Hyukjae stood by the balcony of his and Key's shared room while his brother was at the living room playing with Henry. He took a deep breath and wrapped his jacket closer to his body. Although the wind's pretty cold, he didn't mind it. It's rare to feel this fresh air unlike those of the city's. He glanced towards the sea and admired the moonlight reflecting from the water like he's seeing a scene from a fairy tale. His mind started to drift to Donghae. A smile suddenly appeared on his face at the mere mention of his name.

Hae-Hae.

Wait, what?

He shook his head when the name suddenly popped into his mind. Since when did he call Donghae Hae-Hae? He groaned when he felt pain slowly crawling to his head. He closed his eyes and tried steadying his breath to calm him down and to make the pain go away.  

"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" He gasped quietly and turned to his side and saw Krystal standing there with a smile on her face. Seeing her this close, she really does look young for her age. There are barely wrinkles on her face and her figure's still the same as of a young woman's. No wonder he mistook her for someone else a while ago. He averted his gaze back to the moon and nodded with a smile.

"Please don't force yourself to remember everything." The lady suddenly said and it took the blonde by surprise. She leaned towards the railings and hooked her hair behind her ear. She stared at Hyukjae with a small smile and held his hand. He immediately calmed down, feeling that familiar warmth he always feels whenever his mother's around him. It made him feel safe and secured.

"I don't know exactly what happened. But, Donghae doesn't want you to force yourself on anything. All he wanted was you to be happy. He doesn't care anymore if you'll remember him or not."

Hyukjae listened and unconsciously a tear fell from his eye. He started sobbing quietly and thankfully, his Auntie Krystal just let him be. She doesn't say anything and just gave him a tighter squeeze on the hand.

"B-But I want to. I.. know that those are precious and I hate myself for not remembering them. When I first saw Hae, something in me stirred and I found it very weird to be honest." He chuckled a bit. "I suddenly felt that familiarization and since then, it bugged me to the core. Hae already told me to take my time but, I'm afraid that my time will soon run out. That one day he will wake up and realize he doesn't want me anymore, or, that he already got tired of waiting." He continued with a depressed voice and Krystal could only look at him with pity.

"Everyone gets tired, that's true. But, do you know why they keep on holding on?" She finally muttered after a few minutes of silence as she faced him with a gentle smile. She hugged him and made soothing circles on his back. Hyukjae leaned on her shoulder, closed his eyes and slowly brought his hands up to hug her back. This is what he honestly needed for the time being. Comfort. No one can really surpass a mother's comfort and he's thankful this lady beside him gives it willingly to him.

"That little spark of hope that tells them that after this long waiting, everything will turn out just the way they hope it will be. Good things come to those who wait, as people always say."
Krystal finished and the younger just nodded at him.

That's right. If Donghae's not giving up, then why should he? He's sure he'll soon remember it when it's the right time.
 

<><><><><><><>

"Hyung?"

"Hmm?"

"What exactly is your relationship with my brother?"

Donghae looked away from the television to stare at Key and shot him a sad smile. "He's a childhood friend of mine."

Key's lips formed an 'o' shape and nodded in understanding. He placed the now sleeping Henry on his lap and slowly patted him luring the kid to a deeper sleep.

"But he doesn't remember me." Donghae blurted out in a soft tone and Key contemplated about it. Why in the world won't his brother remember Donghae? As far as he knows Hyukjae only got a few number of friends so it will be really hard to forget them. And he never heard him mention the brunette before. He quirked his eyebrows until he remembered something.

"I remember something." He started and Donghae looked at him with interest and urged him to continue. "Umma told me that hyung fell into deep depression when he was young. He was once a jolly and outgoing kid but because of an incident, he became what he is now. An introvert and a loner.

It's got something to do with a close friend of him but Umma didn't say who he was. Hmm.. She also said that he got attached to that child that it made him so sad when they were separated. What's worse is that they didn't have communication after that." Key finished with a shook of his head. He felt pity towards his hyung actually. That's why he was glad that Donghae and Henry came and made his brother smile again.

"But.. Why did he lose his memory?" Donghae couldn't help but ask. He's never good when it comes to observing and dealing with people and the topic is just making him even more confused than before.

"Hyukjae hyung's mind chose to forget that part of his life."

"Can you.. elaborate everything?"

"Because of people experiencing hardships or pain, they sometimes unconsciously block a memory in them making it bury deep in their sub-consciousness. It's like a selective amnesia. They choose to forget a certain event to keep themselves from being hurt."

Donghae felt a tear fell in his eye but didn't bother wiping it away. Key looked sympathetically at him and sighed. Guess he now knows who that childhood friend of his hyung was.

"Why did you lost communication?"

"Our family faced bankruptcy and the business partners of Appa forced us out of our house. We weren't able to get anything but that only picture to which thankfully, I was hugging back then when those people came." He told Key pertaining to the old photo of him, Hyukjae, and Siwon. "Luckily our dad has a Chinese friend so we fled to China and started a new life there." He heaved a sigh and looked at the old picture hanging on the wall. "I was able to go back here only a few years ago since Umma wanted to go back and live here in Mokpo while I decided to stay at Seoul. But I only saw him this year which is surprising since we're living at the same building and immediately told myself not to lose him anymore."

"He just transferred there recently. He told me about something that pulled him to that place. I guess it was you." Key commented with a small laugh and Donghae chuckled back. Maybe fate is already doing its job on letting them meet once again. It's not like he knew beforehand that Hyukjae transferred there. He himself was also surprised when he saw the blonde that day inside the elevator and he was too overwhelmed to think about anything. Thanks to his self-control or else he might have jumped on him that day and scared the heck out of Hyukjae. 

"You're... not angry at me?" Donghae asked before he could even stop himself. His dongsaeng looked at him with his brows raised and scoffed.

"Yeah I think I should. You don't know how hard it was for me to force him outside just to play with me when we were younger. He will always turn beet red because of shyness whenever he'll see other kids and I, being his good brother, decided to stick by his side and never leave him alone." Key said and the older looked down in slight embarrassment. "But, I gotta thank you." He shot his head up and saw Key genuinely smiling at him. "When the two of you came, I finally saw that true smile my brother was hiding all these years. It's like you've brought life and color to his dull and lonely world that even I cannot do."

"Just promise me one thing, Lee Donghae." Donghae stiffened when Key called him by his full name with a very serious tone of voice. He gulped and looked at the other with cautious eyes.

"Never hurt my brother again. I may be spoiled and stubborn towards him but I love him very much. If you'll leave him again, I swear I'll hunt you down wherever you might be. Mark my word."

And a scared nod was all that Donghae answered. Scary diva is scary.

 

The next morning went pretty normal. They woke up, fixed themselves, and had a hearty breakfast courtesy of Key and Krystal. That is, until the front door slammed open and an unexpected visitor came.

"Umma I'm home!!"

A loud voice echoed throughout the whole house. Everyone was surprised and immediately went to the living room.

"Siwon-ah!"

"Siwon hyung?!"

"Appa!"

"Huh?"

Different reactions welcomed Siwon at the same time. There he stood by the door with his bags and a big grin on his face. But upon realizing that their mother's not alone, he frowned and scanned the other faces.

"Am I missing something?" The tall man asked no one in particular and all he got was a grin from his younger brother.

"Appa!"

"Oh my baby! Appa missed you so much!" His attention was immediately diverted and cried as he spread his arms and welcomed a running Henry with a bacon in his mouth. The little child swallowed his food first as he showered his father with kisses it felt like Siwon washed his face with Henry's saliva. His small hands reached out to touch his dad's cheeks and giggled. His father is really here. Oh how little Henry missed his epic dad. The father on the other hand didn't mind the unique way of welcoming from his son and just hugged him back real tight. 

"So... Care to introduce me to your visitors?" The dimpled man asked his brother in a teasing manner when his eyes landed on Hyukjae. The two men immediately blushed when they both got the hidden meaning.

"Err.." Donghae cleared his throat. "Hyung, these are Hyukjae and Key. Hyukkie, Key, my brother Siwon."

"Annyeonghaseyo." The two brothers greeted formally. Siwon returned it with a smile.

"It's been a while Hyukkie. Wow you've grown up prettily." He commented and felt Donghae's glare boring holes in him to which he just ignored. Such a jealous fish. "Hi there Key. It's nice meeting you." Siwon continued and Key smiled widely at him.

"So what are you doing here? I thought you're in Seoul?" Siwon asked as they all settled in the living room. Krystal brought freshly made teas and received many thanks from the kids.

"The real question here actually is what are you doing here? I thought you'll come on Wednesday? It's just Sunday." Donghae answered back as he laid his head on Hyukjae's lap. The rest eyed them but he didn't give a care while the blonde blushed but doesn't have the heart to push him away. Key and Henry finally giggled at the two and Siwon just shook his head as he smiled. 

"I'll fetch Henry on Wednesday but I decided to come early just to spend some time here. I never thought that you'll visit Umma."

"I decided to have this short vacation while Mochi's here. Oh well, so what was that thing you told in your mail?" The brunette asked although he's not facing his brother but instead he's looking at Hyukjae's face memorizing each of the blonde's features.

"I want you to work for me at China." The dimpled man blurted out and his dongsaeng bolted up in surprise. Him? In China? He looked worriedly at Hyukjae who already looked paler than he was before.

No! Hyukjae screamed inside his mind. Donghae can't go there now! Not when he's already trying his best to have his memories back! He stared at Donghae who's also looking at him face full of worries.

No! Don't go! Please!

He tried telling him this through his eyes. Silently pleading like he's gonna cry any minute now and Donghae's case is nowhere better.

It was silent after that since nobody dared to say a thing. Even Key was surprised and became worried. How can Donghae fulfill his promise? What will happen to his brother after he'll leave?

Siwon sighed. This is what he's actually expecting. But, this is not his decision. Their father decided to retire and just spend his days with their mother here and maybe he'll be the one that will take care of their branch here in Korea while the two brothers will be responsible to their office in China. It's a lot bigger so it really needed two people to manage it. He can't just say no when he knows their parents deserve anything because of the hardships they faced before their lives became this well-off.

"I'll give you time to decide. Maybe calling Appa will help you and I'll just wait for your answer once we're in Seoul." He said calmly. Donghae gave a small nod as he stared into space with many things going crazy inside his mind.

The brunette knows that his brother won't decide on something if it's not important or is not the only option they have. He's always been the fair person. He'll first weigh things thoroughly, inspect its pros and cons, and decide to choose what the best for the majority is. That's why he's sure there's a major reason why he told him this despite the fact that he knows how Donghae wants to stay in Korea because of Hyukjae.

"Can't you just stay here for the whole week? Man I'm gonna be stuck alone with Siwon for days. How could I even put up with a troll of a son?" Krystal childishly whined as she looked at Donghae and the rest putting their bags to her son's car and a pouting Siwon standing beside her. The brunette laughed at her as he approached their mom and hugged her tight. "I promise I'll call often. And we'll soon come back here to visit you." He tried to reassure her as he patted her head.

"Pinky promise?" She asked with a pout as she cutely raised her pinky.

"Pinky promise." Her youngest son answered as he hooked his pinky finger with hers. Everybody watched the scene with a smile on their faces. Like mother like son.

"Oh and promise to bring Hyukkie and Key with you okay?!" She excitedly beamed and Donghae laughed out loud and nodded at her. After a few goodbyes and a last final wave, they all left the house still with their lips stretched in a wide smile.

The red orange sky made the air slightly warm it was a very good time to travel even though it was a lazy afternoon and there were barely any people around. Hyukjae's eyes scanned every place they passed and can't help but frown a bit. Can he still come back here? He sighed. He tore his gaze from the sky and looked subtly at Donghae. He's too immersed in his driving that he didn't notice the blonde's eyes on him. What Hyukjae doesn't know is that Donghae was not that into his driving but was thinking of other things, like his brother's offer.

"Hae.."

"Ne?"

"...... Nothing."

The brunette stared sideways and saw Hyukjae biting his lower lip. He knows the other wants to ask him something but didn't push the topic further. He doesn't want to make the atmosphere awkward and suffocating for the two of them. Maybe they can just discuss everything once they're home. 

A/N: not proof-read..

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! :D