The Tells of a Different Childhood

39.A.U: Mistake- Loss

It was quiet.

And exceedingly awkward.

Ijin's grandfather was sitting across from him, and the timid old man that he had become used to seeing was nowhere in sight. The man's shoulders were taut, his eyes challenging as he stared at the Major head-on. It was like a switch had been flipped in him, his docile personality was now one of a protective parent that was willing do to anything and everything to protect their child.

Dayeon was a very different story. Although he could tell that she wanted to be there, her body language screamed that she was nervous. She was almost curled in on herself, her hands hidden under the table where she was no doubt picking at her fingers out of pure nerves. But yet, she did not look away from him, her eyes puffy and rimmed with red as her jaw clenched and unclenched in the silence.

Waking up after the whole debacle with Ijin nearly having a panic attack, Kang had texted Ijin's grandfather to let him know that he had his grandson with him.

It's not like he couldn't let the kid's family know where he was. Even with what happened, he knew that it had to scare the living shit out of them when they realized that Ijin had never gone home, along with forgetting his phone at his friends. He did it out of common courtesy, as well as to bring some comfort to them because he knew that if his brother or grandson had suddenly gone missing after something like that, he would be worried out of his mind.

But he wasn't expecting this.

He wasn't expecting to see Ijin's family standing outside his doorstep less than 30 minutes after he had managed to coax a half-asleep teenager into sleeping in his bed.

He almost regretted letting them in.

"Were you aware?" the question was short and to the point, but Kang knew exactly what the man was talking about. It would be hard to not know, especially with the way multiple news outlets were playing the same story about Mad Dog and by extension, Ijin, over and over again.

"Yes." It had been one of the first things he had found out about Ijin, especially since the few times they needed his help traversing the area, Ijin had to tell them where he couldn't go if he wanted to live.

To his credit, the older man did not show his true emotion," I see...Where is he?"

He swallowed thickly, motioning over to his bedroom door with his head," Asleep. He-uh had a stressful night..." Dayeon looked like she was ready to bawl right then a there, a strangled whine escaping the back of her throat before she tried to cover it up with a cough.

The grandfather nodded his head slowly, his eyes lingering on the closed bedroom door for a few seconds before he abruptly stood up," I see. He is more than welcome to stay here."

It took him a few seconds. For a few seconds, he thought that the man was thanking him for taking care of Ijin as if his brain did autocorrect on the words. But it hit him like a ton of bricks when he processed the words correctly.

What?

Both he and Dayeon were stunned, the both of them staring at the older man," Grandpa?" her voice was pitifully weak, and there was something about the way she said it that seemed nearly identical to Ijin's voice. Her voice had the same, heartbroken tone that Ijin did, the tone that made Kang resist the urge to comfort the young girl.

He was cold, colder than any higher-up he had ever dealt with, "I don't want him in our home Dayeon," his voice was firm and unforgiving," He's kept this from us, who knows what else he is hiding."

What?

He stood up, his chair banging loudly against the floor as he did so," Wait sir. I don't think you understand-"