Loving You Forever Can't Be Wrong | C.S.C x Y.J.H

ten

Dino, very intentionally, pushes Seungcheol's phone off the table when the latter approaches, "Oh oops!"

That's how the morning starts. The broken phone marking a line between the two.

"Even my nine-year old doesn't throw tantrum of this sort."

Seungcheol's nine-year old.

There are times, like when Sunjae has no school and Seungcheol has no work, Jeonghan hears those painfully familar giggles. They echo in every corner of Choi's. The duo becomes inseparable. Sunjae who spends most of his time not leaving their side doesn't leave Seungcheol's side for a second when he is present in the house. The house aglows with a different energy. Contrast to the Seungcheol he is with them, he is soft, warm and a dad. Seungcheol is a dad now, an actual dad. And he's an amazing one, as was expected of him. Even Jeonghan's resesntment can't blind him from acknowledging the fact that the bond between Seungcheol and that kid is beautiful. And whenever he witnesses that, everything seems beautiful.

But he doesn't like how Dino is witnessing it right now, how he is looking at father-son duo and their pure interaction with...loathing in his eyes. Jeonghan feels a sudden urge to protect them, to shield them from one of his own. No, not them, it's Sunjae, yes, it's just Sunjae and his happiness he wants to safeguard.

"Dino-ya!", He calls him with an urgency and slight warning.

The youngest member breaks his intense stare and it is directed towards Jeonghan for a second or two before he walks away.

*****

Dino had become a child of divorced parents.

And if he ever thought, amusingly, in the old days; that what if it comes to this point, he always assumed Jeonghan would be the reason because Seungcheol couldn't be. Never.

Jeonghan was just....Jeonghan. And it's not like Dino didn't love him. He just loved Seungcheol a bit more. The intense fear he felt because of him initially had grown into deep affection. No matter if Seungcheol was sitting beside him, no matter if Dino accepted it out loud, but if ever asked, "Jeonghannie hyung or Coups hyung?", hell if ever asked, "Any hyung or Coups hyung?", His heart would choose Coups hyung in its single beat.

He worshipped his Coups hyung.

And now, he had lost all of his faith.

He had become faithless, hopeless. He was, anyways, a bit more dependent on alcohol than the others. The incident caused him to find comfort in it more. He started drowning himself into alcohol until it numbed all his senses, until he had zero perception of anything, until Seungcheol wasn't somebody he knew and loved. Or more like until Seungcheol wasn't somebody who knew him and loved him and hadn't left him.

Because he left you, he got bored of you, tired of you wasn't something he meant to say to Jeonghan. It was Dino's worst nightmare.

You are so right, A dark voice in his head whispers and laughs maniacally as he watches Seungcheol adoring his kid. That look, that smile once belonged to him. Dino was supposed to be Seungcheol's maknae, always, even when he turns fifty. But Seungcheol doesn't think so anymore.

The sting of the slap still burns his cheek but the sight burns his heart worse.

*****

After Dino and Mingyu stomps their way into the house, Seungcheol turns to Seungkwan and others, "If I see you supporting his wrong, I won't hesitate to set you right as well. Just because I don't say anything, doesn't mean I can't say anything."

Nobody utters a word, "Get inside, all of you!", and they just walk away.

Except Jeonghan.

Seungcheol shouldn't have, he knows he really shouldn't have but he couldn't stop himself, "Is this what you've raised?"

Jeonghan's sad expression immediately turns to the one of fury, "No, this is what you've made".

Now, Seungcheol doesn't know how to escape that accusation. His leaving was supposed to be in their favour. How did it come to this? How would it ever be fine?

On top of that, he slapped Dino. His hand which has only ever adored the younger, hit him. The very first physical contact he had with him in years was a harsh slap to his face when all Seungcheol wanted to do is take Dino's face in his hands and caress it with all the love buried in his heart.

How would he take that back?

"What do you want, tell us?" Wonwoo's voice is so so soft, Seungcheol knows he's talking to Sunjae before he even enters.

"Ummm, live performance by you all, please?", Sunjae requests shyly.

"Do you know how much our ticket costs?", Dino questions coldly.

Seungcheol's smile fades.

"Dino-ya."

There are hushed, indignant, whispers.

"Dino!"

"It's...expensive...", Sunjae clearly doesn't understand where this is going and Seungcheol doesn't know if it's a good thing or a bad one.

"Exactly."

A knife has been lodged into his heart and he could feel it bleeding, uncontrollably.

This is what you've made.

Seungkwan grabs Dino's arm in a gesture to stop. Wonwoo has never looked at the youngest with so much of anger. Jeonghan grits his teeth, "Stop it", and tries to smile, "Sunjae-ya-"

"Sunjae-", Joshua also starts.

But Seungcheol knows he has to take care of this himself because this is what he has made. The hurt chokes up his throat but he gulps, pushing it down, hard, "Sunjae-ya, what samchon means..." is that your Appa is worth nothing now.

"Yes?", Sunjae, his baby, looks at him innocently, not understanding the jabs thrown, not understanding that his Appa's dignity is being shredded.

Seungcheol can't even bring himself to look at Seventeen, he keeps his eyes fixated on his son and gathers the courage and words that would not ruin Sunjae's favourite idols' image, that would not ruin his childhood, that would not make his boys the bad guys, "....is that people pay a lot to watch them perform, right? Is it fair to those that you get to see Seventeen for free?", You were supposed to. Hell, you were supposed to be on stage with them, "Also, would you like if your Appa doesn't get paid for his work?"

"No...that's unfair."

"Exactly. It's unfair to Samchons as well."

"Oh....I'm so sorry, Samchons", Bless this kid's heart.

The tears threaten to fall and his breath trembles, like his faith in all of them does. Seungcheol never thought he would ever want to take his son away from these twelve men, from the ones the little guy was supposed to grow up under the shade of. But at this moment, he wants to. The irony is that he has never wanted to or felt like hiding Sunjae from the world but here he stands, wanting to hiding him from his own world.

Is that how it's going to be? He would have to stand between them, protect one from other?

"Samchon is sorry, Sunjae-ya", Jeonghan's voice sounds heavy with guilt and hurt but for Seungcheol, it isn't heavy enough.

"No, why are you sorry? Some day, I will come to your concert but not right now. Even if I have money today, I won't use it on concert. I will use it on something else. But that doesn't mean I love you any less, okay?"

How could they do this?! They weren't supposed to drag his sweet innocent child in the middle of the war they have waged against Seungcheol.

Why, why, why?!

When Seungcheol looks at Dino, he finds the younger staring back at him with an emotionless face and there is a sudden realisation - Kids, indeed, learn from their parents; One slap and Dino was on the ground yesterday, one strike and Seungcheol is on his knees today.