Chapter Twelve: House Call
Ivan stared into the fireplace, watching the flames flicker and dance and trying hard not to think. Not about Gilbert, not about Yao, and especially not about Yong Soo. Sweet, happy Yong Soo, who was always smiling and laughing, who was not afraid of him at all, who had wanted to see him again. Ivan shook his head. No, he was trying not to think about him.
"Vhat is the matter, brother?" Natalya looked up at Ivan from her place affixed to his arm.
A cold shiver went through Ivan's whole body. He was also trying not to think of Natalya. He took another drink from his bottle of vodka and wondered why he came home in the first place. This place held bad memories for him and those old demons kept creeping up from the back of his mind.
"You have no friends." The demons whispered into his ear.
"No..." Ivan's voice came out in a mournful whine as the bottle fell to his lap and he clutched his head with both hands.
"No one likes you. Not Gilbert, not Toris, not Yao."
"Go avay..." Ivan muttered and shook his head. He paid no attention to Natalya clutching tighter to his arm or Yekaterina hovering behind him.
"And definitely not Yong Soo."
"GO AVAY!" Ivan yelled and threw the mostly-empty bottle of vodka. The bottle hit the back of the fireplace and shattered, the almost musical tinkling sound of the falling glass was drowned out by the resounding explosion caused by the alcohol hitting the fire.
Ivan stared blankly at the fire, which had now spread to the expensive rug laid out before it. He ignored his elder sister as she screamed and ran to pat out the smoldering spots on the carpet. His younger sister didn't even flinch, but only continued to stare up at him.
Ivan sat there, numb and unfeeling, watching Yekaterina scramble to put on all remaining embers of the explosion until a loud knock from the other room startled him away from the cruel whispers of his mind. He and his sisters stared at the doorway, unsure of who would visit at this time of day. Their father was away at the office, so it couldn't be one of his partners or associates...
"Hellooo? Is anyone home?"
Ivan jumped from the couch, yanking his arm from Natalya's grip. It couldn't be... "Yong Soo..." he murmured in a voice low and breathy, the disbelief obvious. His footsteps echoed unnaturally loud in his head as he crossed the room to the hall. He didn't even notice his sisters standing behind him as he stood staring at the door as if it had suddenly sprouted fangs. He couldn't open it, he was too scared. What if he was imagining things and it wasn't Yong Soo? What if it was and he was mad?
"Brother?" Yekaterina prompted in a soft voice. "Aren't you going to answer the door?"
"O-oh... Да." He reached uncertainly for the door, then flung it open the second his hand touched the door knob, lest he lose his nerve.
Yong Soo stared at them from across the entrance, his arm still posed to knock again. His eyes were wide with surprise, then closed as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I was starting to think no one was home. "
"Yong Soo..." Ivan stared at him, fully expecting the Korean to disappear without warning. "Vhat are you-"
"Well, I went to your dorm, but your roommate said that you weren't there," Yong Soo interrupted, rambling rapidly and nervously. "I asked him where you were and he said you went home for the weekend, so I begged and begged and he finally told me where you lived, da-ze!" He paused momentarily and took a deep breath, then looked up at Ivan with guilt-ridden eyes. "Please don't be mad..."
"I am not-"
"Go avay." Natalya's cold voice cut through Ivan's protest, chilling the air.
"Natalya," Yekaterina chided the other girl, "do not be rude to Vanya's friend."
Natalya said nothing in response and merely continued to stand behind Ivan and stare at the new-comer, her eyes laced with malice and promises of pain.
And so they stood silent for several moments; Ivan and Yong Soo staring at each other, neither knowing what to say; Natalya glaring daggers at Yong Soo; and Yekaterina looking between all of them, quietly fretting and wringing her hands.
Yong Soo was the first to break the stiflingly awkward moment. He broke the eye contact he held with Ivan and looked down, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and fidgeting with his sleeve. "Sooo..." He bit his lip and looked back up. "Can I come in?"
"Oh!" Yekaterina exclaimed as her hands flew to her mouth. "I am sorry!" She said, flustered. "Please come in. Any friend of Vanya's is velcome here." She stepped forward and laid her hand on Yong Soo's arm. "The sitting room is this vay."
Ivan followed his older sister as she led the younger boy into the house. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do. He was embarrassed that he had just stood there, but his tongue suddenly felt like it occupied too much space in his mouth and he just couldn't talk. He stared at the back of Yong Soo's head. But the fact that he was here meant that he wasn't mad, right?
They reached the sitting room and Yekaterina turned around. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Uh, sure!" Yong Soo said as he sat down in the over-stuffed arm chair across from the couch where Ivan and Natalya sat. "Do you have any green tea, da-ze?"
"O-oh, I don't think we do..." Yekaterina said softly and clutched her hands in front of her ample chest as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. "I am so sorry! Can I get you something else?"
"Umm... A cola?" Yong Soo asked uncomfortably. The only girl he had made cry before was his cousin, Mei, and she had hit him afterwards. Hard.
Yekaterina smiled though watery eyes and nodded vigorously. "Ve have that! I vill be right back vith it!"
"O-okay," he responded, but she had already swept out of the room. An awkward moment passed in which Yong Soo stared down at the carpet to avoid looking at Ivan and Natalya, who wouldn't stop glaring at him. "So, uh... what happened to the rug?" He asked, poking a scorched hole with his foot.
"It vas an... accident." Natalya answered, her voice cold and steady, with the slightest hint of a threat attached.
"Huh... okay." Yong Soo raised an eyebrow; the threat had completely gone over his sweet, oblivious head.
The silence resumed and continued even after Yekaterina came back and placed four glasses on the coffee table in the center of the sitting area. Ivan and Yong Soo, both eager to confirm the other's feelings, spoke at the same time and then fell silent again.
"Are... are you being mad at me?" Ivan asked, his voice soft and his eyes focused on his hands.
Yong Soo opened his mouth, then shut it again. He paused, then shook his head slowly. "No, but Yao-hyung and Kiku-hyung are."
Ivan's heart fluttered despite the sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew that Yao would be mad at him, but he'd still be lying if he said it didn't hurt. But Yong Soo! Yong Soo wasn't mad at him! He had come all the way out here, had tracked him down, just to talk to him! A small smile appeared on his face and he looked up to see Yong Soo smiling nervously back at him.
"I-I just wanted to make sure you knew that I still want to be friends..."
The smile on Ivan's face grew. He leapt up from the couch and crossed the room in large strides, arms extended, ready to sweep Yong Soo into a hug, when a vase crashed into the floor between them and shattered. Yekaterina screamed and flew up from the couch.
Natalya stood, seething and eyes glinting, her arm still extended out from the throw. "You vill stay avay from Brother. He does not need you. Brother has me and that is all he needs."
Ivan shrank back and cowered behind the large mahogany coffee table, moving quickly to put it between him and Natalya. "Noo..." he whined, teary-eyed.
Yong Soo looked at the shattered remains of the vase littering the floor at his feet, then looked up at Natalya, back at the vase, then back to Natalya again. "Huh. Lee usually uses firecrackers when he's throwing a temper tantrum," he said calmly, then turned to face Ivan with a wide grin. "So, do you want to do something, Ivan? I know a great arcade downtown, da-ze!"
Ivan and Yekaterina stared at Yong Soo in shock while Natalya seethed silently. Ivan couldn't believe it, Yong Soo wasn't afraid of Natalya? He smiled, wiped his eyes, and ran over to stand behind the shorter boy. "Да! I vould very muchly like that!"
-o-o-o-
A/N: Uh-oh! I think Yong Soo has made a powerful enemy. Though I'm not sure he realizes it...
I want to thank those of you who are still reading this story. I'm really sorry for the sporadic updates, but, you know, real life and such. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as possible though, promise! 'Til next time!
Notes:
Mei is the most commonly used human name I found for Taiwan, so that's what I'll be using.
And one more thing, a lot of people have been saying that chapter 5 didn't really fit with the story. You're right. I accidentally uploaded chapter 5 from my other story, Jealousy. I'm so sorry! The chapter's been replaced so it should make more sense. Sorry again for the mistake! ^^;