closed starter for @godcure
Atticus Kang has a lot of ghosts, and sometimes the best way to get rid of ghosts is to bring them back. Which is why he finds himself standing atop a building – specifically Phoebus – holding a throwing knife in one gloved hand, eyes fixed on the roof of the next building which is inaccessible without a helicopter or a ladder. He remembers when he was first given the weapon, when it was presented to him like a gift, even though it was the same as the knives that all the gang’s assassins carried (and probably still do carry). And then his father took him to the edge of a rooftop and told him to kill a man with it.
Yet even with all the terrible memories, all the reminders that he was simply another tool for his father to make use of, Atticus can’t bring himself to throw it away. It’s a link to his past, even though he’s tried so hard to forget, and he thinks that he knows better now. He shouldn’t forget, lest he become what he hates the most. So instead he sits, dropping it to the ground and leaning his head against the concrete wall that runs around the rooftop space.
He should put the knife away. Not many people here know the details of how and why he came to Busan, and there are probably plenty of people who would react less than positively to seeing one of the signature weapons of pretty much everyone’s worst enemy. The rooftop is technically off limits, but Atticus never locks the door and drunk people are surprisingly persistent. But he makes no motion to put it away, just leaves it there lying beside him as he tucks himself further into his hoodie.
Until he hears footsteps, and he looks up, suddenly afraid. “I swear, it’s not what it looks like.”
