Chapter 2

One week later…

            “Keep your knees bent!”

            Minjin trembled as the Taekwondo instructor grabbed her shoulders and pressed her down to an agonizing squat.  After a week of vigorous martial arts training, language instruction, and minimal mathematics tutoring, both her mind and body were exhausted.  As her thigh muscles throbbed and her bare feet burned on the rough sand of the practice field, she wondered what kind of elite education this was.  Is this what smart people studied?

            Minseon straightened from her Taekwondo posture and glared angrily at the instructor.  “Take your hands off of my sister!”

            Mr. Lee, a towering man with a broad shoulders and an even broader mustache, looked over at Minseon in surprise.  “What did you say?”

            “Saesangnim!” Minseon called bitterly, walking up to him and Minjin.  “We’ve been practicing for two hours straight!  Don’t you think it’s time for a break?  Can’t you see we’re tired?”

            “Do you want to die?” Mr. Lee questioned with a gruff, spine-chilling voice.

            With scared eyes, Minjin looked at her sister and shook her head enthusiastically.  “No, Saesangnim!  Please, let us practice a little more.  I’ll keep my knees bent.”

            “The greatest hindrance in progression is idleness,” Mr. Lee warned.  He let go of Minjin and leaned down towards Minseon.  “You have no discipline, Minseon.  If you were a decent human being, you would be able to withstand a thousand hours of practice.  This is an art of great importance.  This is one of the most important skills you’ll need in your life.”

            “I don’t understand why we’re learning martial arts!” Minseon cried, folding her arms tensely.  “My parents don’t know martial arts, and they’re fine.”

            “Your parents are miserable people who couldn’t afford a decent education for their children,” Mr. Lee growled.  “You should be grateful that the Comet Academy recognized the little potential you have.  And you should be diligent in whatever we tell you to study.”

            “Don’t…Don’t talk about my parents like that.”  Minseon leered at Mr. Lee with an aggressive gaze.  “My parents are great.”

            “You keep thinking that,” Mr. Lee scoffed.  “Now let’s get back to work.”

            “No!” Minseon replied.  “We never learned martial arts at our old school.”

            “This girl.”  Mr. Lee wandered casually to his small bag at the edge of the practice field.  He slowly took out a long, thin wooden stick and looked at Minseon.  “Stand still.”

            “No, Saesangnim!” Minjin exclaimed frantically.  “We’ll keep practicing!  Just let us practice!”

            “Unnie!” Minseon called, her eyes full of panic. 

Mr. Lee kneeled down behind Minseon and raised the stick.  With one swift motion, the stick whipped through the air and landed loudly on Minseon’s bare calves.  A loud cry filled the air, and Minseon immediately burst into tears.

“Unnie!”  Before Mr. Lee could hit her again, Minseon ran into Minjin’s arms.  Minjin held her sister tightly and watched Mr. Lee fearfully.

            “Do you understand what a lack of discipline garners?” Mr. Lee asked, holding the stick limply in his hand.  “You didn’t even receive the punishment you deserve.”

            “I think she understands, Saesangnim,” Minjin insisted quickly.  “We’ll listen to you perfectly from now on.”

            “I should expect no less from you,” Mr. Lee told simply.  “Be more considerate the in the future.  And practice discipline.  I only do this to shape you into proper students.”

            “Yes, Saesangnim.”

            Mr. Lee observed the two scared girls carefully.  A thoughtful frown came upon his face.  “We’ll take a break for now.  Be ready to practice in fifteen minutes.”

            “Yes, Saesangnim.”

            After Mr. Lee walked away towards the Administration building, Minjin looked down at her sobbing sister.  “Are you okay, Minseon-ah?”

            “It hurts, unnie,” Minseon cried feebly.  “It hurts so much.”

            “You have to be extra respectful here, Minseon-ah,” Minjin urged gently.  “The teachers here are very strict.  But this is a special education.  We should work hard.”

            “Unnie, where are all the other children?” Minseon asked, a desperation in her eyes.  “I thought there would be other kids to play with here.”

            “Ms. Ko told Mommy that they were on their way…but they never got here.  Maybe we’re special students, Minseon-ah.  We should try to learn a lot and be nice to our teachers.  Maybe they’ll be nicer to us.”

            “O…Okay.”

            “I promised Mommy that I would protect you, Minseon-ah,” Minjin whispered.  “I won’t let you get hurt again, okay?  Just be good.  We’ll be able to see Mommy and Daddy again in the summer.  Just work hard.  It’ll be okay.”

Author's Note: There is a special reference to Chapter 20 (technically Chapter 22): Just One More Moment of "Jumping To The Rescue".  I encourage you to read that chapter if you want a special commentary from Way. ^_^