Chapter Text
Kim Kwangsu stared at the hand that linked him to his twin brother, a deep and thoughtful frown overtaking his face that was entirely unrelated to the dour occasion.
The mourners all approached the boys, each providing their hollow condolences for their loss and scurrying away when the children didn’t respond the way they had anticipated.
‘...everyone around him dies.’
It was a fact that he was suddenly and painfully aware of. Kim Kwangsu had endured quite a few near death experiences as well while remaining at his twin's side, although he’d never quite put together why until this moment.
Both of their parents were dead.
Pets and friends and all the people who his twin treasured were always short for this world or experienced a misfortune that was so great that they left.
It was as though the grim reaper itself hugged his twin gently against its bony chest while slicing down everyone who came near.
If Kim Kwangsu were a normal child, he definitely would have died too.
His younger twin, a child of only five years old with an expression that appeared numb to loss, stood stolidly at his side and Kwangsu could feel his hand trembling ever so slightly.
Even though he was only a child, he seemed to have grasped the facts as well. Perhaps only on a subconscious level but he was aware of the lethal jinx that his mere existence was.
‘...this is going to be a pain in the ass.’
The older twin let out a deep sigh and looked towards the next mourner, sneering at the obnoxious man and jerking his head to make him go away.
None of these people cared about the two orphans.
No one was willing to take them in, they’d argued amongst themselves loud enough to be heard and attempted to force it into the hands of those who were the least qualified merely because they would have the most difficult time arguing back.
It was disgusting behavior. There was being a trashy person and then there was being absolute scum.
Kim Kwangsu was familiar with both.
Cale Henituse had lived the majority of his life being trash of some kind or another, mostly on purpose, sometimes by accident. He’d lived to the shitty age of forty before dying anticlimactically at the hands of a sociopathic psycho with a god complex.
And then he’d spent roughly five years of his new life in a hazy state of barely being able to remember his old life but having just enough of his old instincts and skills to spare himself from the many gruesome deaths that nipped at his heels.
All because he’d been born as Kim Roksu’s twin brother.
It would be a lot easier if Cale were able to smack away the tiny trembling hand holding his own. Walk away from the walking death jinx and go anywhere else. With his memories of his adulthood returning back to him he ought to be able to navigate this new world even with the body of a child.
The trouble was that he quite liked his brother.
Roksu was an awkward brat who didn’t know how to smile properly, go figure with the grim reaper stifling him, and a heart that was deceptively kind. He was also quite devious in his own way, which Cale approved of. He liked bright kids who knew how to make the best of a shitty situation.
Although Roksu’s situation was probably far too shitty to be solved simply by being just a bit clever. They’d probably need a miracle if Cale wanted to live to adulthood at his brother's side.
Well, Cale would have to find a damn memory then.
As the funeral wrapped up and the arguing adults made up their mind about where they would send the problem children, Cale was made aware that they would be staying with their incredible unreliable drunk of an uncle who was just the right flavor of scum to make Cale’s fingers itch for a bottle to throw at his head.
He couldn’t leave Roksu with that shitty old man. Not that he’d had any serious intentions of abandoning his brother but it was annoying to know that it wasn’t even an option.
Cale looked towards Roksu, squeezing his hand to comfort him. “You okay?”
Technically Cale had lost his parents too but he’d felt only a meager connection to the couple. They’d always been too busy to take proper care of the twin boys and more often than not, Cale had been left to use his wisdom to take care of them both.
Roksu nodded silently and looked towards the floor. As an actual child, he probably felt the loss much more acutely than Cale.
Cale had already lost both of his original parents in his lifetime and they’d been far closer to him than the near-strangers they’d buried today. He was already used to coping with the ache that losing a family member bore into his chest.
Roksu was just five years old.
Perhaps Cale had underestimated the boy though because Roksu collected himself quickly and followed Cale out of the funeral hall calmly. Although then again, Roksu ought to be more acutely familiar with loss and death than most children his age.
His parents were merely the crescendo to a long list of everyone Roksu held dear.
Cale was the only exception. And he intended to remain that exception no matter how dire or lethal it got.
–
The apartment was definitely too small for a bachelor and two children. The grumpy old drunk clearly didn’t have any intention of making any accommodations for the pair either, he was much more intent on gambling away what little inheritance they had and pissing the remainder out on the side of the road.
He was exactly the type of bastard that Cale would have liked to start a bar fight with. Not for the first time he really wished he had his old body back. Having spent nearly the last twenty years of his life at war, Cale’s body had been in quite good shape. He’d probably have been able to snap this damn drunkard in half.
He wondered if it was possible to get Roksu to like the bastard so that the death-curse would hunt him down too. Although judging by Roksu’s expressions, even he wasn’t naive enough to think this obnoxious man was palatable.
So Cale chose to bide his time while coming up with a plan. The miniature apartment didn’t offer them any room or comfort but as stated earlier, Cale had lived twenty years on the battlefield. You learned how to make a fair-tasting soup in a boot under those strates.
He could definitely improvise.
“We’re going out.” Cale declared when he was sure that the violent bastard was long gone and would be spending the rest of the afternoon indulging in his vices.
Roksu looked up at him in confusion. “Where?”
Cale gave his brother a crooked grin and pulled him to his feet with one arm. “We’ve got to secure our necessities.”
Roksu gave it a thoughtful pause before replying. “Food, shelter, water.” He said.
Cale patted his back, leading him out of the shitty apartment. “You’re smarter than you look.”
Roksu pouted at his brother, feeling somewhat wronged by the implication but Cale paid it no mind. It was nice to see Roksu pouting at all.
The child had been uncomfortably blank lately. Cale could tell what he was thinking and he didn’t like it one bit.
If he ever found the bastard responsible for whatever death-curse that hung over Roksu’s head, he’d ring the son of a bitch by the neck. And then force the bastard to undo whatever it was that he’d done.
Magic didn’t seem to exist in this world though, or at least the general public didn’t know about it, so Cale had very little to go on with that particular investigation. A part of him was still adjusting to the rules of this world. While, yes, he’d had five years living here and understood the world in the instinctual way that a native would.
On the other hand, he’d spent forty years of his life in a completely different world with completely different rules and that was just a lot more time overall.
‘I’ll just have to live longer here.’ Cale thought determinedly, pulling his sibling along towards their first stop.
The convenience store at the corner was busy enough that no one noticed the two children among the aisles. Cale grabbed the cheapest item he could, a piece of candy that was worth only a few Won and dug through his pockets for the change he’d stolen from their shitty uncle for just this task.
The cashier was confused as to why the little boy requested the largest bag they had for his tiny purchase but she indulged his seemingly childish desire, forgetting about the interaction instantly as she dealt with the remainder of the line.
Cale wordlessly handed the piece of the candy to Roksu before heading to the back of the store.
“For a start, we’re going to dumpster dive.” Cale announced. Roksu nodded in understanding and the pair, through meticulous teamwork, filled the bag with as many edible or useful items as could be found within the grime. Cale nodded in satisfaction at their haul and the now far stinkier children set off down the road again.
“That’s food.” Roksu said thoughtfully, somewhat impressed by his brother’s quick thinking. “What’s next?”
Cale held up his fingers. “We’ll need to find a way to hide things from that shitty bastard.” He said firmly. “He’s definitely the type to steal our food. Then we’ll need to find a way to earn money.”
Roksu slumped. “How? We’re five.”
Cale really liked how precocious his brother was. It made him a lot easier to talk to than most five year olds would have been. He grinned at the child devilishly. “To begin with, we’ll skim from our uncle. He’s stolen our money so it’s not really theft if we’re taking back what’s rightfully ours. Luckily he’s an idiot so he won’t notice if we’re subtle about it and time it correctly.”
Roksu looked ethically uneasy for a moment before he nodded. Those at the lowest didn’t have the privilege of having high-handed ethics. Besides, Roksu hated the shitty drunkard too.
Cale and Roksu had only been under his care for a week and they were already malnourished and sporting a few more bruises than when they arrived.
“And then?” Roksu asked, understanding the limitations of the theft immediately.
Cale gave it careful consideration before answering. “I’m thinking we run a scam.”
To his surprise, the sweet child smiled enthusiastically at the suggestion. Really. How twisted had he become at such a young age? Not that Cale minded. This made it a lot easier.
However, before they had the opportunity to work out the details of the plan the screeching sound of tires burning against the road filled the air.
Cale could groan.
Not again .
With reflexes honed from spending years in death-defying situations such as this, Cale grabbed his brother and dove behind a fire hydrant. He hugged Roksu close to him and squeezed his eyes shut as he awaited impact.
Like clockwork, the car rammed directly into the fire hydrant and caused an explosion of water that soaked both boys and their hard earned loot. The shock of the impact was enough to unbalance Cale’s crouching position but he was otherwise untouched.
With an eye roll, Cale stood up and held a hand out to his brother to help him up. Roksu remained on the ground though, his expression complicated.
“...don’t think that.” Cale said, gruffly pulling Roksu to his feet and dusting him off.
“Think what?” Roksu replied cagily.
Cale rolled his eyes again and picked up their soaked grocery bag. “You know what. I’m not going anywhere. That’s final.”
Roksu’s pupils shook as he looked at his brother and he had to look away, his face looking a whole lot younger. Cale patted his shoulder. “Instead of thinking that, let’s get the bastard that almost killed us for every dime. How’s your acting?”
Roksu’s expression calmed down and a small smile settled onto his face as he shook his head. He could hear the adults around who were coming to check up on the poor children now.
“The key is to turn bad luck into good luck.” Cale said with a wink before he got to work.
Whatever garbage curse this was, it would seriously have to work harder than that to get Cale Henituse. He was a turtle with a hard fucking shell and a bad attitude, liable to bite all fingers with his beak.
Kim Roksu, a boy who was quite used to learning how to feel helpless, followed after his older twin with something akin to ambition growing in his young heart.