[A/N: to make this less confusing, everything that happens here takes place 24 hours (so a day) before chapter 23. I hope that makes sense, if not please do comment and tell me and I'll try to clarify any confusion. Enjoy~]

 

 

Kevin woke up to a blur, his head hanging low as he emerged from a bedroom and into the living room. He could hear clacks and clattering of pot in the kitchen. Wrapping a sheer thin while blanket around his body securely over his shoulders like a distressed princess, Kevin got out of bed and followed towards the direction of the noise.

 

"Oh here's the princess!" AJ turned around from the hot stove with a spatula in his hand and a smile. "Good morning, well, actually good afternoon."

 

Kevin stared at him in disbelief, his grip on the blanket tightened as he chewed the inside of his mouth in nervousness. At times like these were the worst for you didn't know what he'll do next. From sad to happy to ranging anger and back again, AJ was a bundle of surprise.

 

After a night filled with nothing but pain and yelling, Kevin expected to see a crying AJ in a corner somewhere this morning. At least that's how it always went before. 

 

Kevin started to say something but he held his tongue, lips trembling he asked, "Why are you always like this Jiseop?"

 

AJ stared at the younger, not saying anything. After a few seconds he stepped in front of Kevin and reached for his face. His eyes took in every feature; slightly sunken cheeks, dark circles hung low around his eyes, pale soft skin and unnaturally redden cheeks as he gently it with his thumb. All features he's created.

 

AJ gently his bruised lips. He breathed deeply for a few seconds before sighing and dropping his hand. "If only I had an answer for you Kevin. If only." AJ stared at Kevin for a few seconds more before abruptly turning away and walked in to the bathroom. He the bath tub faucet and let it run before coming back to Kevin who was sitting on the couch. Crouching by his side, AJ laid a hand on top of Kevin's hand that flinched back strikingly and stared frighten at him.

 

"I'm not going to hurt you Kevin." AJ looked sadden by Kevin's attempt to move away from him but kept his hand on top of his.

 

"Too late."

 

AJ smiled. "C'mon, let's get you washed up. I'll buy you lunch after." Helping Kevin get up, AJ wrapped the thin white blanket sheets around Kevin more securely as the two went into the bathroom where AJ closed the faucet and Kevin stood in front of the bath tub.

 

After testing out the temperature of the water with a dip of his hand, AJ turned to face Kevin and motioned for him to get in. "I'll leave you to get washed."

 

Kevin stayed standing in front of the tub, leering distantly at his reflection on the surface of the water. Letting the blanket slip off from his shoulders, Kevin climbed inside of the tub wrapping his arms around his leg as he sat there. Minutes passed by and Kevin stayed in his previous position, his cheek resting on his left knee.

 

Almost half an hour passed by when the bathroom door opened quietly and AJ came inside holding a towel. He set it on top of the sink counter and approached Kevin who seemed unfazed by his presence. Kevin released one hand from his leg and began slowly swaying his hand across the water sending ripples across the other side of the tub. AJ climbed inside of the tub behind of Kevin who scooted up a bit as he entered the water, both legs on either side of Kevin. His jeans completely soaked now along with half of his shirt. 

 

"You'll get wet." Kevin said quietly as AJ got in, hands still swaging in the water.

 

"I know."

 

AJ came closer to Kevin, pulling him to him so his back would be almost near his chest, a thin line of air barely separating the two. Laying his hands on the back of Kevin's shoulder AJ rested his chin on the crook of his neck. The air was light as the two did nothing but listen to the other’s breathing. It was absolutely quiet, so quite it was as if you could hear other people's dreams. So quiet you could hear everyone's fears.

 

Kevin felt a small trinket of something wet hit his shoulder followed by a few more. Without turning his head to see, he knew AJ would say, it's the same thing he's said since the first day he's met him. Kevin felt a hand tremble softly on his shoulder and a soft whisper.

 

"Thank you."

 

[Flash back]

 

"Who's that?

 

"Who?"

 

"Him." Kevin pointed his finger at a darken shadow of a boy hiding behind a door a few feet away, remembering that pointing is rude he slowly drew his hand back. "The boy standing over there."

 

Taking his eyes away from the TV screen Kiseop turns around to where Kevin was pointing at. 

 

"That's just Jiseop Hyung." Kiseop replied and turned his attention back to the TV, un-pausing the game and started playing again.

 

"Jiseop Hyung?"

 

"Mhm, Jiseop Hyung."

 

"But I thought you were an only child."

 

"My dad remarried remember, this is my step mom's son."

 

"But... why haven't I seen him around here before then until now?" Kevin continued to look at the hidden boy who seemed to look back at him with just as much curiosity whereas Kiseop keep his attention to his video game as he replied back to Kevin's countless questions.

 

"He's been living with his dad… his father got remarried so he’s living with us now. Kevin, are you going to play or not, come on we can't take over the castle if you just stand around there doing nothing!" Kiseop excreted, blindly trying to shake Kevin's leg to get his attention with his eyes still glued to the TV.

 

"Ugh.. Yeah yeah I'm playing." Kevin half-heartedly took the remote control into his hands and randomly pressed buttons. He kept looking back over his shoulder to look at the strange boy who was still hiding.

 

"Kiseop why don't we ask that boy- I mean Jiseop Hyung if he wants to play too?"

 

"Nope. Hyung doesn't play video games or at least he doesn't when I ask him to. Actually now that I think about it he never seems to want to do anything with me when I ask him to. He kind of just likes to be alone I guess. Oh shoot!" Kiseop shot his hands in the air when his character was slain by a flying dragon. "We were so close to winning! Let's try again Kevin."

 

"Oh... yeah." Kevin looked at Kiseop and smiled. He turned his head back but the boy was gone.

 

 

"Hi I'm Kevin. Kevin Woo." Kevin stuck his hand out at the older boy in front of him; he was standing in front of Kiseop's front door outside. Ever since Kiseop told Kevin of his newly found step-brother Kevin's taken an interest the older seeing as he was quite mysterious and strange. But every time Kevin tried to catch a glimpse of him at Kiseop's house he never seemed to be around. Either that or he was hiding off inside of his room.

 

On that particular day Kevin has chosen to head over to his cousin's house for a quick visit before dinner, his mom had baked some cookies and told him to share them with Kiseop. That and it was just another excuse to get him outside of the house and out of the way as they were beginning to pack up for America leaving just Kevin in his aunt and uncle's care.

 

When Kevin ringed the doorbell though no one answered, upon ringing it three times Kevin was about to give up and leave when he heard a small crack of the door opening. Turning around he saw a tall brownish-black haired boy standing behind of the door, half of his body concealed behind the wooden frame. That was when Kevin took the opportunity to introduce himself for this chance may never come again.

 

Jiseop stayed behind the door, neither moving a muscle nor speaking a word. After having his hand up for about a minute or so Kevin dropped it and smiled. "I'm here to drop off some cookies for Kiseop, is he home today?"

 

Jiseop stared at Kevin.

 

"Umm... is aunty and uncle home?"

 

No reply. This was starting to get frustrating. Not refusing to get beaten down, Kevin walked up to the door and entered. "Ah well since they're not home I'll just wait for them here. Umma doesn't really want me to be home right now either, she think's I'll just be in the way when they're packing up their stuff."

 

Kevin walked towards the living room and sat down in the middle of the long couch, Jiseop stood at the door locking it without saying a word.

 

"Oh right, well I'm not sure if you know this or not and maybe you do but I'll just tell you again anyways if you don't know but I'm going to be living here from now on." Jiseop gave no response to whether he has heard Kevin or rather even cared to what he was saying but Kevin had somewhat grown used to the boy's silence and continued talking happily. "Yeah my mom, dad and sister are moving to the U.S since dad got that work promotion but I decided to stay here since well you know I like it here." Kevin smiled at Jiseop who was standing near the couch besides him but didn't sit down.

 

"Aren't you going to be lonely?" 

 

"Huh?" Kevin was surprised by Jiseop's sudden unexpected question, he thought he would just be talking to himself all day with Jiseop staring blankly back at him.

 

"Your mom, dad and sister won't be here... aren't you going to be lonely?" Jiseop repeated his voice a little louder than over a whisper.

 

"Oh.. Well I guess but it's not like its goodbye forever. It's like goodbye for now. And besides," Kevin smiled at Jiseop. "I have you and Kiseop to hang out with now."

 

Jiseop stood still, his expression blain for a second but then he slowly cracked a small smile.

 

"Thank you."

 

[End of flashback]

 

Kevin woke up to a light motion of his body being rocked to the side and the tugging of his seat belt across his chest.

 

"Oh good you're awake. You can order your own lunch then; I never know what to get you since you always seem to be so picky with your food." AJ glanced at Kevin dozily waking up in the passenger seat beside him as he drove through the city to a restaurant and smiled. "Did you really not get enough sleep last night?" 

 

Kevin shot him a dirty glare to which he laughed at. "Too early to joke I see. Okay that's fine I'll just quietly drive. Though by the way what were you dreaming about, you kept mumbling things in your sleep."

 

Kevin sat up right in his seat and adjusted his seat belt comfortably across his chest to make it feel less straining. "It was nothing." He ignored AJ's questioning look and viewed out his side window at the city passing by. Its 1:25PM right now, Eli should be back from morning classes by now and heading home thought Kevin.

 

I should be home right now..

 

 

After Kevin and AJ had a brief lunch break they headed back to AJ's apartment where they stayed and watch a movie together. AJ sat on the couch leading on the arm of it with a pillow, and Kevin lying back on the couch sitting on the floor with a thick blanket underneath him. Every so often AJ would nudge Kevin's back with his knee.

 

When they finished their movie AJ got up to close the TV and saw Kevin dozed off on the floor, leaving him there to rest he went to the kitchen to cook dinner. The rattling of the pots and pan along with the sizzling of chicken arouse Kevin from sleep. He rubbed his eyes as he got up and went to the fridge to get a glass of water. AJ continued to cook a few feet away from him.

 

Kevin opened the refrigerator door and searched for a bottle of water, his eyes went over a few items on the shift; milk, butter, bottle of ketchup, kimchi stored in a plastic container, an empty shift on the door side. Kevin frowned. "What happened to all of your medications?"

 

Kevin peaked his head from behind the refrigerator door and said louder, "Jiseop."

 

"I don't take them anymore." AJ answered, his back towards Kevin, the smell of finely seasoned chicken filled the air with sounds of hot sizzling pan oil soaking inside of the chicken.

 

"Why not?" Kevin closed the refrigerator door.

 

"I don't need them."

 

Kevin stared closely at AJ's back. “Jiseop.”

 

“Do you like want your chicken baked or grilled?”

 

“Jiseop, why don’t you take your medications anymore?”

 

“I think I’ll just bake both of them, it’s much more healthier that way.” Jiseop said more to himself than to Kevin, ignoring his previous question.

 

“Jiseop.” Kevin said louder and stronger this time which got Jiseop to glance at him.

 

“I said I don’t need them anymore okay.”

 

Kevin stared at AJ, "I should be going now then." and turned to leave but AJ grabbed his risk hastily. 

 

"Wait. It's only 7:30 though."

 

"Jiseop its dark outside already, I need to go home. My part of the agreement for this day is done. Goodbye." shaking AJ's hands off from his risk Kevin went to grab his jacket lying on a coat rake.

 

"Please stay." AJ stood outside of the kitchen, Kevin at the end of the hall with his jacket on and ready to leave with his hand on the door knob.

 

"I can't." Kevin turned the door knob and opened the door.

 

"Please."

 

Kevin paused.

 

"Please. Just this once."

 

Kevin turned around and looked at AJ. They both held glances.

 

Every night. Every touch. Every encounter. It’s always been the same with Jiseop. Even looking back, he always had the last words.

 

Even now.

 

"I only ask of this this once."

 

 

[A/N: this is now Tiffany and Dongho's side of the story. again, remember it’s 24 hours before chapter 23]

 

"I swear Shin Dongho if I even dare find a small chip crumb on my couch when I get back from morning classes I will kick you little out the window!" Tiffany yelled as she ran out the door.

 

"Love you too Umma bye!"

 

"Shut up you little boy child, you're so luck that I'm late for class otherwise I'll strang-" Tiffany's voice was cut off as she got too out of reach for Dongho to hear her from the living room. He sat cross legged on the couch by himself still in his pj's with a big bag of cheese flavored chips nested in his lap with the TV in front of him playing 2 Days and 1 Night.

 

Dongho didn't have any classes today since he's only class was biochem which got cancelled due to his professor suddenly leaving town to visit his sick mother in the country side. His plan for that morning was to just lie around and watch TV but that changed when he accidently knocked over Tiffany's favorite full length mirror that morning while trying to borrow a bottle of lotion from her room after taking an early shower from sleeping over the night before.

 

He doesn't understand why Tiffany would freak out so much about just a mirror but she was extremely furious when she woke up to glass breaking in her room. At first she rose out of bed, her eyes taking a second to adjust to the light. Then she scanned over the scene laid out before her; Dongho standing frozen near the foot of her bed, a bottle of lotion in his hand and her full length mirror broken to bits on the floor.

 

It didn't take long before she exploded and kicked him out of her room. And after much more yelling and scolding, Tiffany was almost late to school and had to rush out, leaving her yelling behind under later.

 

Feeling bad for causing this much trouble for her, Dongho wanted to at least help her clean up the broken glass left in her room so he went inside her room once again.

 

"Well mission complete!" Dongho announced to himself after successfully brooming away the broken glass. He was just about to leave when he noticed a large glass fragment lying underneath Tiffany's bed. "Oh I missed one, wouldn't want her to step on this by mistake." Dongho bend down to the ground to pick up the small shard of glass but noticed something else instead. A dusty black guitar case with the initials "P.H.J".

 

 Park Ha Joon.

 

Distracted by his father's old guitar case which is for some reason underneath Tiffany's bed Dongho wasn't looking when he grabbed the broken glass and accidently cut himself. "Ouch!"

 

Pulling his hand back sharply, Dongho put his bleeding finger to his mouth and some of the blood away. He picked up the broken glass again with his other hand carefully and noticed something odd. Taped to the back of the mirror was an old black and white photo was his father and Tiffany. 

 

They were embracing and smiling happily, almost as if they were laughing out loud. They're eyes not even concerning the camera but more at each other as Dongho's dad had his arms wrapped around his waist and Tiffany being nearly picked up off the ground and a huge giggling smile on her lips. They looked happy.

 

"Ugh-hem."

 

An awkward cough from behind Dongho made him flinch; he quickly looked behind him to see who it was.

 

"Oh it's just you Hyung. What are you doing here?"

 

The man walked towards Dongho and kneeled besides him, slipping the broken glass out of his hands and inspecting his cut. He held Dongho's fingers delicately at a proximal distance from his eyes. "Hmmm, this cut doesn't seem to be that endangering. Just a nice wash, clean band aid and you should be find." The older smiled at Dongho. "I came here to pick up a few things."

 

"Oh okay." Dongho slowly got up and brushed the wrinkles from his pants.

 

"Ga ja."

 

 

Dongho sat at the edge of Soohyun's bed, his hands neatly tucked underneath his legs like a timid school child. He's eye's followed the man scattering casually around the room searching through drawers for items he needed, he packed them into a plain black back pack swung across his shoulder.

 

"Hyung." Dongho called.

 

"Nae?" 

 

"Do you know anything about my Dad?"

 

The man stopped what he was doing; stuffing a pair of boxer shorts into his backpack, and looked at Dongho. "Yes. Yeah I know some things about your Dad. Though I'm pretty sure they're things you already know. Why do you ask Dongho?"

 

"I don't know..." Dongho lowered his voice, his eyes fixed on his hands which were pulling on a loose tread from Soohyun's blanket. "It just seems that the more that I think about it, I don't actually know anything about my Dad. It seems like everyone else has this sacred beautiful memory of what my dad once was but me. I..." Dongho stopped what he was about to say and stayed quiet, still pulling on that loose tread.

 

The man waited for Dongho to continue but when he didn't he let it be and got back to packing. Once he was satisfied with what he packed, he zipped up the back pack and laid it next to Soohyun's bed before sitting down besides Dongho.

 

He didn't say a word; he didn't pat Dongho's back or try to talk to him. He simply sat beside him, looking around Soohyun's room and quietly humming to himself. 

 

A few minutes passed before Dongho spoke. 

 

"I didn't know Dad played the guitar..." Dongho said quietly.

 

"Mhm."

 

"It’s just..." Dongho got quiet, his voice drifting. "He never once played the guitar to me. Not once. And supposedly he was this amazing singer yet I've never heard him play or sing once... I... I don't know my own father."

 

Dongho sniffled, his hand covering his mouth as his lips began to tremble softly and on the brick of tears.

 

"Your father gave that mirror to Tiffany when they first met." 

 

Dongho looked up at the man who was looking straight ahead, not at the dresser in front of him but almost as if he was looking straight into the past. 

 

"It was one of the first and last thing he ever gave her." the man chuckled. "She never quite liked the fact that just because he was older and had money that he could just go out and buy her expensive things. But she only approved of that mirror." he got quiet, a sad smile creasing onto his lips. "Along with the guitar, it's one of the only things she kept of him. Since his parents knew nothing of their relationship, she wasn't able to keep any of his belongings. As far as his parents knew she was a complete stranger, and you don't just give you dead son's belongings to a stranger."

 

Dongho quickly wiped his eyes and listen carefully to Hyung's words.

 

"But your Dad’s brother, Nichkhun managed to get them for her. He told her she could take anything she wanted from him but she only wanted the mirror and the guitar. "I only want the beginning... this mirror was the beginning of our love. I’d like to keep It." she said. And yeah.. She only took the mirror. She once told me that every time she looks in that mirror she sees herself and sometimes even a little bit of him inside her."

 

 

Dongho laid his chin in his hands as he peered at Tiffany cooking dinner across the kitchen counter. The man from earlier left after packing what he need, hung out with Dongho for a few hours and said goodbye to him.

 

Tiffany left a voice mail on Dongho's phone after he forgot his phone on the couch when leaving to go to the convenience store nearby to buy some snacks. She told him that she was going to a theater club meeting and will be back around 4. As soon as she got home she started to cook. By then Dongho had woken up from his nap and walked into the kitchen.

 

Not wanting to bother Tiffany, Dongho sat quietly at the kitchen counter while she chopped some onion and tossed them into a pan.

 

"Wae? You're awfully quiet today child. Is my little boy still tired from his nap?" Tiffany teased in a high pitched baby voice she knew Dongho was strongly annoyed of. When Dongho didn't react, she smacked her spatula on the counter. "Yah!"

 

Dongho jumped in a fright and stared at her who smiled at his reaction. "Good boys reply back to their Noma (noona/umma, a specialized word Tiffany recently created for herself after hearing Dongho repeatedly called out Umma at her while she was cooking just to get her attention which got pretty annoy pretty fast. That and she feels old being called umma so Noma) so listen. And I see that you've cleaned up that mess in my room. Thank you Dongie."

 

Dongho still didn't reply and Tiffany didn't have to question to him to find out the reason why. 

 

"Yah Shin Dongho I know you saw the guitar case underneath my bed and the photo of your father and I. I could sense it as soon as I walked into my room, that and you left a little blood stain on my floor."

 

Dongho didn't say anything; he was instead looking off into the distance away from Tiffany who sighed.

 

"Dongho."

 

"Nae."

 

"Are you okay?" Tiffany asked concerned.

 

"Nae."

 

"Dongho." Tiffany said more stern, frowning.

 

"What do you want me to say, that I'm okay? Yeah Dad's death anniversary is tomorrow and sometimes I think about him. And... And I don't know why but it makes me frustrated okay. Because I don't have memories about Dad like everyone else. I don't have memories about him winning the basketball game or baking a cake with him or whatever special memory you had with him and that mirror. I don't have any of those types of memories of Dad. I just... I know nothing about him." Dongho spoke softly at first but as he continued he was practically shouting at Tiffany. He breathed deeply when he finished, catching his breath as Tiffany stood frozen in front of him.

 

"Dongho.."

 

"I'm sorry." Dongho apologized; his head hung low between his hands. "I didn't mean to yell."

 

Tiffany stared at Dongho for a few seconds before running a hand through his bangs and smacked her spatula on the counter hard.

 

"YAH!" she yelled, "if you wanted to know something about you Dad then you could have just asked. No need for this overly dramatic teen spasm thing here, you're way too old for that." Tiffany smiled. "Your Dad was a completely fool okay. Just a weirdo amongst the crowd. The day I first met him he was standing stranded in front of my school with that mirror. He said it couldn't fit in his car when I came up to him and asked him what was wrong. He said that he was moving offices for work and was on his way there when his boss told him to pick up a full length mirror from a shop around here but wasn't able to put it inside of the car because his back and front seat were filled with boxes. Eventually after minutes of trying to find a way to fit it inside he suddenly got a call from his boss urging him to come to work immediately because there was an emergency. He was in such a hurry that he forgot this mirror behind, he was halfway across the parking lot before he yelled out to me "you can have the mirror!" and left." Tiffany smiled and laughed the whole way as she told her story. Dongho couldn't help but smile and laugh along with her with the image of his goofy Dad in his mind.

 

"I guess Dad was always a little weird." Dongho chuckled.

 

"Yeah well I'm glad you turned out all right." Tiffany turned off the stove, took off her apron and walked towards Dongho. She his hair when she got close and smiled. "Dongho I know that maybe at times it may seem like you don't know your father. That it may seem to be that everybody else has beautiful memories of him that you don't. But you have to understand that everyone remembers him differently. Nichkhun remembers him as his loving brother. His mother remembers him as her loving son. And I remember him as a lovely man but you, there's one person who can remember him as you did. There's only one person who can remember him as a loving Dad. Only you know what that was like. And that's a beautiful memory to have Dongho."

 

Tiffany continued to Dongho's hair and smile at him softly, she isn't like this often but when she needs to be she can be especially comforting to those who need her. Her half exaggerated sarcasm can wait till later.

 

Dongho touched Tiffany's hand, "Thanks Umma."

 

Tiffany grinned, "That's what I'm here for. Oh and by the way, who told you about the mirror? I don't remember telling you about that."

 

"Oh, Soohyun Hyung's boyfriend told me."

 

It took several seconds and a few wide eyes blinks from Tiffany for Dongho to realize what he just said. He quickly slapped his hand over his mouth. "I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING." and ran out of the kitchen into his room before Tiffany could get her hands on him and interrogate him.

 

"SOOHYUN HAS A WHAT?"

 

 

Meanwhile deep within the darkness of a bedroom in the mist of night lying sprawled besides AJ on a bed, Kevin had the blanket wrapped around his bare chest. With his back against AJ and face facing the open window, rays of moon light shining into the room overcasting a sheer layer of white across every object it laid eyes on, Kevin closed his eyes and pressed his face closer to his pillow that he used it to hug, imagining it was Eli instead.

 

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I hope no one was confused in this chapter... 

and yay I've updated, seems like it's been forever since that's happened (^_^") And according to our survey no one dies in here... not that I wanted anyone to die aha..ha..ah... yeah I'll think about it (-.-)

Hope you guys are staying bundled in this cold winter weather, lets hope spring comes soon! 

 

thank you for reading and subscribe if you likey~

P.S - omgg this story is almost at 100 subs, wow wow wow WOW. Can you believe it?!! ahhh Thank you so much for those who subscribed! And an EXTRA thank you for those who upvote. Ya'll so sweet.