Jongin paced around in his room, worrying his bottom lip with his upper teeth. His mind kept unnecessarily digging up images of Taemin and that girl together.

“She’s just a hoobae. He’s just looking out for her. Taemin’s a nice kid...” He muttered. “Who’s ridiculously talented and good looking.” He groaned. Taemin didn’t stand a chance. That girl liked what she saw (who didn’t?) and was determined to get a piece for herself.

What made Jongin more anxious was the fact that Taemin wasn’t resisting or oblivious to the affection the way he normally was. Taemin put on acts here and there for the noona-fans but never did he get so flustered by a younger girl.

Jongin sat on the edge of his bed. And he reflected on his emotions as he had been doing since Taemin’s debut.

After Taemin left the trainee dorm upon SHINee’s debut, Jongin had grown more desperate, more needy for time with his best friend. The busier Taemin got, the more Jongin felt detached, as if he were missing a large piece of himself. And one day, he the TV, ready to watch and support SHINee’s debut stage, and saw Taemin’s charismatic stare, as if Taemin was looking straight at him. Jongin’s heart had sped up significantly. This was the same Taemin who had played video games with him late into the night, the same Taemin who bought him ridiculous socks to apologize after their first fight, the same Taemin he practiced dancing with every night for years.

And yet, he was so different on stage. He became a different person, one that captivated Jongin’s attention in a new light. He wondered if Taemin felt the same way when he watched EXO’s debut stage and saw him...

Still in denial, Jongin lifted up a pillow and lightly punched it across his bed. He shook his head as if to get rid of his thoughts, tapping the sides of his face with his hands.

“Snap out of it, Jongin. This could be Taemin’s first girlfriend! You’re his best friend - you have to support him!”

But his words sounded empty and hollow, no depth or meaning behind them.

Jongin tried. He really did.

He plastered a smile on his face every time Taemin talked about that girl. He feigned interest when Taemin named all the things he liked about her. He acted as if Taemin wasn’t slowly driving a wedge into a heart and ignored the throbbing ache he felt there.

And Jongin tried to distract himself. Maybe Taemin just found the right person and now it was his turn to find someone. He casually scoped outside the female trainees’ practice room with some of the other EXO members but couldn’t bring himself to be as interested or enthusiastic as Sehun or Chanyeol.

Every night, Jongin practiced the hell out of his inner frustrations by himself, dancing with a rigor his choreographer would be proud of. s, sweaty and sleepy-eyed, left hours ago, leaving Jongin alone to his thoughts and his body’s graceful movements.

One night, someone knocked as he was in the middle of a routine that went completely unheard due to the loud music and his steady breathing.

Taemin, grinning, walked in and fell into step with Jongin. It was just like their old, pre-debut days. Jongin couldn’t help but crack a smile as Taemin perfected his group’s dance within the hour, even though it took some of his own members days to finish a portion of it.

After their last round, the two stood beside each other facing the mirror. Taemin was panting with sweat sliding down his face, looking at Jongin’s reflection with a playful smile on his face. Jongin stared back and couldn’t help but think he was the most beautiful sight in the world.

That’s the moment Jongin accepted it: he was hopelessly in love.