Sungyeol arrived home with the kids to find Myungsoo laying out on his couch rubbing his hands on his face in distress while a good smell came from the kitchen, someone else was in the younger apartment and Sungyeol wondered who could it be, he knew Myungsoo had friends but it wasn't like he ever saw someone else inside Myungsoo apartment that wasn't part of his family.

Woohyun entered the apartment blabbering something about the movie then stopped to smell the air, he was ready to make a beeline for the kitchen, thinking his father was there, but he stopped in his tracks when Myungsoo sat on the couch to look at him.

The boy took in his father appearance, a thing that Sungyeol and Sunggyu stopped to do as well, and immediately frowned. Myungsoo had his eyes slightly red and his face was a bit swollen, he seemed to be really, really, sad and the boy didn't like it one bit, so he ran to where his father was with a concerned expression.

The boy fussed all over his father, checking his body and asking what had happened but instead of answering Myungsoo just engulfed him in a hug, Myungsoo seemed really relieved to see his son, thing that the boy didn't understand really but still immediately hugged his father back, trying to somehow comfort him.

Sungyeol and Sunggyu eyed each other in confusion, they were not understanding the scene at all so after a second of hesitance they got close to the young father-son pair only for Sunggyu to try to hug them and Sungyeol place a hand on Myungsoo back and ask what was wrong.

Myungsoo didn't let go of the hug but he managed to look at Sungyeol with his eyes full of sadness and distress and, before he could answer his lover (?) question his father came from the kitchen and asked is Woohyun had arrived and if Sunggyu was there too.

The boys immediately snapped their head to look at Bumsoo and at first Woohyun wondered what his grandpa was doing there, he never came unannounced, and it was not like his father would let him go out with the neighbors if he knew the patriarch would come too. It had been a while Woohyun had seen him so he wanted to be cheerful and greet his grandfather but at the time he was still concerned over his dad, so he just looked from one to another totally confused on what he was supposed to do while Sunggyu timidly went to give the elder a hug.

Seeing that Woohyun would not move without some kind of reassurance Myungsoo said he was fine and that he son should greet his grandfather properly and only then the boy nodded dumbly and moved still confusedly to greet the elder. The boy was hugged, squeezed, lifted and twirled, Bumsoo wasn't kidding when he said he was missing Woohyun, and once he was on the ground the elder squeezed his cheeks then fondly combed his hair. Meanwhile, Sunggyu was giggling to himself because of all of that, it didn't seem like Woohyunie had liked to be squeezed and his expression had been funny, as for Sungyeol his eyes were in Myungsoo only, carefully observing how Myungsoo seemed to have his emotions in conflict.

Then it came the moment that Myungsoo was dreading, though he knew it would come eventually, and Woohyun ended up asking why his dad was so sad. The young father promptly lied, saying he wasn't which was a clear lie that made Sungyeol frown so Bumsoo ended up saying otherwise, that Myungsoo did invite him over nor had taken Woohyun to see his grandparents over the past month so he had to be scolded properly, how he could live without his Namu, right?

The young dad still tried to deny and Woohyun was a bit incredulous, but then Myungsoo decided it was less troublesome to go with his father lie and ended up defending himself saying that his dad could come whenever he wanted and that he hadn't had much time to take Woohyun back to Incheon since he had been working to raise some money.

Woohyun blinked deeply as if he was not believing what he was hearing, he didn't think that would cause such sadness in his father but he also couldn't think of anything else that could do that either, his father had been so happy lately despite weird comments about wanting to cheat on his mother. So, to settle this, he went to his grandpa, hugged his legs and begged for the elder not to scold his daddy anymore because he didn't like to see his father upset and that made the two fathers present with both hearts squeezed. Oh Woohyun, if only you knew.

Before Bumsoo could reply his grandson Sunggyu started to smell the air and scrunch up his face, a thing that Sungyeol immediately knew why: something seemed to be burning. Bumsoo eyes went from showing some pity to comically big and then he was already rushing to the kitchen, letting out some screams that amused and attracted the kids to the kitchen, which made the young couple be alone in the living room. Once the kids disappeared giggling at Bumsoo, the young father finally let out an insufferable sigh and turn his head only to see Sungyeol getting in front of him.

Come here. Sungyeol coaxed softly offering a hand for the younger.

Myungsoo looked at him for a second or two before he finally took it and then Sungyeol was already lifting him up and taking him to his own room without letting go of his hand. Once in Myungsoo's room, Sungyeol locked the door and gently pulled him to sit on the bed. This is not only about him not seeing Woohyun, is it? Sungyeol asked as softly as he could, he didn't want to pry on anything but offer a shoulder for his friend/lover (?).

“It is in a way.” Myungsoo said, not clearly being able to hide his emotions as he looked at Sungyeol fighting upcoming tears for the umpteenth time that night, just thinking about the dimension of his lies and the possibility of Woohyun biological father and grandmother wanting to take his son away already made him a mess. Meanwhile, Sungyeol felt that there was more into this so he just let Myungsoo talk once he was able. “He thought I started hiding Woohyun so he wouldn't notice the differences in our looks....” Myungsoo lips quivered as they heard some noise in the kitchen and he waited a few seconds to speak in a broken and painful tone. “Hyung... he knows.... about Woohyun... he knows...” He mumbled lowly.

Sungyeol had a bad history when it came to connecting, he wasn't much of a good listener not deemed himself to be any good at comforting, mainly because he couldn't have much empathy and was kind of self-centered, but, hell, Myungsoo tone was so broken that he felt himself immediately hugging his neighbor to try to comfort him, unknowingly giving exactly what Myungsoo needed at the moment.

Myungsoo hugged him tightly as if he needed to be physically sure that Sungyeol was there for him while he whispered lowly. “I had to tell him everything.”

“Everything everything?” Sungyeol asked to be sure.

“Yes, everything, including us.” Myungsoo whispered sadly.

“Oh, Myungsoo.” Sungyeol breathed and kissed Myungsoo temples a couple of times as he rubbed one hand on the younger back (he was getting the hang of this comforting thing lately, wasn't he?).

It was not like Sungyeol could put himself in Myungsoo place and feel exactly what Myungsoo was feeling. Still, he was feeling strangely sad for this as well and he wondered if that was empathy for the younger. Since it had been so hard for him to connect with others without trying really hard, Sungyeol rarely experienced that feeling, but he couldn't avoid being a tiny bit happy as well because that meant that Myungsoo was operating a big transformation for the better on him. He liked that and he liked Myungsoo, and he liked that he was feeling that he could offer what Myungsoo expected from him. “But.... he doesn't look angry...” He trailed confusedly.

Myungsoo pulled back. “Don't fool yourself, he is.” He said as he rubbed the back of his hands against his eyes. “Not heavily angry as I expected though, it seems like he is so attached to Woohyun that for him it doesn't even matter if they are really...” He then dropped his voice the lowest he could, almost ashamed to say what he was going to say. “…related.”

“This is a good thing right?” Sungyeol asked in confusion. “You told him everything right? So if your father loves Woohyun and really doesn't care, his anger towards you will fade eventually.” He tried to be encouraging.

“It's just... once I started this... I was prepared to lose everything in order to have him, still, I am not prepared at all if I were to lose him.” Myungsoo voice cracked and his lips quivered and Sungyeol was almost pulling his hair, that wasn't the Myungsoo he knew, his Myungsoo shouldn't ever be allowed to be this way.

“You won't lose him, Woohyun loves you to death, eventually, and with a lot of talks to explain everything, whatever he feels will subside and he will see you're the best thing that could have happened to him.” Sungyeol tried once more comfort him. You are the best thing that happened in almost four years in my life as well.Sungyeol thought, he knew it was kind of soon to think this way when he didn't even know if Myungsoo loved him the same, but whatever he felt with Myungsoo, it was better than he ever felt with anyone else, so yeah.

“No, he will hate me for sure. “Myungsoo disagreed in a whimper. “I don't know what I'll do when that happens, but what if Woohyun wants to meet his real family and they want him and he wants them? What if they try to take him away from me before I have the chance to tell him the truth?” He asked with a hint of desperation.

“No, no, no.” He grabbed Myungsoo by the shoulders. “I won't let you be this defeated.” Sungyeol then softly held Myungsoo chin and forced the younger to look in his eyes. “Listen, Woohyun will not cease to exist because you're in trouble, he is a kid and he will be needing you until he is able to take care of himself and you said you chose this because you wanted to be his father, so you have to pull yourself together and be there for him.”

Myungsoo sighed deeply. “Hyung, but everything is happening at once, I feel overborne from everything, besides it's an easy thing to say that when you aren't in the same situation, how do I even do that?” Myungsoo whined.

Sungyeol shook his head with sadness in his tone. “Oh Myungsoo, you know nothing.” He then took one hand from his neighbor and made him caress the scars hidden in his hair. “What I've been through is totally different from what you experienced but don't you think I know what is overbearing situations and emotions as well?” He asked and Myungsoo immediately looked down. “I have been bullied, abandoned, I attempted suicide, and when I finally thought I was overcoming everything, my estranged mother died and pushed on me a responsibility too big for a person like myself and I was left with two kids to raise. I didn't want that situation but I couldn't be angry with her because my brothers were sad because of her, I couldn't be sad because they needed someone to guide their life without her, thing that I was already used, and although Sungjong recovered fast studying for his entrance exams, Sunggyu was completely destroyed. Most of the times I have no idea how to deal with people in general but I had even less idea about how to deal with him because we only had seen each other a couple of times before.”

“I didn't mean...” Myungsoo wanted to apologize, of course, Sungyeol went through was terrible and he knew his neighbor had suffered a lot, but before he could ramble his apology Sungyeol cut him off.

“I know I was a unique child even before that all happened to me but I am sure something is equal for everyone: when we are young every problem seems to be too big and our parents are our world and our heroes. But once we get older, we are hit by reality and we start to see that things are not like we thought, parents have their flaws too and our world gets bigger with, hopefully, more people in it, and problems can be overcome. Today, instead of bullied, I am respected; I have only a few, but I have people on my side; I found things that make me want to live and I have been learning how to raise a kid from you. You know nowadays you're my role model in this right? Who else I'm gonna learn this from?”

Myungsoo was surprised with that kind of speech, up til now Sungyeol didn't seem like he would be that supporting and back in Incheon he didn't think he would need Sungyeol comfort either. But now that he needed it, and Sungyeol was trying to overcome his own nature in order to give him comfort, it made him touched not only because Sungyeol was investing in their relationship but because to change from hated to role model showed how much they progressed already.

Feeling a tiny bit better, Myungsoo forced a smile and interlaced his fingers with Sungyeol's. “I'm glad you changed your mind about me or maybe this wouldn't be possible.” He said quietly with eyes fixed on their entangled fingers.

“You're right about that, and I'm glad it too, but you have to focus back on your son.” Sungyeol focused back on the issue at hand, it wasn't like he would let Myungsoo rub their weird beginning to feel better, this had to be done in another way, so the taller untangled their finger then grabbed Myungsoo face gently again so they could look into each other eyes.

This devastated state won't help you two, you'll only scare the out of him if you keep up like this and you don't need a distressed Woohyun right now, or else you won't be able to prepare him to face the truth. Besides, if Woohyun has another family, and they didn't appear up until now, they probably don't want him, so stop suffering in anticipation for something that didn't happen or might not happen at all. You don't have the time to wonder what they might do, you made choices to be in the situation that you are now, being Woohyun father, so you need to stick with your decision and get ready to face whatever it comes.

You're right. Myungsoo said begrudgingly and then leaned towards his neighbor to lay his head on his shoulder to mumble something. It's just... I'm just so scared of this.

Sungyeol enveloped him in a hug and patted his back. “When I started taking care of the boys I was too, I still am a bit.” Sungyeol admitted lowly then turned his head a bit to place a well-aimed kiss on the top of his dongsaeng head. “But you're a good parent and Woohyun loves you; everything about this is hard, but when you tell Woohyun the truth, and when he finally overcomes all the confusion he will feel, you two will become indestructible, I'm sure of it.”

Sungyeol kissed him again and Myungsoo finally managed a little smile against the elder shoulder, despite being sad with his situation there was a positive thing in his life: Sungyeol, and he would be damned if he wouldn't be at least a bit happy that Sungyeol was comfortable enough around him to initiate skinship and give him comforting words instead of him shaping Sungyeol to be what he needed as he thought he would do.

He kept himself on the elder hold but pulled his face away just a bit from his shoulder just to press his mouth close to the elder's ear. “Thank you.” He whispered as he felt Sungyeol shiver against him so he took advantage that Sungyeol wasn't expecting that and was a bit surprised to press a soft kiss behind the elder's ear. “Thank you.” He whispered again to reinforce how meaningful this had been for him.

Sungyeol kind of froze after the shiver but after Myungsoo whispered a second time in his ear he freed the younger from his hold and turned his face just as slowly as Myungsoo pulled back. He felt Myungsoo lips brushing against his cheek and getting near his mouth, but when they were almost kissing they heard the knob being forced and two small voices outside.

“Daddy? Hyung? Why the door is closed?” Woohyun asked in a mix of confusion and concern, his father never locked this door before, never.

“Grandpa is calling us to eat, he made hamburgers.” Sunggyu called and after a second thought, he decided to add something encouraging word. “They are not burnt.”

At that moment the adults sighed in frustration as the mood was killed and they had to pull apart completely.

“How do I explain this to Woohyun?” Myungsoo asked Sungyeol.

“Daddy?” They heard the boy try the knob again.

“Leave to me.” Sungyeol said confidently but after a second thought added. “But do go along with whatever I come up.”
“Fine.” Myungsoo agreed and begrudgingly get up from the bed so he could go open the door, but he was stopped by Sungyeol grabbing his wrists and getting up to be at his eye level (or almost, since Sungyeol was so tall).

“When the boys fall asleep, leave the door open for me.” Sungyeol boldly suggested.

“Hyung?” Sunggyu was the one calling this time. “Are you there?”

“Hyung, Woohyun...” Myungsoo was a bit scandalized with what he thought Sungyeol was suggesting but the older was quick to dismiss everything.

“I know.” He smiled. “But we can talk, and we can connect, and it's an opportunity for us to grow... “He hesitated a bit but decided to add anyway. “...Individually and as a couple.”

Myungsoo finally relaxed and repeated what he said a month back. “My door will always be open to you.”

When the door was finally open Myungsoo took a minute to try to recompose himself fully as Sungyeol was the first to come out as and Woohyun wanted to pass by him and go check on his daddy while Sunggyu threw a knowing (and annoying) look at his brother, but the elder just grabbed Woohyun by the arm and pulled him and Sunggyu to the side then squatted to explain things to them at eye level.

“I just talked to Myungsoo to discover what happened and it seems that the scolding he received from his father wasn't that big or anything but it made him doubt his parenting skills and this is what is upsetting him.” As Woohyun seemed surprised with that information, Sungyeol was quick to explain a bit more. “You see, Myungsoo is a young parent and even if he became an adult, he still has fears and insecurities as any other person.” He then looked at Sunggyu. “You know I have them too right?” Sunggyu scratched his head but ended up nodding then Sungyeol returned his gaze to Woohyun. “But we can help him.”

“How?” Woohyun asked eagerly though Sunggyu asked the same one second later, both of them showing the reaction Sungyeol wanted.

“As I told you every person has fears and insecurities, but they can overcome them if they are confident.” He explained only for Woohyun eagerly ask another question.

“How do we make dad feel confident?”

“Well, for Sunggyu and I, that will happen if we show support, with words and maybe hugs, since he likes hugs so much.” Sungyeol explained and Sunggyu nodded with a determined look of I-got-that before his brother continued. “But Woohyun, it's a different case. You are the most important person in Myungsoo's life and there is no one he loves more so anything that comes from you will have even more effect and even more meaning, do you get that? If you act badly he will feel twice bad, but if you're good he will feel twice better.” Woohyun nodded in understanding as well before Sungyeol finished. “You just have to show him how much you love him so he will put his fears and insecurities to the side and bee the cool dad that you know.”

“Ok, I can do it.” Woohyun said confidently making a fighting hand motion.

“How are you going to do it?” Sungyeol asked in a smile, Woohyun had completely charmed him with time and if he wasn't the cutest thing at the moment Sungyeol didn't know what he was.

“I can hug him, I can kiss him, we can sleep together...” He said and Sungyeol for a brief moment was worried Woohyun would screw his plans for the night, but the boy quickly forgot about that when he gasped after having an idea. “I can sing him a song, yes, dad will love it.”

“Boooooooooys, what are you taking so long? The hamburgers will get cold.” Bumsoo called impatiently and the three of them were interrupted only to hear movement from inside the room, Myungsoo was definitely coming out, so his son quickly forgot Sungyeol and ran to him.

“Daddy, are you ok?” He asked a bit worried.

“I'm fine now.” Myungsoo said as he ran a hand through his son's hair. “Hyung gave me some words of wisdom.”

“Ppfffff.” Sunggyu contained a laugh, he obviously thought Sungyeol wasn't giving words of wisdom to him, a thing that made his brother turn to glare at him, unknowingly the taller was also being glared at by Woohyun, thought it was very briefly.

“Myungsoo, can you get everybody to come for dinner?” Bumsoo called impatiently again, though using a serious tone, one didn't mess with food in their family.

“We're coming.” Myungsoo announced loudly before addressing his son. “Let's eat before grandpa get's angry ok? We can play together after dinner and then you can tell me how your day was, I'm dying to know about the movie you watched.” That kind of answer didn't please Woohyun but he ended up grabbing his dad hand before going towards the living room.

Sungyeol and Sunggyu were left alone for a brief second and Sungyeol promptly turned to glare at his brother. “Kim Sunggyu!” He hissed and Sunggyu straightened himself and Sungyeol let out a tired sigh. If Woohyun discovers things before Myungsoo telling him it is going to be a big mess for both of them, you aren't helping if you keep being like this. He scolded.

Sunggyu immediately looked down to his feet and Sungyeol got up and sighed tiredly. “It's ok Sunggyu, you don't need to be sad, just stop doing that ok? Myungsoo is going through a delicate moment and we have to be supportive friends, so come on, let's eat and distract them.” He encouraged and pulled Sunggyu towards the living room where he watched Woohyun making his prayers while Myungsoo started to serve them both with the hamburger made by his father.

The dinner was a bit awkward at first because everyone was a bit worried about Myungsoo but soon enough Myungsoo asked the boys about their day and the chatty atmosphere begun. Now, Sungyeol wasn't a genius of human connection but he had the hang of it with the kids now and that reflected in the way the boy was speaking about their outing with him. While Myungsoo and his father kept making questions that prompted to forget the young dad sad mood by talking more, Sungyeol kept poking the table in front of Sunggyu plate so he could get the hint that he had to eat.

At some point, Sungyeol joined the conversation more actively as he suggested taking the kids to Everland on the next Saturday, with Myungsoo joining them this time, and Woohyun and Sunggyu were delighted, not to mention Myungsoo finally lightened up like a Christmas tree while Bumsoo observed them with an amused smile.

The older sighed to himself sadly. He couldn't stop thinking that Myungsoo entered his current situation because he thought his parents preferred him a certain way, and while Bumsoo and Sonmi could accept Myungsoo being gay, he knew this probably happened because he was always too blind to see what it was in front of him, but now that he knew it was so obvious. Myungsoo loved Jihyun, there was no doubt about that, but as he reacted to Sungyeol words, even if the two of them were pretending to be friendly and casual, his eyes shone brightly and his smiles, even though still a bit sad, were always broader.

To tell the truth he was worried about Sungyeol being the one Myungsoo liked since he heard so many things about the boy while he was growing up, and he thought Sungyeol, being the attractive and witty young male that he was, charmed Myungsoo but as he observed their interactions under a new light he couldn't help but understand why they worked. It had nothing to do with personal characteristics but understanding and partnership that went beyond them and extended to the kids, and while Myungsoo and Sungyeol were in the beginning stages of a (now, hopefully) relationship, they carried all the interactions between themselves and kids as they were already a family, even though not the traditional one.

When they finally finished dinning everyone took their dirty plates and glasses to the kitchen and Myungsoo was about to go wash them when his father said he would take care of it and that he should go play with the kids, but not before volunteering Sungyeol to help him. Myungsoo was a bit hesitant to leave Sungyeol alone with his father but the taller easily agreed and started the task before telling Myungsoo to make sure Sunggyu would brush his teeth (the boy had his own toothbrush in Myungsoo place the same way Woohyun had one in the Lee/Kim apartment), and Myungsoo caught himself begrudgingly agreeing and ushering the kids to go to the bathroom.

Bumsoo then directed himself towards the sing and was ready to help, when the boy beside him boldly started a conversation.

“I know everything.” He confessed and Bumsoo almost lets the plate he just grabbed fall. “I don't know the details but I know about him and Woohyun.”

“Why would he tell you that?” Bumsoo asked more jealous that Sungyeol probably heard before him than anything else, forgetting completely that he already knew the truth way before.

Sungyeol just blinked at him but looked straight in his eyes. “Because I told him everything about myself.”

Now that was a surprise and Bumsoo gasped loudly and with that reaction Sungyeol had the confirmation that Bumsoo probably knew detailed things about him, there was no avoidance or pretending now.

Sungyeol just turned back his concentration to the task at hand before continuing. “Don't worry, I left the gory parts out, Myungsoo is too empathic, so, if you know, don't tell him either. He is not in condition take more baggage now.”

“Ye-yeah.” The father stuttered an agreement and dumbly stayed in place, processing the younger words then hesitantly asking with a bit of confusion. “Why did you tell him then?”

“I'm only twenty-three and I can say my life was pretty ty with one bad thing happening after the other since I was six.” Sungyeol trailed emotionless then stopped to look at Myungsoo's father. “And then your son comes, and we didn't hit it off right off the bat, but in a few months, everything was falling into place. He is an attractive and caring man and that can make him get anyone else so I thought, by logic, that I need to put up an extra effort if I want to be worthy enough of his interest that he might want to stick around.”

Bumsoo raised a brow but couldn't contain an amused smile. “Logic huh?” The elder chuckled. “It is not surprising that someone like you would say you're using logic in this sort of situation.”

Sungyeol turned off the faucet and turned his whole body to look at Bumsoo suspiciously since he didn't understand if he was trying to be offensive somehow or was just stating facts. “Yeah, I'm not too good with emotions.” He decided that was a good neutral answer.

“From what I heard of, course not, but that's Myungsoo expertise though.” Bumsoo idly added.

“Yeah, he is better at that.” The younger agreed not really getting where Myungsoo's father was going.

“If you want to be with him you will have to get better at that.” The elder explained carefully and Sungyeol crossed his arms over his shirt in a defensive posture.

“He would need to get a bit more realistic then, he can't envelop himself and Woohyun in a bubble of love and think nothing will try to pop it. Life itself is a constant poke on whatever bubble we build, soon or later it will pop.” Sungyeol replied sharply.

“Now, although I agree with you on what you said about life, love is not a bubble, it's an abstract concept that I know you might have trouble with and at the same time it is a very concrete thing, but you're taking it too pessimistically.” Bumsoo said in a bit of reproval. “If built properly it will remain even if the bubble is popped, am I not here?” Bumsoo asked wittily and this time Sungyeol hadn't a reply for him, and just like a chess match he just waited for his opponent next move, so Bumsoo continued. “I have another question for you, are you willing to build something with Myungsoo that it will withstand pops or do you want to be another bubble?”

Sungyeol smiled in amusement at the metaphor but dodged Bumsoo question smartly, he wasn't going to discuss this with Myungsoo dad. “It doesn't depend on me only.”

“It does because I already know how Myungsoo feels about you.”