Chapter 9: New Prospects

Taemin paced around the room, hands clasped in front of his mouth. Krystal had gone out to work but he requested a day off. Going to work in his mindset wouldn't be right: he was out of it and it would surely show in his dancing. He stopped at the wall, forehead pressed to the cool surface. When he shut his eyes, it was no longer Krystal's vibrant smile he imagined. It was very much Sulli's small, quiet one.

But the girl practically ripped his house apart. She bashed a hole into their television; she broke a few mirrors and destroyed their entertainment center. That should've made it easy for Taemin to forget the girl. But maybe it was so hard to because she had done that to show him the truth. She knew that it would burden him to have found out later in their marriage. The state was fresh so feelings could change. Taemin shut his eyes tight, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

Changing feelings were bad. Wasn't he in love with Krystal? "Yes...y-yes I am." Why was he hesitant? Why wasn't it coming out as fluidly as it should have? Taemin gripped his shirt, his eyes staring at the ring that circled his ring finger. He took it off, the ring feeling suddenly a lot heavier than it was supposed to. He stared at the silver band, his eyes reading the engraving: 'A token of our love'. Yes, their rings were tokens of their love.

But as he put it into his pocket, as he left his house with a goal in mind, he wondered just how true those words were.

Luna chopped pork into decent-sized slices for her and Utau's ramyeon. The girl sighed, her mind elsewhere. Sulli got an offer to New York. New York! That was all the way on the other side of the freaking world! Sure Luna's been on small tours for her singing, but she had only been in New York for a week. An entire year. Without Sulli. Like hell she would hang out with Krystal.

But still. This was an opportunity that Sulli couldn't pass up. Luna began to season her beef while checking on her currently cooking eggs. Sulli was smart and beautiful. And maybe in New York she could find her passion—it was writing right?—and embrace it, hone her skills and create something that'll top the charts.

If going to New York meant she would become successful, Luna would be pissed if she didn't go.

Taemin knocked on the door, an unsure expression on his face. No, he wasn't sure about what he was about to do. But maybe a burst of courage would help him. Moments later, the door opened, revealing Sulli in a sweatshirt, hair up in a messy bun, and sweats. There were glasses on her face. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of Taemi before letting him inside.

"What're you—"

"Before you start," Taemin interrupted. He pulled her wrist, bringing her just a bit closer. "I need to know why you did that for me. Why did you ruin my house just so Krystal would tell the truth?"

She looked him straight in the eyes. "Because we're friends. And I'd feel bad if I didn't tell you."

"That's not all the truth, is it?"

"What're you getting at?" Taemin stepped up into her house and moved so her back was pressed to the wall. With his hands on either side of her head, Sulli was trapped. He stared at her, heart beginning to beat erratically.

He finally spoke. "No girl just brings a bat to someone's house just to get his wife to tell the truth. There was more to it than that."

"And I can assure you that I only did it because you're my friend." He leaned in then, causing Sulli to gasp a bit. A hand cupped her cheek; the girl flinched. "Taemin?"

"I've been thinking." His hands s around the girl's waist, drawing her in even closer. "If she could do it...why can't I?"

Sulli's eyes widened. He was actually considering cheating on Krystal so it would be even? So she would feel what he felt? But she knew better than to think that Taemin would actually do something like that. He stared at her, seriousness in his eyes. Sulli pushed him away and backed away, trying to figure out what to say. "Taemin, don't—"

"You don't understand!" he exclaimed. "After I found out that she cheated, and that she initiated it, I wanted to get back at her so these…unsure feelings would just ing go away!"

Sulli narrowed her eyes. "Don't stoop to Krystal's level." She approached him then and took his face in her hands. Taemin in a breath, heart beating faster. No, getting was wrong. "I know it hurts but you're so much better than that."

He gulped and Sulli sighed. "I did what I did for the simple fact that you're my friend. And I couldn't stand to see you get hurt sometime in the future. And because, at one point…" She took in a deep breath. "I loved you." He gasped, eyes lowering at the girl. She loved him? She was in love with him? He gulped and shut his eyes, trying to get the jealous idea of cheating out of his head.

But another idea formed in his head. And Taemin wasn't really the violent type, but it sounded nice to take that same bat and beat Minho with it.

"Sulli?"

She stepped away from him. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

She smiled at the man, feeling proud that she convinced him out of his scheme. "No problem. If you want to talk, give me a call."

"I will." As Taemin left her apartment, he knew he wouldn't cheat on Krystal. But maybe getting to know Sulli all over again, maybe getting closer to her, would make the unsure feelings go away. Because at that point, all he wanted was a solid answer to his question.

Was he falling out of love with Krystal...and finding it in Sulli?

And with a final held note, the music died in the air, hanging in their ears. The symphony died. The air was still thick with the music, almost painstakingly quiet. Did they like his piece? Judging from the way Onew and Luna were exchanging looks, he figured they were sharing some secret opinions on his piece. Finally they looked at him. And the look they gave him suggested that they liked it.

"Well," Luna began as she stood from the couch, arms crossed over her chest, "that was really beautiful."

Minho grinned then as he began to pack away his guitar. "Thanks."

Onew spoke up next, a humorous tone in his voice. "Dude, that was awesome." Minho chuckled. "It was really good."

"Thank you." As Minho was placing his sheet music back into its place in the folder, Luna stood by her brother on his left side. Onew joined and stood by his right. "Why are you two hovering over me?"

"That piece is called 'Decrescendo of Sweet Evil, Symphony of New Love' right?" Luna asked. Minho sat on the couch and stared at the two before him. They were a devious pair but he wondered what she was getting at.

"Yeah. So what?"

Onew smirked. "And would the 'sweet evil' be, oh I don't know, Krystal?" Minho went rigid for a moment, his metaphor figured out. Krystal was sweet evil. But the last thing he wanted to do was down right tell them.

Luna grinned. "And would 'new love' be Sulli?" , he thought. He gulped before shifting on the couch, elbow resting on the armrest. He eyed Onew and Luna, trying to figure out their game. "Answer the question."

He sighed. "And if it is?" Their eyes widened a bit before relaxing. Luna and Onew exchanged a worried expression. She bit on her lip before looking at her brother. Minho narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Have you spoken to Sulli in a while?" Onew asked, seriousness on his tone. Minho shook his head and Onew sighed. "Go see her."

"I was planning on it later but..." He stood, eyes narrowed. "I have the strange feeling you know something."

Luna interjected then. "We do." She took in a breath. "Sulli's got a scholarship for a one year program she's got accepted to...in New York."

Onew and Luna weren't surprised when Minho suddenly rushed out of the house. In fact, they hoped he would.

Sulli sighed before taking off her reading glasses. Editing was a pain but it had to be done. In fact, sometimes editing felt good. But today was not an editing day Sulli realized. All she got done was a page and even then the red pen marks didn't seem as thick as the few pages she completed yesterday. Sulli closed her novella and put it back onto her desk. She stood, stretched a bit, before heading towards her kitchen for a snack.

And then there was the obnoxious banging. Bang, bang, bang! Sulli slammed her refrigerator door in annoyance before storming over to her door. If it was Luna, the girl was going to get hell. But when the brunette opened the door, her anger seemed to increase a bit.

That idiot was banging on her door. "What is it, Minho?"

His eyes were narrowed. "New York?" , Sulli thought. Luna must've told him—she should've expected that—but Sulli honestly wanted to tell him herself. Oh well, she thought. The cat's out of the bag now. Minho heard his heart hammering in his chest. As he stared into her honey eyes, as he stared at the girl with the soft glare and quiet smile, he knew he didn't want to see her leave. An entire year: that was just plain crazy. "New York?" he asked again.

She sighed. "New York is far, I get that. But—"

"But New York? Why not France or England or—"

"I didn't choose the place," Sulli interrupted. "It's only a year."

"And you want to go?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know yet." She her lips, the soft glare returning. "I have until the end of the term to figure out." At least he had time to figure things out, to get the girl to feel the way he was feeling. At least he had time to hopefully get his feelings out to her. He nodded, eyes stealing looks of her body. Small...but cute.

Sulli caught him looking and sharpened her glare. "s aren't for your eyes, . They're for babies." Minho chuckled.

"Sorry."

"Do you want to come inside?"

Minho debated that. "Nope." He rubbed the back of his head. He felt a bit silly. "But can I come over in a few days? I have this new song I want to play for you."

"Fine, whatever."

"Good." He rubbed his hands together. "Well, I'll see you around, creampuff." She waved him off before suddenly realizing that he called her creampuff. She was about to follow him and give the idiot a piece of her mind but decided against it. She was hungry.

They ate separately. She went to bed first and Taemin always went to bed on the couch. Sleeping in the same bed with her at that time just felt plain wrong. But he was thinking and thinking hard (most of his days and nights were spent thinking).

Minho. Although Taemin had found the willpower to forgive him, he didn't truly forgive him. He was able to understand that Krystal didn't belong to him first; it was Minho. And he was also able to understand that Minho truly did love Krystal. But to sleep with someone else's wife in order to get over them sounded fishy. At least he didn't have to worry about Minho coming around anymore. Even so, Taemin didn't like to think about the bastard: sleeping with his wife…and he was almost positive Minho was leaning towards Sulli.

He was a threat. And the last thing he wanted to see was someone like Sulli get hurt by him. Even though Taemin was married, all these double feelings were taking their toll on the man: he cared for Sulli. There was no more denial. Maybe he loved her somewhere. Maybe.

But Taemin would protect those two. He fell back on the couch with a smirk on his lips. It was time to pay a visit to Minho’s place.

A/N: So this is the next Chapter. Now both Taemin and Minho kinda want Sulli to be with them and we still don't know if Sulli will end up in New York or not. Hope you liked it nonetheless. Along The Road will get a update today too.

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