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ep 02: hammer

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Seonghwa didn't react fast enough.

Instantaneously, he was submerged in water that swallowed him whole and filled his lungs to the brim. He tried to hold on to anything, but was only met with more tumultuous waves and the raging rainfall.

With all the strength he could muster, Seonghwa pushed himself to the surface, trying to gulp in as much oxygen as he could. His hair was a mess, plastered to his skin and obstructing as much vision as it could.

Sharp streaks of lightning struck through the air, the windy atmosphere almost dragging Seonghwa down under once more.

With shaky palms he hurriedly pushed his hair out of the way, noticing just how flooded his surroundings had became. What now remained of the old primary school was broken heaps of brick and metal, pieces of it floating all around him like deadweight.

What the fuck was happening? His mind screamed, only to then spot Hongjoong up ahead in the sky.

The shorter had that same hammer in hand, a rabid grin on his face that chilled Seonghwa to the bone. There was this -- this huge black thing in front that was engaging in combat with Hongjoong, its large, frightening claws uncurled and aiming for him at a dangerous speed.

But Hongjoong was prepared as he swung that hammer right then. A force so great shook the skies, sending a giant wave of water coming Seonghwa's way.

It flung and shoved him deeper into the flood, causing him to inhale an entire mouthful of salty liquid that almost snapped his jaw in half.

Panic inflamed Seonghwa's veins as he struggled to regain his footing and not drown, but it was proving to be extremely difficult with every fateful second that passed.

Gravity was taking its toll on him. He felt himself starting to sink, starting to lose his agility with nothing but Hongjoong's catastrophic, unbelievable fight with whatever that thing was flashing behind his eyelids.

This is it, Seonghwa thought forlornly, this is how I'm gonna die.

But then he was sputtering and coughing, his clothes getting a tad bit too tight for him. On instinct, his limbs began to flail about, legs kicking at whatever he could to try and get himself out of the water -- only to realize something was dragging him.

"What -- " Seonghwa gasped, coughing yet again.

"Chill out." The dragging got a lot more forceful.

"Hong -- Hongjoong -- "

Hongjoong tore Seonghwa's hoodie off with his hands alone, before flinging Seonghwa someplace out the water that had somehow...lessened?

Seonghwa had no time to mourn over the loss of one of his favourite hoodies. He leant over the gritty ground in a defeated state, trying to stabilise his breathing and cough out the remaining water.

"Fuck," he cursed, clenching his eyes shut.

"...You okay?"

Seonghwa opened his eyes, realizing that Hongjoong was now standing over him, watching him with his brassy gold eyes. They looked a lot less intense and freakish now, but Seonghwa didn't give a damn.

"You," Seonghwa rasped, pointing a weak finger at the shorter male. "What -- what the fuck just happened there?"

"You got caught up in it, oops."

"That isn't an answer."

Hongjoong started walking away, so Seonghwa pulled himself to his feet to follow after him. He looked around at the ruins circulating them, but the strange thing was that the flood was gone.

"I s-saw you in the sky," Seonghwa's teeth clattered, resulting in him wrapping his arms around himself. "You had this shadow thing fighting with you and -- and you hit it. You hit it with that hammer and -- "

Hongjoong abruptly turned around, his glinting eyes, rosy cheeks and curved lips stopping Seonghwa in his tracks.

The shorter rose his arms and wriggled his fingers. "What hammer?"

"You -- " Seonghwa quickly realized that Hongjoong's hammer was no longer in sight. Fuck, he had to have be dreaming. He just had to be. "You had a hammer -- "

"What. Hammer?" Hongjoong grinned, his pointy canines making an appearance.

"You destroyed my hoodie."

"It was weighing you down."

"You almost killed me."

Hongjoong shrugged. "Wrong place, wrong time."

He began walking again, and Seonghwa didn't know what came over him right then. He grabbed Hongjoong's shoulder and yanked him around, his body surprisingly easy to turn.

Hongjoong met his eyes, his brown eyebrows raised in defiance. "What?"

Seonghwa's throat dried, all of a sudden not knowing what to say. He probably looked like a big idiot right about now, drenched like some wet dog while Hongjoong still remained as unscathed as ever.

"I -- "

Hongjoong walked away.

"I'll tell everyone what I saw tonight!" Seonghwa suddenly exclaimed, an uncharacteristic sense of satisfaction washing over him as soon as Hongjoong paused in his footsteps. "I'll -- I'll tell everyone that you apparently can fly and you fight with shadow-like beings and destroy buildings with w-water."

Seonghwa found himself swallowing thickly when Hongjoong suddenly appeared before him, long eyelashes framing those insane eyes of his that almost pained Seonghwa to look at. But yet still, he couldn't avert his stare no matter how much he tried.

"I can apparently fly, fight with shadow-like beings...and destroy buildings with water," Hongjoong slowly repeated, somehow making Seonghwa's words sound even more stupid and more idiotic than ever. "Try and make them believe you, Seonghwa..."

Hongjoong's words were low and steady like a snake's hiss. They lured Seonghwa in and charmed him, unlocking buried memories of his mother rocking him to sleep with her bedtime stories and lullabies.

But then Hongjoong pushed him away, heading off into the night.

⛓️

"Dude... Are you okay?"

Seonghwa sniffed and rubbed his nose, hating how stuffed and gross it felt. Fuck, just when he thought things couldn't get worse.

He looked up and locked eyes with his best friend. "I'm fine, Mingi."

Mingi didn't look convinced. He shut his locker, rolling the sleeves of his red plaid up to his elbow. "C'mon, I'll help you with your books."

Seonghwa shook his head, his fists subconsciously clenching when he remembered his and Hongjoong's bizarre interaction last night. It kept him up all night, canceling any chances of him falling asleep because he just couldn't fathom how a basic student that went to his school could fly and fight with unusual beings.

"Hwa?" Mingi's low voice sunk Seonghwa back into the present. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Seonghwa nodded. He didn't feel like talking, and his throat ached. Which was weird, because he'd never felt like this in a long time. Sick, that is.

Luckily, the shrill bell vibrated down the halls at that moment, interrupting whatever Mingi was going to say. Seonghwa knew his friend meant well, but he wasn't in the mood to chat today. He was just too tired and confused.

But Mingi turned out to be quite adamant about carrying Seonghwa's books -- something he'd liked doing since they were kids -- and as they headed to their first class, Seonghwa continued to keep quiet whilst Mingi cheerfully greeted the other passing students.

As most people would say, they made an odd pair. Their tall heights seemed to be the only thing they had in common, as Seonghwa never liked to talk for long and Mingi was quite extroverted. Over the years, people (especially of the opposite sex) would try to capture Seonghwa's attention and weave their way into his life, only to get turned off by his highly reserved personality. The facade he put up was impenetrable, and his emotions were buried so deep that it often pushed others away.

But Seonghwa didn't mind it.

"Hey, did you do the bio homework for today?" Mingi asked, snatching Seonghwa's attention.

"Hmm?"

Mingi's eyes flashed with even more worry. He pushed open the door to Biology for Seonghwa to enter, his gaze never straying too far from his face. "The bio homework. You did it?"

Seonghwa blinked, searching the class for a particular pair of piercing, yellowish eyes.

"Seonghwa."

Seonghwa's eyes met with Hongjoong's from across the classroom. The shorter sat with his back casually pressed against his chair, his arms folded over his chest. He regarded Seonghwa with an infuriatingly cool expression.

This time, Hongjoong's nails were an azure blue, matching with his long woolen sweater. An assortment of necklaces adorned his neck, glowing and enunciating the icy gold of his eyes.

Someone touched Seonghwa's arm. "Hwa?"

Seonghwa continued to stare at Hongjoong, hating how the shorter appeared like some manic fairy due to his outfit.

Manic fairy? What even --

"Seonghwa." Mingi's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Are you truly okay?"

Seonghwa braved another glance at Hongjoong, only to see that the shorter wasn't even looking his way anymore.

"I'm fine." Seonghwa's voice came out gruff. He walked over to his desk, Mingi trailing closely behind him, only to see something idling on his desk that made him freeze.

A lollipop.

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a/n: thoughts?

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