Yoonjae blinked rapidly. The world had changed the second he decided on closing his eyes and wah, wah, he wanted to cry. The little girl was so cute. So tiny. In a fur jacket that looked like Yoonjae's rent. She sat gingerly in the white armchair across from them. Her legs were crossed. She hadn't uttered yet another word since Andrei made her a plate. He'd grabbed a tiny porcelain one and simply, quietly, fueled up. Piling food onto the plate like she was starved.
He seemed to be good. Despite the fact that thirty minutes ago, this happened.
Forty minutes earlier.
"Uhm, hi." Yoonjae was aware they were from Russia. Very. They were twins, it's believable that they moved at the same time. So why was Arseni's accent much stronger? The type of voice that made your stomach curl and your special parts twitch? Scary. Yoonjae shivered despite the tone coming off kind of weird. Sweet. Childish, in a way.
"Hi! It-it's nice to meet you!" Yoonjae smiled. He didn't mean to sound so excited. So, suped. Like the kids he worked with. He imagined himself sounding professional or at least worthy of fitting into this family tree somewhere. One, lanky arm jutted out shakily. A new peace offering. Despite them having been introduced ten minutes ago, hihi. It felt like the right thing to do. Maybe the other man didn't think so. "You don't like handshakes?" A shallow laugh came from Yoonjae. Sharp and watery, liquid. His breath stepped over each word before he could think it through, leading to this hushed sound Yoonjae wanted to cry about. But he couldn't!
"Erm, sure? Who does?" Arseni suddenly responded. He was calm. Like his brother. Yoonjae giggled at that, a hand covering his mouth as his eyes shut to crescents. He wasn't sure if it was his own thoughts or Arseni.
The other man clapped his hands together and the scent of whiskey flew up to Yoonjae's nostrils. It smelled good. So did the rest of this area. "So, I don't know if you know but my brother is a porn star. I'd break up with him now if he didn't tell you."
A good one, for sure. A little weird, but still.
Yoonjae licked his lips. "Hm! I know! He told me, hihi. Thanks for looking out...that's really sweet."
"Yeah, he breaks too many hearts."
"He sure has a type, though—I mean, you've probably never watched one of those videos, I'm so sorry, that's so weird, ugh!"
Arseni shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I haven't watched one of those videos but I met his ex. It's awkward, let's not talk about that." That same, slightly awkward, kinda smug face was the same one Andrei wore.
Now.
The little girl had their face. Mr. Arseni and Mr. Andrei. Pooled into one, tiny thing with a mouth that chomped, chomped, chomped. Arms that carried a three pound dog seemingly everywhere. She walked in heels just fine. Maybe a stumble or two, at best. It was remarkable. She deserved a sticker.
Something told Yoonjae that she didn't get those often. Not that she was dumb or anything! No! No! No! It's more of a reflection of her parents.
Arseni-ssi seemed to be the only one in this home. She didn't even seem to be here when they first came. But the way she carried herself wasn't like anything Yoonjae had seen in all of his six years of preschool-teaching. The pink-haired boy gulped. He carded through the girl with his eyes, clutching Andrei's arm. Scrumptious, she is. She was exhibiting traits that weren't characteristic in those her age. Couldn't be over five with her motor skills.
She held a plate in her lap. Used rose gold utensils that only fit in her hands, a few inches each. Two. A spoon and a fork. Most toddlers throw rice at their mouth and call that eating. She put her fork down, scooped up a dollop of rice, and then..then, she put a piece of chicken on top of it. She'd wait for a moment, watching the sauce evaporate into the rice. Then, she'd take a reasonable bite off of the baby spoon. She'd chew slowly and then do it again.
It was magnificent, really. Watching her eat. Just, wow.
Yoonjae doubted it was just her motors overworking themselves. The apartment was new but at their regular homes, he'd never seen her or her father. Or, at least, not together. It was weird. Nerve wrecking because he knew it led to something deeper. Something he had to uproot with a fist. He sighed, leaning into his boyfriend's arm. "She's really smart....who is she to you?" The boy whispered against Andrei's ear, his breath warm. It came out like a moan. Made Andrei shiver the slightest bit.
He had a hand over Yoonjae's slim thigh. "My niece. She's three, don't whisper, it makes her uncomfortable."
Ermkay.
Yoonjae cleared his throat. Even though he felt his vocal cords snapping. Such a burly sound, yet the girl didn't even flinch. She just looked at him with eyes that took more than half of her face. "Where did she come from?" Yoonjae batted his lashes. She sort of spawned twenty minutes ago and spent the rest of it eating in silence surrounded by both Yoonjae and Andrei. It made his jaw clench. She's too comfortable being ignored; it was sickly.
When they came in, no sounds were made. No lights were on. Nothing. Not a hint of another beating heart.
"America. She's a citizen." Andrei cocked a brow.
Yoonjae let a sharp chuckle escape. "What? I meant where has she been all of this time! No one was in here when we came in and the lights were off."
Andrei glanced, his pretty eyes sparkly. He wants me, Yoonjae thought. "Oh, I don't know—"
"Papa leave. He have work. I libe alone. Wit my puppah," she interrupted, ripping a piece of chicken in half. Her accent impacted her words harder than Friday impacted Yoonjae's childhood. No matter how cute and lovely she sounded—it didn't stand a chance at the words being said.
Yoonjae's head tilted to the side. His eyes squinted more than they already were. He smiled lopsidedly. "What?" It came out as more of a breath than an actual word.
Her shoulders rose and fell without much explanation. "Puppah save me. Protect...save me. Yeah. I like poopah. He sweet. I sweet. We sweet." The other half of the chicken went into the dog's mouth. She held open the top of his snout and placed the small, chopped piece in. She wiped her fingers on coat. Then, the other half was hers.
Yoonjae frowned. He moved closer. His suspicions might be correct. It was a sad fact. But true. Because this was real life. No matter how sweet a guy seems.
"What do you mean? Your papa just leaves you? Alone here?"
"Not alone. Puppah. We eat, watch you..YouTube..small puppets talk IRS and alcoholic. We watch. We eat cheese, too! I like cheese!" She gave a cheeky smile. Yoonjae wished his heart didn't feel like five hundred pounds. He would've smiled back.
Instead, his frown deepened. "Wh-where does your papa go?"
A rough squeeze shook him. Why? Covering your case, weirdo? He thought. He shouldn't but could you blame him? Andrei was letting this happen. Yoonjae huffed through his nose. He turned to face the man.
Andrei looked uncomfortable. For once.
His nose scrunched and jaw pulled tight enough to pop a vein. "Stop. We take care of her just fine, she doesn't need your psychoanalysis. My brother has enough going on. He will break if he gets another CPS charge." What?
Yoonjae's brows let out. Opening a wrinkle on his temple. "'Another'?" He used air quotes and that still wasn't enough to voice his confusion.
"Princess." A voice called. Yoonjae flinched so hard, the couch jerked with him. His eyes wandered over the tall man. Maybe six feet he was. Man of muscle, hah. Unfortunately, he was shirtless. He had a similar physique to Andrei. Many more tattoos. All over. Covering his abs, his arms, his thighs. The neat curves of his abdomen and the v-line were thicker than Andrei's. Considering the other man was lean, Arseni was beef. Muscle, muscle. Thick on his arms like something meaty.
His hair was ruffled, his shorts to his knee. He leaned down to the little girl. And he smiled. "Heyy, bubs. You okay? You didn't come out earlier," he murmured, his voice sweeter than sugar. A thumb caressed her cheek as he knelt for her.
Yoonjae would call it cute. But his stomach hurt.
He blinked rapidly, steam almost budding off of him. He stood shakily and ignored Andrei's quiet demand.
"Uhm, Mr. Arseni?" he said. Soft, gentle. Normal.
Arseni hummed. "What's up, kid? And don't call me that. Feels weird since we're like family and shit."
"Right, hihi." Yoonjae rubbed his palms on his jeans. The older man straightened out. He grabbed the plate from Gaia's lap and put it on the table with no words. Then, he brung her up to his arms. He held her head in his neck and her back to him, the dog sitting on the arm chair with a wagging tail and sparkling eyes. The dog likes him, heh.
Yoonjae swallowed. Arseni stood meters ahead of him but they felt eye to eye.
"So-so.." Yoonjae, you can do this. You are a teacher. You deal with this a million times and if this faux relationship is ruined, so what? This little girl's safety is more important.
"Uhm..so, Gaia said some...really interesting things. She said you leave for work and leave her..alone here. With the dog..is that true?"
Arseni stared. He glanced around....
Nod.
"Yeah! The dog's name is Yevgeny. He and Gaia are the same age. It's cute."
Oh.
"Right...and you leave them alone? In your house? Just completely alone?"
The man blinked before a court laugh left him. "Uh, is this the police station? Why are you questioning me? We just met."
"Right but...you know, I just want to know if she's safe."
"Okay. I'll show you her room. I promise she's not alone, she has three giant teddy bears."
"Okay, lead the way, boss, hihi!"
Yoonjae rubbed until his fingers burned. The little girl glared curiously at him from her father's neck as Yoonjae tiptoed directly behind the man. His heart pounded through his chest. Loud and boxy. Horrific.
The hallway was long and black. A gust of wind hit them forcibly...
Oh goodness. Oh. Goodness. Yoonjae closed his eyes the moment they stopped. Breathe, breathe, breathe. It won't be that bad.
"Kids." What?
Yoonjae peeped one eye open.
And......
Gasped.
The room had star-like lights strung upon the wall. Low music played from a TV trapped in a plastic box surrounded by bookshelves that were small and big at the same time. Filled to the brim with endless fairytales. The bed was a day bed, the type of frame that sat against the wall similar to the way a couch would but with a mattress. Hers had butterflies that had lights on them. Her sheets were clean, perfect. Like she didn't sleep there. They were pink and red. With a heart pillow next to four regular pillows. A safety railing was tucked into the frame, blending in with it all.
A dog bed was at the edge. Huge. It seemed to be made for a pitbull, but it had a few toys sprinkled here and there.
That wasn't the thing that made Yoonjae want to faint. Or die of embarrassment.
None of it was.
Until your eyes found the carpet.
When his eyes opened slowly and died at the giant, heart-shaped blue, white, pink, and purple rug with a rainbow going through it. Same colors. It wasn't a big deal either.
It was the three men sitting on it. Two of them were playing monopoly. One of them scrolled on his phone. A charcuterie board beside him. He had vibrant sage hair and a silk tie on his neck. Mediterranean skin and monolids. That kid works at the McDonald's on fifth. Yoonjae sees him every month. What is he doing here?
Weird...
The other men—one darker skinned and the other as pale as Arseni himself.
The green haired one looked up. His eyes widened. "Boss! We didn't know when you'd be back. Gaia said six but you said ten, so we wanted to be sure. You just get here?" His voice reeked of puberty. It caused the other two men to look up. The black man had a green durag on and a clean shaven face. He looked around twenty-one. The other guy, a huge, burly guy with a buzz cut and tattoos all over his neck, hummed.
"Ты мне должен больше, потому что эти дети, блять, просто нелепые, сенячка," he whispered.
Arseni nodded. "What time did you guys get here?"
Green boy said, "two o'clock, like you asked."
Black man shrugged. "Four. Got off of work late, my bad."
The other man didn't answer. But Arseni proved his point enough. He turned and frowned. "I thought you were cool. I feel kind of pathetic. You think I'd leave my daughter alone in a penthouse for ten hours? I really overestimated you...."