“Where’s Chan?” 

Byeongkwan heard Jun ask as he let the house door shut behind him.

Byeongkwan sighed. “I don’t know. His bodyguards found us and took him away.”

“What?!” Jun yelled in surprise. “What now? What did Chan say? Are we in trouble?”

Byeongkwan frowned and shrugged. “I don’t know, but I hope Chan is okay.”

Jun rubbed his temples. “You’re worried for Chan? You should be worried about us- the Kang family is going to kill us!”

“Metaphorically or actually?” Sehyoon questioned. 

“Does it matter?!” Jun replied, “Either way we are in big trouble.”

“Relax Jun,” Donghun chimed in. “Chan is a nice kid, he won’t want us in trouble.”

Jun sighed. “It’s not Chan I'm worried about, it’s his parents. Chan’s told us the stories- you’ve heard how overprotective they are about him. And they are powerful people.”

There was a knock on the door and Byeongkwan opened it without thinking. 

Three men in black suits stood at the entrance and peered inside. “Madam Kang asks that the four of you please follow us. We say that she ‘asks’, but this is not a request.”

Byeongkwan looked back at the others.

“What should we do?” He whispered loudly.

“We should go with them.” Donghun replied, “What choice do we have?”

The other three slowly nodded and got up to follow the intimidating men. They were ushered into a minivan silently and the car ride was quiet. 

It was only a 15 minute drive to the Kang’s residence and the four of them were brought into the house, where they were met with an angry looking middle-aged woman and man surrounded by bodyguards in black suits. Chan was there too, looking really nervous and unsure of himself.

The woman, presumably Chan’s mom, stepped forward. “What did you all do to my son?!” She seethed, “My lawyer is here and will be pressing charges against all of you. I won’t let you off easily!” 

“Mom, stop!” Chan pleaded, “I’m fine. Nothing happened to me and these hyungs were helping me!”

“What do you mean nothing happened to you?” Chan’s dad jumped in, “You were gone for days! And are these not the people that threatened you with a gun?”

“No, that was- er, a misunderstanding!” Chan tried to make an excuse.

“Chan, the chauffeur told us everything. And we have security footage.” Chan’s dad retorted.

Chan shook his head, “Please dad, mom they aren’t bad people.” 

“It doesn’t matter-” Chan’s mom shot down, “-they took my son and I will not allow these people to go unscathed.”

“We will deal with these people,” Chan’s dad nodded. “And you will do as we say.”

Chan looked defeated. He had heard that line a million times a child. Every time Chan had asked if he could go outside, make friends, do anything outside of his planned schedule, he would get rejected in the same exact way. The years and years of being shut down by his parents were piling on his mind. He felt weighed down. 

“Chan.” Byeongkwan whispered to Chan. “Please help us?”

Chan slowly looked up at Byeongkwan and suddenly remembered the conversation they had merely an hour ago - “Through hard work, we’re able to take a bit of control of the outcome...you shouldn’t sit back and just let things happen to you...”

Byeongkwan was right. Chan nodded to himself. If he continued to let his parents control his decisions, Chan would never be able to move forward. He would always be stuck where he was now. And he could not be satisfied by that.

“Yes, I can do this.” Chan thought to himself. “You are not alone anymore. This is the first time you’ve had real friends. Move forward, Chan, don’t get stuck. Be confident.”

Chan took a deep breath and breathed out his anxiety. He stepped between his parents and his friends.

“No, I’ll deal with them.” Chan stated defiantly. “These are my friends and I will do as I please.”
“Chan, you shouldn’t. We can protect you.” Chan’s mom replied.

Chan shook his head. “I don’t want to be protected. I’ve spent my whole life in a bubble thanks to you. My friends have shown me there is more to living that being safe.”

“Chan, don’t be stupid, you don’t have any experience with this sort of thing. Just leave it to us.” Chan’s dad reasoned.

“You’re right, I don’t have the experience.” Chan argued, “That’s exactly why I am refusing to back down. My friends taught me I need to put in the effort.”

“Maybe this will be the worst decision of my life,” Chan continued, “But I’m willing to take that risk. Only through working hard and failing am I going to gain the experience.”

“Chan…” His mother tried to refute.

Chan crossed his arms. “What are you going to do? Throw me out? Then all your luck will disappear. You can’t live without me, but I will be fine without you.”

“Chan don’t think like that; we are worried for you, not our living. As our son, we just want you to be safe…” Chan’s dad sighed.

Chan’s mom nodded. “We are only doing this because we care about you.”

Chan was a little surprised. He had always thought his parents only cared for their wealth and his luck. He thought that all of his parents restrictions for his safety were because they thought of him as an asset, not their child.

Chan realized he had never opened up about his feelings to his parents. “Mom...Dad...to tell you the truth…I’m not happy with the way I’m living. I’ve hated that you’ve made every decision for me with only my safety in mind. I know i’m living comfortably but I want to experience the failures, fear, and troubles that other people do- and to overcome those challenges just like everyone else.”

“Chan… I never knew you felt that way…” Chan’s parents looked at each other and sighed. “We understand. If you want to handle these decisions yourself from now on, we will let you. You’re already an adult.”

Chan’s dad put his hand on Chan’s shoulder. “We’ll be right outside if you need us. You talk to them and let us know your decision. We’ll support whatever you choose.”

Chan’s parents left the room along with most of the bodyguards and Chan sighed in relief. 

He turned to Byeongkwn and the others. 

“I’m really sorry I dragged you into this!” Chan apologized. 

Jun patted Chan on the shoulder. “Are you kidding me? You saved our butts!”

“Yeah, thanks for sticking up for us, Chan.” Sehyoon smiled.

“I am grateful that you stood up for us.” Donghun added.

Byeongkwan grinned, “ I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome!”

“Thanks guys!” Chan beamed. He was indeed feeling very free in the moment. 

“For everything that you’ve done for me, of course I’d stand by you. Now, let’s get you guys home.”