Lee Taemin's POV

It's not that I'm mad at Minho-ah…I just don't know what to say to him. I've probably made him feel terrible, staying away from him like I have, but I need to sort myself out. So, at the moment, I'm curled in on myself, my back against the wall and my chin on my knees, crying to myself and trying to figure out what to do. I ignore the quiet knock on the door, because it doesn't matter right now. I don't hear the soft, deep voice of Minho-ah trying to apologize - I'm far too sunken into my own thoughts to hear anything. Surely the hyungs are worried that something's wrong. Surely Minho-ah thinks I'm going to break up with him. But why would I? I willingly gave up my ity to him. But now that everything's said and done - okay, not so much said - I don't know what to do. I really don't. Maybe I should go apologize to Minho-ah for avoiding him? But maybe he won't forgive me for it. But, then again…it's worth a try, isn't it?

Choi Minho's POV

I wonder if I did something wrong the other night, taking advantage of Taemin-ah like that. I mean, it really seemed like he wanted it…but he hasn't spoken a word to me since. Even the hyungs have noticed. Well, except for Onew. But that's beside the point. Key-umma glares angrily at me every time he looks at me, and Jonghyun-hyung just shakes his head when he catches sight of me. Taemin-ah has avoided me, too, in conjunction to not speaking to me. I think I've only seen him once, when he was on his way to and from the bathroom this morning. I've tried to apologize for whatever it was that I did, speaking to him through his door, but he ignores me like he would a fly on the wall. I'm confused beyond all reason, and nobody cares, I think. For now, I suppose, I'll cram myself into the far corner of the lower bunk of mine and Key-umma's bed and try to forget by reading.

Of course, that plan ends up being null and void when I hear a knock on the door-frame. I try to ignore it. "M-Minho-ah? Can I…can I come in?" I hear Taemin-ah's quiet voice, and my idea of sitting and reading completely shattered. He sounded so scared, and like…he had been crying. "You don't need to ask, Taemin-ah - it's your room, too," I said softly. Taemin-ah silently looked to see where I was. I waved him towards me with one hand, gesturing to the empty space next to me on the bed.

Lee Taemin's POV

Why is it that I have a bad feeling about all of this? I silently climbed over the edge of Onew-hyung's bed and crawled across it and part of the one next to it to sit in front of Minho-ah. I keep my face down, because I don't want him to see that I'd been crying. "I…I wanted to a-apologize…for avoiding you…like I d-did," I whispered, stumbling slightly over my words. I stared at my hands for a moment. "So…I'm sorry. You…you don't have to forgive me, if you don't want to. I know I've made you feel horrible and-" I was interrupted as Minho-ah threw aside his book, pushed me onto my back, and kissed me like we hadn't met in years. I was confused at first, but found myself responding to him the same way. I think we really missed each other after two days of not speaking or seeing one another. Eventually Minho-ah pulled away from me, both of us practically gasping for air. "M-Minho-ah?" He smiled at me, but after a moment he frowned. "Taeminnie…why are you crying?" Minho-ah asked me, his voice gentle as he softly wiped away my tears. "I…I was afraid y-you would hate me," I muttered. Minho-ah laughed, and my cheek with his fingers. "How could I ever hate you, Taemin-ah? I love you," he said, kissing me again gently. He was, of course, right. Why would he hate me? And how could I think that?

A few hours later…

Kim Kibum's POV

Taemin's door was still shut. Well, this wasn't that good. I figured Minho-ah needed a good lecture, and then Taemin-ah after him. I went just down the short hallway to fetch Minho-ah, only to find that he and Taemin-ah were curled up on Minho-ah's bed together, asleep. This was a surprise. I come in here, ready to give them a good talking-to, only to find they've already made up? I grinned and left the room, leaving the two youngest members to their sleep. I went out to our 'living room' to find Onew-hyung and Jonghyun-sshi staring at the TV, both of them completely ignoring me. I looked at the screen. Of course. They were mentally criticizing themselves, watching the music video for Lucifer. I shook my head. Those two were hopeless. Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? I went a sat myself in between the two of them and focused my eyes on the television screen.

Choi Minho's POV

Oh, lovely. This looks familiar. I stand in a forest clearing, near the place where I grew up. 'Not again. Gods, not again,' I think, looking around silently. I hear an angry voice yelling in the distance, and sprint towards it, instead of away like I should. I run for a long time, the voice getting louder all the time that I run. Eventually I stop, panting and coughing, by a great oak tree at the edge of another clearing-like place in the trees. Before me, with the sun shining down in thin rays all around them, is my dear, precious Taemin-ah and the strange clone of myself who wears all black. My double is yelling angrily, accusing Taemin-ah for ruining everything he ever worked for, while Taemin-ah has his hands pressed over his ears, denying every single word he hears. Moments later, as I stand there and watch, my double stops shouting and pulls a gun from beneath his long, black coat and points it at Taemin-ah. I don't want to hear Taemin-ah begging for his life again. I don't. But I hear it anyways. "Please, please, mercy! I haven't done anything! How could I have? Tell me, oh dear Gods, no, no, please Minho-sshi, don't, please don't," he whimpers as my double - who he is completely convinced is me - clicks off the safety on his firearm. I'm not going to watch this happen again. Not in a million lifetimes. I launch myself forward, tackling my double and wrenching the gun out of his hands. I punch him harshly, feeling his nose break under my fist. Blood flows freely on his face as he scrambles backwards, away from me and away from Taemin-ah. "Get. Go. Be GONE," I yell, more angry than I've ever been in my life. He goes. I don't even notice the tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. I toss the gun away into the brush, turning to face Taemin-ah. And at that same moment, a gunshot rings out, breaking the silence. Taemin-ah goes wide-eyed, collapsing to his knees. "Taemin!" I run to catch him as blood begins to bloom on his white shirt, a flower of death on his innocence. I fold him into my arms, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Taemin-ah, no, no, please no," I mutter as I hold him, Taemin-ah wraps his arms around me, burying his face in my neck. "I'm sorry, love. I should've gotten here sooner," I whisper, but he only shakes his head and pulls away from me slightly. We're both soaked with blood. Taemin-ah's eyes are dull, even though he's smiling. "It's only farewell," he says quietly. I only nod. I press my lips to his in a short and sweet kiss, and he whispers to me. "Saranghae, Minho-sshi. Sa…Saranghae," are his last words to me as his eyes close and he falls limp in my arms.

Lee Taemin's POV

Minho-ah's tight hold on me is what pulls me from my dreams. He's muttering in his sleep again. I managed to turn myself to face him, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and shake him awake. "Minho-ah, wake up. Please wake up," I say, somewhat scared. And that's when his eyes open. "Taemin-ah…oh, thank the Gods you're alright," he says, hugging me tightly. Then he finally lets me breath properly, I can see that he's crying. "Minho-ah? What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?" I start asking questions faster than he can think of answers, and he shuts me up by kissing me lightly and pulling me close again. That's when I realize, when I should have before when we were pressed together, how ridiculously fast Minho's heart is beating. It's strange, feeling it against my chest, but that alone tells me just how afraid he is. "You had another of those dreams," I whisper, gently wedging a hand between us so I don't feel so…odd, and wrap my other arm around his waist. "T-Taemin-ah…I don't know how much longer I c-can deal with t-this," he says quietly, his body shaking with sobs now. "Sshhh, it's okay, I'm here," I say soothingly, trying not to cry as well. Somehow, at that moment, we both have the same mindset to shift at the same time so that I'm lying mostly on top of Minho-ah; my head ends up on his chest, his fast heartbeat in my ear. Minho-ah wraps his arms around me more securely and calms down.

"Minho-ah," I whisper, lifting a hand gently to his cheek. He leans into my touch. "Please…don't be afraid of those dreams," I say softly, my voice pleading. Minho-ah brings a hand up to run it through my long hair. "Taeminnie…how…how can I n-not?" he says through his tears and sniffles. I rub his cheek with my thumb. "How…that's easy, yeobo. You know I'm here…and I'll always be here. So you know that…even if I die in your dreams, I'm in your arms while you sleep," I answer. We both move at the same time again, and Minho-ah ends up on his elbows over me. "Tae…what do you say we kick the hyungs out of the dorm for a little while?" he says, and even though he's still crying I can see the fire in his eyes. I grin and agree with him. "I know the perfect way, too. Lets let Onew's love of chicken get rid of them."