Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: Short Update, Next one will be super long (2500 some words long, so not super long....but for me it is!)

Minho couldn’t help but notice how much stronger Taemin had become, not physically but emotionally. He had sworn, yelled, and cried. He wondered if this is how Key had felt watching him hurt Taemin. It was physically painful watching the small boy cry. Taemin would emote his feelings and everyone around him would feel it.

Minho was dying to know what had happened, but past experiences told him that wasn’t a good idea. He had no right to know what had happened, and he shouldn’t care what had happened but he wanted to know so bad. He felt bad for Kai. He knew the feeling of losing Taemin, it hurt. It hurt knowing that Taemin had moved on, but had he? The idea of Taemin waiting for Kai to back to him sickened Minho.

“Don’t look at me like that Choi Minho” Minho realized he had been staring at the smaller boy whil ehe had been off in his own mind.

“Sorry.”

“I hate that word.”

“Sorry, I mean…”

“Forget it.” Taemin went over to his bag and grabbed his water bottle. “You don’t get to act all superior or smug, because you are just as bad as him.”

“I never cheated on you.”

“You broke my heart. There are no grades of A to F in heart breaking. You can fail a test by getting all the answers wrong, not answering any questions, cheating, or not showing up to the test. An F is an F, just like a heartbreak is a heartbreak.” Taemin stared at Minho, Minho saw he was daring Minho to challenge him.

“Why did you come back?”

“None of your business”

“Did you come back because of him?” Minho knew the moment he said it, he had gone over a line.

“Aren’t you happy?” Taemin asked him

“Why?”

“Don’t you remember? You told me that I could never be independent, and that I always had to follow someone around. You or Key and then Kai. That Kai was going to regret it after he saw how clingy I was. That he would be repulsed at me like you are.”

“Don’t”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t repeat words like that Taemin.”

“You said it” Taemin said stubbornly.

“AND YOU DON’T THINK I HEAR THAT IN MY HEAD WHEN I GO TO BED OR WHEN I AM ALONE? I DON’T HEAR WORDS I HAVE SAID OR YOU HAVE SAID OR KEY OR JONGHYUN OR ONEW? YOU THINK NOTHING AFFECTS ME? BECAUSE IT DOES TAEMIN. HEARING IT FROM YOU HURTS ME. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?”

“Yes.” Minho stared at him. “I want it to hurt like it hurt me to see you kiss Sulli in the rain. I want it to haunt you like seeing you every day with someone else haunted me. I want you to feel the shame as I did when I was on the floor of the cafeteria when your friend tripped me. I want you to hear these words over and over and over again because that is all I am Minho. All I am are these words you and Kai and others have said to me. You think I don’t hear it every day in my mind? I do. So yes, I want it to hurt you. I want it to cut you like a blade, and maybe you feel a tenth of what I have felt. There is no dance practice tonight, tell the guys I am not going to be at practice.” Minho stared at Taemin, little fragile Taemin had just reappeared, but hardened and darker.

“What should I say you are doing instead?”

“Say I’m off ing some guy for the hell of it.”

“Taemin, don’t joke.”

“Who says I’m joking you told me….” Minho interrupted

“I know what I said, but don’t joke like that.”