The Crooked Road / Princess of the Poor.
Choi Young-do's life comes full circle. He is finally content. Most definitely AU.
WARNING: canon is liberally taken advantage of, so is Young-do, in fact, so is everybody. No mentions of Kim Tan (sorry!), Yoo Rachel is interesting (and not in the good way - sorry again!) and the writing style is... different, waay different (no apologies this time 'cause I'm a'ight with it)
Choi Young-do.
He is five, and he has it all. Father, when he sees him, is kind and showers him with presents. Omma, who is always with him, is not only his mother, but his best friend. She showers him with love, and he adores her for it.
It doesn't occur to him that his father only visits him on Fridays in timed thirty-minute slots, or that his mother is never around for his visits. Likewise, he doesn't notice that his mother has a pill for seemingly everything, even as the key to her medicine cabinet swings possessively around her neck.
Everything is good, because everything is simple. And everything is simple because he is five years old.
.
Ten years old, and school is his haven. Father is a bully, and he likes to bully those around him with sharp looks and even sharper words. The scar on his neck is a reminder of how sharp Father can really be. Mother, like Father, has changed. She is always tired and though she plays sometimes, she sleeps the rest away. But he still loves her because he remembers, and as long as he has his memories, he will continue to love her.
The latest playground craze is reading palms. The trend started in a low-income, low-class neighbourhood, but the kids in Jeguk Elementary are obsessed with it, and rampantly demand predictions of their futures.
His sadness and frustration has turned him into somewhat of a bully, so it doesn't surprise his classmates when he shamelessly jumps the queue to demand Jo Myung-soo, that funny fat kid, to read his palm.
"I don't care about how long I live, or who I love, so just tell me the rest." He demands firmly, and his palm-reader nods slowly, reaching for his hand.
In class, Myung-soo is stupid and slow, but the reading tumbles out of his mouth quickly and uncontrollably.
"You're gonna lose a lot. Your emotion line is all broken up, see?" He announces in that squeaky voice of his. "The line is straight further on, but who knows when things'll pick up! Next!"
The words haunt him, and he spends many restless nights twisting and turning, looking at the jagged middle line of his palm. He wants to go up to Myung-soo and demand another palm-reading, but his pride stops him before he can even make an attempt. The very next day he finds omma lying stone-cold on the floor of her marble floor, white hands cradled underneath her head.
He lifts them up and pries them open, and watches the key to her cabinet fall to the floor. Blood is seeping out of her hand, and he looks on in horror at the jagged slash that cuts through the lines of her palm.
.
He is fifteen, omma is gone, and his memories are no longer fresh. Father is still a bully, a rabid pitbull of a man, and Wife Number Four is a calculating bitch. Through this marriage he has acquired a sister, Rachel, who mistakenly thinks they are suffering through the same sorts of problems. He shuts her down before she even has a chance to ask for a ride from Father's conference room where the pre-nup was signed.
In the end, they both end up going to Jeguk High, and she proves to be a vindictive little thing, always biting him whenever she gets the chance.
"Sister," he coos mockingly. "Why don't you come here and be a good little sister?" It's enough to drive her to the edge, and he only stops when she mentions the key that hangs around his neck.
"A little low-class," she observes snidely. "Souvenir from mommy dearest?" She's hit his weakness right on the head, so he hits back at hers, and soon, he's pulling back as she tries to shove her tongue in his mouth.
"Nice moves, sister," he taunts, and makes a point of wiping off any traces of her slick lipstick from the corner of his mouth. "Just a little more practice and you'll be sure to catch a rich, old man!"
She's looking at him with an emotion that he's seen many times before, and he feels his worry alleviating. But that feeling of being cornered still hasn't left him, so he makes sure to lay it on extra thick. "Like mommy like daughter, hmm?"
After that incident, she never speaks to him again, and the key remains his secret.
.
A few months later and he's sixteen. Rachel is no longer his sister (she's engaged to some guy overseas) and he's bored out of his mind. Father is still a bullying bastard, on the prowl for Wife Number Five, and his presence is constantly hanging over him like an inescapable shadow. So he goes out, away from the prestige of Gangnam, and starts hanging out in the shiftier parts of town.
Soon, after a few months of getting used to the crowd, he gets caught up in the racing scene. He's addicted to the buzz, and hey, it's a way to kill time. He rides any race he can catch, and soon, he's built up a reputation for being reckless, stupidly reckless. Everyone 'round the track calls him Crazy, and even though he loses loads of races, he wins a bunch of girls. He takes them for rides on his bike, and afterwards, usually at their request, other kinds of rides. Like racing, he likes them (and sex) hard, fast and energetic, and he is consciously, but uncontrollably, spiraling out of control. And the key, witness to all his debauchery and madness, hangs off his neck, leaving its mark pointedly and reassuringly. He hasn't forgotten just yet.
.
Wife Number Five soon enters Father's life, and by this point, Father's grip on his life is gone, so he doesn't attend any of the marriage meetings, the conferences, or even the wedding. It's scandalous, but he doesn't give a shit, and in any case, he has a girl of his own: Cha Eunsang. And she is everything to him.
She isn't like his usual kind of girl, and it's the first time he's ever been this interested. She works the late-shift at the track as an assistant and she knows bikes and cars and vans and trucks like the back of her dainty hand. She's a go-getter and from the moment she meets him, she tells him that he's crazy and that he better pay her to fix his bike "'cause luck is the only thing keeping you on your bike right now, Mister."
He'd find that kind of sass annoying on most girls, but her smile is winsome, and he can't help feeling charmed by her seemingly endless laughter. He watches tentatively when she turns toward him and tries to stop her giggles from spilling over the hand covering her mouth.
"Glad to see you're having a good time at my expense," he remarks casually, raising an eyebrow at her little display.
"I am having a good time, thank you," she declares, her eyes twinkling wildly. "And it's not at your expense at all! In fact, you should be laughing with me. I'm just imagining the other racers' faces when you win!"
Strange, strange girl, but very cute. She's looking up at him through her lashes, and his gulp is audible. The tension is palpable.
"What makes you so sure I'll win?"
Her reply is a teasing, "Because I'll be fixing up your bike! But really, I know my racing: you're a rookie on the track but you've been getting third consistently!" She pauses for a second, before leaning closer; he smells grease and notes of something sweeter on her, and the scent turns him on more than it should. "You're really good," she whispers, "Imagine how good you'd be with an even better bike!" Another quirk of her lips and he's sold, handing over the keys to his bike easily.
For a second, she looks at the keys in her hand with shock, and then up at him. "Really?" she whispers, as if he's given all the Prada, Gucci and Chanel the world has to offer.
"Hey," he replies, holding his hands up. "You know your bikes, and you drove a bargain I couldn't pass up." Then he's the one leaning closer, bending down, until their eyes are level. "I'm entrusting you with my baby; take good care of her, yeah?"
She doesn't blink, but she does grin. "Of course!" And then she turns, looking at one of the head engineers with glee. "Look, Uncle!" she announces, animatedly holding up the keys. "My first solo job!"
Uncle, who's a strangely familiar face to him, looks gobsmacked. "Ohmo. Good job, Eunsang!" She runs up, and as her uncle turns to catch her, he catches a glimpse of a familiar emblem. It's the name of Jo Myung-soo's company and the thought of Jo Myung-soo brings back many memories, and none of them particularly good. Suddenly, Uncle, in between hugs with Cha Eunsang, catches his eyes and grins. And the smile is hauntingly like Myung-soo's in the playground, all those years ago.
.
A week later, and he's feeling ecstatic and floored. He's just won the race, and he can't believe it-first place for a rookie! There is nothing in the world that can make him believe that he, Choi Young-do, has just won this race. Except for one thing. She's next to him congratulating him and smiling up at him with stars in her eyes. The grease on the side of her face and the adrenaline pumping through he veins makes him want to kiss her. So he does, and it feels like winning and so much more. Before he knows it, he's asking her out and she's shuffling her feet about to say yes. Father is furious when he arrives home smelling like fuel and alcohol, but somehow getting the living daylight punched out of him isn't as painful as it was two days ago.
.
The next day, he's forced to go to school (after skipping a month's worth of lessons) and he doesn't mind because school is closer to the track than home and that suits him just fine. So imagine his surprise when he brazenly walks into the classroom to find Cha Eunsang sitting prettily at the desk in front of him.
She looks just as shocked as he does, and does nothing but blink.
Myung-soo, who has long since shed the pounds, is the only one to speak up, and when he does, he is only more confused. "Eunsang," he asks, "How d'you know Choi Young-do? And wow! Look at the face you're making... Daebak. Say cheese!" A sudden flash, and her shocked face is spinning right in front of his eyes.
"You," he pronounces, pointing at Myung-soo. "How do you know Eunsang?"
There's a flash of something in Myung-soo's eyes, and his reply is a lofty, "Why wouldn't I know her? We're best friends." - as if the title is equivalent to boyfriend - "And why are you being so informal? A little rude, neh?" A universal gasp, and everyone's eyes are on Eunsang. His eyes are on Eunsang, he walks up to her and bends down so their eyes are level.
"What's going on?" he whispers. "Why are you here?" She isn't meant to be a part of this world; spunky, sweet Cha Eunsang is not meant to witness the power and corruption of his world.
There is no hesitance when she looks him in the eye, and the pounding in his head lessens. "I have no idea what's going on, but I can explain."
He takes one look at Myung-soo, who is poised to get out of his seat, and it dawns on him that he has competition, because there's no way Jo Myung-soo - easy-going, I-take-a-chill-pill Myung-soo - would act like this for just anyone. The thought of competition sends a burst of adrenaline rushing through him, and suddenly, the room is suffocating.
"Excuse us for a sec," he rumbles gruffly to the teacher, who's standing awkwardly near the door. And in one swift motion, he lifts Eunsang to her feet and drags her out the room. They are almost near the gate when he notices how cold her hands are.
"Are you alright?" he asks guiltily, eying her stiff form nervously. Without asking, he takes her hands between his and starts warming them with his breath. Slowly, she takes deep breaths in before opening her eyes. He looks at her with rapture, and then relief when she smiles up at him.
"I'm okay now," she affirms, her cheeks dimpling. "Well, I have a feeling it won't be good going back straight away... So, how about we get something to eat? My treat, or yours?"
"Mine, of course," he replies, rolling his eyes. Then, they're walking down the street: hand-in-hand and palm-to-palm.
"Oh!" she declares. "Isn't this so exciting? Our first date!" For now, he is content.
-TBC.