Chapter Text
His whole life Heeseung’s been told he’s destined for greatness. Been told the abilities he possesses are extraordinary and will only grow as he gets older.
Even as a child, wherever he went, people seemed to trip over themselves just to greet him or shake his hand. Back then, he would look up at his mother and ask why. But she would just laugh and run her fingers through his hair, telling him he would understand one day, when he was older.
At four years old, Heeseung had no reason to doubt her. So – as any child would – he took his mother’s words as law.
※
The adults in Heeseung’s life always looked at him as if they knew something he didn’t. It was really only his mother who never treated him differently. She never praised him for his growing proficiency in waterbending like his father and the tribal elders did. No, instead she showered him with praise if he picked up all his toys without being told or finished all the food on his plate.
As a child, whenever he learned something new, he would always hear his father boasting about it to the tribesman. But his mother never did. Instead, whenever they were in the village, she preferred to share embarrassing stories about him (like how much of a disaster his first-time penguin sledding was) to all the old ladies, which always resulted in a lot of laughs and aggressive cheek pinching that would leave his cheeks sore for days.
Really though, embarrassing stories aside, she truly was his best friend. And she protected him in ways he never truly understood.
In fact, it wasn’t until Heeseung was five years old, that he finally learned of the cruelty she had always protected him from.
※
Back then, his mother loved taking him canoe fishing. So, they used to go all the time. She was adamant that he become familiar with the Southern waters and aware of its dangers, no matter how young he was.
After all, the South was home to some of the harshest currents in the world. Even more so then the Northern Water Tribe. And everyone knew how dangerous it was for any untrained sailor to sail in its waters.
But his mother was no untrained sailor.
She had been born and raised on these waters. And so, she brought him up the same way.
She always told him that while he should always acknowledge the dangers, he should never be scared of them. That if he wanted to become a strong waterbender one day, he would have to learn to trust the water.
Back then, Heeseung never understood much of what she said. He just liked going because he could practice using his waterbending to catch fish. And honestly? He just didn’t take his mother all that seriously. After all, she wasn’t a waterbender. So really, what did she know?
But then, one day – a couple months shy of his sixth birthday - their canoe got caught in the riptides and capsized.
Whenever he thinks back on that day, he can't remember much. Only the coldness of the water and the feeling of her hand slipping from his.
Later, when he's found on the shore – soaking wet and freezing but alive – the village locals tell him it's a miracle he survived. That his inherent waterbending abilities must have saved his life.
Then, while he watched his father morn, the tribal elders came up to him. But they offered no condolences. Instead, they praised him and boasted proudly about his waterbending abilities.
Even then, Heeseung remembers being confused. The waters of the South Pole were unforgiving and many strong tribesmen had been claimed by them before. So why were the elders acting as if they expected nothing less from him? Why were they so confident in his abilities?
At five years old, Heeseung was left wondering, if his bending was already as amazing as they said, how had he been unable to save his own mother.
※
After that, things were different.
The tribal elders insisted Heeseung begin training in earnest. So, he and his father moved from their little hut in one of the outer villages into the capita itself. And soon enough, he was enrolled in waterbending classes and put into the care of the esteemed Master Rain.
Heeseung, just shy of six years old, was the youngest student there, but his talents shone brighter than anyone. Before long, he earned himself the nickname ‘ace’.
It wasn’t exactly something he wanted to be called, but his father liked it, so he dealt with it.
Then, before he knew it, gone were the days of canoeing and penguin sledding.
But now six years old and motherless, Heeseung saw no use in those things anyway.
x
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that Master Rain introduced some new disciples to the class; Taehyun, a kid who had just recently moved from Republic City, and Sunghoon, the Crown Prince of the South Water Tribe himself. Both were beginner waterbenders, only a year younger than Heeseung.
It was strange for Master Rain to take in any student; stranger still for them to be complete novices.
Usually, Rain only taught those who already had some skill or experience in waterbending and nothing – not money nor status – would guarantee someone a place in his, very sought after, class.
Heeseung had seen Rain turn away many beginner students before, even those with wealthy and desperate parents, all while claiming his time was too precious to be wasted teaching ‘snot-nosed kids’ the basics.
So, it was very unusual when he introduced not one but two new students to the class.
But of course, whenever Heeseung tried to bring this up--
“When you say it like that, you make me sound like some sort of elitist. I just happen to be a very generous person with lots of knowledge to give, that’s all.”
Even faced with seven-year-old Heeseung's best deadpan stare, Rain just laughed.
“Ah who knows,” he smirked, ruffling Heeseung’s hair. “Maybe I just thought it’d be nice for you to have some friends your own age.”
At seven years old, Heeseung had his doubts. But he guessed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, to meet some boys his age.
※
At first, it was weird, having these new students in class.
Taehyun meshed in well, as everyone was eager to hear stories about Republic City. But Sunghoon, despite being the prince, was not popular among the students.
Most avoided him - called him arrogant or cold - and soon enough, he gained a nickname of his own. Ice Prince.
Most of the students thought it was funny, but Heeseung never really got the joke. To him, Sunghoon just seemed shy. And awkward.
But because of his standoffish nature, it wasn’t long before Sunghoon began to fall behind the rest of the class.
Taehyun, on the other hand, was excelling. He even outperformed some of the older kids in class - and while nowhere near Heeseung's level - for his age, Taehyun was doing very well.
Meanwhile, Sunghoon still struggled with the basics. And exasperated, Rain placed him in Heeseung's care.
At first, Sunghoon had not seemed too happy with this. Though, to be fair, Heeseung himself wasn’t too happy with it either. But, of course, their complaints landed on deaf ears.
“My time is far too valuable to be wasted teaching you the basics,” Rain told them easily, a smirk plastered on his face. “And besides… Heeseung, I hear you’ve been going around calling yourself ‘ace’, no? Surely you have the skills to help out your classmate?”
Rain knew Heeseung would rather throw himself into the Everstorm than go around calling himself ‘ace’ but he also knew there was no arguing with him.
Besides, at seven years old, Heeseung didn’t have much else to do anyway.
※
Teaching Sunghoon was… rough. Especially in the beginning.
Heeseung was introverted by nature and Sunghoon even more so. Meaning communication between them was almost non-existent.
It also didn’t help that Heeseung had never actually taught someone before – and it was hard to teach something that came so naturally to him.
Honestly, teaching Sunghoon was the most challenged Heeseung had been since joining Rain’s classes.
It was hard – he honestly didn’t know how Rain did it so easily.
But luckily for Heeseung, Sunghoon was persistent. And trained harder than anyone. So, eventually, they began making progress.
And then, soon enough, Sunghoon was back on par with the rest of the class. But he still came to Heeseung whenever he was having a problem.
And before long, they were spending time together outside of training. Just hanging out around the village and stuff. Which was new for Heeseung, but fun.
Eventually, Taehyun began to join them – after his stories started to become old with the other kids and his waterbending prowess annoying, especially to those students older and less skilled.
(Apparently being out-skilled by both Heeseung and Taehyun rubbed them the wrong way - as did Sunghoon's status as the Crown Prince.)
After a while, the three of them became friends, which was something new for Heeseung. Since, despite being quite popular around the village, he didn’t actually have many friends.
He had never considered the older kids in his class ‘friends’ – he always felt like an outsider among them because even though Heeseung was younger than most of them, they always looked at him in awe and placed him on some kind of pedestal, like he was untouchable or something.
But Taehyun and Sunghoon… they were different. They never treated Heeseung like everyone else.
They acknowledge his skill, yes. But they didn’t define him by it. They were never afraid to speak out against him or make fun of him when he’d make a mistake. They would laugh and joke with him and just treat him like a regular kid. They kind of reminded him of his mother in a way.
Really, ever since his mother had died, Heeseung had forgotten what it was like to have a friend... It was nice.
Rain, of course, always seemed to have a smirk on his face whenever he saw them together.
But at eight years old, Heeseung had grown used to ignoring him anyway.
※
After that, things were good.
Heeseung continued his usual waterbending training and hanging out with Sunghoon and Taehyun.
But then his father and the elders decided that he should begin taking on more responsibility around the Tribe. So, he began going on fishing trips. And hunting expeditions. And even started warrior training. All of which, surprisingly, Rain was against. Like really against.
“A waste of time,” He would say whenever Heeseung was pulled away by either his father or the elders. “You should be focusing on you’re waterbending, not fishing. Besides, you’re far too young to be doing any of this… not even ten years old for spirit’s sake.”
While Rain could go on tangents about it – that sometimes lasted hours - Heeseung was indifferent.
After all, it wasn’t like anyone asked him if he wanted to do these things, it was just another thing that was decided for him. Honestly, Heeseung was beginning to get used to doing whatever he was told. It was just easier that way.
In fact, things seemed to be shifting towards normal for Heeseung…
That is until a few months after his ninth birthday, when his father sat him down and told him that he’d met a woman.
Heeseung had seen his father talking to a young woman in town a couple of times before but he never made much from it. Why would he? His father had never shown that type of interest in any woman since his mother had passed.
So, suffice to say, he was shocked when his father told him that he planned to marry her.
Heeseung didn’t know much about her – this woman his dad wanted to marry. Really, he had only heard gossip from the old ladies in the village, like how she was from the Northern Water Tribe - only having arrived in town a few months ago - and how she had a young son.
Heeseung had thought she was strange. He honestly had not understood at all why his father would want to marry her.
She didn’t smile like he remembers his own mother smiling nor did she tell funny jokes. She was quiet and kept to herself and while Heeseung knew she had a son; he’d had yet to actually see him.
According to the old ladies, he had a weak disposition and was constantly sick.
It wasn’t until his father properly introduced them – and he saw the way his dad smiled at her – that he decided it didn’t matter if he understood or not. If this strange woman could make his father smile like that, well… Heeseung could deal.
But of course, along with his dad’s new wife, came Heeseung's new little brother.
And so, just a few months shy of his tenth birthday, Heeseung found himself becoming a big brother.
※
At four years old, Jungwon looked up to Heeseung with stars in his eyes and constantly waddled behind him on shaky legs.
At first, Heeseung hadn’t known what to do with him. He wasn’t used to getting this much attention from someone younger than him. Because even though he knew both Sunghoon and Taehyun looked up to him in a way, he also knew they wouldn’t be caught dead looking at him the way Jungwon did.
“So…” Heeseung remembers racking his brain, trying to think of something to say to a four-year-old. “Even been penguin sledding?”
He hadn’t, as it turned out, had never even heard of it before.
Now, Heeseung didn’t know much about the Northern Tribe, but if they didn’t even have penguin sledding up there… well, he didn’t think he was missing out on much. To Heeseung, it seemed a crime that the kid had never experienced the rush that came from penguin sledding.
So, as any big brother would, he took him.
Heeseung himself hadn’t been sledding since his mother had passed. Not even with Sunghoon or Taehyun. Usually, the thought of going there, to her favourite spot, was enough to make his insides hurt.
But it was worth it, taking Jungwon there. It was the first time he’d seen the kid smile so wide that a dimple appeared on his cheek.
He remembers thinking that his mother would have loved Jungwon's smile.
“That was amazing hyung! Can we go again! Can we! Can we!”
“Of course, Jungwonie.”
They ended up playing together for hours. Heeseung trying to teach him everything he learnt from his mother, like the best penguin to catch for sledding and the best snow to use for snowballs so they don’t fall apart. Anything and everything that Heeseung could remember. And Jungwon had loved it all.
At that point, Heeseung hadn’t known Jungwon for that long, but he knew then, that he would do anything he could to keep that smile on his little brother’s face.
“Can you show me your bending again, hyung? Please!”
It amused Heeseung how he could do the simplest technique, but Jungwon would oh and awe like it was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen.
He liked to reach his little hands out to the water and always looked at it with such fascination. To Heeseung, water was just water, but he knew that Jungwon hadn’t much of the South Pole since he’d been here. So, he indulged him.
His stepmother had told him Jungwon had a weak disposition, so he had to be careful with him. But he never appeared that way to Heeseung.
Jungwon was so full of life, so eager to take in everything around him and when he looked at him with those big eyes, Heeseung was filled with such brotherly pride, it was hard to contain himself.
He wanted to show Jungwon everything. He wanted to teach him all the things his mother had taught him. And even though, he had never been a big brother before or even ever had one of his own, he was determined to be the best one possible, for Jungwon.
Much later, after they had tired themselves out sledding, they sat on the shoreline, Heeseung pointing out all his favourite spots for fishing, canoeing, swimming.
“Once the weather gets a bit warmer, I’ll take you out swimming. There’s a great spot around here Sunghoonie and I always go to. You’ll love it.”
“I don’t know how to swim, hyung.”
“What?”
Even at nine years old, Heeseung had thought that was the strangest thing he’d ever heard – a child, born to the Water Tribe, who couldn’t swim.
Even kids in the village who couldn’t waterbend still knew how to swim. How could they not? This was the South Pole.
“Didn’t your dad ever teach you?”
After all, Heeseung’s father had taught him when he was just a baby. And even though he’d never heard anything about Jungwon's real father before, Heeseung knew he would have had to have had one somewhere.
But Jungwon didn’t answer him. He was silent, looking out into the water, hand glazing along the surface before he turned to Heeseung with his big eyes.
“Could you teach me hyung?”
Startled, Heeseung opened his mouth to answer when –
“Jungwon!” Heeseung turned to find his stepmother running across the ice towards them, her eyes frantic. “Get away from the edge!”
Heeseung, confused, looked back at his brother. Yes, one of his little hands was reaching for the water, but Heeseung had a firm grip on the back of Jungwon's parka.
There was no way Heeseung was going to let him fall in.
“We weren’t going in!” Heeseung was suddenly filled with the strange urge to protect Jungwon - but from what, he wasn’t sure. Was it the water? Or the scolding that was sure to come? Whatever it was had him lifting Jungwon away from the edge and into his arms. “Look, I'm holding him! I wouldn’t let him fall in.”
She had already snatched Jungwon into her own arms when she finally looked at Heeseung, as though she had just realised he was there at all.
“I-I,”
She had looked so young, helpless almost. At that moment, to Heeseung, she bared no resemblance at all to Jungwon, despite how similar their looks actually were. Jungwon was the embodiment life and she was…
“I know, I’m sorry Heeseung. I-I should have explained better. I don’t want Jungwon anywhere near the water. Ever, okay.”
...Not that.
She had seemed to calm down, once Jungwon was in her arms. Her eyes no longer looked frantic when she finally looked Heeseung in the eye, “You, especially, should know just how dangerous the water is.”
Jungwon was already crying when she turned around and walked away, his chubby hand reaching out over her shoulder towards him.
At nine years old, Heeseung - stunned by what she had just said to him - didn’t notice the way the water swelled behind him, as if trying to reach back.
※
When he got home later that day, they didn’t talk about it. And even Jungwon, as young as he was, knew not to bring it up.
But even though they didn’t talk about it, after that, Jungwon was allowed out a lot more.
Heeseung suspected his stepmother felt guilty about the whole thing. So, she’d let him take Jungwon out whenever he wanted, and as long as they stayed away from the water, she never said anything.
In fact, she seemed happy (or as happy as Heeseung had ever seen her anyway) that they were getting along so well.
Heeseung tried not to blame her for her reaction. After all, she was young - much younger than Heeseung’s own mother had been anyway. But their relationship was never easy in the way his dad and Jungwon’s was.
She still tried, though. To be something of a mother figure for him. She’d pack his lunch and ask about his day and even tucked him into bed at night.
So, while she wasn’t anything like his own mother, Heeseung thought she still cared for him in the same way. She just had a different way of showing it.
But it was fine. At ten years old, Heeseung had long outgrown needing a mother around anyway. Still, it was nice knowing one was there, if he needed it.
※
It wasn’t long before everyone around town became completely enamoured by Jungwon – especially since he was allowed out in the village a lot more. But Heeseung wasn’t surprised. As far as he was concerned, his little brother was the cutest kid around, so of course, everyone would love him.
Even Rain, it seemed, was not immune to Jungwon’s dimple, as despite loudly declaring his waterbending lessons were for students only - he’d let Jungwon sit in, at the back, and observe.
Of course, before long, Jungwon migrated to the front of the class; where he’d sit with Rain and exchange whispers while everyone practised - something which drove Sunghoon crazy and amused Taehyun to no end.
But when he wasn’t making banter with Rain, Jungwon always watched on with such fascination.
His big eyes followed every moment with such intense focus and, on their walks home, he would talk Heeseung's ear off about which techniques he wanted to try first, once he got his bending.
But years passed. And even after he turned ten, Jungwon still showed no signs of bending.
He never said anything to him, but Heeseung was sure that if Jungwon hadn’t shown any ability by now, it was unlikely he ever would.
But how could he say that to his little brother?
After all, Jungwon never seemed worried. Every year older he got or every time one of his same age friends started waterbending, Jungwon would just laugh and say he was a late bloomer, that he’d get his bending when he got older, that’s all.
Then he’d turn to Heeseung and ask if he’d still teach him, no matter how old he was.
At fifteen years old, Heeseung – never able to say no to those big eyes – would run his fingers through his brother’s hair and laugh, telling him, of course he would teach him, no matter how old he got.