Letting himself into Joonmyun's house, he instructs MinDae to go find Barbara and play with her while he cleans Joonmyun up. "Where's the bathroom?" His voice is low and angry.

Joonmyun, from his place against Jongdae's back, gives him instructions to the bathroom.

Gently placing Joonmyun on the toilet, Jongdae straightens up and stares him dead in the eyes. "Did you learn nothing from the last time Xiumin beat the out of you? Are you seeking this out? Are you ing stupid!" His voice is angry, but he is all bark and no bite.

Joonmyun doesn't respond, instead looking down at the floor in shame.

Sighing, Jongdae lets his anger fade as he runs his fingers through his hair. "Strip."

"W-what!" Joonmyun sputters out indignantly.

"You heard me. Strip. I need to see the extent of your beating."

"What the hell man?" Joonmyun curls in on himself.

"Don't be such a baby. Xiumin can really pack a punch, and I need to be sure that you're okay."

Joonmyun doesn't respond verbally, but Jongdae sees the moment that he loses his fight.  Sighing, Joonmyun pulls off first his shirt, and then stands up to remove his pants as well.

"Stay still," Jongdae quietly instructs as he begins his inspection of the older boy. Starting with his torso, he quickly takes in all of the bruises. Noticing a particularly nasty one on the side of his ribcage, Jongdae prods his fingers into the tender flesh, earning a gasp from Joonmyun.

"Sorry, just had to make sure these ribs weren't broken."

Satisfied that his bones were all intact, Jongdae drops down to look at the bruises on his legs. Though he's supposed to be checking the other's injuries, he can't help but to marvel at how nice Joonmyun's legs are. They're really strong and shapely without being overly muscled, and despite the fact that he's short, his legs seem really long and elegant.

Clearing his throat, Jongdae allows Joonmyun to sit back down on the toilet so he can take care of his face. Mostly there are just bruises, but there is a cut above his eyebrow that really ought to be taken care of.

Leaning in, Jongdae tenderly cleans the congealed blood off of his brow before blowing on it and affixing a bandage to the surface of his skin.

"There you go, all better." Jongdae mutters, smoothing his fingers over the edges of the bandaid. His heart is fluttering at the proximity as Joonmyun stares at him intently. His brain is put on silent as his fingers glide from Joonmyun's forehead and to his jaw where he caresses the soft edges. Jongdae gently cups his jaw, dragging his thumb across Joonmyun's cheek as he leans into the rough hand encasing his face.

A high pitched shriek pierces the air, and Jongdae jumps away in alarm.

"Minnie-me!" He calls out as he barrels out of the bathroom and into the living room where he bears witness to the scene of Joonmyun's mother dragging his sister towards the door.

"Get your hands off her!" He yells as he pulls MinDae out of the woman's grasp and into his own arms. "How dare you touch my sister that way!"

"What are you criminals doing in my house!" She shrills, stomping her foot in anger.

"Ommani, please stop yelling!" Joonmyun limps out of the bathroom and into the chaos. 

"Kim Joonmyun, what on earth happened to you!?"

"I got into a fight," he shrugs casually, as if to cool his mother's anger.

Jongdae was too busy watching Joonmyun standing in his boxers and glowering at his mother, so he was completely oblivious to the open palm rapidly approaching.

The slap produced a resounding crack that seemed especially loud compared to the silence that followed.

"I will call the police on your pathetic self for hurting my son in the way that you have. What is your name, boy?" She sneers menacingly into his face.

"Ommani! He's not the one who did this! He helped me!"

"You shut your mouth! I believe I told you I never wanted you to see this boy again? Nothing but trouble follows the likes of him."

"Ommani!"

"It's alright, Joonmyun. I'll see you around." Jongdae sends him a half-hearted smile as he shifts a crying MinDae into a more comfortable position and lets himself out the front door.

A/N:

So, I didn't think I'd get to update again so soon, but I'm sitting in Geology class bored out of my mind and was struck with a desire to write this chapter. Joonmyun's Omma is such a , amirite? But it really explains why Joonmyun is the way he is.

Your comments from the last chapter really made my day, so thank you for them. Don't hold back on this one kekeke, I really do love to read what you all have to say.