According to everyone else, Jongdae would never make it far in life.
In a world where people were born with an affinity for magic, it became an expectation that everyone would be able to fully control their power by the time they hit fifteen years old. After fifteen, anyone who still accidentally hurt themselves or others with their power was considered immature at best and defective at worst, and unfortunately, Jongdae ended up with the worst.
It was a harsh transition for him, going from living with his parents and helping with chores to suddenly having to take care of himself in all aspects. There were several times where Jongdae thought that he was going to die for sure, but he somehow managed to pull through, even though his hands always stung painfully in the aftermath of using his lightning.
The agony had been horrible to deal with back when Jongdae was still a kid since none of the methods his parents tried could alleviate the sensation of being stung by hundreds of scorpions. The cool water soak that worked on his brother only made the stinging worse for Jongdae, and the salve that helped his parents when they were young had absolutely no effect on Jongdae whatsoever. However, after his parents had abandoned him to fend for himself, Jongdae made the lucky discovery that holding his hands up in the air soothed the pain a little. Therefore, Jongdae took the time to fashion a flimsy contraption out of sticks that he could use to keep his hands elevated while he slept. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Jongdae to take a sleeping potion, sleep through the worst of the stinging, and wake up to numb prickling and heat coursing through his hands.
For a few years, Jongdae managed to avoid using his lightning and thus, the painful consequences as well, but of course, his luck was bound to run out sometime, leaving him to stumble home just to find that the herbs that he needed for his sleeping potion had long since lost their potency. Thus, he had no choice but to force himself to run back outside and into the forest in search of the plant.
White lines shaped like lightning bolts decorated his hands and wrists, swollen and tender as Jongdae brushed aside patches of foliage in search of the herbs. He hissed when a particularly stubborn branch jabbed him in the palm and snatched his hand away to nurse it against his chest.
The short walk to the patch of herbs seemed to take forever, and picking the herbs sent fire coursing through his fingers. Jongdae gritted his teeth and bore the pain, swiftly pinching the stems of the plants so he could get this over with and go home before the dying rays of the sun faded completely.
In the dimming light, Jongdae continued to gather the herbs he needed, humming to himself to distract himself from the agony in his hands. However, after a few long minutes, Jongdae paused and straightened up, clutching the herbs in one hand as he scanned the surroundings with furrowed brows.
Was it just him, or was the place getting brighter?
Realizing that the light was coming from the sky, Jongdae raised his head just in time for a searing brightness to stab him in the eyes. Jongdae only managed to catch a glimpse of a dark figure in the beam of light before he was shielding his face with his arms and squeezing his eyes shut. He heard a loud splash as something fell into the lake nearby. Then, the blinding light was fading, and Jongdae was blinking his eyes open, trying to get rid of the white spots dancing across his vision.
When the aching of his eyes finally stopped, Jongdae peered out at the rippling water. He could see something round and white bobbing around on the surface and realized that it was a person's head. As Jongdae squinted at the person, he noticed that whoever it was didn't seem to be in any hurry to swim to shore...or perhaps they couldn't swim.
"Hey!" Jongdae called, stepping forward until he was at the edge of the water. He waved his arms above his head, trying to make sure the person could see him. "Hey, are you okay?"
