Chapter 126 (1/1)
Earlier, when Hongjoong looked around the audience, he spotted a male sitting alone. He had black hair and a smile as he watched Seokmin singing with Hyolyn. He walked up to the man and bowed. "Are you Mr. Yoon?" He asked. Jeonghan looked up at the boy and noticed his young eyes. "That's me." Jeonghan smiled. "I'm Hongjoong, Seonghwa's brother." He bowed once more. "He told me to come sit with you." He informed. Jeonghan noticed the gray uniform. His tie was straight and his shirt was tucked in. The only rebellious aspects of the boy was his mullet and his makeup. Nonetheless, Jeonghan motioned for Hongjoong to sit down. "How's school going?" Jeonghan asked a general question. Being that they have no prior knowledge of each other, it was a bit difficult for Jeonghan to not to start with small talk. Hongjoong raised his eyebrows. "A little confusing.." He replied. "What's confusing?" Jeonghan asked. "Maybe I can help?" He offered. Hongjoong bit his lip momentarily. "Maybe it's not school that's tough.." He said. "You see, Seonghwa-hyung has been having a little trouble with his emotions lately." Hongjoong looked at the students on stage. "How has he been acting?" Jeonghan asked. "He's been crazy over Seungkwan lately, and it's really stressing me out." Hongjoong replied. "Hoya, one of my fathers, says that Seonghwa needs to stay away from Seungkwan." He furrowed his eyebrows. Jeonghan looked at the students as well. "How do you mean crazy?" He asked. "He kinda talks about him like he owns Seungkwan. He talks about how much he wants to claim him." He said, making the parent gasp. "So he told our parents about it and they're trying to help.. Don't even think school will help, they would just say for them to live it up." The child raised his hand in annoyance. Jeonghan folded his arms. "And so his outburst a little while ago.." He muttered. "Yeah..It really hurts when he's grabbing at his hair and screaming about Jongho at home.." Hongjoong closed his eyes.
Jeonghan looked down. "Kinda reminds me of Woozi.." He muttered. Hongjoong smirked. "My other dad, Dongwoo, says that Seonghwa is possessed by a demon." He stated. "But the priest won't examine him because he's a stork kid.." He continued.
Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. "Being a hormonal teenager doesn't translate to being possessed." He chuckled. "Yeah," Hongjoong agreed, "but dad told him to fast anyway. He said it would drive out any negative energy." He said, playing with the end of his jacket. Jeonghan folded his arms and looked at the child before looking at the stage once more. "And how long are they going to make him do that?" He asked. "Hm.. I don't know." Hongjoong held his chin as he watched Seonghwa read the music sheet while singing. "I guess until he's not evil anymore?" He guessed as Jongho harmonized with him. Jeonghan huffed. "Boy's not going to last more than two days." He said, shaking his head. "He hasn't eaten in three days." Hongjoong looked at the adult. Jeonghan made eye contact with the child. "The demon will definitely leave once he dies, that's for sure." He said with a disappointed expression. Hongjoong nodded with a sigh. "So that's why school has been tough for me.." He said, looking down at his knees. "I can't get his suffering out of my head, and I haven't been focusing on anything else.." He explained. Jeonghan pouted his lips. "Naturally, he is your brother." He said. "It would probably be even worse if you two were a crow-dove pair. It was always hard on DK when Woozi was having tough times.." He muttered, looking at Hongjoong's chipped nails. Hongjoong copied the pout. "That's the thing," He started, "my teacher says I shouldn't be this distracted. I mean, it's natural to have it on your mind, but normally students can push past these things easier." He said, looking lost. Jeonghan pursed his lips, and the younger copied. "By whose standards are they going by?" He asked. "They're still obeying the things Sunghyun has set for the school. They're still in the process of getting a new admin.." Hongjoong answered. "But it's true, usually only doves make such a mountain out of these things. Students made fun of me today for spacing out and crying during class." He said with furrowed eyebrows. Jeonghan noticed the redness surrounding the boy's eyes. "No person can tell you how to feel, Hongjoong." He said. "If you feel true pain from your sibling's suffering, you shouldn't be ashamed of it." He said, feeling like he's talking to a small child. "I haven't been able to sleep much.." Hongjoong stated. "I know it's only been three days, but so much has happened in our house.." He said, watching his brother sing once more. Jeonghan sighed. "There's not much you can do in this situation, huh?" He asked, getting a hum. "There's something that you could probably do that would help calm your brother a little." He mentioned. Hongjoong looked back at him with wide eyes. "You really think so? What is it? Please tell me, Mr. Yoon." His hands went together in a begging motion. "Hug him." Jeonghan smiled. "Hug?" The child was confused. Jeonghan nodded. "No words need to be spoken; no outrageous actions need to be done. Just hug him and cry together." He said. "He's going through so much in his body and mind, just you being there with him will let him know that he's not alone. "He's not facing this challenge in his life without his brother." Jeonghan smiled. "He's not falling into deep darkness because he'll have you to cling onto. You're all he has, not even his parents seem to realize how much he needs love right now rather than correction." He said, his smile fading and his eyebrows furrowing. Hongjoong looked down. "Correction.. We did nothing wrong though.. We're just storks growing, right?" He asked. "That's right," Jeonghan held the boy's hand, "only storks can understand each other. No one can break your bond, either." He smiled, seeing the small smile forming on the boy's face. "Thank you, Mr. Yoon.." He wiped a tear with his free hand. Jeonghan nodded a little. "I never really understood too much of what my children went through, but I do know that one thing is for certain." Jeonghan said. "Woozi would always calm down and be happy again after Dokyeom would hug him." Hongjoong gathered by now that Woozi is a crow and Seokmin in a dove. "But I'm not a dove.." He muttered. "No one says you can't have a tight bond with Seonghwa like you are his dove." Jeonghan shrugged. Hongjoong smiled. "I guess that's true.." He muttered. Jeonghan subtly bit his lip for a moment. "Kid, you got me really emotional." Jeonghan said, getting a confused glare. "Could I have a hug?" He chuckled. Hongjoong smiled and laughed. "Sure," He leaned closer to hug the parent, "I wish that my parents were so understanding like you.." He muttered. "Shouldn't ought to compare parents, Child." Jeonghan patted the boy's back.
Seonghwa looked up from the music sheet and at the two hugging in the audience. He was a little surprised, but smiled when he saw Hongjoong and Jeonghan laughing together. A warm, tingly feeling went from his fingertips to his chest. Seeing the boy smile again..
*** Renjun looked at the cake that came out of the oven. He picked up a toothpick and poked it into the cake. Waiting a moment, he pulls it out and sees that it's dry. "It's finished," Renjun said, turning to Dino who just turned off the oven, "what do I do next?" He asked. Dino looked around and picked up the frosting. "There are only a few other steps to do.." He said. "Why don't you make me a colored frosting? The customer wants periwinkle." He said, looking at the order sheet. Renjun picked up the dye kit and dropped ever so lightly into the bowl of frosting. "Are you annoyed that I'm helping this week?" He asked, dropping another color into the frosting. "No? Why?" Dino asked with a little chuckle, washing the mixer. The boy shrugged. "Just a question my mom was wanting me to ask." He said, adding a little more blue into the frosting before mixing it again. "Why are you trying to get extra credit, anyway?" Dino asked, drying the mixer and putting it in the cabinet. Renjun shrugged. "I might have gotten detention recently.." He said, examining the color. "I've been getting a lot of demerits on my record and the only way to clear them off is to do extra credit activities." He looked up at Dino before the frosting again. "What were the other things you could choose?" Dino asked, leaning back on the counter and watching as Meiqi was taking care of her own project. "I had the choice of sports, cleaning, tutoring, and being an assistant in a college classroom." Renjun answered, getting the right color he wanted. "Mom said that I could get hurt doing sports and she doesn't want me to get dirty with cleaning." He continued, closing the dye set box. Dino got off of the counter and took out his set of frosting knives. "Why didn't you want to tutor?" Dino asked, giving a small knife to Renjun to work on the sides while he took care of the top. Renjun was careful as he worked around the circle cake. "Let's be honest, I don't exactly have the grades to help kids.. that and I get super nervous with explaining things to other students." He said, spreading the frosting. Dino pouted his lip. "You wouldn't be nervous helping me?" He asked. "I've helped you a lot at home," Renjun looked up at Dino for a moment before returning his eyes to the cake, "and I know you won't yell at me if I accidently drop some frosting on the floor." He said. Dino looked at the floor and saw a drop of frosting by Renjun's shoe. "I see.. Perhaps you shouldn't get detention though." He said, putting the knife down and taking the frosting gun out of the drawer. Renjun watched him assemble it before taking the one right next to him. They both filled the guns with white frosting. "I know.. But I didn't even deserve it today." He said, lining the bottom border with spiral frosting. Dino worked on the top, putting the happy birthday message that the customer requested. "Why's that?" Dino asked, moving when the boy got to the other side of the cake. "A bully was trying to get me to do something," Renjun looked away, "anyway, the teacher saw and she said I was in trouble for hanging out with that student. So surprise, surprise, my mom was called." He said in an annoyed tone. Dino lifted his eyebrows and watched the boy finish with the border. "And what happened next?" He asked, cracking his neck. "Well of course she took the teacher's statement and not mine," Renjun said quietly as to not disturb the other students that were having their fair share of conversations and music, "long story short, I jumped out of the classroom I'm supposed to be in right now and she's probably going to throw a fit when I get home." He finished the story as Dino finished the decorating. Dino widened his eyes at the boy. "You're really aggravating your mom, you know." He commented. "She's probably not going to let you come by here or my place much longer." He said, opening the gun and licking the remaining frosting. Renjun nodded. "I know.." He said, his eyes lowering. "I just.. It's my last year of high school and I feel like even if I do things right, nothing will make my mother happy. She has a kid like me." He pointed at himself before licking the frosting on his finger. "Hey.. let's not talk about this right now, okay?" Dino insisted, holding Renjun's shoulder. Renjun's expression became angry, and to Dino, it was rather cute still. "I'm going to run away, Dino." Renjun said, looking at the older. "What?" "I'm tired of this, I can't handle it anymore." He said, picking the lid up and putting it on the cake. "How were you treated when you were seventeen? Were you not even allowed to pick up safety scissors or go out walking by yourself? Were you not allowed to cross the street unaccompanied, even if it's just to check the mail?" He asked.
Dino pursed his lips, noticing some students paying attention now. "Renjun-" "I know she wants to protect me, I know she cares for me, but she's protecting me by closing me off to everything and everyone." Renjun interrupted. "She's ashamed of me, Dino. She wasn't even going to tell grandma she had me." He admitted. "How am I supposed to be so happy when all she's doing is suppressing me?" He said a little loudly. Dino looked around and held the boy's hand. "Let's talk about this outside-" "I'm sorry," Renjun interrupted, "I didn't mean to cause a scene.." He sighed. "I'm done talking."
Dino looked down, not knowing what to say to the boy. Renjun looked empty. "Please don't run away from her," Dino muttered, "give her more time.." "It's always me that has to submit to everyone, huh? When can Renjun ever be in charge.." He said, leaning on the counter with a broken expression. Dino pursed his lips and looked around the boy. "Perhaps a therapist could help?" He suggested. Renjun looked at Dino with shocked eyes. "Are you calling me crazy now?" He asked. "Should I just jump off the roof now with my hands behind my back?" He asked, straightening his posture. "What? No-" Dino was shocked. "Thanks for being so understanding, Dino." Renjun clenched his fists and started walking away. Dino bit his lip. He watched as Renjun didn't bow to the teacher or get him to sign that he's helped in the classroom today. He looked down with a defeated sigh.
*** The evening came and only Jeonghan and Seungcheol were at the table tonight. Seungcheol took the chicken out of the oven and Jeonghan turned off the burner, bringing the pot of ramen to the table. They sit side-by-side in the empty kitchen. Jeonghan silently blows on his noodles and Seungcheol cuts his chicken. "We're all alone today," Seungcheol commented, "where are they?" He asked before taking a bite of the crispy foal. "Mingyu and Dino are working on things for customers." Jeonghan started. "Seungkwan and Dokyeom are staying behind and helping some of the students work on the lyrics better." He continued, slurping on his noodles. Seungcheol looked around. "Vernon?" He asked. "Dongwoo has him working on someone's house right now in a couple towns over." Jeonghan replied. "Minghao and Tzuyu are moving Sungjae's art pieces from Suji-gu to a museum nearby." He said as he stirred his noodles. Seungcheol hummed. "Woozi and Yeosang?" He asked. "They're tailoring for the police department, I hear that there are quite a number of officers.." Jeonghan said. "Of course the babies are here, but they're in the other room napping." Jeonghan continued, cracking his neck. Seungcheol pouted. "What about Jun and Josh though?" He muttered. Jeonghan finished his noodles and wiped his cheeks from the water that splashed onto them. "Jun told me the other day he wanted to go on a date with Yeji, and Josh said he wanted to exercise in the evening." Jeonghan replied. Seungcheol sighed. "And I suppose Wonwoo and Nana have evening classes.." He muttered. Jeonghan nodded. "Yup, and Hoshi's in Seoul now." He looked at Seungcheol. "So it's just us.." He muttered.
Seungcheol put his fist on his cheek and looked at the food. "And for some reason the chicken isn't as appealing now.." He said. "Like you've told me, they all have their lives to live." Jeonghan mentioned. "Let's not be too upset over it, at least they're not stressing out over anything, right?" He smiled sadly. Seungcheol just looked down, his eyelashes touching his cheeks. "Let's pretend that we're on a date," Jeonghan clapped, "just you and me all romantic-like." He tried. "It's not the same, Jeonghan.." Seungcheol looked at the younger. Jeonghan pursed his lips as the other continued eating. He started on his chicken as Seungcheol started on his noodles. "How did work go today?" He asked after a couple minutes of silence. Seungcheol picked up his glass. "It was fine." He said, looking at the tea, spinning the lemon around a little. "I'll be meeting an associate for lunch tomorrow." He brought up. "Tomorrow is Saturday though." Jeonghan commented. "Yeah, but the person will only be in the country tomorrow and Dongwan wants me there." Seungcheol replied, putting glass on the counter. "I'm going with Mark." He slightly grumbled. Jeonghan put his fork down for a moment. "Why are you going there?" He asked. "He's the head of advertisement, he's the one that will mostly be talking, I'm just going to meet him and tell Dongwan how we should handle the deals." Seungcheol answered, pouting when the noodles were still too hot for his tongue. "Who's paying for the food?" Jeonghan asked. Seungcheol looked at the younger. "He invited us, so the associate will pay." He answered. "At least you get free food then." Jeonghan smiled deviously. Seungcheol couldn't help but chuckle at that. "What's so funny?" Jeonghan asked. "You just look so cute when you're scheming." Seungcheol commented, making Jeonghan blush. Jeonghan puts his fork down to hold Seungcheol's hand. "You look adorable too." He said, leaning forward to kiss Seungcheol's cheek. Seungcheol smiled brightly. "Alright.. maybe this is a date.." He said with a few, small laughs. "I know you won't sleep tonight, but can we cuddle until you have to leave?" He asked. The smile Seungcheol grew was enough to make Jeonghan inwardly squeal. "It wouldn't be a date without cuddles~"
There's a lot of heart-hurting drama going on with Seonghwa and Hongjoong..
But at least JeongCheol are still being sweet~~
<3