Mask - Chapter 2
Mask
Rating: PG-13
Subject: Henry | Pairings: HenHae
Genre: AU!Family, Drama/Minor!Angst, Romance
Length: Chaptered
Summary: Whisked in the arms of a wealthy and charming bachelor, its all smiles and sweeping happiness in front of the camera lenses. A fairy-tale ending that was short lived.
§ The Second Thread §
***
The three colored curtain pulled across the stage by the stage assistant as the play begins. The characters step out, that aside from their iconic costumes and designs, remained the marking the audience studied to understand the premise of the story.
The masks were often adored, stared in awe at their symbolic meanings embedded within the colors that had long been prepared. Able to tell rank, gender, age with just one glance. The mask is not temporarily placed over, but embedded in the colored paints that marked an actor's skin, proclaiming the role he declared himself to be.
He stepped onto the vacant stage, eyes scanning about, the seats had remained empty. No one had settled in. Henry may forever paint his own skin, mark the lines he was entitled to, but it was not as grand as the outside audience would perceive it to be.
Affectionately dubbed the second young prince, a title Henry could never live up to.
He could almost see the scene unfolding before him, showing a young mother holding her two young son's hands as they walked through the soaked sand.
"Where's daddy?" The younger boy asked, his bangs lifted by the strong, salty wind.
Li Yin knelt down, fixing Henry's hair. "Daddy is in Japan right now, he'll call tonight." She looked up at the cloudless sky and sighed heavily. "We should probably return home, hm?"
"Let's stay a bit longer," Jongwoon interjected.
Li Yin almost seemed relieved by that reply and stood up. "Let's!" She said excitedly, running across the sand as her two kids struggled to follow. Reaching out their hands until they finally grasped her own, grinning brilliantly as the bright sun shone above.
"Do you...?"
The mirror shattered as Li Yin collapsed onto the ground. She heard a slight movement and turned around, widening her eyes as Henry staggered backward in fear.
He shouldn't have seen that. It was clear that as she attempted to mend the scene.
"Have I scared you?" She hugged a younger Henry in her arms, giving that same assuring smile. "I'm sorry."
Henry had wanted to ask, what was wrong with her smile. Why did it seem different from the ones she displayed when they played?
He saw his father gather her in his arms, smiling brightly once he arrived home. "You're perfect." He often said, and to that she smiled, but it was apparent the change. She no longer believed it, deeming his compliment a lie.
"What are you thinking about?"
Henry lifted his head, returning to the back present day, watching as his father adjusted his robes and knelt on the ground.
"Nothing much." Henry replied in Mandarin as the costumer entered the room, playing with the edge of his sunglasses's temples. "Just-"
"Thinking." Kangta finished with a slight chuckle, the costumer applying the finishing touches to his costume. "Every time I ask that question, you reply exactly the same. I can never know what you're truly thinking though, a sad predicament for a father not to know his own son."
Henry lowered his eyes, a slight seed of guilt in his thoughts. His father than stood up against the full-length mirror, his white-painted face colored in sharpened, red marks.
"This still scares me." Henry admitted, making his father laugh lightly. He stood up as well, accompanying the older man out of the room and down the wooden corridor. His gaze trailed down the color robes, making sure not to step on them as they flowed. As a young child, he'd often stumble when he followed his father down the wooden corridors. The man would never once be angry with him.
It must have been a sight to see a stark red demon, portrayed for its ferocity and anger, gently help his son to his feet.
"Do you..."
"Do you still love her?"
Kangta turned around, raising his eyebrows. He didn't hear his son's question. Henry shook his head and took his leave, waving him with good luck for the performance.
"You will not stay to watch?"
The corners of his son's mouth twitched upwards. "I've seen this show too many times, I bet I could act out your scenes as well as you can."
His father beamed briefly, before resuming his stolid expression as he turned and graciously walked through the flower path. The curtain soon blocked his vision followed by the distinctive sound signaling his father's entrance. Henry's gaze lingered on the crest dyed on the curtain, the mark of the theatre.
He continued down the corridor, past the servants dressed in kimonos. His modern style contrasted against their traditional wear as he returned the sunglasses to his face.
What if he stayed because of pity? Because of guilt?
Henry wished to say his father was distinctly different between his acting and normal life. But the common trait between them was the familiar state of uncertainty. Even now, he could never tell what his father truly thought.
He stepped out beneath the starless skies, surveying the theatre a moment longer.
He was a symbol of Zhang Li Yin and Ahn Kanta's endowed future. He was not disillusioned, not as the outside world was, believing the once blissful love story.
-
"Why did you leave the music scene?"
Henry, by habit, almost declined to answer. But rather than a mere reporter, it was Donghae who sat beside him on that pier bench. He curled his finger on his sunglasses, laying them on his lap.
"I prefer listening to music than creating my own." Henry had realized. "Sometimes I regret it though because... Because I think my parents would want me to try a bit harder."
"Did your father get angry?" Donghae asked tentatively.
"...My dad doesn't get angry." Henry corrected. His father behind his smile, rarely displayed other emotions.
He aimed to be alone tonight, deciding rather than his usual take of company that involved waking in new room with a stranger, even without the affects of alcohol. The only reason he had ever joined the club scene in the first place, not because he enjoyed it. Yet tonight, as he scrolled through his phone, he realized he wanted a different sort of company.
Donghae cleaned his lenses when he noticed Henry palmed his forehead. "My aspirin for the headache, I only had the ones that caused drowsiness." Henry explained.
Donghae was visibly concerned. Henry then closed his eyes.
"The truth is..." Henry began, his voice almost inaudible that the writer strained to hear him. "I've had writer's block for years, I can't seem to compose or write anything."
He smiled wistfully, peering from the corner of his eyes. "You're the only one I've told." He confided in Mandarin, Donghae wasn't able to understand.
The writer returned his glasses to his face when he felt a weight against his shoulder, he looked to his side to see Henry resting peacefully.
"I'm sorry," Henry murmured. "Just for a bit."
Donghae visibly cleared his throat, making sure to keep extra still as Henry remained against him, an arm hesitantly placed around him to keep him warm. The writer's cheeks flushed against the cold wind that came over them, and on that quiet pier could he hear his chest beating a mile a minute.
-
'Ahn Kangta and Zhang Li Yin: Inside the whirlwind romance.'
It had been all over the news, hounded by media coverage. The romance between a famed kabuki actor, dubbed South Korea's Prince, and a rising singer whose name was now household by the drama she starred in. They were soon one of the biggest superpower couples of South Korea.
Li Yin eventually chose to retire early on in her career from both singing and acting, dedicating herself to raise a family. Her popularity soon faded with lack of promotions, and only a new nostalgic fans and fanatics kept of with news of her. Whatever news there was. She was losing light in the industry.
The industry was ignorant of the home that welcomed her in, once the doors closed on the flashing lights, that's when the fairytale had ended.
"She must have paid the doctor, the child looks nothing like my son."
"The first one may, but the second definitely cannot be. See his looks? Trying to fit him in to our family, daring to give him the Ahn name."
"Witch."
Zhang Li Yin was demeaned by the family. She was subjected to countless blood tests to confirm she was indeed in their children's mother, that the children were in fact their father's. Still despite the evidence, they blamed she had seduced the men behind it. That she somehow lied on those tests, that she somehow cheated on Kangta.
She was not suitable, that had been made clear since day one. They rejected every part of her, but accepted the offspring that came from the union, still the issue had not been forgotten.
Jongwoon at least looked Korean, Henry didn't.
"Gege," Henry called, wearing a jacket that trailed over his hands. "What does... 'Bad blood' mean?"
Jongwoon sat on the edge of the wooden household, legs dangling from the ground. "Who told you that?"
"The aunties, they all say I have 'Bad blood.'"
Jongwoon remained quiet, the young Henry didn't know what the term meant, but somehow knew he couldn't ask his parents. Not even the boy sitting beside Jongwoon dared to answer.
-
"Tell me,"
Donghae looked to his side, they walked through the secluded sidewalks of the boardwalk. They had only met up a few times, but Henry couldn't help but divulge to him.
Henry asked. "Do each of your stories end happily?"
"Of course. The publishers won't allow anything else."
Henry gave a miffed smile. "It's because of those fairy tales that people want that ideal life, they believe if they act good and marry wise, they'll be granted those wishes. Those stories delude people into thinking its possible."
Donghae thought it over. "But it makes me people want that type of life, one they're happy with. It makes them want to pursue happiness as they can, such as making them want to pursue the person they're interested in. If they thought they had a chance, they'd want to keep trying."
Henry knew his explanation alluded to an underlying meaning. It was obvious what Donghae wanted, but it was something he couldn't give.
"I'm sorry." He uttered.
Donghae tilted his head, oblivious to what the apology alluded to. It was then that Henry met his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you what you want." He said, his tone detached. "I'm not looking a relationship... and I don't plan to."
He walked ahead, leaving Donghae behind.
The writer fidgeted his hands, staring onward as he struggled to form a smile. He hadn't asked, but was already given an answer, one he didn't want. Yet still, like a stubborn child, followed behind him in a fruitless endeavor.
He wished the other would give him a chance.
-
Henry dried his hair as he finished his shower and dressed, stepping past the sunglasses that remained on his bedside table.
Not a single light was turned as he strolled through the short corridor and opened the paneled doors. He peered through the lingering darkness, his hands on the edges as the shadowed figure slowly turned and faced him. The corners of his lips shifted upwards.
A timid hand reached out as Henry knelt beside her on the wooden grounds. Her uncoordinated pale fingers faintly brushed the mildly damped bangs from his eyes,
"Hi mom." Henry called quietly, fingertips strayed on his cheek.
Her vacant eyes blinked. Her thoughts in turbulent array until her lips curved into a wide smile, vaguely, distantly, recalling the term.
"I'm okay, I'll be okay."
Henry closed his eyes, his hand cradled her pale wrist.
Such words stood no chance within the Ahn household.
"What is this?!"
The young child peered through the hole in the paneled doors, the women scoured about, screaming in horror. The white fur coats expected to be worn at the prestigious show that night were drenched in red thick liquid.
He felt a hand tug his own, pulling him away from the scene. The auntie's screams overfilled the corridors as they continued running, until he could no longer hear them.
Henry vaguely wondered who the culprit had been. But those thoughts tossed aside as he stood by his mother's side. He opened his eyes, meeting her careless gaze.
Nothing could change. The damage had been done.
"You're going to be okay."
| Chapter 1 | - | Chapter 3 |
A/N: This is an example of a Kabuki cast poster. Shall offer tidbits and photos whenever possible.
Ge ge = Older brother in Mandarin.
Rating: PG-13
Subject: Henry | Pairings: HenHae
Genre: AU!Family, Drama/Minor!Angst, Romance
Length: Chaptered
Summary: Whisked in the arms of a wealthy and charming bachelor, its all smiles and sweeping happiness in front of the camera lenses. A fairy-tale ending that was short lived.
§ The Second Thread §
***
The three colored curtain pulled across the stage by the stage assistant as the play begins. The characters step out, that aside from their iconic costumes and designs, remained the marking the audience studied to understand the premise of the story.
The masks were often adored, stared in awe at their symbolic meanings embedded within the colors that had long been prepared. Able to tell rank, gender, age with just one glance. The mask is not temporarily placed over, but embedded in the colored paints that marked an actor's skin, proclaiming the role he declared himself to be.
He stepped onto the vacant stage, eyes scanning about, the seats had remained empty. No one had settled in. Henry may forever paint his own skin, mark the lines he was entitled to, but it was not as grand as the outside audience would perceive it to be.
Affectionately dubbed the second young prince, a title Henry could never live up to.
He could almost see the scene unfolding before him, showing a young mother holding her two young son's hands as they walked through the soaked sand.
"Where's daddy?" The younger boy asked, his bangs lifted by the strong, salty wind.
Li Yin knelt down, fixing Henry's hair. "Daddy is in Japan right now, he'll call tonight." She looked up at the cloudless sky and sighed heavily. "We should probably return home, hm?"
"Let's stay a bit longer," Jongwoon interjected.
Li Yin almost seemed relieved by that reply and stood up. "Let's!" She said excitedly, running across the sand as her two kids struggled to follow. Reaching out their hands until they finally grasped her own, grinning brilliantly as the bright sun shone above.
"Do you...?"
The mirror shattered as Li Yin collapsed onto the ground. She heard a slight movement and turned around, widening her eyes as Henry staggered backward in fear.
He shouldn't have seen that. It was clear that as she attempted to mend the scene.
"Have I scared you?" She hugged a younger Henry in her arms, giving that same assuring smile. "I'm sorry."
Henry had wanted to ask, what was wrong with her smile. Why did it seem different from the ones she displayed when they played?
He saw his father gather her in his arms, smiling brightly once he arrived home. "You're perfect." He often said, and to that she smiled, but it was apparent the change. She no longer believed it, deeming his compliment a lie.
"What are you thinking about?"
Henry lifted his head, returning to the back present day, watching as his father adjusted his robes and knelt on the ground.
"Nothing much." Henry replied in Mandarin as the costumer entered the room, playing with the edge of his sunglasses's temples. "Just-"
"Thinking." Kangta finished with a slight chuckle, the costumer applying the finishing touches to his costume. "Every time I ask that question, you reply exactly the same. I can never know what you're truly thinking though, a sad predicament for a father not to know his own son."
Henry lowered his eyes, a slight seed of guilt in his thoughts. His father than stood up against the full-length mirror, his white-painted face colored in sharpened, red marks.
"This still scares me." Henry admitted, making his father laugh lightly. He stood up as well, accompanying the older man out of the room and down the wooden corridor. His gaze trailed down the color robes, making sure not to step on them as they flowed. As a young child, he'd often stumble when he followed his father down the wooden corridors. The man would never once be angry with him.
It must have been a sight to see a stark red demon, portrayed for its ferocity and anger, gently help his son to his feet.
"Do you..."
"Do you still love her?"
Kangta turned around, raising his eyebrows. He didn't hear his son's question. Henry shook his head and took his leave, waving him with good luck for the performance.
"You will not stay to watch?"
The corners of his son's mouth twitched upwards. "I've seen this show too many times, I bet I could act out your scenes as well as you can."
His father beamed briefly, before resuming his stolid expression as he turned and graciously walked through the flower path. The curtain soon blocked his vision followed by the distinctive sound signaling his father's entrance. Henry's gaze lingered on the crest dyed on the curtain, the mark of the theatre.
He continued down the corridor, past the servants dressed in kimonos. His modern style contrasted against their traditional wear as he returned the sunglasses to his face.
What if he stayed because of pity? Because of guilt?
Henry wished to say his father was distinctly different between his acting and normal life. But the common trait between them was the familiar state of uncertainty. Even now, he could never tell what his father truly thought.
He stepped out beneath the starless skies, surveying the theatre a moment longer.
He was a symbol of Zhang Li Yin and Ahn Kanta's endowed future. He was not disillusioned, not as the outside world was, believing the once blissful love story.
-
"Why did you leave the music scene?"
Henry, by habit, almost declined to answer. But rather than a mere reporter, it was Donghae who sat beside him on that pier bench. He curled his finger on his sunglasses, laying them on his lap.
"I prefer listening to music than creating my own." Henry had realized. "Sometimes I regret it though because... Because I think my parents would want me to try a bit harder."
"Did your father get angry?" Donghae asked tentatively.
"...My dad doesn't get angry." Henry corrected. His father behind his smile, rarely displayed other emotions.
He aimed to be alone tonight, deciding rather than his usual take of company that involved waking in new room with a stranger, even without the affects of alcohol. The only reason he had ever joined the club scene in the first place, not because he enjoyed it. Yet tonight, as he scrolled through his phone, he realized he wanted a different sort of company.
Donghae cleaned his lenses when he noticed Henry palmed his forehead. "My aspirin for the headache, I only had the ones that caused drowsiness." Henry explained.
Donghae was visibly concerned. Henry then closed his eyes.
"The truth is..." Henry began, his voice almost inaudible that the writer strained to hear him. "I've had writer's block for years, I can't seem to compose or write anything."
He smiled wistfully, peering from the corner of his eyes. "You're the only one I've told." He confided in Mandarin, Donghae wasn't able to understand.
The writer returned his glasses to his face when he felt a weight against his shoulder, he looked to his side to see Henry resting peacefully.
"I'm sorry," Henry murmured. "Just for a bit."
Donghae visibly cleared his throat, making sure to keep extra still as Henry remained against him, an arm hesitantly placed around him to keep him warm. The writer's cheeks flushed against the cold wind that came over them, and on that quiet pier could he hear his chest beating a mile a minute.
-
'Ahn Kangta and Zhang Li Yin: Inside the whirlwind romance.'
It had been all over the news, hounded by media coverage. The romance between a famed kabuki actor, dubbed South Korea's Prince, and a rising singer whose name was now household by the drama she starred in. They were soon one of the biggest superpower couples of South Korea.
Li Yin eventually chose to retire early on in her career from both singing and acting, dedicating herself to raise a family. Her popularity soon faded with lack of promotions, and only a new nostalgic fans and fanatics kept of with news of her. Whatever news there was. She was losing light in the industry.
The industry was ignorant of the home that welcomed her in, once the doors closed on the flashing lights, that's when the fairytale had ended.
"She must have paid the doctor, the child looks nothing like my son."
"The first one may, but the second definitely cannot be. See his looks? Trying to fit him in to our family, daring to give him the Ahn name."
"Witch."
Zhang Li Yin was demeaned by the family. She was subjected to countless blood tests to confirm she was indeed in their children's mother, that the children were in fact their father's. Still despite the evidence, they blamed she had seduced the men behind it. That she somehow lied on those tests, that she somehow cheated on Kangta.
She was not suitable, that had been made clear since day one. They rejected every part of her, but accepted the offspring that came from the union, still the issue had not been forgotten.
Jongwoon at least looked Korean, Henry didn't.
"Gege," Henry called, wearing a jacket that trailed over his hands. "What does... 'Bad blood' mean?"
Jongwoon sat on the edge of the wooden household, legs dangling from the ground. "Who told you that?"
"The aunties, they all say I have 'Bad blood.'"
Jongwoon remained quiet, the young Henry didn't know what the term meant, but somehow knew he couldn't ask his parents. Not even the boy sitting beside Jongwoon dared to answer.
-
"Tell me,"
Donghae looked to his side, they walked through the secluded sidewalks of the boardwalk. They had only met up a few times, but Henry couldn't help but divulge to him.
Henry asked. "Do each of your stories end happily?"
"Of course. The publishers won't allow anything else."
Henry gave a miffed smile. "It's because of those fairy tales that people want that ideal life, they believe if they act good and marry wise, they'll be granted those wishes. Those stories delude people into thinking its possible."
Donghae thought it over. "But it makes me people want that type of life, one they're happy with. It makes them want to pursue happiness as they can, such as making them want to pursue the person they're interested in. If they thought they had a chance, they'd want to keep trying."
Henry knew his explanation alluded to an underlying meaning. It was obvious what Donghae wanted, but it was something he couldn't give.
"I'm sorry." He uttered.
Donghae tilted his head, oblivious to what the apology alluded to. It was then that Henry met his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you what you want." He said, his tone detached. "I'm not looking a relationship... and I don't plan to."
He walked ahead, leaving Donghae behind.
The writer fidgeted his hands, staring onward as he struggled to form a smile. He hadn't asked, but was already given an answer, one he didn't want. Yet still, like a stubborn child, followed behind him in a fruitless endeavor.
He wished the other would give him a chance.
-
Henry dried his hair as he finished his shower and dressed, stepping past the sunglasses that remained on his bedside table.
Not a single light was turned as he strolled through the short corridor and opened the paneled doors. He peered through the lingering darkness, his hands on the edges as the shadowed figure slowly turned and faced him. The corners of his lips shifted upwards.
A timid hand reached out as Henry knelt beside her on the wooden grounds. Her uncoordinated pale fingers faintly brushed the mildly damped bangs from his eyes,
"Hi mom." Henry called quietly, fingertips strayed on his cheek.
Her vacant eyes blinked. Her thoughts in turbulent array until her lips curved into a wide smile, vaguely, distantly, recalling the term.
"I'm okay, I'll be okay."
Henry closed his eyes, his hand cradled her pale wrist.
Such words stood no chance within the Ahn household.
"What is this?!"
The young child peered through the hole in the paneled doors, the women scoured about, screaming in horror. The white fur coats expected to be worn at the prestigious show that night were drenched in red thick liquid.
He felt a hand tug his own, pulling him away from the scene. The auntie's screams overfilled the corridors as they continued running, until he could no longer hear them.
Henry vaguely wondered who the culprit had been. But those thoughts tossed aside as he stood by his mother's side. He opened his eyes, meeting her careless gaze.
Nothing could change. The damage had been done.
"You're going to be okay."
| Chapter 1 | - | Chapter 3 |
A/N: This is an example of a Kabuki cast poster. Shall offer tidbits and photos whenever possible.
Ge ge = Older brother in Mandarin.