Chapter Text
"For the record, I never messaged you. You went to all of the places you thought he'd be and found him here." Jihoon says and Seungcheol smiles and lets himself in as Jihoon steps away from the door.
"I kind of figured. Well… Wonwoo did. He trusts all of you guys but we both know he trusts you enough not to tell on him to us." Seungcheol says and Jihoon laughs a little.
"Yeah, so don't fuck it up by telling him I called you. He's in the guest room." Jihoon says and Seungcheol sighs.
"I won't." Seungcheol says and he toes off his shoes and heads for the guest room in Jihoon's condo that they all once called as Soonji's room.
The room was sufficiently furnished as it was but the finishing touches of two travel bags by the bed and a duffel bag on top of the bed really puts everything together. And Soonji hiding under the covers and a hoodie was just the cherry on the top. Seungcheol sits on the foot of the bed and stares at the framed records on the walls of Jihoon's achievements through the years.
"Were you ever planning on telling us that you were here? And that you were alive and safe?" Seungcheol asks the room and he hears a disgruntled grunt behind him and the ruffling sound of someone turning under the covers. As if not looking at each other wasn't enough for Soonji that he has to physically turn away from Seungcheol's general direction.
"Eventually."
"Eventually… alright." Seungcheol says and he gets up and looks around the room. Soonji has pulled the covers up to his neck and pulled his hood down to cover his eyes. Seungcheol can't tell if he's trying hard to pretend to sleep or if he's really asleep and trying his best to keep up with the conversation.
"Did you need anything?" Soonji asks and Seungcheol can't help but scoff a little.
"No, actually. Apparently, you don't either, right? You're all set here from the look of things. I'm sure Jihoon would be thrilled to have you for the break."
"Aren't you a little too old for this kind of sarcasm?"
"And aren't you a little too old for this kind of tantrum?" Seungcheol asks back and Soonji gets up and pulls his hood off of his face and glares at Seungcheol. His hair is once again completely different from the last time they saw him and now he's decided the sides of his head doesn't need any kind of hair.
"You think this is me throwing a fit over spending the break with you? Really? How stupid do you think I am?"
"You know what? That's the thing. We know you're far from stupid so what I can't understand is why you're acting like it!"
"Did you not hear him? He's so far up his own ass that he can't-"
"Do not talk about your father like that, Soonji." Seungcheol cuts him off before he hears any more and Soonji takes a deep breath before getting his feet off the bed and slouching on the edge of the bed.
"I'm not here to lecture you or to even talk to you because frankly, that last stunt you pulled is still not forgiven. You don't get to use your dad's insecurities against him just because you two are arguing." Seungcheol says and Soonji glances up at him for a second but it was enough for Seungcheol to know he's at least upset about it as well. "I was just making sure you're alive because your dad's worried and now that I know you're alive I'm going to go. If you wanna come home, I want you to know that you can. But we will have to talk when you do. So if you need time and space away from us then we understand. But the least you could've done was tell us. So call us next time." Seungcheol says and Soonji nods.
"You don't have to come for Christmas and New years." Soonji looks up at Seungcheol with those sad eyes he's never gotten to see much since he started high school and Seungcheol has to fight the urge to haul him over his shoulder and bring him back home right now.
"We would all want you to be there but it'd be better if you come only if you want to. Do you understand?" Seungcheol asks and Soonji nods.
"Try not to bother your uncle Jihoon while you're crashing here, alright? Because he will kick you out if you piss him off and then I won't know where to come and find you." Seungcheol offers and Soonji smiles a little.
"I won't bother him, dad. I'll… I'll be fine. I'll…"
"I'll try to come home before christmas." Soonji says, looking down on the floor between his feet and Seungcheol sighs.
He's never really gotten this tough parenting down properly.
"Come here." Seungcheol says and Soonji gets up and hugs him. Seungcheol rubs his back and lets Soonji hide his face on his shoulder.
"Your dad's not mad, alright? He's more hurt than anything so I need you to fix this, okay?" Soonji pulls back from the hug and nods.
"Alright. I'm gonna go now. Be good, alright? We'll wait for you back home." Seungcheol says and he pats Soonji's back and rushes out the room before he starts breaking.
Seungcheol finds Jihoon in his living room and he smiles the moment he sees Seungcheol's face. "I'm pretty sure the kid is supposed to be the one holding back his tears when it comes to stuff like this." Jihoon says and he gets up and laughs at Seungcheol's face.
"Shut up. Can you just- He's gonna need to crash here for a while. I hope that's okay." Jihoon shrugs and crosses his arms over his chest.
"Fine by me. This place feels a little lonely around this time of the year anyways. Is he gonna come with me on Christmas or are you guys picking him up?"
"Actually I told him he doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to." Seugncheol says and Jihoon snorts.
"You're shit at being a strict parent Cheol. Honestly."
"Knock it off. I'm trying to make him come on his own. If he comes because I told him to, he'd just get worse and it might ruin the party."
"What is this even about? Like, why did it have to come to him not coming home to you guys?"
"He- We all talked. About Wonwoo's family. More specifically, we talked about his dad."
"And, what?"
"What do you think? Wonwoo tells him about his fucked up dad trying to reconnect and Wonwoo rejecting him for years. How do you think that translates to Soonji?" Seungcheol asks and Jihoon frowns and huffs out an irritated sigh.
"That's fucked up. There was so much more at play there than just that."
"I know that. We know that but Soonji doesn’t. He didn't give us a chance to tell him because he… well he was pretty hurt. Considering…" Seungcheol says and Jihoon sighs.
"He'll be alright here." Jihoon says and Seungcheol lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"I know. But just- You don't have to talk to him about that."
"I don’t have to or you don't want me to?"
"Both."
"I won't." Jihoon says. Seungcheol puts on his shoes and looks up at Jihoon.
"I won't! You're honestly doing better than I thought you would with this whole tough love approach so I'll help but I won't overstep."
"Thanks. Really. I'm glad he's smart enough to come to you."
"I'm glad he's smart enough not to go to Jeonghan and Joshua. They would have hidden him so well we'd spend the entire second half of the month looking for him all over." Jihoon says and Seungcheol laughs.
"Thanks again. And not that I'd admit this to anyone else nor will I ever say I admitted this at all. But I think this is a good tell on who his favorite uncle is." Seungcheol says and Jihoon rolls his eyes.
"I could've told you who his favorite uncle was ten years ago." Jihoon says and Seungcheol laughs and says his goodbye.
Seugncheol had half a mind on calling Wonwoo on his drive home but he'd rather not leave Wonwoo with his thoughts all alone right now. Especially now that it's about Soonji. So Seungcheol toughs it out and drives home hoping that Wonwoo's not expecting Soonji to be with him when he gets home.
"Hey." Seungcheol calls out and Wonwoo looks up from his laptop and smiles at him.
"Hey. Was he-" "He's there. You were right. And he's fine. I told him what you told me and he said he'll try to come home before christmas." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo's smile drops a little.
"That's good right?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol walks up to him and nods before pulling him in for a hug.
"We want him to come home when he feels like coming home. Right?"
"Right. But-" "No buts."
"Cheol… This- it's going to sound like I'm saying I told you so but this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't told him."
"Is that really what you're gonna take from this?"
"If I hadn't told him about my dad then none of this would've-" "Again with this. Wonwoo this isn't because of that."
"It is! And you know that it is!"
"It's not! He just doesn't understand your perspective on things. He couldn't possibly know what you should or shouldn't have done because he doesn’t know half the shit that you've been through." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo lets out a shaky exhale before reaching for his hand.
"You're right. He doesn't. Not like you." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol takes a deep breath to keep himself from tearing up. Just the thought of him makes Seungcheol so mad it's ridiculous.
"I thought we were done with you fighting my fights for me."
"Yeah, well. They're not just your fights anymore when we got married so technically I'm not fighting your fights. Because they're mine too." Seungcheol argues and Wonwoo sighs.
"But this is Soonji. He's not- He just doesn’t completely understand everything. I don't want this fight to get any worse than it already is so I need you to try to take a step back and let me lead, even just this one time." Wonwoo pleads and Seungcheol lets out a frustrated huff.
They both know he'll agree to it but that doesn't mean Seungcheol can't dislike the idea.
"I just hate that he's still making your life complicated even after we cut ties with him decades ago." Seungcheol admits and Wonwoo hums.
"I know. I… About that. I actually wanted to talk to you about something. About Christmas."
"Okay?"
"I called my brother."
"No."
"Cheol-" "No. We're not going to go there."
"Listen. I think I need this too."
"Soonji doesn't know what he was saying when he said that."
"I know that. But he is kind of right."
"Wonwoo."
"I know, okay? Just the thought of going there makes me feel like throwing up but I really think I need this." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol takes a step back and takes several deep breaths before turning to look back at Wonwoo.
"Running away from my family was what I needed back then but if I don't do this then it'll feel like I'm still running. And I'm… I'm tired of running. I'm tired of actively looking away when they pass by and as much as I don't want to admit it, Soonji was right about one thing. I am ignoring a family I still have when some people don't even have any left."
"That's not fair. Everyone knows that that is not fair on you. It's not as simple as that."
"I know that. But Cheol, Soonji's about to graduate college and my brother hasn't even seen him yet."
"Because he keeps saying he won't meet us unless he brings your dad with him. That is not on us."
"Cheol I'm just tired of all of this. Please. Let's do this my way and if it all goes to shit then you can blame it on me."
"That's the thing! You know this is probably gonna go to shit! It's like you're expecting it to go to shit."
"It's Christmas dinner and then we're done. I promise."
"I really don't like this Wonwoo. If any of them start anything-" "We'll go the second you feel like punching someone."
"That is not a good joke, Wonwoo."
"I know. I wasn't joking." Wonwoo says and he kisses Seungcheol's cheek and wraps his arms around his waist.
"If your dad somehow ends up being the guy to open the door for us then we're leaving the minute he opens the door. I've wanted to punch him since we started dating." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.
"I know. Let's just get through christmas and then you can lecture me all you want about wanting to destroy my family." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol huffs out a laugh before Wonwoo drags him to the kitchen for some late night beer and ice cream.
When Soonji said he was gonna come home before christmas Seungcheol didn't think he'd be waking up to him cooking breakfast for them the next morning. Jihoon was sitting at their dining table having coffee and he smiled as Seungcheol saw him. "Morning." Jihoon says with a smile and Soonji turns from the stove and smiles a little at Seungcheol.
Seungcheol sighs. He grabs Jihoon by the back of his shirt and drags him towards Wonwoo's study. "Can you make me a cup of coffee?" Seungcheol says to Soonji and he nods and stares as Jihoon tries to pry Seungcheol's hand off of him.
Seungcheol shoves Jihoon inside and sighs as he closes the door.
"I told you not to talk to him."
"I didn't!"
"Cut the crap, Ji." Seungcheol says and Jihoon rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.
"This is what I get for saving your christmas?"
"I needed him to come on his own. Not to come home out of pity."
"Okay, I knew you were an idiot but that's stupid as fuck."
"You don't get it."
"No, you don't get it! Soonji is old enough to be told shit about this family. About our family. He's old enough to know that shit he says can weigh more than he intended them to when he doesn't know the whole fucking story. And you need to know that Soonji is smarter than both you and Wonwoo combined." Jihoon says and Seungcheol takes a deep breath and groans.
"If you think Soonji came home out of pity then you're being unfair to him. And he deserves more credit than that Cheol." Jihoon says and Seungcheol wants to pull his hair out because now he really doesn't know what to fuckign do.
"How much did you tell him?"
"Everything. You of all people should know that giving him a page out of a whole book would not help in pacifying him."
"I'm not trying to pacify him. I'm just trying to ease the story out."
"Ease the story out?"
"It's better than dropping the whole thing on top of his head!"
"Better for him? Or better for Wonwoo?"
"Jihoon-"
"Wonwoo doesn't need you to keep protecting him from this, Seungcheol."
"I know that! Okay! That's the thing! I never got to protect him from it! From him or any of his fucking family!"
Jihoon's glare had suddenly turned soft. Seungcheol realises what he said a moment after he's said it and he forces himself to breathe as Jihoon sighs.
"All my life I kept telling myself 'If only I had met him sooner, I could've been there for him. I could have helped him in some way.' But now that they're back and I am here with him I still can't do shit for him. I'm tired of seeing how much his family affects him and I'm tired of seeing how much effort he puts in hiding how much they scare him."
"But letting him lie isn't gonna help him, Cheol. Maybe he needs this."
"I don't care. If I can keep him away from those people for one more day then I'll do it. They don't deserve Wonwoo."
"Well… I'm not going to apologise because Soonji is not ten anymore, Seungcheol. You're so hung up on keeping him away from the issue and protecting Wonwoo that you didn't even entertain the thought that maybe he wants to protect Wonwoo just as much as you do." Jihoon says and he walks past Seungcheol to open the door and they both quietly walk out and head for the kitchen. Where Wonwoo was already hugging Soonji and patting his back as he hides his face on Wonwoo's shoulder.
Jihoon leaves after their breakfast without another word to Seungcheol but Seungcheol knows everything Jihoon had wanted to say to him. He knows. Jihoon drags Soonji out to his car and Wonwoo and Seungcheol watch by the door. Soonji's about the same height as Jihoon now but something about the way he looks at Jihoon shows just how much he looks up to him. "Soonji said he's coming with us for Christmas." Wonwoo adds and Seungcheol sighs. "I figured." "Yeah well I was thinking of making him sit it out for now but he said something that convinced me otherwise." Seungcheol turns to Wonwoo but Wonwoo's just smiling at Jihoon and Soonji outside. "He said he apologises in advance if he ends up punching someone because he'll only do it if they deserve it." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol feels a bit of guilt with how proud he is of their son. "Don't get smug. You shouldn't be encouraging that kind of thing with your son." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol shrugs. "Then you shouldn't have encouraged that kind of behaviour with your husband." Seungcheol says and Jihoon finally drives off and Soonji smiles back at them before running back inside, shivering from the cold.
"Hey. I didn't think you guys would be here so early. Yeorum went out with her boyfriend but she'll be back later." Soonyoung says and Seungcheol smiles as Soonji greets Soonyoung with a quick Merry Christmas before walking pass him and going inside the house. Soonyoung stares at him as he does and then he turns to Seungcheol and Wonwoo.
"So I'm guessing the dinner went well?"
"It kind of did. Kind of didn't." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol sighs.
"Let's just say it's been a really long night for the family." Seungcheol says and Soonyoung stares at him.
"It's only nine-thirty."
"Exactly." Seungcheol says and Soonyoung smiles softly at Wonwoo and pulls him in and let's Seungcheol close the door on his way in.
Seungcheol knows Wonwoo doesn't like drinking when Seungcheol isn't but Seungcheol knows he really needs a drink or two so he leaves Soonyoung to it and watches as Soonyoung and Jeonghan talk to Wonwoo at the same time while Joshua's watching Mingyu and Soonji doing something in the kitchen and taking a video of them on his phone.
"So." Jihoon starts, leaning back on the table next to Seungcheol, and Seungcheol groans.
"That bad huh?"
"Oh no, the dinner went well, Ji."
"What?"
"Yup."
"Then what's up with you guys?"
"Yeah, well. The dinner was okay but Wonwoo and Soonji may not be in talking terms again." Seungcheol says and Jihoon stares at him.
"What the fuck happened?"
What happened? Wonwoo's dad happened.
Everything was going smooth. Everything was fine and planned and the only talk in the car on their way there is Soonji asking for a list of names so he won't be going in completely blind. But Wonwoo reassures him that he didn't need it because it's just Wonwoo's brother's family and Wonwoo's father. And Wonwoo was right. He didn't need the list because Bohyuk introduces everyone one by one to them and Soonji gets to meet three cousins he never knew about.
Seungcheol remembers Subin. Bohyuk's introduced her to them when they started dating and Seungcheol remembers how he had to meet with her to explain why he and Wonwoo can't attend their wedding years back. She still smiles the same and Seungcheol can't help but remember the time they talked about having to take care of the Jeons because they're a little helpless sometimes.
They have three kids now. One that is just about to graduate highschool, one that's about to start highschool, and the youngest was just five that Seungcheol thinks looks more like Wonwoo than his brother. It was tense all throughout the introductions but there was more joy and genuine happiness covering the awkwardness of it all that Seungcheol didn't feel the need to be on high alert anymore.
But then dinner came and he got out of his room and Seungcheol can feel the tension in the air as he slowly makes his way to his seat with his cane and then he grunts and checks everyone seated in the table.
And then he stares at Wonwoo as Wonwoo looks down on his plate.
"Didn't think you'd make it." Sharp. Curt. Exactly like how Seungcheol remembers him.
"Hyuk asked me to." Wonwoo answers calmly and Seungcheol regrets sitting Soonji in between them because now he wants to get up and stand behind Wonwoo as they talk.
"He's been asking for years and you decided to just show up now?" Seungcheol hears Soonji let out an affronted huff but he stays seated as Wonwoo turns to look at his dad.
"Yeah. I figured I'd regret it more if I kept putting this off."
"I didn't think that's how you prioritize your family." Seungcheol was a second away from getting up and dragging his family out of this house when Soonji holds him down on his seat. Seungcheol looks down and he sees Wonwoo doing the same to Soonji.
"I didn't think you still see us as a family." Wonwoo says and he smiles at his father and then looks to Bohyuk from across the table.
Wonwoo's dad lets out one final grunt at Wonwoo and then his gaze moves a seat down from him and Seungcheol tenses as Soonji holds his gaze.
"Whos this?"
"This is our son, Soonji." Wonwoo says and his dad just stares at Soonji and Seungcheol has the same urge to stand behind him.
"Why are you letting him ruin his hair like that?" Wonwos's dad wasn't even done with the question before Soonji's scoffing.
"It's kind of funny how he said the exact same thing when he first saw my hair." Soonji says and he laughs a little. Wonwoo gives him a smile and everyone at the table does as well.
"If he's old enough to have his own place then he's old enough to decide on his haircut." Wonwoo says and his dad drops his scowl for a second, just looking at Soonji with heavy, sad eyes, and he sighs.
"Did you bring him here to gloat? That you managed on your own? That you managed to become a good father even without me?" Seungcheol didn't need to hold Soonji back this time because Wonwoo does it for him again.
"You don't need me for that, dad. You already saw how Bohyuk managed to become a great dad even with you around." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol watches Bohyuk sigh and lower his head.
"Did you come here to ruin the dinner for everyone?" Wonwoo's dad brings back his signature scowl and Wonwoo smiles.
"Dad, that's enough. Wonwoo's-"
"No. I came here to show Bohyuk why I never wanted to come back." Wonwoo cuts Bohyuk off and he takes a deep breath and smiles at his father.
"Thanks for living up to my expectations." Wonwoo says and his father slams his hand on the table and then pushes himself up on his feet before walking away.
"So Soonji's mad at Wonwoo's dad? He's mad that he didn't get to tell him off himself?" Jihoon asks and Seungcheol sighs.
"No. He's mad at Bohyuk."
"Oh." Given how Jihoon didn't have to ask anything else means he knows why.
"He- God, Ji. I don't know if it was better that we stayed for dinner after that or not because Soonji exploded on the way here after talking with his cousins and you know, being civil on the table. He kept asking why Bohyuk's 'siding' with their father and why he'd put Wonwoo in that situation in the first place…"
"And Wonwoo told him off."
"Well, yeah. You know how Wonwoo is with Bohyuk. He still visited home when we were in college just to make sure Bohyuk was fine. How do you think he feels now that his son is trash talking his baby brother?"
"That’s… fucked up."
"Now I really don't know what to do. Because… I didn't want to say it in front of Wonwoo but Soonji has a point. Bohyuk's been pushing for them to make up but everyone knows it's never going to happen. And it's been making Wonwoo uncomfortable because I feel like he really wants to do it for Hyuk."
"Well, Soonji didn't punch anyone, you didn't punch anyone, and Wonwoo's laughing at Soonyoung drinking wine from a bottle. I think everything's good." Jihoon teases and Seungcheol groans.
"Hey uncle Ji! What did you do to my pie?" Soonji calls out and they all turn to look at them. Seungcheol turns to Jihoon and he just smiles at Soonji.
"Pie?"
"He left a pie at my place and gave me instructions on how to cook it for tonight."
"And you fucked it up."
"Let's put it this way. I didn't know my oven worked until today." Jihoon says and Seungcheol laughs as he pushes Jihoon towards the kitchen.
"It's burnt!" Soonji screams and Seungcheol laughs.
"Lets see if you're still his favorite uncle after tonight." Seungcheol whispers to Jihoon and pushes him towards Mingyu before walking out of the kitchen.
"I made this for dad! Now it's burnt and… raw in the middle?" Soonji's voice sounds so sad that Seungcheol feels a little bad for finding it funny.
"Everything okay in there?" Wonwoo asks him and Seungcheol nods.
"Soonji's mad Jihoon ruined a pie he made for you." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles and watches them over Seungcheol's shoulder.
"What about you? Everything alright? They'll understand if you wanna head home for the night." Seungcheol offers and Wonwoo smiles at him and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
"No, it's fine. I'm fine. I think this is what I need right now. Time with my family." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol stares at him and sees him genuinely smile as Seungcheol cups his face in his hands and he thinks this is okay. Given how he expected this night to go, he thinks this is more than okay.
Wonwoo's with family. Soonji's screaming in the kitchen where Mingyu's holding him back from attacking Jihoon and Soonyoung comes up from behind Wonwoo to hug him and drag him back to their table.