Untamed - Weak hero class 2

After the encounter with Seongje, Yeonhwa didn't feel like sticking around for dinner. The air still felt heavy with his words, and the thought of forcing herself to smile and eat with the others made her stomach turn.

So she headed home. Or rather, to the place she lived now — a sleek, modern apartment that made most people go wide-eyed the moment they stepped inside. It was big. Too big for one person, really. But it was her guardian's house. A place that was technically hers but never quite felt like it.

Just a few minutes away stood a martial arts training center, the same one her guardian owned. The same one where she'd first met Ms. Choi Aera — a woman who once ruled the martial arts scene, sweeping through competitions and now served as a highly sought-after instructor and judge.

Yeonhwa had once been a real-life Cinderella. Not the fairy tale kind, though. The kind with dirt under her nails and bruises that never seemed to fade — until the day she met her own version of a fairy godmother. But instead of a sparkling gown and glass slippers, Ms. Aera gave her something far more valuable: a roof over her head, meals that didn't come from trash cans, and the strength to stand tall on her own two feet.

After running away from home to escape her stepfather, she'd spent days wandering the streets. Starving, shivering, and on the verge of collapse. That's when Ms. Aera had found her, slouched against the brick wall outside the training center, eyes hollow and lifeless.

Maybe it was pity. Maybe Yeonhwa's haunted eyes reminded Aera of someone from her past. Or maybe it was just a moment of impulse. Whatever it was, Aera decided to take her in.

Not as a daughter. But as her legal guardian.

She gave Yeonhwa a roof over her head, clothes that fit, meals that actually filled her stomach. She paid for her tuition, and more importantly, she started teaching her martial arts.

At first, Yeonhwa was just grateful to be alive. But as the days turned into weeks and then months, something inside her began to burn.

The people who had seen what was happening to her, they'd just watched. Neighbors. Teachers. Passersby. They saw the bruises. Heard the shouting.

But no one had done anything.

"It's not our problem."
"Seems like a family matter."
"I'm sorry, but I have my own kids to worry about."

Their words echoed in her mind, each one sinking in like a knife. It wasn't that they couldn't help. They had more than enough power, more than enough resources. But they chose not to.

So when Ms. Aera did more than just the bare minimum, when she went out of her way to save her, to take her in, to teach her how to fight — Yeonhwa swore she'd become just like her.

Strong. Powerful. Someone who could protect herself and others.

Because in the end, she realized no one was coming to save her. The only person who could was herself.

So she trained. Day in and day out. Pushing herself until her muscles burned and her knuckles bled. Until her body ached and her mind screamed for rest.

It took years, but she finally felt ready.

Ready enough to come back to this city. The one that held every ugly memory she'd tried so hard to bury.

She'd been in Busan for seven years. Seven years of living under a new name, a new identity that now felt more like hers than the one she was born with.

And now she was back. Back to the city she hated. Back to the people who pretended not to see.

But this time, she wasn't the girl they'd ignored. She wasn't the girl who'd cower and hide.