Jonghyun was laying face down on the bed of the hotel with Minho seated on his bottom as the younger worked knots loose from his hyung’s back. Jonghyun was pouting without shame, and Jinki for his part was entirely amused.

“Why does driving hurt?” Jonghyun whined. Not long before he had announced he would never drive again, though neither of the others took him seriously.

“You probably had the seat set wrong. And you were too tense.” Jinki said. Jonghyun made a little “hmph” noise in response. “Another thing is, you need to remember that you’re not as tall as the rest of us. You need to be closer to the pedals.”

“Now you tell me.” He grumbled, and Jinki laughed.

“Are you feeling better?” Minho asked softly, and Jonghyun nodded, not lifting his head.

“Jjongie.” Jinki said, and Jonghyun looked over at him. “We need to get going.”

“Oh.” He said, and Minho slid off of him, flopping down on the mattress. Jonghyun sat up and stretched, seeming slightly surprised when his back popped. He looked at the younger for a moment before leaning over him and kissing him softly. “We’ll be back soon, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Minho said, waving him off. Jonghyun rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you try out the pool and tell us how it is?” Jinki suggested, and Minho nodded.

“Alright.” He said, sitting up and watching as Jinki lead his eldest out of the room.

Jonghyun looked more than a little intimidated by the large building in front of him. He had never been to a jail before, and was in no way prepared for the size of the structure. He was afraid, too. These people were locked up for a reason, some - including his own mother - were there because they had killed people. Jonghyun was starting to wonder if he had made a mistake as they walked into the building.

The security check didn’t seem very thorough at all to Jonghyun, who had Roo in his arms despite her harness. It had taken a few minutes to convince the guards to let her in, but soon enough they were being lead down to an open area that very much resembled a cafeteria, and to a table where a tired looking woman was sitting. There were cuffs on her wrists, and shackles on her ankles, and her outfit was very plain. What struck Jonghyun the most though, was how much she resembled the woman he had grown up believing to be his mother. It was almost too much for him.

“Bong-Cha.” The guard said, and she looked up in surprise. “You have visitors. Behave.”

Her eyes roamed over Jinki first, not a hint of recognition in her face, before moving to Jonghyun. There was a slight spark  in her eye as she stared at him, and he stared back. The atmosphere was more than a little tense as they silently inspected one another, but finally Bong-Cha dropped her gaze.

“You can sit, you know.” She said. Jinki nudged Jonghyun slightly, and the boy awkwardly moved into the chair he was standing behind. Jinki took the one beside him. It was silent for a while, but eventually Bong-Cha spoke again. “You’re shorter than I expected you to be.”

Jonghyun looked slightly offended by the comment, but Bong-Cha was just smiling. He nodded, then redirected his attention to Roo, who seemed to be fascinated by Jonghyun’s hands. He scratched behind her ears, and she rested her head in his palm, causing him to laugh softly. Bong-Cha’s eyes narrowed slightly as she watched her son.

“How’d you get a dog in here?” She asked, and Jonghyun looked up at her.

“She’s a service dog.” Jonghyun said, and she blinked a few times.

“Are you blind?” She asked, seeming surprised. Jonghyun shook his head.

“It’s for anxiety.” He explained, and she nodded slowly.

“I guess it wasn’t smooth sailing for you then.” She said, and Jonghyun shrugged.

“It wasn’t awful.” He said. “I’m just quirky.”

“Are you in school?” She asked, redirecting the conversation. Jonghyun shook his head. “You already graduated?”

“I got my equivalency diploma.” He said, and she nodded.

“Better than nothing.” She commented, and Jonghyun nodded with a confused expression. “Did you get my letter?”

“Um..” Jonghyun glanced up at Jinki, then nodded slowly. “De.”

“So you know I’m getting out soon.” She said, and Jonghyun looked uncomfortable.

“De.” He confirmed. She smiled.

“I still own the house.” She said. “And you still have a bedroom there.”

Jonghyun glanced up at Jinki, beginning to look nervous. What was she getting at, exactly? He had an idea, but he hoped he was horribly wrong. She watched him for a long moment before sighing audibly. She looked slightly frustrated.

“This is what Sangho was talking about.” She said, nodding. “I get it now.”

“What?” Jonghyun asked, his body tensing.

“You have a dependency issue.” She said, shrugging. “You always check to see what he’s doing before you say anything.”

“No I don’t.” Jonghyun said, slightly offended. Roo nudged his hand silently, and he forced himself to relax.

“Well, your actions say otherwise.” She commented. “It doesn’t really matter, though. I can help you get over that.”

“You...what?” Jonghyun sputtered, and she smiled.

“Well, you didn’t think I would just leave you there did you?” Bong-Cha asked, and Jonghyun’s eyes widened. “I’ve always wanted you to be with family.”

“I am with family.” Jonghyun commented softly, but she acted like she didn’t hear him.

“You can bring your dog, if you want to. I’ve never really liked them, but I can learn to live with it.” She said. “You can come be with Umma again.”

“I already have an Umma.” Jonghyun said, his voice still quiet.

“Jonghyun, she was your sister. You need to understand that.” She said, and Jonghyun looked angry.

“I’m not talking about her.” Jonghyun said, and both adult’s eyebrows went up. “I have an Umma and an Appa.”

“Excuse me?” Bong-Cha asked. “I am your only umma, Jonghyun.”

“My umma’s name is Luna.” Jonghyun said, looking and sounding a thousand times more confident than he really was.

“Kim Jonghyun, you are absolutely out of line.” She scolded, and Jonghyun flinched.

“Actually, he’s not.” Jinki finally spoke up. “He knows where his home is. It seems you don’t.”

“Who are you to speak about my son like that? You don’t know him.” Bong-Cha accused. “I carried him inside of me.”

“I don’t need to have him inside of me to claim to know him.” Jinki snapped. “I’m the one who took him in. I’m the one who rushed him to the hospital when he broke his bones. I’m the one who got him through school. You carried him, sure, but your daughter raised him, and when she couldn’t anymore, I took over.”

“Sangho told me about your kid collection.” Bong-Cha spat. “You adopted four teenage boys and you’re single?”

“I’m engaged.” Jinki corrected. “And she loves our boys as much as I do.”

“Appa, this was a bad idea.” Jonghyun said suddenly, and Jinki looked over at him quickly. He didn’t look that upset, but looks could be deceiving.

“We’re not done.” Bong-Cha said.

“Yes we are.” Jonghyun said, starting to get angry. Roo began emitting low growls. “Don’t call anymore, and don’t send any more letters. I came here to see what you wanted, but I don’t want anything you’re trying to offer.”

“I have more legal right to you than he does. I’ll be out of here in a month, and then I’m taking you home with me one way or another.” Bong-Cha said. In an instant Roo’s growl’s switched to warning barks, and Jinki rounded on Bong-Cha.

“You are going to leave my son alone. Are we clear? All you’ve done is upset him. He doesn’t want to go. Isn’t it more important for your kids to be happy than be with you?” Jinki snarled. Bong-Chan shrugged.

“He would be just as happy with me.” She said, and Jonghyun grabbed Jinki’s sleeve.

“Appa, can we go?” Jonghyun asked. Jinki glanced over at him, and nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s get back to Minho. We’ve been gone a while.” Jinki said, hoping that would ease Jonghyun’s nerves. It didn’t really seem to have any effect on him though, and Jinki got a little nervous as they stood up.

“You can’t just leave.” Bong-Cha said, anger clear in her expression. Jonghyun cringed at the sight of it, flashes of dreams, and a memory.

A face - her face - inches from his. Screaming at him. Hitting him. He didn’t even know what he had done, but she wouldn’t relent. When it was over someone had tried to comfort him, but he had been too shaken. Too afraid. And then there was blood. Everywhere, there was blood.

His breath was coming in in shorter and shorter bursts, and Jinki reached out to catch him before he fell as the memory assaulted him. So much screaming. So much blood. His eyes remained wide open, as if that would protect him from the images in his mind. It was useless, though, because even as the memory of his father’s murder faded more memories of his parents actions toward him surfaced.

“A...appa...” Jonghyun said, trying to get himself back to reality.

“I’m right here, Jjongie.” He heard Jinki say, but his focus was somewhere else. He felt dizzy as he remembered everything. Well, he supposed it wasn’t everything. His memory couldn’t possibly go that far back. He felt like he was going to fall, but then there was something wet on his face. Was he crying? He focused on it for a moment, and realized it was Roo’s tongue. “Jonghyun, are you alright?”

“I want to go home.” Jonghyun said, finally focusing on Jinki. The elder nodded, leading Jonghyun out without a backward glance at the woman in shackles.

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Update time? Update time~

And, for the two people commenting on Jonghyun and Minho's clinginess, yes, it could end up causing problems later if they don't learn to be on their own soon. I actually have a plan in mind for that.

And, also, for the comment about why Jinki didn't just stay at the school and wait for Jonghyun...well, first of all, he had to go to work. And second, he was trying to give Jonghyun some independance. He has a dependant personality, so letting him do things on his own would kind of be the best way to counteract that, wouldn't you say?

Also, guess what? My friends got sick of all my Kpop flooding on facebook, so I made a page to balance out my slightly obsessive personality. >.>

Go like it:

http://www.facebook.com/IHadALifeOnceThenSomeoneShowedMeKpop