As confident as Sungyeol was in his preparation and the decision to dedicate his time to the kids, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit nervous before his lecture. He couldn’t even have a proper lunch because of it. But, once it was over, he felt like time passed too fast and he could barely remember anything so he didn’t know if it had been good or bad.

Sungyeol felt as if he was anesthetized and wondered if people that often winged felt like that or if it was just him. He wasn’t recognizing himself and it must have shown in his face because professor Song Jonki told him to go home and rest for the rest of the day.

He did what he was told, but once he arrived home, he felt more like himself. At this point, he didn’t know what to do with his free time aside from correcting (for the last time) Myungsoo's project and catching up on his work with Woollim.

It was a productive afternoon of work when he decided not to worry about his lecture/performance. He was pretty satisfied with how Myungsoo rearranged his work and tried to minimize his mistakes already so there was little for him to do and, when it came to his editing work, he managed to progress smoothly. That being said, he almost missed the time to pick Sunggyu up and ended up rushing to get to the school.

“HYUNG!” Sunggyu yelled the minute he spotted his brother, surprising Dongwoo, some other kids that had been surrounding him, and even Sungyeol himself because yelling had been reserved for their fights that didn’t happen for some months already. The boy pushed other kids away and ran to greet his brother. “How did it go?” He asked once he was close enough.

Sungyeol ruffled Sungggyu’s hair then squeezed his cheeks briefly. “I don’t know.” He replied but tried to spot the other boy among the other children.

Sunggyu's jaw dropped open in disbelief and he poked his brother for attention. “How in the world you don’t know?”

“I don’t,” Sungyeol confirmed and decided to change the subject. “How did it go for you today? Did Woohyun come?”

“I asked first!” Now Sunggyu was annoyed. “Hyung, how you don’t know?” As soon as he finished his question another body slightly bumped into him and then hugged Sungyeol. Woohyun had appeared out of nothing.

“Woohyun, you came, I’m so proud! Where were you?” Sungyeol asked as he hugged Woohyun back and the boy's cheeks flushed a bit once they parted.

“Thank you hyung, I was in the bathroom.” He confessed but then… “How did it go?”

Sungyeol sighed deeply and looked at Sunggyu for help but the boy merely tapped his foot on the ground, waiting. “I’ll not escape this question, right?”

“No,” Sunggyu said as he crossed his arms as if he was waiting for a proper explanation, which was beyond funny for someone so small. But as Sungyeol sighed again Sunggyu got impatient. “Hyung, tell us!”

“Well…” Sungyeol scratched his head as he thought about a way to explain something he wasn’t sure himself. “I was a little nervous so I felt like everything passed so quickly, next thing I knew I was already returning home… I don’t know if it was good or bad.” He admitted. “But it doesn’t matter for you, because now that this is over I’ll work while you’re in school and we’ll  have more time to play.” Sungyeol tried to change the subject but the stupefied expressions the two boys had didn’t change.

“You get nervous?” They gasped, they didn’t think a person like Sungyeol, that knew almost everything, could get nervous.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m human too, even I can get nervous and it's ok to be nervous once in a while.” Sungyeol poked their foreheads which made the boys share a look as they pouted but tried to protect their foreheads in case Sungyeol wanted to do that again. “But enough about me, how was your day today?”

“I came to school,” Woohyun said the obvious with a big smile on his face.

“I can tell.” Sungyeol chuckled then moved his eyes between the boys. “Is there anything we need to worry about?”

Sunggyu shook his head and talked first. “No, but I will protect him if something happens.” He assured him proudly and Sungyeol made a mental note to tell Sunggyu he could not take advantage that he was older, bigger, and stronger than the others in his class.

“Hyung!” Woohyun practically squealed. “Mom was super right, there was no reason to worry about it, everyone hugged me and said they missed me.” He then lowered his voice enough to whisper. “Even Minggyu hyung.”

“Oh really?” Sungyeol opened a relieved smile but then lowered his voice to whisper back. “But did you tell them about what is happening or…”

Woohyun looked suspiciously all around him before he shook his head and Sunggyu decided to explain it further. “Myungsoo hyung is focusing on graduating school so Woohyunnie is staying with grandma and grandpa, but since they lived in Incheon and they had to move here, Woohyunnie was helping them pack.” With that, Woohyun looked kind of tense, almost afraid that someone would read his mind and discover the real truth, or maybe he felt like Sungyeol would scold them for lying. 

The elder tilted his head to the side as he thought about what he just heard. They lied, which meant Woohyun wasn’t comfortable with sharing his story. That was ok, he was barely sharing what he was feeling with people from his family so of course he wasn’t obliged to share anything with other people. On another hand, they also told the truth because Myungsoo was indeed focusing on graduating and his parents indeed moved to Seoul to take care of Woohyun. Sungyeol was impressed by the story they came up with but ended up making another mental note to pay attention to whatever Sunggyu said from here on. After all, now it was evident that Sunggyu could lie in a smart and sophisticated way by inserting some truth in it. 

“Sungyeol?” Suddenly the said man heard his name being called so he snapped from his thoughts only to notice Dongwoo in front of him.

“Hey hyung.” Sungyeol straightened himself and offered a smile to the teacher. “The boys are telling me that everything was fine today, is that true?”

“You don’t believe us?” Sunggyu gasped flabbergasted.

“Hyung!” Woohyun complained right after.

Sungyeol raised his hands in a surrendering manner. “I just want to know Dongwoo hyung's opinion because he is your teacher.”

Dongwoo smiled from ear to ear as he looked from one boy to another and then looked back to the other adult. “Well, Woohyun returned today and that caused some ruckus but, aside from that, there was no problem at all. Unless there is something I’m not aware of.”

“No way!” The boys assured/complained.

“That’s great,” Sungyeol said, then patted his brother's shoulder. “Go grab your bag, we need to go now.”

“Already?” Woohyun complained as Sunggyu ran to grab his backpack. “Hyung, stay until they come for me.” He pleaded while trying to hug Sungyeol's legs.

“Actually…” Dongwoo opened his mouth and that stopped everyone for a few seconds. “I wanted to ask you how it went today. It was today, wasn't it ?”

“Yeah, it was...” Sungyeol grimaced, he was sure Hoya had told Dongwoo about it. He was thankful that people seemed to care about him but he didn’t want to talk about it, at this moment it would be easier for him to write an essay of 50k words about the hope he had to restart things with Myungsoo. “I don’t know, I was the first candidate, I don’t know if people will perform better later. Now, Sunggyu...” Sungyeol called and Woohyun immediately latched on his long legs, begging for him not to go just yet.

With the way Sungyeol tried to conceal annoyance, Dongwoo immediately knew he shouldn’t have asked, but once Sunggyu came closer he decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask the boy.

“Sunggyu, Sungyeol lecure, was it bad?”

The boy shook his head before he looked at his friend and brother. “I think hyung did well, he is just nervous,” Sunggyu replied distractedly as he became amused by watching the other two.

“Oh.”

“Dongwoo hyung, help here!” Sungyeol called and after a relieved smile, the teacher tried to detach Woohyun but the boy was holding him too tightly.

“Nooooo~~~~.” The boy wailed but once Dongwoo decided to tickle he started giggling. “kekekeke”

“Woohyun, I need to drop by the market, how else are we going to bake cupcakes later to celebrate your return to school and my lecture being over?” Sungyeol ended up offering and Woohyun detached half of his body even though his hands were still preventing the elder from moving.

“Can we have red sprinkles?” The boy asked as he tried to avoid Dongwoo’s tickling hands.

“Red sprinkles, vanilla filling, and chocolate flavor." Sungyeol concealed quickly and it was like he said the secret code Woohyun needed to let him go. "Sunggyu say your goodbyes to your friends, we're leaving now!" He ordered before looking at Dongwoo. "Did you see that? I can't believe I bargained with Woohyun."

The teacher giggled and then teased. "I've seen some parents bargain before and that probably means you're a whole parent package now."

"Hyung, what are you even…" As Sungyeol tried to argue with Dongwoo, Sunggyu and Woohyun hugged and conspired with each other.

"Cupcakes!" Woohyun squealed in his friends' ears.

"Good job, Woohyunnie!" Sunggyu praised and quickly made a suggestion. “How about pizza for dinner?”

Woohyun squealed again as they broke the hug. “It would be awesome.”

“Sunggyu, let’s go!” They heard Sungyeol call.

Sunggyu held a smile and tried to wink (which he sort of failed), then waved goodbye to his friends before running to catch up with his brother.

“Hyung, can we have pizza for dinner?”

“No, we’re eating real food today.”

“But hyung, we need to celebrate~~~~.” The boy argued as he made his most innocent expression and blinked his small eyes cutely. Sungyeol looked at that expression and he knew Sunggyu was trying to trick him. But, even if he didn’t want to admit it to Dongwoo, he knew that he became softer - especially when Sunggyu had been giving him no trouble during this mess that had him trying to help Woohyun.

“OK, ok, I’ll order one, ok?”

______________________________________

They ate pizza that night - more than one - and they also baked. But, as much as the kids could trick Sungyeol, he also could trick them back - which meant that they baked, but they didn’t get to eat. Of course, the kids complained but Sungyeol suggested they could bring them to school and share some cupcakes with their friends.

The next day, while the kids shared their baked goods in school, Sungyeol received an email from Myungsoo with all corrections. On one hand, he was glad because that meant only bureaucracy and a presentation separated Myungsoo from his diploma now. On another hand, Myungsoo’s emails (and this whole situation) always bothered Sungyeol because he knew they were only separated by one door and still couldn’t/shouldn't cross for now.

Nothing to correct this time, you’re done before the deadline just like we agreed.
Once you print, bring me so I can sign. Lee Sungyeol.

Sungyeol pressed send with the silliest smile on his face, the ending was so near he could almost touch it, which left him on cloud nine. A second later he felt as if something heavy fell on his stomach, he had to remind himself that Myungsoo's situation was complex and their relationship was the last thing the younger would think about. With a heavy sigh he resumed his work, he didn’t want to suffer in anticipation, he already calculated the part he could calculate, and now he had to figure things out as he went.

When he arrived at school to pick Sunggyu up he didn’t find Woohyun because the elders had just left with him. He wasn’t that bummed because he would see Woohyun later but Sunggyu was in a foul mood that it took him some time to understand. Much to his surprise Woohyun used the cupcakes to apologize to Shinhye and... “Now she likes him!” Sunggyu had said with obvious jealousy.

Sungyeol tried to explain that Sunggyu didn't need to be jealous of his friend because he was the 'best friend', but the younger almost pulled his hair because Sungyeol didn't get him.

The elder could understand but he didn't want to. He simply thought the kids were too young to develop some kind of affection that remotely resembles love (and if so that would change with time and they wouldn't even remember later) so he forced himself to believe Sunggyu was just possessive as a friend (even though he ended up letting other kids enter the bubble he had with Woohyun).

The funny thing about this was that Woohyun was completely clueless. Not only about Shinhye developing a crush but also about Sunggyu. He could tell Sunggyu was upset - it was obvious - but he didn't know why and even though he tried to discover, Sunggyu didn't want to share so he changed the subject.

He had told everyone about his apologies to the girl and how their friends liked their cupcakes but, a few seconds later, he was already asking Sungyeol to call Hoya and ask if the drawing was ready. Sungyeol wanted to pull his hair, he knew that if he called Hoya would ask the same question everyone already asked. Besides, he could half- reply to the kids, trick Myungsoo's parents (that also questioned him), or avoid Dongwoo or Sungjong but Hoya wouldn't let him go that easily.

Thankfully messages and audios existed, and Hoya took some time to reply just to say he was madly busy and that Woohyun would have to wait, which made the boy a little bummed. Even so, Hoya didn't end the message before asking Sungyeol to tell him everything with details, but once Sungyeol had his question replied he could ignore the rest. 

After that, Sungyeol supervised the kids' homework and that moment was funny for two reasons. On one hand, the elder couple wanted to question Sungyeol about Myungsoo's project but didn’t want to be too straightforward about it in case Woohyun would complain. On another hand, while they tiptoed with their words, the boys, who were trying to concentrate, ended up complaining about the noise. 

Sungyeol thought that Wednesday would mostly be a boring day - like many others - but it was kind of busy, and it was not because of Woollim's work or any help he could offer in college. Just a bit of that. The day started with Sungyeol going to Myungsoo's department and getting acquainted with the other side of the bureaucracy he already knew. Well, at least he sped up a thing or two then rushed back into his office with all the intention to write Myungsoo an email with explanations, but he was prevented from doing so after Hoya appeared. 

Sungyeol was surprised for a series of reasons, firstly his cousin had told him just yesterday he was busy so how in the world did he have time now? Secondly, aside from coming to celebrate the end of some college cycle for Sungyeol, Hoya avoided college like a plague, so why was he here? Scratch both questions, once Sungyeol saw his cousin having tea and chatting with his adviser like two old friends he knew why Hoya was there. If Sungyeol didn’t tell him what he wanted to know he would scoop the information himself.

The taller man joined the conversation for enough time to discover what Hoya knew already then found a way to take him out of the office and push him to the cafeteria. After a series of questions of both parts, Sungyeol discovered Hoya had time because Myungsoo was helping. Then, he had to answer Hoya’s questions and that didn’t quench his cousin's curiosity but was enough to make him back off.

“Ok Sungyeol, but we’re going out to drink either to celebrate or to cry once your results are out,” Hoya said before leaving and Sungyeol had agreed, secretly hoping he would have more things to celebrate than to cry until then.

Since he was already at the cafeteria, he thought it was better to get something for lunch, but he should have gotten the hint that his afternoon would be particularly busy. After all, if he hadn't taken a break to send that email during lunch, he wouldn’t have been able to do it during the afternoon. Firstly a student approached him during lunch, and once he returned to the office, there was a small line of people waiting for him, final essays had deadlines and most students appeared before them.

He left college to pick Sunggyu up and he could only hope to survive the night, he was not physically tired but he was tired mentally. But, once Sunggyu warned him that Woohyun was a bit weird, Sungyeol's hopes vanished and he tried to find strength and patience within him. It turns out Woohyun's state was better than he thought. The boy addressed everybody during the conversation they had over dinner and his connection with everyone seemed to be stable but indeed his energy seemed a bit depleted. While the grandparents thought Woohyun probably played/studied too much in school, the pair of brothers were not sure that was the reason. Especially when Sunggyu tried to ask if everything was ok during school time, and Woohyun replied everything was ok. 

The boys proceeded with homework straight after dinner - which made Sungyeol relieved he hadn’t to insist - and Woohyun asked about Hoya at some point, but upon receiving the same answer from the previous day, he just moved to his room silently. Everyone followed him and piled their heads together only to spot him on his bed holding his mp3 player and putting on his earphones.

“He was like this after you left yesterday,” Sonmi explained after a sigh. “He is probably missing Jihyun again.” 

“Yeah and he doesn’t like us around whenever he is like this so… let’s wash the dishes,” Bumsoo called his wife and then moved towards the small kitchen.

“If you two want to stay… good luck,” Sonmi said before following her husband.

The pair of brothers shared a confused look but ended up taking a step inside the room and closing the door. Sunggyu ran to his friend first, laying behind him and back hugging him. “What’s going on Woohyunnie?” He asked in a whisper as Sungyeol sat in front of him.

Woohyun pulled the earphones from his ears and moved around so he could look from one to the other brother. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he got angry since the grandparents told the brothers he liked to be alone in moments like these but the boy hadn’t asked them for privacy any moment. They were his go-to people lately, the ones he could remotely feel like himself. 

“What happened? Is there anyone bothering you here? Or in school?” Sungyeol placed his hand on the boy’s cheek and caressed a bit and that was enough to fill his eyes with tears.

Woohyun covered his face for a second but it didn’t take long to show his distraught expression. 

“Hyungs, I’m forgetting them.” He sobbed and the other two shared a look.

“It’s impossible Woohyunnie,” Sunggyu said gently.

“Sunggyu is right, you love them intensely even when they’re not here so I guess you can’t forget them,” Sungyeol said right after, knowing too well whom he was referring to. 

“... how they look like…” The boy mumbled to explain and Sungyeol grabbed his hand and lay on his side. He didn’t think Woohyun would forget his dream in such a short time but if that dream was over and things were blurring in his head then it made all sense he felt down.

As Sungyeol tried to search in his head for the right words to say, Woohyun took a deep breath and let his emotions flow. “... that makes me feel so alone… even if everyone is here.” 

“You’re not alone Woohyunnie, as long as I’m here you’ll never be,” Sunggyu assured him as he tried to hug his friend again and Sungyeol squeezed his hand to show he was there too. Sunggyu was right, not only him but every other person in the younger boy's life wanted to be there, but Woohyun was wrong, not everyone was there. There was one person that desperately wanted to be here for him, but wasn't because he knew the boy would push him away. 

Sungyeol sighed as he tried to comfort the boy through the night. It wasn't like he hated Woohyun or was tired of aiding him, but he preferred that Woohyun and Myungsoo were not suffering from being away from each other. After all, if Myungsoo were to be here Woohyun wouldn’t feel alone but as loved as his mother would have loved him.

The brothers ended up sleeping over when they shouldn’t have but at least Sunggyu had his backpack and uniform around so he was sent to the school with the Kims while Sungyeol drove home. He had work he couldn’t wait to get rid of but decided to pass it to take a nice nap, a busy day + emotional tiredness + weird sleeping position weren’t the best combination.

Thursday was a day divided into four parts: the one where he slept, the one he worked, the one he worried about not having received an email from Myungsoo, and the one he bothered Hoya to get Woohyun his drawing. It was not like Myungsoo had to email him but Sungyeol felt like he would receive one either way so he was a bit disappointed. On another hand, he had good news with Hoya, he had finished the drawing but he still had to print it. He hoped that would make Woohyun feel better.

Later that night Sungyeol arrived at the Kim’s to find an apartment full of people. He had permitted Myungsoo’s parents to take Sunggyu home so it was a given he would be there, but Moonsoo and Sungjong had appeared today. He looked at the bags of food he had brought to help with food, given the amount these two could eat, it wasn’t enough for everyone.

The bags disappeared from his hands and Myungsoo’s parents insisted on Sungyeol to join everyone in the living room. Woohyun tried to tell Moonsoo about his dream while Sunggyu enjoyed Sungjong’s lap and hand on his hair. They all (but Sunggyu that was almost sleeping) heard Woohyun’s narrative attentively, with the young couple asking things, and Sungyeol reminding Woohyun of details until the doorbell rang. Woohyun seemed to get tense, maybe even afraid that it would be the only person he didn’t want to see, but in the end, Hoya popped inside with two frames wrapped in pretty paper.

As soon as he saw it, Woohyun bolted from his uncle’s lap to take the gift from Hoya’s hands and destroy the wrapping paper. Here they were, his mother and sister, each in their frame. He looked at one, then to the other and if there was some difference from the way he imagined they would never know because the boy never complained. Instead, he tried to hug Hoya while trying to hold both frames.

“Thank you, hyung.” The boy’s voice came out so squeezed with emotions that people barely heard him.

“What’s happening Woohyun?” Bumsoo asked from the kitchen and only then Sunggyu seem to move a bit in Sungjong's lap.

Hoya crouched beside Woohyun and took one of the frames in his hand so Woohyun could hug him better. He was a bit flustered, Sunggyu was the only kid in his life so there was so much he knew about kids. “Hey, don’t cry, this was supposed to make you happy… you didn’t like it? Is that it? If so I can give it another try this weekend.”

Woohyun shook his head and Hoya became clueless. 

“He is not sad about it.” Sungyeol translated from his corner, and now he knew more not only about kids but more about Woohyun as an individual, with needs very similar yet different from the ones he was used to.

“Then?” Woohyun pulled away from Hoya and cleaned his face before making one of his most thankful expressions.

“Thank you hyung” He repeated. “They are exactly like how I dreamed of.” He said only for Hoya to breathe in relief. All the Kims made a collective ‘awn’ right after and Woohyun remembered that he had not shown it to anyone yet. “Hyungs!” Yelled as he ran from Hoya, startling/waking up Sunggyu in the process. “This is my mom, isn’t she pretty? And Soohyunnie looks just like me!” He skipped to the boys population sitting in the small living room.

“Oh my god, it’s her!” Moonsoo was deeply impressed as he grabbed the frame to inspect closer and Sunggyu sat straight to see the pictures too.

“Soohyunnie is cute.” The older boy chirped.

“Hyung!” Woohyun seemed to scold but then giggled and his voice became softer. “She is my sister, of course, she is!”

“For a second I thought he didn’t like it,” Hoya confessed to Sungyeol once he sat beside him. 

“Are you kidding me? He probably won’t shut up about it and I’m sure he will sleep hugging those frames.” Sungyeol playfully snorted then let out a thankful smile. “Thank you for this, how do I repay you?”

Hoya raised a brow, what was Sungyeol talking about? Yes, he had asked him to come and draw Woohyun's mother and sister, but, according to Sungyeol himself, helping Woohyun was helping Myungsoo so he was doing a favor to Myungsoo too, no? Suddenly things were getting too complicated and he didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want anyone owing him anything, in the end, he did it because he wanted to.

“Are you talking ?” He snorted and playfully pushed Sungyeol's shoulder. “You asked me a favor for someone that isn’t you or your brothers and I only realized now that it wasn’t the first time. You grew Sungyeol.” Hoya said with a proud tone. “You don’t owe me anything, there is nothing I can ask of you anymore.” 

“Do you have to be like this?” Sungyeol pushed him back and tried to sound disgusted but there was an amused smile on his face that annoyed Hoya.

“Shut up, it was a prone moment, Woohyun brought up my feelings.”

“Yeah, right, blame the kid.” 

______________________________________________

Myungsoo felt something cold on the pit of his stomach as he traced his fingers on the cover of his printed project. It felt like a mix of excitement, anticipation - because there was nothing more tangible as the end of his college life than this - but also fear. Would things go smoothly so he could graduate and smooth Woohyun somehow? And after that what would happen? Would he be able to deal with any of his other problems like, getting closer to Woohyun again or making the sport he played his job? At least those he was ready to try, but dealing with Sungyeol in his personal life? He shivered, he didn’t want to think about it.

He paid and left the print shop, he had a lot to do today and there was no second to lose. Upon arriving in college he hurried to Sungyeol's department only to find a lot of people entering and coming out of his office. Luckily he spotted Chanyeol and Yeri talking outside and approached them.

“Hi, guys.”

“What’s up?” Chanyeol greeted him with a pat on Myungsoo’s shoulder. 

“Myungsoo-shi.” The girl greeted him with a smile that he retributed.

“What’s happening here?” He pointed to the office door. “I have never seen this office so busy.”

Yeri merely giggled. “It’s the end of the semester, every department must be busy right now.”

Well, she had a point but his department didn’t look like this last Monday and they could also send some projects through email. Besides, there were at least two more weeks to go until the end of the semester. On a side note, did Sungyeol have this many students and him? He suddenly felt a bit guilty and wondered if it was ok for Sungyeol to spend time with his son.

As if reading Myungsoo's confusion on his face Chanyeol explained. “Today it’s the deadline for the subject Hyung is teaching - you know? - because he has to wrap things up a bit early. But both Song professors will give their grade based on a two-part essay which also has a deadline for the first part today so this is why there are so many people.”

“Also some of them will graduate so they want to focus on that in the last couple of weeks,” Yeri added.

Myungsoo looked down to the ground and processed the information before concluding the obvious. “Which means he is busy.”

“Yeah”. Yeri said before spotting someone coming out of the office. “My friend is out, I got to go, boys. Good luck.”

“Bye.” Both said before Myungsoo continued talking to Chanyeol. “Are you waiting to hand your essays?”

“Nah, hyung and Dara noona rubbed on me and now I hand my essays before the deadline, at this point I only have my grad presentation to worry about.”  Myungsoo's mouth became an ‘o’ so Chanyeol shrugged and leaned on the closest wall. “I wanted to invite him for lunch but I’m not sure he will be able to come with me. Is that your project?” Chanyeol changed the subject once he noticed Myungsoo holding a couple of small books.

“Yeah.” 

“Can I see it?” Chanyeol asked right after and Myungsoo held them against his chest.

“I’m sorry, this project is about something very personal so I’m not that comfortable showing it yet...”

“Right,” Chanyeol said awkwardly but then remembered something and straightened himself. “Come on, I’ll help you get noticed, if you wait for him to be done then you’ll wait forever.”

“Thank you, and sorry again, maybe another time?” Myungsoo said while he followed Chanyeol inside the office.

“It’s cool, man, don’t worry about...” Chanyeol halted his words once he saw the confusion inside the office. Sungyeol was probably sitting in his usual chair but there were so many people surrounding him and talking at the same time that he couldn’t be seen or heard.

“Oh my god.” Both whispered but upon seeing that situation, Myungsoo got worried. He didn’t know the extension of Sungyeol traumas because he didn’t like to talk about it and often said he had things under control, but that got to freak him out somehow no? Well, it freaked Myungsoo to see Sungyeol like this.

“LINE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP.” He yelled and suddenly every pair of eyes was on him again.

Chanyeol didn’t know what was going on but Myungsoo's tone had been laced with urgency and desperation so he thought it was better to back him up. “Yeah guys, line up, are you kids waiting for candy?” 

They heard someone try to hold a laugh but then Sungyeol got up and showed enough of his height so the other two could see him. “I’m going crazy.” He confessed. “What are you doing here?” He asked and Myungsoo raised his project in the air which made Sungyeol's heart beat faster in happiness.
Chanyeol looked from one to the other. “I came to invite you for lunch but I see that’s not gonna happen, so… dinner?” 

“Not sure I can Chanyeol, I’m kinda busy with this...” Sungyeol was in the middle of an apology but caught someone trying to shove their essay underneath the piles he had been trying to keep tidy. “Hey, this is not… you know what?” He mixed everything in just one pile. “Ok folks, I lost my patience, drop your essays and disappear, I’ll sort everything later.”

“No way, I didn’t come all the way here to hand in like this, what if you lose or leave it behind?” Someone complained.

“I’m not irresponsible. I know your name, face, and which credit you’re taking...“ Sungyeol tried to explain.

“But…” Someone still tried to argue but Sungyeol's patience, which was probably short, disappeared completely.

“I SAID LEAVE!” Sungyeol barked and Myungsoo felt a shiver down his spine, he wasn’t scared but he understood why Sunggyu feared his brother at some point.

“Are you ok?” Myungsoo asked softly, letting out he was a bit worried.

“Yeah, nothing to fear.” Sungyeol was almost adding an amused smile when Chanyeol decided to comment on it.

“Nothing to fear? They fear you now.” Sungyeol turned to his friend and one of his eyes twitched. “Forget about it, I didn’t say anything.” The younger Yeol raised his hands in surrender (and a bit of fear), but the second the elder in the room tried to combine every piece of paper in a big pile he whispered to Myungsoo. “Did you know about this side of his?” 

“Yes, why? You didn’t?” Myungsoo whispered back after all Chanyeol knew Sungyeol for longer and that new piece of knowledge amused him a bit.

Chanyeol opened his jaw and shook his head. “He was strict before but he never looked like a possessed demon.”

“Well, I’ve heard some heated words in the beginning, but then…”  With every word out of Myungsoo’s mouth, Sungyeol could hear his tone becoming awkward and thought it was better to interrupt.

“I can hear you.” He said as he finished stacking paper and the younger ones immediately shut up but since Chanyeol looked kind of disgruntled he thought it was better to explain himself a bit. “I’m not that good at compartmentalizing. When I have to focus too much to keep many things in control I’m probably releasing stress this way somewhere else.” He sighed defeatedly, he was disappointed with himself. “I thought I had this under control somehow but I guess I still have this side of me.”
Myungsoo shifted his weight on his legs and looked down. “The past month has not been easy… ”

Chanyeol looked from one to another and felt like they were saying a lot more than what they were conveying through words. Whatever they were talking about telepathically made the air feel heavy and suffocating which made him want to flee the scene. 

“Hm, yeah, but…” The ex-lovers looked at him so he tried to put their attention on something else so he could discreetly make his way out. “...everything will be over soon, right?” He said and looked from Myungsoo’s eyes to the books and Myungsoo immediately got the hint he should do what he came here for.

“I brought it so you can sign it,” Myungsoo said and offered copies of his project.

“Good, good, let me see.” Sungyeol grabbed the copies and promptly opened one to take a quick look. He didn’t bother to read the text because he was sure he didn’t let pass any mistake so he just checked the pictures, if they hadn’t quality, what Myungsoo was trying to say would be hard to identify. Myungsoo felt a bit nervous and waited for any sign of a mistake but when Sungyeol spoke next it was not directed to him. “Chanyeol.” He called as he closed the booklet and the said man - that had his hand on the doorknob - stopped and turned around slowly.

“What?” He asked, afraid that something would blow back on him.

“Can you stay and organize that pile of paper by credit? I need to go with Myungsoo to his department.”

“I…”  Chanyeol didn’t know what to say, he was happy Sungyeol didn’t seem possessed or angry or have any bad emotions but he also didn’t want to stay and cover his hyung on this boring task.

“You don’t need to… you just need to sign and I’ll take over there and… I mean, if everything is ok...” Myungsoo stuttered flustered, he didn’t want to give more trouble with this and at the same time, he thought the way there would be awkward.

Sungyeol ignored him. “Chanyeol, if you help me with this I can probably leave for lunch early.” Chanyeol blinked in conflict. “Come on, I know you want advice.”

“Fine, fine.” Chanyeol marched back and Sungyeol smiled satisfied then grabbed a pen before moving to the door.

“If you finish too early try marking a dot next to their names so I know who handed them and who didn’t, but don’t worry, I probably won’t take long.” As Chanyeol let his weight fall on the chair Sungyeol urged Myungsoo. “Come on.” 

Sungyeol left the door and Myungsoo was about to move but he stepped back to grab the booklets Sungyeol had left behind, then followed him. Once the younger one was out, Sungyeol closed the door and they started walking side by side in a silence that wasn’t as bad as Myungsoo had imagined.

“The pictures turned out great, I mean, I was a bit worried that a lack of quality would mask what you’re trying to show.” Sungyeol tried to make small talk as they 

“I won’t say that I wasn't worried about that, but after 4 years of studying here and printing so many pictures, I know which printing shop to go to.” Myungsoo chuckled then continued seriously. “This is not only a graduation project, but it’s also a huge gamble, it has to be perfect.”

“I understand.” After that Sungyeol chose not to prolong the conversation, they were already near Myungsoo's department and he seemed to be more relaxed when they were in silence.

They didn’t lose time once they arrived there. Sungyeol signed everything he needed to sign and Myungsoo filled up some more paperwork. Once they were done, Sungyeol had a conversation with the head of the department about Myungsoo’s presentation and how that needed to happen soon. They came out of the department without a definitive day, but with the certainty,, it would happen as soon as they could match everyone’s agenda. Meanwhile, Myungsoo felt a bit conflicted for the second time that day, it would be good for him to wrap things up in college and effectively take a problem out of his life but he thought he would have at least two more weeks to prepare.

“Are you ok?” Sungyeol asked once he noticed Myungsoo was a bit out of himself.

“Yeah, yeah, I just… It’s ok, I’ll be ok.” Myungsoo tried to hide his nervousness but tripping over his words made it obvious to Sungyeol how he was feeling.

“Look, it’s ok to be nervous, but you know everything there is to know about this project. If you need it, you can go home and rehearse in front of a mirror, but trust me, you’re ready. I’m not pushing you because I’ll benefit from it, but because the last couple of changes you made, made me sure that you were ready.”

“Thank you, I’ll try to give my best,” Myungsoo mumbled, trying to discreetly clean the sweat that slowly was forming on his hands.

“You won’t try, you’ll give your best, not only because you want to graduate but because you’ll be talking directly to Woohyun,” Sungyeol said seriously, but with all honesty and sincerity he had, and Myungsoo balled his hands into fists, getting more confident now that someone believed in him. “Now repeat with me: I’ll do my best,” Sungyeol said firmly.

“I’ll do my best,” Myungsoo repeated just as firmly.

“I’m gonna kick as I do in my matches.”

“I’m gonna kick as I do in… damn, I still have one for charity.” Myungsoo lost himself in his thoughts but he didn’t seem that nervous anymore and that made Sungyeol feel like he accomplished a mission.

“It’s ok Myungsoo, you’ll do well in that too.” Sungyeol chuckled and Myungsoo nodded and from there on no words were exchanged. Both felt like there was so much they should say to each other but at the same time, they didn’t know how, not because they were in public but especially because they shouldn’t falter now that the ending was so near. 

“This is it right? Just one more meeting.” Myungsoo said awkwardly.

“Yeah, just one more.”

“Then since we’re done for today…” Myungsoo left his words unfinished but the finger-pointing over his shoulder and the small step back were enough to say he wanted to go. He gave another step back and at that moment Sungyeol felt that he wouldn’t have another chance to say part of what he had to say.

“Wait!” Sungyeol reached to grab his arm but stopped right at the last second. “Before you go and before I miss this chance…” Myungsoo looked around and then back at the elder, trying to scold him, but Sungyeol continued before he could use words. “I’m not sure I’ll have another chance to tell you this as your adviser but... Despite why and how this started and the slips we had along the way, I want to tell you it was an honor.” Myungsoo was a bit surprised so squinted his eyes a bit while he processed what he just heard.

“In the beginning, it wasn’t pleasant but I liked to know you can put up a good fight, and, once you accepted help, I was able to see your diligence and resilience on another side of your life.” Sungyeol unconsciously smiled and Myungsoo frowned. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, whatever happens from now on, you have my admiration and respect.”

Myungsoo avoided Sungyeol's eyes, he didn’t know if the elder was making some kind of move for their unfinished business or if it was just a sincere but unrelated confession. Either way what the elder had just said made Myungsoo pleased. “That means a lot, thank you. It eventually became a nice insight into your personality too.” 

Sungyeol nodded softly and decided to spill his last worries before parting. “Tell me something, will you bring people to watch you?”

“Well, my parents will probably want to come and watch me and, as you know, I want to bring Woohyun too. But that’s something I have to work on.” Myungsoo said with a heavy sigh when he thought about how talking to Woohyun would go. ”Why?”

“Nothing, it's just.. this will soon be over and we need them to give us a little help if you know what I mean.” Sungyeol tried to not be too obvious but of course, Myungsoo got the message, they had to pretend they didn’t know each other.

“I’ll talk to them.”

Sungyeol pressed his lips in a thin line, he wanted to say more (and he had so much to say) but that would have to wait a bit more. “Thank you.” Now it was his turn to give a step back and try to make some excuse to go. “I’ll…”

“Can I ask something of you?” Myungsoo interrupted.

“Yeah?” Sungyeol replied, maybe a bit too eager, but whatever Myungsoo needed, if he could he would give him.

“Can you make that dinner with Chanyeol-shi happen?” He asked but Sungyeol furrowed his brows in questioning so he explained a bit more. “I guess what I’m saying is that I need some time alone with my family today.”

Sungyeol features softened immediately. “I can’t guarantee I’ll have dinner with him, but Sunggyu needs to rehearse for his festival, so yeah…” Myungsoo was satisfied with the answer but at the same time he knew what awaited him, talking with his parents would be good like it always was, but meeting Woohyun wouldn’t be a fun thing. Noticing how Myungsoo's expression shifted, Sungyeol wanted to say something, but instead of showing worry, the younger looked determined.

"The adults control the kids' lives, not the other way around," Myungsoo said with confidence that surprised Sungyeol. He remembered the exact moment when he first said that and not only he was surprised by the fact Myungsoo remembered, but also he was surprised that he had partially forgotten. He still ruled the kids, but the kids also took over his life as well.

Sungyeol figured he had to talk with Myungsoo - a talk that could help him think and establish some sort of parenting style - but figured he could do that later. For now, he wouldn't say anything against his advice because maybe it was already the time for Myungsoo to push Woohyun out of the bubble he was creating and force a path toward communicating with the boy.

He raised a fist in the air and smiled. "Team Woosoo fighting!"

____________________________________________

Myungsoo wasn't afraid but anxious to talk to his family although he forgot all about it once he reached Hoya's place. He didn't usually work in the elder's apartment but his own felt too empty and Hoya's was also closer to the apartment his parents were in now. It was a bit weird because Hoya seemed too eager to tell him something but at the same time was holding himself back. Myungsoo decided not to dwell on it but focus on work as much as he could so he could check that off his to-do list for the day (yes, he had done a couple of lists or else he was sure he would lose himself in the middle of it).

He had made some progress, but that afternoon passed so quickly that the next thing he knew Hoya was telling him (very politely) that he had to go pick Dongwoo up from school. A glance at the clock on the computer he was using and he cursed in his head, it was too late to warn his parents that he would visit them now. But, since Hoya was going to school, Myungsoo ended up asking for a ride to his parents.

Meanwhile, Woohyun was sitting at the table, swinging his feet, and asking his grandparents when Sunggyu and Sungyeol would arrive while they all had dinner.

“We don’t know,” Bumsoo answered.

“Why didn’t you ask?” The boy insisted.

“Because…” The adults shared a look, trying to find with each other the answers the child wanted. “Because… I forgot.” Bumsoo said.

Woohyun rolled his eyes but insisted. “He said they would come after whatever they need to do, right?” 

“No, he didn’t say much Woohyun. As we explained to you, he only said not to pick up Sunggyu today because he had something to do.” Sonmi patiently said.

Woohyun shrugged and gathered some food with his chopsticks. “It’s ok, I’ll wait for them.”

“But even if they came later, that might not be today.” She added and that made Woohyun drop the chopsticks - that was halfway to his mouth - back on his bowl.

“What?”

Woohyun was surprised. Both Sungyeol and Sunggyu were awesome friends, they always told him when they would be able to come and, if not, why wouldn’t they. Woohyun wondered why wouldn’t they come without saying anything… Wait! Were they preparing something special? As soon as that thought occurred, he heard the doorbell.

“It’s theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem!” He squealed happily, and before everyone understood anything, he was scrambling out of his chair to get to the door. “Hy-” 

Woohyun not only halted his words, but he also froze. He stared at the one in front of him and that made the two elders surprised. They were not expecting Sungyeol and Sunggyu to be at the door (Woohyun wouldn’t have frozen if they were), but they also couldn’t imagine anyone coming here that would cause such a reaction on the boy. Unless…

“Hello, Woohyun.” Myungsoo's voice could be heard, and if it had been any louder, his heartbeat would have too. But in its turn, Woohyun made an upset but determined expression and closed the door.