A/N: Xiaoyu and Julia are off to find Hwoarang! Yay... =)
Thanx for all the wonderfully amazing reviews!! I better warn you now
though that I have decided not to put pairings in this story and have just
decided to let them all be friends because that's something you don't see
often in other fics.
*~*~*~*
*LING XIAOYU'S LOG* *290314*
CURRENT LOCATION: SEOUL, KOREA - I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE, WE ARE COMPLETELY LOST!
TEMPERATURE: BELOW FREEZING!! IT IS SO COLD HERE, BRRRR!
NEXT ITEM ON AGENDA: BEATING HWOARANG TO A PULP, HE HAS TO GO AND LIVE IN SUCH A CONFUSING PLACE! IT'S BECAUSE OF HIM THAT WE ARE SO LOST!!
GRRRR - HWOARANG SAID THIS IS THE PART OF SEOUL WHERE HE LIVES BUT YET NEITHER HE NOR HIS APARTMENT ARE ANYWHERE TO BE SEEN! GREAT! NOW WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?!
(IMPORTANT NOTE: OH YEAH, NEARLY FORGOT - WHILST AT SEOUL AIRPORT, WE BOUGHT THE TICKETS TO OUR NEXT DESTINATION, TO SAVE US TIME WHEN WE LEAVE. ALSO GOT ONE FOR HWOARANG TOO IN CASE HE WANTS TO COME ALONG. BAD NEWS IS THAT THE NEXT FLIGHT IS 1AM TOMORROW MORNING! YEURGH!! I JUST HOPE WE FIND HWOARANG IN TIME.)
But, finding Hwoarang was not going to be as easy as Julia and Xiaoyu had first anticipated. They were currently in one of the many dark back streets of Seoul.
"Xiao," Julia consulted her pocket map of Korea for the eleventh time, "Do you suppose Hwoarang gave you the right address? I mean, wasn't he on the run from the Korean Military when he left the last tournament?"
"That's it! Oh, Julia - you're a genius!" yelled Xiaoyu happily, as a bright light bulb switched on in her head with a 'ting'.
Julia looked confused. "Okay . . ."
"He can't possibly tell anyone where he is because if the information is intercepted by the Korean Army then Hwoarang's done for!" Xiaoyu explained as patiently as she could, suppressing the urge to jump up and down wildly, "Now, if I were on the run from the Army - where would I be?"
Suddenly, there was a great clatter and series of shouts behind them.
A gang of Korean youths were crowded around a struggling girl, obviously mugging her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" yelled Julia, jumping in and attempting to save the poor girl. Xiaoyu followed Julia's lead and jumped straight in after her.
The Korean boys laughed. "You want to take us on, girls?" one grinned, "Be our guest."
Xiaoyu and Julia smiled at each other. These arrogant thugs lacked one vital piece of information - the two girls they were about to fight were highly trained Martial arts experts and Iron Fist Tournament Entrants.
"Come on then, we'll give you a sporting chance," smirked Xiaoyu, "Though frankly, you don't seem up to our fighting standard. We could beat you with our eyes closed! In fact, with our eyes closed AND our hands tied behind our backs!"
Julia sighed as Xiaoyu began to get carried away.
"Put your money where your mouth is, little girl," another said, narrowing his eyes.
Xiaoyu burned at his patronising comment. No one got away with calling her a little girl! And with that, she sprung into a powerful kick and one by one, unleashed her wrath upon the unfortunate thieves.
Julia, meanwhile, could see that Xiaoyu was handling the situation fine on her own. She turned to the trembling girl no older than sixteen.
"Are you alright?" she extended her hand to help the girl up.
However, the girl did not accept Julia's hand. She got to her own feet. "You shouldn't have done that," she said quietly, fear emblazoned in her eyes.
Julia stared at her in confusion. Behind her, she could hear the boys running off with their tails between their legs and Xiaoyu shouting after them, "Let that be a lesson to ya!!"
The girl trembled violently. "Why couldn't you have left it alone? They'll be back for me later and more angry than ever after you humiliated them like that," tears sprang to her eyes.
"You can't let them get away with doing that to you!" exclaimed Xiaoyu.
"Please just leave me alone," the girl turned to run in the opposite direction when Julia stopped her.
"Maybe you can help us?" she asked, "We're looking for our friend Hwoarang - we were told he lives around here. Do you know him?"
The girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you want with him?"
Xiaoyu pushed in front of Julia. "So you do know him?!" she asked desperately, "It's really important. If you have any idea at all where he is, PLEASE tell us."
The girl hesitated, obviously thinking about whether to trust the two girls in front of her.
Finally, she sighed. "I do know him except I don't know where he is. He looks after my little sister and me when he is here and lets us live in his apartment while he is away. I think he said the army is after him and he keeps going from place to place. Can't stay in one area unless they catch him. Although," she said, eyes twinkling, "he said he'd be back today."
Xiaoyu and Julia exchanged glances. "That's great," said Julia, "Could you take us to his apartment?"
The girl nodded and they were soon on their way up twisty flights of stairs and long alleyways.
As they walked, Xiaoyu and Julia found out the girl's name was Cho-Jung. "My brother, Hwan, asked Hwoarang to look after my sister and me when he went away on the trail of my parents' killers. But Hwan never returned," Cho-Jung revealed, melancholy written on her pretty face, "Hwoarang must feel burdened with us."
"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way at all," said Xiaoyu forcefully, "He's a great person." "I know," said Cho-Jung dreamily, "He leaves us money for food but it sometimes runs out depending how long he is away. I hate leaving my sister alone but I have no choice to go out and get food, not to mention going to my job."
"I'm sorry you have it so rough," Julia said sincerely. Xiaoyu nodded in agreement.
Once they had arrived at the apartment, a tiny girl with shiny black pigtails in her hair greeted them almost immediately. "What took so long?" she demanded in a tiny voice.
"Sorry, Min-Young," Cho-Jung cast a glance at Xiaoyu and Julia, "I was delayed, that's all."
Min-Young caught sight of Julia and Xiaoyu and shrank back fearfully.
"Don't worry; they're Hwoarang's friends," Cho-Jung picked up Min-Young.
" 'Rang's friends?" asked Min-Young cutely.
Cho-Jung smiled. "She can't say 'Hwoarang' properly, she's only five," she informed the pair of travellers. Xiaoyu had already taken a liking to the tiny girl.
"She's so adorable!" then she smiled at Min-Young, "You have great style - you have pig tails just like me!"
Min-Young giggled shyly and motioned for Cho-Jung to put her down. "Let me show you my doll. She has pig tails too," she led Xiaoyu away into a back room.
Julia followed Cho-Jung to the tiny space of a dining area. She could see that the girl had really gone all out in preparing a delicious meal for Hwoarang's return. "I'll set two extra places," Cho-Jung smiled.
However, the hours passed painfully slowly. There was still no sign of Hwoarang anywhere.
"Something must have held him up," suggested Xiaoyu.
"Or the fact that he didn't want to come back," said Cho-Jung miserably. Min-Young had been put to bed an hour before, protesting wildly about staying up to see Hwoarang.
"That can't be it," said Julia, watching the girl sadly begin to clean away the meal she had prepared.
"You go to bed, Cho-Jung. You look exhausted," said Xiaoyu, "We'll clean this up."
Cho-Jung smiled gratefully, tears in her eyes; she hurried to the room she shared with her sister.
"Come on. We need to investigate where Hwoarang has got to," Xiaoyu stood up, "he'd never leave two kids alone like this - something really bad must've happened."
* * *
*~*~*~*
*LING XIAOYU'S LOG* *290314*
CURRENT LOCATION: SEOUL, KOREA - I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE, WE ARE COMPLETELY LOST!
TEMPERATURE: BELOW FREEZING!! IT IS SO COLD HERE, BRRRR!
NEXT ITEM ON AGENDA: BEATING HWOARANG TO A PULP, HE HAS TO GO AND LIVE IN SUCH A CONFUSING PLACE! IT'S BECAUSE OF HIM THAT WE ARE SO LOST!!
GRRRR - HWOARANG SAID THIS IS THE PART OF SEOUL WHERE HE LIVES BUT YET NEITHER HE NOR HIS APARTMENT ARE ANYWHERE TO BE SEEN! GREAT! NOW WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?!
(IMPORTANT NOTE: OH YEAH, NEARLY FORGOT - WHILST AT SEOUL AIRPORT, WE BOUGHT THE TICKETS TO OUR NEXT DESTINATION, TO SAVE US TIME WHEN WE LEAVE. ALSO GOT ONE FOR HWOARANG TOO IN CASE HE WANTS TO COME ALONG. BAD NEWS IS THAT THE NEXT FLIGHT IS 1AM TOMORROW MORNING! YEURGH!! I JUST HOPE WE FIND HWOARANG IN TIME.)
But, finding Hwoarang was not going to be as easy as Julia and Xiaoyu had first anticipated. They were currently in one of the many dark back streets of Seoul.
"Xiao," Julia consulted her pocket map of Korea for the eleventh time, "Do you suppose Hwoarang gave you the right address? I mean, wasn't he on the run from the Korean Military when he left the last tournament?"
"That's it! Oh, Julia - you're a genius!" yelled Xiaoyu happily, as a bright light bulb switched on in her head with a 'ting'.
Julia looked confused. "Okay . . ."
"He can't possibly tell anyone where he is because if the information is intercepted by the Korean Army then Hwoarang's done for!" Xiaoyu explained as patiently as she could, suppressing the urge to jump up and down wildly, "Now, if I were on the run from the Army - where would I be?"
Suddenly, there was a great clatter and series of shouts behind them.
A gang of Korean youths were crowded around a struggling girl, obviously mugging her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" yelled Julia, jumping in and attempting to save the poor girl. Xiaoyu followed Julia's lead and jumped straight in after her.
The Korean boys laughed. "You want to take us on, girls?" one grinned, "Be our guest."
Xiaoyu and Julia smiled at each other. These arrogant thugs lacked one vital piece of information - the two girls they were about to fight were highly trained Martial arts experts and Iron Fist Tournament Entrants.
"Come on then, we'll give you a sporting chance," smirked Xiaoyu, "Though frankly, you don't seem up to our fighting standard. We could beat you with our eyes closed! In fact, with our eyes closed AND our hands tied behind our backs!"
Julia sighed as Xiaoyu began to get carried away.
"Put your money where your mouth is, little girl," another said, narrowing his eyes.
Xiaoyu burned at his patronising comment. No one got away with calling her a little girl! And with that, she sprung into a powerful kick and one by one, unleashed her wrath upon the unfortunate thieves.
Julia, meanwhile, could see that Xiaoyu was handling the situation fine on her own. She turned to the trembling girl no older than sixteen.
"Are you alright?" she extended her hand to help the girl up.
However, the girl did not accept Julia's hand. She got to her own feet. "You shouldn't have done that," she said quietly, fear emblazoned in her eyes.
Julia stared at her in confusion. Behind her, she could hear the boys running off with their tails between their legs and Xiaoyu shouting after them, "Let that be a lesson to ya!!"
The girl trembled violently. "Why couldn't you have left it alone? They'll be back for me later and more angry than ever after you humiliated them like that," tears sprang to her eyes.
"You can't let them get away with doing that to you!" exclaimed Xiaoyu.
"Please just leave me alone," the girl turned to run in the opposite direction when Julia stopped her.
"Maybe you can help us?" she asked, "We're looking for our friend Hwoarang - we were told he lives around here. Do you know him?"
The girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you want with him?"
Xiaoyu pushed in front of Julia. "So you do know him?!" she asked desperately, "It's really important. If you have any idea at all where he is, PLEASE tell us."
The girl hesitated, obviously thinking about whether to trust the two girls in front of her.
Finally, she sighed. "I do know him except I don't know where he is. He looks after my little sister and me when he is here and lets us live in his apartment while he is away. I think he said the army is after him and he keeps going from place to place. Can't stay in one area unless they catch him. Although," she said, eyes twinkling, "he said he'd be back today."
Xiaoyu and Julia exchanged glances. "That's great," said Julia, "Could you take us to his apartment?"
The girl nodded and they were soon on their way up twisty flights of stairs and long alleyways.
As they walked, Xiaoyu and Julia found out the girl's name was Cho-Jung. "My brother, Hwan, asked Hwoarang to look after my sister and me when he went away on the trail of my parents' killers. But Hwan never returned," Cho-Jung revealed, melancholy written on her pretty face, "Hwoarang must feel burdened with us."
"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way at all," said Xiaoyu forcefully, "He's a great person." "I know," said Cho-Jung dreamily, "He leaves us money for food but it sometimes runs out depending how long he is away. I hate leaving my sister alone but I have no choice to go out and get food, not to mention going to my job."
"I'm sorry you have it so rough," Julia said sincerely. Xiaoyu nodded in agreement.
Once they had arrived at the apartment, a tiny girl with shiny black pigtails in her hair greeted them almost immediately. "What took so long?" she demanded in a tiny voice.
"Sorry, Min-Young," Cho-Jung cast a glance at Xiaoyu and Julia, "I was delayed, that's all."
Min-Young caught sight of Julia and Xiaoyu and shrank back fearfully.
"Don't worry; they're Hwoarang's friends," Cho-Jung picked up Min-Young.
" 'Rang's friends?" asked Min-Young cutely.
Cho-Jung smiled. "She can't say 'Hwoarang' properly, she's only five," she informed the pair of travellers. Xiaoyu had already taken a liking to the tiny girl.
"She's so adorable!" then she smiled at Min-Young, "You have great style - you have pig tails just like me!"
Min-Young giggled shyly and motioned for Cho-Jung to put her down. "Let me show you my doll. She has pig tails too," she led Xiaoyu away into a back room.
Julia followed Cho-Jung to the tiny space of a dining area. She could see that the girl had really gone all out in preparing a delicious meal for Hwoarang's return. "I'll set two extra places," Cho-Jung smiled.
However, the hours passed painfully slowly. There was still no sign of Hwoarang anywhere.
"Something must have held him up," suggested Xiaoyu.
"Or the fact that he didn't want to come back," said Cho-Jung miserably. Min-Young had been put to bed an hour before, protesting wildly about staying up to see Hwoarang.
"That can't be it," said Julia, watching the girl sadly begin to clean away the meal she had prepared.
"You go to bed, Cho-Jung. You look exhausted," said Xiaoyu, "We'll clean this up."
Cho-Jung smiled gratefully, tears in her eyes; she hurried to the room she shared with her sister.
"Come on. We need to investigate where Hwoarang has got to," Xiaoyu stood up, "he'd never leave two kids alone like this - something really bad must've happened."
* * *