↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第二十八

"How are we feeling today, Songwol-ah?"

"Appa," Jun Ki begins, the word sounding much like a warning.

Seonghwa looks between his family members and swallows hard.

"Tired and hungry," he admits, feeling so small under his father's gaze. "But I'm glad you're here."

"Yes, well I promised I would be here, so here I am." The man straightens his suit— he's always in a suit— and clears his throat.

"I also had the opportunity to speak with the surgeon and I think it's best if we also pursue the option of straightening out your legs a little more while we are here. They said it was possible to do that procedure as well if the first surgery goes as planned, so I went ahead and confirmed the decision. They should be bringing you the papers to sign shortly."

A second surgery?

Why?

"B-But my legs are already—"

"Seonghwa, please. I've had a long flight and we both know you're in need of this."

"Abeonim—"

Seonghwa is silenced by the sight of Jun Ki rocketing off the couch and quickly crowding his father's space.

"Are you insane? Isn't one risky surgery enough for you?"

"The second procedure is actually rather routine. They will just re-break his legs where they have begun to bow out and then—"

"What the fuck is wrong with you? How could you manipulate him into this?" Jun Ki spits, gesturing to Seonghwa gaping on the bed.

"When will it end? When you first told me about this surgery, you made it sound like you were actually concerned about his quality of life, but I knew better and I should've listened to my gut and told Seonghwa not to trust a damn thing you say."

Seonghwa's father bristles at this, eyeing his eldest son with contempt.

"Jun Ki, you will not speak to me that way. And I do have Seonghwa's best interest at heart. I'm trying to make him into the man he was supposed to be before that god forsaken accident."

Furious, Jun Ki points a finger into his father's face.

"You're such a lying bastard! So he gets this surgery for you, and then what? After you have him cut open and rearranged to your liking, then what? He will still be Seonghwa. You still won't like who he dates. He will still want to pursue the things he actually cares about. You can't just fucking play with a person like a doll."

"Seonghwa and I have discussed this already and we've agreed on some things," his father retorts coolly, looking over to his son on the bed. Seonghwa is too stunned to react.

"We also agreed that the surgery is in his best interest in order to improve his quality of life, which is why your brother is here. I'm not forcing anything on him."

Sitting in his bed, Seonghwa watches the exchange with wide eyes.

He can't believe that his father is acting so cool and indifferent and that his brother is taking up for him after years of just letting Seonghwa be.