This time it is different

Why

Sewoon placed his guitar into his room and sighed deeply. He did not want to burst out and get hit by Youngmin. He really didn't want to.

But it was the only way to cover the mistake he had made.

Leaning his head against the wall, the boy sighed again.

A soft knock was heard after a while.

The door was being opened and Mr. Hwang's face was seen.

The young teacher looked at his student and pulled the boy into a hug.

"They told me, you needed some space. Sewoon-ah. Don't call me Mr. Hwang now. Talk to me, as the Hyung you know."

"Minhyun-hyung... You know, I don't want to call you that way."

"But Howon would kill me, if he'd see you calling me like that.

"Howon is dead." Sewoon turned around and his eyes had turned wet. "Howon died because of me, Hyung. Why can't you understand it?

I killed him!"

A short break was followed after this. Minhyun looked at the boy in his arms. The younger brother of his childhood friend.

- Minhyun's flashback -

I was studying in my small apartment far away from Busan, in Seoul.

After graduating from High School and leaving Busan I decided to become a teacher. The orphanage I had lived in gave me the desire to help children on their way into the future.

It wasn't a special day at all. I was facing the usual stress I faced during exam period. These exams would be the last exams of my life, because if I passed, I'd be officially a teacher.

While studying my phone rang. I raised an eyebrow and looked at it. To my surprise I did not know the number calling me.

"Hwang Minhyun here, who is talking?", I said.

"Hyung, it's me, Howon." My eyes widened as I heard the voice of my old friend from busan. We both grew up in the same orphanage but he was several years younger. Still, we befriended and had kept in touch ever since I left. Usually he called me from the official orphanage phone.

"Howon-ah, what's wrong? Why aren't you calling from the usual phone?", I wondered. "Listen Hyung, I cannot tell you a lot. All I need to do now, is ask you for a huge favor. If anything happens to me and Sewoon is left alone, will you take care of him? If he ever comes to you and asks for help, will you treat him like a sibling?"

My eyes widened. I knew his little brother pretty well. Sewoon was a cheerful guy, that stayed close to Youngmin, Donghyun and Jaehwan. We all could tell that one day he and Jaehwan would become a couple, but this didn't matter right now. The request Howon asked me sounded ridiculous and scaring at the same time.

"Howon-ah. Is everything okay? Like what is supposed to happen?"

"Hyung, I am just asking in case. If anything happens to me, I need to know that Sewoon has a place to run to. I can't tell you why I am scared, so please don't interrogate me. All I need to know, is that he will have someone to look after him. Of course, the other boys will do that, but he needs a father. All these years this has been me, but who take that role, when I am gone? Listen, I love him with all my heart, so please promise me, that you will do this."

I could hear him trying to hide his tears. So I did not interrogate anymore, even though I wanted to so badly. Looking back from now, maybe I should have.