It’s quite cute when you try to ask the little ones, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Small and chubby hands will shoot out from colorful kindergarten seats – “I want to be a Firefighter!”, “I want to be an Engineer!”, “I want to be a Policeman!”, “I want to be a Doctor!”, a feat easily done but only by children.

You dream big when you are a child, not aware of certain circumstances and consequences - only the endless possibilities.

Ask a teenager who is making a headway towards his young adult phase, like Huang Renjun and his friends maybe, “My dream?” Renjun furrowed his eyebrows as he sat by the swings. The old yet strong chains, holding his rickety seat up, was moving back and forth slowly.

Just like his thoughts on choosing what he would like to take up for tertiary, moving slowly.

“I don’t know- maybe sleep all day?” Renjun answered shortly, uninterested. He shrugged, stopping the motion of his swing seat by firmly planting his nearly worn out – white Adidas shoes on the dirt beneath them. His two best friends, of whom he was sitting in the seat in between, followed suit.

A mop of light blonde hair turned to face Renjun from his left. Zhong Chenle, the name of said friend with a nice eye smile, opened his mouth to say, “I'm probably going to enroll in Business Ad at the university in the city.”

Lee Donghyuck, small faced with a mop of chesnut hair of whom was to Renjun’s right side, snorted at that.

"What's with Chinese people and businesses-"

"Yah!" Chenle stood up quickly, his seat went flying from the force of his movement faintly. He ran over to Donghyuck, reaching out for his neck with his arms as he closed in and strangled the boy from behind playfully. Donghyuck wheezed loudly - almost laughing, as he tried to pry off the hands of the younger from his neck.

“Take that back!” Chenle screeched. His brown eyes already disappearing from all the laughter and fun they were having.

Hyuck didn’t take back his words and instead, "Hah! I knew it- Chinese people are into businesses after all-,” he yelped.

Chenle’s loud ring of laughter intertwined with Hyuck’s cries like that of a dying chicken, their sounds of playfulness reverberating throughout the dusky atmosphere of the almost empty playground across their old elementary school.

A few kids who were at the same location ran in excited cheers and 'awes' as their loved ones gradually picked them up. The sun was already making its way to hide its bright frame behind the trees, and soon the lights started to illuminate the village streets one by one.

Chenle struggled to keep his arms around Donghyuck’s neck. "Hyung, you're stereotyping us too much-" He whined.

“Okay okay-“ Hyuck tapped at Chenle’s arms with his fingers quickly, which loosened at the contact, “-but I mean, how can it not be when even Injun's mom bake good pies for a living-“ and then tightened slightly again- “Injun, Injun! save meee!” Hyuck's voice broke at the end, the two boys bursting into another round of orchestrated laughter.

Renjun sighed at his friends’ antics and shook his head. “What am I going to do with you both?” He grumbled, listening as Hyuck brought up a small topic - escalating into an argument quickly as Chenle retaliated. Neither was backing down. They bicker back and forth, t’was another silly squabble. A sight that Renjun was used to already after so many years of putting up with the two rascals.

Huang Renjun, Lee Donghyuck and Zhong Chenle were practically born to be friends - born to parents who were actually a close-knit group friends from their younger years too. As per Donghyuck’s terms, he would refer to it as, “Soul babies-“, and it still remained a miracle how Renjun and Chenle didn’t strangle Hyuck to death right there as he said those cheesy words in front of their own parents.

They actually did, slightly.

Nonetheless, though they may had stupid squabbles, they were still like three peas in a pod. They shared too many common interests, one for example is the love for singing. Going back, their parents had them do everything together ever since they started to wear diapers. From mini photo shoots and family picnics to thanksgiving, Christmas and birthday parties.

Maybe except for that one little while of cool down between the three toddlers after Hyuck slapped the pacifier out of Renjun’s mouth, Renjun flung his baby bottle to Chenle's face, and Chenle grabbed and pulled Hyuck’s leg that made him fall flat on his face.

They are practically joined at the hip – pre-school, elementary, middle school, junior and senior high school.

Sadly, not all things last.

Choosing what they want for their futures might have them go separate ways this time.

After a few more minutes of watching the two being at each other's throats, nothing new but still had Renjun rolling his eyes in annoyance. He stood up gentler than Chenle ever did in his life, and stepped over between them with no delay. "Okay, stop, stop-“ He extends his arms swiftly and plants the palm of his hands on their faces - pushing them apart before they can even start resorting to biting. “Yah yah yah- Stop it, idiots. Hyuck, you're like 18 years old and Chenle, you're 17 already." He started to nag. “Please start acting like your actual ages-“

“Bold of you to say that-“ Hyuck just had to retaliate, grinning.

Renjun looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. He puts his hands up in defeat. “Alright then, I won’t nag- Guess who’s not eating any of my mom’s special peach mango pie tonight-“

Hyuck gasped, exasperated. His ears and sweet tooth twitched at the magic words. “What did you just say!?” He squeaks out. If anything at all, Donghyuck lives to kneel down, worship and eat the pies Renjun’s mom bakes. He has a list of his favorites, but this, peach mango pie is the ultimate god-tier of all pies.

Chenle squealed and laughed loudly, hand hitting down at Hyuck's back out of habit. Hyuck reached out to give a firm hug to Renjun’s arms, already looking at the boy affectionately. He wore a cute puppy like expression on his face – eyes wide and a pout that Renjun found so cringey.

It took him a lot of willpower to not smack the older's face.

“Injun ah! What can we do without you!?” Hyuck cries out fakely.

Renjun groaned and rubbed his temples. “If you don’t stop I’m gonna get a headache-"

"Injuuuun ahhhh-mmph!"

Chenle placed a hand over Hyuck's loud mouth, snickering.

"Gee, thanks Chenle." Renjun giggled softly. "Alright alright, let’s go to my house.” He patted Hyuck’s head with a wide smile adorning his face.

Hyuck grinned back in response. “Yes!”

 

It was a beautiful Friday summer morning. The last one perhaps before that new school year that Renjun cursed out loud kicks in. He has yet to come to terms with his decision making skills, especially in making a choice on what course he would go for in the university. His parents were almost livid last night when he told them he had not made a decision.

Documents and forms were already complete, lying on his table – it's just that one last and special check for that one life changing question that he has yet to mark.

With hasty steps, Renjun walked out of the tall black gates of his house. He was currently wearing some casual denim ripped jeans, topped with a simple shirt and a light denim jacket to compliment with. The gentle breeze that was bracing the village in its everyday routine greeted him in the face. Strips of sunbeams flared through the gaps of large Plumeria trees, enveloping the small village in a soft and dewy-fresh glow.

"Good morning Junnie!" The grandma sitting on her rocking chair at the porch of her home just down the street, who was embracing some vitamin D from the sunlight, greeted him with a wrinkly yet cute smile.

Renjun waved enthusiastically in response, yelling out a brief 'morning!' at her way as he walked to the opposite direction.

Whistling, Renjun made his way to the wooden bridge at the Lotus pond as he glanced at his watch. He still had some time left before their family leaves for his older brother’s dance recital that afternoon. He sighed as he leaned on the wooden railings with his thin arms, the thought of his seemingly blurry future weighing his mind heavily.

“Should I take up Nursing? Marketing? Or Accounting-? No.” He sighed and shook his head as he talked to no one but his self. “Think, Renjun. Think.” His thoughts start to wander about. What did he even liked to do? What are his dislikes and his hobbies? What can he see himself doing somewhere in the near future?

“Singing then?” He mumbled, but then his train of thoughts started tracing towards his older brother, who unlike him, was everything that their parents ever wanted. Smart, kind, handsome, funny and b with talent. His parents practically worships his hyung, spoiling him with everything. Reaching to the point of spoiling this hyung with the things that Renjun wanted, but was never and will never be given to him. His hyung definitely has a smooth road of bright future carved ahead, especially in his field of performance arts.

Heck, opportunities are stacking up already. Said opportunities presenting their selves one by one at their household doorsteps with how many people were and are still sending heaps of letters and emails, wanting to sponsor all of his hyung’s studies and performances.

Then there was him. Nothing special.

“Injunnie-?”

Speaking of the devil.

Renjun turned to his brother with an annoyed expression he didn't even bother to hide, and stared at him scrutinizingly. With every second that passed as he kept staring at the older, the envy inside him grew scarily. He looked at his brother and his angelic face, his perfect round hazel eyes, ideal nose and kissable lips that were peerless with or without makeup, thick lashes, that smooth jawline, those light orange – almost blonde locks perfectly framing his face and that slender yet tall body with a firm chest and wide shoulders.

Renjun swears that he doesn't hate the older. How could he when his hyung had been nothing but caring towards him, just like the perfect son that he was raised to be.

His parents just have their favorites, and clearly he was not one of them.

He was just insecure, that's all.

Renjun cleared his throat.

“Winwin hyung, are we gonna leave already? He asked without looking, tone having a little bite to it unintentionally which he regretted the moment it left his lips. Still, he didn’t apologize, quickly walking back to his house. He did not even wait for his brother, nor did he wanna hear anything coming from the other.

Sicheng just let out a soft and sad sigh at his brother’s attitude towards him, following the younger silently back to their house.

 

The car ride towards the city was eerily silent, almost deafening, for the most parts. Renjun refused to talk to his hyung. The moment he jumped inside the backseat, he plugged in his earphones and blasted music through his ears. Sicheng not even bothering to reach out, for he knew that the younger wouldn't listen to a word he says anyways. Renjun's attitude earned him a scolding later on from his mother as they stopped by somewhere.

"Junnie!"

Renjun's face lit up at the sight of his uncle Junmyeon waving at him. The man was standing outside the facade of his brand new vintage looking café - Le Opere d'arte, Renjun noted. The man was there to give the honorary family - guests a warm welcome.

"Uncle Joon!" He waved back and ran towards the adult, almost tripping on his feet in excitement. H