Mino was surprised to see Jiho inside the Dungeon for dinner. He just dropped by to bring Jennie some work files from Anda regarding Blackpink.

“What’s this?” He asked his brother. A certain tinge of anger is creeping up on him. The fact that his brother is happily chatting with Jiho and Sungkyung after he was ordered to stay away from Project Aurora eats him up alive.

“I met him at a business luncheon yesterday, so I invited them over.” Jiyong stood up looking relaxed. That only made Mino feel worse. He’s been pushing days and nights to try to get a hold of everything his brother was dumping on him, and here he is looking fresh as .

“Mino, have you met Jiho’s brother?” Dara asked. She clearly have noticed the rage in his eyes that she tried to sway the conversation to a lighter tone. She knew him so well, and he almost hates that fact. Just then, a timid guy glanced beside Jiho. He stood up and extended his hand towards him.

“Glad to finally meet you, Song Mino. I’m Woo Taewoon.”

Mino took his hand and looked at Jiho. He has never mentioned a brother before. And why all of a sudden is this guy having dinner here?

“I have to go now. Joohyun is waiting for me.” He turned to leave and never looked back, even if he heard Dara.

“Give my regards to her, Mino.”

The past few weeks have been awful for him. After having KKFG sign under YGE, his brother started picking on little projects that he could have just ordered to anyone else. There’s also the fact that he was completely avoiding him, except when they need to talk about work.

He drove off to his place, thinking of what to prepare for dinner for Joohyun. She’s been catching up on a lot of things at work since her suspension. Mino understands it but he just wants to see her everyday, and for that to happen, Joohyun have decided to stay with him for a week.

As soon as the elevator opened, he noticed a guy looking at his door, as if checking the number on what is on the piece of paper in his hand.

“Excuse me, sir? Do you need any help?” He asked the man, who was slightly surprised to see him.

The guy hesitated a bit before asking, “Are you Song Mino?”

He stepped back to get a closer look at the guy. He doesn’t look familiar.

“I am him.” Even that sounded funny in his head, but what happened next surprised him. The guy suddenly had tears in his eyes and was moving closer, with hesitation in his eyes as he tried to hug him.

“Excuse me, sir. Do I know you?” He’s starting to worry now. His mind thought of Joohyun. If this guy is bad news, he doesn’t want her to witness anything.

“I’m sorry, Song Mino-ssi.” He straightened up and held his hand to him. “My name is Song Il-gook. I am your mother’s brother.”

Mother’s brother? So that makes him-

“You’re my uncle?” A certain warmth filled his stomach and now his eyes started to glisten too.

The guy nodded and held his hand again. “We’ve been looking for you, Mino. I’m sorry it took us this long.”

Mino was left speechless. Just then, Joohyun came into view with a questioning look in her eyes.

“Mino?” Her voice made him look at her.

“Joohyun, we have a guest. Meet my Uncle Il-gook.” He choked up upon addressing the man as his uncle.

Joohyun understood everything right away. She rushed to his side and bowed to the old man in front of her. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I am Bae Joohyun, Mino’s girlfriend.”

Il-gook gave her a warm smile and looked at Mino. “She’s lovely.”

Mino turned to her and realized they were still at the hallway. He then opened his door and let his uncle in.

“Aren’t you even going to ask me if I’m lying?” The man asked. Mino never thought about that.

“Do you have any proof?” He felt stupid for asking all of a sudden.

The man came prepared as he retrieved a file case with photos and a letter from his mother, including a photo of her and a baby boy cradled in her arms. He felt Joohyun’s hand on his back as he unknowingly shed a tear.

“She’s beautiful, Mino.” Joohyun whispered to him.

“I can still remember her face.” Mino whispered back as he sat on his couch. He couldn’t take away his eyes from the photo. It has been a long time since he saw her face. Being poor and penniless before, they never had a chance to have their photo taken. Mino told himself that he didn’t need it anyway, because he can still see his mother’s face clearly in his head.

But seeing it right now, his mother holding him close to her, made his heart ache for longing. Il-gook saw how tortured his nephew looked and so he sat beside him when Joohyun left to get them coffee.

“I’m sorry, Mino. Sorry that you were on your own when she died. Sorry that you had to grow up in an orphanage. I know that you’re living better now, but I also know that you needed this.”

Mino wiped the tears in his eyes. “I don’t hate any of you. I know everything, and I understand. I just felt bad for my mother. She needed you but you all turned your back on her.”

Il-gook let go of him and looked him in the eye. “We never wanted her to go. But my father, our father hated your father. He was disgusted that my sister fell in love with a married man. He never gave her a chance, and we were all forced to stay away from her. When I got the chance to find your mother, I did everything I can. But I only have little money, Mino. I can only do as much. It took me years to find out that you and your mother stayed with Jihyo in Yongin. When I got there, she was already...gone, and so are you.”

Mino meant it when he said that he never hated them. He barely knew them, and now that his uncle is explaining everything, he felt better not hating them in the first place.

“When the news broke about the new Kwon kids, my younger sister told me that your father is Kwon Younghwan. That was the first time I saw you, in newspapers. But I know that it will be harder to meet you, so I took some time. When I decided to see you again, I found out that you left for your enlistment. The next time I tried to see you, I was surprised to know that you were in Italy. I thought you’d be staying there for good, but then your name popped up in the news again. I’m sorry it took this long, Mino.”

“Please stop feeling sorry about this, uncle. It wasn’t your fault. How did you manage to find me now? I thought my grandfather hated us?” He asked him as Joohyun came back with three mugs of coffee and a plate of pastries on a tray.

“My father died ten years ago, Mino.” He simply said.

If there’s a bit of hate left in his heart for his mother’s family, that is all on his grandfather. But knowing his demise still pained him.

“Are there other Songs back home?” Back home. That felt weird for him to say when he wasn’t even a part of it.

“I am married with three sons. My sister, your aunt, also just got married and is currently pregnant.” He took a sip of his coffee and mumbled a thank you to Joohyun.

“Are you still living in Yongin?” Joohyun asked.

“No. We’re actually in Eunjin, in Nonsan.” He kindly answered her.

“Uncle, I want to meet them.” Mino said as he squeezed Joohyun’s hand.

“Are you sure? I mean, of course I want you to meet them, but are you allowed?” He was being adamant about the situation, and Mino considers this too.

“I don’t think it will be an issue to them.” Suddenly, he felt weird referring to them as simply them.

“I’m leaving tomorrow. I think we better prepare for your visit. How about you travel this weekend? I don’t want to take your time away from work.” Il-gook said as he prepare to leave.

“Will it be fine to stay the weekend with you?” He asked as he put an arm around Joohyun’s waist, indicating that she will be joining the trip.

“I’ll ask Joongki to look for a decent hotel for you two. Our house isn’t really that comfortable.” He smiled at the couple.

“I’d like to stay with you, Uncle, if that’s ok.” Mino insisted. He just wants to feel at home with his new found family.

“Well, I could clean up one room for you. I should get going then. It was nice meeting you, Mino.” He stood up and gave Mino a hug.