“There are those that say that fashion does not matter. That it is silly, a waste of time. But think, does not a man dressed to his finest impress more that the oaf wandering the streets? Do not most woman and men prefer the image of a gentleman or a refined lady to that of anything else? Marie Antoinette was able to start a revolution because of her love of fine cloth and style. In wars centuries past men would be able to identify their unit by a flag that bore their own unique standard. Fashion can so easily change the world, secret messages can be sent in the arrangement of feathers on a hat, and love found by wearing a heart on your sleeve. Fashion is, quite surprisingly, an ingenious way of showing the time as it passes. Marked transitions from dark and dreary Middle Ages to the fantasy of the Renaissance. Fashion is, and always will be, an incredibly important factor in life as we live it.”

Ren finished his speech, glowing with pride as Baekho leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. He had just finished the opening runway show for his new fashion line, Nu’est. Baekho had been his leading model, Kai his backup – even Minhyun had pitched in to make this a success. Ren couldn’t have been happier – and then everything got better,

“Appa!” Ren grinned with delight as the little boy came running up to him, dressed to a T. He scooped the boy into his arms and spun him around in his excitement,

“So Kyu, what do you think?” he asked, gently bumping noses with their adopted son, Baekho’s arm going around his waist,

“Noona was pretty!” he pointed to the tall model in the red dress Baekho had admired so long ago. Ren glanced up at Baekho,

“He’s already so much like you, tiger-babe, what have you been teaching him?”

“Hey! You’re the one who made the dress!” Ren snorted and snuggled Kyu closer, before they all posed for a picture. They all stood as everyone came by to shake hands, the audience giving words of encouragement or asking where to place orders. It was all going well until a certain boy walked up. Ren’s breath hitched and he shifted Kyu over to Baekho as the new arrival held out his hand to shake Ren’s.

“Ren, how have you been?”

“Well….and you, JR?” he asked softly and the boy smiled happily, Baekho looking back and forth between both of them with wide eyes,

“Very good, actually. And it seems you’ve really gotten over me. Congratulations, everything looked fantastic. I saw the advertisement in the news yesterday and I knew I had to stop by. This is my boyfriend,” JR nodded to a boy behind him who scowled when he was called to attention.

“A-Aron,” Ren stuttered, as JR pushed Aron forward, who reluctantly held out a hand. Ren wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to touch the other but he gave in at JR’s pleading expression.

“JR told me I needed to say sorry for how I treated you,” Aron rolled his eyes and JR nudged him, whispering harshly,

“I told you to be nice!” Aron sighed dramatically,

“Fine…fine. Look, I’m real sorry for being a jerk. I’m not a very nice person when I’m drunk, and it was a bad example of how I normally am. JR’s really helped me…and I’m happy for you,” Aron then clamped his mouth shut, gave a stiff nod to everyone, and his heel to leave, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as he went.

“Aish,” JR ruffled his hair in frustration, “Mianhei, he gets prickly when he’s nervous. Anyways, I wanted to let you know we’re both working hard to become better people, especially after the example you’ve set. Congr