Taemin and Key were sitting in the kitchen, trying to pretend that they were ok. Luna was standing in front of the stove, making them some food as they all dwelled on the fact that more than 24 hours had passed since Jonghyun had vanished. They knew the statistics...they knew they were running out of time. Key cuddled Roo closer, feeling sick to his stomach. None of them had gotten more than a few restless hours of sleep the previous night, including Luna, who hadn’t gone home the night before.

Key wanted to scream. He really did - but it seemed like the appa had that covered for him. Taemin had about jumped out of his skin when Jinki’s voice had jumped in volume suddenly, but he understood the reasoning behind it. There wasn’t so much as a single hint of where Jonghyun was, and Jinki’s seemingly endless patience had finally run out. He had asked the police in his highest volume exactly what they were spending their time doing, because there couldn’t be nothing.

He had been out the entire day, showing Jonghyun’s picture around and posting fliers, desperately asking if anyone had any clue where his son was. In the end, though, no one had seen him. Taemin had had nothing short of a temper tantrum when he woke up to find it hadn’t been a dream. Key had seen him throw many fits in the past, but this one was on a whole new level. The normally quiet and happy boy was known for pouting, sometimes ignoring people, and the occasional bout of tears.

That morning, however, he had collapsed onto the ground, refusing to let anyone touch him as he wailed loudly. He never turned particularly violent, but he did kick his feet a few times, and even pushed a bit roughly at the appa when he finally had enough and wrapped his arms tightly around the maknae, effectively putting a stop to the not-so-little outburst. It had seemed eerily calm afterward, even as Taemin apologized repeatedly. It wasn’t just strange for them not to see Jonghyun and Minho running in to see what was going on. It was wrong, and as the day went on their absences were more and more noticeable.

Luna moved to the table, settling bowls of food in front of each boy, before taking a seat herself. She didn’t seem to want them out of her site, and Key was secretly grateful. In truth, he liked Luna - a lot. She was nothing like Jinki’s ex, and that in itself was an improvement. Key glanced over at Taemin, his chest constricting as he watched his boyfriend poking at the food in the bowl. None of them really had an appetite, but they knew they had to eat.

“Jonghyun would have devoured this in a second.” Taemin said suddenly. Key snorted.

“Yeah, now he would. Six months ago he would have thrown up just looking at it.” Key said. Taemin nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. It faded quickly as reality forced itself upon them both. Luna looked between them, chewing her lip for a moment before speaking up.

“Did he have an eating disorder?” She asked. Key shook his head.

“Not really. Not in the way you’re thinking, anyway. He just had a small stomach, and too much food would make him upset because he didn’t want to waste it.” Key said.

“His stomach was too small for that much food?” She asked, pointing to Key’s bowl.

“He was homeless for three years before we met him. He didn’t get to eat a lot.” Taemin explained. “Jinki-appa rescued him.”

“You make him sound like a puppy.” Key said, his voice sounding a bit rough.

“He looks like a puppy.” Taemin said, and while Key couldn’t disagree, he could comment on it.

“You heard that from Minho.” Key accused, and Taemin giggled, not denying it.

“So...if you don’t mind my asking, what’s Minho’s story?” Luna asked softly. Key looked away awkwardly, but Taemin perked right up.

“When he was born his mother left him at the hospital.” Taemin said. “He went into the system a few days later, and no one ever tried to adopt him until appa came around.”

“Bwo? But...everyone wants to adopt a baby, don’t they?” She asked. Taemin shrugged.

“I think he was too fussy.” He said. “He went into a lot of foster homes when he was really little, but no one ever kept him for longer than two weeks.”

“That’s horrible.” Luna said, her eyes misting up. Taemin nodded.

“But if that didn’t happen...he wouldn’t be my hyung.” Taemin said. Key was still silent in his seat, petting Roo quietly as she pouted in his lap.

“Well...what about you guys?” She asked. Key glanced up, and Taemin fell silent. The atmosphere grew heavier, and Luna was starting to think she shouldn’t have asked.

“Taemin’s parents were bad people.” Key finally said. “They used to hit him...a lot. So, finally someone stepped in and did something about it.”

“Oh.” Luna said softly, looking over at the Maknae. Taemin caught her gaze and offered a small smile, shrugging.

“If it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be here.” Taemin said softly. “And I like it here.”

Luna nodded, not sure what she could really say. She wanted to scoop him up into her arms and squeeze him until he forgot everything bad that had ever happened in his life. But then she was struck with the realization that she wouldn’t even be having this conversation, were it not for the boy conspicuously missing from the empty seat beside Key. She swallowed hard, surprised at the tears that were coming to her eyes. She wanted Jonghyun to come home too, and be safe and happy with these other boys Jinki had brought into her life. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn’t hear Taemin speak up again.

“Key’s parents were really good people.” The youngest said. “They worked hard, and made sure he was happy. They got in a bad car accident when he was ten, and they didn’t make it.”

Luna looked over at Key, surprise taking over her features. It was easy to forget that something bad must have happened in Key’s life, because he never acted like it. None of them did, really, but Key really seemed to be the most well-adjusted of the three she had met. She couldn’t speak for Minho, being that she still hadn’t met the boy, but from what she’d gathered he was very tall, very friendly, and very affectionate.

She knew, of course, about the boys relationships. Jinki had mentioned it to her in the past, then looked very guilty when he realized what he had said. It was one thing to adopt four orphaned boys, it was another thing to adopted two orphaned couples. She had promised to keep her lips sealed, should it ever become an actual issue, but so far it hadn’t seemed to. They weren’t all over each other like most teenage couples. They seemed incredibly mature for their age, aside from their somewhat childlike attachment to Jinki himself.

It was no secret that the boys each came with their own set of issues. All four of them were sixteen, yet when it came to certain things they were like young children. Luna had to assume that, in Taemin’s case it came from his biological parents behavior as a child. In Key’s, she knew about Jinki’s attempt at adopting him when he was only ten, and the nearly six year struggle that followed, so it made sense that Key would have such a strong attachment disorder where her boyfriend was involved. As for Minho, she could only go based on the frantic phone calls Jinki sometimes received during their dates, but he just seemed to crave the attention, and Jonghyun? She knew a lot of Jonghyun’s story, and there were too many reasons for that kicked puppy look in his eyes, and the obvious need for comfort, for her to pinpoint just one.

It didn’t really matter what the reason was, though. What mattered was Jinki’s willingness to be there for them all, at any time. He had left more than one date early, because one boy had a stomach ache, or another had a nightmare. She had wondered why she didn’t find it annoying when it happened for a while, but eventually she came to realize it was because she admired it so much. He was good father, even if they weren’t biologically his.

Luna was ripped from her thoughts suddenly, by the sound of a soft hiccup, followed by a sniffle. She looked at Taemin, anticipating that he was having another meltdown, but his eyes were dry, and firmly fixed on Key. Luna got up slowly, moving around the table to Key. She had a feeling it was her questions that upset him, and she was about to apologize when she caught sight of the cell phone in Key’s shaking hand. He looked up at her, then slowly held the phone out to her. She took it gently, looking at the screen where an incoming text was displayed.

‘Key, I know I was rude the last time we spoke, but can you please tell me what’s going on with Jonghyun? He was texting me all day Tuesday, and even yesterday morning, but now he won’t answer me. Did something happen?’

The text was from Minho, and Luna’s heart ached as she read the words. She wanted to do everything in her power to stop the pain Key was in, and prevent the pain she knew Minho was going to be feeling if he came home and couldn’t find his boyfriend. More than anything, though, she wanted to bring Jonghyun home safely. She may not have known the boys that long, but she knew she loved them, and she never wanted to see them hurting this way again.