“Well, hello there~ and to what do I owe the pleasure of?” He chuckles as he rests his hands on the younger’s hips, comfortably settling him on his lap.
Well, excuse him certainly, but there was definitely no need to shove him aside like last night’s dinner. For someone who was supposedly the epitome of love and endearment, Himchan certainly packed a punch… with his palm; although, they did have a saying about love being the strongest magic out there… At least in that one world he visited one time with the Doctor. However, irrelevant thoughts aside, Ryoji rubbed his stinging face with his fingers as he winced and thought about what a mother hen would be like at the mercy of her child, that being Himchan, had he been a female.
That being said, Ryoji meant no harm… for once in his life. “I wasn’t going to snatch Junhong away or anything…” he whined with his lower lip jutted out. “I just wanted to spend some time with him is all. Is that wrong of me?”
Never mind his kid brother’s birthday, Daehyun’s mind basically stopped functioning the second the other called him up by a title he was clearly very offended by. “Did you just call me ‘noona’?” he chortled while narrowing his eyes.
“Oh! Is that your fiance, Daehyun-ssi?"
Yes, because avoiding the topic was what he excelled in. Well, not really, but he’d seen what the demon could do in his earliest wrath so straying away from that seemed like the better choice. Maybe he could ask someone else for help… Someone else… If he were to be brutally honest, he knew basically none of Junhong’s friends, save for maybe Daehyun and Yongguk, but Yongguk really didn’t strike him as someone who’d know much about someone’s hobbies and interests. Supposedly serves him right for not being there for a few years.
"Noona, what are you doing?“ he asks, subtly in case he offends. Actually, he’s probably not far from offending the other considering his poor choice of titles but his best comeback in response would be pointing to his practically illiterate hangul. Or he secretly knows and is just pulling Daehyun’s leg for the hell of it. "You sound kind of–” stupid, cough, “different. I think you should stick to singing.
"Just a thought,” he finishes with a teasing grin. “By the way, you’re close with Junhong, yes? His birthday’s coming up this fall and I was thinking of getting him something special. What does he like, do you know?”
One would’ve expected no reaction from seeing someone who resembled in every way possible to another person right down to their name, but Ryoji had still been caught off-guard. A smile eventually made its way over his lips when the face of Death appeared before him. Or actually, towering over him. It really shouldn’t be surprising to him on how much Death had grown since he “was” Junhong, yet Ryoji still couldn’t help but be impressed over the fast growth pace.
"You’ve grown!“ he chirped while clapping his hands together. "Well, of course you’ve grown; Junhong has grown too so it’s expected of you as well. How have you been? I paid you a visit yesterday but you weren’t around; were you busy, Junhong?”
pathetic sobbing
“For me?” he asks as he peeks past the younger’s shoulders for said message. “From who?”
"W-Wait, what?!“ Actually, that wasn’t even the first thing that had struck his mind, Ryoji was busy trying to think up the few names he knew off the top of his head because among all of them, who were his successors’ significant others? Being gone for two years really seemed to have taken a toll on the deathbringer, the confusion wasn’t even the gist of what he was feeling at the moment. "B-But no matter,” he cleared his throat while trying to grasp that sense on reality once more, “Junhong and Death aren’t of age yet,” nor will they ever be considering he had robbed them of a future, “so that will not happen.”
Anon’s nonsensical yelling truly had shaken him out of his drunken stupor, with eyebrows furrowing in deep thought as he paced around impatiently. With the little answers he had currently, it was no wonder he had begun mulling over probably unnecessary things. Though, much to his chagrin and amusement, perhaps his absence served as a beacon of hope for both Other and Fallen. Ryoji wasn’t technically their father, but he had responsibilities so he digressed.
His absence wasn’t tolerated by most as he had expected, but Ryoji couldn’t say he minded much. The birth of the two forces was from his sorrows and supposedly he took responsibility for his actions, what good would it do for those who’ve suffered just as much? While Jinah had her rights for berating him and his odd tendencies to disappear from time to time, Ryoji had his own reasons as well. The avatar tapped his index finger against his chin, eyes cast upwards in contemplation over the angel’s words. There was every bit of truth in her - not that he expected any less from a pure angel, of course, but she did strike him as a little odd for butting into his familial business. Then again, he’d been gone for Nyx-knows-how long so perhaps he should withhold his ill temper for the lack of a better judgment currently at hand’s grasp.
They were clearly at a crossroad, though he certainly did contemplate on telling the female where he had been all this time; but perhaps that wasn’t the smartest route to take which prompted the male to take the safer one as usual. “But they’re all right, I presume?” Not like Death and Zelo could be harmed to the point of extermination anyway, so Ryoji never quite worried that much. And besides, avoiding Jinah’s questions came naturally; he tilted his head and offered her a smile of truce. “I’ll go see them if it bothers you so much, Nana.”