Chapter 106 (1/2)
Dino looked down at the carpet, wondering when his turn will be. He got a knock on the door and he hummed, letting the person on the other side know it's fine to come in. He watched the door open. Instead of seeing Sungjae, he saw Renjun. "Renjun? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" He asked.
The Chinese boy shrugged. "I asked my mom if I could be with you instead.." He said, closing the door behind him. "She said I could, and that Sungjae-hyung might have some questions for me too."
Dino sighed and put his knees to his chest. "I'm scared, Renjun.." He admitted right away. The boy came closer to him, putting one knee on the bed while a hand went to Dino's hair. "What are you scared of? I'll take care of the meanie." He said, gently getting the boy to lay down.
Dino looked into Renjun's eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm scared that everyone else is involved in this, even you." He said. "And I can't even remember most of what happened to me, I'm the least useful person in this." He said, letting the boy rub small circles on his stomach.
"Maybe it's best that you're the least useful," Renjun said, "if you remembered anything, I would be scared for your entirety, Dino. Your emotions and physical health are important through all of this." He continued, putting a light kiss on Dino's cheek.
Dino smiled a bit. "Thanks.." "Mom said that protecting someone isn't always in the form of throwing fists or saying smart words," Renjun started, "she said that being a shield can be just as useful, absorbing the arrows that the opponent is shooting your way." He said softly, making Dino smile more.
"So until I'm strong enough to be a weapon, I'll be your shield, Dino." He put his arms around Dino, hugging him closely.
Dino returned the hug and caught a tear before it could fall. "Just don't get yourself hurt, Renjun.." He whispered, kissing the boy's cheek. "I'm not worth that much."
"Subjective." Renjun chuckled.
The door was knocked on. Dino sat up with the boy. "Come in," Dino said and Renjun moved to only have one arm around Dino.
Sungjae smiled and bowed. "Hello there," He waved, "have you taken your medication, Renjun?" He asked. "I have." Renjun replied. "Good, are you okay with a couple questions, Dino?" Sungjae asked. Dino nodded. "Yes, I'll do my best to answer them." He replied.
"These questions are things that take place way before this, so it should be fairly easy to remember them." Sungjae assured. "What is your relationship with Shownu?" He asked.
Dino breathed in and out. "Shownu was my class bully." He replied. "Throughout class three, Shownu would always come by and yank my chair. He always pushed me to the floor when he wanted a seat at the cafeteria. He always made fun of me for wanting to go into baking.
"He made me feel like stork school was jail." Dino continued. "It already felt horrible being there for so long, but Shownu just made it worse. And it's not like I could tell anyone." He put his hands up.
Sungjae hummed. "Right, he's the admin's son.." He muttered.
"Exactly! He even treated the youngest teacher there, a stork girl herself, horribly." Dino said. "No one could do anything."
"Did he pick on any other student in your class?" He asked. Dino nodded. "He did, Haechan was one of them." He said. "Haechan was a stork kid?" Sungjae asked in shock. Dino nodded. "He was the only pigeon I knew," He stated, "his parents weren't related." He waved his hands. Renjun sat there with a pout on his lips, confused as to what is being said. "Pigeons? What makes them different?" He asked. "There's not too much different between them and storks," Sungjae said, "a pigeon is made when a certain type of crow and dove get together. Or if blood-related parents get together.." He shuddered at the end.
Dino nodded. "Haechan was a pigeon and when he met Dahyun, he wanted to date her." He said. "However, Shownu and Dahyun have a dating past before he went with Meiqi." He recalled. "Is Dahyun a stork?" Sungjae asked. "No, Shownu socialized outside of stork school. Which is how he came to know Dahyun and Meiqi before we went to college." Dino replied. Sungjae nodded. "I see.. And Renjun, what did you say to make Shownu hurt you?" He asked. "I told him to turn his butt around and get back to class." Renjun replied. The crow chuckled and shook his head. "Bold move, Boy." He wrote the response down. "Thank you, that will be all." He closed his notebook. "That's it..?" Dino asked. Sungjae nodded. "You can't remember any of the kidnapping, right?" He asked. "Right.." Dino looked down. "Then there's nothing else to really talk about." Sungjae patted the boy's head. "You sit back and relax, I'll make sure no one comes here to harm you or your family." He promised. Dino nodded. "Thanks.." He bowed. "Keep a strong arm around this boy, Renjun." Sungjae winked before leaving the room. Renjun leaned in to kiss Dino once more, bringing the older close to him. "I'll hold you until you push me away," Renjun whispered.
Dino blushed and let the boy lay them down. "You want something, don't you?" He asked. "You would say no to what I want," Renjun smirked a little. "You're right, I would say no." Dino replied, playing with Renjun's brown hair. "I hope it doesn't hurt your feelings though." He raised his eyebrows. Renjun forced a smile and shook his head. "Of course not, I'm fine with just cuddling.. even if it's for the rest of our lives." He said. Dino doesn't see past the younger's fake eyes. "It won't be forever, just wait a little longer." Dino closed his eyes. "I'm taking a nap." He snuggled closer to the boy. "I'll wake you up when it's dinner time." Renjun said, stroking the older's hair lightly.
*** It was the next day, Sunday. Minghao blinked twice as he woke up. He smelled the beautiful air, fried chicken and steaming mashed potatoes. Not a traditional Korean meal, but a captivating meal for the Choi-Yoon household. The best thing was then accompanied, ramen. He turned on his back and held his stomach. "Hungry?" He heard Tzuyu's voice. He immediately sits up and sees the girl standing by is easel. "What are you doing here?" Minghao asked in a rather upset tone.
She looked his way, stepping once toward him. "You're hungry, aren't you?" She asked.
Minghao shook his head furiously. "No! I'm not hungry!" He shouted at the girl, pushing his knees against his chest and holding his ears.
"What's wrong, Minghao? What's making you so upset when you're usually calm?" She asked, sitting on his bed.
Minghao took his face out of his knees and looked at the girl. "I'm just.. I'm scared." Minghao said. "Jeonghan's spanked me and teachers at stork school gave me mad glares.. but the way Shownu looked at me.." Minghao trailed off.
"It's fine to feel these emotions, Minghao. Don't try to hide them when the people around you can help." She held his shoulder. "I want to help you." Minghao looked at her, their faces mere centimeters apart. "How would you help me?" He asked. "I'll feed you, hug you, and kiss you, Minghao." She said softly. Minghao looked at her lips. "I.. I don't want to date.." He furrowed his eyebrows. "But you're hungry." She whispered.
"Minghao?" Jeonghan's voice came from the door.
Minghao quickly turned to Jeonghan. "It's not what you think!" He put his hands up. Jeonghan looked around the boy. "Are you okay? I heard you shouting.." He stepped closer. "You haven't eaten anything since Friday.. please eat with us." He begged. Minghao turned to look at Tzuyu, who was no longer there. "Where did she go?" Minghao asked, standing up. "Who?" Jeonghan asked. "She was here, my classmate.. She was here." Minghao said, frantically looking out the window. Jeonghan put his eyebrows together and frowned. "No girls are here," He said, "maybe it was a dream." "No, she was here." Minghao looked back with a crazed expression. "She was asking me if I was hungry and saying how she wanted to kiss me-" Jeonghan widened his eyes. "Minghao?" He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I.. it's not what you think.." Minghao muttered. "Hey, look at me." Jeonghan instructed. "I know what you're going through. You're hungry, scared, and mixed with emotions. She might be your comfort, just like I saw Seungcheol when I starved myself." He explained.
Minghao closed his eyes and smelled the biscuits cooking in the air. "Please come and eat.." Jeonghan begged once more.
The boy nodded and let Jeonghan lead him downstairs. The others gave him a short look, seeing Minghao's unhealthy appearance. His eyes are dark with rings around them and his hair is left, right, and all around. Not to mention that his cheeks are a little hollow.
"I made plenty, so eat what you want." Mingyu said. Minghao picked up the fork and turned a bit. "Eat as much as you want, Minghao-ge." He saw Tzuyu in the corner of the room. He rubbed his eyes. "I want you to be strong and healthy, you can do it." She said.
Minghao looked at everyone else, seeing them chatting about other things. "Okay.." He bit into the chicken. "Tomorrow's the tournament," Jun mentioned, "you think you're gonna win against Mingi?" He asked, looking at Yeosang. Yeosang hummed and wiped his lips. "It would be nice to help out and be a mentor for the beginners.. but I need to help mom out with her store." He said. "Even if I lose against Mingi, I'm not going in for another semester." He concluded.
Seungcheol put down his glass of water. "Are you going to try to win though?" He asked.
"Of course. I think he could use having a job during the week." Yeosang said. "The school will be paying him to help teach the beginners." He continued.
Jun smirked. "Only for a semester, then the school might offer job placements in different places." He stated. "Mingi's pretty set with his skill."