Taemin brought his knees closer to his chest. His breathing is hot and heavy. His eyes are watering up with endless tears that stream down his stained, dusty pink cheeks. He closes his eyes as if to shut himself away from the world and each time he expects to see the one he loves to embrace him and shower him with I love yous and everything will be okay, he is welcomed to a blurry world where his vision is impaired. Maybe he should’ve seen it coming because Minho isn’t home when he wakes up and he doesn’t come back until the wee bits of the day, or maybe he never does and sleeps at the office because of his big project.

                Sehun’s frantic call of his name is white noise. It’s drowned away by his loud sobs. It isn’t long until he hears the clear click of the phone and the endless beeping from the other end. Taemin slowly untangles his legs and forces himself up to place the phone back on the counter. He drags his feet to their bedroom-or Minho’s because it is Minho’s home. His vision isn’t as blurry as it was. He opens the closet and throws the necessary items to the bed before throwing the suitcase on it.

                The sound of the door is quiet, but noticeable in the silent room. Taemin shuffles across the room. He flings open the case and shoves the clothes (he doesn’t even know if it’s just his or if Minho’s is in it. At this point, he doesn’t care) and shoes and blankets he bought and the scarves he knitted and his laptop he got from Minho on Christmas and whatever he bought for Minho because it’s his and he’s going to do whatever it takes to erase their memories together. It’s stupid, yeah it is, because why would you want to keep what you gave to a person you loved? But it doesn’t matter right now because Taemin wants to get out of this room. His mind is a mess, a contrast to the stark white room with shelves stacked with photographs and books and gifts. Everything seems to be spinning. He doesn’t let Minho state his reason. He doesn’t bother to give his reason to leave.

                Taemin just wants to be out of here for a while.

                Minho stomps the pavement, running a hand through his jet black hair. He sends the call on his phone to voicemail thinking that it’s Luhan. He was right.

                Here he is sitting on the bed. He didn’t bother to wrinkle out the shape of the suitcase or organize the closet despite his OCD Taemin told him to fix (and maybe it is fixed now because he doesn’t want to organize what Taemin left behind). Minho’s toying with his phone, looking through who’s been calling him today. No sign of Taemin’s number. Minho’s been like this for a few days or maybe weeks-to Minho, an hour without Taemin is a day and a day without Taemin is a year. It’s agonizing for him. He doesn’t remember the last time he showered. He probably should go shower now since he smells like post-work out socks. Has he eaten a decent meal? Right-he drank coffee when he woke up a few hours, but it doesn’t really count. Minho shrugs the idea. If someone misses him right now, they’ll go look for him.

--

                “Luhan, is he back at work yet?” Sehun’s voice stretches out in a lazy tone as he lies his head on the older’s lap. Luhan smiles at Sehun’s childish act. It’s been a while since Luhan’s been living here and already Sehun is clingy. It could be because Sehun broke up with JongIn (or was it Kai?), but it doesn’t really matter. Sehun’s been acting pretty well lately and it could be because of the therapist he’s been seeing.

                “No, not yet,” Luhan answers back, staring blankly at the vivid television screen. The conversation stops abruptly until Luhan chimes in again.

                “Should I go see him?”

                “If you’re that curious,” Sehun rolls onto the floor with a thud, but the younger doesn’t seem to mind, “I have to go to a photo shoot, some magazine wants to interview the musical cast.”

                “Oh hush, I bet it’s only you who’s going to be there because you’re the star of the show.”

                “How in the world did you know?” Sehun fakes a gasp to which Luhan gawks at, rolling his eyes.

                “Might as well go out if you are,” Luhan answers, “Hold on, let me get my coat.”

--

                “So you’re here because-“

                “Minho cheated on me.”

                “How do you know-“

                “Sehun told me.”

                “You’re really going to beli-“

                “Yes.”

                “Okay,” JongIn holds his hands up in surrender, “Hyung, you can stay as long as you want here.”

                “Thanks. Sorry for the trouble.”

                “It’s okay.”

                “You heard from Sehun?” Kyungsoo piped into the living room with a tray of hot chocolate. The steam fogged up his glasses and before he could wipe them clean, JongIn snatched it from his boyfriend’s hands and did it for him, smiling at his lover when he gave it back. Kyungsoo blushed slightly before sipping the hot chocolate.

                “Yeah,” Taemin said, ignoring the awkward feeling in his stomach, “Why do you sound so…unsure? Uptight, is that the word?”

                “I think so,” JongIn agrees.

                “It’s just because,” Kyungsoo’s voice trails off for a second, “It’s only because he saw us together so it could be the reason why he told on Minho. I’m not going to lie Taemin. I don’t know you well, today is the day I officially met you, but JongIn and I were both witnesses at the scene.” JongIn mouths “scouts honor,” crossing his left side of the chest.

                “Oh great,” Taemin groans, “What did you see?”

                “Hyung, you seem pretty tired so why don’t you just go to rest? We can give you the details next time.”

                “No, I’d rather get it over now and sleep the pain away than wake up to know nothing at all.”

                “We saw them kiss and wake out of the club. I don’t know what happened afterwards. Taemin, maybe it’s best if you rested and call him in the morning.”

                “Am I not pretty enough?” Taemin lifts his head from his hands, staring at the couple with doe-like eyes, flushed cheeks, and blood-red lips from biting them too much, a habit he hadn’t broken.

                “No, you are beautiful! Anyone who tells you otherwise is an ,” Kyungsoo interjects.

                “?” JongIn questions, nudging his lover in the ribs, “Well aren’t you turning out nicely? Maybe you should channel your rough energy in the bedroom.”

                “JongIn, calm down. Taemin, just go rest, alright? And don’t worry, there won’t be any weird noises in the night because JongIn will be sleeping here and you’ll be sleeping in the guest room.”

                “Are you kidding me?” JongIn’s mouth falls open as he clutches his heart for dear life. Taemin laughs at the act while following Kyungsoo into the guest room.

                “So tell me, how long have you been going around house after house? I’ve seen you at the grocery store in the neighborhood, but I haven’t exactly seen you around here and I’m guessing you live uptown because of the status of Minho,” Kyungsoo asks, helping Taemin unpack his clothes.

                “For about a week. Don’t worry, I haven’t been living in a cardboard box or anything. I was at one of my friend’s, Sungmin, house. He has a boyfriend who can’t control his testosterones so I moved out after two days. Then I went back to my mom’s, but I didn’t want to be a bother to her or father because they haven’t gotten used to my uality so I decided to come here,” Taemin doesn’t know why he just told his life story to some total stranger. But something about him makes it feel like Taemin can tell his whole story without being judged. Kyungsoo only nods, patting Taemin’s shoulder before saying, “You can stay here as long as you like.”

A/N: I haven't updated this story for about a month and I am so sorry. It's finally winter break so I can dedicate myself to write the story:)

Apologies for any spelling/grammar errors!

Don't forget to comment in the comment box below! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, etc etc<3

xx,

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