Chapter 1: Cursed or Blessed

Life is unfair. This is the lesson Ki Jung Lee learned early on in life. Her father died in a factory incident that should not have been possible. After all, how does a robot, out of the blue, go from loading silicon wafers used in creating integrated chips to flinging one, with deadly accuracy, through a group of people and killing a single person (her father), and no one else is injured? How is that even remotely possible?

There were investigations, but nothing came of it. The company’s insurance paid Yun Hee, her mother, a small monthly stipend, but it barely covers the basic necessities for a family of three. Mrs. Lee Yun Hee might have been able to get more money and get it upfront if she’d had the courage to take the company on in the media and court. She is, however, unwilling to do so.

Yun Hee Lee, is a homemaker and does not earn a personal income. Because of this lack of personal employment, she feels it’s safer to accept the monthly stipend. This works in favor of the company and its insurance carrier. Such a small amount, one month at a time, is a pittance they could ignore.

The loss of her father is only one of many examples of “life isn’t fair” in her life. Her little brother lost his right foot when he was three. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It didn’t happen through an egregious act of malice. Nor was it due to a lack of supervision. It was a simple bug bite. At least it seemed simple at first. It started with a little swelling, typical of most bug bites. Seo Joon didn’t even notice when he was bitten. So, it’s understandable that no one took any notice at first. Simple bug bites are a nuisance, but that’s all. You either ignore them and they go away, or you use anti-itch cream to sooth it.

Seo Joon’s trouble began a few days later when the swelling of his foot began became much more pronounced. Usually, when there’s a reaction of that kind, it spreads outwards and affects more and more of the extremity. In Ki Jung’s little brother’s case, it didn’t act like a normal infection. Instead, it remained confined to the foot, below the ankle. But, the way it swelled!

They took him to the ER as soon as the problem became obvious, but there was nothing that could be done. None of the medications were effective, and they had tried many different ones over a period of days.

On the fifth day, the doctor overseeing Seo Joon’s case informed the widow Lee that they would have to amputate. With a sinking heart, she signed the necessary permission forms. The operation went smoothly and without a single complication.

The medical bills would have totally ruined them, if not for the GoFundMe page that was created for the purpose of paying Lee Seo Joon’s medical bills. It is a bright spot in their lives. Mother and daughter write personalized letters to everyone who donated if they had an address to send one too. Some donations were anonymous, however. Ki Jung was eight when her brother lost his foot.

The donations were enough cover the prosthetic Seo Joon needed in order to walk and have a normal healthy life. Every year since then, an additional sum is added to the GoFundMe account. It always covers all the costs of a new prosthetic foot. It is always contributed anonymously.

School is both her favorite and most hated place. In the classroom and gym, she excels, and the library is her personal oasis. Away from teachers’ notice, she is often bullied because of her high marks, the way she is favored by the teachers, and because her clothing was always second hand (and often out of date).

Since her father’s death, the only thing she ever gets that is new are pencils and paper for school. Everything else comes from second-hand stores or the charity of friends and neighbors. Gifts are always the necessities. It is rare for the children to receive dolls, toys, or games of any kind.

The toys and games they do have are ones that Ki Jung discovers while dumpster diving. She learned, by the age of seven, that people throw away a lot of perfectly good stuff. She’s recovered clothes, toys, kitchenware, and more. Not all of it is usable, but most can be cleaned up and salvaged for use. It is through her dumpster diving that she is able to provide a number of useful items. She has recovered cold weather coats, in good condition for all three of them, and a dish set that was missing a single of cup, and many other useful goods. This allows for more money to be used to keep the pantry, and thus their bellies, filled.

Ki June manages to keep a positive outlook, in spite of all the unfairness of the world. She just needs to avoid the bullies that torment her and other negative influences that are trying to overwhelm her.

On her tenth birthday, she receives a scholarship to train at a dojo down the street. It covers everything. This, too, is an anonymous contribution. Her mother isn’t sure she likes the idea, but Ki Jung gets her to go to the dojo with her and see what it’s about. After speaking with Master Jamison, the owner the dojo, Lee Yun Hee agrees to allowing her daughter to attend. This comes with the caveat that Ki Jung maintains her high grades.

As with her studies at school, Ki Jung thrives in the dojo where she learns Aikido, Judo, and Muay Thai. The speed and skill with which she learns causes her to be viewed as a prodigy of the martial arts. She studies with an inner fire and desire that defy description. This young woman takes and passes each test as soon as she qualifies, and if it weren’t for the strict age requirements, she would have earned her First Dan ranking in both Aikido and Judo before her fourteenth birthday. In spite of these restrictions, her instructors train her as if she is First Dan. Her fellow students afford her the respect they would give any of the instructors.

Ki Jung learns every move with the precision of a machine. Show her three times, walk her through it twice, and she is able to do it with utter perfection. But it doesn’t end there. She perform with just machine like precision; she is also grace personified. Her movements flow in a way that appear to defy physics.

In testing, she moves with mechanical precision and grace displaying her proficiency to the instructors and her peers. That’s fine for teaching or tutoring, but it doesn’t do any good in free form combat.

Place Ki Jung on the mat against anyone in a free form match, and she overcomes anyone pitted against her. Her flexibility, speed, strength, and stamina are incredible. Any tells she gives off are on purpose. She’ll move in a way that causes her opponents to commit themselves and then change things up and put them down. If someone thinks they have gained control over her, it is an illusion. She is as supple as a snake, slippery as an eel, strong as a tiger, and as fast as a preying mantis. If you get your hands on her, it’s because she wants you to.

Ki Jung always follows the proper forms. She performs the ritual of bowing that is part of custom and tradition. As soon as that is completed, she strikes. She modifies the power she puts behind her attacks and defense based on the individual. She has never harmed a fellow student, but she always puts them down with little effort. In the dojo, she makes each take-down a teaching moment, talking everyone through what she is doing in a clear, concise voice that can easily be heard by all in attendance.