Yao stirred the sweet dessert soup in the pot – keeping it warm with a small flame. A pitter patter of feet warned him of what was about to take place when he was tackled from the back. Reaching around him, he grabbed onto the little boy, holding him upside-down in front of him.
"Yong-Soo, weren't you studying? Go back to the tea room and finish your calligraphy."
"But I don't wanna!"
"You will never catch up to Kiku at this rate."
"But Kiku is bigger than me! I can't catch up to him anyway."
Yao sighed and glared at the boy, who was peering eagerly into the pot, the smell of sweet rice wine permeating the air. Yao put the boy back down onto the ground before seeing an older boy by the door.
"Ah – Kiku, there you are. Do you think you can take Yong-Soo back to the tea room so he can finish his calligraphy for today?"
Kiku bit his lip, troubled at the suggestion.
"But 哥哥, he does not listen to me. I already tried."
Yao sighed, grabbing the back of Yong-Soo's collar before he tried to escape.
"Well, did you finish your own work, Kiku?"
"Yes, 哥哥."
"Alright. Can you help me then? You can use this stool to watch over this dessert. Just make sure it doesn't boil. If it does, just blow out the flame, alright?"
And with that, Yao left the kitchen, marching Yong-Soo back to the tea room. At least he was right handed, Kiku thought bitterly. He mounted the stool and stared into the pot warily. He eyed the chopsticks that Yao had been using the stir the soup – but Yao didn't tell him to stir. Should he stir? Kiku wasn't sure. He fidgeted. Why was Yao taking so long? Yong-Soo only had two more rows of calligraphy to finish, right?
Kiku furrowed his brow, the thoughts running through is mind as he reverted his gaze from the pot to the open back door, the garden in plain sight. He was normally enjoying his time exploring the garden by now. Kiku sighed. Suddenly, he heard bubbling. Fast bubbling. He looked back at the pot to see the turbulent soup boiling violently and a few drops landed on his face, causing Kiku to cry out at the slight burn, and accidentally fling his hand forward, onto the pot. A shock of heat ran across his hand as he fell backward, landing on the ground painfully.
It hurt. It hurt very much. And it felt like forever.
Yao rushed in, Yong-Soo behind him, and knelt down beside Kiku, worry etched deep into his face. He patted Kiku's shoulder – the boy blinked a bit and looked around before wincing and pulling his hand to his chest.
"Kiku? Can you – look at me, Kiku. Where are you hurt? Let me see your hand."
"Hello! Hey, why isn't Kiku talking?"
"Hush – he just fell and hit his head, go get the bandages."
It was extremely uncomfortable. Kiku really wished that they would stop talking so loudly, and was relieved when Yong-Soo left the room. He felt a few tears escape his eyes.
Yao took a small cloth and wiped Kiku's cheeks from the wetness before gradually helping him sit up, leaning against the low table. Kiku watched as his older brother blew out the fire and removed the pot from the stove, and suddenly remembered – he was supposed to watch the soup! Kiku his stomach twist in guilt – was it all his fault? It had to be. Now his whole family had to help him.
Yao reached up and grabbed an ointment from one of the shelves – the one used for burns. Yong-Soo returned promptly with a few rolls of bandages, much more than was needed. The younger boy sat down beside him and hugged the bandages close to his chest.
"You okay, Kiku…?"
Kiku tried to nod, but found his head pierced with pain when he tried to move it, so he settled with a slight smile. Yao returned and gently took his burned hand, spreading a bit of the pasty ointment onto it before wrapping a cloth around it and bandaging it tightly. He thanked Yong-Soo and shooed him into the garden, before bringing a hand up to Kiku's forehead to steady the boy before quietly asking,
"Do you feel a bit sick, Kiku?"
Kiku didn't want to nod again, so he simply reached out a hand and held onto his brother's robe. Yao nodded and gently picked him up and carried him to his bed to rest.
Kiku blinked – he was feeling quite a bit better already. No more nausea, blinding light or ringing in his ears. He sat up in his bed – it was evening and he could see the moon from his window. Yong-Soo would have already gone to sleep, but there was still a warm light seeping from under his door. He slipped out from his covers and tiptoed through the door and into the kitchen, where he found his brother packing the soup in a jar, with a bowl of the sweet dessert left over. When Yao looked up, he was alarmed to his Kiku out of bed.
"Kiku – are you sure you are feeling well enough to be out of bed?" He whispered gently, in case his brother had not yet recovered.
Kiku nodded before walking over to Yao and bowing in apology.
"I'm sorry – I didn't look over the soup properly, and made you all worry about me."
Yao clicked his tongue in slight annoyance and sighed.
"Kiku – don't apologise, it was just an accident," He replied, and I shouldn't have left you alone at the stove for so long…
Kiku stood up straight again, but he was not entirely convinced. Yao looked to the side before getting a slight idea. Perhaps it would not be the best to drink alcohol after an injury, but there was very little alcohol in the soup anyway. Yao sat down by the leftover bowl of soup and gestured for Kiku to sit beside him. The younger boy blinked and followed, sitting at the table.
"I don't normally allow children to drink this, but I'm sure you deserve a little bit, after all that you went through to help me make it," Yao whispered to him. Kiku widened his eyes and hesitated before nodding. Yao lifted the spoon from the bowl holding his other hand under it in case it spilled.
"Here."
And Kiku had his first taste of alcohol from a dessert of sweet, fermented rice.
[ AN: I do not advise treating burns and concussions at home. Always go to the hospital. ]