Three more weeks. That's it. Three more weeks and it would be official. In just three more weeks, the process of the divorce would be complete. Marriage ended. Divorce finalized. Three more weeks, and Minho would no longer be legally binded to Yuri. Three more weeks and he could make love to Kim Kibum, his one and only true love, freely and shamelessly. Key could be his after all these years...

But what about Yuri? What would happen to his relationship with her? Would they live in different houses and operate on a joint-custody schedule? Would they stay together to ward off suspicion? Would Minho move out and live with Key alone? What about Yoogeun and Sooyoung? Minho himself had still not figured out what to do, and he knew he had to make a decision soon.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Yuri sauntered in, with her body covered in a robe and her hair up in a head towel. She was on the phone, giggling, talking to Key about facials and a spa or something... Minho did not quite catch on. He was still astonished at how close Yuri and Key had become. They talked as if they were life-long friends, despite only meeting a few months ago. And to think that this whole time, Minho was trying to keep them apart!

"And you'd better come with me when you're free. You'd love going to the spa. The ladies there will adore you. Anyway, you can go back to work now. Talk to you later, Key-goonie." She grinned giddily and hung up.

Minho sat up on the couch. "You two seem to be getting along well."

"Are you kidding!? I'm mad that I didn't know him sooner! He's perfect! He's adorable, loves makeup and facials... what more could a girl ask for?!" She plopped next to Minho on the couch and noticed his pensive expression. "You thinking too hard or hardly thinking?"

Minho chuckled. "The first one."

She sat in a pretzel and faced him with a puppy-like expression. "What are you thinking about?"

"Well, first I'm somewhat dumbfounded that my ex-wife and my boyfriend are thinking about getting facials together." Yuri chuckled at this frank response. "And, as much as I've been trying to avoid it, I have to decide how we're going to live after the divorce."

Yuri's smile dropped. "Right... we have to decide that... what have you come up with so far?"

"Well, considering how well you two have gotten along, I don't think it will be too much of an internal struggle-" He paused to listen to Yuri's kind-hearted chuckle. "The best and most logical thing to do once all this is done is to move out and live with Key... but I don't think I'm ready to do it so... soon?"

Yuri nodded. "I understand what you mean. I can't believe nearly six months have already gone by. But you know, I've been meaning to ask you about... you know, all this. Could you, perhaps, stay here for a bit longer?"

 Minho turned himself to face her. "Say that again?"

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against you and Key-goonie's relationship. All I want is for you guys to be happy. It's just..." She gulped. "I don't think now is the time for you to move out. I absolutely adore Key-goon and I love having him over but... a part of me isn't ready for you to move out. I know Key lives close by and all, so travelling from house to house wouldn't be so bad or laborious, but the thought of having our children only see one parent at a time at such a young age unsettles me. I don't know if we should make such a big change just yet. Am I making sense?"

Minho nodded. "I understand why you feel that way. And you are fully justified in your feelings. But if we're going to be divorced... and living together..."

His thought could not be finished, for Yoogeun had entered the room and made himself comfortable on his father's lap. 

"Appa~ Umma~ can we go out tonight?"

Yuri cradled his small, chubby chin in her hand. "Where does our Yoogeunie want to go?"

"Can we go to Seoul Land?"

Minho and Yuri shared a dumbfounded look and chuckled. 

Minho patted his son's head. "Sweetie, we told you we'd go when school's over."

"But I wanna go now!"

"Yoogeunie~" Yuri chimed. "You've been begging us to go ever since Taemin ahjussi took you there!"

"Because I want to go again!"

Minho rolled his eyes and whispered to Yuri. "We never should have let Taem take them."

"You're telling me."

******

Everything was going so well! How did it all lead up to this? 

Yuri and Sooyoung teamed up against Yoogeun, Key and Minho in a Power-Ranger live action role play. It was boys versus girls; Yuri and Key "battled" each other with action figures while the kids playfully tackled each other to the ground when the doorbell rang. Minho left the room to answer the door. His mind halted as it registered the person in front of him. 

"D-dad?"

"Hello, son."

"Uh- W-What are you doing here?"

The elder man sighed. "I felt it was appropriate for me to come over and apologize for my... um... conduct at dinner the other day."

Minho paused to absorb his father's words and let out a delayed "Oh," as he nodded. 

"Yes. I admit that some of my remarks were a bit... out of line. And considering our progress since, you know, what happened however many years ago, I realize my comments were a bit out of line, and so I felt it best to apologize." His somewhat indifferent grin soon turned even more sour when he caught a glimpse of the action unfolding behind his son. Yoogeun and Sooyoung raced out of their play room into the open living room, and Yuri and Key followed behind and froze in place when they saw who was at the door. Yuri stood in astonishment over the fact that her father-in-law decided to come over unexpectedly, and Key stared in horror, processing the face of the man that separated him from his job and lover for over a decade. His father reciprocated the expression in befuddlement, immediately recognizing the estranged man. 

Minho slowly turned around and looked at his love, then to his wife, and then at his love again. Dread and horror filled his stomach. Catching hold of himself, he turned back to his father, who had already seen too much.

"Dad, before you say anything, let me explain-"

"You... what are you doing here-"

Key gulped. 

"Dad please-"

"Don't 'dad' me! You want to explain to me why you brought this into our house!?" Key cringed at the sound of the f-word. Minho and Yuri mentally scoffed at the sound of the words 'our house'. "And why he's near MY grandchildren!?"

By now, the whole room had gone silent. Yoogeun and Sooyoung held each other tightly in fear at the elder man's raised voice.

"Umma~! Why is Grampa yelling!?"

Yuri looked at them, her heart breaking into millions of pieces, and looked up at her father-in-law.

"Don't you DARE say that word near my children AGAIN!" She firmly admonished. She crouched down next to her children and kissed the tops of their heads. She whispered, "Go follow Key ahjussi to the playroom. Umma and Appa will take care of the situation."

She guided them to Key, who was stuck in a trance, frozen in place and glancing back and forth from Minho to Mr. Choi. He snapped out of his trance when he felt little Yoogeun pulling at his jeans. Seeing the distraught look in his and Sooyoung's eyes, he looked back at Mr. Choi coldly before leading them into the playroom. 

Yuri watched them go off, and slowly turned to her soon-to-be ex-husband and father-in-law. 

"I hope you're happy with what you've just done." She remarked, holding back her anger as much as she could. 

"Yuri-ssi, don't try to put this on me. Besides, you two have some explaining to do. So why don't we all sit down?"

Yuri rolled her eyes, but then obeyed. The three of them sat in the living room. Minho and Yuri sat on the couch while Mr. Choi settled himself in the sofa chair. 

Mr. Choi made haste to get to the bottom of everything. He aligned his arms with the arms of the chair and drummed his fingers on the arms the ends. "Minho, my son, tell me. What have I done to deserve this disrespect?"

Minho paused at such a brazen question. "Appa-"

"How long have you been hiding it, HUH Choi Minho?! How long have you had that under our roof!? Was sending him to Paris not enough?!"

"APPA! First of all, this is NOT your roof! This is MY house, so stop referring to it as our house. Second, when you are in my house, you are NOT to use that word. And don't tell me you don't know what word I'm talking about-"

Mr. Choi gasped. "Yah you saeggi(son/son of a b*tch)! Are you speaking to me informally!?? You bring that *gulps* man... into OUR house and you have the nerve to defend him in front of your beautiful wife?? Do you know what that man will do to you?"

"Yah! Father-in-law, that man is our primary babysitter! Since you have not been able to take care of our children while Minho and I were busy, we had Key-goon take care of them. And I'll say, he's a wonderful person and babysitter."

Mr. Choi scoffed. "Are you hearing yourself right now?? Do you know who this man-"

"Geurae! I know who Kim Kibum is! I know he's my husband's ex-lover and I am fine with it-"

"Fine?! You're telling me you're fine with the fact that my son chea-"

"He did not cheat on me!" She shot out of her seat. Yuri was at her boiling point now. Mr. Choi fell back into his chair. She panted, sitting back down, regaining her breath, and continued in a more controlled voice. "I split with Minho before he met Key again. I let him see Kibum because I wanted my husband to be happy. And three weeks from now, he will be my ex-husband."

Mr. Choi's jaws dropped. "Y-Y-You're divorced?"

"Will be divorced."

He looked to his son. "Minho, is this true?" He asked in a shaky voice. Minho looked at Yuri, then back at his father, and firmly nodded. All he could think about were his children. He hoped to God that they were not listening to any part of their discourse.  

Mr. Choo clenched his hands into fists. "Minho... you dare defy me and break apart this family...?" He demanded through clenched teeth. "You are not my son."

"And you are not my father." Minho stood up. "I have had it with you. For as long as I have lived, you have tried to make my life suit your tastes. All you cared about was your business and your image. My opinions never mattered. My feelings never mattered. You're no father of mine. If you can't accept the fact that Key is here to stay for good, then you can leave. I love Kim Kibum. I always have, and I always will. There's nothing that you can do or say that will make me change my mind." Minho paused to examine his father's flabbergasted face. He took a deep breath and continued. "I will say that I am grateful to you for one thing: my children. Had it not been for you, I never would have met Yuri, and I never would have had Yoogeun and Sooyoung. I thought that we could still be a family with Key in our lives, but I find that you are the reason why I cannot truly believe that we can all be a family. I am scared. I am scared for Key, I am scared for myself and Yuri, but most importantly, I am scared for my children. Your presence is too dangerous for their well-being. And for that reason, I must disown you as a father."

The two of them, father and son, stared at each other, breathing intensely. Mr. Choi arched his back. 

"You have no right to talk like that to me," He muttered under his fiery breath. "How dare you defy me with this gross act of insubordination! How dare you talk to me like this! How dare you try to tear apart this family!!"

Yuri stood up, determined to end this once and for all. "Enough is enough! He has every right to be mad at you. All this time, you have controlled his life according to your preferences, and it is time to stop. You are the one who brought us together, and you have been the one tearing this family apart. Until you decide to open up to Key-goon and change your views, I refuse to allow you anywhere near my kids. And Minho, my ex-husband, will chase the life he deserves. As for Key," She paused to take a breath, and then asserted in a firm tone, "We are making him the legal godfather of our children." Both Chois looked up at her and widened their eyes. "If you have any objection to that, I ask that you leave right this instant. I will not tolerate any of your harassment as of now."

Minho gawked at her, amazed and dumbfounded. Mr. Choi just stared at her, too speechless to pick out the right words to respond with. He tried to smirk and scoff to maintain authority, but Yuri kept her cool, charismatic stance, and Minho stood by her side with crossed arms, unwilling to accept any more arguments. Mr. Choi looked at one, and then the other. He sighed, finding no loophole. 

"Have it your way. Don't expect me to support you when you need financial help." He stood up and looked at Yuri. "I hope your parents are happy with your decisions, young lady."

"You don't have to worry about what they think." Yuri answered coldly. 

Minho chimed in. "I'll lead you to the door now. It looks like you're done here." 

He walked to the front door, his father awkwardly following behind. Minho held the door open. Mr. Choi looked at his son, who was slightly taller than him, and searched for some sign that this was not actually happening, but Minho just motioned for him to leave. Furrowing an eyebrow, Mr. Choi turned away to face the exit. Before he could take one step, however, Minho's voice stopped him. 

"We'll be happy to welcome you into our home if you ever do change."

Mr. Choi paused, thinking of a response, but he could not come up with one, and so he scoffed indifferently and departed from the Choi household for the last time. 

Minho closed the front door and sighed, his racing heart beat starting to slow down. He made his way to Yuri, who sat on the couch, staring off into space. He waved his hand in front of her eyes. 

"I guess we won't have to worry about him now, right?" Minho said, trying to comprehend what just went down in the past half an hour or so. 

"I... I... Did that just..." Minho nodded. Yuri sighed. "Omo... all that happened so... quickly..."

Minho did not respond immediately. He let the silence linger until he could work up the courage to ask Yuri something peculiar she said earlier. "Yuri-ssi... earlier, when you... you know, went off on him, you said something about Key becoming a godfather. What was that about?"

Yuri looked at him, and a smiled pulled at the corners of . "I've been thinking of how we could assimilate Key into the family for a while now. I love him and I know he makes you happy. And Yoogeun and Sooyoung love him so much. I think having him as their godfather would be an excellent option for all of us. And it would give him an excuse to keep seeing the kids."

Minho looked at her with glistening eyes. "So... so you didn't make that up?"

Yuri shook her head. "No, Minho. I've been meaning to talk to you about it. I genuinely want Key to be a part of this family."

Minho widened his eyes, and his eyes began to water. He pulled Yuri into the biggest hug he could give without crushing her. Yuri chuckled and hugged back, rubbing his back soothingly. While Minho relished in his happy state of mind, Yuri spotted Key in the hallway with an anxious look. She smiled and motioned for him to enter with the angels. 

Their cherubic smiles lit up the whole room, and put a smile on each of the adults' faces. 

Minho and Yuri joyfully embraced their little angels.

"You have no idea how scared I was," Key remarked, embracing Minho. 

"Same here." Minho pecked his forehead. "He was right in front of us, all hot-headed and fiery and angry. And then Yuri here-"

"No, aniya~ Minho, you pushed him away by standing up to him."

"And I don't regret it."

"Hey, you two," Key chimed. "I was busy keeping Yoo and Soo active so they wouldn't overhear. You have to tell me how it all went down. From the idiotic looks on your faces, I can assume that it all went well."

Minho and Yuri looked at each other, sharing a knowing smile, and then at their little angels, and then at Key. 

Key looked from one to the other and raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?"

Minho and Yuri shared a look again before turning back to Key. Minho took a deep breath. "Kim Kibum, we have something to tell you."

*****

Taemin and Krystal gazed at the view of the city from the balcony. The light breeze blew their hair, exposing their faces to the evening light. They avoided looked at each other. Krystal took a sip from her beer can. 

"Are you going to say something?"

A puse lingered. Taemin sighed. "I just... I need a minute to form the right words."

Krystal nodded, hesitant to pester him. 

Taemin waited another moment before starting. "I'm sorry for not saying this smoothly... I have so much to say, I don't know how much of it I can verbalize. I don't know how much I'll be able to relay in this much time."

"Just try, Taemin."

Taemin nodded, not that Krystal could see, and took a deep breath. "When we decided to get married... I... I thought that all of it would be easy." He paused. "I don't know... I mean, I thought that once I was married, I was set for life. I thought my life would be fine the way it was. I had a stable, well-paying job, only a few debts, and now I had a wife. I didn't realize that a relationship is like work." Krystal turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. "You have to work to make a marriage work. You have to commit. You have to... you can't just abandon it once it's done." The chilling breeze brushed through his hair. "I think that's what happened to us, Soo Jung. I'm sorry."

Krystal held her hands together in her lap and looked down. "Oppa..."

"You know, I've grown up and seen couples, who haven't seen each other in years, come together and stay together. I've seen my own best friend, Jongin, date and move in with his boyfriend, and ten years later, they're still together. And I... I wondered how they were able to do it all this time."

"...And?" 

"I realize... they had to work for it. They had to work to keep their relationship alive. They had to work to keep it hidden all these years. They were committed to each other. They love each other." He looked down at the can of beer in his hand. "All this time, I kept making excuses. I put my work ahead of you. I put my job as my number one priority. And I think that, and my lack of dedication to you, is why we can't talk comfortably."

Krystal shook her head. "Taemin oppa... don't put the blame on yourself alone. I, too, have not committed enough. I have been rather cold, lately, and I forgot about how much I loved you. So I... I sort of made it that way. I made it hard to love me. I made i difficult to commit. I didn't try hard enough to keep you grounded."

Taemin released a soft chuckle. "I guess we both forgot, huh?"

"Oppa... we both know that our relationship has grown rocky, and since you asked me to come out here, what do you have in mind..."

Taemin turned to face her. "I want to start over... I mean, I want to fix... us. As cold as we are around each other now, I don't think I could ever find someone else who is right for me. And I don't think I could forgive myself if I just let you go any time soon."

Krystal lowered her jaw, and looked out at the view. "Oppa..." her jaw shook. 

"I do love you, Soo Jung, and I want to start working for it. I want this relationship to work."

She tried to process the words, and verbalize a response, but throat ached, trying to hold back tears. 

"Would you be up for it?"

A tear slid down her cheek. "Oh Taemin... I didn't want to leave you. I was too afraid. I-I'm so sorry I made it come to this point..."

"I am, too. That's why I want us to try again. What do you say?"

Krystal wiped her eyes before more tears could escape. After taking a moment to collect herself, she nodded eagerly. 

Taemin widened his eyes, then sighed in relief. He sat back in his chair and took another sip of beer. He looked at the view of the landscape with a small smile on his face. Soon, Krystal looked up at him with the same smile and admired the view of the city. She blushed happily, internally thankful that they did not fight. As they gazed into the evening sky, their hands intertwined, and they shared this moment of silence. For once, it was not due to awkwardness or distancd, but due to excitement for a fresh start. It was peaceful. It was exciting.

It was beautiful. 

HIiiii everybody! Sry it's been two months since my lst update. I finished this update last night, and I'm writing this highlighted part the morning after. Although I still wanted to write, it was a long process, but I made it! I was actually in the middle of writing a one shot but someone commented on this fic yesterday, and that gave me enough energy to finish this chapter. so here ya go ;)

I forget if I said this earlier or not, but this story will FINALLY come to an end within the next two updates. Storywise, only one more chapter is needed, but since you guys all want a scene, I'll have to fit that into an additional chapter. i'll probably finish the story and then add the chapter as a *bonus* update or something, but until that bridge comes, enjoy this :)

COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED :DD AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN PEOPLE