On Wednesday night I was laying on my stomach on the couch, texting Jinki with clumsy fingers. I wasn’t very good yet, but I was working on it. Either way, my face lit up every time he responded, and I had even managed to enter Jonghyun and Key’s numbers in my phone so I could text them when we were apart. Jinki had made an official decision on the venue for the wedding, and the date was set for the following Thursday.

I looked at the time, and realized Jinki would be home any minute. I looked over at Key, who was working out the final details and costs. He looked up at me with a smile, reaching up and rubbing my back gently. I let my head fall on my arms, my phone in my hand. Key pulled his hand back and went back to work, and a moment later I heard the door to the apartment open. I sat up quickly, watching Jinki come in. He smiled when he saw me, coming to sit on the couch with me.

“How was your day?” He asked, winding his arm around me. I leaned on him happily, and he smiled.

“It was good. Key made cake for me to try so he would know what kind to make for Thursday.” I told him. His eyebrows went up.

“What kind did you choose?” He asked, then shook his head. “Wait, let me guess. Chocolate.”

“How’d you know?” I asked, genuinely surprised, but he rolled eyes.

“Lucky guess.” He said, grabbing my belt loops and spinning me so my back was to him.

Before I had a chance to ask what he was doing, he began massaging my back. I felt myself relaxing as he worked the various knots loose, and I grunted slightly as he pressed on a tough spot, my eyes closing as I became a puddle on the couch. When he was done he pulled me back, and I flopped against him like a ragdoll. He laughed softly, running his fingers through my hair.

“So, my mom is going to be at the wedding. Remember her?” Jinki said. I nodded, smiling up at him. His mother was really nice.

“I’m going to need your sizes, Jinki.” Key said, and Jinki nodded.

“I’ll write them down for you later.” He said. “Are you bringing Taemin with you to get the tuxes?”

“Of course I am.” Key said, not turning around. I puffed up my cheeks, then blew all the air out, watching as it caught Jinki’s hair and fluffed it up. He looked down at me, and I giggled.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Jinki said. My eyebrows went up.

“Is everything ok?” I asked. He shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Well, Jessica’s been getting some calls...” He said. I sat up slowly, turning around to look at him. I knew the others were watching us, and I squirmed a bit as I waited for him to continue speaking. “The local news channel wants to film the wedding.”

“Why?” I asked, tilting my head.

“It’s unusual for an underage boy to get married, especially to another boy.” Jinki said. “We can say no, if you don’t want to, but they’re offering to pay for everything if we let them.”

“Can I think about it?” I asked, my eyes low. He pulled me closer to him, his hand gliding across my back as I settled into his grasp.

“Yeah. But they want an answer before the weekend, so don’t think too long ok?” He said. I nodded, biting at my lip. It was such an unconscious action that I was surprised when Jinki ran his thumb over my lip, effectively causing me to release it. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“Sorry.” I said, blushing softly. He smiled, tilting my chin up and kissing me softly.

-----------------------------

Key continued to equally surprise and terrify me, time and time again.

He had dragged me off to get sized with Jonghyun and Minho for the wedding, but instead of letting the people do their job, he was attacking us each in turn with the measuring tape. He was yelling out commands to the employees, all of whom seemed a bit flustered as they darted around, collecting the various things Key was demanding. By the end of it he had us all in clothes that definitely did not belong to us. I wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but I didn’t understand why people were staring at me. Key ushered me in front of a mirror, then went to adjust Minho’s vest as I stared in disbelief at my reflection.

I didn’t spend a lot of time looking in the mirror as a general rule. I didn’t have the self confidence to stare at the face that my parents hated so much. My hair was longer than most girls, and I tried not to think about the last time I had had a haircut, but the memory replayed without my permission.

My mother had heard people commenting on what a pretty daughter she had, and while that was hard enough to hear on my own, it was worse with her around. It made her angry, and she had pinned me down, cutting at my hair with a kitchen knife. I remembered the pain I felt as the blade pulled my hair out at the roots, making my already sensitive scalp painful to touch. I felt my eyes watering as I thought about all the pain she had caused me, and stared at the result of that pain in the reflection of myself.

I hated my hair. I really did, but I didn’t know how to get rid of it without it hurting, or triggering waves of anxiety that I just couldn’t control. Even then, just thinking about it had me trembling, and I felt tears starting to slip out. I felt someone tugging at my arm, and I looked up in a panic, only to see Jonghyun trying to pull me away from the mirror. I followed him silently into the changing room, and he handed me my clothes wordlessly, then changed himself.

“What’s the matter?” He asked. I shook my head, not wanting to admit my own thoughts, but a moment later the door opened and Minho and Key were staring at us. I bowed my head, my shoulders shaking as I tried to keep calm. Jonghyun spoke again, his tone soft. “What did you do, Kibum?”

“I...I don’t know...” Key said, his voice trembling. I slid down the wall, silently pulling my knees against my body and hiding my face. “T-Tae? What’s the matter, baby?”

He sat beside me, his arm going around me silently. I leaned against him, and he my hair softly. I let out a shaky sob, awkwardly cuddling against him, and a second later Jonghyun was on my other side. I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, but I ignored it. I couldn’t talk to Jinki right now. I just couldn’t, and that realization only served to upset me further.

“It was the mirror, wasn’t it?” Minho asked suddenly. I was surprised, but I nodded slowly. He sighed softly. “Key, Jjong, get out for a minute.”

The two seemed confused, and extremely reluctant, but Jonghyun eventually dragged Key out. Key looked pretty upset about the whole thing, but Minho shut and locked the door behind them. He took a seat on the floor against the opposite wall.

“It was your parents, right?” Minho asked. I nodded, wiping at my eyes. He sighed. “Listen to me, alright? Your parents did and said everything that they did because of their unhappiness. It was not, is not, and never will be your fault. There is nothing you could have said or done differently. They would have treated anyone this way. You are not ugly, you are not bad, you are not anything they ever said.”

I stared at him, my whole body trembling. How did he know? How could he have possibly known about that? I wiped at my eyes, then focused on his face. He looked so sincere, so understanding, and I found myself nodding in response to his kind words. He smiled softly.

“I know you won’t believe me right now, but you’ll get there.” Minho said, and I found a small piece of hope in his words. My phone vibrated again, then again, and again, and I pulled it out of my pocket. Jinki was calling me, and I pressed the talk button with shaking fingers.

“H-hello?” I said. He sighed, sounding relieved.

“Key said you started crying in the store.” He said, worry lacing his tone.

“Y-yeah..I’m ok now.” I said.

“Alright. Well, I’m going to meet you guys for lunch, ok?” He said. I covered my hand with my mouth, happiness flooding my system.

“Ok.” I said, and even I could hear the difference in my tone. “I’ll tell them.”

“They know. Finish up there, ok? My lunch break starts in half an hour.” He said. I smiled happily, nodding, then realizing that he couldn’t see me.

“Ok. I’ll see you then.” I said. He laughed.

“Alright. I love you, Taemin.” He said softly.

“I love you too. Bye.” I said, then hung up the phone. Minho’s eyebrows raised in question, and I smiled. “Come on.”