Taemin winced as the moving truck that he was in stumbled over a speed bump, his backside aching from the night before. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain came from, as his whole body thrummed with bits and pieces of uncomfort. But this pain had been his constant companion over the years, his only non-changing variable in his life.

          So he dealt with it.

          Suppressing a groan of discomfort, Taemin flickered his eyes over to his left, where he could see the stone-cold profile of the man who had caused all that pain.

          His dad. Him.

          The man in the driver’s seat tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, each small pat of skin on leather sounding like a time bomb, ticking slowly and rhythmically, foretelling the outburst of destruction. His arms bulged with hard-earned muscles and his shoulders twitched at every pothole and puddle that the truck ran over. The veins in his neck stood out against his slightly-pale skin, the solitary vessel leading up to his chiseled jaw and slightly-scruffy hair. His rough, frizzy brown locks swept down over his cold, hard eyes – eyes that had watched Taemin for as long as he could remember, criticizing his every move and showing disapproval, anger, or fury…sometimes all three at once.

          He hated those eyes.

          Taemin shivered and tried to make himself invisible, scooting over to the window in an effort to put more space between him and the man. The harsh, cold weather outside radiated through the window and onto his bare shoulders, his thin t-shirt providing almost no protection against the elements. Even inside the truck, he could still feel the pounding of rain on the glass, each drop sending a flash of ice through his chest. Long, thin fingers rested on his white skinny jeans, fidgeting with the worn hem of the purposely-made holes in the pants. Taemin flicked his eyes down to his lap and up to the window again, the light brown ends of his long hair forming a small curtain on the top edge of his vision. His large, chocolate brown eyes darted over the truck’s handrests and back onto his lap as he bit down on the bottom half of his thick, luscious lips.

          Maybe I shouldn’t have put my hair up today…

          Taemin mentally scolded himself for gathering up his shiny locks into a rushed ponytail before leaving yet another one of their houses, for it left the back of his neck exposed to the cold breeze that s its way into the truck.

          Ahh…it can’t be helped now…

          He was slightly embarrassed at first for having long, girly hair, but got over that embarrassment quickly as it proved to help cover his eyes and shield his expressions, expressions that had gotten him into trouble on countless occasions before. Despite all of the torture and pain he had been put through by Him, his heart still had some fire left in it, fire that made itself known when he was at his worst, exposed through his hateful, rebellious, and strength-filled expressions.

          It had to be learned through the hard way that He didn’t like his spiteful glares and pride-filled eyes, eyes that were usually cast down or flickering over the surrounding with no passion at all. His inner strength showed at the most desperate of times, usually when He went too far in ‘punishing’ the boy or refusing to let him savor the few strands of freedom he had left.

Although Taemin hated the fact that he could’ve prevented a few more scars and bruises that were imprinted on his body, he still couldn’t bring himself to cover up and hide all of those emotions that exploded whenever things went too far. Still, he thanked the gods when his hair finally grew out long enough to cover his eyes because then, he wouldn’t have to try and suppress his anger any longer. His hair would do it for him.

He was deep in thought when the truck twisted around a sharp curb and screeched to a rough stop in front of a large, worn-down house, just outside the city limits. The vehicle was parked haphazardly crooked in the driveway of dirt and overgrown weeds, the last few wheezes of its long journey coming from the exhaust. The surrounding field had been abandoned long ago, the few remaining patches of grass drooping over the dry, sandy ground. The only thing in sight was the solitary road to the city and the nearly-dead field, a small row of trees fringing the ends of the seemingly endless plain. It was hard to believe that the city was only a 20-minute’s drive away, for the only sign of life visible from his vantage point was the thin line of smoke coming from factories in the distance and the top sections of the exceptionally large buildings. Everything seemed distant to Taemin, even more than before.

A sigh escaped his lips before he could stop it and Taemin opened his door with a quiet ‘click’ and set foot on the new, foreign ground. His slightly worn lace-ups puffed up a small cloud of dust, turning his white jeans a slightly brown color at the ends. His hand reached out to slam the door shut as he kept his gaze on the surrounding setting, the chocolate-brown orbs running over the two-story house that seemed like it came straight out of one of those American movies, where the residing family would own a farm and have a country-styled breakfast every morning. It seemed too big for just two people, but Taemin knew that the house would fill up soon. It always did.

The sharp sound of the back of the truck creaking open brought Taemin back to reality, making him turn his head to the source of the too-loud noise. His hair whipped on his cheeks, making them sting a bit, and he slowly walked over to the rear of the truck, quietly scuffling his feet along the worn ground. As he got closer to the edge, he could see Him climb into the storage section, no doubt to unpack the few belongings that he had brought along. Taemin stood near, silently waiting for orders.

“…Boy, what you doin’ jus standin’ there. Get yer damn up and do sum work, instead of starin’ at me work like some goddamned idiot.”

He drawled his words out, dropping a heavy-looking box near the edge of the trunk before heading back into the truck to get more.

Taemin muttered, “Yessir.” before hefting the weighty box into his arms, his thin wrists straining under the mass. But despite his thin and lean frame, he had a considerable amount of strength, accumulated over the years through his judo training and dancing. He didn’t dare attack back at Him, though. He knew that it was futile. He knew that it brought more pain, pain that he needed to keep away at all costs. Oh, how well he knew.

The dull ache that protested against his efforts to move the box got worse as he struggled to carry it to the paint-lacking door. Taemin tried to ignore the consistent call of his injuries and instead focused on moving each box from the truck to the front porch, each walk spanning over a distance of fifty meters. Why He had parked so far away from the house, he had no idea. Then again, He seemed to do things for no reason other than his own amusement, so he brushed off the question and continued his task, his taut legs carrying him and the load that he was holding across the dusty ground.

          It was almost midday when the laborious task of moving all of their belongings into the house, unpacked and put into their rightful places. Inside the house was just as worn as the outside, the residing furniture covered with dusty white sheets and the windows splattered with paint and mud. The ‘floor’ consisted of worn out wood planks and the wallpaper was peeling off, exposing the once-white plaster behind it. Each step in the big house echoed off of every surface and the floor squeaked and creaked as if it were about to cave in at any given moment. The stairs looked dangerously unstable and the railing seemed ready to fall to the ground. Upstairs was only a miniscule amount better than the first floor, but still seemed unfit for any form of life to reside in.

          Home sweet home.

          Dusting his jeans off, Taemin scuffled quietly to the kitchen, looking for something that he could eat for lunch. The last time he had food was a couple of days ago, when He left an uneaten sandwich on the table before leaving to do his ‘work’. Taemin had scurried to the table and scarfed the sandwich down, knowing full well what would come to him when He came home. But the hunger had been too much to bear, so he wordlessly took the beating when He came back, bringing his ‘work’ along with him. The child that had been forcefully brought to Taemin’s prison of a home had watched in silent horror as the thin, long-haired boy was abused and beaten to the point where Taemin couldn’t stand. He ended up with bruise-covered arms and back along with small cuts on his stomach where the sharp end of His boots had pierced the skin. The child was quiet throughout the whole thing and disappeared the next day.

          His…father …never told Taemin about what happened to the boy.

          So he assumed the worst.

          Shaking the meaningless memory out of his mind, Taemin silently explored the small kitchen, opening and closing the drawers and cupboards in search for sustenance. Maybe the previous owner had left something, a forgotten can of soup or a small box of cereal.

          But no such luck.

          He would go hungry…again.

          Taemin’s stomach growled in protest as he quietly closed the last drawer, having checked each one twice. He sighed and slowly walked into what he assumed was the dining room before picking up the small backpack that he was allowed to bring.

          The bag held the few things that he could truly call his – two changes of clothes, a pencil case and a couple of unused notebooks, an ancient mp3 player and headphones, a first aid kit, his judo uniform, and his most prized possession, a pair of hi-tops that he wore only when dancing. Each item had been bought with the scanty amount of money that he had, left over from his job assistant-teaching at a judo academy and performing dance routines on the street. Most of what he earned had been discovered and taken by Him, although He didn’t need the extra money. His job provided Him with all of the money He would ever need, yet He felt the need to steal from His son, Taemin. The younger couldn’t understand why He did the things He did, yet he never questioned it. It had become routine, a part of his day-to-day life. So he treasured what he could and didn’t mourn over the things that he had taken from him. It was easier that way.

          As Taemin was about to start out the door with his bag slung over his frail shoulder, the man who ripped his life apart into small, insignificant pieces grabbed his thin arm and jerked him back into the house. A loud yelp escaped Taemin’s lips as he stumbled back inside, his feet twisting to the side. A flash of pain shot up his right leg and he collapsed onto the ground, just barely catching himself with his scraped-up elbows.

          “Jus’ where do you think you’re going, boy? Out? To where? Gonna leave your ol’ man alone to clean up this hellhole? in’ asslick.” The man growled, foot nudging Taemin’s side, the cold leather putting pressure on one of his many bruises.

          Taemin coughed and whimpered in pain, the unrelenting foot continuing to torture him. “N-No…I-I was going out t-to…”  He left the sentence unfinished and struggled to get up, breath catching in his throat at the endless pain.

          “Goin’ out to what? You ing . I’ll bet you were gonna go out and git yourself someone to you, to ram into you until you couldn’t scream anymore. Isn’t that right?” the man sneered, his voice laced with venom. He spat onto Taemin’s cheek and kicked the same spot, gesturing for him to get the hell out. “The if I care. Go get yourself some . Whatever.”

          “Y…yes, sir.” Taemin choked out, his side aching as if someone had doused it in petroleum and set it on fire. The sharp pain in his right ankle escalating to an almost unbearable level. His cheek was already starting to swell from where he had been kicked, and dust was clinging to the spit that was dripping onto the floor. Disgusted, Taemin silently scraped the spit off of his cheek and wiped his hands on the side of the door before slowly getting to his feet, each bruise echoing the pain that was coursing through his body. Grimacing, he staggered a bit before regaining his balance, cursing under his breath.

          It’s okay…this is nothing…you don’t feel anything…it’ll be alright…don’t give in…

          He repeated the worthless words in his head, wishing with all he had that it was true.

          The door clicked shut as Taemin stumbled outside and he took a shuddering breath to calm himself before limping over the dust-covered ground, heading to the long road that led to the city. He was in no state to move, but he had to. Today was a Sunday and Sundays were the best time to get a job, as he had learned over many years of surviving on his own money.

          I’ll make it. I just have to walk to the city and back, then I can rest. Only…only an hour of walking and I’ll be there. It’ll be fine.

          The stretched-out road seemed even lonelier and empty than it was earlier, the quiet chirping of the birds and the uneven scuffling of his shoes over the ground being the only noise that he could hear.

          Only an hour…

          Taemin had walked for nearly half an hour before realizing that the trip would take much longer than he anticipated, and his heart dropped into his stomach as he gauged the distance between him and the thin line of the city skyline. It seemed further away than before, and he nearly screamed in frustration.

          Isn’t anything on my side?

          He was about to turn back home when he heard a rumbling in the distance. The tell-tale sign of an approaching car made his stomach flip in anticipation, praying to every god he knew that the driver would be kind enough to stop and take him into the city limits.

          Oh, please please please please please please…..

          Taemin stood on the side of the road, facing the car. He waved his arm in the air, wincing as the bruises on his shoulder sent waves of pain throughout his body.

          The pitch-black car slowed to a stop near Taemin and he could clearly see that the car was expensive, polished down to the last bolt. The shiny paint seemed unaffected by the dry air and dust, and the wheels sparkled as the purr of the engine trailed off into a silent stop. The driver, from what Taemin could see, had mid-length brown hair that fell right above his sunglasses, his lips surprisingly plump for a man’s. His fingers drummed over the steering wheel and he twisted around to speak to someone in the backseat, his low voice barely reaching Taemin’s perked ears.

          The back door clicked open and Taemin coughed a bit, trying to fix his ponytail and look presentable to the strangers. He could see a flashily-dressed teenager hop out of the back and stride over to him, his shoulders thrown back in an obvious sign of confidence, his tight skinny jeans leading to his fashionably ripped black t-shirt, his pale shoulders peeking through one of the many holes in his top. He had a light grey tank top underneath that accentuated his thin waist and, in contrast to his relatively dark outfit, the teenager had bleach-blonde hair, swept to one side.

         “Hey! What’re you doing out here?” the blonde shouted, his catlike eyes twinkling with friendliness. Taemin gave a small sigh of relief and trotted over, eyes wide to look as innocent as possible.

          “U-um…I was heading to the city and…and…I didn’t realize how far the walk was?” He stammered, the statement turning into a question. Taemin made sure to add just the right amount of stuttering to sound hopelessly lost, as it would maximize his chance of getting a ride.

          “Didn’t realize..?” the blonde said, smiling wide. He burst into laughter and grinned, waving Taemin closer. “We’ll give you a ride, right Minho?”

          Taemin looked at the driver as the front window rolled down, showing the person who must’ve been Minho. His already-wide eyes got rounder as he finally saw the person in the driver’s seat. His long fingers reached to take the sunglasses off, an action that exposed his big, doe-like eyes that contrasted with his chiseled jawline.

          “Sorry Key, but did you actually ask for my permission?”  Minho retorted, his amusement clear in his voice. Taemin tilted his head. Wasn’t it his car?

          The blonde, Key, snapped his fingers at him and stuck his tongue out, rolling his eyes. “Hun, I wasn’t going to listen to your reply anyways. Don’t flatter yourself!” Key grinned and tugged Taemin closer by his arm, causing the long-haired boy to yelp in pain. Key had grabbed exactly where he had gotten injured earlier, from breaking his fall.

          “O-ow!” Taemin whimpered, willingly stepping to Key’s side.

          Minho and Key’s eyes widened in surprise at his outburst, Key letting go of his arm. “O..omo! I’m so sorry…did that hurt?” He said, rushing over to inspect the damage. Key let out a gasp as he finally got close enough to see the multiple bruises that scarred his skin, some fading to a yellowish color and others sporting a black and blue color that contrasted with his pale skin.

        “N-no…I’m okay, Key-ssi…really, they’ve been there for such a long time that I forgot about them.” Taemin stammered, hiding his arms behind his back and smiling a bit to reassure the shaken blonde. Key didn’t seem at all satisfied and furrowed his eyebrows in worry, not noticing that Minho had gotten out of the car.

          Taemin widened his eyes as Minho sidestepped Key to stand in front of him, concern etched onto his face. His wide eyes ran over the multiple bruises over his arm while he stood, reaching out to take his hands.

          “What happened to you…?” he murmured, fingertips brushing over Taemin’s arm, light enough so that the contact wouldn’t hurt yet strong enough so that Taemin could feel his rough, calloused fingers prodding at his skin. The taller boy’s touch made his skin feel like it was on fire, causing his cheeks to dust over in a light pink color. He cleared his throat, trying to sound like he knew exactly what he was talking about.

          “Nothing happened to me…I just fall often.” He lied, squirming a bit in worry that they would find out about Him and what He did. Although the long-haired boy had absolutely no compassion for his abusive father, he didn’t want to be dragged into an orphanage and be questioned over and over about his father’s ‘buisness’. Nobody escaped and he was sure that his father was determined to take everyone down with him.

          Well, that was a lie.

          One person had ever escaped his father’s grasp. Taemin didn’t even remember his name.

          Shaking his head a bit to get himself back to reality, Taemin smiled reassuringly (hoping that the two strangers wouldn’t look deep enough to realize that his happy outer self was a façade) and tugged his arm back, gently pulling Minho’s fingers off of his skin. “Really, I’m just a bit clumsy…I fell a lot trying to move some stuff out of the truck. It’s fine, I can’t even feel it!” he lied again, flexing his arms to prove his point, silently groaning at the spasms of pain that the small action caused.

          “Are you absolutely, positively sure?” Key demanded, crossing his arms and huffing before looking into Taemin’s eyes, expression surprisingly worried for his tone.

          Taemin nodded, flashing another smile.

          Key sighed, “Well, alright then…be careful, though, nae?” He said, patting Taemin’s hair with one hand. Minho didn’t say anything, just eyeing Taemin’s frail body in worry. His eyebrows furrowed and Taemin gulped, hoping that the taller male wouldn’t dwell too much on the topic. He sighed, legs aching a bit from walking so long.

He was never going to get a job today at this point…

          Taemin widened his eyes, finally remembering why he was walking on the side of the road in the first place.

          “U-um…could I ask for a favor? Please?” he asked shyly, mentally grimacing from the ‘oh help me, I’m so weak, carry me!’  tone in his voice. He was never truly this aegyo-filled and he couldn’t remember the last time that he truly smiled.

          Key opened his mouth to reply, but Minho beat him to the cut. “Sure, get in the car first though. You must be exhausted from walking on this endless road for so long.” He replied, offering the smaller male a grin before motioning for him to come closer.

          Key pouted, then immediately lit up before taking Taemin’s (uninjured) hand and tugging him into the backseat of the luxurious car. “Dumb frog, you took my words!” he rolled his eyes while closing the car door, the velvety interior reflecting some of the light that shone through the window.

          “Whatever, Kibum.” He drawled back, starting up the engine. Key seemed like he was about to reach over and bite Minho’s ear off, but he continued talking as if he didn’t have a dangerous beast sitting right behind him. “Hey, what’s this favor you need, …….” Minho paused, frowning a bit. “Um, I don’t think I –we – ever asked your name…”

          Taemin blinked and tilted his head, a bit surprised that these complete strangers were being so polite to him even though they had just met.

          “…Taemin. Lee Taemin.” He said, giving another fake smile while the blonde fussed over his seat belt, keeping his eyes on the taller male that sat in the driver’s seat.

          “Taemin. Cute name…” Minho murmured, causing Taemin to turn his gaze to the floor in slight embarrassment. “Alright, what do you need, Taemin-ssi?”

          Taemin cleared his throat before replying, “I, um, I’m going for some business in the city and, well….I was wondering if you could take me there. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

          Minho smiled and Key exclaimed “Well, duh we can take you! We’re out for a drive anyways, where do you need to go, Taemin-ah?”

          The long-haired boy bit on his lower lip, mentally going through the most likely places for a dojo or a dance studio. He could use his experience in teaching on the resume…

          “Ah, are there any streets with places like art studios and schools and buildings like that?” He asked, biting his lip in concentration.

          Minho pursed his lips and Key cocked his head to the side.

          “Well…” Minho paused and frowned a bit again. Taemin thought that his frown ruined the soft lines of his obviously handsome face. “Well…there is a street like that, but it’s really dangerous and suspicious at night…are you sure you need to go there right now? It’s going to be sundown in a couple of hours…” He muttered, frown growing.

          Taemin almost laughed out loud. Dangerous? It was probably nothing compared what he’s gone through at home, and he could actually fight back if he was attacked by a stranger. Or strangers.

          Keeping his expression composed, he replied “Nae, that sounds great! I promise to leave before it gets dark, so could you please take me there hyung?” The honorific slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it and Taemin widened his eyes in surprise as the word ‘hyung’ escaped his mouth.

          There had been only one other person he’d called hyung before…

          Key jumped into the conversation and covered Taemin’s hand with his own before telling Minho to step on it, so that they could get there before sundown.

          Taemin sat quietly for the rest of the ride, only replying with small ‘mmhm´ and nods to Key’s conversational chatter, not taking his eyes off of the strange man that he had dared to call ‘hyung’.

A/N:

UNFORTUNATELY FOR US, Jonghyun (the y god that he is) didn’t have a chance to make an appearance in this chapter. NO FEAR, YOU WILL SEE HIM VERY SOON. VERY. I PROMISE. BD

So this fanfic is going to be a mix of 2min and JongTae, which is a nice mix of fluff and ;D

AND. Just to clear up any confusion, whenever you see “Him” and “He” capitalized, it’s referring to Taemin’s dad. Just thought I’d say that.

THIS IS THE FIRST STORY WHERE I HAVE THE ENTIRE STORYLINE AND PLANNED OUT, SO I’M GONNA TRY AND KEEP THIS GOING UNTIL THE END. WISH ME LUCK!

Happy reading~

P.S. I never edit any of my fiction writings, so I apologize in advance for any stupid mistakes you might see