Hey everyone :) I know, been away from a long time. I just suddenly had this passion for this plot, so I wrote it one sitting. That's what most of my short stories are like. I can't seem to continue to write short stories if the period extends more than two sittings. 

Anyways, this one's quite long. I hope you enjoy it. 

A slow creak made Hyun Joong turn his attention towards the opening door.

"Hyun Joong?"

Hyun Joong placed down the doll he had been fixing and stood up from the table. "What is it, Young Saeng?"

In stepped a shorter, slightly chubbier man with a cute round face and bangs, one side longer than the other, dressed in an elegant white military uniform adorned with gold and blue ts. In one hand he held his cap and in the other was grasping onto a folder. He shut the door gently behind him before turning around again to face his friend. 

"Hey, how've you been?"

Hyun Joong sat back down and picked up the half-finished doll. "Fine."

"Still working on your dolls?" 

He could hear the military general's footsteps close in on him before stopping right beside his desk. From the corner of his eye, he could see the white of his uniform, but focussed his concentration on the making of the doll. "This one's special."

Hyun Joong's room was filled with dolls and boxes of materials to make them. It was his hobby and he loved to make them to donate to the orphanages, also to give to family friends who had children. 

"Hyung!" A familiar voice suddenly shrieked from outside and pounding footsteps approached the room before the door was swung open by a young man. "Oh! Young Saeng hyung! Annyeonghaseyo!"

"Annyeong Hyung Jun," Young Saeng greeted with a warm smile and let the younger dash over to the table, as if to inspect what Hyun Joong was doing. 

"I thought I told you not to barge in here without permission, Hyung Jun," Hyun Joong reprimanded gently. 

Hyung Jun simply brushed him off with a chuckle and looked at the doll in the older's hand. "What's this? Your new doll? Looks kind of like an otter, doesn't it? Or actually, doesn't it look like Young Saeng hyung?"

Young Saeng raised an eyebrow when the two turned to him, looked back at the doll and back at him again. Hyung Jun nodded, seemingly agreeing with himself, but Hyun Joong shook his head. "No way. Nothing like him. Anyways, this doll's special. He's going to be my first creation of a Quasi-child."

"Quasi-child?" Hyung Jun echoed curiously, thinking before his eyes widened. "Oh! You mean that child you were talking about? Starts from a doll and will grow if you give it love."

Young Saeng sighed. "Why wasn't I informed of this? How are you going to achieve such a thing?"

"With today's technology, anything is possible," Hyun Joong replied with a shrug. "A Quasi-child reflects the owner's deepest wishes and desires as they grow. They will grow according to the amount of love they receive and will risk death if they are abandoned."

Hyung Jun's mouth grew into a giant grin. "That's so cool! I'll bet it'll go into demand once you create your first one."

Hyun Joong nodded with a small smile before turning to Young Saeng. "Why did you come here? Did you need something? What's the envelope?"

Young Saeng placed it on the desk beside the unfinished doll that did, somehow, strangely resemble him. He heeded it no attention, however. He explained, "We have always been on the edge of entering war against North Korea. It's becoming much more probable now. As we are of higher rank families of the military, the Grand Marshal that you two also enter the army as Captains."

"Me, too?" Hyung Jun's eyes dilated in surprise. 

The older nodded and pulled out another letter from his pocket, handing it to Hyung Jun. "Here. This is yours. I am the General of the Army. Kim Kyu Jong is the General of the Air Force and Park Jung Min is the General of the Navy. I'm sure you know of them."

Hyun Joong nodded before speaking. "So we will be Captains under your command."

"It will be either me or the other two," Young Saeng responded before taking a step back. "That's all I came here to do. I will be taking my leave now."

With a deep bow, he started for the door before Hyun Joong said. "Why don't you stay for a little longer? It's been a while since the three of us have been able to hang out."

"I have to get going now. I have other duties to attend to," Young Saeng answered. 

"We're having curry for dinner."

Young Saeng paused at the doorstep, clenched his fist and finally turned around, cheeks a rosy pink as he averted his gaze to the blank white wall. "I guess I'll stay for a little while."

He glanced back at Hyun Joong and felt his heart suddenly skip a beat at the warm smile Hyun Joong showed him. His blush deepened and he suddenly grew interested in the carpet, keeping his eyes down at it as he walked back to the desk. "So when are we eating?"

Hyung Jun laughed. The oldest of the three stood up from his desk and carefully set down his doll again before leading the way. "Let's go."

The night, the three of them enjoyed a delicious curry dinner at a table, catching up on what had happened throughout the years. Although they lived in the same city and they saw each other quite often, they were rarely ever able to sit down peacefully and discuss their lives. Having been friends since elementary school, they all knew each other's family backgrounds and childhoods, Young Saeng's family being the highest ranked out of them all. His father was the Marshal of the Nation, one of the highest military ranks there was in South Korea. Hyun Joong's parents were well-known entrepreneurs and Hyung Jun's father ran a successful law firm, his mother a great photographer. 

"Remember when Saengie hyung tripped into the puddle, stood up, and tripped on a rock again?" Hyung Jun cracked up at the memory, tears forming in his eyes from laughing so hard. 

Young Saeng blushed like a tomato as Hyun Joong smirked. "And he's still as childish as before."

"I'm not childish!" Young Saeng protested.

The oldest chuckled as he scooped up a spoonful of rice and curry and held it over to Young Saeng's mouth. "Here, have some."

Young Saeng pursed his lips into a pout, glaring at Hyun Joong before opening his mouth, chomping down the spoon and taking all the curry rice into his mouth. Hyun Joong laughed in amusement. "See? Still a child."

Young Saeng's eyes widened in realization and he gripped his spoon tightly as he slammed his fist on the table. "Stop treating me like a child! I'm already in my twenties! I'm not a child!"

Hyun Joong rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine."

The military general stood up from his seat. "Apologize!"

With a sigh, the older said that he was sorry and Young Saeng settled in his seat again. Hyun Joong huffed and stared off at the clock, as if in deep thought before opening his mouth to speak. "Ya, Young Saeng, do you want one of my dolls?"

Young Saeng looked up from his plate in surprise, eyes twinkling with delight. "Can I?" A smile appeared on the older's face and immediately, the twinkle in his eyes disappeared and he put down his spoon and stood up. "You know what? If you guys were just going to tease me about being a child all the time, then I might as well just leave. There's a meeting on Monday at 9 o'clock in the morning at the JSA (joint security area). Make sure to be there. Both of you. Have a good night."

"Wait, Young Saeng hyung," Hyung Jun protested, standing up from his seat and rushing after the older who had already slipped on his boots and was opening the door. "Young Saeng hyung!"

The general stopped. "What is it, Hyung Jun?"

"We're sorry, okay?" the younger hurriedly spoke, his voice pleading. "Hyun Joong hyung's sorry, too. Just come back and eat with us. Who knows when the next time we'll be able to meet like this is."

"I'm not going to eat with you guys, especially Hyun Joong, until you stop joking about me being a child," Young Saeng announced as he turned the knob. "I'm already a military general. Hell, I have more responsibilities than Hyun Joong. I'm not a child like before anymore. It's time to stop with those nonsensical jokes."

"Young Saeng."

Hyung Jun's head whipped around to see Hyun Joong leaning against the wall, arms weaves across his chest, his expression stern. He straightened and approached the younger, Hyung Jun stepping out of the way. 

Young Saeng's eyes followed Hyun Joong's hand, which was reaching towards his face. His heart began to race, face turning red once again. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his cheek and his eyes flashed towards back to Hyun Joong's face to see a giant grin. Young Saeng slapped the older's hand off his face, his eyes throwing daggers at the taller. "I hate you! When will you ever understand?"

With that, Young Saeng rushed out of the house and slammed the door behind him. Hyung Jun whipped to face Hyun Joong and grabbed him by the collar, eyes angry. "Hyung! What the hell was that?"

Hyun Joong pushed the younger off of him and turned back to the dining room. "Young Saeng is still a child, whether he likes it or not."

"Even if you think that, you shouldn't go teasing him about it!" Hyung Jun exclaimed, hot on Hyun Joong's heels. "I meant it when I said it! Who knows when we'll be able to meet up again? What if something happens to one of us? Didn't you ever think about that?"

"It won't happen," Hyun Joong said as he grabbed his plate and headed towards the kitchen. 

"How do you know, hyung? Something might! Where are you going? You haven't even finished eating yet!"

"I'm not hungry anymore," the older muttered as he dumped the rest of his dinner into the garbage and threw the plate in the sink. "I'm going upstairs. Once you're finished, just let yourself out."

"Hyung!"

"Don't bother me!"

With that, Hyun Joong disappeared upstairs and Hyung Jun flinched when he heard the bedroom door slam shut with a large bang. Hyung Jun grit his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. Why was this happening? Why couldn't Hyun Joong realize? 

On the Monday of the meeting, Hyun Joong was a few minutes late for the meeting and when he entered in his military uniform, the meeting had already started. He opened the door to see all the Marshals, Generals, Commanders, and Captains already gathered around the table, including a few faces of which he recognized, including Young Saeng's. 

"Hyun Joong, you're late," the said general spoke sternly. "As a newly named captian, you need to understand your responsibilities. Please do not be tardy from now on."

Hyun Joong nodded. "Yes."

He quickly took a seat beside Hyung Jun, who seemed to be a little annoyed with him. The meeting droned on, the Marshals and Generals doing most of the talking and the Commanders and Captains just nodding and listening, or at least, pretending to listen. Hyun Joong couldn't find in him to listen, instead, he just watched Young Saeng converse with the other Generals and Marshals, pointing to locations and pawns on the giant map of all of Korea, carefully deciding where to place and land their troops, and good locations for North Korean troops to hide. 

He noticed the seriousness in Young Saeng's in expression and in his mind thought, 'Ah... perhaps Young Saeng really isn't a child anymore.'

Once the meeting was adjourned, the Commanders and Captains left, but the Marshals and Generals stayed because of there was going to be another meeting with the international allies. As Hyun Joong exited the building with Hyung Jun, he noticed foreigners also wearing military General and Marshal uniforms entering the building. 

"It's kind of amazing when you think about it," Hyung Jun murmured in awe as he watched them pass by. "Young Saeng hyung is going to be talking and communicating with these people, and leading our nation to war. And he's our friend."

Hyun Joong only grunted, his hands in his pockets as he headed towards the camp where he was told the Commanders and Captains had to gather for asssigned platoons. It wasn't long before they were allowed to head home, but were expected to return the next day to revise their training and also study the strategies the Generals and Marshals were supposed to plan by the end of this day. 

It was evening when Hyun Joong found himself with a cigarette in his mouth, the pack in his hand, as he sat on the backyard porch of his house, staring into the horizon of the setting sun. He let his gaze wander around his garden, eyes catching onto the bushes of colorful hydrangeas that had begun to bloom although it was nearly winter already. He let the ash of his cigarette fall onto the stone porch as he closed his eyes and puffed out the smoke.

Without warning, he felt something pull the cigarette from his mouth. His eyes snapped open and shot up to see Young Saeng standing beside him, holding the half-smoked cigarette. "You know it's not healthy to smoke."

Hyun Joong sighed. "What are you doing? Did you just finish the meetings?"

Young Saeng nodded and placed the cigarette into his own mouth, breathing in and exhaling, letting the smoke fill the air and disperse into nothing. Hyun Joong chuckled. "And you said it was unhealthy."

"I get stressed, too, you know," the younger retorted before he held something else out to Hyun Joong. The older eyed it. It was a single blooming white hydrangea, still connected to the stem, as if it had recently been cut off from its bush. 

Young Saeng removed the cigarette from his mouth and Hyun Joong noticed a faint blush on his cheeks. "Last night, the wind cut off this flower. I thought it’d be a waste, and since it’s your favourite flower, you could regrow it. Right?” 

Hyun Joong snickered and took the flower from Young Saeng's hands. He stood up and held out his hand to place onto Young Saeng's head, before mussing up his soft caramel-highlighted hair. The younger blushed even harder until his face became redder than a tomato. He hurriedly slapped Hyun Joong's hand away. "St-stop it! I told you to stop treating me like a child!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the older returned and turned around, heading back inside. "Want to stay for dinner?"

Young Saeng chuckled. "Sorry, not today. Everything's a mess back at the JSA. I need to go back and clean it up."

Hyun Joong eyed the younger. "There's pudding for dessert."

This time, the younger shook his head. "The same trick's not going to work on me twice. Anyways, I really can't stay. See you around." With that, he headed towards the front door only to be grabbed and pulled back by Hyun Joong. He was swung around and ended up face to face with the older, his heart almost leaping out of his chest in bewilderment. "Y-yes?"

Hyun Joong's strong gaze met with the younger's and he contemplated on what he should do next, but the only thing he could bring himself to say was, "Have fun."

He let go of Young Saeng's arm and took a step back. "See you around."

Still puzzled at what just happened, Young Saeng only nodded with a small dimpled smile before closing the door behind him. 

It wasn't long before someone barged into the house again when Hyun Joong was outside on the porch again. 

"Hyung! Why do you have pudding in here?"

Hyung Jun had raided his refrigerator again. Hyun Joong groaned. "You can have it if you want."

The younger appeared by his side in a matter of seconds, eyes large with concern. "You know I don't like pudding, and you don't even like sweet stuff. Why would you buy a whole pack?"

Hyun Joong shrugged. Hyung Jun decided not to say anymore. He already knew who it was for, and it seemed that bribing didn't work this time.

All the Captains moved into the camps due to the incoming declaration of war. That fragile thread of peace was about to break any moment and they needed to be prepared at any cause. 

Hyun Joong and Hyung Jun both never got to talk to Young Saeng for the next couple of weeks. He never picked up his phone, probably due to constant waves of phone calls from work. They only caught glimpses of the General passing by through the hallways or across the camps, but they could never find the right time to speak to him. Most of the time, Young Saeng was either with Jung Min or Kyu Jong, or both. Being the same rank Generals, they were nearly always together to discuss plans and exchange strategies. Land, air, and sea strategies differed completely, but it was beneficial to learn about the other fields as well. 

The atmosphere was almost always tense in the camps. They were constantly training. As Captains, their daily routines were to wake up early in the morning, train, eat, attend meetings with the Commanders to discuss any changes that the Generals and Marshals may have done, train again, eat, shower, and then sleep. Every day for nearly a month was the same. 

One early morning, the building alarm suddenly rang, alerting and jolting everyone of their well-earned sleep. The speaker came on. "Attention all Captains. Gather your platoons and troops in the city square."

Immediately, Hyun Joong washed up and hopped into his uniform. Before long, he was on his way with his platoon to the city square and spotted Hyung Jun from the other side of the camp. Up on the stage, the Generals and Marshals of South Korea sat and on the podium stood the president. 

Hyun Joong stood there, within rows and columns of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that were recruited and were going to risk their lives in the war. His older brother was somewhere else in the crowd, a Commander of the Navy. In the sea of soldiers, he didn't know what to feel. Panicked? Scared? Relieved? After all, in the midst of all these soldiers, how many were most likely to die? He was a Captain. It'd be less likely for him to be killed in action. He looked up at the stage to Young Saeng. It'd definitely be very improbable for a General to be killed in action. Generals and Marshals were first priority, and they rarely entered the actual battle. He didn't have to worry at all about Young Saeng.

Once the President finished her speech, she stepped down and let the Marshals and Generals speak. Only when Young Saeng stepped up did Hyun Joong begin to listen. His voice boomed through the speakers of the square.

"As a military General of the ground forces, I believe it is my duty to lead the troops. Along with the Commanders and the Captains, I will also stand on the battlefield. I will not cower from the enemy nor will I stay behind you and let you shield me. Every life here is sacred and is treasured, is loved and precious. A General's life does not value more than one of a soldier's. Remember that you are all defending our country. Each and every one of you is crucial to our army. International forces will be joining us soon enough so there is no need to worry."

Hyun Joong felt his hands curl into fists and his eyes hardened at this. The other two Generals seated stood up and both stood on either side of Young Saeng as he spoke.

"We will stand with you in the frontline. Let us guide you. We will not falter. We will lead you to victory!"

The soldiers around Hyun Joong roared in encouragement and cheered. The three bowed to the soldiers before returning to their seats. Hyun Joong remained motionless, his arms stiff at his sides. Just as he had thought he didn't have to think about it, Young Saeng had gone along and destroyed his hopes. 

Once the ceremony was over, the soldiers dispersed into their respective trucks and were transported back to their camps. As soon as Hyun Joong arrived back at camp, he rushed to the JSA to see Young Saeng about to step inside with the other Generals and Marshals. 

"Young Saeng!" he shouted. 

The said man stiffened and turned around to face him after telling the others that they could go along ahead. Hyun Joong quickly arrived to where Young Saeng stood, panting. 

"Hyun Joong," Young Saeng greeted. "It's good to see you again."

"What are you thinking?" Hyun Joong shrieked, grabbing onto the General's shoulders. "What in the world are you thinking? You're a General! Why would you go and stand on the frontlines? You're needed in the background as well! You can't just go and... It's suicide!"

Young Saeng shook his head. "I feel like this is my duty towards my country. I'm not going to let you and Hyung Jun shield me from this war. I'm not going to use my position to avoid death. What comes at me will come. Maybe getting me killed will prevent others from dying. I will protect as many of my soldiers as possible. Kyu Jong and Jung Min have the same will."

Hyun Joong grit his teeth, his grip becoming even stronger. Young Saeng winced at the feeling of his bones seemingly bending underneath the older's grip. "You're crazy."

The younger chuckled softly. "Can't call me a child anymore, now can you?"

With that, Hyun Joong lost it. He grabbed Young Saeng's arm and dragged him into the building. He found the nearest empty meeting room and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him before shoving the General against the wall and slamming his lips against the other's. 

"Hyun--" Young Saeng's voice became muffled. Hyun Joong's hands grasped his wrists, restraining them against the wall above his head. The shorter shut his eyes, trying his hardest to keep his mouth closed, but what Hyun Joong was doing was actually arousing him. 

In need of air, Hyun Joong pulled away. 

"What are you doing?" Young Saeng exclaimed before being cut off again as Hyun Joong quickly connected their lips, this time, slipping his tongue inside. 

Once Hyun Joong felt the body underneath him relax slightly, he loosened his grip on the wrists, using only one hand to keep the hands up, he used the other to the General's coat and jacket. The words of protest eventually faded as Young Saeng slowly gave into Hyun Joong's touches and the older completely let go of his hands, allowing Young Saeng to wrap his arms around the larger man's body and hold onto his uniform. 

In the dark, empty meeting room, Hyun Joong prepared and took Young Saeng on the wall, on one of the many tables, and on the swivel chairs. Even when voices approached the door, they didn't stop. He embraced the younger and marked Young Saeng as his. 

Finally, it was only after a couple hours when Hyun Joong finally let go of Young Saeng. The other had passed out after coming so many times. Hyun Joong wore his uniform and quickly grabbed a nearby box of tissues. He cleaned up the younger and helped him wear his uniform. He then woke up the General. "Young Saeng, you out."

Young Saeng's eyes blinked open and he found himself rest against Hyun Joong's sturdy chest. Upon remembering what had just happened and feeling the throbbing in his lower back, his face turned redder than chili. The taller chuckled at this. "Come on. Can you support yourself?"

The General quickly nodded. "What time is it?"

"It's dinner time already."

Young Saeng sighed. "I have to go. We have to affirm our strategies and tactics." He stood up on wobbly legs, but managed to stay upright. "About what we just did..."

"It's okay," Hyun Joong cut him off. He resisted the urge to grab Young Saeng and hold him in his arms again, never to let him go again. "We can talk about it some other time. I shouldn't have done it now right before war, I know. But I'll tell you once you come back."

Young Saeng nodded as he opened the door. "Alright. See you around." Hyun Joong followed him out and they waved each other good bye, Young Saeng awkwardly heading towards the elevators while he headed back to the camps. 

Hyun Joong nodded to himself. "Yeah, see you later."

Soon, the war began near the border of North Korea and South Korea. Hyun Joong's platoon wasn't deployed right when the war began, so he wasn't able to fight with Young Saeng nor was he able to monitor the General's movements. Now he was beginning to regret now telling Young Saeng how he felt that day. Young Saeng was probably still confused as to what that day had meant. 

Due to the giant battleground and the millions of soldiers that had been deployed into the war from the United States, Canada, and many other powerful countries, Hyun Joong never saw Young Saeng for the rest of the war. His platoon nor Hyung Jun's ever ended up on the frontlines, but Young Saeng had long decided to stay on the frontlines to fight. 

While on a military truck, on their way to one of the camps stationed at one of the few strategic points, he could only smile sadly to himself. Young Saeng certainly wasn't a child anymore. 

Three years later...

Hyun Joong sprawled himself out on the couch of Young Saeng's house, one hand holding the doll he was working on, the other hand with a screwdriver. It had been two months since the war had ended, South Korea declared victorious. However, there were now multiple areas along the border and around both countries that were uninhabitable due to the nuclear bombs and weapons that were used. Luckily, Seoul was not hit. 

The door clicked open and Hyun Joong quickly sat up, his eyes wide as he waited for whoever who had just entered to show himself. 

"Young Saeng?" he murmured and stood up. 

A familiar face appeared at the doorway. It was Hyung Jun. The younger smiled tiredly, underneath his eyes were dark heavy bags, as if he hadn't been able to sleep at all for the past week. He himself probably looked the same. "Hey hyung."

"It's only you," Hyun Joong groaned as he fell back on the velvet couch. "What are you doing here?"

Hyung Jun shrugged as he plopped down on the carpet beside Hyun Joong. "Came here to check whether you were still here or not. And whether or not you were still alive."

The older chuckled, the light laugh didn't seem to possess the playfulness is used to have in the past. "I don't know anymore, Hyung Jun, whether I'm alive or dead. Maybe this is all a dream. Maybe I'm already dead."

"You should accept the fact that Young Saeng hyung's probably not coming back. It's already been two months, yet there's been no news of him. North Korea has already released all their prisoners, and there's still no sign of hyung," Hyung Jun spoke softly. 

Halfway throughout the war, a raid known as Operation Jupiter was led by South Korea's Navy General and Ground Force General, Jung Min and Young Saeng. Foreign Commanders, Captains, and soldiers followed them. But because of one miscalculation, everything fell apart the moment they charged into the port they had been hoping to capture by the end of that day. It was a lot like the Dieppe Raid, also known as Operation Jubilee, in World War II. Late landings and cliffs that they hadn't known were there before completely trapped them. 

The raid was a complete failure. Bombs were dropped on them, machine guns took out hundreds, and traps had been set beforehand. 

Thousands of soldiers' lives were lost. Communication was lost with Young Saeng and multiple other Commanders and Captains. Jung Min and a couple other higher officers were killed in action. Because they couldn't identify any bodies as Young Saeng's, they were led to believe that Young Saeng had been captured and imprisoned in North Korea. 

But even after all the prisoners had been released, Young Saeng didn't return. Troops were sent to the prisons to check. He wasn't there. They checked the records. His name wasn't listed. Heo Young Saeng was said to have been blown to pieces by a bomb instead. 

Hyun Joong stared down the doll in his hand and grit his teeth. He stood up, startling Hyung Jun. "I'm going home."

The younger sighed. "I thought so."

The next day, Hyung Jun decided to pay Hyun Joong a visit again to make sure the older was alright. He entered the house without permission, as he usually did, but this time, there was no one home. 

"Hyung?"

No answer. Just silence. The lights were all closed. His heart began to quicken as cold sweat formed on his temple. "Hyung?" He rushed up the steps and burst into Hyun Joong's room. It was empty. All the boxes, the dolls, the tools. It was all gone. Hyun Joong had left. 

It was a year later when the truth surfaced through witness soldiers. At the beginning, North Korean troops were planning to simply kill all the soldiers trapped on the beach, their guns useless in the situation they were in. But Young Saeng offered himself and internal information in return that the remaining soldiers not be killed and instead, be taken as prisoner. By that time, Jung Min and multiple other Commanders and Captains had already been shot and wiped out. 

The Commander of the troops agreed and took the enemy soldiers as prisoners, and brought Young Saeng to interrogation, of which he easily complied to. Young Saeng was with his own troops in the prison cells just the same, except was given more food and water, and was occasionally taken out for information. In the prison cells, Young Saeng had informed them all of what was happening outside. The information he revealed was all true and what they had planned, but he had left important holes that would lead to enemy's utter defeat. 

Once it was clear North Korea was losing, the soldiers said that Young Saeng was violently brought out of his cell and was never seen again. 

Hyung Jun weaved through the crowds at the station, on his way to visit his parents. It was fortunate that no bombs were dropped in that area as well. Once he exited the station, he made his way into a forest trail to find a quieter place. Ever since the war, he found that he began to hate noise. Maybe it was because of all the explosions and the loud guns he had to endure for three years. He had found this trail several years ago, before the war, being the curious man he was. Now he found it to be useful. 

As he made his way through the trees, he suddenly caught sight of a man wearing a black hoodie a few feet away with a little child following him, walking in the direction perpendicular to him. He furrowed his eyebrows. He recognized that broad back. His eyes widened in epiphany. 

Hyun Joong?!

Quickly, he made his way towards the moving man, feeling the need to confirm that it was him. He felt as if his heart had been palpitating. His long legs stumbled through the shrubbery until he was only merely a meter away from him. "Hyung!"

The man stopped and turned around. It was really him. Hyung Jun was gasping for air, pupils dilated in shock. "Hyun Joong hyung..." He felt his arms move unconsciously and he was about to embrace the older when suddenly, his eyes flickered towards the child, and immediately, he took a step back. "Hyung... What are you...? Is that Young Saeng hyung?"

Hyun Joong looked down at little boy who was clutching onto his pants, shying away from Hyung Jun. "Quiet down, Hyung Jun," the older scolded. "You're scaring him."

Hyung Jun couldn't breathe. "You... Is this Young Saeng? Does reincarnation actually exist? Is that actually him?"

"He's a Quasi-child, Hyung Jun," Hyun Joong spoke calmly as he gently picked up the child into his arms and let him sit on his forearm and wrap his small arms around his neck. "My first one, actually. I'm rather proud of my work."

"He looks just like Young Saeng hyung!" Hyung Jun exclaimed in disbelief. "What are you trying to do? Bring hyung back to life? Hyung is not going to come back! You have to learn to accept that!"

Hyun Joong sighed. "I already have. I accepted it a while ago. Me bringing up this child is to make sure he has no malfunctions. There is already quite a demand and I want to make sure he works. I'm already working on my second and third Quasi-child."

"I'm not convinced, hyung," Hyung Jun grit his teeth. "This child looks identical to when Young Saeng was small. How can you say that you've already accepted that Young Saeng's gone? You clearly haven't."

"I have, Hyung Jun," the older growled. "Now stop bothering me. I have work to do."

"I haven't seen you in a year and you didn't even tell me where you were going, and this is what you say to me?" Hyung Jun questioned before taking a step back and shaking his head. "I'm heading over to my parents' house. You can find me over top that hill over there. I hope he grows up to be a happy child."

Hyun Joong smiled softly and gently ruffled the little boy's hair. "He still can't speak or express his emotions. He hasn't learned that much, having only been a few months since he was created."

The younger nodded as he turned away. "I hope you realize your true feelings soon, hyung."

"I already have."

Once Hyung Jun disappeared into the foliage, Hyun Joong put down the young child down onto the ground again. "Let's go."

The young boy followed his master through the forest until they arrived at the garden of a nice, wooden hut filled with colorful hydrangeas just like what his previous home's garden had been like. Hyun Joong opened the door to the garden and entered. 

He paused in his steps when he turned around to see the child walking towards a white hydrangea bush of the garden. He grabbed hold the stem of a flower and without warning, snapped it off.

He opened his mouth to protest, but the child walked towards him, holding out the single hydrangea flower, sounds attempting to make their way out of his open mouth.

"Last... the wind..."

Hyun Joong waited patiently for the child to speak out what he wanted to say in broken words and stutters.

"... cut... this flower... ... last night..."

The older furrowed his eyebrows. Last night? There was no wind last night.

"I... thought... a... w-waste..."

What was the kid talking about? He was the one who plucked it off the bush.

"... Your favourite... flower..."

Without warning, Hyun Joong began to feel like he had heard this somewhere before, and unconsciously, salty droplets began to form in the corner of his eyes. 

"... you could... regrow i-it... Right?"

“Last night, the wind cut off this flower. I thought it’d be a waste, and since it’s your favourite flower, you could regrow it. Right?”

Young Saeng.

"I guess I'll stay for a little while."

"Stop treating me like a child! I'm already in my twenties! I'm not a child!"

"You know it's not healthy to smoke."

"Who knows when we'll be able to meet up again? What if something happens to one of us? Didn't you ever think about that?"

"Can't call me a child anymore, now can you?"

"We can talk about it some other time. I shouldn't have done it now right before war, I know. But I'll tell you once you come back."

"Alright. See you around."

"Yeah, see you later."

See you later.

He fell to his knees before the young child who was still clutching onto the hydrangea and holding it out to him, his head bowed and arms hanging limply at his sides as hot tears spilled with whispers of I’m sorry, no longer restrained by excuses and self-persuasions. The young child did not move from his spot and only stared on blankly, not realizing what exactly he had said and what it had meant.

Quasi-children reflected the owner’s deepest wishes and desires as they grew. Just what in the world had he done?

"I hope you realize your true feelings soon, hyung."

What in the world had he ended up reflecting?

Well then :) Another angsty story, I guess. This is all in my imagnation. I don't know if North Korea and South Korea are going to war or not. I really don't know how the military system works and I don't know who would win if North Korea and South Korea did go to war. So pleeaaassseee~ If this offended anyone, just know that I did not mean to do such a thing. 

Just something to keep in mind, there is no reincarnation in this story. The child at the end of the story is a Quasi-child, therefore, it would be impossible for Young Saeng to reincarnate in him anyways since he's artificial. I guess I'll explain in short form here just in case you're confused. 

Hyun Joong, Hyung Jun, and Young Saeng grew up together. Young Saeng became a General due to his father's high ranking in the military as well. Of course, he started from a soldier as well, but I guess due to close connections, he rose up in the ranks very quickly. 

And then they go to war and blah blah blah. I mentioned a raid from World War II, the Dieppe Raid aka Operation Jubilee. Basically, this raid took place in 1942 and it was a failure. A majority of the troops were killed and thousands were taken prisoner. From the beginning, their plans had already been delayed because of weather issues, but they also miscalculated, which led to a disaster. 

So basically, Young Saeng at the end, was killed by the North Korean troops because North Korea lost and they felt like it was Young Saeng's fault for not giving them enough information and that he didn't fulfill his promise. Young Saeng's name wasn't on the records from the very beginning, indicating that they might have been planning to kill him at the end.

At the end, Hyun Joong went into isolation and Hyung Jun found him on the way to his parents' house near the countryside. With Hyun Joong was his creation of a Quasi-child, who was strangey resembled, or rather, was identical to when Young Saeng was a child. As explained in the story, Quasi-children grow according to the amount of love and care they receive from their master or owner, and reflect their owner's deepest wishes and desires, even if they are hidden, as they grow. 

At the end, the Quasi-child seems to retain Young Saeng's memories and grabs ahold of a white hydrangea from the garden, similarly to the one Young Saeng had in the past, and manages to say the exact same thing Young Saeng had when giving it to Hyun Joong. As said earlier, reincarnation is not possible in this case, it only means that the Quasi-child reflected the deepest desire and wish within Hyun Joong, and that is Young Saeng. 

And that is basically the summary :))) If you have any more questions, just pm me or comment. Of course, comments are always appreciated! Always always always appreciated :) This story was inspired from an anime I watched a long while ago. I don't remember the name and I can't seem to find it, but I do remember the ending because it had a huge impact on me. Haha~ So I created a story based on the ending I remembered. 

Oh yeah, by the way, proofread this through so there are probably a lot of mistakes and typos and stuff. So please forgive me for that~

Thanks guys! I hope I can update again soon and also update my other stories, too, but it's a little hard. Thank you anyways, and I appreciate all of you reading my stories. I feel really loved. Haha~ This is like a new years gift, I guess. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D