The tired-looking woman hurried across the sidewalk, her worn red scarf pulled tightly around her neck and falling past her slightly swollen stomach. Concentrating on the cracked asphalt of the road, she stepped onto the street.
The gently falling snow descended onto the quiet streets, falling past the illuminated neon lights and the heads of late-night shoppers. The twinkling lights that hung from doors and windows were enough to rival the glimmers of the stars above them and keep the inky darkness of the winter night at bay.
The woman hurried across the road, but the screech of tires skidding on ice made her lift her head. All she could do was freeze as two headlights loomed in her visions, and one solitary tear snuck its way out of widened, fearful eyes.
Then the tear froze on her cheek. The speeding car stopped, the woman froze where she stood, and the rest of the world came to halt. The shoppers walking by paused mid-step and the cheerful lights stopped their twinkling and even the snowflakes halted in their flight.
"Humans, these days." A little boy standing safely on the other side of the road sighed, setting down the bag of apples that was in his hand. "Sometimes I worry about what would happen if I wasn't around."
Walking over to the woman in the middle of the road, he gently took her arm and half-pulled the woman to the sidewalk.
He carefully gazed at the woman's face and hummed in concentration. The world slowly came back to life around them and the descending snowflakes rested on the woman's head as she glanced around in confusion.
"What happened?" she asked, bewildered. "I was crossing the road..."
The speeding car raced by them and a blast of wind tugged at the edges of her worn coat. The boy smiled in satisfaction as the car suddenly sputtered to a stop and the driver's confused and irritated shout rang out in the frosty air.
The woman turned around to the boy. "But that car was going to hit me! I was in front of it and it was skidding on the ice!"
"Be careful crossing streets," the boy just said in reply and then handed her an apple. "Here, take this."
He walked away from her, the slight breeze tugging at his snow-sprinkled black curls.
"Oh, by the way," he said, turning towards her again with a smile. "It's a girl."
The woman looked down at her stomach in wonder as the boy vanished into the fog.
(9 Years Later)
It is the same boy now, standing outside a dimly lit store, his face set hard as he stares out at the deserted street. He looks older now, more tired and weary beyond his seventeen years of age. The early morning haze floats by the empty street, the sun too weak to make its presence known.
He turns to go back into the store and the doorbell sounds cheerfully behind him as he steps inside.
It's a simple restaurant, a family owned business. The wood paneled walls are decorated with pictures of trees and flowers; his mother was a photographer and her works were proudly displayed by her husband on the walls. The tiled floor is faded but clean. Behind the counter, the displays are full of sandwiches and various treats. A man is calmly wiping it down now and he pauses once in a while to glance at the clock hanging on the wall.
"What are we going to do, Dad?" the boy addresses the man, who, like his son, looks weary beyond his years.
"Nothing to be done now," the man replies softly. "We'll wait for them to come and we'll explain to them again that we won't sell the store."
His wife walks up to them from the backroom, joined by her young daughter. "We'll be waiting with you, of course."
"No," the boy interjects. "You and Seun should go home. I'll stay here with dad."
"No!" the girl speaks up. "Mom and I are staying too, we won't leave you two."
"Alright, alright," the dad says. "Everyone can stay."
The bell on the door rings out again and they all turn to face it.
"Sorry, we're not open-" the dad starts to say, then stops when he sees the intruder.
"Listen, we're not going to sell to you," the dad says firmly. "You can't force us to."
"Oh, I know," the man says softly, and he runs his tongue over his lips slowly, leaving them glistening with spit underneath the soft light.
The boy stares at the man. They don't even know this man's name, but he has been trying to make them sell their store to him for the last month. If his dad knew the man, he didn't say. His dad had arranged for a meeting in the store to discuss it for the last time.
"We're not going to sell," his dad repeats again, firmly. "This store is our only source of income, without it we won't be able to survive."
"Well, then," the man hisses, and the doorbell chimes again as a couple men step into the store from behind him. "What if you had no family to support?"
The gunshots were loud and unexpected, and the boy could only whirl around fast enough to see his mother fall to the ground with a cry. The scarlet liquid seeping out of her spread on the floor and onto his sister's clothing as she tries to help her mother.
"Call the police!" his dad shouts, and the boy turns away to get the phone.
The second gunshot is quicker than the first, and his dad was bleeding on the floor before the boy's very eyes. The color seems to fade out of his vision, but then he sees crimson as he glares at the man.
"You!" he charges toward the man but is knocked aside as another man raised a gun to his head.
"No," the man says, chuckling softly. "Let him and his sister live. I want them to suffer. You boy, get out of here. Or we'll be back, and you and your sister will end up like your parents."
The last thing the boy hears is the merry tinkling of the bell as the men sweep out the door, the quiet laughter of the man hangs in the air like a putrid stench.
The boy ran over to his father as he lay on the ground, the blood flowing out of his body in a stream.
"Dad, I can save you," the boy cries. "I can freeze time, or I can run after them and I can-"
"No, my son," his father interrupts him, gasping for breath. "If this is my fate, to die here now, I accept it. It is not for you to kill and take revenge." Broken glass from fallen bottles had dug into his face when he fell, and trickles of blood drip to the floor.
"But dad," the boy protests. Snot and tears drip off his face and fall to the floor. "They killed mom, I can't just let them go like this!"
"I'm sorry, son, looks like I'll be leaving you two too," the man sighs, as he wheezes in pain. "Take care of your sister, Kim Shin. Your mom and I will see you again, in another world."
"Dad, no," the boy sobs "I can save you, please don't leave us."
Blue flames crawl over the boy's body and as they spread to the father's body, the wound started closing up.
"No!" the father protests, "You can't heal me. They will think it suspicious if I'm healed like this. If they find out about your power imagine what they will do to you!"
"But, dad," the boy protests "I can't just let you die!"
"You must," the older man replies "Promise me you'll be careful from now on. Promise!"
"I promise," the boy cries, and he keeps crying as the light fades from his father's eyes. All that is left is a cold corpse lying on the floor among broken glass and sticky blood.
The boy sweeps his sister into an embrace as their sobs fill the cold air, only the fireflies flitting about outside are witnesses to their sorrow. A passing white butterfly escaping the early morning drizzle settles on the window sill and flutters its wings.
(The Same Day, Across Town)
A little girl scurried across a crowded living room and picked up her bag and pulled on her shoes. She pulled open the door and was about to run outside when she heard a voice.
"Hey, brat. Where do you think you're going?"
The little girl turned slowly and glanced at the woman glaring at her.
"I need to go to school, Aunt. I'm going to be late."
"Late, huh?" her aunt sneered. "And that was your fault, wasn't it? You messed up doing the laundry this morning."
"I'll do the laundry again when I get back, Aunty," the little girl pleaded. "I need to go now."
"Oh no, you don't."
The woman pulled the girl back into the room and hit her sharply on the head.
"You're not leaving till you do the laundry and make rice for breakfast. You think just because your mother died you can live off me for free?"
The little girl's eyes filled with tears and her mouth opened in a silent sob, but previous beatings had taught her not to make a sound and just do whatever her aunt wanted her to.
The girl went back to the kitchen and started preparing the meal.
Her aunt's comments followed her through the door.
"She thinks she's better than us because she goes to school."
The girl glanced at the clock. She knew she was going to be late for school, again.
"Walks around all the time clutching her mother's old scarf, what a baby!"
She grabbed some dishes and set them on the table.
"If it weren't for the insurance money, I would have thrown you out a long time ago."
By the time she finished the laundry, she was already an hour late. She did her best to run to school, but she knew that she was going to be in big trouble.
She paused outside the classroom door, but her teacher's screeching voice was loud enough to be heard in the hallway. She gulped and slowly pulled the door open, tentatively stepping into the classroom.
"Ji Eun Tak. So you've finally decided to grace us with your presence, eh?" her teacher snickered and the class laughed along with her.
"I'm sorry I'm late." Eun Tak whispered, bowing deeply.
"Well, this isn't the first time you're late, is it? Can't you even come to school on time? When will you learn?" the teacher ranted.
"Well, go to your seat," she finally said. "You're holding up the entire class."
Eun Tak hurried down the aisle and as she pulled her bag off of her shoulder, her teacher spoke up once again.
"I'm guessing you didn't bring your homework today, either?"
A solitary tear slipped down her face. She quickly sat down as her face blushed with shame and the laughter of her classmates echoed around her once again. She looked out the window as she tried to contain her tears and she sees a flash of white as a butterfly flits by.
(10 Years Later)
A sleek, silver car pulled up to the curb of the school. Parents and students alike turning to take a look at the man driving the slick convertible. Kim Shin adjusted the rearview mirror, tugged a hand through his curly hair and winked at a school girl walking by.
The younger man glanced around, "Uncle, they're staring again," he turned to his uncle and caught him waving to people as they walked by.
"Uncle, stop it, honestly."
The older man chuckled. "I can't help it, Deok Hwa. I'm just so irresistable."
Deok Hwa growled. "If you keep this up, I will walk to school."
Kim Shin just continued chuckling. "Have a good day at school."
Deok Hwa stared at his uncle with parts confusion and affection. His uncle was not even thirty yet, but his face was lined with laugh and worry lines. He was the type of person who still looked sad when they smiled, but looked like he was truly happy when he laughed. He was a good uncle, overall, Deok Hwa realized. Maybe a bit too popular with his classmates, but not too bad.
The younger man sighed and pulled his bag onto his shoulder, waving good-bye as he climbed out of the door.
As he turns away from the car he spots a familiar face. He leans against the closed car door, "Oh, there's Ji Eun Tak," he said.
"Who?" his uncle asked.
"A girl from my class. She's my partner for that project we're doing," Deok Hwa replied, leaning into the car.
"Oh, don't forget," Kim Shin said as he put on a pair of sunglasses. "Your grandfather has a meeting today he wants you to attend."
Deok Hwa groaned. "Another one? What's the subject this time? The chicken isn't chicken-y enough? The ice cream isn't cold enough? The tiles aren't shiny enough?"
"We need more workers," Kim Shin explained. "We're trying to hire more. Be there, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," Deok Hwa waved good-bye again as his uncle rode off and turned around to walk into the school.
I don't know why this school has so many stairs, Deok Hwa thought, didn't they do enough exercise already? Maybe he should talk to the principal about it, then Deok Hwa shrugged. Well, it wasn't like the principal would do anything about it. He had tried to convince the principal to take the students on an international field trip to Canada, but that hadn't worked either. Principles. Why couldn't they just do their jobs and listen to what the students wanted them to do? He was a third generation chaebol, but obviously that didn't get him any respect around here.
Deok Hwa glanced up from his reverie and noticed Ji Eun Tak.
"Hey, Ji Eun Tak!" he strode up to the girl he had seen earlier. "Happy birthday!"
She turned around, surprised, and gave Deok Hwa a tentative, shy smile. "Thank you."
"What would you like as a birthday gift? Candy? Money? A date with me?" Deok Hwa asked as they walked into the school together.
Eun Tak laughed. "I'm good, Deok Hwa. What I really want is a part-time job, think you can get one for me?"
Deok Hwa stopped and glanced at her. "Actually, I think I can."
I too have fallen prey to the drama madness, and so, here is my first ever drama fanfiction. I'll be posting regularily soon, but I decided to go ahead and post this one to test the waters. I hope you guys enjoy!