“Hey, so…would you all be okay with me visiting my grandma next weekend?”

It was a Sunday evening a few weeks after the failure of Jonghyun’s and Minho’s mission to find Taemin friends and the five boys that ran the SHINee World coffee shop were all gathered in the same room, each completing their respective tasks, when Kibum suddenly spoke up, his voice sounding unusually shaky and genuinely unsure.

Jonghyun, who had been lying on his back reading a book about coffee and where to find the most exquisite beans, immediately rose from his horizontal position, the bones in his back cracking loudly as he straightened up.

“Didn’t you want to wait until the start of the holidays?”

“Yeah…” Kibum trailed off while his hands continued to work on ironing the boys’ working clothes with quick, determined movements.

The boy frowned as his eyes were stuck on the fabric beneath his fingers; then he took a deep breath.

“Originally, yes,” he decided to start over, “but she wrote that she got pretty sick in her last letter and I want to make sure everything is alright. My last exams are this week, so I won’t have to study much, but I’m afraid it may cause problems with the shifts at the shop…”

At that, Jinki, who had been checking over their profits from the last few weeks at the big table, joined the conversation, the leader of their little family saying, “I don’t think there will be any complications. You and Minho-yah and Jonghyun-ah did just fine running the shop when I was sick a few days ago, so it’ll be alright. Do you need money for the train ticket?”

“I can help, too, hyung!” Taemin’s soft and sweet voice suddenly rang out to them and Kibum’s usually sharp gaze landed on the youngest boy, who was happily playing cards with Minho.

In any other situation, Kibum would have told him to go and study for his upcoming exams, but when seeing Taemin so utterly relaxed and at peace with himself, he couldn’t keep his heart from softening. Secondly, his own worries were plaguing Kibum a little too much at the moment so that he barely had any space left in his head for thinking about Taemin’s studying habits.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Jonghyun asked from the bed, his gaze gentle as it grazed Kibum’s bent over form. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen grandma and maybe you’ll need help or anything…”

The shortest of the group himself made sure to visit his mum once every week, which was easy since she lived in the same city and they were on good terms, unlike Minho was with his family. Nonetheless, Jonghyun knew how hard it could be to return to someone on your own after so many weeks, and the perceptive boy could practically sense the worry radiating off Kibum in waves.

“It’s okay, hyung, but thanks for the offer,” Kibum declined politely, yet this time he completely failed at hiding the slight shake in his voice.

Jinki watched him from his spot opposite the other with a frown and he soon realized it must really trouble Kibum to know his grandma wasn’t well yet so far away from him. The oldest supposed that the only reason their caring friend did not want Jonghyun to come with him was because they would have to pay for another train ticket – however, it wasn’t far from the truth to say that they couldn’t afford another ticket, either, so Jinki was secretly grateful for Kibum’s ability to calculate well.

Meanwhile, Jonghyun had nodded to signal he had accepted Kibum’s decision.

“Okay then… I’ll help you in a moment, but come here first.”

He patted the bed next to him and after glancing warily at his unfinished work, Kibum did actually get up from his chair and shuffle over to the older where he let himself flop down onto the soft surface the bed provided, burying his face in the pillow.

Jinki’s heart ached when he observed Jonghyun throwing an arm over Kibum’s form and pulling him close. It was rare to see their resident caretaker in such a fragile state, or at least Kibum didn’t show his own timidity as often, which was why no one quite knew how to deal with situations like this – except, of course, for Jonghyun, the boy whose skin was so thin that any emotion, positive or negative, could permeate through it.

They all had their own way of caring for each other and Jonghyun’s was very gentle, often leaving the ones on the receiving end feel loved and warm.

As his head filled up with these thoughts and realizations, Jinki’s gaze wandered until it rested on Taemin, who was currently poking Minho’s side aggressively to distract the older boy while he cheated his way through the game. Suddenly, Jinki felt amazed at how in tune with each other Taemin and Minho were.

The second youngest had been very irritable lately, but even though he had yet to tell them what was wrong, Taemin seemed to know a magic spell for making a smile appear on Minho’s face.

For a second Jinki was reminded of Jonghyun’s and Minho’s activities a few weeks prior and a warm smile spread on his face when he thought how glad he was that Taemin seemed to be functioning normally, even with them as his only friends.

On the bed next to Jinki, both Kibum and Jonghyun had pulled themselves up again, apparently ready to resume their work. That was when Jinki felt it was right to say something, to confirm Kibum’s plans for the next weekend.

“So, you’ll be leaving on Friday afternoon then. Jjong-ah or I can take you to the train station, and don’t worry if you only get back on Sunday evening.”

His sudden trip to his hometown became the reason why Kibum wasn’t able to witness the incredible firsthand. Jonghyun sent him off at the train station on Friday afternoon and therefore he wasn’t home when Taemin returned from his extra dance rehearsal in the evening, all red cheeks, skipping steps and squinting eyes.

His three hyungs that were present at that time all gave him puzzled looks as their minds tried to comprehend what exactly had Taemin looking so excited. They needn’t ask, however, as the words started to rapidly leave the maknae’s mouth the second he passed through the door of the shop, knowing all too well that the others had already closed minutes ago.

“Jinki-hyung, you won’t believe what happened today! None of you will!” Taemin exclaimed, dropping his bag with his dancing clothes right where he stood before crossing his arms in front of his chest.

It did not look intimidating or impressive in the least due to the fact that Taemin’s shoulders were still only half as wide as Minho’s or Jonghyun’s, and the adorable sight in front of their eyes made all three older boys smile at the youngest’ antics.

However, for once Taemin completely ignored their reaction, if he even noticed it in his excitement, and continued talking instead.

“Look, a few new guys joined our team today, because their group is splitting and a few of them wanna join us so they’re gonna participate in our performance, too. We were actually twice as many as usual, Seunghyun-hyung almost screamed his head off.”

“Oh, Taemin-ah, there were a lot of customers today!” Jonghyun happily interrupted him as he assumed the maknae simply wanted to tell them that the number of dancers participating in his upcoming performance had multiplied. “Remember Hakyeon-ssi? He came in again today and we had a nice chat with him, he asked about you, too. And our-“

“Jonghyun-hyung!”

Jonghyun’s eyes landed on Taemin who had stomped his foot on the ground like a stubborn child, his bottom lip jutted out in a pout as he attempted to glare at his short hyung.

“I wasn’t done yet! You’re ruining the punchline!”

“There’s a…punchline?” Jinki piped up, but quickly shut his mouth when he, too, fell victim to Taemin’s sharp glare.

“Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted by someone,” the youngest side-eyed Jonghyun which caused the older to back away instinctively, “I was about to go on with my story. I want you all to guess who was there, too. At my rehearsal I mean.”

He snickered a bit as he looked into the puzzled faces of the older three boys, who looked too innocent since they found themselves at a total loss for what to say.

Finally, Minho randomly guessed, “someone from your school? A classmate?” but Taemin only shook his head vehemently as his smile turned into a smirk, a slight hint of evil glinting in his dark eyes.

“No. You know them, too.”

“Maybe…someone from around here? The shop I mean,” Jinki carefully suggested, his brows furrowed as he watched Taemin’s reaction.

It wasn’t the oldest boy’s aim to spoil Taemin’s fun, yet truthfully, he had no idea what could be the right answer so the only thing he could do was guess the way Minho had, even if it meant upsetting the maknae. To everyone’s surprise, the right corner of Taemin’s mouth twitched with irritation, but within a second, the smug smirk had spread on his face again.

“You gotta tell me who?”

“Ah, I know, I know!” Jonghyun chimed in, now seeming a little too excited about the guessing game. “It was Hak- Wait, no, he was here till we closed. But then-“ He only halted for a moment before announcing, “it was the boy that always comes here. He came in today, too, but a lot earlier than usual. It must have been him.”

Taemin’s smirk turned into a scowl at Jonghyun’s answer and Minho could barely keep himself from bursting into laughter, yet managed to hold his chuckles in for the sake of peace and harmony. The maknae looked scandalized enough by the fact that Jonghyun had guessed right, and they all knew how hard to deal with a moody Taemin could be, especially now that Kibum was gone.

“You’re no fun, hyung!” Taemin grumbled after a while of silence, his shoulders slumping slightly as the sole of his shoe scraped over the floor with in unpleasant scratching noise that had Jinki cringe. “I was supposed to shock you all, but you spoiled it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Taemin-ah,” Jonghyun genuinely told him, eyes honest, “I didn’t think it would be right.”

“But it was…”

“Hey, Minnie, did you talk to him then?” Jinki quickly stepped in in an attempt to dissolve the tension that had built up between them. “We haven’t even asked his name so far, even though he’s been coming nearly every day since we opened.”

“His name’s Jongin or something,” Taemin quietly said. “They all introduced themselves at the beginning. But I didn’t speak to him directly…”

He continued to shuffle his feet as he tried to hide the lie he had just told – in reality, Taemin knew for sure that the boy’s name was Jongin and that he was half a year younger than him, almost born in the next year, but he didn’t want to let his hyungs know yet. It filled him with embarrassment that he had yet to muster up enough courage to talk to the other boy, who seemed to be as shy as he was. Therefore, he decided to change the topic quickly and straightened up a bit on that behalf, raising his head as the smile made its way back onto his face.

“It’s not a big deal anyway. What’s much more important, though – what’s for dinner?”

“Well… Since Bummie is away, I asked Minho-yah to cook, but he…well…”

Jinki trailed off as his eyes wandered towards Minho who crossed his arms in front of his chest, pretending to be offended by the oldest boy’s words.

“Jinki-hyung!” he exclaimed with a scandalized expression. “You make it seem like I burned our kitchen. In reality, I am a great cook, especially with my little helping elf Jonghyun-hyung-“

“I’m not little!”

“Shut up, shorty-hyung. Anyway, what I meant to say was that I was in the mood for ramen.”

“So we’re eating instant noodles tonight.”

Taemin did his best not to grimace at that prospect, even though he had hoped for something more nutritious after the exhausting dance rehearsal he had been through. However, all boys knew there was no point in trying to argue with Minho, since their second youngest could be more stubborn than Kibum if he wanted to.

And that was why dinner passed without a single complaint being made by any of the present persons, which was a rare occasion. Normally, Taemin or Minho would at least express their dislike for the greens Kibum liked to decorate their food with, but today the only thing swimming inside their biggest pot were noodles floating in a broth made of water and flavored powder that Minho claimed tasted like chicken – to Jinki, who truly was an expert when it came to poultry, it tasted like salt only, yet he didn’t dare to say anything.

Even though Taemin had seemed so excited about his encounter with their most faithful regular at the shop, he didn’t seem too keen on talking about it even later, when they had all gone to bed after playing a few games of cards with each other. Now Jonghyun was sniffling on his own in the bed he normally shared with Kibum, whining about the lack of additional warmth.

“I’m lonely here,” he complained for the third time in a row as he rolled over, pulling the blankets tighter around his small body. “What is life…”

“Do you want me to join you?” Jinki graciously offered, but Jonghyun shook his head with a pout as he buried himself in his self-made cocoon.

“Don’t be silly, hyung, you can’t get a minute of sleep with someone lying next to you, you said that yourself. Don’t worry about me, I’ve dealt with insomnia before and I can do it again.”

At the last part, a tiny smile appeared on Jonghyun’s face, though his eyes turned sad at the same time. It was true that he had battled sleeplessness for years before moving in with Jinki and the other three boys, yet weirdly, sleeping next to someone seemed to help most nights. Now Jonghyun wanted nothing more than to have Kibum’s familiar body by his side, but the only gesture that gave away his true feelings was the way his fingers dug deeply into the pillow his bedmate normally used, knuckles turning white.

When Jinki asked if Jonghyun was sure he wanted to stay on his own once again, the younger quickly nodded, flashing a quick smile with closed eyes at his hyung.

“I’m fine, but thank you.”

While the two oldest members of the SHINee family had held their little conversation, Minho and Taemin had completely disappeared into their own world that only the two of them could visit. They lay facing each other, their noses only a few inches apart, and every time Minho showed him a new expression, giggles poured out of Taemin’s mouth even though the maknae desperately tried to muffle his laughter with his hand.

Any spectators could watch in astonishment how Minho’s behavior underwent drastic changes every time he was with Taemin. Usually he never failed to whip out a snarky comment and his replies could even be a little insulting at times. Additionally, his mood had been foul lately, which in turn made Jinki and Jonghyun, who worked with the younger during the day, suffer a bit.

However, as soon as Taemin returned from school, Minho’s frown turned into a smile and the usually overly sarcastic boy became unbelievably childish, his eyes gleaming with innocence that no one would assume Minho still possessed. Now it was like that, too, and Minho had turned from a grumpy teenager into Taemin’s personal entertainer. It was hard to tell what exactly had caused the two youngest boys’ amusement or how their playfulness had started, but both of them were completely caught up, their minds off somewhere else.

“Hyung, my stomach hurts from laughing,” Taemin whined when Minho’s faced morphed into a hilarious grimace yet again, and in order to lay more stress on his words as well as to catch the older’s attention, he lightly punched Minho’s stomach.

“Seunghyun-hyung will scold me if I tell him I got my aching muscles from your stupid shenanigans,” he went on as Minho huffed, looking at him with a scandalized expression.

“Ow, that hurt,” the older told him with a scolding glare, even though Taemin’s punch had been considerably weaker than the ones Minho had received from Kibum before. “You have another rehearsal tomorrow?”

Taemin rolled his eyes, unbothered by the fact that he was supposed to respect the older boy.

“I told you all, like, five times already, hyung. Our first performance is next Friday when the holidays start, of course we’re going to practice a lot beforehand.”

“Dammit,” Minho frowned, his teeth digging into his plump bottom lip. It was a habit of his when he became nervous and Taemin’s brow furrowed too as he tried to figure out the cause of his hyungs sudden distress. “I thought you could take over for me for a few hours since I’ve got something to take care of, but apparently that won’t happen.”

“Is it that important, hyung?” Taemin inquired, feeling guilt gnaw at his heart at Minho’s sullen expression. “Maybe I can…”

“Don’t worry, Taeminnie, hyung will do it some other time!” Minho interrupted him and as quickly as it had appeared, his frown was gone and replaced by one of his wide grins that made him look like a frog. “It’s not that urgent anyway, I’ll just help the hyungs out like usual. Plus, you’re too young to be working at the shop…”

He trailed off, his eyes searching a point of fixation on Taemin’s boyish face, when suddenly his face lit up as if he had just remembered something important.

“Tell me, Minnie,” he then said, his tone careful now, coaxing, “why didn’t you talk to the boy – Jongin, the regular, you know? I know you’ve been wanting to for a while.”

“Um…”

Now it was Taemin’s turn to avert his eyes and frown, his gaze darting around as a blush crept up his neck and settled on the tips of his ears. His mouth was bone-dry all of a sudden and he felt the overwhelming urge to blink, even if it was just to avoid looking at Minho.

It was a common belief among young children that if you were unable to see a person, they couldn’t see you either. Taemin seemed to think that too, as his eyes were squeezed shut tightly but he had only turned away from Minho slightly, which amused the older just as much as the maknae’s apparent embarrassment.

Originally, he had just been curious about the boy, Jongin, since he was their most faithful customer, but now that Minho had witnessed such a strong reaction he wanted to know what was going on in Taemin’s head.

“I can still see you,” he informed the younger as he shifted a bit, carefully readjusting the blanket he had wrapped around his lanky body to keep the cold winter air from hitting his toes. “What’s with that blush?”

“I’m a failure, hyung,” Taemin whined into his pillow miserably, rolling around to further illustrate his discontentment. “I didn’t dare to talk to him! I hate it so much, but I just can’t go to people and speak to them, especially if it’s out of the blue.

“Hell, if Kibum-hyung hadn’t dragged me along for lunch after bumping into me on my way home from school, I wouldn’t even be here right now. I’d still be stuck…in that place, living through the same stuff again and again and it’d be my own fault. Sometimes I really hate myself.”

Even though the last words had been spoken in a much softer and quieter way, they didn’t fail to alarm Minho whose head shot up from the pillow at Taemin’s statement, his large eyes widening comically.

“Stop saying that!” he commanded, the words coming out a bit more harshly than he had intended. “That’s bull, Taemin! You’re really cute and I’m sure we would have met some other way… It doesn’t matter that you’re shy. I just thought that, well, you’d enjoy talking to him.”

“I think I would,” Taemin quietly admitted, still talking into his pillow rather than facing Minho. “It’s just…my stupid shyness keeps me from doing it.”

Minho opened his mouth, ready to add something to the conversation, but Taemin stopped him with a slight wave of his hand before slowly rolling over again.

“I’m tired… Can we sleep now?”

The finality of his statement didn’t leave room for any further discussion, so Minho just nodded. Taemin’s eyes closed immediately and the maknae’s face relaxed as his breathing evened out, but Minho made sure to stay awake watching him a few more minutes, even though Jinki was already snoring on his couch, too.

In the dark room that was only illuminated by the yellow-tinted light provided the street lamp outside the building they lived in, Taemin’s face looked younger than ever, his features soft and full of innocence. Minho carefully brushed back a strand of the younger boy’s hair as he pondered on the words Taemin had spoken earlier.

His teeth nibbled at his lip again as he remembered his own business and, frustrated by the world and how things were going, Minho let his head drop onto the pillow, closing his eyes as well.

Soon, the only one left awake was Jonghyun who lay on his back in the dark, fighting his own silent battle to keep his thoughts locked in a cage for tonight.

**********************************

Even though the conversation with Minho had once again encouraged Taemin to talk to the boy in his dancing lessons, Jongin, the rehearsal on Saturday wasn’t very fruitful. The youngest tried to go up to Jongin and start a conversation, yet the moment his legs had to move, he froze up, unable to control his limbs anymore. It was really no wonder because Taemin hated talking to strangers more than anything.

Whenever Seunghyun, the senior who had choreographed their dance and was leading the team, asked him something in front of the group, Taemin’s throat became terribly dry and he had to keep himself from coughing. Sometimes, he also choked on his own spit and those were the moments that left him the most embarrassed, since he was unable to answer then.

Therefore, talking to the boy seemed like an impossible task to Taemin, and although he hated seeing hope light up in his hyungs’ eyes only to vanish again when he told them he hadn’t spoken a single word, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

However, it seemed like Taemin was fortunate these days, as a wonderful opportunity arose on Sunday, the third day of practicing in a row. Only half of the dancing team had come, including all of those who had only joined in recently, which inspired Seunghyun to split them into pairs so that they could perfect their performance.

If it was a coincidence or Seunghyun’s doing that Taemin ended up with Jongin, the maknae would never find out. However, he didn’t have the opportunity to worry about it anyway since his mind blanked the second Jongin stood in front of him, looking even more baby-faced yet somehow still taller than him.

For a moment, the two boys stayed silent, their gazes wandering anywhere but to the place where the other stood. It was as if any contact between them was toxic, as they both avoided it at all costs. Finally, Taemin opened his mouth and even though he did not dare to face the other boy yet, he couldn’t believe he was actually talking to Jongin.

“Hey, so we’re partnered up now. I…guess I should introduce myself, my name’s Taemin.”

“I’m Jongin, I’m fourteen!” the other boy responded and it sounded like he was choking on each word.

Nonetheless, Taemin couldn’t help but notice that Jongin’s voice was somehow deeper than his own, too, even though he was, apparently, younger. That newly acquired piece of knowledge made Taemin feel a lot more comfortable, though, and he straightened up a bit, finally able to look into the other boy’s face.

“I’m fifteen!” he then said, his voice now confident. “Call me hyung!”

“Got it, Taemin-hyung.”

Jongin’s voice sounded so determined that Taemin almost expected the young boy to perform a salute right in front of him, yet in the end he just bowed deeply, requesting, “please take care of me!”

“So, do you know all parts of the choreography?” Taemin inquired as his body relaxed even more at the chance of their talk turning professional.

It seemed easier for him to talk about dancing with Jongin, as it was a topic he was confident about, and soon the conversation of the two boys was flowing naturally as they went through the moves they had to perform together.

“Your turn isn’t quite fast enough,” Taemin stated when Jongin got stuck for the third time, all during the same movement. “It has to be quicker so you can be ready for the next move on time, otherwise you’ll miss the beat. By the way, is there any dancing style you prefer?”

“Well, I like ballet and contemporary a lot,” the younger boy quietly replied, his brown eyes trained on his feet which had failed him just now. “And modern, if you even differentiate there. But I always thought graceful dancing was the most beautiful.”

“Wow, I feel like that, too!”

Taemin’s eyes widened incredulously when he realized that the boy had voiced out the thoughts he had failed to put into clear words all those years. Whenever Taemin performed modern dance choreographies, he imagined himself hovering, floating on warm air, and in those moments, he turned into a creature as slight and frail as a butterfly.

His steps turned lighter and lighter until they could hardly be heard on the ground and he seemed to fly whenever he jumped, his weight non-existent during the dance – that was the art of Taemin’s dance.

“Really?”

A flash of hope appeared in Jongin’s eyes as the boy looked up, meeting Taemin’s gaze and not backing away when they locked eyes. All the fear and respect that had been evident in the posture of Jongin’s body had vanished, replaced by a childlike excitement over something unexpected.

“I never thought…you’re so good at this choreo, hyung, and it’s so entirely different from classical dance. But…”

Slowly the corners of Jongin’s mouth lifted until he was smiling happily at Taemin, leaving the older no choice but to grin back as an unknown kind of warmth spread in his chest.

“I always felt like I was the only one who thought like that,” Jongin continued, a new note of vulnerability sneaking into his voice. “I mean- I’m a boy and I didn’t know a lot of guys who did ballet. And I’m not graceful – a hyung I know, Yixing-hyung, calls me powerful, but I’m not… I’m a boy.”

Deep wrinkles had appeared on Taemin’s forehead at Jongin’s words and now the older boy opened his mouth, ready to respond with a monologue. He was all too familiar with the mindset Jongin had described, but if living with his four hyungs had told him anything, it was that this view was just not right.

“It doesn’t matter,” he seriously said. “Gender doesn’t matter. Neither does appearance. What you need for dancing is a feeling for the beat, for the music. You need emotions you want to express and you need to find a way to achieve the effect you want to achieve.

“But it doesn’t matter if your moves are powerful and strong or light and graceful. There’s different things you can express through dancing. That’s why there are so many choreographies and why people still continue creating new ones.

“There is no limit to dancing and no rule you desperately need to follow. If you feel natural and at peace while doing ballet, so be it. You’re the one moving, you should know best what you feel comfortable with…

“So instead of worrying if a style suits you because of your appearance or gender or whatever, work on your movements. I think you need to find out what you have to do in order to feel comfortable while dancing and that’s-“

“Giving a little speech for inspiration, I see,” the amused voice of their team leader, Lee Seunghyun, interrupted Taemin’s monologue which Jongin had been listening to intently, his eyes bright and full of genuine interest.

At the choreograph’s sudden appearance he jumped and even though it was Taemin who had been scolded jokingly, Jongin bowed to Seunghyun, mumbling out his apologies.

“It’s fine, boys,” Seunghyun laughed as he ruffled Taemin’s hair, causing the younger to scoff when his senior didn’t look at him. “Actually, I’m glad you seem to be getting along. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Taemin say more than two sentences in a row before.”

Taemin shrunk a bit when his insecurities were brought up again, but at the sight of Jongin standing right in front of him, he remembered that he had made it further than he had ever expected and a smile bloomed on his face.

“It’s just that I don’t like you!” he boldly announced, the devil in his head smirking at Seunghyun’s fake-hurt expression.

“You kids are brats nowadays,” the older man said. “Have some respect, I’m your senior.”

However, he was clearly putting on an act and actually not offended in the slightest by Taemin’s daring statement.

“Well, I’m gonna leave you on your own now!” Seunghyun then said. “Just make sure to practice the choreography!”

The rest of the rehearsal passed by in a blink, even though it was undoubtedly exhausting, especially as most dancers weren’t used to such an intense training routine. Due to their young age, neither Taemin nor Jongin had problems with stamina, but their muscles still ached when they walked out of the dancing studio at precisely seven o’clock, ready to head home after a long day.

“Taemin-hyung, I gotta wait here,” Jongin shyly announced while the two boys were walking down the corridor. “My mum is picking me up in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, well then.”

Taemin stopped, eyeing Jongin who had done the same before awkwardly clearing his throat.

“See you at rehearsal, I guess?” the older boy cautiously said.

“Maybe before that. Maybe at the coffee shop, too,” Jongin hopefully added.

The mention of SHINee World had Taemin smiling all the way to the first floor. It was the first time Jongin had addressed the fact that he was a regular at the coffee shop and he had only done so briefly, but Taemin couldn’t help but feel giddy at the prospect of meeting Jongin there.

He already felt connected to the boy and it was as if he’d always known, as he had been harboring the desire to speak to Jongin since long before the younger had joined his dance team.

When Taemin stepped out of the building, he immediately spotted Kibum leaning against the wall of the building with his tiny, semi-wrecked suitcase next to him, looking exhausted yet happy and thus exactly the way Taemin felt.

“Hyung!” the boy called as he sped up, walking towards Kibum who raised his head and smiled brightly.

“Taeminnie!” he greeted the younger boy with a hug and a kiss on his cheek, unbothered by the sweaty stickiness of Taemin’s skin. “I thought I’d pick you up right after my train arrived, so I have my suitcase with me.”

“That’s so nice of you, hyung!” Taemin beamed, genuinely happy that Kibum had thought of him even after the undoubtedly long and draining day he had had. “The other hyungs said they wouldn’t be here since they wanted to check the finances together, so I didn’t even expect anyone to come.”

“Lemme tell you something even better!” For a moment, Kibum slipped into Daegu dialect, which was linked to the fact that he had spent the weekend in his hometown, but he immediately noticed and shook his head. “Sorry. Anyway, I brought food! My grandma gave me a lot – apparently I look too thin and I showed her those really crappy pictures we took on the opening day of the shop and now she’s determined to feed all five of us. Well, she said Minho looks healthy and handsome. I have no idea what’s wrong with her eyes.”

Both boys giggled at Kibum’s remark before Taemin asked, “is your grandma okay? You mentioned she was ill?”

“She was, but luckily she’s a lot better already,” Kibum replied, relief written all over his face. “It was still a good thing that I decided to visit because she really needs more help than she lets on. She just complained about the fact that I didn’t bring any of you, especially Jjong-hyung. She adores him.”

“Who doesn’t? He’s tiny and cute,” Taemin huffed.

“Yes, I know. Well, one day I want all of you to meet my grandma. She’ll probably love you. But anyway, enough of my weekend – tell me Taemin, how are you doing? Did your exam on Friday go well?”

“Yeah, hyung, it really did!” Taemin proudly told Kibum, who smiled at that. “But, something really exciting happened today! Guess what! I actually talked to Jongin – can you believe that?”

“Who’s Jongin?”

An expression of infinite confusion took over Kibum’s facial features and only then Taemin remembered that the older hadn’t heard about their youngest regular yet.

“The boy who always comes to the shop and drinks hot chocolate there – basically our only regular – joined my dancing team on Friday,” Taemin finally elaborated, watching in awe when Kibum’s almond-shaped eyes widened. “Unbelievable, right? I really wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t dare to. You know, I’m not the best at making friends.

“But today Seunghyun-hyung made us work together and we got along great! He’s really nice, and he’s younger than me – he even calls me hyung!”

Kibum’s smile grew even wider when he saw Taemin looking so pleased with himself. It filled the older with joy to hear that the usually timid and introverted maknae had opened up to another person, especially one who shared his passion for dancing.

“Hey, I’m proud of you,” Kibum sincerely told Taemin as his fingers prodded at the younger boy’s hand. “You’re doing really well, Taemin-ah, I’m sure your performances are going to be great. The others and I will definitely watch you!”

“Jonghyun-hyung said he’ll come to all three shows,” Taemin said while rolling his eyes fondly at the thought of his hyung’s antics. “He’s such an idiot sometimes.”

“A loveable idiot.”

Finally, Kibum had managed to link their hands together, his slender fingers intertwined with Taemin’s slightly shorter and rougher ones. They made their way home like that, holding each other’s hands tightly, and talking about various things.

When they got home, they were excitedly greeted by the other three boys and while Minho obsessed over the food Kibum had brought and Jinki almost burst with happiness when he heard what Taemin had accomplished, Kibum fretted over the dark bags under Jonghyun’s eyes and the tired, defeated look on his face. In the end the diva, who was such a loving and motherly person nonetheless, successfully put the second-oldest to sleep before dinner and glared at everyone who dared to make any noise near their bed.

As Taemin completed his last bits of homework, glancing up at Kibum’s and Jonghyun’s curled up figures occasionally, he thought about Jongin and their conversation.

Even then, he already knew that this was only the start of a deep and long friendship with the boy – with Jongin, Nini.

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oof, i'm sry for taking so long to update. it's mostly because this fic is a vent fic and i write it to overcome writer's block and stuff. atm i'm busy af tho and also rlly inspired by another story of mine - i started posting the first part which is called 'Let's talk about , baby'.

for those of you who are interested, it's romance and the ships are jongkey / taemkey. i don't wanna spoil too much, but i gotta say that the story means a whole lot to me and i rlly love how it turned out.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter after years of not updating. have a nice week!