"Cause the truth is the truth
Sometimes carried with pain
And a lie is just a lie
That only carries our shame
Yeah, we question our feelings
But at the end of the day
Still you're all I want"
-MICHL, TELL ME THE SAME

Wonwoo’s shoulders were sagging as he paced about in the kitchen, waiting for the coffeemaker to finish brewing. He sighs as the events from last night and earlier in the morning came flooding his thoughts again– especially at the time of the photoshoot were they had to pretend like their family is okay. He was at least glad that Mingyu was situated on Minghao’s side and he was by Jun’s while the kids were down at the center. A small copy of the picture was placed in Haru’s room.

“Umma, is something wrong?” Seokhwee pipes from upstairs, currently in his pajamas as he walks close to Wonwoo, looking at the coffeemaker in worry. “Aren’t you supposed to sleep? You’re drinking coffee late at night. We all have to wake up early tomorrow.”

Wonwoo smiles softly at his eldest son, heart swelling as he hears the worry in his tone. “You should sleep first, young man. If I don’t wake up early tomorrow, then you should take charge.” He jokes lightly and ruffles his son’s hair when he’s close enough, stopping only when he had to pour himself coffee.

“You didn’t answer me though, what’s wrong?” Seokhwee asks again as he sits down on one of the chairs by the counter. “Does this have something to do with Appa?”

The words made Wonwoo flinch and wince. He was glad he had his back towards his son. He bites his lower lip as he contemplated whether to tell Seokhwee about the issue or not, though he is quite sure that Seokhwee wouldn’t voice out negativity unlike Jungmin. It takes him a minute to face his son and sit across him with a small smile. “If I say yes…?” He asks carefully.

Seokhwee purses his lips and thinks for a moment before answering, already getting the hint. “Then I would ask what about it.” He smiles as if to assure Wonwoo that it was okay to tell– that he won’t judge. At least that’s what Wonwoo thinks while he’s looking at his eldest.

“You see, last night… something happened and I think I hurt him– his feelings. I can’t explain it properly but I– I feel sorry for him. What I did was wrong.” Wonwoo stammers, eyes locked on Seokhwee’s as the teenager listens. He doesn’t know where he got the confidence to spill out his thoughts, but he thinks it’s because his eldest son is one of the people whom he’d put his utmost trust on. “I want to apologize but… there’s this fact that he hurt me first even before all of these things happened and I–“

“I’m sure Appa will forgive you for what you did last night, Umma, whatever it was. Even if you don’t apologize, he will forgive you.” Seokhwee says with a comforting smile.

It felt like someone punched Wonwoo in his guts, hearing that from Seokhwee, knowing that it was the truth. Everybody knew that; he too. “I know he will.” Mingyu is an overcooked fettucine noodle. “It’s just that I feel the need that I should apologize even so.”

“But doesn’t Appa need your forgiveness first?” Seokhwee had a small frown on his face in a mix of worry and confusion, mirroring Wonwoo’s glimmering ones. “I love you both, Umma, it’s just that I don’t think it would be right if he did something wrong first and you’re the one who will be the first to apologize.”

“I– “

Seokhwee cuts Wonwoo off with a loud yawn as he stands up. “I think I’m going to sleep now, Umma. Please sleep as well.” He doesn’t spare Wonwoo a glance before he walks upstairs to his bedroom, silently closing the door.

Wonwoo thinks everything over. Mingyu only apologized for a few times– not including the part where he cheated on Wonwoo with his secretary. He buries his face in his palms as he remembers what Jun had told him, about his doubts regarding whether or not Mingyu had cheated. He thinks a lot of things. “Why now when four years had passed?” He quietly asks himself and whines in his hands.

---

Wooseung is oddly quiet for the whole day and Jeonghan was the only one who noticed and brought it up when they got home. Jeonghan was the most attentive when it came to Wooseung, providing him all the love that Jihoon didn’t make his son feel. The only ones who were up late at night were Seungcheol and Jisoo besides Jeonghan and Wooseung. The two fathers were in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner while Jeonghan stalked Wooseung on the balcony upstairs.

“Hey baby, you have school tomorrow.” He softly greets as he sits down on the tiled floor of the balcony beside Wooseung. He reaches his hand to gently wrap around Wooseung’s frame and tuck the smaller boy’s head under his chin. “You’re not sleepy yet?”

Wooseung immediately melts on Jeonghan and hums, shaking his head lightly. “I want to sleep but I can’t sleep, mom.”

Jeonghan let out a hum of acknowledgement and kissed the top of Wooseung’s head. “Why is that so?”

“Yours and dad’s eyes are big, but mine are in slits. You and dad are tall, but I’m short. I don’t look like you both. I look more like uncle Jihoon, they say.” Wooseung pouts as he clings onto Jeonghan like a koala. “My friends at school always point those things out to me.”

There would be an eerie sound of glass cracking if the sound of Jeonghan’s breaking heart could be heard. He doesn’t know what to say and he’s afraid that anything that would come out of his mouth wouldn’t help make the situation better. He settles for a tight hug on Wooseung, along with a small sigh.

“Answer me mom, am I adopted?” Wooseung grins up at Jeonghan who looks at him in invisible shock. The boy giggles and hides his face in Jeonghan’s chest before Jeonghan could say something. “It might be just because you and Dad are both too fond of uncle Jihoon that’s why I look like him. You three hung out too much in the past, just from looking at some pictures in the family album.”