Chapter seven
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NAMCO, TEKKEN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!
Hwoarang didn't actually have a date with Christie. He lied just to push Asuka away. He decided to go for a drive around town to clear his head and avoid Asuka. Damn that woman could slap really hard. Hwoarang didn't want another slap from her or worse...a serious ass kicking. His cheek was still red from her slap. He felt really bad and sick to his stomach that he hurt her feelings. The look of hurt on her face really made him sad. He didn't mean to hurt her, but he had to push her away. It was for their own good. Hwoarang thought that it was a good idea for him to move out of the house. He figured that it would just be too awkward and he knew that Asuka wouldn't want to be around him. After driving for a long time and going to a bar to get a beer, Hwoarang came back to the house.
"Hi Hwoarang." said Baek who was sitting on a chair by the kitchen island.
"Hi Sensei." said Hwoarang who sat next to him. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl that was on the center of the island.
"Are you aware that Asuka is out on a date with Steve?" asked Baek.
"So what? I don't care." said Hworang who took a bite from the delicious, juicy, green apple.
"We both know you're lying. You do care. And you do have feelings for her." said Baek.
Hwoarang almost spit out his apple.
"W-what? What are you talking about Sensei? Me? Have feelings for Asuka Kazama? Where the hell did you get that crazy idea from? Hahaha!" he said and laughed nervously.
"I see the way you look at her Hwoarang. And I see the way she looks at you. Also this morning I ran out of cotton swabs. I wanted to go to your bathroom and borrow some. When I entered your room I saw you and Asuka asleep in bed together. You both looked quite cozy."
Hwoarang started to blush. He was so embarrassed.
"Um...uh...about that..." said Hwoarang.
Hwoarang knew that there was no point in lying because Baek was very smart and he had already figured out the truth.
"Fine...yes…Asuka and I...we hooked up...but it didn't mean anything okay? I was just messing around. I don't love her." said Hwoarang.
"Hwoarang, you are not my biological son...but as far as I'm concerned, you are my son. I care about you and I want you to be happy."
Hwoarang smiled. He loved Baek like a father and Baek loved him like a son. Hwoarang and Baek were not emotional people who always told each other that they loved each other. They barely said they loved each other. The last time that Baek told Hwoarang that he loved him was a long time ago when he enlisted in the army. Before Hwoarang was about to leave, Baek hugged him, told him he loved him and that he should be safe. Hwoarang told him that he loved him too. Although they were not emotional at all, Hwoarang and Baek knew that they loved each other. The few times that Baek did tell Hwoarang that he loved him or cared about him, Hwoarang was always happy to hear that.
"I heard your conversation with Asuka. I am sorry for poking my nose in your business but you two were shouting and being very loud." said Baek. "You told her that you do not love her. But you were lying weren't you?"
"Yes Sensei." said Hwoarang.
"Hwoarang my son, you deserve to find love and happiness. You cannot let your fears stop you from finding love."
"I'm not scared of anything!" said Hwoarang angrily. He stood up, crossed his arms and turned away from Baek.
"You are afraid. You're my son Hwoarang and I know you. You're afraid that you will lose Asuka and that's why you push her away. You have lost people you loved in the past. Your parents passed away when you were a little boy. When you were 18 your best friend died in a motorcycle accident. Kim who was the love of your life cheated on you. You thought that Ogre killed me. You're scared of losing people you love."
Hwoarang felt tears building up in his eyes. He closed his eyes and a tear dropped from each of his eyes. He sniffed and quickly rubbed away his tears. Baek was right. He was afraid of losing the people he loved. After his parents died when he was just ten years old, he was sent to an orphanage. The orphanage had terrible living conditions. The people who ran the orphanage barely gave him and the other kids food to eat. They used to give him and the other kids lots of chores. They used to beat the kids if they felt that the kids didn't do their chores well. Months later, Hwoarang ran away from the orphanage and lived on the streets. The streets were rough, but he preferred living on the streets than in that hellhole orphanage. Hwoarang's dad taught him tae kwon do and even though he was just a kid, he was very skilled at tae kwon do. Hwoarang survived on the streets by stealing, pickpocketing and tricking people into giving him their money.
One day, Hwoarang was in the market, playing card games with people. Traders, tourists and customers in the market noticed people lining up to play card games with Hwoarang.
"Is this your card?" asked Hwoarang to a man who stopped by to play the card game.
"What the? How the hell does this kid do all these tricks?" said the man.
"That'll be 20 Won Mister!" said Hwoarang.
The man was disgruntled and got out the money from his pocket and gave it to Hwoarang. He angrily walked away.
"Who's next? Who thinks they can challenge me?" said Hwoarang cockily.
"Hey you!" said a teenage boy, walking up to Hwoarang. The teenage boy was with two of his friends who were also teenage boys.
"What?" asked Hwoarang.
"Don't you remember me? I lost 50 Won to you because of your stupid card game!" said the teenager.
"Well it's not my fault that you suck!" said Hwoarang.
"I don't suck! You're just a cheater!" said the boy who reached out to grab the deck of cards from Hwoarang.
"Hey! Let go of my cards asshole!" said Hwoarang.
Hwoarang struggled to hold his cards, but the teenage boy was tall and much stronger than him. The teenage boy took the cards. He saw that all the cards in the deck were the same!
"You little shit! I knew you were cheating!" said the teenage boy. "Give me my 50 Won back! Now!"
"Oh crap." said Hwoarang, who ran away.
"Come back here!" said the teenage boy who ran after him with his two friends.
Hwoarang was really fast and he ran through the market. He ran into an alley but it was a dead end. Before he could run out of the alley, the teenage boys had caught up to him. They approached him, cracking their knuckles.
"You better give me my money kid. In fact, you're not only gonna give me my 50 Won back, but all the money you've got!"
"Fuck you asshole! I'm not giving you shit!" said Hwoarang.
"Alright, if you won't give me your money..." he cracked his knuckles"...then me and my friends here will beat the shit out of you and take the money."
The teenage boys got into a fighting stance.
"Ha! I ain't scared if you losers!" said Hwoarang, getting into a fighting stance. Ten year old Hwoarang was just five foot three and he was a very cute and very scrawny kid. The teenage boys laughed when they saw this skinny little kid get into a fighting stance.
"Hahaha! You think you can beat us you little shit?" asked one of the boys.
"I don't think I can...I know I can!" said Hwoarang.
"I'd like to see you try!" said one of the boys who charged towards him to punch him. Hwoarang ducked and kicked him hard in the crotch. The teenage boy fell down to the ground, crying and holding his crotch.
The two other boys began attacking Hwoarang. They were kicking and punching him but Hwoarang blocked all their attacks. Hwoarang used his kicks to attack them, kicking them in the face, torso and back. One of the boys finally was able to hit Hwoarang by punching him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Hwoarang fell to the ground. One of the boys picked him up by the collar. Hwoarang really did a lot of damage to the boys because they had bloody noses and bruises on their faces.
"You're gonna regret messing with us you piece of shit!" said the teenage boy. He was about to punch Hwoarang in the face, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a fist to his face. He let go of Hwoarang. Hwoarang watched as a young, tall man wearing a suit and a fedora started beating the shit out of those teenage boys. He was using powerful kicks to attack them. Hwoarang had never seen anyone so amazing at tae kwon do, except for his dad. The man continued to beat up those no good for nothing teenagers until he defeated them. The teenage boys ran away.
"Lets get out of here!" one of them said, limping as he ran.
The man approached Hwoarang and stretched out his hand to him.
"Are you okay kid?" asked the man. Hwoarang took the man's hand and the man helped him to get up.
"Yeah, thanks." said Hwoarang, dusting himself off. "I could have taken them by myself though!"
The man chuckled. "You are pretty confident, young man. And you are very good at tae kwon do for such a young age. Who is your Sensei?"
"My dad taught me tae kwon do. He was the best, strongest fighter ever!" Hwoarang then bowed his head, "But um...he died. Him and my mom."
"I am so sorry for your losses." said the man. "My parents are dead too."
"I'm really sorry to hear that." said Hwoarang.
"So do you have any other family?" asked Baek.
"No."
"You live on the streets all by yourself?"
"Yeah."
"Have you eaten today?"
"I ate an apple."
"Just an apple? You must be starving. Come on, I'll take you to my house and cook you food. Do you like noodles?"
"Are ya kidding me? I love noodles! Thanks Mister!"
"Alright, lets go then. By the way, what is your name?"
"Hwoarang. What's your name?"
"Baek Doo San."
Yoon Kim and Hwoarang met each other in high school when they were 15. They became friends and then they dated when they were 16. Hwoarang dropped out of high school at 16 but Kim stayed in school. All the boys were envious of Hwoarang because Kim was every boys' dream girl. She was very beautiful and she knew that she was very gorgeous and sexy. Although she was just a teenager, she was aware of how powerful she was to boys because of her sexuality. In school she had no choice but to wear a school uniform, which she hated. But outside of school she always dressed sexy. She loved wearing cropped tops, tops that showed a lot of her cleavage, leather mini skirts, tight mini dresses and leather high heeled boots.
Kim was also the most popular girl in school. Hwoarang and Kim were together for two years. Hwoarang was really in love with Kim. She was the love of his life and he definitely wanted to marry her one day. Hwoarang thought that Kim loved him too, until one day he caught her having sex with the boss of a rival gang. Hwoarang was so hurt, so heartbroken, so enraged. He beat the shit out of the guy that Kim cheated on him with. Hwoarang beat him up so badly that the guy ended up going to hospital for broken ribs. Kim called the cops on Hwoarang for assault and he was arrested. He was in jail for just a day because Baek bailed him out. Hwoarang confronted Kim and asked her why she would betray him like that. The bitch said that she was bored of him and that her new boyfriend was cooler, much more exciting and sexually satisfied her more. Hwoarang gave Kim a piece of his mind, but insulting her didn't take away the hurt he felt by her betrayal.
Months after Kim cheated on him, his best friend died in a motorcycle accident. Hwoarang was so depressed by his best friend's death that he started drinking heavily and doing hard drugs. Before his best friend died, the only substances that Hwoarang occasionally used were alcohol, weed and smoking cigarettes. But after the tragedy he started doing heroin and cocaine. When Baek found out about Hwoarang's drug use and depression, he immediately intervened. Hwoarang went to rehab and when he got better, he came home and started training again. If not for Baek's support and focusing on tae kwon do, Hwoarang would have definitely died during that dark time in his life.
"I know that you have been through so much in your life my son." said Baek. "But if you allow your fear to prevent you from happiness and love, you will lose Asuka forever. If you let go of the woman you love, you will regret it for the rest of your life."
Baek went up to Hwoarang and put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Hwoarang turned around to face his Sensei.
"Go after her my son." said Baek.
Hwoarang smiled. "Okay Sensei, I will!"
"Good!" said Baek. "Steve and Asuka went to City Restaurant."
"Thanks Sensei!"
"While you go take care of you love life, I'm going to take care of mine. I have a date."
"You have a date?"
"Well don't act so surprised." said Baek.
"Sorry Sensei but I mean you're always about training and discipline and meditation blah blah blah."
"You're right. But in life you have to have fun sometimes."
"So, who's the lucky lady you're going out with?"
"You know Zang Mi-hyang? That lady that works in the bakery shop?"
"Oh yeah I know her! She's hot! Especially for a woman her age!"
"Don't talk about my date like that!"
"Sorry Sensei but it's the truth! She's hot!"
"She is isn't she? Lucky me." said Baek, smiling. "I'll see you later! Go talk to Asuka!"
Hwoarang ran outside and got on his motorcycle.
"Sensei's right! I feel like such an asshole for the way I treated Asuka. I need to tell her how I really feel!" said Hwoarang to himself. He started the engine and drove off.
