“You are lucky this time that you didn’t put enough weight on your leg to hurt it, but if it happens again, you could need surgery to reset the bones.” Jinki nodded to the emergency room doctor while Jonghyun and Taemin also soaked in everything that was said from seats on the side of the room. “I contacted your primary doctor and he said he would like to see you in his office by the end of the week.” Again they nodded, and the young doctor gave a small smile as he closed the file on his clipboard. “Then you are free to go. But you better keep off of that leg, Jinki.”

“Thank you, doctor.” All three of them said it at the same time before the man left, and only then did Jinki start to get himself changed out of the hospital robe.

“You guys really didn’t have to go so far as taking me to the emergency room. I told you I was fine and even the doctors agreed.” He folded the robe sloppily but gave up and put it on the bed. “There was no point in this.”

“But now we know you are okay. If you weren’t and we hadn’t come, what would have happened?” Taemin looked at Jinki but wasn’t really expecting an answer. When all he got was a shrug from the eldest, he knew he had won without even trying. “We are just worried for you. But why don’t we be getting back? I’m in the mood for some chicken for lunch.”

“Dinner.” Jonghyun nodded to a clock on the wall. “It’s already past seven.”

“Well there goes that plan. I’m not allowed to eat after seven with this new diet manager-hyung said I have to follow.” Taemin pouted as he glared at a clock as they walked out, not noticing how silent Jinki was being.

“Don’t listen to him. Eat whatever you want whenever. You’re too skinny as is.” Jinki gave Taemin a look as he spoke, and the boy finally noticed. “Really. If I find out that you are following his diets, I will personally stuff you full of any food I find and then more.”

“So I really don’t have to do it?” Taemin’s eyes seemed so hopeful that it surprised both Jonghyun and Jinki. When the leader nodded, Taemin let out a yell of joy and jumped up in the air, pumping his fist. “I can actually eat good food again!”

“You act like you’ve been on a diet for months.” Jonghyun watched the maknae celebrate with amusement in his eyes as he acted like the little kid they all knew him as.

“I have been!” That made the two oldest stop, but Taemin didn’t notice as he continued walking down the sidewalk talking to himself. Only after a few seconds did he realize they weren’t with him anymore. Jogging back at them, he waved a hand in front of both their faces. “Hello? Earth to Jonghyun-hyung. Jinki-hyung? Are you two okay?”

“You-you-you’ve been on a diet for months? How did we not know this?” Jonghyun was staring at the youngest in shock and all he got was a shrug.

“I thought you all did. Manager-hyung said all of us were on one. But he said I wasn’t allowed to eat with you guys because you had a different one than I did. So I could only eat the meals he dropped off every morning at the dorm. Didn’t he do that for you?” Taemin got them walking again, but now he was the confused one and he looked at Jonghyun with child-like eyes saying just that.

“No. He didn’t. He never said any of us were on diets either.” Now that they were looking, it was easy to see how Taemin was skinnier than any of them thought. Sure, he had some muscle, but it wasn’t enough for how hard he worked on exercising now that Jonghyun thought about it.

And Jinki was livid. “I’m going to kill him and nobody is ever going to be able to know about it.”

“But we will?” Taemin’s response was so innocent that Jinki actually stopped his thoughts of hurting the manager to look at him. And seeing the boy was serious, he started to laugh. “What are you laughing at? And why are you joining in, Jonghyun-hyung?” Nothing. No reply. “What’s so funny?!”

“So he had you practically starving yourself?!” The second the trio had walked through the door, Jonghyun and Jinki had wasted no time in telling Minho and Key about Taemin’s special diet he had been on.

“Why is this such a big deal?” He looked at the four faces all around them, seeing the worry but not understanding why it was there. “It’s nothing different from what other artists had to do. So manager-hyung kept it secret from all of you and lied to me. It’s not as big as you are making it.”

“It’s bigger.” Key stepped forward to hug Taemin, but the youngest backed away before the arms could get around him. With hurt visible on his face, Key let his arms drop as he looked at Taemin. “He could have made you sick with how he forced you to eat.”

“But I’m fine.” When none of them looked pleased with what he said back, Taemin let out an aggravated sigh and pushed through the four that had crowded around him. “I’m going out.” Grabbing his phone and a set of keys from the counter, he started towards the door. “Don’t follow me.”

“At least take some food!” The door was slammed in Minho’s face without a response.

Sitting on a swing alone in a park not too far from the dorms, Taemin was scuffing the woodchips on the ground with his shoe as he swung slowly without trying to go faster. “They act like I’m a little kid that can’t decide anything for myself.” With a sigh, he leaned back and looked up to the night sky, still void of stars. “I’m almost twenty. I think I can. I even take care of Jinki-hyung.”

“There’s three types of ‘grown-up’ in this world.” Taemin jolted up to see Minho in front of him, an apple held out in his hands. Hesitantly, he took it and bit into the fruit before looking at the rapper again.

“What are you talking about?”

“You said we act like you are a little kid. While that might be true some times, we can’t help it. You were only fourteen when we all debuted; we can’t help worrying about you like we used to.” Minho sat on the swing next to Taemin so they could both swing a little as they talked, knowing they would be for a while.

“How long were you listening to me?” He could tell Taemin was angry just by the sound of his voice, but the boy didn’t let it show any other way.

“A while. But, like I was saying, there are three types of being grown up in this world.” His gaze flickered over to Taemin, who was looking at the night sky once again.

“You already established that fact. Are you going to tell me what they are?” A streetlamp reflected off of Taemin’s eyes making the twinkle and normally, it would have looked innocent to Minho. Now, it looked like an evil gleam in the maknae’s eyes. Has Kyuhyun-hyung gotten to him?

“Well, there are people who are actually grown up, like our sunbaes and other adults and all.” He smiled a little when Taemin rolled his eyes at him stating the obvious. “But they don’t count. Not in my world, at least. No one is ever done growing up. So there are those people that are growing. That is almost everyone. That’s me and Key-hyung and Jonghyun-hyung and all of our sunbaes and almost everyone we know.”

“You didn’t mention me. Aren’t I still growing up?” Taemin finally looked at Minho for the first time since he had started explaining everything, and the anger in the younger seemed to have disappeared now that he was curious about what Minho was saying.

“Well, there are the kids that are forced to grow up, but are still just kids inside. That’s you. You grew up to help take care of Jinki-hyung and to be his pillar. But you are still our adorable, funny, cute maknae. So that’s where you are. And then there are people like Jinki-hyung.” Taemin sat up now, completely interested in what Minho was saying. “They are the people that were growing, but were forced to do so too fast. That don’t have that childish side left, it seems. It is buried too deep inside for anyone to find it without trying. And they need someone to do that searching for them, to help lead them to finding the fun in life again.”

“And that person is me.” Minho nodded to Taemin, who had gotten what he wasn’t quite saying. “But you really think I’m still a kid?”

“I don’t, but you do.” Minho reached into his jacket and pulled out a small book that Taemin glanced at curiously before realizing what it was.

With a shout, he jumped forward and tried to grab the journal from Minho, but the rapper only stuffed it back into his jacket. “You read through my journal! How could you?! That’s invading my privacy!”

“I hadn’t known you kept a diary until I saw it sticking out from your mattress. And then it was open on the floor, so I was curious. I never knew you were capable of thinking some of the things you wrote in there.” Minho gave a smirk when Taemin huffed at him, but eventually pulled the book back out and handed it to the proper owner. “I took what I just said almost word-for-word from there.”

“I know. I’m the one who wrote it.” Taemin tried to glare at Minho, but eventually gave up and leaned back once again to look at the sky. “What do you see me as?”

“What?”

“You said you don’t see me as a kid, so what do you see me as?” Taemin didn’t look at him, still staring that the sky, but Minho was staring right at him.

“I see you as you. I don’t think everyone has to be described with words.”

“But what would you say I am, if you had to?” Taemin’s eyes flickered over to him for only a second before going back to the sky, tracing a plane flying across the blackness.

“Perfect.”