Lee Yong did not know when he started crying on Hyun Joon's shoulder, but when he realised there was a massive portion of Hyun Joon's t-shirt wet from tears. He pulled away from the hug, embarrassed for dirting the t-shirt, and sprouted an apology.
Hyun Joon simply smiled at him.
They sat in a blanket of silence that lulled them to comfort that actually did not exist, but they wished it did.
Everyone in the room was relieved that Lee Yong did not have any issue with Hyun Joon being gay. But they all knew that if the fans found out about it, it would cause a stir and affect their band severely.
Those were worries for the future.
Everyone noticing how their manager reacted calmly about Hyun Joon coming out of the closet proved that it was indeed a worry for the future.
Lee Yong felt his eyes sting from all the crying. He slowly picked his phone back and made a call. When everyone thought it was another call to the Lee Whan, they were surprised to hear the next word.
"Dad… why is mom being so cruel to little Whan?" Lee Yong went straight to the point of concern without thinking.
Lee In-Su knew the scandal about the saesang fans of his first son, and he was sure his second son was cleaning up the mess right after finishing the business trip. In-Su was in the office to help his second son manage a few affairs after learning his son secured the deal for the company.
But he did not expect the call from his first son, questioning the issue between Lee Whan and their mother.
With a heavy sigh, Lee In-Su removed his reading glass. "She had been like that for years now."
He tried to be diplomatic and ensure no conflicts in the family. He did not realise that exactly this attitude cost him his second son, and pretending to have no issue in the family would only blow up in his face.
Lee Yong pressed further without any hesitation. "Because he is gay?"
"He is not gay. But how do you even know about his having a different orientation?" Lee In-Su felt the headache coming in.
"I overheard the conversation between him and mom." Lee Yong did not hide anything. If he wanted the truth, he better be honest and pokes his nose everywhere. Or else he would lose his brother forever.
"God! What did she do now?" Lee In-Su let out a frustrated, silent yell.
"Something horrible!" Lee Yong answered evasively.
If his father were unwilling to talk about his brother's sexuality, he would take a challenging route and pull the words from his father's mouth by manipulation.
Unfortunately, both could play such games well.
Lee In-Su ignored his first son as he was focused on his next course of action. "I will appease Lee Whan when he comes home. That poor boy…"
"He won't be going home. He said he is going to stay at his friend's place." Lee Whan threw the next piece of information as bait.
The silence from his father's side scared him as if the chance of him not seeing his brother again was higher than Mount Everest.
After an eternity wait but in the reality of four and a half minutes of silence, Lee In-Su finally questioned his son with the intention of not playing any games or hiding the truth. "Did he say whose place he would be staying?"
"Ummm… no…" Lee Yong felt incompetent as a brother for not knowing about his little brother's friends.
"It's okay. I will call them and ask. I know he would be at his best friend Yoon Gi's place or Yoon Gi's sister's place. I just hope they answer the call." Lee In-Su did not hold back and revealed his speculation, not knowing his speculations were wrong.
Lee Yong was not going to be dismissed as if nothing mattered. So he asked the pressing matter a question again, but he was more direct this time. "Dad… you were sure he is not gay. If he was bi, it shouldn't be a problem. He could be with a woman too. Why is mom making it an issue?"
"He is not bi…" Lee In-Su sighs before continuing his words. "Lee Whan is demisexual."
"What the hell is that?" Lee Yong honestly knew less about the LGBTQ community.
Literally, the abbreviation of the five letters and what it stands for was all he knew about the community. So he was lost and confused when he heard the word that did not stand for any of the five letters.
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The chapter is dedicated to Antisocial_07 for having the guess close to the correct answer.
If you want to know about demisexuality, read the author's note. Even though we will reach the point of explaining it further and in detail in future chapters, if you want to know more, ask Google, who knows all!
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