Chapter Text
Rosalyn had this thought quite often.
How did Cale Henituse turn out this way?
He was a bad but good person who looted enemies.
He was cold, unnerved but kind to his people.
Furthermore he wanted nothing but to live a quiet life and had no goals besides being a slacker.
She thought it was odd.
Especially his glittering eyes that had a depth she couldn’t gauge out, with too much knowledge and weights she couldn’t understand. He was but a rich count’s son.
Alberu had a better understanding after learning about Kim Rok Soo, but even he didn’t know how Cale came to be this stoic and reserved person who still had a good heart despite claiming he was a terrible person.
Not that he knew he’d find out so soon.
“And that’s why you’re all here today,” the God of Death concluded.
“What the fuck.”
“Kim Rok Soo’s past?”
Choi Han suddenly recalled a skinny child with wary eyes.
This little bastard had gathered every ally of Cale’s and people from Earth 1 to…watch Cale, no Kim Rok Soo’s past?
“What do you mean!”
“My friend is not Cale Henituse!”
“Your highness, calm down-”
“...my son is..not-”
The god of death sighed at Deruth’s shocked mumbling.
Angelina raised her brow at him.
“..Fine. Go talk with your son. His name is Kim Rok Soo now by the way.”
With a snap, the Henituse family vanished as everyone just attempted processing all the info.
“Alright, ahem, as I said, this is an opportunity for you to get to know KRS. Please don’t come at me. Cale Henituse is FINE, he is just under a sleeping spell. And no violence please.”
The God of Death gulped while seeing all the strong individuals gathered, dragons, whales, dark elves, and Lee Soo Hyuk-fuck.
“Why is my dongsaeng unconscious then? You can’t invade his privacy with his permission,” Alberu gritted out.
“Cale-nim’s holy past-HAHA I will record the legend-ugh!”
Choi Han knocked Clopeh out for a while.
The God of Death sighed.
“You treat him like a sage, but he is human and has felt everything you all have as humans.”
The group thought about his words. it’s true that many regard him as god’s child, hero, the unshakable commander but-
“Love, desire, pain, struggles, dreams and aspirations, he’s been through them all.”
The God of death sighed again, a melancholy look in his eyes. He had been watching this child grow up for a long time. He wanted this new family of his to treat him well. If this was the only way, he would take it.
A 100 pairs of eyes turned towards Cale, who was peacefully sleeping on a circular bed with many pillows and blankets. With of course, the three children surrounding him.
What was this strange situation?
Rosalyn had an uncomfortable feeling. Yes, she wanted to learn about the young master, but was it really what she wanted to see?
“Han.”
Choi Han tried to smile towards Lee Soo Hyuk, but his eyes flitted back to the sleeping redhead sprawled comfortably across the strange bed. Cale really looked like he was just taking a nap, even his curled up position was as usual-hugging the pillow. Except that he would not wake up.
Lee Soo Hyuk was bitter about the situation, but even he was curious to see his friend’s past.
“Kim Rok Soo is not here..?” Choi Han finally noticed. The 20yrs Kim Rok Soo was not here for some reason.
Lee Soo Hyuk shook his head while his nephew, choi Jung Soo pouted with a wronged expression next to him while Park Jin Tae turned away with a huff.
Everyone in the theater-like-room was sitting in seats, with the exception of Raon, On and Hong.
Choi Han could see Ron’s somewhat sour expression. He could not stay by Cale’s side, because the damn god had threatened to take them back if anyone moved unnecessarily.
Angelina was done with everyone’s bullshit at this point as she teleported the Henituse Family back to their seats. If anyone noticed their red eyes, no one commented on it. The Sun God understood everything was sudden, but they could only maintain this space for a maximum of 5 days.
“Enough questions. We will begin the 1st record.”
“I will show you his life before the cataclysym. Find out what shaped Kim Rok Soo to the way he is.”
The room darkened and the screen lit up with words.
-
“All humans have dreams and passions. Did you think Kim Rok Soo would be any different?”
Behind that stoic, cold commander, was a child who dreamed to become a star.
For the child who gave up wishing in face of the world's darkness,
Kim Rok Soo, who felt as if all the stars in the world had died out.
-End Prologue.
“That’s it? That’s the prologue?” Archie grumbled at the confusing explanation.
The screen changed, and they suddenly heard a crash that rang loud in their ears.
Raon frowned as his sibling flinched at the noise. He face grew more concerned after seeing that Cale did not even stir, despite knowing that he was under a sleeping spell.
“What is your name?” The officer asked him over the shouts and sirens.
The police officer tried to give him a small smile, hiding the view of the car crash behind her back.
“...Kim Rok Soo.”
The fire reflected brightly in the small child’s eyes.
It did not matter because Kim Rok Soo had already seen it.
“Is that our human?” Raon questions, thoroughly scrutinizing the black haired kid.
Choi Han nodded, as his eyes slightly widened.
“It is but...He is younger than when I saw him.”
Lee Soo Hyuk glances at him.
“What do you mean?”
Choi Han can’t respond as a soft voice fills the theater.
“They…Auntie, Are they gone forever?”
Little Kim Rok Soo looked up at the officer with unreadable eyes.
“That…”
The officer was at a loss of words.
This young 5 year old, who had just barely survived a car accident was calmly asking her about his parents without any emotion.
Perhaps he is too young to process their death.
She could not figure out any other reason for him to be so quiet.
However, she did notice that emptiness in the young child’s face, who clearly understood more than he let on.
–
Kim Rok Soo did not cry at their funeral.
“Look at his face.. my goodness..”
His other relatives whispered and threw numerous glances towards him, but he didn’t seem to notice anything.
“What a heartless child..”
“He won’t even shed a single tear.”
All of these noises were drowned out. Kim Rok Soo felt like he was underwater with water filling up all of his senses.
Mother, I can’t breathe.
He was suffocating, but he wanted to scream.
For the young Kim Rok Soo, the world was suddenly far too big.
Looking up at the grey sky with blank eyes, the once cheerful Kim Rok Soo was no more.
__
“He was an orphan?” Violan questioned with a frown.
Raon wavered as tears clouded his vision. The sight of the dull Kim Rok Soo was truly small and pitiful. Others may not see it, but Raon, who had spent a lot of time with Cale, could notice the sorrow in his eyes. Cale rarely gave strong expressions, so he had learned to assess even the smallest of changes.
“The human suffered so much..”
On silently comforted him as she looked at Cale’s peaceful face, suddenly overcome with love and concern.
She had just recently found out Cale’s real identity, and was more surprised to hear that he too, was an orphan.
‘But he was so young..’ she thought. SO much younger than they were.
“Young Master Cale’s past seems very sad,” Jack mumbled.
In contrast to him, the saint’s sister was fuming.
“How can they say things like that to a kid who just lost his parents!”
She could not help but be reminded of how cruel humans can be, no matter how many kind people there are in the world.
However, that was not the end of Kim Rok Soo’s struggle.
Choi Han swallowed as he thought of the scrawny innocent child in the Sealed God test. He was suddenly nervous of what they would see next.
At the orphanage, he did not cry.
He also did not complain. The staff assumed he was just cold-hearted, but pitiful child, which was understandable. Kim Rok Soo ate every meal, he kept up a decent appearance, and did his chores without any issues.
He also did not get nightmares. After all,
you could not have bad dreams if you could not fall asleep. It was an issue that he did not seem to find as a problem.
Kim Rok Soo would stare at the ceiling and utter the same few words once each night.
“Eomma, Appa, I’m alive.”
Rosalyn’s throat tightened. She could not imagine what it was like to not have parents and remind yourself you were still living in such a cruel world.
Some nights he would think about his name.
Kim Rok Soo. It was a name given to him in hopes to always grow green even in the winter and bloom exceptionally.
“Rok Soo-ah! Our little Rok Soo will grow so well, isn’t that right?”
It was the one memory he could remember clearly, even as his parents’ faces blurred over time. Kim Rok Soo found that he could not remember things he didn't like. Such that even his parents who were his everything, eventually faded out of focus over the years.
--
“Rok Soo!”
The now eight years old Kim Rok Soo looked away from his book and turned towards the staff member. She was smiling at him while gesturing towards a short man who waved at him.
“This is your new guardian.”