"Oh Ahri! It's been so long since I last saw you, how are you dear?"

It was Taemin's mother who opened the door. 

Luckily you thought of wearing a hoodie before going to Taemin's house since you could hide your bandaged hand in the pocket and the hood could hide your bruises a little. 

"Hello Taehee, I'm fine, yes I know it's just been a lot of things in school." You smiled. 

"Oh dear I hope you have time to do other things other than studying. Come in Ahri, Taemin's in his room." Taemin's mothers face was always so full of warmth and motherly love when you saw her, it had been like that since you were little. 

"Thank you." You smiled and stepped in. 

"Taemin hasn't gone out of that room since I came home from work and he doesn't want me to come in either. I wonder what's wrong, could you please see if he's ok? His door is not locked but when he shouts at me to not come in I don't dare to." Taemin's mother says with teary eyes. She must really be worried about Taemin.

"Yes of course I'll go check on him now." You let out a smile but it didn't really reach your eyes since you were now also really worried about him. 

So you walked upstairs to Taemin's room. 

It had actually been a while since you were at his home. All the things that have happened since last time have made it hard for you to enter his house. But now, it was all those things never happened and it was like another day at Taemin's house. Just like the time when you were little. 

That's why you didn't bother knocking before entering. Maybe deep down you were also scared that he would reject you like he did to his mother. 

"Taemin, how are you?" You asked as you opened the door to his room not bothering to knock. 

His room was dark, except the figure on the bed the moonlight shone on. The person was looking towards the window with a gaze that was empty. That empty gaze had you never seen in Taemin, and it made you panic.

"Tae ..... min?" 

He slowly turned his head like he just noticed that someone had entered his room. "Ah ....ri.."

In the next second the figure stood up from the bed and rushed towards you. 

He opened his arms and dragged you into his embrace. "Thank god you're ok!!" He breathed into your hair. 

You almost cried. ".. Stupid Taemin...." You whispered into his shirt. "Why did you look like that...." 

He pulled back and tried to take a look at you in the dark room to se if you were really ok. "You're not hurt are you??" He said and examined you up and down. 

It made you quickly hide your hand behind your back, but Taemin caught it. "Wait-" He reached out for your left hand and grabbed it. 

An unintentional "Ouch!" came out of your mouth. And you quickly covered your mouth with your other hand. 

But Taemin wasn't deaf. ​And when he had thought about it, he had actually also seen it when Kai held your wrist against the wall. How could he have forgotten? 

Right after they had entered the room Exo and you were in Cap had kicked him out and locked the door. Despite Taemin's desperate poundings and kicks on the door it wouldn't open. 

Was he a nuisance? Would he only be in the way? Was that what they thought about him? Was he so weak that he wouldn't be able to save his best friend? 

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, Daehyun. He told him to get a mattress in the school's basement and then go call the ambulance, in the desperate state his mind was in, he did as Daehyun said because what else could he do?

".. Taemin?" 

The hand holding your hurt hand was sh