Transient, adj.

-not lasting, enduring, or permanent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About two years into their relationship, Taemin and Naeun hit a speed bump. After APINK's concert, the group really took off not only in Koreas but internationally as well. SHINee continued to grow in successes and both groups continued to work hard in their promotions. For Taemin and Naeun, their one month separations turned into two months, three months and longer. Even their Skype dates became infrequent as their international tours prevented them from being in the same time zone. One was sleeping while one was awake. One was rehearsing while another was on a television show. Talking on the phone was hard to do and even texts got shorter to the point where there would be at least a days’ worth of wait before a reply. It's not that they didn't love each other, it's just that somehow life had gotten in the way. Their honeymoon phase was over and they needed to grow up.

Naeun remembered the time when she was asked to choose between love and her career. At that time, she chose her career, but pursued her relationship with Taemin. She didn't regret it but now she sometimes catches herself thinking about whether she followed her own advice and did all the things she wanted to do with her career before settling down. The demands of her schedule now had interfered with her relationship.

Taemin and Naeun terribly missed each other. They were lonely but they felt like they couldn't reach out to one another because that was the root cause of the stress in their relationship right now. Taemin knew that this was going to make or break their relationship and he hoped that they would get through it. Naeun, however, thought it would be the latter. She knew they supported each other, monitoring the other's activities, but from afar. That was it. The distance was finally getting to her and she was losing sleep because of it. They were idols who needed to work for their fans and for their dreams. Although they could have tried harder to make the relationship work at this point, being young and so inexperienced had finally taken a toll and Naeun believed that she should something about it for both of their sakes.

It seemed as if the world had agreed with her resolution as APINK and SHINee were both in Japan for an event and Naeun finally asked Taemin to meet up with her. Taemin was nervous. The tone of her voice meant that this wasn't going to be one of their romantic dates. This was going to be an honest and serious talk. 

They met up at a small cafe near their hotel in the late hours of the night. They wanted some privacy and this was the only way to do it.
When Taemin arrived Naeun was already sitting at the booth, hands clasped together, and staring at them as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. He sat down but she didn't look up. He reached out to grab her hands but she pulled away.

"Naeun-ah..."

She looked up and he found that she was crying. Again he tried to reach for her hands but again she pulled away. However, she didn't pull away when he went to wipe away her tears.

"Naeun-ah..."

"Oppa..."

"What's wrong? Stop crying, please?"

"Oppa..."

He waited for her to continue but it seemed as if she was trying to catch her breath or muster up some courage to say the next thing that was on her mind. Taemin started to feel dread rising up through his body. He had a feeling he knew where this was headed but he wanted to hear her out first. He would do anything for her.

"Oppa...I think we need to break up."

There it was. The bomb had detonated and exploded inside Taemin and Naeun's hearts.

"Can I ask why?"

"It's just...it feels like the whole world is against us right now and it's lonely."

"We have each other..."

"That's the thing. We have each other but we can't reach each other..."

Taemin knew that this was true and he nodded his head. They sat in a deafening silence for over an hour, looking at each other, then the window, then the ceiling and then the floor. It was like the room was blurring into one picture, because Taemin was out in the rain, shivering, and the drops was fogging up the windows to see through Naeun’s heart.

Taemin couldn't handle it anymore. He just stood up one minute, turned his back and walked out the door. Before the door completely closed, he heard her start whimpering. He somehow managed to convince his hand to close the door and start to walk off but something made him turn around. Through the window you could see that she was completely broken, face buried in her hands. His feet were cemented in the ground and so he stood there. He had left his heart with her and now he was empty. She was like that for about twenty minutes, then he saw her mirror his actions, wipe her face with her sleeve, stand up and just walk out the door. It was a clear night, and the stars were out. He felt like they were mocking him. It was the perfect weather for star gazing and hand holding, but instead, he just let the love of his life slip through his fingers. He watched her leave, and followed her making sure she would get home safely, and once he knew she was safely inside, he turned the other direction and walked to his hotel, with heavy feet.

His concert performance the next day was subpar. When Taemin had gotten home the previous night, Minho and Jonghyun were waiting for him. As soon as he walked in the door, they had noticed that something was wrong but let him walk away into his room. At the rehearsals the next morning they just let him be and when his condition had not improved by the time of the show, all they did was give him a pat on the back and told him that everything was going to be okay. During their dance performances he had made slight mistakes but during his singing, they could tell that he was putting all of his emotions into the song. Naeun was exactly the same. She had performed well but her smile was a facade and she stood to the side during their talking portions and only spoke when she was directly asked. Even then, her laughs were not genuine and you could tell that she was sad from the look of her eyes. When the two groups arrived at their hotels, both groups asked their respective members what was wrong. Taemin and Naeun just stated that they had broken up without explanation and the members had left it at that, telling them that they would support both of them no matter what.

They had met by accident backstage at one of the broadcasting stations. They were on opposite ends of the corridors. Naeun’s eyes were wide with shock and the awkward atmosphere was choking them. Naeun quickly looked down and tried to walk hurriedly past Taemin. Taemin couldn’t resist. He had gone on without her touch for so long, that when she walked past, he made sure that the tips of his fingers would brush past her arm. It was still there. The electricity was still there and he knew that Naeun felt it too when she looked up at him and saw a tinge of that familiar twinkle in her eye. Then, he watched her disappear from his life all over again.

Destiny, fate, stars, or whatever, Taemin still had hope. He still had hope that one day him and Naeun would find their way back to each other. He still had hope that one day, they would be able to fulfil that promise of forever.