"That's… my mother," she mumbled, face on fire.
The confusion was clear in the metallic edge of Genji's voice, though he was obviously trying to hide it out of courtesy. "This… your mother is-"
"Omnic," rumbled Mr. Seon, hand sliding to his pocket, where Hana knew a large knife was hidden- a solid six-inch blade. Hana would know- he'd threated her with it twice before. "Get out, or I'll make you." The overpowering smell of soju coming from the doorway made Hana want to throw up. Nara Song nearly toppled over, clutching at Seon's arm.
Genji took a step forward, an empty soda can crunching under his foot. "Mr. Song," he said, and the words were like a slap to Hana's face, because it meant that Genji was assuming that the man that routinely showed up and threatened her was in fact her father-
"Mr. Song, I am here on behalf of your daughter," Genji said, forging on with forced determination. He sounded oddly calm for someone being threatened with a knife, standing straight and still- even though he had to look up to stare into Mr. Seon's eyes, which were a good half foot above Genji's. "She is-
"My daughter?" Mr. Seon laughed again, pulling Ms. Song lewdly close to him, causing her to shriek with laughter. Hana's stomach turned- she was used to this sort of behavior, especially coming from Mr. Seon, and yet Genji's presence in the place made everything feel so disgusting.
"That herehjashik is no daughter of mine. I'd not sire something so useless." Though Genji obviously could not understand Mr. Seon's rough Korean, he visibly tensed at the man's tone of voice. "And I wouldn't marry a slut like this woman," Seon added like an afterthought, Ms. Song giggling like a brainless idiot in response.
Stop them, Hana cried in her head, and for one crazy moment, she thought her mother was going to step in, to prevent the conflict from happening…
But one look at Ms. Song, still curled around Mr. Seon's arm, all red-lipped smiles, and Hana knew the gravity of the situation was lost on the woman.
You don't need her. Be brave.
Genji stepped back in surprise as Hana darted forward, planting herself firmly between Genji and the drunken duo.
"Please, Seon-nim!" she pleaded in her most formal Korean, hating her trembling voice, hating how high-pitched it was. She was angry, yet she sounded so frightened. "Please don't try to fight him. He's…" Her mind raced- he was what? What could earn their at least temporary respect?-
"… a very rich man, Seon-nim," she said, ducking her head so as not to look into the man's eyes. "And he's not an Omnic, either."
Silence. Hana took the lack of interjections as a sign that the gangster was listening, and plucking up a little courage, continued: "He has something to discuss with my moth-"
Mr. Seon's hand slammed into the side of Hana's head with enough force for her to jerk back, stumble, and then fall to her feet in a tangle of limbs. Everything had gone strangely tilted and blurry; Hana hiccupped as the slap continued to ring in her ears, hot tears prickling in her eyes. She was vaguely aware of Genji grabbing the back of her hoodie and dragging her back roughly, out of harm's way, with an alarmed yell of "Mr. Song!" as Mr. Seon chuckled and stepped towards Genji.
From her position on the floor, Hana watched with a sense of dread as Mr. Seon took a swing at Genji, she tried to yell no, stop, but the side of her face that Mr. Seon had hit was swelling up and her jaw hurt like a bitch. And it didn't even matter if she said anything, because Genji didn't even reach for his katana- his hand latched onto Mr. Seon's arm like a vise; Mr. Seon grunted in surprise as the flesh around Genji's metallic fingers went white-
"You do not hit children," said Genji coldly. He sounded as if he desperately trying to keep his inner peace. Hana watched in awe as Mr. Seon tried unsuccessfully to rip his arm from the cyborg's grip, clawing at his fingers with his other hand, muscles bulging and skin going red with the effort. Fear flitted across the man's features as he began to realize his situation. Her mother stood off to the side, her fancy updo all in a mess, gaping at the scene unfolding before her, hands fluttering in the air.
In other words, it was a scene straight from a nine-year-old Hana's dreams of paradise.
"Let… let go of me!" puffed Mr. Seon as he scratched and pulled at Genji's metallic arm, voice steadily rising higher than she'd ever heard it go before. Genji stood ominously still under the flickering lights, his visor glowing green in the dim room. For all anyone knew, he could've been a statue.
Hana gingerly peeled herself off the carpeted floor, arms trembling, and was immediately greeted by a throbbing headache.
As Mr. Seon struggled to free himself, Hana entertained the sadistic thought of letting the two stay like that. Mr. Seon certainly deserved it, she resolved- he was one of the more violent of Nara's on-and-off boyfriends, and had the maturity of a six-year-old to boot. He'd respond to every little insult with a punch, often with a much smaller person on the receiving end of the blow.
But no matter how closed-off, strained, and fed up with life Hana was, one thing was for sure- she wasn't a violent person. This was a confrontation she had to stop.
She limped over to where the two men were and gently tapped Genji's shoulder. "Ah… Genji-nim… you may want to let him go now. It might be, um, bad if you don't." Hana tried hard to keep her shaking voice steady.
"I'm rather afraid that he will attempt to attack you again if I do as you say, Miss Song," said Genji coolly. His silvery voice was laced with steel. "I can't have that."
He thinks I'll get hurt again somehow? "I'm fine," Hana said quickly, with a flare of pride. Something like this won't keep me down for long. She rubbed the side of her face, where she could feel the beginnings of a black eye start to form. The anger she had felt at Mr. Seon was still smoldering somewhere inside of her, but- I'm not a child, I have to be mature.
"I'm used to it," she said complacently, and then realized that was the wrong thing to say when Genji's head snapped to face her, his visor flaring green. She avoided his eyes.
"Why have you not told your relatives about this?" He dropped Mr. Seon's arm to gesture at the room, and Mr. Seon jumped to a safe distance from Genji, cradling his arm to his chest. "How long have you-"
"I haven't got any relatives that want to associate with my… mother," said Hana, chewing slowly on her gum. The words tasted heavy, and… so bitter in her mouth. "And, well, it's okay, I guess. My situation, I mean. I mean, It's not…." The stunned air of disbelief around Genji made her cringe. My face must be so unbelievably red right now. "I'm fine, really."
Am I, though?
Genji obviously didn't think so. He turned towards Mr. Seon, who was still nursing his injured arm. "Never show your face here again," Genji commanded, his tone full of bite. The man didn't need to be told twice- he was out of there in an instant, leaving a very confused Nara Song alone in the apartment with Genji and Hana.
And for a long, still moment, there was nothing but the tick of the clock hanging on the wall, precisely three minutes off.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Hana broke the silence. "Are you going to tell her?" she asked Genji wearily, face still stinging. All the action had drained Hana of energy. I don't care who he thinks I am anymore.
Hana's words snapped Genji out of his trance. He took a step towards Ms. Song, hands spread slightly as if he were approaching a wild animal. "Ms. Song. My name is... ah… Mr. Suzume." The name was obviously a pseudonym. He sounded comically uncertain- the entire confrontation between him and Hana's mother's boyfriend had left him in a uniquely awkward situation. "Your daughter has been invited to a special program that-"
"I haven't got the money," snapped Ms. Song in accented English, who apparently had gathered her wits again, however temporary. She dusted off the skintight red polyester of her dress as she stepped forward, glaring at Genji from underneath mascara-laden lashes. "I don't know who you are, or what you want from my daughter, but we can't afford it."
"I can," blurted Hana, shooting to her feet. Her pulse was throbbing in her ears; this was her only chance to escape from this miserable life, and if this woman was going to hold her back…
You don't need her. Be brave.
"You might not have a job, but I've been-"
"Hana," cut in Genji. Hana fell silent.
"This is a… scholarship of sorts. No money will be required for her to join." Genji crossed his arms, the carbon fiber of his prosthetics scratching across each other. "All we seek is your permission."
"You barge into my home, stir up trouble, and then try to take my daughter? Are you crazy?" Ms. Song took another step forward, chin lifted, defiant. "Why should I listen to you, Omnic?"
It took every fiber of Hana's body not to intervene as Genji swiftly responded. "I understand that I may have caused some… trouble, but I couldn't just stand by and watch as your husband treated your daughter like a… like that." Quiet anger rippled in his voice. "Family should not hurt one another."
Hana just had to speak up. "He's not my dad," she corrected. "That man… Mr. Seon is…. Ms. Song's boyfriend." She couldn't bring herself to call that woman her mother. "My father left a while ago." She turned pink under Genji's surprised gaze, which she once again evaded by turning to her mother. "Now answer Mr. Suzume's question."
Ms. Song fiddled with her dress. Then she turned her gaze on Hana.
Hana could tell exactly what the woman was thinking. If Hana leaves, then my source of income is gone.
"She's… not leaving," Nara Song slurred, firmness disappearing, drowsiness slowly overtaking her. "She can't go. She's my daughter."
Hana couldn't stand it anymore- she yelled, sharply, "NARA!". Both Ms. Song and Genji flinched.
The throbbing headache was back in full force. How dare this woman try to make choices for her? And not out of love, or kindness, or anything but financial gain. The unfairness of the situation was driving Hana over the edge. "You're not in charge of me," she seethed, hands clenched into fists. Angry tears of frustration were burning in her eyes again, for whatever stupid reason, but she refused to let them fall.
"You- you've been gone for a long time, Ms. Song." And it was true- Hana had to quit school, utilize her gifts in gaming, pay for everything, all while her mother only came to the apartment one or two hours a day.
As far as Hana was concerned, they didn't even live together anymore. Ms. Song was simply a guest that had overstayed her welcome.
Hana had lived through fear, and pain, and threats issued by the men that her mother brought into her life. She had been forced to desperately try and keep her life together by, in a way, ruining it, dropping out of school and crushing her future. The nights that she'd cry herself to sleep, cupping a handful of pills in her hand, were so numerous that they had faded into each other, into one neverending nightmare.
She'd been blinded by nightly dreams of a happy family, united under one roof. She had been blinded by visions of her father returning, sweeping her up into a hug, putting pieces of his broken wife back together. She'd been blinded by thoughts like things will get better, things always get better, just wait and see. She'd seen visions of a happy future, of a poor family wealthy in happiness.
But those visions hadn't been prophecies; no, they were simply illusions that got in her way.
The decision was so clear to Hana now- so remarkably clear that she wondered furiously why she had never seen it before.
Genji took a hesitant step towards Hana, hand outstretched, as if to calm her, but Hana had had enough of calm and reason. "This is my life now. My choices. And- and, I'm not your fucking daughter, not anymore." By some miracle of nature, her voice was starting to steady.
"You are my daughter. I am your parent," yelled Ms. Song. She turned from Genji to Hana, Genji to Hana, looking for some sort of response. "It's MY choice, not hers. She- you- You can't just leave!" The woman's hands clenched like a child throwing a tantrum.
A child that Hana had looked after for six years.
Be brave. You don't need her.
Hana's voice was like broken glass.
"Watch me."
Notes:
The suffix -nim denotes respect and is an equivalent to 'Mr.' or 'Ms.'
The term 'kkangpae' refers to a Korean gangster.
The 'Ssang Kal' are an actual prominent Korean gang, and the name does mean 'twin knives.'
In both Korean and Japanese cultures, usually it is unacceptable for one to yell at someone elder than you, which is why Genji and Nara were so surprised when Hana flipped her shit.
