Do Ji rushed forward with terrifying speed and leaped into the air.
Whipping his hips mid-flight, he brought his right leg down, driving his heel straight toward Jihyeon's head.
Jihyeon blocked the blow by crossing his forearms overhead.
He's strong… Taekwondo? Jihyeon thought, feeling the heavy impact.
Out of nowhere, Do Ji—still airborne with his heel planted against Jihyeon's forearms—flexed that same leg and used it as a spring to push off again.
Spinning rapidly in midair, he extended his left leg straight toward Jihyeon's neck.
Jihyeon backed up at full speed, dodging it by a fraction of an inch.
Do Ji landed lightly on his feet.
"What happened? Couldn't block that one? Too bad~ Now try this on for size!"
Without giving him room to breathe, Do Ji launched back onto the offensive.
Jihyeon quickly analyzed the situation. This was his first time facing Taekwondo, or at least someone this skilled in the discipline.
With just that first exchange, he confirmed that Do Ji was far from weak; he was at least on Kazu's level.
Do Ji, wearing a mock smirk, leaped off the overturned table on the floor.
In midair, he executed a 540-degree spin, unleashing a high roundhouse kick with his heel.
Jihyeon ducked just in time, slid to the side, and drove a sharp kick directly into Do Ji's face.
Do Ji took the hit flush. A red mark bloomed across his face as he spat a trail of blood.
"You bastard…!" he growled.
In a fit of rage, Do Ji kicked a chair straight at him.
Jihyeon caught it on the fly, using the wooden frame as a shield to stop an incoming side kick. Do Ji's leg slammed hard against the wood, but Jihyeon refused to let go.
"You're pretty good," Jihyeon noted.
Do Ji glared at him with pure contempt.
"You talk too much."
Out of nowhere, Do Ji retracted his foot and—without dropping his leg—snapped it out again, driving a lightning-fast side kick straight into Jihyeon's cheek.
Jihyeon's head snapped back from the blow.
Immediately after, Do Ji swatted the chair aside and landed a clean kick right into Jihyeon's ribs.
Jihyeon absorbed the hit, but snagged Do Ji's leg before he could retract it, delivering a flush straight punch to Do Ji's face.
Do Ji's head reeled back, blood splattering through the air.
Jihyeon released him abruptly, dropping low to sweep his legs.
Do Ji was on the verge of crashing down while Jihyeon remained briefly suspended with his leg extended.
Grit his teeth, Do Ji slammed a hand onto the floor right before impact, twisted his body in midair to find an angle, and launched a vertical double kick straight upward into Jihyeon's chin.
The impact nearly sent Jihyeon tumbling off-balance.
Do Ji rolled dynamically back to his feet and attacked without delay, driving the sole of his boot in a straight front kick toward Jihyeon's face.
Jihyeon barely managed to guard his face, the force driving him back several paces.
Feeling the lingering throbbing in his forearms, Jihyeon exhaled deeply to regain his focus.
This was turning out to be far more exhausting than he had anticipated, which meant he would have to get completely serious.
He had been assessing the fight: Old Man Han was pure brute strength, but this kid was different. He was explosive and strong, but in a way, he felt fragile. His physical endurance was far lower than his flashy style suggested.
Do Ji landed gracefully, flexing his knees to absorb the impact.
He straightened up slowly, brushing back the blue hair that veiled his eye. The red welt on his cheek was beginning to sting, but his contemptuous smirk never faded; if anything, it widened.
"What's wrong? Tired already?" Do Ji taunted, tilting his head.
"I thought the guy who knocked over my old man would be more… entertaining."
Jihyeon didn't answer.
He stood tall, spreading his feet shoulder-width apart. He kept his arms semi-flexed with his fingers rigid and joined together, mimicking the edge of two blades.
Do Ji caught the stance and let out a short chuckle.
"Are you serious? How boring."
He thrust his hands into his leather jacket pockets for a second, faking relaxation, though his light blue eyes gleamed with malice.
"Do you think this is a manhwa? Though I gotta admit, I didn't expect this… You seemed like a serious guy, but who would've thought~ you have a cute little childish side."
He bared his teeth in a fierce scowl.
"If you're not gonna move… then I will."
This time, he didn't leap right away.
He advanced slowly, each step lighter than the last, barely brushing the floor. Staying light on the balls of his feet, he planted his heel firmly at the precise moment and launched himself diagonally toward Jihyeon.
In midair, he executed a 360-degree spin, accelerating with every turn while keeping his body horizontal. He extended his left leg, tracing a clean arc with his instep as it descended violently toward Jihyeon's shoulder.
Jihyeon stepped sideways.
The instep sliced through thin air and slammed violently into the floor, sending wooden splinters flying.
Capitalizing on the exact moment Do Ji landed, Jihyeon closed the distance into short range. He drove a hand-edge strike into Do Ji's shoulder, followed instantly by a thrust toward the liver.
Though Do Ji took the blow to his shoulder, he blocked the liver strike by bringing his knee up, stepping back to create space.
However, Jihyeon's extended hand still managed to graze his ribs.
Not wanting to lose his footing, Do Ji used that backward momentum to pivot on his heel, whipping a low roundhouse kick into Jihyeon's thigh.
Jihyeon lifted his leg to check the kick, bone crashing against bone.
But Do Ji was faster in these rapid exchanges and didn't stop there: he leaped backward, pushed off the wall behind him, and unleashed a lethal combination—a kick to the chest with his left leg, followed immediately by another targeting the head.
Jihyeon crossed his arms to block the first hit and ducked his head to dodge the second. The wind whistled over his hair.
He counterattacked right then and there: diving beneath Do Ji's open guard, he brought the edge of his hand down in a crushing descending strike.
Do Ji saw it coming and pulled his head back just in time. Jihyeon's blow smashed into the floor, opening cracks in the concrete.
Taking advantage of the gap, Do Ji performed a backflip, landing several feet away with an even broader smirk.
"Not bad," he said, blood dripping down his face.
"But you're still slow."
Jihyeon took a deep breath.
Though he didn't show it, his palms were burning; he wasn't accustomed to using this fighting style and hadn't trained it enough due to the limited time he had.
"One single attack," Jihyeon muttered under his breath.
"I just need to land once."
Do Ji burst out laughing.
"Once? That's hilarious. Let's see how long your arrogance lasts."
He charged again, this time ditching the acrobatic maneuvers for a rapid barrage of front kicks, alternating legs. First to the knee, then the torso, finishing toward the head.
Jihyeon blocked and retreated, waiting for the right opening. Every block sent a dull sting through his forearms. He allowed Do Ji to press forward, feigning giving up more ground than necessary and intentionally exposing his left side.
Do Ji took the bait: he leaped into the air and executed a 540-degree spin kick, aiming to drive his heel directly into Jihyeon's temple.
But Jihyeon had already anticipated it.
The moment Do Ji spun in midair, Jihyeon ducked low, dropping his center of gravity while shifting slightly off-angle. Stiffening the fingers on his right hand, he absorbed the kick with his shoulder.
With a grunt, Jihyeon trapped the leg with his left hand and brought the edge of his right hand down in a devastating knife-hand strike straight into Do Ji's thigh.
The impact was brutal.
His face contorting in sheer pain, Do Ji tried to yank his leg back, but Jihyeon kicked out violently at his supporting ankle. Stripped of balance and driven by the momentum, Do Ji flipped midair, landing flat on his back facing the ceiling.
Jihyeon didn't hesitate.
He grabbed Do Ji's head tightly and slammed it brutally onto the ground. A dull thud echoed through the room as Do Ji spat out a mixture of saliva and blood.
He tried to roll over to push himself up, blood pooling beneath his mouth. When he looked up, he met Jihyeon's cold gaze staring down at him.
"What are you looking at, you bastard? Wipe that look off your face," Do Ji snarled.
Jihyeon frowned and raised his leg to finish the fight, but before he could deliver the blow, Old Man Han reentered the picture.
Brandishing his knife, Han launched a swift slash. Jihyeon ducked back instantly, but the blade still caught his arm, leaving a bloody cut.
"Did you really expect this to be a clean fight?" Old Man Han wheezed, breathing heavily.
"Now I'll show you my full strength."
Even as he said it, he didn't mean a word of it. He knew he couldn't win through fair means; he was simply hoping to drain a bit more of the kid's energy to end this once and for all.
At least this kid isn't completely useless, Han thought, glancing over at Do Ji.
Noticing the look, Do Ji gritted his teeth. Coughing, he wiped the blood from his mouth and tried to drag himself up, propping his weight on one hand. His arrogant smirk had warped into a scowl of pure rage.
"What are you staring at…? You think I need your damn help? Be a good loser—you already lost, old man."
Old Man Han sneered in disgust.
"Shut up, you useless brat. Can't you see you lost too? Just stay out of my way."
Do Ji's face turned dark, veins bulging across his forehead, his eyes bloodshot from the sheer humiliation.
Jihyeon, blood dripping from the cut on his arm, chimed in sarcastically:
"Done with the family reunion?"
Old Man Han went to answer, but Jihyeon charged straight at him.
Out of pure instinct, Han thrust the knife forward. Instead of dodging, Jihyeon caught the blade directly with his bare hands, squeezing tightly as it sliced into his palms, blood gushing out.
Old Man Han's eyes went wide in shock, but before he could react, Jihyeon used his free hand to drive a knife-hand thrust straight into Han's neck.
Old Man Han clutched his throat, gasping for air as he dropped the weapon.
Seeing this, Do Ji dragged himself to his feet. Every inch of his body throbbed with pain, but he didn't seem to care; his light blue eyes were no longer full of disdain, but pure hatred.
"You haven't won anything yet…" he growled.
He tried to move to strike, but his body refused to respond.
Jihyeon stepped right in front of both of them.
He drove the edge of his right hand downward into Old Man Han. The strike was so powerful that he used the upward momentum to spin in midair.
In that single aerial rotation, his left arm extended, and the edge of his hand caught Do Ji diagonally right under the jaw, launching him upward into the air.
It all happened in a single, fluid spin.
Old Man Han collapsed motionless onto the floor, while Do Ji flew through the air before crashing onto his back, completely out cold.
Jihyeon landed in a low crouch, resting his hands on his knees as he panted heavily, struggling to catch his breath.