Slowly, a voice began to rouse Johnny from his lazy sleep. It felt as though someone was jumping on him while calling his name repeatedly. Full of laziness and with a slight pain in his eyes from the sudden sunlight flooding the room through the window, Johnny managed to make out his pajama-clad brother bouncing on his bed.

"Hyung, hyung, hyung!" Jinwoo laughed heartily as soon as he saw Johnny open his eyes. "You have to wake up. I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry? Stop sleeping!"

"Hm..." Johnny murmured, closing his eyes again. "Five more minutes..."

Jinwoo sat down and brought his hands to Johnny's face. Gently, he placed his thumbs on Johnny's eyelids and pushed them open.

"Hyung, it's time to wake up!"

Johnny couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Alright, alright, but first..." He grabbed his brother by the waist. "Tickle attack!"

The younger boy laughed, trying desperately to escape his older brother's hands. Soon, Johnny peppered the boy's face with kisses and smoothed out his hair, which had been tousled by the pillow.

"We don't need anyone else, do we, Jinwoo?" Johnny smiled. "As long as we're together, we'll be fine. Right?"

The boy didn't quite understand what Johnny meant but smiled and nodded without hesitation. Before actually getting up, Johnny reached for his phone on the nightstand.

"Ugh, when did the battery die...?"

Leaving the phone to charge, he followed Jinwoo around the apartment to have breakfast. At that moment, sitting with his brother and looking at their plates—the fried egg, rice, and savory pancakes—Johnny felt Yuri's absence. That feeling, the one he was so tired of, tried to overwhelm him again. But he didn't want to give in to the pain anymore, so he looked at his brother with a smile.

"Today, I'm going to take you to meet someone. So eat up, and let's put on something comfortable, okay?"

"Are they nice?"

"Yes, absolutely. He's really smart, just like you, and he likes action figures too. You two are going to be great friends."

"Can we have dinner with noona afterward?"

Once again, a sharp pang struck Johnny's heart. He let out a small laugh to cover it up and focused on the rest of his breakfast.

"We can't go there today... She's busy. We'll save it for another time, alright?"

"I miss her."

"Me too..."

"Hyung, why don't you marry her?"

Johnny choked and quickly took a sip of water.

"If you marry her, we can all live together. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Jinwoo, marriage doesn't work like that."

"Why not?"

"People don't get married because it might be fun; they get married because they love each other."

"But you love her."

"Why are you saying that, kid...?!"

"Mom said that when we love someone, we feel happy around them, and we visit them a lot because we miss them. We laugh, we hug, we tell the truth."

Johnny fell silent, keeping his gaze fixed on Jinwoo.

"See? Hyung loves noona." Jinwoo then took a bite of his pancake. "You can ask her to marry you now."

Jinwoo's words lingered in Johnny's mind for a long time, staying with him throughout the car ride the two of them took. It wasn't until they arrived that he managed to shake them off. As soon as he parked and turned on his phone, the tall man noticed multiple messages from his friends and countless missed calls.

"What's this? Did something happen?" he wondered aloud as he unlocked the car.

Johnny helped his little brother out of the Range Rover, holding his hand as they walked up to the door of the enormous house. Just as he rang the doorbell, his phone started to ring.

Jaehyun is calling...

Johnny considered answering, but the door opened, and his smile widened.

"Bogum!" the little boy greeted him. "How's my little buddy doing?"

The boy smiled, glancing at Jinwoo, who looked a bit shy.

"Jinwoo, this is Bogum, the person I told you about. He's my friend's younger brother." Johnny crouched down beside them. "And Bogum, this is Jinwoo, my younger brother."

"Hi, Jinwoo," Bogum said with a smile, waving at him.

"Jung Bogum, how many times have I told you not to open the door when you're alone in the living room?!" a voice echoed from inside the massive house.

"But he's not a bad guy who takes kids away!"

As he approached, Jaehyun's gaze landed on Johnny, now standing.

"Ah..." Jaehyun pointed at him. "AH!" His eyes widened. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Take it easy. Shouldn't we let the kids inside first?"

Jaehyun looked down, meeting Jinwoo's wide-eyed gaze.

"You're as tall as hyung," Jinwoo said with a small laugh.

"Johnny... Johnny, is this...?"

"My brother?" Johnny smiled and nodded. "Jinwoo, this is Jaehyun. Jaehyun, this is Jinwoo."

"Oh..." Jaehyun crouched down and extended his hand.

Jinwoo shook his hand, and they exchanged greetings.

"Nice to meet you, Jinwoo."

The boy smiled, feeling more at ease.

"Can we go in now?" Bogum made a face at Jaehyun.

"Don't open the door again if I'm not around, got it? Come on, let's go to the living room."

And so they did, with Bogum and Jinwoo chatting away in their own little world.

"My hyung said you like the same action figures I do."

"I have a ton of action figures. Want to see them?"

Jinwoo looked at Johnny with a smile.

"Go ahead," Johnny encouraged.

The two boys ran upstairs.

"Want something to drink?" Jaehyun offered.

"No, no, I'm good."

They sat on the couch, a bit apart from each other.

"Now, where the hell have you been?!" Jaehyun threw a pillow at Johnny.

"My phone died, and I didn't see your calls. When you called just now, I was already at the door, so I couldn't pick up."

"Okay, but explain this—since when do you have a younger brother?"

"Seven years."

"And why didn't you tell us?"

"It's a long story, and it's the reason I'm here."

Jaehyun had a bad feeling the moment Johnny stopped smiling. That serious expression didn't suit his taller friend, and it unsettled Jung's heart. Slowly, the story unfolded, each detail piecing together the puzzle.

Johnny hated this story more than anything now, especially after learning Sea Collins' true intentions all those years. His mother didn't seem as much of a villain as she once did, and the certainties Johnny once had had now become unanswered questions.

"That's why I ended up working secretly for a singer, and I was probably fired because she must hate me now. My parents hid so much from me, and my mom opened my eyes about my ex-girlfriend." He smiled bitterly. "I've never felt so foolish."

"Johnny, you're not foolish... She planned to deceive you from the start, and your parents aren't exactly great at showing affection. There was no way for you to know what was real or not in that mess, so don't blame yourself."

"It would be better if I were the only one getting hurt," Johnny said, his voice heavy with regret. "I hurt the only girl who cared about my feelings, and now, by telling the truth about Jinwoo, I know my mom's career could be over, and my brother might become the target of hateful comments. I can't handle that, Jaehyun. I won't stand by and watch Jinwoo suffer again."

"You should talk to your mom," Jaehyun said, placing a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "The damage is already done—what's left is finding out the rest of the truth. And you deserve to know it. I'm sure you'll find a better solution, one that works for everyone." He sighed, his gaze filled with sadness. "This whole situation is so unfair... You've been hurting all this time, yet you kept smiling in front of us. Johnny, if anyone deserves happiness, it's you."

"I can't see a happy ending for me right now."

"Hey, now's not the time to give up!" Jaehyun gripped Johnny's shoulders firmly. "Listen to me. Bad things happen, and you can't avoid them. It's not personal, it's not bad luck, and it's not inherently evil... It just shows you what truly makes you happy. Pain helps us see things clearly, and you've endured it long enough. Choose to do what made you feel good when you were empty. Be with the people who made you feel whole when you were lonely. Go to the places that brought you peace when your heart was troubled. Make your own happiness."

Johnny felt warmth spread through his chest, melting the cold that had settled there for so long. The steady gaze in Jaehyun's eyes radiated reassurance, comforting him more than he thought possible.

"What happened to you won't change," Jaehyun continued, releasing his friend's shoulders. "But you can use it as a lesson to live a better life. Your eyes aren't blindfolded anymore. That's what really matters."

Johnny stared at his hands for a moment, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Since when did you get so deep?" he teased. "That was touching—I'm almost in tears here."

"And now he's back to normal." Jaehyun chuckled. "Don't make fun of me, man."

"No, I'm serious. I almost got misty-eyed."

They both laughed, the tension lifting until Johnny's gaze wandered around the room.

"Hey, where's Gayeon? I haven't seen her in a while."

"She's out with her friends," Jaehyun said, still smiling, though his tone softened.

"Something happen?"

"No, we just argued again."

"Why?"

"I told her what I thought about her new friends. She got upset."

"Wow, they're that bad for you to call them out?"

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel like they actually like her. I wanted to point out that something seemed off, but she said I wouldn't understand since I've always had friends, unlike her, who's always been alone." He scratched the back of his neck. "Now she's avoiding me."

"That sucks... Have you thought about asking her out?"

"I invited her to dinner here tonight. I want to talk about it. I don't want our relationship to end because of people outside of it... I must've been too harsh. I'm going to apologize."

"Don't worry." Johnny gave him a reassuring smile. "You two care about each other too much to let it end like this. She'll realize she doesn't want to lose you either."

Jaehyun smiled but looked away, embarrassed. The atmosphere between them lightened. Both were heartbroken, but they found solace in each other's presence.

"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" Johnny said suddenly.

"Anything. Just say it."

"Can you keep an eye on Jinwoo for me? Just for a little while. I'll come back to get him soon."