My junior high school years were the absolute worst. I was short, incredibly skinny, and constantly mocked by my classmates. Because my eyes slanted, some of them would come up and say, "You're a Chonko, aren't you? Confess!" and then proceed to hit me. "Chonko" is a derogatory term used in Osaka towards discriminated Koreans.

Furthermore, I was threatened by another guy. He was in his first year of junior high and had a waist that was a meter wide. There were even rumors that his older brother was the leader of a biker gang. He would also enjoy hitting me and dropping cats from the rooftop of our apartment building. If I had only had the courage to fight back, but if I did I might be killed. I had such a fear for my three years of junior high.

Three years. It felt incredibly long. I believe it left considerable damage on my brain. It might be a slight form of PTSD. I don't have flashbacks, but I can't relax unless I sleep for a long time. There might be some connection. And even now, the image of a one-meter-wide waist comes up in my dreams. However, during this time, I was also bullying my younger brother. It was a cycle of negativity. I remember slapping him once, but apparently, it wasn't enough. The gap still exists, and I genuinely feel remorseful.

I joined the basketball club in junior high. Originally, I wanted to join the judo club to train my body and show everyone what I was made of, but when I got close to the judo club room, my legs froze and I couldn't join. However, basketball practice was also tough, and my grades started to decline. My mother asked me if I wanted to quit the club, and since I didn't like the rigorous practices either, I said yes. But I realized that if I didn't train my body during this crucial period of growth, it would be irreversible. Strike the iron while it's hot.

I quit basketball, but I studied diligently. I naturally thought that I would attend a top-tier university and enter a top-tier company in the future. However, the content of my studies didn't seem to stick in my head. My only joy at the time was watching detective shows on TV after school. And music. I have vivid memories of Japanese songs like "Metropolitan Area" by Crystal King and "Purple Town" by Junko Yagami, as well as Western songs like "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen and "Guilty" by Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb.

In my first year of junior high, President Park Chung-hee was assassinated in South Korea, leading to a coup by Chun Doo-hwan and eventually the Gwangju Uprising demanding democracy. In a country not far across the sea, I felt a deep darkness at the thought of a president being killed by a close aide. Then, in my second year, the Iran Hostage Crisis at the U.S. Embassy occurred. Additionally, John Lennon of the Beatles was shot and killed. I didn't know much about John Lennon at the time, but I thought, "I guess he was killed just because he was a famous person," or something like that.

I struggled with my grades until I became a third-year student, but I was able to pass both the private Momoyama Gakuin and the public Osaka Prefectural Mino High School. By the time I graduated from junior high as a third-year student, I was determined to start karate no matter what when I entered high school. No more being made a fool of by others! I'll train my body! I'll become strong in a fight! This earnest desire was born out of a heartfelt determination.