i'll save you when you're weak

Part 25

Vicross Molran was a simple man with a complicated life.

After great tragedy struck his family at a young age, he'd been forced to pick up a new life in a far away land without any company but his father at his side. Dealing with all the grief and change in his youth had been... challenging, to say the least.

He was eleven years old when his father began working at the Henituse household. A year later the family was blessed with a tiny bundle of joy and his fathers job became much busier.

From the age of twelve, Vicross remembered really hating Cale Henituse. But he couldn't understand that hatred for the chubby cheeked adorable baby so he rationalized that he must just hate children in general.

The truth was that at such a young age, he had nowhere to really direct all of his pain and resentment over losing his family and home. Vicross went from being the treasured heir of an extraordinary clan to the son of a servant in a foreign land. He lost everything but the only thing he had was his father.

And father's attention was directed towards some stupid derpy baby who never lost a single thing in his life. Who had everything that Vicross lost and more.

It was bitter.

It was painful.

Vicross distracted himself by helping out in the kitchens at the estate and it turned into a rather fruitful distraction. The more he spent time cooking, the more he loved it.

Cooking was simple, like him.

One must follow strict rules of cleanliness and safety, and every choice would affect the final product. It was a situation within which he could find complete control over his surroundings. If the food was bad, that was due to his choices. If the food was good, that was also his decision that led there.

For a boy who had so thoroughly lost all control over his life, it was liberating.

The freedom to control the results of one small thing in an impossible world. Vicross was hooked. Inside of the kitchen was his own personal oasis and he didn't need to pay any attention to an obnoxious young master or the dwindling time spent with his father.

It was his solace.

When he was offered a position based solely on his merit as a chef, it had just felt right. He'd been a little bit leery about cooking for a child. The young master of the Henituse estate had been an unfortunately picky eater which was added onto the manifold reasons Vicross simply couldn't like him.

But, picky child or not, Vicross welcomed the change of pace.

He wasn't prepared to meet Kim Rok Soo.

Small and skinny, a gaunt pale face that shook fearfully whenever Vicross made eye contact. His slight frame was too small for the clothes given and there were many clear signs of malnutrition. Tiny and weak and peeking from behind a dragon as though Vicross was a ferocious beast.

Vicross really didn't know what to do with that.

He focused on making easy to digest and nutritious meals, half expecting to hear the same criticisms he'd experienced at the Henituse home due to the young master's picky palate but the dishes always returned to the kitchen empty.

He was curious. He couldn't help it. Originally he'd planned to spend his time busy in his kitchen without interacting all that much with the household but he couldn't help but wonder.

Kim Rok Soo always ate everything on his plate, no matter what, even when he looked really full. It was as worrying as it was gratifying.

Vicross put more care into the portions, into the preparation, and upon Raon-nim's invitation, he began to take his meals in the dining room with the strange father-son duo.

It inspired a strange feeling in him that he was finally old and mature enough to recognize.

I was jealous.

He wanted to be the one his father paid attention to.

He wanted to have all the things he lost back.

He wanted to see his mother again.

The realization was a slap to the face but it didn't sting as much as he expected it to. Instead, it settled an inexplicable resentment inside of him. Truthfully, he would probably never be capable of liking young master Cale Henituse, but he didn't resent him like he did before.

And he was able to focus on the well-being of someone he was growing to really care about.

"Thank you for the food, it was delicious." Kim Rok Soo politely carried his dishes to the kitchen despite the number of times Vicross let him know that he shouldn't bother.

The kid was still scared of him, which Vicross couldn't quite grasp why, but he accepted the dishes and put down the enormous kitchen knife he'd been sharpening.

"What did you like the most?"

Kim Rok Soo jolted in place, surprised by the sudden question and looking down at his feet, as though expecting to be lectured if he got the answer wrong. "...the steak was really good."

"You like meat?" Vicross asked, picking up his knife again as he thought about the pork waiting in the cooler.

Kim Rok Soo jolted again, nodding hurriedly. He stumbled over his words in his haste to explain further. "Y–yes, but your preparation is the best! I've never had better steak!"

That much was obvious considering how skinny the child was when they first met but it was still gratifying to hear. He was really happy whenever he made food to the child's satisfaction. It was difficult to explain but for some reason, he couldn't help but be happy about it.

He was also happy whenever he saw just how healthy and plump the child was becoming. He looked a lot more like his peers these days, instead of the near emaciated corpse Vicross had met before.

Vicross had a way of exaggerating when it came to Kim Rok Soo.

"I'll make you more steak then." Vicross promised.

Kim Rok Soo nodded gratefully and rushed away as soon as he was acceptably dismissed.

Vicross smiled to himself and shook his head.

He thought he hated children but he really couldn't hate Kim Rok Soo.

Even young master Cale seemed a lot more tolerable when he came and played with Kim Rok Soo. And it afforded Vicross more time to spend with his father, even when it wasn't his day off.

Today as well, Vicross was grateful that he'd met Kim Rok Soo.