01 Not all that glitters is gold

She hated him the first time they met. It was honestly petty but Chorong believed, as mature as she was at her age, her reason was acceptable.

She was minding her own business, drawing pictures of sunflowers, when all of a sudden, she felt a cold liquid down her pants. Chorong’s eyes widened in shock and horror. She looked down and saw a yellow stain forming on her favourite white pants.

She then heard a gasp from beside her so she turned to them with glaring eyes.

“You did that on purpose!” she accused the little boy with pretty doe eyes. He was holding a carton of apple juice in his hand. “I didn’t! My hand slipped!” he furtively reasoned.

Chorong was about to tell him off but he had beat her to it.

“Teacher! Chorong had an accident!” he screamed, much to the little girl’s horror.

Everyone in their class heard it and turned to her with curious eyes. When they saw the yellow stain, they assumed that ‘accident’ the little boy meant was that she had peed on her pants. The apple juice stain did look like it was. Laughter erupted and Chorong’s classmates made fun of her ‘accident.’

When she turned to the little boy somehow helpless, she saw him trying - but failing - to stop his giggles.

Chorong then saw red. She threw her crayons at him and ran out of class, tears rolling down her cheeks.

On that day, Chorong learned something important.

Not all that glitters is gold. They may look pretty but in truth, they are hateful and ugly to the very core. And Lu Han, the boy with pretty doe eyes, proved her right.

She was 3 and still simple-minded.

**

02 It’s a boy thing

Since her father ran a hapkido dojo, Chorong eventually learnt to love the martial art. After school, she’d rush home just to change into her hapkido uniform and would sprint towards her father’s dojo, just a couple of blocks away from their house.

She always enjoyed her hapkido lessons. To say she liked kicking as hard as she can, jumping as high as she can, and defending as long as can would be an understatement. She basked in those adrenaline-filled moments. She absolutely, wholeheartedly, and quite passionately loved hapkido.

One ordinary Saturday morning, as she was on her way to the dojo to train, she saw a group of boys seemingly bullying someone as she passed by the park. She wanted to ignore it but she was raised to be kind and helpful, so without thinking about herself, she walked towards them.

Hearing her footsteps, the group turned to her with incredulous looks. All of the guys seemed to be older than her. And much taller up close too. Biting her lower lip, she turned to the person she’s supposed to ‘rescue.’ She recognized the victim immediately and instantly regretted coming over.

It was Luhan.

Internally sighing, she stared at the person whom she assumed to be the leader, her hands folding over her chest. “You do know ganging up on someone - lest someone younger than you - is considered bullying, right?” she told him, eyebrow arching.

The leader scoffed and rolled his eyes. He copied her stance and raised an eyebrow at her. “And you think we’ll get scared just because of you?” he cackled. “You’re tinier than him! What makes you think we’ll be afraid of you? You’re a girl!” he taunted.

His friends laughed and Chorong seethed in rage. Luhan was about to say something but her kick was quicker. She kicked the leader in the shins and cried out in pain. She pushed the others and kicked them in non-threatening areas.

When they were all on the ground, groaning in pain, she grabbed for Luhan’s wrist and pulled him out of the park.

Once they were far enough, she let go of her hold and turned to Luhan. She was about to scold him about letting the guys bully him but was caught off guard with the latter’s icy cold glare.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he told her, tone obviously angry at her. Chorong frowned at his reaction. This wasn’t what she had in mind. “I didn’t have to do what?” she challenged him. “They were practically ganging up on you! I just gave you a hand to get out of it!”

Luhan still had that bone-chilling on his face. “I was handling it fine!” he refuted, his voice rising.

Chorong was honestly taken aback. He was mad at her for meddling with his affairs? Heck! He should be thanking her for getting him out of it before they got to beat him up!

She stared at him, fuming. “Yah! You should at least thank me for saving you!” she demanded.

The guy merely scoffed and turned his back on her. “Don’t you do that kind of thing ever again,” he told her. “I don’t want to be responsible if you get hurt because of me.”

Luhan then walked away, leaving her tremendously flabbergasted.

That night, Chorong told her mother what transpired earlier. The elder female got mad at her for being reckless but she then chuckled and pinched her cheeks fondly. “It’s a boy thing, Rongie-yah,” she said, eyes soft. “They prefer they do the saving - not the other way around.”

Chorong slept that night with a frown on her face, still mad and quite confused with Luhan’s reaction and her mother’s words.

She was 10 and still a kid.

**

03 Words are mightier than the sword

It was stupid. She knew there was no bite in his words, but the annoying laughter coming from his friends that followed kept on replaying inside her mind.

“You won!” he told her, eyes crinkling into little crescents. Chorong had just won a gold medal for the mixed division in the Regional Hapkido tournament. She was honestly a little shocked to see him there in the venue but seeing he’s in his soccer uniform, he might’ve had a match in the same city too.

They weren’t in the same middle school - thank God - but Luhan and Chorong still see each other from time to time since they live in the same neighbourhood. Plus they’re student athletes. Unexpectedly meeting in venues shouldn’t have surprised her, but somehow, seeing the boy with pretty doe eyes in person and smiling at her, still gives her body a tiny shock.

“You beat up those guys and girls!” he exclaimed, his tone giddy and light. Chorong couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction. “You’re like the female version of Jackie Chan! You were amazing!”

She knew he was complimenting her - heck, he even congratulated her - yet her heart somehow felt heavy.

Distracted, Chorong turned to his friends - also teammates - and saw them trying not to smile. She gave them a friendly smile and turned back to Luhan.

“It’s nice to see you, Luhan,” she told him. “But I have to go home now. I’ll see you whenever,” she said before bowing and running off.

She wanted to run as far away from Luhan as possible.

From a distance, she then heard his teammates guffaw. “You were amazing!” one screeched, his tone clearly teasing. “I can’t believe you told her that!”

The guys laughed harder at that.

She felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. Chorong knew it was stupid but she couldn’t help but feel extremely irritated with Luhan’s team - as well as with Luhan himself. Somehow she felt like they were teasing her, insulting her, mocking her love for hapkido. She felt betrayed.

She then remembered a phrase from her literature book.

“Words are mightier than the sword,” some author said.

And Chorong couldn’t agree more.

That night, she cried herself to sleep.

She was 14 and still sensitive to the world.

**

04 Not-so annoying but still is

Chorong had already started high school. Shedding the awkward years of scrawny teenage years, Chorong thinks she’s turned into quite a sight.

She had long black hair, her fringe cut just above her eyes and covering her forehead. The hairstyle suited her and accented her youthful features. She wore makeup, just a little bit because it’s still against school policy. From her mascara-coated eyelashes to her pinkish tinted lips, she definitely turned heads as she walked down the hallways. Chorong, in all honesty,