Chapter One: Flying Watermelons and Apparitions
Inspired by a post by glass-katana on Tumblr that mentioned Yoon and Min-Soo's similar features as well as the possibility of them being siblings. I showed that picture to my friend and discussed this theory with her, and, thus, this story was born.
This story was taken from my other account, TheYoungWriter101. I can't really remember why I made another account, but I did and it was a pain to try and continue with both, so I decided to delete my other one and use this one as my main fanfiction account instead.
Yoon was very fond of asking questions.
What was your village like? What kind of herb is that? How do your powers work? Can this plant actually be planted in this dried dirt?
He couldn't help it- he's just naturally curious. He's only ever stepped foot in one village that was near his home in the Fire Tribe. Ik-Soo had kept him well-entertained, telling him stories of his many journeys around the kingdom. But it doesn't beat actually getting to experience it in person. And so, being handsome but cautious, he would ask questions to quench his thirst for more knowledge.
This time wasn't any different. He had mustered up the courage to call out to the red-haired princess. "Hey, Yona?"
Yona, who was currently helping him cook lunch, looked up and tilted her head. "Yes, Yoon?" Yoon pursed his lips in thought, trying to come up with a response that won't sound as rude as it sounds in his mind. "... Do you have any friends?"
The red-haired princess giggled. "Of course, I have friends. I have Kija, Shin-Ah, Jae-ha, Zeno, Hak, Ao. I also have you." She taps her chin to think of more people. "Really, all the allies we've met during our journey have become precious friends to me."
Yoon blushed, slightly embarrassed and a little happy to have been acknowledged as a friend of Yona's (not that he doubted his friendship, it's just nice to hear aloud every now and then). But he shook his head slowly to denounce her misunderstanding. "No, I meant before. When you still lived at the castle?" Yona's eyes darkened, taking on a faraway look. She stares at the campfire, watching the embers burn away at the wood.
"I only ever had Hak and the servants to keep me company. As you know, I was never allowed out of the castle," her voice softens as if remembering her all the happy times there. Seeing the melancholy state she was in, Yoon was regretting asking such a question that incited bad memories for Yona. But Yona offers him a reassuring smile. "Everyone was nice. Kept me company, played with me when they could. Though it was mostly Min-Soo who had been around the most."
That name rang in his head, echoing over and over with familiarity. Where had he heard it before? He searched his mind for an answer, but none came to mind. He repeated it aloud, "Min-Soo?" Yona's nostalgic smile melted with bittersweetness.
"He was my father's personal servant. He would follow my father wherever he went without complaint." Her smile softens as she remembers the kind servant. Her shoulders drooped, crestfallen. "But now that I think about it, I actually knew little about him too..."
Yoon nods and continues to cut the deer they had managed to catch for lunch. As he puts the cut-up deer meat in the pot, he wonders aloud, "Where is he now? Why didn't he escape the castle with you two?" He glances over at Yona's face and immediately wishes he could take back his words when he sees Yona's eyes glitter with unshed tears. The answer was as clear as day on her face.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she answers him calmly. "Last time I saw him, he had pretended to be a decoy so Hak and I could escape." She tucks a strand of her unruly red hair behind her ear out of habit.
Yoon slumps in his seat, letting the tragic information sink in. "Maybe Soo-Won has him held captive?" He says, trying to sound hopeful, but even Yoon knew the chances of that happening was low. The King had even tried to kill Yona, what makes him think that he would spare the previous King Il's personal servant?
Yona closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to contain her tears. "I can't explain it, but I had this feeling, when Hak and I escaped, that Min-Soo was unable to make it out of the castle. It was almost as if I could hear him use his final breath to call out to me." Her hands tighten their grips on her skirt fabric.
If this Min-Soo guy had not caught up with them by now, that could only mean one thing... Yoon can feel his own tears welling up in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry.."
Yona vigorously shakes her head, wiping away the unshed tears. "It's okay, I'm glad I was able to talk to you about it. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to talk about this with anyone. I'm happy that I was able to share his memory with you." She stares up at the clear, blue sky with a bright smile. "He's probably watching over me and Hak in heaven with my father." Her smile widens at the thought.
Yoon opens his mouth to change the subject when a large, heavy object hits him in the back of his head.
And suddenly, everything fades to black.
"You'll be staying here for awhile, Yoon."
Yoon didn't like it here. It smelled like manure and rotting meat. The old man, with his scruffy beard and menacing black eyes, looked mean- like he didn't care what would happen to Yoon as long as he got paid money to watch him. He felt intimidated by the towering man. Yoon latched onto the gentle boy beside him. His grip on his leg held on tighter.
Yoon didn't want to let go. Because if he let go, he would never get to see this person ever again.
He didn't want that. He wanted more time- to stay with him a little longer. He didn't want to stay with these strangers. He was the only family he had left.
He could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried desperately to keep the gentle person from leaving him all alone. "No, no don't leave me." The older boy removed Yoon from his leg and knelt down to his eye-level to give him a soft, sad smile.
'No, don't look at me like that. Stay here...' Yoon thought to himself. The other boy looked as if he were about to burst into tears as well. For some reason, his face was blurred out. 'Probably from the tears in my eyes...' Yoon thought as he tried his best to wipe away the tears to see the person. The tears, however, refused to stop.
"It'll only be for a little while. I promise, when I save enough money, I'll come back for you." His voice shook, the hand on his shoulder had loosened its grip. His hand fell away, and Yoon felt himself be pulled away from his precious person. He tried to fight back the force pulling him away but to no avail.
And then he dropped. Falling and falling and falling into an abyss of darkness. He reached out to the person who he could no longer recall. He couldn't even call out to him because he had already forgotten his name. The dream was already slipping out of his grasp...
"Be a good boy, Yoon. Big Brother will come running back to you in no time..."
When his consciousness awoke, it was noisy- he could tell that much. His eyes were too heavy to open, but he was no longer passed out. Everyone was in a panic, speaking in frantic tones. All their nervousness was making his head throb even more...
Yona sounded upset. "I can't believe it! I can't believe you killed Yoon, Zeno!"
Zeno's cheerfulness didn't waver one bit. "Don't worry, Miss! Zeno knows mouth-to-mouth!"
Jae-ha acts as the voice of reason. "Yona-chan, he's not dead. And there's no need for CPR, Zeno-kun. He's obviously breathing. Look, his chest is moving."
Kija is stressed and worried. "This is all your fault, Zeno! If you had just held the watermelon properly instead of throwing it around-"
The Thunder Beast jokes about the situation. "Mommy is going to be really angry when he wakes up."
Shin-Ah's voice is soft and barely heard over the others. "Ao, no... Yoon doesn't need any nuts right now..."
He can feel the squirrel on his chest, trying to shove an acorn in his mouth.
A gentle laugh tickles his ear. It was so close- someone was sitting beside him. "Now, now, little one. He needs his rest..." An unfamiliar yet familiar voice says beside him. 'Who is that?' Yoon questioned, starting to stir himself awake. The weight was lifted off his chest as Ao scampered off of him.
At last, he used whatever remaining strength he had to force his eyes to open.
Only to be met with the face of a stranger.
"Oh, he's awake!" The stranger said, crouching beside him. He had light, auburn hair and sea green eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. Seeing him made Yoon feel a bit nostalgic, but, of course, that was impossible. This was the first time they've met.
Who was this guy?
"Yoon, you're awake! Thank god!" Yoon turns away from the stranger and sees Yona rushing towards him. He glances back to his side again, but the stranger was gone.
Yoon blinks. 'What the- where did he-?'
A chuckle resounded from his other side. "It's nice that the Princess can still be energetic."
"Ah!" Yoon shrieks, making Yona jump in surprise. He sits up and points at the stranger beside him. "Y-y-you-! But you were just- how did you-?!" The words wouldn't make complete sentences when they escaped his lips.
The stranger blinks in bewilderment, leaning closer to the boy. "Wait, you can see me?"
"Yoon, what's the matter?" Yona asks, worrying about Yoon's frantic babbling.
"Who is this guy?!" He points a shaky finger towards the guy who's eyes are wide with surprise. The group's eyes follow to where his finger is pointing at. "Don't tell me he's another strange person you exotic beasts picked up!"
"Strange person?" Jae-ha repeated in confusion.
"Did someone follow us without our knowledge?" Kija wondered aloud. He turned to Shin-Ah for an answer, but he only shook his head.
Zeno tilted his head, tapping a finger to his cheek. "Did lad get hit too hard?"
"You can see me!" The man stands up, clasping his hands together in delight. "This is wonderful! I haven't spoken to anyone in so long!"
"Of course I can see you! I'm handsome not blind!" Yoon yelled, getting slightly irritated. Why was no one answering his questions?
"Yoon, is everything okay?" Yona puts a hand on Yoon's shoulder, trying to calm him down.
Yoon shrugs off her hand and gestures a thumb over at the stranger. "I'm fine, but who is he?" He emphasized again, making him feel like annoying, repetitive parrot.
Yona furrows her eyebrows together and gives him a questioning look. "The watermelon probably hit you harder than you thought. You're hallucinating!" She exclaimed, panicking.
"Maybe he has a concussion...?" Hak suggests, getting up to check the boy's head.
"I'm not hallucinating! He's right there! Do you not see he's standing right in front of you?!" Yoon continues to wave his hand over at the stranger.
The stranger had taken to making himself comfortable beside the boy with a bitter smile. He shakes his head. "They are unable to see me..." Yoon blanches at the man's words and looks over to Yona to offer some guidance, hoping that she sees the man too, and he wasn't crazy. But the words that escapes her lips are the ones he was dreading to hear.
"Yoon, there's nobody there..."