All of the Shawols must have heard that the maknae of SHINee has a hyung; but the truth is, his “hyung” is only 6 minutes older than him. Yes, they were twins - identical twins to be exact. His name was Taesun, and that was the identity that Taemin lived under for more than a decade. Why did Taemin live under Taesun’s identity for so long? Simply because Taesun was older - he was wanted and planned. Taemin, on the other hand, was just a leftover child. How did that happen, you ask? Remember how there were no evidence that Taemin came from a well-off family, nor could he afford a mp3 that other average-income family could have purchased? That’s right, he came from a poor family; from a couple that wanted just one child. One child could have been affordable; one child would have been easier; one child would not have killed his mother whom he has never seen in his life. But there were two, and two was too much for their mother who passed away shortly after the delivery of 2 healthy babies. Two was too much for their finances. Their widower father could only pay for one; and that was what he did. 

 

For the first 6 years of his life, Taemin lived with his relatives that decided to help the widower get a grasp on his new life. They visited almost every other day, allowing Taemin and Taesun to play with each other; but his father never spoke a word to Taemin - just Taemin’s version of Taesun. Confused? Boys being boys, were mischievous - there were days that Taesun followed the relatives back while Taemin acted as Taesun in their small, modest house; and that, were the only times he ever spoke to his father - as Taesun. Maybe that was the start of Taemin playing under Taesun’s identity but it only got worse as time went by. When they were 6, going on 7, they were supposed to be enrolled into elementary school. But what would a household that only had finances to support one child do? That’s right, only Taesun was enrolled into school. 

 

School had not been the first thing on Taemin’s mind; it was food. His father literally pretended Taemin did not exist. Lunch boxes for Taesun to bring to school, and 2 dinner plates laid down for Taesun and his father to dine over at night. Taemin? None. It didn’t take long for him and his only confidant, his twin brother, to make an agreement to take turns by switching clothes. Some of you would protest that even identical twins have their own differences, but if no one could have the chance to compare them standing next to each other, how could even they tell the differences? Their father? Well, he never bothered to give Taemin a second look; it was because of that unwanted child that the love of his life was gone forever. 

 

Taesun would go to school with his lunch box, have lunch and return home to quickly change clothes with his brother, who would then take dinner. The next day, Taemin would go to school with the lunch box and the cycle would repeat. Unavoidably, Taemin had to take up Taesun’s identity in school as well; even after all that his father had done to neglect him, he knew that exposing their secret would bring heavy consequences for their father, and that was not what he wanted - what he wanted was his father’s recognition and the mere acknowledgement of his existence. Any friends he had in school, were Taesun’s friends. Any type of personality that he displayed in school, was Taesun’s. The only one that Taemin could plainly display his emotions to and pull down his mask in front of was Taesun. They were similar, but yet so different, which was inevitable considering how Taemin was never given the attention that he needed from his parent. He grew up to be shy, quiet and he learned to cherish every little detail of his life; while his twin was loud, playful and extremely protective of his brother. 

 

School was another issue. Imagine making a new friend one day, and completely not recognizing them the next. It was harsh. The twins had to explain to their other half exactly how their new friends looked like. Thick eyebrows, double eyelids, bow-like lips that are pink, ears that are shaped like an elephant, flat noses, slanted haircuts, brown eye-orbs. But to go into such detailed description, both of them had to stare at the person for a long period of time. Awkward? Extremely. Some got visibly uncomfortable and even classified them as weirdos. 

 

Classes were the same. They couldn’t well have psychic powers to know exactly what their teachers have taught their other twin the day before. Every night, the duo would do their homework together while one taught the other what was taught in school that day. Sometimes, details were left out, and the lack of textbooks which they could not afford, were not any help at all; but the extra time at home when they were not at school gave them ample time to go through the work a few more times. They both knew the importance of their grades and both had great desire to go to school, especially so since it was treated as a privilege in their household. They strategized to make sure the one with better grades in a particular subject would be the one to take the final examinations, and it seemed to work out well since both were devoted to studying. 

 

As they grew older, they each had their own interests. While other boys were trying to gain the attention of the pretty girls in school, Taemin and Taesun had neither the money nor the time to be dating girls. Instead, they turned to something they could never have in their house - music. Taesun was interested in singing, Taemin in dancing. But to join the co-curricular activities of the school would mean returning home late; and that made getting dinner for the other twin extremely difficult under the eyes of their father. In the end, they managed to settle a new plan. Lunch boxes that were prepared for the one going to school were left behind for the other twin without their father noticing while dinner would be taken by the one who went to school. Little actions like these managed to get them to join their desired activities in dancing and singing. But annual school events required both aesthetic groups to perform in minutes apart of one another; they ended up teaching each other the techniques, moves and songs they have learned in their own respective activities. Although the other was never just as good as the original, no one really paid attention when there was a large group of people performing on the stage together. As long as they moved as one, or sang as one, hardly anyone could notice. Sometimes, they would stand in as the other twin during training days just to get a feel of the whole team and try to fit themselves in. Life as elementary school students was harsher for them than anyone else, but they were satisfied because they took in everything that they could learn as a privilege. 

 

Lee Taemin has many fans from many nations all across the world that knows his name now, but it has not always been like this. No one knew of Lee Taemin when he was a kid; they only knew Lee Taesun. Even if he had talked to them, interacted with them, danced with them, sang with them, or played games with them, he was always only known as Lee Taesun. Somewhere in his growing years, he vowed to make a name of himself to show the world exactly who he is - as Lee Taemin and not Lee Taesun. 

 

The Lee Taemin that all of you see now, young and successful, have any of you thought about what pushed him to become so determined to push himself towards fame and popularity when he was just a minor? The Lee Taemin that anti-fans realized was just a little selfish, have any of you thought about why he fights for his rights like so? The Lee Taemin travelling all over the world to give concerts only to receive people screaming in his face, have you ever thought about why that could bring him joy? Lee Taemin - that was his name; and it was now painted across the world - billboards, screams, internet, wikipedia, television, radios, CDs, vandalized onto tables, tattooed onto fans' bodies, scribbled across fans' notebooks, photobooks, music videos, posters... Lee Taemin, his name was painted everywhere now. He was getting recognized for who he was but no one would ever come to know or understand his childhood better than his own past itself - Lee Taesun. 

 

That image of a young and innocent maknae of a successful boy band that everyone sees and judges him for, how much of it is real and how much are lies? You thought that you know everything there is to know about this young boy, but do you really?

---

 

 

Read here for detailed SHINee's family background

I just realized how much I have been changing my writing style. I have writiten this oneshot so many times with my old writing style but I was just not satisfied with it. Then, I decided to try this writing style on a whim and it came out pretty good but I feel so unfamiliar with my new writing style all of a sudden. LOL, if that even makes sense. Anyway, hope all of you liked it even though most of the angst parts are not as indepthed as in my other stories, but it feels more realistic here. I'll will make a sequel for this because I simply love this plot myself, but I doubt the sequel will be just as realistic because I am planning to make it a TaeKey. I ship OnTae, but this story just fits a TaeKey better so I would probably go with that.

Comments please! Let me know what you guys think too ^^ And do SHINee and me a huge favor by watching Dream Girl's Music Video - it's awesome! I'm hooked ♥