Work Text:
2019
Exactly the middle of summer, 29°C at its peak. 29 Celsius often appeared on the weather app. It wasn't anything serious. But Hanjin, he felt like he was going to die the second he stepped out of his house.
He did grow up in China, where it's even hotter than in Seoul, but he just hated Korean summer. After stuck up bitches, it was the thing he hated the most.
That particular July 15th wasn't any different from the other days in summer. Kids were heard playing on the street, café's buzzed with chatter and laughter. Laundry stayed hung on the balconies. Everything was like it was supposed to be. Calm, peaceful and safe. Just like he got used to.
It was his third month living in Korea. His parents sent him here since they believed he could get educated better here. A complete lie and he knew it. But Korea was actually really nice.
Everyone would help him with Korean and even offer free tutoring. The older ladies in his apartment building were especially fond of him. Even though he couldn't speak Korean very well, he still helped with everything he could and they adored him like their own grandchild.
He was scrolling on his phone, minding his own business when an article that got his attention popped up. He could only catch two or three words but it was enough for him to click on it.
Loving gossip meant he naturally read every article that got into his feed. No matter the language barrier, he'd translate them into Chinese and read.
This particular one was interesting because it mentioned “a 15 year old” which was his age also. And everything involving people the same age as him, got his attention immediately.
It finally translated the whole article and Hanjin started reading it while drinking his smoothie, consisting of every fruit and vegetable he could find in his pantry.
Breaking news:
A 15 year old is currently being admitted to the hospital after his mother beat him nearly to death.
Multiple people reported hearing screaming from the house near and the sound of crying and pleading. While we don't know the extent of the situation we only know that the boy in question is named Kim Dohoon.
Hanjin's face twisted in horror as he started typing Kim Dohoon in his search bar to see more news.
Kim Dohoon, 15 year old nearly beaten to death after his mother accused him of dealing drugs.
The hospital where he's currently being treated reports multiple broken ribs, as well as a mild concussion, broken pelvic bones and completely demolished pinky finger on his right hand.
The mother is nowhere to be found, people assume that she ran away while the others think that the police already arrested her.
New information coming soon.
“This is genuinely sick behaviour.” Hanjin muttered in Chinese, going outside to get some fresh air. Just the thought of a 15 year old being beaten nearly to death makes him incredibly furious.
“What has this world turned into….” He scoffed while walking to the convenience store.
He went there bought an ice cream and returned to his apartment. Despite finding all of this disturbing, Hanjin took out his phone and started searching for more information.
“Internet is really a black hole, isn't it? It gets you sucked in instantly.”
Another piece of news appeared and Hanjin quickly got to reading.
The 15 year old is currently still in the hospital, the police is waiting for him to regain consciousness so that they can take a statement from him.
After multiple statements from his neighbours we have gathered mostly that the boy in question – Kim Dohoon, seemes like a nice guy and that someone accused him of dealing drugs which was a false accusation.
“All that because of a false accusation, poor Dohoon.” Hanjin dropped his head in his hands and just stayed like that. It infuriated him that the world could be so cruel to someone innocent yet protect the guilty.
“How can that make sense.”
The ice cream stayed long forgotten on his table as he stayed seated and researched everything he could on this situation. He didn't even know who the boy was, but this whole situation seemed so unfair he had to get involved somehow.
…
Hanjin woke up from a very uncomfortable sleep and immediately started looking for more information, just to find the most upsetting piece of information a person could find.
The mother of Kim Dohoon, has not been arrested due to the lack of evidence.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” Hanjin yelled into his empty apartment. This whole situation was getting on his nerves so much. He, a complete stranger to this Dohoon had more empathy than anyone who was supposed to protect him from that monster that people called his mother.
Everyone that supposed to protect him failed him miserably. And Hanjin wouldn't be having it. One day, he swore, he'll get some kind of revenge, whatever it'll be, Dohoon's mother will suffer and that was the most important part.
Hanjin didn't even know why he was so attached to this complete stranger but something in gut refused to fail Dohoon. He wanted to show Dohoon that there are people that wouldn't fail him, no matter how many years it'll take. Despite having broken many promises he set for himself, this will be the promise he wouldn't break. Not for his but for Dohoon's sake.
…
2025
Literature was everything to Hanjin, writing, reading, everything about it made him extremely happy. Even though he had to learn some boring stuff, it still made him the happiest person alive when he'd pick up a book, a pen and paper and started doing what he loved the most, besides gossip of course.
So when he had to choose a college major it was a no brainer for him - literature duh. He looked forward to the day he would sit in big lecture halls and hear professors talk nonstop about his favourite topic.
And the day he wished for the entire break finally arrived. 1st October 2025, the day he finally starts college.
He picked his best I'm trying hard to look cool but it doesn't seem like it outfit and went outside. Autumn was slowly marking its territory on the streets of Seoul as his every step was accompanied by a singular leaf and sometimes even a majority of them.
It was nice, walking and hearing the crunch of leaves beneath his foot. It was pretty relaxing if you ask him.
He stood in front of the doors of the college and took a deep breath. Finally it starts.
His first ever lecture wasn't anything special just some kind of introduction between the professor and the new students.
“Good afternoon students, my name is Kim Jongseob, and I will be your creative writing professor, glad to meet you. Now students, start introducing yourselves, starting from you.” The professor pointed directly at Hanjin.
“My name is Han Zhen, but call me Hanjin, I'm from China.” The professor seemed very interested when he heard that Hanjin was from China. There weren't many Chinese students who settled for Korean literature.
“Oh, and is there a reason you chose to study literature in general?”
“I really love literature and everything that it offers so this was a really easy choice.”
“Next student please.”
“Hello, i am Kim Dohoon” and that was when Hanjin's face lost its entire colour. Kim Dohoon, a name so familiar yet the face was never seen.
If this Dohoon, was the Dohoon that got failed by everyone then Hanjin's promise could finally be completed.
Hanjin turned around to look at him, to see anything that might give it away that it was that Kim Dohoon.
His face looked normal, so did his body. But, his pinky on the right hand was bent in a weird way. There was it, the proof that the Dohoon sitting 3 chairs from him, was the Dohoon that Hanjin wanted to protect from everyone that might hurt him again.
…
Hanjin came home and all of the memories started flooding his mind. The images of bruises, the trial and Dohoon's mum found not guilty, the multiple reports of broken ribs, bones and all of the awful things that Dohoon's mother did to him.
The failure to protect Kim Dohoon. That was the worst. A 15 year getting beaten up like that without any measures taken against his abuser. Just a case police swept under the rug because the mother payed well.
He needed a way to get closer to Kim Dohoon. How could he approach him without sounding weird and bringing up the situation.
hanjin:
ay kyungmin
he messaged his best friend of course, what else would he do.
kyungmin:
how was first day of college hyung?
hanjin:
you know the kim dohoon case?
6 years ago
kyungmin:
yeah, mostly because you told me about it
why ask now?
hanjin:
well….
that Dohoon is the same major as me..
kyungmin:
no wayyy
hanjin:
i don't know what to do…
kyungmin:
don't try anything for now, if you two naturally get close do smth but if you don't, don't do anything
hanjin:
Okay..
…
Over the months of the first semester Hanjin tried everything to subtly get closer to him. Sat extremely close to him in lectures. Spoke about things that he thought Dohoon might like. Tried approaching Dohoon. But it was unsuccessful.
He tried to follow everyone's advice and just leave him alone, but he couldn't. Something in his mind told him that he needed to talk to Dohoon.
Dohoon didn't seem to catch anything, he just arrived at lessons and as soon as they were cleared to go home he'd pack the little stuff he had and bolt out of the door. And disappear like he was just an illusion all along.
It pissed Hanjin off so much. Why didn't he want to socialise. Was it so hard to socialise? Yeah, Hanjin was also an introvert but he had friend and socialised.
And on top of that, they were the top students out of all in their majors in every single subject. Mid terms, absolutely dominated by the two, every single assignment had professors praising them for 20 minutes.
Hanjin wanted to use that reason to bond but as all of his other attempts, it was unsuccessful.
…
7:40
Announcement:
All of the literature major students are welcome to compete in this year's TWS University writing contest.
You can choose to write anything you like.
The contest begins on the 24th of February and you can sumbit your works until the 10th of March.
The prize will be revealed later.
The winner will be announced on the 1st of April.
May the best win!
Sincerely,
TWS University
Hanjin looked at the email three times before confirming to himself that this was real. He still had 9am classes today so he got dressed and left for university.
He sat in his usual spot miding his business as always. After some minutes he saw a figure approaching him. He only saw the feet since he was writing something.
“Han Zhen, I'm going to beat you.” The voice was familiar, very familiar. The same he heard on the first day.
“Dohoon?” Hanjin said, looking absolutely confused by the sudden appearance of Dohoon.
“Why are you looking so confused Hanjin? I said, I'm going to beat you in this competition.” And just like that, all the hope Hanjin had in befriending Dohoon just evaporated.
“I'm not applying so shoot your shot, good luck.” That was a white lie but he didn't care, he wanted Dohoon to feel like he stood a chance.
“Oh? Why?” Now it was Dohoon's turn to look confused. “I'm not that interested in making rivals to be honest.”
“And your rival would be?”
“You of course Dohoon, the first sentence you ever said to me was 5 minutes ago when you used my full government name and said that you're going to beat me.”
“Sorry about that, i just get very excited about competitions.”
“No worries.” Hanjin smiled as Dohoon walked away. Maybe i do have a chance after all.
…
To Dohoon literature was an escape. An escape from all the things happening at home, from all the looks he got while walking down the streets after that accident.
When he was exhausted, he'd take his notebook and just write, analyze his writings, read books. Do anything that might calm him down, and everything had a connection to literature.
He even published some of his works, and got plenty of praise for it.
After he moved out of his home, shortly after the accident, his mother burned everything he owned except for his notebook that he carefully hid in a place she should never find.
He moved away with little to no money, and just a pen and paper.
Slept on people's couches, even on benches sometimes. Every thing was better than that house.
One of the neighbours helped him apply to jobs, it was brutal at first, he'd work 12 hours a day and he still wouldn’t be able to afford basic necessities. But after some months he finally bought his own apartment. It wasn't anything nice but finally a new start, a distance from everyone that hurt him and failed to protect him.
Finally somewhere he wouldn't need to tip toe around the house like he was walking on thin ice. Finally a place where he could be his own person and not have anyone judging him just by breathing.
It was hard and it was scary but it was his and he loved that more than anything. The area he moved to wasn't as big as the centre of Seoul where he previously lived, it was small and almost no one lived here. And that was exactly how he liked it.
No one to remember that awful news, and no one to question him about it.
High school was still a mess since he stayed enrolled in the same school he went to before he moved out. Everyone completely pestered him about the situation, it was annoying, it was infuriating. He just wanted out, as soon as possible.
So when college arrived, he wanted a fresh start. Where no one would know him. Somewhere he would be completely invisible. A shadow, that just arrived and left as quickly as possible. Without the need of interacting with anyone.
But, something, better said, someone felt different from the start. Han Zhen or Hanjin, a Chinese student.
The first day, when they introduced themselves Hanjin completely froze at the name Kim Dohoon. His face lost all the previous colour and he just stared straight ahead.
But even if Hanjin did knew about Dohoon's past he never questioned it. He just showed some signs of care.
If he brought extra food, he'll immediately offer it to Dohoon. If Dohoon needed anything Hanjin was the first to lend him. He'd always look at Dohoon like he had to say something but the second they made eye contact he'd give up and turn around
And on top of everything, Hanjin was his “academic rival” they both were always the best in everything. Whether it be just basic writing or something more complex, they aced it all.
It was weird, but also the cutest thing ever. Dohoon was falling for a complete stranger without having even spoken to him once. It was weird being in love, everything happened so fast. One day he didn't care about anyone and the second he'd spend hours watching Hanjin. Observing every little thing he did.
He never thought that a complete stranger would win over his heart just by being kind to him. And he liked it.
…
Even though he said he wasn't going to compete, Hanjin found himself in front of his laptop at 2am trying to write something.
Usually he excelled when it came to competitions. His competitive ass would fill a whole page in 2 hours but now it was different.
His mind didn't get any ideas, it was too occupied by Kim Dohoon. Which was weird because he never fell in love with Dohoon, yet, he couldn't stop thinking about him.
The way he came so determined to say that he's going to beat Hanjin just to apologise and leave. It was cute, too cute for Hanjin to handle.
Did i fall for Dohoon? No, that can't be. No, no no. Hanjin get yourself together
It was way too late for that.
…
7th March
It was 3 days before the end of the competition and Dohoon wasn't seen anywhere. Not in the lecture halls, not near the campus, nowhere.
Hanjin wanted to call him, but he didn't have his contact nor any of Dohoon's social media. The worst immediately flooded his mind.
What if something happened to him? What if his mother found him and attacked him once again?
It was Sunday tomorrow, which meant they wouldn't have classes. If Dohoon didn't appear by Monday, he'd find him.
That day he tried finding anything that might lead him to Dohoon's socials. Tried searching every variation of his name just find some old men that didn't even look like Dohoon.
Why do i care so much? He asked the question but the answer was obvious. I wouldn't let anyone hurt him again.
The promise he made to himself 6 years ago ringed in his head like a bell. He needed to do something as soon as possible.
Monday arrived faster than he thought. He had a lecture at 14:00 and 16:30 and he shared both with Dohoon. So if Dohoon doesn't appear in any of these, he'll be certain that there's something wrong with Dohoon.
First lecture passed without an appearance from Dohoon. Hanjin was starting to get concerned, there was no way that Dohoon overslept.
Second lecture arrived and went without Dohoon. That was when Hanjin started to get very concerned. 3 whole days he didn't hear from Dohoon, that wasn't normal.
From October, Dohoon didn't miss a single lecture. And in span of theee days he missed three.
He went over to the university committee to ask for Dohoon's address, since they had everyone's personal information.
He didn't expect them to give him his address so quickly but they assumed he was a friend and gave it to him.
….
Dohoon's apartment wasn't as far as he thought it would be, it was a 20 minute walk from the university. Hanjin quickly thanked them for giving him the address and started walking towards Dohoon's apartment.
He arrived in front of Dohoon's door and started knocking lightly. 4 knocks in, nobody was answering.
“Dohoon, are you home?” He said quietly. No response, he tried again. “Dohoon, is everything okay?” No response once again.
He tried finding the spare key, but the door was already unlocked. He went in slowly, expecting a crime scene, but what he found shocked him.
Dohoon was curled up on his couch, covered with at least 3 blankets. There were cold cloths on his face. It looked like he had a fever.
Hanjin, ran out to buy some medicine at the pharmacy nearby and came back. But when he entered the house, Dohoon was awake.
He laughed weakly. “Hanjin, what are you doing here?”
“Umm, i got worried about you and decided to see if you're okay.” Dohoon smiled at that and gestured for him to sit.
“I bought you some medicine.” Hanjin said, suddenly very embarrassed that he just entered Dohoon's apartment without his consent.
Dohoon just watched him quietly, a smile forming on his face as Hanjin panicked internally.
“Did you even do anything today Dohoon?” Hanjin asked, the worried expression from earlier returning to his face.
“I was too weak, i couldn't even stand.”
“And that means, you didn't eat. Stay there I'll make you something.”
“No, you don't need to.” But Hanjin wasn't listening, he moved around Dohoon's kitchen like he was there a hundred times before.
Not long after, Hanjin appeared with a plate of soup and some warmed up bread. “Eat” he said and sat directly across Dohoon.
It was the first meal Dohoon had in a whole day.
“Now, take your medicine.” Hanjin said, suddenly putting Dohoon's laptop in his lap.
“Did you submit your work for the competition?” He asked, trying to crack Dohoon's password.
“Don't lock my laptop it's 3001. And no i didn't submit it, i wanted to submit it tomorrow.”
Hanjin looked at Dohoon and started laughing. Not just a little but full blown laughter that lasted 2 minutes.
“You realise you have only 4 hours until the deadline.”
“No…”
“I'll submit it for you, just tell me name which document is it.”
“No, you don't need to Han-”
“Already doing it, tell me in what folder is it.”
“In KD folder.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Hanjin submitted it and closed Dohoon's laptop. They sat in silence for a really long time. “Hanjin” Dohoon broke the silence. “Why are you always nice to me?”
“No reason, just because, I'm like that to everyone.”
“Oh, thank you for today. It's getting late, your parents are probably worried for you.”
“My parents are in China and you need someone to take care of you so I'm staying Dohoon.”
“But, my apartment is small..” Dohoon looked apologetic, but Hanjin didn't mind sleeping on the floor.
“I don't mind sleeping on the floor.” Hanjin said as he stood up to refill Dohoon's glass of water.
“I'd offer you to sleep in my bed, but i have a fever so i don't want to make you sick too.”
“I already told you, I'm okay sleeping on the floor Dohoon.”
Dohoon still looked apologetic but after a warning look for Hanjin he finally relaxed. “Dohoon, go to your bedroom if you want I'll stay and clean up here a bit.”
“Hanjin, you've done so much for me today, you don't need to clean up.”
Hanjin out his finger over Dohoon's mouth and Dohoon stopped talking. “I'm not doing it out of obligation, I'm doing it because i want to help a friend, if we're even friends.” Hanjin laughed after finishing the sentence.
“Yeah, we're friends.” And for the first time, a genuine smile appeared on Hanjin's face.
“Awww Hanjinie is smilling, you must really like me.” “Okay Dohoon, let's get you to sleep.”
After just a few minutes Dohoon was knocked out, that's what medicine does. Hanjin sat on his mattress and started quietly talking.
“The reason why i am so nice to you is pretty simple Dohoonie. I saw what you went through, what your mother did to her own son. How the system that was supposed to protect you failed you miserably. I didn't even know you at that time, but i promised to myself that if we ever get to know eachother, I'll never let anyone hurt you again and i mean it with my whole heart. Good night and get well soon.”
Hanjin shortly fell asleep after that, all the exhaustion from walking around the whole day finally caught up to him.
…
Hanjin woke up to the sound of his alarm at 8:50. He had a singular lesson today at 10:30 so he had plenty of time to get ready.
He stood up and found Dohoon missing from his bed. Where did he go? Hanjin walked around the apartment looking where Dohoon might go but then he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“Good morning Hanjin, were you looking for me?” Dohoon appeared behind him looking like a new version of himself. His face wasn't pale anymore, his moves looked stronger.
“You're supposed to be resting!”
“Fuck resting, you helped me recover so fast thank you!” Dohoon jumped around in happiness, making circles around Hanjin, looking like a little puppy.
“I made you breakfast, come eat!!” He looked so happy.
The table was full of waffles and different kinds of fruits. “When did you even get up for all this?” Hanjin asked while taking a bite of the waffle.
“2 hours ago.”
“Dohoon, you were supposed to rest today, i don't give a fuck that you're feeling better.”
“Well it's too late hihi.” Dohoon said, taking the seat nearest to Hanjin. And like that, they both started eating in silence.
“Okay, let's go to university, borrow my clothes and return them whenever. And once again thank you for taking care of me.”
Hanjin came back home very late that night because Dohoon forced him to do some stupid things. Trying weird flavours of boba or roller skating. He didn't want to admit it, but it was the best day he had in a while.
….
After that day things started slowly changing between them. Dohoon who was usually more reserved started talking more, doing some random shit and actually stayed after lectures talking to some people, especially Hanjin.
It was unusually nice. Seeing how Dohoon started trusting the world more and started making friends again.
Everybody was shocked after hearing Dohoon speak more than 1 sentence in lectures, he was a lot more active than before, even professors started praising him.
The lines between Hanjin's and Dohoon's friendship slowly got blurry. They didn't know what they were anymore.
After taking care of Dohoon while he was sick Hanjin realised that his feelings weren't something that he could set aside anymore, he wanted to take of Dohoon forever, he wanted to protect him always, he wanted to be the reason Dohoon smiled.
The feelings developed slowly, over the years since Hanjin had first heard Dohoon's name his feelings were disguised as care and concern but now after finally getting to know the real Kim Dohoon who was annoying yet the most adorable person in the world, Hanjin's feelings for Dohoon stopped disguising as anything that wasn't true love.
Their hang outs got longer, it became harder to hold eye contact, their conversations weren't just some dumb things anymore it was everything, how they felt about certain things, their preferences, embarrassing stories, and every little thing that defined who they were today.
It was scary realising the feelings, yet, it was the most exciting thing ever. Being friends with Dohoon, caring for him, keeping his promise, made Hanjin happier than ever.
When Dohoon won the writing competition his first glance was at Hanjin, Hanjin gave him a big smile and stood up while clapping. Slowly, the whole auditorium joined at clapped at Dohoon. The moment was beautiful. Dohoon's eyes were glossy, so were Hanjin's.
By the time Hanjin had made up his mind about confessing to Dohoon, summer was already in full motion. 15th July, how ironic. Let the anniversary of his worst day, become something much special.
zhenie ><
dohoon
hello
are you with us
ddoi
yeah
i just woke up
what's up
zhenie ><
i thought if you're free that we go hang out a little bit later today
im bored
my parents told me not to visit them so I'm here all day long
ddoi
sounds nice
see ya soon
…
“Sooo expert, what are we doing today?” Dohoon asked, looking very excited. It looked like he had an imaginary tail wagging behind him.
“I have no idea, let's just walk i don't know.”
“Well, since both our brains are basically non existent let's just go for the most basic option in the world and walk.”
The walk was peaceful, and peaceful means Dohoon talking his ass off about how he knew he'd win the writing competition from a few months ago.
“But if it wasn't for you, I'd never be able to win it so thank you Hanjin really.”
“It's nothing Dohoonie, anyways let's sit on a bench, I'm exhausted.”
“Dohoon.”
“Yeah?”
Just before Hanjin could say anything, rain started pouring exactly on them. It was loud, strong, everything you didn't want to experience. Dohoon gave Hanjin a knowing look and they just remained seated.
“This wasn't how I planned to do this but Dohoon, i don't want to remind of you this. 6 years ago on this exact day, i scrolled through today's news and saw something about a 15 year old pop up. I clicked on it and first time saw the name Kim Dohoon. The way they described everything that happened was awful, and the next day when i woke up, i saw the news and it was infuriating” Hanjin's voice broke mid talking as tears started pouring out of his eyes and falling onto his clothes “i made a promise to myself that once i got to know you, I'd never ever let anyone hurt you, and I'm glad that 6 years later i didn't break it even once. You brought something into my days that i didn't even know i needed, a light, a spark of fun. I love you Dohoon, i want to protect you and take care of you forever.”
“Oooh rain confessions, how romantic.” Dohoon tried to joke but his own eyes were filled with hot tears mixed with pouring rain.
“After that day i slowly shut down, I didn't believe anyone, i just wanted to survive. But after meeting you, i slowly started to crack out of my shell, i realised that not everyone is mean and wishes you evil. I realised that angels exist, in form of Han Zhen. You didn't even know me well, but still cared enough that you came to my house worried about me because you thought something happened to me. You brought me medicine, cared for me and even before that, you always made sure that i had something to eat. Thank you for always being there for me, even when i didn't know you. You always made sure that i had someone to protect me when things got tough and I'll never forget that.”
By the end, both were a crying mess, holding eachother's hands as they looked straight into the others eye.
“By the way Dohoon, I love you more than I love literature. And the only thing i love more than it is gossip.”
“Well, i loved you the most since the moment your face lost all its colour when i introduced myself.”
“You noticed that?” Hanjin asked, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.
“Yeah, and it was the cutest thing in the world.”
Sitting on this bench with rain pouring all over him and Dohoon, Hanjin smiled. He didn't just protect Kim Dohoon, he got to know what kind of person he was, got to fall in love with him and that was more special than any form of literature or anything the world had yet to offer.