~Chapter Nine~

Chance

Taemin's POV~

Maybe I won't make it out alive.

I hold onto the pocketknife tightly and flick it open. Maybe I won't get my umma out of here safety. I ready myself for an attack. Maybe...I'll accompany my father. I glimpse at my father's cold grave and think about all the possibilities. “How happy can a mother be, when she loses her child?” Ahjumma's voice echoes in my head. I can't die. I have to get my mother and I out of here.

I take a deep breath and charge forward. My fist meets the leader's face and knocks him onto the floor. He quickly gets up and his followers split up- half grabbing my mother, the other half approaches me. Using the knife isn't a good idea. If some reason I were to kill one of them, my mother would never be able to live happily. I throw knife and sigh. I would make a run for it, but leaving my mother isn't ideal. Might as well just try a whole bunch of moves I see people do in fights...

I perform a dollyo chagi and a man staggers back, holding onto his stomach. This time, I aim higher and axe kick the guy in the face. He falls over and accidentally knocks over the person next to him. While the last one is distracted, I step forward and punch him. Although it hurts my fist, I still manage to punch him a few more times. Unfortunately, the others stand up and some try to grab hold of me while the others try to strike a punch. Ouch. One of them managed to trip my foot while I was trying to punch someone back. I fall right on my back, giving the men a chance to attack me. I close my eyes as I expect a painful stomp. It never came.

I look up and see Minho hyung standing over me, stopping the attack by push kicking the man. He stumbles and is caught by the others. With this, hyung charges and jabs the man in the face. While hyung is doing so, I run and fight the men that are holding onto my umma. Fortunately, they weren't that good, so I managed to hurt them. I guess slightly working out in the past was worth it. My umma is free and I hug her, telling her to run home and lock her doors. “I can't leave you like this Taemin!”

“You have to! Or else I won't be able to fight and protect us both. I'll worry too much. You not being here will actually save me from getting distracted. Please umma! I can't lose you.”

“I love you.” She kisses my cheek and runs off. I turn around and charge the leader. I don't hesitate. I twist kick him and he quickly recovers. He stands up and faces me bravely.

“You caught me off guard, but I have a few moves myself, young fellow.” He spits. He does a side kick and I fall over, holding onto my side painfully. Instead of just imitating the moves I saw in fights, I aimlessly charge him. He grabs me and I jab him with my elbow. I again elbow him near the armpit area and he groans, crouching down. I thought he was done. I let my guard down and he back kicks me. I stumble and fall over. He raises his leg up high and swings it down, stomping down onto my stomach. I cry in pain and curl up. I seriously can't beat him.

“Taemin!” Hyung yells. I look up and see Minho hyung punch the man multiple times. The boss blocks most of them, but since hyung is younger, he has more stamina. The blocking weakens while Minho hyung attacks rapidly. He falls over and hyung helps me up. I thank him breathlessly and he smiles. The leader runs towards us with the blade I had thrown away earlier.

“Watch out!” I yell and push hyung to the side. The blade punctures me easily and the leader stares at me with opened eyes. I groan and hold onto his hand, still gripping onto the blade. He pulls the knife out in shock and staggers away. I look down and see the sickening red liquid ooze out of the wound. I look at Minho hyung who has been pushed onto the floor. It is as if everything is in slow motion. He gets up and runs towards me. I slowly lose my energy and my knees buckle. Hyung catches me and slowly the world around me blurs. I look up and see hyung's worried face. His eyes are wide, his eyebrows are furrowed, his mouth is slightly parted, and his hands and holding onto mines tightly. I'm glad he's safe...I think, as I fall into darkness.

Minho's POV~

Please, oh please be safe. I repeat in my head for the umpteenth time. I walk back and forth in front of the door. How can I stand still when my dongsaeng has just been stabbed in place of me? Not to mention that I just discovered that he is the same person I was friends with before. Lee Taemin I knew years ago and the Lee Taemin I am friends with now are the same person! I can't believe I was too naïve to realize it earlier. He has been lying to me from the time I met him this year. The times when he asked if I knew Taemin and if I had to do with his death...were they all tests? Was he testing our friendship? How can I not recognize him?

I hit my head, annoyed. My memories of him have never returned and I only found out about him when I was looking through my past yearbooks. Of course my umma crossed out his face, but I still was able to find one of his pictures. I apparently hid that picture there since I always thought of Taemin as a close friend. The only reason I saw the picture was because I was taking out the old pictures and secretly replacing it with an image of Jonghyun, Key, and Onew a few months before we switched schools.

Of course I knew about the name “Lee Taemin” since my mother has told me many tales about him and I- how he corrupted me, how he threatens my shining future. “Do you actually think he corrupted you hyung?” Taemin has asked me this a few days before he lost his memory. “If your umma told you that she wants someone killed, then will you do it?” At that time, I thought he was just wondering what type of person I was...“If your mother were to tell you she wanted me out of your life, would you eliminate me?” If only I knew...

Since my mother works at Key's parents' company, I found out a few secrets...Secrets that I regret finding out. Thanks to it, I no longer respect my parents. I found out about Taemin's dad when I was talking to people to find out about the dead Taemin. I found the grave and found out how he died. My father worked at the company once. In an accident, he gave Taemin's appa a heart attack and he died. Taemin's family were rich once, but due to the sudden death and some arrangements they became poor. Afterward, I would visit the grave once every week and talk to him. I would promise Taemin's late father that I will find his wife and protect her, replacing the deceased Taemin.

Now that I found Taemin's mother and now Taemin's true identity, I have one more thing to do. I have to find out about his accident. The school has no records of his death and I am sure it wasn't just because of a sickness. Onew and Jonghyun never told me anything...Maybe, just maybe, Taemin's death was set up. What if my mother and father have done things even worse than just accidentally killing Taemin's father? What if my parents made them move away and just make up the death? But why? “Taemin trusted you! He thought you were his friend!” Taemin has said this to me before he fell in front of that car...What does he know...or at lease did. If Taemin- no, he will...When Taemin survives this and his memories return, I will help solve his past issues. If so, he and I can mend our old friendship, and maybe I can get my memories back in the process.

Taemin's POV~

My eyes flutter open and the bright light makes my head hurt slightly. I can feel the IV needle on my arm and I can't feel much pain. A nurse steps in and calls the doctor. He explains to me that they have morphine in the IV as well, so for now, I won't have to suffer the pain. Luckily, I wasn't stabbed in a vital area, so there is nothing too serious about my injury. The reason for me getting unconscious was because I lost a lot of blood. The police asked me a few questions and will have a meeting with me when I recover. I'm planning to just forget about it. I bet those men won't ask for the money anymore. I mean, they could have killed me. If it wasn't for Minho hyung- where's Minho hyung?

“May I come in?” Hyung asks. I hum a yes and he enters quickly, scanning me from head to toe. “Are you okay? Is anything hurting? What did the doctors say? Are you thirsty? Should I get you some water?”

“Hyung, please calm down.” I smile. “I'm fine for now. It wasn't fatal. They have pain relievers in the IV and I can't feel much pain right now.”

“Thanks goodness.” He sighs with relief. “So how long will it take you to recover?”

“They said I'm fairly healthy and since it wasn't fatal, it might take three to four weeks to heal.”

“Thank you.”

“For what hyung?”

“For protecting me.”

“We're friends. You were helping me out, remember?” I smile.

“Where's your mother?”

“Umma?” I pause for a second. “Omo, I have to call her! I told her to get into the house and lock the doors. She must be worried sick!”

“Here.” He passes me my phone. “I was just holding onto it for you.”

“Thanks hyung!” I dial her number and she picks up immediately.

“Son, where are you? You scared me to death! I thought they-” She starts sobbing.

“Umma shhh please don't cry.” I try to console her through the phone. Eventually, she stops. “I'm just slightly injured right now-”

“Slightly?” Minho hyung whispers loudly.

“And I'll be home in a while.” I shush Minho hyung. “Please don't worry umma, Taeminnie is in good shape!”

“I'll believe you my love. Be safe okay?”

“You too umma, love you.”

“Love you.” She kisses the phone and I hang up.

“Such a liar.” He shakes his head.

“I'm not! I'm not seriously injured! Just a bit weak and lousy, but not too bad!”

“You are the death of me.” He chuckles.

Truthfully speaking, I am not a fighter so I just did some research on Taekwondo moves and some other fighting moves >.< If anything was horribly written, please forgive me!~ Stabbing has no exact recover time, so I did research and 3-4weeks fits Taemin's situation more. The wound isn't fatal and he is healthy and young~

Comments are LOVED~ <3