Surprise my lovelies, I am finally back with an update! Forgive me for any delays, I've just been busy. Until then, please enjoy. 

“Attention all passengers, we will be arriving shortly to Hong Kong National Airport. Please re-adjust your seats into their original sitting position and fold your trays up. We thank you for choosing this flights and have a nice day.”  

Hyosang took his earbuds out of his ears and tapped the knee of his sleeping brother. “Jin, Jin. C’mon bro, wake up.”  

Jin shifted in his cramped position, before opening his tired, swollen eyes. It took almost an hour since they left for Jin to stop crying. In the end, he was left exhausted, cuddling the mario plushie in his arms as he napped. The makeup Namjoon had done for him was already smudged and messy.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he looked out the window of the plane. Below he could see the miniature, yet familiar landscapes of skyscrapers, apartments, highways, and canals of Hong Kong. Jin felt a warm feeling flutter in his stomach. We’re actually back.

Once the plane landed, Yerin and her sons’ grabbed their luggage and started walking into the airport. After picking up the rest of their things from the baggage claim, Yerin ran over to one of the payphones to call her sister.

Hyosang turned to Jin and noticed the forlorn expression on the latter’s face. Sighing in exasperation, he looked around the airport, as if searching for something that could make his brother feel a little bit more light hearted. His eyes finally landed on a yum cha restaurant.

The older individual nudged his brother’s shoulder. Jin snapped out of his train of thought and looked up at him with a dazed expression. “What?”  

“Hungry?” Hyosang asked with a smile.

After a second to process what he said, Jin’s lips finally curled into the first smile he made all day. He nodded. “I’m starving.”  

Hyosang wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulder, then started leading him towards the restaurant. The two ordered a large container of chow fun noodles for them to share...or if Jin was willing to share. In no time, Jin slurped on the thick noodles, content with the situation they were in. Hyosang, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel relieved that Jin was feeling better. Even if it was just a little bit.

“Hyosang, Jin!” Yerin waved for her sons to come over. “Your aunt is here!”

Packing their lunch up, Hyosang and Jin grabbed their things and made their way towards the exit. Once they stepped outside, they were immediately greeted by their mother’s sister, Meilin who trapped them in a big bear hug. Despite the size of their middle aged aunt, she had quite a strong grip on them.

“Hyosang, Jin, oh it’s so good to see the two of you, I’ve missed you!” She cried out in joy, then gave them each a kiss on the cheek. She pulled away to have a closer look her nephews. “Hyosang, look at you, you’ve grown so much.”

Hyosang rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I guess. Xiè xiè auntie.”

Meilin smiled then turned to Jin. She cupped his cheek and brushed strands of hair out of his face. “I’ve missed you too Seokjin.” She gave his forehead another kiss. “You’re looking more like your father everyday.”

“I am?” Jin breathed.

Meilin nodded. “You even have your mother’s looks as well.” Her gaze flickered to his plum dyed hair and she released a giggle. “Although I don't remember my nephew having purple hair.”

Jin's cheeks flushed bashfully. “Well, actually-”

“Oh, we’ll have more time to talk once we get home.” Meilin turned to her sister and whispered something in her ear. She then went ahead and grabbed Jin and Hyosang’s suitcases and hoisted them into the trunk of her van. The older child went over to help her.

Jin and his mother hopped inside of the large van and buckled up.

“Umma…” Jin caught himself. He knew it was going to be weird talking in a fluent Chinese dialect again. “I mean, mama, are we going back to where you and auntie lived? What about nâinai, has she been well?”

Yerin patted her impatient son’s cheek. “You're just gonna have to see for yourself sweetie.”

Jin only continued to flourish with questions. “How old do you think Fang and Chang are? Do you think they'll recognize me?

“I wouldn't bet on it,” Yerin shrugged, thinking about her sister’s twins. “They haven't seen you since they were practically babies.”

Jin nodded in agreement. Once his brother and Meilin got in the car, his aunt the ignition and started driving off.

Despite not being in Hong Kong for a while, Jin thought the streets had never changed. All sorts of vehicles crowded the streets, horns honked, and people rushed to cross the street. He clutched his Mario plush and released a sigh. Not even fifteen minutes into the trip and Jin already missed his friends and Namjoon.

Hyosang, who heard the sigh, patted his knee. Jin looked up at his brother and smiled in reassurance.

“So Jin, how are things for you back in Korea? Do you have a job?” Meilin asked as they stopped at a red light.

“I've been working at my parent’s restaurant for most of the time.” And spent the other time as a model. Jin would've rather kept his modeling job a secret from his mother’s side of the family. He had no clue how they would react.

Meilin nodded. “And what about school? Do you know what major you’ll be taking?”

“I’ve been in community college for about two years. This year was supposed to be my last before I moved on to uni.” Jin explained. “For now, I’m planning on taking culinary arts as a minor. I haven’t chosen a major yet.”

His aunt hummed in response, before stepping on the gas pedal once the light turned green. For the next ten minutes or so, the family just continued driving through the bustling streets of Hong Kong.

Hoping to break the awkward silence, Jin suddenly blurted out, “How’s you and uncle Jiao?”

Jin heard his mother’s breath hitch. He turned to her with a baffled expression. “Did I say something?” He mouthed.

Meilin released a nervous laugh. “No honey, it’s just Jiao and I divorced. About two years ago.”

“Oh,” Jin said, immediately feeling shameful for saying that. “Duìbùqǐ auntie.”

Meilin looked at her nephew from the rear view mirror and smiled tenderly. “You don’t have to be sorry Seokjin. Sometimes change can open up new opportunities.”

Jin nodded in agreement, his mind once again thinking of Namjoon. Like they did for me.

~

Once they reached the families two floor flat, the first thing Jin noticed that was that the old restaurant his grandfather owned, was still there. He felt a small sense of gladness that it was still there. Hyosang tugged on his brother’s hand for him to keep moving.

“We’re hooome!” Meilin sang as she dragged in the remaining luggage into the living room.

Footsteps resonated from another room around the corner as they started getting closer.

“Mama!”

“Mama!”

Two tiny children bolted into the room Jin and his family were and jumped into the arms of his aunt. Meilin scooped up the boy and girl in her arms and kissed the tops of their head. “Hello my lovelies! Have you been good?”

The younger girl nodded happily. “Shi mama.” Her eyes suddenly caught sight of Jin, Hyosang, and Yerin. She buried her nose in the neck of her mother as if to hide herself.

“Mama, who are they?” The boy asked, pointing to Jin.

Meilin her son’s hair. “Ohh, Chang it’s rude to point.” She turned around and placed the twins down so they could stand next to her. “Chang, Fang, you may not remember them, but they remember you.”

She gestured over to Hyosang and Jin. “These are your cousins Jin and Hyosang. Their mama’s sister’s babies.”

Jin blushed in embarrassment, but smiled and waved to them. “Hi…” He greeted softly.

Fang managed to muster a small wave, while her brother giggled and ran over to Jin. His short little arms latched onto his leg. “Ge!” He squeaked. Jin bit his lip, automatically smitten by the boy’s adorableness. Placing his pink duffel bag on the floor, he picked up his cousin.

“Hi Chang, you’re a lot bigger from the last time I saw you. Which was when you were in diapers.” He pinched the latter’s cheeks when he said that.

Chang squirmed from his touch, nearly his finger as an attempt to get revenge.

“Alright kids, your auntie and cousins are all tired from the flight, why don’t you go on upstairs and wake Tao while mama prepares dinner, okay?” Meilin clapped to get the kid’s attention.

“Shi!” Both of the kids responded at the same time. Jin gently placed his cousin onto the floor, and watched as he bolted up the stairs along with his sister.

Yerin couldn’t help but laugh from the two innocences. “Oh my, they are just a bundle of energy Meilin.”

Jin’s aunt beamed. He then asked, “Who’s Tao?” For he didn’t recall that name.

Meilin stared at Jin as if he was a different person. “You don’t remember?” Jin shook her head. It suddenly dawned upon her that Jin still didn’t know about her remarriage.

“I remarried the year after I divorced with Jiao. The man I married is named Huang Kang, and he already has a son named Zitao. You’ll like him Jin.”

Jin forced a smile on his face. While he was happy to meet new people, it surprised him how much had changed in just a span of fifteen years or less. Picking his things off of the floor, he figured the catching up part could wait. Right now, all he wanted to do was take a bath. He was still jet lagged.

“I’m gonna go take a bath.” Jin excused himself from the room they were in and started walking down the hallway where Meilin directed where the bathroom was. ping his suitcase for his bathroom utilities, he was surprised to find a bright red bag with white stripes. Curious, he picked up the big and reached in to see what the contents were. Inside, he pulled out three different kinds of bathbombs. He also found a teal sticky note attached to each of them. Jin could tell just by the hand writing that they were Jungkook’s.

On the pink bomb it read; use when you’re sad. On the purple it said; use when you’re stressed. And on the blue, it read; use when you’re tired.

Jin released a light giggle. Typical Jungkook and his thoughtfulness. Inside the bag were other bath products that the maknae somehow managed to sneak into his suitcase. He at least had something to hang onto at least. Jin picked up the blue bath bomb then walked over to the bath tub. He the hot water and waited for the tub to fill up.

Once it was filled to the brim, he stripped out of his clothes and grabbed the bath bomb. Dropping it into tub, he watched as it started to fizz up, turning the water into a sky like blue with cotton candy like foam. Jin stepped into the tub once it was completely dissolved. He sighed as the water came in contact with his tired body. The scent was also luxurious. He leaned his head back on the edge of the tub and allowed the tension to flow out of his body.

Now if he just had candles, he would’ve felt even more relaxed. But alas. Jin sunk deeper into the water, until it was just his head showing and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He started making little ripples in the water. Jin started to wonder how long he’d be able manage the five long months in Hong Kong.

~

Needless to say, the bath did wonders on his body. Not to mention the bath bomb now made him smell like sea foam. Pulling on a random baby pink sweater and a pair of jeans, Jin made his way into the room he was given (which used to belong to his mother when she lived at the house). Expecting his brother to be rooming with him, he was surprised to see a tall lanky male with black tousled hair, sipping from a carton of milk while playing on his phone.

The man, finally noticing his presence, looked up. He released the straw he was on with a small pop. “Who are you?” He asked. His tone was neither demanding nor curious, but something about it caused Jin to hesitate.

“I-I’m Seokjin. I’m Meilin’s niec-nephew.” Jin caught himself from accidently saying niece.

The man’s dark shadowed eyes suddenly brightened, to the point where they almost seemed to sparkle. “You’re my stepmom’s nephew?!” He jumped off the bed and shuffled over to him. Cupping his cheeks, he started admiring the sides of his face. “You’re a lot cuter than I expected!”

“Um..thank you…” Jin mumbled, his cheeks only getting more squished.

The man finally released his cheeks and blushed. “Sorry, that was rude of me.” He held out his hand. “I’m Huang Zitao, but you can call me Tao.  I’m your aunt’s husband’s son.”

Jin shook his hand, remembering the name he had asked his aunt who it belonged to. “It’s nice to meet you Tao.”

Tao giggled, then flopped back onto his bed. He reached under the bed with his long arms and set up the bunker bed. “Sorry I didn’t do this earlier, mama forgot to tell me you were coming today,” he apologized.

Jin shook his head and just sat down on the bed. “It’s no problem, really.” With that, he laid down onto his stomach and took out his 3DS. At least he had mario to keep him occupied. As Jin started clicking away on his game, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder, and heard the audible slurping sounds from the carton of milk.

He turned to his side and arched a brow when he saw Tao leaning uncomfortably closer to him. Jin used his DS pen to poke his forehead. “W-what are you doing?”

Tao shrugged. “Just watching you play. Why?”

Jin didn’t want to sound rude. “Nothing. You can watch just not,” he gestured to the small space between them. “This close.”

The black haired teen nodded in understandment, and went back to looking at his phone. Jin, certain that he was occupied, went back to playing. Around his fourth level or so, the room was silent. That was until Tao flopped down onto his back, releasing a small groan. He poked Jin in the side. “Jin. Jin. Ge. Jin ge.”

Jin rolled his eyes in irritation and paused the game. Keeping his composure, he turned to Tao and asked, “Yes?”

“Can I play?” He asked.

Jin pursed his lips, contemplating the minor consequences. “Please?” Tao asked again. Jin still remained silent. Tao then pressed himself against Jin, squishing his chin against his shoulder. “Pretty please, ge?”

Seokjin finally sighed in exasperation. Something about his step cousin reminded him of a pandy. A really nosy panda. “Alright, fine.” He passed his 3DS, with a bit of reluctance, to Tao, and watched as the younger individual jumped on the bed and started clicking away.

By then, Jin was getting a tincy bit irritated that Tao was spending at least nine minutes on his Mario kart game. He somehow regretted giving Tao permission. He’s family Jin, bare with it. He would tell himself. However, Jin took back what he said about Tao being nosy...he was an all up in your business panda.

Hoping to intervene, Jin tapped Tao on the shoulder. “Um excuse me?” He gave him another tap. “Tao, could you.Do you mind, giving it back, if you’re done, that is…” Jin’s voice started to fade, making the situation a lot more awkward than it was.

Tao looked at Jin from the corner of his eyes, fingers still moving on the game, then turned back towards the screen. “Nope,” he replied curtly, popping the ‘p’ at the end.

Jin’s left eye twitched in annoyance. He still managed to keep his cool (if he didn’t, he probably would’ve ended up ripping the device out of Tao’s hand). Giving up on hope, he jumped off the bed and proceeded on walking out of the room. “I’m gonna go downstairs, when you’re done with my 3DS you can just leave it in my suitcase. Please also, do not touch my stuff.” He turned around to see if Tao heard all of that.

Of course, though, he didn’t.

Jin swallowed a growl and just walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He definitely wondered how he was going to survive living in Hong Kong, now that he had to room with a spoiled, step cousin.

Jin trotted down the stairs, into where the kitchen was. Meilin, who was busy preparing dinner, turned around and smiled. “Oh Jin, how are you? Did you settle in?”

He nodded. “Um yeah, kind of. I sort of ran into Tao.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, auntie, do you mind if I can switch rooms and just room with Hyosang?”

Meilin tilted her head to the side. “Why is that? I thought Tao was thrilled to have you as your roommate?”

Seokjin couldn’t help but snort. “Yeah, thrilled,” he muttered under his breath. He looked up at his aunt and eyed the array of vegetables and bags of meat that still needed to be tended to.

“Would you like some help, I don’t have anything else to do.”

Meilin removed the rubber gloves off of her hands and nodded. “Yes, actually, that would be great.” She pointed to the green onions in the brown paper bag. “If you don’t mind, I need those chopped up for the hot pot-” She hadn’t even finished her sentence, because Jin was already getting to work.

Jin beamed, then grabbed a stalk of green onions and started chopping them up. Meilin couldn’t help but stare in amazement when he had finished cutting the onions up. “Anything else?” he asked.

Needless to say, the cooking part didn’t take too long. By nightfall, dinner had brought a light, almost happy atmosphere. Meilin’s new husband, Kang had come home just in time for the hot pot.

“As usual Meilin, your hot pot never fails to warm my insides,” he complimented.

Meilin giggled. “Of course, but you should really be thanking Seokjin,” she gestured over to where Jin was sitting. “He was the one who did most of the work.”

Jin couldn’t help but blush. “It..it was nothing. I’m just happy I could help.”

“Xíe xíe Jin ge!” Chang boasted with a mouthful of rice. Meilin pressed a napkin to his mouth to shush him, as well as to wipe any remnants of food off of his cheeks.

After dinner, most of everyone had retreated into different rooms. Jin, on the other hand, went into the living room and just stared out of the window. If anything, he really needed a little bit of alone time.

He suddenly felt the cushion right next to him sink. Turning to his side, his features softened when he realized that it was his grandmother. If there was anyone else who knew Jin better than himself, other than Hyosang, it was his grandmother. She was the kind of person who made it seem like she could look into a person’s heart and find out what they were like.

Smiling sweetly, she placed a plate of rice cakes onto the coffee table. She didn’t even need to say anything, as Jin reached for a small cake and popped it into his mouth. He sighed in content. It had been forever since he had the sticky treat.

“I know this may sound very sudden, but I just wanted to say that I’m so happy to have you here with us Jin,” she said, patting his knee.

Jin smiled tenderly. “Me too Nǎinai.” He placed his hand on top of her own. For a moment, they just sat in silence.

“My child, I’ve noticed that when you got hear, you seemed quite sad. Tell me, are you feeling alright with this trip?” She asked.

Seokjin’s smile faded. He chewed his lip nervously. One part of him was happy to be back to his hometown, but of course, the other part of him was still back in Seoul.

“Well, it was surprising, but I’m not sad,” he replied vaguely and just chewed on another rice cake.

His grandmother nodded. “I know it may just be an assumption, but I know you are aware that my instincts are never wrong. I think, that it may not be the trip itself, but what you have left behind.” She smiled softly at her grandson. “I know somewhere deep inside you, my child, that there is a sense of forlornness.” She paused, and studied his face for a moment.

“And that, there must be someone on the other side of the world who feels the same.”

Hello again my lovelies, as promised here is the latest chapter to YWI. Obviously, I had to add my major of bias of EXO into this story. Don't worry though, he won't be a complete sass. Also, as clarification, each chapter at most will represent a month Jin has been in China. Just in case if it gets confusing, I'll put timeskip labels. Until then, comment, upvote, and subscribe and I will see you in the next chapter!