"You didn't do anything. Look, it's a whole thing." Minjun got his phone back out again, pulling up something he'd saved. "Okay, first read this. That's a diagnosis. That's a diagnosis my father had done when he took Kangwoo to an expert. He was just a tiny boy then, younger than you now. Take your time, read it slowly. I know it's a lot. You can ask me if you need anything explained."
"What's ... What's a ssss-en-sorry overload?" Jiho asked as he read it over slowly, finger under the words so he didn't lose his place, trying to sound words out. Reading was a challenge for him and there was a lot of new, big words. Words he couldn't understand. "What's a spectrum too, hyung?" He was curious. The symptoms were... interesting. Meltdowns, temper tantrums, inability to process emotional information properly, poor verbal skills. His hyung being non-verbal? Was that even possible?
He frowned and then looked up. "Why did your uncle take my hyungnim to an expert?" He read over one sentence a few times. "Prone to self harm and can't cope with routine change."
Minjun explained all the words as best he could, laughing a couple times when he got hung up on some Korean word he rarely used. His Korean was good, but he just wasn't used to speaking it so in depth all the time and it was a difficult language. Still, in the end he managed to explain it to Jiho sufficiently. And then that question.
"Well. My father really liked Kangwoo, but Kangwoo was a bit different than most children. And he wanted to find out how he could best be helped, you know? So he wouldn't have those breakdowns and all that. So he needed an expert's opinion. Unfortunately, when your father found out, that was when he basically exiled my family. He threatened to have me and my mother killed if we didn't leave. And we couldn't help Kangwoo. My father really wanted to."
"... If he had this, do I have it? Is that why I'm dumb?" He was worried because he knew this word. It was a bad word, what was wrong with Kangwoo... wasn't that the one that kind of poisoned people's genes and made them bad and wrong? He didn't want to have that.
"He kicked you out because of Kangwoo?" Great. He lost his cousin because of appa and whatever was up with Kangwoo. He bit his lower lip and frowned. "Why doesn't Kangwoo seem more... special?"
"He's just a bit different. And maybe you are too, in your own way. He isn't bad because of that. If I had to guess, he is bad because your father was a jerk." No nim this time. Just a jerk. "Tae is really smart, you told me, right? But he is still really silly too. Everyone has different sides. And I guess Kangwoo just learned to hide it a little. But not really. He was crying before, when I first got here. He was so worried about Tae. And I don't think he knew he was crying. You are really good with emotions. Even though your father was a jerk. Maybe you are slower at reading and all that, but you are way smarter than Kangwoo-hyung about emotions."
"I like the part where I'm smarter than Kangwoo." Jiho beamed a little and then laughed, holding out what he'd been reading to Minjun with a much more positive smile. "I'm also way better at batting than he is. He's a good pitcher but he can't swing as good as I can." Oh yeah, in the Baek family, baseball was a big deal. Especially between all the brothers. Even if little Tae never quite grasped it was a contest and cheered for every side. Poor dork. "I'm glad you're staying, hyung. Even if you're a weak pitcher and hitter."
"Uh-huh. Well, I thought it was pitcher and catcher, so what do I know. Not even sure what sport you're talking about." Honestly, he just knew the gay allegory. Who cared about sports? Well. Evidently his boyfriend did, but whatever.
"You just gotta know, Jiho, my family never wanted to leave yours behind. And I wanna take care of you and Tae. And even of Kangwoo too. He's not... There's good in him. I promise. He even said he'd buy Tae a toy."
"Pfft, I'll believe it when I see it. He's evil, hyung. Maybe he's sick or something, I dunno but he's always been a jerk. And he hurt Tae." And Jiho didn't see any shred of good in him. He didn't think he'd ever give Tae a toy. He curled around his baby brother and pulled him into his arms, whispering to his little TaeTae.
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He frowned and then looked up. "Why did your uncle take my hyungnim to an expert?" He read over one sentence a few times. "Prone to self harm and can't cope with routine change."
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"Well. My father really liked Kangwoo, but Kangwoo was a bit different than most children. And he wanted to find out how he could best be helped, you know? So he wouldn't have those breakdowns and all that. So he needed an expert's opinion. Unfortunately, when your father found out, that was when he basically exiled my family. He threatened to have me and my mother killed if we didn't leave. And we couldn't help Kangwoo. My father really wanted to."
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"He kicked you out because of Kangwoo?" Great. He lost his cousin because of appa and whatever was up with Kangwoo. He bit his lower lip and frowned. "Why doesn't Kangwoo seem more... special?"
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"You just gotta know, Jiho, my family never wanted to leave yours behind. And I wanna take care of you and Tae. And even of Kangwoo too. He's not... There's good in him. I promise. He even said he'd buy Tae a toy."
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No one would hurt him. Not again.