10 years ago

“Your father is a disgrace to the country! You are a disgrace to the country!” A group of students were shouting out loud as they skipped around a skinny and petite girl.

“My father is not a disgrace!” The girl shouted back with tear rolling down her cheeks.

“Lee Rin! Your father took stimulant to win the International Taekwondo Competition! He brought disgrace to our country! Even your mother also left him because he is a disgrace! BOOOOOOOO!” A big-sized boy hollered, looking angrily at the skinny girl.

“He did not! I believe in my father!”

“That’s because you are dumb, girl!” The boy spat.

“You are the dumb one!” Lee Rin jumped and threw a punch at the boy’s face, causing him to fall on his .

“Wooh!” The other children gasped when they saw their friend fell to the ground. All of them were staring at Lee Rin in shock because they have never expected the skinny girl to have such great strength to knock a boy off the ground.

“LEE RIN!” A deep voice shouted.

All the children turned to see a middle-aged man walking towards their direction.

“Appa…” Lee Rin whimpered, lowering her head in guilt.

“Run! The country disgrace, Lee Byungg Hun, is here!” The other children shouted and pulled their friend out before they ran off from the scene.

“Coward!” Lee Rin shouted at the group of running kids when her father knuckled her on the head.

“Enough!”

Lee Rin pouted, rubbing the back of her head.

“How many times must I tell you not to fight with others with Taekwondo?”

“They started it first! They called you a disgrace!” Lee Rin retorted.

Byung Hun looked at her daughter with guilt in his eyes. “Rin… appa is sorry!” He squatted down and lugged his daughter in for a hug.

“Appa, why are you apologizing?” Lee Rin patted her father’s back.

“I am sorry for causing you to even suffer in school.” Byungg Hun backed away from the hug and held his daughter by the shoulders.

“No, appa! You didn’t cause me to suffer! Those kids are the nasty one! They are calling you names!” Lee Rin retorted back like she was an adult arguing with her father.

“Rin, you have to learn to ignore them! And I do not want you to fight with any of them with Taekwondo! You understand me?”

“But appa…”

“No more but! You are going to do 100 frog jumps as punishment for punching the boy!”

---

10 years later…

“She still dares to come here?”

“Does she even know what it mean by disgraceful? If I were her, I would dig a hole and hide my face in it!”

“Omo! She’s walking over now!”

“She better not come to my side!”

“Why do we need to be afraid of her? If she dare to come here, I will send her flying away with a kick!”

The spring sun was hanging high up in the sky and the disciples of Kwon Seung Dojang were gathering together, whispering at the approaching girl.

“Why shouldn’t I be here? I didn’t do anything wrong so why shouldn’t I be here? If I chose not to come today, it would mean that I am guilty for what I had done.” Lee Rin bit her bottom lip and continued to make her way to the centre of the training hall.

She clenched her fists tight and stared back at those who were scolding her at the side until they shut their mouths.

There was complete silence in the training hall.

Lee Rin walked to the back of the hall and stood there where the other disciples shunned her like she was a plague.

"Lee Rin! Do you really think that we are afraid of you?" A female voice shrieked.

Lee Rin looked towards the voice with a frown. The girl was the daughter of the current owner of Kwon Seung Dojang, Tiffany Hwang. Tiffany stepped out from the formation with both hands on her hips, staring angrily at Lee Rin. "Do you even have a tiny bit of consciousness in you? Why do you still look so self-righteous when you are the one at fault? Do you not know that you are not welcome here?"

"I am not the one at fault!" Lee Rin hollered, clenching her fists even tighter.

"You...you..." Tiffany was at a loss of words. "Who brought you up? Who give you money to go to school? Who provides you with food and accommodation? And yet you..."

"I what? So are you telling me that lying is the right thing to do? My father taught me to know how to determine what is right and wrong! Do you mean that Kwon Seung Dojang should lie to the others because of a Taekwondo competition?" Lee Rin retorted.

"You… you… Wah!!!" Tiffany started wailing.

The other disciples quickly crowded around her to pacify her while some of them turned to glare at Lee Rin angrily.

"Whack her!"

Some of the disciples charged towards Lee Rin.

Roundhouse kick!

Flying kick!

Back kick!

Side kick!

Countless of shadows were flashing past Lee Rin but everything seemed to get in slow motion. She just stood on the spot alone, being surrounded by hatred and murderous aura.

"Ahhhh!"

"Aigoo!"

"Wuuuu…"

The other disciples fell to the floor one after another, wincing in pain. Lee Rin continued to stand stubbornly on the same spot with her eyes staring ahead like nothing had happened.

"Lee Rin!" Another loud voice bellowed.

The other disciples made way and three middle-aged men in white Taekwondo attires and black belts came into the hall. "Appa!" Tiffany cried and ran to the man who was standing in the centre.

"Did you beat them all?" The man on the left asked.

"Yes." Lee Rin said, lowering her head.

The three men gave one another a look and then the first man let out a chuckle. "It seems like Byung Hyun is right! You are indeed born to learn Taekwondo."
Lee Rin continued to remain silent.

"Since you are so powerful, I don't think our dojang can teach you anymore." The first man continued. "It would be better for you to go to other dojo to learn to become a national champion. But remember to tell them that you were once trained in Kwon Seung Dojang."

Lee Rin looked up at the man in shock.

"Your stuffs had been packed and they are already at the door." The first man said and then he turned back to the other disciples. "Everyone, gather! We should start to train for the Taekwondo competition in May!"

Lee Rin remained rooted to the ground, refused to make a single move.

"Lee Rin! Do you not understand my words?" The man shouted. "If you don't understand, let me repeat this one more time. Please leave Kwon Seung! We are unable to worship a god like you!"

"Jung seosaeng-nim!" Lee Rin shouted unbelievably. She felt as if all her blood was being drained out. Was she going to be chased out of the school because of what happened yesterday?

"Don't call me seosaeng-nim! I don't have the luck to be your seosaeng-nim!" Jung Chan said, not looking at her. "Please leave immediately!"

"Yoo seosaeng-nim! Hwang chungsa-nim!"

Lee Rin started to get a little flustered, looking at the chief instructor. But none of them looked at her. It seemed like they had already made their decision.

"Why? Do you really want us to chase you out?" This time it was Tiffany's father, Hwang Yeol, who spoke.