Minhee turned around, facing L.Joe, and announced, "Welcome to my secret place." She gave him a big warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

L.Joe, being the curious being he is, started peeking around. The place was old, no doubt. He'd estimate it was abandoned approximately 3 years ago. His gaze wandered around the room—was this even considered a room? If it was, it's a really big room. "This is an auditorium. It was owned by my best friend's dad." I wonder why she said was instead of is...

"So.. Where's the stage?"

"Over there," Minhee gestured in the general direction. "You just can't see it because there's barely any lights on in this room. Speaking of that," she ran over to one of the walls and flipped a few switches on and then the whole place was illuminated by several grimy chandeliers held up by a chain. The chains looked sturdy enough but who knows how old they are. L.Joe made a mental note to avoid being under the chandeliers just in case. He realized the seats and floor aren't as dirty as he thought they'd be. Earlier, shrouded in darkness, Byunghun couldn't quite make out everything. Now he saw everything clear as day. "Is this auditorium abandoned?"

Minhee nodded. "It's been abandoned for some time now. I'd say around 4 and a half years. I've been coming back here as often as I can so I can clean everything and clear my mind and sort out my thoughts. This is the place I go when I want to be alone. My friends know about this place and the history of it, but they don't know where it is. Even if they did, they wouldn't come here because they know I need my space. They're considerate like that." A faint smile appeared on Minhee's face.

L.Joe was listening intently and trying to decode what she said to find out why she was sad to come here. So far, he realized that her best friend is most likely not her friend anymore. Something happened between their friendship that made them drift apart. Her best friend's dad probably abandoned this auditorium because he went bankrupt or something. You can learn a lot by just thinking things through and using common sense and logic. Byunghun came back to Earth with a start. He'd never been so interested about something to the extent of thinking about every word a person said, hoping it's a clue; a step closer to unraveling the well-hidden secret underneath. Does that... mean something? Does it mean I find Minhee interesting? Maybe. I don't know my own self very well... L.Joe's thoughts went bouncing everywhere, always landing on a different and random topic.

Meanwhile, Minhee was so focused she totally forgot about Byunghun. She was sweeping the isles in between the rows of seats, ridding all the trash and dust and leaving that portion of the floor sparkling clean. As she stood there proudly, admiring all her hard work, she remembered. A couple of tears crept stealthily from her eye down her cheek. I remember, Taemin oppa... We used to do our homework here in the isles and you'd always go out and buy me snacks from the nearby convenience store... Her eyes dimmed and that twinkly light in her long-eyelashed, big eyes disappeared. She remembered those days like it were yesterday. She could see her and Taemin lying down with their stomachs on the floor. She watched as they took out their homework and spread it out in front of them. Taemin retrieved a bag he hid in his backpack. He proudly presented what was inside to her old self. Past Minhee's eyes widened and sparkled as he took out her favorite chips and drinks. Suddenly, Taemin got off of the ground and made his way to present Minhee, his arm outstretched in what seemed like a welcoming manner. He was asking her to join him and to revisit the past together. Minhee shook her head to clear her head. Taemin and past Minhee disappeared. They were just illusions from lack of Taemin and his brotherly love.

Minhee could not go to the past again. She didn't want to think about Taemin or her past self. She and her past self were like two completely separate people. Back then, she had been so happy. So alive. She's still happ today, but not as lively as she used to be. She guarded her heart closer than before. She had been naive and pure before, but she'd learned many lessons from the past 4 and a half years without the brother-like figure in her life. She'd learned how to act, think, and talk for herself. She wouldn't let anything anyone else said hinder her path to her future. Taemin oppa.. I miss you.. Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling, as if praying to God for something. Another salty tear slid down her cheek. And another. And soon another. Minhee hated this. She hated crying and feeling vunerable. She wanted the world to know she was a mighty and fierce girl, but her past was a sensitive subject and whenever she thought about it (which was a lot), her guard would fall crumbling to the ground. 

Both Minhee and L.Joe were lost in their thoughts for some time. It was like they were stuck in time. Together.

♦ ♦ ♦

A/N: HIIIIII GAIZ. I tried to make this chapter longer and more descriptive. And I apologize for the other chapter mix up XD but just think of this as a double update k? :D ok i'm gonna go watch fairy tail and reblog stuff on tumblr and eat and eat and draw and eat and eat and sleep and eat and be a fat lazy . okay have a nice day. see you in like two weeks or so <3 and that was a lame ending for the chapter ^^ i couldn't think of anything else to write okai. i felt like i had to sum it up and end it with a sorta nice ish conclusion that may be foreshadowing other stuff