The air echoes with thunder as the red warrior marches off to the distance. A brave a man and a brave boy he shall forever be. He was the fire that never stopped burning. He was the rage that never stopped roaring. In light of poverty's darkness, one phoenix rose above the others. I cannot say that he was a dragon, for his mind was never at peace, so he was phoenix. In a few shining moments his fire burned as he battled the thunderous demon. A rivalry that turned his burned his heart into stone.
His name rises in the Korean winds as his spirit becomes one with the land that birthed him. An orphan that returns to the arms of his mother's love and his father's care. An orphan that I made into a man. He was a flower made from gloomiest of sunlight, but he was strong. He may have been the strongest human being ever to rise from the ashes. Always striving to be the greatest of all fighters. I beat him and I punished him, but at the end of the day he would always rise once more from the ash.
I shall never forget those eyes that seared through the hearts of so many. A thuggish exterior that hid a sharp mind. A man that had no choice, but to do what was necessary to survive. How I regret that I was not a better teacher. He surpassed me in more ways than I could ever imagine. He defeated me and showed me who the true master finally was. When the blood was wiped from my brow, he bowed before me in respect.
How dare you all judge this man for his sins as a child? Can you not see the type of man he became? He shed the feather of the Blood Talon, and chose to fly his own path in this world. He chose to fly his own path into the afterlife. Never once did he flinch as the shadow consumed his body. He looked upon me with those ever defiant eyes and spat into the eyes of death even as he was wrought with pain. Who here among us can say that we too can be as bold as he?
Rage and passion filled the heart of this man as he struggled to achieve perfection. Never once did he settle for a draw, for victory was all that stood before his eyes. The bell tolls for him now, but I remembered back when all of Korea tolled for him. I remember when the all of Korea chanted his name. He gave me hope as he gave our people hope. A rebel at heart, but one that we all grew to love. He was never a cherub, but rather a demon with a golden heart.
The cocky grin and that arrogant smirk made me waver at times. I tried teaching him humility, but he never learned. It was sad, but in the end he would brush it all off with a joke. A proud and brash bird, he never really cared for politeness. He was always direct and straight to the point. He could look at a man and judge the honesty of the man's character. His ways were unknown to many, but in his own way, he was a good man. I am proud that in some ways, I made him the man that he later became
His crimes and sins of the past haunted him. He did feel some regret for those that he had harmed. He may not have shown it with that stony exterior, but deep below the muscle and sinew, lay a heart that few one earth could ever see. I was one of the lucky few to ever see his gentler side. I saw beyond the flames and fire, which to my surprise held something more human than most would assume to his memory.
I saw a man hidden in the forest fire. A man that was too afraid to step out from the fire, for fear that others would see him as weak. I saw a king imprisoned upon his own throne and that is the greatest tragedy of all. We all saw him as a brute, but who among us would try to be his friend? Who among us would give this son of the streets a helping a hand other than me?
How dare some of us judge this man? Most of shall never even attain half the greatness that he attained. Most of us do not feel the horrors of his life upon the street. With so little and so meager an existence, he rose above it all. He unchained himself from his destiny of begging, to a destiny of battle. Very few humans have the ability to reach above the limits, which life has set for us. He was one of those special human beings. He was made of the hardest iron, because he had been forged in a harsh life.
I do not know where he is now, but I hope it is somewhere peaceful. He never had a moments rest in this world and hopefully he shall find his peace in death. Maybe the burning forest can finally whither and the man inside can finally come out into the light. May the ashes from his torment give birth to seeds of kindness and joy. May his spirit finally fly free from all the rage that has put him inside a cage, which he built for himself, bar by bar.
He was not a bad person, but no one could understand him. We could not understand him and he could not understand us. He could not live a mundane life, pushing a pencil across a desk. He could not waste his life hiding behind a computer screen. He wanted to live and be free in body as well as spirit. Through tae kwon do, he achieved a sort of power that turns a man into a weapon. He was able to become more than just a fighter, for he had become a force of nature
I shall not forget his name. I shall not forget his deeds. His works of passion are painted in blood and sweat. His tears have burned through his very soul as he vomited after a hard days training at the dojo. At his most vulnerable moments, the phoenix still demanded respect from all those that watched him. No one living and no one dead can ever say that he was weak. Any other man born with his hardships would have died as an infant, but still he prevailed.
His final battle was a glorious one. The demon lords advanced upon him, but he did not falter. He laughed as beams of lightning streaked across the sky and tore his body asunder. His voice echoed through the winds as he mocked his opponents. His laugh made the demon lords quiver in their power and I know that he still laughs beyond the grave.
Hwoarang, I Baek remember you. I remember you as any true father can remember his son. Go in peace Hwoarang, for I honor your memory. I honor your story and I honor your heart. I look upon your memory, but I do not cry. Your existence brings a smile to my face, for I know you are a phoenix. Mighty Hwoarang, you shall rise from the ashes once more. When I am torn asunder as well, may rise to be with you as well. Hail to Hwoarang, a man of desire. Hail to Hwoarang, a man of fire.