Soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, green onions, bean curd and leeks all merged together, producing an irresistible aroma throughout YunHo’s home. The saccharine, intoxicating scent caused MinHyun’s stomach to rumble in anticipation. “Is it done now Appa?” MinHyun questioned with impatience as he watched his father stir the mandukguk and stir-fried the japchae. “I’m hungry now.”

“In a minute Min, in a minute.” From his peripheral, he could see his son pout and rest his cheek in the palm of his hand as he kicked his feet back and forth. “Just be patient, I’m going as fast…” The sudden ringing of the doorbell interrupted YunHo mid-sentence. “Could you go get that Min?” He hoped the little distraction would allow him to complete dinner before his son returned.

“Okay.” The child jumped down from the chair and hurried to answer the door. He stood on the ball of his feet and used both hands to turn the doorknob, peering out as he did so. “Harabeoji! Halmeoni!” He greeted to the elderly couple behind the door. The couple was a striking pair, their skin still withheld its youthfulness; with very few wrinkles present. Their hair hardly had any grey and their posture resembled that of a couple in their thirties. Both were an example of aging gracefully.

“Hello there grandson.” Harabeoji knelt down and embraced his grandson, chuckling as he did so. “How are you?” He asked while pulling from the hug.

“Hungry!” MinHyun shrugged, making his way to his grandmother so he could hug her as well.

“MinHyun! My grandson, Oh! How I’ve missed you.” Halmeoni greeted, tightly embracing her grandson as if it had been years since she had last seen him. “You’ve gotten so tall…and you’re looking more like your father every day.” She cupped his face, examining the similarities between father and son.

“It smells wonderful in here, is your Appa cooking?” Harabeoji queried, inhaling the aroma hovering about in the air. “I’m surprised, never knew he could cook.” He muttered to no one other than himself. Following behind MinHyun, the couple was taken into the kitchen where YunHo was now setting the table with the completed meal. “Hello there my son.”

YunHo looked up from what he was doing and smiled. “Appa, Omma.” He placed the last dish on the table before walking towards his parents and hugs them, not forgetting to plant a gentle kiss on his mother’s cheek. “Had I known you were going to stop by, I would have made plenty.”

“It’s alright YunHo, we’ve already eaten.” YunHo’s mother assured. “We actually came by to…”

“Is it ready now Appa?” MinHyun stared at the torrid bowls on the table, his mouth aching to taste and his stomach stirring, waiting to be filled. “It looks ready.”

“It is, go wash up okay?” YunHo shooed his son towards the restroom before turning his attention back to his parents. “You want anything to drink? Tea? Water?” He asked ushering them to take a seat.

Harabeoji chuckled. “You don’t have to treat us as if we are guest YunHo.”

YunHo threw up his hands in defense. “I know, but you’re my parents and I must show respect.” MinHyun came running down the hallway, his energy building from the excitement to eat. “Yah! Stop running.” The child slowed, yet he added a bounce in his step. “You washed your hands?” He nodded with a smile. “Let me see.” He held up his hands, allowing his father to inspect his clean hands. “Okay.” YunHo helped MinHyun into the chair and slid two bowls in front of him. “You eat, I’m gonna talk to Halmeoni and Harabeoji.”

The three adults walked into the living room, away from MinHyun’s audible range. “He is your son.” Halmeoni smiled as she watched her grandson eat, swinging his legs back and forth. “You used to act the same way,” She turned and looked at YunHo.“He’s developing into a little you.”

“That he is.” YunHo chuckled as he took a seat on the couch. “So what brings you here?”

Harabeoji took a seat alongside his son. “Well, we decided to come by and visit with our son and grandson...maybe hoping YooChun and JunSu would be here, since they usually are.” Harabeoji’s expression unexpectedly shifted from jovial to serious, a sign something is wrong. “Have you spoken to YooChun recently?”

“Not since a couple of days ago, why?” His parents both turned their gaze from him and remained silent, a sheer sign something was definatly wrong. “Omma, Appa…what’s wrong?”

“Do you know if he has spoken to his family since his father disowned him?” His father’s voice was quiet and husky, this was worrying him…what was going on? What was it they were not telling him?

“He talks to YooHwan sometimes his Omma, but I highly doubt he speaks to his father…why? Has something happened?” The suspense was eating at his curiosity. “If something happened I do have a right to know, he is a brother to me.”

Halmeoni let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. “This afternoon, we received a call from YooHwan…he told us, their father had been hospitalized.” She paused to take a look at YunHo, their gazes locked. “He has been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy…a condition of which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged, and cannot pump blood efficiently. The cause was alcoholism.”

“…So what does this have to do with YooChun?” YunHo did not mean to come off so callous and vindictive, but this was the man who disowned his own son for being homoual and now he was trying to communicate after years of hating him.

Harabeoji cut in this time.“He needs a transplant; however…” He lifted a hand to YunHo, silencing him so he may finish. “However, there isn’t one available at the moment…He doesn’t have long to live, Doctors are giving him a month or so.”

YunHo sighed this time. “Again I ask, what does this have to do with YooChun?”

“All he wants is to talk to YooChun, have a father to son conversation with him. We were thinking, since you two are so close, that you would talk to him about it. YooHwan said YooChun refuses to talk to their father…though, I don’t blame him.” YunHo’s mother muttered as an afterthought.

“Why can’t parents accept what their children are?” Harabeoji question as he shook his head. “I mean, granted it hurts to know that your child loves another of the same , but they’re still your child…still the child you love and raised.” Harabeoji patted his son’s forearm in assurance that he still loved and supported him.

YunHo shrugged and sighed once more. “…No one is as accepting or as loving as you and Omma.” He looked from his father to his mother then to MinHyun, who was still happily eating. YunHo began to wonder, changing the scenario to him and MinHyun; what if MinHyun disowned him as a father? What if he was dying and MinHyun refused to speak to him? It was nauseating to even think about and made him understand the sense he was feeling may be what YooChun’s father might feel in his final days. “…Alright, I’ll have a talk with him.” His parents smiled for the first time in the minutes this conversation started; though, the talk would not be easy since talking to YooChun was like reading in a bull’s ear.
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“Appa, how do you plant strawberries when they have tiny seeds?” JaeYoung questioned, a smear of pink melted creamcicle was evident on the side of his face while he happily nibbled on a large, juicy red strawberry and watched his father place two bowls of bibimbap and two of kimchiguk on the table.

The questioned surprised JaeJoong, it was not a question any normal four year old would ask; subsequently, his son is not normal. “Honestly Young, I have no idea.” He placed his index finger on his chin as he thought about his son’s question. “That’s a good question, what made you ask a question like that?”

JaeYoung shrugged as he slid a bowl of bibimbap and kimchiguk in front of himself. “I don’t know, I was just thinking.”

JaeJoong wiped the smear of creamcicle off his son’s face before winking at him. “You are too smart for your own good.” He was about to take a seat when the phone rang, the urge to answer and the urge to ignore were clashing in his mind. He wanted to answer because it could be important; then again, he wanted to eat. “Appa, the phone is ringing, you want me to answer it?”

“No, no, you eat.” JaeJoong grudgingly stood from the table, he took his time to reach the phone hoping the caller would hang up. Unfortunately that was not the case. “Yeoboseyo?” He sighed.

“JaeJoong?” He recognized the mellow and melodic voice as that of EeTeuk’s. “Sorry to bother you, but what I need to talk to you about is important. I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

“Of course not.” JaeJoong assured politely, he could never be discourteous to his friend and superior. “What do you need to discuss?”

“Well…As you know, the lease on the restaurant will be up in two weeks.” He paused, gathering his words and thoughts. “Meaning it’ll be mine officially, so… I have approved to franchise four new restaurants here in Seoul, three in Busan, two in Taegu, one in Incheon and one in Kwangju…”

“That’s a good thing, is it not?” JaeJoong inquired, because surely he thought it was a good thing…marvelous even.

“It’s a very good thing.” EeTeuk replied back. “But that’s not all I’m doing, I will also be opening up a bakery next to this restaurant…”

“A bakery?”

“Yes, it’s strange I know, but I think it brings individuality and freshness to our line of cooking.” EeTeuk explained, chuckling as he did so. “So what do you think?”

“It’s-It’s-That’s pretty out there Teuk, but if that’s what you want to do then I say go for it.” JaeJoong scratched his head, still sort of stunned by the proposal. “Do you know who you’re going to have supervise it?”

“Of course, that’s the reason why I’ve called…I’m placing you as supervisor and HeeChul as co-supervisor.”

JaeJoong was in disbelief, he was going to manage a bakery? By himself? And HeeChul was co-supervisor? “You’re setting me in charge?”

“I wouldn’t have elected you if I didn’t think you could handle it.” EeTeuk chuckled. “I’ve also recommended SungMin, RyeoWook, Key, and TaeMin, to be your employees.”

“Well that’s…”

“And another thing…” EeTeuk paused to make sure he had JaeJoong’s attention. “I’m placing you under two weeks paid leave, HanKyung is taking your position at the restaurant so I want to see how well he works as Sous Chef.” Two minutes of silence passed through the phone line, making him uncertain if JaeJoong was still on the phone. “JaeJoong? Are you there?”

“...Two weeks paid leave? Meaning, I don’t have to come in for two weeks?”

“That’s right, is that a problem?”

“No, not at—.”

“Appa, your food is getting cold!” JaeYoung’s voice cut in loud enough for EeTeuk to perceive, he was now standing next to JaeJoong, tugging on his pants leg.

“Listen, you go eat and tell baby Jae I said hello.”

“I will do that, thanks Teuk…I won’t let you down at the bakery.”

“I know you won’t Jae.” The two males hung up each of their lines.

“Cousin Teuk and uncle KangIn said hello and they love you.” JaeJoong stared at the phone before looking at his son, a smile spread across his lips. “Guess what Young?” He did not wait for his son to respond before he picked him up and spun him around. “I don’t have to work for two weeks, meaning…two weeks to spend with you!”

“Really? Yay!” JaeYoung kissed his father on the cheek.

JaeJoong returned the kiss, before he in air between his teeth. “So after we get done eating, what do we do first?”

JaeYoung did not have to think about what he wanted to do, it was what they always did. “Stay up late!”
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