Daehyun walked out from his father’s wardroom before slowly closing the door behind him. He took a brief glance at his wristwatch to find it was already passed 9 and realized he hadn’t taken his dinner yet. Then, he remembered that he didn’t even eat for lunch. No wonder his stomach was feeling all grumpy.

Just when he decided to have something to eat at the cafeteria downstairs, someone just magically appeared in front of him and what made it more miraculous was the person held a plastic bag which Daehyun believed contained foods that can be seen since it was a transparent plastic bag. And he also saw that she was wearing her schoolbag.

“Why do you bring so many things?” was the first question that Daehyun asked.

The girl or apparently were you softly chuckled at his question, “I bring food for you because I believe you haven’t had dinner, have you? And I also bring notes for all subjects that you’ve missed during your absence in school because I think you might need them.”

The lad could only look at you with shock, “Why even bother yourself to come here just to bring those for me? About food, I can eat it at the cafeteria and for notes, I don’t even ask for it.”

“Oh wow. I came here all the way from home just to make sure that you have eaten or not and even bring you notes that I personally copied for you and you don’t even appreciate my hard work? At least you should thank me, alright?” you sarcastically told him.

“Fine then. Thank you so much for the notes and even foods that you bring for me. You sure don’t know how I appreciate it, do you? And hold on, you said you copied the notes for me? Do you really…?” his voice trailed off as he looked at you.

“Come on, I can’t feel the sincerity at all! And please, why would I bother myself to write another note just to give it to you? So I just photocopied it,” you said as you held a peace sign at him with a cheeky grin.

“Seriously girl, why are you so demanding about it? And now I’m the one who don’t feel your sincerity. Photocopy only? I thought those notes are handwritten by you. It’s shocking a smart student like you are actually this lazy,” he teased you.

“Please, Jung Daehyun, please. Seriously boy, why are you so demanding about it? You should feel lucky that I want to copy those notes for you, okay? And now you’re insulting me for being lazy when I did all that for you? Words can’t describe how much I love you for saying that, okay?” you pretended to annoyingly glared at him since you knew he was only kidding.

“Excuse me? Can you repeat that again? The phrase where it goes, ‘words can’t describe how much I love you’? D.O. Y.O.U. L.O.V.E. M.E.?” he suddenly sang to a popular song by 2NE1.

You blushed when he asked you to repeat that. You knew you shouldn’t even state such sentences in the first place. It was accidentally let out from your mouth since you were used to saying that with Eunji. But then you slapped Daehyun’s muscular arm when he sang you those lyrics or actually letters.

“Just… whatever, Jung Daehyun!” you grunted as you rolled your eyes at him because you didn’t know what to reply. You could feel how your cheeks were still burning in embarrassment.

The young man laughed at your reaction; especially when he saw how your cheeks were reddening madly, “It’s so funny to tease you.”

You narrowed your eyes at him but then seeing how he laughed(since he rarely laughed in such way) made you feel totally elated as you chortled. You didn’t know why but you felt like you were becoming contagious to his mellow laughter even though you rarely heard him laughing just like how he was doing. One thing that you had noticed, Jung Daehyun totally had changed. He wasn’t that cold anymore and now it seemed like his true colors were showing. He was much nicer than the old Daehyun and in your eyes, he was working hard to leave his previous self. What made you happy was the fact that he finally was in a good term with Baekhyun. Albeit there were still a lot of unclear questions and answers between you and him, you decided to forgive him regarding it because you knew he must have his own reasons for every word that he told you.

/

Daehyun went back to the wardroom to check upon his father. He admitted that he had a great time with your short visit and the foods that you brought for him. It was mouth-watering and it suited his sense of taste. His eyes fell down on the notes that you gave him before he kept the notes in his bag. He smiled before zipping the bag and put it back on the sofa.

Then, he walked to the bed where his father had been unconsciously lying for days. His parts of body didn’t make any movement at all except for his chest which kept pumping up and down due to heavy breathing. He stood still while staring at his sick father as a thought appeared in his mind. What if he was the one who lying there? What would his father do for him? Would he take care of him? Would he wait for him to wake up every day? Would he stay by his side and continuously tell him to wake up?

Daehyun pulled a nearby stool to the bed before sitting on it as his gaze kept stern on his father. Very slowly and carefully, he reached out to hold his father’s cold hand. His own hands were trembling hard because it was something that he hadn’t done in a long time. When was the last time he had held his father’s hand? Was it when he was 8 to 10 years old? He couldn’t even remember the time well. With shaking hands and thumping heart, he finally had his father’s hand in his palms. He realized how he had missed those hands as he buried his face on the bedside while holding onto his father’s hand.

Baekhyun’s words lingered around his mind, ‘He loves you so much, Dae. You’re his one and only son that’s why he tries to give you wealth and everything. But when you start changing, he realizes he has done it in a wrong way. You’re not asking for wealth, yet you only want him to pay attention for you and give you happiness, isn’t it? That’s what he has been trying to do but it seems like he can’t do it and I know he regrets it so much.’

‘And I also notice how hurt is evident in his expression whenever you simply ignore him, don’t even spare a glance at him, avoiding him all day and even calling him as a cheater. I know how much it depresses him to be blamed by his own son for the death of the wife that he loves very much. I’m sorry to say this, but do you know how ignorant you are about the whole things? Do you realize how much have you hurt your own father when he tries his best to make everything becomes perfect for you?’

‘You once said you hate this kind of life, right? To live under such circumstances with an infamous father? But do you know that he actually doesn’t want you to be living like this as well? He has the intention to change and rebuild a new life together with you, that’s why he finally started a business together with Uncle Jinsung. He really wants to live as a happy family, even though it’s only you and him. Do you know what does he want to do right now? He only wants to see your genuine smile. All he wants is to see your smile, Daehyun. Won’t you smile for him?’

He started to reflect upon his acts towards his father. They had been in a cold term for years. He was aware that it wasn’t that Mr. Jung hadn’t been trying to make their relationship became better but it was him who refused every effort that his father had made. He knew he had been such a rebellious son; he never appreciated what his father did for him. He felt terribly bad for not trying to be a nice son.

Your image suddenly appeared in his mind as he recalled what you have told him earlier, ‘From what I know from my Dad and Baekhyun, I can feel how your father actually loves and cares for you, Dae. If you think you’re the one who’s suffering under this whole incident, how about your father? Do you know what it’s like to be in his shoes? To be ignored and hated by his own son that he actually truly cares about but he just doesn’t know how to show his affections towards his son? You think your father is a cruel father, but how about you? Do you want to be called as a rude son?’

‘I’m sorry to say this but what if your father can’t be saved from the incident? Will you ever realize about how you have been acting towards him and all? It’s no use to seek apologize from a corpse, you see. God is giving you another chance, Dae. You’re the one who decides your own life. Do you want to live in guilt of not being nice enough towards your father? You might appear to be cold and ignorant but I believe, deep inside you actually love your father, don’t you? You’re trapped in a past memory of your mother’s death, that’s what stopping you from showing your love towards your father. Besides, just like your father, you also don’t know how to express love.’

‘It’ll be great if you apologize to your father once he has awaken. I’m sure with a sincere apology, everything will change. You can change the path of your life, Daehyun. You’ll not be living in hatred and the uncertain feelings anymore if you throw away those stupid feelings which have been bothering you all this time which keeps you away from showing your real emotions. No one can change your life but you. You’re the author of your own life story. You should write a happy ending and I believe you can do it.’

A happy ending huh? Everyone sure wanted to have a happy ending, didn’t they? The same went to him. He wanted his old life; where he could joke casually with his father, laugh together with him and etcetera. Whenever he looked at how the other father and teen son who enjoyed themselves together, he became envious and wished his life with his father would also be like that. Would he be able to achieve what he wanted which was to live happily with his father?

Just then, advices that he had listened to kept on coming up in mind. He rethought about what Eunji had told him, ‘You might be wondering why I don’t hate your father, right? To be honest, sometimes I wonder about that too. Even though he didn’t kill my parents with his own two hands, he was the one who should be taking the responsibility for the death of my parents. Do you know why can’t I hate him? It’s because he reminds me of my father. I always blamed my late father for abandoning me and leaving me alone at home because he had to run away from the loan sharks with my mother but when my parents died, I finally realized that they did that to protect me so those loan sharks wouldn’t know about me and I wouldn’t get killed.’

‘The same case goes to you, Dae. You keep blaming him for the death of your mother but do you know how it pressures him? You also blame him for this unwanted life but do you know he actually has no choice but to continue this so he can provide you a good life. He only wants the best for you, Dae. Our parents do everything just for us. As children, we should appreciate our parents. Besides, without your father, I won’t be living well in this world without the job he gives me. The decision is in your hands. You should really stop being so rebellious and try to change your behavior towards your father. I believe your father is actually a nice man, a loyal husband and a caring dad. No matter what he does in life, he’s still your father and you’ll never be able to deny that fact that you’re a son to Jung Daewon.’

‘Be strong, Dae. Your father is a strong and tough person, just like you. He’ll wake up sooner or later. Do you know why? It’s because even in his long sleep, he knows he has a son that waits for him to wake up,’ Yongguk’s short message for him really touched his inner.

‘To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you become so emotional. And this might sound weird, but I’m happy that you’re showing your true emotions because of your father. I’m sure your father will be elated to see how his son actually cares for him, just like how he cares for his son, which is you,’ that Himchan guy wouldn’t ever forget his role as the ‘mamachan’.

‘I’m shocked to see how you wait for your father everyday but when I rethink about it, it’s not that surprising anymore. Behind the emotionless and cold expression that you always show to us, the inner Jung Daehyun is actually has lots of emotions that has been bottling up in his heart. You know, it’s not a sin to show our emotion sometimes, about how we feel about something. We human are possessed by emotions and we’re not robots who don’t have feelings. I can see it in your eyes on how you worry over your father even though your mouth keeps saying you hate him but your heart actually loves him dearly, right? I really want to see my friend to be a nice son towards his father, will you do that for me?’ Yoo Youngjae; he sure was the brain.

‘I’ll pray for your happiness, hyung. You deserve it after so many obstacles. I’m confident that you’ll able to be a good son to his father because you’re such a good hyung to me. Run for your life, Jung Daehyun!’ seriously Moon Jongup, since when did Daehyun ever be good to you?

‘I’m not a nice son myself and I’m not sure what to tell you. But, let’s improve ourselves, shall we? Fighting!’ the youngest Zelo sure didn’t know how to talk well.

Without wanting to, his tears rolled down his cheeks despite no matter how he tried to keep it from falling yet he failed. He tightened his grasp on his father’s hand even though his hands were shuddering, “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m really sorry.”

Right at the moment, he felt a trembling hand was slowly patting his head. Shocked with what turned out, he slowly raised his gaze and his eyes went huge to see a man was smiling at him. And that man was his father, who had finally opened his eyes after days of in unconscious state.

Daehyun couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing as he went closer to his father as he studied every inch of his father’s features. No word was spoken at the moment as he was still in daze.

The silence was tore away when he clearly heard his father’s whisper, “Daehyun, my son.”

With a huge smile on his face, he immediately hugged his father softly since he was scared that he would hurt his father as he finally called out for him with the name that Mr. Jung had wanted to hear for years, “Dad!”