Little King (Seoksoo)

Seokmin

Why did humans insist on making certain types of buildings so unpleasant to look at?

The one Seokmin and Joshua were entering was drab in that particular way of hospitals, government offices, and correctional facilities: beige-gray walls on the outside, beige walls on the inside, vomit-colored carpeting throughout. But it otherwise seemed pleasant enough, as far as these places went.

It was clean, the furniture and art were of a certain quality, and the staff looked alert and friendly. Seokmin couldn't imagine how much money his mate was spending keeping his mother here. He took a mental note to convince Joshua as soon as possible to let him foot the bill instead.

Joshua had told him after breakfast about his mother. She had a type of dementia called early onset Alzheimer's. She had been diagnosed when Joshua was in nursing school.

Seokmin placed his sunglasses on top of his head—they kept the demon from getting too irritated on sunny days—and looked over at the boy walking next to him, who'd been tense and nervous the entire car ride there. Seokmin reached out and took his hand, and Joshua looked up and gave him a small, appreciative smile.

Seokmin was so proud of his mate for standing up to his boorish brother. He'd clearly been shouldering too much alone for too long.

Not anymore, Seokmin vowed. His demon purred in agreement.

A short, stout woman with a cap of brown hair called out a greeting to them as they approached the main desk. Seokmin saw her do a small double take at the sight of his and Joshua's joined hands before giving Joshua a wide-eyed look and a big smile.

"And who is this?" she gushed.

"This is Seokmin," Joshua answered shyly. "He's, uh—"

"I'm Joshua's boyfriend," Seokmin cut in. "Boyfriend" felt juvenile compared to his true title: mate. But he wanted some sort of recognizable bond out there for the humans.

Seokmin wanted everyone to know this man belonged to him.

The woman's smile grew bigger, if that was possible. "You didn't tell me you were seeing anybody, Joshua," she chided gently.

"It's pretty new," Joshua explained. Seokmin didn't have to look over to know that his mate was blushing but glanced over anyway, just to enjoy the way the pink stole over Joshua's freckled cheeks.

Joshua cleared his throat. "Seokmin, this is Mary. She's the backbone of this place."

"Oh, psh." Now Mary was blushing. She turned a mock-stern look to Seokmin. "You better be good to this one. He's got a lot of people rooting for him."

"Believe me, I am one of them," Seokmin reassured her.

"Oh, I like you."

"You two can flirt later," Joshua huffed, although he was clearly pleased with Mary's approval. "How is she today?"

Mary's face grew more somber. "I'm afraid it isn't the best day. She hasn't been feeling up for a lot these past few days. She's due for a shower this morning, but so far any attempts have made her...unhappy. We've gotten her out of bed, but that's the extent of it."

Seokmin felt Joshua, who'd relaxed a bit at the beginning of the conversation, tense again. Seokmin had read up a little bit on his mother's condition while Joshua was in the shower that morning, to better prepare for the visit. He knew the mood swings that could occur, and he had a feeling "unhappy" was putting it lightly.

Joshua looked up at him with worried brown eyes, and Seokmin could tell by his expression he was thinking of postponing this visit for another day, but that wouldn't do.