It’s been a while since Hyuk’s been to N’s place. He sees N all the time but never at N’s home. Now that he thinks about the last time he’s been here was the day Ken left for New York.  The five of them Hyuk, Ravi, Hongbin, Ken, and N spent the whole day here playing games and joking about old times until nightfall and it was time to send Ken off.  As he wondered the halls of the house Hyuk couldn’t believe how everything was exactly the same as it was a year ago except the fact that Ken’s room was completely bare. Once he reached the end of the hall he stood in front of a closed door, and he knew exactly what was on the other side. He reached for the knob slowly but swiftly pulled back once his hand made contact with it. He couldn’t do it. He wasn’t strong enough, two years and he still couldn’t walk through that door.

“Couldn’t do it huh?”

“No…” Hyuk said wearily.

“Why don’t we do it together?”

Hyuk turned to face Hakyeon who was standing close behind him. “Are you sure? I know it’s hard for you too.” 

“Which is why this is something we both need to do…together.” N said as he grabbed the door knob gently turning it. “Ready?”

Hyuk nodded “Yes.”

Hakyeon pushed the door open walking inside for the first time in two years, Hyuk following close behind.

“Is it weird that the world isn’t falling apart right now?” N asked.

“I know what you mean,” Hyuk replied as he walked around the room. “I actually feel better after coming in here.”

The two sat on the bed and stared at all the photos on the wall, filled with a sense of closure.

“You know he would so kill us right now for being on his bed.”  Hyuk said with a smile.

N laughed, “He so would.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ravi called standing in the doorway. “Ken’s here.”

            As the car pulled into the driveway, Ken glared at the house in front of him. He missed being home, back in Korea. New York was great but being away really made him understand the saying “There’s no place like home”.  He was excited to be reunited with his friends who were like brothers to him, but a part of him was saddened still holding on to the memories of the former group of six. He would never forget the pain of that night two years ago and sometimes he wishes it was him who had died so he’d never have to live with this grief and regret of losing someone so close to him. However he wasn’t going to let that part of him drive him away again, he was here to stay a new Ken, a stronger one.

            The car engines no longer roared and the car was still.

            “Fighting!” he chanted to himself, unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out of the car. He looked up to see Hongbin on the front porch greeting him with a wave and a bright smile.

“Binnie~,” he yelled in return matching Hongbin’s bright smile as well. “You’re not just gonna stand there are you?!”

A bit flustered Hongbin chuckled embarrassingly before running to hug Jaehwan.

“How you been?” he asked releasing himself from Ken’s grip.

“It was amazing Binnie,” Ken began. “But I’ll tell you about it more once I’m settled in ok?”

“Ok.”

As Jaehwan lead Hongbin to the bags in the trunk, he was suddenly tackled to the ground and embraced in a tight hug.

“Jaehwanie~ I missed you!”

“Hakyeon!” Jaehwan shouted as he returned the hug.

“Wow, whatever happened to a simple hello?” Hyuk teased as he stood over the two men hugging on the ground.

“Hyuk!” Jaehwan yelled excitingly as he pulled him into the hugging session on the ground.  “I’ve missed my giant baby~!”

Hyuk closed his eyes, cheeks bright red from embarrassment, he hoped that if he was blind to what was happening right now that others who passed by this horrific scene would be too.  Ravi laughed as he watched his brother try to squirm his way out of the impossible.

“Hey Jaehwan,” Ravi greeted as he maneuvered around the three on the ground and met Hongbin at the back of the car to help with the bags.

“Ravi!” Ken squealed as he reached out a hand in Wonshik’s direction. “Come here!”

“No thanks, I don’t want any part of that.” 

“Boo, you party pooper.” Jaehwan said as he got up from the ground, dusting the dirt off his clothes.  He then walked over to Ravi embracing him in a tight hug, causing Ravi to drop some of the bags in his hand. “Hey! Be careful!” Ken scolded as he bent to pick up the dropped bags. “These are my delicates.”

            After having a fit of laughter over Ken’s ridiculous statement, the five men began to remove Ken’s things from the car and into the house until the once bare room became full again. Once they were finished N ordered some chicken and they all gathered in the living room to watch Superstar-K together.  Everything was just the same as it’s always been, as if Ken never left. They all joked around and played games together while they all brought Ken up to date on what he missed while he was gone, the new and upcoming idols groups, the hottest comedians, top shows, and of course what they had been up to over the past year. In return Ken told them about his life in New York, his time on Broadway, the awkward culture changes, the food, and of course his hot co-star who he just happened to date. This went on for hours until the night when the boys grew tired and Hongbin, Hyuk and Ravi began to leave.  After saying their goodbyes Ken and N stared to clean up.

            “I can’t even put into words how much I missed this,” Ken said as he dumped the empty chicken containers in the trash.

            N smiled as he turned to face Ken, “Me too, it’s been too long.”

            “We should do something again this weekend” Ken said excitingly. “We should go to the zoo!”

            “The Zoo?”

            “Yeah!”

            N stood there with a confused look plastered on his face. “Why?”

            “I went to the zoo all the time in America. It’s really fun I promise.”

            N tapped his fingers against his chin, “Ok, let’s do it!”

            “Yay!” Ken squealed in excitement. “Goodnight Hakyeon~” he chimed as he skipped gleefully to his room.