Beyond Alteration

M

5 August 2024

Junha didn't leave.

It was Hana's fifth birthday, half a year after Junha got admission into a police training academy in Daegu and declared that he wasn't going anywhere, and he didn't leave.

Of course, he had to spend the weekdays at the academy, but he could get back home for the weekends.

Both Hansung and Banshin were over the moon when Junha declared his ambition and decision about the academy he wanted to get into, but the person who was the most over the moon was Hana.

Her Papa and Banniepa had been preparing her for a few months that her brother wouldn't be around much after a few days, and they had seen the worst of her tantrums every time the topic came up. 

And so, when they explained to her that her oppa would come back home every weekend, she finally stopped being pissed at him and flashed him a little boxy grin that guaranteed his return every week. 

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Hana, happy birthday to you~" all of them sang as Hana stood on her toes on the little couch of their little villa that they had bought and moved into a year ago. 

Her eyes gleamed with all the stars in the world as she waited impatiently for them to finish singing so that she could have a piece of the cake that now seemed to be mocking her. 

Thankfully, her wait didn't stretch too long. Soon, her Banniepa and Papa were scooping her up in their arms and feeding her pieces of the delicious-looking cake. 

Once she was satisfied, she grabbed a piece and looked expectantly at her brother. "Oppa!!" she exclaimed excitedly, making Junha chuckle and take a step closer to spoil her with a cake piece and eat the one she was offering him. 

"Give Banniepa and Papa a piece each too, Hana!!" Seokjin exclaimed amusedly. 

Over the years, Hana almost became an extra limb with how hard she clung to Junha. Not that Junha minded, but there were times when he complained about not having his space. Especially when he had exams and she absolutely refused to leave him. 

"Fisht oppa!!" she said and happily pushed the little piece of cake in her hand into Junha's mouth. 

"Aww, cutie," Junha pinched her cheeks and bumped their foreheads before grabbing a huge piece of cake for her. Her eyes widened, and so did Hansung's, but before Hansung could scold him for trying to choke her, he shoved the entire piece into her mouth, stuffing it in when a large part of it didn't fit. 

"Happy, happy birthday, Hana!!!" he exclaimed in between fits of laughter as Hana struggled between feeling elated at the huge piece of cake in her mouth and actually chewing and swallowing the piece. 

Junha laughed harder when Hansung reached up to twist his ear. 

Because that's right, Hansung had to reach up to pull his ear. 

His teenage hadn't been easy on him. His body went through all kinds of changes, from weird beards to unnatural growth spurts to uncountable and un-pinchable acne. 

By the time his body finally stopped transforming, he had ended up a foot taller than both Banshin and Hansung. In fact, Namjoon had playfully stayed mad at him for almost a month for becoming taller than him. 

He got heavily teased by everyone around him for being too tall, but he long stopped bothering about it. His Papa had to look up at him if he wanted to scold him, and that was all he needed for his ego to be beyond satisfied.