The thick clouds hanging heavily over the city merged with the twilight sky, creating the feeling of a continuous gray canvas. It was not raining, but the air was damp, sticky, as if nature itself was pressing on Arthur Bryan's shoulders, reminding him of his loss. Every step on the marble slabs of the mansion echoed in his head with a dull echo, as if he no longer belonged to this place.
His right hand was missing. In its place was a prosthesis, cold, alien, too light compared to real flesh. A ghostly pain, aching, pressing, filled the emptiness. His gaze mechanically sought the hand that was no longer there, but his fingers clenched in the emptiness. It was an instinct, absorbed from birth, which was impossible to get rid of.
He remembered the moment when he lost it. A flash. A deafening crunch. A sharp pain turning into sticky horror. And then the silence that filled his mind as he realized that his right hand was gone. But even that was not the worst of it. The real fall came later.
- You are no longer the heir, Arthur.
The head of the family’s voice was flat, as if it was not being discussed, but simply announced as an inevitable fact. A cold, peremptory tone in which there was not a drop of sympathy. At that moment, he felt the ground slipping from under his feet.
All his brothers and sisters already knew about this decision. They stood around, their faces burning with restrained triumph. He caught their glances - a mixture of contempt, pity and barely concealed glee. They were waiting for this. Waiting for his defeat, so that they could finally get rid of him.
“No longer the heir.” They did not say it out loud, but it was read in every movement, in every smile, in every glance they cast at him, as if he were a fallen aristocrat deprived of the right to the throne. And then the teasing began. It wasn't direct. No, the brothers and sisters were too cunning for that.
- How so, Arthur? I hope you manage… without help.
- You are free of your duties now, aren't you? It must be easier for you.
- Don't worry, we will take care of business. It would have been too much for you anyway… now.
They didn't give him a chance to respond. Their words were always ambiguous, spoken with impeccable politeness, so that if he objected, they could shrug innocently and say, "Oh, but you misunderstood us."
Occasional pushes in the hallway, light claps on the shoulder - too hard to be friendly, but not enough to complain. Mocking glances, whispers behind his back, barely noticeable smirks when he passed by.
Arthur was silent. Pain, resentment, anger - all mixed into a black mess inside him, filling his chest with a heavy weight. They did not see him as a person. Just an obstacle that was finally removed. But there was one person for whom he had not changed.
Bryan's family had agreed to his request to leave easily. Too easily. They didn't even try to talk him out of it, didn't ask questions, didn't ask when he would be back. They simply signed the papers, filled out the paperwork, and wrote him out of the equation. He was no longer valuable to them. They didn't want to see him because he was a reminder that he had once been an heir. And now, he was just a nobody.
He didn't know what he had expected from the trip to Korea. Maybe a little peace. Maybe a break. Maybe just the illusion that he was still needed by someone.
When the plane landed, he walked through the terminal with a blank look, feeling less like a person and more like a shell. People were milling about, announcements were being made in Korean, English, Chinese. The soft light of the airport lights created a strange, almost artificial atmosphere.
And then he heard her voice.
- You've finally arrived, Arthur! - joyful, ringing, breaking through the dull apathy that had been gripping his heart.
He looked up.
Jiwoo's twin sister was standing at the airport exit, waving vigorously, smiling as if nothing had changed. As if this wasn't a lost, broken boy in front of her, but simply Arthur, her friend.
Her twin brother stood next to her. He smiled a little more calmly, but just as sincerely. The two of them were like two rays of sunshine breaking through the gray clouds that had been haunting Arthur for so long.
He froze, unsure of how to react. And then she did something he hadn't expected at all.
She stepped forward and simply hugged him.
Informally. Friendly. Without the slightest hint of pity.
Her hands were warm. Sincere. She didn't squeeze him too tightly, didn't pause, as if considering whether it was okay to touch him at all. She simply hugged him, as always.
Something inside him trembled.
Arthur couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged him like that - not out of politeness, not out of routine sympathy, but simply because they wanted to hug him. Because they were glad to see him.
She pulled away, looked him over carefully, and her cheerful gaze suddenly changed to a worried one.
- Have you lost weight? Have you been eating normally after everything that happened? - Her voice was stern, but there was no judgment in it. Only concern. - You came, and you will eat normally. Period.
Before he could say anything, she was already pulling him along with her, dragging him towards the exit. Her voice was filled with warm concern, unlike anything he knew in his family. In her eyes, he was neither an heir, nor a loser, nor a man without an arm. He was simply Arthur. And in that was the warmth that he did not have.
The days flowed by smoothly, filling Arthur's life with something new, unusual, but strangely natural.
Sparring. Before, fighting had always been an obligation for him. His family demanded perfection, every fight had consequences, any defeat meant shame. But here, in Korea, everything was different. So Jiu and his sister didn't fight him to win. They didn't prove their strength, didn't try to humiliate him. They just enjoyed the process. They smiled when they hit each other, laughed when someone made an awkward stumble.
- You're still not bad, despite your hand! - Jiwoo grinned, throwing him a bottle of water after sparring.
- Of course, he trained with me, - his sister proudly declared, theatrically throwing her hands behind her head.
Arthur grinned. These training sessions were the most free in his entire life.
Junk food. His family always demanded an ideal diet. Balance of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins — everything under control. Not a single extra piece of sugar, no fast food.
And now? They were sitting in the kitchen, surrounded by packages of ramen, boxes of fried chicken and huge glasses of soda. The girl with shining eyes was handing him another spicy cutlet.
— Try it, try it! It's the most delicious thing there is!
He tried it. He ate as if he had never known before that food could be like this — not just a source of energy, but joy.
Long conversations about movies and books. Before, he was surrounded by endless discussions of politics, business, strategy. Here, for the first time in a long time, he was talking about what he was really interested in.
— Come on, didn't you watch this movie? — the girl stared at him indignantly, lounging on the couch.
— Where superheroes fly and throw lasers? — he grinned.
— It's a classic!
- This is ridiculous.
- Then we're watching it right now!
They argued, discussed, argued again. For the first time, he felt like he could just talk, without the fear of saying something wrong.
Courting the cats. There were a lot of furry creatures in their house, but two cats definitely caught Arthur's attention. A fat, striped, ginger cat, lazily stretched out on the windowsill, and a skinny white cat, always fussing at Jiwoo's feet. And also a dog, who sat peacefully and gnawed on his bone.
- You understand that cats don't like me, right?
- They didn't until you started feeding them.
She was right. Now every cat in the house jumped onto his lap and cuddled with him. For a treat, of course.
One evening they were sitting on the roof of a house. The city was humming somewhere below, neon lights glowed in the distance, but up here it was quiet. Arthur sat, leaning back, looking at the starry sky.
- You know, - he began, not knowing why he was saying it out loud. - I always thought that if I stopped being the heir, I would be nothing. Like... I would just not exist.
He expected her to try to convince him otherwise, to say something cheerful, something motivating. But she simply shook her head.
- You don't have to be someone to be appreciated, Arthur. You can just be yourself.
Simple words. But for some reason, something in his chest tightened from them. He looked at her and suddenly realized - his family would never accept her.
She was different. An outsider to their world. But it didn't matter now. He was no longer the heir. This meant that he could finally choose what was really important to him.
(read: me fangirling over characters who, imo, need more screentime)
I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW IN LOVE I AM WITH THIS CHILD!!
Like. I would literally die for this kid. Can we just adopt him?? And keep him in Korea with us forever?? His family clearly doesn't deserve him! And I feel like Jiwoo is probably the first person who has ever shown any concern for him and has been nice to this douchebag...just...please adopt him into your found family Jiwoo!! (also fuck you Duke!! how dare you hurt him, you lowly mob boss!!!)
I NEED him to make some friends who genuinely care about him!!! I also want Jiwoo to give him a bear hug. He needs one.
Next up is Kang Suman!!!!!
Do I even need to say why this man is the definition of perfection?!?!?!
He is the only sane person in the Kang family and the way he held Jiwoo protectively after he was tortured?? and the way he tries to look out for his nephew as best as he can?? Literal perfection.
Next!!! Him!!!!!
Muse is the CUTEST member of Frame. Fight me.
It was like a flip switched in my mind the moment he took his mask off. It's the eyes, I swear. He just looks so trustworthy; not to mention how well he treated Jiwoo from the very beginning (granted he was just being polite but damn!! we love a man with good manners!!)
And Jiwoo definitely won him over after his fights. I LOVE how genuine his concern was for our main boy!!
He also definitely made the best first impression among all the Frame members!!!
Next up!! The superior Patrick sibling!!!
I am that meme "I've only known this punk for one chapter but if anything happens to him, I will kill everyone and then myself."
Like, come on!! The way he said "You're so kind that I'd feel bad for ignoring you" to Jiwoo?? and just the whole vibe of his character?? I Love Him. Far more than his brother, definitely!!
The moment he was leaving I was like "Nooo invite him to your gang Jiwoo!!!" He'd be such a fun addition to our idiots!!!
And lastly...okay hear me out...
Now I know that Roist is kind of an asshole and he definitely DID NOT make the best first impression BUT!! the way he disses and insults Duke? Gold.
Also, let's be real. At least he asked to meet and fight Jiwoo in a not-very-civil-but-at-least-it-wasn't-an-ambush kind of way. He isn't the best but not the worst either. (And his name is so...fun to say!! ...Idk I just love it!!)
And I loved how surprised-but-also-kinda-pleased he looked after seeing Jiwoo kick Duke's ass.
Bonus? He's Kayden's fangirl!!!
Look at him!! He looks like he's two seconds away from going sparkly-eyed and squealing like a high schooler with a crush lol!!! He is the president of Kayden's fan club!!! This side of him is so cute!!!!!
(Add him to the list of Potential Future Hyung?? Idk I just Love this psycho!!)
