forever | sungtaro

↳ three

the door creaked open as the sound of chopping vegetables could be heard. sungchan carefully closed the door, locking the latch as he took of his shoes and heading to his room.

"jung sungchan, set the table. your father will be here any minute." his step-mother said, her eyes still focused on the ingredients in front of her. the boy sighed before turning back around and getting a couple pairs of chopsticks to place down, as well as some glasses and water, and soon enough the loud knock of the wooden front door could be heard.

the tall man shuffled though the doorway, taking off his ragged trench coat in the process. the silver ring on his finger reflected the candle light ever so slightly as he handed the coat to his, current, significant other and finally sat down on the table. sungchan rolled his eyes at the situation. no words were spoken yet he was annoyed by the man's presence, and that damned ring on his finger.

"chan, come sit." his father said. 'chan'... a nickname that was originally given to him by his mother, and now his father uses it in hopes of maintaining the father-son relationship. unknowingly to sungchan's father, it only pisses the boy off more. despite his attitude though, the tall boy still sat at the round table and began to pour drinks.

an awkward silence filled the room as the only sound was the quiet clambering of sungchan's step-mother plating and serving food. sungchan, though hungry, had no appetite to eat. maybe the frustration was stopping him but all he could do was pick at the salmon in front of him as the two ate.

"is everything okay, sungchan?" sungchan's step-mother asked, passing him a plate of kimchi. sungchan simply shrugged at the woman before taking a bite, slowly gaining back his appetite. after a long silence of eating, sungchan finally spoke again.

"why do you still wear your wedding ring?"

•••

"shotaro, dinner will be served in five." the maid said from outside shotaro's door. the boy shouted a 'yes' before tidying away his paper and pens. as he looked back at his notes, all he could do is sigh as he realized he had not written anything. his mind seemed to be occupied by other things, or even other people. shotaro soon left his room, but not before blushing a little at the fact that instead of writing about human anatomy, all he had written was 'sungchan'.

shotaro hurried down the stairs now that he could smell the food, and quickly sat down before muttering a few thank you's and tucked in to whatever was cooked for him. the boy was so interested in his food, he did not see or hear his father also sit down and began to eat.

"i presume you had a good day out?" his father spoke. shotaro jumped a little as he finally noticed his father eating with him.

"yes, how did you know?"

"doyoung saw you with a tall man. he said the two of you were laughing together quite a bit." shotaro's father said, causing the boy to choke on his food a little. shotaro hoped doyoung didn't see the awkward stares or what happened outside sungchan's house.

"ah- yes, we had a nice time together." shotaro said quietly, hoping his father didn't notice the faint blush forming on his cheeks.

"what's his name?"

"jung sungchan..."

"ah..." shotaro's father fell silent. "be careful of his father, okay?"

"hmm? why's that?" shotaro asked, curiously tilting his head to the side like a small puppy.

"you'll know soon enough." was all his father said as he continued to eat in silence. knowing his father, shotaro thought it was better to not ask any further and continue his meal.