Jinki’s POV

I pulled him in my arms and held him tight. Being stronger than him, I made his attempts at escape futile.

“Taemin!  Taemin….stop struggling and listen to me!” He kept pushing at my chest, trying to get out of my arms.

“Taemin….Please…” When he went still in my arms, I knew I had his attention.

“Now, will you tell me what you meant when you said that I regretted being in a relationship with you?”

 Sighing, he looked at me with teary eyes.

“You tell me!”

“What do you mean?!”

“You have been blatantly ignoring my existence! Days went by without you contacting me! Last time, you left me there and flew to Japan! You didn’t think of informing me about it previously either! What am I to you hyung!? Does my existence even mean anything to you or am I just that easy to replace?! Someone you can play with when you have free time and brush aside when you’re busy???”

He had silent tears flowing from his eyes!

“Taemin….!”

“No hyung…..I don’t want your explanation. You can tell me upfront if you want me to leave you alone. You just have to say it, I will walk away and -!”

Before he could go on babbling any more nonsense, I pulled him towards me and planted my lips on his, instantly silencing him. His mouth opened as he gasped, giving me the chance to deepen the kiss. I let my tongue explore his warm mouth. When I felt him go slack against me, nipping his lower lip once, I pulled away.

“Now will you let me explain? Tae, trust me, it wasn’t my intention to ignore you. And I won’t make any excuses. I know I paid you less attention, but I was stressed. We weren’t the only one pursuing this deal with Shiseideo, Yoon Entertainment has been pushing too. I had to get this deal for us at any cost. Tae, I accept I have workaholic tendencies, I grew up like that. I had to work hard for Bum. But I want to change; I want to work a little less. I want to be happy with the person I love. For that, I want you to understand me and help me. I permit you to pull me away from my desk henceforth if you feel I have been ignoring you. Trust me Tae, I love you a lot and I don’t want to lose you. Will you give this old man another chance?” I asked him earnestly as I wiped his tears away. Seeing him cry always made my heart clench in a painful way!

His answer came in the form of a kiss, which I was happy to return. I pulled him hard, letting myself fall back on the bed, with him on top of me.

“You’re so beautiful….” I whispered, caressing his cheeks, which instantly coloured up.

“Hyungggg!!!!!!” he whined as he hid his face in my shoulders, causing me to chuckle.

As I sat there with him lying in my lap, I realised how close I had come to losing him. I don’t want to imagine my life without him in it.

“Hyung..?”

“Hmmm…”

“So what happened with that Shiseido deal finally?” he asked looking up at me with a curious gaze.

“I bagged it!” I told him with a smirk.

“Really!!” he sat up suddenly as he looked at me with twinkling eyes.

“What do you take me for? Of course I wouldn’t let anyone else get it!”

“You’re amazing hyung!”

Chuckling I pinched his cheeks before saying,

“Well, I was hoping to celebrate it with you and our close friends. But imagine my shock when I was informed that Bum hasn’t been home for a few days!”

“You must have been really worried right?”

“Not at first. I tried calling you but no one received it. Then I called Taeyeon who told me you weren’t home either. Next I called Jonghyun but he didn’t know where Bum was either. He did sound weird though. When I was able to reach Bum’s phone finally, he cried out saying you were lost! I was so worried at that moment and angry too!” Saying this, I kissed his nose, eliciting a giggle from him.

“But more than angry, I was worried.  You barely speak any English, you didn’t have your phone and no offense but you have a very bad sense of direction. I didn’t want you to become a case of International Missing Child!”

“And so being the ‘Knight in Shining Armour’ that you are, you came to my rescue!”

“Well that’s a great way of putting it!”

We both couldn’t help but laugh together. The rest of the night was spent in cuddling. Luckily for us, the storm had settled down and we were finally able to reach Geneva. The phone network was back up and Kibum was informed about Taemin’s wellbeing and was waiting for us at the airport. The moment I saw my brother, I couldn’t help but pull him in a headlock.

“And you Mister, where is that note that you told Taemin you left for me!”

“Ahh!Ahh! Hyung….it hurts!” he said as he kept trying to get free. I let go of his head and pulled him in a tight hug.

“Never and I mean Never again are you both leaving without informing me! Am I clear?” I asked as I let him go to look at both of them. They share a glance before nodding.

“Hyung can we eat something? I’m super hungry!”

“Sure.”

We made our way toward a nearby café, with both of them going on and on about the dishes they still haven’t tired. As I was about to comment, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that it was a call from Minho.

“Hello Minho-ya! How are you?” As I greeted, he started babbling on the other side, without breathing much.

“Would you slow down? I’m not able to understand a thing you are saying!” The next words had me standing still on the spot, wishing I still wouldn’t understand! I felt my heart skip a beat as I stared at Tae and Bum, who had finally noticed that I wasn’t following them and were making their way back towards me.

“Okay Minho-ya I will reach there as soon as I can. I will need some time; we are in Switzerland at the moment. But I’m on my way, so please take care of everything in the meantime. Yes, I will call you once I reach there. Take care.” Hanging up, I took a deep breathe before turning my attention towards them.

“Bum…”

“Yes Hyung! Is everything alright? You look pale.”

“I want you to listen to me carefully okay? Do not panic.”

“Hyung what is it? You are scaring me!” he said as he moved forward and held my hands.

“Bum….Minho called to inform that Jonghyun has met with an accident….”

“What!!!”

“Kibum!!”

“Hyung!”

I held him as he passed out from the news. I looked at Tae and his eyes reflected the same worry I had. 

Jonghyun-ah please be fine! Bum needs you…….!