You Say It's Coincidence, I Say It's Fate (ONE-SHOT)

Final

Tears rolled down her cheeks as a 6 year old Jaemi was taunted by the bigger boys. She was always the target of bullying due to her small size and crybaby character. Currently, the 3 boys were standing in front of her as they dangled her favourite doll inches away from her head.

"Aww, are you crying because of your stupid doll?" one of them laughed. Another ripped off the said dolls arm and the horrific scene cause Jaemi's cries to increase. Bruises were clear on her arms from her previous attempts of regaining her doll back but to no success. Jaemi had given up on fighting the boys but her precious doll was now ruined.

But the boys laughter stopped abruptly. There was a flash of movement before the boy who was holding her doll was now on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Don't you people have any dignity? Making a little girl cry is pathetic," an unknown boy spoke as he gathered the remains of the doll before handing it back to Jaemi. She managed to look at his face and noticed how tall the boy was - surely he was older than them. The bullies quickly ran off, afraid of the sudden appearance of a hero.

The unknown boy was a good one head taller than Jaemi was and she looked up to him awe, he seemed exactly like a knight in shining armour there to save his princess. He bent his knees so his eye level matched the younger girl's.

"You have to learn how to defend yourself, alright?" He stared at her doll in pity. "I'm sorry I was too late to save your doll." He softly stroked her hair and flashed her a smile, "So, from now on you should learn to stand up for yourself - don't let anyone take away what's yours and don't let anyone make you cry."

"Taeyong-ah!" a woman's voice could be heard afar and the boy turned around to see his mother looking for him.

"I have to go now. Take care, little girl," he pinched her cheek before running off to his mother's side.

The first thing Jaemi did when she got home was beg her parents to attend taekwondo classes and being their only daughter, they gave in to her sudden desire.

"When we meet again, I'll be sure to able to protect you!"

A 10 year old Jaemi was wondering through the park aimlessly. Her brothers had run off ahead of her and left her behind - it was meant as a harmless joke but unfortunately for them, Jaemi had bad sense of direction and ended up going the opposite way. Jaemi was lost and alone, she was terrified.

She sat down on one of the benches and noticed how it was slowly getting darker. "What to do... I can't remember which way we came from..." she thought as her hands began to shake out of fear. She had heard stories from her older brothers about monsters that would come out at night and take little children that were alone - the main reason why she hated dark places and being outside. Jaemi didn't know how long she had sat there but tears began to spill as fear consumed her.

"Are you alright?"

A voice asked her and she jumped back in shock. It was a boy, an oddly familiar older boy. He looked around and noticed there was no one around them, the girl was all alone. "Are you lost?" he began to move closer to her but she quickly moved further away from him. Even if he did look familiar, Jaemi was always taught that strangers were a danger. Sensing her fear, he took a step back.

"I won't hurt you, I promise. I just want to help," he spoke, "I'll stand right here, okay? I won't move any closer unless you want me to."

Jaemi didn't say anything but he noticed how her breathing had calm down and her tears had stopped.

"Where's your parents? Are you lost?"

Jaemi nodded her head, "M-My...My brothers... ran off and...and I don't remember which way we came from."