A year later, middle of December 

Sungyeol’s day had been tiring, and he would probably sleep the second his head touched the pillow, but worry and anxiety were the things that kept him going. A few things were going on for him and Myungsoo - and they were trying their best to fix their problems individually), and they needed to talk to the kids about it. 

There was a way they could help each other (once again), but Sungyeol needed time to arrange some things before he could make a suggestion. This time around he thought Myungsoo wouldn’t reject his idea right away, and the universe, much less him, would impose anything and that might count for something. But even if the young agreed, there was a possibility his idea didn’t fit the current standards or that Myungsoo figured his problem out first - which wouldn’t be something bad, more like it could be a bit inconvenient for him or upsetting for the kids at most. 

In the end, they agreed to let the kids in on what was going on - to not get them by surprise later - and, since Myungsoo would receive some answers that he needed, they organized themselves so that could happen today.

They had dropped the kids in Hoya’s place in the morning and then parted ways to attend their last professional obligations of the year (and maybe progress on their problem-solving). But both hadn't finished their activities that early and were currently late. 

I’m going to pick the kids up now. Are you alive? Sungyeol sent a message as soon as he finished his activities but expected silence like the rest of the day. To his surprise, he received a message right after with an “SOS” and a GPS location.

At first, he felt his heart squeeze, thinking Myungsoo might be having some kind of problem, then he checked the address and realized his lover was in a bar. He sighed in relief and got ready to say the kids would be first when he received a set of emoticons that he somehow interpreted as ‘Ride, please. Explanations later’. A ride hadn’t been something usual in the past year. Not because both men decided to not do that anymore, but because, aside from the kids’ school, they just didn’t frequent the same places anymore. In the end, Sungyeol just checked the clock, placed the address on the GPS, and changed directions to pick Myungsoo up first.

“I’ve arrived.” He said aloud as he typed a message and, as he waited, he took the chance to send a message to Hoya and tell him to prepare the kids.

It didn’t take long for Myungsoo to appear. He didn’t think the younger would appear drunk - firstly because the young dad didn’t want to set a bad example and, secondly, being an athlete, he also couldn’t on a normal basis - but Sungyeol wasn’t sure about what to expect out of a visit to a bar on plain Wednesday. He had questions, but at the same time, he didn’t want to vocalize them because boundaries were established and he had no reason to be jealous. But hell, he was curious once in a lifetime.

“Thank you for coming to my aid, I don’t think I would be able to leave here if you hadn’t shown up, the guys dragged me around and I…” The younger blabbered an explanation but once he noticed he might have overwhelmed the elder with his speed, he changed tactics and placed a hand over Sungyeol’s. “I’m sorry about everything, I’m gonna make it up to you.”

Sungyeol lips quivered a bit in amusement. “I literally said nothing.”

“But I know you enough,” Myungsoo said and Sungyeol couldn’t retort to that, not only because of the lack of arguments but because the younger continued. “I know I worried you when I didn’t pick up your call and made you come all the way here...” Myungsoo said and offered his hand to the elder. “Sorry?”

“I’m not exactly complaining, silly.” Sungyeol chuckled and squeezed the younger hands briefly. “But weren’t you supposed to do other stuff today? How did you end up in a bar on a Wednesday?”

Myungsoo sighed heavily and started to quench the elder curiosity. “It was Eunwoo hyung's farewell party, he is going to the army, remember? They wanted everyone to focus on him so my phone got confiscated at some point, this is why I only managed to message you that late.” Myungsoo sounded deeply apologetic and Sungyeol immediately shut his eyes as soon as the words finished coming out of the younger lips. 

He knew that name, that Eunwoo guy was the one that welcomed Myungsoo into the team the best and took him under his wing during the past year. The young dad felt like he owed this guy a lot so it was crystal clear why he wouldn’t say no to things that the guy asked. There was also something else: Myungsoo had told him about this farewell party, and now he forgot all about it. Well, at least that explained the afternoon without no sign of life.

“It’s ok, but I’m sorry, I forgot all about it. A lot was going on and so many things to grade and plan these days…”

Myungsoo chuckled then fixed his seatbelt. “It’s ok, it didn’t have any day set when I told you about it. He just decided to take advantage that we were all reunited for the team final meeting to drag us here.” Myungsoo finished with a smile and Sungyeol let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Then I didn’t get into a big trouble with you, I’m relieved.”

Myungsoo chuckled a bit. “If I’m not in trouble with you, you aren’t in trouble with me.”

“How was it?”

Myungsoo seemed to think a bit before answering. “I-it was ok, I guess. It’s just… You know I have some stuff on my mind, so I don’t think I could be totally there…”

“Don’t fret, you’re gonna solve this.” Sungyeol took one hand out of the wheel to squeeze the younger knee to assure him.

Myungsoo watched that in slow motion and couldn’t help but try to suppress a smile that wanted to come out a little sad. Don’t get him wrong, the encouragement and the gesture warmed his heart and made him feel loved. Besides, Sungyeol came a long way in the past two years, and now he was happy because his lover initiated half of their skinship moments. 

The thing was: the older wasn’t proposing ways of fixing his problems anymore and this time Myungsoo wanted it. Now he wanted the elder to take the initiative to at least try to brainstorm some ways to fix his current problem. Why? Because he knew exactly how he wanted to solve it and he wanted to include Sungyeol (and Sunggyu by extension) in it. He just needed the older to cooperate with an opening so he could ask. 

There was also another minor problem for him too: Sungyeol and Woohyun weren’t on the same page. It was not like they were antagonizing each other and making his life difficult. On the contrary, they continued to get along well and that was a relief because, during the past year, it helped a lot. The problem was he wasn’t very clear when he opened up to his boyfriend and now the elder was misunderstanding a few things.

Sungyeol thought that Myungsoo should try to solve his problem fast before telling Woohyun (to not stress the boy and avoid a new problem between them), but, because there was a deadline, the young dad would need to let the boy in at some point, otherwise the problem would stress Woohyun even more. 

Meanwhile, Woohyun already knew everything there was to know and he wasn’t remotely worried about it. The boy trusted Myungsoo would solve everything and the big problem wouldn’t ever be that real, so he didn’t even share it with Sunggyu (much less with Sungyeol). What the boy was anxiously and quietly waiting for (but actively encouraging) was for Myungsoo to ask that one question he had been having trouble with.  But because of the lack of cooperation in their conversations, the young dad wasn’t sure he was going to be able to ask Sungyeol his question any time soon. Even so, he had also set a deadline to do it, or else he would just blurt it and risk receiving a big no on his face. 

The good news was: that he would get rid of this minor problem today and align those two. Well, at least as much as he could, he didn’t want Woohyun blurting his question to Sungyeol (that had everything to do with some of his innermost feelings), he needed and wanted to be the one to do that. 

“How was your meeting then?” Sungyeol asked once he was putting his hands on the wheel again and Myungsoo was able to come out of his thoughts and reconnect with reality.

“It was pretty good.” He promptly answered with a tone that showed a good mood. He had good news which could also be something that, if worked on, could bring him closer to solving one of his problems. Well, at least Sungyeol would think so and that could be very helpful in his current dilemma-like situation. “I mean, there was a lot of bla bla bla, but what you need to know is that: 1 - most of the team will stay for another year, just two or three back-ups - aside Eunwoo hyung, that will go to the army - will be redrafted; 2- my contract will be renewed for two years…” Sungyeol's face lit up in utmost joy. “... and 3 - they will give me a raise.” 

Now Sungyeol almost choked as he had not been expecting that at all. He tried to look at his lover, but since he had to look at the road, it resulted in him stealing glances in which Myungsoo could identify pride twinkling in his eyes.

“I told you, I told you, I told you.” Sungyeol chanted, even though he didn’t seem to try to be rubbing anything on the younger face. If he were, Myungsoo wouldn’t complain about it this time. “You were worrying that you might be redrafted and need to move out of Seoul - which would be terrible - but I knew they would want to keep you, I just knew it.” Myungsoo chuckled a bit, finding Sungyeol's reaction endearing. ”And a raise??? They like you, they like you good.” He tried to poke his lover with his elbow as he used a naughty tone.

The younger couldn’t help but double over and pretty soon one was laughing at the other. Myungsoo couldn’t help to think that, despite the good news he received today, that moment could easily be the highlight of his day. He loved everything with Sungyeol, but the moments where they both were just being silly had a special place in his heart.

“I think we will earn similarly now,” Myungsoo commented once the laughter died down.

“Wow, nice, that should help you with your housing problem,” Sungyeol commented and despite humming to agree, Myungsoo slightly stiffened, but the elder didn’t notice it. “Talking about that, how did it go before the meeting? Did you like any of the places you were supposed to visit today?” He asked because he had begged Myungsoo to look for some places, to at least discover what he wanted in a new apartment.

Myungsoo stiffed a bit more and chose to look through the window to try to conceal it before he could reply. “Too small, too far, too expensive and I was stood up, in that particular order.”

“In that particular order?” Myungsoo hummed and Sungyeol had to think of some words to use so he could comment without annoying his lover. “But the third one had a nice size, can’t you reconsider it now that you’ll have a raise?” Unsurprisingly Sungyeol didn’t comment on the word expensive, after all, Myungsoo just said they would earn similarly and the elder knew exactly how much that was.

“Hyung, I want to be like you in a sense.” He said and that got Sungyeol a bit confused. “I mean, since I started working I managed to figure out my finances pretty well - and I’ll always be thankful for your help with it - but I was thinking about saving a bit more, you know, for Woohyun college or in case something happens to me and I can’t play anymore.” Sungyeol hummed to say he understood and Myungsoo kept going with excuses, because yes, that’s what they were. “And, from all the apartments I was supposed to check today, it was not the best one for me so, if I have to pay more, I prefer to keep looking for something else.” With that kind of argument, Sungyeol knew the younger was pretty much decided. There was still some time soo so he didn’t think it was ok to press it for that one in particular.

“Ok then, but what about the last one? Will you try again? Why did they stand you up in the first place?” Sungyeol asked and Myungsoo innocently guessed the elder was still concerned over his situation when in fact, the elder had something else in mind.

“No…” Myungsoo replied with disappointment. “They stood me up because they sealed the deal with another person.” Sungyeol immediately cursed inwardly as he made a turn, getting nearer and nearer to Hoya’s building. “But of course, I only discovered that when they sent me a message two hours later.” The younger one whined.

“Rude.” The elder complained and started to park and Myungsoo sighed sadly, that one had the same size as his current apartment and was a five-minute walk away, just a helpful five-minutes walk away. “Well, now you’re sure you’ll stay in Seoul - and that is one less problem with Woohyun - so you’ll do a more efficient search from now on. Besides, you have just begun and you still have some time.” Sungyeol tried to be positive.

Myungsoo sighed and turned at his lover. “Yes, I have until the end of a month to get kicked out, but it overlaps with the trip and that’s not enough time to…” Sungyeol blinked. He knew their plans would affect the time Myungsoo had to solve this problem, but perhaps he wasn’t understanding one of Myungsoo’s main concerns. “Hyung, have I ever mentioned how long it took to find the apartment in our building?”

Sungyeol blinked innocently. “No, how long?” Myungsoo could only sigh. Yes, Sungyeol had the privilege to own an apartment, of course, he didn’t know, or couldn’t relate to the struggles other people might have.

“I started searching as soon as the previous college semester ended but I could only move in on the weekend before Woohyun started school. I was only able to close the deal last minute and we came up with what we could carry. Then I spent some busy weeks settling when my parents managed to bring our stuff from Incheon.”

So… around two months. The answer resonated in Sungyeol's mind and that both surprised him and explained a lot. It was a surprise because he thought that kind of deal was solved quickly even if the search took a while more. He briefly compared the situation with his own experience and then he concluded that the bureaucracy for him only concluded faster (even though it took a while) because he bought it from his uncle's friend and that must have sped up at least half of everything. 

When it came to explaining, now Sungyeol knew why he hadn’t heard sounds of Myungsoo moving any bag or boxes before the day they first met. That also explained why his lover agreed to let the kids play behind his back: if Sungjong took care of them, Myungsoo would have time to settle. He didn’t know why Sunggyu never commented about it but figured the younger didn’t pay any attention to it because, at that time, all he could think about was Woohyun. As he concluded that, he realized that information changed everything he had first understood about his lover's situation. 

Since Myungsoo wouldn’t ask for help, nor would he let Sungyeol offer it - and if he couldn’t solve this quickly - he could end up on the streets with a kid. There was no way that could be good. If he still had a roof (accepted to go back to Incheon temporarily), that problem could bother him for a long time and that could ruin plans for their vacations - which both father and son had great expectations for, even more, when last year celebrations had been so awkward.

Sungyeol gulped hard and turned the engine off before looking at his lover. “Why haven’t you told me that?”

“Because I had to wait to know if I’d stay here… and I thought I would have better luck this time.” Sungyeol blinked and Myungsoo could only sigh. “Maybe I was being naive, but maybe with more money available I can find something faster. The thing is…  I just don’t want to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve with this problem in mind, Woohyun will be upset if I’m worrying instead of ‘giving’ him what we promised.” He said, hoping that Sungyeol took the hint and helped bring the conversation to where he wanted.

In a mix of a bit of fear and a lot of determination, Sungyeol tested some waters. “How comfortable are you with suggestions from me this time around?”

After their boundaries were set, he knew Sungyeol was almost afraid of butting in his life so Myungsoo thought he wouldn’t hear such a question so soon. But now that he did, the young dad was glad he could use the chance and could work on it until he was able to ask the question he wanted. 

“Very,” Sungyeol's eyes got slightly big and Myungsoo started to think he was being too eager. “I mean, I can hear your suggestions.”

“Ok then, I have something in mind that can help you, but I’m not sure you’re gonna like it.” He said carefully.

Myungsoo squinted his eyes as his heartbeat speeded up. “Spill.”

“There is my mother’s place,” Sungyeol said and Myungsoo dropped his chin open. 

The young dad knew Sungyeol had been working on a few things on his mother's apartment slowly (so he could rent it again) but it sounded like he needed to practically rebuild the place, was it available now? Even if it was, he wanted an apartment but not this particular apartment. And he wanted Sungyeol involved, yes, but not like that, he didn’t want to milk some advantages out of his boyfriend because he was sure he would feel terrible about it.
“But you said there was a lot to fix in it.” The younger man managed to stutter. 

“I lied.” Because Myungsoo seemed surprised in a bad way, the elder revealed and started shaking his hands in dismissal. “Not about that but about how long it would take to fix it. And I didn’t want to actively lie, it’s more like I ended up miscalculating the time I would take.”

The younger one relaxed but not much. “But wasn't her apartment in another neighborhood? That can hinder our entire routine.”

“But it’s not that far.” Sungyeol immediately retorted. “It’s near here and I can drive to this neighborhood in no time and you’d still have Hoya hyung closer whenever our schedule conflicts and our brothers can’t handle… like today.”

“I don’t know...” The younger said, unknowingly pulling the fabric of his pants.

“Myungsoo, there is no way I’m gonna let you, and Woohyun, on the streets,” Sungyeol said seriously and Myungsoo stayed in silence reflecting on how exactly he should react to that. Thinking the young dad was about to misunderstand his intentions, Sungyeol softened his tone to continue. “I’d also prefer if you don’t have to go back to Incheon - even if it’s temporary - now that things are good between us. So can you please think of it as your last option? Or as something that will buy you more time to solve this problem the way you want? Please? ” 

Now that more words were added, Myungsoo didn’t feel like his lover wanted to force his ‘solution’ on him. Nope. If that was the case, Sungyeol wouldn’t offer a ‘loose’ solution, would have butted at the moment he started to search for an apartment, or wouldn’t make it seem that his solution was temporary. 

The suggestion didn’t solve his problem and it wasn’t even close to that one thing he started to want the moment this housing problem appeared, but it wasn’t a bad suggestion. If he said yes, they would probably need to discuss details because, of course, he would want to pay rent, but having more time was never bad. That way both he and Woohyun would be able to enjoy their year-end plans and he would have more time to make Sungyeol know what he wanted. 

In a way the elder’s suggestion still made him feel loved and supported, so, he savored the feeling of his heart getting warm as his body relaxed and relented. 

“Ok, if I don’t find anything before December ends, I can take a look at it. Once you finish everything… as a plan B.” He made sure to stress. 

Sungyeol pressed his lips together but their corners stretched in a smile that confused his lover. Surely Sungyeol wasn’t happy pushing his way through, there was more to it. To tell the truth, he seemed to have a triumph card on his sleeve and that worried Myungsoo a little. 

“Why are you being weird?”

“Are you too tired? How about visiting it now?”

That threw Myungsoo off. “Now? What do you mean by now? Weren’t you complaining that nothing was progressing the other day?” By the way, the elder had been complaining during the past month, and even if Sungyeol offered the apartment, Myungsoo didn’t think it would be available right away. If nothing worked and he would need to move there, he was imagining he would need to stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks first (because he wasn’t remotely inclined to go back to Incheon for more than two days). 

“Yes, I was madly frustrated,” Sungyeol confirmed but Myungsoo raised one of his eyebrows, waiting for more explanation. “Well, it needs some new painting, and one plug doesn’t turn anything on, but things unexpectedly progressed this week.” Myungsoo blinked quickly, a little bit dazed, so the elder insisted on an answer. “I was planning to invite you there tomorrow to show my progress and get your opinion, but this conversation took a turn to the unexpected and that got me excited to show you now. So, what do you say?” The elder explained in an excited tone.

Myungsoo sighed deeply. “F-fine, I mean, if the kids aren’t too hungry or anything…”

“Ok, then it’s settled.” Sungyeol showed his best satisfied gummy smile and then opened the door so Myungsoo did the same. 

Both of them got out of the car and the younger waited for Sungyeol to circle the vehicle and reach him so they could go to Hoya’s apartment. A few steps into the building direction, Sungyeol pulled his phone out of his pocket. 

“Sunggyu is gonna love it and he'll probably go down memory lane so we might have to stick around a bit more, so choose dinner, my mother's address is already registered.”

“If we need to stay around for long, will it be safe for Woohyun?” Myungsoo asked as he grabbed the phone and started to tap into it.

“I cleaned a bit today and I have anti-allergic med on my first aid kit if he needs it.”

“Hmm…” Myungsoo mumbled in satisfaction but the moment he saw the address, he started to complain. “Your mother’s apartment is so far!”

“It’s not that far.” Sungyeol retorted.

“It is! I thought you had said it was located in the neighborhood next to us.”

“It is, it’s not my fault her neighborhood is big and ours is minuscule.”

“That’s not the problem! The problem is that the apartment is practically on the border of another neighborhood already, two more blocks and we’d be in Gangnam.”

Sungyeol then squinted his eyes. “Now you’re exaggerating.”

Myungsoo completely ignored him. “And what if I need to stay longer than I expect? It’s far from the boy’s school.”

“Just five minutes more because you’d come from the opposite direction, but if you take the subway, you’re in your workplace in no time.”

“Hyung, but apartments on this side are bigger and probably more expensive too, I’m not sure it will be fitting.”

“Yeah, most probably, but then again: it will be temporary.” 

Despite conceding to Myungsoo’s final argument, Sungyeol sounded like he didn’t want to continue arguing so the young dad decided to stop complaining and focus back on the food. They discussed options, ruled out dishes the kids were fed up with, and then found a winner: lasagna.

“I asked for disposable cutlery too, but the food will take some time to arrive,” Myungsoo said once he was done with the order and offered his lover’s phone back.

“It's ok.” Sungyeol put the phone on his pants. “If it takes too long we can get ahead with the conversation we’re supposed to have with them today.”

Myungsoo didn’t fear that conversation, after all, Woohyun already knew everything. He was sure Sunggyu would whine a bit, but he wasn’t worried about the older boy either. What he was concerned about was the fact that his son could take the chance to blurt the question he wanted to ask, before he even had the chance to say anything.

“Yes, sure.” He said and both of them reached Hoya’s door so Sungyeol patted the younger shoulder encouragingly.

“Cheer up, if you like the apartment you can talk about the solution together with the problem.”  With that, Sungyeol tapped the code, and the door opened to reveal two dancing adults and two kids on the couch.

“Hyung, you’re so funny!” Woohyun was saying as he dissolved himself in giggles.

“Oh, Hyuuuuuuuungs!” Sunggyu noticed them first and ran to talk to both of them as they kicked their shoes off.

“Hi, Gyu!” Myungsoo greeted them first and now Woohyun noticed him and ran to greet them too. “Namu~~~.”

“Hey buddies, how was your day?” Sungyeol ruffled his brother's head as Myungsoo squeezed his son, or was it the other way around? Sungyeol wouldn’t know, those two had been in each other's good graces for two full weeks and he wouldn’t disrupt that. Only he and Sunggyu knew how the relationship between father and son fluctuated over the past year.

“It was so nice, Dongwoo hyung came too!”

“We were playing a dance game in teams.” Woohyun offered right after and the four of them went closer to the dancing pair.

“But, looking at you both I can tell you are hungry,” Sungyeol said and the two boys shamelessly giggle as they nodded. “Go pack your stuff to go, we already ordered and we need to arrive fast.”

“What are we eating?”

“Lasagna.” The adults managed to say at the same time and that’s all that it took for the kids to shriek and start to fumble around the living room to collect their stuff. Meanwhile, the video game round was over and the two new arrivals got closer to the two who were dancing.

“What were you doing?”

“Dancing. Woah, I’m tired.” Dongwoo said as he let his body fall on the couch.

“All day?”

“No, they drew in the morning and played an old board game I have, then we all had lunch, and here we are.” Hoya counted on his fingers as Sungyeol moved to sit beside Dongwoo, he knew Myungsoo's routine questions, and he didn’t want to get in the way of what his lover's fatherly side did and what he needed to do.

“Hyung, I see you survived grading as well.” Dongwoo opened a big smile and watched his friend's drama. “Any tips on how to endure it? It’s the worst part of the job!.”

“I grade 20 kids at most, you have something that is called essays. Sometimes I pity you.”

“All afternoon?” Myungsoo continued inquiring.

“What was I supposed to do? The weather is terrible for outside activities and it was either that or the computer, and you said no computer games.” Myungsoo could only sigh and the elder took the chance that Sungyeol and Dongwoo were bonding over the worst aspects of their jobs and the kids were forcing things on their bag so he could pull Myungsoo to the side. “Have you already asked?”

“No.” The young father flushed red. When it came to salary, it was the best thing ever that these two stopped working together but Hoya and Myungsoo had developed a good bond, which always developed further whenever they met because of Sungyeol. They had become close friends - and that’s why Myungsoo shared what had been on his mind - but Hoya could still embarrass him even if he was way used to the older ways now.
“Adsfghjkalal why?” The ex-boss squeaked.

“I had to know if I’d stay in Seoul.” The young dad said, which wasn’t exactly a lie.

Hoya hummed, deeming a plausible excuse, then squinted his eyes and asked in a tone with a lot of interest. “Will you?”

“Yes.”

“Nice!” Hoya cheered vehemently, but as low as he could at the moment, which didn’t perturb the other two pairs in the apartment. “When are you going to ask then?”The webtoon artist pressed. “Within this year?”

Myungsoo sighed and pushed his ex-boss away. “Stop pressuring me.”

“Sheesh, you’re complaining as if I’m asking you about , which I haven’t done because, against popular beliefs, I do respect you guys’ privacy,” Hoya complained.

“Hyung!” The younger chastised and Hoya could only click his tongue.

“You haven’t been talking to your brother lately, have you?” Myungsoo frowned his eyebrows in confusion and Hoya sighed and waved his hand for him not to worry. “Since you and Sungyeol got back together, and settled in a dramaless and healthy relationship, our shipping squad just exchange stickers, but after what you told me…” 

“Oh my god.” Myungsoo knew the gossip was spread and was mortified about it, but it didn’t even bother his friend. 

“... Sungjong developed some plans, which got your brother quite hopeful - I guess that’s the word that fits better - and, to resume things by a lot, they want to take over Sungyeol apartment, that’s all.”

“Hm…” Myungsoo's mind worked things at a fast speed and deemed that what Hoya said wasn’t that bad. It could help him a lot because maybe Sungyeol would not be attached to his apartment and it would be easier to get a yes.

“What are you guys gossiping over there?” Sungyeol and Dongwoo asked as they came closer and the kids were already ready and wearing their shoes. “Is it about me?” He asked in worry.

“Nothing.” Myungsoo promptly said, hoping he had already reverted to his natural color,  and Hoya didn’t wait for a second to back him up.

“Myungsoo is my friend too, I can talk whatever with him and not everything is about you, hmph.” 

“Easy tiger.” The taller one put his hands up in surrender.

“It's about me then, what did I do? Aren't we fine?” Dongwoo joined the conversation, completely clueless. 

“We are.”

Maybe it was because of Hoya’s nervousness and slightly higher pitch but the teacher didn’t believe it. “It doesn’t seem so.”

“No, hyung, you’re misunderstanding, we are!” Hoya tried to smile but he wasn’t that convincing.

“No, tell me, now I want to know.” The eldest of them demanded.

“Hyungs!!!!” The kids shouted from the door, and all Sungyeol could do was thank the pair for taking care of the kids and pull Myungsoo by the arm then run to the exit. He thought the other couple would start discussing their relationship and he wanted to give them space while Myungsoo knew there was nothing and his friend would be able to explain everything as soon as he dragged Sungyeol out.

“Will they fight?” Woohyun asked in some tension as soon as the door closed behind all of them.

“Why? They were fine just now.” Sunggyu inquired right after.

“No, they won’t fight, they’ll talk… endlessly.” Sungyeol tried to assure the kids but at the same time, he wasn’t convinced himself. “What was that?”

“It was nothing, Hoya hyung just asked me if I’d be free for a quick project after the holidays… I’ll be free so…” 

Sungyeol opened his mouth, but what was heard was Woohyun's voice. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not.” Myungsoo disagreed. “He didn’t ask it right now, but he asked me if I already had an answer today.” He explained further but slightly glared at his son, and with a last look at his lover, the boy knew his dad wanted to hide something. What the boy had in mind had nothing and, at the same time, everything to do with things that Myungsoo asked him to keep quiet so he knew right away he shouldn’t press it. Besides, that project existed, the boy already knew about it.

The four of them entered the elevator and rode it as the adults discussed such a project. Myungsoo explained he wanted to rest first because he was physically tired, but then again it was just a couple of family pictures for Hoya and Dongwoo. The kids tried to imagine scenarios and how that would happen and Sungyeol said not to fret over it if he didn’t want to do it. When they finally entered the car, Myungsoo said he would probably accept it so the elder couple got comfortable showing their relationship during the pics and ended the topic.

Sungyeol then took off and looked in the rearview mirror at the kids. “Kids, I know I said we ordered lasagna but we’re not eating home today, is it ok for you or… if you’re tired we can cancel it, or maybe redirect our order.”

“Is it even possible to do that?” Woohyun blinked.

“We’re fine, where are we eating?” Sunggyu asked as he tried to poke his head between the adults’ seats.

“A different place.” Sungyeol held a smile and Myungsoo knew immediately he should also make suspense.

“A new restaurant?” Woohyun squeaked interested.

“It’s not a restaurant, just somewhere different.” Myungsoo tried to explain without saying much.

Sunggyu immediately leaned back and crossed his arms. “Are you taking us to eat with that friend of yours? I don’t like him.”

“I like Dara noona, she gives us candy,” Woohyun said and Sunggyu started to make a conflicted face, he also liked the girl but the guy…

“Heavens! Chanyeol is loved by every single person that I know and also by those whom I don’t know. Why does no one in my family like him?”

Myungsoo chuckled. He also didn’t understand that and he didn’t care much about it, but it amused him whenever Sungyeol thought about it and couldn’t figure out an answer. 

“We’re not going to meet them today, maybe next week, but you can stay with Sungjong and Moonsoo when that happens.” Myungsoo explained much for Sunggyu relief.

“Then where are we going?” Sunggyu asked curiously and this time the adults shared a quick look before Sungyeol replied.

“Well, you've already been there before so it won't be exactly a surprise. Maybe it will be something new for Myungsoo and Woohyun, but it's somewhere quiet so we can talk.” Sungyeol didn't give a precise answer because he wanted to see his brother's face upon arriving there.

“Somewhere quiet that I visited before…” The oldest boy mumbled to himself as he tapped his chin and thought about the clues.

He was trying to narrow down the possibilities, and with that, he didn't notice that Sungyeol used a more serious tone when a talk was mentioned, but that was precisely what Woohyun noticed. It sounded like a warning and the younger boy hated it when the adults tried to ‘prepare’ him. It made him feel like they were hiding something bad, something he wouldn’t like when he discovers, or that would make him feel like last year.

“A talk about what?” He asked apprehensively and Sungyeol looked at his lover for help.

“Our future,” Myungsoo replied vaguely, already feeling like he had to start making damage control.

“Are our plans for Christmas still up?” Sunggyu stopped thinking to ask innocently, the year-end plans occupied the kid’s thoughts 90% of the time lately so it wasn’t a surprising question.

Woohyun on the other hand, was already thinking about things that would make him traumatized. “Are you breaking up again?”

“What Woohyun? Nooo, Noo!” Sungyeol gasped and promptly denied it.

Myungsoo turned around and looked each kid in the eye. “Our surprise is still up Sunggyu, and we’re gonna talk about the future after that, Woohyun.” 

“Yah!” Woohyun kicked his father’s seat. “I thought it was something else.”

“It is something else,” Myungsoo replied with all his honesty and a little annoyance at the kick. “And I have some announcements to make, so, if things go smoothly, maybe all of us will get what we want before Santa comes.” Myungsoo made sure to drag some specific words and that’s all it took for Woohyun's mood to change from water to wine. 

On the other hand, it drove Sungyeol crazy. He was quite used to the pair's old and new dynamic and language but there were instances he could swear those two were exchanging secret messages among themselves while having an entirely different conversation in the eyes of everyone else.  

“YAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!” The younger boy cheered and that made Sunggyu confused.

“What?” He asked and Woohyun could only giggle. “Whaaaaaaat?” He then grabbed Woohyun's sleeve and started to pull it to annoy him.

“Let go~~~~” Woohyun tried to evade, still giggling away, as the adults shared another quick look that wasn't enough for telepathic messages Sungyeol wanted to receive.

“Tell me-” Sunggyu was on his way to insist but something caught his eye through the window, behind his friend, and he immediately stopped his actions to turn his whole body and look intently outside his window.

“Hyung?” Woohyun called confused, but Sunggyu didn't reply anything right away, he just kept looking intently through the window to make sure he was seeing things correctly. 

Myungsoo turned his body to look back, Woohyun was just as clueless as he sounded and Sunggyu was making his eyes bigger by the second. He squeezed Woohyun’s calves then looked at Sungyeol only to see his lover squeezing his eyes and opening an adorable amused smile.

“Is everything OK, Sunggyu?” The eldest asked once he was able to control his features.

“...” Sunggyu said absolutely nothing and now Myungsoo was completely amused by Sungyeol trying to hold a laugh.

“What is going on~?” Woohyun asked, not understanding a thing.

“I don't know, maybe Sunggyu saw something.” Myungsoo offered, but only for his son to try to look past his friend.

“There is nothing there!” The young boy complained. He was right, there was nothing out of the ordinary on the streets - just some people walking, and eventually some trees or ad - but what he didn't know was that this specific ‘ordinary’ was making his friend’s brain fill up with memories. “There is nothing the-”

“Hyung!” Sunggyu stopped looking through the window to try to place his head between the two adults' seats.

“Yes, Sunggyu?”

“Hyung, are we going to the café dad used to take me to?”

“Oh, a café!” Woohyun chirped right after, satisfied to discover what was going on and at the same time already anticipating a visit to such a place.

“No,” Sungyeol replied and Sunggyu became utterly confused. “But it’s a place full of memories, can you guess it?” The boy frowned and started to think about all the places his parents took him until he started to feel the car slow down. He promptly stopped thinking and looked at the window again only to gasp.

“I can’t believe it!” Sunggyu tried to mumble but everyone heard him and the adults could only find his reaction amusing.

“What now?” Woohyun asked.

“For real?” Sunggyu turned his head to the front wearing a smile from ear to ear.

“And we arrived.” The eldest of them announced, which also answered the younger brother's question.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Sunggyu squealed, which caused Woohyun to look at him judgingly. Sungyeol chuckled almost silently and turned the engine off only to hear Myungsoo's slightly apprehensive tone next.

“Can you guys give us a little second? I need to have a minute with Woohyun alone.” The young dad added a small smile to show there was no trouble coming along but that didn’t convince anyone.

“Hm? Am I in trouble?” Woohyun blinked confused and Sunggyu looked a bit apprehensive while his brother was confused.

“No, you’re not in trouble.” Myungsoo turned to smile at his son but turned back to Sungyeol with a serious expression. “It will be quick, can you guys wait outside?” The young dad insisted.

“Yeah, I mean, ok, but don’t take too long, ok? It’s cold.” Sungyeol said already unbuckling his seatbelt. “Let’s go, Sunggyu.”

The pair of father and son waited for the pair of brothers to go out of the car and walk a couple of feet and then Myungsoo turned to his son, ready to get to the point.

“Woohyun, do you remember that conversation we had about needing to move out and… everything else related to it?”

“Yes.” Woohyun replied unsure of where this was going. That thing about moving out initially bothered him a bit but he trusted Myungsoo to solve it. Also, there was a really good thing that could come out of it too and he couldn’t wait for it, so he didn’t understand that apprehensive tone.

“I told Sungyeol hyung about it recently.” Myungsoo blurted and Woohyun was ready to widen his smile but the elder was quick to keep talking before his son could conclude things that didn’t happen yet. “It didn’t go the way I planned,” Now the boy's smile faded and he looked concerned. “He understood half the things wrongly and I ended up not having a chance to ask that question…”

“But you still want that right?” The boy interrupted.

“Yes, I do and I know you want it as well.” Myungsoo touched his son's knee in assurance before continuing. “But about today… I just want to inform you beforehand that I need to clear those misunderstandings up and make sure everyone, Sunggyu included, knows what is really going on, so you might have to endure a repetition of that conversation we had the other day.”

“Oh, it’s ok.” The boy quickly agreed.

“And one more thing,” Myungsoo said, now feeling a bit antsy, while the boy frowned. “I want to ask you to keep it to yourself today no matter what and let me be the one to ask the question myself.”

Now the boy showed frustration. “But it’s been so long!”

Myungsoo squinted his eyes at the boy. “Two weeks Woohyun, you’ve known everything for two weeks only, it’s not that long. I know you’re excited and can’t wait for it to happen,” The boy was ready to complain but the elder was quick to keep talking. “And, if things go well - because I had a small but favorable conversation with Sungyeol hyung earlier - maybe I can ask it tonight.”

This time Woohyun squeaked a happy noise and started clapping his hands in excitement. “Do you need alone time?” The boy offered.

“I don’t know?” Myungsoo blinked, a bit taken aback by the suggestion, but then accepted it fast. “Maybe five minutes before dinner would be helpful. If I can’t ask it before, maybe I can squeeze it at the end of the conversation with everyone, I don’t know.”

“You can count on me, fighting!”

“Thank you.” Myungsoo smiled in relief. “Now let’s go, they are waiting for us.”

“Wee, I can’t wait!” Woohyun clapped his hands in excitement again and then got out of the car before he tried to conceal his happiness to not hint at anything before it was time.

“Is everything ok?” Sungyeol locked the car as he asked.

“Yes, it was nothing big.” Myungsoo smiled softly as he ruffled a hand on the boy’s dark locks. “Let’s go?” He suggested and they promptly started moving in the building direction

“I thought you were in trouble,” Sunggyu whispered to his friend a minute later when he noticed the adults distracted with small talk about the chill weather and which kind of food would fit their year-end plans.

Woohyun could only giggle when he compared his friends' thoughts to what he had been hiding. “Nope, not at all.” He whispered back.

Sunggyu frowned. “What happened?”

“Nothing, it was just a team thing.” Sunggyu rolled his eyes because he had heard that kind of sentence a lot over the past year so the younger just smiled and figured out a better answer. “He just asked me some stuff, so he could make an even better surprise for us.”

“Really?” The older boy asked while trying to hide his enthusiasm from the adults. “How? Forget about it, what is the surprise?”

“I don’t know he didn’t share much about it.” Now the younger shrugged and then tried to end that conversation while looking around. “Where are we? This doesn’t look like a restaurant and- oh, wait, they ordered food.”

“It’s not, it’s my…” Sunggyu giggled in delight as he thought about where he was, but when he was about to explain, the door opened and some people came out of the elevator only to be surprised by him.

“Oh my god, it’s Sunggyu!” “How are you doing, dear?” “You grew so much.” “Where is Sungjong?” “Is Sungyeol taking good care of you?” For a minute, these and other questions were thrown at the same time and for a brief second, Sunggyu felt disorientated but ended up greeting everyone by name, and even hugged a few people, while Sungyeol replied to some of the questions. 

Father and son watched the interactions back and forth. It didn’t seem like Sungyeol was as close to any of these people as Sunggyu was, but the elder talked politely, exchanged some pleasantries, and didn’t look blatantly uncomfortable. That was a bit weird, but what almost made Myungsoo almost panic was to be introduced as Sungyeol’s lover right off the bat. Thankfully, those people just smiled at him and told them to take care of each other well (as if being gay in Korea wasn’t still a big taboo) before starting their goodbyes. In the end, Sungyeol still apologized for some inconvenience, and then each group moved their way.

“What was that?” Myungsoo asked with big surprised eyes;

“Who, hyung.” Sunggyu corrected and explained. “They were our neighbors.”

“Yours? Did you live here before?” Woohyun asked, now connecting the dots and Sunggyu could only nod as they rode the elevator up.

“I got that, Sunggyu, but your brother knows what I’m talking about.” The young dad said and the boys could only get a little alarmed.

“Just Sunggyu’s, not mine.” The elder explained to the boy before looking at his father. “I don’t know? That conversation was definitely not usual for me so I might have surprised you with anything, you’ll need to be very clear this time.”

“Good start, you already know you were being odd.”

“Well, I’m not much of a people’s person but it’s not like I hate people, I just actively choose not to cross some lines to the point of making friends everywhere I go.” Sungyeol shrugged while the kids just looked from one to the other.

“I know, but it seemed like you crossed some of your lines.” Myungsoo pointed but after a second thought, he added some more words that could show Sungyeol what had irked him. “Mine too.”

“Ok, I know we agreed to not be obvious about our relationship, but they’re my mom's next-door neighbors and I know that family for almost a decade now. There is no way they don’t know about me or Sungjong already.” Myungsoo sighed, concluding Sungyeol hadn’t a choice, but sensing his remaining worry, the elder continued. “Just like a minute before, they never made a fuss about it, so I thought it would be beneficial for you if they understand what kind of bond we have and extend the same kindness to you in the future.”

Both kids looked a bit confused because they could only keep up with the conversation halfway. “That’s good, no?” “Why would they need to do that in the future?” They asked, but the adults were keeping their attention on their conversation.

Myungsoo sighed deeply. There was a part of him that was afraid of their relationship becoming gossip, but, at the same time, it hugely conflicted with what he wanted and the question he had in mind. “It’s just… it would be nice if they kept that information to themselves.” He ended up pointed and now Sungyeol chuckled.

“Don’t worry, they know how to be protective.” Myungsoo frowned and the elder explained better. “The girl belongs to our group of people, and I believe that was what made our parents friends. Besides, she is Sungjong friend and I tutored her a few times so we just need to be nice and ask them politely.”

The young dad now sighed in complete relief and the next minute he wanted to laugh at himself because, yes, there was no way Sungyeol wouldn’t think that far ahead with that Chess brain of his. 

“That makes me happy then.” He confessed, which relaxed everybody.

Sungyeol just smiled and tapped his temples two times to show that it was a very thought-through kind of interaction. At that moment, he realized Sungyeol just presented another argument for him to accept that apartment, after all, supporting neighbors made life less hard. That bothered him, but if the apartment was too much (which he believed it would be), he was going to say no even if Sungyeol said yes to his question - at least that’s what he expected.

The door finally opened and while that served to end a possible conflict, the kids forgot to ask new questions or reinforce those they already had asked. 

“Come on, Woohyunnie!” He dragged his friend by the then both halted in front of one of the two doors. “Hyung, what’s the code?” Sunggyu half yelled, even though the adults could see and hear him perfectly.

“It’s your birthday.” Sungyeol replied as he checked the phone. “The food is almost arriving. Go ahead and take a look, I’ll go back and wait for it.” Myungsoo pouted, which made the elder smile fondly but still press the ground floor button. “ I won’t take that long, I promise.”

After a short nod and kiss blown his way, Myungsoo entered the apartment just in time to see the kids kicking their shoes off and running further inside. 

“Kids, be careful not to…” He was ready to give the boys some instructions - to avoid hurting themselves on things Sungyeol might have let thrown around or not to mess with things that might make Woohyun sneeze - but a good look inside and then these worries didn’t have a reason to exist because the apartment was cleaner than what he expected. “Oh, ok.” 

“It looks the same and so different at the same time.” “Woaaaaaaaaaaaaaw, we can see the whole city from here. Hyung, you are rich.” .” Myungsoo could hear the kids as he threw his shoes off and finally entered the apartment. “I’m not rich.” “You are!”

“Why there is so much space? Where is the TV? Wait, the table is the same! Where are our previous chairs?  Which couch is this?” Sunggyu said as he lifted some protective plastic from the couch. 

As Sunggyu inquired himself, Myungsoo looked around. There was an L-shaped couch far back and some furniture disassembled (probably something to store electronics attached to the missing TV) in front of it, and from one to the other, there was a lot of space. Right beside the furniture, there was a built-in bookcase and as he followed it, with his eyes, he discovered a table that could fit 6 people attached to a big kitchen island and a very well-equipped kitchen. That was no surprise, still, he frowned. Why? He slid his finder around, no dust came out. ‘Cleaned a bit’, yes right.

“It feels nice.” Woohyun threw his body at the couch but his father didn’t like it that much.

“Get up from there, it feels safe for you but try to avoid that plastic, ok?”

The boy obeyed just in time so Sunggyu could drag him to a door and Myungsoo followed them only to find the master bedroom. A very big master bedroom. There was a bedframe in the center and a door that led to the bathroom and a big closet that continued from one wall to the other, rich people's stuff for sure. In front of the bed, there was a space for a tv. On the right side of it, there was room for a nightstand, and a big table for a study/office station in front of a big window, which was covered by curtains.

The older boy started narrating how things were when he lived there and how he often invaded his parents' bed, and Myungsoo took that chance to dare a look at the bathroom. Of course, it lacked things a person would need but damn, it was spacious. Two sinks, two showers, a big cabinet, and a big window that let a lot of sunlight enter but didn’t compromise privacy and details in black and white just his taste.

He felt dazzled but heard the kids run somewhere and had to hurry to follow them. The boys crossed the living room and found a small hall with three doors, Sunggyu opened the first door only for Woohyun to be surprised. Although it wasn’t a small room, when compared to the main room, the living room, or the kitchen, it seemed like a cubicle. And it fitted his current room in it. 

“This feels so empty,” Sunggyu said, a little bummed. “Dad had a lot of equipment over a big table here, there was a recording booth on that side… and his guitar and piano stayed on that side.” He pointed.

While Woohyun didn’t poke fun at Sunggyu saying he was rich anymore. Instead, the boy seemed to listen very attentively to his hyung description of how things looked three years back and tried to imagine his hyung memories. On the other hand, it seemed like that whole process was doing Sunggyu more good than damage, he seemed emotional from remembering things fondly, but not sad, not broken like the first time they met him.

“So you recorded a song here too?” Woohyun inquired curiously.

“For my dad's ringtone, It was fun but I was a small child.” Sunggyu giggled but then grabbed his friend again. “Come see my room.”

They almost knocked Myungsoo out of his feet only to enter a door further down a second door. Before entering it behind them, Myungsoo checked the third door, a bathroom. It was considerably smaller than the other one, but still had a big cabinet and two sinks, the decoration seemed alike, but there was more color in this one, probably because the teens/kids were the ones using it, but also in a way classy enough not to make an adult uncomfortable to be in a children’s place. 

After a look, the young dad entered the door where voices were coming out of it, and if the smaller room fitted his room, this one probably fits the rest of his apartment. 

There were two big windows - that made Myungsoo blinded by the sun so he had to close a few curtains halfway - which dispositions were a bit odd, but after listening to some of Sunggyu’s blabbering, he figured this room had been expanded while the other had been reduced. Well, that explained a lot, especially when he considered that Sungjong shared a room with Sunggyu way before they moved in with Sungyeol.

The boy seemed a bit outraged by the changes he was seeing. According to him, each boy had a closet on each side of a window and Sungjong’s table and the bed were next to the other window. The middle brother still could be isolated enough with a bookshelf to concentrate on homework, while Sunggyu played with his puzzles on the other side.

Myungsoo’s mind started to wander. He tried to imagine Sunggyu’s depiction but changed Sungjong with Woohyun. He could see the boys jumping on top of one of the beds while play-fighting and then building the Lego the boys would get from his parents for Christmas on another corner and actually could let it stay there. They had enough space to lay around reading or doing homework on the ground instead of tables, while he organized the boy’s clothes in their closet further back and Sungyeol entered it to call everyone to eat. Sunggyu's big picture of their first meeting could stay right beside the door while Woohun would have the drawing Hoya made of his mom and sister on his nightstand, and Sunggyu would have one of his parents, or his family and…

While his mind decorated the room and started a narrative of how life in the future would be if his older lover said yes to what he wanted to propose with things. The boys tried to talk to him and, since he seemed so out of himself, they let it go and try to do what they wanted on their own. 

Unknowingly to them all, Sungyeol returned quietly, left the food over the table, and looked for them but only to find Myungsoo with a daydreaming smile, while the kids were about to put their fingers on an energy socket.

“Kim Sunggyu, Nam Woohyun!”

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AN: Epilogue part I, folks, I hope you enjoy and have good input on how their relationship is now. See you all soon.