heart of a human

When Jonghyun approached Jinki after breakfast with unmistakably pale face and pulled the older boy behind a set of armor to make sure they weren’t heard, Jinki immediately felt that it wasn’t going to be good news.

And his hunch was proved when Jonghyun launched into his problem without further ado.

“My uncle hasn’t sent me my Wolfsbane Potion.”

Jinki’s eyes widened as he heard Jonghyun’s words, and suddenly he understood why the younger boy looked so unusually sick and pale.

Jonghyun was a werewolf. He had been one since he was accidentally bitten by the age of eight. Every full moon, he would transform into a heartless monster with only the thought of attacking humans in mind. Thankfully, he had an uncle who happened to be a Potioneer, and the uncle always sent him a batch of Wolfsbane Potions to drink every day of a week preceding the full moon. The potion didn’t cure Jonghyun of his lycanthropy, but allowed him to retain his human senses, though his body was still of a wolf. Usually he spent those times hiding inside one of the broom cupboards or unused rooms, sleeping. It was also thanks to the potion that Jonghyun was able to study at Hogwarts, and most of the students even had no idea what he actually was.

But if Jonghyun missed his potion, and he transformed in the middle of goodness knows how many students at Hogwarts....Jinki didn’t dare to think about the consequences.

“Have you sent an owl to your uncle?” Jinki asked.

Jonghyun nodded. “I wrote to him once a week, as usual, and reminded him about it, but he hadn’t answered, and my parents didn’t receive any news from him at all.... You know he travels a lot, hyung, but he never forgot to send me potions before. Never.”

“And when the full moon will be?”

“In eight days, and I’m supposed to take my first dose of Wolfsbane Potion tomorrow. But my uncle usually sends me the potion three days before it, hyung, and I really don’t know what to do.”

Jinki could hear desperation in Jonghyun’s voice now, and immediately made up his mind on what to do. “Well, since as far as I know, there’s no way to stop your transformation,” he stated, “you need to do it in a place where there’s no humans around you.”

Jonghyun blinked. “You’re not saying....”

“Shrieking Shack,” Jinki stated firmly.

Jonghyun stared at the older boy incredulously. “But hyung, we can’t.... You know we’re not allowed to roam outside of school at night, moreover to the Shack....it’s completely forbidden for students....”

“I know, Jonghyun, but think about it, what else can we do?!” Jinki said rather impatiently. “You couldn’t transform within the school ground, though probably you could hide inside a broom cupboard or something, what if you managed to run away and attack someone? And people might get suspicious too. No, you have to be isolated enough from civilization so that we don’t have to worry about that.”

Jonghyun bit his lower lip. Jinki’s idea was extremely risky, he knew, as entering Shrieking Shack, at night nevertheless, could mean severe detention and house points taken. But he couldn’t find any better alternative to make sure he would transform safely. So he nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. “I think I need to do that,” he sighed. “But how do you suggest I can go there without being spotted by anyone?”

Jinki thought about it for a while. “I will think about it,” he finally stated.”But maybe we need more than one brain. I’ll ask Kibum and Minho and Tae-“

“No,” Jonghyun quickly cut in. “Not Taemin.”

Now it’s Jinki’s turn to look at Jonghyun incredulously. “Why not?”

Avoiding Jinki’s eyes, Jonghyun muttered in a low voice, “I just don’t want him to know.”

Jinki’s lips twitched as he attempted to hide a smile. It was a known secret that Jonghyun harbored a not-so-small crush towards Jinki’s little brother. “Okay, I won’t tell Taemin then. We meet behind the Greenhouse Four after lunch, okay?”

Jonghyun nodded. “I will tell Minho and Kibum. They’re still eating breakfast, I guess.”

Jinki nodded back and waved goodbye to Jonghyun before walking to his class.

-

Jonghyun used to joke that if he had to mention the first five people he saw when he was born, Jinki would be on the list. It’s no surprise, because the older boy and his family had always been living next to Jonghyun’s house as long as he could remember. And almost ever since they had become best friends as well. Jonghyun especially remembered the summer days they spent in Jinki’s big garden, playing Quidditch or chasing after the gnomes under the bushes. Even when they got separated during their time in Hogwarts (Jinki was one year ahead of Jonghyun, and he was Sorted to Ravenclaw while Jonghyun was in Gryffindor) their friendship never waned.

Their small circle of friends expanded when Kibum entered Hogwarts one year after Jonghyun. Kibum was Jonghyun’s cousin who lived far away, but often spent his holidays with Jonghyun, therefore making friends with Jinki as well. He was Sorted to Slytherin. But despite of that, he wasn’t the typically snobbish, arrogant Slytherin, though he could be slightly diva-ish at times.

If the long-standing rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor barely affected Kibum and Jonghyun’s relationship, it wasn’t always that way for Kibum and Minho. Minho was in Kibum’s year and was Sorted to Gryffindor, and since his first week, he had been sworn enemies with Kibum because of an incident during Potions lesson which involved a few porcupine quills, some melting cauldrons, and a lot of horned slugs. But at the end of the year, they had saved each other from being severely punished, and since then a mutual respect had sprung between them, thus leading to Minho joining their circle of friends.

It wasn’t until two years ago when they got another addition to their “gang”. Taemin was Jinki’s little brother who was Sorted to Hufflepuff, and often hung around his older brother because he was so shy and found it difficult to make friends. Moreover, when Jinki was considered the best student in his year, Taemin wasn’t that smart and it was annoying when your teachers compared you to your brother all the time. But Taemin was a hardworking soul, and with the others’ help, he became better at lessons and made friends with some of his classmates.

(And Jonghyun didn’t like to admit it, but he knew that his affection towards the younger boy grew bigger and bigger with time.)

So, there were five of them. Jinki, Jonghyun, Kibum, Minho, and Taemin. Aside from himself, they were the people Jonghyun treasured the most, and the only ones he trusted with his secret.

Since the Second Wizarding War, though people had adopted more tolerant view towards werewolves, Jonghyun knew some of them would still freak out knowing that their children slept under the same roof with one. But his friends accepted him just the way he was, and that’s the #1 reason why Jonghyun cared about them so much.

Still, that fact couldn’t keep Jonghyun from biting his lower lip and failing to sit still as he and Jinki waited for Kibum and Minho behind the Greenhouse Four.

“Are they coming?” Jinki asked.

Jonghyun nodded. “I told Minho this morning and he said he’d tell Kibum. They had Potions together this morning so they probably would come together.”

Just as the words left Jonghyun’s mouth, two figures appeared from the corner of the greenhouse. One was blonde, slim and pale, with feline eyes and bow-shaped lips, slightly feminine look gracing his features. He wore black Hogwarts robes with green and silver tie underneath. The other was tall and considerably bulkier, with dark hair, round lips, and big frog-like eyes. His uniform sported the same red and gold tie as Jonghyun’s. They were Kibum, Jonghyun’s cousin, and his enemy-turned-friend, Minho.

“What’s up?” Kibum asked, leaning to the wall of the greenhouse. Though his tone and behaviour were casual, there was an alerted look in his eyes, hinting that he was aware that they were not there just for simple chitchats.

Quickly, Jonghyun relayed what he had told Jinki earlier, and smiled a bit nervously when he saw his two friends’ eyes widened.

“And I have suggested that he should go to the Shrieking Shack to make sure he’d be able to transform without harming everyone,” Jinki added.

Kibum raised an eyebrow. “The Head Boy is actually telling his juniors to break the rule? I’m impressed.”

“We’re allowed to, though, during an emergency,” Jinki shrugged. “And I consider this as one.”

Minho nodded. “Then we need to smuggle Jonghyun-hyung before the sun sets,” he stated. “We can go to Hagrid’s hut for a visit and then pretend to return to school while actually we sneak out to the Shack a-“

“Wait,” Jonghyun interrupted. “What do you mean by ‘we’??”

Kibum stared at Jonghyun incredulously. “Of course we’re accompanying you,” he said matter-of-factly. “You don’t think we’re just going to let you stay by yourself all night, right?”

“Of course you can’t stay with me!” Jonghyun responded hotly. “You all know how dangerous and uncontrollable I will be when I’m in my wolf form, and you can’t possibly risk coming with me! I might kill you....or worse, turn you into a werewolf as well....”

“You won’t,” Minho said. “You know what we can do. You won’t harm us.”

Jonghyun did know, but that didn’t mean he wished his friends to risk their lives for him. So he tried again. “Even if I can’t do anything to you, you’re still breaking rules to sneak out with me,” he said. “If the teachers catch you, you’re all history.”

“They won’t,” Kibum said confidently. “The secret passage to the Shrieking Shack was under the Whomping Willow, right? Though probably they know how to calm the Willow down, I think they have better things to do than fighting an angry tree. And we’ll make sure no one spots us leaving school.”

“But....”

“No buts, Jonghyun-ah,” Jinki said firmly. “You will need us. Though the Shack, I’m pretty sure, is quite sturdy, and there is the Whomping Willow on the entrance, there are still possibilities you will look for humans to attack. So we’ll be there to prevent you from doing so.”

Jonghyun could argue no more to it. Taking a deep breath, he stared at his friends one by one and murmured almost inaudibly, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jinki smiled, throwing his arm around Jonghyun. “That’s what friends are for, right? Anyway, this is what we’re gonna do....”

-

“I think my brother and his friends are holding a secret.”

Jongin stared at his friend, his mouth so full of chicken that he can’t answer straight away. “And what makes you think so?” he finally said after swallowing the juicy meat.

“I spotted him walking to the direction of Greenhouse Four on recess time yesterday,” Taemin explained. “We never go there unless there is something private we need to talk about. When he returned, he was with Jonghyun-hyung, Kibum-hyung, and Minho-hyung, and they were whispering among themselves. I’m sure they have a secret, one they’re not willing to share with me.”

“Well, I don’t know, but if they do, I think you’d better leave them alone,” Jongin advised. “Older people don’t like it if we poke into their business. Hyoyeon-noona once got really angry at me because I followed her when I went to Hogsmeade as I thought she was acting real suspicious, and it turned out she was just going to meet her boyfriend. Besides, if they don’t involve you in their secret, it means either they’re preparing a surprise for you, they simply just don’t want you to know, or it can be something dangerous for you.”

Taemin nodded absentmindedly, but he couldn’t stop thinking of Jinki’s strange behaviour. There was something, he knew. Jinki wasn’t the type of brother who loved to play mean pranks and got annoyed easily when his younger sibling disturbed him. No, he was always nice, caring, and open, and he never minded sharing his secrets to Taemin. But why suddenly he acted all secretive and suspicious?

There’s something weird, Taemin thought. And see if I can’t figure out what it is.

-

“It’s time,” Jinki whispered to his friends.

Jonghyun silently nodded. His pale face was glistened with cold sweat and his cheekbones looked somewhat more prominent than usual. It was partly due to the effect of the upcoming full moon, but more because he couldn’t eat much these past few days.

Despite of everything his friends had said, Jonghyun was still really worried that everything wouldn’t go as planned. He had experienced transformations without Wolfsbane Potion before, and knew how hurting it was, not mentioning how dangerous and uncontrollable his wolf form would be. And though he knew his friends were capable enough in magic, would they be able to contain him? What if he managed to escape from them? What if he accidentally bit someone? Jonghyun knew he wouldn’t be able to study at Hogwarts again if that happened.

Yet he knew there were no other choices than to do this. It was the only way for him to transform safely and keep his secret. He had to trust that his friends wouldn’t let anything happen to him and other people who would happen to be around him.

So, heaving a deep breath, he followed them. As planned, they had visited Hagrid’s hut earlier (in which Hagrid had served them tea along with his infamous rock cakes, and had talked so enthusiastically about his plan for Care of Magical Creatures next month that he failed to notice Jonghyun’s condition) and after saying goodbye, they sneaked behind the hut to the outermost part of Forbidden Forest, so that they would (hopefully) be able to reach the Whomping Willow unnoticed. And then....

“Stop here,” Jinki’s voice said, snapping Jonghyun out of his reverie.

Blinking, Jonghyun stared at the huge tree, standing tall a few feet ahead of him, rattling its branches menacingly. Had they stepped closer, the tree would’ve reacted and attacked them ruthlessly. But they had kept a safe distance, and that was where the plan truly began.

“You know what to do, hyung,” Minho whispered, putting a hand on Jinki’s shoulder.

Jinki vaguely nodded, for he felt very nervous himself. His task was one of the most dangerous ones, but it would give way to the others to continue as planned. So, taking a deep breath, he gave his wand to Minho, took a step closer to the Willow, and leapt forward.

Jonghyun hardly had time to take on Jinki’s transformation, for it happened too fast. But he managed to catch how Jinki’s body shrunk rapidly, and greyish fur grew all over his skin, and two long ears popped out of his head....and suddenly Jinki wasn’t Jinki anymore, but a fleet, silent grey hare.

The hare charged towards the Whomping Willow, and the tree immediately whipped a branch in his direction. But Jinki’s hare form was incredibly swift and agile, and he managed to dodge the attacks in relative ease, until he tripped on a branch and was knocked to his original position.

“HYU-“ Jonghyun was about to yell before Minho and Kibum quickly clamped his mouth shut.

But the hare quickly got back to his feet, seemingly uninjured despite of the obviously violent throw he’d experienced. With new determination, he ran towards the Whomping Willow and dodged the branches again until he finally reached the trunk of the tree and placed his front foot upon a knot on it.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been Petrified, it stopped moving. Not a leaf or branch twisted or shook.

“Come on,” Kibum whispered, and they quickly dashed towards the tree. There was a gap between the roots, large enough for a human to enter, to which they slid in.

“Lumos,” the three of them murmured at almost the same time, and their wands lighted, showed what looked like a narrow tunnel. Jinki had already been inside, still in his hare form, motioning for them to come forward. Holding his wand in front of him to light his way, Jonghyun and the others started to crawl through the tunnel. At first it descended, then it began to rise, and then it twisted. They moved as quickly as possible, wanting to get to the Shack before the full moon appeared, Jonghyun’s heart pounding more and more as time passed.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jonghyun could see a patch of dim light through a small opening. Pulling himself out of the hole, he stood on his feet and stared around rather miserably. It was a very disordered, dusty room, with paper peeling from the walls, stains all over the floor, and pieces of broken furnitures all over the room as if someone had smashed them.

A small thud was heard behind him and when Jonghyun turned around, he could see his cousin looking around, a disgusted expression in his face as he whisked the dust off his robes. “I know this place is supposed to be deserted, but really, could it be more messy....”

“Ssssh!” Minho hissed, glancing around at the windows, as if he’s scared someone would hear Kibum and take a peek inside, though the windows were all boarded up, save for a few small cracks on the boards.

“You are not telling me to shut up, and no one can hear us anyway....”

Jonghyun sighed. At the good days, he would’ve been amused at Minho and Kibum’s arguments, but right now, he could feel the full moon approaching and he didn’t like it. So he cut them off quickly. “Stop it, you two. We don’t have much time. Collect your wands somewhere and transform.”

Something in Jonghyun’s voice shut them off, and quietly they collected their own wands, Jinki’s, and Jonghyun’s, and kept them inside a drawer of a table that looked like less destroyed than the others. Jonghyun watched as they transformed into their respective animals – Kibum became a big fox with white-blonde fur and sharp teeth, while Minho became a stag with extra big antlers. Jonghyun swallowed. He knew that they needed to transform into large animals in order to keep a werewolf in check, but still, he felt uncomfortable seeing his best friends like that, ready to attack him if he did something out of order.

The hare approached Jonghyun quietly, giving the side of his body a soft nudge. Jonghyun smiled at this small show of affection, and knew what Jinki meant to say even without words. He just wished for Jonghyun not to be worried and that they would stick with him to no end. Bending down, Jonghyun reached out a hand to pat the hare’s back.

Suddenly, a dim light shone through the cracks on the windowboards, and Jonghyun’s body went rigid. His shoulders were hunched and his limbs started to tremble.

Jinki gave a slight squeak and took a few steps backwards. Kibum and Minho immediately took positions around Jonghyun, not too close but not too far either, so that they could charge towards him when needed. The three of them watched as Jonghyun let out a strangled scream, then his head started to lengthen, hair sprouted visibly on his face and hands, his fingers and toes curled into clawed paws....

By the time the transformation finished, there was a big, black wolf on the place Jonghyun previously stood. Staring around with predatory yellow eyes that couldn’t look more different than Jonghyun’s usual warm chocolate ones, the wolf raised his head and gave a loud, pained howl.

The howl had Jinki’s fur all stood straight, but he didn’t move, though his heart was beating crazily. He had never seen Jonghyun like this. Of course, the younger boy had experienced a few transformations without Wolfsbane Potion before he entered Hogwarts, but Jinki had never seen it, as at those times Jonghyun was always brought to some faraway places to keep him from biting humans. And at those times Jinki accompanied Jonghyun during his transformations at school, he had always taken his potion before, so he wasn’t at all dangerous. But now, seeing the fully fledged monster, Jinki had a hard time convincing himself  that it was his best friend.

Shaking his own body, Jinki told himself that there was nothing to be scared of. Jonghyun might be a monster now, but there was no humans around for him to prey on, so everyone should be safe. And Minho and Kibum would stop at nothing to restrain him....

Suddenly, a low growl escaped from the wolf’s throat. He raised his nose and began sniffing the air.

What is he doing? Kibum’s eyes asked to Jinki.

Jinki shook his head and kept staring at Jonghyun in confusion. After a few seconds, the wolf stopped sniffing and snapped his head around, his yellow eyes flashed with hunger. Following the direction of the wolf’s gaze, Jinki turned around....and his jaw dropped.

For right in front of the passage they used to enter the Shack, stood a boy. He was probably a few years younger than Jinki, with soft brown hair, thick lips, and high cheekbones. His skinny limbs visibly shook under his Hogwarts robe, and his eyes were large with fright.

TAEMIN! Jinki wanted to shout, but he couldn’t speak in his hare form.

Everything seemed to be moving in fast forward after that. Jinki leapt forward and tried to pry the wolf off his brother, but he was too quick. Terrified, Jinki could only stand rooted at his place as the wolf bared his teeth, ready to bit Taemin’s neck....

....when suddenly Minho appeared and struck the wolf on the side of his body, throwing him.

The wolf quickly got back to his feet, snapping his two rows of sharp canines. But before he could do anything, Kibum was already behind him. With a hiss, he jumped onto the wolf’s back and started scratching it. The wolf roared and arched, trying to reach backward to grab at Kibum. But the fox swiftly jumped off and backed away, getting into a crouching position, Minho on his side.

As the three animals were glaring at each other, Jinki ran to Taemin’s direction and clamped his teeth on his brother’s robe, trying to pull him towards the tunnel. But Taemin was so frightened his feet seemed to be glued on his spot, and Jinki wasn’t that strong in his hare form. Jinki knew he could transform back into human to pull Taemin more easily, but what if the addition of human had the wolf become more violent and attacked them before Minho and Kibum could do anything?

Jinki was still contemplating his options when Minho launched again at the wolf. His antlers hit the wolf again, but this time the wolf stood his ground and wasn’t thrown away. However, he did get pushed a few steps backward, and Kibum seized him about the neck and pulled him even further from Jinki and Taemin. The wolf roared again, claws grazing against Minho’s body while having his jaw locked on Kibum’s shoulder, ripping it. Soon it turned into a full battle, claws and canines and antlers all clashing together that it became almost impossible to determine who attack who.

Jinki could only watch at the three of them helplessly. He desperately wanted to help, but he knew his hare form was pretty much useless in fighting. It’s hard enough for Minho and Kibum to fight a werewolf without him interfering.

For the first time, he wished that he had been chosen a stronger animal when he was learning to be an Animagus.

A loud yowl snapped Jinki out of his reverie and his eyes widened. Kibum had been thrown to the floor, bites and scratches all over his body, blood leaking from his right hindleg. He tried to stand, but apparently the extent of his injuries was too much that he slumped back on his spot. Minho was still fighting the wolf, but it was clear that he’s wounded just as much as Kibum, and the wolf seemed to have the upper hand.

Jinki realized it and quickly made up his mind. Minho and Kibum were losing hard, therefore Taemin’s life was in danger. And despite of whatever consequences his action might bring, Jinki knew anything was better than to see his brother die or experience painful transformations once a month. Wincing internally as Minho was tossed away like a rag doll and landed on the floor with a painful thud, Jinki positioned himself in front of Taemin and closed his eyes, ready to channel his human form....

“Jonghyun-hyung?”

Jinki blinked as he suddenly found himself unable to concentrate. He turned around, his hare eyes staring at his brother in disbelief, as the one just spoke was none other than Taemin.

“Jonghyun-hyung?” Taemin repeated. The voice was small and timid, and there was an unmistakable shiver inside it, but he spoke quite calmly considering the situation. “Hyung, it’s Taemin. You recognize me, right?”

Now, Jinki would’ve facepalmed if only he could. Those words were really childish, and wouldn’t stop Jonghyun from his pursuit as he’s simply an uncontrollable monster now who didn’t even recognize his closest friends. And it seemed like Jinki was right, because the wolf kept on coming towards their direction. But.... Jinki squinted and stared hard at the wolf. He didn’t believe it, but he was almost sure the wolf’s steps were somewhat halted.

“Hyung,” Taemin tried again, more firmly this time. “I know you’re still in there, hyung. Your body might be of a wolf....but inside, you’re still Jonghyun-hyung. And you won’t consciously hurt your friends....you won’t consciously hurt me. I know, hyung. Please....”

And to Jinki’s astonishment, the wolf did stop.

Behind him, Jinki could hear how Taemin’s breaths grew shakier, and he knew his brother’s contemplating whether it was safe enough to approach the wolf by now. The wolf might’ve stopped on his track, but his piercing yellow eyes were still staring at Taemin, though they looked less predatory than before.

As if guessing what’s inside Taemin’s mind, the wolf let out a low hum, which couldn’t be less different than his powerful roars earlier. That was enough as a proof for Taemin. He stepped forward and reached out a hand, despite of Kibum’s pleading whines, Minho’s warning bellows, even Jinki tugging fruitlessly at the end of his robe.

And Taemin’s hand successfully touched the end of the wolf’s snout.

Jinki held his breath, fearing that something bad would happen to Taemin. However, the wolf seemed to enjoy the touch, as he let out the low hums again and again as Taemin carefully him again and again, chanting “Jonghyun-hyung, Jonghyun-hyung” all the time.

Forcing himself to tear his gaze away from his brother, Jinki’s eyes immediately met Kibum and Minho’s, the confusion in their expressions mirrored his own. They didn’t need words to convey what they wished to say. They were always taught that werewolves were uncontrollable, heartless monsters with only the thought of attacking humans in mind, and nothing to suppress their beastly instinct but Wolfsbane Potion. However, Taemin had just proved that he managed to calm a werewolf down, using only simple words and almost childlike affection.

And probably love, too, thought Jinki, though he would never state that out loud.

-

It really was the weirdest night.

Jonghyun didn’t attack them anymore, though he growled every time they came too close to him and didn’t let anyone touch him but Taemin. After awhile, he seemed to get drowsy of Taemin’s soft caresses and curled up on the floor, sleeping. This allowed Jinki, Kibum, and Minho to transform back into humans, and Jinki had treated their wounds as best as he could. They would still probably need some hospital treatment, though, and Jinki had planned everything he’s going to say to Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.

They didn’t dare to leave the Shack right away, as they would probably get caught by roaming outside the school at night, and they couldn’t leave Taemin alone with a werewolf anyway. So the three of them took turns of standing guard and keeping a watchful eye on Taemin and Jonghyun until the sun rose and Jonghyun could transform back into human, then they would somehow find a way to sneak back to the school.

Jinki, who got the last turn to stand guard, bent forward slightly to look closer at his brother, who was currently lying on the floor, sleeping as well. He also noticed how Jonghyun curled up very close to Taemin, tail wrapped around Taemin’s body as if protecting him. Despite of one being a frail human and one being a vicious werewolf, Jinki had to admit that they looked adorable, sleeping together like that.

A small smile slipped onto Jinki’s face as he recalled everything that happened that night. He was actually impressed at Taemin’s bravery to stand against Jonghyun to remind the werewolf of himself. But he was even more surprised that Jonghyun actually reacted to it, and instead of attacking Taemin, he calmed down and became somewhat civil by the rest of the night. Such things, Jinki was sure, wouldn’t happen if he himself or Kibum or Minho tried to do so.

Jinki always thought Jonghyun’s feeling towards his brother was only a rather innocent, unrequited crush. However, this event had had him viewed their relationship in a different light.

Grinning to himself, Jinki thought of what he should do next. He might have to arrange a talk with Jonghyun later regarding his relationship with Taemin, but he was sure he wouldn’t have to be so harsh to the younger boy. So, he leaned his back to the wall and stretched his legs comfortably on the dusty floor. He had time until the sun rose to formulate what he was going to say to Jonghyun.

/end

Author’s Notes: Hi, Santee. I don’t know whether this is the story you imagined, but to be honest this is the best I could produce. The last time I wrote a SHINee fanfic was on last year’s Secret Santa and I thought I’d lost the feel a bit. Besides, my job had taken its toll on me and I barely scraped some time to type this. So, I’m really sorry if this story didn’t truly fulfill your expectations. Still hoping you’d enjoy it though. Have a good Christmas!