Enshrouded By The Rain
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kangteuk
Genre: AU!Drama, Romance, Fantasy
[Y][FF] Summary: He was nothing but a burden, while he was nothing but a monster. Yet under that sky there is more than just those differences, under the rain that washes away such perceptions, there is always something more.
***
Kangin watched as the villagers below him scurried about. He tilted his head and wondered briefly if it was even worth it.
He jumped down from the high top of the rocks and stood perfectly still as the others felt his presence. Two of them had turned and faced him, regrettably that was their last action.
The other villagers watched in horror as the two laid dead on the ground, they covered their eyes as they ran in opposite directions, not bothering to carry the men with them.
Kangin barely gave the bodies a second glance as he stepped on top of them, giving them no regard as he walked through the forest. This was his haven, the ones the mortals continually intruded in despite their tales and warnings of him. It seems even fear wasn't enough to stop them, neither was the blood loss.
He had heard all their stories they had told their children, one of a beast that lurked in the forest. If one were to even glance at its face, it'd instantly kill the person who dared to look into his eyes.
Yet it seemed people took less heed to those stories, bodies continued to rot throughout his domain. He took a deep breath as he camouflaged himself within the trees, awaiting his next victim.
He wondered briefly of their reason to come into his domain as he patrolled the area when he heard distant cries. His ears tuned in to the strangled sounds as he headed towards it. It was a considerable distance deep within, where most humans never ventured to. He parted the branches with his hands and looked on.
Kangin tilted his head, this was much different than all the others. He was only a small child, around the age of five or six.
The boy seemed to hear his footsteps, he stiffened as his cries became more pronounce. "W-who's there?" He kept his face down, his eyes completely closed as he begun to shake. He was terrified.
Kangin lowered his eyes as he took another step. There was no choice, the child must die, he felt an unusual emotion with him. He recognized it as guilt.
He didn't have to suffer, he thought, he would make it quick and painless for the child, there was no need for him to suffer.
The child then looked up, Kangin froze in his footsteps as the child met his eyes. To his surprise the child still lived after such an encounter, then as he looked at the cloudy mist in his eyes did he realize why it had no effect.
He was blind.
"Who's there?" The child cried out, breaking the stare as he moved around, his hands patting around the dirt ground.
Kangin stood before him, casting a shadow onto his tear-stricken face. "What are you doing here?" His voice was low and intimidating, he watched as the child faced his head in his direction, his eyes close to where he was.
"I-I got lost from the o-others."
"Problem with that explanation is that others have never reach this deep into the forest." Kangin kept his tone leveled. "Try again."
The child sniffled. "They t-told me to, they said it was a game, I was just suppose to run. But then I d-didn't hear anything, and I didn't know where I w-was." He rubbed his hands on his eyes, tears still falling.
"Your parents have never taught you not to play so absentmindedly in the forest?"
The child swallowed his coughs, answering in a raspy voice. "T-they're dead."
Kangin watched as the child slowly gasped for air, his cheeks still a dark color. The thoughts of those villagers who had played such a game on this child, an orphan child no less. At their hands he would be ridiculed and taunted, seen as a burden for his difference.
The child widened his eyes as he felt himself being lifted by a pair of large arms. He stiffened as he felt movement, the man was carrying him somewhere. He wasn't sure whether to feel fear.
"What is your name?" He asked.
The child coughed out his name. "J-Jungsu." He slowly composed his breathing, resting against the man's shoulders.
"You are no longer one of them." Kangin stated. "You do not need a villager's name."
The child kept his eyes open, unaware of the scenery around him. "Then what is my name?" The man remained quiet until he parted his lips.
"Leeteuk." He murmured as the child closed his eyes as sleep overcome him.
He was meant to be die, under normal circumstances he should have died instantly. Yet because of this difference that had set him apart from the others, he was different...He was special.
---
Leeteuk placed his hand on the tree, gently touching it as he moved his hands around. He slowly walked through them until he reached the familiar ground. "Kangin!" He called out cheerfully. "I'm home!"
"Late." Leeteuk didn't flinch as Kangin stood behind him, he was used to his sudden appearances. "What were you doing this time?"
"Exploring." He replied, Kangin shook his head disapprovingly.
"You've explored enough of this forest, even in parts I strictly told you not to enter."
Leeteuk noted his tone and winced slightly. "I'm sorry."
Kangin glanced at the sky. "You've arrived just on time." Leeteuk parted his lips to ask when he felt drops of water on his face. He closed his eyes as he faced the sky, the water droplets became heavier as they continued to fall.
Leeteuk laughed as he placed his hands on Kangin's arms. "I've missed the rain." He opened his eyes as his smile appeared on his face as he pulled away, outreaching his hands towards the sky.
Kangin leaned against the tree and watched his movements. No longer was he the fragile child who was wary of everything around him, he was now a matured young adult who neared his height but not quite. He hardly matched him in strength, but he could now hold out on his own. It had been eleven years since that time. Yet it seemed no matter how many years had passed, his love for the rain hadn't ceased.
Leeteuk took a step backward and missed the wood behind him, he stumbled onto the ground as Kangin instinctively reached his hands towards him. He pulled Leeteuk up and quickly examined him.
"You worry too much." Leeteuk said lightly. "I'm fine." Kangin turned him around to face him, his hands tracing his face, looking for any possible bruises and cuts.
At least he had told himself that, it had started out that way. He never raised a child much less a human one, he worried constantly once he saw a cut or wound because of how nearly everything could prove fatal for him. Even now he was careful, treating Leeteuk as the fragile being he was, though Leeteuk loved to test him often with his daily trips.
Yet now as he turned Leeteuk's face, he found that such excuses were just that. As he rubbed his cheeks with his fingers, it was evident that he truly was no longer a child.
He dropped his hands as Leeteuk smiled triumphantly. "See, I said I was fine." Kangin didn't reply as Leeteuk failed at hiding his yawn. He immediately protested as Kangin held him. "I'm not tired either-"
"Resting keeps you on alert." Kangin replied, Leeteuk sighed, knowing, as always, he wouldn't win this battle. He leaned against him as the ground disappeared beneath it before reappearing. He breathed out as he heard the rain in the distance, no longer was it falling on him.
"Don't sulk."
Leeteuk sighed again. "I'm not even that tired." He tried to stifle another yawn but to no avail. He didn't protest this time as he was placed on the ground near his makeshift bed. Yet as Kangin pulled away his hands, Leeteuk reached for them. He forced himself in his arms and closed his eyes as he relaxed against him. "You're a much better bed."
Kangin heard his breathing relax and knew he had drifted off. He leaned against the rock wall behind him, gently patting his back, something he had always done to soothe him as he heard the rain outside.
Leeteuk wasn't the only one who changed he thought as he gazed at the sleeping figure in his arms. Kangin had grown soft, he was no longer as intimidating or as heartless. At least not to Leeteuk, only to him could he be what he thought was originally just a father figure.
But now that no longer applied, they were too different from what they once were. Here he was, a monster who had stepped over his boundary, a line he doubted could ever be crossed.
He had fallen in love with him.
He closed his eyes as held Leeteuk protectively in his embrace. Unable to sleep as he continually heard the gentle showers outside, sleeplessly wondering of possibilities.
---
Leeteuk had run off as usual, carefully walking over the land he now knew. His senses were always aware of every sound, smell, taste and touch. This was his home, their home he corrected himself. The feeling of belonging to his own family elated him, a family that consisted of both him and Kangin.
He smiled cheerfully as he walked through the familiar land, vaguely aware of the light fog he felt against his skin when he froze. He heard something.
He had heard someone scream.
More than one, he corrected. He tuned in to hear the voices and hurried towards them. The sounds were increasing, he was getting closer. Once he was there, he recognized the roars.
"Don't!" Leeteuk yelled, he heard the roars stop momentarily.
Kangin had never once told him of what type of demon he was, much less the others he had come across, due to his sheltering he had come up with his own classifications. By memory, he knew this one was quite dangerous.
"You dare to interfere." The demon threatened, "Know that if I can't have them, you will be their replacement." Leeteuk felt his breath against his, the demon was in front of him. Yet he wasn't afraid as he returned his own warning.
He leveled his voice. "Have you heard the rumors of a beast becoming a caretaker of a human."
"What of it?" The demon asked.
Leeteuk cleared his throat, the heat around him increasing, the sounds of the ground beneath him as it moved. The demon was surrounding him. "I am that very human, if you dare to hurt me, the beast will show no mercy against you." The breath disappeared, he heard the demon retreat away from him.
"Lies."
"Then try, though I'd be your last meal. Your kind isn't able to face his."
The demon remained silent, Leeteuk composed himself as he always had, briefly hearing the stifled voices of the terrified men.
"For now I will let them go. But it won't be the last of me." Leeteuk smiled triumphantly, feeling a sense of his pride at Kangin's strength and reputation. His smile then faltered as he remembered the men.
"Are you alright?" He asked, he heard them whisper to one another in rushed speech. "Are you hurt?" He asked again, he heard the men pause when he heard light footsteps approach him.
"Jungsu?"
Leeteuk froze, it had been years since he had heard that name.
"It is, you are!" He felt the embrace of the man who had called him that name. He then pulled back. "What happened to you? Are the rumors true? You are the one living under that monster?"
Leeteuk swallowed his comments. As he recalled, they were more monstrous than Kangin had ever been to him. "What of it?" He forced out.
"It is true then." The man said in mild shock. "We must get you back home." He pulled on Leeteuk's wrist yet he remained in place.
"I'm not going back to the village." He stated.
The second man insisted. "But you must, this place is not for humans, you will die out here."
"I can assure you, its not a problem. I'm in a much safer position than if I were in your homes."
"This isn't your place, living amongst these... these things-" Leeteuk narrowed his eyes. "You're delusional if you think you're accepted among them."
"They've accepted me much easier than you ever had." Leeteuk retorted, pulling away his hand yet both men had now held onto him. "Let go of me!"
"No, you'll come back home with us, you'll see that its much better-"
Leeteuk felt the two men's grip on him forcibly removed. He heard the sounds of struggle and yells.
"Are you alright?" Kangin asked, Leeteuk murmured a yes as he heard more screams. "Its fortunate that you are facing the ground, if I had you on your backs, you'd both be dead."
"Jungsu, run!" The man spewed.
Leeteuk however remained rooted to his spot.
"Run while you can." The other responded.
Kangin narrowed his eyes as he replied. "If he wants to return, I won't force him to stay."
"Don't justify your actions!" The man accused. "You've brainwashed him-"
"I have done no such thing. Continue to believe your own delusions, all you want is to redeem the guilt you now feel over what you thought was a lost cause."
"We searched for him!"
"For one day." Kangin reminded. "I never would have stopped at just one."
Leeteuk remained silent as Kangin pulled him against him, he ignored the men's pleads as it gradually disappeared. Even as they landed in their home, Leeteuk didn't let go of Kangin, he leaned his head against him. Kangin held him as his body began to shake uncontrollably, his thoughts enraged in turmoil.
He had only found peace once exhaustion overtook him, letting him temporarily forget.
---
They hadn't spoken of the incident since, Leeteuk tried desperately to ignore it and instead focused in on the approaching days.
And when the day had come, Leeteuk excitedly reached for Kangin who arrived with food. "It's the day." Leeteuk said happily.
"What day would that be?" Kangin asked, Leeteuk narrowed his eyes as he shoved him, though it had no effect at all on him.
"You haven't forgotten... Right?" Leeteuk asked, his confidence wavering. Kangin shook his head.
"I doubt you would let me forget this day of most days." Leeteuk smiled as he turned around and leaned against him. This was the day twelve years when they had first met, Leeteuk had long celebrated his coming of age on that day since it was then that he was named by him. "What have you gotten me?" He asked in anticipation.
Kangin took a deep breath as let his arms down on either side of him. "A special gift." He murmured. "I have a question for you."
"Ask." Leeteuk smiled.
"...What would you give to see again?"
Leeteuk froze completely. "Kangin... what are you saying?"
Kangin stared straight at the wall in front of him, carefully choosing his words. "I am able to return your vision if you ask."
Leeteuk widened his eyes. "Who can do it?"
"I can." Kangin answered, Leeteuk pulled away from him and turned to face him midway.
"Why are you telling me this?" He breathed. "Why not before?"
"I am telling you now." Kangin replied. "There are restrictions however." Leeteuk waited as he listened. "If I return your sight, you will have to cover your eyes until you return to the village."
Leeteuk swallowed the lump in his throat.
"You cannot uncover your eyes nor can you look at me. You will..." Kangin didn't finish his sentence as Leeteuk filled in, he knew the full extent of Kangin's abilities.
"Kangin... I-"
"You don't have to answer immediately." Kangin interjected as he rose up, carefully walking around Leeteuk. "But once you've made up your mind, please tell me of your decision."
"I don't need to think of my decision." Leeteuk declared, he outstretched his hands and searched for his until he felt it. He gripped it tightly as he rose up from the ground. "You know of all people that I could never return to that place."
"You're blinded by your grudge against them to realize that you could have another life-"
"I don't want another life!" Leeteuk yelled. "I don't want to return to being Jungsu, I left that all behind me. I accepted my new name," He clutched the edge of his hair. "My new life," He then dropped his hands, his voice raspy as he spoke. "My new family."
Kangin found it difficult to compose himself as he uttered. "A week. In a week I'll come back and you will make your decision then."
Before Leeteuk could reply Kangin had disappeared.
Leeteuk fell to the ground, he later on realized the food he had brought was just enough for the week. Kangin had planned this.
He clenched the fruit in his hand, feeling his heart constrict at the thought.
The days seemed to go on forever until the day had finally came, Leeteuk was not inside their home however. He had heard the clouds in the distance and rushed out, the rain once again falling upon the forest.
He closed his eyes as he allowed himself to be drenched by the water, cleansing the grudges and plaguing thoughts until he felt he was thinking quite clearly.
"What is your decision?"
Leeteuk turned slowly, knowing Kangin was right behind him as always. "Are you sure you want to hear it?" He asked in return.
Kangin remained silent, forcing himself not to turn away.
Leeteuk turned closer towards him. "Answer me honestly." He said, Kangin watched as he struggled to form the words. "Do you find me a burden?" He lowered his head. "Is that why you suddenly..."
"No, I never once thought of you as a burden." Kangin replied, Leeteuk heard his tone, it was neither intimidating or cold. It somehow sounded...
Torn.
"I have long thought of this gift for you, but I was never able to offer it. However... considering the recent circumstances, I wanted to show that even if you returned to the village, you wouldn't have that difference setting you apart. You would be able to see, you will be accepted as one of them."
Leeteuk took a step towards him, Kangin watched as Leeteuk closed the gap between them. He shook his head. "Even then, I don't want to." Leeteuk murmured. "That's not where I want to be." He outstretched his hands, hesitantly reaching for Kangin's own hands. He tightened his hold around them. "And if you were honest about me not being a burden... then I would like to stay here."
Kangin watched as Leeteuk completely closed the gap, timidly leaning towards him until he felt their lips meet as he closed his eyes. Kangin closed his own eyes, allowing himself to relax his stolid self.
Leeteuk had pulled back slightly. "I want to stay..." He asserted. "With you."
Kangin watched his eyes that didn't completely face him. The droplets that continually fell on his face, down his cheeks like tears. He lifted his hands and by habit had brushed them aside.
"If that is what you want." Kangin said, barely any hint of coldness in his voice that had been his trademark. "Are you sure you've thought this through-"
"Kangin," Leeteuk interjected. "This may have been a sudden decision for you, but I've thought of such possibilities for years. And each time I've reached to the same one." He held Kangin as he leaned against him. "I want to stay with you."
Due to the many days of restlessness, the lack of sleep had all come at once in full force. He allowed himself to drift off in his arms, lowering all barriers that others could never do around the man everyone had deemed a monster.
In his view, there was nowhere safer, nowhere kinder, absolutely nowhere he would rather be than in his embrace.
---
A/N: Based on a Vietnamese folktale Ciel told me. I already wrote a blind Kangteuk story lol, and was going to go for a different couple but since they're her OTP... even though I have 7 other fics in the works... including more challenges coming... here are my words to her...
I'M GOING TO KILL YOU and
BE GRATEFUL
<3
Edit: Just in case there's anyone interested in the folktale specifics, it's originally called Dansan and Agie, this user writes it under her picture along with other variations ^^.
Pairing: Kangteuk
Genre: AU!Drama, Romance, Fantasy
[Y][FF] Summary: He was nothing but a burden, while he was nothing but a monster. Yet under that sky there is more than just those differences, under the rain that washes away such perceptions, there is always something more.
***
Kangin watched as the villagers below him scurried about. He tilted his head and wondered briefly if it was even worth it.
He jumped down from the high top of the rocks and stood perfectly still as the others felt his presence. Two of them had turned and faced him, regrettably that was their last action.
The other villagers watched in horror as the two laid dead on the ground, they covered their eyes as they ran in opposite directions, not bothering to carry the men with them.
Kangin barely gave the bodies a second glance as he stepped on top of them, giving them no regard as he walked through the forest. This was his haven, the ones the mortals continually intruded in despite their tales and warnings of him. It seems even fear wasn't enough to stop them, neither was the blood loss.
He had heard all their stories they had told their children, one of a beast that lurked in the forest. If one were to even glance at its face, it'd instantly kill the person who dared to look into his eyes.
Yet it seemed people took less heed to those stories, bodies continued to rot throughout his domain. He took a deep breath as he camouflaged himself within the trees, awaiting his next victim.
He wondered briefly of their reason to come into his domain as he patrolled the area when he heard distant cries. His ears tuned in to the strangled sounds as he headed towards it. It was a considerable distance deep within, where most humans never ventured to. He parted the branches with his hands and looked on.
Kangin tilted his head, this was much different than all the others. He was only a small child, around the age of five or six.
The boy seemed to hear his footsteps, he stiffened as his cries became more pronounce. "W-who's there?" He kept his face down, his eyes completely closed as he begun to shake. He was terrified.
Kangin lowered his eyes as he took another step. There was no choice, the child must die, he felt an unusual emotion with him. He recognized it as guilt.
He didn't have to suffer, he thought, he would make it quick and painless for the child, there was no need for him to suffer.
The child then looked up, Kangin froze in his footsteps as the child met his eyes. To his surprise the child still lived after such an encounter, then as he looked at the cloudy mist in his eyes did he realize why it had no effect.
He was blind.
"Who's there?" The child cried out, breaking the stare as he moved around, his hands patting around the dirt ground.
Kangin stood before him, casting a shadow onto his tear-stricken face. "What are you doing here?" His voice was low and intimidating, he watched as the child faced his head in his direction, his eyes close to where he was.
"I-I got lost from the o-others."
"Problem with that explanation is that others have never reach this deep into the forest." Kangin kept his tone leveled. "Try again."
The child sniffled. "They t-told me to, they said it was a game, I was just suppose to run. But then I d-didn't hear anything, and I didn't know where I w-was." He rubbed his hands on his eyes, tears still falling.
"Your parents have never taught you not to play so absentmindedly in the forest?"
The child swallowed his coughs, answering in a raspy voice. "T-they're dead."
Kangin watched as the child slowly gasped for air, his cheeks still a dark color. The thoughts of those villagers who had played such a game on this child, an orphan child no less. At their hands he would be ridiculed and taunted, seen as a burden for his difference.
The child widened his eyes as he felt himself being lifted by a pair of large arms. He stiffened as he felt movement, the man was carrying him somewhere. He wasn't sure whether to feel fear.
"What is your name?" He asked.
The child coughed out his name. "J-Jungsu." He slowly composed his breathing, resting against the man's shoulders.
"You are no longer one of them." Kangin stated. "You do not need a villager's name."
The child kept his eyes open, unaware of the scenery around him. "Then what is my name?" The man remained quiet until he parted his lips.
"Leeteuk." He murmured as the child closed his eyes as sleep overcome him.
He was meant to be die, under normal circumstances he should have died instantly. Yet because of this difference that had set him apart from the others, he was different...He was special.
---
Leeteuk placed his hand on the tree, gently touching it as he moved his hands around. He slowly walked through them until he reached the familiar ground. "Kangin!" He called out cheerfully. "I'm home!"
"Late." Leeteuk didn't flinch as Kangin stood behind him, he was used to his sudden appearances. "What were you doing this time?"
"Exploring." He replied, Kangin shook his head disapprovingly.
"You've explored enough of this forest, even in parts I strictly told you not to enter."
Leeteuk noted his tone and winced slightly. "I'm sorry."
Kangin glanced at the sky. "You've arrived just on time." Leeteuk parted his lips to ask when he felt drops of water on his face. He closed his eyes as he faced the sky, the water droplets became heavier as they continued to fall.
Leeteuk laughed as he placed his hands on Kangin's arms. "I've missed the rain." He opened his eyes as his smile appeared on his face as he pulled away, outreaching his hands towards the sky.
Kangin leaned against the tree and watched his movements. No longer was he the fragile child who was wary of everything around him, he was now a matured young adult who neared his height but not quite. He hardly matched him in strength, but he could now hold out on his own. It had been eleven years since that time. Yet it seemed no matter how many years had passed, his love for the rain hadn't ceased.
Leeteuk took a step backward and missed the wood behind him, he stumbled onto the ground as Kangin instinctively reached his hands towards him. He pulled Leeteuk up and quickly examined him.
"You worry too much." Leeteuk said lightly. "I'm fine." Kangin turned him around to face him, his hands tracing his face, looking for any possible bruises and cuts.
At least he had told himself that, it had started out that way. He never raised a child much less a human one, he worried constantly once he saw a cut or wound because of how nearly everything could prove fatal for him. Even now he was careful, treating Leeteuk as the fragile being he was, though Leeteuk loved to test him often with his daily trips.
Yet now as he turned Leeteuk's face, he found that such excuses were just that. As he rubbed his cheeks with his fingers, it was evident that he truly was no longer a child.
He dropped his hands as Leeteuk smiled triumphantly. "See, I said I was fine." Kangin didn't reply as Leeteuk failed at hiding his yawn. He immediately protested as Kangin held him. "I'm not tired either-"
"Resting keeps you on alert." Kangin replied, Leeteuk sighed, knowing, as always, he wouldn't win this battle. He leaned against him as the ground disappeared beneath it before reappearing. He breathed out as he heard the rain in the distance, no longer was it falling on him.
"Don't sulk."
Leeteuk sighed again. "I'm not even that tired." He tried to stifle another yawn but to no avail. He didn't protest this time as he was placed on the ground near his makeshift bed. Yet as Kangin pulled away his hands, Leeteuk reached for them. He forced himself in his arms and closed his eyes as he relaxed against him. "You're a much better bed."
Kangin heard his breathing relax and knew he had drifted off. He leaned against the rock wall behind him, gently patting his back, something he had always done to soothe him as he heard the rain outside.
Leeteuk wasn't the only one who changed he thought as he gazed at the sleeping figure in his arms. Kangin had grown soft, he was no longer as intimidating or as heartless. At least not to Leeteuk, only to him could he be what he thought was originally just a father figure.
But now that no longer applied, they were too different from what they once were. Here he was, a monster who had stepped over his boundary, a line he doubted could ever be crossed.
He had fallen in love with him.
He closed his eyes as held Leeteuk protectively in his embrace. Unable to sleep as he continually heard the gentle showers outside, sleeplessly wondering of possibilities.
---
Leeteuk had run off as usual, carefully walking over the land he now knew. His senses were always aware of every sound, smell, taste and touch. This was his home, their home he corrected himself. The feeling of belonging to his own family elated him, a family that consisted of both him and Kangin.
He smiled cheerfully as he walked through the familiar land, vaguely aware of the light fog he felt against his skin when he froze. He heard something.
He had heard someone scream.
More than one, he corrected. He tuned in to hear the voices and hurried towards them. The sounds were increasing, he was getting closer. Once he was there, he recognized the roars.
"Don't!" Leeteuk yelled, he heard the roars stop momentarily.
Kangin had never once told him of what type of demon he was, much less the others he had come across, due to his sheltering he had come up with his own classifications. By memory, he knew this one was quite dangerous.
"You dare to interfere." The demon threatened, "Know that if I can't have them, you will be their replacement." Leeteuk felt his breath against his, the demon was in front of him. Yet he wasn't afraid as he returned his own warning.
He leveled his voice. "Have you heard the rumors of a beast becoming a caretaker of a human."
"What of it?" The demon asked.
Leeteuk cleared his throat, the heat around him increasing, the sounds of the ground beneath him as it moved. The demon was surrounding him. "I am that very human, if you dare to hurt me, the beast will show no mercy against you." The breath disappeared, he heard the demon retreat away from him.
"Lies."
"Then try, though I'd be your last meal. Your kind isn't able to face his."
The demon remained silent, Leeteuk composed himself as he always had, briefly hearing the stifled voices of the terrified men.
"For now I will let them go. But it won't be the last of me." Leeteuk smiled triumphantly, feeling a sense of his pride at Kangin's strength and reputation. His smile then faltered as he remembered the men.
"Are you alright?" He asked, he heard them whisper to one another in rushed speech. "Are you hurt?" He asked again, he heard the men pause when he heard light footsteps approach him.
"Jungsu?"
Leeteuk froze, it had been years since he had heard that name.
"It is, you are!" He felt the embrace of the man who had called him that name. He then pulled back. "What happened to you? Are the rumors true? You are the one living under that monster?"
Leeteuk swallowed his comments. As he recalled, they were more monstrous than Kangin had ever been to him. "What of it?" He forced out.
"It is true then." The man said in mild shock. "We must get you back home." He pulled on Leeteuk's wrist yet he remained in place.
"I'm not going back to the village." He stated.
The second man insisted. "But you must, this place is not for humans, you will die out here."
"I can assure you, its not a problem. I'm in a much safer position than if I were in your homes."
"This isn't your place, living amongst these... these things-" Leeteuk narrowed his eyes. "You're delusional if you think you're accepted among them."
"They've accepted me much easier than you ever had." Leeteuk retorted, pulling away his hand yet both men had now held onto him. "Let go of me!"
"No, you'll come back home with us, you'll see that its much better-"
Leeteuk felt the two men's grip on him forcibly removed. He heard the sounds of struggle and yells.
"Are you alright?" Kangin asked, Leeteuk murmured a yes as he heard more screams. "Its fortunate that you are facing the ground, if I had you on your backs, you'd both be dead."
"Jungsu, run!" The man spewed.
Leeteuk however remained rooted to his spot.
"Run while you can." The other responded.
Kangin narrowed his eyes as he replied. "If he wants to return, I won't force him to stay."
"Don't justify your actions!" The man accused. "You've brainwashed him-"
"I have done no such thing. Continue to believe your own delusions, all you want is to redeem the guilt you now feel over what you thought was a lost cause."
"We searched for him!"
"For one day." Kangin reminded. "I never would have stopped at just one."
Leeteuk remained silent as Kangin pulled him against him, he ignored the men's pleads as it gradually disappeared. Even as they landed in their home, Leeteuk didn't let go of Kangin, he leaned his head against him. Kangin held him as his body began to shake uncontrollably, his thoughts enraged in turmoil.
He had only found peace once exhaustion overtook him, letting him temporarily forget.
---
They hadn't spoken of the incident since, Leeteuk tried desperately to ignore it and instead focused in on the approaching days.
And when the day had come, Leeteuk excitedly reached for Kangin who arrived with food. "It's the day." Leeteuk said happily.
"What day would that be?" Kangin asked, Leeteuk narrowed his eyes as he shoved him, though it had no effect at all on him.
"You haven't forgotten... Right?" Leeteuk asked, his confidence wavering. Kangin shook his head.
"I doubt you would let me forget this day of most days." Leeteuk smiled as he turned around and leaned against him. This was the day twelve years when they had first met, Leeteuk had long celebrated his coming of age on that day since it was then that he was named by him. "What have you gotten me?" He asked in anticipation.
Kangin took a deep breath as let his arms down on either side of him. "A special gift." He murmured. "I have a question for you."
"Ask." Leeteuk smiled.
"...What would you give to see again?"
Leeteuk froze completely. "Kangin... what are you saying?"
Kangin stared straight at the wall in front of him, carefully choosing his words. "I am able to return your vision if you ask."
Leeteuk widened his eyes. "Who can do it?"
"I can." Kangin answered, Leeteuk pulled away from him and turned to face him midway.
"Why are you telling me this?" He breathed. "Why not before?"
"I am telling you now." Kangin replied. "There are restrictions however." Leeteuk waited as he listened. "If I return your sight, you will have to cover your eyes until you return to the village."
Leeteuk swallowed the lump in his throat.
"You cannot uncover your eyes nor can you look at me. You will..." Kangin didn't finish his sentence as Leeteuk filled in, he knew the full extent of Kangin's abilities.
"Kangin... I-"
"You don't have to answer immediately." Kangin interjected as he rose up, carefully walking around Leeteuk. "But once you've made up your mind, please tell me of your decision."
"I don't need to think of my decision." Leeteuk declared, he outstretched his hands and searched for his until he felt it. He gripped it tightly as he rose up from the ground. "You know of all people that I could never return to that place."
"You're blinded by your grudge against them to realize that you could have another life-"
"I don't want another life!" Leeteuk yelled. "I don't want to return to being Jungsu, I left that all behind me. I accepted my new name," He clutched the edge of his hair. "My new life," He then dropped his hands, his voice raspy as he spoke. "My new family."
Kangin found it difficult to compose himself as he uttered. "A week. In a week I'll come back and you will make your decision then."
Before Leeteuk could reply Kangin had disappeared.
Leeteuk fell to the ground, he later on realized the food he had brought was just enough for the week. Kangin had planned this.
He clenched the fruit in his hand, feeling his heart constrict at the thought.
The days seemed to go on forever until the day had finally came, Leeteuk was not inside their home however. He had heard the clouds in the distance and rushed out, the rain once again falling upon the forest.
He closed his eyes as he allowed himself to be drenched by the water, cleansing the grudges and plaguing thoughts until he felt he was thinking quite clearly.
"What is your decision?"
Leeteuk turned slowly, knowing Kangin was right behind him as always. "Are you sure you want to hear it?" He asked in return.
Kangin remained silent, forcing himself not to turn away.
Leeteuk turned closer towards him. "Answer me honestly." He said, Kangin watched as he struggled to form the words. "Do you find me a burden?" He lowered his head. "Is that why you suddenly..."
"No, I never once thought of you as a burden." Kangin replied, Leeteuk heard his tone, it was neither intimidating or cold. It somehow sounded...
Torn.
"I have long thought of this gift for you, but I was never able to offer it. However... considering the recent circumstances, I wanted to show that even if you returned to the village, you wouldn't have that difference setting you apart. You would be able to see, you will be accepted as one of them."
Leeteuk took a step towards him, Kangin watched as Leeteuk closed the gap between them. He shook his head. "Even then, I don't want to." Leeteuk murmured. "That's not where I want to be." He outstretched his hands, hesitantly reaching for Kangin's own hands. He tightened his hold around them. "And if you were honest about me not being a burden... then I would like to stay here."
Kangin watched as Leeteuk completely closed the gap, timidly leaning towards him until he felt their lips meet as he closed his eyes. Kangin closed his own eyes, allowing himself to relax his stolid self.
Leeteuk had pulled back slightly. "I want to stay..." He asserted. "With you."
Kangin watched his eyes that didn't completely face him. The droplets that continually fell on his face, down his cheeks like tears. He lifted his hands and by habit had brushed them aside.
"If that is what you want." Kangin said, barely any hint of coldness in his voice that had been his trademark. "Are you sure you've thought this through-"
"Kangin," Leeteuk interjected. "This may have been a sudden decision for you, but I've thought of such possibilities for years. And each time I've reached to the same one." He held Kangin as he leaned against him. "I want to stay with you."
Due to the many days of restlessness, the lack of sleep had all come at once in full force. He allowed himself to drift off in his arms, lowering all barriers that others could never do around the man everyone had deemed a monster.
In his view, there was nowhere safer, nowhere kinder, absolutely nowhere he would rather be than in his embrace.
---
A/N: Based on a Vietnamese folktale Ciel told me. I already wrote a blind Kangteuk story lol, and was going to go for a different couple but since they're her OTP... even though I have 7 other fics in the works... including more challenges coming... here are my words to her...
I'M GOING TO KILL YOU and
BE GRATEFUL
<3
Edit: Just in case there's anyone interested in the folktale specifics, it's originally called Dansan and Agie, this user writes it under her picture along with other variations ^^.