The sound of heavy breathing, the thumping of dozens of feet hitting ground while the cheering of screaming fans could be heard within the stadium.
The reason, the 52nd annual Track and Field Competition was today, with the Event that started the beginning of it all was the 1600 meters.
The Male Runners were the ones keeping a steady pace, sweat pouring from their temples as they kept on running.
Their was one participant who didn't feel winded in the slightest, as he kept on pushing with a slight smirk on his face as he could hear the loud cheering from his Alma mater--hesring his name being chanted, gave him even more motivation to run even father away from his fellow participatory.
It was the lady lap for him, and the finish line was at viewing point- mustering even more power within his legs, he ran, finally feeling the throbbing within his legs but nevertheless, he accepted it, because he knew he made a statement to those who were watching him and his feet reached the finish line--cheering could be heard even louder, his smile widen as he raises both of his arms, a light of pure joy filled his eyes as he heard his name.
"Liam!"
"Liam!"
"Liam!"
The crowed screamed out--but then it suddenly sounded like one person was saying his name, his eyes wandered towards the stadium that suddenly became quiet and empty, he felt the ground crack as he lost his footing.
And then an excruciating pain surfaced on his right leg, he suddenly fell onto the ground as he grunted in pain, keeping the screams from surfacing and escaping from his mouth, he held it in until he heard his name once more, only this time--it was a single person who said his name as the area around him became dark and eerie.
"Liam!"
"Liam!"
"리암, 빨리 일어나!"
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The sound of someone groaning could be heard-as they have woken up from what they assumed was a dream or rather a memory.
Eyes fluttering as light entered, with a shift of movement, a person's body rose from the comfortable bed.
"I know you love your sleep, but if you keep doing this, you'll actually become an old man.
A soft feminine voice said towards the one who let out a sigh of content as they stretched their arms.
"At least I can enjoy the dream I've had" a deep masculine voice said towards the one who folded their arms across their chest, causing their bust to look bigger.
"Oh? And what sort of Dream was it? Is it you reaching your gravestone?" She said with an icy tone that would cause anyone to tremble in fear--unfortunately that wasn't the case towards the one who simply chuckle as he got closer to the woman and in one swift movement, he was above her, holding her wrist in a firm grip while not hurting her.
A smirk could be forming on the man, no older than 35, with a few gray stands of hair on his head that was cut short on the sides and back while keeping a good amount on the crown, his facial hair was groomed to give him a decent beard while his eyes that held so much light could calm down a raging storm.
With said storm being the woman below, with fair porcelain skin and delicate features, Her sleek black hair spreading on the bed as she stared at the man with her deep blue eyes.
"Do you really want me to reach my deathbed that much, Kim Hee-Young?" He said this on a husky tone which bothered the now named Kim Hee-Young.
"Do not test me with your sexy, hot, voice Liam Baran, you are this close to losing the thing that makes you a man"
Liam simply chuckled as he released his hold onto the woman while kissing her lips tenderly, this surprised her but nevertheless, she embraced the warmth while feeling herself being lifted into the arms of the person she calls her Husband.
She couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips which caused Liam to grin within the kiss, releasing his hold onto his Wife's lips, causing her to stare at him with a hazy like look.
"Why did you stop?"
She asked him while he simply pointed at the door to their bedroom--and then the door opened wide as two blurs could be seen.
Hee-Young's eyes widen as two blurs crashed into her causing her to hit the bed while Liam simply laughed.
Two young children were the reason for Hee-Young to be groaning from the impact but nevertheless, she simply smiled while holding onto them.
"Mama, when will we see the big event? I can't keep still?" A little girl said, her hair reaching her lower back as the color was black as the night sky, her eyes that of dark brown, similar to Liams, while wearing a blue and white onesie with a hoodie that had cat ears.
Hee-Young simply gave the little one a kiss, "Well we should've left already if your Papa didn't decided for all group of us to watch one of his favorite movies" She said this with a smirk.
Liam faked a dramatic gasp at her with the second child mimicking the older man's actions.
"Hee-Young, my love! Are you saying you despise one of the many movies that held valuable lessons? I'm hurt" Liam said as he placed his hand on his forehead while Hee-Young simply rolled her eyes as she stared at her other child.
"What do you think, Kyren?"
Hee-Young asked Kyren, a young boy with blue eyes and dark hair that was cut short but still held a bit of volume, wearing a black and blue onesie.
He placed his hand underneath his chin, as he was in a thinking pose, until he looked directly at his Father.
"You tend to be over dramatic, Papa"
As the words left Kyren's mouth, Liam felt an invisible punch to his gut as he fell onto the bed.
"Mama, Papa's pouting again" the young girl said with a giggle which was infectious as Hee-Young couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Awww you're right Keona, Papa is such a pouting baby~" Hee-Young said with a teasing tone.
This got Liam to grumble underneath his breath as he stood up.
"Alright, you've got your laughing fit, now it's time for us to get something to eat"
"You can get something to eat, since we've already eaten" Hee-Young said with Liam looking at her with his eyes slightly closed.
"Yeah, I ain't falling for that, I'll make something that'll fill our bellies"
He simply said as left the room, leaving his wife and two kids blinking at him comically.
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A decent size kitchen was shown, with the sound of oil making a consumption smell quite good to the trio who entered the humble quarters of the man who they call Husband and Papa, standing dignified while wearing a blue apron, his hand movements were similar to chefs who put alot of work into their food, as he hummed a tune he knew from his youth, tapping his feet to the inaudible tune from his memories.
A moment was all it took for four plates of food to be presented onot the table along with four cups of tea with the steam lingering.
As the family of four were enjoying their food with this being the second meal for the Wife and Two Kids, Liam turned his attention towards a Display case, it showed the achievements he made over the years, from the distance runs to the field events he enjoyed, along with medals and trophies that proved how far he made it, but that wasn't what he was looking at, his joy got even more bigger as he stared at the picture frames, from when he was young with his parents and a girl older than him with similar features as his own, to the connected frame that held pictures of him, Hee-Young and their two children, from the day they were born to when they went on vacations through the years.
The more Liam thought about it, the more he reminisce on the day he first met Hee-Young.
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The evening breeze could be felt as a young man with a black short ponytail could be seen leaning onto the railings while staring into nothingness, his eyes unfocused as his brows furrowed, thinking over the injury he sustained over a year ago- It still haunted him, the stares of those who expected him to go even further, were stares of pity--It made him feel like he was weak, pathetic and unable to do anything, he hated that, and yet here he was, leaning onto a railing, miles away from his hometown, traveling as much as he can to get rid of the heavy weight on his shoulders and it was still there, getting heavier and tiring.
He simply rubbed his eyes as the next headache came along, he didn't even say anything to his family nor his friends that he left, but he didn't have a choice, the expectations in their eyes when he ran that race, the race that caused him the severe injury in his legs, he couldn't take it, he couldn't deal with the looks as his mind replayed the same event, letting out a sigh--
He walked away from the railing as he decided to walk some more before heading back to the hotel he's staying for the next 2 months, as he turned, a sudden jolt of pain surfaced on his legs, causing him to take a knee.
"Ah damn it, I thought you've healed enough"
Liam could only curse up a storm in frustration--until the cold air could be felt and a shadow looked over the young man for him to look up and stare into the eyes of someone---
"Beautiful"
As he muttered softly, the young woman couldn't help but laugh softly.
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Liam suddenly felt a cold sensation that made him jump form his seat as he turned towards the culprit who simply laughed.
"Quit your daydreaming an let's get ready, I'll help find suitable clothing for our kids, don't want your family to be waiting, right?"
"Y'know they're your family too" Liam said as he placed the dirty plates in the sink with Hee-Young grabbing him by the chin and tenderly kissing him, a moment was all it took for her to remove her lips from his.
"I know and I'm happy to have them a part of my life but we shouldn't be late than usual, remember what happened when we almost missed your Big Sisters birthday?"
Liam shuddered, trying to forget that memory as he finished cleaning up, "Duly noted, I'll be quick to freshen up and help out with you and the kids"
Hee-Young simply chuckled as she kissed him on the cheek and left, leaving Liam to stare back at the display case once more, "I don't have any regrets" Saying this with a smile as he head towards the bathroom, not knowing a slight shimmer that reflected onto the picture of him when he was younger.
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"이 이벤트에 늦게 도착하면 맹세코" Hee-Young muttered angrily, wearing blue Jeans that reached her ankles, black and white sneakers along with a black short sleeved shirt as she wore a hat to finish it off while placing her hair in a ponytail.
Liam couldn't help but nervously chuckle as he held a small duffle bag over his right shoulder while holding Keona hands, the young girl wearing a lovely dark blue sundress with matching sneakers like her mother with her hairstyle being low twin tails with blue ribbons tied cutely.
"Papa, are you nervous because you're seeing Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Rea?" Keona asked as Liam simply lifted her up.
"No my little snowflake, Your Papa is just a bit surprised that he's participating in the event that's gonna happen soon"
"Which he should've declined in the first place" Hee-Young said as she glared at her Husband while holding Kyren, the young boy wearing green cargo pants, a black shirt with red lines traveling at the center of the shirt, wearing green and white sneakers and finishing up his clothing was a pair of dark sunglasses, Kyren made a simple observation for someone his age, "Papa, you're just making an excuse"
Liam could only feel the pain of an invisible arrow at what his right year old son said.
"Liam!"
His eyes widen when he suddenly felt no weight on his arm that held his daughter with his father instincts kicking in--only to calm down as he stared at the person who was lovingly giving his daughter small kisses.
"How's my wonderful Niece doing? Oh you've gotten so big and getting even more cuter"
The one who said this, a young woman of average height with Ginger hair that was styled in a low Bun, she wears a simple white t-shirt with a red and black checkered shirt over it, black baggy joggers with black and white sneakers, she wears two pairs of earrings on both of her ears while wearing a necklace that has a star as a pendant.
Liam could only let out an exasperated sigh while Hee-Young was giggling at the interaction, Kyren was simply holding onto his mother since he knows how affectionate this woman was.
"Alright that's enough, if you keep doing that you're likely gonna burnout from my daughter's cuteness, Rea" Liam spoke as he rescued his daughter from the woman's clutches.
"Noooooo! Why did you that?" Before she can continue, a small hand flick her on the forehead, causing her to whine.
"Stop fussing Auntie Rea, you'll get to hug me and Kyren after the event" as soon as Keona said that, Kyren had his eyes widen and flinched just as soon as Rea had her sights on him.
'Keona why!?' Kyren yelled internally wbiel Keona simply smiled towards him as if she was saying, "If I'm getting this treatment, you'll get the same as well, Big Brother"
Liam and Hee-Young had to sweat drop from the way Rea was acting, as if she was high on sugar and back to being a child.
"Alright, I think we've wasted enough time, Rea, can you shows us our seats? I'm pretty sure all of us including Mom and Dad are gonna be seated together" Liam said.
Rea, who reverted back to her usual self simply chuckled, "Sure no problem but--shouldn't you get ready for you little event? Not only was I surprised but Mom and Dad were literally shocked to hear that you're gonna be running one your least favorite races"
"Oh? Is that so? Rea, what's his least favorite since he's never given me that much detail when we're basically husband and Wife" Hee-Young said with an eye smoke that caused both Liam and Rea to feel a chill up their spine.
Liam turned his attention to his little Sister, hoping she doesn't make the situation worse--but she didn't have to and was yet saved by the only two individuals who could melt Hee-Young's calculated heart--her two children.
The way they looked at her, it made her sigh as she placed Kyren down and went towards Liam with narrowed eyes, "Ojky one event and that's that" She simply said as she grabbed Keona as she walked ahead.
"Rea, please show us the way" Hee-Young said with Rea straightened in place and nodded her head since she didn't trust her voice as she followed after her Sister in law.
Liam could only let out a sigh at the situation, even tight it settled, he knew it wasn't over.
Just as he took a step, he suddenly clenched his head as a sudden jolt of pain surfaced as his surroundings came to a halt as if it was frozen--but he wasn't focusing on that, instead his eyes traveled towards an individual that stood out from the crowd.
A rather tall figure, clad in a dark cloak that covered most of their face--yet it was as if this individual was staring directly at Liam as another jolt of pain entered his mind and then the world around him resumed as if it wasn't frozen to begin with.
Liam could only rub his head as the headache subsided but that did not mean Liam could overlook what had transpired.
"Who was that?"
"Liam! Hurry up, I don't want to be the only who deals with your Wife's wrath!" Rea said as she dragged her older brother, who was busy looking at the crowd with a conflicted look, a look that didn't go unnoticed from Rea's eyes.
"What's wrong?" Rea hacked as she stopped her pulling and stared at Liam, who raised his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" as he asked that, Rea furrowed her brows.
"Are you feeling OK? If you're not up to doing the event, you can just say so" Rea said--This only resulted with her getting her hair a bit ruffled.
"You worry too much, I'll be fine" He said as he walked ahead with Rea watching his retreating figure.
"That's just it, you say that you're fine but you're the one who was hurt the most" She muttered as she recalled how devasted Liam was--to hear he won't be running for who knows how long.
'You've already got a Wife who loves you dearly and two amazing children whose future is gonna shine so bright--Liam, your spark returned because of them, but I can tell you still have regret that you want to solve, but I'm not sure that this is one th--'
"Hey slowpoke, what are you daydreaming about?" Liam asked with Rea simply shaking her head and smiled.
"Like you're one to talk, Last I checked you've been daydreaming ever since you got hooked onto those online Manga and Manhua books, you nerd" Rea said teasingly with Liam playfully having his arms around his sisters neck with the two of them simply laughing as they headed towards the Stadium.