Neo League 751 - #755: Chae Lim vs Rick Strowd

Description: Rick is hungry. Rick is late for fight and is unable to eat. Rick meets Korean and later eats Korean BBQ. Does Rick eat Chae Lim? Read to find out! (Winner: Rick)



Dongdaemun Market, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
A clear blue sky creates an almost sunny atmosphere for the extremely large shopping center. There is a hustle and bustle as numerous locals and tourists wind their way through the twenty-six shopping malls that cover ten blocks with an amazing thirty-thousand specialty shops. Most of these people are out looking for silks, clothing, trinkets, the occasional fortune teller, and of course the most amazing Korean cuisine one could ever hope to find outside of an at-home-kitchen.

Along a strip of food counters, covered with a glass archway to keep patrons dry during rain showers, several cameras have been set up. Some rest high in the arch of glass, angled down so as to catch the action below. Some rest upon the counters themselves. Some are (surprisingly) even manned by a crew of cameramen! The important thing here is that while the area has been roped off, the proprietors of each eatery have been encouraged to remain open and serve the hungry market-goers.

And this is where one of Korea's sweethearts is right now. Seated at the food counter, enjoying a small bowl of kimchi and rice.

This place is too damn busy. That says alot when someone that is well traveled like Rick Strowd thinks such things. Finding his way through the place to where he was told to be has taken him well over an hour. If he knew it was going to be so problematic he would have started searching earlier since now he is possibly going to be late. "Excuse me, coming through, red and running!" the Native American pipes up as he pushes through the crowd and finally finds his way to the designated fighting area. He stumbles through the last bit of crowd and then catches himself while panting lightly. "Ah hah, made it!" he declares while straightening up and thrusting a fist up in the air in victory.

Sure he was still tracking down that minx Vanessa, but he figured taking in a good fight would help replenish the energy he was spending on this damn wild goose chase of his. The redhead is older and can't continue to evade him for much longer he figures. Not to mention this his Kim's home turf and he has ran into the TKD specialist once or twice in his travels through this country. In fact he is pretty sure the person he is fighting is a student of his which just makes this match much more exciting. Dark eyes glance about as the Native American pulls out a pair of fingerless gloves from the white jeans he wears and starts to pull them on. "Which one of y'all is Chae Lim?"

Aumnomnomnom.

Chae Lim hears the racket behind her, but doesn't turn around. Why waste good food? Especially good FREE food? It's not until she finishes the last little bite of the kimchi that she places the bowl on the counter, dabs at her mouth with a napkin (unlike most other people at the counter) and turns around. When she does, it should be rather obvious that she's the TKD student that's here to partake in the Neo League today! She is, after all, the only one wearing a TKD gi.

"That would be me," the Korean girl says with a smile, doe brown eyes smiling. "I'm glad you could make it." He's not late as of yet, but it is getting close to the scheduled time. Slipping off the bench, she bows toward her apparent opponent and then offers a hand out to him. "Nice to meet you."

The fact that there was free food offered to the fighters kind of makes Rick grumble deep down inside. Now he really wished he knew his way here faster. It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't know, but the worker had to go open his mouth and mention it. Gee, thanks alot there buddy. You're next on the punching list at this point. Chae Lim speaking up derails that train of thought at least and the Native American looks over to this opponent and he looks her over with a bit of curiousity before taking that offered hand with his own and giving it a rather firm shake. "Same here, kiddo. Lets have some fun with his, all right?"

His grin goes wider as he hops back a few steps and reaches to tug on the hem of his t-shirt to pull it off and reveal the warpaint he applied before coming out this way. It has already started to smear just a bit given the amount of running he did, but for the most part it remains where he applied it. He slams his fist into the open palm of his right hand and then thrusts the left hand up into the air. "Lets do this." he proclaims before raising his hands up and lightly bouncing on his feet, taking a somewhat traditional boxer stance as he waits for Chae Lim to ready herself.

COMBATSYS: Rick has started a fight here.

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Rick             0/-------/------=|


Kiddo.

Been a long time since Chae Lim has been called that, and she lets out a tiny, girlish giggle at it. "I will do my best Mister Strowd, though I do warn you that I can be pretty serious once I start to concentrate on things!" This is going to be a pretty serious challenge, after all, and it's best to meet it with some degree of concentration.

As he hops back, the Korean girl stretches her arms back behind her, trying to limber herself up. Her left foot slides along the ground until she draws herself into a starting stance, and then she offers an almost imperceptible nod of her head. She's ready.

Until he starts undressing. Then those pretty little doe browns just go WIDE and stare at him, while a streak of bright red shoots up along her cheeks.

"O-okay! Yes! Let's fight!"

COMBATSYS: ChaeLim has joined the fight here.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0             Rick


Once her embarrassment wanes a little, Chae Lim shakes her head. May as well kick things off with a kick! Or two. Or three.

And this is what she does, rushing along the ground toward him. Her body twists in order to send a rapid roundhouse kick at his shin. "YAH!" Then a second to his thigh. "YAH!" And finally, a third is snapped out toward his midsection. "HIIIIIYAH!"

COMBATSYS: Rick blocks ChaeLim's Ryuusei Raku.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0             Rick


There is a few moments where Rick is a bit confused by the girl getting all red faced. This is just a fight and such, right? Did he miss some sort of memo perhaps? He then seems to finally realize what might be the case and he raises his left hand which has a wedding band on one of the fingers. "Hey this is just fight prep and no a come on. The missus would ki-" He doesn't quite get to finish that train of thought because those rather quick kicks come out towards him. He ducks a bit low and twists to where the kicks hit the side of his leg in a stinging manner but he at least gets his arms lowered enough to stop the one aimed at his midsection.

He straightens quickly and he begins his own attack while Chae Lim still remains in rather close proximity to him. His hands clench tightly into fists and he quickly makes a quick jab motion to feint and perhaps throw the TKD student off balance before jabbing again with his right hand this time followed by another quick left jab as he brings his right hand upwards and then brings it down to let the bottom of his fist slam down on her shoulder. "Nnnnnraaaah!"

COMBATSYS: ChaeLim dodges Rick's Chopping Right.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0             Rick


"What? No, I didn--" But he's begun to fight back already. Still feeling a little red in the face, the Korean girl watches the jab. She weaves to the side to avoid what turns out to be a feint, and just narrowly manages to slide back a step and get into a defensive stance. He almost fooled her! Chae Lim will have to be more on her guard now, watching more closely as he makes his next move.

"I'm just not used to men undressing before a fight," she exclaims as she once more begins to move forward. Instead of lashing out at the man with her foot, she angles her hand in toward his shoulder with a quick knifehand strike. "YIIIHAH!"

COMBATSYS: Rick endures ChaeLim's Jab Punch.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0             Rick


Women, he is never gonna understand how they all really think. It was just a shirt removal afterall. Maybe it is a Korean thing. He doesn't allow himself to look too much into given the fact he finds himself being attacked once again by Chae Lim. Instead of worrying about stopping the hit he just steps into it this time and allows the girl to land her chop cleanly. He does let out a mild grunt, though it sounds more like one of annoyance than a pained one. If it is going to be a hand strike for a hand strike he will take that exchange any day.

"Well don't worry about it. Not like you gotta stuff dollars in my pants cause of it." he finally says as he puts a bit more force behind his next blow, a straight punch aimed to hit the Korean right in the gut in an attempt to knock her back a step. "Might want to stick with the kicks at least. Not sure if you want to get all friendly with the hands tonight."

COMBATSYS: Rick successfully hits ChaeLim with Medium Punch.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0             Rick


Perhaps getting all up-close-and personal with the hands was a bad idea, considering the turn-around she got for her troubles. The punch sends her sprawling backward against a bench, knocking both it, and the girl over. Picking herself up, she offers her arm to an old man who went careening off the bench when it was hit, and apologizes profusely to him in Korean.

"Oh... oh my! I never meant..." There returns a nice shade of crimson to her cheeks, and it's perhaps a good thing that her back is currently turned to him or he would become even more confused as to what goes on in the minds of women. The old man she was helping leers at her and makes a comment that earns him a swat.

But enough of the dilly-dally. Chae Lim needs to focus her attention back on the Native American that just sent her tumbling. As she's still yet to face him, she pushes her left leg straight toward his stomach, peeking over her shoulder while intending to crash her heel against him.

COMBATSYS: Rick interrupts Medium Kick from ChaeLim with Hellion.

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ChaeLim          1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0             Rick


This certainly does seem like the type Kim would take a liking too. She is a bit odd and good natured, though perhaps not focused enough. Then again Rick is just someone who takes fights a bit too seriously at times while he tries to find the next big challenge. Give this girl a few years and she will make Kim proud he figures. For now she is going to have to learn some lessons from the wandering boxer such as he has more tricks up his sleeve than standard smashmouth brawling tactics. He can be flashy when he wants to be afterall.

That is more than proven when he watches the girl come sailing in to kick him. Once again he steps into it, his body tensing to brace for the impact when she collides with him even as he swings a rather dangerous looking right at her midsection. That gloved fist flares with a yellow stream of chi that only seems to add to the powerful strike that is followed up by a hard left uppercut infused with the same energy as the boastful Native American cries out one word. "HELLION!" That kick stun, but now he is starting to feel in the zone and the adrenaline is kicking in which is just making his footwork to kick into overdrive as he hops from foot to foot while motioning for Chae Lim to come at him again. "Now we are warming up. Lets not slow down now!"

It is not usual for her to be so unfocused. Chae Lim is NORMALLY quite good at being serious in a sparring match. It would seem, however, that the whole clothing removal, old man leering, and bench falling over are doing a lot to distract her. The Korean girl should be making her Master Kim proud NOW.

Maybe making him proud after the gloved energy punch sends her flying back against the counter again. This time with enough force to leave a dent in the aluminum that is used for a countertop. TONK. "Aaaack!" She should take a moment or two to catch her breath, perhaps get her mind back into things. It figures though, that if she were to do such a thing, he'd be expecting it.

So it is that she comes at him when he beckons. She starts with another knifehand strike, then comes in with her other hand for a palmheel strike. Chae doesn't stop there. Two snap kicks are fired off, "HYAH!", then a small twist is made and she sends a small backward kick at his shins. A spinning kick rounds off the attack, but that's not the finisher. The finisher of her movements comes with a quick vertical kick angled at the base of the boxer's chin.

COMBATSYS: Rick blocks ChaeLim's Hou'ou Tenbu Kyaku.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0             Rick


Well it would seem that his asking of Chae Lim to keep up the pace is well recieved by the other fighters. She is much more than happy to oblige from the looks of it. She's quick, that is for sure. It makes it rather hard to risk trying to move and avoid the assault she puts forth. His body is working overtime as he ducks and weaves while trying to keep his arms in motion to absorb the blows though the spinning kick seems to land squarely enough that he almost fails to stop the one aimed at his chin. He lets out a big sigh of relief and he staggers back to try and put a bit of distance between himself and the other fighter.

"Well hey now, so there is a bit of ferocity in you. Glad to see that." He seems more than pleased about how things are unfolding. The fact he was almost late and he missed out on free food is fading away as the fight goes on and his attention is focused on trying to get the most out of this battle between himself and Kim's student. He dances around in a circle while also closing the distance between himself and Chae Lim while looking for an opening, eventually he thinks to seem to have found one when he ducks in close and brings his left hand around to aim at Chae Lim's midsection with a sharp hook in an attempt to once again knock the air out of the poor girl.

COMBATSYS: ChaeLim dodges Rick's Hook Punch.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0             Rick


The fact that he manages to actually block her vertical kick is enough to see the Korean girl grin. "You are quite the challenge, Mister Strowd." The compliment he offers to her has her bobbing her head forward once in a quick, curt nod, then she drops back into stance. Doe brown eyes never leave the Native American as he circles around her, getting closer and closer. As his left hand swings toward her midsection, she does something unconventional for a TKD practitioner -- she drops backward to the ground and rolls.

Kip-upping to her feet, she whirls at him again. Another roundhouse this time, though the kick is accompanied by a sheathe of raw, wind-like chi around her foot. Immediately after the attempt, she falls into a back stance in order to prepare for yet another attack.

COMBATSYS: ChaeLim successfully hits Rick with Tidal Wave Whap.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1             Rick


There is a grin and the Native American fist pumps a bit in response to the compliment. "Hey it isn't over yet. Save the compliments for after the fight. You're gonna make me blush otherwise." he says with a hearty chuckle as he prepares for Chae's next attack. It also soon becomes apparent to Rick that he isn't the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve. He finds himself faced with another attack coming in at him and this time he thinks he has the footing in an attempt to get out of the way. That first strike only elicits a small grunt, but it is enough to keep Rick off balance to get nailed by that powerful kick that knocks him right on his ass.

He chuckles again and he rubs his chin to wipe away the small bit of blood coming from his busted lip and he slowly gets back up to his feet. He takes a deep breath and then he raises both fists in the air. "All right, lets do this!" he declares and then he throws a few punches to get himself back into the zone and he begins to sway back and forth, though for now he doesn't strike, he is holding back and his footwork kicks into overdriver as he dances around Chae Lim and looking on with a rather intense look coming across his features.

COMBATSYS: Rick focuses on his next action.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1             Rick


It is hard to keep her eyes upon him when he dances around her again, especially since she's attempting to maintain her stance in order to prepare for a kick. After a full circle, Chae Lim gives up on the attempt to lash out at him right away. Better, perhaps, to follow his movements rather than be surprised by a punch to the back of the head.

"You are right. Compliments should wait. I would hate to distract you." Even though he's managed to distract her quite a bit. The Korean girl just smiles as he tries to psyche himself back up. A step backward is taken, then with a loud, "KIIIIYAH," she sends another vertical kick toward him.

COMBATSYS: Rick dodges ChaeLim's Kuu Sa Jin.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1             Rick


Whatever tactic it is Rick seems to be going into some sort of battle trance or the like. The grin is still there to an extent with his lips quirked upwards on both sides, though he has a rather focused and determined look on his face overall. His swaying is picking up the more he gets ready for whatever he is planning and even when that kick comes outwards he leans back quickly to avoid it fully as he staggers back a few steps before regaining the momentum he was building.

It comes a bit quickly, a stutter step forward and he leans forward to deliver a quick jab towards Chae Lim before quickly leaping back as he lets out a whoop and he leans forward to scrunch down just a bit and begins to sway even faster as his dreadlocks whip around behind him. Gone is the rather boastful warrior as he seems to be fully focused on his quick movements as he stares down the Korean and waiting to see what she might do next.

COMBATSYS: Rick successfully hits ChaeLim with Full Moon Fever.

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ChaeLim          0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1             Rick


Watching him apparently does the TKD prodigy no good. Her foot misses, and just as she's getting it back upon the ground she's skidding back from him thanks to a surprisingly speedy jab. Rebalancing herself, the Korean girl gets a serious looking glint in her eye. Back at the counter, she taps it a few times with her hand. The woman behind it begins preparing a dish for the late-coming fighter, but Chae Lim is not about to deliver it. Why waste good food?

With her kicks appearing to fail her for the time being, she hops forward. Hands drop down, reaching for his waistband to draw him upward. Providing she's at all successful in this, she juts her hip out to the side a little and flips him over it.

COMBATSYS: Rick interrupts Quick Throw from ChaeLim with Howling Bull.

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ChaeLim          1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0             Rick


Trying to get a grip on the Native American is quite a feat unto itself at this point. Rick can be quite quick when he wants to be and the fact Chae Lim manages to catch him is quite impressive. Of course this only seems to be the beginning of the end because her attempt to heft up the heavier fighter doesn't turn out quite how she would want it to. Almost the moment she is in close enough to make the grab there is a flare of yellow and a fist to the face for the Korean. That alone would be bad news for most people, but unfortunantly for Chae Lim it starts off a series of blows.

His fists remain lit up with chi, the quick jabs almost making it look like his hands are streaking lightning as he lefts and rights pummel into the woman's face and torso, twelve powerful straight up punches before he takes a deep breath and rears back that left hand and he grits his teeth. With a load roar he swings it upwards to slam into Chae Lim's jaw as he lets out a rather primal yell, the wind almost seeming to pick up around him as he uppercuts to further add to the force of his blow. "Hrraaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

It is the beginning of the end. Certain that she's managed to grasp him, she leans in to heft him up, and is presented with a beautiful shade of yellow crashing against her nose. A crack can be heard, blood spurting from her nostrils as she tries to duck her head away from him now. She almost gets a hand up to her face to cup her nose, but another quick jab is streaking toward her. Just when Chae Lim believes she'll be able to stop his hands from crashing against her face any further, he changes tactics and shoots the punches toward her torso.

Finally, they seem to be done.

She takes a deep breath.

Before she knows what's happening, the Korean girl is shooting upward through the air. "Aaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!" She sails over the benches, over the counter, and lands atop one of the cooks that has been watching the fight in awe.

Knowing that she won't be able to recover right away from this, she shoots a hand up into the air. Briefly, she gestures 'one second'. Then her hand just crumples to the ground with her, and she groans.

COMBATSYS: ChaeLim takes no action.

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Rick             0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: ChaeLim can no longer fight.

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Rick             0/-------/-----==|


After that final punch is delivered the Native American lets out a loud 'WHEW' as he lurches forward a bit to take a deep breath. He is still a bit disoriented from getting into that trancelike state and it takes him to realize that he had actually knocked Chae Lim up up and away. He slowly lowers his fists and laughs a bit while rubbing at the back of his neck. Sometimes he forgets his own strength and the crowd just eyes him in a rather weird way. "I guess I went at it a bit too hard." he admits when he notices Chae's hand come up for just a brief moment before falling back behind the counter where she landed.

The officials don't even have to think twice at this point and they declare Rick the winner which brings about some clapping as well as a few boos from the diehard Kim Clan supporters. Rick tugs at his gloves to pull them off and he places them back in the back pocket of his jeans before reaching for his discarded shirt and slinging it over the shoulder as he approaches the counter and looks over it. "Oh hey, you are gonna be alright down there, kiddo?" he asks. Of course the medical staff on hand are already making there way over to check anyways. Rick is about to inquire further though he notices some of the Korean BBQ the cook was working on before he was taken out by the flying Chae Lim. "Oh sweet!" he quickly reaches to snag some for himself, deciding he will help himself to some of that free food he missed out on since he was just barely on time.

Someone, thankfully, has hit the freezer and pulled out a chunk of frozen... something... and wrapped it in a towel before handing it to the Korean girl. This will help with the facial swelling at the very least. With the icy toweled item pressing against her nose, Chae Lim pushes herself back against the far wall and nods to the older man.

"Awl b'awlrighnt," she replies after a small groan of pain. "Told nyu nyu were a challenge..."

That must be some sort of Korean dialect that Rick is not really familiar with because it is hard to make out what is being said to him. Then again he could just chalk it up to being freakin' hungry after spending all that energy and he just isn't paying attention to the words of the girl who probably has a broken nose. "Yeah, I agree. Nyu Nyu to you as well." he offers in response to Chae Lim before stuffing a huge piece of BBQ in his mouth and then his eyes wander to a clock up overhead where he just stares for a few long moments as if something is slowly registering. "Oh holy hell. The plane is landing soon!"

The fight he may be able to be a bit late for, but meeting the wife at the airport? Yeah, he is a dead man if he isn't there on time to greet her. That is why he shoves the rest of the food into his mouth and his cheeks puff outwards some from being so full and he gives a big thumbs up to Chae Lim while trying to say 'thanks' but his result is just a few sputtered bits of meat before he tugs his shirt back on and bolts back into and through the crowd as he hightails it into the direction of the airport.

Log created on 17:36:08 09/08/2008 by Rick, and last modified on 00:46:47 09/09/2008.