Taemin slammed the door as he entered the house and kicked his shoes off. He stormed upstairs and slammed the door of his room as well.

Jongin and Eunmi looked at each other as they took their shoes off and went into the living room.

“Why is Taemin oppa mad?” Taeyeon asked. “He only slams doors like that when he’s really mad.”

Jongin and Eunmi didn’t answer because they weren’t sure of it themselves.

“You guys are home?” Ms. Kim said as she walked down the stairs. “Why is Taemin slamming doors? And what do you want for dinner?”

“I’ll go ask!” Eunmi volunteered and she dashed upstairs.

“Taemiiiin,” she sang as she opened his door. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Anything,” he replied, his eyes were closed and he was lying down sideways on his bed.

“You suuure?”

“Yes. Go away,” he said, still keeping his eyes closed.

Eunmi sighed and went back downstairs. Jongin gave her a questioning look and Eunmi shook her head in reply.

“Let’s order pizza!” Taeyeon exclaimed.

Ms. Kim shrugged and looked at Eunmi and Jongin, “You guys okay with that? What about Taemin?”

“It’s fine,” Jongin answered. “I’m sure hyung will be fine with too.”

Eunmi nodded and sat down on the couch, wondering why on earth Taemin would call Daehyun a killer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taemin was back to himself (again) when the weekend ended, but he still seemed a little out of sorts.

Daehyun didn’t call any practices for a long time, for the entire week actually. He had been absent for a couple of days as well.

On Thursday, after writing her physics test, Eunmi was unlocking her locker.

“Hey Eunmi,” Onew smiled as he stood beside her locker.

“Hi,” she smiled, a bit confused as to why Onew was speaking to her so randomly. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just has Taemin been acting….weird lately?” he asked.

Eunmi closed her locker and looked at him, “Yeah, he has,” an idea hit her, “Why? Do you know why? Does it have something to do with Daehyun?”

“Just….. go a little easier on him for a couple of days,” was all Onew said before walking away.

Eunmi groaned in her mind and stomped her foot. Why won’t anyone tell me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was definitely something wrong with Taemin as the end of the week approached.

He wasn’t encouraging Jongin to play basketball.

He bothered Eunmi a lot less.

He wasn’t playing with Taeyeon that much.

He didn’t have any smart remarks for anyone.

After school on Friday, Eunmi plopped down on the couch beside Taemin.

“Sooo, are you still planning on coming tomorrow?” she asked, referring to the amusement park.

Taemin looked at her, “No. I don’t want to.”

Eunmi closed . Passing up a day to make me miserable?

“Noona!” Jongin called from upstairs. Eunmi glanced at Taemin before going upstairs to Jongin’s room.

“Hm?”

“Umma told me some stuff,” he said. Eunmi’s perked up and she checked to make sure no one was around before closing his door and sitting down on his bed.

“What?” she asked.

“Not much, to be honest. Something about a friend passing away and that he usually gets a little weird at this time of year?” Jongin scratched his head. “Anyways, she said not to bug him too much.”

“Friend passing away…” Eunmi repeated. “ME bothering HIM? It’s always the other way around!” she huffed.

“Sure,” Jongin gave her a disbelieving look.

“Whatever!” Eunmi got up from his bed and left his room. Downstairs, Taeyeon was on Taemin’s lap and he was blankly staring at the TV.

Eunmi took her phone out and texted Chen.

[Sent at 5:44] I don’t think I can go to the amusement park tomorrow. How about Sunday?

[Received at 5:44] Um, sure. Why the sudden change?

[Sent at 5:45] I’m gunna solve a mystery! ;)

[Received at 5:45] …. why did I ask….. well, okay.

Eunmi shook her head and went into the kitchen to grab a banana. As she was eating it, she decided to text someone else.

[Sent at 5:59] Next practice any time soon?

Daehyun replied quickly.

[Received at 6:00] Nope. Just continue practicing like I told you to. I’m busy lately, sorry. But the audition is week after next, right? We’ll practice all week.

[Sent at 6:00] Hmm, okay.

Eunmi threw the banana peel in the garbage and saw Jongin heading out somewhere.

“Where are you going?” Eunmi asked.

“Somewhere, be back in an hour,” was all Jongin said before closing the front door.

Eunmi blew a raspberry and looked at Taemin.

The house has gotten so much more boring since he decided to get all quiet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning, Taemin woke up with a big knot in his stomach. The dreaded day had come.

He got up from his bed, feeling no emotions, and went into the bathroom. He showered and brushed his teeth, not bothering to change his clothes just yet.

When he got downstairs, Ms. Kim left a plate of waffles on the table and patted his shoulder before leaving the kitchen.

Taemin picked at the food, not really in the mood to eat. After a couple of bites, he gave up on eating.

“Umma, what did you make-” Eunmi entered the kitchen but stopped talking when she saw Taemin leaving his mostly full plate of waffles on the table.

He looked at her with dull eyes and then left the kitchen.

“Wha- but-” she looked between the table and where Taemin had left and scratched her head. He woke up before me? And he didn’t eat his food?

She grabbed a random snack from the cupboard and began munching on it as Jongin entered the kitchen.

“Where’s hyung?” he asked.

“Living room, I think,” Eunmi replied. “Eat that, don’t let it waste,” she pointed to Taemin’s hardly eaten food.

Jongin shrugged and took the plate of waffles.

“Are you going to the amusement park?” he asked.

Eunmi shook her head, “Nope.”

For the rest of the day, the house was unnaturally quiet. Eunmi, Taeyeon, and Jongin would joke once in a while, but the laughter wouldn’t be complete unless all four siblings were laughing. Eunmi was trying to make the atmosphere brighter, but it wasn’t working. It seemed as if the fact that since one family member was unhappy, the entire family wouldn’t feel complete.

Before 4:00, Taemin went upstairs and changed into a pair of old clothes that still fit him. He shoved his phone in his pocket and went back downstairs.

Eunmi looked at his clothes from the living room, “Are those new? I’ve never seen them before.” He was wearing a white shirt with a red and black logo under a printed black and white jacket along with black skinny pants.

Taemin didn’t reply as he put his shoes on.

“Where are you going?” she asked, although she had a feeling.

He didn’t reply again and quietly left the house.

Eunmi sighed again. I still want to know the entire story….. and what Daehyun has to do with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taemin let out a big breath as he stood in front of the cemetery gates. He held the flowers with both hands tightly before entering the cemetery.

He carefully walked through the graves with shaky legs until he arrived at the one he was looking for.

There were new flowers (probably left from his family), there were his old flowers, and there were flowers he didn’t know who left them there. Maybe the wind had blown them over.

He picked his old flowers up and stuffed them in his pocket before putting the new ones down. He sniffled as he blinked back tears. Ahh, seriously Lee Taemin. It’s been two years.

The engraving on the grave stone was the same, not that it would change.

Kim Jungwoon

Age 14

May his spirit rest in peace

Taemin wasn’t one to talk to a grave, instead he would think about the good memories he had made with the deceased.

Someone came up behind him, “Looks like we decided to come at the same time.”

Taemin turned around and Daehyun was standing there in black clothes.

“What are you doing here?” Taemin snarled.

“Pay my respects,” he replied, bending down to pick up the old flowers and replacing them with his new ones.

“Maybe you should have respected him when he was alive,” Taemin spat. “Paying your respects, my . You have no right to come here and act all innocent.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re the reason the kid is in that grave!” Taemin yelled furiously.

“There are things that I regret, but I couldn’t do anything about it!” Daehyun shouted back.

Taemin’s eyes were like death traps, “Couldn’t do anything about it? HE’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU KILLER!” he held his fist up and was about to swing, but someone caught his fist in the air.

Jongin calmly, but firmly, looked at Daehyun, “Leave, now.”

Daehyun breathed heavily as he looked between the grave and Taemin.

Taemin took his fist out of Jongin’s grip and reached with both hands for Daehyun. Jongin reacted quickly and held Taemin’s arms back, “LEAVE!”

Daehyun glanced at the grave once more before walking away.

It wasn’t until Daehyun was out of sight that Jongin let go of Taemin. Taemin let his arms drop to the side as he helplessly looked at the grave.

“I’ll be waiting outside the gates,” Jongin said calmly before walking away as well. Taemin could see him standing near the entrance of the cemetery.

“Jungwoon-ah, I hope you’re doing well,” Taemin croaked quietly. He brushed the dirt and dust off the grave stone. He took tissues out of his pockets and cleaned the engravings as well.

When he was done, he bowed at the grave. See you next year.

He made sure there was nothing wet on his face before walking to Jongin, throwing the old flowers in the trash along the way.

They walked in silence for a while before Taemin asked, “How’d you find me?”

“Abeoji told me you would be here,” he replied.

Taemin nodded and they continued to walk in silence.

“Jungwoon, he was one of my good friends in grade nine,” Taemin explained briefly. “We danced together a lot and we were ‘trouble makers’ as well. We were really close. But then….he…. he ended up in that cemetery.”

Jongin nodded but didn’t asked or say anything else.

“He wouldn’t have died if it weren’t for him,” Taemin whispered as they walked onto their street. Jongin knew who he was talking about but didn’t ask anything else as they quietly entered the house.

“Where’s everyone?” Taemin asked, as he took his jacket off and threw it on the sofa.

“Noona and umma took Yeon to the park,” Jongin answered, sitting on the sofa.

“Oh,” Taemin nodded as he turned away to go upstairs.

“Hyung,” Jongin called. Taemin turned around.

“You’re okay?”

Taemin smiled a bit, “Yeah, kid. I’m fine.”

Jongin nodded and Taemin went upstairs. Jongin guessed that it was just at this time of year when Taemin felt the most out of sorts and that he would be normal by tomorrow or the day after.

In his room, Taemin was looking at two pictures. One was of he and Jongin at the dance studio, the other was of him and Jungwoon at a dance studio.

Taemin tucked the Jungwoon one under the Jongin one.

They really are similar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jongin told me about what happened today,” Eunmi said, walking into Taemin’s room. She had just returned from the park and Jongin had told her. He hadn’t told her about the Daehyun encounter, but the friendship between Jungwoon and Taemin.

“And?” Taemin was sitting at his desk, doing something Eunmi couldn’t see.

“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely.

Taemin turned to look at her.

“It’s sad that you lost a friend you were close to,” she continued. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s your singing teacher that should be sorry,” Taemin said after a while.

“………. What exactly did he do?” Eunmi asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Taemin said, turning back to his desk. Eunmi took that as a cue to leave and sighed at the other failed attempt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Could you just please tell me?!” Eunmi burst out Wednesday after school at practice. She had tried everyone. Hyunki didn’t know many details except for what Eunmi already knew. All he could tell her was that Taemin really disliked Daehyun, nothing new. Ms. Kim could only tell her what Hyunki knew, and his friends didn’t want to be the ones to repeat the tale. But Onew had assured her that Taemin would tell her one day. Eunmi laughed at that, Taemin didn’t seem like he would.

“You’re still on that?” Daehyun raised an eyebrow. “It’s over now, besides what do you want to know?”

“I want to know why he dislikes you,” Eunmi crossed her arms, trying not to touch the piano. “I already know about how he was really close to that friend, and I feel bad about it too. Believe it or not, I actually worried about him this weekend and felt sympathy.”

“Ask him,” Daehyun shook his head.

“But you haven’t gotten a chance to explain your side of the story, so I might end up hating you too,” Eunmi argued.

Daehyun let out a bitter laugh, “My side isn’t so great either.”

Eunmi stared at him, “Why?”

“Let’s just say, if I’d been a little less stupid, things would have turned out differently,” Daehyun said. Then he cleared his throat, “Anyways! Let’s practice the note.”

Eunmi let out a final sigh of defeat. She was letting it go for now because the time wasn’t right. Another time would come and she would find out then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she got home, Ms. Kim was watching an old drama on TV while Taeyeon was colouring.

Taemin was better now, better than better actually. He had returned to his old self on Monday, and Eunmi was pretty happy about that (even though she would never admit it). Jongin had helped a lot, he would do stupid things with Taemin and they would spend time at the dance studio.

“Look at this,” Taemin showed Jongin a dance clip on his laptop in his room. “I want to learn that! It’s our mission of the week.”

“We still haven’t finished last week’s,” Jongin said.

“Don’t care! That one is lame,” Taemin shook his head.

“Suit yourself, but you’ll get bored of this one too,” Jongin shrugged. “Besides, this man is really tall. Wouldn’t it look a bit weird if someone as short as you was doing it? I mean, can you even let your legs stretch that far?”

“Yah, do you want to die?” Taemin trapped Jongin in a headlock.

“Ahhh,” Jongin struggled but managed to get out of it and ran out of Taemin’s room.

Taemin grinned as he watched Jongin run away.

Sure he didn’t have Jungwoon. But he had Jongin, a close brother Taemin was thankful to have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahh, I don't know about this chapter T_T

Is it too fast? Btw, two weekends take place in this chapter. The first just the first part of the chapter, then Taemin is normal for the week, and then the weekend comes and he's not and then the next week starts and he's okay.

Is it too fast? I didn't want to dwell, besides it happened two years ago so a couple of days of mourning should be more than enough....

Whatever!

I feel like I've shown a lot of Jongin and Taemin's brotherliness (not a word but I'm sleepy) and it makes it seem like Eunmi and Taemin are like the stranger-siblings xD. But you do see why it's easier for Taemin to be softer on Jongin, right? I will add some nice Taemin and Eunmi sibling-ey moments, though.

Daehyun's a busy person, eh? I wonder why.....

Just kidding, I already know xD

First audition will be the next chapter or after that~

There's two cuts, remember? First cut 6 people are chosen, second cut 4 people are and out of the four one winner is chosen.

I have no fun things to say :(

Well, bye~ My note will be more entertaining next time, promise :)