If you haven't read chapter 7 yet, pls make sure to do so before reading this one!

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The next meeting with Key was awkward, to say the least. Taemin had really dreaded the day he would see her again and when it had finally come, after a week of getting tutored by Kibum, it was just as bad as Taemin had feared.

He didn’t know how to look Key in the eye anymore, let alone talk to her. There was always that feeling of betrayal in his gut – why had she never mentioned anything about her boyfriend?

Taemin felt like he had been deceived cruelly, although the rational part of him knew that wasn’t what had happened. He had simply developed a crush on an older girl and she just so happened to be taken. It was no wonder, really, considering how pretty and kind she was.

If Key noticed the change in Taemin’s behavior, she chose to ignore it and didn’t ask him about it. After the lesson, which was a lot shorter than usual, Taemin went back to school for dance practice.

That was where he met Jongin, who also seemed a bit grumpy.

“How was your lesson with noona?” he nonetheless asked, but before Taemin could give an adequate answer he had already turned away to start stretching.

Sighing, Taemin followed his example, knowing that the coach didn’t want to see him slacking off. There was a question on the tip of his tongue, though, one that he had been dying to ask ever since he had seen Key with her boyfriend.

“Jongin?” Taemin finally called.

“Huh?” His best friend looked at him, still pulling at his arm.

“So… Key-noona’s boyfriend – that Jonghyun-guy, you know. How… How long have they been together?” 

“Oh,” Jongin shrugged, “they’ve been together for ages. Since Key-noona was in middle school I think? Yeah, Jonghyun-hyung asked her out when she was fourteen or something, but they’ve been in love since forever ago.” 

As Jongin continued talking, Taemin’s heart sank. This was what he had feared – that Jonghyun and Key weren’t only a teenage romance; instead, they were in a solid relationship that didn’t seem like it would end anytime soon.

“You know, Jonghyun-hyung is one and a half years older than noona, but he never cared about their age difference, neither when they were in primary school nor now. A lot of girls asked him out, since Jonghyun used to be pretty popular around here, but he never even looked at them. 

“Hyung is one of the greatest persons I know, and he treats Key-noona well like she deserves! I wouldn’t want her to be with any other guy than him.”

“He sounds great,” Taemin commented with a sour smile, his insides churning.

Now he hated that puppy-man even more than before, after listening to Jongin. How could anyone be this perfect? If Jonghyun really was what he seemed to be, Taemin didn’t stand a chance – and he hated it.

Taemin spent the rest of the afternoon in a bad mood, but that was nothing new – these days he was always pissed off by the fact that Key would never be his. It was a shame, really, that the one time he fell this hard for someone, they happened to have a boyfriend they would most likely get married to in a few years.

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The next few lessons with Key were very awkward and tiring, both due to the fact that Taemin’s English exam was next week and that he didn’t know what to talk about anymore. All he could think of was Key in Jonghyun’s embrace, her behind him on the motorbike, their linked hands as they strolled down the street.

He hated it so much.

“Hey, Taemin,” Key said softly the day before the exam. “Tomorrow…after you’ve done the exam and all…I wanna treat you.”

“Treat me?” Taemin asked, his voiced heavily laced with sarcasm. “Shouldn’t you wait till you see my results?”

Key shook her head.

“I don’t think so. You’ve been working so hard and you really improved, too. Our work just has to pay off! And I really think you deserve a treat. Besides, I want to introduce you to a few other people I think you’d get along with.

“So, I’d be glad if you came along tomorrow. But only if you want to, of course…”

She looked at him directly, a rare spark of vulnerability showing in her eyes, and Taemin hated it. He hated how he couldn’t refuse her, even after he had been led on.

“I-I’ll come,” he stuttered, although he knew Jonghyun would be there.

He didn’t want to be introduced to Key’s boyfriend, but she looked so hopeful that he didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

“Great!” she beamed. “You know the café near our school, the one that sells these delicious pastries the older students always eat for lunch? We’ll meet there at 4!”

“I’ll be there,” Taemin mumbled and was about to get up from the table when he suddenly felt a warm hand on his arm, keeping it in place for a few more seconds.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Key smiled and Taemin quickly averted her eyes, hoping he had just imagined the blush coating her cheeks.

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Despite everything he had ever told himself, Taemin made sure to dress up a bit before going to the café where he would meet Key. Jonghyun may be handsome, but he could look good, too, despite his age.

In the end, he exchanged his school uniform for a pair of black skinny jeans and a sweater topped by a leather jacket. He quickly swept his hair back, hoping Key would notice the change in style, before leaving the house to catch the bus to school.

When he arrived at the café, it was buzzing with activity and chatter, despite it being the middle of the week. A lot of university students seemed to be hanging out here and Taemin began to think it would be quite difficult to find Key in this sea of people.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice call his name, though, and he whipped around quickly, seeing Key standing a few meters away from him, waving.

Her eyes were squeezed shut as she smiled her very own dimply smile and Taemin’s heart immediately started racing. By now he had accepted that his feelings wouldn’t suddenly vanish just because she had a boyfriend, so he simply walked over to her.

“Hi,” he greeted, ready to sit down at the table, but to his surprise, Key pulled him into a hug.

Even through the thick knitted sweater she was wearing, he could feel the hem of her bra and the sensation made him blush hard.

“You made it,” Key happily said after letting him go. “I’m so glad.”

“So am I.”

That wasn’t even a lie. Taemin was incredibly happy he hadn’t turned her down yesterday – if he had, he would have never gotten to hug her like that.

“Please sit down, Minnie!”

Key gestured at the seat next to hers and it was only now that Taemin noticed the two other boys – men? – sitting at the table with his tutor. One of them was a guy he had never seen before with small eyes and a long fringe while the other was, unmistakably, Kibum’s best friend Choi Minho.

“So, Taemin, these are the people I told you about, the one I wanted to introduce you to. Hyung, Ming,” she nodded at the latter, “this is Taemin. He goes to school with u- With Minho.”

Taemin felt his cheeks grow even hotter under their curious gazes – he hated being put into the center of attention like that.

“Taemin-ah?”

Key’s voice made his head snap up.

“Huh?”

His face was burning, but no one laughed.

“Well, Taemin-ah, this is Minho – you may know him, he goes to your school. And this is Jinki… He graduated two years ago and is a university student.”

He’s four years older than me, Taemin vaguely managed to think. He must think I’m a child.

“Yah, I think I’ve seen you around!” Minho suddenly announced, startling him. “Weren’t you in the dancing room when we visited Bum there? You were with Jongin-ah, I remember you!”

“I suppose I was…” Taemin mumbled. “I…”

“Aww, you’re so shy,” Key cooed, “why are you like this? Usually, he’s a real brat. I love him, though, he is a charming devil.”

“Oh, you mean like me.”

Minho gave an exaggerated wink and Jinki immediately burst into laughter, Taemin following soon after. With that, the ice between them was broken and Taemin was finally able to get comfortable after some of the awkwardness had dissolved into thin air.

He soon realized that neither Minho nor Jinki seemed to mind his age and they were soon in the middle of a hilarious conversation. Key and Minho were definitely on one level when it came to witty comments and sarcasm – Taemin briefly wondered if Minho’s and Kibum’s relationship was like that as well – and they were constantly at each other’s throats, playfully of course.

Meanwhile, Jinki was actually a dork who liked to crack jokes that were so stupid that Taemin’s stomach began to ache from laughing too much. Time passed by so fast that it was soon getting dim outside, but none of them noticed.

It was only when Key suddenly stopped talking, her gaze wandering towards the door, that Taemin realized how many minutes had already passed.

The doorbell had just chimed, announcing the arrival of a new customer, and said customer was making his way towards their table, expertly worming his way through the sea of tables and chairs like a professional waiter.

“Oh, look who finally made it!”

Minho’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Key’s face had lightened up impossibly.

“You stupid, I told you to be here an hour ago!” she called, but her beam betrayed her, showing her true feelings.

When Jonghyun reached their table, the first thing Key did was pull him into a hug like she had with Taemin. However, this time she leant forward to press a short peck to Jonghyun’s plump lips.

“You’re finally here,” Taemin heard her whisper and suddenly, he wished he could leave.

Of course, Jonghyun sat down on Key’s other side, since their fingers were intertwined now. He was still wrapped up in a thick winter coat, though his cheeks were red from the cold anyway and so was the tip of his nose.

As much as Taemin wanted to hate this man, he had to admit he looked cute.

“So, Taemin…” Key turned back to him, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Here’s another person I w-wanted you to meet.”

She was acting a lot shyer than before, her hands fiddling with Jonghyun’s fingers on her thigh.

“This is Jonghyun, my boyfriend.”

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Jonghyun is seriously so adorable uwu ~.~ I love writing his character in this story, probably even more than i like writing about Key and Taemin. He's just so soft and kind and small (and still drives a motorbike), you can't hate him.

This chapter is a bit short, although I thought it would be longer, but I think it's important to the plot in a lot of aspects. You'll come round to see why soon enough.

Apart from that, I don't have a lot to say today. I'm very proud of Mingo for passing his marine entrance exam - it honestly fits him so well, I didn't know what else to expect from him. I'm absolutely sure he will do well in the army, just like Jinki and Kibum.

Have a nice next week everyone!