Taemin is bored. The dorm is unusually empty. On other days like these there should be at least one member present, is either Jonghyun since he only had Blue Night schedules recently, or resident unemployed member, Onew. But even both of them are out somewhere, leaving Taemin alone. Minho is out earlier, mumbling things like working out, that sport freak! Ah and don’t ask Key, he’s bustling around recently, busier than ever with his WGM recording and musical. It’s been a long time he’s been with the so called ‘umma’.

Taemin snorted, “What umma”.

After flipping through channels and nothing interest him, he’s giving up and decided to pay a visit to EXO dorm; he can talk with Kai at least rather than growing mushrooms here alone.

Kai’s greeted him on the door with rather nonchalant manner, “What are you doing here?” “What? I can’t visit you? Meanie” Taemin pushes him through the door and inviting himself in, plopped himself in the living room couch, the TV is left on. “You’re so not cute anymore” Kai mumbles, letting Taemin in nonetheless. “You too. Anyone’s home?” asked Taemin. “Some” Kai answered from kitchen, “Chen hyung and Sehun is here” then throwing soda can to Taemin, almost landed beautifully on his crown. Taemin ‘ooh’-ing.

“Why are you here anyway?” Kai ask again, reaching remote control and plopping beside Taemin. “I’m bored, nobody’s home. We haven’t spent so much time together ever again, everybody have different schedules. I almost forgot the last time we spent our day-offs together” Taemin whines. “Mmm...” Kai hummed, “...Key hyung?”. Missing the cautious tone in Kai’s voice, Taemin answered “Musical, and that stupid WGM of his. I know he wanted to go on the show since forever but I just couldn’t understand why they did it right after mine. He’s practically come home just to sleep before off somewhere again”. “Oooh...” silent again, “The musical is Three Musketeers isn’t it?” Taemin hummed, paying attention to some reality show on TV. “I wish I had the time to catch some of his play. He’s so pretty” Kai murmured sheepishly. Taemin suddenly turned his head “What??”. Taemin move so suddenly his elbow knocked Kai’s soda can and now he’s coughing violently, “You little!!”. Taemin ignores his friend scolding, “Wait, wait, you said what??”. “I said I want to see some of Key hyung plays” Kai said between coughs, looking pitifully at his soaked shirt. Taemin is now sitting sideways so he can face Kai directly “No no no, something after that”. “What??” Kai whined back, “I said Key hyung is pretty, what is wrong with that?”. Taemin frowns, “Hey, you can’t go around saying something like that”. “Whyyyy?” Kai challenges, “He IS pretty”. Taemin gaping trying to find out words, “No, you... He is... what with this sudden Key hyung is pretty??”. Kai’s quite surprised with Taemin reactions, “Wha... is it strange to say he is pretty? Hyungs also said that too, you guys actually said he is pretty countless times on TV” he is blabbering. Taemin closes and opens his mouth countless times before shoot back, “Who’s ‘hyungs’?? And that’s because it’s us! Why are you looking at Key hyung anyway?”. Kai’s now dumbfounded, “Whaaaatt?? So I have to close my eyes when he’s around or something? And what kind of reasoning is that??”.

The duo bickers must interest Sehun somehow when he’s finally poking his head from his room, half asleep, “What’s the commotion??”. “Taemin’s being unreasonable!” Kai fires. Taemin glares back at him, “Kai’s being a ert!”. “What ert?!”. Sehun’s ears perked interestedly, “Oh, Key hyung right???”. Both heads turned to him, Sehun continues “Kai’s been head over heels for Key hyung for some time now”. “Whaaaaaatt??!”.

Taemin come home with big stomping steps, and slamming the door rather harshly. Key who just came back and now drinking some water in the kitchen jumps a little. “Taemin, you scared me!” scold Key. Taemin who thinks the dorm still empty hurriedly check to Key, “Oh sorry Key hyung, did I scare you? When did you back?”. Key hummed, finished his drink, “Where are you just now? Manager hyung said you have no schedules”. Taemin huffed, suddenly remembering his bickering with Kai just now, “Nowhere” he mumbled. Key just hummed absentmindedly while looking around the fridge, “You want some fruit? I’m going to peel some”. “Yes” Taemin sat on the kitchen bar, paying attention to his hyung who now looking around for a knife. He looked exhausted from the practice, he’s not even changed his clothes, still wearing the loose shirt and track pants yet looked as attractive as usual. Key noticed Taemin dazed off, “What?” he asked. Taemin a bit caught off guard, “Ah, no hyung”. Key just smiling and shake his head knowingly, that silly dongsaeng of his. It’s a short silence between them, only the sound of Key cutting the apples into chunks. “Hyung, you seriously should stay away from EXO from now on”. Key almost cut his fingers by surprise, looking questioningly at Taemin who still had serious expression on his face, “They’re dangerous”. Key look dumbfounded before exploding into obnoxious laughter, patting Taemin’s head with tears on his eyes, “Funny one, Taemin. You have to tell this one to Jonghyun”. Taemin bit the urge to pout and whines. Key went to his room only to come out again with different outfit. “Going somewhere again?” Taemin sounds surprised. Key just hummed, “Meeting in the office”. Taemin jaw dropped, “But you just came back!”. Key shuffling with his shoes on the door, “Have to. I’ll come home late tonight, I already told Onew hyung to order takeouts for dinner”. At this point Taemin just stay silent, disappointment all over his face. Key waved distractedly when his phone rang, “Yes yes, I’m on my way. Taemin you okay by yourself right?”. “Just go!” Taemin said a little harshly.

Minutes after the door closed Taemin still stood there, feeling the quietness of the dorm mocking him. “I even haven’t had any lunch yet” he murmurs quietly, glancing uninterestedly at the messily peeled apples in the kitchen counter.

That night after dinner Taemin sit closely to Onew, he has to tell leader about this. “What is it Taemin?” asked Onew, not really pleased that Taemin interrupted his date with his bucket of fried chicken and some sappy drama. “Seriously hyung, we just had dinner” Taemin stated incredulously, Onew shrugs. “So what is it?” he asks again, and Taemin reminded of his reason to talk to Onew. “Ah yes” he shifts, scooting closer to Onew, lowering voice so nobody won’t hear, “Hyung, I think we have to stay away from EXO from now on. Can you arrange our schedule so we won’t clash with them?”. Onew stopped devouring his chicken, “What?”. Taemin whisper like he is telling some secret that will trigger World War III, “Some of them have bad intentions to Key hyung, and we shouldn’t give them any chances!!”. Now Onew just straight down dumbfounded, “And... err... what those bad intentions are?”. “Bad stuff! Like they might hurt Key hyung in any way” Taemin got more serious. “And why it has to be Key? Did he do any wrongdoings to them by any chance??”. “No! Key hyung is innocent, is just that those guys are evil. Especially Kai” Taemin now frowns. Onew got more dumbfounded, “He is your best friend”. “It’s made it even worse! He is my friend yet he has bad intentions to Key hyung. Hyung you have to use anything in you authorization to make them stay away from Key hyung” Taemin urges. Onew lost for words, he doesn’t even know where this kind of talk comes from. At that times Minho who just go out from bathroom scold them to stop playing around and go to sleep because they have early schedule in the morning. Taemin chirped a “Neeehh~~~” before turning back to Onew and whispered more urgently, “You know what to do hyung, I count on