As of last night, there has been an attack on a popular cafe in Busan, resulting in the murder of owner Hwang Nichkhun and the presumed death of his wife-

 

 

Jessica switched the station on the radio as she drove, she made a quick check in her mirror to make sure none of the boys were awake to hear what was on the radio. She let out a sigh of relief upon seeing their sleeping faces and refocused on the road.

 

 

````

 

 

"We're here guys!" Jessica opened up the side doors of the car after she pulled up to her house. She tried to sound enthusiastic to hopefully raise the boys' spirits but the tearful eyes looking up at her said otherwise about her attempts.

 

 

"I'm sure you'll like it guys, why don't we take a look around?" She was happy that there was some curiosity in them and they hopped out of the car, Minhyun was able to swap his wheelchair for crutches which he gladly did when they passed a hospital.

 

 

 

Daehwi looked at him hopefully before remembering how injured his hyung was, he ran to Seongwoo and held his hand instead. He probably wanted a piggyback from Minhyun.

 

 

"I know it's a little small, I live alone, but I hope you guys could make it work?" All of them stood timidly at the doorway. "Don't be shy! Feel free to look around, I'll go whip us up some lunch while you're at it." After giving them a reassuring smile, Jessica disappeared into the kitchen and the sound of drawers opening filled the silence looming over the boys for a few seconds.

 

 

"Well, I guess we should look around." An obvious attempt at enthusiasm came from Seongwoo and even though the sentence still ended on a flat note, they moved from their spots and looked around the place. Well most of them, Minhyun rested on the couch with Seonho in his arms as the other three walked around.

 

 

It was a simple place, it had a kitchen, living room with a tiny dining setup in the corner of the kitchen. Jessica seemed to have a big room to herself, complete with a private bathroom. There was another bathroom they could use, along with two other bedrooms that seemed like Jessica still had to move some of her things from.

 

 

"Why are there so many creepy dolls?" Jaehwan poked at a mannequin, shaking in fear when its arm shook at him.

 

 

"Maybe she's a designer." Seongwoo pointed at the clothing sketches and blueprints littered on a desk.

 

 

"Designer?"

 

 

"That means she designs and makes clothes Daehwi." They walked back to the living room and plopped on the couch opposite of Minhyun and Seonho.

 

 

"It's as big as our place......" Seongwoo had no other way of saying it.

 

 

"That's good, at least it'll be easier to adjust, same rooms?"

 

 

"I guess so." They fell into a silence that bordered on awkward and all they could do was twiddle their thumbs.

 

 

"Lunch is ready!" Jessica came out from the kitchen. "What did you think of the place?"

 

 

"It's nice..."

 

 

"Great! I was a little worried about your opinions, let's go eat!" Jessica bent down to take Seonho out of Minhyun's arms- "I can carry him." 

 

 

"Sure Minhyun! Just be a little careful." Jessica flinched at Minhyun's twinge in pain when he got up. "Are you sure, I can-"

 

 

"I can do it."

 

 

"Oh okay, just don't trip."

 

 

Minhyun hobbled into the Kitchen with Seonho 2 minutes later, acting like he didn't just take that long to do a 10-second task. He steadied himself down onto a chair while balancing Seonho on his lap.

 

 

"Sorry, I'll buy a baby chair when we go out." His aunt smiled apologetically and set down their bowls of food.

 

 

"I'm not the best cook, but I hope you guys find the kimchi stew good!" Jessica sat down with her own bowl and took the bite first to show she wasn't a bad cook.

They all tried a sip and the flicker of enjoyment in their eyes was enough for Jessica to flash them a grin at their approval. Minhyun fed a small spoonful to Seonho who also let out a quiet squeal in delight.

 

 

"You're not hungry Seongwoo?" He still hadn't touched his stew after a few minutes.

 

 

"No...."

 

 

"Are you allergic to something?"

 

 

"No I-."

 

 

"His tongue can't handle hot food!" 

 

 

"Yeah right Jaehwan!" Seongwoo quickly took a sip to protect his pride, spitting it up immediately and cradling his tongue from the heat. Jaehwan gave him a smug look.

 

 

"Really? You're exactly like your halmeoni!" Jessica sadly reminisced on the memories. "If I remember right, she always had to put half a cup of cold water in her soup, you want that?" Seongwoo's stomach grumbled, enough of an answer to draw a laugh out of his aunt and for her to get up to grab some cold water. 

 

 

"There you go." She carefully poured the water in to avoid splashing and gave it a couple of stirs, "Is that better?" Seongwoo tried it and beamed at her. "It is good!"

 

 

"I'm glad you like it." Everyone fell into a more comfortable silence then before after the problem was resolved.

 

 

 

RINGGGG! The sound of a telephone ringing bellowed through their silence and prompted Jessica to answer it.

 

 

"Hello?"

 

 

"Is this Ms.Jung?"

 

 

"Yes it is, and you are?"

 

 

"I'm Dr.Kim, the surgeon who did surgery on your nephew Hwang Hyunbin." Jessica turned the phone to speaker so the other boys could listen.

 

 

"How did Hyunbin's surgery go?"

 

 

"It was successful."

 

 

"YAY!" All the boys cheered.

 

 

"However...."

 

 

"It's hard to explain.... I'll disclose more when you guys come here, and you may come now if you want."

 

 

"Thank you doctor, we'll be there soon." By the time Jessica came back after setting the phone away, all the boys were nearly finished with their meal. Obviously devouring it fast with the intent to see their brother.

 

 

~

 

 

"Excited?" Jessica asked as she put her seatbelt on.

 

 

"Yes!" Excitement was evident in the air, but also, a hint of concern.

 

 

"Why did the doctor say that there was something else that happened to Hyunbin?" Jaehwan scratched his chin in question.

 

 

"Maybe he lost a finger?"

 

 

"Seongwoo!" Minhyun covered Daehwi's ears, and leaned in. "He's too young to hear that!"

 

 

"*cough* sorry, I meant, maybe he can sleep with his eyes open now."

 

 

"That sounds cool!" Daehwi clapped his hands at his brother's potential new talent.

 

 

"I don't want to think about it, let's play I, Spy." Jaehwan suggested. "I spy with my little eyes, something black."

 

 

"Is it my nostrils?"

 

 

"Not this time Seongwoo!"

 

 

"Is it my hair?"

 

 

"Wrong, hyung!"

 

 

"Black bird!" Daehwi pointed at a crow flying in the sky.

 

 

"Right! You can choose something now Daehwi!"

 

 

"I spy with my little eyes, something white!"

 

 

~

 

 

"I spy with my little eyes, something peach!"

 

 

"Peach?"

 

 

"Is it that boy over there in the peach coloured shirt." Minhyun pointed out a young boy walking into the hospital with a peach coloured shirt.

 

 

"How did you know hyung?"

 

 

"Seongwoo, you're obsessed with peaches how would I not know." Seongwoo grumbled and took off his seatbelt, they had arrived.

 

 

"We're here now boys!" Jessica opened the side door and stood back. Letting the boys get out on their own this time, seemed like they only needed Minhyun's help in spite of his injuries, Jessica held Seonho though.

 

 

"I hope you guys are ready." They all walked in, the hospital seemed bigger and more high tech than a Busan hospital could ever be.

 

 

"Is Appa going to die?" The peach colored shirt boy was at the front desk with his mom, he was looking up at her sadly with tearful eyes.

 

 

"Don't worry Euigeon, I'm sure he's fine, let's go visit his room." His mother led him away by the hand and Jessica stepped up to the receptionist.

 

 

"Hello! I'm here to check in on Hwang Hyunbin."

 

 

"Ahh! Ms.Jung!" Jessica turned to the source of the voice, a doctor was approaching them. "I'm the person on the phone, Dr.Kim."

 

 

"Nice to meet you!" Jessica shook his hand and bowed slightly. "Now, about Hyunbin's conition?"

 

 

"Ah yes!" Dr.Kim pulled out a clipboard and flipped to a section. "Due to the cuts from the glass, he has several stitches on his face and neck, but since this areas can heal cuts fairly quickly the stitches should be gone in a week and the cuts healed in a month or two." He ran his finger down the page.

 

 

"He also suffered a bullet straight to his shoulder, we had to apply a few metal plates because it was fractured. And one more thing, but I don't think I should say it yet."

 

 

"Why? Something bad?"

 

 

"Not the worst thing, and I've only dealt with this once before, but I feel it's better for you to see it when he wakes up before I explain then the other way around."

 

 

"That's fine, are we allowed to see him?"

 

 

"Why yes of course! Follow me!" They followed him down the hall.

 

 

 

Loud shouting came from one room.

 

 

"UMMA!" A little boy was sobbing loudly

 

 

"Shh Euigeon, it's okay." The same pair of voices from before caused them to flinch. The doctor was unfazed. "One day I had to stop taking all those deaths personally." The doctor leaned over and whispered into Jessica's ear, she nodded knowingly and turned around to give the boys a reassuring smile. "It's okay boys."

 

 

"And this is the room." The doctor announced as they stopped in front of the room at the end of the hall. "Oh wait." The doctor removed his hand from the doorknob and turned back to them. "Don't do anything aggresive or such, you can touch him but he's very frail right now so don't do anything that will cause one of the stitches to break."

 

 

After receiving nods of understanding, he opened the door for them.

 

 

"Hyunbin!" The kids ran in, stopping themselves immediately after remembering the doctor's words.

 

 

He was paler then he's ever been, likely from all the blood loss, and Minhyun felt himself grimace at the stitches across Hyunbin's face, he could count 10 in total. He carefully slid down the side of Hyunbin's hospital gown to reveal another set of stitches to recover the area where metal plates were inserted.

 

 

He was sleeping peacefully, but all the stitches on his face said otherwise. His heart monitor beat steadily with his slow breaths.

 

 

"He was awake just a while ago, but we induced him with sleep medication so that he can rest fully for the first day."

 

 

"So he'll wake up tomorrow?"

 

 

"Yes that's how long we planned, but you are free to stay overnight if you'd like."

 

 

"I don't know." Jessica glanced at her nephews. "We still have a lot to unpack, maybe we'll just come back early tomorrow."

 

 

"No!" They were all protesting.

 

 

"I guess we'll stay overnight."

 

 

"Perfect! I'll get the nurses to bring in a few more seats and a little carriage for the baby." The doctor left the room.

 

 

"So many oos..." Daehwi's finger darted out to poke at the stitches curiously.

 

 

"Don't." Minhyun stopped Daehwi's finger, "That might hurt him."
Jessica felt her phone vibrate, the boys needed alone time with their brother, so she excused herself.

 

 

"Hello?" Jessica answered the phone.

 

 

"Hello Ms. Jung, it's Minhyuk." Jessica's eyes lit up

 

 

"Oh! Minhyuk! Do you have any news for me?"

 

 

"In fact I do, I was able to get a lead on the location of your sister."

"That's great! I knew she wasn't dead!" Jessica smiled.

 

 

"I can't guarantee if she's still alive, but I've tracked her location to be somewhere in Daegu."

 

 

"Ahh thank you Minhyuk! Anything else?"

 

 

"Not for now Ms. Jung, I'll continue searching. Have a nice day."

 

 

"You too Minhyuk." Jessica put her phone back in her pocket and smiled, things were finally looking up at least. She walked back to the room.

 

 

Everything was set up while she was gone, and the boys were all looking at Hyunbin silently.

 

 

Jessica found the scene inspirational, she pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing up clothing ideas that flashed into her mind.

 

 

~~

 

 

After a hospital cafeteria dinner, observing Hyunbin some more and watching t.v. A nurse came and provided toothbrushes and toothpaste so that they could freshen up for bed.

 

 

Jessica found it amusing that her nephews lined up in age order as they brushed their teeth in front of the mirror, she brushed Seonho's little growing teeth very gently. She also called one of her friends to go to her apartment to find some pajamas for the boys, it was dropped off and after changing clothes, they were ready for bed.

 

 

They brought the chairs beside Hyunbin's bed and they rested their heads beside his body.

 

 

"Goodnight Hyunbin."

 

 

"Goodnight Auntie Sica." They all said together, then eventually they dozed off. Jessica rocked Seonho in her arms until he was sound asleep as well and placed him in the provided carriage.

 

 

She kissed each of their heads, settling into her chair in the corner, and fell asleep too.

 

 

~~~

 

 

Jessica woke up to hushed whispers.

 

 

She opened her eyes slowly and it seemed they woke up hours ago, lively and awake.

 

 

"Look Auntie Sica is awake!" Daehwi sat in her lap.

 

 

"Hyunbin's arm has been twitching for the last 10 minutes." Minhyun informed her.

 

 

"That means he'll wake up soon!"

 

 

"Or we can just yell at him to wake up, HYU-."

 

 

"Jaehwan shut it!"

 

 

"Fine." Jaehwan shoved Seongwoo's hand away from his mouth with a pout.

 

 

"Did you boys eat breakfast yet? It seems like you've been up a while." They shook their heads.

 

 

"Okay I'll go grab some breakfast from the cafeteria, be back soon~" Jessica left the room.

 

 

"His other arm moved!" Daehwi exclaimed.

 

 

"Ngh..." A strangled mumble escaped Hyunbin's lips and his eyes twitched.

 

 

"He's waking up!" They all excitedly peered closer at his face. The pair of eyes slowly opened up. Darting around dazed and confused.

 

 

"HYUNBINNIE!" They pulled him into a tight group hug.

 

 

"What's happening?" Hyunbin was still dazed.

 

 

"We can explain later how do you feel?" Minhyun thread his fingers into his hair.

 

 

"Okay? I think haha." And that's when everyone saw it, as he laughed only one corner of his lips turned upward, leaving his mouth at an awkward angle.

 

 

~~~~

 

 

"Mmm good nothing seems to be wrong." The doctor had arrived for his shift after Jessica returned with breakfast and was checking to make sure there were no other signs of injury on Hyunbin. "And this is what was hard to explain earlier."

 

 

The doctor motioned to one of the stitches above the upper right corner of Hyunbin's lip.

 

 

"See, a piece of glass must've been able to severely damage one of Hyunbin's facial nerves, which means he won't be able to smile properly."

 

 

"Oh." Hyunbin frowned at it,  but he seemed to be taking the situation well.

 

 

"It is possible to fix this, on our last case we moved one of the patients thigh muscles up to the damaged nerve which allowed her to smile again." Hyunbin's eyes lit up.

 

 

"However Hyunbin is still young, and his body isn't fully developed yet, so I'd like to wait several years before his thigh muscle is fully developed at least."

 

 

"And when do you plan on that doctor?"

 

 

"Honestly around 10-12 years." Hyunbin's hope faltered.

 

 

"How about these?" Hyunbin pointed to his stitches.

 

 

"They should be fully healed and gone in a month or two." Hyunbin seemed happy again.

 

 

"Now I'd like Hyunbin to stay in the hospital for a week, so the cuts should be closed enough that we will be able to remove the stitches and then he can recover at home."

 

 

 

"Sorry boys we can't stay that long." All his brothers whined, the thought of not being with Hyunbin all the time was unbearable.

 

 

"Don't worry I'll make sure we visit him everyday." They were content with that idea.

 

 

They stayed until 3pm with Hyunbin.

 

 

"Bye Hyunbinnie." Each of his brothers gave him a reluctant hug but their aunt was waiting by the door so they couldn't stay forever.

 

 

"Bye bye." Hyunbin smiled his lopsided smile at them as they left.

 

 

~~~

 

 

 

They returned to the apartment to unpack everything that they brought.

 

 

"Hyung have you seen.-"

 

 

"Here it is." Minhyun picked out Daehwi's stuffed bear from one of the boxes.

 

 

"Thanks hyung!" Daehwi hugged his bear and tucked it under his arm to continue unpacking.

 

 

"They should be here any minute." Jessica muttered under her breath, she had gotten some professional movers to pick up the boys' beds and a few other things they couldn't carry back from Busan.

 

 

Her cellphone rang.

 

 

"Oh it must be them!" She picked up the phone without looking at the number.

 

 

"Hi Jessica! It's Yoona."

 

 

"Oh Yoona! I wasn't expecting your call, anything you need?"

 

 

"Dongho's been begging for the last hour to talk to Minhyun, do you mind if he does?"

 

 

"Sure just give me a sec." Jessica heard a cheer from the other line as she pulled the phone away from her ear and walked up to Minhyun. She passed the phone with a quiet "it's Dongho." And walked away.

 

 

"Hi Dongho hyung."

 

 

"Minhyun! How are you feeling?"

 

 

"My leg's a little sore and so is my head, but I didn't need the crutches anymore."

 

 

"That's good! *BEEP* aawww Noona's phone is on low battery, that means I have to go." Minhyun could feel his pout on the other end.

 

 

"Bye hyung."

 

 

 

"Bye Minhyun, I hope we'll see each other soon!" Minhyun frowned as he handed the phone back, he wished that Jonghyun was on there too.

 

 

"No Jaehwan, I want to sleep in that corner!"

 

 

"That corner will be mine Seongwoo hyung!" Minhyun sighed, sometimes it was a handful settling down those two.

 

 

 

(Neither of them won and Minhyun gave the corner to Daehwi)

 

 

*Later that night*

 

 

Minhyun's eyes shot open as he heard a quiet whimper. An almost unnoticeable sound but it caught his attention. He climbed out of bed and walked into the room across the hall where Seongwoo, Jaehwan, and Daehwi slept.

 

 

*sniff**sniff*

 

 

Minhyun was immediately drawn to Daehwi's bed. He pulled down the covers to see Daehwi. Daehwi was clutching his teddy bear to his chest, tears trickling down his cheek as he tried hiding the sounds of sadness in his pillow.

 

 

"Daehwi...." Minhyun gently rubbed Daehwi's back until his crying softened. Then held him up against his chest and let him cry the rest out. Just how his father used to hold Daehwi.

 

 

"I*sniff* I-i miss A-appa." Daehwi stuttered into Minhyun's neck.

 

 

"I know, Daehwi, but he's in a better place." Minhyun was never the best at wording his empathy.

 

 

"W-what b-better plac-ce?"

 

 

"A place where he'll be happy."

 

 

"W-will I s-see him s-soon?"

 

 

"We'll all meet him at the same place."

 

 

"A-at the s-same time?"

 

 

"Maybe at various times, we don't want to surprise appa too much." Daehwi let out a quiet giggle and Minhyun was relieved to see him calming down a little.

 

 

"But right now he's watching us under the same sky and he wants you to get some sleep." Daehwi bit his lip and looked hesitant to close his eyes.

 

 

"Can you sing me a song hyung?"

 

 

"Umma's song?"

 

 

"Mhmm..." Minhyun smiled at Daehwi, threading his fingers through his hair as a quiet but warm melody filled the room.

 

 

 

"Minhyun?" Minhyun looked up from his spot beside Daehwi's bed. His aunt was standing in the doorway.

 

 

"You should go to sleep honey. You still need to heal."

 

 

"But Daehwi had another bad dream." Minhyun gestured to the younger's swollen eyes.

 

 

"It's okay Minhyun I can watch him-"

 

 

"I can." Jessica let out a soft sigh when Minhyun seemed adamant on making sure his brother would be okay.

 

 

"If you say so Minhyunnie. Good night." His aunt drifted back into the darkness of the halls.

 

 

Daehwi was snoring lightly on Minhyun's chest. Minhyun figured he'll just sleep with him tonight and slowly lowered himself in the blanket, careful to not awaken him.

 

 

"We'll get through this together." He whispered softly in Daehwi's ear before closing his own eyes.

 

 

~~~~~~A Few Days Later Back in Busan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Jonghyun frowned as he was in the back in the cafe cleaning the baking area. All because of his mom.

 

 

After her first check up with the doctor a couple of days ago, she was advised not to work as much as usual to avoid a miscarriage. So she took advantage, spoiling her favorite son and taking him out while forcing the "runt" to work.

 

 

"I'm going out with Joonmyeon, make yourself useful and take these cleaning supplies and scrub the oven, counters, and floor in the kitchen. At least it'll help you lose some weight."

 

 

Jonghyun wanted to go visit the orphanage at least, but he knew Taeyeon would review the security footage if she was suspicious and knew he left.

 

 

"Jonghyunnie~" His dad was at the doorway of the kitchen. He was almost never home, but Jonghyun appreciated his company when he did bother to exist in his life. "Why are you working so hard?" Baekhyun wiped some sweat off of his son's forehead.

 

 

"Umma told me to do it."

 

 

"Aish....... Don't worry you've done enough, it looks brand new, want to go out for some bubble tea?" Jonghyun's face lit up at that suggestion.

 

 

"Yeah! ... But won't Umma get mad at me?"

 

 

 

"It's okay, must be the baby getting to her. Don't worry I'll cover for you if she does get mad." Baekhyun winked at him and led him out the cafe to his car.

 

 

 

~

 

 

Baekhyun smiled at his son happily slurping the bubble tea.

 

 

"Is it good?" Jonghyun nodded.

 

 

"That's good, now I have a question for you." Jonghyun hummed in response as his mouth was full of bubbles.

 

 

"Your mother's been expressing a lot of interest in moving to Seoul, something about politics and creating a bigger fortune by expanding our cafe, I know you may not want to move but-"

 

 

"Okay." Baekhyun quirked his eyebrow at his son.

 

 

"Really? I thought you'd need a little persuading."

 

 

"Yes, it's fine." And maybe I'll get to see Minhyun again Jonghyun thought.

 

 

"Oh perfect, I'm just preparing you for when your mother really does want to move, I feel like she may yell at you right away about moving." Baekhyun patted his sons' shoulder. "Want ice cream after that?"

 

 

 

He laughed at his sons' enthusiastic nod.

 

 

So when his mother did yell at him a month later that they were moving, he took the box out of her hands with a smile and started packing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next time on Coffee for Two (But what matters more is you):

 

 

"Do me a favor and don't release it on the news or media. I'd like this to be private."