Friendship was hard.

It was very difficult Taemin decided as he walked up to her apartment, bag of bagels in hand. If all she wanted was friendship, he could give her that at least right? Right. It didn't matter how much it hurt him because she was right after all, he owed her that. It would be selfish to want her all to himself even after all he had done. On top of everything he was Jong In's friend too. If she was really happy with Jong In... he should be stepping away he decided. He should be falling back into the role of best friend to both of them. That's what a good man would do. It was his every intention to do just that except... emotions were hard to control. Almost impossible if they were strong enough.

It would be alright though. He didn't know how, but it would be alright he told himself as he walked up the stairs and looked for her door. He had been trying to call her earlier to tell her he was coming over, but she hadn't picked up the phone so he hoped he didn't have to wake her up.

"It's so early, are you sure you don't want anything before you go?" He heard her voice as he approached her apartment. Her door was open and someone was leaving.

Taemin stopped a few feet away as his stomach sunk.

"No I'm fine, should I come back later today? We could have dinner or go see a movie?" Jong In's voice echoed out.

"That sounds great! I'll wait for your call then?" She said.

"Great, then I'll see you later" Jong In said as he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "And... thanks, for letting me stay yesterday" He added.

"No problem, it was nice to have you around" She said honestly as he walked out.

The door shut with a quiet creak and Jong In stood with a smile on his face before turning to leave.

"Ah... what are you doing here?" He asked, for some reason feeling suddenly on edge. It could have had something to do with the cutting stare that came from Taemin's eyes.

"Did you sleep here?" Taemin asked, no greeting before getting to the point.

"Yeah I stopped by late and well, it just ended up that way" Jong In replied, feeling strangely embarrassed. Why was Taemin looking at him like he had just committed a crime or worse?

"Did you two...?" He began, leaving the question hanging in the air. Jong In had to double check to make sure he had heard him right.

"No. Of course not, but that's not really any of your business is it?" Jong In replied tersely, unable to stop the frown and flash of anger that passed through his face.

He stared at Taemin directly and wondered why he felt like he was being judged. Jong In had been trying, but it had become increasingly difficult to maintain the atmosphere calm whenever Sun Ae came up. He couldn't help that he hated the look of possession that came over Taemin. He hated how protective he was of his girlfriend. As if... as if he was insinuating that Jong In wasn't good enough to be with her.

"Aren't we friends?"

"That kind of stuff is private"

"It would be if you hadn't decided to go after my best friend" Taemin shot back quickly. He was right wasn't he? Even if he hadn't meant for the words to slip past his lips, he was right about that. None of this would be happening if Jong In hadn't met Sun Ae.

"Do you have a problem with us dating?" He asked plainly, finally getting the question that had been nagging at his mind out.

"Have you told her that you're debuting soon?"

"Again, I don't see what the problem is here. After all, it's something between me and her"

"If you hurt her, it becomes my problem too"

"What are you doing at my girlfriend's house this early anyways?" Jong In asked, agitation quickly building up in his body. What was Taemin trying to say?

"I came by to have breakfast with a friend I've known all my life, but if it makes you uncomfortable I'll skip breakfast today and next time I'll be sure to call" Taemin said with a shrug as he followed Jong In's lead and they both walked out. In the back of his mind, Taemin wondered what happened to his resolve to be just a friend.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Jong In asked suddenly.

Taemin looked at him as they got outside the building and waited expectantly.

"Can you... stop hanging around Sun Ae like that? I get that you're friends, but she has a boyfriend now to take care of her. Maybe... she doesn't need you around as much as you think" Jong In finished breaking eye contact and glancing away uncomfortably. He shouldn't have to ask this, he recognized that, but Taemin had been acting so strange lately. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was jealous, but they were just friends so why was he so worried?

"So you can feed her more strawberries?" Taemin asked quickly, and though the words came lightly much like a joke, the look on his face was anything but.

"I'll ask you again, is there something with the fact that we're dating?" Jong In asked, "You two are friends, but there's a line"

"No, not really" Taemin lied, "But she's someone precious to me so no, I can't do you that favor until you know her at least a little better. As you can see, I obviously can't trust her to you just yet" Taemin answered, a subtle air of arrogance with his words.

"I think I know her well enough and as time passes—"

"You don't. You don't know her well enough Jong In. You can't even begin to compare the months you two have been dating to the long years I've known her. I  don't mean it as harsh as it sounds, but you can't compare the way I know her to the way you do and that's ok" Taemin said very seriously.

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No, I'm trying to tell you that as far as it goes, years of friendship kind of beat a short term relationship so it's obvious I want to protect her. So I'm gonna ask you a favor and that is to not take things any faster than they need to be until you put all your cards on the table. Until you're sure of what you want because the business you're going into is ruthless and I won't let her get hurt again"

"You love her don't you?" Jong In asked, his throat going dry.

"I care about her like a friend" He answered, understating the love he felt, "But no, we don't have that kind of relationship" He said just barely holding the 'anymore' back.

"I guess it wouldn't really matter if you did would it?" Jong In said, holding his duffle bag firmly and leaning on his heels.

"It wouldn't matter?"

"Yeah, because she's dating me now" Jong In stated plainly, "So even if you liked her, it wouldn't matter. I'm glad to hear you don't though. That would've for you. On that note, do you want me to set you up with anyone?" He finished with a smug smile.

"No thanks. I already have a date tonight actually"

"...Why do I get the feeling we're not good friends anymore Taemin?" Jong In asked suddenly, a frown on his face.

"Why wouldn't we be? I'll see you later, I'll probably stop by the training room sometime today"

Taemin didn't wait for Jong In to respond as he walked into his  car and pulled out his cell phone. So much for being a good friend to both of them. He recognized what he was doing, he was trying to intimidate Jong In into going away and that was pathetic. But maybe all he needed was a date. He scrolled through the numbers in his contacts list and called the girl he had met a couple of days ago.

"Shin Hye? It's uh... Lee Taemin. Sorry for not getting back to you until now I was wondering, do you maybe want to have dinner tonight?"

There was no better way to get a woman out of your heart like finding a new one right? If it worked for Sun Ae it should work for him.

~~~~~~

"He has a what?" Sun Ae asked, her fork pausing midway to .

They were sitting on the floor of her living room. A movie was playing in the background and they had made spaghetti and even though Jong In clearly had something in his mind she did her best to get his mind off it.

"A date. He told me" Jong In replied as he took another bite and watched her carefully from the corner of his eyes.

"O-oh, he never told me about a date" She answered placing her fork back down, "Has he been dating her long? What's she like?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Jong in answered stiffly.

"He didn't even tell me he was dating, that would be weird" She said thoughtfully, completely missing the tension behind Jong In's words.

"Who cares right? I mean he's probably dating a lot of girls now"

Sun Ae looked so surprised it bothered Jong In.

"He is?"

"I don't know, probably. It makes sense right? I mean it's not like he's dating anyone right now or he likes someone so yeah I think he would be dating" He replied and Sun Ae looked down at her plate of food quietly.

"Probably" She murmured and turned to stare at the screen even though she couldn't seem to pay attention to what was happening. What movie were they watching again?

"Are you done eating?" He asked, ignoring the itch he had in his heart, was it just him or did she look distracted ever since he mentioned Taemin dating?

"Yeah, let's just watch the movie" She said as they put the plates away and she moved closer to him.

"I like you a lot. I almost think... I almost think I like you too much" Jong In whispered without taking his eyes off the screen after they had dimmed the lights and she turned to him, "Sometimes I wonder if you don't like me as much as I like you"

"What?"

"I just wonder sometimes... if there isn't some like ex of yours that will come in and steal you from me"

"You're wondering about silly things" She said softly as she placed her lips on his cheek softly and slowly. She hesitated before pulling back, but held herself back. Instead she leaned her head on his shoulder and held his hand, liking the way it felt to just be near him.

"If there was one person that could steal you away from me who would it be?" He asked, clearing his throat nervously as he anxiously waited for her answer.

"Won Bin. Definitely Won Bin" She said with laughter in her voice and Jong In blinked in surprise before he burst out laughing.

"I see... I guess if it's him I have to give up right?" He joked back.

"No, even if it's him you don't have to give up" She said softly, "I wouldn't want you to give  up. I think... I think you would just need to remind  me how much I like you"

"I can do that"

"Good"

"Hey.... um, I don't feel so good I know it's kind of strange, but can I spend the night here again?" He quickly asked, pushing through his shyness and boring a hole into the TV screen as he avoided looking over at her just in case she was giving him the kind of look that said he was just creeping her out, "Just like last time, I don't mean it in any other way" He added on quickly.

"That's fine. Maybe this time you'll actually to at least have a cup of coffee before you leave" She said brightly.

He laughed and placed an arms around her, holding her closely. He wouldn't give her up without a fight. Even if it was unfounded, he was weary of Taemin now. It was possible that he started liking her so he wouldn't give him the chance to be around her. It was as simple as that. He glanced over at her and wondered how it all had turned out like this, all for her. He brushed a strand of her hair back and as she smiled he could feel a stirring in his heart. It suddenly made perfect sense why he was so protective over her and he wondered if it was even possible to not fall in love with her?

If he had known her as long as Taemin had... Jong In was sure that he would have loved her.

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I updated! Idk but I'm proud of that lol Thanks for the comments I 'm glad to hear some people haven't given up on this fic ^____^

Thanks for reading ! :)