[CONTENTID2]My Oblivion [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID1]

Author's Note:

This chapter is really long! Well that's an over exagerration but its longer compared to the other chapters!! Just think of it as reading two chapters...hehe..and by the way let me clarify some things...Changmin refers to his stepdad as 'dad'. He doesn't call him by name or anything. 

I glanced out the window, watching Gangnam zip pass us like a hazy dream. Gradually, the structures increased in size, soon imposing upon us. People swarmed the busy streets, engulfing the sidewalks with their presence. Tires crunched the gravel roads as vehicles thundered down the lanes, approaching the traffic lights that would briefly halt their journey. Busy day in Gangnam I see.

Changmin’s gaze was set on the roads, not uttering a single word as he drove. It seemed that his anger hasn’t simmered down yet.

I wondered what the big deal was. They were just drawings. I wasn’t even aware of who or what it resembled. I had no intention to make Changmin act this way.

“Changmin-ah,” I said, glancing at him.

The stone-like look in his eyes remained, unmoved by my initiative to break the barrier between us.

Changmin spun the wheel, jerking it to the right, leading the car to a highway I wasn’t familiar with.

“Where are we going?” I asked.  

“To father’s house,” he replied.

“Father? I have a dad?” I asked, raising my brow.

Trying to picture my supposed father was equivalent to peering at a misty, thick fog. If someone asked me what fatherly love is, I wouldn’t have a single clue.

“It’s because you haven’t seen him in 10 years. That’s why you don’t remember him.”

“What?! 10 years?! Why would I do that?!” I exclaimed, inclining forwards.

“It’s because of your dumbness…”

“Huh?!” I gaped at him like a clueless child, attempting to get an understanding of his words.  

“Hyung. Let me tell you something…love makes people crazy. But for you Hyung, love turns you into a lunatic.”

“Changmin, what are you trying to say?”

“You probably won’t get it even if I explain it to you a million times.”

~~

The sound of the engine quieted down as Changmin parked the car parallel to the curb.

Unable to latch on the door handle, Changmin opened the door for me, providing me with his assistance. Despite his bluntness and his mild anger issues, he was still my brother even if we didn’t share the same blood.

“Where’s father’s house?” I asked, surveying the array of houses on the block.

“Over there,” Changmin pointed at the house with an orange roof.

From my observation, this neighborhood screamed wealth and prosperity. Having big houses like these were uncommon in a small country like ours. Only the elite could afford these homes.

“Wow, daebak. Is our dad rich?” I asked.

“Of course you wouldn’t know. Yeah. He’s a big deal in this neighborhood,” Changmin replied, shoving his hands within his jean jacket.

“Really? What does he do?” I asked, trailing behind his shadow.

“What am I Google? Why won’t you ask dad yourself? You haven’t talked to him in ten years anyways.”

"Why didn't he visit me in the hospital then?" 

"I don't know! Maybe he was sick or something! Aishh Yunho..."

“Aish…Changmin. Your snarkiness makes it obvious that we’re not brothers,” I scoffed.

The grand structure soon became massive within my eyes as I gravitated towards the lawn. Perfectly trimmed grass brushed underneath my feet as I stepped on the lawn. Somehow, guilt entered me as I tromped on the surface.

 “Do you think our dad will get mad if I step on his perfectly cut grass?”

“I don’t know,” Changmin said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Why do you not know anything? Aigoo…”

“You would know if you bothered to visit dad within the past 10 years.”

“Shut up Changmin! I don’t know better so don’t go lecturing me!” I snapped as I mounted the steps.

“Fine,” he sighed. Changmin’s rapped his knuckles onto the wooden door, causing a tremor of unease to settle within my stomach.

Would my father recognize me? Would I be able to face him? Aish, it Yunho. You’ve been through worse, you can certainly do this. Be a man.

I straightened my shoulders, in hopes it would shake off my fear as the door swung open. A petite woman appeared within our sight, greeting us with a deep, respective bow. Wow. No one has bowed to me this low before.

Her eyes widened as she shifts her gaze at me.

“…Yunho? Jung Yunho?” she stammered, wagging her trembling finger at me. This made me feel very awkward.

“I’ll explain everything once we head in,” Changmin said.

Changmin and I entered the doors, escaping the sun’s warmth. Every step on the waxy grounds emitted an echo within the walls.

My knees wavered as the interior of the lobby dazzled within my eyes. Plump velvety couches circled around the shiny, gold coffee table. A golden vase filled with red roses centered the table, complimenting the furnishings. A grand piano was positioned near the salmon wall, facing the direction of a hanging painting that contained Mona Lisa. . This house is no joke.

“I will notify Jung Min Ho that his son…I mean two of his sons are here,” she said, soon drifting to the corridors.

“Who’s that woman? His wife?” I asked.

“Ha! His wife? That’s our maid!” Changmin snickered.

“We have a maid?!"

Changmin rolled his eyes at me. 

“Wow Changmin…I never knew we were rich,” I said, enticed by a historical sculpture standing in the midst of the room.

A chubby, short man approached us as his slippers scraped against the ground. His arms were linked together behind him, hiding his hands from my sight. Emotion was void from this man’s eyes, giving an impression of a man that held high authority.

In hopes to give a positive representation of myself, I straightened my shoulders and levelled my eyes at his gaze.

Was this man really my father? Could I really believe Changmin’s words?

Carefully, I inspected the man’s face, hoping to catch a resemblance between our facial features. Somehow, he shared the same, wide eyes that In-Sung had. I know my face very well, and not a single ounce of my features were to be found on this man’s face.

Was it normal to wince a bit if your supposed father was in your presence? Weren't sons usually comfortable with their fathers? Why did it feel like being in a room with Korea's president? 

Sweat seeped out of my quivering palms as his perplexing stare pierced through me like a blade. . This man is scary. Scarier than that Jaejoong that I met three hours ago.

“Abouji (Dad/stepdad), I finally brought Yunho home,” Changmin said. The tone he used with this man differed from the tone he used towards me. The stability of his voice wavered as if he feared this man.

“Yunho,” he uttered.

“Abouji,” I spat out. Saying father with my own mouth felt strange.

I lowered my head, eying marble ground beneath me. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to look into his small, beady eyes.

“Let’s go to the dining room and talk. I’ve prepared a meal for all of us to eat,” he said. 

Without looking back at his own sons, he took off at his own course as he disappeared into the corridors.

“Are…are you sure that’s our dad?” I asked Changmin. “Doesn’t seem like it. I don’t feel a…a connection.”

“Let’s just go,” Changmin said, soon following the old man’s direction.

Why was Changmin so obedient to this man? He wasn’t even his real son from what I know.

I took initiative and advanced towards the hall, taking each step cautiously around the extravagant objects neighboring my view. An intricately sculpted frame comes to my attention as I viewed the photograph inside.

A family sat gathered together, sharing the camera's angle. The manufactured expressions on their faces were strikingly identical to one another, showing no individuality. Within the sea of the monotonous faces, only one of the boys had a smile on their face. Squinting further, I recognize my own face. I had no memories of taking this picture, indicating the picture’s old age.

I looked younger, less mature. A little amount of baby fat plumped my face, once filling in the narrowness of my jaw. Just like Hyung’s smile, my eyes squinted, taking form of crescent moons. In that picture, my gaze was fixed at the boy beside me.

I raised my eyebrows at the boy seated near me, questioning his relation to our family. It wasn’t Changmin or In-Sung. The boy had pale, colorless skin. Light from the camera’s flash glared within the boy’s dark pupils. Maybe he was another brother or a cousin that I hav