“Hello?” Kyuhyun hears a hoarse and a little tired tone of voice at the other end of the line. He also doesn’t recognized it but then, he believes it’s Sooyeon’s father, Jung Soohyun. “Who’s this? It’s freakin’ two in the morning and I’m really in no mood to talk about business and…”

Kyuhyun scolds himself for not considering the time difference between Seoul and Nevada but then, he realizes there’s no turning back now. It’s now or never and unless he helps Sooyeon deal with her problem, then it seems like he’ll not be free of Yoona’s hold on him. It’s bothering him now more than ever because Yoona is so unpredictable. One moment, she’s this Satan-daughter and the next, she’s hugging him like she’s lost all the love in the world and is empty. Who knows what she’ll do next?

If Sooyeon comes out to the world, it will have to be Sooyeon’s choice – not his, not Ms. Jung’s and definitely not Yoona’s.

“I’m hanging up now,” Mr. Jung says and is about to end the call.

“No, uncle! Wait, this is Kyuhyun and it’s really important,” Kyuhyun immediately snaps back into reality and unintentionally yells over the phone he thinks his uncle’s eardrum might have broke.

“Kyuhyun?” Mr. Jung repeats, questioningly. Now, his voice seems awake to Kyuhyun and that’s probably a good sign, right? Unlike Mrs. Jung, Sooyeon’s father is a lot more cool-headed person. “What’s the matter?”

Kyuhyun heaves a sigh of relief when Mr. Jung doesn’t hang the phone up and tries to calm himself down before explaining. “I need to tell you something, uncle,” he starts, not really knowing how but he guesses now that he’s at it and Sooyeon’s father is already at the other end of the line, then he might as well just do it.

“Is something wrong, Kyuhyun?” Mr. Jung’s voice is authoritative, like a father but it’s also concerned and right then, that’s what Sooyeon needs: concern. It’s not that Mrs. Jung isn’t concerned with her daughter. She obviously is and as a matter of fact, she seems too concerned that she’s looking it the other way. It’s not about changing who Sooyeon is; it’s about accepting who she is.

“Uncle, there are two things to be happy,” Kyuhyun says, not really knowing why he’s talking about such things in this crucial time but this is important. It’s something Yesung has told him before.

Mr. Jung doesn’t say anything because seriously, it’s two o’clock in the morning and he’s trying to sleep peacefully after a long day’s work. He’s not even sure where they’ll be again tomorrow. They could be at another state in America or be at Europe or Japan. And Kyuhyun, his neighbor’s son at Seoul and his daughter’s childhood friend, is at the other end of the line, telling him the two things to be happy. He’s got the right to be speechless, doesn’t he?

“One is to change the things you can,” Kyuhyun continues when Mr. Jung doesn’t say anything. “The second is to accept those that you can’t.”

There is a brief moment of silence.

“Kyuhyun, I’m sorry, okay?” Mr. Jung says seriously. “But I really don’t get what you’re saying and unless this concerns my family, especially my daughter, I think I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Okay? I’m really tired and right now, all I want to do is sleep. I’m really hanging up now.”

“IT’S ABOUT SOOYEON, UNCLEEE!”

Kyuhyun yell is so loud that he seriously thinks that if his uncle’s eardrum is still on place, it might have vanished into dust now. He knows he might have sounded exaggerating with how he’s acting but this isn’t just a simple matter of helping Sooyeon get away from her mother’s grasp because she wants to attend a random party or go to a date with somebody. This is about Sooyeon’s life and how her mother is trying to get her away from who she is.

There is another brief moment of silence but this time, it’s a lot shorter than before. This time, it’s like Mr. Jung has to process first that this matter that Kyuhyun’s calling about his daughter and maybe, to check if he can still hear something after Kyuhyun’s hysterical yell – twice. He knows he’s been a lot more of an absentee father than a hands-on one but he’s only doing this because he loves his family and he wants Sooyeon to have the best future. So what could be Sooyeon’s problem? As far as he knows, they’ve been giving her everything that she needs and she wants.

But maybe, you see, it’s not about Sooyeon’s needs and wants.

“What about Sooyeon, Kyuhyun?” Mr. Jung asks in the calmest manner he could muster. Not that he’s calm inside, he’s freaking wanting to demand to Kyuhyun what’s the matter with Sooyeon because he’s a father. And he’s in Las Vegas! So obviously, he’s very worried. And what about his wife? Why isn’t she telling him anything? Why does it have to be Kyuhyun calling him at two in the morning?

“Uncle,” Kyuhyun says because seriously, how does he tell Mr. Jung that his daughter who he knows has grown into a beautiful lady, putting on makeup the moment she wakes up and buying the trendiest and latest clothes there are in the mall, who’s probably the most sought after high school student in the university and yes, probably one of the ideal girls at the entire university, is after all, in love with another girl. How? Do you have any idea about the weight of pressure in Kyuhyun’s shoulders?

But then and again, Kyuhyun thinks. There’s really no other way to tell it besides telling the truth. Sooyeon is still a beautiful lady even now that Kyuhyun learns she’s in love with Kyuhyun. As a matter of fact, Kyuhyun believes that Sooyeon has become more beautiful after she has admitted to herself who she truly is and who she really loves. When you’re beautiful inside, no matter what, you’re beautiful outside. Because the thing is, the fact that Sooyeon is in love with Miyoung is just one part of her. She’s still Mr. and Mrs. Jung’s daughter and she’s still Kyuhyun’s childhood friend.

So Kyuhyun decides to just say it straight. If Mr. Jung will turn to be an about it, then he’ll probably help Sooyeon escape their house. He might get sued for kidnapping by Sooyeon’s parents but at least, unlike both of her parents, his conscience would be clean and he will know that he’s done his best to help Sooyeon. Well, that’s only if Mr. Jung turns out an . Kyuhyun is practically begging all the gods in heaven for Mr. Jung to be otherwise.

“Uncle,” Kyuhyun repeats, calming himself because tons of thoughts are just flying in and out of his genius mind, “Sooyeon is in love with a girl named Miyoung.”

Then, for the third time that night, they shared a long moment of silence. It’s not comfortable at all and even though there are no words being exchanged, both of them have questions and things on their mind. Actually, too many at once to be all said. Kyuhyun is about to explain, in case Mr. Jung thinks he heard it wrong or in case he doesn’t have any clue on what’s Kyuhyun is talking about but before Kyuhyun can even think about how he’s going to start explaining, Mr. Jung beats him to it.

“Is she alright?”

Kyuhyun thinks he heard it wrong. “Huh?”

“My daughter – Sooyeonie – is she alright?”

Kyuhyun feels himself smile at that. Mr. Jung sounds genuinely concerned and it certainly isn’t the first thing that Kyuhyun expects to hear from Sooyeon’s father. Sure, he must have hoped that Mr. Jung’s reaction will be a lot better than Mrs. Jung’s but this is more than what he hoped for. He almost feels himself tearing up but he didn’t because he hasn’t met Yesung, yet, and maybe that’s the time he’ll cry.

“Yes, uncle,” Kyuhyun answers quickly before Mr. Jung can ask again. “She’s alright. She’s at your house right now.”

“Why are you calling about this, Kyuhyun? Why are you the one telling me this if Sooyeon’s alright?”

“Uncle, there’s really not much time,” Kyuhyun begins because if he starts to tell the whole story from ever since what happened between Miyoung and Sooyeon and later on what happened with both of them and Sooyeon’s mother, his call would have expired and he wouldn’t be able to tell Mr. Jung what really matters. “I don’t know how many more minutes I’ve still got but you need to come home, uncle.”

“What? Why? You said Sooyeon’s alright, Kyuhyun!” Now, Mr. Jung’s voice is getting more worried, agitated not because of what Kyuhyun told him but because he’s worried what’s happening with his daughter now and he’s even on the other end of the world right that moment.

“She is, uncle,” Kyuhyun replies, trying to sound really composed. He can’t join Mr. Jung’s panic now; not that he’s not really panicking inside, of course. “She is alright, I assure you, okay? But uncle, auntie wants Sooyeon to change schools. She thinks she can change who Sooyeon is if she gets separated from Miyoung.”

“Yeonhee…” Mr. Jung whispers his wife’s name. He doesn’t know what to think right now. When Kyuhyun told him that his daughter is in love with another girl, he is shocked, of course and initially, he doesn’t really know what to think but that girl who’s in love with another girl is still his daughter, his baby, his Sooyeon and she being in love with another girl won’t change that. Now, after Kyuhyun has told him probably the main reason why he called, he’s not only worried about Sooyeon but also his wife. He wouldn’t contest his wife’s love for their daughter but he thinks she might be resolving this in a wrong manner, in a manner which wouldn’t solve the problem at all. But Mr. Jung stops his thoughts right there. What is the problem that needs to be solved? Is it that Sooyeon is in love with Miyoung? That’s not a problem. That’s Sooyeon being human.

“Sooyeon’s banned to go out, uncle. Auntie won’t let her anywhere out,” Kyuhyun further explains. “Not even at the university. Well, of course. I can understand, auntie, since Miyoung is Sooyeon’s classmate but this is Sooyeon’s last year, uncle. She deserves to be happy. She deserves to be with the person she loves – whoever it might be. She’s deserves to lead her own life.”

“I’m really sorry if I’m intervening too much,” Kyuhyun says, thinking that maybe he’s already saying too much than what he needs to say. He still knows his boundaries and he knows that no matter what, the fact still remains that he’s just a stranger to their family. “I know I’m just a neighbor but Sooyeon’s my friend, uncle. She doesn’t want to hurt you, she really doesn’t. But it’s not something she can control. It’s who she is.”

Mr. Jung holds the phone tightly against his ears. He’s sure he won’t be able to sleep now until he gets himself on the plane back home. “You’re not just a neighbor, Kyuhyun,” he says, smiling a little because he knows even though he’s not with Sooyeon right that minute, someone is looking after his baby. “As you said, you’re Sooyeon’s friend. I appreciate you telling me all this, considering that it isn’t very easy to contact me. I supposed you didn’t ask Yeonhee for my number, do you? Or I won’t be talking to you now.”

“No, uncle,” Kyuhyun says. “Me and Sooyeon figured that much.”

“Where did you get my contact information, Kyuhyun?”

“Um,” Kyuhyun says. He’s not sure whether he’ll say it or not because he hasn’t even asked Jongwoon where did he get Mr. Jung’s contact details. But in the end, he decides saying it won’t cause any harm at all. “A friend,” he almost chokes with ‘a friend’ and fortunately, Mr. Jung doesn’t seem to notice, “helped me, uncle.”

“Who’s this kind friend? I should remember his name so I can thank him as well when I get home.”

“Kim Jongwoon.”

The fourth moment of silence is unexpected. The ice is broken and the fox is already out of the box so where does this comes from now?

“Uncle, are you still there?”

It took a while but Mr. Jung answers, “I’m still here, Kyuhyun. Did you say Kim Jongwoon?”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun replies. “Is something wrong, uncle? Do you know Jongwoon-hyung?”

“No, not me,” Mr. Jung says. “But my younger sister, Soojin does.”

“Isn’t she a doctor?”

“She is.”

“Did she treat Jongwoon-hyung or something? If I’m not mistaken, she’s specializing in treating people with cancer, right?”

There’s enough urgency and curiosity in Kyuhyun’s voice to have Mr. Jung answer. Normally, same as his sister’s vow to him not to divulge information about business to other people, he has his vow to her not to divulge medical information concerning her patients. But Kyuhyun’s voice had him answering. It’s the genuine need to know. “Oncologist, yes,” he confirms. “I really don’t know, Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun doesn’t say anything, completely forgetting that the reason he called is because of Sooyeon and not because to know more about Jongwoon’s medical history. It happens always, doesn’t it? He’s thinking of something and when Jongwoon appears, everything’s gone and he’s all he can think about.

“I got to go, Kyuhyun,” Mr. Jung says when Kyuhyun’s unresponsive. “I need to arrange some things.”

That’s only the time when Kyuhyun snaps back to reality again. “Are you coming home, uncle? Please, uncle. I can’t help Sooyeon any more than this. Please, you –”

“I’ll be there. Don’t worry,” Mr. Jung cuts him off, assuring Kyuhyun that he and Sooyeon are not on this alone. “I’ll arrange a leave for how long as Sooyeon needs me and fly back to Korea as early as tomorrow afternoon. My estimated time of arrival would be at Wednesday morning.”

“Thank you, uncle,” Kyuhyun says happily, not really sure where he’s coming from but then and again, Kyuhyun’s not really sure of so many things like how he’s not sure why when Jongwoon’s name comes up, he can’t think of anything else and how he’s not sure why when Yesung talks to him, on text or on chat, he can’t think of anything else as well. He’s also not sure why when he’s thinking of Jongwoon – the name Yesung never creeps up his genius mind and vice versa. Yes, Kyuhyun’s not really sure.

“No,” Mr. Jung says. “Thank you. See you soon, Kyuhyun.”

Mr. Jung is about to hang up but before he can, Kyuhyun stops him for the third time. “Uncle,” he says, kind of breathlessly because he just needs to say this because Mr. Jung needs to know. “Sooyeon said that no matter what, she still loves you and auntie.”

Kyuhyun thinks he hears Mr. Jung sniff or something but he’s not sure (again). “Please tell her I love her, too,” Mr. Jung says before hanging up, “and I’ll see her soon.”