Please be advised that this episode contains content that can potentially trigger and/or upset some readers. Read at your own risk.
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CHAPTER 5
"Looming" Arc
EP: ONE
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Yeosang was out of breath. He was struggling, resisting the overwhelming force above him. He emerged... to a surface. He desperately opened his mouth to gasp for air, his eyes were stinging and burning.
"Help... someo- hel- me-"
His breathing did not get any better, only his heart tightened more, as if someone was trying to rip it out from his chest. His feet under the water slowly losing their momentum before going ice cold.
An enormous wave came roaring from behind and pressed him down once again.
Underwater of once what was nothing but pitch-black, he saw a figure in the faint light, eyes closed and slowly falling from the surface without a single movement.
"Ka...Kae-chan!"
He tried to reach out to her but his body didn't get closer no matter how hard he swam.
A mass of something passed swiftly in front of him with a ferocious roar and the next thing he saw twisted his stomach. Before him was a white tiger, and Kae... she laid limply in its mouth like a rag doll, blood seeping from her head.
No... No... It can't be.
Once what was frantic heartbeats slumped to zero, he was neither moving nor resting anymore. Strength was replaced by numbness and cold sweat. The tiger's eyes of blue and red were gleaming as if piercing through his pitiful soul, the appalling sight mocking him wordlessly. He was no longer underwater but in a room of black, kneeling as his hands trembled, trying to block the ringing in his ears.
Sirens. Muffled whispers. And amongst of all, the piercing yell that shook him to the core.
"YOU RUINED MY SISTER'S LIFE, KANG."
"Stop!!!"
Yeosang's eyes flung open. Panting heavily like a fish out of the water, he felt weak, as if someone succumbed all the vigour out of his body. He tilted his head aside and was relieved when he saw his daughter remain asleep peacefully beside him despite his unparalyzed body acting out his nightmare.
Yeosang shakily rose from his bed, trying his best not to wake Jiu beside him. Sweat rained down from his temples and got into his mouth as he stood. He stumbled out of his room with the help of walls and managed to get downstairs where the kitchen was. He grabbed the glass jar on the table and chucked down the transparent liquid sloppily, but it barely helped alleviate the burn inside.
He went back to his room once again, creeping in stealthily and taking the pill bottle before returning downstairs. Thankful that none of his siblings was awoken by the ruckus he made, he opened the bottle lid and brought two white tablets to his mouth and swallowed them with water.
He settled himself on a chair and waited for the medicine to do its job while trying to steady his inhales and exhales. His mind was clouded with muffled noises, mainly the residues of the dream, echoing deep from his dismayed heart.
"Get a grip on yourself, Kang Yeosang. It's been three years. You are fine. You have to be. You still have Jinju to raise." He chanted the mantra that he developed during therapy sessions, his grip on the edge of the table slowly loosened.
He flipped the antidepressant container upside down, no pills were left. He needed to buy more, scratch that, he had to make an appointment with Yunho as soon as he can before those symptoms worsen and wear him out.
"Enough trembling, for fuck's sake." He tried to control his jerky hands by the wrist and got up to the sink. He cupped his hands and opened the tap, and splashed the ice cold water onto his face. Rubbing the sticky substance mixed with sweat and tears off, he felt his clammy skin in the process.
Water knocked some senses into him but still couldn't completely calm him down. He felt drained, weak, and horrible. Reliving the hell from the past was the last thing he asked for because he already had a lot on his plate. He couldn't crumble. He shouldn't.
But at the moment, he felt really weary, so much that even standing straight was a difficult task. He took a peek at the wall clock across the room. In about fifteen minutes, first rays of sunshine would pour from the windows to paint a clearer picture of the dark kitchen, and Yeosang doubted he could even get back to his bed.
Not a chance, his body sneered at him and slumped back on the chair, resting his head on the table, and shut down completely.
"Hyung! Hyung!! Wake up!"
Yeosang jolted his head up to the light tapping onto his shoulder. The first thing he saw was Taehyun who had concern painted all over his face.
"Why are you sleeping in the kitchen? Jiu was looking for you." He couldn't respond - his mouth was dry and his lips couldn't part to do so. But the younger saw the empty white bottle near him, and immediately realized judging from the way he softly let out a distressed sigh.
"I see... can you take a day off today, hyung? I doubt you can concentrate at work in this state."
Yeosang remembered the incomplete tiger statue.
"But an order needs to be finis-"
"Your wellbeing is more important than that stupid order, hyung. I beg you to stay at home."
"But still, I need to go out. My antidepressants ran out. And I need to see Yunho too," the older reasoned. "You have any shifts today?"
"Sadly, yes. But don't worry. Maknae can take care of Jiu. She's staying today."
"Ah... okay. I'll be quick then."
"No, you don't have to. Take your time and talk to the therapist. I will not tolerate any melancholy when you come back. I'll contact Wooyoungie hyung to pick you up."
Taehyun then fished his phone out from the backpack slung on his shoulder, and briefly explained to Wooyoung over the phone. After the call ended with Wooyoung promising to come to their house and hanging up, Yeosang piped up.
"Where's Jiu?"
"In the bathroom. Maknae is bathing her."
"I see. Are you leaving now?" Yeosang glanced at the younger who was clad in what seemed to be his work outfit.
"Not yet. I haven't even filled my stomach. I'll take care of the meal today. You go rest."
Yeosang couldn't resist the need to throw himself in his brother's arms. "What would I do without you, Tyunnie~" The younger dimpled a sympathetic smile and rubbed circles on his back gently.
His hyung was dealing with a lot of things these days, and Taehyun felt bad that he was still no aid to the older, or able to show any proper support since both of them didn't have time to sit down and talk things out when it comes to times like this. He felt slightly irresponsible as a brother.
After they parted from the hug, Yeosang sighed, this time lightly, and went upstairs to change his clothes. Some minutes later, Wooyoung arrived with a cab, and the two older men went to the therapist's clinic.
[Disclaimer: art belongs to the rightful owner]
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Sunday quickly came by, and so Jongho was in his car. Bored as he gazed through the window to see a part of the horizon that wrapped around the calm Han river in the warm shade of orange and gold which will soon turn into a poetic violet. He was waiting for the light to turn green so that he could get to his father's house in Hannam for the "long-awaited" family dinner.
The reason Jongho got stuck in this rush hour traffic was not that he woke up late in the afternoon, but because he was buying a present on his way for his youngest sibling (plus a bottle of Bordeaux for the oenophile Mr Choi) since he heard sh- he will be there too. It was just a set of bluetooth mp3 player with airpods.
Choosing the right present for that kid was probably the hardest thing Jongho had ever strived this week. He didn't know what to get. Maybe he could send he- him a good new bicycle later for a more convenient commute when the younger returns to Australia.
God, it was still awkward for Jongho to use the right pronouns for that college-aged adolescent.
"I wonder if I could contact him today?" Jongho mused, tapping on the steering wheel. He was thinking of the singer from the cafe. Ideas and thoughts for work never left his consciousness.
Jongho grew tired of restraining himself from calling the gig singer and asking for collaboration as long as he had to wait for San - that bitch of a model still hadn't come back when Jongho needed him - since the older male was somewhat his go-to consultant in his song-making process, given that he trained with Eden hyung longer than Jongho.
"Screw him, I'll just ask that singer on my own and tell him later." Jongho made up his mind. After being trapped in the long line on the bridge of Hangang for who knew how long, the rest of the drive was pretty much fast.
Jongho pulled over to the underground basement of Nine One Hannam. He got out of the car and took the elevator to the fifth floor.
As he pressed the bell of the sleek black door that labelled '143', the door opened inwards and revealed a familiar lady in her forties.
"Welcome, childe." The woman greeted humbly as Jongho returned it with a bow. He recognized her as the personal attendant of the kid.
"Where is Eunyeong, Ms Lim?" He peered around the cringingly luxurious apartment, his "home" that felt nothing more than a prison to him, to search for a certain skinny figure with a lollipop stick peeking out of his mouth but nowhere to be found.
"Young master is in his room, sir." Jongho felt a hint of unease from being addressed as 'sir' by someone older than him regardless of the status.
"Please drop the formality, Ms Lim. Just call me Jongho."
"Ah.." Ms Lim went frantic. "Forgive my forgetfulness, s- Jongho dear. I now remember that you don't like being addressed like that." Jongho quickly stopped the woman before she could bow again.
"It's fine. No need to apologize. Um, can you take this to the wine storage, please?"
"Certainly." He handed the heavy bottle carefully with both hands to the woman. As he was watching Ms Lim's back disappear into a corner, Jongho flinched at the sudden cry coming from the opposite direction.
"Jongho! About time you arrived, my boy."
"Oh... father." He awkwardly approached the man standing with his arms open, as his dad squeezed him in a hug.
"That was unexpected. I thought you would be uh... fuming that I left without notice." Jongho confessed, pulling away after some seconds.
"To tell you the truth, yes, I was a bit disappointed. Now, come on. Let's push aside those arguable stuff for later," His father hit him slightly in the back before turning to a maid. "Mrs Joo, do tell the others to come out from their shells. They do be occupying their rooms like turtles the whole day."
Jongho was taken aback at the laid-backness of Mr Choi, a bit suspicious might he add, but decided to not think it too much since he assumed the old man was in a good mood today.
As the father-son duo sat down in the dining room and engaged in small talk with Mr Choi's favourite classic, 'Queen Of The Night Aria', playing in the background, Sookyung was the first one to arrive... in her business attire, and no one showed surprise.
"Good evening, noona. How have you been?"
"Oh? I thought you didn't have any interest in me," Sookyung quizzically raised her straight thin brows as she took her place across from his seat. Jongho internally rolled his eyes before replying with a burst of airy laughter.
"Nonsense! Why wouldn't I?"
"Where's Kyungmin? And my other children?" Mr Choi's simple question intended to Sookyung instantly made Jongho want to time travel on the spot.
Shit! I forgot about that Devil's spawn, didn't I?!
His mind and memory really acted accordingly to his dislike of kids, and it's gonna cost him life (and/or an earsbleed) anytime soon.
"Driver Jang is picking Kyungmin up, he'll be home in no time. As for that bastard, probably grooming himself to look good in front of us, don't know the whereabouts of the 'mental' though." The businesswoman replied oh so casually.
"Sookyung! Keep your classy behaviours to yourself. I want this gathering to go peacefully without you and Beomgyu throwing insults at each other. Else I will lose my appetite," the father warned firmly.
"Oh hey! Long time no see." Jongho smiled at the newcomer to the dining room in an attempt to dissolve the tension building in the room.
The taciturn youth with a lollipop in his mouth only nodded at him and took a seat, not aware of (or at least pretending to not see) Sookyung's scoff along the lines of 'still hasn't grown from that ridiculous phase it seems' at his icy demeanour.
Funny how she's also one of those that haven't grown up~ Jongho mocked in his head before a genius idea suddenly popped up as he quickly took the gift that was secured near his seat and pushed it to the other side of the table.
"For you, Eunyeong-ah."
Receiving a mumbled 'thanks' in return as the younger reluctantly took the shopping bag-
"Uncle!!!"
-before Eunyeong's hand could fully grasp it, all of them had to look up at the sound of a deafening squeak accompanied by thumping footsteps, and found Kyungmin, with his backpack, who seemed to be back from school.
Before Jongho could even react, Kyungmin gasped loudly and darted to Eunyeong and snatched the gift bag. The preschooler then took a peek at the items inside.
"Why- This guy is getting a present?!? Where's mine??" he turned to Jongho, bouncing up and down on his short legs in both envy and excitement.
"Well, I- uh... didn't know what to get you since your interests change a lot recently, maybe next time?"
Sookyung, the mother of the boy, chuckled, "Can't you see, Kyungmin? Your uncle isn't interested in our life like we do with his." However, her son was a different story.
Kyungmin's freckled face dropped drastically like the dark sky before a thunderstorm, before he yelled in a shrill voice.
"That's not fair!!! You never get me a thing! Why does this guy have to receive one!! I don't like you, uncle! I don't like you either, mental!" The angry boy then turned the bag upside down, letting all the items fall out to the floor, and stomped down on them.
The lollipop in Eunyeong's mouth cracked into three pieces when in terror he watched the brand-new MP3 player and the airpod case being severely harassed under the boy's feet.
"Park Kyungmin!! What do you think you're doing?!" Jongho shot up from his seat as he attempted to stop the kid but was already late because the gadget was now lying on the floor, corners chipped with a couple of spiderweb cracks on the screen.
"No one can get a present now, how's that!" The preschooler huffed, proud with the destruction he just conducted, before storming out of the dining room.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I, Choi Jongho, hate kids with all my heart. A sigh escaped before his lips pursed tight as Jongho collected the damaged "gift" and shoved them back into the bag and handed it to a maid.
"I'm sorry. I'll buy you the exact same one later." Eunyeong drew the empty stick out of his mouth and muttered while staring at the silverware on the table with restless pupils.
"It's fine... I don't need it."
While Sookyung, unfazed by all the commotion, just scoffed and took a sip of her chamomile tea to hide a crooked smile behind the ceramic cup.
"Kyungmin's mom, are you not teaching your son necessary manners? Because I see none in him, he just went like a beast in the wild," Mr Choi tutted at his daughter.
"Temper tantrums are normal for his age. He's just upset that Jongho, his own uncle, didn't show any affection to him. I can't do anything about that," Sookyung defended, putting down her teacup.
Temper tantrums, my ass. That was just pure evil. Jongho has lost count of how many eyerolls since he got into this goddamn house.
"But what I'm more curious about is.... where is that son of a bitch! Does he have no respect of time?" she glowered.
"I'm here, hag! Sorry to keep you waiting. I accidentally forgot you had more important matters to attend to than a stupid family dinner." Jongho turned to the interruption and found Beomgyu walking up to them with a wry smirk.
Jongho noticed that the younger had changed his hairstyle, jet black hair parted neatly in a 6:4 took over the once unruly mullet, but that didn't make him appear any less assertive.
"Hey, hyung! Father! And kid!" the noirette greeted them respectively before sliding to his designated seat beside the wine-haired male.
"Now that I'm here, shall we start enjoying this marvellous dinner time now?"
-to be continued-
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Notes:
* addressing one's father as 'father' might be considered a bit outdated in most languages, but in Korean, 'father' (abeoji/아버지) and 'dad' (appa/아빠) are different. The first one implies more formality but the latter is more intimate.
*oenophile means 'wine lover', in simple terms
Big apologies. I did not realize till now that I legit chose the name of Wooyoung's (in real life) little brother for Sookyung's child (an original character) in this
The name Park Kyungmin will stand, as an original character ofc, and his role does not resemble Wooyoung's baby brother in any way <3