Flare.
Description
"An elemental is a person who is able to manipulate the elements, namely wind, water, earth, fire, and lightning. In the past, they were primarily utilized for warfare in order to strengthen the military power of a country. Most countries ban the use of any form of elemental martial art outside the military. Due to the longtime stigma on elementals as dangerous or uncontrollable, most of them were excluded in society."
Park Eun is an air and fire elemental who is struggling with the loss of a close friend, Kibum. On one of her visits to her friend's former apartment, she meets Choi Minho, an earth elemental who was best friends with him. As they cope with the loss of a mutual friend, the two fall in love. However, wanting to prove to his father that he became more responsible during his stay in Paris, rejects Eun's confession. Eventually, Eun returns to South Korea upon hearing the news of her father collapsing from a heart attack, skipping her graduation.
Returning to Seoul, Eun noticed the alarming treatment towards elementals, particularly the discovery of a cure to neutralize the elemental's genes that are responsible for their ability to manipulate the elements. As she pursues medicine school, she meets Kai, an air elemental who is a member of the Resistance, an organization for elementals where they are taught the elemental martial arts as a form of self-discovery, as well as to protect its members from the government, the military, and the syndicate groups that are targeting them.
However, as she continues Kibum's legacy of promoting elemental equality, Eun begins to question her identity. Why does her father insist that she should've never returned? What was the identity of her mother? Why is she the only person in the Resistance to possess blue flames? And most of all, why did Minho return months later?
Characters
(By order of appearance)
As of December 2015
Kim Kibum (28)
Deceased
Element: Air
Date of Birth: August 21, 1987
Occupation: Journalist at Le Parisien
Park Eun (22)
Element: Fire and Air
Date of Birth: November 16, 1993
Occupation: Premed Student
Choi Minho (24)
Element: Earth
Date of Birth: December 9, 1991
Occupation: Law Student
Kim Jongin (21)
Alias: Kai
Element: Air
Date of Birth: January 14, 1994
Occupation: Legal Management Student
Foreword
Author's Notes: And so, I've returned from a three year hiatus with another story. I've been planning the plot of this story for 3 years now, but never had the courage to write it, as I didn't think that I was able to give it justice in the past, along with my limited knowledge of politics (this is a story heavy on romance, fantasy, and politics). But while I was writing another story in another website, I realized that I wasn't enjoying my works as much as I hoped I would, and then I thought of this story, and decided to finally write down something more than just the plot. And so, without further ado, I give you this story.
Disclaimer: The original characters, plot, settings belong to the author. The characters in the story do not represent who the icons are. This story is coincidental; anything which resembles that to a person's life is completely coincidental.
Tribute: To the K-Pop groups that I grew up listening to from 2009 to 2013, during which I've written to my heart's desires.
FLARE
Written by --whisperbabe
Park Eun (OC), Choi Minho, Kai
FOREWORD
Journalist Advocate for Elemental Rights Commits Suicide
By Eugene de la Croix
November 24, 2015—Journalist of Le Parisien Kibum Kim, 28, was found dead in his apartment at 4 in the afternoon.
Emma Fontaine, Kim’s girlfriend, was the first person to identify the body upon her visit to the complex. Kim’s landlady, Portia Guillain, was the first person to notify the police.
“It was terrible.” Fontaine remarked. “He wasn’t the type of person to do such a thing. He was a very lively person.”
Born to parents of Korean descent, Kim was raised in Paris. Upon his return to Seoul in 2007, Kim noticed the discrimination among elementals in Korean society. This sparked Kim’s resolve to pursue journalism in university, graduating from St. Louis University in Paris in 2010. Kim was then hired by Le Parisien in the same year.
An Air Elemental, Kim was known to be an advocate for elemental rights in France and in his motherland, South Korea. In 2012, his documentary on the elemental trafficking system has increased awareness on the exploitation of elementals among syndicate groups and to an extent, the government. Kim raised elemental equality after compiling records of reported missing elementals from the years 2002 to 2012 which have reached to about 1000, with the police neglecting most searches and declaring them dead.
An elemental is a person who is able to manipulate the elements, namely wind, water, earth, fire, and lightning. In the past, they were primarily utilized for warfare in order to strengthen the military power of a country. Most countries ban the use of any form of elemental martial art outside the military. Due to the longtime stigma on elementals as dangerous or uncontrollable, most of them were excluded in society. A study in 2013 suggests that elementals have a 55% higher risk of developing depression, leading to self-mutilation and suicide.
Nowadays, elemental groups have been raising awareness and have developed groups where elementals may utilize their abilities in working for the benefit of society.
Although police have concluded his death a result of suicide, Fontaine and Kim’s parents believe that he was murdered after noting evidence of burns on his body. However, a full autopsy was not done at the request of the parents.
Kim’s wake will be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral from November 25 to 28, 2015. He is to be buried at the South Parisian Cemetery on November 29, 2015. ||
TO BE CONTINUED
End Notes: The Kim Kibum mentioned in this foreword is ex Super Junior member, Kim Kibum, just to clarify. The foreword is supposed to be a news article that sheds light on where elementals stand in society. Hope you enjoyed it! :)
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