When people think about martial arts, many think of it as self-defence. When people think about mixed martial arts (MMA), they see it as just mere entertainment on television. But for Chaeyoung, it’s a way of life. It was what she grew up knowing. Now, that doesn’t mean she’s violent, but she will fight when she has to. Being the scrawniest kid in the orphanage meant that she was always the target of bullying, so she can either run, or choose to fight back. She chose the latter.

They began to bother her less, but the potential adoptive parents also didn’t want to bother with her, being known as the violent kid. (She didn’t mind, preferring to stay in the shadows with her sketchbook.) But as the years go by and as she gets older, the chances of getting adopted also decreases. Parents looking for kids always pick the cuter, younger ones first, leaving the older kids behind. The orphanage offers foster care to the older kids, where they are assigned to foster homes to experience family life. 

Chaeyoung was 10 when she saw her foster parents for the first time. The Yoos live in a modest house, and had big smiles on their faces when they saw her. She decides that they are nice enough, that she can probably survive in her new foster home. But behind them is their daughter, who only nods at her chicly to acknowledge her, response very different from her parents who greeted her with warm hugs. Yoo Jeongyeon is three years older, but also a few good inches taller, and Chaeyoung has her fences up, ready to pounce if the older girl tries anything. (It’s always the older kids that like to pick on her the most, and she doesn’t expect anything less.)

The older girl doesn’t. She had treaded over to Chaeyoung’s side of the room, causing her to immediately tense up and hold up her fists at her. Jeongyeon just stared at her, before reaching to turn the lights off and walking back to her side of the room. Plopping down on her bed, the older girl mumbled out a goodnight before turning her back to Chaeyoung. The blows didn’t come, but she still doesn’t trust the older girl.

--

The days where she has to worry about getting a blanket thrown over her head and being beaten up senselessly is over, but it doesn’t mean it’s entirely gone. She runs into the older kids from the orphanage in school, and fear immediately invades her veins, her fists already clenched as they surround and trap her. They smirk, and she tries her best to fight back, but she’s outnumbered and outsized. She’s crumpled into a ball on the floor, taking the blows silently, wishing that it will stop already.

“Leave her alone!” A voice screams out, and the owner of the voice runs and sends a flying kick to one of the guys. She ends up on the floor beside Chaeyoung in a few seconds, obviously no fight for the big guys.

The bullies had left, but the two continue to lie on the ground, bloodied and beaten to a pulp, too in pain to move. Chaeyoung didn’t understand why the girl beside her had interfered, it wasn’t her fight, she could have just left. They weren’t going to kill her anyway, because they need her alive to continue to be their punching bag. She wasn’t in danger, not any life-threatening one anyway.

“You didn’t have to interfere, you know.” Chaeyoung groans out, every inch of her body aching.

“And what? Leave you to die here?” The girl retorts, but immediately flinches because of the pain from even speaking.

“Well, now we are both going to die here, smart .” Chaeyoung rolls her eyes as she coughs a little.

“No, we are not, and it’s Jeongyeon-unnie for you.” The older girl splutters out, shaking her head at how ungrateful this little brat is when she has just saved her. (Okay, technically she didn’t, they had just gotten beaten up together.)

“I will call you unnie if we get out of this alive.” The younger girl scoffs, wondering if that is really important at this moment when they don’t even know if they can get out of this place alive.

“Deal.”

--

a/n: inspired by k-drama "fight for my way" and twice's one more time mv