The Three Cupcakes (8/?) Part Two
Title: The Three Cupcakes (8/?) Part Two
Pairing(s): 2Jun (Family!2JunSeob) Some JunKwang
Rating: PG-13+ (NC-17 later)
Word Count: 3250
Summary: Doojoon makes a big mistake. Junhyung can’t take anymore. Yoseob is caught in the middle.
A/N: Different points of views again. And a time lapse. :)
(A lovely picture by deemonic~ IT IS BEAUTEOUS, NO? Thank you, bb~~~)
Previous: The Three Cupcakes (8/?) Part One
(Little Kkochi Academy, Curbside)
Another routine stop for Kikwang was the arrival to Little Kkochi Academy to pick up Yoseob for his beloved boss while he visited his beloved.
Kikwang became accustomed to talking, chatting and meeting with the assistant teacher Hyunseung. He did not need to go through all of the “alternate caretaker” paperwork, because Hyunseung positively knew that Kikwang was a very trusted friend of Junhyung’s. Over the past month, Kikwang would even show up with one of those chilled, purposefully over-sweetened strawberry frappes. Hyunseung kindly accepted them. (They were on the house.) The pair exchanged phone numbers at the beginning of Kikwang’s school day trips. They would chitchat for a little when speaking over the phone; Kikwang mostly updated Hyunseung on Yoseob and Junhyung’s statuses… They were nearing the exit of the “acquaintanceship” stage of a relationship.
“How’s Junhyung doing today?” Hyunseung softly asked, wary of the little one’s presence.
“He’s been… well… to me, it’s like the longer Doojoon stays in the hospital, the worse Junhyung becomes,” responded Kikwang, lightly clutching Yoseob’s hand.
“That poor man… And everything seemed to be getting back on track with those two… How long has Doojoon been hospitalized again? I know it’s been well over twenty days now.”
“Aboooout… twenty-eight, twenty-nine days, somewhere around there. Almost a whole month; every day it gets a little harder for Jun. I tell him to just give himself a break and only see Doojoon three times a week, but he insists on going every single day. He’s working and sometimes… drinking. It’s wearing him down emotionally, physically, mentally… to the point where I’m very, very worried about him. I’ve never seen him like this before, so I don’t know what to do… All I can do is take care of Seobie and make sure Jun’s still functional and breathing.”
“Oh dear… This is very serious,” Hyunseung peered down to little, quiet Seobie, who just looked straight ahead of him. He was in a faraway daze. Hyunseung kneeled to the child, which attracted the younger’s round eyes.
“And how about you, Seobie? Are you okay?” asked Hyunseung sympathetically.
“I’m okay.”
“Good. Very good, but I understand that things are a little hard for you nowadays, aren’t they…?”
Yoseob nodded. Hyunseung took one of Seobie’s mitted hands and cupped it.
“But you are being a strong, brave boy, Yoseob. When your appa gets all better, I’m going to tell him all about how you were so brave while he was in the hospital, and how you helped your umma when he was in trouble.”
Yoseob’s lips carefully fidgeted into a teensy smirk.
“You know that if there is anything you need, you can still come to me at school. Jang-ssi will help you the best that he can. Continue to help your umma Jun at home, okay? Give him lots of your love,” Hyunseung told the young boy in the same kind and firm tone that he would use as if instructing him to complete an assignment. In turn, Yoseob agreed with a simple down nod and renewed strength.
Hyunseung stood up, becoming equal with the other adult, “He’s a fighter.”
“He gets it from Jun.”
“There are many qualities of Junhyung that I see in him. Junhyung is very fortunate to have you as a friend, Kikwang… b-but, if there is anything that I can do for Junhyung, or Yoseob, or even you, I’m only a phone call away.”
Kikwang smiled at his proposal.
“Thanks… I appreciate it. We appreciate it…” Kikwang glanced down to the young boy, “Okaaaay, Seob. Let’s gooo.”
Hyunseung saw them off to Kikwang’s car with a sweet, teacher smile and trademark wave.
(Kikwang’s POV)
I tried to keep Yoseob chatty along the car ride. Occasionally, he would give me a murmur of something here and there. But he’s gotten much, much better. There were days where he wouldn’t even talk to me during the car rides. He would only bob his head and sink further into his little five-year-old thoughts. Recently, he’s only drawn animals and trees… no people.
Yoseob was asleep when he arrived at my house. Gingerly, I carried him out of my car and into the house. I left his belongings behind. I would get them later…
I originally thought about laying him down on my bed like I typically would, but I made the ultimate decision not to leave him in solitude like that.
I didn’t want Yoseob to be alone… I feel that he feels like he’s alone. He’s seen very little of Junhyung for this past month, and Doojoon has been in the hospital for so long a time. What he honestly needed was warmth. Yoseob needed to feel the warmth of a person. Warmth brings stability, and his life has been anything but stable. I wanted him to feel that someone was there for him… I was that someone.
I took off Yoseob’s shoes-leaving him in his long socks-and set them close to the door. I settled myself comfortably in my recliner, and I kicked the leg rest up and leaned further back in the chair to position myself in a lying position. All the while, Yoseob laid on top of me, napping in peace. I rubbed his back and pet his head, peering down on his face for any signs of discomfort. I hoped he was comfortable… I hoped I almost felt as warm as his umma Jun. I know that I would never be him, but I was as close to Jun as I would get in that moment. I had fallen asleep, too…
…
…
…
“…………Kiki…”
I felt a hand patting my cheek in the midst of my sleep. I woke to find a groggy yet awake Yoseob, staring me down.
“Y… Yeah, Yoseob? You want something?”
“I’m hungry.”
“You’re hungry?”
Yoseob rubbed his eyes as he nodded. I cut my eyes to the clock hanging on the adjacent wall. We slept for a little over an hour.
“I can have a snack?”
“Certainly,” I stood up with him in my arms, and placed him back in the reclining chair, “I’ll go get your snack. You can eat it while you do your homework.”
I give him a few cheese crackers with a fruit of his choice, and a cup of water. I retrieve his backpack from the back of my car and I hand it to Yoseob. He pulls out his folder where he keeps up with all of his schoolwork and takes out several sheets. Yoseob set straight to work, creating a neat work area on the small table in my living room. He kept his snacks to the left of him, and situated his papers before him, alternating from eating to working, and keeping everything clean. He was a diligent worker; as he worked, I started to prepare a simple dinner. I’m not the greatest cook… I cook just enough for me, and I only cook the things I like. I would take a break from my cooking to check up on Yoseob to see if he needed any assistance. He hardly ever needed help or correction, but when he did he entirely understood and corrected his mistake and moved on to the next segment.
Upon finishing all of his work, I checked over his papers… More vocabulary. More matching. He has impatient handwriting… kind of like Jun’s. His brain thinks and calculates far too fast for his hand to keep up.
“Great job on your homework, Seobie, but remember, write slowly so your letters are much prettier. And space them apart better. Practice, practice~”
“Okay,” his eyes started to shine, “I can get markers now?”
“Yes, you may~”
Yoseob clamored to the desk and uncovered the stash of colorful markers and copy paper. I have never met another child that loved coloring and drawing as much as he did. I don’t have to worry about him getting into things, and he never, ever posed a problem to me, as long as he has a marker in his hand and a paper to draw on.
Well, my simple dinner was just enough for little Seob and I. He was a little chatty today at the table. He told me he could confidently count all the way to 100, and all the way to twenty in English. He counted in English very slowly, but his pronunciation was marvelous. I told him I was very impressed.
As dinnertime faded, it looked more and more promising that Jun wouldn’t be home until later that night…
“Seobie. Time for bed. Don’t worry about your markers and stuff. I’ll get all that later.”
Yoseob sprang up and met me in my bedroom. With my assistance, he climbed onto the top of the mattress and dangled his legs at the edge of the bed.
“Umma not coming?”
“Oh I’m sure he’s on his way, but I want you to be in bed since it’s getting close to your bed time… You feel full? Dinner was okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“I hope so… Then let’s get you squared away.”
He didn’t have a change of clothes, because, of course, I did not expect Junhyung to be staying over at the hospital this long, but this was normal. Yoseob’s slept over in his uniform before. To make him comfortable, I unbutton the blouse a bit and I remove his socks.
“Umma stop praying with me,” Yoseob mentioned.
“Aww… He did?”
“Yeah. He stop a long time ago.”
“But I hear you’re still doing it. That’s a good thing.”
“Yeah ‘cause if you pray a lot then it come true, right Kiki…?” he asked me quite earnestly, but with a small yet alarming piece of doubt. I sat right beside him to be close and personal.
“Yes sir. It has to. There’s nothing else that will work. Believe me when I say that.”
His eyes kinda popped alive. “You pray, Kiki?”
“Yes, I do. Before you met umma, I prayed that he would find someone to heal his broken heart, because he was the saddest man on this earth after some very mean people did some very bad things to him,” I started, and then I waved my finger at him, “Now it didn’t come true right away, Yoseob. That is the thing with prayers. They don’t always come true fast. It takes time… sometimes lots of time, and you have to believe in them no matter what. You have to be patient; I was patient with my prayers. But then after a few months went by, guess what happened? Junhyung called me to tell me about this little baby he just met.”
“Me,” Seobie peeped bashfully, hiding his knowing smile under the covers.
“Yep, that’s right. And after a while, he said he fell in love with you. He was always smiling and talking about you, and I could no longer tell that he was unhappy. Yoseob, you were the answer to my prayers. You healed umma’s heart.”
“…I did?”
“Mhm… Yes you did. You and… and Doojoon. I have never seen him so happy than when he is with you and your appa. And that’s why Doojoon needs you to keep saying your sweet prayers for him so he will get better so you two could make Jun happy. Even if Jun stopped saying his prayers, don’t ever stop saying yours. You have to believe in what you say, Yoseob, and with all of your heart. Always believe in what you say…”
Yoseob bobbed his head in understanding. He was certainly a sharp, little boy. Junhyung’s sunshine…
I tucked the baby away, “Hyung’s probably not better than Junhyung at tucking you in,” I told him as I attempted to secure him within the sheets. Seobie said I did a good job, so I went with that.
(A Week Later, Nighttime, Yoseob’s POV)
“This is Junhyung………Yeah……………Yeeeeaaaaah?.......Yes, I know that………Excuse me?........A what?...................Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. Slow down I don’t-you want me to do what?........”
Umma start getting louder and louder on the phone… I just look at him and cover my ears.
“-NO I DON’T WANT TO DISCUSS A FUCKING ‘PLAN’ WITH YOU. YOU CALLED ME JUST TO TALK ABOUT THIS SHIT?.....HOW AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO TAKE OFFENSE TO THAT?..........NO. I’M NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN. YOU BASICALLY JUST ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO START MAKING A ‘PLAN’ TO KI……NO. JUST-NO. GOODBYE. GOODBYE.”
Umma throws the phone on the couch real hard. Then he walks into the kitchen real fast and sits at one of the chairs and stays there for a long time. I follow him to make sure he is okay. I stand in front of the chair and I hold my arms up so he will pick me up. He picks me up and puts me on his lap and kisses my head three times. Umma’s not crying, but his face is still sad. I poke his lips to make him smile.
“You okay, umma?”
“Yes, Seobie. I’m okay. I’m sorry about that… Umma said some bad words.”
“Who was that on the phone?”
“Just the people at the hospital.”
“Did they talk about appa?”
“Che. They talked about him, all right…” umma said real soft, “Yes. They did.”
“Oh… Is he getting better?”
Umma smiled a little bit.
“Yes. Every single day.”
That makes me happy. My prayers are working.
“When can he come home then?” I ask.
“When… When he’s at a hundred percent.”
“‘Hundred percent’?”
“………Mmhm. That means when he gets all better and he’s not sick anymore. He’s not quite there yet. But he will be…… yeah…… he’ll get better… he’ll get better in no time… Doojoon’s strong………………… You want cookies? Umma made sugar cookies while he was at work. And Kikwang helped.”
Umma let me have four cookies. Four! They are small and very good and sweet. And then me and umma got a big blanket. He put it around me and him when he sit on the big sofa together. He hug me real close. Umma is very warm. He is always warm. I’m happy to be with umma, and not at Kiki’s house. Just me and umma…
“Yoseob.”
“Yes?”
“………I know that I’ve been away from you a lot.”
“‘Cause you go to the hospital to see appa…”
“That’s right… And I know it hurts you when I say that you can’t come with me. But sometimes, Seob, umma makes decisions like that because… because he wants to protect you. I never want you to be hurt. Yoseob, I hate seeing you hurt and sad and crying, and you know that, but you have to understand… Umma only makes these choices because he wants to do what’s best for you. Even if my decisions hurt your feelings a little, it’s still what’s best for you. I’m not trying to be mean to you. My job is to protect you. Do you understand that?”
I nod my head, “Yes.”
“And I protect you because I love you. You are all that I have, and I would do anything for you…”
I look at him. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
“……I will do anything for umma, too.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Uh huh.”
“Anything like what?”
“Like… make umma cupcakes by myself. But I can’t ‘cause I can’t use the stove yet. I have to wait till I get big so I can use it.”
Umma laughs a little loud. He holds me tighter, “Seobie, why are you so sweet…?”
“I don’t know why.”
“Maybe it’s because I feed you too many sweet things.”
“But I like sweet things.”
“I know you do.”
“………Umma?”
“Yeah?”
“When appa gets out of the hospital, he can stay at home, right? You let him stay here?”
Umma is quiet when he looks at me.
“Of course I will, Seobie. Appa can stay here… This is his home, too.”
“Then you love appa again?”
Umma get quiet again.
“…Baby, I’ve… I’ve always loved appa.”
“……You and appa fight a lot.”
“…Special love is very strange, Seobie. You do things, and you say things that you wouldn’t normally do and say. People fight even when they are in love. That doesn’t mean that they don’t love each other. I know that you’ve seen appa and I have act very, very mean to each other for these past months… and years, but we never, ever hated one another. You remember me telling you that hate is a bad thing?”
I nod.
“Appa and I never hated each other. We got angry, but we never hated. Our love was too strong for us to hate. It’s still strong. Despite what you see and hear, Yoseob, always know that I love appa. I love him with all of my heart. When he gets healthy, he’s going to come straight home and he’s going to stay. He won’t be going anywhere. I promise.”
Umma promise me with a kiss, too. I know he is telling me the truth.
We practice some of my lines together. I’m getting better and better at it, too! Jang-ssi tell me I can remember really good. He tell me I got the most lines. “The sun is important, Seobie, so you are important” he say.
“Appa will be better when the play is ready?” I ask umma. I want to be sure.
“I’m sure he will be.”
I want umma and appa at school watching me…
“Got any more questions?” umma ask.
“Mmm… no. No more questions.”
“Okay then,” umma picks me up, “It’s your bedtime.”
Umma carries me to my room. But I don’t want to go to my room.
“Umma I can sleep with you…?” I want to be next to umma. I like it when I sleep in umma’s bed because… ‘cause… I don’t know. I want to watch him all the time.
“You want to sleep with umma again?”
I nod my head and rub my eyes…
“………Okay. We can sleep together. Let’s put your pajamas on in here first, and then we’ll go to my room.”
I put on my pajamas and me and umma go to his room. Before I get in the bed, I get on my knees and I say my prayer for appa and I say one to angel umma. When I finish umma tucks me into the big bed and gives me Thomas.
“I’ll be just a minute, okay? I have some work I need to finish up. Don’t try to stay up for me. Go to sleep,” umma says.
“Okay.”
Umma give me a kiss on the head, “I love you.”
“Me too. U-Umma…?”
“Yesss, baby? Umma’s a little tired to read a book tonight, but if you really want me to read one-”
“-N-No. Not a book. You say a prayer for appa, too.”
Umma look at me for a little bit. He did not make a smile or a frown. He only look and blink his eyes.
“A prayer?”
“Yeah. For appa…”
“……I’ll say one for him before I go to bed.”
“I want to see you say one.”
Umma looks at the wall now.
“Please, umma? A small one?”
Umma stop looking at the wall, then he look at me.
“Why not?”
He got on his knees by the bed very slow. He puts his hands together and close his eyes. But then umma start to cry softly. And then he cry more louder.
Umma just put his head on the bed and start crying again.
;_____________;
YEAH, WHY IS THIS IS SO LONG?
I feel that this chapter might be confusing to some… This was mostly dialogue, which I suck at immensely. I don’t know. I just get that feel… I hope it’s not. I hope I’m just making stuff up in my head like I always do… I don’t know. DON’T EVER LISTEN TO ME.
Does everyone still hate Doojoon now~~~?
THANKS FOR READIIIIIING~~ Happy New Year bbs!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
All the hearts to you~
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Hope to see you here soon again. *Seung teacher wave*
Next: The Three Cupcakes: Picnic & Baby (Side Story)