AN: Enjoy.

Taemin jumped when he phone vibrated in his hand. For a moment, he was tense, wondering if it was Jinki, Kibum, or Minho trying to call him again. The dancer sighed when he saw it was Jonghyun. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear,

 “Yah, Hyung…I was just about to call.”

Jonghyun chuckled on the other line.

“Well, that’s good. At least you’re being responsible in that aspect.”

“What’s going on?” Taemin asked.

“Just checking in. I’m hiding out in your room. The other three are fighting right now.” 

Taemin frowned at that, “Over me?”

“Well…let’s just say we saw a video of you teaching some students how to dance in the street. You've got to admit, you’re pretty popular.”

For the first time in a week, Taemin actually laughed.

“Yah…I was just showing them the correct steps!”

“Aigoo, calm down, maknae!” Jonghyun laughed in reply.

He liked how Taemin sounded more relaxed. The three in the living room continued to argue. When Kibum and Jinki had seen that video, they both flipped out, blaming each other for making Taemin run away. Minho was siding with Jinki of course and the diva had enough fuel to scream at both of them. Jonghyun bet that they didn’t even realize he had slipped away to check on the boy. Taemin sighed and laid down in the sand.

 “Hyung?”

“Neh?”

“Thank you.”

Jonghyun raised an eyebrow on his end, “For what?”

“I…I’m trying to get better…I don’t want to be dependent on anyone anymore.” 

The elder laid back on Taemin’s bed.

“You’re not coming back anytime soon, are you?”

“Well, if Umma knows I’m in Incheon, I got to get moving then. Can’t have you all come after me, right?”

The singer laughed at that. He could hear just a hint of teasing in the boy’s voice. It was nice.

“Where are you off to next?”

Taemin tapped his chin, “I think I’ll stop in Ansan, then go south.”

“Are you okay?” Jonghyun asked right after.

Taemin chuckled, “You want my honest answer?”

“Neh.”

“No. I’m not okay, and I don’t think I’ll be okay for awhile.”

Taemin stumbled over his words, wondering how to portray everything to his hyung. But somehow, Jonghyun understood.

“I get it Tae. I do. Go, and get better, okay?”

Taemin smiled, “Thanks, Jjongie.”

“Oh, god, don’t start calling me that!” Jonghyun said.

Taemin laughed, “I’ll email you when I get further south. Let me know if they’re on my tail.”

“Be safe.”

Taemin chuckled and hung up after that, thanking the heavens above that Jonghyun was on his side. He needed one ally, at least. The maknae stood up, brushing off his pants and jacket. He looked once more at the setting sun. It felt nice to acknowledge that he had a choice in the matter. He would take the woman’s advice and understand his pain…then move on.

BACK AT THE DORM:

“YOU’RE BOTH THE REASON MY BABY LEFT!”

Jonghyun was correct in assuming that they had barely noticed his disappearance. He sat on the couch, watching the three go at it. If Taemin’s job was to get better so he could be himself around them once more, then it was his job to keep these three from killing one another.

Minho crossed his arms, “He left because he wanted to. He only cares about himself.”

Jinki frowned and held tightly onto Minho’s hand, “Taemin chose to leave.”

“BECAUSE YOU LEFT HIM WITHOUT RHYME OR REASON!”

The main singer spoke, “Bummie!”

The diva looked at him through his tears.

 “Breathe. Do you think screaming at these two will bring him back?”

He then looked at the couple.

 “And do you think calling him selfish and heartless will bring him back? No. He needed time away, because you both hurt him. He needs to pull himself together and find a way to be happy because his ex and his new lover are still going to be around him every day. If I were in his shoes, I would be acting the same damn way.”

The three looked to the singer as he stood.

“We’re a family and one of our members is hurting because of us. We cannot change what has happened, but screaming at each other will do nothing to fix this.”

“Jjongie…” Kibum started.

“Make peace with the fact that Taemin won’t be coming back for awhile. This is what’s best for now.”

He left the room after that. He wondered how they would react from now on. Would they choose to argue? Or would they understand that Taemin wanted this? It was his peace to be alone and face his internal demons. There was no way Jonghyun would ruin that for him.

He knew Taemin looked just a tiny bit better in that video. He wanted their maknae back just as much as the others did. He was just going about it differently.

LATER THAT NIGHT:

Taemin huddled in his jacket as he stood on the train platform, waiting for the train to Ansan. His backpack and duffel bag were on his shoulders and he rocked back and forth on the balls of his heels. He felt better knowing he’d be leaving this city to move on to another one and encounter new people.

He smiled and held onto his ticket tightly as he boarded. Jonghyun was nice enough to help him when he needed it, so he wasn’t about to lose the ticket that would help him. He found a seat and snuggled in, ready for a two hour train ride.

“Is this seat taken?”

Taemin looked up through his sunglasses to see a young boy staring at him, pointing at the seat across from him.

“Ani.”

The boy took a seat, clutching his own bag in his hands. At first Taemin paid him no mind, but as the train began to move, he found himself looking at him. He was cute, Taemin would admit that. He never had a thing for girls, so it wasn’t weird to him to look over the boy.

“I’m sorry…sunbaenim?”

Taemin snapped out of his haze and blushed behind his glasses. “Yes?”

“You…you wouldn’t happen to be Lee Taemin would you?”

Taemin raised an eyebrow before looking around. The train was pretty deserted at this time of night, so he removed his glasses. He stared at the boy now.

 “How could you tell?” 

He pointed, “Your earring. You wore that one a lot during your promotion for Everybody…”

Taemin touched the earring faintly, before chucking, “You caught me.”

Taemin thought he was cute when the boy smiled.

“I’m not going to lie…I’m freaking out inside knowing you’re sitting across from me right now.”

“Want me to move? I wouldn’t want to freak out a fan.”

Taemin smiled genuinely, forgetting about his pain in that second.

The boy waved his hands, “No! No, don’t move sunbaenim! I didn’t mean to ruin your peace.”

“Aish, don’t worry. I’m not peaceful right now anyway.”

“M-my name’s Jihun…” he said shyly, a cute little blush tingeing his pale cheeks. Even cuter. “Nice to meet you.”

As the train-ride continued, Taemin found himself talking to this boy even more. He nearly squealed when he asked if he could call him hyung and ask him why he was in Incheon of all places. He forgot about Jinki and Minho as he let the boy talk to him, blushing every so often at the answers he’d get back.

“You’ve been my bias for so long…” the boy said.

“How old are you, Jihun-ah?”

He blinked at the elder; “Ah…I just turned nineteen, Hyung.”

“So what are you doing on this train?”

The boy shrugged, “Exploring I guess…I have university to get back to in a couple of weeks, so I figured I’d travel for a bit. What about you? Where’s the rest of SHINee?”

“Back in Seoul. I’m on my own for a bit,” Taemin said.

He didn’t know why, but he felt like he could trust this boy.

“How long are you staying?”

“Not long. I’ve never been down south and I have some relatives I want to visit there.” 

Taemin bit his lip. “You’re welcome to tag along with me if you want…I’m heading that way until I find a place to stay at for a bit.”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “You’re serious? I get to travel with you?”

“If you want, or at least until you get to the place you’re going to.” Taemin smiled at him, giggling when the boy nodded and reached for his hand.

“Thank you! Thank you, Hyung! I promise I won’t be a bother to you!”

Taemin only nodded in reply. He promised he’d wake the boy when the train stopped and they were at their stop. He quickly pulled out his phone and emailed Jonghyun, excitedly telling him of his new friend. Both Jinki and Kibum would pitch a fit if they knew a fan was tagging along with him, but as he typed his words, he found out something. During that entire time, he hadn’t thought about Jinki once. In fact, his chest felt a bit freer, like he could breathe a bit easier.

THE NEXT MORNING:

Jonghyun chuckled to himself as he read the email Taemin had sent him last night.

Hi hyung!

I’m on my train to Ansan and I’m not going to lie, I met the sweetest fan ever. He was so cute when he blushed and asked if he could call me hyung! He was heading my way anyway, so I told him he could tag along with me until he got to his original destination. We talked for so long and guess what…I actually didn’t think about Jinki or Minho during that entire time.

I don’t think it means I moved on…but maybe it’s the start of me letting go? I’m not quite sure. I hope things are all right there…is Umma planning to come after me? Are they all still fighting?

I checked in with manager-hyung as well and he sounded okay. Are you okay? Thank you again…the fact that you’re supporting me and letting me make my own choices makes me…feel happy. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m 21 and I’m able to be in charge of my own choices. I feel like I would disappoint you all if I’m not responsible.

Anyway, the train is about to arrive soon and I promised Jihun I’d wake him up so we can get on the next train in time. I think I’ll be heading down towards Daejeon. I really want to go to Busan as well. We have a couple of hours before the train to Daejeon heads out so I’ll explore and call you. I promise.

Bye hyung!

-Taeminnie

Well, he certainly wanted to head south. He chuckled and signed, knowing he didn’t have to reply. Taemin would call him if he needed it.

He was the only one up right now, and he was still thinking about the boy’s words. So he forgot about Jinki and Minho…even if it was for just a bit? That was a good start for him. He wondered what his fan looked like and how he was able to take his mind off the two.

“Morning, Jonghyun.”

The singer looked up to see Jinki entering the kitchen, his eyes exhausted as he reached for a cup to have some coffee. Since Taemin was gone, SHINee was on a break for a while and the members pursued solo activities. No one would promote without the maknae, and their CEO had agreed.

Jonghyun looked at his phone, “Morning, Hyung.”

“Do you have a schedule today?” Jinki asked.

“No, I’m spending the day with Kibum before he has rehearsal for his subunit later tonight.”

Jinki slid a seat across from him, his hands around the warm cup. Jonghyun thought the leader looked miserable. If one didn’t know the situation, they would have believed that Taemin had been the one to end things with Jinki, not the other way around.

“Something on your mind, Hyung?”

Jinki shrugged, “It’s not the same without Taemin-ah here.”

So he did miss him. Interesting.

“Are things alright with Minho?”

Jinki nodded, “Fine, actually. He…misses Taemin, too.”

Jonghyun set his phone down. He hadn’t really had the chance to have a one on one conversation with Jinki during the chaos of all of this.  

“You don’t sound convinced.”

Jinki shook his head. “I think Minho just wants me to move on from Taemin.”

“And do you want to?”

At that, Jinki was silent. Jonghyun could read the leader like an open book. He felt guilty, looked miserable and probably felt just as conflicted as Taemin did.

“Hyung, I would tell you to it up and live with your choice, but I won’t. I only want everyone to be happy, and if Minho makes you happy…then be with him. But don’t play with Taemin’s heart. If you have any feelings left for our maknae, you'd better figure out what they are because Taemin is probably doing his best to sew up this wound and move on.”

Jinki blinked, nodding his head. “I don’t have anything left for him other than brotherly love.”

Jonghyun nodded, knowing it was a lie. He knew Jinki still loved Taemin. Minho was the one convincing Jinki otherwise.

But, he would stay out of it. This wasn’t his part to deal with. He had a job of watching out for Taemin and helping him. If Jinki wanted to reconnect with him, then that was up to him.

“Then be happy with Minho…it’s what you wanted. Taemin isn’t objecting to it, otherwise he’d still be here.” 

That hit Jinki hard and he slumped down against the table. Before Jonghyun could continue, Minho and Kibum silently walked in, ignoring the other. Minho sat down next to Jinki, wrapping his arm around the leader.

“Didn’t sleep well, Hyung?”

“N-neh, Minho-ah. I’m sorry.”

Jonghyun watched the rapper take the leader in his arms and he silently sighed. What a major love triangle. Next thing he knew Minho would be dumping Jinki for Taemin. He doubted THAT would ever happen. Taemin didn’t feel that way towards Minho.

Kibum quietly cooked breakfast for the four, keeping his mouth tightly shut so he didn’t scream. Jonghyun grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. Taemin would come back, and who knows…maybe he’d be happier.