“Yeah, it is.” Junhui turned his face to stare at Jihoon affectionately. “You were so happy
making many kinds of candy, and you were ecstatic whenever Halloween was near. You still
are.”
“Well, but thanks to those years of practice and dedication, now you have your own candy
shop. You live doing what you like. That’s great, Jihoon.” Wonwoo patted his back. “Your
brother must be so proud of you.”
Jihoon smiled.
“Yes, Seungcheol-hyung is so proud of me.”
They opened the shop, and soon it was filled with people. There was a wide variety of candies
to choose from around the shop. Jihoon watched the crowd with a happy smile, seeing how
almost everyone had their basket full before leaving the shop. He felt a tug on his sleeve. He
looked down and met a curious little face. Jihoon couldn’t help but gaze at him adoringly.
Despite being adopted, the boy resembled both his fathers very much. He got Wonwoo’s
fox-like eyes and tall nose, also Soonyoung’s round cheeks and plump lips. Jihoon bent his
knees to meet his line of sight.
“What is it, Wooyoungie?”
“That candies,” the boy pointed, Jihoon looked down to where his chubby finger was point-
ing. It was the candies with golden wrappings, peeked out of his pocket. “That candies are so
pretty. Can I have some?”
Jihoon turned his face back to Wooyoung. Smiling apologetically, he patted the boy’s head.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t have this one.”
“Why not?”
Jihoon chuckled at the boy’s stubborn expression, with puffed cheeks and pursed lips.
“Because I have more delicious candies for you. Come.”
Jihoon held Wooyoung’s hand, leading him to another part of the shop, showing him the
candies in the jars to distract him. He pushed the golden candies deeper into his pocket,
keeping it away from everyone’s eyes.
***
Jihoon had never been happier.
If you listened carefully enough, you’d catch a certain rhyme from his humming, a string of