spread between the bowls, a smell of freshly baked cookies came from the oven behind them.
Jihoon smiled the same untroubled smile when they turned to look at him, confused.
“It’s Halloween tomorrow. It’s our favorite celebration.” Jihoon said with a cheery tone.
There was a strange ring to his voice. As if Jihoon believed his brother was still alive. “I used
to go trick-or-treating with Seungcheol-hyung when I was a kid, but now I’m a little too old
for that, don’t you think?” Jihoon chuckled merrily. “So, I’m going to give away candies for
the kids instead! Will you guys join me?”
Junhui, Wonwoo, and Soonyoung stared at each other, bewildered. But seeing how Jihoon
looked at them with a naive expression, smiling expectantly, they couldn’t help but to return
the smile and agreed to his invitation.
“Great! We’re going to have so much fun!”
Jihoon hugged Junhui, the latter placed a loving kiss on top of Jihoon’s head. Junhui then saw
something, and he took Jihoon’s chin to tilt his face.
“Your cheek looks a bit swollen. What happened?”
Jihoon grinned, showing a gap near the corner of his stretched lips.
“I lost my wisdom tooth.”
On the evening of the next day, they gathered again at Jihoon’s house, dressed in costume.
Soonyoung wore a black shirt with a really low cut, exposing his collarbones and a good part
of his milky chest. A pair of striped feline ears perched on his head, a leather choker with a
bell wrapped around his neck. Wonwoo, who was dressed as a masked vampire, couldn’t keep
his eyes away from Soonyoung. Junhui imitated the appearance of Frankenstein’s monster.
He rolled his eyes at the dazzled Wonwoo, gaining a little laugh from Jihoon, who wore an
Ironman helmet and a glowing circle on his chest, right on top of his apron. He was going to
give away many sweets, so he had to be prepared to mold more candies and bake more cook-
ies.
They had cleaned the house and decorated it with paper crafts and lamps, all in the shape of
pumpkins and bats. Junhui put some skeletons with pirate hats, eye-patches and fake cutlasses
in front of the house, along with dozens of Jack-O’-Lanterns, making the house stood out,
fascinating the kids. As the sky started to get darker, they came to knock on the door one by
one. Jihoon enthusiastically welcomed them, giving them a generous amount of sweets. He
greeted them all with a wide smile and a pat on the head, chatting cheerfully with them.
Soonyoung stared fondly at Jihoon, who didn’t stop moving from the kitchen to the front
door, his steps were light and happy. “I’m glad he’s okay...” Wonwoo hugged him from
behind, putting his chin on Soonyoung’s shoulder. “Yeah. I think he has accepted the loss.
Ready to move on with his life.” Soonyoung sniffed, but his smile lingered. “And we will