10

Everything was so perfect. After they had agreed to date, Miino lived his life happier than ever. It might sound exaggerated but he felt it that way. Taehyun was unexpectedly a good boyfriend. Even though he sometimes treat Mino like a girl but Miino was fine with it.

Taehyun would send his 'goodmorning' and 'goodnight' texts every day and night. He would wait for Mino every morning to have breakfast together and sometimes the younger boy even joined Mino's family for breakfast and dinner. He was sweet and his parents loved him.

Mino had asked Taehyun a lot of time about his parents and to go to his place but Taehyun would just shake his head and they would end up spending their time at Mino's place till dark.

They were being 'lovey dovey' too, as Jiho and Seungyoon described. They came to school together, had lunch together, did their club activities together, and left school together. They were always together, sometimes with Mino's friends and sometimes with Seungyoon, or both.

Everyone in the school also talked about them a lot. But mostly they would just see Mino and Taehyun as best friends. It was funny how when they were really together and people thought they weren't.

It started to snow. The weather was extremely cold. The scenery started to turn into white, or rather grey. Taehyun didn’t seem to like the weather, even though Mino thought winter suited Taehyun very well. Taehyun would just shook his head and said he prefered spring.

"Let's go on a date", the two boys were on their way to the bus stop. Taehyun was shaking a bit. He was wearing a black coat but it didn't seem to help. He pulled up the collar of the coat to cover his neck from the cold.

"What? Now? It's freezing, hyung. I wanna go home", Taehyun cried out and Mino could hear that the boy's voice was shaking a little. He took off his scarf and wrapped around Taehyun's neck, while he continued talking. Taehyun just let his boyfriend do so.

"Yeah, now. Let me buy you some present", Mino smiled brightly. Luckily he wore a sweater inside his blazer and a long coat so he was sure he could bear the cold better than Taehyun.

"What present? Christmas? Hyung, it's only the fifteenth", Taehyun chuckled as he pulled up the scarf to cover his chin. "But it's fine, I guess. And you lend me your scarf too.”

Just like that, Mino went on the bus with Taehyun and they decided to go to the nearest mall. It was crowded, probably everyone also came here to avoid the coldness. Taehyun got a hot chocolate for himself then they started to do some shoppings.

Mino bought a new scarf for Taehyun. "You wear that. I want to wear yours", it unexpectedly came out from Taehyun's mouth. Mino was happy, really happy. He wondered will Taehyun let him hold his hand. He wanted to hug and kiss the boy so much but they were in public so he was sure Taehyun would be mad if he did any of that.

They continued to walk along the hallway, having a great time. It was simple but they were together, that made it special. Taehyun looked like he was having a great time too. The younger boy was talking and laughing along with his silly jokes. His laughter was what Mino loved the most. Taehyun was not a guy who laughed a lot, so Mino liked seeing the boy laughed because of him.

And when it was dark, around 8pm, they decided to head back home. And Mino's heart raced when Taehyun secretly held his hand when they were sitting together. He entwined his fingers with Taehyun, feeling the heat from both of their hands.

"Can I go to your place?", Mino asked quietly and Taehyun simply shook his head, again. Taehyun always refused to bring Mino to his home. It happened every time Mino asked and he started to doubt, "Why?"

"There's nothing to do at my place", Taehyun mumbled. He was looking outside the window like he was trying to avoid Mino's eye contact. But it could be only Mino's thought since Taehyun was looking outside the whole time they were on the bus.

"I just want to meet your parents", Mino spoke softly. He let go of Taehyun's hand and put it in the pocket of his coat. Taehyun turned to look at his hand and then Mino.

"Don't sulk. I'm not ready to introduce you to my family. Not now", he rested his head on Mino's shoulder and link his arm with Mino’s and rested his head on Mino’s shoulder. Lucky for Mino that no one was on the bus but them so that was why Taehyun was being a bit clingy. "I'll stay at your place tonight", and that made Mino stop sulking and smiled like a crazy man again. The boy was something mysterious. He could raise up his anger, and also calm him down. He could wake him up with a smile and put him to sleep with his voice. Everything he did affected him in someway.

They were confused when they found the place was empty. But after Mino saw a sticky note on the fridge written with his mom's handwriting, his heart raced fast.

"We're going to your grandmother's place and will come back after a day or two. Make sure you study and look after yourself. Mom", Taehyun read the written message and looked at Mino with a smirk. "I think you won't be studying will you?" No, he didn't.

-----

Mino could feel the warmness differently from every morning. He slowly opened his eyes finding the view so bright and blurry. He stretched his body and shifted it to feel the weight on his bare chest. He looked down and met with the sweet and calm sleeping face of his lover. Taehyun was still sleeping, using his chest as a pillow.

He combed the messy brown locks with his fingers gently not to wake the boy up. He could remember perfectly what happened last night and couldn't suppress a smile. He circled his fingers on Taehyun's smooth shoulder, remembering how it felt like to finally had the chance to touch it, kiss it, feel it.

"Umm, hyung, it tickles", Taehyun mumbles as he shifted himself and wrapped his arms around Mino's body. His eyes were still close but Mino could see that he was smiling.

"Did you sleep well?", he whispered softly while his hands gently put away the brown locks covering the pretty face. The view was even better when Taehyun finally opened his eyes.

"I guess", the younger boy answered with a raspy voice.

"How is your body?",

"Not okay", Mino felt a bit, just a bit guilty for what had happened. He was glad they finally had a chance to do it, even though it caused Taehyun some trouble.

Taehyun slowly stretched himself like a cat and he let out a whine. Mino didn't respond. He just lied still and admired the pale body that covered with red marks, especially around the inner arm tattoo that he finally saw it. He felt proud.

"How many girls have you been with?", Taehyun suddenly asked while he fixed his hair and staring straight at Mino. Mino pouted. He didn't understand why Taehyun wanted to know about his past. That was not the first time Taehyun asked about it. He stayed silent.

"Hyung... Don't tell me that you are a ? Am I your first??", Taehyun's eyes widened and also his mouth. Mino almost choked.

"No! For 's sake. I just don't want to talk about it!", his voice was loud almost like he was  yelling. Taehyun laughed and he started to get pissed for some reason. But after seeing Taehyun cutely rolled himself on the bed, snuggling in the warm blanket, his anger disappeared.

"You are hot. It would be strange if you've never got laid", Taehyun became quite talkative after they had been dating for almost a month. Mino was happy about that. It was like he became someone that Taehyun was comfortable with, to talk and to share about all kinds of things.

Taehyun continued talking and Mino couldn’t help but hugged the boy tightly. He kissed the smooth skin and breathed in the bittersweet scent of the person he loved.

It was Saturday, so they didn't have to go to school, the home was empty so they could do whatever they want all day. Taehyun just lied on bed lazily wearing just his boxers and talked about things. Mino was also doing the same thing.

"Tell me about your band", was Taehyun's request. The younger boy had his tummy on the bed, hugging a pillow and focusing on what Mino was telling. Mino told the boy about his other members who were Jiho's friends, what kind of music they were working on, and that he wouldn't be in college.

"You are amazing...", the younger boy spoke softly as he listened to his boyfriend. His pale and cold hand reached out to gently cupped Mino's face. "Seeing you like this inspires me, hyung. I need to do something, or at least has it planned", then he moved closer, plant a light kiss on Mino's lips and hugged him tight.

Mino was smiling. He was happy he could feel so much love from Taehyun, from the boy who once he didn't even have any interest in. He ran his fingers through the boy's soft brown hair.

"I want to always be with you like this...", he whispered tenderly next to Taehyun's ear. "Please don't leave me no matter what. I will work hard for my dreams and I want you to be a part of it, Taehyun."

Mino could feel that Taehyun was smiling as he hummed as an answer. Taehyun didn't say anything but just hugged him tighter.

-----

Taehyun could tell the difference from before. Mino was less attached to him. He was upset, but he remembered the way Mino talked about his dreams, his band, so passionately, so he didn't want to be in the way. He had to be fine even if he was left alone.

It was lonely. Yes, he could feel the loneliness. He missed having a company, to be more exact, he missed Mino. But the older boy was busy with his friends, his band members he didn't know their names. Sometimes Mino would eat with him at lunch break. But not everyday like before. Mostly he would be alone and sometimes Seungyoon or Bobby joined him.

"Did you guys break up?", was so painful to hear. Taehyun felt the corner of his eyes getting hot, and his heart felt like it was stabbed with a sharp object. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure anymore. Mino ignored his calls and texts. The older boy would reply his texts after three or four days with,

I'm sorry I didn't reply you.

I'm tired. Let's talk later.

Mino would reply him really late at night, almost dawn, like 3-4am and it made him felt bad, guilty, for bothering him when he was working hard on what's important to him. So that was when Taehyun decided to stop. He should stop for Mino to fully focus on his dream. He waited, or more like he hoped, that Mino would be the one who called him when he had time.

He used to be alone and it didn’t bother him at all. It was nothing. He just had to live like before, alone. But it wasn’t easy anymore, since almost every hour of his life, he had Mino in it. He didn’t want to lose Mino. He had to be the perfect person who could fully support his lover’s dreams. That what kept him being loyal to Mino.

But he couldn’t do it forever, not like this. He felt like he was forgotten. He waited and waited for at least a short message, but nothing. He felt like he was just a normal person who used to be in Song Minho’s life. It was more painful than before, to see the person he loved so much could live his life happily, even happier without him. The older boy had his friends, his dreams. And he was completely fine without Nam Taehyun in his life.

Taehyun didn’t want to wait anymore. It was too painful. He was forgotten. He was hurt. And he couldn’t take the pain anymore. He didn’t want to sleep late at night expecting a goodnight or waking up early expecting a goodmorning. He didn’t want to eat alone and think about who he could be with, who he had always with. He wanted everything to stop. He didn’t want to think about Song Mino anymore.

Not anymore, not when the other one had already forgotten about him.

-----

Mino was so focused on his plan about the band with his friends, including Jiho and Jihoon. He barely met Taehyun at school and didn't outside of school. He didn't worry that Taehyun would be mad since the boy himself said that he fully supported Mino.

He stopped calling or texting Taehyun first for the first few months. He still replied his boyfriend sometimes. He did spend time with Taehyun like, once a month. They did nothing much, just being together on bed. Mino would tell him about what he was doing, how hard he was trying, and how much he want to succeed with his friends. And taehyun still confirmed his word that he would support Mino. Mino was glad that his Taehyun said he wanted the older boy to be happy and to have his dream come true.

But it got worse after he had graduated from high school for half a year.

Taehyun was completely forgotten. Mno was always with his band members. He moved out from his parent's roof and lived in a dorm with his the members. They all were eagerly practicing, writing songs and making their album together. Everything was perfect and he had in his mind that he didn't need to be worry about Taehyun. He didn't notice that there were no more call or text from Taehyun anymore.

It was like that for almost a year. The time that Song Mino lived without Nam Taehyun. He realized what happened when he was in a bad time. He couldn't be with the band that he loved. He couldn't be on the same stage performing with them. He couldn't proceed his dream that easily. And that was when he started  missing Taehyun again.

But it was too late.

He moved back to his parent's house, and Danah asked him about Taehyun. He froze as he slowly realized what he had done. He ruined the relationship, completely. He was selfish.

He looked at his phone screen, looked at the name of someone who was, or used to be his boyfriend that he loved so much, someone that he foolishly forgot. He was not sure whether Taehyun was still using his old number. But he texted the boy and he didn't received any response. So he tried calling the younger boy.

His heart beating fast and the memories from the past kept coming up in his mind. He miss the way Taehyun would greet him after he picked up his call. He miss hearing Taehyun’s breathing when he fell asleep during their late night phone calls. He missed Taehyun’s voice. He wanted to hear it again. He want the sweet voice to cheer him up like it used to do. He wanted it to comfort him, to put him to a goodnight sleep like before.  

The number you have reached has been changed to a non-published number.

And that almost made his heart stopped. No matter how many times he called he still heard the same message over and over again. No matter how many texts he had sent there were no replies. Mino wanted to run to Taehyun's place but he couldn't. He didn't know where the boy lived. And now that Taehyun had already graduated he didn't know where to find him.

It was like Taehyun just disappeared from his life. All he had was some of Taehyun's belonging when he had spent the night at Mino's place. His clothes were no longer had his scent. Nothing left. He had lost the one that he loved. He had lost the best thing in his life.

He could feel the warmness and wetness on his cheeks. His tears ran down and he couldn’t stop it. He didn’t want to stop. He was wrong and he couldn’t fix it. It was all his fault.

He was depressed. He couldn't do anything right. He was a mess for a year then he met a girl. A girl who would always be with him during his hard time. A girl who could lead him to find his happiness again. He was one of the most well-known underground rapper. That girl helped him sort things out and then they became a couple. Mino was back to his self again. He was happy. He could rap. He could dance. He could smile again. He could perform on a stage and his name was recognized and he could hear the crowd screaming it. The pain in his heart had disappear. His girlfriend, his rapper friends, his audience, all of that was able to ease the sorrow of losing someone so precious, losing Taehyun.

He forgot the time when he sat next to Taehyun during their art club activities.

He forgot the time when they would texted each other, learning more about each other.

He forgot the excitement when they would meet at the bakery before going to school.

He forgot that Taehyun could make him sad or happy so easily.

He forgot the feeling when they hang out together, sharing their common interests.

He forgot the bittersweet taste when they first kissed.

He forgot about when they first talked about their feelings toward each other.

He forgot how he was jealous when Taehyun wasn’t with him.

He forgot how happy he was when Taehyun admitted that they were dating.

And just like that. Everything went back to zero again.

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ps. the next chapter will be the last one.

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