"Where are you taking me now?!" An irritated Taemin stumbled up the staircase, grasping Minho's hand extra tight to secure him from toppling over his own feet. "Why are you in such a rush?! Mother of god, I'm going to get hurt this way and I have a stage tomorro-"
"How come your feet only move fast when dancing?" Minho said abruptly. "Why don't you use that speed to catch up to me. If you don't we're going to miss it!" Minho put it simply. Taemin scoffed unbelievingly, struggling to balance himself out in motion. "Miss what?" He questioned. "Damn it, Minho! If you don't slow down, I'm bound to sprain an ankle or-"

The moment he reached the top, the toe of Taemin's shoe hooked the last step, sending him to the floor and tugging Minho down with him as well. The younger let out a groan of pain at the un-cushioned impact and then a second one after Minho's head landed squarely on his lower back. "W-What did I tell you?" Taemin winced as he slowly began to prop up his upper body with his forearms.
"Yah! This isn't my fault! You're too slow!" The older man said as he easily sat up to ease a bit of pain from his boyfriend. Suddenly, he let out a gasp. "Come on, come on! We only have a few minutes left!"

At the rate Taemin was moving, it would take an hour for them to get up into the sunroom. By then, the beauty would have fallen completely south of the horizon and it would take at least a half a year until the sunset became relatively close to what it looks like on this particular day. Minho sighed loud enough for Taemin to hear, letting him know of his state of annoyance. Taemin didn't care though; having that sort of attitude towards him triggered his mischievous side. Watching the younger purposely transform into a sloth, Minho mumbled something under his breath before he took a knee to the ground and scooped Taemin into his arms bridal style.

The rookie's immediate reaction was shocked and flustered, making him wide eyed while flailing around in Minho's hold. "No, No! S-Stop it Minho! P-Put me down!" He pounded on Minho's chest and kicked his legs around as the other man used his elbow to press the 'up' button. A ding sounded right away, along with the sliding of the two metal doors. Ignoring Taemin's commands and his ruthless acts of abuse, the carrier stepped into the translucent box and repeated the step with the button. Once more, a ding commenced their takeoff.

"Minho," Taemin paused, looking away as he blushed, "I-I'm serious. You can put me down now. I'm alright." He stuttered innocently. The older couldn't help but chuckle with how Taemin could turn from a hard- to an adorably shy kid. With pursed lips, he ghosted the middle of Taemin's slightly waved bangs with a kiss and set the younger down gently. The two stood there, listening to the rolling of the elevator and the impatient tap of Minho's foot. Finally, they reached the designated floor.

As the transportation smoothly transitioned to a stop, Minho hurriedly grabbed at Taemin's hand and led him into the familiar room. The light illuminating the room was not as pressured as it was during the summer, Taemin recalled. Instead of those blinding rays, a striking blend of pinks, blues, and oranges painted along the horizon, seizing both men's attention at once. Under the trance of the sky's beauty, Minho stiffly walked towards the large half-circled window installed in the back wall. Taemin had no objection to it, and followed along obediently.

The couple stopped in their tracks as soon as they reached the work bench belonging to Minho's father. Without a word, Minho nudged Taemin in front of him and wrapped his muscular arms around Taemin's waist. Again, hiding his excited expression, Taemin bit his lip harshly, to stop a smile from creeping up on his face. Together they stood, holding each other as they enjoyed observing the breathtaking sight that slowly disappeared with each coming minute. Soon, the color started to fade.

Minho let out a refreshed sigh as he rested his chin atop Taemin's head, happiness showing on his face. The now-black-haired Taemin turned halfway to nuzzle himself into the crook of his boyfriend's neck; a single, long blow of air escaping his nostrils peacefully.
"I know we've only been officially together for a month, but I hope you know that I'm head over heels for you." said Minho in a low voice.
"Who wouldn't fall for me?" Taemin joked, glancing up at the taller man that looked very solemn.

"Taemin, I'm not kidding. I love you, genuinely. That's why I took you up into this particular room to watch this sunset." Minho confessed, staring out of the window almost absent mindedly. "This was my dad's personal room where he worked, studied, and stored." Taemin closed his eyelids and imagined an older version of Minho doing about with his business in this cozy room. "Was...?" He asked, wondering what had happened to him. The question he's been wondering ever since the day he snuck up here and listened intently to Minho's every word.

"He was-" The older man paused, racking through his brain to find the right term to determine his father's profession. "He was a tourist, explorer, adventure seeker    whatever you want to call it. His wish in life was to travel the world. In his lifetime, he visited many places; places I'm pretty sure both you and I haven't heard of before. He would be gone for weeks at a time and come back with knick-knacks that he collected. Thousands of stories were told to my family. I mean," he took a second to continue, "stories to tell my brother and I. My mother was always too busy to listen to her husband's 'dumb little stories.'" Minho quoted.

Taemin nodded to beckon that he was following along. Another breath and a blink later, the older went on. "Father often invited her to join him on these trips, but he wouldn't even leave her desk for him once. Apparently, there's no such thing as a vacation when you're business is just starting up, but even after that, mother turned him down every single time. I remember looking into his miserable eyes after every dismissal." He reminisced.
Taemin nodded again, "Is that why you claim to dislike her?" he wondered. It was Minho's turn to approve with a head nod. "Yes, pretty much." He said.

Taemin turned back to face the desk and examined the map that sprawled out across the finished pinewood. Last time he visited this place was months ago. It appeared that somebody had cleaned this area recently by the look of the meager amounts of dust coating the paper globe. "So what happened to him?"
The older idol his lips and set his head on Taemin's shoulder as he thoroughly searched each continent. With eyes locked on a city in Africa, Minho placed his hand over Taemin's and started tracing invisible lines across the Earth.

A pointed finger started out in Seoul, Korea, leading to the countries of Germany, England, and in the end, Africa. "Kibum's step-dad, my uncle, kept my father company on this trip. They toured each of these countries together and decided that Africa would be their last stop before heading home after a month of being away. You could imagine how excited Key and I were, thinking that they would be coming back soon. But," Minho gulped, "they didn't." Taemin laced his fingers through Minho's, giving a tight squeeze of reassurance as his eyes brimmed with fresh tears. He realized that they weren't so different.

Minho squeezed back and went on fearlessly, "They caught a virus one day when visiting tribes out in the savannah. We aren't sure if it was from a human or an animal, but no matter; it did it's job just perfectly. It murdered both my father and Key's. Since Kibum's mother is abroad in America and his dad is gone, my mom offered to look after him. She raised him more than she did me. The reason is because she wanted him to become an important part of the company. I'm almost sure she'll hand it down to him instead of me when she retires." Minho said without a waver in his voice. Not even a change of tone.

Taemin admired his will to stay strong. It was either that, or he was just used to it. Taemin wondered if this was the reason behind his soulful singing; what makes it so moving and inspiring. Maybe it's a way to release his true feelings through a meaningful song that others think is literally, just a song.

"I see," The younger found his eyes drifting towards the portrait of the middle-aged man in the middle of the desk. With care, he picked it up and asked for confirmation, "This is him, right?"
"Yeah, that's him. We look a lot alike, don't we?" Minho tilted to the side and pulled the frame next to his face to let Taemin get a good look for a comparison. Taemin cocked an eyebrow and smirked a little. "Yeah, yeah. I see the small resemblance, but I think he's much more handsome." he chuckled. 
"Tch, whatever," the other replied, brushing the remark off his shoulder. "Anyways, Dad," he spoke to the photo, "Meet Taemin." he handed the picture back.

Playing along, Taemin smiled and said, "Nice meeting you again, Mr. Ch-"

He froze mid-sentence. Whoops, why am I so stupid...? He thought bashfully. He knew that there's no way of taking back that one word by the confusion arising on Minho's face. 

"Again?" Minho questioned, squinting at the younger with suspicion. Taemin's question to himself now, was how he was going to get out of this predicament. Well the 'master plan' he conjured up in about three seconds turned out to be a poor attempt of fake, obnoxious laughter with gradual steps headed towards the elevator. Minho followed, though. Each step he took towards him, forced Taemin to draw back to create space between him and the older man.

It didn't take long until the space between Taemin and the elevator shrunk to nothingness, leaving the rookie with his back against the cold, silver doors. He damns both Minho and himself for his miscalculation of steps that lead him far from the call button.  It was too far for him to reach now, because Minho was already closing in on him. Finally, the older placed both hand firmly besides Taemin's head, their noses only inches as he asked, "So what were you saying earlier? Hm, Taemin?" Helpless. He was helpless.

Looking down at his feet, the rookie began to giggle airily again. "Oh, Minho. It's such a-a funny story! It's really, really funny...." The ending of his words declined sharply in volume as he tried to slip under the trapper's arm, but was immediately blocked off.
"I see, start the story off, then. Give me something to laugh about." Minho said, barely above a whisper. The older watched as Taemin held off by biting his bottom lip and then shook his head. "Oh, come on now. Are you hiding something from me?" Minho prodded the sides of Taemin's waist, unexpectedly making him double over in real laughter.

Taemin covered his waist by crossing his arms over his stomach and easily pushed through the shocked Minho using his upper body. "N-No! Don't touch me there!" He said between unstable breaths; his wobbly legs taking him to a glass cabinet along the outskirt of the room to use for support. As he observed the boy, who was going back to normal now, a sly smile curled on Minho's face.
"Don't touch you where?" Minho started to walk up to Taemin. "Here?!" Like an assassin finishing his duty, the idol jabbed two fingers into Taemin's sides, rendering the younger defenseless at this point.

"What do you mean by 'again?!'"

"N-Nothing! S-Stop it, no!"

"Tell me!"

"I-ah! I've snuck up here before!"

After a bunch of explaining and swatting of hands, Minho had apologized for looking through Taemin's belongings and finding secrets that he should have never touched after the first slip of paper he encountered in an album case. But on the other hand, he explained that if it weren't for him, they wouldn't be together as of now, earning a slap on the arm from Taemin.

It was long after dusk when the aura of the room became more comfy and inviting than awkward and unfamiliar. Taemin no longer felt like a trespasser while cuddling with Minho in a reclining chair, under the dim lighting of a brass lamp. Holding each other lovingly, they read passage after passage of Mr. Choi's Story Journal until Taemin's eyelids began to droop. Taemin didn't even mind skipping dinner if it meant living in this moment forever. Everything, both men would say, is going perfect.

Minho's whispering voice re-ran Taemin's name, until his eyes blinked open. Or at least slightly open.

"Taemin, are you awake?" Minho's mouth was right near his boyfriend's ear. Taemin replied with a groan, obviously unhappy with his wake-up call. It's exhausting working as an idol that sleeping at seven O'clock was a blessing from the high heavens. Despite the half living-half dead answer, Minho kept on talking.
"In a day or two my co-star, Sulli, and photographers are coming here to shoot pictures for our drama in the garden." He said. Taemin shifted on his chest to look up with a burned out expression, saying, "It's nearly winter, wouldn't the garden be ugly and dead by now?"

The actor chuckled and sorted Taemin's bangs to reveal the flawless skin of his forehead. "You really don't get out much do you? Has mother locked you in the dungeon? Every tree is an evergreen, every plant is an annual. They're alive all year-round"
Taemin jutted his lower lip cutely and then turned back away from Minho, "Okay.... So?" he hid that fact that he wasn't too fond of this idea. Why couldn't they go somewhere else for some shots? Maybe this was purposely arranged. Was Minho making and effort to make him jealous? Because if it is; it's working. The rookie refuses to show it.

"I'm just letting you know. If you don't want to see me hugging or kissing another person, then this is a warning. You can stay in your room, or if you're lucky, you'll be working around the house. I wouldn't want you to become jealous."

At that horrid word, Taemin immediately became defensive and unwilling to listen to Minho any more. "Jealous? Me jealous? Nope, I don't think so. Never. Why would I be jealous? I mean, just no."

"Oh, you're just in denial. We'll see when it happens," Minho chuckled, sharing a chaste kiss with his boyfriend.

A/N: Hello, hello, hello! Here is the fluff we have all been waiting for~ It's back to normal!...... But how long will it last? I thought this chapter was cute kekee. Again, sorry for not updating lately. I have a lot on my plate! Please comment, uplike, subscribe if you aren't already, and whatever. Are you guys excited for SHINee's Korean comeback?! I know i am ><;; I just need to find out when they're releasing the album (not online, the real one) Until next chapter!
    Annyeonghigaseyo!~ Queen S