“There are a ton of people out there, holy crap!”

So far, Taemin had thought of his new friend Jongin as by far the purest person he knew, but the past ten minutes which they had spent here together had him seriously questioning that assumption. Being faced with a whole crowd of spectators that had come to view their performance seemed to completely expose the bad side Jongin no doubt had, making him swear out loud as he peeked through the curtain.

“You told me twice already,” Taemin dryly stated as he watched two of the other dancers fiddle with their costumes, the boy’s back turned towards the stage behind which the spectators were sat.

Even though he couldn’t deny Jongin’s constant reminders that he would be dancing in front of a crowd in a few minutes didn’t have a positive effect on his nerves, Taemin had mostly succeeded in keeping calm by avoiding the curtain at any cost and pushing the intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind.

Jongin, on the other hand, seemed to believe confrontation was the best way to deal with the nerve-wracking situation and thus, Taemin nonetheless had to suffer with him.

It was the first time performing to such a huge crowd for the two boys and even though Seunghyun had made a whole speech earlier telling his crew that they were going to do just fine, their anxieties were undeniably still present five minutes before the performance was set to start.

Still not daring to take a peek behind the curtain, Taemin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his fingers busy with the rings he had gotten to wear. Had it not been for the tiny metal objects, he would have ruined his makeup a long time ago due to his inability to keep his hands still when nervous.

Jongin seemed to have anxious habits, too, which included running his hands through his hair every few seconds. Half of Taemin feared the strands were going to get oily, but he knew there was little point in trying to hinder his friend from doing it.

“My hyungs are here,” he informed the other instead. “I mean Jinki- Onew-hyung, Minho-hyung, Key-hyung… Jonghyun-hyung actually bought tickets for all three performances. He likes to call himself my fanclub president.”

Jongin let out a short laugh that came out as a snort, his body stiff with apprehension.

“Jonghyun,” he murmured. “Is that the short one? He seems nice.”

“He is,” Taemin confirmed. “He’s really gentle and such, even if he can definitely be snarky as well. He just doesn’t use that gift often. Still, he’s full of sarcasm, but he also knows whenever something’s wrong. I don’t know how he does it, though, sometimes I wonder if he’s actually psychic.”

“I’ve never spoken to him,” Jongin confessed as he looked at the tips of his black shoes, a faint blush rising up on his cheeks. “But I can imagine he’s really nice to talk to.”

“Don’t worry, my hyungs don’t mind that,” Taemin quickly told him and gave him a reassuring smile. “I can literally be the shyest person ever, if Seunghyun-hyung hadn’t practically forced us to talk, I’d be stuck on my own right now. Jinki-hyung – that’s Onew – is really shy, too. Don’t ask me why he’s the cashier.”

Jongin shrugged as he finally stepped away from the curtain, choosing a new position so that he was facing Taemin directly.

“I can imagine a lot of girls would find him cute. His smile is really nice and warm, it makes him approachable… Unlike your other hyung, Key it is I think? He’s – well – intimidating.”

“Oh, that!” Taemin laughed out loud, a fond glint appearing in his eyes at the mention of the older boy. “He’s pretty fierce, but – you won’t believe this – he’s the most motherly person I know. He takes care of all of us, cooking as dinner…his cooking is great! And even if he may seem arrogant or cynical sometimes, hyung’s a really sweet person…”

He trailed off, lost in his own thoughts for a moment, before focusing on the last person left.

“Lastly there’s Minho-hyung. We’re really close, I think I trust him more than anyone else probably. Like Key-hyung, he’s really sassy and also competitive on an unhealthy level. However, he’s really loyal. He’d never let anything happen to us.”

“They sound nice,” Jongin quietly admitted, a hint of hope hidden in his voice, “I wish-“

“Two minutes, guys!” Seunghyun’s voice interrupted the boy, booming through the earpieces the dancers had all been given. “Please take your positions now!”

“I guess we should go, Jongin-ah!” Taemin told his friend over the sound of his rapid heartbeat that threatened to block out all the noises around him.

He had broken out in a cold sweat by now, his palms sticking to the silky fabric of his pants which were by far the most beautiful thing he had ever worn in his life. In his chest, anxiety and anticipation were competing with each other in a fierce battle and it was too early to say which would be more prominent in the dreaded, final moment before he stepped onto the stage.

With sweat covering his forehead and frightened eyes, Taemin returned to his assigned spot, a part of him wanting the show to be over as soon as possible while his other half impatiently looked forward to finally performing the dance which he had spent so long perfecting.

Meanwhile, the crowd behind the curtains was starting to become aroused with excitement at the upcoming performance, specifically four men in the back of the room who could hardly contain themselves despite getting some of the worst spots available. Only two of them were actually seated on chairs with the smallest one enthroned on a younger boy’s lap, the fourth and last one standing behind them while squinting at the stage.

“Your eyes are terrible, Jinki-hyung,” Kibum dryly commented from his chair, “you should really get glasses.”

As if to prove a point, the younger boy demonstratively pushed the round glasses that were sitting on top of his nose, helping him see the stage which was still empty.

“No, no, it’s okay,” a flustered Jinki responded, desperately trying to hide the fact that he was having a hard time seeing clearly. “I’ll be just fine.”

“If you say so.”

Kibum couldn’t be bothered to hide the fact that he deemed himself one hundred percent right in this case, yet the next second his attention was focused on the stage when the lights were turned off and music filled the room, marking the start of the show.

Suddenly everyone’s eyes were trained on the stage where, after minutes of anticipation, the dancers appeared, few at first yet the number increased quickly. As if he had forgotten to close it before, Minho’s mouth was hanging slightly open as he watched the performing dancers whose movements, despite the stage being so far away, looked enthralling.

Nearly everyone in the room was bewitched by the sight of over twenty people moving completely in synch and even Kibum, whose perfectionism rose to unhealthy levels on a daily basis, had to admit the dance instructor had done a great job. Most of the performers he worked with were rookies and had hardly been dancing for two years, with Taemin being an exception.

Kibum could not remember a time when the boy hadn’t danced and neither could Jonghyun, who was still sitting on Minho’s lap, leaning back against the taller boy’s broad frame comfortably as he watched the performance in a trance-like state.

He had not gotten a good night’s sleep before the day of the show and that could have been the reason the brightly illuminated bodies of the dancers blurred together before Jonghyun’s eyes, creating wildly colorful yet mesmerizing patterns.

The short man could not help his own astonishment as he viewed the show, stunned by the beauty created by countless bodies moving to the beat of an unknown English song that was blasting through the speakers.

After they had started with a group performance, many of the more advanced dancers had the opportunity to show off their skills in short solo dances, presenting the choreographies they had put together with the help of their seniors.

Taemin hadn’t dared to ask for his own dance yet and all of his hyungs knew, but instead Jongin had a small solo part that differed a lot from the choreography the group had performed before, the boy’s steps becoming lighter and lighter. Under the purple and blue lights his movements were fluid and for a moment, it even seemed like his body was made entirely, without joints and bones to hinder it from flowing.

The individual performances were so breathtaking that none of the spectators noticed how much time had already passed, until the last stage had started. Taking a brief glance at the wristwatch of the man standing next to him, Jinki realized they had been here for over an hour already in amazement.

The oldest boy had never been graceful, let alone a dancer, his clumsy nature severely limiting his ability. However, he found that he did not mind watching Taemin’s performance – he loved it, even, and despite having worried about spending so much money on the tickets for the show, he now realized that it had been worth it.

Not to forget, Jinki and the other three boys would never miss an opportunity to make Taemin happy and they knew they could do just that by cheering him on.

After the premiere was over, a few people held short speeches and then, Jonghyun, Jinki and the other two were finally able to meet Taemin. The atmosphere backstage was great with everyone’s spirits high as skyscrapers, and when Minho finally spotted Taemin in the mass of dancers with glittering jackets, he spontaneously ran to pick up the boy and spin him around.

“Yah, yah, mind your surroundings!” Kibum exclaimed worriedly, fearing that Taemin’s legs might hit the persons around him, but the two youngest boys were so ecstatic they didn’t even hear their nagging friend.

“Really, you’re such a great dancer, Taem!” Minho repeated over and over, unable to stop raving about what he had seen. “You were the absolute best.”

“You were great, Minnie,” Kibum agreed as he ruffled Taemin’s hair after the younger had finally been set down again, earning a glare from the maknae. “I always enjoy seeing you dance because you hit the beat very well and you have a great feeling for music. You looked marvelous up there!”

“Oh, I see you’ve been reading the dictionary lately,” Minho teased the older boy’s choice of words when Jonghyun chimed in, “I definitely won’t regret going to all three shows, Taemin-ah, your crew is fantastic!”

A dark blush crept up Taemin’s neck and he turned shy at all the praises he was receiving, feeling a bit embarrassed by his hyungs’ excitement. However, his timidity soon vanished when Kibum mentioned going home to eat Korean beef, which was something the youngest hadn’t eaten in years.

“We already prepared everything, we just have to grill the meat,” Minho explained in more detail.

The four boys had spent a long time trying to decide how to treat Taemin after his performance, and even if they could not exactly afford it, they had settled with buying beef for the maknae. The next few days would certainly be a challenge, with their savings used up almost completely, but Jinki was positive that they would be okay in the future, since the shop had gradually been gaining new customers, especially with the new Christmas-themed drinks and cookies they had recently put out.

The last thing they would think about doing was telling their youngest about their financial worries, though, especially while he was under the constant stress of performing. Therefore, the boys would enjoy a nice dinner that evening and work hard to earn enough money the next week.

“Before we go, I gotta say bye to Jongin,” Taemin told them when he had suffered through the acts of affection of all four hyungs, sheepishly trying to untangle his hair which Minho’s fingers had thoroughly missed up.

“Oh yes, please tell him he was great!” Jinki said with a shy yet beaming smile.

He felt it was not the right time to properly introduce themselves to their young regular now, even though that was definitely on top of the boys’ bucket list, but the oldest still didn’t want to let Jongin’s effort and talent for dance go unnoticed.

“I’ll be sure to tell him!” Taemin assured the older and dashed off, pushing through the mass of people, including both dancers and congratulators, backstage.

When he had finally found his new friend, who was seemingly surrounded by his family, he felt too awkward to properly talk to him, so he simply said his goodbye quickly.

“Jinki-hyung told me he liked your dance a lot. He thought you were amazing.”

“Tell hyungnim thanks, please,” Jongin bashfully replied, eyes trained on the ground – he seemed just as new to praise as Taemin was.

“I will!” Taemin promised.

When he got back to where his hyungs had been waiting, he found Kibum and Jinki caught in a conversation with Seunghyun while Minho and Jonghyun had taken it upon themselves to entertain each other in their own strange way, giggling quietly.

“We should go quickly!” Kibum loudly said when he spotted Taemin, clapping his hands a single time to signal the others they were leaving. “Even though it’s almost Christmas and the holidays start soon, Taeminnie and I still gotta go to school tomorrow! It was very nice to talk to you, Seunghyun-ssi! See you next time!”

“Hopefully, yes!” Taemin’s senior grinned as he waved with the bouquet of flowers  he was carrying. “Let’s talk again soon, Kibum-ssi, Jinki-ssi. You did very well tonight, Taemin-ah, I’m proud of you. Next time there’s no getting out of performing a solo for you, got it?”

He affectionately ruffled Taemin’s mussed up and sweaty hair one last time and the younger rolled his eyes at his senior’s words, as he had already heard them once today.

The journey home, which took almost forty minutes since they had to rely on public transportation, was filled with mindless chatter and carefree laughter, with everyone joining in on the fun. Even Jonghyun, who was ready to drop dead, managed to crack a few smiles, his hand safely tugged into the pocket of Jinki’s coat as their fingers stayed intertwined.

Although Kibum was right about school the next day, the boys celebrated until the early morning hours and the fun they had definitely made up for the lack of sleep, especially as Taemin and, unsurprisingly, Minho decided to stay home from school so Kibum was the only one still going.

The next two days were extraordinarily busy and exhausting even for the boys, who were all used to hard work. With Taemin’s shows and the preparations that had to be made for Christmas as well as the influx of customers their shop was receiving at the moment, they were working all day and night.

The oddest thing those days was the fact that Minho became increasingly more secretive with each new morning. At first, Jonghyun and Taemin had assumed he was getting them something special for Christmas.

For two years now, it had been a tradition that only Minho bought presents for everyone while Kibum cooked dinner and the other three cleaned and decorated the place where they planned to celebrate. Of course, the rest of the boys wanted to buy gifts as well, but frankly, they did not have the money for that.

Kibum’s and Jonghyun’s caretakers struggled with paying their housing bills anyway, Jinki was the only one left of his family after his uncle’s death and poor little Taemin had been living in different orphanages and temporary children’s homes for almost ten years, with no one to get attached to and no one who was willing to give him a little pocket money from time to time.

Therefore, Minho was the only one of them who was actually able to buy presents and he did so surprisingly willingly, his lack of complaining a stark contrast to his usual behavior.

So, it was only reasonable for the boys to believe Minho was preparing something for Christmas. However, when the boy became more and more irritated, even snapping at an innocent Jinki right after the older had awoken from his nap, they started to become suspicious.

It was considered one of the worst crimes to mistreat Jinki and usually, Kibum wasn’t the only one giving out punishments when someone seriously tormented their oldest, who was too sweet for his own good sometimes. The fact that Minho had lost his temper with Jinki of all people said a lot about his mental state.

Kibum was determined to talk to Minho about his behavior before Christmas Eve, or before the start of the holidays even, just to make sure they could spend their few free days in harmony and peace. When Jonghyun and Taemin returned home in the evening of the maknae’s third performance, though, the diva forgot about his plans for a while, busy preparing food for the newly arrived boys and moving his hips along to the Christmas songs Jonghyun was happily singing.

The good mood lasted exactly until the moment Jinki spoke up, making everyone turn quiet.

“Where is Minho? Didn’t he come home with you, Jjong?”

“With us? Why would he come home with us? I was the only one who bought tickets for tonight, so it was only me and Taeminnie,” the short man replied with a frown.

Kibum was standing frozen next to the stove while Taemin had stopped picking at the jelly he had gotten from somewhere, his eyes darting between his hyungs rapidly as if he was unsure where to look.

“I thought he was with you, honestly,” Jinki told Jonghyun. “Since I haven’t seen him all afternoon and all, I assumed he had joined you last minute. Is that wrong?”

“It is,” Taemin quietly confirmed.

Meanwhile, a horrible realization had started to dawn on Kibum, making his blood run cold.

“You mean,” he started, gripping the glass he was holding tighter, “it’s almost 11 and Minho hasn’t returned yet.”

When Jinki nodded, the glass in Kibum’s hand broke, pieces of it scattering all over the floor.

_______________________________

someone asked me to update this and i gotta say...you're right, you're absolutely right. i should have posted this chapter a long time ago. i even procrastinated proofreading this one for abt 4 weeks or so, and i feel bad about it.

also, a quick note abt seungri, who does appear as taemin's dance coach. i'll be honest and say i used to bias him, but obviously, not anymore. i wrote this long before the burning sun scandal happened, when i didn't know of the disgusting things he did. i honestly don't remember if he's in any of the upcoming chapters, but i'll kick him out of this fic as soon as possible. i'll also delete his tag.

now, onto happier news. i've alr finished the story i told you abt last time 'let's talk about , baby'. currently, i'm writing the sequel bc this story has been my favorite one to write yet - so if anyone is interested...? also, i'm getting into stray kids atm bc i have time now. i haven't stanned a new group in years and dropped most of my old ones (except for shinee ofc, mx, block b, sf9 and a bit of nct), so it's kinda exciting for me rn. if anyone wants to rant abt that...i'm here.

lastly: i love jonghyun. he's a smol & precious noodle with the best voice in the world and everyone should appreciate him. bye.