[school 2013] after the end
Title: After the End
Rating: PG
Spoilers: for the whole series through ep 16.
Word count: 1373
Summary: Injae and Sechan dismiss class 2-2 for the very last time. Time does not stand still. (Namsoon/Heungsoo, slight Yikyung/Jihoon)
after the end
i.
Both Injae and Sechan remain at Seungri the following year. They're split up--of course they are, co-teaching homeroom for a second year in a row? Absurd--and Sechan finds that he misses her presence at the back of his classroom more than he cares to admit. He gets over it, he has to, but sometimes he finds himself wondering what Injae would do when faced with a bunch of first years terrified about the prospects of their future. And sometimes, his subconscious tells him. And then sometimes, he listens.
Injae is rotated to another school the following year. She never becomes famous, not like him, but rumors follow her wherever she goes. The teacher who cares too much. The teacher everyone wants to be. The teacher willing to fight with parents and meet a student at the hospital at midnight, paying for medical fees entirely out of pocket. Last Sechan hears, she gets married to a doctor who meets her when he's on call one night, love at first sight or something equally as romantic, and they have three children. Injae works right through the end of her pregnancy.
They keep in touch as well as they can--emails about their students, harried phone calls in the case of an emergency neither one of them can handle on their own, midnight coffee runs during exam time, but over the years those check-ins come less and less frequently, until all that remains of their friendship is the stamp of Injae's warmth on Sechan's heart, and everything she changed about him.
Not everyone can stay friends forever, Sechan knows.
Eventually Sechan lets go of both her and Seungri High School. And that is okay.
ii.
Jongho comes to their graduation. Neither Yikyung nor Jihoon tell him to, but Namsoon's well pleased.
"You're still my jjang," he says miserably by way of explanation, shoving a handful of coupons at their faces. They're for half-off ramyeun. Heungsoo rolls his eyes and Namsoon laughs, pocketing them, sliding a hand around Heungsoo's shoulder and leaving Jongho to his boys.
There's a moment of silence. Yikyung breaks it by sidling up to Jongho, noting the bags under his eyes and the new cut of his hair. "You doin' good?" he asks softly, more honesty there than he'd ever trusted himself with previously. Jihoon kicks at the ground.
Neither of them mention the lack of cuts or scrapes along Jongho's brow. Neither of them mention that the only reason Jongho's father doesn't hit him these days is because of his injuries. Neither of them mention that Jongho seems pretty okay with that. "Yeah," he says. and then, after a moment, "getting promoted tomorrow. So the three of us are still graduating together, like I said."
"That's good," Jihoon says, voice hoarse, "really good."
iii.
Neither Jihoon nor Yikyung end up at vocational school. as it turns out, Yikyung's a pretty good cook, and Jihoon isn't bad at business. That doesn't mean they open up their own restaurant, though, but it does mean that Yikyung works his way up from dishwasher to line cook within a year, and is promised future mobility if he keeps his head down and does a good job. It means when Yikyung comes home from a long day, Jihoon tastes all of his inventions (sometimes three or four times over) before packing up the best of them and hopping on his bike to sit in the library for a few hours, studying for college entrance exams. He's got a good head for math, it turns out, when he applies himself, and Minki is willing to tutor him twice a week despite all of his university obligations.
They see Jongho when they can. Sometimes it's twice a month, sometimes it's once every two months. Jongho never gets taller, but he holds himself up a bit more proudly when he starts making a living wage as a car mechanic and manages to take Yikyung and Jihoon out for dinner and drinks that he pays for all on his own.
iv.
Much to his own dismay, Heungsoo is precluded from completing army duty when his physical turns up a knee that barely bends. Heungsoo's sister is relieved. Namsoon just sits, cold and quiet, and Heungsoo breaks the silence by offering to make ramyeun for the three of them. He slips into the kitchen--these days he spends more and more time at Namsoon's house, so when the opportunity arises to return the favor, he tries to make sure that Namsoon at least eats--and listens to them whisper about him.
"I haven't forgiven you," Heungsoo's sister says, nose stuffed and voice high. "I never will. You don't deserve it."
"I know," and Namsoon couldn't be gentler. "I really know, noona."
She doesn't say don't call me that. Heungsoo smiles into his hands and grabs three bowls.
v.
Heungsoo visits Namsoon every off day that Namsoon gets. Namsoon gets brighter in the army--like the weight of his childhood is being slipped off of him, like having a purpose is redefining him. He smiles when Heungsoo isn't looking, and he laughs with guys who aren't Heungsoo. One day he introduces Heungsoo to his friends, his new friends, and Heungsoo thinks they all look like really good, stand up guys.
But despite all that, it still takes him until Namsoon's completed his service to admit that he's been training to be a P.E. teacher. Namsoon doesn't laugh it off, hugs him tightly, hair still cropped close to his head, and says, "I am so proud of you, hyung."
Not I'm sorry. There's a difference. And the knot of fear in Heungsoo's chest loosens. I still have you, he thinks. We're still okay.
Heungsoo punches him in the stomach and replies, simply, "let's go home, you smell like shit."
vi.
Both Minki and Hakyung get into SNU. Neither of them decide to go. Hakyung goes abroad instead, namely to get away from her mother. Kangjoo misses her and writes her long, desperate emails. Hakyung replies with video posts.
Minki stays closer to home, studies broadcasting, and is renown in his field even before he graduates. He works hard and it shows, and even his mother ends up proud, surrounded by thousands of parents thankful for the work he's done producing documentaries about difficult subjects like gay marriage, child abuse, and hikikomoris.
Minki's brother comes out of his room on the day of Minki's graduation from university, and all of them cry. It's been years since Minki's been in therapy, but this time they go as a family, and it makes all the difference.
The first thing Minki's brother says is, "I'm sorry." The second, is, "the roof was very cold."
And all Minki finds himself able to say is, "I know."
vii.
Kangjoo writes three books by the time she's 35. One of them becomes a bestseller and is translated into Chinese, Japanese, German, and English. It's about a middle-aged woman and her best friend who lives across the ocean. The dedication page is left blank.
Hakyung understands.
viii.
Kyungmin gets to university and cuts her hair off and decides to start again. She makes new friends, nice friends, and studies to become a therapist. There are things parents never know, she reminds herself when the workload gets too hard and she considers switching to an easier field, there are feelings we don't entrust to other people. And we should. Because that will save us.
She never remembers Jung Injae or Kang Sechan after she graduates. She does remember Lee Yikyung and Oh Jongho and Lee Jihoon for a very, very long time.
ix.
No one is quite sure how it happens, but Youngwoo ends up writing poetry. His work gets picked up by a local newspaper, and then is quickly circulated through literary departments nation-wide. He's invited to study at K'ARTS for an honorary degree, and he accepts.
His first volume of poetry published internationally is called, we who do not fall. Some people say it is about forgiveness. Some people say it's about letting go and moving on. Some people say it's about hope.
Youngwoo just says, "it's about two boys and a chair" and says nothing else about it for the rest of his life.
x.
Neither Namsoon nor Heungsoo ever get married. That is what they tell people.
What they don't tell people is that the bands of silver they wear on their right ring fingers are a pair.
Author's Note: T____T more lunchtime drabbles. i just have a lot of feels about this story and i cannot believe it's over!!!! for sam, as always.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: for the whole series through ep 16.
Word count: 1373
Summary: Injae and Sechan dismiss class 2-2 for the very last time. Time does not stand still. (Namsoon/Heungsoo, slight Yikyung/Jihoon)
after the end
i.
Both Injae and Sechan remain at Seungri the following year. They're split up--of course they are, co-teaching homeroom for a second year in a row? Absurd--and Sechan finds that he misses her presence at the back of his classroom more than he cares to admit. He gets over it, he has to, but sometimes he finds himself wondering what Injae would do when faced with a bunch of first years terrified about the prospects of their future. And sometimes, his subconscious tells him. And then sometimes, he listens.
Injae is rotated to another school the following year. She never becomes famous, not like him, but rumors follow her wherever she goes. The teacher who cares too much. The teacher everyone wants to be. The teacher willing to fight with parents and meet a student at the hospital at midnight, paying for medical fees entirely out of pocket. Last Sechan hears, she gets married to a doctor who meets her when he's on call one night, love at first sight or something equally as romantic, and they have three children. Injae works right through the end of her pregnancy.
They keep in touch as well as they can--emails about their students, harried phone calls in the case of an emergency neither one of them can handle on their own, midnight coffee runs during exam time, but over the years those check-ins come less and less frequently, until all that remains of their friendship is the stamp of Injae's warmth on Sechan's heart, and everything she changed about him.
Not everyone can stay friends forever, Sechan knows.
Eventually Sechan lets go of both her and Seungri High School. And that is okay.
ii.
Jongho comes to their graduation. Neither Yikyung nor Jihoon tell him to, but Namsoon's well pleased.
"You're still my jjang," he says miserably by way of explanation, shoving a handful of coupons at their faces. They're for half-off ramyeun. Heungsoo rolls his eyes and Namsoon laughs, pocketing them, sliding a hand around Heungsoo's shoulder and leaving Jongho to his boys.
There's a moment of silence. Yikyung breaks it by sidling up to Jongho, noting the bags under his eyes and the new cut of his hair. "You doin' good?" he asks softly, more honesty there than he'd ever trusted himself with previously. Jihoon kicks at the ground.
Neither of them mention the lack of cuts or scrapes along Jongho's brow. Neither of them mention that the only reason Jongho's father doesn't hit him these days is because of his injuries. Neither of them mention that Jongho seems pretty okay with that. "Yeah," he says. and then, after a moment, "getting promoted tomorrow. So the three of us are still graduating together, like I said."
"That's good," Jihoon says, voice hoarse, "really good."
iii.
Neither Jihoon nor Yikyung end up at vocational school. as it turns out, Yikyung's a pretty good cook, and Jihoon isn't bad at business. That doesn't mean they open up their own restaurant, though, but it does mean that Yikyung works his way up from dishwasher to line cook within a year, and is promised future mobility if he keeps his head down and does a good job. It means when Yikyung comes home from a long day, Jihoon tastes all of his inventions (sometimes three or four times over) before packing up the best of them and hopping on his bike to sit in the library for a few hours, studying for college entrance exams. He's got a good head for math, it turns out, when he applies himself, and Minki is willing to tutor him twice a week despite all of his university obligations.
They see Jongho when they can. Sometimes it's twice a month, sometimes it's once every two months. Jongho never gets taller, but he holds himself up a bit more proudly when he starts making a living wage as a car mechanic and manages to take Yikyung and Jihoon out for dinner and drinks that he pays for all on his own.
iv.
Much to his own dismay, Heungsoo is precluded from completing army duty when his physical turns up a knee that barely bends. Heungsoo's sister is relieved. Namsoon just sits, cold and quiet, and Heungsoo breaks the silence by offering to make ramyeun for the three of them. He slips into the kitchen--these days he spends more and more time at Namsoon's house, so when the opportunity arises to return the favor, he tries to make sure that Namsoon at least eats--and listens to them whisper about him.
"I haven't forgiven you," Heungsoo's sister says, nose stuffed and voice high. "I never will. You don't deserve it."
"I know," and Namsoon couldn't be gentler. "I really know, noona."
She doesn't say don't call me that. Heungsoo smiles into his hands and grabs three bowls.
v.
Heungsoo visits Namsoon every off day that Namsoon gets. Namsoon gets brighter in the army--like the weight of his childhood is being slipped off of him, like having a purpose is redefining him. He smiles when Heungsoo isn't looking, and he laughs with guys who aren't Heungsoo. One day he introduces Heungsoo to his friends, his new friends, and Heungsoo thinks they all look like really good, stand up guys.
But despite all that, it still takes him until Namsoon's completed his service to admit that he's been training to be a P.E. teacher. Namsoon doesn't laugh it off, hugs him tightly, hair still cropped close to his head, and says, "I am so proud of you, hyung."
Not I'm sorry. There's a difference. And the knot of fear in Heungsoo's chest loosens. I still have you, he thinks. We're still okay.
Heungsoo punches him in the stomach and replies, simply, "let's go home, you smell like shit."
vi.
Both Minki and Hakyung get into SNU. Neither of them decide to go. Hakyung goes abroad instead, namely to get away from her mother. Kangjoo misses her and writes her long, desperate emails. Hakyung replies with video posts.
Minki stays closer to home, studies broadcasting, and is renown in his field even before he graduates. He works hard and it shows, and even his mother ends up proud, surrounded by thousands of parents thankful for the work he's done producing documentaries about difficult subjects like gay marriage, child abuse, and hikikomoris.
Minki's brother comes out of his room on the day of Minki's graduation from university, and all of them cry. It's been years since Minki's been in therapy, but this time they go as a family, and it makes all the difference.
The first thing Minki's brother says is, "I'm sorry." The second, is, "the roof was very cold."
And all Minki finds himself able to say is, "I know."
vii.
Kangjoo writes three books by the time she's 35. One of them becomes a bestseller and is translated into Chinese, Japanese, German, and English. It's about a middle-aged woman and her best friend who lives across the ocean. The dedication page is left blank.
Hakyung understands.
viii.
Kyungmin gets to university and cuts her hair off and decides to start again. She makes new friends, nice friends, and studies to become a therapist. There are things parents never know, she reminds herself when the workload gets too hard and she considers switching to an easier field, there are feelings we don't entrust to other people. And we should. Because that will save us.
She never remembers Jung Injae or Kang Sechan after she graduates. She does remember Lee Yikyung and Oh Jongho and Lee Jihoon for a very, very long time.
ix.
No one is quite sure how it happens, but Youngwoo ends up writing poetry. His work gets picked up by a local newspaper, and then is quickly circulated through literary departments nation-wide. He's invited to study at K'ARTS for an honorary degree, and he accepts.
His first volume of poetry published internationally is called, we who do not fall. Some people say it is about forgiveness. Some people say it's about letting go and moving on. Some people say it's about hope.
Youngwoo just says, "it's about two boys and a chair" and says nothing else about it for the rest of his life.
x.
Neither Namsoon nor Heungsoo ever get married. That is what they tell people.
What they don't tell people is that the bands of silver they wear on their right ring fingers are a pair.
Author's Note: T____T more lunchtime drabbles. i just have a lot of feels about this story and i cannot believe it's over!!!! for sam, as always.