𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 • 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

1; a new pair of eyes

xu minghao was soaked in the blood of spring.

he was no longer on the battlefield, yet he is still covered in the blood of his enemies, and he is highly alert. he was, after all, caught by the enemy state—and was imprisoned.

xu minghao was a special soldier from the country of miyuni, and was sent to the war with his fellow soldiers. unfortunately, when xu minghao's squad was bombed, he survived, got caught, and was imprisoned in the enemy's country; zuivet.

now the war has ended with a peace treaty, and minghao was sitting out on a hard plastic chair with soldiers around him as he waited for his fate to be decided.

will he get sent back to miyuni, or stay homeless and useless in zuivet? that is a question that doesn't need to be answered. anywhere, xu minghao is always abandoned.

at the ripe age of 19, xu minghao is abandoned on a post in zuivet, uneducated, jobless, and orphaned.

"sir!" the soldiers around him immediately salutes, as an important person arrived. they act like they weren't drinking liquor moments ago, which minghao thought, was pretty good acting, "we have your request at hand, sir!"

the said 'sir', probably the commander, wore a weary look on his face and was not dressed like a soldier at all. he wore a dull dress shirt and a maroon vest, which looked pretty expensive. he says, "rest." and the soldiers stopped saluting.

"he hasn't been showing any signs of hostility. if you wish us to bring him to the prosecutors, we will right away, sir." a soldier said, who stood to the left of minghao. the young man gave him a glare.

this is it? he was going to die after all?

"no, if i wanted you to do that, i would've not visited here personally." the man in the suit says, eyeing minghao. he then averted his glare to the speculated commander. "hello. i'm choi seungcheol. i'll be taking you in, and you'll be living in zuivet. nice to meet you."

seungcheol holds out his hand for minghao to shake—but minghao only staggers forward to bite seungcheol's fingers. the commander yelped in pain and surprise, while the antsy, drunk soldiers pulled minghao away harshly. there was even a gun pointed at his head.

it's not safe, minghao figured. commanders are always bad. they are always shouting, and they think they are superior. minghao hates that. he loves freedom, despite his life being only dedicated to war.

"now now, cease," choi seungcheol says, shaking off his right hand, which minghao bit. the nineteen-year-old boy was proud of his doing; since it left visible teeth marks on the commander's hand. "don't use the guns."

"you are creating false trust, sir," minghao sarcastically commented, which seungcheol sighed at. "everybody abandons me, and so will you, sir. i am no house slave. i am only a slave to war. i am only a slave to miyuni, my country. i cannot be of use to you, or your home."

"no, i'm not. i'm going to take you in, seriously. okay, how about this:" he pauses, and crosses his arms. "if you don't like my home or me, or zuivet, i will allow you to run away or let me transport you back to miyuni."

minghao doesn't answer.

using choi seungcheol if minghao doesn't like him seems like a good idea, but he also wants to go back to miyuni—where he is treated differently, because everyone knows that he is as strong as an army of a hundred men. here, he is like a stray, kicked puppy. (but he gets to outsell choi seungcheol, though.)

what to do? how to decide? minghao's never decided for himself quite a lot. he doesn't have experience in that area.

"come on, let's do this again." seungcheol smiles slightly, offering his hand again—and minghao was surprised. it was the first time anyone had smiled at him. a commander, at that! "i'm choi seungcheol. i will be taking you in, and maybe give you a job if you want. what's your name?"

and then, the war machine decides.

minghao stands up from his seat, and the soldiers around him took a threatening stance—which minghao ignored. he could kill these people in a heartbeat.

minghao hesitantly shook seungcheol's hand(which hilariously had a bite mark) and looked up at him. "xu minghao."

"now, xu minghao, i will be taking you. thank you for giving me a chance. soldiers, you are now dismissed."

for some reason, minghao doesn't let go of seungcheol's red, calloused yet warm hand as he was pulled out of that miserable place.

and then, choi seungcheol takes out xu minghao out of the soldier's post, and into the peaceful mainland of zuivet. hand in hand, they walk together to wherever seungcheol was taking him.

and there it was.

it was the part of zuivet minghao had never seen. it was always implanted in his mind that warfreak citizens lived in ruins there—but he was wrong. his mind was poisoned by the government and soldiers of miyuni—and to see that zuivet is so much more than what minghao ought it to be makes him feel like he's seeing the world with a new pair of eyes. it was much more beautiful than miyuni. lively people in lovely outfits, colors, festive decorations, tall buildings, busy people buzzing about as they rode noisy cars.

"i heard you were in prison for 2 months, until the war ended. what did they feed you? i'm surprised you didn't escape." the weary voice of his companion, seungcheol, snaps minghao out of his thoughts. "have you ever tried zuivet cuisine?"

minghao hesitated to answer, but he did anyway. "...a cracker a day."

seungcheol then lets go of minghao's hand, stops walking, and turns to look at minghao with a worried expression. "what?! those soldiers in the prisons are really cruel, huh. anyway, do you want to eat first, or head home now?"

"...home?"

not that minghao wasn't aware of that word, but it was new for someone to invite him to a 'home'.

seungcheol's weary sigh was heard, and minghao knew that he had to choose now. "yeah, home. but actually... my home is a big building," he starts walking again, and minghao follows suit. "because i quit the military. i'm an owner of a business now."

"but they treat you like a commander." minghao reasoned, hands put together as he walked. he felt dirty.

"well, that's because my last command was for them to bring me you. i am now officially out of the military." says seungcheol, with a hopeful sigh. "now i can focus on work."

"what kind of business do you have? why did you want to take me?" minghao fired questions, and the latter laughed nervously.

"my business is not very special. it involves painting and arts," seungcheol replied. "and as for your second question... you'll find out in time."