Chapter Text
Park Hu Min never misses a weekend visit at the grave of the boy he once loved and cared for so much, Na Baekjin. Every weekend he makes sure he has the time to visit his grave to clean and bring flowers. He would even spend some time, an hour or more, sitting by his grave. Sometimes he just sat there quietly. Sometimes he jokes and tries to talk to Baekjin's "ghost" And sometimes he even brings food. This is how he grieves. This is how he copes. This is how he chose to live now.
Although he refused to acknowledge it, Baku is feeling a lot of things: guilt, pain, regret, longing, and anger. He feels guilty about what happened to Baek Jin. Up until now, a year after the events of the Eun Jang vs Union battle, Baku still blames himself for what happened to Baek Jin. Baku is in deep pain about everything - Baekjin, Si Eun, Gotak, and Jun Tae. He regrets not reaching out to Baekjin because maybe he could have prevented it. He regrets having his friends involved. He regrets not being enough for his friends. He feels deep longing for what he and Baekjin used to have - the brotherhood, the bond, the love. And ultimately, he feels anger deep inside. He is mad about everything that happened. But no one gets to fully see through him. No one really knows how heavy Baku is feeling. Because Baku does what he does best - wear the happy mask. For everyone around him, he is back to the usual Baku they know. The cheerful topdog of Eun Jang. The charismatic team captain of the Eun Jang’s basketball team. The ever reliable Park Humin.
Of course his friends knew about his weekend visits at Baekjin’s grave. At first they went with him. Even though Baekjin gave them hell before, they still feel bad for the boy. Have they met under different circumstances, they are convinced they would all have been friends. Eventually, they gave in to what Baku wants, to have his alone time with Baekjin. They fully understand where Baku is coming from. So every weekend, they gave Baku his own time. His time with Baekjin.
“Yah, Baekjin-ah! Sorry for being late today, ok? I just need my team to have extra practice time because our opponent for the basketball tournament opening is no joke, the psychopath school.” Baku says as he puts the flower on the ground and sits down. He opened a can of soda and put it beside the flowers. He even brought a can of sour cream and onion flavored pringles. “Sorry, this is all I could bring today, I have not gotten my athlete allowance yet” he smiled. Then he laughs, “It’s not like you can eat them though”
Baku sat down and used his hand to wipe off the dust on Baekjin’s gravestone. “I will bring cleaning tools next time. Or I might bring Gotak and make him clean” he laughs again. He laughs at the absurdity of what he said. Maybe he is getting crazy. Imagine talking to a grave?
“Anyway, we are facing Gang Hak High School for the opening. The school of psychopaths. Geum Seongje’s homecourt” he said as he now lies down beside the grave. “Seongje, surprisingly hangs out with us, no one invited him but no one pushes him away either”
Baku then looks at the sky. It was a bright sunny day. The clouds looked good. The weather is cool, too. He closes his eyes and suddenly a wave of memories hits him.
“Is Na Baekjin here? Can I bring him to our house so we can play? I promise to bring him back” the 4th grader Park Hu Min says shyly to the nun. Ever since he learned about Na Baekjin’s situation, Baku is even more determined to be friends with him. He likes the kid. He is shy but very intelligent. He hates the fact that the other kids at school bullies him around though. So he makes sure to protect Baekjin at all costs.
“You are Park Hu Min, right? The son of the town’s pretty dentist?” the nun asks
Baku smiles, “Yes, she’s my mom! You can call me Baku! My family and friends call me Baku”
“Ok, Baku! You can come in” the nun said and opened the door for Baku. He sat down at the waiting area.
A few minutes later, Baku hears footsteps.
“Hi, Baku” Baekjin says shyly
“Baekjin!” Baku says cheerfully and immediately puts an arm around Baekjin. “Let’s go to my place! I have new toys! My dad cooks pasta and chicken for us!”
Baekjin does not know how to react. He never once has people invite him to basically anything. His friends are the books available at the orphanage’s library. At first he thought that Baku only hung around him because he teaches him school lessons. He assumed that because Baku benefits from him that’s why but months later, Baku is still here. Baku always makes sure he’s never alone at school. Baku seems to be his real friend now.
“I have a friend who studies overseas and sent me some lego. It’s cool! Let’s build it together” Baku said.
“Are you sure you want to hang out with me?” Baekjin asks
Baku frowned. Baekjin is back at it again, feeling like no one really likes him. Baku, despite not being really good in academics, is emotionally intelligent for his age. “Of course, I would want to. You are a good kid, Baekjin-ah!”
Baekjin smiled. “Ok, let’s go”
At the Park’s residence.
“Eat as much as you want, kids” Mr. Park told them. “I will go out fishing with my friends, I think your mom will be home soon. Just don’t make the house messy” he said as he leaves the door.
“Alright, dad!” Baku said
“Thank you, Mr. Park” Baek Jin said
“My parents are not strict,” Baku said. “You can totally hang out here anytime you want, Baekjin”
“Ok” Baekjin replied, still shy.
The kids are busy building a star wars themed lego. Baekjin, for once, has felt like he is a kid who is free to be a kid. Knowing Baku is a blessing for him.
“You don’t have any siblings?” he asked Baku
“None. Only child” Baku replied. “But I have a best friend, his name is Go Hyun Tak. We call him Gotak. His parents brought him to England but he has a hard time adjusting so I think he will be back next year. You will like him”
Baekjin made a mental note to be friends with Gotak too. If he is friends with Baku, then Gotak must be a kind kid too.
“He sent me this lego set,” Baku added.
“Park Hu Min, I have a question” Baekjin said
“Shoot it”
“Why have you never asked about my background? Like, why I am in an orphanage?”
Baku stopped assembling the lego. “Because I think it would be better if you opened up first. And it does not matter if you don’t want to tell me”
Baekjin felt satisfied with what Baku told him.
With Baku, he never once felt any form of judgment. It seems as if with Baku, everything just feels easy. It felt like home.
They spend the entire afternoon building the star wars lego. And, eating pasta and chicken. They also watched some cartoons. And read comics. This is one of the best days of Baekjin’s life.
“I’m home!” Baku’s mom says as she opens the door. “Oh we have a visitor?”
Baku runs towards her to give her a hug, “Mommy!”
“My Baku!” she says as she hugged his son back.
“This is my friend, Na Baekjin”
“Hello, Na Baekjin!” I am Lim Hyejin, Baku’s mom”
“Nice to meet you Ms. Lim, I’m Na Baekjin”
“Aren’t you lovely?” she says as she lightly pinches Baekjin’s cheek.
Baekjin smiled.
“I have a letter for you, Baku” she says as she gives the envelope to Baku. “It’s from Gotak”
“That’s great!” Baku says. “Let’s read this together, Baekjin-ah!”
They both went to the living room and sat on the couch. Both kids are excited to read the letter from a friend who is in London.
A tear streamed down Baku’s face. Remembering the past really makes him emotional all the time. The good old days, he yearns for it.
Baku’s family used to be solid. His mother is the town’s famous dentist. His dad is the owner of the town’s best chicken restaurant. His best friend briefly moved to England but is coming back. He gained a new best friend from the town’s orphanage. Kids in school love and adore him. Teachers are also fond of him. And then tragedy happened. His family broke up. His father is always mad. He seeks comfort at Gotak’s house or at Baekjin’s orphanage. The three of them were pretty solid. Shaped by life’s experiences. Then, Baekjin got involved with the Union and everything really just went downhill after that.
He wiped his tears and stood up. “Alright, Baekjin-ah, I think I have to go now.”
Baku grabbed his backpack. “Si Eun would kill me if I didn't show up at his place. He is determined to tutor me. He said it is his life mission to make sure I graduate from high school or he’ll stab me. You know that kid, he meant what he said.”
Baku saluted Baekjin’s grave before turning his back as he left.
Not even a few steps away from the cemetery’s gates, Baku was pushed to the ground. He was about to fight back but ended up laughing when he saw who it was, Ahn Suho. Ah, the newest addition to the Eun Jang squad. Ever since he woke up from coma, Suho has become a great friend of theirs. He naturally blend into their squad; Jun Tae admires him and Gotak adores him a lot.
They playfully fight each other on the ground. But this playful fight is not just a way of two friends teasing each other, it was also a way of showing respect for each other's fighting skills. They have sparred from time to time at the gym where they both work as part timers and they are both in awe of each other's strength. One time, Baku even said that if Suho was already around when they were dealing with the Union, they would've easily win every fight against them. Although, there was a hidden admission that no one still comes close to Na Baekjin's fighting skills.
“What do you want, Suho?” Baku says, trying to sound annoyed but could not help his self from laughing.
“I was calling you and you’re not answering!” Suho says. “I found another gig for us, they promise to pay us good money”
“Really?”
“Yes, so you better get your dusty guitar and clean it up, we got some kids to teach” Suho says as he playfully punches Baku.
Suho and Baku have been finding ways to earn more money. Both of them knew they cannot afford to go to College and scholarships seem to be elusive. Nonetheless, both Baku and Suho are working hard because they want to live decent lives after high school. Because of Suho, Baku became determined to work hard. Suho being a part of their squad became a huge blessing after all.
They have only known each other for only a year but they became best friends instantly. It seems like they have always meant to be in each other's life. They became used to playfully "fight" each other but due to their respective body built and skills, some people would think they are fighting for real. Just like today, when things turned crazy. As the two friends are just playfully fighting, not really beating each other up, another person shows up and grabs Suho’s arm.
In a matter of seconds, Suho was on the ground being held on the neck by a tall guy.
“What is wrong with you?” Suho said as he fought back.
Baku, realizing what was happening, ran towards the guy in black hoodie and pushed him away from Suho.
“Yah, what is your problem?” Baku said, this time he is mad now. If anything, Baku hates it when his friends get hurt.
Suho immediately stood up and was about to restrain Baku. He knows what Baku is capable of when he’s mad. “Let’s just leave” he said.
“I thought he was hurting you” the guy in the black hoodie replied
“What?” Baku asks. But then, something hits him - realization. The voice, it’s so familiar.
The guy removed the hood from his head.
Suho just stared at him, it seemed like he already saw this guy’s face but could not remember.
“Na Baekjin?” Baku said. He could not believe his own words.
“Hello again, Baku. It’s been a while” Na Baekjin said.