A/N The ages in this are different. Taemin and Onew are older, but Key and Jonghyun are their current ages. 


“Well that explains why you're so dirty, and hide out in dumpsters,” Key responded, not really soaking in what the other had said.

Brown Eyes laughed and started making his way down the stairs he tried to previously walk down before. “Yeah, that would explain it,” he said while Key followed him. 

“So you're not making this up?” Key asked while the two walked out a pair of doors that led them outside. Brown Eyes stuffed his hands in his pockets and carefully looked around while Key only paid attention to person he was pestering. 

“Nope,” the shorter one said and suddenly stopped, Key crashing into him. 

“Hey, a warning wouldn't hurt,” Key said and backed away, looking into the same direction that Brown Eyes was. There was a tall man with a head of black hair in the distance, and Key looked at Brown Eyes again before he darted off into another dumpster. 

This dumpster was a little ways from the door they had exited from, and Key followed without question this time, because he wanted to know what was really going on. 

“Who are you running from?” Key asked while Brown Eyes jumped into the dumpster. “Is it that serious?” 

Key heard a sigh, and before he knew it, he was lunged face first into the trash pit. Key's mouth was open, and he got a good taste of just what he had landed in. Disgusted, Key sat up and shoved the boy next to him.

“Hey! What do you think you're doing throwing me in this into – into this?” Key yelled while he tried to scrunch himself into a ball that would keep him from touching as little trash as possible. “This may normal to you, but -” but Key stopped, suddenly caught off guard by the stench he was surrounded by. It sounded like something had died, and he was sure something had. 

“Would you be quiet,” the boy next to him said, finally opening his mouth, but it was just a whisper. A very annoyed whisper.

“Look, Brown Eyes,” Key began, but was interrupted.

“Jonghyun.”

“What?” Key questioned.

“My name is Jonghyun.”

“Oh,” Key said, his mouth forming a perfect 'O' shape. “I'm Kibum, but everyone calls me Key.” 

Jonghyun shot Key a look, a threatening look that told him to shut up.

“I know that look,” Key said with a roll of eyes before closing his mouth. 

He didn't know who they were running from and what Jonghyun was hiding, but he knew that it had something to do with the glimpse of the two people Key had seen his first day meeting Jonghyun. 

Key did haven't much time to think about it, because there was another pair of eyes looking up at them. He had brown hair swooped to the right side of his face, and his head was tilted in a curious manner.

“I think I know you,” he said and nodded in the direction of Jonghyun.



“So, do know this guy?” Key asked in a hushed whisper as he leaned against the benched seats of the lecture hall they were lead to. The only thing they had managed to figure out was the person who led them to the lecture hall was named Onew, and knew Jonghyun in some way.

“Not really. Do you? I mean, I think he teaches here,” Jonghyun said, his voice too calm for Key's liking.

“I think he knows Professor Jung. I'm not sure how well he knows her, and he must teach something I don't take because I've never seen him.” 

“Well your guess is as good as mine,” Jonghyun said plainly, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bench as well. 

Key huffed, annoyed by the fact that he had been caught up in this whole mess. “Where did he go?” He said aloud to no one in particular, and wasn't upset when no answer came.

The minutes piled on and Key considered leaving, because he had no real reason to be there, but the door suddenly opened and the brown haired man popped into the room. In his hand was a cup of what looked like iced coffee, and Key shook his head in disbelief. 

Onew's movements were swift and suave; he had a baby face but still managed to look serious. He was tall and from what Key could tell, he was muscular with a good figure. 

“So,” Key started. “How do you know Jonghyun?” 

“Well,” Onew said, taking a step forward, but there was a cord that he hadn't seen. His all together appearance suddenly went out the window when he tripped and sent his drink flying at Key.

“I-I'm sorry!” Onew stuttered and Key wanted to scream. His expensive shirt was ruined, his face and blonde hair were covered, and he was going to smell like coffee. He was just happy it was cold drink. Next to him Key heard Jonghyun laughing wildly, and before he could snap at him, Onew was covering his face with tissues.

“I'm sorry!” He repeated.
“Gimme that!” Key barked, taking the tissues from Onew and cleaning his face by himself. 

“I d-didn't mean it.”

Key took a deep breath and crushed the tissues into a fist at his side. “You have two seconds to explain what I'm doing here before I leave.”

“Oh, right! The people chasing you, I know who they are.” Onew said quickly.

Key could see Jonghyun wipe his eyes from the corner of his own. “You do?”

Onew nodded. “The one with red hair is my brother.”

“I'm sorry,” Key piped up after his temper cooled down. “But what exactly does this have to do with me? Can I go?”

“They've probably seen you, too, Key. You might be the next one they chase after,” Jonghyun answered, earning a hefty sigh from coffee victim. 

“This is so unfair. So, how does this help us?” Key questioned, crossing his arms.

“Um. Well. I know Jonghyun's innocent! Well, not exactly innocent, but...”

“What do you mean?” 

“You see, my parents had this convenient store that I didn't want. Taemin, the red head, really wanted to run it, so my father left it to him. I was in the shop one day when Jonghyun was there. He stole a loaf of bread, and passed off to another kid like him before Taemin's assistant, Minho, caught him.”

“Well, that definitely explains why Jonghyun didn't have anything with him when I met him that day,” Key said.

Onew nodded and spoke again. “I've tried to tell my brother to let it go, but he's stubborn and determined to catch Jonghyun.” 

It was quiet, and Key looked over at Jonghyun. He had a hand on his chin, furrowed brows, and was looking down in concentration. 

“So, how does this help us?” Key repeated. 

“Uh, well, I have a name? I'm going to try and talk to Taemin again-”

“This can't be happening,” Key face-palmed.

“Thanks for your help, Onew. Let us know if you hear anything, okay?” Jonghyun said with a grateful smile.
Onew smiled back and nodded.

The sun was setting when Key finally left the lecture hall. He wasn't sure where Jonghyun had gone, all he knew it was in the opposite direction that he was going in. 

Key wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around him. He had walked home enough times to know how to get there without really thinking. It was cold, and the not all of the coffee had completely dried, which only made him shiver. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and blew out a puff of air before immediately stopping dead in his tracks. At the end of the block was a tall figure with a mop of hair that looked a little too familiar. 

At first, Key's instincts froze. He wasn't supposed to be stalked or chased after. It wasn't like he did anything wrong. 

Deciding that he was taking too much time to assess the situation, Key promptly spun around and ran in the other direction. His heart was thudding in his ears, and his breath was strained. He was pretty sure that he couldn't feel his legs and had absolutely no idea where he was running to. 

Up ahead Key could see the entrance to an alleyway and without much thought, quickly entered it and ran down to the exit where a car was parked onto the street. He was moving too quickly and collided into the hunk of metal, but he had no time to recuperate. Minho could still be on his tail, and for a second, he was slightly surprised that he had remembered the name. 

Without looking back, Key ran across the street and into on coming traffic. The blare of the horns filled his ears in a painful slur, but his body was taking control of his brain and common sense. The cars streaked to a halt and he could hear curses flying from the windows, but he managed to cross the busy street and into a pair of arms.

“Are you crazy! You could have died!” A voice reprimanded, and Key looked up from his scrunched position to see Jonghyun's worried expression.

“H-how are you here?” Key question, his voice hoarse, and he stood up completely, taller than Jonghyun.

“I knew this would happen,” was his answer.

“What do you think they would do if they caught you or me?” Key asked, walking next to Jonghyun – not that he knew where they were walking.

Jonghyun shrugged. “I'm not sure. I have a feeling it'd be something serious since all I did was steal a little food.” 

Key was silent until they reached what looked like an old, abandoned warehouse. “What's this?” He asked.

“Come on in,” Jonghyun said, pushing the rustic broken down door open. 

Key was hesitant, but decided that since Jonghyun had worried enough about him check up on him (that's what he's calling it, following sounds too close to stalking) that there was nothing else that could go possibly wrong. They were running from the same people anyway. 

He stepped inside and Jonghyun was close behind. There were boxes everywhere, but from what Key could tell, they were empty. He assumed they were there to take up space.

Past the boxes and what looked like the middle of a giant room was a group of children and teens all huddled together, sharing two or three old, bedraggled blankets. The faces were dirty and their hair was strangely, but sleeping together in one place made them look like a family.

Jonghyun checked his old, paint chipped watch. “Sulli should be coming back soon,” he said softly, but Key didn't respond to his statement.

“So, this is what it's like,” Key said and hoped that he wasn't being insensitive.

“This is what it's like,” Jonghyun repeated.

Key looked into the sea of faces again, and he didn't want to even count how many people Jonghyun had to care for. He didn't say it, but Key was sure that he was the oldest and the one who took responsibility for caring for them. Something eased within Key as he looked at their family. Even in their sleep, they all looked completely innocent and innocuous. 

Key reached out, placing a hand on Jonghyun's shoulder comfortingly.

“Key, are you okay?” Key heard a familiar voice ask. He sat up abruptly from his Music Theory book, a page of notes sticking to his forehead. 

“Here, let me get that,” Kikwang said, grabbing the piece of paper as he sat down, joining Key in the student center.

“Thanks,” Key mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Not getting enough sleep?” His roommate asked, setting his own work load down in front of him.

It had been four days since Key saw Jonghyun at the warehouse. Four days and it was enough for Key to be a little crazy. He was starting to get worried that Taemin or Minho had found him. Lack of sleep was one side effect from his worry.

“I've had my mind on other things.”

“Like what?” Kikwang asked innocently.

“Like that guy-”

“The one you told me about after the musical. Key, you've known him what, a week? Let it go. It's totally not worth it.”

“But I've seen him since then.”

“Key, please. It's just gonna drive you crazy.”

Key huffed, rolled his eyes and directed his focus to his Music Theory assignment again.

Key wanted to follow Kikwang's advice, but it ultimately failed as he stood outside the same lecture hall Onew had led him too a few days prior. He softly pushed the door open, and looked around, seeing a brown haired coffee spiller occupying the room. 

“Ehem,” Key cleared his throat for Onew's attention, who almost fell out of his chair from the surprise.

“Oh, Key, hi!”

“Hi.”

Onew's eyes instantly widened. “O-oh. You probably want me to pay for that shirt, right? Hold on a second.” He said, standing up and digging into his pockets.

Key put up his hands in protest. “That's not why I'm here. I haven't seen Jonghyun the past few days. Do you know anything?” 

Onew's face dropped and he sat back down in his chair. “I don't know where he's at, but I do know my brother doesn't have him.” 

Something in relief stirred in Key. “Oh. Okay, well, thanks.”

It took Key about a week to go to the warehouse Jonghyun had led him to. Surprisingly, it was that far from Key's apartment.

When he approached, no sounds came from the inside. The hope he had quickly dropped, but he clung to something when he entered. 

The boxes were still there, but there was no sign of Jonghyun or the other kids he looked after. He sat in the middle where the kids were huddled together with their blankets, noticing a small teddy bear on the ground. The only sign of the life that used to to be there. There was tag around his arm that read Taeyeon. 

Key wasn't sure if he was angry, hurt or sad. It wasn't like he expected much from Jonghyun, but a goodbye to keep him from worrying would have been nice. 

He kept the teddy bear close, and hoped wherever Jonghyun was, he was safe.

About a month later, on a Thursday, Key was walking back from campus. Nothing much was on his mind, except maybe the fact that Organisms and their Environment totally .

It wasn't until he was in front of the dumpster by his apartment building that his thoughts of cutting open dead things were broken.

There was someone standing there, looking into the endless black hole of trash. He couldn't help but smile when he realized who it was.

“You're not planning on getting into the dumpster?” Key asked and the not so mystery man spun around.

“I've been waiting for you,” Jonghyun said, and Key smiled even more when he noticed that nothing about Jonghyun had changed.

“What do you mean, 'waiting for me'? Mister, I disappear and not tell anyone who cares that I fell of the face of the earth,” Key said and smacked Jonghyun in the arm when he neared him.

“Ow!” Jonghyun pouted, rubbing his arm.

“You deserve it.” 

Jonghyun smiled. “Okay. I did.”

“So, where have you been?” Key asked, not caring about the conversation that was currently taking place.

“Come on, I've got some time,” Jonghyun said, placing an arm around Key's shoulder as they walked off in the opposite direction of Key's apartment building.

---

A/N So me and my friend were being awesome and looking up our kpop favs with Disneystrology. Key's Jasmine. That's just awesome considering this story xD. Also, a big thanks to said friend, without her help this story would have never been finished. =]

Anyway, hope you guys liked then ending. :3