The wind sent a chill through the air. Squealing when the cold air whipped past them, Hyuk moved so he was standing closer to the tree.

“Maybe we should go inside….” HakYeon’s voice was quieter than the gusts of wind, but both of the other children heard him.

“But I don’t want to…!” Hyuk complained. He moved closer to Lucca, her arms hugging onto the tree that they were all standing around.

“Yeah, Yeonnie~!” Lucca complained as well, moving so she could look at him. “Why can’t we stay outside?” She glanced back at Hyuk, sharing a small smile. “You can go in~!” She suggested, looking back at HakYeon.

“Yah, don’t be plotting over there!” HakYeon scolded, moving so he was also standing behind the tree. “I guess we can stay out for a while, but don’t complain when the wind picks up really bad again….” He sighed, giving into his friend and younger cousin.

Cheering, Hyuk and Lucca pulled away from the tree, laughing with each other. Before long, Lucca tagged Hyuk’s arm, making him gasp slightly. They chased each other around the tree, going back and forth on who was ‘it’ before finally Lucca spotted HakYeon again. He was just sitting on the ground, watching the younger two play. He wasn’t going to say that he wanted to join in, but she could see it on his face. Running over to him, she hit his arm playfully.

“Tag, you’re it!” She yelled, turning and running away from him.

HakYeon’s eyes widened as he looked up at Lucca. He blinked for a moment, but then a smile spread across his face. He joined in, turning and chasing after Hyuk instead of Lucca. His cousin cried out in disbelief, but he still laughed as he tried to get away from the elder.

Chasing each other around for at least twenty minutes, the three grew tired of running and slowly all started to sit back down behind the tree. Leaning back, Hyuk looked between the two older kids. Even though he was the youngest, he knew that they weren’t treating him any different than they would their own friends. He tipped his head a little in thought, watching the other two before he noticed Lucca start moving.

“Oh man, my mom is gonna kill me….” Lucca stated, laughing as she showed the two boys her hands, looking down at the ground for a moment.

Looking down at his own hands for a moment, Hyuk started laughing at the realization that they had sat in the patch that had no grass and was strictly just dirt. “Oh, Umma is going to get me too….” He said, showing his hands to HakYeon and Lucca.

Laughing, HakYeon held up his hands to show that they were just as dirty as theirs. “I guess we’ll all just have to die together.” He laughed, hitting his hands against Lucca and Hyuk’s.

They all laughed as they continued sitting back in the dirt again, a peaceful silence falling over them. The wind whipped through the tree top, but it wasn’t as rough as it had been. There was a soft tinkling sound from a wind chime someone had hung up in front of their apartment door, but beyond that, there was nothing.

“Hey guys…?” Hyuk asked, breaking the silence.

The other two looked up. “Hmm?” HakYeon and Lucca responded in unison.

“We’ll always be friends, won’t we?” Hyuk asked, staring down at the ground as he started drawing a little pattern in the dry dirt.

Lucca and HakYeon exchanged a glance in thought. They looked back at Hyuk, and before anymore words were spoken, Lucca moved and started crawling over so she was sitting by Hyuk. HakYeon joined them, sitting on the other side of Hyuk so that the younger was in the middle of them.

“We’ll always be friends.” Lucca stated, putting her hand over Hyuk’s lightly, smiling with honesty in her eyes as she looked at him.

“Always.” HakYeon nodded, putting his hand with theirs. “No matter what happens, no matter the distance- Hyuk.”

Gasping when he realized he had fallen asleep, Hyuk looked up to find HakYeon staring down at him. “Oh…. Mianhae….” He apologized, reaching up and rubbing his eyes.

“I was just making sure you were okay…you were talking in your sleep.” HakYeon explained, gently patting Hyuk’s back.

“I was just dreaming….” Sighing, Hyuk rubbed his eyes again.

“Anything interesting?” HakYeon asked, sitting down beside the younger on the couch.

“I was just dreaming about when we were kids. Nothing super interesting.” Hyuk laughed a little, looking at HakYeon. He was wearing a dark red button up shirt that laid over his nice dark jeans. The shirt was not buttoned up all of the way, and the sleeves were rolled up a little, making the look more casual than he normally would have worn a button up. “You look good, Hyung.”

Blinking, HakYeon looked at up at Hyuk. He looked down at himself, a pink blush crossing his face. “Oh, uh, I-…. Thanks….”

“That color looks nice on you, where’d you get it?” Hyuk asked, touching the shirt with his fingertips for a moment.

HakYeon looked down at it, remembering suddenly when he had tried it on in the store and Ravi had said the exact same thing to him before hugging him. Blushing a color that was almost redder than the shirt he wore, HakYeon waved his hands in the air slightly. “I, uh, bought it at the store earlier this year…. I just haven’t worn it until now…..”

“Oh….” Hyuk shrugged slightly, looking HakYeon over again. “You really do look good though.” He nodded, standing up. Stretching out his shoulders and back, Hyuk let out a small sound before he started walking away. “I’m going to go study for a little while though.”

“Araseo….” HakYeon nodded, leaning back into the couch. Once Hyuk left him alone in the living room, he let out a heavy sigh. Looking down at the shirt, he couldn’t help but think of Ravi once again. That’s the entire reason he had even put it on that day, because he hadn’t seen Ravi since the day before. He wondered if something had happened. Maybe Ravi got in trouble and couldn’t get home. Maybe he was out doing something he shouldn’t have been all night. Maybe Ravi had just decided to stay in a motel for a night because he had left and went to a different town.

Sighing, HakYeon slouched into the couch. He tried to convince himself that Ravi was fine and that he would have called if something bad happened. He looked down at the phone that was sitting on the table, wondering if maybe Ravi had tried to call and for whatever reason, HakYeon just didn’t get it. Picking up his phone, HakYeon unlocked it before going into his call log.

When he saw nothing from Ravi, HakYeon sighed again. He had no idea why he was getting so upset over not seeing the younger, Ravi was known for disappearing sometimes and not coming back for a while. But this time, HakYeon was more internally panicked than any other time. Setting his phone down, he let his head fall back onto the couch.

He laid there for a few moments. He would have laid there longer, but he heard the sounds of keys jingling before the door opened. Jumping up, HakYeon felt the excitement that had built up when he heard the door completely shatter at the sight of JaeHwan walking into the house. “Oh….” He murmured, slowly sitting back down on the couch.

JaeHwan didn’t notice though, adjusting his bag that was full of things he needed to grade on his shoulder. He heaved out a breath, looking to see HakYeon laying on the couch. When he wasn’t acknowledged though, JaeHwan just continued kicking off his shoes and stripping out of his light jacket. He didn’t even bother asking if dinner was done, because by the look on HakYeon’s face he knew it wasn’t. Going into the dining room, JaeHwan a light so he could see what he was doing.

Sitting down, he pulled his bag up and set it on the table. As he pulled it open, he looked in to see all of the papers that he had to have done before the next day. Groaning, he started to pull all of them out along with a pen to write down on them.

About fifteen minutes into his grading though, he heard the front door open. Looking up, he saw HakYeon standing but letting out a huff when he saw who was walking in.

“I’m home~!” HongBin’s voice carried throughout the house, alerting anyone who wasn’t in plain view. He started pulling his jacket and shoes off before closing the door, bumping into it to shut it.

HakYeon sighed, smiling slightly at HongBin before he started towards the kitchen. “I’m going to start dinner then, I guess…. Unless you guys have already eaten…?” He looked between HongBin and JaeHwan.

“I haven’t.” JaeHwan shook his head.

“I just got back from eating, mianhae….”                                                        

“It’s alright.” HakYeon waved it off. “I’ll just make dinner and you can have some later if you get hungry again.” He laughed slightly, walking away from them and into the kitchen.

JaeHwan glanced at HakYeon, then shook his head slightly as he looked back at the papers in front of him. Once he finished the paper he was on, he set it aside. He pulled the next one to him, looking it over for a second. Just as he was about to start grading it, he heard a loud but content sigh come from someone beside him. Looking up slowly, he was slightly surprised to find HongBin standing there, staring down at the papers that were spread out in front of JaeHwan.

Not thinking much of it though, JaeHwan moved back to try and grade the paper. Just as he put the pen to the paper to make a mark though, he heard HongBin let out another sigh. Looking up, JaeHwan blinked. “Yes….?”

“Hyung…?” HongBin asked, his eyes still looking towards the papers but not quite seeing them.

Blinking again, even more confused now, JaeHwan tipped his head. “Me…?”

“Neh…..” HongBin nodded, turning his attention to JaeHwan. “A-are you busy….?” He asked nervously, his hands gripping the chair he was leaning against.

JaeHwan was unused to the sweet tone in HongBin’s voice. The slightly needing and curious voice that his brother was using was something that he hadn’t heard used towards him in years. “Uh, not really….” JaeHwan blinked, unsure of why he had lied about being busy. He knew that the papers needed to be done before the next day, but he also hadn’t had a nice conversation with his brother in so long he was willing to put it off.

“Are you sure…?” HongBin looked at all of the papers curiously, then back at JaeHwan. “I-I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy….”

“Sit down.” JaeHwan stated, pulling his paper masses closer to himself and out of HongBin’s way. “You’re not bothering me.” He shook his head.

“Okay, great.” HongBin laughed slightly, a smile appearing on his face. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure…?” JaeHwan wasn’t sure where the sudden excitement had come from, and wasn’t really sure how to react.

“Um, well, you’ve known Raelyn for a while, I was wondering if you could tell me some things…. Like, what does she like…?”

Blinking, JaeHwan stared at HongBin blankly for a moment. The younger was staring at him, waiting with an air of excitement around him. Realizing that the lie he had trapped himself in was coming back around to bite him, JaeHwan froze for a moment. It hit him though that if he lied more, then maybe HongBin wouldn’t want to continue going after Raelyn.

“Oh, um…. Like, what kinds of things…?”

“Like, what’s her favorite color, what is she afraid of, what does she like??” HongBin asked, waving his hands in the air slightly.

“Her favorite color…?” JaeHwan thought for a moment, but then smiled. “Brown, she likes brown. A lot, like that’s her favorite color of all time.” He waved his hands for emphasis, smiling at HongBin. “And don’t let her ever fool you, she is absolutely terrified of dogs. Like, she’ll cry if they start barking at her. But I know she likes heights, so you could always take her to do something at a really high height. Sky diving, bungee jumping, take your pick.”

Eyes wide in sudden horror, HongBin tried to take in everything that JaeHwan was telling him. “She…likes…heights…?” HongBin blinked, swallowing his own fears down.

“Yeah. It’s the thrill of the thing.” JaeHwan explained, nodding. “And she loves being picked up, it makes her feel loved.”

“Oh, well that’s not so bad…” HongBin shrugged slightly. “What kind of gems does she like…?”

“Talc.”

“Isn’t that a mineral though….?” HongBin tipped his head, blinking and wondering whether or not he should believe JaeHwan.

“Of course, but she likes it more than any gem. Buy her some baby powder or something.” JaeHwan waved his hands in the air. “It’ll save money.”

Blinking, HongBin had a hard time digesting everything that JaeHwan was telling him. “I’ll keep that in mind…..” He stared at the table, letting out a slow breath. “T-thanks….”

“Also, next time you see her, bring her spinach. She likes that kind of stuff.” JaeHwan nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

“I guess…. Are you sure Hyung…?” HongBin asked, tipping his head as he looked at JaeHwan. “Are you certain you’re not confusing her for someone else…?”

“I’m certain.” JaeHwan nodded. “She’ll be all yours after this.” He held his hands up. “I promise.”

“Alright….” HongBin nodded to himself as he thought of everything JaeHwan had told him. Getting past the things he didn’t like himself, HongBin nodded again, a smile forming across his face. “Thanks Hyung~” he nodded to JaeHwan while standing up.

“Anytime~” JaeHwan responded, nodding back to HongBin as the younger started to leave. Once HongBin was out of the room though, JaeHwan started cracking up with laughter. I shouldn’t have done that…. I shouldn’t have done that…. But it’s just so funny! JaeHwan thought to himself, standing up and running into the kitchen before he started laughing louder.