PART TWO

When Yunhyeong woke up to his alarm clock ringing, the first thing he heard was a low groan from the occupant of the bed next to him. He looked over and saw Chanwoo curled up on his side, whining softly. His forehead creased as he pulled his bed covers off him and climbed out bed, his heart thumping with worriedness.

“Chanwoo,” Yunhyeong called concerningly. He sat himself on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight, and gently pulled the covers that was cocooning Chanwoo down. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Eyes still closed, Chanwoo curled in even more. “My stomach hurts,” he whimpered.

“Your stomach?” An alarm bell rang in Yunhyeong’s head, and he immediately pressed his hand against Chanwoo’s forehead. He sighed in relief when the temperature felt normal.

“It’s probably because you drank a lot last night,” Yunhyeong said, softly. He slipped his hands under the covers and began to gently rubbed Chanwoo’s stomach to help lessen his discomfort. “What did you drink last night?”

Chanwoo frowned as his mind playback his memories of last night. “Erm…vodka…whiskey…tequila…” he mumbled.

Yunhyeong’s eyebrows raised. “No wonder you have a stomach ache,” he snorted. “Do you have a headache?”

“No…” Chanwoo said, shaking his head.

“Okay, well, it looks like you don’t have a hangover but your stomach does,” Yunhyeong remarked as he continued rubbing Chanwoo’s stomach. “Do you feel sick?”

Again, Chanwoo shook his head. “No…”

“Okay, hold on,” Yunhyeong said retrieving his hand and then stood up to leave the room. When he returned a heating pad was held in his hands. He sat back down on the bed and pulled the bed covers further down, then he lifted Chanwoo’s shirt up and placed the heating pad gently on Chanwoo’s stomach.

Chanwoo’s eyes slid open at the sudden heat on his stomach and glanced down at it.

“The heating pad should help with the stomach ache a little,” Yunhyeong explained as he tugged Chanwoo’s shirt back down and pulled the bed covers up to tuck him in.

Chanwoo closed his eyes again and cuddled into his pillow; and hummed quietly in response.

“I’ll go to the pharmacy and get some medicine for your stomach ache. It’s still really early in the morning so go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up later,” Yunhyeong said, his voice low. He ran his fingers through Chanwoo’s hair, soothing it in affection, and patted his arm as he effortlessly lured Chanwoo back to sleep.

***

“Morning, Jinhwan hyung,” Yunhyeong greeted as Jinhwan walked into the kitchen.

Jinhwan replied with a small, sleepy smile at Yunhyeong who was standing in front of the stove as he sat down on the dining table.

“Hyung, do you want some breakfast?” Yunhyeong asked.

“You cooked?” Jinhwan asked, surprised as he swivelled around in his seat to look at Yunhyeong. Due to busy schedules, Yunhyeong hardly cook these days so that’s why it’s surprising that he was on a working day especially on an early morning.

“Yeah,” Yunhyeong huffed a small laugh, “I wanted to cook a hangover soup for Chanwoo and thought I might as well cook breakfast for the rest.”

Yunhyeong noticed at how Jinhwan slightly flinched at the mention of Chanwoo’s name; no doubt, the event of last night replaying in his mind.

Yunhyeong leaned forward against the sink. “It’s just a fried rice though – I wanted to make kimchi fried rice but Chanwoo doesn’t like kimchi…so I made simple fried rice and the hangover soup.”

Jinhwan nodded his head, “Yeah – simple fried rice sounds good to me.”

“Ok,” Yunhyeong replied and grabbed a plate to fill it with the fried rice he cooked.

Jinhwan turned back in his chair and chewed the inside of his lip before softly asked, “How’s Chanwoo?”

“Sober,” Yunhyeong laughed. He finished scooping the rice into the plate and made his way to the table, grabbing a spoon as he passed the utensils’ drawer. “Although he didn’t get drunk, he probably did drink quite a lot last night so he has a bit of stomachache. So, Manager hyung has gone out to a pharmacy to get a medicine for it.”

Jinhwan gave a small smile of thanks as Yunhyeong placed the plate in front of him. “It’s good that he doesn’t have a bad hangover,” Jinhwan said as he ate a spoonful of his food. He tried to keep his tone as nonchalant as he could because he was still angry but at the same time after hearing that Chanwoo has a stomachache, worriedness settled in his stomach easily melting his red emotion. “Does his stomach hurts badly?”

Yunhyeong sat himself in front of Jinhwan at the table. “No, not really. I’ve put a heating pad on his stomach so it will help lessen the pain a little. And when he eats the medicine, I’m sure he’ll be better.”

Jinhwan nodded and ate another spoonful. “That’s good,” he muttered.

Yunhyeong tapped his index finger on the table. “Hyung,” he exhaled.

“Hhmm?”

“About last night,” Yunhyeong began, carefully. He wanted to help fix the situation not aggravate it further. “Don’t be too angry with Chanwoo.”

Jinhwan sighed and put his spoon down.

“I know you’re very protective of Chanwoo because he’s the youngest but you can’t have a hold on him forever,” Yunhyeong said. “He’s an adult now so of course he wants to go out with his friends to clubs, drinking and partying. And technically, there’s nothing wrong with that. We would be hypocrites if we forbid him because that’s what we do as well.”

“He went to a strip club last night!” Jinhwan argued.

“Hyung,” Yunhyeong said with a pointed look and a smile. “He’s a young twenty years old man hanging out with his same-aged friends – of course he would try to go to places like that. Some would even say, it’s normal.”

“Just because he’s at a legal age now and have a pass at many things, it doesn’t mean he can just go around to places like that!” Jinhwan counterattacked. “Especially without any of us with him!" he continued, fumingly, "He was out late! Drinking and partying with his friends - who we’ve never met! I didn’t know where he was! And when he didn’t answered his phone continuously, thousands of things went into my head! I was worried to death that something bad could’ve happened to him because we were not with him! Weren’t you worried?”

“Of course I was worried,” Yunhyeong replied calmly. “When he goes out by himself and comes home late at night, I can’t sleep until I know that he’s back home safe. When he takes a walk that he likes to take alone, I get worried. Even when he goes back to Yongin, I get worried. I’m always worried about him. You know that if Chanwoo is not in front of my eyes, I get immediately worried.”

Jinhwan was brought to sober silence; his anger has run away and was now replaced with relief, knowing that his concerns was also planted within Yunhyeong, that it was shared.

“So how do you deal with that?” Jinhwan asked quietly.

“By trusting him,” Yunhyeong answered honestly. “I know that he’s good at looking after himself and would think carefully before doing something stupid. Like last night – despite going out to a club – a strip club – until three in the morning, he didn’t come home completely drunk nor did anything else happened last night. He went out with his friends and that was it.”

Jinhwan sighed in defeat knowing that the facts were piling up against him, and also that Yunhyeong’s words were winning him over.

“I know, I know, he’s a good kid,” Jinhwan exhaled, his heart heavy. “But…it’s just that…”

“To you, Chanwoo is still a baby,” Yunhyeong finished, understanding Jinhwan’s mind.

Jinhwan nodded his head dejectedly. “Yeah…”

“But you know, hyung, babies don’t stay babies forever,” Yunhyeong remarked, smiling gently at Jinhwan. “They grow up. And so is baby Chanwoo.”

“And that’s why it’s so hard,” Jinhwan sighed. “Soon, he’s gonna stop watching cartoons and stop playing games –”

“I don’t think Chanwoo is ever gonna stop playing games,” Yunhyeong giggled.

Jinhwan smiled, “Yeah, maybe not.” His face creased into wistful sadness. "He refuses to do aegyo when he used to do it easily if we tell him to…He doesn’t drink milk tea that much anymore and only drinks coffee now; he doesn’t wear hoodies and caps that much anymore either and now likes to wear formal shirts…He’s getting his driving license and will buy his own car, and that will lead him to wanting to move out and living in his own place…then he’s probably gonna start dating and dates a beautiful actress that he met while filming a drama…”

Yunhyeong chuckled at his hyung’s rambling. “All of those are probably gonna happen to Chanwoo…”

“When Chanwoo is all grown up…he will still need us, right?”

“Of course!” Yunhyeong smiled reassuringly. “Who else is he going to whine to about Bobby and Hanbin being unfair in playing games with him?”

Jinhwan felt himself smile at that. His heart now felt calm and soothing.

“I was a little hard on Chanwoo last night, wasn’t I?” Jinhwan said sheepishly.

“A little.”

“I’ll talk to Chanwoo later,” Jinhwan said.

***

Jinhwan rapped his knuckles against the wooden door before gently pushing it open. He peeked his head in and saw Chanwoo sitting on his bed, scrolling through his phone.

“Chanwoo?” Jinhwan called.

Chanwoo looked up and his eyes widen slightly in nervousness.

Jinhwan smile at him softly. “Can I come in?”

Chanwoo gave a small smile in return and nodded his head. “Yeah, sure, hyung.”

“How’s your stomach? Is it better?” Jinhwan asked.

“I’ve ate the medicine so it feels much better now,” Chanwoo replied.

“I’m glad.” Jinhwan sat himself down next to Chanwoo on the bed. “Listen, Chanwoo, I’m sorry for scolding you last night.”

Chanwoo rubbed his hands on his thighs. “…I didn’t answer your calls…”

“Well…that’s true,” Jinhwan remarked and Chanwoo pouted as he dropped his head down slightly. “But still I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you. It’s not like you didn’t tell me anything – you did – and you have the right to come home late. You’re an adult now. I guess, I was just being overprotective with you. I’m sorry.”

Chanwoo smiled at Jinhwan. “It’s okay, hyung. I know you only did that because you care about me. And I’m sorry too for not answering your calls.”

Jinhwan patted Chanwoo’s cheek affectionately.

“How was the strip club last night?” Jinhwan asked.

“It was fun,” Chanwoo said, grinning slightly – only slightly because after all, he was talking to his mathyung who nearly bit his head off for going there in the first place. “It wasn’t as…” he scanned his brain for the most appropriate word. “… –”

Jinhwan raised his eyebrows.

“- as I thought it would be. The dancers didn’t strip off that much.”

He quickly added in, “The reason we went to a strip club is because the friend that will enlist soon will be spending almost two years in the army with mostly only men so we thought going to a strip club will help him…”

“I see,” Jinhwan said, amused at how Chanwoo shyly trailed off at the end. He laid a comforting hand on Chanwoo’s knee. “You’re an adult now and I can’t stop you from doing what you want but I’ll like it if you always tell me where you’re going. It would help with the worriedness a little bit.”

“Okay! I promise!” Chanwoo beamed and then wrapped his arms around Jinhwan, pulling him into a tight hug.

Jinhwan chuckled and patted Chanwoo’s back. “Thank you for always understanding me,” he said.

And it is true, whenever one of the eldest member would scold him, Chanwoo always lowered his head and never fight back; and when later, they would apologised, he would it accept easily with a smile saying that they were right in scolding him, and never hold grudges against them.

Jinhwan felt his heart swell with love and affection for him and he was thankful for Chanwoo being in his life.

“Anyway, go eat your breakfast,” Jinhwan said as they pulled apart. “We have to be at the photoshoot studio by nine-thirty.”

“Okay!” And Chanwoo jumped and skipped his way out of the bedroom to the kitchen.

Jinhwan watched him with affectionate eyes.

“He grows up so fast.”