Description: Discovering by accident that Drake is in Korea, Frei makes a sidetrip there to thank the fighting model in person for stepping in at the YFCC, and to discuss the potential repercussions of his actions. Chatting at Bulguksa Temple, the two fighters discuss current events and deliver mutual offers of future help.
So the arrival to Korean soil was a little delayed. Drake ran into a couple rather interesting people, one he knew, and one he didn't. It's the latter that kept him over a while longer, primarily thinking. He has a hard time doing that on the jet, and he was just starting to get used to Israel's hot climate. If there's one thing he'll give unerringly to that country, it's the sunsets. It has to have the best ones.
And only now does Drake arrive at the chosen destination for the fight. It, of course, isn't going to take place right now or anything - he's been informed that there will be a delay. Drake's fine with that. It gives him time enough to familiarize himself with the grounds, relax, see a few sights, and hopefully make friendly enough with the locals so they don't try to kill him or anything. Plenty of face-time with Korea's doll, Chae Lim, is bound to have helped that, but it's better to be safe.
The location he's chosen though, once Drake has the chance to fully take it in, is enough to wash out any thoughts of caution and concern. The Bulguksa Temple is simply massive, and home of not one, but seven national treasures. Drake, in customized gi as sign of respect, is currently staring up at one such treasure - a gilt-bronzed Buddha statue in one of the enclosed rooms. A moderate, but warm rainfall outside the temple has assured very few people are touring the temple today, leaving only Drake and the monks, to his knowledge.
Ever since the NESTS attack on the YFCC, there's been a lot to do. Physical repairs are at the top of the list, but there are other things too... helping people feel safe there again, for starters, which has been an uphill battle of calls to families, meetings with parents and the press... placating the insurance company was an office favorite for some time. All of that is macro-scale, however, and mostly is being taken care of by the men in business suits or men in hardhats, few in number though they are, that the Center can afford to employ for this sort of occasion. Generally speaking, it's "being handled."
But there are some things that need to be attended to personally. Doing one of those things is why Frei, returning from his Saturday Night Fight in America, called in to say he wouldn't be in for a day or two, and changed his return ticket home. It was something he saw on TV, not a big thing, in the hotel that night. Considering his popularity, it stands to reason that in the fighting entertainment news, Domino's world tour would have some publicity... what wasn't expected was that the face would be the man who stepped up, entirely selflessly, to help protect the YFCC from some very nasty characters. "Mr. Vyril is now heading to Korea, where he expe--" is all the reporter gets out before the chi sage picks up the phone and changes his return ticket.
Fast forward to today, just outside the Bulguksa Temple. Standing there is indeed one Frei, wearing black slacks and a long-sleeved green button down, a black umbrella leaning against his shoulder as he gives the place a look for a moment, rain making pattering noises on the umbrella and the landscape as he does so. Taking a breath, he walks up the long, shallow outside staircase and steps inside, bowing to one of the present monks and glancing about. Considering how empty it is, the black-haired figure staring at the statue is his target, and Frei begins walking toward him, pulling his umbrella closed.
It's the awe that keeps Drake from sensing someone else's presence, or even hearing the footsteps at first. Indeed, he's just there, fists on hips, staring up at the statue. It's only with Frei's final step that Drake catches it and whirls around, snapped out of his reverie.
And this was certainly not one he expected to see. For a number of reasons. As such, Frei is greeted with a look of confusion in those large amethysts, which eventually blink. Then blink again.
"Frei, wasn't it?," Drake asks. The stumped confusion maintains on his face as he hits an awkward little hitch. "Uh.. hiya. What's up?"
He's about to open his mouth to say something when Drake turns around, so instead Frei contents himself to just smile, dropping the umbrella so that he's holding it in front of him, both hands on the handle, tip pointed toward the floor. At the mention of his name, he nods once in agreement. "That's right. Thanks for remembering me," he adds with a smile. There's a moment of instability where he seems to recall how these sorts of things go, seems about to extend his hand for a handshake, but thinks better of it at the last second... though his hand moves ever so slightly anyway before he decides against it, which probably doesn't do much for perceptions of his sanity.
Taking a step up, he moves parallel to Drake and turns his glance to the Buddha statue for a moment, taking it in. Small talk? Don't mind if I do! "I lived in a Buddhist temple once... not here, though, in China. We had, like, the tourist keychain version of this statue in the main room." He turns to Drake with a smile, again, scratching a finger against one freckled cheek in embarassment. "I got in trouble for rubbing the Buddha's belly once. Not exactly the world's funniest people, monks..." he adds, with a slightly faraway look.
There's a pause for a moment, before the redhead shakes his head and tries to put on a serious face. "Anyhow. I had the opportunity, so I wanted to say thank you for putting yourself on the line to defend the Center." He puts one hand under his chin, gaze wandering off and away from Drake's face for a second. "I know how tough Bison is, and that you didn't really have anything to gain by throwing yourself in the way. I thought it was very noble, and deserved a personal thank you."
The small-talk seems to ease a bit of tension at any rate, and Drake turns aside to peer up at the bronze statue again. "Yeeaahh, I'd probably have no sense of humor if someone shaved my head, too. But I always thought it'd be hilarious if someone sat in his lap and started rattling off what they wanted for Christmas," reflects the model.
But then things turn more serious, indicative of Frei's tone. So Drake's gaze returns to him, except now more self-assured and confident. His hands link behind his back and his eyes remain affixed on the other male's face, even as he looks off. "No sweat. It's.. kind'a what I do," he replies simply. "Wouldn't exactly have been awesome of me to leave when innocent people stood to get hurt. Not my style. So.. you guys are welcome. Just sorry I wasn't more useful."
His eyes return to the Buddha. "S'a good part of why I train."
"Between you and me," the young sage replies, bringing both hands up and behind his hand, umbrella dangling behind him, "I never shaved my head and I didn't really get the reason why they kept doing it, either." To call Frei non-traditional is a bit of an understatement. He gets another reflective look, as if trying to recall some distant memory, and glances up at the Buddha statue for a moment. "I guess I was a failure as a Buddhist if I was vain enough to keep my hair, but... well, that's a story for another time." He rubs the back of his head, clearly either embarassed about the actual story, or simply his babbling on and telling it.
He listens to Drake's explanation of why he did what he did, turning back to meet his gaze and tilting his head to the side a little bit. "Yes, but there were things you could have done without fighting... I guess I just felt actually being in harm's way was something altogether different." He closes his eyes for a moment, thinking back to the event in question... Bison's seeming need to really crush poor Domino, the crazy words of Mary Contrary. Getting punched through a wall, not a good memory there; he actually winces for a second at the mental image of it before opening his eyes. "Regardless, I'm glad you were there. We managed to stop them before things got too terrible."
"To a lott'a people, sure," Drake concurs, eyes turning back to Frei. "But you're talking to Domino. My whole life's been tangled with getting into fights, and before I started professional wrestling, it was mostly fights for other people. 'Sides, if I didn't crowd the goon's vision, where would that leave the rest of you? There were lots of'em. It was really the most logical thing. I'm a warrior. I fight. It's one of the two things I'm best at."
He pauses then and lifts his right hand to cross his chest, setting to his left shoulder. "Glad to hear things were under control. Figured you could take care of the rest, and you did. So good work."
Seemingly straightforward and innocent though they are, for the most part, Drake's words get a lot of thought and consideration from Frei as he delivers them. At least, it *appears* that they are; rather than nodding his head in agreement or blinking in puzzlement, he adopts a pensive expression, as though listening to something faint he has to work to make out. "Fighting... hmm. I don't know that I'm the same way, myself," he says at last, holding out one hand palm-inward and glancing at it, turning his hand over and giving a second look at the back with a distant look in his eye before bringing his head back up to Drake's face. "I didn't learn to fight to protect other people, nor did I ever really care all that much about doing so," he admits, before shaking his head. "But I agree that I was there, and it was in my power to do something, and I wanted to do it... so I did."
'The rest' is a weird subject. Yes, everything was in hand more or less, but to say that the Center got away scot-free... not so much. "It could have been much worse than it was... but the repairs are still going to take a long time. There's still the matter of *outside* to worry about. That, and... well." He shrugs, shaking his head. "The human element, which is the most fragile. But we're working on it."
"Don't need anymore reason to intervene than that," Drake affirms with a lighter smile and nod. "I think it's the choices we make that decide whether or not we're a fighter. So with that in mind.. you might be selling yourself short." Drake then pauses, taking on a ruefully mock-annoyed look. "Besides, you won our Neo League match. You dang well better not be making light of yourself, or I'll look bad."
Drake's hand releases his shoulder then, considering the remainder of Frei's words as he whisks his digits through his hair again. This time the gesture is less of an awkward filler for silence, and somehow more thoughtful. "I'll see if I can raise some money to make it easier. Do some street fighting on the side of the tour'n all." He turns to face the Buddha again, and his amethyst eyes shift sidelong to Frei conspiratorially. "Just don't tell Alma."
That gets a laugh from the young sage, who shakes his head and follows Drake's glance to the Buddha statue. There *is* a certain peacefulness being back in a monastery for him, and there's a break in the conversation as Frei just looks, digesting Drake's statement and listening to the patter of rain against the room, fingers curling and uncurling along the grip of his umbrella, held down to his side. "I'm... me," he says. "With all the good and bad that entails. But I worked hard to become the person I am, so I don't apologize for it and I don't feel any remorse about it. Questions of if I'm any 'good' or not are sort of immaterial by comparison, I like to think." The comment about Alma, however jokingly, does strike Frei as amusing... perhaps because while they share certain trace similarities, he thinks to himself that they are two end results of divergence along an early point in the life path. "Don't worry," he says with a smile. "Your secret is safe with me."
But it's not all peaches and cream, and there's another pause as Frei shakes his head, swinging his umbrella a bit. "You probably already know this," he starts, voice surprisingly grim given how he just spoke, "but there might be consequences from what you did. I thought I knew why the attackers showed up," Frei continues, putting one hand on his hip and arching that elbow. "But actually, I might have been wrong. Bison was in it for the money, but not the woman with the umbrella... or that purple-suited ninja Hotaru fought." He shakes his head, a gesutre of 'what can you do?', before glancing back at Drake with a serious mien. "Anyhow. You should be careful, is all I'm saying. Although, something about you tells me... I know exactly what you're going to say, in response to that."
"Suppose you being you is a pretty good place to be," Drake muses dryly.
Though things take a sudden, heavier tone. Drake turns to face him again, his hands similarly resting at either side of his belt. Though his expression remains somewhat aloof and casual, his demeanor - and even moreso, his eyes - betray a deeper intensity. "Probably," he soberly concurs with Frei's assumption, voice sober. "Won't be anything I can't handle. 'Sides, I'm not new to dealing with this. I'll take it as it comes, like I always do."
The young model draws in a deep breath, then exhales it in a whooshy sigh. "I think you can understand this, yourself. In some situations.. like the one earlier.. the present situation calls for action, heedless of future consequences. Those.. just have to be dealt with when the time comes."
Frei glances to the side a moment, scratching his cheek with one finger. "I don't know about 'heedless', but maybe the difference is just semantics..." he says, in a slow and thoughtful tone, before bringing his hand hand down to his side again, putting both on the grip of the umbrella and holding it tip-down in front of him again, like a statue of a European knight might hold a sword. "I agree that sometimes you have to act, regardless of the consequences... but I think acting without *considering* them is a bit much." He glances at Drake carefully for a moment, actually seeming like his age for once rather than the boyish aura he tends to project most of the time. "Not to the point that you keep yourself from following your instincts. But, you should know ahead of time how things are going to bite you in the tuchus afterwards."
For a moment, he leaves it at that, before suddenly stretching both arms over his head, umbrella held crosswise as he stretches, catlike, for a moment. Eventually he brings them down, holding his hands behind his back and swinging the umbrella like an irregular pendulum behind him. "I should let you get back to what you're doing. Thanks for listening to my long-winded thank you. And remember, you're always welcome at the Center... even if trouble follows," he adds, in a somewhat stern and paternal tone. "Though if 'trouble' has, say, a nuclear weapon then please call ahead," he finishes with an impish smile.
"Man, I'm a supermodel with a career in professional wrestling and the fighting circuits. You seriously think I take the time to consider repercussions? Life's too short!," Drake notes, expression softening with a grin. "And hey, it could be a heck of a lot shorter for some innocent bystander if I -didn't- take some kind'a action."
His right hand lifts, palm upwards, in a casual shrug.
Drake's arms relocate, now folding loosely over his chest. "Sure. It's always a pleasure helping." Pause. "And I really mean that," he adds, tone more serious and humorless. "Just let me know if you guys need help with something else over there. I owe that Bison guy a good beating now, anyway. So if trouble stirs up or what-have-you, gimme a ring."
In spite of himself, Frei has to laugh. "Well. It takes the sun and the moon to make the sky, as the saying goes. So, I say, do what feels right to you." Still, that concept that Drake has more in common than he might like to admit with Alma strikes the young sage again... and in a sardonic inner voice, Frei notes to himself that Alma has that same tendency to just leap in headfirst because it's what he wants to do. Of course, he has no obligation to SHARE that little insight. Besides... he has the distinct impression Drake might not like it. "As long as you're satisfied I don't think there's any complaints."
With that, he turns to go. "I'll keep it in mind. Good luck in your next fight." And then, with a wave, he's off and gone.
Log created on 11:44:31 09/15/2008 by Frei, and last modified on 19:38:27 09/19/2008.