Chapter Eighteen

Secrets
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A/N: warning - major character death

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The wedding had been held on the first day of spring in Seogwipo-si, Jeju in the outdoors. Aiden had been the ring-bearer who had ended up getting confused and hadn't let go of Youngwoon once the man had given him the rings.

Thankfully, Taeyeon had found it adorable and so both were married with the sounds of birds chirping and Aiden laughing when they kissed his cheeks under the bright blue skies.

Once they'd returned to the States, Hyukjae had proposed to Hyoyeon since he didn't want to potentially take all the attention from the newly wedded couple during his proposal.

Youngwoon chose not to move out of their home after the honeymoon, and everyone had been accommodating with future plans of Taeyeon moving in instead. Aiden had just been excited that Taeyeon would be moving in and even ended up bugging Hyoyeon to live with him.

Hyukjae had tried his best to steer him away from that topic totally.

Their lives had been going extremely well. They had no worries, no problems with anything, no issues with anything. Their son turned two and was getting cuter by the day and Hyukjae and Youngwoon had both gotten stable enough to create their own businesses with both Donghae and (Y/N) as funders.

Life was going very well for them.

Unfortunately, specific statements existed for just those kind of things. 'The calm before the storm', 'life is unexpected', 'things don't always go as planned.'

One day he was with them, and the next, they were stood in the front row of his funeral, heads bowed down with tears in their eyes. They couldn't even begin to comprehend what had happened, and they were struck with tragedy, tears falling as they listened to the sermon being delivered.

Kim Youngwoon had been riding home as usual from his wife's house when he had randomly been hit by an over-speeding lorry. He had passed before he had reached the hospital.

His family had flown in the very next day and the funeral had been held upon their request. It was all a blur for (Y/N), Donghae and Hyukjae who had still not digested the fact that Youngwoon hadn't simply been late to dinner. He wasn't ever going to be able to have dinner with them again.

Taeyeon was too heartbroken to even show up, clearly not wanting to believe that had happened to her husband. They'd only been married for a year, and he was already gone from their lives. She couldn't come to terms with it. Hyoyeon had been with her since they'd found out, trying to console the distressed woman.

Even Aiden had been in tears since the previous night. He'd been bothered by his gums and was still upset that his Uncle 'Gwoon hadn't read him his bedtime story. Ever since he was born, it was his Uncle 'Gwoon who read to him, no matter if his Uncle 'Gwoon was spending the night elsewhere, or they were borders apart. His Uncle 'Gwoon always read to him.

He was getting fussy in Donghae's arms so when (Y/N) had told him to put Aiden down, they expected him to just kick his legs and then demand to be picked up again. He had shocked everyone when he suddenly waddled away from his parents and to Youngwoon's father, who was holding his son's picture to lead the ceremony, and held up his hands in demand for the frame. "Uncle 'Gwoon!"

"I'm so sorry, sir, he didn't mean to be disrespectful. Please forgive him," Donghae had said when he'd managed to understand what Aiden had just done and jogged up to the older man in embarrassment, but he was shocked when his friend's father looked at him in tears and then smiled gently, "is this Aiden?"

"Y-yes, this is Aiden. I'm sorry for his behaviour. I'll try to teach him better," Donghae apologised again and bowed, reaching to pick up the boy when Youngwoon's mother suddenly stopped him and held Aiden's pinkie finger, "A-Aiden? Are you Youngwoon's little nephew?"

"Want Uncle 'Gwoon!" the boy whined in tears as he stretched his arms again to the frame. He wasn't aware of the gasps that echoed around the room as Youngwoon's father crouched down and gently placed Youngwoon's frame in his arms and let him smile at his Uncle 'Gwoon's picture as he hugged the frame, "Uncle 'Gwoon..."

The ceremony continued but it was different to what usually happened. Youngwoon's father had picked up Aiden, who was still holding his Uncle 'Gwoon's portrait, and everyone else had followed to the burial site. The burial was a long process of tears and sadness from Youngwoon's family and it took everything in them for Donghae, (Y/N) and Hyukjae to not start sobbing too. The man was their family, and he was gone, they wouldn't be able to believe it for a long time.

When the burial was over, Youngwoon's parents invited Hyukjae, Donghae and (Y/N) to sit with them to eat while Aiden was playing with his mini robot figurines.

(Y/N) was just about to ask him to be a little quieter and eat something when suddenly Youngwoon's mother had picked up the boy and smiled gently at the young parents, "don't worry about it. You three eat, I'll feed him. You must've had a hard time. I'm glad my son was friends with people like you."

"Thank you, eomoni," they answered quietly and it was in a daze that they ate and kept an eye on Aiden to make sure he didn't do anything wrong or aggravate Youngwoon's parents. Youngwoon's parents absolutely adored Aiden and had even asked for them to stay a little while longer, even though that time was traditionally for family.

'You're Youngwoon's family, and if you're Youngwoon's family, you're ours too,' his parents had stated when the three were ready to politely decline their request. After seeing how Youngwoon's parents were doting on Aiden and didn't seem ready to part, they decided to stay to give them some comfort.

They shared multiple stories about the man they'd lost, all starting off really simple but ending with twists that had their stomachs churning from the hilarity of it all. Aiden had dozed off on Youngwoon's mother's lap, but she had simply ran her fingers through his hair and told them to continue taking when (Y/N) had offered to take him.

By the time the ceremony was over, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted. Hyukjae offered to take Youngwoon's parents to the place where their son had lived the last few years of his life. With Donghae and Aiden at the front and Youngwoon's parents either side of (Y/N), they set off to their home.

-

The next morning, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon had come over to meet Youngwoon's parents who greeted them both with upset expressions. Everyone left the kitchen to give Youngwoon's parents and Taeyeon some time to grieve privately, remembering the man who'd left them behind.

"Mama, Uncle 'Gwoon?" Aiden wondered in a hopeful tone, pointing at the gaming console Youngwoon spent hours in front of. The three adults had to bite down on their lips to stop themselves from breaking apart when they saw the mess of crisp packets, drinks and chocolates the burly man had promised to clean later.

"Aiden, Uncle 'Gwoon went to Heaven... he's not going to be here anymore, but he'll always be in here, okay?" Donghae told him in the softest voice, crouching down in front of him and gently poking Aiden's heart.

"Dada, Uncle' Gwoon too big, no fit," Aiden responded with a pout, peeking in his shirt to find his uncle. The adults released breathless chuckles and then ruffled Aiden's hair gently, "no, baby. Uncle 'Gwoon is in Heaven, he's looking after you from the sky."

"Really?! Can Aiden see Uncle' Gwoon? Aiden want to say secret!" Aiden pleaded with a pout on his lips and (Y/N) melted at his expression, leaning down to give him a tight hug, "baby boy

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cerova
#1
I really enjoyed it
cerova
#2
thank you for the great fic
Punkpink03
#3
Sounds so angst all ready!