𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍. i'm getting used to you

THE SCHOOL HALLWAY WAS A JUNGLE GYM. IT WAS A pole down, a ladder up, monkey bars from the ceilings, a balancing beam on the floor, slides, and cargo nets. The hallway was light and bright, even upon stormy days, its grand windows let in a bouquet of rays.

The hallways had light marble floors and white walls, not a handprint or scuff mark anywhere. The doors were glossy black, numbered with silver digits that match the globe-shaped handles. It isn't just the materials though, it's the dimensions, the width being at least twice that of any other school.

Jieun made it to her classroom, it was her salvation. When she walked in there her mind was able to function, her stride grew longer.

Though the classroom walls were bare the windows were large. Everyone wanted a window seat, to sit in the unsubdued light of the morning. Outside the sky was blue except for a few strands of stratus that trail like airplane trails.

Whoever painted the walls in there must've had an imagination bypass, but then isn't that the education system all over? Fill kids' minds with facts they could google instead of teaching them how to think, question facts, experiment and explore. It wasn't the nineteen hundreds anymore, they weren't preparing them to clock in and out at factories.

Jieun took a glance at her desk.

It was recycled wood upon strong iron legs, each at a jaunty angle as if it was stretching before a pleasant jog. The wood was upcycled, and she wondered if had once been a door. In the grain were flecks of colors that many front doors in the neighborhood had, so many vibrant hues in every season, like rainbow freckles.

She wondered how many smiles it had seen, how many had seen it, and felt the relief of coming home.

Yet for now, it had been vandalized with markings dedicated to her.

Jieun Kang, psycho bitch!

get lost, junkie.

druggie scum.

Right, the news about her father was put out all over the media.

She thought the student body would have more sympathy, after all, even if she was friendly with the popular crowd she hadn't actually bullied anyone. Sure, she was mean on occasion but just another one of the crowd.

Guess they didn't like the daughter of a ❨ supposed, not yet proven. ❩ drug cartel member.

"She's actually back!" A voice said nearby, "I can't believe this, what an honor roll student." Jieun did nothing but set her books down, ignoring the group of teens who had the guts to torment her. "Hey, junkie. Why are you still here?"

"Don't. Her dad's going to come after you." Said another. "Oh, wait." Then the group giggled.

"Even if he wanted to, there are cops everywhere. Too bad, he kicked the bucket."

Jieun looked at the leader up and down, lowering her voice. "Get out of my face."

The student didn't give up. Instead, motioned their friend to sneak up behind Jieun, pretending to pull out a brown-wrapped bag, covered in what looked to be flour. "Hey! It's drugs! Call the cops. I'm so scared!"

The group laughed again, only this time others around her joined in. "How could you bring drugs to school?" They threw the bag on her desk, sending flour flying in the air.

Jieun knew she must've looked cowardly, letting them belittle her like that. Especially after what she had proven to do, honestly, the group was playing with fire. And it was only a matter of time before they poured too much gas to calm it down.

She continued to stare straight ahead, it took several long seconds before they continued. "God! She's so annoying, no wonder daddy decided he liked it better six feet under."

A twitch left her eye, and she stood, looking somewhat relaxed now, she stood to level with the student. "What's she doing?" The friend whispered.

Then, Jieun instinctively grabbed the bag of flour beside her, lurching toward the student before slamming the bag continuously on the student's face and body. "Shit. has she lost her mind?" A voice broke out.

The student she attacked ran forward, pushing Jieun to the ground with all their force. "Are you insane?" A few students left the scene to get a teacher, with the new rule in place Jieun was bound to get suspended again, or worse, expelled.

Eli and a few other Cobra Kai students watched as Jieun staggered to her feet, the sound of broken bones filled their ears.

Everyone screamed as the student she attacked's nose started to bleed. Another student fell to the floor after Jieun hit them in the back of the head with a book bag.

Eli charged after her, keeping Jieun from doing something she'd regret. "Stay away." She squirmed and cried, "Get away from me. I'm not done!"

Jieun tried to push away from Eli but looked like a person experiencing a bad cold, her lips moving, quivering silently. At this point, Eli was shouting at her to forget about it and leave with him and the others.

In one fluid motion, Eli grabbed Jieun's hand and hurried off.

At the end of the hallway, a screech was met, "Hey! You two!"

Eli grabbed a door. "Over here!" She hurried inside, Eli thrusting a broken desk to jam the door so no one came in. Eli turned to Jieun. "Are you okay?"

She looked a little afraid, but her face shifted and she nodded. Warily, she took a seat next to him. "Wheezie tells stories about you." She said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

He sent her a confused look. "Are we not gonna talk about what just happened?"

She shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "That asshole pissed me off."

Eli just chuckled good-naturedly. "Yeah, they had it coming."

She smiled. Eli and Jieun were always nice to each other. Even with Yasmine's constant bullying. Eli was low-key. He had been an outsider to the class, only now was he starting to feel as if he was actually a part of a community with the joining of Cobra Kai.

Eli never saw Jieun lonely, not that she wasn't ever alone. When she was by herself she wasn't looking for company, like she was so much more comfortable in her own skin than the rest of them. She'd talk to anyone and everyone who approached her, she didn't care if they were in the 'in crowd' or not. With all the crazy cliques going on at school she was something of an 'independent' rather than a reject.

She had intelligent things to say and an attitude that was somehow more mature than the rest of them. She knew who to trust and who to be casual with, but mostly she seemed to have decided that school was for work. It was for getting her grades and if she made friends along the way that was great, but not essential.

He would remember the times he would hang out with Miguel, who nonstop talked about all the funny moments he had with her. He kept hoping even outside the hang-outs that Miguel would bring Jieun fort, not to study, as they did on occasion, of course, She didn't need that. But to talk, to have his own inside jokes and memories like one the ones Miguel had.

They spent the next few hours talking, talking shit, Eli went on and on about karate and how Cobra Kai could use someone like her, a phrase she knew all too well.

She admired him in a way, how he could tell the bullies to get lost with his new confidence. She's never seen someone who looked so pathetic have the stones to stand up to their bullies. He was a living legend to some, and to most. It was like watching Bambi pull out his own rifle and shoot the hunter where it counted.

"I THINK HE'S RECOVERING. I WAS singing beat it and I saw his hand twitch!" Jieun explained.

Robby listened intently, "Why are you singing to him?"

"Studies show it's the second best way to wake someone from a coma."

"What's the first?"

She cleared her throat before continuing, "You don't wanna know." At that moment, Jieun looked up at her rearview mirror where her gaze met Robby's and she smiled.

She hadn't thought about it too much, but Robby had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. She guessed he must have gotten used to it, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course, the blush that accompanied it was a dead giveaway. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, it made the girls fall for him all the more.

Despite all the opportunities that came his way he seemed to be a one-woman-man who prized genuineness and thoughtful conversation above lipstick and high heels. He was handsome alright, but inside he was beautiful.

"Are you sure visiting your mom is a great idea? It's in public." She whispered the last part.

He considered what she said. His stomach seemed to twist into knots as he worried about what course of action to take. Keeping himself in hiding was the most important issue. If the police were to find him, they would take him in instantly. And, according to the law, catching someone on the run meant more time than giving yourself up.

But even with the potential consequence, he wanted to see his mom. "I need to let her know I'm okay." He quickly shifted his tone, "after that, I'm leaving."

She pressed her lips together, eyes on the road, "you think you can survive on your own?"

"I can't have you and Ben take care of me for the rest of my life."

"Okay," Jieun muttered under her breath. "Is that what you want?"

Robby scanned her face and frowned. Leaving was his form of self-protection. There was no other way to accomplish it, or to give himself a chance to recover. When that happens, leaving is not a choice but a duty.

It was like when a bird left the nest, and his leaving was healthy and right. Leaving could be part of loving, of showing that one was strong enough to do what they've been raised to do.

Though he were to leave, he hoped their bond remained, traveling different pathways yet eternally connected.

"No." Robby sent her a soft smile, she nodded and shut the door firmly behind her as they made it to their destination.

In less than an hour's time Robby reunited with his mom, the garden bench Jieun sat a few feet away had simple planks fixed together. It was fashioned from a wind-felled tree, the legs being sections of the trunk still clothed in bark and the top was a fine long plank rendered a deep soulful brown by the varnish.

Robby's eyes landed on Jieun who picked at the bench she sat on. Her appearance alone made his emotions get lifted.

He hated the feeling. How could he feel this was for someone in the situation he was in?

Not that he was falling for her, he didn't know what the feeling was.

He hated that he sparked with excitement ― not only at her touch but at the thought of the day that played ahead, full of possibilities, he didn't care as long as she was there. He hoped this day would be like the day before, the same breeze would blow and the same tree limbs would fall.

"Do you like her?" Shannon looked at Robby, who got very still. "You're smiling. It's weird." Robby looked like he was shrinking into himself, like a little night bloom, contracting into itself, pulling its petals shut.

"It's okay if you do, you know." She says to her son. "With what you told me, I'm not surprised how close you've gotten." Shannon's heart ached for him. This wasn't right, the two should be falling for one another in a normal environment, not whatever the hell was going on now.

Robby let out a sort of hesitant chuckle. "It just doesn't feel like this is a good thing or a bad thing." He said awkwardly, Shannon let a small smile tug at her lips before changing the conversation again.

A laugh stopped her thoughts, the heavy silence around her was broken. She willed herself to turn her gaze from the torn and charred banner a few residents tried to take off from the facility's banister and focused on Robby and his mom, Shannon, who looked extremely familiar to her but she couldn't quite pinpoint where she was from.

The silly grin Robby had on his face almost made Jieun smile but she was careful to keep her expression neutral.

She closed her eyes, At times like this she was angry at the universe, for having her parents be with her for so long only to take them far away, she still hasn't found peace with it. For in these days of missing them, she cannot entertain the idea of another. She had become as close to independent as it was for a soul such as herself to achieve.

Every time she closed her eyes she saw pictures of her parents. She was there too, grinning like an idiot. She sighed, letting her mind fill with their voices. She could hear her father teasing her like he was just feet away; her mind filled with witty retorts he will never hear to the jibes he could never say. She wanted so desperately to call to them softly to see if they could step out of the dusty frame of her mind, but it wasn't possible.

Suddenly, a loud voice, "you kept me talking so I wouldn't leave."

"No, I was trying to help you." Daniel LaRusso heaved.

Her head snapped up, anger reflecting on her face. "Are you out of your damn mind?" She sneered at the man who put his hand on her shoulders, "how could you do this to him?"

"Listen, this is only temporary. I will get him through this, Okay?" He turned to Robby, "I will get you through this! I will visit you every day, I promise."

Robby glared at him, police handcuffing him, "Don't bother."

A chorus of curses rang out of Jieun as she ran after him, which didn't work as Daniel held her, "how could you!" She yelled, loud enough to be heard over all the chatter around them.

"This was the only option." He said, sighing. "It was the right thing to do!"

Jieun jerked her hands forward, pushing Daniel with all her strength. Her knuckles whitening, her teeth gnashing with anger. "some things are more important than the right thing."

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄

can u tell that "some things are more important than the right thing" is my favorite phrase in the whole world,

will def be using it again lolollol

can u also tell that boy falls first / boy falls harder is my favorite trope ??

anyways, this is finally starting s3! can't wait to continue !! especially when we get to the tournament c:

much love,