"Alright, you're ready," Key said. He pushed Taemin out into the open and grinned. Taemin squeaked as the door to the boy's bathroom closed behind him and all eyes were suddenly on him. He couldn't do this. He was dressed in this manner in this place with these people and he was panicking and everyone was staring and-

"Key!" he shouted, turning, but the door was closed and his hands felt too numb to open it. His heart was pounding like crazy and he was so scared and he could hear people whispering and-

"Taemin?" a voice asked. Taemin turned, eyes wide and heart racing, to see Jonghyun approaching. He felt two arms around his waist and practically jumped out of his make-up enhanced skin and flashy, body-hugging clothes.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Key asked mischievously, knowing what Jonghyun was thinking at the moment. The older male nodded and swallowed hard, enticed by the alabaster glow of Taemin's neck and the way his pants showed off his incredible thighs and the way his lips looked so kissable. Damn.

"D-do you like it?" Taemin asked shyly. Didn't Jonghyun think he looked too flamboyant? Too affected? Was his hair too straight or was it not straight enough? Was anything asymmetrical? If it was, it'd throw off the potential attractiveness of the outfit that Key had worked so hard to achieve.

"Taemin? Is that you?" another voice asked. Immediately, Taemin's face got red. He looked up and he started stammering at the sight of Onew. If anything else, he didn't want Onew to disapprove. After all these years, Onew was the one that mattered the most.

"H-Hyung, do you like it? My outfit, I mean. Is it okay? Is it too much? Too little?" he stammered out, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Onew just stared, bug-eyed, and tried to keep his jaw from dropping.

"It's... Wow," he said, looking Taemin up and down. He couldn't help but smile at the innocent look in Taemin's eyes and wrapped the smaller male up in his arms to comfort him. "You look very attractive."

"Really?" Taemin asked. His eyes widened as he looked at Onew with a countenance of disbelief. The older male chuckled as he leaned down and kissed Taemin gently, leaving the younger in a state of minor bliss. He loved Onew's kisses. They meant unconditional love and honesty, something that Taemin desperately needed in his life.

"Hey, lovebirds," Key said briskly, tapping Taemin's shoulder. The younger jumped about a foot in the air and looked at Key through lashes flicked upwards with mascara and a light shading of tentatively applied eyeshadow. "We have to get to class."

"Oh. Neh," Taemin said. He gave Onew a gentle kiss goodbye, and the older was surprised at the taste of peach lipgloss on the younger's glistening mouth. Taemin and Key walked off in matching shoes and a similar demeanor as Taemin adjusted to the role he had to play.

y.

Minho wasn't sure what to make of it when Taemin first walked in. Hair done, makeup applied, clothes bought and freshly washed. Hot damn.

"Who's that hottie with the -able body?" Yuhno whispered to Minho as the whole room gawked at the sight. It took Minho a few seconds to register the same doe eyes and plush, pillow lips, but when he did, damn did he get mad.

"That's the , you er," he snarled. Key must've gotten ahold of that little freak. There was no way that he could could become so se- so disgustingly feminine by himself. Minho watched as Taemin walked over to his desk, his body erected with self-confidence and the lust-worthiness practically falling from him in waves. Minho's fists balled on his legs as Taemin took his seat.

No, no, no! He was not going to be attracted!

Taemin could feel eyes on him. Spiteful disgust and lust and want from all angles and corners. He swallowed his nervousness and let his mind close itself off from any extraneous emotions. This, right here, was his role. He was the siren, the dark vixen, the head-turner and the jaw-dropper. He was going to make everyone—one particular person—pay for making him and his friends hurt. Yes, he would focus on that.

Minho was going to want him, whether he wanted to or not. He was going to come out of his own hellish closet for want—lust—of Taemin. The younger was going to see to it.

"Class, I hope you all brought your listening ears toda-" The teacher froze mid-word and blinked when she saw the set of y legs leading up to delicious thighs to a toned stomach to a silky neck to the most immaculate face the teacher had ever seen. She felt some form of jealousy mixe with lust mixed with absolute speechlessness stir in her body. Next to Choi Minho, this boy might just be the iest creature in her classroom.

She needed a raise for not pouncing on them like she wanted so badly to.

"... Today," she finished, looking away to write the title of the book on the book. As if they didn't already know. She wanted to get out of that room, but she couldn't. She needed to teach, to make money, to educate and edify.

And yet, she needed to get away from these two deliciously forbidden boys.

"Teacher?" a soft, dulcet, melodious voice asked. She turned to see that same immaculate face, the soft lips, the inquiring eyes that set her insides aflame with lust.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. The perfectly hairless and glowing alabaster arm was up in the air, the sleeve flawlessly nestled on his elbow, showing such a stretch of his angelic skin. Oh .

"Would you like me to help you pass out the books?" he asked. His voice. His ing voice! The teacher could do nothing but nod. Taemin got up, his jeans hugging his hips and legs in all of the right places, and walked to the front of the class. He gathered the musty-smelling books in his arms, with their flaking spines and worn covers.

It broke Taemin's heart to see books that had been handled like this. He swallowed his reactions and tried to control his expression. He wasn't doing a bad job of it. No one picked up on his internal moroseness when he presented each student with a book like the most professional hand model ever. Everyone watched him, even the teacher. He had already mapped out the room in his head. In less than a micro-second, he knew just how to maneuver to get to Minho last.

Minho glared at the as the damned little animal moved around the room like no one's business. Taemin got to him with two books in his hand. He noticed how Taemin's eyes bored into his as he snatched the book roughly from Taemin's manicured nails. Manicured, as if he was some ugly instead of a damn .

"Done," Taemin announced without breaking his eye contact with Minho. He finally flicked his body the other way and went to his seat, his book hugged to his chest. He had looke into the enemy, and he'd seen his opposition. So why...

Why couldn't he see a way to beat him?

Taemin panicked internally as he sat down in his seat and tried to focus on class. He'd dug into Minho's glare to try and find something—anything—that would give him a clue on how to crack Minho'a defenses, but all he saw was anger. Everything else was shielded, as if he didn't want Taemin to-

No, Taemin realized, an epiphany moment sweeping over him. He doesn't want anyone to see into him! He's hiding something. He's hiding some secret in him. Something deep and horrible—at least, in his eyes, something horrible—that he doesn't want anyone to know. Something worse than him being secretly gay. Something that, unlike his own latent homouality, he can't even deny! Something huge...

Taemin looked over at Minho, whose eyes were boring into the board. What happened to you, Choi Minho? What aren't you letting the world know about you? What should I know in order to make you who you really are?

What's your secret?

~

"Secret?" Jonghyun asked as he popped a mushroom into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully and shook his head. "Nope, I don't think Minho has any really major secrets. He sneaks a drink very once in a while. Is that what we're talking about?"

"No," Taemin sighed. He bit into his salad, cringing at how stale the wilted leaves tasted. He had to remind himself to bring lunch from now on. "This is big. In fact, it's life-changing. And he's never told anyone."

"Then you're not talking about Minho," Jonghyun laughed. "He even told me why his parents split. His mom was caught in bed with some other guy, and apparently she slapped his dad pretty hard for catching her."

"No, it wouldn't be that," Taemin groaned. He messed up his own hair from frustration. This was exacerbating. This enigmatic bastard... What could he possibly be hiding? What deep, dark, furtive chimera lurked in his past?

"Hey, how's operation the Frog going?" Key asked as he approached with his tray of sushi. He brought lunch, which was probably a good idea, all things considered. He pecked Jonghyun's cheek as he sat. Since they were sitting at a secluded, faraway table, the affection was fine.

"I won't be able to break him down unless I can figure out his secret," Taemin groaned. He looked up and saw Key's raised eyebrow. "What?"

"I've just... Never seen you so loud before," the boy admitted. Taemin sighed as he realized that he hadn't opened the floodgates of his mind yet.

"Sorry. I'm still in-character," he murmured. He let his mind open, let it be exposed to all of the weird stuff he'd done today, how he'd displayed himself to the class, how he'd walked around the room just so that everyone could see his body. It was enough to make the rapidly-emerging real Taemin blush.

"What have I done?" he whispered, holding his face in his hands. It was so much worse when he was conscious of what he was doing. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable in these clothes. "Umma, I feel dirty..."

"If you feel dirty, then that means it's working," Key sang. He popped a roll into his mouth and chewed it happily, pleased with his son. The little snipped of Taemin's performance that he had witnessed was enough to convince him that Taemin had done well in front of Minho. "So, what's this secret of his?"

"We don't know. That's the problem," Taemin muttered, looking down at his salad. "If we could just access his mind, that'd be great, or maybe read his micro-expressions. He has to have a flaw somewhere, something that we haven't yet exhumed from his memories. It's possible that, even if we find out, he may have no recollection because his mind has expurgated itself and wiped the traumatic experience clean out of his head."

"What does that mean?" Key asked, his face blank. There had been too many words. Way too many of them. This was lunch time. Lunch time was not the time for intelligence.

"He means that if you find whatever thing your looking for, the person may have already forgotten it because he wiped it from his memory," Onew said as he sat down with his school-made chicken patty. "Who is this?"

"Minho," Taemin answered. Here was Onew, his rock and pedestal. The one that he could count on, no matter what. He looked up at Onew with eyes full of distress. "Hyung, I can't figure out his secret! He has some ponderous secret and it's the key to making him crack and to demolish those stupid mental bulwarks he's built around himself, but I need that one memory!"

"I see," Onew said, hugging Taemin and giving him a comforting kiss. The younger's brow unfurrowed, but he was still worried. "Don't worry. You'll find some way to make him crack."

"Well, I have a suggestion," Key said, sitting up straighter. He loved it when his brain decided to function. "Why don't you just sleep with him? He'll have to accept it then, right?"

There was a silence. A very long silence. A long, awkward silence. Key wondered why Jonghyun was looking at him funny, Onew was glaring at him, and Taemin was shivering. It was strange.

"No," all three said (or, in Taemin's case, whimpered) simultaneously. Onew held Taemin closer, and Taemin's eyes were wide as he looked at Key sadly. How could Key possibly... He'd bought clothes and makeup and dyed his hair! Hadn't he gone through enough?!

"K-Key, I know that you think this could be a feasible technique, but under close scrutiny, it falls apart. For instance, I'm a v-." Taemin choked out the last word and shivered. was just... No. He couldn't do it.

"So? I was a once," Key said, shrugging. He couldn't see why everyone was so against it. It was a good idea! "You just need the right guy to deflower you, and then everything will be fine."

"I can help with that," another voice said, and someone plopped down next to Taemin with a tray of greens and school-grade pizza. The young boy jumped and Key's eyes immediately started shooting daggers.

"Chang Sun!" Taemin exclaimed, only to be silenced by a short peck. It left him red to the roots of his hair, and Onew felt a small pit of fury in his gut. How dare this stranger kiss Taemin like that? Didn't he know that Taemin was sensitive?

"Hey there, pretty," Chang Sun said with a grin. "I'm amazed that you still remember me, considering that your umma wants me castrated and bleeding out on the street."

"And you know it, too," Key snarled. "What the are you doing here, Chang Sun? What happened to that fancy private school of yours?"

"Got expelled," Chang Sun said with a nonchalant shrug. "I slept with a teacher. Apparently, the school system doesn't like their teachers laid." He winked at Taemin, causing Onew to bristle.

"Who are you?" he snarled. His arms constricted around Taemin and Chang Sun let out a laugh as he held up his hands innocently. He gave Onew a sheepish smile.

"Hey, I'm just a guy. I didn't know that the kid had a boyfriend. Don't shoot me or anything," he chuckled. Taemin and Onew both got redder at the same time.

"We're not dating!" they both insisted at the same time. Just because they were close and shared some platonic kisses didn't mean that they were dating! Didn't these people know that in Medieval times and earlier, kisses were passed between family members and friends as well as ual partners? Why did everyone have to dramatize simple little pecks?

"So, I heard you need a little help with getting him laid," Chang Sun said, his attention shifting to Key. "Come on, if he's not tied down, then let me have a go at it."

"I'm not going to let you sleep with me baby," Key snapped firmly. "That's final." The way he was looking at Chang Sun made Jonghyun a little curious. What kind of bastard was this guy that he could ruffle Key like this?

"Who is this?" Jonghyun asked, looking at Chang Sun with interest. "Do you know him? Is he... You know..." He felt insanely jealous all of a sudden. Had this tall, dark and handsome bastard slept with Key?

"Ex-boyfriend, meet current boyfriend. Play nice," Key snarled, looking away from both of them. The two hit the same conclusion at the same time.

"Ex-boyfriend?!"

"Current boyfriend?!"

"Key, I thought you said I was your first boyfriend," Jonghyun shouted, face red. Had Key lied or cheated? Either way, something was off about this situation. Key sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Keep your voice down, will you? You're my first real boyfriend. This ," he growled, jabbing his thumb in Chang Sun's direction, "is more of an ex call."

"That's kind of harsh, don't you think?" Chang Sun chuckled as Jonghyun relaxed. Yes, Jonghyun remembered hearing about Chang Sun now. Of course, that could have been some other "rat bastard" that Key had referred to back in their early days, but Jonghyun doubted it.

"Oh please. call is a nice way of putting it," Key hissed, glaring into Chang Sun's dark eyes. "It was more like a toothpick call, mister Puny Prick."

"I don't remember you ever calling me that. I clearly, however, remember you calling me 'ing huge' and 'amazing as Hell' among other things." Chang Sun smirked as he took a bite out of his pizza. Key's cheeks turned a startling shade of red and he crossed his arms.

"And you wonder why I won't let you sleep with my Taemin," he huffed as Jonghyun rubbed his arm. Taemin felt a little awkward as he decided to speak up.

"A-actually, since Chang Sun has obviously had numerously ual partners before and has had no scruples cutting off relations with them, I think he'd be a viable option," Taemin half-mumbled.

Another silence permeated the air. Key was appalled—appalled—that Taemin would even suggest sleeping with Chang Sun. Jonghyun was still trying to wrap his head around "ex call" and the fact that Key had been ed before but was still tighter than a . Onew prayed silently that he hadn't heard what he knew he'd heard. Chang Sun couldn't believe that this adorable, innocent looking kid with the huge eyes and marshmallow lips would actually let Chang Sun touch him, let alone sleep with him. Taemin didn't get why no one saw how pragmatic his suggestion was.

"Taemin, are you serious?" Onew whispered finally. Taemin nodded earnestly. "Come on, you can't sleep with him! He's... He's a man-! No offense," he said with a look at Chang Sun.

"None taken," the boy said with a shrug of his well-shaped shoulders. No point in denying his inner self.

"Taemin, I'll sleep with you if you really want to be deflowered so badly," Onew continued. Taemin shook his head and sighed.

"Hyung, you're already attached and you'd no doubt be unable to perform because I'd look unappealing due to our already established platonic relationship, or I'd be unable to perform due to my inexperience and you'd be unable to arrouse me because you'd feel awkward touching me in such an intimate place," Taemin said. His logic was infallible.

"You know that I could do it," Chang Sun said to Key, looking to him for permission. Key sighed. He knew that Chang Sun was the best option, and he really wanted this Gayme to work...

"Fine, but only one time."

A/N-Joontae next...

I'm sorry about this being so late... I'm super busy with SAT classes, SAT homework, schoolwork, and volunteering. I'm running out of time to watch this. Once I get into the hang of things, I'll be back full force, but until then, bear with me.

More to come! Comments are love!