Episode 6
6. Failure
Son Uhyeon had become head coach due to, in short, the power of connections.
He was thirty-six years old. There was a reason he was considered young for a head coach.
‘I’m one of the lucky ones. Usually, corporate team athletes are pushed out when they get older.’
Son Uhyeon was certainly lucky in that regard. After leaving the corporate team, while working as a gym coach, a member he met by chance turned out to be from Hanmyeong Insurance.
Hanmyeong Insurance had been sponsoring boxing since his athlete days, and through that connection, Son Uhyeon was also acquainted with them.
That was why he had been able to become the head coach of the Hanmyeong Insurance corporate team, founded just last year.
‘Here, I’ll give it a real shot.’
Most corporate athletes quit and leave before the age of thirty-two.
Going in as a coach or head coach was also much easier with connections.
‘The problem will be the results.’
After being appointed head coach at a young age, Son Uhyeon began putting his energy into overhauling the system.
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
Within a year, the person at Hanmyeong Insurance who had supported him was transferred to another department.
Anyone who had worked at a company would know well what came next.
‘Out of all people, they had to bring in a guy like that.’
The superior who took charge of the Hanmyeong Insurance side afterward brought a new person, and this man was the problem.
["Is weight training really good, though? We do it because others say it’s good, but…… Should we measure the three major lift records or something?"]
Those words from the first day were unforgettable. Disdain for weight training was a training method of old Korean boxing, which had many lightweights.
These days, even lightweight boxers train systematically for power and stamina, and even middle schoolers know the importance of weight training.
One might ask if he could keep Lee Minsu in check since he was the head coach, but that was something someone who had never worked at a company would say lightly. He must not forget that behind Lee Minsu stood a superior who held Hanmyeong Insurance’s leash.
Trusting in that "backing," Coach Lee Minsu clashed with him over training methods at every turn.
Things had gotten so bad that Coach Lee Minsu had even tried to bring in the gym owner from his previous place to instruct the athletes, and they had fought fiercely over it.
‘If only the athletes would follow along well.’
Son Uhyeon had clearly tried to pass on the knowledge he possessed.
Why? Because he himself had failed due to wrong training.
‘I wanted to become a good athlete, but I failed.’
The cause that derailed Son Uhyeon’s life was a knee joint injury from bad coaching.
Aggressive training that ignored his weight and height, and excessive training that neglected rest. The bodily injuries that began with stress fractures ultimately robbed him of his athletic career.
He despaired again and again, but he did not give up.
‘This damn system. How long is it going to stay like this?’
He changed the course of his life and somehow made it to become a corporate team head coach.
But there were still many difficulties.
‘I need an athlete who will follow my system.’
For Son Uhyeon to fix this system here, he needed something else.
An athlete with basic knowledge of conditioning and overload training.
An athlete who possessed belief in himself.
Most important of all, an athlete with skill.
Why else would Son Uhyeon have tested Baek Ho, whom he had been ready to let go?
‘He even knows the concepts of conditioning and plyometrics!’
Hearing that a middle schooler knew concepts like that and wanted to train, he was testing his skill.
That skill was beyond what anyone had imagined.
"Down!"
The moment Lee Minsu hurriedly declared the down, the atmosphere here froze.
A third-year high schooler was being pushed back by a middle schooler. Moreover, he wasn’t even someone who had just become a senior; he was practically an adult on the verge of graduation.
What was even more surprising was that the middle schooler’s performance wasn’t a lucky punch while losing ground.
‘Controlling distance against Jungil with complete freedom!’
Though he was no veteran fighter, he freely moved in and out of range, applying pressure.
The other adult athletes around Son Uhyeon were also in shock.
"Jungil! Go easy on him!"
"You got hit because you were being careless. Anyone can see the kid’s got size! So his punching power must be strong too!"
The other adult athletes who had yet to grasp the situation were throwing out advice.
Son Uhyeon shook his head.
‘Jungil might not have taken it seriously at first, but he fought properly after the jabs. The style is different from conventional boxing!’
Son Uhyeon recalled the jab exchanges shown before the down.
Korean boxing itself mostly relied on counter strategies rather than jabs, standing stiffly upright with hopping footwork.
They stuck out the lead hand, but in reality, it was a style that hoped for the opponent to come in.
The frequency of jab exchanges could be said to be low.
But Baek Ho placed heavy emphasis on jab exchanges.
‘He controlled the distance and dragged the fight into his desired tempo.’
Despite the reach difference, a single jab changed Jungil’s expression.
‘Judging by that expression, it means his punching power is strong too. No, isn’t that obvious?’
If one properly knew how to do plyometric and conditioning training, it was a body that couldn’t be weak, given the physique.
Before Son Uhyeon’s eyes, Jungil assumed a fighting pose, but his legs had already given out.
‘Just how strong is he to make an athlete three years older than him…...’
Perhaps an adult against an adult, but for a high schooler to be trembling in the legs like that in a match against a middle schooler?
‘If things go well, he might be the real deal.’
Son Uhyeon realized the instincts of a leader were whispering to him.
That a talent might have finally appeared.
Jungil got up, but the rest of the match didn’t last long.
Because Baek Ho pressed Jungil again using the one-two.
‘He isn’t even using power shots—punches excluding the jab—other than straights.’
Above all, Baek Ho’s jab accurately pierced between the opponent’s head and guard as he tried to evade with weaving and ducking.
‘He’s accurately matching Jungil’s speed?’
Anything else aside, high accuracy was a tremendous advantage for a boxer.
No matter how strong the power, it was useless if it didn’t land.
Without growing impatient despite having seized the momentum, he calmly put the opponent down with the basics—a one-two.
When Jungil fell again, Son Uhyeon had no choice but to enter the ring.
"Stop the match. Jungil's condition isn't good."
"...Yes."
Lee Minsu nodded hurriedly and stopped the match.
But there was no separate declaration of the winner. It was a result contrary to everyone's expectations.
Baek Ho stood there with a face full of anticipation.
"Incredible."
Son Uhyeon realized clearly that this middle schooler had talent.
The ideal talent he wanted was standing right there.
"Good work. You have talent. Right, Coach?"
"...Yes. But Jungil's condition wasn't good."
"That too. I'll try talking to the higher-ups. Leave your phone number."
"Thank you."
Baek Ho was overjoyed.
"Guys, help that middle schooler take off his gloves."
"Yes."
It had truly been a day like a storm had swept through.
After sending off the sensational middle schooler, Son Uhyeon entered discussions with Lee Minsu.
"Coach, surely you aren't thinking of keeping that kid? The corporate team isn't a joke! We have to produce results!"
"He's definitely skilled."
"Even so, it's too reckless and the higher-ups will view it poorly. He's a middle schooler!"
Lee Minsu was desperately refusing Baek Ho.
"No, that aside, why are you so opposed? Do you have someone you want to bring in?"
Son Uhyeon threw it out as a joke, but Lee Minsu's expression was strange.
"Huh? No...... no...... Come on, Coach! What do you take me for! That's not it! I don't even have the authority!"
"......."
Watching Lee Minsu ramble on incoherently, Son Uhyeon let out a sigh.
Three days later, he called Baek Ho's cell phone directly.
To tell him he had failed.
* * *
[You failed. It's a shame, but I failed to convince them.]
Baek Ho was still reeling. He thought he had shown his abilities to the best of his ability, but the answer that came out was failure.
‘Ah, this ruins my plan.’
Baek Ho had planned to finish high school through the equivalency exam and devote himself to boxing.
But his biggest goal had been shattered.
‘Competing in tournaments is easy, but meeting a leader like Son Uhyeon isn’t.’
Where would one find someone who could provide scientific training or training based on the latest theories?
There was nothing more foolish than joining just anywhere.
"I-I see. Then it can't be helped."
Just as Baek Ho was about to hang up, disappointed,
[Wait. The story isn't over yet.]
"Huh?"
A ray of hope sprouted in Baek Ho's heart.
"Is there a way?"
[You failed to join the team as a member...... but you can still belong to us.]
"What does that mean? How can I join if I failed?"
[If you join the corporate team, you'd receive a salary of at least 3,000. But since you're a middle schooler coming in, they'd have to treat you accordingly? It means we at Hanmyeong Insurance can't pay a middle schooler a salary of 3,000.]
Baek Ho began estimating in his head the conversation he was hearing.
"Then instead of joining the team, you mean for me to be a gym member?"
[Exactly. You're quick on the uptake.]
That was right. To participate in competitions, one just needed to possess a boxing certificate or be registered at an affiliated gym.
It wasn't the Hanmyeong Insurance corporate team, but they wanted him to belong to the gym where the Hanmyeong Insurance corporate team trained.
"Certainly, then there'd be no problem competing in tournaments."
[That's why I'm asking. It won't be a life where you receive a salary, but rather like paying to attend the gym. In exchange, your affiliation will be with our Hanmyeong Insurance gym. How about it?]
It wasn't bad for Baek Ho. To begin with, he needed a coach with an advanced mindset to help his training more than earning money from high school.
All the more so if that person was Son Uhyeon.
"That sounds good. Then I'll go with attending the gym."
[Good. Let's have you come out tomorrow and register at the gym right away. No problem?]
"Yes."
Baek Ho shouted in joy. The conditions to do the training he wanted were finally met!
After ending the call, Baek Ho enjoyed his elation by bouncing on his bed in his room.
"I did it! I did it!"
This meant he was one step closer to his goal.
Advanced training.
Physical conditioning solely for boxing.
A coach who believed in him and helped him train.
Everything was falling into place. Because to begin with, for Baek Ho, receiving Son Uhyeon's guidance was the priority, not joining the corporate team.
‘I'm going to turn pro after the Olympics anyway.’
He didn't particularly yearn for the corporate team.
However, Baek Ho thought of An Gihwan, who had been paired with Son Uhyeon like that.
‘He was the hope of boxing, but after the two met when they were twenty......’
As a boxer, he wished there was just one more talented person besides him.
‘I need to bring An Gihwan in when he's a high schooler too.’
Making plans like this, Baek Ho didn't keep his body still.
"I was planning to rest a bit today!"
His body was heating up. The fact that he was getting closer to his goal was setting the boy's heart ablaze.
Baek Ho began using Pilates and yoga moves he had been watching on YouTube videos, stretching and warming up his body.
He didn't simply stretch.
Even after stretching, he performed various movements utilizing flexibility.
‘It's not just about posture. Arms and legs too—you have to add joint flexibility and familiarize your body with it.’
There were many punches that could be thrown when the body was flexible.
In all combat sports, the most terrifying attack was precisely "an attack I don't know."
If the attack's location was specified, one could endure it. Because you could see it and deal with it, or brace for it.
But if a punch you didn't know at all came out? A punch you weren't conscious of could send the opponent down in one blow.
‘On top of that, flexibility also prevents injury risk.’
In short, it was training where you lost out if you didn't do it. The more he did this from a young age, the more his body would grow supple.
His family had moved to a house with a yard for Baek Ho.
It was an investment his parents made solely for their child.
At home, Baek Ho focused on "stamina recovery speed," measuring the time with repeated training of high intensity and low-to-moderate intensity.
[The stronger your muscular endurance gets, the better your stamina recovery speed becomes. "Baek Ho!" You lacked that foundation. That's the problem of the leader who taught you all this time.]
Baek Ho hadn't forgotten the teachings from before his regression. Starting tomorrow, he would be with a leader who properly knew that training.
"This is great, isn't it?"
More fired up than ever, Baek Ho broke into beads of sweat.