***YURI***

A month had passed since we three spoke.

On the bright side, we have slowly been overcoming our awkward situation. In fact, I was more than happy to have a bed to myself. Minho usually hogged the covers, especially in autumn. Other than our new lack of skinship, nothing major had changed. Sooyoung and Yoogeun barely noticed a difference, so I thought we made the right choice. The divorce process was still taking a while to complete, but at least it has started. In a couple of months, it would be complete.

We did still have some awkward conversation, though, since Soo and Yoo seemed to love Kibum so much.

One night at dinner, Yoogeun asked us, "Are we going to Seoul Land this summer?"

Seoul Land is an amusement park that Yoogeun has been begging us to go to. He's turning nine years old soon, and he's now tall enough to go on some of the rides (NOT the really crazy ones though, thank God).

Minho replied, "Yoogeun-ah, we know you really want to go this time, but Sooyoung's still really young. She won't be able to ride with us."

"Then she can just eat food while I ride! Come on! You said we would go this time!"

"Sweetie, we didn't make any promises. And besides, one of us would have to stay back with Sooyoung while the other takes you on the rides. Both appa and I want to have fun."

"Then let's have Key ahjussi come with us!" I widened my eyes and Minho nearly choked on his drink.

"Key ahjussi!?" Minho coughed to restore his breath. "I-I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why appa!?"

He looked at me and then at his plate. "H-He hates amusement park rides."

"Appa that's perfect! He can take care of Sooyoung while we all go on the rides!"

Both Minho and I cackled. I laughed at the thought of such a modest, shy young man going crazy on the rides.

"So can we go!?"

Minho looked at me with uncertainty, so I replied, "We can ask Key ahjussi if he's interested."

Minho sighed in apparent relief and ate the rest of his dinner with ease.

I especially appreciated Minho's efforts to see Kibum while I was not present. He usually only came over when Minho and I were both too busy to babysit Soo and Yoo. Minho's filming another drama right now, so he had not gone out with Kibum too often, but the few dates they did have took place outside of the house. As a result, I rarely saw Kibum. A couple of times, I answered the door and he awkwardly greeted me with an adorable, timid smile. In all honesty, I felt bad for him. I kinda wished he wasn't so awkward around me. I wanted to get to know him a bit more, since he seemed amiable and approachable. I figured that if I was going to live with my soon-to-be ex-husband for now, I should at least become comfortable with Kibum. To my surprise, I got my chance earlier than expected.

He showed up one day when Minho was out to take Sooyoung to the doctor.

"Oh, hi Kibum-ssi. Minho's not here. He out with Sooyoung."

"That's alright, Yuri-ssi. I actually came here to see you." I froze, stunned at his response. I muttered a quiet "oh" of acknowledgement. "May I come in?"

I nodded and led him to the living room. He sat down on the couch quietly while I got him water and sat down on the other end. 

"You look nice today, Yuri-ssi."

"Oh, uh, thank you." I nodded, and silence followed. Kibum looked down at his knees.

"Uh, anyway, I came because I wanted to see you by myself. I-I thought that we should be on comfortable terms since... well, you know."

Surprised that he had taken the initiative and talked straightforwardly, I nodded affirmatively. "I agree. Especially since it seems that our- I mean my kids will see all three of us from now on, we should be on good terms."

"Yea. Good." We both nodded and then looked away, silence taking over for a bit. I noticed Kibum fiddling with his fingers on his knees. After some quiet minutes, he turned his whole body to face me and looked directly at me. "I don't know exactly how to say this... but I came because I don't want there to be any misunderstanding or bitterness between us. I understand if I appear to be some stranger just barging in-"

"Oh no! No, I don't think of you like that. Not at all! You're not a stranger barging in! You're Minho's boyfriend. And Sooyoung and Yoogeun talk about you all the time."

"And it doesn't bother you?"

I hesitated, but then shook my head. "I'm still getting used to it, but it does not bother me. You were here to care for them when I wasn't, and you don't seem to be a bad person. I can't criticize you for any of that. In fact, I took time off so I could get used to it. Initially, I thought Minho was just trying to rekindle some old relationship because he was getting tired of me. Like, you just happened to be in Seoul now and he just thought 'Why not' or something out of sheer boredom. But now, I know that you two were the victims of unfair circumstances. I could not possibly be mad at either of you for that."

He sighed, suddenly appearing more relieved. He grabbed my hands, almost teary-eyed. "Thank you so much for understanding! You have no idea how much I've been meaning to explain that!" I shyly smiled and he looked back at our hands, his smile dropping. He quickly let go of my hands. "S-Sorry."

"No, don't be. I'm glad we cleared this up. I don't want there to be any misunderstanding between us." I sat up. "Listen, if there's anything you want to know, you can just ask. I'd be more than happy to clear anything up."

He timidly smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. And you can ask me, too, if there's something you're curious about."

"Well, there is something I've been wondering: you're name is 'Kibum' right?"

"That's right."

"So why do Yoogeun and Sooyoung call you 'Key' ahjussi instead of 'Kibum' ahjussi?"

He seemed confused at first, but then he chuckled. "'Key' is one of my nicknames. My closest friend called me that when we were kids because I liked to solve and 'unlock' things like a key."

I chuckled. "Really? Oh, that's such a cute name! Key-goon... I think I'll call you that from now on."

"Oh stop, Yuri-ssi~" He blushed. "While we're here clarifying things, I'd like to ask something: what cleanser do you use?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

"Facial cleanser. Or moisturizer? Whatever. I know I asked unexpectedly, but I can't stop staring at your face because of how perfect your skin is."

I laughed in surprise at his bluntness. "Well, I regularly do yoga and drink water to take care of my skin. But forget about me, look at you! I can't see a single pore on your face!"

"I also do all I can to keep my skin intact, but my skin's nothing compared to yours!"

"Wait, you also do skin care?"

He nodded earnestly, and the most outrageous but fabulous idea popped into mind.

***MINHO***

"Taemin, thanks again for helping out."

He sat back in the passenger's seat while Sooyoung kicked it from behind. 

"It's the least I can do since you're so busy now."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because I'm working with Park Shin Hye?"

He smiled sheepishly. "All I ask for is an autograph."

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the road. "I told you when I remember-"

"Which you won't, just to spite me."

I chuckled. "See, you do learn."

He slumped in his seat. "Anyway, so Yuri's letting you date Key behind her back?"

"Well, it's not behind her back since she knows. But yeah. She's letting me see him. I told you that we're divorcing anyway."

"You're divorcing but you'll still be living together?"

"Sounds crazy, right? I just don't want to put our kids in a split environment. They're too young to think about stuff like this."

"What did your parents say to all this?"

I paused before admitting, "We didn't tell our parents yet."

"You didn't? Why?"

"Taemin, you know how my dad would respond. Our parents would not agree to our divorce. I can't even imagine how they'd react if they found out why."

Taemin nodded, remembering what went down when he told my dad about Key. "Right... wouldn't they find out when they visit?"

I pulled onto the driveway and parked, dreading the news that we had just gotten. I sighed heavily. "We still live in the same house. There's no way they should find out."

Taemin carried Sooyoung out of the car and followed me inside. We strolled to the living room, where Yoogeun was watching Pokémon on TV.

"Yoogeun-ah, we're home."

"Hi appa! Hi Taemin ahjussi!"

"Pokémon!" Sooyoung spontaneously shouted, waving her arms in the air. Taemin put her down so she could run to the sofa and watch Pokemon with Yoogeun.

"Yoogeun-ah, what did I tell you about watching too much TV?"

"It's okay, appa. Umma let me watch it for being a good boy today."

Chuckling, I went over to rub his little head. "Alright, I'll let you continue watching, but don't forget about Sooyoung."

"No worries, appa!" He wrapped his arms lovingly around Sooyoung and placed her on his lap, which made both me and Taemin smile. His eyes returned to the TV.

"I'm trusting you. Where's umma?"

"She's upstairs in her room with Key ahjussi."

"Good boy, thanks." Taemin and I sauntered toward the stairs but then halted. I turned my head back toward Yoogeun. "She's with who!?"

***YURI***

 "Yah! Don't pick at it!" I snapped, stopping Key-goon's hand from touching his face mask. "Just wait a few more minutes, then you can take it off. And stay still! This polish is hard to get off of skin."

He fixed his posture on my bed and I continued painting his toenails navy blue. He pouted and crossed his arms. "It feels so tight though. Are you sure it's supposed to work like this?"

"It's supposed to do that. It absorbs all the excess oils and dirt in your skin."

"Won't you break out from them? I did a lot. That's why I stopped using masks."

"You used the wrong masks. The best ones feel tightening, but don't cause acne. Trust me, you'll see the difference once you take it off." Once I finished his left foot, I looked at the clock. "It's time!" 

We slowly peeled off our face masks and sighed at the satisfying feeling of removing them. We tossed them into the trashcan beside my bed and wiped our faces with warm, moist towels that I had with me. 

Key-goon glided his fingers all over his face and hung his mouth agape.

"You like?"

"Oh my GOD Yuri-ssi! What is this madness!?"

I cackled. "Glad you like it. It's good to do it regularly once a week. Now for the last time, hold still! I have to apply the top coat!"

After finishing with his left foot, I looked through the pile of nail polish bottles on my bed. "Which one should we do now?"

"How about the hot pink? We could match." He motioned to my right foot, which he painted hot pink before I started painting his.

"But your left foot is dark blue. Pink wouldn't compliment it well. You painted mine vampire red and hot pink. I want to pick a color that suits blue."

"Like a sky blue? Or a baby blue?"

I frowned. "I don't have any of those colors."

He scoured through the pile and pulled out a small bottle. "How about purple? Purple practically goes with everything."

"Perfect!" Key settled himself on the towel on my bed and I started from his pinkie toe. 

"I still can't believe you convinced me to do this."

"And I'm glad I did. It's the best thing to do while you wait for your mask to set. And it's perfect for bonding. Honestly, if you hadn't come over, I never would have found a guy who liked skin care."

"And I would not have found out about that mask! Where did you get that from again?"

"From an overseas brand. It's a bit pricey but totally worth it."

"I need that mask."

I chuckled. "I'll get you one for your birthday. When is it?"

"September 23rd. I'm turning 33."

"33? Oh, you're the same age as Minho."

"Yea." He raised an eyebrow. "And you're not...?"

I shook my head. "I'm two years older. Born 5 December, 1989."

He nodded. "Oh, your birthdays are so close... wait, two years?! You're my noona!" He gasped and then muttered to himself, "That bastard left that part out." 

I giggled. "He probably forgot. I told him not to call me noona. It makes me feel like an elder. You don't have to call me noona."

"But I should! I was rude to you from the moment we met!"

"That's alright. I'm fine with being called by my name."

"I know that now. I just wish he had told me."

"He's forgetful at times. You should know that."

"Are you kidding? On one of our anniversaries-" He abruptly stopped himself. "Sorry."

"No, go ahead. I want to know what you were about to say."

He nodded. "On one of our couple anniversaries, he said that he had cake and dinner ready for me. I had high hopes, as expected. But he forgot to tell me it was all store-bought cake and food."

I gasped. "No way! But that doesn't come anywhere close to my experience. On my birthday, he told me that we were gonna have a nice family dinner. What he didn't tell me was that he invited my family over. The moment I entered the dining room, I saw my parents staring me down."

He raised his eyebrows and dropped his jaws. "Oh ..."

I nodded. "My reaction exactly."

He cackled. "That's crazy! He may hide things, but you gotta love him."

"Agreed. You can't hate him." I looked toward the door to my room. "Oh, look who's here!"

***MINHO***

We walked into Yuri's room and found her and Key... laughing, and smiling. 

Yuri caught my eye and pointed. "Oh, look who's here!" Key turned around to see me, and they both cackled. The sight petrified me inside. Seeing my current boyfriend and soon-to-be ex-wife laughing and smiling when they weren't even talking just a day earlier... I mean, I was happy that they were getting along, but so soon... and knowing that they must have been talking about me...

"Ya babo~" Key called. "Come here." He motioned for me with his hand to sit with them.

I hesitantly sat down next to Key on the bed and processed more of the scene. Yuri and Key were sitting on a towel that covered the whole bed. To one side was Yuri's nail polish collection. To the other side was a brush and a jar of that cream she uses for facials. Both of them had their toenails painted, one color for each foot: Yuri had a bright pink on her left foot and a blood red on her right; Key's left was painted a really dark blue, and Yuri was finishing applying some clear coat on Key's right foot, which was now purple.

"Hi. I didn't expect you to be here."

"Yea, neither did we." Key chimed, causing both him and Yuri to laugh more. Key giddily wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. "You babo, why didn't you tell me Yuri-ssi was your noona?"

"I-I didn't?"

"Awww Key-goon-ya!" Key-goon? "He's getting all fidgety because he forgot!" They laughed some more. I tried to chuckle it off.

"Looks like you two are getting along well..."

"I know right!?" Yuri exclaimed. "We should have our own nights out or something. And leave Minho home with the kids!"

"I don't know, Yuri-ssi. Minho has worked too hard lately to take care of them." She nodded in agreement as Key pressed his forehead against my right temple and nuzzled my cheek. "He's too busy being a good father that he doesn't get a break."

"Then let's have us three go out and Taemin take care of them!" She gasped in excitement as she looked past our shoulders. "Oh, hi Taemin! I didn't realize you were here!" She waved, and Key and I turned around to Taemin, who was quietly standing in the doorway. I knew he was there, waiting to enter the conversation, but Key had not known, and stared at him in surprise. "Taeminah! Let's do your nails! Come sit here! Come on!" She patted the seat next to her, and Taemin broke eye contact with Key to sit next to her.

"Ahh wae~ Noona~ nails aren't really my thing."

"Ya." Key interjected. "How come he has to call you 'noona'?"

"He's the exception." Yuri and Key laughed yet again while Taemin and I kept quiet. "So, what should we do with his nails? Huh? Key-goon?"

Suddenly, the room went silent. Taemin and Key toggled between staring at each other and avoiding each other's gaze, while Yuri and I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Yah, why is it suddenly so quiet?" Yuri curiously inquired. "Why is the air so tense? Did I miss something? Did something bad happen between any of you?"

Alarmed, Taemin and Key answered at the same time:

"It's not that-"

"Nothing hap-"

...and then ceased, so I interjected,
"We all went to Genie together. Key hasn't seen Taemin in a while. That's all."

"Ohhhh. Did Taemin know about you two?"

We all looked at Taemin, who hesitated to reply, "You could say that..."

"I told Taemin later on about us." I added, and Yuri nodded in understanding. Sure, it wasn't the whole truth, but I felt it unnecessary to divulge such an ugly event from our past. Taemin had changed drastically from the ignorant, closed-minded rat he was back then, and the last thing I wanted to do was bring up hard feelings and make Yuri turn on him unnecessarily.

"Oh, I see. Hmmm..." She picked up a green bottle. "Should we do green?"

Taemin pouted when he saw the color, which made us laugh.

"Noona~ why are you doing this to me?"

"Because painting nails are fun! Key-goon, what do you think?"

With slight hesitation, Key shook his head and picked up a black bottle. "I think black suits him better."

"You're right. I'm going for it. And for the other hand-"

"I think black will be fine." Taemin added in a quiet, modest voice with a soft smile.

Yuri happily proceeded. Watching Taemin squirm under her firm grip brought a smile to our faces. I looked over at Key and planted a peck on his temple. The news I received two hours ago still stung me, so I held Key close to me in hopes of alleviating my stress.

"So, what were you two laughing at when we came here?"

"Just talking about how silly and forgetful you can be." Yuri sang.

"But don't worry." Key cutely poutedand talked in a child-like voice. "We both talked about how much we love you and cherish you and treasure you and wish a break for you." He nuzzled my ear. Noticing that I was not responding, he peeked up at me. "What's wrong, baby?"

I rested my head against his. "Just got some news earlier that really put my mood down."

"News?"

I lifted my head and looked at Yuri, who was blowing on Taemin's left hand to dry the nail polish. "Can you guess who's coming over next weekend?"

Her smile dropped as she turned to face me. "Don't tell me..." I nodded sadly. She scoffed. "Are you kidding me!?"

I shook my head. "My dad called me two hours ago."

She widened her eyes. "Two hours!? And he just thinks he can call and say 'hey, I'm coming over next week whether you like it or not'? But why so soon!?"

"It's not just him. It's your parents, too."

"What!? Son of a b-" Taemin swiftly covered with his free hand, signaling out the door to remind her that our kids were downstairs. She nodded when she understood, and Taemin slowly removed his hand. She sighed heavily. "Why now of all times!? Why so soon after we arrange this?"

"Who knows? I don't even want to know my dad's intentions."

"Wait, so if both of our parents are coming over..." She thought for a second and then closed her eyes in an annoyed expression. "...then we have to crash on the sofa."

I nodded. Key looked back and forth between me and Yuri and released my beck from his hold. "Sorry to interject, but how does them coming over translate into you sleeping on the sofa?"

Yuri clarified, "This room, where I sleep now, was a guest room. Ironically, our parents, Minho's especially, sleep on our bed whenever they come over, and so Minho and I slept here. But with both of our parents coming over, one of them will insist on sleeping in Minho's room. The other set will sleep in this room because they don't like sleeping on sofa beds. In the end, Minho and I will have to sleep on the sofa."

Key nodded slightly in acknowledgement and looked down. Yuri covered , realizing what she had just said, and looked at Taemin. I held one of Key's hands tenderly and rested my head against his. "She didn't mean it like that. It's nothing serious, Key."

"Yea, I know...I'm not worried about the bed issue at all. Really, I'm not. I trust you guys. It's just... I just thought that we could actually make this work, but with your parents coming over, if they find out..."

Yuri reached over and rubbed his upper arm. "We can make this work, Key-goon." He cracked a small smile when she called him 'Key-goon'. "And we will." She looked over at me. "If they're coming over, we have to make sure they don't find out about our agreement."

"Or Key. Right now, my father does not know that he's in Korea. He cannot know about him at all."

Taemin added, "Don't forget about Yoogeun and Sooyoung. You have to make sure that they don't bring him up at all."

We all widened our eyes, realizing that he was right. A piece of me broke at the thought of creating such an elaborate plan to basically hide Key from our families. 

"How? We just tell them not to bring him up? To act as if he doesn't exist? How would we be able to explain that to them?"

Yuri's expression drooped. "Minho, what other choice do we have? As much as it hurts me to do such a thing to them, we can't risk them revealing anything about Key-goon to them."

"Unless they're not around..." Taemin muttered. We all looked at him, since both he and Key had been quiet for most of the conversation.

"Huh?" Yuri asked.

"Minho, what if your kids went away while your parents came over?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"I don't know, but what if I took them somewhere while your parents were here? That way you wouldn't have to lie to them."

Yuri placed a finger on her hand. "I never thought of that... our parents aren't that close with them anyway. But they might ask..."

"You could just say that they're spending time with me. Key and I could take them to the arcade, park, or whatever for the night."

Key raised his eyebrows at the mention of his name.

I thought about the idea. "We could do that, but I don't know how long they're going to be over here. What do you say, Yuri-ssi?"

"As crazy as it sounds, I'd much rather do that than lie to them and tell them to lie to our parents."

"Me too. Key, what do you say?"

He hesitated but complied. "Sure. Taemin and I will take the kids out. I love spending time with them anyway." Taemin smiled with relief.

 "And besides," I added. "I'd be willing to do all this if it meant keeping my kids away from my dad."

"I agree." Yuri smiled. "No offense, Minho, you're a great person and all, but now I can't stand having your father around the kids."

I chuckled. "I'm glad we can all agree that."

back with another update! hope u guys like this. KEY and YURI finally bonding! also i wrote TWO one shots! both are minkey and M rated, but NO TRIGGERS! :) one is about Minkey as a couple IN SHINee, and the other is in an au where minho and key are white collar workers who agree to a 'no strings attached' relationship. it's only m rated for the and curse words. PLEASE read them and i hope u guys enjoy them: Surprise! A Lovin' Spoonful

and as always, LEAVE COMMENTS, subscribe if u haven't already, and upvote!! see u guys at the next update! :))))