Himchan walked the halls of the station, wondering again about the young Exotyte that had caught his daughter’s attention. He looked around at all the students and sighed. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t be so worried but secrets had a way of popping up when you least expect it. He needed to talk to someone about all of this and he knew just the person he should see.

Turning down the hall, he headed straight for Youngjae Yoo’s office.

“Come in!” His voice sang through the door once he knocked. “Himchan! Good to see you.”

“You too, friend. What has been going on with you?” He wanted to keep it casual before bringing up the issue on his mind. “Teaching this group must not be easy.”

“That’s an understatement. Your daughter is paired with that Exotyte captain’s son and let me tell you. He is a piece of work.” Youngjae laughs. “But she ignores him at best.”

“Well that’s good. She seemed happy about some Exotyte in her class when she spoke to me last week.” Himchan wondered if Youngjae could tell that one of his students looked familiar. “Do you know who they are?”

Youngjae chuckled, getting up to make himself a cup of tea. “She is definitely enamoured with the guy. I’ll get to the classroom and she’s usually talking to him about something or other before moving to her seat at the back of the class.”

Himchan’s brows rose. “It’s that serious, huh?”

“Might be.”

There was a comfortable silence before Himchan speaks again. “He doesn't...look familiar to you does he?”

Youngjae scrunched his brow and shook his head. “No, should he be?”

Himchan took a deep breath. “Let’s say you know a friend, and they’re in a happy relationship with their partner. What if their partner ended up with a child that doesn’t have their blood relation?”

Youngjae’s face went pale. “You know?”

“Huh?”

“You know that Kenneth might be my son?”

Himchan is speechless. He just stares at Youngjae with wide eyes and a realization washes over him. “You...and Xelena...how? When? Why?”

“When you and Dae went to that summit. We got drunk about a week before you were due to return and…” Youngjae broke down, his face near tears. “It was only one time but it was an accident.”

“Accident or not...something led to this…” He stood up and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “But what’s happened cannot be changed. Just…”

“Don’t tell Daehyun. I don’t want him to treat Xelena and Kenneth any differently. They’re his family at the end of the day.” Youngjae looked up at him with pleading eyes.

“I won’t. But no matter how long you hide it, it will come to light whether you want it to or not.” He may have been speaking for Youngjae but he also couldn’t help but think this was also related to Daehyun as well. Both of his friends had been unfaithful and for all they knew, it could cause another war if anyone were to find out. He wanted to look into Taehyung a bit more but he knew that Youngjae would be no help for now. “We will deal with your affair another time.”

He leaves the office to head to his own and sighs as he sits down. He pulls up Taehyung’s profile again and stares at his photo. If he remembered correctly, Baekhyun was the one who spoke up on the first day. He remembered the initial shock he had when he saw his face. He had to blink a few times to realize that it wasn’t his own Lieutenant beside him at the time. He brought up all his notes from that time and everything continued to connect for him.

“Daddy?”

He looked up to see his daughter waiting in the doorway for him in her training gear. “Hey sweetheart. What do I owe for this visit?” He quickly closed out of Taehyung’s profile.

“Just your time.” She chuckled and sat down in front of him, a somewhat serious expression on her face. “I had a question for you about a project I’m working on with some people in my class.”

“What kind of project?” He sat up straighter. “Will there be food involved?”

She laughed. “We can bring you some snacks if you’d like. We just want to talk about the first peace summit with you.” Himchan’s face dropped and Victoria was almost afraid he would say no. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Oh! No. I don’t mind. I was just thinking about something. Yes, you can. Just let me know when you want to see me and I’ll make time for you. Who all will be coming?”

“Jimin, Bobby, and Taehyung. I think one other Exotyte might come with us but that should be all.”

At the mention of Taehyung, his ears perked up. This would be the perfect chance to study the young male up close. He nodded and Victoria left, a bounce in her step.

~~~

Taehyung burst into his room, startling his roommate and a guest of his who were in a very...interesting position.

Please log in to read the full chapter