"Pick up your feet, old man." Jonghyun laughed loudly. Key had gone to get ready for dinner, mumbling about what he should buy for Taemin. I was now walking with Jonghyun, or rather behind him and his hyperactive stride along black building lined sidewalks. The sunshine had become less intense and there was a light shroud of cloud cover that blocked the sun a bit. After tripping over my clumsy two feet, I caught up to him and was able to observe this newer odd character. 

His voice was more in his throat and nose. Much higher in tone than Key's. He talked nonstop and at an extremely fast speed, telling me that if he was on something, it was the opposite of what Key enjoyed. His large, rounded eyes that sported crystal blue contacts dilated at the sight of every tall building or car, like a puppy's would. Key had been right, he was almost not a human. He had an animated, curious way about him that surprised me, considering we were more close in age. Key had handed me off after we ran into them in the music shop. I felt more at ease with Key than Jonghyun, probably because I spent more time with Key, even though objectively Jonghyun was about ten times less intimidating than the man in the gothic circus get up. Nevertheless, Jonghyun was an interesting individual. He was easy to talk to and didn't seem like a wizard behind a smoke screen that you couldn't get to. He presented his full self to everyone which was admirable. A strong figure, a glow of sun in his skin, an eye brow piercing, a tongue piercing, randomly placed feathers, his sweater and tribal shirts, his studs and rings that lined his ears, all of it was crazy and just screamed how creative he was. 

"I'm going to show you the apartment and then we can go get anything you need before dinner." Jonghyun said, smiling right at me. He had no issues with looking people directly in the eye. He was shorter than me, but his shoes gave him a bit of a boost. He looked so free and unhinhibited when his hair and garb ruffled in the wind, almost like he could just take off, the long extensions of his sweater becomming wings. I hoped that I could find clothing that allowed me to feel more at ease with my own self, rather than a stuffy suit that had pantlegs that were a bit too long at the ankles. 

While I was wondering what I would look like in clothes more suited for my age, Jonghyun ran away. My heart beat picked up ten fold and I had absolutely no idea what was happening. Jonghyun was running towards an alley across the street in between two buildings with a few flag poles jutting out of them and an awning I saw the him scramble up the fire escape on the side of the building. He climbed up to the top of the taller black brick edifice and took a graceful swan dive downwards. My heart almost lept out of my mouth when he jumped. He fell, his sweater spreading in the wind looking like the wings I thought would keep him afloat, but they didn't. He whooped and enjoyed it, like he knew that nothing would go wrong. However, no matter how many feathers Jonghyun was carrying on his person, he wasn't a bird. He couldn't actually fly. I thought he would surely break some part of his body. My mind replays this in slow motion every now and again, it panics me and often disturbs my sleep. Jonghyun fell father until he reached the first flag pole, he caught it. I closed my eyes imagining the crack of breaking fingers on contact. He swung a few times on that pole and dropped to the next one. Doing a full 360 degree flip around the lowest pole, Jonghyun jumped down, brushed himself off and walked towards me, as if nothing had happened. Jonghyun smiled at me and I said nothing. I gave him a questioning look and panted, trying to slow my heart rate down. 

"That was scary." I said. That was the only thing I could choke out and it sounded like a young child telling his mother about a nightmare he had just had.

I bent over and then stood back up, putting my hands on my head and breathing deeply, finally being able to breathe normally. Then, something unexpected happened. Really, with Jonghyun and the street in general, the unexpected was the norm but I was just a newbie. 

Jonghyun's face contorted and his left eye's twitched. His saphire orbs then welled up with fat tears that then began escaping his eyes. He was crying. Then he was giving shuddering sobs. Loud, and desperate that made me not only feel his pain, but also made me want to bend over and cry with him. I couldn't believe that he was sobbing in front of me when he seemed to be having the time of his life. Key said he was an adrenaline junkie. 

Before I could pat him on the back, he wrapped his arms around me and grasped the back of my shirt. I knew he needed to be comforted so I hugged him back. We stayed there for a while, until out of the corner of my eye, I saw Minho walk out of an alley a little ways away from us. He was so tall and walked with such grace. He was so intriguing to me and at the time I had no idea why. He said maybe a sentance to me when I saw him in the store. His knuckles were bloody and he had a new gash on his forehead, shimmering red in the sunlight. I couldn't believe that after Jonghyun had cleaned him up, he went right back to fighting. It made me angry. Impossibly angry at the auburn haired guy I barely knew. I turned Jonghyun around so he wouldn't see Minho. 

Jonghyun released his arms from my shoulders and tried to compose himself. "I landed. It always happens." Jonghyun said quietly, wiping his eyes. At the time, I didn't know what he meant. 

After that, I walked with more caution around Jonghyun. He asked me questions to get to know me better. I wanted to ask him things back, but I didn't know how after that. 

"Is law boring?" Jonghyun asked while swinging his arms like a child. 

"It can be. It can be exciting. It can . Depends." I answered truthfully. 

"It must considering you were at a bar and picked up by the sleeziest guy ever." Jonghyun chuckled. "You're lucky I was there for you. Joon could have seriously hurt you." Jonghyun said, continuing to smile. However, there was a glint of care behind his eyes. It touched me. 

"Yeah. Thank you for that." I said back. "Really. Without you punching that guy...anyways thanks." I added awkwardly, receiving a small upward lip curve from Jonghyun. 

"So...you taking a break from work or what?" He asked me. "Busy lawyer like you probably doesn't get this much time off." 

"Uh yeah. I needed a break. Something different for a little bit." I said, sighing. 

"Well you surely came to the right place." He said, patting me on the back. 

Our pace picked up a bit once his building came into sight. Like all of the other buildings, it was black. This one was different because on the glass windows were spray painted X's. Some were bright blue, some blood red, others a severe yellow color. 

"What are the X's for?" I asked, figuring Jonghyun would know since he was the landlord. 

"Washable paint, of course for when people move out. I make Taemin reapply the paint when it rains, but I like to mark each window to remember what kind of people live in my buidling. You see, the old landlord didn't care. Didn't care one ing bit. People died, some murdered, some of old age, some of disease. Also, there were multiple robberies, , and cases of abuse. I mark the windows so I know that the people in my building are the ones who need a home and will take care of it and others. Blue means it houses a broken family, a runaway, someone escaping. Other tenants help bring food, medical attention and love to their door. Taemin or me would live in one of those. Red means it houses a criminal or an ex-con or someone trying to get a new start, away from their old selves. Once Key stopped actually conning, then maybe he would be one of those. And yellow. Yellow is a mystery. I'm known around the town and a lot of new people are sent to me and when they want to move in, I hear bits and pieces of their story and many of us become friends. I often give advice or I am a shoulder to cry on. However, yellow, are people who prove to be this side of town material, but don't open up. Minho, when he first got here, would have lived in one of these. I just like to know because I can relate. I'm the most popular building, you see. The tenants themselves just think the paint is decor and no one else knows this but me. " Jonghyun explained. To me, it was so odd that people would do this kind of thing and that people trusted him. But, the more I thought about it, the more I could see how positive it would be to have a Jonghyun in your life. I also thought about the mysterious Minho, the one who wouldn't leave my mind. 

Jonghyun showed me my new home for however long I felt like staying. The more I saw, the more weird it was and the more I wanted to know more.  The apartment was not what I was expecting. It was an enormous kind of loft attic type area that was all wood. All white walls that contrasted immensely with the hard, dark exterior of the building itself. The doorways, which didn't have doors at all, rather, we draped in thickly layered dream catchers, just like the record store. The furniture was white as well. The ceiling, unlike the record store, was not a confused jungle of graffiti, but a dark, navy, starry night that looked and felt like a real one. 

Jonghyun caught me looking at it and told me Key helped him paint it. 

After showing me around the apartment, we went to get glasses cleaner. I didn't want to spend all of my money right away and I didn't want to offend Key who had told me he wanted to take me shopping himself. We then walked back to the 45 RPM so drop it off so we could then walk to where we were apparently having dinner and I didn't have to carry it around. 

The breeze was cooler now. We walked talking about superficial things, like which stores Jonghyun liked to get his clothing at. We arrived at an intersection and faced a boarded up, black storefront. 

"Are we here?" I asked in confusion. 

"Yes. But before we go in, I have to warn you about a few things. Taemin is furious at Key for reasons that will probably come out tonight. Taemin is very protective of us and has a short fuse. Minho, chances are that the idiot got in a fight after I tried to clean him up, I assume that was what you were trying to hide me from earlier. Minho acts very nonchalant about it. Don't draw attention to it. Key will cry and then smoke which makes Taemin furious and chances are you'll hear more about Key's criminal activity. I like to try to stay out of it, but in the end, Minho and I usually end up in the kitchen trying to let Key and Taemin work it out. You may want to join us, if you don't want to be dragged down as well." Jonghyun said, without breathing. His movements have become fidgety and sharp as he unlocks the door and opens it. 

We walk down a lineoleum hallway and pass a lot of doors with numbers on them. 

"Was this a school or something?" I asked. 

"A tutoring center, actually. Government tried to put one here so the kids around her could get better grades and the schools would garner interest to fund them. That was put in when I was young. All the kids grew up to be us and the tutoring center did absolutely nothing. There's a kitchen at the back that me and Minho helped put in place and now it's sort of an open restaurant where people can come and cook and eat in peace. Don't worry, all you need to do is eat. You're too skinny." Jonghyun smiled, and then sighed. 

We walked down a bit more and got to a door at the end of the hallway. I could hear movement behind it. We opened the door and immediately I was embraced by Key, who was wearing a navy blue suit that had stars on the shoulders. His dark green socks looked like stems growing out of shockingly orange wingtips. He said hello really quietly and quickly. His eyes weren't dilated, but red. 

In the corner, a boyish looking character sat with Minho at a table. Minho was wearing tight jeans and a comfy looking black sweater. I really wanted to hug him. The other one with him was the same angelic guy I saw dancing on the corner. He was now in a different white outfit. It was Taemin. 

"Come on in." Key sniffled and smiled at me. "I'm cooking today. Make yourself comfortable." Key said. There was something seriously off with him. I looked at Jonghyun for clarification but even he seemed confused. I sat down with Jonghyun across from Minho and Taemin. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Minho. Both of his hands, knuckles and some fingers were wrapped in gauze. The In his tired state, he looked much less like a tough street fighter and more like a shy, battered boy who just wanted to go home. I wanted to brush his hair out of his face and kiss his bruised, now twice wrapped hands. 

I also took the opportunity to finally meet Taemin. 

"Hi my name is Jinki." I said to Taemin, who looked blank faced back at me. 

"Runaway or criminal?" Taemin asked, completely dead-pan. 

"Um. Temporary boarder." I answered. 

"Oh I see. Business man?" Taemin asked, short in tone. 

"Lawyer. On leave now." 

"You got sent to warehouse, didn't you. Whatever you do, don't give him your ing money. Don't ask him to help you find a place to stay, don't ask him to carry your wallet for a moment. Don't let him take you shopping, don't let him read anything that has your information on it, and don't let him get into your head and try to convince you that he's an honest ing person." Taemin growled, eyes narrowed. I was shocked. He must have been talking about Key. There was venom and unfettered disgust in his voice. 

"Taemin." Jonghyun breathed. 

"No. No! You know what? I'm ing warning this poor guy about that mothering con man! He captures you, cuts you open, and steals the spoils and then doesn't have the skill or the will to make any of it up. Not to mention his addiction to whatever the hell he smokes." Taemin turns away from a shocked Jonghyun to glare at me. 

"Never trust a man smelling of expensive cologne, bong water, and desperation!" Taemin was snarling. Minho got up to warn Key not to come out of the kitchen when Taemin was like this, but sat down again when he saw Taemin tearing up. I inferred that Taemin was hurt. Really hurt and exhausted. Because of Key, although I didn't know why. A few moments later, as if horribly on cue, Key emerged from the kitchen holding a tray with bowls of rice on it. 

"Rice is ready!" Key called out, smiling, trying to overcompensate, as if smiling would make him and everyone else feel better. Key immediately shut up when he saw Taemin, fuming, with hot tears on his face. Key's eyes widened and he just stared at Taemin. 

"Tae..." Key choked out.

"Tell me the truth." Taemin said through gritted teeth. 

"Taemin, let me explain." Key said, setting the tray of rice down on the table nearest to him. 

"How about the truth?" Taemin demanded more than asked. I could tell Taemin was holding in everything and was about to burst. 

"Joon said..." Key began only to be cut off by Jonghyun. 

"What the , Key? Joon? Again?" Jonghyun exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. 

"If Joon said you would get a huge pay off if you sold me for my body, would you do it? Or how about he said he would pay you a nice sum if you pushed Jonghyun off one of the buildings? Or if Joon said he would pay anything to have just one night with our new friend here, would you do it?" Taemin asked, pointing at me, tears falling. 

"No...I..." 

"So then why the , why the actual would you allow him to facilitate bets for Minho's fights? You know how I feel about Minho's fighting! You know one day he's going to get himself killed! How much did Joon pay you to convince those two silver spoon fed business men to enter the betting ring? How much of that money did you spend on what's in your pipe right now? Minho is over there in the corner with both hands wrapped up and an enormous gash in his forehead, his other cuts reopening and it is because you goaded him into it because you wanted to make easy money! Do you even care about him? About any of us? You don't see how terrible he looks after fights, but then again, I'm not sure you would care very much if you did see it!" Taemin screamed at Key. 

"It's fine, Tae. I'm fine. I'm not dead. We all need money. It's fine. I'm okay." Minho said, bringing Taemin into a comforting hug. I felt a pang of unwonted jealousy run through me.

After that, Taemin, fired up, continued yelling at Key and it was truly painful to listen to. All of a sudden, I was being pulled gently by the wrist somewhere. It was Minho. He pulled me into the kitchen and pulled out a wooden stool for me. I sat down and he sat on the counter. 

"Sorry you had to hear that. They do it a lot." Minho said, looking down at his feet. I wanted to see his eyes. 

"Are they..." 

"Dating? No. In love? Totally." Minho answered, flicking his longer locks out of his face. He was still staring at the ground. His low scoff made my heart flutter. 

"Are you okay?" I asked. Minho looked at me, eyes wide with surprise. 

"I thought you were going to ask about their fight. I'm okay." Minho answered, nodding. He slid his hands into his pants pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "Key is trying to fix his ways, but it's harder than you think. Things are rough out there. Take it from me." Minho added. 

I nodded, not sure what to say. I felt terrible that Key and Taemin were having such rough times. But so were Minho and Jonghyun. It's a miracle that these people were so kind and not hating the world more. The street was a combination of good people and hard conditions. I was looking at his bandaged hands when I began to see an expanding red blot coming through the gauze. Minho's hands were bleeding again. 

"Oh god. Lemme take care of that for you!" I exclaimed, worried. I didn't like blood very much and didn't really know how to heal wounds, but I wanted to help him. I really truly had never shown interest in someone this much. A crush? Maybe. 

At first he resisted, pulling back when my cold hands touched his arm. He was warm, and upclose, no matter how creepy I must seem, he smelled like shampoo and laundry detergent. He finally let me unwrap his hands revealing terribly purple, yellow, and blood stained hands. I recoiled when Minho hissed in pain as I swabbed alcohol that I found in a random cabinet on his wounds. Minho looked up at me with the sweetest expression anyone had ever given me. 

"Thanks." Minho said, quietly. I leaned back because I didn't want Minho to hear my heart beating rapidly. As I leaned back, I smacked the back of my head on one of the cabinets behind me. I, embarrassingly yelped in pain.

"Be careful!" Minho exclaimed and chuckled a bit. His laugh made me feel all warm inside, my organs surely melted from the sweetness. Minho patted my head to make me feel better. As he was heading to the white cube fridge to get ice for me, we both heard the shattering of glass and louder yelling. Jonghyun bursted through the kitchen door and grabbed our wrists and we all ran out the back of the building into the now cool, night air. 

"They're going to work it out. Minho, do you want to stay at our place tonight?" Jonghyun asked. It made me feel a bit happy that Jonghyun referred to the apartment as ours. Minho nodded yes in response and we left Key and Taemin to their fight. All I wanted was for it to be resolved, but at the time, I did not even know the half of it. 

A/N: This is the longest chapter of anything I have ever written! I am so sorry I have been gone for so long and only updating every few weeks - I've had family troubles and finals and all that. But school is almost over and I will have infinitely more time to write for you guys! I have been outlining many chapters in my limited free time so I have not quit or given up! I hope you enjoy this chapter! The next one will revolve around Taekey so for those of you who are here for that - get excited!! <3