84. A.U Younger - Quiet

Creeping into the bathroom with his clothes tucked into his arm, Kang closed the door as quietly as he could before he flicked on the light. The mirror greeted him as he put his clothes onto the sink counter and he wasn't surprised to see that he was pale and sweaty. His bloodshot eyes stared back at him, and it was like seeing the sweat on his face made him realize how sticky he felt. How his pajama shirt stuck to his sides, how his palms were clammy, and the way his fingers stuck together because of the sweat. The collar of his shirt had even been darkened by his sweat, which only emphasized how sticky he felt.

His shirt clung to him like cling film, it was like trying to peel off a fresh band-aide and it almost felt like he was going to rip his shirt before he got it off. In an effort to help, he balled up his shirt and used it as a makeshift towel to wick up any remaining sweat on his arms and chest. Once that was done and it was safely in the hamper, he turned on the water, and savored the way he could feel the water cooling down his cupped hands.

He just felt hot and uncomfortable, but the sensation of cold water splashing against his face was one that he welcomed. He could feel all the sweat being washed away; he could taste it too. In between splashes of water, the remaining water droplets dripping into his mouth, and he could taste that they were salty from his own sweat.

Kang rinsed out his mouth and after cupping water into his hands once more, he splashed water onto his neck and scrubbed his skin as best as he could. Lastly, he ran his hands through his hair, focusing on the sweat he could feel on his hairline to get rid of it. He didn't do a thorough job, there was no point to it when he was planning to change for a run. The sensation of water washing away the sweat made him feel marginally better, a bit more put together, but that didn't get rid of the energy that buzzed under his skin. The energy that threatened to make him vibrate out of his skin if he didn't expel it, the adrenaline that was running through his veins after the nightmare made it difficult for him to calm down.

When he was drying off his face, he couldn't help but let out a loud groan into the towel, the fabric muffling the noise.

It was four in the morning. Though he could have waited until it was sunrise for the morning run, the adrenaline rush from his nightmare made him advise against it. Just lying in bed made him anxious, his body anticipated something, for what, he didn't know, but he wasn't willing to try and convince his body that there was nothing wrong.

It was just easier to go out and run for a while to get that energy out.

With a sigh, Kang threw the towel into the hamper and started to change. All his sweaty clothes went into the hamper and were replaced by his clean clothes that would soon share the same fate. He crept out of the bathroom, each step was methodically placed, the ball of his feet made contact with the floor first, then his heel, his hands kept close to his sides to make sure he didn't knock anything over. Carefully, he crept back to the room and just as he had hoped, the kid was still asleep, Squirt's back facing him as the man carefully closed the door. With a few more methodical steps and after feeling around blindly in the dark, he was out the door, his shoes in hand.

Kang knew that he wasn't supposed to be going out so late at night, especially without telling anyone where he was going, but he just wanted some alone time. He knew that anyone he woke up to tell would insist that he didn't go, and his parents especially would just wake up and accompany him. Or worse, someone would try to coax him into talking about his nightmare. While he appreciated the show of support, Kang just wasn't in the mood for that. All he wanted was to run and let his mind drift, even if that meant he had the potential to get into trouble. But it was going to be fine, Kang knew that he was going to be back at the house before anyone woke up. If he wasn't, then he was just going to tell them that he left later than he really had. He didn't have to tell them that he had been gone for more than ten minutes.

It was a white lie; it wouldn't hurt anyone.

A final tightening of his laces and then he was off. He could feel the adrenaline fading away the moment he started running, his primal brain pleased that he was taking advantage of the energy it had provided.

The neighborhood was dark, the streetlights spaced out just enough where he was straining his eyes to be able to see what was in front of him before he was running under another streetlight.

The lack of silence only reminded Kang that they were not out in a forest. Even at four in the morning, the occasional car passed by, dogs barked as he ran in front of their yards and there were even a few people he passed as they started their own morning routine.

He just let his mind roam. He didn't have a lot to think about and he didn't want to either way. He just wanted to turn off his brain for a while and let the exercise take him away. It was easy to do so as he was running on the same route that he and Squirt ran every morning and although he was a few hours too early, he fell into the rhythm of habit. It was just another nightmare, and it was no worse than the others. All he had to do was shove the faint memory of the nightmare into the back of his head while he ran and eventually, the memory would rot until he forgot it. It was a proven method that the soldier knew would work so long as he kept his mind off it.

As it turned out, he shouldn't have let his thoughts roam as much as he should. By the time he realized it, he was far past the turning point for their usual route and the sun was already starting to turn the sky a light pink.

Crap.

Turning on his heel, he picked up the pace to get back before anyone woke up and discovered he had left. He didn't have much time as almost everyone woke up right at six. That time, the adrenaline was something he appreciated as he made it back to the house in half the time it took him to run so far. The sky was a mix of blues, oranges, and pinks by the time he got back. Just as he had before, he slowly opened the front door, and he eased the door close before he took off his shoes.

Based on the sound of the house alone, he would have thought that he had made it, all of the bedroom doors were still closed, and the house was silent.

However, based on the smell of coffee, he knew that he had failed. Someone was awake and someone was having their morning cup of coffee. He knew that his mom and dad had habits of checking in on everyone in the middle of the night and at that point, it was a question of who was awake and if they knew they had left.

He sighed. All he could do was hope that it was not his dad and that he was still asleep. His father would be pissed if Kang found out that he had slipped out at the ass crack of dawn, by himself, without telling anyone.

Granted, he would deserve the scolding, It was a valid worry as if something had happened to the man, all they would know was that Kang was gone and that's about it. But that didn't mean he wanted to be scolded in the first place.

He decided to bite the bullet by walking further into the house, his head instinctively turning to the living room when he saw movement from that area. Ah-in didn't move, she didn't blink, she didn't even look surprised.

Within seconds, Kang knew that his mother knew that he had left.

Ah-in was sitting in the living room, sipping at her coffee as she stared into his soul over the lip of her cup. She didn't say anything, her face didn't reflect what she was thinking nor did her body language.

All she did was curl her finger as she all but ordered him to go over.

He should have left a note. Bashfully, he walked over, and it took everything he had to not duck his head out of shame as he did so. Oh, she was mad. She was so mad.

Ah-in set her cup on the table and stood up from the couch. With her expression still blank, she reached up and cupped his face with both of her hands, her thumbs running gently over his skin. She was smaller than him, where he was standing at six feet, she was only five feet tall, Kang could incapacitate her within seconds if need be.

But that did nothing to make her less intimidating.

Her gentle cupping of his face turned into a pinch that pulled his cheeks away from his gums, and she used just enough force to show her displeasure, "You want to tell me why you left without telling anyone?" She asked, an expectant tone in her voice that made Kang want to give in. "why were you gone at four-thirty in the morning? And why are you barely getting back at sunrise?"

Kang let her show her displeasure, he deserved it, but he would rather her pinch the living shit out of his face rather than scold him. "Ah...You see..." Kang trailed off, prompting her to let go of his face. His face burned from the force she used, but it was one of the gentlest ways anyone had ever shown their displeasure towards him, he wasn't going to complain.

Ah-in putting her hands on her hips reminded him that he had yet to answer.

He had been so willing to lie to her, to the person who caught him sneaking back in, but in that moment, when he was right in front of her, that was the last thing he wanted to do. Kang scrambled for words. He knew that he couldn't justify what he did, he even said it himself that he was going to get in trouble if he got caught while he was leaving, so he knew that he was in the wrong. But at the same time, he knew that he couldn't not answer her. He just went for it, "I...couldn't sleep." Slowly, Ah-in nodded her head, her lips pursed as she took in the information. She was silent and again, being faced with an irate Ah-in, who was both smaller and weaker than him, somehow gave him more anxiety than facing off his superiors.

Kang knew that his mom was scary when she was mad, that's what he gets for trying to get away with something like that. He was starting to understand what Kang and Han-jae meant about their mother being scary when she was upset.

Ah-in stared at him and even though he had nothing else to hide, he almost wanted to fold and tell her everything. It took everything he had to not shrink under her gaze and it was nearly a godsend when she finally gave in. "Alright," she said at last, a heavy sigh coming out of her before she sternly said, "This is the last time I want this to happen. If you have time to get dressed, you have time to leave a note, a text, this is why you have a phone. What if something happened?" Ah-in asked and he almost wished that she was staring at him again.

She waited for an answer and unsure of what to say, he shook his head. Thankfully, taking that as an answer, she continued, "If something happened, it would have taken us forever to find out. How would you feel if you woke up in the middle of the night and you couldn't find me and no one knew where I was?"

Ah-in gave him a pointed look and he knew that time around, she wanted a verbal answer. "Um...nervous?" Kang knew that he would be nervous if he woke up to find out that his mom was missing, his mom was not the type to leave without notice either. The realization that Kang was also not the type to leave without notice, made him see the error of his ways. "Sorry mom." He was starting to see her point.

Jesus, he forgot how scary his mom could be, it had been a while since she got mad at him like that.

The mother scrutinized him, and he found himself adding on, "I won't do it again." That was the honest truth, he would remember to leave a note the next time around.

"Good." She said simply and just like that, it was like the oppressive air left as she sat back down and took her cup back in hand.

Kang almost blinked in surprise at the sudden change in demeanor and her words. "You're not going to tell Dad?" With the way she had been talking, he thought she was going to tell her husband about his momentary disappearing act. She certainly seemed upset enough to tell him about Kang's outing.

"No," she took a long drink from her cup, "You understood the problem and you apologized, that's enough for me." Now unless you want Dad to find out," she made a shooing motion with her hand, "I suggest you hurry up and go take a shower before he wakes up. Anyone can tell that you were out running for a long time." Her eyes made a pointed look towards his shirt, and Kang found himself staring down at his sweat-stained shirt, even the hem of his shirt had a few sweat marks because he had used it to wipe off his face His dad would know within seconds, hell, even Han-jae would be able to tell that he had left for a run.

Kang wasn't going to question her generosity. "Thanks mom." Thank God his parents weren't leaving that same day because then his father would have most definitely noticed his disappearing act.

His words earned him a smile, the first one he had gotten since he walked in. "You're welcome. Now go shower, his alarm should be going off right aboutttt, now." On cue, the alarm that usually woke them up for the day went off before his dad promptly turned it off.

He could feel her smirk as he ran into the bathroom.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Behave. Don't do anything stupid."

"Yes mom."

"If you do, don't get caught."

"I know."

"Be a good example for the kid, use protection. If you can even get any. She said that so smoothly, Kang almost didn't catch the meaning of her words. "Mom." Kang hissed out, thoroughly horrified that his own mother would tell him a comment like that, at the airport, right in front of his own kid. Kang glanced over at the teen and not for the first time, he died internally when he saw the kids smile, showing that not only had he noticed what his mother had insinuated, but he even found it funny like Han-jae. Ah-in grinned mischievously at his reaction and Kang almost hated the way his dad pretended he wasn't present in the conversation.

Bystanders, they were all just bystanders to his suffering.

She did not look sorry, if anything, Ah-in had a wider smile, "I mean," she shrugged her shoulder apologetically, though her smile counteracted that action, "You weren't exactly planned. That's why Han-jae is taller, we put effort."

If Kang had been a weaker man, he would have started sobbing out of embarrassment by that point. "Oh, my- bye mom." He started to push her towards the terminal, eager to end the conversation, much to her amusement. "I love you, have a good flight."

She laughed and dragged her son to the front and after pulling the soldier into a tight her, she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you too. Behave, and you too, "Ah-in said as she pulled the lingering teenager into a hug and just like she did to her son, she kissed the young man on the cheek, "Don't cause any trouble for the boys, do you have your phone?"

Still somewhat embarrassed by the kiss, the teenager nodded bashfully as he took out his phone. "Good," she nodded in approval, and she spoke as she tapped on his phone, "Don't forget that you have our numbers in there, call us if you need anything or if something happens, okay?"

The teen nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"And don't forget that you can call us if these two are being fools," Tae-hyung cut in, giving the teenager his own hug as he spoke, "Just call me and I'll set them straight." Kang's eyebrows went up when he saw his kid return the hug from their father, seemingly accepting the affection without question. Even more so when his father, who had always been stingy with his public display of affection, kissed the crown of the teen's head before pulling away.

Much to Kang's joy, the kid seemed to enjoy the physical affection, the corner of his mouth curled up ever so slightly as he looked up at Tae-hyung, "I will."

Their parents nodded in approval, and they gave their final rounds of farewells and hugs, but just as they were about to leave, Ah-in told them one final thing. "Also," they all gave her attention, "Your uncle is having a party in a week. Make sure you all go, they've been bugging us about you guys and yes," she said upon seeing her son's faces, "You have to go. Okay bye!" Ah-in chirped out before they both walked into the terminal, leaving the three of them high and dry.

It was not a coincidence that they left before any of them could complain about the party. Their parents actually ditched them before they could get into an argument about if they really had to go to the party or not.

Han-jae whined from his position on the nearby chairs, "Do we have to go?" Han-jae looked highly uncomfortable at the thought of going to the party and Kang didn't blame him. Their family were the black sheep on their mother's side.

"Apparently..." his mother's family was well known for being...difficult, to say the least. The Kang family already faced contempt from their maternal relatives due to Ah-in being the apple of her father's eye. More often than not, his cousins loved to find ways to tear him and Han-jae down from the pedestal they had been placed upon, although it was their cousins themselves that had placed them upon the pedestal all of their own accord.

His maternal cousins were obnoxious. If they weren't bragging about their accomplishments, then it was his aunt who was bragging about her kids' accomplishments and throwing out jabs. Jabs such as "Hamchan and Han-jae aren't special for going to that academy. My kid was able to get in herself."

That being said, while it was a bit fucked that their parents were pushing the responsibility of attending onto them, if it meant their aunts and uncles would leave their parents alone, then they could live with it. They just had to show up for a few hours, play nice, answer a few questions, and then they could leave. "When do we have to go?" Squirt asked and within seconds, the brothers were adamantly denying him.

"Oh no, we are going," Han-jae said as he pointed at himself and Kang repeatedly before turning his finger to the kid, "You are going to stay home. They'll be nasty to you."

The teenager raised his eyebrow and when he looked to Kang for his opinion, he was met with Kang agreeing with his brother, he gave them a scowl, "I can take care of myself." The teenager said indignantly.

Kang sighed. He knew that his kid could take care of himself, but the point was that the kid shouldn't have to take care of himself, he wouldn't if he wasn't in the situation in the first place. It was Kang's responsibility to take care of the teen and in his opinion, taking care of the kid meant keeping him away from his shitty family members. "Sorry kid," Kang gave an apologetic shrug, much to the squirt's annoyance, "I know you can take care of yourself. But that doesn't mean I want to put you in situations where you have to take care of yourself. Besides," squirt still looked a bit peeved that Kang was trying to coddle him and while Kang was trying to protect him, it wasn't out of an underestimation, "My cousins are assholes, you don't want to meet them." There was a reason his father had advised him to keep the kid away from their maternal relatives and it was for a good reason. They would attempt to tear the kid apart passive-aggressively and while the kid had the social skills of a pet rock, he knew when he was being insulted.

Unfortunately for everyone, his kid did not take insults lightly, nor did he verbally reply to the insults. He would take those insults and give them back in the form of a fist. For as small as the kid was, he was not lacking in audacity, he would beat someone into the ground and would find no problem with it.

Which was exactly why he couldn't meet his maternal family.

His words made the teenager blink in surprise, the teen's eyes flickered between Kang and Han-jae. "Well," the kid said simply, "They have to be bad if you don't like them."

Han-jae snorted, "Yeah. That's when you know they're bad, when Ham doesn't like them."

"Shut up." They were right as it was rare for Kang to not like a person to that degree, but that didn't mean he appreciated them pointing it out.

They smiled at his reaction, much to his ire.

"Anyways," their smiles got bigger when they saw the way he was moving on, "we'll go to the party and you can stay home, maybe go find that girl and make friends with her." The teen stopped smiling. Han-jae didn't. Kang nearly laughed at the sourpuss face his kid made. Man, that kid was determined about being a loner. The teenager huffed as he crossed his arms, "I told you; I don't want to be friends with her."

"Ok Mr.. Emo boy," again, Han-jae snorted as the reference went over the kid's head, "You can go to the party if you try to talk to her, once, in front of us." Kang needed the kid to at least try to socialize with someone his age, even if it was a random ass girl.

He answered within seconds. "I'll stay home." If it wasn't for the fact that it was the kid's stubbornness and anti-social tendencies that were keeping him isolated from kids his age, Kang would have found it funny.

Han-jae found it to be funny and he was the only one. The idiot.

Kang struggled to hide his disappointment, though even if he hadn't, he knew that his kid was going to stick to his guns. They were going to have to wait until the kid changed his mind of his own accord. "Alright," but that was that, the two of them were going to the party and the kid was going to stay at home. "Let's get going then. We still have to drop off the idiot-"

"Fight me."

"Before we go shopping. So," Kang made a shooing motion with his hands, "Let's get a move on."

"Fine, fine." Han-jae said as he accepted the levering hand from the squirt and after hopping around awkwardly on his one foot until he got his crunches under him, "Can I pull the injured card so I don't have to go?" He asked pleadingly, his expression practically begging Kang to say yes.

Kang answered his brother within seconds, much to the researcher's dismay. "No. We're suffering together." If Kang had to suffer, there was no way in hell he was going to do it by himself. Han-jae was going with him whether he liked it or not.

Han-jae pouted, "Jerk."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

After nearly two months in Korea, the kid had finally acclimatized to the crowds, much to Kangs joy, though he was just going to keep that to himself. Kang was sure that his parents had helped in that regard, allowing them to do shopping without any worry of the kid getting overwhelmed.

It made it much easier to go shopping.

"Ok, so that's the milk, eggs, ham, did we get bread?" Kang looked over the items in the cart and checked each item off the list, absent-mindedly moving out of the way of an incoming cart as he did so.

"No," Squirt turned the cart around, paying no mind to the people around him as he led them to the bread aisle. "I think we just need the drinks and ice cream Han-jae wanted." That sounded about right, Han-jae had been complaining about them not buying his favorite snacks.

Kang caught up with his teen, his hand lingering on the cart as he looked over the list, relying on nothing but the teen next to him to guide him around the store. "Yeah, that's all we need. Oh wait," he turned sharply into the snack's aisle, "Han-jae asked me to get him some chips, hang onnnn." He dragged out, his eyes looking at the shelves up and down, trying to find the bag his brother wanted.

The kid walked up next to him, "which one does he want?" Good question.

"Hamchan?" The voice almost startled him, his head snapping over to the right to see who had called his name.

Jun-seo grinned back.

"Ohhhh, fuck." Kang whispered under his breath, angling his head away to try and hide his words before he faced his cousin properly. Of course, he managed to run into one of the cousins he wanted to keep his kid away from, of course he did. "Hey Jun-seo, how's it going? Go ahead and get everything else." Those words had been directed to Squirt and after a questioning look, the kid was taking off to finish getting groceries, much to Kangs relief.

Kang watched his cousin's reaction, trying to determine if the man had noticed the teen or not. Jun-seo had a bright smile on his face, "Dude it's been years since I've seen you!" He said brightly as he roughly tapped Kangs shoulder and although he was miffed by the casual contact, Kang was relieved that Jun-seo hadn't noticed squirt after all. "I haven't seen you since high school!"

Yeah, that hadn't been by accident.

Jun-seo wasn't a bad person, at least when it came to not breaking the law, but when it came to being a good friend and a good cousin, that was another story. He had the tendency to not care about anyone unless it was related to him and as a result of his mother's upbringing, he was always trying to get a jab in.

Even though it had taken Kang too long to realize it, it was why Kang had tried to avoid him since high school. Thankfully, his career in the military made it exceedingly easy for that to happen. He couldn't socialize with his extended family if he wasn't in the country in the first place.

Forcing a smile onto his face, he nodded, "Yeah, it's been a while." Although he would have liked it to be longer, Kang knew that he had to give his cousin a chance. There was a chance that Jun-seo had grown out of his selfishness over the past decade, though Kang wasn't going to get his hopes up. "How are you doing?" He had to try and be civil at least. Kang wanted to get to the party without any rumors of his behavior, thank you very much.

The man nodded his head, motioning down to his clothes, which Kang belatedly noticed matched the colors of the store. "I'm doing good! I'm the branch manager of a few stores now. What about you? Still working at your parent's company?" Kang was damn near startled at that. The Jun-seo he went to school with wouldn't have bothered to remember something like that. There had even been a few times when Jun-seo completely forgot that Kang had a younger brother due to his self-absorption.

Maybe he really had grown up.

Kang shook his head, "I'm a major in the military now. I'm on leave right now." Though the only reason he was on leave was because of the kid and that train of thought just reminded him that he needed to be the one to grab the alcohol or his kid was going to get in trouble. Seeing as the kid most likely did not know about that rule, Kang needed to hurry up and catch up to him.

He grabbed a random bag of chips off the shelf before he motioned for Jun-seo to follow.

Jun-seo looked curious as Kang led him through the store. "Oh cool. How is that going?"

"It's alright," Kang looked into every aisle, trying to find his ward among the people, "It keeps me fit and I like the people I serve with. And you?" A flash of silver caught his eye and Kang made a beeline for the kid. It was a good thing that his kid had his distinct silver hair, or else he would have never spotted the kid in the crowded aisle.

Jun-seo didn't even notice as they approached squirt, "It's pretty good! How long are you going to stay? Maybe we can go and get some drinks? If you're going to the party, we can get some after." quite frankly, Kang was amazed that Jun-seo had managed to ask so many questions within that short time. The squirt was setting the tub of ice cream into the cart as they walked up. Squirt noticed their approach and he made eye contact with Kang before his eyes flicked over to Jun-seo and with a questioning look, he made eye contact with Kang once more.

Kang could practically feel the apprehension from his kid. The kid hid it well, but Kang could still see the subtle signs. Instead of standing next to Kang as he usually would have done, the teenager kept the cart between himself and Jun-seo, his hands resting on the cart as he prepared for the event of Jun-seo doing something to either of them.

The kid didn't relax until Kang gave him a subtle nod, but that didn't change the fact that until Jun-seo proved himself, the kid was going to keep a distance from the man.

"Are you going to the party?" The question brought Kang back to the topic at hand, to the person who was eagerly awaiting his answer.

"Ehh..." Kang trailed off, eyeing the kid next to him, "Another time. I don't want to leave him home alone for too long." He said, motioning towards the teenager. As always, his kid was blank-faced as he studied the man in front of him. He didn't offer a single type of greeting or introduction as usual and that was exactly what Kang wanted because he definitely did not want to go out for some drinks with him. Kang knew that the party itself was going to leave him socially exhausted, the thought of going out for drinks with his cousin only exacerbated his hesitance towards the party.

Jun-seo didn't even notice as his jaw dropped open, his eyes flicking between kung and squirt as he tried to get a grasp on the situation. "No way." Jun-seo said almost breathlessly, "Dude, when did you have a kid?!"

Good lord, he's still an idiot.

Restraining the urge to slap his forehead, he answered the idiot of a friend. "Are you stupid? He's not my kid, I'm just taking care of him for the time being." Though at the rate everything was going, it was going to be long term. "Oh." He said dumbly, pausing for a few seconds before he was bouncing back. Jun-seo had a stupid grin on his face, "Anyways kiddo, what do you say to the two of us going out for some drink after the party? You're old enough to stay home by yourself."

Kang frowned at the blatant way he dismissed his opinion. "Jun-seo." What the hell was up with that? Let him squirm out of it dammit. "It's fine." The squirt cut in quietly, "I can stay home by myself. That's why your parents got me a phone."

Jun-seo lit up like a lightbulb. "See! He said it's fine!"

Kang wanted to scream. His kid was too focused on watching Jun-seo and it was that diligence that kept the kid from noticing the way Kang was looking at him for help, leaving him out to die.

The soldier cleared his throat, and it was like he was surrounded by airheads. Neither of them noticed the way Kang was looking to the teenager for help, nor the way Kang cleared his throat even louder to catch his kid's attention.

Nothing.

Jun-seo's smile never wavered.

He had no choice "Sure..." and to think that it was his own kid that had managed to force him into that position.

"Great!" Jun-seo chirped out, a bright smile on his face as he held out his hand towards the kid, "I gotta go, I didn't catch your name. I'm Jun-seo."

The kid eyed the hand warily, his kid inched towards Kang instead of extending his own hand to complete the handshake. Jun-seo gave him a confused look as he took back his hand, thoroughly thrown off by the kid's blatant aversion.

Kang just shrugged his shoulders and gave him an apologetic smile. "He's shy," more like his kid was suspicious of everyone and anyone but he wasn't going to say that as it would only cause more questions. "His name is Jangsu. Kid, this is my cousin, Jun-seo. He's going to be at the party we were talking about." Despite the introduction, all his kid offered was a nod of acknowledgment and it was obvious that the teenager was trying to keep a degree of separation between the two of them.

Rightfully so, Jun-seo was still off-put by the interaction but seemed to accept it, "Alright. Well, it was nice to meet you. See you at the party!" And with a final exchange of waves, Jun-seo was gone, leaving them in the aisle.

"I thought you said your cousins were assholes." The squirt commented, his brow raised as he waited for an explanation because to be fair, that had been the reasoning Kang had used to try and persuade the kid to stay home.

He let out a brief chuckle, "It's been a long time." Almost nervously, Kang looked down at the shopping list in an attempt to deflect the kid's attention away from him and back to the shopping.

The teenager hummed as he retook his position at the cart handles.

"Sure." Kang could hear the doubt practically dripping from his words and he was sure that if he turned around, he would see the squirts' doubtful look.

He didn't turn around. "Why did you tell him my name was Jangsu?" That made Kang turn around, momentarily confused by the question.

Because to be fair, Kang thought it was rather obvious why Kang had introduced the squirt as Jangsu. It was his legal name and unless the kid wanted to explain his past to everyone he met about his true name being unknown, it seemed rational to him. "Because that's the name I put on your legal documents remember?"

The kid still looked curious, "But that's not my real name." He said adamantly, his eyebrows scrunched up as he tried to get his point across.

Kang sighed, "I know it's not your real name. But I figured you would prefer to tell people that's your name instead of giving them the whole explanation about how its only your legal name but not your real name." Because not only was it a pain for them to explain that entire ordeal, it was also something that not everyone needed to know. The kid would be called Jangsu by others and if the kid trusted them enough, then he would be called Kid or one of the nicknames they have for him.

Kang glanced over at the kid and upon seeing his miffed face, he could tell that his kid was not happy with going by his legal name. "Look," the teen looked up at him, his lips slightly downturned, "I can introduce you as Kid next time, but the chances of us having to explain why you call yourself Kid is pretty high. At least with Jangsu, people won't question it." Not to mention it was a matter of respecting the kid's privacy, defaulting to Jangsu was just Kangs way of giving the kid the ability to pick and choose who knows about his past.

At last, the kid seemed to give in to his reasoning. The teenager shrugged his shoulders, "Okay. It's weird to be called that." That was reasonable. The kid had yet to pick out a true name for himself, hence the nicknames they had for him, so it had to be odd to be called a name that he didn't want to claim.

Relieved that the kid was done with his questions, Kang shrugged his shoulders as he dismissively said, "Life is weird." Even then, that sounded like an understatement in itself.

"Yeah. We forgot the beer."

"Dammit."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the day of the party, and the brothers almost wished an act of God got in the way of their attendance.

They didn't want to go, for multiple reasons that they didn't care to reiterate. It was just bottom line; they did not want to go. It was barely breakfast, and they were already dreading the party that was going to happen in the evening. His cousins, with the surprising exception of Jun-seo, were going to be stuck up, his aunts and uncles were going to try and get in their own jabs in their own passive aggressive ways and that mean he and Han-jae were going to have to return the jabs in just as passive aggressive methods.

He was on leave dammit, that meant he didn't need to have all of his braincells working at the same time, just the bare minimum to keep him from doing or saying stupid things. The fact that Han-jae was a researcher who used his brain all of the time at work, to a greater degree academics wise, Kang was sure that his brother shared his sentiment. Just the thought of going to the party was already more mental exertion than he wanted.

"Mom," Kang sighed into the phone, damn near ready to plead with his mother, "Do we really have to go? Most of the time they don't even care if we go or not." Kang and his family kept to themselves and it had long been the norm where they only went to family parties once in a blue moon, most of the time, their relatives didn't even question why they hadn't go. That's how normal it was for them to abstain from interacting with them.

"I wouldn't have told you if you didn't have to go." His mother said smoothly, the background noise nearly distracting Kang as he tried to pick up the dining table, "You just have to go for a few hours. Just have the little one call you to give you a reason to leave." Hearing his mother call his kid the 'little one' nearly made Kang chuckle, but he focused on the topic.

"You can say that because you're not going to be there." Kang said simply, it was easier said than done because she wasn't going to be the one dealing with all of their family members.

He started to pick up the dishes and Kang frowned when he saw his kids plate from the table. It was a little bit more than half full, in fact, the only thing the squirt had finished was the eggs but everything else had been left behind. He was 15 for godsake, he should be eating them out of house and home, even more so with their daily exercise, it was concerning to see that the kids usual breakfast had been unfinished.

Kang looked around the kitchen, the plate still in his hand as his mother said something that he was too distracted to listen to properly. Maybe something was wrong? It had to be for the kid to only eat a fraction of what he usually ate.

He knew that the kid tended to lose his appetite when he was stressed but what could be stressing him out? As far as Kang knew, the kid didn't have any current stressors and he had been eating just fine the day before.

With his mother still droning into the phone, Kang walked over to the kid after he spotted him in the living room, the plate in hand. It took a nudge, but the kid looked up, noticing his plate and Kangs look in the process.

The soldier motioned towards the plate with his head and Squirt knew what Kang was asking because he shrugged his shoulder, "I wasn't that hungry." He said simply before he turned back to the phone in his hands, seemingly done with the conversation.

Kang was not done with the conversation. Something had to be wrong for the kid to skip a complete meal like that. He put the plate back down on the table and as he said some filler words into the phone to make it seem like he was paying attention, he looped back around to his kid.

"Hamchan," his mother sighed out, annoyed at something Kang probably would have noticed if he had been paying attention, "I asked you what do you think about us coming back home with a gift for the little ones birthday?"

Whoops.

Handling two things at the same time was never a good idea "That sounds good." Kang said honestly and without prompt, he pressed the back of his hand against the kid's forehead. "Just get whatever you think he'll like." Well, the kid didn't feel hot, or clammy so that was a good sign. To make sure, Kang pressed his hand against the kid's cheek, confirming the fact that his kid did not have a fever.

"Well, what does he like?"

Kang continued his actions until his kid got annoyed and damn near shoved his hand away from his face, the only thing the teenager needed to do was glare and-oh yep, he was glaring at Kang. Squirt was a bit more than annoyed that Kang hadn't stopped touching his face in a timely manner.

Someone was testy and it definitely wasn't Kang.

He ruffled his kid's hair as an apology, "Make sure you eat later on," Kang ordered as he redirected his attention back to his mother. "He's not picky, just get him whatever you think he'll like." Kang pretended to not see the annoyed huff his kid gave.

Kang was just going to chalk it up to teenage hormones.

"If you say so," Ah-in agreed, and for a moment, the background noise increased, "I have to go. And behave. I don't want your uncle calling me about how rude you two were. "I know I know," Kang said that, but he already knew that he was going to end up coming off as rude. Primarily because he was not willing to be their verbal punching bag and he would most definitely return what they gave him.

For the sake of peace however, he was not going to tell his mother that. It was going to happen either way and Kang had a feeling that Ah-in knew that as well.

"Bye Chan, love you. Behave." His mother emphasized one last time.

Kang sighed. "I know mom. Love you too." He still didn't want to go to the dumb party, but it was for his parents. He could live with going to a party for a few hours, it wouldn't have been the worst thing he's done.

Han-jae hobbled into the kitchen, sidetracking all of the soldiers' thoughts, "Ham," Han-jae said seriously and for a split second, Kang found himself suppressing a flare of concern. At least until Han-jae held up his pants, "None of my pants fit now. The splint is getting in the way. I need new ones." Kang was cradling his head by the end of the sentence. That meant that they were going to have to go out and get Han-jae some new pants just so he could show up to the party in decent clothing. Kang didn't care for the relatives too much, but that didn't mean he wanted Han-jae to face more judgment than necessary if the man showed up in a dress shirt paired with gym shorts.

He looked at the clock, confirming that they did not have time to waste. "Alright," He hauled himself out of the chair, "Let's go get you some new ones now, Squirt," the kid didn't move from the couch, all he did was turn to look at him, an apathetic look on his face, "Do you want to come with us?"

"No." Well that was quick. The kid was definitely in some sort of mood.

Han-jae caught onto the mood and gave Kang a questioning look.

All Kang did was mouth 'Teenagers' back to his brother as they walked out the door, earning an 'ah' and an understanding nod in return. If the kid wanted to stay home, that was just fine. Kang loved the kid, but he didn't have the mental energy to deal with a snappish teenager.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip had gone longer than planned. Far longer than planned because of Han-jaes stupid splint getting in the way of almost every pant they tried on. By the time they were getting home, they had less than thirty minutes to get changed and to get there and they were already on the verge of being so late, it would be pointless if they went.

Yet despite the fact he had run around his room to get dressed in five minutes flat, he couldn't help but backtrack as he passed the living room.

He frowned.

Kang just realized that his kid hadn't moved from the sofa all day. Even as Kang walked into the living room, his kid was still there, curled up in the corner, his head resting on the arm as he scrolled through his phone. The squirt didn't look like he had moved at all nor did he look inclined to move once they were leaving. "Squirt," the kid barely turned to look at him and Kang couldn't tell if the kid was sick or if the kid was in a mood or something. "Come here," he said as moved his pointer and middle finger in a coming motion.

Han-jae needed a helping hand to stand up from the floor after he put on his dress shoe and while that had momentarily distracted him, by the time Kang looked back at the kid, the teenager was standing a few feet away. Even then, Kang could tell that there was something off about him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He looked at the kid up and down, from the way the teenager had his hands at his sides, to the way the kid ever so slightly leaned against the wall. Well, he did look a bit pale...

"Sir?" Squirt asked, an almost impatient tone in his voice Kang took a step closer to his kid, "Are you feeling okay?" Again, Kang asked as he reached up for the boy's face. Surprisingly, in a way that contrasted the way the kid had initially reacted, the squirt almost leaned his head forward, giving the soldier permission to touch him. Kang did just that. He brushed the kid's hair away from his forehead and again, Kang pressed the back of his hand against his skin, then his palm and then his hand was moving to the boy's cheek.

Just like last time, there was no fever, if anything, it felt like Kangs hands were hotter than the kid.

But Kang had a feeling that there was something wrong.

"You didn't finish breakfast and you haven't moved from the couch all day." If there was one thing he knew about his kid, it was that the kid hated being idle. The kid could sit down for a few hours at a time, but at one point, he would get fidgety and had to walk around for a little bit. He hadn't done that at all.

Squirt hummed and seemingly done with the contact, he moved his head away just enough for Kang to get the hint, "I'm fine," he said as he shrugged his shoulders, "I wasn't that hungry, and I don't feel like doing anything today."

Well, that was the problem.

The squirt was never not hungry and even on his lazy days, the kid would at least roam the house.

Kang couldn't emphasize it enough. Squirt hadn't moved from the couch all. Day.

He looked over to his brother for his opinion Han-jae noticed his look and said dismissively, "He looks fine to me." Kang could have rolled his eyes. Of course, the kid looked fine to him, he didn't know the kid as well as Kang.

"I feel fine." Squirt repeated, his eyes staring into Kangs as he said that, "won't you guys be late?" Shit.

The kid was right. They were going to be late if they didn't get going and soon at that, but Kang still wasn't sure about his kid's condition.

He scrutinized the kid, but annoyingly enough, he couldn't find a single thing that justified his gut feeling. The kid looked fine, he said that he was fine, Han-jae said that he looked fine and yet there was just a little scratching in the back of his brain that told him that he was not fine.

But they were going to be late.

Kang groaned. "Fine," he said firmly, "But if anything happens, anything at all, call me and I'll come back home." Hell, he would even dropkick someone to get home faster if that happened. It could be him being far too paranoid, but he had a feeling that something was off about the kid.

Squirt gave him a firm nod, and Kang returned the nod before the brothers walked out.

He stayed standing there until he heard the car pull out of the driveway. As soon as he was sure that they were gone, his hands went to cradle his stomach as he slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor. The new position seemed to make the pain worse.

"Fuck." His voice was raw, chills erupting all over his body as he loosened the vice grip, he had on his self-control for just a moment. He tried to curl up into a tighter ball but all that made him do was let out a strangled squeak as he quickly readjusted himself.

The pain wasn't going away.