On Music and Love

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: PARENTAL GUIDANCE

Keito stretched his arm as he and Daiki walked towards their house. His brother's shoulder was drooped low.

It was only a month before they debut. They had already been working on their songs. They were really busy.

He opened the door that led to their living room.

"How dare you come back after all this time?!" Keito heard their mother shouted. Daiki was immediately on his side.

He saw that man again. Lee Sungmin.

He closed the door. He didn't want to peer in. Daiki stared at him with a questioning glance. Keito shrugged.

"I want to be with my son." The man said.

Daiki and Keito looked at each other as they listen.

"You have no son here." Mihra answered back.

"Please, Mihra. I know that leaving you was a mistake and I already paid for that. I'm sorry. Now, I am back for good."

"No. There is nothing left for you here." Mihra exclaimed.

"I know, but please let me be just with Daiki."

Keito gasped in surprise. They heard Mihra laughed bitterly. "Daiki is not your son."

"Mihra, please."

Keito clenched his fist. Anger was beginning to boil inside him. Daiki took his wrist in his hands and stared at his brother's eyes.

"You even can't recognize your own blood." Mihra commented angrily.

"What do you mean?" the man asked.

"Daiki is adopted, for pete's sake. It was Keito. Your son is Keito."

Keito's tears fell down. He was looking on the floor which was now blurry. He bit his lower lip. He tasted the salty taste of his own tear, of his own fear. He had been fearing this day. He had been afraid that there will come a time that he would show up.

He never really believed that his father was already dead, as what Mihra said and he was right. He had been alive all along.

He felt Daiki's arms around his trembling body. He couldn't hear what was happening inside anymore. He couldn't even hear his own sob. His ears blocked all the sound, all he knew was his brother was patting his back and he was crying hard.

Lee Sungmin opened the door. He stared at Daiki's eyes who was staring back at him, full of hatred. The boy was cuddling the crying Keito in his arms.

Sungmin extended a hand towards the boy but Daiki shoved it away. He wouldn't let that man touch his brother. The man stared at him. Embellished in his eyes was pain. Daiki clenched his fist.

This man dared to hurt his brother, no, he couldn't show him any sympathy.

Keito saw in his blurred eyes the back of the retreating man that he had despised his whole life.

Kota and Kei opened the door of their apartment just to find Karina. Kota guessed that she would be begging them to come to Korea again. She had been doing that for quite sometime now ever since Mr. Lee came to Japan.

"Karina, haven't you done enough?" Kota asked.

"Oppa, please." She begged.

Kota sighed. "How many times have we told that we had a good thing going on here. Why should we go back to that devil?"

Karina looked hurt. He was her step father after all.

"Miane," Kota apologized. "It was just, he had hurt Kei so much." He looked at Kei who had his hands in a fist.

"But Kei is his favorite!" she exclaimed.

Both of them looked at her.

"I didn't want to tell you what he told me but I can't take it anymore." Karina looked down. "Appa was about to resign from the jimusho before the two of you went here." She explained. "He wanted to transfer Kei to a different producer to make sure that he would have a better management because he knew that after he resigned, the group would be left alone."

"I d-don't b-believe you," Kei murmured.

"That's true." It was Lee Sungmin. He was standing in front of them. He looked young at age 45. The man who had a lot of ladies praise the streets he walked at was gazing at them. He put a hand on Karina's shoulder.

"You might think that I abandoned you Kei but that was not my intention. I was frustrated back then. Nobody would want to adopt the band. It so happened that at that same day, I thought my sacrifices would be paid off since one producer agreed to produce you but then when we are about to do the contract signing, he retracted and told me that it would be hard for them to take in the group since it was still not that popular. I am sorry I put my frustrations to you." He looked at Kei. "I never thought it would be this way."

Kei looked away.

"But, how about the rumor that you are just using the group to come back to the music industry?" Kota asked. That had been bothering him for a while now.

"Those are just mere accusations. My time is up, it is already your generation. I had suffered in the industry for a long time. Why would I want to go back?"

"I don't believe you!" Kei murmured while looking angrily at his feet.

Sungmin smiled. "Think whatever you want. Believe whatever you want to believe." That was all and he walked away, Karina on his heels.

Kei held on to Kota for support. The words of the man he trusted for so long but betrayed them were hard to digest. He just couldn't believe that what was said could be possible.

Kei had followed Sungmin's footsteps for a long time. He was a father to him and he a son to the man. He was even envied inside the jimusho because he was given a better treatment. He was never scolded. He was the prince then. He was even better treated than Kota who was a genius but then, he was really downtrodden that day. He felt useless and stupid and he still felt the same until today.

Kota patted Kei's back. He had seen his friend breakdown before and he didn't want that to happen again. "Do you want to stay here?" he asked.

Kei shook his head. "Ani, they need us in the jimusho. We are already behind schedule. We couldn't let them down."

Kota smiled and nodded.

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