I hung up Taemin’s call and noticed the relieved look on Joon’s face. I only rolled my eyes at him.

“Why did you ask me to lie? To Taemin too, of all people. Now I’ll feel bad when I see him.” I sipped my drink and he nervously chuckled.

“Well I don’t want people to know about this. Because if you tell Taemin, he’s going to tell his Key umma. Key will interrogate me and ask why I’m meeting up with you. And you know very well that you can never dodge Key’s interrogation. And if Key ever finds out about the whole Cheolyong problem he would tell Jonghyun and it’ll eventually spread like wildfire! It’ll ruin my image forever!” He looked at me with a serious face. It was true though, Key would never back down unless he got what he wants.

“But still, you made me lie to Taemin. You’ll have to make it up to me somehow, Joon.” He only chuckled and nodded.

“Hey, what did I miss?” Mir came back with a frappe in his hand and a plate of scone in the other.

“Nothing much. Anyways, you know what? I’m not going to show you the contents of my Diablo set. I haven’t even opened it.” Mir’s eyes widened at that.

“What?! Ah, Onew come on! You know we live quite far away! I don’t have the time to go to your place today and I’m dying with curiosity! Let me see it already!” Mir begged me. I just looked at Joon but the stupid guy looked confused.

“No, I’m not going to let you see it. Too bad, Mir. If only there’s another game set you could buy…” I trailed off while glaring at Joon. Mir was too busy pouting so he didn’t notice anything. But seriously, Joon could be so dumb sometimes. I glared again and nodded my head at Mir’s direction. Then suddenly he realized something. Finally.

“Um, Cheolyong. You know… I happened to pass by the game shop today and uh… I remembered you told me about the game once so I…” Mir perked up at that and looked at the flustered Joon. Joon reached out to grab the game set he bought and practically presented it him. You know, the kind of ‘presenting’ something as if you’re giving a gift to a king? Joon had his head hung low as he outstretched his hand to give Mir the game set. Mir looked at me and I only nodded.

“Changsun…” Mir was still shocked but he accepted the plastic bag with the game inside. He slowly took it out and he visibly lit up as if he just got a level up or something. Mir set the box aside and he jumped to hug Joon.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Changsun! You don’t know how much you’ve made my day! My week, no, month, even! Gosh, you’re the best!” Joon looked pleased and he brought up his hands to embrace Mir but in the end he only gave him a pat on the back.

“No problem. I got lucky anyways.” Mir pulled away with a huge smile on his face. He started eating his scone while happily looking at the box. Mir got scone crumbles all over his mouth and I nudged Joon’s feet. Once I got his attention I discreetly pointed out the crumbles on Mir’s mouth.

“Cheolyong?” Mir looked up and smiled at Joon. Joon chuckled and reached out to wipe the crumbles. His thum lingered at the corner of Mir’s lips just a little too long as they stare into each other’s eyes. Oh holy drumstick why am I witnessing this…

“Ah. Uhm, thank you.” Mir looked down with a visible blush on his face. Joon was also blushing and it was getting pretty tense there.

“Hey, Changsun. Uhh… Do you want to come over and play with me?” Mir asked bashfully. They obviously like each other. I was never needed in the first place. Joon is just too dumb to notice this.

“You guys should go home and play. I want to play too, so I’ll be going now, okay?” I got up and grabbed my stuff. I dusted my clothes and they said their goodbye to me. When Mir wasn’t looking I looked at Joon and mouthed : “You’ll be fine.” He nodded and mouthed a thank you.

“I’ll call you in a few days, Onew.” Mir said cheekily. Yeah, he won’t be getting out of his place for some time.

“Yeah, take care of yourself, Mir. You keep an eye on him, Joon. Make sure you feed him.” Mir laughed and hugged Joon’s arm.

“Changsun here will definitely take good care of me! See you, Onew!” Mir and Joon waved me a goodbye and I walked back to my apartment.

Thank goodness I didn’t have to play matchmaker back there. There wasn’t much I could do anyways. I mean, they were just fine. Joon was just too scared to say anything about his feelings. I have no experience with love related stuff so I don’t think I have any talent to be a matchmaker.

I got back to my apartment after making a quick stop to buy a portion of gimbab for my dinner. I quickly took a shower, slipped on my most comfortable clothes, my trusty glasses and prepared all the food and drinks needed for my gaming night. After everything was all set, I opened my game set and started playing.

.o0  0o.

After hours of super fun gaming, amazing graphics, incredible game play and exciting storyline, I finally had to stop for a toilet break. I peeked out the window and it was already dark. I quickly did my business and went back to my desk. I noticed my phone lying around and somehow I was reminded of Taemin.

I really felt bad about lying to him. I knew him better, I should have backed him up instead of Joon. But I guess Joon was in a tight situation too so it was hard for me to decide who I should support more. Joon somehow needed me more so I had to do it. Anyways, I decided to text him. I owed him at least that.

To: Taemin
Message :
Hey, Taemin. What are you doing right now? J

I waited for a reply while munching on my cheese cracker. I expected him to reply very soon, knowing he’s a hyper kid. But 5 minutes passed and he didn’t reply. I raised my eyebrow at that but I found myself staring at my phone’s screen while continuously eating my cracker. Finally after a few more minutes my phone lit up.

From : Taemin
Message :
Nothing.

That was weird. Again, I expected him to say that he was doing something interesting. Or at least put a smiley in his message.

To : Taemin
Message :
Oh, really? I’m actually on my break from playing my new game. It’s really fun! Do you want to check it out sometimes?

I sent the message and waited again. I finished my cracker and washed my hand this time. I went to sit on my bed and genuinely curious with what he had to say.

From : Taemin
Message :
Congratulations. No thanks.

Something was definitely up. The way he texted was really weird. Taemin was a cheerful person, the writing style was just off. Was he upset about something? I dialed his number and hoped that he would at least pick up. The first time he didn’t, so I tried again. Just when I thought about giving up, he picked up.

“………” Greeted by silence. Taemin’s really upset.

“Hey, Taemin.” I tried to sound as cheerful as I could but I guess it didn’t really affect him.

“What’s up, hyung?” He sounded really cold, upset and just steely.

“Are you mad at me, Taemin? You don’t sound as happy as usual.” He let out a sound that sounded like a scoff and a whine.

“No. I’m just tired. I’m going to sleep. Good night.”

Click.

Taemin hung up on me. He was obviously mad at me but I had no idea what I did wrong. I glanced at the clock and it was only 7PM. No way Taemin was going to sleep this early. I dialed Key’s number. He probably knew something about this since he’s the closest to Taemin.

“Hey. What’s up, hyung?” Key’s familiar voice greeted me.

“Where are you? I need to talk to you about Taemin.”

“I’m actually at his place. But I’m not near him so I can talk.” I knew it, Taemin was avoiding me.

“Is Taemin mad at me? He didn’t seem to like me when I texted him and called him a moment ago.” Key scoffed and I could picture the annoying look on his face.

“Good of you to notice that. Once he received your message he started sulking. And when he hung up on your call he covered his face with his pillow and started screaming. He’s still doing it now actually. Oh wait, he stopped.”

“Do you have any idea what happened? What made him mad?” Key only sighed.

“You tell me, Jinki. You should actually come here and ask Taemin yourself. Taemin could sulk as bad as Jonghyun so you might want to solve this as fast as possible.” Wow, as bad as Jonghyun? That’s just really bad.

“What should I do then?”

“Get your over here and talk to him. And don’t forget to bring some banana milk.”

“Banana milk?” Why would I need that for?

“Peace offering. I’ll text you the address. See you soon, Jinki.” Key hung up. I had no choice but to go. I stared at my computer screen and sighed. I guess I have to save my progress and continue later on. I got ready and grabbed my wallet. I checked the address on my phone and started walking to Taemin’s place.

I stopped by the convenience store and got the banana milk for the ‘peace offering’. I got to Taemin’s apartment building and it was actually located in a safe environment. I’m glad that he’s away from dangerous places. You know, the dangers of big cities these days.

I pushed the ‘3^rd floor’ button on the elevator and quickly found Taemin’s apartment door. I rang the bell and Jonghyun opened it for me.

“Hey, Jinki hyung. You better approach with caution.” I made a face and stared at Jonghyun. How bad could it be? I hoped it wouldn’t be that bad. I walked in and found Key sitting on the sofa. He nodded at me and pointed to the door I figured was Taemin’s bedroom.

“Good luck.” They both said. I rolled my eyes and knocked on Taemin’s door.

“Stay away, hyungs! I told you I don’t want to talk to anyone!” Taemin shouted. I glanced back at Key and Jonghyun but they only shrugged.

“Taemin, it’s me, Jinki.” Taemin stayed silent for a good minute.

“Go away!” Yeah, he was really mad at me.

“Taemin, what did I do to make you upset? Please let me in and we’ll talk about it, okay?” I said softly. The last thing I wanted was get into a fight with someone I just made friends with.

“No, hyung. I just want to sleep, okay?!” I sighed and remembered the plastic bag in my hand.

“I don’t know what to do with the banana milk I got, Taemin.” I waited for a response and not long after the door opened. The first thing I noticed was Taemin’s short hair then the pout on his lips.

“I can’t let banana milk go to waste.” He let me in and I closed the door behind us. He sat on his bed and hugged a big mushroom plush toy. I sat on the other end of the bed.

“So… You cut your hair. It suits you.” I smiled at him but he only glared at me, covering the lower part of his face with the plush toy. I wanted a reply but he said nothing. I sighed.

“Taemin, will you tell me why you’re mad at me?” He shook his head and angrily reached for the milk. He grabbed it and started drinking.

“Please? I don’t want us to fight.” I pleaded. His eyes seemed to soften a bit and silence seemed to stretch between us.

“Where were you after you picked up your game?” I gulped. I had to lie again, this time in front of Taemin.

“I went straight home.”

“Liar. I saw you with Lee Joon.” He pouted. I was in big trouble. Taemin knew I lied to him.

“Uh, well…” I had no idea what to say.

“Why were you with him? Why did you meet him behind my back? Why did you lie to me when I called you? Are you dating him now? Why aren’t you telling me anything?!” Taemin’s pout got even worse and his eyes turned glassy.

I wanted to tell him Joon’s story, but I’m not the guy who could break a promise. Joon didn’t want anybody to know and I should keep it that way as long as possible. I felt bad for keeping it from Taemin but what could I do?

“Taemin, I’m sorry I really can’t say. I promised Joon I won’t tell anyone.” Taemin whined and buried his whole face into the big mushroom. I got up and sat down beside him.

“There’s nothing between me and Joon. You of all people should know about that. I know that you don’t like Joon that much but he needed my help so I had to talk to him. I hope you’ll understand, Taemin. I’m sorry for making you upset like this.”

“But you could at least tell me that you were with Joon instead of lying to me…” He mumbled.

“I had a feeling that you would march into Starbucks and try to drag me out of there no matter what. Then you’ll go and tell Key. Then Key would probably go to Joon and make him spill everything. Or both of you would just force me to say everything concerning Joon. That would be me breaking my promise and making everything into a jumble of mess.” He thought about it for a while then sighed.

“Yeah… I get it. But I don’t want you to lie to me again, hyung… I was hurt when I knew you lied to me like that…” He looked at me and I gave a little smile.

“Okay. I’m sorry I lied to you. I promise not to do that again.” He nodded a little, still pursing his lips. He rested his head on my shoulder and I gently bumped my head with his.

“Are you guys done yet?” Key yelled.

“Yeah, we’ve cleared things up, umma.” Taemin shouted back. The bedroom door opened and the couple walked in.

“Great to see that you guys made up already. What’s the complete story anyways?” Jonghyun asked. Taemin hummed a little and hugged his mushroom tighter.

“Jinki hyung had to help Lee Joon and apparently no one can know about it.” I saw Key whose eye’s twinkled in curiosity as Taemin answered.

“Key, don’t even think about asking Joon. Nothing gets out from this room.” I warned him. Key just scrunched his nose and muttered an okay.

“Well anyways, since we’re all done here, why don’t we go home and get some rest? We have to help Taemin with his big move tomorrow morning.” Jonghyun suggested. Key nodded and got up to leave.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Taemin. Get some rest.” Key patted Taemin’s head and headed to the door with Jonghyun.

“I should get going too. Take care, Taemin.” I was about to get up but Taemin swiftly hugged me.

“I’m sorry for shouting at you, hyung…” I smiled as he clung onto me. I patted his short hair and briefly hugged him.

“It’s okay. I deserved it. Go rest, okay?” He pulled away from me and got up to see us off. Jonghyun and Key waved Taemin goodbye and went out the door. I also said my goodbye and went out the door. But before I close the door behind me I turned to Taemin.

“I really like your new haircut. I can see your pretty smile better now. Bye, Taemin!” I closed the door and ran after the couple.

“Guys! Give me a ride home too!” They halted and waited for me to catch up.

“Why should we? You did just fine walking all the way here.” Key retorted. Jonghyun only chuckled. I rolled my eyes and followed them to the car anyways.

These dongsaengs need to learn to respect their hyung.

A/N : Okay guys, I'm back! How do you like the new chapter?

By the way, there's something important that I wrote on my blog post. I hope you can find the time to read and tell me your opinion. This blog post and your comment will affect the story.

Here it is.

Constructive comments will be very much loved, guys!