DING!
Along with the sound, OctagonRuler entered Daincode.
"GOOD DAY TO YOU!!"
It was a thick, low voice that seemed to shake an entire gym.
―His voice is insane
―Lolol is he really a fighter?
―This guy seems genuinely scary
―Jinwoo, let's be careful
"Hello. Are you a martial arts fighter?"
"Yes, that's right!"
"You may speak more quietly."
"Ah, I'm sorry. My coach usually tells me to speak loudly."
His voice suddenly got smaller, so that was the story behind it.
Had he not been training for long?
―Lolololol your coach told you to speak loudly?
―His voice suddenly went quiet
―This guy is surprisingly gentle
―Why is OctagonRuler so timid
"Is it because of the championship bout three days from now?"
"Yes, that's right."
"What's troubling you?"
"...I don't have any confidence."
―He doesn't have confidence?
―Did this guy start training recently
―Isn't he just scared?
―The champ really is a monster though
Right. Challenging for the champion's seat is no easy thing.
I took a moment to consider his feelings.
Just like Lee Arin, who had practiced for five years and barely made the debut lineup before refusing it herself, how long must this man have worked to reach the point of challenging for the champion's seat?
"It's all right. Anyone facing a big stage feels that way."
"Sorry?"
"You're challenging for the champion's seat. Of course it's a lot of pressure."
"U-um......."
"A champion is a champion for a reason. You're challenging a man who's held that seat for a year, so of course you'd be shaking."
"That's not it......."
Just as OctagonRuler let his words trail off.
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[But that guy's voice sounds kind of familiar?]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Right? It's a voice I've heard on TV]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Huh? Isn't that guy the light heavyweight champion Lee Taekwon?]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Huhhh? The voice is identical?]
―Huh??
―What did you just say?
―The light heavyweight champion?
―Then he's the strongest one there is
What is this.
The donation window kept scrolling up.
―DidICryLikeAFlood has donated 10,000 won!―
[Jinwoo, that man is the light heavyweight champion]
―GoneAndGoneForGood has donated 10,000 won!―
[He's the champion who's been defending it for a year now]
"OctagonRuler."
"Yes......."
"Are you by any chance the champion fighting a title defense?"
"Yes. I've been trying to tell you since earlier......."
Ah, so this man was the champion.
―Lolololololol Jinwoo
―He only figured it out now
―He was giving a consultation without even knowing who this is?
―Jinwoo doesn't watch fighting, does he?
Come to think of it, the poster had only a big photo of the rookie fighter on it, so I naturally assumed he was the challenger, but he was the champion.
The rookie must be the rising star this time, so they had pushed him as the main draw.
"...I'm sorry."
OctagonRuler apologized in a small voice.
"I should have told you first."
"Not at all. I was the one who spoke too assumptively."
So his saying he had no confidence had been about possibly losing the champion's seat.
"Mr. Lee Taekwon."
"Yes."
"Of course you feel pressure. It's a seat you've protected for a year."
If a seat he had protected for a year were lost overnight, how hard would that be?
On top of that, when I looked into the chat window, the fighter challenging him this time was said to be a formidable rookie.
"But that isn't really your true worry, is it."
At my words Mr. Lee Taekwon paused briefly.
"You really are the real deal......."
There was something I had glimpsed in passing, and if he was the champion, his true worry lay elsewhere.
I closed my eyes again and looked at the small table in one corner of the gym.
On the table lay a single photograph.
A photograph of a woman in her late fifties, neatly dressed in hanbok.
She was Mr. Lee Taekwon's mother.
But beside it was an envelope.
[Championship Bout Ticket]
His mother was coming to watch a match for the first time, and that was his true worry.
"Your mother is coming to the arena for the first time, isn't she."
"Yes......."
"Your mother, who was against it all your life."
"That's right......."
What parent in the world would want their child to earn money by fighting.
Win or lose, they get hurt.
But the real problem lay elsewhere.
"Your father was a fighter too."
"He was a champion. But he died in an accident during a match. When I was five."
"So she's been against it from the beginning right up to now."
"That's right... but this time she called me. To say she's coming to watch."
"So you're worried about getting hurt or losing in front of your mother."
"Yes. My mother mustn't have to see something like that again......."
"One moment."
When I looked briefly into his future, the octagon was shining brightly.
Spectator seats packed with countless people.
Mr. Lee Taekwon was inside the cage, and his opponent came in as well.
Mr. Lee Taekwon was slightly the taller, but the formidable rookie had the better build.
DING DING DING!!
"The maaaaatch begins now!!!!"
The shout came, and the instant the first round began his opponent came at him fiercely.
THWACK! THWACK!
When Mr. Lee Taekwon was rocked, his mother in the stands clasped her hands together and prayed.
In the second round that followed he found his pace again, and after whittling his opponent down blow by blow, he knocked him out in the third round.
[Winner, Lee Taekwon!]
He stood in the center of the cage and looked out at the seats.
There his mother had risen from her seat, applauding and weeping, and the moment he read the shape of her lips.
He finally smiled.
[Well done, my son.]
"Mr. Lee Taekwon."
"Yes."
"Don't worry too much."
"...Really?"
"Yes. So give the match your all. Then your mother will acknowledge you too."
"Thank you... thanks to you my mind is a little more at ease......."
―Ah, the tears are coming out of nowhere
―So his mother is proud of him
―Lee Taekwon, you've got this
―Cheering for your title defense
―Jinwoo's making people cry again
Me...?
"You've got this."
"But, Jinwoo."
"Yes."
"May I ask you for one thing?"
"Go ahead."
"Since my identity got out to the viewers, may I mention your broadcast in the interview after the match?"
"Oh my, that would be my honor."
He was offering to promote me for free, so I was more than thankful.
―Ohhhhh
―Isn't this going to blow the broadcast up again
―The fighting-sports forum stands behind Jinwoo
―And who are you people
"Thank you. I'll go and keep the champion's seat."
Click.
The moment he left, the chat window exploded like mad.
―Champion Lee Taekwon watches Jinwoo's broadcast
―This broadcast is going to blow up
―I should go watch the match
―Cheering for the championship bout
―Jinwoo, let's watch the match together
"I don't have broadcasting rights, so I'll be watching it on my own."
[Viewers: 2,427]
...Is this thanks to a famous fighter?
Several hundred more had joined in that brief span.
"All right, then I'll pick the next person."
―NewlyWeds has donated 100,000 won!―
[Please help me]
―NewlyWeds has donated 100,000 won!―
[It's really urgent]
―NewlyWeds has donated 100,000 won!―
[Isn't there anything you can do?]
―Yeah, that's the kind of money you should be firing off when you ask
―What's the point when it's a lottery
―Big upvote for Jinwoo, who's smiling
―Would our Jinwoo be swayed by a measly 100,000 won?
"Ahem, big upvote......."
―SoftChewyCow has donated 10,000 won!―
[You are swayed, aren't you?]
"I'm joking."
Let's see, shall I take a look?
I closed my eyes and looked into NewlyWeds, and something seemed serious.
"Ah, this is a bit serious."
―Why, what is it, is it that bad?
―They're newlyweds, what problem could there be?
―Is it serious?
―Don't do it?
"NewlyWeds, come on in. The password is 1004."
A woman's voice came through along with a click.
"Hello......."
"Yes, please speak comfortably."
"So, the thing is. I heard something from my husband......."
"Yes."
"My husband says he received a letter of admission from a school in England. He says he wants to go, so what should I do?"
At her serious-sounding voice, the chat window began to stir as well.
―Going to a school in England when they're just newlyweds?
―Why? Is it an important place?
―But if it's the husband's dream, shouldn't she support him?
―They're newlyweds, though?
"I spent all day agonizing over our household and raising children and being a long-distance couple, but I couldn't find any proper solution......."
"I see."
"What would be the best thing to do? In my heart I want to support my husband, but realistically......."
At the woman's trailing voice the mood in the chat window turned serious along with it, but since I knew the truth, I controlled my emotions as much as I could.
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[What school is it?]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Let's at least hear where it is]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Shouldn't she have a serious talk with her husband?]
"NewlyWeds."
"Yes."
"Do you support your husband's dream?"
"Yes... I always support him."
"Then please pass on to your husband exactly what I tell you."
"What is it?"
"'If you really want to go, then go.'"
"......."
She was silent for a moment.
"You have the letter of admission, don't you?"
"Yes......."
"Take another look at it."
"Understood......."
She said her goodbyes and left Daincode.
"Thank you."
Click.
The moment I confirmed that she had left not only the call room but the broadcast as well, I couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
"Ahahat!"
At that the mood in the chat window went cold, but what could I do.
To other people, I must have looked like a lunatic right then.
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[You're laughing in this situation?]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Our Jinwoo isn't normally like this]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Why, what is it? Don't just laugh by yourself, tell us!!!]
"Ahahat... w-well, the thing is......."
At the explanation that followed, the chat window was plastered with question marks for a moment before turning into a sea of laughter.
―She must be insane lolololololol
―She actually said it like that?
―Man, what is that husband going to do
―I wonder if he can handle it
"Cough, cough......."
Ah, now that I've remembered it again I feel like laughing more.
"Kheugh... I laughed so hard it hurts. That last one was an event, so I'll do one more person and end today's broadcast here......."
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Nuh-uh, that's not happening]
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Don't cross the line]
"...I'll do two more."
―Anon has donated 10,000 won!―
[Three]
"Then I'll do three more."
***
Lee Yejin set down her phone and sat blankly on the living room sofa for a long while.
The shaman's words kept circling in her head.
'"If you really want to go, then go."'
He had told her to pass that on.
But was it really all right to send him.......
We're still in the early days of our marriage.
Lee Yejin looked again at the envelope her husband had left on the dining table.
The envelope he had shown her with an excited look before leaving for work that morning.
[Letter of Acceptance]
When she had looked at it earlier it had been covered in English, so she had only assumed it was some prestigious school somewhere in England.
In the morning she hadn't been able to look closely because she was rushing to get to work, but now she had time to look it over calmly.
The shaman had told her to check it once more, after all.
Lee Yejin took the paper out of the envelope and unfolded it.
[HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY]
The moment she ran the letters written in large type across the top of the paper through a translator.
"Hogwarts...?"
What is this.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Her hands trembled the moment she read the words, but she ran the rest of the contents through the translator as well.
[Student Supplies]
Three sets of robes, a magic wand, a cauldron, an owl or a cat.......
Only then did she realize.
The fact that she had been had.
CRUMPLE.
Crumpling the paper, she checked the clock, and the time remaining until her husband got home was one hour.
Right, one hour left.
"Just try walking through that door."
At that moment a ringtone sounded.
[You've got a message! It's a call, though. Fooled you, didn't I?]
[You've got a message! It's a call, though. Fooled you, didn't I?]
[You've got a message! It's a call, though. Fooled you, didn't I?]
The caller was her husband.
"Hello."
"Honey, I think I'm going to be a little late today."
"Why? Are you off to buy your Hogwarts school supplies?"
"......."
To her husband, who stayed silent for a while, she whispered in a low voice.
"When you come home, I won't let you off."
"Good Luck."
"Hey, you......."
Beep, beep, beep.
"...He hung up?"
With the call cut off, she vowed once again.
That when her husband came home, she would not let him off.