“Woohyun!” Both elders were scandalized. Bumsoo got up to open the door for his son but Woohyun darted to his room and closed the door so he won’t have to face Myungsoo or any other consequence.

“Sorry Myungsoo,” Bumsoo said as he opened the door and Myungsoo forced a resigned half-smile.

“It’s ok.” He said before getting in. “I should have sent a message but I had so much to do that I forgot.” He said once he pulled a chair to sit and his father closed the door to come to the table as well.

“It was a nice surprise for us at least, come here,” Sonmi said and Myungsoo leaned to get a kiss from his mother.

“How are things going around here?”

“Well, Moonsoo said Woohyun needed space and we are trying to give him some,” Bumso said as he sat. 

“And, as we told you, he dreamt with the girls so his mood was mostly good this week, it was particularly good when Hoya-shi dropped by with their drawings for him,” Sonmi added.

“He brought the drawings?” Myungsoo asked and wondered if that was the reason why Hoya seemed to be struggling with a secret all afternoon. He shrugged internally, that wasn’t a problem but more like it got his curiosity on, and that would need to be quenched later.

Sonmi nodded. “ Woohyun tried to explain how the girls looked the best he could, - and it was so cute - he even tried to show his mother pictures to Hoya-shi. I need to tell you, I was kind of impressed with your boss. I thought his skills were related to webcomics but he did a pretty good job with the drawings, they look like real people. You should check.”

“I doubt he came here for this though,” Bumsoo said, then moved his eyes to Myungsoo. “You came here about the agents' offers? I think we might have a winner but I think I can negotiate a thing or two for you.”

“Oh, great, that’s great but you’re right, I didn’t come here for this.” The elders shared a look and Myungsoo looked longingly at Woohyun's closed door before turning his eyes back at his parents. “I came here to give you some updates about myself, Woohyun included.”

Bumsoo frowned but Sonmi figured they could worry about Woohyun after she squeezed information out of her son. “What’s up? Have you and Sungyeol made up?”

Myungsoo became slightly tense. “No.”

“That’s a pity.” She pouted but then nudged him. “What happened then?”

“Well, I have been back to work and I tried catching up with things in college as I wait for Woohyun to be ready to talk but… the big news is that I finished my project.”

Both parents gasped, surprised but super happy about it. “What? I can’t believe it, congratulations kiddo!” Bumsoo leaned over and pulled him for a hug that he let himself indulge in. Once kids grew up things like this didn’t happen as often as they happened during their childhood. Even coming from a family that expressed their love well it had reduced considerably so Myungsoo let himself indulge for a bit.

Once they parted, Sonmi tried to squeeze her son’s arms while she sent him a meaningful look. “I’m so proud of you.” She confessed.

Myungsoo opened up an amused smile. “You just looked at me as if I had grown up out of nowhere.”

“Well… that’s the first normal growth you have in a while.” She playfully complained. “Things just happen to you and you grow before it’s time.” Well, she was right so Myungsoo sighed, he couldn’t disagree with her.

“So, did you send it to Sungyeol already?” Bumsoo asked.

The young dad nodded. “Yeah, he said it was ok so I printed and we already delivered it to my department.” His parents shared an excited look as he continued. “I’m not sure when but they will set a day pretty soon and when that happens, will you come to support me?”

“Of course, we will.” Sonmi promptly accepted the invitation.

“What about Woohyun?” The old man asked.

“He will be in school, silly, we don’t have to worry about him.” Sonmi chuckled.

“Actually...” Myungsoo said and his parents looked at him with question marks that seem to float above their heads. “I want him to be there as well.”

“Myungsoo, are you sure? You two are not even on talking terms yet, he probably won’t want to go.” Bumsoo asked worriedly.

“I’m aware of that.” Myungsoo looked briefly at Woohyun's closed door again before looking back to his parents. ”I hadn’t told you before and I’m not sure if Sungyeol hyung mentioned it, but this project has everything to do with Woohyun so I want him to be there to see it.” He said with a sigh. “Of course, if he doesn’t want to go I don’t want to force him, but I want to include him. Maybe he’ll feel like he is part of the family again and, once he is there, my project will help me talk to him again… I don’t know, but I came to invite him.”

“I don’t think it hurts to try,” Sonmi said with a hopeful smile.

“I think this case is different,” Bumsoo said but received a slap on his arm with the courtesy of his wife. “Hey!”

“We are trying to encourage him to solve this situation.”

“I know but I’m not sure Woohyun is ready,” Bumsoo argued.

“Maybe, but Myungsoo can’t wait forever to give the first step towards communication,” Sonmi argued back then slightly pushed him. “Just shut up.” She ordered and Bumsoo recoiled with a slight pout on his lips which was kind of an amusing thing to see for Myungsoo.

“When I talked to Hoya hyung I understood that Woohyun might take a lot of time to process everything, find his place, regain his identity, and so on but… we need to talk, even if it’s not about these kinds of problems.”  He sighed as he got up from his chair. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck.” The elders did not wait to say together, because despite not being extremely angry these past few days, nothing could guarantee that things would go smoothly between those two.

Myungsoo shortly nodded then turned around towards Woohyun’s room. His steps were slow but heavy and his shoulders despite not being defeatedly slumped, revealed the weight of this situation with Woohyun caused on him. He knew it wouldn’t be easy and there would probably be screams on Woohyun’s part but there was nothing he could do to feel remotely prepared.

“Woohyun.” He called shortly after he knocked on the door. He waited for a response right away but he could hear rushed steps and a soft thud from inside, a clear sign that the boy was trying to eavesdrop before there was an answer.

“Go away!” The boy said but Myungsoo ignored it.

“I’ll come in now.” He announced.

Woohyun was on the bed with his covers thrown over his body as that was a barrier that would protect him from Myungsoo. But even if that had no real power it already told him the boy wasn’t up for a conversation. With a deep intake of air Myungsoo closed the door and further entered the room.

He thought about a way of beginning this conversation but the drawings of Jihyun and Soohyun weren’t in plain sight. A look around the room later revealed part of one frame coming out of the covers, which meant Woohyun was holding on to them and Myungsoo wouldn’t have any topic to make small talk about.

He ended up pulling a chair in front of the bed and sitting on it before he tried to lift the covers but Woohyun offered resistance and another ‘go away’. He took his hands out and tried to be as coaxing as he could. “Hey, I came all the way here to see you, please show your face.”

“No!”

Myungsoo tried to prevent his patience from slowly dripping from his body. “Woohyun, you can’t just cover yourself and wait for problems to go away, the world doesn’t work like that. I have always told you that we should face our problems, so now that you cooled down a bit, why don’t you do that? You had always done that looking into my eyes and speaking your mind.”

Woohyun snorted. “You’re telling me this but you can’t even do it yourself.” Myungsoo stopped one second to think about the boy’s words but that was enough for him to continue. “You just hide things from me and hope I would never discover them.” The boy complained.

“I didn’t hide it because I didn’t want you to discover it, I just wanted you to be more prepared… I tried to prepare you for it and now you understand many many things that other children your age don’t understand. I know it didn’t work out that much…” He sighed tiredly before agreeing. “I tried to use ‘preparation’ as a blanket for myself and I hoped that your reaction wouldn’t be like this but... you pulled my blanket away once you discovered and now the problem is here, and I’m trying to face it.”

Woohyun became completely still and he tried to figure out how to proceed when Myungsoo tried a final push. “It’s not easy to face problems Woohyun, but I'd like to try to face this one with you.”

There was no answer for a while and Myungsoo could only see Woohyun breathing movements on the blanket. He was about to think his first try would have no results but Woohyun pulled a bit of the blanket out of his face and looked at him a bit annoyed. 

“Fine, what are you doing here?”

Myungsoo was happily surprised. Despite that question coming out a bit rude, Myungsoo was overjoyed for having the chance to talk a bit with his son. He tried to sound calm and collected but caring and not simply show all of his eagerness.

“I wanted to see you because I miss you, we never were separated for this long.”

Woohyun's eyes roamed the room as he thought about that. He counted the days in his head and it was true, they never were separated that long, not even when Myungsoo had a basketball MT. But now he was used to going to places himself (the long-distance of Sungyeol apartment) and he was a big boy, he didn’t need Myungsoo, he didn’t need him at all.

“You already saw me so...” The boy used some petulance and pointed to the door. The nerve.

“Well, I’m not leaving this time.” Myungsoo crossed his arms and leaned on the chair before spreading his legs. “Not until we talk.”

Seeing that the elder wasn’t kidding and had all intentions of staying, Woohyun clenched his teeth and finally sat before confessing. “I’m still angry at you.”

Myungsoo looked hurt for a second but then gathered his determination. “I know but we can talk about it so we can figure out how things will work from here.” He offered.

“Everyone wants to talk about it but I-don’t-want-to,” Woohyun said the last part paused to put emphasis.

“How about if only I talk? I need to tell you a few things.” He suggested.

Woohyun frowned. “What is there that you still want to tell me? Does this never end? URGHH!”

“No, you know pretty much everything there is to know about your origins.” Woohyun looked a little relieved when he heard that, at least nothing new and devastating would make him cry again. “There is only one thing to add about that.” Woohyun felt his chest becoming hot, he couldn’t believe there was more. “But you can’t blame me that I was hiding it because I didn’t even know about it until you did it too.” Now Woohyun frowned and tilted his head to the side, he was clueless.

“Remember that Moonsoo kept a DVD from your mother?” Woohyun's eyes got big when he heard about that. Yes, he knew about it but Moonsoo had said that the files were corru-corrupted(?) therefore he didn’t think much about this DVD when his mother told him she left a message there for him.

“Yes?” He asked, maybe too hopeful that Myungsoo lied to him so he could watch his mother.

“Moonsoo didn’t lie when he said some files were lost but he managed to fix more than what he put in that mp3 player for you.”

The boy gasped loudly then stuttered. “Wh-what?” Woohyun looked like his trust in Moonsoo was about to break so Myungsoo tried to quickly explain.

“There are still some files but I told him not to give you anything that could make things worse for you. I thought that I needed to explain all your story first before you could understand what she had to say.”

Woohyun felt a bit relieved, he could trust Moonsoo then, it was Myungsoo’s fault that he hadn’t watched those DVD files yet. On another hand, at least Myungsoo told him about the DVD on his own and he didn’t need to ask about it. 

“But now I know everything and I want to watch it.” He demanded. “I want to know what’s in them, It’s unfair that you watch and I can’t, she is my mom and...”

Myungsoo interrupted before Woohyun got the wrong idea. “I didn’t watch it, at least not everything.” Now Woohyun was surprised. “I tried, but seeing your mother after so long made me miss her deeply so I ended up with too many tears to watch the rest. Also, it didn’t feel right to watch everything without you.” He confessed and Woohyun looked at him in suspicion, searching in his eyes for the truth. But, the elder eyes had no shadows whatsoever, they glistened a bit because tears were about to appear. Myungsoo blinked his eyes a couple of times and his tears were gone but all the clarity remained which reassured Woohyun somehow. “I want to give it to you, and, if you let me, I want to watch it with you, but I won’t give it to you now. I don’t think it’s a wise thing to do when you’re still trying to figure yourself out in the middle of all of this. I don’t know what she says but, just in case it’s something too difficult to understand, I’ll wait to give it to you.” 

“But…” Woohyun was ready to argue but Myungsoo decided that if he had to negotiate he had to do it now.

“You probably think I’m being unfair but, since I can’t completely fix everything, I’m trying to protect your mental health,” Myungsoo said and when Woohyun furrowed his brows, he guessed the boy became lost the moment he said mental health. “I don’t want you more hurt than you already are. I don’t know what she tried to say but, just in case, it's better to wait just a bit.” Woohyun sighed deeply and pouted so the elder decided to offer something more tangible. “Your birthday is less than 3 months away, how about we discuss watching it by then? Depending on how you’re feeling we can make that one of your birthday gifts.”

Woohyun stopped to think. He didn’t like waiting but at the same time that meant he would watch it sooner than he expected. Also to be able to see his mother again would be an awesome gift and Myungsoo didn’t say anything about him not receiving other gifts. He ended up agreeing but he decided not to let Myungsoo forget about it. 

“Ok, I’ll wait.” Myungsoo felt like he just had a small victory and he was about to squeal internally when Woohyun pointed to the door again. "Did you finish it?"

"No, I didn't, I need to discuss different things with you." Instead of sounding hurt (and he was a bit) or annoyed (which he also was), Myungsoo acted like he didn't mind the boy's attitude at all, and Woohyun gritted his teeth together again. "I have always explained things to you and considered your thoughts in decisions that I take - and I came here to try to keep things between us like this - but if you don't want to talk, it's fine, I'll take it that you accept whatever I say."

The boy eyed him suspiciously, he didn’t want to talk to Myungsoo, but the elder was mistaken if he thought Woohyun wouldn’t complain about things he didn’t like. Meanwhile, Myungsoo internally sighed but continued pretending that he wasn't bothered by Woohyun's attitude. In the end, Sungyeol had been right, Woohyun had a spoiled side that he needed to change, and Myungsoo promised himself he would make him change as soon as he could.

“Ok, first things first.” Myungsoo clapped his hands once and straightened himself in the chair. “At this point, I don’t know if you even care but I have always shared the big news with you so I want to inform you that I finished my project and soon enough I will present it to my professors so I can finish college.”

Woohyun understood that was good news for Myungsoo because previously he made a lot of plans for when he finished college. He felt something but he wouldn’t say he was happy for the elder. He didn’t know what to do with the information, this wasn’t related to him at all. On second thought, that meant that whatever was going on between the one in front of him and his friend Sungyeol would end and they could make up. Well, Woohyun wasn’t sure he wanted that right now, he didn’t even live with Myungsoo anymore and the pair of uncle-auntie outside liked Sungyeol and Sunggyu a lot, it wasn’t like they would be separated. Woohyun put a label of ‘don’t need to worry' on that information and snapped from his thoughts when Myungsoo snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.

“When I present my project I want you to be there to support me.” Myungsoo, said, trying his best not to show he felt slightly nervous about this invitation.

“What?” The boy gasped, did he hear correctly? 

“I know it might be boring for you and a bit complicated for you to understand but there is something I want to show you once I’m finished.”

“I don’t want to, can’t you just show me now?” The boy complained.

“I can’t because I don’t have it now.” He 

Woohyun slapped his hands on the bed in frustration which made the sheets fall enough to show half of the frames Woohyun had been previously hugging. He looked annoyed at Myungsoo. “Do I really have to go?”

That question hurt Myungsoo because Woohyun had never asked that before. He knew there were things Woohyun didn’t like attending, his practices - it was evident not only in the boy’s behavior during it but in how he jumped at the opportunity to stay with Sunggyu and Sungyeol a few months back. But despite not liking it, Woohyun didn’t complain about it, and when there were important things to attend (like his matches or his school graduation) the boy had been happy to be there for him just like he was happy to have Myungsoo in things that were important to him up till now.

Despite being sad Myungsoo knew that something like this could happen and he had prepared a good answer for that. “I’d like you to be there because it makes me happy to include you in things that are important for me, but I won’t force you to be there if you don’t want to. I’ll be sad but…” He shrugged but was resilient about it. “I guess I’ll have to understand.”

“Then...” Woohyun was quick to want to give him an answer but Myungsoo stopped him.

“Shhh, don’t say anything now, I want you to think about it.” Woohyun squinted his eyes at him again as he continued. “And, in case you decide to come, I want you to discuss it with Sungyeol hyung about it.”

“Why?”

“Because he is my teacher now, remember? No one should know we were once close or else not only I won’t graduate but he won’t get his job.” Myungsoo patiently explained.

Woohyun had been doing his best to not think about Myungsoo so he forgot all about that and the fact the elder in front of him had fought with Sungyeol. He tried to force himself to think he didn't care about what could happen to Myungsoo and he did that by trying to think about Sungyeol. Sungyeol was nice and they were close now, but, if anything happened to him, Sunggyu would be sad too so he would have his most dear friends sad. Using that as a perfect excuse, it wasn’t that hard for him to agree.

“I’ll talk to him.” Myungsoo forced a smile but Woohyun understood that as if the elder had hoped he would go. “'IIIIIF' I decide to go.”

Myungsoo didn’t want to and didn’t expect his ex-lover to take it upon himself to convince Woohyun to do anything, but he knew the boy only agreed to talk to Sungyeol about this because he was putting his ex-lover's interests above his. It was ironic, his relationship with Sungyeol had been 2nd on his list and now this… Given that Woohyun was still angry and confused he knew that it could happen, especially when Woohyun could be petty, but that hurt and (if he were, to be honest) made him a bit jealous of what Sungyeol had built with his son.

But today was a day Myungsoo got (almost) rid of one of his problems so the best gift he could give himself was not to dwell on this kind of feeling. Instead, he erased the forced smile on his face and got serious, so he would be able to discuss the last topic as he planned.

“So... to wrap this up… you know we have other problems besides the one between us, right?” Myungsoo asked and Woohyun frowned, he didn’t remember any other problem they might have.

“Remember that my money was ending and there was a possibility you and I would have to return to Incheon and live with my parents there if I didn't get a job..." Myungsoo explained softly and halted his words when the boy remembered.

Myungsoo's speech was enough for Woohyun’s eyes to grow big and his whole body tense. No, no, no, this couldn’t happen. Why? Why? He knew why that would happen, Myungsoo had explained to him before, but why had he received such news now, of all times? He didn’t want to go back to Incheon, he liked the old couple but to be in Incheon all the time was no fun. Besides, he had a school here and his friends and…. He closed his eyes and prayed this wouldn’t have to happen.

Myungsoo knew that going back to Incheon would have distressed Woohyun in normal circumstances but the boy was practically sweating cold so he took the liberty to touch his knee. “Hey, it’s not what you think.” He said and Woohyun dared to open his eyes.

“I don’t have to go back to Incheon?”

“That’s not what I said, I just said it wasn’t like you were thinking,” Myungsoo said and the boy felt confused.

“Then?” He quickly asked. 

“I received an offer to play professionally.” Woohyun eyes bulged again? A job meant money and money could pay for the apartment, and food, going to the movie theater more (or so he was told), and maybe more ice cream and cakes (that was what he expected). Myungsoo didn’t know if Woohyun would congratulate him or not, but before the boy could do anything, he quickly waved his hand in the air. “It’s not 100% certain yet, I still haven’t signed anything, but I have good chances to get a job playing basketball in a team in Seoul, which means I'll probably stay here." 

Woohyun completely disregarded the lack of certainty Myungsoo gave him and this was labeled as good news that was very beneficial to him, after all, he would stay in Seoul near his school and his friends. He felt something hot taking over his chest and felt like smiling, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to show how happy he was, he didn’t want to give Myungsoo any kind of satisfaction. That resulted in a weird conflicted expression that had been amusing for Myungsoo, even so, he didn’t want to comment on it, because he had more to say about that.

“As I said ‘I’ will stay here.” 

Wait, what? What was that supposed to mean? His heartbeat became faster with dread and another feeling he couldn't understand but in the end, he started to panic. Was he not included? Why? An orphanage, the dragon, the devil (his biological dad), Incheon, if he didn't want to see or live with Myungsoo where he would be sent to?

"You know this arrangement is temporary, right? There is nothing confirmed yet but I think my parents will probably want to return to Incheon soon.” Myungsoo said and tried to avoid the boy’s eyes. If he looked straight into them right now he would feel his heart squeezing even more and he probably wouldn’t be able to continue this conversation as he wanted. 

While Woohyun internally freaked out, Myungsoo pulled the frames on the bed to himself and took a look at them. Indeed Hoya had done an awesome job on Jihyun, the drawing looked exactly like her. Before some tears could appear, he looked at Soohyun's drawing and lifted it in the air so he could compare it with Woohyun.  He frowned, it was basically Woohyun with long hair and slightly more feminine features. There was no way Myungsoo could say the drawing was bad but he thought that Woohyun and Soohyun would have a bit more distinctions between them, after all, they were dizygotic twins.

“What about me?” Woohyun couldn’t help but ask with a mix of worry and sheer fear. 

Myungsoo shrugged. “I don’t know yet...”

“I-I don’t want to live in Incheon and I don't want to go to the....” The boy stuttered but as soon as the words were out, something occurred to him. “I’m gonna talk to them, they can’t do this.” He announced and tried to scramble out of the bed but Myungsoo put Soohyun’s drawing down and spoke before the boy could completely leave the bed.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to dissuade them, they don’t like Seoul that much, that explains why they tried so hard to convince us to stay over there.” Woohyun stopped in his tracks because he recognized the truth in Myungsoo's speech and looked at him at loss. Would he end up in an orphanage despite Sungyeol and Hoya saying he didn’t belong there?

“Don’t worry that much, you have options,” Myungsoo advised but the boy still seemed a bit freaked out so Myungsoo adjusted his weight in the chair again and straightened himself before continuing. “You can stay in Seoul if you live with me, but if you don’t feel comfortable with that idea, you can go to Incheon with my parents once the school year is over.” 

Myungsoo made sure to omit the fact that if Woohyun decided to go to Incheon now it would also be temporary. It was true that he wanted to give Woohyun some space, but that didn’t mean he would give up on his son, there was no way he would take the chance and just dump the boy in his parents' place and move on with his life. He had all the intention to keep trying to make up with Woohyun and being more proactive as soon as the boy gave him an opening, but right now… 

He wanted to raise Woohyun to be assertive and not be afraid to choose (unlike him when he was at that age), but that resulted in the boy becoming spoiled in a way. He understood that Woohyun had to be self-centered about his feelings but maybe he was taking a few things for granted, so he made sure to come up with options that would take him out of his newfound comfort zone.

Meanwhile, Woohyun made a displeased expression when he heard the options and looked almost tortured once he realized he had to choose between one of them.

“Don’t make that face,” Myungsoo said as he got up and pulled the chair back to its place, he was mostly done talking. “You’re lucky you can choose from two really good options, if people gave your mom better options, we wouldn’t be in this sort of mess. I know I’m probably adding to your burden but the world won’t stop and wait until you’re happy. It doesn’t stop for anyone so we need to keep solving problems that appear on our way and making an effort to build our happiness. ” He slowly moved to the door as Woohyun accompanied him with his eyes. “ I know things won’t ever be the same between us but it doesn’t mean they can’t be good, this is why I’m trying to make an effort so we can build our happiness together.” Woohyun looked down at his lap and Myungsoo hesitated a little but, in the end, decided to add a last plea. “The things I just told you… give a little thought, it would mean the world if you would want to stay by my side even if it’s not like before.”

__________________________________

Myungsoo fell as tired as if a bus had run over him. In the short time he had to think about it, he was waiting for a completely different kind of conversation with Woohyun, but the one they had hadn't been easy. Firstly, he had to pretend he wasn’t desperately missing the boy and restrain himself from not running and hugging him. Then he had to pretend that he hadn't been annoyed and hurt. Lastly, he had to it up to his desire to smother Woohyun in his arms and prompt the boy to act, even if it was just a baby step. He felt terrible about making the boy choose like this but this was like parenting was, up and doing what was right.

The guilty prevented him from sleeping though, and he tried to occupy himself with some house chores, and then with a project, he would have to hand in the next Monday. He sent his partner his part and some questions they were supposed to figure out during the weekend when he noticed an email from his department. No , already? Myungsoo quickly opened it and his eyes hurried to read everything until he found the information he wanted: Wednesday, 9 AM, Room 7 of his Department. Holy !

While Myungsoo didn’t know if he screamed out of joy or desperation, Sungyeol and Sunggyu slept peacefully in the apartment in front. Sungyeol had lunch with Chanyeol so he invited Sungjong and Hoya/Dongwoo for dinner and they stayed around to watch Sunggyu rehearse later. Despite it being a very pleasant night, Sunggyu kept sharing mischievous looks all night with Dongwoo and that got the others curious but no one managed to crack those two.

The next day Sunggyu rehearsed in the morning and, once lunch was over, they headed to the Kims' temporary apartment only to find Woohyun behaving differently from the last time they saw it.

“Myungsoo came to tell us about his project and they ended up talking. It wasn’t that bad, Woohyun didn’t even scream, so I don’t know what happened.” Sonmi had explained.

Sunggyu immediately ran to hug his friend and Sungyeol tried to scoop more information but, after a couple of questions, it was evident that Bumsoo and Sonmi didn't know anything else aside from the fact that they should inform Myungsoo if Woohyun wanted to pass some message to him.

On the other side, Sungyeol also answered some questions about Myungsoo's project and (because he hadn't opened up his email) discovered through the elder couple that their son already had a date set for his project. Well, it was not like the college was open during the weekends so there was no hurry so Sungyeol decided to check that once things with Woohyun were under control.

Once all the questioning was over Sungyeol, moved to Woohyun's room thinking that Sunggyu already had started comforting their younger friend but he wasn’t imagining finding his brother almost squeezed out of breath. He had to part those two to guarantee Sunggyu continued living but ended up in his brother’s place.

Woohyun hadn’t cried the night before, he spent the night mostly pouting out of anger and cursing Myungsoo in his head (that son of a biscuit!). But, when he laid his eyes on his friends, his heart squeezed tightly when he thought they could be separated and he ended up squeezing the air out of their lungs. If that happened Woohyun thought he would be even sadder than he was when Kibum moved to America.

Sungyeol managed to pull away to ask what was going on, and Woohyun explained what happened yesterday which was sort of amusing at least for Sungyeol. None of the boys were the cursing type but Woohyun used ‘son of a biscuit’ again and Sungyeol had to hold himself not to laugh. By the end of the Woohyun narrative, both brothers had their brows raised. Sunggyu didn’t say anything but he had a face that screamed he thought Myungsoo was being mean, and Sungyeol had to think of something quickly to change both brothers' views on the matter.

“I don’t think he was that mean.” Both boys looked at him as if he had just grown another head. “Well, maybe he was a bit,” He conceded but quickly added. “But I don’t think that was his intention.”

“Then?” Sunggyu asked half annoyed as Woohyun just pouted and tried to lay on the older boy’s lap.

“Maybe the way he expressed himself was not the best but he asked because he wants to take Woohyun's opinion into consideration when he makes his next decision and, at the same time, he was just trying to solve other problems.” Sungyeol said as he sat down on the ground beside the boys.

Woohyun snuffled although he wasn’t crying. “It’s the same thing.” He said defeatedly.

“No, see this happened with me too, you see, Sunggyu and I didn’t get along at all, right Gyu?” Sunggyu nodded. “That was my biggest problem when my mom died and he had to live with me, and back then - just like your situation with Myungsoo now - many small problems appeared that couldn’t wait for Sunggyu and me to get along to be solved.”  Woohyun looked at him trying to not show he was curious about it but Sunggyu hadn’t that problem and asked straightforwardly.

“Like what?”

“Like, what will you eat? Does he eat the same things as I do? Or where he and Sungjong will sleep? Where can I sell my stuff to free a room for them in my apartment? Will a wardrobe be enough to keep my brother’s stuff? Would they be able to share a room and the things in it without fighting? How will I keep Sunggyu busy while Sungjong studies for his entrance exams? These kinds of things are smaller but need to be solved quickly.”

“Ahhhhhhh.” Sunggyu seemed to understand right away, well, not fully. “You kept fighting with me!” He accused.

Sungyeol pretended to be annoyed. “And that tired you enough to go to bed early so Sungjong could study. But I did not fight you on purpose, you really annoyed me back then.” Sunggyu blinked, trying to process what he heard, so Sungyeol looked at Woohyun and grabbed his hands. “Look, I have to tell you this: if I were in Myungsoo’s position you would be home with me already, even if you were to curse me every day.” Woohyun's eyes grew big and he pulled his hands away so Sungyeol rested his on the bed and his chin over it before explaining softly. “I promised my mom I would take care of Sunggyu and Sungjong until they came of age, I didn’t promise anything else. Love... I knew Sungjong loved me, but Sunggyu…” He shrugged to Woohyun and squeezed one of Sunggyu's socked feet while he smiled softly. “I’m happy that we love each other now but it would also be ok if he didn’t.” 

Sungyeol briefly looked at Sunggyu and the boy put his tongue out for him before he looked back at Woohyun and shuddered.“Of course, fighting wasn’t a good experience for either of us. We were stressed and mad at each other for a long time but when we started talking to each other and spending time together, things got way better, right Sunggyu?” 

“Things changed so much,” Sunggyu said with a smile on his face while Woohyun seemed to stop to think about it and Sungyeol had to place a hand on his shoulder for the boy to pay attention to him again.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do but, think about it: Myungsoo is very different from me and he is allowing you to think about what is the best thing for you. If you want to do something different, I’m sure you can talk to him, and then he will try to find a middle ground.”

“But I want to live with you.”

Sungyeol felt bitter when he heard the boy. He was happy that Woohyun seemed to love him a lot these days but couldn't that love have happened sooner? If it had happened sooner he was sure he and Myungsoo would have been at least more relaxed about their relationship.

“You leave me beyond flattered and I’m sure Sunggyu would like it too, but I explained to you a lot of times why I can’t take you home with me.” Sungyeol tried not to sound as exasperated as he was but, hiding or not, Woohyun pouted.

“It would be so awesome.” Sunggyu dreamt.

“It would but Myungsoo - just like I did to our mom - promised Jihyun to take care of him.” Sungyeol said with some lingering frustration then looked back at Woohyun. “Isn’t that so, Woohyun?” Woohyun pout dissolved and he sighed deeply, that had said it all, he knew Sungyeol was right on that. 

The elder slid his long fingers into Woohyun’s black hair. “I don’t want to defend him, but deep down he just wants to love you, I know that.”

“How do you even know that? I don’t think…”

“His eyes sparkle every time he talks about you, Woohyunnie.” It was Sunggyu that explained softly. It was not like Myungsoo’s eyes never sparkled for his brother when they were together but they always sparkled way more whenever he talked about Woohyun or was in his presence. Besides sparkling was good, every drama couple in Woohyun’s dramas always had sparkling eyes, and that meant love, right?

Sungyeol chuckled to himself then sighed dreamily. “It does… it was one of the things that made me fall in love with him…” Woohyun slightly glared at him and Sungyeol straightened himself a bit and continued. 

“You’re letting yourself be blinded by your anger but you shouldn’t understand today’s conversation as if he is trying to force you to stay with his parents now that your feelings changed. What he tried to do was trying to open a path for communication between you two.” Woohyun frowned, like he didn’t agree with that so Sungyeol decided to explain in other words. “If you imagine this problem to be as big and deep as an ocean, this conversation you had just means that he invited you to wet your feet on the beach. He can wait for you to learn how to swim so you two can go deeper together.” 

“I don’t want to swim.” Woohyun tried to show conviction but his voice faltered and the pair of brothers knew that he was not trying to deceive them but more likely he was trying to lie to himself.

“And I don’t know what you say anymore but it worked for me and Sunggyu, we figured out a way to treat each other, and then love bloomed.” Sungyeol insisted gently although he was tired of having those kinds of conversations where Woohyun refused to listen to him.

“It was so awkward in the beginning.” Sunggyu giggled and then, very seriously, gave his two cents. “Why don’t you try to talk to him? He is not as scary as hyung.”

“Hey!” Sungyeol complained.

Woohyun seemed to think a bit but the pair of brothers looking at him made him feel a bit pressured so he snapped a bit. “I don’t know!” Both brothers were a bit startled by that reaction so Woohyun sat on the bed, looked down at his lap, and confessed. “I don’t feel like I can… and-and... I don’t know how.” 

Sungyeol was beyond surprised, Woohyun hadn’t said anything about trying to talk to Myungsoo but maybe that conversation after so many days without seeing each other made him think he should? Was that it?

“Woohyunnie, silly, you just need to ask him.” Sunggyu chirped.

“But if you don’t dare to give the first step you could just…” Sungyeol shrugged his shoulders. ”Go to his presentation. I’m sure that even if you don’t say anything to him he would love to see you there.”

“I don’t know.” Woohyun whispered.

“Of course, he would, isn’t that why he invited you?” Sungyeol asked in the middle of a small laugh, he was too happy inside to prevent it from coming out. “And he wants to show you something.”

“Do you know what it is?” Sungyeol nodded. “ Can’t you just tell me?” Sungyeol shook his head.

“You have to attend if you want to know what it is.” He added.

Woohyun sighed and gave up trying to get some information out of Sungyeol, he was not easy to fool and could keep secrets so it was a futile attempt. “He said I should talk to you if I wanted to go,” Woohyun said, hoping that Sungyeol would miraculously tell him what to do.

The elder just raised an eyebrow, did that question mean that Woohyun wanted to go? He wanted to ask but figured Woohyun would change his mind, or pretend he never wanted to go in the first place if he did. 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean that I should give you a ride.” He attempted to be humorous about it but he practically could see a question mark appearing above the two boys’ heads. “He probably told you that because I reminded him that you shouldn’t act like we’re close or that you know me at all.”

“Urghh, when this is going to end?” Sunggyu pulled a bit of his hair and let his body fall on the bed to show his frustration.

“I haven’t checked yet but it seems like there is a date set already.” Sungyeol explained.

“But hyung, why can’t I? You’re my friend and it’s not my fault you became his teacher.” The boy slightly whined. “Besides ‘IF’ I go it will be boring. I’m not sure Moonsoo hyung will go so I’ll be around boring adults, and if I can’t talk to you it will be even worse and… “ He turned to Sunggyu. “Can you go with me?”

“Y-” Sunggyu was ready to say yes but he was interrupted by his brother.

“No, Sunggyu will stay in school.” Sungyeol made it clear with his tone that his decision was definitive and that there will be no room for discussion or getting away by batting his eyelashes cutely. “Yes, it’s not your fault but it’s also not my fault and not Myungsoo’s fault, it just happened and there was not much we could do about it aside from waiting until it’s over.”

“Meanie!” Sunggyu huffed annoyed but not wanting to engage in discussion.

“Why?” Woohyun asked, disappointed. “I’ll be all alone.” He mumbled and Sungyeol noticed he had abandoned the word ‘if’.

Sungyeol looked down and sighed before he tried to grab the boy's hand to hold while he explained. “Woohyun, if Sunggyu goes with you and people discover you’re best friends then they’ll discover Myungsoo and I are closer than we say we are, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid.” Sungyeol gulped hard and confessed. “I don’t like this any better than you, I don’t like to lie but this time we have to. Did he say why right? So he can graduate and I can get my job. Only when that happens will we be able to talk to end our fight.”

“I don’t care about his graduation.” Woohyun mumbled and Sungyeol understood that not as if the boy would be so angry he would try to sabotage Myungsoo, but more like he thought that graduating wouldn’t influence his life at all.

“Are you sure you don’t?” Sungyeol asked. “If he doesn’t graduate he won’t be able to get a job. If he doesn’t get a job, he doesn’t have money to stay in Seoul with or without you, I did the math myself.”

“But he told me he is going to play basketball.” Woohyun argued.

So Myungsoo managed to talk to Woohyun about this too? Sungyeol was impressed and couldn’t help to celebrate internally.“And that’s fantastic. But, have you ever seen older people, like your grandfather, playing it?” 

Woohyun looked at the ceiling and tried to think about it. He had not watched as many matches as Myungsoo did for sure, but, even when he watched old matches to see Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan (Myungsoo’s idols), he didn’t remember them being that old. Well, the videos seemed old and they looked older than Myungsoo, but still not that old. Older guys were always the coaches. “No.” He mumbled.

“It's because athletes' careers, unfortunately, don’t last as long as other careers do. At some point, Myungsoo's contract will end and he will have to work with something else. Even if he doesn’t work with what he is studying now, he will need it someday. He is just thinking about his future and thinking and preparing for the future is the smart thing to do.” Sungyeol explained very carefully not to set the boy off with some kind of an offense, at this point who knew, hm? “Besides, if you don’t want to go back to Incheon now, you’ll probably not want that when you’re a teenager.”

“I guess.” The boy ended up agreeing.

The whole conversation halted there. Sunggyu had been merely watching the other two and trying to contribute whenever he could but Sungyeol hadn’t anything more to say about that topic and Woohyun seemed to be thinking. The older boy shifted a bit in bed and Sungyeol tried to move to the chair because his was hurting on the ground and Woohyun still didn’t talk. After a while, Sunggyu thought he was too curious and that the silence went on for longer than it should.

“Woohyunnie, even if I’m not with you, will you go support Myungsoo hyung?”

Woohyun finally lay in bed but kept his eyes on the ceiling. “I don’t know.”

_____________________________________

Woohyun became very pensive after that and both Sungyeol and Sunggyu weren’t able to make the boy engage in something else. When they left, Woohyun placed his sister's drawing on a nightstand and hugged his mother's frame to sleep, hoping that she would appear in his dreams again and tell him what to do. It didn’t happen.

On Sunday the first thing he did was to ask the pair of oldies to call Sungyeol and tell him not to come, he didn’t want to see anyone. The grandparents thought it was a bit weird because the pair of brothers were Woohyun's favorite people nowadays and tried to probe him a bit but Woohyun said he wanted to be alone to think. He spent the day mostly disconnected from whatever was going around him, he just hugged his mother drawing and thought.

While Myungsoo tried to rehearse in front of the mirror things he wanted to say during his presentation, the Lee-Kim pair was a bit surprised by the phone call about Woohyun but decided to spend Sunday rehearsing or playing only the two of them.

On Monday Woohyun seemed more active and Sunggyu was able to talk and play with him in school but once they arrived at Kim's new residence they heard the sentence that they hated hearing.

“Ok guys, a lot is going on and I had forgotten but Dongwoo hyung was kind enough to remind me that your exams are coming, so you have to study,” Sungyeol announced and the kids groaned.

Studying for exams was not different from their homework time and they were used by now. They could still play if there was enough time but Bumsoo helped around and the boys' spirits had risen to compete. Sunggyu had nailed most answers but, despite knowing the answers too, Woohyun seemed slower to remember. It was ok because they would have enough time to write answers down during their exams but it also showed Woohyun might still be a bit out of himself. In the end, Woohyun didn’t want to talk about it, and that had repeated the day after.

Sungyeol and Sunggyu left an hour early on Tuesday night, the next day would be a big day and he thought he couldn’t afford to be a second late. Sungyeol thought Woohyun was avoiding talking about Myungsoo so he was vague when he explained why he would go home early. Woohyun didn’t insist nor called Sungyeol a liar, but he knew the real reason why his friends had to go, otherwise, Sungyeol wouldn’t be so nervous as he was the day of his lecture.

After hugging and sending them off, Woohyun returned to his room. He had all the intention of dressing in his pajamas early and practicing reading The Little Prince because he knew Dongwoo would ask him to read out loud, but there was something on him that prevented him from doing so.

“What should I do?” He asked, looking at his mother's frame but the poor drawing couldn’t give him any kind of answer. He sighed and tried to think a little more about it while walking from side to side in his bedroom. 

Should he? Should he not? What if going there meat he was forgiving Myungsoo? No, he wasn’t forgiving, but no one knew that right? But it was not like Myungsoo could bite him, right? No, he learned Myungsoo could lie but Myungsoo never hit anyone (his birth father didn’t count, he deserved it). And Woohyun could always open up and tell him whatever he was feeling right?

Woohyun suddenly stopped, he had made a decision. He still felt a little antsy about it but took a deep breath and gathered his courage before he left his room to search for the elders. 

He thought he would find them watching Netflix or maybe one of them would be taking a bath but he found them in the little kitchen, trying to get ahead with some breakfast and kind of in a lovey-dovey happy atmosphere. Usually, he would cheer and ask to see a kiss but today he just pulled a chair and slid on it, which made the two elders feel his presence.

“Woohyun!” Sonmi blushed and Bumsoo cleaned his throat. “We thought you’d practice reading.”

“I can’t concentrate.” He explained idly. “What are you doing?” He asked and Bumsoo coughed and tried to find some pan to clean.

“Just trying to prepare some things for breakfast beforehand.” She explained and Woohyun looked at the counter… Indeed there was some natural orange juice prepared and some other edible things he didn’t like that much but didn’t complain if he needed to eat.

Woohyun could easily tell that she was saying the truth but he knew she was also lying. After they came to live in Seoul they never had to prepare breakfast ‘beforehand’. Besides, he had lived with them before and they only did that on days when big things would happen - like Moonsoo's entrance exams - so it was clear they were doing that because Myungsoo would have his presentation tomorrow. 

“Do you need anything?” She asked and that made Woohyun snap out of his thoughts and quickly shook his head.

He curled his toes and hovered both hands on the table nervously, crossing his arms in the end. That made Sonmi and Bumsoo share a look, they had no idea what was going on with the boy but it was clear he wanted to say something but was holding himself back.

"Ok… do you want to hel-"

"Is it Myungsoo shi project tomorrow?" The boy blurted. At this point there was no point in pretending he didn't want to ask that question, it was better if asked already and this cold in his belly left his body already.

Sonmi looked at her husband again and he seemed to try to tell her something through his eyes, but since she didn't open , he cleaned his hands and turned to face Woohyun.

"It is."

"Hm.." The boy got a bit quiet after that, moving his eyes from one to another, and kind of afraid of being judged. In the end, he just chose his words to try to not be that obvious. "Will you take me with you?" He tentatively asked.

"No dear, Myungsoo doesn't want to take you to support him by force, you can stay in school." Bumsoo promptly replied but Woohyun made a frustrated expression, as if his life had depended on that answer but Bumsoo just had the misunderstanding of the century. When he looked at Sonmi he didn't need to even complain because, although a bit surprised, she knew what he meant.

"Of course, we can take you," Sonmi assured and now the boy felt relieved but still tried to pretend his intentions were different.

"He asked me a question, I have to reply." He said as he climbed out of his chair. "Good night."

Sonmi crossed her arms on her chest as she watched Woohyunn enter his room, but couldn't help a big smile on her face. If Woohyun needed to reply to anything he could just ask to send Myungsoo a message, he didn't need to make a whole scene so he could say he would go talk to Myungsoo personally. Was this the beginning of the end of this cold war between those two?