[twenty-seven]

Catch Taemin If You Can
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Taemin walked to the water fountain to wash away any speck of white traces that could give him away as the culprit of Baldy’s no-longer-black-Corolla. He was washing is hands when the lights flickered from the changeroom windows.


 

Right, soccer practice. Jongin would be there.


 

Taemin shut the flowing tap and his hand lingered by his sides. He bit his lip as he wet the ends of his shirt. Before his brain could make any logical decision, Taemin's feet were already heading towards the school building.


 

As he approached the gymnasium, Taemin could hear the boys’ laughter and noisy chatter coming from the changeroom. Taemin barely resisted himself from charging into the room and relunctantly turned around.


 

Even if he faced Jongin, Taemin didn’t know what to say. No matter how many times he recollected his thoughts and rephrased it over and over in his head, it all came down to one sentence.


 

I like you.


 

Taemin liked his childhood friend. A whole ing lot.


 

Taemin sauntered down the hallway when he heard thumping sounds in the gymnasium. Curious, he scurried over and went inside only to see Chanyeol sitting in the middle of the empty court. Chanyeol too discovered Taemin, and the ball stopped in the middle of its continuous dribbling.


 

Of course what Taemin did next was making a u-turn to leave the gym, when something swooshed past his face and slammed the door close. The basketball bounced against his feet and Taemin heard Chanyeol’s voice echo.


 

“Care to pass me the ball?”


 

Taemin glared at Chanyeol. He picked up the ball and threw it towards him, and Chanyeol caught it much too easily to Taemin’s annoyance. Chanyeol grinned and slapped the spot next to him. Too tired for further bickering, Taemin walked over without a reply and plopped down.


 

“Why are you still here?” Chanyeol asked.



“…Why do you care?” Taemin responded without much enthusiasm.



“I never said I cared, just asking.”



“Don’t ask then.”



“Well, somebody’s cranky.” Chanyeol smirked. “Wanna play basketball?”



“Is that why you’re here?” Taemin peered over at Chanyeol and clicked his tongue. “Then you shouldn’t have made such a scene with the basketball team in the first place…”



“You still mad?” Chanyeol interrupted, and Taemin’s voice ceased. Few seconds passed before Taemin started again.



“…What do you mean, I’m mad...” Taemin looked away.



“That I kissed you.”



Eyes widening big, Taemin gaped. Barely resisting the urge to grab the basketball and smash it into Chanyeol’s flawless face, Taemin spoke through gritted teeth.


 

“If I ever see you blabbering things like that anywhere, you’re dead.” He warned but Chanyeol laughed.



“And how are you going to kill me?” said Chanyeol as he snatched Taemin’s wrist and held it up. “With these cotton balls?”


 

Pulling his hand back, Taemin glared.


 

“Don’t you ever feel that you’re a bit erted?”  He spat and Chanyeol dribbled the ball as if to ignore him. The ball moved swiftly in Chanyeol’s big hands and spun around at the tip of his finger.



Chanyeol answered after a while. “Nope. Never.”


 

“Yeah well, psychopaths don’t know that they’re crazy.” Taemin retorted.



“I do feel that I’m lonely sometimes. Why?”


 

Stunned by Chanyeol’s sudden utterance, Taemin stared. As if what he just said was perfectly fitting for the situation, Chanyeol paid all his attention to the spinning ball on his finger, undisturbed by the subtle sting in his own voice.


 

“…Like I said I’d do anything…” Taemin hastily cleared his throat.


 

Chanyeol grinned, the bruises of glory from the other day still visible on his face.


 

“So I clung on to you for a bit.” He said.



“…….”



“I didn’t think I’d be bored with you around. Just by watching from afar, you were different. Starting from your environment, to the people around you, to your snappy personality and the ridiculous mishaps and stuff. So I stuck around for some show.”


 

Chanyeol smirked. “Not to mention your countless rumors, and… the more I watched your stupidity the cuter it seemed to get." Chanyeol chuckled as he side-glanced at Taemin's widening eyes. "Thanks to you, I laughed like I never did since… a really long time ago.”


 

Taemin’s eyebrows soared until it turned to a frown.




“…If you’re so thankful you could’ve just paid me cash.” Taemin grumbled. “Why the hell did you lipsmash me like that…”



“Except… there was this one thing about you that bothered the out of me.”


 

Chanyeol cut Taemin off. Then he reached into his uniform pocket and held up a red card. He shook it, waiting for Taemin to take it and Taemin accepted it to find the card familiar.


 

“Open it.” Chanyeol said.


 

Taemin complied reluctantly, and the glittery message Merry Christmas greeted him with [To Taemin♡ From Mina] written underneath. Taemin stiffened in guilt. He now remembered that he received the card from a girl in his class, but had given it to Chanyeol without much thought. He hadn’t had the time to further consider the message inside and Taemin fumbled the card in his fingers.


 

“This is exactly why I don’t have things like friends.” Chanyeol said and Taemin looked up.



“…Urm… You know, things like this can happen all the time…” Taemin started but Chanyeol spoke up again.



“Are you serious about Jongin?”



“...What?”



“Are you really serious about Jongin.” Chanyeol repeated. “Which is why you stalked him on Christmas day and went through all that crap?”



“It’s none of your business.” Taemin replied flatly.



“I know, it shouldn’t be.” Said Chanyeol.



“But once something sparks and pisses you off like this card right here, suddenly it becomes your very own ing business.”



“……”



“At least it felt good for some time.” Chanyeol continued. “That you'd give me a card."


 

With that, Chanyeol got up to his feet. Taemin blankly stared up at Chanyeol with his still glued on the cold glossy floor. Dribbling the ball twice or thrice, Chanyeol looked down at Taemin.


 

“Though ultimately it all came down to this.”


 

Guilt suddenly rushing up, Taemin was just about to apologize when the basketball fell on his head.


 

“Ow!!! Hey it hurts!” Taemin frowned and rubbed his head.



“Go see Jiyeon.” Chanyeol said when Taemin's eyes fluttered up.



“…What?”



“Meet Jiyeon and tell her the truth.” Chanyeol responded. “You don’t have to tell her everything, just treat her fair and square and face the consequences. Who knows? Maybe she’ll just let you go after a nice slap across your face.”



“…Did she ask you to do this, ‘cause…”



“I thought you would know by now.” Chanyeol was firm. “How it feels to have your feelings tossed around.”


 

Taemin couldn’t respond. How it felt when his feelings were tossed around?

 

 

...Yeah Taemin knew, and it felt like .


 

Shaking off the rising irritation, Taemin helped himself up and looked at Chanyeol.


 

“Let me know once you’ve made up your mind.” Chanyeol said and shrugged before turning around towards the exit.


 

The door slammed shut, and Taemin stood alone in the empty and desolate gymnasium.





 

***





 

The hallway was quiet and deserted. The night fell dark outside the windows although it was only early evening. Time had flown by during Baldy’s Corolla makeover and the conversation with Chanyeol at the gym, which only left an unknown prick in Taemin’s stomach. The red card was still dangling in his hand, and Taemin peered down at it again.


 

Jiyeon’s feelings…

My feelings…



 

What Chanyeol had said flew directly out of his mouth and drove right into Taemin’s heart.


 

Truthfully, the word “love”, and everything else that followed its tail such as “feelings”, “truth”, “trust” and etc. had always tormented Taemin even before he had a chance to realize what those words truly defined.


 

Apparently, Taemin’s parents had faced severe oppositions from both sides of their family before they could get married. It was only after countless accounts of fasting, threatening, begging, and constant persuasion that they were finally given permission to love. But what awaited Taemin’s parents after such difficult marriage was war, much less unconditional happiness.


 

Taemin’s parents had always yelled at each other, repeating what they cried out every single day.


 

[Tell me the truth. Do you want to break this marriage off?]

[Tell me how you truly feel. Do you even love me?]

[Why can’t you understand how I feel?]

[Why can’t you trust me?]


 

Wanting and asking for the other person to know how you feel. Taemin thought it was all a waste of time. Nobody can assure that they know what the other person wants, so how can you want it in return? They never would, anyways.


 

Taemin was walking down the hallway when the changeroom door in front of him opened and the soccer team rushed out. Jongin was among the crowd. Whooping that they were going for some pizza, the boys continued down the hall leaving Jongin and Taemin to themselves.


 

“…I’m cleaning with you today.” Taemin opened his mouth first. “Don’t shoo me off like last time.”



“…Alright.” Breaking off the gaze, Jongin responded and started ahead.


 

They reached the building, and the eerie theatre brightened as soon as Jongin turned o

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SHINeeGirl7 #1
Chapter 41: I FOUND THIS LATE BUT READ THEM ALL IN ONE GO!! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT WORK! Thank you for sharing cuz this helped me to lift my head off the stressful things going around haha...Anyway I enjoyed this sooo well cuz it was so scarily matching my preference! Keep up and take care!
MissDhy01 #2
Chapter 41: This is the best !
marshmallowo
#3
Chapter 42: Oh my goodness I need details of what's exactly going to happen next...
marshmallowo
#4
Chapter 37: Of course Jinki is a farmer who lives in the middle of nowhere hahaha
IrmCik
#5
Chapter 17: What does he even mean with "when I did not lay a finger on you for 10 years" like dude did you want to beat him up? Like for years you wanted to punch him? Or is he angry bcuz they messed up his pretty face. This is going in such a slow pace, they like each other obviously they should kiss already urgh...