Taemin walked into his apartment with a loud sigh; it had been such an emotionally taxing day for him, and all he wanted to do was sink into bed, maybe have a warm bubble bath too, and sleep.

Ten minutes later, he was submerged in his bathtub, the foam of the bubbles sitting on the hot water like icing on a cake. The heat of the water traveled through his skin, veins and bones (or at least, that's what it felt like to him) and he let out another sigh, this time of tranquility.

He idly wondered when Minho would be home - 4 PM? 6 PM? Later than that?

Taemin loved Minho, there was no doubt about it, and he tried to show it as much as he could. He didn't have much time in his day to buy gifts for his boyfriend, but Minho didn't expect things like that - he just wanted to come home to someone who was happy to greet him with open arms which Taemin tried to do as much as possible. Sometimes it was harder than other times since he was borderline exhausted, and he wasn't in the mood to make dinner or to make out with Minho until they both fell asleep. And yet, the golfer never complained.

Taemin knew he was extremely lucky to have a man like that by his side. He heard it from all his friends, from the magazines he liked reading, and even the movies he watched; they all held the same message in neon lights for him, 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦!
However, there were often times where Taemin didn't feel the love and affection he tried to give Minho every day. Sure, there were kisses and things, but sometimes, it didn't feel like his boyfriend meant them that much. It was almost as if he was hugging or cuddling or kissing Taemin just to keep him quiet and happy for the moment, like his mind was preoccupied with something else. Taemin thought this was something that happened in all relationships, too - why wouldn't it? When one was busy, and another kept bouncing around tirelessly for attention, such things were bound to happen, right?

But it had begun to happen much more often lately. Minho tried not to show it, but he usually had other things on his mind which he apparently couldn't talk to Taemin about. It was frustrating for the blonde (expectedly), but he didn't dare mention it and cause a fight or scene. They barely ever fought, usually because Minho always gave in to what his boyfriend wanted, and Taemin liked to brag to others that they were a very strong couple because they didn't have many conflicts.
However, at the same time, he couldn't shake off the feeling that they were slowly drifting apart. Minho came home late nearly every day now, and there were rare times when he wouldn't come home at all! At first, it worried Taemin; what if something had happened to his beloved Minho? But the next morning, his boyfriend deftly shook off his worries and told him he was just staying over at a friend's because he was too drunk to drive. This, too, was something weird for Taemin since Minho had just about sworn off alcohol before they started dating. However, he didn't question it.

Eventually, Taemin began to wonder just what sorts of things Minho was getting up to without him. He didn't do anything drastic like put a tracker on Minho's phone or follow him around on a quiet day at work, he just asked about it like any normal man would do.

“Nothing, babe. I just go out to different golf courses with a few friends, and then we have lunch and sometimes dinner. Nothing big,” Minho had said in his soothing voice with that smoldering gaze he knew Taemin couldn't resist, and the subject was put to rest. The younger one didn't ask again, but it did nothing to make him feel more at ease in his mind.

What could he really do about it? Become some type of psycho and follow his boyfriend around because his trust wasn't there anymore? Stalk him? No. That was just madness!
At the same time, he didn't know what to do to check up on if what Minho was saying was true. So he turned to the one other person he knew he could trust no matter what.

“No, he's not here,” Kibum had said that one day when Taemin sent him to the golf club Minho had said he would be at.
“Are you sure? Look again,” Taemin had said over the phone as he nibbled on his nails, his stress levels rising. He needed a coffee.
“I ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 looked again. Three times. He isn't here, I'm sure of it. I'm sorry, Taemin,” Kibum had said when he approached his car.

Now the blonde was nearly entirely sure that his boyfriend was cheating on him. With who, he had no idea - who was better than Taemin? No one! And why would Minho need anyone else? Taemin tried to please him and make him happy in every way possible!

Now that Taemin was alone again tonight after getting home, he began to feel cranky as he thought about the sour fact that Minho was probably with the person he was cheating with at the moment. What made it even more sad for Taemin was that he didn't know if it was a man or a woman. He could be competing with some woman in her thirties with manicured nails and perfectly wavy hair, looking like she had just stepped out of a modeling photoshoot. He couldn't imagine anyone else who could grab Minho's attention and keep it for so long other than himself.

Taemin finished up in the bath to begin preparing dinner then. It was pork cutlets with rose sauce pasta and plain rice on the side, something he always enjoyed.

“I'm home,” Minho smiled as he entered the apartment with his gym bag, walking to Taemin who had since already finished dinner. He thought he'd be eating alone for the night.
“Where were you? You came home late again. I set the table for us,” He said with a hopeful smile; even though he knew Minho was messing around, he still wanted them to spend quality time together.
“Oh, I'm sorry, babe...I already ate when I came back from the gym with a couple of friends,” Minho said with an awkward smile. He never liked disappointing Taemin, especially when he cooked, but he also didn't like forcing himself to eat. He had eaten maybe twenty minutes ago, and since he always ate well, he knew he didn't have space for anything more in his stomach.
Taemin was silent for a little bit as he tried to regain his composure - he wouldn't get mad, he kept trying to tell himself, but he couldn't handle it anymore. The uncertainty, the feeling of uselessness, and the sadness that Minho could do something like this to him had been bottled up to this moment and was now boiling over.

“Who is it?!” He finally yelled out as Minho was loping off to the bedroom to get changed, and he frowned as he turned around in confusion, “what?”
“Who is it that you're cheating on me with?” Taemin said, not quite as loud as before, but not as quietly as his usual voice was.
“What are you talking about?” Minho asked with a dumbfounded chuckle, placing his hands on his hips like usual when he was dealing with something he had no clue about. This was the kind of look that came about when he couldn't understand why his chicken burnt in the oven, or when he came last in a session of golf with a few friends.

Taemin gave out an aggravated groan, “you disappear every day for how many hours, you don't answer your phone, and sometimes you don't even come home! I know you have friends, Minho, but you don't have that many to be doing this every day. So if you have someone on the side, you need to tell me right now!”
He began to sound like a madman in his ramblings, and he even slapped his one palm down on the table to get his point across.
Taemin would never get into a physical fight with Minho, or even attempt to; his boyfriend 𝑑𝑖𝑑 visit the gym every day for a reason, and with one slap, Taemin would probably be knocked out. He just needed to show he was serious somehow.

“I wouldn't cheat on you. Do you hear yourself right now? Did we not talk about marriage the other day?” Minho asked, his eyebrows raising to nearly his hairline. His hands were still firmly planted on his hips, but it was apparent that he was getting angry.
“So you're going to tell me that all this time away has been with friends? Why should I believe that? It doesn't make sense!” Taemin cried out.
“Of course it wouldn't make sense to you because you don't have friends!” Minho said in annoyance. He hadn't meant to say something so mean, and he immediately felt bad when Taemin went silent. The blonde was trying hard not to show it, but it certainly hurt his feelings to hear something spelled out so blatantly.

It was true in a way - Taemin didn't have many friends, but he always chalked it up to him being busy with work and having no social life because of it. He thought of it as being okay, something that just came with the job, but now that Minho had brought it up like this, he began to wonder if others saw him as a loser for not having a ton of friends. Did Minho see him as a loser? As someone inferior for not having the same social standards?

“Taemin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like...that...” Minho mumbled out soon afterwards, and he approached his boyfriend, but he stopped in his tracks when he noticed Taemin move away from him.
“No, you meant it,” The blonde said with a wave of his one hand while avoiding Minho's eyes, visibly upset as he cleared everything off the table. He had prepared such a nice dinner, eager to see Minho tonight and have a wonderful time together, but everything was beyond ruined now.
“I really didn't. I said it without thinking. I'm sorry,” Minho tried again, but he knew there was no way that his boyfriend would listen to him at the moment. It seemed as if he was turning a deaf ear already.

As he shoved the full plates of food in the fridge, he listened to the sounds of the shower water running. It was always like this - they hadn't had a romantic dinner in so long. Taemin just lied about it all the time to seem like he had everything in control; that romantic dinner he had blabbered on about to Kibum not so long ago never happened, it was just an elaborate lie Taemin came up with after getting his pounded that morning enough to make him happy for the day. And even was rare these days.

Sure, he loved Minho. But right now, it almost seemed as if he loved the image of him and Minho he tried to sell to everyone more than the man himself. And what good did it do? No one cared that much, he thought. So what if he was honest? So what if he got drunk one night and told nothing but the truth to Kibum or the few friends he had? Who would care? Who would even answer his calls?

However, even as Taemin thought about all the ludicrous and crazy things he could do to admit he was lying to himself and everyone else about how good his relationship really was, he knew he'd never do it. His image in people's minds was much too important.

He poured a glass of wine for him and Minho, preparing to forget everything that just happened.