Sungjong clutched the bottle of banana milk in his right hand tightly, as he got closer to his destination. His strides unconsciously grew slower as he became lost in thought. He knew he was forbidden from going to the place he was headed, but he felt that he had an obligation to go.

He stopped abruptly when the lake finally came into sight.

‘It was a year ago today that you disappeared , Taemin-ah…’

Tears threatened to spill at the thought of his best friend, and he could see nothing but Taemin’s face in his mind as he approached the lake. His mother had banned him from going near the lake since the day Taemin went missing, and he had obeyed her, no matter how much he wanted to go. But today, something was pulling there. Maybe it was because it was the anniversary of Taemin’s disappearance? He wasn’t sure. He only knew that he needed to be there today, to deliver the drink that he never got the chance to give Taemin on that day.

The year without his best friend had been the worst of his life. He had no other friends, and he had no desire to make new ones. He simply spent his time alone, with the exception of the days he would visit Taemin’s mother after school. He felt that he was the only thing keeping the miserable woman sane; the only attachment she had left to her son.

The worst part, though, was not knowing. Not knowing where Taemin was, or what happened to him, or if he was even…alive. When Taemin disappeared, Sungjong had immediately suspected Jansuk, but his hopes were crushed when the police found nothing. There were signs of struggle, and the signs led right to the lake, but the police found nothing but Taemin’s wallet in the water. Sungjong was relieved that they didn’t find his body, but still disappointed that they found nothing useful.

Sungjong took in the sight of the familiar lake, eyes sweeping across the blue water as he recalled all the fun times he used to have with his friend. He chuckled as he remembered the day they had gotten rained on, and ended up having a mud-fight, running around screaming in the rain like idiots.

His thoughts came to a halt when he spotted something strange in the distance. It was near the shallow end of the lake, and it almost looked like-

“Oh god…” Sungjong whispered aloud.

He would recognize that chestnut-colored hair anywhere.

The bottle of banana milk he had been holding slipped from his hand, and he ran. He ran as fast as he could toward the motionless figure that was slumped over at the edge of the lake. “This can’t be…I must be imagining this…,” he mumbled as he dropped to his knees in front of the body. He reached out a trembling hand, and placed it on the person’s shoulder, turning them over. His hand covered his mouth to muffle the cry of disbelief he gave when he spotted the familiar face. “Taemin-ah!” he cried, tears spilling down his cheeks.

He looked a bit sickly, and his hair (now soaking wet) had grown quite long, but Sungjong recognized the soft features of his best friend’s face immediately.

He placed his index finger right below Taemin’s nose, sighing in relief when he felt the soft wisps of breath, “You’re alive….I can’t believe it…”

He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, dialing 911 with trembling fingers.

“Taemin-ah, what happened to you?”

~~~~~

Taemin could hear people speaking, words fading in and out, but he couldn’t quite make out what exactly was being said.

“….found….don’t know….can’t believe…..him….what….”

Someone was crying…

He wasn’t sure who it was, but just hearing that person cry caused an ache in his chest. He wished he could just wake up, but he was so tired. Neither his body, nor his mind would obey him, and soon enough he drifted into complete unconsciousness again.

When he began to regain consciousness, his body was sore and stiff. He released a groan as he finally opened his eyes and the blindingly bright room made his head ache. His limbs felt heavy and weak, and it took a lot of energy just to lift his arm.

It didn’t take him long to realize he was in a hospital. The blinding white walls, and annoying beeping was enough for him to figure it out. He took a deep breath, but coughed suddenly, gagging on nothing in particular. He reached up to feel the tube taped to the side of his face that lead to his nose, his eyebrows creasing in confusion.

‘A hospital, huh? I guess I really am back…’ he thought, his eyes watering slightly.

He heard a soft sigh, and he turned his head, surprised to see his mother sleeping at his bedside. She was seated in an uncomfortable hospital chair, head slumped to the side as she slept restlessly. She looked the same, but also different in some way Taemin couldn’t quite pinpoint. She was so thin…cheeks hollow and collarbone jutting out. Her hair and skin were dull, looking neglected and so different from the vibrancy Taemin was used to.

He placed his palms on the bed and pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Mom…,” he whispered, his hand reaching just far enough to brush some of the dry hair from her face. “I missed you.” He could no longer hold back his tears as realization finally crashed down on him. He was really back for good, and he had no idea how he should feel….

The happiness was there. When he caught sight of his mother, he couldn’t help but smile. But the deep sadness never went away; the ache in his chest at the thought of never seeing Minho again did not cease…

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a sharp gasp, and he turned his head in the direction of the doorway just in time to see Sungjong drop his drink, spilling the contents all over the floor.

“You’re awake!” the boy squealed, immediately causing Mrs. Lee to awaken with a jump.

Sungjong rushed over to his bed and he released a small ‘oomf’ when the boy collided with his body, wrapping thin arms around him in a tight embrace. “Sungjongie,” he said in a raspy voice, embracing him in return.

Sungjong pulled back, staring at him with a huge smile and watery eyes. He backed away, allowing Mrs. Lee to come into view. The moment Taemin saw her, he smiled, and the tears finally fell. The woman was strangely quiet, standing there with her hand over , looking as though she did not believe what she was seeing.

She rushed forward, pulling Taemin into her arms, and releasing a loud sob, “My baby,” she whimpered, clutching him to her desperately. Taemin felt the guilt coming in waves as he realized what he had put his mother through. He wrapped his arms around her, and cried with her.

When there sobs died down after a short time, she pulled away from him reluctantly, wiping her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

Taemin wiped away the remnants of tears on his face, and took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke, “So…what is all this? And what-“ He stopped abruptly, gagging once again. “Ugh! Why does that keep happening?”

“It’s the feeding tube,” Sungjong answered, pointing to the tube that went into his nose. “When I found you, you were feverish and half-starved. You didn’t wake up for days, so the doctors had no choice but to give you a feeding tube.”

Taemin touched to tube taped to his cheek, grimacing slightly. He hoped to get it out as soon as possible, now that he was awake.

“Sweetheart,” his mother said, grabbing his hand. “You- you need to tell us what happened to you. And more importantly, you need to tell the police. The doctor- he said you have scars all over your back. And they said…they said you had a scar from a stab wound. Wha- What happened to you, Taemin?”

Taemin froze, looking away from her and staring down at the white sheets. What should he say? There was no way they would believe him. They would think he was crazy, and probably put him in some mental hospital.

“I- I don’t remember,” he lied.

Sungjong and Mrs. Lee glanced at each other in shock, before looking back at Taemin, “Y- You don’t remember? Taemin, you went missing for a year!”

Taemin swallowed thickly, before looking up at Sungjong, “The last thing I remember is you leaving the lake to get drinks. And the next thing I know, I wake up here. That’s it.”

__________________________

“His memory loss is most likely caused by psychological trauma, Mrs. Lee. He has no head injuries whatsoever. By the looks of his past injuries, I’m assuming he was abducted, and experienced traumatic events. It is very common for victims of abuse or torture to block out memories that caused them any kind of pain.”

It was amazing how wrong that doctor could be about what had happened to him. Well…the thought of blocking out the memory of Sujung torturing him sounded pleasant, but he certainly would not be able to forget that.

He was relieved that it sounded convincing, though, and his mother seemed to believe every word. He hated hearing her cry as he listened to them talking outside his room, but he knew it was for the best. She would never believe him anyways.

He only wished she would come back into his room soon, or Sungjong would come back with the food he promised.

When he was alone, he had nothing to distract him from thoughts of Minho…

~~~~~

The weeks passed in a blur.

After telling the police he had no memories of what had happened to him, they had nothing to go on. There were no signs of struggle, no hints that anything had happened at the lake. It looked like Taemin simply…appeared out of nowhere. They were baffled.

So they had suggested to Mrs. Lee that they send Taemin to a therapist, much to Taemin’s displeasure. The only hope they had in figuring out what happened was if Taemin suddenly “remembered”.

It took quite a while for life to become what Taemin used to know as “normal”. And although his life had slowly returned somewhat to the way it used to be, nothing felt the same.

After a month of being back home, he finally returned to school, Sungjong staying glued to his side every minute. He quickly grew tired of the way his best friend and mother were treating him. They were acting as though he were something fragile that could break any second. It seemed as though they were waiting for him to suddenly “remember” everything one day, and just snap. He tried his best to be understanding, though. He did go missing for an entire year. So what else would they think, other than something terrible had happened to him?

Returning to school felt so…strange. Well, more like, it felt too normal. He had to catch up on all the classes he had missed, but that was difficult to accomplish when every damn person in the school stared at him everywhere he went. He did have to admit that it would be difficult to not stare at the kid that mysteriously disappeared for a year, and then suddenly showed up out of nowhere. He still got sick of all the whispering though.

On the plus side, Jansuk and his friends avoided him like the plague. He assumed that they feared Taemin would reveal what they had done to him right before he went missing, and they would be become suspects. But Taemin had no choice but to stick to his “no memory” story. They may be s who beat the out of him and threw him in a lake, but it wasn’t actually their fault he went missing.

With all the hospitals, therapists, police, overprotective loved ones, and gossiping peers, Taemin felt extremely stressed. The only times he could escape the world he used to call home, was when he was daydreaming of Minho.

He couldn’t help but space out in school every day, and imagine what his life would have been like if he would have been able to spend it with Minho.

He wondered what Minho was doing now…What happened after he helped Taemin escape? Was he punished? Were Key and Jonghyun alright? And everyone else…what had happened to them?

He hated not knowing.

But more than anything, he hated living life without Minho. He missed everything about the older man. He missed the way Minho kissed him, embraced him, touched him. He missed the way Minho said his name in that deep, velvety voice, or the way Minho called him ‘love’. He missed waking up to the feeling of the Prince’s warm body pressed against his own, or seeing the man’s peaceful, sleeping face the moment he opened his eyes. Minho’s smile was one of the things he missed most, though.

A part of him was happy to be home, to see his mother and best friend again. But there was this empty feeling inside of him that never went away; a sadness he could not escape from no matter how hard he tried. He cried himself to sleep almost every night, hating how cold and empty his bed felt.

He never would have thought that his mother would notice his despair, but she could not miss the forlorn look in his eyes, or the sound of his cries in the next room.

“How have you been doing recently, honey?” She asked sweetly as they sat at the dinner table.

“Fine,” was Taemin’s soft reply as he continued to push his food around his plate.

She resisted the urge to sigh in frustration. “How is your therapy going?” She tried again.

“Same as always,” he shrugged. The movement of his shoulders caused the collar of his shirt to slide down, and Mrs. Lee caught sight of something around his neck.  She reached over and pulled at his collar, revealing a golden choker with a blue sapphire hanging from it.

 “What’s this?”

Taemin jerked away from her hand, panicking internally. He managed to hide the necklace under all his shirts since the doctor had given it back to him when he left the hospital a month ago. “It’s…uh…umm…th-the doctor said I had it on when they found me. I like it, so I just…kept it.”

“That could be dangerous, Taemin! Why would you keep that? It could belong to your kidnapper!”

Taemin stared at her incredulously, “Dangerous? Mom, it’s a necklace! There’s nothing dangerous about a necklace, so just drop it!”

“No. Take that thing off so I can give it to the police. It could help with the investigation!” She reached over once again to grab the necklace, but Taemin jerked away from her touch and stood up. “Would you stop freaking out about everything!?” He yelled. He immediately regretted his actions when he saw the pained expression on his mother’s face.

“Taemin…I’m just so worried about you,” she said gently. “I can see how sad you are…I can hear you crying at night…Is it because you remember something? Is it bad?”

“No, I haven’t remembered anything,” he lied. “I just…am having trouble adjusting. Everything feels so different. It just doesn’t feel right, and it’s feels like something is missing.” It was the best way he could describe to her how he was feeling, without giving away anything.

“Oh honey, it’s probably because of your memory loss,” she assumed. She grabbed his hand, urging him to sit back down, but he didn’t budge. “If you just keep going to therapy, and you cooperate with the police, I’m sure things will get better. Now, please, just give me the necklace.”

He pulled his hand away, and released a scoff. “I need some air,” he said as he stormed out of the room.

“T-Taemin, where are you going?” She asked frantically, following behind him.

“Out,” he answered curtly, opening the front door.

“Lee Taemin, you are not leaving this house by yourself!” She tried to sound firm, but she had never been very good with discipline. Taemin had always been such a sweet, obedient child.

“You can’t shelter me for the rest of my life! I’m tired of being treated like a baby!”

He slammed the door behind him, leaving his mother shocked (and worried) in the hallway.

~~~~~

Taemin wiped furiously at the lingering tears on his face, frustrated and upset beyond reason. He was so angry with himself for yelling at his mother like that. He really should have been more understanding….She thought he had been kidnapped. How else was she supposed to act? She was probably imagining all the horrible things that could have happened to him. He knew she was only worried for him, but he got so frustrated, and lost control after bottling things up for so long. And he would not let her take his necklace. It was one thing he would never give up to anyone.

So he came to the first place he could think of: the lake. He sat in the grass, until the sun had gone down, and cried. He hated that he got so angry at his mother for simply caring, and he hated that he couldn’t stop missing Minho so damn much. It hurt. It hurt just to think of him, and Taemin had thoughts of the older man a majority of the time.

Taemin brushed his fingers against the choker around his neck, “Why did it have to be this way?” He whispered aloud, glancing up at the sky.

He heard a faint noise not far away, the sound of water splashing, and his eyes fell on the lake, where he found no source. ‘Probably just a fish,’ he assumed.

Seconds after that thought, he heard it again and this time, saw the small splash of water. The lake began to stir, and Taemin stood up quickly to take a closer look. The splashing grew more fierce as he stepped closer, the water churning furiously. A bright light was soon emitting from the water, and Taemin gaped at the sight.

“No way…impossible…”

The light grew brighter, and Taemin had to shield his eyes as he took a step back. The water soon grew calmer, the light slowly fading, and Taemin lowered his hand.

He heard someone coughing and sputtering, and his heart caught in his throat when he spotted a figure in the water. He didn’t waste any time, and ran, jumping into the water without hesitation. When he came back up to the surface, he swam as fast as he could toward the person.

“Minho!” He called as he grew closer. “Minho!”

“Taemin?”

The sound of that deep, familiar voice caused a smile to grow on his face. When he finally got a good look at Minho’s face, his hair wet and sticking to his face, Taemin felt his heart swell.

“It’s really you! Y- You’re really here!” He cried desperately, throwing his arms around the older man’s shoulders. He buried his face in Minho’s shoulder, sobbing in happiness as he clutched onto him for dear life.

“Of course I am, love. I couldn’t live another day without you,” the man whispered, only making Taemin cry harder. “God, I missed you so much,” he said, embracing the boy tightly.

“I d-didn’t think I w-would ever see y-you again,” Taemin managed to say through his cries.

“I know, love, I know,” Minho consoled. He managed to swim to the edge of the lake with Taemin latched onto him, and he carried the boy back onto land. He gently placed Taemin in the grass, and lied on top of him. His fingers caressed Taemin’s cheek, his eyes taking in every angelic feature of the boy’s face.

“Please tell me I’m not dreaming,” Taemin pleaded, palming the Prince’s cheek before he ran his fingers through the long, dark hair.

“If it is a dream, let us never wake up,” Minho said, leaning down to place a soft kiss on Taemin’s lips. Taemin felt his skin heat up, and his stomach fluttering at the simple touch.

“I love you,” Minho whispered against his lips. “I love you so much, it hurts. You have no idea…”

“Oh I think I do.” Taemin gripped at the Prince’s hair, pulling him closer for a more passionate kiss. They pulled away from each other eventually, cheeks flushed and breath labored. They simply gazed at each other, savoring the other’s presence.

When Minho pulled away, he lifted himself off of the boy, and lied next to him. He took Taemin’s hand and laced their fingers, and Taemin cuddled up to his side immediately. “Are- Are you staying?” Taemin asked reluctantly. He was still in shock that this was happening, he still wasn’t sure if it was real. He was simply happy that he was in Minho’s arms again.

“Yes.” Taemin felt his heart grow lighter at the Prince’s answer. “There is no going back now.”

“What happened? What happened to you- and everyone else- after I left?”

“Everyone suspected that I had helped you escape, but my father shielded me. The Queen was furious, but she had no proof that I did it.

“Key and Jonghyun are alright. Key was injured, but alive. Jonghyun was hysterical when I found him, begging for me to forgive him. I did, of course. He had his reasons, and no matter how angry I was, my anger could not be directed at him.”

“At least they’re alright,” he mumbled, his heart feeling considerably lighter. “Oh, and how did you even convince your father to help me escape?”

“Well, he understood what we were going through…quite well,” Minho said, raising his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

“Jaejoong, she- well, he is a boy.”

“What!?” Taemin gaped at him. He simply could not believe that Jaejoong- one of the most beautiful “women” he had ever seen- was a man! It didn’t seem possible. “B-But- he was so- I never would have-“

“I know, I was just as shocked as you,” Minho confessed. “But he said they had been hiding it for years, and they sympathized with us.”

“Wow…Jaejoong was sure a lot better at hiding it than I was.” He still couldn’t picture that the beauty with the long, flowing hair was a man, but he would have to take Minho’s word…

“So what did Changmin think…after- well, you know…?” Taemin asked, blushing.

Minho laughed, “He was quite shocked. He was still a little confused about his feelings before I left, but I’m sure he will get over you in time.”

“O-Oh…” Taemin stuttered. “I’m sure it was a huge shock to him. I feel so bad for deceiving him.”

“He has no ill feelings toward you. After I explained everything, he seemed to understand,” Minho assured him.

“Good,” Taemin sighed in relief. It suddenly occurred to him that the candidates for King had decreased drastically, and he immediately questioned the older man, “Who will become King, now that you’ve left?”

“I’m assuming it will be Siwon. He was always the silent one that kept to himself. He never did get involved in all the trouble we did. I think he was the best choice all along, anyways. He will lead the Kingdom well.”

“And the Queen? Byungchol?”

Minho smirked slightly at the mention of their names. “After Mir saw what his mother had done, he was furious. I’ve never seen him that angry. He snuck into her room, and found letters she had written to the King of Atelia. He showed them to the council, and she was accused of treason.” Minho stopped for a moment, glancing up at the sky, his expression stoic.

“Well?” Taemin asked anxiously.

“She was executed, Taemin.”

“R-Really?” Taemin gaped at him. He wasn’t sure how to feel…The person that had made his life- and many other’s- a living hell, was finally dead. He expected to feel happy, but he only felt…relieved.

“Yes…and do you know what she said right before she died?”

“What?”

“She said her only regret was that she was not able to kill me like she had my mother,” he admitted, nostrils flaring in anger. Taemin could feel his body trembling next to him.

“Oh Minho…”

“I always suspected her, but I just…to have her say that to me, with a disgusting smile on her face, sickened me.”

“I’m so sorry, Minho.” Taemin gave his hand a gentle squeeze for comfort.

“It’s alright,” Minho said with a hollow chuckle. “Knowing who killed her doesn’t change the fact that she is dead. I know that now.”

“So…what happened to Byungchol?” Taemin asked, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from something that would sadden Minho further.

“He fled soon after his mother was executed. He was hopeless without her.”

“So everything is quite peaceful there now, huh?”

Minho gave a small smile, “It was. But it was not the same without you,” he admitted, turning his head to gaze at Taemin. “My life didn’t have meaning without you in it.”

“It didn’t feel right here either,” Taemin confessed. “It didn’t feel like home without you.”

They both their sides, so they could look at each other directly. Minho brushed some hair from his cheek, smiling slightly, “You cut it.”

“You don’t like it?” Taemin asked self-consciously.

“No, no, I love it,” he smiled, running his fingers through the silky strands. “It feels like I’m looking at the real you. It seems like all the time I spent with you, you were forced to be something you’re not. I’m happy to be given the chance to love the real you.”

Taemin felt his cheeks grow warm, “I-It’s just a haircut.”

“It’s not just that. I get to see the way you dress, the way you act, the way you speak in your own world. I hated that you were forced to change so much in my world. Here, I get to see you in a place that you are comfortable in your own skin.”

“But…now you have to do that. You have to pretend to be something you’re not in my world,” Taemin expressed, looking up at Minho with eyes full of concern.

“I don’t see it that way,” he shook his head, smiling. “I see it as an opportunity to discover new things. I see it as a new adventure that I get to experience with you.” Minho kissed the tip of his nose, and he giggled.

“Hmm ok….I think you might be able to pass for a college student in my world,” the younger boy said playfully.

“College? What is that?”

Taemin couldn’t help but laugh at the bewildered expression on Minho’s face. “I have so much to teach you, Minho hyung.”

“And I have the rest of my life with you to learn,” he grinned

~~~End~~~

A/N: Decided I should just post this again, instead of waiting for AFF to provide it...

Losing this chapter wasn't a big deal, because I write it in Word. But I lost all 60+ comments I recieved ;~;

I hope they aren't completely lost...

They were such wonderful comments

Edit: If I do decide to make a sequel, it won't be until I get the chance to write some other plots I've got in mind. If I did write a sequel, it would probably be more like a collection of oneshots/drabbles though :p We'll see...