Early the next morning, Kangin awoke to find Leeteuk was already out of bed. “Leeteuk?” he called quietly.

          When his partner didn’t answer him, Kangin got out of bed and walked down the hall, looking for the man. Kangin peeked into Donghae’s room to find the teenager was still sleeping peacefully. He moved to Yesung’s room and found Yesung and Sungmin still asleep as well. Yesung was lying in his bed, and Sungmin was lying right next to his bed on the mattress he’d pushed into the room. Yesung’s hand was draped over the side and resting on top of Sungmin’s blonde hair. Kangin walked down to the end of the hall and looked in at Heechul. The raven haired boy wasn’t in his bed though. “Heechul?” he whispered.

          Kangin walked into Heechul’s room and the light. He walked around his room and searched for the teenager. Opening up the closet door, Kangin found the boy sitting in the back of the closet. “Heechul what are you doing in the closet?” Kangin wondered. When he didn’t answer, Kangin walked in and reached for the Heechul.

          “Leave me alone!” Heechul yelled as he threw a clothes hanger at Kangin. “Don’t touch me!”

          Kangin backed up and closed the closet door, looking and seeing Donghae standing in the doorway of the bedroom. “Heechul likes to be left alone; he doesn’t really like new people. It took him several months to open up to me, Yesung, and Sungmin,” Donghae informed.

          “Explain to me what the deal is with Yesung and Sungmin,” Kangin asked as he opened the door to Yesung’s room.

          Donghae looked in at his recently gained brothers and said “Sungmin has been attached to Yesung for years. Yesung was the first person who showed an interest in really trying to keep Sungmin safe, after learning what happened to Sungmin and his emotional trauma. I honestly think that Sungmin reminds Yesung of his sister in a way, but that’s just me.”

          “So where do you fit into this equation?” Kangin wondered as he closed the bedroom door.

          “I’m older than them so I pretty much would watch over them, and have acted like an older brother to all three of them. They look up to me,” Donghae explained.

          “So you kinda had to do some growing up quickly in order to keep an eye on them,” Kangin realized. Donghae nodded. “Haven’t you ever wondered about your family and where they are?”

          Donghae was quiet for a few minutes as he bit his lip. He then smiled and responded “I do wonder where they are, but I try not to think about it too hard. If they hadn’t given me up, I never would’ve gained three great friends and now brothers.”

          Kangin gripped Donghae’s shoulder before saying “Well, Leeteuk and I hope to provide you with a family. Speaking of which, have you seen Leeteuk?”

          “No sir I haven’t,” Donghae replied.

          Kangin walked downstairs and found Leeteuk sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. “Honey, are you okay?” Kangin asked as he walked over and sat down next to Leeteuk.

          “Yeah I’m okay, just doing some thinking,” Leeteuk replied as he rubbed his eyes.

          “About what?” Kangin wondered as he started to massage Leeteuk’s shoulders.

          “What if we aren’t good enough to take care of these boys?” Leeteuk questioned. “What if they turn eighteen and never want to see us again?”

          “You’re overthinking again. Just give it a little time; now let’s start making breakfast, the boys should be down any minute,” Kangin suggested before placing a kiss on Leeteuk’s cheek.

          The two stood up and began to cook breakfast, and soon after, Donghae, Yesung, and Sungmin entered. “Good morning boys,” Leeteuk said as he hugged Donghae and Yesung. He tried to hug Sungmin, but the blonde gripped Yesung’s shirt and hid behind him.

          “Sungmin doesn’t like to be touched by strangers,” Yesung stated before wrapping an arm around the shaking Korean teenager.

          Donghae turned to Sungmin and whispered “Minnie, you’ve got to get used to Mr. Leeteuk and Mr. Kangin, they’re going to take care of us now, and they won’t hurt you. Me, Yesung, and Heechul won’t let that happen okay?”

          Sungmin nodded slowly before letting go of Yesung and approached Leeteuk. He looked up at his new parent and stuck out his hand. Leeteuk took it and began to shake Sungmin’s hand. “Well, I guess we have to start somewhere don’t we?” Leeteuk asked with a smile. The blonde let go of Leeteuk’s hand and hid back behind Yesung. “Where’s Heechul at, is he not going to be eating with us?”

          Yesung and Donghae looked at each other before Donghae replied “Heechul is still uneasy about being here, and it may take him a few days to even be in the same room with you guys.”

          “I’ll go see if I can convince him to come down and eat with us,” Kangin said. “You boys can go ahead and start eating.”

          Leeteuk sat down with Donghae, Sungmin, and Yesung and began to eat breakfast. “So at the end of the month, I’m going to get you guys registered at the nearby high school so you can start this fall,” Leeteuk informed.

          “Really?” Donghae asked.

          “Yeah, you guys will like it, the one I’m planning on putting you guys in has the best ratings in the city, and a decent amount of kids there so you guys can make some new friends,” Leeteuk explained.

          “I don’t like people, they annoy me,” Yesung stated before sipping his juice. “And if you have to make us schedules, you better make sure Sungmin and I have the same classes or else he’ll have a panic attack.” Sungmin nodded in agreement.

          “I’m not going to high school,” Heechul stated as he and Kangin entered the kitchen and sat down at the dining table.

          “Heechul, high school could be good for you. You could make new friends and work on your trust issues,” Leeteuk said.

          “I don’t give a if it’s good for me, I don’t trust people, and I don’t need any new friends. I have these three right here, and that’s all I need,” Heechul replied as he looked at Donghae, Yesung, and Sungmin.

          “Like it or not you four will all be going to school next month,” Kangin responded.

          “Whatever,” Heechul muttered as he swished his juice around in the cup.

          “Son, we’re only doing what’s for your benefit,” Kangin promised as he lightly touched Heechul’s arm.

          Immediately Heechul took his knife and sliced Kangin’s arm. “Don’t ing touch me you bastard!” Heechul screamed.

          Donghae, Yesung, and Sungmin stood up and rushed over to Heechul as Donghae grabbed his arms and held him back. “Heechul calm down,” Donghae whispered as Yesung grabbed the knife from Heechul’s hand and slid it across the table.

          “I’m not your son, I’m nobody’s son. You don’t care about me, so stop pretending you give a damn!” Heechul said. He took a few deep breaths and muttered “Donghae, I’m fine.”

          The brunette let his brother go as Heechul stormed off to his room. “I’m so sorry Heechul did that,” Donghae apologized as Leeteuk looked at his partner’s arm wound.

          “Donghae, don’t worry about it,” Kangin said. “Why don’t you boys finish eating in the living room while we get this bandaged up, okay?”

          The three walked took their plates and walked into the living room. Kangin looked over at Leeteuk who was standing at the kitchen window with his arms crossed. “Leeteuk, it’s not that bad,” Kangin promised as he pressed a napkin against the wound.

          “Not that bad, sweetie that boy cut you. I can’t risk having Heechul harming you or our other boys,” Leeteuk replied as tears welled in his eyes. The man walked over and gripped the counter in frustration.

          Kangin stood up, walked over to Leeteuk, and wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist. He began to gently kiss the back of his neck before he whispered “We are the first parents to ever show Heechul love and respect. We have to be the most patient with him; he’s going to be the hardest to get to.”

          Leeteuk placed his hands on top of Kangin’s. “I just want everything to be good for them,” he muttered.

          “And it will be, once school starts, they will make new friends and open up more,” Kangin promised. “We can do this together; we’ve handled much worse than teenage boys.” Leeteuk smiled before bandaging up Kangin’s arm.

          Meanwhile, Heechul was upstairs in his room yelling and kicking the door and wall. When his tantrum was over, he lay on his bed and began to silently cry. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm, at the spot where Kangin had touched him. There on his forearm were old cigar burns, scars, and needle marks from living with his parents. Looking at the wounds brought back memories which made him cry harder.

          There was soon a soft knock at Heechul’s bedroom door. “Go away,” Heechul said.

          “It’s me Heechul,” Donghae quietly informed.

          After a moment of silence, Heechul replied “C’mon in.” Donghae walked inside and sat down next to Heechul on the bed. “I really ed up didn’t I?”

          “Why did you attack Kangin?” Donghae questioned.

          “You know I don’t like to be touched,” Heechul reminded.

          Heechul, they’re not going to hurt you,” Donghae said.

          “You don’t know that, what if they’re just doing all this for show? I allow another adult to hurt me again Donghae, I just won’t do it,” Heechul responded.

          Donghae placed his hand gently on Heechul’s shoulder. “I promise they will not hurt any of us. If Zhou Mi thought they would hurt us, he wouldn’t have let them adopt us,” he reminded.

          “Do you think they really give a damn about us?” Heechul wondered.

          “Yes, I do, just give them time and they might surprise you,” Donghae suggested.

          “You’ll be here with me right?” Heechul asked as he laid his head on Donghae’s shoulder.

          “Yeah, every step of the way,” Donghae promised as he wrapped an arm lightly around Heechul’s body.

          A month later, Leeteuk and Kangin were saying goodbye to their boys as they prepared for their first day of high school. Since Yesung, Sungmin, and Heechul were sixteen and Donghae was seventeen, the boys were going to be starting their junior year. “Now I’ll be back to get you guys at three, so have a good day,” Leeteuk said before hugging Donghae and Yesung, and touching Sungmin’s hand. Heechul just looked at Leeteuk, but allowed the man to rub his arm gently after receiving a nod from Donghae.

          “Bye boys, have fun,” Kangin called as the teenagers walked towards the high school.

          “Oh God I’m nervous for them,” Leeteuk muttered to his partner.

          “Honey they’ll be fine. Now I have to go to work, but I’ll see you tonight,” Kangin promised before he kissed Leeteuk’s lips, got into his car, and drove off. Leeteuk sighed before getting into his own car and driving back home.

          Donghae, Yesung, Sungmin, and Heechul walked around the high school, looking around at their new classmates. “This could be fun,” Donghae said to his brothers with a small smile.

          “Yeah, this could also be a one way ticket to Hell,” Heechul muttered. “I’ll see you guys later.” Heechul stuck his earbuds into his ears and began to walk down the hall.

          “Should we follow him?” Yesung asked.

          “No, he’ll come to class when he wants to. Remember it took him a few days to want to come to tutoring lessons back at the home,” Donghae reminded. “C’mon, let’s get to class.”

          The brothers walked into their first class and sat down at three of the desks. Sungmin scooted his desk closer to Yesung’s. “Sungmin, it’s okay, I’m right here, don’t be nervous,” Yesung quietly promised.

          The three watched other classmates walk into the room as well. One caught Donghae’s eye. He was tall, had gorgeous straight blonde hair, pretty brown eyes, a beautiful smile, and the body of an athlete. “Wow,” Donghae muttered under his breath.

          He watched as the blonde sat down at the desk next to him and looked over in his direction. “Hey what’s up?” the blonde asked, flashing his bright teeth at Donghae. “You new here; I’ve never seen you around here before.”

          “Yeah, just moved into town; I’m Donghae,” the teenager introduced.

          “I’m Eunhyuk, nice to meet you. Do you play sports?” the blonde asked.

          “A little, but I’ve never been good at them. Do you play?” Donghae wondered.

          “Oh yeah, I’m on the basketball team here, you should come to our games in the spring when we play, they’re pretty entertaining,” Eunhyuk offered.

          “Sweet, I’ll be sure to check it out,” Donghae promised.

          After the first class was over, Yesung realized that he and Sungmin had different classes next block. “I’ve got math and you have English, now can you last an hour and a half without me?” he asked his blonde brother. Sungmin hugged Yesung before nodding and slowly walking into his classroom. “I’ll be waiting right out here when class is done.”

          “Dude look, Eunhyuk gave me his cell phone number,” Donghae said to Yesung.

          “Cool, does he seem nice?” Yesung wondered.

          “Yeah, he’s kinda cute too,” Donghae added as he blushed.

          “Do you think Sungmin will be okay? I don’t want anyone hurting him,” Yesung asked.

          “He’ll be fine, he’s got to learn to do things on his own,” Donghae reminded. “C’mon, let’s get to class.”

          Yesung walked into his classroom and looked around for a spot before being bumped into from behind. Turning around, the black haired teen was going to glare at the person for hitting him, before he saw the most adorable little brunette Korean teenager brushing his bangs out of his eyes and saying “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

          Yesung continued to look at the boy even after sitting down. This guy reminded him of Sungmin in the face, and even had a cute little voice like Sungmin, and eyes that reminded him of his sister’s. “It’s okay, it was my fault for being in your way,” Yesung apologized as he sat down next to the boy. “I’m Yesung.”

          “My name’s Ryeowook,” the brunette replied with a small smile.

          As they worked on their math problems, Yesung remembered that this wasn’t his best subject. “Hey Ryeowook, do you know how to do this stuff?” he wondered.

          “Yeah, you just divide this by this, then find the square root of that, and finally multiply it by the original number,” Ryeowook explained.

          “Okay thanks,” Yesung replied.

          “If you want, I can help you with math if it’s a subject you struggle in,” Ryeowook offered.

          “Really?” Yesung said.

          “Yeah, I mean if you want me to I can, but I understand if you don’t want to be seen around me,” Ryeowook replied nervously.

          Yesung smirked before saying “It’s okay, I don’t get embarrassed easily.” He watched the brunette hide his lips and smile shyly.

          Meanwhile, Heechul was still walking around the hallways with his earbuds in his ears, and didn’t notice a tall brunette boy call out to him. Suddenly, Heechul found himself pushed up against the lockers and his earbuds ripped out of his head. “Hey , I’m talking to you,” the brunette stated.

          “Get your ing hands off me!” Heechul demanded as he shoved the boy back.

          “Who said you could walk around my hallway during class?” the brunette asked.

          “Who said it’s your hallway?” Heechul challenged.

          The brunette began to throw punches at Heechul, only the dark haired teenager dodged the punches and pushed the brunette down to the ground. “You little ,” the brunette growled as he wiped the blood off of his mouth.

          He stood up and shoved Heechul back against the lockers before knocking him down and kicking at the defenseless teenager. “Stop, stop!” someone shouted before the brunette ceased kicking Heechul.

          The dark haired boy looked up to find another teenager blocking the bully from him. Soon, the principal was walking down that hall and requested that all three boys report to his office. The third boy turned around and faced Heechul before offering his hand to help him up. Heechul hesitantly took it before standing up. “Why’d you stop him?” he asked.

          The sandy blonde haired boy grinned before replying “Because I don’t like bullies.” Then the two silently walked to the principal’s office.

          “Yes sir, I saw Kyuhyun kicking Heechul and decided to step in and stop him. As far as I know it wasn’t self-defense on Kyuhyun’s part,” the sandy blonde boy explained.

          “Kyuhyun, this is not the best way to start off the school year. Now I want you to stay away from Heechul until you can learn to behave yourself around him, understood?” the principal questioned.

          “Whatever,” Kyuhyun muttered before standing up. “Can I go now?”

          “Yes, Hankyung, you and Heechul may go as well,” the principal allowed.

          As soon as Heechul, Hankyung, and Kyuhyun walked out, Donghae, Yesung, and Sungmin rushed up. “Dude what happened?” Yesung questioned.

          “Nothing, just bull as normal,” Heechul muttered.

          As Donghae, Heechul, and Hankyung talked, Sungmin felt likes eyes were watching him. He turned to find Kyuhyun staring at him. The blonde was ripped away from Yesung and pressed against the wall by Kyuhyun as he flashed a devilish grin across his lips. “You’re new,” Kyuhyun whispered as he lightly touched Sungmin’s blonde hair. He leaned forward and whispered something.

          Sungmin gasped loudly before the other boys were attempting to pull Kyuhyun away from the blonde. “Kyuhyun, you don’t wanna risk getting in trouble twice on the same day,” Hankyung reminded.

          Kyuhyun sighed before looking at Sungmin. “I’ll see you later blondie,” he stated with a smile before walking away.

          “See ya guys,” Hankyung said before following Kyuhyun.

          Heechul watched Hankyung walk away, and couldn’t help but start to feel something inside that he’d never felt before. This boy had helped him escape his tormentor, and Heechul would forever be grateful to him for that.

          “Are you okay Minnie?” Yesung asked as he wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde. Sungmin nodded but felt himself shake as Kyuhyun’s face and smile ran through his thoughts.

          “What did he whisper to you?” Donghae questioned.

          “Did he try to hurt you?” Heechul demanded.

          Sungmin looked at his brothers and muttered “Cute.”

          “He thinks you’re cute?” Donghae asked. Sungmin nodded.

          “He better ing stay away from you if he knows what’s best for him,” Yesung stated as he Sungmin’s hair.

          “Yeah he’s a bully Sungmin, he’ll play with your mind,” Heechul added.

          “Guys, let’s not scare Sungmin anymore than he has to be. C’mon, Leeteuk should be picking us up soon,” Donghae said as the four walked outside and awaited Leeteuk’s arrival.