Post by Jin Min-jun on May 30, 2021 13:16:00 GMT -5
I did it..... I really fucking did it... I... wow.
Even days later walking home from the subway station it's still just such a shock that some punk kid from Brooklyn, New York with no wrestling
training outlasted some of the best... hell I even beat Aph.... One of the only things reminding me just how real it is ... my fucked up knee.
Thanks for that Jessie....
As I hobble down the street getting closer to home it reminds me why I did it all... why any of this even matters.
This neighborhood... these kids.. they all rely on me. The world doesn't care about a buncha immigrants like us... tellin' us to go back to our own countries... making jokes about the food we eat... they don't care 'bout us thriving... they don't even care about us surviving. But I do.
I finally see home down the road, but more importantly a see a small group of young faces excited to see me. The group of teens rush over and for a moment I feel a bit like some.... C-List celebrity... must be how Jason feels the few times people recognize him from his movies.
My little fan club surrounds me excitedly. The two eldest of the group, Soobin and his sister Jiyeon, two of the only other Korean kids in the neighborhood, move through the crowd of younger kids and rush in for hugs.
Jiyeon: Min-jun oppa! We missed you so much!
Min-jun: Haha Jiyeon I've only been gone like what... a month?
Soobin: Yeah, but it's not as fun without Min-jun hyung around!
Jiyeon: And it's a bit scarier out here without our Brooklyngun protecting us all.
She's right... it was one of the sacrifices that had to be made. Me leaving meant I wasn't gonna continue putting them at risk... but it means that I'm not here to protect them all from the aftermath. But.. it was the right choice.
Min-jun: I know I'm sorry. I'm just tryna do the right thing.. take the heat off y'all .. or at least make sure I don't cause any more for ya.
Soobin: It's okay! You taught us to be tough!
Soobin flashes a smiles and a thumbs up like some sort of anime hero and I can't help, but laugh.
Min-jun: So how are y'alls' folks? Everyone okay?
As soon as I mention families I see the light in all their eyes dim.
Fuck. That's not good.
Jiyeon: It's.... it's been hard. Money's tight... we've been trying the best we can.
Min-jun: You haven't been stealing... right?
Annnnd that's some guilt on their faces. Won't even look me in the eyes now.
Soobin goes silent while Jiyeon tries to pull some words together.
Jiyeon: We ... we didn't have much of a choice. Like I said... it's been tight. Like bills or groceries this week tight.
There's a part of me who's disappointed. I told them to stay away from trouble while I was gone.. while I couldn't protect them. I get it though. They're my mini-me's. Especially Soobin and Jiyeon. With me gone they're the leaders of the block... they're the one's takin responsibility for the younger kids.
Min-jun: Look I get it... but I really need you two to stop. I'm not here to keep you all safe. You don't know what would happen to me if .... if something happened to any of you.
As we talk I look around at the kids. They all look up at me... literally and figuratively. When I look around it hits me just how much they depend on me... to teach them... to provide for them as best I can.. to protect them... to make sure they don't get.... that they don't end up in the crossfire...
I look at the path home... I look at the kids... I look at the chain link fence... my breathing picks up...
faster...
harder...
What if they end up like....
What if I can't protect them...
what if ....
BANG!
Why is everything red? Why? I'm not dreaming. I know I'm awake. I know it.
I look at the kids and their faces begin to warp.. the world starts to spin... my chest feels so tight.. sounds begin to blur... echo... over and over..
ARE YOU OKAY HYUNG?
OPPA WHAT'S WRONG?
IS HE OKAY?
WHY ARE YOU BREATHING SO FAST? MIN-JUN? WHAT DO WE DO?
DO WE GET HELP?
TALK TO US HYUNG!
HOW DO WE HELP?
BREATH HYUNG.
JUST BREATH. SLOWLY.
BREATH.
EVERYTHING'S OKAY.
YOU'RE SAFE. WE'RE HERE.
YOU'RE OKAY.
As I process their words the world stops spinning... the red is gone. My hands are clutched tightly to my chest as my breaths begin to go back to normal. I look in the kids' eyes and I see their fear... concern... love. I collect myself and try to save face.
Min-jun: It's okay... I'm fine. I promise.
I reach into my pocket and take out a bunch of cash; the payout from my big PPV win.
Min-jun: This should help you all out for a bit. Won big last week.. I'mma keep winning for y'all.... but I NEED you to promise me ... no more stealing. Keep your heads down and stay outta shit. I'm going to do everything I can to get more for y'all as soon as I can.
Jiyeon graciously takes the money and begins dividing it up for all the kids. Seeing how happy they are seeing the bills being passed out makes it all worth it to me.
Soobin: We promise Min-jun hyung!
I smile and nod. If these kids are anything like me they're still gonna hustle if push comes to shove, but I'mma make sure they won't have to. I pull them in close and hold them tightly.
Min-jun: You better. You're why I keep fighting.
---------------------------------
I fuckin' did it Revo1. The punk ass street kid that nobody thought was gonna rise up not just rose, but fuckin' soared. I didn't just meet expectations I beat them. I set new ones.
People like Sierra thought... nahhh this kid needs his gang to be tough. J-RY promised to kill my dream.. to show my corpse to my family. Maggie well she didn't even think I was worth addressing. Lee thought I was a failure of a fighter. Hell my own fuckin crew thought they could make me bleed... that I had zero chance of beating them.
I'm used to it though. I'm used to being the underdog. I'm used to being overlooked. Folks look at me and they see some poor little immigrant tryna punch above his weight. But that's where people fuck themselves over. I don't TRY to punch above my weight. I do. I check chins and crack jaws. Jessie told everyone I was a street fighter who couldn't even fight. BANG! Shot of Jin. My girl Aph9 thought she was about ta make me bleed to get back to LeClair. BANG! Shot of Jin. Sierra and her goon thought I was a push over without a gang by my side. BANG! Shot. Of. Jin.
I got my knee straight fucked up in my first match and I still won. I went on through all that pain to knock everyone out for two more W's in that tourny. You know why? Cause I had no choice. I told y'all I wasn't fighting for fame or Glory. I wasn't someone with a pain kink. Not some Joker tryna take over Gotham with supervillainy. I was a kid who had more to lose than every one of them. I had more riding on this than a pat on the back or some accolades in a history book.
Lives depend on me. When you're the Brooklyngun... the prince of your little chosen family well those kids... they look up to you. They rely on you. They need you to be stronger than you think you can be. You need to hustle harder than anyone. You die before you let them down. So at Glory that's what I did. Despite the fact I was a wounded animal... a broken man.. I used that to become more dangerous. Not for the rush, but because THEY NEEDED ME. And I brought home the coin for them. I gave them a reason for hope. And that's what I'm about ta do on #TuesdayNightJin.
This edition of Revo1's A show sees me taking on a debuting monster... some freak in a mask called Nanovirus. Nano ofcourse is apparently the ruler of Hell or something. How many of those we got now? Isn't that Jalen dude also the king of Hell? This dude really took the look the whole way though. Looking like a seven foot beast in a flame-y figure skater bodysuit. Real intimidating man. And you can make fire appear when you flap your arms... which ... yeah I guess that's cool, but... why? What's the point?
Dude's made quite an impact in his short time here though. Came out for a seg and chokeslammed and tombstone'd Angelo into obscurity. Let's be real though... J-Ry beat the shit outta Angelo... and J-Ry can't string together more than one win here. So beating up Angelo isn't really much of a statement... it's kinda just expected at this point.
But I bet your mouthpiece Abigail is gonna go act like you've just shocked the world. Probably flexin' about how her monster is the toughest and most dangerous thing in Revo. I get it. I've seen people like you. You feel all powerful cause you've got a heavy backing you up. You think you're gonna run shit because the dog you've got in the fight is some big arsonist. I know it's been said to death, but Abigail it isn't the size of the dog in the fight that matters. You got a big mutt by your side, but I'm an injured dog with a family to take of and that's fuckin' bad news for you and Nano.
See you throw on some mask and a Spirit Halloween demon costume and call Nano the ruler of Hell,.... but that's not what Hell is. Hell is watching your parents starve themselves so they can give you the only food they have left til payday. Hell is watching people run themselves into the ground just to get enough coin to keep the heat on during the winter. Hell is tryin to ignore all the racial slurs thrown your way when you're headin' home from school. Hell is watching people you love take bullets for your mistakes. What you're bringing.. it ain't Hell. Not even close.
I've been through Hell. And I'mma keep going through it because my fam both chosen and not... they all need me to. No matter how fucked up I am I will keep fighting. I will do everything I can to make sure I walk out on top.... I get that bank and I get it to the folks that need it. So yeah am I walking in with a busted knee? Shit yeah I am. Am I up against a big, scary mother fucker? Big for sure. But none of that matters to me. You might be stronger, but I'm faster. You might be larger, but I'm smarter. You can probably toss me with ease, but I can hit you harder than you've ever felt. You're a seven foot monster yeah, but all that means is I gotta flex this leg a little higher to check your chin and I will.
I'mma be the hero those kids need me to be and I'll slay your monster Abigail. I'll be the cure for your virus.