Taemin stood in front of the huge school his brother had enrolled him in. He didn’t want to go, nor did he want to be back in Korea at all, but his parents had given him no other choice. After the work visa had expired, his father opted not to renew, instead packing them all up to go to their homeland. No one had bothered to tell Taemin until the day before - and when he did find out, it had turned into a screaming match that had left him hoarse and in tears, going to the only person he could trust. Taesun, his older brother.

When Taesun turned eighteen the year before, he had gone home to South Korea, leaving Taemin completely alone with his parents. They had begged their father to help him get a visa so he could stay in the United States, but he had refused. Since then, Taesun had made two three-month long visits to visit with his brother, but it wasn’t the same.

Taemin recalled dialing Taesun’s number, not thinking much of the time difference, and sobbing when Taesun picked up. After he had offered a choked explanation, Taesun had offered small reassurances to try and lift the boys spirits, but in the end there was only one comfort to be had. Taesun convinced their father to let Taemin live with him, instead of being alone in the new house while their parents spent all their time elsewhere.

Taemin gripped his backpack tightly, heading into the building behind Taesun and Onew. He had been more than a little surprised to learn that Onew was a translator - Taemin’s translator, at that. Even though the three boys involved knew it was all for show. Taemin had retained the majority of his native tongue, even when being forced to speak almost nothing but English over the last ten years.

Taemin would talk in his sleep, just babbling away to anyone he was dreaming about, in Korean. He claimed to have forgotten it all a long time ago, but they knew better. He would speak it when he was really upset, curling up against his only support system - Taesun - and let out a complicated mix of Korean and English. Taesun wasn’t sure anyone else would be able to understand his brother, but that wasn’t really an issue. Taemin hadn’t spoken a word since landing at Incheon anyway.

“Taeminnie.” Taesun called out to him, and he glanced up, stopping before he walked right into his brother. “You’re going to go with Onew-ssi now, ok?”

Taemin nodded, following the elder through the halls with nervous feet. He felt sick and upset, and he just wanted to go home. The problem was, he didn’t know where home was. Back in the United States, where he was bullied endlessly? Back to Taesun’s place, where he could hide in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room? He held onto his sweatshirt sleeves tightly, bringing his hands up to cover his mouth.

He was supposed to be in uniform like everyone else, but Taesun hadn’t had the heart to force him. He had told him he would stand out, but the younger boy didn’t seem to care, and Taesun was just happy that, even though Taemin had been in the country for over a month, the boy was finally agreeing to go to school.

Taemin just about jumped out of his skin when he realized he didn’t know where Onew had gone. He froze where he was, looking around instinctively, but not seeing any sign of the older male. He felt himself beginning to tremble, and reached nervously into his pocket for his schedule. If he could figure out where to go, maybe Onew would meet him there?

He was still staring at the schedule when he became aware of a shadow on the edge of his vision. He looked up, expecting to see Onew or Taesun, but instead found three strangers standing close to each other, only a few feet away. They were watching him with curious eyes, and he looked around again, hoping to find Onew somewhere. No such luck.

“Are you the new student?” The one in the middle finally asked, and Taemin was surprised to hear his nearly flawless English. He nodded automatically. “I’m Key. This is Jonghyun, and that’s Minho.”

Taemin nodded again, not sure what else he could do. They seemed to be waiting for him to say something, but even if he had been willing to speak, he wasn’t sure he could have. Eventually, he just held up his schedule and pointed to his name. Key read it out loud, then nodded with a warm smile. He reached out, taking the schedule from the shy boy, and read through the entire thing before talking quietly with the other two boys, before looking up at Taemin.

“You have your first class with Minho, the second with Jonghyun.” Key explained, pointing to them each in turn. “Then we all have the same third period and lunch, You have fourth with Jonghyun and I, your fifth is across from mine, you have sixth with me, and seventh with me and Minho.”

Taemin nodded, shyly looking between them all. Key was staring at the schedule again, his face twisted up in confusion. He finally sighed and handed the schedule back to the shy boy. Taemin awkwardly folded it up and put it back in his pocket, his eyes staying low. Key offered him a smile, which he didn’t actually see until Key spoke up again.

“Their English is terrible, but I think we can still be friends, right?” Key offered, and Taemin’s eyes nearly doubled in size. He took a step back instinctively, wishing he had stayed at home. Key suddenly looked nervous. “Did I say it wrong? I meant to say that we will make sure no one is mean.”

Taemin looked like he wanted to run, and maybe he would have had Taesun not come around the corner. He moved closer to his brother automatically, and Taesun’s forehead wrinkled as the boys skittish behavior. He looked around, trying to locate Onew, but instead found the three boys. He waved with a smile.

“Kibum, where’s Onew?” Taesun asked. Key shrugged.

“I was just wondering the same thing.” He admitted. Taesun sighed.

“He’s supposed to be watching him.” Taesun said, his arm going around Taemin’s shoulders. Key nodded, looking unsure of what to say. Taesun looked at Taemin. “I forgot to pack your lunch this morning, so I’m going to give you some money, ok?”

Taemin nodded, looking uncomfortable as Taesun slipped him a few bills. He had no idea how much it was; he’d never really learned Korean currency. Taesun ushered Taemin toward a door not far from where he was, and he was relieved to find Onew inside. He took the seat he was directed to, and a moment later Minho came in, sitting beside him.

It was the end of the day, and Taemin was standing outside, his eyes darting around to everyone around him. He was anxious to get home and pretend that he had never even come, but he had to wait for Taesun. He jumped in surprise when Minho popped up beside him, but didn’t move away as he had planned to do when he saw the apologetic expression on Minho’s face.

“See you...to...tomorrow?” Minho asked, his English rough at best.

Taemin’s eyes found the ground and stayed there until he felt someone’s arm go around him. He jerked away instinctively, falling off the sidewalk in an undignified heap. He looked up automatically, barely taking his slightly bloodied palms into account as his eyes landed on the person who had touched him.

Key looked confused and a bit upset when he saw Taemin’s reaction. A moment later, three more people joined the small crowd, and Taemin was eternally grateful that one of them was Taesun. He bent down, lifting Taemin off the ground without much effort. The boy looked shaky and teary-eyed, and Taesun felt guilty. He held up his car keys, and Taemin took them quickly.

“Go start the car, put some music on, ok?” Taesun said, and Taemin nodded. He headed across the parking lot without a word, getting into a bright blue car and plugging in his iPod. Taesun turned back to the three teens in his brothers grade, speaking in Korean. “He’s not trying to be mean. He’s just scared. Try to keep your hands to yourself for a while, and I’ll try to convince him to come back tomorrow.”

“He doesn’t want to come back?” Minho asked, looking alarmed. Taesun raised his hands quickly.

“I don’t know.” He said. “I think he’s embarrassed, so he might not want to.”

“But...we told him we’d be his friends.” Key said, his eyes looking damp. Taesun’s heart squeezed.

“I know, I know. Look, I’ll call Jinki and let you guys know what’s going on, ok?” Taesun offered, and Key nodded, barely reacting when Jonghyun’s arms went around his waist.

“If he doesn’t come back...would we be allowed to visit him?” Key asked. Taesun shrugged.

“I don’t see why not, as long as your brother is willing to drive you.” Taesun said. Key looked at Onew with pleading eyes.

“Hyung?” He said, and Onew sighed.

“Alright. But let’s see if he comes back first.” Onew said, and Key nodded. Taesun waved slightly before heading to his car.

He needed to check on his brother.

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There we go! I've finally started this. Sorry it took so long, I've just had writers block. x.x