Taemin grunted as she heaved him against the wall as soon as they arrived in the courtyard. Pain went throughout his nerves and bones, his back feeling numb. It hurt so much that he wanted to scream.

Yet, he could not, for his brain was unable to respond to that message.

“You little snitch,” she hissed at the angel as she cornered him, stepping close to him.

The brunet does not understand why she is confronting him all of a sudden. He grunted as he backed up into a wall, having no escape of her rage.

Damnit… if she is like that, I will never get to class!

“What do you want? What have I ever done to you?” He cried out, holding his arm in which made contact with the brick wall, pain shooting up through his nerves.

Great. First, it was his foot, now it was his arm. What is this, ‘Get Taemin Injured’ Week?

The latter sneered at him and leaned close to his face, their foreheads barely touching as Taemin stared into her intense gaze. They were flaming red, rings of yellow and he could have sworn there was a flicker of flame in her pupils as she glared coldly at him. He groaned when she pushed his head against the wall, and he could hear her hiss, her breath against his ear.

“You know what you have done.”

Well, just what have I done? I do not even remember doing anything malicious to this person!

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Taemin told her, wincing when she pushed his head further against the wall, feeling her nimble fingers digging into his scalp.

It hurts even more when she slammed his skull against the concrete, nearly knocking him out. He could have died from a fatal head collision if she forced his head into the wall stronger. Thankfully, she is not letting him off that easily.

(Is that a good thing?)

“Liar! You have done something to somebody who is precious to me! Tell me where he is!” The female demon shrieked, clearly angry now.

Taemin was also irritated, at her and her ways of not getting around with the answer as he is growing impatient, “Who? Whom did I hurt? Whom did I kidnap? Who?”

“Minho!”

The angel froze at Minho’s name, his chocolate brown eyes wide and round as he stared at the angry dark-haired demon.

Minho?

“He hasn’t been seen for days. The only person who was with him was you and I know you have done something to him, you little !”

The urge to throw her off him just boiled in his blood that he forcefully pushed her off, startling the latter as she lost her balance and fell onto the grass. Taemin ran, but he was not fast enough as she caught him by his hair.

“Ah!” He cried out, his legs buckling when she kicked him in the shin, causing the light brunet to fall on his knees. He gripped onto her wrist while the other gripped onto his long locks.

He smelled something metallic—and it was at his hair.

No! Not my hair! He gritted his teeth, using his strength to push his head back whilst she pulled it upwards.

“I don’t understand why my Minho-oppa would hang out with a brat like you. You don’t deserve to be his ‘friend’.” She tugged onto his hair stronger, making him cry out in pain.

“Stop it!” Taemin yelled out, but it went ignored by the latter.

“You’re too weak. Minho-oppa was playing an act to win you over so you can turn your back on those brats of yours. He would never want to be your friend. Friends are nothing.”

“Shut up! You don’t understand!” The brunet cried out once again, tears prickling in his eyes as he tried to shut out every word. She is lying, she is only lying—do not believe a word she says, Taemin!

The female sneered. “Don’t understand? I understand Minho-oppa and I am sure he likes me much better. He told me I was very good in bed,” she laughed evilly, taunting him as she dug her fingers into his scalp.

Taemin remembered his words when he was upset with Key:

“And I never slept with anybody. Demons were supposed to lust for . Except me. I feel anything but lust.”

Liar… Minho never slept with you, Taemin internally growled as he tried to struggle out of her grasp.

“And why keep this hair? It will gain nothing but misery for you. You’ll never love anyone nor have anybody to love you when you’re like this!” She cackled.

The angel stopped struggling, his eyes wide at her words. His grip on her wrist loosened before it fell to his sides, dangling limp and not doing anything.

No one will love me, she says.

That cannot be true…

The female smirked at her victory and yanked his hair. “That’s right, no use growing out your hair. I would rather like it if you give Minho-oppa back to me and die.”

All these years I never cut my hair. I hoped that Taecyeon-hyung would notice my beauty even though he rejected me… even if he liked somebody else…

Nevertheless, that never came…

“How pathetic…” She said, ramming the dagger into the grassy ground before standing up, glaring down at the angel. She then kicked him, Taemin landing face first into the ground. He groaned when he felt her heel on his head, gritting his teeth as she drilled her heel into his skull.

Get off me!

“Look at you, can’t even fight back. You know I’m right—you are a pathetic, weak being who can’t fight for himself!”

Taemin, on the other hand, was too deep into his thoughts to care.

All this time… I was stuck in my own world… too busy dreaming of something that will not come true.

He chuckled silently, wincing in pain as she forced her heel further onto his head.

Now I know how stupid I am to keep clinging onto a love that will not receive.

Maybe I should just give up.

However, something in his heart was telling him not to—that he should not.

He could hear Jonghyun’s advice echoing in his head:

“Do you want to be weak for the rest of your life?”

Taemin grabbed a fistful of grass as he clenched his teeth. “No,” he whispered to himself.

“Then don’t let them think you are.”

The angel felt her heel leaving his head and footsteps growing further away as well as her voice: “Why would the handle such a weak son like you? Angels were just worrying over nothing.”

That was when he knew that he must not give up. He gripped onto the grass firmly as he stared at the dagger that was stuck into the ground.

“No.”

The female Demon turned around, her eyebrows raised in confusion. “What?”

“I said no.”

“About what, weakling? You’re denying the truth that Minho loves me?”

Taemin slowly pushed himself off the ground as he said, “You’re wrong… about everything.” He eyed the dagger as he sat there on the ground, his arms holding him up for support. His face was dirty from the mud and dirt because she pushed him around too much.

“Minho…is kind to me…” He smiled at the times where Minho looked at him with warm eyes and playful smiles. “He would never say that to you. He never said he liked you. I know what he told me. He never slept with you,” he told honestly, as he reached out for the dagger.

The latter was being to get surprised, yet angry at the same time. “Stop speaking nonsense; you weren’t there when it happened.”

“Liar,” Taemin spat out bitterly. She was shocked, and was even more surprised to see the angel’s stern eyes as he stood up, the dagger in hand.

“He told me secrets that you’ll never know. He trusted me more than he trusted anybody else. He never even felt lust to even sleep with anybody.” He paused before smirking, “And I’m positive that he wouldn’t sleep with a like you.”

“Excuse me?” He could hear her shriek in flabbergast, disgusted with his behavior.

Taemin spat out the blood that pooled in his mouth before rubbing away the dirt off his cheek with the back of his hand. “What I am saying is this: Minho would not want to deal with trash and the likes of you.” He smirked provokingly, the mud smudged on his skin. “Not that you are any more important than I am to him, that is.”

Taemin could see the redness on her cheeks and her hands turning into fists. Now that he got a better view of her, he recognized her.

“…Yuri, am I right?” Taemin said. He can tell that she was surprised to know that he knew her name by the way she looked up at him, her eyes wide. “The girl who sleeps with every single Demon and you claim that Minho’s yours?” He snorted at this.

“But wouldn’t Minho be furious to see that his “girlfriend” is cheating on him?”

She gasped and stumbled back, stunned at his words. “Y-You! Shut your mouth right now, you bratty, feminine boy!”

“…I’m afraid I won’t be called feminine anymore.”

“What the ing hell are you saying? You’re talking nonsense!”

I finally realized… that my long hair… is just a past that keeps holding me down. I always deny the reason and keep it close with me.

…Sorry, Taecyeon. I think it is time to let you go.

I am still too scared to have someone reject me…and that is your fault.

Yet…

Taemin smiled as he held a fistful of his own hair, the edge of the blade lying underneath the soft, light brown strands.

I will forgive you. I really hope to see you and your love one day.

Yuri’s eyes widened as she heard the sound that she never thought that she would hear.

Clip!

I am so sorry it was short! Nevertheless, this idea… I was like, thinking of Naruto, and the scene of where Sakura cut her hair during a fight just came to me and like, I want to include it somewhere. I wanted to make Taemin realize that holding onto his past love would not change anything and how keeping his long hair would just make him think of the past and urgh.

I was not really planning to cut his hair—hell, I do not know if I should put this up or not at all and change it!

/is conflicted/

Man, I am so bad with planning. Like freakkkkkkkkk. Sometimes, I do not understand my writing and myself. .____. I had to update and to check it over for mistakes and more editing.

Urgh~

…Did you like it? :D I hope so. Please do comment! In addition, terribly sorry it was short. The next chapter should be coming in shortly! Maybe not today, maybe tomorrow I will update it. When my parents does not force me to bed that is… I just want to update to a satisfied amount before school starts back.

（〃・・〃）See you later! （ ´∀｀）