(Continued)

“How?”

Hyunseung looked at Junhyung with a glint in his eyes. Junhyung knew that look. It was how he would look like whenever he thought about taking revenge on the person who killed his mother and brother. Junhyung smirked.

“I happen to know his parents and they owe me a favour. They could just set us up for a meeting and I’ll call some friends over,” Junhyung explained. Hyunseung grinned evilly, much like his grin when he had planned to prank Yoseob and Doojoon.

“I like it,” Hyunseung remarked, grin still plastered onto his face.

“I’ll call them up later,” Junhyung said, getting up from the couch and heading towards the kitchen. Hyunseung raised a brow as he watched Junhyung walk to the kitchen, his revenge plan already being forgotten for the moment.

“What’re you doing?” Hyunseung asked, slightly confused. Junhyung rummaged through the refrigerator for something, not replying Hyunseung. The elder male puffed his cheeks up and scrolled through his phone gallery, smiling as he looked at the picture of him and Junhyung in the convenience store. An idea suddenly appeared and Hyunseung bounded over to his boyfriend.

“Let’s take a picture!” Hyunseung suggested excitedly. He ignored the fact that Junhyung was currently holding a knife in his hand and latched onto the younger male’s arm, quickly snapping a selca or two before jumping back onto the couch.

“Yah! You could’ve hurt yourself, babo!” Junhyung scolded, putting the knife down to sit beside Hyunseung and checking the latter for any cuts. He heaved a sigh of relief when there were none and returned to the kitchen, continuing what he had been doing.

Hyunseung spent the next few minutes staring at Junhyung’s back while the younger male prepared their lunch. Anybody who saw how Hyunseung looked at that point in time would have said that he was looking at Junhyung dreamily, which he probably was.

Ten minutes passed before Hyunseung decided to join Junhyung in preparing their lunch. He was a little bored and he didn’t want to explore the house without Junhyung’s permission. Besides, what fun was it to look around the house without Junhyung telling him the significance of things?

However, things clearly didn’t go as Hyunseung wanted when Junhyung chased him out of the kitchen, saying that he was almost done and he didn’t want Hyunseung to see what was for lunch. So Hyunseung went back to the couch, sulking.

At least he’s keeping his promise, Hyunseung thought to assure himself. He grabbed the TV remote and flipped through the channels, stopping on one of the music shows. He stayed on the couch for the next half hour until Junhyung finally finished whipping up their lunch.

“Hyunseung-ah, lunch is ready,” Junhyung called from the dining table. Hyunseung got up and stretched before joining the other, eyes widening when he saw the food laid out on the table. In that short 45 minutes, Junhyung had managed to cook spaghetti, bulgogi, kimchi stew and cabbage.

Hyunseung immediately sat down and took some spaghetti into his mouth. He closed his eyes and savoured the spaghetti. Right after that, he tasted the bulgogi, kimchi stew and cabbage, giving similar reactions to the other three dishes.

“How on earth do you cook so well?” Hyunseung asked in awe, unable to believe that Junhyung was such a great cook, on top of being a good barista. Junhyung shrugged and ate some spaghetti as well, noting that his cooking tasted better than before.

“I guess I had to survive on my own, so I learnt how to do many things on my own,” Junhyung replied. Hyunseung nodded with his mouth full, and Junhyung couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. He looks like a squirrel! How cute can a guy be?

They finished lunch with Hyunseung complimenting Junhyung time and again on his amazing cooking. Junhyung felt his heart swell with happiness. It wasn’t everyday that the person he was in love with complimented him for cooking well. Sure, Hara and Yoseob had always said that he cooked great food but they were no more than good friends to Junhyung.

Hyunseung had wanted to wash the dishes with Junhyung but again, his help was refused. This time Junhyung had a valid reason though. “Your cast can’t get wet remember?” Junhyung reminded. Hyunseung pouted but nodded nonetheless, retreating to the couch once more.

When Junhyung was done, Hyunseung demanded that the younger male show him around the house. Junhyung didn’t see any reason not to, and his house wasn’t all that big anyway. He acceded to the request and started off with the living room.

“Obviously you’ve seen enough of all this. Those pictures are really important to me so don’t ever drop them. And in one of the drawers of the TV console, I keep some CDs that belonged to my umma. You can look through them later,” Junhyung said, heading to his bedroom. Hyunseung took mental notes on everything that the younger male just said, following him to the bedroom.

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

The moment Hyunseung entered the bedroom, he froze. He hadn’t expected Junhyung to have such a neat and orderly bedroom, even if his living room was spotless. Junhyung’s bed was made nicely, his clothes arranged neatly inside his closet. There was almost nothing on the bedside table, apart from a lamp and a photo. Junhyung really likes photos.

Hyunseung told himself to print the photo of him and Junhyung in the store sometime soon and flopped onto the bed. He then proceeded to roll around on the bed, only stopping to look at a laughing Junhyung. “Is it so funny?”

Junhyung nodded, eyes twinkling with amusement. “Actually, it is. It’s a good thing I don’t have OCD or I would have killed you for messing up my bed,” Junhyung shook his head disapprovingly, eyeing his once neat bed.

Hyunseung sat up, completely ignoring what Junhyung just said as he looked at the photo. It’s his umma and brother, but without him or his appa. I wonder why I’ve never seen a single picture of his appa in the entire house. Hyunseung furrowed his brows in confusion.

“That picture is really important too. Don’t break it,” Junhyung said sternly. He looked over his room again before walking out. “There are still the bathroom and my study,” Junhyung reminded, when Hyunseung looked at him weirdly. Hyunseung nodded and jumped off the bed, trailing behind the younger male.

Junhyung next brought Hyunseung to the bathroom where Hyunseung memorised the brands of soap that Junhyung used. It was a little strange to do so, but Hyunseung wanted to know about every little bit of Junhyung’s life.

Again, Hyunseung noticed that the bathroom tiles were almost sparkling. He didn’t even know how people could bear to do housework. He, for one, wasn’t the type to do housework. Junhyung’s toothbrush was placed in a clean cup at the sink and the bathroom wasn’t cluttered with random items, unlike the bathroom in Hyunseung’s apartment.

Lastly, Junhyung led Hyunseung to the study. That was the room that Hyunseung was most awed by. There was a keyboard in there and Hyunseung could see a stack of scores on the mahogany desk. The shelves were lined with books on music, photography and cooking. There was just one shelf that was dedicated to holding small items like a stuffed bear, a few more photos, and a piece of cloth – or so Hyunseung thought.

When Hyunseung reached out to touch the piece of cloth, Junhyung slapped his hand away. Hyunseung could only stare at his boyfriend in shock, and to be honest Junhyung was quite surprised as well. But he did have a valid reason for not wanting Hyunseung to touch the ‘cloth’.

“It’s my baby blanket. My umma sewed it by herself,” Junhyung explained upon seeing how hurt Hyunseung looked. The elder male understood straightaway, apologising. He knew that Junhyung loved his umma and missed her a lot. It was quite evident from the nightmares and the number of photos he had of her.

“You’re good at the arts,” Hyunseung pointed out dumbly, too eager to change the subject. He did not want to see Junhyung break down like that again, not yet. It might happen when he asks about Junhyung’s appa, but definitely not at that moment.

Junhyung smiled and nodded, going to the keyboard and sitting down in front of it. He patted the empty space beside him, signalling for Hyunseung to sit down. The elder male complied, wondering what exactly Junhyung was planning to do. His questions were answered when Junhyung began to play a tune unfamiliar to Hyunseung’s ears.

There was something unique about the song that Junhyung was playing. On the surface, it sounded happy. But underneath the surface, one would realise that there was a hidden sadness embedded in the tune. Maybe it was how Junhyung played it, or the lyrics that he sang with it. All Hyunseung knew was that the song was slightly on the melancholic side, in his opinion.

When Junhyung finished playing the song, Hyunseung applauded. That song… could Junhyung have composed it? It would make sense for him to compose something like that – happy on the outside, sad on the inside. It completely fits in with his feelings.

“Junhyung, that song was composed by you wasn’t it?” Hyunseung deduced. Junhyung sighed and nodded. Hyunseung bit his lower lip, wondering if he should ask the question that’s been nagging at him since he was in Junhyung’s room. Why the hell not?

“What happened to your father?”

Junhyung glanced up at Hyunseung, and for a moment Hyunseung saw something burning in the depths of Junhyung’s eyes. In the next moment, it was gone, and Junhyung looked back down as if he never heard the question.

“Junhyung, what-” Hyunseung tried again, but was cut off.

“He doesn’t exist.”

Hyunseung flinched at the harsh tone that Junhyung was using. He had never heard Junhyung speaking so coldly about anything or anyone. He knew that he had only known Junhyung for two weeks, but it was clear that Junhyung hated his father.

Without even thinking, Hyunseung blurted out the next thing that came to mind.

“Did he kill your umma?”

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

A pregnant silence sat between the couple, threatening to consume them both. Hyunseung had never been so… afraid. It wasn’t like Junhyung would actually hit him, because he knew that Junhyung wasn’t like that. But Hyunseung knew that he was threading on thin ice. This was a very sensitive topic for Junhyung and Hyunseung should have known better than to ask. But I wouldn’t have been able to help him if I never ask.

“Yes.”

Hyunseung almost didn’t catch Junhyung’s reply. But he did, and he had to bit on his lip to prevent a gasp from escaping. He had his doubts since he realised that Junhyung didn’t have any photos of his appa, but he didn’t actually think that he was right.

What kind of a sick guy kills his wife and lets his son find out about it?

Hyunseung had never been so disgusted by anyone before. And Junhyung’s next words disgusted him even more than he already was.

“My brother, too.”

“That’s horrible,” Hyunseung said in a whisper. Junhyung had only been six. No wonder he’s haunted by nightmares, all because of this guy. Junhyung doesn’t deserve to be haunted by his memories.

Before he even knew it, Junhyung was spilling everything to Hyunseung. “I was in kindergarten then. Umma and Junsung were at home alone when I left the house. That bastard was out somewhere, gambling or drinking.

“Then when I went home I could hear screaming, so I hid behind some potted plants outside the door. I saw him storm out and go into the lift, his clothes and face smeared with blood. I walked into the house and saw umma cradling Junsung, both of them bleeding profusely. Umma’s head was quite badly injured and Junsung wasn’t even moving anymore. There was also a knife stuck in her stomach and she called me to her.

“Umma told me to live well, and never to take revenge. I remember trembling as I tried to dial for the ambulance, but by the time they got there it was too late. After that day, I isolated myself from everyone. I started to become like him, robbing others for a living. It was only when I turned fifteen that I started to kill. That was before I met Yoseob and Hara though.

“One way or another, Yoseob got me to talk to him. He introduced me to Hara and we became good friends, although it did take a while. Fast forward a few years and here we are,” Junhyung told Hyunseung. The elder male looked at Junhyung and pulled the latter to him. He didn’t exactly feel sympathy for Junhyung; that was for people you didn’t know. He didn’t pity Junhyung either.

All he felt was sadness, for the love that Junhyung was deprived of and the two people whom Hyunseung would never meet. Hyunseung sighed and let Junhyung rest his head on his shoulder, both of them just enjoying each other’s company. Junhyung felt a lot better now that he finally got to tell somebody the entire story. He had been so afraid, deep down inside, that his appa would eventually kill him too, if he revealed anything.

“I’ll make sure you live well. Don’t worry about it.”

That alone managed to place a small smile on Junhyung’s face.

It was fine if he didn’t have his umma and brother with him. He has Hyunseung and that’s what matters most.

Umma will be proud of me, won’t you?

Well I think that it was kinda obvious who killed Junnie's umma and brother, since I implied it in the foreword XD

I hope you guys enjoyed this. It was a sad chapter to type :/

There isn't much from me as usual, so look forward to the next chappie! Annyeong! ^^