“Oh hyung…can you drive faster?” Minho complained.

“Okay, whose fault it is? You’re the one who asked me to went back home when we were already half way arrived!” Jinki complained back.

“But I forget my gift!” Minho reasoned. The said gift was placed carefully on his laps.

“You can give it anytime!”

“But it will be snowing again today!”

Their arguments didn’t stop until the car arrived in front of the school. Minho wasted no time hopping off the car and running inside the school, right before the guard closed the gate. But Minho didn’t stop until he reached the lockers. How lucky he felt when he saw Taemin was shoving his books inside his bag in front of his locker.

“Hey, Taemin!” Minho waved excitedly.

Taemin’s reaction wasn’t what Minho expected. Instead of waving back like he usually did, Taemin looked away and continued his activity.

“Taemin?”

Now the said guy had slammed his locker hard and left as soon as he could, giving Minho no chance to ask about his weird behavior, neither to give his gifts to Taemin.

Again.

***

“Taemin is avoiding me.”

Jonghyun didn’t know he should be happy or sad hearing this statement from Minho. He was happy, because it meant he had no rival now. But he couldn’t help but feel so sad seeing Minho looked so suffering. It was such a confusing feeling.

“Taemin is really avoiding me.”

Minho laid his head on the desk now. His eyes were blank and his voice sounded desperate.

“Why?” Jonghyun asked out of curiosity.

“I don’t know, hyung!” Minho buried his face on his arms. “He just…avoids me.”

“Ask him,” Jonghyun suggested.

“How can I? He even doesn’t want to see me!”

“You still practice together with him.”

“He comes right when the practice starts and leaves as soon as it ends. And Miss Im doesn’t allow us to chat because she wants to make this year’s play perfect.”

“I think…I can help?” Jonghyun offered, although he himself wasn’t sure he wanted Minho to be close back to Taemin.

***

“Taemin!”

Key put his hands on his hips, annoyed by Taemin’s recent constant spacing out. And Taemin didn’t explain what had bothered him. Every time Key tried to find out, Taemin always escaped from the older guy. It was okay if it was only sometime, but Taemin always spaced out if there was nothing he did. Key, who had known Taemin for years, could tell that he had a very big problem, yet he also couldn’t help if Taemin didn’t tell him the reason.

But it seemed the answer came by itself.

“Taemin, there is a tall handsome rich guy who looks for you out there.”

Taemin gulped.

Tall. It couldn’t be Jonghyun for sure. He wasn’t…well, grown properly. And Key wouldn’t call Jonghyun like that. He would just say ‘Dino hyung is looking for you’ or something like that.

Handsome. Taemin didn’t have handsome friend. He even almost didn’t have friend at school, especially after the incident in the cafeteria.

Rich. Okay, this just added Taemin’s nervousness, because he could guess who this person that was tall, handsome, and rich.

“Someone named Choi Minho,” Key continued.

“Tell him I’m not here!” Taemin begged, clasping his palms together above his head.

Key shook his pointed finger in front of Taemin’s face. “I believe he is the answer why you become so spacing out and sad all time. So, I won’t make him leave after he fixed his problem with you.”

***

Minho had fidgeted himself on his seat for the nth times since he arrived at the café. He couldn’t tell it was because he had never come to that place or because he was too nervous to meet Taemin. Minho had so many thoughts in his mind, like how Taemin would react about his sudden appearance, will Taemin meet him or not, and a little envious that Jonghyun knew where Taemin worked while he himself even didn’t know that Taemin actually worked. Minho thought he never could be better than Jonghyun. He knew very little about Taemin. Minho sighed at the thought.

“Hey.”

The guy who welcomed Minho when he first entered the café came again. This guy, although had a pretty face—but not as pretty as Taemin, Minho noted—had this kind of intimidating aura around him. It just added Minho’s nervousness, especially when the guy whose name was Key—that was what Minho heard from Jonghyun—kept examining him seriously.

“I’ll allow you enter my staff room. Just this once. Taemin is there,” Key motioned Minho to the door beside the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Minho bowed politely before he made his way to the door. He could still feel Key’s stare on his back, but he had a bigger problem to make him more nervous.

And that problem would be answered once he entered the room.

***

As soon as Minho stepped in the staff room, the atmosphere inside became tense. Taemin refused to look at Minho, while the older guy was so nervous to finally find out about the reason Taemin avoided him. He even tripped his own feet when he was about to sit in front of Taemin. Minho started to question it was because he hung out too much with Jinki or it was because he could never stop himself to be a fool in front of Taemin.

After a very long awkward minutes, Taemin sighed. He knew he couldn’t let them stayed silent all night. He knew he should end this all soon.

“So, what brings you here, Minho-ssi?”

Minho cringed at the honorific Taemin used. Where was the ‘hyung’ gone? What was his fault, actually?

“Taemin, are you angry at me?” Minho asked, almost like pleading.

“No.”

“And then why…? Why do you suddenly avoid me?”

Taemin could catch the pain in Minho’s words. He really wanted to shout at Minho. Why did the older boy make him so confused? Why did he ruin his life by taking his scholarship but and then he acted so nice in front of him? Why did Minho act like he was in pain while Taemin who was the one that suffered? Taemin was so confused. He wanted to trust Minho, but the evidence, how Minho mentioned his scholarship to Miss Han that day, showed that Minho didn’t deserve his trust.

“Taemin, answer me!” Minho shook Taemin’s rigid body, feeling impatient and scared at the same time.

Taemin finally looked at Minho’s eyes. Minho swore Taemin seemed about to cry but then his eyes became cold. Very cold, that Minho almost didn’t know this beautiful guy in front of him anymore.

“I think I’ve said it to you before.” Taemin’s voice was just as cold as his expression. “I hate you so much, Choi Minho.”

No, Taemin wouldn’t break down in front of Minho. It was enough the older boy had played on him. He shouldn’t make himself looked more pathetic than before. He didn’t need to tell Minho that he knew how Minho destroyed his life. It would only make Minho happier, seeing him suffering because of him.

But Taemin didn’t know. He really didn’t know how his words killed Minho a little by a little.

The taller guy suddenly chuckled. It sounded so flat. And painful.

“Is that so? You really hate me, don’t you?” Minho chuckled some more. “Well, you do have said it from the start.”

“I…better go.”

Taemin knew it was just his imagination. Minho wasn’t crying, was he? Those glistening eyes…it were all just lie, weren’t it?

It’s all lie. He is lying to you, Taemin!

Those words that made Taemin nailed on his spot, staring blankly at Minho’s back who left that place broken-heartedly.