Fire On Fire [TK]

Prologue

"It is said some lives are linked across time.
Connected by an ancient calling that echoes through the ages."

-Prince of Persia

⟭⟬

— Circa 2011

It began as a whisper in the air, the wind stirring the leaves as the sky darkened into a gravel grey hue. Pillows of writhing clouds shrouded the city, a deep rumble filling the vengeful sky.

A storm was forming at a distance.

The fourteen-year-old boy covered his freshly cut hair with his arms in an attempt to save it from getting wet in the drizzle.

He quickly took off his shoes at the entrance of the main door and plopped down his school bag on the floor once inside.

"Jeongguka? Are you home?" A sweet voice called from inside the house.

"Dae eomma!"

"Aigo, my baby, your hair looks so great," the woman cooed, bringing a steaming bowl out of the kitchen.
"Go sit down, dinner is ready, your father and brother are waiting for you."

He sat down with a huff, excitedly telling his parents about his day.

"Ah, Jeongukkie--" his brother singsonged from across his seat, earning a stern reply from Jeongguk.

"Do not call me that."

"Why not Gukkieee?"

"Eomma~"

"Okay enough," their mother cleared his throat. "No fighting on the dining table."

"Jeongukka, there have been calls for you from many companies. Have you decided which one to join?" his father gently asked.

"Aniya," Jeongguk shook his head, "I am thinking about it-- I liked the last company. It seemed genuine, and Rapmon hyung was so cool."

"RaPMoN hYuNg wAs sO cOoL," his brother mimicked his voice, making Jeongguk throw a tissue at him.

Their mother's subsequent glare made them sit back properly.

"Okay, very well, I'll sort out the details tomorrow." His father smiled.

After finishing up his supper, with quick shuffling steps, Jeongguk returned from giving food to his family dog. He found his brother in the bedroom looking through his drawer.

"Hyung! Get out of my room!" the boy fumed. He did not have anyone touching his things.

"Jeongguka, I just want your earphones for a minute--" his brother stated, picking up the earphones from the drawer.

"No! You can't have it," Jeongguk shot back, rushing forward to hold one end of the earphones.

"Man, I just need it for a minute, I'll give it back."

"NO! They are mine!" The younger gripped the earphones tighter.

"Jeongguka, I'll return it, I swear--", his brother pulled the earphones towards himself.

"You can't take it!" his voice rang louder.

And with the last pull to save his earphones from his hyung, he tugged on it so hard that one end came off, making him tumble back, butt first onto the floor.

He sat there bewildered, looking at the broken earphone wire in his hand. His eyes welled up with tears.

"EOMMAAA--"

"Aish shush shush," his brother quickly put his hand over Jeongguk's mouth. "Please don't cry. I'll get you new ones, I swear!"

Jeongguk shoved his hand away, "Eommaaa!"

Seeing his mother come rushing inside the room, Jeongguk pointed towards the accused, wailing loudly, "Eommaaa! HYUNG BROKE MY EARPHONES!"

"NO, I DIDN'T!" his brother blurted out. "I just wanted to borrow it, eomma! I couldn't find mine, I said I would return it in a minute, but he was pulling it from me!"

"No, he pushed me!" Jeongguk accused his brother again.

"I did not push him! He was pulling the earphones from one end, and it broke off and he fell! I did not push him!"

Their mother rolled her eyes and sighed in exhaustion as if contemplating the same old miseries of having two teenage boys under one roof.

"Alright, that's enough, Junghyun, please go to your room for now," she told her elder son who skipped out in a hurry afraid to deal with his mother's wrath.

"Ah Jeongukkie, there is no need to cry", his mother wiped his tears away, helping him up and sitting on his bed with him. She patted his back shushing him gently.

"My earphones", he mumbled into his mother's shoulder.

"Jeongguka, it's just a pair of earphones, we'll get you a new one, I promise", she said with a smile, sitting them both down on his bed.

She brushed a stray hair from his forehead. "And why didn't you give it to your brother when he was asking for it?"

"No! I don't like sharing my stuff with anyone"

"Ah, but you should my brave boy, there is a certain satisfaction in it."

"I don't want to. My things are just mine." He grumbled, making his mother suppress a laugh.

"You know, I was just like you when I was younger, always extra possessive about my things," her voice sounded thoughtful.

"I don't want to share anything with anyone, ever!", he whined.

"I too, thought the same. Everything I had was just mine, only mine", she ran her hands through his hair while he rested his head on her lap.

"And it continued until I met your father - and after that, even my heart did not belong to me," she chuckled.

Jeongguk lifted his head and stared at his mother's face, his earphones taking a backseat. Her eyes glazed, looking into distance, with an expression he could not quite understand.

"How did you meet appa?" the boy asked, curiosity taking over.

"I met your father when he joined the university. He was two years younger than me. He was so handsome and so charismatic-- I immediately took a liking to him."

"And then? Did you fall in love at first sight?" he enquired, doe eyes looking at her expectantly.

"Ah~ I could not tell you if I loved him the first moment I saw him, or if it was the second, third, or fourth. But I remember the first moment I looked at him walking towards me and realized that somehow the rest of the world seemed to vanish when I was with him." She sighed and smiled at her son.

"So it was not love at first sight?" Jeongguk pouted.

His mother shook her head. "I don't believe in love at first sight. It takes time to really, truly fall for someone, you know? Yet I believe in a moment. A moment when you glimpse the truth within someone, and they glimpse the truth within you. At that moment, you don't belong to yourself any longer, not completely. Part of you belongs to them; part of them belongs to you. After that, you can't take it back, no matter how much you want to, no matter how hard you try."

Jeongguk pondered over her words, "What will happen if I meet someone like that?"

"Well, for once, you would willingly share with them everything you have," his mother laughed, making Jeongguk frown.

She lay him on the bed, pulling the covers on top of him. "If you do find someone you love and who loves you back, make sure to never give them up, okay?"

"Mhmm," Jeongguk mumbled, eyelids half closing.

"Goodnight, darling, sleep tight." She patted his head and got up, closing the door behind her as she left.

"Never give them up, okay?"