In a dark alley, in the streets of downtown New York City, a boy lay in a dumpster covered in blood and garbage. His name is Sun Jie, and this is his story...
"Ugh my head. Those damn punks from Unity High just don't quit. Not only them, everyone hates me because I'm half Korean." My mom fled from North Korea, and met my dad in South Korea. He's an American white man that was stationed in South Korea. Yeah he's a military man. Dad insisted I keep mom's last name because of some heritage bull crap. Whatever. All I know is, tonight at midnight I turn 18 and that'll just be the end of another day in my own personal hell.
I climbed out of the dumpster, and cleaned off everything that I could before grabbing my bike and taking off to the bus stop to home. 10 minutes later I made it just in time for the last bus, and quickly put my bike on the rack in front of the bus. I got out my student id for Kennedy High School and the bus driver nodded before pulling the doors shut. As I walked over to a seat in the back, I heard people gagging and a couple girls from my school saw me and laughed taking pictures of me. Couldn't they pretend they didn't see me? Why does everyone hate and ostracize me? What did I ever do to anyone? With thoughts like these buzzing in my head, before I knew it I was at my stop. I got off of the bus and grabbed my bike. Watching the bus drive away, I let out a sad sigh and shook my head as I walked over to my apartment building.
I'm now waiting in front of the elevator. We live on the 20th floor, so no way am I taking the stairs, I wouldn't even at full health. Finally the elevator opened, and I got in. As the door was shutting, a sweet voice like that of a divine maiden called out. "Wait! Please let me on! I'm going to floor 20. I just moved here." I felt my mental stability collapse as I opened the doors for the girl. When she walked in, she looked at me and gasped.
The girl was gorgeous. Light pink lips, deep blue eyes, and waist length ink black hair. Standing at just 5 feet tall and perfect bust and hips, she truly is a goddess. And oh my god! She's Korean too! God what are the chances? As I was in shock over the beauty in front of me, I finally registered her words. "What monsters could have done this to you? Cuts, bruises and blood everywhere. You're covered in garbage, so you were obviously in a dumpster or someone emptied a trash can on you." As this goddess got closer and closer to me, my heart beat faster and faster. Suddenly the elevator dinged; we're on the 20th floor.
As I tried to quickly walk away, the girl called out to me. "Wait what is your name? Mine is Sinu Cheo. I live in 204, please come visit!" The girl bowed to me, and I introduced myself. I found out she'd be going to Kennedy High School starting Monday. It's Friday today, I of course invited her to my birthday party in 203, because somehow we're magically next door to each other. For now let's get inside and take a shower.
I'm glad mom is still at work at her traditional Korean restaurant Jinjja Gugsu; yeah she went there. I really don't want her to see me in this state, because she's already seen it far too many times. As I threw my dirty clothes into the very bottom of the dirty clothes pile, I hurried into the bathroom and got into the shower. Feeling stinging pain throughout my body, I let loose and bawled my eyes out. I'd turned on the stereo in the living room to cover up my screaming and crying. This is the only time and place that I allow myself to let out my emotions. 25 minutes later I was standing at the mirror in the bathroom looking at my appearance. Black hair, and emerald green eyes. 6 feet tall because of dad, and a skinny body. No muscles to show. I'm actually not too bad looking, but people hate me because I'm a so called "Korean dog", a "mixed breed", or their favorite one "human trash". Crap I'm getting depressed again...
I made my way over to my bedroom and quickly put on some clothes, and then I walked into the kitchen to get some dinner. Mom won't be home until around 3 am. I grabbed out some spaghetti noodles, meatballs and spaghetti sauce and prepared some spaghetti and meatballs. I opened the freezer, and grabbed out a few slices of garlic bread and put them in the oven. Once everything was done, I sat down at our small dining table in our tiny dining room. I plowed through a good portion of the pasta, but I left plenty for mom and dad. Yeah, I am an only child. Mom and dad decided this before I was born. They wanted to pour all of their love and affection onto one child. Honestly if I didn't have my parents I would have killed myself years ago. Right, no more dark thoughts, it's 10:30 pm already and my birthday draws nearer.
I went into my room and lay on my bed and stared at my ceiling. Plugging in my headphones, I listened to some music on my music player. As I zoned out, I suddenly heard someone talking to me. I took my headphones out and then I heard it clearly.
"My dear mortal descendant. If you are hearing this message, then you are the one to receive my inheritance. All of my knowledge of martial arts, and my proficiency in life skills and language I give to you. Prepare yourself, for this shall be unbelievably painful for you but you'll survive it. As I am a God, the God of Martial Arts to be exact, you'll have to unlock my knowledge step by step. Grow strong, and rise to the top. I want to retire after all, so you'd better become stronger than me! Go now, and climb to the peak of the Martial Dao in your world, then the next phase shall begin! Remember my name; I am called Tengu Sherta!"
With a sudden boom in my mind like a thunder clap, I felt a torrent of knowledge and understanding of it rush into my mind. The torrent of knowledge grew, and grew and then the horrendous agony began. Feeling as if I was being blown up and then put back together again, the pain kept increasing until I heard a rapid fire crack then pop and all of the pain vanished. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming sense of freedom and lightness take over me. I quickly got off of my bed and ran to my bathroom. It's a good thing I did, because of what I saw in the mirror.
I was covered in blood and some black sludge. I climbed into the shower after my initial shock, and 15 minutes later I got out and did a double take in front of the mirror. My wounds are all gone, and I clearly received a major upgrade to my body. I've got a well defined physique now, and I look great now. Satisfied, I went back into my room and turned on my light. Surprisingly none of the crap on my body got on my bed, so I turned off the light and climbed back into my bed. Let's get some rest now, I'll think about the insanity that just happened when I wake up.
My mom just woke me up and wished me happy birthday. I got up and put some actual clothes on. It's 8:30 in the morning and my dad Kevin Merfeld, and my mom Sun Jae are both waiting for me at the table with a very shy looking girl. She stood up excitedly, and slightly relieved looking and said, "Good morning Sun Jie! Happy birthday!" I felt my blood boiling hearing that, I mean she's soooooo beautiful. What guy doesn't want to see a beauty first thing in the morning?
"Good morning Sinu Cheo, and thanks for the birthday wish." My parents both had a mischievous look on their faces, and dad spoke up at this moment. "Well Jie, your mom and I are going to pick up your aunt Sarah and uncle Jerry. We'll be back in a few hours. Try not to get into any trouble you hear?" Chuckling lightly my dad pat my shoulder, and mom smiled at Cheo before following dad out the door. Now it's just the two of us.
I led Cheo over to the couch, and turned on the TV. Suddenly a breaking news story was on TV. "The ancient Dragon King Sect have finally decided to open their doors for new disciples. Come to Times Square in one weeks time to go through the screening process. This is Tina Furor with..." I felt my heart beat in excitement as this information was released. I need to spend the next week learning how to use my skills and reach a certain level of mastery. As I was thinking about this, I noticed Cheo perk up at the news. Maybe she's into martial arts. I clenched my fist and decided I'd enter this sect and join the inner disciples in a years time, however, if my performance is good enough to become a core disciple, then I'll then aim to be the best disciple in the entire sect. This is my goal. Now, it's hard core training time!