CROWNWELL

Minjae is just another otaku — a quiet seventeen-year-old who finds comfort in anime, manga, and the safety of his small circle of friends. His days are filled with school, gaming marathons, and avoiding reality. But when his mother’s hidden debts catch up to them, Minjae’s peaceful world shatters overnight.

With loan sharks closing in and threats piling up, Minjae is forced into a brutal world of street fights, school gang wars, and underground politics — a world he’s painfully unprepared for.

Surrounded by danger, Minjae is never truly alone. His best friend Hyunwoo, a loyal gym rat with dreams of becoming a street wrestling legend, and Jisoo Han, a lazy but sharp-witted fighter known for her deadly kicks, stand by his side. Later, they’re joined by Tuah, a charming and unpredictable Malaysian senior whose elegant Silat flow hides his lethal potential.

But the streets aren’t forgiving. The four regional school representatives — Seok Jinwoo, Ryu Jaeho, Kang Dohyeon, and the legendary Choi Gyuhwan — dominate the city’s fight scene, and Minjae’s name is barely a whisper among giants.

As Minjae fights his way up from the bottom, he discovers his family’s buried legacy: Subaekgyeon, a forgotten martial art that could change everything.

Driven by guilt, friendship, and a desire to break free from his crushing fate, Minjae must rise — not as an anime hero, but as a street legend forged in real pain.

But in a city where debts, betrayal, and power rule, can Minjae survive long enough to write his own story?

Restart: Press Start to Fight

Minjae's name was spreading fast now — not as some easy target, but as the kid who fought back.The kid who didn't break.

He took on another debt runner two days after the first. Then another. And another. Sometimes he barely won. Sometimes he didn't win at all.

Over and over and over again.

Mornings started with footwork drills and push-ups that crushed his arms. Afternoons were survival at school — dodging ambushes from the debt crews he pissed off. Nights were sparring sessions with Hyunwoo that usually ended with him on the ground, staring at the sky, wondering why he was so slow.

And somehow, through all that, he still had to drag his broken body to class and keep up with his studies.

His grades slipped.His teachers started to notice.

The ache in his muscles and the blood on his knuckles mattered more than the numbers on his report card now.

"You're burning out."Jisoo's voice cut into him one day as they sat on the school rooftop, Minjae barely able to keep his head up.

"You're not sleeping. You're not eating right. You think you can keep this up just on revenge?"

His body was covered in bruises. His ribs still throbbed from the last fight, and his knuckles were raw. But his eyes — they were sharper now. Focused.

"I don't care," he said, biting into a stale sandwich like it was enough. "They're still out there."

"You're going to die at this pace," Jisoo muttered, popping her gum.

Minjae wiped his mouth, his breathing shallow. "Then I'll die fighting."

Hyunwoo appeared, tossing Minjae a cold drink. "Idiot. You don't get to die until I say so."

Jisoo rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue.

He wasn't that shaky otaku kid anymore. He was rough around the edges, but he was learning.Getting faster. Getting sharper. Getting meaner.

But he was also breaking himself in the process.

That evening, Minjae took on another group behind a convenience store.

There were four of them this time. Older. Stronger. Smarter.

Minjae went in swinging — but halfway through the fight, his legs buckled.

His body was too exhausted. His breathing was too shallow. His punches slowed.

One of the runners caught him clean in the gut, folding him to the ground. Another kicked him across the pavement.

"Thought you were tougher, debt boy."

Minjae tried to push himself up — but his arms gave out.

Until Hyunwoo's fist slammed into one of the guy's jaws, dropping him instantly.

"You think I'd let you fight alone, idiot?"Hyunwoo's voice thundered through the alley.

Jisoo was already there, moving like a shadow. A sharp kick to the knee, a punch to the throat — cold and efficient.

They cleaned up the fight in seconds.

Hyunwoo hauled Minjae to his feet. "What the hell were you thinking? Fighting four when you can barely stand?"

Minjae coughed, tasting blood. "I… I can't stop. They're still hurting people."

"You don't get it, do you?" Hyunwoo's jaw tightened. "You can't fight if you're dead."

Jisoo shoved a bottle of water into his hand. "Slow down. Get stronger first. Stop being stupid."

Minjae's breathing was ragged, but his grip on the bottle tightened.

"Okay," he finally whispered. "I'll slow down. I'll get stronger."

Hyunwoo sighed, patting his shoulder. "We're in this together, remember? You don't carry this alone."

As they walked home together, bruised and battered, Minjae realized something.

But his friends were the reason he could keep standing.

Blood and Balance