Sunshine
What If: You were Shingen and Shintaro's older sister (masterlist)
<<read the synopsis and content warnings first>>
featuring: Gapryong Kim, Minseon Kang, Jinyeong Park, Shintaro Yamazaki
Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, racism, sexual harassment, misogyny, spoilers
Author's Note: Bruh, I'm running out of Gap images. Webtoon, enough with the teasing and release chapter 610 already T.T
Also, isn't baby Shintaro adorable? You just know his grandnephew in another timeline is just as cute.
ALSO, this episode contains spoilers regarding Daniel Park's family, especially in the annotation. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
"This is a first." You were in your room, training the stray you recently adopted, when Shintaro appeared at your door. "Gen-chan isn't with you?"
He averted his eyes. "Father doubled his training."
"Ah."
He stared at his feet.
"…"
"Don't just stand there, come inside. I'm teaching our dog how to sit."
Shintaro closed the door behind him and walked up to you and the puppy. "You still haven't decided on a name?"
"You said no to 'Mochi'—"[1]
"it's undignified"
"—and you didn't like 'Manju'—"
"it's silly"
"—so for now, she has remained nameless." You watched as the tiny thing trotted towards Shintaro's legs. "She's mad at you because you keep vetoing her name."
"You're the one who said that a name is life's first gift. She deserves a normal, respectable name just like anybody else."
The puppy climbed onto his lap and placed her paws on his chest.
Shintaro giggled as she hopped on her hind legs, trying to lick his face.
You smiled. "Why don't you name her?"
"What?"
"She clearly likes you—no doubt because you're taking it seriously—so give her a name right now."
"Really?"
"Yup."
His happy mood turned glum as he held the puppy's paws. "But Shingen said he wants to name her…"
"You can blame me and say I decided on the name already."
"You… you would do that?"
"Yup." You winked, patting his head. "It'll be our little secret."
You didn't have a shift at the call center today, so you slept a bit more before heading out to the restaurant.
When you arrived, customers were running out of the place.
Worried about the boss and Minseon, you hurried inside, bumping shoulders with the panicked patrons.
Three tattooed half-naked men stared down Minseon's father, who was desperately trying to appease them.
The men—yakuza, no doubt—were spouting about "incompetence" and "stupidity" and "lack of manners" in rapid-fire Japanese. The tallest guy grabbed Mr. Kang by the collar, preparing to punch him.
Minseon screamed—
"Pardon me, dear customers," you interjected in polite Japanese,[2] smiling as you walked up to the thugs, "we humbly welcome you to our restaurant. We serve the best gukbap[3] in town. If you would let us, it would be our pleasure to serve you."
"Finally! Someone we can talk to."
The thugs let go of your boss, who dropped to his knees. Minseon ran to his side.
"You're pretty fluent for a native," the leader of the three said.
You maintained your customer service smile. "You flatter me, dear customer. Shall I escort you to your seats?"
While the three idiots chatted and laughed over their meals at the best table in the house (you seated them by a window), you spoke with Minseon and your boss in the kitchen.
"I'm buying you a drink after this, kid," Mr. Kang said, wiping the sweat from his brow, "God knows what they woulda done to me and Minseon if you didn't come to our rescue."
"Thanks, but I'm cutting back on the drinking, Gapryong's been nagging me—wait. Never mind that, how are you two? What happened?" You could already guessed what happened, but you still had to ask.
"Those thugs walked in and started harassing one of our regulars. They were speaking in Japanese so I couldn't understand but I think they wanted the table. The other guests got confused and scared so dad stepped in, then, well, you know the rest."
The Yamazakis again.
Mr. Kang sighed and collapsed on a monoblock chair. "After that damn statue was unveiled, they all came out like rats in a flood. You can't cross the street without spotting a Yamazaki thug. I swear, these damn Japs—"
"Dad," Minseon cut him off, eyes glancing at you for the briefest moment.
"O-oh, I didn't—I didn't mean you. I just meant—"
You raised your hand. "It's okay, I understand."
He was a good man. He and his daughter could manage the restaurant on their own but he hired you because no one else trusted a random orphan. Recently, though he never brought it up, you knew that he even lost a few regulars because they didn't want a "Japanese bitch" handling their food. But the boss kept you around.
Minseon changed the subject. "Have you eaten yet, unnie? We're not exactly busy so how about a quick breakfast?"
"That sounds great. I'll just have two boiled eggs."
"Oh, no." Minseon's dad got up and headed to the fridge. "You're not going to serve those pri—those guys on just boiled eggs. I'll make a new batch of kimchi stew."
While the two were busy cooking, you went back to the three guests.
"Dear customers, I hope everything is to your liking?"
"The food's surprisingly good! Who knew a dump like this could make something decent."
You maintained your smile. "We appreciate your feedback. Is there anything else I can get for you? More rice? Some tea?"
The three men exchanged glances and their gaze felt like slime dripping onto your skin.
"The food's nice, but you know what would make it better, aniki?"[4] The youngest-looking member turned to their leader. "A cute girl by our side."
"I know exactly what you mean, kid." The leader nodded as he eyed you from head to toe.
You pretended to giggle. "You gentlemen flatter me."
"Instead of tea, how about you pour us something with a bit more kick to it?"
"My apologies, dear customers, but we don't serve alcohol this early."
"Bullshit!" The man slammed his glass down on the table. "If you got nothing here then go to the store or something!"
Minseon and the boss stepped out of the kitchen. Unsure of what to do, they decided to stand back for now, lest they angered the men even more.
The leader spotted Minseon and leered. "I'll forgive you if that one comes over and pours me some tea."
The guy beside him laughed. "You always were a boob man, aniki."
"Hey, how old are you, sweetheart?" he yelled the question.
You side-stepped, blocking your friend from their view. "I'm sorry, dear customers, but if you continue harassing our employees we—"
"You will what, huh?! You gonna kick me out?"
You continued to smile silently.
"I was only nice to you 'cause you're a little cute and you spoke some Japanese, so don't get the wrong idea. I can tell you're getting up there in years. You should be grateful I even gave you the time of day."
"Duly noted, dear customer."
"Stop smiling, you're pissing me off. This is the problem with bitches these days—especially the unmarried ones—they get a job and suddenly, they think they can walk all over me."
"It wasn't my intention to—"
"Still talking?" The leader rose to his feet, empty glass in hand. He turned to his men. "Watch carefully, brats, this is how you put bitches in their place."
"Unnie!"
The man grabbed your throat but the sound of liquid pouring stopped him from doing more.
Gapryong stood beside him, holding a bottle of soju to the leader's glass. "Dear customer, this is my favorite brand. Please sit down and have a taste, hm?" he spoke in Japanese, though not as fluently as you.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"I'm a hungry guest, just like you, and trust me—this soju goes best with gukbap." Gapryong then poured a glass for himself. "Cheers!"
Gapryong gulped down the shot while everyone else in the room gawked.
The shock from Gapryong's entrance must have rattled the leader because he raised his glass. "Ch-cheers."
After he finished his drink, Gapryong grinned. "Well?"
"Yeah, I guess it's pretty nice."
"I also have another thing for you."
"?"
A loud, violent boom shook the restaurant.
"Aniki!"
Gapryong had punched the leader of the trio into the wall. He was so fast you didn't even see it happen.
"Real men don't go around grabbing women by their throats." Gapryong walked over to the unconcious man and knelt down. "And a real man knows—the wrinklier the raisin, the sweeter the fruit."
He then addressed the other two younger gangsters, "You should take him to the hospital."
"W-we'll get you for this!"
As the Yamazaki lackeys ran away, Minseon and her father ran to your side. "Unnie! Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," you answered quietly. Your throat hurt and breathing was a bit tedious.
"You're bruising! Dad, go get some ice!"
"On it!"
To be honest, it wasn't a big deal. Even as the feeling of that man's fingers on your neck remained, you weren't as afraid as you should've been. You were more concerned about the Kangs than yourself.
You softly scolded Gapryong, "You shouldn't have done that."
"You expect me to stand back while someone tries to hurt you?"
"What if they come back and take revenge on Minseon and the boss?"
"Unnie, don't worry about that!" she cried. "If Gapryong arrived even a second later, you could've—you could've—"
"Don't cry, Minseon, I'm sorry. " You pulled her into your arms.
Gapryong pouted as Minseon cried into your shoulder. "Hey, I was worried too, where's my hug, noona?"
You ignored his nonsense. "I still think you should have held back, but… thank you."
"I told you to stop with the thank yous every time I help you." He winked. "If you're really grateful, then let's have breakfast together, yeah?"
With the Yamazakis gone, customers flocked in again.
Minseon practically ordered you to take the day off, so you put down the notepad and joined Gapryong's table.
There were two steaming bowls of kimchi soup, fluffy white rice, four boiled eggs, several vegetable side dishes, and a pitcher of barley tea.
"Stop staring at me, I'm fine."
Gapryong's face was contemplative, he remained silent for a moment—and then, with usual smile, he poured you a cup of tea. "I'm staring because you're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."
"Uh-huh." You picked up an egg and cracked it against the table. "Where's Baekho?"
"Training. That guy doesn't know the meaning of moderation."
"You're one to talk." You finished peeling the egg and dropped it into his bowl.
"So, what are your plans today, noona? You got the whole day off, right? Wanna go to the beach? Or maybe you wanna go shopping? I have some money left from last month."
"Keep your money. We need to pay for boss' wall."
"I'm paying for it—and don't worry, I'll figure something out. So, shopping?"
"Actually, I think I'm going to catch up on some sleep."
His face dropped for a split second before he transferred half of his tofu into your bowl. "Perfect! Don't want you getting sick. Now eat up. Boss said it's on the house."
"…actually, I do have a place in mind if you're interested."
"!"
You could practically see dog ears perk up on his head.
"I'm not sure if you'll have fun though."
"That's fine! I'm good with anywhere as long as we're together."
***
"You don't have to stay," you said guiltily as you and Gapryong reached the second-hand bookstore. "You'll be bored out of your mind here."
"You can browse and I'll watch you."
"It's a small shop, I don't think you'll be comfortable and I doubt the owner's gonna like you just following me around."
"I'm sure they won't mind, someone as hot as me strolling in their store is great for business."
"Gapryong."
"Okay, okay. I'll wait outside."
"I might take while."
"You can take all the time in the world."
You shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"But why are we visiting a secondhand store instead of the one at the mall?"
"I can't afford new books."
"Oh! Y-yeah, I forgot how expensive this stuff is."
"I'm going in."
"I'll be right here. Have fun!"
You don't understand why he was so desperate to spend time with you. You two see each other on a daily basis and he spends most of his free time by your side.
He was like this when he was younger too. If it weren't for you locking your doors and threatening not to eat dinner with him, he would have never made other friends. Obviously, he has gotten a little better, but he was still clingy with you.
"I feel bad for the poor girl he's going to end up with," you mumbled.
You traced the cracked spines on the bookshelves with your fingers, not looking for anything in particular, when your eyes caught a glimpse of an interesting book cover.
Langman’s Medical Embryology First Edition.
The title spoke to you and you reached for it—
"!"
Your hand bumped against someone else's.
It was a handsome young man wearing a red bandana and a flashy black and white ensemble.
You both blurted out: "Sorry—jinx!"
You fell quiet and then burst out laughing.
"Sorry," he repeated. "I just saw the title and got super curious."
"Same here. Are you a medical student?"
"Pharmacy. You?"
"Waitress."
"Working student?"
"No."
"Oh." He then tried to rectify his reaction, "I mean, I didn't—"
"It's okay." You offered him the book. "Here."
"You don't have to."
"I'm sure a pharmacy student would have a better use for this than me."
"Oh, no, no." He gently pushed the book back. "We don't study embryology. The title really just—"
"—spoke to you?"
"Exactly. It sounds weird, I know."
"Not at all. It's the same for me. I've never even attended college so I don't know why I'm so interested in embryology." Or how you knew what 'embryology' meant.
"That's cool. You can have the book."
"Are you sure?"
"I can't afford any recreational reading right now, so you're actually doing me a favor."
"I'm glad." You smiled.
The stranger coughed. "By the way, my name is Jinyeong Park."[5]
You introduced yourself and told him you worked at the Kangs. "You should come by sometime. I'll treat you."
"You don't have to—"
"Oppa,[6] I got my book, ready to go?" A girl in a high school uniform appeared, waving a paper bag in the air.
Jinyeong explained, "That's my little sister, Yuri."[7]
The girl blinked, then she bowed. "Hello, I'm Yuri Park."
You greeted her back.
"So, unnie, how long have you and my brother have been dating?"
***
Gapryong was squatting outside the bookstore, thinking to himself.
I wonder if noona is really okay.
You told him that he should have held back when he punched that Yamazaki scum, but he was holding back. Witnessing that guy yell at you like you were trash already had him fuming, but when that bastard grabbed your throat?
He barely managed to hold onto reason. It helped that you stayed calm the entire time, it grounded him, reminded him not to be reckless. If you were screaming or crying, he might have committed murder right then and there.
But you remained cool the entire time, even as Minseon sobbed on your chest, even as you held ice to your bruised neck.
Gapryong was both in awe and concerned.
He didn't want you to keep everything to yourself. You're the one who told him that people shouldn't bottle up their emotions.
He rubbed his chin and muttered, "…should I get her ice cream?"
The shop door flung open. A pretty boy and a highschooler came out. Siblings, Gapryong gathered.
"I already said I'm sorry, lighten up, bro."
"I swear, you need to learn some manners. Just you wait 'til we get home—I'm telling on you."
"Oh, no, I'm shaking in my boots."
"You brat. You're paying for dinner."
The two bickered as they walked.
Thirty minutes later, the door opened again and you came out, face glowing.
Seeing that made his chest lighter.
He patted his legs as he stood. "You look happy. Found something good?"
"Yup! I got something for you too. It's a book on how to exercise more efficiently."
"Thanks, noona, and what did you get for yourself?"
"I bought a textbook on the development of human babies within the womb."
Ah. "That's—"
"—and I managed to get this mystery novel by a really famous author, Agatha Christie? I also found this cute children's story about a boy and this peach that grows into the size of a house, and…"
Gapryong closed his mouth. Smiling, he watched you ramble about your newest purchase.
You suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"I just realized I was babbling. C'mon, let's go home."
"No, go on. You got a textbook, a mystery novel, some fairy tales, a Mexican cookbook, a history book and what else?"
You beamed.
Gapryong's heart fluttered.
He put his hand on your back, guiding you down the street while you continued to list everything you bought and what made each one special.
To be honest, he didn't get most of what you were saying. All he knew was that you were the brightest during these moments.
He would do anything to see you happy.
Shintaro Yamazaki knelt on the floor as he faced your bed. The systematically arranged stuffed toys looked like a theatre audience.
"Good morning, onee-sama. I'm sorry for not visiting more often. We've been busy preparing our…visit to South Korea. I know it's not an excuse, but I wanted to be honest with you."
"…" The dolls stared at him with hollow eyes.
"Hinako's doing well. She's still as demanding as ever—when Shingen forgot to brush her fur the other day, she ignored him for an entire day. You should have been there," Shintaro laughed, "the new members gawked at the sight of our leader kneeling and begging a dog to notice him."
His laugh seemed louder in the empty room.
"…do you remember what you told me? A name is life's first gift." He looked down at his hands. "You also asked me what I would do if I turned out to be Shingen Yamazaki."
"…"
"My answer is the same as before: it doesn't matter. I'm Shintaro Yamazaki, the younger brother and vice-leader. I'm committed to helping Shingen and protecting our family."
"…"
He closed his eyes, your voice echoing in his mind.
"Taro-chan, names are important, but don't let them chain you down. Just because you are Shintaro Yamazaki doesn't mean the syndicate has a say on your happiness."
He opened his eyes. Your bed remained empty. Lifeless eyes stared back at him.
Shintaro Yamazaki hung his head and sighed.
[1] Mochi. Japanese. Rice cake.
[2] Basically, while speaking with the yakuza customers, Reader adapted to using keigo. According to Paolo fromTOKYO, Keigo is defined as "a system of honorific speech in the Japanese language to show a sign of respect, in this case, to customers." I tried to make Noona speak as politely as possible in English to reflect that.
[3] Gukbap: Korean. Soup with rice.
[4] Aniki. Japanese. A traditional form of "older brother." Members of the yakuza use it when referring to an older male figure or their superiors.
[5] After some late night debating, I've decided to use "Jinyeong" instead of "Jinyoung." Anyway, here are canon facts about Jinyeong Park so SPOILER ALERT:
He was a former member of the Gapryong Fist Gang and one of its strongest fighters.
He had the Perfect Copy ability, a trait he shares with his nephew, Daniel Park.
He was the Medical Genius of the Ten Geniuses.
After Gapryong Kim's death, he started suffering from seizures.
[6] Oppa. Korean. There is no way you nerds don't know what this means. (≧▽≦)
[7] Yuri Park was the youngest of the three Park siblings, making her Daniel Park's maternal aunt.
a/n: Just what kind of job did Gapryong have prior to forming the Fist Gang? I can't see him as anything but a gangster lol Miss Kim was right, he looks like a loafer. But he does take on random jobs in my AU. We don't date bums here.
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Disclaimer: The images used are screencaptures from Ep. 523, 525, 380, 393 & 576 - Lookism, Webtoon.
Next Episode: Everything
Main Series Title/AU: My Baby Brother is the Strongest Character
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