Daehyun hurried downstairs. “Youngjae wait.” He didn’t care how loud his voice was against the fragile morning air. It was barely 6 in the morning on a Saturday. It was still dark, and the air was chilly. There wouldn’t be assign of warm light until another hour from now. Everyone else was still fast asleep except for Daehyun and Youngjae.

“Let me at least drop you to work.” Daehyun was desperate. He didn’t want the younger to take the bus in the dark, especially since he’d have to walk a long way to the bus stop.

“I’m fine.” Was Youngjae’s short answer as he quickly slipped on his shoes about to walk out the door when the elder stopped him. “Youngjae, I’m so sorry. I…”

“Daehyun. I have to go.” Youngjae tiredly pulled away from him and walked out the front door, quietly shutting it behind him.

Daehyun’s shoulders fell in defeat. He felt horrible. He really messed up and he had no idea how to make up for it. He never wanted Youngjae to be mad at him, but even more so, he never wanted to hurt him. That was the very las t thing he wanted. And now he was at a loss. The younger had been through so much, and the last thing Daehyun wanted to be was the cause of any more pain.

He couldn’t even go back to sleep; all he could do was sit on the living room couch and sulk after being unable to come up with anything to make up to Youngjae. He was usually great at cheering his boyfriend up when they were kids, but now it was different, and frustrating.

“What are you doing up so early?” His father entered the kitchen, an hour later, passing through the family room. It was now 7:30am and Daehyun hadn’t moved since Youngjae left.

Daehyun didn’t respond, instead falling on his side, sinking his body deeper into the cushion of the couch.

Yunho raised an eyebrow. “Is~ everything okay?” He asked curiously.

“No…” Daehyun groaned.

“Well, maybe a hot cup of my famous hot chocolate will do the trick.” Yunho suggested, boiling a kettle of water.

“No…” Daehyun groaned again. But his father ignored him and proceeded to make a cup of hot chocolate for the two of them. After a few minutes he joined his son on the couch with two cups in his hands.

Daehyun reluctantly sat up, allowing him to sit beside him. He muttered a thank you as his father handed him the hot sweet drink.

Yunho watched him carefully as he took a few sips from his mug, “So what’s up?” He asked once he saw him relax a little. Daehyun put his cup down, thinking silently to himself. “Youngjae is mad at me.” He finally muttered shamefully.

Yunho’s eyes slightly widened, surprised that they were having their first fight within the first few weeks of them dating. It was inevitable, but they always seemed understanding of each other. He couldn’t think of what they could possibly be fighting about.

“I don’t know what to do to fix it.” Daehyun sighed in defeat.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yunho offered, figuring that if he spoke about it, he’d be able to come up with a solution.

“There’s nothing to talk about dad. I messed up.” Daehyun groaned in frustration.

“Daehyun, it’s probably not as bad as you think. We tend to be harder on ourselves than what the situation might actually be. And Youngjae doesn’t seem like the kind of person to get easily upset. It could just be a misunderstanding.” Yunho assured him.

Daehyun bit his bottom lip. He was silent for a few more minutes before speaking again.

“Youngjae has been swamped with work since December started and couldn’t get his schedule changed. I offered to help him, but he was hesitant. I had to convince him that it wasn’t a problem for me before he actually let me help him.” He began.

Yunho nodded. Youngjae was always hesitant in receiving help, and even more so when it came to taking care of Kihyun. He only willingly accepted help from Jaejoong, who gave him no choice.

“…and I…forgot to pick Kihyun up from school…and caused him to miss choir auditions.” Daehyun confessed, feeling even worse.

Yunho’s eyes slightly widened at the news. “They have auditions for kindergarteners?”

“It’s just a small program just for them. Everyone gets in. The only requirement is that they audition.” Daehyun explained.

Yunho slowly nodded. He had his share of forgetting to pick up his sons from school, but Daehyun’s situation was different. He was dealing with someone else’s child, and Yunho never caused his sons to miss important events, in which luck had been on his side. Otherwise, he’d never hear the end of it from his husband. But he now understood the situation better.

Youngjae was severely patient and perspective. Yunho couldn’t really see him getting mad at anyone unless they truly did him wrong, or if it concerned Kihyun. The young 21-year-old was protective of his nephew, and understandingly so.

“Was Kihyun upset?” Yunho questioned.

Daehyun’s shoulders fell heavier. “He seemed bummed at first, but he seemed to have quickly gotten over it.”

Yunho nodded once more. “You shouldn’t take it too personally.” He said once he felt that he had a better understanding of the situation. “I don’t think Youngjae is actually holding anything against your character, he’s just disappointed. Taking care of a child is a big responsibly and even bigger when you’re taking care of someone else’s child. Youngjae and Kihyun have been through a lot, and there are things that Youngjae’s been trying to fulfill in his nephew’s life without any help.”

Daehyun slowly nodded in understanding. He understood, which made him feel even worse. He couldn’t forgive himself. He failed in trying to help Youngjae and relieve him of any stress. Another groan forced its way through his lips, “What do I do?”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.” Yunho patted the 22-year-old’s shoulders. He trusted his son, knowing that he’d do the right thing. He just needed to trust himself. Daehyun already did the first thing, which was understanding what he did wrong and the sensitivity the situation was to Youngjae. All he had to do was figure out what to do with his understanding.

“Well, I have to check on Kihyun and see if he’s up.” Yunho stood from the couch.

His father’s words pulled Daehyun from his mind. “I’ll check on him.” He quickly stood up.

Yun raised an eyebrow as his son stood up and carefully made his way to the stairs.

Daehyun slowly opened the door to youngjae’s and Kihyun’s room. He was immediately greeted by a smiling Kihyun who the bed as soon as he heard the door open. He couldn’t help but laugh at the 5-year-old’s cheeky grin so early in the morning. “You’re up already?”

The young child nodded vigorously. He rolled over on the bed, gripping onto the sheets as he climbed down the tall mattress. His foot carefully pressed against the wooden bedframe before jumping the rest of the way down.

Daehyun followed him into the bathroom and helped him prepare for the day. They younger talked a lot about any and everything that came to his mind, expounding upon a dream he had last night that involved a few of his friends and they turned into gingerbread men running away to keep from being eaten while trying to eat other gingerbread men. To him it’d been a pleasant dream since he got to eat a lot of gingerbread.

Once the 5-year-old was dressed warmly, the two returned downstairs into the kitchen where Daehyun toasted them frozen waffles out the freezer. They sat at the table together, eating in silence.

Kihyun munched on his warm waffles, happily drenching them in syrup. He always liked eating waffles or pancakes with Daehyun or Yunho, who both let him drown his food in syrup to his sweet tooth’s delight.

Daehyun was less enthusiastic with his breakfast meal. In fact, he didn’t have an appetite for anything. He still felt bad and even guiltier in the child’s presence. It was becoming to heavy to bear. He wanted to make it up in the best way possible and beyond that. “Hey Ki?”

The 5-year-old looked up at him, his cheeks puffed out with food in them and his eyes wide as they grew whenever someone spoke to him.

“I’m…I’m sorry for picking you up late and causing you to miss your choir auditions.” He apologized.

Kihyun furrowed his brow in confusion. “You already said you were sorry.” He didn’t understand why the elder was apologizing for a second time.

“I know. But I’m really sorry. I feel bad. You and Youngjae were looking forward to it.” Daehyun explained.

Kihyun thought to himself before speaking. “It’s okay Uncle Daehyun. I’m not sad about it. I can join choir next year. That’s what Uncle Youngjae told me. And I’ll be even better next year! Plus…” Kihyun leaned forward, looking side to side, preparing to tell a secret, “I didn’t even practice.” He whispered. “So, it’s a good thing I didn’t try out.”

Daehyun smiled, warmed and inspired by his optimism.

“But…for some reason, Uncle Youngjae was still upset.” Kihyun sat back down in his seat.

“I told him it’s okay, and he told me he was happy. But I know he was upset.” Kihyun pouted, not knowing what could be bothering his uncle.

Daehyun, however, sighed, knowing that he was the source of the problem.

“I think Uncle Youngjae is tired. That’s why he’s upset. I know I get upset when I’m tired.” Kihyun noted matter-of-factly.

Daehyun raised a curious eyebrow at his proclamation.

“He works a lot during Christmas time.” Kihyun paused before perking back up. “He needs to go on a date!”

“What?” Daehyun nearly choked on the small piece of waffle he managed to put in his mouth.

Kihyun nodded to himself, approving his idea. “In all the adult Christmas movies when the adults are sad and tired, they go on a date and they are happy again.” Kihyun explained as if it were obvious.

Daehyun blinked snapping himself out of it. “Where did you hear that from?”

“I watched movies with Uncle Jaehyun and Uncle Taeyong.” Kihyun simply answered.

Daehyun scoffed a little at the new piece of information. He was learning something new about his brother every day. He used to hate hallmark movies. But everything he once hated soon became something he enjoyed after he started dating their childhood neighbor. However, Daehyun couldn’t help the small smile that crept on his lips. He liked Kihyun’s idea a lot.

“They usually always go to a restaurant.” Kihyun began his scheming with the deep furrowing of his brow, similar to the way his Uncle did whenever he thought deeply. “He can eat here!” He perked up again. “We can make our own restaurant! We can build a fort and make it look like a restaurant and we can make the food.” He spoke excitedly.

“That’s a great idea!” Daehyun burst, impressed by his idea. Youngjae would definitely be surprised. He already knew how to build the fort. Kihyun beamed at the elder’s approval, however, his excitement settled won as his face scrunched back into thought. “Who is he going to go on a date with?”

Daehyun paused. Neither of them told Kihyun about his and Youngjae’s relationship. Not that it was a secret, but they never though to tell him, figuring that he didn’t know about relationships yet. But maybe they’d been wrong, especially since he was hanging out with Jaehyun and Taeyong.

“He can’t go on a date with Uncle Jaehyun he already likes Uncle Taeyong.” Kihyun spoke in thought. “What about Uncle Kyungsoo! They like each other a lot!” Kihyun beamed, nearly causing Daehyun to coke again.

“He’s already dating someone else.” Daehyun informed him.

The 5-year-old pouted, “He would like to go on a date with Jaebeom hyung. They really like each other a lot too. I think Youngjae really really likes him.” Kihyun emphasized.

Daehyun paused at his words.

“But I don’t know how to tell him to come over.” Kihyun pouted.

“Who’s Jaebeom?” Daehyun questioned.

“He’s Changkyun’s Uncle. He works in the same store as Uncle Youngjae. They hang out all the time. I think they’re best friends.” Kihyun smiled near the end.

Daehyun held back the urge to scoff. The younger was probably being dramatic. Kids usually made things bigger than what they actually are anyway.

“Uncle Daehyun.” Kihyun snapped him from his thoughts. “Can you go on a date with my hyung? I can’t think of anyone else.” Kihyun turned to him with hopeful eyes.

“Of course I will!” Daehyun answered a bit too quickly and enthusiastically. He’d been waiting for him to say his name but was a little offended that he’d been the last choice.

Kihyun’s face lit up in pure delight.

“We should probably get going now. We have a lot to do and not much time.” Daehyun excitedly jumped out his seat. Kihyun slid out of his chair with just as much enthusiasm. “We have to buy the food, cook it, and make the fort befor