Sometime mid year in college, Taemin’s mom finally cracks and throws an unreasonable fit.

The result: Taemin’s college tuition

Most likely the lack of it

He still lives with his mother in most days, continuing school with what’s left of this year. He’s just glad that the rest of it has already been paid for, although he slacks quite often now than before – rebellious.

Tonight he’s taking it to the limit. It isn’t much like how he’s been everynight in different clubs, meeting different people, enjoying himself in various ways – except that particular sort of enjoyment – drinking, drinking, and oh...drinking.

During the last weeks with everyday that passed it has been less and less entertaining for his friends to be in a club repeating the same routine everytime it ends. Key reprimands him to take only what little alcohol he could to keep sane, he dances the night away, gets completely smashed, then Jonghyun and Minho ends up carrying him back to their apartment; that in the brighter nights. The worse scenario is having him throw up all over the floor and the bed sheets right when they thought he’d already settled down. So those three know better than to get drunk together with the worse drinking buddy they have, and that’s saying something.

So tonight is practically a repeat of those other nights Taemin asks them to go drink – not that they’d be able to say no to ‘the most adorable face ever’ – they know the whole reason Taemin needs to get his dose of vitamin tequila or some other random drink. It’s just that he’s getting in it too much.

“Taemin! You get back here! Alright alright we’re going home now stop walking and wait for me to call Minho so he could get the car! Taem! Oh sheez! Minho!!”

Key abruptly turns and pushes past dozens of sweaty people to call for Jonghyun and Minho. And here is Taemin circling his way past the bar, to the crowd and out the door where the streets are much more sober and glum than the atmosphere inside the sweat-filled bar. He reaches his hand out to the freezing wall, failing, and ends up falling first on the cool pavement, not having that much energy – and sanity – to lift himself up anymore.

Moments later – but moments too long – the door bursts open and out came the disgruntled faces of Key, Minho and Jonghyun, obviously ready to carry him back again. But they expected a more occupied sidewalk…

“Where the hell is Taemin!?”

Meanwhile, Taemin is being carried away in an old, simple, silver Chevrolet all cozy on the front seat beside his most unexpected savior.

“This time I’m serious about not having a next time anymore.” Minho frowns, letting the panic lace over his body like the paranoid that he is – only, it doesn’t show.

“You know…I called in cavalry.” The youngest of the threen suddenly declares feeling a little hopeful that maybe, just maybe Taemin was taken home by the one he called and not some hobo living in the alleyway.

Minhoand Key eyed Jonghyun as he steps forth the mid-muscular bouncer up front, seemingly consulting him about a particular matter. Not long a minute though, it seems he was able to get a satisfying answer and turn back to his group.

“Seems like little Taemin got himself a ride in a silver Chevrolet.” He says, landing his eyes on Minho expectantly. And after a quick mumble of ‘let me make sure’ and a sigh, he flips his cellphone and the other line answers in a second. A minute more and a smile falls on Minho’s lips as he said his goodbye and flips his phone shut.

Key looks at him hopefully as Jonghyun did the same. “Looks like Jinki has pretty good timing.”

Taemin wakes up in a very unfamiliar scent, unfamiliar yet very comforting so he sinks his head back further into the pillows and sheets attempting to push his consciousness back to sleep with a few more wriggling when his head brushes softly on a surface on the bed, warm yet definitely solid.

So he pushes himself up to stare at Jinki currently sitting up with a book in hand and he barely registers his unclad body if not for the soft gush of air that hit his skin. He shivers more at his thoughts than the cold and hardly had a second before he broke in a panic fit.

Jinki wasn’t taking anything rashly though, and before Taemin could get a word out his mouth he already beat the bag.

“Nothing happened.”

“You-! Wha-?”

Jinki sighs and stood up to the counter mumbling an indignant ‘yea’ while grabbing two cups to the breakfast nook.

“But you were…” Taemin glances at the large, white, crumpled bed and back to Jinki. Confusion painted all over his face, the whole scene still working itself up in his mind.

“Yes, I slept on the bed of course, it’s mine. Although I did put my mind on making you sleep on the couch but I figured it won’t do you much good since you’re sick and bringing you all the way to my house would be a complete waste especially since a good friend of mine deliberately asked me to take care of you.”

“I’m not sick! “ Taemin announces quite roughly, but as soon as those words left his mouth, his sight catches on a small tub, a few towels, and 2 bottles of aspirin on the bedside table. It instantly shuts him up as he dives in a new form of confusion and,

Just how did I end up in this situation?

Then he wonders how much of a burden he must have been to be taken care of.

Come to think of it, my head doesn’t even feel the slightest pain compared to all those glasses I downed last night.

“You’re fine. Your fever went down a few hours back so you can go anytime.”

He eyes his senior intently as he poured himself tea by the counter and landed his gaze back at him so casually as if this is nothing out the ordinary.

“I hear someone has already pushed you out the top ranks.”

He takes a moment to sip at his tea as Taemin finds a good-enough retort.

“I see you still wear those socially degrading glasses.”

We find ourselves both smirking at my obvious statement.

“I try to live with it.”

Apparently insults – preferably mine – never really work on him especially with his relentless talent of turning things the other way around.

“So? You, like everyone else would think I’m undeserving. Why concern yourself with it?”

“I find reasons.”

“Like what?”

“Why concern yourself with it?”

He grins wider. There it is like I said.

I growl and fist under the blankets trying to control my temperamental self as I see him grin conceitedly and ask me to take a shower,

“And you can leave as soon as you want, as I said. You have clothes there in the bathroom. I’ll hand over the ones you were wearing last night to Minho as soon as it’s finished getting dry cleaned.”

He walks out and closes the door shut leaving me to my musings as I hear his faint footsteps on what I assume are stairs.

Gotta call Minho hyung

But I find myself slowly pausing as I recalled Jinki’s stern face and the first time we actually spoke to each other.

I chuckle a little while his image inside the detention room kept itself glued in my head. And I decide to flip my phone shut.

Anyway…I can talk to Minho hyung when I get back right.

A/N: I think I did bad on this one. *sobbing forever* anyway. I really did want to continue this because of sweet little dominant Jinki <3 Have to work harder. Being on hiatus for a long time has taken its toll. mygahd.