Taemin didn't even bother going home first. He turned right around and traveled the long road back to the mansion. He couldn't believe Minho had it wrong the entire time. He couldn't believe that the answer was very simple and very much within reach. The longer he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Minho had been selfish and heartless. He never cared about what other people wanted or needed, only what he could get for himself. To love someone - to truly love someone - he would have to put them first. He would have to be willing to give up anything for them. Even his life. As Krystal said, that was love in its truest essence.

Minho had put him first. He gave up what he wanted for Taemin's own good. He might not be in love with him, but that simple gesture meant something. It meant there was hope, and he had to let Minho know that.

It was starting to rain by the time he reached the mansion. A heavy storm was fast approaching, but he managed to beat it.

The gate to the property was left wide open. He ran through, up the long cobblestone path, and to the mansion's door. He threw it open and ran into the empty, dark foyer. "Minho!" he yelled. "Minho, where are you? I'm back!"

He was starting to climb the stairs when Jinki appeared from the kitchen. "Taemin," he said simply. He wasn't nearly as surprised as he expected him to be. It was like he knew he was going to come back, and he didn't look very happy about it.

"Where's Minho? I have something to tell him. To tell you all," he said, excited.

"He's in the lounge, but Taemin--"

"Great! Get the others," he told him, before pulling away from his grasp and running the long way to the lounge. No doubt Minho was inside moping about his curse and how much he missed him. He wondered how surprised he would be to see him returned.

"Minho!" he said as he burst through the door.

He froze in his tracks. Every elated emotion vanished in an instant. Instead, he was afraid. And full of dread.

Minho was there in the lounge, but he wasn't alone. Naeun was with him.

"Taemin!" she cried in relief and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. He was too confused to respond to her. He automatically returned her embrace, all while looking at Minho and his hard, unreadable expression.

"Naeun, what are you doing here?" he asked, pulling her back so he could look her in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Taemin. I just couldn't sit there and do nothing!"

"What's going on?" he now asked of Minho. He could see it on his face. Something had transpired in his absence.

"I made a deal with Minho. I agreed to stay with him if he set you free."

"What?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Minho finally met his gaze, ready for whatever consequence there would be for taking advantage of his sister. "You bastard!"

He broke away from Naeun and lunged at him, throwing all of his weight into the man and slamming him back against the wall. "After everything I did for you!"

"Taemin, please," Naeun begged of him.

"Uh oh," Kibum said as he stumbled in on the tense situation. "This is awkward."

"Kibum, get her out of here," Taemin ordered the magician, leaving no room for argument. The man obviously understood the sensitivity of the situation, and the fact that Taemin didn't want her to see him murder Minho.

"Uh, why don't you come with me?" Kibum suggested with an awkward smile, while stepping into the room and trying to coax Naeun out of there without touching her.

"Taemin," she started.

"Go!" he snapped.

Reluctantly, she complied, following the magician out of the room. Kibum had the sense to close the door after her, leaving both Taemin and Minho alone together.

"You son of a ," Taemin said as he let him go. There was no insult worth sparing at the moment. "Krystal was right about you. You haven't changed at all."

"I have no intention of hurting her or causing her any form of discomfort, Taemin. You know that."

"I believed you!" he yelled, "I honestly believed you had changed."

"What did you expect me to do? She came willingly to my doorstep."

"You could have told her I was already gone. Or did she come here before I even left? Was that why you sent me away in the first place? Because you no longer needed me?"

"She showed up after you left. Ask Jinki, he was the one who found her."

"Then why didn't I see her on my way home? Why didn't we cross paths?"

"You think I know? Ask her."

"I can't believe you," Taemin said, getting back to the matter at hand. For a moment, he just stood there, not sure what words to barrage him with first. "She's my sister," was all he said in the end.

"And I would love her."

"You can't love her!" he snapped, "You're apparently not capable of it!"

"I am! You just need to give me the chance."

"This was your chance! You blew it, Minho. I can't believe I came back for you."

His gaze softened, like he just realized that was the reason for his return.

"You weren't worth the effort. You deserve every night you spend trapped in this mansion," Taemin said, and that statement seemed to hurt Minho the most, but he was unaffected by his pain at the moment.

He paused, letting Taemin’s anger and his painful words sink in. "But she's my chance at freedom."

"You'll never be free if you continue like this. Don't you understand that?"

"I don't know how else to live! I was born selfish. I'm a selfish man and a selfish beast and I don't know how to be anything else."

He looked very pitiful then, on the verge of tears. He honestly believed he couldn't be better. He honestly believed his disposition was to be forever selfish. To be forever trapped in that mansion.

"Yes, you do," Taemin replied, "You can be a better person, Minho, but you have to choose to be. Making someone fall in love with you is not going to do it for you."

"I know, but I just...I just wanted the chance to try," he said.

Taemin sighed, as his anger subsided enough for him to feel sorry for the cursed man. He knew he couldn't be indifferent to his pain for very long. "She's my sister, Minho. She could love you more than I do, but that still wouldn't set you free."

Minho lifted his head and looked at him, confused. "You love me?"

He hadn't intended for it to come out that way. He was also a little surprised that that was what Minho had taken away from the sentence. "Well yeah. Why do you think I came all the way back here? You're my friend. I wanted to help you."

Minho looked away again as he tried his hardest to battle his emotions and the tears that were a long time coming. As much as Taemin pitied him, he knew there really was nothing he could do for the man. He needed to understand what love was all on his own.

"There's a storm coming. We'll stay the night here, but in the morning, I'm taking my sister home."

He figured everything that needed to be said was said. He turned from Minho and went back to the door, ready to track down Kibum and find out just where he had taken his sister. He didn't get it open before Minho grabbed him, pulling him into a tight embrace from behind.

"I'm sorry," he said softly as he sobbed against his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Taemin could only sigh. He was still angry, but he couldn’t remain callous to his pain. He couldn’t ignore the fact that he was hurting, "Oh, Minho..." he said as he patted his head, trying to sooth him in some way, "Don't cry."

A/N: Not the romantic reunion you were all expecting, was it? Mwahahaha!

Those two never have romantic reunions. Minho, will you ever learn? lol

Comments and all are appreciated. <3