[Fic] Kapre
Title: Kapre
Author: 93rdfragment
Pairing: KaiSoo
Rating: K
Summary: Jongin is swept up by the holiday spirit. Another University of the Philippines!AU in celebration of Halloween.
***
Ghost stories are an all year round thing for this university as Kyungsoo and Jongin soon find out. They should have expected that from the more or less century old buildings and vast lands of greenery. There had always been something eerie in the air at night. And now that Halloween is nearing and the celebration of All Soul’s Day right around the corner as well, it’s gotten even more rampant.
“Hyung. Have you heard of the story about the girls’ washroom on the first floor?” Jongin looks expectantly at Kyungsoo as they go up the stairs to their class. Kyungsoo had the sudden urge to roll his eyes.
“Are you really listening to those kinds of stories?”
“But the guard says it’s true! He really does hear a girl singing every night at the exact same time. A lullaby.” The slightly loud outburst has other students in the 3rd floor hallway looking at them weirdly. It figures since they’d been speaking in Korean. Everyone goes back to their own businesses right after. Both continue to walk until they reach their room but there’s a class still going on. It seems they arrived a bit early.
“Jongin. Don’t just believe in whatever other people tell you. We’re already staying at a rather scary dorm. I’d appreciate it if you don’t try to scare us both awake for endless nights.” Kyungsoo squeezes Jongin’s arm in warning. “Got it?”
Jongin yelps in pain and tries to pry Kyungsoo’s hand away but the other doesn’t let go until he agrees. He nurses his arm once it’s been freed from the deadly grasp. There’s a chuckle beside them and their extremely tall and rugged looking classmate is laughing at them.
“Benta niyo talagang dalawa!” The deep voice is scratchy, a cigarette shoved back into grinning lips. There’s laughter again when mirth-filled eyes see their confused faces. The tone is equal parts condescending and amused. “I said you guys are really funny.”
“Oh! Uhm. Thanks?” Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to react to that. Jongin is still staring. They’ve never talked with this Sociology 10 classmate before. Probably because the guy doesn’t really attend classes all too often. He’s rather intimidating with his height too. And the addiction to smoking doesn’t really put him in Kyungsoo’s good people list. More like his “avoid as much as possible” people list.
“What were you guys arguing about? You’ve got a pretty strong grip there.”
“He doesn’t believe in ghosts!” Jongin points an accusatory finger at Kyungsoo who is half-relieved all those hours spent teaching the other English didn’t go to waste and half-annoyed because why is he dating a child. He settles for glaring at Jongin before turning his attention to their classmate again who speaks up.
“Really? They’re everywhere though. There’s one hovering behind you two right now.”
Their classmate’s eyes are trained between the two of them and they immediately look behind them to see nothing but the chipped up white wall. Kyungsoo curses at being fooled and questions why it’s taking so long for the other class to end so they can get in the room and sit far away from this person. Everyone is too caught in the Halloween fever.
“I don’t see it.” Jongin is a mix of disappointment and relief. Their classmate just smiles down at them, a knowing look in those dark eyes. They couldn’t stop the goosebumps forming on their skin.
“Doesn’t mean she isn’t there.” A drag of cigarette and a puff of smoke. “Say. What do you know about Philippine myths?”
Jongin looks to Kyungsoo to try and avoid explanations and terms in Filipino he still can’t pronounce right. Kyungsoo contemplates for a while before answering. “I’ve heard of uhm nuno sa punso and tikbalang from the staff at the dorm. They said something like ‘umaaraw, umuulan, may kinakasal na tikbalang’? But they mostly just tell us ghost stories.”
“Ahh. Ghosts are all the rage now, huh? Now wait. Zombies actually. Everyone’s so hung up on those undead.” Another drag of smoke. A hand combs through the long black locks of hair. They stare at the shadows cast upon their classmate’s face by the sun behind their backs. “Nuno sa punso. So do you say ‘tabi tabi po’ when passing dirt mounds and trees?”
“Well I just walk on pavements so there isn’t any need.” Kyungsoo wants to shrug but feels like he shouldn’t. Jongin just nods in agreement.
There’s another deep laughter and Jongin wonders how the cigarette doesn’t fall. “Makes sense. Did they tell you what those look like? And the tikbalang.”
“A dwarf and a half-man half-horse!” Jongin says excitedly. It seems he’s going to get more stories from this classmate and Kyungsoo is too polite to stop the conversation. Philippine mythological creatures are actually pretty interesting. The things people had come up with back then. “Right?”
“Right. And that phrase ‘umaaraw, umuulan, may kinakasal na tikbalang’, do you know what it means?”
“Uhm.” Jongin thinks for a second and Kyungsoo waits until the cogs in that brain start to move. “When there is the sun while it rains, there is a marriage?”
“Ohh. You understood that.” The smirk on the guy’s face has Kyungsoo’s eye twitching. He really doesn’t like that tone or that expression. Jongin is actually pretty smart. Learning languages just isn’t quite easy. “So what about a kapre? Have you heard anything about them?”
“Ka-what?” Jongin tries to catch the word and Kyungsoo thinks Jongin is too curious for his own good. Also that it’s incredibly cute when Jongin encounters a new word. The confused expression is endearing.
“Kapre. A tree giant.” A smoke-filled smile that looks like a leer with the shadows dancing upon their classmate. “It’s said they like playing tricks on people. Confusing them. And that they love tobacco.”
“Kapure?”
Kyungsoo laughs a little at another of Jongin’s failed Filipino attempts. The knitted eyebrows and slight frown. See. Cute. “Kap-re, Jongin. Kap. Re.”
“Kap. Re.”
Kyungsoo’s smile coaxes one of Jongin’s own. Before they go into their little world though, students begin to file out of PH320. They enter once everyone’s gone and their tall classmate takes to seating by the window, conversation dropped. They sit nearer the door. The guy simply smiles at them then looks at the back of the room with a slight nod before looking out the window and to the nearby trees that seem to be just within reach. Jongin and Kyungsoo look at each other, both wondering what all that was about - from the sudden conversation to the weird and abrupt ending.
“A tree giant.” Jongin begins to speak in Korean again. Kyungsoo would have scolded him to practice and practice English but people are filing in and he’d rather not let anyone else hear them talking about such things. “You think those are real?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t really know if we should believe in things like that.” Kyungsoo would rather not believe in them so he won’t get even more creeped out living in this university full of trees. Nights in the university are dark with not enough lamps to ease Kyungsoo’s nervousness. Their conversation is cut short when the professor arrives. They watch as she goes to the desk and places her things down before looking at all of them.
“Oh! Mister…” She looks through her class list and then looks back at their tall classmate who has now politely gotten rid of his cigarette. “Mr. Akok Apre. You’ve finally decided to join us again.”
“Sorry Ma’am. Papasok na ako palagi.” The sheepish smile doesn’t look quite right on the guy. Their professor just raises an eyebrow before waving the promise off. She’s heard it too many times.
Kyungsoo couldn’t help the nagging feeling there’s something to that name he should be noticing. The lesson goes on anyway and he gets immersed into it. Jongin as well. They both don’t notice the amused looks Akok Apre gives them from time to time nor their extra classmate at the back of the room.
***
Author’s Notes: So I think this is going to be a series. A really infrequent series I’ll write whenever something comes up. Featuring my lame humor. For non-Filipino speakers, “Akok Apre” is actually “ako kapre”. Literally meaning “I kapre”. There really is a rumor about a ghost singing lullabies at the first floor girls’ washroom in the Palma Hall building. And a multitude of other scary stories. I swear our building is so scary and old and surrounded by trees. Okay. I digress. I’ll leave translations and explanations down below. Have a nice Halloween everyone!
Nuno sa punso - literally “dwarf in a dirt mound/anthill” Most, if not all, Filipino kids have been told to say “Tabi tabi po” when passing a dirt mound or a tree in case the dwarf is stepped on and you’ll be cursed with sickness. “Tabi tabi po” when transliterated is something akin to “Please move aside”. Nuno’s are generally harmless unless provoked by being hurt or having their homes destroyed.
Tikbalang - As said, the tikbalang is a half-man half-horse creature. The head and lower torso are of a horse while the upper torso is that of a man. Usually seen with a “palakol” - an axe. There are different legends about them. Some believe them to be deities controlling the elements or that they are summoned to protect homes and lands. Some believe they cause travelers to be lost especially in mountainous or forest areas. “Umaaraw, umuulan, may kinakasal na tikbalang” means that when it is raining while the sun is shining or when it’s a clear sky, there are two tikbalang’s getting married.
Kapre - A hairy tree giant who loves to smoke atop tall and wide trees and wears a “bahag” or loincloth. Parents warn children not to play at night because of kapre’s living in the trees that will take children. They like to play pranks on people and make anyone go in circles if they wish to. It’s said you must take off your shirt and put it on inside out to break the spell.
Tidbit: A ghost is called “multo” in Filipino. Multo. Multo everywhere!
That ends our Philippine mythology 101. There might be a next one. There might not be. Ask a manghuhula to know!
Author: 93rdfragment
Pairing: KaiSoo
Rating: K
Summary: Jongin is swept up by the holiday spirit. Another University of the Philippines!AU in celebration of Halloween.
***
Ghost stories are an all year round thing for this university as Kyungsoo and Jongin soon find out. They should have expected that from the more or less century old buildings and vast lands of greenery. There had always been something eerie in the air at night. And now that Halloween is nearing and the celebration of All Soul’s Day right around the corner as well, it’s gotten even more rampant.
“Hyung. Have you heard of the story about the girls’ washroom on the first floor?” Jongin looks expectantly at Kyungsoo as they go up the stairs to their class. Kyungsoo had the sudden urge to roll his eyes.
“Are you really listening to those kinds of stories?”
“But the guard says it’s true! He really does hear a girl singing every night at the exact same time. A lullaby.” The slightly loud outburst has other students in the 3rd floor hallway looking at them weirdly. It figures since they’d been speaking in Korean. Everyone goes back to their own businesses right after. Both continue to walk until they reach their room but there’s a class still going on. It seems they arrived a bit early.
“Jongin. Don’t just believe in whatever other people tell you. We’re already staying at a rather scary dorm. I’d appreciate it if you don’t try to scare us both awake for endless nights.” Kyungsoo squeezes Jongin’s arm in warning. “Got it?”
Jongin yelps in pain and tries to pry Kyungsoo’s hand away but the other doesn’t let go until he agrees. He nurses his arm once it’s been freed from the deadly grasp. There’s a chuckle beside them and their extremely tall and rugged looking classmate is laughing at them.
“Benta niyo talagang dalawa!” The deep voice is scratchy, a cigarette shoved back into grinning lips. There’s laughter again when mirth-filled eyes see their confused faces. The tone is equal parts condescending and amused. “I said you guys are really funny.”
“Oh! Uhm. Thanks?” Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to react to that. Jongin is still staring. They’ve never talked with this Sociology 10 classmate before. Probably because the guy doesn’t really attend classes all too often. He’s rather intimidating with his height too. And the addiction to smoking doesn’t really put him in Kyungsoo’s good people list. More like his “avoid as much as possible” people list.
“What were you guys arguing about? You’ve got a pretty strong grip there.”
“He doesn’t believe in ghosts!” Jongin points an accusatory finger at Kyungsoo who is half-relieved all those hours spent teaching the other English didn’t go to waste and half-annoyed because why is he dating a child. He settles for glaring at Jongin before turning his attention to their classmate again who speaks up.
“Really? They’re everywhere though. There’s one hovering behind you two right now.”
Their classmate’s eyes are trained between the two of them and they immediately look behind them to see nothing but the chipped up white wall. Kyungsoo curses at being fooled and questions why it’s taking so long for the other class to end so they can get in the room and sit far away from this person. Everyone is too caught in the Halloween fever.
“I don’t see it.” Jongin is a mix of disappointment and relief. Their classmate just smiles down at them, a knowing look in those dark eyes. They couldn’t stop the goosebumps forming on their skin.
“Doesn’t mean she isn’t there.” A drag of cigarette and a puff of smoke. “Say. What do you know about Philippine myths?”
Jongin looks to Kyungsoo to try and avoid explanations and terms in Filipino he still can’t pronounce right. Kyungsoo contemplates for a while before answering. “I’ve heard of uhm nuno sa punso and tikbalang from the staff at the dorm. They said something like ‘umaaraw, umuulan, may kinakasal na tikbalang’? But they mostly just tell us ghost stories.”
“Ahh. Ghosts are all the rage now, huh? Now wait. Zombies actually. Everyone’s so hung up on those undead.” Another drag of smoke. A hand combs through the long black locks of hair. They stare at the shadows cast upon their classmate’s face by the sun behind their backs. “Nuno sa punso. So do you say ‘tabi tabi po’ when passing dirt mounds and trees?”
“Well I just walk on pavements so there isn’t any need.” Kyungsoo wants to shrug but feels like he shouldn’t. Jongin just nods in agreement.
There’s another deep laughter and Jongin wonders how the cigarette doesn’t fall. “Makes sense. Did they tell you what those look like? And the tikbalang.”
“A dwarf and a half-man half-horse!” Jongin says excitedly. It seems he’s going to get more stories from this classmate and Kyungsoo is too polite to stop the conversation. Philippine mythological creatures are actually pretty interesting. The things people had come up with back then. “Right?”
“Right. And that phrase ‘umaaraw, umuulan, may kinakasal na tikbalang’, do you know what it means?”
“Uhm.” Jongin thinks for a second and Kyungsoo waits until the cogs in that brain start to move. “When there is the sun while it rains, there is a marriage?”
“Ohh. You understood that.” The smirk on the guy’s face has Kyungsoo’s eye twitching. He really doesn’t like that tone or that expression. Jongin is actually pretty smart. Learning languages just isn’t quite easy. “So what about a kapre? Have you heard anything about them?”
“Ka-what?” Jongin tries to catch the word and Kyungsoo thinks Jongin is too curious for his own good. Also that it’s incredibly cute when Jongin encounters a new word. The confused expression is endearing.
“Kapre. A tree giant.” A smoke-filled smile that looks like a leer with the shadows dancing upon their classmate. “It’s said they like playing tricks on people. Confusing them. And that they love tobacco.”
“Kapure?”
Kyungsoo laughs a little at another of Jongin’s failed Filipino attempts. The knitted eyebrows and slight frown. See. Cute. “Kap-re, Jongin. Kap. Re.”
“Kap. Re.”
Kyungsoo’s smile coaxes one of Jongin’s own. Before they go into their little world though, students begin to file out of PH320. They enter once everyone’s gone and their tall classmate takes to seating by the window, conversation dropped. They sit nearer the door. The guy simply smiles at them then looks at the back of the room with a slight nod before looking out the window and to the nearby trees that seem to be just within reach. Jongin and Kyungsoo look at each other, both wondering what all that was about - from the sudden conversation to the weird and abrupt ending.
“A tree giant.” Jongin begins to speak in Korean again. Kyungsoo would have scolded him to practice and practice English but people are filing in and he’d rather not let anyone else hear them talking about such things. “You think those are real?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t really know if we should believe in things like that.” Kyungsoo would rather not believe in them so he won’t get even more creeped out living in this university full of trees. Nights in the university are dark with not enough lamps to ease Kyungsoo’s nervousness. Their conversation is cut short when the professor arrives. They watch as she goes to the desk and places her things down before looking at all of them.
“Oh! Mister…” She looks through her class list and then looks back at their tall classmate who has now politely gotten rid of his cigarette. “Mr. Akok Apre. You’ve finally decided to join us again.”
“Sorry Ma’am. Papasok na ako palagi.” The sheepish smile doesn’t look quite right on the guy. Their professor just raises an eyebrow before waving the promise off. She’s heard it too many times.
Kyungsoo couldn’t help the nagging feeling there’s something to that name he should be noticing. The lesson goes on anyway and he gets immersed into it. Jongin as well. They both don’t notice the amused looks Akok Apre gives them from time to time nor their extra classmate at the back of the room.
***
Author’s Notes: So I think this is going to be a series. A really infrequent series I’ll write whenever something comes up. Featuring my lame humor. For non-Filipino speakers, “Akok Apre” is actually “ako kapre”. Literally meaning “I kapre”. There really is a rumor about a ghost singing lullabies at the first floor girls’ washroom in the Palma Hall building. And a multitude of other scary stories. I swear our building is so scary and old and surrounded by trees. Okay. I digress. I’ll leave translations and explanations down below. Have a nice Halloween everyone!
Nuno sa punso - literally “dwarf in a dirt mound/anthill” Most, if not all, Filipino kids have been told to say “Tabi tabi po” when passing a dirt mound or a tree in case the dwarf is stepped on and you’ll be cursed with sickness. “Tabi tabi po” when transliterated is something akin to “Please move aside”. Nuno’s are generally harmless unless provoked by being hurt or having their homes destroyed.
Tikbalang - As said, the tikbalang is a half-man half-horse creature. The head and lower torso are of a horse while the upper torso is that of a man. Usually seen with a “palakol” - an axe. There are different legends about them. Some believe them to be deities controlling the elements or that they are summoned to protect homes and lands. Some believe they cause travelers to be lost especially in mountainous or forest areas. “Umaaraw, umuulan, may kinakasal na tikbalang” means that when it is raining while the sun is shining or when it’s a clear sky, there are two tikbalang’s getting married.
Kapre - A hairy tree giant who loves to smoke atop tall and wide trees and wears a “bahag” or loincloth. Parents warn children not to play at night because of kapre’s living in the trees that will take children. They like to play pranks on people and make anyone go in circles if they wish to. It’s said you must take off your shirt and put it on inside out to break the spell.
Tidbit: A ghost is called “multo” in Filipino. Multo. Multo everywhere!
That ends our Philippine mythology 101. There might be a next one. There might not be. Ask a manghuhula to know!