❝Chapter Thirty-Three

I love you.

A million expressions fought to be displayed on Kim Jae Hee's face: shock, confusion, anger, happiness. She didn't know what to feel right now.

Did he really just say that? she would ask herself, but then mentally disagree. There was no way he could love her.

She was just his fake fiancée. How could real feelings ever develop?

*But I also–* She shook off the ridiculous thought of her actually liking him back. She didn't. At least, that's what she thought.

*But aren't I in love with–* She stopped herself midway, a displeased scowl forming on her face. She hated being reminded of the fact Taemin had feelings for another girl.

But that was beside the point; the point was… *Kai just confessed to me?* Her eyes widened and formed the shape of a cheerio.

She just stared at him, waiting for him to say, "Just kidding!"

But he didn't.

And, to be honest, she was kind of… glad he didn't.

Realizing the thought that had just crossed her mind, she shook her head to herself, denying the fact she felt a bit of joy because of his confession.

Confession.

Again remembering that he had just confessed to her, her eyes expanded as her brain tried to process his words again, as if to double-check her ears were working properly.

After some time, the lines on her forehead came together as she gave him a hard stare. "Are you joking right now?" she snapped, taking the lollipop out of . "I know it's April's Fool, but love really isn't something to joke about."

There was something in her tone that made Kai feel there was meaning to her words, but couldn't figure out what, so he just decided to let it go. He blinked at her, the nervous smile still on his face, and for a while he just stared back at her. "I'm not kidding. I–"

"Look, Kai," she cut him off. "This really isn't funny, okay?" She crossed her arms, her lips forming an upside-down smile. "I'm really not in the mood for your stupid jokes."

His mouth gaped a bit in surprise, feeling her cold shoulder bump into his arm as she walked by him, not even bothering to spare him a second look.

"I'm going out." And just like that she left, leaving behind her little sister whom she adored so much, not caring about the heart she had practically just stomped on.

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"Wanna grab some coffee?"

Kai didn't bother looking up from his laptop, his eyes solely focused on the flashing words before him, his fingers moving quickly against the keyboard. He shook his head once in response to the question, not needing to look up to know who was there.

It had taken him a few minutes to accept the fact that he was rejected so bitterly, and having no strength to face the embarrassment he packed up and headed back to Seoul.

The day after his return, EXO-K and Taemin followed, eager to hear about how his confession went seeing how Jae Hee wouldn't speak to them.

Taemin was especially eager, of course, but coming back home he realized something was off. Whenever he had even spoken a single greeting to his younger brother, he would only get a one-second stare in return. Whenever he had asked his little brother about the confession, he would get a glare so cold that it could give him Hypothermia.

Realizing the little changes, Taemin was able to piece everything together: Kai was rejected.

And the first thing he felt when he realized it was happiness; he was overjoyed, and the first thought that crossed his mind was that he has a chance with her – he has a chance to be her boyfriend, he had a chance to–

And then the guilt hit him. Hard.

I'm such a terrible brother, he would tell himself over and over again as if it would ease his guilt, but it wouldn't. How could he be so happy for the fact his little brother was brokenhearted? Was he being selfish for wanting to drive out to Busan and confess to her? And to be honest it was hard not to; he was almost about to jump into the car when he realized he had a chance with her.

But then he remembered; he remembered that he had promised to help Kai win her heart back. Doing that… meant he wasn't able to compete.

And I'm the older brother, he'd think, I should be the mature one. Suppressing the romantic feelings he projected towards the same girl his brother loved, he put a smile on his face; he acted cheerful; he tried to cheer his brother up, but every attempt ended with nothing but the silent treatment.

Seeing the dark-skinned teenager shake his head, Taemin's expression immediately darkened. *Does he really love her that much?* He thought back to how regretful and heartbroken Kai was after his previous girlfriend Eunyoung had left him when he had cheated on her.

Cheated.

A frown appeared on the older brother's face as the word flew through his mind, and he was even more glad Jae Hee didn't accept Kai's confession. The thought of Kai possibly cheating on her, the thought of Kai breaking her heart, made the tips of his fingers pinch into the palms of his hands.

He didn't know what he would do if Kai ever broke Jae Hee's heart. Honestly speaking, he would've punched his brother.

Call him biased, but he would hurt anyone would hurt her – no matter whether it was his mom, his dad, his brother; anyone who hurt Kim Jae Hee would be have to face him. And yeah he wasn't all strong, yeah he wasn't as nicely-built as his younger brother, but that didn't mean he would try. Anger could be the greatest motivation, and that's what he would have felt if anyone made a single tear fall on Jae Hee's face.

*What am I thinking?* He finally stopped and unclenched his fists, glancing at the red marks his fingernails had dented into his skin. *No, I don't even like her. If anything, I should be angry at her for hurting Kai… right?*

"Are you just going to stand there or what?" Kai finally snapped, shooting an annoyed glare to his older brother who was just standing at his doorway.

Taemin was a bit relieved, as this was the first time his brother had spoken to him in a while, but hurt by the sharp words. "Yeah, sorry," he said a quick apology and left the room, closing the door slowly enough to see Kai rolling his eyes.

Sighing, he grabbed his phone from his room and left the house to go meet up with SHINee. It had been awhile since they had gotten together.

The rest of SHINee had all been busy with the crazy pile of essasy for school, working the part-time jobs they needed to live in a somewhat decent apartment, and while Taemin also attended university and also had lots of assignments to complete, he didn't have to work. That was just one of the perks of being a rich kid, but he was planning on getting a job as soon as he could just find one. I mean, he couldn't live off his parents forever, right?

Arriving at the leader's apartment, Taemin used a spare key he had to unlock the door and went inside, only to see the rest of the guys already gathered there.

"Sorry for being late," said the maknae, sheepishly rubbing his neck as all eyes were on him. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the kitchen for a drink.

He glanced at his friends, and seeing them silently staring at him, his brows raised a bit, but he didn't say anything. He grabbed a cup from the cabinet, looked at his friends, and saw that they were still staring at him. Confused, he asked them if there was something on his face, and the only reply he got back was:

"So we heard you like her."

Pffft! Taemin erupted in loud coughs, spitting the water he was drinking all over the counter as he patted his chest. After grabbing a napkin, he put it against his mouth, coughing as he stared at his friends with wide eyes. "W-where'd you guys hear that?"

"So it's true?" Jonghyun gave the nineteen-year-old a surprised look.

Immediately, Taemin shook his head wildly, denying the fact a little too eagerly than he should be.

"Aw, come on." Key leaned forward against the counter, crossing his arms on it. "Stop lying to us. We already know you like her."

The younger one firmly shook his head, insisting he didn't. "I don't like her, I swear."

"But that's the thing, Taemin-ah."

Taemin turned his head towards Minho, who was almost entirely focused on a computer game he was playing. "What's the thing?" he asked curiously, half-heartedly cleaning the mess he made on the counter.

"We didn't mention any girl's name." A light smirk could be seen on Minho's face, and one wouldn't be able to tell if it was because he had just won the game or because he had just caught the maknae lying. "But the girl you immediately thought of was Jae Hee, am I right?"

"You're right!" the dinosaur of the group cheered, throwing his arm up and giving the competitive member an air-five.

The younger one's eyes widened a bit as he thought back to their statement: So we heard you like her. Taemin cursed at himself for falling for the test, sighing as he threw the napkin away. "Well, um…" He cleared his throat. "You guys already know I'm in love with Min Hee," he mumbled as he walked to the couch and sat down next to Onew.

"Was," the leader corrected. "You were in love with her. But now," he started, "you're in love with Jae Hee."

"Ummm." Taemin raised a brow, grabbing a soda can. "I think I would know whom I'm in love with, okay?"

"Ummm," Onew mimicked. "I think we know you well enough to know that you're being in-denial right now. I'm leader for a reason, you know?"

"I don't like her, okay?!" Taemin snapped, glaring at his friends. "I like Min Hee. Only Min Hee," he reassured, and the rest of SHINee just stared at him before laughing.

"Um, Taemin-ah," Jonghyun chuckled, patting the younger one's shoulders. "I think you mean 'Jae Hee,' not 'Min Hee.'"

"Geez, Taemin, how could you forget the name of the girl you like?"

"Guys, seriously?" Taemin rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore them by watching TV.

"If you like her," Onew said, "then why don't you just confess to her?"

Taemin opened his mouth to reply, but stopped, but then opened it again. "I don't. I told you I like Min–"

"Hey," the leader cut him off, "look at me and then say it."

The maknae hesitated before it up and turning to look the leader in the eyes. "I don't like…" He stopped, and after a few seconds started again. "I don't…" Seeing the determined look on the leader's face, the younger one sighed and looked away.

And it was true. Onew wasn't always just some chicken-loving maniac. He was the "leader" of their group because he was the understanding one, the oldest one, the wisest one, even if he may not look like it. Onew had always been the one Taemin went to whenever he had a problem, and Onew was always the one who could see through him as if he were an open book.

"How'd you guys know?" the maknae asked quietly, his voice almost an exhausted whisper.

Spinning around in his chair, the laughing Minho grabbed the bag of chips on the table. "You make it so obvious."

Onew smiled, agreeing as he flipped through channels of the TV. "You always have this depressed look whenever Kai's around her, but then this happy expression whenever you're around her."

"Yeah!" Key nodded, smiling as he teasingly punched the maknae's arm. "Happier than when you won that year-supply of banana milk during middle school."

A small blush was suddenly able to be seen on the youngest's cheeks as he recalled the foolish memory. Then he let out a deep sigh, jumping onto the couch and sitting next to the leader. "Don't tell anyone, guys," he said seriously.

"Sure," Minho agreed, "but aren't you going to confess to her?"

The other Min gave him a strange look. "Why would I? Kai's in love with her. They're getting back together." There was a faint edge to his tone, but not faint enough for SHINee to not notice it.

"But just because Kai's in love with her," Jonghyun countered, "doesn't mean she's in love with him."

"Still!" Taemin rotated his shoulders, leaning back into the couch. "I can't just date my brother's ex-fiancée."

"But what if we told you…" Minho glanced at the other members of SHINee, and they all weirdly exchanged suspicious smirks with each other, making the maknae raise a brow.

"But what if you told me what?" Taemin gave them a weird look, but they didn't reply; they just simply started to talk gibberish to each other. The silence was killing him; no, the curiosity was killing him. "But what if you told me what??" he repeated in a louder, more impatient tone.

Instead of replying, they just started pretending to text or talking about random things, completely ignoring the maknae's pleas of curiosity. What did they know that he didn't?

Taemin gawked at them and then frustratedly blew out a puff of air as an audible exhale was heard through his nose, and if he was in a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of his ears as well.

"Really, guys?" He crossed his arms, his annoyed tone catching their attention. "Just tell me! I– Gah!" He stopped, seeing how they just went back to doing random stuff.

Beep. Beep.

He glanced at his phone and when he saw the "New Message" sign, he grabbed it, unlocked it, and raised a brow. He glanced towards Minho, the person who had sent the text, and after earning a nod of approval he opened the message.

To: Taeminnie

From: Minho Hyung

But what if I told you Jae Hee was only Kai's fake fiancée?