"Eunhae is autistic," Wooyoung's mother prompts, when they're all sitting by a table, late lunch already served and drinks cold where they stand. The pilot had already greeted his father with a salute and a short 'General!', and they're seated across one another, each taking one end of the long table. It's familiar, Wooyoung thinks as he digs into his food and nods in response to his mother, eyes seeking out hers. "You... You don't care?" She asks upon noticing the unbothered expression the pilot wears, confusion written all over her face as she tends to the kid, whose attention is fixated solely on the orange vegetables laying scattered on a plate in the center of the dining table. Wooyoung shrugs. He'd worked with many autistic children while in service, when they'd had their open gates days, and he doesn't feel about his little sister any differently than he would of a normal, neurotypical child. Eunhae seems to be rather calm, too, and only gets overly hyperactive when excited, but even then she could be soothed down pretty easily, Wooyoung had found out. So when his mother tells him this, he's not too caught off guard, and even smiles a little.

"Why would I? It's not like I hadn't worked with those kids, and it also doesn't change my mind about her," he offers a reply after a short, silent minute, and he could see the relief flooding through his mother's face and sees a smile tugging at her lips, also. Wooyoung thinks about the rest of the day there, as he sits with his family, and thinks he could go check on Mingi's family later too, maybe offer them to come over or call the other soldier, but then he also remembers that he has many more days to do that, and decides to scrap the idea for now after making a mental note about the visit. It's when his father starts a conversation about fighter jets and starts questioning Wooyoung on his position in the army, when the young man looks back up and listens, sometimes offering his input on the matter and it's his signature smile that has the older man grinning as well. "I pilot an F-16, dad. Lately I've been granted the access to an F-15E as well; General Lee considers me reliable enough," Wooyoung hums then, and his father smiles in content there, seemingly more than happy with the answer provided. "Oh, I'll have to head to Seoul to visit the prince, soon; he had scheduled a lunch with me about a week ago and if I were honest now, I wasn't really meant to be kicked out from the base," the pilot then says, excusing himself in advance because really, who was he to deny an offer from the prince himself. It would be rude, and it's not in the pilot's interest to have the royalty on his bad side.

Eunhae seemed to perk up at the mention of the prince, and her head snapped around to face the pilot, eyes big in anticipation and she almost pleaded with the man to take her with him, also. Wooyoung grins and makes a face at her, then looks at his mother who nods and smiles. "Mommy, can I go with Wooyo? Pretty please!" she asks and the pilot thinks just how adorable the girl is, fingers twitching as he fights the urge to squish and poke her cheeks. And he thinks about it — prince Kang is a very kind man, he thinks that maybe if he asks in advance, he'd be able to take the child with; maybe he'd be able to take her horse riding, too, because he still remembers the favor Hongjoong has promised him earlier, during one of the royal ceremonies. Major Kim was the head leader of the mounted forces, and maybe it'd be possible to give him a call and arrange something with him. And just as the parents try to find the right words to explain why Eunhae was not able to go, Wooyoung interrupts with a grin matching Eunhae's from earlier, eyes in tiny crescents and it's precious then, as he speaks.

"I will talk to uncle Hongjoong and see if you can be a princess for a day, then," he offers and it seems to satisfy the girl that nods and smiles, the siblings leaving the two elders speechless and the mother is ready to scold Wooyoung then. "Major Kim owes me a favor, and it's not like prince Kang has anything serious to discuss — it's just a friendly one-on-one afternoon. He'd offered it at one of the ceremonies, since we hadn't had the opportunity to talk much," and it satisfies his mother as well, then. The pilot never understood how he got himself in this position, where even the prince — the heir to the throne — is who he considers a friend , but it's still a friendship he cherishes. It's full of honorifics and playful bickering over them, where each demands friendliness and casualties, yet both of them always seem to fall back into the stereotypes, and it has Wooyoung feeling comfortable in the Prince's presence.

And like that, shortly after they eat together and discuss Wooyoung's long service, the pilot is off to call the older Major, waiting patiently for him to pick up his phone. He knows cellphones are restricted in the royal guard, however Hongjoong had given him his service number so it's easier to get in touch. And sure enough, he hears the familiar, gentle voice picking up, and it has a smile stretching across Wooyoung's features, contagious and wide. "Hello, Hongjoong, this is Wooyoung. Would you have some time for me?" and it's a friendly greeting from the other man, accompanied by 'yes's' and rustling that Wooyoung could only think of as frantic nods; something so alike Hongjoong. And so like that, Wooyoung proposes his question and explains the situation with Eunhae, asks if they'd be able to come meet up to see the horses and if it's possible to bring her to the lunch he has arranged with the royalty later the next day.

Hongjoong goes silent for a couple minutes there, rustling around before the line gets muted all together but Wooyoung still waits, now with his mother sitting beside him, anticipating the response. The pilot puts the call on a speaker and together they silently wait, until the line finally comes to life again, and it's the Prince speaking now, gentle and awaiting. "Captain Jeong, it's so nice to hear from you. I've heard you're on a break!" the prince asks, and it has the pilot giggling, replying politely because he just knows that his mother would kill him if he were impolite. Prince Kang is friendly in a way Wooyoung had never seen — it's like you weren't speaking to a future King at all, more like to your childhood friend from the village across the river, and it's funny when Wooyoung thinks about it.

"I'm calling to confirm our lunch, your Highness, and to kindly ask something of you, if I might," and the politeness has the prince laughing, humming in response as if to have the man continue whatever he'd had to ask. So Wooyoung spills, essentially asking the same question he'd given Hongjoong earlier and is relieved to hear the prince agreeing, finding familiarity in the gentle 'yes, of course!' that he'd heard countless times before. It's comforting, and Wooyoung thanks the prince with everything he has in him, and after that, they bid each other goodbye. It's then the Major again, who prompts a time in the day they could arrive to see the stables and after setting that also, the Major hangs up.

Wooyoung looks over at his mother and smiles a sheepish grin, one that is all too similar to hers, and it's shy where it rests on his lips. "You've heard it yourself, mom. You and dad go take a break for yourself, I'll take Eunhae out," Wooyoung asks, and the woman returns the smile, before resting her head on the pilot's shoulder. She's gentle where she lays against her son, humming a tune into the chilly summer wind, and there is laughter bubbling from her throat when the child swishes by with a man chasing her, both jumping into the pool further down the garden. And Wooyoung follows by with the laugh, eyes following the two with admiration, and he feels happy again.

It's pure happiness filling the empty void left after San.