This chapter is dedicated to all of you.  Thank you for being a home for me.  Thank you for waiting. <3

It soon became clear to Leeteuk that he was completely insane as he wrote out the last few signatures on what must have been his 20^th document.  It wasn’t that he’d decided adopting Eunhyuk was a bad idea, it was the fact that he was completely unprepared to do so today that was causing his distress.   He glanced over again at the seat next to him.  Eunhyuk seemed pleasantly calm. 

                He smiled in a reassuring fashion since he’d self-consciously looked over at the boy at least 3 times now. He was painfully aware that Siwon was sitting on the other side of the desk with his arms folded very officially and Shindong was standing at the corner of the office.  Even though they were his friends, to some extent he felt like he was taking a test.  He mused that he’d dropped out of college again to avoid such things.

                Finishing the last character of his name with a flourish he dropped the pen happily on the desk and announced, “Done.”

                Siwon spun the last paper around toward himself and glanced over it quickly. 

                “Good,” he said, adding it to the stack he’d already created.  Hitting the stack of papers against his desk to neaten the pile, he continued on, “Now, I’m loosely interpreting the rules here, but. . . as long as I have a certified child psychologist backing me up,” he glanced over at Shindong.  The older shook his head as if he’d forgotten to pay attention until he noticed everyone looking at him.

                “Sorry, can you repeat that?”

                “I said, as long as I have a certified child psychologist backing me up,” Siwon hinted.

                “Oh, yes, of course,” Shindong said, but he still seemed distracted.

                Giving his friend one last questioning look, Siwon turned his attention back to Leeteuk and finished cheerfully, “Then you should be all set to take Hyukjae along back home with you today.”

                Leeteuk blinked, “Sorry, Hyukjae?”

                Siwon gestured toward Eunhyuk.  Leeteuk immediately felt both embarrassed and rightfully self-reflective.  He hadn’t even known this kid’s real name.  He didn’t want to start back-peddling so he forcibly squashed the new concerns swirling up in his mind.  He wanted to do this.  Siwon thought that he was the right person, Shindong had agreed, and Eunhyuk was already devoted to him despite their short acquaintance.  Whatever else was true, he was just going to think of those things. 

                Well, that and the fact that he hadn’t informed either of his roommates and they were totally going to kill him. 

                Mentally slapping himself in the face for being so impulsive, Leeteuk found himself looking for the expression on Eunhyuk’s face to judge himself against.  He wondered where the boy had gotten his current name from.  He wondered what the boy’s favorite subject in school was, what he liked to eat. . .he wanted to learn for him.  He wanted to be good at this for him. 

                Eunhyuk returned his stare levelly and a small smile pulled at Leeteuk’s lips.

                “Okay,” he said, looking at Eunhyuk but supposing he was answering Siwon’s question.

                Nodding agreeable, Siwon then began, “Do you ha—”

                “I would actually like to talk to you for just a minute before we continue, Leeteuk, if that’s alright.”

                Again, everyone gave their attention to Shindong.  The man’s smile reached his eyes, but it was an apologetic look.

                “Sure,” Leeteuk said cheerfully, hoping to stop things from suddenly getting awkward. 

                He got up from his chair but as he did he sensed Eunhyuk moving with him.  He turned to see the child already standing, seemingly alarmed. 

                “I’ll be right back,” Leeteuk assured.

                Eunhyuk shook his head “no,” trying to communicate the more complex idea, it seemed, that this was not a good idea and that instead he should accompany him.

                  Glancing at Shindong who was holding the door open for him, Leeteuk saw that this request would not work. 

                “Just one minute, I promise.” 

                He continued to look at Eunhyuk as he backed toward the door.  He couldn’t tell if the way he was smiling was reassuring or just creepy but he kept doing it because the boy seemed itching to follow him.  He even took a few steps forward, looking to Siwon occasionally as if testing him.  Would he do anything to stop him if he just ran out?

                When Eunhyuk seemed prepared to try it, Siwon cleared his throat and that was enough to distract Eunhyuk so that both Shindong and Leeteuk could sneak out the door.

                Leeteuk laughed at their success but when he looked at Shindong he saw that he was not equally amused and wiped the look off of his face.

                “Now, imagine doing that every time you need to leave the house,” Shindong said out of the blue.

                “I’m sure it’s just because he’s not used to attention and he’s afraid of losing it.”

Leeteuk forgot for a moment that he was talking to a psychologist.  Shindong reminded him by raising an eyebrow.

                “So, what do you have to talk to me about?”  Leeteuk wondered, trying to move on.

                “Nothing, actually.  Just wanted to see what would happen if we left, just so you’d be aware.” 

                “Are you proving a point to me?”

                “I am.”

                “Do you think this is a bad idea?”

                “Not at all.  I suggested it to Siwon.”  

                “YOU told Siwon?”

                “Don’t sound so surprised,” Shindong said, “and I didn’t tell him, I suggested it in a really subtle and round about fashion so that now he thinks he was the genius who thought of this.”

                “So, you think it’s alright for us to rush into this?”

                “It wasn’t my intent certainly,” Shindong admitted, “but there’s not much to be done about it now.  I didn’t think he’d latch onto you quite so literally.” 

                “Me either.”

                Shindong was giving Leeteuk a dubious look.  Then casually asked, “So, did you take the car today or did you have to take the bus?”

                “I took the car,” Leeteuk answered, then immediately became suspicious of Shindong’s reaction to this news. 

                “Why are you smiling?”

                “I thought you said Kangin never lets you borrow his car.”

                “Sometimes he does,” Leeteuk shrugged.

                Shindong seemed rather pleased about something and Leeteuk couldn’t stand not knowing what it was. 

                “What?” he whined.

                “Why did you think you’d need the car?”

                Leeteuk blanked.  “Well, I don’t know, it’s just convenient.”

                “And why did Kangin let you use the car?”

                “Maybe he was just in a good mood today.”

                “Or he knows you too well,” Shindong chuckled.

                .   .   . 

                Less than an hour later, Leeteuk was throwing glances at the rearview mirror, watching Eunhyuk quietly stare out the window.

                He wondered what was going on in the child’s head.  This must have been so strange for him and yet he didn’t seem the slightest bit disturbed by the events transpiring in his life.  Eunhyuk was sitting prim and proper in the back seat, staring out the car window in silent contemplation.  Leeteuk had to take a moment to remind himself that the kid was only 11 years old.  And had pretty much been raising himself.

                He frowned at this thought only to have his attention brought back to the road when he realized he was moving toward the sidewalk.  Pulling the wheel back sharply onto the right path, he then threw another look at the rearview.  Eunhyuk hadn’t moved an inch. 

                Putting his eyes back on the road with a slight shoulder roll of relief, Leeteuk began to think how wrong it was for parents like Eunhyuk’s to have kids. Well, he said parents.  He didn’t understand why so many people had kids they didn’t want or didn’t want to care for.  They just made their children’s lives miserable.  It wasn’t fair. 

                At the same time— he risked another look in the rearview—he was glad Eunhyuk existed. 

                A few more blocks and the apartment came into sight. 

                “That’s where I live,” Leeteuk pointed out, gesturing toward the building.  Eunhyuk didn’t look up at him.  Leeteuk waited patiently for a moment then tried again, “Eunhyuk?”

                The boy appeared startled that he was being addressed.  He always looked both bewildered and hungry when he heard someone say his name.  Leeteuk didn’t know what it was about the boy, but anything he did made him smile in a broken way. 

                “That’s the apartment I live in,” he told him, pointing over the steering wheel. 

                He felt a strange echo of events long passed when Eunhyuk strained against his seatbelt to see the building.  He was instantly reminded of a young boy with overlong brown hair standing on his tiptoes on a cold night months ago. 

                “Yeah,” Leeteuk sighed with nostalgia as he once again took in with fresh eyes the red brick apartment building.  “That’s home.” 

                He slowed the car and managed to pull it over beside the curb without damaging the overall framework of the car, although he did lightly scrape the tire.

                Turning the car off he got out and then went to the side door to open it for Eunhyuk.  The boy jumped out and started looking up at the apartment building without acknowledging him.  More curious than offended, Leeteuk went and stood beside Eunhyuk, looking up at the building with him, wondering what he was seeing.  He was surprised when he felt Eunhyuk take his hand and looked down at the boy in surprise.  Again, having an uncanny knack for reacting only when people put their complete attention on him, Eunhyuk suddenly realized what he’d done and pulled his hand back like he’d been burned. 

                With apologetic eyes, he blinked at Leeteuk and then took a step away. 

                “No,” Leeteuk sputtered out more harshly than he’d meant.  When Eunhyuk looked worried, he clarified gently:  “It’s okay.  Really, it’s more than okay.” 

                He demonstrated this by putting his hand on Eunhyuk’s back and leading him forward.  “Come on,” he said.  “It’s cold.  Let’s go inside and meet everyone.”

                Nodding ever so slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching in a smile reluctant to trust happiness yet, Eunhyuk went with Leeteuk up the concrete steps to the front door of the apartment. 

                Leeteuk kept his hand on Eunhyuk’s back as he unlocked the door and stepped inside announcing, “Hello?” 

                He was immediately greeted by the sight of Kangin, his arms folded, eyebrow raised, the hint of a knowing smile on his face. 

                “Hi,” he said shortly.  His eyes were shining.

                Eunhyuk had tensed slightly in surprise when he saw the stranger waiting right there for them inside the apartment, but relaxed when Leeteuk patted his back although he had reacted in a similar fashion.

Kangin said brightly, “I heard the car pull up.”  His chipper attitude was frightening.  He was either up to something, knew something that he didn’t, or he’d taken rainbow pills that morning. 

                Leeteuk started to say something in return when the sound of footsteps running down the hallway thankfully interrupted him and suddenly Donghae appeared, doing a little jump before coming to a stop. 

                “Hey, Teukie-hyung,” he said cheerfully.  His smile faded carelessly when he spotted Eunhyuk standing close to Leeteuk.  Donghae’s head titled to the side curiously.  Eunhyuk made eye contact with him and seemed momentarily surprised, but didn’t act on it.  The boys seemed to have entered a strange standoff in the silence that buzzed in the house.

                A flash of nerves suddenly hit Leeteuk’s system.  He’d been assuming this whole time that Donghae would automatically accept Eunhyuk.  He thought if all else failed he could count on Donghae to see Eunhyuk’s arrival positively.  What if he was wrong?  Donghae took a few more moments before he looked up at Leeteuk with questioning brown eyes.

                Very carefully, Leeteuk explained, “Donghae, this is Eunhyuk, he’s going to be staying with us for. . . well, he’s going to be staying with us.” 

                Donghae left his discerning gaze on Leeteuk for a long moment and then he seemed to be studying Eunhyuk.  Eunhyuk attempted the same look Donghae was giving him with less curiosity.  Eunhyuk didn’t seem to be looking for or expecting acceptance.  He didn’t seem all that interested in Donghae.

                Leeteuk knew Donghae well enough to recognize the moment at which he made his judgment and he held his breath as Donghae extended his hand.

                “It’s nice to meet you, Eunhyuk.” 

                Eunhyuk seemed confused, then reluctantly accepted Donghae’s offer and finally dropped his hand back to his side. 

                Feeling utterly relieved, Leeteuk released his breath as subtly as he could.  Of course Donghae would be his usual, friendly self.  He never should have doubted him.  If there was one thing he could count on, it was Donghae’s acceptance.

At the same time, he noticed a sad look cross Donghae’ face as he glanced at Eunhyuk.  It was impossible to say what the boy was thinking, but Leeteuk knew he’d sensed something about their new arrival.  Wondering where this moment would go, he didn’t interrupt.  His heart-swelled as Donghae cheerfully covered his moment of sadness by saying, “You have really cool hair, Hyuk.  Do you want to maybe come see my room?  I’m 12.  How old are you?  What school do you go to?”

                As Donghae began entering hyperactivity mode, Leeteuk stepped in, blocking him from taking hold of Eunhyuk’s arm and most likely dragging him off on some adventure or another. 

                “Donghae, we just got home, so I think Eunhyuk and I are going to take a little while to get settled first if that’s okay.”

                “Oh,” Donghae nodded understandingly, “Then maybe later?  What do you say, Hyuk?”

                There was an awkward silence as the boy blinked at Donghae’s eagerness, not sure what to do.  Leeteuk looked down at the top of Eunhyuk’s vaguely orange hair and sensing this focus, Eunhyuk looked up at Leeteuk.

                “Uh,” Leeteuk began, feeling trapped as he looked between the two boys who were now waiting for him to fix this dilemma.  He desperately needed to communicate to Donghae a little bit more about the situation, but he couldn’t effectively do that in front of Eunhyuk and he couldn’t leave Eunhyuk with Kangin, clearly, since the boy was still pretty much pinned to his side.  Leeteuk had started to realize that Eunhyuk didn’t want to bother him, but the stranger the situation, the more he clung to him.

                He decided in the end to take the lesser of two evils:  since the most important thing at the moment was making sure Donghae didn’t accidentally alienate Eunhyuk completely with his innocent lack of understanding.  Leeteuk flailed a bit in his actions, trying to decide how to act out this decision, before finally turning to Eunhyuk and saying, “Eunhyuk, I’m just going to talk to Donghae really fast, okay?  You can stay here with Kangin, maybe you two. . .” he realized he was about to finish with the word talk but stopped since that certainly wasn’t going to happen.  It also occurred to him a moment later that he hadn’t even introduced the two yet. 

                Taking a breath to slow himself down, Leeteuk started over at the beginning.  Getting himself down onto Eunhyuk’s level he gestured to his roomate, “Eunhyuk, this is my best friend Kangin.  He’s my roommate.  Kangin, this is Eunhyuk. . .”  He trailed off, remembering that Kangin would probably not be extremely pleased with the fact that he’d brought Eunhyuk home that day like he’d promised not to, but Kangin seemed frighteningly amused.

                “It is very nice to meet you, Eunhyuk,” Kangin greeted. 

                Finding Kangin’s smile a little off-putting, Leeteuk looked again and Eunhyuk and saw that the younger did not appear pleased with the idea of staying alone in the room with this stranger.  This was a complete mess.

                “You can just wait for me to come back.” He said, trying to take the pressure to communicate off, but even as said this he imagined Kangin and Eunhyuk standing there awkwardly for however long it took for him to get information to stick in Donghae’s brain—the boy was clever but sometimes it took two or three repeats to get him to understand something.  It wouldn’t do to have Kangin and Eunhyuk just standing there the whole time.  It wasn’t fair to either of them. 

Standing back up, Leeteuk searched the room for a quick solution, finally zeroing in on the side table.  He opened up the draw and fumbled around until he found an old envelope and a pen.  Figuring it was the best he could do, he presented them to Eunhyuk.  The boy took them a bit evasively though he seemed to understand their purpose.  It was what he’d learned all morning with Shindong:  Write it down.

                “I’ll be right back, I’m just going over there,” Leeteuk said, motioning toward the hallway.

                “We’ll be fine for a sec, right, Eunhyuk?”

                Leeteuk accidentally looked Kangin in the eye again at this comment, seeing that same amused look plastered on the other’s face.  Rolling his eyes at his roommate, he then moved on to Donghae and ushered him along: “Come on.”

“I’ll be right back,” he repeated a final time to Eunhyuk. 

                The boy stayed, but Leeteuk could just feel him resisting the magnetic force threatening to pull him along.

                As soon as they were out of earshot Donghae asked, “How did you find Eunhyuk?” 

                “Huh?  I didn’t find him,” Leeteuk dismissed.

                “But he needs help so you brought him home like you brought me home,” Donghae assessed.

                Finally catching the misunderstanding, Leeteuk agreed, “Yeah, yeah I did, but. . .”  He stopped, finally realizing how perceptive Donghae was.  Instead of commenting on this fact, he just finished, “I didn’t find him.  Siwon wanted me to see if I could help.” 

                “So he’s not staying?”

                Unsure whether this was a hope or a disappointment, Leeteuk said, “No, no he’s staying with us.”

                “Permanently?”

                Still uncertain, Leeteuk nodded.

                “Oh good,” Donghae said with a smile, releasing a breath. 

                “Why?”

                “Because he’s really sad and I don’t want him to go back to whatever made him sad in the first place.”

                Shaking his head slightly at how amazing Donghae could be, Leeteuk wondered, “And when did you get so smart?”

                “I didn’t,” Donghae answered matter of factly.  “And I like Eunhyuk, but why’s he so quiet?”

                “He doesn’t talk.  That’s why I wanted to speak to you for a second so that you would know who he is and what not.” 

                “He never talks?” Donghae said with wonder.

                “I know that’s hard for you to imagine,” Leeteuk said, still managing to find humor in the situation, “but no.  So I don’t want you pressuring him to either.”

                “I won’t.  Why can’t he talk?”

                Trying to figure out how best to answer this, Leeteuk said slowly, “He can talk, but he’s forgotten what it’s like to have the need to talk.”

                A confused look was frozen in an admittedly adorable way on Donghae’s face.

                Trying again, Leeteuk said, “It’s a manifestation . . . a physical sign of what’s going on. . .”  Rolling his eyes in a self-mocking way, Leeteuk realized this was not going to work.  Donghae just continued to give him blank, puppy eyes, his tongue sitting absentmindedly at the corner of his mouth. 

                Smiling at this image, Leeteuk found it in himself to come up with a gentle answer.  “The stuff in his head that’s making him sad is also blocking him from talking.”

                “Why is he so unhappy?”                                                              

                Crushed by how simultaneously innocent and somber Donghae seemed, Leeteuk felt his shoulders sag a little and he crouched down to Donghae’s level so he could speak with his eyes.  As he answered he found himself editing the truth for Donghae and Eunhyuk’s sake. “Well, according to Siwon. . .Eunhyuk’s parents didn’t like each other (at all)  And when they decided to split up (well, violently divorce), his mom got really sad and depressed (turned to prescription drugs and alcohol) and she started ignoring him (blatantly neglecting him).  So Eunhyuk learned to sort of take care of himself (there was no sort of, he took money from his mother’s pocket book to pay the electric bill) but I think not having anyone to really care about him made him sad (more like mentally scarred).”

                “Oh,” Donghae responded, looking quite small. 

                Siwon had told Leeteuk a lot of information before he’d gotten into the car with Eunhyuk.  Siwon had told him the short version of Eunhyuk’s life, at least as it looked on paper, but Leeteuk still felt like he didn’t know enough.  Siwon promised to conference call him about it later and Shindong said that he could bring Eunhyuk to Donghae’s Monday sessions until they could work out his own time, but Leeteuk still felt a little rushed.  It was good, he imagined, to start getting Eunhyuk acquainted with the family and adjusted to a healthy life as soon as possible, but he wondered if there were things he needed to know.  Siwon had told him to imagine this first step as giving Eunhyuk a place to stay, but it certainly felt like a lot more pressure.  He imagined it was all too easy to screw up when it came to special cases like Eunhyuk’s.  Why had Siwon thought he was so qualified again?  He’d screwed up by not telling his family about any of his plans before now, anyway.  This thought bringing his attention back to Donghae.

“And I know this is all really sudden and I’m sorry for springing this on you. . .”

                “Are you kidding?” Donghae suddenly returned with energy, “Of course you want to make Eunhyuk happy.  And I want to help.  Plus, now it’s like having a friend that lives with me.” 

                Leeteuk allowed himself to smile at Donghae’s ever open-hearted excitement, his maturity, and the fact that he was calling Eunhyuk, a boy he’d just met, a friend. 

                “Alright, well in that case as long as you’re all set I’m going to go back and help Eunhyuk—”

                “Oh, Leeteuk?”

                “Yeah?”

                “Do we have to keep Eunhyuk staying here a secret?”  Leeteuk could just hear the missing end of that sentence:  Like me.

                “No,” Leeteuk answered, “no, we don’t.”

                Donghae seemed happy to hear that, “Good.”

                “Now I just need to find a way to explain this all to Kangin without Eunhyuk around while somehow also showing Eunhyuk the house and introducing him to everyone and getting him adjusted.”

                “Are you going to introduce him to Heechul’s friend?”

                “Who?”

                Donghae could tell he’d misspoken and Leeteuk could tell as a result he was about to tell one of his “not quite lies”.

                “Oh, never mind, hyung.  It’s not important.”

                Figuring it wasn’t really fair to pressure Donghae, Leeteuk just raised an eyebrow and let it go.

                “Alright, well, you can either quietly hang around while I get Eunhyuk used to this place or you can stay in your room.  I just don’t want a lot of chaos until he feels more familiar with the apartment.”  Leeteuk scrunched his nose at his own motherly tone.

                “But didn’t you want to talk to Kangin?”

                “I’ll figure out how to do that later.”

                “Okay. . .but I still have conferences tonight.”

                Leeteuk’s heart jumped.  “Oh my gosh I completely forgot.  What time is it?” 

                Donghae shrugged and Leeteuk scrambled for his phone.  “We’ve still got forty five minutes,” he breathed, even though he knew it wasn’t enough time to do what he wanted to do.

                “Why don’t you let me show Eunhyuk the house?”

                “Donghae, I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Leeteuk dismissed.

                “Why not?” Donghae questioned without sounding defiant.

                “Because. . .I want to make sure he learns everything he needs to know.”

                “I know all that stuff.”

                Leeteuk knew Donghae was trying to help, but he was getting frustrated.  He needed to be the one doing it to make sure it was done right.

                “Yes, but you might not know everything I want to tell him.”

                “But I’ll know the kind of stuff he’ll be thinking of because I think like he does.”

                This statement honestly caught Leeteuk off guard.

                “What do you mean?”

                “Well, he forgot what it’s like to have people who care about him and I remember what that was like.”

                Utterly stunned, Leeteuk just shook his head slightly, pride and sorrow working in tandem to make his eyes water.  “Oh Donghae.”  He crouched down again and quickly squeezed his dongsaeng saying, “You never ever cease to amaze me.”

                “Is that a yes?”

                Breathing a laugh, Leeteuk said, “I guess it is.”

                With this agreement in mind, the two headed back toward the foyer.  As they moved, Leeteuk almost started to feel guilty for leaving Kangin and Eunhyuk alone that long until he saw Eunhyuk smiling as Kangin talked animatedly. It only took him a few moments to realize he was the topic and that Kangin was not casting him in the kindest light. Donghae giggled beside him.

                “Ehem,” Leeteuk cleared his throat threateningly.

                Eunhyuk tried to cover his silent laugh from Leeteuk with his hand but Kangin faced him shamelessly.  “Took you long enough.”

                “Does everyone in this house bond at my expense?” Leeteuk complained.

                “It’s just cause we love you,” Donghae explained, which was sweet even if it didn’t make any sense.

                “Thank you?” Leeteuk wondered.

                “Just think of it as you bringing the family together, right Eunhyuk?”

                The boy seemed startled by the direct address and the corner of his mouth twitched helpfully, but not quite happily.  In some way, Leeteuk was glad Kangin hadn’t managed replace him as Eunhyuk’s best bud while he was gone, but for Eunhyuk’s sake he wished that the comfortable moment hadn’t passed so quickly.

                “Hey, Hyuk,” Donghae began, drawing Leeteuk’s attention; “Leeteuk changed his mind and said it was okay if I showed you the house.  Do you want to check it out with me?  There are lots of awesome empty rooms and stuff.  I mean it’s not like a mansion but there are still lots of places to check out and I can show you where I live and where Leeteuk and Kangin live.  ”

                As Donghae rambled on, Leeteuk sensed Eunhyuk getting more and more agitated and overwhelmed.  He didn’t seem to know what to do with all of the attention he was suddenly getting.  Shrinking slightly, Eunhyuk looked like he was just about ready to fall through the cracks in the floor boards when he suddenly darted out his hand and grabbed Donghae’s arm, effectively shutting him up.

                 “Sorry,” Donghae apologized immediately, apparently able to read the other boy’s expression.  Looking at Eunhyuk’s face closely now, Donghae frowned for a second and then shook his head, causing his brown hair to swing.

                “Anyway. . .” He turned to Leeteuk, “Hyung, can we?” he gestured toward the hallway that lead to their rooms and Leeteuk nodded. 

“If that’s alright with you, Hyuk.”

                He liked Donghae’s nickname for the boy, since it covered both his real name and the name he used.  Apparently Eunhyuk liked it too, because he looked almost happy to hear him say it.  He had his hand on Donghae’s arm still and he turned to look at him and then back at Leeteuk and shrugged in an agreeable manner. 

                “Okay, go for it.”  Leeteuk happily granted his permission.

                Not wasting another moment, Donghae grabbed Eunhyuk’s wrist and exclaimed, “Come on, I’ll show you my room!”  And they were off, disappearing down the hallway.  Leeteuk started to call out a warning to Donghae to not drag Eunhyuk around, but he gave up, shaking his head.

                In the absence of the two boys, he could now sense that Kangin was staring at him.  The hair on his arms stood on end at the creepy feeling that he was being watched and he turned to discourage Kangin’s current venture to creep him the hell out.

                “Are you going to stop with the smile now?”

                “Nope,” Kangin answered, sounding pleased with himself. 

                Putting his hands on his hips, Leeteuk said, “Well, are you at least going to tell me why you’re smiling like that?”

                “No reason,” Kangin shrugged, still grinning like mad.  “It’s just that today has been a wonderfully interesting day!”

                “If you want to rub it in my face that you were right you can go right ahead.  I know.  I said I wasn’t going to rush into this.”

                “Oh, no, no!” Kangin insisted, throwing his arm around Leeteuk’s shoulder and squeezing him in a slight hug.  Everything about Kangin’s tone, body language, and actions told Leeteuk well enough that he was mocking him.  Either that or he’d gone mad.  “I knew you were going to bring the kid home today.  I gave you the car, didn’t I?  I just,” he sighed happily, “love how funny life can be sometimes.” 

                Now getting decidedly apprehensive, Leeteuk shrugged out from Kangin’s arm and demanded, “What did you do?”

                “Me?” Kangin gasped, pretending to sound offended, “I haven’t done a thing!”

                “Then why were you standing at the door when I came home and why do you seem so pleased with yourself?”

                “Because you are going to just love how much you’ve taught Heechul.”

                “What?”

                “Nothing,” Kangin sang.  “I’ll just let you talk to him.”  He suddenly turned and called, “Hey Heechul,” loud enough that Leeteuk flinched at the volume.

                “Kangin. . .” Leeteuk began to protest, feeling frustrated, but his roommate had already given him a gleeful wink and said, “I’ll just let you two talk,” before disappearing around the corner the same way Eunhyuk and Donghae had just gone.  Great.  So there went his golden opportunity to talk to him.    

                Leeteuk debated following him but he heard footsteps coming in his direction.

                “What, Kangin?” Heechul’s voice rang out sounding inconvenienced.  “I’m trying to figure out how to tell Han Geng that we’re not murderers in Chinese—”  Heechul stopped in his tracks when he saw Leeteuk. 

                “Cao,” he cursed under his breath. 

                “What was that?” Leeteuk asked darkly.    

                “Uh. . .”

                Before Heechul could get a royal smack down for whatever the heck he had just been talking about, Kangin suddenly appeared and walked through the room, saying as he walked by, “Have you met Eunhyuk yet, Heechul?  Great kid.  Great kid.”  That was all he said but he threw another wink at Leeteuk and chuckled to himself the whole way to the opposite corridor and out of sight.

                “Eunhyuk?” Heechul questioned.

                “Han Geng?” Leeteuk questioned right back, not sounding the least bit pleased.

                Folding his arms defensively, Heechul explained, “I found—met,” he corrected, “Han Geng when I went out today.  He’s Chinese and he’s in a bit of a bind and he doesn’t speak, like, any Korean so I tried to help him.”

                “By, what?  Bringing him here?  For how long?”

                “As long as he needs.”

                Leeteuk pressed his palm to his forehead.  Of all the days for Heechul to do this it had to be this day.  “Heechul. . .you can’t just invite someone to stay at my apartment without telling me!  Do you even know this guy at all?  If it was just us then maybe I’d be okay with it but with Donghae and I just brought Eunhyuk home and it’s NOT a good time and frankly it’s irresponsible.  You don’t know this man from a hole in the wall, do you?” 

                “Oh, so what you’re saying is that I shouldn’t suddenly show up at home with a strange new houseguest without first consulting my roommates in some way.”

                “Exactly!”

                All Heechul had to do was shift his weight and Leeteuk’s righteous anger fell.  “Oh. . . I see what you did there.” 

                “So, Eunhyuk?”

                “Siwon asked me if I’d come.  He’s eleven.  Doesn’t talk.  Neglect. Currently with Donghae.  Han Geng?” 

                Heechul nodded understandingly and then answered back, “Found him being an idiot.  No clue.  Probably our age.  Doesn’t speak Korean.  Dancer tricked into thinking he was going to get his big chance.  Currently sitting in my room.”

                Now it was Leeteuk’s turn to nod.  “Okay.” 

                Heechul looked pleased but Leeteuk warned, “But only for now.  As soon as I’m done with Eunhyuk I want to meet him and I swear if I see this guy acting even slightly suspicious, or even looks in a way I don’t like he’s out.” 

                “Double standard,” Heechul scoffed.

                “Eleven years old,” Leeteuk stressed.

                “Self-sufficient,” Heechul countered.

                “Self-sufficient,” Leeteuk agreed sadly. 

                Heechul sobered.  “I’ll be the first person to tell him to leave if he turns out to be a crazy axe murderer,” he assured.  “Family first.”

                “Thank you.”

                “But I trust him.  Everyone needs family.  Kid or not.” 

                “He can’t stay here forever, Heechul, I don’t run some kind of Island of Misfit Toys.” 

                “Yeah you do.” 

                The moment would have ended nicely like that if Kangin hadn’t suddenly made an appearance right next to them, somehow managing to sneak up out of nowhere to announce disappointedly:  “I was hoping for more anger.” 

                Both Leeteuk and Heechul jumped a foot in the air.

                “Jesus Christ, Kangin!”

                “Non-religious exclamation of surprise, Kangin!”

                Leeteuk and Kangin shot Heechul a bizarre look.

                “What?” he shrugged.

                “Hyung?”

                They all snapped their heads toward the corridor to where Donghae was standing. 

                “Leeteuk-hyung,” he clarified.

                “Yeah, Donghae,” he answered, then wondered, “Where’s Eunhyuk?”

                “He’s just chilling in my room for a minute.  But I wanted to ask when we were going to my Teacher Conferences.”

                Leeteuk’s heart leapt as he looked at the time and saw that Donghae’s Parent-Teacher Conferences were supposed to start in less than 20 minutes.

                “Oh my gosh, I totally spaced. . .again.  Um,” he spun around as if something in the apartment might help him gather his thoughts.  He hadn’t even begun to get Eunhyuk settled, but only he could take Donghae to conferences since he was the only one who was legally his guardian.  But he couldn’t leave without even introducing Eunhyuk properly to everyone or meeting this stranger Heechul had invited to stay in their apartment.  He didn’t have a clue where Yesung was and now that he thought about it, he didn’t think Eunhyuk would let him leave the house if the incident back at the police station was any indication.

                “Calm,” Kangin advised seeing his roommate’s rising distress level. 

                Trying consciously to do this, Leeteuk said, “Okay, okay, um. . .Donghae, can you possibly go and get Eunhyuk for me?”

                “Sure, hyung.”

                “Heechul, I will have to deal with you and. . .”

                “Han Geng.”

                “Right.  I’ll have to deal with meeting him and all of that later.”

                “Not a problem,” Heechul said. 

                “Do you want me to just take Donghae,” Kanging asked as soon as Leeteuk had turned to him.

                “You can’t, Kangin, you’re not his legal guardian.”

                “I’m totally his favorite hyung, though.”

                Leeteuk didn’t bother to dignify that with a response as Donghae came back into the room with Eunhyuk in tow.  The latter shrank slightly when all three sets of eyes rested on him.

                “Eunhyuk,” Leeteuk called then went up to him so his focus would be on him and not on the overwhelming number of people, “Donghae has parent conferences today.  I don’t want to have to drag you along so if you want to stay here. . .”

                He trailed off when he realized Eunhyuk was throwing cautionary glances past him.  When he turned to see why he spotted Heechul.

                “Eunhyuk, that’s my other roommate Heechul.  He’s a very good friend.”

                Heechul smiled but that seemed to have little effect on Eunhyuk.  Deciding to deal with all of this later, Leeteuk brought Eunhyuk’s attention back to himself by intercepting his gaze. 

                “Do you want to stay here?” he asked.

                Eunhyuk immediately shook his head.

                Leeteuk felt crestfallen, and Eunhyuk seemed to pick up on this.  He tried shaking his head, but when this was met with confusion, he looked around and spotted the envelope and the pen he’d left on the side table. 

                Taking these in hand, he carefully wrote something out and presented it subtly to him.  Leeteuk felt strangely that if Eunhyuk could talk, he’d whisper.

                Accepting the note, Leeteuk read in his head:  Shouldn’t I go?

                Still sad that Eunhyuk didn’t feel safe staying at the apartment, especially knowing it wouldn’t be easy for him out in public, he reluctantly agreed, “Sure, kiddo.”

                Eunhyuk awaited further instruction. 

                “Do you just want to go back to the front door?” 

                Eunhyuk nodded and Leeteuk watched after him a moment before looking at his roommates. 

                “Sorry this is so hectic.” 

                “What else is new?” Heechul joked.

                “Teukie-hyung?” 

                Bringing his attention back to the forgotten boy, Leeteuk saw by the look in his eyes he wanted to say something privately.  So, getting down on the boy’s level, he asked, “What’s up?”

                Wringing his hands a little, Donghae admitted, “Eunhyuk goes to my school.”

“What?”  Siwon had certainly not mentioned that.  Maybe Donghae was mistaken.

“Yeah, hyung, he’s in my grade.”

“How do you know?”

“So he really should come to the conferences but I feel really bad now.  I didn’t recognize him.  He even recognized me but I didn’t. . .”

“How do you know?” Leeteuk asked again, interrupting.

“He told me.”

“You mean he wrote it down,” Leeteuk understood.

“No, hyung, he told me.”

Shifting on his feet, Leeteuk corrected, “Donghae, I told you Eunhyuk doesn’t talk.”

He thought he heard Donghae mumble, “He talks to me.”

Deciding to allow the boy’s young hope to linger, instead of correcting him again, Leeteuk stood back up and said to his roommates as he put his hands on Donghae’s shoulders.  “We’re going to be late, so I’m going to go now.” 

He didn’t leave much of a chance for them to respond as he steered Donghae toward the door.  Sensing a chill creeping in from outside, he grabbed the boy’s jacket and tossed it to him, taking a different jacket off of the rack and getting a perceptive nod from Donghae, he turned to Eunhyuk to say, “You can wear this one if that’s alright with you.” 

Eunhyuk nodded obediently and started to put the jacket on.  By the time Leeteuk had started to put on his own jacket, Kangin’s voice had floated after them, “Yes, you may take my car.” 

Smiling to himself, Leeteuk said back, “Thank you!”

And then he shepherded the boys outside into the chill air, thankful for the chaos making this day seem so much more natural.
 

A/N  I missed you all so much!!!!!!!!!   <3 <3 <3  I literally have no excuse but school for not updating and that's not even a great one.

But this story is my child and I will never abandon it.

I am so sorry for taking such a long time.  I missed you all terribly <3 :)
I hope you can forgive me and I hope you're having happy, lucky lives at this moment and forever. :) <3

MUCH LOVE. To each and every one of you for making me feel special and for motivating me each and every day to just write a little more and a little more. 

Bless you all.