Taemin's Story: End
Day by Day[Taemin's Story: Part 2 / End]
"HYUNG WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Aren't you afraid of getting in trouble again?!" Taemin looked at Taesun in shock as he forcefully grasped Taemin's wrist while continuing to walk forward.Taesun had dragged Taemin with him and all he had said was that they were going to continue dancing. Taemin had gotten even more worried since it was already 7 o'clock and the sky was getting darker every minute.
"You said you love dancing, so I'm going to help you continue. I know an empty practice room where we could practice your dancing." Taesun said dully while looking straight ahead. Taemin looked at Taesun with a weird face. Where is he going anyways? Do we have to go this way?.. This is stupid and scary.. Taemin cringed as his eyes wandered around the empty alley that they were passing through. There was nothing but piles of trash and the sound of wandering cats. He wasn't used to this type of atmosphere. Taemin felt goosebumps beginning to form on his arm. He gulped and quickly scooted closer to Taesun. His eyes slowly crept down to Taesun's hand that was grasping his wrist. He cocked his head to the side as he curiously looked at a black leather bracelet that peeked out of Taesun's sleeves.
"Hyung, what's that?" Taemin curled his lips as he pointed out the bracelet on Taesun's wrist with his finger. Taesun swiftly hid it with his sleeves.
"Nothing." Taemin frowned and as he was about to say something, a familiar voice spoke up from behind them.
"TAEMIN-AH, you still need your brother to hold your hand for you? Where is he taking you? Ballet classes?" The cold voice said mockingly. Oh no.. Taemin knew exactly whose voice it belonged to. He winced as he turned around to see Gunwoo and his group of friends laughing hysterically. Taesun turned around as well.
"Stop following us." Taemin said coldly. Gunwoo pouted and came closer.
"Why?" Gunwoo looked down at Taemin and smirked. Taesun's nose flared as he came up to Gunwoo and harshly pushed him back..
"Leave... geseki." His group of friends helped Gunwoo up as he eyed Taesun menacingly. He unsteadily walked up to Taesun. Oh great. Taesun's already in a bad mood. Taemin felt more uncomfortable at this point. He scanned Gunwoo's group of friends. He narrowed his eyes as he spotted one hiding his face with his hoodie. He worriedly looked back at Taesun. He see Taesun clenching his teeth even tighter from every step Gunwoo took closer to him.
"Ge..se..ki? Heh." Gunwoo sarcastically smiled, showing his creepy pearl white teeth. Taemin shivered. The smile quickly faded from his face as he took out his pocket knife. Both Taesun and Taemin's eyes widened at the sight of the sharp object.
"Oh crap. Why the hell would a 14 year old carry a pocket knife for?" Taesun leaned in and loudly whispered to Taemin. Taemin frantically tugged Taesun's sleeves as he began to panic.
"You can call for help if you want by the way, but unfortunate for you, there's no one around here." Gunwoo gave them a dark glare and smiled.
"TAESUN TAESUN LET'S GO." Taemin's voice shook as he tugged Taesun's sleeves more. Gunwoo laughed evilly as he watched Taemin try to budge Taesun, who was still in shock, back away.
"Danny. Kai. Get him." Gunwoo motioned them to hold Taesun back with his pocket knife. Taemin's eyes widened even more. KAI? Gunwoo smirked at Taemin's reaction and kicked him back to a wall. Two of the guys came out from the back and scurried up to grab Taesun's arms, holding Taesun back who wasn't quick enough. Taemin groaned in agony as the wall hit his back. As he tried to get himself up, he curiously stared at the hooded boy holding his brother back. He gritted his teeth angrily as he recognized Kai's embarassed face behind the hoodie. It really is him.
"Kai.. why are you doing this?" Taemin panted as he steadied himself once he got up. Kai's face went red as he avoided Taemin's eye contact and cringed in embarassment. Taemin looked at his old friend in disappointment and shook his head.
"... YOU COWARD." Taemin angrily dashed toward Kai, ready to push both Danny and Kai away. Gunwoo immediately motioned his friend to get Taemin. As Taemin came nearer, he felt something hard crash onto the back of his head and gasped. His eyes went blurry as he collapsed onto the ground. He caught a glimpse of Taesun's angry expression as he tried to squirm out of their grip and come to Taemin's side. He couldn't do anything anymore. It was all a blur as he witnessed panicked Gunwoo piercing his knife into Taesun's stomach. Sweat dripped down Taemin's forehead as he gasped and tried to get up to save Taesun, but didn't succeed as he collapsed again.
"What should we do with him now?" He heard an unclear voice muffle in his ear as his slight faded into pitch black.
Taemin felt his head throb painfully as he tried to open his eyes. He touched the spot where he had been hit and looked at his hand. No blood. Just a bruise. He sighed in relief as he realized that they had left him there in the alley. He checked the time on his watch which read 10:30 pm. He blinked and stood up dizzily to look for Taesun. Everything still seems so blurry. Taemin rubbed his eyes until it grew clear to him as he circled around searching for Taesun. .. He's not here. Taemin looked down and noticed he was stepping on a small puddle of blood. Taemin gasped as he searched all over the alley, then outside. His heart started to beat extremely fast as he stepped outside to not find Taesun.
"TAESUN..." He shouted. The name echoed throughout the alley, but there was no answer. Taemin started to pant uncontrollably. He shouted Taesun's name again, yet there was no response. Hyung?.. Are you at home then?
Taemin crashed Taesun's door open. Hot tears started to pour down his cheeks as he quickly went over to Taesun's bed. He had tried calling Taesun's number, but he wouldn't pick up.
"Yah.. Taesun.. stop hiding.. come out." Taemin's lips quivered as he threw Taesun's pillows and blanket onto the ground. His eyes immediately fixed onto a delicately wrapped box. Present? He grabbed the small box to observe it. There was a small piece of ripped paper underneath the ribbon with Taemin's name on it. I forgot that Christmas Eve is just tomorrow.. so this is my present? Taemin wiped his dripped nose then slipped the paper out and read it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TAEMIN BABO. I wasn't sure what to get you for Christmas, but this one caught my eye. Consider it your good luck charm. I even got an identical one for myself, too! It doesn't cost much, but you better not lose it like most presents your recieve, okay? Hope you like it.
Taemin quickly ripped the wrap off and opened the box. A black leathered bracelet laid inside. He gently took it out and wore it around his wrist. It's similar to the one that I saw on Taesun's wrist.. Stupid. If this was a good luck charm, it would've worked on him, too. Taemin threw the box across the room and laid back on Taesun's bed. He took the nearest pillow and curled his body onto it as he tried to rub the small tears that tried to come out with the back of his hands.
"Hyung, where are you?" Taemin croaked as he gradually fell asleep.
3 months later
"Thank you miss for your time." Taemin bowed down to an old woman and retrieved his paper with Taesun's face on it back from her hand. Taemin sighed and shook his head as she walked away. 125th person today. He slumped down on a park bench. He had been walking around and asking people around the neighborhood if they had seen Taesun for the past months, yet no one seemed to see him anywhere. Snow had cleared from the ground and spring is approaching and Taesun is still missing. Taemin reported it to the police, but they made no improving effort into finding Taesun as well. Gunwoo and his friends, including Kai, were nowhere to be found, too. Don't worry, Taesun. I'm not going to give up yet. I'm going to find you. With more luck from this lucky bracelet, I can. Taemin nodded and made a determined face. As he stepped up and slowly walked forward, he felt someone's back push his own. He panicked as he fell forward and landed on his left arm to try to save the picture of Taesun on his right. He smiled in a relief that the picture wasn't damaged. He then frowned as he turned around to see what had knocked only to find a cute girl around his age standing above him with a worried expression. He backed away as she held out her hand for him.
"I'm soo sorry. I was just playing catch with my mom and dad and I didn't watch my back."
"Ah yeah that's okay." Taemin blushed and hesitantly grabbed the girl's hand. The girl pulled him up and smiled which took him back. Her eyes followed the picture of Taesun he was holding.
"Oh. I see you're looking for your brother. It's too bad that you haven't found him yet." Taemin nodded and stared at the picture, too shy to look at her in the eyes. Suddenly, a woman appeared from behind and waved at the girl.
"CHOI JINRI. WE HAVE TO GO HOME FOR DINNER NOW." The woman shouted and stopped when she noticed Taemin. The woman smiled at Taemin and he shyly smiled back and slightly bowed down.
"OKAY." The girl shouted.
"I have to go now. I hope you find your brother." The girl smiled and waved at Taemin as she walked with her parents. Taemin gave her a little smile and slightly waved his hand at her.
"Mom and dad, can we buy some ice cream. There's an ice cream truck right there!" The girl pointed to the ice cream truck and pulled her parent's hands over there in a hurry. The dad almost tripped forward along the way. Taemin tried to hold in his laugh and bit his bottom lip. So her name's Jin..ri? Then he quickly stopped smiling and shook his head. Aish Taemin. There's no time for girls! You still need to look for Taesun. That's more important now. He hit the sides of his head with his palms continously to hopefully forget about the girl as he headed home.
At the dinner table, Taemin's parents were talking nonstop about the family business while Taemin glumly chewed his rice. That's all they really ever talk about. Usually when Taesun was still there, he would have someone to talk to, but ever since he was gone, he had no one. Taemin's eyes lit up when a topic they were talking about caught his attention.
"What are we going to do with Taesun's belongings in his room?" His mother asked his father.
"Aish let's just throw all of them away." His father said with his mouth full. Taemin face grew red as he burned with anger. He immediately stood up from his chair and looked down on them. They looked up at him questionably.
"NO. You're not throwing Taesun's belongings away! They're staying here!" Taemin gritted his teeth as he locked eyes with his father. His father infuriatedly slammed the table with his fist.
"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME. Why? They're useless now. Your brother either ran away or is dead so we're throwing his stuff away!" His father's voice grew so loud that it echoed the whole house.
"HE DIDN'T RUN AWAY. HE'S JUST LOST. WHY WON'T BOTH OF YOU BELIEVE ME."
"WE'RE MOVING TO JAPAN IN A WEEK. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO WITH ALL HIS CRAP THEN?" Taemin felt his heart drop. Japan? They're promoting their business in Japan? Taemin stepped back and shook his head in disagreement.
"Then they're staying here with me. I'm not going to Japan." Taemin frowned. They both looked at him in shock. His mother was on the verge of tears at this point. He didn't want to upset his mother, but he needed to find Taesun. His father flared his nostrils furiously.
"You're only 13. You can't take care of yourself without us." His father's tone mocked him and he sarcastically smiled at Taemin. He was confident that Taemin couldn't manage to live on his own. Taemin thought about it for a while and sarcastically smiled back.
"Really? Remember that day when you had caught Taesun giving me lessons? Tell me. Did you care of anything besides that? .. Did you notice the bruise on my cheek?" Taemin spoke softly. His father gave him the what are you talking about look. His mother bit her lip. Disappointed by his parent's response, Taemin's face softened and he gave them a sad smile.
"I think I can handle things on my own." He went straight up to his room and slammed the door shut.
1 week later
Taemin went outside to say goodbye to his parents who had already set their suitcases inside the car's trunk. His mother had cried for the whole week and had been trying to convince Taemin to come with them to Japan with many gifts, but that didn't work. Taemin had even returned them. His father was still disappointed and angry of Taemin and his decision, but he had already given up with the useless convincing. Taemin opened the car door for them and help his mother in first, who was still wiping tears from her eyes. His father stopped and turned to Taemin with a serious look on his face.
"Have you thought about this thoroughly? Once I step in this car, you cannot change your mind as it shall be settled. You will be taking care of yourself from now on with only the home and money that I have left behind for you.. and you may not ever see us again." Taemin nodded without hesitation.
"I have thought about this thoroughly.. and I accept what I will be handling." His father grunted as he stepped in the car himself. Although his father didn't show it, he had noticed the sadness in his father's eyes as he stepped into the car. I'm going to miss you guys, but someone has to be here when hyung comes home. Taemin half smiled as he sadly waved goodbye to them.
Taemin sighed as he stepped in the empty house. His father had left some of the furniture behind for Taemin and even Taesun's room.
"You're all mine now!" He yelled out as he lifted his arms out and did a victory dance.
He lazily sat down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table.
"To show them that I'm able to take care of myself, I'm going to be a man from now on.. No one can call me a girl anymore! From now on, I'M A FREE MAN." He stood up heroically with his hands on his hips. His lifted up his eyebrow as his eyes wandered over to the bracelet on his hand. He puffed his cheeks as he lifted his arm up and stared at the leather bracelet.
"And you.. You better work from now on. Okay?"
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