Familiar ruby red eyes

[Yuito's POV]

Thus, on that evening, on my third day in Korea, I began training the chosen one, the main character Hobin Yoo.

What secret training was I going to give that would make Hobin significantly stronger in the mere span of four days?

The answer was simple, I was not going to.

I was not under the delusion that I could help Hobin get stronger in a few days like how Ichigo learned Bankai in three days.

Instead, I was going to give him a good foundation and pave a direct path towards his goal. He was going to get stronger like in the manhwa anyway so I only have to show him the best and shortest route to power.

I also made sure he watched Samdak's video as much as he could, unlike in the manhwa where he would only do so when he encountered an enemy. Now he would have more time to prepare and would continue improving even without a hopeless fight looming over him.

With my help, he was also able to practice what he learned and I explained in deeper detail what Samdak was saying in the videos.

I gave him pointers and practiced with him, he made huge progress in his skill alone. The only thing he would need to do is wait until his body strengthen.

I did not slack off with his body conditioning either. I bought a disgusting amount of supplements like Mass gainer, protein, vitamins, etc, and gave him enough to last for a while.

I knew he had no surplus money he could use on buying things like this so I paid everything for him. He was extremely grateful and said he would never forget my good will.

Speaking of training, I did not slack off either. I made sure to watch every video of Samdak while I was training Hobin. I also subscribed to the channel and with the weird name, it was no wonder no one other than Hobin had stumbled on the videos.

The tutorials were not that special by themselves, they only worked to remind me of things I already knew and also gave me a unique perspective on the art of fighting as a whole. Nothing like a secret information or anything,

In the end, it was not that the videos were special, it had always been Hobin. The guy who has an inferiority complex and always overestimates his opponent. This mentality made him able to adapt and willing to do anything to win.

And just like that, I spent two days with Hobin. I even slept in his house instead of going back and forth to my hotel.

Hobin did not go back to school and spent the entire time, training with me or watching Samdak's video.

It could also be said that during this time, I have become somewhat of a friend with Hobin.

It was Monday and the tournament was going to happen today. It was early in the morning and the tournament was bound to start at 10 am.

"How does it feel?" I asked in amusement as I watched Hobin doing a plank. He had been staying in that position for half an hour now and sweat pooled below him like a puddle of water.

"I-It burns." He huffed out, speaking seemed to be a challenge for him at the moment, "It hurts so much."

"Oh yeah?" I grabbed his head and made him look up at me, "Hurts more than when you were helplessly beaten in front of Bomi?"

He grits his teeth, "no."

"Hurts more than having to strip and grovel under the feet of Pakgo?"

"No"

"Hurts more than seeing your mother in the hospital and seeing them making fun of her?"

"NOO!!"

I shook my head as if confused, "I will ask again then, how does it feel?" I asked, indicating his current position.

"It feels great."

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

I smiled at him, "Yes, it's nothing compared to what they did to you right."

"Remember that. Never forget how they treated you, never forget the humiliation you had to face because you were weak. Etch those horrible moments in your mind and use it as fuel."

"Turn that trauma into motivation." I said.

It was some corny shit I have learned and seen on the internet but hey, it seems to be working because Honbin stop making sounds altogether as he did his plank ever so still.

"Learn to enjoy training. You were weak once so you should enjoy the act of getting stronger more than anyone else. Remember, a person who loves walking will walk further than the person who loves the destination."

Hobin nodded his head and seriously took in my lessons as if it were the words of God.

They were not something I put into practice but they were all preached by great hardworking people. So I am sure it would have good effects on him.

I re-told motivational words and speech I remembered to Hobin as he did his plank. Then when it finally reached an hour, I told Hobin to stop and he flopped on the floor.

"Well, that's all for now." I said and went to the door and put on my shoes as I got ready to leave.

"Make sure you eat your meal. You have been training for two days straight so you can have a rest." I finished putting on my shoes and opened the door as I got ready to leave.

"Oh and make sure you watch my fights." I said before closing the door and leave.

Now, it was around 6 am in the morning, plenty of time before the tournament started. There were some things that I needed to do before that.

---__---__---__---__---__---

[Time : 8 am (3 hours later) ]

I was sitting alone at a dining table made for four in a restaurant. There were many empty plates and cups on the table.

If someone were to see the empty plates, they would suspect that it was the work of maybe five grown men. But it was not, they were the work of a single person.

I ate them all.

"Get me one more plate of chicken please!!" I said to the waiter as I devoured my food for who knows how many times.

I always had a great appetite but the portions of food that I ate were too much, even for my standard.

I ate so much that the people in the restaurant were recording me and gawking in shock.

Now you might ask why I was eating so much food right before the tournament. The answer was simple.

I needed the extra weight to make sure that I fought in the light heavyweight division. I should fight in the middleweight division but I wanted to fight in light heavyweight because of one simple reason.

It was the division Monseoung Kim was going to fight at. And if I wanted to fight him, I needed to be in the light heavyweight division as well.

Most of the time, people would try to cut their weight and appear lighter than they actually are to have an advantage but I was the opposite.

Sure it was quite stupid from an objective perspective but it is what it is. I wanted to fight the damn monster.

People wouldn't understand and call it stupid but the truth is, if you have spent most of your career breezing through your opponent easily, an actual challenge becomes really attractive.

I wanted a challenge.

I wanted to feel like I won again because when things become too easy, you don't feel like you are winning.

Besides, it's not like I needed to win the tournament, although I am certain I would. So there was no actual risk for me.

Soon the chicken I ordered was put on the table and even though I was full, I gorged down on the chicken like the meat it was.

As I was eating, the door to the restaurant opened and someone walked through it.

Whoever it was, they must be exceptional because they immediately attracted the attention of the whole restaurant.

Curious, I stopped eating my chicken and looked up to see who it was.....

...and I wished I had continued eating.

I wish I had never looked up.

Because I never looked down again.

The whole world fades away in the background. The chatter of the people got muffled until they became silent and I could only hear her.

She was breathing heavily as if she had run all the way here in great urgency. But her lungs stopped pulling in the air when our eyes connected.

Familiar ruby red eyes.

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