"and im so sorry i cant find the time spent all my days over-preocupied
and ive been thinkin bout how id react
if you were me and i was ghosted at
and i know i should try more
but ive been so caught in my own small that i cant see
thats nothing around me here"
-EDEN, AND

“U-umm... Jeonghan, can you please take care of the kids for the night. I don’t think it will be good if Jungmin sees me take Wonwoo home– not that he wouldn’t be angry if he knows his mom’s with me but um–“

Jeonghan chuckles on the other line, fond of the younger’s stutters. “I’ll make up some good excuses and make Joshua cook the best dinner for them to stuff their mouths. You can count on me.” He assures and Mingyu releases the breath he was holding.

“Thanks, hyung. I owe you a week off when there’s not much work to do.”

“I wonder when that would be since we always have work to do.” Jeonghan jokes.

“I’m sorry, I–“

“Don’t take me too seriously, kid. Or should I call you boss instead?” Jeonghan laughs yet again. “Anyways, I’m gonna head down to Wonwoo’s house now and fetch your kids. I’ll call you if something out of the ordinary happens, but I’m pretty sure that it’ll be okay seeing as your sons are well acquainted with mine. See you tomorrow at work?”

Mingyu nods, feeling stupid when he realizes he’s on call. “Wait– um, don’t end yet! Haru, he…”

“Almond milk or soymilk, right?”

“Yeah. Thanks for remembering.”

“How could I not? I was there– “ You weren’t. Jeonghan stops himself.

There was a small moment of silence, one could hear a pin drop if ever– but only Wonwoo’s soft snores in the passenger seat of Mingyu’s car could be heard. “See you tomorrow.” Mingyu smiles a bit sadly and lets Jeonghan end the call.

He makes sure that Wonwoo is properly secured with the seatbelt before he starts the car and drives off to his unit.

Wonwoo cried himself to sleep on the couch of Mingyu’s office, refusing to talk to the taller man. He clung onto Mingyu’s shirt tightly, wrinkling and wetting it with his tears in the process. He sobbed loudly, gradually growing quiet overtime until all of his head’s weight is on Mingyu’s chest, snores replacing his sobs and hiccups. Jeonghan made an entrance in the office, smiling at the sight of a conflicted Mingyu and a sleeping Wonwoo laying on his lap. The long haired male had convinced the CEO to take Wonwoo to his unit since the kids would definitely question why their mother looked like he was wrecked with his red and swollen eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Mingyu says under his breath.

The drive to his unit was fairly quiet save for the music, playing songs from his favorite artist, EDEN. Well, it’s actually his and Wonwoo’s favorite back then, but he doesn’t know if the latter had changed his interest after those four agonizing years they’ve been apart. Mingyu can recall themselves arguing what song they should be playing first from the artist’s new album, cleaning their house with the music blaring from the speakers on a rainy Sunday morning, cuddled on the sheets on a snowy December still listening to the song… making love with the song playing on Wonwoo’s phone, placed on the bedside table.

Wonwoo stirs a bit when Mingyu finally parked his car on his parking spot underground the building. Mingyu flinches a bit as he was about to reach his hand out and untangle the seatbelt from his ex-husband. Wonwoo slowly opens his eyes to the sight of parked cars, comfortable straps of seatbelts on him and a familiar calming smell. He looks to his side, eyes meeting Mingyu’s glassy ones.

“Where are we, Mingyu?” He asks and he doesn’t fail to notice the younger male flinching, as if he was scared Wonwoo would start hitting him with something again and accuse him for crimes. Wonwoo does nothing of that sort though, he just blinks, waiting for an answer. He is conflicted whether they were in Mingyu’s unit building or at some hotel parking lot, he doesn’t want to assume anything since the question if they are in some hotel is the one hanging on his tongue.

It takes a while for Mingyu to have the confidence to answer once he was sure Wonwoo isn’t going to get angry at him. “My unit’s building.”

“Okay,” Wonwoo calmly says and unclasps the seatbelt from him, getting out of the car to wait for Mingyu outside. “Let’s go?”

Mingyu gets out of the car as well and locks up his car. “You’re not angry at me anymore?” He asks carefully as he leads the way to the elevator.

“Can I wash up first and talk about it after dinner?” Wonwoo suggests as Mingyu presses the floor to his unit. “I’m starved and I can’t think of anything else right now but food.” He lacks emotion, tired of the feelings he gushed out earlier. Mingyu understood and nodded immediately, keeping quiet till they reach his floor. He opens the door, letting Wonwoo inside first before him.

Mingyu traipses towards the kitchen, ready to cook dinner for both of them. “There’s already a spare bathrobe in the bathroom on your right, and I have this new shirt you can wear that I’ve never used before.”

Wonwoo looks at Mingyu and tilts his head to the side. “Do you still have that long wool sweater?”

“Y-yeah, it’s in my closet.”

“Can I wear that instead?” Wonwoo knows he doesn’t need to ask if he could, since he knows if he said he wanted it, Mingyu will give it to him right away. Just at this time, he isn’t sure if Mingyu is still the same Mingyu as the person he was years ago. He knows Mingyu is still fragile, but apart from that, he doesn’t know if Mingyu still keeps his wardrobe from when they were still married. Wonwoo made sure Mingyu took them all when he made him leave the house when their divorce was finalized.

“Okay, call for me when you’re done in the bath.” Mingyu says with a small smile on his face, careful not wanting to show how ha