As the music that previously filled the big room disappeared I fell onto the hard wooden floor with a thud. My body felt weak and worn out and I lied on my back, my chest rising up and down rapidly as I was trying to catch my breath.

 

It was the fourth day in a row that we were practicing for our comeback with ‘Everybody’. It was a fast and catchy song with an equally fast choreography that was hard to keep up with, especially as besides dancing on our own we also had to balance of each other at different parts in the dance and the other members even had to pull me and throw me off the floor in the beginning. All of it required extra training and I hadn't really been able to comprehend it all yet.

 

I was known for being the dancer of the group, yet I was the only one still messing up. Why? I didn’t even know myself. The only possibly reason that I could think of was that I was distracted.

 

My eyes fluttered open from have been closed and I turned my head until they landed on Key’s figure in the opposite part of the room. He was sitting on the floor, drinking water and talking to Jonghyun hyung while leaning his back against the wall behind him, one knee close to his ribcage as the other laid flat on the floor. I gulped as I secretly let my eyes wander all over him. He was wearing a simple pair of black adidas track pants a white t-shirt and white sneakers, which was quite a simple outfit, especially for Key hyung who was known for his fashion sense and trying out brightly colored outfits or things other people wouldn’t dare to wear. Even his pajamas were fashionable and multicolored. In a way it made me worried.

 

Perhaps he was too tired too even begin to think about what he was putting on this morning? I thought and frowned to myself. Our comeback was really taking its torn on us this time, we were all exhausted at this point and we still had to keep practicing until we could execute the dance flawlessly.

 

I sighed and bit my lower lip, I also tore my eyes off Key’s clothing and focused on his eyes and face, the way he was running one hand through his hair and then leaning his head back against the wall while emitting a sigh. He was just resting, yet it felt so pleasing just to watch him. Almost a year had passed since I first caught myself having different thoughts about him, my close hyung and fellow member. It started when we were practicing and then promoting ‘Dream girl’ in the beginning of the year and it continued during ‘Why so serious’, it was only for brief moments but we seemed to have close up moments with each other within the choreography and I took notice to it.

 

After that it only grew deeper and I couldn’t stop, neither could I explain. Even now in the colder and late part of the year I could not describe what I felt for Key but there was something, stuck inside of me, something that made me happy when I watched him smile or laugh, sent warmth through my body when we shared any type of friendly skin-ship and made me nervous when he was near.

 

Even while I felt myself fall in love with him I tried to ignore it, I tried to push it away and suppress all of those thoughts and emotions for more than eight months. I suppose now it was taking its tool on my body. No matter what I did I felt worn out and tired, even when I was having fun I felt down.

 

The stress of knowing I felt something I shouldn’t feel for another member and the pressure of knowing I had to make those feelings disappear, because in some aspects it was a bad thing, or just simple wrong, because he is under the same company and also because he is a guy. Everything, all off it, it was beginning to break me down, and our comeback wasn’t helping, it was making it worse. Key and I had close up moments in the choreography, closer then in ‘Why so serious’ and ‘Dream girl’, now we were balancing of each other and holding onto each other tightly.

 

When I realized I had been starring at Key for quite a while without him even noticing a sigh escaped me and I bit my lower lip as I forced my eyes away. I closed them and tried to focus, on the dance, on our comeback and what was important at the moment. I tried to tell myself that I had to stop thinking about him and start thinking about the stupid dance that I still hadn’t been able to wrap my mind around.

 

Why is it so hard? I bit my lip harder. It’s just a stupid dance

 

I closed my eyes, trying to think about the steps and see them in my mind; I needed to remember them so that I could perform them perfectly. You need to get your head straight Lee Taemin I told myself. I had to get myself together.

 

"Let’s take it again from the top." Onew's voiced rung through the practice room and I sighed to myself again as the other members took their positions, as we all started by lying down I just remained in my spot until the music started.

 

I had my eyes closed and didn’t open them until I had to when the other members had to pull me off the floor by my arms and legs. I flew up, a bit too fast and landed on one hand a one knee, it was a bit unsteady and I couldn’t push myself up onto my feet on time and fell out of rhythm. Although I was in the front I could feel the others giving me looks, of either confusion or annoyance, but I ignored it and quickly found my way back into the choreo- fast.

 

The routine continued and I was doing fine until it was time for Minho’s part and I had to balance on Key’s back. I gulped hard as my hand was wrapped around the older and I could feel his thin yet muscular arms hug around it. I closed my eyes to try and shut out the sound of his heavy breathing but it felt impossible. I also tried to ignore it, the sound and the feeling, the warmth from his body and how all of it was making me feel hot on the inside of my skin.

 

The moment which wasn’t more than a couple of seconds long finally ended it and it proceeded to Key’s part and because of my boiling blood and occupying thoughts I was once again distracted by his mere presence and I forgot that I was supposed to ‘swirl around’. I made another mistake and once again I could feel the others look at me for my mistake but I found my way back again and ignored their stares.

 

The chorus went fine, I only made minor mistakes that the other members were probably to busy to even notice and things proceeded to Onew hyung’s part, I managed to keep my head straight and follow along with all the dance moves, in sync to the music and in sync with the others.

 

It quickly reached the end of the second verse, Minho’s part, and I grabbed tightly onto Key’s arm to pull him up and balance him on my back. I gulped and closed my eyes, trying to calm my heart down because it was thumping hard against my ribcage; at the rate that I almost feared Key could hear it. My whole body was on fire, my blood boiling and my legs felt really weak and without warning they suddenly gave in and I crumbled to the floor, landing stomach and face first, as Key’s weight crushed me down and forced all air out of me.

 

“Taemin” Key quickly climbed off me and helped me to roll onto my back. "Are you all right?"

 

I didn't respond, I just sighed as I pushed myself into a restless sitting position. My body felt weak and soar, as if I couldn't even move it and Key's hands, holding onto me and his worried eyes trying to gaze into mine, it was too much, it was making me tremble and my heart pound even harder against my ribs. A variation of different emotions boiled inside of me, making me feel dizzy and nausea.

 

"Yah, Taemin ah, what's up with you?" Minho asked, he didn't show it but he was clearly annoyed with me. I would've been too after I kept making mistake after mistake, never getting the dance right even after doing it countless of times.

 

"Are you feeling sick? How can you get it wrong again?" This time it was Onew and it didn't take long for Jonghyun to open his mouth too.

 

"The only one still making mistakes is you Taemin."

 

"Yay!" Key exclaimed and shut the other members up. "Can’t you see he's clearly not feeling well, you don't have to be so harsh!"

 

"None of us feel good right now but we're on a tight time schedule, we should be able to have a flawless performance by now but Taemin is the only one still messing up and damaging it!"

 

Key stood up and glared daggers at Jonghyun who made the comment. “He’s not damaging anything! If he needs more time then we should all just talk to manager hyung and make them give us more time! He can’t just magically dance perfectly just because he has to, he needs to master it in his own pace, we all do! We’ve been practicing for crazy long hours lately, it’s a miracle that we’re still able to perform the dance at all!”

 

“We’ve already asked for more time, we’ve been preparing for several months already, how much longer do you think they’ll give us? They can’t postpone our comeback…” Minho said followed by a sigh.

 

“Minho’s right, besides we should have it by now! I mean, we all do, it’s just Taemin that doesn’t!” Jonghyun shouted and earned a light push from Key who was standing beside him.

 

“Aish, I told you not to be so harsh, you’re making things worse!” he shouted at the older

 

“Yah…” Jonghyun scoffed and gave Key a push back and that’s when I couldn’t stand it any longer.

 

“Stop!”

 

My outburst made them silent and then they all turned to look at me but I didn’t say anything, I just sighed. I hung my head as I stood up and quickly ran out of the room without another word, I just wanted to go out of that room, away from the pressure and stress but most importantly away from Key who was tormenting with my feelings.

 

What they were saying was true, I was the only one still making mistakes but I didn’t know how to focus, it felt impossible and it was making me frustrated, another emotion on top of everything else I was already carrying inside. It felt like if one more thing was added on my pile of stress I would explode or break down in panic.

 

After leaving the dance studio I ended up in a nearby dressing room, I ran inside and locked the door behind me before sliding down until I was a pathetic mess on the floor. I closed my eyes. Tears were burning beneath my lids but I wouldn’t let them fall because I didn’t want to cry, I just wanted to disappear into a space where there were no feelings, no pressure and no hardships.

 

“Taemin ah?”

 

It was Key’s gentle voice and it was just outside of the door. I could hear him knock softly and then trying to open it by pressing down the handle but I didn’t make any sound.

 

“Taemin, I know you’re in there… this is the only door that’s locked and there’s no one else in the building but us…”

 

I let out a faint sigh because I realized he was right. My heart was still pounding from before, in my chest and in my head, I gulped because I felt hesitant about letting him in but something still told me I should. I pushed myself up until I was standing on my still quite unsteady legs and reached my hand towards the handle, unlocking the door with a slow but swift motion.

 

It only took a second for Key to open it and enter, then close the door behind him as he sighed and stood in front of me. He looked at me with those soft eyes, coated with worry, but I couldn’t look back, I was looking down at my own feet as I began to feel nervous again.

 

“Taemin…” he mumbled sadly, as if he didn’t know what else to say.

 

I couldn’t hold it, my eyes began to water again and my tears spilled before I had time to even try and stop them. When Key saw the tears running down my cheeks he sighed and stepped closer to wrap his arms around my body and hug me loosely. I leaned on him, my face buried in his shoulder as I latched my arms around his waist and grabbed onto the back of his shirt tightly with my two hands made into fists.

 

“Hyung I can’t take it anymore… it’s too much…” I mumbled as I completely broke down in his arms and began sobbing uncontrollably as Key tightened his grip on me and slowly began to rub my back.

 

“Just calm down Taemin.” Key whispered and sighed faintly. “Everything will be okay.”

 

I shook my head because he didn't understand, he couldn't understand because he didn't know what was burning inside of me, everything that I fought to bury deep within me and forget about even when I knew it was hopeless. I could ignore my feelings for him but I knew they would always come back when he was close to me, when he cared for me and when he would hug me like this or even just talk to me. His mere presence was tearing me apart inside because I was at war with my own feelings, because they felt wrong. I shouldn't feel this way about him, I couldn't be in love with him when we were part of the same group and put of an industry that could simply despite me for being too close to him, just because he was male like me.

 

I like another male. I knew I did, I knew it so well by now that I wasn’t even confused anymore, I was just scared and I couldn't tell him, I couldn't tell anyone.

 

"Taemin, it's just a dance... you're tired right now but you'll figure it out eventually."

 

I was biting my lower lip while sniffling, my sobbing had died down and now Key continued to comfort me with his words and it pained me that he still didn't know anything, he still believed me being like this was all because of that stupid dance.

 

"Don't worry about it. You've still got time to master it, you're Lee Taemin, there's nothing you can't do!" Key pulled out of the hug and held onto my shoulders. He tried to look into my eyes but it took me a couple of seconds before I allowed myself to look back at him. He gave me an encouraging smile. “Are you feeling a little bit better?”

 

“I think so.” I lied, because there was no way I could tell him why I was really upset. I wiped my cheeks dry with the back of my hand. "Thank you for comforting me hyung."

 

"You're welcome." He continued to look at me and then pulled me into a second but looser hug. "I told the other members to go back to the dorm, they were beaten down and tired too Taemin, they didn't mean what they said, you know that right? People get frustrated and grumpy when they run out of energy."

 

"I know hyung, I don't blame them for anything... I’ve been messing up a lot, what they said might've been harsh but it was all true."

 

"It doesn't matter, they could've told you the same words in a better and positive way, they shouldn't have attacked you like that with all that negativity..." Key let out a sad sigh. "It is strange that you're having so much trouble with our choreography this time, though, since you're usually the one to learn it first and then watch the rest of us mess up while you master every move perfectly..."

 

"I guess the tables have turned this time."

 

"Yeah" Key breathed, giving me a deep stare. "That's why I say it's strange. Did something happen recently? Or is your body unwell? I mean you wouldn't mess up like this and not to mention break down in tears if everything was normal, something is clearly going on with you Taemin..."

 

"I think it's just stress hyung, don't worry about it." I gave him a quick stare before I looked away. "If the other members left already shouldn't we be making our way back to the dorm too?"

 

Key sighed but didn't ask further question about what was going on with me, instead he sent me a small smile. "I thought we could practice a little bit more before leaving."

 

"What do you mean? Just the two of us?” My eyes grew a little bit wider and I felt a bit nervous as Key nodded his head.

 

"I can help you with the dance, at least some parts of it which you find difficult. What do you say?"

 

It didn't feel like a good idea to go back to the dance studio and practice with Key alone, just the two of us, but I still found myself nodding at him, to which he smiled and grabbed my hand to pull me out of the dressing room and back to our dance studio. 

 

Key and I continued to dance for a few more hours, he was helping me go through all of the steps except for the ones we couldn’t do on our own, as the beginning for example or the buildup before the last chorus, but Key helped me to master everything else and it felt easier to memorize the choreography when it was just the two of us. Because there were no preying eyes, waiting to point out my mistakes, it was just Key hyung, encouraging me and helping me to perform better.

 

It was nice to spend time just the two of us, I found myself smiling and laughing and having fun while still getting all the steps down until I knew them perfectly.

 

For the umpteen time we had gone through the entire dance and made the last move which was to fall down onto the floor and point to the ceiling. My chest was rising up and down rapidly as I breathed and then smiled before rolling over onto my side. I looked at Key. “I finally got it hyung, all of it~” I exclaimed happily.

 

“Of course, why wouldn’t you, just needed a little push, now on tomorrow’s practice round you’ll master it and make Minho, Jonghyun and Onew all eat their words up!” he exclaimed as he rolled onto side too.

 

I laughed softly at his words before moving closer so that we were right in front of each other. “Thank you for helping me hyung.”

 

“You’re welcome Taemin~”

 

I smiled, though it quickly grew into a laugh as Key began to tickle me and when I tried moving back he would only move closer. “Ah hyung, I can’t breath!” I pleaded, trying to prey his hands off but he laughed and continued until we were both laughing and I was also panting.

 

“Sorry but I wanted to see more of your smile.” Key said, as some type of defense to his attack.

 

I scoffed. “So you tickled me just to see me smile? Then, is it okay for me to kiss you just to feel your lips?”

 

Key looked confused for a moment. “What?”

 

I don’t know what came over me, perhaps the moment just got the best of me and I quickly leaned closer but as I connected our lips the movement was slow and gentle. It wasn’t hasty or sloppy, it was neat and almost just a peck at first, my lips pressed against his simply, until I made the move to deepen it but that’s when Key had his reaction. He grabbed my by my arms and gently pushed me back.

 

“Taemin?” he stared at me in shock.

 

I gulped as I realized what I had just done. I didn’t have any explanation, at least not a good one, so I just stayed silent.

 

The air around us filled with tension and I swallowed thickly, especially as Key was quickly pushing himself up into an upright position. I follow shortly after and glanced at him hesitantly. “I’m sorry hyung, I didn’t mean-“

 

“It’s okay Taemin.” Key cut me off, though his voice seemed hesitant and he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding looking into my eyes.

 

I began to panic What have I just done? “H-hyung, I really didn’t-“

 

“It’s okay Taemin!” The moment Key raised his voice I didn’t dare to say another word. I looked at him nervously but I couldn’t read his expression, he didn’t seem angry so I didn’t know why he was making his voice louder or why he wouldn’t look at me but I didn’t have the guts to ask either. Key slowly stood up and cleared his throat. “I-its getting late, I think we should leave now.”

 

I just nodded silently and stood up as well, gulping as Key was walking towards the door, still avoiding looking in my direction. I followed in silence, afraid that if I said anything else he would raise his voice at me again.

 

None of us said a word until we were back in the dorm, where the others members were already passed out from the tiring day.

 

I bit my lower lip, still feeling deep regret about what I had done at the dance studio. How could I do that? How could I just kiss him without permission? I let out a soft sigh. Is he going to treat me differently now? I felt as I should say something to him, anything, I wanted to fix the situation but I didn’t know how.

 

“Key hyung…” I managed to force out as he was walking towards the bedroom he shared with Minho. His hand was already on the handle but he didn’t move, waiting for me to continue.

 

“I’m… “ I tried to think of something to say but my throat felt stuffed and it was hard to say anything at all. Key turned to me with a gaze I couldn’t quite figure out.

 

“I think we’re both quite tired Taemin, let’s get some rest, alright?” he formed a small smile but it seemed kind of sad in a way, almost. “We have another full day of practice ahead of us, you’ll need a good night sleep to regain your energy and do well tomorrow, so you should go to bed.”

 

“But hyung-“

 

“Goodnight Taemin.” Key said and entered the room, closing it behind him with a light thud and like that I was left alone in the hallway, feeling empty, sad and confused. I couldn’t figure out what Key was thinking about me or what he was feeling, I didn’t sense anger but he had still seemed worked up or affected at least by my kiss because he did raise his voice at me after all.

 

In the end I did as Key told me and went to bed but it was really hard to fall asleep that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and I definitely couldn’t stop worrying.

 

 

---

 

 

The next morning I woke up because Minho was shaking me. I sighed and sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes with my fists.

 

“Time to get up Taemin, we have to leave in half an hour.”

 

“Arraso” I mumbled in my hoarse morning voice and yawned. I wanted nothing more than to lie back down and go back to sleep but I couldn’t, I had to get up and dressed even if it meant forcing myself. I expected Minho to leave the room but he didn’t, he sat down on the edge of my bed next to me. I gave him a confused look but he just sighed.

 

“Taemin, about yesterday…” he began. “I just want you to know that I’m sorry, or well, we’re sorry because I think I can speak for the others as well. Even if you messed up we shouldn’t have ganged up on you like that and made you cry.”

 

I tensed up. “How do you know I cried?”

 

“Key just told me. He kind of just gave all us a good scolding.”

 

“Really?” I was surprised, I thought Key was mad at me, if he was why would he still stand up for me?

 

Minho nodded, gave me an apologetic stare and put a hand on my shoulder. “I really am sorry. We were all tired but that’s not an excuse for hurting your feelings or making you feel even more stressed than you already are.”

 

“It’s okay Minho, I’m fine.”

 

Minho nodded and smiled. “That’s good, and don’t worry about the dance, just take the time you need to perfect it Taemin, if our manager or the company comments about it we’ll all ready to defend you and make them give us more time.”

 

“Thank you hyung but I think I’ve learned it now, Key helped me a lot yesterday after all of you left and it was really helpful.” I smiled but then it turned into a frown as I thought about Key.

 

“Well, I guess we’ll see on today’s practice.” Minho smiled and ruffled my hair. “Get out of bed and get dressed and then join us in the kitchen for breakfast, alright.” Minho waited for me to nod before he got off my bed and disappeared out of the room.

 

I sighed as I heaved myself out of bed, I walked over to my closet that I shared with Minho and grabbed a simple pair of adidas track pants and a white t-shirt, I wanted to be comfortable for dance practice and actually didn’t care too much about what I was wearing. When I was dressed I left my room and walked towards the kitchen, everyone else were already at the table as I entered. I gulped because I quickly realized the only free chair was next to the one Key was sitting on, it wasn’t surprising as I usually sat next to Key normally, however after what happened the night before it felt somehow nerve-wrecking to be close to him. I was afraid of what he was thinking about me now.

 

“Good morning.” I mumbled to all of them and sank into the chair, avoiding looking in Key’s direction. They greeted me back, even Key but he also avoided looking straight into my eyes, there was definitely a slight tension between us but I tried to ignore it.

 

After having breakfast we were heading straight for the dance studio so we needed to take care of the dishes and get ready fast.

 

“Aren’t you two cute~” I heard Jonghyun hyung sing somewhere behind me as I was rinsing off our bowls and chopsticks. I turned around to give him a strange look.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

He just smirked and looked in another direction. I was confused but followed his gaze, which landed on Key who was wiping our kitchen table off, I looked at him and then back at Jonghyun, I couldn’t understand what my older hyung was implying.

 

“You’re matching! You look like a couple.” Jonghyun continued and raised his eyebrows at us playfully before walking out of the kitchen to take care of some other chore that wasn’t connected to the kitchen. I looked at Key again and finally realized what Jonghyun meant. Key was wearing the same outfit from our dance practice the day before, black adidas track pants and a simple white t-shirt, just like me. I smiled shyly but once I realized Key wasn’t even acknowledging me it faded quickly and I frowned. “Hyung,” I tried to gain his attention but he didn’t look at me. “Hyung, are you mad at me?”

 

Key didn’t say anything.

 

“You can’t just ignore me hyung, you have to say something at least.” I pleaded and let out a soft sigh. “Please?”

 

After wiping off the table Key finally turned towards me, he even approached me and dumped the cloth he had been using in the sink next to me; he washed his hands quickly and dried them off before finally turning to me, facing me. I gulped, waiting for him to speak.

 

“I’m not mad at you Taemin, I’m just confused alright. I know we all tend to be quite affection with each other during our concerts and stuff, sometimes in our dorm and so on too but it was just you and me in that room yesterday and you kissed me.” His words made me blush and I hung my head to conceal it. “You actually kissed me. If you would’ve done it at stage I could’ve thought of it as fan service but like I said… it was only you and me in that room Taemin.”

 

I gulped. “It wasn’t fan service hyung.”

 

“I already know that, so what was it Taemin? Why did you do that?” He gave me a serious look.

 

I wanted to tell him but I was scared. I swallowed to moist my throat and then opened my mouth, trying to force the words out but before I could Onew hyung popped up in the kitchen doorway.

 

“It’s time to go guys, we’re already late.”

 

Key looked at me and then turned to look at Onew. “Just… give us a minute.”

 

“We don’t have a minute Key, we have to go, now. You can just talk in the car, come on!” Gives us both a serious look and walks off towards the hall.

 

Key let out a sigh and turned back to me. “We should go but this conversation isn’t over Taemin, okay.”

 

“O-okay.” I squeaked out faintly and then followed him out of the room to join the other members in the hall, when we all got our shoes on we were out the door.

 

 

---

 

 

Practice went smoothly and I was able to comprehend the choreography better and get all the movies right and follow in perfect sync with the other members. As we finished a full go-through of the entire song the others smiled at me as I was pushing myself of the floor.

 

“Yah, did you just learn everything overnight?” Jonghyun said with a scoff. “What happened?”

 

I bit my lip and smiled shyly. “Key hyung helped.” I glanced over at him but he didn’t look back at me, he was drinking water in the corner.

 

Jonghyun nodded and he turned to me, his smile fading into a soft sigh. “Listen Taemin… I’m sorry about yesterday, all right. I didn’t mean-“

 

“I know hyung, you don’t have to apologize.” I cut him off quickly. “I’m not hurt. We were all tired and I was making a lot of mistakes… it’s okay, but I think I got the routine down now so we should be fine. I am the one who was messing up so I am the one who is sorry.”

 

“No, you don’t have to apologize for anything.” Jonghyun argued and smiled as he walked over to ruffle my hair. “So, Key taught you everything?” I nodded. “So that’s what you two were up to last night when you stayed behind?”

 

“Yeah…” I sent Jonghyun a confused look because he sounded suspicious. “What else would we be doing?”

Jonghyun snorted and put his hands up in defense. “I don’t know, I was just asking Taemin ah.”

 

“Tsk…” I mumble, finding him strange so I turned to look over at Key instead.

 

We continued to practice for the rest of the day and by the end of it we had the routine down perfectly to the core. Although I wasn’t as nervous to be around Key today I still got a fluttering feeling in my stomach when we were close and balancing off each other, or those few moments when we caught eye contact while dancing and he would smile at me.

 

We went through the dance many times, after finishing it yet again for he umpteenth time we all collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

 

“Great work today guys, I think we can take tomorrow off to rest. We know the dance well enough by now~”

 

I smiled to myself, because a day off sounded really tempting, a day when I could just lie around in bed all day or watch TV… and talk with Key? I rolled over onto my side and looked at Key with a sad look. He was lying on his back with his eyes clothes, his chest still rising up and down as he was breathing heavily. I continued to look at him, biting my lower lip and sighing. I knew I needed to talk to him, I wanted to but I was still not sure what I was going to say.

 

I thought about it, biting my lower lip harder and staring at him. He looked so perfect; whatever he did he always looked perfect. His hair was messy, his chest was rising up and down as he breathed heavily and his body lied outworn on the floor, he wasn’t moving a muscle, yet he was stealing my attention and—

 

“Taemin?”

 

I snapped out of my trans and sat up and turned around to look up at Minho who was standing. “Neh hyung?”

 

He gave me an odd look and also glanced over at Key and then back at me. “Why are you looking at him like that?”

 

I froze, my cheeks heating up. “W-what?”

 

“You heard me.” He gave me a curious look.

 

I panicked and looked over to see if Key was listening to us, he hadn’t moved and his eyes were still close so I hoped he didn’t realize we were talking about him. “I wasn’t looking.”

 

“I just saw you Taemin, biting your lower lip like that, watching him as if he’s… someone you treasure or as if he’s a piece of meet.”

 

I gulped. “H-hyung…” I tried to give him a pleading look, begging him not to question me about Kibum right there in front of him and the other members as well. “Jebal…” I whispered the word for only him to hear.

 

Minho sighed and nodded. “Sorry, we can talk about it later.”

 

I nodded, silently thanking him. He gave me a nod and a small smile before walking off and out of the room, probably to get more water or go to the bathroom. I looked towards the right corner of the room where Onew and Jonghyun had separated from us, they were watching something off Jonghyun’s phone and seemed deeply immersed in it.

 

I was still sitting on the floor, a couple of feet away from Key who was still lying down in the same position. I glanced at him but quickly looked away with a sigh because I didn’t dare to watch him for long, it’d make me feel odd.

 

“Taemin ah…”

 

I froze.

 

“Were you really looking at me?”

 

“A-aniyo…” I gulped and sighed when I realized I was just making myself even more obvious with my stuttering. “Mianhae hyung, I was just-“ I stopped talking as he suddenly rose and stood up, he walked over and pulled me up to by my wrist and then he changed to grab my hand, sending me a look I couldn’t read before pulling me with him out of our practice room.

 

I was confused as he pulled me all the way to a dressing room, alike the one we had been in the day before when I broke down crying. Key pulled me inside and closed and locked the door behind us.

 

“Hyung?” I questioned because I was getting more and more confused by every second that passed, especially as he starred at me with this intensity in his eyes that was new to me, I hadn’t seen it before. He walked closer and unknowingly I was backing but it didn’t help because I eventually crashed into a wall and Key pinned me against it as he pressed his body against mine and suddenly kissed me, hard. I was sure something exploded inside of me because my body felt really light and my knees seemed to give in and I would’ve fallen down if I hadn’t wrapped my arms around Key’s shoulders for support. It took me a couple of seconds to wrap my mind around what was indeed happening and then I could respond to the kiss.

 

Key angled his head to right and deepened the kiss, running his tongue along my lower lip, which made me shiver but I still opened my mouth and allowed him to explore It and I returned the favor as much as I could with the little experience I had.

 

The kiss was slow and I melted into it until I was really enjoying it, which made me feel empty when Key pulled apart. His face still remained close to mine and he starred into my eyes and then leaned his forehead against mine. I gulped, he was breathing heavily after our kiss and his breath ghosted over my lips, it felt warm and tickly.

 

There was a moment of silence between us, Key was looking into my eyes, making my knees feel weak again so I kept my arms wrapped around him for support. He was so close and it felt good. My body was hot and I had a light feeling in my stomach. My heart was thumping loudly, I could hear it in my ears and all my blood went to my cheeks as I looked back at Key. He was just staring at me and it was making me blush until I was red as a tomato.

 

About a minute or two later, after the complete silence, Key’s lips curled into a small smile and he gave me a soft look. “We should continue our conversation now, from this morning…”

 

“O-okay.” I stuttered out, swallowing thickly.

 

“So…”

 

I was hesitant. “So?”

 

“So… why did you kiss me yesterday?” Key asked, his gaze serious yet he still had that soft aura about him, so it was intimidating, he seemed more curious and than angry about it.

 

“I… I just” I stammered and couldn’t quite put my words together. “I don’t know.”

 

“You don’t know?” Key’s curiosity seemed to vanish. “Wasn’t it, perhaps… the same reason you were starring at me? Or the reason you kissed me back so eagerly just a minute ago?”

 

I sighed and bit my lower lip into a pout, not saying anything.

 

“Taemin…” Key tried to gain my attention. “Tell me. Do you possibly… like me?”

 

I tensed up and I was sure my whole face turned tomato red in a matter of seconds. “W-what? Hyung, that’s… I… I-I wouldn’t—“

 

“Taemin” Key cut me off and stepped closer. I would’ve taken one back but I was already trapped against the wall, there was no more room to back further. “If you do, you have to tell me…”

 

I gulped. “Why?”

 

“Because I would want to know… if you really did kiss me last night because you have real feelings for me, I would want to know.” Key’s voice was gentle.

 

I became even more nervous, my cheeks were burning and palms sweating and I didn’t know what to say to him. Should I really confess to him right now? I thought and bit my lip. Though, it won’t be much of a confession, will it? Key hyung already seemed to have figured it out, he just wanted it confirmed.

 

“Taemin?”

 

I was pulled out of my thoughts quickly. Key took another step towards me and looked straight into my eyes with a soft smile, waiting for me to speak.

 

“I-I… I… do.” I forced the words out but Key looked confused and uncertain.

 

“Is that a yes?”

 

“Y-yes.” I whispered and nodded my head. “It’s true… I do like you hyung… and I-I can’t help it.”

 

“Taem—“

 

“I’ve liked you for a while now… it’s just… ever since our promotions started this year we suddenly got closer, during practice and our onstage performances and I started to feel things.” I blushed hard at my words and hung my head as my confession was coming out even if I hadn’t planned it too. “I didn’t know what it was at first but I quickly realized that I was falling for you, even if you’re a guy and a member of the same group you made me fall in love with you hyung! And I can’t help it! S-so if you’ll get angry about it then you should just be angry at yourself because you caused this!” I raised my voice slightly at the end of my sentence and sighed with tears in my eyes. “It’s not my fault!”

 

“Taemin…” Key sighed and gently grabbed onto my shoulders. “I’m not angry with you.”

 

“Then… you’re disgusted?”

 

“Yah…” Key frowned and gave me a serious look. “What do you think of me Taemin, really? You know I never get mad at you, and how could I ever be disgusted with you?

 

I hung my head while mumbling a faint “I don’t know.”

 

“Well… fact is that when you kissed I wasn’t taken back or disgusted… I was surprised.”

 

I slowly looked up to face him with a shy gaze. “What do you mean?”

 

“I was surprised because this jolt of electricity went through me and made every hair on my body stand and every nerve to tingle… and if one gentle kiss can cause that type of sensation, it must mean something, don’t you think?”

 

I nodded my head. “So, what does it mean?”

 

“What do you think Taemin?” Key asked and then smiled softly at me.

 

I bit my lip, feeling a bit unsure even if I knew what I wanted to say; it was just hard to get it out. “Uhm, maybe you… like me?” I said at last, my voice faint and face beet red. Key smiled at me and nodded his head, which made butterflies flutter in my stomach.

 

“It probably does, doesn’t it?”

 

“Chinja?” I looked at him, surprised, my eyes were a bit wide open and mouth into an ‘o’ shape, which seemed to make Key laugh softly.

 

“Yah, why are you so surprised? You said it yourself Taemin, we’ve had some close up moments in our choreography and I’ve actually quite enjoyed that. I like being close to you, I just didn’t know it was because I have feelings for you...”

 

I could feel my heart skip a beat and then pick up in speed, and as if that wasn’t enough Key suddenly stepped closer to me and my heart began to thump loudly in my chest when I realized he was about to kiss me all over again.

 

He grabbed my arms in a gentle grip, as if he wanted to hold me in place or bring my closer and then he leaned in, closer to my lips. I pressed my lips together nervously and shivered slightly when he drew closer and his lips soon touched mine. He was gentle and slow this time, and the kiss was simple but sweet and almost perfect in a sense. It started with a plain peck but then Key deepened it and I could respond and follow his movement as he pulled me in closer and moved his lips against mine in a slow and passionate motion. I could feel every hair stand on my body and my heart thumping like crazy. It felt like it lasted forever before Key pulled apart a couple of seconds later.

 

After the kiss we stood awkwardly in front of each other for almost a minute, just staring at each other and blushing, occasionally grabbing each other’s hands and squeezing them softly.

 

“So… what happens now?” I asked shyly while squeezing Key’s hands softly and looked down at my own feet. I couldn’t explain why I suddenly felt this shy in front of Key who was the person I felt most comfortable with in the entire world.

 

“Should we start dating?” Key’s words surprised me and I looked up at him but then nodded, how could I say no? Key couldn’t help but laugh softly. “We can start from that kiss yesterday and see where things go, what do you think?”

 

His warm smile made me all fuzzy on the inside just watching him, I was instantly nodding my head. “That sounds good hyung.” I said, Key then nodded and pulled me into a hug and as we pulled apart we kissed again, it was already my new favorite thing to do.  

 

“Taemin ah…” Key spoke up in a gentle and questionable tone after a few minutes of silence has passed us by. Key was having his arms around me, hugging me loosely and I was doing the same thing, I also rested my head on his shoulder but as he uttered my name I leaned back to be able to look at him.

 

“Neh?”

 

“Yesterday when you kept messing up and when you broke down crying…” he stopped and sighed. “Did that have something to do with me?”

 

His question made me sigh and even if I tried to suppress it Key noticed and gave me a sad look. “So, it was?”

 

I nodded. “But it doesn’t matter…” I added and looked at him, smiling softly. “You’re with me now.”

 

“Still…”

 

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay hyung, everything is okay.” I leaned closer to him again and rested my head on his shoulder. “Everything is perfect.”

 

“Just like the dance.” Key added and smiled. “You nailed it perfectly today Taemin, I knew you would~”

 

I scoffed and pulled out of the hug. “Don’t talk about the dance when we have a moment…” I smiled shyly and reached out to grab his hand.

 

“The dance is part of our moment Taemin, without it we wouldn’t have a reason to practice yesterday, then you wouldn’t have kissed me and we wouldn’t be standing here right now…” Key spoke the words softly and grabbed my hands, intertwining our fingers slowly while smiling.

 

I smiled too. “If I wouldn’t have feelings for you in the first place I wouldn’t have messed up the dance and we wouldn’t have to practice yesterday and-“

 

“Whatever,”

 

Key cut me off and chuckled before leaning in to peck my lips and then kiss me again. I laughed and kissed him back, enjoying the moment, our moment.

 

 

 

 

 

---

A/N

 

So, this is a short but cute Taekey One-shot~ ^^ 
I hope you enjoyed it!

Write for Taekey~~~ <3

Thank you :)
 

My Taekey stories ---->

Trace of your smile
Mistakes
Broken strings
Time forgets 

♡