"It's okay," he said, barely audible.

Jensen wiped the clinging sweat from his forehead and grinned nervously.

"Mm-hmm."

It was quiet in the entryway, but a cat mewed pitifully somewhere downstairs. They smiled at each other, and the door suddenly opened. A thin woman's face peeked out of the doorway. When she noticed Jensen, the owner brightened up and smiled sweetly.

"Come in, come in quick," the woman said impatiently, pulling them both into the apartment. When she closed the door with the latch, she quickly turned to the boys standing in the hallway. "How did you get here?"

"Fine," Hyun replied, pulling off his jacket. "Just a little cold."

The woman grudgingly nodded.

"Well, I told you! You should have worn something warmer."

Hyun rolled his eyes.

Jensen smiled slightly as he watched them, but when he felt someone else's curious gaze on him, he shrank back a little. The woman clasped her hands together and looked at him with a slight half-smile.

"You take your clothes off, too. Your socks are probably all wet."

Jensen followed her words and untied the wet scarf first.

Once in the kitchen, the aroma of warm chicken soup wafted up his nose. Hyun took a few greedy sips of water from the clear glass and, spreading his arms, looked at his mother and brother, frozen near the table. The woman's gaze shifted to her son, and she raised her eyebrow slightly, hinting. He nodded imperceptibly, and then lazily dropped it:

"Okay, I'll go carry the bags."

Picking up his backpack and gym bag, he rushed quietly into the room.

The woman fidgeted nervously with her fingers.

"So...how did you get here? Is everything okay? No one hit on you along the way? Cause there's all kinds of thugs. They pick on everyone," the concern in her voice was all too palpable.

Jensen exhaled, and hummed:

"It's okay. If someone was picking on me, I'd give them a fucking..." he stammered, and awkwardly scratched his pale cheek. The woman, as if not noticing the misfire, still looked at him softly. "In the face. Just like that.

"I'm glad to hear it," Du San said good-naturedly. "Who would teach my son to stand up for himself like that?

"I will teach him," Jensen promised.

There was silence.

A thin woman's hands gently and reverently encircled his back. Jensen shuddered, and after standing as a pillar for a few moments, hugged his aunt back. Tears came to her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her hands gripping his shoulder blades tightly. The black turtleneck on his shoulder was wet. "What took so long... Four months... I tried to hurry them up with the paperwork as fast as I could, but they kept denying it. I thought they wouldn't even give you back! It was so horrible...

"It's all right now," Jensen reassured her after a silence. "I'm here now, and I'm definitely not going anywhere.

"I'm glad," the woman sobbed, pulling away, wiping her cheeks with thin dry fingers. "I'm so glad. Yes, everything will be all right. We'll take care of you."

She laughed a little, exhaling in relief.

Jensen lowered his eyes.

"Mother would be grateful."

Du San felt a pain in her heart.

"I know."

"Thank you for taking me...into the family."

The woman, unable to hold back, cried again.

"Those three years have been incredibly hard for you, and I regret not being able to deal with it sooner."

Jensen shook his head.

"It's not your fault, the treatment took enough time. But I'm... glad to be here now. Thank you."

His hands trembled.

"Thank you for not abandoning me."

Du San wrapped her arms around his face and squeezed lightly.

"I would never leave my nephew."

They stood next to each other for a while longer, but soon pulled away with awkward laughs.

"I should probably go unpack my bag."

The woman nodded vigorously, smoothing the creases of her gray kitchen apron.

"Sure. Then go straight to breakfast, I'll heat it up," she darted toward the towel-lined plates and lifted one of them and put it in the microwave.

Jensen headed into the room, but halfway through he was suddenly stopped.

"Jensen! Classes start on the second shift today," the woman quickly informed the boy. Wiping her hands with a dry napkin, she stretched a smile on her lips. "Are you coming? Or is tomorrow better? You'll get your rest just right."

He shook his head in the negative.

"I'll go tonight. Thank you."

"All right," Du San's unjuvenated face suddenly seized with doubt. She licked her lips nervously and asked softly. "This may sound selfish, but..."

"Thanks, Mom."

The woman shuddered. Jensen, without waiting for an answer, moved into the room.

Du San turned away and slowly walked to the table. Unconsciously squeezing the skin on her palm until it was red, she covered her face and wept bitterly.

Hyun finished dressing just as his brother entered the room, the door creaking quietly. He looked at him in surprise and, noticing the red eyes, decided not to ask unnecessary questions. Taking white pajamas out of a large closet, the boy handed them to Jensen.

"Here. Mom bought it last week."

Jensen grinned as he unwrapped it. On the fabric in the center of the chest was the furry face of a brown bear. He glanced at Hyun, who had turned away, and lifted the corners of his lips cheerfully. There was a short bear tail on the back of his pants.

"Are these a paired pajamas?"

Hyun frowned at his brother and gave an unnatural sniffle.

"They were on stock."

"We look like sisters."

Jensen sat down on his bed across from his brother's and stretched out on the bed, massaging the muscles in his sides tiredly.

"Get changed," Hyun urged him. His brother's black top flashed over his head. He tossed a clean towel over his face. "And take a shower. I can unpack your bag for now, if you don't mind. We'll go to school this afternoon. I'll show you around."

"Okay, okay," Jensen brushed it off.

He stood up and scratched his neck, looking around the room.

It was exactly like the pictures Hyun had sent him months ago. A small wooden table, two chairs-one old and worn, the other new. It had obviously been bought quite recently.

Jensen felt a pang of shame at the thought of the money Du San had spent on it.

In the corner was a tall beige closet with a full-length mirror. Above Hyun's bed hung several posters of his favorite idols. Over his shoulder, Jensen noticed two colorful posters of the game he'd once been a fan of on his wall.

An involuntary smile spread across his face.

Turning back around, he looked at the back of his squatting brother, who was searching under the bed for his slippers, and frowned.

Something inside him collapsed at the same instant.

Jensen jumped up from the bed and quickly approached his brother, grabbing him by the shoulder. Hyun cried out muffled, startled, and looked at his brother with frightened eyes.

"What is it?"

"Where did that come from?" Jensen lifted the edge of his pajamas and pointed to the two huge green bruises spread out on the guy's thighs. His voice sounded harsh. "Who did this?"

The guy's fingers trembled slightly.

"What scum left them?" raising his voice, Jensen squatted in front of his brother and brought his pale face closer to him.

Hyun had never seen his brother so...intimidating, but he didn't move away and only averted his eyes ambiguously. Jensen, not getting an answer, helped him up and, picking him up by the forearm, sat him down on the bed. It creaked noiselessly and sagged under the weight of the two men. Du Hyun began nervously rubbing the skin of his fingers, trying not to look at his brother, but he touched his face and turned him to him and asked again:

"Who did this?"

Hyun's lips turned white and trembled. The expression on his face became anxious.

It was as if his sore spot had been hit.

Jensen exhaled heavily, silently, and pulled his brother to his shoulder in one motion, hugging him tightly. Biting his lips against the back of his neck, he felt fingers on his turtleneck, clutching the fabric, and spat out a loud, desperate one:

"Fuck."

The room was filled with stifled sobs.