ɪ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ➻〚𝙣𝙘𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙩7〛

Flashback: Shine Through This

Chenle's POV-Age: 13

"Lele, come to the dining room. Mom and I have something to tell you about," Dad tells me, peering through my bedroom door. Busy clicking away at my game controller, I'm too preoccupied with Mario Kart, but nevertheless, I absorb my father's words.

"Wait for a second, Dad. I'm in the middle of a race and I'll be downstairs in five," I promise, my eyes fixated on the colorful racing cart that is swerving and zipping through my TV screen. Licking my dried lips in concentration, I stay focused, but in the background, my father sighs.

"Fine, Chenle. But I'm turning off that game if you aren't sitting at the table in five minutes. This is very important."

"Fine, whatever," I reply, and through the corner of my eye, I can see my father rolling his eyes at me. I grunt. Parents just don't understand the importance of video games. I mean, I'm so close to beating my high score! My father shuts the door quietly, and as I'm rounding home stretch, I think about what my dad just came in here for.

The car crosses the finish line, and though a rush of excitement shoots through me, my mind begins to trail off like an unsteady go-kart, and I begin to wonder why they need to talk to me. This is such a rare occurrence in the Zhong household; whenever Mom and Dad are actually home, they're constantly working, and they have no time to stop what they're doing and talk to me about something important. Usually, it's one of the housekeepers that will break any important news to me, and I pretty much exclusively talk to my parents during dinner or breakfast.

Switching off the gaming console and rubbing at my strained eyes, I trudge through the door in a lethargic fashion, as I've been gaming since I woke up this morning, and it's past lunchtime. As hard as it is to part from those addicting, rewarding games, I figure it'll be good for me to get out of my bedroom for a bit.

Natural light from the long, grand hallways hits my eyes, perking me up a bit more, and with heavy steps, I clomp downstairs to my dining room. As I enter, all eyes are on me as my mother and father wait for me expectantly. I gulp, a little worried about the possible topic of interest, but my worries are put out when I see that they don't look concerned or angry in any way.

I sigh in relief. Good, they haven't heard that I flunked my science quiz. It just happened a week ago, and it's the first time I've ever gotten a less-than-satisfactory grade on anything, which was definitely a little shocking when I received the first grade. Hastily, I slide into a seat across from them, shyly getting myself settled.

"Umm... What did you need to talk to me about?" I ask hesitantly, chewing on the cotton-soft fabric of my left sleeve. My eyes watch them expectantly, as I kind of want to just get it over with and get back to gaming.

"We wanted to talk to you about a big change in our lives that could occur," Mom starts, "It doesn't have to do with you, but rather your friend, Jisung, and his older brother, Taemin."

My eyes light up and my heart starts pumping at the mention of my best friend. What news could my parents have about them? I suppose it could be a lot of things. Jisung's mother passed away about six months ago, and though Taemin adamantly refused any financial support after the funeral from my parents, we've still been helping them out a lot.

Technically, both of them should be in the social services program, under their care, as neither of them is eighteen yet, even though Taemin will be in a few months. Though illegally, Taemin has been able to evade the government after their mother's death to prevent from him and Jisung being relocated and possibly separated, in an attempt to hold out until he's eighteen so he can become Sungie's guardian.

My parents have been really worried about them, as they are trying to escape the suspicion of the government, while at the same time, trying to work to survive, living on what little they actually have. Neither of them, but especially Taemin, are doing well mentally, and it's obvious to see. Although it's not our business to meddle in, we can't help but be concerned for their safety. They're still two young boys who can still be exploited and hurt by the real world.