Book of Ruina

Elena and Jae-heon

|| !! WARNING !! ||

|| THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT UPDATE AS OF 3/1/2021 ||

|| YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ||

"Tomerry,"

"Yes, Daddy?"

The heap of flesh stumbled up to Jae-Heon, the stumps of what resembled legs thundered with each step. Tommy and Merry's eyes looked eagerly at Jae-heon, waiting for the next instruction. Elena was resting on the cushioned seat of the warp train, watching them with a smile.

3,437 days had changed the warp train drastically. The previously clean, yet bare train was now decorated with intestines weaved together to form the town's sign- "Love Town." How ironic, Jae-heon would think- after all, love gave the residents strength to keep going. Innards hung from the ceiling, contrasting with the empty blue light emitted from the train. The stench was unbearable- reeked of blood, the brutality was stunning. Yet the smell didn't seem to bother the residents of Love Town. The low hum of the train seemed to continue for an eternity.

"Carriage 13 needs your help dealing with some suicidals, please go there immediately."

"Alright, Daddy! We won't disappoint you! Bye-bye, Mommy and Daddy!" Tomerry saluted- well, tried to.

"Huhu~ well, we'll see you soon, Tomerry- don't disappoint us," Elena said from the distance.

"Good, good." Jae-heon's face twisted into a smile, and he patted both heads.

Tomerry wandered off, their loud steps slowly fading into the distance. Elena watched as they left, and turned her attention to Jae-heon. "Do you want to sit next to me, Doctor?" Elena offered. Jae-heon debated this for a moment, before plopping down on the seat adjacent. "Thank you, Elena." Elena cocked her head to one side and asked, "Jae-heon, if it's no trouble- may I ask a question?"

Jae-heon nodded. Elena asked plenty of questions- about what he'd do or about trivial things to pass the time- like his favorite color, or his favorite meal. Though, Jae-heon never asked anything back. But this question in particular caught his attention.

"I've noticed, Doctor- you've only smiled around them. When they'd call you dad; especially around Tommy, is there any meaning behind it?"

This question would stir something in the usually stoic man, he'd shift uncomfortably. Elena watched his discomfort, a bit amused. Jae-heon was always calm-collected, with his cold and empty eyes, so watching him squirm was... interesting for her to say the least. Jae-heon cleared his throat, sputtering.

"You don't need to answer, Jae-heon. I was only curious," Elena began, but he shook his head. The Doctor, with some hesitation, said, "... Perhaps talking about it would be.. beneficial. This trip will last a long time, so it wouldn't hurt to tell." Elena was quite surprised by the turn of events, never she would expect him to open up so soon.

The buzzing of the warp train grew louder.

"I... had a son once. He was my pride and joy, the only light in this world. One day, he unfortunately got in the way of a road roller flattening the street in a Backstreets redevelopment area. He was out there, playing-. And... I wasn't there to save him. I could've prevented it- I should've... but I was too late. I still remember his bright smile. No singularity could have saved my son.. yet. I wanted to undo it all, have it return to the way it was before."

"I wanted it to... go back to normal. See my son smile again."

He swallowed and balled his hands into fists.

"But one man prevented our reunion. He.. he mercilessly murdered my son before his revival... I failed. To this day, I can still see his black mask." His eyes trailed to the floor, smoldering and hard. "I swore that day I'd make him and his black mask pay for what he did."

The noise had died down, and the two were silent for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, Elena put a hand on top of his head and stroked his soft hair, running her fingers through it.

"You didn't fail- it was his fault, Jae-heon. *He* took your son away from you," Elena began softly. The Doctor seemed mentally taxed from this ordeal."We'll make him pay, Jae-heon," She'd murmur as he sat leaning on her, drained- allowing her shoulder to be a headrest. How much time had passed since then? 10 minutes? 30? An hour? But one thing they both knew well was that Tomerry was going to come back soon. But maybe this moment of peace was needed.

Elena smiled knowingly. This wasn't going to be the last time they both ran into the monochrome-clad man. It was selfish, yes- but she had her vendetta against the masked individual.

Yet... there was something to respect about this man. His skill of putting together raw parts... his nonchalant personality, he shed not a single tear. There was a gnawing feeling in her chest- one that wasn't born out of hate. In a twisted way, Elena grew an admiration for him.

Maybe these feelings would go away eventually.

They truly had more in common than they both thought.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The first story in a while- please send criticism for me to improve!

Please tell me if the fluff in this one is unnecessary- I sure of hell thought it was too much. just worried that I'm just shoving unnecessary sugar down your throat. haha

I like Elena and Jae-heon as a pairing, I think they would be adorbs. my personal headcanon for love town as a whole is that they started calling each other those weird names because jae-heon started it.. cuz.. y'know. He lost his son

a headcanon that I wasn't able to shove in here was that Elena was the one to collect those blood vessels you see on the wall of the train. then I realized they were gut noodles. ouwchie

I'll add more tomorrow I just want to get this finished lol