Pretty

Dec 22, 2009 00:12

this is for monica unnie because she's sick and i figured hanhae is a decent enough remedy =D
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PRETTY (hanhae)

Lee Donghae hadn’t wanted a lot of things in life. Ever since he was born in a small village in the remote countryside, a place hidden away and almost forgotten, he had led a simple life. Days filled with hunting and playing and annoying the village elders. Lives which was direct, simple. The people were happy when it rained and the crops sang, they were sad when wild animals stole a sheep in the fields.

His childhood was full of happy memories, catching fish in the river, wrestling and stick fights, eating his mama’s delicious cooking. He had a happy family, lots of friends, and a girl who used to bring cake to him and sat watching whilst he ate. He decided he was going to marry her one day; she had nice eyes, the prettiest in the entire village.

Then one day, two men came to their village and things changed. Not obviously, if wasn’t as if they burnt it down or took the children away. In fact they did nothing out of the ordinary; they brought nothing and took nothing away. Simply travelers wanting a place to rest. There had been outsiders who came to their village before, usually to make deals with the elders, to exchange silks for fur, unimportant things in the eyes of the children. They came and left. The first thing Donghae noticed about these two, were that they were very different from the brutes or rough men that wandered here before. They were dressed for the conditions sure, strong hiking boots and tough jeans. But there was a refined quality to them that Donghae couldn’t quite place. The smaller one was slim with a dancer’s body and had a kind smile and beautiful large eyes; his companion was taller, stronger, with more muscle, blessed with high cheekbones and sparkling deep eyes. The taller man was the one that caught Donghae’s eye first, but it was the other that he couldn’t look away from.

They only stayed for a day, but Donghae spent most of that time following them around or peeking at them from behind the trees. He was fascinated by the way they talked, how they acted, everything about them. But it wasn’t until the beautiful dancer talked to him, smiled at him, that he was utterly mesmerized. The other man talked to him not like a child, but as an equal. His tone didn’t take on that annoying pacifying manner and he did not tower over Donghae or pat him on the head or squeeze his cheeks. It was only then that Donghae realised he wasn’t just a kid anymore.

The night before they were suppose to leave, Donghae snuck out of his house and crept to where the two men were sleeping. What he saw shocked him, and he almost slipped from the straw roof of the hut. The two men were lying side by side, face to face, sleeping peacefully. They were not pressed close, but to Donghae they might as well have been. The men in his village slapped shoulders, gave bear hugs, but they did not ever cross the line into intimacy like this. Donghae spent most of the night staring at the hands that were entwined between them and wondered what it would be like to hold that hand in his like that. He left as the sun peeked over the horizon, not wanting to get caught.

They left with parting smiles and warm thanks for the hospitality. Some of the women were sad such handsome men were leaving already, before they could steal their hearts. Donghae laughed silently at their foolishness. Even some of the men were regretful they were going, they were strong, young, good fighters, it would strengthened their village. Donghae was glad they were going. He liked his simple life, where he would act as a child and get away with a lot of things. He like the way the others pampered him and he didn’t have to worry about anything. These men had the capability of making him doubt everything he thought with just their presence. He didn’t want them- him- here any longer. He was scared of what could happen.

Everyone soon forgot about the duo, and life was exactly as it was before they came. Donghae was as playful and mischievous as always. However, to him everything seemed different somehow…he couldn’t get the image of warm smiles, sparkling eyes and entwined hands out of his mind. He stopped looking forward to the cakes that girl would bring him; maybe he wouldn’t marry her after all. Her eyes didn’t seem so pretty anymore.

hanhae, shihan

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