Carried by fallen leaves floating in the river that flows without faltering, 
Became clouds with the sea and fell with the rain, 
I will raise this seed that fell near the distant you. 
If only you would notice me from your distant location.

Because our star revolves without stopping, 

The sceneries outside the tiny opened window, 
And the flower I loved, we will surely face each other again, 
In this revolving miracle, in this sprouting season, 
We will surely face each other again. 
Round and round I go, 
Round and round around you.

Loop - Maaya Sakamoto

 

 

 

“ So mom, I’ll be coming home late later because I have a soccer practice. Please leave me some food after the dinner,” Minho, after checked a new message on his phone, averts his gaze and meets with Mrs. Choi’s, who’s in the process of crushing her food in . “ Okay,” she says, wiping her lips with a white napkin. She points at the younger boy, sitting quietly over Minho’s place, who eats his breakfast carefully.

“ Today is his turn cooking,” she explains, “ so Taemin, please do what this ignorant boy has said but don’t do more than it. Just let him heat up the food alone.”

Minho’s lips are slowly jutting out unhappy form, forehead crinkling and he half-whines, “ Oh, mom..”

Taemin smoothes out a smile and puts away the dirty plates to the dishwasher. “ Alright, Mrs. Choi. Don’t worry, because Minho Hyung is a grown-up man.”

“ A grown-up man, yeah,” she mocks, half-interjecting, deliberately making Minho feel annoyed, and it works. Minho looks like he has enough of being the sole topic of conversation all throughout the half time of breakfast. She laughs and gets up. A sound of chair creaking resounds at the time she pushes back the chair. “ I’ll go back to my room and sleep again,” she says, “ Last night I didn’t have enough sleep because of work. Make sure you boys clean up them all!”

“ Mom,” Minho glances over his shoulder at the clock hanging up there, “ We’re gonna be late if – “

“ It’s fine. You can go first, Hyung,” Taemin chuckles, “ We have the dishwasher so this will help us to save my time.”

Minho stares at Taemin after hearing the offer and after a short span of thinking, then he shakes his head and states,

“ I’ll help you.”

Taemin blinks, and Mrs. Choi almost can’t believe what she just heard.

Two pairs of eyes are staring at him questioningly.

“ Huh?”

If this happened in the past, Minho’d rethink over and over to lend his hand for Taemin, even if it was about smallest matter like cleaning dishes.

“ You heard me,” Minho frowns, “ Don’t make me repeat.”

Even though his coldness doesn’t really fade away, but somehow, in some aspects, it feels warm.

A smile tugs on Mrs. Choi’s lips, and she waves her hand at the boys. “ Good luck~” then she goes into her room, heart feeling so happy.

Minho has changed.

She remembers back then, after the break-up Minho encountered with his last girlfriend, he became a total ignorant and careless person.

That night, he walked to her with a dejected expression, and languid voice called her under the dim light in her room.

“ Mom,”

She never forgets, and she was worried if this would work out to make Minho feel happier after the ended relationship, when she accepted the engagement for his son.

“ What do you think about happiness?”

She was unable to answer, because Minho isn’t a type of person who’d ask it dramatically, but the ashen gaze left her speechless.

Then Minho never asked about it again, but followed with the sudden change in Minho’s character.

True, Minho was already born as a cold and quiet person. He always thinks it’s troublesome if he speaks up too much, but not to the extent of being extremely ignorant, skeptic person, like the old Minho..

..But that was until Taemin came into his life.

She had met Taemin for the first time years ago, and she knew this little boy would grow up to be a decent and kind person.

Then when the old engagement proposal was offered again to remind her about the engagement regarding to both of sons from their respective families, she didn’t have any hesitation that this boy would bring a new source of light in her house.

She thinks it’s her intuition as a mother – but she feels secure when she sees Taemin’s soft gaze whenever he looks at someone.

A kind and gentle person, who can walk into other people’s lives easily, without having many difficulties.

A person, who maybe can knock Minho’s cold, closed heart tenderly.

Maybe, she thinks, at least it can be a good sign, can’t it?

Deep inside her heart, far, far away in her conscience, it agrees, cherishingly.

 

 

“ Crap,” Minho murmurs, “ We’re gonna be late-“

A thud of knocking a table.

“ Ouch!”

“ Hyung!” Taemin screeches, wincing, “ Are you okay? Does your knee hurt?”

“ Ugh, never mind – ing table – Taemin, are you up, I mean, feeling like running?”

“ eung?”

Taemin throws a confused look.

“ I think,” After rubbing his knee, he fetches his bag and tie, wrapping the second item around his collar. “ Ugh, we are going to run really, really, really fast if you don’t want to be late. I’m a soccer player so running is my thing but, uh, how about you?”

Taemin thinks he just heard wrong and hurriedly makes sure.

“ You mean, running? Like, hastily taking long strides? Together?”

“ Yeah,” This time Minho gives a judging look. “ What else.”

“ No! I mean, um,” Taemin gulps, trying to make his nervousness privy, “ You don’t mind.. of going to school together.. by running?” he emphasizes ‘together’ to let Minho aware of the main topic here, and it seems working.

“ Oh,” Minho nods. He looks into Taemin’s eyes, thinking, but seemingly getting drawn into those beautiful chocolate orbs.

Holy .

“ Don’t worry about it for now,” Minho finally decides, or actually, his mouth just worked faster than his brain. “ Just.. let’s go.”

Taemin decides as well that recently, and until today, God must really like him (and he feels thankful about it).

 

 

Or maybe not.

Taemin totally forgot that Minho is one of the top soccer players at their school so he really meant it when he said that running was his thing.

Taemin is about to die when he tries catching up Minho’s speed, eyes fixed at those long legs, silently feeling envious of them.

But when he notices Minho’s determined gaze in running, he gives in.

He thinks that perhaps it’s not a bad idea if he ends up twisting his muscles or cracking his bones in order to see Minho’s pleased, satisfied look for not coming to school late.

 

 

The classroom sliding doors are pushed open harshly when the homeroom teacher is close to starting morning assembly. The whole class pries (not really) at the sound makers, and apparently it was caused by two of top students at the school.

“ Isn’t this rare,” the homeroom teacher raises his brow, “ For Choi Minho and Lee Taemin coming late.”

“ I apologize, Sir,” Taemin sheepishly grins, and Minho just bows a little to express his apology. “ We..” Minho pauses, “ um, met at the gate and figured out that both of us overslept.”

The homeroom teacher laughs. “ Fine. The morning assembly hasn’t started yet, so go to your seats.”

The boys take a deep relieved sigh and simultaneously thank the teacher, before shuffling to their seats.

 

 

Kim Key walks over to approach his best friend, and sits in front of Minho’s desk reluctantly.

The jock eyes up at the diva of the school and asks, “ What?”

Because it’s strange to see Key furrow in a deep thought when actually nothing particular happens and his relationship still stays stable.

“ Just so you know,” Key begins, “ I had this thought when you arrived late.”

“ What?”

Key snaps open his phone and fumbles with the keypads first before answering. Minho guarantees he’s replying his boyfriend’s text message – this , Minho rolls his eyes, should have spoken his reason of coming here first instead of texting with his boyfriend.

“ Um, so, I just want to say – okay but really, just listen to me and don’t yap,” he finally looks up from the phone screen, his cat-like eyes forming thin lines along with a grin slapping Minho’s conscience. “ Huh?”

“ You look good with that Lee Taemin boy.”

Minho is so, so, so close to choking on his saliva and screaming but his silent character pulls him back to his normal self and he gives him shocked look. “ W-what?”

Key flicks his fingers and points out his point of view; the whole idea of his argument about him and Taemin looking fine together.

“ You know, both of your heights match nicely. He also has delicate figure, gorgeous face, smart brain, and well-mannered attitude. If there’s anything, he can match your personality.”

“ .. Yeah?”

“ I really liked the serenity when I saw you standing close earlier,” Key says, “ Like, it’s so well-balanced and nice to see.”

Minho listens. For some reasons, he doesn’t feel disgusted. He just listens and stays focused.

“ I don’t mean anything much but, yeah, I like this Taemin guy – don’t get me wrong. You know, like admiration. He’s really kind, don’t you think?”

Minho feels bad for hiding his engagement from Key and also Jinki. He knows well about Taemin’s kindness, so he’s kind of guilty.

“ Somehow,” Key doesn’t seem to stop talking, “ If you two stand up close next to each other, I’ll really appreciate the harmony created between both of you.”

Minho imagines it.

It sounds right because Key has a good sense of judging a situation and everything Key portrays seems like the truth.

That’s when Minho snaps back and mentally gasps.

What the hell am I thinking?

“ Key,” Minho breathes, “ You know I am not fond of the idea of.. being in relationship.”

“ Yes,” Key firmly states, “ But it’s ridiculous if I pretended that you’d be okay for being stoic and heartless, everything.”

Minho understands Key is just worried; everyone around him is too worried because he suddenly stops pursuing happiness for his empty heart.

“ I told you I didn’t like that girl,” the memory when Key finally spoke up about his true feeling towards Dara, never once leaves his mind.

But when he hears Key complimenting someone, which means, well, it’s not far from reality.

Minho doesn’t try to be in denial when his cheeks heat up.

“ Okay,” Minho nods, “ It’s up to you if you see like that.”

First time, first time in his life after he got to know Lee Taemin, he accepts what he used to reject.

And Key, because he’s an attentive person like that, doesn’t miss a glimpse of suspicious fact behind Minho’s poker face.

The thing is, if it was the old Minho, he’d groan in annoyance, or immediately sigh.

 

 

 

Taemin hates running hastily. Actually, it’s unpleasant to find yourself panting, heart racing tiredly, and nostrils flaring in sweats. It’s not like he at it (actually he’s not bad at sport), but he just simply hates it.

But he decides that from now on he will take a liking to it because Minho asked him to run together this morning. Well, it sure took a lot of efforts because Minho has long legs, enormous stamina, sturdy body, and stable breaths when he runs. That’s why, in the end, Taemin thought he was going to pass out because he’s the polar opposite of Minho’s strength. Like, from the sole matter, Minho has well-built figure while Taemin is thinner and doesn’t exercise often.

Well, even though it makes his legs limping, and he’s already dead tired all throughout classes, and even turns down Kai’s offer to practice dance (he offers to watch it instead) because he’s sure if he accepted, he’d faint right away.

Like now.

“ Earth is calling Lee Taemin.”

The said boy is pulled back to the reality due to the an-octave-lower voice calling him. He shifts his gaze, meeting with Kai’s concerned look on the same level with his eyes. Taemin jerks his back, shocked to see Kai’s face up this close.

“ K-Kai!”

“ You were spacing out,” Kai says, “ Are you okay? Gosh, you look tired and knocked out.”

“ Yeah,” Taemin streches out his limbs. “ I was running all the way to school. I‘m telling you, it wasn’t good at all but it was thrilling. That’s why I wasn’t fully concentrated throughout all classes.”

“ What,” Kai laughs, “ You overslept again? Wait, but Minho too.”

“ No. It was because his mom told us to clean up dishes when we were running out of time, that’s why,” Taemin explains, “ And Minho hyung is a bit awkward at doing housework. I needed to watch over him so he would not mess up.”

Kai notices it – something different in Taemin’s explanation and his eyes when he was telling him this.

It tugs down Kai’s heart.

“ You seem happy.”

Taemin looks at him incredulously. “ Do i?”

“ Yeah,” Kai wipes his sweats with the towel, which was hanging over his shoulder, “ From your story I can tell it.”

“ Actually.. I don’t think so..”

“ Hm? Why?”

I also wonder why, Taemin also asks back to himself.

Knowing that Taemin won’t answer his question, Kai clears his throat and picks up his belongings since the dance practice has ended. “ Well, your eyes lit up when you talked about it,” he reasons, “ But isn’t that a good thing? At least you’ll feel less awkward, because you live together with him.”

Those words leave a bitter taste in Kai’s mouth. But he remembers that a man won’t take back his words, so even though Taemin becomes a bit closer to that guy, it doesn’t change a fact of what he said when he confessed.

“ But listen, Taemin,” Kai smiles, “ I haven’t given up on you, you remember.”

Taemin stares at him in disbelief – but he manages to pull his lips into a thin smile.

“ I know.”

Taemin doesn’t have to answer anything right away about this matter, and both of them know this way better, for now.

 

 

Walking down in the hallway after parting ways with Kai because he said he had a part-time job, Taemin can hear a loud chatter coming from down there – the soccer field, to be exact. After a long debate, he mentally agrees with himself to watch the practice closer and see how the process is going because it’s something that Minho really likes unconditionally.

While taking steps to the field, his mind is floating when he recalled what Kai said.

“ You seem happy.”

“ Your eyes lit up when you talked about it.”

It’s also the first time he makes a resolution that he’ll like running from now on.

 

Taemin makes sure he’s watching from a place where he can watch closely and clearly but Minho won’t spot him.

 

His heart swells in delight when Minho is leading the ball, then shouts, yells, and screams reverberate throughout the field. The breezy wind gently wafts, Taemin’s cheeks, and it plays with the soccer players’ hairs. Sweats dripping, a string of playful curses exploding, and sounds of ball being kicked – they are included into things Minho likes in soccer.

Taemin tries to learn what Minho loves so he can understand it.

Then something hits him.

Why am I doing like this so far for him?

 

“ Minho! Please make a goal!” Luhan, from name engraved on his back, shouts excitedly after he makes a pass and Minho readily accepts it.

His eyes are so focused, so fixated at the goalpost.

Taemin’s adrenaline rushes. His eyes beam in anticipation.

 

“ IT’S A GOAL!!!”

 

Taemin wants to jump excitedly like a rabbit and roll around, telling right on Minho’s face how great he is, but he only manages to grin widely from where he stands.

But then, he is paralyzed when he sees something rare over there.

Minho is laughing.

Taemin’s eyes go rounder, and he gasps, prompting another chorus of sudden quick heartbeats and rising temperature around him (or so what he thinks).

His cheeks feel hot. They are turning into pinkish shades, and he clamps over his mouth using his right hand.

Oh my God.

He realizes everything, clicking on his mind collectively, at the time his heart picks up faster pace.

It is not a mere attraction, or simple “I guess I like him”.

From the thumping reaction his heart gives, his hot face, and butterflies in his stomach, he can’t deny it anymore, because, Sherlock, this has become so obvious.

Taemin wants to hole up and shuts his eyes tight.

I’ve really fallen in love with him.

 

 

Minho doesn’t have any idea when he made the goal, Taemin was watching him and the young boy felt like going out of his hideout and running towards him and giving him a koala hug then praising him to no end.

 

 

Taemin also, on the other hand, doesn’t know that when Minho made the goal, the older boy imagined something unusual;

“ If only Taemin saw this.”

 

 

Both of them are currently running in a loop, for each other.

 

 

 

“ You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Dara can’t believe what she sees. A white paper, on her hand, printed out very shocking information that she just obtained through his father’s connection. After all, two years ago, she had also enrolled to the same school before she moved abroad with her father, so it made things easier for her to get what she wanted to know.

It started from a mere curiosity why she saw that the slim, longhaired boy already came so often to his house.

She thought they were good friends in high school, so that pretty boy maybe often had sleepovers or whatever, but her suspicion built up even more when she tried to connect an event where both of them watched fireflies together and walked home side by side naturally, then entered the house as if it belonged to both of them.

Then she tried to obtain the information, where this pretty boy lives.

“ What the hell,” Dara chokes, “ This person is not even his relative.. or as far as I remember, he only told me back then that his childhood friend was only Jinki..”

It’s ridiculous.

What kind of relationship they have?

Because that time, when Minho looked at Taemin as they watched fireflies together, she saw it.

She was sure she didn’t miss a single thing Minho had in his eyes, and that kind of gaze wasn’t something intended to a mere friend.

Adoration.

Gentleness.

And happiness.

That feeling in Minho’s gaze was something so familiar and similar.. to what she had witnessed.. two years ago, before their break-up.

 

 

 

a/n:

sorry no sorry. writerblocks. i forgot the main plot. tight schedules in my college. confusing relationship irl. also i am not really fond of tae's wgm so i needed to push myself back on track and reminded myself the reasons why i ship 2min.

holy sobs i'm sorry i almost abandoned this and you guys omg

please accept my tears