Vendetta

Chapter 1

Excitement buzzed in the air as the hour hand on the wall mounted clock reached five in the afternoon. Any minute now, a very special person would be walking through the front door after being at work since before everyone was awake. The excitement was nearly tangible as they waited impatiently by the front door, recreating a ritual that had gone on for as long as anyone could remember.

    A familiar knock at the front door, two knocks and a pause followed by another two knocks as if simulating a heartbeat, alerted everyone that their waiting was over. A man wearing a white baseball cap over neatly side-combed brown hair walked through the door, his cheeks dimpling as he was greeted with the familiar sight of his family waiting for him.

    "Channie!" They all cried simultaneously, pushing and shoving each other to get to Chan first. As always, Chan acted as the peacemaker, separating them from each other and giving them each the individual attention they craved in their own time.

    Chan made his way through the line, ruffling everyone's hair and listening to drawn out stories they would tell about their days. Sometimes he would get tackled by someone who would hug him like they hadn't seen him in months, and he would return the embrace with an I love you and a warm smile.

    Only one person didn't join the chaotic love fest at the door. Minho already was seated t his designated spot at the dinner table, watching everyone with a withering scowl, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Minho always became bitter and irritable around that time, a stark contrast from his sweet and almost fatherly personality during the day, but nobody paid him any mind. In fact, a few of his siblings even returned the scowl back at him in a mocking manner knowing that he was jealous that Chan was getting all of the attention.

    "Changbin hit me because I beat him in a card game," Jisung whined, turning his head to the side to show a slap mark that had long since faded away.

    "I only did it because you deserved it!" Changbin snapped, appearing as if he would have liked nothing more than to have slapped Jisung again, but he restrained himself under Chan's watchful gaze. "You keep cheating because you can't stand to be a loser!"

    "I think that's enough," Chan said calmly, gently yet sternly separating the two from each other. "We'll settle this later. I don't think I'm wrong by saying that everyone's a bit hungry."

    A collective cheer rose up from the six people surrounding Chan, everyone eagerly eyeing the box on the desk by the front door tha Chan guarded protectively with his body. He gently urged everyone to take their seats, holding Hyunjin back for a moment while everyone else went ahead.

    "Would you like me to cut your hair?" Chan asked sweetly, eyeing Hyunjin's now shoulder-length black hair that he had begun to wear in a sorry excuse for a ponytail. "I've noticed its been getting a bit long recently and you haven't mentioned anything about wanting it cut."

    Hyunjin merely shook his head, his smile only faltering in the slightest as he combed his fingers through his hair. "No thanks. I like it the way it is, but I'll let you know if I want it cut."

    Chan nodded in response, taking his seat at the end of the table with Hyunjin following closely behind. Slowly, Chan placed the box he was carrying on the table, still being careful to guard the contents. "I'm sure you know that today is a very special day for someone at this table. There's something just as special in this body, but you'll only get to see what's inside once you finish your dinner."

    After Chan made the announcement, he got up and disappeared to the kitchen to grab the dinner he had prepared the night before, leaving the excited chatter of the table behind him. Everyone knew what the special day was, it was Jeongin's birthday, but nobody could guess what could possibly be in the blue box that Chan had placed in front of him. He rarely brough things home from wherever he went during the day, but when he did, they were always something to marvel over.

    "He never brought anything home for me on my birthday," Seungmin grumbled, staring at the table with a sour expression to hide his teary eyes. "He forgot mine last year!"

    "He was busy and probably forgot because of that," Felix comforted, wrapping his arms around Seungmin in a comforting embrace. "You know he loves all of us equally and will make it up to you this year just like he always does if he lets us down."

    As Seungmin was being comforted, Chan returned and began placing large plates of food in front of everyone, filled with what appeared to be steak and assorted vegetables. A few groans arose at the sight of the vegetables, but Chan only responded with a head nod towards the blue box in the kitchen, reminding them of what was at stake.

    "I can't believe you're nineteen already," Chan said, walking over to Jeongin and giving him a brief back hug followed by a hair ruffle. Jeongin jokingly complained as he smoothed his hair back down. "How does it feel to be big and wise?"

    "Not much different than before," Jeongin replied honestly, feeling his sibling's eyes on him. For a moment, he wondered if they were looking at him with jealousy but they all appeared to be genuinely happy for him. "Will I be able to help out with your project now that I'm older?"

    At the mention of the project, Minho went rigid, his fork suspended trembling halfway to his mouth. The reaction only lasted for a fraction of a second, going unnoticed by everyone. Chan and Minho had been working on a project for at least three years building something to sell so that they could afford to move into a bigger house. Chan had never gone into detail about it, but Jeongin had always wanted to help out knowing it was something Chan was passionate about.

    "I'm afraid not," Chan said with a tight smile, his voice calm as always. "Maybe when you're... a bit older."

    Jeongin let it go, though his disappointment was as strong as ever. Minho and Chan appeared to be working extremely hard on the project and he wanted nothing more than to relieve some of the burden. Nobody else was interested in helping out, so why was Chan being so selective? Jeongin couldn't bring himself to be mad at Chan for it, but he couldn't pretend that he wasn't hurt about the fact that he was once again being turned away.

    One everyone was done eating, Chan cleaned up the empty plates and grabbed the blue box from the kitchen and placed it in the center of the table. At everyone's birthday, with the exception of Felix's since it was the day after Jisung's, Chan relived the tale of how everyone had come to live in the Bang household. Though it was a story told quite often, no one grew tired of hearing it.

    "Many years ago, my father found all of you in poor states," Chan began. "My mother originally objected to the idea of taking in more children into their small home, but my father begged her to give them a chance. She fell in love with Minho and Changbin when they were brought home and welcomed the four that came after them. By then, our house had grown crowded and my mother drew the line saying that we couldn't afford to take in another child. But I found Jeongin alone while I was hanging out with friends. He was starved and sickly and my parents couldn't bring themselves to turn him away. After their untimely passing, I've made it my responsibility to take care of you until the day I die or am unable to do so. Now that being said, how about we have some cake?"

    Chan opened up the blue box, pulling out a circular food that was yellow and fluffy on the sides, covered with white frosting across the top. 'Happy Birthday, Jeongin' was written in blue cursive letters across the white background. They all had time to take in the sight of the new food before Chan began to cut it into eight thin slices.

    Once the cake was evenly distributed and everyone was chowing down on what they thought was the best food known to man, Chan picked up Minho's slice of cake and nodded his head in the direction of the basement door.

    "You know what time it is, right?"