“Gotta go, see you tonight,” Daniel gave Henry and Dongwoo’s foreheads a sloppy kiss, grabbed his bag and left just as fast as he ate. The two boys looked tired after the energetic boy, enjoying their breakfast like a pair of lazy zombies enjoying brains they didn’t have to hunt.

“Why do you like him anyway?” Dongwoo stared affectionately at Henry, both warming up to one another and actually trying to have a proper conversation. “I mean, he has a tiny .”

Well, tried.

Henry chose not to answer and finish his food first, drifting to the concert. He wasn’t in the mood for it, yet it was a must, despite finding a secret door that allowed him to skip his duties from the day he got that call. The only reason was the fact that Daniel would be there and after that they could go for another one of their long and fun walks, chatting about every possible subject.

Dongwoo’s hand snapped him out of reverie.

“Hellooo? Earth to Henry!”

“Why don’t you call me hyung anyway?”

“Because I’m older.” Henry mumbled something, going back to his food before Dongwoo poked his side with the spoon. “So tell me, why are you dating my brother? Really now, he’s not that good-looking.” Dongwoo leaned forward, grinning ear to ear near Henry’s annoyed face “It’s the lips, right? Does he put them where it feels the best?”

Henry snatched the spoon from him and smacked it against Dongwoo’s head.

“You freaking moron! is not everything in a relationship!” the spoon hit his head again “JUST BECAUSE WE FROM TIME TO TIME, DOESN’T MEAN I’M WITH DANI BECAUSE OF THAT YOU LITTLE !”

“Why the Hell are you calling me Dani?!”

Henry and Dongwoo stopped, the latter ready to retaliate with a different spoon, turning to a pissed Daniel. He took both spoons, hit their heads and then hugged Henry from the side before leaving him a kiss on the cheek this time around and then leaving for good.

Dongwoo rubbed his head and rolled his eyes the entire time, gathering the plates and deciding it was best to keep distance from the blond.

“I’m getting the results today,” he washed all the dishes, waiting for Henry to say something about it since he was the one that paid in the first place “Are you even the slightest interested?” After abandoning the sink, Dongwoo saw nobody was there. He heard chatting and chuckles outside.  Dongwoo realized those two loved ignoring him.

He decided to scrub the dishes harder, get all the dirt off them and hope the test would not change a thing with his brother, not when he was about to leave for army.

---

The big night of his life came. Heavy curtains secluded the one peeking at the audience, counting new and familiar faces alike.

He saw his brother as always, never missing a single representation. Fancy suit, bored, forever paying more attention to the architecture or some kind of booklet over his lap. Henry thanked he wasn’t playing with his phone, knowing he turned it off and let it rest in his pockets for the entire evening.

To his left, there were two empty seats. The couple who took them were probably not going to make it. With only five minutes to spare, Henry doubted they would arrive in time.

Shifting his eyes to the entrance, he saw a distraught Daniel making his way to the front row. The boy greeted the fancy man, bowing his head in respect before sitting to his right. Despite all the other dazzling dresses or expensive looking suits, Daniel was dressed casually and had flushed cheeks, breathing hard from running all the way there. Henry felt apologetic for making his lover rush straight from work, amused in a way from the way his messy hair and the overall attire mirrored the Daniel he often saw in bed.

Shaking his head, Henry decided to let daydreaming for another time. It could cost him too much. At least he was sure there was nothing else bothering Daniel than the simple “hope I’m not late”, “Henry must be nervous” and “gosh, why are they staring at me?” for most gave him suspicious gazes.

If only Henry could tell the world that person right there was his muse, maybe then they could appreciate better the middle people who only came to have a good time and not join a fashion parade.

“Isn’t that your father?” one of the orchestra members spoke after pulling the curtain back, staring worryingly at the blond. Henry shoved him away to take a better look and true to his words, he saw his father.

Next to his brother, on the two vacant seats, came the man he did not want to see that night with his mother by his side, dressed in a gorgeous black outfit complement by her fine jewelry. He could feel Daniel sinking lower in his chair the moment the old man fixed his stern, cold orbs over the clueless boy.

Henry’s fingers curled around the curtain. Of all the nights, it had to be that one. Fortunately for him, Soohyun was there to save the day. His father seemed to forget about the boy and listened to what his son had to say.

---

“YOU DID WHAT?” Jinyoung spit the beer back in the glass, coughing from the liquid going down the wrong drain. He punched his chest, watching the cheeky Henry smile as if he was auditioning for the Cheshire Cat, perfect teeth showing a perfectly satisfied and somewhat evil grin. “I swear you’re an idiot genius or just plain stupid, what were you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I’m pretty awesome~” the one in question wiggled his eyebrows, still not over the fact that he successfully got his name in the papers, even if it was under a rather unflattering light. “Don’t you see it Jinyoung? I finally stopped following the role they forced me to take all these years.”

“Wow, look who got poetic.”

Henry thanked sarcasm wouldn’t kill the one who dared use it, else, both he and Jinyoung would have been dead by now.

---

There he was, in front of important critics, in front of those that could change his career forever. He only had that one concert to prove he was the best among the young musicians and help the orchestra who had been bearing with him to get the recognition they deserved as well. If he screwed that chance, he could just book his grave spot and give up everything musically.

The violin’s heartbeat surged through his fingertips and up his arm, electrifying his muscles to its tune. Chin over the instrument and ready to start his part, the orchestra went silent one minute after Henry hadn’t done a thing. He remained in the same position, staring at a blank spot, the violin still trapped under his chin.

Henry thought well about it.

Was it worth it? A life like that, dedicated to classical music, despite his soul who yearned for something else? Sure, he loved music. He’d rather become blind than to never experience the thrill of a few well-placed notes and beats capturing him completely.

Was he ready to give up every other option, every other road ahead of him for a single choice that had never been truly his?

“What is he doing?!” one of the orchestra members whispered to the girl nearby, she bobbing her head just as baffled of Henry’s sudden stage fright.

The blond suddenlylifted his head high up from the shadows, spun the violin around and smirked full of pride and greed. Other times, he would have only directed that look at his father or brother, defying both.

Except there was also Daniel and he couldn’t help himself. He was the most gorgeous one in there the moment their eyes locked and Daniel nodded lightly, a smile just for Henry, a smile just for him to carry on. For whatever Henry decided, Daniel would be there to support him until the very end.

“Today I don't feel like doing anything,” he slapped his fingers over the strings, metamorphosing the violin into a ukulele guitar. “I just wanna lay in my bed,” those behind Henry exchanged glances before they shrugged and accompanied the boy. “Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone, 'cause today I swear I'm not doing anything.”

His brother screamed internally for him to cut joking around, most likely adding a curse or two the more his eyes widened and his mouth twisted. Daniel covered his own pair, not wanting to show anybody how much he was enjoying it. The mother approved through the way she tapped her fingers over her leg, stopping only after Henry’s father furiously got up from the chair and yelled for the entire theater to hear, “YOU INSOLENT BRAT!”

Henry on the other hand continued harder, strumming at that violin with pleasure.

“Uh! I'm gonna kick my feet up, then stare at the fan. Turn the TV on, throw my hand in my pants, nobody's gonna tell me I can't.”

“HENRY LAU, YOU STOP THIS INSTANCE!”

“I'll be lounging on the couch, Just chillin' in my snuggie, click to MTV, so they can teach me how to dougie, 'cause in my castle I'm the freaking man.” Henry jumped from side to side, animating the audience with his improvised routine, clowning around for the world to see.

“HENRY!”

“Oh, yes I said it, I said it,” Henry lowered the violin, surprised by what conquered him “I said it 'cause I can.”

He felt freedom, at last.

Free to find happiness.

---

“What happened after?”

“Well,” Henry shrugged, watching Jinyoung crave his his every word. It had been a while since the other actually listened attentively to him. “I sent Daniel home because I knew things would go ugly. For some reason, he didn’t disown me, but…,” Henry whined, grabbing onto his hair “I’ll need to work for five years at the company, ing !”

“Haven’t you told me Amber got you a deal? That couldn't possibly stop you, no?”

“Yeah, but,” Henry finished his beer, not sure anymore if calling Jinyoung after everything that happened for some advice was wise “it’s either that or he disowns my brother.”

“WHAT?!” Jinyoung choked on the beer for the second time that evening. “Christ, your father’s a donkey butthole.”

“Thanks, I know,” Henry rolled his eyes, got up and searched for money to pay the round. “I don’t want to ruin my brother’s life just because I got selfish. Guess I’ll have to cancel my plans for now.”

“I got mines back,” Jinyoung lifted his glass and gulped down the last drops of beer too.

“You’re going to become a kindergarten teacher after all?”

Jinyoung nodded, getting up from his chair as well and taking on his jacket.

“For real this time, I’ve decided.” Henry followed him outside, both welcomed by the night’s breeze and Itaewon’s stench. “I’m going to help children in need so they don’t end up like me.” Jinyoung smiled at the moon, breathing in deeply. “So they have somebody to understand them at that young age.”

“You’re a good guy,” Henry stared at him, Jinyoung not taking his eyes away from the moon. “With your faults and all, you’re still a good guy.”

“I still regret it, you know,” he finally decided to look at Henry instead “what I’ve done. I deserve your hate,” still smiling, still content with how things worked out “so I guess it’s better we don’t see each other for a while.”

“You know I forgave you, right?”

“I still need to forgive myself first before I accept yours.”

Henry laughed and patted his back.

“You finally got Donghae’s , didn’t you?”

Jinyoung pushed him away and kicked Henry’s side.

“SHUT UP!”

Henry laughed, waving him goodbye and heading home.

---

The moment he stepped inside, Henry wondered why it was so quiet. Dongwoo and Daniel must have been talking about the recent events or anything else. They wouldn’t have gone out without him, right?

The two brothers were in front of the sofa, on the floor, equally staring at the large envelope on the coffee table. None dared speak or do something that could make the other flinch and violently attack the one who dared interrupt the silence.

“Hey, what’s the ma---” four evil eyes slapped Henry’s joy into oblivion “…tter?”

“The results are out,” Dongwoo pointed at the envelope, his finger trembling more than his jaw “we don’t know what to do.”

Henry went to their side and when he leaned over to take the envelope, the two leaped from their spots and tackled Henry to the ground.

“NO, NOT YET.”

“DON’T DO IT, PLEASE!”

“LET GO OF ME, YOU HYENAS!” The brothers pouted and helped Henry back on his feet, dusting his clothes and fixing his hair. “Good. Now open the darn envelope, there’s nothing you have to lose. Even if you’re not brothers, you’ve been acting like brothers anyway for years, haven’t you?”

The light bulb on top of Daniel’s head sprung to life.

“That’s right…,” he grabbed the rectangle envelope and touched its fine surface “It doesn’t matter,” only to turn it diagonally and rip it along with its contents to tiny pieces. Dongwoo and Henry gaped, the first tearing up.

“Niel…,” he murmured the name, only for its owner to hug him tight and pet his head.

“It doesn’t matter. Family isn’t about blood. If we want to be brothers, we are going to be brothers.”

He let go of Dongwoo who was sniffing loudly to keep his tears from falling. Henry wondered why he wasn’t dehydrated from how often he cried.

“Daniel…,” the whimper made Henry glare at the crybaby.

Dongwoo bit on his lips and nodded, his hand flying to his forehead. Daniel mimicked his action, saluting the soon to be soldier.

“Do your best for our country!”

Dongwoo gulped and bit harder on his lips. “YES SIR, SIR!” only to burst in tears right after. "Take care of my mother, pleaaaase!"

Of course, Henry thought, it couldn’t have been any other way. He patiently waited for half an hour until Daniel calmed Dongwoo down, threw the pieces of paper in the garbage and led his brother outside to his car. There wasn’t enough time.

“Screw you guys, I’m curious.”

He hurried to the garbage can and picked the pieces, thankful those were the only things in there. Maybe it wasn’t necessarily an asset, yet his love for puzzles might prove useful in completing the information. Or he could just search until he found the right piece with the right data and spare him the hard work. If only there wasn’t a shadow looming behind his back, scaring the out of Henry.

“What are you doing?” Daniel’s abnormally low voice made the blond abandon his little project. He might never know the truth but it was alright. Better than to get murdered by his lover, right?

...right?

Of course I had to use Bruno Mars' Lazy Song... xD speaking of songs, I can't stop rocking to Pretty Boy ;A; Taekai + Jjong lyrics, perfect combo T^T