My Destiny | Taekook

Chapter 8.3: His Story

Monday morning
Song: Reflection

Nothing short of the best, a silent motto that he chanted; a living wisdom that killed him whenever he was met with failure. Nothing less than the best, that was how he lived. It spurred him to go beyond his limits, but wreaked havoc on his once tender-hearted personality. Nothing left to lose, he would rather fight than admit defeat, even if he was on the losing end.

15 years ago

"Lee Cheolsoo. How many times must I teach you before you finally get it right?!" Another stroke of the cane lashed out in a forked lightning strike. White-hot pain lanced through the seven-year-old boy's back. With a shaky hand, Cheolsoo opened his hands to attempt summoning a flaming arrow again.

Please, just once. Do it right. The flame in his hand was burning hot, and even as a fire wielder, Cheolsoo's hands severely hurt from being exposed to direct flames for a sustained period of time. He was forced to practise for the past hour, and any mistake resulted in a merciless caning delivered by his father. His mother watched, tutting annoyedly whenever he failed to achieve perfect success.

Just once. Cheolsoo drew a sharp breath as the flame started to take the shape of an arrow. This level of mastery was considered to be that of a young adult's, but his parents wanted to push him. They were both fire wielders, which meant that they expected their son to do equally well, if not better than them. Cheolsoo was so, so tired. He struggled to keep the flame alive. The gravity of the atmosphere weighed down on him and his energy level plummeted.

No! The flame flickered, disappearing in a puff of smoke that emulated his subservience to his parents. His parents looked at him disapprovingly. The crack of the whip rang in his ears, but that was all there was to his sensory. Cheolsoo had grown used to this: his back was covered with scars that each told a tale of failure, him as a disappointment. He learnt to cope, and to numb the pains of living.

King of the hill, cream of the crop. That was what Cheolsoo fought for throughout his education. It was expected that he outstripped his peers; it was only natural that his parents disciplined him into fighting for what mattered - excellence in elemental magic - and neglected his personal interests. Cheolsoo vaguely remembered a young boy who wanted nothing else but to travel the world and to indulge in aeronautics studies. But now, that young boy's "wants" aligned perfectly with his parents' wants. Cheolsoo was a reflection of his parents' indoctrination.

At nineteen years old, harsh expectations pinned unto him had drained the youth out of Cheolsoo. Training became a daily routine, a mantra that kept Cheolsoo going. He was indeed powerful, and yet his knees would crumble in the face of his parents. A puppet.

It did not make sense to him that there was a need for him, as a teenager, to possess power of an exponentially increasing extent. Constant fear of making the slightest mistake permanently carved a scowl on his face. In contrast, all his classmates were always smiling jubilantly. Cheolsoo could not understand how they did it. Why are they smiling? What is there to be happy about? Cheolsoo could not fathom the idea that they led such happy lives even with the little strength they had. Weak. They're all weak.

Cheolsoo avoided social interaction with other students, believing that there was little benefit in doing so. In fact, he often frowned at others and ordered them to get lost. As a result, other students were revolted by him too. Frustrated at Cheolsoo's ill-tempered character, a group of his classmates challenged Cheolsoo to a duel. Cheolsoo knew that he could effortlessly knock down his classmates with a quarter of his power. And that was what he did.

He took it a step further, causing more damage than required. Cheolsoo revelled in the screams of his classmates. He enjoyed watching them suffer as he burnt the building down to a crisp. Mom, Dad? Look at this! I'm powerful, aren't I? Are you proud of me yet?

Two weeks later, Cheolsoo was expelled from his school. His parents had not bothered to mention a word about the incident to him. They enrolled him into another school which specialised in disciplinary actions against rowdy students. Apart from that, the school offered intense training in elemental magic which his parents supposed would benefit him. With that said, Cheolsoo was enrolled into the University of Magic.

3 years later

Over the course of three years, Cheolsoo realised that the University of Magic was indeed not a place for him to mess around, especially since the teaching staff were all well-versed with their respective elemental powers. He had taken an interest in the annual tournament held by the school, and had participated in the previous two tournaments. Yet somehow, Yoongi managed to win against him both times. It had put Cheolsoo, who had been taught never to bow down to defeat, to utter shame. It confused him even, that there were people who surpassed him in elemental magic. This year, Cheolsoo vowed to take revenge. Everything that he toiled for boiled down to the tournament. He had to win.

The surprise arrived in the first month. A new student enrolled, and he was apparently from Yoongi's household. Cheolsoo was quick to register the new student as an enemy, simply because of his association with Yoongi. He had challenged the new student to a duel on the first day, which proved to be a mistake when Ji Eun stopped and rebuked him. Regardless, Cheolsoo made a promise to himself. Jeon Jungkook. Min Yoongi. I'll win against the both of you.

Thriving on his hostility towards other students, Cheolsoo put up a front so cruel and explosive that it would be impossible for anything to get to his head... including the realisation that he and Jungkook could have been good friends if not for the vile enmity between them.

Back to the present

A minute before the start of lessons, Cheolsoo caught up to Jungkook before he walked into his classroom. "Jungkook," Cheolsoo scorned. Jungkook acknowledged his presence with a turn in his direction. There was no light in his eyes. If anything, Jungkook looked bored.

"I'm warning you, Jungkook, I'll beat you in the tournament. You're participating, right?"

"Yoongi won against you."

"So?"

"I can win against Yoongi." There was an unspoken statement that Jungkook had subtly delivered: Do the logic, Cheolsoo. I will win.

Cheolsoo gritted his teeth as flames of anger licked through him. Before the situation could get heated any further, a bundle of optimism skipped towards them. "Hey Jungkook! Wanna come to a buffet with me?" Hoseok invited, completely ignoring Cheolsoo. Jungkook shook his head. Cheolsoo's intentions of continuing the conversation were displaced by the ringing of the school bell, signalling the start of lessons.