On the second to last night of their vacation, the gang (minus JongKey) were enjoying themselves in the hotel room. The girls had been bugging Taemin to let Junhyung tell the story of how they met. Junhyung had convinced Taemin that it would all make sense if he told them his whole story. So they gathered around the bed and Taemin began.

“First of all, you should all know that I’m actually 16 years old. But that will make sense later…

      My parents were simple, proud people. We lived out in the country, on land that my father’s family had farmed for years. They were quite surprised, in a horrified kind of way, when I suddenly constructed a full eloquent sentence at the age of 11 months. But I never slowed down. I kept making discoveries that were well beyond my age but I learned not to share all of them with my parents after I received many awkward, shocked responses. I learned how to read and write around three years old so my discoveries really took off when I got a hold of some books. My mother must have been especially horrified the day when I was four years old and I came running into the house holding a dead fish, yelling “Mommy, mommy! This fish is dead and I know exactly why!” she just stared opened-mouthed as I explained how fish obtain oxygen from water with the use of their gills.

            When I was five, they sent me to kindergarten and it wasn’t long before the teacher recommended that they send me straight to first grade. If I had learned to keep my mouth shut, I could have stayed with my peers and had a normal life. But no, every time I learned something new, I was so excited that I had to go tell someone right away. The other kids never understood what I was talking about, so I told my teachers. And so, I sailed through to fifth grade by the time I turned 6 and it was the fifth grade teacher who explained my potential to my parents. So they decided to get my IQ tested first. …I have an IQ of 246 (average is 90-110. Genius starts at 130). Then they arranged for me to go away to a school that had special programs for both kids below and above average. They dropped me off at the school, and not even all of the new discoveries waiting all around me in this new urban setting could distract me from the fact that they were leaving me there. It wasn't like they wanted to get rid of me, they just didn't quite know what to do with me and figured that the teachers would know better. Still, they were my whole world and I wanted nothing more than for them to stay with me and love me and be proud of me. But I can’t say that I have ever seen pride in their eyes for me, to this day." Junhyung took his hand and rubbed it soothingly. Taemin smiled weakly and went on.

       "I was not completely alone, for I had my advisor Jessica: a nice, young lady who was deeply impressed by me. She helped me settle in and explained the program to me. Most of the students at the school district were average K through 12 students, but the students in the special program could jump around from class to class and test out of any of them until they found their best fit. I wanted to take things slow and stay there as long as possible because I was afraid of where they would send me next. I had a lot of fun there. In addition to discoveries in maths and sciences that amazed the staff, I also learned how to play several instruments and approached fluency in English, Chinese, and Japanese. All the adults loved me but the students seemed to either hate me or fear me… Even though I took my time, I tested out of everything they had to offer within about 4 years.

     So guess where I went next? Yup, college. At ten years old. I was certainly ready for the curriculum but there were things outside the classroom that I was not emotionally ready to see. I had another advisor, but he was nothing like Jessica and I became so lonely. Throughout the time I was gone at school, my parents had come to visit and watched me perform at special events. But they always seemed sad that they would never be able to teach me anything. My mental capacity seemed to be a rift in our relationship. We never talked about our feelings and so, I was pretty socially inept. I couldn’t tell them that all I wanted to hear was “I’m proud of you, son.” I told them how much I missed them, but I never told them how miserable I was at college. But, I did break down, when I was twelve. I snapped and asked if I could quit going to school and just come home. This did not end well, and I was not doing well afterwards.

       I was emotionally unstable and I somehow wandered into a bookstore. The bookstore where Junhyung worked at the time, when he was 16. The books reminded me of my intelligence, which I resented greatly at the time, and I started crying. I asked Junhyung where the bathroom was and he followed me in there because he could tell I was crying. I apologized for disturbing the store, but he just shook his head and smiled at me. Then, he hugged me. It happened to be exactly what I needed. I felt so warm and safe that I quit trying to stop my tears and… I balled like a baby. Haha, I’m sure it was very attractive."

"It was precious, yeobo." Junhyung said smiling. Taemin rolled his eyes but pressed on. 

     "Well, I couldn’t believe it- he was an adolescent that neither hated nor feared me. So, naturally, after that I couldn’t leave him alone. I came to the store every day. After I got to know him, I realized how perfect he was. He was different from everyone else. He listened to me go on about quantum physics and whatnot, but he never seemed shocked or horrified. He always gave me that warm smile of his. He was always happy for me when I discovered something new, even though he didn’t understand it. He inspired me to keep going and gave me hope that my parents would come around. It was around that time that I decided to become a master of figuring out other people’s problems and feelings so that I could help them and get them to like me. Like Junhyung had done for me…And that has worked wonders on all of you. I feel like you guys are, I guess, the family I never had…” Taemin blushed. Micha squealed and got up to hug the daylights out of him. Then they all got up to hug him, ruffle his hair, and tell him that they’ll be there for him. Then, Chohee prompted him to continue his story

       “Well, I was about 14 when I discovered that I had feelings for Junhyung. I freaked out. It must have been pretty amusing to see, now that I think of it. I didn’t have a clue about love or or romance. So, I read, like I always do. I found books, but I also used the internet which was a horrible idea. There are scarring things on there! Instead of feeling more prepared and knowledgeable, I managed to scare the crap out of myself. I couldn’t possibly do those things that the books and articles said… So I tried to ignore it. But Junhyung noticed that I was acting strange.” Taemin stopped and glanced at Junhyung. He took over.

      “I tried to get him to talk about it, but he would just blush and make up an excuse to run away. I was pretty sure I knew what was going on, so one day I told him that I loved him too. Hahaha, he just squeaked and ran away, like he saw a ghost. People have told me that I’m scary, but aish! But you won’t believe what happened the next day. Out of nowhere, he just pushes me up against the wall and-”

“Yah! They don’t need to hear that…” Taemin said, glancing at Minho who looked slightly uncomfortable.

“It was pretty funny, though. I wasn’t surprised when Taemin took a job with NASA, but I sure as hell was surprised when he did that…” Junhyung said laughing.

“You work at NASA?” Jinki said, awestruck.

“What happened next? Come on, just tell us!” Chohee whined. Taemin looked at Minho questioningly.

“Ooh, go on, then. I’d hate to stop your story.” Minho said. Junhyung picked up where he had left off.

“So the next day at work Taemin comes into the bookstore and goes to the very back. He whispered for me to come help him with something and when I get back there, he pushes me up against the wall. Then he gets this really nervous look on his face. I was so confused I thought something was wrong until he started leaning toward me. Then I realized he was trying to kiss me. It was like he was trying to be the dominant one in the relationship but he was so scared he couldn’t follow through. It was adorable!” Taemin was blushing profusely by now and he mumbled something and tried to get up to leave, but Junhyung put an arm around his waist to keep him there.

“So I let him go on and he managed to give me a peck on the lips. Then I asked him why he was doing this and he said something like, ‘well, I have feelings for you and you said that you love me and according to my research, this is supposed to happen next.’”   

“And then he laughed at me.” Taemin added, pouting. The others were giggling too.

“Yes, and then I told him there are no rules for how relationships are supposed to work and we can just do these things when it feels right, you know? And then I said that we should probably wait until I get out of work and then continue the conversation, haha… He looked so upset after that, though. Maybe he was embarrassed, I’m not sure, but I can’t stand to see him upset. So I took him in my arms and gave him a real kiss.” Junhyung said, turning to smile at Taemin.

“It was wonderful.” Taemin said returning his smile and both Micha and Chohee went ‘aww!’ Then he turned to the others with bright eyes and added, “it was more amazing than taking off in spaceship, I would say!”

“Wow! Minho, do I kiss that well?” Chohee asked.

“I would take kissing you over a ride in a spaceship any day.” Minho said, smiling and giving her a kiss.

“Yah! That’s not saying much. You wouldn’t have even ridden those roller coasters today if I didn’t drag you. You’d never get in a spaceship, Minho!” Everyone laughed and Minho mumbled that she was still a great kisser. Then Micha turned to Junhyung.

“So the two of you have been dating ever since?”

“Yeah. When I started college I went to the same one he was going to and we’ve been living together for…two years now?” Junhyung looked at Taemin.

“Yes, that’s right. And I do wear the pants in this relationship now!”

“I just let you think that.”

“Oh, sure, you are so stubborn. You know, I try to help him with his homework but he won’t have it.”

“Hey, you tried to do my homework for me and it would be completely obvious that it wasn’t my work.”

“Yes, well. We bicker sometimes but for the most part we complement each other perfectly. He’s been everything to me and I don’t know where I would be without him. I have no idea why he likes me, though…” Taemin said, smirking a bit.

“I’ve told you a million times, yeobo…” Junhyung said, taking Taemin’s cheek. Minho cleared his throat.

“So what are you working on now? Haven’t you finished college already?” he asked.

“Oh, well I have a couple degrees so far.” Taemin replied.

“A couple? So far?” Jinki asked.

“Yes. All of my teachers went on about how I owed it to humanity to go into science and make new discoveries. So I double majored in astrophysics and experimental medicine. They seemed to be the most important and adventurous of the sciences. I just finished my final project and doctoral dissertation a year ago. It was published in several scholarly journals and some concepts were put into college textbooks for this year already. It was what made NASA ask for me to work for them. I’d explain what I did to you, but that would be another hour-long story.”

“More like ten hours.” Junhyung said, smirking. Taemin hit him playfully.

“So now I am going to college to do what I want to do. I guess this would be my ‘rebellious teenage phase.’ I am double majoring in music and dance! I love them so… I have just about mastered every instrument you would see in a modern orchestra, as well as the guitar and the gayaguem!” he said excitedly. They all gawked.

“Is there anything you can’t do, Taemin?” Jinki asked.

“Well, as a matter of fact, it’s a good thing I can cook because Taemin here can’t cook to save his life.” Junhyung said.

“It’s true. Cooking is a strange, magical process that I do not understand… But Junhyung is in the culinary arts program at the university. He makes delicious food. Hey, maybe you could all come to our dorm room for Friday night dinner sometime!” Taemin beamed. They started making plans…  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey there!

I really had fun with this. I love the idea of Taemin being a supergenius.

 I also love how it gives Taemin and Junhyung some character depth.

Hmm, what if you had to choose between an IQ of 246 and having the love of friends and family?

Wow, tough choice.

...

Yeah, IQ of 246.

I'd make friends after I discover the cure for cancer.

XD

<3 Krys