The next morning, I decided to stay in my room. No one bothered to come in, which I was thankful for because it gave me time to process all of the mess that had happened yesterday. I still can't wrap my head around it. Everything seems so unreal. Not only did I find out about my family's secret, but they found out about mine as well, a secret I swore I would take to my grave. It all came out yesterday. 

I just wonder how Minho would feel about everything. I'd been ignoring his texts all morning because I didn't know what to say. I hope he doesn't think I'm mad at him or something. Honestly, I'm still conflicted on whether I should tell him about my past. It's not like I don't trust him. He was so sweet to me yesterday when he comforted me. I just need time to myself, time to stare at the ceiling and think. 

That's all I'd been doing that morning. Staring at the ceiling, occasionally switching it up by staring at the wall or out the window. Either way, I relished in silence as the hours flew by. 

It wasn't until about 1:20 that I heard a faint knock on my door. I turned to see the door opening, revealing Daddy, who looked very different from the last time I saw him. 

I raised my brows before saying, "You dyed your hair?"

Daddy smiled shyly as he ran his hand through his newly dyed black hair. "I got it done this morning. You like it?"

I nodded. "Yeah Daddy. You look nice." He sat down next to me on my bed as I continued, "but I know you didn't come in to talk about your hair."

He sighed and nodded. "Right. First, I would like to say thank you."

"......Thank you?"

"You were very brave last night in the way you stood up for me, Tae. You said some of the nicest things I've ever heard you say about me."

"Oh.....Yeah, well, Dad was way out of line. I don't want anyone upsetting you. The only one allowed to upset you like that is me."

Daddy gave a light chuckle. "Of course, my little brat." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Your father's downstairs. So is Jonghyun. Yesterday was a bit....much. We all want to talk in a calm manner about everything."

I looked away, staring at that random dot on the ceiling. "What more is there to talk about? I said everything I needed to say."

"We're just worried about you and want to clarify some things. I know you're tired and want to rest, but honey, we can't keep avoiding this issue, especially with you starting school again in a couple of weeks. This could be distracting. What you told us yesterday is still lingering in our minds."

"Daddy, I don't want to talk about it. It was awkward enough bringing it up yesterday. Plus, my performance in school has never been affected by it. I just want to pretend like it never happened."

"Oh, honey..." he trailed as he placed a light hand on mine. "How about we talk about something else then? If we all agree not to talk about your dance teacher, will you come downstairs?"

I gave it a thought before shrugging. "Sure."

"We're going to have to talk about it at some point though, Tae."

I sighed slowly. "I know."

"Now come on."

He helped me out of bed, though I was perfectly capable of walking myself. I believe he just wanted to hold me, which I didn't mind. It felt like the good ole days when I could count on him to be there for me. The days before Jonghyun and before the affair. I really miss those days. 

I shrugged my thoughts off as I walked into the kitchen. Dad and Jonghyun were sitting at the kitchen table, both looking up once I entered the room. Daddy led me to sit in the chair next to Dad while he chose to sit in the seat next to Jonghyun. I stared down at my hands until Dad's voice caught my attention. 

"How are you holding up, son?"

"Never better," I sarcastically answered. 

Daddy commented, "Taemin has agreed to speak with us as long as we don't bring up the situation with his dance teacher. He understands that we'll need to discuss it eventually, but as for now, let's not bring it up ok?" Dad and Jonghyun nodded. 

There was an awkward silence before Dad decided to speak. "Taemin, I know I've said this time and time again, but I really do love you. I never want you to doubt that. You're my first child, my only son. Please believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you by keeping this secret from you. Looking back on it, it was very silly of me to waltz into your birthday party with my wife and child. I was very foolish to think that would've played out well, and I'm so sorry, son. I'll be spending the rest of my life making this up to you. I promise I'm going to start being here for you more, ok?"

I nodded. There was really nothing to say. He was just repeating everything he told me yesterday. I know that my dad loves me and I know that he would never intentionally hurt me. That doesn't mean that his secret hurts any less. 

"Taemin," said Jonghyun. "Have you ever thought about....dancing again?"

My brows furrowed as I shook my head no. "I lost the passion for it."

Daddy solemnly said, "What a shame. You were so good."

Dad agreed, "You were." He smiled to himself. "I never missed a recital nor competition."

I smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah. You may have been a flake for most of my life, but you were always there when I danced." Everyone smiled and it became quiet again before I said, "Though I don't want to dance, I've been thinking about playing the piano again."

When I was about four years old, my parents put me in piano lessons. I played well, but decided to quit when I was seven years old to focus on dancing. Now that my fantasy about becoming a successful dancer is over, I'm thinking about playing the piano again. It was the one thing, besides dance, that kept me out of trouble. No matter what emotion I was feeling, playing the piano always made me happy. Maybe that's what I need in my life again. Pure happiness. 

Jonghyun exclaimed, "I never knew you could play the piano. You were quite the prodigy weren't you?"

Daddy gloated, "My little Taemin was the best. He was so talented and I know he still is," he said as he looked over at me. "Maybe this is what you need, Taemin. You need a hobby to keep yourself busy."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I just want to play again. Maybe I'll stay out of trouble if I'm busy."

"I hope," Daddy commented. 

Dad changed the subject by saying, "There's something I really want to talk about, Tae."

"What?"

"It's about you meeting your sister. I know you probably don't want anything to do with Sunhae and Jinah. That's understandable, but Jinah is only five years old. Just like you, she didn't ask to be brought into this situation. She's done no wrong. I guess what I'm trying to say is, out of all of us, I don't want you holding a grudge against her or hating her."

I sighed. "Dad, how am I supposed to feel? How do you expect me to be okay with everything when you've spent all of your valuable time with her? I'm sorry, but I can't help but to hold a grudge against her, especially against Sunhae."

"Listen, I get why you're upset at Sunhae, but please don't blame your sister-"

"I'll talk to them when the time comes, or maybe never, but please don't force me to, Dad. I'm mentally exhausted and I don't think I'll be able to face the two of them now without being rude."

Daddy intervened, "He has a point, Jink. Don't force him into doing this. We've all caused him enough pain as it is. I'm not going to allow you to hurt Taemin again. Let him deal with Jinah and Sunhae when he's ready."

Dad didn't say anything. He only nodded, but I could tell it was more that he wanted to say. It's not like I'm trying to be difficult or make the situation more complicated, but I'm really not ready to meet the woman that tore my family apart, nor am I ready to meet the kid that took my dad away from me so he could stay with his secret family. 

Speaking of secrets...

I cleared my throat. "I actually have something I want to say." That got everyone's attention. "I have another secret. Well, it only just now became a secret, but it's still something you guys don't know, except for Jonghyun."

Daddy and Dad both looked at Jonghyun suspiciously. Before they could pound him with questions, I quickly said, "I have a boyfriend." You could hear a pin drop. 

Daddy and Dad said simultaneously, "What?"

Dad sighed, "I'm really trying to be calm and choose my words carefully since you're in such a fragile state right now, but what the hell? A boyfriend? Does he even know about-"

"No," I quickly said before he could finish his sentence.  "He doesn't know."

"Do you not know how complicated this is going to make things? Tae, I don't think it's very wise of you to be dating especially after what you told us. It's obvious that you're not well right now. I'm just concerned about how a relationship would affect you."

"That was two years ago, Dad. I would much rather move on with my life instead of living in the past. Plus, Minho's a great guy-"

Daddy gasped, "Minho?! You're dating Minho??"

Before I could answer, Dad asked, "The tall kid I met yesterday? How long have you been hiding this from us?" Great. Now I was in the hot seat. 

"It was never intended to be a secret. We just got together yesterday. I know to you it may not sound like much, but he's been there for me most of the summer-"

"And he's also been the boy you've been getting in trouble with for most of the summer, am I correct?"

I stumbled before answering. "Well, it was mostly me who initiated the trouble we got into. Plus, he doesn't do those things anymore. Neither do it. It's like once we started to see how much we really like each other, we stopped getting into trouble. We were each other's main focus. I know it may sound cliche, but that's basically it. He would never hurt me. I know he wouldn't-"

"There's no way in fully knowing that. Tae, I still don't want you dating. I believe if you wait until you're older, maybe you'll find someone who really loves you for you-"

"But Minho does love me for me. Just because you weren't around to see that doesn't mean you can sit here and discredit him. To be honest, he's more of a positive influence than myself."

He shook his head and turned his attention to Daddy. "Did you know about this?"

"No, I'm just as surprised as you are. I mean I've met Minho before. He's a really sweet kid, but I had no idea they were dating." He turned to Jonghyun, "Honey, why did you keep this from me?"

Jonghyun stuttered over his words before saying, "Well, it wasn't a secret for me to tell. I told Taemin to tell you, but then Jinki showed up and...well...things got complicated. I'm sure the last thing on Taemin's mind was telling everyone about his boyfriend."

At least Jonghyun understands. He's really the only one at this table with common sense. 

The doorbell rang and I quickly stood up. "I'll get it." Anything to get out of this sticky situation. 

I was to the front door and opened it. My eyes widened at who I saw. "Minho-"

He pushed himself in and I closed the front door. When I face him, he asked, "Taemin, why haven't you been answering any of my texts or calls? Are you ok?" 

The look on his face was a mixture of expressions. Concern, anger, confusion. I guess I really haven't explained much to him lately. The last image he had of me was yesterday, me being a broken sobbing mess. Now, he stood in front of me with questions I wasn't ready to answer. 

"Taemin, do you not understand how worried I've been? If you needed space, you should've told me. I would've given you the time you needed to wrap your head around this. I completely understand how upsetting this must be for you, but please don't shut me out."

"I..I." I took a deep breathe so I could think of a sentence that made sense. "I'm not trying to shut you out, Minho. I promise I'm not."

"Then why have you been ignoring me?"

"It's not that I'm trying to ignore you. I can't really explain it. There's just been so much going on."

Minho stood for a moment before pulling me into a warm hug that I really needed. "Everything will be ok, Taemin. I'm not mad at you or anything. I just want to be the person that can help you. I'm always here for you. Don't forget that."

I nodded and hugged him tighter. "Thank you."

Our moment was interrupted when we heard Daddy say in a fawning voice, "Aww. Jinki, I told you he was a sweet kid."

I immediately pulled out of Minho's arms and turned around to see everyone looking at me and Minho. "How long have you guys been standing there?"

"Long enough for Minho to get my approval-"

Dad interrupted, "Not so fast. Hey you. Minho, right?" Minho nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Minho cleared his throat. "I came to see if Taemin was ok. The last time I spoke to him was last night."

Daddy still fawned, "Isn't that cute? He was worried."

I ignored my parents and turned to Minho. "Thanks for coming. I'll text you later ok." 

He nodded, but as he was about to leave, but Dad stopped him by saying, "Where do you think you're going?"

"He's going home, Dad. There's no point in him staying here with what's going on."

"Actually, that's a perfect reason for him to stay. He needs to know, Taemin. That's the only way I would even remotely think about accepting this relationship."

Minho liked confused. "Know what?"

"Nothing," I said. "Absolutely nothing."

Dad furrowed his brows. "Tae, if you can't tell him, then that proves that you're not ready for a relationship. Your mind isn't ready for it because you've never taken the time to heal from it. You can't keep avoiding the truth-"

"Like you avoided telling me the truth? No offense, but I don't think you're quite the perfect roll model. My relationship with Minho has nothing to do with my past."

Minho got my attention. "What happened in your past, Taemin? You know you can tell me anything."

"Minho, it's just too complicated to get into. It's not that I don't feel like I can't tell you, I just don't know how to. You understand, right?"

"It's kind of hard to understand when you know nothing at all."

Daddy exclaimed, "See what you did, Jinki?"

"Hey, don't blame me. Taemin needs to tell him. Am I illogical for saying this?"

"No, but by forcing this onto him in front of the person you want him to tell it to, you're being an ." 

I raised my brows in surprise. This was a total difference from how Daddy acted yesterday. He wasn't being as passive about the situation. 

"An ? How am I being an when I'm just trying to look out for my son? What happens if this guy breaks Taemin's heart and he crawls back into an even bigger hole because he never got rid of the baggage from the last one? I'm not about to allow myself to be absent from Taemin's life again. Ever. I'm only looking out for him."

"Oh, and I'm not?"

"I never said that."

"Well that's how you're making it seem, Jinki. I'm just as afraid as you are about Taemin getting hurt and falling back into his old ways, but guess what? I've also learned that Taemin functions best when people aren't barking orders at him. I tried being strict with him and that only led to him becoming sneakier and getting in trouble. You tried to force him into not dating until he's over 18, and look. He has a boyfriend. Jinki, we have to let Taemin have the freedom to make his own decisions. I'm sure that he'll tell Minho everything when the time comes."

Dad paced and sighed before saying to me, "You understand that I love you, right?" I nodded. "And that I do everything out of the kindness of my heart." I nodded again. "I'm not trying to control your life. I just want you to be ok. Kibum's right though. I should lay off of the situation. You'll tell him when it's right, but I can't pretend to be comfortable about this."

"You don't have to be comfortable. Just respect it."

"Understood. I would like to have a few words with Minho though. I think it's only fair since Kibum had his chance."

I looked at Minho and he nodded. "It's understandable why he would want to question me."

"Good," said Dad. "Join is in the kitchen."

Hey guys! I know it's been awhile. Writer's block + exams = a disaster. Anyway, I hope this story is still up to par. I wasn't so confident in this chapter but decided to upload it anyway since it's been awhile. 

Please let me know what you think ^.~