Chapter Text
"Rok Soo!"
At the child's calling, Kim Rok Soo turned off the stove in order to focus on Cale (because he knew the moment Cale would call for him, it would take a long time before Cale leaves him alone) before turning around and saw his adopted son opening his arms towards him.
Kim Rok Soo complied and picked Cale up in his arms. At that moment, Cale pecked his lips making Kim Rok Soo raise an eyebrow.
"What was that for?"
However, instead of answering, Cale just slouched his small arms around Kim Rok Soo's neck and buried his face on Kim Rok Soo's shoulder.
Cale was a child who gets easily embarrassed although he would never admit that he is.
Someone else came over the kitchen at that moment, making a beeline towards Rok Soo and,
Peck.
Rok Soo's face turned red.
"Choi Han???"
Choi Han had just came over and kissed Rok Soo on his cheeks.
Cale jerked his head up when he heard Rok Soo say the name of the person he would like not to ever appear in their house again. Now that he was no longer hiding his face, he noticed his Rok Soo's face that was red and a smiling lad standing so close to them.
Cale was enraged.
He glowered so hard at Choi Han who had the audacity to stealthily smirk at him without Rok Soo noticing!
Choi Han was a wolf in sheep's clothes and Cale absolutely hate it.
Cale slammed his hand to Choi Han's face and angrily shouted so loud. "GO AWAY!"
Cale remembers a house. A uselessly huge house that was painfully empty.
He remembers being alone. More years than the one where he knew how to smile.
He remembers hollowness and sadness. He didn't know what happiness felt like anymore.
Cale remembers...
Cale remembers meeting Kim Rok Soo.
Who reminded him of how home felt like.
"Rok Soo." Cale sat on Rok Soo's back and started to knead the man's shoulders. When the older man didn't react even on the slightest, Cale pout and knead harder. "Rok Soo wake up."
However, Rok Soo still didn't started stirring awake.
Cale pout further.
He was starting to contemplate whether or not he should jump on Rok Soo's back to get him to finally wake up but decided against it. He might end up breaking Rok Soo's backbone instead, especially that Rok Soo was too weak.
But Cale really wants him to wake up now.
He kneads harder.
"Rok Soo wake up!"
"...Cale," Rok Soo tried to swat Cale off his back while still keeping his eyes closed, "Its too early."
"But I want to go outside!"
Rok Soo groaned, finally managed make Cale stop sitting on his back that was starting to hurt because of the child, "Too early Cale, go back to sleep."
Cale crossed his arms and pout further. He knew Rok Soo wouldn't see but there's no harm in trying to act cute in order to make Rok Soo comply (like he always would).
"I don't want to sleep anymore!"
"Well I do."
Rok Soo pulled the blanket over his head and continued to sleep. However, he of course haven't fully slept again when Cale started to kick on his side.
"Don't go back to sleep! I want to go outside!"
Rok Soo groaned and tried to make Cale stop kicking without opening his eyes.
"Cale stop that."
"I don't want to!"
"Cale." Rok Soo finally threw the covers off him and gave the demon of a child an exasperated sigh that only a 25 year-old single parent of one Cale Henituse could ever have. Rok Soo rubbed his eyes and peeked on the wall clock, instantly deadpanning when he saw the time.
He gave Cale an irritated look. "Why do you always wake up 7 in the morning?"
However, Cale just smiled, triumphally. He was preening himself because he managed Kim Rok Soo, the lazy Kim Rok Soo who loved to sleep in whenever he could, to wake up early in the morning.
"Because I want to!"
Kim Rok Soo let out a sigh then buried his face back to his pillow.
"I'm going back to sleep."
"NO!"
Cale doesn't remember it clearly, but he knew he loved the color red. He knew he had someone who he loved that had hair as red as blood, but as beautiful as a rose. Pale skin hands that would gentle caress his hair, dainty as a daisy.
Cale doesn't remember it as vividly as before, but he knew he had a mother who loved him.
"Okay that's it." Rok Soo stated sternly, his hands on his hips. "From now on you're grounded."
"WHAT?!" Cale shrilled in mix horror and shock.
Rok Soo sighed and took out a paper seemingly out of thin air, Cale didn't even noticed where that paper came from.
Rok Soo waved the paper in front of Cale's face.
"You failed your literature."[1]
Cale stared at Rok Soo incredulous. "How is literature your basis?!" Cale defended himself, "I got a perfect mark on my math!"
"Cale." Rok Soo shook his head in feign-disappointment. "Your father is a librarian. Of course I would base it on literature."
"That's not fair! I got a high mark on my history too!"
"That is not the point Cale."
"No! You can't just base it on literature just because you're a nerd who reads those trashy novels on the library!"
"Cale!" Rok Soo placed a hand to his chest and looked at the young child, shocked and offended. "You don't call my preference trash!"
"Oh yeah?" Cale crossed his arms and tried to stare down on Rok Soo but... of course he was smaller than Rok Soo. "Your preference is trash because you like that guy!"
"...Huh?" Rok Soo gave Cale a confused look. "What guy? Who? How come I don't remember liking someone??"
Cale snort and rolled his eyes. "Idiot."
Rok Soo fell silent for a second before opening his mouth to retort back to the redhead.
"Cale even if you change the subject you're still grounded."
"WHAT?!"
Cale knew he experienced what having a family was like. However, he forgot what he felt at that time. It has been such a long time since the last time he was held tightly on someone's embrace.
Cale only remembered he was lonely for a long time.
"That girl is going to die"
"Rok Soo!" Cale screeched so loud that Rok Soo had to inch away for a second. Cale threw him an annoyed gaze. "Stop dropping spoilers!"
Rok Soo shrugged his shoulders before moving back to his earlier position on the couch, wrapping the blanket that fell off earlier properly around him and Cale.
"Its not my fault someone here didn't read the book when I told him to."
"Books are boring!" Cale scoot closer to Rok Soo while grasping tightly on the box of popcorn.
Whether Rok Soo knew why Cale inched closer to him or not, he didn't comment on it and instead gave Cale an offended look. "Books are interesting! You just don't appreciate the good things in life!"
Cale rolled his eyes and almost flinched when he thought there was a jumpscare. "I appreciate the good things in life, books are just really not that great."
Rok Soo, who already figured Cale was scared because of the horror movie they were watching, let himself smile because the lights were turned off. Cale wouldn't be able to see the way Rok Soo's lips had curve up.
"You appreciate the good things in life? Like what?"[2]
A sudden appearance of a scary ghost made Cale jump and accidentally throwing the box of popcorn, quickly hiding his face against Rok Soo's chest.
Rok Soo couldn't stop himself from laughing lightly, putting a hand around Cale and softly patting the hair of the scared child.
A minute passed.
Cale looked up at Rok Soo and glared at him.
"Did you laugh at me just now?"
Rok Soo simply let his lips twitch up.
"No."
Cale lived in a huge, empty house with no one else around him. He was extremely lonely and the large space just made him feel worse.
Cale hated that he lived in a massive house where there was no one else other than him.
So he thought maybe filling the empty house with all sorts of object would make him feel less lonely.
But in the end, Cale was still alone.
Kim Rok Soo thought that his apartment was spacious enough to accommodate him and his things. He didn't really felt like renting a bigger one because he was contented with what he had. After all, its not like he has someone else who lives with him anyway.
However, Kim Rok Soo didn't expect that he would end up adopting a child.
Now he felt that he should get a bigger apartment, now that he has Cale who liked running around and messing around.
Cale pouted when he heard what Kim Rok Soo had just said.
"I don't want to move!"
He shouted as he continue to lay down on the narrow floor between the couch and the coffee table. Whether he was comfortable being almost squished by two objects or not, is something Kim Rok Soo learned not to ask.
"You don't want to move from the floor or you don't want to move apartment?"
Without missing a beat, he shouted his response.
"Both!"
Kim Rok Soo moved to sit on the couch, Cale sat up on the floor at that moment and he hugged his knees close to his chest. His pout only seemed to deepen.
"We're not moving places!"
Kim Rok Soo simply patted the child's head.
"Okay."
Cale was desperate. He felt pathetically lonely inside the empty house that was filled with objects.
He knew those objects would not be able to take the loneliness away. He knew that but he was desperate that was why he still did it anyway.
And yet... in the end, Cale had enough. He couldn't bear the feeling of hollowness and sadness anymore.
That was why Cale ran away from that huge but empty house.
When Kim Rok Soo first met Cale, he knew at first glance the kid was not someone from Korea.
Kim Rok Soo is a curious man but he wasn't the type who would stick his nose somewhere it doesn't belong. He was going to ignore the foreigner child who obviously came from a rich family base on his clothing alone.
But that was the point. Kim Rok Soo was going to... but he couldn't ignore a pitiful child who was sadly sitting on the pavement, hugging his knees closely to his chest and looked like he was lost.
Kim Rok Soo planned to not get involve with troublesome things because that's what he hate the most yet he found his own feet moving on its own.
He wasn't even sure if the child could understand Korean and had just roughly guessed the redhaired child was from Europe or something.
That was why when Kim Rok Soo was finally standing in front of the child, he spoke to him in English.
"Hey." he called out to the redhaired child who didn't even look up. "Are you from Europe?"
A rude voice was what Kim Rok Soo heard coming from the child who still didn't look up.
"Stupid."
Kim Rok Soo was much shocked at the fact that the child knew Korean rather than the fact that the child had rudely called him stupid.
Kim Rok Soo crouched down in order to meet the child's eyes, however the redhead just continued to look down on the ground.
"You're not from here, are you?" he asked in Korean, not bothering to speak in English anymore since the child would understand.
"Why do you even care?"
"Because I'll take you to the police station."
The child finally looked up and glowered at Rok Soo.
"Mind your own business, old man."
Kim Rok Soo gasped, offended. "...What did you just call me?"
The child stared at him like he was stupid and didn't hesitate to repeat himself.
"I said you're an old man."
....Wow. This child doesn't have even a single tact, doesn't he? he just went on and repeat himself?
Kim Rok Soo gave the redhaired disrespectful child a stern gaze.
"Just so you know I am only 25, how dare you--"
The kid snort. "Old man."
Kim Rok Soo shut his mouth. Silently glaring at the child.
Would he get a criminal record if he smacked this extremely rude brat on the back of his head?
Kim Rok Soo was contemplating whether or not this child was worth the criminal record. Until he decided against it.
"I am not an old man, you brat."
He retorted back at the child after a minute of silence.
The redhead squint his eyes at him.
"Old man."
"Brat."
"Old man."
"Brat."
"Old man!"
"Brat!"
...If anyone noticed how Kim Rok Soo, an adult, was arguing back to a literal child, they pretended not to see and just quietly passed by.
Cale learned to love something after running away. He learned to love two things:
Freedom and Kim Rok Soo.
However, Cale also learned to hate something.
"Rok Soo hyung!"
...That something was the very lad who was jogging towards their direction.
Cale frowned and hug Rok Soo's thigh. Silently glowering on the lad who was smiling so brightly towards his Kim Rok Soo.
"Choi Han, did your practice end early?"
Cale also hated that his Kim Rok Soo was even entertaining this dog but he could not do anything about it.
Choi Han happily nodded his head as if he was the disgusting little mutt that Cale had always despised.
"Coach said we need to rest for the competition."
Kim Rok Soo raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised Soo Hyuk hyung knew what the word rest means."
Choi Han laughed lightheartedly at what Kim Rok Soo said, making Cale frown even more.
Kim Rok Soo shrugged his shoulders then placed his hand on top of Cale's head, as if it was magic, the frown on Cale's face instantly disappeared.
"You should go rest now, you worked hard on your practice today as well."
Choi Han shook his head. At that, Cale had a foreboding feeling.
A foreboding feeling that was telling him that he needs to take Kim Rok Soo away from this place as far as possible.
"I want to spend time with hyung today. I haven't gotten the chance to be with you lately."
Cale hugged Kim Rok Soo's thigh even tighter and screeched so loud.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
In the 6 months that Kim Rok Soo and Cale lived together, Rok Soo found out a lot of things about the child.
One of it was that... Cale has a serious case of separation anxiety with him.
Kim Rok Soo didn't know about Cale's childhood because Cale always seemed uncomfortable when talking about his past before they met so Kim Rok Soo never really asked about it either.
Although he might get a little curious sometimes because of Cale's little habits that doesn't seem normal at all, Kim Rok Soo still didn't ask.
"Cale." Kim Rok Soo called out to the child who was clutching so tightly on his pants with a patient tone.
"N-No! Take me with you! Rok Soo take me with you!"
"Cale." Kim Rok Soo sighed then placed a hand on the child's head.
"I'll only be away for 3 days. You know that I have an important exhibition to attend because of my work so I'll need to leave you for a bit."
Cale frantically shook his head, his grip on Rok Soo tightening.
"I don't want to-! I don't want to be left alone!"
Rok Soo's heart broke when he heard that. But he still couldn't bring Cale with him.
"Cale, I'll be busy and I won't be able to look after you. You also have school."
Cale burst into tears, an uncontrollable sob emerging out from his lips.
Rok Soo panicked because of this and immediately crouched down in order to hug Cale.
"I-I promise I'll behave just, just don't leave me!"
"Okay... Okay" Rok Soo patted the child's back in an attempt to get him to stop crying so hard.
"I'll inform your teacher that you'll be absent for a couple of days. I won't leave you. Okay?"
Cale raised his hand to clutch on Rok Soo's shirt. Rok Soo noticed the way Cale's hands were trembling and he was still crying so hard.
Kim Rok Soo hugged him even tighter.
"Huh?" Kim Rok Soo was busy writing on the clipboard that he failed to hear that exclaim behind him.
"Rok Soo hyung?"
Rok Soo stopped and turned his head around after hearing his name. He blinked his eyes in surprise.
"Choi Han?"
Choi Han beamed after confirming that it was indeed Kim Rok Soo.
"Hyung! You're here!"
Rok Soo looked behind the approaching lad and noticed that there were other people there with some of them wearing their jerseys. Rok Soo averted his gaze from then and turned towards Choi Han who was now standing in front of him.
"You have a game here?"
"Yes," Choi Han couldn't hide his happiness upon seeing his Rok Soo hyung in this place. "Its such a coincidence that you're here too."
At that moment, a small red odd ball gasped so loud and bolt towards Rok Soo and immediately clung to his waist.
"Stalker!!"
Cale shouted towards Choi Han who didn't even looked surprise that Cale was also here.
"Y-You-! You stalked us all the way here?!"
Kim Rok Soo is not even shocked at whatever thing Cale was uttering right now.
Kim Rok Soo could only let out a sigh.
This was going to be the most tiring work day he will ever have.
Another odd habit of Cale that Kim Rok Soo couldn't help but notice is how the child always woke up 7 in the morning and would insist on going out to just stare at the crowd of people going out for almost 2 hours.
Kim Rok Soo also noticed how whenever the two of them would go out to buy something together (because Cale would start latching on him so tightly as soon as he noticed that Kim Rok Soo was about to step out) Cale would always whine to him not to go to a huge establishment or shop that has only a few people inside. Cale always seemed to hate it when there were only a few people inside such a massive place.
Kim Rok Soo would always not ask questions and just did what Cale wants.
He already figured that all these odd habits had to do with what Cale experienced before Kim Rok Soo adopted him.
One more thing that he noticed that Cale does...
"What are you doing?"
Kim Rok Soo asked with an eyebrow raised.
Cale just pulled his knees closer to his chest, inching further back into the corner that he had practically squeezed himself to.
"Meditating."
Kim Rok Soo just silently watched Cale without asking any further before walking towards Cale and sitting beside him.
"Is it effective?"
Cale scoot towards him instead of moving further into the corner like what he had been doing earlier.
"Yeah."
...Cale would sit or lay down somewhere where he is enclosed by two things at least once to trice a day.
It was much worse when they first met because Cale would literally sleep in the smallest space he could find in the apartment. Or when he would stay sandwiched by two things for the entire day.
Kim Rok Soo noticed how Cale was the opposite of claustrophobic.
The child hated big spaces.
Kim Rok Soo was a little unsure whether it was 'hate' or 'fear'.
Nonetheless, he knew Cale doesn't like big spaces that doesn't have a lot of things or people around.
That was why, Kim Rok Soo always made sure Cale felt safe inside and outside the apartment by either making a place somewhere where Cale could 'meditate' or sitting so close to the child.
Cale was doing another meditating session when he got back to the apartment after school while Kim Rok Soo was still at work.
He was busy meditating that he didn't notice how the apartment door had opened. It was until he heard quiet footsteps coming to the living room when he perked up in anticipation, thinking it was Rok Soo but instantly frowned when he saw who it was.
"What are you doing here?" he always growled at Choi Han who was still on his uniform.
Choi Han raised an eyebrow at him before placing his bag on the couch and pulling his sleeves up.
Whether he noticed or not how Cale was suspicious sitting so close to a corner, Choi Han didn't asked.
Instead he walked towards Cale and held the child on his torso, Cale screaming at that, and carried Cale over his shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing?! Put me down!"
Choi Han just calmly walked even though Cale was screaming so loudly at his ear and was punching, pinching his back that the child could reach.
Choi Han arrived at Rok Soo and Cale's room and let Cale's body fall down to the bed.
"Stay there and don't go out, I'm going to clean outside."
Cale picked up a pillow and threw it at Choi Han's face, screeching so loud.
"To hell with you peasant! Get out of my apartment!"
Choi Han just showed an annoyed expression and retorted back.
"I said I'm going to go clean so be quiet you brat."
Cale threw another pillow but Choi Han managed to catch it. The child was still shouting.
"I'm going to tell Rok Soo you intruded! I'm going to tell Rok Soo to make you be taken by the police!"
Choi Han just snort and turned around. "Whatever. Just don't go out and disturb me while I clean."
"No I will-!"
Click.
Cale ran to the door and slammed his hand on it. "LET ME OUT YOU PEASANT!"
When Kim Rok Soo got back from work, he saw Choi Han who was diligently vacuuming the entire place.
When Kim Rok Soo arrived by the door of his and Cale's room, the door was burst open and... came running to him was a crying Cale.
Kim Rok Soo didn't think twice when he saw Cale opening his arms to him and carried the child, who immediately clutched on him so tightly.
"HE THREW ME INSIDE THE ROOM!"
Kim Rok Soo whipped his head around and gave Choi Han a horrified face.
"What?!"
"Hyung that's not true. I didn't throw him inside the room, I threw him on the bed."
"And how is that supposed to make me less angry?" Kim Rok Soo said, exasperated.
However, Cale was still crying.
"HE LOCKED ME UP INSIDE THE ROOM!"
Choi Han rolled his eyes, "You literally managed to open it just now."
Cale ignored him and still continued to cry while clutching so tightly on Rok Soo's shoulders.
Kim Rok Soo let out a suffering sigh.
"You two haven't had dinner yet right?"
Rok Soo was patting Cale on his back in order to make him calm down.
"I'll go cook in a minute."
Cale tried to kick Choi Han's knees under the table making the older jerk up in surprise.
"Why are you still here?! Go out already!"
Choi Han clicked his tongue in annoyance then pointed on Cale's plate.
"And why are you not eating vegetables? Rok Soo hyung cooked that."
Cale shrilled at him.
"You can't force me to eat it if I don't want to!"
"You are wasting food and wasting Rok Soo hyung's money because you're refusing to eat."
"What I do has nothing to do with you, peasant!"
"Why I'm here has nothing to do with you either."
"What-!!"
"Both of you." Kim Rok Soo's stern voice echoed in the entire dining room that effectively made both Cale and Choi Han shut their mouth.
"Shut up or I will throw you both out of my apartment."
Cale and Choi Han didn't dare argue for the rest of the night after Rok Soo's warning.
"Rok Soo!" Cale burst through their shared-room's door, his eyes instantly falling to Rok Soo who was reading a book on the bed. "I-I heard something terrible!"
Rok Soo looked up from the book and saw Cale's aghast expression, prompting him to raise an eyebrow.
"What happened?"
Cale hastily climbed up on the bed and shook Rok Soo's arm.
"M-Marriage! Marriage is terrible!"
Rok Soo was curious why Cale was saying this. However, he didn't got the chance to ask because Cale was talking again.
"They say, they say if a single parent marries someone t-the kid will be left alone!"
Kim Rok Soo fell silent.
Cale was frantically moving his hands around, making incoherent gestures.
"Rok Soo-! Rok Soo-!! You must not get married! You should never propose to anyone!"
Kim Rok Soo started to nervously laugh.
"haha... Cale? I..." Rok Soo averted his gaze away from the redhead, "Actually I already received someone's proposal."
Cale's jaw dropped.
"...Its from a co-worker."
Cale felt like his world shatter to pieces that could not be put back together.
The next day, Cale bolt towards the black haired lad's figure.
"CHOI HAN!"
Choi Han halt to a stop and turned around. He saw Cale chasing after him from behind.
Choi Han was confuse why Cale was looking for him when the child clearly hates him.
Cale flailed his arms around upon arriving in front of the lad.
"A-A truce! Let's make a truce!"
Choi Han raised an eyebrow.
Cale was making an extremely horrified expression and shouted.
"SOMEONE PROPOSED TO ROK SOO!"
Choi Han's expression darkened. He squinted his eyes.
"Who."
Who dared to propose to his Kim Rok Soo before he even got the chance to do so?
"So tell me." Kim Rok Soo closed the book he was trying so hard to read. "Why did you two skip class and have been glowering on my back?"
He turned around and was greeted by a Choi Han who was smiling innocently and Cale who was sipping on his strawberry shake with a 'bored' expression.
Kim Rok Soo squinted his eyes at the two. "Don't treat me like I don't notice the way you two are scaring off other people."
Choi Han looked up at the ceiling, acting as if he had something interesting there. While Cale? Cale was still loudly sipping on his strawberry shake as if he didn't hear what Rok Soo had just said.
"Why are you two even sitting together?" Kim Rok Soo crossed his arms. "Suspicious."
Even so, Choi Han and Cale still didn't respond. Kim Rok Soo had enough.
"Neither of you are going to answer me?"
Cale slammed his half empty strawberry shake on the table and exclaimed angrily.
"Its because of that unworthy lowlife who proposed to you!" Cale huffed his cheeks out. "If you were going to get married then marry me so I will not be alo--mmh?!"
Rok Soo shrilled in horror.
"Choi Han?!"
Choi Han had pulled Cale's cheek.
"No. I'm the one who is going to marry hyung-!"
Cale reached out to scratch Choi Han's face.
"I REFUSE!"
"There is no point in refusing because I'm going to marry hyu--"
"NO SHUT UP ROK SOO IS MINE!"
"HE'S NOT YOURS!"
"I'M HIS KID!"
"WELL I'M GOING TO DATE HIM."
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!"
Choi Han smirked.
"Watch me."
Rok Soo subconsciously held his forehead, feeling a migraine had come to him as soon as Choi Han and Cale started screaming at each other. The other people who just wanted to peacefully read inside the library started to leave one by one.
Rok Soo deadpanned.