Nichkhun’s eyes fluttered open. His vision adjusted to the lighting in the room after a slight haze that crossed his mind. He wondered for a second where he was, then realizing he was lying still on a hospital bed. Taecyeon was the only one present in the room. He felt a sense of relief seeing his younger brother safe and sound. 

“Khun,” he saw his brother standing right beside him before he pulled a chair over. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty weak actually,” his voice was dry and coarse. “What happened?”

“Your kidney transplant was successful.”

“They found a kidney donor?”

Taecyeon nodded, clasping his hands together. “It was me.”

Nichkhun didn’t expect his reply. Taecyeon donated his own kidney for him? “You did?”

“I did,” he sighed. “I couldn’t live with the fact of my only brother dying because he caught the bullet for me. I thought it was about time I’ve wanted both of us to have each other’s backs. I don’t want to fight anymore Khun. We’ve wasted several years because of it. Right now, I don’t want us to look back. To bring up anything from the past. I want us to just focus on our future, and live in it. Okay?”

Nichkhun attempted to move his hand so it reached Taecyeon’s arm. “Thank you,” he mumbled. “I didn’t even think I would see you again…Scott. I’m thankful I did, and I’m sorry.”

Taecyeon smiled, his hand falling on top of his brother’s. “I’ve missed you too Eliott. If only I knew you were protecting me, I would’ve forgiven you much sooner. But everything’s alright now.”

The brothers shared a moment of silence for one another. They’ve done it. They got rid of the weights on their shoulders and the burden they’ve been keeping over the years. The awful memories of the past had been kept away from their minds, only looking forward to what the future has in store for them. 

They have moved on, which made everything feel right. Everything fell into place. 

Taecyeon and Nichkhun hired lawyers to talk about money matters they had to deal with. They knew too much money in their hands would put them to risk. So they decided to use it on bringing Elite back into business, and splitted the wealth between the two of them each. They had no will left by their biological parents but they agreed on sharing the fortune equally. 

Hyunbin stepped up the stage to formally announce Elite’s return. “My fellow employees and business partners, I am glad that Elite is back on top! I would like to thank my son for his help and contributions of bringing our company back into the market.”

A round of applause broke out from the crowd, everyone cheering for Nichkhun as he waved back at them. Taecyeon who was seated among the row of employees, clapped proudly for his brother. He was pleased things were returning back to what they were as before. S&T was similarly as successful as Elite thanks to both brother’s agreement on pairing the companies together. 

Not to mention, the brothers held charities and donated toward an orphanage that Taecyeon once visited. They talked to the caretakers and even offered help for the children’s education. 

“Thank you very much to the both of you, Taecyeon and Nichkhun for raising funds for our orphanage,” the caretaker told them as she bowed. 

Taecyeon shook his head. “It’s not a problem at all Mrs. Lee. We want to help the kids as much as possible.”

“Do you mind if we chat with the kids at the backyard?” Nichkhun asked politely. 

“Of course! You may play with the children, luckily it’s break time for them.”

They walked down across the hall and went out pass the door that led to the spacious backyard. It was a playground for the kids, with swings, slides, seesaw and a sandbox. Nichkhun skipped towards a group of boys playing with their toy cars on the grass. 

“Hi there! Can I join you?”

The boys looked up at him in awe, giving him one car shyly. “Here,” one boy stuck out the car to him. 

Nichkhun chuckled, “Come on let’s play!”

Taecyeon approached a lonely boy at a swing. “Hey there little guy,” he sat on the swing next to him. “Why are you all alone?”

The boy did a cute pout on his face. “I want to play with someone, but I think she doesn’t want to play with me.”

“Oh really? Who?”

The younger kid pointed at a girl talking to her friends at the slides. Taecyeon smiled, as he went over to the girl he was referring to. He greeted the young girl kindly before whispering in her ear. “I’ll give you ice cream if you play with my little friend back there at the swings,” he enticed the girl’s attention right away. 

“Okay!” she hopped over to the boy at the swings, asking if he wanted to play along with them. 

Taecyeon folded his arms, looking pleased as he watched the girl cheering the boy up in a matter of seconds. He was met by two other younger boys who appeared to be seven and eight years old respectively, tugging on his sleeve. “Yes?”

“Are you a brother of that hyung?” they questioned while pointing at Nichkhun. 

“Yes I am kiddos.” 

“Wow! We’re brothers ourselves,” the shorter boy said in excitement. “We hope to be someone like you hyung! Helping other people.”

Taecyeon bent down to be eye-level with them. “I’m sure you will,” he patted them on their heads. “So make sure to study hard in school! Because that’s how my brother and I became successful,” he winked.

“Yes hyung,” they bowed. “Visit us again soon please,” they said before running off to the swings. 

Nichkhun returned back to Taecyeon’s side. “Playing with them is fun,” he commented.

“It sure is,” he slipped his hands into pockets. “Anyway, the girls texted me. They’re already at the café waiting.”

“We should go then.”

Their relationships with the girls became stronger after what everything happened back then. The girls were surprised enough about Taecyeon and Nichkhun being related to one another as brothers. Even more taken aback from their past stories when they were younger. The guys were thankful for the girls because they helped them overcome the hardships in their lives. They were also the ones who made them feel loved and happy. 

Taecyeon pushed the door of the café open, walking over to the girls’ table. “Hi girls,” he slid to the seat next to Yoona’s as he greeted his girlfriend with a kiss. “Hello there beautiful,” he smiled.

Yoona glanced back at him, smiling slightly. “Took you long enough.”