Minho frowned as he approached the door and saw three figures standing over Taemin's bed. He was still too far away to tell who they were, but he sincerely hoped Jinki was one of them. Then his heart skipped a beat as he recognised two very familiar people and his speed increased.

“Mom,” he said incredulously as he entered Taemin's room. “Dad.”

They all turned to look at him, Jinki sighing with relief. Minho's mother had teary eyes and his father looked grimmer than he had ever seen him.

“Minho!” his mother said in a watery voice and enveloped him in a warm, tight hug. “Honey, are you okay? Why didn’t you call us?”

Minho swallowed around the lump that lodged itself in his throat and hugged her back.

“I didn’t want to spoil your anniversary,” he mumbled into her hair. “Why are you back so early? You’re supposed to come home in three days.”

His mother pulled back and dried her cheeks while his father stepped forward to pull him into a hard one-armed hug, patting his head.

“Your mother was feeling unwell,” he said gruffly. “I guess it was as well.”

“Sorry,” Minho said softly.

His father squeezed his shoulders and let him go.

“Jinki told us what happened,” his mother said and sat down in the chair beside Taemin's bed, taking his hand and caressing it with her other. “We need to inform Mrs. Lee. She might have abandoned him, but I still think she would like to know.”

Jinki and Minho exchanged a glance and Minho cleared his throat.

“I actually went there today,” he said.

Both his parents turned to him with shocked expressions. His heart stuttered painfully and he gathered the courage to tell them what happened. They had never approved of Taemin's mother’s actions, but had tried to talk to her and make her see reason when Taemin ran away. They had always held on to the hope that she would come around and contact Taemin one day. As much as Minho's parents loved Taemin as their own son, they knew what Taemin had always longed for was his own mother to come to him someday, even when he had made peace with her abandoning him.

“She – uh,” he hedged, “she wasn’t sure it would be good to see Taemin after all this time.”

His mother’s expression saddened even further and a hard glint shone in his father’s eyes.

“Oh,” his mother said softly. “I’m sorry Minho. You had to go there by yourself.”

Minho couldn’t help the small smile that spread on his lips as he thought of Jonghyun and his dandelion and hot cocoa and laughter. He looked up to see three sets of imploring eyes directed at him.

“I actually had a friend with me,” he said to the curious gazes.

Jinki's eyes narrowed in realisation and the corners of his lips tugged, while his mother and father exchanged glances. Then they looked to Jinki.

“Oh, I was at work today,” he said hastily. “But Minho made a friend here at the hospital. I think that was whom he went with?” he said questioningly, looking back at Minho.

Minho nodded.

A nurse interrupted his father as he opened his mouth to speak by sticking her head inside the room and informing them visiting hours were over. They shuffled outside after saying good night to Taemin's still form, his mother sniffling while his father kept a stoic expression, his arm tight around her shoulders. Minho and Jinki followed them as they made their way to the elevators, falling behind a little to talk in private.

“You went with Jonghyun?” Jinki asked softly when they were out of hearing range. “How come?”

Minho shrugged but couldn’t keep the small smile off his lips.

“He offered to accompany me when he heard you wouldn’t,” he answered and Jinki raised his eyebrows. However, he said nothing and they entered the elevator and descended to the garage.

His parents hugged both of them when they reached their car, promising to be back the next day. Minho kissed his mother’s cheek and let his father ruffle his hair. He reassured them he was fine since Jinki was staying with him and told them they should go home and rest. They lived at the edge of the city, which meant it would take them at least an hour and a half to get home, and they had already travelled the entire day. He didn’t want his parents to be exhausted.

The ride home was quiet, as Jinki seemed to be deep in his thoughts. Minho didn’t mind. He was lost in his thoughts as well, smiling every now and then when he remembered something Jonghyun had said or done. He usually didn’t make friends easily, but being with Jonghyun felt good. Natural. He had this uncomplicated, soft air about him, which made it easier for Minho to breathe when he felt like falling apart. He had to wonder if Jonghyun was some sort of guardian angel since he always seemed to appear at the right time and know exactly what to say or do.

“We should ask Jonghyun over for dinner,” Jinki suggested as they stepped through the door to the apartment. “As thanks.”

Minho looked up from untying his shoelaces and regarded him thoughtfully.

“I… guess…” he said slowly.

Jinki smiled.

“You seem taken by him and I’m glad you’re smiling at least,” he said as he passed him on his way to the kitchen. “He makes you smile as effortlessly as Taemin.”

Something broke in Minho's chest and flames their way through his veins, sudden dread clenching at his chest. It wasn’t that he hadn’t realised Jonghyun made him smile, but hearing it coming from Jinki's mouth suddenly put an entirely different ring to the words.

He followed him into the kitchen, unreasonably angry. He was feeling inexplicably threatened. The threat didn’t feel as if it was aimed at only him either, but Taemin as well, which did not sit right with him at all.

“What are you implying,” he asked, voice dangerously low, as he watched Jinki make his way over to the sink.

Jinki tensed, his hand pausing on its way to reach for a glass in one of the cupboards, and he turned slowly.

“I…” he hesitated, glancing around uncertainly. “That Jonghyun–”

“Is going to replace Taemin?!” Minho interrupted, his voice rising. Jinki opened his mouth to protest. “He will never replace Taemin! He’s just…” Minho hesitated, but set his shoulders determinedly. “He’s just some stranger I met and talked to!”

Something flashed in Jinki's eyes and he stood straighter.

“A stranger?!” he asked just as loudly as Minho. “I thought you guys were friends?! I think Jonghyun deserves some recognition for helping you as much as he has, even when you were just a ‘stranger’! I just thought it would be nice to say thanks by inviting him over! Never once did I say anything about replacing Taemin! You don't need to be so defensive!”

He slammed the cupboard door and stomped past Minho to the room he was borrowing, slamming that door as well.

Minho wanted to scream. He was angry with himself for not realising exactly what Jonghyun did to him and how it was interpreted. He hadn’t thought twice about the comfort he felt whenever he was around him, hadn’t wondered about the way his antics made him feel better or how he unconsciously had smiled whenever he thought about him. It had crept upon him silent as a ninja and it took Jinki to point it out to make him realise how dangerous Jonghyun was.

He needed to stop it. Jonghyun was a distraction, he realised now.

A damn good distraction.

Which was why he was so dangerous.

~*~

Jonghyun hummed to himself as he entered the hospital, excited to see Minho. They had progressed in their friendship yesterday and he couldn’t wait to find out more about him. He had to force himself to not get off on the third floor and continue riding the elevator up to the fifth.

His grandmother greeted him with a warm smile and a black beanie she had knitted when he opened the door to her room.

“Come here, child,” she said as he entered.

He grinned back at her, trying not to pay the twinge of worry in his chest any mind. She was lying in bed, looking pale, which meant she probably hadn’t left the room all day. He tried to not let his worry show and smiled wider.

“Hey,” he murmured and sat down in the chair beside her bed.

She waved him closer and he leaned in, letting her put the beanie on his head.

“There,” she said, looking satisfied. “Now your ears won’t be cold.”

“You do know it’s almost summer,” Jonghyun laughed but adjusted the beanie anyway.

“You’d be surprised how cold summer nights can be,” his grandmother answered and patted his cheek. “And you always leave in the middle of the night when you don’t stay over.”

Jonghyun grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

She smiled tiredly and nodded, settling into her cushions again and picking up her knitting tools to start on something new, the yarn baby blue this time.

“What did you do yesterday, honey?” she asked as she knit the first few loops. “It’s unusual for you not to stay the entire day.”

Jonghyun smiled shyly and she looked up at him curiously.

“Do you remember the young man I told you about?” he asked and his grandmother nodded. “Well, I helped him doing something difficult yesterday.”

His grandmother frowned down at the yarn.

“What was that, child?”

“I’ve been talking to him over the past few days. His best friend, although I guess he’s also his adoptive brother, is in a coma,” Jonghyun explained, leaving out the part where Minho also seemed to feel a lot more for Taemin than brotherly love. “He wanted to inform his biological mom about his condition and I offered to go with him as support since his other friend couldn’t.”

His grandmother had put her tools down and was now watching him thoughtfully, a worried frown on her forehead.

“Jonghyun,” she said slowly, “am I correct in assuming you like this man more than you should?”

He bit his lip, his cheeks warming, and averted his gaze. His grandmother always could read him like an open book. Of course she would see right to the core of his actions as soon as he told her.

His silence was answer enough for her.

“Am I also correct in assuming you two barely know each other?”

He nodded. Silence fell for a moment as she continued watching him. Then she sighed softly.

“Just be careful, child.”

He smiled at her. She was asking him to watch himself for a completely different reason than he probably should. His grandmother most likely thought he was getting involved too quickly with a person he had just met – which was true – but she would definitely not like knowing said ‘stranger’ most likely wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings since he was clearly in love with someone else.

“Of course,” he said instead, trying to sound reassuring.

She smiled at him and motioned at the TV.

“Let’s watch a documentary about ancient Egypt,” she said, picking up her tools again. “It looked interesting in the commercial yesterday and it’s already started.”

Jonghyun chuckled and picked up the remote from her bedside table to hand it to her. She switched the TV on and they watched the program in silence, his grandmother’s hands steadily knitting whatever it was she was making. They soon stilled and fell to her lap as her breathing deepened. It didn’t take long for her to doze off and Jonghyun spent a minute watching her, worrying his bottom lip.

Then he stood up with a sigh, gently taking the knitting tools and yarn from her slack grip to put them on her bedside table, and pulled her quilt up before deciding he wanted some M&M’s.

And it was not only because he wanted an excuse to find Minho and see how he was doing. No way.

He smiled to himself as he took the stairs since the elevator was occupied. He arrived at the first floor with his anticipation high. Slowly walking past Taemin's room, he glanced inside to find it empty, except for Taemin still in his bed. Disappointment spread in his chest but he kept his head up and continued on his quest to the vending machine.

He had bought three packets of M&M’s, a Snickers bar and a coke, balancing everything in his arms, and was turning towards the elevators when he heard one of them ding in the distance. He stopped and tried to not feel too hopeful, but his heart did a skip when Minho rounded the corner. Then it sank with dread.

He looked wrecked.

Jonghyun could barely see it from this distance, but his eyes had large bags underneath them, his skin was a little pale, and his hair and clothes were ruffled. He held his breath as Minho raised his eyes, meeting Jonghyun's stare for a moment. His hand faltered on the doorknob to Taemin's room and his gaze hardened before he resolutely pushed the door open, quickly disappearing inside, and all but slammed it shut behind him.

Confusion and hurt burned in Jonghyun's chest as he stared at the spot where Minho had stood. He wasn’t sure what he had done wrong, since they had left on good terms yesterday. He even thought they had become friends.

He shook his head, swallowing harshly and took a few hesitant steps forward, unsure if he should try and talk to Minho or just ignore it and go back to his grandmother’s room.

There was a ding from the elevators again and this time Jinki appeared around the corner, his expression dark and irritated. It softened when his eyes fell upon Jonghyun and he gave a weak smile.

“Jonghyun,” he said in a friendly tone. “Hi.”

“Uh…” Jonghyun tried to smile. “Hi.”

They both stopped in front of the door to Taemin's room and Jinki glanced inside with a scowl.

“Did… you see Minho?” he asked hesitantly and Jonghyun nodded. Jinki let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. He’s stupidity likes to take control of his brain more often than not.”

Jonghyun frowned, not following. Jinki smiled softly.

“Anyway,” he shrugged. “We would like to invite you over for dinner, as thanks for helping.”

Jonghyun's eyes widened and he shook his head.

“You don’t have to,” he quickly protested. “I didn’t really do much–”

“On the contrary,” Jinki interrupted. “You’ve done more than you need. You make Minho smile and I’m really thankful for that. I confess I’m not much help as I work a lot, so I’m really glad he found a friend in you.”

“Oh…” Jonghyun blushed and looked down at his feet shyly, biting his lip. “I don’t know if he considers us friends yet, but I’d like to get to know both of you better. You seem fun.”

Jinki chuckled and Jonghyun looked up to smile back at him.

“You don’t seem so bad yourself,” he said. “So, will you come? To dinner?”

Jonghyun glanced at Minho's tense back through the window and nodded.

“Sure.”

“Great!” Jinki beamed. “Now I just need to smack some sense into Minho.”

Jonghyun was left completely confused when Jinki said a cheerful goodbye and entered Taemin's room. He watched as he, quite literally, smacked the back of Minho's head and how Minho glared at him. Then they both glanced at Jonghyun through the window. Jonghyun froze for a second but smiled softly when Jinki gave a friendly wave. Minho however looked completely blank. Jonghyun still balanced all his candies and his drink in one arm to wave back before turning to leave, confused frown still creasing his forehead.

A/N: So, yes... new chapter! Sorry I took so long! I won't be able to update frequently, but this will be continued so if you wanna stick around you're more than welcome to! :) I'm thankful to those of you who put up with my stories at all, haha!

And as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's shorter than the others though, so apologies for that ;__;

Love to y'all! <3

Bye~!