"I will never." Woohyun declared without a heartbeat of hesitation and that made Sunggyu bite his lips to stop a pleased smile from appearing. "I won't ever exchange you for anyone." He added as he opened his arms and hugged his friend.

"Then can you come back to school? It’s fine if you don’t sing with me but I miss you there." Sunggyu whispered in the other ears as he hugged back. “I promise I'll be by your side for everything."

"I-I don’t know…" Woohyun hesitated a bit. He pulled away and looked from Sunggyu's begging eyes to his uncle(?) from the corner of his eyes before replying. "I'll try to think about it ok?" He declared although his tone wasn't as sure as the one he used before.

Sunggyu gasped and looked from his friend to both young adults in surprise before he hugged Woohyun again and shook him in happiness and excitement.

It took some time for Sunggyu to let Woohyun go and that only happened when the maknae of the group threw Moonsoo a look that begged for help.

Once they were apart, Woohyun let himself be challenged in the dancing game. He wasn't in his most competitive spirit but Sunggyu (just like Moonsoo) wasn't that good at it and he wouldn't need to put much effort to win but what made him play the whole afternoon was the fact that he felt free of any pressure he had at home.

As the young adults watched the kids play, Sungjong told his boyfriend that he fought Sungyeol, and then Moonsoo explained that Woohyun was feeling suffocated. They both speculated what was the best way to help each other and while they concluded how to approach the matter with Moonsoo's parents, they expected that Sungyeol would be harder to appease this time.

When the sun was setting Moonsoo decided it was enough of games, after all, he and Sungjong had to study and he still had to have a conversation with his parents about Woohyun and he promised to deliver the boy home before dinner. Once they reached Kim's temporary home, Sungjong kept the boy's company while Moonsoo talked to his parents in another room.

It was a difficult conversation. In Moonsoo's opinion, it was harder than to tell his parents he was gay. Well, he thought things wouldn't go that smoothly back then (and he was surprised with the outcome) but to explain to his parents that their behavior was now hurting Woohyun left them heartbroken, and, in turn, that left him heartbroken. 

After he advised them to try to let Woohyun breathe a bit by himself (accompanied or not by his friends) he left with Sungjong, just missing Sungyeol on their way out just by a few minutes.

Sungyeol arrived in good humor. After Myungsoo appeared to talk to him and things in his project seemed to be progressing, Sungyeol was definitely in a good mood and he was already thinking about calling Sungjong to have a serious conversation but at the same time cutting him some slack.

He was a bit surprised to not find Myungsoo's parents all over Woohyun but after they explained their conversation with Moonsoo and he saw sadness clouding their eyes, he decided to share the news about Myungsoo. That news brightens them up a little, especially when Sungyeol said he would probably leave early to work on Myungsoo's project. The elder couple shared a mischievous look, Sungyeol seemed a bit excited about it so they thought that maybe something changed between them today, but the young adult chose not to comment on it.

Sungyeol left them in the kitchen and excused himself to further enter the apartment only to find Woohyun and Sunggyu reading a big parchment together.

"Hyung!" Sunggyu was the first one to notice him at the door and greeted him with a smile from ear to ear as Woohyun turned to look at him.

"Hey school-skipper, hey Woohyun!" Sungyeol greeted back with a teasing tone that Sunggyu seemed not to like. "What? You skipped school." Sungyeol pointed as he came closer and pressed a kiss on each boy's head.

"Hyung!" Sunggyu complained. "I was on a mission to help Woohyunnie."

"So playing in the arcade was such an urgent matter that you could not wait to come with me at night? Didn't we agree that you would attend school so you could help Woohyun with his studies?" Woohyun shrugged as Sunggyu tried to protest.

"Well, yes, but-but…"

"It's ok, I will forgive you and Sungjong this time, but don't do that anymore ok? Sungjong means good but that won't help any of you in the long run. I meant it, Sunggyu." Sungyeol said firmly then turned to greet Woohyun properly.

“Sungjong told me you were upset, that's why he would bring Sunggyu. Do you want to talk about it?” He offered.

“No, I’ve talked to Moonsoo hyung about it, he said to give my brain a break so I decided to follow his advice a bit.” The boy said matter of factly. “Thank you for asking.”

 “Very well, it is good advice, you need a break.” Sungyeol mildly smiled at the boy's speech because it had been a bit amusing. “But if you got advice from Moonsoo did Sunggyu skip school for nothing?" He asked, looking from one boy to the other.

"No!" Sunggyu complained.

"No, he distracted me while we played and he brought my homework… and this." Woohyun said as he passed the parchment to Sungyeol.

"See?!" The little Kim protest was finished in a pout.

"Hey, don't get mad, I'll make it up to you by helping you rehearse this weekend." Sungyeol tried to make up, but now that he knew Sunggyu better his misunderstandings with the boy were being solved way faster. 

Sunggyu's pout instantly dissolved. "Really?"

"We can rehearse tomorrow before we come here." He assured as he grabbed the parchment and tried to make sense of what that was, but in the end, he had to ask because he couldn’t even understand some of the handwriting. "What's this?"

"Our friends wrote to me." Woohyun explained but he seemed pensive.

"Because they miss him," Sunggyu added.

"Oh, wow! That's so cool." Sungyeol said as he inspected the parchment.

"It was my idea," the young Kim said proudly.

"Aren't you a smart boy?" Sungyeol asked as he thought his brother did this to convince his friend of going back to school. Sunggyu's response was a pleased smile so Sungyeol elbowed Woohyun gently. "It seems like they like you a lot." He teased but the boy shrugged so he got worried. "What's wrong?"

Woohyun sighed but explained. “I’m not sure the kids mean what they say.”

“Woohyunnie, they do!” Sunggyu insisted.

“Not all of them,” Woohyun said resolutely and looked away from them, he didn’t want to meet the hyungs eyes.

Sungyeol and Sunggyu shared a concerned look. They didn’t need to lend an ear to Woohyun's worries or rage about his situation with Myungsoo, but they would probably discover and try to help with the real reason why the boy didn’t go back to school.

__________________________________________

Myungsoo wanted to see Woohyun. Badly. The situation they were in and the things about Sungyeol he hid aside, Myungsoo missed arriving home to Woohyun. He missed talking about his day to the boy or hearing the boy rant about his adventures with Sunggyu or how he melted Dongwoo with his aegyo again. 

The house was emptier as every day passed and, after the meeting with Sungyeol today, he wanted to hug the boy so he could feel that everything would be alright and there would be an end to every problem he had. But he knew Woohyun didn’t want to see him, and that made it complicated to get any kind of strength from the boy. Unless…

He had an idea, not a perfect and miraculous one but one that would help him through the next few days and he needed a tip from his parents.

He called his dad and immediately was on speaker, which meant they probably left Woohyun on his own for a bit. Then they started to complain about the conversation they had with Moonsoo and ask if Myungsoo also felt that way all the time too. He could tell his parents felt bad about their behavior, they already felt that way since they discovered they indirectly pushed Myungsoo into a decision too big for a kid his age, but now they didn’t think it was an isolated episode anymore.

He hesitated a little and tried to find the best words to explain his point of view on the matter, but the moment he said yes his parents started to apologize not only to him but to Woohyun. They said it was never their intention to make their kids (Woohyun included somehow - things that annoyed Myungsoo a bit) life harder than it should be but that despite being hella guilty they didn’t know how they should act from now on.

It took some time for Myungsoo to explain that he and Moonsoo were mostly ok since now they lived on their own, but that they should respect Woohyun time a bit more. Once he asked how Myungsoo made a list without hesitation and the first thing he mentioned was food. Myungsoo knew his parents well and he knew that his mother thought food could make anything better, he didn’t need to be a genius to know that she was probably ruining Woohyun with food by now. She denied it, but he knew better, it was a universal rule that parents educated, grandparents spoiled. 

He scolded her about giving Woohyun too many snacks in between meals, that was not something he allowed, or Woohyun craved it, so he was probably only eating to please her and that was messing his appetite during the main meals. Also, he knew Sungyeol would try hard for the kids to eat (he saw it many times and gave tips for the elder to use with Sunggyu) so, if his cheeks looked a tiny bit fuller today (knowing that he wasn’t eating all his meals with them), he knew Woohyun must be getting fat. 

His mother protested a little, saying the snacks were making Woohyun happier but Myungsoo complained that the boy was not even using the amount of energy he was producing, he probably wasn’t even sleeping by 9 PM. Well, his parents couldn’t deny that. 

While Sonmi was reluctant to accept and agree with these critics, Bumsoo seemed amazed that despite not seeing the boy for the last few days, Myungsoo still knew about Woohyun so well, not even he did that well back in the day.

He also guessed that she offered the boy food so many times, it was probably annoying the boy when he wanted to be by himself or only with his friends and he might understand the elders' presence as pressure. 

“I just want to show I’m there for him,” Sonmi complained frustrated on the phone.

“Don’t you think I want that too?” Myungsoo asked back and that made his parents silent on the other side of the line for a minute.

It didn’t take long for the silence to be too uncomfortable with the realization that they probably hurt their son, after all, even if they didn’t like it, their relationship with Woohyun was a thousand times better than the one the boy had with his dad at this moment. They saw and spoke with Woohyun every day, while Myungsoo was probably dying to see him but couldn’t because the boy didn’t want to and he was trying to respect that.

“Don’t force him, he will talk when he wants to talk. He will ask questions when he feels like he wants to ask questions. This is how he is, he needs some time to digest things, you know that.” He advised and after a heavy sigh from his parents, Myungsoo explained that they didn’t need to worry if Woohyun didn’t want to open up to them directly sometimes. The boy was relying on everyone that he allowed near, but he just happened to rely on everyone in different ways. Besides, they were his parents, and Woohyun might think they would tell him about anything he confided like they were doing it. 

He confirmed he was hurt by the distance Woohyun wanted but explained that the boy wasn’t behaving out of character, he had needed (and asked) to be alone a couple of times before. Like every time they disagreed heavily, or when he was sad when Kibum said he would move out, or when he fought Sunggyu. All of those times Woohyun needed at least a few hours to himself, it was only fair that with such a complex thing happening he would need a lot of days to process it.

He also said that they don’t need to supervise Woohyun for every little thing because Woohyun liked to be as independent as he could. The elders said that they felt insecure because Woohyun had tried to run away but Myungsoo didn’t think that would happen again. Especially because the elders were in the apartment every second so they would hear whatever Woohyun tried. Besides, they were welcoming Sungyeol and he was fine with it, the elder was helping Woohyun so he sort of forgave the elder about that.

This sort of statement made his parents wonder if anything had changed between them but - despite blushing on the other side of the phone - Myungsoo denied it and said he didn’t have time to think about his relationship with Sungyeol this way (which was not a lie).

It took some time for Myungsoo to get his parents off his back but he finally managed to bring the conversation to a point where he could ask when Sungyeol would leave. He explained he didn’t want to bump into the elder because they had seen each other sooner so it would be weird, and he wanted to sneak into the apartment without being seen by his son so later he could see the boy while he slept.

His parents slightly saying this was creepy but deep down they understood that was probably the only way for Myungsoo to see his son without a fight happening. In the end, the elders told him that Sungyeol mentioned he would leave early to work on his project. 

Myungsoo briefly pulled away to see what time it was. Once he confirmed it and did some calculations, he made an announcement. “I’ll arrive in an hour.”

_________________________________

Woohyun pouted once the pair of brothers hugged him and left through the door. He didn’t want them to go (he never wanted that though he could not throw a tantrum about it), but today he was a bit disappointed because they were in the middle of an important conversation and they left rather early when compared to the other days. But what could he do when Sungyeol said he had work to do and Sunggyu looked tired?

Despite not solving anything today he was happy that his uncle and auntie left him alone with his friends without constantly interrupting. He had to remember to thank his ‘hyuncle’ for the help because he knew Moonsoo had a conversation with the old couple. He immediately chuckled at the word he came up with, that was a funny word.

The moment of amusement was short though. He sighed when he thought that this word translated some of his feelings: he couldn’t bring himself to call Moonsoo uncle but he felt strange calling him hyung. To be honest, he missed referring to Moonsoo as his uncle (even if he knew the elder wasn’t), and he knew that whatever he felt towards him was different from what he felt towards Sungyeol or his teacher Dongwoo.

He pursed his lips in an unpleasant expression as he grabbed his pajamas and moved to the bathroom, he had acquired a new dilemma. After he took his bath, he told the elders that he wanted to be alone in his room, and, to his inner happiness, Sonmi just filled his bottle with water and let him be. Well, maybe he should tell Moonsoo he was extra thankful. 

He climbed onto his bed and made himself comfortable, he didn’t feel sleepy so his brain started to work mokes. Despite talking about Myungsoo today he didn’t want to think about their relationship at all, he didn’t think he was ready, and that’s why the plushie toy was sitting on the desk as far away as possible. Besides, he had decided he would give himself a break during the weekend as Moonsoo advised. Despite initiating a conversation with Sunggyu and Sungyeol, he didn't want to think about them or a particular classmate that made him worry. 

His thoughts quickly brought him back to Moonsoo. The elder had not bothered him, pressured him, or had the intention to lie to him, so he thought he could solve this new dilemma on his own.

He thought about their moments and memories together, his feelings in the past and his feelings right now, what would be the best way to call him, and many scenarios in his head. He didn’t know how much time passed but he felt the sleep taking over and he, unexpectedly, had no power to fight it.

Woohyun blinked his eyes until they were fully open. The first thing he did was to ask himself how he woke up so fast, but once he realized he was not in his room he immediately got worried.

He quickly sat and tried to recognize the place but he couldn’t. He was sitting on the grass, birds were singing around him but he also could hear water, and he could see a deer briefly skip through the trees to hide. This wasn’t any kind of park, and it wasn’t a zoo either, he couldn’t remember ever being in a place so full of nature as this one.

“How did I get here?” He wondered aloud as he thought that no one would ever trust him alone anymore. 

He got up and turned around observing the place more intently, there was no one around, how would he ask for help back home? What if the adults noticed he wasn’t home? What if he never came back? What if he never saw those he loved anymore? 

His furrowed brows and his breathing started to accelerate as he felt anxious and scared. He tried to give two steps ahead but then stopped once he realized he could get even more lost. “What should I do? What the hyungs would do?” He briefly wondered before he decided to do the only thing he could at the moment: scream. “Hello?” He called loudly. “Is there anyone there?” He waited to hear an answer but water and birds were all he heard. “HELLOOOOOOO?” He tried louder.

At first, no one replied but then he heard a faint feminine and acute voice. “Helloooooooooo!”

Suddenly he felt a bit of hope. “Helloooo, where are you? I need help!”

“Heeeeere.” The voice replied faintly and Woohyun turned around a couple of times to try to find out from where it was coming but to no avail.

“WHERE? I CAN’T FIND YOU!”

“Here! Come to me!” A new voice replied firmly and maybe a bit desperately. It seemed older, a woman, and seemed to come from somewhere closer but he still couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. It felt like it came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“I DON’T KNOW THE WAY! PLEASE, HELP ME!” Woohyun screamed in desperation he was on the verge of tears.

“It doesn’t matter!” The older voice advised. 

Woohyun looked around again, there was no clear path he could follow, there were only grass, rocks, and trees aside from some hidden birds that kept singing happily, much to his frustration. He was about to start crying for real when the younger voice spoke again.

“Do you see any of my pets?” Pets? Why would she ask him about her pets when he was lost and scared and needed help?

“I D- Oh.” He was about to say he didn’t but he caught a small brown rabbit in the corner of his eyes, it was the fluffiest thing he had ever seen. He wanted to ask if the rabbit was her pet but it was like she had predicted he had spotted it. 

“If you catch him, we’ll find you and help you. I promise.” The younger voice promised, but Woohyun wasn’t sure about that.

He hesitantly looked at the bunny. It was just sitting there, looking at him and moving its nose cutely, but he was sure that once he tried to catch it, it would run away, like the little chicken Kibum once raised did. 

“Hurry!” Both voices urged him.

He still hesitated and looked around but there was nothing else he could remotely do in this place other than to find these girls so he could get help. He took a deep breath to calm his heart and then started to move towards the bunny.
The bunny tilted his head once Woohyun gave his first steps, but, just like the boy predicted, it turned around and hopped away from him. Woohyun sped up but the bunny would wait for him to get close then would hop away again. 

As this process repeated, Woohyun got close and then passed the trees only to find himself in a forest, he knew the sun was still up but the trees were tall and it made it difficult for him to see the sky. He also couldn’t hear the girls anymore even though he tried calling them over and over. He felt even more lost and scared now, especially when other animals appeared and seemed to follow him (and the bunny), although up till now they were not getting close. 

“Please, stay still.” He caught himself pleading many times and each time it would hop away he would get even more frustrated.

Myungsoo opened the door and entered the room, making sure he made no noise until the door was closed again. He came intending to see Woohyun for a bit to gather some strength for the next few days but, since the boy didn’t want to see him, he decided to come when he was sleeping. They didn’t need to interact right now, it was enough for Myungsoo to be the only one aware of that meeting, he just wanted to see the boy for a bit.

Once he turned around, he saw Woohyun facing him while holding his covers to his chest, but when Myungsoo was about to melt out of emotion, Woohyun hastily turned his body around.

Myungsoo froze. It was almost like Woohyun sensed his presence and was rejecting him, or worse, the boy saw him and was rejecting him right away. He didn’t know what to do, he was even holding his breath until he realized the boy hadn’t complained, which meant that the sudden movement was just Woohyun finding a better position to sleep.

He allowed himself to breathe and was about to circle the bed to see the boy's face when Woohyun turned around again. This time, and despite the darkness in the room, Myungsoo noticed Woohyun had his brows furrowed and he looked distressed, he probably was having a nightmare.

“Woohyun?” He tried calling the boy in a whisper as he rushed to his side but not exactly expecting an answer.

“Stay… please!” The boy said faintly, which not only surprised Myungsoo for hearing his son talk while having a nightmare but also worried him, whatever was happening in that dream was stressing the boy out.

Despite knowing they would fight, Myungsoo tried freeing the boy from his nightmare by shaking him softly. He tried again a bit more firmly, but the boy kept his eyes shut and trashed his body on the bed.

Myungsoo looked around the room while he thought of a way of helping his son without traumatizing the boy and spotted the toy he brought back. He rushed to grab it then gently placed it on Woohyun’s arms and it didn’t take long for the boy to hug it against his chest.

“A-ha!” Woohyun said as he finally was able to grab the small bunny. “You gave me such trouble.” He scolded the poor bunny as it moved his nose cutely to him but then he patted its head, there was no way he could get angry at it.

Woohyun looked around.  He was in the middle of the forest, surrounded by tall trees and there was no way he could find his way back to where he first was or find another path. His heart filled with worry and desperation again but right at this moment, he heard the voices again.

“Come this way.” The older voice said, bringing a bit of relief to his young heart, they were still around and closer than ever.

Woohyun adjusted the bunny in his hands and moved towards the direction the voice came. “I’m coming.” He announced as he tried his best to hurry his steps, although a few rocks and roots didn’t allow him to run.

“Quickly.” The younger pleaded a few seconds later and now it seemed like he was about to find them, so his relief grew bigger.

It wasn’t like he could be faster in such a place but he tried and eventually he found himself leaving the trees behind and entering a clearing. He squinted his eyes once the sun hit his face with all force again. While he struggled to adjust to the new light, he felt someone taking the bunny out of his hands and placing a kiss on his cheek and that caught him by surprise.

Myungsoo watched Woohyun intently as his brows unfurrowed, he stopped thrashing around and he loosened up his hold on the plushie toy, somehow holding it for a while helped a bit. He still didn’t look completely in peace, but it seemed like his dreams changed and were not so unpleasant anymore. Myungsoo felt a bit relieved.

“Thank you, Woohyunnie.” The girl said and he could feel how happy and thankful she was. “Mr. Hop, here you are,” She said right after.

Woohyun placed a hand on where she kissed and made a face, how dare she? After a second he decided it wasn’t worth being angry over her kiss when he wanted her help, so he tried to focus on her back as she moved further into the clearing. “How do you know my name?” The boy asked dumbly then hurried to follow the girl that seemed around his age. “Where are you going? Where is your friend?”

“I know everything about you, Woohyunnie.” The girl declared happily as she skipped but then stopped to look back at him. “What is a friend?”

Woohyun gasped, she couldn’t believe she was being serious. How a person that didn’t even know what a friend was would help him return home? “Well, a friend is someone you like a lot and trust but doesn’t belong to your family.” He explained.

“Hm.’ The girl hummed and then tried petting her bunny. “I don’t have friends then.”

“I can be your friend.” Woohyun offered as he took pity on her and briefly forgot his problem or the fact that she said she knew everything about him. At this moment, he felt like he should get closer to her because she felt familiar although he was sure he never had seen this girl.
“You can’t.” The girl said with a chuckle then turned around to keep skipping in the clearing with the bunny in his hands. 

Woohyun was baffled, no one had refused his friendship before, he could even befriend Sungyeol hyung that had been the most difficult adult he ever encountered. He would not give in to this girl - especially when she could bring him to the older one - so he made a determined expression and followed her.

“Of course, I can.” He insisted. “I can be your friend and I can be friends with your friend too, I have a lot of adult friends.” 

The girl chuckled again as she looked back at him. “Of course, you can’t Woohyunnie, don’t be silly. Besides, she’s not my friend, I’m here with mom.”

Despite that information not being an entire surprise it was good to hear the elder voice was the girl’s mom. He didn’t meet his mother but his friends in school always told him that mothers knew everything so she would probably know how to help him. “Oh.”

“Dear, why are you taking so long to bring Woohyunnie?” The elder's voice scolded and the girl started to move again, probably towards her mother.
“Mom, Woohyunnie is being silly, he wants to be my friend.” The girl explained as she put the bunny down.

“I can if you let me.” Woohyun immediately protested and the girl dissolved herself in giggles this time. 

Woohyun felt confused as he heard the girl giggle. She made sounds like those he made when he was the one giggling and his shoulders moved similarly too. Now that he inspected her better, their smiles looked similar, and their nose and lips were the same as his. How could that be? Unless…

Now that Woohyun seemed to have calmed down a bit, Myungsoo carefully climbed on his bed and hugged him.

Woohyun's thoughts were interrupted by a bigger body colliding with him and enveloping him in a very very warm and full of love hug. “Woohyunnie, I’ve waited for so long to meet you.” The elder girl said with a voice full of emotion. “Oh my god it’s you, you’re here.” She started to cry and he could feel the girl's small arms joining her mother in this hug.

Wooyun gently tried to free himself to look at them. Now that he looked at the girl closely, she was slightly taller than him and looked more like than anyone ever did, she looked like him more than his real father, but her hair was long. “Soohyunnie?” He asked in disbelief and the girl nodded with a kind smile on her face. 

Then he quickly turned to the older girl and was able to see a slightly older version of the girl from the pictures Myungsoo recently gave him. He couldn’t believe he was seeing his mother for the first time. “Mo-mom?” He hesitantly asked.

“Yes, baby, yes, I’m your mom.”  She confirmed and now he was the one trying to hug them both tightly.

Woohyun shifted a bit in Myungsoo’s hold and, despite not letting the plushie toy go,  hugged him back tightly. The young dad couldn’t understand the boy at all but he was loving it to feel that kind of hug again. He felt his energy replenishing, his body relaxing and soon enough he fell asleep holding the boy.

“Mom! Soohyunnie! ” Woohyun sobbed. The three of them held each other for a long while but at some point, they had to part and the first thing the girl did was poke his shoulder.

“It’s noona.” The girl said seriously and Woohyun looked at her in disbelief. We’re twins! His expression practically screamed.

“Hey, let’s not pick a fight with each other.” The woman pleaded as she wiped her tears but then the girl giggled again, she wasn’t being really serious so woohyun relaxed and wiped his tears.

“You’re both so pretty, like angels. I-I can’t believe I’m meeting you, am I-am I in heaven too?”

“No silly, you’re dreaming.” The girl said as she grabbed her pet from the ground and petted it.

“Huh?” The boy asked dumbly. So all of this was his imagination? If so then he shouldn’t worry about going back home, he was probably still in his bed all this time. But then, it also meant that their time was short and when he woke up they wouldn’t be there anymore.

“She’s right, you’re dreaming, but this is how you imagine heaven to be.” Jihyun offered.

“If it’s my dream then why didn’t you find me sooner?” He complained and his mother made an apologetic expression.

“Soohyunnie didn’t have much time to see the world so, even if it’s your dream, she can’t move outside the clearing. I stay beside her all the time so she won’t feel lonely and scared.”

“But thanks to you I got to have pets, even if it’s for just a bit.” Soohyun smiled pleasantly.

If Soohyun couldn’t move around that explained why she didn’t know what a friend was, she probably never saw another kid or anyone else that she could befriend.

“Is it lonely in heaven?” He asked, immediately taking pity on his sister, but she caught on to it quickly.

“No, because mom is with me.” The girl replied after a shrug. “But there are things I never tried and I wish I could.” She revealed with a hint of sadness in her tone.
“But we never get bored from watching you,” Jihyun added.

“Were you watching me?” Woohyun was skeptical. 

“I prefer to watch when you’re with dad or when you’re with Sunggyu oppa, he is so cute.”

“What?” Woohyun ignored the part about ‘dad’ and asked in jealousy although he was not sure if it was out of some protective instinct towards his sister or because Sunggyu was his best friend and he didn’t want to share him. 

Woohyun shook his head in disapproval then decided it would be better to distract his sister so he could talk to his mother. To do so, Woohyun closed his eyes for a second to imagine his favorite foods and, a second later, a table full of different foods appeared in front of his sister. The girl gasped in surprise but started to eat right away, she tried the red velvet cupcake first.

“It’s so delicious, thank you Woohyunnie.” Soohyun squealed while Jihyun watched them with a fond smile on her face. Woohyun also watched his sister for a bit and felt happy to offer some food she could try, but he wanted answers from his mother so he didn’t lose much time to resume the conversation.

“I thought that Myungsoo-shi lied to me about you being able to hear me.” He confessed.

Jihyun scratched her nape a bit. “Myungsoo oppa thinks that sending me a message it’s a lie that he came up with to comfort you, but we hear you, watch over you and protect you all the time.”

“Even when you’re in the bathroom” His sister teased and Woohyun's face grew red.

“You shouldn’t watch me in the bathroom.” He protested.

“She closes her eyes, don’t worry.” Jihyun chuckled but Woohyun still felt embarrassed.

“So you know that I thought badly about you?” He hesitated but asked and Jihyun nodded. 

“You hurt mom’s feelings, you dummy.” Soohyun pointed out as she decided to try noodles this time.
Woohyun briefly glared at his sister but quickly turned to his mother to apologize. “Mom, I’m sorry about that, I’m so confused, there is so much happening and- and...“ He couldn’t bring himself to finish his words so he covered his eyes with his hands. 

Jihyun gently took his hands away and caressed his face. “I know baby, I know everything that is happening in your life right now and how difficult it is for you. Mommy is very sorry about that.” She said in a pained tone.

“Mom, I’m so disappointed, I always thought Myungsoo-shi was my dad…. Why are things like this? Did Myungsoo-shi tell me the truth this time? Why did you marry him when you knew he couldn’t love you? Why did you accept to lie? What should I do? Who should I trust?” The boy bombarded her with pained questions.

A big couch appeared and Jihyun pulled Woohyun to it and in her lap while Soohyun grabbed some snacks and rushed to sit beside them.

“Myungsoo oppa told you almost everything by now. I know it’s hard but you should believe him, the story he told you about me was true.” She confessed and Wooohyun's eyes produced tears that threatened to fall any moment so she tried to wipe them away. “There is only a bit more to show you, a message I left for you, but he’ll only show you when he thinks you’re feeling better.”

“What? But I want to see your message.” The boy said as Soohyun shook her head in disapproval.

“You’ll get my message, oppa doesn’t have the intention to hide it forever, but I don’t want you to watch it now. I don’t want you to watch before you get some of your feelings under control because it might worsen everything you’re feeling now. Promise me you won’t ask him for it right now.”

“But I...”

“Woohyun, promise me,” Jihyun ordered.

“I promise.” The boy half-assed an agreement.

“Woohyun I’m being serious, I’ll know if you break the promise and I’ll be disappointed and more worried about you,” Jihyun said the boy pouted but nodded and this time Jihyun could believe him.

She allowed herself to let a breath out and then looked at her son’s eyes and it didn’t take long for her to feel extremely guilty and start crying.

“I’m so so sorry about everything you’re going through Woohyun, my words will never be enough to show you how sorry I am.” She said and Soohyun moved to hug her from behind.

“Don’t cry mommy, if you cry I’ll cry too.” The girl pleaded. 

“Woohyun, your friends Sungyeol and Hoya are right, it was a super difficult decision for me to take.” She said and then pulled the girl to sit in front of her so she could look at both children at the same time and wiped her tears before speaking. “You both should listen to me. I know Myungsoo and I lied and I knew this lie would eventually hurt you both. But everything I did was think about your well-being. I married Myungsoo so you both could have a good life without the same problems I had when I was your age.” She said then looked straight into Woohyun's eyes. “I knew he could never love me like that, I never expected him to because I was aware he is gay. I didn’t get married to be loved by him, I got married so you could be the ones being loved by him.”

While Woohyun didn’t seem to be accepting that, Soohyun looked very serene as if she understood everything her mother meant. 

“You think you’re alone Woohyun but you’re not, you have everyone on your side but I…. if I hadn’t Myungsoo oppa as my friend… none of you would ever...” She halted her words and struggled to continue but Soohyun gave her a hug that helped her gain a bit of control. 

“Woohyunnie, my son, I’m sorry I can’t sort of your feelings or tell you how to feel about people in your life. I know you’re struggling to know where it is your place and who you belong to right now so let me try to help you with that by telling you where you don’t belong.”

Woohyun furrowed his brows but listened attentively.

“You still haven’t met my dad but don’t try it, don’t go after him. I didn’t know anything about him when I was alive and I discovered about him the day you did but I can see some things from here and I beg of you, don’t ever get close to him, he is a very dangerous man.”

Woohyun felt the little hairs on his nape get up with a shiver so he promptly nodded.

“Now that I can see things about him I can’t entirely blame my mom for the way she was, I really can’t. And I forgave her because I can feel she is guilty.” Woohyun looked angry about that, how could his mother forgive such a dragon that spits fire? “I know you feel she doesn’t deserve it, I’m not telling you to forgive her too. But, if you ever decide that she deserves a second chance, know that you can melt her heart…” She looked at Soohyun fondly and patted her daughter's hair. … just like you would have been able to. Things would be different for both of you.”

“Should I stay with her then?” Woohyun asked a little bit annoyed, he didn’t like that option.

Jihyun lightly chuckled. “That’s not what I’m saying, if you live with her you might drive each other nuts. You’re a little love hurricane, she doesn’t know how to deal with that, you’ll probably need time to melt her heart.” 

Well, Woohyun didn’t like to hear her suggestion but at least she confirmed something he already decided, she was not an option to take care of him. 

“Should I stay with dad then?” He ended up asking with a sarcastic tone.

“Yes, of course,” Soohyun replied before her mother and Woohyun raised his brows, that guy? That awful guy? 

“Soohyunnie is talking about Myungsoo oppa.” Jihyun clarified.

“But he isn’t our dad!” Woohyun protested.

“He is our dad!” Soonhyun protested back and Jihyun became expressionless although one could spot sadness and disappointment in her eyes.

“ I think you can melt my mom with time but if there is an adult you can’t charm, Woohyun, it is Taegun-shi.” Woohyun made a face, it wasn’t that surprising to hear that but knowing that he couldn’t upset him, up til now he could charm everyone, even Sungyeol.

“Then what am I supposed to do now? Who should I stay with? Everyone is a bad guy, Hoya hyung said I shouldn’t go to an orphanage and Sungyeol hyung won’t take me in and.” He asked in frustration.

Jihyun smiled mysteriously. “Maybe he will one day.” Woohyun's eyes grew big and Jihyun could practically hear him thinking if he should keep asking. “If Myungsoo oppa accepts his heart.”

Woohyun scratched his hair with both hands in frustration, that answer was good for nothing. He would love to live with Sungyeol and Sunggyu but if Myungsoo was included he didn’t like that idea anymore. He didn’t think Myungsoo would ever accept Sungyeol's heart, those two weren’t even friends right now, but he didn’t want to live with a liar.

“Mom.” He whined. “I want Sungyeol hyung only.” He said only for Soohyun to snort.

“It can’t happen like that even though I can see him from here and I know how much he grew to love you,” Jihyun said seriously only for the boy to pout before she took a deep breath to explain. “Listen… when Taegun shi said he wouldn’t help me raise you, I got desperate and that’s why I did what I did. I’m extremely sorry that you have to suffer after learning the truth - and because I wish I could have told you the truth myself but I couldn’t - but I don’t regret anything.” Woohyun gasped in disbelief so she continued.

“I could have said no to Myungsoo oppa. In that case, uncle and auntie would have taken care of you like they said they would do and like they are doing right now, but I didn’t want that, and I still don’t want that. I love them, but uncle is a silly airhead sometimes, auntie travels too much, they’re overbearing sometimes and they were burdened by me already so I had to choose someone else to be your father and raise you with me.”

“When I accepted Myungsoo's oppa plan I chose him to be your father, and it was not only because his family could help us with money.” She said as she caressed each kid's face. “He has his insecurity problems, and sometimes he freaks out and I have to calm him down from here - because I still take care of him too - but I know him like the back of my hand and I knew he would be the best father you two could have. He would be a man that would deserve such an important job.”

With her speech, Soohyun opened a big fond smile while Woohyun pursed his lips in a pout and crossed his arms.

“He didn’t change much from when he was a child aside from the fact that now he talks more and he grew a bit popular, but he is sweet, he is caring, he is loyal and can give you an unlimited amount of love. I was worried about you two when Soohyunnie and I first came to heaven but Myungsoo oppa has never failed me, he has been raising you exactly like I wanted to so you’re both now exactly how I dreamed when I was pregnant.”

Woohyun pout dissolved, to hear that he was exactly how his mother dreamed was a compliment that filled his heart with happiness. On the other side, that only happened because Myungsoo and Woohyun didn’t know how to feel about that. Noticing her brother's behavior, Soohyun decided to in and share her point of view as well.

“Woohyunnie, I came to heaven soon so dad should have forgotten all about me by now but his love for me continued to grow even after I came to heaven and in the same way as his love for you. It is thanks to his love, and mommy’s care that I can grow here.” Soohyun said. 

“Soohyunnie, he broke my heart.” Woohyun pointed with a bit of anger.

“I know you don’t like him right now but you’re very lucky if I could stay in your place for just one day...” The girl looked very sad as she said that because she knew she couldn’t. “I just wanted to hug him once.”

Woohyun couldn’t understand his sister’s speech, not only because he bore a grudge against Myungsoo and didn’t want to forgive him, but because she had their mother company, how many times did he wishes he was there with him? How many times did he pray for her to at least appear in his dreams? And up til now, this was the first time.

“Do you want to exchange places? I’d do anything for mom to be with me.”

Jihyun's face immediately grew serious. “You don’t want that Woohyun. I know you wish you could have me around and I wish to be with you too, but that’s not possible, and you don’t want to come to heaven and leave every other thing you love behind. Don’t ever say that again.” Jihyun scolded.

“You have to live for us too,” Soohyun added, and Woohyun made an upset face so his mother tried to pat him for comfort.

“Woohyun, we didn’t mean to upset you, we’re just telling you how we feel after a long time being here. The things you and Myungsoo lived up til now… Soohyunnie and I are together but sometimes we can’t do the same things you and Myungsoo do because things are different here.” Woohyun immediately felt guilty, especially when he remembered his sister didn’t have a friend or how it was probably the first time she was eating the foods he loved.

“I’m sorry for saying that.” He finally apologized in a whisper that was too low but, in the heaven of his imagination didn’t make much difference.

“I want you to live, I want you to achieve your dreams, I want you to spread the love you have inside of you to other people, and, above all, I want you to be happy,” Jihyun said as Soohyun nodded by her side so she could agree. Meanwhile, Woohyun was quiet and pensive as he listened to his mother's words, so she thought she would be able to put some sense into him. “ And because I wanted all that for you, and Soohyunnie, I chose Myungsoo to be your father so I wish you could stay under his care.”

Woohyun quickly snapped out of his thoughts to protest. “Moooom, nooo~~~~ I don’t want to live with him, I can’t trust him anymore and I’m mad at him.” He said then turned his head to the other side, to avoid direct eye contact.

“I know Woohyun, I know that for you things changed and your feelings towards him might change as well. I can’t force you to do things against your will and I want you to always follow your heart but if you can consider my wishes just one time…’ She pleaded as he looked from the corner of his eyes to her. “I don’t care if it takes longer for you to make a decision, I don’t care if you stop loving and start treating him differently -  you have the right to be angry at us for as long as you want- but I wish you could let him keep the promise he made to me and let him take care of you until you come of age.”

“Why are you asking me this when you know how I feel?” Woohyun mildly snapped.

“Because despite loving and trusting other people, he is the only one I can trust you with. He is the only one that listened to all my wishes and has been respecting them for seven years. When he takes care of you I feel that I am taking care of you myself.”

“But you said you always hear me and protect me from here.” Woohyun argued.

“I do, but this kind of care is completely different from the care of a person who is next to you can give.” She tried to explain but Woohyun crossed his arms over his chest.

Soohyun suddenly gasped. “He’s sleeping too, can we call him over here? We could have a family meeting and solve this quickly!” She said, pleased with her idea.

Jihyun seemed to think about her daughter's request and scratched her nape. “I don’t know if it’s possible, this is Woohyunnie’s dream after all.”

“I don’t want to, I will not dream about him!” Woohyun announced.

“But sometimes a person can dream of things they don’t want, right?” Soohyun argued.

“That’s a nightmare!” The boy complained.

Jihyun looked from one kid to another that both wanted something different, that was the first time she could be a mother of two and face such a dilemma so he tried to find a middle ground. “Let’s try for a bit.”

“Yeaaaaaaaah!” Soohyun cheered

“Nooooo, my dream will be a nightmare!” Woohyun whined.

“You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to, but let your sister meet him once.” Jihyun pleaded and Woohyun pouted and crossed his arms for an umpteenth time.

“Fine.” He ended up agreeing which made Jihyun somehow proud of Woohyun's kindness despite his situation and Soohyun jumping on the couch out of happiness.

“Ok, ok, calm down.” She instructed the girl that quickly sat still before she looked at an empty spot in the clearing and tried to summon him. “Myungsoo oppa.” She called.

Soohyun waited expectantly while Woohyun watched things from the corner of his eyes, trying not to show he was a bit curious about how his mother would summon Myungsoo into his dream. 

It was like gray dust was coming from every place and gathering where Jihyun was looking at and, once they were there, they started to assemble and take Myungsoo form. At some point, they stopped and Myungsoo was shown standing with furrowed brows while nervously biting his nails. His image had no color and he didn’t look as solid as Jihyun or Soohyun but that was the best Jihyun could do at the moment.

Soohyun had watched the process and marveled and Woohyun could say that he was a bit surprised as well, but once it was over the girl shrieked in happiness.

“Daddy~~!!!!!” She yelled happily and ran towards Myungsoo, so she could hug him. The thing was, when she got close enough it was like she bumped into an invisible wall and fell on her . “What? No! Mom!” The girl whined. 

“I can’t do more than this. It’s Woohyun's dream and he doesn’t want to see him so it’s like our powers are colliding.”

“How do I help?” The girl asked as she turned her head to ask her mom.

“You can’t because you didn’t live much dear, I’m sorry,” Jihyun explained much of Soohyun's desperation while Woohyun's eyes grew big and he became wary.

“No, that can’t be.” The girl denied it as she got up and slowly placed her hands on the invisible wall. “DADDY!” She yelled loudly and desperately.

Myungsoo took his nails out of his mouth and perked up. “Woohyun? Woohyun? Is that you?” He called.

Woohyun snorted. “How can he confuse my voice with the voice of a girl? So dumb.”

“He hears her voice as if she is far away when you’re far away your voices don’t seem that different, especially because you’re still both young,” Jihyun explained, and Woohyun rolled his eyes while his sister tried to tap around.

“DADDY, IT’S ME, SOOHYUNNIE!” She yelled as loud as she could.

Myunsgoo’s body became rigid like he was shocked out of his mind. “Soohyun?”

“YES! YES! DADDY, IT’S ME!” The girl yelled as she tried to hit the invisible wall to get his attention.

“Holy mother!” Myungsoo confirmed his shock with his words but the next second he was fully in father mode. “Soohyun, where are you? I can’t see you, are you ok? Are you hurt? Can you follow my voice?”

“I’M OK, I’M HERE BUT YOU CAN’T SEE ME.” She tried to explain.

As Soohyun did previously, Myungsoo also tried to move forward to search for her but he also collided with an invisible wall. He looked not only surprised but confused so he tried to pat around looking for an edge, but all he managed to do was walk around in a circle. He then tried to break down the invisible barrier but even though he gave his best he couldn’t.

“I’m trapped.” He said to himself before he tried to inform Soohyun. “Dear, I’m trapped, I can’t go to you!” He said although he still kept trying to break free. “I’m so sorry, are you- are you sure you’re not hurt?” He asked in worry as his eyes watered.

Soohyun turned to her mother with a sad pout on her lips but once she met her eyes with Woohyun she glared at him. The boy made a displeased expression so Soohyun returned her attention to the male in front of her.

“YES, MOMMY IS WITH ME.” Soohyun tried to inform only for Myungsoo to get more agitated.

“Your mom… Ji? Ji, are you there? Ji, Ji!” He called as he gave up trying to get out although his desperation and worry didn’t fade.

Jihyun took a deep breath and put Woohyun on the couch before she moved to them. 

Myungsoo let go of Woohyun and turned his head from one side to the other, he felt unsettled and worried as he slept while Woohyun furrowed his brows again but didn’t trash his body around.

“Oppa!” Jihyun called, not making any effort to be as loud as her daughter was before, but Myungsoo could hear her just fine.

“Omg, Jihyun! Is that you? You seem so near, how do I get out of here? What can I do to see you?” He asked in desperation.

Jihyun turned to Woohyun but the boy didn’t seem inclined to change his mind and allow Myungsoo completely in his dream.

“Get on your knees.” She ordered as she also kneeled beside Soohyun and held the girl as close as she could.

“What?” Myungsoo tried to blink, he didn’t think he heard correctly, why would she ask for him to kneel?

“Just do what I say, we don’t have much time.” Jihyun insisted and this time Myungsoo didn’t think twice and did what she told. She closed her eyes with some force and tried to concentrate and a few seconds later Myungsoo saw a dot of light that started to grow until it was the size of his head.

He gasped once he noticed that he could see both girls on the other side. “Oh my god, oh my god!” His hands moved towards his mouth then stopped halfway to try to touch them but despite some sort of window forming in front of him his hands still couldn’t get past them.”

“DADDY!” The girl yelled as she placed her hands on the other side of the barrier as if she was also trying to touch him. That made Myungsoo’s tears fall, he never expected to even dream about his girls, and now that he could see them he couldn’t touch them, that was so unfair.

“Soohyunnie, you’re so pretty. You look so big, taller than Woohyun.” He said with his voice trembling out of emotion and then he looked at his best friend. “And you’re still so beautiful, you didn’t age a day.”

“You shouldn’t have been allowed to grow this handsome and taller though.” Jihyun teased with a fond smile and eyes full of emotion.

Myungsoo had to laugh, that was so typical of her but then he became serious and just let tears free fall from his eyes.

“I miss you so much.” He confessed then looked at Soohyun and kept patting the barrier the same way the girl did as if that would eventually enable them to touch. “I love you as much as I love your brother, there isn’t a day I don’t think about you and how would we live together”

“I KNOW DADDY.” The girl said with a crying voice. “I LOVE YOU TOO.” The girl yelled although Myungsoo heard faintly and before he got confused Jihyun explained.

“Soohyun didn’t live much so everything she can do is very restricted but your continuous love is allowing her to grow here.” Myunsgoo didn’t know what to say, he just felt incredibly sad for the girl in front of her. “I can’t also do much, we don’t have much time together.”

Myungsoo still kept trying to touch Soohyun but since Jihyun seemed to urge him then he had to make the most of their time. 

“Ji, our son discovered the truth… What do I do now?” Myungsoo tried to make a quick question andWoohyun doubled his attention on them once he heard he had become the topic of their conversation.

“You wait, there’s nothing else you can do,” Jihyun replied, and Woohyun felt relieved she hadn’t told him to bother him.

“But he…” Myungsoo tried to argue but Jihyun was quick to interrupt him.

“I know how troubled he is but, listen: it is also my fault, so don’t guilt-trip yourself, ok?” She said and Myungsoo made an expression that told her he couldn’t help but be full of guilt. 

Meanwhile Woohyun started to get angry. His mother accepted to lie but in the end, she died so she wasn’t the one lying to him for seven years, therefore there was no need for her to take any blame when it all belonged to Myungsoo. His anger started to interfere with whatever Jihyun was doing, and that not only made Myungsoo see the hole getting smaller but both Jihyun and Soohyun noticed Myungsoo's image becoming faint.

Upon noticing their time had become shorter, Myungsoo started to try to open up the small hole again but there was nothing he could do, his hands couldn’t touch its borders so he could try to open up again by force. Also, at times his fingers would become blurry and he couldn’t even feel the invisible barrier. “NO! NO! OPEN UP!”

Soohyun desperately hit the barrier in front of her as well. “DADDY! DADDY!” She screamed while Jihyun decided to tell him all that she wanted before he disappeared.

“You never let me down, never! Despite what’s happening, you’re the best father I could have chosen for my children, you do an amazing job every day, even for Soohyun.” Jihyun hurriedly said as Myungsoo became blurrier but tried to align his face in front of the hole so he could keep seeing them.

“Jihyun, Soohyun, I can’t lose you again.” He complained. 

“DADDY, I LOVE YOU.” The girl yelled as she tried to somehow hug him (or try to).

“I love you too, I have never stopped loving you both.” The young dad assured his daughter and then looked at Jihyun desperately. “Help me!”

“We can’t do much Myungsoo, I’m sorry. Wait for Woohyun but don’t wait for too much to live your life, you also deserve ok?” Jihyun continued hurriedly because Myungsoo's body was disintegrating fast.

“Ji, what are you saying?” Myungsoo asked as her voice started to fade and he couldn’t hear her well anymore.

“You know what I’m saying, I like him ok? I like him!” Jihyun said louder as she placed her hand over the barrier in front of him although at this point the girls couldn’t even identify his body anymore.“You don’t need to give up on…..”

“Just go away!” Woohyun yelled and the gray dust that once made Myungsoo's body completely disappear, the barrier was not there anymore and that made Soohyun slightly fall forward.

Myungsoo gasped for air as he woke up in fright. He looked around only to discover he was in Woohyun’s temporary room, on the bed with his son and the sun’s first rays of light were already entering between the curtains. He quickly blinked and tried to ease his breathing as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

He had had the weirdest dream ever and he had mixed feelings about it. On one side he was happy because he could, for the first time in seven years, see his best friend and met Soohyun, that looked a lot like Woohyun but with cheeks a bit fuller and softer features. On the other side, during the dream, he felt strange like there was something wrong with his body and he was trapped somewhere. Also the anxiety, desperation, happiness, and sadness he felt during the dream still lingered on his body in a weird mix of feelings that made him unsettled. 

He looked down at Woohyun and the boy seemed to still be in distress since he was still sleeping with furrowed brows. Myungsoo instantly got worried and decided to think about the dream later so he grabbed the plushie toy that somehow had escaped the boy’s hands, and placed it on his arms again before he hugged him again.

“He’s gone. I wanted him to stay longer...” Soohyun said sadly and Jihyun inhaled deeply then grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her towards Woohyun.

She sat the girl beside her brother and grabbed both kids' hands. “Woohyun thank you, I’m sorry that you had to see him when you didn't want to but you were kind to let us see him again.” She said to the boy - that despite being annoyed nodded to accept her words - then looked at Soohyun. “Be thankful to your brother, he let you try many new things in his dream today.” The girl warily looked at her brother and he did the same, they both didn’t know what to say to each other so Jihyun hugged them and they indulged in her warmth. 

After they parted the girl looked at her brother and made a timid question. “Can he stay longer next time?”

“He won’t enter my dreams again.” Woohyun declared without a heartbeat of hesitation and Soohyun looked ready to fight.

Jihyun looked at Woohyun and slightly shook her head at him. She knew the boy didn’t mean that and that Myungsoo would probably enter his dreams many times in the future, maybe sooner than any of them could expect. On the other hand, she didn’t know if she and Soohyun would ever have the chance of entering either Woohyun or Myungsoo’s dreams again, therefore she decided that it would be better to appease the kids and enjoy the only opportunity of being with both her kids.

“Let’s not fight each other ok? Woohyun can think about my request later, but I don’t know when this will happen again so we should enjoy each other’s company while we can, hm?”

The kids looked at and measured each other for some time while Woohyun felt guilty for wasting time with his mother and sister by being angry at Myungsoo until Soohyun snapped him out of his thoughts to raise the white flag. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“Why are you taller than me then?” Woohyun asked right after with a serious face.

“What?” The girl seemed flabbergasted but after a second Woohyun was holding his laugh at her. “Ya! Because I’m older than you.” The girl said annoyed for falling for Woohyun's mischief then jumped around to get revenge, through tickles.

They jumped around the couch, Woohyun running away and Soohyun trying to get her hands on him. Jihyun watched them with a fond smile while they both seemed to be enjoying the moment until Woohyun bumped into something invisible and fell backward. “What was that?”

“It was me.” The girl gloated from creating a small invisible wall on her own and finally got her tickling hands on him.

“What? Hahahahahah what?” Woohyun dissolved himself in laughs. “Sorry, Soohyunnie.”

Soohyun stopped with the tickles and they immediately started to play another game right after. Jihyun watched them play for as long as she could and even joined them at some point because she felt Woohyun would like it, but at some point, she felt that their time together would soon be over. She beckoned them close to her and made them lay on the grass with her.
“Why don’t we answer each other’s questions now?” She suggested.

“Good idea.” The girl chirped.

“Are you angels?” Woohyun didn’t lose time asking.

“No,” Soohyun answered as she chuckled.

“Then how do you have powers?” Woohyun asked curiously, he didn’t want to say but making Myungsoo appear inside of his dream without him wanting, had been pretty cool.

“Only here in your dreams,” Jihyun explained. “But even so there is so much we can do.”

“What’s it like to have many friends?” Soohyun asked her brother.

“It’s nice, I guess? But I prefer playing with Sunggyu hyung.”

“I know, I love watching it, he is so cute.” Soohyun declared as her mother chuckled this time.

“Eh? When in the world?” 

“When he does this.” Soohyun sat to be better seen and imitated Sunggyu's confused expression/mannerism which made Woohyun laugh out loud, it was quite close to the real deal. She then laid down on the grass again. “I think it’s cute that he takes care of you… do you think he would have been able to take care of me too?”

“Yes, hyung has a big heart.” Woohyun assured while he tried to imagine how that would have been.

“What about Sungyeol oppa?” Jihyun asked.

“Of cor-” He was in the middle of confirming when he remembered something so he sat on the grass and looked down. “MOM! Soohyunnie! He cooks deliciously, his food is so tasty even grand-auntie said she could grade him high.”

“For real?” Soohyun was impressed.

“For real.” Woohyun confirmed then added. “He is also very smart, he knows everything.”

“Eh? He doesn’t.” Well, this Soohyun couldn’t believe it.

“He does, I’m serious, he can answer all of my questions.” Woohyun insisted.

“There is a difference between knowing how to answer your questions and knowing everything,” Jihyun said.

“Yeah, he doesn’t know everything.” Soohyun agreed.

“And what is it that he doesn’t know?” Woohyun dared.

Soohyun became quiet so Jihyun cleared before trying to carefully explain. “He doesn’t know if Myungsoo oppa will accept his feelings.”

“How do you know that he likes d-Myungsoo-shi?” The boy gasped in surprise.

“Silly, I told you we watch you every day.” Soohyun giggled away.

“Oh, yeah.” He scratched his head and then smiled sheepishly. “ I guess he doesn’t know everything then. Do you have the power to know everything then?”

“Hahaha no, we just know everything about you and dad.” Soohyun giggled.

“To be fair, sometimes we check your friends to know if you’ll have good people around you,” Jihyun added.

“Really?” The boy perked up and once they nodded he became awfully quiet as he thought about the conversation he had with Sungyeol and Sunggyu tonight.

“What’s up with you?” Soohyun asked as she sat on the grass as well.

“Nothing, I just…” He tried to make an excuse to not worry about his mother and sister but he wasn’t able to even come up with one. 

Noticing the boy's distress, Jihyun decided to investigate that while she could. “Tell mommy.” She pleaded and once Woohyun heard something he always wanted to hear, he stopped his hesitation and decided to use this opportunity to know if his mother agreed with Sungyeol or if she could tell him other things to make at least one of his fears go away.

“If I ask questions about my friends would you tell me what I want to know?” He asked hesitantly.

The girls looked warily at each other then Jihyun replied. “Well, I’m not sure I’ll have an answer for everything but there must be something we can tell you or help you with. What do you want to know?”

The boy hesitated a bit because this was delicate for him so he tried to carefully arrange his words. “Hoya hyung says I might be bullied someday so, what I want to know is- there is this boy in my school…”

“Minggyu?” Soohyun guessed correctly and Woohyun's jaw dropped, how could she- he remembered they watched him all the time. He decided it was better this way, maybe if they already knew many things he didn’t have to explain much and could just get an answer quickly.

Jihyun grabbed his hand in hers. “We know you’ve been worrying because of him and that’s why you don’t want to go to school despite liking it there.” She explained.

“Yeah, because we fought and he broke my tooth, and it still didn’t grow,” Wooyun complained as he forced a smile to show his mother then became serious again. “Do you know what he said about me?” 

“I know,” Jihyun said. “You shouldn’t have gotten angry because you know what he said was not the truth, I’m here because I was sick and Soohyunnie had an accident in which she protected you.”

Woohyun looked deeply into his sister’s eyes. “Thank you Soohyunnie.” The girl just smiled at him as if telling him it was ok before he looked back at his mother. “We apologized and he is trying to be my friend but I’m afraid he will make fun of me once he knows.”

“Have you gloated about Myungsoo oppa at some point?” Woohyun's face grew red but he shook his head so she pretended she didn’t see. “You don’t have to worry about him,” Jihyun explained and Woohyun relaxed so much that he let himself fall on his mother's side again. “I’m not saying that he won’t try to upset you, but he won’t try it now.”

“What do I do about school then? I want to go but he is there and...” Woohyun quicked the air in anger.

“You have received a lot of advice already but I am your mother and I watch everything from here so I can assure you that you have a lot of good friends around you - Sunggyu specially…”

“Dongwoo oppa too,” Soohyun added.

“They’ll protect you so you don’t need to worry about Minggyu now or in the future. You can go to school without problems.” Jihyun continued.

“Are you sure?” The boy asked unsurely.

“Of course, come here.” She pulled him into her lap and then beckoned Soohyun to come as well. “In school, you have Suggyu, Dongwoo oppa, Bomi, Dasom, Haneul, Wooyoung from the second grade, and… you have to stop saying that Shinhye has a piggy nose,  you’re being unfair with her when she likes you a lot as well. She is one of your many friends that will have your back anytime.” Jihyun slightly scolded.

“Ok.” Woohyun agreed to stop being unfair to poor Shinhye but he was still processing his mother’s advice about Minggyu so the girls decided to cheer him up.

“You have very interesting friends, we have fun watching them sometimes,” Jihyun said to get his attention.

“Dongwoo oppa is the best kekekekekekekekek, he is too amusing.” The girl replied as she laughed. “And I like his pink hair.”

“I have to agree with you.” Jihyun also chuckled and started caressing Woohyun hair.

“Sunggyu-oppa is the one I like the most,” Soohyun said right after, and Woohyun looked at his mother and asked with her eyes who was her favorite. 

“Sungyeol oppa? I don’t know, I changed my views on him because now he takes such good care, now I think we’d be great friends.” Woohyun was pleased to hear that but seemed to think a bit before he decided to change the subject.

“Mom, do you miss anyone?” Woohyun asked, this time a little bit quieter, his mother's caressing was making him feel so at peace.

“I miss you and I miss teasing Myungsoo oppa but I quite miss auntie, uncle, and Moonsoo,” Jihyun said full of love in her tone. “I’m very thankful to them and I’m terribly sorry as well.” She added. 

“Mom, do you want me to send them a message?” Woohyun offered after a yawn.

“Will they believe?” Soohyun wondered.

“I can convince them.” The boy wanted to show he was confident but his voice came out full of sleep.

“Then tell Moonsoo that he is doing great and I feel proud of him. I’m thankful that he always helped me around and thanks to him I know what it is like to have a little brother.” She started with the maknae Kim.

“He is really nice.” Woohyun commented, full of sleep. “I miss calling him uncle sometimes.”

“Then call him uncle dummy.” Soohyun gave her two cents and Woohyun nodded against his mother’s body.

“Tell Uncle and Auntie that I’m grateful for everything they ever have done for me and for all the help and love they offered to you. Tell them I love them and I’m thankful that they taught me what is to have a family.” She said as Woohyun started to fight sleep.

“I’ll tell them.” He said as he tried to keep his eyes open.

Jihyun looked at him and hesitated but decided to give it a shot or else she would lose her opportunity. “If you talk to Myungsoo, tell him it’s ok.”

“Hm?” The boy seemed to ask but his eyes were already closed.

“Tell him that it’s…”

Woohyun shot up in bed as if he was woken up with a fright, releasing the plushie he had been holding all night. He quickly discovered he was completely alone in his room and not with his mother and sister anymore. He was about to whine when he noticed a certain weight on his lap and looked down only to find the yellowish plushie. He grabbed the toy and inspected it as he furrowed his brows in confusion, he knew he had left the plushie on his desk the day before how did it appear on his lap?

He tried to come up with a reasonable explanation about how that happened until it occurred to him that he had just met his mother and sister, and they had powers.

He immediately felt a wave of happiness wash over him and his heart was fuzzy and warm for the first time in the last few days. Choosing to interpret the toy as a sign of his mother and sister's powers and that all that he had dry was true, he laid down holding the plushie to his chest while a silly smile formed on his lips.

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AN: Hello guys, here's something loonger to distract you during your quarantine, I hope you guys like. How things are going for you? Are you hanging on?