A Lullaby of Reminiscence

Chapter 1

High notes, low notes. Without a compass or pattern, the notes echoed at an innocent flow from a child's heart. It wasn't important whether the melody was correct or not. What really mattered was that little boy who was enjoying himself through the music he was creating. That music didn't exist or was composed by a famous songwriter. It was more a bunch of random sounds.

"Hoonie, time to go to bed" Lee Jung Sook called, appearing at his back. Not getting any response from him, she tickled his ribs, gaining the desired reaction. Little Hoon laughed and turned to hug his mother.

The women took him to her embrace and together they went to the little one's bedroom. Jung Sook put him on the bed and then sat beside him.

"Mommy, why do people sing?" Hoon asked, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

"Oh my dear, what a question!" She laughed, but soon answered, "Music is the voice of our souls. People sing to show this voice, to show their feelings".

"So the lullabies are inside voices saying goodnight?"

"No." His mother said sweetly. "They are..."

They are voices reassuring you that your memories will be turned out as dreams while you sleep, engraving in your heart so you'll never forget what is truly important.

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"...oon! Hoon! Hoon-ah!" A loud voice called for him, suddenly waking him up. As soon as Hoon slowly opened his eyes, he met a pair of dark ones gazing at him. "You have dozed off again. Come on, it's our turn."

Hoon nodded and got up, a little dazed, looking at the mirror a couple of times to make sure his make-up was in order and his hair wasn't messed up. He entered the elevator with the leader and breathed heavily, feeling more tired than normal. Soohyun, on the other hand, was making some warm-ups for his voice since they would start with their duet song and then sing U-KISS' newest song with the rest of the group.

However, soon the silence turned to be very uncomfortable. Usually, Hoon was very cheerful, but now it felt like all his colors faded out. It was their first comeback performance since AJ had returned. Shouldn't he be more cheerful? Soohyun didn't understand. Since their last conversation back in Japan, he noticed how Hoon seemed more and more distant. Even though there was a time when he would cling a lot with Kiseop and interact less with Soohyun himself, now it seemed the blond one – Hoon decided to dye his hair for the newest comeback – was retreating into his own space. In a suspicious way, Soohyun had to point out. The leader didn't know if the other members have been noticing since Hoon was faking all his actions pretty well, but Soohyun sure had. Actually, to be honest, he was enough.

"Hyung" Hoon broke the silence "Do you think there is something more painful than pain?"

This caught Soohyun off guard. He tilted his head a bit, thinking about an answer that was good enough. In the beginning, it seemed like there was none. Then, he remembered something.

"Yeah. To lose someone you really love, but without yours or their choice." Soohyun said in a quite bitter tone, narrowing his eyes.

Hoon immediately understood what his friend had meant, and felt sorry for bringing that subject up. It wasn't a good moment to make Soohyun remember his taken dad.

"Ah, don't make this face. It's okay. I prefer to save the good memories in my heart."

"Memories?" Hoon echoed in a whisper tone. Then, he commented in a loud voice. "To have such beautiful memories is a great thing, right?"