Jongin's brows raised in surprise.

"Yes. That is my name...How did you know, Do Kyungsoo-sshi?" he asked carefully.

The glint in his eyes was guarded, as well as suspicious.

"Oh! I er...heard it from the others," the nanny lied, saving himself the embarrassment, "I have to know my employer, after all."

The man said nothing, believing the bluff. Though relieved, Kyungsoo was slightly disappointed. This couldn't be his Jongin. His Jongin was mischievious and sweet. Not this...frighteningly serious man.

His Jongin was a strong boy with a penchant for desserts and a bright excitement in his eyes. That starry look had earned him his nickname-Kai. This wasn't him.

"Uncle, did you see Tao? I-Is he okay?" Joonmyeon asked, eyes clouded with worry.

The man nodded swiftly, a relieved smile on his own handsome face.

"He'll be fine, Joon. Tao's a fighter-you know that. Do you want to see him?"

The teen opened his mouth to respond, but just as quickly closed it.

"Does he want to see me?"

A teasing laugh slipped past Jongin's lips as he lead the way to the butler's room.

"Does he? Tao hasn't stopped asking about you since he woke up! 'Where is Young Master?' 'Is he hurt anywhere?' 'Can I see Young Master?' Honestly, he should be worried about himself." he muttered with a mischievious grin.

Kyungsoo halted, his steps slowing as he lagged behind the two. That grin, so lightly perched on Jongin's face...It was familiar-almost soothing in how similiar it was to Kai's own childish expression. The boy would smile like that whenever he got mud on his impeccable shoes, or when he had slipped some candy from his mother's bag.

Shaking his head, the nanny trudged on. No, it couldn't be him. Kai was in America, getting his PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He'd moved on to bigger and better things while Kyungsoo had stayed in Korea. Kai was out of his reach now.

A tentative hand plucked Kyungsoo out of his musing.

"Hyung, what are you thinking about?" Joonmyeon asked, his perceptive eyes scanning the elder's face.

Kyungsoo smiled, shaking his head.

"It's nothing, Joonmyeon," he chuckled as the door opened, "Let's go inside."

~~~

Joonmyeon's heart stopped when he saw Tao's wincing painfully as he sat up. The tall Chinese man's left shoulder was bandaged and his arm was in a sling. A few cuts were littered across his face, and there was gauze on a gash on his forehead. Black hair was matted with blood and sweat. He sent a slightly surprised bow in Jongin's direction, then smiled at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo smiled back while Jongin merely nodded.

"Young Master," the other breathed out, "You're here."

The crimson-haired boy launched himself at the elder, tears in his eyes.

"Tao-sshi, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry." he sobbed.

His thin arms wound around the butler's uninjured arm. Tao's expression went from shocked to a soft, unreadable one.

"It's not your fault," he said quietly, "I'll be back to normal very soon. The doctor said that it'd be a month or two before I fully heal."

The man raised a hand to wipe the tears off Joonmyeon's cheeks. He shot the other a confident smile.

"I'm going to make them pay," the younger muttered, "I'm going to make them pay for what they did. T-Those scumbags are going to wish that they'd never laid a hand on you."

Tao shook his head, smile still on his lips. It turned a little dark, as if there was a sick inside joke, but Kyungsoo didn't ask.

"Young Master, don't even grace them with your presence. Just...let me take care of everything, alright?"

He leaned in to whisper something to the heir, but Kyungsoo was pulled out of the room before he could hear anything. Jongin looked at him carefully, assessing him.

"Mr. Do-"

"Just 'Kyungsoo' is fine."

"Alright. Kyungsoo, I'm sorry that you had to go through such an intense experience on your first day. I'm glad to see that you handled it quite well, though." Jongin complemented.

"Has this been going on for a while? The attacks, I mean."

He was scared for not only Joonmyeon, but Jongdae as well. If the elder went through such bullying, then Jongdae must go through worse.

"No, actually. They started rather recently. About when-"

Jongin hesitated as his eyes searched the nanny's.

"The disappearance?" Kyungsoo asked quietly, understanding.

"Yes. The townspeople started to say that we were a curse and that we'd ruin them. Joonmyeon's friends him and soon enough, the attacks begun. So far, no one had really gotten hurt. Yongguk, my nephews' chauffeur, got a bruise or two, but that was about it."

"Have you reported it?"

"We tried to, but each time, Joonmyeon would stop us. Tao's attack has been reported, though. I'm getting both of the boys bodyguards for the time being."

Kyungsoo let out a relieved sigh as he sat down on a nearby bench.

"Kim Jongin," a raspy voice growled from across the hall, "What are you doing here?"

Full hospital tray in hand, Baekhyun marched up to the men with a menacing snarl. His in-law returned the sneer, eyes just as frightening. Kyungsoo backed away.

"I'm here because Joonmyeon wanted me to be, Byun Baekhyun. He trusts me much more than you. After all, who would trust a man who can't even protect his employee from a bunch of schoolboys?"

It was a low blow, and the way Baekhyun's face turned purple with rage showed it.

"Get the hell out of here, you bastard! You disappear after cut off all ties with your own brother and you think that you can ing skip back into Joonmyeon and Jongdae's lives? Well, newsflash. This is my family now, and we don't want a son of a like you," Baekhyun shouted, "They're MINE!"

Before any of them could react, Jongin's fist had flown into the elder's jaw and he was beating him.

"Your family?! This is my family, you er! Joonmyeon and Jongdae are my nephews-my blood and flesh. They're not your goddamn property, so stop treating them like it! They aren't some toys that you can play with!" he yelled, fury fueling every hit.

Baekhyun hit back just as hard. The scene of the two men fighting made Kyungsoo's head ache with past memories-ones he had buried in his mind. He pulled Jongin off of Baekhyun, screaming 'stop' as he did.

"Both of you, calm down and talk about this like adults! You're no better than the boys who attacked Joonmyeon and Tao."

Jongin huffed and pushed Kyungsoo away. He his heel and left, ignoring the injuries he had. Baekhyun remained crouched down on the ground, nursing his jaw. The other touched it tenderly and frowned when Baekhyun gasped in pain.

"Let's get you treated," he sighed, "It'll bruise."

"I know."

Wordlessly, Kyungsoo helped him up to sit down on the bench.

"Aren't you going to tell me that I was stupid? That I should've known better?" Baekhyun murmurred.

Kyungsoo paused before wiping the blood off the other's cheek with his handkerchief.

"No, why should I?"

The elder looked at him in shock.

"I," the nanny winced at a particularly nasty cut, "don't blame you."

Baekhyun caught Kyungsoo's trembling hand.

"You don't like fighting, do you?" he asked.

Kyungsoo chuckled, but stopped his wiping.

"I don't think anyone does, but-yes, I hate it," the man said, sitting down next to Baekhyun, "I've had some bad experiences with it."

The other nodded, but didn't inquire further. Kyungsoo rubbed his hands together as the question in his mind lingered on his tongue.

"Baekhyun, just...just what happened with Jongin-sshi?"