I hate myself.

Taemin glanced at his band members, especially at one of them.

I really hate myself.

Taemin never thought he would fall for a man. His innocent appearance and personality always made pretty noonas think he would go for them, but they were wrong. At some point, at some glance, he had fallen in love with Minho. He always thought his hyung would never fall for him despite SHAWOLS supporting the pairing, known as 2Min. To Taemin, Minho's ideal type would be some beautiful girl. A girl who has features that overpowers Taemin's feminine features.

It was wrong. It felt wrong. Sure, Key umma was currently dating Jonghyun, but the feeling of loving Minho felt wrong. So wrong that it also felt right. Each touch had an electric effect on the maknae, his deep voice serenaded him, his appearance hypnotized him.

Taemin sat on the edge on the SMTOWN '10 stage, most of his body completely wet from the half-gallon of water Jonghyun dumped on him. He watched his long-time crush laughing at some joke Key made. Some of the fans sitting near them snapped him back to reality. He heard his own name then Minho's among the screaming and glanced at the fans.

"Omona... why isn't Taemin oppa standing with Minho oppa? They're so cute together..."

"Ehh? You think Taemin and Minho is a good couple?! No way!"

"Yeah... Taemin oppa is too innocent and sweet to be in love with a guy. He's too childish and cute to be with a guy like Minho oppa."

"Minho should be paired up with someone else."

"Well, I support Jongkey so only Onew and Taemin is left."

"Onew?"

Taemin cringed at the fans' words and nervously glanced at Minho. The latter noticed him looking at him and waved at him. The maknae quickly turned away. Was he really a bad pair with Minho? Just the thought of it brought tears at the corner of his eyes. He quickly wiped them away. The last thing Taemin wanted to do was worry his fans. He hated this innocent aura he gave off. He couldn't help it.

Taemin glanced at Minho again and noticed the rapper was motioning the dancer to him with a worried look on his face. He sighed and walked over, ignoring the loud music from the band that was performing blaring in his ears. He sat next to Minho who leaned his face closer to his, making the youngest flinch.

"Hey, you okay?" His husky voice was close enough to make the boy shiver. Taemin scooted away a bit to avoid the awkwardness he felt.

"I-I'm okay, hyung. Don't worry about me." Taemin's eyes drifted away to random places other than at Minho. He shouldn't let this get to him. But his hyung tugged at the hem of his shirt to make him look at him. Minho had a smile on his face and Taemin wondered why.

"What's up, hyung?" Taemin asked, confused. The smile turned into a grin.

"You know Kwon Yuri, right?"

"From SNSD?" Taemin's stomach twisted, knowing what his hyung was about to say. Yuri and Minho have been seeing each other for a long time, and it was up to the point where the two was about to start dating.

"Yes, Taemin. We're dating."

After that fatal statement, Taemin quickly turned around and glanced at Yuri talking to her fellow members. He looked down and tried to prevent his tears from falling. He knew it. Minho would never look at him the same as he does a girl. Minho would prefer a prettier girl over him. You should've known this, Taem. Get over yourself. He thought. Taemin's stomach twisted even more as Minho looked at him worriedly.

"Tae? You look pale. Are you coming down with something?" Minho put his hand on Taemin's forehead. The main dancer vigorously shook his head no, ignoring the electricity feeling he got from his touch. They should just be bandmates, just be bandmates.

All the SM bands reached back to the hotel after the afterparty, exhausted from their successful day. Onew specifically warned Jonghyun and Key not to mess with any of their beds, as the two looked at him while donning poker faces. Taemin collapsed onto the bed, wanting to go to sleep to release all of this stress. But unfortunately, he didn't feel sleepy. He looked up and spotted Minho about to leave.

"Where are you going, Minho hyung?"

"Yuri wants me to see some attractions with her before it gets too late. I"ll be back soon, okay Tae?" Minho went over to him and hugged him, before leaving the hotel.

Taemin watched the slowly retreating figure and hugged his knees to his chest. The other members looked at their maknae worriedly. As soon as Minho was out of sight, Taemin broke down and hid his face between his knees. The three gasped and came to the younger's aid.

"Hyungs... s-should I stop this...?"

---

"Ah~! It's so good to be back to Korea~!" Onew and Jonghyun danced around the dorms. "NOW BUY US CHICKEN." Onew demanded, pointing at Taemin. "YOUUUUUUUU. ... Kibum wants you." Taemin looked startled, wondering why the "umma" of the band needed him. He glanced at Minho who slightly shrugged, then went into Key's room. He looked around only to see Key's face popping out in front of him.

"Yahhh~! Don't scare me like that, umma." Shisus, the 'umma' added after Key's name was becoming a habit.

"Oh, sorry, my Taemin baby~ Do you know why I wanted you~?" Key smiled at the maknae. The latter shrugged innocently, confused at his hyung's actions. "To give you a makeover, of course~!"

"Oh no. Oh no no no no no." Taemin tried to run away but Key merely grabbed onto his shirt collar. "No! I don't need that, hyung!"

"Relax." Key brought him into the bathroom and winked, putting a finger to his lips. "You want Minho to like you, right? So I'm going to give you a little makeover so Minho can leave that stupid Yuri and go for you." Taemin blinked confusingly at Key's explanation and tilted his head.

"You mean, you don't approve of their relationship either?"

"Of course not! I've been begging for Minho to break up with that . But noooo, he insists on dating her. My children are becoming screwed up." Key sighed solemnly.

"Oh..." Key suddenly grabbed the maknae and set him down in the chair. The dancer looked worriedly at the other as the latter patted his head.  

"Just relax and close your eyes. Let the almighty Key do his magic." Key cracked his fingers and grinned. Being the maknae he is, he listened to his 'umma' and closed his eyes. It wasn't long until he fell asleep. Kibum grinned more widely, snickering to himself. He stuck out a pair of scissors. An hour passed as Key collapsed into a chair. "Alright, Taeminnie~ You can open your eyes now." He hit him with a rubber ball which made the boy jump up.

Taemin looked into the mirror and widened his eyes. Yes, there was a bit of makeup here and there but there was something critical about the whole thing. His brownish-dyed hair was gone. The color and length was gone. It was now black and cut into a bowl-cute similar to their Replay days. Key grinned at his work, putting his hands on his hips. Meanwhile, the dancer's hands shook with fury at his hyung for the first time in a while. He growled at Key. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, HYUNG!"

"Ooh, I never thought he'd be that angry!" The umma of the band bolted out the door as the younger chased after him angrily. The rest of the members (besides Onew since he was devouring chicken) jumped as they watched the show in front of them. They looked back and forth as Taemin tried to kick Key.

"Is that Taemin ah... with his hair cut?" Minho nervously said.

"Yep." Jonghyun replied.

"So he looks like his cute self back in our debut days?"

"Yep." Jonghyun quickly turned to Minho. "Wait, did you just say he was cute?"

The rapper's face turned red, realizing what he had just said.


---


It was finally the famous day for the Star King recording as Taemin and Minho was being readied in the dressing room. Taemin adjusted his V-neck long sleeved shirt along with his black vest. He glanced at Minho who was wearing a sleeve-less white shirt with a matching vest over it. God, he looks so hot... Taemin thought. It was the company's decision that they would get 2Min to do more fanservice and this is the biggest one they thought of yet. Taemin and Minho were to do couple dancing right there in Star King.

Minho walked over to Taemin and smoldered his newly bowl-cut hair, smiling. "Taemin ah, fighting."

Taemin pumped his fists and smiled back. "Minho hyung, fighting."

They had practiced this for two hours straight. It was fun and they had their laughs. One time, Minho accidentally fell on top of Taemin which left the latter flustered. But now, they knew the whole dance and were ready. They glanced at each other as Taemin took Minho's hand in his. He intertwined their fingers, not caring how Minho would react. But the rapper just slightly smiled the smaller and led them to the Star King stage.

They were on each side as the audience cheered. They walked toward each other and locked eyes for a few seconds. Minho wrapped his leg around Taemin's as they were pushed together, locking eyes again for a second. Taemin did a body wave against Minho's chest as they continued dancing. Fans screamed "2MIN!" and held up signs. At one point, Minho grabbed the back of Taemin's neck and swooped him down.

The audience went crazy as Minho wrapped his arms around Taemin and spun him two times. Then the rapper grabbed the dancer's hand and pulled them together, wrapping his arms around him again. He dropped him down, bringing him down centimeters to the floor. Taemin gasped, out of breath, as Minho pulled him up and put his arm around him. The maknae wasn't sure if this was supposed to be fanservice but he liked it.

They announced break and Minho suddenly escaped the stage. Taemin stared at him suspiciously. He decided to follow him, ignoring the fact that the other would get mad at him. He finally spotted Minho... with Yuri. Taemin's body froze as Minho and Yuri ran towards each other. The boy swooped her into his arms, spinning her while enclosing the distance with a kiss. The maknae's mouth went dry as he stammered incoherent words. It was so unfair. He should've been the one Minho was spinning, the one Minho was kissing.

Minho finally noticed Taemin, confused at how his dongsaeng's body was shaking. His eyes widened at the sight of tears falling down the maknae's face as he ran off towards the exit. He tried to go after him but Yuri simply grabbed onto his arms, shaking her head disapprovingly.

Taemin ran out the exit and across the parking lot. He just wanted to get back to the dorms and just stay there alone. He regretted seeing Minho kissing that girl and regretted even loving him in the first place. He finally stopped, out of breath, and breathed heavily. "TAEMIN AH!!!!" Somebody screamed. He looked back at them as he continued to cry then looked at the left. He found out he was standing in the middle of the street and a car was rushing towards him. His eyes widened.

Taemin closed his eyes tightly, expecting the overbearing pain. Then he felt two warm arms wrapped around him as a figure wrapped himself protectively around the boy, both taking the impact. Taemin screamed in pain as blood came out of his mouth. He felt something warm leak down his lower back and legs. The figure hugged the maknae tighter as the latter weakly turned around, recognizing the person's eyes. Their blood dripped onto Taemin's arms. Taemin slowly closed his eyes, falling out of consciousness.  

"I love you... Taemin ah..."

Everything suddenly went from blurry to black in a mere second.