Lead Me to You| RenYang

[A Difference]

"Who's ready to eat?"

A woman, appearing around her early fifty's walked into the dinning room, balancing four plates in her arms. 

"Ooh me! I'm starving." Yangyang's sister cheered, as a plate was placed in front of her.

The woman continued round the table, placing a plate in front of Yangyang, then Renjun. "Hi Renjun, I'm Yangyang's mother, I'm so happy you could join us for dinner." She said, putting the last plate in front of Hachi. 

"Thank you for having me." Renjun responded, showing off his sweet smile. 

"You're welcome darling." Mrs Liu walked towards the door, taking a quick stop beside Yangyang's sister, who was already scarfing down her food. "Slow down dear, the foods not going anywhere." She chuckled, ruffling the girls hair.

The food smelt really good, Renjun's mouth watered from just looking at it. Perfectly cooked, medium rare steak, with oven roasted vegetables. It made a nice change from the fast food he usually ate. 

"Well now you've met my mum, I better introduce my sisters." Yangyang said, first pointing to the woman across from him. "That's my oldest sister Da-Xia, then that's my sister Mei-Ling." He gestured to the girl sitting next to him. 

Renjun nodded, seeing both sisters react differently. Da-Xia had little interest in Renjun, barely acknowledging his existence. Whilst Mei-Ling waved at him adorably, cheeks stuffed with food. "Hi, I'm Renjun." 

"Are you dating my brother?" Da-Xia asked, her gaze intensely on Renjun. She didn't show any emotion, letting off this intimidating aura.

"Da-Xia, mum told us not to ask that, remember?" Mei-Ling whispered, though everyone heard it. 

The woman rolled her eyes, looking to her sister. "She told you not to ask that. I'm nearly thirty Mei, I don't want to gossip or play games. I'm asking a mature and simple question." She said, turning her gaze back to Renjun. "Got an answer?"

"I-"

"Sorry for the delay, it's tough trying to cook six steaks at once." Mrs Liu laughed, bringing in the last two plates. "Yangyang's fathers away for work at the moment, so he won't be joining us. Maybe when you come next time we'll have the whole family, even the twins." She placed down the plate in front of Da-Xia, then took her place at the head of the table.

An awkward silence fell over the room, as people began tucking into their meals. The question still unanswered for some, and Renjun could feel like everyone wanted to know. 

Mrs Liu took a bite of her steak, looking down the table. She could feel the tension, which made her wonder what had happened in the small time she was gone. "Why's everyone so quiet?"

"Da-Xia asked if Renjun was Yangyang's boyfriend." Mei-ling couldn't keep a tight lip, spilling not even a second after Mrs Liu's question. 

"Oh stop with that nonsense." Mrs Liu scoffed. "Renjun's our guest, don't make him uncomfortable."

"It's a simple question though, yes or no." Da-Xia held the same stance as before. 

Hachi slapped her sisters arm. "It's none of your business." 

"He's my brother so it is."

"He's my son, and I'm your mother, so I'd say it's not." Mrs Liu said sternly.

Whilst the women were squabbling, Renjun felt himself getting worked up. His fingers gripped at his thighs, digging his nails into his jeans. This was really stressing him out. He didn't know what they wanted from him, if he said no, would they be disappointed? Would that ruin the evening? He couldn't lie to them, he didn't want to do that.

Yangyang noticed Renjun getting upset, guilt rushing over him. He'd been the one to ask his mother to tell his sisters not to talk about that. He didn't want Renjun to feel pressured, but here they were. 

Moving his hand to the boys thigh, Yangyang stopped Renjun's hand from fidgeting. The panicked boy looked up at him with glassy eyes, and in that very moment, he knew he had to protect him for the rest of his life. 

"How am I rude?"

"Wow rude and oblivious."

"Just stuff that steak in your mouth, and shut up."

"Oh I'll stuff this steak somewhere, but it won't be my mouth!"

"Okay enough! Everyone stop fighting. Renjun's not my boyfriend, he's just my friend." Yangyang yelled over his sisters, and suddenly everyone quieted down. 

Mrs Liu cleared her throat, picking up her cutlery again. She started cutting into her steak, bringing movement back to the whole table. "That puts an end to that, let's move on."

"Yangyang won the dance competition." Hachi chimed in, attempting to lighten the mood. 

"That's amazing Yangyang well done." Mrs Liu smiled. "I wish I could have been there, what performance did you do today?"

"It was the one I showed you before, with Jisung and Shotaro."

"Ooh I really love that one, no wonder you won."

Renjun relaxed, with the limelight finally off him. Though he found his heart beating a little differently now. The rate had increased during his panic, and had slowed itself down again. Yet, it almost felt like it was skipping a beat. Slowly, Renjun gazed down, seeing his fingers intertwined with Yangyang's. He turned to look at the boy, who was talking to his mother, that big smile on display as usual. 

Maybe his heart beat wasn't the only thing that was different.