"Taemin, when will you introduce me to your parents?"

 

The brunette chokes on his tea, caught off guard by the sudden question. Minho and Taemin are currently taking their lunch break with Krystal and Amber in the bistro found 5 floors down from their office. Although the circumstances of the relationships between these four people would be awkward for normal people, they are perfectly comfortable eating together as long as their own significant other is present.

 

And although Taemin himself is entirely accepting of their bizarre supposed love square, he does not consider that as a proper topic of conversation over lunch with business associates.

 

"Uh... Sir," He dabs at his mouth to wipe away any leftover tea before continuing, "I don't think this is hardly the right time to be talking about that..."

 

The spoon Minho is lifting to his mouth stops midway as he blinks at the brunette, looking very confused."Why are you still calling me that? Amber and Krystal are the only one's around, and I already told you that they  know about us."

 

Taemin blinks as well, looking to Amber and Krystal for confirmation. Amber gives a cheeky thumbs up and says, "You didn't have to tell us. We kinda figured it out."

 

Krystal nods her head, "I find it hard to understand why your employees haven't noticed it yet." She focuses her eyes on Minho, giving her a look bordering on smug, "The last time I was there, you couldn't even keep your eyes off of Taemin-ah for one second."

 

“Bwoh?! Is it really that obvious? I thought I was being careful enough." Minho thinks back on the times when he had blatantly ogled the brunette, while Taemin only looks like he is about to faint as he presses his palm to his forehead, shaking his head in embarrassment.

 

"Don't worry, Taemin-ah," The long haired woman shoots Taemin a sweet smile, "People are too scared to look at his face, much less his eyes, so they probably wouldn't notice it, ever."

 

Minho narrows his eyes at his fake girlfriend, pointing his spoon at the woman, "Yah, are you implying that I have a scary face?"

 

"I said no such thing." The self-righteous air that Krystal carries makes itself known as she explains herself, "I merely meant that people are too terrified of your overly large eyes and permanently set frown to watch you or even look you in the face. They'd probably shrivel up and faint or something." Amber only laughs at her partner as she offers her a piece of bread. Krystal scrunches her nose, warmly telling the boyish woman that she can have it.

 

"Amber, don't even bother giving her any food from here." Minho rolls his eyes, "It might not be luxurious enough for her tastes."

 

Amber is planning on smoothly defending the woman out of amusement and also because if she doesn't, the woman would probably kill her; but Krystal beats her to it anyway.

 

"What are you implying, Choi?" She crosses her arms, glaring at the man.

 

"Oh, just that you're a spoiled brat. Even more spoiled than me. And that's saying something." He says without skipping a beat, without even bothering to save face.

 

Krystal lets out a shrill sound, shrieking back at Minho, but Taemin isn't paying attention to them anymore. Krystal and Minho have a love hate relationship where they constantly argue over the simplest of things. Taemin has reminded himself time and time again that there are no romantic feelings behind their frequent playful banter, but for some reason, he still feels apprehensive. He does not understand why, because he is supposed to trust Minho with all that he has and know that he is the only one in the man's heart. But he cannot help but feel insecure, because Krystal is still the famous Ms. Jung, and no one can has ever and will ever rival the woman's effortless beauty and charm.

 

The thought alone of losing Minho to someone as gorgeous as Krystal tugs at Taemin's heart. The despondency is written all over his face because no matter what it is, when Taemin is upset about something, he can never pretend that he feels otherwise. When Minho glances over and sees this, he immediately stops talking to Krystal and wraps an arm around Taemin, asking him if he is okay.

 

The whispered question brings the boy out of his musings as he replies, "Y-Yeah." At that moment, he knows that he is lying to himself and to Minho, that he is far from okay. But as the minutes ticked by and Minho's arm has yet to leave his waist, he realizes that he is indeed feeling okay, because for the rest of their lunch, Minho does not stop doting on him.

 

As Minho tries to feed him a spoonful of chocolate mousse, Taemin takes it in his mouth, swallows, and then shyly mumbles, "Friday."

 

"Huh?"

 

"Pick me up from my place on Friday. And then we'll go visit my parents."

 

Amber laughs at the goofy grin Minho's lips form while Krystal rolls her eyes at the man's transparency whenever he is with Taemin. Both women mock him and comment on how Taemin has him wrapped around his finger, but

Minho could not retort because he knows that it is true.

 

 

 

", do I look like I'm trying to hard? Be honest with me, Minnie."

 

"Minho..."

 

"Because I honestly think the polo shirt is too much. Do I look like a douchebag? And if so, do I look like a lovable douchebag or the douchebag that you just want to beat the out of?"

 

"Stop worrying so much--"

 

"Crap, what if they ask me about your favorite color? It's white, right? Or was it blue? Fuschia? AQUAMARINE?!"

 

The feeling of Taemin's lips on his stops his incoherent blabbering.

 

"Stop worrying so much." He fixes the collar of Minho's polo shirt that the man had messed up due to his panicking and continues. "You look very handsome," He immediately cuts Minho off when he sees the elder raise a finger, "and you don't look like a douchebag."

 

 

 

A young man with raven black hair and wide eyes answers the door, and a nerve instantly twitches in Minho's temple.

 

A grin spreads on Kai's face when he registers the sight of Taemin, hugging the brunette while excitedly asking him what brings them to old man Lee's house. Taemin replies just as cheerily, as they exchange inside jokes in the process. This goes on for a while until Minho lets out a gruff noise, reminding Taemin that he is still there and that he does not appreciate the proximity between him and his 'best friend'.

 

"Ah, right." The apologetic smile he sends Minho's way is enough to calm the elder down. He turns back to Kai and asks, "Is everyone home?"

 

The black haired boy nods, "Yep! Let me go tell them you're here." He begins to skip away from the door frame and into one of the house's rooms while Taemin leads Minho to the spacious living room.

 

A nasty edge decorates Minho's tone as the man hisses in Taemin's ear, "The hell is he doing here?"The brunette does not answer the question and settles on rolling his eyes at the man's never-ending jealousy. It makes him feel giddy, though. "He just likes staying over a lot. Be nice, Minho."

 

The elder's jaw is set, obviously not wanting to heed to Taemin's warning. How on earth is he supposed to play nice with a guy who has the potential to take away the only person he would ever want to be with for the rest of his life? No, he refuses to let his guard down around this Kai boy.

 

Just then, Mr. Lee strolls into the room. He greets Minho with a broad smile, the kindness in the elder man's eyes melting away the blob of red that was Minho's jealousy.

 

"Taemin! Minho! It's a pleasure to see the both of you!" Yun-Jae brings Taemin in for a warm hug, while he settles on a more formal handshake for Minho. "What brings you here?" He walks around to one of the one-seater and gestures for the two younger men to take a spot on the couch.

 

The brunette subtly drags Minho by the sleeve to the couch when he warily replies to his father, "Actually dad, I -- Minho and I wanted to talk to you about something."

 

In a second, a worried expression dawns on Mr. Lee's face,  "Is something wrong with the company?" The irises in his crinkled eyes jump from Taemin to Minho, concern drenching his voice.

 

"Uh, it's not that, Sir." Minho replies for the both of them, helping Taemin out a little. He is surprised that his voice isn't shaking at this point, "It's not actually business related."

 

"Oh? That's good then." The elder's worry is evidenly alleviated when he leans back on his seat, "Then what is it you wanted to talk about?"

 

"Remember when you and Mom asked me last week if I was seeing anybody and I said yes?"

 

"The tall, dark and handsome mystery man?"

 

Blood rushes to Taemin's cheeks, asking himself why he had even given details about his boyfriend in the first place. Out of the corner of his eyes, Taemin spots the quick movement of Minho's head. He feels the stare the elder is giving him, but he nods in response to his father anyway.

 

"What about him?" Mr. Lee's beaming face is unnoticed by Taemin because the boy is too busy watching a very amusing speck of dirt on the living room's carpeted floor.

 

The brunette gulps, and looks his father in the eyes, red faced and all, "It's Minho."

 

Mr. Lee slightly jerks up, eyes and mouth rounded in surprise. He looks at his son, and then at the revealed mystery man. Then suddenly his rounded mouth turns into a grin and his rounded eyes crinkle into crescents.

 

He calls over his shoulder, "I guess I won the bet then, Taesun!"

 

Both men sitting on the couch let out a confused, "Huh?" Also, the angle in which Taemin and Minho tilt their heads in question are almost identical.

 

Just then, a man walks into the room with his hands in his pockets as he grumpily mumbles, "Lucky guess." His hair is slightly dishevelled, but it suits the man with the sharp features. Minho wonders why the man looks so familiar, but then it dawns on him that maybe this is the brother Taemin was always talking about.

 

His suspicions are confirmed when Taemin exclaims, "Hyung!"

 

"Hey, Taemin-ah~" Minho notices that the grumpiness disappeared from the man's face when his eyes had landed on Taemin's. A smile had easily taken over the grumpy frown that he once had. This alone tells Minho how close the two brothers must be, because that is exactly how he acts around his own little brother, Minseok. It comforts him to know that Taemin has had a brother to take care of him. But the warm feeling of comfort dissipates in him when he sees the glare the man is sending his way.

 

"You're the guy my brother was talking about?" The man's voice isn't that low to be scary, but the fact that it belongs to Taemin's older brother intimidates Minho enough.

 

"Y-Yes sir, I suppose so." He stands up to bow in respect, willing his knees not to give in, "Choi Minho." When he stands back up, the man is still staring him down suspiciously, but he acknowledges Minho with a nod of his head and his own monotone introduction, "Lee Taesun. Taemin's older brother."

 

Minho nods his head in acknowledgement as well, not knowing if he should sit down now or if he should wait for Taemin's brother to take a seat. When he feels Taemin's fingers tugging on his, telling him to sit back down, he relaxes straight away, descending to the cushions. He is about to scoot closer to Taemin, but a body occupies the space between them.

 

"Hyung! What are you doing?" Minho hears Tamein's frustrated, whiny voice from the other side of Taesun.

 

"What, I can't sit beside my little brother now?" It is kind of weird to hear a man like Taesun pouting and whining, and it irks Minho how the man can be so sweet to his little brother and so cold to him at the same time. They exchange looks behind Taesun's head, Minho silently telling Taemin that it's okay that his brother is being a right now. The brunette nods in understanding, but he pinches Taesun on the arm anyway, just to get back at his brother's overbearing-ness. Taesun flinches from the stinging sensation, but he does not move from his spot. The sight draws a laugh from Mr. Lee.

 

"Taesun here guessed that the mystery man is probably Kai, but I had someone else in mind." Mr. Lee raises his eyebrows at Minho, and Minho does not know if he should feel jealous because Kai was considered as one of the choices for Taemin's boyfriend or flattered because Mr. Lee had considered him as well. Yun-Jae laughingly continues, "I won, and now Taesun will be in charge of cooking breakfast for the whole of next week."

 

Taesun glares at his father, grumbling in a sore-loser-like fashion, "You probably cheated. Taemin must have told you beforehand."

 

"Of course he didn't!" The old man laughs good-naturedly, "It's just that an old man's intuition is never wrong!" Minho laughs quietly as Mr. Lee's energetic personality, while Taesun answers back, "Isn't it supposed to be 'A mother's intuition is never wrong?'"

 

This question reminds Taemin of a certain someone being missing. He interrupts the discussion between his father and brother, catching both of their attention, "Where's mom, anyway?"

 

And like those mythical creatures who suddenly appear out of nowhere when they are brought up in conversation, Taemin's mother comes sliding in.

 

"Taeminnie!" The short, cute elderly woman drags out the 'ie' sound in Taemin's name as she ambles towards her son, arms wide open.

 

"Umma!" Taemin almost instantly perks up when his mother's form comes into sight, jumping up and hugging her like a child would a stuffed toy. He has to slightly bend down to properly hug her back, but he is fine with it, because it is his adorable umma in his arms.

 

The woman pulls away and starts pinching her son's cheeks, "It's been so long since you've visited!" Mr. Choi comments from the background, saying that he visited just a week ago, but the woman blatantly ignores him and continues, "Have you been eating properly? Aigoo, you're so thin! Come with me to the kitchen, I think Taesun left a bottle of banana milk at the--"

 

"Honey! Before that, don't you want to meet Taemin's boyfriend?" This time, Mr. Lee's voice is loud enough to be acknowledged by Mrs. Lee, and this piece of information effectively stops her from her rambling. She looks to her husband, and her husband, in turn, gestures to where Minho is uncomfortably sitting beside Taesun on the couch.

 

"This is Taemin's boyfriend, Choi Minho!"

 

Minho stands to greet her, planning to bow and introduce himself like he had done with Taesun. But he does not get the chance to bend forward when the woman dashes up right in front of him, unabashedly marvelling at Minho's manly features.

 

"So this is the mystery man?!" She grabs Minho's hands and in her excitement, it almost looks as if she is bouncing up and down as she is speaking, "Taemin has told me so much about you! No wonder he never stops gushing about you. You turned out to be such a gorgeous young man!"

 

"M-Mom!" The embarrassment his mother is putting him through is already too much, and now the woman has to go and unashamedly compliment on his boyfriend's gorgeousness.

 

"He has?" Minho's voice is obviously smug as he entertains Mrs. Lee's exclamation.

 

Taemin pouts and turns his face away, visibly annoyed and visibly flushed. "So what if I do?"

 

Minho only smiles at how easy it is to make his boyfriend blush. Taemin's feistiness, his ability to be tempting and adorable at the same time, his thoughtfulness, his vulnerability, his natural beauty, his temper, his secret whispers of 'I like you' and even better, 'I love you' -- keep making Minho fall for the boy over and over and over again.

 

The conversations between the men flow easily. Mrs. Lee had left to continue cooking dinner, being replaced by Kai who decided to join in on the gathering, (much to Minho's annoyance) innocently plopping down next to Taemin.

 

The brunette had laughed when the first thing his bestfriend whispered to him the moment he sat down was, "Why is your boyfriend so cold to me?" Taemin only replied with an amused and cryptic, "You don't wanna know."

 

In a matter of time, Taesun had also warmed up to his brother's boyfriend and soon enough, Taesun's demeanor toward Minho had changed for the better. When Taemin sees his, he feels more at ease. He really wanted his brother to approve of Minho, and he is glad to see that they are getting along.

 

The conversations momentarily cease when Mr. Lee addresses the eldest among the young men."Taesun, could you go help your mother with the cooking? She must be working extra hard since there are two visitors today." The two men exchange a look, and suddenly Taesun is standing up, putting on a smiley face for his brother and sweetly telling Taemin that they should probably help their mother cook and scolding Kai to get off of his lazy and do something productive for once.

 

Taemin only laughs as they are getting off the couch when a sulking Kai asks Taesun why he has to be so mean. Minho spots the innocent pat on the back that the brunette gives to the younger boy, and he cannot help but glower at the skinship. He tries to push through the jealousy and makes a mental note to stop being so possessive about Taemin.

 

 

The only men left in the living room are Minho and Yun-Jae. When the voices of the three other men who have just left have faded away completely, Mr. Lee began speaking.

 

"I'm impressed with how you've managed to be a part of his life." The tone of Mr. Lee's voice tells Minho that the elderly man is being serious, and it alarms him, to say the least. But there is no trace of any animosity in the man's voice, so it is still quite easy for Minho to reply.

 

"Yeah, but it was pretty hard, actually. He was really reluctant at first." Minho thinks back to that time.

 

“And do you know why that is so?"

 

"No, not really." He shakes his head solemnly, "All I remember is that when I confessed to him, he freaked out. At first, I thought he just didn't like me back, but then he told me that he did. So I figured that he probably had a reason why he freaked out, but I didn't want to ask." A frown tugs on his lips when he remembers how frightened Taemin had looked when he had told him about his feelings.

 

The only response is a cryptic nod from the older man, and a breathy "Ah."

 

Tinges of dismay and stress scatter in and around Minho as he asks, "Is there something I should know?"

 

At first, Mr. Lee only looks him in the eyes, as if gauging whether or not he should continue speaking, whether or not he should really divulge the information he is planning to make known. Minho, as uneasy as he is, exchanges the hard stare the man is giving him. He wants to show the elder that he is worthy of knowing whatever it is that is causing Taemin so much pain. His determination pays off, because sooner rather than later, Mr. Lee gives a resolute nod and says, "Yes, in fact, there is."

 

 

After everything was calmly said and explained by Mr. Lee, to say Minho is stunned would be an understatement. He is so dismayed and upset and astounded that he finds himself in a daze. No, not only a daze, He finds himself reeling in a dimension where Taemin was left all alone, and he hadn't been there to keep him safe and happy. He finds himself horrified and displeased and revolted at how horrible people can be. He wants to cry for Taemin, but he finds that he has no right to cry. He does not deserve the right to cry because after what Taemin had gone through, no one else would have the right to cry but him.

 

He tries to digest the revelations that were presented to him, with Mr. Lee patiently letting it all sink in.

 

He imagines a small, fragile, three year old Taemin. He imagines little three year old Taemin and his mother being abandoned by a drunk man — both the three year old and the mother bruised and bloodied. He imagines the mother hanging herself right in front of now four year old Taemin, but not before kissing him good bye on the forehead with tobacco filled exhales of air. He imagines a traumatized, crying Taemin running out of his empty home with nowhere to go and no idea what to do. He imagines the little Taemin sleeping in dark, damp alleys so that no more red-eyed strangers would try to rip his clothes off and take advantage of him again. He imagines 10 year old Taesun, innocently waiting at a bus stop for Mr. Lee. He imagines young Taesun's face when he sees a deathly pale, snow-covered, malnourished, shivering child sleeping on the bus stop's bench. It is a wonder how he managed to see the four year old Taemin under all of that snow. He imagines Mr. Lee arriving at the bus stop where he sees Taesun carrying a strange looking form, turning out to be a child. He imagines how the two Lees rush to the hospital, trying to keep the child in the back seat as warm as possible.

 

, Minho's eyes are tearing up again.

 

He imagines a warm, well-rested four year old Taemin being greeted by the Lees on warm, white hospital bed in a warm, white-walled hospital room. How the little boy tells them everything that had happened, and how Mr. and Mrs. Lee and 10 year old Taesun react. How four year old Taemin becomes a Lee exactly on the day he is released from the hospital, exactly on the day that he turns five. How Mr. Lee tells Taemin, 'It's your birthday present!'

 

Tears are running down Minho's face, but at least now he is crying because of the beginning of five year old Lee Taemin's better life.

 

Minho wipes away the tears running down his cheeks, trying to regain the scrap of composure that he has left in himself. He and Yun-Jae exchange a quiet look -- a look where they both understand that if Minho will ever so much as hurt Taemin in the future, intentional or not, Mr. Lee will never see him in the same way again. They nod their heads to wordlessly conclude their conversation -- their agreement, both rising up when they are called to dinner by a smiling 22 year old Lee Taemin. 

 

---

 

 

Finally, Taemin’s past is revealed! :o I hope the way I wrote it wasn’t too confusing or anything. D: Frankly, I like the love hate relationship between Taesun and Kai, don’t know why. Anyway, leave a comment? :3