“Mom, what is a freak?”

A six-year-old boy out of nowhere asked while sitting on his mother’s lap, playing with a small struck toy in his hands.

Still gluing her eyes to the book, his mother winkled her brows slightly

“It’s a bad word Sehunnie. Who taught you that?”

“Am I a freak?” he kept his innocent voice.

That question made the beautiful lady closed her book, put it on the table to hug him tightly, planted a kiss on top of his head.

“Of course not honey. In fact you’re the cutest boy we’ve ever known. But why you ask Sehunnie?”

Still spinning his toy playfully, the small Korean boy stated the matter of fact.

“There is a kid in my class said that only a freak has two moms.”

There was a knot in Chaerim’s stomach as those words suddenly came out of her son’s mouth. She lifted him up and spun him around to face her, cupping his face tenderly

“Listen sweetie, whoever says those things like that, just ignore them. You’re always my and Sora Umma’s precious boy. Remember we love you no matter what okay.”

Sehun thought for a bit before nodded his head.

“I love you too mom.” then he pursed his lips “but why I don’t have a dad mom? Did he left because Sehunnie is not good?”

“No, it’s not that, baby.” Chaerim pulled him into an embrace, rubbing his back slightly so he couldn’t see the teary eyes of her and also a lie she was about to say “He…he’s just not around.”

The not so sweet memory of his childhood woke Sehun up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. So he did make it back to the dorm last night. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to shoo away the slight headache. The last thing he could remember was that he had drunk almost three bottle of soju after taking a bus back to Seoul. There was also a foggy figure and familiar scent of somebody who he had talked to but it was too vague.

 All of those memories told him that it would mean he walked all the way back here, changed his clothes by himself and went to sleep like a good boy. He couldn’t deny it sounded a little weird because in his condition last night, he must have been knocked out someone who was accidently in his way but up til now there was no dead body within his reach so it was kind of relief.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

Or it was too soon to jump to conclusions.

***********

Luhan beamed brightly as he handed the younger boy a bowl of hangover soup he had just made.  He had called D.O earlier to ask the recipe and frankly it’s more complicated than he thought. The first proof was that his index finger was now stuck with a small band aids.

Sehun received the bowl but his eyes dropped on the other’s bandaged finger.

“Are you okay?”

The Chinese pointed his injured hand, grinning wide

“This? Oh, don’t worry. Just a small burn. It’s all right.”

Then he took a seat opposite, enjoyed his own hot choco, a smile never left his face. Sehun secretly peeked at the other, wondered whether he had done something to him because he would never forgive himself if he hurt the Chinese boy in his bad condition like last night. The happy face of the older one made him breathe a sigh of relief.

However, to make sure nothing happened Sehun cleared his throat with a cough, pretending to sound normal.

“Did I wake you up last night hyung?”

Luhan put down the cup, shook his head vigorously.

“No, I was awake then. But you did scare me. It looked like you was going to beat me dead but ended up hu…..”

He was about to say “hugging me for a while” but realized it was too embarrassed to say those thing out loud, his voice trailed off and inaudible.

Sehun narrowed his eyes, leaned in a little bit

“Ended up what?”

“You didn’t remember?” Luhan blinked

There was a slight hesitation before the younger one admitted

“I don’t even know how I got back here, changed my clothes and slept like angel without messing up around.”

The Chinese boy suddenly frowned a bit. So the touching moment last night was just for his own memory now.

“But you didn’t answer my question yet hyung.”

Sehun’s voice snapped him back. His brain started to work hard to come up with a lie “Er…you ended up hurrying to the toilet and stayed in there quite long” he blurted before stood up and headed to the sink to wash his cup.

To look on the bright side, maybe the fact that Sehun didn’t remember some particular events was saving him from giving more hard-to-describe details.

On the other hand, the Korean boy seemed convinced and silently thanked God that he actually didn’t do anything horrible. He looked at the older one who was back facing him, vaguely realized it was too familiar. Without a word, he walked towards the other’s direction and reached out to hug him from behind.

The moment he wrapped his arms around Luhan’s waist and dug his face into the older one’s neck, he swore his heart stopped beating and he knew what he wanted right now. It felt so right that every doubt in his mind before all disappeared. There was no inner voice to tell him his feeling. It was himself who was going to say it.

“Hyung, I li….”

 A knock from front door cut him off, snapped both of them out of that moment but no one wanted to let it go by. Luhan was the first one who stirred and turned aside to break the younger boy’s embrace, rushed to the door with his hard flushing face. He had to stop for a second, hand on the knob, took a deep breath before twisted it open.

There stood the same man who gave him a visit few days ago.

“I want to talk to Sehun, please.”

“Oh, come in please.”

The Chinese boy bowed slightly and stepped aside to invite him in but suddenly there came a hand grabbed the edge of the door to stop him. Sehun was standing behind him, staring at the man, anger was written all over his face.

“I have nothing to do with you.”

“Please, let’s me explain.” The man started pleading, his eyes was showing a hint of pain.

They locked their eyes at each other for a long minute before Sehun felt a hand gripped on his waist.

“Let’s go inside first Sehun ah.”

Luhan whispered, the angelic look of him surely could melt the coldest heart people. Giving up, Sehun let go of his grip and his heels, walking back to the center of the room. When they all settled down (well, Luhan was also pulled down into a seat beside the younger male after finished making them tea), Sehun crossed his arms and lifted his chin up a bit.

“You have five minutes.”

The man took a sip of his tea to gain the courage before slowly telling the story that had been buried at the bottom of his heart for a really long time.

“Minyoung, your mother, was a naïve girl. Even though being born and brought up in America, she always wanted to come back and lived in Korea. After graduated from high school, she persuaded our father to go to college here, her “home land”. One day she suddenly called and told us she was pregnant. My father was very angry, he forced her to have an abortion and immediately went home. She convinced him to let her stay for a little longer under the pretext of finishing her course. Not until she was said to suffer from terminal cancer seven years ago, she told me the truth about giving birth to you and leaving you at a small church in Seoul. I went find you after that but the church had been pulled down and there was no record of your existence. The rest of the story you already knew from our last conversation with your foster mothers.”

He finished with a small sigh, feeling a little relief as the biggest secret of his life finally being revealed.

Sehun remained silent, staring blankly at the helpless man across the table. The story he had just been told surely cleared up queries in his head but it didn’t heal his old wounds. It didn’t change the fact that he had been abandoned, that he had been through a tough childhood.

“Why didn’t she go find me earlier?”

The younger boy spoke up, it sounded like a reproach more than a question.

The man swallowed the lump in his throat, shook his head sadly

“I don’t know. But there is one thing I know for sure that she always regretted leaving you.”

“Oh really?” Sehun rolled his eyes, said sarcastically.

 The man slowly fished out a worn-out notebook, put it on the table and pushed it toward the Korean boy’s direction.

“This is her diary. Just read it.”

Sehun glanced at it for a second, half heartedly wanted to pick it up but his ego stopped him.

“I understand if you refuse to accept us as your family but please, come and visit her grave for once to let her know you are brought up well. It’s her last wish.”

The young boy stood up abruptly, threw a resentful look to the elder man. This was so over his endurance.

“You know what, I don’t care if she regretted or not. I don’t care what she told you before dying. I don’t care of all the bull you are talking about. All I know is that she left her own child right after giving birth to him.”

He stopped to wipe away the tears trailing down his cheek before walked to the front door and opened it harshly.

“So why don’t you get the out of my life and leave me alone.”

“Sehun ah….”

“GO!!”

Sehun’s voice couldn’t get any louder. If it’s not on their semester break and most of students had gone back home or gone out party last night, they could have gotten into trouble.

Luhan frozen in his seat, looking the old man making his way out of the room and jumped out of his skin as the other boy slammed the door close. Without a word, Sehun went straight upstairs leaving the room with a creepy silence.

Remembering something, Luhan quickly stormed out and ran after the poor man who was walking with his head low downheartedly.

“Excuse me” the Chinese boy finally grabbed his elbow to stop him “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

The man startled a bit at the sudden proposal but still nodded his head, letting Luhan lead him outside and settle down on a bench in the campus.

“I don’t have any intention of coming between you and Sehun but I hope you could try to understand and overlook his previous behavior. His mood was really bad since yesterday.”

The man smiled sadly at the young boy who he assumed was his nephew’s roommate.

“I just wish he had a second thought about visiting his birth mom’s grave. She’s my beloved little sister and that’s the only thing could make her rest in peace.”

Luhan bit his lower lip thinking. This man was the one who saved him from sinking deep into his sorrow and made him believe miracle could happen in real life. He wanted to do something to pay back. The Chinese boy reached out to grab the other man’s hand, hesitantly said

“Let’s me try talking him into this.”

The photographer wasn’t sure if he had thought through his offer before said it out loud but the hope which sparkled in the elder man’s eyes gave him enough courage. He smiled back, somehow felt a little pressured.