Party of Eight

Reunited

August 2021

They were finally on their way back to Korea.

It had been over a year since Hyunjin had seen Minho, and although he was happy being with Chan, nothing was ever quite as comforting as Minho's presence.

Chan was like his parent. He loved Chan, and would still choose to live with him, just because he felt secure that way. But he missed his big brother too.

Minho wasn't particularly gentle or overly affectionate. He was fairly rigid, and if you didn't know him, you might be intimidated by his expressions and personality.

But he was Hyunjin's pillar. The one he always felt lost without.
When Minho wasn't around, Hyunjin felt anxious.
Like he did when he lost his parents. He was so young then, and as soon as they were gone, Minho became the only person he relied on.
He never wanted to be away from him, for fear of losing him when he was little.

At least he always knows that Minho is still there even though he is far away.

But, now, after a year of being apart, he was just so relieved to see Minho again. But it almost brought back the feelings of being separated from his parents, which he didn't like to be reminded of.


Their plane just landed. Hyunjin hadn't realized it, but when they were in Canada, he had taken on such an "oldest child" role.
As soon as they got out of the plane, he felt like a little kid, looking for his big brother.

As soon as he spotted Minho, he ditched the younger kids and Chan, and sprinted toward him.

Minho barely had time to see Hyunjin coming.
He was hardly able to get up from his seat when he was suddenly wrapped in a hug by his baby brother.
How did Hyunjin grow so tall in just one year?
He looked so grown up, but he had the same dramatic personality.
Minho felt so lighthearted, he couldn't help but laugh.

Chan and the other kids followed behind.

Minho, acting like himself as always, began scolding Hyunjin.

"Have you not cut your hair since you left Korea?" He asked, flicking Hyunjin's hair out of his face.

"Umm..." Hyunjin barely had time to respond.

"Did Chan hyung let you go to school like this?!"

"Well yeah."

"You're getting a haircut. Tomorrow."

Chan watched from a ways away as they walked toward them. He could hear Hyunjin already getting scolded, so he just stood and watched with a smile for a bit as the other kids ran toward Minho too.

Somehow this felt so comforting to Hyunjin.
Just to hear Minho's familiar scolding, and to be next to him, felt safe.
(Although he was gonna put up a fight about getting a haircut.)

"I missed you, Hyung." Hyunjin said.

"I missed you more, Hyunjin." Minho said, actually becoming emotional.

Minho took a moment to just stare at Hyunjin, as if to check him over.
To see Hyunjin so grown up pricked his heart.
He felt a sense of pride as he thought about their parents, and how relieved they would be to see that the kids were all growing up so well. And he was relieved too.

Minho wrapped Hyunjin in another hug until the rest of the kids made it over.
Minho pulled the group of kids into a big hug, and they all stayed there for a while.
Then he lifted Seungmin up and spun him around, which was hard to do since Seungmin was the tallest of the triplets.

Seungmin obviously missed Minho much more than he would ever admit, considering he wrapped his arms around Minho's neck and let him spin him without any resistance.
"Did you miss me, Seungminie?" Minho asked.

Seungmin nodded with a big grin.

Then Chan came.
He wrapped Minho in a hug and kissed his cheek.
Minho sighed with a smile. Chan was always going to treat him like a kid, no matter what.

"Hi hyung." Minho grinned.
"Hey Min. Still as handsome as you were last year, I see." Chan teased.
Minho rolled his eyes.
"Did you drive here?" Chan asked.
"Yeah. But we'll have to get a taxi too. Not everyone will fit in the car." Minho replied.
"It looked pretty rainy out there." Chan said
"Yeah. It's rainy and chilly." Minho replied.


Once they got back to the apartment, they all waited for Changbin to get home from work.