(BACKSTORY)

(28) JOONMYUN II

Joonmyun led the way, pushing through various men carrying furniture out from his home. The sight was frightening and he could’ve sworn he saw one of the cabinets from his mom’s room being removed, but he wasn’t too distraught to turn around to check again. He guided Kris up the steps after he had tripped on a mound of dirt in their front yard, his feet trampling over a pile of flowers that looked as though they had died long before he stepped on them. Running in through the main doors, the whole living room area was void of its furnishings. None of the maids or butlers were wandering around as well, adding to the empty feeling that pulled at Joonmyun’s chest.

“Joonmyun? Joonmyun is that you?”

The three boys turned to find a woman stepping towards them unsurely, hand holding onto a suitcase behind her. Kris and Minseok took wary steps back and only Joonmyun ran forward at her, falling into her embrace as she pressed kisses to his cheeks.

“Joonmyun, oh- You’re really here!” The woman sobbed. She smoothed out his hair and held him tightly in her arms.

“I told you I’d be back. Where is everyone else? I want them to meet my friends!”

Kris stiffened in his spot and Minseok gave him a pat on the back to calm him down, reducing the shock that ran through his system.

“They… Come with me, hurry! To the maid’s quarters.”

Joonmyun misunderstood the quickness in her speech as excitement and ran off towards the part of the house, leaving her with Minseok and Kris as they stood still in their spots.

“You boys too, come with me please.” She grabbed them and tried juggling the task with grabbing her suitcase again.

Minseok noticed how uncomfortable Kris looked and pushed her suitcase over to him, releasing her hold on his shoulder as he fumbled with the heavy bag. “Carry this for her. Let’s go.”

He pulled her hand forward to lead and she finally began to think properly again, taking the lead as she led them away from the main part of the house.

“Joonmyun got so tall! He’s so big now!”

The flourish of compliments made Joonmyun’s cheeks turn red as he greeted each maid and butler, rushing to tell his adventures at the camp until noticing his two friends awkwardly standing to the side. “And these are them! This is Kris and that’s Minseok! They’re my friends!”

The adults in the room all went quiet and Minseok didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad one. He saw Kris bitterly looking down at his shoes and avoided eye contact with the people in the room. The next second, his body jerked to the left and he found himself sandwiched next to Kris as a man had them both in his embrace.

“Thank you boys. This means a lot to me, to all of us, really. Thank you for protecting him.”

The woman that had brought them to the maid’s quarters bent down after him to give them a hug as well. “And thank you two for being friends with him, though I didn’t think Joonmyun had the power to change such a strong willed young man.”

She winked in Kris’ direction and the boy flushed red from embarrassment.

Joonmyun grinned and squeezed between the two, “And now we can meet my mom! She’s probably awake right now-”

“You cant!”

One of the women standing in the far corner of the room had screamed so suddenly that Joonmyun jumped in fright, accidentally hitting Kris in the jaw.

“I-I mean… Mr. Lim is watching her like a hawk, so, she’s asleep right now.”

“Oh, I see… Maybe we can see her later then.” Joonmyun felt a bit sad that he couldn’t see her today, but since the maids said she needed rest, he’d let her rest. “Can I show them to my room?”

“Of course. I’ll send someone up with refreshments.”

Leave it to the most reliable butler to react first. Joonmyun smiled and waved at the rest of the workers before bolting down the halls, both Kris and Minseok trailing slightly behind.

“They’re your maids and stuff right?” Kris asked Joonmyun, though his words came out a bit slow. “Why are they dressed so casually?”

“Just because their maids and butlers doesn’t mean they’ll dress in suits and ties.” Minseok scoffed.

Kris glared at him, “well it was just a question. And I was talking about the female workers not the men. Why would the women wear suits and ties?”

“I’m not really sure. Maybe my mom told them to have a free dress day.”

Joonmyun did think it was a bit strange to see them out of uniform after seeing them in formal attire, but shrugged it off because it didn’t seem important.

When they arrived in Joonmyun’s room, Minseok was surprised to see everything so big for a ten year old boy. His bed looked like it could fit three adult sized people and the dressers could fit double that. Even the view of the front yard seemed unnecessarily vast.  He expected there to be a few out of place spots that looked empty like how the main part of the house looked and it was pleasantly surprising to see it look otherwise.

“What the hell? Are you guys rich or something?” Kris was baffled by how ginormous the TV was.

“Not really. My mom was given this big house from my grandpa and it just kinda keeps going down the line like that, or something. I forget.”

They all sat on the bed and talked amongst themselves, waiting a few minutes before the butler had opened the door to give them their refreshments.

“Mr. Lim is out due to a special meeting of some sort, so he won’t be back until late tomorrow night. A few of the maids actually wanted to take you three out so that we could all take a picture together, since you were so persistent on having one before.”

A grin broke out on Joonmyun’s face and he cheered happily at the news. “This is awesome! Does that mean I can see mom later tonight since he’s not home?”

Minseok watched as the butler nodded his head slowly, observing how his posture straightened up so suddenly. “Thank you sir, for the cookies.”

“Thanks…” Kris muttered, chomping down on one as the crumbs dropped onto the floor.

The butler took his leave and for the rest of the afternoon, the boys indulged themselves in sweet treats that the maids had brought to them and some games that Joonmyun had lying around in his room.

A few maids and butlers came in and out of his room during that time to check up on him, give them new snacks or just to spend time with Joonmyun and his new friends. He’s only been gone for about two weeks and they acted as if he’d been gone for years, constantly getting his attention and taking pictures with him.

By nightfall, the maids had laid out pajamas for the three boys and the butlers had helped them shower and brush their teeth. Joonmyun, Minseok and Kris were all tucked in Joonmyun’s bed and even when they had said goodnight to the last butler did they talk to one another.

“My mom is really sick, so she wasn’t allowed to go outside that much. That’s why I like to visit her often and make her smile.”

Joonmyun explained about how he was sent off to the camp because Mr. Lim and the unfair deal he had proposed. He just wanted more time with his mom and he was used like that. From how Joonmyun had described him, Minseok and Kris thought that Mr. Lim was a pretty crabby guy.

“I got sent to camp because people thought my parents didn’t take good care of me.” Minseok sighed bitterly, feeling to need to get that off his chest as well since they were telling stories.  “But they did, of course...”

He thought about how his parents were trying hard in his stead to get him back, feeling a bit sad since they wouldn’t be able to pick him back up at the camp now that he’s run away. Minseok could still probably go back and see them on his own, but he didn’t want to selfishly drag Kris and Joonmyun along. He told the other two about how they had to take classes in order to become his legal guardians again because of what his coach did with the police.

Joonmyun turned to face Minseok and pulled the blanket up to his chin. “So your teacher called the police because you didn’t want to join the soccer team? Why would the police believe someone like that?”

“Hate the police. Every single one of them.” Kris hissed.

His past was much more dark than theirs, and Minseok couldn’t help but feel anxious when Kris began to talk about it. He told them about what happened to his mother and how he had left home without telling his father goodbye. That had startled Minseok, since it only made sense then why Kris was so mean to Joonmyun back at the camp. Kris had a soft side for his mother that no one had seen before, and the boy was jealous because he had lost his mother, who was his most special person in the whole wide world.

“I just, want to see her again…”

Nobody spoke after Kris had confessed about his past. They felt like they couldn’t say anything more. Minseok and Joonmyun feel slightly guilty for not taking him as seriously before.

Ten minutes went by, and another twenty after that. At least half an hour had passed and Joonmyun too, had stopped speaking altogether, leaving the other two to try and get some sleep as well. Minseok felt his eyes droop shut and he enjoyed how cold the sheets were against his bare legs before he felt something shift next to him. He thought it was just someone trying to get comfortable, but the constant shuffling around made it hard for him to sleep.

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