H I S T O R Y Park was born into existence. That's pretty much it. Some might question whether the nephew of an Olympian and the son of two hardworking (and rich) businessmen could have such a boring birth. But it was. It was average, it lasted an average amount of time, there were no complications and he was born at an average weight. He was a little taller, sure, but it didn't detract by how boring his life started. His childhood was quite uneventful as well. He didn't see much of his parents from the age of 5, his mother going back to full working hours. They left their little apartment in Seoul at 5 am and came back at 12am, often tired after a long day of meetings, calls or whatever they were doing. The little boy often didn't see his parents and would communicate through notes on the fridge. He had to learn how to cook, clean the apartment, do the dishes, wash clothes and other such menial tasks otherwise his parents would be very disappointed. He didn't want to disappoint them after all, what if they went away for longer than they do now? That wouldn't do. They'd be tired for longer and wouldn't be able to see him. It was like they didn't want him in their lives so if he disappointed them, they'd really not want him. He was, after all, quite an average child. Nothing special, nothing new. Just someone to continue the family name.
There was one day in his early life where both of his parents came home early. It was the worst day of Park's life. "Hello." the stranger said, walking into the apartment "How are you son?"
Who was this man, standing in the doorway? Who was he? why was he standing with his mother? He tilted his head, a blank expression on his face. He wasn't sure who this man was. The stranger reached his arms out, as if beckoning for a hug. "Mama said I shouldn't hug strangers." Park quoted, tilting his head even further. The stranger's face drooped, his lips starting to curl downwards. Wait. He didn't want this. He didn't want the stranger to cry. He didn't like people crying, it's how they leave you right? He didn't want the person to leave. He took hesitant steps towards the stranger before slowly wrapping his arms around the man. The stranger placed his chin on his shoulder and whispered "Don't worry Park, papa'll be here for you." Unsurprisingly, he wasn't. That's the end of that story.
The consequences of this early loneliness still affect Park today. It contributed to his overall awkwardness and lack of self-esteem although this would improve over time. It also built up his fear for disappointing his already detached parents, despite his independence streak from them. It restricts him from doing anything too dangerous, too daring in case his parents somehow finds out (even if there's no chance of them doing so). He also became subconsciously distrusting of any promises made to him, unless it's from someone who he really trusted. Whenever someone would ask about his parents, he'd always say that "They're normal and busy people, all that's to it I'm afraid."
Park wasn't put into normal school but instead was tutored by a number of different people. To an emotionally and socially stunted individual, this overwhelmed him but he soon grew to love his new family. Everyday he had multiple visiting tutors and a set time schedule. He was particularly good at his singing, maths and Spanish classes. The lonely apartment was suddenly filled with new people and it filled him with joy when they came. Especially when visited by his English teacher, Uncle Joo. They were related by blood but he could never see the connection between his hard-faced mother and his free spirited uncle. Instead of actually learning, he spent most of his english class trying to help Uncle Joo get a date with his singing and Spanish tutor, Ms. Santos. Whether by going out to the mall for some flowers, searching for good restaurants to take her or finding ways to impress her, it was always fun with his uncle. The tutors all excelled at their jobs of course - barring Uncle Joo. He had above average academics and keen mind but he needed more. At the age of 9, he decided to find some more extracurricular activities for his free time in between classes. With Uncle Joo's stolen wallet in hand, he searched the city alone to look for something to do. At that point, he was so estranged from his parents that his independence streak kicked in much earlier than usual. He had no problems with scouring the streets alone like that, even in a cold winter night.
Eventually, Park came across a dusty old staircase on a side street in downtown Seoul. Sang-young's Swords Academy. Ignoring the generic name, his interest was piqued by the name. He had heard of Park Sang-young, a gold medalist fencer who retired a decade or two back. He had seen the old newspaper article wrapped around one of Uncle Joo's "hidden" beer bottles on the top shelf of the apartment. He had climbed the countertop, getting to the bottle-shaped newspaper covered objects easily enough. He had actually distracted Uncle Joo with it, wanting to drink from it out of childlike curiosity as the elder man walked in. Joo yelled out in surprise and attempted to snatch the bottle away. Instead, Park let the bottle get smacked and it broke against a nearby drawer. Shocked, his uncle proceeded to try and clean the mess. In the process, the young boy grabbed the wallet out of his uncle's back pocket and politely left his uncle to worry about his parents coming home.
Anyhow, Park walked up the staircase, wrapped up in a furry parka. He opened the door, letting the cold air swirl into the opened room. Well, it was more of a gym hall. There were metal strips running lengthwise down the gym, with multiple wires running along the strips (later to be known to him as "pistes"). A total of six of these pistes were present but only two were being used, one person at opposing sides. There were two other people resting on the benches, gazes focused on the duellers even as sweat gathered on their brow.The sound of metal clashing metal filled his ears, the loud beeping noise when a touch happened made him startle in surprise. As any 21st century kid, he spent much of his time on the internet, browsing through videos. Fencing compilations had him both confused and transfixed to the screen. It was fascinating, seeing all this in real life. The flexible weapons, the bouncing feet, the darkness of their masks, everything just oozed cool to him. In these first few seconds, it was like he was under a spell. This was broken a few seconds later by a rough voice, from a greying man in the corner near the door, someone who went completely unnoticed by him. "Mah mah, you're letting all the air in, get inside or get out, dang kid." The grumbling and obvious displeasure made him kickstart into action, closing the door and entering inside.
Park put his hood down and started to stare at the grumbling stranger. He had greying hair on the top of his head but no bald spot. What was no doubt a previously handsome face was wrinkled with age, a stubble covering the lower half. He wore a black sweater and fitting dark jeans. Dark eyes peered at him back and it was at that moment he realised he was staring. "Kid, you gonna pay for lessons or are you just gonna stand there and look at me?" The young boy started bumbling. He didn't particularly want to spend his uncle's money. He just... well what the heck. He was here and his uncle was fairly rich, he was tutoring him to get to know his nephew better. There's his little independent streak once more. He nodded once, still fairly shy in the presence of who is supposedly the great Sang-young. The former olympian looked at him with analytical eyes, as if searching for something. Waiting in anticipation, he waited for the grandmaster to speak. After an agonisingly slow few seconds, the grandmaster spoke with that grumpy voice of his. "Never mind, you're too short. Come back in a few years kiddo."
The boy opened and closed his mouth like a yapping fish. He was a paying customer, wasn't he? Why couldn't he get in? Was it actually his height or did he annoy the man too much? What's going on? Is he really that old and decrepit? A young, distinctly confident female voice called from the other side of the hall. "Stop bullying him, ya stupid old man! Let him have the trial class like you had with all of us." Sang-young's face turned into one of irritation. The elder began grumbling under his breath before standing up, showing his height. He wasn't all that tall at 5' 7" but was lithe, toned muscles showing through the fitting jeans he wore. Sharp eyes stared down at Park before he was kicked in the shin. "Mah, Soo's got yer back. She's a pain to deal with, nag nag nag.. Come on kid, let's fence."
And as they say, the rest was history. His uncle was severely disappointed at the amount of money he lost because of his escapade but was happy the boy was being outgoing and exercising. It would be a difficult first year for him, Park struggled with fencing due to his lack of height but as he grew older, his sudden active lifestyle helped him grow. The weight of the sword was also a problem but was quickly overcome by how frequently he trained. He would come to the hall three days a week for the first half of the first year before moving on to five days a week. Then he went multiple sessions a day, one morning and one night. He took to fencing like bees to honey, immersing himself in the way of the sword. Epeé was his preferred style, he wasn't much of a sabreur or foilist. The slow, methodical style of the longest weapon appealed to him the most. Once he reached the age of 13, he was allowed to do more intense training camp such as light olympic lifts, HIIT sprints, long runs, etc. With lots of free time between tutor classes, he could go train whenever he could and without his parents knowing about it. He never actually revealed his sport to his parents, even to this day, once again afraid of their disappointment. He also got to meet many of his own peers in the club such as Soo, a girl only one year older than him who helped him grow out of his shell a little more. He became a little less stunted afterwards, thankful for the third family he gained from the fencing club.
However, in life, good things have to end. Park's parents, once he reached 15, confronted him one day. In actual real life, not just through notes and occasional texts. They were worried he was emotionally and socially stunted, unaware of his extracurricular activity. They were going to send him off with his uncle and aunt (Joo eventually got with Ms. Santos) to an American high school, so that he could learn how to grow outside of the apartment, in a foreign land. Shocked to the core that his parents would care for him after fifteen years of not caring, he couldn't gather the willpower to disagree and show them his fencing skills. Instead, he just silently stalked back to his room, beginning to pack his bags and fencing bag. He knew they weren't going to drop him off at the airport, they had an important business meeting at his time of leave, no point in hiding his hidden sport. He said goodbye to his tutors and his friends at the fencing club, awkwardly promising to come back and visit if he could. This was all overwhelming and abrupt, he never thought he would leave Soeth Korea or even Seoul, his hometown. It shocked him and even when they went through the baggage check in the international airport, it still didn't sink in. As he sat down in his airplane seat, looking out to the beautiful night lights of Seoul, he realised. He would have to use his uncle's barebones English lessons. Aside from the English songs he learned in singing class, he barely knew anything. He groaned out loud, wishing he had downloaded English 101 on his phone.
Member
Izurich,
Venus,
AlteredTundra,
Timemaster
