Chapter 10: What Lies Beneath

He walked through the aisles, his eyes looking for his favorite brand of rice. Minho scanned the rice aisle, scanned the many brands of the small grain. And then he spotted his favorite brand. He lifted the large package and placed it in his almost full shopping cart. If there was one thing Minho loved more than his guitar and chocolate, it would be knowing that he could go to his kitchen anytime and find food waiting for him. He began to walk again, unbeknownst of the women eyeing and giggling at the attractive man.

He stopped by the bread and pulled out his sloppily-folded list. "Okay. All I need now is..."

"Excuse me," a bitter voice said. Minho looked away from his list and found Taemin glaring at the man. "You're standing in front of the bread."

Minho and his cart moved then, his jaw set tight. They sent each other final menacing stares before going their separate ways.

Taemin walked down the street, his amber eyes glancing at the jewellery and shoes. If Krystal were currently with him, she would've loved the pair of red peep-toes he was currently staring at. He tore his eyes away from them and continued down the sidewalk.

His eyes then picked up the sight of Minho biting into a hotdog just a few steps away from the man. He chewed while walking until his eyes landed on Taemin. They stopped and stared at each other, tension and awkwardness filling the air. Taemin bit down into his lip as he brushed past Minho.

Just wait, Taemin, he told himself. Just wait until the end of the week.

"What the hell is he doing?" Minho exclaimed. He was currently watching a murder mystery show where the murderer returned to the woman's house. He was determined to kill her this time. But a clip before had revealed that the woman was awake and waiting for the murderer with a knife pressed to her chest. She intended on getting revenge for her dead husband. "Get out of there!" Why he was rooting for the villain: said murderer had to protect his wife and unborn child. Minho sat up on his couch, eyes narrowed. Just what would happen?

But to taunt the man, the thirty-minute show ended with no preview of the next episode. He turned off the television and stretched his body, his shirt rising up slightly as he did so. A shower and then a nap was the plan. He yawned as he headed over to the stairs. He was halfway up them when his doorbell rang. He went back down, expecting Luna there again for more food. Or maybe it was Sulli…but why would she come to his place?

He looked through the peephole and raised his eyebrows. Why was Taemin here? As Minho opened his door, he wondered if he should duck or dodge any attacks. But Taemin stood there without a weapon or anger on his face. He just looked like the same guy.

Minho let him in and Taemin looked around, admiring the decorations and simplicity of his apartment. He walked around a bit, eyes flickering from photo to photo. Minho gulped and closed his door before following the man to the living room. Taemin sat down on the couch, legs crossed. His arms leaned over the back of the couch.

He stared at Minho. "I bet you're wondering why I'm here."

"Kind of." He sat in the seat across from the couch. He rubbed the back of his head. It was normal for him to feel awkward, right? Was it also normal for him to want Taemin just go completely mad and try to best him up? Anything was better than just sitting across from each other so normally. "Why are you here?"

Taemin tapped his foot. "You got anything to drink?" Minho was more of a straightforward kind of guy. All this time not talking could've been used to get to and solve the problem. But if he needed a drink to say whatever was on his mind, then he'd get him a drink.

"Yeah." He stood and walked to the kitchen. He pulled out a beer for him and returned to the living room. He tossed the bottle to the man and Taemin caught it with ease. He popped open the lid and sipped the beer. Minho returned to his seat, a grimace on his lips. "So...?"

"I was tempted to come here and beat the out of you," the brown-haired man said. Minho sighed then, hands rubbing together. "But I decided not to."

"Well...thanks." His honey eyes watched Taemin sip the beer. After a few more gulps, he burped and placed the half-empty bottle onto the table. Taemin sat up. "In all honesty, I expected you to come here with the intention of killing me."

He smirked. "Maybe I'll save that for next time." His smirk disappeared. "But we need to talk."

"Alright, shoot."

Taemin crackled his knuckles. "You must think you're a pretty amazing guy. Breaking up with your girlfriend then going to sleep with another man's wife."

"I told you I felt guilty about it." Minho sighed. "Trust me—I regret it."

"I don't care."

His eyes narrowed. "So why are you here then?" The real subject of the matter was hard to get out into the open but it was going to come out sometime in this discussion. If he had to force it out then so be it.

"Stay away from my wife." Minho stood with his hands raised in surrender.

"Done deal." Minho walked to the kitchen to retrieve a beer. He came out into the living room drinking from the brown bottle. "I don't want to be near her."

Taemin glared. "You make it sound like Krystals's the problem."

"She is." He burped. "She seduced me, played my feelings against me. She's manipulative." Minho saw the way Taemin's fists tightened in anger, the way his jaw set tight. "You learned that when everything went down at your house."

"She's not like that."

Minho shook his head. "Sorry to say this, but the girl's got you wrapped around her finger. I think that's why she thinks that just because all the guys like her that she can get away with ." He chuckled. "That's probably why she slept with me in the first place."

Taemin snapped. "Don't talk about my wife like that."

"I'm only telling the truth," Minho responded in a low voice, a glare in his own eyes. In a way, they were kind of even. While Taemin was slowly recovering from the troubled period in their marriage, he had broken Sullis's heart and forced the girl to go to such lengths just to get him to notice her. He knew that he went to Sulli’s place thinking that he could get even with Krystal. He knew that he had betrayed and abandoned her and suddenly he was the one needing her friendship more than anything.

Call Minho selfish but Taemin didn't deserve someone like Sulli. He and Krystal were meant for each other.

He shook his head in disgust and finished off his beer. "I know you went to Sullis's house to try to sleep with her." His hand clenched the bottle. He felt jealous. Jealous because Minho knew Sulli could relapse at any moment; she would be in love with him all over again. And then his chances of ever getting the girl to fall in love with him were over. "You're crazy."

"She talked me out of it," Taemin snapped. "And that's none of your business."

Minho scoffed, his eyes focusing on the man in his house. "I can't believe you were desperate enough to even think of sleeping with her." He tossed his bottle into the recycling bin. "You're married and—"

"That didn't stop you from sleeping with my wife." Okay, he was right about that. Minho went rigid. Taemin smirked. "I bet you feel like a now."

"I felt like a the moment I stepped into the house." A tense silence passed between the two. The dark haired man walked around, hands in his pockets. "But that's not important right now." He smirked. "Did she tell you?"

Minho's eyes followed the man. "Tell me what?"

"Did Sulli ever tell you that she was in love with you?" Taemin gulped before turning so he was fully facing Minho.

"Yes, she did."

"But did she ever tell you that she loved you way before Krystal? Or that Krystal had everyone turn on her? Or that you abandoned her for your little girlfriend?" Minho snapped, surprised by himself that he was so defensive about the petite girl. Taemin rolled his eyes. "Your wife changed a whole lot."

"Don't drag Krystal into this!" Taemin shouted. "Keep her name out of your ing mouth!" He pointed an accusing finger at him. "You wouldn't know about Sulli."

"Oh and you do?" Minho laughed. "You or Krystal haven't spoken to her in years! And now all of a sudden when your marriage isn't going so well you need her, right?"

"She's my friend—"

"She was your friend. Until you decided you didn't need her anymore because you had Krystal and that was enough. So you tossed your friend like she was nothing."

Taemin stepped up to Minho. The space between then was slowly closing. "I know who Sulli is better than you. You wouldn't understand what went on in her life."

"Oh, you must be some sort of guru then." Minho smirked. "Then tell me guru Taemin. Did you know Sulli got accepted into a one year program in New York?" When his eyes widened with shock, Minho chuckled. "No? You didn't? Oh, I didn't know."

"Don't taunt me." Taemin moved away from him, his glare returning. Sulli was going to New York? For a year? Why didn't she tell him? "How long have you known?"

"Does that matter? All you did was prove my point that you know nothing about her." Taemin's hands clenched down onto the back of the couch. He took a breath. "Don't go to her house thinking you know everything about her. Don't even go to her house thinking she'd actually sleep with you to get even."

"And what're you going to do about it?" Taemin asked in the same threatening tone. With both men glaring and breathing heavily at each other, a fight could've broken out at any moment. But it was more like a test of will: who would snap first? Who would throw the first punch? "You don't own her."

"No, I don't." Minho stepped away then. He wasn't in the mood to fight. He walked into his kitchen and leaned on the counter to calm himself. "But I know you'd only hurt her."

Taemin laughed then. The bastard that slept with his wife was telling him that he'd only hurt Sulli? The irony was killing him. "You've got to be kidding me."

"She loved you. You didn't stop to think that sleeping with her would not only mess with her head but ruin your already ruined marriage?"

"You ing ruined mine," Taemin snapped. As he sauntered into the kitchen, an amused expression on his face, he spoke. "Let me ask you, Minho. Do you love Sulli?"

"What I feel for her is none of your business," Minho responded. "But let me ask a question." He stood up straight, a cold expression on his features. "Do you love Sulli?"

"I don't—"

"Don't lie." Minho smirked. "You went to her house. You wanted to be with Sulli because, I bet she's been on your mind since the whole Krystal cheated thing." Minho's skill of hitting things right on the nail was unnerving and was making Taemin uncomfortable. What did he know? It was all his fault. He did this.

"You ruined my marriage…you ruined everything!" was the only response Taemin could think of.

"Your of a wife ruined it," Minho snarled.

All hell broke loose.

It wasn't clear who through the first punch but someone did. Soon the two were throwing punches left and right, none of them missing the target. Minho managed to get Taemin into a chokehold. He rammed his head into the wall, anger and an animalistic violence overwhelming the two men. Taemin punched Minho's stomach and he caved into himself. He escaped his grasp and moved to punch him across the face. Minho was quicker. He grabbed his wrist before launching the man into the living room. Taemin wiped away the blood before standing up and charging. Their brawl had knocked over several photos, destroyed some of Minho’s vases, even broke a window.

But they continued to fight, neither one loosing energy. If only Minho had remembered a certain date he made with the two people who were suddenly in his house and watching him punch the holy hell out of Taemin's face. Luna gasped and Onew lunged into action, not bothering to take off his shoes. He grabbed Minho's shoulders but he brushed him off and made another fist. Onew wrapped an arm around his torso, his other hand locking around Minho's wrist and forced the man off of him. Taemin sat up and moved to attack a now vulnerable Minho but Luna wrapped her arms around him and managed to pull him away (play-fighting with Onew proved to have some benefits).

"Chill!" Onew shouted. Soon the room was filled with their heavy breaths. Onew held onto Minho who was very much in the mood to finish their 'discussion'. "What the hell happened?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "We'll figure that out later. We need to get Taemin out of here."

"Good!" Minho shouted, blood trickling down his lip. "Get that ing loser out of my house!" He wanted to rip the man apart. "You're desperate! You ing went to her house to try and sleep with her!"

"You're the ing loser! You slept with another man's wife! You ever call Krystal a ever again—"

"She's a !" Minho shouted. Luna was having a hard time containing Taemin. She pulled him back to the front of the apartment. "She's a ing !"

"I'm going to take Taemin to the car. Onew, come down when we're there, okay?" Luna’s eyes glanced at Minho. "We'll drop him off and then come back." Onew nodded and continued to hold him back as Taemin angrily stepped into his shoes and burst out of his house. When the two were gone, Onew released him. He expected him to chase after him but Minho just headed up his stairs, cursing to the heavens as he did so.

Luna and Onew plopped down onto Minho's couch. They watched him come down the stairs and sit in the recliner, an angry yet calm expression on his face. Even with a black eye, a ton of scratches on his face, and a bandage across the bridge of his nose, he still looked like then same old Minho. Onew handed him the ice pack he made and Minho  placed it on his throbbing eye. He groaned and slumped into the couch, his body now feeling the results of his brawl.

Luna sighed. "What happened?"

"He came over, we talked. Talking turned into fighting because I called his wife a ." Minho shrugged. Luna had to stifle her laughter but Onew heard the first few chuckles escape.

"You shouldn't be laughing, Luna."

The woman rolled her eyes. "I should be. Krystal is a ."

"She's not—"

"Yes she is," both Choi siblings said at the same time. Minho closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. The ice felt wonderful on his eye; at least it would stop his eyes from swelling and turning into a big black monstrosity.

Onew rolled his eyes. "Taemin said he never wants to speak to you ever again. And that you need to stay away from his wife."

Minho shrugged. "Did he say anything about Sulli?"

"No..." Onew's eyes narrowed. "Is that true what you said? That he went to hers to try and sleep with her? Thought you guys just fought over Krystal."

Minho nodded, anger filling him all over again. His fingers dug into the soft material of the recliner's armrest. Onew and Luna exchanged a look before turning to face the man with ice on his eye.

Luna sighed. "Why'd you think he would do that?"

"To get back at Krystal. To make himself feel better." Minho shook his head. "He blamed me for ruining their marriage."

"Well, you kinda did," replied Onew. When Minho sent him a look, he raised his hands. "Well you slept with her!"

"She did all the work," Minho replied with a chuckle.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Well, at least now that's out of the way."

"Whatever." Minho sighed as he stood and walked to the stairs. "I'm going upstairs to take a nap. Don't eat my house out." They watched as he walked up the stairs while holding the ice pack. When he was gone and they could no longer hear his footsteps, Luna faced Onew. When he smiled at the girl, Luna raised an eyebrow.

"I bet I know what you're thinking," he teased before taking her lips.

Luna stared into his brown eyes. "And if you do?"

"Then we should go get our overnight bags."

She was alone.

After that fateful day with Minho, it seemed almost inevitable. She should've expected this but no one could predict Sulli coming to her home and ruining the place. Her secret was out and now Krystal was alone. And if she didn't get Taemin back to the man he was before all of this happened, she would lose him, too.

She ran a hand through her brown locks. Having little to no friends was better than none at all: she had Onew, Key and Victoria, even if they were in France. She had Taemin, too, but she knew it wouldn't be for much longer if things got any worse. All Krystal could hope for now was his forgiveness.

The door opened. She rushed to the front to find her husband removing his shoes. She smiled sadly at him. "Hey."

He glanced at her. Taemin sighed. "Hey." Although they couldn't read each other's mind, they both were thinking how awkward their relationship had become. Whatever happened to the welcome home kisses, the waking up excited to touch each other? Now it was an awkward hello and they went their separate ways. Krystal's fingers clutched her sweater. She walked up to Taemin and wrapped her arms around the man.

He just stared at the brunette's hair, dumbfounded as what to do next. "Let go." It was weak, barely convincible. And he was sore. "Let go, Krystal."

"...call me honey."

The nickname seemed like a memory. "You know why I can't—"

"You can," she interrupted, looking up at him as she did so. "We can go back to normal."

"Can we really?" Her hands touched his bruised face, her golden orbs widening. What happened to him? But that would wait for later. The girl stretched her neck and kissed him softly, not shocked that he wasn't too responsive. But Krystal needed that: to remind herself that this was the man she married, the man she loved and cared for more than anything. Minho was nothing but a memory. Even if she sometimes daydreamed of that day, even if she wanted to do it just one more time, Minho was not Taemin. And he would never be.

How long had she been kissing him? When she pulled away, she was surprised when his hand cupped the back of her neck and reeled her back in. Krystal didn't care. Taemin was slowly coming back to life. She wrapped her arms around his neck, silent tears slipping out of her eyes.

She whimpered when the kiss was over. "I only have you."

Taemin hugged her tight. Even though he was sore, even though it would be difficult, he would overcome his feelings. Because, in all honesty, he loved Krystal more than anyone else. "I know."

Their silence revealed a new promise. The start of a new day.

Her heels clicked against the pavement. Although men gazed at her, Krystal could've cared less. She was on a mission. She arrived at Sulli's apartment building and entered the building, her heels echoing in the lobby. She pressed the up button on the escalator and hit the seventh floor.

She got off and stopped outside her apartment door. Krystal rang the doorbell before standing back, a glare in her eyes. Moments later, the door opened and Sulli revealed herself. She wore a shirt and some pants, different colored socks on her feet. When she saw her there, she was tempted to go get her bat again and finish the job but decided against it. The girl smirked and stepped outside, her frame leaning against the wall beside her door.

The brunette scoffed. "I didn't thing you'd show your face here. Not after what happened." Sulli chuckled. "I'm tempted to go get my bat again."

Krystal sneered at the girl. "I'm not here to listen to your jokes." She stepped up to the girl, their bodies just inches away.

Sulli stood up straight. "I'm not going to stay long but I figured I should just tell you this myself."

"Well," Sulli began, "hurry it up. I've got things to do." Krystal rubbed her hands together as she clicked her tongue against the roof of .

"Taemin and I are working things out." The urge to get her bat felt stronger than a moment ago but Sulli ignored it. "And I'm not losing him to someone like you."

"Trust me: Taemin leaving you and coming to me would be an improvement."

Krystal smiled before frowning again. "Cute." She glared at the girl before pointing an accusing finger at the girl. "Stay away from Taemin. I don't need him getting influenced by you." Krystal narrowed her eyes. "I also bet you're the reason for why Taemin's bruised."

"For starters, you can't control your husband." Sulli's arms crossed over her chest. "And he's bruised? What happened?"

"No, I can't." Krystal smiled. "But if you come near him, I'll see you in court for a restraining order." Krystal smirked when Sulli's face went blank, her eyes glaring at her. "And don't act like you don't know."

"Well, I don't."

"Taemin and Minho had a fight." Sulli's eyes widened. A fight? "And I bet you told Minho some lies about Taemin."

Sulli scoffed. "You're crazy."

"You're ruining lives," Krystal spat. "You ruined our marriage, you ruined everything."

"Don't put the blame on me, . You ruined your marriage when you decided to sleep with Minho." Sulli shook her head. "You're nothing. You're pathetic. In fact—" Sulli pointed down the hall "—get out of  my sight."

Krystal shrugged. "Fine with me. Just know your place." The girl smiled at Sulli before walking away, the sounds of her heels playing out the last notes of a deadly tune. When the other brunette was gone, Sulli's fist slammed down on the wall. Krystal that manipulative .

A/N: Okay, so here is the next Chapter (is it the longest?) and I hope you liked it! I had a hard time writing it, because I had huge writer blocks and I was watching Pretty Little Liars the whole week, since it's not on Free TV in Germany and so I was occupied with writing fanfics about PLL. Okay I stop rambeling about unnecessary things. bye.

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