((So, I decided to make this a chapter fic. Just cuz))

"Hyung, what do you want to be when you grow up?" a little boy asked, his tan skin glistening in the sunlight.

11 year old Kyungsoo shrugged as he laid down on the grass.

"I don't know...Maybe a cop?" he suggested, "I've always thought that being a teacher would be cool."

Jongin flashed a toothy grin and plopped down next to the other. He rested his head on Kyungsoo's stomach, raising his hand to trace the figures in the sky.

"I want to be a singer! Won't I be an amazing singer, hyung?"

Chuckling, the elder looked up at the clear sky above them.

"You'd be wonderful."

~

A frustrated shout filled the Lee household.

"Mom! Jongin took my brochures AGAIN!" 14 year old Kyungsoo shrieked, racing up the stairs to his younger brother's room to snatch the pamplets away from him.

Jinri sighed, crossing her arms and staring at her youngest son with disappointment.

"Jongin, honey, what did I say about taking your brother's things?" she scolded.

The boy looked down at his shoes, fiddling with his hands nervously. He refused to look up, even at the fuming Kyungsoo.

"It's wrong, and-" Jongin took a deep breath, calming his shaky voice, "and it's immature. But Mom-"

"No buts!"

"Hyung can't go! I don't want him to leave! I don't want hyung to achieve his dreams if it means he'll leave me!"

Kyungsoo pushed his brother hard, making the boy stumble and fall into his desk. He pounced on him and attacked him ferociously with his small fists. Jinri shouted as she tore him away from Jongin. Tears flowed down the younger's face as he kept sobbing that his brother was abandoning him.

"You're so selfish! Grow up!" Kyungsoo screamed, "You can't expect to be coddled and spoiled your entire life! When Mom and Dad die, you need to take care of yourself! You're 11, not 1!"

Slamming the door behind him, he raced out of the house. His mother quickly followed. The 6th grader merely slumped down on the floor and bit his lip to stop the tears. Kyungsoo and Jongin's father stood at the door of the bedroom silently.

"Hey kiddo," he said softly, "I know you didn't mean any harm."

The child kept quiet and looked down.

"I don't want hyung to leave."

"Well, it's a great thing that he got scounted to such a great boarding school...Don't you want Kyungsoo to be happy?"

Jongin looked away.

"But if hyung goes away," he muttered, "I'll miss him."

Taemin hugged his son in his arms, wiping away his tears.

"So will I, Jongin, but I want Kyungsoo to follow his dreams. So I'm going to endure it for a bit." the father sighed.

A little flicker of hope flashed across the boy's face as he nodded slowly.

"So if I let hyung leave, will he come back?"

"Of course."

~

There used to be a time when Kyungsoo like Jongin and his innocent adoration, but now it was so...burdensome. The all-trusting, loving way that the younger looked at him was unsettling. There was no one that Jongin looked up to more than his hyung and it was obvious to all.

The problem was, Kyungsoo was scared. He was scared that one day, he'll look at Jongin and see only disappointment and the little boy's lips would form a frown.

Kyungsoo didn't want to fail Jongin's expectation of a perfect brother and that pressure was weighing down on him.

Looking at his plane ticket, the teen sighed. If this was how he was going to solve his problems, by running away, he was going to do it.

"Kyungsoo," Taemin called, reaching for the large suitcase on the boy's bed, "Are you ready?"

His son looked at him with an expression that the man hadn't seen in years-regret.

"Dad, will you guys be okay here without me?"

He paused for a moment before asking his real question.

"Will Jongin be okay?"

Taemin opened his mouth, but nothing came out. They both knew the answer.

"I don't know, baby. I don't know."

~

19 year old Kyungsoo rushed inside the hospital, eyes wide with fright and hand clutching his cell phone. He'd recieved a call earlier that his family had been involved in a car accident. He hadn't seen his parents in months and Kyungsoo had refused to meet Jongin whenever he came home. The two hadn't met in over 4 years.

"Are you the Lee family's guardian?" a nurse asked him.

Her tell-tale expression was regretful and pitying. The History Education major nodded silently.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lee," the woman said quietly, "We tried our best, but...Your parents didn't survive the crash."

Kyungsoo's heart wasn't broken. It was shattered into tiny pieces. He felt like crying and laughing at the same time because this felt like some nasty joke that God was playing on him.

"W-What about Jongin?" he asked, in a deep breath, "What about my brother?"

The nurse hesitated.

"He managed to escape any serious damage. Unfortunately, he seems to have developed a temporary amnesia. Patient Lee Jongin can't remember anything after his 11th birthday."