Jonghyun was carrying his duffel bag that had been with him for as long as he could remember in one hand, and his new bedsheets in the other, while Jinki carried the suitcase that was full of cloths. He lead the boy out of the entrance room, through a spacious living room with red walls and a caramel couch, and into a hallway with a few doors, an open doorway leading to a kitchen, and a wide staircase that somehow didn't make the space feel claustrophobic, and was almost inviting.

 

"Come on, your room is up these stairs." Jinki said with a smile. Jonghyun nodded nervously and followed him up the stairs, and down the right side of the hallway. "Right here."

 

He had his hand on a knob and was looking at Jonghyun kindly as he pushed the door open. The first thing he saw was blue. The color of the sky on those perfect days, where the sun doesn't feel like blinding you, but it's still warm. He could almost feel the breeze washing over him as he stepped into the room and looked around. There were two beds in the large room and he looked at Jinki for instruction.

 

"You can have either one." He said, smiling. Jonghyun bit his lip and looked back and forth between the beds before choosing the one near the window. He set his things down and looked back at Jinki. "I'm going to go do some yard work I've been blowing off. Come find me if you need anything, alright?"

 

"Y-yah." Jonghyun said, nodding as the elder bowed out.

 

Jonghyun moved over to the bed and started putting his sheets on it, then moved on to putting his cloths in the dresser. The whole process only took about an hour, but when he was done, he had no desire to do anything, so he laid in his bed and wrapped his purple blanket around himself. After a few minutes, it hit him. As uncomfortable and upset as he had been over the past few days, he knew that was nothing compared to what he was about to experience. Flashes went off in his mind as he thought back to his mother, and how happy they were in their little two bedroom apartment. There was never much food or money, and they were always without one thing or the other, but they were always happy.

 

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he recalled the accident that took her away, and he rubbed his blanket against his forehead, using the softness as an attempt to comfort himself. It only reminded him how much things had changed. His thoughts went on fast forward after that. His mother had always spoken in a way that made him fear being taken away, so he did everything he could not to be found. He hid in alley's, slept in trees for a few months until he took a nasty fall that left him terrified of heights. Nothing outside of a few ribs had broken, but that pain mixed with hunger and loneliness scared the hell out of him. He never wanted to be there again. After that, he began sleeping in car parks, abandoned buildings, things of that nature. He stole food and water when he had to, but mostly, he tried to work for the things he needed. It was hard, but it worked for him, until it didn't. Everything would have been fine, had he not gotten sick a week prior. He was too sick to work, or to steal. He got very dehydrated, and the fact was, he probably would have died had someone not found him and taken him to the hospital. The problem was, after the hospital, they sent him to the boys home.

 

Though, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure he was so upset over being taken there. At first, it was scary, but whenever he got scared, Minho was there. And when he was sick, Key was there. And when he just needed a friend, Taemin was there too. And Onew. Jinki. The Appa of the group. The caretaker, who would never let anything happen to any of them. He was just left trying to figure out how he became part of that group so quickly. Maybe it was just how things were meant to be, he didn't know for sure. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to leave here, too. He'd never been too sure about home, but he was pretty sure this was about as close as he'd been in a few years. He sniffed again, the tears coming faster now, and he realized he missed the younger boy he'd clung so hard to over the last few days. He buried his face in his arms and inhaled Minho's scent, hoping he would be able to sleep and forget his sad thoughts for a while.

 

He didn't move again until Jinki came to get him for lunch. When the older male shook him, he woke up and jumped in surprise. He smiled down at the boy, who by now had managed to completely tangle himself in the blanket Minho had picked out. His face was partially hidden by his right arm, but he knew his tear tracks were still visible, so he rubbed his face before sitting up. 

 

"It's just me." Onew said, and Jonghyun nodded slowly.

 

He got up and followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he learned that Jinki was actually a good cook. He ate as much as he could, but found himself feeling guilty when he couldn't finish. He looked slightly panic stricken at the thought of throwing the food out, and somehow Jinki seemed to understand that. He saran wrapped the plate and put it in the fridge, explaining that the food would still be there later, when he was hungry again. Jonghyun nodded, his eyes slightly wide, and thanked his elder. Not too long after, he began to rediscover the luxuries of living in a private home. He could shower by himself, take as long as he wanted without worrying people would stare. It was nice to know that he could make himself clean, and not feel dirty doing so.

 

Over the next two days he politely declined to go back to the home for a visit with Minho and the others, and spent most of his time hiding out in his room when Jinki was home. He crept out on occasion when he was home alone, getting to know the house better, and eating some food. He left almost no evidence that he was there at all, and was still processing and coping with everything. It took Jinki almost dragging him out to get him to eat dinner. Jinki was a bit concerned by Thursday night, being that Jonghyun wasn't really acting like he wanted to see the other boys, and he hadn't said outright that he wanted them to come the next day. He made the decision to push off the first weekend visit by a week if Jonghyun didn't say otherwise or go visit the next day, and when he opted to stay in his room the next morning while he was getting ready to go, and made no mention of seeing Minho, Key, or Taemin, Jinki resigned himself to his decision. One week wouldn't do much damage.

 

Minho looked especially hurt by the news that Jonghyun didn't seem to want to see them, but accepted the information. Key looked rather annoyed by the fact, but Taemin looked confused more than anything else. He couldn't make sense of it. Why wouldn't Jjong want them around? He thought they all got along really well. It just didn't make any sense. Jinki had tried to explain the various reasons why he may have been acting that way, but what it came down to was that Jonghyun was closing himself off, and it seemed like Onew would have to put in some extra effort to get him to come around. After working the whole day he came home a bit late, after reassuring the boys they would be able to visit the following weekend, and found Jonghyun sitting on the stairs, half asleep, and wrapped up in his blanket, as though he had been sitting there a while. Jinki walked over to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Jonghyun jolted slightly, looking up at his elder with tired eyes.

 

"What are you doing?" He asked. Jonghyun looked at him, a bit surprised.

 

"I was waiting." Jonghyun said, as though it were obvious.

 

"For what?" Jinki asked. Jonghyun blinked a few times and looked around, starting to wake up.

 

"Min...Minho said they were coming to visit today." Jonghyun said, looking kind of upset. "Are they out in the car?"

 

"No, they didn't come." Onew said. Jonghyun's face fell immediately.

 

"Oh." Jonghyun said, small tears coming to his eyes. "Ok. Maybe he meant next week."

 

He got up and started heading back to his room, but Jinki caught his arm.

 

"Did you want them to come?" He asked. Jonghyun shrugged, his blanket sliding off of him. He was wearing some pajama pants, a t-shirt, and Minho's sweatshirt.

 

"Only if they wanted to come." He mumbled awkwardly, and Onew sighed.

 

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Jinki said. Jonghyun nodded and slowly sat back where he had been. Within two minutes Jinki returned, talking into a phone. "Yes. Yes. Alright. Yeah. Here you go."

 

He handed the phone over to Jonghyun, who, after staring at it for a moment, pressed it to his ear.

 

"Yobosayo?" He said, sounding a bit unsure, his voice still a bit thick from the tears he was trying to hide.

 

"Jjong, it's me. Minho." The voice on the other end of the line said. Jonghyun looked a bit surprised. "Are you there?"

 

"Y-yah." Jonghyun said.

 

"Do you want us to come?" Minho asked. Jonghyun nodded, then realized that Minho couldn't see him.

 

"Yah. You said you were. I was...I was waiting all day." Jonghyun admitted. Minho sighed.

 

"We didn't think you wanted us to come because you didn't come visit." Minho explained.

 

"I just needed to think by myself for a while. I'm ok now, but I thought you guys were just going to come." Jonghyun explained. Jinki crossed his arms before walking over to Jonghyun and gesturing for him to follow him. Jonghyun got up slowly and followed him to the entrance room, where he followed Jinki's lead and put his shoes on silently, all the while listening to Minho telling him that they wanted to come, and that they missed him. "I..I miss you too, Minho."

 

"So you promise to come visit on Monday?" Minho asked. Jonghyun nodded again, before shaking his head, then sputtering. He didn't want to talk on the phone anymore. He shoved it into Jinki's hand and ran back to the stairs. "Hello?"

 

"Sorry, Minho. I don't think he likes the phone." Jinki explained. Minho sighed.

 

"I understand." Minho said, sounding a bit frustrated. "Is he going to come on Monday?"

 

"I'll talk to him about it. In the meantime, can I call you back? I need to go check on him." Jinki said. Minho hummed in agreement and the line went dead. "Jonghyun, where did you go?"

 

"I'm over here." He said, following Jinki's voice through the living room. "I forgot to put my blanket back in my room. I don't want to leave a mess."

 

"Just leave it on the couch. We won't be gone long." Jinki said. Jonghyun stopped short in front of him.

 

"Where are we going?" Jonghyun asked.

 

"To get Minho and Key and Taemin." He said. Jonghyun's face lifted, and he grinned to his eyes. He tossed his blanket on the couch and followed Jinki out to the car.

 

When they arrived at the boys home, though, Jonghyun looked anxious. Jinki motioned for him to follow, so he unbuckled and stepped out of the vehicle, then followed the older male into the building. He went straight for his old room out of instinct, and Jinki didn't stop him, instead heading to his own office. He would have to fudge some paperwork to take the three boys home with him, but he knew that it would be ok. Jonghyun pushed the door open quietly, and searched his shy eyes around the room until he found Minho. The first one to notice him, however, was the maknae.

 

"Hyung!" Taemin said excitedly, bouncing up off of his bed and going over to the door. Key and Minho both turned their attention quickly to the door, and him, as Taemin pulled him into the room.

 

"Hey, 'Minnie." Jonghyun said, grinning.

 

"Are you done with your tantrum, now?" Key asked. Taemin puffed out his cheeks and nodded, but Key shook his head. "Not you, Tae."

 

"I just needed some space to think for a little while, you know?" Jonghyun explained quietly, feeling guilty for keeping Key from going to his rightful home. "I think I'm better now."

 

"Good." Minho said, cutting off whatever Key was about to say and coming over to him with a smile. Jonghyun grinned at him and within moments found himself wrapped up in Minho's strong arms.

 

"I didn't know I was supposed to visit." Jonghyun said. "I'm sorry."

 

"It's ok." Minho said. Key sighed before walking over and tugging a bit on the sweatshirt Jonghyun was wearing. Jonghyun looked at him nervously, preparing to be reprimanded for stressing them.

 

"I put in all that effort finding the best cloths for you, and you decide to wear hand-me-downs? What am I going to do with you?" Key said, smiling a bit. Jonghyun laughed in surprise and shrugged, leaning on Minho.

 

"Come on guys. We can still go for take out if you want." Jinki said from the doorway, eliciting several agreeable noises from the boys in the room.

 

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I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I moved, and only recently got internet back. I made this chapter extra long to try to make up for it. Please take this as an acceptable apology!