Gisaeng | MarkHyuck | NCT

1. On A Stormy Night

They say once destiny has decided the path you should take, you have nowhere else to walk but the rocky road that has been set up for you. And for a young, clueless boy from the island of Jeju, the path set for me was narrow and straight, dim and simple, fruitless and stale.

But there is a saying, Haneureui byeol ttagi, plucking a star from the sky, doing that which is difficult.

Because in a world so beautiful but without mercy, nothing is made easy anymore.

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"Dong Hyuk, father is gravely ill. We have to do all we can to sell all of our fish to buy father his medicine. Do you understand?" said Tae Il, Dong Hyuk's elder brother, older than him by 7 years. They were walking hand in hand around the market place of Busan, a basket of fish in each other's free hand.

Dong Hyuk looked up at his brother, his innocent 9-year old self sensing the gravity of the situation. Of course, witnessing their own mother sobbing about their father's condition every night and how it was impossible to cure has established the severity of his father's ailment.

Their parents were fish vendors, with it being the main trade in their province. But with his father's condition and his mother's insistence to take care of him, it was Tae Il and Dong Hyuk's duty to bring income to their family. Even a few coins would suffice.

Dong Hyuk was the youngest in the family, yet he was determined to do whatever he could to help.

----

It was close to ending their shift as night time fell. Dong Hyuk was already feeling the strain in his tiny, mud-painted legs. His hands were all red from carrying the heavy bucket of fish. All he wanted to do was to get to their home, eat some cabbage soup and fall straight to bed. Taeil even promised to give him his extra piece of fish for dinner if he wanted more and Dong Hyuk just couldn't wait.

They were nearing their little home by the hill, smoke coming from the fire his mother had probably lit to warm their house. It gave Dong Hyuk a bit more motivation to ignore the soreness of his thighs and walk towards their house. As soon as their small hut was of seeing distance, Dong Hyuk immediately notices the figure of two unfamiliar men standing by their doorway. Taeil and Dong Hyuk stopped, the elder suddenly grabbing Dong Hyuk by his hand, squeezing it tightly around his own. This alarmed him because once the light hit the unfamiliar strangers' faces, they were no longer unfamiliar to Dong Hyuk.

They were the loan sharks that pestered his father everyday. Most likely here to pester some more.

"Mother!" Dong Hyuk looked up as his brother calls out. He's little eyes widen as he saw one of the men grab Taeil and roughly drag him to the wooden carriage parked in front of their home. Drops of rain trickled and immediately became heavy, but this did not stop Dong Hyuk from rushing to his brother and grab him away from the men.

With his tiny arms and tiny legs, Dong Hyuk was doomed to fail. But he no longer needed to catch up as he, too, was grabbed by the arms and dragged towards the same wooden carriage. The men were not speaking, just silently dragging them while Dong Hyuk screamed and clawed and thrashed in their hold. All Dong Hyuk can do was to look back at their tiny home, beg his mother and father to save him and his brother. But their heads were turned, didn't spare them a glance, ignored the fact that their two sons were being taken away by other people.

And just like that, they left Busan, one stormy night when Dong Hyuk was nine.

----

The smell of the ocean always lulled Dong Hyuk to serenity. Being close to his heart, the ocean was always his safe haven, his sanctuary. That's why, despite the turn of events, Dong Hyuk sits quietly, wrapped in his brother's protective embrace as they journey through sea.