Wake Up

General Audience

No Pairing

Angst/fluff, pre-canon

***

When he opened his eyes, he was inside his room.

The walls are painted in soft blue, with twelve paper cranes hanging on the ceiling. He heard that by making a thousand paper cranes, his wish could come true. But alas, he already gave up by making twelve. Tired, he said. As a result, the twelve birds were tied up with string, then taped on his room ceiling by his father.

And that's how the twelve colorful paper cranes are always the first thing he sees when he wakes up from sleep.

Stretching his body, he changed his position to sit. The mirror is the second thing that his eyes catches after waking up. The reflection of a boy with black hair as dark as crow was clearly captured by that reddish brown eyes. The boy rubbed his eyes, yawning.

Just when he was about to go back to sleep, the door suddenly opened.

"Good morning, Rok Soo-ya! Come on, get up, or you'll be late for school!"

"Ugh." Kim Rok Soo groaned softly, looked away, wrapped his body with blanket.

The woman with the same hair as the child just exhaled while trying to grab the blanket. "Come on, don't be lazy!"

"... Five more minutes."

It felt like Kim Rok Soo didn't want to wake up.

He wanted to go back to sleep.

"Is that so? Then, you can't go to school with me and your father later, you know?"

A slight jolt could be seen from under the lumpy blanket.

"You want to take me to school?" he asked while peeking.

"Today we're going to go for monthly shopping, so we might as well take you to school. That is, if you hurry up and get ready."

The woman hadn't even finished her sentence yet, Kim Rok Soo had already thrown the blanket away and ran into the bathroom, making her laugh softly.

Kim Rok Soo was so enthusiastic when he heard his parents would take him to school. Usually, he would walk by his own, because the distance between school and his house was not too far. Also, both of his parents were quite busy.

Even so, that doesn't mean they don't have time to spend together. Weekends are the days when they will go out, or spend time at home together. Kim Rok Soo never lacks of affection. He has parents who are loving, but also firm and not spoil him too much.

A perfect family.

"Good morning, Rok Soo-ya."

A warm voice greeted him as soon as Kim Rok Soo arrived at the dining room.

"Morning, Father!"

After a warm kiss on the cheek, Kim Rok Soo jumped to sit on the dining chair.

His father smiled warmly. He spread the bread with peanut butter, then placed it on Kim Rok Soo's empty plate.

"Rok Soo, when will you start the exam?"

"Um, maybe around next week? No announcement from school yet, but this week has entered the last chapter of learning!"

"Don't forget to study," said his mother while tidying up the folds of Kim Rok Soo's tie.

Kim Rok Soo nodded quickly. "Of course! You didn't forget your promise, did you? We'll go to the aquarium park after the exam is over!"

"Haha, of course." His father chuckled, placing another piece of bread onto his plate. "We'll go together after you finish the exam."

A bright smile bloomed on his face. "Yeay! I will study hard!"

"That's my son!"

The father stood up from his chair only to gently stroke the top of his son's head-he stroked it gently so that Kim Rok Soo's hair wouldn't fall apart after seeing the glare from his wife.

"Now hurry up and drink your milk."

"Okay!"

The day full of joy like this.

Sometimes, Kim Rok Soo wishes it could last forever.

Kim Rok Soo put the backpack on his shoulder, before he suddenly remembered something. "Ah, I forgot! I left my English dictionary in my room!"

Her mother chuckled. "Okay, go take it. We'll be waiting for you in the car."

The boy nodded, immediately ran up the stairs-to his room.

"Uh, where I put it? Ah, here it is!" Kim Rok Soo let out a sigh of relief, tucking the dictionary into his backpack. "Huft. I don't want to be scolded again for forgetting to bring my dictionary-huh?"

His gaze accidentally looked towards the balcony of his room which was covered with white curtains. A silhouette is clearly visible. Kim Rok Soo's heart skipped a beat. Who's that? Is he a thief? What does he want? How could he be on the balcony of his room on the second floor?

He doesn't know what possessed him to have the guts to exclaim. "Who's there?!"

The silhouette raised its right hand slowly, then knocked on the balcony door three times.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

What is that person doing?

If he really was a thief, why should he knock first and not just barge in?

Kim Rok Soo was scared, but curiosity overcame his fear. Slowly, the child settles down and opens the curtain a little to peek.

From behind the curtain, one could see the figure of a grown man with hair as black as crow feathers. Those reddish brown eyes accidentally collided with his. Unexpectedly, the man smiled thinly.

A lumpy feeling tickled his chest. No, it wasn't a feeling of fear because the man's face had many scars, or shock over the fact that this stranger was on the balcony of his room.

No.

This feeling feels familiar.

A faint voice came from the man behind the balcony door.

"Hello, Kim Rok Soo."

Krr.

Kim Rok Soo reflexively took a few steps back as soon as the glass balcony door started to crack.

"Or should I call you ...."

Krrrrkk.

"Cale Henituse?"

PRANG!

Kim Rok Soo's legs went limp, causing him to fall to the floor. Her little body was shaking. Her pupils constricted.

He was shocked.

However, somehow he was not afraid.

Strange. Very strange.

His teeth were still chattering, but he forced a voice. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The man smirked. "If you talk about this body, I am you from the future."

Him from the future ...?

Kim Rok Soo stared in horror. His heart was racing so fast, made him clutching his chest-making sure that his heart was still there and not going anywhere.

"Cale, wake up." The man started to take a step closer. "This isn't your place. You don't belong here."

"H-uuh-huh ...." Kim Rok Soo edged backwards in a sitting state. His head felt so light, as if floating.

"Rok Soo-ya! Hurry up, or we will leave you!!"

His mother's voice called his name along with the sound of a car horn from a distance. Kim Rok Soo tried to get up, but his legs were weak, as if all his strength had been drained.

"Cale, wake up."

"Rok Soo-ya~"

Kim Rok Soo covered his ears as he closed his eyes. His head hurts. He's dizzy. What is going on? He's scared. He's so fucking scared. Is it just a dream? In that case, he wanted to get up. Please wake him up from this nightmare ....

"Human!"

Kim Rok Soo gasped.

"Ra ... Raon ...?"

Simultaneously, other voices started calling his name.

"Cale-nim!"

"Young Master Cale!"

"Cale!!"

Not Kim Rok Soo.

But his other name.

"Cale Henituse." The black-haired man before him smiled faintly. "This is not your world."

"Ahh-Aaaaahhh ...." Kim Rok Soo grabbed his own hair.

Slowly, the furniture in his room began to crack, then turned into glowing bits of dust. The view from outside the balcony began to fade.

"Get up, Cale. Everyone is waiting for you."

The door behind him was wide open. Kim Rok Soo turned around. The door was supposed to be a partition between his room and the hall of his house, but instead it showed a strangely familiar sight.

The view of the victorian style room like a fairy tale. There, on a large white bed, lay the figure of a red-haired man with pale skin. There were many people standing around him, along with two cats and a baby black dragon, tightly gripping the man's hand.

"R-Ro ... ok ... So ... o."

"Cale Henituse!"

The voices of his parents slowly sounded far away, while the other voices sounded closer and closer. Kim Rok Soo was petrified. His gaze looked straight at the man before him.

The man smirked.

"Now you remember?"

The boy didn't want to admit it, but this man was right.

He remembers.

Kim Rok Soo, no, Cale Henituse remembers everything.

About the final war against the Hunters, ending with him getting hit by the other side's surprise attack.

Somehow since when, he woke up to his days before the earth went into the fall.

The days when his parents were still alive.

And today, the day his parents went to take him to school, was the day they both died in a traffic accident.

"The God of Death sent me into your subconscious to save you from the abyss of despair." The man before him, who was now Kim Rok Soo, knelt down so their eyes were in line. "You've been cursed with despair. If you fall too deep here, you won't be able to come back."

Cale was stay silent.

The voices of his parents were no longer heard.

The place that should have been his room, had now been destroyed and turned into black space. There were no more twelve paper cranes, nor a dictionary for him to bring to school.

He came to his senses.

Kim Rok Soo stretched out his hand. "Come on, Cale. It's time for you to go home."

Home.

"You are right."

Cale accepted that hand.

This place is not his home.

The boy's form slowly began to crack.

"Hurry up. You don't have much time."

Cale bit his lower lip, nod.

"Thank you, Rok Soo. Take care of yourself."

Kim Rok Soo laughed. "Hey, I should be the one saying that. You take good care of yourself."

Cale smiled slightly, then turned his body around.

He could feel his body begin to disappear, slowly from the tips of his fingers. Cale ran, reaching his hand, trying to reach that exit door.

"Human, when will you wake up?"

"Spring has come, nya! The flowers are blooming beautifully!!"

"You can take it easy, Cale-nya. No need to rush. We will wait here for you."

Raon, Hong, and On.

The closer he was to the door, the clearer the voices sounded to his ears.

Five steps.

Three steps.

One step.

As soon as the sole of his foot touched across, Cale felt his body twist and get thrown around making him sick.

His head is dizzy.

- Cale?

- Oh my god, it's Cale! He's back!!

- Jeez, Cale! You have no idea how worried we all while you were gone?! Those XXX hunter bastards are giving everyone a hard time!!

- Cale, are you okay?

Not even Cale had adapted to his consciousness, he was already being slaughtered with a chain of questions from the voices inside his head. Making him even more dizzy.

'But, this isn't bad either.'

Honestly, he missed these sounds.

And also ....

"Human?"

"Raon, what's wrong?"

"I-I saw a Human's fingertips move!!"

'Hahhhh....'

Cale slowly opened his eyes, though in the next second he closed his eyes again due to the light coming from the window. He blinked his eyes, trying to adapt to the lighting. The blurry figures around him slowly came into view.

The people he missed so much.

His family.

"Human!!"

"Cale-nya!"

"Young Master!"

"Cale-nim!"

A warm welcome greeted him.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.

A beaming smile with tears starting to spill out. With a hug that held him tight.

Cale could see Choi Han and Rosalyn who were sobbing uncontrollably. Mary was at his bedside with a cookie jar in hand, also crying. From the door, he could see Lock running into the room-got news of Cale's consciousness in the middle of a training session and immediately ran towards Cale's room. Eruhaben smiled gently, a face Cale had never seen before. Ron was as usual standing by his bedside, with Beacrox. Neither of them smiled, but their expressions looked relieved. Cale did not see Alberu, perhaps that hyung of his was in the palace. His reaction he would show later after knowing this news, Cale could already imagine it.

The red-haired man bit his lower lip, closing his eyes again. Restrain his overflowing emotions.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back!"

When he opened his eyes, he was inside a novel.

However, for him, this wasn't just a novel.

This is his home.