Recently, Yu Jung-ak, who had less personal training time, changed his bedtime to be earlier. Since Yu Jung-ak always tried to sleep for 7 hours a day no matter what, he had to go to bed earlier than expected to wake up at dawn.
Seven hours of sleep might seem short for an athlete, but Yu Jung-ak takes short naps during the day.
So he wasn't lacking sleep. However, fatigue was a problem. Lately, Yu Jung-ak felt that he lacked stamina due to intense training.
So he increased his food intake and did more strength training. He reduced his free time and woke up at dawn to run, building his basic physical strength.
As a result, Yu Jung-ak's routine was to wake up at 4 AM recently. These days, the streetlights were bright enough at dawn, so there was no problem. There were many buildings around the center too. Just fewer than in the city center.
Yu Jung-ak wakes up at 4, stretches for about 15 minutes, and runs around the center. He didn't forget to hydrate sufficiently before running. After running for about 30 minutes, he could see apartments and shopping areas, and a convenience store in a quiet area.
Yu Jung-ak runs to that convenience store and then returns to the center. It was a one-hour course, but given Yu Jung-ak's running speed, it was clearly a considerable distance.
Beep. Beep.
As soon as the alarm went off, Yu Jung-ak stopped his smartphone's alarm. Then he did some simple stretches lying down. After stretching briefly on the bed, he immediately drank a glass of lukewarm water.
Yu Jung-ak's sculpture-like body was fully revealed in his naked state. Yu Jung-ak put on his training clothes and went out to the center's yard.
"It's raining."
It was drizzling a bit, but not too much. A light rain. Yu Jung-ak went inside and put on a waterproof field jacket. With a hat on, he could run sufficiently without wearing rainwear.
After stretching, Yu Jung-ak ran through the rainy dawn streets. After running, he eats a light snack and does muscle training. Shower, brief personal training, then breakfast. His daily routine was as tight and complex as an athlete preparing for the Olympics.
Nevertheless, Yu Jung-ak was handling this schedule well. Even without anyone forcing him, he exercised like he was saving money, which was admirable from a trainer's perspective.
"Phew."
Yu Jung-ak ran along the outer wall of the apartment complex. Right next to it was a road, but not many cars passed at this hour. As he turned the corner, he could see a convenience store in the distance, about 20 meters away.
'There are customers even at this hour.'
Yu Jung-ak had been here many times before, but he had never seen customers in the convenience store.
This was one of the quietest times of the day. Yu Jung-ak looked at his smartwatch.
4:43 AM.
Yu Jung-ak's pace was a bit faster today. Since he left at the exact same time every day. Yu Jung-ak was about to catch his breath and head back to the center. But something felt off. The customers inside the convenience store seemed to be holding something out towards the counter.
They were wearing dark clothes, hats, and masks. Yu Jung-ak frowned and walked towards the distant convenience store.
'A robbery?'
As he got closer, Yu Jung-ak's suspicion turned into certainty. The man at the counter seemed to be frantically taking something out, looking terrified.
There were three robbers in the convenience store.
'If they have weapons...'
Yu Jung-ak thought he should call the police first, but he hadn't brought his smartphone. Yu Jung-ak had no choice but to move towards the convenience store.
'Just give them the money.'
The part-time worker at the counter seemed to be stalling instead of giving the money right away. Yu Jung-ak took a deep breath and opened the convenience store door.
The eyes of the three men standing at the counter entrance met Yu Jung-ak's. They weren't openly brandishing weapons. They were just calmly holding jack knives in their hands. Usually, people freeze when they see a knife, but Yu Jung-ak didn't feel particularly threatened.
Their heights were mostly in the early to mid-170cm range. Judging by their eyes, they didn't look very old either. One of them slightly raised his knife to show it and said,
"Hand over your wallet."
There wasn't any particular threat. They acted naturally as if they had done this more than once or twice.
One of them subtly moved behind Yu Jung-ak towards the entrance to prevent him from escaping.
"I don't have a wallet. I came to buy gum."
Yu Jung-ak gestured that he had nothing, then grabbed some gum and chocolate bars displayed at the convenience store counter and threw them.
The robbers moved quickly, but they didn't look very threatening to Yu Jung-ak. They threatened him by pointing the jack knives forward, but that was all. The rest was full of openings.
In other words, it wasn't dangerous. Even robbers rarely had the nerve to actually stab someone.
Whack!
Yu Jung-ak's front kick landed on the pelvis of the man who had pointed the knife at his face. As the man fell backwards, he pushed his companion behind him as well. The man who had been watching Yu Jung-ak from the entrance swung his knife widely.
Yu Jung-ak easily dodged by leaning his upper body backward, then threw a straight punch.
Thwack!
The white mask was stained with blood. The man fell backwards on the spot.
'Did I hit too hard?'
The bare fist of a martial arts fighter was beyond what ordinary people could imagine. When hit by such a fist, a normal person would typically lose consciousness in one blow. Just lose consciousness? If hit in the mouth area, teeth would break, and if hit in the nose, the nasal bone would fracture.
It's easier to understand if you lightly tap your own face with your fist. It hurts. But in a real fight, that fist comes flying with a full swing. It was close to a deadly weapon.
The two fallen robbers lunged at Yu Jung-ak with surprised expressions. But they were no match.
They didn't know how to properly use the knife and had no basic defensive stance. Above all, their movements seemed so slow to Yu Jung-ak's eyes that he felt like yawning. Even the telephone punches of professional fighters would seem cute in comparison.
The robbers' hands trembled as they swung their knives. This time it was a real attempt to attack, but Yu Jung-ak didn't feel particularly threatened. He easily avoided the robbers' knives just by taking back steps and moving his upper body.
'Why isn't this bastard getting hit?'
Confusion clouded the robbers' eyes. Even attacking together, they couldn't land a hit. Yu Jung-ak spoke calmly to the robbers.
"Shall we stop?"
The robbers, who seemed more scared despite holding knives, looked at each other. To their eyes, Yu Jung-ak looked like a huge beast. He didn't when he first entered the convenience store, but after seeing one of their companions fall with one hit, he looked different.
Yu Jung-ak and the robbers were in a standoff for a while. Yu Jung-ak didn't feel the need to attack. The police would burst in soon.
'Did someone call? Don't they have that system here? A button to press.'
That system often seen in movies was equipped in most convenience stores these days. So a report had already been made. But the police hadn't arrived yet. As the robbers were about to move with tense expressions, the part-time worker at the counter threw the phone at one of the robbers. While the robber who was hit accurately on the head flinched, Yu Jung-ak rushed in.
Back kick.
It was a back kick aimed at the abdomen, not the face. He only used about half of his usual power. The back kick landed properly on the robber, and the robber flinched and then collapsed on the floor like a turtle.
Bleurgh!
And he started vomiting stomach acid on the floor.
"Shall we give up?"
Yu Jung-ak said. The robber whose eyes met Yu Jung-ak's quickly dropped his knife and knelt down.
'Phew.'
Yu Jung-ak pretended to be calm, but he was also very tense. He let out a big internal sigh and watched the situation until the police arrived.
His heart just wouldn't calm down. Yu Jung-ak was only able to calm down a little after the police came.
The police quickly dealt with the situation and swiftly took the robbers away. Yu Jung-ak found himself in a position where he had to accompany the police to the station as a witness.
Unexpectedly, Cho Yong-il had to go straight to the police station from dawn. Cho Yong-il came, and Oh Jung-ryong and Yoon Chang-seon followed one after another to the police station. Yu Jung-ak kept clenching and unclenching his hands because the trembling just wouldn't stop.
No matter how unthreatening it was, they were robbers with knives. Yu Jung-ak's reaction was natural. No, he was actually much calmer than the average person.
"Hey, you crazy bastard! Who do you think you are to take on three guys with knives?"
Cho Yong-il burst out in anger as soon as he arrived.
"You're right, uncle."
He had thought he should be really angry at Yu Jung-ak, but seeing his tense appearance, he couldn't bring himself to scold him.
"Ha, this kid. Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm not."
A moment later, the detective in charge came and said they could go. But he added that they might be called again, so they should keep that in mind.
"What did this kid do wrong that you need to call him again?"
"Well... one of the guys who got hit lost four front teeth."
"Come on, is it a crime to catch knife-wielding robbers?"
Cho Yong-il frowned deeply.
"I know. It's not a crime. But the other guys are minors."
"Minors?"
"Yes. It looks like they're from a runaway family... Don't worry too much. It's all caught on CCTV, and the convenience store part-timer gave a full statement. Anyway, you did a great thing."
"Yes."
"To think I'd experience such a crazy thing in my life. Are you really sure you're not hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine, uncle. But were they badly hurt?"
"Is this the time for you to worry about those guys?"
"When I threw that straight punch, the feeling in my hand was really awful. Maybe because it was a bare-fist punch..."
"You didn't do anything wrong. Even if they're kids, robbers are robbers. If it wasn't you but another customer, they might have gone to the other world from those knives."
"That's right, Jung-ak. The boss is right. But next time, just call the police. It's not good to get involved in these things."
Oh Jung-ryong spoke seriously for once.
"I left my phone behind."
"You. Let's change that smartwatch or whatever to the latest model. I heard there are ones that can make calls these days."
This incident seemed like it would end as just a happening, but unexpectedly, as the case grew bigger, Yu Jung-ak once again gained fame. The next day, Yu Jung-ak's story was prominently featured in online articles, perhaps due to a tip from the detective.
[MMA Fighter A Captures Three Armed Convenience Store Robbers Barehanded After Fight]
It took less than a day for netizens to deduce who Fighter A was through SNS, and for it to be revealed that it was Yu Jung-ak.