My Hand on a Blade (1/?)
Title: My Hand on a Blade (1/?)
Pairing: Siwon/Han Geng, Kibum/Donghae
Fandom: Super Junior
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Under pressure from his parents to succeed the family business, Siwon jumped at the opportunity to complete a year’s exchange in Beijing. There he meets Han Geng.
When Siwon first entered university, he’d done his homework on what programs were available that would allow him to go overseas during his undergraduate study. He was disappointed when he found out that to qualify, he had to be at least in second year. It wasn’t that long a wait, he supposed, and he could probably look up into where he’d most want to go.
He thought of Japan, beautiful, modern Japan. Efficient, advanced. His father would definitely approve. It would look good in his resume when he applied for work later, even if he didn’t really need such fancy qualifications, considering he was as good as employed already, being the heir of his father’s business empire. And Japan was far, hours away from Korea, and that was really, all that mattered.
“I want to go to Japan,” he told his father over dinner one day. His father had looked up from his food, and Siwon steeled his resolve, unwilling to back down this once. “The university, it has an exchange program. It’ll be for a year, two years at most. I think it’ll be good.”
“What do you intend to do there?” the older man asked, eyes fixed on his only son.
“I want to learn,” Siwon told him, having anticipated the question, “it’ll be good exposure. I’ll learn skills to help me handle clients in the future. And being in a foreign country, I’ll learn to be independent, and to make my own decisions.”
His father’s gaze bore into him, and Siwon fought to not squirm under the scrutiny. He wanted this. He wanted to get away even if it was for a while. He was prepared to fight for this.
“I think it’s a good idea,” his mother spoke up from the other end of the table, “it’ll build up character.”
Siwon silently thanked his mother even as his grip on the fork tightened. Trust his mother to see it that way. She was always going on about the qualities he was lacking. Like tenacity and ruthlessness, all necessary to succeed in the world.
“Are you sure about this?” his father asked, after a period of heavy silence had fallen upon the table.
He nodded.
“All right,” he turned his attention back to his plate. “I trust you can make your own arrangements?”
Again he nodded, thankful for once that his parents were too busy to trouble themselves with things irrelevant to work. Like his life, he thought bitterly, which had never been his own.
-
Ten months later
When it was his turn to submit his application, having spent a good thirty minutes waiting, he smiled charmingly at the nice young lady - Jessica Jung, her tag read, who’d discuss with him what the exchange would entail.
“And you’ve decided on Tokyo?” she asked, as her eyes scanned quickly through his application.
“I think so,” he answered, a little distracted by the many pamphlets and flyers around the room.
“It’s a good choice,” she told him, “especially since you’re studying business. We’ve established very good connections with several Japanese universities, so you’ll be in very good hands…” she trailed off, noticing his distraction and following the direction of his gaze.
He was a little startled when she got up to retrieve a single pamphlet, holding it out for him to take.
“We started an exchange program with China’s Peking University only two years ago, so it’s very new and not quite as established as what we’ve managed with Japan. It’s very popular with the students here though,” she waited patiently as he read, rapidly absorbing the information. “We’ve gotten very good feedback so far.”
Siwon hesitated. He was not the kind to make impulsive decisions. And he had told his parents he’d be going to Japan. But the more he looked at the poster on the wall, the more he wanted to go. The little paper he had in his hands promised him so many things.
“I guess compared to Japan, it’s a little less mechanical, a little more exciting. You’ll have more time to travel, since the university encourages frequent trips around the country as part of the course requirement. If you’re interested, we can discuss it in detail?” Jessica let the question hang in the air.
Siwon swallowed, still uncertain. But it was just a discussion. It didn’t mean he was going to go for sure. And even if he did, his parents wouldn’t find out until it was too late. He’d be long gone by then. He’d be in China. Beautiful, scenic China. He’d been to China once, on a school trip. It had been fun.
And it was far. At least several hours by plane. Possibly years by foot.
There’d be hell to pay when his parents found out, but he’d deal with that later. As the Chinese saying went, 走一步看一步 [i].
And he knew Chinese! Granted, not that much since he’d only taken a short summer course a couple of years ago, but he was confident that he could converse without sounding like a fool. Yeah, China was starting to sound very appealing.
“Yes,” he said resolutely, pushing aside his worries and turning to a waiting Jessica, “I’d like that.”
-
Three weeks and four days later, Siwon stepped out onto the crowded streets of Beijing.
He was here.
He was free.
[i] Play it by the ear
Pairing: Siwon/Han Geng, Kibum/Donghae
Fandom: Super Junior
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Under pressure from his parents to succeed the family business, Siwon jumped at the opportunity to complete a year’s exchange in Beijing. There he meets Han Geng.
When Siwon first entered university, he’d done his homework on what programs were available that would allow him to go overseas during his undergraduate study. He was disappointed when he found out that to qualify, he had to be at least in second year. It wasn’t that long a wait, he supposed, and he could probably look up into where he’d most want to go.
He thought of Japan, beautiful, modern Japan. Efficient, advanced. His father would definitely approve. It would look good in his resume when he applied for work later, even if he didn’t really need such fancy qualifications, considering he was as good as employed already, being the heir of his father’s business empire. And Japan was far, hours away from Korea, and that was really, all that mattered.
“I want to go to Japan,” he told his father over dinner one day. His father had looked up from his food, and Siwon steeled his resolve, unwilling to back down this once. “The university, it has an exchange program. It’ll be for a year, two years at most. I think it’ll be good.”
“What do you intend to do there?” the older man asked, eyes fixed on his only son.
“I want to learn,” Siwon told him, having anticipated the question, “it’ll be good exposure. I’ll learn skills to help me handle clients in the future. And being in a foreign country, I’ll learn to be independent, and to make my own decisions.”
His father’s gaze bore into him, and Siwon fought to not squirm under the scrutiny. He wanted this. He wanted to get away even if it was for a while. He was prepared to fight for this.
“I think it’s a good idea,” his mother spoke up from the other end of the table, “it’ll build up character.”
Siwon silently thanked his mother even as his grip on the fork tightened. Trust his mother to see it that way. She was always going on about the qualities he was lacking. Like tenacity and ruthlessness, all necessary to succeed in the world.
“Are you sure about this?” his father asked, after a period of heavy silence had fallen upon the table.
He nodded.
“All right,” he turned his attention back to his plate. “I trust you can make your own arrangements?”
Again he nodded, thankful for once that his parents were too busy to trouble themselves with things irrelevant to work. Like his life, he thought bitterly, which had never been his own.
-
Ten months later
When it was his turn to submit his application, having spent a good thirty minutes waiting, he smiled charmingly at the nice young lady - Jessica Jung, her tag read, who’d discuss with him what the exchange would entail.
“And you’ve decided on Tokyo?” she asked, as her eyes scanned quickly through his application.
“I think so,” he answered, a little distracted by the many pamphlets and flyers around the room.
“It’s a good choice,” she told him, “especially since you’re studying business. We’ve established very good connections with several Japanese universities, so you’ll be in very good hands…” she trailed off, noticing his distraction and following the direction of his gaze.
He was a little startled when she got up to retrieve a single pamphlet, holding it out for him to take.
“We started an exchange program with China’s Peking University only two years ago, so it’s very new and not quite as established as what we’ve managed with Japan. It’s very popular with the students here though,” she waited patiently as he read, rapidly absorbing the information. “We’ve gotten very good feedback so far.”
Siwon hesitated. He was not the kind to make impulsive decisions. And he had told his parents he’d be going to Japan. But the more he looked at the poster on the wall, the more he wanted to go. The little paper he had in his hands promised him so many things.
“I guess compared to Japan, it’s a little less mechanical, a little more exciting. You’ll have more time to travel, since the university encourages frequent trips around the country as part of the course requirement. If you’re interested, we can discuss it in detail?” Jessica let the question hang in the air.
Siwon swallowed, still uncertain. But it was just a discussion. It didn’t mean he was going to go for sure. And even if he did, his parents wouldn’t find out until it was too late. He’d be long gone by then. He’d be in China. Beautiful, scenic China. He’d been to China once, on a school trip. It had been fun.
And it was far. At least several hours by plane. Possibly years by foot.
There’d be hell to pay when his parents found out, but he’d deal with that later. As the Chinese saying went, 走一步看一步 [i].
And he knew Chinese! Granted, not that much since he’d only taken a short summer course a couple of years ago, but he was confident that he could converse without sounding like a fool. Yeah, China was starting to sound very appealing.
“Yes,” he said resolutely, pushing aside his worries and turning to a waiting Jessica, “I’d like that.”
-
Three weeks and four days later, Siwon stepped out onto the crowded streets of Beijing.
He was here.
He was free.
[i] Play it by the ear