{time skip a few months because i'm lazy}

as soon as i woke up, i started getting ready. last day of school and then christmas break. once i was dressed and ready to leave, i got a text from jinwoo saying that he's at my front door, waiting to take me to school. he's precious.

i walked to his car with him, and once we were both in and buckled, he handed me a muffin.

"here. i know how bad you are at eating breakfast." he said, while keeping his eyes on the road. i smiled at how sweet he was and ate peacefully.

our day went as normal, and soon we were heading to the elementary school. i made sure not to forget my gift for chan. he would love it.

"jun-junnie! woo-woo! hi!" he squealed while running towards us. jinwoo and i were the closest ones with our second grader. a lot of the other seniors didn't really care to much to bond with a child, and some of the girls that tried, either scared the kid with all the makeup, or were just doing it to impress a guy. but chan loved us. we were family, too.

i gave his gift to him and he was quick to open it. his eyes widened when he saw the present. it was a dinosaur themed adult coloring book and jinwoo got him the good colored pencils. the kid loved coloring but complained about how basic second grade coloring sheets were. and jeonghan told me that he liked dinosaurs.

"thank you so much! i'm sad that i didn't get you anything," chan sighed.

before i could say anything, jinwoo cut in saying, "we just want to see you smile, channie! that's the greatest present!"

chan smiled at him and exclaimed, "you two are so cool! my mommy sees how you interact with me and says that you'll make great parents one day!"

i blushed at his statement. jinwoo looked at me, got a grin on his face, grabbed my waist to pull me to him, and replied, "i think so, too. myungie is the picture perfect wife. aren't you, babe?"

i blushed and chan gasped. "you guys are finally dating?" he screamed.

"what? no! he's just being goofy," i stuttered, blushing madly.

sadly, the day had to end, and chan showed his present to jeonghan and seungcheol. they thanked us and left.

we left the school building and walked to jinwoo's car. he looked over at me and i was gonna ask him what was wrong but he started talking. "hey, i heard your mom had to leave for business for christmas break. wanna stay at my house? we can celebrate together."

"what, no. i don't want to barge in on your time with your dad!" i quickly replied.

"nah, i actually asked him ahead of time, and he said he wouldn't mind some extra company at the house. so what do ya say? i'll even drive over to your house so you can get stuff."

i thought about it, but realized i didn't have a choice. i sighed in defeat, and he got a smile on his face knowing what that meant. we were soon at my house, and he was helping me pack stuff for break, so i could avoid having to come back for anything.

we arrived at his house to see his dad sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper. without putting it down, he said a 'hello boys' as jinwoo dragged me upstairs. i placed my stuff on the floor beside his bed. we sat on the bed and talked for a bit. jinwoo's dad knocked on the door, and came in.

"you boys want to go out to eat dinner somewhere? anywhere, your choice." he said. jinwoo looked at me, and in some secret eye language, we knew what we wanted.

"how about red lobster? it's really good there, dad!" jinwoo told his father. he just smiled, said alright, and walked back downstairs to get ready.

"hey, jinwoo, i'm not sure what to wear there. i don't really want to wear my tshirt," i said, pointing to the shirt i was wearing, that said 'happy cat, happy life'.

he laughed, got up, and threw a sweater at me. "here. i haven't really worn that in a while, and it would be cute on you," he said smiling. i changed and it was surprisingly a little large on me. i just shrugged.

when we entered red lobster, we were greeted by a cheery employee with the name of yixing on his name tag. he took us to our seats.

"what would you like to drink to start off with?" he asked.

when it was my turn, i said pink lemonade.

"aww, that's cute! like you," yixing said, winking at me. jinwoo glared at the man before he finally walked off.

other than that little flirty moment, dinner went well. we laughed and mr. park talked to me about jinwoo when he was younger. jinwoo got all embarrassed by his dad, but i thought it was sweet. i love how close they are. i wish my mom and i were that close. i wonder what made them so close. when jinwoo got up to use the bathroom, i turned to his dad.

"mr. park, how did you and jinwoo come to be so close?" i asked.

he sighed, and with a distant look in his eye, said, "it was when he was younger. maybe 13 or 14 years old. when his mom committed suicide, he stopped acting like himself. i didn't know what to do, so i asked him about it. the minute i mentioned his mother, he broke down. he showed me the cuts on his arms and legs. he showed me this diary of his. all it talked about was how much he hated his life. how much he thought he deserved to die instead of his mother. i took him to a therapist after lots of arguing. he hated it, so i asked him if he'd like me to be in there. i told him that he could talk to me about it. the therapist could just observe. he agreed. it was a struggle. he was diagnosed with depression. he wouldn't tell anyone but me. i became his most trusted friend. the rest is history. he's had a tough life, but you changed everything. you came in and saved him. he hasn't seen a therapist in 2 years thanks to you. you saved my son."

by that point, mr. park was crying and i was too. i heard something behind me and saw jinwoo looking at me with hurt eyes. he was quick to pull me into a hug. he kept apologizing and i kept telling him it's okay. mr. park waved yixing back to our table so he could pay the bill. but he suddenly stopped talking. he collapsed. i screamed and jinwoo yelled.

"hush, quick, call 911! he needs to be taken to the er immediately," yixing commanded. we soon heard sirens and saw mr. park being rolled out into the ambulance.

jinwoo rushed to his car and drove us to the hospital. i held his hand the whole way so he'd focus instead of totally freak.

we arrived at the er and asked about his dad. we were told to sit and wait for the doctor.

jinwoo buried his face in the side of my neck, crying his heart out. i held him and whispered in his ear that i'm here and that it'll be okay.

the doctor came out with sad eyes, and told us what happened. "he collapsed because he wasn't getting enough air to his lungs. he has lung cancer. and it's already spreading. there isn't anything i can do now, but delay it until christmas pass-"

"no," jinwoo interrupted. "let the cancer run its course. when he dies, he dies. don't make it painful."

jinwoo turned back to me, with eyes holding tears threatening to fall. "are you sure?" i asked.

"yes. i know it won't be as hard. i have you."