Late May 2015.
As the Olympics drew closer, reporters were scrambling for headlines.
And they had found the perfect scoop.
“Actor Kim Donghu Declares Boxing National Team Candidacy?! Is It True?”
“Is This Reckless? Kim Donghu’s Current Record: 12 Fights, 12 Wins (12 KOs), 0 Draws, 0 Losses.”
“No Rivals Left in Korea—The Sole Heir to Korea’s Boxing Gold, ‘Kim Donghu.’”
“Kim Donghu Heads to Colorado for Training—Aiming for Olympic Heavyweight Gold.”
“What’s His Plan? Three Major Networks Jump Onboard to Document Kim Donghu’s Journey!”
The news?
Kim Donghu was heading overseas for training.
Specifically, to target the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal.
ㄴWhat? Kim Donghu’s suddenly boxing? That’s so random lol.
ㄴYou’re the only one surprised. He’s been mentioning boxing for ages, lol.
ㄴLmao, people just like to act clueless about this.
ㄴWait, isn’t he an actor? And now he’s going for gold? WTF.
ㄴHe’s an actor who starred in two blockbusters that both hit 10 million viewers, FYI.
Though it hadn’t been spotlighted until now,
Kim Donghu’s recent film, Rebel: The Roots of Corruption,
was hailed as the pinnacle of historical action cinema.
ㄴAbsolute legend. He wielded dual swords with that face—perfection.
ㄴI can’t believe people rooted for the villain just because of his looks, LOL.
ㄴSome fans even felt relieved when his character escaped safely.
ㄴHis character was a total scumbag, but... yeah, the face makes it forgivable.
ㄴDonghu is just built for handsome psycho roles.
ㄴThe guy’s naturally good-looking, and it started from his debut.
The articles lit a fire, and the internet buzzed with comments.
ㄴBut Korea hasn’t won a boxing gold since 1988...
ㄴHow confident do you have to be to go for gold as an actor?
ㄴConfidence? Arrogance? Or just plain stupidity? LOL.
ㄴGod, there’s always one of you. Have you even seen his matches? Donghu’s insane in the ring.
Most reactions were positive.
If he had made this claim without results to back it up, it would’ve sounded immature.
But Kim Donghu already had an impressive domestic record.
Every match in Korea ended in a 1st-round KO.
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No heavyweight in the country had lasted three minutes against him.
ㄴBut isn’t that just the high school division? He needs to fight adults.
ㄴHe’ll prove it at the national team qualifiers later this year.
ㄴWe’ll have to wait and see then. People are overhyping this for now.
ㄴColorado? Why there?
ㄴHigh altitude. Over 1,600 meters above sea level—great for building stamina.
ㄴAlso home to a U.S. Olympic training center.
ㄴOh... makes sense.
And then—
ㄴSo, does this mean he’ll keep acting too?
A comment seemingly out of place appeared.
ㄴSince Korea hasn’t won boxing gold since 1988, imagine if he wins—instant movie material. LOL.
Everyone agreed.
There probably wasn’t a better underdog story for the silver screen.
*****
While Korea buzzed over Kim Donghu’s boxing ambitions,
Drake Gym in Colorado was bracing for an unexpected arrival.
“What’s with all the people outside?”
“They’ve got cameras. Is someone famous coming?”
“An actor? Why would an actor come here?”
“Maybe they got lost?”
Two SUVs had parked outside the gym,
and people with cameras were pouring out.
For a training center, the scene felt completely out of place.
“Tourists? Did they mistake this for a museum?”
“Maybe. McCoy! Go tell them this is a gym, not a tourist attraction.”
“Got it!”
McCoy hurried outside.
Meanwhile, Coach Jack Drake and Assistant Coach Hammer Draco noticed a man stepping out of the SUV.
“What the... Is he a model or something? Did they come to film him?”
The first thing they noticed was his physique.
He looked Asian, judging by the people around him,
but there was something strikingly exotic about him.
“Even with sunglasses, he looks good.”
“Yeah. But did you see his hands? Look at those calluses.”
“Damn, definitely a fighter. Maybe a Hollywood movie shoot?”
“In this gym? Without asking us first?”
“Maybe they’re about to.”
Jack and Hammer exchanged glances,
watching as McCoy kept talking to the group outside.
“What’s taking so long? Just tell them this is a gym and move on.”
“Wait... They’re coming this way.”
“What? Are they asking for a tour?”
“Maybe. But where’s the Asian guy we were expecting?”
Jack folded his arms, frowning.
Tourists were already annoying enough.
And now, the guy they were actually expecting hadn’t even shown up yet.
‘Though technically, there’s still 30 minutes left.’
Still, wouldn’t it make sense to show up early and introduce himself?
Jack mulled over his thoughts until—
“Wow! This is so cool!”
McCoy burst back in, full of excitement.
“What is it? What’s so cool?”
“You know that Asian heavyweight we talked about?”
“Yeah, we’re waiting for him.”
“That’s him.”
Jack and Hammer turned to look.
The man with the towering frame and battle-scarred hands—was their Asian heavyweight.
“No way. That guy’s at least 205 pounds. He’s Asian?”
He didn’t fit the stereotype.
He was every bit the image of a heavyweight boxer.
“So? What did he say?”
“He said he’s here for training camp and asked if it’s okay to film a documentary.”
“That’s fine. We already record everything in training. As long as—”
“They don’t interfere or disturb others, right?”
“Looks like he knows the rules.”
Jack shrugged and opened the gym doors wide.
‘But seriously, that body’s ridiculous.’
Even in the West, physiques like his were rare.
It was like his body had been sculpted by a god.
Not just his face—
every part of him looked perfectly balanced.
“Well, we still need to test him, right?”
“Huh?”
Hammer spoke up with a smirk.
“We test all newcomers.”
“Oh. Right.”
Drake Gym’s reputation as the gatekeepers of heavyweight boxing?
It came from crushing hopefuls during their entry tests.
There were two choices:
Mitt work or sparring.
“Most choose mitts. It’s safer.”
“Yeah, no one wants to spar right off the plane with jet lag.”
“Exactly. 90 out of 100 pick mitts. Only 10 choose sparring.
And out of that 10, maybe one wins.”
Jack crossed his arms, curious.
“So, what’s he going to pick?”
His question would be answered sooner than expected.
*****
Thud!
A deafening crash echoed through the gym, followed by gasps and shouts of disbelief.
“He’s insane! Absolutely insane!”
“A monster! That guy’s a monster!”
“No, he’s a handsome monster!”
The aftermath in the ring was so shocking that no one could process it right away.
“This... this has never happened before.”
Jack Drake stared at the scene, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
“What the hell was that?”
“Did anyone see what just happened?”
The fighters gathered around the ring kept replaying the moment in their heads,
trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed.
“Why... why didn’t anyone see the left hand?”
“The hook came from an angle you can’t see. We caught it because we were watching from the outside. But head-on... Damn, what is that guy?”
“Are we sure he’s Asian? 1 minute and 13 seconds—KO in the first round of a skills test? Does that even make sense?”
“He was wearing headgear! How did he still drop like that?”
“Didn’t you hear the sound? I thought a grenade went off.”
“Shit! Hook, uppercut, liver shot. That combo was insane!”
“And he landed all three in less than a second. Holy shit—what’s his name again?”
It was an unbelievable sight.
‘Not one. Not just one move.’
This wasn’t a fluke.
It was the first time in Drake Gym’s history that something like this had happened.
‘And it’s an Asian fighter...’
An Asian boxer had just knocked out one of their veteran test fighters
in the first round—without taking a single hit.
‘And he’s only 19? From Korea?’
Was this even real?
Pushing aside his disbelief, Jack Drake let out an incredulous laugh.
“What the hell were you doing in Korea until now?”
A talent like this—
hidden away in such a small country—felt like a waste on a national level.
It was a question meant to probe deeper.
But ‘that guy’—no, Kim Donghu—gave an answer that was almost too simple.
“I was an actor in Korea.”
“An actor? Like, in movies?”
“Yes. My main job is acting.”
“What the—”
Jack Drake barely stopped himself from swearing.
So this kid—
a Korean actor—
‘Just KO’d a Drake Gym-level tester in the first round? And I’m supposed to believe that?’
This wasn’t a joke. It was pure madness.