Chapter 3
The next day, Yona concluded that waking up early in the morning sucked.
There was nothing fun about dragging yourself out of a wonderfully warm blanket cocoon at god knows what hour, just to drag your feet along the cold floor to jump in a shower that hadn't even warmed up yet either.
The only good thing about waking up this early in the morning is getting the kitchen all to herself so she could get out her secret stash of waffles and eat in peace.
Usually mornings around the house were chaos as everyone went about trying to get ready and fighting over who eat what and just to find space to breathe as the seven of them went about their usual routines.
With this small, but enticing motivation in mind, she slowly trudged downstairs and shuffled her way over to the freezer to root through the back, hair still dripping water down the back of her shirt.
She always made sure to keep her favourite foods hidden at the back of either the fridge, freezer or cupboard, otherwise just hoarding her favourite snacks in her room. Living with 6 young men made you learn quickly that if you didn't want anyone else eating it, don't leave it plain sight.
Most often the guys couldn't be asked to root though anything too much and would just grab the closest thing they could reach –minus Yun of course, as he was fond of cooking in his free time and had quickly learned the same lesson, hence the secret cocoa excursion she and Hak had endeavored the other night.
Shaking her head away from the thoughts of last night, she continued to root through boxes of frozen food and stray ice cubes before finding what she was looking for. Pulling out two frozen waffles she popped them in the toaster and went about pouring herself a glass a milk.
It was times like this when staying awake to do work was hardest, that she rued the fact that she couldn't stand the taste of coffee. She loved the smell of it, yet no matter how much sugar or milk she added she couldn't help but find the drink far too bitter for her tastes. So instead, she resorted to sugar over caffeine to keep her awake otherwise just drinking tea.
It didn't always work that well, she'd admit, but anything to help her stay awake was better than nothing.
After the toaster popped and she'd smothered her breakfast in whatever syrup Zeno had left them, she dug in and savoured the sweet taste of her secret breakfast treat and the quiet morning to herself.
That was the one other thing she supposed wasn't so bad about waking up so early.
At this time of day, most other people hadn't woken up yet either and she could enjoy the peaceful sounds emanating from the surrounding forest that lay just behind their townhouse.
She often enjoyed working with her windows open allowing the fresh air and bird calls to fill her room. Being near the woods made her feel more at ease and the breeze helped to keep her focused. Too often, she found that if she was stuck in a room with stagnant air or too much silence she wasn't able to get comfortable or focus, thus along with her little camp chair she kept on her balcony, she had a small collapsible table that she could prop up whenever the weather was nice enough to allow her the luxury of working outside.
After rinsing off and putting her dishes away, she started to head back upstairs and get dressed before she sat down for more grueling hours of going over messy notes. At least the morning weather promised to be good enough that today would be one of the days where she could get out her little fold out desk area to use.
Because 6 am was a not a fun time to be conscious, she concluded.
By the time it was around 11:00 am, Yona had managed to re-write a few notes neater, organise her binder and get in a good amount of textbook reading before her brain was once again screaming at her to take a break.
Throwing down the notes she was holding onto her little table, she took the time to stretch and lay her head back, as she knew she only had a long day of stressful yet boring reading ahead of her and likely wouldn't get much time to move about.
Feeling her joints crack one by one as she arched her back after being sat stiffy for hours, she started to hear shuffling coming from inside the house.
'Hak must finally be up' she thought. 'Probably on his way to Sojutsu practice'
Sojutsu was a type of Japanese martial art that focused around spear fighting, and while Hak practiced and was very skilled in many forms of martial arts thanks to Mundok, Sojutsu was one of his favourites.
Especially when it meant he got to break out his Guan Dao.
While the Guan Dao wasn't exactly a spear, it was like one and still a polearm weapon, so a lot of the moves and training could be transposed. Mundok had given it to him as a leaving home present last year and it was his most prized possession. Most often he kept it locked away safely in his room instead of leaving it at the dojo where he usually practiced. It was his own weapon and he did not fancy the thought of some inexperienced kid finding it there and having a test run flinging it about.
As she continued to think about her days with the ever excitable, yet loving Mundok while at Hak's place, she made her way back down to the kitchen to stretch her legs for a bit get and get something to drink before going back upstairs and leaning against the railing of her balcony.
Ignoring her notes fluttering in the breeze, this was just what she needed. A cool breeze in the sun, no noise albeit the birds and the house to herself to keep her focused as she worked.
That is, until she heard the door to their small back yard open and close.
Not the front door.
Looking down into the backyard, she saw Hak was his aforementioned weapon in hand in his workout clothes as he began to warm up for a sparring sequence.
"Why isn't he at the campus dojo?" she muttered softly to herself before realising that it probably wasn't open seeing as it was technically still exam time even if he had already finished all of his own.
Taking another sip of her drink she leaned over further on the railing to watch as he practiced.
As always, Hak was incredible to watch when he practiced sparring.
Like a whirlwind he could whip around with that heavy blade as if it were nothing more than a mere extension of his arm.
An extension of his very being.
Kicking high and thrusting out with the butt of the pole arm at an imaginary foe, she had no doubt in her mind that if he had to, Hak could easily kill a man. He was so quick it seemed near inhuman.
No wonder his friends at the dojo had given him the nickname the 'Thunder Beast'.
Because thunder comes even before lightning can strike.
Over and over again he practiced the same sequences; thrusting, kicking, slicing and so forth before he went over to grab a bottle of water he had dumped on the ground, drinking deeply before heading back to the centre of the yard.
By now Yona could even recognise a few sequences and guess which moves he would make next. She had watched him practice enough times with his cousins Han-Dae and Tae-Woo when they were kids and never tired of watching how adeptly they moved despite the weight of their weapons.
Just as he finished up what she recognised to be his last sequence and she started to push away from the railing to get back to studying, Yona was stopped at the sudden and jarring sound of Hak stamping his weapon against the ground.
Three times, he stamped the butt of the pole to ground in a rhythmic beat as if counting himself in, before he began what she could only describe to be a true testament to his skill.
Like quicksilver he whipped up the blade and began to spin it with death defying accuracy around himself until it appeared he was encompassed in an impenetrable bubble of pure steel. Crossing over his body from one hand to the next, spinning himself around in a tight circle as his blade spun around his torso before grabbing it again and circling it over his head and striking down in a harsh arc that could send even the bravest men running in fear.
This was like nothing she had ever seen him practice before.
It seemed like he had simply tired of all the lessons he'd learned from others and decided to push himself to see how far his skills with a weapon could truly go.
Over and under he spun the polearm from hand to the other.
Never stopping.
Never hesitating.
Never faltering.
It was mesmerizing to watch. Like staring into the eye of a hurricane.
And just like that, as quick as it had begun, it was over with a final sweep of his blade across the yard, rendering a single stray branch from one of the nearby trees falling to the ground as it was severed with one clean cut.
Before he could look up and catch her spying, Yona quickly crept back inside and headed to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face.
She was blushing like mad. She knew she was and she needed to clear her head of such distractions immediately if she had any hope left of doing well on her exam tomorrow.
Yet. . .
Nope.
Nope, nope, nope! She needed to clear her mind. Study! Studying was the only thing she should be thinking about right now, she chastised herself.
Not of attractive young men practically dancing with a weapon as sweat beaded their brow.
Oh, how feelings could make a mess of the mind when the object of said feelings just so casually put on a show that would send any of the other girls on campus reeling.
'Stupid Hak' she muttered as mopped her face dry on a towel.
{*****}
Sighing, Hak grabbed the towel he had thrown onto the grass beside his water bottle before resting his weapon against a tree.
He had worked up a good sweat after practicing his weaponry sequences for so long. Plus it had been a while since he had gotten the chance to use his Guan Dao again and while he was well accustomed to its weight, it was still a workout just carrying the thing around for most people. Often, they just practiced with wooden weapons in lieu of live steel at the dojo just to make sure there were no accidents.
Gramps on the other hand had always thought that to be a waste of time saying, "If you're training to use a blade, why practice with anything less than a real blade?!"
Looking down he could still see the slight scar where he's nearly lopped off his own foot by mistake thanks to that kind of teaching method as a young kid.
Oh well, he'd learned well from Gramps' teaching and he wasn't about to be ungrateful for that given where it had helped him to get now.
And while he enjoyed learning new techniques and moves from his teachers, what he really liked to do was get the time to himself when he could see what he could come up with and perfect on his own.
So far it had earned him a few more scars here and there along the way from accidents but by now he had just about gotten his own sequence down pact. His favourite moves where often the ones with a bit more technique involved instead of simple sweeping arcs, and maybe that was the show off in him, but when it came to tournaments, he always came out on top.
In fact, he was unbeatable within their regional competitions.
Moping his brow of sweat and chunking his now empty water bottle by the back door, he grabbed his Guan Dao to put it away carefully in his room before heading off to have a well-earned shower.
Once he was clean and no longer reeked of sweat, he headed upstairs to check in and see how Yona was doing and see if she needed any help with her studying. He had taken law as an extra class just for the hell of it in his first year and had done rather well, so he figured he should offer some help where he could.
As he reached the end of the hall where her room was, he lightly rapped on the door with his knuckles and waited for a muffled 'come in!' before entering her room.
Once he was inside, he had to stifle a laugh as he found Yona lying down on the floor of her balcony with her feet propped up on her chair and a book resting on her face, arms spread akimbo in defeat.
Yup. Just as he'd expected, she was headed towards burnout mode where her brain was about to give up on her whether she wanted to keep studying or not.
It was time for him to step in and help out.
"So" he started, "How long have you been at it for?"
A grumbled muttering of something unintelligible was the only response he got.
"What was that?" he tried again, a grin now plastering his face at the amusing sight.
"five hours, give or take" she mumbled, however this time it was somewhat clear enough to make out.
"Ouch, want some help before your brain starts to melt?"
"If you have any suggestions on how to get this stuff to stay in my head before tomorrow I'm all ears."
"Well then, hand over the textbook, put on some shoes and follow me."
That got her attention.
Peeking out from under her book with an eyebrow raised in suspicion she asked a tentative, "Why?"
"You'll see if you hurry up. Now come on, I've already been through my punishment of exams, we'll make sure you get through the last of yours. I'll meet you downstairs, don't keep me waiting if you want my help" he replied.
And with that, he picked up the book from off her face and started to head to his room to grab a jacket. As he did so, he was greeted with the sound of feet thudding across the wooden floors as Yona scrambled to get ready and follow him.
He chuckled at this as he made his way down to the front door to grab his shoes, Yona only a few feet behind and eager to get out of the house after being stuck sitting around all day. It was only just gone 12 by this point so they had plenty of time to grab something to eat along the way and help her study before coming home and getting an early night.
With that in mind, they headed on their way.
{*****}
After following Hak down the pathways in the woods for about 15 minutes, still without a clue where they were going or what they were doing, Yona had had enough.
"Hak, come on! Can you at least tell me where we're going? I don't even recognise where we are anymore!"
"Stop complaining Princess we're almost there anyway, its just past this stream here. All we gotta do is cross it and we're there."
"We're where?" she whined.
Chuckling at her frustration he simply grabbed her hand in his and lead her down the steep river bank so that they could hop from stones and logs to the other side of the shallow little stream that softly babbled away.
At first, she gave him a hesitant look at crossing the stream, but taking the lead and showing her which places where safe to step, she soon forgot her frustration as a sense of fun and adventure overtook her.
Once they made it to the other side, Hak showed her where an old rope was hidden amongst the fallen leaves and used it to climb up onto the other side of the bank before reaching back down to help pull her up.
Clasping hands, with one quick tug she was up and out on the other side only to be met with the most beautiful little woodland area she had ever seen.
A tiny waterfall ran over the edge of a stack of rocks that lead down to the stream they had just crossed and around their feet within the bed of dead leaves and moss that carpeted the ground a small clearing could be found with a large boulder serving as a centerpiece to it all. The trees that surrounded the little area were large and old. The kind that made you think of forgotten lands and histories untold and the wonder of it all made Yona have to take a step back just to take it all in.
Hak smiled brightly at the look of awe on her face as he led her over to a large willow that rested just beside the little waterfall.
"How did you know that this place existed?" she asked, still looking around starry eyed with a grin plastered on her face as she went over to watch a leaf run down into the near freezing stream below.
"I found it while making my way through the woods during my first year. I had just finished off my run when the sun came out that morning and I decided to do a bit of exploring and low and behold I found this little spot. Since then its been my own little hide out whenever I needed a break and seeing as you seemed like you really needed one right now, I thought I'd share it with you" He explained.
Feeling touched that he'd share something as special as this with her, she walked past him to sit by the running water and avoid him noticing the look on her face. It was little things like this that had sent her falling for him and she didn't want to give that away by looking like one of those air headed, love-struck girls she saw around campus.
Instead she said, "Thank you, I really love it here. No wonder you come here to escape, its so peaceful."
"Only thing is, by showing you this, you have to promise not to tell anyone else about it. The last thing I need is for Droopy Eyes to find out and come to disrupt any remaining peace I can find" he replied.
She grinned at the thought.
She loved Jae-ha as much as she loved the rest of their friends and she couldn't help but find it terribly amusing how easily the man could get under Hak skin.
"Well, as much as I appreciate the beautiful view, how exactly is this supposed to help me study for law again?" she asked, only just remembering why they were there in the first place.
"Let's take a moment to check off the list, shall we? One, you're sick of sitting around all day, right?"
She nodded.
"Two, you need help in this subject and I already took this course so I can help test you, so we can see where you need to focus your energy studying".
Another nod, and he smiled.
"And three, you need a better way of studying than just re-reading notes, and for that I had an idea. I'm going to give you a situation and you tell me what laws come into account, how they are affected, what charges may apply and how you would judge the situation based on the information given. For every mistake you make, you have to do a punishment exercise. That way you'll remember the answer to the mistake you made when you recall which exercise you hated the most" he finished, his grin now impish in nature as he thought of consequence tasks.
Glaring at him because she knew whatever he had in mind for a task was probably going to be brutal and exhausting, she took a deep breathe, mentally reminded herself that she needed his help, and agreed to try his studying idea.
And so, as Hak sat down, leaning against an old oak as she stood and paced around, he began giving her situation after situation. While most she got right, for the answers she got wrong he'd make her do things like answer the next questions while hanging from a tree branch or planking until she got the next answer right. By the time it was time to head home and grab something to eat, they had been at it for hours and Yona was sore all over but feeling a lot more confident about her exam the next day.
Hak had been right, the things she remembered most now, were the answers she got wrong and their corrections in correlation to which punishment task she hated the most.
For the record; planking. Planking was the worst.
Especially when the ground was so cold and still covered in a thin layer of frost from the morning.
As they started to head back down the forest paths and towards the sidewalk, Hak suggested they grab some ice cream as a reward (despite both of them shivering a little by now).
Agreeing, they headed over to the small convenience store on the corner and picked up a couple of ice creams before heading back home.
By the time they got there, they had finished their frozen treats and were now thoroughly cold inside and out but still satisfied with their choice as they headed inside to get warm.
"If you're feeling better about your exam tomorrow why don't you take a break by packing for home. We'll leave as soon as you've finished sitting your exam so if you pack now we'll be able to get on the road earlier and hopefully miss the traffic" said Hak as he headed to the kitchen to make them both a quick dinner.
Pasta again, but who cares, it was easy to make, tasted good and most importantly; warm.
"Sounds like a good idea, I'll get started on that now then, call me when foods ready!"
"Sure thing Princess!" he called back, snickering at her grumbling in response to the nickname.
{*****}
To be Continued
(*****}
Hey guys! Thanks for reading this far. For those of you questioning the name of Hak's weapon I did some research and the closest thing in terms of stylistic choices, size and general look of the blade Hak's weapon of choice most strongly resembles a Guan Dao. While in the dub of the anime he refers to it as a glaive, a glaive while very similar, isn't as broad nor does it have the extra point/barb in the right place. Either way, call it what you like but that is my understanding of the weapon.
For a cool video on someone giving a tutorial on how to use this weapon check this out!
watch?v=V8VGiQJ_3VQ
Hak's self made fighting sequence was inspired by both his fight against the fire tribe and the amazing animation gif done by Hn_fkg
/hn_fkg/status/801118685532303360
Sorry this chapter was less fluffy, I promise the next ones will be more fun!