---

 

Waking up the next morning was a real struggle. Instead of doing my regular routine — which was to wake up, brush my teeth, text Jongin, eat breakfast, and watch 90’s cartoons all day until dinner — I lied in bed with my eyes closed, taking in the silence of the room as I tried to hush my worried thoughts, thoughts about last night that I wish would disappear, but sadly, I wasn’t a magician. 

 

Well, I did do one thing from my routine. For the last fifteen minutes, I’d been texting Jongin about what happened last night. He was the only person I could get my point across to more clearly. Texting was easier than talking, and he understood that which made me appreciate him so much more than I think he knew. I knew that out of everyone, he would understand and try his best to make me feel better because apparently, Minho still wasn’t speaking to me. 

 

Sometimes I wondered why Jongin even continued to put up with me. Or why he still wanted to be friends. I mean, all I bring to him is drama about my life due to my poor decisions. But instead of being annoyed or talking behind my back, he’s always been with me every step of the way. Even if I’m wrong in a situation, he’s not afraid to call me out on it. That’s a real friend and that’s why I can trust him. Obviously, I can trust him more than my own boyfriend, which was a hard truth for me to accept. Just the simple fact that Minho was still ignoring me hurt more than I could even explain. 

 

It wasn’t easy telling Jongin about what happened. He hadn’t seen Ravi’s change in nature coming like Minho had,  so he was just as blindsided at his actions as I was, which made me feel a little better knowing I wasn’t the only one that was fooled and betrayed here. Ravi’s just a sore reminder as to why I only have one friend. The more people I add to my life, the more complicated things get. 

 

After sending my last text to Jongin, begging him not to say anything to Ravi because even I didn’t know how to handle this situation, I continued to lay there in the empty room with my eyes closed. Daddy wasn’t there, which meant he was probably downstairs cooking breakfast. But that was ok because his side of the bed still smelled just like him and that was comforting.

 

Pretty soon, I heard a cheery voice disrupting the silence. “Rise and shine, Minnie!” 

 

I groaned as I opened my eyes to the sound of Daddy’s voice. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was nine in the morning, meaning that surprisingly, I was able to sleep all night. Of course Daddy’s comforting aura was a big help. Just knowing that he was there to support me and hold me all night was all I could ask for in a time like this. 

 

I stretched as I slowly turned my head to see him standing at the doorway with a tray of food and orange juice, bright smile beaming from his face. However, I could see right through it. I knew a forced smile when I saw one. 

 

“Hey, Daddy,” I croaked, voice still rough from sleep. 

 

“Are you hungry? I brought up some breakfast for you. Look! Waffles, your favorite.”

 

I gave a sad smile before shaking my head. “No. I feel like I’ll throw up if I eat anything right now. No appetite.”

 

“Oh! Do you need some medicine? I don’t mind running to the store-“

 

“No, it’s ok-“

 

“Maybe I should make some soup instead. It’ll help-“

 

“It’s ok-“

 

“Jonghyun! Grab your keys! We’re going to the store-“

 

“Daddy! Stop.” That seemed to get his attention. “I’m not some dying hospice patient. I’m fine.”

 

His smile slowly faded into a concerned look, finally allowing his true emotions to seep through. He sat the tray down on the dresser before walking towards the bed to sit next to me. 

 

He brushed a few strands of hair out of my face before sighing. “Oh, baby,” he whispered placing a comforting hand on my arm. He placed his other hand on his face before groaning, “What am I doing?”

 

I pouted a little at the desperation in his voice. I could tell he was upset and was only trying to make things better by being a little more attentive. “What you’re doing is being a great dad.”

 

He let out another sigh. “It’s just... I’m so sorry,” he whispered the last part as he looked me in the eyes. 

 

I scrunched my brows. “Why are you apologizing?”

 

“Because no matter how hard I try, I always fail to protect you.”

 

My heart dropped. It was nobody’s fault for my misfortunes but mine. I knew that. So it’s not fair for him to beat himself up over something that’s not his fault. 

 

He continued, “I try my best to be a parent you can count on. I just... feel so guilty about everything.”

 

Him feeling guilty only made me feel even worse. He’s done absolutely nothing wrong. I’m the one who went to that party and got so wasted I could barely defend myself. I’m the one that put my trust into someone that my boyfriend warned me about. No matter how protecting my dad is of me, he wouldn’t have been able to help me in that moment because I put myself into a situation where nobody could save me but myself. If I’d only been an obedient son, this would’ve never happened. 

 

I looked at the wall, not able to continue looking at the disappointment, hurt, and confusion on his face. “Don’t blame yourself, Daddy. It’s not your fault.”

 

“That’s easier said than done. I’m a parent. It’s in my nature to worry about my child and to want the best for you, but it’s hard to do that when there are so many sick bastards out there who want to hurt you. First Yunho, now this Ravi kid. Who knows who else is lurking around? It makes me sick. You don’t know how it feels to know that you can’t protect your kid from everything, especially from people who want to take advantage of your kid in such a foul way. I’m just so disappointed. Disappointed in society and disappointed in myself.”

 

I didn’t know what to say. As much as I wanted him to know it wasn’t his fault and that I didn’t blame him, he had a point. I didn’t know what it was like to have a child that you want to protect from everything in life. It also doesn’t help that I make his job a lot harder by being so defiant. Maybe if I were a better child, bad things wouldn’t continue to happen to me. Maybe if I weren’t so easily influenced by others, Ravi wouldn’t have taken advantage of me. 

 

His voice cracked as he continued. “Taemin, you’re my world. Ever since the day we adopted you, you’ve been my priority, the main reason why I can continue to live on peacefully, no matter how much we may argue. And I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to grow so close and form a better relationship between us during the past few months. Just knowing that someone could hurt you or take you away from me so easily just kills me.”

 

I just wanted to forget it happened at all. Just knowing that someone so close to me could betray me and hurt me in such a way really ed me up. And the fact that my dad’s so affected by it really makes me wish I can go back in time and never talk to Ravi. 

 

He continued talking, but I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or more to himself at this point. “Maybe I’m not being open enough. I always tell you that you can talk to me about anything, but have I really been keeping my word? I mean, I told you that you could talk to me about when you were ready, but what happened when I found out about you and Minho? I nearly had a panic attack. I need to stop doing that because I really do want you to feel like you can come to me about anything. But I’m guessing I don’t make that any better by flipping out so much.” He sighed,  “I’m horrible.”

 

I nearly teared up. How could he feel that way about himself? What he doesn’t understand is that no matter how open we are with each other, I probably would’ve still snuck around with Minho because I’m just a little that doesn’t know how to be honest with people. He’s such a great dad and him worrying right now proves that. 

 

I grabbed his hand, snapping him out of his own thoughts. “Please don’t feel that way about yourself. Please stop blaming yourself. Please?”

 

The look on his face showed that he still felt that way about himself, but he decided to drop the conversation seeing that it was making me upset. 

 

He squeezed my hand comfortingly before asking, “Do you want Minho to come over?”

 

I raised a brow in surprise. At that moment, I knew he was just trying to do anything he thought would make me happy or cheer me up. There’s no way in hell he’d ever suggest for Minho to come over. However, considering the circumstances, I knew he was only doing so because he thought that would solve everything. Sadly, not even my own boyfriend wanted to see me. Not even after the pitiful voicemail I left him last night. 

 

“No.”

 

He raised a brow. “No? I thought you would’ve jumped on the opportunity to see your boyfriend.”

 

I shook my head before mumbling, “He wouldn’t want to see me anyway?”

 

“Huh? What do you mean he wouldn’t want to see you? He’s your boyfriend.”

 

I let out a deep breath debating whether I should tell him the truth or not about our situation. It’s not that I didn’t trust Daddy with my problems, it’s just that he worries a lot and makes a big deal out of everything. “It’s nothing-“

 

“No, Taemin. Tell me what’s wrong. I just want to be here for you, and I can’t do that if you continue to keep secrets from me.”

 

I stared down at my hands, glancing at the light bruises on my wrists before looking back at my fingers. I may as well tell the truth because keeping secrets has gotten me nowhere so far. 

 

I barely whispered, “He won’t talk to me.”

 

“Why wont he talk to you?”

 

I sighed, finally deciding to give in. “It’s my own fault, so don’t be mad at him. We got into a huge fight a week ago about Ravi. Minho was trying to warn me about him, but I didn’t listen. Maybe if I would’ve listened to him, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

 

Daddy narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute. A week ago? You’re telling me your boyfriend has gone a whole week without talking to you because you guys got into a fight?” I could tell he was getting worked up. 

 

“Yeah. I mean, it’s my fault-“

 

“Don’t defend him, Tae. Going a whole week without talking to someone just because of a fight is ing ridiculous. I don’t care who’s fault it was, anything could happen in a week. Hell, it already has!”

 

“I know, but you don’t understand. I said some really horrible things to him-“

 

“I say horrible things to Jonghyun all the time, but he doesn’t ignore me for a week. He doesn’t even go a day without talking to me, even if we fight. You know why? Because people who love each other care about each other’s well-being. The fact that this boy has the audacity to not even check up on you really says a lot.”

 

I looked down at my hands again, breathing slowly in an attempt not to cry. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was right. I’ve been worried sick about Minho this whole time wondering if he’s ok. Does he even worry about me?

 

Daddy gave my arm a rub before saying, “I’m not trying to upset you. I’m just trying to put some things into perspective.”

 

I whispered, “I know.” 

 

“Does he at least know about what happened? Did you tell him?”

 

I shook my head no. “I tried, but he didn’t answer his phone so I left a voicemail. I’m not sure if he heard it or not.”

 

He let out a long sigh, closing his eyes before opening them again. “I’m trying really hard not to hate him right now.”

 

I gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, me too.”

 

“Enough about him. Would you like to talk about what happened at the party? It’s just you and me here.”

 

“Honestly, I just want to forget it even happened. I don’t want to see Ravi or even speak his name. I’m just thankful that I was able to get out of the situation. That’s all that matters.”

 

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. But are you sure you’ll be alright with seeing him at school? I could talk to the principle-“

 

“No! No. Just no. I’ll be fine. I don’t need anyone else getting involved. It’s already embarrassing enough.”

 

“Are you still sure you don’t want to press charges?”

 

“Daddy,” I said in a tired voice. “No.”

 

He gave a sad look before nodding. “Ok. I won’t mention it anymore, but if anything happens at school, don’t be afraid to tell me.”

 

I nodded. “Ok. And don’t worry about school. I’m fine.”

 

—

 

I lied. I wasn’t fine, and being at school didn’t make me feel any better. 

 

Don’t get me wrong. I tried, like really tried, to act like everything was normal. I ate breakfast, went to my locker, attended classes as usual, etc. I tried to get over everything and move on. However, that was easier said than done. 

 

The whole day, I watched over my shoulder as if someone was staring at me. I nearly panicked when some guy accidentally bumped into my shoulder, which caused an embarrassing scene in the hallway, so embarrassing that I ran into the bathroom and cried a little. 

 

After getting myself together, I thought everything was fine. I went on with my classes like nothing was wrong, although I was still a bit paranoid. But as soon as I made eye contact with Ravi in the hallway,  everything went downhill. I froze before quickly turning the opposite direction. 

 

Ever since then, he kept popping up like a virus. It seemed like every corner I turned,  he was there waiting to ‘apologize’ about what happened. But I didn’t want to hear it. What would apologizing do? It wouldn’t undo the past. It wouldn’t undo the pain. It wouldn’t undo the memories of that night that constantly flashed in my head. 

 

What’s done is done. 

 

Lunch time came around, signaling half of the day was over already. Thankfully that meant that in a few hours, I would be back home in the protective arms of my dad. And who knows? Maybe Minho would choose today to talk to me and I could be in his arms instead. 

 

Wishful thinking, right?

 

 Anyway, I got my tray of bland cafeteria food and sat as far away in the corner of the cafeteria as possible hoping to avoid being noticed by Ravi. I didn’t know if he was in there or not, but I certainly didn’t want to find out. So I kept my head down the whole time, picking at the food on my plate. Why didn’t I ask Daddy to pack a lunch?

 

“Hey, loser,” came a familiar voice. 

 

For a second I thought it was Ravi and my body went into panic mode. That was until I looked up to see that dorky grin I knew from a mile away. 

 

“Jongin,” I whispered in shock because I could’ve sworn he was still in Japan doing an Exo concert. 

 

I stared at him with wide eyes before hopping out of my seat and embracing him in a big hug. It was so nice to have him back around. He hadn’t been to school in about three weeks. I’m surprised he’s still been able to keep up with his class work. But thankfully, he was back now. 

 

He immediately hugged me back saying, “I guess you missed me.”

 

“Shut up,” I whispered in his ear as I refused to let go of our embrace, which probably was a bad idea because now people were staring and I was trying to avoid being noticed in case Ravi was around. 

 

If finally let go and sat back down. He sat right next to me, digging into his backpack before pulling out a Hello Kitty plushy holding a Japanese flag. I stared at it with a confused expression. “It’s a souvenir. You always joked that I should bring back something Hello Kitty related since I would be in the country that created it,” he ended with a chuckle. 

 

To be honest, I didn’t even care about the gift at the moment. I was just happy that my best friend was back and I wouldn’t have to be alone any longer. Before he could question why I was staring at him, I pulled him into another hug, burying my face into his neck. I whispered, “I’m glad you’re back.”

 

He tightened our hug asking, “Do you like the gift?”

 

I smiled. “Yeah, you big idiot. I’m thriving with joy. Seriously though, thank you.” I pulled away taking the plushy in my hand. I played with its ears before Jongin’s gasp caught my attention. 

 

I looked up to see his eyes looking down at my wrists. The bruises weren’t as noticeable now, but they were still pretty visible if you looked hard enough. “,” he said exasperatedly. “Did he do that to you?”

 

I sighed. “Listen, I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“That’s ed up though, Tae. I mean, he was our friend, and he did this to you. If only I were here-”

 

“How was the concert?” I asked trying to change the subject. 

 

Jongin seemed to finally get the memo as he sighed before answering. “Everything went well. Except when some girl threw here bra on stage. Chanyeol almost slipped on it. It was hilarious!”

 

I grinned. “I wish I could’ve seen it.”

 

He nodded. “Yeah, it was pretty funny. Oh, I almost forgot. Kyungsoo’s voice cracked during one of the ballads and he nearly had a mental breakdown backstage.”

 

“Oh no.”

 

“Yeah. It was a thing. He was crying and everything. He looked so cute, but I had to quickly comfort him and wipe his tears so we could get ready to perform the next song.”

 

“Aww,” I said giving a genuine smile. “Kyungsoo’s so lucky. You’re a good boyfriend.”

 

He smiled proudly. “Thank you. I try my best, even though sometimes he says I’m annoying.”

 

“You are annoying.”

 

“Hey,” he whined. “Anyway, how’s your love life going? Minho still hasn’t spoken to you?”

 

Great. Another depressing topic I didn’t want to talk about. 

 

I shook my head. “No. He’s still ignoring me. Nothing new.”

 

“Wow. Still nothing? I don’t think me and Kyungsoo ever went this long without talking to each other. And if we have, it’s not like we can escape each other since we’re forced to work together everyday.”

 

“Yeah, I know. It’s crazy.”

 

He paused before seriously asking, “Are you guys ok?”

 

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I really don’t know, Jongin. I’m still not sure if we’re even together. He wasn’t clear on that and it’s not like he answers my calls so...”

 

Jongin took another short pause before asking. “Do you believe you’re still together?”

 

I looked down at the plushy in deep thought. “I surely hope so. He means so much to me, Jongin. You know this. You’ve seen me with other guys and I’ve never felt this attached to anyone. I hate it sometimes because I feel so weak and vulnerable without him. However, I can’t deny that he makes me happy.”

 

He nodded as he scooted closer to me. “I know what you mean. It’s the same feeling I have with Kyungsoo. I don’t know what I would do if he decided he didn’t want to talk to me for this long. Just hang in there, buddy. Minho can’t ignore you for too long. I’m pretty sure he’s missing you too. He’s just playing hard to get or something like that.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “I guess. I’ll just have to wait and see-”

 

At that moment, I froze as I caught a glimpse of the last person I wanted to see walking into the cafeteria. I was hoping that he’d decided to skip lunch like he usually does. However, I’m guessing that wasn’t the case. Jongin must’ve noticed my change in nature because he turned around, following my line of sight before his eyes landed on Ravi. 

 

As I was about to suggest we leave the cafeteria, Jongin made the move to get up which caused me to freak out. I quickly grabbed a hold of his arm before whisper-shouting, “What are you doing?!”

 

“I’m just going to talk to him,” he said as he attempted to stand up again. 

 

I dragged his arm down, keeping him seated. “No! Jongin, please sit down. You can’t be seen doing anything stupid.”

 

“I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

 

“Bull. I’ve seen that look before. It’s the same look you gave that kid in seventh grade before you fought him for pushing me at the school dance.”

 

He sneered, “That kid deserved it.”

 

“You’re an idol for s sake!”

 

“I don’t care. I just need to talk to him, Minnie. That’s all.” But that wasn’t all because I knew exactly what Jongin meant by ‘talking.’ 

 

I watched in horror as Jongin swiftly made his way across the cafeteria, a few students already having their phones out recording. 

 

I followed after him with hurried steps, finally catching up to him once he was in front of Ravi, saying loud enough for everyone to hear, “You’re a sick bastard. You know that right?” Oh no. This wasn’t going to end so well. 

 

Ravi gave a confused look. “What?”

 

“Don’t what me. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Why did you do that to Taemin?”

 

After hearing my name, Ravi glanced over to me as I stood on the sidelines.

 

“Hey!” Jongin got in his face getting his attention. “Don’t look at him. Look at me and answer my question.”

 

He answered slowly as he backed up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about-“

 

“Don’t give me that ,” he hissed. 

 

The students weren’t making this any better as they looked hooted and hollered in awe and amazement at what was unfolding. 

 

Not able to handle this, I grabbed Jongin’s arm in an attempt to pull him back to our table, but he shrugged me off and shouted at Ravi, “Why did you touch him?!”

 

Ravi squinted his eyes as he recoiled. “What are you talking about? Nothing happened between us.”

 

For the first time, I looked at Ravi willingly, but this time in shock. Shocked that he could so easily deny what he did to me.

 

Jongin scoffed. “Oh nothing happened between you? Would you rather me tell our fellow students how much of a liar you are or that you’re a ing ?” The students started mumbling and gossiping in confusion as I wished I could disappear. 

 

“?! I didn’t anyone-“

 

“Yet! If it weren’t for Taemin fighting you off, it would’ve probably led to that-“

 

“Hey, you better watch your ing mouth!” Ravi yelled, pushing up on Jongin as he got closer to his face. 

 

“Or what?! Huh! You don’t want everyone knowing the truth?”

 

“Truth?! Ok, you know what? Yes, I lied. Me and Taemin actually did do something, but I didn’t do anything to him that he didn’t want-“

 

You’ve got to be kidding me. He didn’t do anything that I didn’t want him to do? Is he ing serious?!

 

“Stop lying! You pressured him into going to a party, made it your agenda to get him wasted, then forced yourself onto him in an upstairs bedroom-“

 

“Oh, is that the story he made you believe? Come on, Jongin. We’re supposed to me bros. You’re seriously telling me that you believe him over me?”

 

“Yes! He’s my best friend and he would never lie about this. You don’t know the type of he’s been through, and for you to sit up here and not even apologize and own up for the you did, you’re a real .”

 

“Jongin,” I cried as a final attempt to stop what was about to come. 

 

Ravi addressed me. “Taemin, go ahead and tell him the real truth. You even told me that you liked me.”

 

“As a friend, !” I couldn’t hold it in. “And I can’t believe you’re actually standing there lying. You know why you did to me-“

 

“And if it weren’t for your stupid boyfriend, you would’ve been mine right?” He asked as he slowly walked closer to me. 

 

Before I could answer, Jongin blocked him and gave a hard push. “Stay the away from him.”

 

Once he got his balance, Ravi ran up to Jongin shouting, “Or what?! What are you gonna do idol boy?!”

 

“Jongin!” I screamed trying to get his attention. Although Jongin was usually a playful and carefree person, once he got riled up, there was no going back. “Please! Let’s go!”

 

Ravi gave a smirk, “Yeah! Listen to him before you get hurt, pretty boy-“

 

“Not until you admit what you’ve done in front of all of these people and apologize-“

 

“For what?! It’s not like he put up much of a fight. He was basically begging me to fuc-“

 

And that did it. 

 

Jongin punched Ravi so hard he flew to the ground, holding his eye in pain. Before he could collect himself, Jongin was on him punching rapidly, not allowing Ravi to get a hit in until Ravi was finally able to push Jongin off of him. 

 

The whole cafeteria erupted in a roar as the two boys went at it like some wild animals. Meanwhile, I watched in horror as the fight continued to unfold. They were both giving each other nasty punches, but it seemed like neither felt any as they were driven by adrenaline. 

 

Unable to watch anymore, I shoved my way out of the cafeteria. 

 

—

 

“In other pop culture news, a clip of Exo’s main dancer, Kai, has gone viral. Within just a few hours, a video of the dancer getting into a physical fight at the high school he attends has been making waves on Facebook, Instagram, and is currently trending on Twitter. So what set him off, you may ask? Well, rumor has it that Kai was standing up for his friend who’d allegedly been ually assaulted by another student in the video. We’ve reached out to SM Entertainment for a statement, but received no comment-“

 

“Can you turn that off?” I asked Jonghyun, both of us sitting in the living room. 

 

 

After the fight, I’d ran into the bathroom stalls and call Jonghyun, asking him to please pick me up from school because it was an emergency. Thankfully, he asked no questions and was there in about thirty minutes to save me. I just couldn’t handle being the gossip of the day. It was bad enough that I had to be reminded of what Ravi did to me just by looking at my wrists, but to have the whole school, not to mention the whole world, know what happened was unsettling. 

 

I would’ve called and asked Daddy to pick me up, but I’ve worried him enough already. For once I’d like to come to him with some good news instead of problems. Too bad this situation is now getting public attention. Daddy’s probably already heard the news by now and is freaking out at work. I surely hope not. 

 

“Sorry,” Jonghyun quickly apologized as he reached for the remote and turned off the tv, silence filling the room. 

 

After awhile I asked, “Do you think he’ll get in trouble?” 

 

Jonghyun shrug. “He’ll probably get suspended-“

 

“Not with school. I mean with SM. You were an idol once. Do you think this will hurt him?”

 

There was a short pause before he sighed saying, “I can’t be too sure. I haven’t been an idol there in a long time. The rules could’ve changed.”

 

“Were they strict when you were there?”

 

“They’re always strict. But what I can say is that SM is great at damage control. They’ll find some way to make this go away. Don’t worry too much about it. Jongin will be fine.”

 

I groaned as I curled into a ball on the couch. “This is all my fault. It seems like everyone I love suffers because of me.” 

 

“Don’t think that way-“

 

“But it’s true. If I wasn’t stupid and didn’t go to that party, then Ravi wouldn’t have taken advantage of me. Then Jongin wouldn’t have felt the need to protect me and get into a fight. Then SM wouldn’t feel the need to ‘be strict’ with him. God, what was he thinking anyway? He’s an idol!”

 

“Well, I guess the good thing is the media isn’t painting him as a villain. They keep emphasizing the fact that he stood up for his friend-“

 

“That got ually assaulted at a party. Oh god! Now everyone at school knows what Ravi did to me. The whole school as well as the whole world. What am I gonna do?” I felt like ripping my hair out, but that wouldn’t solve anything. 

 

Jonghyun let out a slow breath. “You know me and Kibum are here for you, right? We’ll get through this together. No matter what it takes. I promise.”

 

I whined, “Can I just be home schooled?” There’s no way I’d be able to face high school again. 

 

Surprisingly, Jonghyun actually entertained the thought. “We can talk about that with Kibum if that’s what you really want to do. For now, just rest. You’ve have quite the day. Don’t worry about school right now.”

 

I nodded and he got up, placing a blanket on me. Sadly, he had to head back to work, but I really appreciated his effort in helping me out. My trust in him was growing everyday, and I was starting to see that I could count on him, maybe even more than my actual dad who’s too busy with his own family. 

 

I was left to my thoughts. I tried to do what Jonghyun said and rest, but my mind had its own agenda. All I could think about was the disaster that was school. Not only was I still traumatized by the party, but now I had something new to worry about. 

 

Something I couldn’t get passed were the lies that came out the Ravi’s mouth. Like one second he’s basically begging to apologize to me saying he didn’t mean to hurt me, then the next minute he’s acting all cocky in front of the student body saying I wanted him. What kind of is that? This just confirms he’s a horrible person and I can’t believe I’m only seeing it now. 

 

I just really hope that Jongin doesn’t get in a lot of trouble for this. He’s such a nice guy and doesn’t deserve to be brought down because of my drama. Not to mention, this could not only affect him, but Exo as well. I really wish he would’ve thought about that, but I can’t completely blame him because he was only trying to protect me. He’s so precious and talented. I just hope that this does ruin his career or future opportunities because he doesn’t deserve that. He’d be so devastated. I just hope it all works out. 

 

I also hope that I’ll be able to be home schooled soon. I hadn’t thought of it much until recently. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. High school is already a living hell as it is. Just imagine going back to school when there’s a viral clip of your idol best friend standing up for you because your ex friend tried to take advantage of you at a party. Right. 

 

Up until now m, I’d been able to stay out of gossip. I used to be the that everyone knew around school. Then I was Exo Kai’s best friend. However, now I’ll be known as Exo Kai’s best friend that almost got at a party. How grand. 

 

—

 

Somehow, I’d managed to doze off because I woke up to Daddy nearly choking near because of how tight he was hugging me. 

 

“Oh, Minnie. Are you ok? I saw the news.”

 

Once he pulled away and I was able to talk, I replied, “Yeah. You and everyone else.”

 

He sighed. “I hate that these things keep happening to you. It’s not fair. You’re such a good kid-“

 

“No I’m not. That’s why I keep falling into these situations.”

 

“Well, regardless of how you feel about yourself, no one deserves to go through what you’ve been through. No one.”

 

I shrugged. “I guess I just have bad karma. Probably shouldn’t have been so disrespectful to you all of these years right?”

 

He frowned. “Don’t say that, Tae. I would never want you to experience anything like what you are now. You don’t deserve any of this. Ok?”

 

“I’m just worried about Jongin at this point.”

 

He sighed. “I’m worried about him too. But honestly, I’m so proud of him for defending you. Even though it probably wasn’t the smartest move to make considering his status, he did something I wish I could do for you. He protected you.”

 

“But you do protect me.”

 

“Not good enough. But I promise I’ll improve, sweetie.” I just nodded, too tired to argue. 

 

There was a loud banging on the front door that startled the both of us. Jonghyun shouted from the kitchen that he’d answer it. Daddy and I looked at each other, puzzled as to who could be at the door.

 

Not even a second later, my actual dad came storming into the living with Jonghyun tailing behind him. 

 

“Dad-?”

 

“Taemin, pack your bags. You’re coming with me.” What?

 

Daddy quickly made his way over to my dad. “Jinki, what are you talking about?”

 

“He needs to be with me, Kibum. I’ve seen the news today and our son’s all over. Why? Because of some video with all these horrible claims about Taemin getting touched at a party?!”

 

“And you think taking Taemin away from me is going to make this situation any better?”

 

“Well, you obviously can’t take care of our son so I will-“

 

“Excuse me?!”

 

“Am I wrong? How many times has Taemin gotten into trouble over here? Partying, drinking, and these horrible guys in this ing town. Don’t you think I’m sick of hearing about my child being in pain?!”

 

Daddy huffed. “Taemin’s not going anywhere. Have you forgotten the court gave me sole custody?”

 

“And that was obviously a mistake,” he hissed. “How many times does our son need to get touched inappropriately for you to realize that you’re doing a horrible job at keeping him safe?!”

 

Jonghyun jumped in. “Jinki, I think you should calm down and watch how you’re speaking to Kibum.”

 

Dad turned back to me, startling me when he said, “Why are you still sitting there? Go pack your bags!”

 

Before I could say anything, Daddy said, “He’s not leaving. You can’t take my child away from me! You already have another kid, Jinks. Taemin’s all I have.”

 

Dad scoffed. “Just because I have another child doesn’t mean I don’t think about Taemin and his well-being everyday.”

 

“Oh, really?! You have a weird way of show it. Why is it that the only time you come over here is if Taemin’s in trouble?”

 

“That’s not true-“

 

“The last few visits have been when he was sick, needed money, or something dramatic like this video clip on the news. I’ve been here everyday for him so don’t you ing dare stand there questioning if I take care of Taemin.”

 

This was bizarre. Very bizarre. I didn’t even know what to do or what to say. Seeing my parents fighting was so foreign to me. Everytime I’ve seen them together, even after their divorce, they’d always been so cordial with each other and on the best of terms. Seeing them go at it like this was quite scary and surreal. 

 

I didn’t even want to jump in just in case I said something that would trigger them, but Dad left me no choice because there was no way I was just going to sit there and watch him say all those things about Daddy. 

 

I spoke up, grabbing both of their attentions, “I don’t want to leave, Dad. I’m staying here. And stop blaming Daddy for my problems. It’s all my fault, not his.”

 

Dad gave a sigh before addressing me with a softer voice. “Nothing’s your fault, son. We’re the adults. It’s up to us to protect you and we’ve obviously failed. But not anymore because you’re coming to live with me, Taemin. I’m going to be the best Dad I can be to you and do a better job at protecting you than I’ve done so far-“

 

“But Dad. I don’t want to go. I like being here with Daddy and Jonghyun.”

 

“See,” said Daddy. “He wants to stay. Now you can leave. We were doing just fine here until you came.”

 

“I’m not taking no for an answer. You really think you and Jonghyun can do a better job than me?! Ha!”

 

Jonghyun surprised me by addressing my dad. “I think you should leave. You’re doing nothing but upsetting Kibum and confusing Taemin. The kid’s already traumatized enough from what happened at school. Don’t you think you’re making things worse?”

 

Dad sneered. “What makes you think you deserve to have an input on this? This is between me, Kibum, and Taemin.”

 

Daddy stood by Jonghyun before saying, “Jonghyun can say whatever the hell he wants because he’s been here for Taemin in the past six months more than you have in the past few years! Stop acting like you all of a sudden have a problem with him being around Taemin. You’ve even said so yourself that Jonghyun is an amazing guy. Why the sudden attitude change?”

 

“Because that was before I found out that he couldn’t keep Taemin out of trouble. Taemin obviously needs someone who can keep an eye on him and keep him. That person’s me. I can give him the tough love he needs. You’re too soft, Kibum.”

 

Jonghyun grabbed Daddy’s hand to calm him down. I’m glad because his face was redder than a tomato at that point. 

 

I just couldn’t believe the things that were coming out of my dad’s mouth. Just because I’ve been in a lot of ed up situations, he thinks the fix would be me living with him?? That would fix nothing. If anything, it’d make everything worse and push me to rebel again because I can’t be around his wife nor his love child. For my own sanity, that wouldn’t be a good idea. 

 

Jonghyun spoke up again. “Come on. We’re all friends here-“

 

“Oh please. Friendship flew out the window when you married my ex.” You could hear a pin drop. 

 

Jonghyun scrunched his brows, dropping Daddy’s hand to walk closer to Dad. This didn’t look too good. “Excuse me? So we’re bringing up the past now? You really wanna go there? Need I remind you that you’re the one that approved of us being together?”

 

“Because I felt guilty for cheating on Kibum! I knew I had no right to hold him back from the next guy he loved, but it just so happened that the next guy he loved was you. I’ve only stayed cordial all of these years so I wouldn’t upset him.”

 

“Ok, Jinki. Whatever. You’re getting off topic. This isn’t even about us. It’s about Taemin.”

 

“Right, it is. And I don’t want my son around you. You come in here thinking you can do a better job at being a father than me? Think again. I’m getting my life back, and that starts with Taemin.”

 

Jonghyun deadpanned. “Are you drunk or something? Because you’re not making any sense right now. Just go home, Jinki. You’re causing a scene and we need to get back to taking care of Taemin.”

 

“I’m not leaving here without him. We’ll deal with the court later, but I can’t rest knowing my child isn’t in the best care right now.”

 

“And you think he’d be in better care with you? You already have a little one to worry about. Are you too blind to see that Taemin wouldn’t be comfortable living there?”

 

“He’ll adapt.” Was my dad serious right now?

 

Jonghyun sighed, attempting to place a hand on dad’s shoulder as he said, “Just go home, bud.” 

 

However, dad shoved his hand off saying, “I’m not your bud. And don’t touch me. I can leave on my own with Taemin right behind me.”

 

I stood up, no longer able to handle the theatrics. “I’m going to bed.”

 

Then everything happened in a flash, so fast I could barely process it. As soon I turned my back, I felt Dad’s hand grab my wrist as he said, “No you’re not!”

 

I snatched my hand away, turning to see Jonghyun had leapt on my dad to restrain him, however Dad must’ve taken that as a challenge and threw a punch Jonghyun’s way. Jonghyun dodged it then tackled my dad, getting on top and shouting, “Stop! Just stop! What’s gotten into you!”

 

Daddy spoke up as he rushed over to me. “Take him out, Jonghyun! He’s no longer welcomed here!”

 

What had my life become? And why was it so dramatic? First, my best friend gets into a fight over me, jeopardizing his career. Then my dad and Jonghyun get into a fight over me, jeopardizing the relationship of this whole family. There was no way to make sense of it. 

 

And worse yet, still no word from Minho. 

 

—

Hi, guys! I’m back with more drama (sorry, angst is my specialty, hehe). Thankfully, I’ve been able to update before this month ends. I also finished my last exam for my online class last night so, woohoo! More free time. 

I know I promised things for Taemin would get better. They will! Even though it may not seem like it. He just has to get through some crappy situations first. 

News flash! Minho will be making an appearance in the next chapter. I repeat, Minho will be making an appearance in the next chapter. That is all.