Chapter 39, Part 3: Fracture (4)

After class ended, I left the school, unlike my friends who were forced to stay for night study sessions.

My friends looked at me with envy-filled eyes.

I had recently topped the national mock exam.

This title acted as a free pass to skip the night study sessions.

With no one above me, who could possibly force me to stay for night study?

However, I wasn’t the only one who left the school.

Park Jung-hoon, who had been suffering from hyperventilation syndrome, was also allowed to leave early by the homeroom teacher.

It was a perfect opportunity to discuss our plans, but I kept my distance from Park Jung-hoon.

I didn’t say a single warm word to Park Jung-hoon.

Park Jung-hoon had gone through a tough day today.

I didn’t want to burden him by discussing our plan to deal with Shim Byung-soo.

At least not today.

As I walked, I suddenly turned back and saw Shim Byung-soo watching me and Park Jung-hoon from the classroom window.

I knew it was a form of surveillance.

A despicable and ruthless guy.

A guy who had sold his conscience and guilt to the devil.

I had a gut feeling that I was now on the express train to confront Shim Byung-soo.

If I didn’t deal with this scum, my perfect third year of high school wouldn’t end successfully.

“Jung-hoon, don’t look at me, just listen.”

“Huh? Okay.”

“I have something important to tell you. I’ll contact you this weekend.”

“Got it.”

Park Jung-hoon’s weak response.

His deflated appearance, acknowledged by everyone as the class mood maker, pained my heart.

I had a similar experience during my internship.

I didn’t get burned with cigarettes, but I was regularly kicked in the shins by seniors and suffered countless verbal abuses and curses.

My self-esteem plummeted to the ground, and I even thought about ending my life.

I probably empathized with Park Jung-hoon for that reason.

I saw my past self in him.

Anyway, Park Jung-hoon’s suffering days wouldn’t last long.

I would make sure of it.

After parting ways with Park Jung-hoon, I headed to a boxing gym near my house.

* * *

“Hello, Coach.”

“Is it you, Min? I thought you wouldn’t come since the college entrance exam is approaching.”

The middle-aged coach, who was almost bald, tilted his head when he saw me.

The coach was in the empty gym, tidying up the mitts and gloves.

“Doing a bit of boxing won’t lower my grades. I also want to relieve some stress.”

I took off my shoes at the shoe rack and entered the gym.

“Coach, can I skip the jump rope and start with the mitts today?”

“Sure, do as you please.”

Hearing the coach’s playful response, I went to the locker room to change into my training gear.

It had been about two years since I started learning boxing.

After my English speaking and listening skills improved, I had more free time.

I filled that time with boxing.

Chest surgery and boxing.

It’s a combination that sounds unfamiliar, awkward, and bizarre.

Like mint chocolate chicken.

I didn’t attach much significance to choosing boxing.

What I valued was the desire to train my body.

While training the mind and knowledge is important, training the body is equally important.

A strong mind comes from a strong body, doesn’t it?

During my 16 years as a thoracic surgeon in my past life, I rarely saw someone with an unhealthy body but a healthy mind.

Moreover, physical training is also a necessary virtue for a thoracic surgeon.

For as short as 2 hours.

Or as long as a whole day.

A thoracic surgeon must stand in the operating room for a long time.

Just standing is exhausting, but they must maintain high concentration and use their hands.

Where does that endurance come from?

Obviously, it comes from physical strength.

I might not be able to continue boxing consistently, but I plan to exercise regularly even after entering medical school and working at a hospital.

After changing, I put on my gloves and stepped into the ring.

The coach was already standing in the center of the ring.

“Kid, your eyes look pretty fierce today?”

“There’s someone I want to hit. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but my fists are itching.”

I bit my lips, thinking of Shim Byung-soo.

If in my past life, the person I wanted to hit was Kang Tae-sub.

In this life, it’s Shim Byung-soo.

They both share the common trait of cruelly tormenting the weak.

“Then something might happen soon.”

“Do you mean… are you telling me to hit someone? I don’t plan to do that.”

The coach’s meaningful words made me quite uneasy.

I didn’t learn boxing to hit someone.

Especially since I’m supposed to heal patients, not create them.

That’s something that should never happen.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Min, people use what they learn at some point.”

“...”

“Sometimes, you’re forced into a situation where you have to use what you don’t want to use.”

“I don’t think I want to use the ability to hit people.”

“So, what if you don’t have a choice?”

A faint smile appeared on the coach’s lips.

There was a strange confidence in the words of the coach, who had been a national representative in the light heavyweight category.

“With that in mind, I’ll teach you something good today. I’m not sure if it’s really good, though.”

The coach placed the mitt on his side.

“Hit this with a hook. Alternate with both hands.”

“Yes.”

I followed the coach’s instructions, hitting the mitt with left and right hooks.

In my past life, I was right-handed, but I became ambidextrous through great effort as I grew.

Pang! Pang! Pang!

The sound of the mitt and gloves colliding was refreshing.

The stress from Shim Byung-soo felt like it was flying away.

Indeed, coming to the gym was a stroke of genius.

“Hit it a bit harder.”

“No, hit it a bit softer.”

The coach was particularly interested in controlling the force today.

I, who was used to hitting with full force, struggled with the coach’s new teachings.

“Next, hit my shoulder with a straight punch.”

“Coach, isn’t today’s training a bit strange?”

I followed the instructions and hit the mitt for about 10 minutes, then took a breath.

It was suspicious to suddenly ask me to control my force.

The coach selected attack points like the buttocks, thighs, and shoulders.

“You’re a smart guy, but you’re a complete bookworm, aren’t you?”

The coach smiled at me. I couldn’t understand the meaning of his smile, just like the training.

Pabababat.

The coach approached me with quick steps and came close to me like lightning.

Paaah!

A rock-hard punch hit my left side.

I couldn’t even scream and fell to my knees.

The pain radiating from my side made it hard to regain my senses.

I could see stars in my eyes.

“Coach, didn’t you go too far? Why did you...”

“Do it like this.”

“Huh?”

“If you want to hit someone, hit them like this. Choose the right spot and control your force, and you can hit them without leaving any marks. You can still cause pain.”

“Ah...”

I finally realized.

The coach was teaching me a technique to hit someone without leaving any marks.

The reason he asked me to control my force and hit parts like the buttocks and shoulders was for this.

“Min, you can’t punish someone who breaks the rules with the rules. When that happens, you also have to step outside the rules, but within a reasonable range.”

The coach’s philosophical words left a deep impression on my heart.

Sometimes, you have to break the rules appropriately.

Although I was a model student and a righteous guy, the coach’s teachings were worth reflecting on.

* * *

After about 2 hours of training, my whole body was sore.

Still, I felt relieved and satisfied.

A painful satisfaction.

This is the strange charm of exercise, I thought.

Even after leaving the gym, I stood there for a while, looking at the gym.

The boxing techniques the coach taught me.

The technique to hit someone without leaving any marks.

And the life philosophy the coach imparted to me.

Punish those who break the rules outside the rules.

The unfamiliar teachings I learned today were floating around me, unable to integrate into my being.

To me, who had fought against heart and lung diseases all my life, the coach’s teachings were unusual and burdensome.

Still, why did they seem somewhat reasonable?

Would I end up punishing Shim Byung-soo with my fists?

Putting aside the questions and doubts that arose in my mind, I started walking home.

I didn’t need to answer immediately.

When the questions and doubts mature, the answers will naturally come.

My steps, heading home, soon stopped in front of a pharmacy.

“Come to think of it...”

I remembered that my father had been under stress and his health had weakened due to his writing.

My father’s novel about family love was nearing the deadline.

Because of this, my father looked more tired than usual.

So, I naturally thought of nutritional supplements.

In the late 1990s, nutritional supplements weren’t highly regarded, but as time passed, interest in them grew.

In fact, if taken properly, nutritional supplements can reduce various pains, prevent diseases, and provide vitality to life.

I decided to get some supplements for my parents.

“What do you need, student?”

The pharmacist in a gown asked me kindly.

I appreciated the concern, but I already knew the supplements I needed to buy for my parents.

I answered that I would choose them myself and started looking at the shelves.

Probiotics.

Multivitamins.

Vitamin D.

Omega-3.

Calcium and magnesium complex.

These were the five elite supplements I carefully selected.

First, probiotics.

Since the 2000s, the fact that the gut is related to the immune system has been widely accepted.

Therefore, probiotics are essential for immune health and gut health.

Second, multivitamins.

Multivitamins can supplement various minerals that are hard to get from meals.

To be honest, I couldn’t find the multivitamins I wanted in the pharmacy at this time.

Still, I chose the best one based on the nutrients and their content.

When overseas direct purchases become popular in the distant future, I’ll have to switch to other multivitamin supplements.

Third, Vitamin D.

Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption in the body and bone health.

Research has shown that it affects the secretion of serotonin, the happiness hormone.

While you can synthesize Vitamin D in your body by getting sunlight, my father, who spends most of his day at home, needs to take it separately.

Fourth, Omega-3.

My favorite supplement as a thoracic surgeon.

It has excellent effects on improving blood triglycerides and blood flow.

It also has various other benefits, such as eye and brain health and reducing inflammation.

Finally, calcium and magnesium.

It’s a well-known fact that calcium and magnesium help with bone health.

However, calcium also helps with heart contraction, and magnesium helps with relaxation.

Therefore, these two components are also necessary nutrients.

After buying the supplements my parents needed, I also bought two for my younger sister, Jang