It was a quiet evening for Kibum. The boys were at their after school programs, Minho was stuck at a late-night practice, and Kibum had just finished up the costume design sketches he was assigned to do. All that's left on his agenda was to send them off, but he settled on doing that in the morning. 

While he was in the kitchen pondering on what to make for dinner, his quiet serenity was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. 

He rolled his eyes whispering, "What did they do this time," as he thought the call was about either Jongin or Taemin. They're not bad kids, but they often find themselves getting into trouble due to their crazy antics.  

However, upon reaching his phone on the counter, he was surprised to see the caller ID titled Jonghyun. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to imagine what he could be calling for. They usually only talked if it involves the boys. 

Knowing it was only one way to find out, he timidly answered the phone, "Hello?"

A sigh of relief came from Jonghyun's end. "Kibum."

"Um, hey. Do you need something?"

"I just.... I just really wanted to hear your voice. That's all."

"We just saw each other last weekend, Jonghyun."

He chuckled. "I know. I guess I just wanted to hear your voice because your voice always calms be down. It's working now."

Kibum scratched the back of his neck as he asked, "Did something happen?"

Jonghyun took awhile to answer, contemplating whether he should tell Kibum about what happened the other night with Taeyeon. He knew she had a point. He's an adult with adult needs. However, he couldn't shake this feeling of guilt that constantly reminded him of his actions. It wasn't any of Kibum's business, yet Jonghyun felt like he needed to tell him. He needed to tell someone. 

"Jonghyun? Are you still there?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm here."

Kibum walked around the kitchen, taking out pots and pans as he continued the conversation. "Well, are you going to tell me-"

"Are you busy?" he interrupted. 

"Sort of, but not really. I'm trying to see what to cook for dinner, but I haven't started yet. Why?"

"I just-"

"Jonghyun, please tell me what's wrong with you. You're acting stranger than normal."

He let out a groan. "It's hard to explain, but I can explain it better face-to-face. Are you home right now?"

"Yeah...but if you're asking for an invitation over here, I don't think that's a good idea. What if Minho comes home? What would he think? He may not have much of a problem with you now, but who knows how he'll react to you being inside of our house?"

"Kibum, please. I swear I'm not trying to do anything sketchy. I just really need to talk to someone...a friend." Kibum picked up on how distressed Jonghyun sounded. He continued, "Plus, I'm already outside of your house." 

Kibum's eyes widened as he ran to the living room window, seeing Jonghyun white Lexus parked on the pavement beside the mailbox.  

"What the hell?!"

Jonghyun quickly defended. "I know what it looks like, but I really needed to talk to you, Kibum. Something's really bothering me."

"I get that, Jonghyun. I do, but what I don't get is how you felt the need to invite yourself over to my house without even consulting me first! What if I would've said no?! What if I was busy and out of town somewhere? Your trip would've been a waste of time!"

Kibum was livid and Jonghyun could basically feel the heat coming through the phone. He had a feeling Kibum would react this way, but he knew Kibum was a nice person. He knew he would hear him out after he was done with his angry tirade. 

He got out of his car and walked up the driveway towards the door, still on the phone with Kibum. 

Kibum quickly interrupted his steps by saying, "If you walk you closer, I swear on everything I love that you're going to regret it."

Maybe messing with a pregnant Kibum wasn't the best idea Jonghyun could've come up with. "I'm sorry-"

"No you're not! If you were, you would've thought this through."

Jonghyun was about to reply when he was interrupted by the sound of a school bus stopping in front of the house. Then his two boys ran off in excitement upon seeing Jonghyun standing in the driveway. 

Taemin was the first to hug him and ask, "Oh my gosh, Appa! What are you doing here?!"

Jongin hugged Jonghyun and commented, "Yeah, Umma didn't say anything about you being here."

Jonghyun smiled warmheartedly as he hugged his boys and pulled away to look at them as he answered their questions. "It was a surprise!" 

Jongin laughed, "You sure did surprise me."

At that moment, Kibum opened the front door. "Boys, come inside."

They both nodded and walked to the door, each holding a hand of Jonghyun's, dragging him to the door. Taemin asked, "Umma, can Appa come in too?"

Jonghyun smiled internally knowing Kibum couldn't deny the boys of seeing their father. 

Kibum was having an internal battle. He didn't want Jonghyun to come inside, but he also didn't want to be the cause of his sons' disappointment. 

With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair as he nodded. Jonghyun was dragged inside by his ecstatic sons, but as he passed Kibum, the latter whispered, "Let's make this quick because I need to make dinner for the boys."

Jonghyun nodded before being dragged to the living room. 

"Appa," said Jongin as he and Taemin let their appa sit on the couch, "Let's play some video games. I have some new ones since the last time we played!"

"Oh, really?" Jonghyun asked excitedly. "What do you have?"

"Call of Duty, Left for Dead, Halo 5, Assassin's Creed-"

"A lot of violent games. Does your umma let you play these? Did he get them for you?"

Taemin answered, "Umma would never get these for us. Dad bought them. He almost let us get Grand Theft Auto, but Umma flipped out and Dad said no," Taemin finished with a frown. 

Jonghyun flicked Taemin's lip which caused him to smile. "Hey, your umma's looking out for you and has your best interest at heart. You should always respect him and his decisions, ok? Both of you."

They answered simultaneously, "Yes, Appa."

Jonghyun grinned. "Now how about those games!"

Taemin and Jongin went to find a game to play with Jonghyun, but their search came to an end as Kibum came in the living room and said, "No, there will not be any games for anyone if your homework is not done."

Jongin whined. "But umma, we finished most of our homework at school. Can we just play one round and then finish the rest of our homework later?"

It was a nice try, but Kibum was stern with his decision. "The last time I let you two do that, you forgot all about homework and I received a call the next day from your teachers stating you didn't do your homework. Now, get upstairs and finish your homework. You'll be able to play games when you're done."

Taemin smacked his lips, something Jonghyun wasn't used to hearing, but Kibum was accustomed to. "What was that," Kibum challenged. 

Taemin just mumbled, "Nothing," and stomped upstairs with Jongin to finish their homework. 

Jonghyun chuckled as he watched Kibum flop on the couch next to him with a sigh. "I see they're becoming quite the handful."

Kibum let out a tiny smile. "You have no idea. I still love them though, but enough with them. Since you're here now and it doesn't seem like I can get rid of you, are you going to tell me what's been bothering you now?"

Jonghyun's heart dropped and his whole demeanor changed as he was brought back to reality. He knew he had no reason to be this nervous. He had been advised by many, even Kibum, to move on. He guessed it was just the way he did it that haunted him. 

"Jonghyun-"

"I ed my co-worker." Jonghyun stared at the floor, not able to look Kibum in the eye. 

Kibum was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't expecting that to come out of Jonghyun's mouth, so raw and vulgar. 

"Are you ok?" He asked slowly. He wasn't sure why this made Jonghyun feel so guilty. What he did in the bedroom was his business. 

Jonghyun placed his head in his hand as he tried to hold back tears. "I should be, but I'm not."

Kibum always knew Jonghyun to be an easy crier, so he just did what he always used to do, which was rub the other's back as a way of comfort. He spoke gently, "Why are you not ok? Jonghyun, you should not be beating yourself up over this."

"I know that, Kibum. That's what makes this so frustrating. I just couldn't keep this from you. Despite our past, you're the closest thing to a friend that I have. This secret has been eating me up for the past few days."

Kibum was touched. "It's sweet that you feel the need to tell me things like this. I'm always here for you, Jonghyun. However, I'm not your mom. I'm not going to shun you for doing something like this. I'm actually happy that you've been able to step outside of your comfort zone and do this with someone."

Jonghyun raised his head abruptly with red teary eyes to look at Kibum. "But you don't understand. It's not just you that makes me feel guilty. It's the boys. It's the fact that if they knew about this, they would finally understand what kind of weak dickhead of a father I am."

Jonghyun broke down into his hands, causing Kibum to instinctively wrap his arms around Jonghyun, embracing him while rubbing his shoulder. "Oh, Jonghyun."

Jonghyun sniffed. "I'm a horrible father." Just hearing him repeat that angered Kibum. 

"Stop saying that! You're a great father, Jonghyun. You know it, I know it, and most importantly, the boys know it. We've all done things we're not proud of, but you can't let this dictate you. Firstly, Jongin and Taemin are too young to even grasp this situation. Second, who's going to tell them anyway? Your situation is not something you tell your kids about. So please, stop beating yourself up over this. Please. Can you do that for me?"

"I don't know," he whispered. 

Kibum decided not to say anything and to just keep comforting Jonghyun as he silently cried. He knew how Jonghyun could get when his mind made him think one way. 

After a while of silence, Kibum commented. "Just know that I'm not mad at you. While I would rather you find love than going around screwing people, I don't want you to stress yourself over it. Ok?" 

Jonghyun nodded as he calmed down, tightening his embrace with Kibum. 

At that moment, the front door opened and Kibum was faced with a very confused Minho. He unlatched himself from Jonghyun, much to Jonghyun's disappointment. 

Minho slipped off his shoes before asking, "What's this?"

Kibum quickly got off the couch to hug Minho. "Welcome back. I'm glad to see you've made it home safely-"

"Kibum, stop jumping around the question."

Jonghyun stood up and wiped the last of his tears away as he cleared his throat, getting Minho and Kibum's attention. "Please don't be mad at Kibum. I just had a problem and he was being a good friend helping me get over my issue. I promise there was nothing more going on. I'll be on my way out after I say goodbye to the boys." He gave a wave as he ran upstairs to talk to the boys. 

That left Kibum in an awkward situation with his husband. 

"You know," Minho began slowly, "I don't even know where to begin with how horribly wrong this situation looks. Should I start with the fact that Jonghyun's here in the first place? Or should I bring up the fact that you two were just about canoodling on the couch?"

That almost caused Kibum to laugh. "Minho, we were not canoodling. I know this whole situation looks weird, but I can explain."

Minho folded his arms, trying to keep his calm. "Go ahead."

"Ok, so he called me earlier saying that he had a problem and needed to tell me about it-"

"He couldn't have told you over the phone?"

Kibum defended himself, causing his voice to raise slightly. "That's the same thing I said, but he was freaking out, Min."

"And then you fell for his pity party and invited him over."

"Actually, no. I went off on him, thank you very much. Then he told me he was outside of my house."

Minho's eyes widened as he said, "What the ? Are you kidding me?!"

Kibum placed his hands on Minho's shoulders. "Babe, calm down. Trust me, I was livid as well. It was really weird and I still told him not to come in, but then Jongin and Taemin came home from their after school program and they were so happy to see Jonghyun. You should've seen their faces."

"So he used your kids as a way to get in. Nope. Sounds totally normal," Minho said sarcastically. 

"I just couldn't tell them no. It would've devistated them if I told them Jonghyun couldn't come in."

Minho just sighed. "And at this point, you didn't think to text me to give me a heads up that he was at our house? You just hoped that I wouldn't catch you in the act?"

"No, Minho-"

"You wanna know why I'm mad? It's not the fact that he was over here. He has kids with you so I understand that. It's the fact that you didn't tell me. How would you react if I had an ex over and didn't tell you? Wouldn't your mind jump to conclusions?"

"Well-"

"It would, and it's not like I can't stand the guy. We're in a better place than we were a year or so ago, but I still don't trust him. Though he's been to jail and he goes to therapy, that doesn't guarantee that he won't snap back to his old ways."

Kibum was beginning to feel like a child being scolded. He pouted and looked down as he said, "I know."

Upon seeing this, Minho sighed and used a finger to tilt up Kibum's chin, surprised to see there were tears in his eyes. He hugged him as he continued, "I'm just scared, ok? Sometimes you're so nice and so trusting that you throw all caution out the window. I know Jonghyun has changed and is better now, and I'm honestly happy for that, but I also know that he could switch at any moment. Just thinking about what he could do to you while you're here alone scares me."

Kibum sniffed and buried his face into Minho's chest. He whispered, "I'm sorry."

Minho kissed his temple. Kibum was Minho's weakness, even if the older was the cause of a problem. "Don't cry, ok? I love you so much, baby."

"I love you too."

"I don't want you to think I don't trust you, because I do. I trust that nothing sketchy was going on between you two. Just please. Next time, let me know what's going on."

Kibum nodded and pecked Minho on the lips. He knew his husband was right and had a right to be angry. He just couldn't help the tears as they flowed out. 

Damn hormones.  

Minho helped Kibum prepare for dinner. Eventually, Jonghyun came downstairs with the boys who went in the living room to finally play their beloved video games. Jonghyun came into the kitchen to address Minho and Kibum. 

"Again, I'm sorry for barging in on you two."

Minho nodded. "It's no problem, really."

"And Kibum, thanks again for being there for me."

Kibum smiled, "Yeah, I really had no  choice now did I?"

Jonghyun smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. I really appreciate it though. Well, I'm off. I'll see you two around."

Taemin and Jongin ran into the kitchen. Taemin asked, "You're leaving already? But you just got here!"

Jonghyun smiled and hugged Taemin before pecking him on the cheek. "Appa's got to hit the road. I have work in the morning."

Jongin whined, "We don't want you to go."

Jonghyun hugged and pecked Jongin as well. "Hey, no whining ok? You're a big boy now. You'll be in middle school with Taemin soon so you can't whine. I love you, buddy."

Jongin said solemnly, "I love you too, Appa."

He gave a final hug to Jongin and Taemin before he headed out the door. Jongin broke down crying, and Taemin being the good big brother that he is just comforted his little brother saying their appa will be back soon. 

Kibum almost cried himself at the scene, but Minho rubbed his shoulder gently as he said, "He'll be alright. Don't worry."

By the time dinner was finished, Jongin was back to his bubbly self and the hungry family ate a hearty meal as the boys told their parents about their day at school. 

Kibum went to sleep that night with a troubled mind, hoping Jonghyun was ok. 

Another update out the way. And OMG! College is right around the corner for me. I'm not ready to give up my summer vacation. 

Anyway, please leave comments. Let me know how things are going or what you would like to see. ^.~