They had been brought together by tragedy. Their fate started in the wee hours of the night, with a phone call announcing the loss of two cherished human souls. They met among mourners and legal teams. There were shallow talks about inheritance, debts, and the baby. For Bang Young Guk and Kim Him Chan life became a haze, Taecyeon and Guigui were gone, forever. The funeral came and went, the meetings with attorneys soon ebbed away and at the end the only thing left was an orphan. A young child with dark chocolate eyes and a head full of blond curls, a small bundle of tears who missed his parents terribly. By the time that the numbness gave way to pain the dumbfounded males finally realized that Taecyeon and Guigui had left little Zelo to them. Both were shocked, confused, flattered, and so very scared, but neither was going to relinquish his rights to the only remaining connection to the best human beings that they had met. Zelo deserved better, he deserved his parents, but that was no longer possible. Therefore, he got the next best thing that he could have, two caring males whose only purpose in life was to keep a promise of protection and love.

It was in this state of confusion and pain that Yongguk and Himchan started living together with Zelo. It was an awkward cohabitation at the beginning. Yongguk had been best friends with Taecyeon and Himchan had been almost a brother to Guigui. They had never met, Yongguk was always in his studio composing or in the arms of a shapely female, and Himchan… well Himchan was a free soul who loved the finer things in life and was always creating art while traveling around the world.

Their lives had been perfect before what came to be known in their household as “hell” happened. Except that maybe it was not. Neither would ever admit it, but, having to give up their previous lives in order to take care of the bundle of tears had not been as hard as everyone would have imagined it. Himchan had lost himself somewhere through his second tour of Europe, his paintings had lost their beauty and he was sure that somewhere in Asia his muse laid butchered. Before he came to Zelo and Youngguk he had lived in a dark world of insecurities and self-hate. Bang Youngguk had been doing no better. His music had lost its soul, and the endless stream of warm bodies had lost their lure. He came home every night frustrated, uninspired, and disgusted with his life. He would not admit to it out loud, but a month more of the emptiness and he would have landed in alcoholism or some other vice.

The first months were hard on everyone. The two-year-old boy would not stop asking for his parents and would more often than not cry himself to tears. Yongguk and Himchan were not sure of what they were doing or what their role in their improvised family was.

The crying stopped when Yongguk, by accident, discovered that Zelo would calm down when sleeping between him and Himchan. After that night the trio started sleeping in the same bed. The little bundle of tears slowly became able to smile and enjoy his new life again. Since Zelo could not sleep without Yongguk, Yongguk started coming home early. After, Yongguk’s first failed attempt at cooking Himchan took the cooking duties. Slowly, a domestic routine was formed.

By the end of the second year Yongguk surprised Himchan with a studio. It was perfect. In the heat of the moment Himchan jumped into Yongguk’s arms and kissed him straight on the mouth. Yongguk had been surprised at the physical contact with the pretty male, but, soon the shock wore off and he continued the kiss which could have gone a lot further if it was not for Zelo’s laughter and amount of disgust, the type of disgust that can only be properly expressed by a four-year-old.

By the end of the third year the pain had turned into warm memories and wishes. There was often laughter in the house. It was usually a mad laugher of a five-year-old being followed by his dad while playing catch. At others, it was the laughter of a couple in love observing their child shyly making advances towards their next door neighbor’s son. Sometimes, beautiful melodies could be heard from Yongguk’s office. Somewhere along the way, especially after his unrequited feelings for a certain ulzzang had been acknowledged and accepted, his music had found a soul. And what soul it was! It was the type of music that moved people to tears in one moment, anger in the next, culminating with a strong sense of hope for a bright future. As for Himchan, he discovered that the murdered muse had been a fake; his real source of inspiration was always next to him. It was omnipresent, in Zelo’s smile, in the cup of coffee that magically appeared every morning next to his bed, in the arms of his lover, and the gummy smile that welcomed him unconditionally.

Their lives were finally worth living. The healing process had been slow and the pain was not completely gone, but that was fine, because it was a reminder that allowed them live and appreciate the love that they had received from their friends.

Bang Young Guk and Kim Him Chan were brought together by tragedy, but it was not the sadness, the pain, or the endless nights of tears that kept them together. It was love.