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Ten years later...

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"Did you receive the new costumes?" Kyungsoo yelled to the phone that was sandwiched between his ear and his shoulder, balancing himself as he lifted a box that was full of toys and dolls as he trod down the stairs, sneakers squeaking by the shiny tiled floor.

On the other line was his bestfriend, Chanyeol, who was now a producer working in Seoul. On the other hand, Kyungsoo had achieved his dream of being a singer and building a studio here in Busan. He also scouted homeless children in the streets and taught them how to sing and dance. They'd even joined competitions at times and had won a bunch.

The elder was currently telling Kyungsoo about the new shoes for the kids that he had bought from Japan.

"Yes. And, mind you, they were all signed by SHINee!"

"Wow!" Kyungsoo exclaimed, putting the box down onto the floor and plopping his body on the couch. He pulled the phone and placed it near his ear to be comfortable, cheeks hurting from smiling too wide. "You got a popular band to sign them?"

"Anything for you, munchkin."

He scrunched his face at the elder's silliness but laughed to himself nonetheless.

"Eew, hyung. Stop it."

"I love you so much."

"I don't."

"Ouch. How could you be so heartless? After all the years we've been together—"

"Appa!"

"Wait. Is that—"

He whipped his head to where the voice had come from and his lips lifted up to form a small smile as his eyes laid on the small little girl that was one of the most important people in his life.

And before he knew it, the phone was taken away from his grip as the little girl giggled and jumped around. She jumped on the couch and blushed at the sound of her father's voice on the other line.

"Appa! I missed you already!" the eight-year old girl who wore a dress too big for her small body huffed, folding her frail arms, lower lip jutting out.

"But I called you yesterday, Shari!" the man on the phone almost whined and he chuckled after as he heard his daughter's ramblings about how she missed the best father in the whole world.

Kyungsoo could only watch and listen at the two, an amused smile playing on his lips as he thought of how cute the two were.

"Why are you in your uncle Kyungsoo's house, by the way?" Chanyeol asked his daughter through the phone.

And before the girl could even answer, Kyungsoo yelled, "Babysitting!"

The little girl only huffed in the couch. "But I always tell eomma I'm not a baby anymore."

"Fine. Haha. Anyway, you listen well to uncle Kyungsoo, okay? Don't make any mess there. I love you, baby."

"I love you, too, appa," the girl replied, rosy cheeks widening as she grinned.

"And, Kyungsoo, tell Seungwan that I love her so much."

"Fine. I'll tell your wife. Bye, hyung," Kyungsoo beamed as he thought of the elder's lovely wife and mentally noted to tell her as soon as he saw her after work. He gestured for Shari to come closer.

The girl complied and handed him the phone back.

He ended the call as soon as Chanyeol had said his farewell.

Kyungsoo's eyes lingered at his wallpaper for a moment. The sudden wave of memories would always come rushing back to him whenever he saw that photo.

It had been years, but he still couldn't forget about the only person who made his heart skip a beat and the butterflies living in his stomach fluttered.

The only person he had loved – and still did.

He never had contacted the boy since their departure for he'd believed that he would only cause distraction.

He'd heard from his other cousins that the boy was already a teacher in a university in America.

Kyungsoo wasn't a bit surprised, though. He'd known that the younger would do well. Jongin was perfect in any way after all.

He'd granted the younger's wish, by the way. He now always started his day with a smile and had been optimistic.

He smiled to himself as he thought about what might Jongin look like now, staring at the old pic that was his wallpaper.

But with a heavy heart, he closed his phone and put it back on his pants' pocket.

The girl in front of him just looked up at him with doe-eyes that had him remembering someone who had the same sparkling ones.

"What fun are we gonna do now, oppa?" the girl asked, her nose scrunching as she scratched her pink ears.

He looked at the girl and smiled at her, already having an idea in his mind.

"How about we go get ice cream after I drop some things to the studio?" he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows, hoping that the child would take his bait.

But it was just an excuse.

Truly, he didn't want to go to work today or even take care of a dear friend's kid. He just wanted to free himself of things and just... go to wherever his feet took him. He just wanted to a have a break just for a day.

Just one day, he wanted to be a normal boy again. Not an adult, a dancer, a singer or even a studio owner.

Just Do Kyungsoo.

The little girl could only nod her head repeatedly, eyes sparkling like an excited character in an anime.

"Ice cream sounds and tastes good, oppa."

--

He stopped the car just across the park where children jumped and shouted till their throats hurt as they played in the playground. The day was quite windy which was good. The sound of the cars passing by woke the little girl that had been sleeping from the ride. Shari yawned and stretched her arms in the air, rubbing her eyes after and clicking her tongue.

"Are we there yet?" she perked, looking through her too long bangs that had covered her large brown orbs.

"We're here," Kyungsoo declared.

The girl immediately got off the car by herself and ran to the playground with a loud and hyped shrill, completely forgetting the main reason why they were here. And that was to get ice cream.

"Be careful, Shari! Don't go too far!"

The girl just lifted her hand to form an "OK" sign at him and faced the bunch of children playing at the park, strutting towards them.

Probably to make friends, he thought. Kids.

An image of Seulgi suddenly flashed in his mind, instantly making his heart shrink.

Shari was just like her.

Kyungsoo puffed a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, getting out of his car. He suddenly received a message from his mom that told him that she missed him already. He smiled as he pictured his mother taking care of his sick grandma at Goyang. He was sad he couldn't come because of work but he had promised her that he would visit when he had the time.

He was about to type a reply when he heard some yelling that was not that far from him. Glancing at the moving bodies near a lamppost, he watched amused.

There were two boys who were shouting at each other. The taller black-haired one in a blue top had his face distorted in what Kyungsoo could only guess was annoyance while the shorter one was in a black tank top and was currently yelling at the taller boy.

Kyungsoo didn't know it, but he was already dragging his feet to approach the arguing boys. Something inside of him was exploding with such familiarity he couldn't even put a finger to.

"You should've ing told me that Yeri's in the other park. We ing wasted our time here, Taeyong!" the shorter of the two boys snapped at the taller. Kyungsoo thought that the shouting boy was probably the older of the two.

"Jaehyun-hyung, don't curse! Many people are looking. And I didn't know that your sister would go there, okay?" the taller boy, which Kyungsoo concluded was the younger of both boys, huffed and pouted. "We could always go there, y'know?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No. You shut up, mochi-hyung!"

"How dare you call me that softie?"

"Because you look like one, hyung!"

"I'm gonna smack you so hard right now!"

"Bite me."

"Hey, hey, what's going on in here?" Kyungsoo couldn't help himself anymore that he interfered the arguing boys who were now drawing a crowd of spectators around the park.

The tall boy, who he guessed was the one named Taeyong, directed his surprised gaze at him.

"Oh, gee, I'm... s-sorry, sir," Taeyong shamefully stuttered, noticing the dirty and confused looks people in the park were currently sending them.

"Yeah, you should be!" the other boy, Jaehyun, snarled at Taeyong who just scrunched his face at him.

Kyungsoo, who was completely aware of the crowd around them now, grabbed both of the boys' arms and pulled them, dragging them to a bench that was far from the eavesdropping people. The boys just complied and let him lead them.

--

Kyungsoo then made them sit on the bench, the boys gawking awkwardly.

Taeyong was opening his mouth to probably mutter something but Kyungsoo beat him to it.

"You must be cousins, are you?" He asked them through interested eyes.

He now understood why there was suddenly a familiar feeling in him earlier that had made him speak to the boys.

The reason was because they reminded him of Jongin and him very much.

The way the boys spoke, moved, and acted around each other.

It was just like Jongin and him before.

And that made Kyungsoo smile.

The boys both glanced at each other for a second and nodded at him.

Damn, he thought, feeling his heart twitch. Just like Jongin and I.

"But..." Jaehyun trailed off, clearing his throat. "Taeyong's just adopted. So, we're not really related at all."

Kyungsoo's lips suddenly widened into a smile, his heart exploding with mirth.

This must be the 'another us' Jongin was talking about on his letter, he thought. The another us in another story that are perfect.

"Yeah..." Taeyong shyly agreed, face flushing as he glanced at Jaehyun, a spark of something in his eyes.

And that didn't go unnoticed by Kyungsoo. And he understood the boy.

"But he's so annoying!" Jaehyun huffed, glancing at Taeyong just the same.

"That's fine," Kyungsoo found himself saying. "I say that you just continue to care for each other like real cousins do and just go with the flow. Trust me."

Both of the boys stared at him like he was someone from another country of another language.

"Okay?" Jaehyun said, already standing up. "We have to find my sister now. We should go now."

"Thanks for saving us back there, sir," Taeyong beamed, scratching his nape as if he was shy.

"No problem," Kyungsoo replied and smiled.

The boys finally walked to the left, still bickering about the little girl they were supposed to be taking care of.

Then it hit Kyungsoo.

"Shari!" he yelled as he turned his body around to face the playground which was now filled with many random children who were yelling and throwing sand and toys at each other, with their mothers and guardians  gossiping at the back.

He trod his way towards the playground but he couldn't see the girl's black head and long dress anywhere and that made his heart stop beating.

Chanyeol was surely gonna butcher him alive.

--

It was already 4:00 in the afternoon, thirty minutes before Shari's mother, Seungwan, finished her shift at her job and Kyungsoo was currently thinking of jumping off a building so Chanyeol wouldn't have to sweat anymore to kill him.

He had lost Shari.

And he was feeling very mad of himself and guilt was eating his conscience away.

He was biting his lips in nervousness when he suddenly heard a loud giggle he knew all too well from afar. He instantly perked up and kicked his legs off the bench to stand, running to the direction of that giggle.

He saw Shari walking in the pathway along with a guy who looked quite weird for wearing sunglasses even without the sun shining. The child was laughing with what the guy had said but Kyungsoo could only care less as of the moment.

He dashed to the little girl and instantly shook her as he started bombarding her of questions.

"Where have you been?" was his last question before he found himself dazed and dropping to his feet, his eyesight blurry because of exhaustion and too much anxiety. He felt arms wrap around him and he was now being carried back to the bench by the guy.

Shari only stared up at Kyungsoo in confusion as the guy was making him lean back on the bench.

"I saw the girl looking at the display of ice cream in front of the ice cream parlor so I got off my car to buy her one," the guy explained and chuckled that had Kyungsoo whipping his head to his right where the guy was and stared at him in shock. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

Kyungsoo could feel his heart beating so fast he could feel it fly right out of his chest.

"Wow. You looked even more handsome, but you haven't changed at all. You're still so cute, hyung," the guy said and flashed his grin, his white teeth showing. That familiar smile.

And that was Kyungsoo's cue.

He quickly removed the guy's sunglasses and his mouth gaped at what he saw. He felt tears b in his eyes as he took in of the guy's features: his warm eyes, his nose, his cheeks, his jaw.

It was Jongin.

He looked matured now with all those sharp edges on his face and his chiseled jaw and the tux he was wearing. But it still was him. He still looked like the same cute boy who had smiled too wide to Kyungsoo.

It couldn't be.

The boy was in America, so why was he here?

"J-jongin?" Kyungsoo croaked, already feeling the tears flood down his cheeks, his heart jumping and reeling in joy.

The guy, Jongin, kept on grinning at him, his eyes sparkling with the same joy.

"Hi, hyung," the younger said sheepishly and hunched his back, shyly staring up at Kyungsoo which he always found cute. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was coming back today—"

Kyungsoo immediately hugged Jongin with a sob, holding the younger tightly.

He had no plan to let go of Jongin. If he only could, he would keep Jongin inside his heart and never let him go again. Not a chance at all.

The younger hugged him back and he heard Jongin crying, too. His shirt was now wet with the boy's tears.

All Kyungsoo could think of now was that he was very glad; he was overjoyed that the younger was finally in his eyes.

The embrace went for what seemed like hours before the two let go and stared at each other, as if exploring each one's features, their palms on each other's cheeks.

"I missed you so, so much," Jongin was the first one to break the silence, his breath tickling the elder's nose because of their close proximity.

"I missed you so, so much, too," Kyungsoo said and the two hugged again.

But a clear of the throat interrupted their hugging session and Shari was staring at them with arched eyebrows, her ice cream already had been long eaten.

"Oh, sorry, Shari," Kyungsoo shyly told the child who was now tutting.

"Is she... your daughter?" Jongin asked in a low voice, hurt obvious in his tone, his eyes shimmering with new tears.

Kyungsoo glanced at him and laughed, hitting his stomach as he leaned on the backrest.

The younger just frowned.

"No. Jongin. Meet Shari, Chanyeol's daughter," Kyungsoo finally said after he stopped laughing. "Shari. This is my cousin, Jongin. Say hi to uncle Jongin who bought you ice cream."

The girl bowed and beamed, "Hi, uncle Jongin! Thank you for the ice cream."

Jongin just nodded at the girl and chuckled, gazing back at Kyungsoo. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he watched the latter hoisting the little girl up to make her sit between them.

"I thought you already had a child, hyung," the younger muttered, looking down. "I thought you were already married."

Kyungsoo put his arm around Jongin's shoulders and smiled sweetly at him, eyes crinkling.

"I don't want to find another butterfly yet," he said, keeping his gaze on Jongin, his heart beating so loud and fast.

The younger just stared at him and asked, "Why, hyung?"

Kyungsoo inched his face closer to Jongin's and closed his eyes, blinking several times so that the younger could feel his eyelashes brushing against his cheek — a butterfly kiss.

"I'm waiting for my wind to finally come back so we can fly together again even though we might fall in the end."

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END.