powerboys | Good hyunging 101

"I controlled myself fine. He called me -- he said -- and I acted back. That's fair. You go around saying shit, you get hit." And thus, he disproportionately punished his baby brother for a stupid reason, yeah. Kangwoo looked at Tae and tried to manually pry his eyes open, looking at his blank and partially rolled back eyes. Shit. What was going on with him? "Fucking stupid brat! It's his fault! He did this! He didn't have to -- to piss me off and I--I-- fuck!"

Kangwoo got up and inhaled sharply as he fumbled with his phone, almost dropping it as he pulled out his phone and called for the doctor, ordering him here immediately. It would take five minutes. Tops. "He's coming."

"He's your baby brother. He's, what, eight now? And he's small for his age, he's not exactly healthy and it doesn't matter what he said to you, you can't beat on him." Minjun moved so his body was in the way of Kangwoo attacking Tae again to open his eyes or whatever he would try next. Damn.

He took a deep breath, looking at Kangwoo. "You did not use to be like this, hyung. You always took care of your brothers. You kept them safe. I know that. So what happened?"

"Oh come on, like you know me. You don't. You talk such shit. You fuck off to American for like what? Ten years and then you come back like you're Gods gift. Abeoji was right about you, you and your damn appa. You think you're so above the Baek family!" Kangwoo sneered as he turned around and kicked at the closet door violently - luckily it wasn't the one Jiho was in cause the door straight up collapsed under the sheer force of his kick.

"Fuck you!" Kangwoo yelled at him as he looked at Tae and then looked away from him. "I never liked them. Bunch of brats. I always fucking hated them. Revolting, whining -- eomma said to not get close. I didn't get -- well, I did now. She was right. I would hurt them." Ow. His head hurt. Kangwoo gripped his head and tried to breathe but his chest felt tight.

"I'm not above my family, I'm part of it. Or I wouldn't be here, you're right." Minjun listened to Kangwoo and, really, it was nothing surprising. Not really anything that got to him, mostly showing Kangwoo's issues, not his own. And he did feel bad for him, but somewhere - going by Jiho's texts apparently upstairs - was Jiho, locked in a closet. Right before him was his youngest cousin, looking almost dead.

He couldn't focus on pitying Kangwoo right now. "Just breathe, hyung. Breathe and calm down. Tae's a fighter. He'll be fine." He hoped. He wished Tae was less of a fighter, than maybe he'd just be locked in a closet instead of smacked against a wall.

"I am calm." Kangwoo growled as he came back over and looked at Tae, he was breathing and he could see his chest moving more now so why wasn't he waking up? He reached out to touch Tae, he felt hot under his fingers. "He was sick this morning, I think. Jiho said something about -- I dunno, I wasn't listening to the little retard. He pisses me off."

He stroked Tae's hair back a little without thinking, trying to see if he was at all still there. "Taehyung, wake up now and -- I'll give you ... I'll give you a toy." Hmm. Shit. He looked at Minjun and ... yeah, his eyes were watering but he didn't even notice. "I don't own any toys."

"Of course you don't. I know you used to. When we were little." It did seem like a long time ago. Minjun wished that his own parents could be here now, because he didn't feel like he was cut out for any of this. Not the gang politics. Not the mess that his cousins were. But at least he was finally in the house. "Did Tae ever have toys? I know Jiho says he didn't."

He looked at Kangwoo, while feeling Tae's forehead. "The doctor can probably help him." He hoped.

"No, after eomma died... Tae was too young to get any and -- I-I ... I mean, abeoji destroyed all mine cause I was 'too attached'." And to prevent his other sons becoming like Kangwoo, toys were banned. No toys, no Star Wars, no nothing that got in the way. He thought his father was smart, he had the right idea. "When you left, he took them..."

Big shock there. He heard movement coming up the stairs and the door opened, the doctor came in and Kangwoo got up, moving aside and watching him work on Tae without looking away. He idly turned his head to Minjun. "Jiho is in the hallway closet." He pulled the key out and held it out for him.

"Okay." Minjun took the key and frowned, feeling a little torn. "Okay," he repeated, nodding his head, "You don't yell at or attack anyone until I'm back, yeah? Just... Don't touch anyone."

Well, he didn't want to risk anything. Minjun hurried outside and to the hallway, finding the right closet quickly and unlocking it to let his cousin out, immediately holding an arm out to stabilise him. "Sorry, Jiho, took a while before I could get in. You okay?"

Jiho stumbled out of the closet and against Minjun, afraid and hurt but mostly worried. "Where's Tae? Is he okay? Please! We have to find him. He has the flu, he's not well and -- and he's weak today." And if Kangwoo hurt him, he was going to lose it. He was so scared. "Is he okay?"

Mostly. The doctor told Kangwoo that he had bruised his ribs and had a mild concussion but mostly, he'd be okay. He just needed supervision and some medication. And bed rest, of course. Kangwoo nodded along, watching Tae curiously.

"He's okay, a doctor came to see him. He's fine." No, Minjun had no way of knowing that, but he knew he had to keep Jiho calm. He pulled him into a hug, since he assumed everyone in that part of their family didn't get enough hugs. "We can go in to see what the doctor says, yeah? I think Tae looks worse than he is."

At least he was really, really hoping as much.

Jiho melted into the hug, he was weak and he knew it but today had been stressful. Tae was sick and only he could take care of him, Kangwoo was being a dick and he didn't know what to do. "Thank you for coming. Please don't leave." He was afraid to be alone with Kangwoo any more, he didn't want to be. He needed Minjun. He basically latched onto his shirt as they walked back.

Tae was in Kangwoo's arms, being carried very carefully to the bed as the doctor set up an iv. Kangwoo placed Tae down and pulled the blanket up a little, turning back and giving Minjun a small frown. "He'll be fine."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll talk to your brother." Minjun wanted to make a better promise than that, but it had taken this long to even get in here without risking to get shot. He let Jiho hold on to him, even as they walked to Tae's room. Minjun nodded at the answer.

"He's probably... dehydrated?" Damn it, how the hell did you say that in Korean? "Not enough water, yeah? You need to drink a lot when you are sick, you know?" He was telling Jiho, since he was apparently in charge of watching Tae. Which was all kinds of messed up. "Hey, Kangwoo-hyungnim." There. Manners and all. More or less. "We should talk."

"He's gonna be fine, right? I'm not gonna leave the room and he's going to die, yeah? Cause if that happens, you're gonna die." Kangwoo told the doctor, a cruel smile on his face as he watched the man shrink away from Kangwoo in fear. He assured the gangster it'd be fine and Kangwoo turned his head, looking at Jiho... who slid behind Minjun. "Oi, retard. Come here and watch your brother while I talk to Minjun."

Jiho let go of his cousin and then gave him a nervous look. "Please don't leave." He whispered as he moved past him and came over to Tae, the other side of Kangwoo so he couldn't be hit. He instantly started to pet his brother. "It'll be okay, TaeTae. You brave fighter."

It was probably coincidence that as soon as it was Jiho petting him and Jiho talking to him, Tae moved semi-consciously for the first time, his hand reaching to touch his brother, holding on to his shirt, and his head turning a little, even though his eyes didn't open. Minjun's heart hurt a little, but he walked out of the room anyway, waiting for Kangwoo to follow.

"I want to clear something up right away. I know people are talking shit, but I have no desire to take over from you. Come on, I just graduated!" He realised that probably meant nothing to Kangwoo. "I wanna have fun. Not responsibilities. You know?" Probably not.

"No." He did not. He looked at Minjun in confusion and then shoved his hands in his pockets. "You're a threat. Your very existence is a threat. Like Jiho. Like Tae. If you want me to not see you as a threat, go jump off a bridge." Kangwoo had been told repeatedly - never trust a potential rival. And he didn't.

He tried not to dwell on the fact that Tae reacted for Jiho but not himself, he supposed he expected it. Not like he cared or anything. Once they were in a spare room, he shut the door and leaned against it. No way out. "People want you to get involved. Even my fucking abeoji..." Bastard. He didn't regret knifing him. He didn't like to admit it, he'd never admitted it before it was true. "He never wanted me to rule, he would have done anything. Why do you think he had Jiho in the first damn place?"

"I don't know why your father did anything. Gotta level with you, hyung, your father sounds like a jerk to me." Wait. Damn those rules, he was messing up. "...jerk-nim?" Was that better? Minjun ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't want to fight with you. And I want you to stop fighting with your brothers. With yourself. What are you doing, Kangwoo? You are throwing around a little boy? That is not you. I know it's not. I remember when we were little. You would look out for me!"

"No, I didn't." He did. There was no denying it, though Kangwoo would try. He beat up anyone who messed with his cousin, perhaps to the degree of overkill but he helped. He even helped Minjun tie his shoe laces and get snacks. He'd been so excited to be a hyung, he'd taken it with such pride. Spent hours explaining legos and Star Wars. Of course, things were easier then. "It's in the past. I don't think of the past. I keep going to the future, I keep trying to -- to not think because it's not important."

Because then he started thinking of what he lost, of all the pain and the hurt, the medical torture he endured. His eye twitched and he looked aside. "And what does it matter if I was good to you. You left anyway. So what does anything matter? It's all a lot of thankless bullshit."

"Okay, look. When we left, you were, what, ten? And I wasn't even seven yet. You can hate that, I can hate that, but whatever happened there, it's not on you and it's not on me either. You know that." His big cousin had always been weird about his emotions and his outbursts, he knew that, he remembered that. But he would have never thought he'd see him hurt his little brother.

"We have the future to deal with now. You want to make this family better or worse? Kangwoo-hyung, you could have killed Tae today. You were a good big brother to me. Why can't you be a good big brother to your brothers?"

"Eight. You missed my ninth birthday." Nope, he didn't forget that. Uncle promised to be there, said he got him a cool present and then no present, no uncle, no Minjun. He threw a tantrum and got beaten so hard, he never did quite let go of his bitterness. "I don't hate it. I'm glad you left. Wish you'd fuck off now."

Kangwoo crossed his arms and looked at Minjun, feeling so much anger and bitterness. "I don't like them. What do you want from me? I can't give you a better reason than that. I don't like them. I wish they'd never been born. I didn't want siblings."

"Right. If that's true, then let me take them. If that's how you feel, I can take both of them and take them to the US by next week. You'd never have to see any of us again. Just you here. No siblings. No family. Just you and your friends." Minjun looked at Kangwoo's face, raising his eyebrows. "That's what you want, is it?"

He scoffed, shaking his head. "You care for them. Stop lying to yourself."

"They're my property, you're not allowed them. Don't touch my stuff." Kangwoo snapped bitterly as he crossed his arms and pouted. "I just don't -- they're hard. To be around, just... the noise. And the way they eat. And the way they ... and Tae does that thing. With his face! Urgh."

Looking cute and happy even when shit was bad. What was wrong with the little freak. Kangwoo rocked himself a little, trying to calm down his urge to lose it. "They're mine, you can't have them." His to keep. "Just -- don't get yourself all worked up, fairyboy. I'll not throw them again. Okay?"

"If you don't give them to me, then I'll be in your life. Cause they are my cousins and I care about them. Your father and my father worked together, right? We can do that too." Minjun said it as if it was no big deal and as if it just had to happen. Maybe he could just trick Kangwoo into it. "Then maybe we can find ways things are less stressful. We could watch Star Wars together. Come on. We always did that! It was such fun. Remember, you were Luke and I was Yoda and I had to carry you? Almost broke my back."

"I don't watch Star Wars. It's for nerds." He didn't like to think about Star Wars cause then he felt like he wanted to be happy but he couldn't. Also recently Cheon had said only fat basement dwelling nerds watched shit like Star Wars and now he was hyper aware of his dorkiness. God, he missed Star Wars. "You can work for me if that's what you're after. You want into the family? Fine. You can do my boring paperwork."

Because he was already bored of it. "And for the record, you were a shitty Yoda. You couldn't even do the voice."

"Whatever. Sure, I can do paperwork." Minjun shrugged his shoulders, running a hand through his hair. Then he frowned, feeling challenged. And he did his very best to do a Yoda impression. Even more so as he realised, while he spoke, that the quote was really fitting for what Kangwoo was going through. "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

And here his cousin was. Suffering. Minjun looked at him for a moment longer, then he hugged him.

Honestly, he didn't think Kangwoo could throw him. He wasn't that built.

Yoda was always so wise. God, he missed Star Wars. And Yoda. And Luke. And his light saber. He had limited edition figures that were worth millions right now... God, his heart ached to think about it. He missed his stuff. He missed his childhood, even if he'd barely had it. And then, out of nowhere, he was suddenly being hugged.

He was so thrown by it, he didn't know what to do so he just stood there, feeling overwhelmed and his whole body suddenly hyper aware.

He let out a whine like he used to before a melt down and jerked his head back. Nope, nope, he couldn't handle it. He grit his teeth hard.

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