Life's Too Short

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Yosuke's POV:

I raise my fist, in preparation to knock on my parents' bedroom door. But it drops as I begin to hear their voices. I carefully press my ear against the door, ensuring not to make a sound.

"What is the matter with you?" Mom sighs.

"With me?" Dad scoffs. "Are you fucking serious!?"

"I heard the entire thing."

"So, you'll know that-"

"That Shin cares about Narukami-kun. A lot."

"That bastard has changed our son. Are you just gonna let that slide?"

"He's had it tough, Kenji," she murmurs. "It's about time he smiled."

"Jesus, listen to yourself!" He snaps. "He was in love with Hana, dammit. Not some... guy."

"Does it really matter?"

"I can't protect him anymore!" He yells.

"Shin is almost twenty, for god's sake. He doesn't need his father's protection. Or his blessing, for that matter."

"I refuse to be the father of him if he tells the public about this."

"What do you really think will happen?"

"There'll be a scandal, of course," he scoffs. "The public will turn on us and run Junes to the ground."

"The public have their own private lives," she sighs. "Why on earth would they be so interested in Shin's?"

"If he does anything wrong... If he serves the wrong order, if he forgets to restock the shelves, if he breaks our products. Do you know what that's gonna come down to, Yua?"

"Don't you dare say his sexuality."

"Oh, come on! People will blame the most irrelevant things for their problems. You should know that, considering Junes, and all."

"You're being way too dramatic," she groans. "This is all in your head."

"He'll ruin it all," Dad snaps.

"Stop thinking about that freaking business for one moment. He's your son. Your first born. Doesn't that count for anything?"

He exhales sharply. "He will marry a woman."

"Kenji-"

"I'm not arguing about this. Narukami is... he's bad. He's wormed his way into Shin's life."

"Don't be ridiculous. Narukami-kun has been Yosuke's friend since last year."

"...What?"

"...Yosuke even called me to pick them up from school because Narukami-kun wasn't feeling well."

"So, what exactly does this mean? That... He's trying to turn both our sons on us?"

"He hasn't done anything wrong. You're giving him a hard time for being himself."

"...Maybe Yosuke can talk to him."

"What?"

"Tell Narukami that he can't be with Shin. Or whatever."

"Kenji," Mom says firmly.

"I don't give a fuck what he does. So long as my family isn't involved."

"Shin has been the happiest we've ever seen since he met Narukami-kun. Don't make him sacrifice that."

"He will thank me," he grunts. "I know my son. This is just a blip, okay? We just need to help him out."

~~~

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