“My stomach hurts.” Kris whispered, keeping his eyes down. “I think I’m gonna be sick. We should go back to the hotel.”

Luhan sighed, pulling Kris into his side as Mark raised a brow, not quite sure what they were saying. Kris dropped his head on Luhan’s shoulder and frowned, his stomach all knotted up as he looked out the window.

“This is important, Kris.” Luhan whispered back, his fingers finding Kris’ hair and comforting him. “It’s one dinner. One night. It’ll be over before you know it.”

Kris watched the restaurant come into view, and he shuddered as he sat back up to press the release on his seatbelt. Luhan sighed, rubbing his shoulder gently for a second before ushering him out of the car. Mark hurried over to open the door to the restaurant, wanting to get Kris inside before he really started freaking out. He was already shaking all over.

“It’s just dinner.” Luhan said softly, still pressing on Kris’ lower back as they made their way in the door. Kris in a slow, shaky breath, but he didn’t respond as he stepped through the door.

Kris had been expecting some kind of nightmare scenario the second he walked through the door. He’d been expecting something scary, or at least uncomfortable, but the pretty calligraphy decorating the red and gold walls around him was soothing in a way. He swallowed, looking around and seeing loads of families eating, chatting, sipping water, and looking generally...normal. He wasn’t sure why he’d thought they would stand out to him. Why he thought he’d be able to recognize them at a glance and immediately be able to assess what kind of people they were.

He didn’t really realize that Luhan was holding his hand until he registered the little wince to his right and realized he’d been squeezing. He quickly loosened his grip, opening his mouth to apologize, when he heard someone calling out.

“Jiaheng!”

Kris looked up, trying to figure out if he was blocking someone’s way as a petite middle aged woman made her way toward the door with a smile on her face. He stepped back, moving a bit behind Luhan in order to stay out of the way, but she was heading straight for him.

“Jiaheng, you look just like your father. So tall, too. I knew it was you, even without the pictures.”

Kris stared at the woman, listening to her babble away in Mandarin and looking at Luhan with a little bit of panic in his eyes. There was no way this was the woman he’d been dreading meeting. She didn’t even know his name.

“Ah, his name was legally changed when he was a year old.” Luhan spoke up suddenly, shooting Kris an apologetic grin. “It’s YiFan. Kr-”

Kris clamped a hand over Luhan’s mouth, not wanting him to tell this woman the name his friends and family called him. His head was spinning with realization as his heart pounded in his chest, beating fast but the rhythm was steady. He hadn’t even known his name was changed. How would Luhan? Luhan looked at Kris with a raised brow, pulling the younger’s hand off of his face.

“Rude.” He said, his tone soft as he poked Kris’ side. Kris immediately moved further behind Luhan, his lips pressed tight together.

“Oh...your father and I named you Li Jiaheng, when you were born.” She said softly, offering an uncertain smile. Kris wasn’t sure what she was expecting, when they finally met, but he selfishly hoped it was more uncomfortable than she’d planned for. “YiFan is a good name, too. A strong name. I like it.”

Luhan prodded Kris’ side when he still refused to speak, and he heard Mark sigh to his right.

“He’s a little shy.” Mark said, his Mandarin so bad Kris was hard pressed not to correct his tones. “Let’s sit down and eat.”

Kris let Luhan drag him over to the table, and he ducked his head slightly in greeting at the man and girl sitting on the other side of the table. She didn’t look that much younger than him. The woman was quick to introduce them as his father and sister, and Kris clenched his teeth slightly as Luhan took his hand again.

“So...do you have any questions for us?” The man asked, clearly trying to break through the barriers Kris had already established. Kris was extremely tempted to pretend he didn’t understand Mandarin, and he looked at Luhan like he was supposed to supply him with a solution to all of this.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” He mumbled in Korean, and Luhan narrowed his eyes.

“You’re lying. You went to the bathroom twice before we left the hotel.” Luhan replied, pointedly speaking in their native tongue just to prove his point. Kris made a face and looked back at the table. “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not the one being rude.” Kris said, his tone flat. Luhan rolled his eyes.

“Yes you are. And I’ll tell Umma.” Luhan said seriously. Kris looked utterly betrayed by that.

“Who’s Umma?” The girl asked suddenly. Kris looked up at her, then looked between the adults on either side of her. She didn’t have anything to do with their choices. It wasn’t her fault.

“Umma...is the Korean word for mom. My Mama.” Kris said quietly.

“Is she nice?” The girl asked, looking kind of proud that she’d been the one to get him to talk. Kris his lips and nodded. “Is she pretty?”

“I guess so.” Kris said, shrugging one shoulder. “I don’t know.”

“My name is Jiao.” She said suddenly. “I’m fourteen.”

“...YiFan.” Kris said, glancing at Jiao’s mother. “I’m...about to be sixteen.”

“I know. Mama still marks it on the calendar.” Jiao said, nodding seriously. “She’s got all your school pictures hung up next to mine.”

Kris cringed a little at that, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the woman sitting across from him. He didn’t want to make a scene in the middle of the restaurant, though, so he grabbed a menu instead and started looking through it. He didn’t want them thinking he had any interest in their little home-maker game.

“Tell us about your Mama.” The woman said suddenly, making Kris jolt.

“Why?” He asked, not even stopping to think about how defensive he sounded. She held her hands up.

“We just want to know what kind of life you’ve been living.” The man said. Kris glared harder at the menu.

“I’ve lived in one hundred and seventy six foster homes and never once felt like I belonged anywhere until I met her and my brother.” Kris said through gritted teeth. “I thought you two were dead. So there’s that.”

“Fan.” Luhan said, nudging Kris’ side gently with his elbow and darting his eyes toward the door. Kris his lips, ignoring him for the moment.

“Umma’s a nurse at the hospital near our house. I have really good grades. I also have a heart condition and I need to have surgery when I get back, but Umma and YiXing and Minseok-ge will take care of me.” Kris said. “I have friends. A lot of them. We have sleepovers and we watch movies and I speak four languages so I help them with their English homework. I have...a great life in Korea. I just want to go home.”

“You don’t want to come with us?” Jiao slumped in her seat a little, looking between her parents and sighing. “They don’t have to sign off on the paperwork, you know. You don’t even have a dad in Korea. At least with us you have your family.”

Kris tensed immediately, his eyes going wide as he felt his heart start pounding. The spiderweb cracks were starting to form in his chest and he was starting to shake when he felt warm arms come around his torso, a familiar scent hitting his nose full force.

“We don’t need a dad.” Lay said softly, his fingers pressing lightly into the spot Kris’ chest always hurt during panic attacks. “And he has a family. We just had a communication issue with the taxi driver.”