〔 chapter one
MISTER HOW HIGH
〔 CHAPTER ONE — IN DEATH, THERE IS LIFE!
he watched her as she kneeled on the coarse mat, a black ribbon tied around her right forearm. she stared intently at the photo in front of her, also adorned with a black ribbon. her shoulders were bowed in, forming a nice slump with her hands tucked neatly in her lap. her moisturized bottom lip quivered beyond her control and openly defied any attempts she made to stop it. the long eyelashes that framed her eyes were damp and heavy with tears and her typically rosy cheeks were blanched.
it was all so sudden. jintae never thought that the old man would die, not in a million years. he was old sage after all, he had lived through it all.
but here jintae was, staring at a black and white photo of the lackadaisical man beaming like the sun with his granddaughter fighting back tears. a fat tear escaped her misty eyes and rolled down the apples of her cheeks. she quickly wiped it away with her hand before giving a snotty sniffle. the burning incense only made the room feel more somber, its long tendrils of scented smoke seeming to reach out and bring tears to everyone’s eyes, even his.
it made him uncomfortable, the sorrow hanging over everyone’s heads. the atmosphere was choking him and he just wanted to run out because kim jintae and emotional confrontation was as bad as an oil spill.
an old woman with deep-set wrinkles and equally as kind and deep-set eyes approached the kneeling girl with a tray of tea in one hand. her other freckled hand soothed circles on the crying girl’s back before embracing her with the softness and welcoming of a warm bed on a cold winter’s day. “seoyul-ah. oh, seoyul-ah,” her voice trailed off, something seeming to hang from her tongue.
standing beside him, yoongi nudged jintae’s side with his typical fatigued look, “you okay? you’ve been staring at her for like five minutes.”
jintae wasn’t okay. his mentor, his friend, his father figure… old sage was dead. jintae wasn’t okay because old sage was dead and that meant kang seoyul had lost her last blood relative. she lost her last blood relative and now jintae was tasked with watching over her, as per old sage’s request.
that would be fine and dandy, if jintae didn’t run a gang. truthfully, seoyul had wound up in gang business once before because of him and it wasn’t something he wanted to happen again. aomg and the 88’s were growing more and more violent back in seoul, the was a new duo called papa tuan and wild & y who seemed to take joy in ruining his plans, and not to mention bigbang still occasionally like to run around like they ran things. old sage swore he wanted to keep seoyul away from gang life but only to send jintae a letter asking if he would take seoyul back to seoul with him before he died.
but still, was it really the best thing to do?
…
“sorry for intruding on you.” jintae said as seoyul unlocked the back door to oppa! ramyeon shop, her and old sage’s pride and joy.
“it’s alright uncle jintae.” he frowned a bit as she looked over her shoulder to give him a fleeting smile. usually she would chat his ear off, which was why he brought yoongi to redirect her interests if he ever needed a break from hearing her speak.
“this is yoongi, by the way, one of my juniors.” they exchanged curt greetings, nothing more than the necessities. seoyul lead them up the back stairs of a dimly lit hallway before reaching another door for her to unlock. this time, the door led to her living room, where the old woman from earlier was sitting there with another young lady.
the old woman rose from her seat and made her way over to the trio, reaching up to kiss seoyul’s bare forehead before giving jintae a hug. “oh jintae, it’s been so long since we’ve seen you!” she cooed, “it’s a bit sad how a funeral can bring people together.”
“of course i’d show up auntie kim, i owe the old man everything.” jintae allowed himself to be led to the small, round table.
“and just in time too, i’ve just finished making ramyeon!” after everyone was seated, auntie kim began filling everyone’s bowls to the brim.
everyone ate in silence, not mournful or soothed but rather neutral silence. silence that said ‘something terrible happened to us but at least we can grieve together’. the room was filled with the savory smell of all the flavoring put into the broth and the steam seemed to rise from the pot and caress everyone’s faces unlike the incense at the funeral. they all let out soft moans of pleasure as the savory and rich taste of the broth-bathed noodles hit their taste buds. the food made their stomachs feel warm and full, and simply being together made everyone feel a bit better about everything. it had a healing like quality to it.
it was jintae who broke the silence first, “have you decided what you’re gonna do with the shop auntie?”
she dabbed her lips with a napkin before returning it to her lap, “well, i am a bit upset that you’re whisking away my baby girl and head ramyeon maker but it’s good that she’ll be able to expand the business to seoul. her grandfather would’ve loved to see it happen…” she shook her head, few loose strands shaking free of her neat bun and framing her square face. “besides, i have my wheein-ie to help out here. and i’m sure hyejin-ie will stop by to lend a hand every once in awhile. i’m more worried about seoyul-ah working alone in seoul.”
“don’t worry auntie, i have a few friends who’re willing to work for her, yoongi included.”
yoongi paused mid-slurp to look up at jintae, “what?”
“didn’t i tell you before we left? whoops, sorry.”
yoongi’s only response was the narrowing of his eyes, giving jintae a sidelong glance and his lips pressing together in a thin line. a look that was both annoyed and skeptical. a look that caused seoyul to repress a giggle by covering her food-filled mouth with her hand.
“and what are you giggling about over there, little rabbit?” jintae asked.
seoyul swallowed her food before speaking, having to pause to let more giggles out as she spoke. “his nostrils are really cute.”
yoongi stared at jintae, who only shook his head with a smile playing on his lips. wheein, the other girl at the table, slammed her hands on the smooth surface and leaned over the hot pot of noodles. her eyes gazed right up yoongi’s nostrils and she let out an awed noise, “uwah! they really are cute!”
“you’re weird.” he huffed as he tried to make his nostrils appear smaller and folded his hands across his chest, red forming on the tips of his ears, “you’re both weird.”
jintae laughed, never having seen yoongi get so flustered like that. his laugh made auntie kim laugh, which made wheein and seoyul laugh. they all laughed and for a minute, everything was warm. overwhelming love and warmth filled the room, the kind of love and warmth usually only felt in dreams only it was real.
it was real and they all realized in that moment that death breathes life, that in death there is life.
word count : 1208
it was all so sudden. jintae never thought that the old man would die, not in a million years. he was old sage after all, he had lived through it all.
but here jintae was, staring at a black and white photo of the lackadaisical man beaming like the sun with his granddaughter fighting back tears. a fat tear escaped her misty eyes and rolled down the apples of her cheeks. she quickly wiped it away with her hand before giving a snotty sniffle. the burning incense only made the room feel more somber, its long tendrils of scented smoke seeming to reach out and bring tears to everyone’s eyes, even his.
it made him uncomfortable, the sorrow hanging over everyone’s heads. the atmosphere was choking him and he just wanted to run out because kim jintae and emotional confrontation was as bad as an oil spill.
an old woman with deep-set wrinkles and equally as kind and deep-set eyes approached the kneeling girl with a tray of tea in one hand. her other freckled hand soothed circles on the crying girl’s back before embracing her with the softness and welcoming of a warm bed on a cold winter’s day. “seoyul-ah. oh, seoyul-ah,” her voice trailed off, something seeming to hang from her tongue.
standing beside him, yoongi nudged jintae’s side with his typical fatigued look, “you okay? you’ve been staring at her for like five minutes.”
jintae wasn’t okay. his mentor, his friend, his father figure… old sage was dead. jintae wasn’t okay because old sage was dead and that meant kang seoyul had lost her last blood relative. she lost her last blood relative and now jintae was tasked with watching over her, as per old sage’s request.
that would be fine and dandy, if jintae didn’t run a gang. truthfully, seoyul had wound up in gang business once before because of him and it wasn’t something he wanted to happen again. aomg and the 88’s were growing more and more violent back in seoul, the was a new duo called papa tuan and wild & y who seemed to take joy in ruining his plans, and not to mention bigbang still occasionally like to run around like they ran things. old sage swore he wanted to keep seoyul away from gang life but only to send jintae a letter asking if he would take seoyul back to seoul with him before he died.
but still, was it really the best thing to do?
…
“sorry for intruding on you.” jintae said as seoyul unlocked the back door to oppa! ramyeon shop, her and old sage’s pride and joy.
“it’s alright uncle jintae.” he frowned a bit as she looked over her shoulder to give him a fleeting smile. usually she would chat his ear off, which was why he brought yoongi to redirect her interests if he ever needed a break from hearing her speak.
“this is yoongi, by the way, one of my juniors.” they exchanged curt greetings, nothing more than the necessities. seoyul lead them up the back stairs of a dimly lit hallway before reaching another door for her to unlock. this time, the door led to her living room, where the old woman from earlier was sitting there with another young lady.
the old woman rose from her seat and made her way over to the trio, reaching up to kiss seoyul’s bare forehead before giving jintae a hug. “oh jintae, it’s been so long since we’ve seen you!” she cooed, “it’s a bit sad how a funeral can bring people together.”
“of course i’d show up auntie kim, i owe the old man everything.” jintae allowed himself to be led to the small, round table.
“and just in time too, i’ve just finished making ramyeon!” after everyone was seated, auntie kim began filling everyone’s bowls to the brim.
everyone ate in silence, not mournful or soothed but rather neutral silence. silence that said ‘something terrible happened to us but at least we can grieve together’. the room was filled with the savory smell of all the flavoring put into the broth and the steam seemed to rise from the pot and caress everyone’s faces unlike the incense at the funeral. they all let out soft moans of pleasure as the savory and rich taste of the broth-bathed noodles hit their taste buds. the food made their stomachs feel warm and full, and simply being together made everyone feel a bit better about everything. it had a healing like quality to it.
it was jintae who broke the silence first, “have you decided what you’re gonna do with the shop auntie?”
she dabbed her lips with a napkin before returning it to her lap, “well, i am a bit upset that you’re whisking away my baby girl and head ramyeon maker but it’s good that she’ll be able to expand the business to seoul. her grandfather would’ve loved to see it happen…” she shook her head, few loose strands shaking free of her neat bun and framing her square face. “besides, i have my wheein-ie to help out here. and i’m sure hyejin-ie will stop by to lend a hand every once in awhile. i’m more worried about seoyul-ah working alone in seoul.”
“don’t worry auntie, i have a few friends who’re willing to work for her, yoongi included.”
yoongi paused mid-slurp to look up at jintae, “what?”
“didn’t i tell you before we left? whoops, sorry.”
yoongi’s only response was the narrowing of his eyes, giving jintae a sidelong glance and his lips pressing together in a thin line. a look that was both annoyed and skeptical. a look that caused seoyul to repress a giggle by covering her food-filled mouth with her hand.
“and what are you giggling about over there, little rabbit?” jintae asked.
seoyul swallowed her food before speaking, having to pause to let more giggles out as she spoke. “his nostrils are really cute.”
yoongi stared at jintae, who only shook his head with a smile playing on his lips. wheein, the other girl at the table, slammed her hands on the smooth surface and leaned over the hot pot of noodles. her eyes gazed right up yoongi’s nostrils and she let out an awed noise, “uwah! they really are cute!”
“you’re weird.” he huffed as he tried to make his nostrils appear smaller and folded his hands across his chest, red forming on the tips of his ears, “you’re both weird.”
jintae laughed, never having seen yoongi get so flustered like that. his laugh made auntie kim laugh, which made wheein and seoyul laugh. they all laughed and for a minute, everything was warm. overwhelming love and warmth filled the room, the kind of love and warmth usually only felt in dreams only it was real.
it was real and they all realized in that moment that death breathes life, that in death there is life.
word count : 1208
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