Clumsy Saranghae author: GShMe   *** This story is Fictional. Any resemblance to anything is purely out of imagination and wishful thinking xDDD ***   Chapter 27: Secrets over more Secrets   *in SHINee's dorm, in the living room ... all the members were gathered while listening to taemin ... he was telling all his hyungs the truth about him and sherina ... about the disco club, the deal and their fake love story ...    taemin: ... a-and thats it ... all that's left to tell you now is that sherina was a trainee but recently left her agency ... (sighs deeply then looks down) ... SHINee: (speechless)   KEY'S INNER MONOLOGUE key: why did he confess all of a sudden? ... wasn't he the one who really, REALLY wanted to keep this a secret? ... dont tell me, he's giving up! END OF INNER MONOLOGUE   *before key could speak up, onew beat him to it ...   onew: why are you telling us all this, taemin? (looks at him) ... taemin: w-well ... uh ... i ... jonghyun: are you trying to tell us that you're giving up then? ... by confessing like this? ... taemin: w-what? ... n-no, hyung ... i-- onew: i wont tolerate you dragging an innocent girl into your careless acts to just let it end like this (serious) ... you're not that kind of guy, taemin ... taemin: (surprised - suddenly nervous) ! ... jonghyun: take responsibility for all of this, taemin ... sherina and the fake news and all that stuff ... you have to go through with this to the end ... (also serious) ... i dont want to see you running away from this either ... too much is at stake and this is all your fault, after all ...   *then, there was a moment of silence ... taemin couldn't think of anything to say to his hyungs ...   minho: (clears his throat) a-anyway taemin ... just clarify it here and now ... are you telling us all this because you want to give up? after coming this far? ... taemin: a-ah! ... n-no ... thats not my intention at all, hyung! ... t-the truth is ... i just didn't want the four of you to misunderstand anymore ... i-it doesn't feel right to lie to you ... (sad face) ... k-kibum hyung kept on scolding me about how i act around girls and that just did it ... i didn't like treating my friends differently just because of a fake girlfriend ... s-so i figured if you knew that, then you'd stop bugging me about it ... key: haaa? ... so in the end, you're doing this just to protect yourself!? ... ya! fake girlfriend or not, sherina is still dragged into all of this because of YOU! ... you shouldn't disregard her! ...  taemin: i dont! ... i-i dont disregard her ... for the past few days,i got to know sherina better and found myself caring for her as a friend as well ... i owe her so much ... b-but (looks down again) onew: but when it comes down to it, kibum is still right ... taemin, from now on, you cant think of only yourself ... the media is still buzzing around, waiting to strike and sherina probably cant handle that yet ... she's YOUR responsibility ... you're a man, aren't you? ... a man does not drag a girl into a troublesome situation just to leave her there and run off selfishly after you got what you needed ... do you understand? taemin: (obediently nods) ... jonghyun: and fake girlfriend or not, i was serious when i said i liked that girl ... she's not someone who deserves to get hurt when its not her fault ... taemin, did you hear me? taemin: a-ah ... y-yes ... y-yes i did ... uh    TAEMIN'S INNER MONOLOGUE taemin: what is this? ... why did they all switch to "strict and scary" hyung mode? ... (gulp) the atmosphere is so tense that i dont even know whether i should speak up or not ... was this a bad idea after all? .... help me! END OF SELF-TALK   key: w-well ... i-im not going to say anymore ... lets just leave it at that ... for now ...  taemin: (still looking down) minho: oh, but i have one more question though, taemin ... taemin: (looks at minho) ?? minho: (serious expression) ... after this ........ "challenge" of yours is done ... w-what happens to sherina? ......... SHINee: (looks at taemin - anticipating his answer) taemin: o-oh ......................... a-after? ..... w-well ... i .... uh ....... i-i ... uhm ... jonghyun: you haven't thought about it that far, haven't you!? key: ya ... isn't that the same as ....... throwing her away after using her!? taemin: WHAT!? ... no! ... i-it's not like that at all! ... i-im not using sherina! ... n-no! ..... s-she's ......... she's my friend! i would NEVER do something like that ..... onew: (satisfied) alright! ...... (raises his hand in defeat) ok ... as long as you understand that, little brother ... i'll let it go ... just as long as you understand that she's not a thing that can easily be thrown away ... then that's fine .... jonghyun: j-just make sure you figure things out in time ... ok? taemin: (a bit scared - soft voice) i-im ... im n-not using her  ...   *onew, jonghyun, minho and key were just looking at each other while reading each other's minds and deciding not to tell taemin that they already knew his secret since the very beginning ...    taem