"Cheh!!... Minho hyung.. I'm no longer Taeminnie. It's Taemin... TAE-MIN... Remember that...That nickname does not exist anymore. If you want to give a nickname, at least change to this one. Nowadays, they call me Tae-MAN, you know." Taemin grinned as he hugged his favourite person in the whole world. Taemin, who had been away for the past two years, was working on his doctorate at Harvard University and recently graduated with distinctions.

Although he knew his path in life was to eventually join his brother in managing the company, he decided to delay and prolonged it as long as possible. His claim was that he wished to gain experience abroad to research and come up with new ideas on innovating the company towards the future. He could still remember the first fight he had with his parents regarding his decision to live abroad ten years ago. He was young and reckless. To be stuck in a decision made by others with no say at all caused him to feel stressed out and stuffy. He needed to escape and he needed to do it soon before he would explode. Luckily, Onew knew of his internal struggle and helped Taemin to convince their parents to allow him to go. His mother tried to guilt him into staying by refusing to eat for three days as she could not bear to part with her baby but in the end, Taemin's stubborness won. His only regret back then was that he had to leave his first love behind.

As Minho pulled away from the hug, he felt a tugging on his sleeve. "Minho hyung... Yoogeun is a bit thirsty. Can we buy something to drink?" Looking down, Minho smiled. "Oops, sorry, Yoogeun. We will go in a while. Before that, I want you to meet another one of hyung's friends. This is Taemin hyung... Taemin, meet Yoogeun. My newest buddy.. My neighbour's son. His mom had to work out of a sudden so I'm taking care of him today."

Yoogeun gave a small bow and a huge grin as soon as Taemin squatted to his level. "Annyeonghaeseyo, Teamin hyung. My name is Yoogeun. Nice to meet you. I hope that you had a good trip."

"Wah, so polite. Thank you, Yoogeun.. I'm sorry to make you wait. Just let hyung take the bags then we can go, arrasso?" Taemin smiled. He was impressed by the politeness of this kid. Not many kids are as polite nowadays especially after the age of handphone games came about. Kids would rather play on their handphones and ignore everyone including the elders of the family, making it a well-known gripe in any family gatherings. After the bags were collected and safely stored in Onew's car, Minho asked the question he was dying to ask since an hour ago. "So, where shall we eat? I'm hungry."

Taemin and Yoogeun shouted "Jajangmyeon" at the same time while Onew's voice was drowned out as he tried to shout "Chicken". Apparently, there were more lovers of Jajangmyeon than chicken. Both Taemin and Yoogeun high-fived when the decision was made according to the majority votes because Minho suddenly had this craving for Jajangmyeon too. Onew, who was left alone, grumbled all the way to the restaurant after he became stuck driving alone with the bags and having to eat Jajangmyeon when Taemin decided to hitch the ride with Minho and Yoogeun instead.

At the famous Jajangmyeon restaurant in the Hongdae district, peals of laughter could be heard as occupants in the far corner of the restaurant began to eat while being entertained by Taemin who was reminiscing about the experiences he gotten while he was abroad. "I swear I didn't know that you were supposed to dip your fingers into the bowl. When the waiter placed it on my table, I had assumed that the bowl was some kind of drinking cup. How was I to know that the purpose was for something else? You all should see the looks of the people around me when I took a sip...They were all so shocked... Hahahaha.. That was when my classmate whispered to me that what I did was wrong. Hahaha.... I was so embarrassed that my face was red the entire dinner and it's not because the food was spicy."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Taemin.... It's been great to catch up with you." Minho hugged him as they stood near the cars. "Maybe we can hang out more often now that you are back.. Help me to convince your brother into joining us at the gym. All these years, he kept giving me tons of excuses." Taemin laughed as he nodded. "Hahaha.. Let me guess the most common one was that he needs to rush back to his girlfriend.. His chicken girlfriend.."

"Hey, don't joke around when it comes to my chickens, okay??!!" Onew said before he grabbed his brother's neck and ruffled his hair. "Hyungggg, hands off my hair. I'm not a kid anymore. Sheesh, this is so embarrassing." Both only stopped when Minho flicked his fingers onto their foreheads at the same time, causing Onew to release his death grip on Taemin. "Ouch.." Both spoke as they rubbed their heads. "Yoogeun, this is a classic example of what NOT to grow up into, okay??" Minho laughed as he walked back to the car with Yoogeun after saying his goodbyes to the Lee brothers.

Minho was about to speak when he saw that Yoogeun's eyes had closed. Most probably, he was too tired from being out the whole day. Looking back, Minho found a small blanket and draped it over Yoogeun. Without realising it, Minho's fingers started to caress Yoogeun's hair, lulling the boy into a deeper slumber. Just then, his phone rang. Minho smiled as he saw the name that was reflected on the screen before he picked up the call. "Hey.. Um, Suzy.. How was your work? Um, yeah, we had a great time together. Don't worry about it. Yoogeun had been a good boy. No.. He did not misbehave.. Serious, he didn't.. It was fun going out with him. Where are you now? On the way home? Dinner? Um, actually we all ate Jajangmyeon earlier. Yeah, my friend's brother landed safely. Thanks for asking. We'll be back soon.. See you later."

If Minho had bothered to look at his reflection on the side mirror, he would be wondering what had happened. Never in his life, would he anticipate and live to see the day that he would wear a goofy smile after he ended a call to a woman. He was afterall, Mr Calm and Composed Casanova. His mind was certainly not focused on the road and the changing scenery as his mind kept on replaying the short conversation they had. Her voice over the phone could not do much justice in comparison to speaking to her in person. Although it does sound melodic and sweet to his ears, it lacked the the warmth and tingling sensations Minho felt each time she that megawatt smile of hers.

Seeing that Yoogeun did not wake up by the time they reached the apartment block, Minho decided to carry him up to the 8th floor where Suzy had been waiting patiently, ready to take over from Minho. "Here.. Let me carry him." Minho shook his head in refusal and just continued on to Yoogeun's bed. He laid Yoogeun down before taking off his shoes and covering him with a blanket. Suzy just stood there at the doorway, amazed at the tenderness she saw. Minho would have made a great father. Times like this, Suzy really wondered why was it Minho isn't one by now. Key had told her that Minho had been quite generous with the kids during Christmas parties and she saw how gentle he was while interacting with Yoogeun. However, when they touched briefly on the topic of families, Suzy could sense his reluctance to talk more. She could see his eyes are hiding something just as how hers would have looked like. To see that shadow of vulnerability made Suzy's heart ached. If only, there was a way for her to smoothen that tiny frown of his. The one that he thought he had hidden well.

Seeing that Minho was getting up to leave the room, Suzy immediately walked away, not wanting to be caught spying on him. "Um, Minho.. Do.. um, do you want to stay for a cup of coffee?" Suzy asked when Minho appeared in the kitchen. "Um, I still need to say my thanks to you for helping me today. Luckily, we managed to settle most of the groundwork today and saved us a lot of trouble in the future. Um, thanks, Minho.. Um, thanks for including Yoogeun into your plans. I hope he did not bother you and your friends."

"Suzy, like I mentioned earlier, it was of no issue. He was no trouble at all. My friends and I enjoyed having Yoogeun around too. He was quite polite and well-behaved. You raised him well, Suzy." Minho reassured her as he sat down at the dining table. " In fact, I wouldn't mind babysitting Yoogeun more if you need to work. Heck, even if you need some time alone too, I don't mind. I'm sure my friends would be okay with it as well.... Relax, I can see your shoulders being tensed up right now. Truthfully, you need to learn to relax and chill. For the past few months, I rarely see you do that. Except for the occasional trip to the supermarket and outings to the park with Yoogeun and walking Key's dogs, I don't see you both going out much. Er... Um... What I mean is... Um...  that... Um...." Minho actually felt himself blush as he dug a deeper hole for himself. At that point of time, he wished he could just take it all back. Either that or jump into the hole and bury himself so that this incident would be forgotten.

Suzy tried her best to swallow her giggle as Minho struggled with himself. "Hehehe.. So, does that mean you've been spying on us? Who's being the nosy neighbour now? Hehehe... Well, it's not like we have many places to go to, you know. Everywhere is so expensive...." Suddenly Suzy's eyes clouded over as she abruptly stopped giggling. The sadness in her eyes returning as she spoke. "I.. I realised that my current circumstances made it hard for Yoogeun. Yes, our lives got better lately but it's still a constant struggle. Bills still need to be paid, food still need to be bought. Yoogeun deserved more than this....I know.. I could not even afford to give him what he wants... I... I do try my best but it was not easy to be both a father and mother to him. Sigh... I'm such a bad mother...."

Suzy had not realised that she had tears flowing down her cheeks until she felt Minho's fingers wiped them away. "Hey, hey. Stop that. Don't cry.... Suzy...  I.. I'm sorry for bringing this up." Suzy felt Minho's arms circling her, enveloping her in his warmth as he slowly rocked her gently while rubbing his hand along her back. 10 years... She had missed this feeling for the past 10 years. The feeling of being cared for.... For 10 years, she had been alone. She had no one other than herself to comfort her, to allay her worries, to give her moral and emotional support. Suzy really, really missed this. Suzy tried to hold back, but once the dam broke, it was hard to keep it in anymore. Suzy cried. She cried for all the years when she was alone. She cried for the hurt and betrayal she felt by the man whom she thought had loved her back. She cried for the pain of being outcasted by her own flesh and blood. She cried for the insecurities she felt while being a single mother in a cruel world.

Unable to bring herself to break free, Suzy just tightened her hold onto Minho's waist, vaguely registering his warm, deep voice trying his best to soothe her. Eventually, Suzy's cries slowly quietened down to bouts of small sobs. Embarrassed, Suzy tried to pull away but she was locked even deeper into Minho's embrace when he tightened it further. "Suzy, just listen.." Minho whispered into her ear, causing her to have shivers down her spine. " I'm really sorry if I had touched on a sensitive topic. I didn't mean it. Last thing I want to do is to make you cry." Pulling away abruptly, Minho locked his big eyes onto hers. Suzy became stunned by the intensity of those eyes. "You have this inner strength which I truly admire. Although I may not know you for long but I sensed that you have your own crosses to bear. I have to confess somthing though. I was curious so I asked Yoogeun. He told me bits and pieces of the hardships you had to endure. He spoke of the places where you used to stay, the means words that was said to you as well as the jobs you had to take on. You could have chosen a different path in life but you did not and I respected that alot. You continued on with your life with positivity and an angelic smile on your beautiful face while doing the best you can for your boy."

Seeing no response from Suzy, Minho decided at that moment to lay his cards on the table. His heart ached when she started crying and if this secret of his would make her stop feeling guilty then he would gladly do it. Minho gulped down his nervousness. He was about to reveal his deepest, most vulnerable inner self to the woman whom he loved. She could crush him with this secret if she wanted to. However, Minho felt that Suzy could be the one who would finally change him. Change him to be a better person. "Suzy, I... I grew up with memories of a bad childhood. My parents never cared for me. I had to learn to fend for myself the hard way. I could not trust anyone. Not my dad who had affairs after affairs after affairs and neglected his responsibility as a husband and a father. Not my mom who treated me worse than dirt and told me straight to my face how much she hated me. Not even my brother who gloated over the fact that I was the loser in the family all because he was jealous that people liked me more than him. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that.. You are not a bad mother. Trust me, my own mother was worse... I saw the love that shines through when Yoogeun spoke of you. He's proud that you are his mommy, you know. So, never, ever say that you are a bad mother."

As Minho spoke of his horrible childhood, Suzy can't help but notice the frown that grew deeper. The frown which she would loved to erase. To banish it away and replaced it with lots of happy memories. Not knowing what else to do, Suzy did the same for him. She hugged him back and rubbed his back while whispering sweet encouragements and hoped that he would believe her. Her heart cried when she thought of a young Minho who was desperate for some form of love and attention from his own family. In a way, he had known betrayal and feelings of being forsaken by his family.. His 'loved ones'.... Similar to her issues ..... Maybe that's why she could feel a connection with him.. Maybe it was fated that they met....????

Suzy knew that one day, she would have to reveal her own secrets too but not now. This moment was already getting too full of emotional revelations and Suzy didn't think that it would be wise to add to that. Right now, Suzy just want to bask in the moment that they had opened up to each other. Hopefully, this will pave the way to a new relationship in which they can help to heal the deep wounds that was hidden for a long time by being each other's pillar of support.

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A/N : Sorry for a heavy issue towards the end of this chapter... Both Suzy and Minho needs to get past their own skeletons before they could move on.... I promise, the next chapter will be sweet and fluffy...   :)

A hint : Date, anyone ??? Hehehehe