Chapter Text
Kim Taerae was dragging his feet sluggishly across campus as he made his way to his 9 a.m. music theory lecture. He was still wearing his bright red pyjama bottoms paired with a yellow tie-dye hoodie. His chestnut-coloured hair wasn’t dissimilar to a bird’s nest with his long fringe blocking the majority of his sight, which already wasn’t the best hence the glasses that sat perfectly on top of his nose. Before he had left the flat, his older cousin had sneaked up behind him with a comb in an attempt to fix the mess on top of his head, but he’d given up soon after Taerae had tried to bite him.
Taerae had been living with his cousin Sung Hanbin for three months now, and while he enjoyed the time they spent together, he had a hard time tolerating just how much Hanbin treated him like a child. It had started with Hanbin just wanting to help Taerae out with his studies and giving him advice on which extracurriculars to join, but it had soon turned into him questioning Taerae whenever he came home late or even secretly following him if Taerae refused to say who he was meeting with.
It became even worse when Hanbin’s boyfriend Zhang Hao moved in with them last month as it felt like gaining another overprotective mother. As soon as Hanbin had mentioned that his younger cousin was joining them at Dankook University, Hao was overjoyed. When they’d met before at Hanbin’s family gatherings he’d always thought that Taerae and his dimples were the cutest things ever. Although this meant that Taerae had to put up with Hao squishing his cheeks whenever he saw him, he’d saved Taerae on a few occasions when he got into trouble with Hanbin, so he was mostly thankful to have him around.
…
“Taerae I swear this is the last time I’m going to tolerate this. Do you want me to call your parents and tell them to come collect you and take you back to the US with them?” Hanbin yelled after Taerae had arrived back at the flat at 5 am, 7 hours later than the time he'd said he’d be home by. Taerae had muttered an apology before quickly trying to slip past his cousin to get to his room but Hanbin managed to grab his arm before he could escape.
“Ah hyung I’m tired let go”
Hanbin strengthened the grip on Taerae’s wrist as the younger tried to break free.
“If you think I’m letting you go straight to sleep without telling me exactly where you’ve been then you’ve got another think coming kiddo”, Hanbin said sternly while trying to subdue a yawn himself.
“I’m tired and I’ve got to get up soon for my morning lectures, just let me pass. And I’m not a kid anymore so stop calling me that! I don’t even get what the issue is with me staying out, I’m an adult so I can do what I want without telling either of you what I’m doing!” Taerae stated in annoyance.
He knew that he was pushing his luck by speaking to the older pair in this way but the alcohol secretly circulating his system had made him braver and in the mood to confront Hanbin about this seemingly unfair confrontation.
Hanbin tightened his grip on Taerae’s wrist and raised his hand. Taerae immediately knew what was coming and shut his eyes preparing for the spanking he was about to get.
“Woah woah woah”, Taerae heard Hao exclaim.
He opened his eyes after he hadn’t felt anything and saw Hao holding onto his cousin’s arm.
“Bin-ah what are you doing? Calm down, he's back now and we know he’s safe… Let’s let him get some rest so he doesn’t miss his lectures in the morning. You look like you’re about to fall asleep too.” Hao noted as he saw his boyfriend’s eyes drooping.
Hanbin glowered at Taerae and then turned reluctantly back to Hao before agreeing that it was probably best they had this discussion when they weren’t all sleep deprived.
“Fine, Taerae go to your room and you’ll come meet us at mum’s cafe tomorrow after your lectures so we can have a serious conversation about the conditions your parents made of you living here with me."
…
Taerae slammed his bag down on the desk in annoyance at being forced to study before his brain had even woken up. He slumped down into his chair and put his face flat against the table, preparing for a 2 minute power-nap, but was interrupted after hearing a bright laugh in front of him. He lifted his head up and was met with a beautiful pink-haired boy wearing a cheeky smile.
“Take it you’re just as excited as me about having such a fun lecture so early in the morning”, he said sarcastically.
“Seeing you is probably the only thing keeping me motivated right now Matt…”
Taerae’s best friend Matthew laughed, “What can I say I do have that effect on people.”
“How’s Hanbin doing by the way? I didn't see him at dance class on Wednesday”, Matthew questioned.
Hanbin and Matthew had been friends long before Taerae had known him. They’d met at a dance camp that his cousin had attended a few Summers back and been inseparable ever since, much to the annoyance of Taerae as it meant that not only did he have to share his best friend, he also had to watch what he said whenever he wanted to complain about Hanbin to Matthew.
“Still as irritating as ever”, Taerae mumbled.
He knew exactly why Hanbin hadn’t made it to teach his dance class on Wednesday as it was the day after Taerae had stayed out late and the combination of sleep-deprivation and anxiety had made Hanbin fall ill. What made matters worse, was that Taerae had actually been out drinking with Matthew and some other freshers next to the campus lake that night - that was until they were found out by the campus security and given a warning. Taerae had fabricated a lie to his aunt about staying over at a friend’s accommodation to work on an assignment together, which both his aunt and Hanbin had surprisingly bought.
“Alright Tae I’ll come over to yours later today and ask him myself as your answers are always so helpful!”
“No really he’s fine! He just wasn’t feeling too well, there's nothing to tell…”
“If you say so… I’m coming over anyway cause you need to teach me how to transpose this nonsense into alto clef.”
“Fine… But don’t disturb my afternoon nap!” Taerae accepted with a huff as their lecturer walked into the room and the class fell quiet.
…
“He’s doing fine, you need to stop worrying so much!” Hanbin pleaded to his older cousin Jiwoong, who was calling to check in on his younger brother who’d been ignoring every single one of his texts and calls.
“He should really be the one calling to check in on you! How’s life in the military treating you anyway?”
Jiwoong had enrolled in his compulsory military service as soon as he had graduated with a first class honours engineering degree from the same university that his younger brother and cousin were studying at in Cheonan.
“It’s pretty relaxed to be honest, especially compared to all the times that I had to look after Gyuvin and Taerae and stop them from fighting and biting each other. Luckily the guys here are all super easy-going and we mostly just hang out and play football instead of doing military drills. Oh and get this - they always give me extra food in the cafeteria and someone secretly does my laundry and makes my bed for me? I still haven’t found out who it is but I’m extremely extremely grateful.”
“As expected of our hyung’s charms,” Hanbin chuckles.
He knows that it’s probably the least they do for him as he’s seen for himself the effect that his cousin has on both men and women alike. Yet despite this, he always remains humble and is probably the most kind-hearted person that Hanbin knows. Not to mention the fact that he is also devastatingly handsome. Even though their parents always say how alike they look with their big deep brown eyes and defined jawlines, Hanbin couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his cousin’s striking looks and strong aura, especially when they went out together and everyone would come up to them and ask for pictures and his cousin’s number.
He personally thought Jiwoong looked most similar to Hanbin’s younger half-brother Yujin and Jiwoong’s youngest brother Gyuvin, although the only one who really stood out in their family looks-wise was Taerae with his light hair and eyes, as well as his shorter height and softer features. This was confirmed the day that Hao, Hanbin, Jiwoong and Taerae had all gone out for dinner together and when Taerae had told the waiter that his brother was paying, the waiter had turned towards Hao and asked if he wanted to pay with cash or card.
“Come visit us on your day-off next month, I’ll tell Taerae to make sure he’s free that day.'' Hanbin suggested to his cousin.
“Sounds good! And tell that little miscreant to return my calls if he wants the money that mum sent us… Oh and one more thing.” Jiwoong said, lowering his voice, “Make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble, you know if anything happens and they start looking through his records we’ll be in some deep shit…”
“I got it, don't worry! I’m always keeping a close eye on him, especially with Hao here too - we’re looking after him well!”
“Okay, well they’re calling me for morning training now so I’ll speak to you soon, take care of yourself Binnie and good luck for your sports science exams!”
“Thank you I’ll definitely need it”, Hanbin laughed “Speak to you soon!”
He put down the phone and found Hao hovering over him.
“Do you want to get any closer?”, Hanbin says with a giggle as Hao gives him a peck on the cheek.
“Hm babe you wouldn’t keep any secrets from your boyfriend would you?”
Hanbin flinched as he realised that Hao had probably overheard them talking about Taerae.
“Of course not Hao, don’t be silly!” He responded, trying to sound convincing as Hao took a seat in front of him.
“Hah caught you!” Hao said triumphantly. “You only ever call me Hao if you’re hiding something or if you’re annoyed at me, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything to annoy you within the past hour so what secret are you and your cousin hiding?”
Hanbin looked down at the table contemplating his options. He hated lying to his boyfriend but he knew that if his and Taerae’s parents found out that he had told anyone the truth about Taerae, they would definitely kill him. However, this was his boyfriend who Hanbin would trust with his life and how would they even find out…
“Babe you swear to me you’ll never tell a soul, especially not Taerae…”
Hao looked up eagerly.
“Bin-ah, I swear on my life.”
“This is serious, it could put Taerae’s life in danger if anyone else came to know about this.”
“In danger? Did Tae do something bad or?”
“No! Nothing like that… It’s something that he’s totally unaware of.”
“Oh okay, go ahead.”
“Well you see… Taerae’s adopted.”
Hao froze.
“What?”
“Well he really is our cousin, my dad’s sister’s son to be specific, but Jiwoong and Gyuvin’s parents raised him as their own son after his mother’s disappearance.”
Hao looked at Hanbin in a state of a shock as Hanbin continued to explain.
“No one knows who his father is, only that his mum had been living in China for a couple of years before she fell pregnant with Taerae. Once his dad had found out she was pregnant he tried to force her to get an abortion, but she fled back to Korea before he could find out and asked for help from her brother and sister. She didn’t tell them who he was, only that he was a powerful man who would send people looking for her to make sure the baby didn’t survive.”
“Oh my god…”
“Fortunately, she managed to give birth to Taerae safely. However, just a few months after his birth, my aunt went on a trip with one of her friends to Seoul while my parents were looking after Taerae. As they were getting on the train back to Cheonan, they were attacked by a group of men. Her friend managed to escape but they took my aunt and no one has seen or heard from her since. They discovered a letter in her bedroom drawer with fake documents for Taerae, including a birth certificate that for some reason stated he was 3 years older than his actual age, as well as a fabricated name for his father. We assumed this was to keep Taerae protected and to remove any connection anyone could possibly find to his real father. There was also a handwritten note saying that if “they” had come back for her and taken her away, she wished for her sister to take care of Taerae and raise him not as a nephew, but as one of their own. She had hoped that this would keep him safer and avoid him asking any questions once he was older.”
After Hanbin finished speaking, he and Hao sat there for five minutes in silence.
“That’s absolutely insane,” Hao said when he finally managed to find some words.
“Okay so let me get this straight… Taerae IS your real cousin, just not the son of the aunt and uncle that I know. And his real father is some evil man who basically kidnapped your aunt. And he’s actually three years younger than everyone thinks which means he’s way too young to be in university and- Oh my god it suddenly makes so much sense as to why you’re so strict about him drinking alcohol and seeing other people…”
“I know how crazy it all sounds… Promise me you’ll never mention a word about this to Taerae.”
“I promise Bin-ah, I’d never do anything that could potentially bring harm to him or your family.”
Hao got up and draped his arms around Hanbin’s shoulders. Hanbin was overcome by a rush of relief as if a burden had been lifted.
“I love you so much baby.”
“I love you too.”
…
Taerae arrived back at the flat he shared with Hanbin and Hao in a hurry to return to his warm bed. He wished he could live in the dorms with Matthew but his mum had said that as a condition of him going to university in South Korea and not in the US where his parents had moved temporarily with his younger brother, he had to go to the same university as Hanbin and also stay with him in his flat. This was of course due to the fact that he wasn't even an adult yet, albeit unbeknownst to Taerae - he just thought that his parents were overprotective and his cousin sucked up to them too much.
“Hey Taerae is that you? Come in here”, Hanbin shouted from the kitchen.
“No it’s not me, I’m going to bed to take a nap”, Taerae replied as he saw Hanbin walk into the hallway.
“Very funny Tae, your older brother called me this morning and apparently you’ve been ignoring all his messages. Why are you making him worry as if he doesn’t have enough on his plate already?”
“I only ignore him because of how much he bombards me with texts and calls. Why does he feel the need to send me a good morning and good night message every day? And the only reason he calls me is to tell me to make sure I’ve eaten and to ‘make sure I behave for Hanbin’ as if I’m still a little kid.”
“You should be more thankful to have an older brother as caring as him”, Hao chimed in from the kitchen table where he was eating his chicken salad. “I wish I had even one sibling, let alone an older brother who would look out for me like that.”
“Yea whatever you can have him if you want. Oh, by the way Matthew’s coming over later to do some work with me so you guys can go out if you’d like”, Taerae hinted not so subtly.
“No it’s fine Tae you can study in your room and we’ll keep out of your way in the kitchen.”
“Fine”, Taerae huffed as he returned to his room and flung himself onto the bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
“What the f–”, Taerae was awoken by a sudden weight thrust upon him. He opened his eyes to find Matthew on top of him with a massive grin on his face.
“Hey Tae Tae you always look so cute when you’re sleeping, Hanbin let me in.”
“As helpful as ever isn’t he just”, Taerae groaned, struggling to open his eyes. “Let’s get started on this transposition then.”
They worked for a couple of hours until Matthew started complaining that he was hungry so they decided to go to the kitchen for a snack.
“Hey Matt! How are you?” Hao asked affectionately, looking up from his geology notes as Matthew and Taerae entered the kitchen.
“I’m good thanks, just working hard and getting early nights as always!” Matthew smiled innocently.
Taerae smirked upon hearing this.
Matthew turned to face Hanbin, “Hyung, why were you not at dance on Wednesday? I was worried that you’d caught a cold or something!”, he asked concernedly.
Taerae gritted his teeth together - he’d forgotten to ask his best friend to keep the fact they’d been out drinking a secret from his cousin if he wanted him to remain at university for longer than a semester.
“Well Matthew, you see my responsible little cousin here…”, Hanbin said, glancing at Taerae, “He decided to stay out all Tuesday night without telling me where he was going or who with and didn’t reply to any of our messages telling him that we were worried. And as his parents and older brother have given me the wonderful job of ensuring his well-being, not knowing where he was or what had happened to him didn’t do my stress levels any good, so I wasn’t feeling too good the next day!”
Taerae pleaded internally that Matthew didn’t let loose what they’d actually been doing.
“Oh wait I'm so sorry, Tae and I were just down by the campus lake having a few drinks with a couple of our classmates on Tuesday! We were so caught up in our discussions about what we’d do if our campus was suddenly invaded by aliens that he must have missed your messages. I’m really sorry if you were worried - I should’ve let you know that he was with me.”
“Shit”, Taerae muttered under his breath.
He turned to look at Hanbin whose brows were deeply furrowed and saw his ears begin to redden. Taerae offered him a sweet smile knowing that not even Hao could save him from being punished now.
“So that’s what you were doing then, was it Taerae-ah?”, Hanbin said between gritted teeth.
Matthew realised that he’d made a mistake as soon as he saw Hanbin’s reaction.
“Wait Bin-”, he tried to make an excuse before Hanbin cut him off.
“Matt, I think it might be better if you leave now and I’ll come find you to talk later. I know you didn’t do anything wrong but I’ve just got some really important things to discuss with Taerae right now. Actually I’m pretty free tomorrow so let’s meet then and I’ll buy you lunch!” Hanbin suggested, trying to force a smile.
Matt turned towards Taerae to see him glaring at him. He mouthed a pitiful “sorry” to which Taerae just shook his head, mouthing back “it’s not your fault” before Matthew was ushered out of the door by Hanbin.
As soon as Matthew had left, Hanbin grabbed Taerae’s wrist and led him towards the kitchen chair beside Hao.
“Sit”, Hanbin ordered as if training a newborn puppy.
Taerae sat down carefully, glancing over at Hao for some moral support but Hao’s head was buried deeply in his notes, minding his own business.
“Well?” Hanbin asked in expectation, waiting for what excuses Taerae was going to come up with now.
“Hanbin.. I-”
“Speak to me properly.”
“Hyung… I’m so sorry, I know you said not to drink but it wasn’t that much really and all the other freshers are allowed to drink so I didn’t understand why I shouldn’t be able to. I just feel like it’s so unfair the way you always treat me like I’m still a child instead of an adult university student.”
“Well maybe it’s because you still are a child Kim Taerae!” Hanbin shouted, finally letting out all the anger he’d been holding back for so long. “The amount that your family and I have done to keep you safe and raise you well and this is the shit you pull! Everything your mum went through so you can live your life freely and you act like a spoiled brat at every opportunity. She’d be so upset if she was around to see how irresponsibly you’ve been acting.”
Hao’s mouth was agape as he stared at Hanbin. A look of confusion had overtaken Taerae’s face as he tried to process everything that his cousin had said.
“What are you saying?” Taerae replied as tears started to form in his eyes as a result of his cousin shouting at him, “I’m not a brat and my mum always sends me messages saying how proud she is of me so what would you know Sung Hanbin.”
Hao thought he should intervene at this point in case Hanbin was about to say anything that he would regret, but as soon as he was about to get up from his seat, Hanbin walked over and put a hand on his shoulder to push him back down.
“Taerae, listen to me very carefully because I’ve realised that unless you know the truth, you’re going to continue with your behaviour and get into bigger trouble than you realise.”
“What is it now?” Taerae said in annoyance.
“Jiwoong and Gyuvin aren’t your brothers, they’re your cousins.” Hanbin said quickly in one breath.
Taerae’s tears immediately went back into his eyes and he started laughing instead.
“Is this your way of punishing me? Making up stupid lies?”, he said through laughter.
“Taerae, he’s telling the truth.” Hao intervened.
“And how would YOU know about something like that before me? You’re not even a part of our family so why are you getting involved?”
Hanbin slapped Taerae on the back of the neck and Taerae yelped.
“Apologise to Hao right now, I know this is confusing but don’t you dare speak to him in that manner.”
“Hyung… I’m sorry I didn’t mean it, I just got a little heated, I know you're as much a part of this family as anyone...”
“It’s fine Tae,” Hao replied, mainly because he wanted to keep the situation as calm as possible before Hanbin finishes telling Taerae the whole truth and all hell breaks loose.
Hanbin quickly gave Hao a kiss on the cheek, mainly as an apology on his cousin’s behalf, but also as a silent thank you to his boyfriend for being so understanding.
Seeing they were momentarily distracted, Taerae got up from his seat and made for the door, before Hanbin stretched out an arm to stop him.
“Where do you think you’re going, puppy? We’re in the middle of a training session right now.”
“Very funny”, Taerae said as he was dragged back to his seat.
“Fine then, just get my punishment over with,” Taerae said defeatedly.
“Tae, we're not gonna punish you, I just want you to listen to me.”
“You want me to take your nonsense seriously?”
“Taerae, please just listen to your cousin for once,” Hao pleaded.
Taerae had never seen Hao act this desperately before and as he still felt bad about what he’d said earlier he reluctantly agreed.
Once Hanbin had finished telling Taerae what he had told Hao earlier on, he and Hao exchanged concerned glances before looking back at Taerae.
After a minute's silence, Taerae jumped up, knocking over his chair before shouting, “Sung Hanbin you’re an absolute psychopath!”
He then proceeded to rush out into the hall where he quickly slipped his trainers on and ran out of the flat, slamming the door behind him before either Hao or Hanbin could stop him.
“Well I’d say that went pretty well!” Hao joked while he and Hanbin looked at each other with worry.