The Truth Hurts [exo]

16

Rice cakes were put on hold as Luhan grabbed his coat and rushed out the door. I felt useless as I paced back and forth. I also knew I was being a burden by sending Luhan out but he wouldn't break the promise that he had made with Jongin. I had to stay in the house. 

"Don't worry, dear. Luhan's good at reading people. I'm sure he knows where your brother went," Mrs. Kim soothed me by making me a pot of tea. "Now, you sit here while I finish the rice cakes." 

I shook my head, not wanting to cause too much trouble. "I'll help you. I need some distraction." 

My work looked quite sloppy next to Mrs. Kim's creations but I partly blamed my rice cakes' lack of finesse on my shaking hands. When Jongin comes back, I was going to give him even more of a talking to than I had done for Luhan. Jongin needed to learn to think things through and not just rush into situations. 

"Will you be staying around for the festival?" Mrs. Kim asked while we continued to work. 

I licked my lips anxiously. "It depends on my brother. If he doesn't get killed, I'll try to convince him to stay." 

"There's no need for worry," Mrs. Kim reassured me. "Boys will be boys. They get into big messes but they always come out unscathed." 

I tried laughing but it was hard considering all the things Jongin's been through. "I guess." 

"Believe me. I had five sons of my own and a husband to deal with. Then my sons all had sons and I took care of half of them. Luhan's been the easiest out of all of them." 

"Are you sure it isn't just your sons that are known to get into trouble?" I teased. "Maybe Luhan's the normal one." 

"No, definitely not. Luhan's the exception." The mood of the room had gone from tense to light to solemn. I couldn't tell if Mrs. Kim was referring to Luhan's unrowdiness or his sexuality. 

Speaking of the devil, Luhan burst in through the front door, causing the bell to chime. "Found him!" he called. 

I scraped my chair back and dropped the dough on the table. I had expected to see Jongin scratched up with bruises all over his body or maybe I had expected him to be dead. But I could only stand frozen as I stared at the boys in shock. 

Jongin had his arm draped over Luhan's shoulders. Instead of blood marking Jongin's neck, I saw rouge stains. As I took a step forward, a hiccup ran through his body and nearly knocked him to the ground. 

"Where did you find him?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. 

"Right where I thought he'd be." Luhan shifted Jongin's limp body. "At the pub, spending all his money to get himself drunk." 

My nostrils flared and I clenched my fists. "I see." 

Luhan brought Jongin over to a bench and set him down. "I'm surprised he's still alive. He downed a ton of the strong foreign stuff they got at the pub. Doubt he'll be up anytime soon." 

I rolled my sleeves even higher and put Jongin's arm over my shoulder. "Oh, yes, he will. Luhan, could you prepare a bath for him please?" 

I followed Luhan to the tub, barely noticing Mrs. Kim standing at the door of the kitchen. She watched us while working on a rice cake with her wrinkled hands. I felt bad for using her house like this but I made a mental note to reimburse her after I got back to the castle. 

"After you kids are done, come to the table for dinner." Luhan and I nodded at Mrs. Kim's request. 

I laid Jongin down by the tub and Luhan was done filling the tub with hot water. "Do you need anything else?" He turned to me expectantly.