Post by Saito Kito on Jul 1, 2014 17:50:35 GMT -5
(Inspired by NikHall89)
(The following takes place in a very distant past. Because of living on the compound Kit did have access to weights from his fathers and brothers.)
About two kilometers west of Mt. Paozu there lays a small village. This compound is small, and only a select few are allowed to come onto the grounds. There are approximately 30 people who live in 10 little huts. It is nearly impossible to find because there are no roads leading to it, nor are there many modern conveniences if you do manage to get there. In the middle of the grounds is a large flat stretch of dirt where 87 men and women practiced Taekwondo. Close to the back of the group was a boy, 7 years old, Kit, practicing as well. In this time, twenty years ago, he went by his birth given name Saito. The weights on his body were seemingly weightless thanks to his constant training, and the boy was more than a little impressive. But this story is less about him, and more about the village he called home. This is just one of the many stories of visitors being invited into the compound, a rare but necessary feat. This is their story.
Sitting off to the side of the group was two Central women. A brunette, tall with pale skin, piercing blue eyes and dressed in denim capris and a well fitted t-shirt, was hanging clothes on a line beside her hut. The other, a blonde, had streaks of black and red through her hair as well with very pale skin, was sitting in a flowy black knee length skirt and pink tank top with a pencil and pad drawing away.
“Shi uh!”
Shouted one of the men from center of the training field. All of the students quickly ceased their training and turned to the man who had given the command. “Kyeong nae” and everyone lowered in a bow. The instructor gave a nod and everyone went in their separate directions.
The 7 year old boy ran quickly to the only other Central citizen practicing with the group. She was of average height, dark brunette hair and tanned skin. They met at the hut with the other 2 Central citizens. “Hey Chris, I thought you were going to help Yu with the laundry,” she scolded her blonde friend.
“I hate laundry, and she’s better at doing it the old fashioned way anyways,” Chris pouted.
“It’s alright, Rin. I told her I’d do it as long as she went with me to Central tomorrow. We know you love this kind of place, and we appreciate living basically for free, but we miss civilization.”
Rin rolled her eyes, and decided to let the conversation drop. “Nama, you are looking great. You are sure to impress Masamune at our next testing.” She leaned down and gave her son a tight hug and kiss on the top of his head.
“Mom,” he said, pointing her in the direction of the instructor, who was walking their way.
They both snapped into attention, shoulders back, hands to their sides and feet together. Rin coughed and her two friends slowly came to attention as well, but not nearly as rigid as Rin would have liked. “Shi uh, Rin, everyone, this is not during practice.”
“Yes, Masamune,” Rin and her son said together, separating their feet into shoulder width apart.
“You are looking much better, Saito. Your hard work is paying off.” He rested a hand on the boy and gave him a slight smile. He took his hand away after a moment and turned to look Rin in the eyes. “May we have a chat? Privately?” he turned before she could respond and started walking in the direction of his hut.
She quickly followed, nerves racked and very confused. It was not often anyone was asked to speak privately with Masamune, especially her.
“We will have five very important guests arriving next week. These guests are never able to truly get away from the craziness their lives entail and are looking to relax. I would like for your group to take care of anything they ask for. You know I do not like outsiders coming out here to distract our practice, but as you know we have been struggling to keep this place up and they have offered us a great sum of money for us to let them stay.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, Masamune, who are these people? Have I heard of them?”
“I believe your friend Yu is in love with them,” he chuckled.
“You mean? Really?!”
“Yes, the popular boy band DBSK will be coming to stay here. As you well know, I’m sure, since they all got back together, this last year has been super busy and they want to take a few weeks and go incognito. No one knows they will be coming here. I am asking you and your friends to take care of them. Make sure they have as much food and clean sheets and any other conveniences they desire. We will be adding on to your hut so that they will have a place to stay.”
“Thank you for entrusting us to represent you. We will be sure to make them welcome. And I will tell the girls to be polite and not fan girls.”
The next week flew by. There was little practice, but everyone got their workout by building rooms and beds and working on everything that it takes to make a home.
The day before the special guests were to arrive, the four Central citizens sat in their hut. “I can’t believe I get to meet Heidi!” squealed Yu.
“They are normal human beings, they just happen to sing well and be very attractive. Please don’t make them uncomfortable and go all fangirl on them,” Rin sighed as she swept the floor for the hundredth time that day.
“So you’re not nervous at all?” Chris asked, watching her friend continue cleaning a spotless house.
“Masamune told me he was entrusting me to be sure everything is perfect for them. That is the only reason I have any anxiety about this. We owe him everything, and I refuse to let him down.”
“Momma, will we still be practicing while they are here?” Saito asked.
“Of course, Nama. We will just have to be sure the boys are taken care of first. If you would like to wake up and train with me in the mornings you can. We have fallen behind with all of the building this week.” Rin began re-wiping down the table and walls.
“You know, I heard Lee was single,” Yu said to her blonde friend. They giggled like schoolgirls as Rin continued cleaning.
Rin snapped around when she heard someone approaching. Voices were coming from the woods. “Saito, stay here with the girls,” she commanded. She breathed in deeply as she stepped outside, moving quickly and quietly to stay in the shadows. There were men coming, but they seemed to not be concerned with how noisy they were. Still staying in the shadows, she started to make out the frames and voices of the men. Taking one last moment to gain as much control of her emotions as she could, she stepped out of her hiding spot to greet the men she had at one point practically worshipped. “Annyeonghaseyo. Welcome to Geocheo Dojahng,” Rin gave a deep bow. “We were not expecting you until morning. We do not have any food prepared, but if you would like I could start something or if you would rather I could run to town to get something.”
Lee was the first to speak. “There is no reason for that. We are already imposing on you by showing up early.” He gave a soft smile.
“I don’t know; I’m pretty hungry. What can you fix quickly?” Chang, always the one to speak his mind, asked as he took a few steps to be at the front of the group.
“Well, it will take about twenty minutes to get the fire started, but I think I have enough ingredients for pancakes.”
Yunho shook his head. “No, that will not do. We ate before we started up here.”
“But I’m hungry,” Chang groaned.
“You’re always hungry, and I want to relax. Would you mind showing us to our quarters?” Sosari asked. He laughed as his younger friend pouted. “You look even more like a child when you do that.” Chang gave him a playful shove and Sosari just laughed harder.
“Y’all will be staying in a hut right outside of ours. If you need anything all you have to do is ask.” Rin quickly picked up a few of the men’s bags and started heading back in the direction of her hut. Yunho frowned when he realized she was carrying everyone’s bags.
“We can carry our own bags.”
“Y’all have had a long trip on foot,” was her answer as she kept a fast pace, passing her hut and walking into theirs. When everyone was in, she placed the bags on the floor. “We apologize for the tightness of the space. We are not used to building rooms for important people as yourselves. There are two bedrooms, one with two beds and the other with three. As you can see, this is the living area. I am sorry to tell you there is not any electricity. I should have breakfast ready around daybreak, but do not feel like you have to wake for it. Let me know when you want to eat and I will fix anything I have the ingredients for. We grow all of our vegetables on the grounds and fish in the stream to the north. The restroom is about ten meters from here, right outside of the huts. You won’t miss it.”
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Heidi said as he took a look around. “You seem to have put in a lot of hard work here.”
“It was not just me , it was all of us.” As she said that, her roommates and son appeared at the door. Rin shook her head. “Come on in since y’all insist on being nosy. This is Yu and Chris, my best friends. And this is my Nama, my son Saito.” He quickly walked to his mother’s side and bowed.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Yunho dropped down to Saito’s level. “You are as polite as your mother.” He chuckled when he got a pleased smile and slight blush from the youngster. He stood up to look at the women who had not made it all the way into the hut. “It is nice to meet you two as well.”
Heidi walked over and pulled the women farther into the room, an innocent smile on his face. “We won’t bite, you can come it.” Yu blushed when Heidi didn’t release her hand right away.
“Well it is late and I am sure y’all will want to get to sleep after such a long hike. If you need anything please feel free to come wake me up. We are in the hut on your right when you walk outside. I will be asleep in the main room.” Rin bowed and took her son’s hand and turned to walk out. She noticed Yu and Heidi were still holding hands and made a coughing sound. They quickly let go and Yu turned to follow before she was caught blushing.
“They are so nice, Momma.” Saito was lying on a mat next to his mother’s.
“They really are. Very polite,” Rin began humming a soft lullaby to help her son fall asleep.
In the next room Yu and Chris were giggling like school girls. “Oh my gosh, did you see that Chris? He held my hand for nearly five minutes!”
“You are so lucky! Oh and did you see Lee? He is so handsome. He had this look in his eyes that told me he was interested. Oh they are so sexy.” Chris and Yu continued on for hours until they finally managed to calm down enough to go to sleep.
A little before five in the morning, an hour before daybreak, Rin slipped off of her mat and pulled on her morning gear: an olive green tank top and brown pants. As quietly as she could, she went outside and started the “oven”. In reality, it was more of a fire pit with a stone shelter and a metal rack about half a meter off the ground. Stacking a few logs and lighting them with flint, she stepped back and began to fan the fire. Once it was at a decent level, she cut up some vegetables she had picked from the garden the morning before, mixed them in a giant dish with eggs and rice, and placed them in a baking dish to make a sort of casserole.
She stepped back watched to be sure the fire was at the correct level then walked to the center of the grounds to the training floor. Rin sighed and closed her eyes. ‘Block, punch, kick, punch, spin kick, block, low kick, mid kick, high kick hold, punch, knife hand,’ Rin said to herself as she did her warm up form.
Thirty minutes into practice, there was clapping from behind her. “You are very dedicated,” Yunho stepped out of the shadows.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to see you have real talent,” Yunho gave a quick smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve done much martial arts.”
“It never completely leaves though. The passion, the control, the attitude,” Rin stepped a little closer so they could speak more quietly.
“That’s true. Mind if I work out with you?”
Without giving him an answer, Rin walked back out to the center of the dirt field. When Yunho followed her, she began giving commands. “Front kick, side kick, low block,” and they went on until it was light outside and the food was ready.
The entire village came out as dawn appeared, circling for food. Rin began serving the casserole, portioning it out to be sure everyone was able to have some. Soon her friends and son came out to eat as well. “Good morning, Momma.”
“Good morning, Nama. Good morning girls. Would you mind taking a few plates in for the rest of the guys? I’m sure they will wake up hungry.”
Chris giggled, “Definitely!” Chris and Yu carried three plates each, one for the four boys and one for themselves. When they got to the hut, Chris pushed the door open and walked in without knocking. “Good morning, Lee. Are you hungry?”
Lee and Heidi were already awake and rummaging through their bags for their clothes for the day. “Starving,” he smiled and graciously took the plate he was offered.
“Is that for me?” Heidi gave Yu a sweet smile as he took the plates from her. He put the extra plate on a side table for whoever woke up next then sat next to Yu. “It is kind of you to bring us our food. We could have come out to get it.”
“It was no trouble,” Yu smiled and adjusted slightly Heidi had more room on the long pillow chair they were now sharing.
Chang walked in rubbing his eyes sleepily, wearing only his blue sleep pants. He plopped down on a pillow across from the others and stole a vacant bowl, not saying a word but digging straight into the warm food.
“Please excuse our young friend, he still has no manners when he wakes up,” Lee said to the women. Chang simply shrugged and continued stuffing his face. “See what I mean?” The women giggled.
Chang swallowed his current bite then looked up, “I’m tired and hungry. Sosari was snoring all night. You two were lucky not to be stuck in the room with him.” He mumbled something grumpily under his breath.
“No, instead we were woken up before dawn because Yunho decided to that was the perfect time to go for a walk.” Heidi, Yu and Chris watched on as Chang and Lee began arguing about who had the worse sleeping situation.
The bickering only lasted about five minutes when Sosari walked in wearing red basketball shorts and a grey muscle shirt looking fully refreshed and wide awake. “I think that has to be the best sleep I have had in months!”
Chang and Lee scowled and, seeming to almost read each other’s mind and moving in unison, jumped up to begin bashing him repeatedly with the pillow seats that had previously been sitting on. Sosari ran back to his room, Chang and Lee on his tail, to grab his pillow so he would have a chance at surviving. He quickly made his way back into the larger living room, bashing Lee’s head before quickly dodging an oncoming body shot from Chang’s pillow.
“Is everything ok in here?” Rin, Saito and Yunho walked in carrying their food. The fight had escalated and Chang now kneeled on and held his arms behind his back as Lee was tying his feet together and to his hands. Instead of going with her instinct to pull Sosari’s abusers off of him and instead looked to her left and up at Yunho. “Shouldn’t you be separating them?”
“No, once they have him tied up I’m sure that will be the end of their mayhem.” He sat down next to Heidi and patted the ground next to him, motioning for Rin and Saito to sit down as well. Saito quickly sat down, but Rin stayed standing a moment longer. It was hard to ignore her gut reaction to help out the man who was almost completely tied up.
Finally deciding to sit down, Rin turned her attention to her friends. Instantly she looked at Chris. “What did you do?”
“Why do you assume that I did something?” she whined.
“Because if something set someone off, usually you are the one to do it,” Rin grinned as she took a bite of her food.
“It was not her fault. They were complaining about being tired and Sosari walked in happy,” Heidi shook his head at his friend’s unlucky entrance.
After having successfully tied Sosari to their satisfaction, Lee and Chang sat back down to finish their now almost cold breakfast. Sosari grunted, “Can someone please come untie me now?” Without waiting on anyone else to step up, Saito put his bowl down went to untie the prisoner. Rin had a proud look on her face when her son came back to sit next to her. Rin turned and offered Sosari the seat next to her and the last bowl of casserole.
“So what is there to do around here?” Chang asked after he swallowed his last bite.
Rin scratched her head and thought for a moment. She and her group were the most recent additions to the Dojahng and had only been there about six months. She hadn’t had any time to explore or do anything besides practice and cook and school her son.
“There’s not a whole lot to do,” Chris interrupted her thoughts. “There are plenty of places to fish or bathe or explore, but other than that: nothing. There is no internet access or really any electricity of any kind other than the phone close to the oven.”
“Why so little?” Chang asked, already seeming bored in such a beautiful escape from the bustle of modern society. The hands of Sosari and Lee came up in unison to smack the back of their younger friends head. “What was that for?” he sulked.
Rin sighed. “We do not want the distraction of the outside world here. This is a place that is meant to bring us back to basics. We grow our own food, fish and hunting for meat. This place is a place for us to escape technology and practice a nearly dying sport, to hone our skills, and live together as a giant family.”
“Why?” Chang asked again. But before Sosari could slap his head again, Rin quickly grabbed it and placed it back in his lap.
“It’s an honest question, and there is no disrespect in his curiosity.” She turned her attention away from Sosari and back to Chang, “It is the way we choose to live. It keeps us safe. We do not have to stay if we do not want, and are free to venture down to the city any time we wish. Here, we do not have to worry about money. We pay for nothing. We earn money by participating in tournaments throughout South Korea, which is how we keep everything up and running.” She looked down at her watch, “Now if y’all will please excuse Nama and me, we must go get ready for practice.” With that, the two took everyone’s breakfast dishes and left the hut.
“You do not practice as well?” Yunho asked the two remaining women.
Yu shook her head. “No, we teach English in one of the schools in Central. We live here because Masamune allows us to stay with Rin. We try to help pull our weight, we make things to sell at tournaments and do extra cleaning and gardening when we do not have school. School starts back in another week; we have been out for two weeks already for summer break.”
“So what are we supposed to do all day?” Chang asked, already feeling bored.
“I brought a soccer ball,” Heidi offered. “Is there a place to play?”
Yu smiled, “Yes, there is a field behind Masamune’s hut. I’m sure he won’t mind. Chris and I can meet you outside when everyone is dressed,” and the two girls headed out.
“We don’t know how to play soccer,” Chris whispered to Yu as soon as they stepped into their hut.
“I wasn’t planning on playing. We can be cheerleaders, maybe.”
A few minutes later both women stepped out of their huts. Yu had blue jersey shorts and a soft aqua tank top on, her light brown hair loose letting the slight curls reach her shoulders. Chris, in black jersey shorts and a light pink tank top, had her blonde hair in pig tails. The boys walked out to greet the girls for the game, all of them in similar basketball shorts and either muscle shirts or t-shirts.
“So who are team captains?” Sosari asked once all seven were heading over to the field.
“I’m ref, so I will choose team captains.” Yunho thought for a minute. “Heidi and Lee, you will be captains. Lee, since you are older you will choose your teammate first.”
“Chris,” Lee said, wrapping an arm around the blonde walking next to him.
“Yu and I were just going to sit on the sidelines and cheer. Neither of us really knows how to play and we would just screw up.” Yu nodded her agreement.
“That’s ok,” Heidi said. “Yu is my first choice, so we can just put the two of you against eachother.” He smiled, slipping his hand into Yu’s and pulling her to walk closer to him. “That means you’re up again, Jae. Who am I stuck with?”
“Sosari, you’re on our team. Chang, you’re on Heidi’s team.” Once they reached the field, Yunho went over a brief explanation of the rules, including making sure the girls knew which goal they were supposed to try to score in.
The game started, the boys taking it easy on the girls and not trying to score the ball. That was until Chris managed to steal the ball from Chang and scoring for Lee’s team. Then the rivalry started. The game went on for over an hour, the players getting more and more wrapped up in the game. No one noticed Rin and Saito walking up on the game until they decided to join the game, Saito going to Heidi’s team and Rin going to Lee’s. This seemed to not faze the rest of the players and the game went on for nearly an hour longer.
When the game was finally over, Lee’s team beat Heidi’s by one goal. “It’s because Chang sucks!” Heidi exclaimed. Everyone collapsed, laughing and struggling for air.
“It’s not my fault! Yu couldn’t stop a goal to save her life!” he said indignantly.
“So that makes y’all about even then, huh?” Rin laughed, all of her controlled attitude and respect leaving for a few minutes of fun.
“She has you there,” Yunho agreed. Everyone laughed.
Rin looked up at the sun, and then quickly stood up. “Lunch will be ready in twenty minutes,” and with no other notice, she returned to her respectful mode, bowed quickly and ran off to begin fixing lunch for the village.
“Is she always like this?” Yunho asked.
“She’s been like this since right before we came here from the States. It’s no big deal; she’s just a bit restrictive. Though sometimes I worry she takes on too much,” Chris answered. Saito looked sad.
“Why don’t you show me around the grounds?” Yunho offered to the pouting child. He nodded and they left the group.
Lee looked into Chris’ eyes. “Would you mind showing me around some?” She shook her head and they took off in the opposite direction. After they were out of sight from their friends, he reached over and grabbed her hand. “This is such a beautiful place.”
Chris nodded. “I enjoy exploring our property. Would you like to see my favorite hiding spot?” After he nodded, she took a quick turn into the woods, dragging him close behind her.
It took about ten minutes to get to Chris’ hiding spot, but when they arrived, Lee was in awe. There was a waterfall, and right beside it was the view of the city. It looked like an ant village from how high they were. “It’s beautiful.” Chris grinned, happy that he seemed to enjoy her secret hideout as much as she did. Lee wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back firmly against his chest. “But it is no comparison to you,” he whispered into her ear.
Chris leaned her head back to rest it against Lee's chest. She inhaled, "It smells like Rin has lunch ready, I'm hungry let's go." Lee laughed softly, but released the blonde from his grasp and instead took her by the hand to walk back to the oven.
Off in another part of the hideaway village, Heidi and Yu were sitting in open field they had previously been playing soccer in. Yu had her legs pulled up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. Heidi was on his back resting his head on the soccer ball.
"Alright it's your turn, what was your most embarrassing moment?" Heidi asked with a wicked grin plastered to his face.
"You barely even answered, why should I have to answer?" Yu pouted.
"I answered, you just don't want to tell me yours and that is cheating." He gave her an adorable pouty face in return.
Yu blushed and sighed. "Fine, back in middle school I was supposed to lead the choir in a song. The only problem was I had no idea what song I was supposed to sing until right before class started and I had never heard the song before in my life." She covered her face, reliving the embarrassment all over again. Heidi laughed. "It's not funny," she all but whined at him. Yu turned her back stubbornly towards him.
She heard him sit up and suddenly felt a hand resting on her shoulder. "I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing because I had a similar incident back before Dong Bong Shin Ki got together."
"Really?" Yu spun her head to look over her shoulder that was not occupied by Heidi's hand. He had a twinkle in his eye as he nodded. Yu spun herself back around to face him as he dropped his hand back to his side. "What is your very first memory?" Yu asked, tilting her head and resuming their game of One Million Questions.
They continued on for a long time, until both heard Heidi's stomach grumble. Yu laughed, "You could have told me you were getting hungry. I smell the food Rin prepared for lunch, and we do NOT want to arrive last. The people here eat like Chang," they both laughed. Heidi was the first to stand up, leaning down and offering her his hand to help her up. She hesitated a moment, but Heidi was not deterred. He leaned farther down and took her hand from the ground and pulled her up effortlessly. Smiling to himself, he released her hand when she was stably on her feet.
Across the field near the huts, Yunho and Saito walked. "Do you enjoy living here?" Yunho asked the boy as they explored the land near the gardens. Saito nodded as he looked over the plants to make sure they had all been watered thoroughly. "You are a very responsible child." He came up to rest his hand on his shoulder.
"I have good role models in the people here," he smiled up at the Yunho.
"Are there any children here for you to play with?" Saito shook his head. "Then who do you play with?" Yunho pressed.
"I play with Mom and some of the others here. And sometimes I go to the city with Chris and Yu. I don't like it down there as much. I like here, like Mom does." He looked proudly on across the property to where his mother was working the cooker. Yunho looked over as well, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Do you like Mom?"
The question startled Yunho. He squat down to be on Saito's eye level. "Of course, she seems like a very good woman. And a good mother." Yunho had to choose his words carefully, not sure of the young man's interest.
"She is a great mom." Saito took a step back, and just before he burst into a run, he shouted, "Last one to serving table likes to eat dog poop!" and he ran hard, laughing. Yunho was stunned for a moment, then took off after him.
"Don't touch that!" Rin smacked Chang's hand with the long wooden spoon she wielded as he tried to take a bite from the soup she had turned her back to for a brief second.
"I'm hungry!" he groaned, rubbing him hand pathetically. Seeing that he was not going to get any sympathy from such a hard woman, he decided to take another approach. "What if I helped you stir?"
"Sweetheart, if you do not leave my food alone, I will make sure you are the last to get a bowl."
Sosari laughed, startling the two supposed adults. Chang glared. "What is so funny?" Sosari shook his head. Chang just grumbled and rubbed his hand once more before turning back to the food and the evil woman keeping him from it. "Why can't I have just a little?"
"We eat as a family. No one eats before everyone has been notified that food is ready. Also, the meat is not completely cooked and it would probably make you sick." Chang rolled his eyes, muttering a "Whatever" before going to sit at a table a few meters away.
"You handle him well," Sosari said to her, watching her stirring hand move smoothly through the soup.
"I have been raising a child for a while, Chang seems about as stubborn as my son." She chuckled softly, seeing her son and Yunho sprinting across the property in their direction.
A few minutes later, the entire village was making a line to eat. After everyone had their food, Rin fixed her own bowl and joined her friends, new and old, and coming to stand behind her son. "Does anyone need anything before I sit down?" After everyone shook their head, she sat down between Saito and Sosari.
"Delicious as always, Mommy,"
Chris prompted, noticing the silent table, and nudging Lee in the ribs.
"Oh, Jae, I forgot," Rin passed a red bottle cross the table to where he sat. He took the bottle in hand and smiled, emptying nearly two tablespoons of the spicy Sriracha to his bowl before offering it to the rest of the table.
They continued to eat in silence for a while longer, much to Chris' dismay. Chang and Saito both went back for seconds, and after everyone had eaten they continued to sit. Chang was the first to speak. "Now what should we do?"
The rest of the group sighed. "I'm too full to hit him, you do it," Sosari said to Lee, who did it with great pleasure.
"Why am I always getting hit? I don't get it. We are old enough for you to regard me as a man, and not a child anymore." He pouted childishly, then suddenly flinched when he saw Rin get up and walk around the table to where he was sitting. Without a word, she knelt down, pulling out a napkin and wiping some left over food off of his face. Chang looked confused. Rin patted his cheek affectionately before standing and returning to her seat.
"Always a Mommy," Chris laughed.
Chang groaned again. It was only an hour after lunch and he was bored. Rin and Saito had run off to afternoon practice and Yu and Chris went to finish dishes from lunch, which left the brothers to themselves for a few hours. At the moment they were all relaxing on the field they had played soccer on that morning. "I'm bored."
"Just enjoy the time to relax. We have been running on steam for the last month with no breaks at all. This is nice," Yunho stretched out in the grass, arching his back and letting out an exaggerated yawn to emphasize his exhaustion. To himself he finished "I see why she enjoys it here so much."
"What was that?" Sosari asked, twisting his head in an odd angle to see his older brother shrug. He twisted his head back to the normal position and raised up off his back to sit and look at his brothers, all back together after way to long. "This is how it was always meant to be," the middle brother smiled.
"You get to emotional," Heidi laughed, sitting up as well.
"Did I ever tell you, you are too noisy?" Sosari through back.
"Real original," Heidi answered, but with his signature smile still gracing his face.
"It's true, you are noisy," Chang decided to fuel the fire. But before an all out insult fest could insue, they were interupted by Yu, followed by an almost giddily bouncing Chris over to where the five were sitting.
Lee and Heidi got up to meet the women. "What has her in such a happy mood?" Heidi asked Yu, almost afraid of the hyperactive blonde.
"That is simple, my friend," Chris answered before Yu could get a word out. "My best friend has finally agreed to take me to her hideout. Not only that, she said we could all go, tonight!" Chris was literally bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"What is so special about this place?" Lee asked after everyone was seated again. "Is it like the place you took me to earlier?"
"I don't know for sure. She has kept this place hidden since she found it a week after we arrived. All I really know is she only goes out to it in the middle of the night, and when she arrives a few hours before daybreak she is in high spirits."
"So when can we go?" Chang, looking forward to exploring what he could only imagine was a miraculous savior from the boredom he had felt today.
Yu pointed up to a tall tree across the village to the north. "She said when the moon looks like it is resting on top of the Sheppard tree we will leave." She grinned at how her friend had worded it.
"So what should we do until then?" Heidi asked the group. When he thought no one was paying him any mind he slipped his hand around Yu's, lacing their fingers and feeling the perfect fit. Yu glanced down for a brief moment, but not wanting to make a scene of it, kept quiet. She too noticed how natural their hands seemed to fit together.
"Well," Chris spoke up. "We could bowl?" she offered.
"You have a bowling alley here?!" Chang exclaimed.
"Not exactly," Rin cut in, having just arrived unnoticed along with her son. "We have ten logs forty centimeters tall and we usually kick a ball and see how many we can knock down." Rin couldn't help but laugh to herself. It was definitely not the conventional version of bowling.
"Should we play teams?" Heidi asked. "You know, just to make it a little more interesting."
After a seemingly endless argument of what the teams were, they finally decided it would be Heidi, Yu, Chris, and Lee versus Yunho, Rin, Chang, and Sosari. Saito had been invited to play a game with some of the First Degrees and was happy to join them. The game insued, Heidi first up. A strike. Rin picked the "pins" up and put them back correctly.
The game went on for nearly two hours, nearly tied, with Heidi and Lee edging out to be the best competitors of the game. "It's amazing, I think I should stick to this version of bowling from now on," he stated after his fourth strike of the game.
Soon after the game was finished and everyone was relaxing, Rin had to run off to fix supper, becoming stoic once again. After supper, much of the same occured. The men were left to themselves while the women cleaned and Rin and Saito went to the last practice of the night. Around dusk everyone started heading to their huts. The women reminded the men of exactly when to leave.
The moment the moon was directly above the Sheppard tree the group of nine snuck out of their homes and as quietly as they could made their way to the wooded barrier of the village. After checking to be sure that everyone was safely covered by the shadow of the trees Rin exhaled deeply. "I can't believed we're doing this," she laughed slightly, shaking her head in disbelief of her own behavior.
"Everyone needs a little fun from time to time," Yunho gave her his most charming smile. Rin grumbled and gave him a slight shove before motioning for everyone to follow her. After several minutes of hiking, the whole time Chang asking how much farther it was. Finally, they came to the clearing. Everyone's jaws hit the floor in unison aside from Saito and Rin's.
"This is more amazing than I had imagined!" Chris gawked. Everyone continued looking around. There was a hammock set up between two trees, a stone fireplace; but in the center, spanning nearly thirty meters in diameter, was a steaming spring. The spring itself was not the amazing part, but that the moon lit it up perfectly.
"And we can swim in it?" Chang asked, already unbuttoning his shirt and getting ready to pull it off. The second Rin had nodded, Chang grabbed Heidi and threw him in fully clothed. Yu squeaked and frowned angrily. Rin laughed, but was suddenly hoisted in the air by two strong arms. Instantly in fight mode, she started fighting to get away.
"Relax, relax," came a soothing voice from the arms holding her. She calmed down and finally saw it was Yunho who was holding her bridal style, though awkwardly since she had a guilotine choke on him. She slowly release his neck and gave him a quick apologetic look. Before Yunho knew it, the apology was gone, as was her lower body from his grip. He did not have a chance to see the wicked look she gave as she did an arm drag and flung him into the awaiting spring. He came up for air, tredding water and looked angrily at her. "You cheat!"
"I would never!" She exclaimed right before she did a cannon ball in right next to him, splashing a huge wave of water over his unexpecting face.
Over in the shallow end, Chris and Lee sat relaxing in eachother's company. "This place is so relaxing," Chris sighed. Lee nodded his agreement, sliding closer to wrap a strong arm around her shoulders.
"Let's have a chicken fight!" Saito said as he tred water next to his mother in the deep end.
"We usually do that on dry land," Chang argued.
"Not that kind of chicken fight. It's where you have one person standing in the water about abdomin to chest level and another person sitting on their shoulders. The people on the top are supposed to try to knock the other people into the water. Last team standing wins." Everyone agreed, along with Sosari sitting out due to his asthma having been giving him problems since they arrived. After a rousing game of Kai Bai Boh, the teams were Chris on Rin, Yu on Lee, Saito on Yunho, and Chang on Heidi, to which Heidi claimed he should not have to try and support such a large load.
Sosari said "Go," and the game began. Saito and Yunho quickly fell to a preempted strike of Yu and Lee's, followed by them quickly going down do Rin swyping Lees legs as Chris through Yu off balance. Then it was two. Rin and Chris sized of the male team, both with equally menacing looks. The two fighting duo's walked at each other and Chris and Chang locked arms. This pulled Heidi in pefect range for Rin to wrap a leg around to pull his knee out from under him. This caused him to lose balance, and at the perfect moment Chris spun her upper body to cause Chang to fly backwards and into the water.
After everyone was done talking about how it was not fair that Chris and I had played to many times together and knew how to work with each other, it was time to go. The moon was almost out of view, and Rin said that it was time they left.
On the way through the woods, Saito said he was to tired to walk. Yunho quickly offered and picked him up.
As they made their way through the woods, Yu tripped on a fallen limb. She hit the ground hard and let out a loud yelp. Heidi crouched down next to her. "Are you alright?" He brushed her hair out of her face and helped her to a sitting position. Yu just shook her head, eyes closed and pulling her left ankle up to hold. She whimpered softly. Heidi sat next to her, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. "It will be ok. Don't worry, I will take care of you." He rocked her softly, wiping her tears away with his thumb.
"Are you going to be able to make it back on your own?" Rin asked, crouching down in front of the pair.
"I don't think so," Heidi responded for her.
Rin pulled Yu's shoe and sock off. She pushed her Capri up a little to have a better look at the ankle. "Can you move it a little?" Yu gasped, unhappy at the prospect of having to move her hurt leg at all. "Just do it, I need to know if it's broken or just sprained." When her friend finally moved it, Rin nodded her head. She reached into her bag that she had brought everyone towels in and pulled out a long wrapping bandage. After wrapping it tightly, she stood back up. "Well, that is the best I can do until we get back home."
Heidi stood up, leaning back down to pick Yu up bridal style. Yu squeaked at the sudden closeness to her not-so-secret long-time crush. Her cheeks reddened. "This is going to be kind of difficult to make it through all of the debris without tripping. If you could wrap your arms around my neck and hold on, it should make it a little easier, and a little safer for both of us." She nodded before clasping her hands together behind his neck.
As they walked on, both began to relax into the closeness they were sharing. Yu snuggled her head into his shoulder, taking in a full breath of his scent. She sighed contently. Heidi smiled down at her. This is comfortable he thought to himself.
As they finally reached home, the sun was just starting to turn the sky a deep purple. Rin asked Heidi to keep an eye on Yu while she went to make breakfast for everyone and sent Chris and Lee to the village down the mountain for the doctor. Yunho went to lay Saito down in his bed while Sosari and Chang elected to go take a nap before breakfast.
In front of her home, Heidi stopped and sat down on a swing. He readjusted Yu so that her foot was propped up on the side of the swing and she was leaning against him. "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better," she let out a weak laugh.
"It really hurts, doesn't it?" He readjusted them again so they could see each other and Yu could rest her head on his arm and chest. She nodded her response, but the pain did seem to be lessening. She is so beautiful. He smiled down at her. After several minutes passed of them just staring into each other's eyes, he cleared his throat. "It's a beautiful morning," he tried to start a conversation.
"It is. It's always beautiful here. You should see it when it snows, there is nothing so beautiful." Yu closed her eyes, remembering a few months ago when a snow storm and covered the entire mountain in a sheet of fluffy white snow.
"I'm sure it was not as beautiful as you," Heidi blushed suddenly, completely shocked by the words he let out. He had never been one for thinking before acting, but he was never quite that honest and up front.
Yu's face burned from the compliment. Oh my gosh, did he really just call me beautiful? Her head was rushing with thoughts that she could not focus completely on before the next thought took over. Oh crap, I haven't said anything. He probably thinks I'm conceited for not thanking him. But if I thank him instead of disagreeing with him that would still be conceited sounding, wouldn't it. Dangit I still haven't said anything. "Um," SAY SOMETHING YU! "Thank you," she said hesitantly.
Wow, that took her a while to respond. I so should not have said anything. Now she is uncomfortable with me. WHY DO I NEVER THINK FIRST?! He blushed a little more and turned to look away from her. "I'm sorry, that was to forward."
"No...no. Thank you, really. I have never been compared to such a beautiful scenery. It was a very sweet thing to say." She sat up a little so they could be at the same eye level. She hesitated for a moment, just staring into his eyes. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, and definitely acting out of character, she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Quickly regretting her rash actions, she turned away from him. Yu's face burned a deep crimson, holding it in her hands. She almost yelped when she felt his weight against her back as he gave her a tight hug then pulling her back into his arms.
They sat like that for a long time, watching the sun come into full view. The smell of food washed over them. "Stay here, I will go get us both a plate." After allowing her to get comfortable on the swing, he quickly made his way in the direction of food.
"How is she?" Rin asked when he started filling two plates.
A slight pink crossed Heidi's cheeks once again. "She is feeling a little better now that she can prop up her foot."
"Good. Take good care of her. If there is a problem, I will hold you responsible." There were hidden meanings to her words that he picked up on quickly. He nodded when the plates were full and headed back to Yu.
As he approached, he admired her soft form curled up on the swing. Maybe I should ask her out? He shook his head. No, I have not known her long enough. This is just a situational crush we have. He sighed, angry with his indecision. He suddenly got a sly look on his face, noticing she had her back turned away from his decision. He creeped up behind her as quietly as he could, "Food is here!" he said loudly, making her jump. When Yu turned to face him, an angry scowl plastered on her face and ready to slap Heidi, her heart dropped. He had the sweetest most innocent look and rested his chin on his hands in his childish manner.
"Stop that! I'm supposed to be mad at you for nearly giving me a heart attack! How am I supposed to be serious when you are making that face?" Yu giggled.
"That's the point." He helped scoot her over and handed her a plate.
"I should make you sit on the ground for being so rotten!" she frowned into her food.
"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" he said in a child-like voice. Yu let out an exasperated sigh and shoveled a bit of food into her mouth. She kept her head down the entire time they ate. "Are you mad at me?"
"No, just angry that you can make me not mad at you so easily. I am good at being mad at people, you should be no exception."
"What can I do to make it up to you?" He took her plate when she was finished and placed it on the ground along with his and turned so they were facing each other on the swing.
Oh no, dirty thoughts. Go away! She scolded herself. This is not a time to be thinking like that. He did NOT mean it like that. Frustrated with herself, she just shook her head. Then an idea popped into her head. "Sing to me."
His childish-innocent look returned. "Which song?"
"I don't know," Yu almost whined out. "One from your solo tour. How about," she pretended to think for nearly a minute so as to not be found out. "Lullaby?"
He laughed, "Alright." As he began to sing, he swayed from side to side, rocking her with him slightly. As he started on the chorus, he stood up and began dancing. Noticing her eyes watching him intently, he put everything into this private show. As he finished the song, he knelt in front of her, grasping one of her hands in both of his.
"That was, amazing." Yu pulled him up to the swing and they cuddled for what seemed like an hour...
Saito wasn’t sure what happened to the couple, or any of the other strange visitors. Much like the others that came, they just as quickly left, returning to their lives of business and technology, leaving Kit to wonder just who they really were. These are the stories that describe not the physical being of a man, but his upbringing, and how he came to make the decisions he has.