Chapter Text
Felix was twelve when Chan had collected him from his ballet lessons, to look after him for the evening whilst his parents went off to another fancy dinner. He was the only cousin that Felix liked - see, let him do what he wanted - and broke his parents’ rules often enough that they stopped caring too much about the time that they spent together.
But he was tired of lying to the one person who was his best friend, who he trusted above everyone else.
Chan.
“Oppa, d’you ever think about stuff that your appa might not like?” There’s confusion as they settled on the couch, opposite ends like always with his feet stretched out in Chan’s lap.
“Like what?”
“I dunno, maybe if you didn’t want to be a boy any more?” Chan froze for a second, causing panic to crawl up his throat but then he squeezed Felix’s ankle.
“Like how hyung likes both boys and girls?”
Felix could feel the tears bubble up as Chan opened his arms out, letting him dive forward and hide his face against his chest.
“I don’t like being a girl. I feel wrong, and eomma would scream if I did anything.” Chan didn’t say anything, clearly taking in Felix’s breakdown, his own panic surging up at the idea that Chan might not want him near. “Sorry oppa-”
“Hyung.” Chan’s gentle correction sent a fresh wave of tears but it felt so much lighter in that second.
Hyung, hyung, hyung.
“Hyung. Sorry hyung. I’ve never felt like a girl.” He finally pulled back to see a softer look on Chan’s face before he shrugged.
“So? Being a guy is pretty sick bro, because guys are great.”
That was the day that Felix found himself an ally in Chan, especially as each year passed by and he began to get bolder with his rebellion.
He started with dropping from his extra classes at school first. His teachers had been worried and sat him down, but he quietly explained that the pressure was making him sick and he felt like he couldn’t focus on his actual school work.
Felix knew better than to tell them the actual truth, knowing that this would be going back to his parents and so his teachers agreed that he could drop the extra classes with the promise that he kept up his grades.
When his parents found out, it had been the first time where he’d gotten genuinely frightened by his dad’s anger, swallowing down the truth when they demanded his reasons, telling them the same lie he’d told his teachers. While they didn’t truly believe him, his grades had been slipping and he’d been looking more ill. So they didn’t fight it.
When Felix was sixteen, Chan had come home to take him for his first ever piercing. It had only been his ears, but it was the first time he’d watched his cousin stand up to his mum who was hell bent on keeping him from Chan’s influence.
“I will not have her turn out like you.” She’d hissed her vitriol as Chan waited in the hallway. Felix stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting, watching.
“I’m the reason Felix hasn’t dropped out of school. You’re lucky that the extracurriculars aren’t necessary to pass exams. They’re in a couple of months and this won’t hurt the possibilities of further education.”
He felt his breath catch, watching his cousin stand up to her, his body a sturdy wall against the hatred she held for him.
“That’s how it started-”
“I was out of education and I don't do anything when I’m with Felix. I know better.” Chan snapped back, and Felix watched as she took a step back, unable to come up with a rebuttal or reason to prevent Felix from going with him. He had her backed into a corner and she knew it.
“You’re so like your father.” Was her parting shot, turning her nose up at Felix as she glanced at him from where he stood.
“Yeah well, at least my appa knew how to raise his kid.” Chan muttered under his breath before opening his arms, letting Felix bounce into them, a soft ‘oof’ escaping with a light laugh.
“Jisungie wanted me to tell you that when you’re ready to meet everyone, he’s got a neat little guitar riff he wants to teach you. Changbin-ah said hello and Hyunjin-ah told me to tell you that when we get big, you’re gonna be our stylist. According to him, all good rockstars have some sense of fashion and yours is far better than ours.” Felix laughed as they headed out.
Once they were in the car, Chan helped him take his hair out of the plaits, ruffling the blonde locks before tucking his own baseball cap backwards on him. Whilst Felix hadn’t socially transitioned, Chan helped him where he could, baggier clothes that he kept at his place so that Felix’s parents wouldn’t figure anything out.
“You got all of your documents?” Felix nodded.
“You saw they’re not happy, but appa said he wouldn’t stop me. I’ve kept my grades up and boosted my Geography back to an A, so they can’t complain about it. That’s why eomma was so rude.”
“And here I was thinking she’d warmed up to me.” Chan returned dryly as the car peeled away from the rows of houses, heading into town. Felix laughed.
“Is it really necessary to do stuff like this though, hyung?” Chan grimaced at the question, but Felix knew he’d be honest.
“My appa never really had a chance to grab anything before he was kicked out when he got my eomma pregnant. So he drilled it into me that if ever I was in a relationship and needed to get out, to keep my documents separate and safe. Whilst your parents have backed off, something will happen and you’ll be glad we prepared this.”
While Felix could only hope that his parents wouldn’t question him until after he’d turned eighteen, he could see the logic in keeping spare sets of clothing at Chan’s along with his important documents and let the new demo of Chan’s band, Hollow, wash over him as Chan sung along with Hyunjin’s vocals.
His rebellion against his parents was getting more heated, ever since he’d gotten his ears pierced, the house was nothing but arguments and slamming doors.
The tension was blatantly obvious as Felix did his best not to slam his bedroom door after packing his weekend bag to spend it with Chan, but it still set off his mum - who was still screeching when the front door slammed shut - earning a look of concerned horror from his cousin.
“Lix-ah, what the fuck was that?” He grimaced, staying quiet until they got into the car.
“She says that you’re corrupting me, that I was a good girl before you.” The word girl was practically spat out, his own frustrations rising up. “I’m saving up so when I turn 18 I can leave. Soobin-hyung said that I could stay with him until I finish secondary school and college, promising to keep my shit safe if I decide to go to University.” The car hadn’t started yet, but Felix knew that it was more for his benefit, to get his anger out in a way that wouldn’t set Chan off whilst he was driving.
“Like fuck are you staying with someone else that isn’t me.” That pulled Felix up short, surprise on his face.
“Huh?”
“You’ll stay with me. We always said that if you needed anywhere to go, you’d come to me first, yeah?” Chan’s gaze was a hard stare, making Felix feel like he was staring into his mind, plucking out the worries with ease. “Tour is only ever a couple of weeks at a time and when you’re 18, you can come with me.”
Felix turned away, feeling his ears grow hot.
“Can we go, please?”
That was something he loved about Chan, if Felix wasn’t ready to talk, the subject was dropped until he picked it back up.
The weekend itself had been a cold one, the October air far colder than they were used to. But it just meant they stayed holed up in Chan’s flat, with the older deciding it was finally time for Felix to have his hair cut and dyed.
The first cut was almost diabolically bad, chunks of hair missing as Chan watched some youtube tutorial that made no sense to either of them. It was the lightest Felix had felt in months. So he snapped some photos on the disposable camera between their laughter and Chan pulling out his clippers, instead attempting a somewhat decent undercut.
Parts of it were uneven, but once Felix took the smaller scissors to his hair to at least make it semi decent, the tub of Rockabilly Blue had been cracked open and Chan had pulled on a pair of gloves to cover his hair with the stuff.
Once it was all on, they snapped a few more photos, with Chan putting his own colour of a pastel purple on his hair before they got it washed and somewhat styled, pizza and soda drinks littering the coffee table when they’d finished.
It had been the best weekend of Felix’s life, up until Chan had dropped him back home and headed off to spend the evening with his bandmates.
“I fucking knew it! He’s always been such a bad influence on you!” His mum shrieked as he reached the top of the stairs.
Felix beelined to his room, heart hammering as he grabbed the bag that had been packed and ready to go for the last few weeks. There was no way that he was going to stay here any longer and he wasn’t risking them kicking him out before he could get some of his stuff together.
With his backpack slung over his shoulder and messenger bag with his school supplies slung across his body, Felix didn’t hesitate as his heart began to pound as he left his room.
“I told you letting your fucking brother run free like he did was a bad idea!” Felix winced at the volume, realising his mum was still waiting for him in the foyer, eyes zeroing on him as he made his way downstairs.
“Don’t you dare Lee Felicity.” Strong fingers wrapped around his wrist, jerking him to a stop. “I should’ve shipped you off to finishing school, the day you started rebelling against us.”
Felix yanked his wrist free as his dad came through, anger clear on his face.
“Are you trying to embarrass us, girl? Make it seem like we don’t know how to treat our daughter-”
“I’m not a girl!” He snapped back, vindictive satisfaction rearing up as his mum took a step back, shock on her face. His dad’s jaw snapped shut. “I’m not a girl and my name is Felix. Chan-hyung made sure you only had a broken kid, not a dead one but even then, I can never please you, can I?”
“Liar.” The word was a whisper from his mum, but it felt like a gunshot in the silence that followed Felix’s outburst.
“Always pitting me against him, and for what? Some stupid family drama because you want to prove yourselves righteous? Better than everyone else? Well guess what? You. Failed.”
He didn’t see the slap coming.
The force of his mum’s hand hitting his face sent him into the banister pole, sharp pain exploding above his eye as he stumbled back in shock, her grip slipping from his wrist.
“Get out.” His dad’s voice was low, demanding. Felix could feel the fear in his chest then. His mum had hit him, would his dad have done the same? Hurt him until he bowed to their demands?
Felix didn’t need to be told twice, fleeing from the house and letting the door slam shut behind him. His heart was racing and head was pounding, but he’d made it out.
The air was cold as he ran, trying not to think of the nosey neighbours that would see him running and question what had happened at the Lee’s for him to leave. It was only once he’d put some distance between himself and the house, did he pull his flip phone out.
He knew that Soobin had already offered him to stay just in case, but all he could hear was Chan telling him that he could stay with him, almost desperate in his reassurance to tell Felix that he wanted to be picked, to be needed.
When Chan picked up on the second ring, he could hear voices in the background and realised that he was already with the band.
“Felix?”
The words wouldn’t come.
He’d been kicked out. His own mum had hit him.
A sob broke free first, his chest aching as the voices on the other end went silent. Either Chan had moved rooms, or he was on speakerphone.
“Where are you? Are you home?”
“No, Few blocks out on Cresswell. They-she-hyung, please.” Another sob broke free as he felt tears on his cheeks, words finally lost to the pain in his chest.
“Stay put, I promise I’ll be as quick as possible, okay?”
“‘Kay.” The word was a whisper as he tucked himself against the streetsign, the call cutting off quicker than he expected. As he pulled the phone away from his ear, Felix felt his gut sink as he realised his phone battery had died.
Chan knew where he was, he reasoned with himself, he’ll get to him soon enough,
By the time Chan pulled up, Felix was freezing cold, and struggling to keep his eyes open.
Hands curved around his face.
“Aegi, hyung is here. Open your eyes for me?” It was Chan, the one person who he knew was safe. There would be no pain from him,
“Hy’ng?” It was hard to open his eyes in the cold, but once he had them open, the smile he got was filled with worry and relief.
“Hi aegi. It’s me. Let's get you into the car and clean up, yeah?”
For all that he felt sluggish, Felix nodded, allowing Chan to pull him up and get him into the car where the heat was already blasting.
He stood no chance of keeping his eyes open once his bags were safely in the car and he was strapped in.
“It’s okay, hyung’s got you now.” He made a soft noise, earning a startled, wet laugh. “Rest, we’ll talk later.”
Felix was out like a light.
-
When Felix woke up, he was tucked in Chan’s bed. There was light filtering through the cheap curtains that had come with the flat which told him that he’d slept through the night.
He felt confused for a moment before everything came rushing back, the slap, being told to get out and calling Chan. The guilt hit him almost immediately, followed by panic when it sunk in that it was Monday morning and he should’ve been at school.
He heard the front door close and before he could get up, Chan was in the doorway, cheeks tinged red from the cold weather.
“I’ve already called you in sick. Get washed up and we’ll figure out what happens from here, okay?”
He was quiet going into the bathroom. Already the skin around his eye was darkening, the cut seemingly cleaned and stopped bleeding at least. It felt like a neon light, along with the shape of his mum's hand print. Chan had always teased him for bruising easily, but in that second, it was definitive proof of what happened last night.
He felt sick.
Once he’d gotten changed - grateful that Chan had the forethought to at least get him out of his jeans - he made his way into the living room where Chan was settled on the sofa, a bowl of cereal on the coffee table waiting for him.
“You could’ve let me sleep on the couch, hyung.” The protest was quiet as he settled next to Chan - whose hands were yet to stop shaking - but it earned him a dark look from his cousin as he took the first bite of the cereal.
“Considering that bitch hit you hard enough to draw blood and leave marks, I felt that you could at least have a comfortable night before we talk about everything.” A yawn from Felix followed the sentence before he took another bite, mulling over his words.
“I can still stay with Soobin-hyung if-“
Chan cut Felix off, “Over my dead body.”
He ate in contemplative silence, occasionally broken by Chan pulling out his phone and checking for messages. There would occasionally be a ping but whatever responses he was getting, weren’t enough to settle his nerves.
“You good?” Felix settled the bowl on the coffee table once he was done, eyes glued to his cousin as the man let out a big sigh.
“Not really. I could really do with a smoke right now, but I’m not risking that.” That made Felix pause, his eyes flickering around to see that indeed, there was no ashtray in sight, nor did the room smell like smoke.
“Why, hyung?”
Before Chan could answer him, there was a knock at the door. Something close to steel settled on his features, immediately making Felix feel nervous.
The door opened, and from Felix’s spot he could see the uniformed police officers.
He wasn’t about to go back to them.
Immediately he shot up off the sofa, briefly wondering if the height was safe enough for him to jump from Chan’s window as he moved through the living room, only to be stopped by arms wrapped around his middle.
“No! I won’t go back to them!” The panic made him feel like he was drowning as he pushed at the arms, desperately trying to escape from being taken back. He’d already been hit once, what stopped them from doing it again?
“Shh, it’s me, it's Channie.” The voice was right by his ear as a sob crawled up his throat, the fight dropping out of him as he turned, hiding his face against Chan’s shoulder, rocking him gently.
“Don’t let them take me.” Felix had never felt more terrified, unwilling to risk looking up, seeing the faces of the officers in the wake of his panic.
“Can you at least step in and close the door? It’s bad enough having you lot turn up on my doorstep on a Monday morning.” Chan snapped out behind him, but he never moved away from Felix.
“Is she-?”
Chan cut off the officer.
“Absolutely fucking dandy.” He snapped back before taking a deep breath and Felix could feel the visceral effort he was making to calm down. “I would apologise, but hey I’m the one that picked up my traumatised cousin last night and I knew that they’d pull this kind of stunt.”
“Considering that they’d cited child endangerment and you calling into Felicity’s school and saying she’s sick-” Chan ignored the officer as he pulled his head back a little. Felix could feel the tears but he wasn’t at risk of starting to sob again.
“Reckon we can sit down and work this out? I’d rather not get arrested, kid.” Felix looked at him in alarm.
“We’re not here to arrest either of you.” The female officer spoke up, but it did nothing for Felix’s nerves. Chan had always taught him to never trust the police blindly.
He allowed Chan to move him to the sofa, the female officer sitting on the single seat whilst the male one seemed to be looking around.
“We’re here to do a wellness check on you,” the female officer explained gently, “your parents called, saying you never came home, and that you weren’t answering your phone.”
“S’cause the battery died last night after I called Chan to come and collect me.” He drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and watching her. She gave him what seemed to be a reassuring smile, but he knew better.
“Why did you not go home then, Felicity?” Felix pulled a face but didn’t correct her. He was well aware of the hatred the general public had towards trans people and he wasn’t about to put himself in harm's way with the police.
“But I did. When I got home, my mum lost her temper because I cut and dyed my hair so I ran to grab my stuff. She’s been shouting a lot since I turned sixteen and last night was the first time she hit me. Dad told me to get out of the house so I left.”
He watched as her face darkened for a moment, eyes clearly studying the marks and bruises.
“Can anyone confirm that you went to collect her, Mr Bang?”
In any other situation, Felix would’ve laughed at his cousin being spoken to so formally, but everything felt too wrong, too off centre.
“I was with my bandmates when my cousin called. They heard the sobbing and I wasn’t about to drop Fee back to them for it to happen again. So I brought both of us back to mine.” Felix didn’t miss the fact that Chan was being so careful to not reference him being a girl and in spite of his panic, his heart settled a little bit.
“Since you’re sixteen, we can’t make you go home, especially if your parents forced you out. But we will need to inform social services and hand this over to them, okay? We’ll go back to your parents and make a note on this case file that should they call again, we can cite them wasting our time and resources if they continue, okay?”
It wasn’t everything, but it meant Felix had some breathing space from his parents.
“Okay.”
“The place looks to be in good enough shape and she’s not in immediate danger, so we’ll take our leave for now.” The male officer spoke with his partner and Chan got up to show them out.
Only once the door was shut and he was sitting back on the couch did Felix cry, feeling the pain in his face more in that moment as Chan held him tightly.
“I know, little one. Hyung’s here, I promise I’m not going anywhere.”
It took a couple of hours before Felix could calm down completely but even he knew that this was going to happen eventually. Chan knew it too.
“Whilst we wait to hear from social services, how about we lay out some ground rules, yeah? That way you know where you stand and I promise that I’m not gonna just let you get taken from me.” Felix could trust that. Even if he couldn’t trust the system, he knew that Chan would never let him go without a fight.
Rules seemed like a fair discussion, all things considered. They’d always had rules between them whenever Felix stayed over already, nothing strict like his parents had been, but enough to give them both their own boundaries when sharing a small space even for a short amount of time.
“The non-negotiable one is your education. Whilst today is a bit of a one off, we’re going to go to the school once the social worker has been and ensure that there’s support for you. I won’t be on your ass about grades, but I genuinely want you to do well for yourself.” Felix somewhat expected that.
Since he’d come out to him, Chan had always made sure Felix's grades never slipped. Chan had finished secondary school with the highest grade of his year group and knew that he would've pushed for Felix to keep applying himself.
“What about the band?” Chan ruffled his hair gently with a softer smile.
“They’ll understand that you’re my priority. I won’t stop or quit, but we can figure something out. Once we’ve established that you can at least be left unattended without burning the flat down, touring will get tricky but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Something in Felix’s heart eased.
There had always been a small worry that his parents had somehow gotten to him, that his mum’s harsher whispers would take root, turn Chan against him, but he proved Felix wrong every time.
“What other rule is there?”
“The next one I don’t particularly want to budge on is getting your name changed and getting you to see a doctor.”
Felix felt his throat close up.
“Whilst I can spot a mile off when you’re having a shit mental health day, I want to make sure that it’s not down to you not getting the correct care. If you want to start testosterone, then I’ll help you. And we need to get your legal documents updated too. This will likely lock you out of any inheritance when the old bat dies, however.” Felix grimaced at that.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already spun her a sob story. I know halmeoni wasn’t nice to you because of your appa’s choices, but she tolerated me.” Chan’s face changed then, a look of sadness crossing his features as he tucked Felix under his arm.
“Halmeoni hated me on principle because I was a visible reminder of my appa’s failures. I know she tried to pit us against each other but was always surprised when you were so happy to ask me how I was doing in class. However, she’s stuck in her own ways, so whatever sob story they spin, you’ll become the villain.”
They both remained quiet for a moment, Felix soaking in the words and understanding exactly what he’d likely lost. It felt harrowing and freeing in the same breath. Safe from their judgement but knowing that he’d made Chan’s life harder.
It was later on in the afternoon - Felix was napping on the couch with a pack of frozen peas on his face - that there was a knock on the front door once more. He jolted upright, fingers clutching the bag to his face that was offering the only bit of relief that he’d felt since Chan hadn’t been able to run to the corner store yet and they had to wait for the following day to get an appointment with a doctor.
He watched as Chan opened the door warily, only for his shoulders to relax.
“Sana-noona.” There was a warmth that Felix never heard often from his cousin.
“Afternoon Chan-ah. I’m here on official capacity to discuss Felicity. Can I come in?” He stepped aside to let in a professional looking woman who was holding a clipboard, her eyes falling onto Felix’s frozen form, lips morphing into a gentle smile that he immediately distrusted.
“Are you taking me away from hyung?” The word slipped out and he froze. Sana’s face seemed to freeze for just a second before turning her attention to Chan, seemingly studying him.
After a moment, Chan sighed before introducing them, “Noona, meet Felix. My cousin. Felix, do you remember when I said someone used to check on me?” Felix nodded. “That was Sana-noona.”
“Does everything I say get recorded somewhere?” The question felt stupid as she moved to the chair where the officer had sat that morning. He kept himself pressed to the corner of the couch.
“No. Whilst I will have to use your birth name on any reports that I write, I will call you whatever name you would prefer.” Felix’s gaze flickered to Chan who smiled.
“Noona was always good about that.”
He let his body relax a little more, pulling the peas away from his face with a grimace.
“How’d you get a shiner like that, Felix?” This felt a little bit like safer territory. He’d already talked to the police about what had happened, so he knew that he didn’t really have to hide anything.
“My eomma. She went crazy when I came home after a weekend with hyung. We cut and dyed my hair.” This time he found himself getting shy, flipping Chan off when he laughed. Sana smiled at him before making a note.
“It suits you. Did your parents force you out or did you leave on your own?” He shrugged.
“Both, I guess. I wanted to leave once she started screaming about hyung being a bad influence. She stopped me when I got downstairs, called me a liar and hit me. The force of the hit sent me into the banister, which is where the cut is from.” He pointed to the black eye on the opposite side of the hand print bruise.
“Chan, would you mind stepping out of the room whilst I ask Felix some standard questions?”
This made both of them freeze. Felix was immediately wary whilst Chan looked at her more calculating.
“Do I need to leave the flat?” This time his words were hesitant, worried. Felix realised in that second that Chan was scared.
“No, just the bedroom for now.”
“Lix?” He startled at the nickname before shrugging.
“I don’t want you to leave the flat.” He knew that being more honest with Chan now would make it better in the long run. Chan gave him a weak smile before stepping over to ruffle his hair.
“Alright, little one. I’ll hang out in the bedroom till noona calls for me, okay?” Felix nodded immediately, eyes tracking Chan as he moved across the living room and headed into the bedroom, the door closing with a soft click.
He returned his attention to Sana who smiled at him.
“Do you often stay with Chan overnight?” Felix shook his head.
“Only when my parents had gone away for the weekend. Hyung said that it wasn’t safe to leave me alone after they stopped the sitter from coming around.”
“Was this the first planned weekend you were staying with Chan?” He nodded this time.
“Eomma was dead set against me staying, but I knew there wasn’t much she could do other than try to stop me.” Felix found himself moving the bag of - most likely - defrosted peas between his hands as he talked, switching between staring at the packaging and looking at Sana.
“Has Chan done anything you don’t want him to?” Horror curdled in his gut as he looked up at her, shocked. “I have to establish that there’s no coercion, Felix. I’m not saying that he has, but I need to hear from you without him in the room.”
“No!” The protest was louder than he intended, but he wasn’t about to let anyone twist words to make Chan to be the bad guy. “Hyung- I came out to him when I was twelve. He- he could’ve told my parents, they’d have sent me to some sort of boarding school. But he protected me. He’s- hyung has always put me first. Even when my parents tried to make it clear that I was halmeoni’s favourite, he never held that against me.” This time, the words were rushed, almost trying to make her understand his panic, the fear of being sent back home.
Sana smiled, but it was sad.
“Don’t tell him I told you this, but he talked about you a lot when he was younger. He’s always loved you, even if he never knew how to say it, Felix. This just shows me that nothing has changed.” Felix felt his heart jolt as tears filled his eyes.
“He’s never had to say it. He always made sure that I knew what being loved looked like, not what our family put us through.”
She was writing something on the clipboard before looking at the bedroom door.
“Chan-ah, you can come back.”
When Chan returned, he settled on the couch next to Felix, staring directly at Sana.
“So am I at least fit enough to look after him?” Sana laughed.
“I still see you as this ten year old sometimes, Chan-ah. It feels strange seeing a previous charge with one of his own. Whilst there will likely be some recommendations-”
“Noona, we need something set in place. I’ll be taking him back to school tomorrow and I need to update everything on what’s happened to protect him from any retaliation his parents might try. You’re well versed with our family as it is.” Chan was quick to cut her off and Felix stared at him, stunned.
Sana rolled her eyes but there was a smile on her lips, and Felix thought this one looked more indulgent than the one she’d given him.
“Yah, let me finish next time brat.” The scold was closer to a tease, making Chan offer his own smile. “There will be some recommendations for government assistance. Whilst he is still legally listed as a dependent with his parents, the paperwork would establish estrangement so you can get monetary assistance and housing. If you’re taking Felix back to school tomorrow, I can come by and we can do the paperwork to get you the support you need. How does that sound?”
“I won’t have to go back?” Felix cut in before Chan responded, earning a huff from his cousin but Sana shook her head.
“No. I’m going to recommend that the removal is in your best interest. Whilst they would prefer reunification, you’re over sixteen. They’ll be more receptive to you staying with a family member rather than becoming a ward of the state or emancipated. So what I need to do with your hyung is make sure that he’s set up to support you and keep you safe. Whilst we typically don’t monitor cases long term, I’ll be informing my superiors that because I’ve had previous history with your family, I want to see it through until you’re eighteen and make sure that Chan doesn’t get overwhelmed.”
“At least I know you won’t judge me if I smoke.” Chan muttered and Sana laughed. Felix felt lost but stayed quiet.
He was staying with Chan. He would be safe.