Feel Something (BounPrem FF)

Chapter 40: Next of Kin

Chan waited patiently at the café down the street from the college during lunch on Wednesday. He had skipped school again. At least he was finishing the work Sook had gotten for him.
   
He sipped on his second Americano of the morning, and he couldn’t stop his leg from shaking. It was partly the caffeine, but also nervousness.
   
When he looked at the door for the millionth time, Mong was finally walking in. Behind him trailed Han and Sumalee. Chan quickly stood up and waited for them to meet him at the table.
   
He picked up his hand and half-ass waved before Lee practically tackled him. “Chan!” She ran and gave him the biggest hug he’d ever received.
   
“Lee, don’t scare him,” Han instructed with a wicked smile.
   
The small girl let go and smiled widely. “Are you surprised? We’ve been waiting for this day forever. Sit down, I want to hear all about you!”
   
Chan was indeed surprised. He sat next to her, while Mong and Han sat across from them.
   
“We heard you play football! You must know Dee then, right? And you have a class with Han, right? Is he good in school? You can tell me, I’ll beat him up for you if he’s mean.” Chan had never met anyone with as much energy as himself.
   
“Oi, Lee! Calm down and let him speak.” Han was annoyed with her behavior. He stared at Chan calmly, though, as if he never hated the boy.
   
Chan decided to let it go. It wouldn’t make sense to bring up the past between he and Han. “Uhhh, I do know Dee actually… We play football together. And I do have a class with Han. He’s…quiet.”
   
“Hmmm…by quiet do you mean stuck up and stuffy?”
   
“Lee!” Han scolded.
   
Lee simply stuck her tongue out at him, and turned back to Chan, asking the other million questions on her mind. His siblings had known all about him from Mong already, which is why Han knew who he was to begin with. They were instructed to not interfere with him, though, because Mong wanted Chan to decide when to meet them.
   
Chan got along especially well with his sister Lee, as they were very similar. They spent their lunch hour eating and telling stories of their childhood. Lee loved to tease Han, and Han would brush it off as if she were just a playful child.
   
Chan didn’t feel the need to bring up how him and Han met. It was between them two, and didn’t need to be aired out.
   
“Dad is going to take me back to school. Do you need a ride somewhere?” Lee asked as she pulled up her purse.
   
“Oh, actually I’m headed back to the college.” Even though Chan wasn’t going back to classes yet, he wanted to go back to his dorm already.
   
“Oh good, you can walk with Han then.” Lee pointed out to the brothers.
   
They looked at each other as Lee and Mong headed out the door. Without saying a word, Han began to walk.
   
“Wait!” Chan grabbed his duffel bag and rushed out the door to catch up. “Are you glad I didn’t say anything?”
   
“You can say whatever you want. I don’t care.” Han stayed looking ahead with a straight face and sporting his dark aviator sunglasses.
   
“Do you hate me because I’m your brother?”
   
Han stopped and turned to Chan, taking his glasses off. Chan had never seen Han so serious. “I did. Happy?”
   
“No. I want to know why.”
   
“I was jealous.”
   
“You were jealous?” Chan scoffed. The boy was shocked to say the least.
   
“I won’t repeat myself.” The sunglasses were back on and Han was walking away again.
   
“Okay! Okay.” Chan sped up to walk beside Han again. “Can you at least tell me why?”
   
Strolling on the sidewalk, Han never seemed so calm and relaxed. It almost scared the boy. “For a son who was never there, Pho talked about you the most.” Chan could’ve sworn he saw Han crack a smile at the edge of his mouth.
   
They soon neared the college after the short walk, and Chan would have to split from Han to go to his dorm. “How about this…” He stopped and his older brother turned around to see what the fuss was about. “We make a truce. Don’t hate me and I won’t hate you. Deal?” He stuck out his pinky finger.
   
Han removed his glasses and stared at the boy’s hand. “A pinky promise? What are you? Five?”
   
“This isn’t just any pinky promise. It’s the first one we ever make. Think of it as the one we never got to make as kids.” Chan was feeling sentimental, and it was rubbing off on Han.
   
The older one raised and eyebrow and smiled sarcastically. “Fine. Deal.” He linked his pinky with Chan's but the boy didn’t let go as fast.
   
“Hold on, you have to lock it.” He held out his thumb for Han to press his against it, all the while their pinkies still entwined. Han scoffed before giving in and locking it. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”
   
Han took his hand back and felt something he never did before. Guilty. He felt bad for being so unruly, and for not giving Chan a chance. He wouldn’t dare say sorry, but he felt like Chan would forgive him anyway. “Whatever.” The smile on his face made Chan do the same.
   
“I’ll see you later, I’m going to my room.” As they both turned to face different directions, someone was strolling by and stopped in confusion.
   
“Chan? Han?” Mon paused and looked between the two.
   
“I'll get going first.” Han only had room for one truce in one day. He left to his class leaving the two to their own business.
   
“You're…friends with Han?” Mon couldn’t believe it. Chan had singlehandedly taken on the two people Mon butted heads with the most.
   
“He's my brother.”
   
“Your what?” Nothing could’ve prepared Mon for that.
   
“Half brother. It’s a long story…” Chan didn’t feel like sharing his life story at the time. “Anyway, what’s up? Why are you here?”
   
“Oh, uh, I came in place of my coach to talk to yours. I heard you were sick. Feeling better?”
   
“Oh, yea I’m much better.” A piece of Chan wasn’t. He still missed Sinn, and his heart secretly ached.
   
“That’s good. I guess I’ll see you at the game Saturday?”
   
“We're playing your team?” Mon nodded. Chan had lost track of time. It was already halfway through the week, and he didn’t remember the teams they had left to play. “Alright I’ll see you then.”
   
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Possible TW: Mental Hospital**
   
After school Wednesday, Dee took Sook for a short drive, as Dee put it. When they pulled up to a large building, puzzling Sook. He didn’t know there was a destination to their cruise. He looked at his boyfriend, who was unbuckling his seatbelt. “Where are we?”
   
“You’ll see.”
   
As they walked through the doors of the institution, Sook was startled by some yelling in the distance. He kept close to Dee, without holding hands in public.
   
The farther they walked, the more comfortable he became. Dee seemed used to everyone, and even waved at some of them. Sook quickly realized that they were in a mental hospital.
   
They stopped in front of a room, where Dee peeked through the small window in the door. “Sook. This is my Mae.” He stepped back and let Sook take a peek.
   
Sook saw a woman sitting in a chair and reading. “Is she…okay?”
   
“She is now. When my parents divorced she went downhill. My Pho says she wants to stay in here because she’s afraid of herself. She can get the help she needs here.”
   
“Should we go in?” Sook leaned back up.
   
“Not today. Soon, though.” Dee was waiting for the right moment. He wanted to wait until he could come out to his Pho.
   
As they walked back to the car, Sook thought about how serious Dee must be about their relationship to show him this side of his life. Not everyone was as understanding. “Thank you.”
   
“For what?” Dee opened the car door for Sook.
   
Sook stopped before getting in and faced Dee. “For trusting me with your mother's situation.”
   
Dee smiled slightly. He admired Sook more than the boy knew. He had never told anyone about his Mae. Only immediate family knew. Yet, he had never known anyone like Sook. “I should be thanking you.”
   
“For what?”
   
“For being you.” He leaned over and gave Sook a small kiss.
   
When they parted, Sook's eyes fluttered. They didn’t look around, or worry about being seen. They were simply that caught up in each other and how happy they were.