Tekken Short Stories

A visit to the hospital

Hwoarang was found unconscious somewhere in a Middle Eastern market. The town's people quickly rushed him to the hospital.
"We don't know who he is," a man told the doctor. "We just found him. He appears to be a foreigner."
"But we found his phone," another man said, handing it to the doctor. "We may be able to find out who he is if we check the phone."
They managed to get his identity from his wallet.
The doctor unlocked the phone using Hwoarang's fingerprint. He went to Hwoarang's contact list and found that the first number saved was someone named Master Baek.
"He must be a very close friend," the doctor thought, calling him.
Baek had no idea what had become of his disciple. He was worried about what he was doing in the Middle East when he suddenly received a call from him.
"Hwoarang!" Baek exclaimed as soon as he picked up the phone. "Are you okay? Where are you?"
To his surprise, he was answered by an unfamiliar foreign voice.
"Are you Master Baek?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes? Who is this?"
"Well, I'm a Doctor at a hospital in the Middle East," the doctor said. "We found your friend unconscious in a market. He was caught in a grenade explosion."
"Oh god!" Baek said, concerned. "Is he okay? Can I speak to him?"
"He's still unconscious," the doctor said, much to Baek's dismay. "My colleagues are treating him."
"Is he okay?" Baek asked again.
"He is but..." the doctor trailed off. "It appears his right eye was wounded by the explosion. We don't know if it's okay, but there is a chance that he might lose it."
"Hwoarang!" Baek said, starting to sob but he quickly wiped his tears away. "Where is he? I'm coming over."
The doctor told him the details and Baek flew there on the next flight that was scheduled to land there.
He took a cab to the hospital that Hwoarang was admitted in.
Baek asked where Hwoarang was and found that he was in a ward in the optical department.
He ran straight there and saw Hwoarang unconscious on the hospital bed. A doctor was there, looking through a clipboard.
The first thing that Baek noticed about Hwoarang was his eye. His right eye was bandaged.
"What happened to him?" Baek asked the doctor. "Why is he bandaged on his eye?"
"His eye was exposed to the fire," the doctor said. "He had to go through surgery because his eye was badly hurt."
"Is he gonna be... blinded?" Baek asked in dismay."
"No no he isn't," the doctor said assuringly. "It's just injured, that's all. It would take a few weeks to fully heal and he will be fine. He has to keep it away from light, though."
"Oh thank goodness," Baek said in relief. "Thank you, Doctor...?"
"Muhammad," the doctor said. "I'm Doctor Muhammad."
"Thank you, Doctor Muhammad," Baek said gratefully. "Can I stay here? Hwoarang has no one else besides me."
"Sure, go ahead," said the doctor. "We don't usually allow anyone besides relatives to stay, but since you're the only one he knows, go right ahead."
Baek thanked the doctor and sat on a chair next to Hwoarang's bed. The doctor left to go tend to his other patients. Baek never left Hwoarang's side except to get some food and go to the toilet.
Baek just sat there, reading a book. Hwoarang's stuff was there too like his clothes, his sunglasses, his bike keys, his jewellery and stuff like that.
A nurse came to check on him and Baek asked her when Hwoarang would wake up.
"It would take a while," said the nurse. "The anaesthesia was strong. He would gain consciousness tomorrow."
Baek nodded.
He didn't even go to a hotel to sleep that night. He just slept there, next to Hwoarang.
Hwoarang only woke up the next day. Baek didn't notice until Hwoarang acknowledged him.
"Master?" Hwoarang said, attempting to get up. Baek put his book down on the bed and stood up. "What's going on?"
"No no, Hwoarang, you must rest," Baek said, making him lie down again. "You were hurt in that explosion."
"What's on my face?!" Hwoarang asked, attempting to take the bandage off. "It's blocking my vision!"
"Hwoarang no!" Baek shouted, stopping him. "Your eye is injured. You just had an eye surgery. You can't expose it to light!"
"Am I gonna be one-eyed?!" Hwoarang shouted, horrified. "No! No! How am I gonna enter bike races? They wouldn't accept me no matter how good I am!"
"Hwoarang..." Baek said comfortingly. "You're not gonna be one-eyed. They performed surgery. You just have to keep it away from light for a few weeks. It's not gone, just injured."
"Oh okay..." Hwoarang said finally. "So I have to wear an eyepatch then. I'm gonna look like a pirate!"
"Hwoarang..." Baek said, giving his disciple a sad smile. "Anyway, do you want anything? I wanna go get something from the vending machines."
"Can I have some water?" Hwoarang said. "I'm awfully thirsty. My mouth's really dry..."
"Okay I'll get some for you," said Baek. "You want anything else?"
"No..." Hwoarang said. "I don't even feel like eating."
Baek nodded and left the room. He was kinda saddened to see Hwoarang like this but he was still doing all he can to support him.
Baek came back with two bottles of water and some coffee for himself. Doctor Muhammad came to check on him and was pleased to see him awake.
"So how are you feeling?" The doctor asked. "You look a lot better now."
"Yeah I'm okay," said Hwoarang. "But I feel really dry."
"You must be hungry too," said Doctor Muhammad. "I'll ask them to send you some food later."
Soon, the nurse came with Hwoarang's breakfast tray. Hwoarang looked at the food and instantly lost his appetite, but still ate it because he was really hungry.
Baek went down to the cafeteria and packed a light meal for himself. He snuck some for Hwoarang too and he really appreciated it.
"Thank you, Master," Hwoarang said gratefully. "This is a lot better."
Baek smiled. He tried helping Hwoarang as much as he can.
Soon, Hwoarang was transferred to a general ward. He would soon be discharged but he would still have to be cared for in the hospital.
"You're doing great," Doctor Muhammad said. "You will be discharged in a few days' time."
The Koreans thanked the doctor.
It was soon mealtime for Hwoarang and Baek went to the cafeteria.
Hwoarang opened his cloche and was dismayed to see the same bland hospital food on his tray.
"Ugh..." Hwoarang said in disgust and picked up his utensils.
The hospital door suddenly opened and Hwoarang looked over to see if it was his master, but to his surprise, it was someone else.
"Kazama?!" Hwoarang said, shocked.
Indeed it was. He came to see Hwoarang with a big bag of stuff. Lee told him about Hwoarang's condition and Jin felt responsible and came to visit him.
He was so surprised that he even dropped his spoon into the bowl of porridge.
"Hwoarang..." Jin said, closing the door behind him. "Your eye... What happened?"
"Well, you happened!" Hwoarang said angrily. "I managed to kick you out of the way, but didn't manage to save myself."
"Sorry, Hwoarang," Jin said. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."
"Why are you here anyway?" Hwoarang asked.
"I just came to say hi and give you some stuff," Jin said, much to Hwoarang's surprise. "As soon as I heard about what happened to you, I came straight here."
"What happened to you?" Hwoarang asked. "You were wearing a straitjacket and even had a chain tied to your neck! What happened?"
"They captured me but I got away," said Jin. "I was lost and helplessly running about the marketplace when Lars found me and brought me to safety."
"And that's when I saw you!" Hwoarang said. "But still... why the sudden care?"
"I just felt bad to have you mixed up in my affairs," said Jin. "You have nothing to do with this."
Jin put the large bag on the table and started to take out some things. He took out some snacks.
"I got these for you," said Jin. "I noticed that you loved these."
He then took out a pair of fluffy bedroom slippers. Hwoarang burst into laughter.
"You brought me fluffy slippers?!" Hwoarang said, laughing. "Oh my gosh!"
"You need to be comfy, especially now," said Jin, trying to not smile. "Wait I have more."
He took out a thermos container.
"I brought you some Zosui to make you feel better," said Jin. "I know you'd be tired of eating this bland hospital food so I made you something to help you feel better."
"You made that for me?!" Hwoarang asked in shock. "You made it?"
"Yeah..." Jin said. "My mother always made some for me when I'm not feeling well. She taught me the recipe too."
Jin fell silent for a moment as he remembered the time Jun taught him how to make Zosui. A single tear streamed out of his eye.
"Kazama?" Hwoarang asked, noticing Jin's sadness. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Jin said, snapping back to reality and fishing out a thermos flask. "Yeah, I'm okay. I brought you some hot ginger tea too."
"I don't know what to say," Hwoarang said, speechless. "Thanks, Kazama."
Jin gave him a small smile. He walked over to Hwoarang to take a closer look at him.
"What happened to your eye?" Jin asked. "Is it... blinded?"
"Nah," Hwoarang said. "It's just injured. I have to wear an eyepatch for a few weeks to keep it away from light."
"That's good," said Jin. "At least you didn't lose it. Hey I'll pay for the fees, okay?"
"Kazama?" Hwoarang said, taken aback. "You don't have to."
"But I must," said Jin. "I'll pay for it."
"Thanks, Kazama," said Hwoarang. "I didn't know you actually cared."
"You're welcome," Jin said, giving him another small smile. "Anyway, I have to go."
He turned around to leave. He opened the door and saw Baek at the end of the corridor, coming towards Hwoarang's ward.
Jin panicked and immediately closed the door, reentering the ward, much to Hwoarang's surprise.
"What is it, Kazama?" Hwoarang asked. "You look scared."
"It's your master!" Jin said. "He's coming!"
"Oh no!" Hwoarang said, also panicking. "Quick! Hide!"
"I can get out of the window," said Jin. "It would only take a second."
But before he could, the door opened. Jin quickly crouched down, next to Hwoarang's bed.
"Get down!" Hwoarang whispered, pushing Jin down and motioning him to hide under the bed.
Baek was surprised to see lots of stuff in the room.
"What's this stuff?" Baek asked. "Who brought them here?"
"A friend," Hwoarang said, much to Jin's surprise. "A friend came over."
"You haven't even touched your meal," Baek said, surprised. "Why?"
"Well, he came in in the middle of my meal," said Hwoarang. "He brought me a meal too actually."
"You eat this first," said Baek. "Eat that for lunch. Don't waste the food."
"Okay..." said Hwoarang. "The food would stay hot anyway. He brought it in a thermos."
"Who was it anyway?" Baek said, seeing what's in the bag. "He brought you so much!"
"Umm... it was Jin," Hwoarang said, much to Jin's horror.
"Jin?!" Baek shouted in shock. "Jin Kazama?!"
"No not Jin Kazama," Hwoarang quickly said. "It was... Kyung-Jin. Yeah."
"But he seems like a Japanese fella?" Baek said, seeing the Zosui that Jin brought. "Like, this is Japanese food."
"He's... half-Japanese," said Hwoarang. "Yeah. His mom is Japanese. His dad is Korean."
Jin tried to not laugh. Hwoarang was one of the only ones who made him smile besides his mother.
"Oh okay," said Baek. "Now eat. You must be hungry."
Hwoarang reluctantly ate the bland hospital food, longing to eat the Zosui that Jin brought for him. Jin patiently waited under the bed for Baek to leave.
Hwoarang remembered him and tried to divert Baek.
"I need to go to the toilet," said Hwoarang. "Can you follow me?"
"Sure," Baek said. "Come."
The bathroom was at the other side of the ward. Luckily, it was a single room ward. Baek helped Hwoarang to the bathroom while Jin crawled out to the other side of the room and quickly fled.
He ran back to the hotel that he lived with Lars, Lee and Alisa.
"How is he?" Lars asked.
"He's okay," said Jin. "He hurt his eye and has to wear an eyepatch to keep it away from light for a few weeks. But other than that, he's still the same idiot."
"Well, it's Hwoarang," said Lee. "But glad that he's feeling excellent."
When Hwoarang was about to get discharged, Baek went to the receptionist to pay the bill. He was surprised to find that he didn't have to pay a single cent.
"It's taken care of, Mr Baek," the receptionist said. "You can just take your friend home."
"Really?" Baek asked, confused. "Who paid?"
"He didn't say," said the receptionist. "He was wearing a hood, didn't say much and just paid the full amount, in cash and left."
Baek thanked the receptionist and went to get Hwoarang.
"Someone already paid," said Baek. "In cash."
Hwoarang shook his head. He knew who, but he didn't want to tell his master.
They soon returned to South Korea and Hwoarang dyed his hair black, leaving a red streak at the front. He thought he would look better like this if he wore an eyepatch.