Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Luka was a sinner.

No, no, he wasn’t. He appeared just as Father instructed him.

He was selfish.

He gave up anything that Father deemed to be a nuisance in his way of practicing. He listened well.

He was a bad person.

He was.

He was. He was, and he knew it. When he pushed Hyun-woo, thinking he’d return, he knew that the way Hyuna gazed at him meant that he had done something wrong. But the boy was just a failed product, yes? If he didn’t return renewed, it’d mean he was defective and hence, useless in the first place.

He didn’t understand why Hyuna refused to talk to him after that.

He didn’t understand why she left him during their Alien Stage. Why she was even losing in the first place. She was better than everyone. They were supposed to sing together and–

And–

One of them was going to die. 

He wasn’t going to live without her, though. That’d do no good. His precious Hyuna. Even if she hadn’t looked in his direction for years. Even if she hated his guts.

They would die together. He’d make sure of it.

And that time had come. Albeit a tad late.

“Stop pretending to be righteous.”

That’s right.

He would stop now.

It was over.

An explosion sounded.

With all the strength he could muster after the beating he had just suffered– vaguely it all felt numb, he didn’t feel anything despite hearing his bones crack– he crawled over to his universe. His perfect songbird. His Hyuna.

He cradled her face, adjusting his position so as to let her head lay on his lap. He hummed softly, brushing her hair gently as he waited for the fire to engulf them. As if he was touching the most fragile thing in the whole galaxy.

He was. Whatever left of him, had crumbled down.

And then it all went blank.

-.- .- .-. -- .-

It was Karma for his sins.

He was a sinner.

He was selfish.

He was a bad person.

Luka awoke in a tube. Barely conscious. Vaguely, he recalled shouting and refusing to sing anymore when he was rescued. Hitting his Father. Screaming. Ripping IV lines out. Being sedated.

The cold liquid surrounding him was pressing disgustingly onto his skin and entering his body through every crevice, including his eyes. He couldn’t scream. Couldn’t shout. Only float there as tubes sucked blood out of his body. As Segyeins calculated his exact DNA string. 

As he was cloned.

... .. -.

Luka stood upon the stage, dazzling smile on his perfect face, makeup precisely put on, hair flawlessly styled.

When Father had told him that he could perform, he was finally satisfied. After seven years of honing his already sharp skills and undergoing many treatments to ensure he didn’t fall apart, it was time to return.

He never asked what he was like before. Father told him it was too big a tragedy to even think about.

He never asked why he instinctively flinched and paused whenever he saw someone with brown hair.

He never asked why.

He just complied.

Like the good pet he was. With righteousness. With love.

Chapter Text

“Stop pretending to be righteous.”

That’s right.

He would stop now.

It was over.

An explosion sounded.

The beating had hurt and in a way, it almost felt like his tears weren’t in the same existence as him. It was painful. His heart hurt. But it didn’t. He cried. But he didn’t.

He was just a pet. He was a product.

He would stop being righteous. 

Maybe this is what Hyuna meant.

He would live with love in his own way.

Managing to crawl over to his beloved’s body, he stared at her face. Slowly, he lowered himself, touching their foreheads together, his pale eyes looking directly at her gaunt face.

She was gone.

He didn’t resist when he was pulled away by some Segyeins.

He didn’t fight back or complain when he was taken back to his Owner.

He didn’t complain when he was asked to sing again.

He didn’t ask anything again.

He just performed. Trained. Recovered. Avoided any human with brown hair.

And seven years later, he was on stage again.

Really, a part of him wished that he had no memory. A part of him wished that on that day seven years ago, he had burned to death with his Hyuna. A part of him wished that he had escaped with the twins back when they were still younger.

A part of him wished that, despite everything, he’d have helped the Rebellion.

But that part was overshadowed. He no longer had righteousness. 

This was Karma.

And everyone was going to feel it.