Taemin woke to the sound of someone fiddling with the lock. Fear coursed through him at the sound. He glanced at the clock, and was surprised to see it was only 9:30 at night. That was unusual, usually Minho didn’t come by until later at night.

Not again, he thought, please not again. Taemin gripped the sheets tightly around him, ignoring the pain on his wrist from where the rope had rubbed the skin raw, his heart racing.

The door creaked open, revealing a tall figure standing at the entrance. Confusion swept through Taemin; the shape of the person was all wrong, whoever was there was too short and not nearly skinny enough to be who thought. Which meant it wasn’t Minho.

If not him, then who... The light flickered on, and Taemin’s heart stopped.

It couldn’t be. He must be dreaming. Taemin blinked his eyes, unsure if what he was seeing was true.

“Taemin.” The man whispered in relief, the voice as familiar as his own, and Taemin knew. Knew this had to be a dream, just as it had been every night he’d been stuck in this hell. There was no way this was possible, miracles like this don’t happen.

Onew couldn’t possibly be here.

Taemin felt like crying. Why couldn’t his dreams give him a break? Why did his mind insist on torturing him like this?

“Taemin!” Onew said again, before rushing over and pulling Taemin into his arms. Confusion swept through Taemin; if this was a dream, why did it feel so much like reality?

“Taemin, Taemin, Taemin.” Onew repeated, touching the boy’s face, his arms, his head, all while silent tears dripped down his face. No. This wasn’t right. The Onew in his dreams wouldn’t be crying, he never cried. So that meant...

“This isn’t a dream?” Taemin asked, voice small.

Onew shook his head. “Aniyo. I’m here Taeminnie. And I’m going to get you out.”

Taemin was too confused to think clearly. How had this happened? How was Onew here?

“Hyung? How did you find me?”

“That’s not important right now.” Onew got to work loosening the knots around Taemin’s wrist.

Taemin studied Onew’s face, greedily taking in every inch. Oh, how he had missed this face. Taemin felt the rope fall away, and Onew smiled in victory. Taemin felt a sudden urge to hug the older man and never let him go-so he did just that.

“Tae- what are you doing?” Onew exclaimed, surprised when he felt the boy’s skinny arms wrap tightly around his waist. Taemin buried his head in Onew’s chest, inhaling the familiar scent of his hyung.

“I missed you so much.” He whispered, not caring how pathetic he sounded.

Onew felt tears prick the corners of his eyes at Taemin’s words. He brought a hand up and petted Taemin’s hair, running his fingers through the slightly knotted locks.

“Shhh. I’m here now. It’s okay. I promise, its okay.” Onew kissed the top of Taemin’s head softly, his heart racing. He wanted nothing more than to just hold onto Taemin forever, and he would- just not now.

Onew gently pulled away, smiling at Taemin’s pout.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

Taemin smiled in return. “Kidnap me hyung.”

The courtyard was dark and eerily silent as the two crept through it. Onew’s hand was warm and comforting as he pulled Taemin along; Taemin had missed holding hands with him. He had missed a lot of things, being locked in his room, away from the world.

Over the time there, those longings had begun to fade, as the memories became a bit less clear. He’d been terrified, when he could no longer remember quite what Onew’s smile looked like, what his laugh sounded like.

Taemin had often spent hours laying on his bed, thinking of his times with Onew, determined not to let them disappear. He knew even if he was stuck there forever, he would never let himself forget. As long as he had Onew in his heart, he thought, his parents would never win.

It felt ethereal now, having Onew there, really there, not in his imagination. Onew had done the impossible, and saved him. Taemin had no idea how, but he had, and that’s all that mattered at the moment.

It felt good, having the elder near him once more. Taemin kept his eyes in Onew’s face, staring resolutely forward as he wound their way through the various bushes and fountains throughout the grounds.

Taemin had never realized it before, but damn, did his family have a lot of fountains.

At the gates, a single person stood, as if waiting for them. Taemin stiffened; what were they going to do? But Onew merely continued forwards, dragging Taemin along.

When they got close enough to see the person’s face, Taemin completely froze, heels digging into the ground. Onew looked back at him and frowned.

“Tae, what’s wrong?”

Taemin shook his head and shot a nervous glance towards the gates, where his father stood, looking a bit impatient.

“What’s going on?” Taemin hissed.

“I’ll explain later, come on.” The two walked up to Taemin’s father, who nodded to them in greeting.

“No one saw you?” He asked.

Onew shook his head. “No one. Thank you, I didn’t have much trouble at all.”

Taemin’s father looked between the two of them, eyes falling on their interlocked hands. He shifted around, clearly uncomfortable but trying not to show it.

Mr. Lee coughed awkwardly. “Take good care of him, will you?”

“Of course.”

“Well, then, you best be on your way.” Taemin’s father opened the gates, avoiding Taemin’s eyes as much as possible as they walked through. Not that Taemin noticed much, his mind was too busy short circuiting from this strange twist of events. His father was...a good guy?

He thought back to when he was a kid, to when his brother was around, and remembered how his father used to always smile and take them out to places.

That had all changed after they found out he was gay, after his brother had left. Taemin had assumed his father had hated him, as his mother did. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Once out of earshot, Taemin began firing questions, determined to understand.

“My father? How.. what... he was helping?”  

Onew smiled. “He cares about you Tae, even if his ideals are a bit skewed. He may not have helped directly, but without him, this wouldn’t have gone nearly as smooth.”

Taemin fiddled his thumbs, not sure how to react. Something about Onew’s story seemed off. Even if his dad had decided to help, it still didn’t make sense that he would just agree. If he had, Taemin would have been let go long ago.

“Did he really just agree to help? Onew, tell me the truth, what did you say to convince him?”

Onew looked away, scratching his neck nervously.

“I haven’t been telling you the full truth either. My father is actually the head officer in Seoul. I... may have threatened to call him about charging them with kidnapping...”

“You what?” Taemin gawked."But...Onew, I thought you said you didn't have family?"

"I do, but until now we didn't really talk. Honestly, the only elder I could call family for the past few years is Jonghyun's halmoni, and her  greatest weapon is the power to bake really awesome cookies. Not something I could really threaten your parents with, now is it?"

Taemin’s mouth twitched as he held back a smile. "I guess not."

Onew smiled and pulled Taemin close. Taemin looked up at him; there was still one question left unanswered.

“How did you find me anyways? I mean... I never told you who my parents were, how did you find out?”

“I think a better question is, why did it take me so long to find out? Seriously, they’re only on the news every day.”

Taemin grinned sheepishly. “I guess you’re right.” He rested his head against Onew’s shoulder and sighed contentedly. “Can we go home now?”

“Neh, soon. But right now, there’s someone else you have to meet.”

“Who?” Taemin tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“My parents.”

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Onew's parents are showing up next chapter guys! Who's excited? XD

What are your guesses for what's going to happen?