Jonghyun sat in the conference room he and Dr. Song had just finished their latest session in. For years he'd believed he was fine, that there wasn't too much in his life he couldn't handle. But as time went by and he grew more comfortable talking with Dr. Song, he found that there were many things that bugged him more than he'd originally thought. Things like how little control he actually had over his life. He couldn't even choose his own hair color for crying out loud.

Dr. Song let him talk. SHe didn't try to lead the conversation, just let him vent - sometimes screaming himself hoarse about the injustices his company had put him through. And after, she'd talk with him, tell him she was proud of him for sharing what he'd had or that he had every right to be upset about something. For Jonghyun, it was liberating. Though he wasn't quite as stoic as Minho had always seemed, Jonghyun had always kept most of his feelings private.

"It's like... I've been so afraid of sharing them. I don't know why..." Jonghyun had said earlier that day.

As he was getting ready to clock out for the day, he heard someone calling his name. Jonghyun turned to see Sungho, the detective helping him to find Key, waving him over.

"Ne? What is it?"

"Jonghyun, do you want to come sit with me for a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?" Jonghyun asked, following Sungho into an office and sitting down. A second later, he was glad he did.

"I found him."

"What?!" Jonghyun exclaimed, feeling his legs go weak. "You did? Where is he?"

"He's... Back in Seoul. It took a few days to leak, but apparently, Taemin picked him up from a train station. It seems that since then, Kibum went back to your apartment and hasn't left."

Jonghyun was stunned by the news. Kibum, back in Seoul. Kibum, back home in their apartment... Without him. And for a few days? Taemin had collected him... But why hadn't either of them called? Sungho gently placed a hand on Jonghyun's shoulder and squeezed.

"Hey... You going to be alright?"

Jonghyun nodded, "Yeah... Yeah, you just caught me off gaurd."

"If you're sure you're okay... I have another case waiting for my attention."

"Yeah... I'll go." Jonghyun smiled. "I'll be alright. Thanks for finding me."

Jonghyun sat on his bed back at the dorms, staring at his phone and wondering if he called Taemin if the younger would hand the phone to Key... Or if Key would even talk to him. Sighing, he flopped backward, letting his hand fall. the choice was eating at him, he really couldn't decide what he wanted to do. As he lay there with his thoughts going in circles, his eyes slid closed and he fell into dreams of Key and their arms around each other.

Three days. That's how much longer he could bear to wait to hear Key's voice. Jonghyun made the decision when he woke the next day and saw the phone in his hand. In three days, he'd have the weekend off anc could go visit Seoul. In three days, he'd he could prepare himself to see Kibum. And three days would give Key time to prepare as well.

His mind made up, Jonghyun sent Taemin a text, letting the younger know his idea. Then, though he wanted nothing more than to get into a car and drive to Seoul now, he got dressed in his uniform and went to work.

In a strange way, the police station was soothing to him now. When he'd first started there, the constant noises - papers shuffling, phones ringing, people coming and going, at least ten different conversations all happening at the same time - was almost too much for Jonghyun to handle. Even on tour, he'd always managed to find a  way to get at least a half hour of quiet time to focus on his music. But he was used to the waves of sound now, and paired with the workloads he often had, Jonghyun was finding it easier to lose himself in his job, copying down information from pater to the computer. Sure it was monotonous, boring work, but with everything he'd done in hs life, Jonghyun didn't mind it. In fact, he almost enjoyed it. It had crossed his mind more than once, the idea to give up performing to focus on just writing music. He'd had his taste of the life of a rock star, and was starting to wonder if he wanted to move on; to see what else his life could be.

The days passed by almost scarily easy, and in that time he only spoke a few times with Taemin. Once was to confirm that Key was willing to talk when Jonghyun got to Seoul; the second time was setting up when Taemin would meet the older ath the train station. And then finally, finally the day arrived.

Everything went smoothly. Taemin collected Jonghyun from the station without much fanfare, and they rode together to the dorms, laughing ath that things that'd happened to them since they'd last seen each other. By the time they reached the dorm, Jonghyun was almost his old self again, and he'd - almost - forgotten that Key was waiting for him. But before Jonghyun or Taemin could open the door and walk in, someone opened it from the inside.

And there...

There, standing in front of him, Key. His narrow eyes looked Jonghyun over critically, taking in every detail. Silence hung in the air as Jonghyun adn Taemin waited to see what Key would do;  the tension growing with each second

"Jonghyun..." Kibum breathed the word, almost inaudible, before stepping forward and pulling him into a hug.