AN: MERRY Christmas, everyone. Not sure if everyone celebrates it, but wishing people lots of love and peace and good times with family is never too much.

And welcome to my new subscribers. THANK YOU so much for being here and reading ;)

And here some of my favorite of all time: Hermione.

Chapter 7
 

A few years ago

Some days hurt more than others. Minjun played with the ice cubes lost in the amber liquid, his tired eyes watching the movement. Tonight he felt sad and lonely, so he went to a hotel bar to distract himself. 2PM came to Japan for a few promotions and he had a little time to spare. So here he is, accompanied only by his loneliness and his scotch.

These days he was feeling his father's absence more than usual. His chest would tighten when something good happened to him and he felt the urge to share them with his dad. He would smile and grab his phone only to realize he wasn't there anymore. He felt empty, like he only smiles because he had to. When would he get used to it?

He placed his unfinished drink on the bar with a thud. Leaving a big tip to the bartender, he motioned to leave. That's when she sat by his side. Mile long legs wrapped in a tight dress, exotic eyes and long hair. A combination that was both fatal and alluring to Minjun. He gulped and continued to leave and that was when she smiled.

“Hi, what's your name?”

“Minjun. And yours?” he sat down again.

“Yuri,” she said, a coy smile on her perfect lips. He was instantly hooked.






“Appa, are we going to spend the afternoon together?”

Little Soohyun was sitting on the piano bench, still wearing his jammies. There was confusion, even sadness in his tiny features. Minjun ruffled the dark locks and pinched his stomach. The boy giggled loudly, making his heart swell with pride.

“We are going to stay together until tomorrow, okay? And in a little while, a friend is going to visit,” he replied. He is so happy that they could spend the day together his cheeks hurt. “Now what do you want to do?”

“I want to play a little with daddy,” he confessed cutely. His cheeks were red and his tiny fists were poised to touch the piano. He was missing the front teeth, and that made him even more adorable. He pinched his cheeks and pointed the piano.

“Okay, let's play.”

At 4, Soohyun was a music prodigy. A little back they started playing the piano together, just as a father-son activity, but soon after, his son blew his mind. He went from learning really fast to giving Minjun the most amazing performances. With his full attention directed at the black and white keys, his little fingers touched the instrument fastly, but with precision. He played with passion, even though he was too small to know what that was. He even had a song of his own about frogs and other animals.

The sound of notes hit his ears, relaxing his body. He played the perfect melody, music at its perfection. But it wasn't the child prodigy that made him peaceful, it was his son. The small boy with blue pajamas, toothless and dimpled smile and big eyes just like his momma. He was so raptured by the music he failed to hear the bell.

“Daddy, someone is ringing the doorbell.” he said and resumed his playing. He got up and went to answer the door. Taecyeon had arrived. Minjun felt a little a nervous because Soohyun never had much interaction with his old friends, but he wanted to change that.

He barely opened the door when he was wrapped in big arms. When he got over the shock, he hugged Taecyeon back. He still have that same familiar smell, wood and spices, and that brought him comfort.

“I missed you,” Taecyeon said, his voice carrying a little emotion.

“I missed you too, you big cat. It seems that you grew even more,” he said. That earned him a tighter hug, but he didn't mind. He finally let go and Minjun saw the cute toothy grin that weirdly reminded him of Soohyun.

“Come right in,” Minjun offered. His house was a two story house, decorated with warm colors and more family oriented décor. In the past, he would pick a more extravagant setting, but with his son, he had to adapt. Now he lived the life of a family man.

Taecyeon entered shyly and took off his shoes. He was uncharacteristically quiet, but that was his friend when he was in an unfamiliar place.

“Come, let's meet Soohyun.” He grabbed his hand and took him to the music room. He followed, somewhat a little reluctant.

“Yah, he's not going to bite you,” Minjun added with humor.

“Are you sure? Kids kinda scare me.”

“Come already.” They entered to room, but the movement didn't faze Soohyun. He kept playing beautifully, enthralled of his own music.

“Soohyun, meet daddy's friend Taecyeon.” He stopped playing and quickly got up to bow formally to his friend.

“Hello, my name is Kim Soohyun. Nice to meet you,” he said with the cutest voice he could muster. Like a little angel.

“Aish, what a cute kid. I'm Ok Taecyeon, nice to meet you.”

Minjun extended his hand and his son grabbed it. “Let's stay in the living room now,” Minjun added sweetly and took them to the room. There, all of Soohyun's toys were scattered in a center piece. The two friends sat in the sofa, while his kid sat down on the floor. He was ready to talk when his son started talking.

“Hey, ahjussi.” Taecyeon bulged his eyes and pointed his finger at himself to silently ask if he was talking to him.

“Yes, you. Do you like playing?”

“I guess,” he trailed, looking at Minjun for help. He made a 'go ahead' and Taecyeon was at the floor with his kid in a second. Minjun giggled because they were too cute together.

They started playing with cars and other toys and soon enough Soohyun was at Taec's neck while he pretended to be a dinosaur. He rode his friend through the house, laughter sounds echoing in the room, filling his heart with happiness.

Minutes later, the little kid fell asleep. When Minjun made a move to grab the boy, Taecyeon said, “I got him.” He got hold of the tiny body carefully and took him to his room upstairs. When he came back, he smiled brightly.

“He's amazing, Minjun,” he confessed. A tiny corner of his heart felt warm. It was like finally two precious things in his life came together.

“Thanks, man.”

They finally sat down again to talk about the important stuff. He went straight to the point.

“So, how are we going to convince everyone?”

“I think we need to get everyone together at once and talk. Do some dirty laundry talk if we need.”

“Yes, you might be right. But we might have to pull some tricks because Junho is stubborn and Chansung is in a bad place. How is he by the way?”

“I left him sleeping in my house. It's best to let him rest. But you're right. And I just had the perfect idea. You still compose for Junho, right?”

“Yes, why?”

While Taecyeon explained his wacky plan, he couldn't help but smile at his witty remarks. Thinking of Soohyun upstairs and his friend, lively and funny as ever, he finally realized the void inside himself was gone. He would always miss his dad and remember him fondly, but having his kid and his friends by his side, he felt like smiling. Smiling for real.

AN: A sweet chapter for you guys. Just for the record, I based little Soohyun's talents on a 4 yeard old pianist on YT. Go watch, the kid is brilliant and the cutest thing ever.

And thanks for reading and see you soon. Mostly likely the weekend or after because I'm running out of chapters to post.

UP NEXT: Chansung