“Hyung, how did you know where I was going to be?” Taemin was still shocked as he sat down in Minho’s living room. He can’t believe he was almost ! Minho sat across from him and looked at him with gentle eyes.

“I have something to confess, Minnie, everyday I’ve been following you, making sure that you don’t get hurt or go hungry. I follow you home and then I head home myself” Taemin felt something inside him when he heard Minho call him Minnie. It felt very familiar, but it was his first time hearing someone calling him that.

“Hyung, why do you call me ‘Minnie’? Why does that name sound so familiar, but I can’t seem to place where I heard it before. When I heard it, my heart hurts, as if bad memories were associated with that name” Minho’s eyes widen, does that mean Taemin is starting to remember?

“Do you remember anything?! I use to call you Minnie all the time! You were my boyfriend!” Minho knelt down in front of Taemin and took his hands. Taemin tried to pull his hands away but Minho would only tighen his grip.

“You’re hurting me! What do you mean ‘were’? Why did I stop being your boyfriend?” Minho hesitated and released Taemin’s hands. He didn’t want to lose him again, should he tell him?

“I don’t think you can handle it, we were so in love, but because of my stupid mistake, I ruined it all!” Minho began to cry and Taemin wanted to hold him, so he leaned down and wrapped his arms around Minho and let him cry on his shoulder.

“I want you to show me, show me how in love we were. You said you made a mistake, use this chance to repair what you did. I want to know how it feels to be loved” Minho had stopped crying and was looking into Taemin’s eyes. He had missed seeing this beautiful brown doe eyes, Minho leaned closer and gently pressed his lips to Taemin’s. Taemin gasped and Minho used this chance to slip his tongue inside and explore all over. Taemin tried to imitate what Minho was doing and soon everything came naturally to him, as if he did it many times before.

Soon, they broke apart and Taemin’s face was bright red, even though it technically wasn’t his first kiss, in his memory, it was.

“Even though I don’t feel the same way as I did before the accident, I will try my best. I feel very comfortable with you and I want to find out more about myself before the accident. Key umma won’t tell me anything and just told me to have a fresh start, but I know I went through a lot before and I want to somehow get those memories back” Minho took Taemin’s hand and began to play with his fingers, when he clasped them together, they fit perfectly, he never want to let go of this hand.

“We’ll keep a secret from Key, I’ll help you get your memories back, but I hope you won’t regret it, I can’t bear to lose you one more time” Taemin smiled as he leaned back on the couch and placed his head on Minho’s shoulder, he felt so safe with Minho by his side and he felt like he could lie here forever.

“I promise I won’t regret it, I know what you had for me was true love, it’s just going to take me some time to feel it again. You made me fall for you the first time, you can do it again, but this time, you have to try even harder” Minho chuckled as he heard what Taemin said. He was right, he’s going to try even harder to make Taemin feel the love for him.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to go on our first date and we’ll just let it naturally play out. I don’t want to force you to do anything, just do whatever feels right” Taemin nodded as he started to feel tired, he look at the clock and it was already 11:00pm. Taemin’s eyes closed and just before he fell asleep, he thought he heard Minho say something.

“As promised, I will kiss away your pain and protect you forever”

Key and Jonghyun

Key woke up and found himself in bed, still in Jonghyun’s arms. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he gathered his stuff and sneaked out of the room. He took one look at Jonghyun who looked so innocent sleeping away; Key couldn’t help but feel his eyes water. He was still unable to make a decision. However, he did make a decision about one thing.  

Key got home and found that Taemin didn’t come home last night; he thought he must’ve slept over at a friend’s house and forgot to tell him. Key started to cry, he was hurt one too many times, and he needed some time alone. Even though it may seem selfish of him, he decided to leave for a while and clear his head; there were just too many memories around here and it didn’t let him think straight. Key began to gather his belongings and packed his suitcase. He left a note for Taemin and left the house.

Dear Taebaby,

Umma has decided to leave for a while. There are just too many memories here and I don’t think I can handle it. Sorry for suddenly leaving you all alone, but umma will be back, I just don’t know when. Take care of yourself and don’t let Minho hurt you. If he tries anything, I will know. Also tell Jonghyun to take care of himself, if fate allows, I will let him know my answer.

                                                                                                                Love, Key umma

Key didn’t know where he was going to go. He couldn’t go back to his family and he lost contact with all his other friends. Key decided there was only person who could help him. He his phone and called his number.

“Hello, Lee residence?” the voice on the other line answered. Key tried to speak in a stable voice and tried to not sound nervous.

“Hello, may I speak to Onew?”

It turns out Onew has a house in Japan; he would sometimes go there with Joon when they needed a few days off. It was their vacation house, Onew said he could live there as long as he wants, he never really got a chance to thanks Key for taking care of Taemin all this time, he said to consider it as repaying the favour.

“Are you sure about that? Not even Taemin? I can keep it a secret for you, but would it be such a good idea to just disappear like that?” Onew was worried, Key didn’t tell him everything, just that he needed to get away and if he had somewhere for him to stay. Joon offered the vacation house and Onew didn’t object, he just considered it as house-sitting.

“I’m sure, I know Taemin, and he can’t keep secrets. After a few threats, he will spill everything. I can’t risk that, don’t worry, I’m not going to be here that long, I just needed some time to think” Key sighed as he started to unpack his things. He didn’t want it to get to this point, he felt it was unfair to Jonghyun, but he doesn’t think he could face him anymore without thinking about Choi Minhyuk. It just pains him every time; the only thing he could do is let fate decide what he should do.  

Taemin

Taemin cried when Minho dropped him home and he found the note addressed to him. Key was his only family and without him, he was basically all alone. Minho suggested that he moves in with him, that way, Minho would be there to take care of him and he won’t feel alone anymore. Taemin was hesitant, he doesn’t really know much about Minho and suddenly he asked him to move in with him, but he did say that he would try his best to fall in love with Minho again, maybe this will help.

“Ok, when can I move in? I’ll have to get all my stuff” Taemin started to look for a bag while sniffling; he looked so adorable with his pink nose that would twitch once in a while.

“You don’t have to bring too much stuff; you have some clothes at my house. Before, you would sometimes stay over without letting Key know, and besides, my parents loved you. You would call them umma and appa, and they would treat you like their son” Taemin smiled as he tried to imagine it, it must be nice to be in a warm and loving family, Taemin started to get excited. He wanted to find out how Minho’s umma and appa were like.

“I want to meet your umma and appa! I wonder how they look like!” Taemin excitedly bounced up and down in the car as they drove to Minho’s house. Minho had told his umma and appa what happened to Taemin so they would take it slow and won’t surprise him with anything. They finally reached Minho’s house and his umma and appa were standing outside waiting for them. Taemin slowly got out of the car, he was starting to feel nervous, and what if they didn’t like him? He hoped that they would be more accepting than his family. As he thought about his family, he started to cry right then and there. He tried to stop but he couldn’t help it, Minho’s umma ran forward and pulled him into a hug. Taemin stiffened, he wasn’t use to someone holding him, but for some reason, her touch felt familiar so he soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her.

“What’s wrong Taeminnie? Did Minho say something mean to you? Did he hurt you?!” Umma started to glare at Minho who tried to ignore it and brought their bags into the house.

“No, he didn’t do anything. I just thought about my family and I couldn’t stop myself” Taemin continued to sniffle as his crying started to subside and he was only hiccupping once in a while. Since umma knew what happened between Taemin and his family, she didn’t question him. She held his hand and pulled him into the house. As Taemin stepped in, he felt as if he was in his own house, everything felt familiar but distant at the same time.

“Taemin, it’s been a long day, you should take a shower and go to sleep” Taemin nodded as appa carried the bags upstairs.

“If you’re looking for the bathroom it’s the se-“ Taemin finished his sentence for him.

“The second door to the right, the one with the white handle” Taemin gasped, how did he know where the bathroom was; technically it’s his first time in this house. Minho stared at him, he started to see hope, maybe Taemin will recover his memories and return back to his side. However, Minho was scared, if Taemin did find his memories, he might not forgive him for what he did. In the end, there’s a chance Taemin will leave him again. Will Minho take that risk?

Minho and Taemin slept in different rooms, Minho in his own and Taemin in the guest room. It was around 3:00 in the morning when Minho heard a scream. He immediately shot up and ran to Taemin’s room; he opened the door and saw Taemin thrashing around on the bed. Minho tried to wake up him but nothing worked. After a few minutes, Taemin calmed down but there were still tears flowing down his face.

“Minho hyung...you promised me...why did you lie?” Taemin muttered in his sleep. Minho couldn’t do anything but hug him tighter.

“I’m sorry, Minnie. I never meant to hurt you. I fell in love with you and I did intended on keeping my promise, you weren’t suppose to hear that conversation” Minho said softly as he kissed Taemin’s head. He loved his scent and just couldn’t get enough of it, Taemin whimpered and Minho thought he had woken up but when he looked down, Taemin was still breathing deeply, still asleep. He kissed Taemin on the forehead and laid him back down on the bed. Minho got up and walked out of the room, but not before looking back one more time. Taemin’s tears were dried and he looked so peaceful sleeping, Minho’s heart ached as he knew it would be a while until Taemin loved him as he did before.

Next morning

“Good morning umma, appa, Minho hyung” as Taemin entered the kitchen and saw them sitting there enjoying their breakfast. They replied back and asked him how he slept last night. Taemin said it was fine but Minho knew he was not telling the whole truth, he knew about the dream that Taemin had last night and was planning to ask him about it later.

“Since it’s the weekend, why don’t you two go out somewhere and enjoy the day? It’s a nice day and there’s no point in wasting it indoors” Minho agreed and asked Taemin where he wanted to go, it didn’t matter to both of them so they decided to go watch a movie. It was a movie that just came out and it was considered a romantic, tragedy. Taemin had wanted to see it so Minho decided to bear with it and sit through the movie with him.

Everything was going fine until this one part in the movie. It was when the female character found out the male character had lied in the beginning of their relationship and she tried to run away, only to get in the path of the car. Taemin saw this part and in his mind, it was as if the same thing was happening to him. He had flashes of memories where he heard someone yelling his name but he didn’t bother slowing down or turning around. It was only when he saw a pair of headlights that he knew it was too late.

Taemin started screaming and ran out of the theatre. Minho was shocked but he still ran after Taemin to see if he was fine. Minho was just about to catch up to him when Taemin tried to run across the street. He didn’t see the car speeding towards him but Minho did, he couldn’t bear to lose Taemin one more time, so he sped him.

“Taemin!!” Minho grabbed Taemin and both of them landed on the other side of the street. Taemin’s head hit the road and it seemed as if he was watching a movie, but with his own memories. He saw the first day that he met Minho and the first kiss the shared, all the happy moments and sad moments, all the way up to the part where he had a fight with Minho and he ran out into the road. Taemin tried to get up but felt something heavy on him; he looked over and saw Minho lying on top of him with a bloody head. Taemin started to panic.

“Minho...wake up...Minho? I remember everything. Wake up... please...please” Taemin started to cry as he nudged Minho on the side and told him to wake up. It was after a minute with the ambulance came and took both of them to the hospital. When they arrived, Minho and Taemin separated since Minho was more seriously injured and needed immediate attention. Taemin silently waited on the other side of the curtains for the doctor to come out.

“Doctor, what’s happening to Choi Minho? Is he alright?” Taemin frantically asked, but the doctor wouldn’t say anything.

“Are you Choi Minho’s immediate family? Partner, spouse?” Taemin shook his head, and the doctor said he wouldn’t be able to release any details about Minho’s condition. Taemin tried to shove his way in but was stopped by the doctor and nurse. It got to the point where Taemin was crying his heart out that he heard a voice.

“He’s my boyfriend, please let him through” It was Minho’s voice and Taemin immediately ran through everyone and pulled open the curtains. He saw Minho there, smiling with his head bandaged up. Taemin ran over and pulled him into a tight hug. Minho wrapped his arms around him as Taemin started to cry.

“I thought I was going to lose you forever! Don’t you ever do such foolish things again, I lost you once, I don’t want to lose you again! I remember everything!” Taemin cried on Minho’s shoulder and grabbed his shirt even tighter, never wanting to let go. Minho smiled, his Taemin was back. After a couple of minutes, Minho pushed Taemin back and stared at him.

“You’re not mad at me anymore? I thought you said that you hate me? Why did you forgive me?” Minho was confused, if Taemin got his memories back, wouldn’t he have remembered what Minho had done to him?

“When I first got my memory back, I did remember what you did to me, but then I also remember the happy times when you took care of me after the incident. After you jumped in front of the car to save me, I knew that I could no longer be mad at you, I saw your proof of love for me” Taemin smiled as he bent down and kissed Minho on the lips. It’s been a while since he’s taste them and he missed them so much. They parted after a few seconds since the doctor came in and said that everything was fine, Minho could leave the hospital, but to be back tomorrow for a check up, just in case.

As Minho and Taemin left the hospital, hands locking with each other, Taemin suddenly thought about Key. He felt that Jonghyun should have the same happy ending as he did, but he can do very little to help since he doesn’t know where he disappeared to.

“Omg! I’m so stupid!!” Taemin screamed as he clutched his head, Minho stared at him with a worried look on his face.

“What happened, Minnie? Are you hurt anywhere?” Taemin shook his head.

“I think I might know someone who knows where Key went, Onew hyung! He’s the only one that hasn’t contacted us so far. I have a feeling he’s hiding something from us” Taemin and Minho head to Jonghyun’s place to decide what to do.

At Onew’s place

They told Jonghyun about their thoughts so Jonghyun decided to go through with their plans and went to Onew’s place.

Ring ding dong

“Hey, what are you three doing here?” Onew asked as he opened the door. Joon’s head appeared and he invited them in.

“We were just making dinner, care to join, I made more than expected so it will be a lot of help if you guys help finish it up” Taemin smiled at Joon and said he would eat them poor. Joon laughed and ruffled his hair, he was a cute brother-in-law.

“Onew hyung, I have a question I want to ask you. Do you know where Key is?” Onew froze when he heard the question, how could they know that he was hiding Key?

“Why do you think I would know where Key is? I’m not that close with him, when he disappeared, he didn’t contact me at all. I’m just as clueless as any of you” Joon held onto Onew’s hand, he knew that Onew didn’t like lying so it was hard for him right now. However, Taemin saw that so he got even more suspicious. He decided to use Onew’s weakness against him.

“Hyung!! Please tell me if you know. Ever since you left me, Key umma was my only family; I have never felt more alone when umma and appa kicked me out. It was Key umma that made me feel loved again, do you want me to be all alone again?!” Taemin started to cry and everyone stared at him with their eyes wide. Minho immediately wrapped his arms around him and tried to say comforting words, but nothing was working. Onew wanted to tell him where Key was, but he made a promise and he was starting to consider whether to keep that promise or not. Seeing Taemin like this was heartbreaking and it made him feel guilty. After a couple minutes, Minho and Taemin decided to leave, Taemin was still crying and Minho thought it would be best to take him home first.

When they finally left Onew’s house, Minho continued to hug Taemin and wiped his tears away.

“Minnie, calm down, I know you miss Key, but crying won’t make him reappear” as he continued to wipe Taemin’s tears away.

“I know, I only started crying to make Onew hyung guilty, I only meant to let go a few tears, but I can’t control myself right now. I really miss Key umma, I want him back!” Taemin started sobbing hard; Minho helped Taemin into the passenger seat. Minho got into the driver’s seat and started to drive home. After a couple of minutes, Taemin’s sobbing subsided and Minho looked over and saw him asleep.

“He must’ve tired himself out from crying too much” Minho sighed as he drove him. When he reached home, he picked Taemin up bridal style and carried him to his room. As he placed Taemin on his bed, he looked at his tear streaked face, Minho gently wiped the tears away and he bent down and placed a kiss on Taemin’s forehead.

Back at Onew’s house

“Hyung, if you know something about Key, could you please tell me? Every day it feels as if I have to drag myself up and struggle throughout the day, there’s no more happiness in my life. Everywhere I go, I keep on finding things about Key. I’ll go the places where we would go on dates, I would see his favourite foods, I dream about him every night. Please hyung, even if you won’t tell me where he is, at least tell me that he’s ok” Jonghyun begged as Onew looked uneasy, he didn’t want to betray Key but seeing Jonghyun like this made him feel guilty. Joon spoke up.

“Jonghyun, we made a promise to Key that we won’t tell you where he went, however, the only thing that I can tell you is that he’s fine. He’s healthy and he’s happy. Key might come back to your side, but no one knows when. You just have to keep faith and hope that one day he will appear in your life again” Jonghyun looked so dead, without Key by his side, there was no meaning in life for him.

“I-I understand, sorry for bothering you guys tonight. I’ll be leaving now” Onew and Joon stood up and showed him the door, as they closed the door; Onew was on the verge of collapse. They had never felt so conflicted before, Onew decided to call Key to see what his decision would be.