Chapter Text
The clock pointed at sharp ten when Junkyu felt a pillow being thrown on his face. Ugh, who was this annoying living being who dared to throw a pillow on a sleeping Junkyu?
No one said anything, only Junkyu's drowsy hums could be heard. He scratched his bare torso once. He woke up lazily only to sit there with his eyes closed for some minutes before letting his body plop onto the bed once again.
“Kim Junkyu, it's ten in the morning!” Mashiho yelled from a corner of the room.
“Just some more minutes… I can prepare myself within thirty minutes so it'll be fine.” Junkyu responded in a low voice and buried his head on the pillow.
“I wonder if you will be late to wake up on our wedding day too! I swear if you're late, it won't be my problem! I'll go to Mie by myself, I don't need anyone's company!” Mashiho exclaimed frustratedly and sat on the bed.
He wasn't usually like this to Junkyu. Instead, he would lovingly whisper into the older's ear, asking him to wake up for multiple times. But today certainly wasn't one of those days because the couple would be going to Mashiho's motherland, Mie, Japan.
“If you go there alone then whom are you going to marry?” Junkyu asked, chuckling, face still buried on the pillow.
“Someone who wakes up early! Strike that, anyone who wakes up at a decent time!” Mashiho exclaimed, heaving a sigh, trying to calm himself down.
“So you don't love me anymore!?” Junkyu asked dramatically as he sat up with a start. His expression turned into a frown as he pouted out of habit.
Mashiho sighed. He couldn't believe he was so blind in love. Just one expression and he was already head over heels with him, forgetting all his anger. He replied, “I might feel happy when you I see you smile, I might be thinking about you when I gaze at the moon, I might be liking every moment we share and that's it. It doesn't necessarily mean that I love you!”
Mashiho smiled at him but did not gain back a smile. Junkyu didn't seem to have gotten the context to his sarcasm.
“It doesn't have to mean that I love you. But I love you.” Mashiho confessed, like he did everyday.
“I was just pretending not to understand. I fooled you right?” Junkyu said while giggling as he hugged Mashiho. “I love-”
Mashiho pushed him away and put the towel (that he had been holding for quite some minutes) on Junkyu's head.
“We have to leave in an hour, go shower first before hugging me.” Mashiho stated as he stood up, hiding his smile.
“In an hour!? Why didn't you wake me up earlier!?” Junkyu exclaimed in a whiny tone as he hopped down the bed and rushed towards the washroom.
“You're the one who asked me to wake you up at ten!” Mashiho shouted in response. He heard the door of the washroom being closed. He giggled to himself as he thought about Junkyu's exaggerated expressions.
They would have to catch a flight on from Seoul to Tokyo and then a three to four hour ride from Tokyo to Mie. Junkyu might have to overcome his slight symptoms of aerophobia when he would board on the airplane and Mashiho might have to face his motion sickness for more than three hours, but they claimed that everything would be fine as long as the two were together.
Mashiho was ready to spend the whole vacation with Junkyu, and more than ready to spend his whole life with his beloved. They would have help in the preparations of their marriage that would take place after two months later. The marriage would be taking place at Mie where a lot of people were already invited, including Mashiho's friend, Bang Yedam and Park Jihoon, Junkyu's friend, Choi Hyunsuk and friends to both—the Yoon-Hamada family.
***
The sky was moderately clear. The rays of the sun were reflecting on the clouds, bringing a beautiful shade of pink and orange upon the sky. It seemed as if the sky was smiling calmly, welcoming the moon that was peeking through some clouds as the sun set in the backdrop.
It seemed to be a pleasant evening for everyone else—the people who were enjoying their snacks at the cafe did look happy—Asahi being one of them. He sat quietly at a corner in the small cozy cafe in the residential area of Seodaemun while watching Haruto and Jeongwoo, the non-identical twins who were adopted by Jaehyuk and him about three years ago, having a mini quarrel for the last piece of white chocolate in their adorable overalls.
Eleven years old Yoshinori, who had become a part of their family just a month ago, was sitting next to Jeongwoo, trying to solve the fight between the two kids. The three of them were sitting at the other table which was next to where he was sitting.
The cafe was drenched in blue and white wallpaper, green plants, wooden counters and tables with turquoise leather sofas around every table. Asahi had been to that cafe multiple times before this but he just realised how much the colours of the cafe had changed even though it only had been a year.
There was a wall of the cafe which was made up of transparent glass, giving the customers the view of the outside world. It remained the same although it had been a year.
Asahi smiled at his three kids. He realised he had been smiling a lot lately. Jaehyuk was sitting right next to him, taking a sip of Cube Latte every time Asahi's eyes would meet his.
Asahi was clad in his beige trousers, oversized white shirt and dangling earrings with his hair parted in the middle. Jaehyuk was in a black hoodie, black ripped jeans and small earrings with his hair brushed to a side. The other side of his hair was falling on his forehead freely.
Jaehyuk and Asahi had been doing pretty well, considering how they could converse with each other casually, unlike the first week when they had just decided to go through marital counselling. Back then, Asahi felt like he was back to square one, trying to build something new between him and Jaehyuk, hoping that their relationship wouldn't collapse this time.
It wasn't easy, not at all—to perish the wall that had been built between them.
It took them time, a lot of time—first, to heal themselves and then… and then, Asahi was not so sure about how their relationship got back up again but he knew that they certainly did. The following morning right after the last trial, Asahi felt like the string that (that had been entangled ever since Jaehyuk and he turned this trifling matter into a huge argument) had already been undone.
They were friends, close friends like before but more than that—like lovers, who show as much as they feel, yet more than that—like a husband and a husband, like fathers of three children.
They were comfortable around each other but Asahi wouldn't say it was just like before. It was a new feeling and yet so familiar, similar to what he used to feel before but this one was what he preferred more. It was a calming feeling that soothed his heart, it did not make his heart race but neither did it make it pain. It just made him feel safe and he hoped that Jaehyuk was feeling the same.
He realised that he had more to learn about being in love. After all, love always comes with surprises, nothing to be predicted, just to go with the flow.
Asahi felt a hand gripping onto his right shoulder gently. He turned around to find out that it was his friend Park Jihoon in a buttoned up shirt and white jeans, his bangs falling on his forehead making him look boyish. Next to him stood his eight years old son Doyoung, staring at Asahi with glossy eyes and a genuine smile which made him look just like his father.
Upon noticing Yoshinori, Jeongwoo and Haruto sitting at the other table, Doyoung went to join them.
“Sahi-ah~ There we meet again!” Jihoon said so happily that he sounded like a kid who was finally able to meet his friend after a long summer vacation.
Asahi could recall that he had faced some kind of similar situation before, probably a year ago though. Was it a déjà vu?
A shorter man, namely Choi Hyunsuk, ex husband of Park Jihoon, approached them too.
He was wearing an extremely oversized denim jacket over a white tee, blue ripped jeans with a black beret and his signature platform boots (that he usually proclaimed to love so much). Silver rings adorned his fingers as the earrings dangled from his lobe. He always looked gorgeous.
His hand held onto the small hand of six years old Junghwan who stared blankly at Hyunsuk while munching onto a chocolate bar, clad in denim overalls.
Hyunsuk smiled at both of them, which was returned by Jaehyuk and Asahi as well. He let go of Junghwan's hand and the little boy went to join the other kids who were sitting at the other table. Yoshinori had gotten along with Doyoung and Junghwan lately too.
Asahi couldn't figure it out well but he was pretty sure something was definitely going on between Attorney Choi and Attorney Park, ever since the divorce of Asahi and Jaehyuk was cancelled.
Both of them seemed to be happier when they were around each other and they would often have dates, with or without Doyoung and Junghwan. Despite still living separately, they were usually spotted at the same place. Jihoon didn't disclose much about it to Asahi but Asahi already knew most of it, just by a glance of Jihoon's eyes which spoke more than Jihoon could have ever imagined. That guy was always like an open book, at least to Asahi.
“Have a seat.” Asahi said with a smile on his face, which was rare to witness.
The pair of attorneys settled themselves down in front of the couple.
“So, how have you been?” Jihoon asked with a soft smile, which wasn't a fake one, Asahi could reassure just by the look of his friend's face. It was a real, genuine smile from Jihoon that made Asahi glad to witness it.
***
Two pairs of glimmering eyes were fixed on the television. Only the non identical twins were in the room. The parents were in the kitchen, preparing for dinner and the eldest son was in his room, studying.
The television was presenting a pre-recorded music show.
The guy MC spoke cheerfully with a grin, “Moving on, let's applaud for our next artist who is here to steal the attention of today's show!”
“Because this solo artist just debuted recently and yet has been gaining popularity at insane heights!” the female MC continued with comical expressions.
“Previously, he has composed some popular songs as well. Who knew that this amazing composer would turn out to be a trainee under the same agency as well!”
“Can you guys guess who it is?”
“Bang Yedam-ssi~” both the MCs squealed and clapped animatedly as Yedam entered with a tight grip on his mic. He bowed and introduced himself, looking confident like usual, as if his palms weren't sweating at all.
Jeongwoo, who was almost engulfed by the television, exclaimed with his usual loud voice, “Yedamie! Yedamie!”
“So cool!” Haruto whispered to himself while pointing at the television, being well heard by Jeongwoo.
“Ah! Yoshi hyungie should meet Yedamie too! It will be fun!” Jeongwoo shared his idea to Haruto, which the latter just nodded at.
Jeongwoo continued either way, “Should we go to hyung?”
“No, I want to watch this before we go.”
“But I want to go now! Come with me.”
“No, we can't. Hyung is studying. Papa said not to go.”
“Exactly, that's why we are going to go!”
“No, we will not.”
“Hmm, okay let's go after this show ends.”
“You… you're listening to me!?” Haruto exclaimed. His eyes, which were till now not even blinking but staring at the television, turned towards Jeongwoo in surprise.
“Why wouldn't I? Just agree before I change my mind again~” Jeongwoo replied, laughing a little. Haruto smiled, turning his eyes back at the television.
Maybe they didn't need to bicker all the time. Maybe they could just solve their problems by negotiating sometimes.
Haruto learnt it that day. And he knew that Jeongwoo was thinking the same. They were siblings, after all.
***
It was a three-storey house with a backyard, four car garage, porch/patio and a front lawn. The driveway was big. The lawn was neat and trimmed, trees lining the periphery. There was a big flower bed in the backyard lining the entire back and side walls. It looked pretty with small flowers.
The ground floor had a living room, a great room with a dining room, an open kitchen with a marble kitchen counter and a small pantry. The patio with its separate couches and dining space was accessible through the great room as well as the dining area. There was a laundry space and guest room.
Glass stairs led to the first floor which had a total of 4 bedrooms. The master ensuite was connected with an ensuite through a private terrace. The other two bedrooms belonging to the twin brothers were connected through a lounge. There was a storage room too.
Stairs led to the second floor, covering only half the area of the total house which had the library, home office, a bedroom with sloped ceiling and skylights, a bathroom and a lounge. The lounge was so cozy and pretty, it could be used as a sunroom or observatory (the walls and ceiling—all were made of sturdy glass).
Being in his own room, Yoshinori let his body fall onto the bed and stared at the ceiling with a smile on his face. The twin brothers—his twin brothers were just across from his room.
He could feel the soft mattress on which his body laid. He could remember it clearly, how surprised he was when he first plopped onto that bed and realised that it wouldn't start shaking just because of that, unlike what it used to be back at the orphanage.
The wallpaper of the room was matt blue with streaks of gold. There was a big red carpet on which was the bed with nightstands on either side. There was a huge study table with drawers towards the big windows. He even got a big walk-in closet. It was connected to an ensuite bathroom that was big with tiles, towel-rack heaters and a marble basin counter. It had a walk in shower and tub too. His bedroom had access to the private terrace too.
Everything about his life was so different than just a month ago.
Yoshinori could remember that one time when a girl, who was three years younger than him, had brought a little kitten from outside and hid it for a week or two until one of the staff had heard it mewing and took it away. Of course, like the orphans had expected, they were asked who had brought the kitten inside the building and even though everyone knew whom it belonged to—no one dared to speak. Yoshinori could still remember it crystal clearly, how much the girl shivered that day, thinking that she would be caught, until Yoshinori stepped up and lied that no one had brought it in and that it might have crawled in by itself. However, no one came up to support his statement, not even the little girl.
He felt lonely.
It was normal for someone who had grown up in an orphanage ever since he was five years old and couldn't recall anything before that, not even the faces of his parents.
Yoshinori liked to go around and cheer people up while roaming around the streets in broad daylight, and luckily his encounter with a really good man occured, which was certainly Yoon Jaehyuk, who was now his father by law.
Besides working at part time jobs, Yoshinori spent most of his time studying: what could be better than learning about things around you? He'd get too tired at the end of the day though, so all that he did was to lay his head on the book and sleep.
Sometimes, he'd even forget to go for dinner when he used to fall asleep earlier. He wished someone cared enough to wake him up and take his food. He wished there'd be someone who would scold him for sleeping instead of studying. He wished there'd be someone who would pat his head and say that he had done pretty well and that he did not have to regret something.
There weren't many good memories that he would have to miss or remember from the orphanage.
The only person whom Yoshinori did miss from the orphanage was that one elder sister who would take care of him when he would go out. She was always too busy with her own work at the orphanage so she could hardly pay any attention to him though. He had lost contact with her about five months ago because she was adopted by a newly wedded couple.
He felt chillier, which made him sit up straight. A sigh left Yoshinori's mouth as he stood up, walking towards the open windows from which chilly winds crept into his room. As he was about to shut the window close, his eyes widened at the pretty stars and gazed at it without blinking, caught by its beauty.
Oh, how could he forget?
Yoshinori missed the window seat of the orphanage the most. He would stare at the beautiful stars and the bright moon whenever he felt he needed a break from the world, whenever he felt a tug in his heart.
Yoshinori tried to recall if the stars and moon seemed to be the same when he used to gaze at it from the orphanage. He stared at the present sky, wondering if they were different.
He thought and thought until he decided something.
It was different.
Back then at the orphanage, whenever he used to look at the moon and stars, he didn't know why but he could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. He felt relieved every time he cried, because he knew that there was no other way to let out his pain of living a life full of solitude, guilt of not being able to give his best, lack of happiness, fear of losing all his youth in collecting money and what he hated the most—to feel unloved.
Now that he looked at the same moon and stars from the window case of Yoon-Hamada family's household, a smile crept onto his face and he didn't realise when a drop of tear ran down his cheek but this time, it was tears of joy. Only if he knew that crying out of joy would make him have such a cherishable feeling in his heart, might he have realized what he was missing. He was happy and he knew it.
He was so happy now that he had two parents, someone who cared enough to wake him up and to remind him to take his food, someone who would scold him for sleeping during his study-time, someone who would pat his head and say that he had done pretty well and that he did not have to regret something.
Besides, he had these adorable little non-identical twins duo as his siblings, who would always follow him literally everywhere ever since he was adopted. It touched his heart and he used to find it really cute at first, unless he got tired of asking them to give him a bit of space. If you had ever heard of 'a love-hate siblings relationship' then he would confirm that it was indeed true. Regardless, he loved the little two as much as he loved his new parents.
The lovely moon looked so pretty surrounded by the sparkling stars. Something about it was definitely so different that day that Yoshinori was ready to gaze at it all night without even blinking.
He flinched as he was startled by the creaking door which flung open and his little brothers—Jeongwoo and Haruto rushed inside, as cheerful as ever.
“Yoshi hyungie!” Jeongwoo exclaimed so happily that even a graceful moon couldn't stop Yoshinori from turning around to take a look at him.
The twins were wearing red tees (which were drowning them) with black pants looking adorable as usual.
“Let's go and-” Jeongwoo continued.
“-have dinner!” Haruto said, completing Jeongwoo's sentences like usual, which made Yoshinori giggle.
“Sure, let's go.” Yoshinori replied with a smile and stood up, following the little twins outside the room.
The window side seemed a bit lonely without Yoshinori sitting beside it. At least, Yoshinori would fill the empty chair of the Yoon-Hamada family and share a usual, merry dinner with his family.
The blue curtains fluttered in the air as a cool breeze entered the room from the window, the clouds could be seen floating by steadily from there. The stars and the moon still seemed to be the same, hung in the sky in a state of indifference.
***
The dinner table was full of kimchi fried rice, banchan, unagi and tofu.
Asahi placed the last plate of tofu on the table, eyes fixed on Jaehyuk, who seemed spaced out.
Asahi had noticed that Jaehyuk was unusually quiet that night, in his opinion, it did not suit Jaehyuk at all, but he was hesitant to ask about it to Jaehyuk since they were face to face and besides, he wasn't good with words.
Asahi tried to imagine all the problems that Jaehyuk might be having that caused his dullness.
Jaehyuk remained on his chair, as still as a scarecrow, staring outside the window. Even an idiot would know that someone like Jaehyuk, who is chirpy all the time, being silent was a threat to normality. He looked tired, absolutely exhausted and worse was that he seemed to be overthinking about something.
Asahi knew that if it were two years ago, Jaehyuk would approach him by himself and reveal what had been on his mind or anything that worried him. But it was different now, quite different from earlier. They were still a bit defensive to each other, still trying to mend the bond that they had once lost.
But if Jaehyuk was suffering so much then why wouldn't he just let Asahi help him carry the burden? Did Jaehyuk not trust Asahi? Was he still insecure about their relationship?
“Jae?” Asahi uttered in a calm tone, eyes fixed on Jaehyuk.
Yeah, they had been calling each other by their nicknames once again, right after the whole divorce fiasco actually.
Jaehyuk flinched as if he had just seen a ghost and then he turned left and right, as if his eyes were searching for the owner of the voice that called his name and then finally, his eyes landed on Asahi.
“W-what's wrong?” Jaehyuk asked, his voice quaking.
“Exactly, what's wrong with you?”
“Huh?” Jaehyuk tilted his head in confusion. As long as he could remember, all that he did was to sit there silently, what could he have possibly done?
“I-I mean… you are a bit quiet today… What's on your mind?” Asahi asked as his eyes met Jaehyuk's.
“You,” Jaehyuk answered in short, in a calm tone, his expression neutral.
Asahi felt taken aback, he ruined the eye contact that they were sharing and let his eyes fall on everything but Jaehyuk. They wouldn't usually compliment each other out of the blue so he wasn't prepared enough to not react to it. He tried to remain as neutral as possible, even though he knew that his heart was smiling.
Was Jaehyuk trying to carry on his flirting agenda that he had left two years ago?
Or was he being serious about thinking about Asahi? Why was he looking so worried if all that he was thinking about was Asahi? Was it something related to their relationship?
“I was wondering… if my pace of going back to what it was is slower than yours. Is it too bothersome?” Jaehyuk explained. “You never come to me with any problem that you're facing, so unlike before, right? I understand if you feel like you're not prepared enough to go back to that phase but…”
His voice sounded calm, so calm that it didn't sound like him at all. He seemed nervous and yet so sure about what he was saying at the same time. Jaehyuk continued, “But I hope you can at least try to rely on me. I'll try my best not to dissapoint you.”
Asahi was a bit surprised after hearing Jaehyuk's point of view. He didn't expect that he had been making Jaehyuk feel that way. But he was glad that Jaehyuk didn't suppress himself to let Asahi know about it.
Indeed, communication is the key.
“I trust you, I always did and I always will, Jae. I hope you won't doubt that. Never doubt yourself.” Asahi muttered as he approached Jaehyuk, bending towards him so that their faces would only be inches apart.
It was uncommon of Asahi to compliment or reassure him without any traces of friendly sarcasm so Jaehyuk was a bit surprised as he heard him convey a sincere message to cool him off. Then again, he was Hamada Asahi, always straight forward.
Asahi brought his face so close to Jaehyuk that the latter one could even feel his breath. Even if Asahi would disappear all of a sudden, Jaehyuk would still be able to remember the details of his beloved's face for the rest of his life—those beautiful eyes that he often got lost in, those smooth streaks of hair that covered his forehead and ah, of course, the soft lips that he loved to kiss.
Jaehyuk felt calm, as if he had just woken up from a wonderful dream that he could not even recall and yet it forges a transient feeling of happiness. A smile greeted his lips, which made Asahi feel relieved.
“You…” Jaehyuk parted his lips to speak and he tried his best to convey some good words to his husband but he failed to do so as his mind was unable to form sentences because of the collision of all the compliments that he wanted to give.
He could not say what he wanted to. This time it was not because he was in loss of words or feelings overwhelmed him, instead it was because he was too entranced by the presence of his beloved who stood so close to him that he could even feel his breath on his face.
“You're the best person I ever met, Hi-kun.” Jaehyuk finally said and added after a short pause, his smile not leaving his face, “Undoubtedly.”
With that being heard, Asahi smiled back at him, the smile that entranced Jaehyuk so much more than earlier that Jaehyuk could unhesitantly recognise the feelings inside his heart—the love that he felt for Asahi had always been the same ever since he was a lovestruck teenage boy.
Asahi rested his palms on Jaehyuk's shoulder, bending towards him even more so that their faces would be closer.
He approached his face closer towards Jaehyuk, waiting to be kissed by his dear husband while hinted that if the older one wouldn't kiss him then he would kiss the older one. Even though Asahi did not convey that to him verbally, Jaehyuk already knew, because eyes tell. They just do.
Jaehyuk hugged Asahi's waist gently, feeling calm and content.
The husbands' eyes would probably wonder whether or not they had the ability to blink, only if they had their own brains to think with. Their eyes remained still on each other, both minds wondering if the other would kiss him first.
Leaving a quick peck on Jaehyuk's cheek, Asahi's smiling lips broadened into a grin as his eyes fell on something (rather, someone) that was (rather, who were) behind Jaehyuk. He escaped from Jaehyuk's grasp and stood up slowly, walking towards the little non-identical duo.
Jaehyuk turned towards the other side, knowing well whom Asahi had seen to be reacting thay way.
“Me too! I want kisses!” Jeongwoo exclaimed happily, running towards his Papa.
“Weren't you the one who said big boys don't need kisses?” Haruto taunted his little brother with a smug expression on his face, making the latter recall the words that he had left to the prior.
“So what are you implying? Of course, it's me who said that! But I'm still small!” Jeongwoo replied, frowning at the other.
“Then stay small forever, I'm big!” Haruto argued.
“We are literally of the same age!”
“But I'm older than you!”
“Only some seconds!”
“It still counts!”
“No, it doesn't!”
Asahi picked up Jeongwoo in his arms, putting him on the chair with a chuckle, trying to stop the kids from fighting just like every other day as Jaehyuk smiled at his family.
“Papa, don't pick him up! He said he's big now so he doesn't need help!” Jeongwoo whined as Haruto rolled eyes at him.
Regardless, Asahi still picked up Haruto and put him on the chair as Jaehyuk quickly stuffed Jeongwoo's mouth with food so that he would not start whining again.
All of the eyes fell on Yoshinori as he entered the dining room, completely unaware of the present situation. The parents guessed that the twins duo had probably barged into his room, asking Yoshinori to tag along with them for dinner like usual but they probably ran downstairs even before Yoshinori could set a foot on the first step of the staircase.
“Hyyuuunnngggiiiieeee!” Jeongwoo complained to Yoshinori as he swallowed the food. “Ruto says he is big but Papa still picks up Ruto! And- and Papa only kisses Appa! Papa only likes Appa! But- but I want kisses too! This is so unfair!”
Yoshinori approached the table and patted Jeongwoo's head before settling himself on the seat beside him with a smile on his face. Jeongwoo stared at his elder brother, his wide eyes glistening as he waited for a verbal response.
“Hmm, indeed, Woo deserves so much better.” Yoshinori replied playfully, “Let's go to a Sushi restaurant tomorrow and not take Ruto, would that make you two equal?”
“Yeeesss, sounds good!” Jeongwoo exclaimed happily, his eyes fixed in Yoshinori.
Haruto, being the quiet kid he was, did not protest and instead considered that Jeongwoo was just being childish and since he, himself, was a mature boy, the fact that Yoshinori wouldn't take him to the Sushi Restaurant, shouldn't make him upset, right?
He stared at Yoshinori, eyes almost watering up. But he wouldn't cry. He was a grown up boy. He looked away, stuffing his mouth with food, pretending like he did not care.
Despite noticing Haruto's behaviour quite well, Jeongwoo decided to ignore it as well. It wasn't his fault that Haruto was upset! Besides, it was Haruto who started it anyway!
The two parents witnessed the scene quietly, knowing perfectly that they did not need to interfere yet. Yoshinori was good at handling the bickerings of the twins duo.
“A-are we really not going to take him?” Jeongwoo asked Yoshinori for confirmation, as if not believing the older's words at all. How could they go to a Sushi restaurant without Ruto?
Yoshinori nodded and responded, “You said it's unfair that Ruto was kissed but you were not. So wouldn't that make it fair if you go there without him?”
Jeongwoo paused, giving it a thought, looking as if he was trying to solve world disasters. Yoshinori's words were confusing him so much. They were really not taking Ruto with them?! On the contrary, Yoshinori was convincing and encouraging him so he shouldn't be upset that Haruto wasn't tagging along, isn't it? But he did not know why, he felt like something wasn't adding up.
He nodded his head up and down, showing that he approved of Yoshinori's idea.
It wasn't the first time that Haruto and Jeongwoo were having such a serious fight. The parents knew quite well that it would submerge soon, within less than a day.
The dinner plates were empty within minutes and so were the chairs and table. The clock conveyed that an hour had passed already. The lights were off in all the rooms, except for the one of the twins where a night lamp covered the whole room within its embrace every night. Haruto, who not uttering a word ever since having done dinner, was buried under the blankets. He was still awake even though all that he wanted was to sleep peacefully. He didn't know why he was unable to sleep.
The place next to him, where Jeongwoo was supposed to be sleeping, was accompanied by a small bear stuff toy instead. Jeongwoo stood silently outside the room, his back facing the door while Yoshinori stood right in front of him.
“Woo, what did you want to tell me?” Yoshinori asked with his usual soft toned voice.
Jeongwoo looked up at him, opened his mouth as if to say something and yet closing it eitherway, not knowing if he should go for it.
Yoshinori noticed Jeongwoo's attempts at trying to convey his words and found it adorable. He giggled and joked, “If you keep thinking whether you should say it already or not, the whole night will pass away.”
Jeongwoo giggled as well, finally speaking, “Okay, I will say. You have to say the truth too, okay?”
Yoshinori nodded and promised him.
“Hyung, so will we really really not take Ruto with us tomorrow?” Jeongwoo asked innocently, staring at Yoshinori without even blinking.
“Of course, we can do that if you don't want him to tag along with us.” Yoshinori answered immediately since he already knew that Jeongwoo had called him because of that specifically.
Jeongwoo gasped, still not blinking. His eyes were shining.
“Then we can bring him with us too?”
“Mhm, if you want. Do you?”
“O-oh…” Jeongwoo uttered, giving it a thought. What did he really want? He knew he wanted to bring Haruto with them but he wasn't so sure about what excuse he should pay upon Yoshinori's ears since he had previously claimed that he felt wronged.
“I want him to come with us!” Jeongwoo exclaimed and smile. He knew that his smile would do the trick and even if Yoshinori would ask an explanation of his sudden change of mind, he wouldn't really have to prepare an excuse. Yoshinori always understood him. A verbal conversation wasn't required.
“Okay then! Ruto will join us too~” Yoshinori replied, “Good night, Woo.”
Jeongwoo waved his hands. “Goodie night!” he exclaimed as Yoshinori patted his head and walked away.
Inside the room, where Haruto was troubled with being unable to sleep, a little piece of yellow paper lied under his pillow which he just noticed. He took it in his hands and realised that Japanese letters were written clearly on it.
|| Let's go to the Sushi Restaurant tomorrow. Let's go together, Ruto. :) ||
Haruto's eyes widened with happiness visible within them. A smile formed on his face. He knew to whom that handwriting belonged to—Yoon-Hamada Yoshinori. Moreover, he knew whose idea it was to ask him to tag along—Yoon-Hamada Jeongwoo.
As he heard the creaking door sliding open, he quickly hid the piece of paper under his pillow and dumped his face into the pillow. Soon, he felt someone jump onto the bed beside him. His smile widened as he felt relieved.
***
Tonight, the room of the married couple wasn't empty, neither was it accompanied by only one of the pair. Both of them were present, not uncomfortable or drowned in melancholy, but merely enjoying each other's presence.
Jaehyuk and Asahi had missed this warmth so much back then when they were suffering because of the absence of the other. Both of them had missed this comfortable silence which sounded like a music of no words to their ears.
Asahi gazed at the moon, his lips was parted and eyes were still, as if in a trance by the beauty of the night sky which was embraced by twinkling stars.
He felt glad. He felt happy. He felt content. He didn't know what would be the proper word to describe his feelings. He doubted that any word ever did exist to convey the feelings inside his heart.
He was uncertain of the future. He was uncertain about how many more turns his life would take.
But this time, he knew that one thing was certain and that was— the mutual love shared between Jaehyuk and him.
He trusted Jaehyuk wholeheartedly. He loved his words, touches and even his presence. He wanted to stay with him, stay for him and make some good memories with their little boys.
Asahi knew that his beloved felt the same. He wouldn't be able to answer how, but he was sure that he did. Hadn't he been a lover, it would probably be some unreal, illogical words of stupidity to him and never would he be able to witness this feeling of comfort and warmth that laid within his heart. He was grateful that it was the otherwise. He was grateful that he had met Jaehyuk and that he was allowed to be next to him.
Upon finally removing his gaze from the sky, Asahi turned towards Jaehyuk who was still looking at the moon with a smile on his face.
Jaehyuk was clad in his silk blue pajamas, black hair messily falling on his forehead, round eyes shining, making him look like a puppy. He was looking at the moon as well.
“Jaehyuk-ah…” Asahi uttered without even realising that he called his name. That name was so familiar to his senses that it did not feel foreign to him at all. That name was his home.
“The moon looks beautiful tonight, isn't it?” Jaehyuk asked with a soft, low voice which made Asahi's heart feel so calm.
Asahi smiled, thinking that it was old-fashioned of Jaehyuk to say those words to him and yet at the same time he couldn't stop grinning because of the same reason. He looked at the moon again while Jaehyuk's eyes turned towards Asahi, witnessing his beloved's smile.
“Indeed.” Asahi replied, “And I wish to gaze at it forever with you.”
Their hands, which were holding onto the other tightly, as if afraid to lose the other's touch, loosened a bit. They intertwined their fingers unknowingly and a light clink was heard, barely noticed by either of the two, the cause of which being the collision of the rings that were on each of their ring fingers—the rings which were one of the symbols of their love and fondness towards each other.
Moonlight crawled through the window, lightening up the room with its presence, witnessing the couple's intertwined fingers. The curtains fluttered swiftly as the air rustled through the leaves of the trees. The beautiful moon laid in the sky accompanied by the stars.