“Wow, this is ridiculous. We’re supposed to sleep here?”
The moment we arrived at the Olympic athletes’ village, Sangha-hyung blurted out his complaint.
And as if on cue, everyone else behind us nodded in agreement.
“This is too much.”
“Way too much. I mean, the bathrooms... Some parts of this place aren’t even finished!”
Staying here would make it impossible to keep my condition in check.
Toilets that wouldn’t flush.
Mold that looked like part of the interior design.
Lights that didn’t turn on, and pipes leaking water everywhere.
‘So this is why Evelyn told me to let her know if the accommodations were bad.’
The U.S. team must’ve already caught wind of this.
‘Their athletes are probably booking hotels by now.’
I remember this happening in my past life too.
Some things really are inevitable.
I quickly sized up the situation.
“We’re moving.”
“Huh? Moving where?”
“To a hotel. That’s the best option.”
“Right? I thought so too.”
“Wait—what about the other boxing rep? Isn’t there one more?”
“Yeah, just one more besides you.”
Since there was only one other boxer on the team, the next step was obvious.
“Book a hotel for both of us.”
“Got it. No way we’re staying here.”
“Since there aren’t many of us, let’s just pick the best place nearby.”
“Leave it to me. We got here early, so there should be rooms available.”
Thanks to our quick decision, we managed to snag rooms at the best hotel nearby just in time.
“Any later, and we would’ve been screwed.”
“Apparently, even some Brazilian athletes didn’t check into the village.”
“Seriously, this place is a joke.”
While we talked about the accommodations—
“The opening ceremony is on August 6, and the matches start the next day with the Round of 32.”
We shifted focus to the official Olympic schedule.
“Since you ranked first in the Asian qualifiers, you skip straight to the Round of 16.”
With only 20 competitors in the heavyweight division,
eight lower-ranked athletes would compete in the Round of 32.
The rest started in the Round of 16.
“So... your first match is on August 9.”
I already knew the schedule, but going over it again helped mentally prepare me.
“You’ll face a British fighter at 7 PM. First slot of the evening.”
“Perfect. That’s 7 PM in Korea too.”
“Think they’ll broadcast it live?”
“Definitely.”
The documentary team chimed in from behind.
“Nothing else is happening at that time slot, especially for boxing.
Matches usually start at 9 AM, so this is prime time.”
“Right. And with Kim Donghu’s popularity, interest in boxing has skyrocketed.”
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
So, I’d be getting near-exclusive coverage?
“Donghu, show them how terrifying you really are.”
“....”
Sangha-hyung’s dramatic words made me cringe,
but I turned my focus back to training.
With so little time left, it was all or nothing now.
*****
August 9, Rio de Janeiro, 7:00 AM.
Despite the early hour, the Olympic arena was already buzzing with energy.
“Waaaaahhhh!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
The broadcast commentators could barely contain their excitement.
“Oh, I’m thrilled we can share this electrifying atmosphere with viewers in Korea!”
“Could this be the start of a new legend in Korean heavyweight boxing? Who would’ve thought? He’s only twenty! A professional actor! And here comes Kim Donghu!”
“For those unfamiliar, Kim Donghu has been showing remarkable results since his youth.”
The commentators hyped up the event while the camera zoomed in on me walking toward the ring.
In Korea, it was 7 PM—the perfect time for families to tune in after work.
Anticipation was through the roof.
“It’s been ages since a Korean athlete attracted this much attention!”
“The world’s already taken notice—especially since he’s the Young Boss of Drake Gym in the U.S.”
“Oh, look! The Drake Gym team is here, holding banners. ‘Fighting, Young Boss!’ What a great sight!”
As the first match of the day, the ring was double-checked for safety,
and the cameras panned to famous boxers sitting in the audience.
“There was quite a debate about whether pros should compete this year.”
“The rules are completely different.
Olympic matches are three 3-minute rounds, focused on scoring points.
Meanwhile, pros fight 6–12 rounds.”
“It’s all about aggression and precision—
racking up points while avoiding mistakes.”
The commentators kept talking.
“So knockouts are rare?”
“Usually, yeah. But Kim Donghu’s record is all KOs, so who knows?”
Viewers who weren’t familiar with Olympic boxing rules nodded along,
waiting for the match to start.
Finally—
“The match is about to begin! Both fighters are in the ring!”
“Look at Kim Donghu’s eyes! Is he really only twenty? He looks terrifying!”
“The British fighter seems a bit rattled already—like he’s facing a predator!”
Ding!
After touching gloves, the match began immediately.
“And the bell rings!”
“Both fighters are starting cautiously, feeling each other out.”
“But they can’t drag this out too long—wait! The British fighter is moving in!”
The commentators’ excitement began to rise—
Thud.
The match was over.
“W-What?”
Even the seasoned commentators, who had covered countless boxing matches, froze.
The replay appeared on screen almost immediately.
“Okay, let’s look at the footage.”
“Yes, they touched gloves and got into position.”
“The British fighter ducked in, trying to close the distance—wait, what’s this?”
The British fighter moved in with a tight guard,
while Kim Donghu calmly observed.
Just as the British fighter tried to throw a body hook—
Bang!
Donghu’s body twisted to the left,
and his fist slipped cleanly through the opponent’s guard.
The British fighter’s head snapped back.
Before he could recover—
Bang!
A hook smashed into his temple.
The punches were so fast that the replay had to be slowed down to even see what happened.
“And there it is—11 seconds into the match...”
“A TKO! The match ends in just 11 seconds with an explosive performance!”
“The next match is scheduled for August 11th, against a Chinese fighter!”
The commentators struggled to find words.
‘What the hell did we just witness?’
‘He’s rewriting Korea’s boxing history.’
‘Forget legends—Kim Donghu is Korean boxing now.’
No Korean boxer had ever shown such destructive power before.
And he did it in 11 seconds.
“Wow... I mean, just wow.”
“I don’t even know what to say for the next match... but this feels historic.”
“If he keeps this up, he won’t just win gold—he’ll rewrite Olympic boxing history!”
The broadcast ended with awkward closing remarks as everyone reeled from what they had seen.
Online, reactions poured in—
"Was that just luck? A fluke punch? LOL."
"He’ll need to prove himself in the next round."
"Bro, shut up. You couldn’t last 2 seconds against Donghu’s pinky finger."
Jealousy was unavoidable.
When someone starts shining, insecurities rise to the surface.
But—
August 11th.
Ding ding ding!
“Kim Donghu knocks out the Chinese fighter in 7 seconds!”
“This is insane—without slow motion, you can’t even see what happened!”
“He feinted with his lead hand, landed a hook, and followed up with an uppercut and a liver shot! No one could take that!”
The screen showed the Chinese fighter being carried out on a stretcher.
“They’re saying his ribs are broken. Honestly, with punches like that, it’s no surprise.”
“His punches hit like trucks—no one’s blocking those!”
“Next up, the semifinals in three days! Against an Uzbek fighter!”
“And get this—he already beat that guy in the Asian qualifiers!”
Two back-to-back lightning-fast KOs.
Now, even the commentators were losing it.
“The world is in shock! ‘Kim Donghu’s punches—what are they made of?!’”
“Unbelievable hand speed—ever been knocked out by light itself?”
“Golden Flash! A straight line to gold!”
“The Monster Descends—rewriting Korean boxing history.”
“Kim Donghu: ‘I stand here because of the sweat and passion of my predecessors.’ A class act in and out of the ring!”
“Hope of Korean boxing? No—despair for the rest of the world.”
“Korean boxing fever! The rise of a new sports icon?”
Social media exploded.
“LOLOLOLOL salty haters crying rn.”
“You think this was luck? Bro, you’d last 2 seconds tops.”
“Why watch movies when real life is better?”
“The Young Boss from Drake Gym is now the King of KO!”
“Olympic boxing? More like Kim Donghu’s highlight reel.”
“Alpha male energy—forget point systems, he just knocks people out!”
As the public went wild,
there was one country that wasn’t celebrating.
“...We need to increase the dosage.”
“No, that’s too risky! They’ll catch us this time!”
“We’re facing him in the finals, aren’t we? We can’t beat him clean—do it.”
Russia.
Known for their doping scandals,
they were already scheming.