4:33 | l.hs & k.sn

t w e n t y - f o u r

may 16, 2020

sunoo is late, again.

it is not intentional anymore, he swears, but he realizes he got overconfident and did not set an alarm to wake up at 6 in the morning. now here he is, running against time and hoping his boyfriend wouldn't wait too long for him.

he trudges down the stairs, yells a hurried goodbye to his parents, and is about to open the door when,

"sunoo-ah, wait," his dad calls him from the living room.

sunoo stops just an inch from turning the knob and hesitates. what does his dad need with him now?

"dad, i'm really late for something. maybe later?" he tries, albeit in vain because his dad presses on the topic.

"you took these pictures?"

sunoo's stomach drops. no. not now.

i don't want to hear it.

before he can utter a response or more accurately, leave without giving one, his dad emerges from the living room, phone in hand.

he does not immediately process things until the screen is being pushed towards his direction, showing a candid of the flag ceremony at the school field and under it, his name.

sunoo bites the inside of his cheek to restrain himself from saying things he would probably regret. he puts on a neutral expression - hoping it would be believable - before nodding.

his dad imitates the gesture, lips thinned. "they're good pictures," he says as his mouth reluctantly forms to a small smile.

sunoo remains mute, the ends of his shirt crumpled between his fingers.

"you take pictures for the school?"

somehow, sunoo finds the confidence to look at his dad in the eye. "yeah." his courage vanishes into thin air just as quick as it materialized.

his dad sighs, disappointment reeking from his breath. doesn't he ever get tired?

"sunoo, why didn't you tell us?"

sunoo nearly rolls his eyes but latches onto the remaining respect he has for the man he believes acts like his father.

"you were never supportive, dad. what could make me think telling you will change that?"

clearly taken aback by the obvious, his dad lightly shakes his head as if to deny it but he is not fooling anyone. certainly not sunoo.

sunoo releases a quiet sigh. he doesn't have time for this. his heeseung-hyung is waiting for him.

"i'll be going now."

the door shuts quietly behind him, the last picture he sees being his father glued to his place, stunned.

mood basically spoiled, sunoo runs all the way to the basketball court. in more or less than 15 minutes, like clockwork, he brightens up when he sees heeseung... and euijoo?

the youngest lee embodies his mom so much that the resemblance is striking. sunoo can see how his arms are crossed, eyes narrowed sharply as his mouth moves in irritated motions at heeseung.

sunoo's boyfriend, on the other hand, looks as exasperated as can be. heeseung is leaning against one of the pillars, eyes closed, and one can only know he is listening to euijoo through the tired furrow of his brows, the pressure in his mouth, and the occasional nods.

sunoo stops, a crazy idea transpiring in his mind.

"hyung, stop sulking. if you didn't pull a disappearing act last week, i wouldn't be here chaperoning you two," euijoo explains, hands moving in big, messy gestures.