Kim Byeol-ha stood in front of the tattered door, hands buried deep in his hoodie pockets, staring like it was some ancient relic.
The old wood was cracked and split.The number plate dangled by a single rusty nail, half-fallen off.Someone had scrawled something obscene on the wall nearby — a fitting touch, really.
He snorted softly.
Figures. Everything changes, but graffiti stays loyal.
A part of him hesitated.Was he really ready for this?
His heart beat slow but heavy in his chest, like a drum in a funeral procession.
He thought, after a thousand years of wars, betrayals, cosmic nonsense, and emotional meltdowns that included blowing up half a god's temple once (no regrets), he would have evolved past feelings.
Family was supposed to be just a memory by now.A nice, fuzzy little tragedy to box up and put on a dusty shelf in his mind.
But as he stood there, staring at the door, all he wanted to do was knock and hear someone yell at him for tracking mud into the house again.
He scoffed under his breath.
"Sentimental loser," he muttered at himself.
The neighbor — who had wisely stayed a good few paces behind — called out softly.
"Bit-na! Bit-na, come here! Open the door!"
A few seconds passed.
Then the door creaked open.
Kim Bit-na appeared.
Byeol-ha's world tilted.
She was thinner now.Her hair was tied up messily, her face was tired and worn, but her eyes — those bright, stubborn eyes — widened in disbelief when they landed on him.
She gripped the doorframe like it might vanish.
Her mouth opened.No sound came out.
Tears welled up, fell silently down her cheeks.
She shook her head, as if trying to reject reality, trying to erase the hallucination standing before her.
Byeol-ha felt something snap inside him.
He thought he'd used up all his tears.That there was nothing left.
But the moment he saw his little sister — really saw her — it hit him like a divine sledgehammer.
He opened his arms without thinking.
No words.No grand speeches.Just arms wide open.
Bit-na let out a choked sound and ran into him, crashing against his chest so hard he almost stumbled.
Byeol-ha caught her tightly, burying his face in her hair.
The two siblings clung to each other like shipwreck survivors finally finding solid ground, sobbing into each other's shoulders.
Byeol-ha didn't care that his hoodie was getting soaked.Didn't care that his heart felt like it was breaking open all over again.
He was home.
Finally, home.
Somewhere behind them, there was the sound of pattering feet.
Byeol-ha wiped his eyes with his sleeve, sniffling like a kicked puppy, and looked up.
Two little boys stood in the doorway, peeking out with wide, anxious eyes.
One had Bit-na's nose and stubborn chin.The other — darker-haired, sharper-eyed — must have taken after Eo-ra.
Both of them looked at Byeol-ha like he was some mythical creature that had wandered into their broken lives by mistake.
Bit-na pulled away slightly, wiping her face with the back of her hand and taking a shaky breath.
"Byeol-ha," she said hoarsely, voice thick with emotion. "These are your nephews."
She pointed first at the boy with brighter eyes.
"This is Kim Hee-chan," she said, smiling tremulously. "My son."
Then she rested a hand on the darker boy's head.
"And this is Kim Hwa-jin. Eo-ra's son."
The two boys stared up at him, unsure and wary.
Byeol-ha stared back.
They were tiny.Too thin.Clothes patched up a dozen times.Hands dirty and shriveled from too much hard work and not enough warmth.
They glanced at each other, at him, then down at their own battered little hands, as if realizing they didn't belong in the same world as the tall, beautiful man standing in front of them.
Byeol-ha blinked.
And then, without a word, he crouched down, scooped both boys into his arms, and hugged them tightly.
The boys stiffened in shock.
They'd never been hugged like that before.Never been held so easily, so naturally, without hesitation.
Byeol-ha rested his chin on their heads, pulling them closer.
"My family," he thought fiercely. "Mine. Always mine."
He didn't care about dirty hands.He didn't care about torn clothes.He didn't care about anything except the fact that they were here.
Warm and alive.
The boys finally relaxed after a few moments, their little arms creeping around his neck hesitantly — then tighter, desperate, afraid he might vanish if they let go.
Byeol-ha smiled against their hair, a real, honest smile he hadn't felt in centuries.
Bit-na wiped her tears again, looking at them like she was witnessing a miracle.
"Come inside," she said, voice shaking.
Byeol-ha nodded and stood up, carrying the boys like precious treasures, and stepped inside the house.
The air inside was cold.The furniture was barely standing.The walls were cracked.It smelled like dampness and iron.
But it was still the warmest place he'd been in a thousand years.
He sat down cross-legged on the floor, letting the boys sit on his lap, and looked around.
"Not bad," he said, inspecting the crumbling ceiling like it was a five-star resort. "Definitely seen worse. Remember that cave that kept dripping slime for three years straight?"
Bit-na stared at him.
Byeol-ha grinned at her lazily.
"I almost miss that cave," he said. "At least the slime was warm."
Bit-na burst into laughter, half-hysterical, half-joyful.
The boys giggled quietly too, not understanding the joke but happy to laugh because their mother and uncle were laughing.
Byeol-ha leaned back against the wall with a soft sigh, arms still full of nephews, heart still full of hope.
This world was broken.
But his family?
They were still here.
And that was enough for now.
As for what he will do when he finds those bastards who laid their hands on his family...see how many pieces a human body can actually divide in.
Suddenly, I don't want to let them die so easily...how about boiling them and then slowly skin them alive? Oh let's heal them if they suddenly die in the middle it will ruin the mood.
The little boys suddenly felt cold in their Uncle's arms.