Song of Freedom. Part 2.
Title: Song of Freedom. 2/?
Author: sypherus_xiii
Pairing: HakyeonxTaekwoon
Rating: R. Language, violence and later sexual themes.
Summary: In a world bound by the tangles of war, Hakyeon searches for freedom. Post-apocalyptic AU.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, just love 'em.
Part 1.
A/N: I'm having fun writing and planning this story. I hope you have fun reading it!
Look up to the midnight sky,
Where stars shine heaven high.
The man who invited them into the vehicle was named Ravi. He has bright red hair that is powdered with a layer of dust, youthful looks despite the dark solemnness in those eyes that speaks years of a difficult life. There's another male named Hongbin with more distinguished features, wearing lighter clothing of a thin white long-sleeve (more of an off-white now) with jeans tattered at the knees and hems. Hakyeon wants to reach out and touch the jean, a rare material that is only found in certain cities. He refrains though because his eyes keep straying to the front.
As they are all huddling in the back on the steel floor, boxes and bags shifting slightly as the truck runs over the dips and bumps of the uneven ground, he keeps wondering who the silent person is in the passenger seat. The driver is a friendly guy who greets Hakyeon and the boy with such warmth, he feels at ease right away. His name is Ken and according to him, he is the best navigator east of the Meridian. He says he can tell him how to cross a mountain blindfolded.
The other figure is less responsive and less wiling to talk. Ravi introduces him as Leo--their leader.
It only takes less than a half hour before Hakyeon notices the truck passing through the city walls. But what he's used to isn't what greets them.
Mayhem.
He can hear it from inside the vehicle. People screaming, shouting, things being thrown into the street. He jerks the second a loud honk blares, Ken slamming on the horn with the brakes, and that's when Hakyeon scrambles up from his spot to peer through the windshield. Just as he thought, there's people scrambling through the narrow roads, holding belongings, running for what--escape? Was it that serious?
The growing bud of fear is slowly lodging into his throat as he starts to panic. His mother. He needs to hurry and get home to see if his mother is okay.
"Y-You can let me off here. If you just go straight, on the left should be the hospital. Don't take him to the front entrance though. On the side is the one for…for slaves." He hates saying that word but it's the only way he can express right now why the boy wouldn't be accepted where the regular civilians would be. Ken is glancing beyond Hakyeon, nodding in confirmation, and he turns to see Ravi return the nod. "I'll be fine. Just let met off, please. Thanks for the ride." Hakyeon's worried they won't let him go but he's already moving to the back doors.
Suddenly a figure is beside him, opening it for him and he jumps out as soon as the space is wide enough. But then the figure remains by him and when he looks over in curiosity, he sees Ravi. "I'm going with you."
"But--" Confusion seeps through but he doesn't have time to finish his sentence because Ravi's yanking on him so hard, he stumbles into him. "Careful!" When Hakyeon is let go, he looks behind to see Ravi just saved him from a cart cricketing down the road, people crouching in the back with crates of food and luggage.
Is everyone evacuating? Did the bombing of the factory mean the bombing of…his hometown? "I gotta go," Hakyeon breathes out and runs. He doesn't care if Ravi follows or not. He needs to find his mother and make sure she's safe.
His legs feel short and his shoes feel slow as they hit the pavement over and over. He's running up stairs, winding through narrow alleys, dodging people flurrying the other way. The building he comes to looks no different from the rest: cement walls where the paint is worn and peeling, the open windows crumbling around the edges, an overall abandoned look. But it's where he's stayed for the past twenty four years of his life so he swings the door open and dashes up the stairs, only realizing now how much his lungs burn and how his legs tremble from exhaustion.
"Umma!" he shouts the second he's in their apartment. Stalking around, searching as he sees the empty living room, empty kitchen, empty bathroom, empty empty empty. He tries the bedroom last but when there's no sign of life, he starts to stumble about, deciding he should get supplies. Maybe she is still at her work. If he packs a bag for them with what they need, then it'll be okay, he can find her there and then they can leave.
At first he doesn't notice the presence in the apartment with him. It isn't until he turns around after stuffing a couple pairs of socks into his backpack that he sees Ravi standing there. Gasping while jumping back, stepping on a discarded shirt he left there that morning when hurrying for work, an undignified "Waa!" tumbles out, his hand covering his heart to placate it. "Why are you here?!"
"I told you I was coming," Ravi replies dryly, like it should be an easy concept to understand.
Shaking his head because he doesn't need someone following him around, he hurries past Ravi in the doorframe and searches the living room and kitchen for anything he'll need. Instead of cans of food, he brings the packets since those are lighter and he can fit more inside. On the living room table is a picture of his mother with him and his dad, who he hadn't seen for several years. Ignoring the very hard-to-ignore figure with boots that scruff on the floorboards with each step that's a small mirror of Hakyeon's movement, he finally comes across a book on the small table by the couch.
The cover is red and tattered, the pages soft with age, but the dedication scribed on the inside cover is preserved in dark ink:
To my young Hakyeonie,
Never lose sight of what's in front of you.
From your father who'll always love you.
He takes the book. His mother would always talk about how his father wanted him to keep it for generations, how it was passed on already from his great-great-grandfather now all the way down to him.
Zipping up his backpack, he starts for the door but there's a hand on him. He shrugs it off but a second later it's on him again, holding tighter.
"Let go," Hakyeon warns, pausing to look back at Ravi who appears concerned. He knows that look of knitted eyebrows and eyes that are trying to search his own for an answer. His mother gives him that look every morning before he heads off to the factory. She gave it to him this very morning.
"You can't. It's too dangerous." It's like Ravi knows what his intentions are, but he doesn't care.
"I'm going to do it. I need to find her, so let go," this time he swings his arm to rid Ravi's hold, shouldering his backpack securely on as he makes it to the door. Satisfied there's no more attempt to prevent him from leaving, he yanks on the door and the image that greets him isn't what he expects in the least bit.
"Leo?" Ravi's voice carries from behind him. Hakyeon's legs lock into place as he's staring right into the unreadable visage of the man who was seated silently in the front.
There's definitely a certain presence emanating from him that commands attention for when he utters the first words that Hakyeon hears from him, "You're not going," he feels bound by it.
Parting his lips to protest, he doesn't get a chance for this time it's Leo who's grabbing him and Leo who's dragging him out into the hall and down the stairs. The fingers sealed around his forearm are unrelenting, and he nearly trips down the hard steps before they're bursting back out into the open air of the street.
"Yah! Let go of me!" Finally he's able to register what's happening and he tries to wrench his arm free but it's futile, Leo stronger and less complying. He attempts to brace his shoes into the ground, his legs bending for the extra weight, he hears himself shouting, struggling to escape but now there's another pair of hands and he knows it's Ravi by the glimpse of red hair. He can hear himself. He can hear himself...shouting for his mother.
Hakyeon doesn't know why they don't let him go. He doesn't understand why they hold him down in the back of the truck, bind his arms and legs, and continue to tell him it's dangerous, it's too dangerous. He doesn't know these people. He doesn't care about them. He only has one person he cares about right now and they're taking away his one chance to save her.
It's not until they're leaving the city that he has a small semblance of understanding. As Ravi and the handsome one Hongbin station themselves on both sides of him, hands keeping him still in case he chooses to fight for his freedom again, he stares out the back of the smudged window. And as the truck has driven kilometers away, the fortress of his hometown no bigger than the size of a palm, he sees it--
White flashes in the air that quickly explodes into rumbles of thunder and eruptions of orange and smoke and they keep coming. One after another. The city's so far it takes a while before the wheels of the truck tremble from the vibrations of the ground. There's an anxiousness in him that hopes to the highest of gods that his mother made it out. He'll never believe she's gone unless he sees it for himself. Just like his father who he still believed was somewhere out there, waiting to reunite with him and his mother.
Yet all he can think of as he watches in the murky distance behind them the only city he's ever known go up in flames is…
Never lose sight of what's in front of you.
Owari.
Part 3.
A/N: Sorry if it feels like it's building up so slowly. @.@ The next chapter will have more~
Author: sypherus_xiii
Pairing: HakyeonxTaekwoon
Rating: R. Language, violence and later sexual themes.
Summary: In a world bound by the tangles of war, Hakyeon searches for freedom. Post-apocalyptic AU.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, just love 'em.
Part 1.
A/N: I'm having fun writing and planning this story. I hope you have fun reading it!
Look up to the midnight sky,
Where stars shine heaven high.
The man who invited them into the vehicle was named Ravi. He has bright red hair that is powdered with a layer of dust, youthful looks despite the dark solemnness in those eyes that speaks years of a difficult life. There's another male named Hongbin with more distinguished features, wearing lighter clothing of a thin white long-sleeve (more of an off-white now) with jeans tattered at the knees and hems. Hakyeon wants to reach out and touch the jean, a rare material that is only found in certain cities. He refrains though because his eyes keep straying to the front.
As they are all huddling in the back on the steel floor, boxes and bags shifting slightly as the truck runs over the dips and bumps of the uneven ground, he keeps wondering who the silent person is in the passenger seat. The driver is a friendly guy who greets Hakyeon and the boy with such warmth, he feels at ease right away. His name is Ken and according to him, he is the best navigator east of the Meridian. He says he can tell him how to cross a mountain blindfolded.
The other figure is less responsive and less wiling to talk. Ravi introduces him as Leo--their leader.
It only takes less than a half hour before Hakyeon notices the truck passing through the city walls. But what he's used to isn't what greets them.
Mayhem.
He can hear it from inside the vehicle. People screaming, shouting, things being thrown into the street. He jerks the second a loud honk blares, Ken slamming on the horn with the brakes, and that's when Hakyeon scrambles up from his spot to peer through the windshield. Just as he thought, there's people scrambling through the narrow roads, holding belongings, running for what--escape? Was it that serious?
The growing bud of fear is slowly lodging into his throat as he starts to panic. His mother. He needs to hurry and get home to see if his mother is okay.
"Y-You can let me off here. If you just go straight, on the left should be the hospital. Don't take him to the front entrance though. On the side is the one for…for slaves." He hates saying that word but it's the only way he can express right now why the boy wouldn't be accepted where the regular civilians would be. Ken is glancing beyond Hakyeon, nodding in confirmation, and he turns to see Ravi return the nod. "I'll be fine. Just let met off, please. Thanks for the ride." Hakyeon's worried they won't let him go but he's already moving to the back doors.
Suddenly a figure is beside him, opening it for him and he jumps out as soon as the space is wide enough. But then the figure remains by him and when he looks over in curiosity, he sees Ravi. "I'm going with you."
"But--" Confusion seeps through but he doesn't have time to finish his sentence because Ravi's yanking on him so hard, he stumbles into him. "Careful!" When Hakyeon is let go, he looks behind to see Ravi just saved him from a cart cricketing down the road, people crouching in the back with crates of food and luggage.
Is everyone evacuating? Did the bombing of the factory mean the bombing of…his hometown? "I gotta go," Hakyeon breathes out and runs. He doesn't care if Ravi follows or not. He needs to find his mother and make sure she's safe.
His legs feel short and his shoes feel slow as they hit the pavement over and over. He's running up stairs, winding through narrow alleys, dodging people flurrying the other way. The building he comes to looks no different from the rest: cement walls where the paint is worn and peeling, the open windows crumbling around the edges, an overall abandoned look. But it's where he's stayed for the past twenty four years of his life so he swings the door open and dashes up the stairs, only realizing now how much his lungs burn and how his legs tremble from exhaustion.
"Umma!" he shouts the second he's in their apartment. Stalking around, searching as he sees the empty living room, empty kitchen, empty bathroom, empty empty empty. He tries the bedroom last but when there's no sign of life, he starts to stumble about, deciding he should get supplies. Maybe she is still at her work. If he packs a bag for them with what they need, then it'll be okay, he can find her there and then they can leave.
At first he doesn't notice the presence in the apartment with him. It isn't until he turns around after stuffing a couple pairs of socks into his backpack that he sees Ravi standing there. Gasping while jumping back, stepping on a discarded shirt he left there that morning when hurrying for work, an undignified "Waa!" tumbles out, his hand covering his heart to placate it. "Why are you here?!"
"I told you I was coming," Ravi replies dryly, like it should be an easy concept to understand.
Shaking his head because he doesn't need someone following him around, he hurries past Ravi in the doorframe and searches the living room and kitchen for anything he'll need. Instead of cans of food, he brings the packets since those are lighter and he can fit more inside. On the living room table is a picture of his mother with him and his dad, who he hadn't seen for several years. Ignoring the very hard-to-ignore figure with boots that scruff on the floorboards with each step that's a small mirror of Hakyeon's movement, he finally comes across a book on the small table by the couch.
The cover is red and tattered, the pages soft with age, but the dedication scribed on the inside cover is preserved in dark ink:
To my young Hakyeonie,
Never lose sight of what's in front of you.
From your father who'll always love you.
He takes the book. His mother would always talk about how his father wanted him to keep it for generations, how it was passed on already from his great-great-grandfather now all the way down to him.
Zipping up his backpack, he starts for the door but there's a hand on him. He shrugs it off but a second later it's on him again, holding tighter.
"Let go," Hakyeon warns, pausing to look back at Ravi who appears concerned. He knows that look of knitted eyebrows and eyes that are trying to search his own for an answer. His mother gives him that look every morning before he heads off to the factory. She gave it to him this very morning.
"You can't. It's too dangerous." It's like Ravi knows what his intentions are, but he doesn't care.
"I'm going to do it. I need to find her, so let go," this time he swings his arm to rid Ravi's hold, shouldering his backpack securely on as he makes it to the door. Satisfied there's no more attempt to prevent him from leaving, he yanks on the door and the image that greets him isn't what he expects in the least bit.
"Leo?" Ravi's voice carries from behind him. Hakyeon's legs lock into place as he's staring right into the unreadable visage of the man who was seated silently in the front.
There's definitely a certain presence emanating from him that commands attention for when he utters the first words that Hakyeon hears from him, "You're not going," he feels bound by it.
Parting his lips to protest, he doesn't get a chance for this time it's Leo who's grabbing him and Leo who's dragging him out into the hall and down the stairs. The fingers sealed around his forearm are unrelenting, and he nearly trips down the hard steps before they're bursting back out into the open air of the street.
"Yah! Let go of me!" Finally he's able to register what's happening and he tries to wrench his arm free but it's futile, Leo stronger and less complying. He attempts to brace his shoes into the ground, his legs bending for the extra weight, he hears himself shouting, struggling to escape but now there's another pair of hands and he knows it's Ravi by the glimpse of red hair. He can hear himself. He can hear himself...shouting for his mother.
Hakyeon doesn't know why they don't let him go. He doesn't understand why they hold him down in the back of the truck, bind his arms and legs, and continue to tell him it's dangerous, it's too dangerous. He doesn't know these people. He doesn't care about them. He only has one person he cares about right now and they're taking away his one chance to save her.
It's not until they're leaving the city that he has a small semblance of understanding. As Ravi and the handsome one Hongbin station themselves on both sides of him, hands keeping him still in case he chooses to fight for his freedom again, he stares out the back of the smudged window. And as the truck has driven kilometers away, the fortress of his hometown no bigger than the size of a palm, he sees it--
White flashes in the air that quickly explodes into rumbles of thunder and eruptions of orange and smoke and they keep coming. One after another. The city's so far it takes a while before the wheels of the truck tremble from the vibrations of the ground. There's an anxiousness in him that hopes to the highest of gods that his mother made it out. He'll never believe she's gone unless he sees it for himself. Just like his father who he still believed was somewhere out there, waiting to reunite with him and his mother.
Yet all he can think of as he watches in the murky distance behind them the only city he's ever known go up in flames is…
Never lose sight of what's in front of you.
Owari.
Part 3.
A/N: Sorry if it feels like it's building up so slowly. @.@ The next chapter will have more~