STRANGER [SEONGJOONG]

CHAPTER IV

*+:｡.｡ʜ-ʜᴇ...ʜᴇʀᴇ?｡.｡:+*

"Mooommmmm!!!"

No sooner did Wooyoung cross the threshold of his house, than he rushed indoors. He kicked away his school shoes, threw away his socks, deposited his bag right on the floor and ran straight into the kitchen. Hongjoong quietly entered after him, sighing, as he softly closed the door, opened his own shoes and socks and put them away neatly, and then proceeded to put Wooyoung's one in their proper place. He then went inside the house and into the kitchen, from where the delicious smell of something being cooked wafted down to him.

Hongjoong smiled, as he saw his mom, in her old apron and messy bun, her fresh face and her beautiful smile, stirring away something inside a vessel. She was cooking and laughing at whatever Wooyoung had to babble from the dining table. Oh! How beautiful her smile is. Hongjoong put down his school bag and sat down on a chair across Wooyoung, as he looked at his brother and smiled.

"And mom, I swear, let this idiot have some wheels under his feet. God! He walks like a sloth, mom!"

The woman laughed, as she poured the hot soup into another vessel and turned to the boys.

"Okhay, boys," she said in a gentle voice, "It's almost time for lunch. Go and take a shower while I set the table."

"No mom, I'll help!" Wooyoung stood up, giving his mom a tiny salute.

"Me too," Hongjoong stated eagerly.

The woman smiled fondly at her sons.

"No No, my darlings. Go and change, both of you while I will set the table. I'm sure you'll like today's lunch a lot. Now go before the food gets cold...go!"

The boys gave their mom a big hug and then immediately dashed upstairs to the washroom, competing as to who would reach earlier. And of course it was Wooyoung. Wooyoung quickly pulled his clothes out of his closet and disappeared into the bathroom. Hongjoong placed his school bag and Wooyoung's on their bed and sat down. He plopped back on the soft mattress and closed his eyes, covering his face with his hands. He felt relaxed, as his aching body lay on the bed at ease after a long day at school. Hongjoong's mind was still crammed with a million thoughts. And no doubt, the most specific one was...Who was he?

Hongjoong slowly rose up and kept sitting on the bed. He could hear his brother singing his lungs out under the shower. Typical bathroom singer. Hongjoong smiled. His eyes scurried around the entire room and soon, he saw a picture frame hanging on the wall of the room the two brothers shared. It was a picture of Wooyoung and him, when they were only seven. Hongjoong sighed.

I'm a lucky fellow.

"N-No....don't f-father....p-please..."

A little boy, perhaps six years old, was kneeling on the cold hard floor, crying and begging for mercy. He was a thin starveling one, so pale and so thin that you could easily count all the bones in his body. The boy didn't stop crying. He was young and helpless. He didn't know what to do. He was scared.