[Hero, Huk, IdrA slashfic] Hero Part 1

Hero Part 1

“Hyung...” clickclickclick. “Song Hyeon Deok...” clickclickclick.
“Mrrph...” clickclickclick. “Oii... Song Hyeon Deok.” clickclickclick.
“...Hyung...” clickclickclick. “Song Hyeon Deok!” thump.

“Song Hyeon Deok! Come eat breakfast or you’re not getting any!”

Groggily, I open my eyes. Coach Park (oGsTheWind) was trying to wake me up. I believe I tried to drown out his voice by rolling over and putting a pillow over my head, but ended up falling off the bed. Ahh darn... I overslept again.

“Everyone else has already started practicing! Come on, Song Hyeon Deok! Get out off the floor!”
“I’ll be right there!”

As painful pry myself off the cold, wooden floor, I find that my shirt is moist and that my hands are clammy. I toss the shirt into the laundry basket, grab a new one, and go out to the table to eat.

“Park Hyung, you didn’t spray water on me to try to wake me up, did you?” I ask while sitting down. The maid served me the usual bowl of steamed rice, kimchi, and stew. I like her stew.

“Of course I didn’t,” he replied while washing dishes. “You smell of sweat, though. What were you dreaming about? You kept saying ‘Hyung, hyung’ in your sleep.”

That’s embarrassing. What was I dreaming about? Mmm, this stew is still good no matter how many times I eat it. I wonder why Coach Park is looking at me intently. I grab my napkin and start dabbing everywhere in case I accidentally spilled some of the stew. He stopped my hand.

“Song Hyeon Deok, you seem melancholic lately. You know, if you have any problems, you can talk to me, yes?”

I nodded quickly and swallowed the broth that was still in my mouth. Coach Park still looks concerned, but walks off soon after. I finish eating quickly, hand the bowls to the maid, and get to my computer to start my late practice. I cannot help but feel heaviness in my chest. I wonder how long I’ve been feeling it there. Ah, the sound of being logged into Battle Net. It’d be slightly comforting if someone didn’t alter my settings again. I bet Kim Young Jin (oGsSuperNoVa) did it again. Ever since Chris left the house, he’s been focusing his pranks on me. Chris. I can feel the weight increase slowly in my chest. I shake it off and hit the “Find Match” button. Soon enough, my keystrokes blend into the clicking of my teammates.

When was it that the weight in my chest appeared? Is this dissatisfaction? Every time I mention or even think about Chris, the heaviness increases. If I could help myself, I would, but my mind can’t help but deviate to times I spent with him. I wonder, if Chris had stayed on Team Liquid, would I have been free from this dissatisfaction? I suppose I could say the weight in my chest started when he told us he was going to join team Evil Geniuses.

clickclickclick. clickclickclick.

The practice house is dead silent. Usually, Jang Min Chul (oGsMC) and Kim Young Jin (oGsSuperNoVa) are busy making fun of Chris, but right now the atmosphere is tense. I would even go as far as to say it’s slightly morbid. Yesterday, Chris confirmed that he would be joining team EG and be leaving the oGs-TL training house. I feel like it hit Coach Park the hardest. This tension, does it exist because of everyone focusing hard or does it exist because we all know we’ll soon be saying goodbye to one of the most influential foreigners we have had the pleasure of practicing with?

“Hero,” I heard Chris call to me in a sing-song voice.
“Y-yes, hyung?” I stammered out, accidentally spitting out my favorite stew.
“When you’re done eating, lets go out to shop.” He walked off.

I have no choice in this, do I? I wonder what he wants to get. I quickly finish, grab my wallet, and go out with Chris. It’s silent between us as we walked down to the bus stop. Right now, I feel like a duckling. I’m just following wherever Mama duck leads me.

“Hyung, where are we going?”
“To the mall.”
“What are you buying?”
“You’ll see.”

Quack. You’d think I’d have been able to pluck up the courage to refuse such invitations every once in awhile. The bus ride remains silent except for a crying child and his mother that’s trying to calm him down. After a few stops, Chris pulls out a small wrapped candy and gives it to the child as we walk off. If only he were this well behaved with everyone, the oGs house would be a much quieter place. There’s even tension between us. I’m starting to feel a small weight in my chest.

I’m unable to think of anything to talk about with Chris. Strangely enough, I find myself walking into a strange, Japanese novelty shop.

“Which of these do you think Coach Park would like?”
“..Eh?” I don’t remember Coach Park being into things like this. Chris is just grinning at me.
“ You’re worried about him, aren’t you? I can tell. It’s not hard to tell what you’re thinking, Hero.”

Am I really that easy to read?

Chris shows me a pillow with a half naked woman printed on it and grins. “We should get him this. He’ll love it.”
I stare at the pillow in awe and shake my head. He just laughs and leads me to a kitchenware store. A lot of these mugs are cute, actually. Chris’s head pops up from around the corner and holds up a yellow mug with what resembles a drone printed on it.

“Do you think he had a good time coaching YellOw?” Chris laughs.
“Lets get it.” I remember all the times he was complaining about Hong Jin Ho (YellOw) quite often to us. The theme for that month was to never be lazy.
“You should go to the barbecue place next door and reserve a table. I haven’t eaten yet.”

I watch as he goes to wait in line and walk to the restaurant to reserve a table. Quack. He should have eaten before we left. I feel the weight in my chest again. Why is that happening? Not long after, he joins me at the table and our plate of bulgogi arrives. I start grilling and I notice he’s smirking at me.

“Bulgogi, huh?”
“Hyung, this is all you eat whenever we go out to eat with the team. It’s hard to read your intentions, but it’s easy to read your stomach.”

He just laughed and put more meat on the grill. Again, I feel the weight in my chest. The more I look at his face, the heavier the weight gets. He hasn’t noticed me staring at him, though. He kind of looks like a starved dog that is having meat dangled in front of him on a string. I don’t know what to say right now to start a conversation. What did we usually talk about? How Terran players have it easy? Easy women? Women in general? I wish Jang Min Chul (oGsMC) were here to break the ice a little bit. The smell of freshly grilled bulgogi can only erase the tension for so long. It’s nice to see that Chris is able to use chopsticks now. I remember he used to struggle with them a lot like Jonathan hyung.

“Oh shit. It’s black.”

But he still has issues grilling meat properly at a restaurant. The weight in my chest is only getting heavier. This is just uncomfortable now.

“Hero, you look sick. Are you alright?” He asks, looking straight at me while chewing.

All I can do is nod while the weight in my chest gets heavier. It’s suffocating.

“Are you sure?”

Again, I nod and again, the weight gets heavier. Is this suffocation due to frustration? I don’t know.

“...Hero?”

After a slight pause, I let out a long, heavy sigh. I feel uneasy. Silence returns for a few more minutes.

“Hyung! Can’t you just stay on Team Liquid!?” I yell, drawing attention to us. I feel my face turning red on top of my frustrated expression. The embarrassment I should feel right now is nothing compared to the temporary relief of the weight I feel. He puts his chopsticks down and swallows the bite of food he just ate. The sad expression on his face answered.

clickclickclick. clickclickclick.

Ahh. What a weak zerg player. He can’t even use his infestors properly. Ah. He finally GGs. As much as I’d like to think about what’s happened, I find myself slightly restrained from thinking slightly ahead. I can only wonder why it was so easy to find temporary relief that one time. Is it possible for me to find permanent relief soon?