ACT III

[CHAPTER XXVIII]

Another Beginning

The Capital.

A city of riches and dreams.

The place that made the laws for the country at the center of the world.

Hakyeon never once thought that he would ever have a reason to live in a place like the Capital. Until three years ago where he took on a job that required him to move into this massive city. It’s been more than three years already yet, he still had a hard time adjusting.

Hakyeon was more into the simplistic life he had back in Pinewoods but many things have happened since Taekwoon suddenly disappeared. He broke the heart of his lifelong friend and lover because he thought he could protect him. Hakyeon loved Taekwoon too much to the point that he was afraid of putting the other in danger because of who he truly was. Soo-ah was different though. Rather than hurting the one she loved, she sacrificed herself and hurt herself for Taekwoon instead. She deserved Taekwoon more than Hakyeon did. That’s what he thought five years ago. But he never would have guessed that Taekwoon would take Soo-ah away from her home and disappear without a sign.

No one knew where the two went.

No one remembered who they were.

A strange thing happened after Hakyeon realized that Taekwoon was no longer in Pinewoods. People no longer talked about the poker-faced boy who recently came to town and befriended them. His name was never mentioned once and when it was mentioned, no one recalled who he was. As if the name ‘Jung Taekwoon’ never existed.

However, everyone could still remember the youngest daughter of the mayor of Pinewoods, Kwon Soo-ah. They were frantic at her sudden disappearance and her father fell into despair. He lost his daughter and had no idea where she could’ve gone. Some said she must have eloped with her lover and ran away from home after canceling her marriage with Hakyeon. There was some truth in that rumor, to say the least. The mayor spent all his fortunes trying to find Soo-ah but only to end up with more disappointment and misery. The wealth that he flaunted at the common folks disappeared in a blink of an eye and soon, he became penniless. He no longer cared for the money he had and decided to leave Pinewoods in order to search for his daughter. What became of him after leaving was unknown.

After the mayor had left the town, Pinewoods went back to how it was before there was a form of democracy. The people made their own rules and system but it was a perfect system for them. Everyone in Pinewoods knew one another years after years, they were close and was like family.

The Capital, on the other hand, was too large to remember all the faces you see in even half a day.

*   *   *   *   *   *

The reason as to why Hakyeon ended up working in the big city was due to his mother passing away. She had fought long and hard with her unexplained illness but was not getting any better. Day by day, Hakyeon, and his father watched her get weaker. She could no longer return to the energetic and happy lady that she was before and the family felt helpless as they watched her struggle.

Not long after Taekwoon’s disappearance, Hakyeon’s mother also passed away. As if she decided to follow the steps of her ‘second son.’ Hakyeon’s mother was rather close to Taekwoon and cared greatly for him. Hakyeon was relieved to see that Taekwoon and his mother got along despite the many times his mother was silent the first time she met Taekwoon. Hakyeon sensed that his mother was somewhat aware of Taekwoon’s presence when he first introduced them to one another. But he didn’t know what it was.

Hakyeon wasn’t as sad as he thought he would have been when his mother passed away but his father took the sadness to another level. The man cried night after night recalling all his sweet memories with his lovely wife, and unable to accept the reality that was placed before him. He started to drink every day to forget about his pains even though he was never a drinker. He used to be so carefree yet hardworking but it seemed that the passing of his dear wife was just too much for him to accept. Hakyeon’s father had given up on everything.

His father decided to sell the bakery not long after because it only reminded him of his wife even more. Even though the bakery itself was part of his family heritage since his great-grandparents, his wife made the bakery even more exceptional. No one was able to replace her. The products just didn’t taste the same as the ones Hakyeon’s mother use to make. Eventually, Hakyeon’s father dismissed all the workers at the bakery and closed the place down. He locked himself at home to drink and cry. Hakyeon felt useless as his father turned away from his son as well.

Hakyeon had no way of helping his father, hoping that he would return to how he was before and did not think that his mother’s death would have such an impact on his father. His father had always been his role model and Hakyeon has always thought that his father was stronger than he appeared to be. Hakyeon was wrong and he finally realized that.

Without the bakery, the Cha family no longer had a special place in town. Although the people of Pinewoods cared greatly for the father and son, there was a limit to how much aid they were able to offer. It was hard for Hakyeon and his father to survive every day without a proper income because they no longer had a shop. Hakyeon realized that as sad as he was with all the things that had happened, he could not just watch his father drown himself in sorrows and not do a thing about it.

He then recalled that his father had a close accomplice who lived in the Capital and hoped that the man could help him. Hakyeon thought it was worth a shot to try and it took him several days by foot to make his way into the big city.

Hakyeon knew that the man was an official who worked at the center of the Capital, and was a part of the Parliament that helped to make the rules of its country. When Hakyeon finally met the man and asked if he could help, the man gladly accepted it.

“Your father isn’t just my friend, but my life savior. If I can do anything to help him, I am more than willing. That’s the least I can do to repay him,” he said.

Hakyeon didn’t think the man would so easily agree to help and was relieved. He was rather worried at first that his long journey would be wasted but the man was very kind. Even though Hakyeon was still sad about his own family’s situation, there was still a ray of hope. The man agreed to help with their financial crisis and look after his father in exchange for Hakyeon to do something for him in return.

The man had a son, three years younger than Hakyeon but was already sitting at the seat of the Parliament as one of the higher ranked officials. He was young but had endless potentials. He knew what was the best for the nation and wasn’t afraid to fight for those rights. Because of that, he was often too straightforward to the point that it angered many of his seniors who sat at their own ranks for many years.

That son was Lee Hongbin.

Hongbin was witty and sharp-tongued. He was also highly intelligent and a quick learner. As long as he wished for it, he could obtain any skills he wanted to learn in a short amount of time. Nothing was ever hard to achieve for him. He had no troubles with getting what he wanted nor did he care about how others perceived him. Therefore, he ends up making more enemies than he could ever make friends. His father knew very well that his son’s personality would eventually get him killed and was very worried about him. So, he asked if Hakyeon could act as his son’s bodyguard in exchange for helping Hakyeon’s father.

Hakyeon was quite hesitant at first because he was never good with physical activities except running around and playing but he agreed in the end. He thought that this was a good opportunity to truly become stronger as an individual and finally mature. He trained day and night to get stronger in order to fulfill his duties as a bodyguard. It was hard for him but it definitely wasn’t impossible.

Another strange thing that happened during the five years that Taekwoon had left, was the disappearance of the three Lee brothers from Starlight Inn. Lee Jaegwan, Lee Jaeho, and his good friend, Lee Jaehwan.

Not too long after his mother’s funeral, the three brothers suddenly vanished from Pinewoods without a single warning. No one knew where they went nor did Jaehwan ever mentioned to Hakyeon that he was going to go anywhere.

The three brothers have always lived in Pinewoods since a long time ago and because their parents did not live in the town, the folks treated them as their own precious sons. They were helpful around the town and their Inn helped to welcome other travelers to their home.

The folks missed the three brothers and so did Hakyeon.

Jaehwan was a bit younger than Hakyeon but Hakyeon never felt the age difference between them. At times, Jaehwan would feel like that same-aged friend who could play with you and understand you. Other times, Jaehwan was like an older brother, who Hakyeon would go to share his stories with whenever Hakyeon was feeling a bit lonely. Jaehwan uses to tease Hakyeon a lot like the other kids because they were friends with Hakyeon and didn’t know any better with the words they chose to say. When Jaehwan caught Hakyeon crying alone from being teased about, he immediately apologized and the two became good friends.

Even when Taekwoon arrived in Pinewoods, Jaehwan was the one that helped Hakyeon and Taekwoon countless times because he was the only one aware of the two’s relationship. Hakyeon was thankful for Jaehwan, always being there and giving him a helping hand when needed. That’s why, when even Jaehwan disappeared, Hakyeon lost sight of what to do.

He felt as if everyone he ever cared for was disappearing one by one.

Why wasn’t he the one who disappeared instead?

He had such thoughts many times, wanting to disappear forever but as soon as he saw his father’s sorrows, he couldn’t find it in himself to leave the poor man alone. If he left as well, his father would not be able to live with himself. Hakyeon felt unfilial to do such a horrible thing to his father. He had to find ways to help his father at all cause.

Although Hakyeon moved out of Pinewoods, he would constantly write letters back to his father to make sure the man was alright. Hongbin’s father later left his seat from the Parliament to his son completely and promised Hakyeon that he would look after his father for him during his retirement. So, Hakyeon protected Hongbin as the man helped to look after Hakyeon’s father.

Sometimes, Hakyeon couldn’t help but realize how fortunate his life had been, to be receiving so much from others yet he, himself, could not give anything in return. That’s why, he thought that at the very least, he should perform his duties as Hongbin’s bodyguard to his fullest abilities. At least, he could try to repay one person at a time.

*   *   *   *   *   *

 “Ya! You’re spacing out again!”

“Huh? Oh. Sorry, Kong-ah.” Hakyeon said.

“Don’t call me Kong! It’s Lee Hongbin to you! You’re supposed to be guarding me, not spacing out. What if I get attacked while you’re in your own little world?” Hongbin said.

“Right. Sorry.”

“Gosh. I don’t even know why my father hired you. You’re barely any stronger than I am and you always seem to be thinking about something. If you don’t like your job, just say it already.”

“That’s not it. Sorry. I’ll pay more attention.”

Hakyeon only knew how to apologize. He was at fault for thinking about his past while he should have been more attentive to the person he was assigned to be guarding.

After all, Hongbin really did have a lot of enemies. His sharp-tongue even irritates Hakyeon at times but Hakyeon was good at hiding his frustrations and letting it go. He was too tired most of the time to even argue with Hongbin and he knew he wouldn’t win the argument even if he had tried. Hongbin was too smart for Hakyeon to fight back with words. Plus, he believes that Hongbin isn’t as bad as the words that came out of his mouth. Sure, the younger had an attitude that could irritate people, but Hakyeon could see a bit of resemblance of Taekwoon in Hongbin. They were both lonely and so was Hakyeon. Hongbin didn’t have any friends because of his personality. Hakyeon didn’t say it aloud to Hongbin, but he really wanted to be friends with the younger. Hongbin of course would never allow it though. Hakyeon could see that. So, Hakyeon decided to protect his younger friend alone.

Honestly, Hakyeon was quite skeptical about calling anyone his friend after what happened with Taekwoon. He fell in love with his friend and only ended up hurting the other. Hakyeon was worried to call anyone his friend again after and so, he no longer clung onto anyone, talk much to anyone nor mindlessly making friends like he used to. The word ‘friends’ made him become scared of the consequences that might follow. So, he never told Hongbin that he saw him as a potential friend. As many friends as Hakyeon had back in Pinewoods, he never felt as satisfied as he was when he was with Jaehwan or Taekwoon. His friendship with the two placed a very special place in Hakyeon’s heart and memories, maybe that’s why Hakyeon was the only one who remembered the name Jung Taekwoon while everyone else had forgotten.

Even Jaehwan forgot.

But there were also times where Hakyeon wished he had forgotten the name like everyone else.

As much as he cherished his memories with Taekwoon, he was also saddened by the breakup he initiated. Hakyeon knew how angry and betrayed Taekwoon must’ve felt when he lied about wanting to be friends again, that he was tired about being with Taekwoon. Hakyeon could see that Taekwoon must’ve ended up hating him so much to the point of falling for Soo-ah and taking her away. It pained Hakyeon each time as he recalled Taekwoon’s face the last time he saw him. The time they broke up.

That’s why Hakyeon had wished that those painful memories could be forgotten as well.

But of course, at the same time, he didn’t want to forget.

It was the first time Hakyeon had opened up to someone, even if he thought that Taekwoon was just his imagination when he was younger. But after truly getting to know what type of person Jung Taekwoon was, Hakyeon fell deeper and deeper. He became much more possessive because he knew he was loved entirely by his lover. He wanted to claim all that love for himself forever and never letting anyone in. He’s never felt so accepted nor loved by anyone except Taekwoon. He wanted to at least cherish those memories they had in his heart, even if they were bittersweet.

When Hakyeon first agreed to stay at the Capital, he had a slight hope that Taekwoon might be here as well. Taekwoon mentioned before that his hometown was somewhere close to the city and that he had worked for the government. But when Hakyeon arrived, there was no sign of Taekwoon at all. Which made Hakyeon wonder why Taekwoon had lied about his identity even to Hakyeon.

Hakyeon thought that he knew everything about his friend since they’ve known each other for more than nine years but to end up finding out that he actually knew nothing about Taekwoon at all.

Even if Hakyeon found Taekwoon, what would he say though?

Taekwoon probably wouldn’t want to see Hakyeon ever again anyways.

“Don’t you dare regret it Cha Hakyeon,” was the last thing Taekwoon had said to Hakyeon.

And.

Hakyeon really did regret it. Far too greatly.

He wanted to see Taekwoon so much after he left.

But now, there was no way to find him. Was it punishment for his foolishness?

A/N

I'm also very excited to finally bringing you guys the second half of this fanfiction. This was a setup that was planned even before Chapter 1! It was a long journey to get here and we have an even longer journey ahead of us as we help Hakyeon find ways to make up for his mistakes.

Can you believe it took us twenty-eight chapters to finally get a glimpse of Hongbin though? OTL

Also, why does VIXX keep on giving us so much??? We don't deserve them TTvTT The final part of Conception - Kratos has now been announced for October 31st 2016! VIXXOWEEN is coming! They're finally planning on celebrating Halloween at the right time.