["Yu Jung-ak is amazing. He defeated the undefeated fighter Furuya Uno with a knee kick counter."]
["Watching this in slow motion, it seems Yu Jung-ak knew Furuya Uno was aiming for something. How can he be so experienced? He's truly a remarkable talent."]
"This is incredible. Really."
"Where are those who called Yu Jung-ak overrated? Is this still overrated? His victory against Jang Sung-hyun wasn't just luck."
"To be honest, the match with Jang Sung-hyun was in a tournament, so Yu Jung-ak had some advantages."
"Regardless, Yu Jung-ak won, didn't he? I hate Jang Sung-hyun fans."
"I hate Yu Jung-ak fans even more."
Fans create anti-fans, don't you know?
"What did Yu Jung-ak do wrong?"
"These guys are fighting again. They start criticizing as if Yu Jung-ak beating Jang Sung-hyun was some kind of treason. Are these guys paid by Jang Sung-hyun?"
"In Jang Sung-hyun's recent interview, he said he had no hard feelings towards Yu Jung-ak, right? It seems the fans are the ones causing trouble... Fans are always the problem."
"Stop bringing up Jang Sung-hyun in the Furuya Uno match. Yu Jung-ak's skills aren't elastic. At first, he only had punches, but now he's freely throwing kicks too."
"There's a rumor that one of the coaches at Team Silence is Thai."
"Is that for real?"
"They say he was a well-known fighter in Thailand."
"So that's why his striking options have increased so much. It feels like Team Silence is really supporting him."
"But is Yu Jung-ak completely done with Spirit now?"
"Yeah, it's completely over. Spirit changed his opponents a few times, so Yu Jung-ak lost all trust in them. They must be rolling in regret now for losing such a big fish."
"Anyway, Yu Jung-ak is CFC material, so keeping him at Spirit would be a headache and expensive."
"No, if CFC takes him while he's under contract, they'll have to pay a portion of the earnings for the contracted number of fights, so CFC has nothing to lose."
"That itself is already a loss. If CFC takes away well-trained fighters, don't smaller organizations become helpless? To be honest, the MMA scene needs transfer fees now. CFC is almost monopolizing the market, so smaller organizations can't grow. CFC is lowballing fighter pay because of this."
"Doesn't CFC pay a lot for fight money?"
"Compare it to boxing and you'll see."
"Why compare it to boxing? This is MMA."
"Look at the ratio, you idiot. CFC earns nearly 10 billion won from a big event, but the amount that goes to fighters is just over 2 billion. In boxing or other organizations, if they earn 100 billion, most of that money is split between the two main event fighters. Of course, it's bound to be compared."
"I totally agree with the above comment. If you don't know, just keep quiet."
"Go to CFC, Yu Jung-ak!"
"At this point, he might get an offer. Didn't Furuya Uno also get an offer?"
"That's just a rumor from the Japanese."
The incident of defeating Furuya Uno with a knee kick became a hot topic. Thanks to Yu Jung-ak's outstanding looks and a series of events, his popularity was soaring day by day. Whether he knew this or not, Yu Jung-ak returned to the center as usual and immediately started training.
Although there was almost no damage from the match, he still needed to manage himself properly because he had gone through weight cutting.
Yu Jung-ak finally gave in to Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae's pestering and decided to distribute a bottle of ginseng extract to each Team Silence member.
The reason was that as soon as the match ended, Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae started talking about ginseng as if they had been waiting for it.
Until then, the two hadn't said anything because Yu Jung-ak had matches scheduled, but as soon as the match ended, they started pestering Yu Jung-ak like ghosts.
They said things like their waist hurts because they couldn't eat ginseng, or that they might die without tasting ginseng, and other nonsensical jokes that bothered Yu Jung-ak. At first, Yu Jung-ak just laughed it off and ignored it a few times, but their jokes got worse day by day.
Finally, Yu Jung-ak decided to order a bottle of ginseng extract online for each team member. The problem was that Yu Jung-ak also had a temper.
"Is this really ginseng extract?"
"Tsk. It's over 50,000 won per box."
Yu Jung-ak was distributing one bottle each to the team members from the pile of ginseng extract. The team members, thinking it was a windfall, lined up to receive a bottle each. However, there were two people frowning next to them.
It was Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae. Yu Jung-ak had told the team members that he would give it to everyone except these two.
So Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae's expressions couldn't be good. The two tried to loiter around the ginseng box without knowing, but the team members were keeping a close watch on them. It was Yu Jung-ak's order to monitor them until the distribution was over.
"Hwansung, I didn't know you'd be like this."
"Yeah."
"Hey, don't be like that. Let's not get upset over some ginseng. How much could a bottle of ginseng extract cost anyway?"
Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae glared at Yu Jung-ak with almost tearful expressions. Finally, the distribution ended for nearly twenty people, including the coaching staff.
"I was originally going to pay for all of this myself, but the representative said it doesn't look good for a player to bear all the burden, so he contributed half. So when you see the representative later, greet him once."
"Yes!"
The team members holding the ginseng extract boxes answered energetically. They put the ginseng extract in their lockers. Meanwhile, Kim Young-tae and Oh Jung-ryong were searching through the remaining boxes. As they searched, they looked at Yu Jung-ak and said,
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"What."
"Is there really none left?"
Oh Jung-ryong's expression had now changed to one ready to kill someone. Kim Young-tae was the same.
"Yeah. There's none. I told you I really wouldn't buy any for you two."
"Hey! You!"
Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae reached out to Yu Jung-ak. Feeling a threat to his life, Yu Jung-ak stepped back and pulled something else out of his pocket.
"Okay. Stop! I prepared something else for you guys."
"What's this?"
"For you guys, I specially prepared not the extract, but the ginseng itself. It was damn expensive. Eat one root each and stop talking about ginseng from now on."
In Yu Jung-ak's hand was a plastic bag containing two roots that looked like ginseng.
The roots were slightly larger than an index finger, and Kim Young-tae and Oh Jung-ryong's eyes were already half-entranced.
"Is... is this real?"
"Yeah. So stop talking about ginseng. Really."
Yu Jung-ak handed the plastic bag to Oh Jung-ryong.
"Hey! Is this really real?"
"What?"
Yu Jung-ak frowned at Oh Jung-ryong's words. Oh Jung-ryong was about to say more but then stopped, intimidated, and took out the ginseng.
"Can we just eat this as it is?"
"Yeah. Chew it up."
Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae had a brief discussion and then approached Yu Jung-ak.
"Kid. Me and Young-tae will share one. You eat the rest. And you... I love you, kid!"
Oh Jung-ryong tossed one ginseng root to Yu Jung-ak and left. Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae went to a corner, giggling, and split the ginseng in half to eat. Yu Jung-ak looked at the ginseng root and muttered to himself.
"Fools... it's just regular ginseng."
Yu Jung-ak had intended to prank Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae with regular ginseng, but he had to abandon that idea. They were too happy about it.
'If I tell them it's just regular ginseng, I might really die this time.'
Yu Jung-ak couldn't say anything because Oh Jung-ryong and Kim Young-tae were too happy. He knew the aftermath their manic appearance would bring. Fortunately, Yu Jung-ak kept silent about the ginseng incident, and the two trained hard, saying they felt energetic these days after eating the wild ginseng. Time passed quickly, and winter arrived.
It was already the end of the year after the match with Furuya Uno. It had been almost three years since Yu Jung-ak started MMA.
In two years of competing, Yu Jung-ak had achieved an excellent record of 7 wins and no losses. It was time to look towards a higher stage.
Foreign organizations were also recognizing Yu Jung-ak's marketability and offers kept coming in. Of course, Best was trying not to let go of Yu Jung-ak. As soon as the match with Furuya Uno ended, they immediately proposed a title match, but Yu Jung-ak declined the offer.
It was because he had to enlist in the military soon. As a child of a national merit, Yu Jung-ak had to receive one month of training and work as a public service worker for 5 months. He couldn't postpone it because he wasn't attending university or preparing for any special qualification exams.
"I'm going in next week."
"Okay. It's 4 weeks of training, but adapt well."
"Yes."
Yu Jung-ak occasionally contacted his father, Yu Hun-jong, and on the occasion of going to the military, he seriously asked why his father became a person of national merit. However, his father didn't reveal the reason. Yu Jung-ak knew that Yu Hun-jong became a person of national merit because he was injured in the military, but he had never heard the exact reason.
Frustrated, Yu Jung-ak asked Cho Yong-il, but Cho Yong-il also avoided answering.
"Why are you asking me about your father's story? Ask your father."
"Ah, please tell me. I'm going to the military now, I should know why I'm going as a public service worker because of national merit."
"It's not a good story. But it's not your father's fault either. And it's not something to be talked about carelessly to anyone. Anyway, keep that in mind and ask your father later."
"It was a gun accident, wasn't it? Isn't that it?"
"Ah, this kid! I told you it's not a story for me to tell!"
Cho Yong-il unusually got angry at Yu Jung-ak. So Yu Jung-ak couldn't ask anymore.
Yu Jung-ak visited his family home for once and asked his mother about his father's incident.
"What do you want to know that for?"
"I'm just curious."
Cho Yong-hee sighed deeply at Yu Jung-ak's question and said,
"Your father was originally someone who didn't have to go to the military because he was on the national team. He could have postponed it as much as he wanted. But your father insisted on going. I don't know why he went in either. But from what I heard, it seems to be related to your uncle."
"Uncle? I had an uncle?"
"Yes. He was born a year after your father."
"Why didn't I know about this?"
"Because he passed away."
"Oh."
"It's a complicated story. Anyway, your grandfather was a person of national merit, so your father didn't have to go to the military. At least that's what I know. Since he was on the national team, he could have gone to Sangmu if he had to go. If that didn't work out, he could have postponed it and been exempted right away if he just won a medal at the Olympics. But from what I know, your uncle had some problems including depression. His health wasn't good either. So your father went to the military."
"That's strange. If uncle's health was bad, why did father go to the military?"
"The military service benefit for children of persons of national merit can only be used by one person. If your father goes to the military, your uncle doesn't have to go, you see?"
"Does that make sense?"
"That's how it works."
"So you're saying father voluntarily enlisted in the military? Because of uncle?"
"That's what I know. He never tells me what happened in there, no matter what. Anyway, that's how your father's leg ended up like that in the military."
Yu Jung-ak had questions about Cho Yong-hee's words. It sounded plausible, but something was a bit off. While staying at home, Yu Jung-ak had another conversation with his father. When he asked about the incident again, Yu Hun-jong's answer was even more outrageous.
[I just really wanted to experience the military once. That's why I went.]
[Mom said you went because of uncle?]
[How did you hear about my brother? That's not it. My brother served in the military properly. He went right after graduating high school. What are you talking about?]
[Huh? Then why does mom think that?]
[Well, she wouldn't know. Anyway, your grandfather was a marine, so I had a great fantasy about the marines. So I went, but fantasy and reality were a bit different.]
[So what happened in there?]
[You'll get hurt if you know more.]
[Sigh. Father, are you not coming back to Korea?]
[Hey. Do you know how fun it is to travel alone after sending you off? I'll hold out as long as I can before going back.]
[Father!]
[I'll tell you in detail when I get back to Korea. This phone call might be tapped.]
[What are you talking about?]
[Anyway, I'm busy, so I'm hanging up now.]
Yu Hun-jong said what he wanted to say and hung up immediately. Yu Jung-ak was confused about whether to believe Cho Yong-hee's words or Yu Hun-jong's words. In the end, Yu Jung-ak couldn't find out exactly why Yu Hun-jong became a person of national merit.
As the new year dawned, Yu Jung-ak entered the new recruit training center in early January. Before going in, he said goodbye to the Team Silence members for the last time, and Angela said she would come to the training center, but Yu Jung-ak declined.
The dinner with Yoon Ji-yun was postponed again. Yoon Ji-yun's popularity was soaring day by day. Because of that, it was even difficult to contact her frequently.
After receiving 4 weeks of basic training, Yu Jung-ak immediately returned and started his life as a public service worker. His workplace was a library, known to be the place with the least work among public service positions.
Incheon Municipal Woldong Library.
As it was a municipal library, it wasn't small in scale. Among them, Woldong Library was a newly built library and the largest among Incheon's libraries. Although it was large in scale, it didn't mean there was a lot of work to do.
Because the library was large, there were many people working. There were also many part-time workers, so Yu Jung-ak didn't have much to do. All he had to do was clean and organize books after arriving in the morning.
He had to arrive by 9 AM and work for 8 hours. The only downside was that he had to rest on weekdays, but Yu Jung-ak wasn't particularly someone with a weekend concept, so he didn't have many complaints.
The professional staff of the library did tasks like book labeling, and there were separate employees for phone responses, so there wasn't much for Yu Jung-ak, a public service worker, to do. Thanks to this, Yu Jung-ak just had to clean diligently and do what he was told.
Usually, when the work is easy, public service workers tend to slack off, but Yu Jung-ak wasn't like that. He did what he was told promptly, so he had a good reputation among the employees. When he had free time, Yu Jung-ak spent it reading books.
After about a week, Yu Jung-ak fully adapted to the work and started to properly balance it with exercise. He woke up early in the morning for physical training before going to work, and after work, he had special training with Rumsak Noi until 8 PM before going to sleep.
And on his days off, he did intensive training that he couldn't do before. Thanks to being assigned to a relatively comfortable workplace, Yu Jung-ak was able to maintain his training even while serving as a public service worker. Six months were passing by quickly like that.