Chapter 3

I really didn’t know why I began to gain interest in his story about Aaron. Maybe I was just curious of what made Aaron so cold. He was my instructor. I had the right to know. I didn’t want to be trained by some dead cold person.

“You really want to know, don’t you?” Calvin asked with a charming smile on his face.

I nodded in reply. “Tell me…” I said quietly. Why? Why did I really want to know? I didn’t care. I just wanted to know.

“We just met. Why should I tell you?”

“Well… Aaron is my instructor. It to be trained by some cold person like him. I mean, he never smiles and he always has that scary look on his face.” I explained. It was true. Aaron was scary.

“True, but--“

I cut him off, “Please?” I begged.

Calvin looked away and didn’t respond. He fell silence and wouldn’t face me. I didn’t know what to say. All I know was that I wanted to know.

“It’s a long story. It started a long time ago…” He started as he let out a soft sigh. I could see a serious expression was written on his face.

I made sure I listened to every word he said.

“It started when Aaron’s parents died in an accident.” He continued.

Aaron’s parents died?

“He was 16 at that time. He had a younger sister. Her name’s Han. She was four years younger than him.”

So, he had a younger sister. I listened to Calvin carefully. I didn’t want to cut him off, at least for now.

“Han is weak. She’s not physically strong. She’s the type of girl that never defends herself. Han never found trouble to anyone. She would rather always take the blame herself. Aaron really loved her. He always wanted to protect his sister and he always did.”

Why did I feel this Han was so much like me?

“Aaron didn’t have any relatives to take care of him and Han. So when his parents died, Master wanted to take him and his sister in. But Aaron refused. He wanted to take care of himself and his sister. He felt that he was old enough.

Aaron stopped going to school. He got himself a job to pay for his sister’s school tuition and their life expenses.

He would come to this academy every day after work and practiced boxing. This academy was like his second house. He had loved boxing since he was a kid. His dream was to be the best boxer.”
Calvin let out a huge breath as he fell silent. I couldn’t read the expression on his face this time.

I never knew Aaron had such a hard life. He had to take care of himself as well as his sister at a young age. He must have really loved his sister.

“His dream really came true. He became the best boxer in this city at the age of twenty. He had never missed nor lost in any match. No one could beat him. He was young, strong, and full of passion.

Everything went well. Aaron spoiled Han as she was the only family he had left, his only sister.

As they grew older, Han told Aaron that she had a boyfriend. Aaron didn’t agree with it at first. He didn’t like the idea of his sister having a boyfriend. But what could he do? He wanted Han to be happy.

It was during summer, and that time, Aaron found out that Han’s boyfriend was a total jerk. Han’s boyfriend had many girls behind Han’s back. It turned out that Han actually knew about it. But Han still loved her boyfriend dearly.

Aaron, in the other hand, hated the idea that Han still loved her boyfriend. Aaron wanted to beat the guy to death. But he knew he wouldn’t do that. He prohibited Han from seeing her boyfriend. But Han.. kept seeing him.

Aaron couldn’t take that anymore. One night, Han was about to go out to meet that guy. Aaron caught her action. He tried to stop Han from meeting her boyfriend. Han didn’t want to listen. They broke into a fight, a big one. Aaron decided to lock Han in her room. He just wanted to protect Han.

Aaron left for his night work right after he locked Han in the room. He didn’t know that night would be the last time he saw Han.” Calvin stopped. His voice was cracking. Somehow, I could feel the sorrow that came out from his voice. And I was still eager to find out what happened.

Calvin let out a huge breath before he continued, “Han died. She was killed. Someone broke into their house, burglarized it, and leaving Han killed. Aaron wasn’t there as he was at work at that time. He couldn’t protect his sister. He blamed himself for his sister’s death. His life wasn’t the same anymore. He was lonely, but he never cried. He didn’t cry when he found Han died. He kept it to himself. I guess that what makes him so cold. He’s lonely.

Aaron forced himself to live a normal live. But I know him. He’s hurting inside. I know he’s hurting every day. It’s been four years. And I know he’s still blaming himself for Han’s death. He can’t forgive himself.

As his friend, I really want to see him back to the old him, the Aaron who was full of passion, the happy Aaron. But what can I do? Chun, Jiro, and I had tried many things to keep him happy and alive. But none of it worked.”
Calvin looked up at me. He looked sad, but managed to force a warm smile. There was silence between us.

“Now you know. You shouldn’t hate Aaron. He’s just lonely.” Calvin broke the silence.

“I--“ I didn’t know what to say. I was extremely shocked upon knowing Aaron’s past. It was so sad just to think about it. “It’s sad.” I managed to say something.

“I know. Han was like a sister to me. I missed her so much. If she was still alive now, she would be as big as you are now.” Calvin said calmly with a warm smile on his face.

Han and I were the same age. Except for the fact that she was dead now and I was still alive. Why did she have to die at a young age? Poor girl.

“Aaron found his aunt recently. He lives with his aunt now.” Calvin added. I flashed a smile at him.

I didn’t know Aaron was so pitiful. He lost his parents and his only sister. He must be very lonely. No parents. No sibling. I knew how lonely it was to live without any sibling as I didn’t have any. Good thing I still had my mom. I didn’t know what I would do without my mom.

I began to gain sympathy towards Aaron. How could I not? He was my instructor. It was better to have a good relationship with my instructor. I promised I’d be a good student from now on.

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

Short Chapter. A little history. =D