“What do you want to eat today?” Junhui asked to Minghao who was resting on the living room couch with his ankle propped up on the coffee table so others could still sit on the couch. “I’ll go get it for you.”

 

“I’m not staying in this apartment all weekend.” Minghao pouted at him. “I want to go outside!”

 

“But your ankle!”

 

“It’s fine!” He assured him.

 

“But you shouldn’t walk on it too much!” Junhui was really concerned.

 

“You can just carry me like at the hospital.” The younger joked with a small laugh but stopped when he saw Junhui actually considering it. “I was kidding.”

 

“Really, you should rest. I promise we can go eat out when you’re healed.”

 

“Tch. Fine.” Minghao really didn’t like that, but he supposed he had a point. Still, he was bitter about it and focus on the TV in front of them and gave Junhui the silent treatment. “Since I can’t walk away, you walk away.” He muttered a moment later.

 

“What?” Junhui was confused.

 

“I want to be alone.” He answered. “Go ahead and go get lunch.”

 

Junhui figured he should do just that. “Okay, I’ll be back with a pizza or something.” He said and got up from the couch and headed for the front door. He put on his jacket and then left through the door and that left Minghao alone in the living room.

 

He stared at the front door with a sad puppy look and felt bad for acting that way towards Junhui. He was just stressed, but that didn’t mean it was okay to take it out on everyone. He sighed and let his head fall back against the couch behind him. He wished things didn’t end up this way. He wondered how long it would take for Junhui to come back with food, Jisoo was locked up in his room studying for his midterm so he was in do not disturb mode right now. Minghao really thought about getting up and going after Junhui, but realized maybe it was too late and it would be bad if he got stranded somewhere if he hurt his ankle any further. Damn.

 

It seemed like a lot of time had passed in his mind because it was just so boring sitting there waiting, but in reality it had only been about eight minutes since Junhui left the apartment. He let out a deep sigh and that’s when the front door opened and it startled him. Junhui was back.

 

“That was fast.” He muttered while trying to act like he wasn’t just about to jump out of his skin when he heard the door open quickly. He saw Junhui hold the door open and someone came into view, it was Mei Yi from yesterday and she smiled over at him with a cute wave. LiNa poked her head in to do the same and it was adorable, it had Minghao smiling subconsciously. “What’s going on?” He snapped out of it and asked Junhui who came over to the couch and gestured for him to get up.

 

“We’re going out to eat!” He grinned and helped the younger stand up carefully. He had bumped into the girls when he was heading out and they came up to him asking how Minghao was doing today. He told them he was fine but they could tell he was dejected about something. They asked if everything was okay because they were worried if Junhui and Minghao were still having problems. He was honest and told them how he told the younger to stay home and rest while he goes out and gets their food, he included the part when Minghao seemed bummed that he couldn’t go out. Even if it wasn’t exactly such a great idea, the girls told Junhui that he should take Minghao out since he really wanted to go. They would help him, too! Junhui figured maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they were around to help at least. “Get on my back.” He said after kneeling down in front of him.

 

“I can walk.” Minghao said quietly, like he was being embarrassed by his older brother or something.

 

“No, I’m carrying you. That’s the only way you can go is if you let me carry you.” Junhui said in a stern tone. “Get on my back or forget it.”

 

Minghao really thought about it, but he supposed if he wanted to see the outside world today, he must be carried. “Fine.” He sighed and got onto Junhui’s back. The two girls giggled at the door and he pouted at them when he passed them on his roommate’s back.

 

“What do you want to eat? It’ll be our treat since you saved us from those thieves yesterday!” Mei Yi beamed and Junhui was suddenly awestruck at how pretty she looked. Then he got a warning glare from LiNa right next to her and he gave a sheepish smile. This would be a long lunch for sure.

 

...

 

“There she is!” Soo Min’s father beamed when she got into the passenger seat. “My beautiful one and only daughter!”

 

Instead of pouting and complaining about his lame comments, she looked at him with a bothered and confused look, one eyebrow was raised. “Dad… why would you say something like that?”

 

“Say something like what?”

 

“One and only?”

 

“Because it’s true.” He looked like he just screwed himself over and she could tell maybe he knew that she knew something she wasn’t supposed to.

 

“Maybe I am your only daughter, that’s true.” She did a small snicker but it wasn’t in a negative way, more like a sad laugh kind of way. There was a few seconds of awkward silence before her father asked what she wanted to eat. “Pasta.” She instantly replied.

 

“Again?” He asked with a hint of laughter.

 

“Why not?” She replied and looked out the passenger side window to avoid his eyes. He started to recall what Rina told him, how his son and daughter have met each other now. He wondered if maybe there was something she wanted to say to him right now but was holding back… I should say something, right? He thought but it was no use. He was the same. He was holding back as well.

 

“Alright. Pasta it is!” He managed to say in his usual tone, an outgoing and playful tone. With that, he started up his car and proceeded to drive them off to their destination, the same restaurant they went to last time for pasta.

 

Given it was still around the lunch hour, there was a bit of traffic and that would be fine if only the atmosphere between the father and daughter wasn’t so awkward and tense. I hate this. She didn’t want it to be like this again. I need to say something! She was really fighting with herself on speaking up. After everything that happened the past two days, she just wanted a break from it, but she knew the longer she waited, the longer it would drag out, the weaker she’d became on getting to the bottom of it all, the whole truth. If she waited too long, she’d most likely start avoiding it all together and never want to talk about it because it’s too stressful for her. She’d give up and runaway from it, not literally though.

 

The traffic started to move a bit and Soo Min was gazing out the passenger side window while trying to muster up the courage to finally confront her father. A familiar face passed by her for a second and she recognized it to be Baekho in the driver seat. He didn’t notice her, so he didn’t wave at her, but another face came into view right after that and remained there since they were still in the backed up traffic. Straight across from her sat her brother in Baekho’s car. She figured he wasn’t going to notice her as well, but she thought wrong. It was almost like he sensed her and he turned and locked eyes with her. They stared at each other, obviously from surprise until Ren showed a small smile and waved. Naturally, she did the same back to him until she saw his smile fade and he was staring past her. She realized it now and slowly turned to see her father staring out through the passenger window.

 

He seemed shocked and slightly confused at first before it turned into shame and guilt. His two children were staring back at him with those big and curious eyes. He could even pick up on the betrayal and pain… His secret son from his affair 21 years ago and his one and only daughter in the same place at the same time, existing. It was uncanny how similar they looked, as if they were twins separated at birth. He’d admit their hair really amplified it. The second he noticed Ren, he knew it was him. Even when Rina would offer to show him updated photos of him, he refused, because he was guilty and he didn’t feel like it was right. He always avoided talking about him with Rina and he knew it hurt his friend a lot, it was like he was rejecting his own son, like he was pretending he didn’t exist. Seeing Minki now, he regretted not telling the truth sooner.

 

Never did he think he’d find himself in this kind of situation, he was pretty foolish to think something like this would never happen, Rina was right. How could he not prepare for a moment like this? Well, he supposed there was no way he could really do that, it’s impossible. He made the choice to lie to his daughter and now this was his consequence many years later.

 

Kangmin eventually broke away from the eye contact and locked his gaze on the steering wheel in front of him. It was like time had frozen since the traffic hadn’t moved since the encounter started. How convenient. Soo Min returned her gaze back to Ren who was still staring in their direction. It was like he couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. It was clear he was shaken up by this sudden situation. She knew she probably couldn’t understand how he was feeling right now, it wasn’t her who was seeing her father for the first time in 21 years, it was Ren. He definitely didn’t expect it to go this way either. How else was it supposed to go anyway? She thought bitterly. Traffic started to move again a moment later.

 

Ren slowly disappeared from her view and she watched Baekho’s car make a right turn and pull over while her father’s car continued straight through the greenlight. It was silent and she managed to glance over to her father who wore a straight face while he was driving. It was like nothing happened and he was just focused on driving. No. It’s not supposed to be like this. He was really going to pretend like none of that just happened? “Dad.” She muttered out and broke the silence.

 

“What?” He simply replied.

 

“You know something I don’t?”

 

“Like?” His tone was still simple and that bothered her. She started to feel angry but quickly tried to calm herself down. He’s shaken up too. Of course he was going to pretend like that just didn’t happen, it’s what people do when they’re caught red handed, they deny the truth. A moment later, he decided to pull over like Baekho had done earlier. This was her chance now.

 

“Dad. I know the truth.” She stared at the dashboard of the car with a dejected expression when the car turned off. She didn’t want to beat around the bush or let him sneak his way out of talking about this by playing stupid. All this waiting around for the right time was getting pretty old. How much longer do they let this go on for? Especially when fall break is coming up, they should be able to spend it having fun, not stressing over this family drama. The sooner this can be dealt with, maybe the sooner they could start making wonderful memories as a bigger family, right? A CLOSER family...

 

“What truth?” He asked in that dumbfounded tone.

 

“I know about the affair.”

 

“What affair?” It was clear he was nervous and obviously trying to avoid talking about it and she understood maybe he was panicking and didn’t know what to say so he was going to try to play dumb like she expected.

 

“I know about Ren.” She finally looked at him and he looked so guilty, it hurt to see it. “I don’t know the full story yet… and I hope you can be honest with me about it when you’re ready to talk, okay? I just thought to let you know… that I know the secret. Because I don’t want to sit through lunch pretending that you didn’t see him just now.”

 

“I understand.” He simply said with a small sigh. His stern expression finally broke.

 

“If you don’t want to eat lunch together now, that’s fine.” She figured maybe this wouldn’t go that well now that she opened about it, but she just couldn’t help it after he made that “one and only daughter” comment and how they encountered Ren like that during traffic.

 

“No, no, I still want to eat lunch!” He said with a weak laugh. “I just didn’t expect things to go this way so quickly. I didn’t expect any of that to happen.”

 

“I’m sorry. The past week has been stressful and I suppose I’m done with pretending things are okay. I’m fed up with how it always seemed like it was never the right time to say anything. If I don’t say it now, then I might never say it because I don’t like confrontation and would rather just keep everything bottled up inside. But at this rate I’ll make myself sick again, so… I just want to be honest from now on, no matter what ends up happening. Even if it ruins our day, at least it’s out there. I hope you can do the same.”

 

“Wow, my daughter’s so mature now.” He chuckled. “I’m sorry.” Despite his laughter, she could tell it was sincere.

 

“I’m sorry, too.”

 

“What for?” He frowned. He thought it was just him who should be sorry, what did she even do?

 

“I’m sorry that you felt like you had to lie to us this whole time.” She said softly and looked out her passenger side window once more. “I probably won’t really understand why you did it, but I’m sure you were thinking about us when you did, that it was for the best or something… I can at least try to think you didn’t do it will ill intentions.”

 

“No, of course not. I just didn’t know what to do, honestly. Keeping it a secret and pretending everything was okay just seemed like the most common route to go, but it wasn’t the smartest route in the end. Kids are so smart, I should have known that.”

 

“Who are you calling a kid?” She pouted. “I’m an adult now!”

 

“Technically, but you’ll still always be my little girl!” He said with a sincere smile and reached over to pet her on the head gently. Soo Min couldn’t help but get emotional from this father daughter moment and started to tear up. Those words really hit her deep. Memories of when she was younger started to surface, she remembered the times she played with her father.

 

They were so happy back then. Even when Won Woo came into the picture, he played with them. Knowing about Ren now seemed to make those memories bittersweet, her father had a son he never got to play with and raise, but Won Woo filled that spot this whole time. She could tell her father was holding back a little over the years and she figured it was obviously because Won Woo is not his real son, of course it’d be that way. But she realized now maybe he was guilty and hurt, he probably kept thinking of what could have been. He was probably sorry towards Won Woo, he probably blamed himself for his parents leaving, he blamed himself for ruining Won Woo’s family and his own.

 

“I’m sorry for not being the best dad in the world… to you and even to your brother Ren. I’m sorry.” He was able to control his emotions better, but he was definitely crying on the inside when he saw his daughter cry in front of him. No parent liked to see their child cry, especially when they were the cause of it. “Do you hate me?”

 

“No.” She was quick with her answer, almost like she was expecting him to ask that. “I’m just disappointed.”

 

“Right, I’d feel the same.” He said with a sheepish laugh. A small silence soon fell upon them and he wasn’t sure what else to say as she calmed down with her tears.

 

“Dad, please be honest with me from now on, okay?”

 

“I can try.” He said and patted her on the head again. “I’ll fix all of this, somehow.” She had to trust he would keep his word. It would be a little difficult but she didn’t want to give up on him.

 

“What now?” She asked with a small sniffle. “Are you still going to L.A with us?”

 

“Yes.” He nodded. “I haven’t changed my mind, don’t worry.” That’s good, she was glad.

 

“Well, do you plan to meet with Ren before going to L.A?” She watched him tense up at the mention of her brother and she figured maybe he was nervous. He’d be meeting with him after 21 years… it’s a big deal.

 

“I want to meet him, but...:” he trailed off and he could tell his daughter didn’t like that. “Does he even want to meet me?”

 

“Of course he does.” She assured him. “I’m sure he does… I know it might be difficult at first but, he’s your son and you’re his dad. If it were me, I’d want to meet you too.”

 

“Really? Even though I kept something like this hidden for so long?” He was really beating himself up about it now.

 

“No one is perfect. We all make choices we later regret, right? Life is just… weird like that.”

“You’re right.” He had to agree.

 

“Sorry, I’m not sure what else to say to make you feel better.” She apologized with that sad expression again, like she was going to cry and he couldn’t blame her, the emotions were high right now. “I just want to know the truth, that’s all. Won Woo and Ren… even Jihoon, we all just want to know the truth. Whatever it is, I’m going to try and understand, so just be honest, please.”

 

“I will.” He said softly and reached out to catch a single tear that managed to roll down her cheek. “I will tell you everything soon, I will tell you with the others around, you know, so I don’t have to repeat myself.” She snickered at that last bit, but other then that, she was pleased with his answer. She knew she couldn’t make him spill everything right now and she agreed it should be said when the others are present as well.

 

“Because we know about the affair, will you be telling us before or after L.A?” She knew it was going to be a difficult question for him to answer. He was probably very nervous to be telling the story in the first place and now he had to set a date to do it? She’d honestly would let him take his time, but if she did that they might not ever hear the story.

 

“You kids have midterms starting Monday, don’t you?” He asked with a slight frown. “You should focus on that, right?”

 

“I think we’ll be okay, don’t worry about that…”

 

“Well, then perhaps Wednesday evening. We can have dinner at the house?”

“The day before we leave for L.A?” She didn’t seem to like that answer and he sighed.

 

“Tuesday evening?”

 

“I have class that evening.” She quickly pointed out. “How about tomorrow evening?”

 

“How about Monday evening?” He asked instead. “I just… really need some time to prepare what I need to tell you.” She could tell he was really nervous and she figured Monday was a good day to do it. It would mark one week since she started interacting with Ren, like when they skipped class and got ice cream together. It’d be special, wouldn’t it?

 

“I think that would be fine.” She was happier now. “Make sure to make the slide show presentation entertaining!” She teased and he laughed at that.

 

“Of course. But this will be a showing only for you guys… I understand your friends are important and are like family, but I’d like it if it was just you and those closely involved. Okay? You can tell your friends afterwards if you’d like, but I just don’t really want a big audience in the room. Can you understand?”

 

“Yes, dad, I understand.” She nodded. “That’s exactly how I felt yesterday when I visited Ren in the hospital.”

 

“He was in the hospital?” Her father was suddenly concerned. “What happened?”

 

“Well, you see… it’s been a long week for us.” She said with a sheepish smile. She went on to explain everything starting from her first few encounters with Ren at the mall the weekend before Jeonghan’s birthday. Then the camping trip they went on and how they bumped into each other there as well. She even explained the dog attack and of course he stopped her for a moment to ask if she was okay. She assured him she was fine. After the camping trip is when everything really started to come together and happen. She mentioned how she and Won Woo had talked with Jihoon and discovered that Ren was actually an old best friend of his from when he lived in Busan. They fell out of contact and Jihoon was kind of bitter about it. She told her father to remember that for later in the story and he simply nodded.

 

She went on to explain her adventurous day with Ren last Monday and how special it seemed. She expressed how she thought about how it felt like they were siblings bonding with each other and even pointed out that someone actually said a comment about them being siblings. That’s when things started to get a little suspicious. Next came the small argument she had with Jihoon, how she fought in front of her whole class with him and then Ren showed up after leaving the classroom. Her father was glad to hear that Jihoon and Ren at least got to talk things out, but now he knew why her mood was a bit off when she first greeted her father for lunch. She made sure not to forget the moment she had at the convenience store with Ren and how he first called her his little sister.

 

The conversation was getting real at this point and she continued to explain how Jihoon did come and apologize to her in a sweet way. Things seemed to be going so well until Ren talked to her on Thursday and told her that he suspected her father to be his father. “I had been thinking about us being siblings since Monday and how interesting and nice it would be, since I didn’t really have a biological brother. But when he mentioned you, it just suddenly didn’t sit well with me and I ran away from him because I was so upset. Won Woo’s been with me since we were little and it just seemed unfair that it wasn’t Won Woo who turned out to be my brother. It was really selfish of me to think and so I felt horrible and could barely face either of them. I had to spend the night at Jeonghan’s place, but originally I was going to spend the night at Min Ji’s place and that’s where I talked to Hyungwon about it.” She could see her father’s expression change at that moment, like he was surprised.

 

“Hyungwon knows about it?” He asked.

 

“He does.” She nodded. “I suppose uncle Seong(Seong-min) told him about it a while ago. So Hyungwon told me what he knew. He didn’t say a lot, just about how Ren was born and adopted. He explained how mom found out about the affair, it caused a rift in your friendship with Won Woo’s parents and then his mom purposely moved away like she’s punishing herself for it. Is that true?”

 

“It seems so.” She noticed how upset that made him and she figured maybe she shouldn’t speak about it too much right now.

 

“Well, after I heard it from Hyungwon, I planned to meet with Ren and talk to him, but then he ended up in the hospital because he got dehydrated, possibly from all the stress this week and he wasn’t taking care of his health. It was really hard to go and face him, all of our friends were visiting him too, and so… I told Jihoon that I would visit Ren after everyone else because I didn’t want an audience when I meet with him. So, I totally understand how you feel…”

 

“Wow, that was a long story.” He said with a sad laugh. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. Really… you shouldn’t have had to go through all of that and it’s all because of me. I’m sorry.”

 

“I forgive you, dad. It’s okay.”

 

“Thank you… for being so forgiving.” He said with a weak smile and reached out to pet her on her head. She didn’t get annoyed and allowed him to do it when she saw him struggle to keep his emotions together.

 

“I feel like… over the years, we’ve all became distant because of this secret. It felt like our parents were acting strange and when we asked, no one wanted to say the truth… and so we started to talk less and eventually visit less. We wondered if we did something wrong to cause it… but now it’s becoming clear. I really hope that, in time, we can OVERCOME this and come out CLOSER than before. I just want us all to be happy again.”

 

“Me too, sweetie, me too.” He was in awe with her words. He’s felt the same despite being on the other side of the situation. “It’s definitely going to take time, but I hope for the same.”

 

“For now, we can take it slow and just start with being honest first. Things will move forward after that.” She said with an encouraging smile. “Things will get better, they always do somehow, even when we think it won’t.”

 

“I’m really proud of you, Soo Min. Despite everything, you’ve grown up to be so mature. I’m sure you have your moments, we all do, but I’m just proud to call you my daughter right now.”

 

“Dad!” Soo Min was embarrassed by that, but also touched. She could feel the waterworks starting up, too!

 

“I hope I can say those words to your brother someday as well. For now, just let him know that I look forward to meeting him properly soon.”

 

“I’ll be sure to let him know when I meet him again later.” She nodded with a bright smile. She was excited for them to meet on Monday.

 

“You’re meeting him later?”

 

“For dinner with Won Woo.” She nodded.

 

“That’s nice, I hope you three have fun.” He was glad the atmosphere was becoming less tense now the more they talked.

 

“We will.” She chuckled. “So, are we not going to lunch now?” She was under the impression with the way he said that it sounded like they were going to part for the day.

 

“No! No! I was just saying!” He laughed.

 

“Alright. But can I ask why you decided to take me to lunch today? Was there something you needed to say? Or did I beat you to it?”

 

“Yes and no.” He said with a conflicted expression. “Yes, I knew you have midterms coming up and I wanted to wish you luck on them. I felt like checking in on you as well since I did talk to Rina yesterday and she mentioned you… she mentioned about how you and Ren have met but I thought that’s all it was, I had no idea that you guys knew about the affair, I thought I was going to have to bring it up… but I suppose you did beat me to it.”

 

“Perfect timing.” She chuckled. “I was telling Won Woo that I thought you were going to say you weren’t going to L.A with us after all when you suddenly asked to have lunch again. Like I mentioned, we haven’t been keeping in touch that often, so it seemed a bit sudden when I got your text earlier.”

 

“I still wanted to have lunch with you regardless, because I missed eating with my daughter, it’s been forever-”

 

“We had lunch on Wednesday!” She rolled her eyes to imply he was being a little dramatic. She got it from somewhere for sure!

 

“It feels like it’s been forever…” he pouted and she smacked him on the arm lightly.

 

“Well, since you said that, mind if Jeonghan joins us for lunch? He probably misses me just as much as you.” She asked with a hint of laughter. “He also asked before you did, too.”

 

“I suppose he can join us.” Her father muttered like he was jealous in a cute way, like he didn’t want his one on one time with his daughter to be crowded with another person. You know dads. (I don’t lol) But he supposed it’d be good to see her boyfriend, maybe. It could make lunch a little more easier, possibly.

 

“Great, let’s go pick him up then!” She beamed and gestured for him to start driving.

 

“Where does he live again?” He asked while putting his hands on the steering wheel. “Across town? Do I even have enough gas to get there? I don’t know…”

 

“Dad, just drive.” She scolded while looking straight ahead to see how much traffic was delaying them, she wasn’t having it! Things seemed to move pretty quick again like yesterday, but this time it was different and she was pleased with the outcome. And for her father, he laughed at his failed attempt on ditching Jeonghan and did as he was told.

 

…

 

“Ren, are you okay?” Baekho asked after sitting in a long silence with mentioned person. He had pulled over about ten minutes ago so Ren could process what happened just then with seeing Soo Min and his birth father in the car to their left during traffic. Baekho felt bad for not noticing it sooner, but he supposed it wouldn’t have mattered either way. Ren would have still been shaken up.

 

“I’m okay.” Ren managed to say in a soft voice. “That was just unexpected.”

 

“It definitely was.”

 

“I’m just worried about what happened after that? I hope she’s okay…” sure, Ren is shaken up but he knew it was probably worse for Soo Min, she most likely had to confront him about all of this. He felt bad and thought maybe he should have went after them to help out. What would I have done anyway? Just stand there and stare? He figured he should at least send her a text. He sent a simple “are you okay?” and waited for her reply. He supposed it would take some time, so he decided to text Won Woo about it as well to keep him in the loop.

 

Ren: I just saw Soo Min and my birth father in traffic…

 

He’d wait for a reply from the two because they were definitely busy, Soo Min for sure. He just took a wild guess and assumed Won Woo was out and about either spending time with friends or running errands, he just had that feeling. Speaking of friends, he quickly texted Jihoon about it since they had dropped him off before that encounter.

 

Jihoon: Really? Are you okay?

 

Ren: I’m fine. It was just a shock.

 

Jihoon: Did you get to talk to him?

 

Ren: No. We were in traffic so it wasn’t possible,

unless I had a death wish to get hit by a car!

 

Jihoon: Damn. Well, do you plan to meet with him

soon?

 

Ren: I’d like to… though I’m not sure if he wants to see me.

 

Jihoon: I’m sure he does!

 

Ren: I’ll have to talk with Soo Min about it later…

 

Jihoon: Good luck with that. It’ll be fine, I’m sure.

Mr. Chae is pretty laid back most of the time, though

I know the situation is more serious… but he’ll find a

way to lighten the mood. The Chaes are just like that, they

always know how to fix the mood despite they don’t know

what they’re doing.

 

Ren: That sounds like me.

 

Jihoon: Well, technically you are a Chae!

 

Ren: Wow… this is real, isn’t it?

 

Jihoon: It’s a good thing, right?

 

Ren: It is. I’m just nervous, that’s all!

I just discovered a whole new family… it’s nice.

 

Jihoon: I think it’s nice, too. Especially with how

you grew up as an only child with your single mom.

 

Ren: Thanks, Jihoon. If it weren’t for you,

I might have not encountered them this afternoon…

 

Jihoon: No problem! Too bad I wasn’t there

to help you through it.

 

Ren: You’re still here with me… in text spirit. 💖

 

Jihoon: … great. -.-

 

His reply had Ren chuckling. His mood was better now and Baekho was glad.

 

“Are you ready to go?” He asked with a warm smile through the rearview mirror.

 

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Ren nodded and composed to a text to his mother, Rina. He was actually going to go visit his her at her office since she finally had time! He was ready to tell her about long and hectic week since he hadn’t been able to tell her much that night she did visit him at his house.

 

Ren: I’m on my way, just got stuck in some traffic.

 

Rina: That’s okay~! I’ll be here waiting! Youngmi dropped

by the office, she’ll keep me company until you get here~!

Rina:

 

“Heads up Baek, Youngmi is visiting my mo-” Ren was saying but was cut off when he jerked forward from Baekho slamming on the breaks. “What?! What happened?!” Ren asked while looking around, he thought maybe someone walked out in front of the car or something.

 

“N-Nothing!” Baekho managed to say with a nervous laugh. “My foot slipped.”

 

Ren stared at him for a few seconds before rolling his eyes. “You’re so obvious.” He added with a snicker. Baekho pouted the rest of the drive to Choi Rina’s office! The poor White Tiger.

 

“I’m staying in the car.” He said while Ren was getting ready to get out.

 

“No, you’re coming inside with me! Mom likes seeing your face too!” Ren scolded. When Baekho didn’t make a move to get out and open his door, Ren groaned and got out himself before going to open the driver door, but Baekho locked it before he could and the car handle made a loud noise when his fingers slipped out from behind the piece of metal. He stumbled back since he hadn’t expected that before clicking his tongue and examined his nails. His middle fingernail was broken! “Look at what you did!” He almost shouted and held up his middle finger to Baekho’s window. He could see the older holding back his laughter but looked apologetic. “Get out of the car!” Ren demanded while pointing with his middle finger to the spot next to him on the sidewalk.

 

Baekho innocently shook his head and started up the car again before putting it into drive and started to pull out. Ren was ready to jump on the car until someone stopped him from doing just that! “Are you out of your mind?!” A female voice scolded.

 

“Damn, he got away!” Ren sighed while watching Baekho’s car disappear down the road. He dropped his head in defeat before he turned to face the person who stopped him from looking like a lunatic. “Good afternoon, Youngmi, how have you been?” He sounded so defeated now.

 

“Good, and you? Wait, let me guess… not so great.” Youngmi teased with a small chuckle. She tucked a few stray strand of her short black hair behind her ear and adjusted her glasses a bit before noticing him looking at his broken nail. “Oh my god, what happened?” She asked and covered her ruby red lips behind her hand with a small gasp.

 

“Baekho happened.” Ren blurted out. “I suppose when he saw you he made a run for it! Thanks a lot!” He pouted at her and she laughed. He was such a Drama Queen sometimes!

 

“Sorry about that. I don’t get why he’s so scared of me!” She defended. She was just your typical average girl, what was so scary about her?! If anyone should be scared, is should be her. Baekho’s tall and pretty fit! He looks intimidating with his serious expressions and tattoos… not like tattoos make people scary but the amount goes to show how well they can take the pain!

 

“Pfft, scared?” Ren scoffed at that before he realized maybe he shouldn’t give away the real reason why Baekho fled. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”

 

“Whatever, maybe someday he’ll come around.” She shrugged before looking around the area. “So, your mom sent me out to greet you because something work related came up. You know what that means.”

 

“Really?” Ren frowned and let out a disappointed sigh. So much for telling her everything...

 

“I know, sorry about that.” Youngmi knew it’s been difficult for Ren to spend time with his mother, so she felt bad that he couldn’t go see her right now. It felt even worse because she spent a good twenty minutes hanging out with the woman, too! Yet Ren didn’t even get a single second. It didn’t seem fair!

 

“It’s not your fault.” He assured her, he didn’t seem too upset at least.

 

“I know I’m not your mom, but you can hang with me if you want?” She said with a cute grin and even nudged him with her elbow. “What do you say we go get your nail fixed? I’m in need of getting my nails done as well, so let’s go together!”

 

“I suppose we can do that.” Ren nodded and a small smile started to return to his lips. I wonder if Soo Min and I will get to do this in the future? He thought to himself while following Youngmi to her car. Now that he thought about it, he’s spent a lot of time with Youngmi whenever she visited Aron, her cousin. In a way, she was like a sister to him too, right?

 

“What have you been up to since we last hung out?” Youngmi asked after they got into her car and buckled up. She pulled out of her parking space and started to drive them to her favorite nail salon.

 

“A lot.” Ren simply said with a weak laugh. “A lot’s been going on.”

 

“Oh right, yeah. I remember Aron telling me about it. How are you feeling?”

 

“Overwhelmed.”

 

“I would be too!”

 

“I actually saw my birth father on the way here in traffic.” Ren mentioned while looking out the passenger side window. His expression was mixed from remembering it. He wondered if he’d see them again on their way to the nail salon?

 

“Really? How did that go?” Youngmi sounded surprised, naturally.

 

“I’m not sure. Since we were in traffic, I didn’t really get to talk to him.”

 

“That . Well, I hope you get to speak to him soon in a more appropriate setting.”

 

“Thanks.” Ren hoped for that, too. “For now, just taking it slow. There’s no need to rush.”

 

“Yeah, it’s better you do after being in the hospital nearly all day yesterday! I was going to come visit, but you were discharged before I could get there and I was late.”

 

“That’s okay. A lot of people came and visited, I wasn’t lonely at all.” He said with a weak laugh.

 

“That’s good! Did your siblings visit?”

 

“They did.” He nodded. “It was nice.”

 

“I’m happy for you, Ren!” Youngmi gave him a bright smile and for a second, he was starting to think maybe he really understood how Soo Min felt when she told him how he was feeling about the situation. How it would have been better if it was Won Woo who turned out to be her brother, someone whom she’s already close with and has known for many years. Even though he hasn’t known Youngmi that long, basically since he met Aron about five years ago, they were pretty close in some ways. They get along very well and bond here and there like when they get their nails done, or pamper themselves with face masks and scary movies in the dead of night when she visits. In a way, it was like he did have a sister figure in his life already. He was excited about Youngmi and Soo Min meeting now.

 

When they got to the salon, they were treated right away, possibly from Ren’s model status since the nail technicians went on and on about how much they loved his mother’s work and his work. He almost forgot about all of that fashion and modeling business because of how busy he’s been with his family drama. That made him start to think of how things would be once the drama is situated. Would it be in the tabloids? Would his siblings start to get famous? Honestly, he didn’t want that, he didn’t want their lives to change in that kind of way, so he hopped no one would find out and it could just be something he doesn’t share with the world. He didn’t want an audience for this either.

 

...

 

Jeonghan was bored after getting out of his shower earlier. He had texted practically everyone he knew to see what they were all up to and they were all too busy for him. Jisoo was studying, Mingyu was with Won Woo. Won Woo was with Mingyu. Junhui was dealing with Minghao and Minghao was suffering from Junhui. Lol. His friends from school all had their own plans and Seungcheol had left to go check on Jihoon. Most importantly, his beloved girlfriend was having lunch with her father. He understood how important it was for her to meet her father but he couldn’t help but be a poor sport about being second place in a blink of an eye.

 

Thinking about it, he hoped she was doing okay right about now. He hoped she wasn’t getting stressed about anything. Now that he was thinking about it, it’s been a while since he’s eaten with his own parents and he wondered if he ever would again? Recalling his visit with his grandmother yesterday, he agreed that he should try speaking with them again soon before it was too late. He just wished it wasn’t so difficult to approach them. How does he do it? What does he say? What does he bring? He let out a frustrated sigh and covered his face with his pillow. He was lying in bed after his hair dried.

 

“How does one who chose his girlfriend over his parents approach his now bitter parents?” He muttered out loud. “Do I bring them a cake to make them bittersweet?” Real nice, Jeonghan.

 

You laughed too, okay? LOL

 

Sighing once more, he rolled over and reached for something in the bottom drawer of his nightstand. A small black box, a ring box. He rolled back over and faced the ceiling while holding onto the ring box in his left hand. Slowly, he brought it up above him into view and opened it. The small engagement ring sparkled a bit and brought a smile to his lips, it was so pretty. “Do I bring this and let them know?” He spoke his thoughts out loud again. He told his grandmother how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Soo Min. How he wanted his parents there when they get married and have kids. It was clear he was set on that future when he bought this engagement ring two months ago. He didn’t plan on asking right away but he was hoping by the end of this year he could.

 

The smile on his lips faltered a bit just then. There was so much going on lately, he figured his plans were ruined by now. He wasn’t sure what the future had in store for them now after Ren came into the picture. He supposed he’d have to be more patient for this. What was the rush? But anything could happen in a blink of an eye… that worried him. He at least wanted to let the love of his life know how much he loves and cares for her, sooner than later. Sometimes he worries about her leaving him, because of their stupid fights over his jealousy when she’s around other guys he doesn’t know about. He thought about it a lot, about if he proposed and she wore this ring, would those ridiculous fights and feelings go away?

 

“It was supposed to go away when we got those promise rings…” but she lost hers, not on purpose though. He still had his and wore it on his left pinky finger while she wore the earring chosen to take the place of the ring she lost. Her hair always hid it though and it bothers him. He never says anything about it and he can only blame himself for being that lame. “It’s just accessories.” He said bitterly all of a sudden. “No need to get so hung up about it.” He was scolding himself.

 

He looked at the engagement ring once more and those bitter feelings faded. He supposed he should stop thinking that way. In that moment, his phone buzzed next to him on the bed and he grabbed his phone to check who it was. It was Chan.

 

Chan: Hyung~! How are you doing today?

 

Jeonghan: Channie!

Jeonghan:

Jeonghan: Just fine and you?

 

Chan: I can almost feel that bone crushing hug…

Chan:

 

Jeonghan: Love hurts, Channie, love hurts!

Lol I’m kidding!

 

Chan: You’re funny, hyung!

Chan:

Chan: Anyways, how is noona doing?

Can I visit her today?

 

Jeonghan: She’s doing okay. She’s currently

eating lunch with her dad, so I’m afraid she’s busy today.

 

Chan: Really? That’s okay! I can always visit

another time. No problem! But be sure to study,

okay? Midterms start Monday, right?

 

Jeonghan: You just had to remind me!

Jeonghan:

 

Chan: Good luck, hyung! I know you can do it!

Chan:

 

Jeonghan: Thank you, baby~!!!!

 

Chan: You’re welcome, mommy!

 

Jeonghan in awe at how adorable his baby is

Chan losing his mind

 

Jeonghan: I’ll let you know if things change, okay?

I’ll come visit you anyways because I miss your cute little face!

 

Chan: Hyung. Stop.

Chan:

Chan: I’m not home right now, I’m at the public

library studying, I won’t be done for awhile.

 

Jeonghan: Wah, I’m so proud!

Such a good hardworking student!

Good luck with all of that~! Study for me too!

 

Chan: Hyung, you can come study with me

if you need to. I’ll be here till 5pm.

 

Jeonghan: Alright, I’ll head over there in a bit once

I find my will and motivation to study.

Jeonghan:

 

Chan: I get it, hyung, don’t worry! Haha

Don’t take too long, alright?

 

Jeonghan: I promise I will be there, don’t worry!

Focus and study well until I get there so you can help me!

 

Chan: Okay~!

Chan:

 

Jeonghan thought it would be good to go study for a bit, so he was glad Chan texted and invited him to the library. At least it’s be a little more fun to study with his younger friend than studying alone! He was still having his lazy moment right now, so he figured he’d just give it another twenty minutes before he gets ready to leave.

 

...

 

“How did things go after you left the hospital last night?” Seungcheol asked after taking a seat in the spare chair in Jihoon’s studio. It was always the place he and Jihoon come to talk.

 

“Things went fine.” Jihoon simply answered while turning to face him in his swivel chair. “I stayed at Ren’s place last night since it was too late for me to go home alone. I didn’t want to burden him with driving me home either so I just stayed over.” He explained before looking down at the clothes he was wearing. “Oh, I forgot to change.” He stood up.

 

“Those aren’t yours?” Seungcheol asked and Jihoon shook his head and said they were Ren’s.

 

“I’ll be right back.” Jihoon muttered and left the studio to go change, leaving Seungcheol behind to process what he just heard. Of course his mind started to run wild with ridiculous thoughts. He spent the night at Ren’s? He’s even wearing Ren’s clothes! Wait, how close are they? Did they used to be....? He let out a frustrated sigh. He didn’t like how he thought things like that, it didn’t have to be like that. Why do my feelings have to be so complicated? He was definitely being jealous right now, so of course he would think ridiculous things like that. I’m sure nothing serious happened between them… if they were anything but friends in the past, surely they wouldn’t have runited like this, right? He knocked on his forehead and scolded himself to stop letting his mind wander into that pool of thoughts. “I’m back, sorry about that.” Jihoon’s voice snapped him out of it and he greeted him with a nervous laugh.

 

“So, you spent the night at his house?” Seungcheol blurted out and he paused, he didn’t mean to ask that! He was totally banging his head on the wall inside his mind at this point. He was going crazy. Chill out!

 

“I did.” Jihoon answered innocently. “I noticed he and WooMin have a lot of similar characteristics, he let me sleep in his bed with him. They sure like sharing their beds.” He said with a small chuckle and was oblivious to the tragic expression on Seungcheol’s face, like he just lost everything to his arch nemesis or something. “It was nice though, reminded me of old times when we’d sleep together.”

 

“S-Sleep together?” Seungcheol repeated and was struggling a lot.

 

“Yeah? We used to have sleepovers a lot.” Jihoon explained, clueless on why Seungcheol reacted that way.

 

“Right.” Seungcheol realized Jihoon hadn’t meant it the way he was thinking. Damn.

 

“I hate to change the subject suddenly, but I’m hungry. Want to order something to eat for lunch?”

 

“Sure, no problem! I was about to suggest that, too.” Seungcheol said with a cute chuckle and Jihoon suddenly stared at him. He could feel his cheeks warming up when he saw that, he looked so cute like that. “What is it?” Seungcheol noticed and asked.

 

“Nothing!” Jihoon snapped out of it and kicked off the floor to turn his seat towards his computer. “What do you want to eat?” He managed to ask in a calm tone but his expression didn’t match. It was a good thing Seungcheol couldn’t see his face right now, but that didn’t matter, he could see Jihoon’s bright red ears. Does he…? Seungcheol’s wishful thinking started to kick in and he started to smile when his heart fluttered at the mere thought that maybe, just maybe… Jihoon might have some sort of feelings for him too? He was going to have to wait and see how things go from here.

 

“We should study after eating.” Jihoon suggested.

 

“Sure, that would be a good idea. Is there anything you might need help with?” Seungcheol asked with a sweet smile.

 

“All of it.” Jihoon sighed and dropped his head. Seungcheol laughed but it stopped quickly.

 

“You're serious?”

 

“No, but there's a subject I'd like help with.” Jihoon snickered and gathered his textbooks along with his notebooks. He told Seungcheol about it while they waited for their food to arrive.

 

Cuuuuuute~! Sorry that this scene was so short x.x

 

…

 

“Hey.” Won Woo greeted when Mingyu got into the passenger seat. He arrived to Mingyu’s shared apartment pretty quick after texting him that he was on his way, there wasn’t much traffic this afternoon oddly enough. The roads must've been less busy on this side of town or something.

 

“Hi!” His boyfriend greeted back with a bright smile and leaned over to give him a kiss to his lips before sitting back in his seat properly so he could buckle his seatbelt. Won Woo was a little surprised at that action, simply because it was the first time it happened like this. He recalls seeing the SooHan couple do this from time to time and now he was in that situation, it was nice. “What?” Mingyu worried if he did something wrong by the way his boyfriend was staring at him in shock.

 

“Nothing!” Won Woo quickly snapped out of it and gave a sheepish chuckle. He seemed flustered and Mingyu thought it was cute. “Where did you want to eat?”

 

“Can we just go to your place and order something?” Mingyu asked and once again, Won Woo was surprised. “I don’t feel like being out in public today, yesterday was a long day, I’d just like to relax with you, alone.”

 

Won Woo could feel heat rising to his cheeks, he honestly felt the same way and was happy that Mingyu said it. Even if he didn’t mind eating out, he just wasn’t fond about it today after everything that happened this week. It’s the weekend, the time to be relaxing despite midterms coming up.

 

“So, can we?” Mingyu asked again when Won Woo didn’t reply.

 

“Sure.” He blurted out. “Yeah, we can do that. I don’t mind.”

 

“Good.” Mingyu seemed happy with his answers and it got Won Woo smiling as well. He remembered how he felt yesterday after bumping into Mingyu’s father, and how less affectionate Mingyu was being with him. He didn’t think he’d miss it even though they’ve only been dating for almost four days now. A lot has happened in four days actually. He had gotten used to his boyfriend’s affection pretty quick in those few days, so things didn’t really feel the same yesterday.

 

The drive back to Won Woo’s shared apartment didn’t take too long and they were already inside getting comfortable on the couch after taking their shoes and jackets off at the front door. “What do you want to order?” Won Woo asked after pulling his phone out to browse some menus.

 

“How about some takeout?” Mingyu suggested and Won Woo agreed to that idea. They picked out their food and added a liter of cola to it before completing the order. It’d be about 30-40 minutes until the delivery gets there so they turned the TV on to pass the time. But it wasn’t long until Mingyu got CLOSER to Won Woo in their seats.

 

He had wrapped his arm around Won Woo’s shoulders and gently pulled him over to lean towards him and he happily did so and cuddled up into his boyfriend’s side. Things were going so nice and sweet until Won Woo looked up at Mingyu with a cute content smile and Mingyu kissed him in response.

 

It was a soft kiss and when they parted, they looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds before Won Woo was the one to lean forward and captured Mingyu’s lips into another kiss that was slightly stronger than the last. A few kisses later, they got a bit carried away and things started to heat up when Mingyu pushed Won Woo over to lie down on his back so he could straddle his hips. There was no hesitation from either one when they continued with their sudden makeout session, almost like they were waiting for this since the moment they knew they were alone.

 

Mingyu was well behaved today. He didn’t let it get too heated and didn’t mark his boyfriend’s neck since his turtleneck got in the way, but that wouldn’t have stopped him, honestly. There were a lot of things he wanted to do, but he told himself to wait and be patient. Besides, he knew by the time things got more exciting, they’d be interrupted by the delivery person. But it seemed like Won Woo wasn’t on the same page when he started to fight for dominance. Mingyu was easily pushed onto his back and Won Woo was on top this time. He gave a passionate kiss to his boyfriend before parting and left a small trail of kisses from his jaw to his lower neck, stunning Mingyu while also pleasing him. He was impressed by Won Woo and how it seemed so natural for him to do this.

 

He was too lost in the moment to pick a more less noticeable place for his love bite and went straight for the sweet spot he discovered when Mingyu let out a small satisfied moan, the most noticeable spot. It was different this time and Won Woo didn’t hold back since his boyfriend’s small moans pushed him to keep going. Then there was a knock on the door. Their food was here. Won Woo stopped and pulled back while Mingyu groaned at the interruption. “Damn.” He muttered in disappointment and it made Won Woo laugh.

 

Mingyu volunteered to answer the door and Won Woo let him get up off the couch to do just that. When Mingyu opened the door, he was a bit stunned to see a familiar face. The person had just finished taking off their helmet when he answered the door. “Oh… uh… order for Jeon Won Woo?” The delivery guy managed to ask.

 

“Yeah.” Mingyu nodded and reached for his wallet to pay, but discovered it wasn’t on him. “Uh, just a second.” He said before turning to get Won Woo’s attention.

 

“What’s wrong?” He asked while getting up to meet him at the door.

 

“I think I forgot my wallet at home.” He said with a sheepish laugh. “Can you pay? I’ll pay you back later.”

 

“Sure.” Won Woo nodded and reached for his wallet in his back pocket to pull out the owed money. He handed it to Mingyu who handed it to the delivery guy. Then they were handed their food. Won Woo managed to get a glimpse of the guy before he put his helmet on and noticed the way Mingyu was looking at him, as if he was sad but a little bitter. After the delivery guy was gone and they returned to the couch, Mingyu didn’t touch any of the food and just sat there thinking about something. “Mingyu?” Won Woo asked but no answer. “Hey.” He nudged him this time and he got a reaction. “What’s wrong?”

 

Mingyu sighed and thought about being honest. He should, especially after all the things his boyfriend was going through, he didn’t need to be lied to anymore, especially by his boyfriend in their three and a half day old relationship. They promised to be honest with each other, too. It wasn’t like he wasn’t going to tell him, he was! He just wasn’t feeling all the great after seeing his ex boyfriend after two long years. So he wanted to lie and say that it was nothing just so he wouldn’t have to talk about it or worry Won Woo, but it was clear that he did a miserable job on hiding his feelings since Won Woo asked him what was wrong. “That delivery guy.” Mingyu started to say. “That was my ex boyfriend, the one I told you about before.”

 

The room suddenly fell silent. Won Woo was a bit shocked and soon his expression changed into one of worry and bitterness. “I guess I don’t need to ask if you’re okay, you’re clearly not.” Won Woo said calmly and reached out to hold his hand. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, okay?”

 

“Thanks.” Mingyu gave a sad smile. “I suppose I can understand how you felt when it was difficult to talk about things… Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo assured him. “Don’t worry about it. Just… I don’t know, forget about it for now?”

 

“Yeah, for now.” Mingyu agreed and seemed to be in better moods. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem.” Won Woo smiled and turned to get their food out from the bags. “Should we eat-” he was asking but was cut off when Mingyu suddenly kissed him the second he turned to face him again. It was so sudden and he was shocked when it seemed like Mingyu wasn’t going to pull back and made him let go of the bag before knocking him back onto the couch again like before. The kiss was a bit strong but not uncomfortable for Won Woo. He was just pretty surprised about it all. Finally, Mingyu parted and they both tried to catch their breath.

 

“Sorry.” Mingyu apologized with a guilty expression. “I don’t know what came over me…”

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo managed to say in a flustered tone.

 

Mingyu stared down at him with that guilty look and caressed the side of his face with the back of his hand with a gentle touch. He felt conflicting emotions just then, negative ones. Seeing Sangho like that really messed him up now that he was recalling that day they broke up. How hard he cried and how ty he felt. Even if it was two years ago, it still hurt. It still got to him because he really did love Sangho a lot and to be left behind like their love didn’t matter at all… he wanted to forget now. He wants to move on. He’s with Won Woo now and that’s all that should matter. He remembered telling Won Woo how kissing releases a chemical in the brain that could relax a person and ease their stress… so he kissed him. But he didn’t mean to do it so aggressively, he worried if he scared the poor guy.

 

He snapped out of those bitter thoughts when he felt Won Woo reach up and caress the side of his cheek with his own hand, as if he was trying to comfort him in a way. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear that Won Woo was telling him that it was okay with his eyes and weak smile. It was enough to calm Mingyu down and he managed a small smile. He was able to fight off the tears that wanted to fall from the intense emotions, he wasn’t going to cry, especially not for an ex boyfriend that tossed away their love just like that. He should save his tears for something more reasonable.

 

Won Woo was the one who made the first move and pushed himself up from his position so he could give Mingyu a sweet and gentle kiss to his lips. The emotions started to flood inside of Mingyu’s chest, mostly positive ones like how happy he was to have Won Woo here with him right now. The tears started to well in his eyes and he could see Won Woo’s expression falter, he looks so worried and even heartbroken to see his boyfriend tear up. It was clear Won Woo didn’t really know what he should do by the way he hesitated on speaking or even touching him.

 

“Sorry.” Mingyu managed to say and blinked back his tears with a weak smile. He felt a little embarrassed and sorry for putting Won Woo in this kind of situation so suddenly.

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo assured him. “If you need to cry, do it.” He added and rested his hand on his shoulder this time. “Don’t bottle it up inside, it’s not good… right?”

 

“I know.” Mingyu was really trying not to cry, but he couldn’t help it. He covered his face with his hands and turned away to hide from Won Woo.

 

It hurt for Won Woo to watch Mingyu cry silently next to him on the couch like this. He felt bad that he wasn’t doing such a good job on comforting him right now and really thought about what he could do? He wondered if maybe Mingyu wanted to be alone right now? He was just too nervous to ask, he was scared about doing the wrong things, but he knew if he didn’t do anything, that would be even worse. Tissues. We need tissues. He finally snapped out of it and got up to go fetch some. When he returned, he sat next to Mingyu and tapped him on his shoulder before telling him he brought the tissues in a soft calming tone.

 

“It really hurt to see him again, didn’t it?” Won Woo said a moment later. “I can’t imagine how that feels, but I know it hurts to see you like this.” He admitted when he felt a sting in the back of his eyes. He wasn’t sure what else he could say and struggled on finding the words. Damn, this is difficult. Instead of trying to find words, he reached out and gently wrapped his arm around Mingyu’s shoulder before pulling him CLOSER to his side. Mingyu immediately leaned on him and his tears started to die down. Won Woo’s touch was working. “I’m sorry for not having a lot to say…”

 

“It’s okay.” Mingyu said with a small sniffle and shifted so he could look him in the eyes. “Thank you for just being here for me…”

 

“Of course.” Won Woo managed a small smile and it got Mingyu smiling again. “Are you feeling better now?”

 

“I am.” Mingyu nodded while wiping away his remaining tears. “The food is probably cold now.” He added with a pout and reached for it.

 

“I’ll go heat it up again, don’t worry!” Won Woo quickly grabbed the bag of food and hurried off to the kitchen. Mingyu though it was adorable chuckled in his seat. He took a moment to really collect himself before heading into the kitchen to see Won Woo standing a few feet away from the microwave waiting with folded arms and tapping his foot. He laughed again and it caused Won Woo to turn and notice him. “What is it?”

 

“Nothing.” Mingyu answered and walked over to join him in the waiting process. There was only thirty-four seconds left on the timer when Mingyu face Won Woo with a sweet smile. “Hey…”

 

“Yeah?” Won Woo nodded and looked over to him.

 

“Can I… kiss you again?” He said softly and waited for an answer with his eyes were locked on Won Woo’s lips. The older was flustered by that, but quickly recovered by stepping over and pulling Mingyu down a bit so they could lock their lips together in a long and loving kiss. It didn’t get heated this time, it was just a nice and meaningful kiss they shared. Then the microwave alerted that one of the takeout trays was done warming up.

 

“Here.” Won Woo handed it over to him after taking it out. “Go ahead and go sit down, I’ll be there in a minute.” He said with a small gesture towards the living room. “Go ahead and start eating without me if you’re hungry, it’s fine.” He said with a warm smile before turning to put his food in the microwave to warm up. Mingyu stayed and just admired Won Woo who hadn’t noticed he didn’t leave. He was happy that Won Woo was here for him after unexpectedly seeing his ex. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if he saw Sangho by himself. Most likely he would have avoided talking to the guy and left off to somewhere he could be alone, so he could have time to process the encounter before talking to anyone about it. “You didn’t leave?!” Won Woo’s pouting snapped him out of his thoughts once again.

 

“Sorry.” Mingyu chuckled. This was reminding him of last night in a way when Seungkwan returned to their room and asked if Mingyu literally stayed in the same position for two hours straight. At least in this case it was two minutes.

 

“Don’t worry about it, let’s just eat!” Won Woo smiled and led him to the living room couch once again. They both sat down together and dug into the food after changing the channel on the TV. A few minutes in, Won Woo decided to check his phone real quick to see if Soo Min left any texts while he was in the bathroom and he was kind of glad she didn’t. That meant things were going well.

 

Won Woo was going to check the time on his phone but stopped. For some reason he just didn't want to turn the screen on, he was worried if he'd see something he didn't want to, like a text from Soo Min saying things didn't go well. Even though he'd want her to tell him and he'd come to her as soon as possible, he felt a little selfish right now and decided he'd wait on checking his phone. If it was urgent she'd call. If it was urgent she'd contact Mingyu too. She could contact Jeonghan or Jihoon… right now, Won Woo was concerned for Mingyu who just ran into his ex boyfriend, he needed to be here for him, he needed to focus on him.

 

He noticed Mingyu check his own phone for any missed texts or calls and that's when Won Woo noticed the time on his lock screen. It was 25 minutes until 2pm.

 

“Uh, hey, I have to go in a bit.” He figured he needed to tell Mingyu about his plans.

 

“Where to?” Mingyu asked innocently after taking putting his phone away and took a bite of his food.

 

“The public library.” He answered. “I promised to meet up with my classmate since I missed Thursday’s class. He said he’d give me a copy of the study guide.”

 

“He?” Mingyu suddenly pouted and Won Woo was confused for a second before it clicked in his head.

 

“Yeah. He’s a male friend.” He chuckled but Mingyu wasn’t amused, he looked jealous now and it was to be expected after everything that just happened. He’d probably feel the same if he heard his boyfriend was off to meet another guy right after he encounters an ex boyfriend and needs comforting. “His name is Im Changkyun but I call him by his english name, Daniel. We met in high school, he’s not very social and his parents also live overseas since he chose to stay behind in Seoul. They moved around a lot when he was younger so he had enough of it. He’s friends with Soo Min’s cousin, Hyungwon.”

 

“Okay.” Mingyu’s expression softened. “Is he single?”

 

“As far as I know, yes.” Won Woo answered innocently.

 

“Is he ready to mingle?”

 

“I don’t think so.” Won Woo had a hint of laughter in his tone. “He’s pretty shy.”

 

“Okay, good.”

 

“I don’t know if you’re trying to be subtle or not with your jealousy?” Won Woo snickered. “But it’s cute.”

 

“Do you really have to go today?” Mingyu expression turned into that sad puppy look and Won Woo had a hard time deciding on what he should do.

 

“You can come with me, then. It’s just to pick up the study guide and a brief explanation about it. And you can meet him for yourself.”

 

“Alright. I like that plan.”

 

“Good. Then we’ll head out after we’re done eating.”  Won Woo said before taking a bite of his own food. With that said, they ate their food while watching the TV until they were done and headed out like planned. They held hands on the way to Soo Min’s car and Won Woo was a bit shy but glad that they were able to show that kind of affection without worrying about Mingyu’s father being around. He really didn’t like that at all yesterday. The handholding was short lived though since Won Woo needed both of his hands to drive, but he’ll live!

 

...

 

“I’ll go get him!” Soo Min said while unbuckling her seatbelt the second her father pulled up to the lot of Jeonghan’s shared apartment.

 

“You don’t need to rush!” He pouted. “Take your time.”

 

“Relax!” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be right back!” And then she was off sprinting to the front entrance of the building.

 

Kangmin pouted while he watched her run inside and let out a small sigh before pulling out his phone to send a text. It was to Rina. He told her how mature his daughter was when confronting him about the affair and how surprised he was. Rina sent a text back teasing him about how his daughter womaned up before he could and he corrected her that he was a man.

 

Rina:

 

Kangmin:

 

He loves chatting with Rina. She’s so kind and mature. She really knows how to brighten someone’s day. Yeah…

 

Rina: I’m glad she confronted you.

You’re being honest with her now, right?

 

Kangmin: Of course!

 

Rina: Good! I suppose you plan to meet with

Ren soon, right?

 

Kangmin: Yes. I’ve already made plans with

Soo Min about it. For Monday evening.

 

Rina: Good!

Rina:

 

Kangmin: I’m nervous…

Kangmin:

 

Rina: Good.

Rina:

 

Kangmin: You’re not helping at all!!!

Kangmin:

 

Rina: Good~! SUFFER!

Rina:

 

Kangmin:

 

Meanwhile while Kangmin sulks in his car…

 

Soo Min made it to Jeonghan’s apartment door and knocked. She thought about texting him but she wanted to surprise him! When he didn’t answer the door, she knocked again. Still no answer. “Hmm?” She wondered if no one was home? She forgot to look in the lot to see if Seungcheol’s car was still here, but she was in such a rush. She figured maybe to go inside and check. She punched in their passcode, which all their friends knew just in case there was an emergency, and headed in. It was pretty quiet and seemed like both her boyfriend and his roommate were gone. “Awh man.” She pouted. “They must’ve went to lunch already.” She mumbled quietly and that’s when she noticed Jeonghan’s door was cracked open.

 

Curious like a cat, she quietly made her way over to have a peek and instantly saw Jeonghan’s feet and legs on his bed. She was startled for a split second before grinning. She was up to no good now. When she got CLOSER, she noticed he was looking at something while lying down on his bed, she could see he was listening to music on his headphones as well, that’s probably why he didn’t hear her knocking a moment ago. She guessed maybe he sent Seungcheol out to get their lunch or something?

 

What is he looking at? She thought when she opened the door just a bit more to get a better look. She could see it was a small black object and he was opening it and closing it several times. He was humming along to his music, she recognized it to be one of many love songs they both liked and shared with each other. It was quite adorable seeing him this way, but she returned her attention to the object in his hand. She saw something small and shiny each time it was opened. A vague memory of her searching through his nightstand yesterday morning came to mind and she paused for a second. It’s a ring, right?

 

She quickly backed away from his door, because she knew she didn’t want him to get caught and he scold her for spying on him. She put her shoes back on and stepped outside and shut the door. She stood there for a moment before pulling out her phone and sent her boyfriend a text like she should have in the first place. I don’t like surprises, but I really wish I hadn’t saw that just now. She felt guilty and nervous, but for once she felt like she should stay quiet about what she saw. She’d really hate to ruin his plans. She waited at the door patiently for him to come greet her.

 

When the door opened, her expression lit up like lights on a Christmas tree. Her conflicting feelings somehow vanished and she was awestruck looking at her amazing boyfriend standing there in his PJs and messy bed hair, he had it tied back but some strands had escaped over time. “What are you doing here?” He asked, clearly surprised.

 

“I came to invite you to lunch with my dad!” She said with a hint of a giggle. “Hurry and get dressed, he’s in the lot waiting for us!” He stared at her and she giggled again. “C’mon, let’s get a move on! Do I have to dress you myself?” She teased and he gave a shy laugh before hurrying back to his room to change. She waited at the front door for him with a happy smile on her face until he returned. He was wearing black ripped skinny jeans, a white v neck and the black leather jacket she bought him. His hair was brushed and loose from his usual ponytail and she was awestruck again.

 

“I’m ready.” He said after putting his shoes on at the door to match his outfit.

 

“Great, let’s go!” She opened the door for him and he walked through with a cute smile. When she stepped out, she latched herself onto his left arm and walked down the hallway with him. They got a few stares on the way down, positive ones and even cute comments about how nice they looked together, that pleased Jeonghan since sometimes girls could be nasty and say negative things about his sweet innocent girlfriend and how he was better off with someone else. It’s something they had to deal with a lot since they first started dating, but after three years, they’ve been getting immune to it now.

 

Shortly after, they made it to Soo Min’s father’s car and Soo Min happily opened the back seat door for Jeonghan who was a little flustered that she did that in front of her father. Stereotypically it should be the other way around, but he was sure his father understood his daughter liked to be the dominant one in their relationship sometimes. He got into the backseat and so did Soo Min. After she shut the door, she latched herself onto her boyfriend’s arm once again and even rubbed the side of her head on his shoulder, like a cat to her favorite human.

 

“Good afternoon, Mr. Chae.” Jeonghan greeted with a nervous smile when he saw the feuding look on the adult’s expression through the rearview mirror. It was intimidating and Jeonghan wasn’t sure what to do.

 

“Afternoon, catnip.”

 

“Excuse me?” Jeonghan was confused by that.

 

“I swear, every time my daughter gets near you she acts like that!” He pointed and Soo Min who was rubbing her head on Jeonghan’s shoulder again and quietly giggled. If she could purr, she would. “You didn’t do anything funny while you two were up there, did you?”

 

“Dad. Cut it out.” She gave him a cute glare. “Let’s go before the restaurant gets super busy!”

 

Her father had no choice but to agree and started the car up so they could leave. Eventually, Jeonghan told Soo Min to stop rubbing her head on his shoulder because it was messing up her hair. She claimed she didn’t care but he insisted she would when people stare at her later. She stopped reluctantly and he chuckled at her cute expression while she played with his fingers, like an amused cat. Maybe she was a cat in her past life or something? Would explain her curiosity, getting amused by the simplest things, her hate for water and capability of sleeping for hours on end if left unattended. I’m dating a human cat. He joked in his head. And he was her catnip. How funny. They were off to the restaurant after that.

 

Lunch with Soo Min’s father was going pretty well. Jeonghan was surprised since he thought Soo Min would struggle trying to pretend that things were okay after what happened this week, but she told him she had confronted him about Ren when her father excused himself to the bathroom after they ordered their food.

 

“Wow… I’m proud of you.” He said with a small smile and rested his hand on top of hers on the both seat next to him. “I’m happy you spoke up.”

 

“Me too.” She nodded with a slight flustered look, she didn’t really expect him to praise her like that but it was welcomed. It took a lot for her to even do it, so at least she was being told she did good. “I’m hoping things will move forward after this. I know it isn’t going to be a smooth ride, but at least we’ll know the full truth and we’ll be honest about everything.”

 

“It will be difficult, but it’s important not to give up. Remember that.”

 

“Of course.” She appreciated his comment. “Thanks.”

 

“I’m here for you, always.” He said sweetly and leaned over to give her a small kiss to her cheek. Those words meant a lot to her now. She turned her hand over so she could lock her fingers with his and gave his hand a tight squeeze. She smiled up at him and looked into his kind loving eyes. It was such a nice moment and they both leaned in to share a meaningful kiss, but it was interrupted when their waitress from before returned with their salads.

 

“Sorry!” Soo Min apologized to the waitress who assured them it was fine, they could definitely see the disappointed look in her eyes before she left the table and Soo Min felt a little bad but didn’t let it bother her too long since she noticed Jeonghan picking out the shaved carrots in his salad and was putting them into her salad. “Jeonghan! What are you doing?”

 

“What?” He said innocently and continued to pick the carrots out.

 

“Jeonghan!” She scolded. “I know you don’t like carrots but they’re good for you! They’re good for your eyes!” She stopped him from putting anymore into her salad and tried to put them back but he fought with her about it. They struggled with each other, in a playful way, not a serious way. Just when it seemed like he was going to give up, he surprised her with another kiss, a stronger kiss that stunned her and she stopped struggling with him and relaxed, like he tranquilized her with his lips. Because of that, he succeeded on transferring all of his carrots to her salad.

 

When she snapped out of it, she pouted but it went away quickly because how could she stay mad at him? Especially after earlier when they shared that meaningful kiss. She was easily swooned by it and thought about it with a goofy grin on her lips until her father returned to the table.

 

“What did you do to my daughter while I was away?” He asked with narrowed eyes. “Did you give her another dose of catnip or something?”

 

“Yes.” Jeonghan played along with a laugh. “Two, actually.”

 

“Be careful!” He warned but also laughed.

 

At least their food arrived shortly after that and they ate while making small talk. They talked about school and other trivial things that a couple would talk about with each other's parents. Soo Min felt bad that they couldn't eat with Jeonghan's parents like this, but she hoped that would change soon. They finished in a timely manner then got up to pay the bill. Jeonghan knew not to challenge her father about paying the bill, so he let him pay this time. Jeonghan would be sure to pay for it next time!

 

“So we’re dropping Jeonghan off first?” Her father asked after they were back on the road again.

 

“No, you can drop him off with me at my place.” She spoke up after latching herself to Jeonghan’s arm once again. “I need some help with cooking dinner tonight. You don’t mind helping, right?” She looked up to him with hopeful eyes.

 

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

 

“I can help too?” Her father pouted in the front and she sighed. “I’m kidding, I have to run a few errands before going home anyways, maybe next time?”

 

“Of course.” She gave him a sweet smile and he was pleased with that.

 

“Minus Jeonghan.” He said with a smile of his own and Jeonghan gave a nervous laugh.

 

They pulled up to Soo Min’s shared apartment shortly after and said their goodbyes before her father drove off. “Your dad gets so jealous when I’m around.” Jeonghan whimpered a bit while they headed up to the apartment.

 

“Well, because we don’t see each other often. Of course he’s going to be jealous of you, you and I see each other more than he does.” She explained.

 

“Maybe you need to start visiting him more.” He pouted. “So he can stop picking on me.”

 

“Relax, you’re fine!” She chuckled and opened the door for him. The apartment was empty like she expected since she recalled Won Woo saying he was going to lunch with Mingyu. She wondered how long he’d be away before their promised dinner with Ren. She was sure he’d be back in time and decided not to worry about it too much. “We’re planning on having dinner at Ren’s place, did you want to come with?”

 

“If that’s okay?” He nodded with a small shrug.

 

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He might even have his boyfriend there as well.” She assured him. “But I’ll ask just in case.” She added and pulled out her phone to send a text, but she noticed Ren had texted her already.

 

Ren: Are you okay?

 

She was slightly confused until she remembered earlier when they saw each other in traffic. How come I didn’t see this when I pulled out my phone to text Jeonghan earlier? She swore her phone could be unreliable at times. It was probably time for a new one.

 

Soo Min: I’m fine! Don’t worry. Sorry for my late reply,

I was with our father, as you already know. What about you?

Are you okay?

 

Ren: That’s fine. I’m glad you’re okay.
I’m good… I think.

 

Soo Min: I understand. It must’ve been such a

shock to see him so suddenly like that… it would

have been nice if we could have stopped and talked.

 

Ren: Yeah, it would have been nice.

Did you confront him about everything?

 

Soo Min: I did! It was difficult, but I managed to do it.

We had a long talk and I told him everything… I can tell

he was pretty guilty about the secret and the affair. It’s to

be expected, right? But he told me that he will tell us the full

story soon. We agreed on Monday evening at my parents place,

you won’t be busy then, right? I hope you’re not busy that night!

 

Ren: I won’t be busy! Even if I was, I’d cancel

everything to be there, don’t worry!

 

Soo Min: Ah, good! Then Monday it is!

He wanted me to let you know that he’s looking

forward to meeting you, I hope you feel the same!

 

Ren: I do! Thanks for letting me know!

 

Soo Min: No problem, bro~! ^^

Soo Min: By the way, I don’t mean

to change the topic so quickly, but

about tonight’s dinner, can Jeonghan come?

 

Ren: Sure! He can come! I don’t mind.

Actually, I was going to suggest it too.

Won Woo should bring his boyfriend as well!

 

Soo Min: Will Jihoon be joining us, too?

How many people am I cooking for?

Soo Min:

 

Ren: Jihoon can come. I’ll text him!

 

She assumed Jihoon would be coming regardless because he was friends with Ren way before her and Won Woo. It just seemed like a logical thing, though, she’d feel bad if he felt like the odd one out since everyone would be with their boyfriends. Maybe they should invite another person to come so he could have someone to talk with in case all the couples end up talking about things he couldn’t relate with.

 

Ren: He said he’ll come with his friend Seungcheol.

So that’s 8 people you’re cooking for. If it’s too much

don’t worry about it! We can always order takeout.

 

Soo Min: Relax. 8 People is fine.

There’s actually 9 of us in Won Woo

and I’s friend group. I’ve done this before,

no worries! I got this! I can do it!

 

Ren: Then I suppose you got it under

control! Just text me when you’re heading over!

 

It was nice being able to text Ren like that and she was happy with how things turned out so far. She would enjoy it until the time comes when they all start confronting the other parents about the family secret.

 

“Everything okay?” Jeonghan asked when he saw her zoning out a bit by the front door.

 

“Yeah, everything is fine.” She assured him and came over to join him on the couch. “Ren said you can come. Jihoon is going as well with Seungcheol, I just needed to know how many I was cooking for.”

 

“Really? Must be a lot.” He frowned at the thought of her overworking herself.

 

“Not really. He said Won Woo should bring Mingyu with him, too. So that only makes eight of us since I assume Minhyun will be there. It won’t be the first time I cook for more than five people, no worries. I got this.” She flashed him her cute smile and he was less worried now. “I won’t be making it entirely from scratch since I want Won Woo to eat it with us. I’ll be substituting the anchovy stock for chicken broth. That really cuts the cooking process down by at least two hours.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“So if I time it correctly, I don’t need to get started for at least another two hours.”

 

“Really? Then what do we do until then?” He asked and watched her grin at him. Something told him that she was thinking of something fun right now.

 

“We can…” she trailed off while running her hand across his chest before letting it slide down and run across his thigh before she grabbed the remote that had fallen between his thigh and the armrest, “watch a movie!”

 

He exhaled the breath he was holding when she started to touch him suggestively and was slightly disappointed. But he guessed that was payback for what he did at the restaurant earlier. While Soo Min looked for a movie to watch, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled out his phone to check who it was.

 

Chan: Have you found your will and

motivation to study yet?

Chan:

 

“Oh crap!” Jeonghan blurted out and Soo Min nearly jumped in her seat, he startled her!

 

“What is it!”

 

“I told Chan I would come study with him at the library earlier.”

 

“Really? You should have told me before I invited you to lunch!” She frowned. She felt bad for keeping him from Chan.

 

“It slipped my mind at the time.” He explained before getting up to head to the door.

 

“Well, go ahead and go study with him, I’ll be okay here on my own until the dinner.” She assured him.

 

“You should come with me.” He mentioned while putting his jacket back on. “Chan’s been wanting to visit with you, but you’ve been dealing with a lot already and it just didn’t seem like a good time.”

 

“Aww~! Okay I’ll go!” She didn’t even have to think twice about it. “I just need to be back before 5pm.” She mentioned while putting on her shoes.

 

“Got it! Let’s go.” He smiled and extended his hand out for her to take. She happily took his hand and followed him out the door and then they were on their way. They’d have to stop by Jeonghan’s place to grab his textbooks and study guides, but they’d head straight to the library after that.

---

Chapter forty-nine!

LONG UPDATE. 15.5k. YOU’RE WELCOME!

The next one is going to be as equally long cuz it’ll be special cuz it’ll be CH 50!

UNTIL THEN~!