dreaming with a broken heart

couldn’t stop the silent laugh at jongsu’s question. his ribs nearly hurting with how long he had been laughing for. wiping a fake tear from his eyes he shook his head, “i let them assume whatever they want. clearly, i am a crazed sex maniac that will fuck anyone and then kill them,” while the humor was the more prominent tone, to the well-trained ear for talon’s mannerisms, the annoyance ran deeper. even hearing the fact that the officers were mooning over him. of course, they were. he was a siren. worse than those vampires everyone liked to read about..

“i hope they choke on their drool,” was low, almost growled but said none the less as he leaned closer to hear the whisper that was sent his way. again, a laugh. more guttural. almost cruel in it’s follow up. “at this point i almost wish i did. then it would make all of this bullshit worth it.” he responded before leaning away to eye the room around them annoyingly. “he wasn’t my type.”

"No offense, but I think it would be best if we remained just friends. I like keeping my head. Besides, you seem a bit... high maintenance for me." Maybe funny, considering he had once been married to a princess.

"Of course not. You have eyes. And ears," he said. Jongsu sighed. "Am I going to have to break you out or are you going to behave? Or...?" Well, really, if he wanted to Jiho could seduce his way out of his cell easily and murder everyone with little issue. His song was quite powerful. "Whatever you choose, I am here for you."

his wallet's aching just thinking about it. they're not going to go easy on him if they find out what kept him, either. daphne had already given him a hard time the last time he'd ditched her for jongsu, he can't do it again. "nah, the treaty day shit was super boring, the nymph stuff's way cooler. don't have to create my own entertainment here. though now i'm on the hook for buying drinks for the friends i came with, which kinda sucks."

speaking of nymphs... snapping his gum in thought, remi gives jongsu a onceover, not terribly surprised by this turn of events. it seems everyone he meets has some supernatural shit going on in this fucking place. "i mean, there's nothing in the forest that eats cute twinks, right? i'm probably good in that case." he can feel his phone going off in his pocket, rummaging through the pouch of his hoodie - he'd actually dressed for the weather this time! and it wasn't even controversial or anything! unless you somehow found his high school baseball team offensive, in which case, get well soon! - until he finds it.

biggest problem: did you dead ??? wya

Jongsu wrinkled an eyebrow, wondering what Remi was talking about. "George of the Jungle?" he asked. Though, he didn't get the reference, he soon figured out what Remi meant based on the context. Oh. Right. His clothing. Or, well, lack thereof.

He shrugged. "Is it? I didn't really notice. I guess it's one of the benefits of being part of the river. I just want to feel as connected to nature as possible during this time of year. Though, if I was wearing my glamour, I would probably feel a bit differently." Maybe it was because he was a half-blood, but he swore he felt more human when he looked human. It could have also just been in his head.

thankfully, it had worked out in his favour - most things do, the lucky little shit - and he'd made many new friends by the time the first week had ended. the first of which, as she will proudly tell anyone who will listen, was a nymph named daphne, who had sat beside him in his sociology class and loudly declared that he was weird looking, but cute, and could she possibly braid his hair for him?

they'd been attached at the hip ever since. although she'd assured him that she was not, in fact, named after the scooby doo character - which like, he kinda figured? he didn't know a ton about greek mythology or anything, but he knew enough - it didn't stop her from calling him the shaggy to her daphne, the two of them always up to something. she's no becca, sure, but no one ever could be.

the revelry is no different. she's excited to show him around, and he's excited to be shown around. workshops about ecology are the exact type of nerdy shit he's into, and to have it surrounded by a party? lit.

currently, he's running through the forest, having been challenged to make it from the lair where the festivities are happening to a nearby clearing before daphne and some of their other friends can, loser has to pay for drinks. although there's a bunch of people around, he can't see any of his friends, turning to look behind him at perhaps the most inopportune moment, crashing directly into someone and nearly falling on his ass.

He was already elusive to begin with, so it was easy to blend into the shadows. But, here he was, running into Remi again. Maybe he was fated to keep spending time with this random college student. Well, there were definitely worst things.

"Not getting into trouble again, are we?" he asked, jokingly. Remi seemed like the kind to attract trouble. But, in a fun way. "Are you here to start a water fight at the river? Just so you know, you will definitely be outmatched here."

Jongsu began speaking the language of their people. It had been so long, but it came to him comfortably. "Have you been asleep this entire time?" he asked. "You know... It has been a while."

Maybe he should have let them sleep more, but with the Spring Revelry around the corner... he was a bit nostalgic. Besides, he was tired of being aimless in Hanjeong. He wanted roots. He wanted a family. Frankly, he was a little lonely.

another time, maybe. this isn't about him, not right now.

"yeah, yeah, 'course." swallowing past the lump in his throat, remi leans over, head butting against jongsu's arm affectionately, like some sort of overgrown cat. he rights himself quickly enough, though, as people take notice of their arrival, everyone moving in to greet jongsu animatedly.

People often asked why someone as non-materialistic as Jongsu owned such a large home. Really, this was the reason. Not all of his family enjoyed sleeping out in nature (though he had a nice backyard for those that did). Some preferred a nice bed, so he always wanted to be prepared. Personally, he usually preferred the hammock.

Jongsu was overwhelmed by the amount of family suddenly standing in front of him. Some used the Black Sand Smugglers and others swam there. But, here they all were. To give their opinions about Remi. His boyfriend. This would be fine. Definitely.

Deciding to make things clear to the children (and after having been assured by everyone that this was not, in fact, considered lewd anymore among humans), he put an arm around Remi's waist. A few of them raised eyebrows, as he wasn't usually one for public displays of affection.

but... but... this is important to jongsu. obviously so: he's been talking about introducing remi to his family since day one. so he's got to at least try, yeah? he's cleaned up as best he can: he's not even wearing a t-shirt! his hair isn't just haphazardly styled! there's a completely normal amount of bracelets on his arms! thankfully, for as much as lock complains about how much remi bothers him and how he needs to stop texting him if it's not about buying something, he'd at least been willing to come over and look through the mess called remi's closet, picking out something that didn't make him look like, well... a college-age almost-terrorist, without making him look like some sort of try-hard loser.

that doesn't mean he feels comfortable about it, though. fidgeting with one of the rolled sleeves of his shirt, he's spending probably too long trying to figure out how the hell lock had made them lay so flat so easily the first time, whenever remi is struggling to even roll one to match the other side. dude is like a wizard, hand to god, someone should probably look into it because how the hell can someone be- "a duel? i'm out here worrying that i won't be able to keep up with a bunch of people speaking korean at me all at once, and you're telling me someone might challenge me to a duel?"

the whole thing feels very... sink or swim, if he's being honest. make or break, even, like he'll either make a good impression, or this'll be the last time he spends time with jongsu. no pressure or anything! he hasn't even wrapped his brain fully around the fact that jongsu has grandkids, let alone great-grandkids, so like, honestly, why this seemed like a good idea to anyone at all is beyond him.

"Oh, some of them speak English," Jongsu said, completely missing Remi's point. "A few are currently in America. Some in Europe. Though, they'll all probably speak Korean from my sake." After all, it had been sixty years since he had really used his English. It was a lost skill for him.

Many of his kids would probably be fine with Jongsu having someone new in his life, even if it had been a while. The thing with his brother in arms had not exactly worked out (different times, he supposed; thankfully, Jongsu had gotten out before he was completely in). Really, he had only felt romantic love twice. With his second wife and with Remi.

Unfortunately, some of his children, despite it being centuries, had trouble letting go of their mothers. "Don't worry, I won't leave you alone." He opted not to mention the potential of one of his daughters trying to wrestle him. "One of my kids is a chef, so dinner should be good at least. Though, it's all pescatarian."

His mouth went a little dry as they stood there in the doorway. "Um, my kids that have passed... their pictures will be on the mantel. So they can join us today. Make sure to say hi."

remi blinks. perhaps not quite as young as he'd thought jongsu to be, then. either that, or he'd had kids young.

"oh, yeah. that would be cool. i mean, i don't know really any deaf people around here yet." is jongsu trying to set him up with his kid or something? people always pull that oh, let me introduce you to my... whenever they're trying to set you up, don't they? then again, jongsu's kid can't possibly be remi's age. that math doesn't... math right. "i'm not totally deaf, just mostly. i didn't wanna ruin my hearing aids, though. water-resistant, not water-proof, yknow?"

if jongsu having a son was a revelation, the fact he didn't watch movies might be more egregious, brow furrowing in confusion. "what do you mean you don't watch tv or movies? what do you like... do with your time? no offense." documentaries? what was he, 80? "yeah, captain america's pretty cool. bucky's my favourite in the movies. i like the comic book version of hawkeye best, though. he's like me. deaf, bi, and dumb."

Jongsu hadn't seen his son in a while. He wondered if he had finally given and bought himself hearing aids. His son was a stubborn child and not fond of change. Much like Jongsu himself now that he thought about it. It was amazing how much they had in common, considering a lack of biological relationship.

He thought for a moment about all the things he did with his off-time. "Depends on the time," he said. He had picked up assorted odd hobbies throughout the years. "Consistently, I like archives and museums. I already have a degree in history." How old was that thing now? Was it time to update it? "Oh, and sports." That seemed like a good way to refer to his swordsmanship.

KANG HA NEUL as YOO JAE HEON