Key.
Finding Home
Jonghyun fidgeted for a few minutes next to the bunk he shared with Minho, not sure what he should be doing. He looked over at Key, who, for some reason, was the only other person in their bedroom. The Umma sighed dramatically and crossed his arms.
"You can just sleep in his bed again. I can promise you he won't mind." Key said. Jonghyun nodded slowly, looking at his piled of stuff in the corner, and instantly looking away again. "You should be greatful. Before you came here, you had nothing."
"I am." Jonghyun said quietly.
"Then why don't you act like it?" Key asked. "I get it, it's difficult to adjust, but I lost so much to get here, and I'm still greatful. You're gaining so much, yet you act like you're terrified of it."
"I'm not scared of what I'm getting." Jonghyun said quietly, sitting on the bed. "And honestly, none of it means anything to me. It's a possesion. Easily gained. Easily lost."
"Then what's your problem?" Key asked. Jonghyun sighed.
"My problem is you." He said quietly. "And Taemin. And Minho."
"Excuse me?" Key asked, looking offended.
"You guys are suddenly so important to me, and I don't know why." He explained. "It scares me that I have you guys, because I could lose you, and I can't get you back if I do."
Key stared at him in silence for a few minutes before moving across the room and sitting beside him. Jonghyun kept his eyes steadily on the floor, not sure what was coming, and already uncomfortable enough having admitted what he had. Key suddenly wrapped his arms around the older boy and squeezed gently. Jonghyun looked up at him slowly.
"We're trying to help make sure that you won't lose us, though. You need to work with us." Key said. Jonghyun nodded. "So, you're going with Jinki in the morning, right? He took the day off of work to bring you home and help you get settled. So we'll be coming to visit two days later. And I think you would be able to come visit while he's at work. I'm not sure, but I think I remember him mentioning something to Taemin about that."
"I didn't know that." Jonghyun said, surprised, and Key nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Key still holding onto Jonghyun, before the older boy finally spoke. "Minho said you've seen Onew's house."
"He told you that?" Key asked, sliding his arms off of the smaller boy. Jonghyun nodded.
"He wouldn't tell me anything else, though." He said, obviously fishing for more information. Key sighed.
"When I first came here, I got adopted." Key said slowly. "It was before Taemin got here, and it was by this really nice couple."
Jonghyun sat in stunned silence. He'd been adopted, but had to come back? That was horrible. He looked at the younger boy, feeling sad for him, but not saying anything, and just letting him continue.
"They had a huge house, and it was a great place to be all around, but within about a month of me being there, the girl started getting mean, and the guy would get angry with her and tell her to leave me alone. Then one day, the umma hit me. It wasn't really that hard, just a slap, but the appa got really mad and called the police. She said she was just punishing me for being bad, but the appa said that no child ever deserved to be hit for any reason, and he kicked his wife out and filed for a divorce. In total, I was there for 6 months before I got taken out because, at that time, it wasn't considered socially acceptable to be a single father if you adopted the child." Key said. "But Jinki promised he'd keep taking care of me, and he'd find a way to make it so I could come back if it killed him. He was going to take Minho, too, but the umma stated getting mean, and he just didn't want to put both of us through that. Jinki is a good appa, Jonghyun. You'll see that soon enough. It just took a while for everything to work out, but things will be better now."
"Wait..I thought you said you got here eight months before Taemin, after your parents died when you were ten." Jonghyun said.
"I did. Jinki saw that I was having a really difficult time, so he took me in after only a month of me being here. I came back about a month before Taemin got here." Key explained. Jonghyun nodded slowly. That made sense, though now he wasn't exactly sure of what to say. The door opened suddenly, and Minho came in, relieving the heaviness in the air.
"Hey, Jjong." Minho said, coming over to the bed. Key got up and went out the door, surprising Jonghyun a bit, but leaving an open space for Minho to sit. "So, you're leaving tomorrow."
"Yeah, I guess I am." Jonghyun said sadly. Minho smiled at him.
"We can see each other on the weekends, you know." Minho said. Jonghyun shrugged a bit, not sure that was enough. He knew it could be a long time before Minho was actually with him again, and that made him sad, even knowing Taemin would be there. "Or..not. We don't really have to go."
"What?" Jonghyun looked up at him, alarmed. Minho looked confused at the expression on Jonghyun's face.
"Do..do you want me to visit?" He asked. Jonghyun opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly he was nervous again.
"I'm going to miss you when you're not there." He said. Minho smiled a bit sadly at him, and Jonghyun suddenly noticed how close they were, and the way Minho's body was angled to him. He leaned against the younger boy shyly, and felt relief when one of those long arms wrapped around him. "Key told me about what happened."
"What do you mean?" Minho asked. Jonghyun sighed.
"About when he was ten, and Jinki adopted him." Jonghyun clarified. Minho looked surprised.
"He doesn't usually tell anyone that story." Minho said. "You should feel special."
"I just feel bad, now. Like I'm getting in the way of what will make him happy." Jonghyun explained. Minho laughed a bit.
"The only way to get between him, and happiness, would be to stand between him and Taemin." Minho said, then paused thoughtfully. "Or him and a mirror. That generally wouldn't go over too well."
Jonghyun laughed at that, then just continued to smile afterward. He looked up at Minho suddenly, and made his eyes as big as he could, purposely using aegyo for the first time since he could remember.
"Minho?" He said. Minho looked at his hyung questioningly. "Do you mind if we share again tonight?"
"Of course not, Jjong." Minho said, pulling the smaller boy into his lap. "There's always room for you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, a bit of Jongho in this chapter. Not too much, but some to keep things going. For those of you wondering Key's back story: Now you have it. Enjoy! :D
I know that, by the standards on here, my subscriber/view count is probably quite low in comparison, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank my (at my last check) 42 subscribers, and also comment on how surprised I was to see that over 900 people have actually viewed this story. Again, probably not that big of a deal on this website, but I'm quite happy with it. It really means a lot to me, and I wanted to make sure you all knew that.
Also, this is just a side thing, but please please please don't advertise your stories on my page. Honestly, I find it annoying. Private message me if you want me to see it so badly, but other than that, don't do it. I don't do it to you, or anyone else. Please extend that same courtesy to me.
Another thing - I have no idea what this whole "Friend" thing is on here, but if you want to send me a request, or just randomly strike up a conversation because you're bored, I'll actually add you, or take the time to answer questions you have about the stories or whatever else you feel like talking about. It could be bananas. Really. I don't mind. Some of my best friends came from random adds on websites I barely remember.
I've also started Role Playing again, so if anyone is interested in that, you can just send me a message.
I just noticed an inconsistency between this story and Holding On, so...I'm going to be editing Ch 23.
Comments