'eyyyy these have been written on my notes since last week and only managed to write them today lol anyways, enjoy~

XIII.

Eric looks up from setting up his keyboard when he hears the door open, seeing Henry, who looks like he just got out of bed (it’s two o’clock in the afternoon), with Amber by his side, rolling her eyes when the former almost trips out of nothing and drags him to the nearest chair in the room, taking his guitar and setting it gently beside him.

“Did he just wake up?” Eric chuckles, dusting off his precious keyboard.

“Yep,” Amber says with a sigh, looking over at Henry who’s in the brink of falling asleep again. “He was up until hell o’clock finishing songs.” She fishes out a binder from Henry’s bag and hands it to Eric.

The binder has definitely gotten thicker since the last time he saw it. Messy handwriting on music sheets after music sheets fills the binder and he whistles lowly. He’s pretty sure there were only three last time and now, there are seven more in just a span of a week and a half.

“Those are just the finished ones.” Amber continues, taking her drum sticks off her back pocket and heading over to her drum set. “You should have seen the state of his room when I came over. I see music sheets instead of floor.”

The door opens again and they both look up as Amy walks in, head bobbing in time with the music she’s listening through her earphones, waving at the both of them.

“What’s up?” She says, putting away her earphones and peeking curiously at the binder in Eric’s hands.

“Mozart’s at it again.” Amber says, nodding over to where Henry’s sleeping.

Amy chuckles and takes the binder, scanning over the music sheets and starts humming. “Hey, they sound pretty good.”

Gen comes in then, a Red Bull in one hand and the other adjusting the strap of his guitar case. “I called out on you but you ignored me.” He says, poking Amy’s side.

Amy squeals at the action, swatting his hand away. “Sorry, i had my earphones on.”

Gen pokes her side again for good measure and flees before Amy could swat him again, going over to where Henry is. He taps him on the shoulder and Henry looks up with a yawn, taking the Red Bull that Gen offered.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” Amber starts, twirling a drum stick between her fingers. “Let’s start practice.”

XIV.

Amber had considered this at least a million times for the past two weeks, thinking and rethinking of whether or not she really wants this. But they’ve been married for five years; been trying to start a family for almost a year, but it’s been a month since they found out that both she and Henry are infertile. It had been a shock, of course and Henry had took it hard. He really wanted a family of his own. More so than Amber does and it pains her that they can’t make that a reality.

But a few weeks ago, Krystal, a co-worker suggested adoption and showed her a few orphanages that she can go to. And that’s what she’s been doing for the past two weeks, visiting orphanages and talking to the people there. She hasn’t discussed it with Henry yet but that’s why she told him to come home early that day.

“Am, I’m home.” She hears him call and she immediately arranges the papers in front of her, stuffing them in a folder before coming out of their bedroom into the living room where he sits on the couch, massaging his temples.

“You want to talk about something?” He asks and Amber says nothing, laying out the folder on the small coffee table, opening it and handing him a picture of a baby.

“His name is Jaebum.” Amber says, carefully watching her husband as he takes the picture from her. “He’s four months old. People at the orphanage say that the mother can’t provide for him so she gave him away.”

The truth is, Amber almost immediately wanted to adopt Jaebum when she first saw him because he reminds her so much of Henry when he smiles and her heart almost explodes out of her chest as she reaches for him and the infant replies with the most blinding smile, eyes disappearing into crescents.

“Amber, I don’t understand.”

“I’m saying, let’s adopt him.”

Henry goes quiet, staring at the picture and she watches and waits with her heart thundering inside her. This is their last resort.

Henry takes her hand, squeezing it. “Let’s do it.”

A month later, they stand inside the extra room that they turned into a nursery, Jaebum sleeping in Henry’s arms and Amber beside him. This might not be the ideal family that they had in mind but it’s a family, nonetheless. Their own family and that’s more than enough.

XV.

It’s weird, Henry thinks. It’s weird being back in Korea again after so many years. They were there for a concert and his friends from the orchestra had relentlessly about his past gig of being a boyband member. Henry barely remembers any Korean.

He was just three years in when he decided to stop trying to fit in in a world where he doesn’t belong so he left Korea and went back to Canada, deciding to just pursue his old career path of being a professional violinist. Now here he is, seven years later, performing in a place where he heard nothing but angry screams every time he appears with his violin.

“Hey, Henry!” Christopher, a second violin, calls. “Can you read this?” He waves the pamphlet of the benefit concert that they’re performing in in front of his face.

Henry makes a face, grabbing the pamphlet as they walk out of the hall for some sight-seeing. “I was not even that good in Korean when I left so the answer is no.”

“Tsk, you’re no use.” Christopher says teasingly.

Henry punches his shoulder playfully. “Shut up.”

“Henry?” He hears someone call and when he turns around, he stops on his tracks.

“Amber?” Her face is still the same, yet there’s an air of matureness around her and he knows that she’s not the same fifteen-year-old girl that he hung out with all the time. They were close enough that Amber cried when he said he was leaving and they managed to keep in contact up until a bit after Amber debuted. They stopped sending emails when she got too busy with schedules and him with college.

“It’s been such a long time!” She grins and pulls him into a brief hug which he returns awkwardly. He hadn’t expected to run into someone he knows and truth to be told, he was trying to block out any memories he had in Korea. A lot of them are too painful.

Christopher clears his throat and Henry steps back. “Amber, this is Christopher. Christopher, Amber. She’s one of my old friends here.”

Amber grins and Henry remembers practices at 2 AM, sharing tteokbeokki that he snuck in.

“What are you doing back here?” she asks.

“The orchestra I’m in is having a charity concert.” He says with a shrug.

“Oh, you’re a professional violinist now? Good for you, man.” He punches his shoulder lightly like the way she always does after every performance with Super Junior, an encouragement in the sea of angry fans.

Everything is suddenly coming back in waves and he swallows the lump in his throat, hoping it’s enough to last him for a few more minutes before he excuses himself and have a break down or something.

“You should invite her, Henry,” Christopher says beside him and he honestly wants to strangle him. “After all, you’re playing a solo.”

“Ooh, can I? I want to go! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you play!” Amber says excitedly, expectantly and Henry always had a bad habit of not being able to say no to her. Turns out, time has not changed that fact and all he could do is nod.

“Sure, I have an extra complimentary ticket anyways since my brother can’t come.” Henry tries to be nonchalant as he fishes the ticket out of his wallet and hands it to her. “Are you free the day after tomorrow?”

“I have a photoshoot in the morning but I’m free for the rest of the day.” She grins. “I’ll definitely be there.”

Henry nods and before she goes, she hugs him again.

“I missed you so much.” she whispers and Henry might have imagined it but she sounds nearly in tears. Henry says nothing and squeezes her gently before she steps back, grinning at him once again. “Is your email still the same? We have to catch up.”

Henry manages a smile. A genuine one. “Yeah.”

Her grin widens. “Great! I’ll contact you, then!”

And then she waves goodbye, crossing the street to where her friends are waiting. Christopher nudges him.

“Ex-girlfriend?”

Henry chuckles, shaking his head. “An old friend, I told you.”

On the other side, Kim nudges Amber as they walk down the street, craning her neck to peek at the boy she was talking to earlier. “Ex-boyfriend?”

Amber smiles fondly, shaking her head. “Someone I still stupidly care for after all these years.”