Work Text:
Climb
Byeol shut the door firmly behind her, hastily shoving her feet into her shoes as she stumbled into a run. She already had left a letter of farewell on her desk. It laid on top of her favorite notebook that her papa gave her for her birthday last year. She hoped that they would find it and understand what she was doing.
Instinct told her that this was going to be an outside ordeal. It would be away from the residential area, towards the family gates where the Regulars about to take the test were at. If she could get there soon, if she could get there just in time-she pushed herself harder. Her lungs burned with the exertion. Her thighs and calves burned with intensity as she didn’t keep herself at a steady pace. Faster. Faster. Air wheezed in and out of her throat, burning her lungs with sharp knives.
The world around her was a blur. She could only remember taking twists and turns. She didn’t dare allow the thought of getting lost to enter her mind. She didn’t think of any dead-ends or “could-ifs.”
Time was racing against her, and every second was a precious commodity she couldn’t afford to lose. She was sure her Daddy and Papa were aware she wasn’t inside the house anymore. Her Papa was undoubtedly calculating how much time she had for a headstart and possible paths that she could have taken. Her Daddy would already be out the door. Her Daddy would be following his instinct, the Tower’s favor, and her shinsu.
Climb.
Byeol’s legs couldn’t continue anymore. They were shaking from the abuse that she was putting them through. She stumbled into a walk and then had to stop, doubling over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air. No. She had to get closer to the gate. She had to get there. Every gasp of air burned her lungs, making her cough from the constriction that she felt. She couldn’t afford to stay here and catch her breath. She weakly shoved herself out of her bent position and stumbled back a little. She was just about to continue to run when a silhouette appeared before her.
A silhouette of a bunny-shaped monster and a staff that glowed blue. A figure that only fairy-tales and legends would ever dare whisper.
Climb.
“So,” the figure spoke sagely, “the Tower personified stands before me. My name is Headon. I am the caretaker of the Tower.”
I want her to climb.
“My name is Khun Byeol Grace.” Byeol answered swiftly, “It’s nice to meet you, Headon-ssi.”
“Ooh, manners! You certainly have them.” Headon’s grin felt more ominous than it did welcoming. “Tell me, what could a wish ever need from the Tower?”
“To be me, whatever that may look like.” Byeol wasn’t going to waste time. The longer he daddled, the faster her Daddy could get to them. “To not be tied to destiny or legacy.”
“Oh, how naive,” Headon clicked his tongue, amused. “But you intrigue me nonetheless. The Tower calls for you to climb, so how can I ignore such a siren’s call? Heed yourself, child, there are some destinies you will not be able to break.”
“Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try,” Byeol answered.
“Keep that attitude. Let’s see how far you go.” Headon grinned.
Byeol disappeared from the 113th floor that night.
X
It was bound to happen. Bam sat heavily on Byeol’s bed. The weight of the exhaustion and failure was bone-deep and soul-crushing. Nothing around him felt real or tangible. He was aware of her room’s colors, the soft lilac purples of her bed, and the furniture’s white. She had a small little flower-shaped bowl at the window sill for burning incense and a tea-light candle holder next to it. The sheets were wrinkle-free and folded over the pillows. The notebooks on Byeol’s desk were neatly tidy. Usually, there would be books for school or sticky notes reminders on the wood. He was aware that everything around him felt too clean.
It was as if she knew she would be gone for a long time. She wrote a letter, but Bam didn’t have the heart to read it yet. Her disappearance was too fresh for her words of comfort or encouragement.
Aguero walked into the room silently. He could feel his husband’s soul shutting itself tightly. Aguero had always worked better under pressure, and this was no different. He sat down next to Bam, shoulder pressed up against each other tight as they could without cuddling. It grounded Bam to reality.
Byeol wasn’t going to annoy them with questions.
She wasn’t going to drag Bam outside during New Year’s at an ungodly hour to watch the sunrise.
She wasn’t going to debate Aguero over some stupid rule or story that she heard just for the sake of arguing. They were both so stubborn; it was sometimes like watching tug-of-war. No one wanted to be the one to let go of their pride.
She was in the Tower, for better or for worse.
Bam could think of several ways the Tower could kill her. He knew that if he thought of just a hundred ways it could, Aguero would have thought of a thousand.
He thought about his teammates that he climbed the Tower with. Wangnan and how he and his Warriors were safe on the 136th floor. He thought of Urek and his group, still trying to safely find a way out of the Tower. “Safely” is the keyword. He thought of FUG and how they got their wish and more...and were powerful than before.
He thought of Shibisu and Hatz, and Anaak. He thought of Ran.
He thought of Rachel and how bitter that name still tasted on the back of his tongue and mind. “She’ll need a Lightbearer,” Bam spoke.
“Hmm?” Aguero jolted a little out of his thoughts, and Bam realized that he had spoken out loud. “What was that, Bam?”
“A Lightbearer,” Bam repeated. “She’ll need someone to light her way.”
“That’s presuming that they can keep up with her,” Aguero was a little amused, “She’s good at the Irish exit. Huh. I wonder who she learned that from.”
Bam half-heartedly pushed Aguero with his shoulder, and Aguero merely shoved back with just a little more force. Okay, that was true. Bam did have the habit of leaving a room without saying anything. Perhaps that was the same situation that happened here; he just assumed the wrong thing. “You loathe that.”
“It’s one of the annoying traits I wish she didn’t get from you.” Aguero sighed wistfully. “Someone needs to stand firm with her and not bow down to her every whim.”
“Pot kettle?” Bam offered, and another shove was his answer. He grinned. Aguero grinned back, just as painfully. A wave of deja vu hit him as he thought back to when he and Aguero spoke about Byeol and what they hoped for before they knew her. “I hope they’re loyal. That they’re kind.”
“Bam…”
“I know this is the Tower. Not much has changed since we climbed it, but I want her to be around people that she can trust.” Bam bit the lower corner of his lip. “I don’t want her to go up alone.”
Aguero reached for Bam’s hand that was gripping the fabric of his jeans tightly. He hadn’t realized that he had been holding on with such a firm grip. He slipped his fingers into the space’s of Bam’s hand, holding him steady, keeping him anchored. “She’s a piece of us, isn’t she? With your charm and my silver tongue, she’ll have them eating out of her hand in no time.” He paused, “But who are we kidding? She’s mostly herself.”
“Yeah.”
“We may not know her fate on the second floor, but she should pass that with ease.” Aguero continued. Bam held onto every word he said like a lifeline. Aguero didn’t deal with lies and false promises. “We’ll figure out a way to keep in touch with her. At the very least, figure out how she’s doing. Technically as long as we don’t interfere with the tests, we should be fine seeing her in the residential areas of the Tower.”
“Shouldn’t we be letting her do this without embarrassing her?” Bam questioned, a little anxious. Yes, he wanted to see his daughter. Yes, he wanted to make sure that she was alright. But oh god, he didn’t want her to think that they were hovering or that she couldn’t make her own decisions.
“If you think that’s best,” Aguero easily bent to a different path. “But we can’t deny that things may appear out of the woodwork again. Just because we’re Rankers doesn’t mean that we’re off the hook. It just means that the Tower may have more of a use for us.”
Bam nodded solemnly. They were lucky to get 16 years of peace the way things have been. “FUG could find out she can hear the Tower.”
“Other families are going to be looking at that too, other organizations that are thinking FUG is getting too big and wanting a fast takedown.” Aguero agreed. “It’s not like we didn’t make a lot of our enemies.”
Bam couldn’t help but once more think of the Tower as Byeol’s execution site. He didn’t believe in prayers or Gods. He played enough of that role to know better. However, he bowed his head and looked at his knees with narrowed eyes.
You forced her to climb, so now you do whatever it takes to protect her. Bam gritted his teeth. I’m not afraid to break you.
I know, Little God.