Tao had skipped his first day of school and opted to explore the area in which he was going to be living from now on. He felt a pang of guilt creep into his heart towards his parents who were always trying to make something out of him. He didn’t want any of that. He didn’t want to become someone big. He already thought, rather satirically, he was big enough he was 1.83m in height and any longer he would have had trouble finding clothes.

Tao swung his wushu staff over his shoulder he’d switched off his phone to avoid any confrontation as he searched to find himself. There were days in which he felt lost and questioned the reason for his existence and today was one of those days.

What was his purpose in life? Why was he roaming listlessly? Why was he lazy? Why hadn’t he gone to school? Why did he only manage to worry the people around him? Would anyone notice if he disappeared? Would they care? With the exception of family, Tao knew no one else would care. He didn’t have very many friends and family… Family was obliged to care.

Tao shrugged away the bitterness, whether anyone liked it or not, he wouldn’t be going anywhere for now. His thoughts roamed back to his gege, the one who’d lost his mind. His family was trying to raise enough money to send him to a mental institution and Tao wondered, not for the first time, what kind of cruel hearts women possessed? The woman who’d once loved Tao’s gege had not once visited to check up on him.

‘What is love?’ Tao thought bitterly. ‘Love doesn’t exist. It’s all in your head. You imagined it, it’s an illusion, an impression.’ Tao was quite pleased with his conclusion because it was the one thing that had made the most sense in his head. Love was an impression and a dangerous one at that.

He raised the staff that had been weighing on his shoulder and swung it as he walked. He’d been looking for a dojo, somewhere he could practice and hone his skills, he didn’t want to become rusty. Wushu was something Tao was proud of, and he didn’t want to be anything less than perfect at it.

Tao stopped mid stride, a familiar face caught his attention or rather the fact that something was wrong. He swung his staff to a halt and let it stand on the ground beside him. His eyes surveyed the scene with contempt, and he prayed he wouldn’t have to interfere. He arched an eyebrow and watched the scene unfold. She was cornered by three fellows who weren’t much taller than she was. They were daunting and their body language was threatening but she remained unfazed by them.

“Yah, what’s a student doing out of school?”

“She’s a pretty little thing.”

“Don’t worry pretty Miss. We won’t hurt you.”

“You should be nice to these oppas’ and give them your money.”

Seryung flinched at the term ‘oppa’ and glared. Her misery just caught fire, and now she felt angry as well as wronged. She had no intention of letting them get their way. If they were trying to mug her, they would have to try harder.

"Do you think I'd carry cash just so you could take it from me? Don't kid yourselves."

Tao groaned inwardly at her response. Her words wavered his earlier sentiment about not getting involved. ‘Stupid girl!’

Her demeanor only aggravated her adversaries. One of them lunged for her school-bag and in response she clutched onto it tightly trying to pull it away from him. Tao ruffled his hair knowing there was nothing left but to intrude. He had no choice, if he didn't she would get hurt. He didn't want to sit by and witness that. What kind of man would that make him?

He grimaced when one of the burly men raised his hand to strike her. Tao was faster though. He grinned at his own speed. He heard her gasp in surprise behind him. 

‘I guess you weren’t expecting a hero to show up.’  Tao felt a surge of unfounded confidence. It stemmed from a seed that told him his existence was at least of some importance. Had he not been here, she would have gotten hit.

Seryung took a small step backwards. Tao’s obtrusion had only made the muggers exceedingly hostile. He had made their job just that bit harder, and their snarling expressions conveyed their ill-disposition. 

They attacked him all at once with fists flying in different directions, but he managed to swiftly avoid them with ease almost as if he were doing a little dance. Seryung half-covered her eyes as Tao continued to avoid their attacks with of movement. She was enthralled at how effortlessly he moved.

The men were becoming frustrated, and as a result their attacks became move vicious and wild. They blindly threw punches and kicks yet nothing landed on the boy who’d appeared out of nowhere. They expected him to swing the staff in his hands but he was mocking them by not attacking at all, and that added an insult and an injury to pride.

Tao continued to smirk knowing that they were getting tired from converting their fighting energy into heat and rage. He didn’t want to waste his strength on something so useless. He noted Seryung had veered away from him. In doing so, she'd given one of the muggers a chance to lunge at her.

Tao groaned inwardly and swung the rod in his hands. It acted as a temporary barrier between the girl and the thief. Tao spun in mid air and successfully landed between them. A subtle annoyance graced his features. He swung the staff low and successfully tripped his adversary.

“Stay behind me,” Tao growled to Seryung in a low voice. A second thug snarled and reached into his pocket. He whipped out a pen knife and pointed it from Tao to Seryung precariously. Seryung chewed on her lip and trembled. Something as simple as mugging had transformed into a battle with weapons. She wasn't the only one shaken by the idea. Tao’s back tensed at the immediate danger.

“Stay behind me, I’ll protect you.” They were simple words yet they struck at Seryung’s betrayed heart. She placed a hand on . The pain she’d been feeling since early morning was slowly dissipating away. She shook her head, but her brain continued to chant those words like a prayer of hope. Someone cared enough to protect her.

She moved mechanically with Tao and stayed close but once he began fighting with them it was impossible for Seryung to keep up. She considered running away rather than being a blunder and a useful thought finally came to her lagging mind. She reached for her phone to call the police but it wasn’t in her skirt pocket! 

Seryung frowned and searched her belongings. She cursed under her breath when she recalled she’d left her phone in her school table drawer. She clicked her tongue, and looked to where Tao was caught in a brawl with worry in her eyes. She was further away from him than he’d asked her to stay, but now the single-minded thugs were solely focused on defeating Tao almost as if they’d forgotten about her. Her distance might have just been a good thing.

Seryung clutched her bag tightly, fingers digging into the material. Her legs began to move on their own, as the secondary controls of her body propelled her to act. She’d spotted the thug with the knife acting strangely while Tao was busy with the other two goons. Upon instinct Seryung detected peril. She suspected he'd try to stab Tao from behind. The notion propelled her to protect her savior. She slapped him with her bag using as much force as she could muster. She watched the wannabe-gangster lose his balance. He hit the ground in evident sting and shock. Her bag fell to her feet and her arms fell to her sides when relief flooded through her veins. Tao was safe!

Tao clenched his jaw. They’d become rowdier because he wasn’t taking him seriously. Somewhere along the way a simple mugging had turned into a fight for pride. They wanted to battle his staff-spinning Wu Shu side, and he was keeping that side from them. It was infuriating them but how could he unleash that strength on ordinary street thugs? They would end up in ER and he would find himself in a prison cell. He was refraining for that reason.

 Tao had indeed sensed the goon who'd snuck up behind him with a knife. He'd been waiting for the right moment to strike. He swung his staff around with intermediate force.

The blow caused Seryung to gasp, cough and stumble over her feet. She stopped herself from tripping and shuddered. Her left hand flew over to her arm. A flow of blood rushed to her right arm as her body defended against the blow.

Tao’s eyes widened, it was almost as if time stood still, and the staff slipped though his fingers. His eyes traveled from the goon who’d crept up behind him to Seryung, who was clutching her arm in obvious pain. He clenched his jaw to keep himself calm. He swung her by her shoulders to make her face him. The tremors emitting from her told him he’d used brute strength, a miscalculation on his part.

She didn’t look at him. She was too preoccupied by her throbbing arm. Her eyes grazed the spot where the staff had hit. Gently, Tao removed the hand she was using to hold her arm. He lifted her right hand but froze the moment she cried out. Her reaction caused his eyes to shut tightly. He could feel rage bubbling at himself. ‘You broke it...?’ Tao scoffed, ‘You idiot, what are you doing breaking a girls arm?! Damn it!!!’

Seryung blinked. She could feel the tears catch in her lashes. They didn't fall, but even through blurred vision she could see hazard. She held her breath and shook her head slowly. She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing.

One of the goons had reached for Tao’s staff while the other two gave each other meaningful looks. Seryung continued to shake her head in disbelief. She clutched onto Tao’s sleeve and tried to warn him. She shrieked when her left arm didn’t move, but instead sent pain across her nerves temporarily making her forget what she was trying to do. She opened to speak, but was hoarse.

Tao was watching her with a pale face. She mouthed something to him, but he remained unresponsive. He heard it too, the scrape of metal against the cemented pavement rang in his ears but his eyes only stared fixated at the damage he’d caused.

His heart was warped in guilt. He'd hurt her when she'd tried to protect him... His heart sank upon the realization. Why had she barged in? He hadn't asked her too. He hadn't asked for her to care if he got wounded. Nonetheless, she'd reached to protect him and in return he'd injured her.

His staff was in the hands of another. It was being swung rather savagely. The thug who held it was savoring its power. Showing off even.
 

Now she was trying to warn him. His heart ached at that too. Why did she care about his wellbeing? Whether he had gotten stabbed or not, it wasn't her business. She could have run to safety, but she'd chosen to stay with him. His heart palpitated. He felt sorry, so very sorry towards her.

The gangster wandered closer swinging wildly to display strength and inject foreboding. Roles had been reversed, and he was looking forward to strike. Each blunt movement was followed by a step towards the protagonists.
 

 Seryung was struggling to warn Tao to the best of her ability, but her efforts were futile. His mind had become lax, slipping into thought rather than paying heed to surroundings. He sensed it all because his senses were still intact, but his mind was stuck in a self-admonishing reverie. 

A snarling grunt emitted from the ruffian when he perceived that he was being looked down again by the foreigner. He held a heavy rod in his hands yet the foreigner didn't blink an eye. The hoodlum's eyes narrowed into two menacing slits.

Seryung attempted to shake Tao with both hands. He held her upright as if he were afraid she would diminish from his view. His jaw clenched automatically because she'd just confirmed what he was afraid of. Her arm was broken, but she wasn’t aware of it. Like him, her attention was elsewhere.

The street thug's booming footsteps clogged Seryung's ears. She clutched at Tao desperately with her good hand and tried to shake him. Tao remained passive to the threat that was inching towards him. She mouthed words of warning, but they were incoherent to his mind. He continued to stare at her arm fixated. 

The Chinese student imagined a gash, and a nasty bruise, and prayed for only a hairline fracture. He tried to recall how sharply he'd hit her. Was it enough to cause extreme damage? No, he hadn't used his full strength! He could have sworn he hadn't, but he was doubting himself now. He was convinced he'd broken a bone in her arm. He hadn't meant to hurt her though. He'd meant to hit one of the goons.

Tao sighed and gazed into her eyes. They were full of fright. He wondered why she didn’t chide, or hit him for hitting her instead. It never occurred to him that she was worried for his safety. At least, not until she tried to stand between him, and the staff that sliced the air as it aimed for his skull!

So to summarize:
Seryung ran away from school and ran into a bunch of pocket pickers.

Moping Tao skipped school and witnessed the whole thing.

Seryung challenged the thugs when they abused the word 'oppa' which is kinda a source of pain for her atm. << last chapter illustrates why.

Tao decides he should do something before Seryung gets attacked.

A fight ensures. Tao tells Seryung to stay behind him since he can protect her if shes nearby rather than 3 miles off in the distance.Tao has the upper hand and this aggravates his opponents. They go all out and Tao has no choice but to defend. He isn't bothered to attack them head on because he knows they will end up in ER. He is a trained marital artists and they're just street thugs. This however makes the goons angry because Tao is not taking them seriously enough to fight back.

One of the villains pulls out a knife to stab Tao for mocking them.

Seryung sees that Tao could possibly die and saves him by smacking the thug with her school bag.

The thug is surprised because he is 'single-minded' and forgot that Tao isn't the only one around. He falls down.

Tao sensed the knife bearer headed his way from behind and swings his staff.

He hits Seryung who was behind him. 

Tao goes into full-shock mode because he didn't mean to hit her and drops his Wu Shu staff.

Tao has gone back to being mopey again and is lamenting in guilt when a goon picks up his staff.

Seryung tries to warn Tao of the danger.

However, Tao is busy feeling kinda depressed because he might have broken Seryung's arm.

The street thug aims to hit Tao. Seryung stands in between. Cliffhanger means hurry to the next chapter and find out what happened.