TOTCF content because my brain go brr

Rok Soo & Cale - brothers

Kim Rok Soo sighed. He swirled the lemonade in his glass cup, listening to the clinking of ice against glass, thinking to himself. Ron looked over to him as with an amused expression. What could his young master be thinking about?

He amusedly took the glass from him after he downed the last droplets of lemonade in the cup. Kim Rok Soo continued to contemplate about the Henituse family.

Kim Rok Soo, legal name Roksu Henituse, was adopted into the family when Cale was born. He was a peasant, homeless orphan turned noble. A real rags to riches story. Especially since he looked so foreign, no one was sure what his origins were. Maybe he was even born out of wedlock. 

Of course, the rest of noble society hated it, and he was ostracised. He was a charity case, a pet, there to improve their nobility status. And those were the nicer things they called him. But he was an adult now, and he had grown used to casual insults, so he wasn't as bothered by it  compared to how a child would be.

Besides, he had a little brother now. And parents, sometimes. Cale liked him, surprisingly, and Kim Rok Soo tolerated him. He was the only one who called him his real name, rather than the one he got adopted into. Besides, he was cute, mild-mannered and quite silly. 

Then Lady Jour died. The same way his biological parents did, supposedly. A tragic affair and the saddest thing Cale had ever experienced. Cale had clung onto him like he was a shield, protecting him from all sadness. It was annoying, but Kim Rok Soo wouldn't get upset. Couldn't get upset. A child, dealing with grief and not even having his father be there to comfort him.

Deruth wasn't there. The first four months of grieving he locked himself in his office or his bedroom, refusing to look at Cale. Then for six months, he went away. He said it was to check up on the territory but he hadn't ever done that when Jour was alive. Then, those last two months. 

Kim Rok Soo liked Violan, he really did. She was elegant, she was clearly a good mother, she wasn't trying to replace Lady Jour. And Basen was adorable, coming only second place to Cale. But, even Kim Rok Soo, oblivious and dense, knew that it was way too fast. Cale hadn't been able to grieve, and because of Deruth's refusal to look at Cale for almost a year, Cale was struggling with self image and self esteem issues. 

Ron, Beacrox and Kim Rok Soo had worked hard to help him see how his red hair wasn't a problem. It took Kim Rok Soo by surprise, especially since he loved his hair not even a year or two ago. It was beautiful. Sometimes he still needed reminders. Especially when he looked at how cohesive his new family looked without him in the picture. 

At first, Kim Rok Soo assumed the kid would hate them, which was a completely normal response. But he didn't. Kim Rok Soo watched him admire his new family from afar. He was enraptured by his new family and their dynamic. He loved them. Kim Rok Soo thought it was a little bit sad. 

Cale looked in, he didn't participate.

And of course, as outsiders, Cale and Kim Rok Soo saw things others didn't. Cared about things others didn't. They knew things others didn't. Cale worried about the new family. Their reputation. Because Cale was a good kid and the heir to the Henituse territory, people were cruel to his family.

Cale trusted Kim Rok Soo. He had no idea why the little red head thought so highly of him, why he admired him. Kim Rok Soo would not be the first to call himself pathetic, or ugly, or disappointing. And yet the kid looked up to him, trusted his opinion. 

Cale had told him his plan. It was a really shitty plan, even for a nine-year old. He was going to become an alcoholic trash who everyone hated so that his new family would be more accepted. That was shitty plan. Why? He already had a scapegoat.