“You try to scream~”

“Jonghyun No.”

“But terror takes the sound before you make it-”

“Jonghyun.”

“You start to freeezeee…”

“Kim. ing. Jonghyun-”

“As horror looks you right between the eyes! You’re paralyzed….”

“… Oh thank god you stopped.  I was just about to-”

“CAUSE THIS IS THRILLLAAA! THRILLER AT NIGH- Hey! Key what the heck I was listening to that!” Jonghyun whined as the radio was cut abruptly in the middle of his song. The blonde ejected the CD and threw it in the back seat of the car, knowing fully well that it would probably disappear in the land of empty fast food bags and seat cracks.

“I warned you. I warned you-”

“No you didn’t! You said ‘I was about to’ and never finished your sentence!”

“Well now you know what I would have said,” Key smirked, “’I was just about to take the disk and throw it into oblivion.’ Who knows, maybe this will give you more incentive to clean your car.”

Jonghyun spared him a glare and to a familiar street. Key’s stomach clenched with nostalgia as he gazed at the surrounding houses. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he had been home, but it felt like far too long, “Nothing’s really changed.”

“Well you haven’t been here since you moved to Seoul in the 11^th grade. Maybe lots of things have changed-”

“Nope… nothings different,” Key smiled, “Maybe there are a couple more noribangs but-”

“Ha,” Jonghyun smirked, “Called it. Now where do you want to go?”

“… I’d like to see my mom; I think dad’s still working right now. Tomorrow though I want to see my halmeoni though. It’s been too long, I don’t want her to be upset with me.”

He nodded and bit his lower lip as he scanned the street signs, “Did they move back into the old house?”

“Yeah, they were only renting it out back in high school. Once the renter’s lease was up they returned.”

“Smart move,” the car came to a stop in front of a small white house surrounded by a short cement wall. The surname ‘Kim’ was printed in black lettering on a small plaque that hung above their mailbox and the lemon tree Key often stole from as a child was in full bloom.

He smiled and got out of the car eagerly; out of habit, he plucked one of the many yellow fruits from its protruding branch and skipped two steps as he went up to the door. Jonghyun hung back by the car and waited for the door to open. As much as he would love to be close to Key’s parent’s like he was with his, there was still an awkward tension between the two.

The door opened and a thin woman looked up at him. She smiled, eyes disappearing as her grin grew, and pulled the taller male into a hug.

“Kibummie,” she cooed, “It’s been so long! You could have called you know.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” Key hugged her back, “If I did call, you would have thrown an unnecessary welcome party and make more food that the neighbors can eat.”

“Well that’s because it would be intended for you to eat,” she poked and pinched at his sides, “Nothing but skin and bones. Do you have enough money for food? Should I send you some more?”

“Umma, I’m fine,” he smiled reassuringly, “I eat plenty, if not too much already because of Jonghyun. That man had a bottomless stomach!”

“Jonghyun-ah? Is he here?” she peeked around her son and waved to the boy by the car.

“Yeah, we’re kinda on a road trip right now and this was one of our stops.”

“How thoughtful! Well don’t just stand there, come inside you two!”

Key turned his head and motioned for Jonghyun to come closer. The elder nodded and quickly joined his friend at the steps before they walked inside.

--

Key was pleasantly surprised to see his father sitting on the couch when they walked in. He was taking a sick day since his wife thought he had a cold, though he coughed only once for the duration of their visit. Unlike Jonghyun’s rambunctious family, they ate quietly at the dinner table and had small conversations. Jonghyun wondered briefly how someone as lively as Key could have come from such stoic parents; he would like to think that he had something to do with breaking him out of his shell.

After dinner, the two bid the old couple goodbye and started making their way back to the hotel. However, the ride around town brought back some pleasant memories Key wanted to share with Jonghyun. Pretty soon pointing out windows and squinting through glass wasn’t enough and the blonde made him pull over so they could walk around.

Now they were eating ice cream, passing different outlets while Key gave Jonghyun a personal tour.

“And here’s where I worked my first part time job!” he pointed at a random clothes store, “Of course at the time my school didn’t allow students to work during school days so after classes I’d spend my time in the back organizing boxes and other remedial stuff. ”

“No wonder Onew wanted you as council secretary.”

Key elbowed him harshly, “That over there was cram school. I never went, but my friends did. And that…” he trailed off as he saw a park, “is the park where my grandma use to take me when I was a child,” Jonghyun stopped walking and looked over. He heard key laugh and looked back at him, “Funny, I remember it being a lot bigger.”

“Everything huge when you’re a kid,” he slid his arm around his shoulder, “That’s what makes being a kid so enjoyable.”

“What, because we were a shrimp? Though you’ve yet to grow out of that phase-”

“Perception,” he motioned towards the park, “This park to us is just a park. To a child… what was it to you?”

Key shrugged, “I pretended I was in the Amazon jungle back then.”

Jonghyun smiled, “And to me, my park was a pirate ship. You see what I’m getting at?”

He smiled back, “I suppose so.”

“Great, not let’s get going. I’m sure you’ve been dying to show me the dance hall that got you a scholarship to our high school.”

“Oh yeah,” his face lit up, “Gosh it’s been so long, do you want to see my dance routine too?”

“You’ve shown it to me over a million times. I could dance with you if I wanted to.”

“So why don’t you?”

Jonghyun scoffed and punched his arm, “Just show me the place.”

--

“… Do you think she’ll like the red or yellow?”

Key’s eyes scanned the rows of flowers before him. His blond hair was styled neatly and complimented his black attire. Jonghyun wore a similar outfit and stood beside him, observing the variety with a frown on his face.

“I have to admit, I don’t know much about flowers Key. Why not just go with the norm and use carnations?”

“Because my grandma is anything but normal, that would be an insult to her,” he picked up a daisy and smiled, “Daisy’s make me happy.”

“They’re kinda plain, don’t you think?”

“Alright then, how about… what the does that say?” Key squinted at the card taped to a vase that held a white flower, “… Duchesse de Nemours?”

“Nice, guess French in high school wasn’t completely useless,” Jonghyun picked up a light pink flower and spun around on his heel. He grabbed his friends hand and kissed the air above it before holding it out, “For you, my love.”

“Jonghyun you’re such a- wait, what is this?”

“Uh… a Shirley Temple.”

“I’ll get this and mix it with some carnations, just to stick to tradition. It’s actually pretty nice. Thanks hyung.”

Jonghyun beamed at him, “Anything for you.”

Key fought back the flutter he felt in his chest and paid for the bouquet. The drive to the elder’s home was pretty short, since the region of Daegu they were in was a tight knit community.  They pulled up to a large white house and were greeted with a few of the care takers. Apparently Key had become friends with them over the course of his visits.

“So how is she, Minji?” Key asked, pulling a reluctant Jonghyun behind him.

“She’s doing fine, won’t stop taking about this one singer she saw on T.V… I can’t remember if it was Lee Hyori or someone else…”

“Either way, she’s excited to see you. I see you wore black again,” Dara commented off handedly.

“She likes how it slims my body.”

“Yeah, in the winter… who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is Jonghyun,” Key tugged on his arm, “Jonghyun-ah, this is Minji and Sandara. They take care of my grandma.”

“Hello,” he waved his hand, earning giggles from the girls.

“No need to be so awkward Jonghyun-ssi. We don’t bite… much,” Dara winked. Key scowled and hit her shoulder playfully.

“Yah, don’t tease the pup now.”

“I’ll make sure she behaves,” Minji smiled and knocked on a door. There was a soft ‘come in’ before she pushed it open and ushered the three inside. Dara bowed slightly to an old woman who sat by the window. Jonghyun was taken aback by her feline looking eyes; she reminded him a lot of Key.

“We’re back, and we come bearing gifts!” Dara stepped aside and let Key approach her.

“Kibummie! Ah, these flowers are lovely, but they’ll get in the way of the hug you owe me,” the old woman smiled, opening her arms

“Neh, I’m glad you like them,” Key set them down on the bedside table and hugged her gently, “I missed you so much halmeoni.”

“I missed you too child,” she frowned as they pulled away, “… You’re too skinny dear; I could have snapped you in half.”

“I’m perfectly healthy,” he grinned and motioned towards Jonghyun, who had to step aside as Minji came back with a vase for the flowers, “This is my friend Jonghyun. I would say he takes care of me, but I’m usually keeping him out of trouble.”

The woman eyed him as he stepped forward and bowed, “Hello, Kim Jonghyun imnida.”

“Kim, what a lovely last name,” she joked, “stop with the bowing dear boy. That’s very polite bit not necessary. But Mr. Kim, why is my grandson so skinny?”

“Trust me ma’am, I’ve been trying to get him to eat but it’s like he has the stomach of a mouse.”

“Aigoo, my Kibummie is far cuter than a mouse Jonghyun-ssi.” She cooed, attempting to pinch the said male’s cheeks, “Why… look at your hair! What happened to it?”

“Style, halmoni. If you want I could do yours for you.”

She laughed and shook her head, “Very funny boy. My hair is already as grey as your socks. Kibummie, why are you in all black?”

“What? You don’t like it?”he frowned, “you told me I look good in black!”

“Well now you look like a skeleton dear.”

Key groaned, “Woman. So complicated.”

Jonghyun grinned, “It’s okay Key, you could be and still look fantastic.”

Key gaped as his grandma laughed, “Ah your friend’s funny. He’s a keeper Kibum.”

“Yeah… we’ll see how long he lasts.”

We'll get back to the real story and shinanigans, but i'd thought i'd get key's familt visit out of the way. i read this twice so if there are still spelling errors, my bad....

fav part of wolf.