knight in amor | na jaemin

Kun.

The dinner was silent for the beginning at least, Yeseul's father not even scanning his wyes over his daughter for a mere second, he couldn't even look at her, his own blood. He went on to talk to Jaemin and his grandfather about the merger documents, after all they were here for business. But Yeseul hoped that just for a second they could go back to the way things were, but her mother was gone and so was the hope in her shattered family. It was empty.

Chenle noticed this too, her hopeful eyes looking towards their father every now and then yet to only be disappointed, being given no attention. He chose to not say anything, to remain quiet. He did regret how he left things last time, yet could you blame him? She left when he needed her the most, why did he have to be there for her. And maybe that's the worst of it all, that Chenle ended up with the mind like his father while she ended up with the grace of their mother.

"Thank you for the dinner, I believe we have nothing further to discuss-"

"No please, stay for some tea"

"If you insist" Jaemin's grandfather smiled, the crinkles at his eyes going up, his pupils slowly glancing towards Yeseul to see if she was uncomfortable to stay longer

Jaemin turned to Yeseul, seeing a sad smile on her face, not uttering a single word to any family member apart from her step mother which she didn't have the best relationship with.

"The house is lovely, mind if I take a tour?" Jaemin asked her father and he nodded

"You should join us" her father said to Jaemin's grandad, and soon the three men had left the dining room and Yeseul was left alone with Chenle, her stepmother helping the maids clean the kitchen.

"Can I show you something?" Chenle asked, breaking the silence between the two and she slowly nodded, her eyes lighting up at the mere thought of interacting with him. Chenle stood up, helping Yeseul out of her chair as he took her to his bedroom, the grand room which used to be that of their eldest brother. The memories of running around the rooms, stealing random clothes, breaking random toys, stepping on legos and crying to their mother, it brought back everything, every single memory.

"I got this in the mail a few weeks ago, there's one addressed for you as well" he said, taking the letter from his study table and passing it to her.

Her heart thumped in her chest as her fingers traced over the handwriting. She immediately knew who it was from. She had spent years stealing answers off his english workbooks in her middle school years, of course she knew. Her eyes flickered up to Chenle who had a softer expression on his face this time.

"I'll give you some time alone" he said, exiting his bedroom quietly. The yellow lights glowed dimly as she opened the perfectly neat envelope, a handwritten letter inside from her brother.

To my little sister,

How have you been? I don't know if you'll he happy to hear from me or angry since I ran away but i hope you understand why I made my decision. You and I have always been like Mom. We're too sensitive and we let his words get to us, Chenle is the only strong one out of all of us.

If you're reading this now you're probably in college or finished. Or maybe you never went, you weren't that smart anyway. I hope dad didn't make you suffer too much, I would hate that I wasn't there to protect you like I always did. The thing is, sometimes I need protecting too.

I'm doing well, I finished my five years of military service. It was hell, I still get up at 5am for no reason. But I made friends. I also met a girl, she was a military nurse at the time. We got married last year and now we have a little boy, another one on the way too! Just wanted you to know that no matter what happens, life goes on. So don't give up, you'll find someone who will treat you well, and soon you'll have a family of your own.

I would love to see you again, but I think it's for the best that we keep ourselves distant. I can't risk dad finding where I am, or what I'm doing. I'm happy here. I'm not just protecting myself now but my whole family too. So please, don't look for me and live a good long life. I'm sorry I cant be there but just know that I'm rooting for you.

If you want to write back to me, use the address of my military post on the back of the envelope and they will send it directly to my house. I only wish the best for you Seullie.

Kun.

Her hands shook slightly as she read the words along the page. He was okay. And that's all she needed to know. He had his own family to protect now, she was happy for him. Of course she missed him but knowing he was doing well in life was even better. She carefully put the letter into her handbag before walking out of the bedroom to see Chenle waiting at the end of the lit hallway. He straightened up as he saw her approach him, allowing her to wrap her arms around his torso while he did the same to her, not holding back.

"I realised something" Chenle said below a whisper and she hummed

"I should be happy for you, just like I'm happy for Kun, you did what you had to do" he said with a small nod and she smiled

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you" she said with a sigh and he shook his head with a dry chuckle

"I don't need protecting" he said and she smiled

"You grew up well" she said with a relieved sigh, patting his shoulders that were covered in an expensive suit

"Would Mom be proud?" He asked with a whisper and Yeseul smiled at the mention of her. Flashbacks of her smiles, laughs and soft hands caressing her all her life when she grew up.

"She would be...she'd be so proud of you, of us" She said and Chenle nodded

"We should probably go back down before they look for us" She said and they both walked down the stairs to the living room.