trigger warning - brief mention of self-harm
Becoming familiar with loss is a dangerous thing. Leon knew this from experience. In his short lifetime, he’d lost family, friends, and his youth. After the first time, you know what to expect and the second time might not hurt as much, even though you lose a part of yourself each time. To Leon, love and loss went hand in hand, with one always following the other.
Flashback
“Atlas, where the hell are you taking me?” Leon questioned as he was being led to some mystery location, the Australian boy’s hands placed delicately over his eyes. Atlas laughed. “I’m kidnapping you and placing you on a plane to Seoul. You’ll be given 20,000 won and have to survive relying solely on your good looks and ability to speak Korean.” He spoke in a tone that was way too casual for what he was saying and it made both boys stop walking as they began laughing. “That’s like, barely a day’s worth of food.” Leon pointed out in relation to the amount of money Atlas had said he was sending him with. “Okay, the last time I was in Korea, I was six. You’ll have to forgive me for not remembering how much sh-t costs. We’re almost there, figure skates. Just a few more minutes.” Leon rolled his eyes again but however stupid it was, that nickname always managed to bring a smile to his face as reminder of how they met.
After what felt like an eternity, the hands were lifted from over his eyes and Napoleon was able to fully take in the scene in front of him. A beautiful beach landscape. “I thought I’d take the ice prince out of his natural habitat.” He joked. Leon playfully rolled his eyes and then turned around, gently wrapping his arms around the other boy’s neck. “It’s beautiful.” He said, kissing him.
Several months later…
“Atlas, I know you’re getting these. Please call me back. I miss you. I…I’m scared. I love you and I just want you to-” As the tone sounded, cutting him off and ending his message, Leon threw his phone onto his bed and picked up the seashell from his night table, turning it over in his hand and running his finger over the surface as he began to sob, wrapping his other arm around his body.
End of flashback
As Hera pulled back their sleeve, exposing the lines that lay underneath, Leon found himself feeling concerned for them, but he also knew that he was no better. He didn’t leave scars on his body like they did but instead, he isolated himself whenever he didn’t know how to process life because feeling alone was better than hurting. Suffering in silence, just like they said. He took it to an extreme when his father died, cutting himself off from everyone, including his mom and sister. He did it again after losing Atlas and even though his self-isolation didn’t last as long the second time, he had to fight the impulse to retreat back into isolation for months afterwards.
He nodded when she offered for him to tell her everything and promised that she wouldn’t judge. “Two days before school was supposed to start, these two guys showed up at my door, saying that they were representatives of the Jeon family and that they had come to collect their debt. My mom’s face went white but she invited them in and then talked to them in her office. Everything after that is kind of a blur but the next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Korea.” He started, finding himself unable to look them in the eyes. Even though he’d wanted to tell them for ages, actually telling them was proving to be harder than he thought. “Yeong-Mi and her parents met us at the airport and two days later, we were married. Then we spent a few days in Jeju for a honeymoon and then we moved into our apartment here in Beryl. It’s not all bad though. She’s only a year older than us and she’s actually really cool when you get to know her. Would…would you like to meet her?” He offered, finally able to properly look them in the eyes as he genuinely wanted them to meet her.
@raviola - Hera
