TEN 

   Little Jinki’s heart is like no other.

Complete with a pleasant face, chubby cheeks and a blinding smile, Jinki was the angel of his little suburb. However, Jinki’s mother sometimes couldn’t stop the mix of dread and happiness that filled her when strangers from main city or her local suburbs, would pity her son for various, unfair reasons.

“Such a shame the boy has to grow up an unfortunate, would’ve had a brilliant career if he had Mana.”

“Shut up, that’s why he’s not in main city,”

“Look at that child’s face, even without Mana, he could probably—“

“Don’t be ridiculous,”

“Such a shame, such a shame,” They’d chant. Nevertheless this woman had a heart of gold herself.

And even she managed a smile through the comments as the strangers walk by, staring hard at her son, then disgustedly at her.

Although sometimes she feels it’s all unfair, although people rely on Jinki’s smile rather his heart, she is in no place to complain.  Because with extra pity comes extra sympathy, and with second sympathy is a little love, she feels more than blessed when a Citizen or two would spare her son some good quality, clean bread.

Because then, his genuine smile works on his face. She feels guilty when the smile falls because she refuses the little piece he ripped away for her.

“You’re nearly ten now, Jinki.” She said one day while separating the good vegetables from the bad. Her son pursed his lips and she let out a mild giggle, soon turning into uncontrollable coughing. “You’re nearly a big boy.” She says hoarsely.

Jinki runs to his mother’s side, behind the small kitchen table and gives her free hand a little squeeze. When his mother turned her face to smile at her son, did he realise how sunken her eyes are and how bony her cheeks looked.

Jinki suddenly felt very at fault. “Mama,” He began quietly, “…are you eating properly Mama?”

His mother handed Jinki one carrot and fondled with half of one for herself. They slowly walked to their one and only pot and a makeshift chopping board as Jinki got out a medium sized knife.

Jinki knew how to hold a knife properly now, he was nearly a big boy now.

He handed it to her carefully, watching her thin fingers dance across, chopping, grabbing and sometimes slipping.

“Of course Jinki, your Ma Is fine, don’t worry. See, I like carrots, you do too huh?” She says loudly, as she pours her carrots in for a better stew.

“All Jinki has to do is,” She begins, turning around, “Eat well, work hard and play.”

Jinki nods in that instant and runs to sets the table for two.

He wishes he was really grown up, so then he could buy his mother all the carrots she wants.

“What do you mean, there is no one left?”

Jinki hears his mother that night all the way from his small room. “Be quiet So-Ra.” Jinki flinches at that little respect the second voice holds for his mother. “Now listen,” The voices hush further, and Jinki finds himself inching closer and closer to his door.

“All the possible candidates are either taken or dead. Don’t you know how fast the rates go up, people put slots in as soon as their children are born.”

“No you listen!” He hears his mother raise her voice the way she has always thought him not to. “Y-You’ve promised me, that after he is ten he will be bound.

You said that to my face and I believed you. You promised! You can’t let him end up alone…I can’t do that…I…”

He stiffens at the long pause and tries to blink away the tears he feels his mother cry.

“So-Ra, I know.  I did that because you are my long time friend,” The deep voice whispers.

“There is one request for Lee Jinki though, that I didn’t tell you about. That request’s case is a—”

“What?! You—You,” Jinki’s heart thumps hard at his ear as he listens in, even though Jinki’s heart is only nine and a day to ten, he feels as if  it’s weighting as if he was forty five.

“So-Ra shut up and listen,” the man probably shuffled somewhat closer, Jinki can tell he tripped over his play book.

“I’m not allowed to be here. And moreover it’s not my fault Jinki is born without Mana. It is truly unfortunate alright? I’m sorry. The reason I didn’t inform you of the slot for Jinki was because this person is somewhat…

Dangerous.”

Jinki gave in to his curiosity and slightly opened his door, just a crack, enough to realise that the man now seated at his table was one that of Main City. Jinki wants nothing more than to scream at his mother for letting him into her house, their house, but quickly decides against it.

His mother has asked why this person was dangerous and he could see with his left eye at the door that the man was now shifting uncomfortably.

“Well first of all it’s a boy, not a girl, but that’s not our problem.

Jonghyun, the boy, used to be of the Mana.”

He gasps in unison with his mother.

Used to?

“There is no problem with the bounding or anything. Just that, he was stripped of his Mana back in Main City, which doesn’t happen often. He caused a really big riot, that little brat.”

‘W-what is his Mana, what did he do?”

The man takes of his hat, showing off slick, black hair. “He could, He could absorb others Mana, make it his own, and he, stole the fire of an honour’s son.”

Jinki vaguely heard the last word for he scrambled back into bed.

Warm tears slid down his face.

“Happy birthday Lee Jinki, H—happy birthday Lee Jinki…” He sings to himself as his little clock strikes twelve.

Tomorrow he would be ten, soon after bound to a boy that supposedly steals people's Mana.

“Happy birthday Jinki! My lovely boy is ten!”

His mother booms the next day.

Jinki smiles, holding in his sobs only for her.

"Mama," Little Jinki whispers. "Do I really have to get married?" The woman at his feet, loosening and tightening the laces on his best pair of shoes, looks up at him. She sighs as she brings her hands up to fix a loose strand of her child's hair. "Jinki, darling, you're not getting married. You are getting bound. It's a good thing, a happy thing." She smiles heavily, blinking away as her son raises more questions. 

"I know but. . ." He quietens down even more, "He's a guy, isn’t he? The one I’m getting bound to?"

The woman stays strong, daring to look back into the child's innocent eyes. There is only so much she can explain about this. 

"Well, you wouldn't want to get bound to any sneezy old girl now would you?" She laughs dryly, “He’s a good one, he picked you." She fibs.

Tears stream down Jinki's young face. "I would—if —if she was like you." The woman instantly pulls her son for one last hug. Even though her efforts of combing his hair one way is ruined, and the poor fabric he wears crumples and folds, as his mother, right now, she has the right not to care.

"I don’t want to go away, I don't want to be bound, I —I don't even know him!"

His screams are muffled into her shoulder, right now Jinki wants nothing more than to suffocate here, right now, in his mother’s arms.

'You're not going away," She coos, "You'll come back, today is just your celebration." She regretfully lets go of her embrace and glances into her son's tear filled eyes. As heart shattering as it is, this is the time they live in; this is the fate that is cursed on them. She has to bear with it, he has to, because in the end, they are the nothing but the unfortunates. 

"Listen, Jinki. Jinki I love you very much. But you know, i know, that here, you have to do this. We don't have the skills that the people in Main City have Jinki. So you have to promise me, that you'll try your very best to make it out there and when your age comes, you have to move in with him. You have to provide for him, as he will provide for you. 

You have to keep him safe like he'll keep you safe.

You have to love him Jinki, love him much more than you love me."

Jinki screams and shouts, tears pour out of his eyes as he chants," No, No, I will never! No, no."

The woman finally stops, stops being strong, stops being proud, and lets her own tears fall.

"Please Jinki, please. Forgive me, please do this! It's the only way, it's the only way."

She falls at his feet and Jinki's little heart breaks into pieces at the sight of his mother like this. 

It is up to him now.

Just like any other unfortunate child, he has no other choice.

A man, most likely from Main City, taps Jinki's slender shoulders in the most subtle way.

As Jinki dries his eyes and spins around, he manages to catch a glimpse of another boy, maybe a little older, dressed a little better, on the other side of the worn out curtains.

   ”Lee Jinki of 2024 and Kim Jonghyun of 2022's bounding will now commence."

Jinki smiles a little at the other boy despite his red eyes.

‘Jonghyun’ doesn’t smile back.

The ceremony progresses and Jinki watches his right hand be tied with red string and the same for Jonghyun.

They connect somewhere in the middle and the man in black and white says some complicated words that Jinki has only ever read in his books.

He prints some sort of tattoo on both their left wrists,

Jinki’s being 2024, Jonghyun’s 2020 with the same unexplainable light purple colour. It burns a little.

Jonghyun, Jinki realised while the man was speaking and the crowd was listening, Jonghyun had really big brown eyes. He looked much older than Jinki, he felt a lot smaller even though he was taller. He has to be ten too though.

Jonghyun hadn’t looked at him directly for the whole night.  It kind of saddened Jinki but he was happy at the same time. Jinki spotted his mother at the front of the room, smiling at them. After the man had spoken and everyone moved on to enjoy food and chatter, Jinki’s mother moved up to come and talk to them both.

By law now, she was forbidden to touch him on this day.

Jinki blinked five times as she introduced herself as his mother. Suddenly, Jonghyun smiled, not at him, at her and shook her hand slightly.

“Where are you parents Jonghyun?”

“They didn’t want to come.” He answers honestly, smile faltering in the slightest way.  So-Ra frowned a little before shaking her head. “Oh okay then, we could meet them next time.” She lied; Jinki wasn’t allowed to see Jonghyun until it was time for both of them to move in together, which is in eight years.

“I doubt it Mrs. Lee.”

Jinki’s mother apologised, smiled and left the two alone. Jinki stood still, eyes focused on the red string that held their hands together.

“Hey, Blink.”

Jinki suddenly snapped out of it, surprised to hear Jonghyun talking to him. He was disappointed to find that Jonghyun wasn’t looking at him but he smiled sheepishly anyway.

“Uhah, um. So, are you older than me?”

Jinki mentally slapped himself. Suddenly, Jinki’s collar was pulled in and it took him a while to focus onto Jonghyun’s face up so close to his own. “Look,” He said slowly, “We are married now, yeah, married. You get it? So does it even matter if I’m younger or older than you?”

Jinki couldn’t attend Jonghyun’s voice because his eyes were just, so big and really, just really amazing.

“No it doesn’t.  So all you have to do is smile, nod at the people that talk to you, and pretend that you really like me okay?” With that Jonghyun pressed a kiss to his cheek which Jinki found was really unexpected. A slow crimson sparkled over his cheeks as he nodded.

The entire crowd were amused that the bounds had already shown such affection. They were chanting for more and out of the corner of his eye, Jinki spots his mother crying with a smile on her face.

So without thinking Jinki presses his face to Jonghyun’s cheek, and tries to make this innocent kiss as long as possible. The crowd sounds aloud again and when Jinki pulls away to look at Jonghyun, it seems as if he’s trying hard not to cry.

Jinki instantly feels responsible and whispers ‘sorry.’ Jonghyun fixes his coat, clears his throat and smiles. “It’s alright, this has to happen.”

As Jinki follows Jonghyun’s lead to take a seat at their assigned chairs, he can’t help but hear,

“What a shame they are unfortunates, they are both really handsome too.”

[Author's Note]

Ah Hai. Perpared to get confused guys, confusion seems to be what sticks to me these days.