“That’s the last box.” Jongin calls out, and he practically throws the box onto the cement as he hops out of the mover’s truck. Minseok watches as Joonmyeon pays the movers and leans back against his car. The majority of their things had already been brought inside by a whining Jongdae. Minseok just “supervises” as he calls it, but his attention is actually on the phone gripped within his hands.

“Alright. After we bring the last one in we can choose rooms.” Joonmyeon announces with a tired but wide smile on his face. Although it’s been hard for everyone else, it’s been harder on Joonmyeon who had lost his previous job and was forced to move away.

“What do you mean by ‘we’? I’m the only one bringing things inside!” Jongdae mutters, but he makes it a point to speak loud enough for the other three brothers to hear him.

With a roll of his eyes, Jongin picks up the box he had thrown and stalks past Jongdae into the house, “With all the time you spent complaining you could have moved all of these boxes instead.”

“Wait! Be careful, my CDs are in there!” Jongdae cries and he runs in after Jongin, even though he had been complaining just moments before on all the work he’s been doing.

“They’ll never change.” Sighs Joonmyeon, and Minseok’s answering nod is slight as he slips his phone right back into his pocket. Joonmyeon sees this, of course, and Minseok hates the guilty spark in his eyes.

“It’s not your fault.” Minseok reassures him.

“But it’s because you three moved here with me that-“

“We weren’t going to let you move by yourself, Joon.”

Joonmyeon gives him a dirty look for cutting him off, but Minseok just brushes it off. Joonmyeon’s not the kind that’s capable of living alone. He’s just not strong enough to. When he had announced he was moving, Minseok’s immediate response was that he was going too. Joonmyeon didn’t approve of it, and it led to several arguments.

They had decided it was up to their two younger brothers Jongdae and Jongin whether or not they all move together, and both had agreed to move with Joonmyeon instantly.

The last person who was to know about the move was Minseok’s partner of four years, Lu Han. He had told him two weeks before moving, since that’s when they decided to move, but Lu Han had remained silent. No phone calls, no texts- Minseok assumed it meant their relationship was over but hoped to himself it wasn’t.

“Why don’t you at least call him?” Joonmyeon asks carefully, and Minseok releases a slow breath.

“If he hasn’t answered me the twenty times I’ve called him in the past two days, I doubt he’ll answer now.” Minseok says with a bite in his tone, and Joonmyeon shrinks away. Minseok hates himself for making Joonmyeon worse than he’s already been feeling. It’s not like Joonmyeon’s asked for any of this, anyway.

“It’s fine, Joon. I’ll call him right now. You go on in and help the kids unpack.” Minseok tells him, and Joonmyeon ducks his head as he passes his elder brother. Minseok sighs as Joonmyeon goes because by the shaking of his shoulders, Joonmyeon’s close to tears.

He turns his gaze back to the phone in his hand, the screensaver still of him and Luhan. Luhan was so young and innocent looking back then, even though Minseok knew he was far from innocent. As stated before, Luhan hasn’t answered any of his previous calls, so Minseok’s not sure how this time will be any different, but he lifts his phone anyway and presses it to his ear.

It rings three times, and Minseok sighs as he begins to pull it away, because he knew it was a waste of time.

“Hello?” Luhan’s soft but masculine voice calls, and Minseok heaves a sigh of relief.

“Lu.” He says, his voice gentle.

“Min.” Luhan’s voice says. His tone is exhausted but there’s a twinge of relief.

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.” Minseok says, but his voice dies out because he knows Luhan’s the kind that doesn’t let go of a grudge easily. This isn’t the kind of thing Minseok expects Luhan to forgive him for.

“I- sorry.” Luhan sighs from across the line, and by the tone he uses to speak, Minseok knows he has something to say.

“But you weren’t being very fair to me. You still aren’t.”

Minseok sighs as he takes a seat on the pavement, back resting against the car behind him, “I… I’m sorry, Lu. I couldn’t let him go alone.”

“You need to stop treating him like a kid, Min.” Luhan grumbles, and Minseok can imagine the way he’s rubbing at his teary eyes.

“You didn’t even ask if I wanted to come with you.”

And Minseok feels the cement under him split open. Luhan is right. In his flurry to move with Joonmyeon so he could keep his brother out of trouble, he hadn’t even stopped to think Luhan would move with them.

“Would you have, if I asked you? Lu, you have a career there. You model. It’s not like you can just pack your bags and move to some small town outside of the city with me.” Minseok argues, but his voice is resigned. As true as his words are, Minseok wishes Luhan could have moved with them after all, despite how selfish it is.

“You said that when I asked if we could go on a trip to Jeju and you said that when I asked if you and I could go visit my parents in Beijing. Don’t make any excuses, Min. It’s because you’re scared.”

“Yes. It’s because I’m very scared, Lu.” Minseok admits in a sigh, and he’s not the kind to admit he’s scared. When Luhan had been discovered by an agent years prior, Minseok vowed to never get in his way of success.

“What does this mean for us, Min?” Luhan asks, and Minseok knows Luhan’s crying by his tone alone. He’s also crying, his hand gripping the phone so tight it might even split in half.

“I guess it’s time… we break up.” Minseok utters, and he can hear Luhan take in a sharp breath. He can’t spend another second on the line. It’s too painful for him to do so. So he does the only sensible thing; he hangs up and hides his red eyes from Joonmyeon’s prying gaze.

“This is my room.” Jongin whispers to himself as he walks into one of the rooms. It’s his first time looking inside any of the rooms, but as he climbs up the stairs on the second floor of the house into the attic, he decides that this room is perfect for him.

“I’ll set up some mirrors over there, and a piano over there!” Jongin says excitedly, spinning around to take in the room around him. Jongdae’s hollering about taking one of the rooms on the second floor, but Jongin ignores him because he’s had enough of Jongdae for an afternoon.

When Joonmyeon and Minseok asked him what he thought about moving to another town, Jongin was less than enthusiastic. And in some cases, he still is. But being inside of this room feels… right. Like home. Forget that changing towns meant changing schools. If this was something they could do for Joonmyeon, the three of them would do it even if it meant causing themselves trouble.

He can still remember it well, the day that Joonmyeon had told them that he had lost his job.  For days he had gone out in his suit and came home late at night as if he were still working, and when they had found out the truth, the three brothers felt disappointed.

Joonmyeon staggered into the house, and Jongin looked up from where he was seated at the dining table to see Joonmyeon walk in. Joonmyeon was several paces away but even from where he sat, Jongin could smell the alcohol radiating off of him.

It’s then that Jongin realizes something is up. Joonmyeon isn’t the type to drink, after all. After their mother passed away years ago, Joonmyeon had taken it upon himself to care for them. Of course Minseok was the eldest of the four, but Joonmyeon had been the one to drop out of school to get a job to help out with.

“Hyung?” Jongin calls, and he gets up so quickly that his chair falls backwards.

“Nini.” Joonmyeon coos, and Jongin inwardly cringes because why would that nickname be circulating in Joonmyeon’s mind?

“Seok hyung! Dae!” Jongin shouts unsurely, and Joonmyeon winces as he covers his ears.

“Why do you have to be so loud? Don’t you know the neighbors are sleeping?”

Jongin just rolls his eyes as he hurries over and tugs Joonmyeon by the arm into a seat. Joonmyeon doesn’t fight his grip, only sits where he’s told to and slouches forward like he’s going to start crying. With the way his shoulders start to shake, Jongin’s sure he’s having a hell of a time keeping those tears to himself after all.

Jongdae is the first to run down the stairs, and he’s wearing a jersey because he was probably playing basketball outside with his friend Yixing like he does on most evenings.

“What’s going on—Joonmyeon?!” Jongdae is by Joonmyeon’s side within a moment, hands cupping Joonmyeon’s face to see just how drunk his elder brother is.

“What happened to Joonmyeon?” Calls Minseok’s voice as he trails into their living room. His phone is pressed against his ear because he spends most of his free time talking to his boyfriend, the ever busy model Luhan.

“Guys. I- I- I was laid off.” Joonmyeon blurts out, and his brothers stare at him completely bewildered as he sobs.

“What?” Jongin asks, absolutely dumbfounded. Never has Joonmyeon asked for anything from his workplace; even going in on his days off to help pay for Jongin and Jongdae’s school fees.

They don’t get an actual explanation that night, and after three days, its Minseok that explains to them that Joonmyeon’s been looking for a job and found one on the other side of the country with the plans of moving by himself.

Jongin’s options at the time were to either stay there, in which case he and Minseok would stay while Joonmyeon and Jongdae would move together, but Jongin doesn’t want to be separated from his brothers after losing their mother.

And, well, here they are now weeks later settling into a beautiful old house that was surprisingly cheap for how beautiful it was in pictures. Luhan had told them it could have been a scam considering how affordable it was while being in the middle of a mostly wealthy neighborhood, but they had moved in anyway and Jongin has yet to find a flaw with their new house.

“Jongin?” Joonmyeon’s hesitant voice calls, and Jongin turns to see Joonmyeon climbing up the ladder to where he is standing with a box that looks like it’s bigger than the both of them combined. Their beds would take another couple of days to arrive but there were plenty of blankets and pillows in the back of Minseok’s car.

“Don’t you think this room is perfect for me?” Jongin asks, and he’s beaming as he spins around once more. He notes the way his brother’s eyes dim just slightly and he knows what Joonmyeon is thinking; that he could have stayed in his old room where all of his things had already been set.

“It might need some decorations of say- Krystal, but otherwise, it’s perfect for you.” Joonmyeon cracks, and Jongin hits his arm for making fun of his love for the idol, Krystal of the girl group f(x).

Suddenly, as they stand and converse, a draft of cold air fills the room, and though both boys shudder, the cool air is out as quickly as it enters their room.

“What was that?” Jongin asks, and he can’t understand why his hairs are standing on end. It’s just air, so why is his body reacting in such a way.

“Jongdae probably went out.” Joonmyeon answers, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin. He looks around once more and nods, like what he sees is pleasing to the eye.

“We’ll get some better insulation pads, but I think you’ll be fine here, Jong.”

Jongin grins because he already knew that.

The kitchen is empty, and absolutely so. Jongdae pats his even emptier stomach and holds back a dry sob; it’s not going to help anyway. He opens cabinets, checks the old refrigerator that needs to be replaced soon, and even in the closets; but there’s absolutely nothing to eat in this house.

If he had known there wouldn’t be any food, he would have told Minseok to go out earlier and buy something so they wouldn’t starve that evening.

But it’s too late to complain about it; not like Jongdae’s going to stop complaining anyway, but he’d like to just let it go for a little bit. So, he instead walks over to one of the many boxes littering the living room and cuts one open hoping there’s some sort of food in there.

Clothes. Minseok’s clothes. Jongdae quickly closes the box again and gently sets it aside because if Minseok finds out he’s touched the box that wasn’t his, he’ll get himself into a lot of trouble.

The next box is Jongin’s, full of weights and other things. Jongdae wonders how it’s so light considering it’s full of heavy items, but easily pushes it aside to grab hold of the next box.

Which is when the doorbell rings, of course. He even scoffs and his eyes narrow in the direction of the front door because whoever it is has some awful timing.

“I get it.” He calls upstairs because Minseok had slipped into the room he claimed on the second floor and both Jongdae and Joonmyeon were up in the attic.

When he opens the door, standing there is a short male with eyes heavily accentuated with eye liner. The only reason Jongdae doesn’t slam the door shut is because there’s a tray in the stranger’s arms.

“This is from my mom.” The male says, and he basically shoves the tray into Jongdae’s arms. Jongdae’s eyebrows furrow as he takes it because there was a much gentler way of handling food that this boy definitely didn’t learn.

“You do know about the ghost, right?” The male continues, right before Jongdae can shut the door, and Jongdae’s lips press into a firm line because he hopes dearly that not everyone on the block will be as difficult as this neighbor.

“What ghost?” Jongdae asks, his voice at a monotone because he’s never actually even believed in ghosts and this neighbor of his seems to be nosy for no reason.

“Well it was nice not knowing you. I’m Baekhyun, I’ll be the one calling the cops tomorrow when I come to check and find your scrawny sobbing in the corner.” The neighbor, Baekhyun tells him with a wide grin, and Jongdae’s wondering if maybe Baekhyun just has some sadistic personality.

“Thanks for the food.” Is all Jongdae says, and he plasters on a big fake smile as he kicks the door shut. Baekhyun may have a bland personality but the food that he came with smelled anything but bland.

“We have food!” Jongdae screams from the top of his lungs, and it’s not even moments later when his other brothers trample down the stairs like a herd of buffalo an even though all they have is a few folding chairs overturned boxes, and beer that’s been in Minseok’s car for days, they eat like kings.

“Who brought this here?” Joonmyeon asks, and it’s a little funny that they’re only asking questions after their stomachs are full, but they’re boys and boys always focus first on how to satiate their hunger.

“The neighbor.” Answers Jongdae as he swallows a mouthful of his beer and he loves the way the alcohol burns down his throat. It reminds him that his life isn’t just a dream no matter how much he wishes it were. As much as he loves Joonmyeon, he had only agreed to move because the others had talked about moving. Jongdae wanted to be back at home playing basketball with Yixing every day, not talking to weirdo neighbors about ghosts.

“Oh. Did they seem nice?” Joonmyeon asks, because he needs to remind Jongdae that he’s still in the middle of an explanation or else Jongdae gets completely absorbed into his food.

“His name was Bae- Baekho? I think. He was an . Said something about a ghost living in here.” Jongdae grunts, and he even waves a hand in the air as he speaks like the whole thing is absurd, which to him is true. Ghosts don’t exist.

“A ghost? In this house?” Minseok asks, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Jongdae can see the fading red in his eyes and knows instantly that there’s something going on between his eldest brother and his partner Luhan. Minseok would never say anything if asked, though, so Jongdae just pretends he hasn’t seen his expression.

“The only ghost near us would be Minseok’s car.” Jongin says with a mouthful. Minseok shoots him a dirty look but both Joonmyeon and Jongdae agree. It’s a car that’s over a decade old and though they’ve suggested for him to get a new car but because of expenses and sentimental value, Minseok has refused time and time again.

They laugh it off and resume their meal but Jongdae suddenly feels himself shudder as if someone is watching him. It’s none of his brothers, though, and Jongdae scans the room to find it empty.

That stupid Baekhyun, making him paranoid with something as stupid as a ghost sighting. Next time, Jongdae’s going to slam the door in his face even if he brings food over for them.

Joonmyeon sits out in the backyard, enjoying the feel of fresh grass under his fingertips as he watches the stars twinkle in the sky. It’s been a long time since he’d last seen this view. He thinks the last time he’s even taken time out of his day to watch the stars was back before their mother had passed away.

“It’s beautiful here, mom.” He tells the stars, because he’s sure that his mother can hear him from where she is.

There’s some rustling behind him, but when he checks to see if it’s Jongdae, no one’s there. He sighs, the guilt seeping into his stomach. The others could have continued their lives where they were. Minseok wouldn’t have had to ruin his relationship with Luhan. Jongdae wouldn’t have had to leave his sports partner and good friend Yixing. Then Jongin, who was still in high school wouldn’t have to move right at the beginning of his senior year.

“Look, mom. I’m still causing them problems like I’ve always done.” He whispers, and he runs a tired hand through his hair as he sniffles. He wants to cry badly but he knows that his tears aren’t going to solve anything.

“Joonmyeon?” Minseok calls from behind, and Joonmyeon quickly straightens up because Minseok and the others know when Joonmyeon’s upset just by the way his shoulders shake.

“Yeah?” He asks, angling his body just slightly so he can look Minseok in the eye.

“I’m going to sleep. You should head up soon. You and I both start work tomorrow.” Minseok tells him, and he even yawns as he says it.

Joonmyeon can’t help the chuckle that he releases, “It’s fine, I’ll be up soon.”

Minseok looks like he’s going to take a step away but right before he does, he calls for Joonmyeon once more, “You know this isn’t your fault, right? We’d do anything for you.”

Joonmyeon nods to himself as Minseok finally disappears upstairs to his bedroom. Joonmyeon’s is on the first floor because he wants better access to the door since he’s going to be working as much as he can to support the others.

There are some yard lights, that attract mosquitos, and as Joonmyeon watches the mosquitoes fly around the light, they suddenly freeze where they are and drop dead.

“What the…” Joonmyeon mutters and he gets off the ground to inspect the area around the yard light, but it doesn’t seem to be a mosquito killer.

“What could have killed all of these so quickly?”

Joonmyeon doesn’t like mosquitoes. He hates them as much as they love him, but to suddenly have all the ones floating around one of the yard lights drop dead? That’s unheard of and just plain unusual.

“Maybe I’m sleepy.” Joonmyeon says, scratching at his head. He takes one last glance at the moon before he slips into the house, but he can see lights coming from upstairs. He assumes it’s either Jongdae or Jongin with an inclination towards Jongdae because Jongin doesn’t usually keep the lights on knowing it can disturb someone else.

He refuses to go check, though, because whoever it is with the lights on can turn off his own lights, and walks into his room. It’s a fairly decent size but it is bare. Even the walls are white, and Joonmyeon takes a seat over the blankets he had spread out earlier for his make shift bed.

“I’m sorry, guys.” He says to himself, but his heart aches for his brothers who had to change their lives just so they could match his.

He curls his arms around his knees, pulling his knees to his chest as he buries his face against them, breathing slowly as an attempt to put himself to sleep, but it proves to be hard since this isn’t what he’s used to calling home.

“I wish they never laid me off.” Joonmyeon sighs to himself, and even though he’s not sleepy, he lays back in his makeshift bed and stares at the ceiling. There are a few cobwebs hanging around that would need cleaning sooner rather than later, but otherwise, his room is perfect. The bathroom is out in the hall but since the three of his brothers are scattered across two floors above him, he’s sure he won’t have to worry about sharing his bathroom.

Because he actually does want to sleep, he starts singing to himself the lullaby their mother would sing to him on the nights he couldn’t sleep. He had to sing it three times through just to have the full effect of the lullaby but singing it brought back good memories of a time where things were peaceful and he could just be a brother, not a nuisance like he is now.

He starts to doze off, for a few moments at first and then it becomes increasingly harder to keep his eyes open. There’s movement outside of the window, though, that catches his eyes just as he shifts onto his side for a more comfortable position. His eyes find the window, and though he doesn’t know what it is exactly in his groggy state, it looks like there’s a shadow outside his window.

At first he just lets it slip from his mind because it’s night time, but when he realizes he’s seen a shadow outside of his window, he inhales sharply and sits up, looking around frantically. The shadow that was outside his window is gone and there are no sounds to indicate which direction it had gone in in case it were just a neighbor.

“What the hell is this place?” Joonmyeon pants as he lays back down, one hand pressed against his chest because he had no idea this kind of thing would happen to him. He was told his house had a rustic peaceful atmosphere but several times today as he and his brothers moved in, he felt something but peace.

Maybe he’s imagining it, but he thinks that maybe this house really is too good to be true after all.