Work Text:
Sometimes, life sucks, sometimes, life is beautiful. It can be pretty and kind, like his wife and their son, or it can be troublesome, like the required knight training he’s going to have in two months
His name is Kim Roksoo, and he dearly hopes he can get kicked out for his lack of skills.
“Being a knight is an honor, you know.” His wife points out.
He lifted his gaze from the notice letter in his hands to stare incredulously at the beautiful redhead he somehow managed to convince to marry him, “I did not ask for this.”
“What, the chance to become a knight than a civilian?” His wife, Cale, who has a ridiculously hard to decide name countered.
Hard to decide, because Kim Roksoo is a nonlocal whose tradition is to not pass their family name to their wives but for their children, whilst Cale’s is to have her husband’s name. So, she’s… what, Kim Cale nee Henituse? Roksoo thought it felt weird, but since he’s living in her hometown anyways, she’s more likely to be called as Mrs. Kim.
“I’m fine being a civilian.” He stubbornly said, “We’re not at war anyways, I could decline.”
Cale hums, “You could, but everyone would stare at you weirdly.”
“I’ll be fine.” Except that’s a nice point, because for all he knew he won’t be bothered by the stares, there’ll be questions that’ll bother him and his wife. It sure does sound tiring, but people bothering his wife leaves an unpleasant feeling in him.
“What’s wrong with knight training?” His son’s tuft of hair was seen across him from the table. He has the same set of reddish-brown eyes that both his parents had, though his jet-black hair is undeniably is from Roksoo.
“Your father is lazy.” Cale supplied.
Kim Yves’ face soured. He knew that, “But the knights are cool!”
“And tiring.”
Yves pouts at him, the audacity of this kid.
“At least the rules changed, you know.” Cale gently knocks his head with a closed fist, “The age requirement is not eighteen anymore, if it was, our marriage would’ve been later.”
“Who marries at eighteen anyways.” Roksoo groans, “We may have rushed.”
“Oh, so you’re saying you regret it?”
“What, no.”
Cale raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, fine.” He sighs, “I’m glad the age requirement is twenty-five, still not excited though.”
“You already declined last year.” Alright he lied, he’s actually twenty-six and did decline the letter last year.
Declining the invite letter at twenty-five was quite common, but the next one? Mostly didn’t, they even come more prepared! All Roksoo had is his skill to sleep a whole day undisturbed.
“If Daddy declines again, he’s lame!” Yves tugged his mother’s skirt, pointing at Roksoo as if his whole life wasn’t financed by his father, ugh, ungrateful brat.
“I thought he already is one?”
Yves nods, “Which is why Mommy must be tricked!”
Roksoo does not accept this slander, “What did you just say.”
Cale eyed her boys with squinted eyes, “Alright, I’m done.” With a clap, she went back to the kitchen. Yves’ smaller legs kept up with her, shouting ‘mommy, mommy!’ as he did, talking about flowers he picked up this morning for her? Is that his genes? Definitely not, he’s not that whipped.
Sighing irritated, he eyed the letter.
Uuurgh he’s not doing it.
No, he won’t.
He wouldn’t, why would he leave his wife and son, alone? What kind of husband and father he’d be, huh?
. . .
A month later he miserably packed away because damn, society pressure is rough.
.
.
.
.
.
Please, if someone asked Roksoo, he wouldn’t know what the hell just happened.
He remembers being a knight, not an official one, studying here and there about the basics of knight training. He’d been drilled by how amazing the empire is, bla bla, the society, safety… whatever, yawn.
Then there’s the plaza incident, there’s some couple of boom boom close by, as in, bombs. Not war, just terrorists, isn’t life just fun. Sometimes Roksoo contemplates kidnapping his little family back to his small town unnoticed by any other country, safe and sound. He hasn’t of course, because he’s still dealing with the bombs.
He saved a couple people, like any good amateur knight he is, small jobs, right? There’s some more screaming, some running and bumping, and then… and then Roksoo awakened his enchantment before the bomb could go off.
Enchantments are, simply put, some kind of powers that some chosen people have. It awakens mostly in stressful situations, to protect its host. The world is unfair, and somehow, Roksoo won the lottery of having the power of a shield.
When he blinks, everyone was screaming in joy, shaking his hands and awed gazes to the beautiful symbol of a shield floating in front of them with wings on it’s back. An angel like symbol, a shield. The holy protector.
…so.
Hm, anyways. Roksoo wasn’t so sure what the hell just happened.
He’s sure he was going to get kicked out from the knights training after the required six month stay, go home to his loving wife and adorable son. That dream gets crushed when he was personally invited by the heir of the empire to tea and gets recruited to the royal army that, get this, filled with elite knights who has enchantments.
Can he even refuse?
Just a while, he’s sure he’ll get executed for denying the prince, it’ll be fine, they’ll realize his stupid shielding enchantment is useless from how much time he coughed blood afterwards, then he gets kicked out and he can get back home.
That dream… is going farther from his reach day by day.
His family lived in the poorer part of the district, quite far from the plaza. Which meant Cale probably won’t hear anything about what he did. Of course, knights left for lengths of time, so she could get worried, but chalked it up to him having knightly duties.
He would send her letters if it wasn’t for his demanding job.
In the corner of his mind, he frustratedly cried out how he promises to tell her something.
Knightly duties get served in a silver platter, shoved into his lap. His teammates are fine, Choi Han is apparently also from his hometown, that’s kind of cool. Though even cooler if he could go home.
Roksoo’s going crazy, every time he’s on patrol he’ll whip his head to the direction of every redhead that he caught passing by. Chances of it being Cale are lower than one, but he’s sure as hell will try.
‘I just want to tell her.’ He despaired, ‘Wait for me, Cale and Yves.’
.
.
.
.
.
Cale my beautiful wife please bring yourself and Yves to the plaza festival in celebration of the victory, I know the ride is going to be expensive, but just say I sent you and show our family photo on your locket necklace, I promise they’ll handle everything.
Hopefully, this time there won’t any more boom boom going on the plaza, that’ll be awkward.
Turns out being a knight does not involve sleeping away his worries, how unfortunate. All he could slip between his towering paperwork (why the hell do knights do paperwork is a question he could never find the answer to) is a small letter that basically pleaded for his wife and son to visit the festival.
It’s far from his first letter of course, he definitely sent some, but not much. Writing the letter didn’t take long, the sending to Cale is, because the empire and their home is far, maybe about a month-long journey? Minimal three weeks, there.
This festival happening in the plaza, which kind of marks Roksoo’s two years leave as an elite knight (‘Let me go home.’ He internally cried), is about celebrating the elite knight’s victory for the recent war against the rivaling empire.
Roksoo was mostly on the protecting side during that war, with his shielding enchantment and lack of fighting skills, though for some reason he did end the enemy’s commander. He swore he’s just protecting his teammates, then he ends up slicing the bastard’s neck who looks eerily similar to Cale. Damn, did he kill his own brother-in-law? Oh wait, Cale’s brother is a brunet.
Yeah so, they may be a bit overpraising him… uh anyways, what he’s excited about is the fact that he’s going to meet the two joys of his life later.
Elite knights get breaks, not long enough to travel back-to-back a to his home though, the journey alone will take two months, and knights aren’t supposed to be lax.
And so miserably, all he has is the matching locket necklace he had with his wife. He kept it on his room, because such precious treasure doesn’t belong to war. It’s a picture of him and Cale, about twenty-one with a child by her arms.
Roksoo was correct about that one, their marriage had been rushed, mostly for the tax benefits. They could just marry at twenty-five a had kids five years later, but nooo, Roksoo finds himself a son at twenty-one. It works fine either way, he shouldn’t be complaining.
Besides, the society loves kids, their house had received many gifts for their son, and guiltily, they both need the money. Hey, Yves didn’t seem mad about it, he even grins and is smug about how he could help his parents. All is well.
Blankly, he stares ahead as the prince gave out his speeches.
The elite knights are on a clear space in front of the regular knights, before it was regular civilians. When they’re released form his assembly-esque meeting, he’s definitely go searching for the prettiest redhead he has the fortunate luck to be married with.
There’s a couple thanks, cheers and clink of glasses before he was allowed to roam. With a sigh, his shoulders slumped tiredly.
Choi Han, a fellow elite knight bumped his shoulder, “Are you alright, Roksoo-nim?”
Roksoo hums, eyes glancing around.
“You seem… excited.” Rosalyn, standing beside Choi Han noted, “Anyone you recognize?”
“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate.
Maybe he would, if it weren’t for a small pair of hands circling his waist, bumping into him. Nah, he definitely wouldn’t.
There are shouts of knights nearby, the little force of nature must’ve escaped their clutches just to be what it is, a little force.
“Roksoo-nim! We apologize! Young boy, you—”
Said force of nature was picked up by the scruff of his shirt, noticeably nicer than two years ago, definitely from his pay that he sent to his family. It made him glad that at least, his wife and son could benefit from his payment.
“Roksoo-nim…?” Choi Han stared curiously at the boy. He seemed similar to—
“Daddy!” The child squeaks, joy in his eyes, “I missed you!”
Maybe more than one jaw had dropped down.
Roksoo titled his head, “Hello kiddo.”
“Daddy, I miss you so much!”
His lips might’ve twitched up, just a bit. He might just miss the brat too, sometimes.
“Yves! My son, that—”
“Mommy!”
Cale, in the middle of explaining to puzzled knights paused, peering from their figures to see her son clinging to her husband.
She eyed the frozen knights, “…excuse me.”
The silence let the sound of her heels be heard as she approached the two onyx haired idiots that is unfortunately belongs to her.
“Yves.” Cale frowns, “You shouldn’t run off like that.”
“But the speeches are over.” Yves pouts, held by Roksoo’s hip, “And I saw Daddy.”
Cale’s eyes glanced at Roksoo, as if asking him to step up and do his job as a father.
Roksoo stares back at her, maybe a little dazed.
Wow, how did he marry such a beauty again? Definitely not by tricking her by what Yves said, because that’s lies and slander.
“You could get lost, there’s a lot of people.” She pinched Yves’ cheek, “We promised to meet up by the inn, remember?”
“That’s stupid.” Yves grips his father’s shirt stubbornly, “I want to see Daddy now.”
Cale sighs, maybe a bit more fondly than she meant to.
“Hello.” Roksoo said, holding her hand and kissed her knuckles, “Such a pretty lady you are. Will you marry me?”
“I’m your wife, idiot.”
“I can see why.”
Someone fake gags. Perhaps Roksoo forgotten they had an audience.
Suffice to say, that event left many young ladies broken hearted, because who knew the monotonous blank faced silver shield of the elite knight is married with a son?