Chapter - 5
Downstairs in the living room, with a smile spreading through her face, Ma was describing her youngest son’s hairstyle when he woke up. Ji-eun was laughed until she fell into Yoongi’s lap. Yoongi’s brows softened into a gentle look. Even the ever-dignified Kim Yoo was smiling.
The dinner table was set. All that’s left was for Taehyung to come down.
When she heard movement on the stairway, Ma immediately stopped her recollection. Ji-eun quickly sat up. The whole family turned and watched the stairway with a kind aura blooming around them. They must not be discovered gossiping about Taehyung’s inelegant behaviour behind his back. He’d burst into rage from embarrassment.
Kim Taehyung
Taehyung: “…” (You were so loud just then that I heard everything, okay? But whatever. Just think of it as entertaining his family.)
He nonchalantly walked down as if he heard nothing. As he looked at his ever-prim-and-proper father and solemn brother, guilt crept into his heart. He wanted to avoid looking at them, yet he couldn’t bear not to look at them. Stunned, he stood there.
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(Ma felt her son had been exceedingly cute since he woke up from a nightmare that morning. She couldn’t resist walking over to wave her fair palm before his face. Smiling, she asked) “Come back, little one. It’s only been a day. Don’t you remember your father and brother?”
Taehyung snapped out of his daze. He reached out and caught the hand before his eyes. Then, he embraced the entire arm. Only then could he force the big, blaring sign of “terror” of terror out of his mind.
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(Ma was very appreciative of her son’s endearing actions. She patted Taehyung with the other hand and said) “Let’s go eat. You’ve got to eat more to build up your body.”
Kim Yoongi had been observing his younger brother this whole time. Upon seeing him calm and serene without a single trace of the frustration that’s been looming over him, Yoongi secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Kim Yoo rose with a smile still hanging on his lips, and led his family to the dinner table. The long, long table was already packed with all sorts of delicacies. The aromatic fragrance in the air enticed their fingers to start moving.
Kim Yoo
(Picking up his chopsticks, Kim Yoo spoke) “It’s been a long day. Eat up, then go shower and rest.”
Kim ji-eun
(Ji-eun squeezed in next to Taehyung. She fished out a ball of prawn meat from the platters into Taehyung’s plate.) “Your favourite prawn balls. Eat up,” (she gently said.)
Taehyung had always loved eating prawn balls. But he was a disaster with his hands. He could never grab any ball-shaped objects with a pair of chopsticks. He even wailed and cried over it once as a child.
From then on, if there were any round objects on the dinner table, the closest family member would get it for him. It’s already a habit in this household.
Yoongi shelled a large prawn and placed it in Taehyung’s plate as well. There weren’t a lot of underwater creatures Taehyung liked to eat. Large prawns could be said to be one Taehyung loved the most. However, he’s lazy and disliked dirtying his hands. Because he thought it was troublesome, he never bothered to eat anything with shells. Yoongi, this big brother, could do nothing about it. From when he was a little boy until now, as long as they’re eating at the same table, Yoongi would be the “shelling machine”.
Ma wasn’t willing to back down too. Her son loved to eat this. That’s very nutritious. Her chopsticks never stopped moving. In the blink of an eye, a mountain was build on Taehyung’s plate. When they saw that his plate was packed tight, they started attacking his rice bowl in turns. Even Kim Yoo silently moved a chopstick-ful of beef over to Taehyung’s bowl.
As Taehyung looked at the swaying mountain of food on his plate, he felt like crying again. His family was so good to him. Why did he think it was expected before? Why did he think everyone in his family should treat him like this? Such expectations and “should”s weren’t realistic.
His family didn’t owe him anything. On the contrary, he owed his parents an endless amount of gratitude. He owed his siblings all the love in the world.
Taehyung lowered his head and worked hard through the food in front of him, afraid his family would spot his tearing eyes. It’s so weird. In the life before, even though he was spoiled by his family, he’d completely changed his cry-baby personality after disaster struck his home. Even on the day he died, he never cried again. So why had he turned back into a cry-baby when he travelled back to here?
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(Seeing him bury his face in his food, Ma worriedly spoke up.) “Tae, why do you only eat what’s in your bowl? Why don’t you take some more vegetables?”
Kim Taehyung
(It’s already a very challenging task for him to just digest all of the food in his bowl. More vegetables? Where would they go?)
Kim Yoo
“The child’s eating. Don’t disturb him. Let him eat what he wants,” (said Kim Yoo to his wife.)
Ma agreed with a smile and a nod.
Another meal finished and Taehyung was stuffed once more. He seriously began to question if he’d become fat during this incarnation.
Kim Yoongi
“Ate too much? It’s not good to overeat at night. Come, let’s go for a walk. Helps you digest faster,” (said Kim Yoongi. He smiled and petted Taehyung on the head.)
Taehyung hurriedly nodded.
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(Ma pursed her lips in happiness as she watched her two sons walked out the door, shoulder to shoulder. She was suddenly reminded of something and asked Aunt Yang) “Can you go look if Chen Fang is around, Aunt Yang? Tell him to come over.”
Chen Fang was Bodyguard A who’d secretly followed Taehyung around during the day…
Soon, Chen Fang marched into the living room.
Chen fang (bodyguard)
“Mr kim, Mrs kim, Second Miss,”
Kim go-eun (Ma)
“I forgot to ask you this afternoon. When you were following the Little Master around today, where did he go to play?”
Chen Fang relayed every single detail of Kim Taehyung’s trip outside.
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(The more she heard, the more uneasy Ma felt.) “You said he went and ate at a small cafeteria? And it’s the kind that don’t look very clean?”
Chen Fang nodded, confused.
Chen fang (bodyguard)
(He too didn’t understand how or why the Little Master suddenly changed.)
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(However, Ma’s focus was clearly on a different channel to his.) “Then why didn’t you stop him? His digestive system is weak. Eating any sort of unclean food will make him sick!”
Chen fang (bodyguard)
“I didn’t think he’d really eat it. He’d be upset if he knew we were there, so I didn’t dare reveal myself,”
Kim Yoo
“Outside food isn’t poison. It’s fine for him to have some occasionally. Wasn’t he alright this whole afternoon? The main point is why would he suddenly eat in a place he used to look down on? And he adapted quite well.”
Kim ji-eun
(Ji-eun had been silent this whole time.) “Did something happen to him that we’re unaware of?” (she asked with a sombre face.)
Kim go-eun (Ma)
“How could it be? That child’s been under our eyes this entire time.”
Kim Yoo
(Kim Yoo went quiet for a moment.) “Continue your report,”
Chen fang (bodyguard)
“After the Little Master finished his meal, he began walking about on the streets before heading to the spot where he’d be meeting up with Lil Zheng. However, the driver was not there, and Little Master waited on the spot. It was roughly over 10 minutes before Lil Zheng arrived with the car. The Little Master immediately returned home in the car,”
Kim go-eun (Ma)
(furious)“I knew the newbie is unreliable. This Lil Zheng actually made Tae wait for him for over 10 minutes? What time was it? It’s the sunniest time of the day. Tae’s body can’t handle that. And that child. Really. Why didn’t he say anything after going through such a painful ordeal? We can’t keep employing this man. It’s his first time driving for Tae and he dared make Tae wait for him? He might even start bossing Tae around the next time!”
Kim Yoo patted his wife’s hand, soothing her turbulent emotions.
Kim Yoo
“Lil Zheng’s movements are just a trivial matter. The issue is Tae waited under the blazing sun for over 10 minutes, yet he didn’t throw a temper tantrum. He didn’t even mention it when he came home. It’s much too strange. It’s out of character,”
Kim ji-eun
(Ji-eun’s heart sank.) “Lil Bro must have suffered in the hands of someone some time unknown to us. That’s why he suddenly became so obedient. He didn’t even dare speak up after being wronged! He might be a little spoilt, but he’s not brave. He’s easily frightened. That someone had better not let me know who they are, or I’d make him regret being born!”
Chen fang (bodyguard)
(Chen Fang paused for a moment. Still, he continued on) “When they arrived back home, I saw Lil Zheng talking to the Little Master. It seemed like Lil Zheng was requesting the Little Master to not mention how late Lil Zheng was to the Madam. He must’ve agreed.”
So Taehyung wasn’t actually afraid to mention how he was mistreated, but because he didn’t think much of it and had promised someone else not to mention it.
Kim Yoo
“That’s not right either. Based on Tae’s personality, when would he ever be considerate of other people? If he wasn’t happy, he would never have let things go so easily,”
Kim Yoo
(He raised his head and looked at Chen Fang) “Okay. You may leave.”
Chen fang (bodyguard)
“Yes,” (replied Chen Fang. Report finished, Chen Fang turned and walked out, satisfied with another job well-done.)
Ma closed her eyes. She tried her best to recall her youngest son’s every act, every move and every single person he’d interacted with recently. However, she couldn’t think of anything.
Kim go-eun (Ma)
“I think Ji-eun’s correct. Tae must’ve suffered a great deal. That’s why he suddenly became so quiet and obedient. He woke up quite late this morning. When he came down, he even broke down crying in my arms. Ji-eun and I asked him about it and he just said he was scared because of a nightmare.”
Kim Yoo
(Kim Yoo frowned.) “Tae cried? He cried this morning. Then when he went out, he showed a calm and even temper which he’d never shown before. When he came home, he hugged you again and said he loved you…”
Kim go-eun (Ma)
“No. Not just those,” (Ma, searching through her memories, said.) “This morning, he had prawn congee. Because he daydreamed for a while, it had cooled down. Usually, he would never have touched it but today he ate it all.”
Kim ji-eun
“When I left the house today, he even told me to drive carefully,”
Kim ji-eun
“I was so happy because of it. I even thought the brat finally knew to show his concern for his sister. And during dinner just now, he ate everything we put on his plate. Due to that, he was even stuffed to the point of being uncomfortable. Usually, he wouldn’t force himself to do something just for someone else. Ah, if I’d known he’d be like that, I wouldn’t have given him so much.”
Kim Yoo
(Kim Yoo leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes in thought.) “The change in Tae is too much today. This could be a major or a minor problem. He’s a stubborn child. If something really happened to him outside this house, questioning him would only make him dislike us. That way, we’d discover nothing. We need to observe every move he makes. Someone needs to stay by his side all the time. Don’t let him out of the house alone. We’ll still go about our days as normal. We mustn’t let him realise we know something.”
Kim Yoo
(His eyes turned frosty.) “If it’s just him becoming mature and growing up, then let it be. But if someone actually dared to touch my son, I am not someone they can just trifle with!”
Kim ji-eun
“Then Big Bro…”
Kim Yoo
(Kim Yoo massaged his temples with two fingers.) “I’ll talk to your brother about this,”
As he said so, the two brothers who’d been out on a walk returned. The three in the living room collected themselves and put on their smiles.
Kim go-eun (Ma)
“Well, Tae? Do you still feel uncomfortable? Really. If you can’t eat that much, don’t do it. You’ll only make yourself suffer,”
Kim Taehyung
(Taehyung sat down by her side.) “It was nothing much anyway. I just had a little too much. I feel much better now,”
Ji-eun exchanged a glance with her father.
Kim ji-eun
“How old are you now, little brother? Don’t you know when you’re full?”
Kim Taehyung
“You put the food on my plate. I didn’t want to waste your efforts, yet you don’t care at all!” (Taehyung hmphed.)
Ji-eun hurriedly begged for his forgiveness.
Kim ji-eun
“How could I not care? I’m so happy about it.”
Taehyung pursed his lips and hmphed once more.
Kim Yoongi
(Kim Yoongi ruffled Taehyung’s head. With eyes twinkling and a smile on his lips, he said) “My little brother’s growing up.”
Kim Taehyung
(Taehyung laughed. He should be growing up. He’s someone who’d died once already. How can he not?)
Deep in the night, Yoongi knocked on the door to Kim Yoo’s study.
Kim Yoongi
“Father, I’d like to talk to you about my younger brother. Something’s not quite right with him today. Something might’ve happened,” (said he, as soon as he walked through the door.)
Kim Yoo was very satisfied with how attentive his eldest son was to his youngest son. Kim Yoo raised his hand to invite Kim Yoongi to sit down. Then, he informed Yoongi about the discussion from before and what Kim Yoo’s own thoughts were.
Kim Yoongi
(frowned) “Something like that happened? This is strange indeed. I’ll arrange some hidden bodyguards for him. I want to see who it is who dares to touch my little brother!”
Kim Yoo
“This is all just guesswork for now. Perhaps your brother suddenly matured. Nothing’s confirmed yet,”
Kim Yoongi
“Even if it’s maturity, it’d be a slow and gradual process. He won’t suddenly mature overnight. If my brother’s maturity and obedience come from pain and suffering, then I’d rather he doesn’t grow up,”
Kim Yoo
“So, we shouldn’t make a move now and see what really went on,”
Kim Yoongi
“You’re right,”
Kim Yoo
“You’ve also worked for a whole day. Sleep early and rest up,”
Kim Yoongi
“You rest early too,”
Kim Yoo nodded and let Yoongi exit the study.
Comments