2009:

For as long as Seunghyun had known him, Jiyong had always gushed about babies. It didn’t have to be a human baby either. A little kitten or a small puppy would have Jiyong cooing in seconds. He remembers how Jiyong was when he first got Gaho. He was always carrying him around, playing with him, feeding him, watching him sleep. He bought him every toy he could find. Gaho was his everything.

“Look at him,” Jiyong gushed in a dreamy voice.

Seunghyun didn’t even lift his eyes from the game he was playing. “He’s sleeping Jiyong.”

“I know,” Jiyong continued in that dreamy voice. “Isn’t he adorable?”

Seunghyun paused his game then. He looked at his friend staring lovingly at the puppy curled up on a blanket next to him on the floor, and not for the first time, he felt a pang of jealousy. He wished Jiyong would look at him like that too.

“Do you even hear yourself, Jiyong?” Seunghyun scoffed.

“Whatever, you’re just jealous,” Jiyong mocked, sticking out his tongue.

“Me? Jealous? Why would I be jealous of that?!” Seunghyun asked, pointing his socked toe at Gaho. Am I that obvious?

“Because I don’t call you adorable,” Jiyong answered, gathering the tiny puppy in his arms, blanket and all, and heading to his room. “Good night, hyung.”

2011:

Seunghyun never thought his dreams could come true. He and Jiyong were together. Finally. And right now they were out promoting the fruit of their love, GD&TOP VOL.1. They were on the street, fans surrounding them left and right, screaming their names. Jiyong was walking beside him, rubbing his hands together against the winter cold. Suddenly, the host of the program spotted a little girl in the crowd and decided to bring her up to them.

As expected, a huge smile lit up Jiyong’s face as soon as he laid eyes on the little girl.

“Do you know who these two people are?” the MC asked the girl.

The girl nodded. “That’s Jiyong Oppa,” she said pointing her gloved hand at Jiyong, whose smile got wider if that was possible, “and TOP Ahjussi,” she concluded, pointing towards Seunghyun.

Seunghyun’s eyes widened. Ahjussi? He must’ve heard wrong. He turned towards Jiyong. “Did she call me ‘Ahjussi’?”

Judging by the way Jiyong doubled over in laughter, he had heard right. Is it because of the white hair? Seunghyun asked himself, a hand going up to fluff his hair nervously.

Later that night, back at the studio, Seunghyun was still pouting. He was sitting in his chair, swiveling left and right, when two small hands rested on his shoulders. “You need to let it go, Seunghyun,” Jiyong said in an amused voice, placing his chin on top of Seunghyun’s head and wrapping his arms around his neck.

“I should just dye my hair black again. Or I should just retire. Apparently I’m old enough to,” Seunghyun murmured. He was only a year older than Jiyong, how come he was called Ahjussi? It made him feel like a creep.

Jiyong laughed at his musings. “Well if you must know,” he said, swiveling Seunghyun in his seat to face him, “I love your white hair.” He lifted Seunghyun’s chin with his index finger, his eyes drifting down to Seunghyun’s lips. “I love you,” he whispered before merging their lips together.

*

They were in London, a slight detour on their way to Belfast, Ireland where they have been invited to attend the MTV EMAs. It was a huge honor, considering the rough patches they had earlier in the year. They decided to make the most out of their stay in London and take advantage of the scenery and take pictures for their photobook.

That’s how they ended up here, in a small beautiful local park somewhere in London, with autumn leaves covering every surface available.

When they first arrived at the park, it was empty, but as the day went on, mothers brought their kids over to play. And Seunghyun had never seen a more breathtaking sight than Jiyong standing on top of a small hill, looking at the kids running around with a fond look in his eyes.

Seunghyun sidled up next to him. “They’re so cute, Seunghyun,” he purred. “Look at them,” he pointed to one of the smaller kids as he rode his tiny bicycle around the park. “I just want to get married and have kids of my own as soon as possible,” Jiyong admitted.

Seunghyun nodded, wrapping his arm around Jiyong’s shoulder. “Do you want a boy or girl?” he asked, choosing not to comment on the marriage part.

“It doesn’t really matter to me, I’ll love them both the same. But a small part of me wants a baby girl,” Jiyong blushed. “I want to dress her up, brush her hair and take her to ballet classes,” Jiyong gushed. “She’s going to be my everything.”

“Sounds like you’re going to love her more than you love me,” Seunghyun pretended to sulk.

Jiyong giggled at his hyung’s pout. “I have room in my heart for both of you,” he assured him, standing on his tip-toes and placing a quick peck on Seunghyun’s cheek.

Seunghyun’s cheek burned.

2013:

Seunghyun sat in the back room watching Jiyong perform for thousands of fans in a tiny monitor screen. He was up next. He straightened his black tie, smoothed over his red suit, and as Jiyong's song came to an end he took his place backstage.

He was nervous to say the least. Things have been—strained—between him and Jiyong lately. And between him moping in his home and Jiyong flying off on his solo word tour, they haven't been able to patch things up, and the problems...festered.

But here he was anyway. He had agreed to guest in one of Jiyong's concerts for the sole purpose of trying to talk things out with Jiyong. He had tried when they met up in Nagoya, but things hadn't gone according to plan. They finished the concert, went out for sushi, and talked about everything except them.

Seunghyun planned to put an end to this. He missed Jiyong. It's true that it was mostly his fault that they split up, and that only makes it hurt more. The fact that he was the one to push Jiyong out of his life did a number on him. Whenever he had envisioned their future, he always thought that Jiyong would be the one to get tired of him first. That Jiyong would be the one dumping him.

Life is ironic.

"Seunghyun! You're up in 1 minute!"

Seunghyun gave himself a once over in the mirror, straightened his tie one last time and headed out to the stage.

*

That night Seunghyun asked Jiyong to meet him in the hotel bar for a drink. Just one drink. Huffing a sigh, Jiyong agreed.

He sat on a stool at the bar table waiting for Jiyong, thinking about what he should say. He didn't think Jiyong would give him another chance, hell he didn't think he deserved another chance. But he did want to at least remain friends.

He was pulled out of his thought by Jiyong taking a seat on the stool next to his, mumbling a hello. After ordering his drink and taking a sip, he finally turned his attention to Seunghyun.

"So. What did you want to talk about?"

"I...uh....I just...um" Se