Hae Jin could not wrap his head round the peculiarity of the situation he was now in. 

Weeks ago, he had learnt that the dojang was available as soon as the school gates opened. Eager to clock in some self-training time in the dojang, he woke up at 6am and rode to school. His first class on Monday didn’t start till 10am, so he had at least 3 hours of mat work to himself.

Hae Jin had entered the main doors of the dojang, a little after 6.30am. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he saw a fellow Taekwondo comrade trying to get some early practice in the dojang, but he definitely wasn’t expecting to see an orange-haired guitarist walking around the main dojang hall studying the martial arts equipment, while singing and strumming. And he was definitely not expecting the musician to turn around almost immediately as he entered to greet him with the easy familiarity. 

“Oh hoh, good morning Hae Jin-ah. You’re earlier than Ryu Hwan today. That’s expected though... That predictable man takes exactly 27 minutes to reach school, 10 minute preparation, 17 minute bike ride. I set his alarm at 6.33am today so he’ll be reaching at 7am exactly... Omo, don’t let me keep you, go change into your training attire. I’ll just be here doing my thing.” The orange-haired guitarist threw the shocked younger man a lazy salute with his fingers before resuming his dojang stroll. 

Too taken aback by the orange-haired musician’s forwardness and familiarity, Hae Jin decided to follow his advice, and headed to the changing room with his training attire.  

Coming back to the main hall with a clearer head, Hae Jin approached the older boy. “Um... Hyung? You know the Captain?”

The older boy smiled lazily like a Cheshire cat, “Ah, I know the Captain. Very, very well. Too well. In fact, any fan girl of his would die to get their hands on the information I have.”

Hae Jin didn’t know how to respond to that. 

“Oh look! We’re 20 minutes ahead of his arrival. Come, have a seat. Let me tell you about your Captain. When Ryu Hwan was your age, he almost burned down the kitchen if not for...”

Just like this, Hae Jin learnt the side of the Captain few people ever saw. He learnt that Ryu Hwan cried watching historic films or books, was allergic to milk, liked having his beverages hot, only ever dated once because he thought ‘Suzy was quiet enough’, had few friends but loved them and his family fiercely, and stayed away from alcohol as if it were poison. 

Right as the orange-haired musician played a video on his cell phone that showed the drunken antics of his respected Captain, a side kick came swinging right into the musician’s face. If he could be anymore shocked, he would have gaped at the fact that the laid-back musician had not only dodged the fuming Captain’s side kick, he blocked Ryu Hwan’s attempt to swipe his phone away from him and hid it in his back pocket. 

“Jugullae?! Yah Lee Hae Rang, what are you doing! You promised that was only meant for yourself and my parents!” Ryu Hwan stood over the cackling musician, as he dumped his bag next to Hae Jin. 

Hae Jin knew he should have felt guilty learning so much intimate details of the Captain, but he couldn’t help feeling a little glad that he’d been granted access (albeit illegal) into the stern Captain’s other personalities. 

“Well... I mean if our Hae Jin is gonna be spending more time with us, then he should know the more important things about you. I can’t always save you, right?” Hae Rang reasoned in fake seriousness, as he stood up and dusted imaginary dirt off his long grey sweater. 

“Good morning Captain!” Hae Jin interrupted the comical stare down between the friends. 

The flustered captain took a look at Hae Jin, side-glanced the smirking musician, and shook his head in defeat, “Aish, do what you want you saekki. Let’s start practice. Hae Jin, what are you practicing today?” 

“I was going to run through my forms from backwards.” 

“Great, so am I. Let’s partner practice.” 

“Yes, Captain.” Hae Jin had replied.

And just like that, morning practice with the two older boys became a habit.

Before he knew it, he was packing two extra portions of his homemade kimbap to school, as well as the muchim hoe that Ryu Hwan hyung especially loved. Hae Rang too, had now gotten used to bringing a bigger flask of his father’s brewed tea, which the two fighters loved to have after their practice. The captain had started to bring books on Taekwondo for them to study over - be it Old Master Jang’s notes, or good books on technique or form. 

Hae Jin could not understand how fast the two seniors had assimilated him into their daily practices, but he couldn’t even understand why it felt so natural for him as well. Like second nature. They all fell into place. 

His partner practices with the Captain were amazing. It felt like he was training intensively with Master Park again. Understandably, as both he and Captain Ryu Hwan had trained similarly under their Masters, they went through partner practices with ease. They both had strict training on their basic forms, so neither of them went easy on the other’s form practice. 

It was too easy. 

So easy, that he was starting to think things.  

Hae Jin liked the captain. Maybe a little too much. 

He was starting to notice little things that the captain did. How he and Hae Rang cared for each other in their own ways. How the right side of his lips would quirk up ever so slightly when he was amused, mostly by Hae Rang’s non-stop chatter. How the left-handed Captain did most things with his dominant, but ate with his right hand. How he liked to touch his lips with his index finger when deep in thought. How he like to ruffle Hae Jin’s hair after every practice. How the captain would let out a rare smile when they had a good practice. A smile that made his heart beat just a little faster. 

These feelings were growing fast, but he would guard and hide them with his life. 

Nobody could know. 

Because Lee Hae Jin could not afford this.

-------

“Good practice!” Ryu Hwan smiled at the younger man, fresh from the showers, walking towards the main porch of the dojang with a recycled bag that probably contained homemade breakfast. Hae Rang wasn’t here today, that meant he could have his meal in peace without worrying about sneaky hands stealing his share of kimbap. 

The younger boy responded with a small frown, “I was a little distracted today.”

“Which is ever a good time to train. Even as a distracted fighter, your footwork should be second nature to you. With a weakened mind, your training discipline and muscle memory must make up for it. I did not go easy on you.” Ryu Hwan explained. 

“Ah, thank you Captain.” Hae Jin let out a small smile, and handed out the portions of their breakfast. 

“Ahhhh, yachae kimbap, my favourite. Thank you, Hae Jin-ah.” 

I know. That’s why I made them. “No problem, Hyung!” Hae Jin flashed the captain a smile before settling down to have his breakfast. 

“How’s the mid-term project coming along? During this period everyone gets a little busier. Even Hae Rang’s been cooped up in the studio working on his arrangement through the night.” The orange-haired musician still joined them for practices, though. He would revise his arrangement during the boys’ training, and ask for feedback on his music arrangements during their breakfast. However, today Hae Rang was doing the final mixing and mastering of the fully recorded piece. 

“The ears cannot be tired. I need a good rest so I’ll be able to mix with a clear perspective.” Hae Rang had sent both boys an audio message during the weekend to inform them of his absence. 

“The mid-term project is progressing well, Hyung. We have to do portrait painting this time. Perhaps I’ve been missing my mother a little,... my portrait subject is her. I’m almost done with it. Actually I think I should be done by tonight, I’m finishing up in school.” Hae Jin’s voice were tinged with a slight nostalgia as he spoke of his mother. 

Finishing up the last of his breakfast, Ryu Hwan cleaned his fingers and removed the black beanie from his head. 

“Have the beanie then. The studios get really chilly during the fall season. I won’t be needing it today, I’ll be heading home after school to finish my writing.” Ryu Hwan moved closer to the younger boy, and put it over him gently. 

“Hy-hyung, that’s too much, I can’t possibly let you go witho-” Ryu Hwan patted the sides of Hae Jin’s ears and then rested his hands on his shoulders. 

Quietening the blushing boy, Ryu Hwan looked him and smiled softly, “Hwaiting, dongseng.”  

The blushing boy could only nod obediently. 

-------

Ryu Hwan was glad school was over. That meant he could go home to finish his writing project. As a writing major specializing in history, his mid-term project required him to cover specific events in history and document it as would a historian. For a history buff like him, it wasn’t too difficult to choose an event to cover. There were many cases and events that were well-documented, he knew them like the back of his hand. But, that would defeat the purpose of this project. 

Why document events that were already well-known? 

Surely it didn’t mean much to just re-frame an event that had already been pulverized in all angles by opposing political interests over the years?

No, it did not interest him one bit. 

Which was why he had been spending his weekends at a rural town in Incheon finding out what he could of Dong-gu the village idiot. Stories passed down generation to generation in the village was that the idiot wasn’t actually an idiot, but a dangerous spy. He had disappeared suddenly after 2 years of living with a “Grandma Hun”, leaving nothing but money gifts and such to the surrounding neighbors. What he knew for sure, however, was that this Dong-gu person was part of the 5446 mass suicide of North Korean elite soldiers in South Korea. 

Few historians had covered the 5446 event. Existing works covering the event stank of a political coverup, all works took the mass suicide of 30 odd North Korean spies for granted - Ryu Hwan for one felt incredibly uncomfortable with that drawn conclusion. 

They might’ve been killer machines created to live and die by the state, but the fact that the South Korean special corps had been activated for this matter alone meant that the deaths were not simply suicidal. 

During the holidays, Ryu Hwan had chanced upon the list of 5446 spies who died in the national library. Most spies didn’t have their real names on the list, understandably so. The ones who knew their real names were either also dead, or across the Korean border. “Dong-gu the village idiot” was one such name. A simple search on the internet pointed him to the village town in the neighboring Incheon. What actually surprised him, was that Dong-gu’s stories were well remembered in the tiny poor village town, and everyone he asked, knew an elder who lived during Dong-gu’s stay.

“Harabeoji... when he was alive, he used to talk about his little brother, Dong-gu, and how he regretted not having enough then to care for him properly before he disappeared. Even as he gradually forgot all of us because of Alzheimer’s, he often called out for Dong-gu, telling the imaginary brother that he had did well in life, and Umma had lived a happy life as they had wished. Before Harabeoji passed on, he gave us a cookie tin full of letters written by Dong-gu, adressed to his ‘Umma-nim’. Harabeoji said to keep it until the time was right. I’m not too sure when would be a right time, but perhaps, Harabeoji was waiting for a man like you to show up. Someone who would show the rest of the world, not about Dong-gu the dangerous spy, but how special Dong-gu was to this village’s older generation.”

By a of luck, Ryu Hwan had received the letters from a descendent of Jo Doo-Suk, Dong-gu’s rumored surrogate brother. He had treated these letters with reverence, and kept them close to him wherever he went, for fear that these painfully beautiful letters would disappear. 

For weeks, he had laughed and cried with the letters. He re-lived Dong-gu’s frustration with his dismal two year spy work, pitied but couldn’t help laughing aloud at Dong-gu’s undercover identity as a village idiot, and cried when Dong-gu finally realized his first and final order - to kill himself. Dong-gu’s first concern was his Umma-nim’s safety. Yet, from the letters, he could also pick out the growing fear of dying that the captain had no regard for in the earlier letters. 

Dong-gu had made a life in the village. He had people he cared for. He had two other comrades with him that he wanted to protect. Ryu Hwan decided, when he finished the letters, that he would give justice to this human being. 

Bang Dong-gu. Born as a wild dog, raised as a monster, infiltrated as an idiot... 

“Oh my did you hear about Lee Hae Jin’s project? Aish what a big waste! Whoever who did that must be really jealous of him. Poor boy...” Ryu hwan’s head snapped up. A group of dance girls walked past him, mentioning Hae Jin’s name. 

Ryu Hwan stopped walking towards the school gates, and began to head towards the art studio, while sending a short text to his mother. 

'Umma, I’m not going to be back tonight. Completing my project in school. Don’t wait up, ok?’