Im at our old house, my grandma’s house. She is looking at me, telling me to come closer. Only, i don’t remember who my grandmother is- as she was already dead when I was born. But somehow, I know that I have this connection with her. She hands me a cupcake, my favorite! Yellow icing and I it off. SWEET. She tells me something I do not understand, as if her voice is on mute. 

Then she slowly fades, she blurs in my vision till she is gone. Evaporated into thin air. I am alone. There is a pit and I fall- i try to scream but I have no voice. Its the darkness again and before i could hit solid ground, I wake up. 

“ Taemin, are you okay? ” key expects an answer from me but I can’t deal with these stupid dreams i’ve been having. I glance at the clock, 7am. I have a class at 8! 

“ fine. Just a dream. ” I hurriedly ran towards the bathroom to shower but Key wouldn’t budge. I appreciate his concern, but really? People have dreams right? Its not like this is an unusual phenomenon. But dreaming of people and places I have never been- its like im dreaming someone else’s life. Key is now knocking on the door. 

“ you sure? I will be leaving now, Onew is waiting for me. ” 

Those last words were almost a whisper. I couldn’t help but laugh soundlessly at this. Who knew that Key will snatch up the perfect Mister Lee Jinki? I know Jinki because – well, everyone has to know him. I love his band, SHINEE. Plus the fact that he is really smart. Its been a week since they have been “hanging out” as Key lightly puts it. 

“ ouch! ” the water is too hot for my liking and i turn it off for awhile. Onew is always here every morning, taking Key to his classes and i find it really cute. The whole universtiy is awed by this pair, because as strange as they may seem together. It works. But i feel there is something more to this, cause sometimes. Onew goes to the extreme and falls asleep outside our door. Some may find that romantic, but to me- that is a tad bit too creepy. 

Finishing my morning shower in a hurry, a grab my bag and headed out. I need to be in my class on time. Add the fact that I have to audition to be a part of the competing group for Dance. I know that I am a freshman plus add the fact that our team leader, Hara hates me so much. Why? I do not have any idea. 

“ Taemin! What piece are you doing later?” Minhwan asks me as the professor started to talk about today’s lecture. Handing out some notes. I read the first page before answering back. 

“ im guessing my Circus routine. ” Its a routine i have been working on for a year. I like the costume that goes with it, kind of theatrical. And i know that alot of my peers will do hiphop/breakdance for their audition. I want to stand out. 

“ oh! That will surely get their attention, but i don’t understand why Hara hates you.”

“ i don’t really think she hates me, She just hates my guts cause im supposed to be the scared little freshman.” I retorded and took out my notebook. 

“ she’s a pretty little junior if you ask me, ”

“ don’t let her hear you say that! She is still one of the lead dancers, i have to impress her. ” 

“goodluck okay? What time are your auditions?”

“ Its 3pm onwards. ”

My attention is now towards the lecture. This is my favorite subject, history. Some may find it a boring subject but not me. All these characters, they are like people from a favorite novel. Only difference is they are real people who lived and change the course of events. Like them, I want to be a part of something big. The class ends and I have two more subjects before the audition starts. 

Key is nowehere in sight and I believe that he might be spending time with Onew again. I resist the urge to call him, I don’t want to be a third wheel. 

“ Taemin! ” the voice startles me and I turn to face the voice, its Hara. 

“ Hara - ” I greet her politely. 

“ are you ready for the audition?” she smiles sweetly at me and i wonder if she took happy pills. But this is good right? 

“ ah- yes. I am, my routine is set.” I matched her smile with my own and she puts her hand on my shoulder. 

“ Look, we have changed the schedule, juniors and seniors will start at 3pm.”

My heart sank. If thats right, I will audition at 6pm or later. Well, goodbye to a night alone and my chance to sleep. 

“ what time will I be on?”

“ 6pm. ” she pouts, 

“ then i will be there.”

“ good! See you later Taeminnie.”

She waves goodbye at me and I feel more nervous than before. I just need to get by my two classes and practice my routine. I was almost late to my next class, its another history subject as I want to sit in. The professor knows me personally and agreed on my request. I do not know alot of the students and i sat myself on the last row. 

“ what’s your name?” The person beside me suddenly blurts out and I face him with a smile. Wait, this guy is not just anybody. He is Choi Minho. Star soccer player and he is just a sophomore! Finally finding my voice, i answer him. 

“ Lee Taemin, nice to meet you. ”

“ Choi- ”

“ Minho.” I finish for him and he raises his eyebrow at me. 

“ Its hard to miss, your face is plastered on the gym bulletin board. Its where I practice, ” I explain to him and he nods his head. He looks at me once more but now- much closely. Like, he is studying what I look like. I suddenly felt uneasy and he notices it too. 

“ sorry- ” he apologizes and turns away from me. 

Honestly. I don’t mind one Choi Minho staring at me. I have been in relationships before but not the story-book type. Mine consists of attraction-fun then boredom. Once i feel that, which lasts for a maximum of three months. I quit. Thats just me, If you think about it, There are millions of people in this world – why would you settle for one person? There are alot of interesting people in this world. I just find it hard to believe that one should stay with one person already. How can one person be everything you want? 

A student starts to talk infront and I listen to her essay. Minho is still glancing at me once in a while. I try to catch his gaze and everytime- a stupid blush grazes my cheeks. 

“ must concentrate. Must concentrate.”

I say to myself over and over again. I wonder how those cheerleaders contain themselves from Minho. And i remember, no they don’t. According to the rumor mill, she dates a new cheer girl every week. Now i understand, everyone will want more of him. Hell, I want more of him. Did i just say that?

Before I knew it, the class ended. 3pm. I have hours to pratice my routine. 

“ Taemin? ” Minho is jogging towards me and i stop in my tracks. 

“ Can i borrow your notes for awhile? I was not able to catch that last chapter.”

Thank god I have decent hand writing, I hand him my notebook and his hand grazes mine. Then I felt it, its like I touched his hand before. Its a weird feeling, you remember places and people but someone’s touch. 

“ where are you heading too? I will just copy this quickly and return it to you.” He informs me and scans my notes, looking for the pages he missed. 

“ just a practice for my audition, ”

“ you into sports?” he looks surprised, 

“ No. Actually, for dance. I want to be part of the group that goes to competetions.” 

“ are freshmen even allowed to audition?”

I want to start my long speech about this issue but i do not trust myself when im around Minho. I might stumble on my words and sound like a complete idiot in the end. 

“ Yeah, Hara approved of my audition.”

“thats awfully kind of her. ”

I laughed at his comment and we headed towards the dance studio. This is the old one, its rather small but i love it. Everyone prefers the studion in the new building with all its fresh paint and new sound system. But I feel more at home with this age old room. Minho does not complain at all and he sits down on the floor, starting to write down his notes. I changed my clothes and not wanting to disturb him, decided to have the music to myself. Plugged earphones and im set. 

This routine is written in my heart. With my eyes closed, i moved with the beat and i never faltered. Not even once. I have a feeling that Hara will strongly disagree that I enter their “elite ” team. Like, she is just allowing me to perform so i can shut up. But No, they will not be able to say no to me once they watch this. 

I practiced some more and I look at Minho, but everytime i do, he is intently copying my notes. How much did he miss? I only had to write like, 10 pages today. Considering my handwriting and the amount of spaces i leave. 
I take a break and he finally looks up at me. 

“ that routine is exceptional, they will be blind to not accept you,” he states a matter of factly and I almost spit my drink. No one has ever said that to me, well except my parents. But that’s what parents say right? But here he is, some stranger who I sat with today and he tells me this. Perhaps he is just being nice, maybe this is how he gets those insecure cheerleaders. 

“thank you, no one has ever told me that before.”

He puts down his pen and passes me my notes. 

“ so, what time is your audition?”

“ 6pm. ”

“ can i come then, to watch you? ” for a few minutes i stare at him, stunned. I do not want to put the spotlight towards me. Its enough that im the only freshman to audition for a spot, but coming their with Choi minho in tow? I will lose all my chance. 

“ I would love for you to watch me, but my sunbaes might think of it the wrong way. ” I look down sheepishly and pretended to tie my shoelaces. But he moves closer to me and pushes my hands away and starts to fix the laces for me. What the hell is he doing?

“ it will be okay, they won’t mind. I’ll tell them you’re a high school friend or something.”

“ you don’t really have to go, ”

“but i will, you still have an hour to practice.”

Defeated. I started to practice again. I started to think again, Minho is close friends with Onew. HMM. That makes sense, he might be acting all nice to me because of that. I seriously need to talk to Key later. 

Finally, its 6pm and we make our way to the other building. Its i seriously quiet and I feel my nerves worsen. The juniors and seniors are gone, so that will be better. I think, no one will watch me. But as soon as we made a sharp turn towards the dance studio. The place is empty. 

“ wait.” I look at my watch, its exactly 6pm. 

“no one is here.” Minho states and i realize it. That Hara tricked me. The auditions are really 3pm and she told me that time so i won’t be able to perform at all.

“how can i be so stupid?” I stomped my foot and made my way out of the building. Minho following me closely and at one point grabbed my hand to come back. 

“ its not yet over, ”

“ it is. The audtions are over! Can’t you see? No judges. No member of the team is in there.” The words seethed out of my mouth and I want to take it all back. He did not deserve my temper, but here it is. We are getting alot of glances as we stayed their, hand in hand in the hallway.

“ where is Hara?”

He asks one student and tells him that she is on her way to the student lounge. With a determined look. He looks in my eyes and we head to the lounge. I shoudl tell him to stop, but a part of me wants a shot at this.

We easily spot her, as she even waved to minho and her eyes narrowed as she saw me. Damn. She won’t accept me now, more than ever. This is really a bad idea. 

“Minho! ” she greets him and completely ignores him. But Minho is on complete warpath. 

“ Taemin here has a scheduled audtion with your team at 6pm.” The way he spoke, its like his saying some law that should be passed. Hara’s face paled but she quickly recovered. 

“ freshmen are not allowed you know, you were not allowed to try out for soccer last year right?”

“ but you told him he can. ”

A moment of silence and suddenly, the tables near us are looking at us. I should do something, damage control. 

“ minho, its okay.” I say quietly but he refuses to budge. 

“ he has to do this Hara, ”

“ do you want to strike a deal? ” a smile suddenly paints her lips. If only she wasn’t a girl, id seriously hit her with my bag. 

“bring it on.”

“ okay, you will be my date for the charity event. Then i will set up his audience tommorrow, you can even watch.”

“sure” he quickly answers before I can even protest! This is wrong. All wrong. Hara smile brightly at me and tells me that she will text me. Minho grabs my hand and we finally reach the grounds. 

“ id rather not audition than see her with you in that event.” The words left my mouth before i can even think. He stops for a while but i continue walking, I should get away from him. I just met him today and im saying things like this? 

“ are you just going to walk away from me? ”

. I look at him once more and bowed. 

“ thank you very much. ” 

Then I walk again but he is too persistent and follows me. I make my way to the school convenience store and but a carton of milk. He looks at me and i answer, 

“so i can sleep- ”

“insomnia?” he pays for the milk and i glare at him but he pretends not to see. Before i can even launch my attack at him he asks once more. “ is onew bothering your room too much?”

I smile at him. “ NO. But once, he slept outside our room and – Key freaked out! That was 1am. ”

“ they are inseparable aren’t they, its unusual for Onew.”

I open the carton and started to drink,

“why can’t you sleep?”

“ i can sleep, but my problems are the dreams i have. Eversince i started here, its always there- ” i added, “plus the fact that i always slept beside my brother till now, i think i just need someone beside me. ” stupid answer i know but he nods at me like he completely understands. 

He seems interested in this and asks again, “what dreams?”

“ its actually weird you know, I dream about things that I don’t even know. Like, places and people that i do not know. Like, im dreaming another person’s life.” I have never said this to anyone but for him. For someone who agreed to the devil Hara’s condition just to snatch me an audition- i will tell him anything. 

We stop just outside my dorm building and he looks at me intently and pushes me towards him into a tight embrace. His scent, i remember it too. Why? How? I have no answer but I just do. My heart beat paced faster and he held me longer than the usual man-hug. He pulls away and smiles at me. 

“ have a good night Taemin, though its still early.”

“i have to catch up on sleep you know, ive been deprived for 3 days straight.”

He watches as I go leave him on the pavement and i make my way to our room. Key is inside and he is incredibly quiet, clutching a note in his hands. He quickly hides it crumpled in his hand. 

“ you’re early!”

“ long story, hey ! what’s that? ” With my reflex, I snatch the note from his hand. His hands are cold. I read it.

Onew can’t protect you forever. 

He takes it from me and I hold his hand. “key! Who is that note from? Is someone threatening you? Where is Onew?” i have about a hundred questions more but he sits on his bed. 

“don’t tell onew about this, you see, he is only been tagging along this week because of these. I don’t want him to worry anymore. ”

“what are you talking about? Does he know who this person is?”

“we don’t know, but he received this too, so we made a connection”

My mind is a wreck as i try to process the information. This morning, i thought that they are all happy and rainbows. And now this? They are tied together by death threats. 

“ Key, you should tell this to the university dean, this is serious. They can open an investigation.”

“we agreed not to do that.”

“we? What ‘we’ Key! Someone is threatening you- even if its some sick prank, thats not funny! ” He seems to consider my explanation. But there is something more here, Key is smart. He wouldn’t let someone do this to him, there is a reason why he is stalling. 

“ I can’t you have to trust me on this one, we will find out who this is. ”

“ key- its been a week, what if that person attacks us here? ”

“Taemin – please. We are really close to finding out who this is. ”

“ you should explain everything to me okay? Tommorrow morning. I can’t handle anymore of this. I need sleep.”

He questions my words and i don’t blame him. Its just almost 7pm and with his looks, he is dressed for a dinner outside the university. 

“ okay, I will tell you. But please understand- ”

“ ofcourse i will! Now take care and call me, call me, i will pick you up. ” 

Key just smiles at me. Its unusual for me to be the protective figure between the two of us. He says goodbye and I change clothes and freshen up. Atlast! I can finally sleep. 

For about thirty minutes, i toss and turn. Why can’t i sleep? I close my eyes and breathe deeply. My mind reeled towards what happened today. I should be ing and pinning little Hara dolls but i don’t feel likt it. Its the first time someone did that for me. Maybe he sees me as a hopeless case he should help? Like a weird community service? My thoughts are disrupted as i feel my bed shift. I feel warmth just beside me. But i do not open my eyes. This feels good. 

Then i catch a waft of his scent, Minho.It can’t be, maybe im just imagining it. The scent continues to cloud my thoughts . My eyes quickly opened but there is no one here. Just me. 

“ ayyyy! ” I say out loud and close my eyes again. The warmth is almost all over me now, like someone is embracing me. This is home. 
Its the first night I did not dream. 

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Author's Notes:
1. There ya go. You know the drill. comment please and subscribe. lurking is offensive.