The Strong is the seventh chapter of The Boxer.
Synopsis
Injae recalls his dad's boxing record and his respect for the type of person his dad is; elsewhere, Injae's dad wishes him luck.
With Injae laying floored on the ground with his head swimming after being clocked with such a heavy punch, Ryu kneels down and mockingly speaks what Injae had been thinking before, telling him it was all very obvious. Refusing to stay down, Injae returned to his feet again and desperately swung for Ryu, but the latter utterly toyed with him hitting him repeatedly until Injae was on his knees again. Satisfied, Ryu walks away telling Injae that he wouldn't bother him anymore. However, remembering his dad's definition of a true boxer, Injae got back to his feet again and called out to Ryu telling him they weren't done yet.
With the other bullies (and Yu) watching Injae, a visibly irked Ryu turns back around and instantly smashes him in the face with a brutal strike, dimming the lights in Injae's eyes. Dropping Injae to the ground, Ryu begins repeatedly punching him in the face, heatedly telling Injae that he would die if he kept acting smart and rambling that he would never be a strong as him no matter how hard he tried. Struggling to talk, Injae reveals he knew he couldn't win (shocking Ryu into pausing), explaining that he had already achieved his goal and couldn't care less about tedious things like being the strongest, all before declaring that he will become a boxer. Absolutely infuriated, Ryu begins mercilessly whaling on Injae's face screaming if he still thought it was tedious.
Suddenly, from behind them all, Yu asks no-one in particular if it was fun hitting people...
Appearing Characters
- Note: Characters who are listed in bold and italics are appearing for the first time. List is ordered alphabetically.