Little Ba Reum AU - The roads not taken

Chapter 1

Ba Reum had put up with a lot of things in his childhood. The abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother and stepfather had formed his whole character and even after they had died when he was a young teen, it still haunted him.

Living with his aunt seemed like a blessing at first, released from the endless pressure of his parents, knowing that whatever he did, it would never been good enough.

And with his now guardian, it had been better, that was until she started to notice that he wouldn't be a base or a caregiver, but a little and the disappointment and disgust she felt about that was clearly portrayed.

It was something that destroyed Ba Reum's confidence, and made him realise his family was right when they said he was a nuisance and a bother.

But even though his aunt showed her dislike for his designation, living with her was still better than having no-on, or so Ba Reum thought. He clung to the thought of family, still trying to get her approval and hiding everything about him that revealed he was a little in the hope to earn her love.

The hardest part was to hide the fact that he was incontinent, but his watch helped with that. It was the only fancy thing she had ever bought him, and with regular alarms he kept dry enough to pretend.

He did have to learn to do his own laundry, because his aunt had refused to touch his. It was a good thing though, seeing his underwear often ended up slightly wet, and it would just serve as a reminder that he was a little.

Doing the laundry was something that didn't bother him. It was a good task, just like cleaning the house. It kept everything neat and ordered, and it soothed Ba Reum when everything was neat and ordered and had a clear place.

Just like he had his clear place, keeping as much as he could out of his aunt's way, and pretending to never have heard the phone calls to ask if she just couldn't leave him already.

He just smiled in public, glad to have Chi Kook and Dong Koo near him, and wondering if they would look at him with the same disgust as his aunt if they discovered he was a little, something he would desperately try to keep for himself.

"Hey, Ba Reum, happy birthday," Chi Kook said when he saw his friend at school, and earning himself a bright smile in return.

"Thank you," Ba Reum said shyly while Chi Kook slung his arm around his friend's shoulder, "finally 18, allowed to vote and all,"

"Typically you to think about the responsible things," Dong Koo said, appearing on his other side, "I was thinking booze,"

"Of course you were," Chi Kook said, grinning, "but you're still 17,"

"Soon enough I'll be an adult too," Dong Koo said, making Ba Reum smile at him.

"Yeah right," Chi kook said in the background, earning himself a glare from Dong Koo and a laugh from Ba Reum.

"I don't feel any different though," Ba Reum confessed, making his friends laugh.

"I think you're the most adult from all of us," Chi Kook said, "how about we do something tonight? It's Friday anyway, so we don't have to get up tomorrow,"

"I got my weekend work," Ba Reum said, referring to the job he needed to get because his aunt said she was done with paying all his food and clothes, and he wasn't allowed to get to his inheritance until he was eighteen.

"After? Or before?" Chi Kook asked, never having like the fact that Ba Reum needed to work from his family, but understanding that not everyone was well off enough to have the luxury of just being a kid and nothing more.

"I got the late shift, so perhaps we could do something fun in the morning," Ba Reum suggested, glad that his friends proposed it, "if it isn't too much a bother,"