Chapter Text
The old town sign was the exact same as it was when Seungmin had left. It was worn and battered, the old paint peeling at the corners
It made Seungmin's breath hitch. He was home.
Home had always seemed so far away from his tiny, modern apartment in the city. But now he was back, even if only for a week.
The roads were in need of replacement like they always had been, but the bumps along the way as Seungmin drove to his childhood home were familiar and comforting.
The sights around him were reminders of the way he grew up.
The old candy shop on the corner.
The bed and breakfast he stayed at after prom.
The old park where he first kissed another boy on the swings.
It all seemed a little dimmer, not as sparkly as it did to Seungmin when he was a child, but he loved it just the same.
Seungmin soon pulled up at the small brick house of his childhood and his late night dreams. The pathway was still cracked, echos of promises of it being redone every year echoing through his head.
The once lively rose bush was now bare due to the frosty air but he still remembers how it smelled during the peak of spring.
It was home.
Seungmin got out of his truck, an old hand me down from his dad. He wrapped his jacket tighter around himself. He took a step forward, breathing in the icy air before he headed inside.
The warmth hit him right away. The house smelled like cinnamon and orange peels, a staple for the holidays in the Kim household. The hallway was lined with Christmas lights and stockings.
As Seungmin moved towards the kitchen it was like he was transported back in time to when he didn't have to worry. Where he could just be a kid and live freely.
Seungmin's dad, Hajoon, was standing over the stove, a spoon in hand as he stirred some sugar for candied orange peels.
"Dad," Seungmin says, trying to get the gray haired man's attention.
Hajoon froze. He turned around, studying Seungmin for a moment before he broke into a grin.
"Ah, my boy you made it!" He says before stepping forward and pulling Seungmin into a tight hug.
Seungmin laughs softly. "I said I would, didn't I?"
"Well you said that last year and then you cancelled last minute," his dad says before stepping back.
Seungmin sighs, nodding his head slightly. "I know. I'm sorry."
Hajoon waves him off. "Don't worry about it now. It's all in the past."
Hajoon went back to the stove, his sugar mixture more like caramel now.
Hajoon murmurs something under his breath about how this wasn't supposed to be his job. He wiped his hands on his apron.
"Well, I guess we'll be having caramel orange peels instead of candied," Seungmin's dad says, looking on the bright side.
Seungmin nods his head, walking over to the stove. "That sounds just as good Dad."
Hajoon smiles softly, wrapping his arm around Seungmin's shoulders. "This was always your mom's job."
Seungmin felt his throat get tight, as if someone had wrapped barbed wire around it. "It was."
Hajoon gave Seungmin's shoulders a squeeze before he let go. He put the orange peels into the caramel mixture. "Are you going to go visit her?"
Seungmin swallows the lump in his throat. He thought of the cemetery plot he hadn't seen since the funeral earlier in the year, how his dad had been visiting everyday by himself. "I was going to go tomorrow."
"Good," Hajoon says. "While you're out you can stop by the Lees' store. Pick up the ingredients for manduguk."
Seungmin freezes just as he was about to take the spoon from his dad's hand. "The Lees'? I thought they were moving."
He takes the spoon, dipping it into the caramel. He tastes it, trying to distract himself from think about the Lees'. Well, one Lee in particular.
Seungmin's dad shakes his head. "No. They were talking about it earlier in the year but they decided to stay. This is their home."
"I see," Seungmin says. He puts the spoon down and tries to change the subject. "This is good, Dad."
Hajoon smiles. "Thank you my boy," he says.
Seungmin thinks he lucked out, that his dad won't mention the Lees' again. But that didn't happen.
"I think Minho's still working there," Hajoon says.
Seungmin nods his head slightly, closing his eyes. "Probably."
He doesn't say anything more about Minho, but he didn't need to, the memories were already back.
Lee Minho was the boy who had been everything to Seungmin growing up and it hadn't been one sided.
"I'm going to go to bed," Seungmin mumbles before he leaves the kitchen and drags himself to his childhood bedroom.
He wanted to not think about Minho, about the past, but he knew that back at home it would be impossible.
Seungmin say in his bed, the worn blue comforter soft and comforting. But that's not what he was thinking about.
He was thinking about Minho.
The boy just one year older than him.
His childhood best friend.
The boy that had made him question everything all at once.
Seungmin wanted to see him, but he also didn't. Because he knew what it would bring up. He just didn't know if he could handle it.