The Cursed Blessing (A KaiSoo Fanfic)

- 하나 -

Joseon Dynasty, 1909

The room was loud with the sound of arguing voices. Kyungsoo would look at the men on either side of the aisle as they debated with one another and then back at his father, who sat in his seat at the front of the room as he quietly observed them and listened. His father had always been a difficult man to read; he could never tell when he was worried or if he had a plan to solve the crisis at hand. His actions always spoke louder than his words though, and so far, they had been okay.

But this talk of a Japanese invasion seemed serious, more serious than any other meeting he had been forced to attend in preparation to take his father's place. Reports of the Japanese invading more of the country were coming in by the day. Some men argued more action needed to be taken, but some said more time was needed to know if this was a chronic threat or a temporary one. Kyungsoo didn't know much about his home's military despite being the son of the man who led it, but he had seen some of the men as they trained and practiced for battle. He figured they could take on the Japanese just as they had any other enemy that had tried to invade their land.

As the arguing carried on, Kyungsoo found himself looking to his right. His eyes went to the corner of the room where Jongin was standing quietly, his hands folded in front of his body and his head hanging low. Even like that he looked beautiful, or maybe it was the now muffled chaos going around them that made his beauty stand out even more. Kyungsoo was sure the situation was going to get worse before it got better--if it ever did. Yet, somehow whenever he looked at Jongin, whether it was up close or far away, he felt at ease. Even if the Japanese burst into the room in the next minute, as long as he could look at Jongin, Kyungsoo would be alright.

When Jongin finally lifted his head and looked back at him, offering him a small discrete smile, Kyungsoo tore his eyes away. He tried not to smile to himself and only partially failed. Though, he could have sworn he saw his father turn his head back to the room full of men the moment Kyungsoo moved his own head. 

"If we do not take action now, we will be next!" one man yelled. "We have barely been able to keep the Japanese at bay, and with each new day, they move closer to us, invading, killing, and torturing the people we call our neighbors. Now is not the time to do nothing! We must attack them before they have the opportunity to attack us!"

"How many people have tried to invade our home over the last five centuries?" another man said. "Our historical records tell us about every man that has come and tried to take what was not his to take. Yet, here we are, standing on land that we still call our own. The Japanese may be no different. They may have had their victories thus far, but there is no telling how long it will be until they can no longer take anymore losses."

"We will be dead by then! Is it not better to take the proactive path now and regret it later than to die knowing you could have done more to save your country?"

"If we send our men to fight, they will still face the possibility of death."

"Then they will face that possibility knowing they are protecting their country and their loved ones."

"That is enough!" The room fell quiet as the men looked up at his father. Kyungsoo was always surprised by how calm but mighty his father could be. "My dear men, the more time we spend here arguing on the proper course of action, the further the Japanese advance toward us. Perhaps this conversation would have been proper to have earlier, but I am afraid too much time has gone by and their forces have grown too strong." He paused to look at the left side of the room. "I, too, do not want to send our men out to die, but what is the use of training them to protect their country if they never get the opportunity to do so? There is no more uncertainty about the threat of the Japanese, therefore, we shall stop acting like there is." He moved his head, addressing the whole room now. "When the Japanese do come, I cannot promise that we will not become another one of their victories. But I refuse to allow their victory over us be an easy one. We will use all of the resources we have to prepare for their invasion and when the time comes, we will defend our land as we would defend our families--with our lives."