Work Text:
Summary:
Choifeet yearns to have a sense of normalcy but then Ryu Jaekwan arrives.
Repulsive. Six faces attached upon a human sized foot. Not just on the sole but every toe. Each face was an uncanny imitation of his original. As if to mock him further beneath each face was the jagged scar that was once on his neck. Choi smiled at the mirror. It was a grimace more than anything. All five faces on his toes matched the expression in quick succession. Ever since the Incident™ he looked like this.
Items were an essential use to his daily life. The Incident™ had made all his limbs disappear. It was a miracle he could even walk properly with an upright foot for a body. He did everything to get his foot on whatever he could use. After all his effort, he had only gotten two items and replacement wouldn't be viable. The first item was phantom arms that were attached to either of his sides for daily use. And the second was an illusion ring item that made him appear like his regular self. Though it was only believable if no one touched him.
The absence of touch.
It was an irreparably lonely feeling. For someone like Choi who liked being around others it was especially cruel. What did people feel like again? They were warm right? Questions like that often hung on his mind. But often those thoughts were interlaced with the faces of those who saw his raw appearance. The wide eyes stares of pity, disgust or something in between. Others couldn't even bear to look. A bitter chuckle escaped his mouths. He'd left that place a long time ago. At least 'he' didn't get a chance to see Choi in that way.
—
"Senior Choi? Is that you?"
Standing across from him was none other than Ryu Jaekwan. Choi couldn't believe his eyes. There wasn't much change from when he last saw him before the incident™. Black hair flowing in the breeze, eyes blue like the deep ocean, and his thick brows... they were downturned. What was Ryu Jaekwan doing here? Out of all the people in his past he could have encountered it just had to be him.
"Fancy seeing you here, Jaekwan-ie," Choi replied with an easy going tone.
Choi settled into faux cheeriness quite quickly. For a moment and uneasy silence swirled between them. A standstill. There was a deep chasm that couldn't be bridged.
"Why did you leave?" The words sounded raw in Ryu Jaekwan's throat, "Suddenly without even..."
"Look, I didn't mean to go without saying goodbye," Choi scratched the back of his upper toe, his eyes not meeting Ryu Jaekwan's "Something urgent came up and—"
"You didn't even reach out once", Ryu Jaekwan sighed bitterly, "Three years. I looked for you the entire time."
Choi bit his lower lips. How would Jaekwan feel if he found out he'd been looking for an abomination this entire time? Could he even bear to look at me?
A hand reached out to Choi and as if scalded by hot water he slapped it away. He realized his mistake too late. An expression of genuine hurt was plastered on Ryu Jaekwan's face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Back then, didn't you say that we would always have each other's backs?"
"Circumstances are different now, Jaekwan. It's better if we don't meet again."
"So you're just going to run away?"
"If that's how you see it, then yes."
"Don't you trust me?"
"I do. But this isn't something I can share to anyone." Especially you.
"I just don't get it. Why are you pushing me away. What happened on that day? I won't judge you so please tell me. I'll leave you alone after that."
Monster.
Repulsive.
Disgusting.
"Don't lie to me like that, Jaekwan-ie. It makes me terribly sad."
"What do you mean?"
Choi psyched himself up and used a phantom arm to pat Ryu Jaekwan's shoulder.
"It's not something for you to worry about," his returned to a lighter tone.
Ryu Jaekwan's tightly hand clasped his own fake one not intending to let go. Choi wondered if his hand felt cold or warm. He wasn't wearing any gloves in this weather so it was probably cool to the touch. Swallowing down his feelings, he brushed the hand away and passed Ryu Jaekwan. He didn't look back.
—
Choi's phone was ringing again. It was for the fifth time now. He didn't look at the number he knew it already. Ryu Jaekwan. That guy was super persistent today. Didn't he know what's good for him? Why does he keep insisting. All of Choi's face's frowned. He shut the phone off and curled all his toes.
"You."
The phone was off.
Yet the call still began.
It wasn't Ryu Jaekwan's voice but Choi's own. It was distorted, even more uncanny than the small pitches that the tiny faces on his toes made.
Then there was no other sound than the skittering of what seemed like insect legs. Bang. Something sharp like a gun shot was heard. A moment later Ryu Jaekwan's muffled voice came from the phone.
"Monster."
That's right. Choi was… He snapped out of it.
"J-jaekwan? Are you in danger? Where are you?"
"Senior Choi? Did that thing contact you? Why… I'm in Lucky Mart."
"Isn't that a restricted zone?! What are you doing there!?"
"I thought I heard—"
Static.
"Jaekwan? Hey!"
—
Luckymart was in a old part of town. It had been crumbling for a while but only had been recently abandoned and cordoned off because an incident™ had occured there. It was an impressive building, 4 floors storeys tall. The giant sign announcing its name was still flickering despite the lack of electricity in the rest of the building. Choi crossed over the police lines. The glass entrance offered no resistance, someone had opened it already. Jaekwan. Choi scratched his largest scar.
The interior of the building was dark and damp. Even with a flashlight nothing seemed to be what it presented itself as. The walls were warping with strange colors. Something in the air made Choi's faces uneasy. Where could he have gone?
It would've been easier if he could call out to him but then it'd alert whatever creatures lurking here of his location. And that thing was also imitating his voice. He had to be careful. But it was too late.
The sound of an insect crawling filled his ears. It was more intense than what he heard on the phone. The sound burrowed into his skin and made sweat drip from his toes. The sound stopped. Choi lifted the flashlight to the wall across the hallway.
The thing was a perfect imitation of his raw apparently but even more twisted and horrible. All its faces were warped into a wide grin with eyes forever open from the lack of eyelids. It was twice as large as the current Choi and attached from his foot body were long sharp needle-like legs that looked like resembled a spider's.
Crawling away from of it was Ryu Jaekwan. He was bleeding, there was a wound on his leg. Choi needed to move. He needed to save him. When Jaekwan saw Choi he could only mutter one word.
"Run."
Choi let out a nervous chuckle.
"We both know that's not an option, Jaekwan."
Choi pulled out an item from his bag as the creature was about to lunge. The stun grenade made the creature flinch for a moment. But that moment was all Choi needed to reach Ryu Jaekwan. He pulled him close. Revealing himself didn't matter anymore. As Ryu Jaekwan made contact with his body the illusion spell broke. Jaekwan's blue eyes widened.
"Senior Choi, you…" He muttered underneath his breath.
"I'm gross right? But how about we talk about that later. There's a spider creature chasing after us," Choi smiled bitterly.
"WTF! MY EYES," the spider creature chimes in.
"What?" Choi turned to look at it.
"I need bleach," Then it skittered away in super sonic speed.
—
Choi brought Ryu Jaekwan back to his apartment. The walk there was silent. Choi layed Ryu Jaekwan down on his couch and bandaged his injured leg. Luckily the cut wasn't too deep.
"Could you believe that thing? It looked just like me but it was so disgusted by me," Choi scoffed.
Jaekwan tilted his head, "It didn't look like you though, at least in my eyes."
"Seriously? What did it look like?"
"It looked like the old caretaker in my orphanage. I only entered that place because I thought I heard him asking for help."
"Is that so. Forget I said anything."
Choi turned his gaze away in shame. So the appearance of that thing changed based on the person. Then the reason it must have resembled him in his vision is—
"I don't think you're as repulsive as he says," Ryu Jaekwan spoke.
"Didn't I tell you already to not lie, Jaekwan-ie?" Choi pouted.
"It's true, what I'm saying."
"I don't believe you."
"I'm not repulsed by you…" Jaekwan tugged at his hair and in an instant a mask item was pulled off. The head of Jaekwan which looked like a normal human had was revealed to actually be a large hand with a face in the middle. He didn't have the several faces Choi had though, "After all, I'm in the same boat."
Then it all clicked into place. So that's why Jaekwan was missing after the incident™. Turns out he'd also experienced the effects. What an absurd fate that befell the two of them.
"In this state, do you think I'm repulsive, senior?" Jaekwan asked softly.
"Of course not!"
"Then you shouldn't think of yourself as repulsive either."
"I'll try."
Choi sighed and hugged Ryu Jaekwan tightly. He was warm. Along with his usual scent was the faint smell of cigarettes. Ryu Jaekwan slowly wrapped his arms around Choi too. Choi didn't have the courage to say he had accepted himself.