Chapter Two of A Midsummer Night's Mischief
Korea, to be honest, never truly recalled why he had decided to make a drama film. It was as if he had just risen that morning and proclaimed to himself, “Let’s make a drama movie today.”
Korea’s biggest guess as to why his subconscious self wanted to even make a movie in the first place was the fact of his incredible boredom. Sure, it’s pleasant not having to worry about pressing political issues for once, but the Korean needed something to occupy his time. He asked himself more questions, trying to figure out his motives, but he eventually abandoned his search.
In the dawn of the project, Korea had assumed taking a stroll around his own homeland would be of enough inspiration for the film. (After all, romance did originate in him.) Much to his disappointment, none of the romance he observed was inspiring. A mere collection of hugs and kisses wouldn’t satisfy viewers. The film needed a plot- a captivating story that would leave everyone stunned with deep emotions.
Frustrated at this point, Korea decided he needed to travel far from his house in order to receive the right inspiration. Thus, Korea let his feet carry him someplace, while his eyes searched for an idea-something useful…
When his brain returned its focus to his location, he was surprised to find himself standing in Japan’s back yard, tendrils of steam rising from the hot spring’s surface. Korea felt his heart submerge itself further into disappointment. How would stoic, barely-experienced-in-romance Japan help with his movie?
“Stupid feet!” he silently scolded, scuffing his heels against the ground. “Couldn’t you have brought me somewhere useful? Like France?”
Korea drew in a deep breath. He might as well try to obtain as much inspiration as he could from Japan. After all, the pesky little rumor that Cat-lover Greece and him had escalated their relationship far beyond a simple political agreement buzzed amongst the nations. Some had even gone far enough to say the two had already lost their virginity to each other, but Korea merely laughed at the thought. Knowing Japan, he doubted the nation would have followed through with something as large as physical intimacy.
While Korea strolled leisurely toward the front door, he formulated an explanation for why he had made an unexpected visit:
“I need some inspiration for my drama film.” Could be taken the wrong way.
“Hey, Japan! Could you tell me some traditional Japanese love stories?” That sounded alright.
“Can I look at some shojo manga?” Might get a questioning look, but at least it was a start….
Korea’s eyes, for a moment, drifted to a window which looked into the living room. Japan’s head was under his kotatsu in the middle of the living quarters. Korea though nothing of the action at first glance, but he backtracked when he could’ve sworn to have seen another head emerged from underneath the furniture.
The curly hair and deep green eyes identified the other person as Greece. Korea gaped at the sight. “So the rumors were all true?” he thought, aghast. His surprised mouth morphed into his famous Korea-smile. “This could be…..useful,” he mumbled to himself, eyeing the window slyly.
Korea, wasting no further time, slipped into the fronds of a low-growing bush planted below the window and removed a pen and pad of paper. Frantically, he searched for a blank page while he tried to pay attention to the events behind the glass. Korea didn’t want to miss anything.
By the time Korea got himself together, Greece had been shoved for some unexplainable reason onto the floor. Japan had his back turned to the former nation, his concentration solely focused on his yukata. Korea, having somehow missing the cause of this, felt it safe to assume that Greece had sneaked a peek up north.
Rapidly, he scribbled a few notes:
Seme looks up Uke’s skirt and Uke gets angry. Pushes Seme to ground.
Korea returned his eyes to the scene the moment he finished. Greece had now gotten to his feet and treaded placidly to Japan. From behind, Greece took Japan’s waist in his arms and lightly nestled his chin onto the latter’s shoulder.
Seme walks to Uke and performs the smexy back- waist-hold-plus-chin-rest with Uke
Here a sloppy diagram involving stick figures was drawn, complete with arrows labeling the seme and uke.
Japan currently leaned against the wall furthest from Korea and said “I have a lot on my mind.”
Real drama begins here!!!! C:
The younger nation watch intently at how Greece positioned Japan onto his lap and tried his absolute best not to squeal when Greece rubbed his nose against Japan’s in a loving nuzzle.
Sits Uke on lap and brushes nose against Uke’s nose.
Korea’s hand toiled tirelessly, jotting line after line of notes. “Thank you, feet,” He praised the pair he had recently chastised for their supposed lack of direction.
Seme rubs Uke’s shoulders as Uke explains problem.
Situation Details:
-Boss talked to Uke over video chat
-Promises more power
-Tells Seme he has to marry Aniki or else he can’t be in…
The blue ballpoint pen froze, tip stationary on the paper. Horrified, Korea’s eyes reread the last words he had just written, his pupils passing over it again and again, making positive his eyes saw the correct words.
“Japan has to m-marry…ANIKI?!” he whispered hoarsely, his hands shaking in disbelief. “It couldn’t be….” His brown gaze returned briefly to the window, the couple within it not as magnificent as before, pleading for it not to be true-that his ears misinterpreted what Japan had explained.
“You have to marry China?” Greece’s question seemed to be only spoken to terrify the Korean even more.
“NOOOOOOO!” A quiet squeak escaped Korea’s lips. “Why Aniki? Of all people…ANIKI!!!”
Korea continued his observation, but no longer took careful notes. He heard every word, but the conversation whizzed in one ear and out the other, too muddled and fuzzy for his brain to comprehend. His subconscious self remained the only part of Korea to display interest to his original goal, stowing away some romantic poses for later use and the surprising news that the couple had planned to elope in a few days’ time.
All the while, the majority of Korea’s thinking energy was expelled grieving at the news of the arranged marriage. “How could China even want to be with Japan? What was so special about him?” Korea glared at his older brother with distaste for a microsecond. His thoughts then converted from questions to fierce complaints. “This isn’t fair! Aniki is mine! He was always mine, and he will be mine! Japan’s boss will not take him from me!” His teeth gritted in fury as the rest of his conscious self revisited his study; he blinked several times at the sight of Japan and Greece sharing a chaste kiss.
Not once had Korea envisioned his brother in the arms of another country, with his lips against another pair of lips and hands holding each other close. Japan was just too…dense. His jumpy deposition in respect to intimate relationship could only be tolerated by someone as lethargic as Greece. (Although, the Greek did seem unlike his tired self when it came to romance.) The two of them, thus, fit each other without any major conflicts. “This is why China can’t be with Japan!!!!! They just don’t…..click.”
Korea’s hand still clutched the pen, the pad of paper still with pure white, but the two items were deemed useless amongst Korea’s inner angst. “This…” he concluded, “this isn’t what I expected at all….” as Japan and Greece leaned close to each other, heads retiring to shoulders.
Now, Korea hadn’t the faintest idea what do to. He considered still knocking on Japan’s door and asking him for assistance, but Korea had long ago forsaken his search for inspiration. At this point, the envy, fury and sorrow had been swirling together into a massive figurative bomb, ready to explode. “I hate Japan’s boss so MUCH!” he screeched, bringing his foot down onto the soft earth with all the strength his could muster.
Unfortunately, Korea’s white ballet flat landed squarely on a stick, cleanly breaking the wood in half. The sickening snap that followed made even the Korean cringe in surprise. “Crap.” He cussed out loud, accompanied by a line of more colorful Korean swears. Praying the inhabitants of the house had somehow failed to register the noise, he began to creep out of the fronds of the bush.
~
“SNAP!”
Japan’s half-lidded eyes fluttered to full view, startled by the abnormally loud crunch of wood. He continued to listen, wondering what had caused the noise. Before he dismissed it as naturally induced, a sudden string of curse words drifted from outside. Recognizing the Korean dialect, Japan slipped his head out from under Greece’s cheek.
Greece (who had been comfortably dozing in this position) jolted awake, when his temporarily pillow became absent. He noticed Japan’s alert posture and rubbed his fiancé’s (Oh how lovely it felt to call Japan his fiancé!) upper left arm in a soothing motion. “What did you hear, Kiku?” he asked groggily.
“Someone’s outside the house,” Japan’s voice was brisk and held a twinge of urgency.
Greece’s jade green eyes brightened in alarm. “Do you think the person eavesdropped?”
Japan didn’t respond; he hopped onto his feet and strode to his room, returning with a purple katana hilt slung over his shoulder. “I’m going to see who this person is. I already have a good idea who we are dealing with, though.”
Greece joined Japan, his heart beating in a frantic worry. “Please, don’t let it be Turkey….” the Greek pleaded silently, as Japan opened the front door and crept outdoors.
~
Korea let a slight sigh of relief depart his lips. With his feet finally free from the branches of the bush, he could make a swift retreat to his homeland and then work out his new difficulties there.
He never got the opportunity to slip away unnoticed. After a dizzy frenzy of motion, Korea found himself pinned against the house, the point of a katana blade aimed a mere few centimeters from his pale skin. The owner of the weapon, none other than Japan himself, locked a smolder of brown on Korea. “What are you doing here on Japanese territory?” The smaller nation attempted to keep his voice level, but somehow spots of pure anger wormed its way in between his words.
Although Japan was a head shorter than Korea and the latter had to look down at his attacker, he was no less intimidated. Korea’s mind reeled through a series of reasons and excuses to explain his presence in Japan. For lack of anything better, Korea randomly shouted joyously, “Japan! I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been?” Out of strict impulse, Korea maneuvered himself behind Japan and squeezed the area where Japan’s breast would’ve been located if he were a female.
Japan yelled in protest, scampering to remove Korea’s groping hands from the area. Finally, the former nation broke free, his breath coming in pants.
~
“For goodness sake, Korea! I’m a man!!!”
Greece raised an eyebrow at this statement. He didn’t think Japan needed to confirm his gender nor did the Greek believe Japan’s sex was under question in the first place. In any event, he joined Japan’s side, his gaze trying to understand what had ensued Japan’s fierce exclamation.
“I know that, Japan.” Korea rolled his eyes. “What do you think I am, stupid?”
Japan eyed his brother with slight distaste. “I didn’t say anything of the sort.” He replied calmly. In Greece’s opinion, his lover’s patience with Korea was wearing thin, despite the fact the two hadn’t been talking with each other for very long.
“Why are you here, Korea?” Greece tried to get an answer out of the Korea this time.
“That’s a very good question!” Korea commented, aiming to buy himself more time to formulate his answer. “I have an answer for it, too!!!!”
“And what would that be?”
“I needed some inspiration for this drama film I wanted to make, but there wasn’t anything in my own country, so I came here.” Korea had no idea why he was directly telling the two what brought him on the foreign grounds, but the truth wasn’t that ghastly, was it?
Japan’s face remained expressionless, so Korea couldn’t possibly tell how the Asian nation took the information. “I went to go to the front door, but I saw you two in the window and…well…” Korea cut his story short after seeing Japan’s face immediately turn shocked.
“H-how much did you hear?” Japan questioned warily, fearful of the response.
“Oh, I only heard everything from when Greece was shoved to the ground the first time.” Korea replied lightly, as if the information was noting to be concerned about.
Both Greece and Japan wore the same appalled look on their visages. Korea frowned slightly, not knowing what else to say. “Urm….Congrats on the whole eloping thingie, by the way. I hope it all works out,” he remarked awkwardly.
The two lovers exchanged a glance, unsure of how to handle the situation. They obviously couldn’t force Korea to forget what he just witnessed, but they had to be absolutely certain the country wouldn’t say a word about their plans to anyone else.
Greece drew in a deep breath, taking the liberty of telling Korea their conditions. “Okay. Since you kinda heard everything we had discussed, we have to make you swear that you won’t tell anyone else anything that you heard.”
Korea had expected this from the couple. I mean, if they were eloping, the natural conclusion was that others were not supposed to know. Even so, Korea was apprehensive about swearing to lock the secret up tight. What if he was in a life-threatening situation and he would only survive if he told of Greece and Japan’s elopement? What if the secret could be somehow used to all of their advantage in some way? What if the secret happened to be an answer on a game show? What if…?
There were too many scenarios to name in which his knowledge could be useful, but he would be restrained by a stinky promise if such an event were to occur. “Why should I keep it a promise?” Korea inquired cautiously.
Japan applied more pressure to his jaw in frustration. If Korea refused to keep his mouth closed, he and Greece would have quite a problem. Japan searched for a reasonable explanation for Korea to make the promise. “Well, if we get married, you will have China all to yourself,” he suggested openly.
Korea’s face brightened at the thought of China alone with no competition for his attention. What Japan spoke was the truth. With Japan eliminated, Korea would have more of a chance escalating his relationship with his older brother beyond siblinghood.
“That is a very good reason…” Korea though, deciding not to give his word right off the bat. He screwed up his face, pretending to be deep in thought before he gave his answer. “Okay! I promise not to tell anyone, then.”
Greece sighed lightly in relief, but Japan wasn’t ready to let the younger nation off the hook just yet. “Just to make sure, you must pinky swear on it.” As a sign of his seriousness, Japan extended his pinky.
Korea, suddenly, doubted his want to be completely tied to this swear. If, on the slim chance, he had to spill the beans, he would hate to crush this big of a swear, especially a pinky swear. Thus, while his own pinky wrapped around Japan’s, he crossed the index and middle finger of his other hand, being sure the hand was masked by his enormous sleeves.
“Alright then,” Japan remarked as he released Korea’s pinky. “I guess we are on good terms.”
Korea mutely nodded. “I’m upset that China would want to marry you, Japan. Is there any special reason?”
Japan shifted his shoulders in a sign of a lack of knowledge. “I only know that my boss wants it to happen due to political gain. As for why China is going along with it is something I do not know.”
The Korean stretched his limbs, suddenly feeling depleted of energy. “Well, I should probably head back to Korea. I’ll see you two soon, when you’re a married couple.” With that, Korea turned on his heels and sprinted away towards the west.
This chapter was annoying and kept me busy for the longest time. It was actually supposed to be longer, but seeing that it is a whooping 7 pages long on Word, I decided to cut it short and continue in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you will continue to read as I write!
Also: Since I’m sure many of you want to know how this story fits in with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I will be telling you what parts the Hetalia characters play and a few differences from the original story and this one.
FOOTNOTES:
Germany and Italy- Thesius and Hippolyta: I think Italy and Germany as the cute little couple that is mentioned throughout the story fits nicely, yes? Originally, Prussia and Hungary had this part, but after some switching around, I found these two to work out better. The couple here is less important than in the play, but that’s because here they aren’t leaders of Athens, Greece.
Japan and Greece- Hermia and Lysander: One of the main couples in the entire story. There was no question about who would fit into this slot. Japan and Greece’s position in the play were one of the few that weren’t moved around. After I started writing, I found out that Hermia is supposed to be short. Funny how little details can work out where you least expected.
China and Korea- Demetrius and Helena: I knew that ChiKor would serve as this couple, but I didn’t really know who would be Demetrius and who would be Helena. Korea ended up being Helena (even though I think Korea is more of a seme than China is) because I couldn’t picture China stalking anyone.
Japan’s boss-Egeus: He’s the stand-in for Hermia’s father.
The whole chapter (strangely enough) is actually dynamically different from the original plot. Hermia and Lysander willingly reveal their elopement to Helena, as opposed to her accidently discovering the plan. I felt that Greece and Japan wouldn’t tell Korea on their own accord. Plus, this brings out more of Korea’s personality.
~Curlee1029