"Ahh..." Seo Reun took a deep breath, he had been walking for a long time, long enough that he could feel the ache creeping into his shoulders and thighs and he could feel the pain more from where he was hit.
The forest had thinned out slightly, sunlight slanting through the trees like golden threads.
Seo Reun finally stopped. He couldn't leave Ah Li and look for medicinal leaves to crush to ease the pain of his shoulder nor could be rest to find some concoction to make and drink when he knew he had to take Ah Li to his companions and now that the pain was getting unbearable so he needed to lower the extra weight on his arms.
With careful hands, he shifted the weight in his arms and gently lowered the small boy he had been carrying. Ah Li, who had fallen asleep, stirred slightly but didn't open his eyes. Seo Reun couldn't help the weak smile that tugged at his lips. The boy's face was still scrunched in a sleepy pout, eyelashes twitching with dreams, cheeks streaked with dirt. He reached out and gave the child a few gentle pats on the head.
The boy who had slept so soundly in his arms was, in part, the reason he had kept walking for long carrying him. Seo Reun couldn't quite name the feeling stirring in his chest, something between reluctant and quiet responsibility but it was strong enough to silence the edge in his voice. For the first time, he knew he wouldn't scold the boy or mutter in annoyance.
"Open your eyes," Seo Reun said softly.
Ah Li's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, confusion danced in them before recognition set in. He blinked twice, rubbed his fists against his eyes, and finally focused on Seo Reun.
"We're safe now, Brother Sa," he said, as if he were the one who had led them to safety.
Seo Reun chuckled under his breath. The boy sounded so certain, so proud. He nodded once, though he couldn't stop the thought that crept in: Did I take the same path Ah Li took? It almost felt like Ah Li had walked through a different world entirely while looking for him. A strange child, this one so full of purpose, yet utterly unaware of the world's dangers.
"We should go find Brother Dong and Brother Tien," Ah Li announced, brushing the sleep off his limbs as though it were a coat he had grown tired of wearing.
Seo Reun raised a brow. The boy was looking up at him expectantly, as though he was now supposed to lead the way to these mysterious companions, when it was Ah Li who had been the one lost in the first place.
"Why did you come looking for me?" Seo Reun asked, his tone gentler than the question deserved. He was genuinely curious and for once he didn't snap at the boy.
Ah Li tilted his head, "Because I told you I would come back. And... since you have eyes like Brother Dong, then Brother Dong must be your brother! I want the two of you to meet so we can all live together forever." He replied as if the answer should've been obvious
Seo Reun blinked. He hadn't expected that. It was, quite possibly, the most childish reasoning he'd ever heard. This boy, who barely knew him, had pieced together an entire fantasy from nothing but the colour of his eyes. And yet... there was something heartbreakingly sincere in the way Ah Li said it like he was desperate for him to meet the brother Dong.
Seo Reun didn't reply. What Ah Li said was useless to him so in every way. He took a deep breath and knelt to the ground and pressed one ear to the earth. The soil was still, He closed his eyes and listened, filtering the whispers of the world like he was taught to do. When he rose, he faced a new direction, and began to walk a slight confused expression on his face because he couldn't hear anything and it dawned on him that they might never meet Ah Li companions and he might be stuck with the boy. Ah Li, ever the shadow, fell into step behind him.
"When you meet your brother, you'll be very happy," Ah Li chirped, skipping lightly on his feet.
Seo Reun sighed. He didn't know whether to scold the boy or just watch him. It was hard to tell if he was annoyed or... entertained. Curious, even. Dong. Tien. The names meant nothing to him yet something about the one with his eye colour stirred a strange anticipation. Could it be...?
"Did your Brother Dong ever say he lost a brother?" Seo Reun asked, reaching back to catch Ah Li's hand. The boy had started jumping again, his feet barely touching the ground.
"My beautiful older sister said Brother Dong and older uncle came to live with our tribe," Ah Li said, his voice cheerful. He stooped to pick up a crooked stick from the road.
Seo Reun's heart gave a quiet thump. That... was unexpected. "This older uncle, who is he?" he asked slowly.
"Older uncle is brother Dong father, you will be happy to see him too."
Seo Reun narrowed his eyes as he started to become much more curious that he couldn't help asking. "does older uncle have eyes like mine?"
Ah Li shook his head. "No. Older Uncle's eyes are like mine. Only Brother Dong's eyes are like yours."
Seo Reun stilled.
Something didn't add up but the pieces were close. Could it be? Could this Brother Dong have been someone who escaped, someone taken in by another man who now pretended to be his father? It didn't make sense with the naming customs he knew...
He pressed his lips together. If Dong truly was his family... then perhaps this journey meant something after all. Perhaps Ah Li's blind hope wasn't so blind. But if that were true, then what kind of person would he be to let a child like Ah Li roam alone? Seo Reun's jaw tightened.
For all this effort, he might only end up handing the boy back to two of the most careless people he'd ever meet.
If so, he had a few words to say to them.
"You will live in our village?" Ah Li asked suddenly, tilting his head up to peer at him.
Seo Reun pushed his hat up with a finger and met the boy's eyes. "No," he said flatly.
"Why not?"
Seo Reun resisted the urge to sigh again. He could probably bark at men twice his size and silence a room with a look, yet somehow, one small boy with endless questions had worn him thinner than a week without sleep. "Because I'm not from your village," he said, grasping at the simplest answer.
"But we welcome a lot of people like your father and your brother," Ah Li insisted. "They live with us and never leave again."
"Okay," Seo Reun said without any real emotion.
"So will you live in our village?"
"No," Seo Reun repeated, more firmly this time. "When we find Brother Dong and Tien, you'll stay with them. No more wandering off, understand?"
Ah Li nodded solemnly. "Since you'll be with us, I won't have to go looking for you again. We'll all be together."
Seo Reun closed his eyes for a moment, uncertain whether the boy had truly missed the weight of his words or had simply chosen to ignore them. Either way, it didn't matter. The moment they found these so-called companions, he would turn and continue on his path without hesitation. But before that, the boy needed to understand one thing, just one. The world was not a place for blind trust or childish fantasies. It was time someone told him the truth, even if gently.
"Listen, Ah Li. There are things you need to remember," he said. "First, the world is dangerous. Second, you must stick close to Brother Dong and Tien, never leave their side. And third... you stay in your village until you're old enough to know better and once you are older and stronger then you can only once in a while leave your village and go out."
Ah Li nodded and squeezed his hand. His smile returned, stubborn and bright. "But my father says I should go out more because I'll be the village chief one day."
Seo Reun stopped in his tracks.
The words hit like a jolt. And just like that, the entire picture began to rearrange itself. That's it, he thought. That's the missing piece.
So that's why the boy had no fear. Why he treated a stranger like family. Why no one stopped him from running into the woods alone. He was the future chief. He'd been raised with trust instead of caution, encouraged to explore, to lead.
And the men with him.... They were probably his guardians.
Seo Reun exhaled softly, the breeze tugging at the loose strands of his hair as he cast a glance at the boy behind him. Ah Li skipped along the forest path, humming some tune that only children and spirits remembered. He spun a crooked stick in his hand like a wooden sword, the rhythm careless but happy.
What sort of village lets its future chief roam so freely? Seo Reun thought.
Perhaps, he mused, it was the kind of place that trusted its children more than it feared the world. A village that believed in peace more than protection.
He didn't know what kind of home raised a boy like Ah Li. But, for the first time in many years, Seo Reun found himself wanting to know.
His own childhood had been steeped in discipline, silent mornings, long hours of training, and a father who taught him to be strong mentally and physically before he could even dream. He'd never considered how different it could have been. How wide the world was, how soft some places might be.
"What's in that box you carry? And the stick in the cloth?" Ah Li asked, tilting his head curiously.
Seo Reun's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening slightly on the wrappings in his arms. He didn't answer. But just then, something in the air changed. He froze mid-step.
Voices.
Calling.
Distant, yet familiar.
For a moment, something in his chest unknotted. Twice now, he had found the boy's companions. Twice, when it mattered most. He felt his chest flutter and he knew what it was, it was relief.
"What is it?" Ah Li asked, blinking up at him.
Seo Reun let the edge of a smile form on his lips. "We've found Brother Dong and Brother Tien."
"Really? Really? Really?" Ah Li was bouncing already, eyes wide with delight.
"Let's go."
And so they did, Ah Li leaping behind him with the uncontained joy of someone whose world was finally falling back into place. Moments later, more clearly this time, the voices called out once more:
"Ah Li!"
"Ah Li...!!"
Seo Reun raised a brow as two figures emerged in the distance. Tall, armed, and dressed shabbily like warriors. They moved swiftly, the edges of their robes flaring like birds mid-flight. The man on the right was broad-chested, his hair tied messily behind him. The other, lean, composed, glinted cold even from afar.
This time, Seo Reun didn't let Ah Li run forward. He placed a steady hand on the boy's shoulder. Ah Li jumped and waved in place, and when the men saw them, they broke into a run.
"Ah Li!"
"Ah Liya...!"
Their cries rang with desperation, but there was something off in their gait. Seo Reun's eyes narrowed. They weren't running to embrace the boy, they were running toward him.
He tensed, already smirking at their poor judgment. If they had approached with caution, perhaps he would have let them reunite peacefully. But now, they would learn something instead.
The leaner one of the two lunged first. No words, just a wild kick aimed at Seo Reun's head.
Seo Reun stepped aside with fluid grace, the heel of the man's foot slicing the air. With a sharp pivot, Seo Reun's leg swept low, crack his foot connecting with the man's jaw. The warrior crumpled to the earth like a tree cleaved at the root.
The second man stopped, sharp eyes calculating, body tense like a bowstring.
"Stop it! Stop fighting with Brother Sa!" Ah Li cried.
Seo Reun stood casually, one hand in his robes, not even bothering to raise a guard. He didn't need to. The second warrior wouldn't strike, not yet. Looking at them closely, Seo Reun could see that they were no men and were around his age bracket and he found himself facing a taller and chubby teenage boy with broad chest. And his presence was steady, a stark contrast to the fallen one groaning on the ground.
Seo Reun's gaze flicked downward and then he paused.
The boy he had kicked was rising now, wiping blood from his mouth. As he lifted his head fully into the light, Seo Reun's breath caught.
Eyes.
Not just blue, but icy, cold as river frost, bright as a glacial lake. A color too rare, too familiar.
Seo Reun's smirk faded.
He'd seen eyes like those before.