Taemin was lying on his back sprawled on the couch in the afternoon, his laptop on his chest, his phone on the table and the TV to some cooking show that he was halfheartedly watching because he was hungry and felt like looking at food.

“You’re so lazy,” teased Taeyeon, jabbing at Taemin’s stomach as Taemin giggled and tried to swat her hands away.

“I’m hungry,” whined Taemin playfully. “Make me something to eat noona!”

“Make it yourself, lazy boy,” laughed Taeyeon, still poking Taemin and tickling him.

“You know I can’t noona! I’m going to die of dehydration if you don’t!”

“Don’t you mean hunger, you nutter?” asked Taeyeon affectionately as Taemin squirmed around laughing and trying to avoid her hands while balancing his laptop.

“No, dehydration because I’m going to sit here and drool at all the food on the TV, and then I’m going to cry that you’re not going to make me anything, and then I’ll die of dehydration!”

“I’ll put some chicken nuggets in the oven, does that sound nice?”

Taemin his lips and nodded.

“Thanks noona,” he said. “You’re the best.”

The phone rang, and Taeyeon picked it up as she walked to the kitchen.

“Hello? Oh, Anyeong haseyo…”

Taemin frowned as Taeyeon’s tone switched to a hushed and professional one, but distracted himself with the internet.

“Taemin, the food is ready,” called Taeyeon.

Taemin ran excitedly to the table, carrying his laptop. He eagerly plunked down and started picking up the nuggets and plopped them on his plate, burning his fingers. He blew on them before reaching for the ketchup and putting a dollop on his plate. He was about to eat when he saw Taeyeon staring at him.

“Mmm.. is something wrong noona?” he asked nervously.

“Are you happy Taemin?” asked Taeyeon, her gaze concerned.

“Mmhmm,” smiled Taemin, nodding. “I’m so happy. I’m so hungry, thank you noona.”

“Okay,” sighed Taeyeon, as if she was reassuring himself. “Okay, okay.”

A week later Taeyeon sat down next to Taemin on his bed who was talking on chat with Key and playing an online game with his friends from school.

“Taeminnie, you got a letter,” said Taeyeon. “You need to read it.”

He looked down at the envelope she handed him and noticed the capital letters, and the amount of stamps. He turned the letter around to see a Korean address, his grandparents.

He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“I’ll be in the living room,” said Taeyeon gently before she his hair and left.

He took a deep breath before picking at the seal and tearing it open in pieces and as carefully as he could.

Anyeong haseyo grandson, I hope this letter finds you in good health. The first line read.

Halpeoji and halmeoni miss you and pray for you every day. You are our only grandchild and we treasure you very much. All we wish for is that you are happy and healthy.We are sorry for not writing to you earlier, forgive your halpeoji whose hands shake and your halmeoni who does not know how to write.

Halmeoni and I can’t help but wonder if you are really happy in America, Taemin. You were born and raised in Seoul for your entire life, it was cruel to take you to another country when your future was only beginning here. We were the only family you knew before, and we sent you away from us. You should have been with us Taemin. Your parents wrote their will before your aunt moved to America, they did not know. Maybe if they did, they would have changed it.

We are talking to a lawyer and the executor of the will. We didn’t want to tell you before anything was certain, but now we can say. Taemin, our only treasure, do you want to come back to Seoul and live with halmeoni and I? Halmeoni and I are getting old, and we would love the company and help. Please do not think we are forcing you to do this. If you want to stay in America, then you can stay. But if you want to move back, then we are more than happy to welcome you back.

Please tell us what your decision is. Either way, please visit home soon- we want to see our only grandson before we pass! Adam and Eve also miss you.The only thing we ever talk about is you these days. Halmeoni always says ‘I wonder what Taemin looks like now- has he changed in all these months?’ and we always talk about how cute you are and how worried we are for you.

Much love our Taeminnie,

Your Halmeoni and Halpeoji.

Taemin didn’t realise his hands where shaking as he finished the letter.

He… he could go home?

End this nightmare? Go back to Korea? See his dogs and his grandparents? Go back to the bustling city where he understood everything everyone was saying and never felt lost, look in the faces of every person on the street and feel like he fit in? See Kai? See all his friends….

He could have his old life back. Waking up early before the sun rose properly, bundled up in jackets and scarves  and full after consuming a breakfast of fish and kimchi and rice, his breath puffing in the freezing air as he waited for his friends on their corner, or talked to someone as they waited for the others. And then they would all walk to school, slinging their arms around each other, playfully pushing, always joking, linking their hands. And they would get to their classroom where all the girls would say good morning to him. After school they would run out to their favourite spicy rice cake stall and eat and eat and eat before waving goodbye to go home and eat dinner. God, he hadn’t had ddukboki in ages.

He still remembered it all so clearly. His old life.

Plus, his grandparents needed help. And his puppies were there. If he went, he could still take the entrance exams... or not even take them, he could just look for a job. At least he could speak the language in Korea, unlike here.

If this letter had come a few months earlier he would have already started packing and would have probably cried in happiness.

But here he had Taeyeon, who he really liked living with and really cared about. Onew, who he really liked talking to and joking with. His school friends, who had promised to take him to all the good parts of the city.. Minho and Jonghyun, who said that he should come to the gym with them. Even Faffy, he would miss her. He was finally learning English and doing better in school.

But he would have dropped all of that in a heartbeat he knew, if it wasn’t for the one that made his heart beat.

He couldn’t leave Key.

Right?

Right?

Not for all the safety and security in the world… not for all the happiness and comfort he had felt in Seoul… not for how much he longed to go back and breathe in the polluted air and walk on the concrete. He wanted to go back home.

But he wasn’t going to leave Key.

Taeyeon must have known something was up.

He walked downstairs to see her.

“What did the letter say?” asked Taeyeon. She was sitting watching TV.

He sat down next to her.

“My grandparents…they’re asking me if I want to go and live with them,” said Taemin. “Did you know about this?”

Taeyeon sighed. “I don’t know if you remember, but I got a phone call last week. It was your grandparents' lawyer from Korea. He asked me how you were doing. I talked to him about you. About how you got suspended, how you were struggling. I know you’ve been depressed since coming to America.  I know you miss home, aegi. And he said that your grandparents have been wanting you to come and live with them.”

“I want to go home noona,” he said. “But.. I don’t want to leave. Do you want me to go?”

Taeyeon hugged him. “I don’t want you to go Taeminnie. I love you so much. Me and Jinki would be so sad to see you go. You know my parents, or your other grandparents died a long time ago. I’m an orphan just like you Taemin, and I’m so happy to be with the family I have left. But this isn’t about what I want. It’s what you want, and you should do what would make you happy.”

“I don’t want to leave you noona,” Taemin said. “And I don’t want to leave… I don’t want to leave…”

“Key,” finished Taeyeon for him. “I knew it, baby.”

“But I want to go home,” he breathed. “What do I do noona? None of them will make me happy. I don’t know what to do!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to decide now,” said Taeyeon. “There’s no pressure. But just think about it. Then we can sort out your citizenship here and there as well if you’re staying or if you’re not. Just tell me when you have made your decision.”

A/N Taemin has been throughout the whole story that he wants to go hoooommmee! And now he can! But will he? or won't he?  this is not meant to be a  cliffhanger, but it might prove to be because I am going to China for all of Feb to visit family and have fun! I am going to come back home with lots of tacky clothes and fat from yum cha I just know it! So I'm going hoooomme too, except I was born in New Zealand so -_-

I will try to update but I will not have too much time to write :/ but i will probs be here reading all y'all stories :D :D so talk to me! I just figured out that aff does not give you a notification when people have friend requested you, you have to check yourself. :/ woops! So i just became friends with a lot of you yesterday hahaha! :D :D

tell me what you think!! the next time I talk to you I'll be the land of exo-m. well, not really :P

<3 <3 <3