I had an idea for a time loop, but it has more to do with Viral Hit - and if those characters were also in a time loop. It also has a lot of crack in it.
What if Taehoon and Daniel meet in one of the time loops during middle school and Taehoon is new to the time loops, but seeing a poor kid get beat up tugs at him and he decided to help Daniel train.
Eventually he meets Yeonwoo and Dowoon earlier and Dowoon survives (bc I don't want him to die) and he rescues them more successfully this time around. He also makes other friends who do different martial arts and they go around beating up bullies and gangsters
He still does have the 'bully' reputation, but it's more like Vasco's this time around. Cue Daniel actually getting in shape but not looking like a completely different person - like buff and tall with some chub) when he somehow goes to J High and meets Gun and Crystal.
Gun tries to fight with him and Taehoon subsequently finds out his friend student got beat up and decides Guess I'll 1080 kick this guy.
Cue Gun simping for Taehoon and hitting on him and Taehoon actually not hating it - all while Daniel is trying to get with Jay and keep the fighting psycho Crystal's bodyguard away, Taehoon's friends wheezing, and Yoo Hobin company betting on this weird guy's weird flirting tactics.
I'm so sorry for how long this idea was.đ I just had a crack idea and wanted to share.
(Okay so, I haven't actually gotten around to ready Viral Hit yet, but I did some research and I think I did quite well for myself. Thoughts? Also, love, love, love the prompt, and thank you very much for it. If you have any other similar or different ideas feel free to send them my way!)
Danny, despite all his training and losing so much of his weight, still had baby fat on his cheeks, making him look like a squirrel. That was the first of Taehoon's problems. The second came in the form of one psychotic black-eyed bodyguard currently standing over the fallen form of his young stupid little squirrel-faced minion.
He.Saw.Red.
The motherfucker didn't even know what hit him until his face was plastered on the sidewalk and Taehoon was staring down at him with contempt with one leg still raised in the air. The newly dubbed 'satan's secret lovechild' rose slowly and turned to the brown-haired boy with what could only be described as an utterly filthy look. While outward the boy remained nonchalant he was inwardly squirming with a mix of disgust and worry.
"Gun stop this or I'll have my father pair you up with Goo again." The girl who had watched the whole debacle go down finally intervened when 'satan's secret lovechild' looked ready to pounce (and not entirely in an aggressive fight-y way).
The bodyguard grumbled but complied and got into the driver's seat of the car while Taehoon lifted Danny up by his arm. The smaller boy squirmed as the taekwondo prodigy let go of his arm only to grab him by the ear and begin lecturing him.
"Have I taught you nothing-"
The car drove out of the parking lot and the bickering pair was left behind, although Gun's thoughts kept straying to the strong boy. In the passenger seat, Crystal discreetly shifted closer to the window and tried to ignore the perverted grin on her bodyguard's face with all her might. She did not want to know what weird fantasies he was currently having and she sent a quick prayer for the pitiful soul that had attracted his eye.
Two people entered the room, only one came out. Mostly because he was passed out drunk on the floor, but that's irrelevant because people assumed that Danny had beaten him up either way. He was, after all, the only one who left the room, and everyone had at least a healthy amount of fear for the strange and mysterious boy.
He had come out of nowhere one day and just stuck around. He was also insanely strong and fast, and could probably beat two thousand people all at once if he wanted to. On his first day, he had broken up a fight between Vin Jin, Zack Lee, and Vasco, like it was nothing, and left all of them passed out on the floor when they tried to retaliate. The boy also kept mostly to himself ever since he had joined the Visual Art department, but rumor went that he worked at a tattoo parlor by night and dealt with all kinds of crazy delinquents and mob bosses.
And now, Logan had entered the same room as him, and he hadn't come out. Not that anyone would miss him, of course! The arrogant bastard liked to throw his weight around and act like he was the shit, despite the fact that everyone knew that Daniel Park was, in fact, the true tip of the pyramid when it came to both strength and intellect.
Well, Jace had a theory about 'The Silent King', as the students at J High had begun to secretly call him.
"I don't know bro," One of the guys in the Architecture Department scratch his head and looked at the spiderweb of red string that connected numerous blurry shots of the boy and various notes scribbled in pink glitter pen and neon green highlighter.
Jace looked at him baffled, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, hair sticking in every direction, and clothes crumbled. There were deep purple bags hanging under his eyes and the look on his face made the guy slowly back up and hide behind Vasco. The latter was eyeing the various sticky notes covering the entire wall, surrounding a large picture of Daniel's face from his student ID with a growing amount of worry. Finally, he turned back to look at his best friend with the same expression.
"Jace," he began gently," when was the last time you had any sleep?"
"SLEEP?"
His sudden shout made Euntae unintentionally flinch back and cover their cowering classmates behind his bulky frame. Never before had he seen his friend act like this. In a moment of panic, he ambled forward and decked the raving big-eared boy over the head, before catching his limp form in his arms.
"I-uh..."
"You should take him to the infirmary! Maybe a nap would do him some good." Someone piped up from the back.
Vasco nodded furiously before slinging Jace's unconscious form over his shoulder and leaving the classroom, much to the relief of his terrified crew. Jace slept the day in the infirmary and when it came time to leave his friend took him back to his house without too much fuss.
Later on in the evening, after he had finally finished cleaning the classroom, someone passed by the Architecture Department and caught sight of the state of the wall at the back of the second year's classroom. He paused, silently pushing the door open and stepping into the deserted room. Black eyes wandered over the huge read web connecting all of the information together, taking the time to read each and every note and analyze every single picture with great interest.
Danny closed the door behind him and let out a low chuckle before leaving the school. The large picture of him in the middle of the red string fell off the wall and onto the floor. The words 'Time-Traveler' were written in pink glittery ink on its bottom corner.
"Did you steal that?" was the first thing Mira asked when Daniel came into the cafeteria.
Well, not exactly came, more like rolled into his shopping cart holding Jay Titanic-style. Pushing the cart was an overly-eager Vasco and following them was a procession made up of BNC members, one of which was holding a large speaker over his shoulder.
"Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you,
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on~"
Zack bristled with rage when his girlfriend-AhEm! I mean Mira was ignored by all of them in favor of rolling near the food counter. He marched right up to where Daniel was half-crouching awkwardly, trying to balance two food trays without letting go of Jay's waist or getting down from the shopping cart, and smacked him loudly over the back of the head. He stumbled and fell over the counter, bringing his blonde down with him. The pair ended up sprawled over one another in an undignified heap on the floor, although, amazingly, the trays landed perfectly onto the counter without spilling even a single drop.
Later Danny would account this to his eternal amazingness and furiously deny that it had anything to do with sheer dumb luck whatsoever. For now, he just lay beneath his sweet Jay in the most inelegant way humanly possible, simultaneously trying to get up and not push the other boy off him.
"Zack, look what you did!" Vasco scolded the perpetually annoyed male while hauling himself over the counter with ease.
He leaned over the two checking for any injuries. Satisfied with his founding he gave them both what was supposed to be a reassuring smile before reaching and plucking the off the ground. He held them up in the air by the backs of their collars, and Danny finally discovered what it was like to be held like a misbehaving cat. Safe to say, he did not enjoy being literally thrown over the counter, though he forgave his newest minion for carefully reaching over and landing Jay over the counter safely.
"Good job minions!" He proclaimed loudly getting up and brushing the dirt off his clothes.
After careful consideration, he chose to hold his beloved instead of the trays, which he entrusted one of his minions to deliver to their table. Then he climbed back into the cart and readjusted their position back as it was supposed to be.
"Onwards!" He exclaimed pointing towards the assigned 'BNC and crazy cult leader gremlin + occasionally the man who is crazy brave enough to date him' table.
They resumed their journey without anyone in the cafeteria batting an eyelid. This was normal.
"Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on~"
Once was already too much. Twice was beyond cruelty. Thrice...thrice was not meant for the human mind to comprehend.
So when you have to do it a thousand times and then some you become rather desensitized to certain things that could make others writhe.
That's how Daniel found himself looking up at the paling faces of his friends, vaguely aware that his body wasn't supposed to be able to bend that way. There were tears, of course, pleading for him to say awake, to hold on until the ambulance arrived. The worst part though was the reassurances, because both parties knew by that point that they were just wishful thinking.
Like, no Zack, I just got hit by a truck going over 200 km/h, I'm not going to be okay! The bloodied boy tried to voice these words but they only came out as strangled moans, which elicited more sobs and, to his everlasting indignance, shushing.
"Nnnghn hngh!" (Don't shush me!)
"It's going to be okay."
"Mnghnh mnmnth nghgh ghngfngh mnghnghhtt! mnggggg hnghnght mthght." (Vasco, I adore you but I'm literally twisted like play-doh and I think I can feel my bones trying to escape my body and form their own army for world domination!!)
"Shh, just hang on."
Danny shot him a dirty look, though he had to guess which one of his friends the bald white egg shushing him was. Probably Jin, he had always been a little bitch like that. If he squinted the alien-like thing looking down on him was pretty similar to the dumbass.
"Mhnh mgthhhhh-." (Bitch if you shush me one more-)
"Shhh" Zack placed his finger on his lips, before quickly retracting his hand and massaging the bite marks on his pointer with what was supposed to be aggravation. The tears and snot running down his face ruined the image.
Finally, through the constant ringing in his ears, Daniel could distinguish the sound of sirens. People shuffled around him and someone tried to get his attention, but their voice turned to mush in his ears. He threw one last look at his friends and reached towards Jay through the paramedics.
"Mnh nhghn Macarena mngh." (Bae, you need to play Macarena at my funeral!)
And with that, the world went black. Then white, then black again. Then he came upon himself, literally.
"They did a pretty good job with my body, you can't even tell that half of these are missing" He poked at one of his limbs, his translucent finger going right through it. There was no bone, just a metal rod kipping the arm in place.
Danny shuddered and retracted his hand as if he had been burned. No matter how many times he ended up as a ghost it never got less weird touching things. He shrugged and floated upwards, passing through the lid of the casket and angling his body so that he no longer felt like he was lying down. Gravity didn't apply to ghosts, so getting his body to sit straight was really tricky until you got the hang of it.
The venue was pretty packed, with people balling their eyes out. They were all dressed in black and looking at a picture of him smiling that had been propped on a stand near his casket. In the front row was his mother, at whose appearance he cringed.
It never got easier seeing her so utter;y devastated, but that was always the way it went when he died, his bigger body would vanish without a trace, and his smaller one would remain, lifeless. His eyes scanned over the other people at the venue trying to get the image of her dull eyes and sunken cheeks out of his mind.
Next to his mother was his beloved jay. Oh, how he wanted to wrap his arms around the boy and wipe those tears that never stopped rolling down his exquisite face! Instead, he caressed his darling's cheek lovingly, making the boy shudder at the feeling of sudden coldness. He didn't dare linger, unable to bare the heartbreaking sight of his lover's grief.
If Daniel had been drinking he would have done a spit-take right then and there. (Was it disrespectful to spit at your own funeral?)
Nestled between a sobbing Crystal and a mostly-unbothered Kouji was Diego Kang himself, having a whispered conversation with an ashen-faced Gun. The latter must've taken the death of his masterpiece and the subsequent disappearance of Daniel's bigger self as quite the blow. 'He did waste a lot of time training me and seemed very eager to get taller me to be his...something, whatever that was...' the boy mused, making his way across from them and to the audio system. He didn't have time to ponder such things. He was a ghost on a mission.
Possessing humans was rather simple if tiring, but messing around with electronics had always been a favorite of his whenever he ended up as a wandering specter. The speakers, placed strategically in the four corners of the room, simultaneously crackled to life, startling the people in attendance, before:
Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa Macarena Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegrĂa y cosa buena Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa, Macarena Hey Macarena, ay
Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa Macarena Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegrĂa y cosa buena Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa, Macarena Hey Macarena, ay
Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa Macarena Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegrĂa y cosa buena Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa, Macarena Hey Macarena, ay
Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa Macarena Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegrĂa y cosa buena Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa, Macarena Hey Macarena, ay
Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa Macarena Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegrĂa y cosa buena Dale a tu cuerpo alegrĂa, Macarena Hey Macarena, ay!
It was a wonderful day in Seoul and Danny was an awful person. And if it happened that Eugene was on the receiving side of him choosing violence that day, well it was simply bad luck~
It started with him coming into Eugene's office out of nowhere with an obviously fake neon green mustache and a box of spiders, which was promptly yeeted at the president and shattered all over his desk. A sharp high-pitched scream had his men tumbling into the office before they took a look at the little black devils skittering everywhere and booked it out without another backward glance.
It took almost three hours until they finally managed to get rid of all the spiders and shards and coax the mini evil-doer down from the chandelier. The spawn of chaos that was Danny had long since escaped the building, leaving behind only his fluffy green mustache attached to a cardboard cutout of one of their female streamers.
Eugene was displeased but chalked it up as a one-off thing, a sort of petty revenge from a man who could do nothing more to him. Oh, how wrong he was.
After the spiders came the baby crocodiles with lightsabers strapped to their backs. That was an ordeal that left the teen president quite paranoid since it had taken place in his personal apartment.
The third attempt wasn't stopped by his quadrupled security nor their new fancy gear. After all, Daniel was a one-man army, stupid electric fences and radars were no match for the ungodly amount of caffeine and pure spite that fueled his revenge. Judging by the screams and colorful curses, Eugene and him were on the same page.
Another terrorizing attempt successfully completed, Danny pulled out his list and checked another item off. Unfortunately, despite being useful for the drip, his makeshift batman mask was a bit hard to see through, so he had to take it off to read the next item on the list.
"Hmmm, okay, let's see... Spiders? Check. Baby alligators with light sabers? Check. Possessed Michael Jackson Animatronics? Check. I think I have time for one more before the loop ends...let's see..."
ghosts of all the bugs he's ever killed crawling on his skin? Nah, too tame.
waking up at a furry convention? I think the loop will reset before I have time to wait for this year's furry convention.
injecting him with truth serum before a fancy gala? Too much political drama, and too little chaos.
Daniel paused at the last one, a shark-like smirk overcoming his features.
"This...Heh...This is going to be good...Hehehehe MUAHAHAHHA-"
"Can you knock it off!" His neighbor reinforced his words by knocking on their shared wall rather forcefully.
"Sorry!" Came the boy's sheepish reply.
Even evil masterminds have to be mindful of their manners when committing atrocities, he nodded to himself before returning to the task at hand with an impish smile. He set out to gather his army.
The next day at 9 AM sharp the Worker's main building was invaded by an army of angry middle-aged women, armed with various household appliances, all claiming that the young businessman had seduced their daughters.
"He promised to marry my Lia!" A lady wielding a portable vacuum cleaner shouted indignantly at the poor receptionist, underlining each word with a menacing thump of her weapon onto the counter.
"He already proposed to my daughter!" Another woman chimed in waving a mighty frying pan with a murderous expression.
"Mine's pregnant with his baby!" Came the enraged shouting of another.
"My-"
"He-"
The crowd erupted into outrage, screaming even louder than before and banging onto the walls and floor while trying to speak over one another. Another outrageous comment, another wave of shouting and banging, until the whole street and every employee in the building had stopped to watch the chaos.
Daniel's muffled giggles were abruptly cut off when he felt the telltale tug on his soul that came with every reset.
"No wait, I didn't get to see the aftermath!" He whined, but to no avail.
"At least I get to try out the rest of my ideas in the next loop." He shrugged, downing the remaining chips in the bag.
"Wanna know a secret?"
"Daniel, it's 3 AM on a Monday."
The disgruntled groan and pillow over the head didn't seem to deter the overly energetic boy.
"Is that a yes?"
Another agonizing groan and what sounded like him whispering 'don't kill him, you don't have the energy to hide a body' over and over again like a mantra.
"Fuck off!" He pushed the gremlin squatting on his nightstand roughly, ignoring the loud 'oof' he let out.
However, when the sound of a body hitting the floor never came, Zack opened his eyes and turned around. Daniel was hanging precariously on the curtain while his feet still remained partially on the nightstand. Zack blinked, then shoved the other's feet off.
"Ooof" And the sound of the curtain rod hitting something hard then falling onto the floor and someone scrambling around in his failed curtains.
Zack reached for his earplugs and pulled the pillow over his head again. He was not doing this today!
Poke.
Poke.
He swatted the offending hand away with vitriol.
Poke. Poke.
He discreetly reached for the chemistry book beneath the bed and pulled it close to him, ready to strike.
Poke.
Thunk!
After that, the night was quiet, with no more poking.
Daniel wasn't born invincible, although most people wouldn't be able to tell you that. Even in the first loop, he had first crawled through the filth before reaching the top. But it hadn't been enough. This is why, in every loop after that one, for at least a few dozen of them he had approached people like Gun, Goo, and Diego to teach him. Some were harder to convince than others and some would downright refuse to teach him until he found a way to prove to them he was worthy. He had to do things that he didn't dare to remember some days.
He remembered the first time he was made to kill.
His second loop, Gun had been much crueler than he usually was. He made his two masterpieces fight to the death, just for the sake of it. Daniel orphaned a little girl that day. He couldn't bare to look in the mirror for weeks, but he pushed on. He needed to be stronger! So, the boy-turned-killer gritted his teeth and force-fed himself sleeping pills every night.
The second time he killed it came much easier.
Perhaps because he was still reeling from the first one. It was only a few weeks after Eli's blood had covered his hands that another lay before him with his neck broken. It had been so easy it was gut-churning, like breaking a particularly tough twig. He emptied the contents of his stomach in a bush nearby, but couldn't find it in himself to regret it very much. It was horrifying to realize he regretted getting caught and ending up in juvie more than killing Zoe's stalker.
The third time's the charm, right? It wasn't.
That night he stumbled into a bar and drank himself into obliviousness to forget the feeling of a too-small boy beneath the tips of his fingers. He had killed a kid, not much younger than himself, a year at maximum, but a kid! The feeling of bile rising in his throat hadn't left him for the entire loop. When he woke up he was in a cell, with policemen looking down at him with a mix of disgust and horror. They regarded him as a monster, and Daniel deserved it. It didn't take long to get a confession out of him and back to juvie he went. It didn't matter, the phantom touch lingering whenever he clutched his fist was still there.
When the fourth came he still cried.
By the time of the fifth, he lost his appetite completely.
The sixth came with mandatory visits to the therapist's office.
The seventh brought on a new therapist and sturdier cuffs.
It helped, incredibly. There was no more killing in that loop, and the couple that followed.
The eight was accidental, and it left Daniel screaming and crying, and vomiting hysterically. He wasn't locked up for that one, but he somehow found his way back to the therapist's office. The first one he tried had left him with a bitter taste on his tongue. The second one knew exactly which buttons to push. It was a miracle Daniel didn't end up with a ninth corpse to the ever-growing pile attached to his name.
Finally, after a lot of breakdowns and unhelpful psychologists, Danny ended up meeting a nice lady by the name of Robin Lim, who managed, with an amount of ungodly patience and calm, to get through to him. It wasn't a sudden catharsis that left him feeling the office a thousand tons lighter, but it was like the steady flow of a stream, growing quicker and bigger every day until he could finally breathe without feeling like he was choking on air.
Robin remained Daniel's therapist for over eight loops until he finally came to terms with what he had and most likely would again do. He managed to establish a system of what to do when it happened again and how to manage his inner turmoil so that it didn't spill into something dangerous, either for himself or others.
While the looping had the effect of twisting his morals to the extreme sometimes, Daniel was always careful to keep a grip on his emotions and try to use the techniques Robin had taught him to regulate those that could become a threat. It wasn't perfect (the seemingly, only imperfect thing about him now), but it worked and it made him view the world in another light.
It was both surprising and not that he now understood Jinho, to a certain level. He knew what it felt like to be given a ray of light and not manage to cling to it no matter how hard he struggled. He had been pathetic and weak and selfish in a way that made him both better and so much worse than the scrawny boy. Better because he had learned from it and strived to make himself the best possible version despite his worries, insecurities, paranoia, and tilted moral compass. Worse because, unlike Jinho, he had succeeded and killed people to further his own selfish goals.
At the end of the day, the imperfect-perfect boy remained a human, one who struggled and hurt and cried. As long as he kept a tight leash on the part of him that could make others struggle and hurt and cry (and even worse) he kept going, trying to find a way to end the cycle and keep the people he loved safe.
Even if that meant entire loops-worth of counseling and breakdowns, he would do it. For those he cherished? Anything.
"You are really relaxed for someone who just had all of his blood relations and dear ones threatened with death," Eugene noted, narrowing his eyes at the male lounging over two sets of stairs like a lazy cat.
"You'd be surprised at how often that happens. At this point, it's just routine." Daniel shrugged nonchalantly, popping his neck. "Besides, I'm pretty sure there's nothing you could do to my so-called blood relations anyways."
The air turned frigid, but he didn't give any signs that he cared about having implied that the Worker's president was incompetent.
"Oh really?" Eugene asked with a bit more bite in his voice.
He just got a vaguely affirmative hum in response. However, when Danny noticed that he was waiting for him to elaborate he gave a long-suffering sigh and adjusted himself to sit up on the stairs. everyone leaned in, eager to get even a scrap of information about the elusive and mysterious boy.
"Mom ain't here, dad never was and my brother could mow your ass like grass before you got twenty feet near him"
He had been extra secretive in this loop, so much so that he had actually moved his second body into another house and never used or mentioned it around his friends. For all intents and purposes, this Daniel Park had nothing to do with the shorter one who lived in a nice house on the other side of the city, so he wasn't scared of his lie getting discovered even if he pushed his luck a little bit. At least his lying skills had improved over the loops and now he had, at long last, become worthy of the title of 'professional bulshitter'.
"And does this brother of yours have a name?"
It was pretty obvious to everyone that Eugene was laying it a bit on the thicker side, but Danny was willing to go along with the charade if only to cause more chaos and confusion among the four crews. Thus, he replied with the most innocent smile he could muster, using a voice so flat that no one could tell if he was pulling their leg or actually telling the truth.
"Daniel Park." He let the words stew for a bit, trying to stifle his laughter at their expressions. "Can you believe that our parents couldn't even be bothered to give us two different names?"
Some seemed convinced by his lamenting voice, while others still looked at him with suspicion. Daniel even pulled out his wallet and showed them a pictured of both of his bodies side by side wearing sunglasses and smiling goofily at the camera. And if only one of his bodies was actually unconscious at the time, no one could tell with their matching sunglasses. Then, just to drive the point home he began gushing with Sally about a baby picture of 'his brother' and reminiscing about all the made-up fights they would have.
The meeting left him grinning delightedly and several others preparing to embark on a wild goose chase through Seoul in search of the second Daniel Park and the secret to the taller Daniel's apparent invincibility.
The boy in question was going to eagerly await the day they discovered his smaller body's whereabouts and tried to challenge him. After all, he had a reputation to uphold as taller Daniel's brother~
Daniel strutted down the corridors like he owned the place. He was a man on a mission. A hunter. His pray? The cryptid dressed in cheetah print prowling around James Lee's old school ready to melt out of the shadows and mow his ass like grass.
His ghost detector beeped twice when he turned it left.
"Huh?"
Daniel pulled down his anti-bullshit protection glasses. He was all geared up in pink hello kitty pajamas, ready to fight against the cheetah-print abomination and thus end the urban legend's grip on the common people. That and he really wanted to kick Gun's ass while being literally half his size just for shits and giggles.
He needed a change of mood after he had begun the loop strapped to a table and bald while being interrogated by Jinyeong. When the doctor had asked about his deepest darkest secret he had looked him dead in the face and uttered ominously "I'm supposed to get a senior discount when I go shopping" before promptly passing out. It was technically true, though, by the look on the man's face, he probably thought something had gone wrong with the serum. With how he had been ranting about squirrels even before he got the serum Jinyeong might actually assume he had lost his mind.
Brushing away all other thoughts Daniel reached into his backpack and pulled out a thick book the size of his head with "How to catch a cryptid" written in bold red letters on the cover. He flipped it open at a page he had marked with a cute squirrel sticky note that had unfortunately gotten crumpled in his backpack and began reading aloud.
"To catch a cheetah print abomination in the wild you must first know what it is. A cheetah print abomination is the Mothman's cousin and shares with this its distinctive mating cry and other negligible physical traits such as height comparable to Slenderman and an outward appearance that makes people tremble at the sight of it." Daniel hummed as if he had been given great knowledge and flipped the page, continuing to read aloud.
"The cheetah print abomination is easily spotted by its abysmal fashion sense and atypical behavior, such as being turned on by physical combat and physical injuries caused during fights (for reference check page 67, paragraph 9 "What to do in the event of a wild Jonngun attack, tips and escape methods by prof. Daniel "the Taller" Park)."
Daniel ignored the sound of creaking floorboards and continued reading before he suddenly stopped and let out an exclamation of glee.
"Oh look, they even have a photo!"
He raised his book in the air and put the grainy picture of a black baby cow parallel to the man staring at him. He made a big show of analyzing the picture and let out appropriate sounds of understanding and awe while comparing it to the live specimen. Finally, Gun had enough of the perceived mockery and ripped the book out of the boy's hands, took one look at the page Danny was currently reading and at the picture, and promptly tossed it out of an open window.
"No wait, that was my only copy!" He bemoaned while looking at the darkness behind the window dejectedly. "You know you're going to have to pay me back for that, right?'
The man's expression twisted into a sneer and he reached for the boy, intent on getting rid of this disrespectful bug. His attempt was promptly met with a wet shoe to the chin and then another when he tried to kick the little gremlin away. He looked disgustedly at the little puddle forming beneath the second shoe before looking up at the boy.
"It's holy water." Daniel shrugged pulling out a pair of flip-flops which he used in place of his thrown sneakers, "Need to be prepared, you know."
A laugh bubbled up in Gun's throat at the sheer absurdity of the situation. He was getting mocked by a child in hello kitty pajamas who thought he was a cryptid and had turned his holy water-soaked sneakers into projectiles against him. He stared down at the still-smoking cigarette in between his fingers and pondered upon his life choices for a few awkward minutes while the gremlin stared at him with a mix between curiosity and wariness like he was some sort of weird creature he had just encountered.
"I need something stronger than this." He announced, snuffing the cigarette beneath his shoe and turning around.
As he walked out of the school he heard the genuine voice of the little hello kitty-clad menace echoing down the halls.
"You know, smoking and drinking can be really bad not only for your health but also for your interpersonal relationships!"
Gun walked faster.
When Daniel first met Jay he thought he was an angel. Too many time loops to count later, he still thought he was an angel.
Jay was always kind, even when he barely knew him. He was loyal, smart, rich, and beautiful and he could fight! What was there not to love in him?!
Daniel doesn't remember when he first fell in love with the blonde. The hundreds of years that had passed already made things a bit blurry. But he remembered that no matter what time loop he was in Jay had never left his side. And no matter what loop he was in Daniel had never stopped seeking him out and falling in love with the quiet boy all over again.
"Would you stop that!" A painful blow to the ribs brought him out of his daydreaming.
He shot the perpetrator a confused and indignant look, at which Zack only snorted derisively.
"Don't even try to play dumb with me! You were ogling at him again!"
Not knowing how to respond (Because had hadn't been ogling at him, thank you very much, he had been staring admiringly at him from afar!), his gaze once again wandered to the quiet blond. Initially, it had been only to check if he had heard them, but his eyes remained pinned on his fair face. The light fell on him at such an angle that it made it seem as if his skin had turned into pure glittering snow. His hair shifted slightly with the breeze in such a hypnotizing way that the boy couldn't take his eyes off of him even if he wanted to.
Another elbow to his already hurting ribs brought him back to reality.
"Stop it already! It's seriously starting to creep me out!"
It was Daniel's turn to snort. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
"Oh please, as if you don't do the same with Mira."
The bell rang and he got up, leaving a spluttering Zack behind before the boy could get a grip and start throwing threats and glares at him.
"Hey, Jay, wait up! Let's eat lunch together, we don't need to go to the cafeteria if you don't want to." He ran after his beloved with a big smile which the blonde reciprocated.
"I swear, one day those two are going to give me diabetes with how sweet they are!" Mira told her friend playfully before her gaze landed on the boxer and she gave him a friendly wave.
Zack promptly melted into a puddle of goo on the floor, much to everyone else's amusement.
Forget politeness, Danny was just downright feral. Simply put, he had woken up and chosen violence.
He made his way to school like he owned the place. Bought himself at the Slave Auction like it was nobody's business and went off into the sunset with a baffled Jay in his arms, being held in bridal style. Then he came back because he had forgotten that he had to sing with Duke and put the blonde back down remorsefully before making him promise to watch his concert.
Somehow, and because the universe was a bitch he had once again ended up in the parking lot with Crystal and Gun staring at him. Before he could walk away the girl opened her mouth and began berating him for "judging people based on their looks".
"I'm gonna stop you right there" He cut her off, something no one had ever done before judging by her gobsmacked expression. "I don't know you, nor do I care to so you should keep your hypocritical view to yourself, okay miss?"
Unfortunately, Crystal managed to recover before he could book it out of there.
"Just who do you think you are? Calling me a hypocrite?"
Daniel regaled her with a thoroughly unimpressed stare before opening his mouth.
"Siri, could you please tell me the definition of hypocrisy?"
"a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel" The robotic voice came from his back pocket, echoing through the empty parking lot.
Gun had a mysterious coughing fit that ended with a pointed elbow in the ribs from the smaller girl, though even that didn't manage to wipe the grin off his face. He eyed the boy more closely, feeling suddenly intrigued about whether he had the skills to back his cheeky attitude.
"You judge people based on how they look. I saw how you looked at one of the other girls in the crowd." Crystal continued to press on stubbornly.
"And you don't?" He retorted without missing a beat. "Besides, the girl I was looking at was Lala Kim, and she's notorious for how badly she treats the dates she buys at the Slave Auction."
That at least seemed to have gotten his point across.
"But you still act like you are better than anyone else."
Spoken too soon.
"I am better than everyone else!" His cocky reply seemed to only infuriate the beautiful girl more.
"Prove it!"
"Sure!"
They were now shouting and so close to each other that it was just one shove away from ending up really awkwardly between them. Daniel didn't let his confidence waver when she suddenly revealed a sharp smile that promised pain and humiliation, instead, he gave her his own taunting smirk and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Gun, fight him."
If the command surprised the bodyguard, he didn't show it. In one swift move, he took off his sunglasses, revealing the black sclera of his eyes and plastered on his infamous insane grin. Crystal moved out of the way and Daniel squared his shoulders but didn't wipe off his mocking expression.
Before he could blink an all-too-familiar kick began heading his way and the boy slipped into his fighting mindset. He blacked the click with his own leg using a basic movement that made it seem ridiculously easy. Gun's eyes widened as well as his smirk.
"You're pretty interesting, huh?"
A fist flew towards his face.
"Uh, Daniel."
The boy in question dodged the blow and caught his attacker by the throat, lifting him in the air.
"Hm?" He hummed inquiringly, turning to see the cowering form of Jinho looking at him like he was a monster.
He let go of his opponent, whose body hit the pavement with a muffled thud and made his way toward his smaller classmate.
"Uh-uh, Duke's looking for you, he-he asked me to-to get you." Jinho stuttered, eyes glued on the predator before him and knees trembling.
"Oh right, the concert, I almost forgot!" It was like a switch had been flipped and Daniel's cold facade melted back into a friendly smile. "Thanks, Jinho."
The boy nodded so fast he almost knocked his glasses off his face and scurried back.
"Ah, sorry, we'll have to continue this another time." He told the pair who were still frozen in shock, either at his skill or his quick change in attitude, he found that he didn't care much either way.
Shooting them one final sharp grin Daniel jogged back to the school festival, ready to perform for the beautiful blonde who would be watching him. Once he was out of sight Gun's posture finally loosened and he leaned onto the side of the car, pulling out a cigarette. A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead and he absently brushed his fingers over the already-forming hand-shaped bruise on his neck.
"He could have broken my neck without breaking a sweat." He mumbled and Crystal blanched at the thought.
"That boy...", the fighting maniac took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke slowly, "could've killed me if he wanted to."
The pair shared no other words as they left, both slightly trembling, though due to different reasons. Daniel Park was a real beast and they were lucky he had been interrupted when he had. Gun massaged his neck again as he drove, an impossibly large smile on his face.
"Hey, stop. I'm not proud of it." Zack was definitely proud of it.
He glanced back at the new transfer hoping to see him cowering and had he been drinking anything he would have done a spit-take right then and there.
Oblivious to the looks he was getting, Daniel, continued flirting with the increasingly reddening blonde. His pickup lines were downright atrocious, but Jay didn't seem to mind it at all.
"Are you French? Because Eiffel for you."
Zack began wondering if this was a fever dream but a quick look at his gobsmacked goon confirmed they were seeing this too.
"Are you a parking ticket? Because youâve got FINE written all over you."
Zoe quietly despaired in a corner with large crocodile tears running down her face.
"I must be in a museum, because you truly are a work of art."
Zack sneakily pulled out a notebook and began furiously scribbling down notes.
"Are you a time traveler? Cause I see you in my future!"
Daniel was not smirking mischievously at that one, thank you very much.
"Can I follow you where youâre going right now? Because my parents always told me to follow my dreams."
"Does he even have a dad?" someone whispered in the background, genuinely curious.
As expected, there was no reply.
"Do you like Star Wars? Because Yoda only one for me!"
Mira could no longer keep a straight face and face-planted into her desk letting out something that sounded like a mix between a moan of despair and a muffled snort. It came out like the sound of a wounded pterodactyl.
The teacher walked in unnoticed.
"My love for you is like diarrhea, I just can't hold it in."
The teacher promptly walked out and never returned.
Danny didn't expect a lot of weirdness when he started this loop. He was sorely mistaken.
The realization came to him when he realized he had retained the previous loop's features and still looked like a 25-year-old gangster, tattoos and all. Not to mention he was staring down at the tiny version of one Johan Seong.
Taking a deep breath of his cigarette he allowed himself another glance downwards, which he immediately regretted.
"Could you give me your shoes?' Johan looked up at him with his big brown eyes shining with a sort of innocence Daniel had never seen on the boy before.
He exhaled the smoke upwards, as far away from the little one's face as possible, then crouched down and extinguished his cigarette on the pavement while his free hand reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash that had seemingly traversed back with him and handed it to the wide-eyed boy with the gentlest smile he could manage.
"Take care of yourself" He ruffled little Johan's hair before getting back up and continuing down the sidewalk.
Without hurrying he made his way to a hotpot restaurant, keenly aware of his little shadow. He stopped right in front of it and turned around startling the boy so badly that he instinctively cowered.
"Have you had anything to eat yet?" The man asked, softening his expression so as not to frighten the boy more than he already had.
Johan shook his head and Daniel gestured for him to go in. He marveled at the boy's innocence as his eyes grew larger and he sprinted into the hotpot shop with an expression of childish glee that tugged at the older's heartstrings. This boy had not yet lost the spark in his eyes, though judging by his appearance he had already suffered through the whole cult ordeal.
Daniel chuckled at his enthusiasm and allowed Johan to choose what to order while they sat down next to each other.
"Hey mister, you're really nice!" The boy exclaimed, biting into a piece of meat. "You didn't even kick me when I asked for your shoes and gave me money and everything!"
Danny hummed back while swallowing his own food before wiping a trail of broth off the boy's chin. Johan watched him with keen eyes but didn't lean back or in. It was like the boy was trying to decide whether to be suspicious or revel in this tiny moment of affection that made him feel all fuzzy and warm inside. His mommy used to make him feel like that a long time ago when he was really little but hadn't done so since. Adults only play nice when they want something from you, he reminded himself when the tall dark-haired man retracted his hand and placed the crumbled napkin back on the table before returning to his meal. Something about him made Johan feel safe, something he hadn't felt since they had taken his mommy away, and made him want to cling to him. That's why he had followed him in the first place.
Seeing the boy lost in thought Daniel suppressed a tiny smirk and gently flickered his forehead, only hard enough to wake him from his reverie. He was rewarded with a pout that almost made him coo, but the boy's attention quickly went back to his remaining meal which he once more began to swallow feverishly.
"Slow down." The man chided while handing him a glass of water when Johan accidentally choked.
His actions seemed to have taken a more paternal turn ever since his eyes had landed on the tiny boy, but he didn't really care at the moment. Every bone in his imposing body screamed to take the boy home, wrap him in a blanket and protect him from this cruel world but he suppressed such thoughts. Although his morals had long since been distorted he had yet to completely lose his sense of boundaries. Kidnapping a child wouldn't do, not when he himself seemed to always get into trouble somehow. He didn't even have a place to stay at the moment, so that plan went out the window before it even began.
"Hey, mister", a tiny, high-pitched voice put a stop to his spiraling thought and his tired black eyes clashed with bright brown innocent ones, "what's your name?"
Daniel almost got whiplash with how suddenly his other thoughts paused but didn't show any outward signs of his newfound weakness. The child was making him soft.
"Daniel", he wiped his mouth with a napkin, "and you?"
"I'm Johan!"
His enthusiasm seemed to be infectious because he soon found himself smiling and humming while following along with the small brunette as he chatted about anything and everything. Yep, the child was definitely making him soft. And wasn't that a weirdly welcome surprise?
----------------
In the following days, the two of them kept bumping into each other, and each time they did they ended up back at the same hotpot restaurant.
Daniel had gotten a job at a nearby supermarket that reminded him of his old convenience store, with the added bonus that it paid better and no one dared to look down on him (not that most even could anyway). That way he had the funds to keep taking little Johan to eat at least once a week, although he had yet to find a place for himself. That particular thing wasn't really a problem, since he had long since learned the best sleeping spots in the city during some of his past loops and no one dared to attack him while he slept, out of fear.
In the last loop, Daniel had gotten really jacked up and covered most of his upper body in tattoos symbolizing various things, from his friends to events from other loops and so forth. Unless you really paid attention you probably couldn't tell what they meant, since the man had paid special attention to hiding such details in the very images representing them.
That evening, as he was making his way back from his job Daniel stumbled over a sight that made his blood boil. On the ground was a brunette little lump, covered in blood and bruises, with shards of broken glass and pieces of broken bottles surrounding it. Burying his anger deep in his chest the man stumbled to the child's side, crouching down to take a better look at the damage. No one other than him was around, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
With his foot, he nudged away most of the glass before kneeling over the unmoving Johan. He breathed a sigh of relief after finding a pulse, took off his ratty black trench coat, and scooped the bundle up into it. Careful not to hold him too tight and risk making his injuries worse Daniel made his way quickly to one of his nearby hideouts in an old abandoned building. Johan stirred and let out a weak whimper when he bangs climbing the crumbling stairs.
"It's okay, just hang on for a little longer. You'll be okay." He hushed the child suppressing the urge to cuddle him until he felt better no matter how much his chest ached at the notion of having to prolong his pain.
"Just a little longer" He promised the half-conscious boy, finally reaching the floor he had claimed as his own.
Without letting go of Johan he reached underneath an old, rotten dresser and pulled out a backpack that was obviously newer than anything else in this room, though, upon a closer inspection, one could see that it was missing a strap and looked torn in places. Daniel didn't once stop whispering reassurances and praise for how well he was doing as he removed the shard from his skin and bandaged the cuts. While relieved that the boy didn't seem to have any broken bones, he still gritted his teeth while applying cream to the patches of sickening blue and yellow covering his skin and wrapping his wounds.
Once he was finished dressing his wounds he wrapped the boy in one of his jackets and placed him on a relatively clean mattress he had managed to procure from a lovely lady at a yard sale, allowing himself a moment to marvel at how much younger and smaller he looked while sleeping. That night he didn't sleep, instead guarding Johan and making plans on returning the favor tenfold to those who had dared to lay their filthy hands on his kid.
When the first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracked window Johan began to stir. His whole body hurt, but not as much as it had when those guys beat him up. He was on something soft and he cuddled into the warmth before his mind caught up with his awake body. Warmth? He lurched forward in a panic before a pair of big warm hands gently pushed his back.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, you're safe."
He didn't recognize the voice at first but his brain automatically associated it with safety so he relaxed and allowed himself to be pushed back into what he now realized was a jacket almost three times his size in which he had been wrapped in. The pain in his back flared, but he pushed it away in favor of analyzing the room.
It didn't look like anything special. The walls were cracked and the paint had fallen off in some places. He was laying on a mattress that looked like a dog had bitten off one of its corners. Opposite him was an old wooden table with two plastic chairs that didn't belong to the same set on either side of it and next to it was a dresser that looked like it had come straight out of a haunted victorian mansion.
Finally, Johan's eyes landed on the figure at the foot of his bed and a shy smile bloomed on his battered face. Daniel returned it even wider while leaning towards him and placing a calloused palm on his forehead. The action made him fidget, but he soon calmed down when the man took his hand back, seemingly satisfied.
"Where does it hurt?"
The boy's first reaction was to deny that there was anything wrong with him but the look in Danny's eyes made him think otherwise. Timidly he pointed at the parts where he could still feel the pain, watching with bated breath as the man's expression seemed to grow darker and darker.
Finally, he hummed in the way Johan had learned to distinguish as him having gotten what he wanted and let out a deep breath. Although his hand itched for a cigarette, he remained steadfast in his refusal to smoke anywhere near the boy these days. Instead, he forced on a blank expression and began rummaging through the backpack. He pulled out a bottle of water and a store-bought sandwich and handed them to the child after checking the expiration date.
He made sure that the copycat didn't choke while wolfing down the slightly stale sandwich and reflexively wiped the crumbs off his cheeks after he had finished, lamenting at how sunken they were. He resolved to hound the boy to go with him to the hotpot store more often, if only to make sure he ate enough.
"Why?"
"Mhm?"
"Why-Why did you take me to your place? Why did you take care of me and feed me? You haven't asked for anything back? I-I don't have anything to give you! I can't-"
The boy's broken tirade was cut off by a pair of scarred but warm hands circling around his trembling frame and bringing him into someone's chest. The dam broke, and tears began flowing down his pale cheeks like waterfalls. He didn't even know why he was crying, but the building ache in his chest seemed to have finally bubbled to the surface and overwhelmed him. It wasn't fair! Why did this stranger he had met not even a month ago care for him more than his mommy did? Why? Why couldn't he be a normal kid? Why couldn't he go to school, and make friends, and play with toys?
Daniel listened to the little one wrapped in his arms choke on his own sobs and hiccups while mumbling unintelligibly and his heart shattered. The unfairness of it all hit him straight on and at that moment he found that he didn't care if his shirt was wet with tears and snot and bits of saliva, nor did he care that his work would start in half an hour. He could afford to lose his job (even if it would be a rather nasty blow to his income) if it meant that the little boy who was drifting off to sleep on his chest, having already tired himself out crying, wouldn't be alone when he woke up.
No, he thought clutching Johan closer to himself, he wouldn't let him be alone again. He wouldn't abandon him and he would do his darned best so that he would get a normal childhood.
When a man's pride is wounded the outcome is usually unfortunate for the other party.
Perhaps he had been too brazen that morning, or his nonchalance had affected Zack more than he realized because the boy came into the convenience store seething. When his eyes landed on the small figure behind the counter his face twisted into a smirk that would have sent past Daniel probably running for the hills.
Currently, however, Danny had grown to have more faith in his smaller body, even if all the work he had put into losing weight had been reversed, his mind still had all the moves he had learned over the years and under Gun's mentorship deeply ingrained. It was only a matter of his body getting used to the motions all over again, a task which he would have found quite daunting if not for both of his bodies' inhumane ability to perform moves by copying them down to their finest details and unleashing them at his behest.
All that said, it didn't change the flaring temper of the boxer currently leaning over the counter and staring down at him. The cashier looked up at him unimpressed and once again requested identification. This seemed to spark something because the next thing he knew Zack's face turned stormy and a fist came heading for his bulging belly. Daniel managed to keep his expression flat as he caught the incoming blow, though deep inside he snorted at Zack's gobsmacked expression.
"What the heck!"
"That pig actually caught his punch!"
"Zack must be getting sloppy!"
The last comment seemed to irk him indescribably and he turned his ire on his goons, dragging the mercilessly out of the store. Daniel waited until the banging and strangled yelps quieted down until he allowed himself a muffled giggle. In a good mood, he called his mom.
"Oh, who is this? My son~"
His smile grew larger and more genuine at the sound of his mother's voice, though he cringed when he recalled that around this time she would probably be busy picking boxes to make money for him.
"Hey mom, how are you?" His voice came out warmly, and one could easily guess that he was smiling.
"I'm well, how about you? Are you eating enough? How's your new place? Did you make any new friends?"
The boy resolved to try and repair all those years he had been unfilial to his mother and, in a light tone, began chatting with her about his new school and friends, concealing the truth about his other body. His mother was happy and her worries were put at ease so for now, they wished each other good night and hung up.
After the conversation, the pudgy boy returned to the store. As he was making his way behind the counter he caught sight of the lottery tickets near checkout and a thought struck him. Gaining money would be so much easier now that he knew the future (at least, to some extent).
If being around figures like Gun and Goo for so long had thought him anything outside of combat was that money made the world spin. With enough cash, you could get out of some really tough situations and cover up almost anything. Money could also be sent to his mother to ease her burdens, and it could become a factor that would greatly influence his actions in the future.
With his mind made up, Daniel pulled out his phone and went on numerous sites holding lotteries and such other games. He was only familiar with those whose prizes would appear on television during his night shift, but the amount was not negligible. Soon, he told himself, sneaking another glance at the lottery tickets and stifling an uncharacteristically sharp smirk. Soon, this would all be worth it.
He didn't get any more customers that night, so he used most of it to exercise, sorely missing the inches he had gained after losing weight and under the black-eyed maniac's tutelage. While this body worked well for him last time the boy refused to leave it all up to the - frankly ridiculous - luck that had saved him all those times in his past life. He would need agility to fight the stalker and the psycho obsessed with Zoe and other such unsavory characters he had had the misfortune of being met with last time. And that agility, and not to mention speed, would only come with a lighter body that could move properly without all the fat in the way.
The idea was practical, though he still wondered, even when he woke up the next morning in his tall slender body, how this decision would affect his interactions in the future. He looked forward to meeting Vasco, though it would probably be a shock to see his back to his naive self and so quick to judge someone based on appearance. It was already proving to be difficult not to equate these versions of his friend to those he knew they would become and sometimes he despaired at their current attitudes.
This huge relapse sometimes left him dazed. More so than his pride, it wounded his soft, bleeding heart to see all of their progress lost to the wind with them none the wiser.
Polite but feral was the best way to characterize Daniel Park on most days. Today, however, he was just plain flabbergasted. I mean, It's not every day that you wake up back on the day it all started and get to look at yourself in the mirror without being able to recognize your own body. Either of them, actually.
His original body lay on the floor, a soft lump of fat and regrets, while the one he was currently using bore none of the marks that had come from all the fights he had survived. As if the memories written in thin silvery lines across his skin had been washed away by an unforgiving cold wave.
The sink shattered under his tense fingertips but he did not let go of it. Instead, his burning gaze remained fixed onto the mirror as if willing it to admit it was wrong and revert to the reality it had seemingly abandoned in favor of this bitter-sweet illusion. To his dismay, it refused to relinquish the fake image no matter how much he waited. Instead, it was he who first lowered his head onto the cracked remains of his marble sink, stifling a sob as the reality of the matter came crashing down on him like an avalanche.
Denial was over, it came time for anger. But even then, he was much too tired to do anything, nor did he have anything to destroy in sight. At least, nothing he would not regret destroying later. Thus, he settled on clawing at the skin on his back until blood trickled from his nails and down to his elbows. As the blood dripped onto the cold floor below he moved his hands, dragging strips of skin along the entirety of his exposed back. When the pain no longer satisfied him he let his arms fall limply and sunk to his knees, banging his head onto the floor with a muffled thud that left him wondering if anyone was wondering about the noise. His neighbors had been awfully eager to stay out of his way, while expressing their displeasure by loudly banging on the walls in his past- life?
"Take me back."He pleaded into the darkness of his room. "I shouldn't be here."
The moon only stared down at him, cold and unresponsive.
"Please, please"He tried again, though it came out more as a gasp, his chest heavy with sobs he tried to keep at bay.
Failure had never tasted so bitter as when Daniel felt the tin strims of water going down his cheeks. Like a mockery, no matter how much he rubbed at his eyes, the tears never stopped, filling his mouth with the tiny drops of salty water that threatened to drown him. He gasped, clutching his chest as he cried like he hadn't since he was a babe, with tears and hiccups and snot that left him feeling like even more of a pathetic mess than before.
He couldn't tell you how long he laid on the floor, curled with his hands clutching his wildly beating heart and weeping for what was but what could never be again. Sure, he could try to repeat his past experience, sticking as close to the original actions as possible, but it wouldn't be the same. He wasn't the same. Something was fundamentally different about him. Something was broken that last time had been whole. His faith.
Finally, he rose his body and stumbled through washing his face, not quite there. For a second time that night, he rose his face and looked, really looked, at himself in the mirror. He traced unseen scars across his face, trying to commit to memory where each silvery mark and red splotch had been. His body felt so, so awfully wrong. So horribly alien yet familiar to him. Not how it had felt the first time, but similar in a way he couldn't express.
The boy displaced in time could not help but feel as if he had stolen something. Maybe a chance, or a life? It didn't matter.
Acceptance.
He would find his way again, he wasn't lost, merely trying to find his footing again on a path he had taken once already. He could do this.
But not today.
He flopped onto his ratty mattress and cried his heart out until his breathing turned to wheezing and his body felt like turning to mush. Then, he closed his eyes and opened them again, seeing the world from a different angle.
----------
In his last life (it still felt wrong to use the word, but he couldn't find a better way to put it) he had abused his ability to use another body. A body that was attractive and brought his positive attention wherever he went was addictive to him, who had only been even viewed with disgust and contempt by others. He would still use it, of course, but this time he would focus more on the body he had been gifted from mother nature and all of its qualities. Beginning with sewing a few new clothes for his bigger body.
Daniel made quick work of a couple outfits that he felt would suit his bigger body better than his smaller one. His chubby fingers moved swiftly with the needle, although his only source of light was the full moon that was slowly descending out of view and thus, making him have to change his angle several times so as to still keep it in view.
When the sun finally rose off the jagged line of Seoul's horizon he had adopted a calm and collected attitude that he hoped could fool his classmates (no longer his friends) for the day and changed his body. The clothes fit him nicely and although it was still mostly his uniform, with a few pieces changed here and there, like the blue pants that he had swapped out for a pair of black jeans. Adjusting his hair one last time in the mirror he departed, taking the familiar route to school.
He ignored the stares, the whispers, and the ridiculous, over-the-top reactions of the people he passed by, already used to it from the last time. However, he did not miss the hidden eyes of a certain blonde once he entered the class and presented himself (much more casually and without stuttering this time). Nor did he miss the daggers Zack was shooting him for Mira's reaction to his introduction.
When Zoe came and flirted with him he just gave her a small smile while internally cringing. How had he not noticed how bad that line was the first time?
The day passed by in a blur, a few familiar faces here and there, but Daniel was much more focused on that evening and the events to follow. He didn't fall asleep though and thus saved Zoe the embarrassment of being yelled at, not that it changed much of how the girl saw him.