BP 18

His wide-open eyes faced Jae-il, and his eyelids fluttered frantically. In the indifferently lowered pupils, Seung-hyun’s surprised face was captured perfectly.

“Wearing gear is mandatory.”

“Yes.”

Because of the mouthguard, his pronunciation was slurred even though it was a short answer. Saliva quickly pooled in his mouth. Pretending to be composed, Seung-hyun followed Jae-il’s instructions one by one. He pressed and molded the piece fitted to his front teeth according to the sequence.

Even after returning to the cage, Jae-il personally helped him put on the headgear, hand wraps, and gloves, explaining in detail why each was necessary. Seung-hyun replied diligently, saying, “Yes, thank you. Is that so? I understand.” Giju looked on with slightly surprised eyes, and Jae-jin observed with interest. A fishy smile flickered and vanished.

Since these things were habitual for Jae-il, the preparation time wasn’t very long. He took a step back and scanned Seung-hyun from top to bottom. The face trapped in the headgear looked small. Looking down awkwardly at the gloves, Seung-hyun gave a polite bow. Following the clumsy figure entering the cage with his eyes, Jae-il finally let out a faint sigh.

As Seung-hyun entered the cage, Jae-jin sneered.

“It’s only been a few days and you’re already getting pampered. Huh?”

“…….”

“Since you can’t do Read on Read BL Novelson Read BL Novels]END: Read on Read BL Novels -->it with skill, I guess you’ve already rubbed your body against him?”

When Seung-hyun just stood there silently, Jae-jin, satisfied with that, took his stance. After raising his guard, he spread his legs. Leaning his upper body slightly, his eyes were already in combat mode, targeting Seung-hyun.

“This is the basic stance.”

“…….”

“From here, you just use your fists or legs.”

“Yes.”

As Seung-hyun awkwardly followed along, Lee Jae-jin began to step in earnest.

“Try hitting me three times.”

Seung-hyun, wearing the headgear deep over his head, tilted his head in confusion.

“…Are there no rules?”

“Nope. None. Out of courtesy, avoid the vital spots.”

With those words, he quickly closed the distance and threw a punch. With the force of the strike and pull, he hit two consecutive blows. They were fast and strong. It was a power that showed no consideration for a beginner. Pushed back with a dull thud, Seung-hyun barely managed to keep his balance. His vision spun.

Despite wearing the headgear, his left cheek and nose were stinging. Suddenly feeling as if the area under his nose had become damp, Seung-hyun sniffled and wiped under his nose with his glove. He could taste blood in his mouth. If he hadn’t been wearing the gear, a tooth might have been knocked out. He hadn’t been able to block because the attack came in without any warning.

After moving his lower jaw a few times, Seung-hyun calmly took a stance. It wasn’t as textbook as Lee Jae-jin’s, but it was a fairly balanced posture.

Lightly rotating his wrists, Jae-jin bounced lightly three times in place. The moment his feet hit the floor, he dug in fiercely. After a light tap to the front of the face, Jae-jin’s body suddenly dropped low. A wide swing of his fist struck the abdomen violently. Unable to withstand the impact, Seung-hyun rolled backward with a loud crash. A short cough burst from him as he was slammed into the corner.

“What are you doing? I told you to hit me.”

Lee Jae-jin was grinning. He strode over and lifted his foot. As Seung-hyun hurriedly rolled away to avoid it, Jae-jin’s kick slammed into the empty cage with a loud crack.

“The Guide is going too hard on a beginner.”

A few ability users watching chuckled.

“It’s too one-sided.”

Because the scene was more disastrous than expected, Giju whispered into Jae-il’s ear. Jae-il didn’t respond, keeping his gaze fixed solely on Seung-hyun. Even while [visit our site]being hit repeatedly by Jae-jin, Ji Seung-hyun did not shrink back. Jae-il’s stolen contenteyes narrowed at [Read on Read BL Novels]the quiet alertness with which Seung-hyun was analyzing Lee Jae-jin’s movements.

“No.”

His bleakly sunken gaze was surprisingly focused on him, never wavering for a moment.

“…I told you to keep your head straight and see where I’m attacking!”

Jae-jin added a comment here and there as if this were actual education. Seung-hyun swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth. Clutching his stinging abdomen, he stood up and coughed violently a few times. After staring blankly at Jae-jin, who was stepping leisurely, he pressed the mouthguard back in. When he slowly closed and opened his eyes, his gaze had become dry and sunken.

“Three hits?”

Seung-hyun asked back, raising his fists. Lee Jae-jin nodded. Unlike the static Seung-hyun, Lee Jae-jin’s movements overflowed with confidence. It was the moment he put strength into his lead foot to attack again.

Lightly avoiding the incoming punch by leaning his waist back, Seung-hyun rotated his entire body to change position. Jae-jin searched for Seung-hyun, who had vanished from his sight for an instant, but Seung-hyun was already pulling his fist back like a drawn bowstring. His movement was so fast that Jae-jin had no time to dodge. Seung-hyun’s fiercely extended fist struck Jae-jin’s left jaw.

The power loaded from the lower body, firmly planted on the floor, was immense. The precise strike immediately collapsed Lee Jae-jin’s balance. Seung-hyun murmured softly.

“One.”

Seung-hyun’s reflexes, moving as if he were a different person, were astonishing. He changed his posture before Lee Jae-jin could regain BEGIN: stolen content -->stolen contenthis senses. Then, he immediately [Read on Read BL Novels]grabbed the man’s shoulder roughly and drove his knee into the abdomen. A sound of “ugh” burst from Jae-jin’s mouth.

“Two.”

Next, he slammed both hands down on the back of Jae-jin, who was hunched over clutching his stomach, and flipped him over completely.

“Ah, you fucking—!”

Slammed onto the floor in the blink of an eye, Lee Jae-jin let out a curse that sounded almost like a scream. His attempt to raise his upper body was futilely suppressed. Ji Seung-hyun moved his body as if he had calculated everything. He climbed onto Jae-jin’s back and pressed down on the nape of his neck. Although he had already filled the three hits Lee Jae-jin had requested, Seung-hyun struck the firmly fixed head. A thud echoed through the cage.

The more Jae-jin struggled and gasped, the tighter Seung-hyun bound him. Every time he attempted a counterattack, Seung-hyun struck the same spot with the same intensity. Only the sound of wheezing breath, groans, and occasional impact sounds filled the cage gloomily. It was unclear where this strength was coming from. He was pressing down roughly, as if he truly intended to break him. Lee Jae-jin’s bloodshot eyes, having lost the will to fight, looked toward Seung-hyun. He seemed quite terrified.

The gaze looking down at Lee Jae-jin was quite different from before. Above the slumped Jae-jin, Seung-hyun first removed the mouthguard. His lips were stained red from the blood he had been holding. It was a wound from the first attack. Indifferently swallowing what had pooled, Seung-hyun spoke in a flat tone.

“Thanks to you, I learned well.”

Pressing down on Jae-jin’s head, Seung-hyun leaned his upper body down and whispered in an even lower voice into his ear.

“I look forward to your help again if there’s another opportunity.”

Even after Seung-hyun’s body moved away, Jae-jin didn’t move for a while. Having been completely defeated by unrefined punching, it might have been better to pretend to be unconscious. As Seung-hyun exited [unauthorized copy]the cage, the unauthorized copyability users tossed out comments, saying he was tougher than he looked, that he was quite capable, and asking where he had learned to fight.

Seung-hyun struggled to take off the gloves and loosened the chin strap. Then, with the headgear tucked into his waist, he approached Jae-il and Giju. He stood there, rubbing his stinging nose and sucking on his split lip. The two men simply stared at Seung-hyun with blank eyes and did not open their mouths. Unable to bear the silence, Seung-hyun hesitated before speaking.

“Thank you for looking out for me….”

Jae-il’s hand reached out slowly. Following the hand as it grew closer, Seung-hyun glanced at Jae-il’s face. His mouth was slightly open. Quickly realizing what was being requested, Seung-hyun took the touch enveloping his entire lower jaw as a signal and opened his mouth. His head tilted back slightly.

“Wider.”

Following the short command, Seung-hyun tucked his lower jaw and shifted his gaze diagonally. Jae-il’s expression darkened as he turned the jaw this way and that, inspecting the inside. His thumb hooked the corner of the mouth and pulled it open. Embarrassed, Seung-hyun’s eyes darted around, and he swallowed a mouthful of blood.

“The wound is severe.”

“…….”

The fingertips were hot. Stepping backward, Seung-hyun wiped his lips with the palm of his hand.

“This much is fine. Anyway, thank you.”

“…….”

“But, the gear….”

When Jae-il silently extended his wrist, Seung-hyun gripped the area around the gear tightly. Having done it once before, he touched it with fair familiarity and checked the value. It was 25%. Realizing it wasn’t a very high number, Seung-hyun’s shoulders slumped. A sigh of relief accompanied it. Letting go of the wrist, he sniffed as if his nose were uncomfortable and asked for the location of the restroom.

“Thank you.”

Looking at the plodding gait as he exited toward where Jae-il pointed, one would wonder if this was truly the same person who had beaten Lee Jae-jin so thoroughly.

‘It’s not a stupid thing to do.’

Jae-il, who had unconsciously interfered because he was bothered by the clumsy and intimidated appearance, had to admit it. It had been useless meddling. The man was from the abandoned land, the 13th District, and was not a weak person, having survived there. Rather, Lee Jae-jin had fallen neatly into the trap he had set. In Haon, where his position was narrow due to the strong image of being an intruder and a parachute hire, he had pranked his opponent in his own way. Jae-il suspected that getting hit first to lower the opponent’s guard was also part of the plan. He had acted quite—no, very—cunningly.

While Jae-il had been inspecting Seung-hyun’s mouth and Seung-hyun had disappeared after saying goodbye, Giju, who had been standing like a stone, spoke up.

“He looks like a total herbivore, but he’s got some temper. Right?”

When Jae-il agreed with a “Yeah,” Giju wiped the tip of his nose with the back of his hand.

“By the way, your Guide….”

His slightly hazy gaze was directed toward the exit where Seung-hyun had vanished.

“The smell of blood is incredible. Are you okay?”

“…….”