After his heartfelt talk with Minho, Jinki made his way down the stairs, catching sight of Joon sitting on the couch.

”Oh good!” Jinki sighed in relief. “You’re still here.”

”Yeah! I wanted to talk to you about something.” Joon smiled as Onew came face to face with him.

”I wanted to talk to you too. Who should go first?”

”Let me. Please.” Joon started excitedly, pulling Onew to sit on the couch with him.

“So.. I had a talk with Kibum. We talked about his mom and--and he showed me the shrine." He explained.

Onew sighed, already starting to apologize. "Ugh, Joon. I'm sorry he made you-"

"No, no, listen! I think we... made a connection. I think he doesn’t hate me anymore, you know?” Joon grinned, a bright twinkle appearing in his eyes. “I think he’s okay with me now and... I gotta be honest, knowing that makes me feel really... great. Way better than I ever thought it would.” He took Jinki’s hands in his.

”Look, last week when you asked me if I was serious about your kids, I honestly didn’t know my answer. But tonight..." Joon couldn't help but smile fondly. "I can't believe that some silly fear was keep me from seeing just how amazing they are, Onew. I mean, even Minho with that video. So talented, so smart. I adore them. Even as much as I adore you.” Joon brought Onew’s hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.

”Joon, I love you.” Jinki blurted out, unable to hold it in anymore. He hoped it wasn't premature, but Joon's words had pulled this phrase out of Jinki, and he knew he meant it. He looked on at the other, suddenly very nervous.

Joon paused, his mouth going from puckered to dropped open. ”What?” 

”Well, that’s... what I wanted to talk to you about. I mean.. you did see that video. Minho laid it out pretty clearly.”  Jinki blushed, his courage quickly slipping away, voice getting quieter with each word. 

“Jinki...” 

“I know it’s probably too soon for you. I understand that. I just wanted to be upfront with my feelings. I'm too old for games."

Joon heaved a big sigh. “This is so serious.”

Jinki switched his gaze to the carpet, nodding his head in agreement. “Yeah...”

Joon reached over and took Jinki’s hands in his once again. “Well, I’m serious too.” 

Jinki snapped his head back up, eyes instantly meeting Joon’s.

”Jinki, tonight I’m floating. You, this family... your family. You've done so well with them. They are amazing, and them accepting me into your life is something I never realized was so important to me.”

Tears welled up in Jinki’s eyes as he listened. 

“When it comes to you, Lee Jinki..." Joon brushed some hair behind the other's ear, "Hell, I’ve known that I’ve loved you for weeks. But now I know that I love them too.”

“D-Do you really mean that??” Jinki wanted to restrain himself as he bawled into his hand, but try as he could, the waterfall of tears pouring out of him didn't stop. "You have no idea... how happy that makes me..."

"I think I have some idea." Joon teased gently as he wiped some of the tears that were flowing down Jinki's cheeks.

Jinki pulled the older into a tight embrace, tears spilling all over onto his shoulder. "I love you, Joon."

Joon smiled his arms tightly around Jinki's waist. "I love you, Onew."

Onew made his way down the creaky basements stairs as he heaved a sigh. He was just so happy.

He couldn't belief that despite his life's misfortune, he could find someone like Joon who could make him feel so seen and complete. But there was also a guilt that accompanied his happiness. He told himself he wasn't doing this so he could have a replacement for Minyoung. That wouldn't be fair to Joon or Minyoung. He told himself he loved them both, and that was okay. But it was still hard.

He visited Minyoung more often these days. He liked to go down and talk about his day with her framed photo in his lap, the way she used to lay her head on his lap at the end of a day. It was weird, but the closer Onew got to Joon, the more he craved and missed Minyoung. It was just comforting.

Week after week, Joon visited the Lee family more and more often, mostly to see Onew, but sometimes at the request of one of the kids. And everytime he was at that house, he made sure to pay respects to Minyoung. He was glad he could be able to honor her, since she was such an important part of all of their lives.

Week after week, the Lee household would see more and more of Joon. At first, there might have been a spelling bee here or a soccer game there that Joon was occasionally invited to, but eventually, Joon's presence was just starting to be expected. It was nice. 

Joon still trod lightly when it came to Kibum. Technically, Onew and Joon weren't back together yet, and that was because of Kibum. It'd been a few weeks since they had said their first 'I love yous'. Since they were starting to show real and strong feelings for each other, Onew had made it clear that he wanted Kibum to be absolutely sure Kibum was in a good place about it.

Jinki paced the kitched as he played with his fingers nervously, waiting for Kibum to come home from a basketball game at his school.

"Dad?" Kibum called as he entered the kitchen.

"In the kitchen!" Jinki called back, his voice cracking slightly. Jinki cursed himself.

"Hi." Kibum entered, heading straight for the fridge to grab some water.

"Hey, Key! How was the game?"

Kibum rolled his eyes as he took a swig from the bottle. "Our team lost. If Number 42 would actually drive the lane instead of always waiting for Number 38's pick, maybe we would have had a chance."

Jinki stared at Key in confusion, and Key chuckled.

"I guess since High School Musical, I can actually follow basketball games so at least, that's a win." Kibum giggled.

"Hah, that's great!" JInki laughed briefly before changing his tone.

"Ah, actually, Key, can we talk?"

"What's up, Dad?"

"Um.. Well..." Onew rubbed the back of his head. "I... um..."

"Everything okay?"

"We should talk about this whole Lee Joon situation."

"Well, he's been getting closer to the family and I notice you seem to have less of a problem with him around."

"He's okay." Kibum nodded with a shrug. 

"This entire time we've been seeing each other, you've been acting out. And I think that instead of really listening, I've just been trying to console you. I don't want to do that anymore."

"Dad--."

"Just wait, Kibum. Please." Jinki pleaded with a sigh. The teenager noodded.

"You... miss your mom. I understand that. There's not a single that goes by where I don't think about her. The last thing I'd ever want to do is replace her."

"I know that now, Dad."

"But now, Joon and I are deciding whether to get really serious. This is it, and if you really object to our relationship... I will break it off with him."

"Uh, w-what?"

"Yeah. Of course it wouldn't be easy but you come first. Always. Grief is hard, and if you still need time, then he's gone. But, if you want to let him hang around and give him a chance, that's okay too. Whatever you choose, I won't be mad."

Key raised an eyebrow. "You're willing to break his heart if I say so?"

"Ah, he's grown. He can handle it. But you're my baby boy."

"Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course, honey." Jinki pulled Kibum into a sweet hug. "Take all the time you need."

Key paced around the house as he thought. After all these months, his dad was seriously considering leaving Joon. Because of him. And he didn't know how to feel about that.

Well, he was happy. Finally, he could put an end to this stupid relationship. Kibum and his dad and his brothers and his mom could just live in peace, without the intrusion of anybody else. It would be done. Stress would be gone.

But damn. Kibum could not stop thinking about that video. The kind of cheesy grins he saw on his dad, the kind of grins his dad only had a