I replied with bewilderment.

  "Yes... already?"

  Curiosity had now clearly settled in the coach's eyes. The wariness remained, but his professional fighter's instinct seemed to be stirring. He walked around me once, observing my body.

  "Yes, I need to see exactly what's happening here. There might be some misunderstanding..."

  He spoke slowly, but his eyes showed he was thinking much more.

  The coach smiled and said:

  "I'll take it easy on you, so don't worry. Let's see what level your skills are at."

  Without time to consider, I put on the headgear and gloves. The moment the gloves wrapped around my hands, I felt strange. They had almost no weight, feeling as light as if I were wearing paper. I clenched my fists tightly, as if checking their strength.

  As I stepped into the ring, the coach was waiting for me with thick sparring mitts on his hands.

  The trainees gathered around us. Hyeong-seo whispered to another trainee.

  "Let's see how this unexpected guest surprises the coach."

  There was mockery in Hyeong-seo's voice.

  "Quiet, Hyeong-seo."

  The sturdy man scolded him.

  "Show some courtesy to the newcomer."

  "Coach Kim, putting such a rookie straight into the ring..."

  The man in his 40s muttered with a worried expression.

  "Here, try hitting this."

  He extended the mitt forward. I lightly reached out and tapped the mitt.

  The coach shook his head.

  "Harder. Hit it with all your strength."

  I put a little more power into the next strike.

  Thwack!

  The mitt shook slightly, but the coach still shook his head.

  "Is that all you've got? Harder!"

  'Is this... a provocation?'

  My competitive spirit surged. My blood boiled.

  "Then, I'll use my full strength."

  I extended my right arm back.

  A different sensation was felt deep inside my body. It felt like another power within me had been sleeping and was now awakening. I felt a strong heat flowing from the center of my chest to my arm, and I felt the power gathering from my elbow to the end of my fist.

  Time seemed to slow down.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I extended my fist toward the mitt.

  BOOM!

  With a tremendous impact, something astonishing happened.

  The coach's body was thrown into the air.

  In an instant, the coach flew outside the ring and was lying on the floor.

  '...what just happened?'

  I froze. Fear, confusion, and a thrilling excitement. All those emotions swirled together.

  Looking down at my hand, I saw it trembling. This power was clearly mine, yet at the same time, so unfamiliar.

  'That liquid inside me... did it cause this change?'

  The gym fell into instant silence. The smile had completely disappeared from the trainees' faces. Hyeong-seo stood with his mouth agape, and the sturdy man blinked as if he couldn't believe what he'd just seen.

  The man in his 40s quickly ran outside the ring and approached the coach.

  "Hey! What are you?"

  Hyeong-seo raised his voice. His expression had completely changed with shock.

  "Please calm down, Hyeong-seo."

  Another trainee with a slender build grabbed Hyeong-seo's arm.

  "Don't make the situation worse."

  The trainees hurried over.

  "Coach! Are you okay?"

  The coach was speechless with shock for a while. His eyes were filled with fear and doubt. Finally managing to sit up, he first checked his arms and legs. He seemed to be checking if any bones were broken.

  The coach groaned as he got to his feet.

  "Ugh... I'm fine. Don't all make such a fuss."

  Someone holding a mobile phone said:

  "Coach, shouldn't we call emergency services?"

  But the coach waved his hand.

  "It's not necessary. I fell well."

  I approached the coach with a dazed expression.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit that hard..."

  The coach seemed to be gradually recovering from the initial shock, and his expression was slowly changing. I could see his initial bewilderment turning into curiosity.

  Despite the pain in his arm, he stood in front of me.

  "In my 20 years as a boxer... this is a first..."

  He muttered.

  "Did I... did I miss something? Such talent..."

  The coach still looked at me with surprised eyes. He asked with a confused expression.

  "Mr. Kang Chul, have you... ever received any special training before? Or..."

  He stopped speaking, caught his breath, and continued.

  "Were you a professional athlete?"

  I shook my head.

  "No. I'm just a job seeker."

  The coach rubbed his chin and was lost in thought for a moment at my answer. His expression continued to change. The initial fear was gone, and he began to look at me anew, like someone who had discovered a precious treasure.

  Soon, the coach's expression became professional.

  "Even the best power punchers I've seen in my 20 years of boxing weren't like this. The sound of your fist cutting through the air at that moment was definitely different. With pure power alone, not technique, you're at a world champion level."

  The coach exhaled deeply and then chuckled.

  "Mr. Kang Chul, you've given me an experience I've never had in my life today."

  His eyes were mixed with awe and interest.

  'What... is happening to me?'

  It finally sank in. My body had changed. Irreversibly.

  My stomach felt strangely uncomfortable. Excitement and fear rushed in simultaneously. I couldn't distinguish whether I had become strange, or the world had.

  It seemed to move independently of my will.

  'But why do I have this kind of power...? No matter how much I've exercised, this is not normal...'

  My mind was confused. Was this a blessing or a curse?

  Just until a moment ago, I was an ordinary person worried about completing a thousand jump ropes. But now I had cracked the ceiling and sent the coach flying outside the ring.

  'What on earth is happening in my body?'

  The coach said:

  "Everyone, go outside and get some fresh air for a bit."

  The atmosphere in the gym had changed strangely. There was both fear and curiosity in the way people looked at me. It was clear that I was a fearsome being, but at the same time, they seemed to want to observe me.

  He handed a card to the trainee named Hyeong-seo and added:

  "Hyeong-seo, take this card and buy everyone a drink."

  As Hyeong-seo took the card, he gave me a peculiar smile. His eyes still held wariness, but now there was more interest than contempt.

  Hyeong-seo left the gym with the other trainees. Some continued to look back at me until they were out the door.

  Five or six trainees exchanged glances and then left one by one.

  The coach gestured toward me and the assistant coach and said:

  "Assistant coach and Mr. Kang Chul, please stay for a moment."

  'Surely he's not going to ask for compensation for the ceiling and his injuries?'

  An anxious thought flashed through my mind.

  However, the coach looked at me with a meaningful gaze and said:

  "If my eyes are correct..."

  "Mr. Kang Chul, you seem to have a talent for boxing. Please try hitting that sandbag over there."

  I slowly approached the sandbag.

  'I need to be normal this time. I shouldn't use too much strength like before.'

  I measured the distance and extended my fist lightly.

  Thump! Thump!

  The sandbag swayed. But there was no wall shaking or cracking like earlier.

  The coach nodded with satisfaction and said:

  "Yes, that's good."

  He added with a smile:

  "Well done. You can go home for today."

  I picked up my bag and headed toward the gym exit. As I walked across the gym, I could clearly hear the conversation between the assistant coach and the coach from a distance. It was a distance at which I definitely wouldn't have heard before, but now I could hear even the faintest sounds.

  I could even feel their breathing and heartbeats.

  "Coach, that was really incredible earlier... but when he hit the sandbag, it was just ordinary. Did we see wrong?"

  The assistant coach's voice was full of doubt and confusion. His heartbeat was irregular.

  At that moment, the coach smiled and slowly shook his head.

  "When Mr. Kang Chul hit the sandbag... he didn't even use 10% of his power."

  The coach's voice was filled with certainty. His heart was beating rapidly with excitement.

  I could sense the assistant coach's startled expression.

  The coach added in a deep voice:

  "I definitely felt it. Assistant coach... Mr. Kang Chul is really something special."

  I quietly opened the door and left the gym. Looking down at my hand, I felt a subtle trembling.

  I could feel something stirring inside my body again. I was confused about who I was. An ordinary human named Kang Chul? Or a monster with this unknown power?

  I couldn't distinguish whether I was controlling it, or it was dominating me. I was at a loss about how to live with this power, this presence.

  On my way home, the face of the man with the tiger tattoo suddenly came to mind. I felt as if he was hiding somewhere, watching me.

  'Did he experience something similar to what I'm going through?'

  A chill ran down my spine. I thought that this might not be happening only to me.

  At that moment, suddenly a loud 'growl' sounded.

  'Oh no... at a time like this?'

  Looking around, fortunately, there was no one. I just remembered that I hadn't eaten anything all day.

  I had cracked the ceiling and sent the coach flying, but my stomach was sending signals as if it had nothing to do with such events.

  "What should I eat?"