=One Year Later=

“Seng il cheukha hamni da~~

Seng il cheukha hamni da~!

Sarang hanuen Taemin-ah!

Seng il cheukha hamni da!”

On the last note, a drunk Jonghyun shot his voice up an octave, reducing everyone else into fits of laughter. Onew wrapped an arm around Taemin, swaying slightly.

“Happy birthday Minnie.” He said, kissing him quickly on the cheek.

“Hyuung!” Taemin whined. “It’s my birthday. Give me a real kiss!” Onew complied to Taemin’s wish, kissing him hard on the mouth, as hoots and hollers erupted around them.

Taemin pulled back and smiled up at the elder. A little over a year had passed since Onew had rescued Taemin, and it still amazed him how things had changed. He looked around at all his friends, their happy faces making his heart swell. So much had happened, to every one of them.

Jonghyun became the second Korean solo artist to host a four dome tour Japan, right after G Dragon. He’d held true to his word, and Taemin had danced alongside him, in front of thousands of people.

Jongin and Hyoyeon had finally gotten together (who knew it would take those two longer than Onew and Taemin to make it official). Jongin had begun teaching dance classes for kids, and had earned the nickname “Kai”, for reasons no one could understand.

Joon had, well, been Joon. He still teased Onew and Taemin to no end, stayed out until late into the night, and randomly hit on Taemin to annoy Onew. Really, nothing had changed there.

Minseok now worked full time at the coffee shop, so that Onew could have a day off once in a while. Taemin had gotten to be good friends with both him and his boyfriend Luhan, who had claimed Taemin as his son a few months ago. Minseok often complained that Luhan cared more for Taemin than himself, to Taemin’s enjoyment.

And Onew... Onew had changed the most. Gone was the shy man he once knew, replaced with someone romantic, funny, and easily jealous (and not to mention a beast in bed). He’d also become more open about his past, as had Taemin. A couple months ago, he’d even let Taemin go with him and Jonghyun to visit Kibum’s grave. It had been a hard time, but Taemin liked to think it was a bit easier for the elder now.

Taemin sat beside Onew on the couch, winding their fingers together and smiling down at them happily. Onew kissed the side of Taemin’s head affectionately.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Joon slurred, eyes unfocused. Onew made a mental note to watch over the older boy, as he was prone to falling asleep in random places when he got drunk.

“Oh, Taemin-ah! Let me be your bridesmaid!” Hyoyeon gushed.

Luhan bounced up and down. “Yeah, let us be your bridesmaids!”

Taemin frowned. “What makes you think I’d be the bride?”

Jonghyun looked at him so seriously, for a moment, Taemin thought he was sober.

“Tae, let’s be honest here. There’s no way you wouldn’t be the bride.” He patted Taemin on the shoulder while the younger gaped about like a fish, trying to come up with a valid argument.

“I hate you guys.” He eventually replied, slumping in his seat.

“Ah come on Taemin. You have to admit, you’d look good in a wedding dress.” Jongin told him.

Taemin smirked at that.

“Of course I would.” The group all laughed at that. Luhan hopped up and went to the karaoke machine. Moments later, the familiar opening to SNSD’s “Gee” floated through the air.

“Come on Taeminnie! Sing with me!” Taemin smiled and stood up, grabbing the mic.

“Aha~ Listen Boy, my first love story.” Luhan started, doing some cute aegyo.

“My angel.. and my girls.” Taemin added, nudging Luhan with a small smile.

“My sunshine!” Luhan’s voice shot up an octave. Everyone laughed.

“Oh! Oh! Let’s go!” Taemin shouted. The two started singing, their voices slightly shaky and a lot slurred, but their dance moves rivalled the originals. Their slim hips swayed perfectly in time and in sync, bright smiles spread across their faces.

“Gee Gee Gee Gee baby baby baby~” Taemin sang, wiggling his in front of Onew.

At the chorus, Jongin decided he’d had enough sitting around, and joined the two other boys in dancing along.

“Neomu banjjak banjjak nooni booshuh-”

“NO NO NO NO NO!” Everyone yelled.

“Neomu kkamjjak kkamjjak nollan naneun-”

“OH OH OH OH OH!”

“Neomu jjarit jjarit momi ddeullyuh-”

“GEE GEE GEE GEE GEE!” Everyone screamed, falling over each other in laughter.

With a drunk grin upon his face, Joon tripped over towards the singing trio, adding his skills to the group. The four danced and sang, sometimes making up lines when they forgot the actual words and couldn’t take the time to look back at the screen. By the end, everyone was in stitched from laughing so hard, faces flushed from lack of air and alcohol.

Once the laughter died down, Jonghyun nudged Onew and nodded towards the machine.

“Onew, sing Tragedy with me.” Jonghyun suggested. Onew was caught off guard by the request; he and Jonghyun hadn’t sung that together since they were students. He was surprised the younger remembered at all.

“I don’t know Jonghyun, I haven’t sung that in years, and you’re much better than me now...”

“Good. I can finally prove I’m better than you. Let’s go.” Onew complied, albeit a bit uncertain.

A microphone was shoved into Onew’s hand as the sound of of stringed instruments sounded. The strings faded, making way for the piano. Onew took a deep breath and began.

“barami chao geuman gajuo

ibyeoreul seongo badeun maeum

imi jugeungeotgwa gateuni.” Immediately, everyone became silent, eyes wide as they listened to Onew sing. Jonghyun came in, his voice equally as charming.

“nunmuri heureuo

haneuldo ttara uneun i bam.”

The once giggly drunks watched on, still as statues.

When the two got to the part where they sang together, their voices melded together so perfectly Taemin thought his heart might stop. He couldn’t handle this, it was too perfect, they were too perfect.

“annyeong...nae saranga…” Jonghyun finished quietly, Onew’s eyes. Everyone was silent, breath taken away by the beauty of the combined voices. Surely they had just been witness to two angels singing, nothing could sound so otherworldly.

“That was..” Luhan started.

“Brilliant.” Minseok finished. The two singers continued to hold their gaze, lost in their own world. It had been years since they last sang together, last experienced their voices ring in harmony, perfectly intertwined. A feeling Onew hadn’t felt since he was a teen bubbled up in his chest. He’d never realized how much  he truly missed singing.

On the couch, Taemin’s eyes began to twitch in annoyance. The song had finished. Why weren’t they moving? They’d stared quite long enough. Taemin grabbed a party hat from the ground and threw it at the two, hitting Jonghyun in the head.

“Don’t you dare steal my boyfriend!” Taemin warned, eyes flashing dangerously. Jonghyun laughed.

“Relax Minnie. He’s not my type.” That apparently wasn’t the right thing to say, as Taemin pouted grumpily.

“Not your type? Onew’s perfect, he’s everyone’s type. Are you saying you don’t find him attractive?” Taemin had moved from his spot on the couch and was now clinging to Onew’s arm territorially.

The other two couples and Joon snickered at the dancer’s reaction.

“No, just that I’m not into dating a brother. Besides Tae, most of us can’t handle someone as ‘perfect’ as Onew.” The sarcasm was clear in Jonghyun’s voice, but Taemin was too drunk to notice.

“Oh. That’s okay then.” Taemin said simply. Jonghyun rolled his eyes at the silly boy and looked back at Onew.

“That being said... Hyung. I’m not giving you a choice anymore. You’re singing during my next tour. That’s final.”

“But-”

“It’s final.”

Minseok looked at his phone and gasped at the time. He hadn’t even known noraebangs were open this late.

“Omo, look at the time! We should be getting home.” After all, it may be a Saturday night, but, at least in Onew and Minseok’s case, there was still work the next day. Minseok didn’t doubt Onew would open a little later, but it would be best to get at least a little sleep.

The others agreed and bid their goodbyes, leaving one by one. Soon it was just Onew and Taemin left, Joon having suggested they walk for some alone time while he took a bus ride home. So there they were, walking down the streets of Seoul, Onew’s arm slung lightly across Taemin’s shoulders.

The conversation wasn’t very coherent, as both were too drunk to really pay attention enough. Words didn’t matter, all they needed were each other to be content. Taemin pulled away from the elder and grabbed his hand instead, swinging it through the air.

“Hyung, dance with me.”

“Tae-ah, we’re in the middle of the street. And there’s no music.” Taemin pouted and tugged on Onew’s arm.

"Hyuuungie~" Taemin whined, hanging on to the elder.

Onew laughed. "Aigoo Taemin-ah, go home. You're drunk." He teased.

"Hmmm....only if you go with me." He slurred, pulling Onew in for a sloppy kiss. Impure thoughts flooded his mind and had him blushing. He realized they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk in plain view and backed away quickly, looking around in worry. When he turned back, Taemin was gone, skipping down the street like a little kid.

"Aish this kid..." He mumbled, shaking his head.

"Taemin-ah! Wait for me!" He called, running down the street.

"Hurry up hyung!" Taemin yelled, half-laughing, as he stepped out into the street.

"Ugh hyung, you're so slow!" Taemin turned towards Onew, right as a car came flying down the road.

"No!"

----------------------------

I'm back from my unexcused break, and look! I brought my cliffhangers with me ^-^

Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow or Saturday with the next chapter, you won't have to hate me for long haha

Links to the covers-

Onew and Jonghyun's cover of Tragedy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SiGLLeeNeU

Taemin and Luhan's cover of Gee: doesn't exist, but it should.