Kyuhyun was scared.

 

Correction: he was terrified.

 

Ever since he and Siwon had started to work together in Kyuhyun’s office, he was astonished to see how easy it was to get used to the other man’s unrelenting presence. What had started as a convenience had become a habit. And by the time he realized what was happening, that habit had transformed into a tradition.

 

If previously he would welcome the perfect stillness that his office offered him almost every night, now the silence suffocated him. Kyuhyun didn’t understand that; it was not like Siwon was noisy, as a matter fact, the Consigliere was very quiet when he worked. Only a couple of deep breaths and yawns every now and then but other than that, it was almost as if Siwon was not in the room and Kyuhyun could go back delving into whatever job Kangin had asked him to do.

 

That was how he was extremely confused when he found himself walked out of his office on the third night Siwon had left for Japan on business trips.

 

And by the fifth night, Kangin was so pissed at him because he could barely get any work done. Kyuhyun had to spend the next few days working in the Don’s office because Kangin deemed he needed to supervise Kyuhyun to make sure the young hacker was actually working. Kyuhyun felt it was tremendously insulting that he needed to be supervised.

 

By the time Siwon got back from Japan, everything went back to normal. They work together again until late at night and once more the leader of Kim Family found himself once again having an extremely capable technical analyst –polite terms for hackers– available on hand.

 

No one questioned the strange friendship he and Siwon had developed, until Yunho mentioned casually one day that Kyuhyun and Siwon seemed to be rather close recently. That was when Kyuhyun started thinking. He then noticed how familiar it was to feel Siwon’s hands wrapped around his body at times, how he spent at least fifteen minutes on bed thinking about Siwon every night before he was able to go to sleep.

 

Soon Kyuhyun realized how much he needed Siwon; with the realization came the terrifying knowledge of his dependence towards the Consigliere.

 

He wanted to do the logical thing next: he should have regained his personal space and told Siwon that he was uncomfortable with how they spend too much time together. He should have started to distance himself with the other, and with all the luck he would’ve found himself spending his nights comfortably alone again.

 

But just like everything else they had done together so far; Siwon beat him to it. The Consigliere had him pinned to a wall in his office one night, eyes locked into each other and Siwon held his shoulder so tight it nearly hurt. “Kyuhyun, you should have realized that I love you, right?”

 

The uncanny accusation left him speechless and Kyuhyun could only blinked when Siwon leaned in. He would like to blame it to his inexperience, but when their lips touched there was nothing he could do in order to reciprocate the action.

 

Of course, Siwon took this as a negative response and he soon left Kyuhyun standing alone. Kyuhyun later found out it was almost one hour before he could finally move and went back to his room, refusing to do anymore work after what just happened. He couldn’t sleep at all that night and it wasn’t until the next morning Kyuhyun found out from Hangeng that Siwon had left to Busan with Yunho for business purpose and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks.

 

The mere thought of spending the next two weeks without Siwon by his side sent Kyuhyun spiraled down the stairs and before he knew it he was on the next plane going to Busan.

 

A quick phone call to Jaejoong told him which hotel Siwon and Yunho were staying at and Kyuhyun was forever thankful that Jaejoong didn’t ask him what he was doing in Busan, because he was sure he himself had no idea how to answer that. Kangin would kill him for sure when Kyuhyun got back to Seoul.

 

He felt himself walking around in dazed and later he found himself, fortunately, standing in front of the hotel. He didn’t bring his laptop to hack into the hotel’s system and it wasn’t like he could strolled to the reception desk and demanded to know which room Choi Siwon stayed in –although later he found this kind of approach to be extremely useful especially if Heechul was the one doing it. He then sat at the lobby for hours, ignoring the curious looks every doorman and bellboy gave him. A security guy in uniform even came up to him and asked rather politely what his business there was. Kyuhyun answered that he was waiting for someone and he was glad the security didn’t throw him out of the building.

 

Finally Siwon and Yunho arrived at the hotel. He didn’t see them at first, only heard whispers from hotel guests around him and wondered what the commotion was. Of course he shouldn’t be surprised, Siwon and Yunho were incredibly handsome and either one of them could turn every woman’s head with just a casual stroll. Put them both together at the same time and you could feel the women practically fainted.

 

Siwon seemed rather surprised to see him –indeed, Kyuhyun himself was astonished that he was in Busan right now of all places. Kyuhyun didn’t know what kind of expression he put on but the next thing he knew he had Siwon’s arms wrapped around him. Even though Kyuhyun wanted to push him away, his whole body felt numb and he couldn’t exert any strength. Millions of thoughts raced through his head, including what his dead father would say if he found his son in the arm of someone who were supposed to be considered as rival, but Kyuhyun found himself that he couldn’t care less.

 

Before he knew it, he had hugged Siwon back.

 

**************************************

 

The next day, Yunho slowly woke up and came to his senses. Refusing to open his eyes to acknowledge the fact that he was awake; the surgeon put an arm across the bed only to frown when his finger touched cold sheets instead of his lover’s warm body. Grudgingly he sat up and took in his surroundings, gazing into the unfamiliar room. The event of last night flashed through his mind and Yunho groaned. In the matter of less than 48 hours, both his and Jaejoong’s life had taken a complete turn. What started as a casual morning had ended with him killing more than a dozen people and they both were now –once again– a part of Kim Family.

 

After Kangin had ordered them to re-join the Family; neither Jaejoong nor Yunho argued. They knew and understood how grave the situation was now, and staying conveniently retired when their friends faced such danger was a stupid, not to mention a cowardly thing to do. Add that to the fact that Jungsu had just gotten kidnapped yesterday had proven that Yunho and Jaejoong –as strong as they were– could not keep an eye to him by themselves. They needed help.

 

A quick discussion with the Don later, they all agreed that both Jaejoong and Yunho would continue their work as an author and Head Surgeon respectively. To be suddenly missing from society would be too conspicuous and it would only lead to further suspicion from rival Families. Besides they could always bring back any useful information they might come across. The only difference was that they needed to stay in Kim Family mansion from now on. Yunho knew Jaejoong wouldn’t mind, but it would be an entirely different case with Jungsu.

 

Jungsu had awoken last night in the car on their way to the Kim Family’s mansion. The sudden scream he let out after was enough to make Yesung who drove nearly crashed into a tree. Although the kid was safely tucked in Jaejoong’s arms; Yunho figured that the recent experiences brought back Jungsu’s memories of being locked up and abused. Fortunately Jaejoong was able to calm Jungsu down or otherwise Yesung had to drive with earplugs plugged in. The fact that the kid was asleep soon afterwards was also a good thing; because from what Yunho remembered, Jungsu might be more than freaking out when he saw Kangin.

 

Ryeowook offered to put Jungsu in a guest room, but Jaejoong assured him that the kid could sleep with him and Yunho. This was an old trick they used whenever Jungsu was terrified or had nightmares and Yunho couldn’t help but be reminded of the first time Jungsu slept between him and Jaejoong, when the thunderstorm raged and Jungsu was too scared to sleep alone. The fact that it was also when Jungsu spoke his first word only made the memory much more precious.

 

Looking at the bundle in his arms now, Yunho was grateful that Jungsu was still fast asleep. The boy might not be awake for another few more hours due to exhaustion; yesterday’s event had clearly taken its toll. Moreover the sleep would help Jungsu’s body heal faster. Jaejoong was –to say the least– enraged when he found out that Jungsu’s small body was covered in bruises, although thankfully Yunho found no broken ribs. The rope they used to tie him had cut into his wrist and ankles, but other than that there were no other injuries. A couple of weeks of rest and treatment should heal all the wounds and Jungsu would be able to run again.

 

Realizing that he couldn’t be able to go back to sleep, Yunho decided to find Jaejoong. It had been quite long since he last walked inside the mansion, but he still remembered the layouts and with all the luck he would his lover in the kitchen reserved for main members only.

 

The surgeon smirked triumphantly few minutes later as he indeed saw his partner sat at one of the stool, talking to Kangin in low voice. The Don stopped their conversation as soon as he saw someone came in but seeing it was only Yunho he then relaxed. Yunho moved to wrap protective arms around Jaejoong’s waist and gave his boss an acknowledge nod.

 

 “Kangin was just asking about Jungsu,” the author informed while giving the Don a secretive smile as he leaned into his lover’s embrace.

 

Yunho raised an eyebrow. “Thought you didn’t care about him.”

 

“I don’t. I’m just curious, that’s all.” Kangin scoffed and glared at the pair in front of him.

 

Jaejoong let out a sarcastic chuckle but he didn’t say anything more on the subject, he knew Kangin was just in denial; the Don cared for Jungsu more than that, he just wouldn’t admit it. It was not unusual for Kangin to be concerned about the boy, after all he was the one who found him in the first place.

 

Looking at the clock, Jaejoong decided it was time for some food. He might just as well make breakfast for the rest of the team, knowing they would appreciate it especially since all the events happened last night.

 

He walked towards the fridge and gave a satisfied smile at all the things Ryeowook stocked up inside. Quickly rummaging his brain for menu, Jaejoong opened few cupboards and began to search for necessary cutlery; it had been quite a time since he last cooked in this kitchen.

 

Siwon stepped into the kitchen just in time to see Jaejoong put out few loafs of white breads on the counter. “Are you making breakfast?” The Consigliere grinned; he hadn’t tasted Jaejoong’s cooking for too long, but he remembered they always tasted better than Ryeowook’s – although he wouldn’t tell the young hacker that, Siwon still needed Ryeowook to give him food sometimes.

 

”Yep, French toast and buttermilk pancakes. And Yunho is making coffee.”

 

Siwon groaned, “Please tell me you make loads of them Yunho, you makes the best coffee.”

 

The surgeon let out a hearty laugh and placed a cup in front of the Consigliere who immediately closed his eyes in appreciation at the first sip of the steaming liquid. Meanwhile Jaejoong put a plate of pancakes with maple syrup topping in front of Kangin before setting out another batch for the Consigliere, and proceeded to make French toast for Yunho.

 

“You might want to wake Jungsu now; it’s time for him to eat breakfast. He hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday and I doubt those bastards give him something to drink, let alone to eat.” The author told his lover as he viciously cut the crust off two pieces of white loaf bread.

 

Yunho shuddered watching the way his lover practically drenched the bread with what looked like French toast batter, “I’ll wake him up; but please don’t ruin my breakfast.”

 

*************************************

 

Hangeng and Heechul were the next one to be fed, the diva was still in awful temper – he hated being awoken at what he claimed to be ‘too bloody early in the ing morning.’ Thankfully a stack of pancakes topped with fresh blueberries brightened his mood immediately, and of course a cup of black American coffee with just a hint of milk and sugar also helped. The conversation around the table/counter was light; Hangeng shared some funny stories he heard last week about a young member who pretended to have a cold in order not to participate in the vigorous training Hangeng had issued upon him. The front-liner then decided to play along; allowing the young man to skip the session, but he doubled his training activities for the rest of the week as a punishment. By the time the young member realized that, he had no choice but to follow whatever ridiculous things Hangeng ordered him to.

 

“Does he dislike training that much?” Siwon asked as he put in yet another piece of pancake.

 

Hangeng shook his head, “It’s not that he dislikes it, I just think he’s lazy.”

 

Several chuckles and snickers followed. “Must be another ‘forced-to-join-by-my-father’ case then,” Jaejoong commented as he dipped another two pieces of bread into the batter and put them on the griddle. A sizzle went through the room and after a few moments Kyuhyun, followed by Yesung and Ryeowook entered.

 

“Do you need help, Hyung?” Ryeowook asked.

 

“Yes please, can you flip those?” Jaejoong pointed to a few pancakes currently sizzling on another griddle as he checked on his French toast.

 

“Sure.”

 

The author gave a nod of appreciation at the way Ryeowook expertly flipped the pancakes, “You’re getting better at that.” Opening a cupboard, he took out an empty plate and put the now-cooked French toast on it.

 

Yesung chuckled, “he’s the one who’s been feeding us since you left; of course he’s getting better.” Pouring himself a cup of tea, he put two cubes of sugar in and stirred it. “If he’s in a good mood, that is,” he said again while giving his partner a mischievous smile.

 

Siwon wrapped a possessive arm around Kyuhyun’s waist, “Yep, we had to suffer from eating take-outs for three days the last time he sulked.” Mocking a gasp in horror, the Consigliere added, “Do you remember when he failed to hack into that geeky website? We were deprived of food for a whole week!”

 

Ryeowook shot Siwon a nasty glare, “Shut up. National Geographic turns out to have a surprisingly advanced firewall on their website. And maybe you should learn how to cook.” Seeing Jaejoong’s raised eyebrows, he shrugged in defense, “What? I want their latest footage on giraffes in South Africa.”

 

Yesung just chuckled before pulling his lover closer. Placing a soft kiss on the other’s neck, he said, “You know, we can always go there to see them ourselves if you want to. I’ll be glad to spend my well-deserved days off with you there.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Ryeowook muttered, “Uh-huh, like hell you will. You’d preferred it if we stay in bed the whole time.”

 

Smirking mischievously, Yesung countered, “I think I can always unearthed flat surfaces somewhere for you to lie upon. In fact, you can always lie on me, if you get what I mean.”

 

“Alright, alright, stop it you two.” Kangin finally had enough after seeing how Ryeowook immediately blushed hearing the other’s suggestion. The Don found it extremely un-amusing how his top members would always prance around with unhealthy amount of ual appetite every time they successfully finished a mission. And lately they always had a mission. For pity’s sake, it was like surrounded by a bunch of teenagers who just discovered and become addicted to it.

 

“You know, it’s not such a bad idea if you learn how to cook,” Kyuhyun said to Siwon while chewing on a piece of delicious French toast Jaejoong offered him. “I can always wake you up if I’m hungry in the middle of the night or something.”

 

The Consigliere groaned, “And here I thought that if you wake me up in the middle of the night it means that you’d be up for more rounds of .”

 

“Well, I would certainly need to find a way to burn more calories if I have a snack or two before bed time, don’t you think?” the hacker posed an innocent smile. Jaejoong shared an amused glance with Kangin and the Don sighed in exasperation, giving the author a don’t-ask-me look.

 

Siwon’s eyes darkened with lust before replying, “Oh baby I can already think of how many different ways I can show you to burn off your calories. And how many positions we can do them in.”

 

“Can we please for the love of everything’s glory, stop with the talk?” Heechul suddenly exclaimed rather exuberantly, “You guys are making me and I don’t need to jump on Hangeng so early in the morning.”

 

Kangin played along in the banter, “Why cousin, I never thought you would be the one who would say no to .” Participating in the conversation was the better way to deal with this kind of situation; he had learned long time ago that there was practically nothing he could do to make s stop talking when they got started.

 

The diva shot his cousin a glare, “You would be too if you had a and a ring for goddamn three hours before your partner finally ed you.”

 

They all erupted into laughter as Hangeng turned into a bright shade of red. Deciding to tease the couple more, Kyuhyun added, “I thought you like , hyung.” Heechul opened his mouth to reply but before he could say anything, another voice interrupted him.

 

“Good morning guys,” Yunho was now arrived by holding Jungsu in his arms; the boy had his head buried in the surgeon’s shoulder. His short arms were wrapped around the other’s neck. “Everyone, this is Jungsu. Jungsu, I want you to meet my friends.”

 

Unfortunately, much to everyone’s dismay, Jungsu didn’t give any sign that he heard what Yunho had said. Still, they were amazed at how…normal Jungsu looked now. It was definitely a nice improvement to see him wearing clothes for a change. The last time they had seen the kid was when Kangin had just found him; and no one could forgot that kind of experience, ever. Ryeowook remembered the moment Hangeng peeled off that blanket from Jungsu’s body; he swore he never saw anything more pathetic. The way those ribs jutting out his small body were beyond terrifying. And the memory how the boy practically crawled to get away from them brought another shudder every time Ryeowook remembered it, and let’s not forget the near animalistic way that kid ate afterwards.

 

And now, look at him. Ryeowook had to hand it to Yunho and Jaejoong who managed to somehow make Jungsu behave like a normal kid; even if obviously he was still extremely quiet and shy. But hey, it was beyond anything he could have achieved himself.

 

“It’s okay, say hi to the others, kiddo,” Yunho tried to coax Jungsu to lift his head. “Come on, don’t be rude, say hello.” With an obvious reluctance, Jungsu glanced into Yunho’s eyes. Seeing the surgeon raised an expectant eyebrow, he pouted a bit before finally turned and looked curiously around the room.

 

Until he recognized Kangin who sat next to Jaejoong, that was.

 

Instantly his small body grew rigid. Letting out a small whimper, he shrunken further into Yunho’s embrace and the surgeon had to surpass a wince with the way Jungsu’s arms literally chocked him. Thankfully Jaejoong took pity of him and immediately walked over to gently pry those fingers one by one off his lover’s neck.

 

Kangin muttered under his breath. His previously good mood had instantly evaporated the moment he saw Jungsu entered with Yunho. Add that to the fact that the boy was apparently still very shocked when saw him to say the least –make that an understatement; Jungsu practically terrified seeing him again– the Don was now bordering near pissed. Kangin snorted, “Two damn years and the kid’s still ing afraid of me.”

 

Ignoring the withering look Jaejoong threw him for using such language in front of Jungsu, the Don finished his coffee and put the cup back with a loud clang. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the way Jungsu cringed when he heard the noise. With an obvious scowl, Kangin left the room.

 

Jaejoong noticed how Jungsu relaxed visibly when Kangin left. Hoping to brighten the mood, he offered, “Let’s get you some breakfast, shall we?”

 

Yunho then sat down – carefully took one seat away from where the others were– and placed the boy on his lap; while Jaejoong put a place of French toast with powdered sugar and strawberry syrup for the surgeon, and pancake topped with strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream for Jungsu. He had cut them into little pieces so that they could be easily scooped up by the spoon Jungsu had successfully learned to use since a couple of weeks ago. The kid ate few bites from the sweet treat but he didn’t’ say anything. Knowing Jungsu was uncomfortable with all the attention given to him, Siwon tactfully chose another random topic to strike up conversation. The others joined him immediately and soon the conversation flew across the room again.

 

Jaejoong sensed something was wrong; Jungsu was always quite, but this was way too quiet. Every food that was placed in front of the boy, not to mention the chocolate (Jungsu adored chocolate), usually got devoured as soon as possible. But now he hadn’t even finished his breakfast, more than half of the French toast remained untouched. Instead Jungsu turned around and buried his face into Yunho’s neck again.

 

The surgeon tried to coax the boy to look up, “What’s wrong kiddo? You like chocolate, don’t you? Aren’t you hungry?”

 

Jungsu’s head shook a little.

 

“What is it? Does your body still hurt?”

 

Another shake.

 

“What is it? Tell me,” Jaejoong now stood next to the boy, opening his arms and hoped Jungsu would turn to his embraces instead – Yunho needed to eat his own breakfast. Sure enough, Jungsu immediately propelled himself into Jaejoong’s arms. The author couldn’t do much except rubbing a soothing hand across the boy’s back, hoping it would calm his nerves. Soon he could hear sniffles coming from the small body and Jaejoong hugged him tighter.

 

Few moments later finally those brown looked up, glazed with tears. Jungsu’s lips were trembling as he tried to speak up. Jaejoong lovingly the boy’s cheek, “What’s wrong sweetie? You can tell us, you know.”

 

“Can we…go home?” Jungsu asked between sobs.

 

Jaejoong shared a discreet glance with Yunho; the surgeon raised an eyebrow before shrugging. Looking down at the child in his arms, Jaejoong gazed into a pool of brown eyes and answered, “We are home. This is where we live now.”

 

At Jungsu’s face turned into confusion, he explained further. “We can’t go back there. We don’t want the same thing like yesterday happened to you again, do we?” Jungsu let out a whimper and shook his head quietly. Jaejoong put on a smile, “It’s okay, you’ll like it here.” The boy didn’t answer, only buried his head again on the author’s shoulder. As if on cue, Yunho joined in.

 

He stood and moved around Jaejoong so that he could see Jungsu’s wide innocent eyes, “Hey kiddo, do you trust me?” A small nod as an answer and Yunho smiled, “Okay. Now here’s the thing. Jaejoong and I, we decided to move in here. Because as you know, the apartment is pretty messed up right now and it’s not safe anymore. But here, this place is really safe. Our friends are here, they won’t hurt you and they can even protect you from the bad guys. So it’s better if we stay here. Do you understand?”

 

Jungsu bit his lip and gave another nod. He swallowed audibly before looking down again. His lips trembled slightly and glanced up at Yunho’s warm eyes, “But… but…”

 

“What is it?” the surgeon traced Jungsu’s cheek lovingly, trying to get the boy to speak his mind.

 

Once again Jungsu bit his lip. “But Leon is not here, and..and Charlie and Trevor would be alone and they must be scared and I don’t want them scared and…”

 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, we’ll go back and get Leon and Charlie and Trevor alright?” still the boy’s smooth cheek, Yunho tried his best to calm Jungsu down as he saw the kid started crying again. Jungsu managed to nod among his sniffles and sobs and Yunho shared a relieved glance with Jaejoong. Hopefully with Leon, Charlie, and Trevor here, Jungsu would finally settle down and be a little bit more willing to stay in the mansion. Although Jaejoong noted that he needed to talk with Kangin sometime later; he knew the Don didn’t mean it, but Jungsu was still obviously terrified at the sight of him and the harsh way he spoke earlier definitely didn’t help.

 

*************************************

 

Leon, Charlie, and Trevor, as Ryeowook managed to discover later, apparently were plush toys that Yunho bought for Jungsu. He and Kyuhyun offered to accompany Yunho with Jaejoong and Junsu to go back to their apartment and helping them packed. They needed to go to electronic store in downtown Seoul anyway to buy few necessities (a couple of laptops and some disposable cells that they could modify and made them impossible to be traced by any phone services).  Along the way they would drop the trio at their apartment before joining them again later.

 

The plush toys discovery was made as they helped Jaejoong packing the toys in Jungsu’s room. Leon turned out to be a lion, Charlie a monkey and Trevor a frog. Currently they all were safely tucked in Jungsu’s arms where the boy himself was watching TV in the living room. Ryeowook shook his head in disbelief by the sheer amount of toys he was surrounded in; the surgeon clearly spoiled the little boy rotten. Everything a boy could hoped for was there, starting from plush toys, action figures with cars and trucks, little blocks that you could make buildings from, puzzles, and to his surprise: pure titanium tricycle that was no way could be used inside an apartment.

 

Ryeowook raised an eyebrow seeing the bicycle, “That bike probably cost more than laptops and cell phones I bought earlier today.”

 

Jaejoong shrugged, “What can I say, Yunho adored him.” Closing a box and sealed it with a tape, the author added, “I’m just thankful he didn’t buy Jungsu one of those play-cars little boys could drive in, you know. It would be a nightmare if he did.”

 

The younger man chuckled, “Well I’m sure if Yunho hasn’t bought it then Kangin will.” He began to put few action figures in small boxes before compiling them into a bigger one, “He might refuse to admit it, but our boss care about the kid.”

 

“I know,” Jaejoong picked up another empty box. “I just hope he wouldn’t be so harsh to Jungsu. Two years passed and the kid’s still terrified of him,” he echoed what Kangin said earlier that day.

 

“Well, Kangin is Kangin. Heavens forbid if he shows the slightest care to an heir from rival Family, no matter how ruined that Family is now,” Ryeowook heaved a sigh. “Moreover things have gone downhill since he found him and I guess, he found it easier to act all tough around the boy. No, I don’t think he regrets saving him,” he added to answer Jaejoong’s unspoken question.

 

Whatever the author wanted to reply later was cut off with a knock on the door. Yunho stood leaning at the doorframe, one hand holding a box and a phone in the other. “Should I order some pizza for lunch? Or do you want something else?”

 

“Pizzas are fine,” Jaejoong answered, “can you include some pasta with that? Jungsu didn’t eat much breakfast this morning.”

 

The surgeon nodded before punching the delivery number and he heard his lover added, “And some chocolate tiramisu please.” Yunho grinned as he made his way to the balcony; Jaejoong loved to spoil Jungsu rotten with food.

 

Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang and Yunho opened the door to see a delivery guy holding three packs of pizza boxes (two Margheritas, and one with pepperoni and mushroom), two containers filled with Lasagna and Penne with cream sauce, and an extremely large container of chocolate tiramisu. After paying the guy, Yunho called the others and brought the food to Jungsu in the living room. The boy was watching some kind of animated show but his eyes immediately directed once he smell the delicious aroma wafting into the room.

 

Jungsu sat up a little straighter as Yunho opened all the food containers and boxes. “Can I eat those?” he pointed to the tiramisu. The older man chuckled, “Eat the pizza and pasta first, then you can eat your cake.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Jungsu dutifully took the margherita pizza slice Yunho offered him. Jaejoong followed by Kyuhyun and Ryeowook then entered the room, and Yunho noted pleasantly that Jungsu was no longer scared at the two unfamiliar men –hopefully he had gotten used to their presences by now. Instead he sneaked a curious glance every now and then towards the strangers. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook both pretended not to notice the looks Jungsu gave them and let the boy observed as much as he pleased.

 

They were halfway through the food, making light conversations along, before Kyuhyun finally noticed the unusually large tiramisu. “That’s a pretty big cake.”

 

Jungsu by now had finished his portion of pasta and pizza –plate cleaned with not a single penne on it– and looked rather hopefully towards the cake. “Can I eat them now?” he turned a pair of innocent eyes to Yunho. By a mere two years time the child had perfected the most adorable puppy look Yunho had ever seen and he was sure in less than three years the boy would have had every formidable members of the Kim Family wrapped in his little fingers, hopefully with the Don included.

 

Jaejoong was the one who answered, “Sure, but leave some for us.” Yunho stood and got a cake knife and a couple of paper plates to serve the cake in from the cupboard. He cut them into half and cut the first half into four same sized slices. Without saying anything, he pushed the rest of the cake towards Jungsu who immediately took a spoon and devoured it with gusto.

 

Ryeowook looked genuinely surprised. He raised a questioning eyebrow at how fast Jungsu ate his dessert. “Do you like them?” he asked in the softest voice he could muster. Jungsu blinked at being spoken to and much to everyone’s relief, he smiled before nodding a bit. Ryeowook smiled back, “You sure you can eat all of those?”

 

“He can eat the whole cake by himself. He’s a vacuum cleaner when it comes to chocolate,” Jaejoong teased and laughed as he saw Jungsu’s smile turned into a pout.

 

*************************************

 

Much to everybody’s delight, it wasn’t long before Jungsu started to feel comfortable living in the mansion. Admittedly, the only place he had ever been in the first month were his rooms, Jaejoong and Yunho’s rooms –which conveniently located just across the hall–, and the kitchens (although he was reluctant at first but soon the room was embedded in the little boy’s mind as the place where he would get lots and lots of delicious food, preferably with chocolate).

 

But after the first month, he began to explore other places like the gardens, media and fun room, the library and even the gym. Of course he was steered away as far as possible from any dangerous places such as the training room where the occasional gunshots and weapons clashes could be heard from; the weapons storage where he might accidentally find and launched any available hand grenade; Kyuhyun and Ryeowook’s labs –it was deemed dangerous after Jungsu unintentionally deleted all data the two young hackers had been working on since three days prior and had no back up of; and unsurprisingly, the Don’s office where Kangin’s mere presence might scared the young boy.

 

From social-wise perspective, Jungsu gradually began to get used with other people as well.  Predictably, Ryeowook and Siwon were the first two people who managed to be friend with the child. But soon Yesung, Hangeng and Kyuhyun were seen at the company of the young boy and did lots of things together such as reading children’s books like in Yesung and Hangeng’s case, or Kyuhyun playing with alien computer games with Jungsu staring wide-eyed at the screen.

 

When Kangin walked into a scene of Jungsu laughing with Heechul one day, it was when the Don realized the he was the only one left the boy was not comfortable with. Sure, the game Jungsu played with Heechul involved gunpowder and occasional fires that Jaejoong was sure to be horrified when he found out later, but still. A streak of jealousy deviously slithered across the leader’s mind but he dismissed it immediately with the awareness that Jungsu still freaked out every time he saw Kangin.

 

In his defense, Kangin felt he never did anything else rather than being his usual self. As the Don of Kim Family, he had business meetings nearly on daily basis where sometimes these hadn’t gone as planned and might leave him in particular bad mood. Kangin had to admit though, he wasn’t the best to be around with when he was in one of those moods, but still like the good leader he was, he never showed his tantrum in front of outsiders. And so, when he had arrived in the safety haven of his mansion with only the main members in attendance, he felt it suitable to let out his temper sometimes, a case in his opinion: he so rightfully deserved.

 

It wasn’t like he physically –or mentally like Kyuhyun or Heechul sometimes did– hurt s (he loved his Family too much), it was just that he occasionally indulge did some actions such as screaming his head off or hitting any nearest hard surfaces. His main members had gotten used with this behavior and they didn’t mind too much when the Don showed his outburst, although Siwon had casually pointed out that the desk at Kangin’s office had been replaced seven times in the past year. And so they also had learned to wisely left the Don alone when such circumstances happened, knowing it was best to let him cool off rather than being in the proximity of their boss.

 

Now, Jungsu was a smart boy. Although he had been steered away from dangerous places such as mentioned above; like any other inquisitive kids with healthy curiosity, he would found a way to sneak into rooms he had never been before, especially those that Jaejoong had repeatedly told him not to. And when he heard any noises or incoming footsteps from outside, he would do what any other children would do: go back or find a place to hide.

 

Kangin was in one of his stress-relieving activities (in this case it was hitting the wall while letting out few boisterous shouts every now and then) when he heard sniffles and sobs inside his office. Brows furrowed in confusion, the Don set out to seek where the sounds came from. Soon enough he then found Jungsu hiding under his desk. The boy was hugging one of his plush toys while crying his eyes out and Kangin couldn’t help but felt bad for scaring him, again.

 

He wanted to offer the boy some comforting words but judging by Jungsu retreated further when Kangin saw him, he immediately dispensed the idea. Running a frustrated hand through his hair, the Don looked around at his office before his gaze settled at the small refrigerator. Remembering that he had randomly stacked in some chocolates his business partner gave him yesterday, Kangin opened the fridge knowing Jungsu loved chocolates. He silently thanked the said business partner and mentally noted to give him a permanent membership at one his clubs. The said notion was instantly dismissed however; when he realized that the few first packages of chocolates were either filled with brandy or aphrodisiac.

 

Jaejoong would kill him for sure if he gave them to Jungsu.

 

Cursing the said business partner now, he rummaged through the all packages before finally; he found plain milk chocolates at the last layer. Suspiciously inspecting each one, Kangin took out a few and put them in a plate. He placed them in front of Jungsu as gently as possible. Thankfully Jungsu was no longer crying now; he merely let out a few sniffles and sobs. The Don sighed before kneeling in front of the boy. “Look, I’m sorry if I scared you, okay? It wasn’t my intention and I apologize for it, and for any actions in the past that might have offended you.” Now why had he talked to a child with such complicated language? Kangin berated himself. The kid wouldn’t understand.

 

Awkward silence settled between the two but Kangin refused to budge from his place. It was about time he made contact with Jungsu just the two of them and he wouldn’t let this chance pass. Finally the boy stopped his sniffles and risked an unsure glance to look at the Don’s face. “Why do you hate me?” he whispered through still glazed eyes.

 

Kangin heaved another sigh, “I don’t hate you, kid.”

 

“Then why… why are you so mean to me?”

 

“If I was mean to you, would I give you chocolate?” the older man countered.

 

Jungsu answered with a small, “Oh.” Biting his lips he asked unsurely, “Are those for me?”

 

At Kangin’s nod, Jungsu’s eyes turned hopeful and before long he sneaked out a hand to take one and began to nibble at it. Well, that went well. Genuinely pleasant with himself, Kangin watched as the small boy slowly ate the entire thing. Soon he finished everything on the plate and before he could ask for more, Kangin had placed another batch of chocolate on the plate (of course, plain milk). The Don was sure that it would ruin Jungsu’s appetite for dinner later and maybe Jaejoong would protest at him, but at this point of time, he couldn’t care less.

 

One week later, Kangin found himself walking down the halls. It was late at night, he just finished the troublesome paperwork Siwon wanted him to do and decided that he deserved a small glass of whisky before going to bed. Thunderstorm was raging violently outside and he couldn’t help but mildly wondered about his Family. Aside from Heechul and Hangeng who were in once again in China, everyone seemed to be scattered all over Seoul. Jaejoong had to do a book signing event; Yunho was still at the hospital; while Yesung and Siwon went out to meet a prospective client. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook also went to attend an IT fair downtown. If the storm didn’t let up, they all might be forced to spend the night outside the mansion.

 

Passing Jungsu’s room, he noticed that the door was left open and the room was dark. It was definitely odd because Jungsu rarely spent his days or nights in the dark anymore, he usually left lights on. A little bit worried and curious to know what had happened, he quietly stepped inside, but found no one in the room. He checked the bathroom, the closet, and everything else Jungsu might be in, but the young boy was nowhere to be found.

 

Negative thoughts started to run through his mind, what if Jungsu was kidnapped again? But no, it wasn’t possible, he had practically hundreds of Family members posted around the mansion, not even a dog could sneak in. Kangin then decided to check the next room Jungsu most probably to be in: Jaejoong and Yunho’s room. He opened the door and released a relieved sigh seeing small bundle curled up under the duvet on the bed.

 

“Jungsu, what are you doing?”

 

The bundle fumbled a bit and a pair of fear-filled brown eyes gazed back at him. Kangin was confused when he saw Jungsu’s scared expression, but the kid looked straight back at him so he mustn’t be afraid of the Don. There must be something else.

 

Kangin sat down on the bed. “What are you doing? Are you okay?”

 

Jungsu had his face burrowed back on the cover and a muffled voice answered, “Yes.”

 

“Are you scared of thunderstorm?” He tried to suppress the urge to yank the duvet off Jungsu’s body. It wouldn’t be appropriate remembering that it had only been a week since their first interaction together and although the kid was no longer afraid of him, Kangin didn’t want to break what little trust Jungsu had in him.

 

A sniffle came out before Jungsu answered, “I’m not. Leon is here with me and he will keep me safe.” A small sneaked out and showed the lion plush toy.

 

Kangin raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I will leave you alone with Leon then,” he said standing up.

 

Almost immediately Jungsu replied, “No!” He had lifted his head now, “Please, stay.”

 

The Don smirked triumphantly and sat back down again. He was glad that Jungsu wanted him to stay; even when the small boy hid under a duvet, it was still major relationship/trust improvement between them. He saw a lightning flashed outside and soon Jungsu’s body cringed when he heard the thunder that followed it.

 

“Why does he do that?” the child asked again, voice still a bit muffled. Kangin could only assume that Jungsu was talking about the thunder and he tried to remember what his mother used to say about thunderstorm, because no way Jungsu would understand about electrostatic discharge, air pressure and temperature etc. to explain about thunderstorm.

 

“Well…it’s because lightning says something and thunder tries to say something back.”

 

“But why he’s so angry?” Curiosity peaked and genuinely pleasant that someone was explaining things to him, Jungsu now had crawled from under the duvet and sat on the bed with his face half-buried on Leon’s mane.

 

“He’s not angry, that’s just…the way he is.” Oh, how his enemies would laugh their asses off seeing the fearsome leader of Kim Family trying to explain about thunderstorm to a kid. He could deal with guns, grenades, death-threats, bombs and everything else in between but now he had to talk about a freaking thunderstorm. Well, at least the subject was kind of manly, Kangin thought grimly.

 

Jungsu cocked his head to the side in confusion.

 

“It’s just like you like chocolate you know,” Kangin added hastily, “you like chocolate, and the thunder likes to talk like that.”

 

Jungsu answered with a small, “Oh.” Eyebrows scrunched in concentration, he tried to understand what the other just said. It hardly made any sense but everything about chocolate sounds nice and he could accept that.

 

Then the lightning flashed again and a particularly loud thunder that followed sent him bolted into the Don’s arms. He buried his head again the other’s broad chest; a gesture he practiced when seeking the comfort Jaejoong or Yunho usually offered.

 

Kangin froze. Everything happened too fast and he didn’t saw him coming. The Don was definitely surprised when Jungsu did that, but then again every kid got scared during thunderstorm and he couldn’t blame Jungsu for that. Hands raised, he started to pat the small back awkwardly. It seemed to calm him a bit as Kangin felt Jungsu’s frantic heartbeat grew steadier.

“Will you stay?”

And as he nodded, Kangin had to pretend he didn’t notice how good it felt to finally have Jungsu in his arms.

 

Author’s Note: I think I need to cut back on the chapters’ length. The first chapter was about 1500 words; it grew longer and longer until this chapter 5 is a 7000 words monster. It had practically quadrupled! But I really want to end this chapter with a progress between Kangin and Leeteuk relationship, so…yeah. ^^;; I just noticed though, somehow whenever Jaejoong was around, the scene always have foods lying about here and there. >///<