Taemin was late. 

He had practices, recording, and meetings all day, but he had to beg off that last one with a music director. By beg off, he meant almost literally grovelling at LSM-saem's feet to allow him not to have any schedules this day. But perfection takes time, and he resolved not to leave the practice room until all seven of them could execute the rather confusing I Can't Stand the Rain choreo with as much army-like precision as the flowy choreography would allow. Thank goodness they already had Jopping down pat. 

He tried reading Shawol comments on his IG, grinning at the more hysterical commentary. Checking out Kakao for meeting updates from Jongin and Wonshik. Tapping his feet against the backrest in front of him. Until... "Euisoo -hyung, how far from the CGV are we?"

SHINee's manager looked at him from the rearview mirror. "Taemin, we have plenty of time before the movie starts. The GPS says we'll be there about 30 minutes before the film starts."

Taemin suddenly looks up from rifling through his Prada messenger bag in panic. "Hyung. I can't find my..."

"I have the tickets with me, Taeminnie. Don't worry." 

Taemin exhaled loudly. "That scared me. Thanks, hyung." Taemin looked out of the van, excited thoughts churning restlessly in his mind. He couldn't wait to see the movie, but that wasn't what he's the most excited about.

Chill, Taemin, he reminded himself as he all but hopped out of the limousine van. There will be people there. Shawols invariably know when one of them would turn up for an event, sometimes even before the members themselves have confirmed their appearances. Or maybe it's just their unshakeable faith in SHINee members.

Cameras, mobile phones, gaping fans. He could almost imagine the Naver articles. "SHINee's Taemin makes an unprecedented appearance at marine lance corporal Choi Minho's movie premiere." 

Taemin has always been at the receiving end of Minho's unwavering support. He regularly sends him food and energy drinks to his rehearsals, even while he's in the marines (even Shawols don't know that), appears at least once in every major concert tour, and has this uncanny knack of initiating a Facetime call in spite of his schedule whenever Taemin feels bad. This time, it was his turn.     

He did not see MInho as he walked toward the movie theater. It was hard not to crane his head in search of his hyung on the way to his seat. But then he heard the slight commotion behind him as he entered the theater. He was all but bouncing on his seat, and it was all he could do to keep from running to his hyung. Minho-hyung is looking really well. He looks even taller in his army fatigues, and his color is a healthy tan.  He couldn't wait to talk to Minho and about his eraserhead, which he thought he could never get used to and found endlessly funny. 

Oh, well. He wouldn't give him a break about it during dinner. 

It was fascinating for Taemin to watch Minho in his other element. Taemin has always been in awe of how his hyungs are so good in everything they touch. Himself? Music and dance are his life, and performance is in his blood. He's been told that he's an excellent model, but he thinks it was only a matter of turning on a switch to a different performance persona. To him, however, he could only turn that same switch on when asked to act. He was extremely grateful to the talented director, staff and actors in the drama and to Shawols for the viewership, but he acknowledged that where his acting was concerned, Final Life appeared little more than a shampoo commercial extended for 12 episodes interspersed with him speaking in English (damn, those Shreks are funny for memefying that water purification plant line and that phone call. They actually beat him to it. Jongin and the others didn't give him a break over the memes for months.). 

Minho-hyung, however, is different. He also finds acting difficult; he is not the natural actor that Kibum-hyung or even Jinki-hyung is, despite having been touted as the actor in SHINee, but he works damn hard to be able to portray any character he takes on and delivers. The way Taemin lends himself to perfecting his craft, Minho-hyung does it toward acting and he could almost see the blood, sweat, and tears that Minho invests in every role. 

Watching Jangsari onscreen, Taemin thought again of how the past couple of years have added maturity to Minho-hyung's acting and how much he wishes to God that his hyung didn't have to gain that gravitas the way he did.  

Taemin quickly dashed away the few stray tears that leaked from his eyes before anybody noticed. Thank goodness for his massive specs. All too soon, the movie was over, and the audience started piling out of the movie theater.

"Taemin, you-" , Taemin thinks to himself, half-smiling at the implied invective that Minho usually greets him with offcam. "Did you like it?" He felt a hand heavily clamp on his shoulder, and he was pulled in for a quick hug.

"Sugohaesso, hyung," he responded, returning Minho's greeting with a squeeze. "It was really, really good. You almost made me cry."

Minho's eyes widened in delight. "Really? I made our Taeminnie almost cry? Damn, I must be really good in this movie, then."
Taemin snorted and whispered, "Shut up, I have an image to uphold."
"Aigoo, you yourself ruined that image during The Unit when you cried over Moonkyu's audition." 
"It was the director's instructions!"
"Sure, I believe you." 

Taemin and Minho headed out of the theater, bickering softly (at the risk of everyone overhearing) and chatting about their favorite parts of the movie. It almost felt like the old days, with the exception of Minho's outfit and the army personnel following him. And, you know, the protecting the country bit by enlisting in the most difficult unit. The usual. 

"Hyung, are we having dinner at Sedu-hyung's place? I crave snails. I want snails. I deserve snails. So do you."

Minho grinned. "Sure, let me just-" but the army personnel following him whispered something in his ear.

"I'm so sorry, Taeminnie. The commander contacted everyone tonight and said that he wants us back at HQ ASAP. I can't have dinner with you tonight. Next time I'm off, I promise."   

"Ah, I understand. Next time, then, " Taemin replied, tempering his crestfallen expression as Minho walked him to his car door and headed toward the army-issued vehicle that was his ride that evening. They both smilingly waved each other goodbye and got on their respective rides. 

Jin looked at Taemin through the side mirror. "You want snails, Taeminnie?"        

Taemin smiled slightly and shook his head. "Next time, Euisoo-hyung. I'm still full from the popcorn. You should rest, too, it's late. Just drop me off at my place, ok?"

Taemin met Jin's eyes in the rearview mirror. Even in the dark interior, he could read the concern in their manager's eyes, but the man only thanked him and proceeded to drive toward his address in Cheongdam-dong.

 
He looked out of his window and up at the moon. Looks like it's just you and me again tonight, Jonghyunnie-hyung.

***