Helium | 이희승 HEESEUNG

18 🎈

"Would you like to see appa?"

Seungyoon went completely still at the question, the straw slipping from his mouth as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Appa?"

Y/N nodded and raised the box a little. "Yes, baby. We have his pictures here."

"Pictures of my dad?" he asked again, like he was afraid this might somehow disappear if he believed it too quickly.

"Yes, baby. Your dad."

"He's real?" His small hands tightened around the banana milk carton.

The hope in Seungyoon's voice almost broke her, but Y/N managed a small smile.

"Of course he is."

Seungyoon nodded determinedly and sat up straighter, the sadness in his face slowly making room for something else.

"Yes," he said quickly. "I want to see him!"

Y/N smiled faintly and opened the box. Inside, everything was arranged carefully.

The photos were tied together with a thin ribbon. A few polaroids were tucked into a small paper envelope, their corners slightly faded with time. Beneath them were folded sheets of music, some covered in Heeseung's handwriting, some with little corrections and crossed-out notes in the margins.

One page held the melody of a song Y/N still remembered.

XO (Only If You Say Yes)

She remembered hearing it from the floor of their old apartment, soft and unfinished, long before anyone else knew it would become something more.

There were small things too: a black guitar pick with a worn edge, an old ticket stub from one of his street performances, and a tiny note he had left for her before leaving for training.

Her fingers hovered over the box for a moment, and the careful order of it made her chest ache.

For six years, she had told herself she was only keeping memories – proof that he had existed in her life before everything became too complicated to hold.

But looking at it now, with Seungyoon beside her, she realized the truth was simpler and harder.

She had cherished these things – quietly, secretly – even when she had no right to miss him.

Seungyoon leaned closer, his eyes round. "These are all appa's?"

"Yes. These are all things about him," Y/N answered softly as she carefully untied the ribbon.

She picked up the photo of Heeseung in the loose hoodie, hair falling messily over his forehead, smiling at something outside the frame.

He looked young and warm, like he belonged to an ordinary afternoon instead of a stage.

She placed another photo beside the first. In this one, Heeseung sat on the floor with an old notebook in his lap, one hand half-covering his face like he had been laughing at being photographed.

Behind it was another shot from a small street performance, his head bent toward a microphone, eyes closed, guitar strap crossing his shoulder.

Y/N placed the pictures in front of Seungyoon.

"See?" she said softly. "This is your dad."

Seungyoon leaned closer. "This is him?"

Y/N nodded.

The five year-old looked from one photo to the next, and little by little, the sadness in him gave way to something shy and bright.

"I like dad," he said. "He's very handsome."