bite your tongue

The hiss of pain seeps from Hangyeol’s grit teeth like steam through the neck of a tea kettle. He remains on the ground, square on his back with his limbs outstretched in each cardinal direction. No shocks of severe injury echoes through his body. The swelling throb of a broken limb or forming abrasion is absent from his tensed muscles. Only a bruise remains on the metaphorical stage of his ego, having been forced to take such a tumble in the presence of another.

By some miracle, Hangyeol is alive. Perhaps the way down was not nearly as tall as his anxiety warped mind interpreted. Something is amiss. A fall from a tree branch would have at least resulted in a fracture, maybe a sprain if lucky. His left arm throbs. He can still feel the squirming sensation against the epidermis.

“I’m fine. Stop fussing over it. I have had much worse.” He mutters through a strained throat. His esophagus and lungs are temporarily drained of space, a result of the wind quite literally being knocked out of him. He brings himself to his feet immediately, acting in defiance to the other man’s valid concern and shirks the polite gesture with the shake of his head. His hands brush at the bright green blades of grass sticking delicately to his clothing and visible skin. Fortunately, there is a relative absence of dirt.

“Don’t bother calling for help,” The lighthouse keeper scoffs. “Hardly anyone comes up here anyway I would be dead before the paramedics arrive. Why are you here?” He gestures to the tree. “This is my spot.” Of course, the claim brims with falsification. Only within the past week did Hangyeol discover the small alcove with the large tree. Who was he to proclaim possession over it?

The other man possessed a child-like ability to stand back up after a fall, a tendency Soohyun had thought most people grew out of once they reached double digits. It reminded him of little kids launching themselves off of swings and tripping over skateboards, brushing off their bruises and scraps and running off to do the next thing. Except, this was a grown man, groaning and brushing grass off his clothes. 

Soohyun didn’t know if the man was somehow the luckiest man on the island or just pretending he couldn’t feel the broken bone that falling from such a height should have resulted in. Instead, he pushed himself up, acting like he had done nothing more than trip over a rock. Soohyun eyed his body suspiciously, as if looking for a sign that there were deeper injuries than the man wanted to share. 

I have had much worse.

That wasn’t a very comforting thought. Soohyun’s brow furrowed, but the man truly did seem to be mostly uninjured. He held the man’s book in his hands, trembling slightly before shoving it towards him to take. 

If fate was paying attention and curious enough to peek inside these two young men’s noggins, it would find their thoughts oddly similar. At least when it came to making wishes and how neither believed in them.

There was no point in wishing, begging the unknown for a boon. Yiming was raised to believe if one wanted something, one must take it on their own. By force, if necessary, and too often it was.

His eyes ran briefly over the man standing next to him. The pianist failed to recognize him, but that was to be expected. After all, when they met last time, the other had been on a stage performing, while Yiming was in a seat, listening. Instead of watching the young man, he must admit he had been watching his boss more. Fortunately for Kang Soohyun, the old man’s interest remained firmly on the music that night - he had always preferred untamed strays with still sharpened claws to soft, pretty house cats.

At the not-stranger’s question, Yiming smiled. He too, was trying to be friendly. “It is difficult, isn’t it?” Most people wanted to many things and couldn’t narrow down to one, while he had no idea what to ask for.

What did he desire for? Revenge? A chance for a do-over and this time, be the one to wield the knife? Power? Love? A heart that had never loved before?

Peace?

“Maybe I will ask for an animal companion.” Yiming picked up his pen and began writing. “Most animals detest me, so I shall ask for one that doesn’t.”

I wish for a loyal, loving animal companion. Preferably fat cute.

Not the most elegant of wishes.

“What about you?”

Was it difficult? How did he put into words the deepest desires of his heart? A wish to have working hands, to have his life back before he had ever met or trusted the man who ruined it? A wish to turn back time, to have left earlier that night, to have called a taxi rather than take his own car? 

To no longer be broken, jagged pieces, missing too much to be put back together as whole. 

He tilted his head as the man responded, nodding in agreement.

It was difficult.

An animal companion that doesn’t detest him. The wish was cute, almost childish in its simplicity. It wasn’t at all what Soohyun expected from the man next to him ( but really, what did he expect from the man ), but somehow it suited him. Soohyun watched as the man wrote, stifling a laugh when he saw the second statement. 

A fat, no, cute loyal, loving animal companion.

How childlike. An innocent, gentle, easy wish.

OOC // Your wish has been fulfilled. The result of this wish will have echoes throughout your character’s journey. Answer the submit with your character’s reaction to the result; doing so will count for activity. Additionally, while your character recovers from his injury, he will be endowed with TELEKINESIS. Please refer to the features page or message the main for more information.

The peculiar tranquility of the moment was almost unnerving; it left his bones quivering and his thoughts somewhat befuddled. Seconds ticked by and the sunlight appeared to be rustling in the man’s locks, framing his cheeks and lips in just the right way. 

Stunning, really; it made Noeul wonder just how unaware he really was, both of his personality and his charm, that gravity that surrounded him, seemed to tug in light at the most precise of times; it never lasted for too long, though it lingered enough to make an impression. 

Except none of It really mattered. After this encounter, a part of him felt certain they wouldn’t run into each other again. Noeul was, after all, just a stop along the way in people’s lives and never a destination. 

He was tugged out of his revery–the shaking of his hand didn’t go unnoticed. Noeul, who was so detail-oriented and aware of even the smallest things around him, saw it but did not remark on it. He had little interest in probing into the affairs of others; knowledge about individuals usually came with a feeling of responsibility, something he preferred to avoid. 

“I suppose I am.” he responded instead, voice cheery, a flutter of ribbons that escaped his throat; it was light, not quite empty but fluid, something that was born out of amusement more than communication. “I guess you’re not from around this place, aaaaaand I also guess you’re without company, too.” 

Noeul then turned his head, studying the man’s profile, taking in his features, glancing quickly at the hand by his side. “My name’s Noeul. I can be your company for the day.” He chuckles after; a low, faint sound that collapsed in his throat, only sent its echo past the seam of his lips.

Had Soohyun slipped and hit his head and blacked out into a fever dream? The man next to him felt like something out of a movie, too handsome and perfect, a smile of even white teeth nearly blinding him. Something about standing next to him felt like existing in a liminal space, edges hazy as the world spun slightly slower. 

The man didn’t remark on Soohyun’s shaky hands or brusque demeanor, his smile never even faltering for a moment. Soohyun knew he noticed, if the glance downward towards his sides meant anything, but the questions didn’t come. He had braced himself for them, for the curiosities that always toed the line between innocent and nosy. Yet, they didn’t come, just the offer ( or rather, the statement, so sure, not even a question but just a fact ) of company. 

Soohyun bit his lip, eyes tracing the man’s features ( ridiculously handsome, like a webtoon character from a slice of life story, tanned from the sun and hair tousled too artistically to be an accident ). He looked away, over the man’s shoulder. 

“I’m not from around here,” he confirmed. “I suppose you are.” 

He looked like he fit on this little island too well, born and raised on sunny beaches and hot summers and fun filled festivals like the one they were currently at. He was also...so friendly. Too friendly. Despite having been on the island for months, Soohyun could never get used to the easy kindness and no strings attached friendliness of his new neighbors. 

“I’m Soohyun,” he says quietly, more like a breath of air leaving his lips than words spoken. He should be more trusting he thought. It wouldn’t hurt to share a name. Or some time. He glanced at Noeul’s face one more time, at the easy smile, the way his laughter sounds kind rather than demeaning. 

MARTIAL ARTS CLASSES

with soo ( @gswsoohyun )

The sun was up, peeking through the curtains and rousing a bear from its peaceful slumber. Alright, fine, it wasn’t a real bear, but his hair was in such a state of mess that he resembled that more so than a man. 

On Sundays, he slept in. That was a rule he made for himself and was determined to stick to, otherwise he would be up at the crack of dawn and get chided again for never relaxing by his left side neighbor - Mrs. Kim. 

A hand latched itself onto the night stand, patting around for the battered watch he had worn for the past eight years. At some point he must change the strap, or risk losing it forever. 

Yongsoo’s hand came back with the watch, but it also came back caked in a layer of dust. Guess it was time to clean up again. Unfortunately, when he searched for wet wipes, the container was empty. As was the fridge when he wanted to make toast and eggs.

Twenty minutes later he had arrived at the grocery store, and after greeting nearly everyone he encountered on his way, Yongsoo began picking his way through a mountain of sad looking potatoes. A pair of ladies were chatting close by, and the distress in one of their voices drew his attention. The woman called Minji (they introduced themselves to each other a few weeks ago at a different store) was talking about the young man she was charged to take care of. How he was hurt by some people and refused to leave the house. 

Yongsoo suggested perhaps the kid could take up some martial arts classes, which Minji deemed to be a wonderful idea. She insisted that he should follow her back and talk to the young man himself to see if this would work. 

Guess she thought he was offering to teach himself when he was in reality going to offer up his Friday night drinking buddy. 

Well, he did have Sunday mornings free, technically, and should be able to teach. 

“And that’s what happened.” He summarized the situation for the pianist named Soohyun after Minji half dragged him over. The man did indeed look like he required strengthening - both in the body and the spirit. “Are you interested in martial arts lessons? My name is Jung Yongsoo, by the way, I am the fire chief here.” 

When had announced to Soohyun that Minji was going on her regular weekend shopping trip and would be back in a few hours with the necessities for the week, he hadn’t expected her to bring back a man as well. It wasn’t as if the house needed more than just the two of them, even if Soohyun was more or less useless in most household tasks. The combination of a sheltered, wealthy upbringing and weaker limbs than most meant he was often relegated to simple tasks that would be usually given to a small, clumsy child.

He tried not to think too much about that though.

Said caregiver was bustling away in the kitchen now, making tea and pulling out snacks onto pristine little plates for the three of them to have together. Soohyun listened to the comforting sounds of water boiling, the clinking of metal chopsticks against plates, Minji’s feet shuffling around the kitchen. It was nicer than listening to the older man’s spiel. If Soohyun hadn’t known any better, he would have thought perhaps Minji had been scammed and the man was going to rob them blind.

Not that there was much to steal from the house. 

He turned his head back to the fire chief. He looked friendly enough, although most people didn’t look as cruel as they were capable of being. Maybe Minji brought him back because she thought he was handsome, like the actors in the dramas she liked to watch while folding laundry. Soohyun twisted his hands beneath the table, holding back a scoff at the older man’s question.

Martial arts lessons?

Even when Soohyun was more than this, more than jagged broken pieces of a person being held together with tape and shoddy handiwork, he wouldn’t have ever thought about doing something like martial arts. He had never been athletic, wheezing at the short laps he was forced to run during physical education classes. Especially now, where the most exercise he got were physical therapy lessons and short walks around the house. 

Yoo Hangyeol did not have a fear of heights, per se. Someone once whispered about the irony of it all — a man of six feet two inches with acrophobia. Reasonably so, he thought any person would find themselves hesitant to venture to high up places without a safety net. He recalls the way his stomach dropped the first time he climbed Hongsi Hill with his grandfather, looking down onto the town from such a distance ( to the point of them appearing as ants ) did nothing for the thin film of sweat forming on his palms and temple. But he was taught to overcome his worst fears.

His father and grandfather urged that exposure therapy was one of the most efficient ways. Trudging up and down Hongsi Hill and the lighthouse itself did wonders by forcing it into his routine, and soon enough, he found himself incorporating more into his lifestyle. He was certainly no adrenaline junkie. However, climbing into a tree seemed to easily be the next logical step.

His back rests against the trunk, legs wrapped around a thick branch and propped up on another. The perfect location to indulge and immerse himself in his latest book. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The cover caught his eye — it depicts a monstrous giant squid attacking a submarine. Perhaps the choice is morbid given the recent circumstances that befell the island but it was a true reflection of Hangyeol’s curiosity, nothing malicious about it.

He twists in his spot, attempting to adjust after being jarred by the sudden appearance of another person. One that glances his way, at that. It doesn’t take long for the world to go upside down. He tumbles from the tree within seconds, landing on the ground with a resound thud. “Shit!” How embarrassing.

If Soohyun had thought he could have gotten away from the encounter with just brief eye contact, he was sorely mistaken. Instead, he watched with no small amount of horror and confusion as the man in the tree proceeded to fall from his high perch and onto the ( thankfully ) grassy ground beneath him. For a horrifying moment, Soohyun wondered if he had just watched someone die or get critically injured, but the loud SHIT that came from where the man landed told him that, at the very least, he survived the fall. 

Soohyun rushed over to where the man fell, taking in his sprawled out body on the floor. “Oh God.” Soohyun said, hands covering his mouth. He took a few steps closer, reaching a hand out to the man. “Are you alright? You were up rather high on that tree. Do I need to call for help?”

The man looked vaguely familiar, but the island was so small that he wouldn’t be surprised if they had run into each other before, despite Soohyun’s past few months as a relative recluse. His eyes caught on the book the man had been reading, which fell a few feet away from where the man landed. He picked it up, stomach turning when he took in the giant squid on the cover. How...apt of a book to be reading. 

OOC // Provide your final answer to the random encounter in character. You may respond as you see fit in a reply to this submit. This will count for activity.

He couldn’t remember what he told her anymore. 

The charms hanging above their heads fluttered gently in the autumn wind. If he looked up and focused, he could make out the wishes written on the low hanging charms. White slips with crowded words. Someone had wished for a brief winter. Someone else wished that their crush would like them back. Simple, easy wishes. He wondered when the last time he could have thought of wishes that nice was. 

His internal musings were interrupted when someone else stepped up to the wish writing table next to him. A quick glance revealed a man dressed warmly. He was handsome, if a little familiar. Maybe he had one of those faces. 

His caretaker’s voice echoed in his head. Be friendly, Soohyun-ah. He glanced again at the man standing next to him, both their wish slips still blank. “What are you planning on wishing for?”

childhood, the reprise / @gswsoohyun

she’s dragging her feet out of the diner, another shift to check off for the week in her little planner she keeps inside her desk at home. hyemi’s old school like that in certain aspects, using a paper tracker rather than her phone which would be the easier thing. but there’s something nostalgic about writing things down, something satisfactory about being able to either cross them or check them off. don’t ask. she says with a smile whenever someone does.  the skies are clear and despite it being a little later into the evening than she would prefer to be walking home in, she doesn’t entirely mind the quiet road home; it’s almost peaceful. 

with earphones in and music blasting to void the silence as she walks, she’s barely noticing her surroundings–– dangerous, she’s aware. what she isn’t so much aware of is the other person in her path and it’s only when they collide and she almost falls backwards that she’s snapping out of her mini trance. she hits the ground with a gentle ‘thud’, hands instinctively held outwards to soften the impact though that leaves her with dirt covered palms. there’s a pause before she collects herself, slinging her purse that had fallen to the ground back onto her shoulder, rubbing her palms together to brush off the dirt before she pulls herself upwards. 

it’s then that she meets eyes with the stranger she had collided with–– though perhaps stranger is the wrong word choice.

“soo?” the childhood nickname falls from her lips like it’s second nature, a name she hadn’t uttered in years and a face she hadn’t seen in an equally long period of time. kang soohyun, a part of her history she had been forced to erase after a medical procedure gone wrong and a part of her history she hadn’t been allowed to reclaim after being assigned to a private suite in the psych ward of seoul national university’s hospital. “what are you doing here?” she manages to mutter out, her voice laced with both fear and yearning. 

There was very little about Soohyun’s past he liked to dwell on. The only tether to who he was before he moved to the island was Minji, his caretaker. He knew she sent regular updates about his care to his parents, thoughtful messages detailing his daily activities and progress. He wished he could tell her she didn’t need to take such care, that his parents likely weren’t the ones to read the messages anyway. He could imagine his mom’s assistant perusing the emails so she could leave a post it note summary for her to read later.

Just a reminder that he was still alive, he guessed. 

The past was the past, and Soohyun, perhaps naively, thought that this random little island would be a safe haven from anything that reminded him of things that hurt too much to think about. For a while, it was. Until now.

He felt the thump of another person’s body crashing into his, sending him reeling backwards as he tried to find his balance. The other individual wasn’t as lucky, colliding onto the floor. He almost offered a hand, when an all too familiar face greeted him. 

There were a number of strange things that happened since Soohyun had moved onto the island, including the horror of being perceived ( or, as his caretaker liked to put it, making friends ) and the collective island wide trauma of watching a massive squid creature rise up from the sea and gut a man before their eyes. 

You know. Regular weird things that happen with moving to a new place.

But seeing a man crouched on a tree branch like an overgrown owl was definitely putting Soohyun a bit more off kilter than having people know his name. His caretaker had encouraged him to go on a walk while she did her biweekly deep clean of the house. Something about how he needed sun and independence and definitely not because the last time he had tried to help, he had knocked over a bottle of bleach onto the nice living room rug. 

Walking around the park this early on a weekday usually meant there was no one else around, which was probably for the best, considering Soohyun’s deficiencies as a conversationalist. It was a perfectly normal walk, until he looked up into the tree and saw a man there. Soohyun definitely would have just shuffled away as quickly as possible, the way he does whenever he sees the weirdos who preach praises a little too hard about the squid they all saw murder two people last week, but then he made the fatal mistake of making eye contact.

Fuck.

There was something awfully daunting about this event. It wasn’t just the pure, unadulterated happiness it brought. There was a tinge of nostalgia that laced with it and whispered into his ears stories of the past—before his life had sped up and was flooded with responsibilities and other, deeper, darker turns he had taken in regards of how he had chosen to be as a person. 

The grilled squid in his hand brought memories of walking around with his nanny as a child, and the way she’d have him indulge in anything his heart desired. Memories—they flashed and glimmered, romanticized by the time that had passed. 

It’d been fun, but those times were long over and Noeul had come to the conclusion they’d never return, either. 

The man next to him appeared to be wearing the same solemn expression. Noeul momentarily pondered what kind of ghosts plagued his life, what type of circumstances had caused him to frown rather than smile at the joyous sight in front of him. “Here. It’s good.” he interrupted the silence between them by thrusting the food in front of the stranger’s face. 

Easy encouragement spilled into his expression, characterized by a sense of warmth in the way it dominated the curling of the corners of his eyes, the way in which he gazed. Noeul was not one to linger in his thoughts for too long, and something told him that the stranger was in dire need of some distraction, too. 

“I think a smile would fit you much better than that frown, you know.” he punctuated his words with another smile. Somehow they ended up in this moment, something straight out of a movie without a definite genre, without a date, a plot, just a scene where the light hit two strangers in the right way.

Soohyun glanced to his side, taking in the stranger by his side. The man was handsome, with strong features that looked more fitting on a fashion editorial than by his side on the busy beach of an island town that was more myth than reality. He had a blinding smile, with picture perfect white teeth that almost made Soohyun want to squint. Or maybe just pull out a pair of sunglasses, if he had any. 

He glanced away from the stranger’s face to look down at the offered squid. Despite having been on the island for at least a month, he hadn’t really taken the chance to try much of the island’s delicacies. His plain diet followed predictable, nutritious meals that his caretaker could easily put together without distracting her from watching over Soohyun and making sure he didn’t accidentally trip down the stairs or something.

Or whatever it was that his therapist was afraid would happen if he was left on his own for too long. 

The words coming from the other man’s mouth were friendly and easy going. It matched the vibes of the day, bright and sunny and carefree. Soohyun could hear the children in front of them laughing, people talking animatedly as they explored the event. Still, Soohyun couldn’t bring himself to completely trust the words coming from him.

You’d be prettier if you smiled.

He had heard the sentiment before. He had never really listened to it. Soohyun wasn’t interested in being prettier.

She had even stuck a post it with the festival details on his bedroom door. 

He was still hazy to the exact mythology of the island, although his caretaker had been enthusiastic about it. A classic city girl charmed by the quirks of a seaside town. Soohyun thought he might have been interested in it too, if he could bring himself to actually speak to someone about it. But that required leaving the house for more than just the daily walks he had been prescribed. 

A few feet in front of him, he watched a young couple playfully grab squid from the enclosure at the edge of the water, the girl wiggling away in laughter as her boyfriend tried to convince her to kiss the squid in his hands. By their side, a mother helped her child reach their hand into the clear water, voice soft. He felt his hands twitch. For a moment, he wished he could join them. His face turned downward in a frown, eyes glancing at his own shaky hands. 

He had thought he had gotten over that kind of wishful thinking. He thought he was alone, when he felt an arm brush against his own.