Date Originally Posted: May 2, 2009
Title: Changing Hands
Series: Axis Powers Hetalia
Rating: G
Characters: Korea (Im Yong Soo), America (Alfred F. Jones), mentions of France, Sweden, and Germany. China (Wang Yao) in Omake.
Pairing: None.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 748 + Omake
DISCLAIMER: Hetalia is not mine. Weep.
BETA: I have no BETA. T_T
SUMMARY: Another baby for adoption changes from his hands to another country's.
WARNINGS: Sad. Serious!Korea. Mentions of alcohol usage.
Changing Hands
Yong-Soo (Korea) cradled the young baby in his arms. The usually exuberant country was solemn and subdued. He hated this. Having to entrust one of his own to another country. But the child was fathered by one of Alfred's (America) solders who had been stationed with Yong-Soo. A child of this union would not be accepted by his society. So the baby, Soo-Yun, would be adopted out to another country. Besides, it wasn't as if Alfred wasn't happy to take her.
But still... would he come to regret this decision like he had in the past? Would this little one grow up and be curious about him? Would she try all she could to come back to him? Would she still love him?
Yong-Soo remembered all the children that he had entrusted to the other countries. Mi-Cha had gone to Francis (France) three years ago. Hae-Won had gone to Berwald (Sweden) almost seven years ago. Both had been orphans. Because of this, they were no longer seen as his. The only option was for them to be adopted out. Little Myung-Hee had been born as the sixth daughter and was given to Ludwig (Germany) to take care of her. Jung-Hwa, Min-Jee, Haneul, Yoora, Sun-Hee, Seung, there were so many. Im Yong knew that when he went home, he would have to have to break open another bottle of Baekseju. He would drink to forget giving away another one of his people.
But now wasn't the time to think of that. Alfred was late and Soo-Yun was growing fussy. Yong-Soo laid the girl down and quickly changed her soiled diaper. As he picked her back up, Alfred chose to arrive.
"Whew! The hero has arrived just in time!" the blond announced.
"You're late," Yong-Soo said.
"A hero is never late, he arrives exactly when he means to," Alfred rebutted.
Yong-Soo didn't reply. Instead, he ran a finger over the baby's chubby cheek and murmured softly in his native tongue.
Alfred stood quietly during the serious exchange. He had heard from his younger brother Matthew, that the Korean country turned serious and melancholy during this type of exchange. It was strange to see the usually eccentric young man being this quiet. Alfred had dealt with adoption at home but it always stayed inside the country. He couldn't imagine having to give one of his people over to anyone else.
Yong-Soo began telling Alfred all the important things he could think of. That Soo-Yun should be given soy formula at first in case she was lactose intolerant. Cradling the baby in one arm, Yong-Soo handed a package over to Alfred.
"This is a saekdongot," the Korean said. At Alfred's confused look he elaborated, "It's a traditional garment worn by young children in Korea. I want her to have one. And these are gomusin, traditional Korean shoes made of out rubber."
Alfred stared at the shoes and couldn't help but think they looked like little rubber canoes for the kid. He wisely chose not to mention this to his fellow country.
Yong-Soo moved to hand the baby over. Alfred cradled the baby in his arms and hoped she wouldn't spit up on his leather bomber jacket.
Yong-Soo pulled his hand back and the little girl began to scream. The blonde jumped and nearly dropped the baby. Yong-Soo quickly grabbed for the baby and once his hands touched her, she began to quiet. Curiously, he retracted his hands and she resumed her crying.
Yong-Soo smiled tearfully and bent over the baby in Alfred's arms.
"You're going to be okay. You're strong," he whispered.
"Yeah, she's going to a great family. She's going to have a great big brother too. He's going to be as awesome to her as I was to Matthew!" America grinned.
Yong-Soo rolled his eyes and went to kiss the baby. Unfortunately, she grabbed his ahoge and tugged on it before attempting to gnaw on it with her toothless gums.
"Hey! Don't try to eat the spirit of Korea!" Yong-Soo yelped as he carefully extracted his hair curl. This sent the girl into a greater wave of tears while Alfred laughed.
It was time for them to depart so the Korean watched as Alfred and Soo-Yun walked away. He stood there until they were no longer in view. Yong-Soo went to rub his eyes as he realized he was crying. He turned and headed home to drink himself to sleep.
"To my flawless lotus," Im Yong said as he drank. "Good luck."
OMAKE:
Yao let himself into Yong-Soo's house quietly. He knew that the younger country had given up a baby the other day. He was well aware of how Yong-Soo would attempt to cope with the loss. One time it would be Cheongju, the rice wine like Beopju while another time he'd simply drink cup after cup of Soju. Because of this, Yao would take it upon himself to check up on the young man. Sometimes Yong-Soo would cry. Sometimes, he would be angry at his people and himself.
Yao covered the drunk Korea with a blanket and sat beside him. Sleepily, Yong-Soo curled up to the warm body and rested his head on China's knee. Yao silently ran his fingers through Yong-Soo's dark hair while murmuring quietly.
Tonight, Yong-Soo would cry. Tomorrow, he'd be stronger.
NOTES:
A lot of this information about Korean adoption came from Wikipedia. Look up 'Korean Adoption.'
Soo-Yun - A combination of flawless and lotus.
Baekseju - alcoholic beverage that's considered to be a more old fashioned alcoholic beverage than soju or beer.
Cheongju, Soju, Beopju - types of alcoholic beverages.
Saekdongot - a type of hanbok. A Korean traditional garment with colorful stripes. Usually worn by children from the age to one to seven years old.
Gomusin - Shoes made of rubber in a form of Korean traditional shoes.
A/N:
......... how the hell did this get to be so sad?!
Yes, I'm aware that not all adoptions are happy. And I'm not trying to offend anyone with this.
Um. Ha ha, Alfred's rebuttle is very close to what Gandalf says in the first Lord of the Rings movie. HAHA Alfred as Gandalf! *dead*