"Congratulations to Yoo SungMoon for his 2nd time in a row achieving a gold medal in both TaeKwonDo as well as Fencing!" a man announced while standing on a chair.
"Hey, SangMin," a young lady behind him nudged, "you shouldn't stand on restaurant chairs…"
"It's fine, it's fine! We're here today to celebrate all our wonderful underclassmen who have achieved great things this year!" SangMin disregarded what the young lady said.
"Congratulations to…"
SungMoon didn't have the energy to continue listening. He was forcefully dragged here today by his cute senior, but she had run off to hang out with her friends already. SungMoon, who normally wouldn't even attend study groups, felt extremely out of place at this party.
He had just returned from winning some competitions at the Olympics earlier this year, and he had just completed his general courses. Rather than spending time at a party like this, he would much rather go back to studying his upcoming course material for the next year.
Finally, after 2 years of general courses, he could finally step into the world of software engineering. Of course, he had already had previous experience in it, but he was nowhere at the level he needed to be at to get an internship.
At this point, all he had left was the money in his bank account. However, SungMoon didn't expect this money to last long. As a college student, he still had bills and tuition to pay.
And as much as he would hate to admit, he was already reaching his peak in terms of his physical capabilities. Whereas the first time around, he was able to compete at a level that could not be touched in both TaeKwonDo and Fencing, this time around, SungMoon found himself struggling to win a couple of matches.
As usual, the younger generations would always find a way to catch up, and as SungMoon grew older, he would no longer be able to maintain his peak. He had already resolved to retire as an athlete and move on to other things.
One thing that caught his eye was software development. His older sister was already the head of the large Artificial Intelligence company, Otri AI. Although he had been used as a motion capture model by that company several times for their fencing training character, the one thing that caught his eye about that company was their culture. SungMoon couldn't quite place his finger on it, but he saw the laid back atmosphere and was instantly captivated.
"Hey! SungMoon-nim," a junior handed him a shot of Soju, "Want to drink with us?"
It didn't even take a full second for SungMoon to see that these freshmen were planning to get blacked out drunk with his seniors today.
"Ah, sorry, something came up, I need to step out for a bit." SungMoon lied as naturally as he breathed, "Go ahead and drink without me, I'll be back soon"
He then immediately slipped out before he could be persuaded.
"Haaaa-"
He had originally come at the insistence of a senior, so he felt bad for escaping in such a manner. He continued to walk aimlessly until he found himself inside a convenience store.
SungMoon stared dejectedly at the collection of alcohol in the refrigerator and contemplated picking some up before he went back home to continue his studies. He hadn't had a single drop of alcohol since he was born, as he was too focused on maintaining his health as an athlete.
'Ah, why not…' he reasoned, 'I'm retiring anyways'
SungMoon then bought a couple of beers at random and left the store.
'For tonight, I'll just take it easy and read up on some basic AI Theory…'
"P-please, just l-leave me alone…"
"Heeeee… Why don't you just hang out with us?"
"Yeah, let's just have some fun!"
After rounding the corner on his favorite shortcut to return home, he came across some stereotypical thugs harassing some poor High School kid.
Judging by her uniform, she was from a certain prestigious all-girls private school. The three men harassing her seemed to be some high schoolers as well, based on their uniform.
'Can't they just do this somewhere else…' SungMoon complained internally as he proceeded to make his way around them.
Suddenly, he felt the girl grab his arm.
"Ahh, Oppa!" she whined, "What took you so long?"
SungMoon, who was caught off guard, could only stare at her in surprise.
"Heh, I was worried for a moment, but this old man doesn't even know you!" one of the thugs laughed.
"Seriously! You really had us there for a moment!" another one laughed, "Hey, mister, why don't you leave us alone for a moment? We wouldn't want things to get messy…"
"That's right." the last thug smiled maliciously as he flashed a pocket knife, "Heros don't even get paid at the end of the day. Why don't you hurry along?"
Still completely shaken, SungMoon had no idea what to do. He tried to get his arm free, but as he did, he was captured by the girl's expression. She looked so helpless and frantic while clinging onto him.
Something inside him snapped. He grabbed the girl's wrist and forcefully removed her from him.
"Heh, that's what I thought. You're a smart ma-"
"Run and call the cops, I'll hold them here for a bit," SungMoon shouted frantically as he pushed her away from them.
"Wha-?"
The thug didn't even have time to think as SungMoon rushed past him and straight to the thug in the back who had the knife. In one fluid motion, the thug was swept off his feet and landed straight on his neck, instantly stunning him.
"What the f*ck?" one of the thugs yelped in surprise.
"Quick, get him!"
This wasn't SungMoon's first time fighting multiple opponents. He had done so multiple times previously. Although those previous times were simply in a casual what-if scenario that his Fencing instructor had taught him, the theory was basically the same.
First, isolate a target. Second, win.
Without missing a beat, SungMoon dodged a swing from one of the thugs while throwing out one of the strongest kicks in all of TaeKwonDo, the spinning back kick.
The kick landed on the thug's solar plexus squarely, winding him and knocking him down.
"And now there's just one left." SungMoon looked at the last thug.
Although he was going to retire, SungMoon was still in his prime! He was still the two-time gold medalist in two disciplines of martial arts! Even if he had hit his peak and had a hard time this year, it didn't mean that he was currently weak.
As the last thug closed in on him, he instantly struck the man's jaw using a simple roundhouse kick, knocking the man onto the floor.
This encounter didn't even last a whole minute.
And now to wait for the police to drop by to pick up these thugs and lock them away.
"I've called the police! Sto-" the young lady came back but was shocked at the scene of her harassers on the floor.
"Ah, don't worry," SungMoon turned to walk towards her, "I'll wait here for with you to give my testimony."
"Ah, behind you!" she shrieked!
"Wha-?" SungMoon felt his knees buckle!
Suddenly, he had fallen face-first on the floor.
"You f*cker!" he heard a psychotic growl, "Die!"
All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his spine.
Then again in his back, near where his heart would be.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
The last thing he was the girl running away.
By the time the police had arrived, SungMoon was already cold.