Taemin stretched on the couch, trying to find a better position. His neck was hurting from leaning to the side as he was attentively looking at his phone, browsing different social media pages about lost pets. He had still to find Luna and get her back.

He knew that the more time passed, the less likely it was for her to ever come back. But he also knew that she was resourceful. Even if she didn’t find her way back, that didn’t mean she was in danger. At least he hoped so.

His doorbell rang out of nowhere and he sat up straight, a frown forming on his face. He wasn’t expecting anybody, and Minho was spending the day with his daughter. He got up steadily and walked towards the door. He slightly opened it and peeked his head out.

It was Nari, Minho’s daughter. Taemin’s frown deepened as he noticed her eyes were red and she was sniffing. It seemed she had been crying, and she was still visibly upset, Taemin realized. He opened the door further and gestured for her to enter.

She didn’t say anything but jogged towards the couch and sat on it, bringing her knees to her face. Taemin made a detour via the kitchen and poured a glass of water. When he sat next to her and gave it to her, she accepted it instantly and drank half of it in one gulp.

“What happened?” Taemin asked after a while.

“I fought with my dad,” she answered with a shrug.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“I just don’t understand—” she added in an outburst. “He always gets angry for the stupidest things and then he acts like it’s my fault!”

She started crying and Taemin swiftly took the glass out of her hand—he didn’t want it to spill on the couch. He put the glass on the coffee table and tentatively put a hand on Nari’s shoulder—as much as he liked kids, he had no idea how to act around them.

He let out a relieved breath when she leaned towards his touch and started crying on his shoulder. He patted her back softly and closed his eyes for a second. He felt conflicted about the whole situation. He couldn’t believe that Minho, the man he liked so much, was able to make his child react like this.

With his free hand, he grabbed his phone—he needed to send a text to Minho. He needed to act like a responsible adult, so he started typing a quick message to his neighbor.

Nari is with me, don’t worry

He put his phone back in his pocket and after some time, Nari’s cries became sparser and her breathing more regular. She was calming down.

“Do you want to tell me what you fought about?” he asked, uncertain.

She looked up at him and left his shoulder to sit back on the couch.

“So you can tell him everything after?” she said with a miserable smirk on her face.

“No,” Taemin answered and shook his head. “This stays between us.”

She glanced at him several times and bit her lip, probably won