The Approaching Curve (Part 1)
Title: The Approaching Curve
Fandom: SS501
Pairing: HyunSaeng
Word Count: 12,200
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Rating: PG-16
Warnings: AU, Angst, and a slightly disturbing scene
Summary: People catch rides all the time. Whether they know the driver or not, everyone needs to go somewhere...and everyone has a story. For most, a hitchhike is merely a few sentences in the story of their lives, but sometimes it becomes the foundation of a whole new story altogether.
A/N: I don't even...this was requested by renichifreak who wanted HyunSaeng with the prompt of Hitchhiker. I'm not quite sure what happened to it. Err...hope you like it anyways? Betaed by the forever awesome mi_iseul , thank you so much~~~ <3 And LOL, LJ decided the entry was too long…it’s NEVER done that before /amused
There was a story my mother used to tell me when I was little.
I used to have nightmares about the forest burning, the lake turning to acid and the animals decaying where they stood.
And I always, always woke up screaming.
She would take me from the hammock and bring me to the edge of the platform, so I could see the forest around us at night. It was beautiful. The fireflies danced and crickets chirped, and through the leaves above us, I could see the clear starry sky. It always took my breath away. But at the same time the tears would rise unbidden and I would cry at the thought of such beauty destroyed.
She would hold me close, rocking gently, and sing to me. It wasn't a real song...not really. But her melodic voice formed the words of the story like the clear notes of the morning birds.
It was always the same story...the exact same one.
The story of a place where we would be free.
***************
"Aish...the rain never ends," sighed the young man at the steering wheel, tapping at it lightly with his fingers in tune to the song playing on the radio. Squinting past the torrent that beat the windshield, he flicked the wipers up to max and turned the radio a little louder to compete with the drumming noise of the rain. That and the hum of the engine were the only noises; he was the only car on this lonely highway that probably went nowhere.
It had been raining every day since HyunJoong had left the small town where he'd temporarily taken up residence. He'd lived there for a grand total of 4 months. Actually, it was the longest he'd managed to stay in one spot for a while. He'd almost wondered if it wouldn't be so hard to stay...it was a nice place and the girl who worked the convenience store had been pretty cute.
But as always, he woke up one day, packed his bags, paid the landlord and left.
Maybe none of the places he'd stayed had caught his interest. Maybe he just wasn't ready to settle down, take a permanent job and start a family. Maybe he would never be ready.
He was a drifter. It was his life.
He just didn't get why it always had to be raining whenever he chose to leave.
Whistling a tune, HyunJoong blinked and squinted again. Was that a shape on the side of the road?
A little big for an animal...
By the time he realized it was someone waving at the car, he'd driven right by and splashed the poor person standing by the side of the road.
Wincing, HyunJoong slowed to a stop quickly and looked back. Yes, that was definitely a person. Throwing the drive into reverse, he was glad he was the only car on the highway as he backed up to where the man stood...without an umbrella.
Or a coat for that matter.
Once he was stopped, HyunJoong rolled down the passenger window. "Sorry," he called over the sound of the rain. "What are you doing out here?"
The man's clothing was soaked by the rain (and that last splash probably hadn't helped) and he was visibly shivering. Wasn't this the middle of nowhere?
"N-need a ride," the stranger got out past the shivers. "Would you mind?"
HyunJoong didn't normally pick up hitchhikers, especially since he basically carried all he owned in the car but he wasn't heartless. The guy looked like he might just freeze to death.
"Not at all. Get in." HyunJoong unlocked the passenger door and reached over to push it open.
The stranger climbed in gratefully, then winced as he noticed he would soak the inside of the car.
"S-so-rry..."
"Don't worry about it," HyunJoong replied, waiting for the unknown man to strap himself in before starting to drive again. "It'll dry. Where are you heading?"
"Anywhere."
Raising an eyebrow, HyunJoong glanced at him. "You sure?" Everyone had somewhere to go. Except for HyunJoong himself.
The young man nodded, brushing long black locks out of his eyes. "Though it would be much appreciated if you could bring me to the next town rather than drop me off on a random road."
HyunJoong chuckled. "Did someone do that to you, for you to end up out here?"
"Something like that..."
Silence fell not long after, HyunJoong comfortable with it. He was used to traveling alone with no one to talk to other than himself and didn't mind it really. The man beside him did little more than stare out the window, shifting uncomfortably in his wet clothing. The only thing he had with him, HyunJoong noticed from the corner of his eyes, was a rather long duffle bag that looked a little awkward to hold on to.
"You can toss that into the back if you want," he commented, waving behind him absently. The man shook his head and HyunJoong was sure he wasn’t imagining the way his hands gripped the bag tighter.
It was a long way until the next town. Attempting small talk every now and then, HyunJoong found his sudden traveling companion wasn't very open with details. Practically the only thing he could get out of him was his name: Heo YoungSaeng.
After a bit of watching him shiver despite the fact that the heat was up to max, HyunJoong finally pulled over again.
"Hold on a sec," he said to YoungSaeng, who looked up at him with wide eyes as he got out of the car and ran around to the trunk. Half a minute later HyunJoong was back, soaked from the rain and holding a blanket.
"Here," he said, climbing back in and passing the blanket to YoungSaeng. "Before you die of pneumonia."
"I'm fine-" YoungSaeng started to protest and yelped when HyunJoong dumped the blanket on top of his head.
"Sure you are." HyunJoong grinned at the indignant look on the other man's face once the blanket was pulled out of the way.
Starting to drive again once he was strapped in, HyunJoong caught YoungSaeng smiling out of the corner of his vision and chuckled inwardly.
"So why were you out there without a jacket or anything?" HyunJoong asked after a few minutes, the blanket settled around YoungSaeng finally.
The other man shrugged, still not offering up many details. HyunJoong was beginning to wonder what kind of person he'd picked up who wouldn't tell him anything.
"Should I start fearing for my life?"
YoungSaeng jerked, blinking at HyunJoong with wide eyes through damp bangs. "What?"
"Maybe you're a fugitive from the police," HyunJoong answered seriously. "Or a terrorist. Or a rapist."
A choked burst of laughter escaped YoungSaeng at that last one and didn't stop. "W-what? No...no, I'm none of those," he managed to get out once he'd caught his breath.
"Then what are you exactly?"
YoungSaeng looked away, out the window again.
"...Are you a runaway?"
The young man jerked slightly, HyunJoong not missing it.
"I'm under no obligation to tell you anything, HyunJoong sshi."
"Well, actually, you kind of are. I don't want to be picked up by the police as an accomplice to something, or a kidnapper."
Watching him from the corner of his eyes, HyunJoong saw YoungSaeng shake his head slowly, his gaze still out the window. "You don't need to worry about that...that's all I will tell you. Please drop me off at the next town."
HyunJoong watched him silently for a moment. "...All right. Well, looks like I'll have no choice but to stop there anyways."
"Hm?"
HyunJoong pointed at the swiftly darkening sky up ahead. "That's a pretty nasty storm coming up. And I don't know about you, but I want to be inside when it hits."
***************
They were just pulling up in front of a local inn when the winds hit them. The rain, already intense, became positively brutal as HyunJoong shut off the engine, watching outside the window with a frown.
"This doesn't look too good."
YoungSaeng nodded, then ducked his head. "Thank you for driving me here. I wish you a safe journey." Then he opened the door and got out of the car.
"Hey, wait!" HyunJoong called as he watched YoungSaeng sling his bag over his shoulder and walk away, bent against the wind. Just where was he going anyway?
But the young man was already gone, lost in the blowing wind of the approaching storm.
"...That guy's going to catch pneumonia for sure," HyunJoong sighed, brushing his hair back out of his face. There wasn't anything he could do about it though. He wasn't about to tell a stranger what to do.
So he grabbed his backpack with his money, a spare set of clothes, and a few essentials in it before getting out as well, locking the car door and running for the inn.
***************
The storm was pretty bad. HyunJoong watched from the safety of the window as a garbage can half his height was blown down the length of the street. Hopefully it let up soon, though either way, HyunJoong had the feeling he wasn't going anywhere for the rest of the night.
He had just sat down to read something, wishing he had the chance to get his guitar out of his car without drowning it, when the power flickered out.
A faint sigh leaving him, HyunJoong laid down on the bed instead and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe he'd just sleep instead; staying awake now meant thinking, and thinking always seemed to return to the one subject he wanted to avoid - why he was drifting in the first place.
It had been nearly 5 years already and sometimes it annoyed him to no end that he couldn't put it behind him and move on. And at other times, he was glad that it haunted him so.
If it hadn't, he might as well have been just like them. Cold, cruel. They took everything away, anything they touched turned to ruin, like they had mastered death itself.
And the memories kept him wandering from town to town, never settling, never satisfied. Because he felt he had to make up for it somehow...and that there was somewhere he needed to be.
Somewhere.
He must have dozed off, because the next time HyunJoong opened his eyes, the sound of the rain and wind had changed. Blinking away sleep, he frowned, not quite sure how it had changed. It was still as loud as ever and there was the racket of things being blown around outside. That wasn't any different.
But the quality was different somehow. Sitting up slowly, HyunJoong listened harder. It was...ringing slightly. Like someone was screaming.
The realization jolted him up from the bed and to the window. It must be close; he wouldn't be able to hear it over the storm otherwise. Maybe it was just a baby or something; he would have thought it to be one of the other people staying at the inn, except it was very clearly coming from outside.
Squinting through the rain and feeling an odd sense of déjà vu, HyunJoong's eyes locked on figures outside. Was that a fight? There was the tell-tale flash of metal past the rain and HyunJoong's eyes widened. Whatever it was, it was serious.
As he watched, the figure in the middle of the group broke away and took off down the street at a dead run. Even though he couldn't see very well through the rain, HyunJoong recognized the soaked, tattered clothing and duffle bag instantly.
YoungSaeng.
Without even thinking, he ran out of the room and grabbed his coat on the way out. The inn hallways were deserted so HyunJoong was able to leave the building quickly. Pulling his hood up, it didn't take him long to spot the group chasing after the figure that was YoungSaeng through the streets. Every time they caught up, YoungSaeng seemed to just slip through their fingers, avoiding the sharp blades and putting on another burst of speed.
But there were so many of them, it wouldn't take long before they caught him. Why were they chasing after YoungSaeng anyways? They didn't look like the police... Then as he drew closer, HyunJoong's gaze landed on an all-too-familiar symbol stitched into their jackets. His throat closed as he took in the hourglass, the grains of sand falling through it red.
"Your time is up. Erase them. Erase them all."
And suddenly he understood.
Glancing around quickly, HyunJoong spotted YoungSaeng turning down another street and took a shortcut, disappearing down a side alley. Running as fast as he could through the rain, HyunJoong came back out onto the other street just in time to see one of the men grab YoungSaeng's bag.
Whirling around, the young man kicked at them, yelling to let go. The yells morphed into a scream as a blade found his arm but he stubbornly clung to the bag, red dripping through his shirt and mixing with the rain.
"Coming through!" HyunJoong shouldered one of the men out of the way and drop-kicked the one holding onto YoungSaeng's bag, which the young man seemed unable to leave without. The bag was let go and HyunJoong shoved it back into a stunned YoungSaeng's hands.
"Run," he panted, pulling the surprised man along.
"HyunJoong sshi?!"
"Yeah, thank me later. Come on, let's lose them." There was no way they'd be able to fend off so many. They had been taken by surprise though and were falling behind. HyunJoong and YoungSaeng could outrun them...
Bang!
YoungSaeng screamed as he went down, a hand clutching his leg. The bag fell beside him, HyunJoong skidding to a stop. Shit.
"Are you all right?"
"No...damn it all..." The blood pouring through YoungSaeng's fingers was too much. His fingers were shaking but HyunJoong didn't think it was from pain. Fear...it was fear.
They looked up at the approaching men who were advancing slowly now, mocking. They knew their prey was trapped.
"You should leave, HyunJoong sshi," YoungSaeng said quietly. "It's me they're after."
HyunJoong shook his head. "They don't look like the friendly type. Why would I leave you here?"
"Because this doesn't have anything to do with you!" YoungSaeng hissed, his eyes wide with panic. "They'll kill you, you stupid hu-" he cut himself off abruptly.
A thoughtful look crossed HyunJoong's face. "Thought so. Whatever's in that bag, you might want to use it...elf."
Jerking to one side, YoungSaeng stared at him. "H...How did you..."
"The spell on your ears wore off," HyunJoong replied simply. YoungSaeng's hands went to his ears quickly, trying to hide the suddenly pointed tips that HyunJoong had spotted.
Looking up at the men approaching, hunters, HyunJoong sighed in annoyance. "And I thought I was through with this," he muttered before breaking into a run straight at them.
He was too quick for them to react and he was among them before they could fire the gun they'd shot YoungSaeng with. Lashing out with hands and feet, he forced them back.
HyunJoong was fast on his feet and strong, but they had blades. As such, he could only hold them back for so long. Knocking one hunter back, HyunJoong felt a muscled arm wrap around his neck from behind, pulling him into a stranglehold. Something whizzed by and screams erupted around him, hunters scattering left and right. Feeling the hold around his neck loosen, HyunJoong broke away.
"Duck!"
Instinctively HyunJoong did as he was told, crouching low to the ground just in time. Something flew past his head and a hunter went down right behind him. Blinking as the remaining hunters ran, HyunJoong looked towards YoungSaeng.
The elf was on his feet, the open bag beside him as he awkwardly balanced on his good leg. Nothing however, was awkward about the bow he held in a tight grip, already fitting another arrow to the string from his bag. Sighting on a hunter who hadn't run and instead aimed with a gun, YoungSaeng beat him to the draw. The hunter fell, an arrow clean through his chest.
HyunJoong watched the rest of the hunters run, then looked back at YoungSaeng to see the elf had collapsed.
Getting to his feet, he walked over and crouched beside the fallen man. His clothing was thoroughly soaked and now that HyunJoong was actually focusing on them, looked handmade. His skin was pale but not as pure white as a high elf's, and the clothing wasn't right for a drow, so HyunJoong assumed woodland.
He was also losing blood fast.
Sighing to himself, HyunJoong carefully picked up the bow and tucked it back into the abnormally long duffle bag to stop it from getting wetter than it already was, before shouldering the bag and picking up the unconscious man, glad that elves were naturally light.
He would have to wait to ask why in the world a woodland elf was hitchhiking around later...when they were both dry and YoungSaeng's injuries tended to. Glancing at the dead hunters and that symbol on the coats, HyunJoong turned and walked back towards the inn.
***************
Callused fingers ran over the patch of cloth in his hand, the young man's brow furrowed in thought.
A soft moan drew his attention to the man laying in the plain bed, HyunJoong tucking the piece of fabric in his hands back into his backpack. He watched patiently as YoungSaeng's eyes opened slowly and the elf blinked at the ceiling before turning his attention to the man sitting beside the bed.
"...Where are we?" YoungSaeng murmured after a moment.
"The inn. I figured it was better than staying out there in the rain."
"A hu-" Again the elf cut himself off.
HyunJoong's lips curled into a smile. "I know what you are so you don't have to worry about your words. Yeah, it's a human dwelling."
"How did you know that was what I was going to say?"
"Woodland elves seem to have a problem with fully enclosed buildings, if I recall correctly. I would open the window if I could but I don't want any of the garbage blowing around out there in here."
YoungSaeng lifted a hand to his ears, obviously pointed and longer than normal, and cautiously sat up. The gaze he directed at HyunJoong was wary. "How do you know what I am?"
"The ears are something of a giveaway."
"Don't play dumb. You specified 'woodland'. No one should be able to tell that just from my ears."
HyunJoong chuckled. "Fine, you caught me. I guess you could say I'm something of an expert on non-humans. I dried off your bow and left it to air, by the way," he continued, motioning to the bow in the corner of the room. "It would be a shame for something so excellently crafted to go to ruin. You made it, I assume?"
The elf nodded slowly. "It's part of our rite of passage." His eyes narrowed. "But I suppose you already knew that."
The human smiled indulgently. "I might have."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't," was the blunt answer. "But the fact that I helped you get away from those hunters and stopped you from bleeding to death in the rain might be something of an indication."
YoungSaeng looked at his arm, then under the blankets at his leg. Both wounds were bound neatly in bandages. And... "These aren't my clothes."
"Right." HyunJoong rubbed his head somewhat sheepishly. "They were soaked with rain and blood so I fetched some clothes out of my car."
"You...undressed me," YoungSaeng deadpanned.
"That would be the implication, ye-HEY!" HyunJoong yelped as a pillow was thrown at him. "If I had left you in those clothes, elf or not, you would have caught something. Not to mention ruined the bed." He quickly got up and out of the way as YoungSaeng searched for something else within arm's reach he could throw.
"I am not thanking you."
"I wasn't looking to be thanked, only not to be decapitated." Elves were scarily accurate.
When it looked safe, HyunJoong returned to the seat. "So...will you tell me why you were hitchhiking now?" he asked hesitantly, not one to press but the hunters had got him thinking again and he had to wonder why his life seemed to revolve around things like this.
"..."
YoungSaeng looked down at the bed, picking at the blankets and obviously uncomfortable. Woodland elves would be used to the open air, their homes protected from the harsher weather by woven spells and offerings to the elements. A room like this would feel extremely restricting to one...like a cage.
But at the same time, YoungSaeng seemed to understand that out here there were no spells to keep him safe from the storm raging outside and that with his injuries and the hunters outside, he had no choice but to stay.
"I'm going somewhere," the elf finally said, his hands stilling.
"Where?"
"...Calael."
HyunJoong raised an eyebrow. "Calael? Doesn't sound like Hangul to me..."
"It's not. It's our word for haven."
"...All right..." Nodding slowly, HyunJoong paused. "And where is this 'Calael'?
"I don't know."
"...What?" That didn't make any sense. "You're going somewhere, but you don't know where it is?"
YoungSaeng shook his head. "I've only heard about it in a story. My mother used to tell me about it as a child, about a place where we can always go where we will be welcome and safe. Protected...free. There are...images in my head, words that formed pictures as she told the story, but other than those I have no guide."
"...Well, that's troublesome..." HyunJoong rubbed his head in thought. "So you've just been hitchhiking all across South Korea? How do you even know it's in South Korea?"
"I know," YoungSaeng said firmly. "She never mentioned anything about crossing large bodies of water."
"What about North Korea then?"
"Your human borders have little impact on us."
"Maybe not, but the bullets North Korean soldiers will fire at you will. I really hope it's on this side of the border..." HyunJoong mumbled.
The elf raised an eyebrow at him. "What does it matter? Where I go is none of your concern."
HyunJoong shrugged. "Maybe I would like to go with you."
"...What?" YoungSaeng's eyes widened. "Why would you want to do that? You're not indebted to me in any way...if anything, I'm indebted to you for taking care of my injuries and driving me here."
"Which is why you'll put up with me while I drive you all over the country chasing after some mythical place, right?" HyunJoong concluded with a smile.
"Why? Don't you have somewhere you need to be? A home?"
Shaking his head, HyunJoong shrugged again. "I'm a drifter. I go wherever I want to go. And I saved up more than enough money in the last few towns to keep me going for a while before I need to settle again. Besides...how much do you know about modern society? You lived in a forest, right?"
YoungSaeng's eyes shadowed slightly. "Yes..."
"Then what do you know about telephones? Internet? Transportation?"
"I'm not so out of date...I know what they are."
"But do you know how to use them to their full advantage, as well as a city human could?" HyunJoong raised an eyebrow when YoungSaeng was silent. "My point exactly. I can help you with all this, and more. Unless you're content to just hitch a ride off whomever you can and hope you aren't either assaulted for your looks, killed by the weather, or picked up by hunters."
Frustration was visible in YoungSaeng's expression. "I...I don't even know if I can trust you. You're human."
"Have I done anything worth your suspicions yet?" HyunJoong asked quietly.
"No..."
"Then give me a chance. Not all humans are evil."
YoungSaeng was silent for a long moment, picking at the blanket, before the tension left his lithe frame in a faint sigh, his shoulders dropping a little. "All right. All right...but if you do anything suspicious, I'll put an arrow through your ears."
"I'll keep that in mind," HyunJoong smiled. He didn't doubt YoungSaeng could do it either. From 100 yards blindfolded. Never mess with an elf in their element.
Something was nagging at him though.
"Why did you leave home, YoungSaeng?"
The pain reappeared in the elf's eyes as he looked towards the window, towards the storm raging outside.
"Because...there's nothing left for me there."
"...Oh..." HyunJoong fell silent after that, the only sounds in the room the beating of the rain and the howling of the wind.
***************
The morning was bright and sunny with no sign of the storm that had raged through the area other than the garbage and belongings strewn across the roads. There was no talk of bodies, so HyunJoong assumed the hunters left must have used the cover of the storm to collect their dead. They always worked that way. Coming and going without a trace, as mysterious as the non-humans they chased after.
"Are you sure you don't want to put that in the back? I'm hardly going to do anything to it while I'm busy trying not to drive off the road," HyunJoong said, watching YoungSaeng hold on to his duffle bag. It made sense for the elf to be protective over the few belongings he had left but HyunJoong thought it a little overboard at this point.
"..."
Chewing on his lower lip, YoungSaeng finally relented with a sigh and hesitantly passed his bag to HyunJoong, who tucked it carefully into the back with his own bags in a spot where it wouldn't be crushed.
"Now, what do you know about where we need to go?" HyunJoong asked, closing the trunk.
"There's a stream," YoungSaeng answered, his gaze becoming distant as he remembered. "Water nymphs lived there and if you followed the stream, you would pass through a forest. In the story, umma always talked about how you had to give something precious to the faeries that lived in the largest tree and they would show you the path to take to get there. The path was infused with spiritual energy and if one with malicious intent were to follow it, the path would change and lead them around in circles."
HyunJoong listened to all this, thinking. "There was nothing in the story before the stream?"
YoungSaeng thought for a moment. "The story always started in the mountains. Umma always went straight to the stream after that."
"Mountains..." That wasn't very specific. Now HyunJoong could see why YoungSaeng had resorted to hitchhiking everywhere despite a strong mistrust of humans. "The best clue we have then is the nymphs. Nymphs only live in places far from people, completely untouched. The water in the stream would have to be crystal pure."
Humans had settled in practically every inch of the globe; such places would be scarce.
"That was what I was searching for," YoungSaeng nodded. "But I can find no end to human influence. Your highways stretch everywhere."
Thinking for a long moment, HyunJoong finally walked to the front of his car and opened the glove compartment. He flipped through the files inside before pulling out a folded-up map. He returned to where YoungSaeng was standing, watching him curiously, and unfolded it.
"Let's take a look then," he said simply, pressing the map up against the trunk door so they could see.
"Are these all the highways?"
"Yep. Along with the cities, farm zones, urban sprawl...anywhere humans would be found." HyunJoong looked along the map of South Korea. "I've been drifting for years so it's always helpful to know exactly where I'm going to find a place to stay."
YoungSaeng stepped up beside him, his lips pursed together. "I don't see any indication of mountains..."
"That's because this map is urban sprawl only. But I know where they are. Here..." He motioned to YoungSaeng to hold up one side of the map before drawing a line across part of the land with one finger. "And here..." He made another line. "And right here." The third line he drew was shorter. "Those are the mountain chains. Was it one mountain in the story, or many?"
"Many."
HyunJoong nodded. "Then let's try where the mountains are but only in the human-free zones." He pulled a pencil out of his pocket and drew in the mountain chains.
"There are no humans here," YoungSaeng pointed out, tapping a spot on the map. HyunJoong circled it.
"And none here either," the human continued, circling another spot.
They stood there for five minutes, going over the map and circling any spots that might be where Calael was. Then HyunJoong went over those spots again, removing the zones where there were no chances of finding either a stream or a forest.
They were left with ten spots. "Well, it's still a little hit and miss," HyunJoong said, scratching his head. "But a lot better than driving around aimlessly. We're pretty close to this spot here," he said, tapping an area on the map. "Why don't we try there?"
"I still don't understand why you are helping me, HyunJoong sshi," YoungSaeng replied, glancing at him.
"You can drop the 'sshi'. And I suppose I'm just curious. It isn't everyday I run into a woodland elf," HyunJoong replied, smiling at him. "It's not like I'm really going anywhere else."
YoungSaeng turned and looked at him properly, searching his eyes. HyunJoong blinked back at him. After a long moment, the elf sighed and nodded, turning away. "Let's go then."
HyunJoong chuckled despite himself as he folded the map back up before walking to the driver's side of the car and getting in.
***************
Despite the first 'safe zone' (as they had started calling them) being much closer than the others, it was still a few days away. HyunJoong didn't press the elf for details on his life and YoungSaeng returned the favor but the silence grew steadily more and more comfortable.
It wasn't that they didn't talk; they did. YoungSaeng would ask about human things he'd never heard of before or had never been clear on the details, and HyunJoong filled in the few details he was missing about woodland elves and how they lived...while keeping it as unspecific to YoungSaeng as possible. Though wary of him, YoungSaeng didn't refuse his request to hear him play the small wooden flute kept in his duffle bag, and even translated a few elven words for him.
It took three days to reach the base of the mountains. From that point in, they were following dirt roads, HyunJoong maneuvering carefully along the steep slope. Several times YoungSaeng asked to stop so he could get out and search by foot. HyunJoong followed him where he could but sometimes the forest around them was too wild for anyone other than a woodland elf to navigate.
According to YoungSaeng, he would be able to sense the spiritual energy when they were close, but throughout the search, he was only able to turn up small pockets of it, usually by gatherings of brownies or pixies. Finally they had to admit that this safe zone was empty.
***************
"You said before that carving your own bow was a rite of passage," HyunJoong asked, watching as YoungSaeng drew the string taut and released the arrow with practiced ease. The arrow thumped into the base of a tree trunk at the very edge of the clearing. "For what age?"
YoungSaeng glanced at him. "You seem to know so much about us, yet you don't know about this?"
HyunJoong shrugged. "I know elves age slower than humans and reach adulthood at 100, at which point they stop aging completely. At the most, their hair may turn white. Is it the rite of passage for adulthood?"
The elf shook his head. "No...that rite is completely different. Back home, the young elf males would fashion their first bow at an age that, compared to humans, I suppose could relate to puberty."
"How old are you, YoungSaeng ah?"
"Old enough for you calling me as though I'm younger to be insulting."
A chuckle escaped HyunJoong. "Alright, alright, I'll stop asking."
YoungSaeng sighed and brought another arrow up, aiming.
"Should I be calling you ajusshi then?"
The elf's arm jerked slightly and the arrow missed. When YoungSaeng turned around and glared at him, the expression on the other man's face forced a burst of laughter from HyunJoong until he was rolling on the ground.
"Stupid human..." YoungSaeng grumbled, kicking at the rolling man, but there was no force behind it. HyunJoong just rolled onto his other side and continued laughing. And after a moment of watching him, the frown on the elf's face slowly curled upwards instead.
***************
Another safe zone was crossed off the list, then another. Before either of them knew it, they had been traveling around for nearly two weeks. YoungSaeng, at least, seemed to lose the idea that HyunJoong was going to kill him in his sleep, gradually opening up, but not without more than a little prodding from the human.
HyunJoong made a game out of drawing reactions from the silent elf, using whatever means possible. Aside from the first attempt at beheading so long ago, YoungSaeng's reactions were muted. But then again, elves were hard to get worked up, their emotions carefully controlled.
HyunJoong couldn't help but wonder what would happen if YoungSaeng lost that control.
***************
"...Oh no..."
HyunJoong glanced at YoungSaeng beside him, the elf frozen in place. They were fighting their way through the bushes around another safe zone...or more like HyunJoong fighting his way through and YoungSaeng navigating effortlessly and soundlessly. Until that instant.
The expression on the elf's face was one of utter shock and horror...more so than anything HyunJoong had ever seen before.
"What is it?" HyunJoong asked, until he smelled it. Decaying flesh. Gagging, he turned and looked where YoungSaeng was staring, his stomach twisting in anticipation of what he knew he was going to see.
The deer was leaning against a tree not that far away. At first glance, it looked like it was resting...until HyunJoong's gaze trailed down the majestic neck to the rotting flesh of its stomach, being eaten away as though by acid right in front of their eyes. Fur and flesh fell away in chunks, leaving bone and organs exposed. The deer was still alive, though it was unclear how, making pitiful noises as it staggered forward a few paces.
Then whatever was eating the deer reached its heart and the beast crumbled to the ground, black eyes staring blankly and tongue lolling out of its mouth.
A choked noise came from HyunJoong's right and the human looked back at YoungSaeng. The elf was crouching on the ground, his hands clasped over his mouth, just staring.
"YoungSaeng?" HyunJoong asked quietly, crouching beside him.
"It's happening again...not again..."
"What is happening?" HyunJoong asked, though a sinking feeling in his stomach said he already knew exactly what it was. Voices rang in his ears.
"Nothing will be able to escape the virus...anything it touches will die. The perfect weapon."
Suddenly YoungSaeng was up and running, jolting HyunJoong into following him. "Wait! Saeng, it's dangerous!" he yelled after him. But YoungSaeng wasn't listening, racing on ahead, and it was all HyunJoong could do not to lose the elf.
"Shyraes, moraes!" YoungSaeng cried out up ahead. "Myrn osaer! Shi cali sai jhaeli!"
Though HyunJoong didn't know a word of elven, much less the woodland dialect, he could tell from the note of panic in YoungSaeng's voice that he was calling for any non-humans in the area.
But there was no answer.
Finally HyunJoong caught up to YoungSaeng, the elf stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking a grand lake. Or...what used to be a lake. He was pretty sure the water wasn't supposed to be that color...and were those dead fish?
"It was poisoned," YoungSaeng whispered, his voice slightly hoarse. "The animals drank from the lake...and were eaten from the inside." The elf glanced to one side, then away quickly, and when HyunJoong did the same, he saw a dead squirrel, barely more than a puddle of blackened goo, fur and crawling flies.
Carved into the tree behind it was the shape of an hourglass.
"Are there any elves here?" HyunJoong asked and YoungSaeng shook his head.
"Not elves...but there are still non-humans here...I can sense them. Where is the fire?"
"Fire?"
YoungSaeng looked up at HyunJoong with wide eyes. "The poison is only the first wave," he said, the elven accent coming across heavy in his panic. "Those who weren't eaten by it..."
"...Will be flushed out by the flames," HyunJoong finished, swallowing, the voices ringing in his ears again. "Flames specifically after anything with a large amount of spiritual energy..."
The elf stared at him. "How..."
There was a sharp snap from their right and they both jumped, YoungSaeng grabbing HyunJoong to stop the human from falling right off the cliff's edge and into the acid lake. When he straightened and looked up, HyunJoong's gaze found a pillar of smoke.
"It's not too late," YoungSaeng said, a note of desperation in his voice, and before HyunJoong could say anything the elf was gone again, forcing him to run after him.
If YoungSaeng got too close to the fire, it would target him...
Putting on a burst of speed, HyunJoong forced his way through the bushes and ignored the dead and dying animals and plants that he passed. He caught up to YoungSaeng finally as the elf stopped to look around, his fingers closing around the other man's wrist.
"We need to go, now," he said firmly.
"There may be survivors," YoungSaeng said frantically, trying to wrench his arm out of the human's grasp. "Let me go! E pyl's ialaesal!"
"You know I don't understand elven," HyunJoong replied. "YoungSaeng, listen to me. Listen!" He grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, forcing the elf to look at him.
"It's over. There's nothing we can do here. If you get too close to the fire, you'll die as well. We have to leave because the hunters may still be around here somewhere. It's not safe."
"Nowhere is safe," YoungSaeng snapped. "Only Calael is safe for us...and those who live in this forest deserve a chance to reach it."
"There is no one left, YoungSaeng."
"You're wrong," the elf shook his head stubbornly. "There are still some left...I can..."
"YoungSaeng...you're sensing the fire. The fire was manipulated by hunters to imitate spiritual energy and to seek it. It will lurk you to it and consume you. You will never be able to reach Calael. Do you understand me?"
Finally YoungSaeng stilled, staring at him. "How do you know this?" he whispered. "Just who are you?"
"A drifter," HyunJoong said firmly. "And that's what we're going to do, right now. We're getting back in my car and getting out of here. Trust me...this place is beyond saving."
The elf quivered where he stood and slowly lowered his head, his fringe hiding his eyes as YoungSaeng nodded mutely. HyunJoong sighed and started to head back towards the car, his hand slipping from YoungSaeng's wrist down into the elf's hand.
***************
YoungSaeng was silent the rest of the day. HyunJoong left the elf alone as best as he could and pretended not to see the tears the man shed behind his hand even though he wanted nothing more than to pull over on the side of the road and hug him tightly. Finally though, it got to be too much and HyunJoong did just that.
Staring through his fingers as HyunJoong got out of the car and walked around it, YoungSaeng gave a start when the human opened the passenger door and pulled him out with a gentle touch.
"HyunJoong, what-"
Warm arms wrapped around the elf's thin frame and HyunJoong pulled him into a solid embrace, one hand lightly against the small of the other man's back. YoungSaeng's shoulders were broad for an elf and he was built with the toned muscles of an athlete, light and thin.
"W...what are you...?"
"It's a human gesture," HyunJoong said, rubbing the elf's back slightly. "A hug."
"I know what a hug is but why?"
"Doesn't this feel better than crying with only a rough seatbelt holding you up?" HyunJoong asked quietly.
YoungSaeng was silent for a long moment, his arms hanging limply and awkwardly by his sides. Then HyunJoong felt warm drops fall onto his shoulder and the elf slowly returned the hug, sniffling a little.
A small sad smile crossed HyunJoong's lips as he rubbed the man's back in slow, soothing circles and let him cry.
Continue to part two
Fandom: SS501
Pairing: HyunSaeng
Word Count: 12,200
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Rating: PG-16
Warnings: AU, Angst, and a slightly disturbing scene
Summary: People catch rides all the time. Whether they know the driver or not, everyone needs to go somewhere...and everyone has a story. For most, a hitchhike is merely a few sentences in the story of their lives, but sometimes it becomes the foundation of a whole new story altogether.
A/N: I don't even...this was requested by renichifreak who wanted HyunSaeng with the prompt of Hitchhiker. I'm not quite sure what happened to it. Err...hope you like it anyways? Betaed by the forever awesome mi_iseul , thank you so much~~~ <3 And LOL, LJ decided the entry was too long…it’s NEVER done that before /amused
There was a story my mother used to tell me when I was little.
I used to have nightmares about the forest burning, the lake turning to acid and the animals decaying where they stood.
And I always, always woke up screaming.
She would take me from the hammock and bring me to the edge of the platform, so I could see the forest around us at night. It was beautiful. The fireflies danced and crickets chirped, and through the leaves above us, I could see the clear starry sky. It always took my breath away. But at the same time the tears would rise unbidden and I would cry at the thought of such beauty destroyed.
She would hold me close, rocking gently, and sing to me. It wasn't a real song...not really. But her melodic voice formed the words of the story like the clear notes of the morning birds.
It was always the same story...the exact same one.
The story of a place where we would be free.
***************
"Aish...the rain never ends," sighed the young man at the steering wheel, tapping at it lightly with his fingers in tune to the song playing on the radio. Squinting past the torrent that beat the windshield, he flicked the wipers up to max and turned the radio a little louder to compete with the drumming noise of the rain. That and the hum of the engine were the only noises; he was the only car on this lonely highway that probably went nowhere.
It had been raining every day since HyunJoong had left the small town where he'd temporarily taken up residence. He'd lived there for a grand total of 4 months. Actually, it was the longest he'd managed to stay in one spot for a while. He'd almost wondered if it wouldn't be so hard to stay...it was a nice place and the girl who worked the convenience store had been pretty cute.
But as always, he woke up one day, packed his bags, paid the landlord and left.
Maybe none of the places he'd stayed had caught his interest. Maybe he just wasn't ready to settle down, take a permanent job and start a family. Maybe he would never be ready.
He was a drifter. It was his life.
He just didn't get why it always had to be raining whenever he chose to leave.
Whistling a tune, HyunJoong blinked and squinted again. Was that a shape on the side of the road?
A little big for an animal...
By the time he realized it was someone waving at the car, he'd driven right by and splashed the poor person standing by the side of the road.
Wincing, HyunJoong slowed to a stop quickly and looked back. Yes, that was definitely a person. Throwing the drive into reverse, he was glad he was the only car on the highway as he backed up to where the man stood...without an umbrella.
Or a coat for that matter.
Once he was stopped, HyunJoong rolled down the passenger window. "Sorry," he called over the sound of the rain. "What are you doing out here?"
The man's clothing was soaked by the rain (and that last splash probably hadn't helped) and he was visibly shivering. Wasn't this the middle of nowhere?
"N-need a ride," the stranger got out past the shivers. "Would you mind?"
HyunJoong didn't normally pick up hitchhikers, especially since he basically carried all he owned in the car but he wasn't heartless. The guy looked like he might just freeze to death.
"Not at all. Get in." HyunJoong unlocked the passenger door and reached over to push it open.
The stranger climbed in gratefully, then winced as he noticed he would soak the inside of the car.
"S-so-rry..."
"Don't worry about it," HyunJoong replied, waiting for the unknown man to strap himself in before starting to drive again. "It'll dry. Where are you heading?"
"Anywhere."
Raising an eyebrow, HyunJoong glanced at him. "You sure?" Everyone had somewhere to go. Except for HyunJoong himself.
The young man nodded, brushing long black locks out of his eyes. "Though it would be much appreciated if you could bring me to the next town rather than drop me off on a random road."
HyunJoong chuckled. "Did someone do that to you, for you to end up out here?"
"Something like that..."
Silence fell not long after, HyunJoong comfortable with it. He was used to traveling alone with no one to talk to other than himself and didn't mind it really. The man beside him did little more than stare out the window, shifting uncomfortably in his wet clothing. The only thing he had with him, HyunJoong noticed from the corner of his eyes, was a rather long duffle bag that looked a little awkward to hold on to.
"You can toss that into the back if you want," he commented, waving behind him absently. The man shook his head and HyunJoong was sure he wasn’t imagining the way his hands gripped the bag tighter.
It was a long way until the next town. Attempting small talk every now and then, HyunJoong found his sudden traveling companion wasn't very open with details. Practically the only thing he could get out of him was his name: Heo YoungSaeng.
After a bit of watching him shiver despite the fact that the heat was up to max, HyunJoong finally pulled over again.
"Hold on a sec," he said to YoungSaeng, who looked up at him with wide eyes as he got out of the car and ran around to the trunk. Half a minute later HyunJoong was back, soaked from the rain and holding a blanket.
"Here," he said, climbing back in and passing the blanket to YoungSaeng. "Before you die of pneumonia."
"I'm fine-" YoungSaeng started to protest and yelped when HyunJoong dumped the blanket on top of his head.
"Sure you are." HyunJoong grinned at the indignant look on the other man's face once the blanket was pulled out of the way.
Starting to drive again once he was strapped in, HyunJoong caught YoungSaeng smiling out of the corner of his vision and chuckled inwardly.
"So why were you out there without a jacket or anything?" HyunJoong asked after a few minutes, the blanket settled around YoungSaeng finally.
The other man shrugged, still not offering up many details. HyunJoong was beginning to wonder what kind of person he'd picked up who wouldn't tell him anything.
"Should I start fearing for my life?"
YoungSaeng jerked, blinking at HyunJoong with wide eyes through damp bangs. "What?"
"Maybe you're a fugitive from the police," HyunJoong answered seriously. "Or a terrorist. Or a rapist."
A choked burst of laughter escaped YoungSaeng at that last one and didn't stop. "W-what? No...no, I'm none of those," he managed to get out once he'd caught his breath.
"Then what are you exactly?"
YoungSaeng looked away, out the window again.
"...Are you a runaway?"
The young man jerked slightly, HyunJoong not missing it.
"I'm under no obligation to tell you anything, HyunJoong sshi."
"Well, actually, you kind of are. I don't want to be picked up by the police as an accomplice to something, or a kidnapper."
Watching him from the corner of his eyes, HyunJoong saw YoungSaeng shake his head slowly, his gaze still out the window. "You don't need to worry about that...that's all I will tell you. Please drop me off at the next town."
HyunJoong watched him silently for a moment. "...All right. Well, looks like I'll have no choice but to stop there anyways."
"Hm?"
HyunJoong pointed at the swiftly darkening sky up ahead. "That's a pretty nasty storm coming up. And I don't know about you, but I want to be inside when it hits."
***************
They were just pulling up in front of a local inn when the winds hit them. The rain, already intense, became positively brutal as HyunJoong shut off the engine, watching outside the window with a frown.
"This doesn't look too good."
YoungSaeng nodded, then ducked his head. "Thank you for driving me here. I wish you a safe journey." Then he opened the door and got out of the car.
"Hey, wait!" HyunJoong called as he watched YoungSaeng sling his bag over his shoulder and walk away, bent against the wind. Just where was he going anyway?
But the young man was already gone, lost in the blowing wind of the approaching storm.
"...That guy's going to catch pneumonia for sure," HyunJoong sighed, brushing his hair back out of his face. There wasn't anything he could do about it though. He wasn't about to tell a stranger what to do.
So he grabbed his backpack with his money, a spare set of clothes, and a few essentials in it before getting out as well, locking the car door and running for the inn.
***************
The storm was pretty bad. HyunJoong watched from the safety of the window as a garbage can half his height was blown down the length of the street. Hopefully it let up soon, though either way, HyunJoong had the feeling he wasn't going anywhere for the rest of the night.
He had just sat down to read something, wishing he had the chance to get his guitar out of his car without drowning it, when the power flickered out.
A faint sigh leaving him, HyunJoong laid down on the bed instead and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe he'd just sleep instead; staying awake now meant thinking, and thinking always seemed to return to the one subject he wanted to avoid - why he was drifting in the first place.
It had been nearly 5 years already and sometimes it annoyed him to no end that he couldn't put it behind him and move on. And at other times, he was glad that it haunted him so.
If it hadn't, he might as well have been just like them. Cold, cruel. They took everything away, anything they touched turned to ruin, like they had mastered death itself.
And the memories kept him wandering from town to town, never settling, never satisfied. Because he felt he had to make up for it somehow...and that there was somewhere he needed to be.
Somewhere.
He must have dozed off, because the next time HyunJoong opened his eyes, the sound of the rain and wind had changed. Blinking away sleep, he frowned, not quite sure how it had changed. It was still as loud as ever and there was the racket of things being blown around outside. That wasn't any different.
But the quality was different somehow. Sitting up slowly, HyunJoong listened harder. It was...ringing slightly. Like someone was screaming.
The realization jolted him up from the bed and to the window. It must be close; he wouldn't be able to hear it over the storm otherwise. Maybe it was just a baby or something; he would have thought it to be one of the other people staying at the inn, except it was very clearly coming from outside.
Squinting through the rain and feeling an odd sense of déjà vu, HyunJoong's eyes locked on figures outside. Was that a fight? There was the tell-tale flash of metal past the rain and HyunJoong's eyes widened. Whatever it was, it was serious.
As he watched, the figure in the middle of the group broke away and took off down the street at a dead run. Even though he couldn't see very well through the rain, HyunJoong recognized the soaked, tattered clothing and duffle bag instantly.
YoungSaeng.
Without even thinking, he ran out of the room and grabbed his coat on the way out. The inn hallways were deserted so HyunJoong was able to leave the building quickly. Pulling his hood up, it didn't take him long to spot the group chasing after the figure that was YoungSaeng through the streets. Every time they caught up, YoungSaeng seemed to just slip through their fingers, avoiding the sharp blades and putting on another burst of speed.
But there were so many of them, it wouldn't take long before they caught him. Why were they chasing after YoungSaeng anyways? They didn't look like the police... Then as he drew closer, HyunJoong's gaze landed on an all-too-familiar symbol stitched into their jackets. His throat closed as he took in the hourglass, the grains of sand falling through it red.
"Your time is up. Erase them. Erase them all."
And suddenly he understood.
Glancing around quickly, HyunJoong spotted YoungSaeng turning down another street and took a shortcut, disappearing down a side alley. Running as fast as he could through the rain, HyunJoong came back out onto the other street just in time to see one of the men grab YoungSaeng's bag.
Whirling around, the young man kicked at them, yelling to let go. The yells morphed into a scream as a blade found his arm but he stubbornly clung to the bag, red dripping through his shirt and mixing with the rain.
"Coming through!" HyunJoong shouldered one of the men out of the way and drop-kicked the one holding onto YoungSaeng's bag, which the young man seemed unable to leave without. The bag was let go and HyunJoong shoved it back into a stunned YoungSaeng's hands.
"Run," he panted, pulling the surprised man along.
"HyunJoong sshi?!"
"Yeah, thank me later. Come on, let's lose them." There was no way they'd be able to fend off so many. They had been taken by surprise though and were falling behind. HyunJoong and YoungSaeng could outrun them...
Bang!
YoungSaeng screamed as he went down, a hand clutching his leg. The bag fell beside him, HyunJoong skidding to a stop. Shit.
"Are you all right?"
"No...damn it all..." The blood pouring through YoungSaeng's fingers was too much. His fingers were shaking but HyunJoong didn't think it was from pain. Fear...it was fear.
They looked up at the approaching men who were advancing slowly now, mocking. They knew their prey was trapped.
"You should leave, HyunJoong sshi," YoungSaeng said quietly. "It's me they're after."
HyunJoong shook his head. "They don't look like the friendly type. Why would I leave you here?"
"Because this doesn't have anything to do with you!" YoungSaeng hissed, his eyes wide with panic. "They'll kill you, you stupid hu-" he cut himself off abruptly.
A thoughtful look crossed HyunJoong's face. "Thought so. Whatever's in that bag, you might want to use it...elf."
Jerking to one side, YoungSaeng stared at him. "H...How did you..."
"The spell on your ears wore off," HyunJoong replied simply. YoungSaeng's hands went to his ears quickly, trying to hide the suddenly pointed tips that HyunJoong had spotted.
Looking up at the men approaching, hunters, HyunJoong sighed in annoyance. "And I thought I was through with this," he muttered before breaking into a run straight at them.
He was too quick for them to react and he was among them before they could fire the gun they'd shot YoungSaeng with. Lashing out with hands and feet, he forced them back.
HyunJoong was fast on his feet and strong, but they had blades. As such, he could only hold them back for so long. Knocking one hunter back, HyunJoong felt a muscled arm wrap around his neck from behind, pulling him into a stranglehold. Something whizzed by and screams erupted around him, hunters scattering left and right. Feeling the hold around his neck loosen, HyunJoong broke away.
"Duck!"
Instinctively HyunJoong did as he was told, crouching low to the ground just in time. Something flew past his head and a hunter went down right behind him. Blinking as the remaining hunters ran, HyunJoong looked towards YoungSaeng.
The elf was on his feet, the open bag beside him as he awkwardly balanced on his good leg. Nothing however, was awkward about the bow he held in a tight grip, already fitting another arrow to the string from his bag. Sighting on a hunter who hadn't run and instead aimed with a gun, YoungSaeng beat him to the draw. The hunter fell, an arrow clean through his chest.
HyunJoong watched the rest of the hunters run, then looked back at YoungSaeng to see the elf had collapsed.
Getting to his feet, he walked over and crouched beside the fallen man. His clothing was thoroughly soaked and now that HyunJoong was actually focusing on them, looked handmade. His skin was pale but not as pure white as a high elf's, and the clothing wasn't right for a drow, so HyunJoong assumed woodland.
He was also losing blood fast.
Sighing to himself, HyunJoong carefully picked up the bow and tucked it back into the abnormally long duffle bag to stop it from getting wetter than it already was, before shouldering the bag and picking up the unconscious man, glad that elves were naturally light.
He would have to wait to ask why in the world a woodland elf was hitchhiking around later...when they were both dry and YoungSaeng's injuries tended to. Glancing at the dead hunters and that symbol on the coats, HyunJoong turned and walked back towards the inn.
***************
Callused fingers ran over the patch of cloth in his hand, the young man's brow furrowed in thought.
A soft moan drew his attention to the man laying in the plain bed, HyunJoong tucking the piece of fabric in his hands back into his backpack. He watched patiently as YoungSaeng's eyes opened slowly and the elf blinked at the ceiling before turning his attention to the man sitting beside the bed.
"...Where are we?" YoungSaeng murmured after a moment.
"The inn. I figured it was better than staying out there in the rain."
"A hu-" Again the elf cut himself off.
HyunJoong's lips curled into a smile. "I know what you are so you don't have to worry about your words. Yeah, it's a human dwelling."
"How did you know that was what I was going to say?"
"Woodland elves seem to have a problem with fully enclosed buildings, if I recall correctly. I would open the window if I could but I don't want any of the garbage blowing around out there in here."
YoungSaeng lifted a hand to his ears, obviously pointed and longer than normal, and cautiously sat up. The gaze he directed at HyunJoong was wary. "How do you know what I am?"
"The ears are something of a giveaway."
"Don't play dumb. You specified 'woodland'. No one should be able to tell that just from my ears."
HyunJoong chuckled. "Fine, you caught me. I guess you could say I'm something of an expert on non-humans. I dried off your bow and left it to air, by the way," he continued, motioning to the bow in the corner of the room. "It would be a shame for something so excellently crafted to go to ruin. You made it, I assume?"
The elf nodded slowly. "It's part of our rite of passage." His eyes narrowed. "But I suppose you already knew that."
The human smiled indulgently. "I might have."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't," was the blunt answer. "But the fact that I helped you get away from those hunters and stopped you from bleeding to death in the rain might be something of an indication."
YoungSaeng looked at his arm, then under the blankets at his leg. Both wounds were bound neatly in bandages. And... "These aren't my clothes."
"Right." HyunJoong rubbed his head somewhat sheepishly. "They were soaked with rain and blood so I fetched some clothes out of my car."
"You...undressed me," YoungSaeng deadpanned.
"That would be the implication, ye-HEY!" HyunJoong yelped as a pillow was thrown at him. "If I had left you in those clothes, elf or not, you would have caught something. Not to mention ruined the bed." He quickly got up and out of the way as YoungSaeng searched for something else within arm's reach he could throw.
"I am not thanking you."
"I wasn't looking to be thanked, only not to be decapitated." Elves were scarily accurate.
When it looked safe, HyunJoong returned to the seat. "So...will you tell me why you were hitchhiking now?" he asked hesitantly, not one to press but the hunters had got him thinking again and he had to wonder why his life seemed to revolve around things like this.
"..."
YoungSaeng looked down at the bed, picking at the blankets and obviously uncomfortable. Woodland elves would be used to the open air, their homes protected from the harsher weather by woven spells and offerings to the elements. A room like this would feel extremely restricting to one...like a cage.
But at the same time, YoungSaeng seemed to understand that out here there were no spells to keep him safe from the storm raging outside and that with his injuries and the hunters outside, he had no choice but to stay.
"I'm going somewhere," the elf finally said, his hands stilling.
"Where?"
"...Calael."
HyunJoong raised an eyebrow. "Calael? Doesn't sound like Hangul to me..."
"It's not. It's our word for haven."
"...All right..." Nodding slowly, HyunJoong paused. "And where is this 'Calael'?
"I don't know."
"...What?" That didn't make any sense. "You're going somewhere, but you don't know where it is?"
YoungSaeng shook his head. "I've only heard about it in a story. My mother used to tell me about it as a child, about a place where we can always go where we will be welcome and safe. Protected...free. There are...images in my head, words that formed pictures as she told the story, but other than those I have no guide."
"...Well, that's troublesome..." HyunJoong rubbed his head in thought. "So you've just been hitchhiking all across South Korea? How do you even know it's in South Korea?"
"I know," YoungSaeng said firmly. "She never mentioned anything about crossing large bodies of water."
"What about North Korea then?"
"Your human borders have little impact on us."
"Maybe not, but the bullets North Korean soldiers will fire at you will. I really hope it's on this side of the border..." HyunJoong mumbled.
The elf raised an eyebrow at him. "What does it matter? Where I go is none of your concern."
HyunJoong shrugged. "Maybe I would like to go with you."
"...What?" YoungSaeng's eyes widened. "Why would you want to do that? You're not indebted to me in any way...if anything, I'm indebted to you for taking care of my injuries and driving me here."
"Which is why you'll put up with me while I drive you all over the country chasing after some mythical place, right?" HyunJoong concluded with a smile.
"Why? Don't you have somewhere you need to be? A home?"
Shaking his head, HyunJoong shrugged again. "I'm a drifter. I go wherever I want to go. And I saved up more than enough money in the last few towns to keep me going for a while before I need to settle again. Besides...how much do you know about modern society? You lived in a forest, right?"
YoungSaeng's eyes shadowed slightly. "Yes..."
"Then what do you know about telephones? Internet? Transportation?"
"I'm not so out of date...I know what they are."
"But do you know how to use them to their full advantage, as well as a city human could?" HyunJoong raised an eyebrow when YoungSaeng was silent. "My point exactly. I can help you with all this, and more. Unless you're content to just hitch a ride off whomever you can and hope you aren't either assaulted for your looks, killed by the weather, or picked up by hunters."
Frustration was visible in YoungSaeng's expression. "I...I don't even know if I can trust you. You're human."
"Have I done anything worth your suspicions yet?" HyunJoong asked quietly.
"No..."
"Then give me a chance. Not all humans are evil."
YoungSaeng was silent for a long moment, picking at the blanket, before the tension left his lithe frame in a faint sigh, his shoulders dropping a little. "All right. All right...but if you do anything suspicious, I'll put an arrow through your ears."
"I'll keep that in mind," HyunJoong smiled. He didn't doubt YoungSaeng could do it either. From 100 yards blindfolded. Never mess with an elf in their element.
Something was nagging at him though.
"Why did you leave home, YoungSaeng?"
The pain reappeared in the elf's eyes as he looked towards the window, towards the storm raging outside.
"Because...there's nothing left for me there."
"...Oh..." HyunJoong fell silent after that, the only sounds in the room the beating of the rain and the howling of the wind.
***************
The morning was bright and sunny with no sign of the storm that had raged through the area other than the garbage and belongings strewn across the roads. There was no talk of bodies, so HyunJoong assumed the hunters left must have used the cover of the storm to collect their dead. They always worked that way. Coming and going without a trace, as mysterious as the non-humans they chased after.
"Are you sure you don't want to put that in the back? I'm hardly going to do anything to it while I'm busy trying not to drive off the road," HyunJoong said, watching YoungSaeng hold on to his duffle bag. It made sense for the elf to be protective over the few belongings he had left but HyunJoong thought it a little overboard at this point.
"..."
Chewing on his lower lip, YoungSaeng finally relented with a sigh and hesitantly passed his bag to HyunJoong, who tucked it carefully into the back with his own bags in a spot where it wouldn't be crushed.
"Now, what do you know about where we need to go?" HyunJoong asked, closing the trunk.
"There's a stream," YoungSaeng answered, his gaze becoming distant as he remembered. "Water nymphs lived there and if you followed the stream, you would pass through a forest. In the story, umma always talked about how you had to give something precious to the faeries that lived in the largest tree and they would show you the path to take to get there. The path was infused with spiritual energy and if one with malicious intent were to follow it, the path would change and lead them around in circles."
HyunJoong listened to all this, thinking. "There was nothing in the story before the stream?"
YoungSaeng thought for a moment. "The story always started in the mountains. Umma always went straight to the stream after that."
"Mountains..." That wasn't very specific. Now HyunJoong could see why YoungSaeng had resorted to hitchhiking everywhere despite a strong mistrust of humans. "The best clue we have then is the nymphs. Nymphs only live in places far from people, completely untouched. The water in the stream would have to be crystal pure."
Humans had settled in practically every inch of the globe; such places would be scarce.
"That was what I was searching for," YoungSaeng nodded. "But I can find no end to human influence. Your highways stretch everywhere."
Thinking for a long moment, HyunJoong finally walked to the front of his car and opened the glove compartment. He flipped through the files inside before pulling out a folded-up map. He returned to where YoungSaeng was standing, watching him curiously, and unfolded it.
"Let's take a look then," he said simply, pressing the map up against the trunk door so they could see.
"Are these all the highways?"
"Yep. Along with the cities, farm zones, urban sprawl...anywhere humans would be found." HyunJoong looked along the map of South Korea. "I've been drifting for years so it's always helpful to know exactly where I'm going to find a place to stay."
YoungSaeng stepped up beside him, his lips pursed together. "I don't see any indication of mountains..."
"That's because this map is urban sprawl only. But I know where they are. Here..." He motioned to YoungSaeng to hold up one side of the map before drawing a line across part of the land with one finger. "And here..." He made another line. "And right here." The third line he drew was shorter. "Those are the mountain chains. Was it one mountain in the story, or many?"
"Many."
HyunJoong nodded. "Then let's try where the mountains are but only in the human-free zones." He pulled a pencil out of his pocket and drew in the mountain chains.
"There are no humans here," YoungSaeng pointed out, tapping a spot on the map. HyunJoong circled it.
"And none here either," the human continued, circling another spot.
They stood there for five minutes, going over the map and circling any spots that might be where Calael was. Then HyunJoong went over those spots again, removing the zones where there were no chances of finding either a stream or a forest.
They were left with ten spots. "Well, it's still a little hit and miss," HyunJoong said, scratching his head. "But a lot better than driving around aimlessly. We're pretty close to this spot here," he said, tapping an area on the map. "Why don't we try there?"
"I still don't understand why you are helping me, HyunJoong sshi," YoungSaeng replied, glancing at him.
"You can drop the 'sshi'. And I suppose I'm just curious. It isn't everyday I run into a woodland elf," HyunJoong replied, smiling at him. "It's not like I'm really going anywhere else."
YoungSaeng turned and looked at him properly, searching his eyes. HyunJoong blinked back at him. After a long moment, the elf sighed and nodded, turning away. "Let's go then."
HyunJoong chuckled despite himself as he folded the map back up before walking to the driver's side of the car and getting in.
***************
Despite the first 'safe zone' (as they had started calling them) being much closer than the others, it was still a few days away. HyunJoong didn't press the elf for details on his life and YoungSaeng returned the favor but the silence grew steadily more and more comfortable.
It wasn't that they didn't talk; they did. YoungSaeng would ask about human things he'd never heard of before or had never been clear on the details, and HyunJoong filled in the few details he was missing about woodland elves and how they lived...while keeping it as unspecific to YoungSaeng as possible. Though wary of him, YoungSaeng didn't refuse his request to hear him play the small wooden flute kept in his duffle bag, and even translated a few elven words for him.
It took three days to reach the base of the mountains. From that point in, they were following dirt roads, HyunJoong maneuvering carefully along the steep slope. Several times YoungSaeng asked to stop so he could get out and search by foot. HyunJoong followed him where he could but sometimes the forest around them was too wild for anyone other than a woodland elf to navigate.
According to YoungSaeng, he would be able to sense the spiritual energy when they were close, but throughout the search, he was only able to turn up small pockets of it, usually by gatherings of brownies or pixies. Finally they had to admit that this safe zone was empty.
***************
"You said before that carving your own bow was a rite of passage," HyunJoong asked, watching as YoungSaeng drew the string taut and released the arrow with practiced ease. The arrow thumped into the base of a tree trunk at the very edge of the clearing. "For what age?"
YoungSaeng glanced at him. "You seem to know so much about us, yet you don't know about this?"
HyunJoong shrugged. "I know elves age slower than humans and reach adulthood at 100, at which point they stop aging completely. At the most, their hair may turn white. Is it the rite of passage for adulthood?"
The elf shook his head. "No...that rite is completely different. Back home, the young elf males would fashion their first bow at an age that, compared to humans, I suppose could relate to puberty."
"How old are you, YoungSaeng ah?"
"Old enough for you calling me as though I'm younger to be insulting."
A chuckle escaped HyunJoong. "Alright, alright, I'll stop asking."
YoungSaeng sighed and brought another arrow up, aiming.
"Should I be calling you ajusshi then?"
The elf's arm jerked slightly and the arrow missed. When YoungSaeng turned around and glared at him, the expression on the other man's face forced a burst of laughter from HyunJoong until he was rolling on the ground.
"Stupid human..." YoungSaeng grumbled, kicking at the rolling man, but there was no force behind it. HyunJoong just rolled onto his other side and continued laughing. And after a moment of watching him, the frown on the elf's face slowly curled upwards instead.
***************
Another safe zone was crossed off the list, then another. Before either of them knew it, they had been traveling around for nearly two weeks. YoungSaeng, at least, seemed to lose the idea that HyunJoong was going to kill him in his sleep, gradually opening up, but not without more than a little prodding from the human.
HyunJoong made a game out of drawing reactions from the silent elf, using whatever means possible. Aside from the first attempt at beheading so long ago, YoungSaeng's reactions were muted. But then again, elves were hard to get worked up, their emotions carefully controlled.
HyunJoong couldn't help but wonder what would happen if YoungSaeng lost that control.
***************
"...Oh no..."
HyunJoong glanced at YoungSaeng beside him, the elf frozen in place. They were fighting their way through the bushes around another safe zone...or more like HyunJoong fighting his way through and YoungSaeng navigating effortlessly and soundlessly. Until that instant.
The expression on the elf's face was one of utter shock and horror...more so than anything HyunJoong had ever seen before.
"What is it?" HyunJoong asked, until he smelled it. Decaying flesh. Gagging, he turned and looked where YoungSaeng was staring, his stomach twisting in anticipation of what he knew he was going to see.
The deer was leaning against a tree not that far away. At first glance, it looked like it was resting...until HyunJoong's gaze trailed down the majestic neck to the rotting flesh of its stomach, being eaten away as though by acid right in front of their eyes. Fur and flesh fell away in chunks, leaving bone and organs exposed. The deer was still alive, though it was unclear how, making pitiful noises as it staggered forward a few paces.
Then whatever was eating the deer reached its heart and the beast crumbled to the ground, black eyes staring blankly and tongue lolling out of its mouth.
A choked noise came from HyunJoong's right and the human looked back at YoungSaeng. The elf was crouching on the ground, his hands clasped over his mouth, just staring.
"YoungSaeng?" HyunJoong asked quietly, crouching beside him.
"It's happening again...not again..."
"What is happening?" HyunJoong asked, though a sinking feeling in his stomach said he already knew exactly what it was. Voices rang in his ears.
"Nothing will be able to escape the virus...anything it touches will die. The perfect weapon."
Suddenly YoungSaeng was up and running, jolting HyunJoong into following him. "Wait! Saeng, it's dangerous!" he yelled after him. But YoungSaeng wasn't listening, racing on ahead, and it was all HyunJoong could do not to lose the elf.
"Shyraes, moraes!" YoungSaeng cried out up ahead. "Myrn osaer! Shi cali sai jhaeli!"
Though HyunJoong didn't know a word of elven, much less the woodland dialect, he could tell from the note of panic in YoungSaeng's voice that he was calling for any non-humans in the area.
But there was no answer.
Finally HyunJoong caught up to YoungSaeng, the elf stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking a grand lake. Or...what used to be a lake. He was pretty sure the water wasn't supposed to be that color...and were those dead fish?
"It was poisoned," YoungSaeng whispered, his voice slightly hoarse. "The animals drank from the lake...and were eaten from the inside." The elf glanced to one side, then away quickly, and when HyunJoong did the same, he saw a dead squirrel, barely more than a puddle of blackened goo, fur and crawling flies.
Carved into the tree behind it was the shape of an hourglass.
"Are there any elves here?" HyunJoong asked and YoungSaeng shook his head.
"Not elves...but there are still non-humans here...I can sense them. Where is the fire?"
"Fire?"
YoungSaeng looked up at HyunJoong with wide eyes. "The poison is only the first wave," he said, the elven accent coming across heavy in his panic. "Those who weren't eaten by it..."
"...Will be flushed out by the flames," HyunJoong finished, swallowing, the voices ringing in his ears again. "Flames specifically after anything with a large amount of spiritual energy..."
The elf stared at him. "How..."
There was a sharp snap from their right and they both jumped, YoungSaeng grabbing HyunJoong to stop the human from falling right off the cliff's edge and into the acid lake. When he straightened and looked up, HyunJoong's gaze found a pillar of smoke.
"It's not too late," YoungSaeng said, a note of desperation in his voice, and before HyunJoong could say anything the elf was gone again, forcing him to run after him.
If YoungSaeng got too close to the fire, it would target him...
Putting on a burst of speed, HyunJoong forced his way through the bushes and ignored the dead and dying animals and plants that he passed. He caught up to YoungSaeng finally as the elf stopped to look around, his fingers closing around the other man's wrist.
"We need to go, now," he said firmly.
"There may be survivors," YoungSaeng said frantically, trying to wrench his arm out of the human's grasp. "Let me go! E pyl's ialaesal!"
"You know I don't understand elven," HyunJoong replied. "YoungSaeng, listen to me. Listen!" He grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, forcing the elf to look at him.
"It's over. There's nothing we can do here. If you get too close to the fire, you'll die as well. We have to leave because the hunters may still be around here somewhere. It's not safe."
"Nowhere is safe," YoungSaeng snapped. "Only Calael is safe for us...and those who live in this forest deserve a chance to reach it."
"There is no one left, YoungSaeng."
"You're wrong," the elf shook his head stubbornly. "There are still some left...I can..."
"YoungSaeng...you're sensing the fire. The fire was manipulated by hunters to imitate spiritual energy and to seek it. It will lurk you to it and consume you. You will never be able to reach Calael. Do you understand me?"
Finally YoungSaeng stilled, staring at him. "How do you know this?" he whispered. "Just who are you?"
"A drifter," HyunJoong said firmly. "And that's what we're going to do, right now. We're getting back in my car and getting out of here. Trust me...this place is beyond saving."
The elf quivered where he stood and slowly lowered his head, his fringe hiding his eyes as YoungSaeng nodded mutely. HyunJoong sighed and started to head back towards the car, his hand slipping from YoungSaeng's wrist down into the elf's hand.
***************
YoungSaeng was silent the rest of the day. HyunJoong left the elf alone as best as he could and pretended not to see the tears the man shed behind his hand even though he wanted nothing more than to pull over on the side of the road and hug him tightly. Finally though, it got to be too much and HyunJoong did just that.
Staring through his fingers as HyunJoong got out of the car and walked around it, YoungSaeng gave a start when the human opened the passenger door and pulled him out with a gentle touch.
"HyunJoong, what-"
Warm arms wrapped around the elf's thin frame and HyunJoong pulled him into a solid embrace, one hand lightly against the small of the other man's back. YoungSaeng's shoulders were broad for an elf and he was built with the toned muscles of an athlete, light and thin.
"W...what are you...?"
"It's a human gesture," HyunJoong said, rubbing the elf's back slightly. "A hug."
"I know what a hug is but why?"
"Doesn't this feel better than crying with only a rough seatbelt holding you up?" HyunJoong asked quietly.
YoungSaeng was silent for a long moment, his arms hanging limply and awkwardly by his sides. Then HyunJoong felt warm drops fall onto his shoulder and the elf slowly returned the hug, sniffling a little.
A small sad smile crossed HyunJoong's lips as he rubbed the man's back in slow, soothing circles and let him cry.
Continue to part two