The club room smelled like dust and old instant noodles.
Chun Ma stood in front of a whiteboard someone had doodled on in permanent marker years ago.
Woo-jin sat on a yoga mat, holding a soda. Joo Hye-rin leaned against the window with her arms crossed, bored already.
Chun Ma clapped his hands together.
"Today begins our training."
"Training for what, exactly?" Woo-jin asked.
"To strengthen your body, mind, and spirit."
"Can it strengthen my grades?"
"No."
"Cool."
Chun Ma turned serious.
"I trained in the mountains. Fought beasts. Balanced on blades. Drank snowmelt and blood."
"You're gonna make us do sit-ups, aren't you?" Hye-rin muttered.
"No," Chun Ma replied. "Sit-ups are useless."
He pulled out a mop.
"You will clean."
For the next hour, the three of them scrubbed the floor, organized shelves, and wiped windows. Chun Ma called it "spiritual refinement through mundane suffering."
Woo-jin called it "housekeeping."
"Why are we doing this again?" he grumbled while sweeping.
"Discipline. Focus. Resilience," Chun Ma said, scrubbing a stain on the floor like it had offended his ancestors.
Hye-rin kicked over a chair and dusted it off with her foot.
"This sucks. I joined to punch things."
"Patience."
⎛System Notification: Minor quest complete - Establish Daily Training⎠
⎛Reward: +1 Stamina⎠
Chun Ma felt a flicker of warmth in his chest.
Progress.
Tiny. Laughable. But real.
He stared at his trembling hand, then curled it into a fist.
"Soon."
Meanwhile, Lee Hana watched from the hallway.
She had noticed the change in Min-jun. How he walked differently. How he stopped slouching. How he threatened a thug with a lunch tray like it was a sword.
It was weird.
He wasn't dumb anymore. He wasn't scared. He wasn't normal.
She narrowed her eyes.
What are you hiding, Kim Min-jun?
After school, Woo-jin suggested they grab food.
"We're a club, right? We need bonding time."
"I second that," Hye-rin said. "If we train more, I'll die."
"I accept," Chun Ma said solemnly. "But only if we eat somewhere honorable."
They went to a cheap tteokbokki place three blocks away.
Greasy tables. Loud TV. Best cabbage pancakes in the district.
Chun Ma sniffed the air.
"It smells of victory."
Woo-jin poured vinegar like it was holy water. "It smells like fried oil and regret."
They sat, ordered way too much food, and started eating like war refugees.
Halfway through, a group of rough-looking students entered.
Leather jackets. Bad haircuts. Smug grins.
"Delinquents," Hye-rin muttered. "Ugh."
Woo-jin leaned in. "Those guys go to Seongnam High. Rival school. Known jerks."
The delinquents made a scene—shoving tables, laughing too loud, throwing food.
One of them bumped into Chun Ma's chair.
Didn't apologize.
That was the moment everything shifted.
Chun Ma turned his head slowly.
"You stepped on my honor."
The guy scoffed. "What?"
"You spilled soup on my spirit."
"Bro, you got problems?"
Chun Ma stood.
"Many."
Woo-jin whispered, "Min-jun, please don't."
Hye-rin cracked her knuckles. "Nah, let him."
The delinquent pushed Chun Ma in the chest.
Wrong move.
Chun Ma pivoted like lightning, sweeping the guy's leg with a backstep he hadn't used in years. The thug hit the floor, hard.
The others jumped up.
A chair flew.
Hye-rin punched someone so hard they hit the napkin dispenser.
Woo-jin ducked under a spoon and hid behind a menu.
The brawl was short, sloppy, and full of food-based attacks.
When it ended, three delinquents were groaning on the floor, covered in spicy rice cakes.
Chun Ma stood in the middle of it all. Calm. Breath steady. Shirt stained with soup.
⎛System Notification: Hidden Quest Unlocked - "First Battle: Return of the Demon"⎠
⎛+2 Strength. Skill Unlocked: Street Combat (Lv. 1)⎠
He smiled faintly.
Yes.
Yes, this was what he had been missing.
Later, back in the club room, Woo-jin was lying on the floor.
"I think I pulled every muscle I've ever had."
Hye-rin was chewing on a stolen cabbage pancake.
"Not bad for a first fight," she said. "Min-jun, where'd you learn to fight like that?"
Chun Ma looked at them.
"I trained in a forgotten land, where blood was your teacher and silence your friend."
"…So YouTube?" Woo-jin said.
Chun Ma didn't answer.
But deep inside, he felt something click.
Not just in the system.
In himself.
This world wasn't just a second chance.
It was a stage.