"Hyung's been like this for days now, there has to be something we can do…" Taemin whimpered.

The others followed the maknae's gaze to see Key sitting on the couch just staring at the wall, no emotion evident on his face.

When the five had woken up the next morning, Min-ai and her things were gone. Key naturally flew into a panic and demanded that Choi Jin get the car so that they could go get her, but when the manager told them that Min-ai chose to leave, he simply hung his head and had hid in their room. Nearly a week has passed since then and Key was still acting like a zombie.

"He almost looks betrayed…" Onew sighed.

 "I can hear you guys whispering over there," Key growled, looking at them out of the corner of his eye.

Minho huffed and walked over, sitting next to his friend. "Key you can't just mope on the couch about Min-ai leaving, it wouldn't make her happy, and it's not going to bring her back. The whole reason Min-ai actually left was because of this ridiculous scandal with Yuri-noo-"

"Minho you're a genius!" Key chirped, jumping to his feet with a victorious look on his face.

"…I am?"

"If I can straighten things out then Min-ai will come back for sure!" he cheered, a grin spreading across his face.

The diva dashed over to the door and quickly slipped on his shoes and grabbed his wallet.

"Ya! Where are you going?!" Onew questioned, watching him dash around.

"To get my Minmin back!"

Before any of them could stop him, Key threw the door open and dashed down the hall.

"I'll go with him," Jonghyun chirped, quickly throwing on his sweater and shoes. "C'mon Taemin you could use the fresh air!"

The maknae jumped slightly for being called on but nodded and slid his shoes onto his feet and dashed after the two older boys. He caught up with Jonghyun and by the time the two found Key, he was already crawling into their van. The two quickly jumped in and Key gave them a small glare.

"We're just tagging along," Jonghyun laughed, quickly buckling his seatbelt.

"Yeah, you're not the only one who misses Min-ai-noona!" Taemin added with a pout.

A smile slowly spread onto Key's face and he nodded, motioning for the driver to start the car.

The group moved out and after about half an hour they arrived at their destination. The three boys quickly entered the building and rode the elevator, getting off on the 6th floor and walking over to the door. Key knocked and a couple seconds later the door opened.

"Can we talk?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The van stopped again and Key flew out the door, not even bothering to close it.

"Key wait up!" Jonghyun called, quickly undoing his seatbelt and dashing after the boy, Taemin right behind him.

Key jumped up to the door and knocked on it. From inside someone hollered "No Soliciting!" making his eye twitch in aggravation. He knocked again and once again, the resident hollered that no visitors were allowed.

"Maybe we should just leav-"

Key furiously knocked on the door with a look of pure determination on his face, effectively interrupting Taemin. A couple seconds later, the door opened to reveal a tall man clad only in a pair of boxers and a white wife-beater.

"What the hell do you want so badly that you have to break down my door for you twit?" he grumbled, glaring down at the younger man while scratching the stubble on his cheek.

"Min-ho where's Min-ai!" Key demanded.

Min-ho's hand shot forwards and grasped Key by the collar of his shirt and pulled him a couple inches off of the ground with a growl, Taemin and Jonghyun letting out yelps of surprise.

"Listen here you brat, I don't like you and you don't like me, and you may be a famous face in South Korea, but don't think for a second I won't rattle your teeth for speaking informally to me!" Min-ho growled.

Key nodded quickly and was set down on the ground.

"Please hyung! We need to know where Min-ai is! There was a big drama incident an-"

"Yeah, yeah, something to do with this pickle here," Min-ho huffed, thumbing towards Key. "She's at school but do-"

"Thanks hyung!" Key chirped, grabbing Jonghyun and Taemin by their wrists and retreating from the doorsteps.

"YA! You better not pull her from school you twit, I'm in enough crap because of her marks!!"

Key simple rolled his eyes and continued to pull the two until they got to their van. They piled in and Taemin whistled.

"That was Min-ai-Noona's older brother??" he questioned.

"Now we know why you didn't want her living with him," Jonghyun sighed.

Key simply nodded with a firm look on his face, watching the scenery speed by as they drove towards the college.

The three arrived after about a ten minute drive and Key was about to fly out of the van again when Jonghyun grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Key you can't just barge into a college! You'll get mauled by fans and you don't even know where she is!" he claimed, giving the younger boy a scolding look.

Key was about to shoot back when he realized that his elder had a point; he didn't know what Min-ai's schedule was and even if he did, there was no doubt that if he entered the school any fangirls who happened to see him would start a riot.

The bell in the school rung and almost instantly students started pouring out. Key quickly spun his head to look at the clock and grinned.

"I don't know where her classes are, but I know where she goes for lunch!"

"KEY!!"

Before Jonghyun or Taemin could stop him, he flew out of the van and dashed along the fence  surrounding the school property. Taking a quick look behind him, Key saw that Taemin and Jonghyun were indeed running after him making him smirk. He turned the corner and instantly saw the large tree with the double swing-set attached to one of the lower branches, and there was a girl sitting alone on them.

"So where is sh-"

Taemin was cut off when Key began to scale to fence, Jonghyun attempting to grab the younger boy's shirt to stop him but missed.

"Key!" he hissed, fully aware of a group of girls only about forty feet away from them.

Key jumped down on the other side and quickly dashed over to the tree until he stood behind the girl.

"I still say you look better in green," he claimed with a smirk.

Min-ai nearly fell off of the small swing and spun around, her eyes level with Key's stomach.

"K-Key?!? W-what are you doing here?!" she hissed.

"I came to get my Minmin back and come to get her I will!" he pouted, planting his fists on his hips. "I mean, how dare you just up and leave in the middle of the night and not even leave a note!"

Min-ai's face lowered in shame and she turned around in her seat. "I can't exactly leave notes anymore Bummie…"

Key's face instantly fell and he walked around so he was in front of her, crouching down so he was more at her level.

"Min-ai… why did you leave? We sorted everything out, it's not like it was hard-"

"But who can say it won't happen again? If I go anywhere with you or the others there's instantly going to be controversy about it, especially since I'm either holding your sleeve or your hand. Key I left so I don't cause any more trouble for you, you have enough to worry about…"

Key huffed and quickly grabbed her hand and placed them on his cheeks so she could feel him frowning.

"Min-ai, you are my best friend and although you don't want to admit it, you need my help! And if anything you not being there is making me worry more than you being there!" he stated, his voice serious.

Min-ai sighed and lowered her head. Key let go of one of her hands and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear making her smile the slightest bit.

"Now… will you come home? To your real home?" he asked, a silent plea in his voice.

Min-ai didn't reply at first, simply moving her hands down so that they rested on his shoulders, patting them a couple times before smirking.

"My last class finishes at three."

-=-=-=-

"Min-ai~!" Minho sang as Key lead her into the dorm. "Welcome home!"

"Thanks Minho," she laughed, carefully shucking her shoes.

"Good, you guys are back just in time," Jin sighed, giving the girl a nod in greeting, then quickly realized his mistake. "Welcome back Min-ai."

Min-ai nodded as Taemin and Key groaned.

"We have to go on Star Golden Bell todaaayyy," Key whined. "But I just got my Minmin baacck!"

"Sorry Key, I'm sure she'll be here when you get back," Jin claimed.

"YOU BETTER BE!" the boy roared, turning and glaring at the girl. "WATCH HER LIKE A HAWK!" he barked, turning to Jonghyun.

The others chuckled as Min-ai simply rolled her eyes and shuffled further into the apartment, sitting on the couch and placing her bag on the floor.

"You don't really seem happy to be back…" Jonghyun began, sitting next to her.

"I don't know Jonghyun, it feels like Key felt he needed to go get me rather than wanted to go get me," Min-ai sighed, pulling her legs closer to her body.

"Key went all the way to your school to bring you back because he likes y-"

"He probably just feels obligated to take care of me…" Min-ai sighed, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

Jonghyun gave her an upset look and quickly placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Min-ai that's not true! Key really cares about you, even I can see that!" he assured, shaking her shoulders slightly.

Min-ai's doubtful face didn't change making the boy pout.

"Guys we're leaving~!" Onew called.

Jonghyun took Min-ai's hand and lead her out to the foyer.

"Now take good care of her!" Key ordered, giving the older boy a firm look.

"Don't worry Key, I'll treat her like a sister~!" Jonghyun laughed, crossing his heart with his usual grin.

Key nodded then looked around the man to see Min-ai standing awkwardly at the end of the foyer.

"Ya, Clementine! Come give me a hug goodbye!" he barked as the others left.

"I'm not hugging you if you're going to call me Clementine!" Min-ai barked back, turning around with a stubborn huff.

Key rolled his eyes and quickly dashed up behind her, trapping her in a back hug that lifted her off of the ground while she shrieked. He released her and quickly dashed through the door and closed it behind him before Min-ai's shoe could connect with the back of his head.

"Love you too Minmin~!" he called through the door.

Min-ai huffed and Jonghyun chuckled, gently taking her arm and leading her back into the living room.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Minmin~! You have to watch our episode of Star Golden bell!" Key sang, dragging the girl over to the couch.

"Key stop I have homework~!" Min-ai whined. "And you were just on it yesterday it shouldn't even be aired yet!"

"This episode will be!"

Min-ai sighed and allowed him to place her on the couch, her shifting back into the cushions as he flicked on the TV and changed the channel. Key plopped down beside her and smiled, bouncing in his seat impatiently.

"What's so special about this episode anyways?" Min-ai groaned.

"You'll find out," he replied cryptically.

Min-ai simply rolled her eyes and listened as the show began, Key turning up the volume.

The show was a couple minutes in when Key tapped her knee.

"Right here."

The girl was about to question him when she heard the host begin to speak, Key also watching the screen intensely.

"So Key-goon, we heard recently that the pictures and not of you and Yuri-shi, then who is the mystery woman?" Hyeon-moo asked.

Several curious faces turned to look at the man and he simply smiled.

"That's right, there was never a scandal with Yuri-noona. The girl is actually a very close friend of mine who myself and the others have been caring for since an accident she was in nearly a month ago. She is very dear to me, and I'm sure all of us would like to be able to help her through this hard time without the fans getting hateful or aggressive," Key spoke, a gentle smile on his face.

The audience "awwed" at his words and Key turned to girl in question. Min-ai's eyes were slightly wide, a couple tears having leaked out of the corner of her eyes. Key gently placed his hand over hers and she jumped slightly turning her head slightly so she was looking in his direction.

"I'll protect you Minmin, and not because you are an obligation, but because you are my very precious person."