After Minho dropped off Taemin, both he and Jonghyun left to go back home. Since Minho and Jonghyun lived down the street from each other, they usually car pool since one or the other was too lazy to drive.

“Seriously, nothing happened yesterday?” asked Minho suspiciously.

“Really! Nothing happened, we only fell asleep on the bed, and then you and Taemin came in. I could ask the same about you, did anything happen between you and Taemin?” asked Jonghyun as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Yes, I am one step to winning the bet” laughed Minho. He suddenly thought back to when Taemin said yes. His face was beautiful and his lips felt so warm and right against his. He suddenly missed Taemin’s presence beside him and felt so empty. For some reason, he didn’t really care about the bet at that moment; he only wanted to see Taemin’s smile and hear his laugh again.

“Don’t be too happy just yet. You have to make them say ‘I love you’ and for them to admit it in front of me” said Jonghyun, causing Minho to snap back to reality. Minho imagined how it would be like if Taemin said ‘I love you’ to him, which caused him to blush. Little did Minho know, he was starting to fall in love with Taemin.

“Hyung, you should worry more about yourself. I am already one step ahead, don’t fall too behind” teased Minho.

“Don’t worry. I almost have him, just need a bit more time, but I am sure I won’t lose to you” muttered Jonghyun.

As Key and Taemin got ready to go to school, Key was suspicious as to why Minho was with Taemin when he came home this morning.

“Taebaby, why was Minho with you this morning? Did he follow you home?” asked Key as he prepared Taemin’s lunch along with his banana milk.

“Not really, he was just worried about me, afraid that I would collapse half way home so he decided to keep an eye on me. Anyways, it’s not uncommon for him to walk his boyfriend right?” said Taemin as he busied himself with his textbooks. It was until he heard Key screams that he realized he said the wrong thing. Taemin meant to keep that a secret from Key until later on, or that was what both him and Minho agreed on, but guess it was too late now.

“WHAT?!! THAT FROGGY IS DATING MY BABY!!! HOW DARE HE CORRUPT MY BABY, HE BETTER RUN WHEN I SEE HIM OR ELSE WILL GET HIS KICKED!!”screamed Key in anger. Taemin looked scared, he had never seen his umma this angry before.

“Umma, did I do something wrong?” cried Taemin, he was cowering in fear with tears flowing down his face. Key suddenly calmed down and hugged Taemin.

“No, you did nothing wrong. Do you really like him, Taebaby?” asked Key as he softly caressed Taemin’s face.

“Yes, or at least I think so” Key looked at Taemin with a confused expression on his face.

“What do you mean you think so, Minho didn’t force you to say yes right?” asked Key suddenly as he felt his anger flaring again.

“No! It’s just when I see him, I feel myself getting happy and my heart beats faster! When I don’t see him, I miss him a lot and I always wonder what he is doing at that moment. I like it when he holds my hands and touches my face when he wipes my tears away. He also said he will always be there to kiss my pain away!” said Taemin with a wide smile on his face.

“AWW!! My baby likes someone. Then he is considered you first crush!” cooed Key as he hugged Taemin tigher. Suddenly he heard Taemin said something that made him freeze.

“Umma, what does the word ‘’ mean?”

When Taemin and Key arrived to school, Minho and Jonghyun was already at the front waiting for them.

“Umma, I’m scared, what if they throw things at us again?” whimpered Taemin. Minho held onto Taemin’s hand and assured him that everything will be fine and even if they do, he will protect him from any harm. Taemin smiled up at Minho, causing Minho to look away as his face blushed.

“If anyone dared to injure my baby in any way, they’d better prepare themselves for the wrath of the Almighty Key” yelled Key as he glared at passing students.

Jonghyun chuckled as he found Key cuter and more adorable by the minute, he reminded him of a feisty kitten. Suddenly several people came up to them and Taemin hid behind Minho, turns out they were the people that were involved with the incident yesterday.

“I’m terribly sorry about what happened yesterday, it was Minjung and Eunjung that threatened us. They said if we don’t follow their orders, then they will turn the whole school on us. In fact, I have nothing against people, but they forced me to say it. I hope you forgive me” as he apologized, Key recognized him as the guy who yelled out yesterday. He was getting angry and was about to give him a beating, until he heard a tiny voice.

“It’s ok, I know you didn’t mean it and since you came to apologize, I forgive you” smiled Taemin. Minho ruffled his hair as he realized that Taemin was stronger than he thought.

“Since Taemin forgive you, then I guess I can’t do anything to you, but if you do anything to hurt my baby again...” Key whipped out a frying pan from out of nowhere and twirled it around in his hand menacingly. The guy could do nothing but stare at the frying pan, getting ready to dodge in case it flies towards his face.

“Don’t worry! As long as you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have to be afraid of me” laughed Key, but it doesn’t seem to reach his eyes.

Skips to lunch

As they walked into the cafeteria, everything seems normal as everyone busied themselves with their own stuff and no one seemed to mention what happened yesterday. Soon, everyone finished their lunch and was slowly sipping at his banana juice. Little did he know, Minho was staring at his lips and was tempted to taste them then and there. However, before he could do anything, he suddenly felt someone staring at him and knew that it was Key.

“Don’t you dare try to hurt my baby, he already suffered enough, I don’t think he can handle anymore” whispered Key. Before Minho could ask Key what he meant, he was interrupted by the bell. Worried about what Key meant, Minho reminded himself to ask Key about Taemin’s past.

After school

From: Minho

To: Almighty Key

Hyung, do you think you can come out for a bit? I want to talk to you about something.

From: Almighty Key

To: Minho

Is this about Taemin? Maybe it’s better if he tells you directly.

From: Minho

To: Almighty Key

I understand, but I don’t agree. I think it’s better if I know beforehand so I would know what you look out for.

From: Almighty Key

To: Minho

Fine, but make it quick, I still need to make dinner for Taebaby.

From: Minho

To: Almighty Key

Alright, meet me at the park outside your house in 15 minutes.

At the park

“What do you want to know about Taemin?” asked Key as Minho approached him. Key had never told anyone about Taemin’s past, Minho would be the first.

“What did you mean when you said Taemin had suffered enough? What happened to him in the past?” Minho was curious as to what happened to Taemin the past that made Key become so protective of him.

“Before Taemin moved in with me, he lived with his parents, they were successful business people and their social status was very important to them. You know the company Lee Enterprise?” asked Key as Minho tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar.

“You mean the multi-billion company that specializes in real estate?” Minho was shocked, that company was top notch and even Minho’s family was slightly below them.

“Yeah, the CEO of that company was Taemin’s dad. Taemin’s mom also came from a rich family but didn’t work after she married into the family. They were considered the perfect family, until Taemin came out to his parents. I think it was when he was 12 when Taemin realized that he likes to play with girls than with boys. I was the first one he told since I was his best friend. I had already moved out after my confrontation with my parents but I still kept in contact with Taemin. I finally found out that Taemin’s family was not that perfect at all.

His parents were just putting on an act when they appear in society, at home, Taemin was frequently ignored and his parents blamed him for everything bad that happened in the company. Thank god his parents didn’t physically abuse but the verbal and emotional abuse was enough. When Taemin told his parents, they exploded, saying that he was a disgrace to the family. Taemin begged his parents to keep him as a son but finally his parents kicked him out and the words they said haunted him until now.” Key said with teary eyes.

“What did his parents say to him?” Minho asked softly.