Love Contract | haobin

Twenty-Four

"Papas! I see Gunwook! He's here!" Yujin runs towards the playground once they're out of the car.

"Yujin! Wait up!" Zhang Hao runs after him.

Hanbin stays a little more behind. It's time to see if he's really his brother. The last time he saw him was almost three years ago, so he'll definitely recognize him... But he doubts Gunwook will recognize him. Two years might not be too much for Hanbin, but they are for a child. Gunwook was only four when he last saw him.

Hanbin closes the car door before rushing over to Zhang Hao and Yujin, who are now next to a little boy with black hair. He's just a little bit taller than Yujin... and when he turns around, Hanbin notices it is him. That's his brother.

"Papas, this is Gunwook." Yujin points at him. "He didn't bring HaoHao though." He pouts.

"Hi, Gunwook." Zhang Hao smiles. "Yujin has talked a lot about you and HaoHao."

"Yujin told me he had two papas and I told him that was really cool!" Gunwook smiles.

"Do you come to this park often?"

"Not really." He pouts. "My grandma's the only one who can bring me here, but she's been getting sick these days and doesn't have much energy."

"Your grandma?" Hanbin asks him. "What about your parents?"

"My dad is almost always home, but he's busy."

"Busy?"

"He always grabs some drinks from the fridge and locks himself in his room. When he comes out, he yells at me." He frowns. "And I haven't seen my mom in a long time. I don't remember her."

"How old are you, Gunwook?" Hanbin asks him since he's not sure how old he'd be now.

"I'm almost seven."

"And who brought you today?"

"My grandma felt a little better today and brought me here. I'm not staying for too long."

"Where is she?" Hanbin asks him and Gunwook points towards a bench, where she's sitting at, falling asleep.

"Well, since Gunwook isn't staying for long, why don't you two go play in the playground?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Yujin starts jumping up and down before going up to the slide and Gunwook follows him.

"Is everything okay?" Zhang Hao asks Hanbin. He noticed he kept asking Gunwook questions.

"Gunwook's my brother."

"What?!" Zhang Hao asks, surprised. "What do you mean? It looked like he didn't even know you."

"My mother had a child with another man, not my father. She lost the custody almost three years ago and I hadn't seen Gunwook since. He was only four, so it's normal for him not to remember me. He's still just a kid." Hanbin sighs. "I tried to keep in touch with him, but his father didn't let me since he hates my mother."

"That's terrible." Zhang Hao pouts. "But what are you going to do now? Are you going to tell him you're his brother?"

"Probably not." Hanbin shakes his head. "What if he ends up telling his dad? He'd never let me stay in contact with him. Instead, I have another idea."

"What is it?" Zhang Hao asks him.

"I'll let you know later. Could you please watch the kids?" He asks him and Hao nods.

Hanbin starts walking over to where Gunwook's grandma is seated. "Hi, ma'am. I'm really sorry to disturb you..." Hanbin starts, making the old lady quickly sit up on the bench since she was half asleep. "It seems like my son and your grandson have started being really good friends. I was wondering if he could go to our house sometime. Of course you can come along."