When Taemin logged back into the game the next day, he was in a sour mood. His shifts at work were lengthening and he was positive it was because his mother had called and asked for her son to have more hours. His boss was only too happy; the rich couple's wealthy son at the front cash really brought in customers - mostly females who cooed over him from behind their cups of prepared froyo which made him a little uncomfortable - but he pocketed the extra cash he was making to save for more game equipment figuring that was at least the only upside to taking on extra hours. He was exhausted because even if he worked a full day he still made time to log on before he went to bed, but it was always worth it getting to see Kibum's face before he fell asleep.

That being said, he was still in a sour mood because as soon as he'd logged on and dragged his character out of bed and into the living room, he'd found Kibum sprawled out on the couch in an awkward position, hair previously neatly combed now astray and his jacket half off, as though he made an attempt to remove it before he laid down but fell asleep in the middle of it. He had one boot off, the other kicked off long ago and laying by the door, and his entire aura reeked of alcohol. He was sleeping with such a peaceful expression though, so Taemin left him there opting to go grab him some Advil for when he awoke.

As he was setting the pills by the table near Kibum's figure with a glass of water, he noticed Kibum's phone - still clutched in his palm - vibrating and lighting up so he peeled it away from Kibum's hand and stared at the screen. 'Old Man'. 'Definitely Jonghyun', Taemin thought. He tapped the front of the screen to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Kibum holy I've been calling you for hours where the hell have you been where are you are you -"

"Hyung, it's me. Kibum's asleep on the couch at home."

"Taemin? Oh god he's okay? Usually even if he spends the whole night out he still calls me to let me know where he is I'm gonna kill him because he didn't answer." Taemin stifled a chuckle as he balanced the phone between his shoulder and ear, moving to the kitchen to wash the dishes left in the sink from the night before.

"It looks like he just passed out as soon as he got in, he's still on the couch in the living room and his jacket's still on and everything."

"That idiot," Jonghyun mumbled and Taemin heard him sigh heavily. He figured Jonghyun had to put up with Kibum's antics a lot and it stressed him out to the max. "He'll be ing about a hangover when he wakes up, and I won't be home to baby him for hours yet."

"Where are you? Didn't you say you were coming home last night?" Taemin asked.

"Yeah, I did. I came home but you were already in bed so I ate and slept for a few hours but I had an early shift today and I needed to run some errands before that so I left early. I've been calling Kibum since I left the apartment this morning to see if I could pick him up and bring him home before work started but I guess he came in after I left. What time is it now?" Taemin glanced at the clock on the stove to his right.

"It's half past nine."

"Well I left at around five this morning so he must've wandered in sometime after that, before you woke up. I can't believe him sometimes, honestly. He doesn't look like he got beaten up or anything, right?" Taemin giggled a little at the hint of worry in Jonghyun's voice.

"Nah, hyung, he's just passed out is all. I laid out some Advil for him for when he wakes up."

"You'll need to make him tea, too. Jasmine, with honey. There should be teabags in the cupboard above the sink; let it steep until it's really strong and put a teaspoon or two of honey in there, you know where it is. Squeeze a slice of lemon in there too; weird, I know, but he says it 'cuts through the grogginess of his hangover' or some other weird . Anyways, I gotta go man, sorry for him, he'll be pretty cranky when he wakes up, too." Taemin turned the faucet off, toweling his hands dry as he reached for the teacups and teabangs over the sink.

"It's okay, I don't mind. Talk to you later, hyung."

"Thanks, Taem, I owe you one." They hung up after that and Taemin prepared a tray with everything Jonghyun told him to.

"Jasmine tea...steeped strong...teaspoon of honey...there's something else, what am I forgetting...?" Taemin mumbled to himself as he bustled around the kitchen. A groggy voice from the living room momentarily started him.

"The lemon, don't forget the lemon." Taemin looked back over to the couch where Kibum was to find the older boy sitting upright, lazily rubbing at his eyes and running his fingers through his hair. His voice was cracky - a dry throat dampening his usual booming voice - and his eyes were squinting at the fluorescents.

"Right, the lemon." Taemin swiftly cut a fresh lemon into thin slices, placing a few on a saucer and then putting the plate on the tray. He made his way over to Kibum who was already gulping down the Advil and water. Kibum looked up at him gratefully as Taemin set the tray down and took a seat next to him.

"Thanks, man, it smells good." Kibum took a few slow sips, face immediately changing from groggy to more alert. He dropped a lemon slice into the cup and set it down in front of him, bringing his legs up to rest under his chin. "Sorry about coming in so late." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. Taemin's eyebrows raised as he gripped his controller from the gameroom. He felt silly, about to chastise his elder over coming home late after a party when Kibum continued, "I promised myself I'd try to be back before you went to bed or at least be awake before you were. I guess I got...a little carried away."

Memories of the conversation they'd had yesterday flooded Taemin's brain and he was welcomed with the same uncomfortable feeling wallowing in his stomach that he'd experienced in bed yesterday. Kibum had gone out last night and not come home until the morning. Different scenarios of where Kibum might've slept or who he might've slept with clouded Taemin's brain and he shook his head, trying to will the thoughts away. It was too early in the morning for this.

"Yeah, it's okay hyung. At least you're home now, did you call Jonghyun hyung?"

"Crap...I didn't even remember. , he must be so pissed eh?" Kibum chuckled a bit and Taemin felt the corners of his own mouth twitch up.

"Yeah, he had to teach me your hangover routine for when you woke up. He went to work already." Kibum looked sheepishly over at Taemin, mumbling apologies.

"That guy...he works himself too hard. He doesn't need to work as much as he does to keep us afloat, and I know he takes on the extra hours because he really loves his job but...he doesn't need to." Taemin suddenly felt a little bad, wondering if the reason Jonghyun was taking on more shifts was because the pair now needed to accommodate Taemin's living expenses in addition to their own. As if reading his mind, however, Kibum spoke up again, "It's not your fault, I hope you're not thinking that." Taemin smiled.

"Why do you always know what I'm thinking?" He said, shaking his head and smiling to himself. Kibum grinned.

"Because I'm your superior hyung, obviously." Taemin rolled his eyes and stood up, stretching his arms above his head, his tank top riding up to show a sliver of skin. He grinned watching Kibum's eyes land on his stomach, then dart back up when his hands came down to rest at his sides.

"I'm sure you look at all the girls like that, hyung." He teased as he reached for Kibum's now-empty teacup to bring to the sink. Kibum feigned shock.

"Oh please, I do not stare at -" He suddenly cut himself off and Taemin glanced back up at him from balancing dishes on the tray.

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" He laughed, but his giggled died down when he zeroed in on the serious expression on Kibum's face. "Kibum? You okay? I was just teasing I didn't mean -"

"You arm." Kibum's mouth was set in a firm, hard line, his eyes fixed on Taemin's left arm. Taemin set the tray back down and glanced at his arm. Nothing was wrong with it. It looked the same as it always had. He twisted it around and then back again looking for a blemish or cut or burn or something but there was nothing. Surely if Taemin's character had been wounded he would know immediately. But there was nothing.

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at his elder. Kibum's eyes travelled up to meet his and his gaze was hard, making Taemin uncomfortable.

"You know, I had my suspicions, but I figured you were just a weird kid or something, a drifter. That maybe you were just secretive and gone a lot without letting people know but now I know I was right from the start." Taemin felt sweat bead on his brow as he gripped his controller tighter, hands growing clammy as he leaned closer toward the screen of the game, waiting for Kibum to finish. His voice trembled a bit as he spoke.

"Kibum, what are you talking about?" Kibum responded by shrugging his jacket off and throwing it onto the floor. He began ing his shirt and wrist cuffs, shrugging it off and throwing it over the couch armrest. Taemin felt his face heat up as Kibum's bare chest was revealed, but suddenly Kibum was pointing to his own left arm.

"The citizen number. You don't have one." Taemin stilled. He looked back down at his bare bicep, unmarked with the code number, and he realized he was ed. He didn't have a citizen number because he didn't need to be accounted for in the game system since he wasn't a permanent member because he wasn't a program.

"Kibum, wait a second, I can -"

"You're not a citizen. I suspected it from the start but I didn't have enough evidence. Now I do. You're not a program, you're an outside player." Kibum's stony gaze pierced straight through Taemin.

He was so ed.

***

Taemin had spent the entirety of the morning trailing after Kibum throughout the apartment as the latter went about his daily activities, trying and failing to have a conversation with him only to be met with the cold shoulder each time he tried. Kibum had been incredibly angry, more so over Taemin keeping his identity a secret than him actually being an outsider which astounded Taemin to say the least, but currently the older boy still wasn't speaking to him which upset Taemin to no ends. He was pulling his hair out trying to figure out how to explain himself.

"Hyung, it's not that I didn't want to tell you, I just thought you wouldn't understand! I thought you'd hate me for being an outside player because you technically don't know me!" At this, Kibum stilled, then his heel and marched straight up to Taemin. Given that Kibum was now paying attention to him, Taemin should've been happy but he was anything but as he watched Kibum's glare threaten to slice him in half.

"I don't know you? Oh, so now the months you've spent living in my apartment in my space with my roommate equates to 'not knowing you'? That's rich, Taemin, that's so ing rich. Who the hell are you then, huh? Why don't you tell me because I'm so out of the loop right now since I apparently know nothing about you!" Kibum dramatically flopped onto the couch across from Taemin, slinging a leg over his thigh and crossing his arms indignantly. Taemin could tell he was still fuming and he had maybe five minutes before Kibum boiled over again so he quickly sat down and started babbling.

"Kibum, hyung, c'mon you know it's not like that. I'm still me, I'm Taemin, I'm that awkward fifteen year old kid you've been housing for like seven months who mooches off your food and wakes you up in the morning and I'm still the Taemin that you gossip too about Jonghyun hyungs music and who tries to keep you home from parties and I'm still me. I'm just...not me." Kibum's eyebrows furrowed and he looked visibly agitated.

"Taemin honestly, what the ." Taemin groaned and pulled at his hair roots trying to think of a way to articulate what he was thinking.

"Kibum, it's still me. Except this body...isn't me. I mean it is, like, I made the avatar so it would look like me but this body you're seeing isn't actually me! My hair color's a bit different, I'm a little taller in person to be honest, I don't think I'm this skinny..."

"Taemin. What are you even ing saying, this IS you in person."

"Kibum, I'm an outsider player. The real me is literally sitting in my house holding  a game controller and controlling this body. This voice is my real voice because I'm using a headset but it probably sounds a little more distorted than it really is. This body you're seeing...it's a computer player. The Taemin you know is sitting at home...in another dimension." He paused, crossing his fingers tightly in his lap knuckles turning white as he waited for Kibum's response.

He didn't expect Kibum to burst out laughing.

"Hyung? Are you okay?"

"Oh god, I am so hungover. You're ing with me."

"Kibum, I'm not joking around. I'm serious." Kibum's eyes locked with his again, all traces of laughter vanishing from the older boy as he took in Taemin's serious, pleading expression. "Believe me, hyung, I wouldn't - I couldn't lie to you." Kibum seemed to consider what he was saying before exhaling in a soft sigh and tiredly looking back at him.

"Can we finish talking about this when Jonghyun gets home?" Taemin figured he shouldn't press the matter further so he nodded his head in agreement and trudged back to his room. Since officially moving into the apartment, the pair had converted their spare room in Taemin's bedroom so he wasn't sharing with Kibum anymore. Taemin had been crestfallen initially because he'd secretly loved sharing the small bedroom with Kibum and sharing the warmth of their backs pressed together in the night curled up under the same sheets, but now he couldn't be more thankful that he had his own space away from Kibum for the next few hours until Jonghyun came home. He would've felt so awkward sitting in Kibum's room with him. The older boy wouldn't tell him to leave but it would surely be uncomfortable.

The two continued to avoid each other until Jonghyun returned home in the late afternoon, arms laden with bags filled with food in tow. Taemin was startled when he heard the door slam shut, peeking his head out of his room to see Jonghyun marching into the kitchen area to set the bags down before hollering down Kibum's and Taemin's shared hallway.

"Hey brats, I brought dinner!" Jonghyun's voice boomed from the kitchen. Taemin slunk back into his room as he heard Kibum's door creak open; he figured he should give them their privacy for Kibum to talk to Jonghyun about him before he butted in. Kibum would confide in Jonghyun and Jonghyun would try to understand and then call Taemin in to explain himself and he'd be able to tell them this was all just one big misunderstanding -

"LEE TAEMIN?"

Maybe not.

***

Taemin's eyes were puffy and red, his nose leaking and his head throbbing with a headache. He rubbed at his watering eyes again with his shirtsleeve, sniffling pathetically and burrowing farther under the covers.

It'd been a rough few weeks. With spring in full gear again his allergies were kicking up and his entire body felt sore and sluggish as he pushed himself out of bed and slid his feet into the plush slippers by his bed. He lifted his body up and caught a glance of himself in the mirror at the end of his room; red nose and eyes and puffy cheeks in the morning sure did make him look like quite a sight. He groaned at his appearance and shuffled off to the bathroom to rinse his face and brush his teeth.

Taemin had taken a short hiatus from the game. He'd felt horrible after revealing his identity to Kibum and Jonghyun and the latter had taken the news way worse than Kibum had. Jonghyun had been pretty furious to the point where it nearly scared Taemin because he'd never seen any other side of Jonghyun except an outgoing happy personality. The Jonghyun that found out he was an outsider had yelled at him and looked on disappointedly at him as he said things like 'we thought you were one of us' and 'you're dangerous, I know the stories' and the like. Taemin had begged to know what kinds of stories Jonghyun heard because as far as he knew, Taemin had been playing the game for over a year now and he'd never met another outside player.

But Jonghyun hadn't budged, egging Taemin on to the point of breakdown and when Taemin had actually started crying, Kibum had begged Jonghyun to stop. Jonghyun had felt sorry then and kneeled down to face Taemin but he hadn't closed the gap between them and hugged Taemin in apology like he might've before. He just shook his head slowly and said his goodbyes and that he wanted Taemin to leave their apartment.

Their dinner had sat getting cold on the kitchen breakfast bar as Kibum teared up while Taemin packed his bag in his room. At the door he'd tried to offer more explanations but mostly apologies and 'I'll miss you's' had tumbled out of his mouth before he'd walked out of the apartment, the door locking for the first time behind him. He'd logged off immediately after and cried all that night alone in the gameroom before waking up the next morning still laying on the hardwood floor. He'd felt so isolated because he felt the first real friends he'd ever had were gone.

His entire life had been spent cooped up in his giant house; he wasn't allowed to go out unless it was extremely necessary (or for work) and he was always chaperoned. He'd never been able to make friends and even at work people treated him differently for his wealthy status. The game had felt more like home to him than his true life. The game had been the freedom his life never gave him. He'd been incredibly depressed after logging off and he hadn't played in a few weeks since then, much to his mother's happiness. Instead, he'd been working way more and his mother had hired a private tutor to come to their home and teach Taemin basic economics in hopes he'd grow interested in it enough to become more engaged in what would be his future career; taking over the family business.

All in all, Taemin was feeling more miserable than ever before. He knew not playing for several weeks probably equated to months in the game. He wondered if the two ever even thought about him anymore. Despite being angry, they'd both been sad to see him leave and it had been a difficult parting for all of them. Taemin missed them dearly, but he missed Kibum more. He missed spending time with the boy, listening to his obnoxiously loud laughter, his boisterous personality filling in the awkward gaps during their first introduction now nothing but a memory. Taemin desperately wanted to go back to them but he knew he wasn't welcome there. He was at a standstill. He didn't feel welcome in his own life and so he'd made the game his life and now he wasn't welcome there either.

Taemin trudged through the spring months fighting his allergies until summer was in full bloom and his birthday was on the rise. Taemin thought back to his last birthday and how Kibum had said he would've made him a cake. He wondered if Kibum even remembered that it would be his birthday soon, and if he did, did he even care?

Curiosity was what did it, Taemin believed. It was just curiosity that led him to walk the familiar path to the gameroom and unearth the console from the back of the closet where he'd stuffed it to avoid temptation to log back on. Curiosity led him to wonder whether they thought of him and it was curiosity that made him turn the game on.

He was compelled to check up on them even if he didn't interact with them but before he could even make his way to the apartment complex, he was approached by Sandy.

"Taemin? It is you! I couldn't tell from far away, it's been a very long time since I've seen you!" She smiled at him like she always had and he gave a half hearted grin in response.

"I've been...busy, I guess. How much time has passed in the game since I last logged in?"

"Almost eleven months or so now." Taemin had been right, it'd been almost a year in the game time. He'd only been gone a few weeks but Paradise Planet had experienced almost a year of time in his absence. Things would be different, he knew, but he still had to seek them out.

"I'm looking for Jonghyun and Kibum again...do they still live in the same apartment?" Sandy nodded slowly before a question drawled from her lips.

"Did they eject you from their residence?" He chuckled bitterly; she was always too polite about things.

"They kicked me out, yeah. Kibum found out I was an outside player and he told Jonghyun who kicked me out. So it's been a while since I've been there." Sandy sighed softly and twirled her brown ponytail between her fingers, chewing on her lip. Taemin thought this was the first time Sandy ever appeared so human to him before; previously she was always very poised and articulate in a way that made her seem like the computer program she was. Now she held so much more life; it made Taemin wonder how much he truly missed in his absence.

"Jonghyun has always been fond of extrapolating stories to fuel his feelings; always the ever emotional one, that guy." Taemin quirked an eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Jonghyun," she laughed, "likes to make up things about this World that makes him seem right. I bet he told you you were dangerous or a threat or something, right?" Taemin nodded. "That's just it. Before you, he's never met an actual outside player, he just said that because he's afraid of the unknown."

"So he's never actually experienced any of the 'bad outsider stories' he told me about?" Taemin asked in disbelief. Sandy shook her head.

"No, in fact, he doesn't even know I'm Tech Support." Taemin blanched.

"No way, but you said you guys have been friends for years!"

"We have, but he thinks I'm a recreational worker; that I have a job with the city. Technically, my job is with the city, he just doesn't know the details. I'm not an outsider player like you, I was manufactured with the game because I have a citizen code unlike you, but I coached you. I know even more about the nature of the World than you do. And he has no idea." Her shoulders drooped a little and Taemin could tell it was a burden to carry; keeping secrets from friends is always difficult.

"Why did you never tell him?" She laughed but it held a sour tone to it.

"I knew he'd react much in the same way he did when he found out you were an outsider. He might take the news even worse because I've known him longer and I'm almost worse than an outside player." Taemin frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with being an outside player, though..." Sandy placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently for comfort. His character's face relaxed at the contact and she smiled softly.

"We know that, but like I said, Jonghyun's just wary of things he doesn't know much about. The true challenge is educating him on it. Which I assume you're on your way to attempt?" He nodded and she released his shoulder. "I bid you luck, Taemin. Shall you need me, you need only to call. It might be time Jonghyun learned the true nature of my job as well." She bid him farewell with a short wave and ambled away, ponytail swishing as she walked. At least Taemin knew he had his back unconditionally.

He swallowed down his nerves as he made his way to the apartment complex feeling bile rising in his throat as he entered the elevator. The first odd thing he noticed when the doors slid open again was that the door to their shared apartment had been repainted. It was no longer a dull ivory color, but a deep navy blue; the citizen number still bold on the front of the door: 324B21. Taemin hesitantly knocked twice before waiting. This time around there was no music blaring from the inside; the apartment hallway was silent save for the loud thumping of Taemin's heart in his chest. He tried knocking again, no answer, so he rang the small doorbell.

He was about to ring the bell again when the door finally swung open, hinges oiled to perfection so the door didn't creak upon opening it anymore. Even the face that met him on the other side of the door was unfamiliar.

It was Kibum, Taemin knew, but it was a different version of Kibum. Instead of his honey colored blonde, Kibum's hair had been bleached white to the color he remembered Jonghyun's to be, and had grown out enough to flop into a middle part. He mindlessly wondered if the elder's hair was still white before moving on to reappraise the rest of Kibum's face; he'd lost weight, that was for sure with his cheekbones even more prominent then they were before. His fashion sense really hadn't changed, at least that was the same. He'd gotten more ear piercings and his eyeliner was smudged on less heavily than he used to wear it. Even though time had passed, Taemin thought Kibum looked younger.

When Kibum realized who was standing in the doorway, his eyes widened and a hand clamped over his mouth. Taemin prepared for the worst; an onslaught of insults, perhaps a slap to the face. Even a threat to get out and never come back, so he was astounded when he was roughly pulled in the apartment, the door slamming behind them, Kibum pushing his body up against the younger's, the force of the embrace nearly knocking the wind out of Taemin.

Taemin could feel the wetness of Kibum's tears against his neck before he even started speaking so he just stood there awkwardly patting Kibum's back until the elder's quiet sobs subsided and Kibum raised his face to eye Taemin. Taemin opened his mouth but Kibum beat him to it.

"Where have you ing been? Oh my god get a phone! Taemin I'm so mad at you but I'm so relieved, I know it was our fault too, I shouldn't have overreacted and Jonghyun's been pretty upset with himself too, he's been working even more than before, honestly where have you been?!"

"I was -"

"Never mind that, what's important is that you're here right now, but maybe it's not the best idea for you to be here when Jonghyun gets back, we have like, an hour and a bit before he gets back, oh god, are you hungry or anything? Are you okay? Please tell me where you've been."

"Kibum, shut up, let me talk." Kibum immediately shut his mouth, ushering Taemin over to the couch. It was still white, but the apartment had been changed around for sure. Jonghyun's records had been rearranged neatly and Kibum's artwork was fairly scarce on the wall now. He imagined Kibum might've moved most of the pictures to his room but he didn't want to think about Kibum's bedroom right now so he fought to focus on the task at hand; explaining himself to Kibum. "There's some things I didn't get to tell you when I left that I really think you need to know."

"Of course, what is it?" Kibum reached over to grasp his hand. Taemin sat in his pajamas in the gameroom agonizing over how he couldn't feel Kibum actually holding his hand. His heart yearned to be closer to the older boy again and he knew that this time he couldn't back out. This time he would play the game all the way to the Tenth level Worlds. He had to. He needed to feel like he belonged somewhere again and he knew he belonged with Kibum and Jonghyun in that apartment.

"It'll take a lot of explaining...and I know someone who can help me explain it to you." Kibum looked confused.

"Can we go there now?"

"I have to get some things out first, then we can go visit that person. She'll tell you a lot of complicated stuff but first...I need to tell you some other things first." Kibum nodded in seriousness, still firmly grasping Taemin's character's hands. Taemin took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again. "Kibum...so there's this thing that happens when you hit Tenth level Worlds..."

Hey guys, LifeisSHINee here! It's hopefully been not too long since my last installment, I've been planning out the story more so there's less random bits and any parts that seem out of place will definitely tie together in the end. Hopefully you see some more development, I know I promised lots of Taekey but there's definitely gonna be more Taekey in the next chapter. I'm posting chapters based on segments of the plot I plan out and the next segment is set to include more Taekey. I hope you guys don't think too badly of Jonghyun, he's just being protective over Kibum and his character is important in the next few chapters as well so don't give up on him! That's all I wanted to say for now so until next time, take care!