In the early hours of the morning, Donghae found himself sitting in the living room. He’d brought his blanket with him and curled up with it on the couch while he silently watched One Piece on TV. His attention was completely captured and he was enjoying every second of the show because his time was very limited. Heechul had grounded him indefinitely for how he’d been treating his brother and had taken his TV, comic books, and phone.

“I’ll think about lifting your punishment once you start showing remorse for what you have done.”

Donghae scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief that he was actually in this much trouble. He understood that what he’d done to Kibum was wrong but he couldn’t find it in himself to care all that much. He wasn’t even going to trouble himself with thinking about his brother; Kibum just wasn’t worth his time anymore.

“Donghae…”

The sleepy voice came startled him, but when he looked over he found his youngest brother shuffling towards him. He inched over on the couch, patting the spot next to him for Mir to come sit down before wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

“What are you doing up so early? I would have thought you would sleep until noon after what happened last night,” Donghae said, glancing at the old grandfather clock on the wall. It was just past 5:30AM and the sun was only just beginning to come out, soft light slipping through the curtains.

“I’m starting to get worried, Donghae,” Mir said with a sigh, fiddling with the blanket. “I haven’t gotten the call yet, what if something went wrong?”

Late last night, Key had been taken to the hospital.

They had all assumed that he’d come down with the same bug that Kibum had over the weekend, but his fever had gotten quite high and he couldn’t even keep down water. Heechul had been woken up by horrible cries of pain and had found Key clutching his stomach crying hysterically. An ambulance had been called and the commotion had woken him and Mir up, they had stood to the side as their brother was brought down the stairs in a stretcher.

Heechul had called about an hour afterwards and informed them that Key’s appendix was inflamed. The doctor was starting him on some strong antibiotics but it needed to be surgically removed before it ruptured. That was hours ago and they hadn’t heard anything since, which was cause for worry.

Donghae put a smile on, reaching over to ruffle his brother’s hair. “I wouldn’t worry too much, kid. An inflamed appendix is nothing to worry about, especially when the doctor catches it before it bursts. Key’s in good hands, I promise. If Heechul hasn’t called us it probably just means that his phone died or he’s been on the phone with Leeteuk all night.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Mir said, nodding slowly. He cocked his head to the side, a smile tugging at his lips. “I can’t believe that Kibum slept through all of that, though. The sirens were so bright and loud, I think it woke the neighbors up too.”

Donghae shrugged his shoulders but kept his mouth shut, biting back the snide remark that was resting on the tip of his tongue. He told himself once again that he wasn’t going to think or talk about Kibum anymore; he wasn’t worth his time. Instead he sat with his favorite brother and watched TV in silence. When the episode of One Piece finished is changed to some other show that neither of them had much interested in.

Donghae stood up, letting his blanket fall to the ground. He looked at Mir, running a hand through his messy hair. “I’m hungry. Do you want something to eat?”

Mir nodded fervently, putting a hand on his stomach as it growled on cue. He followed Donghae into the kitchen, sitting at the table patiently while Donghae found two bowls, two spoons, grabbed the milk from the fridge, and picked a box of cereal out of the bottom cabinet and brought it all back to the table. As he set everything down, he laughed in amusement and turned to his brother.

“Did you know Heechul hid all our snacks and good food?” He said with a smirk, nodding towards the bottom cabinet. “He bought all this healthy food so that he could make Kibum special meals so he stops overeating. He’s putting Kibum on a restricted diet so he loses all the weight that he’s gained over the summer.”

“I know, that’s why I’m home. I’m supposed to convince Kibum to start training for soccer with me, which wasn’t too hard. All I have to do is bat my lashes and he’ll do anything I want,” Mir laughed, shaking his head. He thought it was sweet, though, that Kibum was always so eager to please everyone that he couldn’t say no. “I understand why, though. Mama wants to help him before he gains anymore weight; it’s starting to get noticeable. I feel bad that we have to lie to him about it.”

“Heechul lied to him, too. He told Kibum that he’s changing his diet to help manage his anxiety or some dumb excuse,” Donghae laughed, grabbing the chocolate crisps from his brother.

“Don’t laugh, Donghae,” Mir said with a frown, realizing that Donghae wasn’t just poking fun at their brother. “Mama said that Kibum is really sensitive right now which is why we have to lie to him. We’re supposed to be helping him, not makin