Words of congratulations. Tears of joy, relief, and even regret. Applauds of realizations. And even deep bows of respect and gratitude. Those were what he could remember as the trial for his emancipation ended successfully. Vague memories of his Heechul hyung hugging him excitingly, Hyukjae embracing him warmly as they both shed tears, and his other friends’ affectionate hugs and pats on his back slowly sunk in to his mind.

One word reverberated on his mind: Finally!

The small court room that his father rented for the trial was suddenly filled with noises of zeal, immediately replacing the tensed vibe which surrounded the room from the very start. Donghae did not forget to bid his respects to the judge, to the few jurors, to Attorney Chae, to his friends a.k.a. witnesses, and lastly to his parents.

“Thank you so much for everything, Ma’am and Sir. I can’t believe I am saying this but I owe you my life.” Donghae stood up from his formal bow and was greeted by the indecipherable expressions from his parents’ faces. He couldn’t interpret whether those were looks of relief, torment, regret, or just pure happiness.

When his eyes met the cold ones of his father, he bowed once again.

“I hope a time would come where you will forgive me for this decision, Your Honor.” Donghae’s voice was filled with earnestness and complete sincerity, because he meant what he just said.

What shocked him however was not the tears flooding down his mother’s face, but rather the bow his father gave him. Even the people who witnessed it had their mouths gaped open.

“I hope there will come a time where you will forgive me as well, Donghae.”

A few minutes after his final talk with his former parents, Donghae found himself being dragged away by an excited Kim Heechul across the room. When they stopped, he suddenly found himself facing a middle-aged man wearing a doctor’s coat who he recognized as his hyung’s father.

“Dad, here’s Donghae. I thought you wanted to talk to him.”

A look of interest made its way to his face as he looked back and forth from Heechul to Doctor Kim. The latter wore a smile he was familiar with, one that proved he is related to his Heechul hyung.

“I hope you don’t mind that I watched the trial earlier, Donghae-ssi,” the psychiatrist told him and he instantly shook his head.

“No, not at all, Dr. Kim.”

“Actually, the reason why I wanted to talk to you is to let you know that my clinic, my office, and even our home would welcome you whenever you will need someone to talk to. You see, we welcome everyone who had experienced the same things that you did. As much as you tried and will try to ignore it, everything is taking or would soon take a toll on you and your mental health. I also would like to recommend you to have a full-body checkup. I briefly had a talk with your friend, Hyungwon, whose father is a good friend of mine. He told me how you frequented the infirmary almost every night.”

“...Heechul also mentioned to me before how you were so used to abusing yourself just to study. I just want you to remember that my family would welcome you to help you in everything that you will need from this point onwards. And not just because you are my son’s friend, but because we want to let you know that you are not alone, son.”

His blurred vision was the least of his concerns. Tears were freely escaping from his eyes and he did not make any attempts to wipe them away. Everything was just falling into its rightful places and his tears of relief and happiness attested to that.

Thank God!

For a second, he thought he was just dreaming. For a moment, he thought he would wake up and he will find himself yet again in the prison his parents built for him. But no! Everything that just happened was real and binding.

He could finally study freely. He could finally sleep on time just like a normal person would. He could finally stop attending those torturous extra classes that weren’t really helpful at all. He could finally spend some more time with Heechul, Hyukjae, and his newly gained friends. But most importantly, he could finally live his life.

“You really should stop crying, Fishy. We don’t want the children’s grand park to be flooded by your tears. The kids here will be disappointed.”

Donghae chuckled as he punched Hyukjae on his chest. After the trial, the two of them found themselves seated on that very familiar marble bench in front of the fountain inside the Seoul Children’s Grand Park. Today was one of the happiest day in his entire life and what better way to end the day than to watch the sunset with Hyukjae, his significant other.

He accepted the handkerchief the taller was offering him. Children of all ages were running around them and they both found solace on the comfortable and relaxing atmosphere they brought. As he wiped away his tears, a fresh batch came rolling down and the next thing he knew, he was full on sobbing on Hyukjae’s embrace. His recently found favorite place on Earth.

Everything that had happened was just too much but Donghae realized that it was the good type of “too much”—the best even.

“Stop hanging out with Leeteuk hyung, would you? You are becoming a crybaby like he is.” He heard Hyukjae laughed as the latter smothered his head and face with pecks and kisses. His recently found favorite thing ever.

There was a silence that wasn’t uncomfortable, but the silence they needed at the moment. They watched the stunning and sentimental sunset in each other’s arms and Donghae felt at home.

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