Chapter 107 (1/1)
The boy put his head low as he followed Jeonghan out of the kitchen. Jeonghan walked the younger into Dino's bedroom. He sat Renjun on the bed and held the boy's hand. "You're tired of being treated like a child.." Jeonghan stated. "What about it do you not like?" He asked, putting his other arm around the younger's shoulders. Renjun looked down. "I hate that everyone thinks that I can't do anything, just because I'm a kid." He said. "What makes a seventeen year-old so different from an eighteen year-old?" He asked. "How do you act?" Jeonghan asked. "Are you always so thought-out and intelligent?” Renjun shrugged. “I guess when I’m here I’m like that..” He said. “Mom told me that no one would like me unless I acted like a cute kid. I guess she’s right..” He said in a mutter. “No, that’s not true.” Jeonghan stroked the boy’s hair. “You should act how you want to act.” He said softly. Renjun looked up at him. “I want to act mature.. I want to be taken seriously..” He said. “Just because you sound mature doesn’t make you the best person, Renjun.” He said. “You could act like a five year-old at a party and then an adult in the office - not every adult is stone cold.” He explained, bringing the boy closer to him. “I don’t like seeing you being forced to have certain emotions,” Jeonghan admitted, “you’re a hyper kid, there’s nothing wrong with that.” He said. Renjun pouted. “Mom said that I’ll just get laughed at if I don’t take my medicine..” He muttered. “Your mother says a lot of things,” Jeonghan commented, “she just wants to protect you and make sure you don’t get hurt while being out in the world. My mother was the same.” He smiled and looked at Dino’s decorations.
“What did she make you do?” Renjun asked.
Jeonghan chuckled. “Many things..” He said. “But those things helped me be the person I am today. One day, you’re going to look back and realize that she only had your best interest in mind. That day will be the first day of your adulthood.” Renjun furrowed his eyebrows. “But next year-” “You’re right, what’s the difference between one number and the next number?” Jeonghan asked. “The answer is what you learn in that one year.” He answered.
Renjun looked down. “What I learned? Like math..?” He asked. “No, life lessons.” Jeonghan said. “Tell me, you’ve experienced so much in the past month of dating Dino than you have at the flower shop, right?” He asked. Renjun nodded. “A lot, like how to make Dino smile.” He smiled a little. Jeonghan laughed a little. “It’s what you do in the years that contribute to your maturity, Renjun.” He said. “You could be twelve and be wiser than a person with a masters degree.” He gave an example.
“Really..?” Renjun had big eyes. Jeonghan hummed. “Let me give you an example.” He said. “Woozi and Seokmin are only a few months apart.” He set the scene. “On Seokmin’s second birthday, Woozi was considered to be about twelve.” Jeonghan started. “Woozi was already acting like he was a teenager, being all mature and not wanting to act like a kid in a bounce house.” He explained how Woozi acted. Renjun pouted. “He’s only twelve though..” He stated. “Seokmin only turned ten, but Woozi was trying to get Seokmin to act older.” He remembered. “It really depressed Seokmin that day when Woozi said that no one would take him seriously if he kept acting like a kid.” He continued, making Renjun frown. “But.. he was a kid..” Renjun muttered.
Jeonghan nodded. “Exactly, we could be a certain age, but we can act differently. It makes us unique, Renjun.” He said, cupping the boy’s cheek. “If you want to act like a mature adult, go for it.” He said. “If you want to act like a child sometimes, no one here is going to judge you. We all have a little child inside us.” He kissed the boy’s cheek.
Renjun bit his lip lightly. “Th-thank you, Mr. Yoon..” He wiped a tear. “Just call me Jeonghan, okay? Mr. Yoon makes me sound old.” Jeonghan chuckled. Renjun nodded and hugged the adult. “I’m sorry for making a scene..” He apologized.
“Sometimes we all need a moment for ourselves, don’t worry about it.” Jeonghan patted the boy’s back. “Don’t be afraid to tell us your feelings, we’re here to support you, okay?” He put his hand in Renjun’s hair, massaging his nape in an effort to calm the boy more. Renjun closed his eyes. “Dino hates me..” He muttered.
Jeonghan laughed a little. “No he doesn’t.” He closed his eyes too. “What makes you think he hates you?” He asked. “Renjun?” Jeonghan raised his eyebrows when the boy didn’t reply.
He pulled back to see that the boy had fallen asleep. He smiled and lay the boy down. “Good night, Renjuni..” He kissed the boy’s forehead before exiting the room. *** Monday comes by and Seungkwan is looking through his script. He flips a few pages before he hears the door open. He looks up from his work and sees Jongho. "Hey, what's up?" Seungkwan asked, putting the paper down. The younger looked around. "Are we alone here?" He asked with a playful smile. Seungkwan smirked and huffed. "All alone," Seungkwan looked around before looking back at Jongho, "what do you want?" He asked. "Okay, I have some tea to spill." Jongho said. Seungkwan looked down. "Oh," He scratched his neck, "alright." He motioned the other to talk.
Jongho laughed and held Seungkwan's shoulder. "Not before a kiss," He leaned in, kissing Seungkwan's lips. Seungkwan's shoulders raise and he pushes Jongho a little. "You're holding my shoulder a little too tight, Jongho." He said with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm sorry," Jongho smiled, "maybe I'll do better holding your waist, Sunbae." He said sweetly. Seungkwan chuckled. "Smooth.." He commented, letting the male move his hands to his hips. However, the grip was still a little strong for Seungkwan's liking. "Jongho." He said sternly. "Let's just get to the gossip.." Seungkwan pushed the boy a bit. Jongho coughed a little. "So get this, Jongsuk, the head of security, hasn't come into work today." He said. Seungkwan raised his eyebrow. "So?" He asked. "So that guy works seven days a week here and always calls in when he can't make it." Jongho stated, making Seungkwan fold his arm. "They went to his house just a couple hours ago."
Seungkwan tilted his head. "And?" He asked. "He was found with a pillow over his head." Jongho said seriously. Seungkwan widened his eyes. "You're not serious, where did you hear this?" He asked. "I'm being super serious, I heard some other guards talking about it." Jongho said in a serious tone. "Something weird is going on, you know that Jongsuk was always suspicious of Sunghyun." He pointed at the diva.
Seungkwan looked down. "I don't believe it.." He closed his eyes. "He can't be.." "If my calculations are correct, Minghao's teacher and the dorm guard, Wonbin, should be taken next." Jongho said. "They're both suspicious of Sunghyun and Shownu." He said, looking around. Seungkwan started shaking. "N-no, I.." He bit his lip. "I caused all of this.." He held his face. Jongho held one of those wrists. "No, you didn't. We need to know what's happening." He said. "Jongsuk wouldn't be dead if I didn't produce the play, Jongho!" Seungkwan shouted. "And you're holding my wrist too tight." He stole his wrist back. The younger sighed. "It would have happened eventually," He said, "kids have been talking about a lot anyway." He continued, putting his arm around the boy's waist. "Please stop touching me," Seungkwan pushed him away, "learn your strength first." He requested.
Jongho looked down. "Seungkwan-" "I need to go home." He said, opening his bag. "Woozi made the first song, I'll text you the recording on the way." He quickly kissed the boy's cheek before running out of the theater.
He then sees a lot of security offers walking around and talking to many students. He started breathing heavily. "Wh-what's going on?" He looked around. He almost screamed when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," Jongho spoke up, "Seungkwan, we can't leave campus without a pass. Only Jun in your family has a pass right now." He said. Seungkwan nodded. "Okay.. How about you?" He asked. "I have to stay on campus for now." Jongho replied. "Be safe going back home, okay?" Seungkwan looked down at the pavement. "What's happening, Jongho?" He asked. "I believe that Sunghyun and Shownu are going to be heavily questioned and thoroughly examined." Jongho said seriously. "Just stay quiet and listen to the guards, okay? I don't want you hurt." He put his arms around Seungkwan lightly. Seungkwan hugged back, "Thank you," He whispered. He then walked up to the van, seeing Mingyu taking count instead of Minghao who is still at home. "You're the last one, Wonwoo left with Nana." He informed, watching Seungkwan enter the vehicle. "Hey, Woozi." He waved. "We have to ride in here if we want to leave," Woozi said. Seokmin smirked. "Is it really that bad to ride with us?" He asked. "It is when someone is grabbing my ass.." Yeosang said to the person next to him. Dino pouted. "You literally sat on my hand, I can't get it out!" He tried. Jun signed. "Fight when we get home, please." He looked at the children. "We don't need to be arguing while exiting the gate. Otherwise they probably will hold us back." He said, scratching his head in frustration. Mingyu backed out of the space and drove to the gate. The security there stopped them with his hand up. "Your pass?" He asked Mingyu. Jun opened the door and went around the front of the van. "I have a pass," He showed his document, "I'm teacher Wen Junhui and these are my siblings." He pointed to the kids in the van. The guard raised an eyebrow. "You're really telling me you have six siblings?" He asked. "I have eleven, but the others are at their place of work." Junhui said. "We're stork kids." He didn't hesitate to say. The guard looked at him with another suspicious eye. "Do you have your stork badge to prove it?" He asked. Junhui reached into his jacket and pulled out his badge he had gotten when he first enrolled in stork school. "Mystic Academy. Student twenty-nine in class two." Jun recited. "One of those boys in there is my brother in law, his name is Kang Yeosang. Crow number four in class three." He pointed at the blonde. The guard looked at the badge once more, seeing the stork's proud beak with its wings spread and it's tail fanned out. "Alright, you may pass." He handed the badge to Jun. Jun bowed and went back into the van. Mingyu then shifts the gear and drives out of the gate. "Damn, I forgot to keep my number memorized." Mingyu commented. "Sunghyun texted every teacher that they must have a pass to get out of the campus," Junhui started, "but I'm the only teacher that is a stork kid. He told me to bring my badge this morning." He continued and closed his eyes. Yeosang breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad I didn't have to have my badge.." He muttered. "You lost it, didn't you?" Woozi asked. The boy just smiles a little and the others could pretty much tell that Woozi was right. "Okay, so when we get home, let's not panic Jeonghan." Mingyu said. "I mean, it's not like we're doing anything bad, right?" Dino asked. "We're not targets, right?" Jun looked at them with a serious expression. "Seungkwan and Dino, you two are prime targets." He said. "You produced the play and Dino, you obviously don't make Shownu happy at all." He explained with his eyes never blinking. "Until this is over, a guard will be around the theater and the baking class, Sungyeol is putting San on duty for your class Seungkwan." Jun stated, looking back at the road. Seungkwan looked down. "I feel so protected.." He said sarcastically. "San's pretty flexible and surprisingly strong," Yeosang commented, "he did take basic training." Seokmin cleared his throat. "So what do we say to Jeong-dad?" He asked. "You let me do the talking," Jun requested, "he doesn't need to be scared, he just needs to know what's up." "Shownu's gonna kill us.." Seungkwan said, putting his hands in his face once more. "It's all my fault.." His shoulders start shrugging from crying.
Dino furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, no he wont." He put a hand on Seungkwan's shoulder. "It's going to be fine." "Stop touching me!" Seungkwan shoved the boy's hand away. The others look at Seungkwan silently. The diva looked around with scared eyes. "I.. I'm sorry," Seungkwan sighed, "I just.." "It's okay, Seungkwan." Woozi sighed. "We're all just a little sensitive right now."
Mingyu put his turn signal on and they got into the gate of their property. Vernon was outside on the porch drinking tea. "We're home." He said, parking in the driveway. The boys get out one-by-one. "How was work, Vernon?" Seokmin asked as they walked up to the door. "Pretty good. There's supposed to be a storm coming by tomorrow, so we're gonna skip work tomorrow." He said before gulping down some more tea. "Is Jeonghan home yet?" Mingyu asked. Vernon nodded. "Him and Josh are home," He said, "oh, and he invited Ren to stay for dinner." He remembered as he stood up. They walk into the house. They see Jeonghan resting on the couch with his hair back. "Hey," He greeted them with a small wave.
They look at each other and nod. All aside from Jun go into their respective rooms. The Chinese male sat down next to Jeonghan and sighed a touch. "What's with the long face?" Jeonghan asked, seeing the male be nothing like his usual smile. Jun sighed and looked at the parent. "There's something going on at school.."
Renjuni needs to be appreciated. Give that Chinese boy some luv <3
Yes, Jongsuk did die. I'm upset with myself too, because he's such a cool actor.
<3