Chapter Fifty-three (1/1)
Jeonghan sets the timer for the chicken and stretches his arms. He exits the kitchen and sits down in the seating room with the other kids. "So, are there any stories from college lately?" He asked, noticing Mingyu typing on his laptop and Minghao reading a book. The students look at each other one-by-one. Jeonghan notices Hoshi shaking his head, then Seokmin raises an eyebrow. Jeonghan hummed and crossed his legs. "Nothing?" He asked. "Well.." Jun started, "what's there to uhm.. tell?" He laughed in his usual goofy tone. Jeonghan shrugged. "How has Jaehyun been? Did he get his drink?" He asked. Seungkwan looked at Woozi who had a scared expression. The shorter shook his head, but this didn't stop Seungkwan from talking. "From what I hear, Jaehyun is someone from Jaemin's school. He used to have a crush on Jaemin, but Jaemin rejected Jaehyun's feelings." Seungkwan spilled the tea. Jeonghan gasped a bit. "Seriously? Perfect opportunity to get jealous revenge on Josh." He held his chin. "How about Woozi, how have you been at school?" Wonwoo huffed. "He has a stalker." He outright said. Woozi stood up and looked down at the dark child with rage. The older just stuck his tongue out. "Stalker?" Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. "What's this all about?" He asked.
Seungkwan snapped his finger. "Yeosang," He said, pointing at Wonwoo, "it's Yeosang isn't it? Oh he's such a character." He fell back on the couch with laughter. "Tell me about him." Jeonghan said with an interested smirk, holding his chin. He could tell Woozi was about to flip a table. "Okay, okay." Seungkwan stood up to get his drink from the coffee table. "So let me start with saying he's a little creep who used to stalk Woozi in stork school." He said, getting a huff from Minghao. "He made such a ruckus at school, I heard. "He disrupted the cafeteria with his horrible martial arts skills on a number of occasions." Seungkwan included, getting a raised eyebrow from Jeonghan and an interested look from Seungcheol who just walked in. "Hey, Dad. Anyway! Yeosang is basically a punk who thinks he can go around with his red belt and stalk on Woozi. In simple words, Yeosang is a bitch." The children all clap, aside from Woozi. "Where did you hear all of this from?" Jeonghan asked. "Oh, my class was talking about him. I don't know where they got the information though." Seungkwan looked up and sat down with his drink. Woozi breathed in and out. "I thought that Woozi knew about Yeosang following him," Wonwoo started, "but I guess he never knew. I always watch him go into Woozi's classrooms and follow him from the gate." He mentioned. Jeonghan widened his eyes. "Oh my, Woozi. Are you okay?" He asked, holding the boy's shoulder. Woozi shrugged the hand off and stood up. "So what? He hasn't done anything bad." He raised his hands. "Yeosang is pretty shitty, I admit it. But he's not hurting me." He slightly defended Yeosang. Seungcheol looked at Woozi with a stern expression. "Do you want him to follow you around?" He asked. "No! I hate him!" Woozi bit back. Seokmin squinted his eyes at the older. "I have his phone number if you want to talk to Yeosang, Cheol-dad." He advertised. Woozi looked at him in rage. "I'd like that," Seungcheol stood up, "tell him to meet me at the cafe. I'll have dinner with him." He picked the jacket up he just took off.
Jeonghan stood up and walked to the door with Seungcheol. "Cheol, you can't seriously go out to see him, right?" He chuckled a bit. "Seungkwan's just gossiping." "Woozi doesn't want to be followed by that kid, you heard him." Seungcheol said with a concerned tone. "I'm stopping this before it gets worse." He cupped Jeonghan's cheek, imagining many years ago.
Imagining Jeonghan's broken face and sad smile. "I promised to keep these children happy and healthy, and them being adults hasn't changed my mind. I don't want Woozi to go through what you went through." Jeonghan nodded, seeing Seungcheol's serious expression. "You come back at a decent time.. and don't let the kid talk down to you." He hugged Seungcheol. "Eat something good too, you can't just eat sweets." He kissed Seungcheol's lips. Seungcheol put his arms around the boy's body, bringing Jeonghan as close as he could. "You take care of the kids here. And eat well, I'll love you tonight." He smiled playfully. Jeonghan blushed and looked down. "Seokmin needs sleep.." He remembered the child complaining about hearing them the other night. "Let's try to be quiet." He tried to wink. Seungcheol chuckled and opened the door. He waved before closing the door. He breathed in and out before walking to his car. He unlocks it and drives it off the property. It only takes five minutes to park at the cafe. He gets out and sees a red car similar to his old car. He hummed as he recognized it. I've seen this before.. but when? He shrugged and walked into the cafe. He made eye contact with Jaemin at the machine. The brown haired boy motioned with his eyes that Yeosang was sitting at the counter. Seungcheol nodded and sat down next to the unknown-to-him boy. He cleared his throat. "Yeosang?" He started the conversation. The young male looked at Seungcheol. It wasn't the first time he'd seen the adult. He saw him at every graduation ceremony including Minghao's party. But never did they actually introduce each other. Yeosang bowed as he could in his seat. "Mr. Choi." He greeted. Jaemin came by and took out his notepad. "What can I get you two?" He asked. Seungcheol saw that the younger has a scar on his middle finger. He clenched his teeth for a moment. "I want normal coffee and some coffee cake." Seungcheol said. "And some chicken." Jaemin put his notepad down. "Sir, we don't serve chicken." He chuckled. "There's a chicken place a couple doors down. I'll pay you to get me some." Seungcheol offered. Jaemin thought for a moment. "Okay." He said, turning back to the kitchen to give Joshua the order.
Seungcheol looked back at Yeosang. "So I hear that you're stalking Woozi?" He asked, putting his hands together on the counter. Yeosang raised an eyebrow. "Where did you hear that?" He asked. "Seungkwan told me." Seungcheol replied honestly. Yeosang chuckled and sat back against the chair. "Seungkwan.. such a busy-body." He shook his head. "Yeah, I follow Woozi around often." Seungcheol hummed. "Why's that?" Yeosang smiled a bit, playing with the straw wrapper he cut up. "I think I should start with myself first," He said, "whatever Seungkwan told you, discard it." He then looked at Seungcheol. "He hears gossip from his classmates, who get it from other classmates, who get it from the all-popular Lee Jihoon, popularly known as Woozi." He said seriously. Seungcheol raises his eyebrow. "Woozi's popular?" "There's a lot you don't know about your son." Yeosang commented. "When I was five, I rapidly started growing." He said. "Like most stork kids, right?" Seungcheol asked, sipping on the coffee Jaemin gave him before leaving the cafe for the chicken. Yeosang shook his head. "Any child who is brought by the mythical birds age five years in one year, that is a fact. However, I didn't age in the way a child ages with years. I aged in appearance." Yeosang stated. "When I was eight, I looked like I could be older than Woozi. I looked mature and masculine while my classmates were still wondering why girls like to wear dresses. "I grew up quickly, and Woozi liked it." Yeosang said, making eye contact with the adult. "He liked seeing me appear older. He liked to stare at my body and watch in amazement as puberty hit me like a brick." Seungcheol widened his eyes. "Woah.. he.. lusted?" He asked. "Lust? That's the beginning of it. He craved it. Once he found out he was a crow, I could tell something in him changed. And once I found out I was a crow, I changed most definitely." Yeosang said, smirking. His blue contacts didn't help him not look creepy. Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows. "So you two.." "No." Yeosang sighed. "No, we haven't gone all the way. I'm too scared." He admitted. "Woozi was fine with waiting for me while I was at stork school. I would often come by his college and make out with him, touch him, and bite him; but I could never go further than that." He explained, making Seungcheol have an angry glare. "Why not?" Seungcheol asked.
Yeosang shook his head. "I don't know.. and once I graduated, Woozi wasn't having it. He finally got mad that I wouldn't commit all the way." He stated. "So he made false rumors about me. How weak I am. How I disrupted the classrooms in stork school. How I'm lower than dirt and how much he hates me. Sure, I follow Woozi around. But that's because I still love him. "And I know he still loves me." Yeosang said. Seungcheol paid for the chicken Jaemin put on the counter and started eating it. "But Woozi said he doesn't like you following him.." He said. Yeosang chuckled. "You believe him if you want." He stood up. "And I'll follow him however I can. I like his abusive game." He smirked. Seungcheol looked up at him in shock. "He can slap me and punch me all day; he can make false rumors to make everyone in the school hate me; but nothing will make me stop following him and worshiping him." He said in a monotone voice. "Because I want him. And I'm going to get him." "What if I don't want you to?" Seungcheol asked. Yeosang nodded. "I understand, Mr. Choi. Believe me, I understand completely." He bowed. "It wasn't a good first impression, but you were already biased against me before meeting me. I only think it's fair." He said, starting to walk away. "I'll earn my way, I guarantee it." He waved. "Wait," Seungcheol stood up, "please come back." He requested.
Yeosang gave a questioning gaze, slowly walking back to his seat. "Why?" He asked. "I'd like to know you from an unbiased opinion." Seungcheol said nicely. "Tell me about yourself, other than why Woozi was attracted to you." He asked politely. Yeosang sat back down and allowed the other to put a small piece of coffee cake on his plate along with a good piece of chicken. "What's there to talk about?" He asked, looking at the parent with concerned eyes. "My life would be a boring story to tell you about." He continued, picking his fork up to accept Seungcheol's offer anyway. "Anything, talk about anything you want." Seungcheol said happily. "Everyone has a story of their own, none is greater than the other. It might not have been sailing the entire ocean, or being the head of a great company; but it's your story you have in your heart." He put a hand on Yeosang's shoulder.
Yeosang put the fork down and looked down at his knees. "I'm a crow.. my older mother did unfortunate things to my other mother to have me." He started from the beginning. "I'm a mistake, but for some reason, my mother accepted my older mother back." "She wanted to give your older mother another chance." Seungcheol said. "As humans, we hate giving up. We strive to try, even if we die trying." He said, poking at his chicken with his fork. Yeosang hummed. "I was really happy about it, you know? My sister came to us, she was a dove, I later found out." He smiled. "Her cute smile while holding up her first art projects.. I'll never forget how much I adored that girl. How much hope she brought me. "Some students in my class made fun of me that I'm a boy. Women are supposed to have daughters, and men are supposed to have sons. But with crows and doves, logic gets messed up." Yeosang chuckled. "I didn't care.. I hated seeing my mothers upset at each other. But once my sister was in our lives, everything went so perfectly." He looked at Seungcheol with a big smile. Seungcheol smiled back, although the younger smiling looked a bit forced. "And how is it like now?" He asked. Yeosang sighed. "They got into another argument.. The argument cost both my older mother and my sister their lives one night." His smile was nowhere to be seen. "I was so heart broken.. I know she wasn't my child, but she was my sister. I loved her, I.." He held his forehead. Seungcheol held the boy's shoulder. "I would break down if my sibling got hurt from something like that too." He said softly. "It's not wrong for you to miss her, it's a natural feeling. We can't fight feelings.." Yeosang nodded. "That's what Woozi said.. Woozi said he didn't care if he missed his classes, he said he would be there for me all day and night if he needed to." He looked at Seungcheol. "He was the only person that kept me sane. Even my mother went through a short depression." Seungcheol sighed. "Woozi helped you.." He muttered. "While my mother was on hiatus, I helped around her tailoring shop." Yeosang mentioned. "I assured every girl in there that I wouldn't touch them improperly and tell them I'm already taken. But these days, mom does the girl clothes, and I do the men." He said. "So you're already in your major then?" Seungcheol asked.
Yeosang nodded and took a bite of chicken. "I was going to skip college because Woozi hated me," He started, "but mom said that it would be a good idea to get my general. Just in case the business ever fails, I'm already a step high." He continued, picking at the coffee cake next. Seungcheol pursed his lips. He looked at his empty plate and sighed. "What makes you still love my son? He does nothing but make fun of you and curse you out. How does that make you not want to give up?" He asked. Yeosang bitterly smiled. "I'm a fool, Mr. Choi." He looked the parent's way. "They say that kids reflect the parent's weak or bad behavior. I'm weak like my living mother. I love Woozi to no end, I'm bonded to him, and there's no way I can't ever leave him. "Even if you don't let me see him.. I can't go with someone else. My place is with him." He said in a defeated tone. "Ever since I was eight, my life has been nothing but Woozi." Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you think Woozi will ever accept you back?" He asked. "He already has.. he's just giving us space." Yeosang finished his plate too. "He knows that I'm struggling, he accepts it. He's letting me follow him and watch him, he's waiting patiently for me to finish our bond." He looked at Seungcheol seriously. The parent nodded and patted Yeosang's shoulder. "When you're ready, complete your crow bonding. Just be careful with him, promise me that." He requested. Yeosang looked at Seungcheol, right in the eyes. "I will." He promised.
"Hey, I hate to be that guy," They heard Jaemin beside them, "but we close in less than five minutes." He said. Yeosang bowed and looked at Seungcheol. "Thank you for not yelling at me." He stood up. "Woozi told me about how Jeonghan reacted to Jae.." Yeosang scratched his arm. Seungcheol chuckled and stood up too, picking his empty chicken bag up. "Oh, you'll get a screeching of a lifetime, but it'll mostly be me who's getting that." He winked, throwing the bag away. Yeosang nodded and walked out of the cafe with the parent. "Oh, Mr. Choi," He started up, "crows are bad news. Your crops get taken from them. Each crow can be controlled by one phrase alone." He put his finger up.
Seungcheol raised an eyebrow. "Controlled?" He asked. "The activation is you're mine," He said, "so if you ever hear someone telling that to Woozi, let me know. I'll beat him up." He cracked his knuckles. Seungcheol swallowed harshly. "Are.. there 'activations' for the other kids too?" He asked in fright.
Yeosang chuckled. "To get doves, say fly with me, and for storks, it's literally the easiest." He waved his hand. "Love me." He winked before getting into his car.
Before Seungcheol could say anything else, the car backed out and drove out of the parking lot. Activation..? What does that mean? He wondered.
Stalker Yeosang has been figured out.
How will Jeonghan react when he finds out about them?
You could probably tell Cheol held himself back from hurting Yeosang when he heard about them touching each other lol
<3