Soo Min had arrived to her parents house a few minutes ago and was currently sitting in her car enjoying the warmth from the heater. I should have checked the temperature in the apartment before leaving. Then she remembered that she would tell Won Woo to check it out and reached for her phone. When she couldn’t find it, she realized, it was still at home on her nightstand. Something like this has happened before and she was feeling a little Dejavu, but luckily she had her car and she could always use her parents phone if needed. She wasn’t lost either, like last time.

 

She let out a long sigh while eyeing the house she grew up in. She was starting to get nervous about heading inside without notice, she knew they wouldn’t kick her out, they’d just be a bit surprised. Her father should be leaving for work pretty soon, actually… right now. The front door opened and he rushed out to his car. He must be late or something? She thought and watched him. He backed out of the driveway in his car before he noticed her in her car parked in front of the house. He pulled up next to her car and that forced her to roll down her window to greet him. “What are you doing here?” He asked, honestly curious.

 

“Uh, just thought I come and say hello.” She said with a nervous smile.

 

“Sorry that I can’t stay and chat, I’m late for work. But I’ll see you later at dinner, okay?” He looked disappointed that he had to leave and she assured him it was fine.

 

“See you.” She gave a small wave.

 

“Take it easy, love you.” He said with a smile before driving off. She watched his car go down the street and she sighed once more before letting her head fall onto the steering wheel and the horn honked. She heard someone shout and she looked up to see someone standing at the mailbox at the next house over, he dropped everything he was holding when her horn sounded off.

 

“I’m sorry!” Soo Min exclaimed after getting out and rushing over to help him pick everything up.

 

“It’s fine.” Sebin assured her with a weak smile. “I didn’t expect you to be here at this hour? Don’t you have class?”

 

“At noon.” She answered. “I, uh… just thought to come visit my parents this morning since I don’t do it enough.”

 

“I see.” He nodded and noticed she seemed concerned about something. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.” She was honest. “Just been going through a lot lately.”

 

“Be sure to rest and eat, after class.”

 

“I can try. I’m having dinner with my parents later this evening and I’m nervous about it.” She muttered while glancing to the house.

 

“Why?” He asked before covering his mouth and gave a sorry chuckle. “I mean, if you don’t mind sharing.”

 

“Ah, that’s right. You don’t know.” She said with a sorry chuckle of her own. “Well… it’s complicated.”

 

“That’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anything.”

 

“I’ll tell you another time, I promise.” She gave a small smile. He nodded and understood. He gave her a weak smile and she seemed to notice that. He was like that at the library too? She was going to ask if something was wrong on his side of things, but realized she shouldn’t get too distracted right now with her visit. She only planned to make a short visit and head back in time to give Won Woo and Jihoon a ride, she was sure they were up by now. Next time, I’ll ask.

 

“Sorry to keep you, enjoy your visit with your mom.” Sebin made it easier to part by saying that and Soo Min appreciated it since she wasn’t sure what to say to do it herself.

 

“I’ll see you around. Later.” She waved and made her way over to the front door of her parents house. She saw Sebin returned to his own house, he gave her one final smile and wave from his front door before disappearing inside. I can do this. She thought to herself before ringing the doorbell. She figured she shouldn’t just walk in and possibly scare her mother like she scared Sebin.

 

It was about a minute while she waited at the door and she hugged her coat tighter to her body, it was pretty cold this morning, for her at least. She rang the doorbell again and almost another minute went by until the door opened and revealed her surprised mother. “Hi.” Soo Min managed to say with a cute wave. Her mother gave her a sad smile and stepped aside to let her daughter in. “I felt like I had to come see you this morning.” She added and turned to face her mother who only grabbed her into a tight hug. She was startled but quickly returned the hug.

 

“I’m sorry, Soo Min.” She apologized. “How long were you waiting out there?” She could tell her daughter was cold.

 

“Only a few minutes, don’t worry!” She assured her. There was a moment of silence while her mother held her close and warmed her up. Soo Min thought of how to approach the topic, but her mother was already one step ahead of her.

 

“I didn’t want to act so harsh yesterday, but it happened.” Her mother admitted.

 

“I know, it’s okay.” Her daughter patted her on her back to comfort her and it made her feel bad. It was not okay. She parted from Soo Min and invited her to sit on the living room couch with her so they could talk properly. Of course Soo Min agreed and only took her shoes off since she was still feeling cold and didn’t want to part with her coat yet.

 

“You have every right to be upset since we lied about something so serious… and you deserve to know the truth. And I wish I wasn’t feeling so bitter about it all, I shouldn’t let my feelings get in the way, but it hurts.”

 

“I understand.” Soo Min rested a cold hand on her mother’s shoulder. “That’s why I thought to come see you before the dinner, so we could talk and maybe… you won’t have to be there this evening since it clearly upsets you.”

 

“Thank you for thinking about me… don’t worry, I should be there. Even if it hurts, I’ll be there.” Her daughter seemed pleased to hear that and she was glad. She didn’t want to disappoint her again. “I thought about it from time to time over the years, when would the secret come out? It’s been so long, I got comfortable with the idea that it would never come to the light, but I was wrong. I was foolish. To think I could forget something like that… it’s haunted me ever since I found out. That your father had a son out there in the world that I didn’t know about until years later. Not only that, it was with a friend who I thought I could trust. It’s still hard to accept sometimes. I felt so betrayed.”

 

“As you should. I can’t imagine if my friend ever did that to me. I really can’t.”

 

“I hope you’ll never have to go through anything like it.”

 

“Did you not forgive Won Woo’s mom after all this time?” Soo Min wanted to know, did she still hold bitter feelings towards his mother. Maybe this was a question she should have asked at the dinner, but then maybe not. Her mother would probably feel pressured on what to say with Won Woo present.

 

“I’m not sure. I want to say I did, but at the same time…”

 

“She hurt you a lot, and it , but you shouldn’t hold ill feelings forever, mom. You’ll never be happy this way.”

 

“I know.” Her mother sighed. “I suppose I just never healed from that after all this time. I ignored it.”

 

“Did you ever talk about it with her properly?” She shook her head. “You need to talk about it the next time you see her, okay? Even if it’s difficult, you need to.”

 

“I will.” Her mother nodded with a sad smile. “Thank you, I needed to hear that.”

 

“Of course. I just want all of this to be in the past already. It’s not a very ideal situation to be going through, but it is what it is, you know? We could waste our time being bitter and betrayed or we can work on understanding each other and establishing better relationships. We could be one big happy family if we just work for it, fight for it.”

 

“You’re right. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, really. I just wanted us all to be happy together…” but it didn’t happen, because she found out about the affair and let her bitter feelings get the best of her.

 

“We still can be, we just have to take it one step at a time, that’s all.” Soo Min gave a small smile to her mother who seemed impressed with how mature her daughter had become. Then she felt a sting in the back of her eyes. “Mom?”

 

“You grew up so much…” she cooed and reached out to caress her cheek. “I’m so proud.”

 

“Oh jeez.” Soo Min was embarrassed but happy to see her mother was in a better mood after their small talk.

 

“I’ll be at the dinner… I really should be there.”

 

“Yes, I’d like it if you were there with us, we have to do this together, okay?” Soo Min took a hold of her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

 

“Right.” Her mother agreed and pulled her over to give a side hug. “Thanks for talking with me this morning, I’m feeling much better now.”

 

“I’m glad.” Soo Min’s smile was more genuine. “I was feeling pretty bad about yesterday, I thought about visiting sooner, but realized maybe we should just sleep on it first. Today is a new day.”

 

“Today is also midterms, right? You should go! Don’t you have class soon?!” She just realized that and was worried she was keeping her daughter from school.

 

“At noon!” Soo Min snickered, but was glad her mother reminded her. “I should go now that you mentioned it.”

 

“Before you go, have you eaten yet?”

 

“I did, before I came here.” Even if it wasn’t a lot, and even if she would like to stay and eat with her mother, she should go and get her friends to campus and maybe she could eat with Min Ji before class. She’d be having dinner here later anyways.

 

“Ah, that’s good. Then I’ll see you later at the dinner.” Her mother said while following her to the front door. Soo Min put her shoes on and turned to give her a hug before leaving. “Drive safe!”

 

“I will. Later~!” Soo Min waved and headed out the front door. Her mother called a “love you” after her and she quickly said it back, then she was off. When she made it to the gate, she noticed a familiar face walking up and Soo Min greeted her with a small smile.

 

“I guess I’m not the only one who decided to come check on her…” Rina said with a weak smile. “Were you just leaving?”

 

“Yeah. I bet Won Woo and Jihoon are worried sick, I left my phone at home before coming here.”

 

“Oh my, hopefully they’re not too stressed.”

 

“They have class, so maybe not, they probably haven’t even woken up yet, they were sleeping last I saw before leaving the apartment.” Soo Min said with a sheepish chuckle.

 

“Perhaps. Then you should go and wake them up.” Rina gave her a sweet smile and was about to give her a hug before hesitating and stepped back. Soo Min surprised her by stepping forward and giving her the hug she wanted and she wrapped her arms around her tightly and gave the younger a spine breaking hug. “Sorry!” She laughed when Soo Min whimpered from the tight embrace.

 

“It’s fine.” She managed to say while rubbing her sore arm. “I’ll get going now.”

 

“Okay, drive safely!” Rina called after her before she noticed something odd about the girl’s car. “Uhm, Soo Min?”
 

“Yeah?” She asked while looking over at her. She already opened the driver side door and was about to get in.

 

“I think you might have a flat tire.” She pointed at the back left tire that was indeed flat.

 

“Are you kidding me?!” Soo Min blurted out and hurried over to kneel next to it. She didn’t understand how it got flat? It seemed just fine before she went inside to visit her mother. Did someone do this? She wondered while looking around the street. It didn’t look like there was any visible damage. Maybe I ran over something sharp on the way here? Why else would it be flat?

 

“Do you need to call for help?” Rina asked after walking over to kneel next to her.

 

“I guess, I don’t know how else I’ll get home unless I walk.” Soo Min replied, defeated.

 

That’s when Rina’s phone started to buzz and she asked if she could take the call. “Sure.” Rina thanked her and swiped right on the screen before putting it up to her ear. She greeted the person before eyeing Soo Min who stood up to face her.

 

“She’s standing right in front of me.” Rina said with a hint of laughter. Soo Min was confused. “Perfect timing, actually, we’re at her parent’s place and it looks like Soo Min has a flat tire. She has class soon, right? Maybe you can give her a lift? I’d do it, but I have something I need to do… alright, I’ll text you the address. See you in a bit.”

 

“Who was that?” Soo Min asked after the call ended.

 

“It was your brother.” She answered while typing away on her phone. “He’ll come give you a lift to class. Don’t worry about your car, I’ll take care of it.”

 

“Ah, you don’t need to. I can come back later and deal with it.”

 

“No, no, I got you, don’t worry!” Rina insisted. “Just worry about your midterms, alright?”

 

“But…” she got a warning look from the older and gave a nervous laugh in response. “Okay!”

 

It seemed like Ren was close by when he called since he showed up a moment later in his black car. He got out to greet Rina before he greeted Soo Min and looked at her flat tire. “Wow, it is flat.” He muttered before getting nudged by his mom.

 

“Did you think I was lying?!” She pouted.

 

“No!” He laughed. “Well, maybe. I didn’t know if it was some ploy to get me over here.”

 

“It’s not. Your sister really does need your help!” Rina scolded.

 

“Sorry.” Soo Min apologized when he faced her.

 

“It's okay.” He assured her with a gentle smile. He was glad she was okay and safe. After hearing she was missing with no word, he got really worried.

 

“What's going on out here?” They suddenly heard someone ask and already they knew who it was. It was Soo Min's mother. Ren was confused until he recognized her from the photos Won Woo showed him before. His sister seemed nervous and so did Rina. “Oh, it's you.” Her mother muttered with a mixed expression. They could see she was trying hard to be neutral and calm, but it still bothered her to see Ren in the flesh.

 

“Hello, Mrs. Chae.” Ren greeted and bowed politely. “It's nice to finally meet you. I'm really sorry about all of this…” his words were sincere and so was his expression.

 

“It's… alright.” Soo Ah managed to say with a forced smile. She felt horrible, Ren shouldn't have to apologize for anything, like Rina said, it wasn't any of the children's faults. But here he was, saying sorry possibly for even existing. “I'm sorry, too. None of this is your fault, okay?”

 

“It feels like it, though.” Ren admitted and lowered his head. “Had I just never been born…”

 

“Hey, don’t say that!” Soo Min scolded and grabbed onto his arm to snap him out of it.

 

“But it’s true.” He looked so guilty. Rina felt heartbroken and Soo Ah looked away, feeling her own heart break too.

 

“We never asked for any of this. I get it, but don’t say such depressing things so early in the morning!” His sister hit him on his arm. “It’s a new day. The day is just starting. Midterms are starting. Life is moving forward, don’t backtrack now. It’s all in the past and we can’t change that. What’s that saying again? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! It’s bittersweet, right? Life can’t always be perfect. It can’t always go our way.”

 

“She’s right.” Her mother spoke up. “As much as I don’t like it… I’m working on accepting it. On accepting you, Ren. Even if you’re not my own son, I’ve looked after Hyewon’s son before. It wouldn’t be the first time. I’ve always wanted a son… but I suppose it was never meant to be.” She said with a bittersweet smile.

 

“Hey, you’re still young!” Rina blurted out and gave a slap to her friend’s back, ruining the moment that was going on. “There’s still a chance!”

 

“Yah…” Soo Ah glared at her. The talk about having another kid got Soo Min thinking about this morning, when she thought about being pregnant. Maybe that baby wasn’t my baby in my dream, but a baby sibling? It was hard to tell since not much happened in her dream to clarify what was going on. She was confused for the most part.

 

“So, are we okay?” Rina’s voice snapped her out of it and she turned to see the woman smiling at her and Ren.

 

“Oh, uh?” She turned to Ren to get his answer, she was fine, it was Ren she was worried about now that he’s met her mother.

 

“Yes. Thank you.” He managed a small smile and bowed towards her mother. “I understand it’s difficult, so don’t worry about it. We’ll get through all of this one step at a time. If your daughter can do it, so can you.”

 

“That’s right. I had a hard time accepting the truth at first… but I managed to OVERCOME it. I hope you will too?” Soo Min gave her mother a supportive smile and it seemed to work since she earn a similar smile in return.

 

“You two are so mature. I admire that… I will do my best from now on so I won’t disappoint.” The mood between them seemed to brighten after those words were said. This was a good start.

 

“Yes, we’ll do our best too!” Soo Min beamed and hooked her arm with Ren’s. He managed a more genuine smile this time, he was glad he had her by his side to help with this encounter. Even if he also had his mom with him… he was still nervous about meeting the older woman. “We really should get going now, but we’ll see you again later.” Soo Min said with a small wave to her mother and Rina. Ren also gave a small wave before following close beside his sister back to his car. The two older women watched the siblings leave and they were gone a moment later. That left Rina and Soo Ah alone.

 

“Are you okay?” Rina was the first to speak.

 

“I will be.” Soo Ah simply replied with a broken smile. It still hurt.

 

“Let's go inside and relax for a bit.” Her friend gently guided her to the front door and she snickered at that.

 

“Workaholic Rina, relaxing?”

 

“I do relax from time to time!” The woman defended. At least they laughed about it and her friend’s mood lightened up. Rina thought to wait a bit before she talks about yesterday with her, for now they should really relax. “Wanna check my recent fashion launch?” She asked while pulling her phone out to bring it up but Soo Ah knocked her phone out of her hand into her lap with a pout.

 

“You call that relaxing!” She scolded. “No, let’s just watch some TV.”

 

“Okay.” Rina pouted like a sulking child and sat back in her seat so she could focus on the TV. Her friend picked a Kdrama to watch and Rina took interest when she noticed the female lead was a business woman who happened to be a workaholic just like her. Soo Ah thought it was cute to see her friend get into the show. Perhaps it would help change the way she views her own lifestyle, that she should make more time for family and friends. We’ll be one big happy family… in time.

 

…

 

“Good luck with midterms.” A sleepy Minghao called over to Junhui who was getting ready to leave the apartment with Jisoo.

 

“Thanks. Sleep well.” He chuckled and the younger just gave a small snicker before turning onto his side to face away from him. The poor thing was up all night, but at least he wasn’t too lonely since Junhui stayed up a few more hours to get some extra studying in, he only got about three hours of sleep until he had to wake up to get ready for class. “Do you want to go out to eat when I get home later? Or would you like me to bring you something on my way back?”

 

“I want to go out!” Minghao rolled over to pout at his roommate.

 

“Okay! Then rest up a lot so you have enough energy to get around.” Junhui smiled and gave a small nod. “I’m going now.” He added and waved. Minghao managed to give him a wave despite how tired he was. Junhui left their shared room after than and met up with Jisoo at the front door.

 

“Did he go to sleep?” Jisoo asked after putting his shoes on and grabbed his coat next.

 

“Yeah, hopefully he’s awake when I get back.”

 

“Why?”

 

“We planned to go out to eat.” Junhui simply explained while slipping on his own coat and smoothed out any wrinkles. When he looked up, he caught Jisoo looking at him with an odd expression. “What?”

 

“Nothing.” Jisoo snapped out of it and cringed for reacting like that. He thought it was ridiculous how the mere words “go out” was making him think of an innocent outing as a date. “I guess you and him have gotten CLOSER since the past few days?”

 

“We have.” Junhui nodded with a smile. “Pretty soon I’ll be his favorite hyung, you better step up your game!” He joked and earned a laugh from the older.

 

“Right. I will.” He didn’t think it’d be that hard to gain the youngest’s favoritism again, but at the same time, this was good for Junhui, to have someone he could help and relate to. He was glad they were getting along better since he’d be leaving for that trip to L.A in a few days. Right… L.A. He hasn’t thought about not going, but after last night, he wasn’t sure if he could handle being around the SooHan couple anymore. The last thing he wants to do is distance himself and hurt Jeonghan’s feelings, but if it was to help him get over his strange feelings, then he just might have to do it for his own sanity.

 

“Hyung?” Junhui’s voice snapped him out of it and he felt the cold air slowly making its way in through their opened front door. “Are you going or not?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jisoo nodded quickly and hurried his way out of the apartment. Junhui thought his friend was acting a little strange this morning, he wondered if it had anything to do with last night when he was crying and wouldn’t say what it was about. Did he tell Jeonghan? He wondered after shutting the door and catching up to him. I should ask… He was curious and worried. If Jeonghan could just tell him anything, no matter how small, his mind could be more at ease.

…

 

“Jeonghan, wake up already, or we’re going to be late!” Seungcheol scolded the sleeping beauty. He pulled the covers off of his roommate and proceeded to shake him by the shoulders. Jeonghan groaned and was very annoyed at the rude awakening. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

 

“Barely.” Jeonghan muttered and sat up with a grumpy expression. He had been up late thinking about everything and the hours seemed to pass like minutes while he did so. He only managed to fall asleep a few hours ago, maybe around 6am, but even three hours isn’t enough sleep for him.

 

“It’s clear you didn’t sleep good at all. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine.” He had to be, there was no way he could skip classes today no matter how tired he felt.

 

“Were you up studying late?” He could see Jeonghan think about it before answering with a quiet “yeah,” but Seungcheol was having a hard time buying that. There wasn’t much time to confront him about it, for now they had to make it to campus before their 10am class.

 

Jeonghan at least managed to wash up and get dressed quickly and met Seungcheol at the front door to put his shoes and coat on. Since he didn’t have a lot of time to do his hair, he just combed out any tangles and slipped on a black beanie. He was a bit annoyed about that to be honest.

 

“What’s wrong?” Seungcheol noticed his expression.

 

“I think I’ll cut my hair soon.” Jeonghan replied after successfully getting one shoe on.

 

“What? Why?” His friend pouted, he was apparently a fan of his long locks and Jeonghan snickered at that.

 

“It’s getting hard to maintain these days. It’s time for change, I want something new.”

 

“True, I get it.” Seungcheol ran his hand through his own hair. “I think we all need change every now and then.”

 

“So, let’s change up.” Jeonghan grinned. “I’ve never seen you without black hair, do a crazy color or something.”

 

“Only if you do it too!” Seungcheol frowned. “Can the crazy colors wait until after the semester is over?”

 

“Fine, you big chicken.” Jeonghan snickered before flinching when Seungcheol smacked him. “Why don’t you go blonde and embrace your inner chicken?” He got hit again and he could only laugh in response.

 

“Not all chickens are yellow, idiot.”

 

“Not all, but some!” Jeonghan teased. This time he dodged Seungcheol’s attack. If he wasn’t awake before, he is now that he’s running for his life down the complex hallways.  

 

 

Seungcheol just glared at his best friend after they got into his car to leave. “We’re definitely going to be late if you don’t start driving.” Jeonghan pointed out with a nervous laugh.

 

“Fine.” He huffed and faced forward to start his car. “So, how short do you plan to cut your hair?”

 

“We’re still talking about it?”

 

“I’m just curious, that’s all.” Seungcheol shrugged. “I’m sure any length will look good on you regardless.”

 

“Thanks. My number one hypeman.” Jeonghan teased. “I’m thinking of cutting it pretty short, but maybe I should take baby steps with it. So I’ll just cut a few inches for starters.”

 

“Almost like a bob?”

 

“If I don’t like it I’ll go shorter!” He pouted.

 

“What about coloring?”

 

“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll hold off on that until the semester is over.”

 

“And I’m the big chicken?” Seungcheol snickered.

 

“Whatever.” Jeonghan rolled his eyes with a laugh and looked out the window and watched people and cars passing them. He wondered what his girlfriend would think if he told her he planned on cutting his hair soon? Not like he needs her permission, he’d just rather not shock her if he did all of that without giving her a heads up. She’d like it, I’m sure. He didn’t always have long hair from the start. Thinking about how long their relationship has been, he started to recall his late night thoughts… Just then he felt the car stop and he snapped out of it. He was confused. “Why’d you stop?” He asked and saw Seungcheol honk his horn and wave at someone. He followed his gaze over to their two friends approaching the car, it was Junhui and Jisoo.

 

“Get in!” Seungcheol called over to them after rolling Jeonghan’s window down to greet them.

 

“Thanks! You’re a lifesaver!” Junhui was getting worried that they wouldn’t have a lot of time getting to the campus on foot, a lift to campus is always appreciated.

 

“No problem~!” Seungcheol was happy to help, like always. He noticed Jeonghan’s lack of greeting to their friends and nudged him.

 

“Morning!” He blurted out.

 

“Good morning.” Jisoo said softly with a small smile, Seungcheol also notice how that greeting seemed off from his younger friend and wondered what that was all about? Could he still be sad about what he told Jeonghan last night? That was probably it. He wouldn’t question it right now and focused on getting them to campus before they’d really be late. They were cutting it close right now.

 

Junhui held a conversation with Seungcheol since the oldest asked about how studying went and how their roommate Minghao was doing, meanwhile, Jeonghan and Jisoo stayed pretty silent the whole ride. Jeonghan stole a few glances of Jisoo through the passenger side sun visor mirror. He could tell Jisoo wasn’t 100% himself today and felt bad for him. But he couldn’t help but think back on his thoughts from last night… if Jisoo’s unrequited love is actually his girlfriend, Soo Min. It was starting to bother him this morning, unlike last night. When Jisoo’s eyes met his through the mirror, Jeonghan looked away and acted like it never happened.

 

Jisoo really wasn’t feeling 100% himself today, but there was no way he could skip classes, he never skips classes ever, only if he was really sick. While he’d like to stay home and hide, he knew that wasn’t the answer to his problems. So much was happening though and he wondered if he could really get through it all? I should talk to Won Woo. Maybe he shouldn’t go to L.A after all. Even if it would disappoint his friends…

 

“Ah… traffic.” Seungcheol sighed when they stopped behind several cars.

 

“Maybe we were better off walking.” Junhui gave a worried laugh.

 

“If it doesn’t move in the next five minutes, go ahead and abandon ship.” Seungcheol joked. “Don’t worry about me, save yourselves.”

 

“Nonsense! We’ll stay with you no matter what!” Junhui played along. “We’d never abandon our captain! Right?!” The other two chuckled and nodded and agreed. “Friends who skip class together, stay together~!”

 

“That sounds awful.” Jisoo frowned, but still laughed. “I’m sure we’ll get there on time, don’t worry, have faith.”

 

“Okay… please god, if you’re listening,” Junhui put his hands together and made a prayer, “cancel class.”

 

“Yah, don’t abuse it!” Jisoo nudged him with a scolding look. Both Jeonghan and Seungcheol laughed at Junhui’s pouty expression in return. They get along so well.

 

…

 

 

“Rise and shine my little chickadees!” Soonyoung shouted after kicking the bedroom door open to Mingyu’s and Seungkwan’s shared room. “Time for hell- I mean, school!”

 

Both chickadees groaned at the rude awakening before getting up so they wouldn’t have to hear it again. “Hey, we have to leave now or we’ll be late!” Seokmin ushered the two to speed things along.

 

“Why didn’t you wake us sooner!” Seungkwan complained as he did his best to change at the speed of light on his side of the closet.

 

“Why didn’t you have your alarms set?” Soonyoung countered with a raised brow. “Did you forget? Or did you hit snooze and go back to sleep?” The youngest didn’t have a reply and avoided eye contact. He was guilty! He looked to Mingyu who had fallen back to sleep while leaning on the closet doorway. “Mingyu~!” He was startled awake and almost lost his balance.

 

“Careful!” Seungkwan blurted out and reach over to help steady him. “Let us get ready in peace, please!” He pouted towards the blonde who had been eyeing them like a scolding parent.

 

“Fine, fine, hurry it up or we’ll leave without you two.” Soonyoung said before turning and walking out of the room. Seungkwan sighed, this morning was already turning out stressful and it hadn’t even officially started yet!

 

Mingyu managed to not fall asleep again and finished getting ready last. He nearly forgot his school bag when he tried to leave the room, thank goodness Seungkwan was there to remind him. He’d probably forget his head if it wasn’t screwed on properly, too. “What’s with you? Did you not sleep at all last night?” He asked as they were approaching the front door.

 

“I did sleep.” Mingyu mumbled, he managed to sleep shortly after returning home and woke up early to use the bathroom. At the time, he left a morning text to Won Woo and planned on doing some extra studying but ended up getting distracted with youtube, he first looked up math tutorials and somehow ended up watching cooking tutorials. He got hungry but it was too early to eat and then he got sleepy again and fell asleep until now. “I guess I’m still drained from yesterday’s events.”

 

“Well, try to get it together before your class, okay?” The older just nodded while putting on his coat. Things were going smoothly until he tripped on his untied shoelaces when walking out the door and fell down with a thud and a small “oof” escaping his lips. “Hyung! I said get it together didn’t I?!’ Seungkwan complained and knelt down to check on him.

 

“What happened?!” Soonyoung was stressed. They can’t have an accident right before midterms start.

 

“It looks like he forgot to tie his shoelaces.” Seokmin pointed out and proceeded to step over and kneel down to tie them for his fallen friend.

 

“Are you hurt?” Soonyoung asked once Mingyu snapped out of it. “Are you bleeding anywhere?!”

 

“I’m fine.” Mingyu assured him with an embarrassed laugh. “I’m definitely awake now.” His friends helped him up and he flinched when Soonyoung grabbed his right wrist.

 

“Does it hurt?!” The oldest panicked. “Should you go to the hospital?!”

 

“It’s just sore from the fall, don’t worry about it.” Mingyu assured him. “Besides… I’d be too embarrassing to go, my father would surely laugh at me for tripping over my untied shoelaces.”

 

“True.” His friends nodded in sync.

 

“Thanks, friends.” He gave a snicker. “I’m fine, don’t worry about it. I’ve fallen enough times to know if I’m hurt or not.” He could be a klutz sometimes.

 

“We want to believe you!” Soonyoung pouted. “If it starts bruising and swelling, go straight to the hospital!”

 

“Let’s just focus on getting to school first.” Mingyu sighed. He really felt fine, his friends were just overreacting, but in the end, at least they cared, right?

 

“We’re going to be eating takeout for the next week, aren’t we?” Seungkwan said dramatically, implying Mingyu was too hurt to cook now.

 

“We’re gonna have to anyway because he’ll be leaving on that trip to L.A with Won Woo and the others, right?” Seokmin reminded them.

 

“That’s this week?!” Both Soonyoung and Seungkwan gasped. “So soon?!”

 

“Guys, let’s focus on midterms first!” Mingyu just couldn’t with these three… the whole walk to campus was definitely going to be about how miserable the gag trio were going to be while Chef Mingyu is away, and while he felt bad, he was also amused at the same time. They loved his cooking that much and he felt special~!

Mingyu: I’m so special, hehe

 

...

 

“Hey, you okay?” Soo Min asked to Ren while they're were stuck in traffic shortly after leaving her parents house.

 

“Hmm? I'm fine.” He looked at her before nodding. “That was just a little unexpected is all.”

 

“You really felt that way? You know… about being born?” It was a serious thing and she wanted to make sure he was truly okay and not thinking of doing anything stupid.

 

“I did.” He answered softly with a nod. “After witnessing how difficult things became… I felt really responsible for it. I even started to regret looking into this whole matter… had I kept my mouth shut, the secret would have never came to the light and everyone would have lived on happily, right?”

 

“Wrong.” She blurted out and he looked her way, slightly shocked by that quick answer. “None of us were happy even before you came into the picture. We’re all drifting apart from each other each passing year, day, hour, minute… second. It wasn’t as clear when we were younger, but once we started getting older it was more noticeable. After Won Woo’s parents moved to L.A for work, it’s been downhill since. Something happened between our parents and we didn’t know what? And when we asked, we were only shut out… so we’ve become distant. Won Woo can’t easily visit his parents whenever he wants and I’ve stopped visiting mine because it started to get quiet and awkward between us after they scolded me about asking for the truth. The same has been happening to Jihoon and his parents, they scolded him too when he tried to ask, and so he spends most of his time in his home studio working on his music. He lives with his parents, so it’s hard to avoid them entirely, but he does keep himself occupied.” She took a break from talking and sighed, she thought up of what else she should say too. .

 

“I guess it didn’t matter what I did, huh?” Ren felt horrible.

 

“Yes, it matters.” She frowned. “Because of you, everyone will speak the truth. Because of you, everyone will come together and hopefully… OVERCOME this whole mess and move on happily, like it should be. If you kept silent, we would have only suffered and eventually lost our relationships with our parents. You’re saving us… Ren.”

 

“I never thought of it that way…” he was even more surprised now. I was thinking selfishly, wasn’t I? He promised he wouldn’t do that again from now on. “Thank you.”

 

“You can be guilty and sorry for being born all you want, but I will always be grateful for your existence, because you are what will bring this family CLOSER together and you will be what completes this family.” Soo Min said and reached for her brother’s hand on the gearshift. She held it tight and gave him a warm smile when he looked up at her. “I’m happy you were born.”

 

“... how am I older than you and Won Woo?” He said with a sad snicker and wiped the tear that fell from his left eye quickly. “I guess I have a lot to learn from you both.”

 

“That’s okay~!” She chuckled. “You still had your moments when Won Woo and I were struggling with all this… you’re here for us and we’re here for you. Everything will be okay, in time. We just have to stick together and be strong, even if it’s difficult.”

 

“Exactly, took the words right out of my mouth.” He said with a cute pout and squeezed her hand back. “I’ll try to think more positively from now on.”

 

“Me too!” She beamed before it faltered and she sighed. “Even though I got a flat tire… After what happened yesterday, I thought to go visit my mom to make sure she was okay… didn’t think I’d end up with a flat tire, of all days, it’s today?”

 

“Pretty unlucky.” He said with a sorry laugh and let go of her hand so he could continue driving, the traffic started to move forward finally. “But my mom will handle it, don’t worry.”

 

“I can pay her back later!” Soo Min quickly said with a guilty look on her face.

 

“Don’t worry about it, we’re family now.” He assured her and noticed it get quiet. He was hoping it was a good quiet and he managed to glance her way to see she looked happy that he mentioned it. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Okay.” She nodded and didn’t feel as guilty as before. “I can at least buy her lunch though, right?”

 

“Fair enough.” Ren supposed his sister was just too kind. “Did you eat while you were visiting your mom?”

 

“No. I had toast before I left the apartment earlier.” She shook her head and rested her hands over her stomach. “Not very hungry this morning.”

 

“Nervous about midterms?” He frowned. “Stressed about the dinner?”

 

“Yes and yes.”

 

“I guess it’s not easy to start thinking positively just yet, but you still need to take care of yourself, even if you’re not hungry.”

 

“I understand, I’ll try to eat something when I get to campus.” Since they were on the path to her shared apartment to pick up her phone, laptop and school bag.

 

“Anything you’d like to eat in particular?” He asked and pressed a button on his steering wheel. “Call Face.”

 

“Who?” She held back a laugh.

 

“Ah, Ren, calling again?” She heard Aron asked in a sweet tone, it made her want to laugh because it also sounded like he was done with Ren.

 

“I need another favor.” Ren got the hint too. “Can you have more food ready for when I arrive with Soo Min?”

 

“Sure, no problem. What does she want?” Aron asked and Ren looked over to see his sister frowning.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m just not hungry.” She answered. “I don’t want you to waste money.”

 

“It doesn’t have to be anything big, don’t worry about it.” He assured her and proceeded to make an order for the both of them. He too wasn’t that hungry this morning so he got a small order as well. She didn’t really notice that since she was too busy feeling bad about not eating. She decided to look out the window and that’s when she saw someone standing at the crosswalk with a camera pointed in their direction. Her first reaction was to freeze, but Ren managed to snap her out of it and told her to look away. Once the light turned green, he stepped on the gas and the fled the area before the person with their camera could catch up.

 

“Didn’t think they’d be out looking around this early in the morning.” Ren said bitterly as he changed their destination to his house. He’d have to get someone to take them to his sister’s place instead to avoid the public finding out where his siblings live, or well, the new people he’s associated with in an outsider’s view.

 

“I thought you said you weren’t that famous?” She asked, slightly confused.

 

“I don’t think I am, maybe because I haven’t gone full time with my mom’s brand and modelling. But already they’ve mistaken you as me before and they started that rumor that I’ve been lying about my height. Can’t imagine what they’d come up with if they saw us together? Other people have mistaken us as siblings, either they think of that first or worse, they put out a dating rumor.”

 

“Ridiculous. They don’t know that you’re dating Minhyun?”

 

“No.”

 

“Ah… I see.” She felt bad, it almost reminded her of Won Woo and Mingyu, how they had to keep it a secret for now because their parents don’t know about their son’s uality.

 

“I like to keep my personal life private from the media. Mom and I have a story we go by when dealing with the media. No telling what would happen if they knew I wasn’t an only child anymore. They’d probably attack my mom, because they don’t know I’m adopted. Even though it’s a lie, we have the story we’ve been sticking to. I was raised by my single mom, the father left when I was young and has been out of the picture since. I bet they’d try to label her as unfaithful and say it’s why the father left us, because she had kids with two other guys. They’d make up anything, honestly, just so their articles and pictures sell. It’s disgusting.”

 

“It is!” Soo Min was upset now. “They don’t know anything but would honestly make up something horrible like that? This is why I don’t bother reading the tabloids at all…”

 

“That’s why I’m careful when I’m in public, so I don’t draw attention. Mom’s fashion brand is gaining popularity and one day I hope I can be her successor, I’ll eventually get popular as well. I don’t care about being famous, but I definitely want my personal life private from the media for sure. I don’t want anything happening to my family and friends. So if you ever see someone following you with a camera, hide. Don’t tell them anything, okay?”

 

“I won’t!” She gave him a determined look. “I’m good at hide and seek.”

 

“I can tell.” He teased, referring to her missing earlier.

 

“That was an accident!” She pouted. “I don’t always forget my phone!”

 

“I believe you.” He laughed and she continued to pout the rest of the car ride to his house. Each time she goes there, it was getting more familiar to her and she really liked it. “I’ll get Minhyun to take us to your place and then to the campus. I don’t want to risk those losers following my car to your place.”

 

“Okay, I understand.” She nodded.

 

“He’ll be here shortly, just wait there, I need the bathroom before we leave.”

 

“Got it~!” She gave him a thumbs up and started to wander her way to the kitchen. He supposed she was in search of some Choco Pies. At least she would eat that, right? He let her be and headed up stairs to his master bedroom to use the bathroom there since he planned to touch up his makeup a little before his boyfriend arrives, he had shed a few tears from earlier and wanted to make sure his eye makeup was still intact. It only took a couple of minutes and he returned down the stairs in time to see Minhyun sneaking up on Soo Min sitting at the center island counter.

 

“Morning, my love!” Minhyun chirped after grabbing who he thought was his boyfriend from behind. Soo Min shrieked from the sudden hug and Minhyun instantly let go and backed up. “I’m sorry! I thought you were…”

 

“I’m over here.” Ren’s unamused voice called from the stairway. “You’d think you’d be able to tell us apart by now!” Even though he was a little irritated, he did think it was a bit funny.

 

“It’s kind of hard when you both have the same long black hair!” Minhyun complained.

 

“Hers is longer!” Ren pointed out.

 

“Still!” Minhyun defended.

 

“I can cut my hair!” Soo Min offered with a guilty look, she definitely didn’t want this to be a recurring encounter...

 

“No!” Ren blurted out. “If anyone is cutting their hair, it should be me.” He added. “Once these tape ins start to wear out, I’ll go back to my short hair.” His words were directed towards his boyfriend. “So, in the meantime, can you be more aware the next time you sneak up on someone for a back hug?”

 

“I will.” Minhyun gave a sheepish smile. “Shall we get going then?” He asked and pointed to the front door.

 

“Yes~!” Soo Min nodded and quickly made her way over. While she was walking over, a few things fell to the floor and she froze. They were Choco Pies, she was leaving a trail of Choco Pies on the floor.

 

“You dropped these!” Minhyun happily stepped over to pick them up for her and handed them back.
 

“Thank you~!” She gave a sheepish laugh and caught Ren’s scolding stare from across the room. “Let’s go!” She said to Minhyun and hurried out the door, dropping more Choco Pies.

 

“She’s so cute.” Minhyun cooed at his boyfriend’s jealous expression and proceeded to follow after, picking up the Choco Pies on the way. Ren sighed and let out a small laugh. That was pretty cute.

 

They were quick on leaving the driveway and went straight to her shared apartment to gather her things, then they were on their way to the campus. That’s when she noticed Mingyu and his friends walking on the sidewalk a few blocks from the campus. “Stop the car!” Soo Min shouted and startled the couple in the front.

 

“Why?”

 

“It’s Mingyu and his friends!” She pointed out and rolled the window down to greet them. “Let’s give them a ride!”

 

“Will everyone even fit?” Ren looked back at her like she was crazy.

 

A moment later after arguing whose lap Soo Min would sit on this time…

 

Soonyoung was sitting on Seokmin’s lap, Seungkwan was lonely in the middle and Soo Min was sitting on Mingyu’s lap this time. She picked him because she knew Won Woo would rather it be this way, Mingyu thought so as well. “We definitely need a car.” Seungkwan said in defeat.

 

“Do any of you drive?” Soo Min asked and was met with silence. “Then what’s the point of getting a car?!”

 

“I’ll learn to drive!” Mingyu chirped behind her. “Can you teach me?” He asked and gently drummed on her back while he did so.

 

“I could try! Won Woo could teach you too!” She chuckled when her voice came out bouncy from his drumming.

 

“That would be fun!” He said happily and rested his hands on her shoulders as a gesture that he was sorry for doing that when she was speaking. That’s when he noticed something. “Whoa~! Noona, your shoulders are so tense!” He said and pressed on her shoulder muscles, she flinched with a small whimper. “It’s very stiff on the right side, is it because of your art?” He asked with a frown.

 

“How can you tell?” She asked and reached back to see what he was talking about. “I never really paid attention to it before.”

 

“You’re long overdue for a massage.” Seungkwan pitied the girl. “You should let Soonyoung-hyung give you a massage, you won’t regret it!”

 

“I’m somehow scared.” She coward away towards the window.

 

“Soonyoung-hyung gives the best massages, there’s no need to be scared!” Mingyu assured her.

 

“I’ve never given a massage to a girl before.” Soonyoung also seemed nervous. “I’d need her parents, her friends and her boyfriend present for sure, my parents, my friends and my boyfriend too…”

 

“It’s just a massage!” Seungkwan laughed, his hyung could be so dramatic sometimes.

 

“I trust you~!” Seokmin hugged his boyfriend from behind.

 

“Good, one out of a hundred people.” Soonyoung laughed.

 

“You’re good at massages, right?” Minhyun suddenly spoke up in the front. “Can you give me one, too?” He was smacked by Ren and he laughed. “There’s no need to be jealous babe! Unless you wanted to give me the massage?”

 

“Shut up and drive.” Ren pouted. Soo Min thought it was kind of cute how jealous her brother gets when his boyfriend speaks to other guys, maybe it doesn’t happen often so he was more likely to react that way. “By the way, have you guys had breakfast yet?” He asked to Mingyu and his friends. Cue Aron pouting in the distance ready to answer Ren’s fifth call of the day.

---

Chapter fifty-six~!

 

Aron: My wallet… Ren you better pay me back for it all!

Minhyung: *Mistakes Ren’s sister as Ren*

Ren: Idiot.

Minhyun: I’m sorry! It’s the hair!

Ren: If that’s how it is, JR used to have blonde hair like you

JR is very very beautiful!

Minghyun: I agree, he is very very beautiful!

Ren: I didn’t say that for you to agree!

I’m deleting this whole A/N!!!

Ren: Happy Birthday, Author-nim, thanks for putting up with all of us crazy characters! Really thought you would have quit by the first year.

Minhyun: It’s been three years now and still going… wow.

Won Woo: *Waiting for the day he bickers with Mingyu in the A/Ns*

Mingyu: Let’s never fight, baby!

Won Woo: We’ll have to see about that…

Mingyu: …

LOL

Anyways, Happy Birthday to me, I wanted to post, so here I am. This chapter was much longer but then I cut it down cuz I felt like the other half would have been better for next chapter~! Plus I wanna stay a few chapters ahead so I can post again real soon!

Today I’m launching the foreward to the Mingyu and Minghao fic

(NOT OTP/SHIP don’t get confused)

If anyone’s interested in that feel free to go check it out, hope to have the first chapter up soon~!

The mains will be Minghao and Mingyu(Idol x OC fic). They’ll have their own little trios who meet and the story blossoms when they find themselves “Accidentally In Love” with their love interests! It’s been a fun story to write, so I hope to post more to CLOSER and this new one cuz I’ve been writing more to these two in particular lol

Seungcheol is me LOL this is how all my fanfics feel

I’m sorry to Won Woo’s fics lol I’ll get around to them soon and of course all the others like Jeonghan’s and Mingyu’s… and Jisoo’s. WOW so many, what am I doing with my life OTL

So until then! ^^