002
impulse
"I heard you were at the Admissions Office earlier today," Yuri asked Taeyeon later that evening when the two had met up at their favorite nearby cafe. They were usually accompanied by Yoona, who was nowhere in sight at the time. They assumed she was missing with Taemin by her side and dismissed it without a second thought.
Taeyeon bitterly stabbed at the ice in her caramel latte with a twisted frown on her face. "I have to sign up for peer tutoring sessions for Geophysics otherwise if I don't pass this semester's finals I'm gonna be held back again."
"Oh man, Tae." The younger woman smiled sympathetically, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Just pray and hope your tutor is a cute guy."
"Considering how dumb I am they'd probably just sign me up with the smartest person in class, which is that Jinki guy."
Yuri's face contorted in confusion until she perked up. "Jinki...oh, you mean Onew! He's really smart, you'd be lucky to have him! Plus, he's super nice and your type exactly. A dork, a smart guy, he's cute..." Nudging her suggestively, she continued. "You should work with him, maybe study a little biology...if you know what I mean."
"I know what you mean and you sound like an idiot, Yul." Taeyeon nudged her back, laughing as she toppled over the edge of her seat. Just then two men walked in, everyone turning heads at the sight of them.
"Why can't you get a job away from people?" Minho grumbled to Onew, who was sneaking behind the counter and slipping on a uniform.
"Two reasons." The older man nodded to where the other two were seated, Minho's face immediately brightening at the sight of his girlfriend. Without any more complaints, he glided over to their booth and took a seat uninvitedly.
Onew noticed Taeyeon turning to glance at him and his breathed hitched meeting her gaze for that split second. He'd liked her ever since they were in high school, much like Minho and Yuri. These two however, had grown apart once he had undergone his change. His need to control his clairvoyance took away from his social life and they'd stopped talking as regularly, much to his disliking. She'd found new friends, a new life.
She'd had a boyfriend awhile back, whom he was unclear about. His anger fogged his ability to figure out just who it was and he had kept himself under wraps for that time.
"What do you want to order, babe?" Yuri glanced over at her male companion, who glanced down at the menu and back up at his hyung with a sly smile.
"I'll have whatever Taeyeon's having."
"Um, Minho." Taeyeon held up her cup. "I thought you hated caramel."
"Huh? Oh yeah, right. Then I'll just take a hot chocolate."
Waving the older man over, he snickered as he watched him stumble towards the booth, his gaze fixed on his feet as he flipped to a clean page in his notepad.
"What do you want?"
"Hot chocolate."
"O-Okay," he stammered, purposely avoiding Taeyeon's eyes as he hurried back to the counter to get to work on the drink.
"You should spend time with Onew," Yuri pushed. "You used to be close."
"Used to be." The older woman sighed, glancing over her shoulder. "Truthfully, he has gotten cuter over the years...I dunno. I'm not in the mood for a relationship."
"No one said you had to be together, could be good friends is all."
"That's what you two said before you hooked up two weeks later."
The couple smiled sheepishly and their attention redirected to Onew, who was clumsily measuring ingredients and adding them into a tall cup. The cover remained off as he sprayed whipped cream to the top, some getting onto his shirt. He heard a faint giggle at his action and whipped his head around, finding Taeyeon giving him a small smile at his klutzy behavior. Renewed with energy he hurried back to their table, about to set the tray with the cup, cover and napkins down when it slipped out of his grasp and the cup tumbled over.
And all of the drink on Taeyeon's jeans.
The other two sat in silence, wide-eyed at how her jaw dropped and her smile immediately disappeared. Onew cursed his messy actions, hastily grabbing at the napkins and trying to help her clean it up.
"I-I'm so sorry, it was an accident..." he murmured apologies, hoping to God she didn't hate him even more. He awkwardly crouched next to her, picking up everything that had fallen and dumping them back onto the tray with a sheepish expression. "Can I do anything else to help you, o-or-"
"It's alright, you've done enough." Taeyeon forced a smile because he was obviously feeling bad and he retreated to his work station with the tray. He slammed it onto the counter, gripping at the edges. With his back to them, he didn't see when Yuri whispered to Minho and the two women quickly left the shop. He felt the younger man's hand on his shoulder, still unwilling to turn and look at him.
"Real smooth, Onew. You were going fine!"
"Minho, I'm not in the mood," Onew snapped, grabbing at his blonde hair furiously. Taking a few deep breaths, he thanked God that he was most controlled when it came to his anger and had stopped the beginning of the transformation he had felt coming on.
"Are you alright?" Minho asked in a hushed voice, realizing what was about to happen.
"Yeah, I'm better now. I feel like an idiot, but I'm better."
- - - - - - -
"Taemin, c'mere!" Yoona called for her own male counterpart, who was idly looking at the fountain and the children that ran around in the nearby park they were visiting. The sun provided a warm glow over them, not too hot. He looked over at her and smiled at how the sunlight illuminated her eyes and her brunette locks. Arriving at her side, he stuck his hands into his pockets, rocking on his heels.
"What's up?"
The female of the two pointed up to the tree they were under, where an intricate array of branches with colorful flowers were located. They twisted and turned around each other, creating an unintentional pattern through with the rays of light peeked through. The sight alone was beautiful.
"Do you remember back in middle school we'd come here everyday and try to get up there but we'd never be able to reach?" Yoona chuckled, stretching to the tips of her feet and grunting in despair, returning to the ground with a sigh. "Guess it'll take a few more inches to get there. I'd tell you to try, but I doubt you can." Sticking her tongue out at him, she started walking in the direction of the nearby town where there was one of their favorite diners. "Let's go get something to eat." Turning around there was no sight of her best friend. "Tae?"
"You were saying?" A familiar voice called from the treetop and she gasped at the sight of him sitting comfortably on one of the highest branches.
"How did you...but you were just...and I didn't...huh?" She whined in confusion.
Taemin laughed, hopping down and turning so that his back was facing her. "Hop on."
"I might break you," she snickered, complying anyways. He took a deep breath, channeling his strength as a wolf and scaling the bark of the tree as swiftly as possible. He outstretched a hand, allowing her to take a seat of her own in shock. Her already-wide eyes widened as he casually swung his legs, knowing fully well why she was confused. "I guess I can't call you Twigmin anymore. How did this even happen?"
Taemin remained silent for a moment; he'd been dying to tell Yoona about his changes ever since they'd been happening. Sure, he had his hyungs but they weren't very understanding at times and he blamed it on the fact that they were all sure of what their abilities were. It seemed as though it had slipped their minds that he was more than a year younger than them all and was still unsure of what was going on. Some support would be nice.
"Uh, Minho's been teaching me stuff at the gym."
"Well, it's paying off, Muscle Man." Yoona gave her signature cackle, clapping her hands as she laughed and almost falling to the ground. Instinctively, Taemin grabbed her shoulders and steadied her, rocking himself until he moved his hands away.
"Careful," he mumbled, his eyes fixated on hers. The two remained like this for a moment, not interrupting the silence until a voice shouted from below.
"TAEMIN!"
"Huh? WHA-" His own cry was cut off when he toppled over the edge, crashing to the ground yet surprisingly unscathed. He glared up at Jonghyun, who was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly when he realized what he had gotten himself into,
"Haha...uh, Onew texted me and said to come get you. We have to get going."
"Fine," he sighed. Getting up and dusting off his jeans, he was about to walk away when his eyes widened and he immediately stopped. "YOONA!" Running back to the tree he climbed up to the branch and helped her down, straightening her hair for her with a sorry smile. "Onew wants me home, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," she smiled as they walked off, talking quietly amongst themselves. She tilted her head, thoughts wandering through her mind.
"Just what has happened to you, Taemin?"
- - - - - - -
"Taeyeon, it's about time you've arrived." The dean gave her a stern look the next morning, tapping her foot as she waited for the younger woman to hurry in. "Now then, I assume you've decided to have a tutor?"
"I...guess?"
"Professor Park assumed it was best for the top student in class to help you, so he's sent Lee Jinki."
Taeyeon froze, hoping it didn't mean what she thought it meant. "U-Uh, as in I have to spend all my time with him this entire semester?"
"Yes."
"Wonderful."
"Ah, here he comes now." The older woman waved the man in question in, raising the other's irritation as the seconds passed. With a flash of blonde hair and those rabbit-like teeth, she knew just what she was in for. He entered with a bow and straightened up, the smile on his face fading at the sight of her.
"Y-You're the student that needs help?" he stammered nervously, watching her nod. "Wonderful..."
- - - - - - -
{ A/N } ontaeng and taemyoon for this update. thanks for the subs and comments, happy reading!! also, be sure to watch shinee at the melon awards where they won the daesang if you haven't, it was really amazing. :)
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