Sake and Sweat: Yakuza Boy One Shots, Fluff and Scenarios (ON HOLD)

Hereditary (Yuji & Ryeo)

(Ryeo's POV and Ryeo above)
Trouble.
Suspicion.
... Shame?

Which one?
Which one was the culprit for that look.
The tired look behind father's eyes as he stood in the other side of my door.
"We need to talk.. follow me..."
Was all that he said but I could already feel my stomach twisting itself up and I didn't even know why.

I nodded, placing my pencils down and closing the pages of my sketch book. My mind raced trying to pinpoint the reason for the conversation I was about to have but there had been so much going on outside of the house that the possibilities were endless. I descended the stairs of the upper level of our home and noticed the lack of the rest of the family's presence. I stuck my head into the kitchen and everything was put away. Grandma wasn't sitting in her chair... My sisters weren't running around the house.. I tried to catch sight of them as we passed a number of rooms but they were nowhere to be found. I didn't see my mother either..

"Did everyone leave?"
I asked. I shot my eyes to my father who was quietly leading me to the lower level of the house where he regularly taught us self defense, sparring with us at least three times a month. This area was off limits and often secured with a key only my father knew the location of. Nobody questioned it.. It was just the way things had always been.

Father nodded.
"Your mother took the rest of family out for the evening. She called it a Girl's Day. We are alone. Now we can talk... It will put her mind at ease."
He added the last part lowly but I heard every bit of it.

"What's wrong with mom? Is she having panic attacks again?"
I rushed out with worry.

Father laid his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. He ruffled my hair.. something that he hasn't done since I was very young. A smile came over his face before it faltered slightly and the tiredness was apparent.
"Always vigilant and protective of your mother. You've been that way ever since you learned to stand on your own two feet. Nothing of the sort has happened. We're not down here because of your mother, Ryeo.. We're down here because of this.."

Father went to one of the tables off to the side of the room and retrieved something I knew all too well:
My sketchbook.

My chest tightened and my eyes widened slightly. I looked from the sketchbook in his hands to his eyes and then my eyes found the floor. Father pulled a chair out for himself and gestured for me to sit as well. He locked eyes with me once I was seated and started to turn each page of the sketchbook at a time. The first fifty pages were the least of my worries.. My fear was rooted in the pages located beyond that point.. I liked to call it the point of no return and felt like I was being stripped bare because the deepest recesses of my imagination lived beyond that safe zone.

We were close. Father flipped over a page where an intricate array of flowers were coming out of a large vase and the picture of our home was sketched out in the next. Father went to flip the next page and I clutched his wrist desperately. His eyes softened and he gave me a sympathetic look. I was never one to show a lot of emotion but here I was... pleading with my watery eyes and breathing heavily. I shook my head quickly.

"Father, please.. Don't turn the page.."

But despite my pleading, he did the opposite.
I saw the way his eyes widened and when he looked to my for confirmation, I was overcome with shame that had me turning my head to the side. It was silent and the only sound came from me trying to control my breathing and the audible sound of pages being turned. It felt like this moment would last forever and I wanted to be anywhere but there. I clenched my fists and felt my defenses tumble.

It will put your her mind at ease

I scrubbed my face with my hands and wiped away my tears, bitterly. What did mother think of me now? She knew. My mind raced at the realization and I had already vowed to stop drawing all together. My eyes were trained on the floor while my darkest secret was forced into the light.