Clover (white) – never forget those you love

                The next morning, Dongwan was on his way to the kitchen when he stumbled across Daehyun after going down the stairs. The young man was carefully tapping the ground with a hand on the wall, most probably heading to the same place as him.

                “Good morning, Daehyun,” he greeted a few steps before he could reach the young man.

                “Uncle Dongwan.” Daehyun stopped in his track and smiled when he felt the man’s presence next to him. “Good morning.”

                “You’re up early.”

                “Yeah, I’m just going to see if Aunt Minjee needs help in making breakfast, and I’ve been hoping to meet you too,” Daehyun said.

                “Oh, really? Do you miss me that much? We just met last night, though,” Dongwan joked around.

                Daehyun chuckled. “I do miss you, uncle. But I also wanted to thank you for giving me the flowers,” he said with a genuine smile sent in Dongwan’s direction. “You made me realized the most important thing in my life.”

                Dongwan shook his head. “I didn’t. I just helped you remember it.” He smiled benevolently as he gave Daehyun’s shoulder a pat. “Honestly, I wanted to thank you too, for accepting my son.”

                Daehyun’s face crimsoned at Dongwan’s much bigger gratitude towards him. “I’d regret for the rest of my life if I didn’t,” he muttered shyly in return.

                It overwhelmed Dongwan’s heart, causing him to let out a happy sigh. “I really want to hug you right now.”

                Daehyun laughed softly. “You don’t have to ask about it.”

                Right after that being said, Dongwan pulled the young man into a tight hug. Daehyun gladly reciprocated, enjoying the warmth of Dongwan’s embrace, which almost felt like his own father’s.

                “Is it going to be like this from now on?” Yongguk asked while watching his mother mixing Aunt Narae’s tonic with juice in one of the glasses.

                “We have to take every chance we got. It’s much easier now that Daehyun’s going to have meals here from today,” Minjee replied as she stirred the drink with a spoon on the counter.

                “Good morning.” Dongwan entered the kitchen with Daehyun holding onto his arm.

                Both Minjee and Yongguk looked up towards the entrance. “Oh, you’re early,” she said with a slight surprise.

                “What are you saying? I’m always this early every day,” Dongwan retorted, halting his steps when he reached them. Daehyun then released his arm to give him some space with his wife.

                “Yeah, right,” Minjee scoffed at her husband, but still returned his quick morning kiss. “Could you wait for a while, Daehyun?” she spoke up after that while Dongwan was pouring a drink for himself. “I haven’t served the breakfast on the table yet.”

                “Oh no, I’m not that hungry. I just thought that I might help you with something.” Daehyun smiled at her, sheepishly toying with the handle of his cane at the same time.

                “Aww that’s so sweet of you,” Minjee cooed at him. “You don’t really have to, you know. I won’t mind if you want to sleep a little bit more.”

                “I’ve slept enough, aunty,” Daehyun replied with a small laugh which made Yongguk, who had been fondly gazing at him, carved a smile too.

                “Where’s Eunbyul?” Dongwan asked his wife after taking a sip of the juice.

                “She went to wake Junhong up,” Minjee told him before going to grab Daehyun’s hand. “Come on, I’ll let you help me.”

                Daehyun gladly followed the woman’s lead, but only after a few steps, there was another person taking a grip of his wrist, breaking his hold on Minjee’s hand when it stopped him from walking.

                Minjee realized that it was Yongguk. His son was meaningfully grinning at her and she easily got the message. So, she quickly went to grab his husband’s arm before pulling him further into the kitchen.

                Yongguk stood in front of his mate, gently holding onto the smaller hand. “So, did you met my dad halfway here or you were with him from the start?”

                Daehyun sighed with a smile. “I met your dad when I was more than halfway here.”

                “So you took the right path before that?”

                “Of course! I told you I have memorized it all in my mind.”

                Yongguk nodded his head with a hum. He turned to have a brief look around and when he was sure his parents were not looking, he turned to Daehyun again.

                “Well, good job and good morning,” he said before pecking the younger man on the lips, causing Daehyun to go red all over his face.

                Yongguk was aware that he had tons of work to do, not only from his gym, but also from his father’s company. However, instead of getting it done, he kept staring at his beautiful mate from his desk. The younger man was sitting on the sofa in his office, his knees bent and legs to one side as he propped his elbow on the arm rest. The newly bought braille book was placed on his lap and he ran his fingers on the raised dots to read it.

                No matter how many times he tried to get his attention back to work, Yongguk’s gaze would still divert towards his mate. He just loved the different expressions Daehyun was making when reading, mostly too adorable for Yongguk and he ended up grinning like a fool to himself.

                So when Daehyun suddenly turned to him, Yongguk was totally caught off guard. He quickly looked back to his computer even if he knew that there was nothing he should be embarrassed about. It was just that he always felt like Daehyun could actually see him.

                “Hyung?” Daehyun called carefully, hoping that he wouldn’t disturb the older man with his work.

                Yongguk cleared his throat before answering. “Yeah?”

                “I’m going to get a drink,” Daehyun stood up after closing the book and put it aside.

                “Do you want me to come with you?”

                “It’s okay, I can go on my own,” Daehyun refused as he searched for his walking stick on the coffee table in front of him and straightened it out once he found it. “Do you want any?”

                “No, I’m fine.”

                “Alright.” Daehyun smiled in Yongguk’s direction before starting to make his way out, not knowing that the older man kept staring at him until he closed the door.

                The staff room was next to the manager’s office. Daehyun didn’t take long to reach there. He stopped in front of the door to press Yongguk’s password before finally going in.

                “Hello?” he checked if someone else was there.

                When he received no reply, he proceeded towards the water dispenser. That was when he caught a familiar scent of someone coming from the sofa. He didn’t say anything though, thinking that the person was probably napping since he wasn’t answered earlier. But while he was waiting for his cup to get filled, he could smell something else; something like a bag of potato chips.

                Daehyun decided to try calling the person out at last. “Himchan hyung, is that you?”

                Himchan gasped. “Holy crap, how did you know?”

                Daehyun smirked when his guess was correct. “So you don’t want me to find out you’re here eating chips.”

                “Please don’t tell Yongguk about it,” Himchan immediately appealed to the latter.

                Daehyun chuckled at Himchan’s pleading. “Why would I tell him? I won’t get anything from doing so.”

                Himchan breathed out in relief after hearing that. “Thank you so much.”

                “But, you can tell me something,” Daehyun suggested with a sly smile.

                Himchan contemplated for a second before shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll tell you anything.”

                Daehyun cheered internally before bringing his cup of water to find an empty spot on the same sofa. He took a seat not so far from Himchan after setting his cane on the floor. “You know, I bought a few books and all of them are about werewolves. I can’t find any with weredragons,” he began.

                Himchan shook his head while clicking his tongue repeatedly. “Werewolves are so overrated,” he expressed his discontent over the matter, but continued to eat from the bag of chips nonetheless.

                “I read a little bit of all and they similarly mention about positions or rankings in a werewolves pack. Is it the same with a weredragons clan?” Daehyun questioned about his uncertainty.

                Himchan nodded. “Sort of,” he said before adding, “The difference is that the rankings in the weredragons clan are determined by the strength of fire they breathe,” he clarified and Daehyun’s mouth formed an O shape.

                “Now listen carefully.” Straightening his body on the sofa, Himchan leaned closer towards the younger man. “The strongest fire is blue, followed by yellow, orange and red. Weredragons that breathe blue fire will usually be the alpha. Weredragons that breathe yellow and orange will be the second and third in command. They are called beta and gamma. Weredragons that breathe red fire are usually an omega,” he tried to explain as clearly as possible.

                “But, since omegas are the weakest, they have a special ability to protect themselves from other weredragons attack,” Himchan began to tell Daehyun the extra details. “Like my mother, she has healing toxin in her dragon form, but if you take it more than you should have, it will be deadly. Other than that, my wife’s tail can shoot poisonous quill, Suwoong has camouflage ability, and Youngjae has echolocation ability.”

                “Oh… I’ll surely keep that in mind,” Daehyun voiced out his amazed response. “What about you, hyung? What’s your ranking?”

                Himchan rubbed the tip of his nose smugly. “I’m a beta.”

                “Wow, impressive!” Daehyun was genuinely in awe. “So, who’s the alpha of the Empyrean?”

                “You seriously don’t know?” Himchan’s brows arched up. “Yongguk doesn’t tell you about it?”

                “He only told me about the clan’s name and about the sky, ocean and mountain weredragons.”

                “Why didn’t you ask him?”

                “I don’t want to disturb his work.” Daehyun jutted out his bottom lip.

                Himchan had a thought to himself, contemplating whether he should be the one to tell Daehyun about it. When he didn’t remember Yongguk forbidding him from doing so, he decided to answer the younger man anyway. Besides, Daehyun is slowly becoming a part of their clan. They shouldn’t hide anything from him anymore.

                “Uncle Dongwan,” he said to Daehyun. “Uncle Dongwan is the alpha.”

                Daehyun frowned. “Wait, I think I’ve heard this from Youngjae,” he paused for a moment to let his mind recall about Youngjae’s visit from the other day. “Yeah, he said something about Uncle Dongwan being the alpha and Yongguk hyung is the next…”

                Himchan stopped eating, looking up at the latter when he didn’t finish his sentence. The younger man had his jaw dropped as he stared into nothingness. “Daehyun…? You still there?”

                “Yongguk hyung is the next alpha?!” Daehyun suddenly shrieked, making Himchan jump in his seat.

                “Yeah, he is,” Himchan confirmed after heaving a long deep breath to calm himself from the surprise. “We call him young alpha. And after you’re mated to him, you’ll be the Luna of the clan, just like Aunt Minjee.”

                “Oh god.”

                “What’s wrong?”

                “So I’ll be the… ‘Luna’…? After I’m mated with Yongguk hyung?” Daehyun asked for more clarification. “How am I supposed to be mated with him again?”

                “You have to go through a mating process with him,” Himchan started another explanation, as well as another bag of chips. “He’ll just need to mark you by biting the back of your neck during an .”

                Daehyun’s mind couldn’t help imagining it, causing his face to redden. “What’s a Luna supposed to do?” he asked to change the topic.

                “A Luna’s role is more or less like a leader. It is usually for females who are mated the clan's leader.”

                Daehyun breathed out a long despairing sigh. “I don’t think I’m ready for that. I can’t lead a weredragon clan? I’m a weak human being.”

                “Shh…” Himchan placed a finger before his mouth. “Yongguk would be pissed if he heard that.”

                “But it’s true,” Daehyun retorted in a whisper.

                Himchan could clearly see that Daehyun was unnecessarily worrying about his position in the clan. “Well, if you mate with Yongguk, you’ll actually fulfill your role as a Luna. Because, weredragons will be in their strongest form once they’re mated and an alpha surely needs that strength to lead a clan,” he made an attempt to get rid of Daehyun’s anxiety.

                Daehyun didn’t say anything in return. Instead, he gulped down the whole cup of water in a single breath.

                Himchan patted Daehyun’s shoulder to comfort him. “Don’t think too much about it. Just keep in mind that you’re an alpha’s mate. That’s it. As simple as that.”

                Jongup rushed out of the lecture hall’s building, going towards the parking lot. Youngjae wasn’t lying in the text, in which the man said that he was waiting for him there. He saw Youngjae leaning against a car from a distance and though he didn’t want to admit it, the beautiful sight made his heart leap in happiness.

                “You came to pick me up?” Jongup spoke once he reached Youngjae’s car.

                Youngjae looked up from his phone, not even surprised when Jongup suddenly appeared in front of him. “Of course, you’re not thinking of going to the mansion on foot, do you?”

                “No, but I was thinking of going with Suwoong.” Jongup’s thumb pointed towards the direction he came from.

                “You know he’ll go jamming with his band first, right?”

                Jongup shrugged his shoulders. “I can wait.”

                Youngjae was rendered speechless. He averted his gaze to somewhere else when the air turned awkward. Maybe for him, but not for Jongup. The younger man was just amused seeing his reaction.

                “But since you’re already here, I guess I’ll just go with you.” Jongup felt bad for making Youngjae feel embarrassed. So, he acted nonchalant by getting into the passenger seat on his own.

                “Great,” Youngjae sighed after Jongup got into the car.

                “Is Daehyun hyung still at the gym?” Jongup asked when Youngjae had started driving.

                “No, Yongguk hyung sent him to the clan’s house earlier.”

                “Are you going to return to the gym later?”

                Youngjae shook his head. ”Yongguk hyung said I don’t have to.”

                After that, it was only silence between them. Jongup didn’t know what to say anymore. Besides, he was afraid he would annoy the latter again.

                Youngjae glanced beside him and saw the younger man looking out of the window. His mind was telling him to say something since it was his initial intention in the beginning, which was to have a talk with Jongup.

                Shaking off the hesitation he got, Youngjae pulled himself together before finally speaking up. “I have something to tell you.”

                Jongup instantly turned to look at the man next to him. “Okay,” he said, hinting at Youngjae to go on.

                Taking in a deep breath, Youngjae readied himself to reveal something about him that Jongup was yet to know. “It’s about my lover,” he began, eyes fixed on the road. “He actually passed away two years ago.”

                Even though Jongup had already known about that, he didn’t expect Youngjae to tell him on his own. Hearing the word ‘my lover’ coming out from Youngjae’s mouth was enough to cause pain in his heart, but he chose to endure it for now. “How did he die?” he asked carefully.

                “My old clan killed him,” Youngjae muttered under his breath.

                “What?” Jongup’s eyes widened in surprise. “But why?”

                “They couldn’t accept the fact that a member of their clan would be mated to a sky dragon; a male sky dragon.” Youngjae’s tone was numb as he said that.

                Jongup was starting to feel concern over the older man. He wondered if he should just end their conversation, but he was just too curious to stop asking. “So… you’re not a sky dragon?”

                “No, I’m an ocean dragon,” Youngjae confessed and Jongup nodded in acknowledgement.

                “How did you end up with the Empyreans?”

                “My mate was actually the son of Uncle Jungsu and Aunty Byul. So after I ran away from my clan, the Empyreans took me in.”

                Once again, Jongup was surprised to receive all the new information. “You ran away after your mate was killed?”

                Youngjae shrugged his shoulders. “How could I live with the people who killed my mate? How can I live with those kind of people who couldn’t take up even the slightest difference in their clan?”

                There were a lot more of things that Jongup wished to know about Youngjae, but then, he decided that maybe it was enough for now. He gazed at the man’s beautiful side profile. It was no wonder Youngjae’s dragon form was as beautiful as his human form. Now he knew why the man was different from the others and it made him even happier than before.

                “I’ve always liked the ocean,” Jongup said and offered a smile when Youngjae glanced at him. “It’s calming and refreshing. My dad had a thought that it is actually my guardian spirit.” He casted his gaze on his lap, letting his voice trailed off.

                Youngjae turned to have a brief look at the younger man, wondering if Jongup was just bluffing or really saying the truth. After a moment, Jongup raised his head again and shifted his gaze back to the road.

                “Anyway, I’m really sorry for your lover’s death. I can’t imagine the hard times you’ve gone through,” Jongup sincerely expressed his sympathy.

                Those words made all the hard times flashed before his eyes. From the moment of his mate’s last breath until now, it had been a struggle for him to keep living on this world. The thought of his mate would only make him cry every time, but he would never want Jongup to see his weak tears. So, he bottled up his feelings and held back his tears from falling.

                In the lounge room of the clan’s house, Daehyun was having a chat with Junhong since the kids were napping in their rooms. The boy had quickly changed his school uniform right after he got back from school. He wanted to keep Daehyun company because his mother and aunts had chores to do, leaving Daehyun alone with his book.

                “I finally have someone to talk to.” Junhong exhaled a grateful sigh as he sat near Daehyun on the sofa. “I’m so happy you’re here, hyung.” He sniffled in a faux crying.

                Daehyun caught the boy’s act at once and playfully cooed at him. “Aww… Have you always been alone before?”

                “I’m always lonely at home since other members have their own stuff to do,” Junhong pouted.

                “Don’t be sad.” Daehyun reached out to pat the boy’s thigh. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to leave you alone all the time.”

                “Yeah, they actually take very good care of me,” Junhong admitted with a small smile before averting his gaze to his lap. “Maybe it’s just because I was the closest to my brother. So, after he’s gone, I kind of feel empty,” he muttered as he recalled those times they had spent together.

                Daehyun could totally understand the boy’s feelings. His father was also his best friend besides his brother. The pain he felt in his heart when his father left him was something he had never imagine to experience.

                “Do you miss your brother?” Daehyun asked.

                Junhong chuckled because the answer was obvious. “Of course. He was my best friend.”

                “What did you often do with him”

                Junhong hummed as he gave it a thought. “Sometimes, we would play video games or go to the arcade. Sometimes, he would help me with my homework and sometimes, he would teach me piano.”

                Hearing that last reply, Daehyun could only emit an amused sigh. “You know that I’m a piano teacher, right?”

                Later on, both of them were sitting next to each other on a piano stool. Junhong had brought Daehyun to the parlor where the grand piano was at, thinking that he could lessen his longing towards his brother by letting Daehyun teach him.

                Stretching every part of his hands, Junhong began to play the piano after choosing an easy song that he was familiar with. He was pretty confident throughout the first verse since he remembered all the notes and keys his brother had taught him.

                “How was that?” he asked, stopping before going to the second verse.

                “That was not bad.” Daehyun smiled in the boy’s direction. “But you tend to make the sound jump. Try not to lift your wrist when changing your hands.”

                Junhong gaped at the latter in awe. “Wow, how did you know that?”

                Daehyun was just grinning instead of giving an answer. “Want to try again?”

                Junhong took on the challenge and played once more. He was being a lot more careful this time, trying to correct his previous mistake. “How about that?” he asked after he was done.

                Daehyun laughed, as if he was very satisfied and proud and it made Junhong pulled a wide smile too.

                “That is… so bad.” Daehyun’s laugh died down, his smile disappeared as well as Junhong’s. “I told you not to lift your wrist,” he reminded the boy.

                “I tried, but it’s been so long since I’ve last played.” Junhong tittered nervously. He started to play again without being told, but he was stopped only after a few notes.

                “No… no, no. You’re straining your wrist this time,” Daehyun commented sternly. “Again.”

                Another play of the piano by Junhong and Daehyun stopped him midway again. “Can you not play with random s? You didn’t use the same s every time you play.” He let out a disgruntled sigh.

                Junhong’s eyes widened at the man with his jaw dropped. “Woah… Are you really blind?”

                “I am and I can play better than you,” Daehyun remarked in a cold tone.

                This was the first time Junhong found a human to be scary. He swallowed hard before beginning to play again.

                “I told you not to lift your wrist!”

                Junhong jumped in his seat, surprised by Daehyun’s sudden loud voice. “I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered out his apology.

                “Again!” Daehyun gave his order and Junhong followed it immediately.

                “Seriously?! You should’ve decided which fingers are playing which notes or you’d mess up the tempo,” Daehyun pointed out desperately.

                “I understand,” Junhong muttered timidly under his breath. Heaving a deep breath, he made another attempt at playing the same verse of the song.

                “Oh my goodness, I’m stressed. My kindergarten students are so far better than you.” Daehyun sighed, his palms pressing the sides of his head.

                Junhong didn’t know why, but the sight appeared to be funny for him. He tried to hold his laughter as his mind was wondering why was Daehyun being so serious in teaching him. They were supposed to be doing this for fun, but maybe Daehyun was a piano teacher at heart that he couldn’t accept even the slightest mistake by the player.

                Daehyun felt for the piano keys, making Junhong draw back his hands. The older man positioned his fingers before starting to play the exact verse of the song perfectly.

                “It’s so easy! Why can’t you do that?” Daehyun directed his question to the boy after that.

                “Hyung, that’s so awesome!” Junhong clapped his hands in pure amazement. “Can you play a little bit more?”

                Daehyun pondered for a moment. He was actually very pleased with Junhong’s reaction, though he wouldn’t admit it and tried to suppress his grin. So, he decided to fulfill the boy’s request. “Just a little bit more,” he said, but became gradually engrossed in the song and ended up playing longer than he should.

                Even though the mansion was huge, the music was loud enough to reach most parts of it, making the ladies come to take a look. Minjee, Narae and Eunbyul were all standing at the archway of the parlor, just watching those two from behind.

                It really surprised them that the piano was emitting sounds again after such a long time. No one had ever played it since Dabin passed away because none of the clan members could play as good as he did. Besides, all of the clan members sort of silently came to a mutual agreement that they would make it as a memorial to their late Dabin since it was something he treasured the most, including all the music sheets he had left there.

                That was why Eunbyul was brought to tears hearing the familiar music filled the house again. Both Minjee and Narae also failed to hold their tears as they tried comforting her. It almost felt like Dabin was never really gone.

                Meanwhile, Youngjae and Jongup had just got off the car after keeping it in the garage. The second Youngjae stepped into the mansion, he was paralyzed with utter shock at the sound of the piano.

                Jongup abruptly halted his steps before staring quizzically at the latter. He had no idea why Youngjae turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost. When he was about to ask him if he was okay, Youngjae was suddenly able to move again as he hurried to get inside.

                Confused, Jongup followed the older man in a slower pace. The music became louder with every step he took, but he didn’t bother much about it since Daehyun had always been playing the piano at home. It also didn’t surprise him to find out that his brother was actually the one who was making the music. Instead, he was flabbergasted to see the ladies crying as they watched his brother quietly from behind.

                It put more question marks in his head. Thinking that he could get some explanation from Youngjae, he turned to the said man next to him as they stood behind the ladies, only to be taken by surprise again at the sight of tears running down his cheeks.

                Again, Youngjae turned away and left in a rush. Jongup’s eyes widened at the latter’s act. Without thinking twice, he went after Youngjae until they were out of the mansion. The older man had finally stopped right before the steps, hunched over while crying his heart out.

                It broke Jongup’s heart to see Youngjae hurting like that. Though he didn’t know the reason why, he decided to just comfort the man for now instead of asking him about it. Therefore, Jongup slowly approached him before giving the shaking back a gentle rub.

                “It’s been two years!” Youngjae screamed in agony. “Why is the pain still the same?!” His legs gave up on him, causing him to plop down on the ground. “How long should I live like this?” His voice gradually died down, leaving only convulsive sobs again.

                By now, Jongup had a guess that the reason was because of Youngjae’s dead lover. His heart squeezed in pain because of that; because he could see with his own eyes how much Youngjae still loves that guy. But honestly, he wasn’t annoyed or jealous. It also surprised him to be having this thought, but he really wished that guy was still alive and made Youngjae happy rather than seeing him bawling like this.

                His hand was left hanging in the air after Youngjae crumpled to the ground. Heaving a deep breath, Jongup went down beside him before pulling him into his tight embrace. He wished he could take the pain away from Youngjae, but no, he could only lend his shoulder for him to cry on. He would be by Youngjae’s side until the pain go away no matter how long it takes. He was satisfied with doing just that, moreover when Youngjae eventually returned his hug.

                Back at the parlor, Daehyun had finished playing the song and received an applause from Junhong. Wiping their tears, the ladies just silently watched those two continuing their lessons again. They knew Junhong must be reminded of his brother too, but the boy was genuinely smiling instead of shedding tears. They never thought that this day would come; when Junhong could enjoy himself playing the piano again.

                “You see, that’s our future Luna,” Minjee whispered to both Narae and Eunbyul, making them turn to look at her and mirror her smile. “He’s special,” she told them, earning an approving nod in return.