fic: Reset {Yoseob, Dooseob}
Title: Reset
Length: one-shot
Series: Re:Verse (third in the series, after Rewind and Replay)
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: pg
Genre: drama, romance
Pairing/Characters: Yoseob (Dooseob), implied GiSeung
Warnings: RPS, Future-ish sort of fic, Strange happenings
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: Ta da~ ^^ All done. May or may not Revisit this Re:Verse in the future. ^^ Ah! And I just got back from KMF yesterday. You can read my fanaccount (minus pictures and vids right now cuz my computer is being a butthead) on my LJ.
Summary: Sometimes ending is just beginning again...
~*~*~
October 16,2024
The first thing Yoseob noticed as consciousness slowly returned was the chill and the hard ground beneath him. The second was the aches and pains that told him he wasn’t a teenager anymore.
For a long minute, he just wanted to curl up in on himself and ignore the world.
What if the last year with Doojoon had just been a dream? What if Beast had been a product of a mind desperate for some kind of taste of what he’d given up?
What if it had been real and his past self had screwed everything up again?
“I know you’re awake, Seobie.”
He sighed and rolled over onto his back, blinking his eyes open to stare up at the clear sky. “It was real?”
Suengho would not have called him by the nickname before.
“It was real.”
Yoseob pushed himself up so that he could see the other man. He hesitated for a long moment, but he couldn’t help but ask. “What happened? After, I mean?”
His friend smiled and reached down a hand to help him up. “Why don’t you come see? He left a message for you.”
Before he could help himself, Yoseob glanced back down, his breath catching slightly as he caught sight of only a small marker of ownership on the plot that had once held Doojoon’s last earthly remains.
“He’s alive,” Suengho said softly, adding his own reassurance to ease Yoseob’s mind.
“Good. That’s what matters.” Yoseob took a deep breath and let Seungho lead him away from the cemetery. No matter what changes had been wrought on his life - either the one he’d chosen the first time or the one he’d been working towards when he’d been sent back - he meant it. As long as Doojoon was alive, anything else was tolerable.
Seungho just smiled.
~*~*~
Almost an hour later, they pulled up to an average looking house in the suburbs of Seoul.
Yoseob arched a brow as he got out and stared up the house. It was well kept and welcoming from the front, but he had to glance over at Seungho in question after he caught sight of a pair of child sized bikes laying near the front steps. “This is where I live?”
“Come on in. You have a couple of hours to get yourself acquainted with the place before anyone else comes home.”
He looked back at the bikes, curious, but obediently followed the other inside.
They slipped off their shoes in the foyer and Yoseob took in the other pairs of shoes in the shelves. Small dress shoes with sparkles and bows co-existed with slightly larger sneakers and then above them, several pairs of shoes that were about his size. No women’s shoes that he could see, which made his curiosity ratchet up another notch.
“So, here we are. Home sweet home for little Seobie and family.”
Yoseob bit his lip slightly before finally moving forward. Inside, the house was warm and inviting, obviously a well loved home and he relaxed as Seungho led him to the living room. It was already so much more than the cold, impersonal condo he’d shared with Jiyoon.
His eyes devoured what he could see, looking for anything that would tell him the story of the life he’d missed.
Seungho’s smile was blinding as he handed over photograph.
Yoseob swallowed hard and traced his fingers over the glass. “How?”
“He left you a message the same way you left him one fifteen years ago. I think he’d rather I left the explanations up to him.” His lips twitched slightly and he shook his head, laughing softly. “It’s weird, I guess, but I just can’t think of you guys as the same person even if it’s technically true.”
“Experience makes the man,” Yoseob said softly, glad that the life he’d originally led had never come to pass - in any form, from the looks of it.
“True.” Seungho nodded and took the photograph back. Yoseob’s fingers tightened on it for a moment before he forced himself to relax. It was his photograph… of his life. It wouldn’t be going anywhere. He could see it any time he wanted. If Seungho noticed his reaction, he kindly didn’t point it out. Instead he handed over a small electronic tablet. “Here. He said you’d know where it was.”
Yoseob took the tablet gently, frowning slightly. He’d always preferred larger laptops that he didn’t have to worry about losing in between script pages, but he supposed he could always get used to the differences.
Seungho pushed him away towards the sofa. “There’s a bar-b-que this weekend at Dongwoon’s - his youngest’s birthday. You’re her favorite, so don’t be surprised if she crawls all over you the second she sees you. I’ll probably see you then, okay?”
“Seungho…”
The older man paused at the door, glancing back at Yoseob with a questioning glance.
Yoseob struggled for a moment, trying to find the words, but in the end all he could do was shake his head and smile through damp eyes. “Thank you.”
Seungho smiled and pulled him into a tight hug. “No. Thank you.”
Then he left Yoseob only with himself.
Settling down, Yoseob couldn’t help but snag the photograph again, keeping it close. He was half afraid that if he looked away from it, the images would fade.
The video was easy enough to find and he couldn’t help but smile faintly.
A lifetime in review.
His own face stared back out at him in silence for a moment before glancing away. “I don’t even know what to say, really, so I’m going to keep it short.” The video Yoseob swallowed for a moment before looking back at the camera. “Thank you. And… I’m sorry. I only lost a year of my life and gained… everything. You… You get the memories of a crap life. Seungho isn’t sure if our memories will ever match up or not.” He made a face and scowled slightly. “He won’t even tell me what exactly happened, really, smug bastard. Always says to stop looking gift horses in the mouth.” An eyeroll, then Yoseob leaned the camera towards a video cabinet filled with cases. “I used youtube, but I figured it would be harder for you to learn the important stuff by googling it. Doojoon thinks I’m just obsessed with cameras and videos since I can’t exactly explain that I need the footage so my future self doesn’t embarrass me in front of my kids.”
The idea that he had kids still boggled his mind a little and he almost missed the next part.
“You can thank our sister for that, by the way. She offered to be a surrogate when we were looking for a way to have a family. Between you and me? I think she just wanted to be able to say she carried Doojoon’s son.” Both Yoseobs rolled their eyes at the thought of their sister’s fangirl crush on Doojoon. “But hey, it worked out. Actually, be glad that you missed that whole mess. Everyone knew were together at that point, but I guess a lot of them were still hoping it was just a phase we’d grow out of…” He sighed and shook his head, looking away. “They came around eventually, but for a while it was tense. Hae will be turning eight soon. Euna just turned five a couple of months ago. I keep a journal in the nightstand by the bed. It has all the important things you’ll need to know.”
There was a shuffling noise just out of view of the camera and the other turned away. “What are you doing up, baby? I thought daddy put you to bed hours ago?”
The little voice that answered was too soft for Yoseob to actually make out the words and he leaned forward, hoping the sweet sound would come again.
Video Yoseob smiled and made a welcoming gesture, then a little girl entered the frame and crawled into his lap.
Yoseob’s breath caught. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, a masterful blending of all his and Doojoon’s best features in one tiny, perfect little face.
“Wave to the camera, sweetie. Say ‘Hi, papa’.”
Euna looked up at her father a little confused but then obediently followed his directions. “Hi, Papa.”
“Hi,” Yoseob whispered, waving back with no conscious thought behind his actions.
On the screen, Yoseob was petting the little girls hair, love and devotion on his face and the Yoseob watching had to look away. Technically they were the same person, but Seungho was right. It was impossible to really think of it like that.
This was the second time he’d usurped the other’s life. It made him feel guilty.
Nevermind that this life wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t gone back the first time.
“Well, I’m going to put this little princess to bed and you’ve got a lot of things to catch up on. I work from home these days, editing music videos freelance, so you don’t have to worry about anyone thinking its weird that you’re sitting on the computer all day watching videos.” Yoseob leaned forward, but he hesitated before he stopped recording. “Yoseob… No matter what happens… Be happy, okay? You were right before. I was too caught up in all the ambition and the negative.” He made a face. “I almost ruined it a second time, I think, because it took a while for that to actually sink in, but...” He smiled and kissed his daughter’s head. “When I stopped trying to make decisions based on other people’s opinions, everything else just fell into place. Being in Beast made me happy. Being with Doojoon makes me… amazingly happy. You made that possible. We both know the decisions I would have made otherwise. So just… be happy. You deserve it.”
Then the video ended.
Yoseob took a deep breath to steady himself before he sat the touch pad aside and looked at the picture again.
In the center, Doojoon was crouched down with his arm around the small shoulders of a little boy that had his cat’s eyes and Yoseob’s round face. Yoseob was sitting beside him, leaning against the older man, with a tiny bundle of pink lace and ribbons cuddled safely in his arms. Euna had her face buried against Yoseob’s neck. On either side, they were flanked by the member’s of Beast as well as scattered friends he recognized from the other bands they’d been close to and a few unfamiliar faces. Two little girls were wrapped around Dongwoon’s long legs while a laughing woman tried to hold him steady. Junhyung was crouched beside Yoseob, offering the camera a peace sign with one hand and keeping a small dog from jumping up in Yoseob’s face with the other. Gikwang was wrapped around Hyunseung from behind as the two smiled at the camera.
Yoseob’s sister wasn’t quite sitting on the other side of Doojoon. It looked she’d set the camera and had been caught trying to get back into her place. She was laughing.
Joy and life seemed to radiate from the photograph and Yoseob wiped away a tear before setting it aside.
He got up and walked over to the video shelf that was lined with self made dvds. His fingers trailed over the neat little dates and titles before finally sliding up to the top shelf and the very first video.
January 1, 2010, A new Beginning for a new end.
~*~*~
fin
Length: one-shot
Series: Re:Verse (third in the series, after Rewind and Replay)
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: pg
Genre: drama, romance
Pairing/Characters: Yoseob (Dooseob), implied GiSeung
Warnings: RPS, Future-ish sort of fic, Strange happenings
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: Ta da~ ^^ All done. May or may not Revisit this Re:Verse in the future. ^^ Ah! And I just got back from KMF yesterday. You can read my fanaccount (minus pictures and vids right now cuz my computer is being a butthead) on my LJ.
Summary: Sometimes ending is just beginning again...
~*~*~
October 16,2024
The first thing Yoseob noticed as consciousness slowly returned was the chill and the hard ground beneath him. The second was the aches and pains that told him he wasn’t a teenager anymore.
For a long minute, he just wanted to curl up in on himself and ignore the world.
What if the last year with Doojoon had just been a dream? What if Beast had been a product of a mind desperate for some kind of taste of what he’d given up?
What if it had been real and his past self had screwed everything up again?
“I know you’re awake, Seobie.”
He sighed and rolled over onto his back, blinking his eyes open to stare up at the clear sky. “It was real?”
Suengho would not have called him by the nickname before.
“It was real.”
Yoseob pushed himself up so that he could see the other man. He hesitated for a long moment, but he couldn’t help but ask. “What happened? After, I mean?”
His friend smiled and reached down a hand to help him up. “Why don’t you come see? He left a message for you.”
Before he could help himself, Yoseob glanced back down, his breath catching slightly as he caught sight of only a small marker of ownership on the plot that had once held Doojoon’s last earthly remains.
“He’s alive,” Suengho said softly, adding his own reassurance to ease Yoseob’s mind.
“Good. That’s what matters.” Yoseob took a deep breath and let Seungho lead him away from the cemetery. No matter what changes had been wrought on his life - either the one he’d chosen the first time or the one he’d been working towards when he’d been sent back - he meant it. As long as Doojoon was alive, anything else was tolerable.
Seungho just smiled.
~*~*~
Almost an hour later, they pulled up to an average looking house in the suburbs of Seoul.
Yoseob arched a brow as he got out and stared up the house. It was well kept and welcoming from the front, but he had to glance over at Seungho in question after he caught sight of a pair of child sized bikes laying near the front steps. “This is where I live?”
“Come on in. You have a couple of hours to get yourself acquainted with the place before anyone else comes home.”
He looked back at the bikes, curious, but obediently followed the other inside.
They slipped off their shoes in the foyer and Yoseob took in the other pairs of shoes in the shelves. Small dress shoes with sparkles and bows co-existed with slightly larger sneakers and then above them, several pairs of shoes that were about his size. No women’s shoes that he could see, which made his curiosity ratchet up another notch.
“So, here we are. Home sweet home for little Seobie and family.”
Yoseob bit his lip slightly before finally moving forward. Inside, the house was warm and inviting, obviously a well loved home and he relaxed as Seungho led him to the living room. It was already so much more than the cold, impersonal condo he’d shared with Jiyoon.
His eyes devoured what he could see, looking for anything that would tell him the story of the life he’d missed.
Seungho’s smile was blinding as he handed over photograph.
Yoseob swallowed hard and traced his fingers over the glass. “How?”
“He left you a message the same way you left him one fifteen years ago. I think he’d rather I left the explanations up to him.” His lips twitched slightly and he shook his head, laughing softly. “It’s weird, I guess, but I just can’t think of you guys as the same person even if it’s technically true.”
“Experience makes the man,” Yoseob said softly, glad that the life he’d originally led had never come to pass - in any form, from the looks of it.
“True.” Seungho nodded and took the photograph back. Yoseob’s fingers tightened on it for a moment before he forced himself to relax. It was his photograph… of his life. It wouldn’t be going anywhere. He could see it any time he wanted. If Seungho noticed his reaction, he kindly didn’t point it out. Instead he handed over a small electronic tablet. “Here. He said you’d know where it was.”
Yoseob took the tablet gently, frowning slightly. He’d always preferred larger laptops that he didn’t have to worry about losing in between script pages, but he supposed he could always get used to the differences.
Seungho pushed him away towards the sofa. “There’s a bar-b-que this weekend at Dongwoon’s - his youngest’s birthday. You’re her favorite, so don’t be surprised if she crawls all over you the second she sees you. I’ll probably see you then, okay?”
“Seungho…”
The older man paused at the door, glancing back at Yoseob with a questioning glance.
Yoseob struggled for a moment, trying to find the words, but in the end all he could do was shake his head and smile through damp eyes. “Thank you.”
Seungho smiled and pulled him into a tight hug. “No. Thank you.”
Then he left Yoseob only with himself.
Settling down, Yoseob couldn’t help but snag the photograph again, keeping it close. He was half afraid that if he looked away from it, the images would fade.
The video was easy enough to find and he couldn’t help but smile faintly.
A lifetime in review.
His own face stared back out at him in silence for a moment before glancing away. “I don’t even know what to say, really, so I’m going to keep it short.” The video Yoseob swallowed for a moment before looking back at the camera. “Thank you. And… I’m sorry. I only lost a year of my life and gained… everything. You… You get the memories of a crap life. Seungho isn’t sure if our memories will ever match up or not.” He made a face and scowled slightly. “He won’t even tell me what exactly happened, really, smug bastard. Always says to stop looking gift horses in the mouth.” An eyeroll, then Yoseob leaned the camera towards a video cabinet filled with cases. “I used youtube, but I figured it would be harder for you to learn the important stuff by googling it. Doojoon thinks I’m just obsessed with cameras and videos since I can’t exactly explain that I need the footage so my future self doesn’t embarrass me in front of my kids.”
The idea that he had kids still boggled his mind a little and he almost missed the next part.
“You can thank our sister for that, by the way. She offered to be a surrogate when we were looking for a way to have a family. Between you and me? I think she just wanted to be able to say she carried Doojoon’s son.” Both Yoseobs rolled their eyes at the thought of their sister’s fangirl crush on Doojoon. “But hey, it worked out. Actually, be glad that you missed that whole mess. Everyone knew were together at that point, but I guess a lot of them were still hoping it was just a phase we’d grow out of…” He sighed and shook his head, looking away. “They came around eventually, but for a while it was tense. Hae will be turning eight soon. Euna just turned five a couple of months ago. I keep a journal in the nightstand by the bed. It has all the important things you’ll need to know.”
There was a shuffling noise just out of view of the camera and the other turned away. “What are you doing up, baby? I thought daddy put you to bed hours ago?”
The little voice that answered was too soft for Yoseob to actually make out the words and he leaned forward, hoping the sweet sound would come again.
Video Yoseob smiled and made a welcoming gesture, then a little girl entered the frame and crawled into his lap.
Yoseob’s breath caught. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, a masterful blending of all his and Doojoon’s best features in one tiny, perfect little face.
“Wave to the camera, sweetie. Say ‘Hi, papa’.”
Euna looked up at her father a little confused but then obediently followed his directions. “Hi, Papa.”
“Hi,” Yoseob whispered, waving back with no conscious thought behind his actions.
On the screen, Yoseob was petting the little girls hair, love and devotion on his face and the Yoseob watching had to look away. Technically they were the same person, but Seungho was right. It was impossible to really think of it like that.
This was the second time he’d usurped the other’s life. It made him feel guilty.
Nevermind that this life wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t gone back the first time.
“Well, I’m going to put this little princess to bed and you’ve got a lot of things to catch up on. I work from home these days, editing music videos freelance, so you don’t have to worry about anyone thinking its weird that you’re sitting on the computer all day watching videos.” Yoseob leaned forward, but he hesitated before he stopped recording. “Yoseob… No matter what happens… Be happy, okay? You were right before. I was too caught up in all the ambition and the negative.” He made a face. “I almost ruined it a second time, I think, because it took a while for that to actually sink in, but...” He smiled and kissed his daughter’s head. “When I stopped trying to make decisions based on other people’s opinions, everything else just fell into place. Being in Beast made me happy. Being with Doojoon makes me… amazingly happy. You made that possible. We both know the decisions I would have made otherwise. So just… be happy. You deserve it.”
Then the video ended.
Yoseob took a deep breath to steady himself before he sat the touch pad aside and looked at the picture again.
In the center, Doojoon was crouched down with his arm around the small shoulders of a little boy that had his cat’s eyes and Yoseob’s round face. Yoseob was sitting beside him, leaning against the older man, with a tiny bundle of pink lace and ribbons cuddled safely in his arms. Euna had her face buried against Yoseob’s neck. On either side, they were flanked by the member’s of Beast as well as scattered friends he recognized from the other bands they’d been close to and a few unfamiliar faces. Two little girls were wrapped around Dongwoon’s long legs while a laughing woman tried to hold him steady. Junhyung was crouched beside Yoseob, offering the camera a peace sign with one hand and keeping a small dog from jumping up in Yoseob’s face with the other. Gikwang was wrapped around Hyunseung from behind as the two smiled at the camera.
Yoseob’s sister wasn’t quite sitting on the other side of Doojoon. It looked she’d set the camera and had been caught trying to get back into her place. She was laughing.
Joy and life seemed to radiate from the photograph and Yoseob wiped away a tear before setting it aside.
He got up and walked over to the video shelf that was lined with self made dvds. His fingers trailed over the neat little dates and titles before finally sliding up to the top shelf and the very first video.
January 1, 2010, A new Beginning for a new end.
~*~*~
fin