Min Ho sat with Junsu in a book store of all places. They could have gone to Dragon Café but Junho was working. It seemed Junsu didn't want his brother around for the conversation they were going to have.
He had called Min Ho out the evening before because he said he wanted to talk to him. No, not wanted; that he needed to talk to him something about the way he said it made Min Ho feel that the man was suffering almost as much as he was, or maybe more.
Over the last month since Jae Kyung had been coming around, the twins had sought Min Ho out more and more. At first he had thought they were just twins that fought all the time, but it was just the opposite. They were fun and crazy and only bickered instead of outright fighting. They loved to laugh and pick on people.
But underneath that fun exterior lay the true person. Twins were always different even if they were identical. Junho was very gentle; had to be because of the pastries and breads he made. Being older by five minutes meant he felt responsible, but that responsibility didn't come out in anger. It came out in food and drink. He made sure those he loved were cared for.
Junsu was wickedly smart. Under that happy smile was a man who was very uncertain in his own abilities. He looked to his brother to give him the confidence he needed. He was always the one who was quick to speak and slow to anger, but he was just as protective of his friend. He knew numbers and figures and anything else math related. He even kept the books for Hoon from time to time.
Both men, though fiercely loyal to each other and their loved ones, were aching for something more. There was only so much brothers could get from each other. They wanted their own families, and it seemed to Junsu that he had missed that ship.
So here they were, sitting in a book store with a cup of coffee. Min Ho looked at Junsu. The blond man was so downtrodden he simply flipped through his school book. He had taken on a summer course so he could graduate sooner. He was trying to get into his family's business quickly, but he was hiding what he was feeling. Min Ho was reminded of someone else.
He wanted to ask so badly what was going through his mind. Junsu was never this quiet. He always wanted to talk, but having him sitting here with his nose in a book meant he was about to give up. Min Ho understood that. The first girlfriend he had ever had had been in high school. He still remembered her name after ten year. Lee Sung Ji. Her father had worked with his and they had met at a work function. Their parents had pushed them together in hopes that an early engagement would ensue.
They had dated a year before talks of engagement became serious. He didn't want to get married at a young age because he was expected to go into business like his father and his brothers would. His sister Min Hae would be marrying up and working in whatever field she thought was best for her, but him and his brothers Oh Rin and Cha Ohn would be forced to go into business. Min Ho hated business so the first thing he did was apply to an art school.
Sung Ji had been for it, but her parents hadn't been thrilled. They wanted their future son-in-law to be a businessman not a struggling artist. So they had gone to his father and started to renegotiate the terms of their relationship. In the end he had lost Sung Ji to his second brother Cha Ohn. She had been forced to break up with him and had started dating Cha Ohn four months later. They married as soon as she was out of high school.
Since then Min Ho hadn't really started looking at women. Min Hae had always told him that no one could love an artist because they were too fickle. They were ever changing as the wind. He never understood what she meant until he met Eri. Devoid of the ability to understand emotions, she was ever changing, but it was a good thing. She was able to see things others couldn't and help them overcome their difficulties. It was one of the big things that drew him to her, why he loved being by her side. She would always give him a look that told him he was being an ass.
His phone buzzed with a new text message. He swiped the screen and read the lovely thing Eri had left him.
"Min, is there any way you can stop by the art store on your way back to the studio? Yi Jeong is being burdensome and won't let me leave. He says it's too hot for me to be out. I'm pretty sure he will melt before I do."
He laughed, drawing Junsu's attention. "Eri's making fun of Yi Jeong."
Junsu shook his head. "She's always up to something."
Min Ho nodded and answered back. "What do you need?"
The reply was instantaneous, like she already had it typed before he answered. "Plexiglas, etching tools, acrylic paint, black acrylic paint, sponges, and paint thinner."
"That's going to cost a fortune," he muttered before the next message came in. "Put it on my tab."
"That makes me feel so much better." He sent back a quick reply then set his phone down. "Why do I have to be her errand boy?"
"Because you agreed to it," Junsu said as he flipped the page.
Finally having a way to talk to the man, Min Ho tucked his phone back into his pocket. He closed his book and picked up his coffee cup. He studied Junsu over the lid, making sure he memorized everything that was going on in his face.
"Quit staring at me," Junsu scolded. "It's very annoying."
"When are you going to talk about why you called me out? I gave up a nice day at home to come out with you. Now what's wrong with you?" he asked.
"Do I have to always tell you things when I'm obviously trying to give off a stand-off position?"
"Did you invite me out just so you didn't have to sulk alone?"
Junsu slammed his book closed and leaned over the table. "What, Min Ho? What do you want me to say?"
"What you're feeling would be nice. I'm not your brother. I can't read your emotions. You'll have to tell me what you're feeling instead of hiding behind your book and work. I deal with this all the time, and sometimes it's very tiring, but I can't ask because she has a hard time talking about it. But you can speak and have a full grasp on your emotions."
They stared at each other. Junsu was going to try to hide everything he was feeling because he knew Min Ho was close to Eri. That was the part he hated the most. He was friends with Min Ho who was the adopted little brother to Eri, and she called him Min just like she called Junsu Su and Junho Jun.
"Why didn't you make a move first?" he blurted. That was the only way to get him to talk.
Junsu sighed before rubbing his face. He took a sip of his coffee then played with the cup for a good long moment. Min Ho watched as he collected himself. He was having a hard time just saying everything.
"I met Eri at the hospital," he said. "Hoon's daughter was in the pediatric ward and I was in charge of the coffee shop while he was with her during the evenings. Hoon called me to bring the nurses and doctors coffee. She was the first person I ran into when I stepped off the elevator. There was something about her. I couldn't place it at first, but as I got to know her, I understood her. The wall she put up wasn't a wall to keep everyone out. It was a wall to keep herself protected."
Min Ho listened as he talked with abandon. "Eri didn't grow up with a solid family behind her. She was told to quit crying or to shut up. Only her brother and grandparents. She experienced love but never understanding. Those who wanted her to be successful only wanted to see her fall. But she triumphed and that made everyone mad."
"When did you fall in love with her?"
"I wasn't the only one. Junho did as well but he's better at hiding all of that. Eri first spoke to me when she asked about Hoon and his girl after she had been discharged. It was then I knew that she wasn't the cold hearted person everyone claimed her to be. When it came to children, she was kind and warm. When she was well, Hoon's daughter came to the shop often to visit. Eri would always play with her. Something glowed inside her that made us all – Hoon, his child, all of us – want to be closer to her, to protect her. By the time I found the courage to tell her, she was already with Woo Bin."
He continued as he stared out the window. "Junho lashed out after he saw her with Woo Bin. He shattered six bowls on purpose by throwing them at the wall. Junho never tells anyone what he's feeling. He's worse than I am. All he wants is to be happy, but he's shy so he never tells the girl how he feels. He can make friends easy but he has a hard time trusting them. He never told Eri how he felt either so we had each other to lean on when she married Woo Bin."
"She can sense your emotions you know?" Min Ho said. "She may not understand her own, but she can sense everyone else's. It's how she knows what to do. It's why she gave you two those boxes. She understands what it means to have a brother stand beside you. Francesco, whom I never met, was that for her. She probably thinks you're lucky because you have a twin. You were born together; you've lived together your whole lives. Even now, you two are together. She probably kind of envies that even if she doesn't realize it."
He looked Junsu in the eye. "Do you ever think of snatching her away?"
Junsu's smile was sad as he looked at the table. "If she would go, I would, but she loves Woo Bin. Then there's Woo Bin. He would knock the hell out of me if I so much as tried."
"Even if she were available, I'm not sure she would accept us. We understand only a portion of what she goes through internally."
"How can you talk about emotions and internal strife when you've been nursed all your life?"
Min Ho turned and scowled at who was standing at his table. Shorter than Eri, his sister stood at about five feet six. She wore a scowl that mirrored his, and anyone could tell they were from the same family. Anyone with a decent eye could tell they were twins.
"What do you want, Min Hae?" he demanded.
"I was coming in for a cup of coffee, and low and behold I see my brother sitting here with another man. Is he your lover?" she retorted.
"You know I'm straight as a line, so why would you say that? This is Kim Junsu, a friend."
"How am I supposed to know if you're straight? You're an artist and things are always weird with artists."
"Do you ever say anything that's not snotty?" Junsu asked. Min Hae turned her sneer to him. "Do you even know what you're brother spends his day doing? He works with one of the richest women in South Korea on a daily basis and you come here to snarl at him? Do you know how stupid that is? Oh, and let's not forget that his girlfriend is pretty wealthy too."
Min Ho wanted to strangle Junsu at that moment. There was no way Min Hae was going to believe that since it wasn't true. He and Jae Kyung, though they got along better now, there was nothing between them other than friendship. Well, he couldn't say that for his part. He was slowly coming to realize that that woman was growing on him. He thought about what idiocy she was going to get into when she came to the studio.
Junsu stood, going toe to toe with Min Hae. He drew himself up to his full height, which happened to be four inches taller than Min Hae. "You have no idea how stupid you'll feel when the entire family comes around. Trust me. The power of F4 thrums throughout this entire place, and your brother – your twin – is in the thick of it. So make fun of him all you want. Call him gay. I'll gladly be his lover until you realize the mistake you have made. But when you do; when your entire family realizes that the youngest son has the most power, you will have already lost him because family doesn't end in blood." His temper had roiled to a head. Min Hae had nothing on it.
He made a tsking sound as he moved his head towards the door. Min Hae glared at him once again before sneering at her brother and going to the counter. Junsu gathered his things and motioned for Min Ho to follow him out. Once they were safely on the sidewalk outside, he sighed.
"You were nervous going up against Min Hae. She's got power in society since her husband is one of the board members at Woo Bin's construction company. She can cause a ruckus that will hinder your marriage prospects," Min Ho said as they walked down the sidewalk.
"But we have a trump card. We have the Song family on our side, and the Songs run that construction company," Junsu replied. "I'm sure once you tell Eri what happened she won't have any remorse on your sister."
"She already doesn't like her. She doesn't like it when families abandon their own flesh and blood. It's why she calls me her little brother. I'm sure you two are her little brothers as well."
He noticed Junsu smiled as he let that sink in. Finally, something that made him happy.