Neverending Story || Norenmin

sept

"I want to propose to him." Chenle said firmly at both Jisung and Renjun who look shocked from the sudden confession. "I think I'm ready to be someone husband."

Enthusiastically, Chenle jump a bit from his seat when he said he wanted to propose to his 3 years boyfriend who's in the mainland of South Korea, working as a model,  Jung Sungchan, a brother of Jung Jaehyun, Renjun's brother in-law. How small the world can be.

"You sure? It's not a child play you know, marriage I mean." Jisung said, unsure with Chenle's decision.

The younger Chinese scoff, "You think I'm joking with the proposal? Am not!" he bite back harshly at Jisung who look at him with a look of uncertainty. "I'm old enough to think this through."

"With this puny body of yours? I don't think so." Jisung chuckled mockingly.

"What did you said?" Chenle raised one of his eyebrows.

Renjun sigh at the start of the duo's bicker. So he decided to step up in the conversation for them to stop from biting each other's throat.

"Stop it. *sigh* I agree. You are old enough to make this decision. But Jisung is right too. You need to think about this thoroughly. Marriage isn't something to take lightly. Not when one day you'll have a responsibility far much greater and a child of your own. Not everyday it will comes to your way. Plus with Sungchan as a model as his career. You need to think it through and get some kind of validation from your brother too. Lele, I want your happiness not a force one for both sides. So, please think it through and decide together with Sungchan. I don't want you to get hurt."

"And you Jisung, you little prick," he pull Jisung ears to him. "Apologize to Lele for saying he's a puny." He scolded Jisung who pout at him.

Like a child, Jisung refuse to acknowledge his rude attitude to Chenle. And instead, he retrieved his ear and walk away from both Chenle and Renjun.

"Let him be hyung. He needs to learn a world without me." Chenle smiled sadly at Jisung's silhouette.

Renjun sips on his tea, then he sneaking a look at Chenle's sad expression. He stare at the young man who think it like the end of the world for not having his best friend blessing.

"You know it not too late right? To correct everything between the both of you, I mean." He start.

"Yeah it not. But I can't leave Sungchan for the sake of my first love." Chenle chuckled.

"Is it worth it though? When your heart clearly fall for him. Not Sungchan."

"Who said that? I love Sungchan, gege. No one can replace him."

"But what keeps holding you back?"

"First love. It just hard to make me forget. It's the one who teach me how to love appropriately, yet tenderly. First love that give me a hope in this gloomy world, when I thought everything will crumble down, but he's there that reminds me, it not the end of the world. He's just too impactful, so much that I can't forget about him."

"But Sungchan?"

Gently, he laid down his head on his hands. He look at Renjun with the most softest look. "Sungchan is like a Moon who keep me holding on to this world. He reminds me of one should be hard working but still rest in the middle of the night for some recharge. He tells me how to be firm and strong with my wills and stand. How resilience someone should be with his faith. He's a reality check on me, and yet my first love is a dream, that far from my reach."

Renjun snickered. "You're too poetic for someone who are coward to confess to his first love."

"I'm back" Emily shout at the front door. Knocking all her bag and socks in the living room and run to the kitchen to get herself some water.

Taeyong who's been cooking notice that she tried to reach for a cup, get it for her quickly. "Do you have fun at school, baby?" he kiss the girls fluffy cheeks and then back to chopping veggies, much to Emily's dismay.

"I did!" she beams so bright, holding the cup with her sweater's paws cutely. "One of the girl gave a handmade bracelet, said that it's a souvenir from her appa who just got back from Australia. It's so pretty," she showed the pink yellow bracelet to Taeyong and the uncle giggled at her antics. She jump a little to show her excitement and hum a song that Taeyong didn't recognizes but let her be.

"Bubu, when's baba will come back?" she asks the uncle. She struggled to sit down on the kitchen counter with her short legs.

"Around this time, he should be back. Why hun?" Taeyong's turn to ask the girl since she's never ask and being clingy to her father so much to ask him when will he be back.

The girl fidgeting on her seat, foot fling side to side. Showing her nervous is so rare. Then Taeyong approach her with his gentle demeanor. "What's wrong?"

She chewed her lower lips, looking at Taeyong for answers for the unspoken questions. "The girl at class," Taeyong hum to encourage the girl to speak confidently. "they ask me, why I don't have a complete parent. Kids usually had two parents, but mine, it's only Baba."

The knot forming on Taeyong's brows as he felt like his heart been stab by the confession. He rubs the back of the girl's back and pull her for a hug. Letting her occupy his laps. "So what do you feel? Are you mad at baba for not letting you meet papa?"

The girl shook her head. Instead, she pulls away slightly from Taeyong after nuzzling her nose to his neck, she looks straight to the uncle's eyes. "I'm not mad at Baba. I know how struggling Baba is in his life with papa. I'll never blame baba for separating papa from me. And I'm not mad at papa for not visiting us. I understand that I'll be a hindrance for his new love. So I'll stay put with baba just until he find someone like papa. Then, I'll try to be an adult faster to not bothering baba anymore." She said with proud in her voice.

Just then, a thud sound echoed in the house alerting both pair of uncle and niece and they turn their head to see a crying mess Renjun on the door frame. Kneeling while muffling his sobs with his palms. Mumbling incoherent words that Taeyong and Emily couldn't hear what it was about.

"Baba?" Emily let go of Taeyong and walk to the kneeling man.

As she approach her baba, she heard a words 'sorry' repeated so many times. "Baba? What are you sorry for?"

"oh baby," Renjun pull her in his arms. Engulfing her in a warm hug and burying his face into the girl's neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know you think like that. You were never a bother to me. Never once. Don't say it like that, baby."

The girl giggled cutely. She cups her father's cheeks, giving it a little squish and said, "Don't apologize. It nobody's fault baba!" she pout a bit, "I'll never say that again and I promise you. I'm sorry too."

Taeyong watch the duo with a heart ache for both of them. He wish to remove completely the sadness that they feel right now with new happiness.

While Renjun, he feels so mad at himself for letting his girl thinking so negatively on herself. And also mad at Jeno, for making Emily adulted so fast by leaving them behind.

For the first time, he is so mad at Jeno that in his heart, he blame everything on Jeno for his and his daughter's misery life.

_To Be Continued_