"Dammit, Taemin. Not my favorite cardigan!" 

Kibum was in equal parts amused and infuriated when he saw lm_____ltm's Instagram video. That saint veneration pose WAS funny. Give us this day our daily thread?

And the kid DID get him that matcha tiramisu thing for a birthday cake. Lord knows he loves tiramisu. Still...

"I knew I shouldn't have given him my passcode." But then again, Taemin has this uncanny knack of guessing the combination to his apartment door. That son of Satan, Francesco.

"What?!? MY HOUSE IS NOT DIRTY....much." He relented grudgingly. He knew better than to trust those friends of his who use his pad as a party place when that particular establishment in Itaewon gets too crowded. He really should have had that ahjumma tidy up more regularly. 

"Lee Taemin, how can you disregard SHINee's image like this?" He muttered in an echo of his Jonghyun-hyung's admonishment when he did My Little Television. What he would have given to have had his phone with him when the twerp went live. And he was going to hold a meet and greet in his home? In his own home? And sell off his clothes?

Granted, it would be for charity, but still. Argh!

"I sent him pictures and videos and asked if he liked it but I didn’t get a reply yet...it's sad..."

Kibum was about to exit the video to scold the imp over the phone when he heard that last Japanese bit.

As if on cue, his phone suddenly rang, and Lee Taemin's face flashed on the screen.

"Ya! What did you do to my house?!?"

"Happy birthday, Kyeong! I finally caught you!" Lee Taemin's bubbly voice all but screamed into his ear.

"You... I don't remember giving you my passcode!"

"Hehehe. You know I have my ways."

"When did you last sleep there?"

"Huh?" He could hear the surprise in Taemin's voice.

"My room. When did you last sleep there?"

"I didn't--"

"I saw your bucket hat last weekend when I went home on my birthday break. You know better than to lie to me, Lee Taemin."

"You were out, and you didn't come and see me?" It was more of a statement than a question. With it came the faintest hint of hurt.

Kibum reined in his sigh. This conversation wasn't going how he imagined it would. "You know I have to spend time with my kids and then drop them off again. And then I had to see Appa and Eomma."

"And your friends."

One exasperated exhale escaped him. "Taemin, we've already talked about this. I have my own life apart from SHINee. We all do." 

"Ah. Right."

Silence.

"So. That cardigan better be back the next time I get to go out, ok? No magic hands, or I'll sic the police at you for breaking and entering. I have proof--"

"I returned the cardigan before we left your house. I knew it was your favorite, and I didn't want to risk losing it."

"Oh."

"Moonkyu, Kwonho and I cleaned up the place a bit before leaving."

"Taemin--"

"And I got you the new iPhone. I know you must hate it that you couldn't line up for the new one. I left it underneath your watch display case when I slept over last week. I'm sorry for crashing your place, but I was tired from Super M rehearsals and I just really, really missed you."

"Taemin-ah, I--"

"Baekhyun-hyung is waving at me. I think I need to return to practice. Bye-bye, hyung."

With that, Taemin hung up. 

Kibum was left staring at his phone until his superior signalled for him to return his device. 

You're stupid, Kim Kibum. You miss him, too.
  
***