Secret Garden | 16 | go to sleep
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Choi Jongho x GNReader | SMAU | College!AU | SecretPrince!AU
As someone who hates just about everything his own family stands for, Jongho finds himself entering his freshman year at the very same university his older brother is at… Along with all of his cousins. Being second in line for the throne allowed him some anonymity and he hopes to keep it that way for as long as possible, going as far as to swear his own family to secrecy. And he only wants to hide away the more his lies begin to catch up with him as he meets one of the only scholarship students in the whole of the very prestigious, hard to get in to unless you have money, KQ University.
| warnings: mentions of death, crying, adoption
You sit in front of your parents as your bedroom clicks shut, Jongho waiting in there while you had the discussion you’d been dreading with your parents. You father sets a cup of tea down in front of you and you glance at the mug that Jongho had been working on super gluing back together for your mom sitting haphazardly on the coffee table.
“I just want you to know that regardless… You guys are still my parents. I love you. I just need… Answers.” You clear your throat and begin to explain everything that had happened in the time since the semester started; how Seungkwan was your RA, how you’d met Jongho and Wooyoung, how Soobin had actually written in his will that you’d be Odi’s caretaker and you thought it was a joke…
That was definitely the laugh you needed before getting into the darker side.
As you explained that Jongho had hidden who he was from you, you notice your father shifting, looking rather angry and annoyed as his gaze shifts to the bedroom door separating the three of you from the man in question.
“I understand why he lied… I think I would have done the same, maybe not as long as he had done it, but I get it.” You sigh, “Seungkwan hired a private investigator to dig it up. And within the week of cutting Jongho off, someone told me who Seungkwan was…” You opt to leave out the information that it was Jongho’s brother, not wanting to add fuel to the fire your father looked like he wanted to set.
“I need to know why… If you know anything. And why didn't you tell me!” You’re pleading with them now and your mother wipes away the tears on her face.
She stands and comes to sit next to you, “It was never our intention to keep it from you. Certainly not this long, but we were worried that if your biological father knew that you knew, he would cause trouble. Your mother has kept in touch… She asks for pictures of you, updates on your achievements. She seemed very proud when she found out you were accepted to KQ.” She brings a hand to your face and wipes the tear away that you didn’t even know had fallen down your cheek.
“I worked for them for a few years before you and Seungkwan were born. Neither of them ever had a desire to have children. Both of you were accidents,” you father had a more crass approach but at least he was being honest. “We’d just lost your brother a few months before you were born.”
You knew that… of course you did. Your parents always said they wanted you to know you had a brother. As he continues, he explains that the pregnancy began to drive a wedge between your birth parents. They didn’t want one child, let alone two and your birth father had reached his limit.
It was your birth mother who had the heart to give you away to a couple she knew needed a second chance and that she knew she could trust with you. At least this way, she knew you were going to a good home with a happy and safe couple.
Your father had paid them off, buying a small house for them in a small town six hours away. He signed off on enough funds that they wouldn’t have to work until you were a legal adult. His stipulation was that you were to never know who your biological parents were and you were to be told it was a closed adoption.
As you sit and process the information, you can’t help but to ache at the thought of your family whom you’d never known. Your father didn’t seem you worthy of knowing who he even was. Your mother seemed to want to know you, but didn’t say anything…
Your brother, who knows when he found out, had tried desperately to have some kind of relationship with you, but had gone about it in all the wrong ways. Protective, but destructive.
And you couldn’t really blame him. Based on the information you were told just now, he definitely didn’t grow up in a happy and healthy home. So he showed love in the only way he knew how. That didn’t mean what he’d done was excusable. He could have just spoken to you and you would have been… understanding. At least you would hope that you would have been.
You sigh softly and you turn to give your mom a hug, whispering quietly to remind her that you love her and that she would always be your mom no matter what. You stand up and turn to your father, doing the same and allowing the man who you’d never seen emotional, do the same with you.
It takes all you have in you to separate yourself from him, kissing each of them on the cheek and turning to go to your room with the excuse that you were exhausted from traveling and had a lot to deal with in the coming days after you finally went back to school. But for the next few days, you would be enjoying your time with your parents and Jongho.
You shut the bedroom door behind you and turn to see Jongho setting his phone down and holding up a white teddy bear you know to be your brother’s. You smile at him, climbing onto the bed with him and inserting yourself into his arms, laying against him and pressing your face against his neck as you cradle the teddy bear to your chest between the two of you.
Jongho is surprised but he settles and holds you close to him, helping you to get comfortable. He only pauses when he feels tears beginning to hit his skin and his mouth falls open. He closes his eyes and rocks you slightly, humming softly and turning to kiss your forehead. He whispers quiet promises to you, wanting to make it known that he was always going to be there for you and that he loves you so very much.
The words don’t register with you right away, but when they do, you’re too far gone from the world and half asleep to even manage to make any recognizable word fall from your lips.
“It’s okay. Go to sleep, my love.” He mumbles, guiding you to lay flat on the bed as he reaches over to cut the lamp off. “It’ll be okay.”
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