Jonghyun was sitting on the front porch, watching the place where the driveway met the road and waiting for Jinki to pull up. Jinki had kept his word and gotten the car cleaned, and Jonghyun had since been in it with no sneezing fits. He still thought it was a little overkill that he had been forced take a nap, but he really wasn’t going to complain about it.

He was certain that thing he had seen from the corner of his eye was a product of moving tree branches messing with the shadows and his own overactive imagination being fueled by a tired mind. Either way, he had cuddled down into bed with Minho’s pillow and Roo. He had slept for nearly two hours when the puppy woke him up, clearly needing to go outside, and after that he had felt just fine.

He had spent the rest of the day looking through the practice book, trying to get an idea of what his score would be, and while he was certain he had done well, he was still nervous when Jinki finally pulled into the driveway. He stood up, heading down the stairs and onto the walkway that lead to where Jinki was now parked. When he reached the car he slid inside, wordlessly buckling himself in, then sliding his hands under his thighs. Jinki rolled his eyes.

“Relax.” He said, and Jonghyun nodded. “You know you did fine.”

“I won’t know until we get there.” He said, squirming slightly. Jinki sighed, reaching over to the radio and turning it on. Jonghyun waited for the oldie-type music Jinki was so well known for to come on, but he was surprised when he heard BoA coming from the speakers. He laughed in surprise, looking at his appa. “Did Key finally convert you to pop?”

“Yeah.” He said sarcastically, shaking his head. Jonghyun laughed again, and Jinki hit the preset station for his oldies music. Jonghyun rolled his eyes, then looked out the window. His smile died instantly when the school came into view, and it didn’t escape Jinki’s notice. “Don’t stress yourself out.”

“I don’t need to.” Jonghyun mumbled, a hint of sarcasm he had picked up from Key coloring his tone. “The test already has that covered.”

Jinki glanced over at him, a single brow arching. He pulled into the school parking lot and parked the car, then shut it off and reached over to fluff Jonghyun’s hair. His eldest son pouted slightly, and Jinki smiled encouragingly at him before hitting the release on the boys seatbelt, then his own. He got out of the car, stuffing his keys in his pocket and shutting the door firmly. Jonghyun got out with obvious reluctance, and Jinki threw an arm over his shoulders.

“What’s the worst they can say? That you need to work a little harder?” Jinki asked. “You should be proud of yourself for how far you’ve come, not stressing out about whether or not you’ve come far enough.”

“I...” Jonghyun looked up at his appa, surprise on his face. It was clear he hadn’t thought of it that way, but he nodded slowly. “De. You’re right, appa.”

Jinki’s only response was to squeeze Jonghyun’s shoulders, then let his arm slide off so he could stuff his hands in his pockets. Jonghyun unconsciously copied the action, and they walked into the building together. Jinki led him to the office, and when they stepped inside the secretary smiled.

“Here for your test results?” She asked, her tone happy. Jonghyun nodded uncomfortably. “Don’t look so happy about it.”

“M-mianhaeyo.” He said, his eyes dropping to the floor. Jinki his lips, then started digging around in his pockets until he finally produced a few single bills.

“Jjongie, why don’t you go get something from the machine?” He offered.

Jonghyun nodded slowly, taking the bills and heading out toward the hall where the machine’s were located. He glanced back at the window on the office door, seeing Jinki nod with a serious expression, and his fist tightened around the bills. He picked up his pace, not stopping until he was in front of the juice machine, and the office was out of his line of vision.

Jonghyun stared at his reflection in the glossy surface of the machine for a moment before pushing in the wrinkled bills. He punched in the code for strawberry juice again, and just like the last time he watched the bottled liquid falling down the chute. He crouched slightly, pulling it out and shaking it as he stood, his eyes traveling back to his reflection.

His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he saw someone else staring back. He turned around quickly, half expecting it to be another trick his eyes were playing on him, but he was met with the sight of a familiar man dressed in a suit staring down at him. Jonghyun’s eyes were wide as Sangho’s lips pulled back into an inviting smile, and he stepped back quickly, bumping into the machine.

“How have you been?” Sangho asked politely. When Jonghyun didn’t answer he changed his approach. “Did you do well on your practice test? The real one will probably harder, you know. Especially when you take into account that you won’t be able to take it alone like the practice one.”

“What are you doing here?” Jonghyun asked, finally having found his voice.

“I wanted to see you.” Sangho said, his voice sugary sweet. Jonghyun felt sick. “Your mother sent me something for you, and I promised I would deliver it.”

“M-my mother?” The teen stuttered out, and Sangho nodded. Jonghyun watched as the elder reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, then held it out to him. “What is it?”

“A letter. Read it and write back to her. The address is written in there somewhere.” He said. Jonghyun swallowed hard, looking around for some way out of the situation he was in. Sangho shook his head, stepping forward and slipping the folded sheet into Jonghyun’s sweatshirt pocket. “But don’t tell daddy, ok?”

“Jonghyun?” Jinki’s voice floated in from down the hall. Sangho glanced up, making sure they were out of sight before leaning in close to Jonghyun.

“I’ll see you around, kid.” He said, the kindness suddenly gone from his voice. Jonghyun trembled visibly in response, and Sangho smiled again before turning and walking away. A moment after he vanished around a corner Jinki appeared.

“There you are.” He said, moving toward Jonghyun. “Are you ok?”

“D-de..” He said, not meeting the others eyes. Jinki reached out, taking hold of Jonghyun’s wrist and tugging him off the machine that had been holding him up.

“Maybe...you should wait to take the actual test.” Jinki said, and Jonghyun’s head snapped up. “Monday might be too soon.”

“Did I fail?” He asked, an edge of hysteria to his voice. Jinki quickly shook his head, pulling Jonghyun into a tight hug.

“You got a perfect score.” Jinki told him. “But if you’re this stressed out over the practice test, then...”

“A-ani! I’ll be fine.” Jonghyun said, pulling out of the embrace. A look of pure happiness flooded his face. “I really passed?”

“Ne.” Jinki said, reaching out and ruffling his hair. “Are you going to be ok at home with Key and Taemin, or do you want me to stay home?”

“I’ll be fine.” He said a little too quickly. Jinki looked doubtful, even as he nodded.

“Alright then.” He said. “Maybe you should call Minho when you get home.”

“Why?” Jonghyun asked, and Jinki shrugged.

“I’m sure he misses you.” He said, and Jonghyun nodded slowly.

“I’ll call him.” He said quietly.

Jinki lead him out to the car after a moment, secretly very happy that Jonghyun had agreed to call Minho. He had a feeling that Jonghyun’s stress would have been significantly lessened had Minho been there with him. As it was, though, he wasn’t due back for another nine days. Jinki’s thoughts lingered on Jonghyun and Minho even after he had brought Jonghyun into the house and verified for what had to be the fifteenth time that Jonghyun didn’t need him to stay home. The boy was obviously still a bit shaken, and Jinki refused to leave until his phone was pressed firmly to his ear.

He had left Key with specific instructions to call him if any of them thought he should come home for any reason. Key had nodded before shooing him out the door, and he was left sitting at his desk at work, staring at his phone. All of the paperwork he had had to do for the day was done, and a surprising number of boys had opted to go into the public school system this year, so it was really kind of a waste for him to be there, but he used the time to reflect on the similarities and differences between his boys.

Minho and Taemin were both unfailingly positive people as long as you avoided their sore spots. They brought sunlight into darkened rooms just by being there, and they were as close as brothers could be, but Minho was clearly more reserved emotionally. Taemin would tell anyone anything they wanted to know, and he trusted people a bit too easily for Jinki’s liking, whereas Minho would rather throw himself into sports and school work, sometimes even sleep, to avoid emotions that were too powerful.

Taemin and Jonghyun were such polar opposites that it sometimes amazed the appa how they never fought. Sure, they could play together for hours, so on a physical level they were similar enough, but if you looked past that it was hard to see the connection. Jonghyun was quiet, only ever raising his voice when you really pushed him too far, and he was so obviously insecure about everything that it was heartbreaking. His smiles were an occasional gift, not something anticipated like Taemin’s. Somehow, though, Jonghyun had taken on the big brother role in his own way. He wanted to do things to make Taemin happy, and Taemin would likewise help pick him up when he was ready to quit.

Key and Taemin were, without a doubt, the strangest pair he had ever seen. Key was bossy, he was rude, and he had this weird little habit of getting involved in everyone’s business. The only person he really didn’t seem able to boss around was Taemin, which was surprising. The boy was such an airhead sometimes that Jinki was afraid he would float away, and he was so gullible that you could tell him his nose had fallen off and he would check the mirror. Jinki was certain that circumstance and loneliness was the only thing that had brought these two together, but the foundation they stood on had been built up and filled in perfectly. That was a true love.

Key and Jonghyun were like a match made in heaven as far as Jinki was concerned. There was no better set of brothers out there. Key’s unending need to nurture and care for someone was easily satisfied by Jonghyun’s constant need for reassurance and attention. Jonghyun would do just about anything Key told him to do, and he wouldn’t even complain. Key would have little lesson plans set up from a day to day basis, helping Jonghyun learn, and it was clear the older boy was happy with the instruction. His history with learning in general was poor, and it upset him greatly. He’d even had damp eyes when he admitted he didn’t know how to ride a bike, but Key had been the first to step up and offer to teach him, much to Minho’s annoyance.

Key and Minho were the two most adult of his children - Key because he had had a good childhood and had adjusted well to the circumstances in his life, Minho because all he had had up until he was ten years old was himself and his thoughts. Key had been Minho’s first real friend, and even though they seemed to be at odds with each other a lot - particularly when it came to Jonghyun - their friendship was solid. They could always count on one another for anything and everything, and that was what made them family, regardless of genetics.

Jonghyun and Minho were heartbreakingly similar sometimes. Both desperately needed to give and receive affection, which made them great together, and both loved spending time outdoors, playing games and watching the clouds go by. But the one thing, other than their height anyway, that really set them apart from each other was how outgoing and friendly Minho was. For each one of Jonghyun’s five cell phone contacts, Minho had at least ten. It would have been easy for Jonghyun to be jealous of all the people he had to share Minho with considering his clingy nature, but it seemed that more than anything, he was jealous of Minho’s ability to make friends while he sat at home, waiting for someone to come play with him.

Jinki sighed, glancing up at the clock. He had spent nearly an hour in his own head, musing over his sons. It was no secret that those boys were his main focus, the only thing in the world that mattered to him, and he could talk just about anyone’s ear off about how great they were, but for now he decided to use some of his free time to do a little research. Jonghyun had seemed to be doing really well, well enough that Jinki was starting to think his anxiety was subsiding, but then Minho had gone away, and that creep had shown up, all around Jonghyun’s big test, and it was like they had taken two steps forward and three steps back. The poor boy was just trying to go about his life, but everything seemed to be against him all the time.

There had to be a way to help Jonghyun with his anxiety at least, and Jinki was determined to find it.

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A/N: I've tried updating this chapter like...5 times now, and I still can't put anything in bold or change the color of my font or do anything that I normally effing do, and I'm pretty pissed off about it. Hopefully this goes through.