Chapter Text
Click here for the family tree.
Four siblings sat at the dinner table, chatting and sharing jokes as they enjoyed the meal prepared by a new chef the family hired. Efficiently, their butler removed the used plates and bowls from the table, replacing them with clean ones for the main course to be served. Such was the daily routine in this wealthy household.
Ironically, the man who paid the bills was constantly out of town, always on one business trip or another. The breadwinner of the family was the kids’ father, whereas the responsibility of being the homemaker had fallen onto a team of housekeeping staff.
The closest thing to a mother figure that could be found in this palatial house was the owner’s eldest daughter, Oh Hyerin. In the absence of their father, which was most of the time, she took over most of the decision-making in the household. She was the only one who had her shit together.
“So when is Dad going to be home?” Asked Sehun, who had taken a bite of his food ahead of everyone else.
“Probably some time toward the end of next week,” Hyerin answered affectionately, stifling a sigh. “I know you wish he’d be home sooner, but doing business is not easy.”
“It’s okay,” Sehun uttered with his mouth full, pretending to enjoy his food so much that he would not even bother to be sad about barely getting to spend any time with their father. “I’m used to it and I know he’s busy.”
“I actually don’t even remember which part of the world he’s supposed to be in these days, since he flies around so frequently,” Yifan admitted. “I hope he doesn’t overwork himself.”
“Last time I checked, he was in Dubuque,” Jinyan chimed in, taking a sip from her cup. “Intercontinental flights must be so tiring. I also hope he takes care of himself.”
“Where in the world is that…” said Sehun under his breath, not at all happy to be so distant from the only biological parent that remained in his life.
“Iowa,” replied Jinyan. Then when she saw how bewildered her youngest brother looked, she added, “along the Mississippi River in America.”
“Okay then.” Sehun shrugged nonchalantly and carried on eating his food.
Jinyan looked as if she was about to say something, but then they all heard the doorbell ring.
As expected, one of their housekeeping assistants got the door. Yifan leaned back a little and took a glance at the front door, wondering why they would have visitors at this hour of the day. Once he saw who it was, he was astounded. Rising from his seat, briskly he strode to the door.
“Chanyeol?” Yifan asked, perplexed. “What are you doing here?”
Chanyeol sniffled, looking at his best friend with a pained expression. It was evident that he had been crying, which made Yifan worried.
“Can I…” Chanyeol began, his voice unsteady. “Do you think I can...stay over at your house for like...like a few days? I...I can’t stand it anymore. At home...it’s like a warzone. I hate it and I don’t want to go back to that horrid place.”
Yifan invited him in, a look of sympathy on his face. He motioned for Chanyeol to take a seat and calm down for a bit first before explaining what was going on. Hyerin also joined them, looking concerned.
“Noona,” said Chanyeol to Hyerin, pitiful and pleading. “I don’t mean to impose on you guys. It’s just that...I’m going to lose my mind if I stay another moment under my parents’ roof.”
“You poor boy,” said Hyerin, sighing. She had met Chanyeol numerous times already, since her siblings often invited their friends over, and everyone wanted to see for themselves what kind of a house this rich family lived in. “Your parents fighting again?” She asked gently, not completely oblivious to the chaos that went on in Chanyeol’s family and the emotional turmoil that he had to go through.
He nodded, wishing that these struggles were not real and that he did not have to deal with any of it. But it was a harsh reality that he had to cope with every single day.
“It’s alright. Have you eaten? Let’s get you something to drink, at least,” Hyerin offered as Yifan pointed Chanyeol to the dinner table. Chanyeol sat down glumly, shooting apologetic glances at Jinyan and Sehun who looked confused yet curious about what was happening.
Seeing as Chanyeol looked so tearful and burdened, neither Jinyan nor Sehun dared ask questions unless their guest was ready to talk about it. Easily, Jinyan felt sorry for him, but when she glanced at Sehun, who also kept his stare fixed on Chanyeol, it was obvious to her that her youngest brother felt something more for Chanyeol than just pity and worry.
After everybody was finished with their meal, Yifan led Chanyeol to his room so they could talk about things in private. The others went about their own business as well — or so Jinyan thought, until she caught Sehun standing right outside Yifan’s room, with his ear pressed to the door.
“Psst. What are you doing?” Jinyan questioned, not too loudly but still enough for Sehun to panic. As he got caught, for now he gave up on trying to eavesdrop and went to the other end of the corridor instead, his sister following suit.
“So?” She pressed on, arching an eyebrow.
“I can’t find my calculator but I need it for the Math quiz tomorrow so I was just gonna ask hyung to lend me his, but I guess he’s occupied right now,” Sehun lied, smoothly reciting the excuse that he had already prepared.
“Right, I think you already know I’m not gonna buy that,” she replied, though not chidingly. “I also noticed the way you’ve been looking at Chanyeol almost every time he comes over. Does he know you have a crush on him?”
“Noona!” Sehun protested. “Absolutely no part of that is true.”
“Alright, if you say so. Then, what are your feelings for him? This clearly isn’t just about being curious as to why he suddenly came over or feeling sorry for him. It’s obvious that you care about him a lot more than Hyerin-eonni and I do, but also not in the same way that Yifan does as his best friend. I don’t think I can be blamed for thinking that...you like him.”
“Well, I…” he spluttered, gesticulating desperately and pointing at various parts of his face. “Even objectively speaking, he’s very good-looking…I mean! Everybody at school keeps saying he has this...golden face ratio...like...perfect proportions...I’m definitely not the only one who finds him attractive!”
“There we go,” she said, the corners of her mouth slightly upturning. “You fancy your brother’s best friend. Just like a drama. Does Yifan know?”
“No, he doesn’t,” he whined. “He’s absolutely clueless about everything. He doesn’t even know that Chanyeol may or may not—”
When he suddenly stopped, she became more intrigued. “They’re so close though; there’s something about Chanyeol that Yifan doesn’t know, but you do?” She prodded.
“It’s nothing,” he replied promptly, just wanting to dismiss her conjectures.
“Well, it’s fine if you don’t feel like telling me. But I can tell you from experience that it’s really tiring to keep secrets, and it’s so much easier to just let it go and own up to your feelings,” she said earnestly. “And also, Sehun, look, I may not always be physically present in this household since I’m studying in China most of the time. But I’m here for you. I will support my littlest brother. If you need me, I’ll drop everything and—”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks,” he said curtly, not meaning to sound brusque, but the look on his face was enough to indicate to her that he was not convinced that she could be someone he could confide in. Not willing to push him to share more than he already disclosed, she simply gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder and then returned to her own room. Once she did so, he returned to his original spot right in front of the door to Yifan’s room and carried on with his attempts to eavesdrop.
“I do wish I could be more like you — knowing all along, since you were a kid, that you were born of an extramarital affair. Instead of having to find out about it when you’re grown up,” said Chanyeol, croaking. Sehun could not see the way Chanyeol’s shoulders were slumped, but he could hear from Chanyeol’s voice that his spirit was weakened and burned out. The poor boy had uncovered, just a few hours ago, a secret that had been kept from him for all 17 years of his life. The revelation came abruptly, mercilessly draining the energy out of him. He was tired and trembling, and yet he still somehow had it in him to raise his voice as he poured out all his frustrations to his best friend.
“Chanyeol, it’s not your fault,” Yifan replied solemnly, and Sehun continued to listen outside. “We as kids shouldn’t have to suffer because of our parents’ indiscretions. I know, it’s unfair to us, to not know what our place in the world is when a big part of our identity turned out to be a lie. And I’m sorry you had to find out like this.”
“It’s already bad enough to find out that I’m not my father’s son, and to feel like my whole life is a lie. But you know what’s even worse? It’s the way my mother said it. Her tone. It was so casual, so indifferent, so impassive...how could she be so goddamn detached about it? Does she even care how that would make me feel? It’s like...it’s like she was just talking about something trivial, like, ‘the croissants were on sale today’. How can she treat this matter as if it weren’t a big deal? It’s a big fucking deal to me and she just doesn’t care; she just doesn’t even give a shit. Ugh,” Chanyeol groaned, and Sehun heard a thud — perhaps Chanyeol was throwing some object onto the floor, or slamming his fist into something.
“I understand how you feel, Yeol. You don’t deserve this, and I know you wish you could unhear all of it so you can carry on living your life in ignorant bliss. Because it’d be so much easier that way, and life would still be as you know it,” said Yifan. “I totally get that you hate this because you didn’t ask for any of this to happen, but you have to deal with all the pain and anger that comes with it. But you don’t have to deal with this alone…”
“I don’t even know how to deal with this at all,” Chanyeol admitted, blowing his nose and breathing heavily. “I wish someone could just tell me how. Take my pain away. Let me have some peace, somehow.”
“We should do things that will make you happy,” Yifan suggested. “Like, coming to my house was a good idea, actually. It’s better for you to stay away from your fam—” he paused, changed his mind, and went on. “From people that you might not feel comfortable around. Take some time off from them and maybe you’ll feel better. And then we can come back to deal with what needs to be dealt with.”
“I don’t know. I just want to run away from my problems and sleep for like five years.” Chanyeol’s voice became more and more muffled. He’s probably burying his face in a pillow or something, thought Sehun to himself.
“It’s gonna be alright, Chanyeol. Everything will work out in the end. You might feel helpless right now, because it’s not in your power to go back in time and change certain things that make you feel like shit, but eventually you will feel better. I promise,” said Yifan tenderly. “When my mother died, and Jinyan and I had to move in with our half-siblings, I also thought that my whole life was over and I wouldn’t know how to carry on anymore. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to look Hyerin-noona and Sehun in the eye, knowing that I was the result of an affair that partly led to their parents’ separation. I blamed myself plenty, wallowing in guilt that I wasn’t even supposed to bear, and I kept asking myself, why is this happening to me? What have I ever done to deserve this? But I realized afterward...that I was not responsible for any of it. Yes, it’s unfortunate that I had to suffer for something that I didn’t cause, but life goes on and I have to find a way to keep going. And that’s exactly what I did.”
“What did you do to cope?” Chanyeol asked, desperation ringing in his voice and Sehun caught every bit of it. “How did you get over it? How did you move on from it?”
“I’ll show you tomorrow,” Yifan replied mysteriously. “Trust me. I will help you get through this.”