A/N: Hey guys!!! Sorry for the lack of updates T_T I had been very preoccupied with midterms, and my new boyfriend ("new" isnt a good word to use lmao sounds like i had a different bf last month or something when i actually havent had one in 5 years lol) He's one of the best things to happen to me......and another thing is reading the comments you all leave!!! Ignore me and get to reading~ Extra long chapter, just for you guys!

Comments= Love Love Love!!! <3

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A cherry red Accord pulls into a parking spot on the ground floor of the pier’s parking complex. Loud sounds of the crashing waves and cawing seagulls can be heard from here, even over the music blaring from Heechul’s car.

The car engine shuts off and so does Rihanna, and then the driver gets out.

“Finally!” Heechul sighs, stretching his arms up above his head. His scarlet halter top rises above his waistband, and his sunglasses threaten to fall off the top of his head as he leans back. He puts them over his eyes, “That traffic was a pain in the !”

“Agreed,” Siwon exits the car, stretching himself as well. He’s wearing a crewneck and khakis that catch Heechul’s eye every time he turns around.

Heechul opens the door to the back seat. Sungmin coos in his carseat, on his favorite pink rattle.

“Daddy?” he makes kissing sounds at Heechul.

Heechul chuckles, leaning forward to kiss his son gently on the lips as he unbuckles the seat and lifts the baby out. “Upsy-daisy!”

Sungmin giggles and clings onto his father with his tiny hands. Siwon walks around from the passenger side and wraps an arm around Heechul’s waist. “So, where are we meeting everyone?”

Heechul hoists Sungmin higher up as they start to walk out of the complex, “At the beginning of the pier. We’re early, so we can grab something to eat first.”

Siwon shields his eyes from the unusually bright March sun, having forgotten his sunglasses,“What were you thinking of getting?”

Sungmin answers for them, “I-, I-!”

“Eye?” Siwon asks, playfully.

Heechul chortles, pointing in the direction of Sungmin’s eyesight: across the street from the parking complex is a little shop with a cone topped with a swirl as its logo, “The kid knows what he wants. I...ce cream.”

~

Donghae didn’t know that he wanted another father until Siwon arrived hand-in-hand with Heechul. He had never seen Heechul smile so brightly.

It had been four years since Han Geng left. Donghae had watched Heechul slip and fall into depression for three months before he realized that he didn’t need the other man in order to raise Donghae.

Donghae had always loved Heechul for being so strong. The brief glimpse of weakness he witnessed in his father for those few months was nothing compared to how solid Heechul was from then on. He took it into his own hands to make sure Donghae was fed every day (albeit with convenience store meals, frozen dinners, and many, many sandwiches), went to school on a regular basis and attended to his studies, and had a high self esteem. Heechul made very sure of that one in particular, since he himself was proud of himself, and he would make sure that Donghae felt no different.

Donghae loved the years he spend alone with Heechul in their little apartment, loved watching him dress up in those fancy clothes he designed, loved holding his hand as they walked down the runway together after a show, loved him. Good memories Donghae had of Han Geng melted away as he doubled the good memories he had of Heechul.

Donghae was so sure that Heechul was all he would ever need in his life.

Never had he been so happy to be proved wrong.

During Heechul’s military service, Donghae spent the days wallowing away in his small room in his grandparent’s house, doing most of his homework and watching TV. He found himself frowning more than smiling those days. Grandma Kim didn’t pay too much attention to the change that overcame him; she simply made sure he ate well, went to school, and did his homework. The same things Heechul used to do, but with less...love.

She was his grandmother, whom he loved, but she wasn’t Heechul.

After two long years, Heechul finally came home. The emotion Donghae felt in that moment could not compare to what he felt when Heechul visited on holidays throughout the years. Instead of just happiness and love, Donghae finally felt relief. Relief that his precious father had returned safe and sound.

Donghae just didn’t know what to feel when he saw the man trailing behind Heechul.

“Donghae!” Heechul grinned, letting go of the stranger’s hand to stretch his arms out to his preteen son.

“Dad!” Donghae jumped into his father’s embrace, burying his face into the man’s chest. He was starting to catch up to his father in height; one more growth spurt was sure to make him shoot past the top of Heechul’s head (he had hoped, but it never happened). Heechul smelled of sweat; none of his usual floral perfume wafted in the air around him because he wasn’t allowed to keep it with him during his service, but Donghae didn’t mind. This was still Heechul.

“Hae,” Heechul pulled back after a long minute, “I want you to meet someone.”

Donghae’s eyes darted to the taller man behind Heechul. He was well-built, handsome, clean shaven, and appeared charming, though Donghae couldn’t say for sure. What was this man doing here?

“Hello,” Donghae extended his hand in the American fashion before realizing that he should probably bow, “I’m Donghae, Heechul’s son.”

“Hello, Donghae,” the man shook Donghae’s hand with a pleasant smile on his lips, a contagious smile that mirrored on Donghae’s lips immediately, “I am Choi Siwon, a friend of your father. We met during training.”

Donghae nodded, “That’s nice. I hope he didn’t beat you up the first thing he saw you.”

Siwon bellowed in laughter. Heechul blushed and punched the taller’s shoulder.

“He is your son,” Siwon smiled at Heechul.

Heechul rolled his eyes, sighed, and then smiled back, this time much more differently. There was something indiscernible in his eyes that Donghae felt like he had seen some ages before. Whatever it was, he hadn’t seen it for a long time.

And over the next few years that they spent living in Heechul’s mother’s house, going back and forth from work and school, Donghae started to notice that Siwon was indeed the cause of Heechul’s unusual happiness. It took the two of them almost two years to finally tell Donghae what exactly was up, and at that point it wasn’t even a surprise. Siwon was already his Appa.

“Hae?” Heechul asked one day after school, “Can we talk about something?”

Donghae glanced up from his novel, “Yeah, Dad?” He was sitting in the living room with his glasses on, which he was recently forced to use for reading.

Heechul took one of Donghae’s hands in his own gently, his other hand hiding from the teen’s sight, “Do you like Siwon-ah?”

Donghae smiled. He knew what was coming. “Of course. He’s almost like a dad to me.”

A relieved smile overcame Heechul’s features. Donghae was glad to see that; in fact, he worded his response in that way on purpose.

“Great! Then what would you feel if I told you...he can be your dad?”

Donghae chuckled, reaching for his father’s hidden left hand, “Oh, get to the point already!” He yanked Heechul’s fingers up to his face and saw the glittering silver band decorating his left ring finger. An exaggerated gasp left his lips. “Wow, Dad! He must really love you!”

Heechul dissolved into a giggling mess, almost exactly like a teenage girl in love. Seeing Heechul like this made Donghae feel so warm and so glad that their little family would become whole once again.

Donghae had almost always thought of Siwon as his father, far more than Han Geng had been. After the first few months of mild distrust and naive belief that Siwon would completely take Heechul away from Donghae, the teen began to appreciate the things that Siwon did for him. He would take Donghae overseas on business trips for the weekend, exposing him to the wondrous cultures of the world; They went to Japan, Taiwan, England, and even Brazil. Their escapades away from Heechul were usually out of the country, but sometimes Heechul would accompany them and they would go to movies, amusement parks, and zoos: places Han Geng stopped taking Donghae merely one year after adoption because he was ‘too busy’.

One reason why Donghae didn’t like when Han Geng started visiting again was that he would take Donghae to the places that they used to go when Donghae still loved him as a father, reminding him of those years and making him feel belittled. The places that Siwon started taking him in the years that he had no one but Heechul, exactly when he needed another father figure in his life. Even though the locations were sometimes the same, no outing he spent with Han Geng, his Baba, could compare to the time Donghae had with Siwon, his Appa.

So Donghae didn’t take their marriage as a surprise. However, it was what Heechul told him next that turned his life around.

“And we’re going to move back to California!” Heechul grinned, examining his ring distractedly.

Donghae’s stomach sank. “We’re what?”

“We’re moving back,” Heechul looked up, “I thought you liked L.A.?”

“Oh…” Donghae fiddled with his thumbs, “I do, but…” Scenes of the friends he made in Hoengseong flashed through his mind, of the crush that he would have to leave behind, and the familiar landscape lit with the vibrant glow of the morning sun as he biked to school. He would have to drop everything he had here and move, get used to a new area and a new school, make new friends and have new crushes. It didn’t seem appealing to a ninth grade Donghae.

“But?” Heechul frowned, sighing, “But you like it here more.”

Donghae nodded guiltily. He didn’t know what else to do or say. He didn’t want to keep Heechul and Siwon from moving to California, but he also didn’t want to leave. The choices weighed heavily on his mind.

“Well…” Heechul rubbed Donghae’s hand, “I don’t want to force you, so I’ll give you time to think about it, at least.” He stood up and let go, “Maybe in a little while, you’ll like the idea more?”

Donghae shrugged, watching his father leave with lips downturned.

It was in that moment that Donghae realized that no matter how comfortable he was in Hoengseong, no matter how much he would miss his friends, he would do whatever it took to wipe that frown off of Heechul’s face.

And whatever it took meant moving back to L.A. with Heechul and his Appa Siwon.

Which he quickly found out was the best decision he had ever made.

~

“Donghae? You okay?”

Donghae blinks quickly and looks up at Han Geng. They are sitting on a bench, eating lunch. The sound of youthful laughter and background music fills his ears as he comes back from his reverie. “Yeah...I’m alright…”

“Do you want to go home?” the elder asks, concern laced in his tone. “We can, if you want to.”

“No, it’s fine...I don’t want to waste your expensive tickets for only a 3 hour trip.”

Han Geng shrugs, “Whatever you like, I’m okay with.”

Donghae feels uncomfortable with that sentence. Because Siwon has said that many times before.

Donghae finds himself constantly comparing Han Geng and Siwon when he spends time with the former. He has ditched his family’s plans to go to the beach in favor of a Disneyland trip with his ex-father. He also turned down Hyukjae’s proposal for a stroll on the pier, sunset-watching, and a moonlit walk on the beach in favor of Mickey Mouse and the Haunted Mansion.

The guilt is weighing on him like a physical burden.

He has questioned his choices every step of the way, from when he got into Han Geng’s new car, to when they entered the amusement park, and even when he got drenched going down Splash Mountain. “Amusement” park is a bit of a stretch for Donghae right now because he’s in inner turmoil 24/7.

Okay, well, maybe not 24/7. Maybe more like 23/7.

Han Geng is trying his hardest, Donghae can tell, which puts yet another brick of guilt on his shoulders. He goes on every single ride with Donghae, sitting right next to him or right behind him, the closest they’ve physically been in a long time. Donghae is not sure if he feels uncomfortable because he dislikes the attention...or because he is disgusted with himself since he does like it.

One of the things that Donghae has always liked about Han Geng is that he is almost like a puppy; he hangs onto Donghae’s every word and responds with a smile. Weird to say about a thirty-plus-year-old man, but the comparison still stands. He is making the day just for Donghae, having cleared his modeling schedule as well as any personal business, and he dotes on the teen by spending money on games, food, and souvenirs.

Acting a little bit out of spite and childish greed, Donghae hasn’t told him no.

~

“Woooowwww! It’s so far down to the water!” Ryeowook exclaims, leaning over the railing of the pier hesitantly, “What if I fall?”

“Appa will catch you, Wookie!” Youngwoon grinned, hooking an arm around his son’s torso and tearing him from the rail.

Ryeowook giggles, spreading his arms like a pair of wings as his father swings him around. Then he squeals when some of his ice cream drops to the pier, “Appa, stop! My ice cream cone!”

Youngwoon puts the boy down gently, a soft smile on his face, “Is it okay?”

Ryeowook the melted chocolate chip ice cream from the edge of the cone, “Yup! It’s still yummy!” He earns a wild ruffle of his hair and a bright smile from his father.

Siwon walks over from the opposite side of the pier carrying Sungmin, who has a mess of strawberry ice cream on his lips. Ryeowook finishes his cone off, and then his fingers loudly, “Mm-mm! Thanks, Mr. Choi!”

“You’re welcome, Ryeowook,” Siwon says, setting Sungmin down on his own two feet, “All right, Minnie. Show them what you got!”

Sungmin swings his arms out, trying to steady himself. Then he toddles over, one step, two steps, three. All the way over to his elder father who is gazing out to sea.

“Min-Min!” Heechul cries once the tyke bumps into his bare calf and smears ice cream all over him, “What’s that on your face?”

“I-!” Sungmin shouts, his lips, “Yum!”

Heechul gasps, glaring at the businessman across the pier, “Siwon, clean up your son!”

Siwon snorts, “He’s your son too, Princess.”

Heechul sticks his tongue out and Ryeowook laughs. The Chois are all like children.

“Here, I’ll help,” Kyuhyun appears from nowhere with a napkin. He was with Jungsu a few minutes ago, walking along the pier. He must have sensed that Sungmin was in need of something, as he usually does. Kyuhyun has a soft spot for Sungmin, for some reason that Ryeowook cannot comprehend.

“Thank you, Kyuhyun,” Heechul says, urging Sungmin to walk back to Siwon, “You’re a much bigger help than his own father.”

Siwon crosses his arms, appearing mildly offended.

Ryeowook notices Jungsu and Youngwoon leaning up against the pier rails, talking. They have been doing that a lot lately, just quietly conversing with blank looks on their faces. Jungsu doesn’t smile as often as he used to, and Youngwoon is always tired from work. It upsets Ryeowook how little time his parents spend together, and he wishes he could do something about it.

He told Jongwoon about this as well. They agreed to do something special for their parents on their wedding anniversary, which is actually today. Jongwoon isn’t here at the beach on the pretenses that he has too much homework to be having fun, but he’s really just preparing for later today.

Ryeowook grins in anticipation. He’s going to make his parents smile together.

~

Zhoumi agreed to help Jongwoon surprise his parents. He declined going to the beach by telling his dad that he and Jongwoon would be working on a big school project, which Shindong did not question and instead allowed the preteen into their house.

“See you in a few hours!” Shindong calls from the driver’s seat.

“Bye, Dad!” Zhoumi shouts, waving his arm. Jongwoon waves as well, mainly at Henry who is waving excitedly from the back seat.

Once Shindong drives off, Jongwoon turns to the taller, “Where is Hyukjae?”

Zhoumi shrugs and locks the front door, “I’m assuming out on a date with Donghae. Or at the bowling alley with Sehun. Wherever he is, he’s not doing his homework.”

Jongwoon chuckles at that.

“So what is the plan?” Zhoumi clears off the kitchen table, eyeing the poster paper in Jongwoon’s hand, “Are we going to make a big card or something?”

Jongwoon lifts a big cardboard box from under the table. Zhoumi sneaks a peek inside of it and gasps.

“Not quite,” Jongwoon smiles.

~

“Henry!”

Henry runs on ahead of his father in spite of Shindong’s strict instruction to stay next to him. He giggles, feeling the cool wind blow through his short hair. He’s a wild child and he knows it, pins it on being spoiled by Hyukjae. But he knows that he will be safe on his own, because he can see Ryeowook up ahead.

“Wookie!” he hops into the elder’s arms, crushing him in a tiny bear hug.

“Henry!” Ryeowook grins, “You’re finally here!”

“Yeah I am!” the younger looks up at the adults, grinning cheekily, “Hi Mr. and Mr. Choi!” He looks up at them, eyebrows furrowed adorably, “Why do you have two daddies and I only have one? I’m going to get confused calling them both Mr. Choi!”

Heechul snorts, “Henry, you can just call me Heechul, if you want.”

“Okay, Heechul!” Henry giggles, clinging to Ryeowook’s hand and looking at his friend, “Where are your parents?”

Ryeowook points down the pier, “They kept walking that way. I think they will meet us for lunch later.”

Kyuhyun butts in, “Umma said he wanted some alone time with Appa. As long as they aren’t fighting, everything will be okay.”

“Your parents fight?” Henry’s eyes grow wide. Even though his own mother has been gone for a whole year, he knows that his parents never fought.

Ryeowook nods sadly, as does Kyuhyun. Henry pouts, “I don’t like that.”

“Me neither,” Ryeowook sighs, “But they seem happier today.”

Henry nods. Kyuhyun walks over to where Sungmin is sitting in the mini chair that Heechul has brought to the pier for the kids.

Henry is still holding his best friend’s hand, and nothing is telling him that he should let go, so he grips tighter. Ryeowook grips back, smiling softly. “Do you want to take a walk with me?”

“You don’t want to play a game instead?” Henry exclaims.

Ryeowook chuckles, “Sure!”

“I spy with my little eye…” Henry trails off, looking over the pier railing, “something blue!”

“The sky?”

“Nope!”

“The ocean?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“That speedboat?”

“Nopety-nopety-no!”

Ryeowook laughs, “Well, what is it? I give up!”

Henry giggles, “Your shirt!”

Ryeowook looks down at his shirt, gasping, “You tricked me! I saw you looking at the ocean!”

Henry shrugs with a bit of mischief sparkling in his eyes, “Let’s play again!”

~

Hyukjae sips his milkshake with a frown on his lips. The pleasant environment that XOXO provides does not help his present mood.

Donghae blew him off again. Again.

What kind of boyfriend would rather do his homework than go on a date? The possibility that the answer might be his boyfriend befuddles Hyukjae.

“What’s the issue, Jae?”

Sehun is his go-to friend for stuff like this. His sort-of wingman and romance consultant, even though the high-school-senior has only had one boyfriend in the span of his whole lifetime. (Granted, he has kept said boyfriend for almost a year now.)

Hyukjae scratches his cheek, “I dunno, man. Hae has been ditching me recently to do homework and projects and studying. It’s like I don’t exist.”

Sehun snorts, “You’re such a drama queen. Why don’t you just pop in and bug him in the middle of studying? I’m sure the kid could use a break once in a while.”

“Isn’t that kind of rude?”

“Rude?” Sehun gasps, “Who are you? What happened to the adventurous Jae I used to know?”

Hyukjae rolls his eyes, “Har-har. I guess he was tamed by a boy named Aiden.”

“Ouch. You never use his American name. What gives?”

“I told you: I’m really bothered.”

Sehun says, “Maybe also a bit jealous that his homework is getting more facetime than you are.”

Hyukjae grimaces. “Whatever...Anyways, I think I will surprise him with a visit. Hopefully he isn’t doing too much homework.”

“Great idea. Glad to be of service to you,” Sehun salutes playfully, “I should probably get back to work before Old Man—”

“Sehun!” Kris yells from behind the counter.

“Whoops,” Sehun picks up Hyukjae’s empty milkshake cup and wipes down his table.

Hyukjae shakes his head, “You’re gonna get fired someday.”

“And when I do, I blame you,” Sehun winks before rushing away.

Hyukjae smiles as he goes. Sehun has been his friend since middle school, before the whole “daredevil/cool guy” rumors of high school. In junior high, he was the antisocial nerd with a penchant for dancing. Sehun was his partner in crime, in a way. Mainly by helping him defeat the opposing middle school’s dance team.

Memories of the good old days on his mind, Hyukjae leaves the coffee shop, hops onto his motorcycle, and drives off to the Choi household. He thought about texting Donghae ahead of time, but what would that do? Donghae would probably be studying and not notice his text. So he hopes to surprise his boyfriend by climbing up to his terrace like a prince and probably scaring the life out of him.

The tree beside Donghae’s balcony is a piece of cake to climb up; Hyukjae has done it many times over, especially when Siwon and Heechul knew nothing about their relationship. (Now that they do, he uses the front door, of course.)

Looking through the balcony windows, Donghae isn’t in his room. He might be getting something to eat or drink, Hyukjae reasons, plopping down onto the terrace.

He waits for twenty whole minutes. No sight of Donghae. Which is weird because the boy would rather be in his bedroom than any other room in the house when he’s home alone.

Hyukjae pulls out his phone and calls his boyfriend.

Three more times, and no answer.

He texts the younger, hoping for a reply.

Nothing.

Hyukjae doesn’t know what to think; he just knows that he’s really tired. He stayed up late last night trying to finish his essay for English because he wanted to go on a date with Donghae today.

So very tired.

His eyes close before he realizes where he still is. All he knows is that something of Donghae’s is near and he feels very comfortable staying where he is.

~

Jungsu has always liked the pier, with its pleasantly cool, sea-scented wind ruffling his hair, children playing in the warm sand and wading in the blue-green water. He used to come here all the time with Youngwoon, when their work schedules didn’t conflict so much, when they still kissed for no reason. Standing here next to him with the blue horizon in his view, Jungsu feels more content than he has been in a long time.

Youngwoon surprised him this morning with a single red rose. Jungsu can’t remember the last time he did something like that for him, and can’t figure out what prompted the sudden change. Then the answer comes to him: their wedding anniversary. Something that Youngwoon never forgets. Although he may forget Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and many other important dates, he never forgets about March 4th.

Jungsu feels warmer knowing that the man remembers this important date, at least.

“Should we go back to the others?” Youngwoon asks.

Jungsu hums, rubbing the younger’s chest idly. He is leaning on Youngwoon’s shoulder as they sit on a bench facing the water. “I guess we should...We left our children there.”

Youngwoon laughs, “That’s right; we have kids!”

Jungsu giggles as well, grasping his husband’s hand and standing up. Youngwoon follows, fingers comfortably laced in the elder’s. They haven’t held hands in probably an entire month, and Jungsu feels so good in this moment. Like the times where he is so angry at Youngwoon that all he sees is red never happened.

The Kim couple walks down the pier to meet with the rest of their companions. They find Henry and Ryeowook playing tag, and Siwon and Shindong talking and laughing on a nearby bench. Heechul, Sungmin, and Kyuhyun are missing, possibly down by the water.

“Appa!” Ryeowook exclaims.

“Umma!” Kyuhyun grins.

“Henry!” Henry shouts, an adorably wide smile on his lips. Ryeowook slaps him playfully on the shoulder for that. Jungsu and Youngwoon chuckle, separating only slightly.

Jungsu reaches into his pocket and pulls out a few coupons, “So who’s ready for some lunch?”

“Memememe!” Ryeowook raises his hand like he’s in school, and then races over to cling to his elder father’s leg, looking up with round, pleading eyes, “Umma, can I have the dinosaur chicken this time?” He pushes his lips out and whimpers.

Jungsu shakes his head with a smile, “Whatever you want, Wookie. But are you sure you can eat them all? I don’t want you to waste any.”

“Of course I can! Henry will help me eat ‘em!”

“No I won’t!” Henry puffs out his cheeks, “I want the mac ‘n cheesies!”

Suddenly, Shindong picks the boy up and lifts him onto his shoulders.

“Daddy!” Henry pounds on his father’s shoulders, “Put me down!”

“Not until you say you’ll help Wookie!”

Henry breaks out into a fit of laughter as Siwon comes behind and tickles the boy’s belly. “W-why do I have to?”

Ryeowook laughs, “Because you’re my best friend!”

Jungsu rolls his eyes, “Shindong, give it a rest. I’ll eat them if he doesn’t finish.”

Shindong winks mischievously, “Henry, did you hear that?”

Henry doesn’t answer, still guffawing even though Siwon has already stopped. Shindong sets him down finally.

After catching his breath, Henry exclaims, “I still want mac ’n cheesies!”

“All right, all right,” Shindong gives in. Jungsu shakes his head at the antics that Shindong puts his sons through.

Heechul comes up to the group with Sungmin in his arms, having taken the toddler down to the water with Kyuhyun trailing after. “The water’s still really cold. And-”

“Yeah, so cold, Umma!” Kyuhyun interrupts, “I shivered.”

“Oh, really?” Jungsu smiles.

“And,” Heechul continues, “This boy pushed another kid into the cold water.”

“Oh, really?” Youngwoon frowns.

Kyuhyun frowns as well, hiding behind Heechul’s leg, “It was an accident...”

“I don’t know about that,” Heechul purses his lips, “You almost pushed him into Sungmin.”

“I said I’m sorry!”

“You have to be more careful, Kyu!” Heechul scolds, “And you shouldn’t have done that anyways.”

“I’m sorry…” Kyuhyun shies away, looking at the pier floorboards.

Jungsu reaches over and places a palm on Heechul’s shoulder, “Let us handle this.”

“No games for two weeks, Kyuhyun!” Youngwoon says, louder and angrier than Jungs thinks is really necessary. It was an accident, after all. And the kid actually looks sorry about it.

“Oh, Youngwoon, it was an accident…” Jungsu soothes.

“You’re too soft on him, Jungsu,” Youngwoon chides, like he’s the one that did something wrong.

And Jungsu starts to see red again.

~

Henry doesn’t like hearing fights. His parents never fought, and parents on his TV shows don’t fight. He doesn’t understand how the Kims can talk to each with such anger in their eyes and words, in spite of the rings on both of their fingers.

He kneels, hiding behind Ryeowook and closing his eyes as if doing so will shut out the noise. Ryeowook turns around and hugs the youngest, burying his face in Henry’s brown locks.

“Henry…” Ryeowook whines, “I’m sorry…”

“For what?” Henry asks, rubbing the elder’s shoulders.

Suddenly, Ryeowook’s Umma yells frustratedly and walks off. Ryeowook’s Appa shouts after him, and Kyuhyun runs after him. The Choi couple and Henry’s Daddy look frustrated as well, but Henry cannot comprehend why.

“For that…” Ryeowook finishes, sighing. The boys sit hugging for a little while, until one of the adults come over and lifts Henry up.

Henry clings to his Daddy, “Why do they fight, Daddy?”

Shindong clears his throat and doesn’t respond for a while. “It’s...hard to explain, Henry.”

Henry pouts, digging his fingers into the back of his father’s brown shirt. He looks over his shoulder and can see three very familiar figures running towards them.

“Mimi!” Henry exclaims, confusion over Ryeowook’s parents forgotten. “Woonie! Chennie!”

A man in his twenties and the two preteens carry a big poster with large photographs down the pier. Henry isn’t sure, but he thinks he recognizes who are in the beautiful, glossy photographs. Some are in faded colors from twentieth century cameras, other in clear HD. The collage is very pretty, and Henry wonders what it’s for.

“Sorry we’re a bit late,” Chen readjusts the sunglasses on his nose, “Got held up in traffic.”

“I don’t remember inviting you, Chen,” Heechul says loftily, but the small quirk of his mouth gives away the joke.

“Oh, come on. You know you love me,” Chen smirks, “Anyways, where’s Jungsu? We’ve got something special here for him.”

“And for Appa,” Jongwoon corrects, smiling at his father, “Happy anniversary, Appa. Where’s Umma?”

Youngwoon doesn’t respond. His eyes remain glued to the pier floorboards.

“I know where Mr. Kim is!” Henry shouts, hopping from his father’s arms and gripping the preteen’s shirt, “Come on, Woonie!”

Henry, Jongwoon, Ryeowook, and Zhoumi run down the pier, past other beachgoers and playing children. Some gush over the beautiful collage, others shout rudely as the kids push past. They finally find Jungsu leaning against the stairs that lead from the pier to the beach sand.

“Umma!” Ryeowook shouts, hopping down the stairs to his father.

“Ryeowook…” Jungsu smiles at the boy, “Hey. Sorry about earlier.”

“It’s okay Umma,” Ryeowook smiles, and Henry smiles because of him. “We have something for—”

“Jungsu,” a voice sounds from behind them and Ryeowook’s Appa passes them.

“Youngwoon? Go away. I don’t want to...” Jungsu finally sees the collage, “What is that?”

“The kids made it...I had nothing to do with it and I wish I did,” Youngwoon gently takes hold of the elder’s hand, “Jungsu, you know I didn’t—”

“Don’t.” Jungsu slips his hand out of Youngwoon’s, “I don’t want to hear it.” He ignores his husband and instead leans closer to the collage that Jongwoon and Zhoumi made. “Wow...Boys, you made this?”

“Yes,” Zhoumi says, “But it was all Wookie and Jongwoon’s idea.”

“Mhm!” Henry nods his head.

A very small smile comes to Jungsu’s lips. He takes the poster into his hands and examines it more closely. He sees the snapshots of every romantic moment he has had with his husband: moments on a cruise ship in the scorching sun, moments during their wedding with cake all over their faces, many moments with the kids when they were much younger. Especially moments with his hand in Youngwoon’s and a genuine smile on his lips. Every shift of Jungsu’s eyes across the poster takes a little bit away from his smile, and instead puts a few tears in his eyes. Henry watches Ryeowook’s Umma break down, dissolving into a puddle as he clutches the poster to himself.

“Th-thank you, kids…” he says softly giving each of the four boys a hug. Henry looks uneasily at Ryeowook whose lip is quivering.

Jungsu stands up with the collage in his hands. Youngwoon is looking gently at him, as if he is afraid to. Jungsu glances up at him, tears still streaming down his cheeks, and says, “Why do we have to be like this in front of the kids?”

Youngwoon suddenly takes him into his arms and Henry looks away in case he’s not supposed to see something. He watches Ryeowook instead.

Jungsu keeps crying, “W-we didn’t use to be like this...What happened, Youngie?”

“I don’t know...Angel.”

Jungsu wails louder, fingers digging into the back of Youngwoon’s shirt..

Henry sees Ryeowook biting on his nails, “Oh, no...I didn’t make Umma smile…” he looks to the other boys, “I made him cry!”

“Wookie...You didn’t do anything bad,” Jongwoon reassures.

“Yeah,” Zhoumi pats his shoulder, “This was a perfect anniversary gift. I am glad to have had a part in it.”

“I know, but…” Ryeowook frowns, “I wanted Umma to smile.”

“He did smile!” Henry claims, latching onto the elder’s arm, “Don’t you remember? Right when he saw the gift, he smiled!”

“Really?” Ryeowook asks, and then his eyes light up with recognition, “Oh yeah! You’re right!”

“And look how happy he is right now…” Jongwoon trails off, looking at his parents in a tight embrace.

Henry tries not to look. Kissing is gross.

~

“So, Donghae, are you having fun?” Han Geng asks.

Donghae holds the little R2-D2 plushie in his hands, “Yeah, a lot. Thanks.” They have just gotten off of Space Mountain and Donghae knows he could go for another round.

“More fun than you would with that boring businessman Choi Siwon?”

Donghae’s head whips in the elder’s direction. He hopes that he heard wrong. He sincerely hopes that he heard wrong; he was just starting to enjoy being in his ex-father’s company.

“What did you say?” Donghae asks, a heavily angry undertone evident.

“N-nothing. Nevermind.” Han Geng shies away, appearing to be in regret. Which doesn’t matter.

“What did you say?” Fire blazes behind the teen’s eyes.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t you dare say ‘nothing’!” Donghae clutches the plushie, staring up at the elder, “I heard you! How could you say that about my father?”

Han Geng avoids eye contact, “Sorry…”

“Sorry won’t help you!” Donghae seethes, storming off in another direction.

He knew it. He shouldn’t have agreed to come. He should have gone with his parents to the beach, spent more time with Sungmin and Hyukjae instead of being greedy for Disneyland and his ex-father’s attention. There are a lot of things Donghae should have done, but he is more reminded of one thing in particular.

“You’re my only ride home…” Donghae frowns, not making eye contact. He finds Han Geng in the same place that he left him, albeit in a much worse condition.

“Oh, right...Okay.”

There are no more words exchanged between them for the rest of their time together. Not when they walk to the parking lot, or when they drive to the Choi household. Donghae doesn’t even say bye.

Because the scene he is met with shocks him speechless.

Heechul’s car is still missing, indicating that his family isn’t home yet, but in its parking space is Hyukjae’s motorcycle.

Donghae gulps.

Hyukjae isn’t sitting in front of the door, and he doesn’t have house keys, which can only mean one thing.

Donghae rushes to open the front door and scrambles upstairs to his room. He pulls back the curtains that cover his floor-length balcony window.

There, Hyukjae is fast asleep. Judging by the fact that he isn’t wearing his jacket, Donghae guesses he got here a few hours ago. The poor boy is going to freeze out there if Donghae doesn’t do something. Ignoring the fact that Hyukjae will probably be mad at him, Donghae focuses on his boyfriend’s well-being instead.  

He unlocks and slides open the window, stepping outside into the slightly chilly air. Hyukjae sniffles in his sleep, a gesture Donghae finds incredibly adorable as he leans down to shake the elder’s shoulders.

“Hyuk! You’re gonna catch a cold out here!”

“Mwuh?” Hyukjae mumbles, eyes bleary as he sits up straight. “Hae? Where am...” there is recognition in the elder’s eyes, “Where were you?”

Donghae jolts, “Ou-out with Yuri. Uhm, we have a history project together…”

Hyukjae frowns, “Hae, we’re in the same class, and I know that we don’t have a project to do.”

Donghae curses inwardly. “W-well we figured that out and then went for coffee instead.”

“And you didn’t call me?” Hyukjae pouts, standing up and crossing his arms.

“Yeah, sorry...I was occupi—”

“Donghae?” Heechul suddenly comes bursting into the room, back from the beach too early, “Since when did Han Geng come for a visit?”

“Huh?”

“I just saw him driving off. He wouldn’t come into this neighborhood if he wasn’t visiting us. Why didn’t you tell me he was here?”

Donghae looks back and forth between the incredulity in his father’s eyes and the betrayal in Hyukjae’s. “Uh, I-I…”

“You went to Disneyland?” Hyukjae whines, pulling something out of Donghae’s pocket: the leftover ticket stub. Donghae curses inwardly again, using every single swear word he can think of. Why, oh why didn’t he throw that thing away?

“Disneyland? Since when did you get the money to go to Disneyland?” Heechul raises his eyebrows.

“And didn’t take me!” Hyukjae cries. Donghae’s not sure what’s worse, Heechul’s disapproval or Hyukjae’s disappointment.

What a terrible day this has turned out to be.