Chapter 17: I Still Love You

Ziyu carefully watched Haowen as he left the park, making sure his older brother wouldn’t be following him. It took a while for Baekhyun to finally leave their presence, their pregnant uncle had been everything but cruel like their appa, but Ziyu was still curious. 

The younger of the two twins knew that their appa was surprised about knowing of their presence, but Haowen’s encounter with him made appa seem like a cruel and cold man with little to no emotion. Ziyu couldn’t believe that.

He felt bad about getting the directions from Haowen, sneaking away from Uncle Baekhyun and probably worrying Baba. 

Baba didn’t deserve anything bad anymore. He was the kindest man Ziyu knew. He had the face of an angel, well more like the pretty cartoon girls Ziyu saw on the TV at school. 

They always said that he looked like his Baba. Ziyu wished that he would look exactly like his beautiful Baba when he grew up. 

The streets were cool with the cold gusts of air. Haowen said that he would come with him.. Haowen always says a lot of things that he never fulfills because he thinks of a better option.. usually without him.

Haowen was a loving brother that always protected Ziyu, but sometimes .. but sometimes Ziyu felt overshadowed by his older brother. He was strong and brave, he was studious and intelligent and Haowen was handsome. Even Ziyu could see that his brother was handsome. A man. 

Ziyu slowly walked, his small feet never stopped moving as adults in their tailored suits pushed him this way and that as they rushed to get home. Ziyu slowly let a tear trail down his cheek. The people walking past him would always have a meal at home, warm and nicely cooked filled with an abundance of meats and vegetables. Ziyu wanted that too. Sometimes Haowen would share a bite of his own portion of food with him, if it was a good meal. 

The houses only got bigger and bigger as he walked uphill. Large buildings with all the floors lit. Vanilla scented candles inside the warm house, a small fountain in front of the house with the moon’s reflection shining through. The grass, perfectly trimmed even if it was winter. All the houses on the street were worthy of being on a home magazine. Those magazines were always littered across their house along with fashion magazines that Baba liked to read. Baba would sometimes leave his drawings of elaborate clothes out in the kitchen. Haowen would always store them away in the cabinet, where Baba kept the rest of his artwork. 

He soon came face to face with the large door, the framing even looked expensive. The house was larger than all the others nearby, it seemed to have acres of land and a beautiful array of steps that took Ziyu a full thirty minutes to climb. 

Ziyu slowly reached out, his hands shaking, touching the cool glass that enveloped the wooden door. He trailed off, letting them harshly push against the doorbell. He would prove to Haowen and everyone else that his appa was someone who loved his children. 

His body shivered against the cold, but he refused to move. The door clicked open, coming face to face with the man that had bought them chicken. The man that had showed his affection for two poor kids with a loving father; the man that had made Baba cry. The man that had made Haowen sad, the man that Ziyu couldn’t stop calling appa. 

The man held a constant frown on his lips, his eyes gave off a feeling of intimidation.

“Appa.” Ziyu slowly whispered looking up at his other father in the eye.

Sehun couldn’t help but stare. The child was the opposite of Haowen. He had the face of Luhan; Sehun had to catch his breath. Even behind his cold walls, he couldn’t help but admit that Luhan was beautiful. He had features that could rock the modeling world if he so tried out. 

“Appa.” The small boy whispered again, his hands clutched closely together.

Sehun sighed, “Another one is it?” He rubbed his eyes, tired from work, he had just come home, ready to go lie down in bed with his mass array of pillows and soft cotton sheets. 

“First Luhan comes here to introduce you two, then your older brother comes here to see me and now it’s you.” Sehun opened the door, “Don’t go on and catch a cold, come in, but hurry up and tell me your situation so I can contact Luhan.”

“Baba doesn’t know I’m here. I ran away from Uncle Baekhyun.”

Sehun’s mouth gaped open, “Baekhyun? As in Byun Baekhyun?”

Ziyu nodded, “He’s my Baba’s friend.”

Sehun inwardly sneered, it seemed like he was closer to Luhan than he thought. 

Sehun led the small boy into the kitchen, a glass of milk was laid in front of him. 

“Appa..” Ziyu sniffled, gazing at the warm milk. He longed so much to drink it.

“Why did you leave us? You were so kind before.”

Sehun looked away, he didn’t know how to answer that. 

“I’m not your appa.”

“Appa-”

“Stop!” yelled Sehun, standing up, “I’m not your appa!”

“But-But, But Baba said that you were my appa.” Ziyu looked down, “I don’t have an appa right now..”

Sehun’s face slowly softened. His father had always rejected him as a child when he didn’t succeed his expectations. The days as a child without his father and only his mother’s love had made him a cold man. 

“Your.. Baba and I aren’t on good terms right now.”

“You’re avoiding me, appa.”

“I-I I can’t.”

Ziyu took a sip of the warm milk. His heart was slowly breaking just as Haowen had said. Ziyu knew what it was like to be rejected. Almost no one at school wanted to be friends with the two twins, but they had gotten used to it and relied on each other much more. There were a few kids like Yixing who would often times share a piece of his nice lunch with them, but Yixing moved away to China and it was just the two of them again. 

Somehow, being rejected by his appa was worse than by his potential friends.

Ziyu didn’t know why.

“Sehun?” called a voice, soft and whisper like. “Sehun, where are you?”

Sehun instantly froze. Aeri was here.. again. Only this time, Ziyu looked like Luhan.

Authors Note: AHHH Let’s see what Aeri does to Ziyu ><

(Aeri is an awful person)