Yongguk woke up from his sleep with a sore back. He fell asleep on the couch in the living room while talking things out with Himchan last night. Groggily, he reached out for the phone in his pocket to check the time. 11am. He sat up and noticed a frozen figure sitting beside him with a rather stern expression.

“Were you up the whole night?” He asked Himchan, who seemed to be in deep thoughts. He remained silent and didn’t give an answer, telling Yongguk that he indeed was. He could see that Himchan was having a hard time accepting the loss of his girlfriend. Yongguk had to spend the whole night consoling him, at the same time trying to convince him that her death wasn’t his fault, but Himchan remained unchanged.

He didn’t want to interrupt Himchan’s train of thoughts, but he was so concerned that he felt the need to advice again. He carefully spoke, “Channie … you have to understand that in life, people come and go. I know it’s hard for you to accept that. But you have to learn to let go of some things. Sojin wouldn’t like-”

“Stop,” Himchan blurted. He wasn’t annoyed with Yongguk, but rather annoyed with himself. He was frustrated over the fact that as a boyfriend, he had failed to protect Sojin.

Himchan cringed inward, realising his tone of voice could pass off as being rude. He then slowly turned to Yongguk with a weak smile. “You don’t have to worry about me, buddy. I’ll be fine,” he assured.

Yongguk was sceptical about his sudden change of attitude, but just nodded as though he understood. He gently placed a hand on Himchan’s back. “You know I’m always here if you ever need me.”

Of course Himchan knew very well that he could always depend on Yongguk. After all, they were friends of more than ten years. There was no one whom he knew or who knew him better other than Yongguk.

“Thanks Bang. I appreciate it.”

Soon after, Himchan left Yongguk’s home. Even after the dreadful night, Yongguk decided to resume the work he had left last night. As he was about to head to his studio upstairs, a call came in.

He looked at the name of the caller and let out a grumble before he answered. “Hello Miss Song. Is anything the matter?”

‘Mr Bang, I’m calling to ask why Junhong didn’t come today. There were two tests he had to sit for, so I’m hoping he’s at least on MC.’

Yongguk gritted his teeth. He skipped school again. He knew he shouldn’t lie, but he has his own plans when it comes to dealing with his intractable young brother. “He had fever last night and I took him to the doctor today.” He bit his lip for blurting the contrary.

‘Oh. Alright then, I’ll note to his teachers that he’s on medical leave. I’ll be expecting him back when he’s better. Thank you for informing, Mr Bang.’

“Not a problem, Miss Song. And thank you.”

After their mother passed away, Zelo had been neglecting everything related to school. He couldn’t understand Zelo, because Zelo was not even defiant to begin with. He was a boy with manners, and full of respect for his elders. It seemed like he just had no interest in school.

Yongguk let out a sigh as he headed for the door. He sighed not because he was tired of having to give advice, but he always wondered what would have happened if he weren’t there for his friends and family.