Yongguk sat on the couch in my home and relentlessly stared at Joon who remained beside him. “Who are you again?” Yongguk asked for the thousandth time. It was almost like he was refusing to believe it or that he was hearing it wrong for the thousandth time.

“Joon.” Joon answered again for the thousandth time. He stared back at Yongguk curiously.

“And that’s…your mama?” Yongguk pointed at me who was busy looking through the cabinets in the kitchen. 

Joon nodded again and Yongguk went back to staring at him.

“You’re not joking, right?”

Joon shook his head.

“Is there anyone else living here?”

Again, Joon shook his head.

“Are you sure you’re not confusing ‘Mama’ with ‘sister’?” Yongguk continued to interrogate poor Joon. It wasn't the boy's problem that the adult couldn't wrap his mind around it. 

Getting tired from the strange questioning and Yongguk's strange behavior, Joon ended up blurting aloud, “mama, why is this uncle so weird?”

“It’s older brother.” Yongguk corrects him shamelessly. “I’m not at the uncle age yet.” That title is reserved for older man - something Yongguk was totally not.

“You’re old and weird.” Joon says without thinking.  

“Joonie, be polite please.” I said from the kitchen, hearing their loud bickering. It was hard to ignore it.

“Mama, but he really is.” Joon insisted without tearing his eyes away from Yongguk who keeps watching him closely in response.  

I turned around to look at Yongguk. “Yongguk, stop scaring my son.”

“She said son.” Yongguk mumbled to himself. “And he said mama.” He clutched his head and prepared himself for a mental breakdown.

Making my way back over, I dropped the first aid kit on the small coffee table in front of the couch, pulling him from his dramatic performance. To be very honest, it isn't a very difficult concept to process but he was making such a big deal out of it. 

“Take care of yourself.” I said to Yongguk before kneeling down in front of Joon. “Where does it hurt?” Joon placed his palms up to show me. Grabbing the disinfectant and the band aids from the kit, I got to work. 

“What about me?” Yongguk asked from the side, observing me.

“You have two hands that work fine.” I said as I kept my eyes on Joon.

Joon yanks his palms back and away when he sees me pick up the disinfectant spray. “It’s going to hurt.” He whined softly.

“But my son is strong, right?” After a second of thinking, he gave me his hands. “See, Joonie is so brave.” I smiled at him. He flinches as the spray hits his hands and I blow on it to lessen the stinging. Soon after, I cover the fresh scraps with bandaids, “there, all done. Does it still hurt?”

He nods and I take his palms up to lips to kiss it. “No more pain.” I chuckled and he nodded cheerfully. “Joonie, why don’t you go to your room to change into cleaner clothes?”

He nods once moreand gets down from the couch. Even in his rush, he didn't forget his manners. Turning around, he offers Yongguk a small bow. “Bye, ahjussi.”

“Hey, it’s older brother!” Yongguk called out but of course, Joon ignored him. Muttering to himself unhappily, he went back to cleaning the small cuts on his face. “You’re so selective on who you want to be nice to.” I watched as he struggled and complained. “I even helped you twice and what do I get? No thanks whatsoever.” He continued to mumble until I couldn’t take it anymore.

I walk over and take the cotton ball from his hand and kneel in front of him. “Thanks for protecting my son.” I said softly so he would finally shut up. I dabbed the cotton ball on the cut in the corner of his eye and he hisses in pain. “Joon could even handle it.” He stops and allows me to go back to the task upon hearing my words. Continuing my tesk, he watches me as I move to another small cut on his cheek. 

“Is he really your son?” He asked again.

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

Yongguk looked down at his hands and calculated. “You would have had him when you were like 16.”

“I’m 22 and Joonie is 5. So, that means I would have been 17.” I corrected him.

“That’s not any better! Why were you doing those things when you were so young! You should have waited until you were ready!” Yongguk was actually scolding me and I was actually listening to him. “Or you should have used protection or – “ I dabbed harder on the cut at the corner of his mouth. “Ow!” He moved his head back from my hand. “Why are you being so rough on this face?”

“Just let me finish so you can leave.” I pulled him forward by his shirt. “My son needs to sleep.”

“Where’s his father, did he run away from the responsibility? Is he visiting him?” Yongguk continued to blab, refusing to drop the subject. “Is he paying child support? What kind of guy did you get yourself involved with?”

“Joonie isn’t my real son.” I said softly so Joon wouldn’t hear what we were