---

Jongin frowns at the name written neatly at the top of the page, and looked across the table at his uncle, who smiles apologetically. 

"Sorry Jongin-ah, I couldn't help your friend. Byun Joomin came to talk to me and he forced me to kick out Baekhyun-ssi. I couldn't risk going against him so blatantly like that."

Jongin taps his fingers against the table and shifts in his chair.

How would he tell Baekhyun this? After all the shorter boy had to go through, was Jongin really just going to kick him out? Was he really so heartless as to take away the younger boy's dreams just because it would make his father angry?

"Is there no other way?" he asks, and he sees his uncle's brows knit together as he frowns. 

"I already said, Jongin, that there's no other way. Byun Joomin would have our heads if he found out."

Jongin breathes out and sighs, running his fingers through his locks in agitation. How was he supposed to do this? Logically, he knew it: kick Baekhyun out and have Chanyeol kill him or don't kick Baekhyun out and have the rest of the world kill him. He could weigh the pros and cons in whatever way and the best solution would always be, no matter what he scenario he thought of, to kick Baekhyun out. That was the reality of the world they lived in. But everytime he thought about Baekhyun, he felt really terrible, like he was being kicked over and over in the gut. 

His uncle clicks his tongue in annoyance at Jongin's obvious hesitation. "Don't be so whiny, Jongin. There's no other way. If you don't want to do it, I will." 

Jongin remains silent.

His uncle huffs and strides out the door. 

---

Chanyeol groans, blinking his eyes as his phone erupts with his ring tone, distracting him from the game. He presses pause, frowning at his HP and drums his fingers against the table in annoyance at his inevitable loss.

"What the ," he mumbles when he sees Jongin's phone number on the screen. "What do you want?" he demands the younger Kim heir.

He hears Jongin say on the other side, "Look, I got some bad news for you." A pause, and then, "It's ing 3am at night, why are you still awake? I thought I was going to have to deal with a sleepy Chanyeol, not a bloody-murder-Chanyeol."

"Baekhyun's not home yet," Chanyeol mumbles. It's 3am already? He runs his hand through his hair and leans back against his chair, yawning. 

"Baekhyun? Oh," Jongin says, frowning, "The trainee schedule." The Kim heir feels guilt course through his veins— the Byun boy is working so hard, but the world is so unfair. 

"Mhm," Chanyeol says. Oh, how much he wishes the younger was next to him right now.

"Okay, Chanyeol, bad news. I thought you'd want to hear it from me rather than some other person, and I need you to be there for Baekhyun when he comes home, okay?"

"What's wrong?" Chanyeol demands, awake now at Jongin's serious tone.

"Byun Joomin found out that his son is a trainee at our company. He's making us kick him out."

There's silence on the other side, and finally Chanyeol erupts. "WHAT THE !" he shouts. "What the do you mean you're kicking him out?"

"We don't have a choice, Chanyeol. You know we can't go against Byun Joomin so directly like this. It's his son."

"Well, if Baekhyun's his son, he needs to start acting like a ing father! How can he do something like this to Baekhyu