Little Dreamies

Playing House 3

The boys sat in silence for a long time, staring at the letter. Chenle had begun to cry softly but his cries were slowly getting louder and filling the silence like a storm. After a while, Mark got up and went outside. He came back with a long stick in his hand, stripped of leaves and small branches. He went straight for Chenle and tried to pull his brother to stand.

"Wait!" Chenle pulled away as much as he could, testing Mark's strength.

"Get up now!" Mark yelled. Renjun and Jeno looked at each other, nodded, and stood up. They each grabbed one of Mark's arms, pushing him back. Renjun grabbed the switch and put it behind his back.

"Mark, think about this! You're too angry" Renjun stated, using all his strength to keep Mark away from Chenle. The second youngest was crying silently, being blocked from Mark's view by Haechan. Jaemin and Jisung clung to each other, also crying but more out of fear than anything. No one had ever seen Mark like this.

"Let go of me Renjun!" Mark demanded. Renjun shook his head, pushing harder against Mark. Finally the oldest had enough and he grabbed Renjun's hand, pulling him down the hall and into another room.

"What do you want me to do? I'm suddenly responsible for all of you and I have to be back at college tomorrow! I can't just suddenly switch to online without warning" Mark explained.

"I get that. But me and Jeno can watch them. We can talk to hyungs, I'm sure Johnny-hyung or Yuta-hyung would be more than willing to come down here for a little and stay with us until you can get something figured out. Just, don't be angry at Chenle. He's scared and hurt enough as it is" Renjun lectured. Mark shook his head.

"We're all scared and hurt!" Mark argued.

"He needs help, Mark. This isn't just he did it one time and didn't like it, he has a real problem, Mark. Hitting him with a switch isn't going to fix that" Renjun rambled. Mark didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything.

"I don't know what you were trying to do down there but the only thing you did do is almost make our little brother scared of you" Renjun couldn't believe he was the one being sensible. Mark was usually that one. Mark was the one who thought things through and kept his brothers from making rash decisions.

"So what? I'm supposed to let him get away without consequences?" Mark guessed.

"No. I agree that this needs to be dealt with and he knows it too. You're supposed to talk to him. Try to understand what he's going through before making any decisions. Maybe he does need you to spank him, maybe he just needs to talk or get some of that anger out in a gym. I trust you'll have the discernment to know which one he is in need of" Renjun explained. Mark knew he was right and he felt a swell of pride at how grown up his brother was.

"And you won't interfere? When I make that decision?" Mark guessed. Renjun thought for a moment.

"I will be there to stop you if I feel you're going too far. But other than that, I trust you hyung" Renjun responded. That was all that Mark needed to hear. Mark put an arm around his brother and they went back downstairs.

"Chenle" Mark was noticeably calmer than he had been before. Chenle looked at him and slowly got up, following Mark back upstairs. Renjun checked to make sure that the other boys were okay before going upstairs too.

"Why is he here?" Chenle motioned to Renjun.

"To help" Mark answered. He didn't mind the questions. He was trying his best to take Renjun's advice into consideration and let Chenle ask questions.

"Help me or help you?" Chenle wondered.

"Whoever needs it. If you struggle, I'll hold your hands to help Mark. If I feel he's going too far, I'll step in to help you" Renjun answered, knowing that was the best he could offer.