𝓦𝓱𝓸 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾? - 𝓡𝓮𝓷𝓱𝔂𝓾𝓬𝓴

二十五 (Twenty-Five)

Haechan followed Renjun out the back door, confused. "What are we doing?"

"I wanted to take you away from the house. Nobody can find you out here." said Renjun. "Has your dad always...?"

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to. Haechan averted his gaze. "No... he was never really home, anyway. But when he did come home, he always seemed so nice... I never would've thought someone like him would be..."

Renjun nodded in understanding. "Sit down." he said quietly, nodding to the patch of grass near the tree. Haechan slid down onto the ground, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Renjun took a deep breath. "That could've been us." he said finally, pointing at a star in the sky. "We could've died, all those years ago, in that crash. But fate brought us this far. And even if life's not fair sometimes... we made it to where we are now for a reason. Don't let your dad convince you otherwise."

"But still... Renjunnie, what would you do if I left?"

Renjun wanted to cry upon hearing Haechan's words, but he held it in. "If you left, I would be nothing. You are my everything, Lee Haechan. Your dad might not be the father figure you deserve, but as long as I'm alive, there's someone on this planet who loves you and would die for you. Please stay with me, Haechannie."

Haechan let out a sob and buried his head in Renjun's chest, the elder gently rubbing small circles in his back. He hated that Haechan had to go through this. He didn't deserve this pain.

"I'm sorry." choked Haechan after a while, having calmed down slightly. "I shouldn't be like this. You've been through so much more than I have."

"Don't compare your experiences to mine." said Renjun. "Just because I lost my memory and all that doesn't mean you should be any happier than me. You're allowed to feel sad, no matter what you've been through. Besides, you waited for me for so long, only to find out I had no idea who you were. That must've been hard."

"It was." admitted Haechan. "When you asked who I was, I thought you were messing with me. But then I realized it was real, and..."

"I wish I could remember, I really do." said Renjun. "I want to remember our youth."

"It was so sweet." said Haechan, a fond smile on his face. "We would spend more time at each other's houses than our own. And this very tree... this is the tree we used to climb when we were little. You never wanted to do it, but I forced you. And once we were up there, anyone could tell you were having the time of your life. You were so cute..."

"Renjunnie, come on! Let's climb the tree!"

"I don't want to!"

"But it'll be fun!"

"No, Haechannie."

"Please?" pouted Haechan, making puppy eyes.

Renjun sighed and put his lemonade down. "You're cute." he said. "Alright, fine. But if I fall, I'm blaming you."

"Fair." shrugged Haechan. "But you won't fall! It can't be that hard, right?"

Renjun looked the tree up and down. "Um... have you done this before?"

"Nope!" said Haechan brightly, running towards the tree. "But don't worry, Eomma told us not to get hurt, so we won't! Right, Eomma?"

Mrs. Lee smiled from the porch, her hands on her pregnant stomach while two-year-old Haeyoung played with her toys beside her. "Have fun, you two."

"You go first." said Renjun, eyeing the height of the tree.

Haechan shivered slightly as he grabbed the tree, which didn't go unnoticed by Renjun.