"Minseok! Have you heard from your father?" Yixing yelled into the phone before I could even say hello.

          "No I haven't, why is everything alright?" I was immediately worried because Yixing always had a calm attitude so for him to be yelling at me through the phone was enough cause for alarm.

          "Everyone is okay no one is hurt" he answered knowing himself that I would expect the worst "but-"

          "What is it?" I was impatient after he paused, debating whether or not he wanted to be the first to tell me the news.

          "My father just called me and he said that your brother has run off with a girl leaving the China branch unattended"

          "What?!" I didn't really know this 'brother' because his mother wasn't my mother so we didn't grow up together, but he'd graduated from a prestigious university and had come to father wanting to take over the business, so why run away now that he'd been given what he wanted? For a girl? Suddenly there was a knock on the door, I knew it was way too early for it to be Luhan and Yixing hadn't said anything about coming over. "There's someone at the door"

          "Last I heard your father was on his way to Seoul to find you" Yixing's voice dropped off. Once it was decided that I didn't have to take over the China branch anymore and I started my classes as an art major, my father had basically nothing to do with me, there was only one reason why he'd want to see me now. "Do you want me to come over there?"

          "No, if I leave him waiting for much longer he'll only get impatient" I took a deep breath and said goodbye to my friend. There wasn't anything that needed picking up because I kept my apartment orderly, and although Luhan didn't live as neatly as I did he did a good job at picking up after himself while he was staying here. "Coming I called" to at least let him know I’d heard his knock but I just stood in front of the door, my palms sweating up so much that when I did reach over to open it they almost slipped right off the door knob.

          I didn’t hate my father, he was a good man, took care of my mother, put me threw good schools, even bought me my car and helped get me in this very apartment. The thing was my father was a respectable man, what he said he treated as the final word, there was no trying to talk it out with him and if you did he treated that as disrespecting him and that was just about the worst act you could commit towards him.

          He didn’t even look happy to be seeing me again after so long, even as a child I wouldn’t see him for moths at a time and when he'd come home he'd go right up to his office without even saying hello. He took a step inside without a word and glanced around. He didn’t have a pleased look on his face but there also wasn’t any sign of displeasure.

          "Hello Father" I finally broke the silence between us, using my monotone voice I’d developed after years of these unwelcoming reunions.

          "You’ve been living well here?" he asked because in the beginning he was against me living somewhere so small an un-extravagant considering he could afford to have bought me my own house in one of the more expensive districts of Seoul.

          "I have" I replied short and to the point so that hopefully he’d tell me whatever he came all the way here to tell me and then leave.

          "My driver is waiting outside, why don’t you come on a drive with me" of course he wasn’t asking me if I would. I knew Luhan wouldn’t be much longer, but I couldn’t just tell my father no or to hurry it up so I just grabbed my jacket and followed him outside.

          "You know it wasn’t easy for me to get the business the way it is now" Father began talking the moment we got into the car and the driver pulled out of the parking lot to my small apartment complex. I sat in the back seat next to him with my head down staring at my hands that were clasped together in my lap even though they were so sweaty I had to fight not drying them on my pants. "When I was your age I was working hard, building and managing until I’d finally made something that I could use to support a family. I got married and I had you in hopes for an heir" He paused like he would sigh but my father didn’t sigh because that showed a weakness and he didn’t show others that he was weak, especially not me.

          "You’ve never disappointed me Minseok" I was a little surprised to hear him say that. I’ve known all my life that he had high expiations of me, and I really thought after I nearly failed out of school he would defiantly be disappointed in me. "I don’t like admitting my mistakes, but I misjudged my son" I could tell he was talking about the son he’d had before he’d married my mom, the one who was supposed to be in charge of the China branch. "I don’t know if you’ve heard but he’s gone behind my back and ran off to marry a girl. For a while I’d been thinking that I really wanted you working under me instead of independently. Maybe this is a sign that I’m right" I held my breath as I looked out the window to see we were pulling up to a tall glass building. He must’ve been on his way to a meeting; of course he wouldn’t have come to Seoul just to see me. "You’re place is with the company Minseok, go back to school so you can take over the China branch, start a family, and carry on the family name"

          Aren’t there enough ‘Kim’s' in Asia? I thought to myself sarcastically; even if I had a son I’d never make him do anything he didn’t want to do. "Take him where ever he needs to go" Father turned to his driver when we’d stopped and adjusted his suit before the door was opened for him and he left, having said all he wanted to say to me.

          I had the driver take me to Yixing’s apartment because I just couldn’t go home without seeing him and talking with him about this. "Come inside" he held his arm out as he let me in and draped it around my shoulder, leading me over to a place to sit. He was probably expecting this, he had food cooked for us but I wasn’t at all hungry. "What did he want?"

          "Your father was right, the China branch has been left unattended" I choked a little bit, it was hard for me to speak after forcing myself to be silent for so long. "Father wants to put me back through school so I can-" this was all really starting to sink in again. When I first went to school I had prepared myself for it because I’d been told all my life that it was my responsibility. I thought I’d escaped that life, but now knowing that I have to go through that again I wasn’t prepared and I started hyperventilating. Not the kind of shaking and yelling hyperventilating though, no I just sat there as everything in my body turned into a solid rock. My lungs were so heavy in my chest that I couldn't breathe.

          "Minseok calm down!" Yixing ran over to the sink and filled me a glass of water.

          "Thank you" I mumbled as I tried to take sips of it, my hands now starting to tremble.

          "Did you explain to him that you’ve already found your own work?" he didn’t hesitate to ask questions because he knew he needed to get as much out of me as he could before I shut down.

          "Father doesn’t think that’s a real profession" I laughed a little hysterically, able to drink my water now without it spilling all over myself, just being around my best friend was calming me.

          He took that as a no and slumped down into his seat next to me. I wanted him to say that he’d talk to my father, or that he’d help me change his mind, or that we’d find my brother and tell him he needed to beg Father for forgiveness in my place, but he didn’t suggest any of that. "You know I’ll help you get through this" he slid his hand over and nudged it against mine that was white from the grip I had on my glass. He tried to smile, his little dimple just barely visible, "I was missing China anyways".

          He’d just solidified how serious this was, if he thought I’d have to give in and do as my father said then I knew there was no begging or getting out of it. I inhaled a lung full of air, trying to stop myself from crying so that I could ask the most important question, "How am I going to tell Luhan?"

          When I got back to the apartment I had to use the key Minseok copied for me because he wasn’t home. It was a little weird though because his car was still parked out front and I’d come to realize that if he didn’t have to take the train or the bus then he would just drive himself. I didn’t have any text from him telling me where he was which was also unusual because he would normally let me know if he wouldn’t be here when I got back. He must have run out for something then, he’ll be back in a minute. I brushed it off and got into the shower.

          Minseok’s apartment was really boring without him here. I debated trying to cook something for him when he got back but I knew I wouldn't be any good at it and would probably just destroy his kitchen so I sat down and the TV instead. After just about five minutes of flipping through the channels of everything but nothing on I settled on a movie but couldn't just sit there and watched it. I sighed heavily and dramatically even though there was no one else here to hear me and went back into the bedroom. I noticed that I'd left the bathroom a little messy so I cleaned it up and reblowdried a little section of my hair I didn't get good enough before occupying myself with all of Minseok's styling gells he had that he didn't even use. Finally as I'd just about put enough gel in my hair that I'd need to wash it out again I heard the door shut.

          "You're back?" I asked excitedly just after I washed my hands and put all the bottles back.

          "Ah, yea. Sorry I didn't let you know I'd be out" I caught him looking up at me but turning away after only a second as he put his keys up.

          "Its okay" I wanted to ask him where he was but didn't because he'd tell me if it was a big deal. "Do you want dinner? I thought about making something but I spared your kitchen" usually he'd at least snicker at my comments but he didn't even smile.

          "No, I'm just going to get in the shower" He took his shoes and his jacket to put them up in the bedroom but I didn't follow because something really seemed off.

          I waited in the entryway to the kitchen until I heard the shower start. He's acting like he just got back from a funeral. I thought to myself before deciding he just needed a little cheering up. I saw my hair in the mirror when I went back into the bedroom, the gel was starting to harden weird and it was looking really bad, it needed to be washed out.

          "Minseok lets shower together" I called in a sing-song as I knocked on the door to the bathroom, easing it open when he didn't reply. When the door was shut the sound of the shower was all you could hear but when I stepped into the bathroom I could see through a crack in the curtain that he was sitting in the tub with his knees pulled up to his chest, he was crying. "Minseok!" I swung the curtain wide open startling him. He started to whipe the wet, whether it was tears or water, from his face but I took his wrists and jumped into the tub, fully clothed, and put his arms around me.

          "What are you doing?" His voice was still a little sore sounding but he'd momentarily stopped crying.

          "Comforting my boyfriend" I put my hands on either side of his round cheeks and pulled his forehead down to mine. The water was coming down on top of us but I could barely notice.

          "You're getting your clothes all wet" He didn't sound upset or angry as he pulled my soaking shirt into his fists.

          "You were crying" I nudged my nose to his cheek. I wanted him to confide in me, to find comfort in me but I wasn't going to force him to talk about anything he didn't want to.

          We sat in silence for a minute until he started to cry again. He tried hard to stay quiet, to keep his sobs softer than the sound of the shower, but I could feel him shaking. "It will be okay" I finally told him even though I didn't know what it was that was wrong. Whatever it was I would help him work through it, I would fight with him. "It will be okay Minseok" I repeated and pulled him closer.

          The sound of the shower was so loud that if it wasn't for the echo from the tiled walls I wouldn't have heard him whisper "I love you". Whatever is was that was upsetting him so much I knew when he calmed down he would tell me, and I would do everything I could to make it better for him because I loved him too, if not more.