Something is off about Taemin. Key knows it for sure. He has sensed the shift in Taemin’s mood since he come home from the party. They were having so much fun till they lose track of time and went home way too late. But Key doesn’t think that’s the cause of Taemin’s odd behavior. He has tried to ask him if something is wrong, yet Taemin always says that nothing’s wrong and that he’s fine and that he needs to stop worrying. So he gives up, maybe it will be easier if Onew hyung or Jonghyun hyung do the talk.

It is 9 o’ clock in the morning, at Jonghyun’s living room to be exact, when Taemin suddenly speaks up about his college plan.

“Hyung, I’ve decided where I want to go for college.” On that, the hyungs’ head shot up and smile cracks on their faces.

“And?” They can’t hide their excitement on this topic. They have been persuading the younger to go to the same university as them – well, Key is absolutely going to enroll there – but they haven’t heard anything from Taemin yet, either yes or no.

“I’m going to take Psychology.”

“Yeah, we know that –“ Key interrupts.

“…in UBC.” Taemin cuts him back and leaves them in shock.

There is a moment of silence before the hyungs can react on his sudden decision.

“University of British Columbia?” Onew confirms, just in case he mean another university.

“Yes.”

“No.” Key disagrees.

“I’m not asking your permission. I don’t need that anyway. I am telling you my plan because… just because I think you should know.”

“Why are you talking that way?” Key’s tone has gone one octave higher.

“What way?” Taemin dares.

“What the heck is wrong with you? You’ve been weird since we left you for the party. You completely ignore me all week and now you’re talking to us in such a disrespectful way! You’re not going to Canada, do you hear me?”

“Why do I have to listen to you?”

“Lee Taemin!” It’s all Taemin’s need to shut up and looks down. “What’s wrong with you?” Onew demands.

“Why should I listen to the people who have been lying to me all this time?”

“Who’s lying to who?”

“Do not act like you don’t know hyung.” Taemin looks at Onew straight in his eyes. “The reason why Minho hyung leaves me is not for family business, right? It’s because he’s dating me and his parents don’t approve that. You all know about this yet no one tells me the truth.”

It will be a complete lie if the hyungs aren’t taken aback by the fact that their beloved Taemin finds out the truth they have been hiding all this time. They couldn’t say anything, minds busy guessing who the one telling him the truth.

“No answer means yes.” Taemin declares triumphantly. “I don’t get why you have to keep it from me, hyung. Do you know how I feel when I first hear it? Do you know how much I blame myself for this? Do you know that I’m still wondering which part I did wrong as a boyfriend that make leave me and never contact me again? Do you know that I keep them bottled up inside just because I don’t want to look stressed in front of you who have taken care of me? Do you –“ Taemin can’t continue his words as tears starts to form on his eyes. Holding his cry has made it difficult for him to talk. “What’s more you’re hiding from me, hyung?” he asks but they don’t answer. “You say you love me.”

With one final word, Taemin grabs his bear and walks away.

***

“Do you think he’s going to his friend’s grave again?” Key is the first to break the silence.

“Either that place or the rooftop,” Jonghyun answers.

“If someone has to go after him, it’s not me. I don’t know what to say.” Key admits honestly. “What should I say? Yes, we’ve been dishonest and we're sorry?”

Jonghyun sighs; he has nothing better than that either. “We have agreed to respect Minho’s wish not to tell Taemin about this.”

“How could he find out?” Onew finally speaks up.

The other two shakes their heads almost immediately.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Onew stands up. Before he makes his first step, he feels a tug on his sleeve and turns around.

“Do you already have something in mind? Do not come to him unprepared. I’m afraid we would hurt him more.”

“I’ll give it a try. Don’t worry, Jonghyun-ah.”

Onew steps out of Jonghyun’s apartment and goes up. The thing about their apartment building is that it has a nice rooftop and Taemin likes it there. For instant, it becomes a favourite place for the younger. The one he will go to when something bothers his mind.

Fortunately, today Taemin picks this place instead of his friend’s cemetery to find peace.

“It’s cold out here,” Onew states, sitting up next to Taemin on the ground. He continues when he hears no answer, “You always ask me why I never date Key, don’t you?”

Onew holds his smile when Taemin tilts his head a little to him.

“I know his parents. They’re nice persons. Key ever joked with them about liking a guy in his school and he got serious response. They didn’t like it and told him not to joke about being gay anymore. His parents might be less strict than Minho’s dad but we know very well to stay out of the problem. Key and I are like South Pole and North Pole. We are very different. Key is more like a rebel type. He’ll find a way to get what he wants. He does what he wants to do no matter what people would think. He’s a very confident person. Unlike me who like to avoid trouble and live peacefully. I first think Key would insist on being in a relationship. You know... something official. But to my surprise, he didn’t. That day he said, let’s just stay like this. Just Onew and Key, friends since five, not a couple, this way we could love each other forever. I pretended to be upset, saying he didn’t really love me because if he did, he would fight for it no matter what. I expected something like, let’s runaway together and start a new live somewhere far from Seoul or something like that. Then he said that if we stepped further, I would end up getting hurt. He didn’t care if his parents got mad at him, he didn’t care what his parents would do to him. He was afraid his family would do something bad to me. And he was afraid my parents would disown me. That’s the last thing he wants to happen. Then I understand that he’s trying to protect me.” Onew smiled. He recalls the day they had that conversation. They were cuddling on the couch, holding to each other very closely just to make sure that they were safe.

“Why don’t you try to convince his family to accept your relationship, hyung? Who knows they’ll accept it. You’re a very good person.” Taemin murmurs.

Onew laughs it off. “So that’s what you’re going to do? Convincing Minho’s family to accept you? If you succeed, maybe I’ll follow your path!”

Taemin looks away and his sulky face is back there.

“Isn’t it the reason why you want to go to Canada?” Onew asks again. “We’re sorry for not telling you. We think it’s the best not to tell you. We’re afraid you’ll get hurt and become more upset if you know the truth. You have that constant nightmare that always haunts you. We don’t want you to suffer from this too. ”

“But lying to me also hurts. And it’s already making everything worse.”

“I’m sorry. Really I am sorry, Tae.” Onew puts an arm around Taemin’s shoulder and pulls him close. “We’re wrong this time, okay?”

“I hate you.”

“It’s okay. You have the rights to.”

“I’m going to Canada no matter what you say. I’ll find Minho hyung and punch him right on his face.”

“Uh huh, and we’re going to talk about this inside,” Onew stands, pulls Taemin up with him and leads him back in. He can’t continue this talk up here, just the two of them. Onew won’t let his son go all the way to Canada alone just to find Minho, that’s final. And if he’s going to convince Taemin to stop, it’s better to have Key and Jonghyun by his side. That way, it’s more possible to prevent Taemin from coming after Minho.

couldn't update yesterday. overslept. hehehe ^^

enjoy! and don't forget to comment <3