"Noona!" Sungjong called out frantically, tearing through the crowds of people of the night market to try and spot out Ji Ju hidden somewhere. "NOONA!" He could have sworn that she was just right behind him earlier. Damn, how'd he let her slip away so easily? His heart lurched in panic at both the thought of Ji Ju noona being in danger and partly because of the earful of a lecture he'd be receving from his hyungs when he passed on the bad news.

Speaking of his hyungs, his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket, Hoya flashing on the caller ID name. He groaned in displeasure of how he would have to face his hyung. "Hoya hyung..."

"Bad news." Hoya grunted over the phone. "SHINee beat us up pretty bad. They could be anywhere over the city by now. I'll bring everyone back to Ji Ju's apartment since it's the safest. You bring JuJu home yet?" Hoya heaved a stressed out sigh over the phone. "This night could not get any worse."

"About that...it just did..."

"Aish! Sungjong!"

"Kim, Ji Ju." Ji Ju breathed out. Her eyes bore into his own dark stoic orbs to see why this man was so interested in her.

Once her names reached his ears, his eyes widened in surprise, and he breathed in a sharp intake of air. Kim Ji Ju. After all these years.

"Aigoo~, JuJu-ah why are you crying?" Young Jonghyun asked in concern after he walked to his little sister crying at the front gate of her elementary school. Her head buried in her frail limbs, little hiccups of her cries made her look so fragile and sorrowful. He hugged her tightly and patted her head comfortingly.

"K-Kyuhyun from my class tripped me at recess, and I-I think I sprained my ankle. He and his friends were laughing at me and making fun of me for the rest of the day." Ji Ju whimpered onto her older brother's shoulder.

Hearing the cruel way his little sister was bullied, Jonghyun's jaw clenched tightly, and his eyebrows furrowed together in anger. He gently released himself from her embrace and asked her where the "lousy brat" was. She motioned towards the playground, unsure of why he asked such a question.

"Wait for oppa here ok? It won't take long."  He smiled angelically at her, to which she nodded her agreement. She watched him curiously stride calmly into the school even daring to peek behind the gates to see what her oppa was doing. She saw him thunder towards Kyuhyun and his friends, who were laughing loudly at her expense. When Jonghyun came though, he burst out into angered shouts and declarative threats. Kyuhyun's cronies fled away, obviously frightened on what a junior high student would do to them. But Kyuhyun, cocky as he was, remained his ground and insolently rolled his eyes. with an arrogant sneer.

Furious beyond the point of no return, he slapped the bully on the cheek, restraining himself a bit so he wouldn't completely deform the brat's face. Kyuhyun mumbled out fearful apologies amidst tears forming in the corners of his eyes and scrambled to run away.

Jonghyun returned to his sister with an innocent smile like nothing had happened and offered her a piggy back ride on his back since she couldn't walk with her injured ankle. He lifted her petite body easily while Ji Ju clung onto him.

A warmness clung to her, the feeling of being loved by her special older brother made her fill with happiness. "Oppa, you always protect me by rawring at everyone. Will you be with me forever?"

"Ne! Oppa will always be there. Always."

Quickly, Jonghyun hugged his long lost sister tightly. For the first time in many years, he felt the hope that he had kept in his heart had finally paid off. His beloved family member whom he had broke his promise to was finally in his presence again. Ji Ju stiffened in mixed emotions, as she wasn't expected a tough gangster to envelop her in a caring hug. He laughed out loud at her confused expression. "Don't tell me you already forgot your dino oppa?"

"Jonghyun oppa? Is this really you?" She finally returned the hug, tears streaming down her face out of happiness and joy. "I finally found you!"

"Oppa, when will appa and umma stop fighting?" Ji Ju asked Jonghyun, who were both hiding in his bedroom, trying to block out the sounds of their parents' violent arguement downstairs. His hands were protectively over his younger sister's ears, trying in vain to keep his innocent little sister out of the tangled adult mess.

"They will when they get tired." Jonghyun stated distractedly with a tired sigh. He was sick of his parents' fighting, of how they never even bothered to care for their children anymore. He had had marvelous dreams of running away and supporting his sister because that's all they needed for they always had each other.

But he was mature enough to know that he couldn't dare do that. He was just a young boy, he could never support his sister like an adult could. So Ji Ju and Jonghyun were stuck in his hellhole for a while.

"I'm sick and tired of this! We never get along any more! Divorce is the only answer!" Their umma screeched from downstairs.

"About time I got free from his hell! Might as well rescue my daughter from you too!" Jonghyun's heart hammered in his chest at what he was hearing. Were they getting seperated? He heard his appa thunder up the stairs and flung the door open. The cold demeanor their umma once had was diminished, as now she was begging her husband to leave her baby girl there.

But their appa wouldn't have it. He forcefully grabbed his daughter and pulled her up. Ji Ju immediately screamed and sprang out her hand for her brother. "OPPPAAA!" Jonghyun grasped the little hand enveloped in his bigger one and shouted for his father to let him keep his sister with her.

Jonghyun collapsed to the ground, his mother rushed to his side. He cupped his already bruising cheek and stared at his father in wonder. And his appa showed signs of shock that he had dared to punch his own son. Then he bolted, with Ji Ju behind him.

"OPPA! OPPA!"

"I'm sorry....I'm sorry..." Jonghyun whispered to her ear sorrowfully, over and over again. She patted him forgivingly on the back.

"It's ok. There was nothing to be done about it." She reasoned. They sat in front of an ice cream shop, Jonghyun had bought her her favorite flavor (mint chocolate chip) just like he had remembered.

"What are you doing here? Was appa going through bad times or something?" Jonghyun's eyes narrowed at the mention of his father. He never really quite had forgiven the man for hitting him and taking his beloved sister away.

"Well, we were living in a shabby apartment, but it was decent. Appa was taking multiple jobs to support the both of us. Then he just disappeared without a trace. I couldn't pay rent so I got kicked out. I wandered around the city until Dongwoo let me stay with him."

Jonghyun pursed his lips in disapproval at more things than one. "So appa abandoned you pretty much?"

Ji Ju bit her lips but nodded.

"Aish, I knew he was a good for nothing." Jonghyun rolled his eyes. Then turned to the other matter that he didn't like "And you're staying with that Infinite dino?"

"Yes..."

"That's not safe! A guy like him could do take advantage of you!" He rubbed his temples to calm down.

"...but Dongwoo is a good guy." She quietly said. Jonghyun looked at her in surprise at her talking back, but saw how adamant she was about Dongwoo.

"I guess I should give him credit for taking of you since then." Jonghyun admitted. "And since you said he didn't do anything weird to you, that's good. Plus he was brave, or stupid, enough to go against me so that deserves some points."

"See!" Ji Ju beamed in delight that her brother was growing on Dongwoo.

"But that doesn't mean I approve that he's the guy you're living with." Jonghyun warned. "I would let you stay at my place, but I think my reputation would place you as a target for other gangs, so I'll have to deal with you living with Dongwoo for a bit."

"You never seemed the type to be in a gang..." Ji Ju observed.

Jonghyun chuckled. "That's the only way to survive in a city like this. Be tough or others will eat you up. Maybe I could have you move in with umma?"

"How is she doing?"

"I managed to work for some money over the years and bought her a house in a respectable, safe community a few miles from here. Over there you would be safer..."

"No!" Ji Ju protested. "I want to stay with you oppa!"

Jonghyun raised his eyebrow. "You sure? My crowd isn't the type you should be around."

"Didn't you promise you'd be around forever?" Ji Ju pouted.

Jonghyun smirked, knowing he was caught in his own game. "I did promise that, didn't I?"

"Where's Ji Ju?" Dongwoo had awoken after being knocked out, and Sungjong was currently helping him walk back to the apartment, along with Infinite following behind them.

Sungjong winced. "I don't know."

Dongwoo swerved to stare at Infinite's maknae. "What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I'm sorry, hyung. I lost her at the night market. I looked around, but she was gone." Sungjong bit his lip at his failure looming over him.

Dongwoo groaned. His nightmare had just come true. SHINee could have gotten to her, or any other vicious gang could have found her by now. The image of her shaking in fear, calling out for help as some danger came closer and closer to her, pissed him off.

"I want some ice cream right now." Sungyeol declared, trying ot lighten up the mood.

"Bwoh?! How can you even think of having ice cream right now?" Sunggyu scolded.

"Uh...hyung?" L tried to cut in.

"Not now L, Sungyeol needs a lecture right now!"

"Hyung."

"Sungyeol-ah, we're all beaten up my SHINee badly and what do you think about? Ice cream? Put your jokes aside, this is a serious matter!"

"Hyung!"

"SHINee thinks now that they can trample all over us! We need to train better so this humilating defeat can never happen again!"

"HYUNG!"

"Aish! What L?"

"Isn't that JuJu eating ice cream with SHINee's Jonghyun?" L pointed to the ice cream shop where Jonghyun and Ji Ju were talking like long lost friends, with bright smiles on their faces.

Dongwoo's stumbled over and interrupted the heart-warming moment. He stammered while pointing to his previous opponent. "Y-Y-You?"

Jonghyun smirked. "Yo~"