A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 12

The Martial Surgeon – Episode 12

Chapter 3: At School (2)

Having finished his meditative breathing, Jun-hoo opened his eyes and unfolded his legs.

His calm gaze shifted to the calendar on the wall.

Today was the first day of school.

Looking back, the summer vacation had flown by.

He had been studying intensely to get into medical school, practicing martial arts in his spare moments, helping his mother recover, and assisting his father with his delivery rounds, keeping him incredibly busy.

But all those hours had enriched Jun-hoo’s future.

After his experience in the Murim [martial arts world] world, Jun-hoo felt his ability to focus and study had greatly improved.

He had quickly caught up on the material he had missed due to Hyung-tae and his gang’s bullying and was even getting ahead.

His internal energy was a fraction of what it had been in Murim, but he had accumulated a surprising amount.

This was thanks to the ‘총명탕’ (chongmyeongtang) [clarity-enhancing herbal tea] that Doctor Yong-jin had provided.

He also found immense satisfaction in seeing his parents happy because of his hard work.

The slowest progress was in martial arts training and strengthening his body.

But Jun-hoo wasn’t overly concerned.

In the modern world, there were no sword-wielding villains causing trouble with martial arts.

In fact, with his current strength, he could easily defeat twenty mixed martial arts champions.

“Jun-hoo, breakfast is ready.”

“Yes, Mother.”

At his mother’s call, Jun-hoo went to the living room.

It had been a month since his mother’s brain surgery.

Thanks to Jun-hoo’s energy healing, his mother had recovered quickly.

Recently, she had even started working short shifts at the restaurant.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Though it was a bit early, Jun-hoo had breakfast with his parents.

“Our Jun-hoo, are you sad that vacation is over?”

His father asked with a smirk.

“No, I’ve been looking forward to school.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because I can see the friends I missed during vacation.”

Jun-hoo answered sincerely.

The time for revenge had come, to give Hyung-tae and his gang a taste of their own medicine.

He had been eagerly awaiting this day.

His whole body was itching with anticipation.

Soon after, his father left for work, followed by his mother.

Left alone, Jun-hoo spent the remaining time watching NewTube [parody of YouTube] videos.

Videos that shared medical knowledge.

Videos that taught first aid in everyday situations, and so on.

Most of them were related to medicine.

These days, Jun-hoo was immersing himself in medical knowledge from NewTube and books borrowed from the library.

Jae-hyun, the neurosurgeon who had operated on his mother, had told him to accumulate medical knowledge whenever he had time.

He said that it would not only provide motivation but also allow him to respond quickly if problems arose around him.

It was a bit disappointing that Jae-hyun hadn’t sent him the medical books yet.

‘Should I head out?’

Jun-hoo put on his school uniform for the first time in a while, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left the house.

The sky was blue, and the sun was hot.

The season was still in the middle of summer.

As he walked along the familiar road, he occasionally saw students heading to school at the same time.

Among them were classmates of Jun-hoo’s.

“……”

“……”

Two classmates who happened to meet Jun-hoo’s eyes.

They avoided Jun-hoo’s gaze as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.

They hurriedly walked ahead of Jun-hoo.

As if they were afraid of catching a contagious disease.

But Jun-hoo didn’t take the two friends’ reaction to heart.

If they acted friendly towards Jun-hoo, they would become the next targets of Hyung-tae’s gang.

Passing through the main gate, he arrived at the classroom of Class 5 in the first grade.

Jun-hoo sat in the backmost seat by the window.

At that moment, as if on cue, the air in the classroom froze.

The students who had arrived earlier stopped chatting and glanced at Jun-hoo.

It was a familiar reaction.

Surely, his classmates were feeling emotions like pity and sympathy for Jun-hoo.

But starting today, those emotions would belong to Hyung-tae’s gang.

“Jun-hoo, did you have a good vacation?”

A student with a chubby face and round body approached Jun-hoo and spoke to him in a friendly manner.

Kang Young-ho.

A grateful friend who was the only one in the class who didn’t treat Jun-hoo like an invisible man.

Young-ho would often talk to him when Hyung-tae’s gang wasn’t around.

“I had a good time. What about you, Young-ho?”

“I played all the games I had missed. Vacation is truly heaven.”

After speaking, Young-ho hesitated.

He seemed to have something to say.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“No, it’s just that the seat you’re sitting in is Hyung-tae’s designated seat. I thought it would be better if you moved before Hyung-tae comes.”

Young-ho glanced at the classroom door and spoke with a worried expression.

What, was that all it was?

Jun-hoo shrugged as if it was nothing.

“This is my seat from today.”

“You can sit wherever you want, but I’m just… worried about you….”

“Hey, thanks for the concern. Go back to your seat quickly. It looks like Hyung-tae is coming.”

Jun-hoo gently pushed Young-ho back to his seat.

As he expanded his senses, he could clearly hear the approaching footsteps.

There were five people.

The distinctive swaggering gait and footsteps were vividly clear.

Indeed, Hyung-tae’s gang soon entered the classroom.

Thump, thump, thump.

Bang!

With a loud noise, Hyung-tae’s gang approached Jun-hoo as if charging straight at him.

“Hey, Seo Jun-hoo. Long time no see?”

Hyung-tae stood next to Jun-hoo, grinning.

Hyung-tae was tall, standing at 185 centimeters [approximately 6’1″], and had a good build. Jun-hoo had heard that he used to box as a hobby.

With even the 일진 [school bully] gang in tow…….

It was no wonder that the old Jun-hoo couldn’t even dare to resist.

Of course, now he looked like nothing more than a cute puppy.

“Did you bring the 1 million won that 형 (hyung) [older brother/senior] asked for?”

“……”

“But wait a minute? This 새끼 (saekki) [son of a bitch/jerk] is sitting in my seat with such audacity? Are you crazy?”

“Yeah. Fuck off.”

Jun-hoo raised his middle finger without hesitation.

He hadn’t originally planned to be so childish.

Hadn’t he lived a righteous life in the Murim world for thirty years?

Hadn’t he refined his body and mind with integrity?

But the resentment he felt towards Hyung-tae was too deep.

So, he didn’t think he could get his anger out by taking revenge in an ordinary way.

At least when dealing with Hyung-tae, he would act like a high school student.

Jun-hoo made up his mind.

“Ha…… What the hell did this 새끼 (saekki) [son of a bitch/jerk] eat during vacation? Can’t you grasp the situation?”

“Yeah. I said fuck off.”

“Wow! You’re ruining my mood from the first day of school.”

Whoosh.

Hyung-tae suddenly threw a punch.

Hyung-tae’s punch was slow, so slow. It felt like he could yawn ten times and still dodge it.

Thwack!

Jun-hoo blocked Hyung-tae’s punch with his palm.

“What?”

Hyung-tae stared in shock, his eyes wide.

He probably never imagined that his punch would be so easily seen through.

Jun-hoo crumpled Hyung-tae’s fist, which he had caught with his left hand, like a piece of paper.

Then Hyung-tae screamed and made a fuss.

“Get lost.”

When Jun-hoo pushed Hyung-tae away, Hyung-tae stumbled backward.

“……”

“……”

The classroom was engulfed in shock at Jun-hoo’s counterattack.

Not only Hyung-tae’s gang but also his classmates couldn’t close their mouths.

Originally, it should have been Jun-hoo who was stumbling.

Jun-hoo got up from his desk and stood at a reasonable distance from Hyung-tae.

Hyung-tae was just about to get up.

How should he take revenge so that it would be known as a good revenge?

Jun-hoo smiled coldly as he thought about that.

Just because someone was a righteous person didn’t mean they wouldn’t take revenge or kill.

The virtue of a righteous person was to promote good and punish evil.

Therefore, dealing with Hyung-tae was not against his beliefs.

“Kim Hyung-tae. What are you doing without attacking? Don’t tell me you’re scared of the 찐따 (jjintta) [loser] you looked down on?”

“Bullshit. You’re dead today.”

Hyung-tae, 넘어간 (neomeogan) [baited] by Jun-hoo’s provocation, quickly closed the distance.

He took a clumsy boxing stance and threw a punch.

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

It was a punch that was enough to bully his peers, but it was no better than a cotton swab to hit Jun-hoo.

Jun-hoo folded his arms behind his back and deflected all of Hyung-tae’s punches.

It wasn’t even as difficult as dodging a newborn’s fist.

It was too boring.

In fact, from the moment he could use martial arts and internal energy, Jun-hoo had become the strongest human on Earth.

Of course, Hyung-tae and his ilk wouldn’t stand a chance even if a truckload of them came.

Whack!

Jun-hoo, who had only been dodging, kicked Hyung-tae’s ankle.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Hyung-tae fell awkwardly.

He grabbed his ankle, which had been hit, and whined.

“You pathetic 새끼 (saekki) [son of a bitch/jerk]. Don’t act tough.”

Jun-hoo approached the fallen Hyung-tae.

Just in time, Hyung-tae’s gang moved forward to protect Hyung-tae, but when they met Jun-hoo’s fierce eyes, they instead stepped back.

They had seen Jun-hoo’s fighting skills and sensed that something was unusual.

“But I’m a conscientious person. I’ll only give back as much as I received. I don’t know if your weak self can handle it, though.”

“What… what did you do during vacation….”

“What? Are you finally taking an interest in me?”

Just as Jun-hoo was about to 빈정거리며 (binjeonggeorimyeo) [sneer] and deal with Hyung-tae,

The homeroom teacher entered the classroom.

He frowned, noticing the unusual atmosphere in the classroom.

“Kim Hyung-tae, Seo Jun-hoo! What are you doing in the back?”

“Hyung-tae fell, so I’m helping him up.”

Jun-hoo calmly lied and supported Hyung-tae.

“Come up to the roof after class. I’ll show you what real hell is like.”

Hyung-tae’s face turned pale at Jun-hoo’s whisper.

It seemed that Hyung-tae now had a sense of it.

That the positions of predator and prey were changing.

* * *

Sigh. Haa.

Hyung-tae was secretly smoking a cigarette in the bathroom in front of the classroom.

Even after finishing one cigarette, he couldn’t shake off his resentment, so he lit another one.

“You’re keeping a good lookout, right?”

“Don’t worry. When have we ever been caught smoking?”

Seung-ho replied to Hyung-tae’s words.

Seung-ho was smoking next to Hyung-tae.

“Is your ankle okay?”

“Of course, it’s okay. I just got hit because I was careless.”

Hyung-tae pretended to be fine.

In fact, his ankle was swollen and throbbed even with the slightest movement, but he didn’t show it.

He didn’t want to admit that he had been completely defeated by Jun-hoo.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Hyung-tae still couldn’t understand.

How could a 찐따 (jjintta) [loser] with only a pretty face overwhelm him?

Even if he had gone to a 격투 (gyeoktu) [fighting] academy during vacation.

Fighting skills couldn’t improve that quickly.

There was also a clear difference in physique between Jun-hoo and Hyung-tae.

Could it be that Hyung-tae was having a terrible nightmare from earlier?

“Honestly, Hyung-tae, I didn’t think you would be beaten like that.”

“What the hell? Who got beaten! I told you, I was just careless.”

Hyung-tae 발끈했다 (balkkeunhaetda) [flared up] at Seung-ho’s words.

His face turned bright red.

“Jun-hoo, I don’t know why, but that 새끼 (saekki) [son of a bitch/jerk] seems to have become a completely different person?”

“He’s still a 찐따 (jjintta) [loser] no matter what. I can beat him if we fight again.”

“Are you sure?”

“You 새끼 (saekki) [son of a bitch/jerk], are you 은근히 (eungeunhi) [subtly] siding with Jun-hoo from earlier?”

Hyung-tae glared fiercely at Seung-ho.

Was he adding fuel to the fire?

“It’s not that, I’m just a little 불안해서 (buranhaeseo) [uneasy]. I don’t think we can beat Jun-hoo even if we all attack him.”

“Oh, you X신 (Xsin) [idiot] 새끼 (saekki) [son of a bitch/jerk]. You should cut off your X알 (Xal) [balls]. Your X알 (Xal) [balls] are too good for you.”

“Aaaagh!”

Hyung-tae kicked Seung-ho in the shin and took a deep drag from his cigarette.

That finally relieved some of his anger.

He would firmly trample on Jun-hoo so that he would never crawl back up again.

That was all Hyung-tae could think about.

After finishing his cigarette, Hyung-tae entered the classroom with his gang.

But just then.

He met eyes with Jun-hoo, who was occupying his 전용석 (jeonyongseok) [designated seat].

Jun-hoo’s eyes were like those of a beast, and Hyung-tae averted his gaze without realizing it.

Ah, fuck!

Why am I such a coward today?