Sungyeol had mixed feelings about the way Myungsoo was speaking to him, making him feel like there was something good waiting for him but at the same time taking a step back. That situation bothered him but he couldn’t talk to anyone because: 

1- He had to go through his new job bureaucracy and finish his tasks so he could be done with Woollim, 

2- Sungjong had to study for exams and would socialize with Hoya’s brother later, 

3 - Hoya was taking care of his brother, 

4 - Dongwoo was trying to grade tests whenever he was out of school or socializing with Hoya’s brother, 

5 - As much as he liked them, he wasn’t as comfortable opening up completely to Chanyeol and Dara, 

6 - He didn’t want to make his uncle and auntie worry about him, he had already given them too much trouble in the years he lived with them.

7 - Myungsoo’s parents were out of the question,

8 - Even Sunggyu had to practice reading and studying for his final test and then rehearse for that mysterious song he would sing. 

It was times like these that not having many friends stressed him, but ultimately he decided to just hang on till the weekend, maybe he could talk to Sungjong then.
Sunggyu had to study a bit but all he could do was think about how weird Woohyun was since he felt ‘sick’. Surely Woohyun had not been himself for the past month, but now that Sunggyu was used to seeing his friend angry, and moody, the younger was starting to act differently and he wondered why. He wanted to open up about his theories with Sungueol but his brother became busy with the new job and told him to just study and wait till the weekend so they could talk. In the end, all Sunggyu could do was try to put the pieces of the puzzle together on his own.

There was the day Woohyun slept over and kept looking at the door, and he agreed to spend a night over at Myungsoo's place. Surely, Woohyun snapped at some point, but most of their time together was ok, and then Sunggyu had a feeling that Woohyun regretted what he said for real. Woohyun seemed blank from then on, as if he was constantly thinking or analyzing his situation, and when Sungyeol invited him for dinner, Sunggyu got a feeling that his friend was waiting to meet Myungsoo there. Would this be true? Were they reaching the point of making up?

“Sunggyu, are you studying?” Sungyeol would eventually ask and then these thoughts would disappear so he could concentrate on practicing how to answer some questions.

Meanwhile, the Kims had different situations happening. Myungsoo asked Hoya to let him organize a hunt for a new assistant and when he wasn’t doing things related to that, he was devouring Sungyeol’s mother's letters and checking on Woohyun through some calls.

Sungyeol thought his life was mostly uninteresting, but Myungsoo begged to differ. He didn’t even remember Lee's mother but, despite her frustrations and hardships, he found some humor in her lines. Some situations were amusing because, in terms of knowledge,  his ex was an adult miniature, but with the naivety and maturity of a child his age. Some situations made him crack up, especially when the elder hit it off with Hoya because those two had hilarious exchanges, but then he reached a part not so great.

His heart got heavy and there was a day he cried for about two hours just imagining Sungyeol struggling in his boarding school when kids were bullying him. How could anyone go through that? How could Sungyeol endure for so much time too? Yes, Sungyeol had been right, some things were probably not there. But, when he added the little information he got directly from Sungyeol, he felt like he had no air in his lungs and his heart would soon be squeezed whenever he imagined those situations.

He had to skip many letters and, for the love of God, he couldn’t read the part where Sungyeol downed a bottle of pills, but because he remembered a couple of conversations about the lawsuits, he was able to pick the story up from when his ex moved in with Hoya. After that, things weren’t as heavy, but it didn’t mean they were good. Sungyeol had been a nasty to his mom, and as much as he thought he was punishing her, he also hurt himself a lot with that. Thankfully he was able to read about Hoya’s family influence and Sungjong’s too and eventually the letters were filled with hope because they were trying to forgive each other and make up. And then… the letters stopped, and he knew exactly why.

By the time Myungsoo finished reading, he spent a whole night awake, thinking, analyzing behavior, words, conversations, and what he knew from Sungyeol relationship with everybody else. By morning, he wiped tears he had shed and separated a few letters to read all over again, Sungyeol changed a lot and many times but what interested Myungsoo in those letters was what was written between the lines.

Albeit frustrated with her eldest son, Sungyeol’s mother always described him as a good child with a big heart. He handled himself most of the time to not bother his parents and he had enormous patience to play with and teach Sungjong. Despite being awkward with Hoya in the beginning, he never said something bad about his adoption, and once they clicked, Sungyeol made sure to not treat Hoya as a cousin, but put him in a place that was no different from Sungjong’s.

Yes, Sungyeol resisted meeting Sunggyu and his father when he was holding grudges, but he was there when Sunggyu was born, and once Sunggyu was old enough, he started gifting his brother with puzzles. That explained why Sunggyu had so many and liked them so much, for a while it was the only way to connect to the brother he heard about and admired. Sungyeol was also caught many times by Sungjong or Jongwan, and eventually by his mother, strolling around the neighborhood. Her theory was that he wanted to make up and reconnect but because of his natural difficulties and his pride, he couldn’t muster the courage to do that on his own. She took the lead back then, with the help of Sungjong, and they eventually started talking again.

She mentioned the funny story of how Sungyeol came out and mentioned he was seeing some people here and there but her letters confirmed what the taller had said, that he grew uninterested or he had some traumas to go ahead. She said she disapproved of so many tries and sometimes the age difference seemed to be too much, but there was a part of her that understood... Sungyeol was always trying so hard.

Surely, Sungyeol had been nasty when they met as adults but they already had talked about that a lot of times and he already understood the past year had not been easy at all, it was no wonder Sungyeol was so stressed. There was the responsibility for two funerals and then two kids, Sungjong expected him to deal with that situation flawlessly, while Sunggyu had unrealistic expectations of him that he couldn’t meet since day one. A new routine, Ph.D. classes, his papers, making sure Sungjong passed the SATs, and that Sunggyu ate well for his age…

Sometimes Myungsoo wondered if he would treat himself differently if he was in Sungyeol position, and then he remembered that his ex broke his heart while he was in an avalanche of problems and that he gave him hell. Sungyeol had deserved that to some degree, but if the taller had called him out in a different way or had continued whenever he provoked, he wouldn’t probably been able to hold himself and they would reach the same outcome they had in the beginning. When he thought about the beginning he still felt prejudice, but he couldn’t say it was that different from what he used to because people didn’t stay around him when they discovered Woohyun. Everything was just more enhanced because of stress.

The difference from the others was that Sungyeol opened up to know them, learn with them, and grew with them until he loved them. The taller man was always trying hard since the day he gathered up the courage to apologize and - if Myungsoo used the letters he just read to estimate how long Sungyeol could be nasty - the tall neighbor certainly apologized way faster to him twice.

In the end, all that mattered to Myungsoo was to have the confirmation that this was a core part of Sungyeol that didn’t change: he was willing to try hard, be open to change, and overcome things even if they took time. With a sigh, he tried to make up his mind and think of how to express himself to the elder.

______________________________________
Sungyeol had explained during the dinner that, now that he had gotten the job, he would be extremely busy at least until the festival, so Woohyun knew he couldn’t count on him. He knew he could count on Sunggyu, but in school, all the kids were filling him with questions every day, and he had no time to properly talk to his best friend about anything. He also wasn’t sure of what he would tell Sunggyu if they managed to get some alone time, he wanted to share his feelings but he couldn’t translate them into words, and that annoyed him.

More than annoyed with the lack of words, he was growing sadder since that dinner. He barely spoke when he reached home and he cried before sleep. The next day, he got extremely disappointed and sad from hearing something that wasn’t hurtful at all: “Get your backpack so we don’t get late.” This basic sentence of his grandma, urging him, was enough for him to shed a few tears during the ride.

“What’s going on? You didn’t do well on the exam?” Sunggyu had asked once he saw his friend with swollen eyes the next day during lunch. Woohyun had been spacing out during the lesson and even the test, so he was sure that something was up.

“I didn’t do well, but that’s not it.”

“What is it then?”

“I don’t know hyung, I want to tell you all about it but I...”

“Woohyun, let’s play soccer when you finish lunch.” A boy interrupted him with an invitation, only for him to snap.

“I don’t want to play, leave me alone, please!” Woohyun hid his face in his arms. Sunggyu frowned then but all he could was some gesture for the kid to disappear out of his sight before he could comfort him.

Thankfully Sunggyu’s hug was enough to make Woohyun calm down (even though it didn’t push his thoughts away), but by the time lunchtime was over, the younger was fine enough to deliver his only line correctly when they rehearsed the play.

By the end of the school day, Woohyun attached himself to Sunggyu again, they waited for the adults to show up and that’s when something else happened: Dongwoo informed Sungyeol that would pick Sunggyu up at Woohyun’s place.

Well, Sunggyu hated when Sungyeol got late and he was the only one that stayed behind so he was glad he could spend more time with his friend. Meanwhile, it wasn’t like Woohyun liked that, but he also didn’t show that he absolutely disliked the situation. The fact was he was too entertained in his thoughts to show anything else.

“Woohyunnie, are you ok right now?” Sunggyu asked after Dongwoo returned to work and he had no response from his friend.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Woohyun blabbered and only then did Sunggyu notice he seemed nervous… like he was anticipating something. 

Since Sunggyu asked what was going on earlier and his friend didn’t want to open up, Sunggyu decided to just observe and take his conclusions later. With every minute Woohyun grew even more nervous and, with that, even more serious, but it was only when his grandparents appeared to pick both of them up that he had a hint of what Woohyun behavior was about. 

The old couple didn’t look extra concerned or extra smiley when they greeted Dongwoo so Sunggyu felt like there wasn’t any extra situation happening. Still, Woohyun shoulders dropped in disappointment and he pressed his thick lips in the tiniest line Sunggyu had ever seen. 

“Woohyun, pick up your bag. Sunggyu, you’re coming with us today too.” They ordered as they walked their way and offered an extra smile to Sunggyu. Both kids did as they were told but Woohyun didn’t look them in the eyes once they joined the elders. “So how was today’s test?”

“BAD, BAD, BAD, everything is BAD.” Woohyun snapped right away. The elder couple and Sunggu frowned in surprise as they looked at him and the boy let out a final, but very serious, complaint. “I want to go home.” 

“O-ok…” Sonmi said cautiously. “Let me carry your backpack for you.” She offered and Woohyun took his backpack off and quickly passed it to her but Sunggyu noticed that he kept his eyes to the ground when she held his hand.

Bumsoo and Sunggyu shared a quick look but the old man offered the same for Sunggyu, and only when they were on the move, and Woohyun wasn't paying attention, he dare to ask a question. “Do you know what happened to him?”

Sunggyu shrugged. “He didn’t want to share.”

The ride to their apartment was weird and kinda tense, the grandparents didn’t know what to do and Sunggyu even less, so the radio was the solution to help with the tension. Woohyun avoided talking and eye contact with everyone as much as he could but it was when he recognized the neighborhood that words came out of his lips again.

“Where are we going?” He asked with a bit of desperation.

The elders shared a look and Sonmi turned around to reply. “We are going home, as you wanted.”

“No, we aren’t.” The boy denied a second after and both adults shared a brief look again as Sunggyu watched everything with wide eyes. “We aren’t!” He repeated before kicking the seat in front of him.

“Hey! Behave, I’m driving,” Bumsoo complained, only for Woohyun to growl and look at the window again.

“Just hang on, we are arriving,” Sonmi said gently.

“We aren’t.” The boy insisted.

Sonmi looked at Sunggyu, who shrugged for the second time that night, before trying again. “Where do you want to go?”

“Home.” The boy whined and as the elders went quiet so Sunggyu decided to test a theory he was keeping to himself.

“Do you want a ride when Sungyeol hyung comes for me?” He asked. With that, Sonmi understood right away that Woohyun wanted to go to Myungsoo and she wanted to gasp at the information, but ultimately decided to be quiet and wait for the boy’s answer.

“That won’t do.” Woohyun complained.

“It’s ok for me to change the route, we won’t get mad at you if you don’t want to stay with us tonight. Do you want me to take you to Myungsoo right now?” Bumsoo offered, hopeful.

“No!” Woohyun protested with exasperation and that made the two adults confused, did he want to go to Myungsoo's place or not? 

Sonmi placed a hand behind Bumsoo’s seat and caressed Woohyun calves. “What’s going on, hm?”

The boy took a couple of breaths to control his emotions, even though that didn’t mean he got less upset about whatever was pissing him. “Nothing, forget it, let’s just have dinner, I’m hungry.” He begrudgingly said and both adults sighed and shared another quick look before giving up on words.

Meanwhile, Sunggyu squinted his eyes as he tried to figure out what this episode was about. He quickly covered every situation Woohyun had been off and also the latest happenings, he didn’t know the words Woohyun exchanged with his father but this got to be related to something they talked about in private. Even if he couldn’t figure out what exactly was, he was sure Woohyun expected Myungsoo to take the initiative and he felt incredibly happy to discover that. He also couldn’t wait to tell his brother about it, though he wasn’t sure the elder would have the time.

He felt like smiling but Woohyun turned to him with a warning glare so he tried his best to be serious, he knew Woohyun wanted to tell him things but it was probably better if they talked alone.

They arrived at their current apartment without extra conflicts, but now Sunggyu had some extra information about his own. ‘Sungyeol said he would run your errand now - whatever that means - so it’s best if you don’t wait to eat.’ After that Bumsoo ran to arrange dinner and Sonmi moved to her room to find something, not that feminine that could fit on Sunggyu, while the two boys, who hadn’t any specific instruction, moved to the maknae room.

Once they passed the door, Woohyun dropped his bag on the ground, took his plushie out, and then moved to his bed. Sunggyu watched his friend fall face flat on his pillows and that certainly made him stop all his movements until he saw Woohyun move to hug the plushie close to his heart. The older boy had made his theory in the car, but that scene left him not knowing how to proceed. He wanted to talk some sense into his friend but at the same time he wondered what words to use and questioned himself if it was a good moment too, the last thing he wanted was to fight with his friend.

After a few seconds of quick debate, Sunggyu decided he would hug his friend first and, depending on how the younger reacted, he would try to engage in a conversation with him. After his decision was made and he actually gave the first step to putting his plan to work, Sunggyu got surprised to see Woohyun sit on his bed to look at him with hurt all over his eyes.

“Why is he not coming?” He asked in a mix of sadness and frustration.

Sunggyu halted his steps when he heard that - and a part of him danced internally to celebrate his theory was correct - but he ultimately moved to sit beside his friend.

“Did he promise he would come?” He fired back to gather more info.

“He said he would start appearing more once his graduation was over and that we would talk again when school is over for me and… ” Woohyun informed but wasn’t able to finish his rant.

“But school is not over for us, Woohyunnie, we still need to read tomorrow and the festival too...” Sunggyu explained.

“But what matters are the difficult tests and we already did all of them.” The youngest argued.

“There are still two days left,” The older blinked. “Besides, he said he would appear more, not every day, so when you hurt him…”

“You are not helping!” Woohyun protested and let his body fall on the bed again. “How can I apologize about what I said if he doesn’t appear?” He whined then warily continued. “I mean if I wanted to.”

Sunggyu knew his friend wasn’t looking directly at him but still pressed his lips in a thin smile because that confirmed his theory even more. Woohyun wanted to apologize and he wouldn’t admit it but this already meant that the younger was getting ready for reconciliation. Sunggyu decided he wouldn’t make his friend admit anything, instead, he just lay on the bed and placed his head next to Woohyun’s. “Well, if you wanted to see him, I think there is a way for him to appear soon.”

“How?” Woohyun asked eagerly and Sunggyu wanted to chuckle but maintained a poker face.

“An errand.”

“Huh?” Woohyun got confused and sat on the bed again to properly look at his friend so Sunggyu did the same to better explain.

“I hate when Sungyeol hyung takes time to pick me up in school and I’m the last to leave, but today I didn’t get mad, do you know why?” Woohyun shook his head but kept his expression confused. “Because he is running an errand for me.”

“I’m not understanding.” Woohyun confessed after he scratched his nape.

“Woohyunnie, the festival is around the corner and, even if you don’t sing with me, I still want to do good so I asked hyung to find something from my father to, you know, give me confidence.”

“Hyung, are you nervous? Why didn’t you tell me?” Woohyun tossed his plushie to the side to hold his friend’s hands. Sunggyu blinked with that reaction, he felt touched that his friend still thought about him but Woohyun was not focusing on what he wanted.

“I’m not.” Woohyun squinted his eyes, doubtful. “I am a bit, ok? But I’ll be fine as long as I have something from my dad, so I asked Sungyeol hyung to get it for me.” He conceded because he wasn’t afraid of singing wrongly but he was worried about the meaning and the reactions his performance would have.

“Are you sure?” Woohyun insisted and Sunggyu let it go from his hands to hold his cheeks.

“Woohyunnie, focus here!” He pleaded. “I’m trying to say that you’ll perform too and you can use that to ask Myungsoo hyung to bring you something.”

“But I’m not nervous, I just need to deliver one line.”

Sunggyu squeezed his friend's cheeks before recoiling his hands. “You don’t need to ask something that can give you confidence, it can be anything.”

“But...”

“Woohyunnie, tell him to bring you a shirt even if you’re not gonna use it.” Sunggyu mildly lost his patience.

“Oh…” Woohyun mumbled and by the look on his face, Sunggyu wondered if the younger got what he meant. “OH!”  Sunggyu smiled, now that Woohyun’s eyes got big and a hopeful smile appeared on his face, he knew his friend finally got it. The younger grabbed and squeezed the elder boy’s hands. “You’re right hyung, you’re right, you’re a genius!” He said and Sunggyu finally allowed himself to laugh when Woohyun let his hands go, grabbed his plushie toy, and left his room screaming his lungs out. “Grandmaaaa! Grandmaaaa!”

The grandparents didn’t understand how the boy’s mood changed so much in such a short time but they were glad that Woohyun seemed like his usual self (the one before discovering the secret). The boy explained what he needed and the old couple figured it was a good opportunity for father and son to talk so they offered to make the call and let Woohyun speak directly, but the boy refused, getting flustered and afraid of anyone could see through him. Sonmi ended up making the call, explaining the situation and repeating every detail Woohyun had been whispering near her. Once she was done, Woohyun eagerly tried to discover what was agreed upon.

“He said he will bring your clothes as soon as he can.” She announced only for Wooohyun to try to hide a smile and then pull his friend to his room again. While the boys fantasized about the moment Myungsoo would appear, and how Woohyun should behave - *in case* he wanted to apologize because the boy wouldn’t just admit that he wanted that - Sonmi and Bumsoo whispered in the kitchen as well. 

The old man wondered why Woohyun ‘remembered about his outfit now when he had had access to his wardrobe earlier this week’ - and Sonmi said Myungsoo asked the same thing - but she thought there was more into every single mood swing Woohyun had today. It wasn’t like she was wrong but she clearly didn’t develop her theory as much as Sunggyu, and that probably only happened because Myungsoo sounded different over the phone and sidetracked her.

“Was he sad? Happy?” The old man asked while steering something inside a pot.

“He sounded tired, but not that tired, and he tried to seem jolly but he wasn’t happy and of course, he wasn’t as sad as he was in the past couple of weeks. I feel like he wanted to keep what he is feeling to himself, but he didn’t put the same effort he used with Jihyun and Woohyun.” She looked at him and deepened her frown. “He asked about Woohyun this week but it wasn’t like in the past. And then we have Woohyun, who is also hard to predict this week, not to mention his weird fit today.”

“I can’t understand a thing,” Bumsoo confessed with frustration but then something occurred to him. “He is going to appear to drop some clothes right?” She nodded. “Let’s try talking with him when he comes, I want to know what’s going on. I just hope he is not having second thoughts about Woohyun after seven years.”
Sungyeol appeared after dinner to pick Sunggyu up, but his stomach grumbled in front of the Kim’s and the couple tried to use dinner to fool him into staying and spilling whatever he knew. But, as if Sungyeol could smell their intentions, he declined and rushed Sunggyu out of the apartment. 

Sungyeol drove back home thinking that everyone seemed weird. Myungsoo had been in silence mode as he promised he would be, but his parents seemed about to freak out, Woohyun had signs of anxiety and Sunggyu seemed too happy for his good. He was afraid to ask but he was curious and rides with Sunggyu were probably the only time available for some gossip with the boy before he jumped in the pile of work Woollim dumped on him.

“Did anything different happen…” He tried to ask, and he did, but Sunggyu just needed a word from him to spill everything he was keeping to himself.

“Woohyunnie wants to make up with Myungsoo hyung.”

“Wait, whaaaaaaaaat?” Sungyeol asked incredulously as he stopped the car at a red light and turned his body around to fully look at his brother for a few seconds before the green light.

“Woohyunnie …” Sunggyu was about to repeat himself when Sungyeol interrupted him.

“Are you sure?” Sungyeol squinted his eyes at the boy then turned to the front to speed up. “Everybody seems weird, are you sure you’re not making this up because you want it to happen?”

“No hyung, I’m sure.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Everything began when…”

“Sunggyu, I’ll not have much time to listen because this is my only time available. Be a good boy for me and explain everything before we arrive home.” He pleaded and Sunggyu sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to hear every detail, but, if everything happens the way I want, I’ll be able to attend your festival without needing to worry about work.” Sunggyu sighed. “What if I cook something special for dinner after the festival?” He offered as he looked at the rearview mirror only to see Sunggyu making suspense. “We can also invite Woohyun to a picnic in the park so we can check how he is going?”

“Okay.” Sunggyu agreed then and Sungyeol slightly smirked to himself before the boy continued. “Hyung, things changed this week. Woohyunnie wants to apologize but Myungsoo hyung needs to take the first step and then they’ll slowly make up.” He said with excitement.

“Myungsoo is gonna love to know that but it would be easier if Woohyun could do something as well. Not that I can point fingers at him, but there is a lot of pride in that child.” Sungyeol voiced his thoughts and then sighed.

“Yes, I know, and this is why I came up with a plan,” Sunggyu said as he opened a smile from ear to ear, too happy with the solution he came up with.

“A plan?” Sungyeol frowned.

“Yes, one for Woohyunnie to take the first step but think that Myungsoo hyung is the one doing it.” The younger continued cheerfully.

“Do I want to know about this plan?” Sungyeol mumbled to himself as he calculated the time until they arrived home. He gave up soon, he hadn’t much time but he wanted to know. “Tell me quickly, what is it?”

“The same I asked you to do for me today. Talking about that, did you find anything I can use?” The boy shifted his weight on the back seat to ask.

“I found a few things, there is a bag underneath your seat…” Sungyeol informed the boy, who started to search for it. Meanwhile, the elder thought about what the maknae said… he had doubts it could work, Woohyun wasn’t a dumb kid and Myungsoo was kind of hurt with the boy lately, he didn’t know if those two were in the mood to cooperate. “Do you think Woohyun will want to ask for an errand? Do you think it's gonna work?” He asked softly as he started to park.

Sunggyu chuckled proudly as he took some sunglasses from the bag and placed them on his face. “It already worked, hyung. Woohyunnie already asked grandma to call Myungsoo hyung, they just need to meet now.”

Sungyeol finally stopped the car completely and turned around to look at the boy. He smiled, not sure if he was amazed by what he just heard or if he found Sunggyu too funny with his father's sunglasses. “I’m impressed, it seems that you did well this time.” Sunggyu's smile grew bigger with the acknowledgment. “Are you sure you don’t want me to test your IQ and, I don’t know, at least return to your original grade?”

The smile on Sunggyu's face instantly faded and he pulled the glasses down so he could glare at his brother. “I am fine.”

Sungyeol waited for about two seconds and Sunggyu's glare didn’t waver. A side of him knew Sunggyu’s friendship with Woohyun was holding the boy back, but, at the same time, it was Woohyun that managed to help Sunggyu and get him interested in returning to school. This was probably why the older boy didn’t want to be separated from his friend. After his own experience and under these circumstances, it wasn’t difficult for Sungyeol to conclude.

“Yeah, it’s not like you’ll miss much.” Sunggyu smiled again and Sungyeol snorted then playfully hit the boy’s calves. “Let’s go, you still need to rehearse.”

________________________________________________

Sungyeol was too busy to further think about that plan and Sunggyu was too proud of himself to see it, but the plan wasn’t foolproof. It wasn’t like Myungsoo wouldn’t bring Woohyun clothes but two things weren’t considered: Woohyun would spend the day at school, and the grandparent’s interference. If the two things were combined, which happened, father and son wouldn’t meet at all.

Woohyun waited all night but eventually fell asleep. On the next day, he felt bad for losing his opportunity but relaxed when Bumsoo said Myungsoo hadn’t appeared the night before. His mood changed completely and although he just said an ‘oh’, Woohyun seemed energetic and a bit anxious on the good side of the spectrum because something in him was hoping (or praying) for Myungsoo to appear to take him to school. If that happened, he would be able to talk with the elder freely without worrying about the grandparents interrupting.

He prepared himself for school and breakfast without trouble but when Bumsoo grabbed the car keys, he knew Myungsoo wouldn’t come and his mood became low again. By then he started conjuring weird theories on how Myungsoo didn’t need to fake anything now that the secret was in the open. Little did he know, but the reason his father didn’t appear first thing in the morning was a second phone call the night before. In that phone call, Woohyun behavior and mood swings were informed and, due to their recent spat, Myungsoo decided the boy needed time to cool off.

If he had known that, Woohyun would disagree, but since he didn’t, he couldn’t help but feel miserable throughout the day. Sunggyu tried to keep his hopes up - “Myungsoo hyung probably just overslept, maybe you’ll see him during dinner” - and that didn’t work completely but at least stopped the weird theories for a while.

While the kids were at school, Sungyeol was struggling to speed up his projects so he could drop Woollim before the month’s end. This time he wasn’t focusing on extra money, but he knew his new contract would be ready to sign the next Monday and he wanted to make up with Sunggyu during this weekend. To focus, he kept his phone in some drawer, turned up some lounge music, and completely forgot about lunch.

As for Myungsoo, he indeed overslept but woke up on time to have lunch with his parents. Moonsoo joined them and was happy to inform he had just concluded his first year in college with some success (at least he expected some good grades). Because Moonsoo was there, it took some time for Woohyun’s name to be mentioned but eventually they got there. Myungsoo didn’t mind sharing things with his brother and asked for everyone’s opinion, he just didn’t want to talk about Sungyeol with them right now. The thing was, after discussing and not reaching any conclusion, the topic changed to Sungyeol faster than he could expect.

“Sunggyu doesn’t know anything, I asked him yesterday, so maybe we should call Sungyeol and ask if he has any theory,” Bumsoo said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The bodies of the two young Kims became rigid, Myungsoo because he didn’t want to talk about Sungyeol, and Moonsoo because he knew how his brother thought. Their father didn’t notice that so he continued as if nothing. “Since you guys started talking again, it also can be a good opportunity for you to get close.”

Nothing was said for a while, Moonsoo could only look at his brother and wait for his reaction.

“No,” Myungsoo said firmly although his body was still kinda rigid and now his mother observed his every little movement.

“Why?” Bumsoo asked. “Maybe he knows something we don’t.”

“And what that could be?” Myungsoo fired back, not knowing the tall neighbor and his brother knew exactly what this was about. Bumsoo shrugged so Myungsoo frowned and continued with a firm gaze. “Woohyun chose to get consoled by him, but even if he does know something - which I believe he doesn’t - I will not reach him for this.”

“He is busy anyway, Sungjong told me.” Moonsoo tried to send his father a hint that he should stop talking while he looked from one to the other with big eyes.

“It’s not a matter of not bothering him because he’s busy.” He said as he softened his gaze a second to look at his brother, but once his eyes were back at his parents, his gaze was firm again. ”Woohyun is MY responsibility.”

“I just thought you were friends again and… ” Bumsoo said but was interrupted. 

“We spoke to each other but it's not like we are that close at the moment.”

“Huh?” Moonsoo let out a confused sound, Myungsoo had been confiding in him lately so he wasn’t sure if he interpreted everything wrong if Myungsoo lied, or something else.

Myungsoo ignored his brother and continued with a sharp tone. “I lived seven years considering your expectations of me but I can’t live like this anymore, it suffocates me, I can’t be happy that way.”

“Myungsoo, this is not fair,” Sonmi said with a warning tone. “We supported you in everything, you didn’t tell us because you were afraid of the judgment that didn’t even exist. Did we want grandchildren? Yes. But we could have lived without them as well.” Now Moonsoo's eyes just wandered everywhere and he prayed for this lunch to end soon.

Myungsoo sighed. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful or unfair, mom, but I need you two to understand - especially because I told you a lot of times already that I don’t want to rely on anyone to take care of Woohyun - that he and Sungyeol hyung are a different matter. I don’t care if they interact when I’m not looking, but I’ll not mix both matters in the way you two want. I take advice and I accept help from you because you’re my family but he isn’t, I don’t have to accept anything from him if I don’t want to.”

Moonsoo frowned with that speech and by now he didn’t think he could get any tenser than he already was. On the other hand, it did seem like he made wrong interpretations, so he decided it was better to pretend he wasn’t there and try to figure out where he misunderstood.

The parents seemed a bit taken aback by their elder son’s words and didn’t say anything right away so Myungsoo sighed and tried to explain in another way, with a gentler tone. “I just don’t want to use one to solve the matter with the other. I know I need to talk to Sungyeol hyung and solve our situation… eventually, but I want to do it because it’s my decision, when I’m ready, not because you’re pressuring me for it so I can try to collect information on Woohyun.”

Moonsoo snapped out of his thoughts to snap his fingers together, now he understood this whole conversation. He hadn’t misunderstood anything, Myungsoo just didn’t want to be pressured and that wasn’t something he could blame his brother for, when he fought Sungjong the pressure to make up was big too.

“But…” Bumsoo was about to argue when Sonmi was quick enough to squeeze his forearm.

“Ok, that’s fair.” She conceded and quickly glared at her husband until he shut his mouth. Then she crossed her arms and looked at her eldest son. “Very well then, so what are you going to do from here on?”

Since Myungsoo had just scolded his parents he wasn’t sure his mother was including Sungyeol in that question but he decided to give her an answer in a way that would finish the conversation. “I’ll go support Woohyun in his play tomorrow and, if he is open enough, I’ll try to talk to him. As for Sungyeol hyung… it’s my intimate life, I don’t feel like sharing right now.”

Myungsoo didn’t expect things to escalate during lunch that would end on a bad note. Things did escalate and, fortunately, it didn’t end on a bad note, but he felt good to say a thing or two to his parents, he felt liberated. In the end, Moonsoo told him to keep him updated then flew the scene, and he stayed just a little more to instruct his parents about the box and bags he brought with him. In the bag there were Woohyun things, washed, ironed, smelling good, and ready to be used, in the box, he returned all the letters he had with him. He instructed them to give the bag to Woohyun but instructed them to keep the box in the car trunks and lock them back in the basement in Incheon as soon as they could. Considering he had been warned that the content of the letters was not everything, it was still heavy enough to break his heart, he didn’t want any of the kids reading that, it was too much for them.

He returned home still feeling like the conversation with his parents took another weight off his shoulders, but since he felt bored and this time he had nothing to do, he decided to dress up some sports clothes and do some running. The young dad left his building and spent half of his afternoon between running and just aimlessly walking, but, by the time he finished his exercise, he was sure of one thing: he was ready to talk. 

Myungsoo bit his lips as he unlocked his phone and searched for Sungyeol number (which had been erased at some point but he knew by heart) and finally wrote his message.

Myungsoo: I think I’m ready to talk.

He paced back and forth on the streets as he waited for an immediate answer but then he felt eyes looking at him weirdly and remembered Sungyeol might be busy so he ran back home to avoid showing his cheeks redness. Once he finally arrived home he rechecked his phone, some time had passed, but Sungyeol hadn’t replied. He looked at Sungyeol's door for the whole five minutes, debating with himself if he should knock or… no way, he smelt bad and Sungyeol was busy, so it was better to leave another message.

Myungsoo: I guess you are busy but are you still going to the festival, right?

He still wondered if he should send another message but his next-door neighbor chose that time to come out of her apartment and talk to him.

“Hey, Myungsoo-shi.”

Myungsoo winced but turned around to greet his neighbor. “Hi, Ms. Baek.”

“What are you doing rooting there?” She asked.

“Nothing much, just choosing my dinner before I enter my apartment.”  He waved his phone a bit and then started to look for the keys in his pockets.

The old lady chuckled. “It's been some time since I last saw you or your son, where is he? He isn’t sick, is he?”

Ok, now Myungsoo just didn’t want to prolong a conversation, especially a prying one. “He is wonderful. He is just spending some time with my parents so I can concentrate on my graduation.” He tried to smile and the old lady made an O with her lips.

“Why don’t you let him stay with Sungy-” She was about to ask but the key entered the hole and twisted, the door opened and Myungsoo felt super relieved.

“I gotta go now Ms. Baek, see you.” He tried to be cheerful, and his voice came out a bit high-pitched, but the door soon closed behind him and he was relieved to get away from unwanted conversations.

Meanwhile, Sungyeol stopped his work for lunch but then looked at the time and hissed. Now was way closer to dinner than lunch and if he ate now, Sunggyu would be mad at him for not spending even mealtime together. His week had been pretty packed with Hoya, the bureaucracy for the new job, besides, when he told Woollim about quitting, things went south and he ended up with more work than what he intended. Well, a big ‘WHATEVER’ to Woollim, but he still felt a bit guilty over his brother so he decided to just get some snacks and dinner with Sunggyu later.

He grabbed some granola bars he kept for times like these and returned to his desk, but as he ate, he became aware that if he focused again he might not remember to pick Sunggyu up. He got his phone, with all the intention to set an alarm but he saw Myungsoo's message and winced, he wanted to talk so badly but work…

Sungyeol: Woollim didn’t take my resignation letter that great, now I’m buried in work. But I’ll still go to the festival, Sunggyu will kill me if I don’t show up.

Myungsoo: Damn, Woollim ! 

Myungsoo: But look at you, afraid of Sunggyu… =D

Sungyeol: Tell me about it.

Sungyeol: I wouldn’t say I’m afraid, more like I had some character development.

Sungyeol: About talking… I’d talk right now if there wasn’t so much to do.

Myungsoo: It’s ok, I made you wait till now so I can wait a bit too.

When Myungsoo sent that, Sungyeol felt relieved, but at the same time, he didn’t want the younger to think he was uninterested, or making up excuses to give up.

Sungyeol: It’s not like we need to wait a lot though, my initial plan is to finish everything before the festival (so I need to hurry).

Myungsoo: Oh, when are you free to talk? I mean, just us.

Sungyeol: I promised to busy myself with Sunggyu after the festival so if you want to talk tomorrow, I can talk after his bedtime. Or Sunday, after lunch? By then it should be ok.

Myungsoo: What if you don’t finish your work before the festival?

Sungyeol: Then my work waits till I have this conversation with you. I can put Sunggyu first, but Woollim isn’t my priority anymore, even if it’s still paying me.

If it had been another time Myungsoo would laugh but he just felt a bit anxious as his brain and heart finally understood the importance of what he and Sungyeol were arranging right now.

Myungsoo: Tell me when he sleeps then, I’ll come over.

Myungsoo: I’ll let you work now, good luck.

Sungyeol: Ok, good luck with Woohyun too.

Myungsoo frowned inside his apartment, he had no idea why Sungyeol wished him good luck with Woohyun. He figured the elder probably had a theory about his son’s mood swings, but Sungyeol was busy and he would see the boy tomorrow, so he decided to just wait to discover.

Meanwhile, Sungyeol squealed and took a whole minute to jump on his bed then suffered because he bumped his head on the ceiling, it hurt but no physical pain was enough to suppress the happiness he was feeling. Once it faded a bit, he set an alarm on his phone and tried to work in a renewed mood.

After a while, he left for Sunggyu and came back with him, and it didn’t take long for Hoya to drop by with some dinner for them. The older and his brother stayed to eat but when Sungyeol was done, he kicked both out (as kindly as he could) and went back to work so Sunggyu decided to redo some of his puzzles while he hummed to his father’s songs.

That arrangement was good (even though Sungyeol didn’t think the maknae was rehearsing properly) but didn’t last much, because an hour later Sungyeol’s phone rang loudly in their apartment.

“Hyung, it’s your phone!” The boy raised his head to point to the obvious.

“Can you go and grab it for me?” He asked as he tapped on his computer, he had no idea who it could be, but he was working smoothly and every second counted for him to finish his book.

Sunggyu did what he was told but gasped loudly then appeared running. “Hyung, it’s grandma.”

Sungyeol saved his work just in case, he planned to have a few hours to sleep, but if Sonmi was calling with some kind of serious conversation, he probably wouldn’t be able to go back to work so soon (Sunggyu wouldn’t leave him alone either). He took a big breath and tapped the screen to accept the call and was about to move his finger to the speaker when a video connected. 

“Sungyeol, thank god I got a hold of you!” She seemed worried and relieved to see him and that already set some alarms in his head, so he adjusted the phone distance so the camera showed Sunggyu as well.

“It’s ok, but I’m kind of busy so... unless it’s an emergency…”

“What happened to Woohyunnie?” Sunggyu cut his brother to ask with worry.

“It’s not an emergency, but at the same time, it is,” She scratched her hair a bit. “Everything was fine - as much as it can be since we don’t understand what is going on- but Woohyun started to cry as soon as he entered his room,” The pair of brothers shared a look and Sunggyu mouthed ‘the plan’ before they looked back at the small screen to keep listening to her. “We tried to console him and I offered to call his father or even Moonsoo, and I’ve explained that you are busy...”

“And I am…” Sungyeol tried to open his mouth to explain but he was interrupted before he could do it.

“I know, but he asked if he could still talk with Sunggyu alone, I mean if it’s ok with you.”

The older brother wasn’t expecting that but hey, he was busy and Sunggyu was available, and the festival was tomorrow but they didn't need to arrive at school that early. Sunggyu threw him pleading eyes, trying to say to his brother that he got this but the truth was he didn’t need to do that.

“Of course, he can speak to Sunggyu. Of course.” The taller said.

“Thank you Sungyeol, Thank you Sunggyu.” She sighed in relief.

“Where is he?” The younger asker right after.

“He is in his room, I’m gonna go there, just a sec.” She started to move and Sungyeol took the few seconds they still had to instruct his brother.

“I don’t know what’s the deal but Myungsoo told me more than once that he will attend the festival for sure so, whatever Woohyun needs, be sure to tell him that.”

“Ok, I got this.” The younger raised his fist in a fighting manner as he did not register the 'more than once' part, which could, under normal circumstances, point out that Sungyeol talked to Myungsoo more than once as well.

“Here Woohyun, Sunggyu is available.” They heard Sonmi say and both returned their attention to the screen again. She gave her phone to him and they both saw his plushie toy on his lap and his colored pajamas first before the camera filmed his chin.

“Can I- can I talk to him a-alone?” He pleaded and, by the stuttering and the sound of his voice, the pair of brothers knew the boy had been in the middle of tears for a while.

There was some noise of the grandparents leaving the room and Sungyeol motioned for Sunggyu to take the call in his room. Then a few seconds passed before both boys could look at each other on the screen.

“Woohyunnie, what happened?” Sunggyu asked gently once he was comfortable enough on his bed.

Woohyun tried to breathe a little but his lips quivered as a new wave of tears started to fall all over again. He couldn’t talk at the moment, so he just grabbed the bag next to him and showed Sunggyu. The elder boy gasped, knowing fully well that a bag with clothes meant Myungsoo went there when they were at school. “Oh no,” He immediately winced.

“He-he hates meee~~.” The younger sobbed.

“He doesn’t.” The elder boy said firmly. “Myungsoo hyung loves you more than anything!”

“No~~~~ He lied about what he fe-els about me too!!” The boy insisted as he tried to clean his neck out of tears with his available hand.

“No, Woohyunnie, you are mistaken about that. I’m sure there has to be an explanation.”

“Nooo hyung… he is dumping meeeee!”

_______________________________________________________________

AN: Hello, I tried not to take too long this time.