#fam;

Family

Evan O’Riordan (née Sullivan)

23rd of April, 1981 - 11th of May, 2016

Police Sergeant on the Dog Squad

Alby Quinn O’Riordan

18th of January, 1983 - 

Pub Owner

Asher Fionn O’Riordan

1st of November, 2009 -

3rd Grade Student

Felix Cole O’Riordan

1st of November, 2009 -

Tricks

Nine Years Old

Adopted, much to Evan’s dismay (though he loved Tricks the most in the end)

Has mild cerebellar hypoplasia

Skipper

Seven Years Old

Retired Police Dog

Walks with a limp

Alby has had him since he was a baby.

     whenever jihae visits the restaurant after school, he suspects she’s using it as an excuse to miss out on cram school but he can’t scold her. instead, he endures the wrath of his sister for letting her stay and help when she’s barely able to carry more than two plates. “  how’s my favorite worker?  ”  he jokes as she returns with an empty tray. 

     “  uncle, do you have a dream?  ” he doesn’t expect that kind of question in return and she must be taking after her mother too much if she answers a question with a jarring one of her own. 

     how lawyer-like, he muses, shaking his head as he sets down the butcher knife. 

     “  what kind of dream?  ” 

     “  for your future! do you want to be a chef forever? do you love it?   ” 

     “  why do you ask that?   ” “  because mom won’t tell me what her dream is!   ”  

     he chuckles, knowing his oldest sister as the hardest to get to express her feelings. it’s why she made such a great lawyer, her lips were sealed, in her private life and her work life. 

     “  it already came true for her,   ”  he tells his niece honestly, coming around the counter. wiping his hands with a wet towel, he kneels down in front of his niece, hands lightly on her tiny shoulders. “  her dream was having you.  ” 

     tapping her nose with a soft touch, he stares jihae in the eyes. “  she wants to see you grow up with everything you could ever want. don’t take how hard your mother works for granted okay? that’s why even if this isn’t my dream, i love it here. this is where your grandmother worked hard for us.   ” 

     his niece takes after her mother the most. it’s pretty damn intimidating to think a six-year-old could be more entrepreneurial than he could dream of being despite having eighteen years of wisdom he should have gathered by now. he’s watching her give a pitch to a few unsuspecting foreigners, her accented english adorable to hear and a bonus cute factor when it comes to sales. 

     yawning, he glances at the watch on his wrist, the face on the inner side, flat against the underside of his forearm. he thinks it’s more subtle when he checks the time but it looks more like a fashion choice than a sensible one. three hours of sleep and he’s struggling to keep his eyes open. some of the bracelets she has on display were his own handiwork and he chuckles as she regales all the methods and patterns she’d come up with, how many hours she’d dedicated to it on top of her ballet and piano lessons. she sounds entitled and changmin thought she was. no one could blame his sister for trying her best to give her daughter everything when, as children, they suddenly lost all of their privileges because of their hopeless father. 

     it makes him wonder why she wants to do this and it’s hours later until he realizes why. 

     she makes a request to stop by the market on the way home and she picks out multiples of the makings of sandwiches. the mumbling of how much she wishes she could give them kimbap causes him to furrow his brows but he doesn’t ask until he brings her home and she drags him into the kitchen to help her. sandwiches line the counter by the time his sister’s arrival catches him off-guard. compliments fill the room but he doesn’t get it until they’re heading to the car. 

     the homeless community in seoul isn’t as large as other countries but it does exist and he’s touched to see his own little niece proudly hand food out to everyone who’s willing to accept. with an elbow to his back, he’s aware of himself again and smiles sheepishly before lending a hand. 

     his mother used to be the strongest person he knew. she could carry him  on her back to the top of namsan tower when he was a toddler. now when he looks at her and catches her busing a table when one of their employees is on break, he worries she’ll fall. old age and heartbreak hadn’t treated her kindly. she’s still as sharp in the kitchen as ever but she’s considerably slower and changmin pretends he doesn’t have to switch orders around once the waiters come for the dishes. 

     “  can’t sleep?  ”  he asks when she quietly slips downstairs where he’s sitting on the couch, but it’s a routine he knows by heart. most nights, changmin could count the seconds til she wanders out of her room for solace, peace of mind, just a break— any break from the thoughts running rampant in her mind. taehee once told him he’s lucky he didn’t get that trait from their mother, the overthinking and worrying, but he’s more unfortunate to get his father’s impulsiveness and lack of concern. 

     the steps progress more quickly tonight and changmin wonders if it’s because of his audition, if she questions if he’ll go down the wrong path again and stray from the family but she can’t seem to keep her distance from him. stolen glances and nervous hums as she prepares a midnight snack tell him everything he needs to know. she’s wondering if he’ll leave again, if she’ll blink and he’ll be gone. 

     he did this to her, the first he being his father, and now it’s him she doubts. when she eventually settles in next to him on the couch, asking vague questions to feign interest in the movie he was watching, he waits for the request that comes each time. 

     “  should we read a book together?  ” 

     the answer he gives is the same every time as well and he chooses his favorite childhood story like he does, a never-changing routine. just like the storyline, he carries her up the stairs when she falls asleep, tucking her into bed as he sings, 

Nope! compare to you i am nothing and you are everything. i am being serious! n o no MAMA DON'T CRY -*gives her tissues *

nononnoono So wrong in my eyes but I’m really really honored that you think of me like that, you have no idea how much knowing that means to me..~