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Their relationship had begun rather unremarkably.

Taemin, as well as his fellows in Shinee, had at first acted as a mentor to Exo, Taemin finding common ground with Jongin in particular. They were close in age, had similar interests and had simply found each other's company desirable.

Their relationship soon grew into a comfortable friendship and eventually, as Taemin became increasingly aware of how much he longed to hold Jongin and kiss his soft lips and Jongin noticed how much he'd blush every time Taemin hugged him, their relationship became romantic.

They had to be careful to conceal their relationship from the public, knowing the devastating effects that their romantic predicament would have upon their careers but in private, they were only each other's. Their band mates knew of and supported their relationship, Shinee and Exo purposefully vacating their respective dorms when one of the two young men came over to visit his boyfriend. Both Taemin and Jongin would have loved to have been able to go out on a "proper" date- Taemin wished that he could take Jongin to a fancy restaurant at which he had reserved a table for their anniversaries and Jongin really would love to be able to take a moonlit walk by the riverside while holding Taemin's hand and unrestrainedly leaning against the older's shoulder. But they had to content themselves with their secret meetings, the kitchen of the dorm rooms having to suffice as their romantic restaurant. Neither of them really minded; they were perfectly content in each other's company. But it would have been nice if they were able to go about like a normal couple...

It was the dynamics of their relationship however, that far compensated for their forced secrecy. Taemin had never been able to open up to anyone as he was able to confide in Jongin, nor had he ever felt such a strong desire to protect someone as much as he wanted to keep Jongin safe. He knew how insecure Jongin often felt, how afraid the younger man was about the future and how vulnerable he was despite the image that he projected to the public. Jongin, in turn, had never trusted anyone as much as he did Taemin and didn't think that there had ever been a time in his life in which he had felt more loved.

Recently, the young couple had discovered something a little unusual about Jongin's body. It had all started with a dance practice gone a little awry- Jongin had been feeling off all day. He'd been tired, his stomach hurt and his back had been a little sore as well. Still, he'd diligently attended dance practice despite how much more severe his stomach cramps were getting.

He'd lasted for about two hours until his performance notably declined, his band mates and choreographer got worried about him an