“Say… Do you like cake?”

“WHERE?! Er, I mean… Ahem. Do you have some…?” Hyun sheepishly asked as he tried to regain his composure. Dangit, why was he always so fixated on cake?! How embarrassing…!

His face flushed with shame; Hyun pouted, fiddling with his fingers as his older brother tried his best not to guffaw at how adorable his little brother was. But, as usual, the moment his brother smiled, blossoms of roses and gardenias accompanied by a bright halo of light surrounded the boy– accentuating his “pretty boy” features. With an “over it” expression, Hyun blankly stared at the sparkles poofing all over the place… all the while, the dreaded “sha-la-la-la” sound effect echoed within his ears.

Suppressing his exhausted sigh, Hyun glanced over at Yoo-jin, who gaped at the boy as if the eleven-year-old suddenly grew horns on his head. Eh…? Why did he look so freaked out? Wait! Could it be that he could see those weird effects too?! Hyun abruptly grabbed Yoo-jin’s hand as he dragged the confused boy behind him, his heart thumping with anticipation and excitement.

“Woah– HYUN! Where are you going?! You need to put on your sun–” Joon called out as he was about to run after his little brother. 

“DON’T FOLLOW US! We… We… WE HAVE TO GO ON A SPECIAL MISSION TO DEFEAT THE CAKE MONSTERS!”

Concealing his blushing face, the ruby-eyed boy pulled his new friend along to the shaded beach area. Gaaah. Why couldn’t he have thought of something better than that?! Cake monsters? Really? He had been an accomplished screenwriter in his past life… and that was what he came up with?! Oh, just let me disappear already! I’m gonna die from embarrassment–

“Pfft… PWAHAHAHA. Cake monster. Hahahaha.”

“St-Stop teasing me! Hmphhh!” 

“Okay, okay, sorry. Geez. So… Where are you taking me?” Yoo-jin glanced around the dark and dense forest area, feeling creeped out by the long vines touching his arm.

“... I don’t know. I wanted to ask you something, so I ran in whatever direction.….” 

“Oh. Let’s go back; I don’t think we should be here.”

“Okay… Um….” Hyun bit his lip as he paused in his tracks. A look of panic slowly crossed his face as he realized he had no idea where they were. “U-Um… I… I don’t know how to go back.….”

With a deadpan expression, Yoo-jin smacked his head in frustration. Dangit! How the heck did he not know?! He was the one who ran in this direction! Huffing in annoyance, Yoo-jin was about to yell at Hyun for being so careless when he noticed the black-haired boy’s tearful eyes. Ugh…!

“Calm down… We can get out of here if we just think back to where we came from.”

“W-Waaah! I’m scared…! What if we never get out and die here…?! Then it was pointless for me even to have come back…! WAHHH!”

“...What…?”

His eyes narrowed in shock, Yoo-jin gazed at Hyun in silence. There was no way he could have found Heeyoon that easily, right…? But how else was he supposed to rationalize the boy’s odd obsession with cake? Also, seeing how bad this kid was with his sense of direction, Yoo-jin was sure he stumbled upon Heeyoon! Not to mention, Hyun’s extremely sassy personality was too similar to Heeyoon’s to be a mere coincidence. No– this wasn’t just a possibility… He was sure of it; Hyun had to be the person Yoo-jin had been looking for, for the past year and a half!

Trying to stay calm, Yoo-jin let out a long sigh. He couldn’t act rashly if this kid was his best friend. Glancing over at the tearful child, Yoo-jin shook his head in defeat. Yep, it was way too early to reveal who he was… The minute Hyun learned that Ye-ji (now Yoo-jin) had come to take him back, this stupid brat was bound to run away. Finding his best friend had taken so much effort; there was no way Yoo-jin would lose him so soon! He had to befriend Hyun no matter what!

“Er… Don’t cry; I’m sure my parents and yours will come to look for us soon. So let’s just sit tight until then, okay?”

“...Hic… O-Okay…” Hyun sniffled, quickly wiping away his terrified tears. Yoo-jin tried not to roll his eyes as he patted the boy’s head. Honestly, why was she such a crybaby now? Did living as a small child mess with her brain or memories or something???

“Good girl– I mean, boy. Ahem, by the way… Wasn’t there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“...? Oh! Oh yeah, there was!”

“What was it?”

“Erm… W-Well, this is going to sound weird, but… Did you see those flowers poofing up behind my brother earlier?” Hyun hesitantly asked, peeking at the incredulous boy before him.

“You saw that too?”

“So, I was right! You can see them too!” Hyun beamed as an angelic smile graced his pink lips. Apparently, he had already forgotten his previous predicament… What a handful.

Averting his gaze from Hyun’s blinding cuteness, Yoo-jin awkwardly scratched his cheek, “Well, yeah… Isn’t that a normal thing–”

“Hyun! Where are you?!”

“Yoo-jin! Jin! Where have you run off to? Jin!”

Ah, drats! Just when he was about to get close to him…! Tsking in annoyance, Yoo-jin gripped the hem of his tanktop, trying his best to control his burst of irritation. It’s okay; they’re still looking for us, so I still have a few minutes to determine if this kid is Heeyoon. However, before Yoo-jin could say anything, Hyun was already walking away, desperate to be reunited with his family.

“...What the hell? Why’s he so excited to be reunited with those people…?”

“Hey! What are you waiting for??? Let’s get out of here!” Hyun hollered, waving Yoo-jin over.

“But–”

Noticing Yoo-jin’s hesitation, Hyun tilted his head in confusion. Why was Yoo-jin so reluctant to reunite with his parents…? Did he not like them or something? Plodding back to the other boy, Hyun tugged on Yoo-jin’s tank top.

“... Do you not like your parents? Are they being mean to you?”

“Huh? No, no, it’s not like that. I just… They’re not my real parents. My real family is waiting for me back in heaven….” Yoo-jin trailed off as tears plopped onto the dry sand. 

He missed them so, so much… His new family was loving and kind, but it just wasn’t the same. They would never replace his family, who anxiously awaited his return with Heeyoon. His new “parents” were just strangers he had to live with until he could take Heeyoon back to Heaven.

Biting his lip, Yoo-jin gazed squarely into Hyun’s ruby-red eyes. Why couldn’t Hyun take the hint already? How could this idiot still not realize who he was?? Didn’t Hyun miss his parents too?

“It’s okay.” Hyun quietly whispered as he petted Yoo-jin’s shaggy onyx-like hair, “My real parents are waiting for me in heaven too, but… Why don’t you give your new family a chance? If they adopted you, that means they wanted you, right?”

“Uh…” Yoo-jin stared at Hyun, dumbfounded at what this kid was saying. Did he think that he was adopted?! 

“At least your new parents wanted you… Mine… Well, I just have to play the part of their ‘Hyun.’”

“...What are you talking about–”

“HYUN!”

The two children turned to see Hyun’s parents and older brother rushing toward them in a panic. Right behind them were Yoo-jin’s parents, who tearfully ran to their only son, sobbing uncontrollably. Looking back at the stunned boy, Hyun gently smiled at him.

“Right now, those people are my ‘real’ family… and the only people I can rely on in this world. Hopefully, you can also accept your new parents as your family.”

With one last pat, Hyun dashed into the open arms of his new family with a wide smile on his angelic face. In a daze, Yoo-jin watched Hyun reunite with his family as his own parents pulled him in their warm embrace.

“...That freaking idiot….”

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**