#pre-gen

Shingen opened his eyes. Instinctively, he reached out to his left, where the elderly Hinako lay in her own bed. The dog awoke at his petting and scooched over to rest her chin on his stomach.

He couldn't remember the last time he dreamed of you.

Was it a sign from the heavens?

Your ghost?

The current Yamazaki leader scowled and sat up straight, earning a whine of annoyance from the startled Hinako.

No, I shouldn't think like that, he scolded himself.

You were alive. He can feel it.

You were probably upset with him for not protecting you, that's why neither he nor Shintaro received any letters. You were hiding on purpose.

That's okay. He'll get on his hands and knees if he has to.

He already finished cleaning up here. All that's left is to apologize and bring you back home, where you rightfully belonged.

But before that, he had to find you.

Today was your day off and out of curiosity, you decided to see the Yamazaki statue for yourself. [4]

Four men stood atop the gargantuan, circular platform. The first man was in uniform, accompanied by an adorable Akita by his feet. The second man wore a montsuki[5] and carried a needlessly long sword. The third man boasted a Western-style suit.

It was about as self-aggrandizing as you expected, especially the gigantic asshole behind the three. (Literally gigantic—all of these statues were fifty times bigger than an average person.) The fourth figure, who you assumed to be the boss, was positioned higher than the others. His short hair was slicked back, his face serious and contemplative as he gazed into the distance. He also wore a montsuki, two swords hung from his obi.[6] "This is a man to be feared." That's probably what the sculptor had in mind.

However, no matter how much you stared at the statue, you did not feel one bit scared. You were cold though.

Just as you cursed yourself for not wearing something thicker than the sweater Minseon knitted for you, a familiar weight fell over your shoulders. It was Gapryong's leather jacket.

"I wish I were that statue—" he slid towards your side, grinning cheekily "—and have noona stare at me all day."

Gapryong: (๑ > ؂•̀ ๑)

You: (ㆆᴗㆆ)

You: (─ ᴗ ─)

"I bet you say that to all the girls when there's a statue, you playboy." You attacked his cheeks with your index fingers.

"Oho—you caught me!" He chuckled, not bothering to stop your poking.

"Be careful, Gapryong. If more girls fall for you, then you'll have to stop seeing me."

He stopped laughing and held your hands, expression serious for once. "That will never happen."

You blinked, then you pulled back your arms. "Didn't you just have a break up? Why are you here?"

"It wasn't a break up."

"Your girlfriend slapped you in a room full of people. That's a break up if I ever saw one." Last night wasn't the only time. Gapryong got slapped a lot. After every incident, you offered him ice—to which he would pout until you personally pressed it to his face.

You would always tell him to stop fooling around so he wouldn't get hated by his girlfriend, but he would always say the same thing:

"She wasn't my girlfriend. I told her that we're only together to have fun. Guess she was hoping I'd change my mind."

"If you say so."

You stared at him.

"…you're making me blush, noona. You have something to say?"

"I was thinking, maybe the reason you can't keep a girlfriend—or whatever you call them—is because of me."

"!!!"

"So I was thinking…"

Gapryong took a big gulp. Is this it? Is noona actually—

"Maybe we should cut back on our time together."

"…?"

"You and I have been each other's family since we were kids, but it's not like we're blood-related. Outsiders can easily mistake our relationship to be… less than innocent. It must be hard for your girlfr—er, for those girls to see you spend so much time with a random woman."

"…y-you've been thinking about this a lot, huh."

"Yeah, but funnily enough, now that I've said it out loud, I feel kinda sad. It's hard to let go—" you gave him a self-deprecating smile "—because I think I like having you all to myself."

Gapryong bit his lower lip. He felt like crying.

He then reached for your hands again. "Noona, I—"

"You're freezing!—hold on." You gently shook him off and fished inside your purse.

You handed him a small, flat box wrapped with a pale blue ribbon. "Here."

"This is…"

"Girls don't like guys with cold hands."

Gapryong stared at the gloves. Leather gloves. His name was stitched onto both of them. No way these were cheap.

"Okay, so leather isn't great for keeping you warm, but I figured you preferred it over wool mittens. Besides, you think I don't know about the trouble you keep getting into? Leather's perfect for protecting your hands when punching—"

"…them."

"Hm?"

"I'm never using them—I'll store these gloves in a safe and treat them as an heirloom."

"Are you nuts? The whole point is for you to wear them!"

"They're mine now so I get to decide how to use them!"

"It isn't 'using them' if you're not wearing them, idiot. Hand those over!"

"No!"

"Gapryong!" You snatched the box from his grip—though you knew it was only because he let you. "I swear, you act like such a kid sometimes. Come on."

You motioned for his hands and he obediently complied.

"There!"

Both gloves fit like, well, a glove.

Hands still connected, you swung your arms with his while you admired your gift. "I was worried they'd be too small." You raised your head, face beaming with pride. "But they're fine, right?"

"Don't worry." Gapryong mirrored your smile and squeezed your fingers. "They're perfect."

[1] I can't remember if I gave an age bracket for the Pre-Gen cast, but let's not overthink it. Onee-san/Noona is older and that's all that matters XD

[2] Hinako. This is the name of Noona's beloved dog. I was debating whether or not to give her a funny food-based name like Nugget the Goldfish, but I recently played Silent Hill f so Hinako it is.

[3] Hyakunin Isshu: Japanese. A collection of 100 poems by 100 poets. I'll leave Noona's favorite poem as a secret for now. But I'm pretty sure some of you already know what it is wahaha

[4] If you're up to date with Lookism then you know which statue I'm talking about. Once Webtoon releases the chapter, I'll link it here. lolol our baby brother has one hell of an ego. I can't wait to crush it.

[5] Montsuki. Japanese traditional menswear. See here for more details: https://korokai.com/blogs/japanese-fashion/traditional-japanese-clothing-for-men?srsltid=AfmBOorHdIyTEcxN-0xbnn7sQbFnHEIgFFHaZ9z-WdUvIpJmR0Y2eVhR

[6] Obi. Japanese. Belt/sash used to secure a kimono, etc.

a/n: in fairness, kinilig ako. Gapryong, you damn charming bastard, you actually got me to like you lolol

taglist: @sm3156, @placid-plastic, @mousetrapss, @yin-yun, @ixchelhernandez4, @janeisnotonline, @cocooola, @ficrepostblog, @peachmangoe, @saltyeli, @pauxf013, @sugarrushbell, @sleepingzzzzz, @eyeless-kun, @sh0jun, @kitty-chan33, @elizaliza159, @noxus123, @linasxoxo, @luckyangelballoon, @misshyori, @rosehoneycomb, @sparrowwithaquill, @karinasari, @tronnily, @cherryeden, @chrimsonkitty, @olympianknightwing, @asmaraloca, @vmkl, @akire-slayzy, @mappleppi, @sirairi, @zoros-earring, @jhsluvv

If you want to be part of the taglist, please leave a comment on the masterlist so I don't lose track. Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: The images used are screencaptures from Ep. 525, 530, 413, 359 & 519 - Lookism, Webtoon.

Next Episode: Sunshine