“Do you hate me?” Taemin asked, breaking the silence that ensued. He couldn’t afford to look at Minho, so he didn’t. Not until they managed to clear everything. He was afraid to.

“No, of course not,” came Minho’s reply, short and foul but precise. “But,” he sighed. Taemin noticed the way he had his fingers clasped over his temple, a gesture that was far too familiar for the past few months of living together without proper communication. He was not having it, Taemin thought.

“But what?” Taemin leaned forward, letting go of the flimsy fabric of his trousers to reach for the paper without having any intention to leave a signature. “You cannot deal with me anymore? You fell out of love with me?” His words rolled off the tip of his tongue sounding tensed and forced, voice laced with venom and unconcealed excruciating pain. Insecurities had been eating him inside out since the first day he noticed the change in the odd pattern of their relationship but each time it reached the peak, Taemin reminded himself that Minho loved him. That there must be a reason why Minho married him out of all people. Minho loved him. “You don’t feel happy with me?”

Or you’ve found someone better? He questioned at the back of his head, but he didn’t say it.

Never out loud.

Taemin-centric: a short story that unfolds the struggle of a man who needs to get back on his feet and move on with his life.

- Please excuse any mistakes as English is not my native language!