Chapter Twelve: You Again
A/n: I kinda feel like this a part three of the Areum running away thing, but it's also not... Anyways! Enjoy!
Prompt: In which Hak meets the strange child...
When you forgive, you in way change the past-but you sure do change the future.- Bernard Meltzer
It was an ordinary day in the small Water Tribe village. Areum had gone out with her brother, Isuel, and her father. Hak had plans on checking out the local weapon shop, since Areum wanted to get a new dagger, and Isuel wanted some new bows. So, Hak volunteered to take the two out. Hanuel chose to stay, and listen to some crazy story their Aunt Lilli was telling.
"Now remember, I want to check out the blade you get before you buy it, alright?" Hak told Areum, glancing at her as he put a hand on Hanuel's shoulder to stop his son from wondering off. Isuel pursed his lips, looking away.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Areum waved her hand over her shoulder as she turned on her heels, and walked over to where the swords, and short blades were being kept.
Areum looked idly over the weapons with a purse of her lips. None of them really jumped out at her. She wanted something special. Something that nobody could mistake for anyone else's weapon, but hers. However... It was a bit disappointing to see that none of these fine weapons really jumped out at her.
"Hello, Princess." Areum jumped, and then quickly turned to look at a slight familiar looking boy before her.
He was grinning, head tilted slightly. Areum then blushed as she recognized him as the boy who had rescued her from those men almost a year prior. The young teen then wondered how the hell he remembered her, but she didn't think too much about it as she turned back around, and looked more closely at the blades.
"Are you ignoring me? But... I did save your life. I figured the princess would be more grateful." The boy teased, laughing once more. Areum sighed heavily, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she turned, and looked at the kid. Her hands on her waist, she looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"What do you want? A medal? I could have handled those guys on my own." She quipped, and then turned back around. The young boy wasn't letting up as he leaned over her shoulders with a innocent smile. Areum blushed, scowling as she pretended not to notice him leering over her shoulders.
"So, you're looking for a blade?" The boy asked after a full five minutes of silence. Areum sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes for a moment, but she didn't reply. The boy looked at her with a grin." You must be getting some training."
"Yes. My father is teaching me. He's right over there with my brother, and if he catches you talking to me, he might kill you." Areum spoke fast, jabbing a finger towards her father, who was looking at some bows with Isuel. Isuel looked at Areum, and then at the boy, and then at the bows with a slightly confused expression. The boy looked at them, eyes widening for a moment, and then at the girl with a soft smile.
"Well, I'm sure you can kick their asses now, Princess." He teased, laughing slightly. Areum blushed.
"Stop calling me Princess." She muttered, picking up a small dagger that curved upwards. The boy grinned, stepping away slightly as Areum unsealthed it, and inspected it for a moment.
"Father, there's some boy annoying Areum." Isuel said, glancing at the blonde haired boy, who merely grinned at Areum as she scowled at him.
Hak glanced at his son, who was staring intently at the scene behind them. Hak felt slightly amused, if somewhat annoyed, as he turned to look at what Isuel was looking at. However, any sort of amusement Hak might have felt immediately disappeared as soon as he laid sight on the boy.
From his dark blonde hair, to his slightly tall statue, to his soft brown eyes, and the way the kid seemed to smile and hold himself reminded Hak of...
Soo-Won!
Hak thought, his fists balling up.
Of course Hak knew it wasn't Soo-Won. The kid had some differences than Soo-Won, like the style in which he had his, or his slightly more masculine face. but that kid had some relation to that betrayer. His child or something, which worried Hak even more.
Isuel looked up at his father, noting the angered expression, and then touched his father's hand. Isuel was happy to see that his father snapped out of his mood as Hak smiled down at him, ruffled his hair. But, then his smile dropped as he got a more serious, but still slightly angered expression on his face.
"Areum, have you found something yet? We need to hurry up, and get back home." Hak was speaking in short, clipped sentences.
He tried not to look at the kid as Hak was trying to keep his rage from boiling over. He may hate Soo-Won, and never really forgave Soo-Won for what happened all those years ago, but the child was somewhat innocent.
Areum looked at her father, and then at the kid.
"I never got your name." She stated simply. Hak wanted to grab his daughter, and drag her out of the shop himself. He wanted to keep his child far away as possible from the boy.
"Li-Huan." The boy replied in a bright tone. Areum nodded, smiling softly.
"Right. Well... Thank you for saving my life." She stated simply, and then turned to her father." He saved my life from those people that tried to attack me, remember? I didn't expect him to be here though." Areum added on, glancing at the boy, who smiled once more. She sighed, and then looked at Hak."Either way, I want this dagger." She stated proudly, handing Hak her curved blade. Hak looked at the blade, and then, reluctantly, at the child.
"You saved her life?" Hak questioned. The boy, Li-Huan, looked at him, and then shrugged.
"She seemed like she was in trouble. I was trying to get her out of it. Since she didn't really seem to know how then." He grinned teasingly at Areum, who blushed, pursed her lips, and looked away with a scowl. Hak glanced at her, and then at Li-Huan, nodding curtly.
"Thank you for saving her life." Hak said curtly. The boy nodded, grinning as he looked at Areum.
"I'm glad to see she hasn't gotten into any more trouble, and seems much stronger, but I really should get that order for my father, and head home." The boy said with a slight laugh, and then walked up to the counter, looking around for the cashier. Hak was staring at the ground, his lips drawn into a tight line. He didn't even notice that Isuel and Areum had gone some distance from him, and were whispering among themselves.
"Is Dad, ok? He seems more off than usual." Areum whispered, glancing at Hak, who was looking through the blades with a scowl on his face.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask?" Isuel questioned, shoving his sister slightly. Areum scowled.
"No! He might snap!" She whispered, scowling at her brother, who shoved her forward once more. She then took his arm, and pushed him forward.
"I'm not asking!" He whispered, scowling at his sister.
"What makes you think I want to?!" Areum hissed, scowling at Isuel.
"Thank you, Sir!" All three looked up at Li-Hanuel as he grabbed a white-wrapped clothed package, bowed, and then turned and then left the building with a slight grin on his face.
"Are you two ready?" Hak questioned, grinning as he was visibly more relaxed. Areum and Isuel looked at each other, and then at Hak with a slight nod and a grin on their faces."Well, let's go." Hak said, grabbing Areum's curved dagger and Isuel's new bow, and went to pay the merchant.
As they left the shop, Hak looked around. He was keeping a close eye out for that boy, or even that man. He didn't trust that boy was up to anything good, and he sure as hell didn't want to put his children in any sort of danger. He looked at Isuel and Areum as they chattered on about something that happened the previous night with Hanuel, and how to better do the trick, and then Hak looked around once again. He would be damned if he was caught off guard once again.
Needless to say, the encounter put Hak in a mood. Even Lilli was able to sense Hak's bad mood.
"What's wrong with your husband? He's been weird all afternoon." Lilli questioned as her and Yona prepared for bed. Yona looked over at Hak, who sitting at the window ceil with his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl on his face. Yona sighed, shaking her head.
"I don't know. I'm sure he'll tell me though." Yona said, smiling at Lilli, who nodded, fixing out her hair as she laid down on her mat.
"Alright. Let me know if it's something I can help with." Lilli said in a passive manner, and then closed her eyes to sleep. Yona nodded, walking over to Hak.
"Is everything alright?" Yona questioned, touching Hak's leg. Hak looked at Yona, and then out the window again.
"Soo-Won had a kid." He said simply. Yona felt herself stiffen, but otherwise didn't react. She didn't know what to say, and instead just stayed silent as she took a seat next to Hak.
"Did you see Soo-Won here?" Yona questioned softly after a few minutes of silence. Hak shook his head, his scowl deepening.
"No. His son came up to Areum today. If it wasn't for Isuel pointing out that the kid was annoying her, I don't think I would have noticed." Hak replied, frowning once more.
"Do they know each other?" Yona asked softly after a moment's pause. There was another pause before Hak answered in a more hardened tone.
"Apparently he's the one who saved her from those men a while back." Hak replied, relaxing his face for just a moment, but his tone said all his displeasure. Yona frowned, looking down at her lap." I don't trust that kid." Hak said simply.
Yona looked at her husband, and then looked away. What could she possibly say? Soo-Won's betrayal obviously still hurt them both, but they hadn't really thought about it in years. But the small interaction ahd brought it to the surface once again.
"How did you know?" Yona questioned softly.
"He was almost the spitting image of that bastard." Hak replied. Yona nodded, eyebrows drawing together as she looked away.
"...I see..." She whispered softly.
Hak looked over at Yona, noticing her far off expression. Was she too thinking about Soo-Won? Remembering the good times they had together as friends before he shattered it all in one night? Did it still hurt her the way it still hurt him? Even more so, did it make her wonder about the safety of their own kids the way he was? Espically since it seemed like the boy had a particular intrest in Areum? None of it sat right with Hak, but perhaps that was his distrustful nature, but he couldn't... No, wouldn't let his gaurd down again around that man. Or his family.
"Maybe he's changed." Yona finally said, looking at Hak, who felt surprised at his wife's words. But along with the surprise brought some anger with it, and it took everything within Hak not to outright have an outburst.
"Changed? You think he's changed?" Hak asked, some of annoyance slipping through.
His chest welled up with all the words he wanted to say, but held back until he heard his wife through. Yona may still be some what naive, and too trusting at times, but she was still a good judge of character. If she thought Soo-Won changed, he wanted to hear her out before snapping. He didn't want a pointless argument on his hands.
"I do." Yona replied in a hard voice, looking back at Hak with that penetrative, strong gaze she always seemed to have when she was serious about something. That one look alone took some aggression away from Hak as he calmed to what she had to say." I mean, the Soo-Won you and I both know, wouldn't be the type to really get involved with anyone, much less start a family. And he certainly isn't the type that just has random flings with women. Maybe the fact that he has attachments, people he no doubt holds dear to his heart, means that he's changed, and he isn't the same one who did what he did all those years ago. Besides, we can't immediately distrust the child just because he's related to that man. Soo-Won may be guilty of what he did, but his child is not." Yona finished her speech with a sigh, and then looked away with a pout to her lips.
Hak stared at her a moment,and then looked away. She was right on so many levels. Hak had realized long ago, way before Yona ever did, that the fact that Soo-Won liked everyone probably meant that he liked everyone and everything equally, and that he had nothing really special to him. Hak knew that Soo-WOn was impartial to everything, but the fact he cared enough to have a family with someone, meant that something had changed about Soo-Won, and it made Hak both curious and cautious. Even so, just because Soo-Won may have changed didn't mean he was going to trust the kid. In his mind, the kid was still suspicious.
The next few days were spent site-seeing, which Areum seemed to particularly enjoy. With her new weapon secured at her waist, Areum seemed to walk taller, with more confidence as she listened to Arura, who was giving her pointers, and other such advice, women to women. Yona and Lilli talked about the weather, and the nice flowers, and the beautiful, crystal clear waters that the Water Tribe had. Isuel and Hanuel were both blushing and scowling slightly as Tetora fawned over them, saying how much they've grown, and what handsome men they were becoming, but it was pretty obvious that they enjoyed the attention. Espically Hanuel. Hak, on the other hand, was the only one who seemed to be in a less than pleasant mood. He scowled slightly, walking beside Yona, his eyes carefully scanning over the area in case he caught site of the boy or that man. He didn't want to be caught off guard.
"Ugh." Areum stated, rolling her eyes as she looked away with a frown, but still the simple action caught everyone's attention as they all looked at the teen aged girl.
"Something the matter Dearest?" Yona asked softly. Areum didn't say anything, but Hak followed her gaze. She was looking straight at the boy Li-Huan, and a fragile looking woman.
Must be the boy's mother.
Hak concluded, still frowning. He glanced at Yona, who stiffened slightly as she caught sites of the boy. She looked over at Hak as if to ask: Is that the boy? To which Hak just nodded, looking away.
Yona looked at the boy, who was smiling as he pointed something out on the stand. The thin, fragile looking woman smiled, nodding as she ruffled the boy's hair. So many bitter sweet memories ran through her mind, but she shoved them aside as she looked at Areum. Areum was switching between looking at the boy, and looking away with an embarrassed expression, but a slight blush on her face. Yona smiled slightly, and then sighed as she shook her head.
"We should continue on." Yona said softly, bringing everyone back to attention as they walked on.
However, Hak took one last look at the strange boy, who was looking at them already. Once they caught eye site of one another the boy smiled brightly, and waved before looking back at what Hak assumed was his mother. Hak looked away, and stepped closer to Yona, who just looked at him with a slight smile, and then gripped his hand, squeezing in reassurance. Hak looked at their hands, and then at her face. She smiled softly at him, and then looked at Lilli. Hak nodded, getting the little message, and then relaxing as he got engaged into the conversation at last.