This Friday was the day that Taeyong had to pick his sister up at the station. She had finished her exams and was coming back for the summer holidays, which meant they would be together for the next three months. Their parents had a lot of work and although their mother would probably be on vacation in August for 2-3 weeks, they still didn’t know when their father would have a day off.

“Taetae ! Congrats for your finals !” Seunghee sang out when she got in the car.

“Thanks. How did yours go ?” He said while driving off.

“Hm… Quite okay I guess.. I just hope I’ll pass so that I can finally be done with college.” She muttered.

He nodded understandingly.

“But Tae… We’re on holidays !!” She shouted happily.

“Finally.”

“We should go to the sea next week.”

Their parents had a secondary residence by the sea where they were used to go on holidays with their friends.

He shrugged. “As usual.”

“Okay, now that Seunghee is back, we can finally prepare our annual summer trip.” Doyoung said in a serious tone.

“Just put some clothes in a bag and we’re ready to go !” Taeil cried out.

The others burst out laughing. Taeyong shook his head in disbelief. They had stopped at the café to meet with their friends since they still had time before their parents should come back from work.

“Which summer trip ?” Ten asked curiously.

“Taeyong and Seunghee’s parents have a house by the sea where we go every summer.” Johnny explained.

“Oh ! Sounds nice !” Ten smiled to Taeyong who ruffled his hair, a little embarrassed.

“I can’t go with you.” Kun sighed. “My mother organized our holidays already and it was such a pain to convince her to bring Eunjin for only a week.”

Hansol patted his shoulder. “It’s okay Kun… You’re going on vacation with your mother, it’s great.”

“I know… it just feels… strange… I’ll be with her 24/7 for a month and a half…” He said, his face worried.

Taeyong could understand how he felt. If he had to be 24/7 with his father for more than two weeks, they would’ve already killed each other.

“It’s okay, we’ll see each other for the start of college in October.” Yuta added.

“Yeah..”

-

It had been two months since his break up with Chaeyeon and Taeyong’s parents had talked about her every week. Asking him if he was alright, if something had happened. His answer had always been the same: shrugs and sighs with ‘nothing, I just think we weren’t suited for each other’. As time went by, they asked less frequently but it was still a subject of worry for them.

That Saturday, his mother was here exceptionally. They ate lunch just the two of them because Seunghee was out with friends.

“Tae… I know you probably don’t want to talk about it…”

He held back a sigh.

“But since you broke up with Chaeyeon…”

Here we go again.

“You seem so much happier.”

Taeyong almost choked on his food. “What ?”

“You seem happier…”

He stared at her, startled. Then shrugged. “If you say so.. I haven’t noticed.”

“Well I tell you then… I don’t know what made you like that… or who..”

Taeyong felt a shiver ran down his spine. He didn’t like where this was going.

“But I’m thankful… because it’s true your father and I liked Chaeyeon… she was a nice girl.”

He looked at her wide eyed.

“But I noticed she didn’t make you happy.”

“It’s not like that..” He said in a low voice.

“Yes, that’s how it is… You’ve been with her for a month and you looked miserable. Did something happen while you were together ..?”

He blinked nervously. “No… She was nice… but I wasn’t the right guy for her. And she wasn’t the right person for me.”

She nodded understandingly and came back to her food. “Okay… I’ll leave it at that… For now.”

Taeyong sighed in relief, which wasn’t the most discrete thing to do at that moment.

“One more question Taeyong…”

He looked at her with questioning eyes.

“Is there someone else ?”

He gulped nervously. “What do you mean ..?”

“I’m not blind Tae… So that’s why I’m asking you: are you with someone else ?”

Taeyong pursed his lips and nodded slowly.

His mother smiled widely. “Then I’m happy this person makes you happy… You don’t have to tell me who it is… I think we pressured you a little too much with Chaeyeon… When you’re ready, we’ll be happy to meet that person okay ..?”

Taeyong was completely astonished by what his mother had just said. He gently grabbed her hand in his and gave her a small smile.

“Thank you Mom… Thank you so much.”

-

“We finally arrived ! It’s been forever !” Yuta whined.