Taemin

 

"Aigoo!" Eomma patted my head lovingly. I cringed slightly. "You look so cute! I would ruffle your hair, but I know better than to mess it up. Your bangs are just too perfect for words. Muah!" He kissed his fingers extravagantly. "I'm a genius!" He patted down my clothes gently, smoothing the folds as if I were a dinosaur in a museum. 

"Eomma, stop it. It's only going to fold up again once I start moving," I protested. My dad gave me a stare, not a glare, because he doesn't want his face to get all crusty and wrinkly until he's about ninety or so. And at thirty-one, he's an exact replica of his high school pictures.

"Oh, Minnie, don't be silly. Where would we be without fashion?" he asked rhetorically as he looked around my room. "Oh god, this is a mess! Are these boxers clean? What if you invite a girl to your room? What would she think!? Pick up these corn chips! And what-" My OCD parental stopped pacing in a horrified pause, then picked up a a clear container with brown showing through it from my dorito-sprinkled carpet.. "Is this. . .a science experiment?" 

I grinned sheepishly. "Well, it was yogurt. I might've left it here last month-" I was interrupted when The Almighty Kim Kibum the container at me unexpectedly. I clumsily turned it right-side up so that it wouldn't drip. When I looked back up,  my dad was perched on my bed, the only clean area, with his knees pulled up to his chest and secured by his arms. He rocked back and forth slowly, hiding his face. "Eo-Eomma? If it makes you happier, I'll clean my room today."

My dad gave me a weird look and sat up straight. "No, Minnie! I'll do it after work. Now just. . .GET THAT THING OUT OF HERE!"

I scurried away like the meerkat I am.

---

I peered around the corner of the kitchen, carefully watching my other dad, Kim Jonghyun, from behind.

Why does the garbage can have to be outside the kitchen door?

I literally stood on my toes so as not to make any noise and carried my, uh, yogurt, at arm's length. Oh my god, he's going to catch me holding this abomination. And then, he's going to question me. Then, he's going to ask the Almighty Kibum. And then, I'll get grounded.

OH, THE HORROR.

Which is why I'm going to use my amazing ninja skills to crawl under our kitchen table and dump my little friend outside the doggy door, and I'll scoop it up to put in the garbage can when I leave for school.

Ah, yes, I'm a freaking genius.

I dropped to me knees silently and slid onto my stomach like they do in military reality shows. I inched my way forward ever so slowly, pushing the little square container ahead of me. The plan was going well, up until the little pitter-patter of paws slowly started getting louder and louder. Loud sniffing sought my location, and finally, I was found. A light weight pressed down on my back, accompanied by mischievious panting.

Our little shih-tzu.

"Yoseob." I whispered softly, but fiercely. "Seobie, get off me."

The mongrel refused to budge, instead making itself comfortable on my backside. I started twisting my torso in an attempt to shake him loose, but...

He's.

So.

Fat.

I wheezed like an old man and rolled on my side, and he growled at me. Out of nowhere, I felt a warm sensation tugging at my socks, dragging me away from the kitchen table.

"No, you stupid dog!" I breathed, clawing at the floor to stop myself from getting dragged away.

"TAEMIN!"

Aw, .

---

After stumbling through the day, the clock finally struck 12:00, lunchtime.

 

"Yeah, I know!" Onew nodded crazedly as he talked about the new Call of Duty. "They have new features, man. It's amazing. That- and chicken. I mean, did you know that McDonald's sells leftover chicken s? DISGUSTING. You need the real thing, dongsaeng. Try KFC."

Oh, here we go again.

"Yeah. . ." I murmured, happening to open my locker door in front of his face. 

What? I'm not being mean or anything. It's just-. . .Onew's a great friend and all, and he's a loner like me, but sometimes I feel like his obsession with chicken and addiction to video games and corny jokes make a rather odd person.

"Hey! I've got another one. What do you call two silk worms that both won a race?" he asked, popping up in my face.

"A tie."

His mouth dropped open. "How did you know!?"

"I just know things," I placed my palm on his cheek and pushed him aside gently.

"Well, then, you won't get this one. If fruit comes from a fruit tree, what tree does a chicken come from?"

"A poul-tree." I sifted through my belongings, finding anonymous slips of threatening paper in messy hangul. I already knew who it was from. I crumpled them up, and aimed at the trash can, but missed. Just as I bent over to pick them up, I noticed that Onew had gone silent. When I looked up, he was backed up against the wall, near the shadows.

Oh, no.

"Oho! Who's this?" A gruff voice called tauntingly from behind.

"Ooh, I think it might be Lee Taemin!" Another sneered.

"Or Kim Taemin. You know, after his homo parents adopted him."

"Who'd want to adopt him? Maybe they wanted a girl, but they accidentally got a really feminine boy instead!"

"Yeah! And when they got home, they couldn't return him because the foster home wouldn't take him back!"

Roaring laughter.

I should feel enraged. As much as I tell myself that I should feel angry, I just end up swallowing the lump in my throat. I tried looking them in the eye, but somehow they always drifted to my sneakers.

"Y-Yah," a squeaky voice protested. I could tell Onew meant for his voice to sound defiant. He instantly regretted it.

All four heads snapped toward his direction menacingly. The biggest one looked him over. "Oh, I've heard a-a-a-a-all about you. Tell a joke. Go on. Entertain me. Entertain us all," he swept his hand grandly toward the students beginning to gather around the hallways.

"Uh-" Onew stepped forward, knees shaking, and took a deep breath. "Did you hear about the-"

Before he could embarass himself in front of twenty-something students, I grabbed him forcefully by the sleeve. "What the hell are you doing?!" I hissed.

"Hey, ." 

My attention was up at the insult almost as if it were my real name.

My hairline was in agony almost a second later as I felt my head being wrenched upwards. My cry came out as a cracked little-boy-going-through-puberty noise. Some people in the crowd chuckled; but more out of fear than amusement. 

"Why don't you look at me when I'm talking to you, huh?" He let go of my head, but grabbed my collar and held me close to his face. 

EWWW, STALE ALCOHOL BREATH. Get me away, get me away-

I struggled weakly, slapping his fists and trying to kick his crotch, but I only managed to get his shin. He laughed wildly and put me down, not too gently.

"Oh, so cute little Taeminnie wants a fight, doesn't he? Alright. Let's see just how strong you are, ara?" He held up his fists.

What am I gonna say? "Oh yeah, I'm gonna beat you up with my noodley arms! :D"

Yeah. I didn't think so, either.

Aww, . I've never been in a fight before. What are you supposed to do? You just hit them? Assume a stance? Stay still or move around?

C'mon Taemin. You're a man. Be a man. 

I closed my eyes tight and took the first swing, but he dodged it easily and landed a blow to my stomach. I groaned in pain and slumped against the wall.

"Tsk, tsk. You should know better. You watch your sorry . Make sure mommy gives you chicken soup for dinner tonight! I'm not sure your stomach could handle THESE pythons!"

The laughing slowly faded away, along with the footsteps.

When the crowd cleared and the pain in my stomach subsided, I slowly got up and picked up my bag. It felt oddly light. I ped it, to find that all my history, calculus, language arts, and music sheets in the trash, and replaced with toilet paper.

Eotteoke.

I pressed my lips together in a very tight line and closed my locker.

"Taemin! That was the closest you've ever been to standing up for yourself!" Onew cheered and slapped me on the back cheerfully. "Congrats!"

I half-smiled. "Yeah, I was pretty cool, wasn't I!"

"Yeah! You even took a swing!"

"Like in TV shows where they do boxing!"

"Yeah!"

"And in reality shows where they kick peoples' asses!" I said excitedly.

"YEAH!"

"I bet I can even pick up a chick now!"

"...No."

 

 

 

LOL, I wanted to post this tomorrow, but I got so excited, I posted it today. Damn. T^T

But anyway, I hope you like this chapter! I try. :3 And I think I may be succeeding. Heh, heh. 

Well, comment, subscribe, share! It makes your dongsaeng/eonnie vomit joy. (Rainbows and sunshines and puppies and unicorns.)

I wonder how unicorns have . How does that work? Like with their...horns and everything. It must be painful.

Yes. Those bullies must be unicorn-.

Short extra segment, yes? <3

 

Dreamland

 

"Tralalalalaaa~ I feel so young. . .and wild. . .and free." The oldest of the four skipped happily on a bed of flowers. The second oldest munched on cotton candy clouds.

"Guys." The other pointed to a gummy bear forest. "It's- It's a unicorn," he gasped. All of them gaped at the unicorn in awe.

It was an interesting sight. Its mane was rainbow-colored, volumized, and flowy, softer than any conditioner can make human hair. Its fur was pure white, and it stepped with a careful grace. It's horn, though, was undeniably sharp, and built to kill. This was gone unnnoticed by the teenagers.

"I wanna touch it!"

"No, me first!"

"MOVE, ES!"

The unicorn suddenly tossed its mane angrily, and breathed heavily, making rhinocerous-like sounds. It bounded toward the boys like an elephant ready to attack.

Several moments later...

"Get it off me!"

"WHAT'S IT DOING!?"

"I WANT MY MOTHER!"

"You don't have a mom, !"

"Oh, it hurts!"

"I kinda like it."