Everything about his childhood home was exactly as Sebin had remembered it. The air was fresh with the scent of lake water drifting from behind the village and grains of rice growing all around. The sky was clear, but the air was humid, bringing a comfortable warmth despite the slowly dropping temperature. The bright reds and greens of the family's large hanoks stood bold against the countryside backdrop, and Sebin relished in the nostalgia.

It was barely one step he took into the village after Youngjae burst the gate wide open, and suddenly Sebin was engulfed in familiar arms. He let out a chuckle and hugged back as tightly as possible with three different people grabbing at him. When they were done smothering him, his parents and Jaehyun finally let him free. More of his distant family seemed to appear all around him as well, but his parents demanded his full attention still.

"You are not allowed to leave for so long again!" Youngae scolded, trying her best to hold back to tears forming in her eyes at seeing her firstborn.

Contrary to his wife, Jaejoon was all smiles. "Two years is much too long, son." 

Had it been two years now? Sebin knew he'd lost count while enjoying the peace of Spain, but time really must have gotten away from him. And it showed in his parents' expressions. Though, he had every intention of returning to Spain, Sebin made a mental note to return for visits more often for their sake.

"I'm sorry." The apology was unnecessary since his parents weren't mad at him in the least. Still, in the spirit of a true brother, he turned the attention away from him and onto his sister. "But what about Kiki? She's been gone for ages!"

Kira stepped forward to receive her own hugs of welcome from her family, but not before she nudged Sebin out of her way. "Nice try, loser. But Mom and Dad have been to visit me. You're the only one who dropped off the face of the planet." She carried on with introducing them to Seungchan, much to Youngae's excitement and Jaejoon's indifference.

The four immediately went to their grandparents' shrine after the welcome to pay their respects, with Seungchan doing an awkward bow of his own several feet behind them. He wasn't entirely sure what the custom called for with family guests, but he wanted to be as respectful as possible.

Sebin rose from his own bow and couldn't help looking back and forth from Jaehyun to Youngjae. "Was I the only son who didn't inherit the height from dad?"

"Well," Chulsoo remarked from his spot between his sister and Jaebeom. Each of them jammed an elbow in his side to get him to shut his mouth, but they were saved by the newcomers at the gate.

Though it was already wide open, Dongkyu managed to stumble in, obviously struggling with his bags and Yerim, who was fussing and squirming around in his arms. "Ow!" He cried as Yerim pulled on his fringe, tossing his bags down inside the gate, so he could hold the baby properly.

However, as soon as Yerim calmed down, Dongkyu was being hit over the head with a purse. It wasn't a hard hit, but the heaviness of the purse had him wincing. Seol was next, as she walked in right behind her brother, getting a smack on the head as well. "I cannot believe you two were late even when I told you the correct time. You are both lucky your father isn't here to discipline you."

"You've already done it, Mom," Dongkyu muttered as he rubbed the sore spot on his head.

Jihye rose her purse to hit Dongkyu once again but stopped when she realized that he was holding a child in his arms. In her annoyance at their tardiness, she'd forgotten about the baby. She eyed Dongkyu, regretting all traces of Jaebeom that she saw in him before exhaling sharply. Despite her fear at the answer, her question was eerily calm. "Dongkyu-yah, whose child is this?"

Dongkyu laughed to relieve the tension, retelling the same lies he'd told Seol on the train. Some family members were just as disbeliving as she had been, but they remained quiet regardless. Jihye stared at Yerim and stared at Dongkyu, doing her best to ignore the similar features as she plucked the baby that was reaching out to her.

"I'm still confused as to why your friend would trust you, especially when she doesn't even seem to like you much." Seol's tone was matter-of-fact, which makes the surrounding family members laugh.

All but Jihye, who promptly used her free arm to hit Dongkyu and Seol once more. "You have time for babysitting and jokes when you two can't even properly bow to your grandparents?" She huffed and turned to take Yerim inside with the other children. Most of the others followed her inside.

Youngjae lingered until Dongkyu walked back to the gate from the shrine, picking up his bags. Once he was close enough, the younger cousin whispered, "Dude. Another one?"

"I'll explain later," the older cousin sighed as he went inside.

Sebin, who had also lingered behind and had overheard Youngjae, rose a brow. "He has more than that one?"

Youngjae laughed and put his arm around his older brother as he led him inside. "Hyung, I'll explain later."

The Village was finally starting to look like it used to in the past, people everywhere. Only now, the family members were older, with problems that seemed could be kept out by the strong gates of Hwan Village. The kitchen was much less crowded now that everyone had spread out. Now, Youngae had much more room to prepare dinner, only being interrupted by Sebin, Youngjae, and Jaehyun, who were all bickering over bites of food from their mother. Kira and her boyfriend were hand in hand, walking through the village as she recalled different fond memories to him.

The family room was occupied by children playing, as Jihye, her two eldest daughter, and their husbands looked after them and talked amongst themselves. In the courtyard, Chaerin is making sure she's capturing Chulsoo in the best lighting as she takes different photos of him. Jaebeom and Dongkyu were sharing their latest escapades. Seol, Wonjae, and Wonjae's fiancée, Chorong, were talking about wedding plans.

Meanwhile, in the back of the main hanok, Jaejoon had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked out at the lake. Saemna cautiously approached the man who hadn't saved any welcome for her after giving all of his attention to Sebin and Kira. Youngae warmly accepted her daughter home again even though they'd seen each other many times since Saemna left. Yet she longed for her father's acceptance as well.

"Dad?" She called out from behind him, the word feeling awkward coming out of after going so long without using it.

Jaejoon froze, knowing immediately the voice of the one who called to him. His turn was slow, and his expression was blank as he looked at his daughter, whom he hadn't seen in nearly seven years. "Yes?"

"I... I just wanted to thank you for inviting me back home."

The man nodded once, dropping his gaze to the ground. "Yes, well, it took some convincing on your mother's part. Though, I do agree it's only right if the entire family is here for the surprise." There was a pause, but Saemna didn't speak as it looked like there was more he wanted to say. And there was a question, "Are you planning to stay the entire time?"

"I would go to take care of my home and work responsibilities every week or so. But yes, I was planning on staying... If that's okay?" The last part of the question got stuck in , fear of her father's rejection getting the best of her. She dropped her eyes as well, just as Jaejoon's pierced into her. "I miss home. I miss my mom, and my brothers and sister. I miss...my dad."

There was a slight quiver to Jaejoon's lip, but he retained his composure. "You've been missed too, Nana. However," Jaejoon's voice deepened with an emotion Saemna couldn't quite place. "I will not tolerate any weird witch voodoo in this home, especially around the children. Anything like the stunt you pulled in high school, and you'll be out. Do you understand?"

Saemna's head had dropped, her chin on her chest as she desperately held back the tears in her eyes. Her words were all getting stuck behind the lump in now, and she felt like she was choking on them.

Jaejoon needed an answer. "Do you understand, Hwan Saemna?"

As soon as she opened , her sobs came out. The tears flowed down her cheeks, and she tasted the sting of salt as she finally answered, "I understand."

The sun was getting lower, but there were at least an hour left of light. The family members had all of their bags put away, and it seemed they were winding down before dinner until the gate creaked open. People piled outside in the courtyard at the sound, ready for the umpteenth greeting of the day. Juda, Charlotte, Christopher, and Yejun entered and were immediately ambushed by their family's presence.

"Our ballerina!" It was called out to Juda by so many who hugged her and welcomed her back. Out of the newcomers, Juda embraced the love the easiest. Despite being one of the oldest, it didn't stop her from being doted on by aunts, uncles, and cousins alike. This kind of love was almost enough to make her forget the messages she hadn't been able to stop reading for a full day now. Almost. "Hello, everybody," She breathed out naturally, the way she used to do when she was younger.

Charlotte felt it was all too much. Too many faces, too many hugs, too many greetings. Yet she would just have to grin and bear it, all for the sake of her twin, who seemed to enjoy it much more than he let on. She knew him, and she knew that returning to Hwan Village was something he'd wanted since receiving the invitation from Jaejoon. And while she much preferred being back home, with their mother, with her boyfriend, with her life where she was comfortable, Charlotte would grin and bear it and get through it. For Christopher. "Hello, everybody," She and Chris said at the same time, in two different ways.

Yejun was probably the least receptive. It wasn't his cousins' fault, no. And he adored his aunt Jihye. However, he didn't even want to be there in the first place, and upon learning that he didn't have to, he was angrier. "Hey." He's about to ask why he wasn't informed he could skip the first day of Chuseok when Youngjae pulled him into a tight embrace. Against his better judgment, Yejun couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Jae."

As if saving each other for last, while everyone else was getting ready to settle back into the warmth of the main hanok to await dinner, both sets of Jaebeom's twins faced each other.

Despite being four years apart in age, Chaerin towered over Charlotte with a grin. "And here I thought you two would stay in New York again this year."

Charlotte didn't usually let things upset her so quickly, but Chaerin had been this way towards her since the day the little brat was born. She and Chulsoo were the only ones who have lived with Jaebeom and were actively raised by him properly, despite being the youngest. And yet, Chaerin always acted as if she were better than her half-siblings, especially Charlotte and Chris. All because they were the chosen twins, brought back to South Korea from New York while the older twins were left until the holidays came around.

"Well, we were invited like everyone else."

Christopher and Chulsoo stood side by side, watching tensions rise just as they'd done in their childhood. They watched as their sisters picked at each other constantly over things that were out of their control. 

"Hah!" Chaerin laughed aloud before her face became stoic. "Like everyone else? The only difference being that we actually missed everyone else."

Charlotte took a step closer to her sister, Christopher putting a hand on her arm to keep her from going any closer. It didn't pay her any mind since she was still keeping her composure. In fact, she pulled her hand free to look at her nails momentarily, as if Chaerin wasn't worth her time. "Sweet Chae, I know you believe you're daddy's little princess, but you would be just like the rest of us if—"

"If what?" Unlike Charlotte, Chaerin was beginning to feel her blood boil underneath her skin. "If our mother hadn't died?"

"Chae, please," Chulsoo pleaded from the side.

She ignored him, continuing on with a bitter laugh. "I keep trying to tell you that you aren't like the 'rest of us'. Juda unnie still has her mother, and she's everyone's favorite ballerina here. Hell, Jungeun's a God damn goddess to everyone, and she's not even here right now. Maybe you've been in New York all this time because you're just. Not. Wanted."

"Chaerin, you—"

"Dinner time!" Youngae called from the kitchen, signaling everyone to come inside. Cousins and half-siblings pulled Charlotte and Chaerin away from each other and into the house, thankful for Youngae's interruption.