Golden eyes stayed fixed on the small form in front of them, watching with amazement at the sight that graced their line of sight. Suddenly, they widened with surprise and their owner let out a sharp cry.
"Michael! Mikey, he smiled at me!" Kenneth Leonore cried in delight, scooping up his infant son and rushing to join his boyfriend in the kitchen, careful to support the baby's head as he did so. Michael looked rather unimpressed with Ken and barely spared him a glance as he rinsed a plate.
"That's what you said yesterday when he had gas. I don't think he's old enough to be smiling yet. Are you going to pressure him like this when he's older? Aish, you're really something, babe."
Ken frowned and stuck his tongue out at the younger man. "Shut up. Kyu's nearly a month old - he'll be smiling soon enough!" he promised confidently. "And I'll be ready for it when it happens, unlike you who'll probably be too busy and miss it!"
Mike snorted in amusement as Ken and Kyu exited the kitchen, leaving him to finish the dishes by himself . His humor quickly faded as Michael's eyes caught on the pictures that were scattered about the windowsill above the sink.
The smiling face of his best friend and unofficial sister-in-law stared back at him blankly, image caught in a happier point in time.
Pursing his lips, Mike shoved the frame over so he wouldn't have to see her any longer and be in danger of being overwhelmed by the grief the very mention of her seemed to bring up these days. It had only been about four months since her disappearance and her absence continued to cut her family like a knife to the chest.
"Kimmie-ah, you're missing everything. You brat." he sighed miserably. "Hurry and come home so you can meet your nephew and stop making us worry. You'll love this kid. He looks like me - he was my cousin's so that part makes sense. Kang Sang-Kyu is his name, but we've just been calling him Kyu. He's almost a month old now and Ken's been putting everything he has into taking care of him. He's a good dad, y'know, or maybe he's more like a mom since he henpecks so much. When Kyu cries at night, he's at his side faster than I can pull the covers off. It's like a superpower or something. Superdad. It's driving me fucking nuts. That's another thing. I can't swear like I did before or else Ken pinches me. ... hurry and come home so I don't have to suffer your brother alone. You brat."
Silence pervaded the room.
Mike sighed again and sank his hands back into the soapy water, returning to his task of washing up.
Once he was finished, he wandered back into the living room, intent on stealing his son away for a while to aggravate Ken.
His plans were quickly changed when he found the pair laid out on the floor, Kyu snoozing away on Ken's chest while the daddy in question snored as loud as a tractor. Mike grinned at the sight and hurried to snap a picture of the sight for his Instagram. He nearly dropped his cellphone when the loud ringing of the land-line cut through the air, sending him diving for the house phone before it could wake Ken - or worse yet, the baby.
Kyu was irritable as hell if he was woken before he was finished with his naps.
"Hello?" Mike sighed in relief as the father and son on the floor continued to sleep.
"Kang Minki-ssi?"
Michael straightened at the mention of his birth name.
"Yes, this is me." he said, slipping out of the living room so as not to disturb his family.
"Do you remember me? This is Jung Jae-Hwa." the caller said, his tone a mixture of delight and nervousness. "I've been trying to get in touch with you for quite some time now."
"Ah, sunbae!" Mike exclaimed, recalling the older boy who had lived next door to him for several years while he was growing up.
Jae-Hwa chuckled, the phone crackling slightly as he performed some unseen action on the other side of the line.
"You can just call me hyung, Minki-ah. Though, I don't know if you'll want to after I've said everything I called to say."
Mike blinked in confusion. "What?"
"Min-Ki, I know what happened to your friend. I know where Kimiya Leonore is - and you're not going to like it."
A/N: So, Kim's birthday is this month! Valentine's day to be exact! So, if you want, send in some scenarios and I'll write them out for a special chapter or even draw them and put them on my Tumblr!
Now, about the chapter. We finally get to see Kim's family! Or at least, most of them. Kaine's still MIA but we'll get to that later, yeah? But I've been dying to introduce Jung Jae-Hwa FOREVER! He's a character I made a while back for my Naruto story (that is a sister universe to this story) and is just as important in this story as he is in his own. So look forward to him!
SBS!
Thanks for Favoriting and Alerting: Nameless-dono, Book Lover95, Salimiome, petragirl987, Hiken08, Aria868, I-am-a-kitty. MEOW, breathless13, silver. rayn123, Niie-pyon, chocolatecandy123, and Kingpariah!
petragirl987: No problem! That's exactly how Kim feels right now. Zim reminds me too much of Invader Zim. I like Koro a bit better. Though, if you want to call it Zim then go ahead!
TheRealEvanSG: Ah yes, the brooding blond didn't get to defend his precious lady... I rather enjoy that idea so expect that in the future. Oh, congradulations! I'm looking forward to the Little Garden myself! Because: dinosaurs! Can you say Jurassic Park feels?
angelrider13: *breathes with you* Something freaky indeed! I also want to smack Sanji sometimes (then cuddles but y'know). I can understand where he's coming from though. It's hard to escape the mindset you were raised yes, he is frustrating (along with everyone else in that crew).
CherriRoseGirl: "Why thank you!" Kim grinned. "I like being badass."
Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Jianyu did feel what was going on with Kim and could have jumped in to stop her from stabbing at Sanji, buuuuut... he's lazy.
10th Squad 3rd Seat: Perhaps!
Molly Grace 16: Thanks!
thakidisbac: Thanks! *blushes and rolls under a rock*
The Weirdo Next Door: Thank you! The OC (bounty hunter) is actually a submission by MangaMagic. Her name is Linda and she's the main character of One Piece: Dream Girl. It's pretty cute if you want to go check it out!
