in my time of dying ; 1/1
Title: In My Time of Dying
Pairing: Woohyun/Myungsoo
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Supernatural
W/C: ~1860
Summary: This curse is Woohyun's own, and he should have kept it that way. He should have never brought Myungsoo into all of this.
A/N: Written for prompt 076: chains.
*confusing, shitty, and in dire need of a rewrite.
"forever is a long, long time when you’ve lost your way."
It’s his fault, and his alone. He was selfish in wanting to keep Myungsoo, and Woohyun knows this. He’s not meant to be with anyone; it’s the one rule he set for himself when he fell into this game of cat and mouse. This is my fight, he used to tell himself. I can’t drag anyone into it.
This curse was his family’s, and now it’s his, and dammit, he was going to make sure that he was the last person to experience it. It was never that hard, staying away from others. The people in this city took care of that for him, with their stories and whispers. (“That’s that Nam boy. The One With The Red Eyes haunts his family, you know. Heard he’s the last one left, poor thing must be so lonely. But it’s the price he has to pay for his family’s sin.")
His entire life, Woohyun’s never known what sin his family committed. He’s heard the stories - “one of the Nams betrayed the emperor, stabbed him in the back, the filthy bastard” - and he’s heard the legends - “one of ‘em was a grave robber, the one who robbed emperor Jang’s crypt. they deserve the curse, if you ask me” - but never has he heard the truth from his parents. He’s not even sure if there are any truths he has to learn. Probably not, he decided years ago. He just has to accept it as his fate, and he figures that’s what his parents did too.
He’s always vowed to stay away from people, because there’s no way in hell that he’ll let anyone else experience this. This is no life, it’s just a waiting game. He knows the demon will be coming for him, but he doesn’t know when. He could live a normal life until then, he figures, but he won’t let himself. His days are numbered, and he doesn’t want to leave behind anyone to miss him. This curse needs to die with him, anyways. He can’t have a family or kids or anyone.
Woohyun does a damn good job of avoiding everyone, until Kim Myungsoo shows up. He sits next to him at a tavern one night - doesn’t he know that there’s a reason why every seat around Woohyun is empty? - and actually starts a conversation with him. The boy honestly doesn’t know who he is, and Woohyun finds it the strangest thing until he learns why.
Myungsoo’s not from the city, hell, he’s not even from the Empire. He’s from one of the cities on the other side of the mountain - you know, the one the Empire tried to take over thirty years ago? - and no, Woohyun doesn’t know because he’s not up to date on history. He’s not even up date on his own family’s history.
Woohyun tries to push Myungsoo away as hard as he can, but he just can’t. Myungsoo’s kind of quiet, but he’s got this melodious laugh and when he does talk, he’s so curious. He can’t turn Myungsoo away, not when he’s the first person who isn’t scared of him. The younger boy is interested in the occult and the supernatural, and Woohyun figures that’s good enough - if Myungsoo doesn’t mind the bad luck he brings, then what reason does he have to push him away?
Woohyun’s always wondered exactly why his mother married his father, and it’s not until he meets Myungsoo that he understands. It’s nice, he decides, to have someone who’s always there. Woohyun has been alone most of his life, and it’s strange, he thinks, to be so close to someone. It’s an odd feeling, this feeling of needing someone, of craving their presence and voice and smell and touch.
The feeling is addicting, and it almost makes breaking his promise to himself worth it. Almost.
It’s kind of sick, the way the demon leads him on, makes him think that maybe, just maybe the curse won’t reach him. He thought the demon would have come for him by now. It’s been years since he met Myungsoo, and isn’t it weird for Red Eyes to let him live in normalcy for so long? Maybe the demon is bored of this game, tired of tormenting his family. Maybe the demon sought its revenge. Maybe he’ll be free to live a normal life.
It’d be nice to live a normal life with Myungsoo, in a place where they can walk around without dirty looks. Right now they live at the edge of the Imperial City - because who wants to be neighbors with a Nam? - in a dinky slum that shouldn’t really be considered a home.
“We should move to my hometown in the Republic,” Myungsoo says one night, as they get ready to turn in for the night. “No one knows you there. You’ll be treated a lot better.” He holds up the blanket on their bed for Woohyun to slide underneath. “And there’s another thing. I stopped at the Scholar’s Hall on my way back from the market. Did you know that century old spells and curses are confined to the city they’re cast in? If we move to the Republic, maybe your curse will break.”
Woohyun crawls into the bed and presses up against Myungsoo’s side. “It can’t hurt to try, can it?” In his life, Woohyun has done two selfish things. The first was not trying harder to push Myungsoo away, and the second? The second is this, is agreeing to Myungsoo’s idea. “How about we leave tomorrow?” Maybe that was a bit hasty, but why wait? Neither he or Myungsoo have anything tying them to this city - no family members to say goodbye to or business to finish up.
“Okay,” the other male agrees, pressing a quick kiss to Woohyun’s temple. He shifts around a little and wraps an arm around Woohyun’s torso. “Get some sleep, alright? We’ll have to wake up early tomorrow.”
When Woohyun shuts his eyes, he regrets it immediately. Instead of the comforting darkness that accompanies sleep, he sees red. Red eyes.
He sees the glowing eyes in front of him first, and Myungsoo standing next to him second. Woohyun doesn’t think; he just grabs Myungsoo’s hand, turns on his heel, and runs. He runs faster than he’s ever run before, even though he doesn’t know where to run to. They’re in what looks like a prison, a dark, abandoned prison. Is this where his parents died, and his grandparents before them?
They end up in a secluded room, and momentarily, they stop running. Just three minutes, Woohyun thinks, they can stop for just three minutes, right?
Myungsoo leans against the wall, next to the door, his chest rising and falling with urgency. “That’s him, isn’t it?” He asks through heavy breaths.
“Yeah,” Woohyun barely manges to breathe out. He’s doubled over in the middle of the room, his hands resting on his knees. It was so stupid of him to think that he had a chance of escaping this curse, so stupid for him to bring Myungsoo into this. “Listen, Myungsoo-”
“Woohyun!” The other male yells, practically leaping up from the wall. Standing in front of the doorway they entered through is a tall, shadowy figure with piercing red eyes.
They take off running in the other direction.
The game begins.
It’s not worth it anymore, Woohyun decides. He should have never let Myungsoo in, should have never let him get so attached to the boy. It’s not fair to Myungsoo. He could be living his life right now, but instead he’s stuck together with Woohyun forever, stuck replaying this same horrid moment over and over again.
They run away from the Man With The Red Eyes for what seems like ages. Myungsoo’s arm is thrown over his shoulder, and they stagger up the staircase, supporting each other. As always, they stop wandering the corridor when they stop in front of a barred window. The sun is almost up, if they can just wait it out...
But they’ll never make it. They never do. They didn’t make it yesterday, won’t make it today, and they sure as hell won’t tomorrow.
Myungsoo looks pretty bad, Woohyun thinks as he surveys the boy’s appearance. There’s a deep gash on his forehead that’s making him loose a lot of blood. Woohyun isn’t doing too hot either - the demon got him in the stomach, as always. He knows he can’t hold on much longer, but he has to try. If he tries, maybe, just maybe, he’ll break this curse.
He sees the familiar sign of Myungsoo fading out of consciousness, sees his eyes start to shut, and then Woohyun is shaking his shoulder, frantic and panicked. He’s not even sure if this is him moving his arm, or if those are his emotions. These were his actions once, but it’s been such a damn long time of doing the same thing that he’s no longer the one controlling himself. These movements and feelings are routine, required, robotic.
“Hey, Kim Myungsoo, stay with me!” He shakes the boy’s shoulder a bit too roughly and receives a groan in response. He knows this is it - once Myungsoo falls under, he will too. That’s how it always happens. “Please,” he says, reaching a hand out to stroke the boy’s face. He can’t stand this part, can’t stand the way Myungsoo looks so weak and the way he feels so weak and helpless. “Please, stay awake.” He’s practically begging, even though he knows it won’t do anything to help. Myungsoo never stays awake.
As always, Myungsoo mumbles something back in response, and Woohyun can’t quite make out what it is. His eyes finally slip shut, and a loud scream escapes Woohyun’s throat. “No,” he whispers, tapping at Myungsoo’s cheek. “C’mon. Come on...”
After a few more minutes of trying to rouse the boy, he decides it’s useless. Myungsoo is gone. He’s gone, and it’s all Woohyun’s fault for being so selfish. Sliding down the cement wall behind him, he cradles his head in his hand. His hands are sticky with a mixture of blood and tears, and he’d probably be repulsed by it if he weren’t so damn tired. His entire life, he’s been tired. It was only after meeting Myungsoo that he regained some energy and will to carry on. But now Myungsoo is gone and has taken his strength with him. Woohyun is sick and tired of everything again. He’s sick of running, of always ending up alone, of reliving through this same damn moment over and over again. The fatigue is overpowering, like a great white wave washing over him. He lets it take him.
As always, his last thought before his eyes flutter closed is that he’ll find a way to escape this cycle. One last breath escapes his body. It dances with the air for a bit before dissolving away.
Tomorrow, he thinks for the first and last time, tomorrow I’ll free us.
He wakes up in yesterday.
Pairing: Woohyun/Myungsoo
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Supernatural
W/C: ~1860
Summary: This curse is Woohyun's own, and he should have kept it that way. He should have never brought Myungsoo into all of this.
A/N: Written for prompt 076: chains.
*confusing, shitty, and in dire need of a rewrite.
"forever is a long, long time when you’ve lost your way."
It’s his fault, and his alone. He was selfish in wanting to keep Myungsoo, and Woohyun knows this. He’s not meant to be with anyone; it’s the one rule he set for himself when he fell into this game of cat and mouse. This is my fight, he used to tell himself. I can’t drag anyone into it.
This curse was his family’s, and now it’s his, and dammit, he was going to make sure that he was the last person to experience it. It was never that hard, staying away from others. The people in this city took care of that for him, with their stories and whispers. (“That’s that Nam boy. The One With The Red Eyes haunts his family, you know. Heard he’s the last one left, poor thing must be so lonely. But it’s the price he has to pay for his family’s sin.")
His entire life, Woohyun’s never known what sin his family committed. He’s heard the stories - “one of the Nams betrayed the emperor, stabbed him in the back, the filthy bastard” - and he’s heard the legends - “one of ‘em was a grave robber, the one who robbed emperor Jang’s crypt. they deserve the curse, if you ask me” - but never has he heard the truth from his parents. He’s not even sure if there are any truths he has to learn. Probably not, he decided years ago. He just has to accept it as his fate, and he figures that’s what his parents did too.
He’s always vowed to stay away from people, because there’s no way in hell that he’ll let anyone else experience this. This is no life, it’s just a waiting game. He knows the demon will be coming for him, but he doesn’t know when. He could live a normal life until then, he figures, but he won’t let himself. His days are numbered, and he doesn’t want to leave behind anyone to miss him. This curse needs to die with him, anyways. He can’t have a family or kids or anyone.
Woohyun does a damn good job of avoiding everyone, until Kim Myungsoo shows up. He sits next to him at a tavern one night - doesn’t he know that there’s a reason why every seat around Woohyun is empty? - and actually starts a conversation with him. The boy honestly doesn’t know who he is, and Woohyun finds it the strangest thing until he learns why.
Myungsoo’s not from the city, hell, he’s not even from the Empire. He’s from one of the cities on the other side of the mountain - you know, the one the Empire tried to take over thirty years ago? - and no, Woohyun doesn’t know because he’s not up to date on history. He’s not even up date on his own family’s history.
Woohyun tries to push Myungsoo away as hard as he can, but he just can’t. Myungsoo’s kind of quiet, but he’s got this melodious laugh and when he does talk, he’s so curious. He can’t turn Myungsoo away, not when he’s the first person who isn’t scared of him. The younger boy is interested in the occult and the supernatural, and Woohyun figures that’s good enough - if Myungsoo doesn’t mind the bad luck he brings, then what reason does he have to push him away?
Woohyun’s always wondered exactly why his mother married his father, and it’s not until he meets Myungsoo that he understands. It’s nice, he decides, to have someone who’s always there. Woohyun has been alone most of his life, and it’s strange, he thinks, to be so close to someone. It’s an odd feeling, this feeling of needing someone, of craving their presence and voice and smell and touch.
The feeling is addicting, and it almost makes breaking his promise to himself worth it. Almost.
It’s kind of sick, the way the demon leads him on, makes him think that maybe, just maybe the curse won’t reach him. He thought the demon would have come for him by now. It’s been years since he met Myungsoo, and isn’t it weird for Red Eyes to let him live in normalcy for so long? Maybe the demon is bored of this game, tired of tormenting his family. Maybe the demon sought its revenge. Maybe he’ll be free to live a normal life.
It’d be nice to live a normal life with Myungsoo, in a place where they can walk around without dirty looks. Right now they live at the edge of the Imperial City - because who wants to be neighbors with a Nam? - in a dinky slum that shouldn’t really be considered a home.
“We should move to my hometown in the Republic,” Myungsoo says one night, as they get ready to turn in for the night. “No one knows you there. You’ll be treated a lot better.” He holds up the blanket on their bed for Woohyun to slide underneath. “And there’s another thing. I stopped at the Scholar’s Hall on my way back from the market. Did you know that century old spells and curses are confined to the city they’re cast in? If we move to the Republic, maybe your curse will break.”
Woohyun crawls into the bed and presses up against Myungsoo’s side. “It can’t hurt to try, can it?” In his life, Woohyun has done two selfish things. The first was not trying harder to push Myungsoo away, and the second? The second is this, is agreeing to Myungsoo’s idea. “How about we leave tomorrow?” Maybe that was a bit hasty, but why wait? Neither he or Myungsoo have anything tying them to this city - no family members to say goodbye to or business to finish up.
“Okay,” the other male agrees, pressing a quick kiss to Woohyun’s temple. He shifts around a little and wraps an arm around Woohyun’s torso. “Get some sleep, alright? We’ll have to wake up early tomorrow.”
When Woohyun shuts his eyes, he regrets it immediately. Instead of the comforting darkness that accompanies sleep, he sees red. Red eyes.
He sees the glowing eyes in front of him first, and Myungsoo standing next to him second. Woohyun doesn’t think; he just grabs Myungsoo’s hand, turns on his heel, and runs. He runs faster than he’s ever run before, even though he doesn’t know where to run to. They’re in what looks like a prison, a dark, abandoned prison. Is this where his parents died, and his grandparents before them?
They end up in a secluded room, and momentarily, they stop running. Just three minutes, Woohyun thinks, they can stop for just three minutes, right?
Myungsoo leans against the wall, next to the door, his chest rising and falling with urgency. “That’s him, isn’t it?” He asks through heavy breaths.
“Yeah,” Woohyun barely manges to breathe out. He’s doubled over in the middle of the room, his hands resting on his knees. It was so stupid of him to think that he had a chance of escaping this curse, so stupid for him to bring Myungsoo into this. “Listen, Myungsoo-”
“Woohyun!” The other male yells, practically leaping up from the wall. Standing in front of the doorway they entered through is a tall, shadowy figure with piercing red eyes.
They take off running in the other direction.
The game begins.
It’s not worth it anymore, Woohyun decides. He should have never let Myungsoo in, should have never let him get so attached to the boy. It’s not fair to Myungsoo. He could be living his life right now, but instead he’s stuck together with Woohyun forever, stuck replaying this same horrid moment over and over again.
They run away from the Man With The Red Eyes for what seems like ages. Myungsoo’s arm is thrown over his shoulder, and they stagger up the staircase, supporting each other. As always, they stop wandering the corridor when they stop in front of a barred window. The sun is almost up, if they can just wait it out...
But they’ll never make it. They never do. They didn’t make it yesterday, won’t make it today, and they sure as hell won’t tomorrow.
Myungsoo looks pretty bad, Woohyun thinks as he surveys the boy’s appearance. There’s a deep gash on his forehead that’s making him loose a lot of blood. Woohyun isn’t doing too hot either - the demon got him in the stomach, as always. He knows he can’t hold on much longer, but he has to try. If he tries, maybe, just maybe, he’ll break this curse.
He sees the familiar sign of Myungsoo fading out of consciousness, sees his eyes start to shut, and then Woohyun is shaking his shoulder, frantic and panicked. He’s not even sure if this is him moving his arm, or if those are his emotions. These were his actions once, but it’s been such a damn long time of doing the same thing that he’s no longer the one controlling himself. These movements and feelings are routine, required, robotic.
“Hey, Kim Myungsoo, stay with me!” He shakes the boy’s shoulder a bit too roughly and receives a groan in response. He knows this is it - once Myungsoo falls under, he will too. That’s how it always happens. “Please,” he says, reaching a hand out to stroke the boy’s face. He can’t stand this part, can’t stand the way Myungsoo looks so weak and the way he feels so weak and helpless. “Please, stay awake.” He’s practically begging, even though he knows it won’t do anything to help. Myungsoo never stays awake.
As always, Myungsoo mumbles something back in response, and Woohyun can’t quite make out what it is. His eyes finally slip shut, and a loud scream escapes Woohyun’s throat. “No,” he whispers, tapping at Myungsoo’s cheek. “C’mon. Come on...”
After a few more minutes of trying to rouse the boy, he decides it’s useless. Myungsoo is gone. He’s gone, and it’s all Woohyun’s fault for being so selfish. Sliding down the cement wall behind him, he cradles his head in his hand. His hands are sticky with a mixture of blood and tears, and he’d probably be repulsed by it if he weren’t so damn tired. His entire life, he’s been tired. It was only after meeting Myungsoo that he regained some energy and will to carry on. But now Myungsoo is gone and has taken his strength with him. Woohyun is sick and tired of everything again. He’s sick of running, of always ending up alone, of reliving through this same damn moment over and over again. The fatigue is overpowering, like a great white wave washing over him. He lets it take him.
As always, his last thought before his eyes flutter closed is that he’ll find a way to escape this cycle. One last breath escapes his body. It dances with the air for a bit before dissolving away.
Tomorrow, he thinks for the first and last time, tomorrow I’ll free us.
He wakes up in yesterday.