A/N: Thanks for everyone's nice reviews and for the not so nice ones . . .
I don't know how many times I've had to say this (I'm guessing it's quite a
lot because I am sick of repeating myself) but this is FICTION, people!
As much as some people would like to think so, Ling Xiaoyu is NOT a real person - none of them are real people! So, why is everyone getting so riled up because she is being portrayed in a bad way?! It doesn't mean to say that she would really act this way in the Tekken game.
I've seen plenty of fictions where authors have made Hwoarang into such an idiotic and degrading character and he is no way like that in the game, but no one gets on their case about it!
Anyway, I hope some people take this into account before they review in future. *~Hwoarang_4eva~*
* * *
It was twenty past seven. Julia muttered a string of curses. As usual, Hwoarang was being his usual tardy self and not bothering to turn up on time, even when it was HIM who had suggested a time to meet. AND Julia could've still been spending time "making up" with Jin right now (which would have involved less making up and more making out!)
"Hwoarang had better have a damn good excuse," she muttered.
Then she noticed him finally on his way, strolling casually along the street. "Don't rush yourself," she called, "It isn't like you're late or anything."
Hwoarang flashed her a brilliant smile. "I always make girls wait."
"Not this girl!" fumed Julia. She shook her head, knowing he was amused by her irritation. "Just get inside."
Once they were seated at a booth, Julia could barely keep the smile off her face - Jin was the best thing to ever happen to her and she was glad she hadn't lost him for good.
Hwoarang noticed her happy look. "What are you so doughy-eyed about?"
Julia hesitated, she'd have to tell Hwoarang sometime and better sooner than later. "Jin and I are back together."
"Girl, are you thinking straight?" Hwoarang looked incredulous, he shouted to the waiter to bring a cup of coffee over immediately for Julia, "wake up and smell the unmistakable scent of espresso. The man had you in a strong lock against the WALL - what would he have done if I hadn't intervened when I did??"
"He was overcome by rage. He had no idea what was going on," Julia said, not wanting to let on Jin had the devil inside him.
"It's your call, Julia," Hwoarang shrugged, "But I wouldn't be too crazy about the idea of running back to someone who, the very same day may I add, tried to kill me."
"We came here to talk about YOU," Julia said, wanting to get off the subject.
Hwoarang sighed. He couldn't believe he was actually about to tell her everything.
"OK, but first I have to explain how Ling found this out," he paused, licked his lips tentatively and spoke, ""I was at an all time low, just having found out this thing and losing Master Baek in a matter of days. I fought Jin when he came to my homeland; it ended in a draw. Baek told me not to go and fight him again, I didn't understand why - but then he told me. I confided in Ling, once here in Japan - she seemed like she wanted to help. Besides, I was majorly drunk, I didn't realise the words were coming out of my mouth as I said them."
He stopped to glance at how Julia was reacting. She smiled at him encouragingly.
"As soon as I told Ling not to breathe a word to anyone, the first thing she said was 'what's in it for me?' Sneaky bitch," Hwoarng muttered, shaking his head and balling his hands into fists.
"And that's how you were subject to all her blackmailing," finished Julia, "OK, I got that part. Now, what was the actual blackmail?"
Now, this was the hard part. No sooner had the first words passed Hwoarang's lips, his whole story seemed to tumble out after so long of be finally wanting to be heard by someone.
Shock clung to every feature of Julia's face. "We have to find Jin NOW," she barely whispered.
"No, I don't want him to know," Hwoarang grabbed her arm to stop her from bolting out of the booth.
"You can't keep something like this from him!" Julia exclaimed so loudly that a few people sat nearby turned their heads.
"Julia," Hwoarang sounded angry, "I told you this in confidence. I thought I could trust you. Obviously I was wrong."
Julia stopped; she knew Hwoarang was hurt. Sighing, she sat back down next to him. "If I don't tell Jin and you don't tell Jin, who do you think will? Isn't it better coming from you rather than Ling?"
Hwoarang lowered his head, taking a deep breath as he thought over all the options silently in his mind.
"You're right," he said finally. Julia could see how hard this was for him; she hugged the Korean for support. "You're doing the best thing."
Just then, a young waitress with long silken hair set down the bill. Julia shook her head as Hwoarang started to flirt with the blushing waitress, who seemed enthralled with the red-haired boy. Whatever situation Hwoarang found himself in, he always had time to charm girls. Anyway, no girl had ever been known NOT to resist his sexy eyes and boyish good looks.
Julia took note of the bill, another curious bit of folded paper, which looked like it shouldn't have been there, sat on top of the green tab.
She unfolded it and her eyes grew wide. "Is this some kind of joke?" she demanded. The young waitress and Hwoarang both looked in her direction. Thinking that Julia was probably upset that her boyfriend was flirting with her, the waitress immediately rushed away.
"What did you have to do that for?" Hwoarang sighed, as he watched the fleeing girl hurry back to the bar.
"Read this," Julia shoved the note across the table. Hwoarang took it. It read: I have your precious boyfriend here with me. Come back to school. Ling.
* * *
Hwoarang could barely keep his thoughts steady; they were all over the place - plaguing him endlessly. As he and Julia hurried back in the direction of the school against his better judgement, Hwoarang knew he had no choice but to face up to all this head-on.
Another flashback cut through his head.
(Flashback)
"Am I worthy of finally learning Tae Kwon Do, Master Baek?" a young girl of fifteen, asked her mentor.
"Patience, child," he laughed, "There is no need to prove yourself for I already know you are perfectly capable. Wait for a little while longer, my classes are already taken up with as many students as I can teach."
She looked down, swallowing her disappointment, and bowed with respect.
Master Baek smiled, noting the girl's unhappiness. The girl he'd taken in off the streets as a small child; the girl he loved as a daughter. She had not known her name when he had found her wandering alone so he had named her 'Kora-Lee'.
"Tomorrow is your sixteenth birthday," he smiled, "Your gift shall be the art of Tae Kwon Do."
Kora-Lee looked up, clear joy highlighting her face. Her long black hair tinged with natural hints of red, shone under the dojang lighting as she jumped up to hug her teacher.
Master Baek smiled as he wiped a few stray tears from Kora-Lee's eyes. "For now, I want you to learn the Tenets of Tae Kwon Do. How many are there?" he quizzed, knowing full well that Kora-Lee already knew the answer, after sitting quietly and observing many training sessions.
"Tasut (five)," she answered immediately, her smile bright, "I know them off by heart."
"Very well, you may recite them," Master Baek felt pride inside him, although he never showed it, "The five Tenets of Tae Kwon Do are . . ."
"Ye Ui (courtesy), Yom Chi (integrity), In Nae (perseverance), Guk Gi (self- control) and Baekjul Boolgool (indomitable spirit)," Kora-Lee reeled off perfectly, never once stopping to remember the next tenet.
"Very good," for once, Master Baek could not contain his delight; "You have indeed the spirit for this. It will be a great honour to have you as my student." To her surprise, he bowed to her.
Tears sprung again to Kora-Lee's eyes. "Master, the greatest honour will be having you for a mentor."
He smiled. "Before you start tomorrow, I will let you take the Tae Kwon Do Sonso (oath) now."
Kora-Lee felt she could burst with happiness at any moment. She stood ready and repeated every sentence with determination and a belief within herself that she could do it and would succeed to be the best martial artist ever to come out of Korea.
"I shall observe the tenets of Tae Kwon Do. I shall respect the instructor and seniors. I shall never misuse Tae Kwon Do. I shall be a champion of freedom and justice. I shall build a more peaceful world."
As much as some people would like to think so, Ling Xiaoyu is NOT a real person - none of them are real people! So, why is everyone getting so riled up because she is being portrayed in a bad way?! It doesn't mean to say that she would really act this way in the Tekken game.
I've seen plenty of fictions where authors have made Hwoarang into such an idiotic and degrading character and he is no way like that in the game, but no one gets on their case about it!
Anyway, I hope some people take this into account before they review in future. *~Hwoarang_4eva~*
* * *
It was twenty past seven. Julia muttered a string of curses. As usual, Hwoarang was being his usual tardy self and not bothering to turn up on time, even when it was HIM who had suggested a time to meet. AND Julia could've still been spending time "making up" with Jin right now (which would have involved less making up and more making out!)
"Hwoarang had better have a damn good excuse," she muttered.
Then she noticed him finally on his way, strolling casually along the street. "Don't rush yourself," she called, "It isn't like you're late or anything."
Hwoarang flashed her a brilliant smile. "I always make girls wait."
"Not this girl!" fumed Julia. She shook her head, knowing he was amused by her irritation. "Just get inside."
Once they were seated at a booth, Julia could barely keep the smile off her face - Jin was the best thing to ever happen to her and she was glad she hadn't lost him for good.
Hwoarang noticed her happy look. "What are you so doughy-eyed about?"
Julia hesitated, she'd have to tell Hwoarang sometime and better sooner than later. "Jin and I are back together."
"Girl, are you thinking straight?" Hwoarang looked incredulous, he shouted to the waiter to bring a cup of coffee over immediately for Julia, "wake up and smell the unmistakable scent of espresso. The man had you in a strong lock against the WALL - what would he have done if I hadn't intervened when I did??"
"He was overcome by rage. He had no idea what was going on," Julia said, not wanting to let on Jin had the devil inside him.
"It's your call, Julia," Hwoarang shrugged, "But I wouldn't be too crazy about the idea of running back to someone who, the very same day may I add, tried to kill me."
"We came here to talk about YOU," Julia said, wanting to get off the subject.
Hwoarang sighed. He couldn't believe he was actually about to tell her everything.
"OK, but first I have to explain how Ling found this out," he paused, licked his lips tentatively and spoke, ""I was at an all time low, just having found out this thing and losing Master Baek in a matter of days. I fought Jin when he came to my homeland; it ended in a draw. Baek told me not to go and fight him again, I didn't understand why - but then he told me. I confided in Ling, once here in Japan - she seemed like she wanted to help. Besides, I was majorly drunk, I didn't realise the words were coming out of my mouth as I said them."
He stopped to glance at how Julia was reacting. She smiled at him encouragingly.
"As soon as I told Ling not to breathe a word to anyone, the first thing she said was 'what's in it for me?' Sneaky bitch," Hwoarng muttered, shaking his head and balling his hands into fists.
"And that's how you were subject to all her blackmailing," finished Julia, "OK, I got that part. Now, what was the actual blackmail?"
Now, this was the hard part. No sooner had the first words passed Hwoarang's lips, his whole story seemed to tumble out after so long of be finally wanting to be heard by someone.
Shock clung to every feature of Julia's face. "We have to find Jin NOW," she barely whispered.
"No, I don't want him to know," Hwoarang grabbed her arm to stop her from bolting out of the booth.
"You can't keep something like this from him!" Julia exclaimed so loudly that a few people sat nearby turned their heads.
"Julia," Hwoarang sounded angry, "I told you this in confidence. I thought I could trust you. Obviously I was wrong."
Julia stopped; she knew Hwoarang was hurt. Sighing, she sat back down next to him. "If I don't tell Jin and you don't tell Jin, who do you think will? Isn't it better coming from you rather than Ling?"
Hwoarang lowered his head, taking a deep breath as he thought over all the options silently in his mind.
"You're right," he said finally. Julia could see how hard this was for him; she hugged the Korean for support. "You're doing the best thing."
Just then, a young waitress with long silken hair set down the bill. Julia shook her head as Hwoarang started to flirt with the blushing waitress, who seemed enthralled with the red-haired boy. Whatever situation Hwoarang found himself in, he always had time to charm girls. Anyway, no girl had ever been known NOT to resist his sexy eyes and boyish good looks.
Julia took note of the bill, another curious bit of folded paper, which looked like it shouldn't have been there, sat on top of the green tab.
She unfolded it and her eyes grew wide. "Is this some kind of joke?" she demanded. The young waitress and Hwoarang both looked in her direction. Thinking that Julia was probably upset that her boyfriend was flirting with her, the waitress immediately rushed away.
"What did you have to do that for?" Hwoarang sighed, as he watched the fleeing girl hurry back to the bar.
"Read this," Julia shoved the note across the table. Hwoarang took it. It read: I have your precious boyfriend here with me. Come back to school. Ling.
* * *
Hwoarang could barely keep his thoughts steady; they were all over the place - plaguing him endlessly. As he and Julia hurried back in the direction of the school against his better judgement, Hwoarang knew he had no choice but to face up to all this head-on.
Another flashback cut through his head.
(Flashback)
"Am I worthy of finally learning Tae Kwon Do, Master Baek?" a young girl of fifteen, asked her mentor.
"Patience, child," he laughed, "There is no need to prove yourself for I already know you are perfectly capable. Wait for a little while longer, my classes are already taken up with as many students as I can teach."
She looked down, swallowing her disappointment, and bowed with respect.
Master Baek smiled, noting the girl's unhappiness. The girl he'd taken in off the streets as a small child; the girl he loved as a daughter. She had not known her name when he had found her wandering alone so he had named her 'Kora-Lee'.
"Tomorrow is your sixteenth birthday," he smiled, "Your gift shall be the art of Tae Kwon Do."
Kora-Lee looked up, clear joy highlighting her face. Her long black hair tinged with natural hints of red, shone under the dojang lighting as she jumped up to hug her teacher.
Master Baek smiled as he wiped a few stray tears from Kora-Lee's eyes. "For now, I want you to learn the Tenets of Tae Kwon Do. How many are there?" he quizzed, knowing full well that Kora-Lee already knew the answer, after sitting quietly and observing many training sessions.
"Tasut (five)," she answered immediately, her smile bright, "I know them off by heart."
"Very well, you may recite them," Master Baek felt pride inside him, although he never showed it, "The five Tenets of Tae Kwon Do are . . ."
"Ye Ui (courtesy), Yom Chi (integrity), In Nae (perseverance), Guk Gi (self- control) and Baekjul Boolgool (indomitable spirit)," Kora-Lee reeled off perfectly, never once stopping to remember the next tenet.
"Very good," for once, Master Baek could not contain his delight; "You have indeed the spirit for this. It will be a great honour to have you as my student." To her surprise, he bowed to her.
Tears sprung again to Kora-Lee's eyes. "Master, the greatest honour will be having you for a mentor."
He smiled. "Before you start tomorrow, I will let you take the Tae Kwon Do Sonso (oath) now."
Kora-Lee felt she could burst with happiness at any moment. She stood ready and repeated every sentence with determination and a belief within herself that she could do it and would succeed to be the best martial artist ever to come out of Korea.
"I shall observe the tenets of Tae Kwon Do. I shall respect the instructor and seniors. I shall never misuse Tae Kwon Do. I shall be a champion of freedom and justice. I shall build a more peaceful world."