#where hyuk was bleeding and in the rain.....not me thinking about

[ofgentleresolve]

so that one time the king ( @jeoseungsaja ) and the queen met...

The RAIN falls between them, the raindrops tapping against the top of her umbrella in a steady rhythm of plitter-platter, plitter-platter. Felicity watches him, the former detective, as his one hand steadies him against the brick wall and other splays itself over his side. It’s a sad attempt really, at keeping the wound from bleeding. 

Eyes meet. She presses a finger against her lips- don’t say anything. It’s true, she shouldn’t be here; that in and of itself should not be possible, but that does not change the fact that they are face-to-face in a dark alleyway in Seoul, of all places. The only thing that would complete this puzzle would be the person that ties them together.

Or at least for Hyuk, the person that tied them together.

And then in one fluid motion, she tucks herself under his arm, getting him to lean against her rather than the wall. Her umbrella barely shields the both of them from the rain.

“Save your strength,” she says finally, once they’ve gotten out of the alleyway. “We need to get you treated.”

[anthropoetics]

epik high lyrics that breaks my heart (honorific); these are only a selected few from many i adore. translations from @epikhightrans! 

based on a true story, epik high is here 上

loss makes me selfish / just to fill up this tiny emptiness i feel / i grab hold of someone else’s emotion / and stuff them into my own heart / with this desolation and loneliness that isn’t mine / i fill up my chest and my mouth / and pretend i’m telling my own story

to tell you the truth, i’m scared / to feel anything that is entirely mine / even a loose strand of emotion must be cut off / because i know with even one pull / i’m a ball of thread that will fall apart

people scare me, we’ve done something wonderful

what do you expect in this day and age, when ripe is treated as rotten? / the rice plant only gets cut when it bows down

we’ve created these songs with scars, not sounds / although bloodstained, we’ve done something wonderful

lesson zero, epik high is here 上

i’d end up quoting the entire song but i think this snippet represents it a lot: “no more lessons please / now i see, the question to all answers / will only bring me to my knees / and back to zero” 

love story feat. iu, we’ve done something wonderful

the night you told me stories about your family / only i know of the pieces of emotions that i want to give you / when it rained, under the blanket / you hid under the roof of my body and took shelter from all the rain in the world

i remember everything / even my first morning without you / the moment when i finally broke down after holding it back for so long / i cried in the shower for ages / while taking your hair strands off the soap

home is far away feat. oh hyuk, we’ve done something wonderful

looking back, i see long rows of expectations / pretending to support me, they push me from behind / i wanted to place a comma in my heart some time / but it’s become entangled within the numbers

the world puts out a calculated hand / i don’t want to hold onto it, but i’m more afraid of having nothing in my hands / is time really the only thing that keeps moving, even when you hold onto it?

do i have a place for myself in this wide world? (home is far away) / am i alone in these busy streets? (so, so far away) / is there not a single vacant seat for me? / home is so far away

bleed, we’ve done something wonderful

our smiles always wither away before even blooming / but flowers that never bloomed still gather to form a garden

rain again tomorrow, sleepless in __________

passing on a galaxy’s worth of emotions that i’ve earned through life / to earn a few stars / they say tomorrow is another sunrise / those rainclouds tell me otherwise / they say it’s raining again tomorrow

a sea of thoughts / i keep sinking, perhaps because i don’t know where it ends / every night i try to swim freely / only to end up breaking like a wave

it’s cold feat. lee hi, 99

the four seasons never suited me in the first place / i’m a cold child / my harsh personality is like winter that cuts through the skin / the cold wind / it’s needless to say / to me, having a cold heart is everything / my heart is like the winter ocean / you’d know when you approach me on a ship / that i’m not an island, but an iceberg

encore, shoebox

misfortune and fortune’s dizzying tango / my life itself is poetry / breathing is enough to channel rimbaud

happen ending feat. joe won sun, shoebox

just when i think i’d die for someone- / -i’d kill them out of spite / parting is murder anyway / the way you busy a living person in your memory / cold blooded / don’t ask how i am

all i want is a mirror to my apathy / the whole world makes a fuss / but love is nothing but a sanctified instinct / funny that what separates man from beast / turns a man into a beast

spoiler, shoebox

maybe this is my deserved punishment for wanting to love like the movies / i finally ask where your heart is at, and all i get is an open ending / yes, our love was twist upon twist, a series of hair-raising scenes / but even the flames of that hell was better than this burnt out purgatory / i see the end / can’t turn off the projector in my mind

no different feat. yuna, sleepless in __________

i might not be the one / could you settle for half?

heartbreak, two pieces / one i’ll take, one’s with you

[artsyxloner]

Not Just a Monster

Warning: blood, violence

10: Rescue Mission Pt2

I was quiet for a few minutes knowing this man wasn't like Suk-Hyun.  I knew he was going to shoot me If I didn't say anything.

" I got cut by a piece of glass," I said truthfully, he seemed to believe me lowering his weapon. " know you said you were going to room 1408 right" I nodded. " you know that's the fourteenth floor, I'm sure you're wanna use someone who's not afraid of death."

The man laughed, the girl that her name was Yoo-Ri was about to protest. " well you're fired, you've done well nursing this old man but it's time to come out of Retirement." He Insisted.

" I want to be a superhero before I die." He proclaimed, he did know this wasn't about playing superhero right even though he wanted to join my mission.

" let me join you?"

I didn't need anyone else they would just slow me down, the only reason why that man went was that he was doing something of his own.

" you're just acting Tough."

His smile dropped, " what?" I know I shouldn't be rude but it's the only way not to get him to come I didn't need to have someone else die on my Conscience. " you're just fooling yourself, no one wants to die."

I mentioned, the man didn't look too happy. " let me explain something to you, young lady not being afraid of death and wanting to die are two very different things. I'm planning to live longer than all the rest of you kids you'll see."

The old man smirked, knowing I wasn't going to change his mind we made our way to the fourteenth floor not knowing what type of monsters awaited there.

When we arrived in the apartment, I opened the door seeing an old man, getting a closer look I saw he was in a wheelchair, I frowned feeling bad then seeing a pair of children a boy and a girl they couldn't have been past the age of ten.

Why didn't they tell me this?

The old man closed the door with a black string that was attached to it, then he held up his Crutches that were made into a weapon. He was good at making those things.

" you know Hyun-Su right?" I asked, his eyes widened, but he gave me a firm yes. " is he alright?" the man asked with concern. I nodded, " he's alright, are leader Eun-Hyuk asked me to come and get you and know I'm guessing the kids."

The man kept quiet, " Why didn't Hyun-Su come?" I small voice asked, it was the little boy that was holding a toy Dinosaur. I smiled and got down to his level.

" he stayed behind to keep people safe from the monsters." I lied, making a funny monster sound. This seemed to make the little boy laugh.

" But you'll see him once we get down there." I patted his head. I guess I'm taking four more people with me. " alright I'll just pack wait here." The old man said going off to get his things.

Not knowing what to do one of the children grabbed my arm. " are you Hyun-Su girlfriend?" The girl asked. My eyes went wide. Girlfriend?

" oh, um on we are just—" I thought about it for a moment. What were we, friends or Acquaintances? Knowing I won't ever be his girlfriend that was impossible during the Situation we were in right now.

" We are just people that know each other," I explained we were nothing more nothing less even though my feelings for him were strong but I didn't know what they were yet?

The girl made an 'Oh' face and changed the subject. " well I'm Su-Yeong and that is my little brother Yeong-Su." They gave me their names. I like how they were the same but in a different order.

After the man returned, he had a big bag of stuff, along with his crutch-like weapon. " I'm ready to get out of here." The man told me I nodded, knowing I Accomplished my first mission hopefully we didn't have to do this anymore.

Heading down I had one of the kids on my back while the other was on Yu-Ri back. I figured that it would be faster just in case the kids didn't run fast enough.

I wonder where that one man is that came up with me? I hoped he was okay after what just happened. Going down the stairs Yeong-Su kept talking to me say how much longer.

" don't worry we are almost there," I assured him whispering, putting my finger up to my lips. I could then feel his little head lay on my shoulder.

We didn't need to be talking just in case because some monsters can hear well from what I've seen. There could be more hiding.

Once we made it down to the first floor, I was surprised at what was going on. There was blood all over the floor with two dead bodies lying there.

One was a man dressed in a Korean military suit and the other was a teenage girl that Mrs. Cha was holding that must have been her daughter. Letting the kid off my back I shield his eyes he didn't need to see this Yu-Ri did the same to Su-Yeong.

Taking both of their hands I lead them

Away. The atmosphere was tense also the rain made it worse. I then noticed the man that had gone up with me. His head was bleeding but his breathing was evident he wasn't dead.

Not knowing what was going on I continued and took the kids to the day-care-Center. Bringing them in they sat down in front of a dollhouse there faces looking glum.

" Su-Yeong why isn't dad here with us?" Yeong-su, cried, I didn't know what to do I thought that man in the wheelchair was their father or something like that?

" They can't, bring dad back. They said it would be too sad for us if they did." she Padded her brothers leg. " that doesn't make any sense though!"

I was about to say something until Mrs. Cha came through the door, " do you mind if I take them off your hands?" She spoke, sadly. I nodded knowing this may be good for her.

Turning to the kids I ruffled there hair, " you listen to her alright." I began, " I actually have to go somewhere." I needed to talk to Eun-hyuk Leaving the room I said my byes and went to find him.

I was angry to say the least, how come he didn't tell me about the children, Like was he just wanting that man?what ever it was I was going to let him have it.

I had stopped to ask a few people and they said he was in the restroom. Not caring I went in there slamming the door open. " so you didn't bother to tell me about the children?"

Eun-Hyuk was washing hands but after hearing me he stopped and looked over. " they would have been a Distraction, I just needed the man." He Plainly admitted. Like he didn't care for them at all. " so what? you just wanted me to leave them there!"

He stayed silent which confirmed it. " the man was are number one Priority." He grabbed a paper towel drying his hands. " if things went south leave them." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

" are you hearing your self? You expect me to leave two Defenseless children against blood thirst monsters." I shook my head this guy was insane.

" I hear myself completely, I would if it came down to it, risking lives wow—" I laughed "instead of making others risk there lives, how about you go and deal with the problem instead of using other people to do it."

I was pretty sure you could see steam coming out of my ears my face felt hot. " your going to have to get use to using people Soo-Nico, I have to use the people I think that are, are best weapon."

People weren't weapons, swinging up my Machete I showed him. " This! This! is a weapon, not humans." He nodded, " I agree completely, but we have to use what we have."

He was about to leave but I blocked the door. " you're twisted aren't you." I moved out of the way as those were my last words to the Psycho.

I was fuming, I couldn't Focus until I heard someone calling my name. I felt guilty for locking him up in there like everyone else but it was for his own good. I just stood there staying still, should I go talk to him and explain?

He was clearly going to ask why I did it. But I couldn't so I just left pretending like I didn't hear anything. I know I was the only one that had been nice to him and Treated him as an equal so this made me feel just as bad.

[fixxofvixx]

Possession - Taekwoon AU - Chapter 11

hello my dears!! i hope you’ve had a lovely weekend and I hope that this chapter can bring you some joy in reading it.  I am always thankful for my readers!! 💖💖

Please let me know what you think and enjoy!!!!

🏰🏰🏰🏰🏰

Leo's words rang in your ears like a bell.  Reverberating over and over, each time widening the crack in your stone heart.  You almost doubted you'd heard him at all but you knew you had.  But instead of feeling dreadful over it, you felt warmth.  You smiled through the remaining tears left on your cheeks.  Leo looked as if he hadn't meant to let that slip but didn't have the heart to retract it.  You knew he was being sincere so you felt the need to help his pride a bit.  You nodded and slumped back down to the floor.

"I've made you even more tired, I fear."

"No, I'm alright.  We both need to get some sleep and we can figured out what to do tomorrow....together."

"You will sleep.  I will speak with Hakyeon and the others about Alek and Hongbin.   We will need you to be fully recuperated if there is to be any fighting.  We will most likely require healing."  Leo stood before reaching down to pull you to your feet.

"I suppose...."  You attempted a couple of steps before your knees gave out.  Instead of falling, your body floated upwards.  Your stomach flipped at the feeling.

"Leo!"

"You won't fall.  Just relax."  He stepped back a couple of steps and your body followed.  Having no control over your movements was certainly unsettling.

"This....feels weird."

"I can't do this to myself so I'm not sure how it feels personally.  You are in no danger."

"I know."  You looked down at your feet and then back up at Leo.  The expression on his face reflected surprise.  Was he taken aback by your response?  You couldn't help but smile at him, which seemed to confuse him even more.

"What?"

"You look surprised....more so than me."

"You....nevermind.  You need to sleep."  Leo stepped aside and your body gently floated to your bed.  Once you reached the edge, you descended until your feet touched the floor.  Using the bed for support, you climbed onto the mattress.  Right when you got settled, someone knocked on the door.  Hakyeon entered the room with a scrutinizing face.

"How is our heroine?"  

"Much better now, thank you."  You smiled and stole a glance at Leo who had donned his usual stoic face once Hakyeon had entered.   He sat on the bed next to you so that half of your body was covered by Leo's wide frame.

"That is good to hear.  I wanted to tell you before you went to sleep that your room will be finished tomorrow.  We can help you get your things in there whenever you wake up and get you in there."

"Oh, thank you, I'm sorry you had to do that on top of everything else." 

"It wasn't difficult, we should have cleaned this place up long ago.  Get some rest and we can all talk more tomorrow."  Hakyeon smiled and then sent a pointed look to Leo as if silently telling him something. 

Leo gave him an annoyed looked and sent the door moving on its own to hit Hakyeon before he could make it all the way out of the room.  He yelped slightly and turned back to Leo with a shocked look on his face.  A laugh escaped your lips and Hakyeon turned to you with the same face.  

"You dare to laugh at me?"  He narrowed his eyes at you and started to turn back towards you, intent on revenge.  Fire erupted in Leo's hand causing Hakyeon to stop short of his mission.  The fire grew and you saw the look on Leo's face.  His face was set in a confident smirk as he was challenging Hakyeon to dare to come after you for laughing at him.   Hakyeon crossed his arms over his chest.

"We'll see how long you can hide behind your knight."  He sneered playfully at you before huffing and walking out the door.

You looked back at Leo and he extinguished the flame in his hand.  You smiled widely at him and he stood from the bed.  He now had an odd look on his face, like he was trying to memorize you.  A second later, he snapped out of it and took a breath.

"Do you need me to put you to sleep?"

"I think I'll probably just pass out so you don't have to.  I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright,"  Leo started to walk away but then turned back towards you, "I promise not to yell at you again."   He didn't wait for a response before quickly walking out of the room and shuting the door.  It took you a moment to realize that you still had a smile on your face.

You felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders.  You felt like you could begin to like it here.  Some of the ice had chipped away from Leo's walls and you were starting to see the person he truly was underneath.  It made you want to keep going until the entire wall came crumbling down.  Settling down into the blanket, you looked around the dimly lit room.  Tomorrow you would be in an entirely different room.  You wouldn't be able to come into Leo's room again.  As you closed your eyes to sleep, you tried to figure out why that made you sad.

-------------

Leo found Hakyeon in the kitchen, humming to himself as he sat in one of the seats at the large table.

"Tuck her in?"  Hakyeon let out a sound of surprise when a ball of fire hovered just in front of his face.  He could actually feel the heat from it and knew it would burn him if Leo brought it closer.

"You're lucky I don't have time to deal with you."  Leo headed through the kitchen for the back door of the mansion.  As he walked past Hakyeon, the ball of fire fizzled out.

"You going for him?"  Hakyeon watched Leo adjust the bracer he always had on his wrist.  

"You know I am.  I'll be back before daybreak, watch over her for me."

"Why don't you wait until we can all go?  We can help you."  Hakyeon knew Leo would refuse the offer.

"I work better on my own with situations like this, you know that.  This way she won't have to worry anymore."

"Are you ever going to tell her?"

"And risk having her run from me?  Not a chance."  Leo clapped a hand on Hakyeon's shoulder and then headed out of the house.

"Be careful."

"I always am."

Hakyeon sighed as he watched Leo walk out the back door, his shoulders looking like they had the weight of the world on them.  Sometimes he wished he wouldn't be so careful.  Only when it came to y/n, of course.  His friend was a machine on the battlefield but clueless in the art of love.  He hoped y/n could be the one to break him out of his cycle of punishing himself.  

---------------------

You woke up the next morning to a knock at the door.

"Y/N? Are you awake?"  You recognized Hyuk's voice on the other side.

"Just a moment."  You rose from the bed and adjusted the robe on your body and patted down your hair.  Your hair still felt damp from the shower you had taken in the middle of the night after the beating of the rain against your window had woken you.  You opened the door and saw Hyuk standing there looking apologetic.  

"Sorry, y/n, but Leo asked me to come and get you."

"Is something wrong?"

"He's…..a little banged up and so is--."

"What happened?!  Is he in the medicine room?!"  You sped out of your room in search of Leo.  You ran full tilt until you reached the medicine room. 

Turning the corner, you saw Leo sitting on the chair in the corner, an ugly slash across his face.  You immediately ran to his side, inspecting the wound.

"Leo, what happened?"  He didn't answer and, instead, crossed his arms over his chest.  He looked angry.  You reached out your hand towards his face and he moved it away.

"What are you--?"

"Him first."  Leo pointeda to the middle of the room.  You followed his direction and saw a body on the table. Raising back up to see who it was your eyes widened.

"Hongbin?!  What happened?  Did he escape?!"

"Well, not exactly…"  Hakyeon walked into the room carrying some cloth with Ken right behind him.  "Leo decided to launch a rescue mission last night….on his own."

"Are you serious?!  I thought we were going to do that together?"

"It doesn't matter.  Hongbin's back and no one died.  End of story."  You turned to Leo, flabbergasted.  One one hand, you couldn't be happier that Hongbin was back.  On the other, you felt a pain in your heart and you didn't know why.

"Yes….you're right.  How silly of me.  Give me a moment to collect what I need and I'll fix you both up."  You cleared your throat to ease the lump forming inside of it.  

You worked quickly and silently.  The others offered their assistance but you refused and sent them out of the room.  Leo didn't say a word, either.  Hongbin's injuries were not severe but they were numerous.  It looked as if he had been struck with something long, perhaps a whip.  Your heart broke for him.  Thankfully, he would live.  

After Hongbin was completely patched up, you turned to Leo.  The cut across his face was only slightly bleeding now.  You grabbed clean cloths and put fresh water in the basin.  You took the basin and cloths and set them on a small table beside Leo before turning back to get the salves. 

When you turned back, Leo was already wiping the blood from his face.

"I can do that."  You took the cloth from his hand and started where he had left off.  "The cut doesn't look too deep, there shouldn't be a scar."

"I don't care."  Your hand stopped short of its work when you heard Leo's cold tone.

"Leo...are….are you okay?"

"No."

"Are you in pain?  I might have something to help."  You started to stand but Leo grabbed your arm and halted your movements.  You looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Go get dressed."  

"Huh?"  You looked down at yourself and realized that you had only a robe on.  "What do you mean?"

"Get dressed, then come back."

"Leo, what I'm wearing doesn't matter.  I need to tend to your cut."

"Y/N…..you shouldn't be walking around like that in the house.  There are 6 grown men here."

"And everyone of them gentlemen, including you.  Now sit still."

"Y/N, please...go get dressed."

"Leo, please...be quiet."  

"Don't argue with me, woman."  He reached up and took your hand away from his face.  His grey eyes locked onto yours and you almost left the room….almost.  Instead, you took both of his hands and put them in his lap.

"Shut up and sit still.  I will sit on you if I have to!"  You set your lips in a determined line and reached for the salve.  With lightning speed, Leo reached forward, grabbed your waist and lifted you.  You let out a yelp when you landed on his lap.  You tried desperately to remove yourself but Leo held you in place.

"Don't make empty threats."  Leo leveled you with a stare that convinced you to be still.  "Finish what you were doing."  

You swallowed hard and raised the salve with a trembling hand.  You tried to finish as quickly as you could.  You hoped talking would help ease the awkwardness you felt.

"What happened?  Did you leave last night?"

"Mm-hmm."  

"Why?"  You were almost finished and prayed that your heart wouldn't give out.  

"To get Hongbin."

"Why did you go alone?" 

"It's easier that way."  His answers were curt, just like usual.

"Easy enough to get hurt?"

"It wasn't perfect but the result was the same."  The tension was disappearing from his voice and you were thankful. 

"How did you get in?"  He didn't answer but instead turned himself invisible before reappearing a second later.  Your hands stopped.  "Oh…"

Finally, you were finished with the cut across his face.

"It shouldn't scar much.  Is there anywhere else?"

"No."

You nodded and moved off of his lap.  Thankfully, he didn't try to hold you back this time.  You put all the supplies back and walked out of the room.  Leo watched you leave, desperately wanting to follow.  

---------- 

"Is that everything?"  Ken held a large cloth bag filled with your clothes.  Hyuk's arms were filled with a wooden crate packed with things from your old house that you hadn't even looked at yet.  

"I think so.  Please let me carry some of that."  You reached for the bag in Ken's arms but he moved away from you.

"Absolutely not.  Now, follow me, we have a bit of a walk."

"Where is the room?"  They had never said where your new room would be.  Since Ken mentioned a walk, you assumed it was on the other side of the mansion.  Which meant you would be completely alone.  You didn't really like the idea but you couldn't refuse their generous offer of giving you a room.

Ken led you out of Leo's room and turned to the left, Hyuk following behind you.  Once he reached the next door on the hallway he stopped.

"Man, that was hard.  I didn't think we were gonna make it, right Hyuk?"

"I agree, my legs were about to give out."  Hyuk chuckled and you stared at them in disbelief.

Ken opened the door and went in.

"Welcome to your new room, Y/N."

"T-This room?  It's right n-next door?"  You were surprised but then you walked in and immediately fell in love.  

The room was covered in light greens and greys.  It wasn't super girly save for the ruffled curtains.  You loved everything about it.  

"What do you think?"  Ken put the bag on the massive, fluffy looking bed in the center of the room.  

"Well," you buffed your nails on the material of your dress and inspected them, sighing, "I suppose it will have to do."  

A jolt of electricity lightly zapped your fingers and you jumped.  You looked up at Ken, eyes wide.  Sparks were coming from his own fingers and a smirk of satisfaction filled his face. 

"Oops, I must not have been paying attention to my abilities…"  You narrowed your eyes at him before Hyuk walked up and whispered something in Ken's ear.

"You better not tell him!"  

Assuming Hyuk was threatening to inform Hakyeon of Ken's shenanigans, you felt the need to come to his defense.

"Hyuk, you don't need to tell Hakyeon, we were just having a bit of fun."  You smiled showing you were hopeful that Hyuk would let it go.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on tell Hakyeon."  Hyuk laughed and patted Ken's shoulder.

"Then…."

"Hyuk, why don't we let y/n get settled into her new room.  We have training with Ravi anyway."  Ken all but dragged an unwilling Hyuk out of the door and in a second, you were alone.

After an hour of exploring every nook and cranny of the room, you came to a door on the opposite side of the bed, next to the window.  Curious, you turned the handle and was surprised to find it unlocked.  You opened the door slowly and peeked in.  All you could see from the light provided was a small hallway.  

All of a sudden, something pushed you, hard, in the center of your back.  The push launched you into the hallway with enough force, your body knocked against the wall on the other side.  A second later, the door to your room slammed shut. 

"Hello?! Is anyone there?! Hello?!" You tried everything to get the door back open but it was useless.  Now, you were trapped in a tiny pitch black dark hallway between your room and Leo's.  You felt your way along the wall in hopes of finding another door just like yours the perhaps led to Leo's room.

Sure enough, you located a door.  But your hope died quickly when you found it locked. 

"Hello?  Leo?  Are you in there?"  

"He's not in there."  Your body froze when you heard the voice.  It wasn't a voice you recognized.  

The voice was female.   

[epikhightrans]

What's your favorite lines/lyrics from each song in WDSW? :)

Hey there! This is gonna get pretty long, so keep reading if you’re interested :)

From a translator’s perspective, my most loved (and simultaneously despised) lyrics would be the ones that are easily lost in translation, as it is my duty to ensure that these are given enough attention to optimise the listener’s experience. However, from a long-term High Skool’s point of view, I’m more drawn to the lines that provide a connection to their previous works.

That being said, here are some of my most memorable lines/moments from each track.

1. 난 사람이 제일 무서워 (PEOPLE SCARE ME)

“The rice plant only gets cut when it bows down”

Here, Mithra alludes to his line in 풍파 (Hardships) from Epik High’s first album where he says, literally, “You are still an unripe rice plant” - I originally left out the rice plant part because it sounded too awkward. But there is a Korean proverb that says “A rice plant bows when ripe” meaning you should always be respectful and courteous, just like a rice plant ‘bowing down’ after it has matured. Despite mentioning this in their debut album, Mithra now conveys that adulthood and maturity (bowing down) will only eventually lead to demise (the rice plant getting cut).

“Do not believe the sweet tongue of those who crawl about”

(don’t listen to snakes) Tablo really loves recycling this line, but I’m quite fond of the way it’s phrased. so dramatic

2. 연애소설 (LOVE STORY) (Feat. IU)

“No stars in the skies of Seoul”

Ending their first title track in true Epik High style. Reminds me of 우산 (Umbrella) from Pieces, Part 1. 

3. 노땡큐 (NO THANXXX) (Feat. MINO, Simon Dominic, The Quiett)

I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT SIMON D SHREDDED THIS TRACK

4. 빈차 (Vacant Taxi/HOME IS FAR AWAY) (Feat. Oh Hyuk)

“What’s asked of me isAlways for me to reach a bit higher than my already outstretched handsThe world’s standards are soaring towards EverestAs I get closer to the peak, all I have is a mountain of stress”

R E L A T A B L E

5. HERE COME THE REGRETS (Feat. Lee Hi)

I liked Mithra’s lines. Always good fun to hear him rap in English lol.

6. 상실의 순기능 (THE BENEFITS OF HEARTBREAK) (Feat. Suhyun of AKMU)

“What do I live for?“

This line is literally “why do I live?” - gave me chills when coupled with Suhyun’s voice.

“The moment your hands left mine, they were replaced by the rushing hands of time.“

I quite enjoyed translating this line, because the literal translation still retained all the symbolism (!!!)

7. BLEED

“Now for me, ‘under’ and ‘over’ mean ‘never understood’ and ‘always overthinkin’’.”

Classic Tablo thing to say. I also love how he keeps dropping the g from -ing (it’s like he thinks he’s cool or somethin’)

“Our smiles always wither away before even bloomingBut flowers that never bloomed still gather to form a garden.”

I think most people listen to Epik High for these kind of lines. They’re simple but beautiful and powerful.

8. TAPE 2002年 7月 28日 (Skit)

Someone asked me to identify the songs played in this track, and here was my answer:

I can hear part of the chorus from 피해망상 (Paranoia) Part. 3 at 0:22 but I can hear that it’s over a different instrumental. At 0:40, I can hear Mithra’s line from 풍파 (Hardships) and can confirm it’s the same song. As for the other songs, I’m not sure whether they’ve actually been released in the first place.

My best guess is that these are tracks they’ve worked on for their first album (which was released in 2003), especially judging by Tablo’s younger voice and Mithra’s pronunciation (he used to roll his tongue… a lot……)

9. 어른 즈음에 (Around Adulthood/US AGAINST THE WORLD)

“Been filling up my glass with my worries all night longThey tread on the early morning air, as if they have nowhere to go.”

Maybe it’s just my thing but I love when Epik High talks about daybreak/dawn/early mornings. Suits their aesthetic.

“Be happy, dude.Get rich, dude.Meet the right one and live a good life, dude.Be happy, dude.I love you, dude.Meet the right one and love your daughter, dude.Dude.”

I just remember spending 10 minutes trying to decide whether to write “dude” or “bro”. I love you broIn retrospect I shoud’ve just gone with ‘man’ idk why I didn’t think of thatIt’s fixed now

10. 개화 (開花) (Blooming/LOST ONE) (Feat. Kim Jong Wan of Nell)

My favourite track. Tablo’s message to Haru, and a nod to 낙화(落花) (Fallen Blossoms), his solo track from Pieces, Part 1. If Tablo himself represents the fallen blossoms, Tablo conveys that he never wants Haru to bloom (awaken from her dream) because the only thing to follow would be for her to fall, much like what he experienced.

“Hope you can reach your dream.Hope your dream only shows you the things you can hold on to.Because success is about taking as much as you give,Hope your dream doesn’t give you something too precious.Hope your dream doesn’t attract attention.Protect it like a secret, and always hold your breath.Because the world is a place that takes as much as it gives,Hope your dream doesn’t only show you dreamlike things.Hope your dream lasts long.”

The outro also loosely draws a parallel to the aforementioned track where Tablo raps:

“My dream is the dream of a dwarf who walks on the sky.The dream of a blind man with the rainbow in his hands.The dream of an orphan who fell asleep to a sweet lullaby.The dream of an undutiful child who turned back the time.My dream is the dream of every mother in the world.The dream of a mute man who sings out loud.My dream is the dream of a deaf man who smiles to his lover’s soft whispers.

Just dream.Though it’s a dream I can’t have, I have a dream.Though it’s a dream that staggers, I have a dream.Though it’s a dream that’s been abandoned, I have a dream.Live and die for this dream.Though it’s a dream I can’t have, I have a dream.Though it’s a dream that staggers, I have a dream.Though it’s a dream that’s been abandoned, I have a dream.Live and die for this dream.”

11. 문배동 단골집 (MUNBAE-DONG) (Feat. Crush)

“At the place where I would hear Epik High on rainy days,All I hear now is trap.”

It wouldn’t be Epik High without the rain.

On the album as a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the underlying theme of reminiscence, regret, maturity and a sense of responsibility. There was an overall bitter tone to the lyrics that permeated through all 11 tracks, but I think it helped to provide a narrative that everyone could relate to and seek comfort in.

p.s. I’d like to thank Tablo for not throwing in incessant amounts of wordplay in this album (unless of course, I haven’t recognised all of them…) It can be quite a pain to try and explain them all. Instead he makes dad jokes about trees “artis-tree” “I AM ‘GROOT’ MOFUCKA”

[247krp]

— Rejoice, little lambs! We have recovered our own Choi Hyuk, spotted prancing about in the Southwest Side. I don’t remember seeing him with any clique back in high school, but I’m not here to spill yesterday’s tea. So straight to the rundown: can you say soft-spoken and indifferent? Apparently now he spends time as a professional taekwondo fighter, and keeps skeletons buried at Prague Tower, 602. But those won’t stay hidden for long, if you and I have any say on it. Welcome back, Leather; we missed you so.

TW: violence/abuse, bruises, blood, mental disorder

In case you don’t remember the devil’s name, here’s to refresh your memory:

Chin burred deep in the collar of his sports jacket, Hyuk sat in the corner of the classroom, long legs poking from beneath the single school table. Eyes focused on the blackboard or the people around him, he was mostly uninvolved nods, voice heard only once or twice in a full moon. Despite a lack of interest Hyuk expressed, people wanted to talk to him. Instead of acknowledging him as a cold brat they genuinely wanted to know the guy who seemed like ice, yet spoke the warmth of a fading fire. 

The surprising soft-spoken manner found in him didn’t attract questions, however, his apathetic, indifferent nature did. In his lifetime peers who falsely imagined themselves as heroes came to be, poking at his personal space, fanatically believing that he’s locked himself away from showing major emotions. They knew him better than he knew himself, he supposed, chanting that the gentle light he shone speaking was the man he locked away. It painted Choi Hyuk’s sight crimson and as his blood boiled he could feel the taste of his own fury, leather clothed fingers slowly coming together to form a fist.

His first visit to the shrink was at ten years of age, when his teacher expressed concern about his inability to share or properly communicate with his classmates. Hyuk raged and yelled, pushed and fought. The woman in the fancy suit taught him to direct his anger somewhere else, pushing him straight to his father and into a gym. The years spent there made him into “our own star athlete”, as Cheongnam themselves called him, simultaneously firing the teacher that was caught “in a bar fight”.

The leather on his hands squeaked slightly as he slowly unfolded his fingers after closing his eyes and imagining the satisfying feeling of his knuckles connecting to the boxing pear. And so the voices faded into the background.

Nevermind the memory lane though, the present is always the ripest fruit:

The same warm words slip past his lips as he smiles to the interviewer of the local sports channel. Gentleness laced trough his voice that he uses often lulls to sleep, providing the perfect illusion of a honorable man the star athlete was. To eyes that knew, the soft tone he always carried had melted away a big part of his standoffish personality. The apathy was still there, but dosed, making him seem more approachable. To any skeptics it was no more but the aftermath of dealing with press after success, which he would always agree with, supporting a petty smile.

Truthfully, he doesn’t understand who he is or who he’s playing. His psychiatrist doesn’t either, as they watch him sitting quietly on the couch, glaring into space like an unsatisfied six-year-old. The only part of him that felt completely like Hyuk was the burning, unjustifiable fury that lived within him. Which classified him as a monster, he believed, but as long as nobody knew that the athlete carries darkness inside of him, he was fine with the feeling dragging him down from within. 

Leather still covers his hands as he sits in the locker room, sweat dribbling down his face and eyes focused on the ceiling. The breaths he takes slowly turn heavier as the taste of blood in his mouth is not strong enough to satisfy him and empty out the fury inside him. As lights flicker off by a motion of his fingers, the raging animal scratching him from the inside wins, carrying his body to the darkest corners in Seoul where underground fights happen. A masked Hyuk drowns in the lung burning smell of metal and he can live on again.

But we are nothing if not open books – my job is to ensure you get to the best pages:

01. The thought that slipped past his lips so simply as if it was a well known dogma, fluttering lightly in the air like a fallen leaf did not amuse his therapist. “Maybe I’m so feisty because something had to balanse out the ridiculous amount of rain that fell out when I was born?” as he cracked a sarcastic smile at the psychiatrist, who only wanted to dig deeper into his childhood. He couldn’t really tell the woman that much about it, pursing his lips in a nonchalant manner as his eyes went up to the ceiling and he silently picked at his own mind. From pictures in the albums neatly placed in his family house the story was that Hyuk wasn’t the prettiest baby in the planet, but one thing the boy didn’t lack was fortune. The diety accounted for luck made both of his parents healthy and as wealthy as a son of a taekwondo coach and a ten year older socialite could be. There was no abuse as there was no fighting. In fact, his earliest memory was the smiles of his parents when his brother was born three years after him. After that, all he could find in his memory of childhood were therapy sessions, him talking to different people in enclosed spaces as time ticked and his parents moving from Suncheon to Seoul in search of better doctors, as their son didn’t make any progress. Considering his words, she offered that maybe his aggression was sparked by the lack of attention he received after his brothers birth. Hyuk shook his head, almost laughing, eyes diverting back on the psychiatrist. “What are you saying? My brother’s to blame for me being fucked up?” Undeniable traces of fury were prominent in his eyes and his therapist pressed harder into their seat. “I love my brother and I’m happy he was born without this anger disorder gene in him.” His gloved hand went to poke at his temple a couple of times, a tense gaze on the woman in the leather armchair.

02. The woman kept her eyes locked on his black fingerless leather gloves as her questions were followed by a frown, giving away a lack of understanding of the accessory. Hyuk followed her gaze, squeezing his hands a couple of times and watching how the leather wrinkled at his movement, the sound of the material brushing against itself causing an unpleasant, taunting sound cut trough the office. He didn’t really know how to explain why he was constantly in the gloves without using crude words. “I’d just rather not see the skin of my knuckles.” He whispered, staring down at his hands just as he did after another fight he found himself in his middle school. Back then he stared at the cracking skin, the thinness of it after a number of times he’d injured himself in a state of aggression and having blood pool in the deep cracks disgusted him. His mother could not look him straight into the eye, too hurt and scared of her own son, as she handed him his first pair of black leather - a silent request to hide so the Choi family could forget about the shame that their eldest boy was for a second or two. It became his second skin and the requests of teachers to take the accessory off bounced off of him uselessly as if the boy was a wall. “Why don’t you take them off?” He could only laugh, shaking his head. One particular man once tried to peel his second skin away after making him stay after class. It ended with a broken nose and a concussion as Hyuk walked away, hands curled in tight fists and blood dribbling off kis knuckles. Next week their class got a new teacher. Next week nobody asked him to take the gloves off again. “Good luck with that.” He hummed, enjoying the noise his gloves made.

03. “How was practice?” Was the therapist’s first question directed at him every single time their session started. After being asked that for a total of twenty years, Hyuk didn’t need to have an impressive intellect level to know what the hidden meaning behind the question was. He used to answer it directly, telling that it’s not helping him contain his emotions, but as years passed the man grew tired of the same conversation that led nowhere, answering it with a cold shrug. There was no explanation for his aggression, why couldn’t they understand. “Fine.” She scribbled something onto her paper, looking at him from behind thick framed glasses. “How do you feel after practice?” Miss, we both know the answer to that question, no amount of training and exhausting myself will satisfy the animal in me. I’d rather hide in dark corners and watch people bleed out under my fist there. “Fine.” He repeated, a deadpan expression on his face as he felt his psychiatrist trying to intimidate him, keeping eye-contact. An imaginary pin dropped in the dimly lit office, making a sound loud enough to cause an avalanche. The woman nodded slowly, scribbling something again. By now he had a feeling that all that was written in neat cursive in the sealed file of his medical history was ‘hopeless’. To that he complied silently. “Do you think you’ll make the national team this year?” He let out a breath he was holding, gaze searching for the clock that counted down the time they had left. 40 more minutes. “Who knows.”