Shin Kangheon spent his childhood in an orphanage.
“Headmaster! Shin Kangheon hit us!”
“......Kangheon. You again?”
To him, the orphanage was a boring, irritating place.
From a young age, he’d been the biggest among his peers, and he was stronger than boys several years older. After he turned ten, he couldn’t rember losing a fight even once.
“They started it fir—... Hah. Forget it.”
“Shin Kangheon! Where are you going! Stop right there!”
Instead of making excuses, Shin Kangheon beat the living daylights out of the little pack that secretly bullied weaker kids—where the teachers couldn’t see.
“Kangheon... thanks....”
“Yeah, yeah. Get lost.”
“......”
Even the kids getting bullied were frustrating to look at.
He’d only fought for them a few tis because their sniffling without even throwing a punch annoyed him. He had no intention of getting close to them.
Shin Kangheon was always alone.
The orphanage’s problem child. A headache. The older he got and the bigger he grew, the kids his age feared him and kept their distance. Because he was too different from them.
“You’re saying he picked a fight with students from a martial arts academy and took down twelve of them by himself?”
“A kid who hasn’t even properly learned martial arts—how could he possibly...?”
“They said he fought with those basic moves the Martial Alliance volunteers teach when they co do service work.”
“That’s just calisthenics!”
After he beat down the martial-arts-academy punks who loved acting tough, even the orphanage teachers started watching Shin Kangheon cautiously.
“Kangheon. With your talent, I think you could beco a great martial artist. Would you like to apply for a support program?”
There were monts like that too—suggestions from the headmaster, who recognized the boy’s overwhelming talent.
“Not interested.”
“Think about it. If you beco a martial artist, there are many different jobs you can get, and you can do a lot of good for society. And...”
“I said no! Stop bugging . Or do you want to leave this place?”
“......Let’s talk again later.”
Back then, Shin Kangheon had no dreams, no goals.
It wasn’t that he hated martial arts. He just hated doing what soone told him to do. He also hated anything hard or annoying.
‘Whatever. It’ll work out sohow.’
Then, one day—
“Are you Kangheon?”
“......Who are you?”
Even as he asked, Shin Kangheon thought it wouldn’t make sense unless this person was related to him by blood.
Two n with features so similar it was hard to deny stood facing each other.
“You look a lot like my older brother. I’m your uncle.”
The tone was a little sharp, but Shin Kangheon was too shocked by the aning of the words to notice details like that.
“I’m sorry I ca so late. From now on, you’ll live with .”
“Uh... really?”
All he could do was ask again with a dumbfounded face.
Family—his first.
Even for a teenage boy in the middle of that turbulent age... no, especially because of it, family was sothing special.
“From now on, this is your room.”
“Whoa. It’s freaking huge...!”
“If you need anything, tell . I’ll get it right away.”
“......I really live here?”
When Shin Kangheon asked with an expression that said he couldn’t believe it, Shin Junhyun slipped an arm around his shoulders in a familiar way and whispered,
“Kangheon. You and I are each other’s only blood family. So your uncle can do anything for you.”
Because his uncle traveled overseas for business, Shin Kangheon couldn’t see his face often—but aside from that, nothing was lacking.
“Instead, I’ll ask you for just one thing.”
The only family he had, making a serious request.
No matter what it was, Shin Kangheon wouldn’t have been able to refuse.
“Learn martial arts. You’ll definitely beco an incredible martial artist later. And your father and mother would want that too.”
“......Uncle. Tell about my parents.”
It was what he wanted to know more than anything in the world, but his uncle’s face hardened and he shook his head.
“When the ti cos, I’ll tell you. When you beco an adult...... so for now, focus on martial arts. Okay?”
He felt resentnt, irritation—why not tell him now?—but after his uncle kept persuading him, Shin Kangheon finally nodded.
And then, out of spite, he pouted.
“Martial arts are such a pain...... can’t I just not learn them?”
He didn’t an it. It was just a sulky, childish thing to say.
But that day, for the first ti, his uncle went cold on him.
“Kangheon. Don’t disappoint . I told you it’s my only request. If you say you hate even this...... I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep getting along with you.”
In that mont, the boy felt a sudden fear that he might be abandoned again, and without realizing it, he nodded.
“......Okay. I’ll work hard.”
Only after hearing that did his uncle show a bright smile.
“Good. It’s all for you. So let’s work hard.”
Maybe that was when it started.
That strange line that ford in their relationship.
As promised, as long as he kept learning martial arts steadily, his uncle was satisfied.
Even when his nephew posted cringe-worthy stuff on social dia to grab attention, even when he got into fights after entering high school, no matter what kind of trouble he caused—his uncle didn’t get angry.
*****
“......As of today, my embarrassing past is wiped clean.”
Rembering his own “dark history” all over again, Shin Kangheon muttered as he smacked his cheek with his palm.
The Shin Kangheon who lived like a reckless thug was gone.
Now he was a proper adult—and a first-rate martial artist affiliated with the Martial Alliance.
‘I beco a martial artist my parents won’t be ashad of. And then.......’
As he walked into the White Tiger Unit building, Shin Kangheon declared his ambition boldly.
“Shin Kangheon, the future Strongest in Korea! I’ll take my first step toward that legend—right here in the White Tiger Unit!”
He gave a crooked grin to the Martial Alliance mbers who stared at him like he was insane.
Because he thought you had to do at least this much to not get crushed by the atmosphere.
And the part about becoming the Strongest in Korea—he ant it.
‘Wait for it, you crazy bastard. I’ll pass you fast!’
When he set his sights on becoming the Strongest in Korea, the first person he pictured wasn’t anyone else.
Kim Muhyuk.
The monster he’d never properly beaten even once—despite being called a genius ever since he started learning martial arts.
The first existence that made Shin Kangheon feel a wall.
But Shin Kangheon was the type who burned hotter when he t a wall.
“Just watch. Before this year’s over, I’m going to smash you for real!”
“Excuse , can you please keep it down?”
“Yes, sorry!”
After the White Tiger Unit administrative staff mber warned him, Shin Kangheon bowed his head. But the confidence on his face didn’t change.
He had goals he wanted as a martial artist now.
And he had a rival he absolutely wanted to surpass.
Shin Kangheon’s stride through the White Tiger Unit building was proud, chest lifted high.
One by one, unit mbers approached the bizarre new recruit.
“You’re that guy—Jaehyun’s son, right?”
“Now that I see you, you do look like him! Hahaha!”
“Personality’s totally different, though....”
So of them rembered Shin Jaehyun—mostly older alliance mbers.
“That’s right! I’m Shin Kangheon, son of Shin Jaehyun who served as deputy commander of the White Tiger Unit! I look forward to working with you, seniors!”
“What ‘senior’? Call uncle, you punk.”
“Hah. I felt it watching the video too, but your fra is unreal.”
Starting from the first floor, Shin Kangheon opened any door he saw, walked in, and greeted people.
Most of them laughed like they found the gutsy new recruit entertaining.
“Hahahaha! This kid’s sothing else!”
“Looking at how he acts, we’d better stay on his good side from now on, huh?”
After combing through the White Tiger Unit from corner to corner, Shin Kangheon finally headed for the commander’s office on the top floor.
‘That should’ve made an impression.’
Seeing the alliance mbers welco him made a stupid smile slip out.
Already, the White Tiger Unit felt comfortable—like it was his own place.
Shin Kangheon’s mood was at its peak.
Until he stepped out of the elevator—and the commander’s office door opened, and he ran into soone he never expected.
“......Huh?”
The person who flung the door open wasn’t the White Tiger Unit commander.
It was Shin Junhyun.
Behind him, the White Tiger Unit commander stood with an awkward, trapped expression.
“Kangheon.”
“Uncle.......”
Their eyes t.
In Shin Kangheon’s shaking pupils, Shin Junhyun’s stiff face held no emotion at all.
They wore completely different expressions—yet they looked too similar.
“I was going to call you anyway. This works out.”
Shin Junhyun walked up, step by step, and spoke to his nephew.
“I explained it to the White Tiger Unit commander. Now let’s go back.”
“......Go back where?”
“Ho. You don’t need to be here anymore.”
At his one-sided notice, given without a shred of explanation, Shin Kangheon’s face hardened as he stepped back.
“Go back by yourself. I’m going to greet the commander and then leave.”
“Shin Kangheon!”
“I took the Martial Alliance exam and passed, and I finished probationary training. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance, but......”
Swallowing dryly, Shin Kangheon forced a grin.
“I decided to beco a White Tiger Unit martial artist, so just cheer on and tell to do well.”
Shin Kangheon knew his uncle’s expectations for him were huge.
Signing a contract with the place that offered the best terms among the Eight Great Sects.
Until recently, Shin Kangheon had no complaints about that either.
He thought it was the way to repay his uncle for supporting him for years so he could beco a martial artist.
But after learning that his father had served as deputy commander of the White Tiger Unit—and realizing the Eight Great Sects were nothing like what he’d imagined—his thoughts had changed.
No matter how much his uncle opposed it, he wasn’t going to change his mind—
“The Martial Alliance is the place that got your parents killed, and you want to belong here?”
In that instant, Shin Kangheon’s mind went blank.
He barely managed to ask in a trembling voice.
“......What are you talking about?”
Instead of answering, Shin Junhyun turned his head and looked at the White Tiger Unit commander.
“Commander. Would you tell him yourself?”
The commander couldn’t say anything, his face dark.
A cold sneer curled at Shin Junhyun’s mouth.
“So you know it’s shaful and can’t even make excuses. Fine. I’ll tell him.”
The story he’d said he’d tell once his nephew beca an adult flowed from Shin Junhyun’s mouth.
“Your father died during an unorthodox-faction suppression operation the Martial Alliance carried out recklessly.”
“That’s—”
The White Tiger Unit commander tried to say sothing, but Shin Junhyun cut him off with a cold stare.
“Even if we give you every benefit of the doubt, a martial artist can die in a fight. But what ca after that?”
Avoiding that gaze, the commander let out a sigh.
What Shin Junhyun was talking about was an inside story that not many people knew— even among those who’d been White Tiger Unit comrades.
Shin Junhyun, looking at the commander with contempt, turned back to his nephew.
“One of the ones who escaped the encirclent took revenge. He tracked down my brother’s ho address and went after your mother. If your mother hadn’t fought with her life on the line...... you would’ve died then too, Kangheon.”
After hearing the truth, Shin Kangheon stood stiff, like he’d frozen.
Then he finally forced out a broken question.
“......Is everything you’re saying true?”
The White Tiger Unit commander didn’t confirm or deny it.
But that alone was answer enough.
Shin Junhyun snorted at the commander.
“And what was the Martial Alliance doing back then? Kangheon was sent to an orphanage, and they didn’t even contact —the only blood family left, who was overseas at the ti.”
“We tried multiple tis to contact you as well. But—”
“That’s enough. I’m not here to hear excuses.”
Shin Junhyun turned back to his nephew again.
His hand tightened on Shin Kangheon’s shoulder.
“Kangheon. I don’t want to lose you too, like I lost my brother.”
“.......”
Shin Kangheon couldn’t answer anything.
By the ti he ca back to himself, he was ho—after ripping off his Martial Alliance uniform and throwing it away.
*****
Shin Kangheon stared wordlessly at the docunts his uncle held out.
“It’s a contract the Great Saber Gate sent. It’s the best terms we’ve received, and the sect leader said he wants to teach you himself after seeing your videos. Also—”
The Great Saber Gate was one of the Eight Great Sects that learned only saber arts. Despite its na, as long as it was a saber, it handled everything—from large and small blades to throwing sabers and twin sabers.
The Great Saber Gate sect leader was also known as a particularly extre martial-arts fanatic among the Eight Great Sects’ sect leaders—along with the Transcendent Extremity Gate sect leader. Thanks to that, he hadn’t been heavily criticized in the recent situation.
And since Shin Kangheon had learned saber arts, it was a strong match. It was unquestionably one of the best choices.
But none of that really reached Shin Kangheon’s ears.
“Shin Kangheon. Are you listening?”
“......Yes.”
At that empty answer, Shin Junhyun let out a long sigh and stood up.
“You thought I dragged out the contract because of money, didn’t you? That’s right. Do you know why? Because paying a lot ans they value you highly.”
“Uncle. I—”
With a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth, Shin Junhyun cut him off.
“That’s how the world works. Your price is your value. If you get sold cheap like a sucker, you get used here and there and thrown away. I don’t ever want to see that happen again.”
“......Are you saying my father was a sucker?”
“Is he not?”
When Shin Kangheon glared at him with fierce eyes, Shin Junhyun took a step back and clicked his tongue softly.
“For now, get so rest. Read the contract slowly.”
“.......”
After patting his nephew’s shoulder, Shin Junhyun said there was a small problem with a business deal overseas—sothing urgent—and that he’d be gone for a few days.
“It’s all for you. I believe you’ll make the wise decision.”
“Have a safe trip.”
Shin Kangheon watched his uncle’s back as he left, then went into his room.
Curling up on the bed, he stared at the contract his uncle had left behind. But his eyes were empty.
“.......”
He’d learned why his parents died—how he beca an orphan.
The Martial Alliance’s reckless operation. The fact they didn’t set up safeguards and ended up getting his mother killed too. Even leaving him in the orphanage.
His uncle’s words kept echoing in his head.
‘Is this what my father got for being loyal to the Martial Alliance his whole life?’
He was angry.
At the White Tiger Unit commander who couldn’t et his eyes.
And for reasons he couldn’t even na, hatred boiled up toward the White Tiger Unit mbers who’d smiled at him like they were friendly.
“......What kind of justice is that.”
Grinding his teeth, Shin Kangheon unfolded the Great Saber Gate contract again—half crumpled.
There was no way the contents would actually sink in.
But no matter what, it felt like it had to be better than the Martial Alliance.
Shin Kangheon found a pen and was about to sign.
That was when—
ZZZIIING—.
When he looked at the vibrating smartphone, a na popped up—one that almost never contacted him first.
“......Kim Muhyuk?”
Seeing [Crazy Bastard] on the screen, Shin Kangheon hesitated for a mont—then answered.
“Hey. I’m not really in the mood right now. I don’t know what it is, but later—”
[Open the door.]
“......What?”
[I’m outside your place right now.]
He went to the living room and checked the intercom.
Kim Muhyuk really was standing there.
With the sa eyes as always, glaring like he wanted to bite the cara to pieces, while a frightened housekeeper asked Shin Kangheon,
“S-should I call the police?”
Shin Kangheon barely stopped her, then went out himself and opened the door.
“Why are you suddenly here?”
“Do I need a reason to co hang out at a friend’s house? Oh—and I couldn’t really co empty-handed, so.”
Kim Muhyuk held out a box of Double-Flower Tonic.
“......Are you so old man?”
Shin Kangheon stared at the gift like he was dumbfounded, but Kim Muhyuk didn’t care and slowly looked around Shin Kangheon’s house like it was his first ti here.
“Nice place. Big enough to hide all sorts of things.”
“What are you talking about?”
Nodding with a aningful expression, Kim Muhyuk asked him,
“I’m sleeping over tonight. You got spare pajamas?”
At that shaless line, Shin Kangheon let out a hollow laugh even as irritation rose in him.
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