Meetings with Jaejoong continued regularly, and Taemin was becoming more and more comfortable being there. Minho was accompanying him now too, so he felt safer. It was still a little hard to talk about what happened, and about his childhood, but he felt much more comfortable with Minho there, and Jaejoong wasn’t forcing him to say everything at once, or at all. If one day he just didn’t want to talk about it, Jaejoong would keep his patience, and they would talk about anything else. Even Minho would join in too, telling whatever he could add, making it more of a group session.

Now though, was one of those days when he would talk, slowly but surely, he’d tell Jaejoong everything he could spit out in one day, with Minho there, an arm around his waist and pulling him into that familiar warmth he loved so much. Neither Minho nor Jaejoong judged him or moved away from him. Both were silent, allowing him to finally tell everything he refused to tell for years.

It wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but he knew he had to at some point. It was now or never, and if he kept this in him, he’d never be able to let go of the past. He’d start adding a bit more color to his walls. He’d get rid of that gray. He didn’t need his walls to be white anymore, he just needed them to change. So long as they weren’t gray anymore, he was happy.

“What do you want to talk about today?” Jaejoong asked. Taemin was hesitant, but he knew he had to have this moment. He needed to do this.

“R-Red,” Taemin said. Both seemed confused, but they let him continue. “T-The house. My f-family. The walls were red.”

Minho understood what Taemin was trying to get out and rubbed Taemin’s back in large circles, trying to comfort his lover. Jaejoong was still confused though, because he didn’t know everything about Taemin’s past. All he was told was Taemin’s family was killed and he was kidnapped, and what happened to him now.

“What do you mean the walls were red Taemin-ssi?”

“T-They did it. Umma h-hid me in the air vent, because I fit, b-but they couldn’t hide. H-Hyung. . . He went with them–tried to help. They didn’t listen. . . They painted the walls red,” Taemin replied. Minho was silent, deciding to let Taemin let it all out instead of interrupting. This was something Taemin needed to do on his own, and if he spoke now it would ruin everything.

And Taemin did continue. He told them every detail he remembered of his horror filled youth. Told them every moment he remembered, every scream he heard, from the inside of that air vent in the wall only he fit into, that his mother stuffed him into.

“I wanted to die with them,” Taemin said. Minho had to fight back the tears that threatened to rise, settling for tightening his grip around his boyfriend’s waist. “For a few years, I still did,” he continued. “I didn’t want to be alone without them. Umma wanted to keep me safe though, so I stayed where I was. She wanted me safe.”

Minho could hear the strain in Taemin’s voice as he continued explaining his capture, his depression, how a single sob was what had gotten him caught. It almost killed him just knowing Taemin had ever thought that way, of taking his own life, or letting it be taken from him willingly. It made him never want to let go of his current grip of the younger male in his arms, in fear that if he did let go, he’s never see the boy again. But he knew Taemin was stronger than that now. Taemin had no reason to think that way anymore.

“Did you ever act on those thoughts?” Jaejoong asked. Minho would have been appalled by the insinuation, had Taemin not just confirmed his past desire for death. It would be easy to hide any self-inflicted wounds on his already scarred body. Just a few cuts in the right places and it would have all been over, and no one would have known. They would have suspected a wound had simply reopened and he bled to death then and there.

Luckily though, Taemin shook his head. “Why try when I was sure they would kill me themselves?” I... I was surprised when I woke up in the hospital. I didn’t even realize it I was there. In my mind, I-I was still there. T-They were still hurting me.”

Kibum was right when he had said Taemin seemed like he was in a different place when he woke up. It was expected though. When you faint while receiving some torture, it’s only normal you’d wake up and imagine yourself in the exact same situation. It must have been terrifying not knowing where he was, whether these people were going to hurt him or not, whether or not it was just a cruel joke his mind was playing on him.

“I’ve always used to wonder why I survived and they didn’t. I didn’t see a point to living. I thought Key umma could go back to his life before everything happened, and everything would just go back to normal, just without my family and I there. But I... I realized that it wouldn’t be the same. Key umma would have been depressed. He would have stayed in that town and he never would have met Jonghyun appa. We would’ve never met Onew hyung. I... I would’ve never met Minho hyung,” Taemin said softly. “Sometimes I feel selfish, because a part of me wants to thank them, because if they hadn’t done what they did, I would’ve never met any of the people I know now. But I can’t thank them, because they took my family away. Even if they gave me a new one, they took my other one away.”

Minho knew he had felt the exact same way at some point. He felt selfish for being happy Taemin had the past that he did just so that Taemin could be with him now, but he didn’t regret it. He would never regret wanting Taemin by his side, no matter what the cause was. He would not take back a word he said about loving Taemin or wanting to keep Taemin safe. He meant every word he said, and he knew Taemin’s family was happy for them, or at least he hoped they were. They should be happy that their child was okay now right? That he was happy and had a new family taking care of him now.

Jaejoong let Taemin continue until he couldn’t anymore, letting out every feeling that had ever passed through him. Just before leaving he told them about the court date that was already secured, and Minho knew he had a lot of work to do. Taemin would be fine in front of Zelo, but Yongguk and the others were a completely different story. There was no telling exactly how Taemin would react, so they needed to prepare him for the worst case scenario. Panic attacks were not exactly favorable during a trial. They needed to see that Taemin was mentally stable to believe anything he said.

Minho didn’t think it would be any time soon that Taemin would be mentally stable. It would take Taemin a long time to get used to a lot of things. Taemin would definitely be extremely vulnerable to any form of physical pain. He wouldn’t like to be touched, only by certain people, and only if he knew for a fact that they had no ill intentions. Even then he struggled with being touched. Minho was allowed to touch him now, but if Minho were to come up behind him and give him a back hug without any warning the result wouldn’t be pretty.

With that in mind, they left the therapy session hand in hand, Minho’s grip on Taemin tight because he couldn’t risk losing him again. Now they had to meet up with Key, Jonghyun and Onew.

Park Sang Min was the best lawyer they could find, both Key’s and Minho’s parents made sure of that. They didn’t care of how much it would cost either, because all they had in mind was making sure Taemin got the best he deserved. He was a stiff, almost stoic man. He had dealt with multiple murder cases, victims, and other horrible cases without even batting an eyelash.

Those cases however, we different. Most of his murder cases involved much older people, who had no immediate family to be concerned for them, and victims were usually girlfriends suing their ex because of a bad breakup.

This case was different for him though. Reading through the reports, he found it was much different from others. This wasn’t the average murder in which two gangs got into a fight, there were fatalities, and one side was pissed. This wasn’t some hit and run. It wasn’t even a . It was murder, kidnapping, and torture, all put together causing years of trauma to a young teen whose family had done nothing to deserve such pain.

This case had touched his heart.

Just looking at the pictures disturbed him. Their were pictures of the boy’s dead family, the first crime scene. There were pictures of the basement where the boy was kept, both at the age of six and a month ago. There were pictures of the boy’s battered body, both when he was six, and now. It was impossible not to find the kidnappers and killers guilty.

Every bit of evidence was there: the fingerprints, the weapons, the scars. There were witnesses, both the police, and the teen who had gone in to rescue his lover. The defendants weren’t even trying to deny their actions like most did. They knew what they had done, and they knew there was no way they were getting out of it. There was no way they would be found innocent in all of this.

He hadn’t even met the boy yet. Only his friends and their parents, but not the boy.

“You do understand that I must meet Lee Taemin-ssi before the trial, correct? I need to speak with him before then,” he said.

“I know,” Key replied. He, Jonghyun, and Onew were sitting across from the man, going over exactly how the trial would work. If they were lucky, it would only have to be one hearing, but it was unpredictable what the jury would choose, and the defence attorney may have a few tricks up his sleeves. Not to mention that depending on Taemin’s mental state, it might take more than one hearing. “We’ll bring him in tomorrow. Today though, he’s going through enough, and we already promised to take him out. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I don’t want him too stressed out on Monday when he goes back to school.”

“Understandable, however, are you sure he is okay enough to do this?” Mr. Park asked. The three before him looked at him questioningly.

“He’s made a steady recovery if that’s what you’re wondering,” Jonghyun said.

“I mean his mental state. Will he be okay looking at those people again, and will he be okay under pressure. The other lawyer will stop at nothing to make Taemin look like the fool up there.”

“He’ll be ready,” Onew said. “We’ll make sure of that. Plus, we are allowed to sit up there with him right? At least one of us. If anything, I think Minho should be the one sitting next to Taemin.”

“Why Minho-ssi?”

“Because Minho is the only person able to keep Taemin completely calm, and is able to touch him the most. Taemin won’t let anyone touch him.”

“I see,” Mr. Park said. “I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises. While Minho-ssi is up there, he is not allowed to talk to Taemin-ssi, or else both the judge and the jury will believe Minho-ssi is telling Taemin-ssi what to say, and we can’t have that. Even if all evidence is in Taemin’s favor, we need to be careful.”

“We understand,” Key said. “They’ll both be here tomorrow for you to talk to them.”

Sang Min let out a sigh, knowing that was the best he was going to get. He couldn’t blame them either. They simply wanted to calm their traumatized friend, and that was understandable. He’d probably do the same had it been one of his friends, the youngest no less. Not to mention how long the boy had been dealing with everything. He thought it was a miracle the boy hadn’t even tried committing suicide yet. It would have made sense if he had, but he guessed the boy must be quite strong willed if he hadn’t at least attempted something against his own life.

Then again, if he had killed himself, this trial would be much different, and he wouldn’t have the same respect he had for the boy now. Some people said you had to be brave to take your own life, but Sang Min saw it as nothing but weakness. Strength and bravery was for those that endured their pain and worked to get themselves out of their suffering. Suicide was something someone did when they were no longer strong or brave enough to face their pain head on. When they gave up and saw no other option for themselves, leaving behind the people that cared so much for them without even realizing it.

“Just be careful with the way you talk to him,” Onew said. Sang Min looked at him, confused, and give him a questioning look for him to continue. “He’s very sensitive right now. We don’t want to scare him more than he already is.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Taemin smiled upon reaching the cafe with Minho beside him. It felt like forever since he had last been here and he could honestly say that he missed it. Probably just as much as he missed being in his and Key’s apartment. The first thing he had done when he went was run to his room and flop down on his bed, Minho following him soon after. It had felt so good to be in his own bed after just about 2 months and a half.

Both places had memories he would never forget, so either one was a candidate for his favorite place.

Minho held his hand as they walked in together, ignoring the disappointed look on one of the waitress’s faces when she saw their intertwined hands. They couldn’t care less about anyone else at the moment, because right now they were both happy. Happy that the worst was over and the best was close to beginning. They still had a few more obstacles to get through, but they had already passed the hardest ones. The ones that were left weren’t much too worry about now.

They sat down in one of the booths that looked big enough to fit all five of them, Minho sitting across from Taemin, their hands never letting go of the other’s. The waitress had come to take their orders and they only ordered their drink–a latte for Minho and a banana milkshake for Taemin–choosing to weight for the others before having anything else.

The waitress took their order quickly and left, leaving them alone to converse and wait for their other friends. There really wasn’t much to talk about, since Minho felt that all that could be said had been done in the therapy session, but Taemin asked him all sorts of questions, mainly about how school had been when he was away.

Away; because Taemin never referred to it as him being kidnapped or taken. He simply said he went away, and now he’s back. Even though everyone who watched the news knew what really happened to him, Taemin hated referring to it that way.

Minho told him everything about school; the good things, however few there were. He wouldn’t mention his near attempt to beat someone to death or his month long suspension that ended just after he had been rescued. Taemin would not be happy hearing those things, and Minho couldn’t say he fully regretted what he did. He felt no pity for the boy he beat up. He hated being the bully, but that boy actually deserved what he got, so was it really bullying? He had warned the boy first, so he wasn’t completely at fault.

The others arrived soon after, squeezing into the booth with them. Jonghyun next to Minho, then Onew, and Key next to Taemin.

“Taemin, you’re getting chocolate cake? Don’t you think you should be getting something healthier?” Key asked.

“P-Please umma? Hospital food is gross and I haven’t had anything sweet in a long time,” Taemin said.

“You can have the cake after you have some actual food. We need to fatten you up more. You’re too skinny,” Key replied. Taemin pouted but allowed Key to order him a plate of steak bits and rice. He couldn’t really complain since it was two of his favorite foods.

Taemin started asking them similar questions of how everything had been while he was away, and the others gave similar responses as he did, though some more detailed than others.

“Well, I don’t go to your school, but the university has been good. Too much work and not enough time to do it but I’ve managed,” Onew said.

“You know I hate school, but it was even worse without you there. Everything just felt so depressing,” Kibum said.

“We could barely function without you there,” Jonghyun said. “And I hate to say this, but the people at our school are s. We tried to stop it or just ignore it as much as we could, and eventually we did manage to stop most of it–or at least, Minho did.”

“What do you mean?” Taemin asked.

“Minho went bat crazy on one of your bullies for saying some really bad stuff and beat him half to death,” Key said casually. Taemin turned his head towards him so quickly, Minho was afraid the boy had gotten whiplash. Not to mention, Taemin did not look happy, not one bit.

“You beat someone up?” Taemin asked.

Minho hesitated before nodding. “In my defense, he was saying really terrible things Tae, and I was really depressed. He provoked me.”

“That doesn’t mean you give in,” Taemin said. “It doesn’t matter what he said.”

“He said you deserved whatever was happening to you Taemin. How can that not matter? Besides, I did warn him before I hit him. It’s his own fault for not listening,” Minho countered. Taemin squeezed his hand, his thumb over Minho’s knuckles.

“It doesn’t matter. You and I both know that no one deserves what I went through, but that doesn’t mean he knows, or that he understands. It doesn’t matter whether you warned him or not, you shouldn’t have hit him and let him provoke you like that,” Taemin said.

“So what was I supposed to do? Let him continue saying all of those terrible things?”

“Yes,” Taemin replied. “You aren’t a bully Minho. You don’t hurt people. Don’t be a bully.”

“I wasn’t being a bully. I was being your protector.”

“If being a protector means being a bully, than I don’t want one.”

Minho was taken aback by Taemin’s response. He hoped Taemin’s words didn’t mean what he thinks they meant.

“What are you trying to say?” he asked.

“I don’t want a Superman to protect me. . I just want Minho.”