Honestly, Minho wasn’t really sure what was going on. He didn’t know when this all started either. His parents never told him. In fact, his parents are barely ever home. They’re usually away on business trips.

His family isn’t exactly rich, but they are pretty well off. He did have more money than he knew what to do with, but he didn’t really care.

Lately though, his parents were home more and more often. Sometimes, they brought these people with them that started inspecting the house. It made Minho feel uncomfortable. He felt they were trying to dig into his private life. He didn’t really have anything to hide though. He was a sixteen year old in his first year of high school, who likes to play soccer. Not much to it. He didn’t have any hidden erted magazines either. He wasn’t really into that stuff. He had more self respect than that. He didn’t feel the need to look at half women.

Either way, these people were snooping around the house, like they were looking for something, anything out of place. It creeped him out.

Then came the questions. It was awkward because he doesn’t know these people and yet there they were, asking him if he was ually active or on any type of drug. He wanted to ignore them, because really, did he look like he was ually active or on drugs? But, his parents made him sit down and answer any and every question they had.

And next thing he knew, at his doorstep were those same creepy people with an adorable little four year old boy holding their hands.

Minho wasn’t sure what to do, so he just waited until either his mom or dad came down the stairs and talked to them. Of course he let them in. He didn’t really care about the creepers, but he wasn’t about to let a little four year old freeze outside in the cold. It was October, and although there was no snow, and it still wasn’t below zero, the boy was wearing a scarf and a warm looking sweater, and still seemed cold.

He and the kid had a little stare down while he was sitting across from them, beside his parents. For some reason, this kid was looking at him as if he was the greatest thing the world had ever seen, and although it was a little strange, it made him pretty happy. He liked little kids. They were adorable and tended to just do the cutest things. Plus, they weren’t stupid, like most of the people at school. Minho couldn’t stand half the people at school, because it just seemed like some people tried to be dumb. Kids had an excuse for being immature. They were still young and didn’t know much. So he liked kids. They were nice.

That, however, did not mean that he expected the kid to stay when those creepy people were leaving. He hadn’t paid attention to the conversation that was going on beside him because he had been too focused on the little boy, but he really hadn’t expected to hear what he had just heard.

“Minho, say hello to your new little brother.”

Turns out, the little boy’s name was Lee Taemin. He was four years old. His parents passed away in a car accident a few months prior, and Taemin was left in the orphanage in the next town over. Apparently, while passing by, his parents had seen little Taemin there and decided that they wanted him. Because he was cute.

They decided to adopt a little boy, who they knew nothing about, because he was cute.

Minho really didn’t know how to explain what went on in his mother’s head (because he knew for a fact this was his mother’s idea).

He wasn’t complaining. Taemin seemed like a nice enough kid. Extremely shy, but that was to be expected when the boy boy had lost his parents only a few months ago. What worried was the fact that he knew his parents weren’t going to stay for long. They’d take care of Taemin themselves for a few months, and after that, return to their usual work process, which meant more business trips. Taemin would barely see them except for the occasions they decided to come back, birthdays, and holidays.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Taemin, but he wished Taemin had been given to a better family. One that would really take care of him. His parents weren’t the right parents to take care if a little boy who had lost his parents and was searching for people to fill in their place.

So it was that moment that Minho decided that he would protect Taemin. While his parents were gone, he’d take care of Taemin in their place. He’d have to learn how to cook–because feeding a little boy ramen every night apparently wasn’t healthy–and take care of him. He liked kids, but that didn’t mean he’d ever had to take care of one for more than a few minutes. Still, he’d make sure to take care of Taemin.

Plus, while his parents were gone, his friends usually stayed with him. For some reason, their parents didn’t care they practically lived at his house, so long as they didn’t have any wild parties, which Minho was okay with. He wasn’t really a fan of parties filled with drunk teenagers making out and breaking everything in sight. Scratch that, it was like dealing with monkeys, except ten times worse.

There was a knock on his door and Minho stoop up from his bed. He wasn’t sure who wanted to talk to him at this time of night, but it wasn’t like he was sleeping anyway, so why not?

When he opened the door though, he didn’t expect little Taemin to be standing there, tears in his eyes and clutching his frog plushie tightly, staring at the floor.

“Yes?” he asked. Taemin stared up at him for a second before looking back at the floor, little sniffles coming from his nose.

“I-I had a b-bad dream, a-and Minho hyung is really big, and h-he seems really n-nice a-and–”

“Want to sleep here with me?” he asked, cutting off the little boy who was struggling to form a proper sentence. The boy was visibly shaking, and Minho couldn’t help but feel his heart break at the sight. It was probably a nightmare about losing his parents, and Minho couldn’t seem to refuse the boy. He wondered why Taemin would go to him instead of his parents, but he didn’t question it much. Taemin had seemed intrigued by him the moment he entered the house anyway, so he probably thought Minho was some superhero that could protect him. He felt flattered, and welcomed the boy into his room with open arms.

He laid at the edge of the bed, in fear that Taemin would fall off if he didn’t. Luckily, his bed was placed against the wall, so he didn’t have to worry about Taemin rolling off the other side.

He kept a safe distance way from the boy, and luckily, his bed was pretty big and Taemin was tiny. He didn’t want to scare the boy away and make him uncomfortable. He decided he’d let Taemin come to him. He was surprised when Taemin immediately clung to him the moment he was about to fall asleep, and snuggled his face into Minho’s chest. Minho smiled to himself before falling asleep, wrapping an arm protectively around Taemin.

Needless to say they nearly gave his mother a heart attack when she couldn’t find Taemin in his new room in the morning.

Leaving for school in the morning had never been such a hard task. Taemin woken up with him when his mom woke him up for school. He tried to get up without waking the boy up, but Taemin had a tight grip on his shirt, and the moment he forced it out of his hands, Taemin woke up and clung to him again.

Minho sighed, picking him up and bringing him downstairs for breakfast. He could tell Taemin was still sleepy, because his eyes kept drooping and he kept yawning. His mothers asked him why he hadn’t left Taemin on his bed, and he responded by pulling Taemin away from him, only to show that he couldn’t because the boy’s grip on his shirt wouldn’t go away. The only thing that got Taemin off of him was the promise of food, which Minho helped feed to him, but once that was done, the clinging was back.

His mother said Taemin was just scared he’d leave. According to what the people at the orphanage told them, once Taemin was attached to someone or something, he wouldn’t let it leave his sight, because he was afraid they wouldn’t come back. Now, Taemin was attached to him, and Minho almost felt guilty for having to go to school.

He guessed the upside to it all was that his mother let him stay home from school today, to get to know Taemin better and let Taemin get used to him. After a while, he managed to coax Taemin into letting him go, with the promise that he’d stay with Taemin the entire day. They couldn’t go out for a walk or anywhere else, because technically, he was supposed to be in school, so they just settled for the backyard.

He dressed Taemin up in his warmest looking clothes, knowing that Taemin got cold easily. He held his hand while they were in the backyard. Minho sat on the grass and Taemin hesitantly did so as well. It was a comfortable silence, but it wasn’t helping. Minho was supposed to be getting to know the boy, and vice versa. Silence did nothing.

With that in mind, he picked Taemin up and set him on his lap. Taemin squeaked at first, but neither said nor did anything against it, just pressing his back further into Minho’s chest. Taemin seemed to have nothing against skinship, not that Minho did it often anyway. Apparently, Taemin prefered holding hands, and even in his lap, he was holding Minho’s hand, this time playing with it, examining his fingers and placing his palm against Minho’s larger one, looking at the difference with amazed eyes. Minho chuckled at the sight, but said nothing about it.

“Minho hyung is really big,” Taemin mumbled, his voice soft and a bit high pitched, but that was expected of a four year old’s voice.

Minho chuckled and placed both of his palms under Taemin’s, bouncing their hands a bit and making Taemin giggle. “One day, you’ll be big too.”

“Like Minho hyung?”

“Maybe. That all depends on you.”

“I-I want to be big and strong l-like Minho hyung,” Taemin said, his determination clear in his voice. Minho was confused by it. It was normal for a kid to want to be big and strong, but Taemin seemed almost too impatient about it.

“Why is that?”

“B-Because then I-I can protect everyone, a-and no one will leave me a-again.”

His heart shattered at that. Taemin had clearly gone through too much for his little four year old mind to comprehend. He knew his parents were gone, but he probably didn’t know the truth behind it. He probably just thought his parents had left him alone and that they weren’t going to come back for him. It really pained Minho’s heart to hear Taemin say that, and hugged the boy closer to him. Taemin rested his head in the crook of Minho’s neck, and Minho used one hand to his hair, the other keeping it’s tight but gentle hold on Taemin. He didn’t want to crush the boy.

“You don’t have to protect everyone Taeminnie. You don’t have to be big and strong for people. You’re fine just the way you are. I won’t leave you,” he said.

“Pinky promise?”

Minho chuckled, but moved his hand to Taemin’s hocking their pinkies together.

“Pinky promise.”

The next day, regrettably, Minho had to go back to school. Taemin was upset, to the point of crying and trying to pull Minho back into the house, and with a hug, a promise of return, and a peck on the cheek, Taemin gave up and nodded, saying that if Minho didn’t come back, he’d be breaking his promise, and then he’d be a liar. With one last ruffle of Taemin’s hair, he was off to school, already hoping he could go back home.

Soon, he wouldn’t feel so bad though. Taemin had to start school soon too, so he’d be in school while Minho was too, and that way, he wouldn’t be alone. Minho already promised himself and Taemin that once Taemin started school, he’d be there to drop off and pick Taemin up. He just hoped Taemin would get along with the other students. He wouldn’t allow his new little brother to be bullied. He didn’t care if it had only been a three days since he had met him. He fully acknowledged Taemin as his brother, and vowed to protect him.

School for Minho was, to put it simply, boring. He didn’t not like school, he just didn’t like most of the people there. It was like a popularity contest Minho had no part in participating in, and yet, he was placed high up on a food chain he didn’t care for. Girls were annoying and put on too much makeup to try and impress guys. On top of that, they acted stupid because apparently, guys found girls who couldn’t even form a proper thought attractive. Guys were overly obnoxious. Minho could take some yelling and horse play, his friends were a perfect example of that, but he couldn’t take guys that only cared about how many girls he had screwed. That was just barbaric and annoying. It only made Minho want to go home that much sooner.

His friends were a strange bunch. Jinki, or Onew as he liked to be called was the oldest, being in his third year, and the smartest out of them, at the top of his class. He was by no means a nerd though. Despite his excellent grades, Onew was incredibly clumsy, and a bit derpy sometimes. He was really funny, extremely awkward–to the point where he can being even the highest of moods down under the dirt–, and the most responsible of the group.

Then there was Jonghyun, who was in his second year. His grades were okay, acceptable, though he struggled greatly with math. He was the loudest in the group, and tended to shout things sometimes. He was active, and sadly, didn’t always think things through before putting them into action. But he had a heart of gold, and that was enough for Minho. Plus, it was always fun to , seeing as he was the shortest in the group.

After him was Kibum, or Key, because he though Kibum sounded too plain. He was the mother of the group, although sometimes he nagged a bit too much. He was a first year like Minho, though a few months older than him. Key was Key, and there was no better way to describe him. Key did whatever he wanted, and said whatever he wanted, not caring of the consequences. Sometimes he doesn’t mean for it too come out sounding so mean, but he was a very blunt and straightforward person, and sometimes he just couldn’t help the way he said things. It didn’t seem like it, but he cared about all of them, and took care of them.

Classes were boring, as usual. Minho’s grades were average, so he didn’t really have too much to worry about. Luckily, he didn’t have soccer practice today, but what about the days that he did? What about Taemin? He couldn’t just leave him there too wait, and he didn’t have time to take Taemin home and go back in time for practice or a game. It was just impossible. But he’d think of that later, when Taemin started school. For now, he’d focus on other things.

Lunch came sooner than Minho had thought and soon enough, he was sitting with his friends eating his food. Cafeteria food wasn’t the best, but it was satisfying enough. He wondered if he’d give Taemin money for lunch, or if he’d just make Taemin a lunch box instead. He’d have to ask Taemin which he prefered later.

“Yah! Earth to Minho! I know you look like an alien, but you don’t need to act like one too,” Key said. Minho glared at him a bit before sighing and giving up. There was no point in trying when he knew he wouldn’t win against Key in an argument. Key had a sharp tongue, it was almost scary.

“I was just thinking,” Minho said. He kept eating, listening to Onew tell a new joke. It was actually funny this time, and he laughed. Sometimes, Onew’s jokes just backfired and made the whole table awkward, but it was just one of the things to love about him. It was near impossible to hate Onew. Maybe Taemin would like Onew. Although Onew was a bit scared of kid, because he was afraid he would hurt them, he had no doubt Onew would warm up to Taemin. He had to. It was impossible not to.

“Minho, seriously, mind sharing what's on your mind?” Jonghyun asked.

“I have a little brother,” he replied. The table was silent, his friends staring at them before they burst.

“You WHAT?!”

“Can you quiet down?” he asked, motioning with his hands for them to sit back down and be quiet it. They were starting to get a lot of attention, and Minho didn’t like attention.

“Why didn’t you tell us your mom was pregnant?” Onew asked.

“Because she wasn’t.”

“Omo! Did your dad knock up some other woman?!”

“No, can you stop coming up with weird conclusions. My mom wasn’t pregnant and my dad didn’t have an affair. My parents decided to adopt a little kid,” Minho explained.

“Oh,” they said together, calming down a bit.

“What’s his name?” Key asked.

“Taemin.”

“Can we meet him?” Jonghyun asked.

Minho thought about it. Taemin was very shy, and he’d probably be a bit scared at first, but he’d warm up to them. He didn’t see a problem with it.

“Sure, why not?”

Woooooh! It’s up!!!! :D

22 subscribers, and its only the foreword! That makes me really happy! Keep it coming people!! (And don’t be afraid to click that beautiful arrow and give it a little vote ;D)

Things will pick up more later on. I just love protective Minho, taking care of little Taeminnie.

This, by the way, is what they look like as of right now.

Anyway, I’ll be ending this now.

Please tell me what you think!

Meaning, please, COMMENT~! <3

Also, if you're a fan of "Fated to Be," please comment there too. I posted chapter 5 last night and I haven't gotten any comments on it. :'(