Chapter Text
Yunho was used to being left home alone, his parents worked hard for what they had and he knew that he had to respect that. He wouldn’t prefer it; he had been left home alone with Jongho more nights than not. He had done the dinner and bedtime routine for the younger over and over for years; long enough that his mind could switch off in those times– let his body follow the plan.
He couldn’t complain that much, he supposes. He would have more of an argument for his side if Jongho had been a difficult kid to care for. On the contrary, ever since Jonho had been born, he had been polite and helpful, always working together with his older brother to get through the days. That, and the fact that the two brothers had everything they might need in their house. Their parents, while Yunho rarely saw them much anymore, always managed to keep a well-stocked home for their boys. There had been a learning curve of course, especially with Jongho being so much younger than him, but they figured it out together fairly quickly.
His parents made an income that could more than support their lavish lifestyle. They had never explained to Yunho exactly what they did for work, just that it required a lot of their time and energy. And frequent relocations, it would seem. All the moving had caused Yunho to have a seriously lacking social life, eventually just giving up on making new friends as the pattern of him having to leave them became more frequent.
He sat on the couch, Jongho sitting next to him, head tucked against the side of Yunho’s arm, as a movie played quietly in the background. Jongho had fallen asleep some time ago, not long after dinner, but Yunho hadn’t had the heart to move him yet.
Yunho waited for another hour before he ended up shifting over and moving to grab Jongho. The younger boy squirmed in his arms for a minute before settling again, allowing himself to be carried off to his room.
After tucking Jongho in and turning on his night light, Yunho moved to his own room, falling back onto his bed with a heavy sigh. Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered when the last time he had spent a night out instead of taking care of Jongho. When his parents did come home, as rare as it was, it seemed to always be a cause for celebration. Whenever he wasn’t playing the role of parent, he had to play perfect son.
He tried not to be bitter about it. Other kids would kill to have his life– the independence, the money– he knew some people who wanted nothing more than to have the means and ability to live their own lives. The guilt started to creep up his throat. He really shouldn’t be complaining about his situation.
Sometimes, when Yunho really thought about it, he would get upset with himself for not being notable enough to bring any of his parent’s attention to him. He can remember a time, for a little while after Jongho was born that his parents frequented the house. They weren’t always home, taking turns on who would stay with Jongho while the other was out. Yunho took it upon himself to start helping with the baby; to prove that he has use. He would let whichever parent was on watch go rest while he watched over the kid. It was only shortly after that started that his parents became distant again.
Yunho wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t delusional enough to think that he was his parents’ pride and joy. They had left him alone as a child, and he learned how to survive by himself. They had Jongho to alleviate whatever guilt they had about that, and when Yunho proved that he could give Jongho the care and attention that they felt obligated to, they left them alone together.
He had thought about running away before, just taking Jongho and never coming back. Yunho understands that his parents don’t care much for either of them, maybe don’t even love them. But they can support him and Jongho in a way he would never be able to alone. Giving up the free house and food that his parents provide would do nothing but make it harder for the two brothers to survive.
Deciding to just put a stop to his thoughts, he put his head down and forced himself to sleep.
Waking up to the blaring of his alarm and the harsh sun through his blinds, Yunho fumbled around until he managed to hit his clock. He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow and letting out a groan at the thought of going to school.
He got up and went down the hall to wake up Jongho, who had been snuggled up with his teddy bear, the beige fur darkened and damp from the kid’s drool. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yunho shook the small boy lightly until he opened his eyes.
“Mornnn,” Jongho slurred, eyes only barely opened and body still limp against the soft mattress.
“Morning, bud. It’s time to get ready for school,” Yunho said, lifting the kid from his armpits into a sitting position. Jongho rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and blinked blearily at Yunho, “What do you want for breakfast?”
“B’con,” Jongho said quietly.
“And eggs?” Yunho asked, moving to Jongho’s small dresser to pick out some clothes.
Jongho made a small noise of protest.
“We need something besides bacon, bud. Fruit?” Yunho placed the clothes he had picked onto the bed with Jongho.
Jongho smiled up at Yunho and nodded.
“Okay, I’ll go make it. Put these on and then come downstairs,” Yunho stood up and moved down to the kitchen. As he walked down the stairs, he took note of the front door, still unlocked. Usually, when his parents came home, they would lock it behind them.
Yunho’s parents being away for weeks wasn’t new, but today was one of the days that he typically saw them, if even for a few minutes. They would often come home at the beginning of each month to ensure that the boys were still alive. Yunho supposed he appreciated it.
He shook it off as he got to the kitchen, placing the frying pan on the stove and grabbing some fruit from the bowl. Maybe they had lost track of time and hadn’t realized they were due back for a visit.
The breakfast was made fairly quickly, just cutting fruits and waiting for the bacon to cook. He sat on one of the stools in front of the island while he waited, pushing the food around his own plate.
Eventually, he heard the slow thumps of Jongho making his way down the steps one at a time, meeting him at the bottom of the steps and picking him up to sit him back down on a stool.
After breakfast, Yunho made sure they both had what they needed before walking to drop Jongho off at his elementary school, trudging his way toward the high school on the other side of the park.
His school life was nothing special. He was fairly popular among the kids in his grade– his last name came with those kinds of reactions– but he kept a low enough profile that he couldn’t be called a “popular kid”, especially when he had no time for parties or extracurriculars.
He was charismatic and well-liked but ultimately didn’t care much for school. He doubted that he would be able to go to college without leaving Jongho. So he made his way through the school day, waiting until that last bell.
Since Jongho was younger than him, his school let out a good amount after Yunho’s which gave the older time to hang out in his school, often going to the library or computer labs with his free time. He would occasionally see people watching him. Whether they were gathering the courage to come talk to him or gathering as much information to talk shit about him to their friends, he never knew (nor did he really care).
When he picked Jongho up, he plastered on a smile and said goodbye to Jongho’s teacher, walking the two of them home and beginning to prepare dinner.
The next morning when Yunho woke up, he noticed his parents had still not been home. And then the next morning, and the next.
After a whole week, Yunho’s concern plateaued. What if they had gotten in an accident? What if Yunho had been supposed to file for missing persons and hadn’t thought of it fast enough? He wouldn’t be able to care for himself or Jongho without the food and resources his parents provided.
He stood in the hallway next to the kitchen, eyes focused on Jongho in the other room. He had sat him down on the couch and put a show on to distract him, not wanting to stress or frighten the other boy.
His fingers dialed 911 before he could think twice, and the line only rang for a second before he was connected.
“911, what is your emergency?” The operator asked– a woman’s voice.
“My parents haven’t come home in a few days, I’m worried,” Yunho said softly.
“What’s your name, honey?” the woman asked.
“Yunho,” he offered.
“Okay, Yunho, is there a reason you’re speaking softly?”
“My younger brother is here, I don’t want to worry him,” he answered, glancing back over to the boy. He seemed content with his situation, softly rocking side to side as a song played.
“And it’s just the two of you?” she asked, the scratching sound of pen to paper barely audible, “How long have your parents been gone?”
“Yeah, just us. They were supposed to come home about a week ago,” Yunho explained.
“A week?” the woman asked, shock filling her voice for a second before she cleared her throat– professional, “Might your parents have had a reason to be gone that long? Maybe a business trip you forgot about or a family affair out of town?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” Yunho said slowly, “they usually come home on the first of each month, they didn’t call to tell us they would be busy,” he said.
“Okay, son. Just give me your parents’ names and phone numbers and we will work this out for you,” she said calmly.
Yunho gave the woman the information before saying goodbye, hanging up the phone, and moving to sit next to Jongho, the other boy immediately pillowing his head into the older’s lap. He moved his hand to rest on Jongho’s head, rubbing his thumb back and forth.
Internally, Yunho was trying to subside the panic that had been blooming in his chest for a few weeks now. If something had happened to their parents, he didn’t know if he would be able to take care of Jongho anymore.
Nothing happened for the whole next day. Yunho continued his routine as usual, trying not to let the anxiety of his unanswered questions get to him. Jongho had to have noticed something by now, their walks home from the school now filled with an uneasy silence. Just two days after his call with the police, a knock on the door came.
He and Jongho had been playing cards on the floor of the living room, both jolting slightly at the harsh knock breaking through their comfortable quiet. Yunho stood and moved to the door. It was unlocked since the boys were home, so his parents wouldn’t have needed to knock.
Opening the door slightly, he peered out cautiously. Two men in police uniforms bracketed a kind woman with dark hair and soft features.
“Hi there!” she greeted cheerfully, “I’m looking for Jeong Yunho. Would that be you?” she asked.
Yunho hesitated for a minute, “How can I help you?” he responded, not giving her a direct answer.
“My name is Ji-Eun, I’m from child services. This is Officer Kwon and Officer Baek. We were just hoping to talk to you, maybe even your brother?” she asked in a hopeful, yet resigned way like she was anticipating Yunho to say no.
Peering around the other side of the door, Yunho looked towards Jongho, who was now sitting facing the door and looking curiously at Yunho.
“Jong, I’m gonna step outside for a minute, be good, okay bud?” Yunho looked at Jongho’s eyes, giving him a small smile to try and comfort him. He could tell it didn’t fully work.
Stepping outside, Yunho stood directly in front of the closed door, stopping anyone from trying to go in without him. His heart was pounding so bad he could feel it in his whole body. Worst case scenario, he and Jongho could probably run through the back door into the woods.
“Hi, Mr. Jeong. We were informed that you called 911 just a couple of days ago,” she waited for him to nod, “We have managed to get into contact with your parents since then,” she explained, tone careful and soft.
“They’re okay?” Yunho asked, some of the tension leaving him at the news. If his parents were alive, then everything would be okay.
The woman grimaced, seemingly on instinct, “They’re fine, Mr. Jeong. Unfortunately, as they’ve explained to us, they are no longer living in Korea,” she clasped her hands together anxiously, moving them behind her back just as quickly as Yunho noticed.
“What do you mean?” Yunho asked breathily, his voice suddenly vanishing.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jeong informed us that they had moved to America and had left you and your brother with everything you may need. They have no intention of coming back,” Ji-Eun said bluntly, moving her hands forward as if ready to comfort Yunho.
“They just left us here?” he asked quietly. His heart, in contrast to earlier, seemed to almost stop beating; his whole body going numb; his vision blurry.
“It would seem,” Ji-Eun answered.
“Well, that’s alright,” Yunho straightened up, earning a strange look from the woman, “I can take care of Jongho just fine,” he said determinedly, begging his own body to clear whatever haze it went into, let him move or breathe.
“I-I’m sure you could, Yunho,” the woman seemed flustered, calling him his name for the first time, “But we can’t let you do that. We can talk more about it, but it seems we need someone to take care of you and your brother from now on.”
“I’m almost an adult,” Yunho said, gaze unfocused and shaky as his brain and body processed all of the information Ji-Eun was telling him.
“Not for a few more years, I’m afraid,” she seemed genuinely sorry for him, “Until then, we would probably need to place you and your brother into a home.” She finally placed a hand on Yunho’s shoulder, the sensation bringing back some of the feeling in his body.
“A home?” he asked, dazed and trying to process as fast as he could.
“Yes, honey. A home where people could take care of you for the next few years until you’d be old enough to live on your own.”
“We-we can’t go to a home,” Yunho argued, eyes unfocusing as his breaths came faster and faster.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to, honey. You can’t just stay here all alone,” Ji-Eun tried to reason.
“Jongho would stay with me?” he met the woman’s eyes again, determination shining through past the half-formed tears.
“I can’t promise that, Yunho,” she whispered.
“You need to promise that Jongho would stay with me, or else I’m not going with you,” he said defiantly, moving his eyes from Ji-Eun’s to the two officers, making it clear he would fight if he had to.
“You are very different ages, Yunho. We will try and find someone who will take you both, but there is no guarantee,” she said.
“Promise me,” Yunho demanded, the potential harshness offset by how frantic the boy sounded.
“Promise you what?” the woman asked, placing both of her hands on Yunho’s shoulders as his breathing reached a rapid pace.
“You need to promise me that you will try everything to keep us together,” Yunho choked out, eyes glassy as he refused to let the tears fall.
“Yunho, honey, you need to slow your breathing. I swear on my life I will do everything to keep you two together,” Ji-Eun wiped away some of the tears that had escaped off of Yunho’s cheeks.
Yunho nodded sagely breathing still sharp, but slower, “What do we need to do?”
“For now, pack a few bags of your things– clothes, personal items, keepsakes, whatever. You should be back out here within the hour so we can take you to the station. Unfortunately, you will need to sleep in one of the cells until we have somewhere to place you,” she appeared to revert to a businesswoman, her sympathy clearing slightly from her face as she explained the next steps.
Yunho looked confused and upset, “No.”
“You don’t exactly have a choice, kid,” One of the officers said impatiently, Ji-Eun looked back at him with a glare.
“No, what?” Ji-Eun stepped in front of the officers.
“Going to the police station? Sleeping in a cell? That’ll scare the shit out of Jongho and he didn’t do anything to deserve that,” Yunho argued, “Why can’t you stay here until we’re placed, in our home with our beds?”
The woman thought for a while, face bouncing between sympathy for the poor boy in front of her and pride for the defiance and protection he showed.
“I can’t stay here, Mr. Jeong, but I can find an officer who will,” she compromised.
“Where?” the officer scoffed behind her again.
“Jiyong-ssi, can you keep your mouth shut for one minute,” Ji-Eun lost some of her composure, “Tae still owes me a favor from the last time,” she rolled her eyes before turning back to Yunho, “you may still want to explain something to Jongho, though. Even if you’re not leaving today,” she suggested.
Yunho nodded shortly, moving a hand onto the doorknob behind him.
Ji-Eun looked towards his hand before nodding slightly, moving back, and motioning for the officers to follow her back to their cars.
As soon as the cars were gone from his sight, Yunho moved swiftly back into the house and locked the door behind him. As his back hit the other side of the front door, he put a hand to his heart, chest heavy and breaths strained.
As he composed himself, he stood and walked over into the living room, “Jjongie, it’s just me, you can come out,” he said into the still air of the room.
“‘vrythings okay?” Jongho asked, coming out from his ‘hiding’ spot in the corner.
“Yup, just needed to talk to them for a minute,” he answered.
He would give Jongho as much time as he could. He hoped to put the news off until tomorrow when maybe he had processed some of it for himself. Though, he imagined he would have to explain why a police officer was sleeping in their house tonight.
“Can we make dinner together?” Jongho asked after a few moments, looking expectantly at his dazed and distant brother.
“Yeah,” Yunho brought himself out of his thoughts, “yeah, bud, what do you want to make?”
The rest of that night was filled with soft laughter and love as the two brothers made dinner together, Jongho sitting on the counter and acting as a sous chef for Yunho. It was only later that night that Yunho was reminded of that day’s incident, as when he was tucking Jongho in for the night, a knock came on their door.
Yunho finished saying goodnight to his brother before making his way downstairs to the front door, opening it wide enough to let the officer in, locking it once it was closed again.
“Hello, Yunho. My name is Officer Kim, I’m a friend of Ji-Eun,” he held his hand out, which Yunho shook politely.
“I can show you to your room?” Yunho asked. As much as he didn’t like the officer being in his home, he appreciated it over the alternative.
“Oh, I’m not really supposed to fall asleep. Just in case you guys decide to run away or something,” Officer Kim explained, “not that I think you guys will, it’s just kinda protocol.”
“Okay,” Yunho said, “Don’t do anything that would wake Jongho, I didn’t tell him you were gonna be here,” he said shortly, moving past the man to go upstairs to his own room.
Sleep did not come easily to him. Yunho knew that running away would make it worse. Realistically, they have nowhere to go. If they tried to go somewhere in town, everybody already knew them. And there was no reality where they survived on their own.
He had to let them be taken into a home, it was the only way to make sure Jongho was protected and cared for at the same time.
That next morning, Yunho awoke earlier than Jongho did, moving downstairs to check on the officer they were housing. Surprised to find the man asleep on their couch, he shook the man awake.
“Protocol, huh?” he had asked sarcastically.
The other man startled awake, sitting perfectly straight on the couch.
“I was… resting my eyes?” he asked more than said.
“Sure,” Yunho said blankly.
“Oh, whatever. Just don’t tell anyone. Ji-Eun would have my head,” he asked kindly.
Yunho snorted and moved past the officer into the kitchen, pulling out pancake batter and setting it on the counter before grabbing a pan.
“I was gonna make Jongho breakfast, did you want some?” Yunho asked flatly.
“No, I couldn’t make you do that,” Officer Kim stated, his grumbling stomach betraying him.
“I’ll accidentally make too much,” Yunho shot a small smile at the officer, who made his way over to the kitchen island.
“You’re a smart kid,” he said kindly, “I’m really sorry all of this is happening to you.”
“I guess part of me doesn’t really care,” Yunho shrugged, “I mean, yeah, it hurts that my parents would do that– I think it would hurt anyone– but… I don’t know. I never really cared much for them anyway. I guess I loved them, but. It’s hard to love someone you know nothing about, y’know,” he looked at the officer, “I guess I’m more upset that I can’t just keep doing this,” he explained, gesturing out vaguely as he went to pour the batter into the pan.
“You’re upset that you’re going to a family?” Officer Kim asked.
“I’m upset because I know that I can take care of Jongho on my own. I get that I shouldn’t have to, or whatever, but it’s just gonna scare him so much, y’know. It feels unnecessary” Yunho reasoned, moving to grab a spatula.
“Don’t you feel like you’ve missed out on things though, always being in here and taking care of him?” the officer asked, grabbing two cups from the cabinet and filling them with juice.
“I don’t know what I would be doing if I wasn’t taking care of him; he needs me,” Yunho sighed. Officer Kim’s phone started ringing just as he reached for the plates.
“I’m really sorry kid. I can’t begin to imagine it,” the man looked at Yunho meaningfully before putting the plates on the island and excusing himself for his call.
Yunho finished preparing breakfast and put together two plates for him and Jongho, moving the leftovers onto a third plate for Officer Kim. He was on the second step of the staircase, intending to wake up Jongho, when the officer walked back in with a cautious expression.
“Hey, kid. That was Ji-Eun on the phone, she says that they found a family who would be willing to take you two in right away,” he explained slowly. At Yunho’s shocked expression, he put a hand out, “I know, seems fast. It’s nothing concrete yet, she just wanted me to tell you that they were interested in meeting you, and if you don’t like it there, we can wait a little longer and see what else they can find for you.”
Yunho nodded wordlessly before moving quickly up the stairs, knocking (maybe a little too loud) on Jongho’s door before opening it.
Jongho was already awake, sitting at the foot of his bed and playing with two of his teddy bears.
“Hi, Yuyu!” Jongho said happily before repeating himself in two different voices for the bears.
“Hi, Jjongie; Hi Mr. Bears,” Yunho waved before sitting on Jongho’s bed with him.
“Buddy, we’ve gotta talk about something,” Yunho lifted Jongho and sat him on one of his legs. Talking like this always helped hold the younger’s attention, something Yunho had learned to do when explaining important rules and concepts to the other boy.
Jongho let his stuffed animals drop from his hands onto the bed, looking attentively up at his brother.
“So, y’know how Eomma and Appa aren’t here very often?” Yunho started, grimacing a little at the thought of how to explain this.
Jongho nodded, “V’ry b’sy” he said, cheek squished against Yunho’s shoulder.
“Yeah, very busy. So, well, they’re gonna be even busier for a while. And they probably won’t have time to come home to see us,” Yunho lied slightly, deciding it was better for the younger boy to not know the full truth, “So they have some friends that they want us to stay with for a little bit, so they can make sure that we’re safe,” Yunho studied Jongho’s face for any particular emotion. It always made him sick when he had to pretend his parents cared about them, and he always feared his own expression would give away too much. The other boy looked confused, almost deep in thought while still focused on Yunho.
After a few beats of silence, Yunho pried a little, “Do you feel any way about that?” he asked softly, moving an arm around the boy's back, prepared for the worst.
“Yuyu’s coming?” he asked.
“Yeah, Jongho, I’m coming too,” Yunho answered.
“Okay,” Jongho said.
“Okay?” Yunho repeated, “That doesn’t make you scared? Living away from home with strangers?” he clarified. He didn’t want Jongho to be upset, but he felt like the younger boy wasn’t fully understanding.
“If Yuyu’s there, I’ll b’kay. Dn’t need to be scared with Yuyu,” Jongho said sweetly, making Yunho’s heart break a little.
“Okay, then,” Yunho said quietly, “I made some breakfast so we can go downstairs and eat, and then a police officer will take us to the other house, alright?”
Jongho nodded, sliding off of Yunho’s lap and letting himself be led over to the closet and be handed a fresh set of clothes. Together, they made their way downstairs and began to eat the breakfast Yunho had prepared. Looking at the kitchen counter, he found the plate he had made for Officer Kim missing, and the clean plate drying just next to the sink.
Yunho was about to stand to find the officer when there was a knock on the door. Yunho moved to open it and found Officer Kim on the other side, who just winked at Yunho and motioned for him to go along with it.
“Excuse me, are you Jeong Yunho?” he asked in a voice that made it seem like he was pretending to be a cop.
Stifling a snort, Yunho answered, “Yeah, just let me grab some of our things, you can come in.”
“Thanks, kid,” the officer returned his voice to normal, lowering it to a whisper as he got closer to Yunho, “How did the little one take it?” he asked.
Yunho gestured for the officer to follow him as he walked to the closet to grab some suitcases and then towards their bedrooms, shouting for Jongho to be careful while he was gone.
“I think we’re both okay with it,” Yunho shrugged as he crouched by Jongho’s dresser, shoving his clothes into the suitcase by the fistful.
“I don’t mean to pry, kid, really,” Officer Kim started, “but you both feel a little too casual about this.”
Yunho shrugged, moving over to Jongho’s bed to pack his blankets, leaving his stuffies out for Jongho to carry himself, “Neither of us is very used to seeing our parents, I think Jongho even less than me. For us, this is more about moving houses than never seeing our parents again. He’ll be okay so long as I’m there and I feel the same,” he explained.
“I’m really glad you have each other, then,” the man smiled ruefully.
“What’s gonna happen to this place?” Yunho sat next to the now-closed suitcase, directing his attention to the man across from him.
“Well, the house is still your parents, so it’s up to them,” the officer stated, “because of the uh… investigation, the authorities will have access for another few days, if you feel like youre forgetting something,” he answered helpfully.
Yunho just hummed in return, lifting himself up off the floor.
Officer Kim patted Yunho on the back before grabbing the suitcases packed for Jongho and bringing them downstairs. After Yunho finished packing his own belongings, he carried them down to where Jongo and the officer were sitting.
“H’ve you ev’r arrest’d s’mone b’fore?” Jongho asked, poking at the officer’s vest and badge.
“I have,” he answered, “I only arrest bad people though, so make sure to be the best boy you can.”
“I always am!” Jonho said excitedly, bouncing in his chair.
“That’s very good to hear,” the other man praised, just as Yunho made his presence known.
“All ready to go?” the officer asked.
Yunho took a deep breath and looked over at Jongho, who stared at him with unblinking admiration. He put a big smile on his face, “Let’s go.”