Enter: You, 16 years old.
Enter Taemin, 16 years old.

"We have a photoshoot tomorrow morning at a place near here, so it's no trouble for us." You recalled Minho's words from last night helping you wake up. 

Yesterday, the shining boys sang to you and helped you study, walked you home, and shared laughter with you. Today, they had a photoshoot that probably made them look fierce. To thank them, you borrowed the kitchen for the day to make them a nice surprise, just like they did. You weren't great in the culinary arts, but at least you knew how to make cupcakes without burning the bottom. 

To commemorate them, you made the icing into the closest pearlescent sky blue you could, making sure it was recognizable. 

When the cupcakes were ready, you decorated them with words of encouragement, like 'fighting!', 'go team go!' and 'the best!'. Now all you really needed to do was get ready to give it to them. 

"Taesun," you said through the phone. "I'm coming over in a bit!" 

He replied with a short, "Ohh," and hung up. It didn't surprise him or anything, since your visits were so frequent. 

How happy would they be when they saw the cupcakes? Does SHINee even like sweets? Should I bing a camera? Ran endlessly through your head while you showered. Nonetheless, you wanted to give them a small present, so cupcakes should be fine. 

"Taesuuuun~" you knocked at the front door. "Oppa, I'm here!"

The door clicked open and Taesun peeked out. Usually, he would just open the door, like anyone would. Why is it this time, he gave you a weak smile? 

"Ya, are you sick? And I just brought cupcakes!" you teased, tapping him on the shoulder. 

"Why'd you make them?" he asked, helping you put them onto the table. 

"For Shinee." you answered. He should have known it was going to be for SHINee, right? He was Taemin's brother, he should be aware of his schedule. After the photoshoot, they'd come home and then run off again to whatever schedule they had to attend, right? 

Instead of ackowledging it, he opened the foil cover that you placed on top of the cucpake case and looked at all of the pastries you made. He didn't comment. "Taesun... do they really look that bad?"

He shook his head, closing the container again. "So he didn't tell you?" 

...Tell me what? You thought, furrowing your brows together. "Were they going to be late?"

He shook his head, looking side to side. He was finding some way to explain it, but how hard could it be? It's not like you were strict about time like your teachers were.

"It was delayed?" 

He shook his head again, not really knowing what to do. "Ehhh.." he began, scratching the back of his head and avoiding your gaze.

"It hasn't started?"

He sighed in exasperation. He touched your shoulder, as if he was trying to relieve you. 

"What is it, Taesun?" 

"Ah well... they left already."

"I was planning to give it to them after the photoshoot, anyway." you assured him, placing your own hands on his shoulders in a similar fashion.

"....photoshoot?" he asked. Huh? Taesun didn't know about the photoshoot?

You responded slowly, trying to remember what Minho told you last night. "They had a photoshoot in the morning, so I made cupcakes for them for later this afternoon. You know, to congratulate them...?" 

"They... didn't have a photoshoot." he responded, his tone surprisingly honest. "Didn't he tell you he would leave?" 

You swallowed. Taemin leaving means a few months without him, again. Taemin gone means watching them from afar again. Him gone means back to phone calls and no visible smiles. "Where...? And will he be back in around three months like last time?"

Taesun let go of your shoulder. Instead, he played with your hair, like an older brother does. Instead of the playful intention that usually came with the ruffling of hair, his eyes were tinged with a lonely feeling. "They went to Japan." 

Wasn't this good, then? He could bring home some cool things from Japan when he came back. He could cook something for his family from whatever he learned to make there. He could sing in Japanese, and maybe teach you a bit of it, too. So why was Taesun being so sad about it? "That's good, right?" You really didn't understand.

"Pabo." he called you, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "It means they're going to be there for more than a year. They're making a japanese debut." 

Oh. Oh.

So yesterday, that was... Taemin's goodbye present. When he sang to you and smiled at you, that was his goodbye. It's no wonder he wasn't able to answer most of the questions you asked him. He didn't have the heart to tell you he was leaving, again. Instead, he got Minho to lie for him, so you felt comfotable sleeping at night. They waited for you to finish your studies in school and walked you home because it was the last time you were going to see them after who knows when.

Taemin's korean debut took almost three years with minimal visiting. Now that he was a professional performer, it might take less than that, but with no visiting or calling. Visiting would only cost too much all at once, while calling would be too much of a hassle because the only time he would ever really be free was at night. With you graduating soon, there was no time for any of that since studying would only become harder near the end of the year. 

So last night, the best of nights, when the beautiful shining boys performed for you, that was farewell. 

It was Taemin's goodbye.