Work Text:
"Do you want to hold him?" Choi Han's sister-in-law asked him, holding a small baby.
“Choi Jung Soo, That’s what we decided to name him."
A round little face, rosy cheeks which contrasted to his own face which was usually described as handsome and baby-faced and showed no sign of aging. People said he looked twenty when in fact he had turned 40 not long ago. Choi Han, a martial arts trainer who owned a big neighborhood dojo, and who was also a world-class martial artist himself, now had a nephew: an adorable one at that. The young child looked up at the older man, with eyes filled with curiosity and mouth spitting and speaking in childish babbles.
Choi Han had a soft spot for anything cute, especially children.
He knew he was odd, loving children so much even though he never felt any attraction towards people. Rarely would he go on dates, but most of them ended up being failures. He could never reciprocate the love another human being gave him sexually. Of course, he wanted a family, yet he couldn't marry any person he didn't love. He thought that a fruitless marriage was worse than not being married at all. In a sense, he may be right. In the end, he decided to cherish Jung Soo as his own child.
He smiled at the child and on that day, he vowed to always be there for this small and innocent being whenever it needed his help. He kissed the young boy’s forehead.
“He’s adorable.”
His sister in law smiled at him.
“I agree.”
****
The dojo was enormous. Located near a small forest, it was surrounded by several flower beds around the courtyard. The dojo was filled with people of all ages, some of the age of 13 and some to the age of 34, yet all of them bowed down to the seemingly focused 30-ish looking man, strikingly charming and eyes clear, with just a few wrinkles. One would never think he was around 50. He looked like a relatively young and intensely focused man.
“Han Ahjussi!"
As a small voice chirped at the entrance of the dojo, Choi Han turned to see a young boy struggling to get over the steps.
Choi Han looked at nephew lovingly, and gave him a bright smile, quite unlike his earlier expression.
"Ah! Jung-Soo-ya. How was school?"
Choi Jung Soo, finally succeeding, rushed to his uncle and gave him a big hug.
"Ahjussi! You wanna know wut happen'd today?"
Choi Han nodded his head as he gave a sharp word to his disciples, who flinched at the sudden change, before returning to his seemingly gentle demeanor.
“Rest.”
He then looked at Choi Jung Soo, with a soothing smile.
"What happened at school today?"
Choi Jung Soo looked up at him, parting from his uncle’s knees which Jung Soo had previously rammed into, his eyes sparkling with childish curiosity.
"Rok Soo fell over the large spiggly thing but he didn't cry at aaalll.” He stretched the word and began to giggle before continuing, “but it was so funny. When he got up and said in a cool voice 'Tis nothing.' It was so funny." Jung Soo laughed, mimicking the young Rok Soo.
Choi Han chuckled. He pulled the young child over his shoulders and walked out to the courtyard.
Few of the younger disciples were a bit confused at their master’s actions, but the elder ones smiled at the pair.
Choi Jung Soo liked his uncle. Han Ahjussi reminded him of water, silent, calm and strong willed.
He smiled at the taller man, while sitting on top of his shoulders, “Rok Soo is a very weird kid,” he heard his uncle say.
Choi Jung Soo felt a tinge of disappointment with those words. He had heard them several times before, they always went something along the lines of ‘Kim Rok Soo is a weird kid. You shouldn’t play with him. He doesn’t have parents.’ He never understood why all the adults said that about his dear friend. He didn't think that his beloved Han Ahjussi would also think the same way.
“Is he fun to be with?”
Choi Jung Soo was rather pleasantly surprised with the reaction he got.
“You-you aren’t mad?”
Choi Han was a bit puzzled at his nephew’s words.
“Why should I be mad?”
Choi Jung Soo also started to question his reasoning.
“I-I don’t know. Uther big people said it wus because Rok Soo had nu mother or father. But I dun’t get it.”
Choi Han sighed.
“Don’t mind it. Want to go to ‘that’ place?”
Jung Soo’s already sparkly eyes looked like they were gleaming at those words.
“THAT PLACE! I WUNNA GO''
Choi Han smiled at the child’s eagerness.
“Let’s go then.”
He trudged up the mountains slowly, each of his steps making a slight crunch as he stepped on a few fallen leaves with his young nephew over his shoulders. Choi Jung looked up to see gorgeous arches and wispy clouds. Some autumn leaves were falling on the trail, the soft crunches were comforting to the young child.
Jung Soo was suddenly surprised to be put down.
“We’re here.” Choi Han put Jung Soo down.
They looked over the edge of the mountain, the wind was fluttering and the leaves were falling from the trees behind the two. Thin clouds adorned the evening sky. It had a lilac hue which blended with the light pink, resembling cotton candy.
Choi Jung Soo had always thought that this scene was magical, even though he’d never found the right words to describe it. He felt a hand on his head, he looked over.
Choi Han looked lost in the scenery, as if he’d been hypnotized. He looked reminiscent. He didn’t even realise he was petting his nephew’s head.
“Ahjussi, yur hand.” Jung said, tugging his uncle’s hanbok gently.
Choi Han blinked, a bit surprised at the sudden action, but as soon as he met Choi Jung Soo’s eyes, Choi Han relaxed. He simply slid his hand over to Jung Soo’s and smiled.
“Well, let’s go back. I’ve given my students a break for too long.”
Jung Soo grumbled at the thought,
“You wurk them them too hard.”
Choi Han was a bit confused at how his nephew knew that.
“Is that so?”
Jung Soo nodded.
“Yep.”
Choi Han chuckled, picking Jung Soo back to his shoulders.
“Who told you that?”
Jung Soo took a moment to recollect who it was.
“Lee Soo Hyuk.”
Choi Han propped the young child on his shoulders.
“Oh ho. The hyung you told me about.”
Choi Jung Soo was a bit happy that his uncle remembered, but his face immediately darkened.
“Yes. The one that’s moving soon.”
Choi Han gave Jung Soo a side glance, his nephew looked sad.
“You should avoid looking back. Don’t you think the good memories are better compared to the regrets?” Choi Han knew that the words he said weren’t comforting, but he hoped his nephew learned from this closing meeting as well.
They walked down the mountain in complete silence and Choi Han put Choi Jung Soo down and removed a small keychain. It was shaped like a cloud and it looked like it had been made by hand. It was hard and had many mistakes. It looked like it had been made by a child.
“Here,” he handed it to him.
Choi Jung Soo tilted his head.
“What’s this?”
“A keychain.”
“It looks ugly.”
Choi Han felt like an arrow shot through him,
“R-really?”
Choi Jung Soo nodded.,
“But, since Han Ahjussi made it. It’s good.”
Choi Han felt conflicted. On one hand Jung Soo liked it because he made it, but on the other hand, was his craftsmanship so bad it could be discerned by the eye? He chuckled and patted Jung Soo’s head.
“That’s good.”
***
‘The form was perfect. From the concentration to the posture, it was impeccable,’ Choi Han thought, glancing at his taller nephew, who was now in high school. They were both in the dojo, and were both practicing their sword.
He smiled at Choi Jung Soo. Somewhere along the line Kim Rok Soo had gone away, and Choi Jung Soo had forgotten both his hyung and best friend. He was now too engrossed in the sword. It was a rite of passage for every member in the Choi family. It was Choi Han, his uncle who was teaching him. His master. He looked up to Choi Han. Perhaps the methods his master used seemed a bit harsh to other students who weren’t used to these strict methods.
“Rest.”
The command was heard throughout the room and all the pupils heaved a sigh of relief. They had been practicing from 6:00pm without a single break and it was now 8:00pm. Choi Jung Soo walked over to the benches, to take a sip of water and to take a towel to wipe the sweat that was dripping down his neck. He then took a deep sigh, before recollecting his thoughts, he closed his eyes for some time before opening them abruptly.
”Oh yeah I have some homework left.”
He looked towards his uncle and called out to him.
“Han Ahjussi, I’ll be leaving earlier than usual.”
“That so? You’re free to go, but tomorrow you’re working twice as normal.”
“Han Ahjussi… My body will break,” Choi Jung Soo chuckled.
Choi Han also laughed a bit, before using his sharp sword to make a clean slice. It was so forceful you could hear it from the other end of the room. It was an exemplary cut. One might even call it gorgeous.
“It won’t. I think this was normal when I was your age.”
Choi Jung Soo muttered looking at the flawless strike.
“Han Ahjussi, you’re a genius. You shouldn’t compare yourself to a normal person.”
Choi Han still managed to read his lips and frowned, his face now facing his nephew, he relaxed his shoulders.
“What do you mean by that?”
Choi Jung Soo pointed at him,
“See, this is exactly what I mean, Master. Normally, a person isn’t able to do that. Even after years of practice.”
Choi Han tensed a bit, but it didn’t last long before he relaxed and smiled.
“Of course not. You should run along and do your homework. Otherwise I’m going to triple the amount of training.”
Jung Soo sighed while going to the changing room, “So you heard that too.”
Choi Han was puzzled.
“Of course I did. What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing,” Jung Soo said before rushing out of the room, wearing his loosely put together white shirt, holding a blazer. He gave his uncle a mischievous smile when he reached the door.
“Bye, Instructor.”
Choi Han’s face had returned to the sword. He swung it once more, a different stroke this time, yet as exceptional as the previous one.
“Mmm.”
Choi Jung Soo’s eyebrows relaxed. Observing his uncle, he thought,
‘He’s still the same as ever. So engrossed in the art.’ His eyes were fixated on the way his instructor held the sword.
“Why’re you still here?” Choi Han’s eyes had not left the sword.
“Ah right.” Jung Soo fumbled before running through the grey pathway which had all sorts of greenery adorning it. It was near a forest; a very large and beautiful one at that. Choi Jung Soo reminisced the times he and his uncle had gone up to those mountains. He didn’t use the keychain that he had got, it was far too childish for him, but still- he valued their time together.
Aside from his immediate family, he thought his uncle to be the next most precious person to him. Even some of his most precious memories had been spent with Han Ahjussi. To him, Han Ahjussi was a mentor, a person he looked up to, and most importantly, he was Jung Soo’s uncle. He smiled. This was delightful, it was like a dream he never wanted to wake up from.
Sadly, it didn’t last that long.
***
It was raining. Not a good omen, especially when the entire town was surrounded by monsters they had no idea how to deal with. With just a few ability users, who were rather new and useless.
The patriarch of the Choi family had decided that all capable people of the Choi family over the age of twenty one had to stay back to defend the residence and buy time until the other citizens, including the children, frail women and fit young people could evacuate, the reason being that the frail people would die too fast, children needed to be safe and their needed to be healthy people to protect the entire group of people, if they made it out alive.
***
Choi Jung Soo couldn’t see the monster but he could feel it. He could feel the heavy and cold breaths on his back, and hear the light footsteps. He was running as fast as he could, till his legs could take him.
Suddenly, he slipped. He cursed and quickly used his right arm to cover the roll up tents while using his other hand to help him swiftly propel himself into a nearby crater.
He hit the ground and clenched his jaw, there was a jagged rock piercing his arm. The pain was unbearable, but he had to escape, it didn’t matter how. He ground his teeth hard so as to not let a single noise spill, even by mistake, and forcefully pulled his arm apart from the rock. He could feel the gravel stick to the insides of the wound as blood trickled down his lip.
He got up and started to hobble around, still trying to run. He couldn’t catch up to his normal speed, and looked around only to see the chaos surrounding him.
He could see a man fighting another monster, Choi Jung Soo called it fighting but it was more of a one-sided beatdown. It looked like the man was being played with; being pummelled again and again, yet he was one of the five alive.
Choi Jung Soo was scared; looking at that sight scared him. Perhaps it was because of the difference of power, perhaps it was because that person was the strongest person he’d ever known, mostly the latter.
He could see the corpses of the people he loved and cared about. He could even see a few dead bodies of his neighbors. He knew the reason why didn’t survive. They hadn’t run fast enough. That’s how they ended up dead. Choi Jung Soo felt chills all over his body.
He was still clutching the rollup tents tightly, he was nearly wobbling, he knew that if he didn’t run faster, he’d end up like these people. Cold and dead. He forced his body to move, even though his arm felt like it was continuously being pierced by a thousand needles. He ran. He ran as fast as he could, except he couldn’t run far enough.
He heard something. He turned back to look at a deformed shape.
,
‘What was it?’ He couldn’t tell in the dark but one thing was certain, whatever that thing was. It was definitely not human.
He sped up, trying his best to escape the beast. He was panicking and in his current situation, panicking was not good. He tried to gather his thoughts, and started running even faster, but he could feel the monster getting closer and closer. His heart was pounding. He was going to die. He felt anxious, he just couldn’t die, he had to protect. Though what could he even do? He was weak. Still, it was his duty to do so as a Choi. To protect... He was sure though, he couldn’t make it out of here alive. That is until he heard that familiar hand touch his shoulder, but this time it wasn’t a gentle push or a pat on the back. It was violent and desperate that threw him away. He recognized that back.
“Han Ahjussi.”
His voice almost a whisper. Choi Jung Soo could feel his heart go cold, he could see his mentor trying his best, all of it going to waste, he was being pushed back from the monster.
Choi Jung Soo could hear Choi Han croaking out a despairing laugh. A laugh of someone that had willingly damned themself.
“ Jung Soo-ya, run.” His voice was hoarse and his armor had already broken to pieces, leaving only the now ragged hanbok.
“Now.” He struggled to speak, Choi Jung Soo could tell that Choi Han couldn’t take it any more.
He got up and started to run, he could feel his eyes grow wet but he dare not cry.
“Sorry.” he kept repeating that word, like a mantra. After he got far away, he took one last look at the town. Normally, he would have remembered how this town gave him warmth and happiness but all that was left now for Choi Jung Soo was a ruined town full of corpses. Yet he couldn’t grieve. He didn’t have the time to. ‘It was a privilege to grieve’ he thought, before starting to run.
When he reached the rest, he could see the sorrow on their faces too, he knew they had their own family members that died. So, he knew that he didn’t have time to grieve, he had to be strong for these people. These survivors who had also gone through the same incident with him. He can’t be weak in front of other people who were also trying to be strong. None of them could help losing their family. Including him.
After his guard duty that night, while heading to sleep, he slid into bed and flinched at the prickling sensation he felt in his pocket. He removed the cause of the sensation and saw a keychain. The very same his uncle had given him, still in his pocket. He looked at it for a minute before smiling bitterly and keeping it back in his bag.
That night, he dreamt about clouds. More specifically, pink ones rather similar to the ones that adorned the sky he was used to. The scenery was exactly the same as he remembered, but for some reason, there was a bouquet of gardenias right next to him.
A cheery and optimistic cousin of his once enjoyed learning the language of flowers. Jung Soo remembered what he had said about gardenias. They were symbols of peace and renewal, normally used in funerals. This time, instead of the clouds, Choi Jung Soo stared at gardenias instead of the clouds. He kept on staring at those pure white flowers until he woke up.