[JongMinKey] Minho's Reality

[SHINee] One-Shot Collection

The request for this pairing honestly threw me off a little, but I tried my hardest. :) Enjoy.

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The plate hit the wall next to Minho's head and he flinched but didn't move. He deserved everything he got in this situation, anyway. Tears were streaming down Jonghyun's face.


    "Why? How could you...?" Minho turned his gaze towards the dying body on the kitchen floor. Key's eyes were closed and his face was a mask of pain. He was trying to conserve his energy by not talking. Key's ghastly appearance was a mental picture Minho was sure he'd carry with him for the rest of his life. He hadn't meant to stab Key, it was an accident. But he knew he'd be blamed all the same.


As he heard the approaching sirens, he reflected back on the past few months. Their unconventional relationship had been rapidly declining, but they refused to see it. All 3 of them. Key and Jonghyun simply didn't see their relationship the same way as Minho did.


Jonghyun and Key loved Minho as much as they loved each other, but they couldn't help being caught up in each other. Key was the one who'd come up with the whole idea for their relationship. Deep down Minho always knew it wouldn't work, but he'd hoped all the same. He loved Key. He loved Jonghyun. But in a situation like that, someone always winds up feeling left out. Sometimes, it was Jonghyun, and sometimes it was Key, but most of the time it was Minho.


He started to feel like a third wheel whenever they went out to dinner. He started noticing that Key and Jonghyun went out without him. He didn't know what to do. He was a quiet kind of guy who kept things to himself. As Jonghyun and Key grew increasingly closer and shoved him aside, he withdrew further and further.


He started skipping meals because he was sick with jealousy seeing Key and Jonghyun together and treating him more like their friend instead of their boyfriend. He couldn't bear to go out with them anymore. Minho knew he started looking bad, but he honestly couldn't care less. The people he loved the most loved each other more than they did him. And it hurt.


Jonghyun was the one who noticed first. He tried to do little things to cheer Minho up, like watching the football games on T.V. with him, or taking him out to eat without Key. He took Minho to Lotte World multiple times and to the high-end restaurants in Seoul. It worked a little, and Minho regained some of his happiness.


Key simply acted as if there was nothing wrong. He carried on as he always had, though he did start paying attention to Minho again. He laughed and joked and took Minho places he'd never been. Minho couldn't help but chuckle when Key asked him one day where he wanted to go in Seoul. He already knew that they would somehow wind up in Myeongdong, so he said he wanted to visit the cathedral there. He was ecstatic that his boyfriends seemingly loved him again.


But soon enough, Jonghyun and Key started ignoring him again. He slipped into a depression that was even worse than before. He was numb, but at the same time frustrated, angry, and hurt. But this time, he made an effort to forget about them.


He started going out with Taemin, a kid he'd met when he was out drinking by himself. He used Taemin, though he could tell Taemin was developing real feelings for him. He felt bad about it, he did, but he didn't love Taemin like he loved Jonghyun and Key.


 He hadn't been expecting Key and Jonghyun to be back from their date for a couple of hours at least. So when they were back in an hour, Minho and Taemin were still on the couch in the throes of pleasure. Minho moaned as Taemin's mouth moved up and down his , unaware that Key and Jonghyun were just standing there watching. Jonghyun cleared his throat, finally getting over his shock.


    "Minho-ah... can we talk?" Taemin's head shot up and his eyes went wide. Minho looked up lazily, trying to hide the pain he felt.


    "Can we get dressed first?" he replied smartly. Jonghyun and Key were red in the face from trying to hold in their anger, but said nothing and went to the kitchen. Minho turned to Taemin and smiled weakly.


    "Sorry, Taemin-ah. Maybe tomorrow?" Taemin nodded, and they got dressed in silence. When Minho was finally dressed and had seen Taemin out the door, he walked in the kitchen, acting as if he didn't care. He stood against the counter, preferring standing rather than sitting down and having to look them in the eyes.


    "So, mind telling me what that was about?" Minho heard the anger in Key's voice and cringed.


    "I'd like to know too, Minho-ah," Jonghyun said, trying to be rational. Minho decided to tell the truth because at least they would know how he felt. If nothing else.


    ", obviously. But...," Minho closed his eyes and tilted his head up. "I'm starting to feel like I'm not a part of this relationship anymore. So I'm trying to move on." Unwillingly, tears formed in his eyes and he angrily wiped them away. "I'm sorry, but you're both hurting me."


Jonghyun and Key were devastated. What...? When then thought about it, though, they realized it was true. They'd been ignoring Minho, and it wasn't the first time. They felt the guilt settle in their stomachs unpleasantly.


    "Minho-ah...," When Key got up and reached out to comfort Minho, he was brushed off. Minho looked at Key with sadness in his features.


    "Don't bother, hyung. Neither of you. Because we all know that even if you go back to trying to make me feel included, it would wind up the same as now. You both not noticing I even exist," Minho said with tears rolling down his cheeks. "So just forget it." He walked off, leaving Jonghyun and Key with their own tears to contend with. They knew he was right, which only made them feel guiltier.


Jonghyun went upstairs to Minho's bedroom (He'd asked for a separate bedroom a couple of months ago. Jonghyun and Key hadn't thought anything of it until now.) to try to comfort him. He knocked before he entered and his heart broke at the sight of Minho on his bed, his head in his hands, muffling his sobs.


    "Minho-ah...," Minho lifted his head at the anguish that was clear in Jonghyun's features and voice. He wiped his eyes and stood up.


    "Hyung. It's okay. I understand, really," he tried to smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm moving on, or at least trying to." Jonghyun started to cry again, unwillingly.


    "But that's just it, Minho-ah... It's selfish, but neither Key-ah nor I want you to move on," he sat on the bed next to Minho. "We still love you." Minho was angry and hurt.


    "That's not fair, hyung. I'm not your back-up boyfriend, and I'm not Key-hyung's either," Minho got up to open the door. "Now, please leave." Jonghyun got off the bed and gave Minho a sad look before leaving. Minho closed the door and slid to the floor. He didn't feel like getting up and collapsing on his bed, so he didn't.


Jonghyun wandered back in the kitchen and sat next to Key. Key rubbed his shoulder lovingly and murmuring comforting words to him.


    "Key-ah, I don't want Minho-ah to move on. I want him to stay with us," Key nodded in understanding.


    "I don't want him to move on either, hyung. And for that to happen, we need to try to include him more. And we can't forget him anymore. He deserves that much," Jonghyun nodded. They were determined to save their relationship.


Despite what he'd said, Minho noticed Jonghyun and Key's efforts to include him in their dates. Whenever he was invited to go out to see a movie with them, or go out to dinner, he turned them down. He wanted to hurt them as much as they'd hurt him. But he was hurting himself further, as well.


Taemin helped. By now, he knew the entire situation, and while he knew how Minho really felt about him, he hoped that Minho could learn to love him back. He took Minho to places he'd never seen before and loved him unconditionally.


Key realized what Minho was doing and he hated to admit that it was working. It made him angry, yes, but he was more hurt. Since he and Jonghyun knew about Taemin, Minho didn't bother trying to hide his relationship with Taemin anymore. He brought Taemin over and on the days they were both free, they sat around and talked or watched their favorite movies.  In fact, it almost seemed like Minho was flaunting Taemin, and Key had a sneaking suspicion he was right.


Jonghyun was arguably more hurt than Key. Before they were in a relationship, Minho and Jonghyun had been best friends, and when they both started dating Key, they got even closer. And now that they were on a hiatus (Jonghyun simply refused to believe that Minho wasn't a part of their relationship anymore. He couldn't accept it, because it would be like having an arm or a leg chopped off.), Jonghyun wasn't even able to be his best friend anymore. It was beyond frustrating and hurtful.


Jonghyun and Key, most days, couldn't go without crying a few tears over how badly their relationship was in disrepair. Like Jonghyun, Key refused to accept that Minho was not a part of their relationship anymore. It was too hurtful to think about, so most days, Key acted as if there was nothing wrong.


The hurt Minho felt was even worse when Key seemingly brushed the situation off like it was nothing to him in the first place. When it came to his depression, it was like rolling a heavy stone to the top of the hill only to find it had gone back down the hill.

He'd finally gotten over his depression, but when he saw Key acting like everything was okay, his mood so easily spiraled down. It got even worse when he noticed Jonghyun starting to act like everything was okay too. He didn't understand. This was the reality he'd wanted, right? Now he could try to move on with Taemin. 'It's not the reality you wanted though,' he thought truthfully to himself.


He didn't think he could handle being so severely depressed anymore. He felt like he'd been on an unpleasant rollercoaster ride, emotionally, and he hated the feeling of being weak and wobbly. Not even Taemin, who was like his own personal ray of sunshine, could cheer him up.

Seriously, the boy was always happy, and just being around Taemin usually made Minho feel better. But lately, he felt even worse in Taemin's presence. He felt like he was cheating on Jonghyun and Key, even though he wasn't with them anymore.


As he spiraled even further down, he couldn't help the thoughts of suicide running through his mind. It would just be easier to leave the world, he thought. He knew it was selfish, but he was tired of hurting. He knew that once he died, there would be people hurt, but they'd be better off in the long run, right? Taemin could move on and find someone who loved him back. As for Key and Jonghyun... they'd always have each other for comfort. Wait, when had he gone from thinking about suicide to planning? Minho didn't know.


He was anxious for Key and Jonghyun to leave the house most days. He thought that they hadn't noticed but they had, both of them. But by the time he'd worked up the courage to pick up the knife, they were usually home. They were never gone for very long because they were worried that Minho was planning something. They had every right to be worried, because he was.


It took him over 2 weeks to be able to pick up the knife as soon as the front door closed. When he heard the front door shut that morning, he quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed the knife that he'd hidden on top of the fridge (Key and Jonghyun had hidden the rest of the knives). He felt a sting as he dragged the knife up his arm. He panicked when he heard the front door open. They were back already!? He stood up and put the knife in his pants and put his hands behind his back just as Key walked in the kitchen. He looked at Minho suspiciously.


    "I forgot that I left the coffee pot on. What are you in here for?" Key asked. Minho smiled weakly.


    "I was planning on making some cereal, but you walked in before I could grab the milk and cereal out of the fridge," he explained. Key gestured to the fridge.


    "Then by all means," Key sighed in relief. He thought for a second that Minho was up to something. Inside, Minho was panicking. He was pretty sure he'd never be able to hide the long, deep gash in his arm. He moved towards the fridge slowly. Maybe if he opened both doors he could hide it. He opened both doors and quickly grabbed the milk and cereal and walked over the cabinet. He grabbed a bowl and set it down to prepare the cereal when he felt a slight spell of dizziness come over him.


He'd cut less deeply than he thought, it seemed. He looked back and he saw Key's face in a mask of shock. He cursed when he looked down and saw the trail of blood he left. Damn. Key finally looked back up at him and his eyes were empty.


    "Why, Minho-ah? Why would you do this?" he gestured to Minho's arm which was now hanging limply at his side. He reached under his shirt and pulled the knife from his pants. He held the knife to his other wrist and sliced quickly, before Key had any time to snatch it from him. The dizziness was starting to get worse when he felt Key trying to grab the knife from him. His grip slipped, and Key pulled too hard.


Minho's eyes widened when Key let out a choked sound. The handle of the knife was sticking out of Key's stomach and his tan shirt was quickly becoming stained with red. Minho stumbled towards Key, who fell on top of him. He felt Key's warm blood on his clothing and he started crying. He heard the front door open again, and Jonghyun appeared in the kitchen.


Minho was frozen as he watched Jonghyun call an ambulance, the dizziness and blood loss taking its toll on him. He leaned against the wall, gasping. A plate shattered next to his head, and he flinched but didn't move. The next plate hit him square in the chest, which only worsened his condition. He almost out when another plate hit him in the head. He slid to the floor and a plate shattered next to him.


As he listened to Jonghyun shout, he felt like crawling somewhere and living the rest of his life in solitude.


    "Look, Jonghyun-hyung. It was an accident," Jonghyun was quiet at the sound of Minho's voice. "I know it's useless now, but I'm sorry. He yanked on the knife too hard, and my grip wasn't tight enough. He stabbed himself," Minho couldn't seem to stop the tears. "Key-hyung came back in the kitchen to turn the coffee pot off and caught me trying to commit suicide." He was panting after the outburst and he was struggling to stay conscious. "I don't deserve death anymore. I possibly killed one of the loves of my life, and I'll have to live with that forever."


Jonghyun dropped the plate he was about to throw. Minho stood up on shaky legs. He was eerily pale and sweaty. He was holding both arms close to his body, but he let them down to show Jonghyun his wrists. Jonghyun could tell the gashes were deep, and his eyes burned with tears. He ran forward and hugged Minho gently.


    "Why, Minho-ah? Why would you do this?" his voice was choked. Minho's eyes were full of bitter regret and he half-smiled.


    "Because this was never the reality I wanted. I was tired of hurting, Jonghyun-hyung," Minho didn't elaborate further. He didn't need to. Jonghyun knew what he was talking about.


When the hospital asked what happened, Jonghyun told the truth. He had nothing to hide, and Key's testimony was the only real evidence they had anyway. Minho wasn't able to defend himself at the time. He and Key both had slipped into unconsciousness before the ambulance arrived, and Minho had remained in a coma after having necessary blood transfusions.


Key woke up 4 days later, feeling rather weak and disoriented. He had mild amnesia which was resolved a couple of days afterwards. He was angry and hurt that Minho could be stupid enough to try committing suicide. When the police turned up to ask questions, he told the absolute truth. The police weren't able to charge Minho with anything and left them alone after that.


Jonghyun was beside himself when Minho hadn't woken up for a month. A straight month Minho was in a coma. By that time, Key was back home and walking good. He was just as angry and sad as Jonghyun. 'Why wasn't Minho waking up?' they asked his doctor.


    "Well boys, we've done everything we can to help Minho, but he doesn't have a will to live. You might be able to keep a person alive using machines, but you can't force a person to really live, if you catch my meaning. My advice would be to try giving Minho-ah something worth living for. He can hear you both, so try talking to him," the doctor finished his check up quickly and went to check on his other patients. Jonghyun and Key each grabbed one of Minho's hands.


    "Minho-ah, please wake up," Key said. "I'm okay. The doctor said that it was a miracle, but the blade missed all of my major organs and arteries. I don't blame you, Minho-ah, I never did. I love you, please... wake up," Key felt tears rolling down his cheeks. Jonghyun wrapped his arm around him and rubbed his shoulder in a show of comfort.


    "Minho-ah... please wake up. Me and Key-ah really wish you would," Jonghyun took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from crying. "Our relationship isn't the same without you, Minho-ah. We're falling apart."


Key and Jonghyun were, in fact, falling apart. They blamed themselves and each other for Minho's coma. They started fighting over nothing. It was a mess of a relationship and the one person who could make it better wasn't there. They weren't sure if he ever would be again, but they held onto the hope that he would.


Minho woke up 2 weeks after Jonghyun and Key started telling him how much he was missed and needed in their relationship. He opened his eyes and saw that he was alone and that it was dark outside. He sighed, remembering bits and pieces of the things that Key and Jonghyun had told him while he was in his coma. He was sad that he'd caused so much grief. He had honestly thought Key and Jonghyun would be better off without him. He sighed and closed his eyes, willing himself to go back to sleep.


The next day, he woke up and he had a visitor he didn't recall ever having heard while he was asleep. Taemin was sitting in a chair beside him, holding his hand and rubbing his knuckles. Minho slowly removed his hand from Taemin's grip. He was hurt that Taemin hadn't bothered to visit him in the hospital. Taemin gave a small smile, but his eyes were sad.


    "I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry I never came to visit you. I didn't know until yesterday that you were in the hospital," Taemin explained. "But I have good news. Well.. good news for me." A guy Minho had never seen stepped into the room carrying a can of soda. "Minho-hyung, this is Onew-hyung. When you seemingly stopped caring about me, but were really in the hospital, we grew a lot closer. And now, we're dating." Onew gave a friendly wave to Minho.


    "Hello," his smile made his eyes disappear. Minho smiled as well. He could tell he was going to like Onew a lot.


    "Hello, Onew-hyung?" he questioned the respectful suffix. Onew chuckled.


    "I'm your hyung. I was born in 1989," he confirmed. Minho yawned, still tired from his ordeal.


    "I'm okay with it, Taemin-ah. Really. I'm glad you could find someone who can love you back," he smiled softly at Taemin. Taemin nodded in understanding. "I just woke up yesterday. You caught it pretty lucky, Taemin-ah. I was in a coma for a long time, apparently."


    "Yeah. I didn't hear from you for over a month, hyung, and I started to think you didn't care about me anymore. But it turned out to be good for me. Anyway, over a month ago. That's when I think you went in the hospital. But I don't know... Jonghyun-hyung and Key-hyung didn't tell me until yesterday that you're in the hospital. I think they only told me because they were desperate for you to wake up," Taemin smiled. "What a shock they'll get when they come in today." Minho chuckled.


    "I agree," he said. It was nice talking to Taemin again, who brightened up his day considerably. But an hour or so after he woke up, Taemin apologized for having to leave so soon.


    "Work's calling," he smiled, and said a bit sarcastically. Minho nodded and waved at Taemin and Onew, who he'd found was hilariously clumsy. He was still chuckling when his door opened again to reveal Jonghyun and Key. The laughter died on his lips, and his face turned serious. Jonghyun and Key just stood there looking at him for a second before both of them rushed over to hug him. He smiled softly at the love he felt coming from them. When they pulled back, they couldn't stop babbling.


    "Minho-ah, we're really glad you're awake," Key said, finally. "Things aren't right between me and Jonghyun-hyung without you. We'll never make the mistake of ignoring you again. Ever," he promised and Jonghyun nodded.


    "Minho-ah... I was scared out of my mind when you didn't wake up all those weeks. I'm sorry for everything," Jonghyun couldn't help the tears he cried. Minho smiled a little.


    "It's okay. Let bygones be bygones and all that," he waved his hand indifferently. "I think we should start fresh. So... hi. I'm Choi Minho, and I've been in a coma for over a month. I love 2 men named Kim Kibum and Kim Jonghyun. How about yourselves?" he asked cheerfully. Jonghyun and Key rolled their eyes at Minho's corniness, but they were smiling.


    "My name is Kim Kibum, and I've been worried sick over one of the loves of my life, Choi Minho. I think you might know him..? I'm also in love with Kim Jonghyun. Huh, what a coincidence," Jonghyun wiped his tears away and cleared his throat.


    "My name is Kim Jonghyun, and I've also been worried sick over one of the loves of my life, Choi Minho. He was also my best friend, which is kinda cliche. I mean, ending up being with your best friend? Yeah. You know how that goes. Anyway, I also love Kim Kibum, so we share something in common. What a surprise," they were all 3 chuckling by the end of their re-introductions.


Minho was sure his heart was about to beat right out of his with happiness. This... this was the reality he wanted.

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I wanted to make this even more angsty. Originally, Key died. :C But I just didn't have the heart to do it. Key's one of my favorite members of SHINee.

But anyway, I hope it was at least decent. I've never written a before, so it was a little bit of a challenge. But one of my dear, dear commenters for nearly all of my fics requested this, and I was only happy to oblige. :) I hope it was to his liking.

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Til next time, fair readers. ^o~ ♥♥

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TheRudeTasteOfSane
Thank you all for the support and love you've given. It's been an amazing journey.

Comments

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Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#1
Chapter 74: I can't believe he did that?
Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#2
Chapter 54: I hoped that in the end they will be together, but I think that's understandable that they end up together?
Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#3
Chapter 38: At first I really thought somebody really raged him good thing it wasn't the case
Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#4
Chapter 33: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/34639/33'>[Jongtae] Take On Me</a></span>
This was really interesting to read
Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#5
Chapter 24: Wow you actually made Taemin top, I enjoyed reading this fic!!!
Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#6
Chapter 13: This one-shot really gave me a lot of emotions, great job
Jongtae_SHINee_Minke
#7
Chapter 1: Sad start with a happy ending I love it
grimmjowmylove #8
Chapter 21: "He wasn't one to look a gift-horse in the mouth" sorry, but I have no idea what that phrase mean... can someone please tell me??
By the way, your stories are awesome!
tadpole
#9
Chapter 8: angst have therapeutic for me as well author-nim