Joonmyeon doesn't know how many moments have passed, but when his routine alarm rings for him to get up, he's momentarily glad that he had the foresight to get the week off.

"We should get Jongin to that psychologist," the woman next to him clears , "he's going to wake up soon."

The ten year old is still slumbering on the couch, but Joonmyeon agrees and silently lifts him into his arms.

"Stay here and watch over Jongdae, Ms. Park-"

"Chorong." she interrupts swiftly.

"Chorong," her companion corrects himself, "Minseok and I can go to Dr. Zhang with Jongin. He's in the psych department at this hospital, anyways."

The eldest of the Kim sons takes his youngest brother into his arms, shifting him into a comfortable piggy back, and follows his uncle's instructions. His footsteps are heavy and the weary curve of his lips brings pain to his guardian's heart, who takes Jongin from him silently. Minseok walks beside him slowly, tired from the lack of sleep and this whole experience in general.

"Uncle?" he asks, "what...what are we going to do about school? Since we have to live with you now, we have to move all the way to Seoul, don't we?"

His expression is solemn and again, Joonmyeon is hit with the surprise that yes, Minseok is just a high school sophomore. Where as the adults have their hands full with custody battles and inheritance issues, Minseok and his brothers are wracking their minds over what school to attend.

"Uncle?"

"What? Um...yeah," the man coughs, coming back out of his thoughts, "you'll have to move in with me in my apartment in Seoul. Your current house will be sold and the money is going into yours and your brothers' college funds. Don't worry about schooling. Seoul has the best education system in Asia. You'll do well."

There a moment of silence before Minseok looks up from his hands.

"We can't stay, can we?" he whispers quietly and he looks so utterly young at that moment.

Joonmyeon lets out a sigh and turns to ruffle the younger's black bangs for a moment.

"Are you worried about making friends, kid?" he questions gently.

A nod is all he gets as response and by this time, they've already arrived at the psychiatry ward. The uncle nudges Minseok jokingly with his shoulder.

"Don't be. You're a bright, mature boy. With your mom's brains and your dad's sport skills, you'll be a star in no time," Joonmyeon chuckles slightly before moving in to whisper, "I'll let you in on a secret, Minseok. The men of the Kim family? We never have problems with friends."

'Our problems lie with family' he adds in his mind, but the short pep talk seems to have calmed the teen somewhat. Minseok stops fidgeting and he goes back to the neutral, contemplating expression that he seems to have mastered.

Right on time, Dr. Zhang Yixing pokes his head out the door to his office and smiles at the sight of the family, ushering them in.

"You must be Kim Joonmyeon. I'm Dr. Zhang Yixing." he introduces as he fumbles around for his glasses before realizing that they were perched on his head.

Joonmyeon shares an incredulous look with his eldest nephew when Jongin grumbles unintelligibly from his back.

"Nice to meet you," the professor responds as he sets the young boy down on a nearby couch, "I trust you heard from Minah about our situation?"

The therapist gives a motion of agreement before shifting to examine the sleeping Jongin. Minseok sits down on one of the chairs, looking as awkward and out of place as his uncle feels.

"Well, he is most definitely having a juvenile posttrauma response. Now tell me exactly-how and when did he start to...attack? What triggered him?" the doctor interrogates and Joonmyeon steps back to give his nephew the chance to speak.

"He," Minseok takes a deep breath, tensing at the memory, "my other brother and I were awake, talking about what would happen to us now that..."

His voice cracks and his gaze moves down, slightly ashamed at the show of weakness. His uncle doesn't reach out. He knows that to comfort him will hurt the boy's pride.

"Now that our parents were gone," he finishes with some difficulty, "and Jongin woke up. He started to complain that he was hungry and he was so loud and I was scared that he'd wake up Uncle, so I snapped at him. Jongin started to shout at me about how Mom would yell at me for being mean or something like that. He scream about how it wasn't fair that they'd left him all alone and how he'd never be called 'baby' or 'our little Jonginnie' and...and..."

Red cresents are littered on his palms where his fingernails have pressed too hard, but not hard enough to draw blood.

"Let it out, Minseok. Once you let it all out, you'll feel much better." the psychiatrist murmurs with eyes trained on the teen's shaking form.

The boy isn't crying. His shoulders quake like an earthquake has passed through, but not a single tear escapes him. No-he's overwhelmed. He feels like he's drowning in the complexity of all the events that are going on and in the worries that flood his mind. He's suffocating.

"I didn't know what to do, so I shut down. I looked away and ignored everything that was going on, and then Jongin jumped on me. He started to claw at me and Jongdae pushed me away to shield me, so he received most of the injury. That's when Uncle Joonmyeon woke up."

Those short four sentences feel like heaven on Minseok's tongue and all he can think is 'he's right' as he stares at his hands. It feels like two tons of weights have been lifted up his shoulders and a breath of air swells in his lungs refreshingly.

"Better?" Dr. Zhang asks, but he knows the answer already.

Minseok looks up briefly before settling more comfortably in his chair, a small quirk to his lips.

"...Yeah."

His uncle gives him a relieved look just as Jongin stirs in his fetal position. The two relatives tense, poised to restrain him, but Dr. Zhang shakes his head.

"Nothing like that will happen again if we just give him the attention he seeks. Jongin's not used to being alone. He's the youngest and therefore, most doted upon. To lose his parents so suddenly is traumatic enough, to feel utterly solitary is worse," he advises, "as long as no one ignores him, Jongin won't have another episode. Try transitioning him into being more independent. He'll get the hang of it, but everyone'll have to ease him into it."

Joonmyeon nods as he scoops the elementary schooler into his arms. The child mumbles into the man's chest, eyes fluttering open, and at that moment, countless emotions flow through his guardian's mind. Worry, fear, adoration, hope, and others impossible to differentiate.

"Uncle?" Jongin rasps and Joonmyeon's heart lurches.

His fingers weave through the boy's dark locks, smoothing them and ruffling them at the same time. In the back of his mind, the man vaguely remembers the one person that would touch him so affectionately and yet so timidly: his brother, back when he was young and he hadn't enough time to make mistakes and disappoint anyone.

"Where are we?"

Dr. Zhang crouches next to his young patient with a gentle smile and he looks exactly like the children-oriented doctor he is.

"I'm a friend of your uncle's, Jongin," he fibs slightly, "and this is my office. Do you remember anything from earlier?"

He hesitates before turning toward his eldest brother, wincing when he sees the bruise on his cheek. Jongin nods silently; he remembers everything, but can't reason why he acted as he did.

"Can you tell me anything about what happened?"

Small fingers grip onto Joonmyeon's grey button up and the boy glares at the ground in his nonverbal refusal to answer. Minseok gives him a glance before shaking his head. It isn't in annoyance, nor in anything else malicious. The gesture is just tired, just like the dim light in his eyes.

"I want to go home." the youngest sniffles and his uncle give him a relenting smile. They've all had enough and he can't blame any of the kids if they're tired of all this.

Without even looking at Dr. Zhang, Joonmyeon lifts Jongin up, draping his small, padded jacket over the boy's hunched shoulders. He pats his head as thin arms are pushed through sleeves and finally looks up at the therapist, who merely shrugs.

"Contact me for a later date. I doubt we can continue at this time." the doctor instructs, tapping the business card in his hand as he slips it into Joonmyeon's.

Then, the man turns to Jongin with the same friendly grin as before.

"See you whenever, little guy," he chuckles and then turns to Minseok, extending his arm to shake the teen's hand, "remember what I said."

As the trio step out of the office, the air around them is different. It's not the increased bustle of the hospital, which is now awake and ready for the day. It's an increasing anticipation of what will come. So many doors have opened for them today and frankly, none of them are sure where they want them to lead.