Destined Friends

Taemin's earliest memory was when he was three years old, and as if fate was already toying with him from a young age, Jongin has been a prominent figure in his life from that point on. Their friendship didn't start off with a fairtytale setting, nor did it resemble the opening scene of a romantic novel. It was rather simple. Lackluster is the word that Taemin would use to describe it in the future, but like everything that involved Kim Jongin, it held a special place in his memories.

"Taemin, mom said that we're leaving in a few minutes!" Jinki's voice rang clear in the house as the toddler struggled with putting on his last shoe, tongue poking out between his pink lips as he forced his feet to slot into the stretchy fabric. His oversized teddy bear, which he had been clutching against his chest, proved to be an obstacle in completing such a simple task but he refused to set it down. 

"Having trouble?" 

Iseul stood by the doorway of their corridor, a fond smile playing on her lips as she made her way towards her struggling son before bending down and slipping on his last shoe with ease. Tightening his arms around the neck of his furry friend, Taemin leaned over to plant a greatful kiss on his mother's cheek while her arms wove around his tiny waist in a sufficating hug, cooing endearingly enough to generate a small giggle from the youngest of the Lee family.

"You know that if you had set your teddy down, putting on your shoes would be much easier," Iseul scolded him but he knew that he wasn't in trouble from the light tone of her voice.

Taemin's auburn orbs drifted from his mother's beaming smile to the chocolate teddy bear in his arms. The thought of letting it go was hard to stomach since it has been his loyal companion ever since Jongin had gifted it to him during his last birthday. The only time that it ever left his side was during his bath time and even then, he was adamant that it was placed somewhere within his line of vision. Unbeknown to him, his nose had already wrinkled in disapproval, plopping back down to stubbornly sit on the ledge of their shoe area with half of his face buried behind the head of the bear, defiant eyes glaring back at Iseul to convey his stance of the matter.

"Alright, alright, baby. I won't say anything else. I know how much you love it." Cupping his son's face in her palms, she left another gentle kiss on his forehead before standing up to find her own shoes. 

'Love.'  Taemin didn't know what that meant but he has heard the word being frequently exchanged between his family members in his three years on this earth. He wasn't sure if he 'loved' the bear but he did know why he was strangely attached to it.

It was simply too embarrassing to state the reason out loud.

When the Lees arrived at the Kims' household, it took all of Taemin's strength to force himself out of his mother's grip, pushing his way past the sea of adults that had crowded around them until he was standing face to face with Hyoyeon, one of Jongin's older sisters.

"Hyo!" He beamed, flashing his milky whites as he rammed himself against her lithe figure, short arms wrapped around her waist since it was the only place that he could reach. Without wasting another beat, he added with bounces in his steps, "Nini! Minnie wants Nini!"

"Taeminnie, you only just got here and you want to see him already?" The eldest of the Kim siblings stood behind her sister with an amused smirk. She was shorter than Hyoyeon, who was blessed with their father's genes, but her sharp features indicated that Kim Taeyeon surely belonged with the rest of her family. Bending her head down to reach Taemin's right ear, she whispered in a playful tone while her arm snuck around his shoulders and led him towards the living room, stopping just right behind the white leather couch that was perched opposite of the TV. "Why don't you wake up the little prince, hm?"

Not needing to be told twice, Taemin bobbed his head causing his bowl-cut hair to bounce especially as he sprinted around the couch to where a peaceful toddler was laying undisturbed with his back turned to him. Tucking his furry companion under his chin, he leaned his upper body against the soft cushion where Jongin's head was resting, and cautiously his head using his teddy bear's hand as a puppet. Jongin didn't stir for the first few minutes but the oldest of the two refused to give up, puffing his cheek as a knot began to form between his eyebrows and lightly tapped the tanned child's cheek instead. After a couple of tries, Jongin finally roused from his nap, blinking tiredly at the world around him as he slowly sat up, two small hands rubbing his eyes until they gradually opened to inspect who had woken him up. Upon seeing Taemin's sheepish smile, his own lips blossomed into a grin, arms immediately throwing themselves around the small boy.

"Minnie!" His nose snuggled against his neck, squishing the teddy bear between them but neither seemed to care. Jinki, Hyoyeon and Taeyeon all snickered to each other from behind the couch where they had silently watched the exchange until the girls were ushered into the kitchen for a task. Jinki bounced over to sit on the edge when Jongin had aided Taemin on the couch, pulling him up with all of his strength until the two were sitting side by side.

Nothing much was said between the two who were simply content to be in each other's presence while watching a rerun of Power Rangers on the television, Jongin sneaking glances over at the teddy bear in Taemin's arms every now and again. Eventually, his mouth ran on its own without his consent.

"You still play with Nini?" His head curiously tilted to the side, its dark fur as Taemin's neck rose with heat for some unknown reason.

Before he could reply, Jinki butted in with a sneaky smirk on his six-year old face. "Of course he does, Jongin-ah. Didn't you know? Taeminnie can't live without him."

Flustered over the tone that his brother held, Taemin glowered and prepared to call their mom for another series of "hyung-is-being-mean-again" but thankfully it was cut short when Jongin's sisters returned with two individual plastic bags which were filled with decorated cookies. Taeyeon bounced over to the Lee siblings and dropped the packet of sweets into each one of their hands. Taemin's face beamed at the sight of sweets as Jinki stammered a flustered "thanks" under his