daddy's babysitter | yuwin

Mom

Scene 5
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7:49 pm, Seoul Bridge
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Sicheng was crying, his tears falling into the water below him. His legs were swung over the fence that kept people from falling into the murky ocean, the wood digging into his skin awkwardly. Seoul looked beautiful at night. It was calm and serene, unlike the usual daytime hustle and bustle of the city. He was deep in his thoughts when he felt a familiar pair of arms draped across his waist, hands resting on his thighs.

"Sicheng, I'm so sorry. She was so, so wrong about you-"

Sicheng cut Yuta off, "Did you hear what I was called?" His voice was completely monotonous, no hint of emotions. Yuta had expected him to sound sad, mad, anything, but the only trace of emotion were the tears dripping onto his hands.

"Yes, and I'm sorry. You mean so much to us-"

"He called me his Mom, Yuta." Sicheng spun around on the fence, his back now facing the water. Yuta's hands never left his thighs as they traced soothing patterns on the soft fabric of his jeans.

"His Mom! Do you know how happy that makes me?" Sicheng was crying, sure, but Yuta was relieved to hear they were tears of happiness.

He stared at Sicheng in disbelief. "That's all you got from that?"

"Yes!" Sicheng happily grabbed Yuta's hands, interlacing their fingers. "I love that boy so much."

"I know you do," Yuta whispered, flipping their hands over so Sicheng's scarred wrist was exposed. He freed one of his hands from the boys grasp and traced over every line, giving each cut a soft kiss. Sicheng was entranced as he watched Yuta. The man was so sweet, so tender, in the way he touched Sicheng. The fluttery feel of Yuta's lips on his arm lingered, even when he pulled away.

"Did you actually think I'd do it?" Sicheng whispered, voice shaky and uncertain.

"I really don't know. I just- I know what you've done, and I really just, god! I don't know, Sicheng, what I'd do if you had done it." Yuta rested his head on Sicheng's chest, feeling the muscle hidden under his sweater.
"You're more than just a babysitter to us. You're his Mom, he said so himself. You love him as I do, you care for him as I do."

"What about you?" Sicheng asked tentatively, gently running his slender fingers through Yuta's hair. "What am I to you?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I've always known I was bisexual, but damn, you've messed with my mind lately. And I still can't tell if it's good or not. I don't know where we stand right now, but I really see you as someone I could love." Yuta chuckled, the vibrations sending chills up Sicheng's spine. "It feels good saying that out loud."

"Feels good hearing it," Sicheng spoke breathlessly, suddenly feeling very constricted. Yuta raised his head to meet Sicheng's gaze after he felt the rapid rise and fall of the boy's chest.

"Don't look at me like that," Yuta mumbled, eyes flickering between Sicheng's eyes and lips. Sicheng caught Yuta's gaze and rolled his eyes, grabbing the man by his collar and bringing their lips together. It was nothing like the first kisses in movies, there was no gentle touch or uncertain movements. It was the type of kiss you'd see between two horny teenagers. Tongues mixed and teeth clashed, hands wandered and lips trailed, but it was perfect to the two.

"Can I take you home?" Yuta asked, lips swollen and neck a light pink. Sicheng though about it for a moment, unconsciously biting his lip.
"Don't do that." Yuta ran his fingers over Sicheng's lip, removing it from his teeth's grasp.

"You can if you want," he finally mumbled, breaking his staring contest with Yuta. He wasn't ashamed of the life he had, or where he lived, but some part of him, deep down, didn't want to prove Irene right. Even if she was.

Kun was mentally unstable, but he was strong. He didn't hurt himself or others, he didn't try to kill himself or fight people. He took his pills for his bipolar depression and minded his own business. Sicheng was the real troublemaker. He was the one who overdosed on his brother's pills twice and tried to slit his own throat. He was the one who did the cocaine and smoked. He was the one with a hidden tattoo on his ankle, shaped like Saturn.

If Sicheng was being honest, that was the one thing he didn't regret. That tattoo had meaning to him, even if his parents found it dangerous and stupid. It showed him that there was a world outside of his own, that the world was bigger than his rundown house in a bad neighborhood filled with drugs and prostitution. Sicheng had his fair share of both. No one knew about his prostitution job, not even Kun, and he didn't plan on telling anyone.

He was the most ashamed of that part of his past. He was ashamed that he was willing to sell his body to heartbroken old men for money to spend on his precious drugs. He didn't want to be looked down upon by anyone, especially Yuta. He didn't want Yuta to find him disgusting or contaminated.

"Where am I going, baby?" Yuta nudged him lightly, gesturing to the split in the road. Sicheng nodded in the direction of his house and the two continued their carefree stroll. Their hands brushed against each other multiple times throughout the walk, but neither made a move to connect them.

When the two arrived at Sicheng's street, he finally connected their hands. The street was dim, the street lights had been broken for ages and no one bothered to fix them. A few boys were playing basketball in a worn out hoop while the parents sat on the doorstep, cigarettes or beer in their hands.

"Careful, Sicheng!" Mr. Kramer, Sicheng's neighbor called out to him. "Kun's doing his thing again." Sicheng sighed wearily.

"What does he mean?" Yuta whispered, glancing uneasily between Sicheng and the man.

"My brother upped his dosage recently and he's been a bit, um, reckless? Yeah, reckless is a good word."

"I'm serious, boy. We can hear things breaking from the old stop sign." Mr. Kramer pointed down the street, where a bent stop sign loomed ominously. One of the neighborhood kids had hit it with a ball and ever since the kids had been using it as some sort of punching bag.

"Do you want me to help you?" Yuta asked, trying to enter the door behind Sicheng.

"It'll be fine, you should go home to Rin." Sicheng tried to reassure him, but the sounds of breaking glass alarmed Yuta once again. "Please," he finally pleaded.

Yuta got the hint and nodded, giving Sicheng a quick kiss. Sicheng shut the door and hurried up his creaky stairs. His brother was lying in a pool of water, which seemed to be laced with the slightest hint of red.

"Kun, what's wrong?" Sicheng asked, helping him brother stand and leading him to the hard mattress.

"They keep coming back. They're haunting me Sicheng, make it stop," he begged, holding onto Sicheng as his life depended on it. The boy just nodded, getting comfortable on the bed next to Kun, slowly luring the boy to sleep.

And for the first time in days, Sicheng fell asleep on his uncomfortable mattress trying to protect his only family from the demons that consumed him.