it's a clear night, the sky's decorated with bright, glistening stars and the moon just a sliver away from being full. it's not too cold, or at least in kyungsoo's eyes, and well, everyone else as joonmyoen and him walk, kyungsoo shrugging when joonmyeon's practically shivering, pouting the slightest when kyungsoo walks past him, gazing at the stars. joonmyeon rubs his exposed arms with his hands, trying to warm himself, a breeze of cold air coincidentally running pass the two.

"i don't know, kyung, it's pretty cold." joonmyeon says as he catches up with the younger. kyungsoo looks at him and crinkles his nose in disbelief, eyes scrunching up the slightest bit. he shakes his head and chuckles.

"well, look at what you're wearing, hyung!" he points. "you're wearing a short sleeve and shorts," he can't help but let a few more chuckles escape his lips as he looks at joonmyeon up and down. "what did you expect? of course it's cold, you idiot! it's not summer anymore!" kyungsoo laughs, only causing joonmyeon to pout even more, jutting out his bottom lip as he knits his eyebrows together as if he's saying "hug me." kyungsoo's lips form a soft smiles, shaking his head before walking over to joonmyeon. "you're such a child sometimes." kyungsoo smiles, wrapping his arms around joonmyeon's waist before pecking his cheek. the older can only return the smile before pulling away from kyungsoo. 

"it's getting late. let's get back home." joonmyeon says, flashing a quick smile before intertwining his fingers with kyungsoo and pulling him in the direction on his apartment. they walk back to joonmyeon's place, both of them laughing as they exchange a few stories about their past. kyungsoo blushes in embarrassment when joonmyeon brings up the time when they went to a party and minseok tricked kyungsoo into drinking five cups of spiked juice. kyungsoo lets out an awkward laugh, covering his reddening face with his hands, too embarrassed. joonmyeon assures kyungsoo that he was adorable- even when he threw up on the way back to joonmyeon's car. kyungsoo punches joonmyeon, signaling him to stop, the younger's ears and face still a bright shade of crimson that you could clearly see even in the dark. joonmyeon can only laugh, wrapping an arm around kyungsoo's waist. "you're cute~" he teases and kyungsoo covers his face again, shaking his head. 

they reach joonmyeon's apartment, the older pecking kyungsoo's lips once they get through the door and kyungsoo pauses as he steps into the main part of the apartment, his eyes widen as he stands there frozen. joonmyeon is in the middle of closing the door when he notices kyungsoo's halted movements. he closes the door before stepping towards the younger. 

"kyung? are you okay?" he asks as he stares at kyungsoo, worried. he inches closer, following his gaze, his eyes landing to a duo sitting on his couch, their faces serious and disappointed. "m-mother..." he starts. "father... i-" he notices that a child is in his mother's lap, back facing him as the child clutches to joonmyeon's mother, arms wrapping around her neck as the head rests on her shoulder, face buried into the junction between her neck and shoulder. it was jongdae- he could tell. he wanted to go over there and grab his son, but his limbs failed to move. he swallows hard, eyes shifting from his parents to kyungsoo who was shaking, bottom lip getting abused by his teeth, scraping the soft skin in anxiousness. "i-" 

"first," his father shifts. "you impregnated a successful women at a young age." he stands , smoothing out the wrinkles in his suit. "then, you take the child away from her and don't even let your own parents see their grandchild." joonmyeon swallows hard again, shaking his head. no. i didn't take him away, she left... you didn't know about jongdae... "and now," his father walks towards kyungsoo and him. "this?" and as if in slow motion he raises a hand and slaps both kyungsoo and joonmyeon. "now," he looks at his hand, disgusted as if he had touched the most repulsive thing on the face of the earth. he takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes off his hands before tossing it at kyungsoo, the piece of fabric flowing to the ground so elegantly, quite a juxtaposition from their current situation. "now it turns out you're gay." he spits in disbelief. joonmyeon looks over at kyungsoo who had tears rolling down his face and his blood starts to boil.

"i- i uhm..." joonmyeon's unable to form any sentences, his mouth suddenly too dry, his tongue tied though so many things rushed through his head, right on the tip of his tongue, ready to be said. he was shaking, both in embarrassment and anger. he was confused and couldn't comprehend the situation he was in. why? why is this happening so suddenly? 

"friends?" his father laughs sarcastically. "we knew you two were too close to be 'just friends'." he narrows his eyes at the duo. he then hears his mother cough, joonmyeon's father returning to his place beside her. 

"my, joonmyeon," she starts. "you were always so clever. so smart. always had a bright smile." she's rubbing circles onto jongdae's back, switching to patting him gently every few moments. "always so obedient. we never knew you'd turn out like this." joonmyeon's breathing is unsteady, his jaw is clenched, hands balled into fists because what does she mean, turn out like this? turn out like what?

"i... i turned out fine." he manages to say. "better than how i would've if i continued to stay in your house." he couldn't think straight, he was too riled up, not even sure if his sentences were making sense. his mother laughs. 

"turning gay?" she asks, laughing again. "is that really how you're teaching jongdae? he doesn't need an irregular family, growing up to think what you are is okay. what he needs is a stable family- a mother who'll nurture him and love him, a father who'll support him and teach him how to be a real man, and grandparents that'll spoil him to death." she looks at the boy in her arms. "he doesn't have that." she lifts him up. "right, jongdae-ah?" 

"no, you're wrong." joonmyeon steps closer to kyungsoo, placing a hand on his shoulder before continuing. "jongdae... has everything he needs. he doesn't need a mother, he doesn't need grandparents. i support the both of us to live comfortably. i teach him what he needs to know. not how to be a real man, but to be a decent human being. that's more than what you have ever done for me!" joonmyeon yells, his grip tightening on kyungsoo's shoulder. kyungsoo looks back, a sympathetic look in his eyes as he softly smiles and nods, face stained with dried tears. "kyungsoo and i give jongdae everything- love, support, the nurturing he needs. i taught him how to be happy, how to be strong... how to love! that's more than what you, father and his mother ever did, for him... for me!" tears escape his eyes, trailing down his flushed face. "kyungsoo... jongdae... they taught me everything i know... about myself, about loving someone, missing someone, caring for someone. that's... that's more than what you've done for me..." joonmyeon walks towards his mother, father and jongdae who was still in her arms. "though jongdae is young, he knows so much. though i've taught him so many things... it still amazes me knowing just how much he knows. jongdae loves me, knowing i love someone the same as me, knowing i'm a young, knowing i live with a lot of regrets. he loves me because i'm his father and i care for him..." his hands are balled up into fists, sniffling in uneven breaths. "jongdae is me... he's my everything..."

his mother's expression is serious. she shakes her head, chuckling. "lovely speech, my son." she says, teasingly. "but, let's ask jongdae what he thinks. you said he can think on his own right? well, let's see what he really thinks about you." she lifts up jongdae, just enough to see his face. "jongdae-ah~" she coos. "what do you think about your daddy, huh?" 

jongdae is silent. he quickly leans back, almost looking as if he was bent in half, eyes dilated and soulless. "i... i hate daddy." he says, his back bending even more. "i really hate daddy..." he whispers before his eyes widen and his mouth cracks into a large grin. his face morphs into another one, his skin turning bright crimson. "i hate him." the voice becomes harsher, sounding more familiar as he says the phrase over and over. as jongdae straightens is body, turning around, his face is no longer jongdae's, but the face of taeyeon. her eyes wide, mouth still twisted into a grin, chanting "i hate him" over and over again. 

joonmyeon turns, only to see kyungsoo's face is also replaced with taeyeon's, the younger also chanting along with the taeyeon possessed jongdae. he turns back to jongdae seeing that his parent's faces are gone and replaced with taeyeon's as well. they chant the same three words like a mantra, the four of them inching closer and closer to joonmyeon, closing in on him. the smaller taeyeon gets a bit too close to joonmyeon and laughs, almost like a maniac, pulling him down by his shirt. "i hate you." she smiles, laughing right after, grabbing his face and pulling on his skin so hard it felt like his face was ripping off.

joonmyeon wakes up with a small yelp, struggling to sit up. a cold sweat covers his body, parts of his hair matted to his forehead and the sides of his face. he's breathing hard, trying to comprehend what had just happened, but relieved to know it was only a dream. not a dream. a nightmare. he looks next to him, seeing jongdae sleeping soundly, the boy stirring only a bit after joonmyeon pushes jongdae's fringe from his face. he remembers jongdae asking him if he could sleep in his room after hearing how loud the rain and thunder was last night. he sighs, staring at the boy. "my baby boy... i know you love me." he whispers, running his fingers gently through jongdae's hair.

after both his heart rate and breathing became steady, joonmyeon lies back down, staring at the ceiling. only a bad dream... he sighs. thank god it wasn't only a dream. he wipes off any sweat from his face and neck with the back of his hand, still not believing it was only a dream. it seemed so real. he checks his phone, it reading five in the morning, two hours before he actually had to wake up. it was going to be a long day for him, he knew it would be. tossing around in his spot for a few moments, joonmyeon stops trying to get comfortable and gives up on the idea of going back to sleep. he opens his messages and clicks on kyungsoo's name, which just happened to be on the top because who else does joonmyeon text? 

"i love you." he types before erasing it. "i love you a lot." backspace. backspace. backspace. "i miss you." joonmyeon shakes his head before locking his phone, of course wanting to text kyungsoo, but not knowing what to say without it being completely random and awkward. joonmyeon finds himself in the exact same situation quite often nowadays. he's probably sleeping anyway... he tosses his phone to an empty spot by his head and thinks back to the dream he had. what... does it mean? is this what my parents think of me? or is this what i think my parents would say to me? but i know for sure jongdae doesn't hate me... but what was taeyeon all about? joonmyeon furrows his eyebrows. what. does. it. mean? and why did i have this dream so suddenly?

joonmyeon massages his temples, pondering on an explanation. he already knows how taeyeon feels about him; disgusted, hatred, anger. but honestly, he can care less about her and how she felt. and he already knows how jongdae feels about him, about kyungsoo, so he didn't worry too much, though this weird dream made him think, just a bit, on what jongdae really thinks, though he's just a child. however, he doesn't know what his parents feel towards him. hate? worry? disappointment? joonmyeon understands that some feelings can change over time, and some feelings can stay the same, just like kyungsoo and his situation. but, he didn't know if his parents' feelings were unchanged from before. he knows that he hurt them- betrayed them. they're own son... of course they were mad since they kicked him out... they were probably worried, they probably wanted to teach him a lesson... but after all this time, would they're feelings change? would they still feel that way towards him? or would they hate him for never calling, never making an attempt to reach them, never coming back? and what if they do meet again? because honestly, they'll have to sometime in the future. to figure out he's not with the women who he impregnated and got him kicked out, to appear with the 5 year old child they thought was aborted and to find out their youngest son is gay... wouldn't they be even more surprised? more disappointed? think he was a bigger disgrace in their family than he already was (in their eyes)? joonmyeon tears up, shaking a bit, not wanting to even think about it. he lets out a shaky sigh, running his hands over his face to wipe away any fallen tears.

joonmyeon then hears ruffling next to him. "d-daddy..." jongdae softly says, voice raspy from sleep, confusion in his voice. he sits, rubbing his eyes, joonmyeon sitting up as well. he scoots next to his son and lifts him onto his lap. "what's wrong?" he asks his child and jongdae shakes his head. "what time is it...?" jongdae asks and joonmyeon replies with "it's five. way too early for you." he chuckles and jongdae snuggles up to his father, yawning as he rests his head onto joonmyeon's chest. their breathing is even, accompanying one another. it comforted joonmyeon, it soothed him even. joonmyeon was about to ask him what was wrong, but was interrupted. "i love you, daddy." jongdae suddenly says and joonmyeon's lips curve into a small smile. 

"i love you, too, jongdae." jongdae hugs him before he gets up, just enough to slide off of joonmyeon's lap and back onto the bed. he lies down again, cheek flush against the blankets. "it's early..." jongdae yawns, causing joonmyeon to smile. "yes, it is. go back to sleep, okay?" joonmyeon says as he covers the boy with the blanket. jongdae nods as he closes his eyes, drifting back to sleep in no time. joonmyeon questions why the boy woke up, but he can't help but to feel relieved knowing that jongdae loves him. i mean, he already knew he did, but just hearing him say it randomly, especially after that dream, made his heart feel light and warm. his day just turned a bit brighter. i think i'll have a good day...

it's about seven in the morning, the streets filled with cars and people decorating the area as they hurry to their busses and taxies. kyungsoo had already woken up, preparing his things for work. he lets out a yawn as he slides a few folders into his bag, eyes watering. his phone sounds beside him. he looks and instantly blushes as he reads the name, hurriedly opening up the message. "have a wonderful day at work." kyungsoo smiles as he quickly picks up his phone to reply. "you, too, idiot." he knows joonmyeon is smiling like a fool, probably laughing to himself, his eyes forming crescents. kyungsoo chuckles to himself because one, joonmyeon looks really ugly when he smiles, or laughs, and two, the thought warms kyungsoo's heart and makes him wonder "how in the world did i get so lucky?" 

he briefly checks his phone for the time, smiling when he still has time to eat breakfast, just as he planned. as kyungsoo cracks an egg into the hot pan on the stovetop, he gathers the rest of his things, setting his bag on an empty chair. his phone abruptly rings, however, scaring the living crap out of kyungsoo because his apartment was so quiet, only hearing the crackling of the cooking egg. he scurries to get his phone, not recognizing the phone number. he hesitates to answer because it could possibly be a scam, but scam calls aren't too common for him and they usually don't call so early if they do reach him. he ponders a bit more, waiting just before the ringer shuts off. he answers, confused. why would someone be calling so early in the morning other than joonmyeon or his parents?

"hello? is this the phone of do kyungsoo?" the gentle voice of a woman sounds, polite and worried. 

"this is." kyungsoo answers, knitting his eyebrows together. "may i ask who this is?" he asks, tapping his fingers on the table. 

"this is the myongji hospital here in gyeonggi-do. your mother had collapsed last night and was brought here," kyungsoo inhales slowly, trying to process what was going on. "we're doing some tests right now to see what had caused her to collapse." she continues. kyungsoo's jittery, drumming his fingers rapidly on the table nervously, biting his lip a bit too hard, anxious. "we're just calling to inform you and-"

"she's... she's doing fine... right?" kyungsoo asks, needing some reassurance. he knows his mother is one strong human being, healthy, always happy and kind, and even if she's sick or injured, always heals quickly and gets back on her feet again. she's that kind of person, but he couldn't help but think, maybe this time, she wasn't going to heal that quickly. he just needed to know. he sharply inhales when there's a pause on the other side, papers shuffling together and a keyboard typing. 

"yes. she's doing well," kyungsoo lets out the breath he was holding in, sighing in relief. "since you're on her emergency contacts, and also the only one who answered so early, we would like to check in with you and ask you some questions about your mother's health history." she says, kyungsoo nodding. "if you can stop by today-" 

"of course." he interrupts. "i'll be there... soon." he glances at the clock. 

"understood. we'll tell you the rest of the information once you get to the hospital." 

"th-thank you." he manages before he hangs up. he breathes out of his mouth, breath shaky and unstable, fighting back a few tears as he pulls out a chair and plops down on it. he rests his head on his hand as he tightly shuts his eyes, feeling relieved yet scared and helpless. he was glad his mother was okay, but reality hit him, making him realize that he's an adult and though his parents are healthy and well, they're getting old and he may have to be prepared for any situation possible. he wipes away a tear that managed to escape his tightly closed eyes, letting out another shaky breath. he shakes his head, lightly slapping his cheeks to snap himself out of this reality check and focus on what he should do for now. he sits up straight, slowly exhaling.

"okay..." he slowly breathes, stretching his arms on the table, phone in hands. "call the school, call a taxi, text hyung, text joonmyeon..." he plans. "get to gyeonggi, get to myongji hospital, see mom, answer questions." he nods his head once, firmly. "okay. everything's okay." he calms himself, about to dial the number to the school's offices, but stops when he smells smoke. he turns and sees his egg burning, smoke rising to the ceiling. he physically slaps himself and rushes over to the stove. ", , . what the is wrong with you do kyungsoo."

"that's weird..." joonmyeon responds, scooping out some rice into jongdae bowl. "so, seungsoo's number is out of service?" kyungsoo's deep voice sounds, humming in response. "hmm. at least your mom's all right. she's strong. the last time i saw her, she had a fracture in her left forearm, but she was still cooking and doing house chores." the two laugh.

"yeah, that's right!" kyungsoo laughs. "they said they're doing some tests to see what caused her to collapse." kyungsoo shrugs, not having much details to share. joonmyeon nods, understanding but not knowing how to respond.

"you already called the school, right?" joonmyeon asks, placing the bowl of rice onto the table beside his own. 

"yes, hyung." kyungsoo says nonchalantly, flipping a page in a book joonmyeon got him. 

"do you know the substitute?" 

"nope." 

joonmyeon hums in response. "do you need a ride to gyeonggi?" 

"no, hyung. you have to drop off jongdae and you have work." he denies. "plus, i already called a taxi. those bastards kept me on the phone and they weren't even open..." he sighs. "but, they should be here soon. so don't worry, hyung." joonmyeon hums again, but this time in more upset tone, letting out a puff of air after. kyungsoo can tell the older is puffing out his cheeks, pouting, eyebrows more than likely to be furrowed and eyes blinking a bit too much as if the older was trying to be cute. they both know they can't see each other, but joonmyeon does it involuntarily, a habit he acquired when kyungsoo and him were younger- always acting cute towards the younger when he didn't get his way. kyungsoo already knows, having dealt with it for so long. kyungsoo wonders who really is the child, joonmyeon or jongdae? some things never change. he chuckles when joonmyeon exaggerates a sniffle, whimpering. "cut it out, joonmyeon." kyungsoo laughs. "i already called. i can't just have them get here and not show up." 

"sure you can." joonmyeon says, chuckling after. "they wasted your time, so why can't you waste their's?" he jokes and kyungsoo exhales sharply from his nose. "jokes, jokes." 

"joonmyeon, you aren't funny." kyungsoo tries to stifle his laughter.

joonmyeon makes a clicking sound with his tongue, setting two pairs of chopsticks and two spoons on the table. "well, i tried." they both laugh, joonmyeon shrugging before placing a hot pan of vegetables onto the table. "gyeonggi isn't too far." joonmyeon tries to persuade nonchalantly, obviously not taking no for an answer.

kyungsoo sighs, frustrated. "it isn't, but you have to drop off jongdae, you start work right after and i already called a taxi." 

"but-"

"no. shut up. i'm not listening." kyungsoo says quickly, placing his phone on the table. 

"okay, okay." there's no answer. "you can take the taxi." there's still no answer. joonmyeon chuckles. that little er put his phone down. "kyung. kyungsoo-yah. pick up your-" 

"if you're talking right now, i can't hear you~" kyungsoo teases, voice bubbling with laughter. joonmyeon laughs at how childish kyungsoo was acting, and a good childish. the one where you're silly, cute, and naive. joonmyeon wonders who the child really is, kyungsoo or jongdae? the older shakes his head, still laughing as jongdae makes his way into the kitchen, beaming up at his father. 

"who're you talking to, daddy?" jongdae asks as he sits at the table. joonmyeon smiles, walking over to him. he hands him the phone before telling him it's kyungsoo, telling him to talk to him while he changes. jongdae nods, smiling as he presses the phone to his ear. "kyungsoo hyung!" he says happily, propping himself up on his knees. "hyung~" he hears kyungsoo singing on the other line, a bit hard to hear. "hyung. hyung. hyung." jongdae repeats. "hyung!" he screams. there was still no answer. he furrows his eyebrows and purses his lips together. "kyungsoo hyung!" he says it again. "hyung..." he sighs, stuffing his mouth with rice and some dried seaweed. "why aren't you answering..." he trails off, chewing the food in his stuffed mouth, his hand slowly sliding the phone down the side of his face.

"jongdae-ah~" he hears from the phone and jongdae quickly picks it up. 

"hyung!" he yells, pulling the phone back to his ear as he swallows his food. 

"hi, jongdae. i won't be at school today." kyungsoo says sadly and jongdae pouts whilst stuffing more food in his mouth. "my mom's sick, so i have to go visit her." he explains and jongdae's bottom lip juts out a bit more. "hyung's sorry!" 

"it's okay, hyung. tell your mom to get better soon! and that i'll send her lots of hearts!" jongdae giggles, and kyungsoo smiles lightheartedly to himself, jongdae's words warming his heart. how can this boy be so sweet? kyungsoo hums in response. 

"i'll be at school tomorrow, okay? then maybe you're daddy can pick us up and we can get something delicious or maybe go to a park or movie? sound good?" kyungsoo asks and jongdae responds with an enthusiastic hum since his mouth was filled with food. just then, joonmyeon walks back into the kitchen, ruffles jongdae's hair and sits at the table with him. his son hands him the phone with both hands before sitting down from his kneeling position. 

"hello?" joonmyeon answers, placing some vegetables on top of jongdae's rice, the boy furrowing his eyebrows and pouting as he shakes his head at joonmyeon. his father gives him a warning look causing jongdae to pout even more, but nevertheless, he picks up a cucumber from atop his rice and eats it, joonmyeon nodding his head in approval.

"hey, hyung, let's have ." kyungsoo bluntly says and joonmyeon accidently swallows the spoonful of rice he was eating, glancing at jongdae, praying he didn't hear what kyungsoo said as he coughs hard trying to get the clump of grains out of his throat.

"w-what?" he asks, still coughing. jongdae hops off his chair, fills a cup of water for his dad, and hands it to him with worry before returning to his seat. 

kyungsoo chuckles. "i'm joking. take jongdae and i out tomorrow." he states rather than asks. "you said you wanted to make it up to us from the other time. and since you didn't stop bothering me about it, then you'll have to live up to your word." he teases. joonmyeon chuckles after chugging the glass of water. 

"okay, let's go out tomorrow." he agrees. "where-" he's interrupted again that day by a buzzing sound coming from the other line. 

"oh, hyung. it's the taxi service. i'll talk to you after." kyungsoo hurriedly says. "love you." he finishes, hanging up before joonmyeon has time to say "i love you" back. joonmyeon looks at his phone with a puzzled look, letting a few chuckles out as he shakes his head. cute.

after practically forcing jongdae to eat a few more vegetables, having to bribe him with a lolly after he gets out of school, joonmyeon gathers both of their stuff as jongdae brushes his teeth and changes into the outfit joonmyeon placed on his bed. he waddles out of his bedroom, stuck in the head hole of his hoodie, just his hair poking out of the hole. he whines an "i'm stuck", joonmyeon laughing as he kneels down to help him. they both laugh when joonmyeon pulls down the hoodie, jongdae's head popping out, hair tousled. 

"you okay?" joonmyeon asks and jongdae nods, picking up his backpack and walking over to the door. joonmyeon follows shortly after, explaining how to tie shoelaces to jongdae who was clearly struggling. he ends up tying them for his son when he glances at the clock, it being about half an hour until jongdae's school starts. he makes a mental note to have jongdae practice tying his shoes later. 

once they get to jongdae's school, joonmyeon decides to walk him into his class since they got there a bit earlier (joonmyeon sped since he thought they were going to be late) and though it didn't matter, joonmyeon was curious to see who the substitute was and what they were like, even if they were there for one day. jongdae excitedly latches onto joonmyeon's arm, pulling him down the hallway to his pre-kindergarten classroom, jongdae not failing to explain to his father what the art work on the walls were for and which one was his, "baekhyunnie's", and "yeollie's". he promptly opens the door and is greeted with a "jongdae~" as a boy comes running up to him. jongdae lets go of joonmyeon's arm to meet the boy halfway.

"baekhyun!" they smile at each other before hugging each other. jongdae looks back at joonmyeon who was by the door still, holding the 5 year old's backpack. "you remember my dad, right?" jongdae asks, baekhyun nodding once, firmly. 

"did you show him our artwork?" baekhyun asks, looking up at joonmyeon with a cheeky smile. joonmyeon returns the smile, nodding his head as jongdae answers. joonmyeon walks over to the boys, allowing jongdae to take his things from him. 

"baekhyun-ah, why're you so early today? usually you get here after i drop off jongdae." he asks, concerned since he was the only one in the room. 

"mom had to go to the hospital because she said it hurts when she pees." he explains, not knowing how much information is too much. joonmyeon feels his ears turning red, embarrassed for baekhyun and his mother. "then while she's at work, my daddy is going to pick me up early because i have to go to the dentist." he pouts, crossing his arms. 

"ah. it's okay. the dentist isn't scary, right, jongdae?" he assures and jongdae nods. "jongdae went there and they were really nice."

"yeah, they didn't hurt me, so don't worry, baekhyunnie!"

"oh, yeah. we have a subsitude teacher. (he mispronounced substitute)" he shifts his eyes from jongdae to joonmyeon a couple of times before his attention is caught by a paperclip on the ground. "she just left a few minutes ago for something." he shrugs. 

joonmyeon glances at the clock, noticing that he might as well gas up before heading to work. "jongdae-ah, i have to leave for work now, okay?" jongdae nods, hugging him. 

"have a nice day at work, daddy!" he kisses his cheek and grabs his stuff before sitting down next to baekhyun. "love you!" he waves and baekhyun looks up to beam him another cheeky smile, waving as well. 

"love you, too. have fun today, you two~" he waves back, exiting. the hallway was empty, more or less, since it was just for preschoolers and kindergartners, the hallway separated from the other kids. as he turns a corner, a women's walking the opposite direction, towards the classroom. "excuse me," she stops and turns around before blinking, a small smirk pulling at the edges of her lips before her lips relax. "hi, are you the substitute for the preschool class?" he asks and she smiles gently before nodding. 

"yes, and i take that you're the parent of one of the students?" she takes a few steps closer. "do you have a question?" she keeps blinking and joonmyeon awkwardly laughs because she's a bit too close. 

"oh, no. i just wanted to say good luck and have a nice day." he bows and she smiles, bowing in return. 

"thank you, mr. kim." she smiles before standing straight, smoothing out her skirt. "i hope you have a great day as well. i know i will." she turns and walks away and joonmyeon does the same. he his head to the side, clicking his tongue. how did she know my name... there's something oddly familiar about her...

he turns. "hey, weren't you-" she was already gone and joonmyeon shakes his head. "she looked awfully familiar..." he purses his lips together and shrugs, continuing to walk to the door.

everything up until now was going great. kyungsoo got into the taxi, told the driver the directions and off they went, kyungsoo taking note that the taxi smelled of cigarettes and cheap car wash air fresheners. though it was a bumpy ride and there was that weird odor, it was endurable. what wasn't endurable was the god. damn. traffic. he knew there was traffic in the morning, but he didn't know it was going to be this bad, especially going outside of seoul. the car was literally shut off since the traffic was so bad, leaving an anxious kyungsoo biting his bottom lip and fingers involuntarily drumming on his lap in pure nervousness and annoyance. though this wasn't the worse thing that could happen, it was ranked pretty high. why must things like this happen when i need to get to places... kyungsoo sighs, his fingers only halting the random pattern so he can check his phone for the time, just seeing how long they've stayed in one spot. he already asked if they could take a different route, but the taxi driver explained that "even if there was a less crowded route, we wouldn't be able to exit the highway." kyungsoo sighed in defeat because he knows that's right. the whole highway was backed up. he swallows nervously, thoughts clouding his mind. is mom really okay? why the hell is there so much traffic? did they find a substitute in time? i'm really hungry... why is hyung's phone out of service? what questions are they going to ask me once i get to the hospital? he has to sigh again, but this time it comes out shaky. okay. i'm cool. i'm chill. ice cold. calm down, do kyungsoo. he shuts his eyes and as if a god answered his prayer, the car starts moving again, however, once kyungsoo opens his eyes, he feels the car roll to a stop and the sound of the engine turning off. he lets out a frustrated sigh, ruffling his hair before his body went slack, not having the energy or motivation to sit up straight. 

"wow, this is some traffic." the driver comments, voice raspy and kyungsoo immediately assumes it's due to him smoking rather than his older age. 

"is it always this bad, uncle?" (a/n: let me remind you that this guy isn't kyungsoo's uncle, but they call guys who are older grandpa or uncle as respect) 

"no, it's not even half as bad as this. i have no idea why it's so bad today..." he sighs, turning on the car just to inch it closer to the car that moved up just the slightest. 

kyungsoo sighs once again before checking the news on his phone. "ah. there was an accident." the driver's ears perk up. "a semi-truck went under a bridge and the bridge almost collapsed..." he shakes his head. "hope no one was badly injured..." he says to no one in particular.

"don't they know how to read?! it says what can fit under the bridge and what can't. what idiots we have on this planet." kyungsoo chuckles, agreeing with the older man. the older male continues with his little speech, kyungsoo having to excuse himself as his phone starts to ring. 

"oh, hyung." kyungsoo answers, peering out the window, not seeing much, other than another car who also had their engine off. 

"did you make it to the hospital safely?" joonmyeon asks as he just puts in the gas pump. 

"no," the younger looks out of the other window, seeing the same sight. "i'm actually stuck in traffic right now. there was a car accident... or truck accident?" joonmyeon hums in shock. "no one was reported injured, though." kyungsoo rests his head on the head rest. "so what's up?"

"oh, right." there's some rummaging on the other line as joonmyeon shakes the gas pump for more liquid to come out. "the substitute today..." he trails off. "she... looked familiar..." 

"is it someone i know?"

"yeah... do you remember the girl that taeyeon and her friends used to bully?" joonmyeon asks and kyungsoo's silent for a bit before answering with a hum. "well, she looks exactly like her. before i got to ask, she left." joonmyeon shrugs. 

"i remember her. she used to help me with english. jessica, right?" 

"yeah! that's her name. jessica. you know, there was a rumor that she liked you." he laughs and kyungsoo furrows his brows, not believing what he was saying because i never heard that before. "but she never said anything because she knew you were dating me at the time." kyungsoo purses his lips together. did she really like me? before kyungsoo got to say anything, joonmyeon chuckles. "anyway, i just thought you'd be curious. she was a nice girl, so don't worry to much about the kids. tell your mom i said to get better soon! i'll see you later, love." 

kyungsoo is left dumbfounded, looking at his phone in disbelief. "what the... why did he even call me..." he shakes his head. 

"your friend?" the taxi driver asks, and kyungsoo remembers he's in a taxi. he nods. 

"yeah." he says shyly, trailing off after. 

kyungsoo wakes up due to the car hitting a bump, the taxi driver apologizing right after. 

" 'morning." he chuckles. "have a nice nap?" he looks at kyungsoo through the rear view mirror and kyungsoo smiles, chuckling awkwardly then nodding, embarrassed for falling asleep. 

"y-yeah." he looks out the window. "are we at the hospital already?" he asks, looking at the building, not exactly being able to pinpoint where they were. the area didn't look familiar, but then again, he hasn't visited in awhile. 

"almost. after you fell asleep, the traffic seemed to get worse! as if it could've been worse than that, right?" he smiles a cheeky smile as he jokes and kyungsoo returns it. after a another ten minutes or so, the taxi pulls up into the front of a hospital, kyungsoo looking outside his window to get a look. as he's about the thank the taxi driver and pull out some money to pay, he notices that the sign of the hospital isn't myongji hospital. 

"oh, uhm. sir?" kyungsoo asks, closing his wallet. the older man looks up. "this isn't myongji hospital." he awkwardly smiles as he points outside. the taxi driver gives him a weird look before putting on a pair of glasses and glancing outside. he then looks at his gps and smacks his head. kyungsoo feels a vein on his temple throb. 

"i'm so sorry." he apologizes. "i must've misheard you over the phone this morning." he grabs the gps. "myongji hospital you say?" he types it in, fingers moving slowly as if he couldn't see the keyboard on the screen. once he finishes however, the gps announces that it'll take another thirty to forty-five minutes to get there. kyungsoo sighs inaudibly. "it's on the other side of gyeonggi-do." the taxi driver says as he pulls out of the front of the hospital. 

so... he went to the wrong hospital... great... kyungsoo smacks himself both physically and mentally. kyungsoo checks the time, it already being nine, almost ten. he sighs, drumming his hands on his lap for he couldn't really do much. as he looks out the window, he lets his mind wander, trying hard not to think about the worse case scenario about his mother. and after thirty minutes or so, before he's about to drift off into another nap, the taxi finally pulls into the main lot of the myongji hospital, the abrupt breaking causing kyungsoo to snap forward. luckily his seatbelt was on for if it wasn't, he'd get a face full of the driver's seat that was saturated in the scent of smoke. 

"we're here." the taxi driver announces cheerfully, turning to look at kyungsoo. "how was the trip?" he jokes again. kyungsoo smiles, giving him a hesitant thumbs up before pulling out his wallet. 

"how much?" he asks, opening his wallet and looking up at the driver. "the ride was really long... i must've used up a lot of gas..." the taxi driver shakes his head.

"it was my fault for taking you to wrong hospital- and the traffic wasn't your fault. don't worry about it. $60 should cover it." he smiles and kyungsoo once again returns the smile before handing him the money. he gathers his things then gets out of the taxi, bowing his head before the it drives off. shoving his wallet back into his pocket, he looks at the hospital, taking a deep breath, he bites his lip before smiling. 

"everything will be okay~" he says to himself before walking to the main entrance. before he's able to walk in, a lady appears with a clipboard in hand, approaching kyungsoo. she smiles and looks at her clipboard before returning her gaze to him. 

"hello, you must be do kyungsoo, right?" kyungsoo nods. "we talked earlier this morning?" and kyungsoo's eyes widen in realization. 

"right. good morning." he bows quickly. "sorry, am i late?" he asks with an awkward smile, averting his eyes to the ground and scratching the back of his head. 

"oh, no. you're fine." she chuckles. 

"so... my mom." he points into the hospital. "i can go see her?" 

"oh. not right now. we have just finished talking to her and we've given her some-" she looks at her clipboard. " 'antihistamines' that makes her a bit drowsy. we should let her rest." she smiles and kyungsoo can only nod, not knowing about the procedures in hospitals too well. "well, shall we start on the questions then? by the time we're done, you should be able to see your mother." 

kyungsoo nods, slightly confused, but nevertheless, he follows the lady. they end up walking to a bench on the western side of the hospital.  

"this should do." she smiles. kyungsoo returns the smile with a small, awkward one. 

"u-uhm. if you don't mind me asking, why don't we talk inside?" he asks, pointing back at the hospital. 

"ah- it's a nice day outside. if you prefer-" 

"no... i was just curious. continue." he lifts a hand as if motioning her to go on. she nods, looking down at her clipboard. she takes out a pen from the top of the clipboard and rights something down before looking back up. 

"okay, let's start. first, does she have a medical history? as in, had bad health, been to the hospital for any reason in the past?" kyungsoo shakes his head. 

"no. nothing really bad. she fractured her left forearm a few years back." he blinks, pursing his lips together. "she had a fever once when i was younger and had to stay in the hospital for about a week? maybe less than that. but other than that, nothing that i know of." the lady nods, jotting down everything kyungsoo said. 

"does she have any conditions?" kyungsoo shakes his head. "has she ever been put on any medication?" kyungsoo shakes his head again. "is she on medication now?" he shakes again before stopping and then answering with "i wouldn't know. she hasn't told me anything." "has she been acting out of the ordinary." 

"no... i haven't seen her in awhile and i only receive calls from her a few times a month. so i wouldn't have noticed." she nods, writing it down. 

the questions seem to get more broad and kyungsoo questions to himself what they're even trying to figure out, but he goes with it since what do i know? i'm not a doctor. he shakes his head, mentally. he did question a few of the questions. 

"why do you need to know if she's having an affair?" he asks after he answered the question with a solid no. 

"the stress of having her partner find out about the affair could have built up, causing her to collapse." the lady answered. kyungsoo just went with it. 

"a~and that was the last question." she says whilst writing down kyungsoo's answer. kyungsoo nods, though on the inside he's literally jumping for joy, thanking the lord that it was finally over. "after i get this to the doctor, i can show you inside and head to your mother's room. wait here, i'll be right back." she gets up, smoothing down her skirt with one hand before walking back towards the entrance. 

kyungsoo slouches on the bench, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "thank god that's over..." he yawns, pulling out his phone. "but why do i feel so tired all of a sudden. it didn't take that long..." he checks his phone and almost chokes on his spit. "what the actual . it's already one? that took three hours?" he furrows his eyebrows but then his expression softens as he remembers that she did have to pause him to repeat what he had said and it took her forever to write down everything. and there was a ton of questions. he shakes his head, being grateful that it took that long because it could've been longer. 

he checks a few emails that he didn't get to read that morning, going on to play a game to pass some time. he checks the time again. one thirty. he turns around to look at the entrance- no signs of her returning. "where is she...?" kyungsoo shrugs again, looking at his phone to pass some more time. as he's too invested in the sixtieth round of color swap, he doesn't seem to notice a pair of males running towards him. as he looks up, one of the guys snatches his phone from his hands and as if it was in slow motion, kyungsoo looks at his now empty hands and watches as the duo run across the street. he then looks back at his hands, standing up in realization that they just stole his phone. 

"h-hey!" he pauses not knowing if he should run after them or run inside. as he makes up his mind to run after them, he hears panting from behind him. kyungsoo turns to see a chubby guy sweating, hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. "a-are you okay?" kyungsoo asks as he bends down to pat the guy on the back. he nods before pointing at the duo. 

"t-they stole my phone," he pants. "and-and my wallet!" he coughs. 

kyungsoo purses his lips together. "you wait here. i'll go get them!" he yells as he runs after the duo, the other giving him a thumbs up, yelling a thank you before he collapses onto the bench, exhausted. kyungsoo immediately curses himself for being so damn nice and for being so damn slow and not athletic. he feels his sides begin to tighten and his legs begin to cramp. he slows down, looking around, seeing no sight of the two. "." he curses in between pants. he places his hands on his knees before turning around. conveniently, he spots a police station just at the corner and musters up enough energy to jog to it. the police tell him they can't do much other then have him fill out a report stating what happened, what the culprits were wearing and what was stolen. he fills it out anyway, thanking them before leaving. why does this have to happen right now? today really isn't my day... he looks up at the sky before he remembers "right, mom!"

jogging back to the hospital that was thankfully not too far from the police station, he notices that the guy that also got robbed wasn't there anymore. not thinking more of it, he shrugs and makes his way into the hospital. maybe she got busy and forgot to come out? he shrugs and goes to the front desk. 

"hello, how my i assist you?" the secretary asks cheerfully. 

"ah, right. i was looking for the room --- is in?" he asks and the lady behind the desk nods with a small smile, typing in the name onto the computer. she hums in confusion, causing kyungsoo to look at her. "what's wrong?" 

"that's weird. we don't have anyone with that name in our system." 

"what? my mom was brought here last night..." kyungsoo says slowly. "can you check again?" the lady obliges but the outcome was the same. 

"do you have the wrong hospital? we can check to see if she was admitted into any of the other hospitals near by." she explains and kyungsoo nods, swallowing his own saliva, nervous for the outcome. would someone really play a joke like this? is this funny to them? "it seems that --- wasn't found in any of the systems at the other hospitals." kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows, his muscles tense.

"sorry, i must've been mistaken." he bows his head apologetically. 

"is there anything else we can do for you?" the lady asks and he bites his lip before finally nodding. 

"yeah, actually, can i use a phone?" 

"mom, you're okay right? where are you right now?" 

"oh, kyungsoo-ah. what's wrong with you all of a sudden? i'm fine. i'm just at home with your hyung." 

"i-i'm in gyeonggi-do right now." kyungsoo says slowly, still shaken by the fact someone played a terrible joke on him. 

"oh, why are you here? drop by, okay? i'm cooking right now."

"yeah, mom. i will. i have a lot to tell you..." he trails off and his mother responds with a worried "okay, see you soon, my son."

kyungsoo thanks the secretary for letting him use the phone before apologizing for wasting their time. she shakes her head and says "though this never happened before, it's okay." they send him off and he walks out of the hospital with a clouded mind and a pair of sore legs. he takes out his wallet, seeing if he had anymore money to take the bus to his parents house at the least. he looks up, seeing the lady from before walking over to a taxi that was parked in the front. 

"h-hey!" kyungsoo yells and the lady turns, eyes a bit wide as she spots kyungsoo. she takes a step back as kyungsoo jogs towards her. "what was that?" he asks and the lady shakes her head. "my mom was never admitted in the hospital and it turns out that she's at home? is this funny?" 

"i-it wasn't my idea..." she takes a few steps back. "i-" she runs to the taxi, which the door was already opened. 

kyungsoo gets to the taxi, but the door locks before he can open it. he gets a glimpse of the people inside before he speeds off. the chubby guy, the thief duo, the lady and... the taxi driver? the taxi takes a turn before he can see the license plate. "what the !" he yells our of frustration. he yells again, ruffling his hair with both hands. "what the ing is this!" 

"and it turns out all of the people i encountered today somehow know each other..." kyungsoo explains, taking another spoon full of stew into his mouth. 

"what kind of sick person does that?" seungsoo asks, doing the same as his younger brother. "we have to report this to the police. this wasn't just a sick joke. someone planned this." he says with a full mouth of food, having the same amount of anger kyungsoo has. their mother sips some of her tea and nods, agreeing. 

"whatever their reasoning, it was wrong to do it. seungsoo and i will go to the police station and file a report." she gets up from her kneeling position and heads to her room. 

"mom, i already went there and they said they couldn't do anything about my phone." kyungsoo mentions. 

"this isn't about your phone!" she yells back. 

as kyungsoo takes another spoon full of food into his mouth he looks up at his brother. "right, hyung," seungsoo looks up. "i called you this morning and it said your phone was out of service?" 

"ah, that's right. i dropped my phone earlier this week when i was being stupid. it's totally broke' " he laughs and kyungsoo smacks himself. 

"stupid." he mumbles and seungsoo lifts up a fist as if threatening to punch him. the younger out of the two sticks out his tongue. 

"how old are you two?" their mother asks and they all laugh. "okay. seungsoo get your shoes on! kyungsoo-ah, wait for your dad to get home, okay? we'll be back." she says before placing a kiss on his cheek before leaving. "seungsoo, hurry it up!" she yells and seungsoo scrambles off the floor, rushing to the door with a "yes, mom." before slipping on his shoes. 

"clean up my food, lil bro." he waves, shutting the door. kyungsoo rolls his eyes, but nevertheless, cleans up his brothers spot and washes the dishes since that's the least he can do for him. he looks at the clock. already four? he finds himself sitting on the couch, still trying to comprehend the situation. his blood was boiling. why? he just wanted to know their reasoning. why do it? what were they trying to achieve? and why him? he sighs. right, joonmyeon! he grabs the phone that was on the side table beside the couch. swiftly typing in his number, the other line picks up quickly. 

"kyungsoo's mom? kyungsoo's dad? is kyungsoo okay? what's wrong?" joonmyeon sounds in distress. "he wasn't answering his phone..."

"joonmyeon hyung, it's me." kyungsoo tries to sound calm. 

"kyungsoo!" he sounds relieved. "where's your phone? is something wrong? i've been calling...!"

"my phone was stolen, it's a long story... why were you trying to call me?"

"j-" kyungsoo hears sniffling. "jongdae got kidnapped!"

- - - 

wow. dun dun ddduuuuuuun. i know i posted an eighth chapter before then like after a day, i took it down. it was bc i didn't like it. hopefully this was worth the wait? i'm sorry. at least it wasn't two years late? jokes... honestly, i would add in a sentence or so at a time every time i looked at the chapter. i had major writers block even though i had the idea down. other than that, i'm just really busy since i'm a senior now. and i didn't want to stress over this when i was also stressing about being a senior. i know, excuses excuses. i apologize. don't know when i'll update this chapter, but let's all pray that it's soon. 

hope you had an amazing day. and yooo i can't wait until the return of superman episode of jongdae and daeul meeting comes out. its gon be so cute. 

like how can u not think this is cute. they look the same. omg. okay bye~