Key’s POV

                A light knock on the door pulled me from my peaceful sleep. I groaned and rolled over, burying my face deeper into the pillow. The patches of dried paint made my skin feel stiff and uncomfortable, and tangled clumps of pastel hair fell across my forehead.

                “Ne?” Jonghyun’s voice, slow and heavy with sleep, came from beside me, and I smiled slightly as he wrapped his arm more securely around my waist.

                The door creaked loudly as Jonghyun’s mother pushed it open. “Yah, why is the guest bedroom only half-” She stopped mid-sentence as she took in our appearances: Jonghyun wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, his arms wrapped tightly around me. Both of us were adorned with random smears of paint, and my hair stuck up in messy, twisted tangles. I blushed and pressed my face back into the pillow.

                Jonghyun’s mother raised an eyebrow. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” With that, she shut the door quickly behind her and walked back downstairs.

                Jonghyun laughed softly. “For once she’s not getting mixed up in my business.”

                I shook my head and willed my blush to subside. “That was really embarrassing,” I muttered.

                “I’ll lock the door next time,” Jonghyun said softly, burying his face in my hair.

                I felt my face heat up even more at the mere thought of there being a ‘next time’. I rolled away from him and sat up, pushing my tangled hair back from my forehead.

                “Yah.” Jonghyun pouted and grabbed my hand. “Come back.”

                I flashed him a small smile and drew my hand back. “Ani, I’m going to go take a shower. Your umma’s right; we only painted half the bedroom. We need to finish so we can move my furniture in.”

                “What’s the point in taking a shower if you’re just going to get covered in paint again?” Jonghyun reached over, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me back.

                I sighed. “I’m not going to get covered in paint again. This time we’re going to paint the bedroom like mature adults.”

                “Being a mature adult is no fun. I’m actually quite happy with how our paint job turned out.” Jonghyun’s voice was low and quiet as his fingers traced the patterns of dried paint on my back.

                I shivered and felt another blush steal across my face. “I’m serious, Jjong…”

                He sighed and kissed my shoulder softly before letting me go. “Okay, okay.”

                I pulled away from him and snatched the sweat pants and T-shirt from the day before up from the floor. I held them at arm’s length and examined them quickly. I was fairly sure they were covered in less paint than I was. I blushed yet again, shook my head, and made my way to the bathroom.

                I spent the better part of half an hour scrubbing the globs of dried paint from my hair. My scalp ached by the time I shut off the water, but the only colors left in my wet, tangled hair were my rainbow highlights.

                After a quick peek around the doorframe proved that Jonghyun was no longer in his room, I headed downstairs.

                He was standing at the kitchen counter, lazily pouring himself a bowl of cereal and drying his dripping hair with a small towel. He looked up when he heard my footsteps on the stairs and grinned.

                “I really do love your hair messy,” he said casually, twisting the cap onto the milk jug and placing it back on the refrigerator shelf.

                I pouted and ran my hands through my hair. I had completely forgotten to comb it down.

                He grinned again, and strands of his wet golden hair fell into his eyes. He pulled the towel from his head and instead draped it across his shoulders. His hair was a mess, sticking up at random angles as if he had been electrocuted. Overall, he was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful.

                “What are you staring at?” His voice was laced with curiosity.

                I stuck my tongue out at him. “I like your hair messy, too.”

                His cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink and he dropped his gaze to the counter. I marveled at how a simple compliment sent him from smooth and confident to blushing and speechless in mere seconds. Did he really value my opinion that highly?

                He pushed the bowl of cereal across the counter toward me. “Here, you should eat something.”

                I raised an eyebrow. “You should, too.”

                “I’m not really all that hungry.” He shrugged and flashed a small smile in my direction.

                I threw him a curious glance, grabbed the bowl, and set it on the table. Before I had a chance to start eating, Jonghyun’s mother skipped happily down the stairs. She was clad in torn jeans and an oversized T-shirt, and her short, dark hair was pulled back into two tiny pigtails.

                “Morning, lovebirds,” she sang. “I’m going to finish painting Key’s room, all right?”

                Jonghyun’s eyebrows rose. “Aniyo, umma, we can do it.”

                She shook her head. “You guys had plenty of time to paint it yesterday, but, judging by the half-finished job and the overly-hormonal-teenage-boy-sized imprint left on the wall, you didn’t make very much progress in the painting department.” The slight emphasis she put on the word ‘painting’ made me blush again, and I kept my gaze fixed on my cereal bowl. I had forgotten that my pushing Jonghyun against the wall must have left an imprint in the paint.

                “Really, umma, we’ll finish it this time…” Jonghyun’s words were stilted with embarrassment, and I could only imagine how red his face must be.

                “Ani, I want to do it. It’s been ages since I’ve had the chance to paint something; I’ll have fun with it.” She grabbed a can of paint from the countertop, grinned at the both of us, and headed back upstairs.

                Jonghyun sighed. “Your room might look like something from an issue of Better Homes and Gardens when she’s done with it. When I was six, she painted my room bright blue and then made the whole thing look like some prehistoric jungle. She literally hand-painted every tree and rock and mountain, and she added huge dinosaurs and everything. It was crazy.”

                I grinned. “Why didn’t you keep it that way? I would have loved to see that.”

                He shook his head slowly. “It was awesome for a while, but once I turned thirteen, the dinosaur phase was over and I became obsessed with outer space. I think the glow-in-the-dark stars she stuck on my ceiling might still be there.”

                I laughed lightly. “But your room is just white now. Isn’t there anything new to preoccupy your thoughts?”

                “You mean besides you?” One side of his mouth turned up in a small smile. “No, there isn’t.”

                I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. “You could always paint my face on your wall, you know. I personally think it would be a nice touch.”

                He smirked. “Why would I when I have the real thing next to me all night long? I don’t think a painting could ever do you justice.”

                “You’re so cheesy,” I said with a laugh, placing a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

                After I had finished my breakfast and forced my hair into an acceptable style, Jonghyun and I decided to begin the arduous task of moving my furniture. As Jonghyun yelled up the stairs to inform his mother that we were leaving, she poked her head out from the guest bedroom.

                “Your father got a little moving van for you to use so you can bring everything in one trip. It’s just parked in the driveway.”

                “Ahh, really?” Jonghyun glanced out the front window. “Awesome.”

                We headed outside and hopped into the vehicle. It was huge, and the engine roared at an annoyingly high volume as Jonghyun maneuvered it carefully through the streets.

                As we pulled into my familiar driveway, I felt my heart constrict painfully. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to stay away. My body tensed involuntarily, as if preparing to dodge my father’s blows the second I stepped through the door. I jumped slightly as Jonghyun placed his hand over mine.

                “Hey,” he said softly, his voice heavy with concern. “Are you going to be okay?”

                I took a deep breath and laced my fingers through his. “Yeah, I’m all right. The…the memories just…come back pretty strong, you know?”

                His eyes shone with a terribly deep sadness as he stared at me. “My appa and I can do this, if you want. You don’t have to go back in there.”

                I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I think I’ll feel better if I move everything out myself.”

                Jonghyun didn’t respond. Absolute sorrow twisted his features into a mask of pain, and I imagined hearing his heart shatter like a shot glass on hardwood. He looked so incredibly upset, as if the mere thought of me being sad caused him physical pain.

                “Jjong, really… I’m ju-”

                My words were cut off as he wrapped his arms tightly around me and pulled me close. I froze for a moment in surprise, then moved closer and rested my head against his shoulder. He buried his face in my hair.

                “No one will ever hurt you again,” he whispered. “You don’t have to worry about anything anymore. You know that, right?”

                My eyes stung with tears as the unfamiliar feeling of safety and security washed over me again. “Yes,” I whispered back. “I know that.”

                Jonghyun kissed the top of my head lightly. “Don’t ever forget it.”

                I smiled and pulled away, wiping my eyes hastily. “I won’t, Jjong.”

                He smiled back, but it didn’t completely eliminate the sadness in his eyes. “Should we get started?”

                I nodded and stepped onto the driveway. The walk up the porch steps seemed to take a lifetime, and I sighed inwardly as I pushed the door open.

                The interior of the house was dark, dusty, and laced with an oppressive atmosphere. I cringed and made my way toward the stairs as quickly as I could. Jonghyun followed close behind, always keeping a reassuring hold on my hand.

                My room was exactly as I had left it. The familiarity, though, wasn’t at all comforting. I tried not to remember how many times I had hidden in this room; how many times I had cried myself to sleep; how many times I had cursed my life and everyone in it.

                “Ah,” Jonghyun said suddenly, smacking himself lightly on the forehead. “I left the boxes in the van. One second, I’ll go get them.”

                I sighed as he released his grip on my hand and headed back downstairs. I slowly sat down on the edge of my bed. The color of my new room really would look good with my curtains, and the idea of moving everything from this horrible, suffocating place was reassuring.

                When Jonghyun returned with the boxes, we began the tedious task of packing up each and every one of my belongings. The books took the longest. As I pulled volume after volume down from my bookshelf, I marveled at how many there were. I had never truly paid attention to how many books I owned; they had always just sat there silently, my constant companions. Whenever I almost lost hope, they allowed me to escape to worlds where heroes prevailed and the villains were defeated. They allowed me to lose myself in grammar patterns and vocabulary lists until the memories and dangerous thoughts subsided. They had always been there for me.

                I smiled as I slowly drew the thick, clear tape over the top of the last box. I snagged the Sharpie up from the floor and used my teeth to pull off the lid. I scribbled a few hasty words onto the cardboard to remind myself of the box’s contents.

                Jonghyun smiled softly as I replaced the lid and glanced around my room.

                “How does it feel?” He asked quietly. “To know you never have to come back?”

                “Better than you can imagine,” I whispered.

                I saw that deep, heartbreaking sadness flash through his eyes once again as he looked at me. I smiled slightly, and one corner of his mouth turned upward in response.

                “I’m glad you’re happy,” he whispered back, reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair back from my forehead.

                My smile grew wider as I caught his hand in mine. We sat like that for several minutes, taking in the bare, lifeless look of my bedroom. Without the colorful rugs and curtains, it looked genuinely sad.

                “Should we start packing everything out?” My voice sounded uncomfortably loud as I broke the peaceful silence.

                He nodded slowly and sighed. “It’s going to take forever.”

                I stood up and stretched my arms above my head. “But it’s worth it, Jjong.”

                He grinned. “So incredibly worth it.”

                I grabbed the nearest box and balanced it carefully in my arms as I slowly navigated the steep staircase. I pushed open the front door and nearly dropped the box in surprise as a cheerful voice carried across the lawn.

                “Hyung, we came to help!”

                I glanced over the top of the box to see Taemin, Minho, Onew, and Mi Sun standing next to the moving van. Taemin was waving and grinning from ear to ear, one hand clasped firmly in Minho’s.

                Surprise sparked through my brain like wildfire in a dry forest. “How did you guys know we were here?”

                “Jonghyun’s umma said we should come help,” Mi Sun said with a small smile.

                Jonghyun pushed past me and hurried down the porch steps, throwing the box into the back of the moving van without taking notice of the others.

                As he made his way back toward the house, he stopped and stared, his eyes widening comically.

                “How did you guys know we were here?”

                Mi Sun rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed at having to say the same explanation twice. “Your umma said we should come help you.”

                Jonghyun shook his head. “That woman really does not know when to quit.”

                Taemin grinned. “We want to help, hyung! Now, what else needs to be done?”

                After several hours of pushing, shoving, and lifting – and the minor setback that occurred when Onew tripped on the bottom step and sent an entire box of language books tumbling across the floor – we had every box and piece of furniture loaded into the back of the moving van.

                “Hyung, you never answered my question.”

                I jumped slightly as Taemin’s voice pulled me back to the present. I had been staring at the front of the house, remembering the day my parents and I had moved here. We had moved furniture just like this; hauled boxes just like this. I remembered thinking that moving to a new city would change my life for the better. I felt a small smile tug at the corners of my lips when I realized that it had.

                “What was your question, Minnie? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

                “Why are you moving into Jonghyun hyung’s house, anyway? Why are you leaving your parents? Won’t they worry about you?”

                My lips parted in surprise as I realized how confused everyone must be.

                They still don’t know.

                I glanced at Jonghyun, and he shook his head ever so slightly.

                It’s better if they don’t know.

                I cleared my throat and tried to come up with a plausible explanation. Everyone’s eyes were trained on me, fixed and shining with curiosity.

                “Key didn’t tell you that his parents are leaving?” Jonghyun said, his voice resonating with what sounded like genuine surprise.

                “Ahh…,” I said, catching on quickly and playing along with the ruse. “Ne, ne, I’ve been so busy I must have forgotten. I haven’t seen you guys in a while. My appa got a job offer in Seoul, and it’s way too good to pass up. He and my umma will have to move there so the commute isn’t so long, but… I want to stay.”

                Mi Sun raised an eyebrow. “You’re choosing this over Seoul?”

                “You guys aren’t in Seoul,” I said simply.

                Taemin grinned. “That’s so sweet, hyung. You’re really staying for us? And Jonghyun hyung, of course,” he added quickly, gesturing toward my hand grasped firmly in his.

                “Of course.” I shrugged, not wanting to say more and add onto the lie.

                Minho smiled. “We’re glad you’re staying. Things wouldn’t be the same without you.”

                The others nodded in agreement, but Mi Sun stared at me curiously, as if trying to decipher my expression. I looked away quickly.

                The ride back to Jonghyun’s house was quiet. The others followed close behind us in Onew’s car, and quick glances in the rearview mirror showed them talking and laughing amongst themselves. I smiled slightly. It was so nice to see them happy, and I knew that lying to them about my sudden change in living arrangements had been a good idea.

                “You look happy,” Jonghyun said softly.

                I shrugged. “I am happy.”

                “Do you feel bad?” His voice was heavy with curiosity. “About lying to them?”

                I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I think…it’s better if they don’t know. I don’t want any of them to be sad because of me. And besides, it’s all in the past now. I want to work on forgetting about it. All of it.” I looked over at him and smiled slightly.

                He nodded and kept his eyes glued to the road in front of him. He seemed to be lost in thought.

                “Is something bothering you?” I reached over and took his hand in mine gently.

                He sighed. “I’m just…I’m so glad it’s all over. I can’t even…just the thought of anyone hurting you ever again…” His voice trailed off as his eyes lit with a burning fury.

                “No one’s going to hurt me, Jjong,” I said quietly. “It’s all over now. You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”

                He nodded again and laced his fingers through mine. “Ne, Key. It’s all over now. All of it. It’s time to start over.”

                “Ne, Jjong. It is.”

                We pulled into the driveway slowly, and everyone immediately set out to unload the van’s contents. As I grabbed a large box and made my way toward the front door, a hand on my shoulder stopped me mid-stride. I turned quickly and found myself staring directly into Mi Sun’s worried and suspicious eyes.

                “Oppa.” Her voice was low. “Are your parents really moving to Seoul?”

                I blinked. Why was she questioning it? “Ne, they are. Why?”

                She glanced at the others out of the corner of her eye before focusing on me once again. “Key… I’m really good at spotting lies. I’m an actress; it’s easy for me to see the difference between truth and” – her voice dropped even lower- “an act.”

                I froze and once again found myself hiding behind the impenetrable defensive wall that I had learned to construct in times like these. The wall built on a foundation of lies, lies and more lies. I forced a small smile onto my face and tried my best to infuse my tone with a convincing enthusiasm.

                “They really are leaving. My appa got a fantastic job offer that he just can’t refuse. But I’m already established here. You know, things are going well in school and I met you guys, and I really don’t want to just leave all that behind. There’s no need to be paranoid; why would I lie to you about that?”

                “Maybe I am just being paranoid.” Mi Sun shrugged. It was a tiny movement, an almost imperceptible rise of one shoulder. “I guess I’ve just been surrounded by a lot of lies lately.”

                I bit my lip as a wave of guilt crashed through my chest. She deserved to know the truth, but I knew firsthand how much the truth could hurt. I opened my mouth to give some sort of reassuring reply – although my brain was at a standstill and I knew the response would come out weak and unimpressive – but she had already launched into her next sentence.

                “Just…if you ever need anything…or…if there’s ever anything you want to tell me” – her eyebrows rose slightly for emphasis – “just know I’m here for you.” She gestured toward the others, who were busy hauling boxes and furniture diligently. “We’re all here for you.”

                I sighed and kept my gaze fixed on the concrete of the driveway. “Ne, I know. Thank you.”

                Mi Sun patted my shoulder gently before turning back to the moving van. I stepped inside hastily and set my box down in the entryway. Her suspicion had caught me off guard, and I found myself wondering if the others felt the same way. Had my lie been that obvious? Or was Mi Sun just especially intuitive? The majority of my brain was rooting for the latter. I was a fantastic liar, and I knew it. I had had more than enough practice. I shook my head and pushed the thought to the back of my mind, focusing instead on the task at hand.

                I carefully picked up a stack of boxes and mounted the stairs slowly. As I turned into my new bedroom, the boxes nearly slipped from my grip as surprise flashed through my veins.

                Jonghyun’s mother had finished painting the bedroom, and Jonghyun had been right. It looked like it had been pulled straight from the pages of a homemaking magazine. The walls were coated smoothly in the pastel shade, and a delicate border had been placed around the top, right where the walls met the ceiling. It was black, composed of swirling vines and fleur-de-lis reminiscent of a Parisian café. The effect was unique, refined, and absolutely perfect. I blinked rapidly as tears threatened to shatter my composure. I couldn’t imagine how long this must have taken her to do, and the overwhelming amount of care she had put into it made me feel…important. Cared for. Loved. It was unfamiliar and yet wonderfully welcome all at once.

                I heard an exasperated sigh, and glanced over to see Jonghyun standing beside me, eyeing the paint job over the stack of boxes balanced in his arms.

                “I told you she would get carried away.”

                I shook my head vigorously. “No, I love it. It’s perfect.”

                Jonghyun laughed softly. “She’ll be glad to hear that. Don’t sound too enthusiastic, though, or she’ll think she’s the next Picasso and start repainting the entire house.”

                I laughed in response and headed back downstairs for more boxes. 

                Two hours later, and I was standing in front of my bookshelf, tearing the long strip of tape off the final box and carefully arranging my books by genre.

                “There. How does that look?” Jonghyun’s triumphant voice floated across the room.

                I turned and grinned as he tugged on the corner of one of my hot pink curtains. He had hung them up nearly twenty minutes ago, but had insisted on moving, shifting, and plucking at them because they just wouldn’t hang right.

                “They looked fine twenty minutes ago, Jjong. I think a bit of my interior-designing-perfectionism is starting to rub off on you.”

                He made a face. “It is not. I just could have sworn that one of them seemed at least a centimeter shorter than the other and-” He stopped. “Oh God. I’m becoming a diva.”

                I laughed. “It was only a matter of time, really. You’ll start criticizing your own wardrobe next. I sense a shopping spree on the horizon.”

                He rolled his eyes. “You already said that pink isn’t my color.”

                “It isn’t. But pink accents work well on anyone.”

                “Not gonna happen.”

                “You guys, dinner is ready down here!” Jonghyun’s mother’s voice carried up the stairs before I had a chance to properly defend the importance of pink accessories. I placed the last book quickly on the shelf and took the stairs two at a time.

                The large kitchen table was laden with dish after dish of homemade food, running the gamut from Korean to American to Italian, and whatever else the group had desired. Taemin, Minho, Onew, Mi Sun, and Jonghyun’s parents were already seated and waiting patiently for us to take our places.

                I sat down hesitantly and eyed each plate warily. It looked like enough food to feed every single KPop idol for a week, and still have leftovers. I shook my head. How could we possibly eat all of this?

                Jonghyun grinned. “What’s the occasion?” He asked teasingly.

                “It’s Key’s ‘Welcome Home’ feast,” his mother said matter-of-factly. “Food is the best way to celebrate anything, in my opinion.”

                The others nodded in agreement.

                “So, Key,” Jonghyun’s mother said cheerfully, a small smile causing sparks of happiness to rest in her eyes like stars. “Welcome home.”

                A chorus of “Welcome home, Key” echoed around the table, and Jonghyun took my hand as he said it, grinning broadly.

                I struggled to keep my traitorous tears from spilling over, but the fight was futile. I laughed softly to hide my embarrassment as I hastily brushed them away with the back of my hand.

                Home.

                For the first time in years, I knew that I was finally home.

10 Years Later

Key’s POV

                “Appa!” The small voice carried through the house and out to the front porch.

                “What?” Jonghyun and I said at precisely the same moment. We smiled at each other and laughed, as we usually did every time we responded in sync.

                “Which appa, HyeSeon?” I called through the doorframe.

                “Key appa!” HyeSeon suddenly rounded the corner and ran toward me, her short, dark pigtails bouncing and a determined pout fixed on her face. I stood up and swept her up into my arms, spinning her in a full circle. She giggled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

                Before I had a chance to ask her what she needed, Jonghyun’s mother stepped around the corner, her hands on her hips.

                “Jonghyun, Key, please tell your daughter to stop criticizing my wardrobe. She’s been following me around for the past fifteen minutes just to tell me that black and navy blue don’t go well together.”

                “But they don’t,” HyeSeon and I said in unison. I gestured toward her black capris and dark blue T-shirt. “Haven’t I told you this before?”

                “Ne, halmeoni!” HyeSeon chimed in, tugging at her bright pink dress. “You should wear pink like me!”

                I tugged at one of her oversized hair bows and grinned. “That’s my girl.”

                Jonghyun’s mother rolled her eyes and muttered something about how six-year-olds shouldn’t be so concerned with fashion. I was also fairly sure I caught the words ‘spoiled’ and ‘diva’ before she turned and headed upstairs.

                I laughed and carried HyeSeon out to the porch, where Jonghyun and I had been sitting on the top step. As soon as I sat down, she instantly reached over and took Jonghyun’s hand in hers. He smiled and picked her up, swiftly moving her from my lap to his.

                “Appa,” HyeSeon said again, running her small fingers through his hair. “Will I get to see HakYeon soon?”

                Jonghyun laughed lightly at the question. It was the third time today that she had asked about Taemin and Minho’s son, and he always gave the same answer. “Taemin, Minho, and HakYeon will be back from their vacation next week, and then you guys can all play together, okay?”

                HyeSeon grinned and nodded. “Okay, appa.”

                After several minutes of sitting in comfortable silence, Jonghyun’s mother declared that it was time for all spoiled, sassy six-year-olds to go to bed. HyeSeon eagerly agreed; it wasn’t often that we all came down from Seoul to visit, and Jonghyun’s mother always treated HyeSeon like a princess, despite her complaints that she was already spoiled enough. Bedtime consisted of pillow-fluffing, tucking in, and elaborate fairytales read from HyeSeon’s favorite books. And, even though Jonghyun and I did those exact same things at home, she insisted that bedtime was ‘always more fun with halmeoni.’

                I smiled and shook my head.

                Jonghyun glanced over at me and took my hand in his. “What?”

                “Our daughter is a spoiled-rotten diva. You know that, right?”

                “Of course. And I wouldn’t want her any other way. I have a soft spot for divas.”

                I leaned over and kissed his cheek lightly. “I’ve noticed.”

                He grinned. “Speaking of spoiled divas, Mi Sun called earlier and said they’re coming back to Korea.”

                I raised an eyebrow and drew up my mental image of their wedding invitation, stuck to the refrigerator at home. “I thought she wanted to have the wedding in France?”

                “Apparently she decided that Korea is ten times better than Europe, and it’ll be easier for friends and family to come if they have the wedding here. And of course Onew couldn’t refuse.”

                I shook my head. “Of course. She’s got him wrapped around her finger.”

                Jonghyun nodded in agreement.

                I sighed. “It’ll be nice to see them again. It’s been a while. When they said they were going to tour with their theater company, I didn’t think they meant they’d be on tour for two months.”

                Jonghyun shrugged. “What is it that Onew always says? ‘Actors are free spirits’? You can’t expect them to stay in one place for long. Especially Mi Sun. I swear there isn’t enough adventure for her anywhere.”

                “Maybe once they get married, they’ll settle down.” I thought for a few moments and waved my hand dismissively. “Nope, definitely not. I can’t picture it.”

                Jonghyun smiled slightly and rested his head against my shoulder. “Definitely not.”

                I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. The sun had set nearly an hour ago, and a cool breeze began to find its way onto the porch. I shivered as the wind raised goose bumps along my bare arms.

                Jonghyun stood up slowly and held a hand out to me. “Should we go inside?”

                I took his hand and pulled myself up from the top porch step. We made our way inside and up the stairs, turning into the guest bedroom that I still considered mine. The curtains were now a soft gray, the original hot pink ones having been taken down to hang up in HyeSeon’s room back home. The bookcases and rainbow rugs had also been taken to our Seoul apartment, and the bedroom now had a more chic, contemporary feel with its black and white furniture and framed pictures of Paris. The walls were the same pastel pinkish-purple, and the nostalgia they brought on always made me smile.

                “Remember when we tried to paint this?” I said, laughing softly at the memory.

                Jonghyun sprawled out on the bed and pulled me down beside him. “I think we got more paint on each other that day.”

                I wrapped my arms around him tightly and buried my face in his shoulder. “If I recall correctly, I won that paint fight.”

                Jonghyun kissed my forehead lightly. “I’d say it was a tie.”

                I grinned and pressed my lips against his before pulling the blanket up to my chin and letting my eyes slip closed.

                “Key. Hey, Key, wake up.”

                I groaned and rolled over as Jonghyun’s soft voice pulled me from unconsciousness. It couldn’t possibly be morning already; I felt like I had only slept for a few hours. I opened one eye groggily and stared at the small digital clock on the bedside table. 6:00 AM.

                “Jjong, why are you waking me up so early? I wanted to sleep until 11 at the earliest, pabo.”

                I felt his warm breath rush across my neck as he laughed softly. “There’s something I want to show you, so come on. It won’t take long, promise.”

                I sighed and rolled out of bed, reflexively reaching up to fix my hair. “This better be good.”

                Jonghyun grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me down the stairs and out the door. My eyebrows rose questioningly as he headed toward his car and slid into the driver’s seat.

                “Jjong, where the hell are we going? It’s 6 o’clock in the morning!”

                He shook his head and gestured for me to get in. I rolled my eyes, convinced that I had married a crazy idiot. An adorable, loving, spontaneous, beautiful, crazy idiot.

                I stared out the window as we sped down the road, trying to guess at where it was we were going. The sky was that odd, off-gray color of early dawn, and the buildings rushed by as colorless blurs.

                As the skyscrapers and billboards of downtown Seoul came into view, I turned to Jonghyun with an expression that I hoped conveyed all of my burning curiosity.

                “Jjong, what-”

                “We’re almost there.”

                We pulled into a multi-level parking garage and I opened my door hesitantly. None of this was making any sense.

                Jonghyun grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the elevator. We stepped inside, and the dull silver doors slid softly shut as he pressed the button for the building’s highest level.

                At this point, my mind was positively overflowing with questions, like the bathtub at home overflowed whenever HyeSeon thought she could prepare her own bath.

                The elevator reached its destination with a cheerful ding. The doors slid open, and I involuntarily drew in a surprised breath. The roof of the 40-story office building had been transformed into a lush tropical garden. Exotic plants tumbled from elegant vases, and vines dotted with bright flowers s along every possible surface. I felt as if I had entered the elevator in Seoul, and left it in Brazil.

                “What…?” My voice was soft.

                “A friend of mine told me about this,” Jonghyun said with a smile. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to bring you here.”

                “Why…?” I cleared my throat quietly in an effort to strengthen my voice.

                Instead of answering, Jonghyun pulled me toward the edge of the roof and sat down, tugging on my hand gently until I sat beside him. In the early dawn light, the buildings of Seoul loomed like vigilant sentinels.

                Jonghyun gestured toward the horizon. “Just watch.”

                After several minutes of waiting and staring diligently at the murky horizon, the brilliant edge of the sun set the gray land on fire. The lifeless skyscrapers of Seoul came alive and dripped with liquid gold, their thousands of windows throwing back the light like the eyes of angels. The monochromatic sky revealed its hidden treasures of cotton candy clouds, pink wisps of brilliant vapor trailing across the soft orange heavens.

                I caught my breath and simply stared.

                Jonghyun wrapped an arm around my shoulders and rested his cheek against the top of my head. “What do you think?” He whispered.

                “It’s beautiful,” I said softly. “But it isn’t the best sunrise I’ve ever seen.”

                He pulled back to look at me. “It isn’t? Where did you ever see a sunrise better than this?”

                “In high school,” I murmured, staring out across the blinding city. “At lunch, when I was sitting alone and first caught sight of that silly blonde hair of yours. From that day on, you were like a sunrise to me. My life was so…dark…back then…”

                Jonghyun simply stared at me, his lips parted slightly in surprise.

                “But whenever you were around…you brought…light. Happiness. Hope. You…saved me. Saved me from my parents, saved me from myself… You showed me that even the darkest, most oppressive situations…could be…changed. You showed me that even my secluded world could be touched by the positive things in life… You brought light to me, Jjong. You were always like my own little personal sunrise.”

                Before he had a chance to respond, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his. He hesitated for a brief instant and then twisted his fingers into my hair, deepening the kiss until I had to pull away for air.

                “No sunrise in the world could compare to you,” I breathed. “I cherish you more than them all. More than the new day each one brings. You’ll always be the sunrise I look forward to the most.”

                I rested my forehead against his as a breathtakingly beautiful smile broke out across his face. And as the sun rose high above Seoul, ushering in the start of a new day, we simply sat there, staring into each other’s eyes. Sunlight pooled between the buildings as I held my own sunrise in my hands, looking forward to each new day he would bring me, and keeping hold of the brilliant days of our past.

                You brought light to my dark world.

                You are my own personal sunrise.

THE END

             183 pages, 80,989 words, and over a year later, there it is~~! The end~~ *exhales* the cheesy, cheesy end.

I can't decide if I'm happy I finally wrapped everything up, or depressed that this story is over. A little of both, I guess. XP

Anyways, like I've said a million times before, thank you all soooooooooo much for sticking with this story until the end. ^____^

Since it was my first fanfic, I'm surprised at the support I got haha XD

You guys are awesome~~. Really. Like super awesome. *hugs you all*

And I really hope you liked the ending. ^____^

My friend and I actually came up with the idea of Jonghyun and Key adopting a girl and making her a little diva a lonnngggg time ago, before I even started this fic, actually. I wasn't planning on making that the ending the whole time, but once I thought of it, I couldn't let it go. Haha XD

So I've been building up to this for a while. ^__^  <3

Phew. That fic was long. But worth it, I hope. XD

You are all fantastic elastic~~ thanks again for putting up with my slow updates, drawn-out angst, fangirl obsessiveness, and super-cheesy romantic scenes.

For those of you who are reading my ElVin fic, I promise I'll focus on it now because this one is done. ^____^

You guys are really super amazingly ridiculously awesome  <3 <3 <3

Comments are, like always, love and happiness and all those other good things. ^___^  <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

*waves* Annyeong, guys~~~!  \(^-^)/