Whispers of an Eternity: Chapter 3
Title:Whispers of an Eternity
Author: chaebol
Length: (3/?)
Genre: Angst, Humor, Romance, Suspense, Slight drama, thriller
Pairing: JinSung (main), WooDong, Ricdy
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): Might have some explicit sexual content later
Summary: Park Choongjae, one of the best Alchemists around the city of Seoul and dedicators in his time in the art of Alchemy. A dying practice and one of the last survivors against technology advancements and financially supportive businesses, whom wish nothing more than to use him for mass production. Seeking escape, Choongjae goes beyond his ancestors and attempts to find the legendary elixir, the sorcerer’s stone or known as the equation to life- a life that may make his much easier to comprehend.
He just didn’t expect the rocky road blocks and a beautiful man along the way.
Previous: Chapter 1/ Chapter 2
Chapter 3
“No”
The first and last answer Choongjae got from the pretty man. His mouth opened slightly to voice his objections but for once, the alchemist didn’t seem to have much of a reasonable argument for purposing such an idea. It wasn’t like he necessarily needed to learn how to conjure flames without any significant symbol, however, it would be useful to posses it.
“Why?” Choongjae swallowed. “Why can you not teach me your flame?” He mumbled and his lips tremble a little. It was absolutely unacceptable.
“Isn’t that rude, Choongjae?” Dongwan interrupted. “I mean, you just met the guy and now you want to learn how to make the flames?” He questioned and Minwoo nodded, both eyeing the alchemist warily.
“But why not? It’s an offensive tactic and it can be useful advantage in battle. Didn’t you see how he was using it to destroy that guy? He also did it without a transfusion circle, which makes it even more unbelievable.” Choongjae argued in his defense and the other two weren’t convinced of his logical reasoning because they were quite aware that his ‘alchemy logic’ weren’t always ‘logical.’
Also, it didn’t really make sense to people who aren’t interested in science-or wondered about these things in general, Choongjae concluded.
Unfortunately, the three continued to argue, unaware of the said person being argued over his abilities was being ignored. There were some sparks in the air and it stopped all conversations, including arguments- midway.
Slowly, the flame alchemist finally spoke up.
“Yah! Shut up! I don’t care if this flame can use be battle or not. I rather live to see the next day than bicker if having fire and sparks can make me live or not!” Hyesung shouted. The air felt slightly warmer around him, the side of his soft hair covered the side of his face, sparks cracked around his body like fireworks, and his eyes burn with rage.
He was angry, Choongjae knew- they all knew. But the man was also tired, Choongjae observed with caution because it seemed that the pretty man’s control was either slipping or the usage of his flame took too much effort to produce that they had suddenly died down the moment it came in.
Either way, Choongjae felt a bit terrified when Hyesung frowned specifically at him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fascinated with the display of flames bouncing around and leaving trails of light all over the place. And because he was utterly fascinated, he didn’t realize Hyesung’s lips have been moving and had been mumbling words in a sort of mantra for awhile now.
“I can’t.” Hyesung said with his voice almost low as a whisper. He shook his head and repeated himself, “I can’t.”
The three of them looked at the pretty man, all silent and just staring at him in awe, shock, and surprise. It was unusual to see the pretty man unease and Choongjae nearly wanted to hold the other man in his embrace, tightly in a hug and soothe him.
Unbelievably, he was on the verge of doing so until he stopped himself once Hyesung brought his head up and looked at the rest of them. The flames reducing to nothing but dust and the air felt cold as morning approached.
“It’s not that I don’t wish you teach you. I am unable to.”
He said with more firmness, contradicting with his attitude he had displayed earlier, and the alchemist finally understood.
He’s under a contract. Choongjae thought. He heard about the contracts from his father. They were the most dangerous and it required an exchange of equal value, which can even include the person’s life at times- or more. Usually those under contracts were sworn to secrecy for the knowledge they’ve obtained in the equal trade and on the pretty man’s case, it seemed that he has received the knowledge to conjure up the flame without an actual symbol.
However, what did the man give up in exchange? And with who did he cast the agreement with?
“See? He can’t teach you anyway, Choongjae.” Minwoo mocked with composure, as if they hadn’t been interrupted at all, and he heard some giggling from Dongwan until the said man suggested, “If anything, Hyesung can always protect us, right?” He pointed to Hyesung and the pretty man nodded, satisfied with the other two helping to persuade the alchemist.
“I won’t stay long.” He perked up and more sparks came into view.
Now that Choongjae thought about it, he was no different than the people who wanted him to fulfill their desires even though they do not necessarily need his abilities to operate their business or keep themselves at a good standing with their status. This jostled his inside more than he thought and the alchemist couldn’t believe how he could let his greed fool him into doing something utterly stupid.
“Ah, yes. You’re right. I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested such a thing.” He sighed a little. “You can stay.”
If Choongjae wasn’t looking at the pretty man, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the small smile gracing the other’s lips. He let out another sigh (hopefully his last) for the night and went to sleep.
He can deal with it in the morning.
- ->
Morning came quick for all of them, Minwoo being the first to wake up and fetch some water from a nearby river. It came out of habit, really, waking up when the sun was barely rising, fetch water, feed the horses in the stables, and gather some wood. Though, he was still far from home and needed to travel to the next town for some supplies before heading back- oh, and dropping off Choongjae and the others, who were all still asleep. He owed them a favor after all.
He took out the basin he brought along and filled it up, doing some stretches while he waited, and taking in some nice fresh air that was clearly better than a polluted city. He exhaled with a long sigh and decided to head back, listening to the morning birds chirp until something caught his eye.
It was a man clad in a white suit, eyeing everything with an intrigued expression. He looked out of place- well, Minwoo would be stupid if he didn’t think so when the said man seemed highly suspicious and it gave Minwoo enough reason to holler at him.
“Yah, who are you and what are you doing here?” He demanded from the strange fellow passing by. He didn’t feel obligated to be nice to the stranger, not when there’s something fishy going on. It’s not every day you see someone walking in the woods with a suit- especially one that walked with a very expensive cane and top hat. The stranger’s shoes rustle over the grass and he turned to stare at the other man before stepping forward. He took his time and that irritated Minwoo because once the man came closer, he could see the difference in height- it didn’t take a genius, maybe, to figure it out.
“Hey, you there.” The strange man called after Minwoo, as if he only barely realized the other man had just come into his view a moment ago. However, he probably did with those very long legs and wide shoulders- Minwoo was very envious, indeed.
“Have you seen a guy with brown hair and wearing a black cloak?” The stranger asked rudely and Minwoo took this chance to put his head high and straighten up on his toes too look taller- not that he needs to- but he would look cooler and he wanted the other man to feel it. He wasn’t going to take shit from any obnoxious tall regular guy in a suit.
“Who wants to know?” He challenged, stepping forward until his nose was merely a few centimeters away from- sadly, the taller guy’s chin. He wasn’t exactly sure who the guy was talking about, but if he was going to give him a horse-ass attitude, Minwoo wasn’t about to oblige.
“Oh, so you do know. Do you mind telling me?” The man smirked and Minwoo could see how long the stranger’s eyelashes were. Those eyes blinked with innocence, but obviously held an ulterior motive and Minwoo was all too familiar with these types of eyes. He knew a money-maker when he sees one because the only things that ran through their mind were the ill strategies to take down their competition and be the most beneficial and profitable amongst all.
He swallowed. “I’ll tell you how to get back to your mother’s womb because what was she thinking when she gave birth to an asshole like you?” Smirking, Minwoo expected a hard punch or even a wispy slap, but neither came and the man before him tucked away any visible expression underneath a mask and simply stared Minwoo down.
Surely Minwoo hated it, but it was still sweet delight to know he had struck a chord somewhere. Hopefully, up this bastard’s ass.
“I see English is not your first language.” The stranger countered, however, Minwoo wasn’t fazed and even if he was, the guy would land himself a black eye already. “And it looks like I must be going. Business is always important and so is breakfast, Minwoo.”
The man finished and started walking away, leaving a surprised Minwoo standing there with his thoughts and just how did the man even know his name.
After a few minutes, Minwoo remembered where he was and took his basin back to the others, muttering a few words under his breath.
“What a bastard.”
- ->
When Minwoo returned, Choongjae was already awake and reading a book this time, papers scattered around him while Hyesung glanced around the fallen notes quietly. He turned to the stove and found Dongwan making something- most likely something under Choongjae’s instructions- Minwoo only hoped it was edible because he was seriously hungry and they needed to head out soon.
“Oh, you’re back, Minwoo-nim.” Minwoo swooned at the extended ‘nim,’ he accepted all praises and Dongwan sure knew how to give it to him.
“Mornin’ to you too, Dongwan-sshi.” He smiled, taking a glance at the pot and sighed when he recognize what stew looked like. He handed the water to Dongwan, who took it gratefully, and sat down on the grass, waiting for breakfast to be done.
“You don’t look too well. Did something happen?” Dongwan brought up, concern evident on his face.
Quietly, Minwoo recalled the man he met a moment ago and frowned when he remembered how the other had left him so frustrated. “Yeah, some classy guy lost in the woods. I had to tell him which way back to the city.” He lied-half-lied. He didn’t feel like telling them that he met the biggest money-making snob, who killed his morning and left him in the quiet woods to think how the hell does he know his name?
It was frustrating and Minwoo didn’t feel like bragging how he told the guy off on an empty stomach either- and he never turned down bragging like an idiot.
He dug into his food like a hungry man.
“Wait, what if he was also after Choongjae? Like that guy who came last night?” Dongwan asked, suddenly grabbing everyone’s attention. The images of a man in the dark attempting to bring the alchemist back to the city but died burning under Hyesung’s flames.
Minwoo didn’t think about it this way and now he really wished that he threw a punch at that man. He rubbed his forehead and made a mental note to do it next time- if there’s a next time.
“Then let’s get going.” Choongjae scrambled for his things and packed them back together in a rush. The sun felt like it was moving faster than usual as Minwoo cared for the horses, making sure everything was properly secured in his truck.
Once everyone boarded, Minwoo took a glance at his side mirror and noticed Choongjae holding steadily onto Hyesung so he wouldn’t fall off. He made another mental note to tease the alchemist later, but also realize the way Hyesung responded back to him.
Have you seen a guy with brown hair and wearing a black cloak?
Minwoo observed closely to Hyesung’s hair and how the black cloth hugged around his body closely. The man’s voice echoed in his head like an annoying mantra. Quickly, he snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Dongwan called from the back that they were ready.
He took one last glance and shook his head, “nah, can’t be.” He muttered before starting the engine and speeding off to the next city.
A/N: Hello all! :D I know it has been forever (if anyone reads it here). OTL I'm finally done with school if most haven't already heard, so I'll be updating my fics again! >:D Hopefully, I'll be able to continue them all on track so stay tune for more! \o/ This is sort of a dry chapter but questions, criticism, and comments are welcome. :D
Author: chaebol
Length: (3/?)
Genre: Angst, Humor, Romance, Suspense, Slight drama, thriller
Pairing: JinSung (main), WooDong, Ricdy
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): Might have some explicit sexual content later
Summary: Park Choongjae, one of the best Alchemists around the city of Seoul and dedicators in his time in the art of Alchemy. A dying practice and one of the last survivors against technology advancements and financially supportive businesses, whom wish nothing more than to use him for mass production. Seeking escape, Choongjae goes beyond his ancestors and attempts to find the legendary elixir, the sorcerer’s stone or known as the equation to life- a life that may make his much easier to comprehend.
He just didn’t expect the rocky road blocks and a beautiful man along the way.
Previous: Chapter 1/ Chapter 2
Chapter 3
“No”
The first and last answer Choongjae got from the pretty man. His mouth opened slightly to voice his objections but for once, the alchemist didn’t seem to have much of a reasonable argument for purposing such an idea. It wasn’t like he necessarily needed to learn how to conjure flames without any significant symbol, however, it would be useful to posses it.
“Why?” Choongjae swallowed. “Why can you not teach me your flame?” He mumbled and his lips tremble a little. It was absolutely unacceptable.
“Isn’t that rude, Choongjae?” Dongwan interrupted. “I mean, you just met the guy and now you want to learn how to make the flames?” He questioned and Minwoo nodded, both eyeing the alchemist warily.
“But why not? It’s an offensive tactic and it can be useful advantage in battle. Didn’t you see how he was using it to destroy that guy? He also did it without a transfusion circle, which makes it even more unbelievable.” Choongjae argued in his defense and the other two weren’t convinced of his logical reasoning because they were quite aware that his ‘alchemy logic’ weren’t always ‘logical.’
Also, it didn’t really make sense to people who aren’t interested in science-or wondered about these things in general, Choongjae concluded.
Unfortunately, the three continued to argue, unaware of the said person being argued over his abilities was being ignored. There were some sparks in the air and it stopped all conversations, including arguments- midway.
Slowly, the flame alchemist finally spoke up.
“Yah! Shut up! I don’t care if this flame can use be battle or not. I rather live to see the next day than bicker if having fire and sparks can make me live or not!” Hyesung shouted. The air felt slightly warmer around him, the side of his soft hair covered the side of his face, sparks cracked around his body like fireworks, and his eyes burn with rage.
He was angry, Choongjae knew- they all knew. But the man was also tired, Choongjae observed with caution because it seemed that the pretty man’s control was either slipping or the usage of his flame took too much effort to produce that they had suddenly died down the moment it came in.
Either way, Choongjae felt a bit terrified when Hyesung frowned specifically at him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fascinated with the display of flames bouncing around and leaving trails of light all over the place. And because he was utterly fascinated, he didn’t realize Hyesung’s lips have been moving and had been mumbling words in a sort of mantra for awhile now.
“I can’t.” Hyesung said with his voice almost low as a whisper. He shook his head and repeated himself, “I can’t.”
The three of them looked at the pretty man, all silent and just staring at him in awe, shock, and surprise. It was unusual to see the pretty man unease and Choongjae nearly wanted to hold the other man in his embrace, tightly in a hug and soothe him.
Unbelievably, he was on the verge of doing so until he stopped himself once Hyesung brought his head up and looked at the rest of them. The flames reducing to nothing but dust and the air felt cold as morning approached.
“It’s not that I don’t wish you teach you. I am unable to.”
He said with more firmness, contradicting with his attitude he had displayed earlier, and the alchemist finally understood.
He’s under a contract. Choongjae thought. He heard about the contracts from his father. They were the most dangerous and it required an exchange of equal value, which can even include the person’s life at times- or more. Usually those under contracts were sworn to secrecy for the knowledge they’ve obtained in the equal trade and on the pretty man’s case, it seemed that he has received the knowledge to conjure up the flame without an actual symbol.
However, what did the man give up in exchange? And with who did he cast the agreement with?
“See? He can’t teach you anyway, Choongjae.” Minwoo mocked with composure, as if they hadn’t been interrupted at all, and he heard some giggling from Dongwan until the said man suggested, “If anything, Hyesung can always protect us, right?” He pointed to Hyesung and the pretty man nodded, satisfied with the other two helping to persuade the alchemist.
“I won’t stay long.” He perked up and more sparks came into view.
Now that Choongjae thought about it, he was no different than the people who wanted him to fulfill their desires even though they do not necessarily need his abilities to operate their business or keep themselves at a good standing with their status. This jostled his inside more than he thought and the alchemist couldn’t believe how he could let his greed fool him into doing something utterly stupid.
“Ah, yes. You’re right. I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested such a thing.” He sighed a little. “You can stay.”
If Choongjae wasn’t looking at the pretty man, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the small smile gracing the other’s lips. He let out another sigh (hopefully his last) for the night and went to sleep.
He can deal with it in the morning.
- ->
Morning came quick for all of them, Minwoo being the first to wake up and fetch some water from a nearby river. It came out of habit, really, waking up when the sun was barely rising, fetch water, feed the horses in the stables, and gather some wood. Though, he was still far from home and needed to travel to the next town for some supplies before heading back- oh, and dropping off Choongjae and the others, who were all still asleep. He owed them a favor after all.
He took out the basin he brought along and filled it up, doing some stretches while he waited, and taking in some nice fresh air that was clearly better than a polluted city. He exhaled with a long sigh and decided to head back, listening to the morning birds chirp until something caught his eye.
It was a man clad in a white suit, eyeing everything with an intrigued expression. He looked out of place- well, Minwoo would be stupid if he didn’t think so when the said man seemed highly suspicious and it gave Minwoo enough reason to holler at him.
“Yah, who are you and what are you doing here?” He demanded from the strange fellow passing by. He didn’t feel obligated to be nice to the stranger, not when there’s something fishy going on. It’s not every day you see someone walking in the woods with a suit- especially one that walked with a very expensive cane and top hat. The stranger’s shoes rustle over the grass and he turned to stare at the other man before stepping forward. He took his time and that irritated Minwoo because once the man came closer, he could see the difference in height- it didn’t take a genius, maybe, to figure it out.
“Hey, you there.” The strange man called after Minwoo, as if he only barely realized the other man had just come into his view a moment ago. However, he probably did with those very long legs and wide shoulders- Minwoo was very envious, indeed.
“Have you seen a guy with brown hair and wearing a black cloak?” The stranger asked rudely and Minwoo took this chance to put his head high and straighten up on his toes too look taller- not that he needs to- but he would look cooler and he wanted the other man to feel it. He wasn’t going to take shit from any obnoxious tall regular guy in a suit.
“Who wants to know?” He challenged, stepping forward until his nose was merely a few centimeters away from- sadly, the taller guy’s chin. He wasn’t exactly sure who the guy was talking about, but if he was going to give him a horse-ass attitude, Minwoo wasn’t about to oblige.
“Oh, so you do know. Do you mind telling me?” The man smirked and Minwoo could see how long the stranger’s eyelashes were. Those eyes blinked with innocence, but obviously held an ulterior motive and Minwoo was all too familiar with these types of eyes. He knew a money-maker when he sees one because the only things that ran through their mind were the ill strategies to take down their competition and be the most beneficial and profitable amongst all.
He swallowed. “I’ll tell you how to get back to your mother’s womb because what was she thinking when she gave birth to an asshole like you?” Smirking, Minwoo expected a hard punch or even a wispy slap, but neither came and the man before him tucked away any visible expression underneath a mask and simply stared Minwoo down.
Surely Minwoo hated it, but it was still sweet delight to know he had struck a chord somewhere. Hopefully, up this bastard’s ass.
“I see English is not your first language.” The stranger countered, however, Minwoo wasn’t fazed and even if he was, the guy would land himself a black eye already. “And it looks like I must be going. Business is always important and so is breakfast, Minwoo.”
The man finished and started walking away, leaving a surprised Minwoo standing there with his thoughts and just how did the man even know his name.
After a few minutes, Minwoo remembered where he was and took his basin back to the others, muttering a few words under his breath.
“What a bastard.”
- ->
When Minwoo returned, Choongjae was already awake and reading a book this time, papers scattered around him while Hyesung glanced around the fallen notes quietly. He turned to the stove and found Dongwan making something- most likely something under Choongjae’s instructions- Minwoo only hoped it was edible because he was seriously hungry and they needed to head out soon.
“Oh, you’re back, Minwoo-nim.” Minwoo swooned at the extended ‘nim,’ he accepted all praises and Dongwan sure knew how to give it to him.
“Mornin’ to you too, Dongwan-sshi.” He smiled, taking a glance at the pot and sighed when he recognize what stew looked like. He handed the water to Dongwan, who took it gratefully, and sat down on the grass, waiting for breakfast to be done.
“You don’t look too well. Did something happen?” Dongwan brought up, concern evident on his face.
Quietly, Minwoo recalled the man he met a moment ago and frowned when he remembered how the other had left him so frustrated. “Yeah, some classy guy lost in the woods. I had to tell him which way back to the city.” He lied-half-lied. He didn’t feel like telling them that he met the biggest money-making snob, who killed his morning and left him in the quiet woods to think how the hell does he know his name?
It was frustrating and Minwoo didn’t feel like bragging how he told the guy off on an empty stomach either- and he never turned down bragging like an idiot.
He dug into his food like a hungry man.
“Wait, what if he was also after Choongjae? Like that guy who came last night?” Dongwan asked, suddenly grabbing everyone’s attention. The images of a man in the dark attempting to bring the alchemist back to the city but died burning under Hyesung’s flames.
Minwoo didn’t think about it this way and now he really wished that he threw a punch at that man. He rubbed his forehead and made a mental note to do it next time- if there’s a next time.
“Then let’s get going.” Choongjae scrambled for his things and packed them back together in a rush. The sun felt like it was moving faster than usual as Minwoo cared for the horses, making sure everything was properly secured in his truck.
Once everyone boarded, Minwoo took a glance at his side mirror and noticed Choongjae holding steadily onto Hyesung so he wouldn’t fall off. He made another mental note to tease the alchemist later, but also realize the way Hyesung responded back to him.
Have you seen a guy with brown hair and wearing a black cloak?
Minwoo observed closely to Hyesung’s hair and how the black cloth hugged around his body closely. The man’s voice echoed in his head like an annoying mantra. Quickly, he snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Dongwan called from the back that they were ready.
He took one last glance and shook his head, “nah, can’t be.” He muttered before starting the engine and speeding off to the next city.
A/N: Hello all! :D I know it has been forever (if anyone reads it here). OTL I'm finally done with school if most haven't already heard, so I'll be updating my fics again! >:D Hopefully, I'll be able to continue them all on track so stay tune for more! \o/ This is sort of a dry chapter but questions, criticism, and comments are welcome. :D