Lookie lookie lovelies! It's another one already, and it's pretty freaking long for my normal chapter. Told ya it was almost finished when I posted Zeno's bit. Enjoy this angsty cuteness!
"Those assholes left again, damn it. Jae-Ha, let's go. We need to find some food." This foul mouthed brat rummaged around the house searching for anything that could buy them food for the day. He had a brother to care for and, even with Jae-Ha's charm when it came to older people who sometimes had money they could extort, there was no guarantee they would meet someone with the cash to pay for their meal. Living in such a filthy part of a city didn't inspire many wealthy folk to come roaming around, and Hak wasn't willing to take money from people who needed it just as much as him and his brother did.
They were too young for this, damn it.
"Hak, they probably went out to buy more stuff. There won't be any cash in here. Let's just go out and see what we can find." Jae-Ha was leaning against the door frame casually, his calm eyes the complete opposite of Hak's enraged ones.
"Urgh, fine. Let's go. I swear, if those assholes come back without any money left I'm gonna knock them out." He growled, slamming the door shut once Jae-Ha was clear.
The two stuck of the shadows of the streets, bypassing drunks and prostitutes that might pick a fight with them. Or anyone Hak would pick a fight with himself. Even at the age of six, Hak and Jae-Ha were confident fighters. Sure, they wouldn't be able to take down a trained adult, but people that only had muscle and no technique were easy prey. Hak could use anything stick-like as a weapon and Jae-Ha had some strong legs in which he took great pride.
"Hey, there's that one guy. We could just grab off of him." Jae-Ha was pointing towards a guy selling old bread. He had chased them out of his store even when they had money to pay for his shit bread, but he saw them as nothing more than thieving children.
Why must food be so hard to get?
Hak blamed it on their druggy parent figures. If they didn't spend all the money on drugs, maybe him and Jae-Ha wouldn't live such shitty lives.
The two brothers snuck their way over to the shop, making sure to fly under the radar. It was a useful talent to have when living in such a place. People didn't notice the two follow a group of teens into the store and sneak behind the counter. They didn't notice Hak grab a loaf of olive bread or Jae-Ha breakfast bread before they snuck back out with the teens. The two scampered to the forest and quickly climbed a tree, holding the bread in their mouths.
You can't just carry food around when you live here. People had no qualms about beating children of a younger age if it meant getting their hands on some grub. Hak ripped his loaf and handed half over to Jae-Ha before biting into it himself. The dry bread scratched at his dry throat, but it was edible. The olives gave at least a little taste to the otherwise bland pastry and their nutrition was something Hak couldn't give up no matter how minimal.
Jae-Ha let out a heavy sigh. "I should have just used my cuteness to get us something better." Hak smacked him upside the head before continuing to eat. Getting the message Jae-Ha closed his mouth and chewed his food.
"We'll keep yours for tomorrow. Now, let's get back. The assholes should be at the house soon. I need to see if they kept any money with them or not." Jae-Ha did a flip out of the tree before landing delicately on his feet while Hak all but fell out, landing on his feet with a thud. No one was paying attention to them, so Hak allowed them to move when he was sure it was safe.
Kidnappings weren't abnormal in this area. Kids and teens went missing all the time, sometimes to be sold, sometimes to be ransomed. Depended on who captured them. Either way the two would be screwed. Parents who couldn't pay for food couldn't pay a ransom (if they even cared that their boys were missing) and the two wouldn't be able to fight off the trained goons hired for such a job, just in case the targets knew how to fight.
"You're pretty good at stealing huh, brats. Do it often?" Hak stopped Jae-Ha from moving any farther with the appearance of an older lady. Her grayed hair was tied up in a bun and her purple clothes were fairly clean.
Hak could tell a fighter when he saw one. This was not a person he wanted to piss off, and running would be useless. The old bat's physical capabilities were concealed by her loose clothing until getting a closer glance.
Hak berated himself for being so careless. Just because someone was old it didn't mean they couldn't fight. Couldn't grab him and his brother off the streets and sell them into a worse life. And he just let this potential criminal get near his useless brother who doesn't even know to run away from people offering him food or a lady promising to give him a good time. They might be the same age, but Hak spent his life protecting the boy from everything. It was lucky Hak found the boy before anyone else did.
They might be the same age and all, but Hak picking Jae-Ha up saved the green haired boy from a lot of future pains, which instead fell upon Hak.
"Oh, calm down brats. I was just saying good job. Where are your parents, anywho? Someone must'a picked you two up. Lemme guess, drunks? Jobless?" The bat was waiting for an answer Hak wasn't willing to give a stranger. Jae-Ha, however, had no such precautions.
"Drugs. We're going home now." He blinked his blue eyes before tugging on Hak's arm and pulling them past the old woman.
"Drugs, huh? If anything happens to your folks just come back here. I might be able to set you up with a better place." The woman waved her pipe in farewell as the two ran off.
"Stupid bat. Who would trust you?" Hak muttered to himself, too low for Jae-Ha to catch. If the green-haired boy had, it would have changed the future in store for them.
"Just take them. It should be enough, right?" Hushed whispers filled the house. The boys' parent figures were in the main room, talking to what must have been their dealer. Hak was in their room, covering Jae-Ha's ears. Neither of them thought their parents were great by any standards, but to sell them for drugs? That was a new low, and definitely not something Jae-Ha needed to hear.
It was too late, though, and Hak's hands weren't able to block out all of the sound.
Between the time it took for the dealer to reach the door into the only bedroom within the house from the entrance, Hak had created a plan. He would take out the man and drag Jae-Ha with him. They'd survive off the city until someone picked them up or Hak was able to move up in the world somehow. Becoming a professional hitman didn't seem too bad if it meant getting enough money to hold them over. If they survived long enough for him to grow up, that is.
His planning was cut short by the entrance of the dealer. A large man slid the door open, his grubby, fat fingers being the first thing to reach Hak's vision. The next thing he saw was a foot connecting with the fatty's face. Jae-Ha had launched the first attack, already pushing the old guy out the door and landing on the other side.
"C'mon, Hak! We gotta get away!" Jae-Ha ran out of the house. Hak followed soon after giving a swift hit to their parents. They deserved it.
Jae-Ha lead the way through the streets with Hak doing all he could to keep up. He wanted to be in the lead and make sure they didn't run into any trouble, but Jae-Ha was the fast one. Hak resigned himself to just following until Jae-Ha ran out of steam or realized he didn't know where he wanted to go.
That didn't happen. Jae-Ha ran a straight path to a familiar section of the road. Hak wasn't able to match the place with anything important until one purple clad old bat walked into view.
"Well, hello you two. Something happened, right? I'll bet it was the blue eyed one that brought you two here. Mr. Scowl wouldn't do it himself." The lady turned around and headed into a building. Jae-Ha hesitated, unsure what the lady was wanting them to do before she turned her head sideways and motioned for them to follow. When he ran after the lady, Hak was forced to follow. He wouldn't abandon his little brother, even if it meant following a shady ass lady into a suspicious building that he knew nothing about.
Jae-Ha better thank him later. The brat's almost more trouble than he's worth.
The lady led them into what seemed to be a bedroom, and one much cleaner and better looking that the one they lived in and were used to. There was also a lot less stuff everywhere, using only the bare minimum. A futon, a table, blankets. All a dull brown color on the wooden floor. They all seemed to be in working condition, no large holes in the fabrics or chunks taken out of the wood. It was an improvement.
"Sleep. I'll get you two in the morning, then we're heading out. I know a place you can stay, and you just might like living there. The lady who runs the place is kind and there's other children to play and mess around with." The old woman left the room, not locking the door and without giving them food. Both of these actions left Hak just a tad bit grateful. They would be able to leave, and he wouldn't have to worry about either him or Jae-Ha getting poisoned or drugged.
There was still the possibility of the furniture being lined with something or other, or the air getting gassed, but both of those had the chance of getting someone besides it's targets. Less likely. If people came in during the night they would fight back and hope to win.
Jae-Ha fell asleep. Hak did not.
It was a long night, but not much worse than he was used to. Having two druggies as parents who just happened to be in constant debt let to violent outbreaks when they were high or people breaking into their house to kill as compensation.
Hak was the one to deal with the problems, not Jae-Ha. Hak made sure his brother was able to sleep properly. If that meant constantly keeping one eye open, so be it.
This house had no sounds echoing through the thin walls. It made it easy to know if some grunt was coming to take them out. Hak could pick up on any noise, even if they were covered up by something else. It just made it harder.
Here there was nothing. So only if someone was extremely skilled and didn't make a single sound while moving would Hak be fooled. The only person he'd met with the possibility of doing that was the old woman, so it didn't bode well.
When light started to shine against the door and seep through the cracks, Hak heard the sound of soft footsteps. He could wake Jae-Ha up just in case they would be attacked, but if that were the case their attacker would be coming when there was a larger possibility of one of them being awake. Or the attacker knew Hak would act like this and purposefully waited until he had stayed up most of the night before attacking.
Jae-Ha had a decent amount of sleep. Over six hours. He'd be fine.
Hak silently shifted over to where Jae-Ha lay sleeping and shook him awake. It took a bit since Jae-Ha wasn't a light sleeper - thanks to Hak's hard work on making sure he could sleep through the night - but in less than a minute he was awake and aware.
As the door slid open, Hak waited in a coiled stance, ready to jump out at a moment's notice if needed and take down the person at the door. Jae-Ha got the idea of what Hak was going for, but the look on his face showed just how ridiculous he thought Hak was being. The poised boy didn't bother making a face back. If there really was danger lurking outside of the sliding door they would be in more trouble if he's distracted for even a second.
Distractions meant death. Even a six year old like himself knew that, and he didn't even have to get it beaten into him like most did. Let others learn the lessons so you can learn from them. It's a useful strategy to survival, most people just don't follow it. They're the ones who end up dead.
It was the old woman who walked through.
"Good," She said, an appraising look in her eye. "Your body positioning is good for a brat. Could be better, though. What about the cute one? He know how to fight too?" Hak stopped Jae-Ha from falling into position. Sure, it would be nice if he helped out, but there'd be a more likely chance of him getting in the way. Jae-Ha knew how to fight, he just rarely did. Only when he had to, otherwise Hak did it.
"So that's a yes. Well, good for you, but ya won't be needing that skill set anymore. I told ya there was a person who could take you in, give you a good home. We're going to her today. Let's go, brats. You'll like her. Heck, I like her."
The old bat walked away. Jae-Ha waited to see what I would do for once, thank god he wasn't planning to run off and force me to chance behind him.
"Well? Do you trust her enough, yet? Or are we still just going to leave?" Jae-Ha's eyes were wide open, ready to accept whichever answer left Hak's mouth, filled with trust in his brother to chose the correct path.
With all that weight, Hak's decision was made. He just hoped it was the right one.
"Let's follow her."
"Here're the brats, Yona." The old bat brought them to a different city miles and miles away from the shit hole they called home. A clean building stood in front of the two brothers and that woman.
"Thank you, Gi-Gan. I'm sorry I wasn't able to come pick them up, making you drive all the way over here…"
"Yeah, yeah. You already have a ton of brats to look after, half of 'em comin from me. With your hands that full I'd be surprised if you could make the trip." The lady smiled something brighter than Hak or Jae-Ha had seen before. It was full of innocence and truth, nothing like the people living within their city.
This time Hak wasn't the only brother who went on guard this time. People like this weren't going to survive. They always drew in violent people and got injured, sometimes mortally. Jae-Ha used to try protecting them, dragging Hak into it like he always did, but the two of them were no match for all the people going after such an innocence.
"Now, you two, calm down. Yona is stronger than she seems, and I've got no doubt she'd be able to wipe the floor with you two if she wanted. Of course, that's saved for the people going after her kids. Now that you two are her kids, well, she'll protect you."
Gi-Gan shifted her attention from the boys onto Yona. "Take care of them, ya hear? They're good brats, even the scowling one. Protects his brother no matter what. The green-haired one is sweet to everyone, but he seems to be a trouble maker. Both'll be heart breakers when they grow up, but till then you two are just brats." Gi-Gan made her exit by ruffling the brothers' hair, both of them trying to duck under her hands to no avail.
Moments after Gi-Gan's departure, Yona moved out of the doorway to allow the two boys through. Hak went first, making sure to position himself between Yona and Jae-Ha, as well as anyone else who decided to jump out at them.
Someone did. Hak countered and pushed his attacker to the floor.
He shifted back into a fighting stance, feet shoulder width apart, center of gravity low, arm up to block with one poised to strike. For all he knew this was a full grown man - though it didn't seem that way when Hak threw him - that was armed and extremely fit. If the man had a knife and was capable of using it, Hak would have to get Jae-Ha to run. No way Hak would be able to get out of that without getting injured. Jae-Ha didn't need to see that.
Of course, when Hak saw the bright yellow hair of his attacker and the chubby cheeks of a child, his defences fell and a scowl took over his formerly cautious expression.
The kid got up with a laugh, brushing his hands over his orange clothing to wipe off invisible dirt. Grinning, he held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Zeno! I was the first kid here, it's been seven years! So you should listen to me, since you're new. What's your name?"
Hak stayed silent for a moment before taking Zeno's hand cautiously. "Hak." Taking the go-ahead, Jae-Ha walked closer and wrapped his arm around Hak's shoulders.
"Hi, Zeno! I'm Jae-Ha, this guy's younger brother. We're six! But that doesn't mean anything. Hak and I are able to take down guys three times our size without getting hurt much. Maybe you should be listening to us? We might beat you up." Jae-Ha let loose a cocky grin. Hak noticed Yona was smiling fondly, which made no sense given the current situation. One kid who knows how to fight is threatening to beat up a weakling kid.
That old bat said this lady was a good person. Screw that.
"M-mh!" Zeno said in disagreement. "You can't beat me! I'm really, really durable! That's what Yun said. It means I don't get hurt easy! Once I fell out of a tree that was reeeeaaally high up, and nothing happened! Yona was freaking out, though. She thought I was dead." Zeno leaned real close to Jae-Ha's ear before whispering "I still climb trees, but Yona doesn't know. I'm reeeaaally careful so she doesn't worry anymore."
Hak found out Zeno's whispering was extremely loud, and it would be difficult for Yona not to hear what he said.
He caught the end of an eye roll paired with a fond smile. What a strange person. The old bat said this lady could fight, and that means she's actually pretty good if the bat acknowledged her.
"Yona!" A voice rang out. A female-looking boy ran into the room looking hazard. "Yona, I need some help. Sena's freaking out about not having his bottle and I can't find it!"
"Oh, no! Excuse me, Hak, Jae-Ha, Zeno! I need to go help Yun!" Zeno waved good-bye to the scurrying adults and then turned to the brothers.
"Well, I should show you the rooms. If you want, you could stay in my room!" Zeno grabbed Jae-Ha by the wrist and ran up the stairs Hak hadn't even noticed. They went up one flight before Zeno led them down a hallway.
"Yona made the orphanage really big since she wanted to give everyone a nice space to live. We have three floors that are mostly for people to sleep in, and a couple more sleeping areas on the other two floors. Those also have a play-room for the younger babies and toddlers, then there's the kitchen and dining hall. We have a huge yard to play in, so we don't get cramped up in here. Yona also gives some of the older kids allowance so they can go out with friends. It's not much, but that's still better than what most orphans have."
Zeno kept talking until they reached the room. Opening the doors, the three set their eyes on the large room. Two bunkbeds made the room seem smaller and the large table at the wall did nothing to help that. The wooden floor had a small rug next to what must be Zeno's bed (it was the only messy one).
"I'm the only one in this room, so you guys can have whichever bed you want. Yona will probably get you guys some stuff to hang on the walls and everything, so the room won't look so empty once you fully move in." The brothers moved silently over to the completely empty bunk bed. Jae-Ha was checking out the covers and softness of the bed while Hak was trying to figure out how they managed to get to such a nice place with people who seemed kind.
Not that he trusted them. Not at all. Providing kindness and comfort didn't mean these were good people. Just that they would have a greater chance of finding an opportunity to turn on him and Jae-Ha.
Hak jumped when Zeno's hand rested on his shoulder.
"Don't be so tense! Nothing's going to happen, you know." The happy-go-lucky boy was able to get a read on him. Just as he expected, these people were not as they seemed. No matter how his voice made people want to trust the older kid, Hak would not fall under his deception.
"Why are you guys sleeping in the same bed? Isn't it small?" Zeno asked as the three were getting ready for sleep. Jae-Ha had gotten in first having finished brushing his teeth (after Zeno showed them how to do everything. Their old parents normally just got toothpaste, no brush. It was a weird motion) with Hak and Zeno following soon after. Zeno was the one to turn off the lights and looked at the two as Hak climbed in next to Zeno.
"What? It's normal, and we used to sleep in a bed smaller than this one. Is there a problem?" Jae-Ha questioned, snuggling into Hak closer to get warm. Jae-Ha had a naturally low body temperature when he was sleeping, but Hak was always warm. His own personal heater.
"Nope! I just haven't seen anyone else doing that, which is surprising since I've been here for so long. There's a lot of siblings who complain about having to share a bed with each other. You two must be close." Jae-Ha detected a hint of sadness in Zeno's voice. He wanted to help the blond-headed boy like the boy helped him and Hak, but he was still an unknown. Hak already protected him from a lot of stuff and sure, maybe Jae-Ha was willing to go to a complete stranger for help to get away from their shit parents, but that didn't mean he'd be willing to get close to another living human that wasn't Hak any time soon.
Jae-Ha was far less oblivious to human nature than Hak liked to think. Humans were shitty creatures always using other people for their own personal gain, just like their parents tried to do. Those two addicts were the perfect example of human nature, but that didn't mean that everyone was automatically that terrible. Everyone had their own level of sucky, Gi-Gan, Yona and Zeno included. Even Hak and himself.
But there was hope for some. Like the old lady who helped them, or that one beggar who gave him and Hak food when they hadn't eaten in a whole week. It was those people who made the world suck just a little bit less.
It would be nice to be able to trust someone that wasn't Hak for once.
What'd ya think? Like the brother thing? I thought it was cute. And reasonable, considering their relationship in the original. By the way, anyone check out the new chapter? All the feels for Zeno...
Guess who's next? There's only two to chose from. Wow, this story is going fast...
