Dark clouds were looming over head with strong bolts of lightning flashing through the sky. Heavy pellets of rain hit the house and left a soft hum of noise filling the air. Despite the storm brewing outside, there was a peaceful atmosphere that had fallen over the house and as Donghae watched the lightning from his bedroom window, he couldn’t help but think that this was the most relaxed it had been in quite a while.

It was Friday evening and everybody had finished their homework, the chores had been dealt with hours ago, dinner was cooking in the oven, and they had all retreated to their rooms to relax and enjoy some quiet time before supper. Besides the noise of the thunder and rain, the house was almost completely still and silent.

“It’s not fair!”

Donghae closed his eyes and sighed as his door was thrown open and slammed shut; so much for peace and quiet. He turned away from the window and watched without a word as Mir marched over and threw himself into his arms.

“What’s not fair?” Donghae asked soothingly, patting his brother’s back tenderly. He had a pretty good guess what this sudden tantrum was about, but he would let Mir vent and rant to let it all out.

“Umma won’t let me to go appa’s for the weekend!” Mir cried miserably.

Donghae frowned and peered at the ceiling, where Heechul’s room was located on the second floor, curiously. “Really? That doesn’t seem like hyung. Did something happen for him to say no?” He asked, knowing that there was probably more to the story than this.

Mir pulled away and wiped his eyes, shrugging his shoulders. “Well…Key asked if he could come with me and I told him no. Why should he come anyways? It’s not his dad! Appa is mine!”

Clearly he didn’t quite understand the dexterity of his words. Donghae sighed and reached for Mir’s hand, holding it tightly. He knew that out of both his brothers Mir was handling Key’s presence the hardest. He didn’t quite understand why; they had gotten along so well over the summer. Whatever the problem was, he needed a strong dose of reality.

“Mir, listen to me. You can’t keep treating Key like that, it’s mean and not fair. You had absolutely no problem when Kibum and I first came to live with you. You shared everything and loved to show us off to everybody you know. Let me tell you, Kibum was ten times more difficult to be around than Key is,” Donghae lectured him sternly. “And just for the record, when you say that Hongki is your dad it kind of hurts everybody’s feelings. He’s not Eunhyuk’s or Henry’s dad but he loves him all the same and raised them like his own sons. He’s not mine or Kibum’s father but he has never treated us any less than all of you. Stop being so selfish.”

“But I didn’t mean – “ Mir began to say, but Donghae cut him off.

“I know you didn’t mean to, but that’s the problem. You don’t think about what you say or how other people feel. You’re being really selfish and you need to knock it off.”

Mir bowed his head and sniffled, a tear drop falling onto the blanket. He cried silently to himself for several minutes and Donghae reached over a