𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕐𝕠𝕦//_[𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧]

39: ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀꜱ

Please vote and comment. This is basically dialogue.

Althea yelps as her father scoops her up in his arms and squeezes. She can feel her ribs creaking and looks pleadingly at her mother who only smiles apologetically. There's no force in this house that can stop Jermaine Knowles from hugging his daughter. That was a fact before their marriage and remained so long after. 

The man looks ready to burst into tears as he pulls back and plants numerous wet kisses on Althea's face. The Bahamian whines and pushes her father's face unsuccessfully. The embarrassment of her father's affections making her want to crawl in a hole. Though she's unwilling to admit that she's actually quite glad that he somehow managed to make it home. She groans when the man stands to his full height--with Althea's still in his arms--and kisses Camila briefly. 

"Can y'all not? Especially while you holdin' me like luggage?" 

"Where dese Korean men I been hearing so much bout?" He asks gruffly. 

Althea freezes in his hold and hops down before dragging Lucas from the corner. "I'll get dem now but how the hell you here??"

Jermaine's smile softens at his daughter and tugs at her cheeks. "I'll tell you when everyone's together. But I glad to see you honey." A mix of happiness and sadness paints his expression and Althea knows he's reflecting on her statements about Leon. "Ine ga let a ting happen to you."

Althea purses her lips and squeezes her father's hand before pulling away. As she rounds the corner, she meets Lorraine debriefing the boys about her father. While she's appreciative of the initiative, the fear that they have in their eyes is off-putting. Jeongin looks two seconds away from running and Hyunjin's doing his best to comfort him. 

Althea knows better than anybody that how her father gets when it comes to men. Plus with the new information coming to light about Leon, it's likely that same notion has been drastically worsened due to his protective nature and need to atone. However, that doesn't mean Lorraine should scare the boys with that information. It's better for them to remain as levelheaded as possible when dealing with Jermaine Knowles.

Chan gently shoos Lorraine away and huddles his members to chat. Althea tugs the woman aside and glares death at her sheepish smile. 

"Watchu tell dem?!" She hisses. 

"Just that your father's really protective..."

"Althea...what's the likelihood of your father kicking us out?" Chan pipes up with a serious look. 

Althea purses her lips, "Camila loves y'all but at the end of the day...it's my father's house. Ine think Dad would be so mean as to do dat but...just try not to tick him off to be on the safe side."

Chan sighs through his nose before a look of determination takes his face. He looks confidently to his members while speaking Korean before turning to the Bahamians. "Let me do the talking."

Once they're confident enough, Althea leads the boys out to the living room where her father waits with his hand propped beneath his chin. His eyes no longer bright and welcoming like when he was hugging her. They're dark and cautious as they watch eight Asian men walk behind his only daughter. 

Althea takes a few steps away from Bang Chan so as not to arouse suspicion. She'd rather not reveal their dynamic to her father just yet.

Althea stands beside her family. Lorraine and Lucas are seated beside Camila who looks as nervous as Althea feels. She knows her mother's a fan of Stray Kids like Lorraine and loves having them here. Althea's sure she temporarily adopted them at this point. However, Camila will always respect her husband's views. Even if she fights tooth and nail to change them.