Brian wasn’t sure what he was feeling right now. He was happy, because his uncle was in police custody and Taekwoon was finally being released from the hospital. He was definitely worried, because Taekwoon wasn’t saying much to anyone today. Perhaps he could add that he was anxious, because Taekwoon’s future was still in question.

“I...I don’t want to go home,” Taekwoon muttered as he sat in the passenger seat of Brian’s rental car. His right hand played with the sling supporting his left arm as he looked out the window.

After being in the hospital for five days, Taekwoon was happy to know that he would be discharged. However, that happiness turned into panic upon realizing that he couldn’t bear the sight of his own home.

Brian already knew Taekwoon didn’t want to go back there. Last night, Brian had taken it upon himself to go to Taekwoon’s house to pack several days worth of clothes and other items he knew Taekwoon would want. Brian would never force Taekwoon to go into that house...not yet anyway. Taekwoon would eventually need to go back to get the rest of his things. But that was an issue they could handle later. “I thought so,” Brian finally replied. “We’re going to Hakyeon’s house. Is that okay?"

Taekwoon nodded, leaning his head on the window as Brian continued driving.

“You can finally get some real food too,” Brian added. “You barely ate while you were in the hospital. Not that I blame you. It was all pretty gross.”

Taekwoon laughed, but the sound did nothing to reassure Brian. The laugh sounded forced and weak.

Brian could tell that Taekwoon wasn’t up for much conversation, so the two of them drove in silence. Brian tried focusing on his driving, but his attention was split between the road and his obviously distressed cousin.

He wasn’t surprised with how strange Taekwoon had been acting these past few days, but it still worried him. Brian had gotten his hopes up, because it seemed like Taekwoon was willing to let everyone in. Taekwoon was actually willing to talk about how he felt; specifically, with how disappointed he was with his father.

Over the passing days, they gained more and more information about Taekwoon’s disappearance, and it angered all of them just thinking about it.

Taekwoon’s uncle had finally confessed that he did steal his brother’s money and framed Taekwoon for it. While Taekwoon’s father had gathered that money to pay off some gambling debts, his uncle had stolen it and had it sent to a “business partner” in Japan, trying to cash in on an early retirement.

Officer Kim didn’t mention if Taekwoon’s father gave any sign of remorse for falsely accusing Taekwoon of stealing his money, and then beating him to the point of unconsciousness, but Brian knew such a possibility was too good to be true.

It seemed that every time there was a new revelation about his father and uncle, Taekwoon’s disposition became worse. They expected it, because learning about how twisted your family is was never an easy thing to do.

Brian did notice Taekwoon’s demeanor slightly improve once they finally arrived at Hakyeon’s house.

Hakyeon and his parents were waiting for their arrival. Taking Taekwoon’s bag, Hakyeon led Taekwoon to the room he would be sleeping in.

“Thank you,” Taekwoon said as Hakyeon placed the bag onto the bed. He sat down on the bed. “It’s all almost over,” he muttered, staring down at his lap.

Hakyeon nodded, sitting down next to him. “It’s almost over,” he affirmed with a smile.

“Taekwoon says he’s made his decision,” Hakyeon announced to his four friends.

After settling in, Taekwoon casually informed Hakyeon that his decision had been made. It shocked Hakyeon, mostly because he couldn’t believe that Taekwoon had made such a big decision in just a few days. However, Taekwoon refused to explain any further; Hakyeon assumed that Taekwoon may not even have realized he had disclosed such information.

That assumption didn’t stop Hakyeon from passing the news to the others. He sent a sent a quick text, explaining he didn’t have all the information yet but that he would wait for Taekwoon to further explain.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Wonsik, Jaehwan, Hongbin, and Hyuk to start bombarding Hakyeon’s phone with calls and texts demanding updates on Taekwoon anyway. So once Taekwoon fell asleep, he decided to go meet the guys at their favorite restaurant. Answering their questions face-to-face seemed like a far less stressful idea.

“So then what’s going to happen?” Jaehwan asked. “Is he staying? Is he going with Brian? What’s going on?”

“He hasn’t told me, yet,” Hakyeon confessed. “He doesn’t want to announce it until he’s one hundred percent sure that he’s made the right decision.”

Jaehwan sighed. “But the curiosity is killing me,” he muttered, his shoulders slumping.

The curiosity was killing all of them.

“We need to make sure Taekwoon’s decision is solely based on what he wants,” Hongbin pointed out. “Which means that we should allow him to take as much time as he needs without any influence from us.” Which was easier said than done. It took a lot of self-control on Hongbin’s part to not give Taekwoon subtle hints about staying in Korea. He was sure the others were struggling in that regard also.

“That’s so hard, though,” Hyuk said. “Going with Brian would be good for him, because Brian cares for him so much.” Brian was the one Taekwoon trusted more than anyone. Brian was the one who knew Taekwoon better than all five of them combined. Hyuk shuddered as he realized that the odds didn’t seem to be in their favor.

“Brian and his parents are also the last real family Taekwoon has left,” Wonsik reminded them, inadvertently adding to Hyuk’s list.

“It would be really selfish of me to want Taekwoon to stay,” Hyuk concluded.

“We all want him to stay,” Hakyeon said. “But we also want him to be happy. If him being happy means that he joins Brian in America, then we need to accept that.”

“They say if you love someone, let them go,” Hongbin said, although his mood seemed to have dropped as he said those words.

“Even if he’s in America,” Hyuk begin, tryi