Chapter Text
3 years later
"Yunho-hyung, Mingi-hyung! Someone's asking for you!"
Yunho briefly looked over his shoulder towards the main entrance and shouted back at the receptionist. Then he shifted his focus back onto the child in front of him.
"Jooyeon-ah, I'm going to be gone for a while, so make sure you behave and listen to your teachers, okay?" Yunho ruffled the girl's hair, stood up from his kneeling position, and smiled to the young worker standing by the side. "It's almost her nap time, so make sure she doesn't get too much sugar in her system. She always gets too hyper."
"Okay, Mr. Jeong."
Yunho watched as the worker scooped Jooyeon up and carried her to a room at the back, where all the orphans took naps.
By the time Yunho got to the reception, Mingi was already there, along with two unexpected guests.
"Yah, you took way too long back there," Mingi complained.
But Yunho was more interested in the two men sitting behind Mingi.
"Seonghwa-hyung, Hongjoong hyung!"
They stood to greet Yunho, who pushed past Mingi and embraced both of them at once.
"It's been a while since we last talked," Yunho exclaimed once they pulled apart. "Last time we saw each other was in Jongho's father's funeral, wasn't it? That's almost two months ago. How have you guys been? Is business still going well?"
Before Yunho could continue, Mingi pulled him away. "Stop pestering them already. we can talk somewhere else, not here." He gestured to the entrance, where a small group of people had gathered, all wanting to enter.
Yunho followed Mingi's gaze and immediately apologized to his clients. He made way for them to enter. "Welcome, welcome. Are you here for an adoption? If so, just sign up at the reception desk and our workers here will guide you through the process. But most of our kids are..."
As Yunho droned on, Mingi sneaked Seonghwa and Hongjoong to his office, which was upstairs. They had just settled with some cold drinks brought by Mingi's secretary when Yunho barged in, slightly panting.
"I thought you guys left!" Then, to Mingi he said, "you should've told me where you guys were going!"
Mingi ignored the accusation. "Come sit, is iced coffee okay for you? Not that you can choose, but--" He shrugged.
At this, Hongjoong chuckled. "I see you two are getting along well."
Yunho jut his bottom lip out before dropping onto the seat next to Mingi. "As if. He's getting on my nerves these days." He threw a sidelong glance at Mingi before changing the subject. "Anyway, what brings you guys here? If you wanted to meet up, you could've just given us a call."
Hongjoong and Seonghwa exchanged a cheery look. Mingi noticed that the former had placed a hand on the latter's, which was resting on the armrest.
"We're here for an adoption, of course." Almost at the same time, they turned to Yunho with a sparkle in their eyes.
Yunho gasped.
"Oh my gosh, really? I can't believe it! After so long - wait, how about With U? You've always been saying you'd be too busy with the business, and that's why you put off adopting a child for so long." He caught Mingi, who remained unfazed, at the corner of his eyes. "Yah, Mingi, aren't you happy for them at all? Why aren't you uttering a word--" Another gasp. "Don't tell me you've known this all along and you kept it from me!"
Mingi made an exasperated noise from his throat, and flung Yunho's hand off, which had found its way onto his arm earlier. "Aish, I'm not talking because you've been talking and not giving me a chance! Also, hyung mentioned before that they were passing on the management jobs to other people so they would have more time alone." He nodded towards Seonghwa.
"Alright, stop bickering, and let us do the talking, okay?" Seonghwa looked between the couple. "As you might already know, the fifth branch of With U is already under way. Thanks to Jongho three years ago, we can let Nebula Group take over our jobs easily."
Hongjoong began patting Seonghwa's hand. "We've moved to a bigger house as well, and we think we're finally ready to add a little someone into our family." Everyone in the room grinned at that. "And since we have a friend who owns an orphanage, why not visit him?"
"Oh, you guys really didn't have to. But we'd definitely appreciate your donations." Yunho giggled, ignoring the nudge from Mingi. "But if you're not working at With U now, what will you do?"
"Well, we're thinking of starting another business, maybe a small online shop. So we can work from home." Seonghwa glanced at Hongjoong again. They seemed to be more in love with each other than Yunho had ever seen.
"But, um, I guess that can wait," Hongjoong said suddenly. "Since you have a lot of clients downstairs."
Mingi nodded. "Sure, if you don't mind. We're usually busier during summer and autumn, sorry. If you don't mind, we can chat, catch up a bit while we wait. Then we'll go downstairs to see the kids right before dinner." Then, as an afterthought, he added, just because he knew this was what Yunho would want: "Shall we eat dinner together tonight?"
To his expectations, Yunho sat up straight and clapped his hands. "That's a great idea! We have to!"
Hongjoong chuckled again. "Alright, it's not like we have plans tonight either. How about the others?"
He was referring to the old With U 'crew', including San, Wooyoung, Jongho, and Yeosang. Little did he know, none of them were in Korea right now.
Yunho, who had been in touch with Jongho, clarified that he had been traveling around the world since his father passed away. "He was his only direct relative, after all. I heard he brought Yeosang with him."
"Oh, really? We never heard any of it," Seonghwa said. "But shouldn't he be crazily busy? I mean, he's the successor of Nebula Group, right?"
"I'm not sure about that either." Yunho shrugged. "I bet he left all his work for his subordinates. But I hope they're having fun." An idea came to his mind. "Should I video call him? I bet he'd be happy to talk to you guys, too."
After a few tries, Jongho finally picked up. He seemed to be in a very dark place, because his face barely showed up on the screen.
In a groggy voice, he mumbled a hello.
"Jjongho! Why didn't you pick up earlier?" Yunho shouted into the microphone, making Jongho recoil. "Where are you now? Seonghwa-hyung and Hongjoong-hyung came to visit the orphanage! Say hi to them!"
"Hyung... I'm in Canada, and it's two in the morning." Through the screen, Jongho rolled onto his belly, the shuffling of his duvet loud through the speaker. "What is it?"
Mingi facepalmed himself, silently blaming Yunho for calling Jongho impulsively without checking first.
"Nothing, we just missed you, that's all! Is Yeosang there, too?"
"Do you really want to wake him up?" Mingi hissed. "Just hang up and stop bothering their sleep!"
But Yunho turned away and let Hongjoong hold the phone instead. A second figure appeared on the screen, walking in the background.
"It's okay, I'm already awake," Yeosang yawned and said. "Hi, everyone."
Seeing that there was no point in hanging up now that both of them were awake, Mingi gave in and joined in the conversation. He asked if they were having fun, to which they answered yes, followed by a brief list of the places and attractions they visited.
"How about you guys? How is your orphanage doing?"
Yunho opened his mouth to answer, but Mingi beat him to it, so he passed him the phone.
"It was tough when we first started a year and a half ago, to be honest. But thanks to your donations, business is great now."
"Sounds great," Yeosang remarked. "But are you guys enjoying it, too?"
"I'd say so," Yunho replied. "Although I'm just the owner and mostly deals with the paperwork, I sometimes hang out with the kids and reads to them. Mingi's one of the doctors in our clinic, too. He claims that the kids call him dad and that he's the most popular adult here, but I have my doubts," Yunho added with a smirk. In return, he got a death glare from Mingi.
Jongho chuckled softly. "Hyung, it's good to talk to you, but can we call another time?"
This time it was Seonghwa who spoke. "Of course. We have to keep in touch, though! You must have plans for tomorrow, I assume."
"By the way, have you guys been in contact with San or Wooyoung?" Hongjoong interrupted.
Mingi jumped at the opportunity, as if this was a race to see who could answer first. "I have. He started his first world tour recently, and Wooyoung's following him everywhere."
"Nice timing that you brought them up, hyung," Jongho said. "We're actually meeting up with them tomorrow. Earlier today, we went to his performance in Toronto. We talked briefly, and I think Wooyoung became a public figure, like a YouTuber of some sort. You guys could've easily found his name online."
"Wow, celebrity couple," Mingi couldn't help himself but exclaim.
"It was nice to catch up," Hongjoong announced, glancing at his watch. Almost an hour had passed. "But I think we should let you two sleep now."
"Thanks, hyung." Yeosang rubbed his eyes. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Everyone in Mingi's office waved at the small screen.
Seonghwa was about to ease himself back into the comfort of the armchair when he noticed for the first time the wall plaque that hung on the wall behind Mingi's desk. It stated the orphanage name in big words, while the small print denotes their slogan.
Hongjoong must have noticed it, too, because the next thing he did was ask the owners who came up with the name.
Both Yunho and Mingi turned their attention to the plaque and smiled, but said nothing.
"You guys totally plagiarized our name," Seonghwa joked. "I mean, it even sounds the same. With U and With You?"
Mingi blushed and dropped his gaze. "I- I mean... it was Yunho's idea."
"Hey... don't be like that." Hongjoong patted Seonghwa on the thigh. "It's a good thing they took inspiration, from us, don't you think?"
Yunho bobbed his head up and down. "Exactly. Even the slogan. I like to think that our orphanage is built on the same concept as your boyfriend-rental business." The confidence in his voice was undeniable.
"Can we go take a closer look?" Hongjoong pointed towards the plaque.
"Sure, go ahead." Mingi stood up with his guests.
Yunho followed, noting the time. "Afterwards we should go downstairs."
"Yeah, okay," mumbled Hongjoong, but his eyes were glued to the words in front of him.
✧ ✦ ✧
In With You, no one gets left behind.
We love every child equally,
and we'll forever stay with you.