Chapter 80

“Dad, do we have to go?”

Jiyong forced a smile onto his face as he turned to face the teen standing in the kitchen doorway. He didn’t want to go, neither of them did, but he was doing what he needed to do. “I know you don't want to but we have to go. It will make your grandparents happy to see you.”

The girl hesitated before stepping closer, wrapping her arms around her father's neck, careful not to choke the man clutched in her arms, and snuggled into his neck. The girl had grown less affectionate as she aged but she always hugged him when he needed it the most. She was only 16 years old but she was always attuned to the feelings of her parents. Their relationship caused envy among most of the families in the town.

“I’ll make sure not to leave your side.”

Jiyong chuckled and hugged his child back. She had a knack for making him feel a little better about  a terrible situation, she was like her papa in that regard.  

“Or we can lie and say that we are all so sick that we can’t get out of bed.”

“Choi Jinsil, we can’t play hooky with your grandparents!”

Jinsil sulked as the two separated. They knew they were in for a miserable time, it was expected as soon as they received the news that they would be visiting the older couple for a family reunion. Seunghyun, however, had a much harder time than Jiyong did.

The Choi’s had been a couple who raised their son to be a perfect child, or they tried to. When Seunghyun had came out to his parents at the tender age of 15, he had been kicked out of the house and called a disgrace. His mother had fought tooth and nail with his father to let her child back into the warm house and off of the cold streets but the relationship Seunghyun once had with his father had crashed and burned the day his father disowned him.

When Jiyong was first introduced to his mother in law he had been welcomed with open arms. His sister was the same. They had made him feel as though he was family, as though he was the one born a Choi. Meeting the stern man was a different story entirely. The man did nothing but berate and criticize every aspect of Jiyong's life. Jiyong felt worthless every time he entered the man's presence which in turn put Seunghyun in a tight spot.

The last time Seunghyun and his father were in the same room things were thrown, punches were swung, and Seunghyun needed to go to the hospital for stitches. Seunghyun would never raise a hand against his father but his father had no qualms with physically showing his aggression.

Jinsil had been a baby at the time.

“Are you two ready?”

Seunghyun's voice was slow as the lack of sleep was evident. Jinsil turned to wrap her arms around her papa's waist and laid her head against his chest. The girl was more close to Seunghyun than anyone else. She hung off the man and he loved every minute of it.

Jiyong leaned against the kitchen island and smiled at his love. Seunghyun's eyes were surrounded by dark circles and and his smile looked as forced as Jiyong's was.

None of them wanted to go.

“Papa, do we have to go?”

Seunghyun kissed his child's forehead before moving to the smaller man and kissing his cheek in greeting, the girls arms loosening before falling to her side. “We do, the car’s packed.”

“We should go then.”

Jiyong patted the man’s chest and made his way out of their home. They would spend a full week at the Choi's residence all because Seunghyun had a bigger soft spot for his sister then he did for anyone else in the world. While his mom had been the one to initiate the gathering of the family, if had been his sister to finally get a positive reply from the man.

Seunghyun had offered to go alone but Jiyong would never do that to the man.

He settled in the front seat as Jinsil situated herself comfortably in the back. She plugged her headphones into her ears and clicked her seat belt into place. She would be asleep withing the first 30 minutes of the ride. She always was.

Seunghyun sat in the driver's seat, adjusting the seat to his height and sighing in attempt to calm his nerves.

“Is your seat belt on?”

Jiyong smiled as he clicked the belt in place, Seunghyun had a habit of asking that as soon as he got in the car, Jiyong had the tendency to forget that he needed to wear the safety device.

Seunghyuns face remained grave as the car was finally put into motion. It was hard to see the normally bright man suffering. Jiyong didn’t like it, he wished he could do something to change their current situation.

Grabbing the older man's hand in his own, he gave a squeeze as Seunghyun gave a quick glance in his direction.

“We’re going to be okay.”

They always were.

I think i'm in an angsty slump... lately mychapters have been kind of sad. On the bright side, the next chapter is a nice one... You guys will like it, hopefully.

Thank you for the comment on the last chapter, by the way. :D