Only one second can change your whole life or even end it.

That's the first thing going through Jaejoong's mind as his car finally stops swirling around and comes to a halt with the whole vehicle covered in dust and its back deformed by a large tree. It's almost a miracle how they didn't crash into it front first considering how uncontrolled the vehicle had been until a few seconds ago.

„Junsu...“ Jaejoong croaks out before looking over to this brother on the passenger seat.“You okay?“

Much to Jaejoong's relief, Junsu nods.

„How about you?“

„I'm fine.“ Jaejoong assures, albeit shakily.

Junsu closes his eyes and leans back, breathing out in relief although his heart is still dancing wildly within his chest.

It had been their fifth hour of driving from Seoul to a small village – which Junsu claimed to lie in the middle of nowhere - where they are supposed to supervise the renovation of a mansion their aunt bought not long ago and only a few minutes away from their destination, a small boy suddenly came running from between the orange trees of the plantation they were driving past, cutting their way and forcing Jaejoong to maneuver the car off the street in order to safe the boy's life.

It had been their luck that Jaejoong did not drive overly fast to begin with.

"We could've died." The younger man mutters, rather to himself than to his brother.

But Jaejoong replies nevertheless."Yeah..."

A sudden knock at the window of the driver's seat has them gasp in shock and Junsu swears to have never been any closer to a heart attack before.

Jaejoong opens the window."Y-Yes?"

"We called for help." The elderly man informs them, his gaze full of worry as he eyes the two brothers."It might be dangerous to stay in the car."

Jaejoong nods in agreement before leaving the car with Junsu mimicking his actions.

They don't know how much damage the accident has truly done to their car and how dangerous it is to stay inside of it. Leaving it seems highly advisable right now.

The two brothers follow the elderly man towards a group of people standing not far away and amongst them is the little boy who caused the accident earlier. Truth to be told, Jaejoong is a little upset about the boy's carelessness, but he is just a child after all and what counts is everyone being alive.

Feeling how shaky his legs are, Jaejoong opts for taking a seat on the grass and causes Junsu to rush to his side in an instant."Hyung, what's wrong?"

Jaejoong takes a deep breath."I'm just...my legs feel like jelly and my hands..."

Junsu frowns in concern once he sees what his brother means. Jaejoong is shaking all over. His worry over his brother increasing by a tenfold, Junsu joins Jaejoong on the grass and wraps one arm around him in a silent attempt to comfort the other. It's one thing to witness such an accident from the passenger seat, a whole nother when you are the one driving the car.

"Please let me through!" A male voice calls out and causes not only the people around them but also Jaejoong and Junsu to look towards the voice's source.

"I'm Dr. Kang." The elderly man introduces himself, soon crouching down in front of them.

Jaejoong believes him to be about their grandfather's age judging by his physical appearance. His hair is short and mostly black although the amount of grey is hard to ignore, his face full of marks of age in forms of tiny wrinkles which only get emphasized even more by the warm smile he seems to wear regularly.

"I'm Kim Jaejoong." Jaejoong introduces himself before taking a glance at the younger Kim."And this is Junsu, my brother."

The motor sound of a big vehicle resonating nearby catches the two heirs' attention and soon after, two men dressed in oil-smeared bib overalls which have been made into makeshift denim jeans with their top part folded down and lower part fixated around their owners' bodies through black belts exit the big truck parked by the roadside. Junsu almost feels personally attacked by how tall they are, especially the one wearing a grey, sleeveless shirt.

The two of them do not bother to introduce themselves before making their way towards the car of Jaejoong and Junsu, although the slightly smaller one does look over to them fleetingly while Dr. Kang is examining them.

It's only a few minutes after that two police officers arrive and approach them.

"How are they, Doc?"

"They are fine as far as I can see." Dr. Kang replies as he finishes examining the two brothers sitting in front of him, a small smile gracing his lips."They'll need to get treated for some minor injuries on arms and backs, but other than that, they are alright. Go easy on them."

"Sure thing, Doc." The slightly taller one between the two police officers says, not paying further attention on Dr. Kang as the elderly man takes care of the two brothers."I'm Officer Kang and this here is my partner, Officer Park."

Officer Park nods in recognition.

"Could you tell us what happened?"

Jaejoong nods, taking a short glance their car's way before he starts to answer to all the questions the two officers have.
 

"Sunday morning? Not any sooner?"

"No." The man on the other line confirms."I still have some important things to take care of and since your drivers are busy driving your parents ar-"

"Yeah I got it." Jaejoong sighs and briefly catches the tan mechanic staring at him, something about the other's gaze making him shy away."Just get us home as soon as possible please. We don't even know where to sleep at tonight. There's not even one hotel nearby and I heard the house aunt Haneul bought is still one big construction site without any windows, so staying there is not an option."

"I wish I could help you, but I know no one over there and-"

Jaejoong takes a deep breath and cuts the other off."It's okay, Yoochun. We'll handle this somehow. Just make sure to pick us up Sunday morning. I gotta go, my phone's dying."

"Alright, see you Sunday morning."

Even more frustrated than he had been before the phone conversation with their family's lawyer - and his most trustworthy friend - , Jaejoong hangs up and gets up from the makeshift bench made of tires to approach the two mechanics currently inspecting his car.

"A friend is coming to get us on Sunday. Will my car be repaired by then?"

"Wouldn't bet on it." The taller mechanic replies."It's hard to get our hands on spare parts for such luxurious cars out here, so the delivery could take a while. Monday would be the earliest we could get your car done."

Jaejoong groans.

Great. Just great.

"Since you don't know where to stay until then..." The tan man speaks and ignores the glare he receives from his partner."The two of you could stay with me and my cousin. You'd have to share one room, but I guess it would be fine for a few days, right?"

"Uh-" Comes the not so eloquent reply from Jaejoong as he stares at the other.

"Changmin and I live only a three minutes away from here." Pearl white teeth are being revealed as Jaejoong is gifted a smile."I'm Jung Yunho by the way. Just in case you're curious."

"Kim Jaejoong." Jaejoong replies with a wary smile, soon spotting his brother exit the bathroom."That's a kind offer, but I'll need to talk about it with my brother first."

Not waiting for any reply, Jaejoong immediately walks towards Junsu and pulls him towards a corner despite the other's soft protests.

"Hyung I almost tripped!"

"I'm sorry." The older heir replies."It's just...the two mechanics offered to take us in. My car can't be fixed before Monday and Yoochun can't get to us before Sunday. And since we don't have any other place to stay-"

"Oh no! No!" Junsu protests."Hyung, this is how horror movies start. Some town kids get stuck in the middle of nowhere and take the offer to stay at someone's house and at first everyone seems so nice to them but then they suddenly got some metal poles in their heads!"

"Excuse you, Flipper's twin on two legs!" The taller mechanic – Changmin – calls out, seeming rather offended while his cousin chooses to snicker."We are poor, not psychotic."

"H-How did you call me?" Junsu is visibly angry.

Not that Changmin cares."I said-"

"Alright, let's just forget about it please." Not wanting to get into trouble, Jaejoong immediately places himself in front of Junsu and holds up his hands in surrender as he tries his hardest to appease Changmin with a smile.

But only when Yunho chooses to step in and pull Changmin back does the seemingly younger mechanic decide to let it go.

"I'm sorry, Junsu ssi. Sometimes, my cousin speaks faster than he can think."

"Hyung-"

"Changmin, it's enough." Yunho does not raise his voice as he silences his cousin, not that he has to.

There lies a certain sense of authority in the way Yunho speaks and that's obviously a sign for Changmin to not go against his cousin, something Jaejoong finds rather impressive considering how Changmin seems to usually be someone who would never hold back for anyone.

"Please let me make it up to you and welcome you in our house until you can go back to Seoul." A smile of slight amusement lies on Yunho's bow-shaped lips."And I guarantee you that you're safe with us. The biggest crime anyone committed in this village within the past ten years is stealing oranges from the plantations."

Jaejoong turns around slightly to have a better look at his brother, nudging the other a little when he hears Junsu grumble something incoherent under his breath.

"If you really don't mind, we'll gladly accept your offer." Jaejoong says, soon sinking his teeth into his bottom lip as he looks at Changmin in nervousness.

He knows that, unlike Yunho, Changmin is not very fond of the idea of letting him and Junsu stay over at their place. And Jaejoong can't really blame him for it. To take in some strangers would make him hesitate as well.

"Do whatever you want." Changmin mutters Jaejoong's way with a roll of his eyes, soon receiving a light nudge from Yunho which causes him to take a deep breath and sport a forced smile on his lips."I mean, you're welcomed to stay with us as long as it is neccesary."

"Thank you." The older heir responds and bows down in gratitude, making sure to tug at Junsu's hand so the other would follow his example.

"Changmin, I'll go and bring our guests to our house. You can manage all this while I'm gone, right?" Yunho asks, receiving a leisure nod from Changmin in return.

Yunho smiles and gestures towards the exit of the repair shop, waiting for Jaejoong and Junsu to step out first before he catches up with them and leads them to the left.

The sun is merciless and Junsu is starting to regret having put on a long-sleeved shirt albeit knowing how hot it was going to be today. But much to his luck, the house of Yunho and Changmin is not very far away just like Yunho had said. It's not very big, but not overly small either and Jaejoong imagines a family of four to fit into it just fine.

"It may not be as big as your house, but I hope you'll like it here nevertheless." Yunho smiles sheepishly as he unlocks the front door and steps into the building with Jaejoong and Junsu following him.

He immediately leads them into the kitchen--living room which is surprisingly spacy considering the size of the house as a whole.

"It's bigger than I expected." Junsu mutters and receives a warning look from Jaejoong in return.

But Yunho doesn't seem to mind and chuckles in response."Yeah. It belonged to my grandparents. They put majority of their earnings into expanding the house bit by bit and when they passed away, my parents continued and finished what my grandparents started. Without them, Changmin and I wouldn't be able to effort such a big house."

Jaejoong hesitates, but decides to ask nevertheless albeit very carefully."Where are your parents now?"

"My mother passed away a year ago and my father is now living with Changmin's father in Jeju to help him managing a restaurant. Changmin likes to eat, but working in a restaurant isn't anything he'd like to do, so he decided to come and help me out over here." Yunho pauses and scratches the back of his head shyly."I'm sorry. You asked one simple question and I'm telling you my whole life story."

"No, that's...you don't have to apologize." Jaejoong responds."And we're sorry to hear about your mother."

"Our heartfelt sympathy." Junsu speaks and there is a certain softness in his eyes which makes Yunho want to disagree to his cousin's impression of Junsu wholeheartedly.

Junsu, albeit having a bit of a running mouth, doesn't seem even half as bad as Changmin takes him for. Sometimes, he has the very same expression as Jaejoong on his face. Friendly and almost innocent.

"Thank you." The tanned man speaks softly."Please make yourself at home. Changmin and I won't be back until 10 PM so if you want to take a shower, take your time and if you are tired, you don't have to wait up for us. I'll go and get your room ready before I leave, it's the one right across from this one and you can wear the clothes inside the closet in the room after showering. My clothes should fit the two of you just fine."

Yunho then steps towards the fridge and opens it."We got some kimchi stew and grilled fish left and there is enough cooked rice left for you, so if you are hungry you can eat it all. Changmin and I will bring more food with us later. Or if you want to eat more now, I'll go and buy some for you right away and-"

"Yunho ssi, it's okay." Jaejoong cuts him off with an airy chuckle."You shouldn't waste so much of your time on us. How about you just tell us where we can get some groceries or buy some toothpaste and toothbrushes?"

The mechanic smiles sheepishly as he realizes how much he has been talking until Jaejoong cut him off."There is a small shop not far away from here. When you exit the house, you just need to go left until you are by the street and then turn right. You'll see it right away. There are some who sell fresh vegetables and such in front of the shop."

Jaejoong nods in response and smiles."Alright, thank you."

"So..." Yunho dralws as she looks around."I'll go and prepare the room for you guys before leaving, feel free to use the TV. If there is anything, you can always come over into the repair shop and tell us. I'll leave the keys by the entrance in case you want to go out and need to lock the door."

"Yes, thank you." The older amongst the two brothers says and smiles once he hears Junsu muttering a second 'Thank you' right after.

Yunho smiles and leaves the room as Jaejoong and Junsu make their way towards the nearest window and look around. There is not much around for them to see beside a few small houses, some with and others without grey concrete walls surrounding them. All in all, this seems to be a very peaceful area and Jaejoong feels more at ease now although the last bit of his uneasiness does not disappear until a few minutes later when Yunho leaves the house.

Junsu is the first one to move away from the window to bend down in front of the small TV standing on a comode, turning it on with a sigh."Might as well watch something."

Jaejoong smiles and sits down by the table not far away from the TV where Junsu joins him soon after."We should cook something for them."

"Huh?" Junsu frowns.

"As a thank you." Jaejoong elaborates.

"Yes, but hyung..." The younger heir pauses."We don't know how to cook."

Jaejoong shrugs."We'll figure it out somehow. Let's go and buy some groceries first."

Something inside of Junsu is begging for him to somehow convince Jaejoong to thank their hosts with something else and let the risky idea to cook be, but like so often in his life, Junsu can't really say no to his brother.

He sighs and points towards the TV ."Fine, but let me watch this soccer game first."

Jaejoong nods in agreement.
 

"I reek of fish." Junsu wrinkles his nose in distaste and lifts his right arm to smell his shirt, his frown only deepening when he takes in the smell of oil and fish stuck there."I'll take a shower."

Jaejoong nods, briefly catching a glimpse of Junsu walking away before he himself takes a deep breath and starts to clean the cooking utensils they've used, making sure to do it as thoroughly as possible so neither Yunho nor Changmin will have a reason to kick them out later on. He is so immersed in what he is doing that he does not notice Changmin entering the house, swiftly making his way towards the bathroom without even bothering to greet Jaejoong.

A loud shriek which is undoubtedly his younger brother's signature cry resonating in the whole house causes Jaejoong to freeze momentarily before he lets the pan in his hands fall into the sink, soon making his way towards the bathroom where he sees Changmin standing by the entrance as the young mechanic tries hard to dodge and avoid all the things being thrown at him from inside the room.

", yah!" Changmin yells."Would you just stop it already?"

"W-What in the world-"

"You ert! Not even the fact that I'm a man can stop your filthy self!"

Changmin almost growls in response and finally takes his hands down before storming into the bathroom and causes Jaejoong to follow him. When the older heir can finally see his brother, he finds Junsu all and covered in water while Changmin is holding onto his wrists in an attempt to prevent Junsu from throwing a bottle of shampoo at him.

Not that it's going to stop Junsu.

Letting out another cry, Junsu swiftly places his right leg behind Changmin's, tripping him as he uses the weight of his upper body to press Changmin down at the same time. It doesn't take more than a second later for the young mechanic to find himself lying on the wet ground with his back being soaked by water. He doesn't even know when Junsu managed to free his arms and place one of them around his neck, but he is thankful for it as his head is spared from having a painful collision with the stone floor.

"Filthy ert!" Junsu accuses and retrieves the bottle of shampoo he let go of earlier and lifts it up in a threatening manner.

"Junsu wait!" Jaejoong rushes by and pulls his brother away from Changmin, making sure to cover the younger heir with a towel."What happened?"

"I was showering and then he came in peeping at me!"

"Oh please as if there's anything on you worth peeping at! I only came in to get some Tiger Balm out of the cupboard and the door wasn't even locked." Changmin sits up with a grunt and messages the sore spot of his nape with his right hand."Who knew duckbutt actually got some kungfu moves up his sleeves."

Junsu clicks his tongue."Taekwondo. I got a black belt in Taekwondo."

"It's pretty much the same."

"It's n-"

"Quit it!" Jaejoong half-yells and places himself between his brother and Changmin."Changmin ssi, you can of course take your time and get everything you need out of the cupboard."

At those words, Changmin gets up and walks towards the small cupboard hanging above the sink to get out a jar of Tiger Balm, not failing to send a glare Junsu's way before he exits the room with Jaejoong following him.

"Don't forget to lock the door." Jaejoong warns his brother before closing the mentioned wooden barrier from the outside before he jogs to catch up with Changmin."Changmin ssi, I'm sorry."

The young mechanic sighs and turns around."Teach your brother to not blame others for his own mistakes."

Jaejoong is unable to do anything else but nod before Changmin exits the building, the harsh way in which the other shuts the door behind himself having him flinch a little.

Not knowing what else to do, Jaejoong goes right back into the kitchen where he continues to work on washing the dishes, silently promising to raise their servants' salary the moment he returns home. It's only now that he sees just how hard it really is to cook and clean.

"Is he gone?"

Jaejoong takes a short glance at his brother as the other steps into the room and nods."Yes."

"Good." Junsu says in relief before starting to adjust the clothes he wears as they appear to be way too tight for him, especially around the area.

"You know that you should apologize, right?"

"But hyung-" Junsu's protests die down the moment he receives a stern look from his brother."Yes."

"You did leave the door unlocked, so-"

"Yes I know, it's partly my fault." The younger heir admits and let out a sigh before taking the sponge out of Jaejoong's hand."Go ahead and shower, hyung. I'll take care of this."

Jaejoong nods with a smile.
 

Yunho can't help but raise his eyebrows in wonder when he spots his cousin storming back into the repair shop, the younger male looking more than frustrated as he hands him the Tiger Balm Yunho requested for earlier. Not taking his eyes off of Changmin, Yunho starts to take care of the slight burn on his right wrist, wondering just what happened in their house.

The younger mechanic presses his lips into a thin line and tries his hardest to forget what he had seen in the bathroom a few minutes ago. But the harder he tries to forget, the more details he remembers. Very delicate details.

"." Comes the breathy hiss from Changmin and Yunho looks up from his arm to look at his cousin as the other moves around the car they are supposed to repair almost helplessly.

Not only does Changmin seem strangely unfocused, his face also seems oddly red.

"Changmin, are you falling sick?"

Taking a short glance at Yunho, Changmin shakes his head."No. I-I'm not."

Yunho furrows his brows as if questioning the other's honesty but does not ask anything further.
 

When Yunho and Changmin return home, it's late already and they are both surprised to find their guests in the living room with the younger heir sleeping on the ground while Jaejoong is busy trying to keep the mosquitos away from his brother.

Yunho recognizes the clothes Jaejoong is wearing right away and bites back a chuckle as he realizes just how tiny Jaejoong looks in his clothes. The t-shirt is way too big for him and tends to reveal Jaejoong's shoulders to everyone's eyes while the jogging pants' legs are way too long and cover Jaejoong down to his toes. It's an admittedly adorable sight to return to.

The older mechanic then spots the food on the table."You cooked?"

Jaejoong flashes him a weary smile."We tried."

"Thank you." Comes a rather soft reply from Yunho before he nudges Changmin and causes the other to mutter a few words of gratitude as well.

Yunho gives him a slightly disapproving look, but Jaejoong on the other hand doesn't seem to mind Changmin's rather unethusiastic response as the merely replies with a smile and motions for the two cousins to have a seat. He deligently scoops up some rice and puts it into four bowls, proportioning the rice fairly before giving Yunho and Changmin one bowl each.

"You didn't have to wait for us to have dinner." Yunho says."You must be hungry."

Changmin rolls his eyes at Yunho's worry-filled gaze but can't help feeling slightly bad for the two brothers as well although his worry disappears the moment he sees Junsu getting up after being shaken awake by Jaejoong, revealing the front of the shirt the young heir wears as Junsu stretches himself.

"Why are you wearing my clothes?" The frown on Changmin's face grows deeper the moment the young mechanic discovers that Junsu is not only wearing his shirt but also his pants."You are going to stretch my pants too much with that big of yours."

"Changmin!" Yunho frowns in disapproval and nudges the other slightly when he sees Changmin parting his lips as if wanting to protest.

Changmin bites back a reply and ignores Junsu's glare as concentrates on the food.

"I'm sorry." Jaejoong apologizes."We didn't know those are yours."

"It was my mistake anyways." Yunho speaks up before Changmin can."I ironed those a while ago and forgot to put them back into Changmin's room."

"Yeah whatever." Changmin gestures towards the clothes on Junsu's body with the spoon he's holding."You better take those off real quick or your abnormal will ruin my pants."

"My is not abnormal, unlike your big jug ears."

"Yah!"

Yunho clicks his tongue to silence Changmin and causes the other to get up with a huff before the younger mechanic leaves the living room in a hurry. Upon seeing Junsu's grin, Jaejoong gives his brother a disapproving look. The light swat on his arm which follows soon after has Junsu looking at Jaejoong in protest, but he gets up and follows Changmin nevertheless.

Awkward silence fills the air afterwards and the two men remaining inside the house find themselves focusing on their food more than necessary. Yunho wants to say something – anything – to get rid of the silence, but is unable to come up with something good. So he decides to just start eating, unaware of Jaejoong's curious gaze on him as he let some stir fried pork disappear inside his mouth.

And the moment the food touches his tongue, Yunho stops short, unable to eat further.

It feels like he just put a whole package of salt into his mouth and Yunho tries hard to not grimace. He looks up and notices Jaejoong being all nervous, scared even, and although consuming something that salty is probably not very good for his health, Yunho swallows the food and smiles at Jaejoong.

But the heir does not miss the subtle cringe on Yunho's face the moment the mechanic forces the piece of pork down his throat.

He subconsciously grimaces himself and quickly gets a hold of Yunho's hand to stop him when the other is about to reach for more of the food."Don't. I was hoping that it would taste less salty with rice, but I guess I thought wrongly."

"It's not that bad." Yunho argues, not sounding very convincing.

He tries to not blush when he notices that Jaejoong is still holding onto him. Jaejoong's fingers are chubby and cute and Yunho suddenly feels like kissing each of them, adoring every single spot on the other's body. But the soft feeling of Jaejoong's fingers around his hand soon disappears just like his vivid imagination.

Yunho raises his eyebrows in wonder as he watches Jaejoong. The young heir gets a hold of his own chopsticks and proceeds to put one piece of pork into own mouth as if wanting to see for himself how much he's messed up the simple dish. But the meat barely gets to touch his tongue when Jaejoong cries out and spits it out into one of the napkins Junsu and he bought earlier.

Yunho laughs, quickly filling Jaejoong's glass with water before giving it to the other.

Kim Jaejoong is quite cute.