❝Sometimes being the right person is not enough; because sometimes the right time is as important as the right person. So can time solve everything? Is meeting the right person at the wrong time a twist of fate or the beginning of a story that hasn'...
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Jihoon was sitting on the couch, looking at the faces of the men standing before him one by one. Felix knelt down in front of Jihoon. "Hi there, little one. I'm Felix," he said with a warm smile. Being a preschool teacher, he spent every day with children Jihoon's age.
Jihoon looked into Felix’s eyes for a moment. "Hello..." he said in a soft and shy voice. Everyone smiled as they heard the little boy's voice for the first time.
"How old are you?" Felix asked with a friendly tone. Jihoon thought for a moment and held up three fingers. Felix chuckled and gently ruffled Jihoon’s hair.
Seungmin glanced between Minho and Jihoon. "He looks like a smaller version of you," he remarked, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Looks like we've become uncles at this age," Jeongin joked, but nobody paid attention to him.
"You must be tired; the food is ready. Let’s set the table," Chan said, prompting everyone to get up. While the others headed toward the kitchen, Seungmin helped Minho carry his bags to the guest room.
"You didn’t have to, but thank you," Minho said, placing the bags down.
"It’s no trouble," Seungmin replied quietly.
Jihoon held his father’s hand as they walked toward the kitchen together. When everyone sat down at the table, Jihoon looked at the plate of food in front of him and pouted. "Dad, I don’t want to eat this."
Minho sighed and turned to his son. "Jihoon, I know you usually like this. Why don’t you want it now?"
"I just don’t want it," he said, crossing his arms. Minho sighed again. Sitting nearby, Seungmin leaned closer and spoke in a gentle tone: "Then what would you like to eat, Jihoon?"
Jihoon smiled. "I want pasta." Minho pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Seungmin, you don’t have to. He normally eats this."
Seungmin shook his head lightly as if to say it was fine and got up to gather the ingredients. "You all go ahead and eat. I don’t like eating hot food anyway," he said as the others started eating. Jihoon watched Seungmin curiously while waiting for his meal to be prepared.
Seungmin placed the pasta in a small bowl and set it in front of Jihoon. "Here you go, little one." Jihoon picked up his fork and smiled. "Thank you," he murmured, and Seungmin chuckled softly at the boy's politeness. "You’re welcome. Enjoy." The others smiled at Jihoon's cuteness and continued with their meals.
Minho, uncomfortable with the silence at the table, cleared his throat and started talking. "So, what have you all been up to lately?"
Changbin answered, "Work, mostly. Nothing new. Jisung’s still in school," he said with a light laugh. Jisung rolled his eyes. "That’s because I didn’t choose a four-year degree like you," he replied.
"Not my problem," Changbin retorted with a grin.
Minho smiled faintly. Everyone was still the same. This made him happy. It felt as if they had never been apart, as if he had always been with them.
