There was one anniversary each year where, whether you were busy with work or not, you had always gone home for. Even though you could escape returning home for a few of the holidays due to the distance between Seoul and your hometown, and the inconvenience it would have on travelling back in time for work, this was one date that no excuse could ever justify skipping it. Not that you actually would want to.

This year, you would be travelling back with Chanyeol to pay respects to his parents’ death together. He had grown louder over the last week, doing more activities when he was home with you to keep himself occupied. It surprised you how alike he still was to when you both lived together all those years ago. You would never forget how many movie marathons you had endured or the endless hours spent in an arcade just to keep him distracted enough from the impending date on the calendar. Not that it really worked, but you would humour him every single time, knowing you would be lost without your own parents like he was.

Nothing much had changed now either.

“Let’s watch all the Iron Man movies back to back,” Chanyeol suggested over the weekend and you nodded happily, even laughing when he called you the Pepper Potts to his Tony Stark. And then when that was over, he had been up all night playing Fortnite, not coming to bed until you woke up at three in the morning and felt that his space in your bed was still cold and empty. You pulled yourself up and padded out into the living room.

“Chan, come to bed,” you called out to him sleepily, his eyes darting from the screen momentarily to yours. You moved over to his place on the sofa and sighed. “It’s time for bed, actually it’s way past your bedtime.”

“Ah, I have just-”

“No now. Tomorrow we have to drive back home. And whilst I can do that for us, you still need some rest.”

“Right… right.”

You could see the reluctance clear in him even as an adult. You often forgot how much he adored his parents. You obviously knew he did, it was a given for most children to love those who brought them into this world. But it had been so easy for Chanyeol to slip into your family dynamics and how natural the relationship was between him and your parents often blurred the lines in your head. You knew there was a time before he lived with you, but it had been so long ago it was easy to feel as if it had always been like this.

Until moments like these, where he looked scared to face the past and tried to avoid it. Your heart broke when Chanyeol looked up at you with round eyes and you reached for him, wrapping yourself around him and cradling his head to your chest. You his hair and you were certain you could hear muffled sniffles coming from within your embrace. When you finally pulled away, a watery smile graced his lips and he nodded.

“Let’s go to bed.”

The trip back home was quiet. Thankfully from his lack of sleep last night, Chanyeol had slept for most of it, giving you the chance to focus on all you had to today. Your mother had rung to tell you about some ingredients she needed you to bring home for the offering and you knew you would be needed in the kitchen to help prepare some of the food as well. Your family was always sombre