“Don’t you think it’s about time for a haircut Taeminnie?” His mother ran her fingers through his shoulder-length, light brown hair and sighed. Taemin dropped his spoon in the nearly empty bowl of cereal before wiping the milk from his chin. “I can’t, Mom. Sungjong would kill me. He thinks it’s amazing that my hair is naturally this color, and he said if I cut it he’d never talk to me again.”

Well, Taemin knew it wasn’t all that “amazing”. He did have a European father after all, it was expected that he would inherit a few traits. His blue eyes were another thing his dad had left him. Sometimes, he thought his mother looked into his eyes, just to see a ghost of her dead husband. But Taemin didn’t mind, it made her happy.

Mrs. Lee smiled and shook her head. “Well, I think we both know by now that Sungjong can be a bit of a diva. I very much doubt he would never talk to you again.” Taemin laughed as he placed his bowl in the sink. “I’m only trying to keep him happy. Besides, my hair doesn’t matter much to me anyway.”

The older woman shrugged. “I’m only trying to prevent people from mistaking you for a girl.”

“Mom!”

“What? I know how much you hate it.”

Taemin strode out of the kitchen, his cheeks a bit pink, and grabbed his backpack before walking out the door.

“Love you, honey!” Mrs. Lee yelled from the doorway.

Taemin couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Love you too, mom!”

~~~~~~~

As soon as Taemin arrived at school, he spotted Sungjong waving animatedly at the entrance. “Taeminnie!” Sungjong ran to him, tackling him with a hug, and almost knocking him to the ground. “I missed you!”

Taemin laughed as he embraced his friend. “I missed you too.”

“I wish I wouldn’t have had to go to my stupid uncle’s house over break. We didn’t get to see each other at all!” Sungjong looked disheartened as he pulled away.

“Well, I’m happy we’re back in school. It was weird not spending everyday with you.” Sungjong smiled and nodded in agreement.

Taemin caught site of a familiar group of boys out of the corner of his eye and frowned. “I guess not everything about being back is great though.” Sungjong followed his gaze and grimaced.

“Just ignore them…” Sungjong took him by the arm and led him to the front doors. “We should hurry and get-“

“How’s your first day back, fags?” The voice startled Taemin and he turned around to see the exact group of boys he had been glaring at, Jansuk in center with a smirk on his face. Jansuk had always been Taemin’s least favorite person, being the “leader”, and the harshest of the group of bullies. “None of your business, jackass,” Taemin retorted. The group laughed and Jansuk stepped closer to Taemin, grabbing the boy’s chin roughly. He jerked the boy’s face up to look him in the yes. “I love it when you get mad, so feisty!” And Taemin didn’t even think about the consequences of his actions, before he spat right in the tall boy’s face. He heard Sungjong gasp behind him. He pulled his face away from Jansuk’s grasp and said through clenched teeth, “Don’t touch me.”

“Taemin!” Sungjong pulled on his arm and Taemin stumbled behind him as he ran.

“You can’t run away forever boys!” Taemin glanced over his shoulder to see Jansuk wiping the spit from his cheek, that stupid smirk still plastered on his face.

~~~~~

“Are you crazy?!”

Sungjong released Taemin’s arm as they finally made it to their classroom.

“What? We need to stand up to them, Sungjong.” Taemin crossed his arms defiantly. “We can’t always let them push us around.” They made their way to their desks and Sungjong chewed his bottom lip worriedly as they sat down.

“B-But what if they try to get back at us for that? There’s no telling what they would do to us…”

“Relax, Sungjongie. They can’t do anything bad with so many teachers around.” Taemin gave his friend a reassuring smile, and he smiled back timidly. Sungjong let out a shaky sigh. “Ok…I guess you’re right.”

“I gotta admit…you did look cool standing up to them,” Sungjong continued, grinning. Taemin laughed and looked at his friend with shining eyes. “I did, didn’t I? It felt good too.”

They laughed together, and despite the Taemin’s satisfaction, he couldn’t deny the uneasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.

~~~~~

The rest of the day passed by slow for Taemin, and of course, his teachers decided they didn’t care that it was the first day back from break, they were still going to give their students endless amounts of homework.

“Wanna do homework at the lake today?”

Taemin nodded as he stuffed his chemistry book into his backpack. “Sure. Why don’t we change in the locker room so we don’t get our uniforms dirty?”

“Ok, I’ll meet you there.”

Ten minutes later, Taemin was changed into an old pair of ripped skinnies along with a t-shirt and the biggest, most comfortable hoodie he had.

The two boys made their way to the lake to relax as they did their homework, a tradition they had had since freshman year. Any day they could, they would spend their afternoons there, goofing off until they realized how much homework they really did have. Then they would panic and cram all of the work in at the last minute, before it got dark.

And today was no different. They were stretched out on the damp grass; doing everything they could to avoid their homework.

“I’m soooo thirsty!!!”

Taemin chuckled and reached over to tap his friend on the forehead playfully. “Well, stop being lazy and go get a drink. I’m tired of listening to you complain.”

Sungjong sat up and pouted. “Fine. I’m going to the market down the street, but don’t expect me to get you anything, jerk!” He stuck his tongue and got up to make his way to the road.

“Don’t forget my banana milk!”

Sungjong turned around to stick his tongue out once again. “You’re lucky I’m such a nice person!”

Taemin fell back onto the grass laughing.

After a few minutes of lazing in the grass, he figured he should probably get a head start on the homework while Sungjong was gone. But…he just didn’t want to get up yet. He let his eyelids droop and his body relax into the soft grass. Just a few more minutes…

He suddenly felt hands everywhere, bruising grips on his arms and legs as they lifted him from the ground.  He opened his eyes just in time to see the ground getting closer.  They had lifted him off his back, just to throw him back down onto his stomach. His cheek hit the hard surface harshly and he could taste dirt and blood in his mouth. He whimpered and coughed up some of the dirt clogging his throat.

“Taeminnie, what a coincidence seeing you here.”

Jansuk.

Sungjong was right; they were getting back at him. And this time, there were no teachers to stop them.

There weren’t many words exchanged, only much laughing on the Jansuk’s part, before the first blow was landed. Taemin felt his stomach explode in pain and he lost his breath for a moment.  He coughed, trying to catch his breath again, before he began to struggle. He kicked and punched, but there were too many hands holding his limbs, and he panicked when he realized there was nothing he could do.

The blows were endless, and the pain was everywhere; his face, his back, his limbs, his stomach. He could feel warm, sticky blood all over, but mostly dripping down the side of face.

And no matter how much he wanted to be saved, he wished with every part of his being that Sungjong wouldn’t show up, because his friend would only suffer the same treatment, and it would be his fault.

It took a moment for Taemin to realize the pain had stopped. But before he could even register what was happening, he was lifted off the ground and carried away. “Where are you ta-

The hands were suddenly gone, and he felt his body hit icy cold water.

Now, Taemin had learned how to swim at a young age, so this wouldn’t have been a problem…if it weren’t for the fact that he was losing consciousness. He flailed around in the water, trying to keep himself awake, but he could feel his body becoming weak. He panicked, opening his mouth to scream, but it only filled his lungs with water. His arms and legs grew weak, and he began to feel…weightless. His lungs were burning, and his body wouldn’t listen to him.

“Keep moving! Keep swimming! Don’t give up!”

But the black dots in his vision completely consumed him. “I’m really going to die…” he thought.

Just as he closed his eyes, just as he decided to let death take him, a light flashed and all he could see was white. He no longer felt the icy cold water, but warmth. He felt…safe.

A deep voice echoed in his ears. “Come to me, my princess.”

“What?!”

~~~~~

A/N:

I know it's not much yet, but Minho will be introduced in the next chappy :)

Comments drive my writer's block away~~