"Chance, maybe you should also start caring a little bit about this!" Jin huffed, glaring down at the boy who was on his bed, his back against the wall and his head tilted so it didn't hit the top of the bunk bed. The boy's arms were crossed and he was stiff with frustration at his brother's talking.
"It doesn't concern me," Chance huffed, eyes digging holes into the wall facing him. Figuratively, of course.
Jin groaned in irritation. He just couldn't get through to this boy! You'd think someone would at least give a little bit of care to their little sister, but no, not with Chance.
"Um, she's your sister, too! Seriously, she looked way too comfortable with that damn boy. We should be protecting her from any bad influences and trust me, I know he's a bad influence."
"Who's says I'm not doing shit?" Chance huffed, "Me being her brother is enough."
"You overly confident fucker," Jin scoffed, "You aren't even that high up. Just because you kiss that dumbfuck Changyeon Lee's ass doesn't mean shit to anyone outside of Manwol."
"Then it's not in my jurisdiction, is it?" Chance quickly snapped.
"You won't be happy if you see her come home hurt, will you?"
"Maybe she needs to toughen up a little." Chance growled and quickly put up the sheet he used for privacy.
Those were appalling words, but they weren't so surprising. Jin didn't know why a little part of him expected Chance to care. He rarely did.
"You're such a jerk, Chance!" He, all the same, exclaimed.
"The sheet is up, idiot. Stop talking to me and go cry about it." His older brother grunted.
Jin clenched his jaw and jumped off of the bunk and stormed out of the room.
There was no way he could talk Chance into caring, not unless Jeongsoo was there to help annoy him into it. It was unfortunate that the oldest was out working whatever hours he could legally be allowed to.
"Where are you going, Jin?" Their father questioned as Jin passed him cleaning off the coffee table.
"Just out. I'll be back soon!"
"Alright, be safe." Their dad left it at that going back to cleaning the mess as Cole was sitting on the floor, staring at the TV screen that was playing some movie.
Part of him stayed irritated at Chance as he walked away from his home. He was the only other one who could do something about this, well, aside from Jeongsoo and their parents. Jeongsoo just wouldn't take it seriously and would probably tell him to drop it and let her socialize. And then he didn't want to get Lotus in trouble.
Their parents were more protective over her than they were the rest of them. He couldn't blame them. She was way too sensitive and lacked the ability to fight back against anyone much to all of their vexation. It seemed as the years passed she turned into even more of a doormat.
Usually, he wouldn't care much about her feeble nature, but that was because she normally wasn't going out and hanging around people who had small rumours swirling on about some shady business. People like that were bad influences, he didn't care if they were nice, had to dabble in delinquency like him to survive school without getting dragged around like shuttles, or were just trash like Chance. He was her older brother and had the obligation to keep her out of trouble. Unlike Chance, he cared enough to look over her the best he could—and the best he wanted to with his laziness. And unlike Jeongsoo, he was always around her to tend to his responsibility.
And this was a time he really needed to take over the role as a big brother. With her seemingly knowing who that tall guy was paired with her questioning him on a guy with tattoos and blond hair weeks back (which he didn't think much of until now), it was time to talk to her about who she was around.
Jin slowed when he noticed the familiar white font on a red background.
What better way of starting a conversation than to bribe her with food? It always worked on him, why not her?
He wasted no time entering the doors and looking around at the tables of people eating. This would do.
The cashier looked bored as Jin walked into the line. Lucky for him, the last person in line had just finished ordering, leaving him to take his turn.
"Hello, welcome to–Jin! What are you doing here?!" Jeongsoo chirped, dressed in the uniform of the fast-food chain.
Jin sighed, "Bro, I need food."
His brother groaned, "I'm so bored, you could at least talk to me a little!"
"Do you want to risk getting fired?" Jin asked, blankly staring at the older boy.
"Fine," Jeongsoo groaned, "What do you want?"
"Hmm..." Jin paused to think.
Okay, he had no idea what she would want. It's not like he was that invested in her life. At best, he knew a few of her food no-nos so he'd have to wing it.
Jeongsoo went back to staring into space in boredom as he waited for the boy to choose something. Not that he minded Jin taking his sweet time. He didn't have to pretend to be interested in Jin and could slack off until an order was given. Man, he hated this job. But since he dropped out, he needed it.
"Just give me a shrimp burger set and a bacon mozzarella burger." He finally spoke up.
"Would you like squid rings, too?" Jeongsoo sighed out as he entered the order.
"Nah."
"Weird. You always get them." Jeongsoo muttered.
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Lotus laid on her stomach, kicking her feet back and forth as she read a translated version of a manga on her phone. It was hard to come by this manga in Korean, sadly. Maybe even in other languages, too! She had to dig to even hear of this one. The fact of the matter is that she had to resort to...petty crimes. Quite possibly the only crimes she was comfortable committing.
Her cheeks rested on her palm as she pouted. She was debating if she liked what she was reading or not. Especially as she quickly skimmed some certain panels, not wanting to dwell on those particular scenes for too long. But as far as she could see, if she skipped more of those scenes, she wouldn't be missing much. And then again, maybe the rough translation made it an off experience for her.
Her heart dropped as she heard a knock on her door and she quickly turned off the device. She was not being caught. Not today! Only Jeongsoo knew about the josei manga and she knew he wasn't home.
"Come in!" She called out.
The door opened revealing Jin wearing a grin. A bag with an L logo swung in his hand.
"Lotus!" Jin sang out in a sweet tone that caused her to flip on her panic switch.
That sugary tone was unnatural for Jin. He either had gotten a head injury from being a reprobate running around with like-minded boys, was going to do something that he knew was going to piss someone off, or wanted something. She just didn't know what yet and each possibility concerned her.
"Jin..." She cautiously greeted, slowly sitting up.
He thoughtlessly dug into the bag, taking out a wrapped burger and holding it out with a smile. "Let's talk! I got you a mozzarella bacon burger, too!" He exclaimed and shoved it in her hands before plopping down in front of her.
Her hands cupped the burger, and with wide eyes, glanced around the room with anxiety pooling in her. "Ah–About what?" She stammered.
"Got any new friends?" He leaned towards her with a peculiar eagerness, "Boyfriends?"
"Oh, uh..." She hummed in thought for a second, "There's Luna Myung who wants me to call her big sis..."
"How about boys?" Jin urged on.
Lotus stared at him and they fell into silence, slowly blinking at each other. He watched as colour suddenly erupted on her face and she waved her hands.
"I don't have a boyfriend!" She exclaimed and cupped her cheeks in panic, "I don't even think I can handle one anymore!"
"Yeah, but are there any boys in your life romantic or not, though? Tall boys?" He questioned.
She squinted at him, feeling off. Why was he interrogating her about that? And why did he suddenly buy her food? He never does that. Was it to sweeten her up so he could get answers to something? Nonetheless, she answered, "Yes?"
Though, tall boys, huh? She could name a few who she knew were taller than her. Him, Chance, Jeongsoo, their dad, a few more guys. She didn't see how that was important enough to ask her.
Jin frowned and continued, "Big tall boys with glasses?"
Now it decided to click in her mind. Who else would she have known who fit that description well?
"Is this about Kingsley Kwan?" She sighed.
"Yes!" He finally exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air in an exaggerated motion, "Lotus, you shouldn't be around boys like him!"
"Why not?" She asked, a brow quirking.
"Because, Lotus, he's a bad guy! Like Chance and his friends. You don't like them, right?" Jin narrowed his eyes at her.
She waved him off, "He's intimidating, sure, but he's not mean."
"But he's involved in very bad things."
Now, this was just nonsense! He was scolding her and accusing Kingsley of being a degenerate like Chance without any evidence. "How do you know?" She questioned.
"How do I— I go to a school near his! News travels fast in Yeongdeungpo!" He finished his statement with a groan, covering his face in an attempt to shield his frustration.
Her expression softened and she pursed her lips. "Do you, Paz, and Chance act like a vessel information to each other?" She curiously asked.
He said news travelled fast around their district, and if it did so around here, that meant it travelled faster between brothers. They all went to different schools; mainly because Jin kept getting kicked out and so did Chance, though Chance had settled in his current school it seemed. But that meant different schools, different happenings, and unlike others, they were living together so they always saw each other after school and could immediately tell each other if anything happened! Though, Paz didn't seem to be much of a gossiper.
"Don't redirect our conversation," Jin scowled towards her.
She crept back a bit and muttered, "Sorry "
It caused him to ease a little, sighing, and standing from her bed. "Just stay away from that boy. And be careful of who you talk to! If you'd like, I know a few ner–nice people you can befriend! Just no Kingsley Kwan." He said the name with distaste.
"ner–nice people" He didn't hide what he was going to say very well. Not to Lotus at least. She filled in that blank quickly.
"No, it's fine." She awkwardly declined the proposition. Briefly forgetting that she made a promise to herself to reintegrate into society, starting with friends.
"Suit yourself. But remember, no big bad boys named Kingsley Kwan, right?"
"Right..." She reluctantly agreed.
His smile was back on his face and he ruffled the hair on the crown of her head, "That's my sis!"
With that, he was out of the room. The door finally shutting leaving her to wonder what in the world had just gone on as she clutched the burger that was given to her.
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