^ somewhat relevant ^

warnings ; this is actually a serious chapter. i mean, as serious as crack gets.

it's time for that weekly update thing! this chapter is a little more serious than the precious ones (...the previous ones were not serious? i don't know.) but we hope you enjoy it anyway. it has little kiddies in it, so who knows? ^^

His dad told him, that morning, that his mom would be picking him and Sungjong up after school. But it's been half an hour since everyone was let out. There was no sign of a tall woman with Sungjong's face anywhere. And Sungyeol didn't need telling.

His mom didn't show up—didn't have plans to show up. Figures.

Myungsoo was nice enough to sit there and wait with him, even though Sungyeol knew, from the start, that he shouldn't expect anything. Not that he wanted Myungsoo to know that; that's the only secret he's keeping from his best friend. Especially since he just knows that Myungsoo would be sad for him if Sungyeol did share that secret with him.

Sungyeol's not sad. He's just a little angry, is all.

Especially with the thought of Sungjong being disappointed—maybe he's crying. Sungyeol didn't think much of his mom, but Sungjong liked her enough. Maybe it's because he's only five and didn't know any better about the world. Five year old kids tend to trust everyone, and Sungyeol just worries about his brother. Sungyeol has to do all the thinking for the both of them. He's fine with that.

What he isn't fine with is the fact that he and his brother are waiting for nothing.

“Hyung?” Myungsoo calls when Sungyeol suddenly gets up. Mr. Nam isn't anywhere—he's still inside the school building, because he was called back earlier—so they were waiting by themselves. Sungyeol looks down at Myungsoo, pulling a smile on his face. It doesn't really convince Myungsoo, however, “Are you mad?”

“No,” Sungyeol says, and this time he tries harder. He's putting his hands on his hips and there's a pout on his lips, “I'm upset though. Umma's always late!”

“That's it?” Myungsoo frowns, “What if you just come home with me and Appa? We can pick up Sungjong too, and then we can call your Umma.”

“Nope! I don't know Umma's number, so that won't work,” Sungyeol hums thoughtfully, foot tapping rhythmically against the floor, “I do have a plan though.”

“Oh?” Myungsoo shifts and turns his body to better face Sungyeol, “Can I help?”

“Hmm. Nope! Because your Appa is just there!” As if on cue, they hear the honk of a car. They look up to see Myungsoo's dad, slightly sunk into his seat, waving at the boys. He looks wary, panicked even, cautious of whether or not Mr. Nam is with them. Sungyeol waves at Myungsoo's dad, yells at him and informs him that Mr. Nam is still inside the school, and Myungsoo's getting up.

“Myungsoo-yah! Come in, quickly!” Myungsoo's dad calls out, and Sungyeol knows the man is in a hurry to get out of there. He chuckles and nudges his best friend with his elbow. Myungsoo frowns, unsure of whether or not he should go ahead and leave.

Sungyeol smiles and nods at him, and Myungsoo just has to obey.

“Well, okay then. Good luck, hyung,” Myungsoo smiles and hugs him briefly. “I'll see you again tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Sungyeol says, “But promise me you won't tell anyone about my plan, okay?” then Myungsoo's nodding and running away. Once his best friend and his best friend's father are out of his sight, the smile on Sungyeol's face drops and he's serious again. He looks around, at the very few people still standing around the school, at the kids still waiting for their parents and the parents still waiting for their kids. He notices that no one is looking his way.

Sungyeol takes that opportunity to run towards the bushes, at the fence that he could easily climb. He jumps over it, careful not to get either his clothes or his bag caught. For a moment, he thinks of Mr. Nam and how he'll wait alone—but Sungyeol has something he has to do. He can't wait with Mr. Nam.

His brother needs him more.

It's almost been an hour since the kids were released.

Sungjong's the only one left, now. He had been okay, a few minutes earlier. His cousin Taemin and his friend Yein were with him, playing with him and waiting things out with him. But then Yein's mom, Mrs. Jung, came to pick Yein up. Sungjong was fine with waiting with his cousin, but Taemin's step-dad—or so the odd man prefers to be called—Mr. Minho, came to pick him up as well.

The man didn't even say anything about his dad. Or his mom.

“Is he waiting late again?” Sungjong holds onto his teacher's leg tighter, shivering slightly from an intense feeling of nervousness and fear. Both Miss Yoon and Teacher Dino look down and watch him, matching frowns on their faces. They're worried for him, that much Sungjong can tell.

“Should we call his dad?” At that, Sungjong shakes his head.

“It's not Appa today,” he tells them, “Umma was supposed to pick me and hyung up.”

“Oh... Well, maybe she's just late,” Teacher Dino decides to say, but as much as Sungjong loves his teacher, he knows the man is only trying to say things that won't make him upset. Teacher Dino doesn't know his Umma at all. And to be honest, neither does Sungjong. “You should trust your Umma. Teacher will wait with you... Okay?”

“Okay...” Sungjong bows his head and hugs Teacher Dino's leg.

Ten minutes pass, and there really is no sign of his mom. Sungjong's a little tearful, but he knows better than to cry; his Appa is a man. His hyung is a man. He has to be a man, too. If he cries, Teacher Dino might tell on him. Or something like that.

But Teacher Dino is smart, and he's observant, so he sees the forming tears in Sungjong's eyes.

“It's okay, Sungjong,” he coos and runs his fingers through Sungjong's hair, “Your Umma will definitely come for you. Just wait a little longer, okay?”

“Uh... Dongwoo-oppa?” Miss Yoon calls, and Teacher Dino turns his head. Miss Yoon is looking through the glass parting of the school's front doors, alarmed by what she's looking at, “There's a little boy jumping over the fence... He doesn't even look like he goes here. He looks like a grade schooler.”

Sungjong sniffles a little and wipes his reddening eyes, “Is it my hyung!?”

Teacher Dino gets up from where he's sat, next to Sungjong, to go over where Miss Yoon is. He jumps on the balls of his feet and opens the door, not bothering to explain things to Miss Yoon. Then there's a boy passing through the doors—Sungjong's hero. His role model. His one and only hyung.

“JONGIE!!”

“YEOL HYUNG!!”

“This is so cute... But also so weird,” Miss Yoon comments as she watches Sungjong