A Wish Upon a Star | Yeonbin ✓

XXXVIII

That night, as Soobin got into bed, he looked up at his ceiling and reminisced the day he had had. He wondered what Yeonjun thought of him. Though Yeonjun hadn't responded as he'd desired, Soobin, perhaps to keep himself happy, concluded that Yeonjun did have some sort of feelings for him, perhaps not yet noticed.

The next morning, Soobin woke up from a surreal dream. In his dream, he'd seen a young boy, about 5 playing with him, also 5. They had been at the park near his old house, they'd talked about their favorite cartoons and had pushed each other on the swings, ending the day by carving their names on the handle bar of the slide. Then he'd bid goodbye to the boy and had went home to witness his parents fighting. And just as the parents saw tiny five-year-old Soobin listening in, Soobin had woken up.

Soobin took deep breaths as he woke up from the dream that had escalated from a play date to the frightful scene of his parents fighting. Memories of his childhood suddenly flooded Soobin's mind, he remembered that it was the first time he'd seen his parents fight, the first time that had led to many others. He remembered how they'd both seen him and had consoled him and told him it was just a "silly argument." Soobin remembered how his parents had then made up on the spot, the family having a group hug and then giving each other tiny pecks on the cheek. Now that Soobin thought about it, the making up part had been fake, he remembered how that night, after tucking him into bed, they'd had a hushed argument, thinking that their son was asleep and couldn't hear.

At the sudden resurface of his buried memories, tears sprung to his eyes but Soobin swallowed the feeling, dried his eyes and got ready for school. As Soobin went to the kitchen to grab an apple, he saw his mum and his stepdad in the dining area, both talking to each other as they shared a plate of toast and eggs. Soobin smiled to himself, though he didn't get along with his stepdad and either of his stepbrothers, he was happy to see his mum smile. Soobin unknowingly smiled to himself just as his mum looked up and met his eyes.

"You look happy today, did something good happen?" his mum asked warmly.

"Good Morning, boy," his stepdad greeted before going back to eating.

"Yeah, Good Morning," Soobin said politely with a small bow as he made his way to the door.

As Soobin wore his shoes, his mum came, "Son?" His mum hesitantly asked.

"Yeah?" Soobin looked up, surprised.

"I'm- It's- I'm glad to see you happy these days," his mum nervously said with an awkward smile.

"H-Huh?" Soobin asked tentatively.

"You look better these days, son," his mum smiled, though slightly unsure.

"Oh, yeah, t-thanks. I'll be on- I'll be going then...mum," Soobin stumbled on his words nervously.

"Bye, son," his mum smiled as Soobin opened the door and left.

Soobin silently walked his way to school, alone with his thoughts. He wondered what his mum had meant, did he really look happier these days? Soobin suddenly came into the realization that these days he was happier than he'd been in a long while. The last he'd been this happy, his parents had been together. Had he really not experienced genuine happiness ever since the divorce?

As Soobin walked, a voice called out from in front him, "Hi Soobinnie!" It was Yeonjun who was smiling at him and waving hello.

Soobin waved back, "Hi, hyung." Just as the words left Soobin's mouth, he was hit with yet another realization: the boy in his dream had been Yeonjun.