Hongjoong paced nervously in front of his brothers on the couch, biting his lip as he walked back and forth. The younger boys all watched him, wondering what had their usually composed hyung so worked up.
"Hongjoong-" Seongwha finally broke the silence and Hongjoong jumped, snapping out of his trance.
"We're moving" He blurted out, not exactly the way that he wanted to break the news but at least it was out in the open now. There was an uncomfortable silence that followed for what felt like an eternity.
"What!?" Wooyoung stood up first, his hands clenched by his side.
"We can't move!" Yeosang argued. Seongwha crossed his arms, deep in thought. He didn't actually care; he was about two weeks from finishing his last year of middle school and he could easily go to a new high school but the other boys....they had spent their entire lives here and didn't know anything else outside of this house and their school.
"I'm not going" Yunho crossed his arms, unconsciously copying Seongwha. Hongjoong scoffed.
"You're not staying" He retorted firmly. Yunho scowled at him, not happy with that answer.
"Why do we have to move?" Mingi wondered, wringing his hands in front of him. Hongjoong's expression softened. There was a slight moment of hesitation, that the older three noticed instantly, before Hongjoong answered.
"I got a better job offer and it'll be a good change of pace before you boys. Some of you can finally have your own rooms like you've always wanted" Hongjoong smiled but it was fake. Seongwha's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Does that mean-" Wooyoung perked up at the thought of having his own room.
"No, Wooyoung. You and Jongho will still have to share. I'm more so talking about Yunho getting his own room now that he's a teenager" Hongjoong cut the second youngest off before Wooyougn could finish his question. It was Yunho's turn to look excited. He loved Yeosang, really he did, but he didn't want to be sharing a room with a ten year old anymore, now that he was getting older. He'd rather have been sharing with Seongwha but Yunho knew that was never going to happen.
"So this place...it'll be bigger than this house?" San guessed. Hongjoong nodded.
"How much bigger?" Yeosang questioned.
"Six rooms, three bathrooms" Hongjoong answered. Slowly, all the boys got more on board with the idea. Except Mingi and Jongho. They still looked completely set against the idea but said nothing. And Seongwha, Yunho and Yeosang were still staring at Hongjoong like there was some big secret he was hiding about this move. Which of course, there was.
"Alright, hyung, spill it" Seongwha walked into Yunho and Yeosang's room, shutting the door. He had timed it perfectly so that the younger boys would still be asleep and Hongjoong would have gone into Yunho and Yeosang's room to check on them so they could have this conversation.
"Spill what? I don't know what you're talking about" Hongjoong smoothed down the corner of Yeosang's sheets, frowning when the maknae of the room sat up, crossing his arms. He was spending too much time with Seongwha and Wooyoung.
"We're not moving just because you got a new job" Seongwha stated simply.
"How do you know that?" Hongjoong responded, defensively.
"Because if this did have something to do with a job, you would have had to either be looking for a new job or have gotten a tip that you might be getting a promotion and you would have told us before hand in both cases. You wouldn't just make the decision to move without consulting us first" Yunho pointed out. Hongjoong knew he was right and he hated it. Why did these kids have to be so perceptive?
"So, why are we really moving? Did something happen?" Yeosang wondered, all three of them cornering Hongjoong and giving him no way out of the room or this conversation.
"Okay, fine! I didn't want to scare the others but.....eomma reached out to me. They're taking the house back" Hongjoong gave up. Instantly, the atmosphere changed. Realization dawned across the faces of Seongwha and Yunho but Yeosang didn't understand as quickly as his older brothers.
"We're going to see Eomma and Appa again!?" Yeosang lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. Hongjoong didn't have the heart to dash his hopes so he didn't say anything, which was just as bad as if he had told the truth. Yeosang's smile faded.
"We are going to see them again, right....? They're back in town so that's a good thing! It means they want us back, doesn't it!?" Yeosang teared up, beginning to grow hysterical. Hongjoong sat down on the bed and pulled Yeosang into his arms.
"I'm so sorry Sangie" He whispered. Seongwha covered his mouth, wrapping an arm around Yunho and pulling the younger teen into his side. Yunho didn't struggle.
"Hyung.....they're not going to take us back....are they? Like ever?" Seonghwa's voice was barely above a whisper but Hongjoong still heard him. All he could do was give a small shake of his head. No, their parents were not coming back, at least not for the sons they had left behind. They had given up custody and signed all rights over to Hongjoong for good. Seongwha closed his eyes, holding back tears. It all made sense now and he was no longer against the move at all. He understood now.
"Are you going to tell the others?" Yunho wondered. Hongjoong hesitated. He knew that he should but he hadn't even wanted these three to know and the younger boys might be too young to understand. San and Mingi might understand but Wooyoung and Jongho were more unpredictable.
"You need to. They have a right to know" Seongwha pointed out. Hongjoong gave another nod. He would tell them before the move but not right away; he couldn't handle that much right away. Seongwha backed off, sensing Hongjoong's hesitation and knowing not to push.
"When's the move?" Seongwha walked closer. Yeosang had cried himself to sleep, curled up in Hongjoong's arms like a little angel.
"Two months. I need you two to help out more, make sure everything gets done and keep the younger boys from....suspecting anything. I'm depending on you two now" Hongjoong turned to the two teens. Seongwha still had his arm draped around Yunho casually, leaning into the younger boy. Yunho was slowly getting taller and reaching Seongwha's height but he wasn't quite there yet, a fact that Seongwha consistently used against his younger brother. And older brother, for that matter. He had long since passed Hongjoong in height.
"Of course hyung....are you okay?" Seongwha agreed right away, willing to do anything to ease Hongjoong's burden. Yunho nodded along beside him.
"I'm alright. Are you both okay?" Hongjoong tucked Yeosang in, getting up to walk over to the older two.
"Yeah, we're okay! We should have seen this coming" Seongwha answered before Yunho could even open his mouth. No, they weren't okay but they weren't going to tell that to Hongjoong, not after everything he'd done for them in the past (almost) year since moving in. Hongjoong didn't look like he believed that but he didn't push the subject and just left, with Seongwha behind him. Seongwha didn't mention it but he cried himself to sleep that night and he could hear Hongjoong also crying in his room next to Seongwha's room.
Two months later, the eight brothers had everything packed up and they moved three hours away, meaning everyone went to a new school and had to start all over again.
________________________________________________________________
Old rooms
Hongjoong. 23. Roommate: None
Seongwha. 15. Roommate: None
Yunho. 13. Roommate: Yeosang
Yeosang. 10. Roommate: Yunho
San. 9. Roommate: Mingi
Mingi. 9. Roommate: Mingi
Wooyoung. 7. Roommate: Jongho
Jongho. 5. Roommate: Wooyoung
New rooms
Hongjoong. 24. Roommate: None
Seongwha. 16. Roommate: None
Yunho. 14. Roommate: None
Yeosang. 11. Roommates: San and Mingi
San. 10. Roommates: Yeosang and Mingi
Mingi. 10. Roommates: Yeosang and Mingi
Wooyoung. 8. Roommate: Jongho
Jongho. 6. Roommate: Wooyoung
YOU ARE READING
Ateez Brothers
FanfictionHongjoong comes home after college to find his seven brothers alone with no parents or any sign of where their parents went. Of course, he can't just leave them again.
