Beyond Alteration

E

5 August 2029

Hansung was established as the stricter parent of the two of them. 

It was obvious that Banshin had the heart of cottage cheese and would rather sacrifice a limb than scold either of his children. 

Thus, it was very rare and very scary when it was Banshin who got mad at either of them.

And at the moment, it was terrifyingly silent. 

Even Hana, who never ever stopped running her mouth, stayed silent, looking nervously between her brother and her father. Hansung didn't seem to be as angry as Banshin did and it scared her even though she wasn't the one Banshin was mad at. 

Junha stood next to the coffee table, hanging his head low in shame and fidgeting with his fingers nervously. 

Hell, even Hansung was nervous as to what Banshin would do or say. He hadn't stopped glaring at Junha ever since the bomb had been dropped. 

Banshin took a deep breath and crossed his legs, crossing his arms against his chest simultaneously. "So what are you planning to do?" he asked, to which, Junha just replied mumbling, "I'm sorry, Banniepa."

"I said what are you planning to do."

"I'm sorry," Junha whispered, knowing his voice would break if he spoke any louder. 

Banshin knew if he asked the question another time, Junha would burst into tears, but he still pressed. "What's your plan now, Junha?" he asked, raising his voice slightly. 

Hansung wanted to interfere and ask him not to be so harsh but he stayed quiet for two reasons. One - what Junha did really deserved this. Two - he hated interfering when one of them was scolding the kids. It would make the scolding one seem cheap. The kids would lose their respect for both of them. So neither of them ever interfered when the other was disciplining the kids. They never gave the kids a chance to run for support when they were getting scolded.  

"I'm s-sorry, Banniepa," Junha, as expected, burst into tears. 

Banshin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but it did nothing to lessen the bubbling anger inside him. 

"It wasn't even your girlfriend," he started, and suddenly, everything was pouring out. Hansung had to grab Hana's wrist and rush out of the house before she could hear too much. He left her at their neighbour's house and returned alone, only to find Banshin yelling his head off at Junha. 

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I LECTURED YOU ABOUT USING SAFETY?! HOW MUCH DID YOU EVEN DRINK TO GET YOU SO OUT OF YOUR MIND THAT YOU ENDED UP MAKING A STRANGER PREGNANT, HUH?! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU HOW BAD DRINKING IS?! HAVE YOU NOT SEEN WHAT ALCOHOL HAD DONE TO THAT MONSTER?! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW NOT TO DRINK OUT OF YOUR MIND, JUNHA!!" Banshin closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Losing control like this wasn't good for his recently diagnosed high blood pressure. 

"Hannie and I have always been pretty open with you, haven't we? Unlike other parents, we gave you enough sex education. How could you make such a mistake, Junha?! That too, you say the girl is three years younger than you!! She must be twenty-two, for god's sake!! That's almost like teenage pregnancy!! No wonder she isn't ready to take any responsibility!! Are you even ready to take responsibility for the baby?!" 

Junha nodded shamefully. He had no other words to defend himself, anyway. He just knew he would take complete responsibility for the baby. 

"Are you ready to take responsibility for the baby?" Banshin asked, stressing the word 'ready'. 

Junha shook his head and a couple of tears fell on the floor. He wasn't ready. He was terrified. But he wasn't ready to let go of the baby either. Not after knowing the baby would be out in five more months. 

Banshin sighed and got off the couch, throwing his hands up in vexation. "Do whatever. Just don't involve me in this nonsense," he said in a small but annoyed voice before walking to the bedroom. He didn't hesitate to slam the door shut to let Junha know just how mad he was about the situation. 

Hansung sighed after Banshin disappeared, and approached Junha. He patted his arm gently and pulled him into a warm hug. 

"You know how he gets when he gets mad," he said, "he's extra mad because alcohol and rape are two very sensitive topics to him. You didn't rape that girl, but this unwanted pregnancy makes it a hundred times worse, doesn't it? Your child would feel bad in the future when they come to know that they had been nothing but a mistake," he lectured softly, rubbing Junha's back gently when he felt his shoulder get progressively wet. 

"I'll talk to him and it will be fine," he continued, "we are there for you, of course. He doesn't mean what he said. You know he would be the first one to hold your baby and maybe even the first one to drop it," he said with a chuckle, making Junha chuckle wetly as well. 

"You first get yourself ready physically and mentally to raise a baby, okay? Raising a baby requires the patience and power of a thousand people. We'll be there with you through the entire process, but you need to get ready first, okay baby?" 

Junha only nodded against his shoulder. 

"What are you going to do about your girlfriend? This means you cheated on her, right?" 

Junha shook his head, sniffling hard. "It was unintentional, papa," his voice broke. 

Hansung sighed again. "Cheating is still cheating, baby. You can't hurt her like that. You either apologize to her or break up with her and move on. She doesn't deserve a disloyal partner," he said. He knew his words were harsh, but things that needed to be said needed to be said. 

"Papa," Junha broke into harder cries. 

"It's harsh, but it's the truth, love. Would you accept it if seobang-nim told me that his having sex with Aera-ssi was unintentional and that so were you? Wouldn't you say that it still meant he cheated on me?" 

Junha nodded his head pitifully. "I would," his voice broke.

"There," Hansung cradled his bearded face in his hands and gently wiped his tears away. "Now go and get ready. People are gonna start arriving," he said and Junha, like an obedient puppy with a wagging tail, just nodded and headed to his room to freshen up for his sister's tenth birthday party. 

Because whether his world was crumbling or not, his sister was important to him and so was her birthday. 

Especially her ten-year-milestone. 

So he pulled himself together and came out looking like the ever-confident young cop that he was, minus the uniform. 

Hana was happy her father wasn't mad anymore and her brother wasn't sad anymore. 

And so they maintained it that way. 

Despite Junha's inside world crumbling from the anxiety of the upcoming big responsibility.