Here's an update, you guys. Thanks for reading.

Nichkhun was feeling a little dazed when he got off the plane. He guessed it was just jet lag, but four hours of flight hardly constituted a change of time zone. He staggered towards the nearest information and asked for cab services. The receptionist eyed him worriedly and hesitantly pointed her fingers towards one of the exits. He thanked her and made his way to the exit. As indicated, there was a long line of taxies waiting outside. Just as he was about to enter one, a coarse but familiar voice suddenly called out to him.

"Son." Nichkhun turned his head to face the person. Standing before him was the one man he hated the most. 

"Dad."

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Flashback - 15 years ago

In a quiet suburb not so far from the city, there used to live two little boys who dreamt of big things. One wanted to be a doctor and the other aimed to be a lawyer. Both boys did not predict that someday, those dreams could just shatter away in a blink of an eye. It all started with their father. He used to be kind and caring. But an unfortunate gamble incident sent his life spiralling downwards. Suddenly, he was faced with twenty debt collectors hot on his heels, a nagging wife and three children to feed. He turned to alcohol to ease his pain, but the effect turned him into a monster. And Chereen was born as a result. She was a drunken mistake to his eyes and it made him delirious knowing he had another child to feed. He gave up feeding his family after that, and became so engrossed in the world of gambling, that desperation for money took over. Suddenly. he would come home every subsequent nights and demand money from his wife. She had to give in, knowing what he could do with the children if she didn't.

Seeing how much their mother suffered, nine-year-old Nichan and six-year-old Nickhun decided to protect her from their father. Yanin was only four at the time and Chereen was a year old.

He came home drunk one night, pounding the front door hard and demanding entry into the house. Mrs. Horjevkul had only one thought in mind when he appeared; to make sure her children stayed as far away from him as possible. She locked them up in the storeroom and hid the keys. Nichan carried Chereen in his arms, because the others were still too young to carry her and Nichkhun held on to little Yanin, whispering soothing words into her ears to calm her down. She was sniffling into his shirt, trembling from fear. 

Mummy's order was simple. Keep very still and don't make any noise.

Nichan and Nichkhun both understood why she wanted to keep them hidden. But Nichan knew it better than his other siblings. He had seen his father at the worst. Blood was inevitably spilled at the end of it. And it never belonged to the old man.

While the children stayed put, Mrs Horjevkul opened the door with a heavy heart and suddenly found herself sprawled against the cold hard floor. She squirmed violently under his hard grasp, trying to kick him off. But he was too strong, and too drunk to care. His eyes were wild, shouting curses at her for not opening the door sooner. She simply screamed back for help, and the kids heard it. Nichan rocked Chereen in his arms, singing her lullaby. She wasn't aware of anything else around her; just the sound of his voice and the forced smile on his face. Nichkhun told Yanin everything will be alright. Mummy will be alright. But it was a lie, and Yanin knew it. She just wanted to hear it from someone close to her. Believing Nichkhun, she kept very still.

There was a sudden crash outside as Mrs. Horjevkul's favourite vase fell from the coffee table. She picked up a shard of glass and banged it against her husband's head, knocking him off her. And while he hoisted himself up, she swiftly got onto her feet and ran for the front door. Her loud cries for help eventually attracted the neighbours' attention. A few men came out from their houses and rushed over to hers. It was raining cats and dogs outside, but the freezing damp weather failed to cease them.

Mr. Horjevkul finally stood up and dashed for his wife, covering with one hand and using the other to drag her in. "GIVE ME THE MONEY, WOMAN!" He demanded, breathing heavily against her cheeks.

"NO! I DON'T HAVE ANY!" She cried out, trying to break away from his tight embrace, but as always, he was too strong.

He managed to drag her squirming body inside and locked the door, just in time before the neighbours started banging on it. "Open the door!" A voice yelled out.

Ignoring the commotion outside, Mr.Horjevkul pinned his wife against the wall and turned her around to face him. "You should know how this works by now, dear." He said in a low dangerous tone. "When I ask nicely, you give me what I want. If you still want to test my patience, then you should know what happens to our children."

"They're not here." She hissed back, glaring up at him.

"You've grown a backbone, I see...it's only been a month since I saw you." He chuckled at this, pinching her cheeks harshly. It left a fresh red mark on the spot he pinched and she simply bit her lips to ignore the pain. Looking around the almost empty living room, he asked, "Are they really not here?" He was mocking her, she noticed. A gut-wrenching twist formed in her stomach when a half smile slowly formed at the corners of his mouth. Noticing the slight change of her expression, he decided to press further.

"I see...so they're playing hide-and-seek with their daddy. And if I guess correctly, they're in the storeroom now." Bingo! It was too easy to read his wife's body language. She was never a good liar.

Her eyes widened at the sudden mention of the storeroom, and in that instant, he knew he was right. "P-please..." She begged him. Her cheeks were bruised from his punches and blood was definitely trickling down her forehead. She masked the pain on her body by focusing on one thing at the time. It was something she learned to do since the first time he came home this way. At that moment, with the same damn smirk on her husband's face, she was ready to give her life just to keep her children safe. "Please...I beg you...don't hurt the kids."

The rappings on the door and the neighbours' calls were getting louder. It sounded as if half the neighbourhood was outside. Mr. Horjevkul grinned at his wife and informed her that he would be coming back later for the cash. "You better be around when I arrive later. And this time, open the door immediately. I want to greet my children too." He said in a sardonic way. She could only smile bitterly in return.

Seconds later, he was out of the back door and blended into the crowd on the street. Mrs. Horjevkul felt her knees went weak as soon as he was out of sight. She slid down against the wall and stilled her trembling body.  One of the neighbours came back with an axe and started breaking down the door. When the door was finally open, they were shocked to find her passed out on the living room's floor. Worried that the estranged husband would return, one of the neighbours decided to provide a temporary shelter for the Horjevkul family.

It didn't take long for Mr. Horjevkul to find his family again. When Nichan turned ten, he gave up his education and worked three jobs to sustain his mother and siblings. Part of his earnings went into his father's pocket, in return of a promise to stay away from his mother and sisters, Nichkhun helped him out once a while, but the younger boy was told not to give up school. This went on for about seven years until Nichan was old enough to get promoted. He deserved it. There was never a day he was late for work, or lacked performance. His bosses were only reluctant of his age but they wanted to keep him.

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Present Time

Now, after fifteen years of hating his father, 21-year-old Nichkhun Buck Horjevkul was once again facing the same man he loathed since he was young. He couldn't escape the responsiblity he had entrusted upon himself, that is to provide for his father's financial needs as long as the old man promised to back off from his mother and sisters. Nichan was still in America, finishing off his doctorate course. The old man probably thought it was easier to find the son from Korea, instead of venturing all the way to America.

"Dad." Nichkhun hissed, each letter like a poison in his mouth.

"You don't have to be so hard on me." Mr Horjevkul said, lighting a cigarette. He eyed his son from head to toe. "Hm...still look the same after having a child. Your mum wasn't so fortunate." Nichkhun despised the hint of sarcasm in his father's voice. Needless to say, he loathed everything about his father, even just by standing there.

His head started throbbing badly then, and he didn't want to seem weak. But Mr. Horjevkul knew his children well enough to see the signs. He reached out a hand and placed it against Nichkhun's temple. "I've got some aspirin in the car, son."

It was moments like this that Nichkhun found it hard to believe his father was ever a drunkard and a gamble-addict. That few moments of actually caring for his own children were something rare but when it happened, no one wanted to stop him. Those were the only times they could imagine they were living in a peaceful family, in a simple life and with undivided needs. But the Horjevkul children long since learned that these kind of affection won't last for more than a minute.

"Did you bring the money?" Mr Horjevkul suddenly asked, jolting Nichkhun back to reality.

"Yeah." He said numbly, one-strapping his backpack to take out an envelope. It was a cheque signed by Wooyoung, which the younger boy had agreed to give, as long as Nichkhun returned to Korea unhurt. The amount wasn't much but it was all Wooyoung had, considering the need to care for Lauren.

Mr Horjevkul took one look at the cheque and frowned. "That's it?! I'm three million baht short and you're only giving me three hundred thousand baht?! You piece of trash! Where's the balance?" He grabbed his son by the shoulder and dragged the poor boy into his rented car. Nichkhun was honestly afraid for his life. He wasn't sure what would happen next. But he hoped, no, prayed, that none of his family members, both in Korea and Thailand, would get hurt out of this.

He was willing to sacrifice his life.

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Sorry this took so long to update. Anyway, the part for Nichkhun is actually long, but I will separate it into two chapters.