3 years after the accident

“Lee Taemin.” Grinning, Taemin made his way to the smiling Vice Chancellor to receive his degree scroll  when he heard his name called.

Finally, he graduated.

He embraced the moment of pride and glory as the roaring applauds of the crowd rang in his ears. However, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness when he thought about how Minho had missed the chance to see him graduate.

Minho was still in his coma then. Even though it has been three years, Taemin has never once given up on him. He made visiting Minho a daily routine. Everyday after school, he would head to the hospital to visit Minho. He would chat with the sleeping boy, grasp his cold hands with his warm ones, and plead for him to wake up. He would plant kisses on the older, and watch as his wounds recover day by day. Visiting Minho, remembering that he was still alive, was all he needed to keep him going on with life.

“Good job baby! You finally did it!” Key threw his arms around Taemin as the latter walked down the stage. He loosened his grip and gave Taemin a quick once-over. “Gosh you’re all grown up now! Finally, graduated! Time really flies!”

Before Taemin could react, he felt a hard smack on his shoulders. “Good job boy! Graduated huh?” Jonghyun grinned, playfully pulling Taemin in for a brotherly hug.

Then it was Onew. “Congratulations Lee Taemin. You have finally graduated.” He said in a robotic tone, giving Taemin a stiff bow.

Taemin couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Onew’s ridiculous antics. He sure does have a lot of weird ideas going on in that head of his.

“Thanks guys!” Taemin chirped finally, pulling the three other boys in for a group hug.

Boy, how he wished Minho was here too…

“Let’s go home now! I’ll whip up some big feast to celebrate Taemin’s graduation!” Key suggested enthusiastically when they broke apart from their hug.

The other three boys agreed unanimously and they soon headed for home, awaiting the scrumptious meal that Key had promised to prepare.

In their apartment

Within a mere short period of 1 hour, Key had miraculously finished preparing all the food. Spread across the table were all kinds of delicious food – Chickens, fish, veggies, soup, etc. Key smirked when he watched the three others drooling over the wide array of food displayed before them.

“I’ll have all the chickens. That’s enough for me already. You guys can enjoy the rest of the food.” Onew’s eyes glittered as he hastily grabbed the whole plate of chickens, bringing them back to his room for his own enjoyment.

“YAH! GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID PIG!” Jonghyun screamed when he saw Onew escaping with that pile of juicy chickens sneakily. He followed Onew quickly, trailing close behind him to his room in attempt to get the chickens back.

His eyes widened when he realised Onew had cleverly locked the door of his room. “OPEN UP YOU IDIOT!” He banged on the door loudly.

“Sorry~ can’t do so~” He heard Onew’s subdued singing voice from inside the room, probably muffled a piece of chicken in his mouth.

“Urgh there goes the chickens!” Jonghyun groaned in defeat as he went back to Key and Taemin who were happily enjoying their meal on the dining table.

Taemin stifled laughter as he looked at the frustrated look of Jonghyun. “ Hyung, is this your first time eating with him? You know he always does that! There’s no way you can get those chickens off his hands!”

“Right…Right…” Jonghyun mumbled bitterly as he stuffed rice into his mouth, continuing with the meal.

Taemin and Key just shook their heads as they laughed silently at the antics of the two.

Soon, they all finished their meal and Key and Taemin started with washing the dishes in the kitchen. Taemin had volunteered to help Key with the dishes, solely because he wanted to avoid the childish argument still ongoing between Onew and Jonghyun presently. Somehow, the two were still arguing over the chicken issue.

“Key Umma, I think I’ll be heading to the hospital later. I want to tell Minho about my graduation!” Taemin told Key excitedly as he scrubbed the plate in his hands.

Upon hearing Taemin’s words, Key momentarily stopped whatever he was doing. His face hardened, and he remained silent.

“What’s wrong?” Taemin put down the plate in his hands, turning to face Key.

“Taemin…” he began, “I think...you should get over him.”

“What?”

“He’s been asleep for 3 years, what if he never wakes up? Are you going to waste your entire youth waiting for someone who might be asleep forever?” Then his voice softened. “Face it Taemin. Wake up.”

“What?! What are you saying? You want me to give up on him? You do know how much I love him! How could you say this?!” Taemin rebutted angrily, brows furrowed in frustration. He dried his hands with a piece of cloth on the table and turned towards the door. “Forget it. I’m leaving.”

Taemin paused in his steps when he felt Key's soft hands grip his wrist. “Taemin. Wake up.” His voice was barely whispers now.

With his back facing Key, Taemin closed his eyes as he bit his lips. “Sorry.” He said quietly, his head hanging low, not turning back to look at the older. "I can't." Wrenching out of Key’s grip, he walked away, tears forming in his eyes, threatening to roll down anytime.

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Finally done with this chapter! Basically everyone has gotten over the fact that Minho will never wake, well except for Taemin. Hehe do comment and subscribe! They make me really happy! Critiques are welcomed as well, only then I can improve! ^^ To all my subscribers and commenters, I really appreciate you guys, it's you guys that keep me writing! I love you all! <3