Hi guys! This chapter is gonna be soooo juicy and good ehe... well have fun reading this shit! :D
Disclaimer: My ocs are created by me, and I don't own anything else. That is all.
North Korea sighed as he gripped the small pocket knife close to him.
His side laid to the floor as the blood dripped from his wrists slowly. His eyes focused on the small droplets forming out of his wounds. The same burning sensation still stung on the skin, but this time it just didn't feel the same. He usually felt a sense of relief and almost felt... happy in some way. But for some odd reason, he just felt even colder than he ever did before. This hurt him, and he didn't know why.
The suns rays peeked through the window onto him, showing him it was morning. He slowly got up, and gave out a small yawn.
A sudden memory flashed before his eyes.
"You didn't do it, I'm so proud of you! You're strong and getting better! I'm glad you didn't do it."
North stumbled back and and his knees went weak towards the ground. He then felt tears spring up at the corner of his eyes that went trailing down his face. Wiping his eyes roughly, he shivered to himself and hugged his knees. "I'm sorry Damia... I'm so horrible..."
"Come on, let's go to that Asian market I was telling you about earlier!"
"Ugh, I'm coming." North Korea obliged with an unenthusiastic tone, putting on his shoes.
Malaysia raised an eyebrow, finding something strange about his voice. She walked over to him. Bending down to his level on her knees, she began eyeing his movements. She put her hands on her hips as she looked up to examine his facial features.
"There's something off about you today..."
"Really? There is?"
"Did something happen yesterday?" She asked, her face filled with concern.
North Korea shook his head. "I have insomnia, so I didn't get much sleep last night. You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine." While that fact was true, he didn't explain the rest of the story. North really didn't want to tell her that he relapsed and hurt himself again. He didn't want to see the look on her face if he actually did tell Malaysia.
He didn't want her pity.
Malaysia eyed him more closely, before sighing and letting her hands fall to her sides. She backed away as North Korea stood up from his spot, dusting himself off.
"Do you... want to go now?"
She sighed as she put her hand on the door handle. "All right." Then Malaysia turned her head to him with a small, heartfelt smile. "But if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here for you. All right?"
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes widened at her words. Then he cast his eyes to the side and scoffed. "Yeah. Okay."
Malaysia frowned and she opened the door, letting North Korea come out. He gradually walked out the doorway as Malaysia closed the exit behind him. North Korea avoided looking at her eyes and only stared off at her shoulder.
"Well how are we going to get there?" He asked. "Are we going to take a train there?" She huffed at him and crossed her arms, giving him a smug look.
"Of course we're going on the train! What did you think was going to happen?"
North Korea shrugged. "I don't know... I thought we were gonna drive there, since using a car might be less time consuming than riding on train." Then an idea popped into his mind, and turned his head around to her sharply. "By the way, why don't you just take a cab to World Meetings? I mean, I'm broke and I can't drive without crashing a car since I'm not used to it. But you have enough money for it, don't you?"
Malaysia was taken back by his sudden question, not even knowing the answer herself. She went deep into thought, trying to figure out why she hadn't stop taking the train earlier. Why didn't she stop going after the wallet she lost was returned to her?
'It's because you want to be with him.'
She widened her eyes and hit herself in the head. 'Don't say that! My head is full of nothing but lies and slander!'.
While Malaysia was panicking, North Korea stared at her oddly as the woman began ripping out her own hair while muttering words to herself. "Hey uh... what are you doing?" She stopped pulling on her strands and looked back up at him, who was staring at her oddly from her recent actions. She gave him a nervous chuckle in response.
"Oh it's nothing!" She laughed, waving him off uneasily. "I just thought I forgot to turn off the stove at my apartment. Turns out I did, I was just paranoid. Nothing to worry about!" North Korea sighed, and put a hand on his hip.
"I won't worry about it. I'm just going to worry about how I'll carry all the food to my house. It's a good thing we're leaving this hellhole in a week and a half."
Malaysia smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, I'll help you carry them! Plus I want to show you another dish I had in mind." She put a hand on her chin while eyeing him with a smug look. He rolled his eyes, feeling a small blush run up his cheeks. Then North Korea remembered something, and crossed his arms.
"Are you gonna answer my question? Why don't you take a car anyway?"
"Yeah, about that." She chuckled nervously. "I uh, like going on the train. It's cheap and I can't really drive a car easily. I got into several accidents in the past because I was too busy reading a book while honking at people to get out of my way." She started laughing, remembering a mad pedestrian chasing her car on the streets to sue. "I don't think Japan will appreciate me ruining his streets." 'Oh yeah... maybe that could be the answer to why I still ride the train.'
North Korea raised an eyebrow, not being satisfied by what she said and let his hand fall onto his hip. He decided to accept her sketchy answer and sighed.
'Well if I can keep secrets from her, she can keep secrets from me.'
"All right. Just say what train station we're going." North Korea ordered.
"Fine, fine. You don't have to be so rude about it."
She told him about the station and they both made their way towards the place. The ride on the train was calm and peaceful. After switching carts a couple times, they finally reached the train that would take them to the cheap market place. Though the trip would take at least an half an hour alone.
Malaysia obviously didn't mind it though. She's quite patient when it comes to these situations. But North Korea looked utterly bored and was ready to pass out from emotional exhaustion. This made her chuckle while North Korea was struggling to keep himself awake.
"Do you need to take a nap?"
He shook his head in slow, sluggish movements. "N-no... Then if I wake up to go to the market place, I'll be even more tired than before."
"That's not the reason. You'll wide awake in like ten minutes." She wandered off into her thoughts for a moment before an idea popping into her mind. Malaysia faced him as he looked at her dumbfounded. "Are you... embarrassed to sleep beside me after what happened last time? Because what happened was completely my fault. I let you cuddle me-"
"Don't say that ever again... that's embarrassing." He denied. North Korea yawned as Malaysia rolled her eyes at him. "Plus didn't you run off to the couch last time it happened? Why do you want me to sleep with you so badly?"
This made her face go up in flames as she smacked him lightly. "D-don't just word things like that! People will get the wrong idea."
"Damia. We're the only people on this train."
The wheels under the floor rumbled. It was the only thing that echoed throughout the vast cart.
"I-i just want you to rest easily. Does it really seem like I'm gonna molest you your sleep or something? I'm not trying to be so rude..." She trailed off, feeling guilty when she saw North Korea's eye twitch when she said 'molest'. Malaysia didn't want to invade more of his privacy then she already had, so she didn't ask why he felt uncomfortable when she mentioned the word. She barged into his life too much. He was probably getting sick of it.
"... You're not rude. I was only joking. Sorry if it seemed like I was being an asshole..." He apologized. North Korea closed his eyes and gave out a long sigh before leaning back on the seat's wall behind him. "I should probably go to sleep..." He mumbled softly.
"Yeah... you probably didn't get much sleep last night."
Soon the train cart was filled with the sounds of the tracks and North Korea's soft snoring.
Malaysia was left with only her thoughts to comfort her. 'He's right. I am sounding like a pervert. It's probably just strange coincidences. But my actions seem almost... familiar.' She sighed. 'If this was with Indonesia or the Philippines, then they would've made funny insides jokes about it.' Then she shook her head. 'But everyone is different. And Hwan Soo is too. I can't compare him to everyone else. He's special... why am I having all these cliche and utterly humiliating thoughts about him anyway?'
Suddenly the train cart shifted the room roughly, making a soft bed of hair fall onto her shoulder.
She found out that the cart had made North Korea land onto her again. Malaysia felt the urge to face palm at herself.
'This is no good... why am I feeling a sudden rush of deja vu here?' He purred lightly as she gulped in response. 'I don't want to wake him up. He had no sleep last night! But...'
The train cart bumped onto something and it made North Korea fall onto her lap. She let out a small yell from shock and North Korea laid there, drooling innocently. If he knew what he was doing, he'd probably bang his head on the wall repeatedly. Malaysia found herself chuckling while thinking about it. Then she went back to her previous thoughts for a moment, becoming gloomier.
'I'm nothing but a pervert...' She put her hands in her face from shame. Malaysia glanced down to check up on her friend, who was sleeping peacefully. He didn't look stressed out or irritated, but his face looked mellow. Her eyes wandered to the side as his sleeve began to pull down a little. What caught her eye was a small wound was on his wrist.
Without thinking, Malaysia put her hand on his head and petted it softly.
"How come you didn't tell me about this?" She asked him, knowing he wouldn't respond. Malaysia was deeply saddened by his actions. This time, he didn't even try to talk to her about what he felt. 'He must've felt so alone at that time...' She only continued to rub his hair with a dejected expression.
Malaysia was surprised at how soft, yet smooth it was. From the looks of it, it did appear to her like that. But feeling it was even better.
Something in her stomach churned as she lightly stroke the bed of hair. It seemed so natural to her. North Korea seemed to enjoy it in his sleep, so this made her continue further. When her fingertips brushed against his odd hair curl, she suddenly reflected upon a past memory.
...
"Are you working late again?" Singapore sighed, turning his head towards Malaysia.
"Yeah. Some idiot forgot to file papers in the correct spot and now I have to rearrange them myself. I can't really trust anyone else with important things." He huffed.
She gave a small 'tsk' at him and shook her head. Malaysia put her hands on her hips and pouted. "But the person you were talking about probably just made a mistake. No reason to get mad over something as silly as that." Singapore scratched his head.
"Yeah but-" She gently pushed his hand off his head and start petting his hair softly, giving him a small grin.
"Ease up a little bit around your wife, will you? You're making it sound like I'm your employee or something." Singapore nodded while blushing lightly. Malaysia giggled before returning back to her original calm pose. "You're so ridiculous."
"I'm an idiot." He chuckled softly. She patted his head and smiled.
"But you're my idiot."
...
Malaysia gasped as the cart rocked harder this time, finally stopping in its tracks to its destination. She shoved North Korea off her and began tapping his shoulder vigorously.
"Hwan Soo, hey Hwan Soo? Singa-" She put a hand over her mouth and North Korea began to open his eyes, stirring awake. Malaysia immediately took her hands off him as North Korea yawned, stretching out his arms.
"H-huh? Are we here yet?"
"Yeah, we're here... we should get out of the cart now." A guilt ridden look flashed in her eyes and she stood up and walked out the door, not even waiting for North Korea to get out. He noticed her sour mood the minute she woke him up. And tilted his head in confusion, still half-asleep.
"Did something happen while I slept?"
"No," She denied, standing in the middle on the doorway. She couldn't even look at him. "Nothing happened." Malaysia walked out of the room with an emotionless tone.
He may act stubborn and whiny, but that didn't mean he wasn't dumb enough to figure out something was clearly wrong with his friend.
"-Thank you for your time." Malaysia waved at a nearby woman, turning back carrying a handful of groceries. North Korea held some of his own, but nearly as much as she did. He slightly noticed the way she'd avoid his eyes, and not talk as much as she used to.
It kind of pissed him off.
Malaysia's mood improved slightly. The Malaysian started laughing again, which was a good sign. She hauled a lot of fruit and vegetables, looking at them with a small gleam in her eye. He saw that she was feeling better and couldn't help but smile. It made him feel better. Maybe he didn't fuck up their relationship.
Then she pushed all the bags of food onto him and ran off excitedly. He yelped from shock and started running after her, trying to track her down.
Turns out Malaysia ran into a store to buy some stuff for herself. She got a couple of small, cute key chains. North Korea rolled his eyes at her giddiness, wanting to get out of this store as fast as possible. The cat plushies's eyes were pitch black. He could feel their cold lifeless eyes staring behind him and shivered. "Damia can we hurry up? This place is creeping me out."
"It's a cute place." She tilted her head in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
North Korea still felt those sick, dark eyes. "N-nothing is wrong. I just need to go to the bathroom." He lied. Malaysia laughed at him while he sighed in relief. Their friendship was stable again. Thank goodness.
Eventually Malaysia finished all her shopping and made North Korea carry all of the bags. He sighed in defeat as Malaysia cheered. "Woo hoo! I successfully got Hwan Soo to hold all my dirty work. Good job." She patted his back gently, making him sneer at her.
He groaned as a small grumble came from his stomach. She heard the growl and stopped her happy dance.
"I suppose I did forget to feed you..." She bit her lip. Then Malaysia smiled. "Well, let's go to a restaurant then."
He immediately shook his head. "N-no I'm good."
"Come on, I can help pay for your meal. I probably need to make sure you care about your health more. Come on let's go!" She dragged him to the nearest restaurant, despite his many protests. A man at the front desk looked to North Korea and spoke in Japanese. Malaysia tried to interfere, pushing North to the side gently. "A-actually-"
He surprised her by speaking completely fluent Japanese. The man nodded as the waitress led them to their table, leaving as soon as North Korea said some more words foreign to her ears. She gaped at him in shock.
"H-how did-"
"Japan forced me to learn it. Though it's a bit rusty, I can still talk in it clearly." He shifted his gaze off to the side. "I don't understand why we had to have a World Meeting here in Japan... Then I would have to speak Japanese in order to go from place to place, surrounded by people who think I'm Japanese because of how I look."
"... Is that a reason why you didn't want to go to the food store?"
"Partly. I didn't have enough money to buy any that would last me a week. Also I couldn't beg China to help me again." Then he cracked a snicker. "And you mentioned something about cheap prices. That's my kind of deal." Malaysia chuckled at this, then looked at him guiltily.
"Yeah. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."
North Korea raised an eyebrow. "Go through what?"
"Being surrounded by people you don't feel uncomfortable with. I get that feeling." The waitress came back with their drinks. Malaysia gave him the order and he translated it to her. She went back as North Korea tapped his finger on the clothed table. "... Why don't you feel comfortable around Japanese people, if you don't mind answering?"
He put a hand on his cheek and sighed. "Japan and his people did incredibly horrible things to my people and I. They wanted us to become Japanese, and took everything we had. I almost lost my entire culture to him, so how could I come back here without feeling restless? The people here expect me to act Japanese, just like in the old days." North Korea put his hands under his chin to hold his head up. He stared at her aimlessly. "Japan never apologized for ruining me. How could he just pretend he never did any of those things? It's like everything he did to me was acceptable..."
The waitress came for their food and put it down. They both ate in silence, trying to gather up their thoughts and the strength to talk. But in the end, neither of them could.
The ride home was silent too.
They made their way out the train's doors, and a vast empty space used to be the train station. It had practically turned into a ghost town.
Walking onto the street, North Korea stopped immediately. A low dimmed light shone on Malaysia as she turned back at him. North Korea rubbed his foot on the ground with his hands behind his back. "Why do you want me to be so happy?" He asked shyly.
Suddenly taken back by what he said, she turned her body to face him. "Excuse me?"
"Friends probably want to do that, but you seem more... determined than normal people. You're trying really hard to try and make me happy when we only met about two months ago. I don't understand. Why am I so special to you?"
The thought left her speechless, until she figured out what to say a few moments later. "You don't need a reason to like someone."
"... But why do you like me? Why are you trying so hard for someone who can't do the same for you? I can't cook, I can't drive. I'm a relatively boring and bland person. I just cry and whine about losing my brother. I can't move on from Japan's wrath from a century ago." He looked back at her with a clueless gaze. "I'm hotheaded in World Meetings, and I don't like listening to people. How could you care about someone as awful and boring as me?"
Malaysia took a step forward and gestured her hand towards the insecure Korean. "You're not boring or bland! I like you just the way you are!"
"Why?"
A sudden anger bubbled up in her chest. She didn't know why, but she was just sick and tired of North Korea pushing himself down. A familiar thought rose in her head. "And this is what I'm talking about... You're defiantly not fine at all. First of all, you lie to me about being fine today. You'e not! I saw the cuts on your wrist." He shifted uncomfortably when she made her point. "Then you're interrogating me because your paranoid about your friend!"
"I have my reasons to be suspicious-! You're hiding things from me as well, I know you are. You acted strangely this afternoon and on the train. You're not fine, and you're keeping more secrets from me!"
"That's because I care about you! Those secrets are different, you wouldn't understand! Everything you had to go through in the past, I understand it. You can't keep those from me. You can't keep your feelings bottled up inside. All the things South Korea told me-"
"You talked to him about me?! Why would you do that?! Tell me the truth," He took a deep breath and calmed down. "Why are you doing this?"
She sighed, not trying to hold up her act any longer. It was too tiring to keep it in, and explained it to him in the heat of the moment. "America wanted to have a plan to get you and South Korea to be on good terms again. As brothers, not nations. He wanted me to help you remember all the good times you had with him and miss him. However, I really know nothing about the subject and made South Korea opened up to me about what happened. That's all, I swear. I just couldn't bring myself to ask you-"
"But you have the nerve to ask South Korea?!"
Malaysia stopped speaking and North Korea looked at her desperately, wanting to know all the answers.
He stared at her, speechless. "You planned this all with... America?"
"Yes."
"Well it's hopeless. Because now I'm going to avoid them both as much as possible. And you too." North Korea walked off. Malaysia tried to reach for his hand but it went away as he left into the darkness.
A gust of wind came her way as she shivered, holding herself.
'Now he'll never be happy...'
She put her hands in her pockets and sighed. 'Maybe all this time, I wanted to help him because he reminded me of Singapore. I'm on good terms with Singapore now, but we certainly aren't married anymore. Maybe I was using Hwan Soo to recreate those past memories without realizing it.' Malaysia gripped the fabric of her clothing and stared at the full moon in the night sky. 'Maybe I didn't really care about him, in the way I should have.'
Malaysia felt so cold.
In the middle of the night, Malaysia broke down America's door. He was currently in his American flag boxers while eating some cereal. He screamed in shock while Malaysia glared him down.
"We need to talk."
"Um, can you get out of my house for a little bit? Need some clothes ya know-"
"My friendship is at stake here. We're doing this, now." She strode over to him aggressively, pulling out the chair roughly and sitting across America. Malaysia crossed her arms authoritatively while America chewed the cereal in his mouth. "The plan didn't work at all. Now Hwan Soo hates me."
He swallowed the food in his mouth and stared at her wide eyed. "Woah, woah, WOAH!" America gaped at her, and adjusted his glasses. "You serious? You failed the mission? DAMN I KNEW CHINA WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER!" He whined, banging his fist on the table.
She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, please America. Show some courtesy here. I tried to help him patch things up with South Korea, but he's too stubborn to do anything about it. And I heard about everything that happened with him in the past. I can't help any longer and I got hurt in the process of it. Please... help me."
He gulped and pushed his bowl to the side. "That must freaking suck. I bet if I lot someone important to me, I'd be bitter and angry like you too!" She growled at him while he gave out an uneasy laugh. "But... what exactly did South tell you?"
"Japan did things to Hwan Soo in the past but he never told South. South got angry with him and tried forcing capitalism in his face. Hwan Soo got mad and invaded him for not understanding his feelings. The war happened. Now it's present day and they both hate each other."
"Why are you mad at him then?"
"Because he doesn't understand I'm trying to help him! Hwan Soo just ran off in the mist of out conversation. I guess if he's not trying to recoil with South, then I shouldn't bother trying to help him..." She rubbed her arm and sighed grimly. "I invaded too much of his life already. I think I should give up, since this plan clearly won't work. He already said he didn't want to see you, South, or me again."
"... You think he still doesn't love his brother then?"
She stopped ranting and turned to America. Malaysia shook her head. "A couple days ago... he phone called me saying how much he wants South to care about him again."
"You can't hate family that easily, no matter how hard you try." He smiled. "You can't just forget the times you had with someone. He may be stubborn, but he needs time. Aren't you like South as well? I think you both kinda pushed North too hard. Come on, he's just angry. I bet he still misses his best friend." America laughed. Malaysia realized that on the last sentence, he was talking about her.
"Yeah... I guess you're right." She nodded in agreement.
America smiled. "Plan B will surely work out better!" Malaysia turned her head to him confused.
"What's Plan B?"
He grinned excitedly. "Locking them in a room together for the whole night with hidden cameras and microphones."
She blinked once. Then twice. "...What?"
"You in or not?"
"... Fine." Malaysia sighed in defeat. Then she opened her eyes and shook her head. "No actually- I don't think I can help this time. I caused enough trouble for everyone and I think it's best I don't get involved in this. You said it yourself, China would be better." America put a hand on his chin.
"Actually now that I think about it, I'm gonna include China in this plan. Maybe his old, wise spells will help us! He's ancient, so he must know some to knock the Koreas out." He giggled. Malaysia started to seriously think she was talking to a child. "I think you'd be great! North Korea adores you."
"Not anymore." She muttered. "I used him."
He tilted his head in confusion. "Use him? What to you mean?" He pouted. She didn't answer and stayed silent. America huffed and leaned over the table, poking her nose. "Come ooooon." He moaned. "You can tell Mr. America! You trust me, right?" Malaysia shook her head. "Well it's better to talk about your feelings! Come oooon." He grinned. "Tell Mr. America what happened. Buddy, chum, old pal."
Malaysia finally caved in to his advances. "Okay, okay. I guess I do need to talk about it." America cheered and eagerly waited for her words. She took in a deep breath before answering. "I guess... I reenacted what I used to do with Singapore to him. We uh- slept in the same bed-"
"Holy shit Malaysia."
She waved him off as he started crackling madly. "I know, I know. It was wrong. Oddly enough I started petting his hair, just like I used to do with Singapore." America burst out laughing and she hushed him. "Please stop that! It's making me insecure! The point is I treated Hwan Soo just like I did with Singapore. Isn't that wrong?"
America wiped a tear off his eye, "Aha... well why do you think it's wrong?"
"I used Hwan Soo because he was so similar to Singapore. They're kinda paranoid, like cheap things-"
"But don't you like North because of his other qualities?" He asked. "What about his brashness? Or how he's super stubborn?"
"Singapore is like that too." She deadpanned at him. America gestured his hand at her.
"No, no. What do you like about North?"
"... His calm presence when he's alone. His pretty, alluring eyes." Malaysia found herself naming off every quality she liked. "His drawing skills, the way his voice cracks up at the end when he gets really irritated." She chuckled to herself. "I guess I like him because of who he is as a person."
America smiled softly, "I think the odd obsession with sleeping and petting hair is just apart of your personality. It's just something that comes naturally to you, so it's not like you're doing creepy stuff to North just because he seems similar to Singapore." She lightly smacked his shoulder and blushed madly.
"I-it's not an obsession!"
"Well whatever," He shrugged. Then America beamed at her, "So will you help me help North?"
She nodded. "I understand now. I'm glad I got to clear that up. He's my dear friend, and I care about him in a platonic way." Malaysia smiled.
"Not for long," America murmured. He snickered once Malaysia asked what he said. He waved her off, "It was nothing. Now let's say tomorrow we team up with China and kidnap the two Koreas in a meeting room for the entire night, shall we? It has to be tomorrow though, I have an anime convention to go to after that. So there's no time to lose!"
"All right. Let's save my relationship and vanquish your past sins!" She pumped her fist in the air. "For Hwan Soo!"
Malaysia was going to make things right with him. She knew she had to. Because she just cared about him that much.
"Okay! So... will you get out of my room now? It's pretty embarrassing." America asked in a hoarse voice. He was still in his bright, patriotic boxers and his bare chest was shown clearly in front of her. America's face was completely red.
"... I'm so sorry America."
The next big chapter will be in in about two or three weeks. I just need to get my life a bit sorted out. And I need a break. Sorry for any inconvinience, I really do love this fanfiction and I will continue it.
Also yeah. Like way back in Imperial Japan, they forced Koreans to become Japanese. They had to speak the language, use different names - even going as far as destroying Korean records. It was a very dark time. I don't think anyone would like to remember it "fondly". Though Japan refuses to acknowledge and apologize for its actions...
Haha Malaysia finally understands that Singapore and North Korea are just two, individual people. She cares about them in different ways. I wonder how she's gonna patch things up with North. Hahahahaha.
Will the plan work? Will China help America and Malaysia? Will North Korea forgive her for talking to South behind his back? Will South Korea like where this is going? IS SINGAPORE GOING TO COME INTO THIS THING SOON?
Find out next time on Total Drama- I mean How to Befriend a North Korean. Goodbye and see you all in a couple weeks :D