Jiyong was asleep, when the sound of men’s voices burst loudly before being toned down. His eyes opened widely and sat up, alarmed to see an empty bed beside him. Jiyong quickly pulled out his wheelchair and started phoning their help from down stairs.

Jiyong rolled himself and followed the source of the sound and suddenly was taken aback by Seungri standing in front of the television, flipping through with a remote, and skipping from one scene to another. Jiyong silently entered the living room not wanting to disturb seungri, he then noticed a familiar smell of coffee, something that seungri knows how to make. He spotted two set of mugs, then the  news paper neatly divided.

“oh my god.” Jiyong accidentally blurted out, catching seungri’s attention making the younger one look back.

“HYUNG! YOU’RE UP!” seungri said and tossed the remote aside. “why are you in your wheelchair…are you hurt!?! Wait….” Seungri recognized the change in Jiyong’s face…. “hey……how…..how long was I out?”

Jiyong continued staring in awe at Ri, not realizing the tears that were running on his cheek.

“was it too long?” Ri asked feeling his heart sunk as Jiyong nodded. “I’m sorry….”

“it’s…it’s ok…” Jiyong held seungri’s hand and pressed it tighter  against his right cheek.. “totally ok ri.”

They two of them sat in front of the TV, sipped their coffee and talk as if nothing had happened.

“so where’s top-hyung….”  Seungri asked as the part of Seunghyun in lies appeared in their concert DVD…Ji placed his coffee down and panicked how to break things…. “is he alright? I missed him I want to call him hyung.”

“wait ri…” ji stopped ri’s arm before he was able to grab the phone… “top---top hyung….he moved to America and it’s night there or early morning he’s sleeping…”

“oh.” Ri put down the phone, “how about youngbae-hyung?”

“he’s in Japan now….and sleeping too I guess.” Jiyong lied too… “hey aren’t you happy enough to spend time with me huh? You keep looking for other people!”

“aaah haha..sorry hyung, I’m---I’m just happy, wow America and japan huh….let’s visit them ok?” Seungri leaned against Jiyong and yawned.

“ok…but not any time soon.” Jiyong nonchalantly played with words.

“hyung.” Seungri turned off the tv, taking Jiyong’s hand and enclosing them tightly. “I’m sorry…”

“stop saying sorry….it’s not your fault that you had dementia….like me having difficulty of breathing.” Jiyong tried to laugh but then was stunned when Ri looked at him.

“not that, what I mean is…I’m sorry I was too late…I was always late, and now….i’m again late.” Seungri started crying, Jiyong somehow knew what seungri was about to say but still waited patiently for each words uttered. “I knew…and I hope you somehow felt it that….i love you too.”

Jiyong quivered, biting his fist and finally feeling such elated emotion with Ri’s confession yet sorrow for how late it was. “I love you too…” that was all Jiyong can answer.

“I’m always late….even on how I admit myself to you….” Ri wiped his eyes.

“better late than never.” Jiyong turned around and chastely kiss seungri’s forehead, heart feeling overwhelmed that after years of waiting and loving in the sideline was in the end not wasted at all and was not for nothing.

“I want to stay like this forever hyung.” Seungri smiled then slowly closed his eyes.

“yeah me too.” Jiyong felt the slow yet noticeable increasing weight from seungri, the dawdling loosening of Ri’s grip and the obvious stilling of Ri’s chest and movement. Jiyong sobbed for a few seconds when Ri didn’t reply, somehow he knew…that Ri’s sudden return was too good to last….

Jiyong took the phone and called Riyo…

“uncle, isn’t it too early there? Why are you calling?” Riyo replied, Jiyong couldn’t hide the sobs and Riyo already knew.

“your dad Riyo…..” that was all Jiyong needed to say.

“ok…we’re going home, I’ll tell the kids and lei as soon as I got home.”

Jiyong put the phone down turned and let Ri’s immobile body rest on the  sofa, he placed Ri’s head on his lap…brushing Ri’s white hair and looked at it and saw nothing but happiness and serenity.

“have fun meeting up your wife, bae and seunghyun hyung ok?” jiyong’s tears kept falling on Ri’s cheeks and slowly he bent down and hugged ri tightly.

=========================================

“GRANDPA!!!” Seungri proudly screamed to jiyong, making the man put down his eyeglass and look at his excited grandson showing him his diploma. “look look top of the class man! The bomb!”

“very good!” Jiyong adored the diploma then laid his eyes on the young one kneeling in front of him, it was ironic that this boy looked so much like HIS seungri. Exactly alike that there were moments wherein he can swear he was fooled to call his grandchild maknae affectionately.

“well I better go and show this to grandpa seunghyun ne!” Seungri stood up and rushed towards the quiet room that houses Lee Seunghyun’s photo.

“so he finally bugged you huh?” Riyo, now a middle aged man himself sat in front of his uncle. “how are you holding up?”

“breathing gets harder…..but it’s ok….” Jiyong puts down the newspaper. “how was the business in America?”

“great….i think I’ll start showing Seungri the company’s interworking in just a few more months….i’ll let him have fun first.” Riyo leaned away.

“you raised up a very good son and daughter, I heard Jiyori was top of her class…”

“ah yeah, she’s thinking of going to college here though, I don’t know though, her mom doesn’t want to,  she thinks she’s just using that as an act and we all  know Jiyori likes to sing and dance….aish….seungri might have gotten dad’s business mindset….but I think Jiyori got his hunger for fame…” Riyo laughed….

“your dad’s proud of you….me too….” Jiyong clapped his hand.

Riyo stood up, “I’ll never be who I am without you both…..dad.” Riyo kissed jiyong on the forehead. “I…I always wanted to call you dad, is it too late?”

“like father like son….late…but as I say…it’s better late than never.” Jiyong wiped his eyes, overwhelmed by being called dad by Riyo for the first time.

“Pops! I want to meet up youngbae!” Seungri opened the door.

“are you done paying respect to your grandpa?” Riyo stood up, Seungri nodded. “fine….just tell your mom to about your whereabouts ok? I don’t like her nagging me for letting you off easily.”

“yup yup! Bye dad and grandpa!!” seungri dashed out of the living room.

Jiyong laughed. “Youngbae….that’s our youngbae’s grandchild right?”

“yup…hehe….it’s a coincidence I guess that somehow all of us named our kids after their grandfathers….it’s a pity though, uncle seunghyun’s didn’t get a grandson…instead they named her Tabi….” Riyo chuckled, “I better go now….i need to call some people from the main office.”

“ok, I’ll just be here.” Jiyong waved his hand, and when he was finally left alone turned his wheel chair and pushed the sliding door open. He entered the silent room that was filled with the scent of incents and in the middle, seungri’s picture was on display….in front of it lays their grandchild’s college diploma. Jiyong rolled himself in front of the picture, prayed for a while with eyes closed and slowly opened them. “Your grandchildren are very interesting Ri, and Riyo’s a great man….you raised him well….”

“WE raised him well.”

Jiyong stopped, he turned to his left and saw Seungri, back to his old 20s age, smiling at him and sat beside his wheelchair. “WE RAISED HIM BOTH WELL.”

Ji smiled at him, “have you found them?” that was all Jiyong can ask.

Ri smiled wide, “yup….and we’re waiting for you now.”

“What took you  so long to pick me up ri?”

“I’m sorry….late as usual…” Ri joked, he stood up and slowly raised his hand and offer it to Jiyong. “let’s go hyung….i missed you.”

“I missed you too….” Jiyong lifted his hand, seemingly erased of all the age the years had taken from him, beamingly beautiful like how he was always during his hay days as big bang’s member. Jiyong stood up, leaving his wheelchair and took Ri’s hand.

They smiled at one another, holding each other hands, walking with anticipation that at last…forever was now at their grasps.

“Dad?” Riyo looked inside the room, “lei asked me if you want fish or beef------“ Riyo stopped at the sight of jiyong, hugging the picture of Ri…head stoop forward. Riyo’s heart sunk but at the same time felt happiness when  he saw how tranquil Ji’s face was. He slowly hugged Ji….whispering to him: “say hi to dad for me ok? I love you daddy jiyong…be happy with him.”  

Fin.

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there...another short mini series i hope you had fun  reading this....my twist on "future": and touch of the genre romance, what do you think?.....sniff sniff..i honestly cried when i wrote about the dementia part cause i was inspired by one of our patients.....and how she waits for his husband's few stolent moments of being back to normal.....

PLEASE COMMENT..love to read them..inspires my head to come up with different storiies..