In the first letters, there weren't many things worth mentioning aside that Sungyeol didn't let his parents sleep in his first month of life, but aren't all children like this in the beginning? Also, they discovered that Sungyeol was a late speaker (much for Sungjong amusement) and that was only able to speak with 25 months of life, or 2 years and a month. What surprised the younger and made the elder feel redeemed, was that when Sungyeol spoke, he didn't say a word but more like a sentence with a connective “I want kimchi and juice.” perfectly pronounced as his mother forgotten him in his high chair to make lunch.

They made a break because Sunggyu called to say he arrived safely in Jeju, that he was brave and there was nothing to be afraid of but he said Woohyun had some ear pain and that left Sungyeol a bit worried, but there wasn't much he could do from Seoul, there wasn't much he could to even if he was there. The boy also talked to Sungjong briefly but said his goodnight when he said Woohyun finished talking to his dad so they should go sleep now.

After that, the pair of brothers kept their readings (there was a lot of stuff that wasn't important like jobs and annoying coworkers) but when they read a letter from when Sungyeol had two years and a half, they discovered that their mother asked if Myungsoo was complaining like Sungyeol always did and that somehow made Sungjong come up with this great idea.

“Hyung, this is it.” The younger had turned to him with a gigantic smile on his face.

“This is what?” Sungyeol blinked confusedly.

“The letters. With them, I don't need to get Moonsoo hyung drunk at the party and...”The younger was explaining excitedly when he was interrupted.

“Would you do that to your own boyfriend? Sungjong!” The elder scolded as he started judging his brother hard, up till now Sungjong had mentioned nothing about planning to purposely get Moonsoo drunk but that was a wrong thing to do on any occasion.

“Don't tell me you wouldn't use the information.” Sungjong retorted annoyed while he rolled his eyes. “This here saves me the trouble and the relationship.” He pointed to the computer.

“What do you mean?” Sungyeol asked with some hope.

“Don't you see? If mom is comparing your development with Myungsoo hyung then his mother must have written about him.”

“Right.” Sungyeol said as he slapped both his hands together as he caught up fast on what Sungjong meant. “We save embarrassment for everybody if we simply read the letters, no one has to know right?”

“Yes, what it matters is to get the info.” Sungjong agreed. “Come on, let's go.” The younger urged, already getting up from his seat.

“Where are you going?” Sungyeol asked as he managed to hold brother'st wrist.

“Where to? The deposit, of course, we need to dust off some things until we find the letters sent by their mother so we can read.”

“Hey, I agree that this is a brilliant idea but I'm not keen on cleaning and searching things at this hour. Also, I'm a bit sleepy because the content until now was kinda boring and I'm not gonna go pull a night off for that.” Sungjong made as if he would complain and Sungyeol was quick to add. “Let's do that first thing tomorrow.”

“Fine, but if Hoya hyung comes back I get Sunggyu bed.” Sungjong then walked to his brother closet. “And I'll borrow some pajamas.”

“It's three in the morning, he will not come back. Actually, you left a pair here, it is on the drawer below … Yes, that.”

Sungjong left Sungyeol room with some pajamas and towel in hands with the intention of not coming back and just crashing in Sunggyu empty bed, (that it was nice than the one he used previously) and he ended up sleeping with no regrets like he really did know he did a good job. Meanwhile, Sungyeol said he wanted to sleep but could he really? He turned to one side to another as he thought about how close he was to discover information that would help to set him up a plan or how his mom could have throw Sonmi letters away and they return to square one. The thought made him anxious but at the end, his day long and his emotional tiredness won him over and he was able to sleep.

But not for long, he was the one shaking Sungjong awake at 7 AM with breakfast already prepared. Sungjong would have made a face and complaining about the hour but Sungyeol made his mother pancakes - which already meant he was in a good mood if you didn't count him complaining about how Hoya disappeared with his kitchen knives – so he wouldn't complain about it and just embrace the tastefulness.

“You know what? Mom has to have more kitchen knives right? I'll just bring them back with me.” Sungyeol suddenly said in the middle of breakfast only to decide, two hours later, that what she still had was not worth using anymore.

When their mother died, they divided the money and decided not to sell her apartment, but rent it to guarantee some kind of income (in the events anyone got unemployed and so they had some money that could be used to raise Sunggyu) and what couldn't be sold for one reason or another was kept in a paid deposit in the outskirts of Seoul.

They drove there as fast as they could because they were eager to discover things, but not before stopping to buy some gloves and face masks to not breathe in so much dust. Once there, they put the gloves and the masks then opened up the door in order to see a bunch of piled and dusty things.

“At least it has less dust then we expected.” Sungyeol said as he immediately pulled off his mask, he would keep the gloves because he swiped a finger over a piece of decoration and his finger came looking completely black.

“Cof cof, I'll keep my mask.” Sungjong decided then clapped his hands together. “Ok, we are looking for a green box this big with 'weird papers' written on it.” He made a motion with his hands to show Sungyeol the size of the box then proceeds inside to start looking through things.

“How do you know?” Sungyeol inquired as he followed his brother and grabbed a painting to put to the side and give them more access to things. “We just threw things around, this will take a while.”

“I don't doubt that, but I know because I basically emptied every paper from their drawers that weren't important in that box, so if she kept Sonmi-shi letters, it must be there.” Sungjong said as he moved a box of extra cables (?) - that probably belonged to Jongwan on top of a side table. “This horrendous side table is still here?”

“You just said it is horrendous, and people know that so it couldn't be sold.” Sungyeol replied plainly as he looked inside of a big box half his size. “What if she didn't leave the letters in one place before and just kept them individually in a book or a file, or something?”

“Why are you asking me that?” The younger asked as he turned to look at his brother inquiringly.

“I just found books and files in this box and I don't remember if she kept any other room organized aside the kitchen, we barely lived together.” Sungyeol explained as he kept trying to see if the pages of the books would indicate if there is anything between them.

“She wasn't the most organized person, so I guess you'll have to check it.” Sungjong turned to what he was fumbling it before and Sungyeol sighed.

“Just our luck.” He grumbled then grabbed a pile of books to check outside, the box was too big and heavy and he couldn't simply move it even if he had as many muscles as Hoya, Dongwoo or Myungsoo had.

When he was about to bring outside a third pile Sungjong grabbed his attention. “Hyung, I think I still have some sleep in my body, put some song on your phone to keep us awake, my battery is at its end.”

“Ok.” Sungyeol agreed as he dropped the books on the ground and put a song to play.

Sungyeol could tell whose books were from Sunggyu's father and he was even surprised when he saw a few books he knew it belonged to his but his mother? She was a person that always promised it would read more and bought different kinds of books but was never able to. Who knew that she would have that many books?

After about two hours searching they received a call from Hoya that was freaking out because he and Dongwoo arrived at the apartment and didn't seem them. Sungyeol thought Hoya seemed like a mother sometimes - not his because he thought his mother never had these kinds of considerations for him - but Hoya had his good moments too, he brought lunch and helped to search.

“Are you sure it is a green box?” Hoya asked as Sungyeol separated two recipe books and, apparently, Jongwan notebook with unfinished songs to give to Sunggyu as a gift, Christmas was two months away and he didn't know yet what to gift the boy with.

“I'm sure because I packed that box with all the papers I found that weren't documents.”

“Hey, I found an album.” Sungyeol said as grabbed and opened. “Oh gosh, Sunggyu had no eyes at all as a baby.” He giggled.

“Yah, search, we are searching for your benefit.” Sungjong scolded.

“At this point, I don't know if there is anywhere we didn't search yet.” Hoya mumbled as he tried to pull some sheets of fabric that covered something big.

“At this point, I think someone put that box for recycling or mom threw the letters out herself.” Sungyeol said with a sigh as he closed the album, there wasn't anything between the pages and his mother didn't even place pictures in an orderly manner but he thought Sunggyu (and Woohyun, for laughing purposes) would like to see, so he would take it home too.

As soon as Sungyeol put the album in a pile with the two cooking books and Jongwan notebook, Hoya gasped. “I found a storage tower.” He said as he pointed to the sturdy gray object and tried to open. “Do we have keys to open it?”

“I saw a bunch of key's somewhere.” Sungjong said and went for the only drawer in the ugliest piece of furniture inside the deposit, got a bunch of keys and threw at his cousin.

“Yah, this bunch of keys can kill someone!” Hoya complained but started to look for one that could fit in the openings right away.

“Try to search for the brand...” Sungyeol suggested as he looked for the brand of the storage tower and Sungjong tried to get past things and approach them. “Try Hyoan Safe Solutions or HSS for short.”

“No, no, no, no, no..” Hoya kept mumbling for himself as he searched the keys. “Here!”

Everyone watched with anticipations as Hoya tried the key. It didn't open the first door, but it opened the second.

“So? What's inside?” Sungjong asked and Hoya shrugged but passed a medium sized box to Sungyeol then returned to trying to find the keys for the other two doors.

Sungyeol opened up the box only for his eyes to grow big and then he closed to glare at his brother. “Really a green big box? This is blue and kinda small compared to what you were describing.” He said as he tried to move to somewhere with more space.

“I know what I packed ok? It isn't my fault if it isn't here.” He then tried to accompany his brother as Sungyeol tried to pass by him. “Are they there?”

“I think so, surprisingly.” Sungyeol said. “I thought you said she was unorganized.”

“She was, still, she kept the kitchen tidy. She might have organized other stuff well, all documents from her car and apartment were tidily kept in the same place so it is possible.”

“And you tell me this now?” Sungyeol turned to glare at his brother then plopped down on the ground. “I thought Jongwan was the one that tidied things up.”

“No, he was a mess.” Sungjong said as he also sat down and peaked inside the box as Sungyeol opened it.

“There are no envelopes, she didn't surprise me here.” He said as he picked up the first letter in the pile to read and left the rest to Sungjong to mess with. “At least she put the dates, we can figure out a timeline later.” Sungjong grabbed as many letters he could but a bunch of things fell from his hands: Polaroids. “What...”

“Pictures, Sonmi shi sent our mom pictures.” He said as he passed photos of a slightest younger Sonmi with Bumsoo until he found something. “Awn. Isn't my boyfriend the nicest uncle ever?” That perked up Sungyeol curiosity, so when he looked, Sungjong showed a Polaroid of Moonsoo carrying a smaller Woohyun in his neck. “It says here Woohyun was three.”

As Sungyeol grabbed the photo to look at and Sungjong started to look for more possible photos between the letters and that's when Hoya, that had been briefly forgotten found something else.

“Hey guys, do you know anything about lawsuits?”

“What?” Both brothers snapped their heads back to Hoya and asked together. “What are you talking about?”Sungyeol furthered inquired completely confused, not that Sungjong was any less confused than him.

“It says here... 'Song Minyoung in behalf of her children Lee Sungyeol and Lee Sungjong' bla bla bla, bla bla bla, I don't know juridic terms… sued a bunch of people.” He frowned and both brothers looked at one another with furrowed brows and confused faces. “It says here you won... wow, I'm never paying for your meals ever again.”

“How could I have won if I have never sued anyone?” Sungjong asked.

“Don't know dude, but you two might want to check this out, have you even paid the taxes related to this?” Hoya asked and Sungyeol suddenly became worried, their government was unforgiving with these kinds of things if he had to pay anything it was better if he paid willingly while nothing was discovered and exposed yet.

“Give this here.” He said as he snatched the files from him so he could inspect and Hoya was back to rummage through things in the storage tower. “This happened after dad died.”

“Then if it is related to our inheritance we probably paid every tax, mom handled that for us and put the money in a bank account so we could use later, remember?” Sungjong concluded and for him, it was case closed, he went back to searching for more pictures.

“Yeah, but I didn't know we sued people and somehow these numbers are not correct.” Sungyeol said as he inspected the pages in the file when he saw the value it was supposed to be his inheritance money, it didn't seem to match the value in his bank account back then.

“How do you mean it is not correct?” Sungjong asked as Hoya found another envelope and started to read it's content.

“The amount of money.... it is not complete.” Sungyeol said as he walked to his brother so show what numbers were written in that documents. “See? I wouldn't ever be able to pay for my apartment with that money only.”

“While I agree with you, hyung, I also don't know what you're talking about because this is exact same amount I have in my bank account and no, I still haven't touched that money because you give me an allowance.” Sungjong replied in confusion.

“There has to be a mistake somewhere because I received way more than this, so should have you. At the time I even wondered how dad had that amount of money if he worked a simple desk job.” Sungyeol insisted.

“Hyung, I'm saying this is all I received, but if there is any mistake I want the rest of my money. Maybe I can buy a small studio for myself too. Dorm life when you have a boyfriend and don't have privacy.” Sungjong complained.

“Are you sure the money didn't come from somewhere else?” Hoya suddenly asked and Sungyeol snorted.

“Yes, where could it have come from? Money doesn't magically appear in bank accounts, only corrupt politicians claim that.” The taller said with sarcasm.

“Maybe from another lawsuit.” Hoya said idly as he inspected the pages in his hand.

“But I didn't sue anyone.” Sungyeol insisted.

“But it says here you did, I mean, your mother, in your behalf - because you were a minor back then.” Hoya said as he raised the files in his hand then concentrated on reading the file for Sungyeol. “She sued Insa Institute for Gifted Children, someone that was the principal of the school at that time, someone called, Hwang Minjae... there are other names here, want me to keep going?” Hoya asked as Sungyeol got pale after hearing and recognizing the name of his boarding school and people that in one way or another were involved in his bullying. ”It says here they were sued to rescind the contract and for physical, psychological, ual abuse, omission and attempts of covering this up... there is a big list here actually.”

Sungjong gasped. “Whaaaaat, a lawsuit against Insa Institute? When did that happen?”

“From what I read here, after Sungyeol attempted suicide.” Hoya nodded as he confirmed the information. “You were ten years old and at the time you didn't even know what was happening to your brother so maybe that's why you don't know.”

“It makes sense but...” Sungjong was about to give his two cents but was interrupted by Sungyeol.

“No, it doesn't... I have never even asked her to press charges, how an entire lawsuit could start and finish without me, the victim, knowing?” Sungyeol asked stupefied and with some difficulties of breathing already, what Hoya was saying triggered panic in the worst way possible. “Without exams happening? That kind of thing?” He stuttered further.

“Did he won at least?” Sungjong asked curiously.

Hoya raised his thick brows and read the papers again to confirm it. “I think he did. A large sum of money too.” He then looked at Sungyeol. “Did you bankrupt the school? Because if I'm not mistaken Insa Institute closed its doors.” He asked but Sungyeol could barely hear what his cousin was asking, the volume of Hoya's voice seemed really low for him

“It doesn't make sense.” Sungyeol asked as he tried to think and walk. “It doesn't make sense.” He kept repeating and Sungjong and Hoya looked at each other worriedly, so they put what they had in their hands on the ground and started following him.

“Are you ok, hyung?”

“No~~... this... this... how?” He stuttered and stumbled and the last thing he knew it was his vision was blurring until it became completely dark and he passed out.

________________________________________________________________________

The night before Myungsoo worried with the news that Woohyun had ear pain during the flight and he felt kinda guilty he wasn't beside his son to help and comfort him so he tossed and turned in bed until sleep after came. He ended up waking up kind of late because of that, but after receiving news that Woohyun was fine and was actively playing with Sunggyu he was ready to go about his day.

He ate something to distract his belly until lunch and decided to start reading what Sungyeol asked him to, the sooner he started the sooner he would finish, right? Usually, Myungsoo wasn't someone that resisted that much and just lived according to the situation but this time he regretted putting up a fight with Sungyeol. Yes, he was hurt and there was nothing he thought Sungyeol could do to undo what he was feeling but damn, he had to admit that those 20 pages explaining a methodology were something that he could really use.

That made Myungsoo happy because he was able to actually write for the first time in some time and boy he was on a roll that was only stopped when his friend asked if he wanted a ride for his match. He gasped when he looked at the time so he grabbed some bananas and started eating it while he tried to get ready.

He was in such a hurry to go out that he ended up bumping in someone that was apparently standing in front of his door.

“Ouch.” The woman said as she lost her balance and fell to the front but she was lucky enough that someone held her.

“Are you crazy Myungsoo? Haven't you seen my mother here?” Hoya scolded then balanced his mother again. “Are you ok, mom?”

“I'm sorry, I'm really sorry Jina-shi.” Myungsoo bowed a couple of times to the woman he had met a couple of times before in Hoya's apartment.

“It's ok, Myungsoo.” She said but Hoya was still glaring at him so Myungsoo decided to apologize to his boss sometimes more.

“Sorry, hyung, I'm late for my match, so I really wasn't looking where I was going.” He apologized sincerely.

“Fine, sheesh just go, I don't have the time to talk to you now anyway.” Hoya said a bit annoyed but not really angry.

“Ok.” Myungsoo agreed as he felt there was something weird about his boss, was that worry? About what? He decided not to in and just close his door and go for the elevator, his friend should be arriving anytime.

“Then I'm going too.” Jina announced.

“But...” Hoya was about to discuss but Jina glared at her son.

“Hoya, I told you ten times already, he fainted because anything about that period of time would be overbearing for him so his brain shut down.” Myungsoo stopped in his tracks as he heard her talking because he felt that something happened to Sungyeol and he didn't know exactly how to feel about that. “I know he wants to get to the bottom of this and I know he won't rest until he knows everything, but he just has to chill a bit and slow down, or else stress will kick his .”

“He doesn't obey me!” Hoya complained as Myungsoo slowly moved towards the elevator though he was still paying attention to the conversation.

“You're overreacting this time so I wouldn't either.” She said and Hoya made a face. “He can do whatever he wants as long as he slows down a bit ok? Now, go keep them company, call me if you guys need anything.” She pulled her son for a kiss then also directed herself to the elevator only to arrive just in time for the doors to open.

“Thank you.” She said when Myungsoo held the door for her and then she hit the button for them both. “How is your son doing Myungsoo shi?”

“He has been great, Woohyun is very healthy.” Myungsoo smiled.

“That's very good to hear, but if you want any checkups you can come to see me, ok?” She smiled.

“Of course.” Myungsoo answered awkwardly, he didn't know if he wanted to keep depending on Sungyeol connections for those kinds of things.

“Isn't he going to watch your match?” She asked curiously.

“He is on a trip to Jeju with my parents and Sunggyu right now.” The woman lips made an 'oh' shape.

After this she didn't say anything anymore, not only because Hoya had told her what happened between Myungsoo and Sungyeol loosely but because she wasn't that close to Myungsoo, so she didn't know how to keep the conversation going when he seemed to be answering her awkwardly. The lift reaches the ground floor and opened its doors, so she smiled to Myungsoo and said goodbye but once she stepped her foot outside the lift Myungsoo couldn't help but call her.

“Jina-shi.” The woman stopped and turned to look at him raising a brow in a manner that Hoya often did, he was aware that his boss was adopted but he had to agree that mother and son had similar mannerisms and expressions. “I'm sorry but I couldn't help but hear your conversation with your son...” He hesitated a bit but end up asking. “... is Sungyeol hyung ok?”

“Yes.” She answered simply but when she noticed Myungsoo wanted to ask more but didn't have the courage she decided to elaborate a bit more. “He is one to overthink and overwork on some kind of problems, so he fainted due to intense emotional stress.” Myungsoo gulped hard when he heard her last words, was it him that caused intense emotional stress? But if Sungyeol didn't love him he wouldn't have any emotional stress over him, right? Unless Sungyeol loved him... He gulped hard again.

Noticing that Myungsoo seemed worried but kind of conflicted, and not wanting to in whatever was the problem between her nephew and the one before her, she decided to just wrap this conversation and go. “Don't worry, he fainted like this once or twice before, but he will be fine as long as he takes it slow. Now I have to go, see you around Myungsoo-ya.”

“Bye.” Myungsoo replied robotically and she started to walk towards her car and he was only able to really come out f his thoughts and put his legs to move it too when his friend honked.

__________________________________________________

Sungyeol sighed as he thought why he fainted: intense emotional stress. He could say his problems with Sunggyu decreased by 80%, his problems with Sungjong were practically non existent, Hoya had been 30% more annoying after he fainted and Myungsoo's increased his stress at least by 300% but none of that could come as close as things related to his bullied years, especially when he discovered something that could change drastically everything that he thought. So yeah, intense emotional stress was correct.

Since he had scared Sungjong and Hoya, he decided to just do what his aunt said and chill in the company of his cousin and middle brother that Sunday. It almost felt like they were teenagers again on a slumber party, and even though he and Sungjong were curious about those files they found, they bickered, teased and end up watching a boring movie that Hoya wanted to watch, he would have plenty of time to dig into the lawsuits anyway.

Meanwhile, Myungsoo team won but he hadn't much to do with, the players of another team didn't leave him alone one minute and he rarely had the chance to score, it wasn't like he was putting too much effort either, his head was somewhere else. Despite winning the match, he was held back and scolded by his coach. “Myungsoo, you're good, you're really good, you are talented enough to play professionally and this is your last semester playing for us, so you have to give your best to be noticed.” The old coach had said.

Honestly, Myungsoo didn't even hear well because his brain was in conflict. Was him that caused Sungyeol enough problems to cause him to faint? Yes, he was angry and hurt and he wanted to give Sungyeol a piece of hell but that didn't mean he wanted Sungyeol ill. If Sungyeol got sick he would really be doomed since there was no one else that could help him, no one else.

On the other hand, if he indeed caused Sungyeol to faint that mean Sungyeol loved him, no? That thought made Myungsoo feel torn, he didn't know if that made him happy because maybe things had space to be worked out or guilty that he made the one he loved hurt physically. Who did he want to fool? He still loved Sungyeol and that's why their break up made his heart ache so ing bad.

Also, that part that loved Sungyeol wanted him to go check the elder as soon as he arrived home, but the part that was hurt told him he shouldn't because their relationship changed to one that didn't allow such gesture. He debated with himself what to do, on how to act, then decided that the best thing he could do for him and Sungyeol was to keep to himself. When home, he took a good shower, made a sandwich and went to his room to eat while trying to call his parents to talk to Woohyun.

Thankfully Woohyun didn't mention Sungyeol but the boy happily ranted half an hour about his day and how awesome was the food they were eating and how fun was to show Sunggyu the teddy bear museum. Before the call ended, his parents asked him if he wanted to come to have dinner together in Incheon, and after mentally dividing his time between working and reading, he said he would meet his parents at home.

By morning, while Myungsoo tried to diligently work, Sungyeol woke up early to kick Hoya out of his room and after an hour of bickering, ended up convincing his cousin that if he returned his beloved kitchen knives he would be able to cook, which was a hobby that made him feel good and that would prevent him from overstressing and reluctantly Hoya went out to bring the kitchen knives back. As soon as his cousin was out and with Sungjong still asleep, he locked himself in his room and started reading what he found in the storage the day before.

The documents he found were copies from some petitions and the first lawsuit was easy to understand and check things. He compared the amounts of money he received, and some documents from the time of his father death he still had, a copy of his father will and everything became more or less clear: his father hadn't any properties -his mother sold what could be sold – but he had a life insurance on the boys name, and that what both of them got, the lawsuit was just because the bank didn't pay right away so his mother sued to be sure they could have the access to that money when they came of age.

She also made some investments here and there and by the time he could touch that money not only him and Sungjong had a little bit more money at their service. But, as he checked the financial movement of his bank account, he confirmed that the rest of money he received came from another source and while that made sense when it came to the amount of money Sungjong received, he didn't want to check who belonged that account, and why it gave him money. He was sure though that the answer to that mystery was in the copies of the second lawsuit, but because of the content it was related to, he didn't want to read it and faint again.

Sungjong bothered him at some point, banging on the door, and Hoya did the same once he arrived, but Sungyeol couldn't open the door that easily, not only he wanted space in his own apartment, but in Sonmi's letter's, (that everyone was curious to read) there might be some mention on Myungsoo's biggest secrets, and while he believed that that wouldn't be judged by Hoya, he couldn't trust Sungjong with that particular information when he dated Moonsoo.

At some point, he came out from his room, convinced Sungjong to go home, and told Hoya that he was fine, but he needed concentration to plan Myungsoo's writing schedule. Although Hoya was a little suspicious, he made a deal to be quiet, as long as Sungyeol did that from the living room. In the end, Hoya got concentrated in his own stuff and he could read some of Myungsoo's mother letters (that he had taken pictures of when he was locked in his room) in peace.

He had sorted them by date and started reading, and while Myungsoo and even him wasn't even born, the first letters were kind of entertaining. Sonmi had a good sense of humor and was a good writer, Sungyeol got involved in her words as she teased his mother and also explained her college years when she met Bumsoo and how her life was after that.

It turns out Myungsoo was born in Seoul and out of wedlock and he lived some years with his paternal grandmother so his mother could finish college and Bumsoo worked to raise some money. Bumsoo and Sonmi married officially when he was four and it was Myungsoo that brought the wedding rings in his parents marriage (there was a picture of that, and OMG Myungsoo was weirdly cute with a small bow tie and suspenders on his shorts). After his grandmother died and only when Myungsoo was five, Sonmi and Bumsoo moved to her parents' house because her mother went overseas to live with her oldest daughter.

From what he read, Myungsoo had a lot of problems to adapt to his new kinder garden. His shy and quiet demeanor made him seem uninteresting to the other kids so he had a lot of problems to communicate around that time, thankfully he became good friends with Jihyun and she helped him a lot with that.

He decided to stop there for the day, his auntie told him to take slow and he had to pick Sunggyu up, so around 5:30 PM he was getting ready to go out to Incheon to pick his brother up, and as he promised, treat him to some milkshake.

On his way, he wondered if Myungsoo would pick Woohyun up in the airport and if he needed a ride, or, if he wasn't, if Woohyun needed a ride then he wondered how awkward would that ride be if he did offer it. If it was Woohyun alone, he was sure he would be fine because now he was used and even fond of Woohyun talkative ways, but Myungsoo... he was another story, maybe the ride would be even more awkward than their first time they rode together. He sighed as he thought about that.

With or without a ride, there was still a possibility he would meet Myungsoo at some point. If not on their way out to go to Incheon (he was sure Myungsoo would leave early to go there by public transportation), in the airport, and he wondered how that would be? How would they behave in front of the two boys that surely would pester them to make up?

Sungyeol didn't know how he didn't hit anyone on his way to Incheon airport because he was too absorbed in his thoughts, but once he parked, he searched for the arrivals gate to wait for everyone. It didn't take long for them to appear, but he hadn't seen Myungsoo, and he didn't know if that meant something good or not. In the end, even if they were awkward with each other, he hoped Myungsoo was only late, so Woohyun wouldn't be disappointed.

He didn't wait that long though and soon Bumsoo came out pushing all the bags in a trolley while Sonmi came out holding the boys by the hand, but upon seeing Sungyeol they let go of her hands to run to greet him.

Sungyeol hugged and kissed both boys and even tickled them, and the next thing he knew they were talking in such speed that could rival Dongwoo rapping in the noraebang. He listened to them and asked a few questions here and there until Woohyun belly screamed in hunger.

“I'm hungry, let's eat.” Woohyun demanded.

“Hyung, will you keep your promise?” Sunggyu asked and Sungyeol looked at his watch before answering.

“Sure, go grab your bags so we can go.” Sungyeol said and the boys rushed to the other two waiting adults to grab their bags and as they dealt with that, Sungyeol thanked Myungsoo's parents. “Thank you for taking care of Sunggyu. I hope he didn't give you much trouble.”

“It was nothing, Sunggyu behaved very well.” Sonmi smiled and Sunggyu smiled proud of himself.

“Is it ok if I take Woohyun? I can drop him home after dinner, it is no problem.” Sungyeol tried to force a smile and Sonmi and Bumsoo shared a look.

“Nice! What we will eat?” Woohyun asked as he grabbed Sungyeol hand, ready to go.

“I don't know but hyung promised me a milkshake.” Sunggyu said as he did the same as his friend.

“Actually...” Sonmi pulled Woohyun from Sungyeol which left the boy confused. “It is not necessary.”

Sungyeol looked apologetic as Woohyun became instantly displeased as Sunggyu just blinked away in confusion.

“Why?” Sunggyu asked before Woohyun had the chance.

“Myungsoo said he would come to pick Woohyun up.” Bumsoo explained briefly.

The youngest seemed a bit relieved then looked around. “Then we can go eat together, where is he? I'm so hungry~~.”

“He said he will wait for us at home with food, so we will have to meet him there.” Bumsoo explained further and Sungyeol sighed as he looked down at his feet only for Woohyun to become sad as he understood that he couldn't go with Sungyeol.

“Why? Why can't he just meet us at the restaurant? I want to go with Sungyeol hyung, I miss him.” Woohyun said with a hint of desperation.

“I know Namu, I know, but your father is already there with food so it wouldn't be fair to make him come here.” Sonmi tried to coax her grandson while patting his head.

“Then can the hyungs join us there?” Woohyun asked his grandma in big puppy eyes that were close to watering. “We are a family, right? Gyu hyung is also your grandson and Sungyeol hyung is like an uncle.”

“Just a hyung.” Sungyeol butted in but wasn't heard while Sonmi and Bumsoo shared a look as if urging each other to take the lead and calm Woohyun but none of them knew what to do, so Sungyeol decided to deal with that himself. “Woohyun-ah, go have dinner with your family, your father is waiting for you and we can have dinner together another time.”

“When?” Woohyun turned to him with tears starting to fall from his eyes. “He promised everything would return to normal but it didn't if we can't eat together.”

Sungyeol looked at Sunggyu that seemed really lost on what to say, then squatted to be at Woohyun eye level and ruffled a hand on Woohyun hair affectionately. “Even if your father meant that things take a while to return to normal... and maybe you can play again in our apartment and Sunggyu in yours but I don't think Myungsoo wants to be my friend anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because we fought, remember?”

“Over what? I don't understand because you cried a lot but daddy says it was you that hurt his feelings.”

“Don't blame your daddy that much, I think it was mostly my fault.” Sungyeol said holding himself to not produce some tears while Sunggyu walked beside his friend and hugged.

“Can't you just apologize then?” Woohyun pleaded as he wiped a tear. “Please hyung.”

Sungyeol forced a sad smile. “It is not that simple and your dad doesn't want to listen, maybe when he is ready.”

“When he will be?” Woohyun asked looking at Sungyeol then looking at his grandparents. “I'm tired of this fight, I just want everyone together again.”

“It is hard to know.” Bumsoo said. “But your dad decided to focus on his project first remember?”

“But... but...” Woohyun hid his face on his tiny hands and started to sob. “I don't like this, I don't like this.”

It took some time for them to calm Woohyun and when Myungsoo called to ask where were they, the Kim/Nam family had to go, but not before Sungyeol assuring that he still liked Woohyun and still liked Myungsoo and he was just waiting for the right moment to talk to him and solve their problem. Sonmi and Bumsoo decided not to say anything about that but they didn't believe Sungyeol that much because he seemed not to have a clue about how he made Myungsoo feel.

Woohyun arrived at his grandparents home clearly upset, he gave Myungsoo a brief hug but he didn't want to talk to anyone and despite being hungry, Myungsoo and Sonmi had to beg for Woohyun to come out of his room and eat something.

“He was so happy over the phone, what happened?” Myungsoo asked frustrated as he managed to pass a sandwich for his son, Woohyun didn't want to eat the sushi he ordered.

“He saw Sungyeol.” Bumsoo said as Sonmi became tense. “He came to pick Sunggyu up.”

“Really?”Myungsoo asked a little too curious and a little too hopeful for someone that was angry which made his parents think that something might be changing. He then cleared his throat. “I mean, did he say something mean to Woohyun? Because if so...”

“No, he didn't say anything that could hurt our mandu.” Sonmi was quick to say. “Woohyun is upset because he wanted everyone to eat together but because you and Sungyeol are not on the best terms that weren't possible. He even cried and Sungyeol and Sunggyu were really sweet comforting him despite everything.”

“He really comforted Woohyun?” Myungsoo raised a suspicious brow.

“Yes.” Bumsoo said then took sushi inside his mouth.

“It amazes me to see how much Sungyeol actions towards Woohyun changed since the first time you talked about him, you two might have fought but he is still treating Woohyun very nicely.“ Sonmi elaborated a little more but when she saw that Myungsoo seemed to be in a trance she thought he didn't like her comment. “Sorry, I'm not trying to imply anything or change your mind, but I think Woohyun hasn't understood well what you meant when you said things would return to normal so I'd suggest talking to him again.”

Myungsoo nodded in agreement and he clenched his hands on the chopsticks a few times nervously before gathering his courage to make a question. “How is he?”

“Who? Sungyeol?” Bumsoo asked in surprise, he knew that deep inside Myungsoo still loved Sungyeol but he didn't think his son would make questions about the other that soon. Hesitantly Myungsoo nodded so his father stopped eating to look at him. “He is fine, why do you want to know?”

“How fine?” Myungsoo blurted right after then his lips nervously before continuing. “I want to know if he seemed sick or something.”

Sonmi made a confused face. “He seemed tired and a bit pale.” She said as he thought about her meeting with Sungyeol. “And sad.” She quickly added, not only because not only Sungyeol gave her this impression but because she hoped that would make Myungsoo want to talk to him again. “Did you want him to look like a bus ran over him or something?”

“No, but he can't get sick and leave me hanging.” Myungsoo places his chopsticks over the plate, a sign that he was done eating, and looked away from his parents. “I heard he fainted because of intense emotional stress.”

“Oh my god, really?” Sonmi gasped. “Do you have anything to do with that?”

Myungsoo shrugged. “I don't know.”

“Then ask.” Bumsoo said. “You could have a talk and maybe work things up, maybe if you told Sungyeol how he made you feel maybe he would apologize. He did tell Woohyun that it was his fault, right Sonmi?” The elder turned to his wife and the woman nodded as Myungsoo frowned.

“Dad, it would be presumptuous of me to assume that this is true.” Bumsoo tilted his head to the side as he thought and nodded once to show he agreed and Myungsoo continued. “Besides, it doesn't matter, it only matters if he will be able to help me till I finish my project.”

“Can't you just ask him that straightforwardly?” Sonmi asked, still with some hope.

“Nevermind, if he was good enough to come to pick Sunggyu up he must be fine so I don't have to worry about my project because I am only worried over that.” Myungsoo said as he got up to take his plate to the sink as his parents watched him.

It was the necessity to justify his questions that told Sonmi and Bumsoo everything they needed to know: Myungsoo was deep down concerned over his ex-lover health in a way any person would be worried over their loved ones. The young dad claimed he was hurt and angry but he still loved Sungyeol and it was showing, unfortunately, they couldn't do anything at that moment to help them because, in the end, Sungyeol was right in one thing: Myungsoo needed to be ready and he definitely wasn't yet.

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AN: I took some time to finish writing this part but then I realized it was 11k up words so I decided to break this and here it is the first 7,5 k. I know a few things seem random, but that would make sense in the end because Sungyeol will slowly piece the puzzle together about his own history. Besides now he sort of has a clue on what might be happening and he is counting on Sungjong to help him. On another side, Myungsoo perhaps is feeling guilty I know he made an empty promise to be cordial the last time they met but will he really play nice?

Now answer me some question, how would you make you feel if they had a kiss (not out of nowhere, I'll still write things that lead to that point)? Would your answer be 'yes, please', 'no, no- this is wroooong', 'it depends on my mood (on how is written)'? I'm lazy to make a poll and I woke up 4 am for this update, so I'm off to bed again, see ya.