Jonghyun seemed a little grumpy for the rest of that week, and Key wasn’t quite sure why.

On the other hand, Taemin seemed quite pleased to be treated to lunch every day.

When Friday finally came around, Key was nervous. He always liked spending time with Jonghyun, obviously, but it was getting to be a little awkward around him.

“Taemin,” Key said as he was getting ready to go. “Do you think I look good?”

“You always look good, umma,” Taemin yawned.

“Thanks, Taeminnie,” Key replied. He turned to put the finishing touches on his hair when he heard Taemin cough. Suddenly the events of the previous week came rushing back to him.

“Taeminnie, I think maybe you should come with me tonight.”

“No, umma, I’m fine. I have a lot of homework to do anyway.”

“No, really Taeminnie, I don’t want to leave you alone like I did last week. I’d just worry the whole night and not be able to enjoy myself. You don’t want umma to worry, do you?” Key asked Taemin innocently.

“I guess not,” Taemin replied slowly. “But I’ll be okay.”

“Just please come with me, it would make me feel so much better.” Taemin slouched.

“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “Let me get my things.” Taemin pulled out his phone and sent a text message, then got up to get his toothbrush and a change of clothes. Once Taemin and Key were both ready, Key hurried them upstairs to Jonghyun’s room. Jonghyun opened the door on the first knock, and his bright smile faltered when he saw Taemin.

“Hi, Taemin-ah. Did you come to bring me my Kibum?”

“No, hyung, umma wants me to stay tonight too because I have a cough,” Taemin said robotically. Jonghyun looked at Key, who nodded in agreement.

“It would make me feel better if he was here. I don’t want what happened last week to happen again.”

“It won’t, umma,” Taemin pouted. “I drank lots of water today and I only coughed once.”

“Doesn’t mean it won’t happen again,” Key said. “You’re fragile. Anything could happen.”

“Sorry, hyung,” Taemin said to Jonghyun.

“Taeminnie, it’s no trouble to Jjong, is it, yeobo?” Key asked sweetly. Jonghyun bit his lip.

“It’s no trouble,” he said weakly. Key clapped.

“See, Taeminnie? It’s fine,” Key said as he stepped into the room, holding Taemin’s hand. Chansung wasn’t there, and Key guessed that it was possibly because he was a knowing roommate who understood good etiquette. He’d forgotten about Chansung’s family thing that Jonghyun had mentioned.

“We brought ramyeon,” Key announced. “Shall we eat?” They did, and Key noticed that the room was uncharacteristically silent. Jonghyun didn’t touch him at all, let alone even try to kiss him, and Taemin was looking at the floor for most of the evening. They watched Key’s favorite drama on Jonghyun’s laptop, and when it finally finished around one in the morning, Taemin had fallen asleep on the floor. Of course, Key had noticed exactly when Taemin had fallen asleep and had covered him with a blanket so he wouldn’t catch a cold while the drama played. Once it was over, Key lifted Taemin up into Jonghyun’s bed, and noticed that despite the blanket, Taemin was shivering.

“Omo, Jjong, look at the poor kid, he’s cold. Do you have any more blankets?” Key asked.

“Not enough to cover all of us. Are we going to sleep on the floor if he’s sleeping in my bed? I feel weird using Chansung’s bed in case he comes back.”

“Ah, you can do what you want. I feel like I’d better sleep with Taeminnie because I don’t want him to get too cold, you know? He could get sick again and it could become a problem.”

“Yeah, sure. Fine,” Jonghyun muttered, setting out a small blanket on the floor and stealing a pillow from Chansung’s bed. “Goodnight, Key.” Key turned upon hearing his nickname and not “Kibum” like Jonghyun usually called him. He figured it was just a slip of the tongue and he turned back towards Taemin. Taemin’s sleeping form was precious, Key decided, and he snuggled closer to Taemin to keep him warm.

When Key awoke the next morning, he noticed that Jonghyun was sitting up by the bed, curled up into a little ball.

“Jjong, are you awake?” Key whispered. Jonghyun’s head shot up.

“Yes,” he said. His skin was pale, and there were huge dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. Key looked at him carefully, but Jonghyun didn’t make any sort of indication that anything was wrong, so Key didn’t ask. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I did,” Key smiled. Jonghyun smiled back and craned his neck up to kiss Key, but Key pulled away.

“Jjong! Not while Taemin’s here!” he cried.

“Key, come on, he’s asleep, and I’ve been waiting for a long time. I slept on the floor for you! Don’t I get some sort of compensation?”

“What are you talking about?” Key asked, somewhat confused.

“I…oh, never mind. It’s just that—”

“Omo, Tae-baby, you’re awake!” Key trilled.

“Good morning, umma, good morning, hyung,” Taemin said sleepily, rubbing his eyes adorably. Jonghyun let out a long sigh.

“Listen, you two, I’m really sorry, but I have choir rehearsal at nine-thirty and I need to shower before I go, so I’m sorry I can’t give you guys breakfast or anything,” Jonghyun sighed.

“Oh, that’s fine, Jjong, we’ll be fine,” Key said, fixing Taemin’s hair. “Alright Taeminnie, you go downstairs and I’ll meet you down there in a few minutes. Do you have your room key?”

“Yes, umma,” Taemin nodded. He got up from the bed and walked zombie-like back to the room. Key turned to Jonghyun and opened his mouth to speak, but Jonghyun got there first. Looking extremely serious, he began quietly.

“Key. Kibum. Listen, I know you really love Taemin, and I know you care about him a lot, but honestly it seems like he’s all you care about these days. I’ve…I’ve tried to tell you this since Wednesday, but you kept getting interrupted by him and I’m…I’m getting…I’m getting really frustrated. I…I think we should…go our separate ways…” he trailed off. Key’s eyes widened.

“But I love you,” Key said in a strangled whisper.

“I know, and I love you too, but it’s not working the way it should anymore. I feel abandoned.”

“You know I can’t stay away from Taemin, something might happen,” Key pointed out frantically, trying to persuade Jonghyun of his mistake.

“That’s the problem,” Jonghyun sighed. “I know his health is frail, but he’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. You don’t have to bring him around everywhere all the time. He probably wants to do his own thing too sometimes.”

“But Jjong, I can’t,” Key choked.

“Then I can’t either,” Jonghyun said sadly. He gave Key a chaste kiss on the lips. “I have to shower now. Goodbye, Key.”

All the memories he and Jonghyun had shared flashed through Key's mind as Jonghyun said those dreaded words.

Key left the room numbly, feeling as if he’d been slapped in the face. He somehow managed to find his way back to his own room. He opened the door and walked in wordlessly, even though he could sort of hear Taemin calling his name. He finally sat down on the bed and stared at nothing in particular. After possibly fifteen minutes, he noticed Taemin frantically waving in his face.

“Umma! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Umma, what happened?”

“I think…I think Jonghyun broke up with me,” Key said in an eerie matter-of-factly way.

“What? Why?” Taemin asked, aghast.  

“It all went so fast,” Key murmured. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Does he…not like you anymore?”

“He…he said he still loved me, but things weren’t…going right,” Key stated. Taemin sighed a breath of relief.

“Well that’s easy to fix, right, umma? Just make things go right from now on! If he still loves you, he’ll gladly take you back. Spend more time with him.”

“But that would mean less time with you,” Key said, suddenly turning towards Taemin. Taemin smiled gently.

“It’s okay, umma, I can take care of myself. And now that I’m part of the basketball club, I’ll be busy. They have late practices starting this week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, so I’ll be gone in the evenings, and the other days I’ll probably just sleep when I can. It’s fine, umma. You and Jonghyun-hyung need each other.” Key pondered Taemin’s words. Maybe the kid was right.

“But what do I say to him?”

“Tell him that things will change, that things will go better from now on. I don’t know, umma, I’ve never done this before. But don’t wait until you see him in class. That much I know.”

“Should I go now? To talk to him?”

“Didn’t he say he had choir rehearsal at nine thirty? It’s already nine twenty-five!” But Key was already out the door, racing upstairs to correct everything.

All the memories he and Jonghyun had shared flashed through Key's mind as Jonghyun said those dreaded words.

A/N: Were you expecting that? Of course you were! Because I write entirely in cliches. Kekeke.

In other news, Persuasion (Taemin's version of this story) has begun! Please enjoy it~

@AsianNoodles: Jealous Jjong~

@xoxoxoxoxo: I totally understand why you couldn’t wait. Neither could I :)

@ParadiseWithINFINITE: Teehehehe I’m happy.

@naznew: The story with Key and Minho is coming up soon!

@maedeh: Yup!

@AmythystJade: Quite. I’m obsessed.

@vampireme12: Insensitive! It’s a good word to describe Key in this situation.

@AZUMIX: Taemin is irresistible by everyone~

♥ Exie