Chapter Text
𝑷𝑹𝑬𝑭𝑨𝑪𝑬
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
San had to admit that life could be curious.
Truly surprising in some cases. And also cruelly ironic at times. That conclusion had been a recurring thought in his mind over the last few days.
Precisely since he made the decision to return to Namhae after once swearing he would never set foot in that boring town again. The eagerness to learn about the world and the energy of youth had completely blinded him, genuinely excited to embark fully on life as soon as he finished high school.
With his enrollment approved at a university in Seoul and a couple of suitcases, San had said goodbye to that city with a mission to venture out into the world and do something meaningful with his life. He had decided that the natural tranquility of Namhae was not for him, that he belonged out there and was more than willing to find his way.
However, it had always been common for an 18-year-old to have the inevitable tendency to idealize life to a ridiculous degree. It was part of the animosity that came with youth and just coming out of the shell; nevertheless, those aspirations began to take on more realistic tones as time went by.
One understood that getting a job was a hellish task, that having one was no guarantee of anything, and that often it wasn't even enough to cover some basic needs. University was nothing more than another living ordeal, and trying to get out of there was like being enrolled in a survival program, where the winner wasn't the one who advanced the fastest, but the one who could withstand the torture of academic life the longest.
One also realized that nothing was rosy and that things could always get worse, but even if one was sunk in the most miserable state possible, the world did not stop. It moved forward relentlessly, surely, without mercy for anything or anyone. It was part of adulthood.
So, with the passing of the years, San built a new perspective about life. He had a career that he had started with genuine excitement, but ended up hating. He was stuck in a supposed 8-hour job, locked in an office almost every day of the year, and he had so much accumulated overtime that it was useless to count it because they didn't even pay him for it properly. Being young and not having a family to support was enough for his bosses to mercilessly exploit him.
He lived in a horrible apartment that wasn't worth the rent they charged him because it was falling apart, his salary was a pittance for so many hours of work and so much suffering endured in college, and he didn't even have time for a social life. He had no friends, let alone a boyfriend; it was just him and the suffocating loneliness in that huge gray city called Seoul.
One of his bosses scolding him like a little kid in front of his coworkers was all it took for San to decide that was all. He'd had more than enough; it ended there. San wasn't going to waste his life in a place that didn't bring him even a shred of happiness or anything like it. He was unhappy and had no one, so why the hell should he keep torturing himself like that?
So San waited for his rental contract to expire and sent his letter of resignation. He packed his suitcases, bought some gifts, and boarded the first train to Namhae without looking back. He didn't care if returning to his hometown would be seen as a symbol of defeat or failure. The gossiping old ladies in the village could say whatever they wanted when they saw him arrive at his parents' house. San had decided to be happy, and that was all that mattered to him.
A happiness that ran through every corner of his body when the clean air of Namhae welcomed him without sorrow, ruffling his hair and filling his lungs with that delicious natural aroma that could only be found in the countryside. He was also overcome by another wave of joy when he contemplated the beautiful landscapes that had always characterized his home, as well as the streets and small buildings that were part of his daily life and had not changed even a little, as if time had never moved forward.
But no happiness could compare to what San felt when he was surrounded by the arms of his family. His mother's kisses, his uncles' pats on the back, his cousins' laughter. All of that was as if he had been endowed with unparalleled energy, a spark in his soul that he had long since lost and was finally regaining.
Even his father's somewhat distant handshake contributed to that beautiful, renewing feeling. Things were still a little awkward because of past friction that had never been fully resolved, but his father's happiness at having him back was more powerful than anything else. The man couldn't help but give him a small smile, and San couldn't help but smile back. Despite everything, he would always be his father.
His family's celebration lasted almost a week, even though San practically begged them to return to their normal routine without so many delicious dishes that would make him gain several pounds and without so much alcohol that he couldn't resist. It was difficult, but he managed to get his family to end what he considered to be unnecessary partying so that he could officially settle in as another citizen of Namhae.
The last thing he wanted to do was resume his administrative career, at least not for now, so San had agreed to help his father at the dojang where he had always taught martial arts. Perhaps it wasn't a job that could be considered successful or one with a salary that would allow him a life of luxury, but it would help him survive, and that was more than enough. It was a good start after so much unbearable hustle and bustle in the city.
That's how San spent the first two weeks in his hometown, helping out at home in the mornings like the good son he always was and working with his father in the afternoons. With all the moving and settling back into his old room, he hadn't had much time to socialize outside of his family members or neighbors.
Therefore, San had gladly accepted when JongHo approached him on Friday of his second week to invite him to a gathering with his friends. He and his cousin had always had common friends, which was normal considering that in Namhae almost all the families knew each other, so the idea of seeing a few more familiar faces excited him greatly.
Drinking some soju at the foot of the mountains closest to his neighborhood sounded harmless. Venturing into the depths of the forest that characterized those mountains also sounded like something safe; it was a regular activity for those who were used to hanging out there, and even more so a game as common as catching fireflies in glass jars.
Perhaps San was too naive, perhaps he was too foolish to believe that it would be an innocent outing or that his friends wouldn't be so immature as to abandon him in the darkness of the forest as some kind of test of courage after having lived in the city for so long. Let's see if you're still a man, San thought he heard as he caught his eighth firefly.
But life was a bastard with a twisted sense of humor, and his old friends were no different, not even his cousin. And that's how San ended up completely alone in the dense darkness, holding his jar full of luminous insects and mentally reviewing all the mistakes he had made throughout his life (starting with agreeing to this nonsense).
But when he stumbles upon the ruins of a temple that draw him in, as if his soul could hear a desperate whisper that his ears cannot pick up, San realizes that this could be anything but a mistake.
Especially when his eyes meet the figure of a majestic being named WooYoung, who seems to have stepped straight out of a fairy tale, with features as delicately beautiful as they are familiar. And the warm feeling that arises in his chest as he contemplates him, as if it weren't the first time he had done so, only makes San feel more attracted to him.
San knows him. And he won't give up until he discovers the past that seems to bind them together.
*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ
