his leg, but he was countered.

To the other agents, it looked like a counter, but Yang Gang-wook, lying on the ground blinking, thought differently.

‘He’s a beast! That wasn’t a counter.’

A counter uses the opponent’s force against them.

What Jin-hyuk did looked like a counter, but it was just brute force slamming Yang Gang-wook down.

‘Beast of beasts.’

Jin-hyuk calmly adjusted his breathing.

No matter how strong Yang Gang-wook was, he was weaker than a wild boar.

Jin-hyuk knew the difference, so he needed to control his strength.

‘It’s harder to hold back.’

He asked Yang Gang-wook, who was getting up and fixing his posture.

“Want to go again?”

“Sure.”

Thud.

Thud!

Slap!

Slap!

Yang Gang-wook was thrown onto the mat four more times.

Every time he tried to grab Jin-hyuk’s sleeve, Jin-hyuk’s hand would disappear, and his own sleeve would be grabbed. Then came the throw.

He tried a low tackle, only to be grabbed by the belt and collar, flipped in the air, and slammed down. If not for his instinctive breakfall, his guts would have been spilled. As he spun horizontally in the air, the bear thought, ‘How strong is he to toss me around like this? Like I’m a child.’

Every time he thought he had hooked a leg, he ended up flat on his back.

Yang Gang-wook became the person who had seen the dome gym’s ceiling the most.

From afar, Moon Seok-il and Jeong Sang-tae were snickering. Though their eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, their wide grins showed they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Kang Heon-chang and Kim In-rang were slapping each other’s shoulders, tears streaming down their faces.

Yang Gang-wook, unaware of what they had been through, was just confused. Did they enjoy seeing me get beaten?

‘Now I understand why Senior Moon said that.’

Yang Gang-wook stared at the spinning ceiling, lost in thought.

It was the day Moon Seok-il first came down from Seoul, sent by Hong Ki-jun.

– “There’s a martial god living in this village.”

He thought it was just an old man’s tall tale from reading too many martial arts novels.

But now he understood who that martial god was.

He also understood why Moon Seok-il accepted tasks from Jin-hyuk without complaint and why the SSS was under his control.

Yang Gang-wook took Jin-hyuk’s hand and stood up.

“Ugh, thanks.”

He watched Jin-hyuk walk away and thought, ‘He’s an interesting beast.’

Did he go easy on me?

They sparred five times, but each time, Jin-hyuk used a different amount of strength.

He seemed to adjust just enough to barely win, making each match ideal.

I shouldn’t spar with him for a while.

It’s embarrassing in front of the SSS members.

But the residents’ reactions are interesting too.

‘They look like this was the expected outcome.’

This really isn’t Korea.

The feeling he had when marching through remote mountain villages and farmland resurfaced. It felt like he had been dropped into a strange world.

What a weird world.

While Yang Gang-wook was lost in his 4D thoughts, Han Yu-young looked at her son with wide eyes.

“When did you learn judo, son?”

“At school, from Seung-hoon…”

Being a student is so convenient.

Using school, books, and friends as excuses usually works.

Well, it’s not a lie since he spends a lot of time wrestling with Lee Seung-hoon.

***

Jin-hyuk swept the yard, his head covered in white snow.

The large field that had turned from farmland to a lawn was unavoidable, but the dirt yard they walked on daily needed to be cleared of snow. Otherwise, it would turn into a muddy mess once the snow melted.

After shaking off the snow, Jin-hyuk went inside to find his mom.

Something felt off during winter break.

“Is Soo-jung not coming down this winter break?”

“Soo-jung said she has a new sibling.”

“…”

In his past life, Hong Soo-jung was an only child.

What the heck, is Hawaii that kind of place?

Even though he had gone abroad for training a few times in his past life, he only did some sightseeing during the day and rested at night.

‘I really wasted my time back then.’

Even if he went back, nothing would change.

It felt empty not having the girl who clung to him like a leech every vacation.

But it was only a temporary emptiness.

– Oppa! My mom said I need to learn how to get along with regular kids, so she’s sending me to an academy. I guess it’s because there are a lot of rich kids in our neighborhood. But what’s the point? The academy is in the same neighborhood. My mom is nice, but she’s a bit lacking in some areas. Anyway, that’s why I don’t have a tutor like my cousins.

“Oh, I see. Do you want a tutor, Soo-jung?”

– Not really. A tutor can’t teach you life.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re already so thoughtful, Soo-jung.”

– Oppa, I’ll call you tomorrow, so pick up. Okay? Because I have something fun planned for tomorrow. Let’s see, my schedule for tomorrow…

At least cell phones weren’t widespread yet, so it was a relief.

But he couldn’t ignore Hong Soo-jung’s calls, having seen her loneliness in his past life. Even Jin-hyuk, who had lived a rough life, felt pity for her.

‘I promised to do better this time.’

She’ll stop eventually.

Like in his past life, she’d probably be sent abroad in three years.

She’s a chaebol’s daughter, after all.

***

One snowy night, chaos broke out.

Just before Christmas, Janggun-i finally went into labor.

It was a late first birth for a six-year-old.

If Jin-hyuk hadn’t gone out to check on the whimpering sounds while watching the snow from his second-floor room, no one would have known.

Jin-hyuk, his face flushed, leaned against the front door and shouted.

“Our Janggun-i is having a baby—!”

He choked up, overwhelmed with emotion.

With desperation and concern, he clenched his lower abdomen.

“—She’s about to give birth!”