A/N: Okay! A few things before we start!
1) When a character is speaking in American Sign Language, it will be written in italics ("Like this."). When a character is speaking English, it will be written normally.
2) I am not deaf or hard of hearing, though my mother is hoh (not culturally though, to the best of my knowledge), and I was unable to find a sensitivity reader for this. If I make any mistakes, misrepresent things, overstep boundaries, or anything else please let me know! I am more than happy to make corrections and edits!
3) I know some basic ASL, but not a ton. Most of what I'm writing is based off of research so, again, please let me know if I make any mistakes. Also, I will be changing grammar and wording around to make it make more sense in English. A very simple example of this is that "I go to the store" in English would be "I store go" in ASL, but I'll just be writing "I go to the store"
4) I'm using these articles as my main references for writing Jackie and ASL: /2017/05/19/asl-writing-a-visual-language/ and 2021/03/23/how-to-write-deaf-or-hard-of-hearing-characters/ They were both super helpful! I highly recommend checking them out if you're interested!
5) I wrote this a while back (like, right after Champions Hike premired I think?) so it's definitely older. I also don't really think this really reflects the show much in how they actually meet, but it's still a cute fic so ffnet gets it too :)
Taking a class for American Sign Language was not how Keun Sup thought he would be spending every other evening of his summer, but here he was. In a small classroom in the community center with posters covered in hands all over the walls and a nice woman behind the teacher's desk. She was all sunshine and rainbows, with alphabet block earrings and bright orange herring aids that stood out against her dark skin.
"Sit wherever you want! I'll do a formal introduction of myself once the class starts. Can I get your names, just to make sure that you're all paid for?" She said. Keun Sup's mother nodded.
"Of course! I'm Chae Won, this is my husband Sang-uk, and our kids Keun Sup and Ha-Eun. All under the last name Byun. It's spelled like 'bun', but with a 'y' after the 'b'."
"Perfect!" The woman went to her desk and marked something on a piece of paper. "Yep, all set!"
The Byun family sat at a table near the front. The room was full of people, but Keun Sup felt awkward and completely out of his element. He settled for rolling a pencil back and forth on the table and thinking about whatever came to mind.
He remembered the last doctor's office they had been to, Ha-Eun playing with the bead toy in the corner while their parents talked with the doctors. Straining his ear he could almost make out the words.
"Relief… non-verbal… classes…"
Keun Sup had no idea what any of that meant, but if it meant all the doctor's visits were going to stop then it had to be good. Ha-Eun always hated these places.
After they got home, Keun Sup's dad took Ha-Eun to her room and his mom took him to the kitchen.
"You know why we've been taking Ha-Eun to the doctors, right?" She said, getting them both a glass of water.
"Because she's five and can't talk."
"Exactly. But the doctor we went to today finally figured out why." She smiled. "Ha-Eun is autistic. Like your friend from school, Tyrone." Keun Sup furrowed his brow.
"But Tyrone can talk, why can't Ha-Eun?"
"Ha-Eun is nonverbal, that means she can't talk, but it doesn't mean she can't understand what we're saying, and it doesn't mean she can't communicate with us. Me and your father talked and we decided that we are all going learn sign language as a family, to make communication easier."
"What's sign language?"
The lights flickered and Keun Sup looked around. The teacher stood by the light switch.
"Eyes up here please!" She moved to the front of the room and turned on the smart board. "Hello, my name is Mrs. Hill." She moved her hands as she talked; it looked like she saluted and then patted her chest before she crossed her fingers in front of her chest and pushed them up in an arc. "I use she/her pronouns and I am partially deaf. I use hearing aids, but I also rely heavily on lip reading, just a heads up. I am thirty-five and have been teaching ASL for twenty years. I have a wife and a daughter and we just recently moved here." Her hands were flying around, and she used her entire body. Making faces and moving throughout her entire introduction. There was a speed to her, but she also took her time and made sure all the details worked. Immediately, Keun Sup knew he was going to like this class.
The first lesson was spent learning the alphabet, how to fingerspell with said alphabet, and numbers one through ten. All the way home Keun Sup went back and forth with his dad fingerspelling different things.
(Bunny ears for 'k', a cupped hand for 'c', okay sign for 'f', like holding a grape for 'g'.)
For the next lesson, they got there extra early. Keun Sup's mom had really hit it off with one of the other moms there, Mrs. Caldwell, and was eager to talk to her again. They ended up sitting at the same table, and Keun Sup was sitting next to a kid he hadn't noticed there last time. (How he missed the kid he didn't know, their goggles were huge.)
"Uh, Hi. I'm Keun Sup." He waved a bit and the kid waved back before quickly writing on a notebook and sliding it across the table.
Hello, I'm Jackie! I'm deaf.
"Oh, cool!" He wrote back quickly— Hi Jackie! I'm Keun Sup!— and slid the notebook back.
They went back and forth, sliding the notebook across the table, quickly realizing that they were both big fans of the Baltimore Orioles and baseball in general.
The lights flickered and Mrs. Hill went to the front of the classroom.
"Hello! Today we're going to learn how to introduce ourselves." The class was mostly variants of introductions and some other things, but what really stuck with Keun Sup was the part about name signs.
"Some people have unique signs that stand in for their names in ASL so that you don't have to fingerspell the entire name. These are called name signs. They're very common so don't be surprised if you see them used."
"However, you shouldn't make your own if you aren't Deaf or Hard of Hearing. It's not the end of the world if you do, but a name sign really should be given to you by someone who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing and who knows you well and considers you a friend." Someone in the back raised their hand.
"Yes, Grey?"
"Can you show us some examples of name signs?"
"Yes! My name sign is the sign for 'hill' because that's my last name, but I sign 'r' while doing so since my first name is Riley. There are three types of name signs…"
The class learned more and more ASL and Keun Sup became better and better friends with Jackie. They both played at the Creek, but since Jackie was part of the Water Lily Brigade and Keun Sup was a Cherry Blossom they had never run into each other.
The summer passed rather calmly, and soon it was the last week of summer and the last of their ASL classes. Well, this course at least. Both families had signed up for weekend classes throughout the school year.
The day before the new school year, a new King of the Creek was being crowned.
The days were calm and routine: Keun Sup went to school, ran home, ate a quick snack, then ran to meet up with Jackie before heading to the Creek. It took him about ten minutes in total, not counting waiting for Jackie. They would do homework together in the Keep Xavier's Keep before hanging out with their respective groups, or sometimes each other. Soon September was almost over and the World Series, and Jackie's birthday, were at hand. They happened to be the same week this year, and the Orioles had made it to the finals! So when Mrs. Caldwell asked about a party, it came as no surprise when Jackie wanted to have a watch party of the World Series.
The doorbell rang Mrs. Caldwell went to answer it. She barely had time to say hello before Keun Sup ducked under her arms and met Jackie in the hallway.
"I can't believe you're nine!" Keun Sup signed. "I have to wait until February, but I'll catch up soon!" Jackie laughed and signed back.
"Come on, I'll show you the snacks." Jackie signed before leading all the kids into the living room.
Chips sat on the coffee table in big bowls with three, yes three, boxes of Sprinkle Paws next to them.
"No way!" Keun Sup quickly turned back around to Jackie "You have so many Sprinkle Paws!" Jackie and Mrs. Hill had come up with the sign for Sprinkle Paws on their own since there wasn't one already. It was like signing hands, or paws depending on the context, but you signed 'c' while doing so. Paw cakes!
"Yeah! I got to choose the snacks!" Jackie puffed his chest out, obviously proud of being put on snack duty. His mom came over and tapped his shoulder.
"Jackie," Jackie's name sign was just 'j' and 'e', "are you going to talk or watch the game?" She signed. Immediately the two piled onto the couch, grabbing a couple of Sprinkle Paws as they went. Ha-Eun sat next to them, headphones on and a Lego speed build playing on her Ipad.
The game was close the entire time, but with a final home run, the Orioles won! There was lots of jumping, laughing, and smiling all around, but the real celebration began when Mrs. Caldwell surprised them all with juice and a cookie cake.
"The King has decided that he needs confidants to help enforce his rule over the Creek, so a tournament will be held to show off your skills. There will be three challenges. All are invited to participate. Winners of the challenges will get prizes, but a select few will be invited into the King's inner circle and crowned Champions. The tournament will take place in one week." That was the address Maya gave the kingdom one cloudy Saturday.
The entire kingdom was abuzz with the news. No one knew what exactly was going to happen at this tournament, but a chance to get into the King's inner circle was too tempting to pass up. Kids across the Creek practice whatever skills they had. Keun Sup ran laps around the neighborhood before meeting up with Jackie, and instead of doing homework, Jackie practiced pitching.
Keun Sup knew that Jackie had tried out for the baseball team that summer but had been turned down. (Why he never knew.) He was even more confused as to why Jackie hadn't been picked for the team once he saw him pitch. The ball hit a tree and embedded itself into the bark.
"Dude!" He exclaimed before turning back towards Jackie "That was epic! You're definitely going to win!"
Jackie chuckled sheepishly. "Only if there's a throwing competition. At least a race is guaranteed! I can't wait to see you run."
"Well, I can't wait to see you pitch!"
A cloudy day with a strong chill in the air was what awaited the children of Herkleton Mills the next Saturday. It was closer to Fall and getting colder by the day, but none of them cared. Jackets and gloves were put on as they raced out the door, no one wanted to be late for the Tournament.
Streamers hung everywhere and bunches of balloons sat tied to almost everything. Keun Sup found Jackie quickly in the crowd, and they waited together. Each hoped the other would have an event suited for the other.
Maya gave Xavier his introduction, and the Tournament began.
Many games were played, but what everyone was interested in were the challenges. Winners of the games got candy and toys, but winners of the challenges would be given a status that was unheard of. Champions.
The first challenge was to see who could lift the most rocks and carry them for the longest, testing for strength and endurance. There were plenty of piles of loose stones sitting around the chosen field, so they just used the one closest to Xavier's Keep. Several kids went up and did well, Holly Nelson and one of the Cherry Blossoms stood out, but the clear winner was Aggie Osman. While the other top competitors both managed to lift one or two rocks and walk halfway across the field, Aggie held up three with ease and walked all the way across and halfway back before she had to drop the stones.
When she finally fell to her knees and let the stones drop around her, the crowd cheered and almost completely drowned out Xavier declaring her the winner. It was no secret that Aggie was strong, but this was beyond anyone's expectations.
The second challenge was a race around the wall surrounding Xavier's Keep. Maya and the King stood at the starting line with kids positioned around the wall to ensure that there wasn't any cheating. The kids competing lined up along the starting line. Keun Sup was competing against several kids; both Jennifers, Justn Adelstein, and Vincent Spino. All were known for running well, and Jennifer B. was eleven and tall. Keun Sup was nine and short. He told himself he wouldn't let fear get the best of him, but he could feel the nerves creeping in. Keun Sup took one last look at the line of spectators and focused on that. The Cherry Blossoms talking and laughing next to the Water Lily Brigade who were taking bets on the winner. In between the two groups was Jackie, who noticed him looking and gave him a large smile and big thumbs up. The race didn't seem so bad anymore.
Keun Sup crouched into the runners' position along with the rest of his competitors.
"Ready…" King Xavier said.
He took a deep breath, the forest air filled his senses.
"Set…"
The grass was soft under his fingers, mixing nicely with the dry and coarse dirt. He got ready to run.
"Go!"
They all bolted. Keun Sup barely focused on anything other than running. Follow the path and focus on breathing.
Then, he crossed the finish line. He slowed down as he tried to ease out of running, just like his dad showed him. Taking gasping breaths of air as he refocused on the world he looked around for the other kids, but they weren't in sight. He had finished first.
"The winner is Keun Sup of the Cherry Blossoms!"
The crowd cheered and Jackie ran over, stopping just short of toppling into the runner.
"I knew you were fast, but not that fast!" Jackie signed 'fast' with extra enthusiasm, and repeated it a few times with his face scrunched up. 'Fast' was just your thumb and pointer finger out, like finger guns, a bit in front of your lower chest. Then you pull the hands into your chest and curl your pointer fingers in at the same time. It was a simple sign, one of the first ones that they learned, but Jackie was treating it like it was something entirely new. Slowly, Jackie changed the finger guns to the letter 'k' and pulled them in. Then, a grin breaking out on his face, he pointed at Keun Sup and signed fast with a 'k' again. The realization clicked instantly.
"My name sign?"
"Yes!" Jackie shook his hand vigorously. Keun Sup's heart soared.
A name sign, his name sign.
A/N So I know close nothing about baseball, especially Maryland's team, but I did my best! (I'm a Braves fan for reference) also not me giving Keun Sup the same reason to start learning asl that I did lol
Some fun tidbits,
I based Ha-Eun off of my own autistic younger sibling! There are some differences, but that was her inspiration lol
Descriptions of finger spelling and letters come mostly from Signing Time. We had that on a lot when I was a kid, so every time I sign 'g' I think about holding a grape since that's how Rachel described it.
(Also yes the kids name is Justn with no i. It's an actual name, a kid I babysit has it.)