Fever Dream

Chapter 3

It was late afternoon when they returned to Daegu. They were supposed to arrive sometime after lunchtime. It was early evening when the three of them reached their destination. As soon as they parked the car, they all jumped out. His grandfather had driven a taxi to pick them up.

While his grandparents went to park the car, his parents and Kya went up to the hotel lobby to check in. After getting their keys, they joined his grandparents and headed towards the elevator. As they rode up to the third floor, his father started asking questions about how their trip went.

"So, was it alright? Did you have fun?"

"We did. Thank you for inviting us." Kya nodded along.

"Good. Now, are we going to start dinner anytime soon?"

"Soon." His grandmother nodded as they stopped at a door.

"Alright then." He opened the door. "This is your room. We'll be right outside if you need anything."

"Thank you." Both his grandparents said simultaneously.

Once they had gotten inside, they set their stuff down on the floor near the couch.

"Are you hungry?" His grandmother asked.

"Not really, actually." Kya responded.

"Why don't we grab something to eat upstairs? There's nothing more I can think of." She suggested.

"Sounds good." His mother nodded.

As his parents disappeared upstairs to change out of their travel clothes, his grandmother led him to the kitchen.

"Let's go see if there's anything you like. Would you like to help me cook?"

"Sure, I'd love too." He agreed, nodding eagerly.

They both left the kitchen, and they went up to the second floor. His grandmother opened the door and stepped into their bedroom.

"Now, since we don't know yet whether our son has any allergies, we' ve decided that he needs to wear a hat while he's eating." She explained.

"Okay, I understand." He nodded his head. "But, what about shoes? Can I wear shoes while I'm eating? And does it really matter if they're black or white? If it makes me feel uncomfortable, I' d rather eat something that doesn' t make me feel uncomfortable."

"That's true." His grandmother nodded. "But, you know, you always have to eat what other people eat, and I thought that maybe having something that's uniquely yours would make you feel less self conscious about eating that food."

"Oh.."

After a moment, Kya thought about it. He wasn' t sure if he was comfortable eating something specifically from himself; that might make him nervous. On the other hand, if he did eat something from another source, he would probably feel more comfortable eating it, right? If he ate something from a restaurant or something special, he wouldn't want anyone who worked with him to see how uneasy he was acting. The last thing he wanted was someone telling their boss that he didn' t eat what he was told.

"Yeah, okay, but I'll just wear some flip flops or something." He decided.

"Great." She smiled. "Would you mind doing that? I'll help you bring everything downstairs so you can get ready. Then we can go find something we can both agree on."

"Sure, sounds good."

His mother came back down a short time later. When she spotted him sitting on the couch with an empty plate in one hand and a half eaten cupcake in the other, she gasped in surprise.

"Kya! Are you feeling alright?" She rushed over.

"Oh, uh... yeah. I'm fine." He shrugged.

"Are you sure?" She insisted. "You didn' t seem yourself when I walked into the kitchen."

"I'm perfectly fine. I just felt sick earlier, that's all."

She gave him a skeptical look.

"Really." He repeated. "You don' t have to worry about me."

"I' ll stay in case you need anything, OK?" She suggested. "I know your stomach isn't the best, but I can still give you something to eat if you're feeling bad."

"No, that's okay." He shook his head. "Really, I'm fine."

"Alright.." She seemed unconvinced. "Let's get started on dinner anyway, shall we?"

"I guess." He shrugged, getting up off the couch.

"Here." She handed him a cupcake. "You need something to eat first."

"I'm not very hungry, Mom..." He mumbled, taking the piece of cake from her.

"You haven' t eaten all day. You need to eat something."

"But, I really-"

"Don' t argue with me." She interrupted sternly. "Come on."

He reluctantly followed her back into the kitchen. After setting down the plate of cake and taking a seat across from his mother at the table, he took a bite out of the cupcake.

"Does it taste alright?" She asked curiously.

"I guess." He answered truthfully.

"Just try to chew slowly and savor the flavor, ok?" She advised him.

"Ok."

After he finished the cupcake, they sat quietly for a moment. He fidgeted slightly under his gaze, wondering why his mother wasn't talking.

"Have you talked to your dad today?" She inquired softly.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to." He muttered.

"But you need to talk to him."

"He hates me, remember?"

"He doesn't hate you. He just wants to protect you."

"By being a selfish jerk?"

"Yes."

"He's such an asshole." He grumbled.

"Kya... He's not a bad person. And neither is your father."

"If he wasn't, he wouldn' t treat me like this."

"You've only known him for four years. How can you know that?"

"Because, whenever he's around me, he acts like a complete asshole. And then he yells at me, and he says things like that. Do you know how stupid that sounds?"

"No, Kya. I don' t." She admitted. "Your father has been working hard to earn money for a while now. He's trying to do good by everyone, so he can afford to take care of you."

"And I'm doing great." He scoffed.

"How would you feel if he never showed up again?" She asked pointedly.

He swallowed loudly.

"You don't know that." He whispered.

"I think you do. That's why you've been so angry at him recently. Because you don't trust him anymore, and now you can't even talk to him because he won't show up."

"Maybe so." He murmured.

"Listen, if you really dislike your father, don't waste your energy thinking about him. Try to focus on what your grandparents say to you about the wedding. Don't let him bother you. I'm sure he will show up eventually. He probably just needs to get used to seeing us together."

"Yeah, I guess." He sighed.

"Do you want something else to eat?"

"Nope, I'm fine."

When dinner was ready, they sat down at the table.

"Well, here's to an amazing dinner!" His Grandmother cheered.

"Thanks, mom." He grinned, raising his glass.

"To my baby boy growing up." His grandmother clinked her glass against her brother's before drinking from it.

With everything done and cleared away from the table, the adults turned their attention back towards their children. While most of the conversation focused on the upcoming wedding, Kya stayed silent throughout the whole discussion.

The only words that escaped him were 'can you believe it', and 'it's gonna be awesome'.

"Well, I think its safe to say we did an excellent job." His grandfather complimented. "I knew I could count on you two to pick out something wonderful to serve."

"Thanks, grandfather. This looks delicious." Kya added.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"You should thank mom and me. It's all because we picked out this beautiful color scheme for the living room." His grandmother said proudly.

"It really is beautiful." Kya commented.

"So, where are you guys going for dinner?" His grandfather wondered.

"Actually, I was hoping to invite your friends over for dinner tonight. We usually have dinner at the same time every weekend, and we figured it'd be nice to share some good memories together this evening. What do you guys think?" His grandma proposed.

"Um... I don' t really know. I mean, I guess I can ask them." His grandpa nodded.

"I'll also invite my family." His mother replied. "We can all meet up tomorrow, and then you can tell us what you think of the idea."

"Sounds great." His grandfather hummed.

"And I' ll text them." She stated.

"What? No way, mom!" He objected. "They'l think I'm nuts. They already think I' ll turn gay or somethin'."

"No, Kya." She insisted. "Your sisters are really nice. You shouldn' t worry about that. They' ll like you for who you are."

For a moment, Kya didn' t say anything. Even though it was clear that his mother had made up her mind, the possibility of meeting up with them still made him uneasy. As much as he loved his sister and cousins, they were still his younger siblings and he couldn' t help but feel scared about the fact that they weren't like him. He always worried about what his siblings would think of him. Would they judge him? Or would they laugh at him? If they didn't like him because he wasn' t like them... He didn' t want that kind of relationship.

"I guess I' ll just tell them when they come to visit." He eventually decided. "Or better yet, I' ll call them and ask if they wanna come over instead."

"Okay."

"Great. So, since you're gonna invite people, how about inviting some of your friends over for dessert? We' re having chocolate cake." His grandfather offered. "That sounds delicious, doesn' it?"

"Yeah, it does." He agreed happily.

A week went by without his father ever showing up again. His father continued to ignore him whenever he called. Kya tried calling him more than once, but everytime there was no answer. By the end of the week, he was starting to get annoyed. He wanted to see his father, but he didn't want to make him mad. He didn't want to cause any trouble.

On Saturday morning, he woke up early and got dressed. He grabbed his phone and headed downstairs. He found his mother in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Hey, sweetie." She greeted him. "Breakfast smells good."

"Good morning, mom. Can I get some water?"

"Sure thing." She smiled, pouring him a glass of water.

"Are dad and grandma still not home?" He inquired.

"No, they left a bit early this morning. Probably to go to work. Why don' you go wake them up and tell them that breakfast is ready?"

"Okay."

He walked through the living room until he reached the bedroom door. He stopped outside and knocked twice on it gently.

"Mom, dad?" He asked. "Can I come in?"

There was silence for a moment, and he almost thought they hadn't heard him. Then a few seconds later, the door opened.

His father stood behind it, his eyes tired.

"Did you call us this early?" He asked, rubbing his eye with a hand. "We overslept."

"Yes, but... I brought you guys breakfast."

"Oh."

"Uh.. You should probably eat first. I'll just wait outside."

"Alright, son. Thank you."

"Ok."

"See you soon."