#languageoftheunheard

He hears the chaos before he sees any signs of it. Loud, angry voices reach his ears from down the street, and he starts from his blank daydreaming to look around. Things in the cafe are still peaceful and calm, but as the noises get louder, customers start looking around warily. It takes a moment for Hyunwoo to single out a couple of voices, and it takes him a few seconds to realize the cause of the fuss. 

These sorts of demonstrations and clashes aren’t out of the ordinary, but things are hardly ever this loud. He doesn’t think of himself having a ‘side’. He used to be human, and now he’s a mutant. He doesn’t really care what others do as long as he can keep to himself and live simply. He doesn’t understand the conflict. So he stays out of it, and choose not to pick a side. 

There’s a shot that rings out, and Hyunwoo tenses for a second before forcing himself to breathe deeply and steadily. When he gets back to reality, he can sense the tension in the cafe. People are fidgety, having perhaps heard the starts of panic. Two customers get up and head towards the door, and he forces himself to remember that he’s a cafe worker who has no place in this argument that’s happening close by. He’s a cafe worker and his responsibility is providing a good service to customers. So he robotically wishes them a good day as the door opens and closes. 

There are a few more gunshots that sound, closer now, with screams following this time. There’s panic in the air, and Hyunwoo stands there conscious that his heart is hammering inside his chest. He becomes hyperaware of his body, of his hands and fingers, clenched around a metal bar behind the counter, of his feet, planted firmly on the ground, as though he can plant himself more deeply into the ground and that would keep him safe.