Beautiful // Nomin

~13~

short chapter...school hates me these days 😔

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"Eomma..." a child's voice whined from inside the little stroller Kim Aecha was pushing. The owner of the little voice was jumping up and down in the seat, causing the stroller to shake.

His little brother, sitting beside him, did not appreciate the movement, and shrieked "Stop!" which made the mother bend down and remind her youngest son that "Jisungie, we don't scream. Nana, what do you want?"

The bright-eyed five-year-old peeked out of the stroller's little window flap. "I want to go to Jae-hyungie."

"We're almost there. See, he's ahead waiting."

"I want to get out and run like he does."

"Now Nana, your hyung runs because he's a bigger boy. It's safe for you to stay with me until you become like him, okay?"

Nana sighed loudly and threw himself back onto the seat. "Okay..."

It was a pretty day at the university garden where Aecha often took her three sons while her husband was in school. The three boys were often seen around the campus and were known for their stunning young visual. Aecha was frequently complimented as such a successful mother, and at this time, she would agree.

"Jae-hyungie!" Nana Jaemin stuck his head out of the stroller and waved at his older brother who was standing on a brick ledge, waiting for them. "Nana, come here," he said.

Jaemin scrambled out of the stroller and struggled onto the ledge, but his mom helped him up. "Nana look," Jaehyun said, and showed his dongsaeng a dark red flower and a light blue flower that he'd picked on the way.

"Jaehyun..." their mother sighed exasperatedly, since she'd told them not to pick the university's garden flowers before.

Jaehyun carefully tucked the red flower behind Nana's ear, then proceeded to put the blue flower in his own hair. "Eomma," Jaemin turned to look down at his mother excitedly.

Aecha pulled out her phone and took a picture of her two boys despite their breaking the rules. "My beautiful boys," she murmured proudly, as Jisungie in the stroller whimpered because oldest hyung hadn't picked a flower for him, and he felt left out.

"I'm going to the fountain Eomma," Jaehyun suddenly decided, and he broke into a run toward the garden fountain up ahead. "Me too!" Jaemin-ie stated and he ran after his hyung with his short little legs.

"Na Jaemin!" Kim Aecha shouted after her son but knew it wasn't any use. Nana's adoration for his Jaehyun-hyung was far higher than the willingness he had to obey his mother.

Jisung bounced around in the stroller and shouted some incoherent words. He pouted when his mom proceeded to push him forward slowly. When would he ever catch up to his hyungs who always left him out?

The stroller suddenly picked up pace as Aecha saw her five-year-old son trying to climb onto the ledge of the fountain. "Jaemin, get down!" she demanded, and the boy turned his head in surprise, then gave a look of despair as he explained that his flower had somehow landed in the water.

Knowing her son wouldn't hesitate to get wet in order to get back his possession, Aecha frantically plucked a different flower from a nearby flower bed. "Honey, you can have this one."

Nana took it quietly, although his mother knew that nothing she gave him could replace something that his beloved hyung had given him.

Nana's beloved Jung Jaehyun-hyung.

Now, thirteen years later, Jaemin was indeed still keeping tabs on Jaehyun, under different social media accounts and names. Even if his hyung had disowned Jaemin, Jaemin couldn't do the same. He loved his "Jae-hyungie" too much. He wanted to know about Jaehyun's life, the trips he went on, the performances he had coming up. Maybe, just maybe, Jaemin could somehow get into the performing arts building some night to secretly watch Jaehyun's acting, to get a glimpse of his hyung, before quickly leaving unseen.

Did Jae-hyungie miss his Nana? Jaemin wondered.

Or had he, like his parents, given up on him long ago?