Hearts in Seoul ✧

xli

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warning: strong language.

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Thankfully, Lucas and his gang's absence were timely, as the university had given them a month off before the end of year exams. Kayleigh and her friends visited Levi's house that afternoon with Lucas recovering slightly. Two weeks later, Lucas had moved back into the Hyun household, albeit the stark coldness between the brothers.

"Lucas, you're back," his father began, opening the door when Lucas rang the bell, his eyes hooded and stoic. "We... we've been waiting for you."

"Good," he murmured. His father attempted to hug him, but he refused, angling his body in a way to avoid him and then walking away.

"Chang-Min..." his mum sighed, her small hand cupping his cheek, stopping him in his tracks. "I'm... I never thought I'd see you again."

"Mhm. I never expected you'd come back for us. Thought you never cared," he shot back.

"Lucas, you've been looking for your mum your whole life, asking me where she is and now that she's here..." his father argued. "You're not making any sense, Lucas."

"I'M NOT MAKING SENSE, DAD?!? FOR FUCK'S SAKE. SURE OKAY!" Lucas spat. "I'VE GROWN UP MY WHOLE LIFE THINKING I WAS THE ELDEST SON; THAT YOHAN AND I WERE ONLY  TWO. ONE DAY MUM SHOWS UP — OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE MIGHT I ADD — AND YOU EXPECT ME TO ACT NORMALLY AND ACCEPT EVERYTHING AS IF IT'S TOTALLY OKAY TO HAVE AN OLDER BROTHER POP OUT OF NOWHERE?!? I'M SORRY ABEOJI, EOMMI. MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE."

"Chang-Min..." Georgina cried.

"Oi, Lucas," Hans groaned, interrupting his mother. Lucas scowled. "Now that we're related, it's obvious that you have grown without respect to Abeoji and Eomma. Now that you know I'm older, it's time for you to change that habit."

"No." Lucas looked away. His blood boiled. "We might be blood-related, but we aren't brothers. You can't order me around on your first day here."

"Yes. I'm not yet your brother. But you cannot deny that I am. I grew up without a real father, yet Alexander taught me how to respect anyone older, even him and mum. I grew up with a rough life — Alexander only treated me as an apprentice of his, never cared for my sake. You're lucky to grow under Abeoji's and Ahjumma's care, so be thankful. The only way you can survive life is by respecting the elderly and that includes mum and dad."

Lucas scowled as he ascended the stairs, Georgina continued crying. "Hey, Hans. Do me a favour?"

"What?"

"I know you're older than me, but please shut your mouth. It's too early for you to sermon me, run your mouth and start flexing the three-year age gap. Oh and Happy Birthday to me! Best fucking birthday ever!"

The next few weeks were rough in the Hyun household. Lucas barely ate, locking himself up in his room most of the time, not communicating with anyone except for Yohan. Ae-Jung came in to drop the food, but Lucas did not touch the plate, only having small bites of the protein. One day, Kayleigh tried to come to his house once to convince him to take care of his mental health, greeting Georgina, Christopher, Yohan, Ahjumma and Hans along the way.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Kayleigh, Lucas' girlfriend," she beamed, bowing as she entered. "It's my first time meeting you, Ma'am Georgina. It's an honour."

"Oh stop it! I've had a few conversations with Hans in the past about you. You're here for Lucas, right? He's upstairs in his room. He hasn't come out since the night he we moved here, which was about two to three weeks ago. We tried talking to him, but nothing happened," Georgina explained.

"Thank you. I'll try speaking to him."

Yohan led her to his room, striding beside her as they walked in silence.

"How is he?" she whispered.

"He's... okay. He's trying to get over it, although, to be honest, it must be hard, considering that he'd seen how dad and mum separated. He must've remembered. And now, he finds out that Hans is our brother. It should be hard."

Opening the door handle, Kayleigh was shocked as she entered his room, as its condition was horrible as if it had gone through a storm. Glass shards were scattered all over the room, their family picture, of just the three of them at a carnival back in the day, were crumpled on the floor, his bed rumpled from his tantrums. The plate of food — delicious food — was untouched at the entrance of his room and Lucas sat at the corner of the window sill, sobbing as tears streamed down his face.

"Here he is," Yohan presented. "Goodluck."

She entered the war zone, muttering a 'thank you' to Yohan, before walking over to Lucas to sit beside him, careful not to step on the glass shards.

"Hey, Lucas. How are you?" she smiled, holding his hand.

"I'm... I'm okay." The first three words that came out of his mouth in the past weeks.

"Are you really?"

"I... I don't know. I only asked for mum, Kayleigh. I didn't want a brother."

"I know. I know you were taken aback by what happened, but Lucas take a look around you. Was this the life that you wanted? Was this the life you ever expected to live? You are lucky to grow up in a comfortable household with a loving dad and a kind little brother, some children do not even have a family. You are blessed, Lucas. Yes, I may not know what you're going through, but all I know is that your mother and your brother are trying their hardest to make up for the lost time. They love you, Lucas, I can see it. Trust me. Give them a chance."

"I... yeah. Yes. You're right. I've never looked at it that way," he sighed. "To be honest, I've been contemplating on what I said to hyung and Eomma. Felt a little too hardh. So thank you, Kayleigh," he breathed, kissing her forehead.

"You're welcome. To be perfectly honest, though, I never expected our first official date as a couple to be in this... bedroom."

Lucas laughed — the first he'd laughed for weeks — before taking her hand and walking out the door, hugging his mother and brother and muttering silent apologies, promising his change for the better.

Meanwhile, at Incheon International Airport, Miguel Ramirez and Aine Sullivan-Ramirez arrived at the airport from Melbourne, hauling their Louis Vuitton luggage as they walked to the concierge, taking them to a hotel they'd stay in for the next few days.

"Kayleigh lives in the campus dorms with Roisin right? It'll be easy to find her then," Aine muttered.

"Yes. I think so," Miguel responded.

"Good. Then we'll see her tomorrow."

Hours later, on the same day, Alexander also arrived, chest heaving as he looked for his limousine. After twenty-five years in the United States, living with a woman who hadn't loved him back, he was finally back in Seoul, his home, to look for his long-lost son.

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