bad habit [nct]

sixteen

"But you know we have to tell them the truth one day. Who knows if tomo-"

Their conversation was interrupted when a little girl cried while walking towards the woman she called mom. She had a nightmare; one that she felt was real.

"Mommy! Daddy! I had a nightmare... it... Seonho and I are not siblings anymore..." The man she called dad frowned and picked her up. He caressed her messy hair and cradled her in his arms.

He softly hushed her, "It's just a nightmare baby. Don't worry, you and Seonho will always be siblings no matter what."

She calmed down in the arms of her father. As her eyelids started to close, she can hear her father saying something. "Even if you're not my daughter... I'm not going to let anybody hurt you two."

Seola had this very strange and hazy dream a few days ago. She couldn't remember what her father said at the end, but now that Johnny told her the truth she couldn't help but feel weird. She was beyond sad, angry, and miserable.

"It was my father. It's because of him." Johnny stated with his head down, feeling ashamed.

Seola shook her head. "No, w-what did you say before that? About my parents...Damn it Johnny! Spit out the whole truth! Tell me... you're only joking..."

The two of them were the ones only left in the room. The others were talked to by Jaehyun, since he was the first one who knew what Johnny had discovered. Yuta who was surprisingly adamant about not leaving the room, was dragged by his own friends out of it. He walked back and forth in the living room, he was feeling nervous. He didn't know what was going on, only Jaehyun and Johnny knows about it. Once he saw Johnny crying, he knew that what Johnny had will break Seola's heart.

"Your... family...they-are..." Johnny, who is always confident about everything he says and do, was now stuttering.

"They are what?!" Seola shouted back. Johnny was talking in circles again.

"So, your mom is not really your mom and your dad is not really your dad. Seonho is... not really your brother." Seola, who got tired of Johnny's pointless explanation, slapped Johnny's cheek.

"Damn, that stings..." He hissed. Seola grabbed his shirt collar and glared at him.

"Stop fucking crying and tell me... Explain it to me... Please..." As she mumbled the last word, her grip on his collar lessened and let him go. She plopped down on the floor and breathed shakily.

"...Your family is made up. My... father, no- that devil, made your family. Your father was a discharged soldier because he accidentally killed an innocent civilian while your mom was a woman who has a large debt to my father. You and Seonho are not really siblings... the both of you were from my mom's orphanage..."

She chose not to cry at this moment, there's still more and she urged Johnny to continue. "My mom! She- doesn't know anything about it from the start but, she got close with your 'mom' and... she found out the truth when we were like five years old. Remember that one time, you and I were together after class and mom had to drop by the orphanage? One of the workers there had noticed the unique scar on your neck... and then my mom found out about it. She also found out about who's behind it- her husband."

"But, I clearly remember my mom pregnant..." Seola muttered. Johnny sat close to her.

"It was fake. Your father's cover was close to getting blown because he and your mom doesn't seem sweet so... yeah, Seonho was from the same orphanage my mom manages. She found out about it again, a year later, when she heard that your mom gave birth."

"What's my father's purpose?" She asked. Clearly, Mr. Seo wouldn't go as far as to make a fake family for nothing. Seola couldn't believe the word she just described her family in her head.

"He was a spy for another company. Once my father got what he wanted, well- your father's gone. My mom threatened my father that if he touches you and Seonho, she will leave him and take me with her. My mom's family is also influential, just so you know."

Seola sighed and covered her face. "What about my aunt? Those people they introduced me to? Are they also fake?"

Johnny shook his head. "They were friends of your parents, but- they're gone too."

"...And the assassin?"

Johnny let a out a long sigh. "My father's people... impersonated the assasin. You know, the one Yuta is talking about. He wasn't responsible for your parent's death and that assassin is also not after you. The clan was not the one behind your mom's death. The one after you and Seonho... is the devil who raised me."

Seola leaned her head on Johnny's shoulders. "You don't have to be sorry, it's not your fault...But, I'm not going to let your father get away with it. Even though... they weren't our real parents, they still raised us like we were theirs."

Johnny hugged her then kissed the top of her head. "You... are so strong. Don't worry, my mom and I are not going to let him get away with it anymore."

Hi! If you're kind of confused, you can read chap 13 again