When they’d told Minho he had a visitor, to be honest he was slightly worried. Who on earth would be visiting him here, in a police station, when he’d just been charged with blowing up a house full of teenagers? Minho didn’t know very many people, and out of those he doubted any of them would actually care enough to even find out that he was here. A small part of him wished…but no. It was too much to hope that Taemin, after what he said the previous day, would…no.

 

          Then, Taesun? He was the only other person Minho could think of, but he really hoped he wasn’t right. If Taesun showed up now, without a plan to get him out of this, Minho didn’t think he’d be able to control his temper. He still wasn’t sure why he hadn’t told the police the truth already, but maybe he was still hoping that Taesun’s ‘contacts’ would be able to get them both out of it. Also, he knew that if he came clean, Taesun wouldn’t be the only person affected. He was Taemin’s older brother, after all. At some point Minho would have to put himself first but until then, he was going to hold on to the tiny bit of protection he could still give to Taemin.

 

          And then finally the door opened and someone walked in, a handsome man around Minho’s age and height, with scruffy-looking chocolate brown hair. Minho was hit with the overwhelming feeling that he’d seen this guy before, but he had no idea how…he didn’t recognise him at all. He continued to scrutinize the man as he sat down, finally meeting his eyes, and waited for him to introduce himself.

 

          “Choi Minho,” said the man quietly. “That’s you?”

 

          Looked like Minho was going to have to ask for that introduction.  “And you are?”

 

          “My name’s Lee Joon.”

 

          The name didn’t ring any bells. “Lee Joon…do I know you?”

 

          “Maybe…but I don’t think so. We went to the same high school.”

 

          “We went…?” that wasn’t what Minho had been expecting. “So, what? You’re here to pay me a visit, for old times’ sake?”

 

          “No, unfortunately. I came here to ask you for a favour.”

 

          “Well, I’m afraid there’s not much I can do for you trapped in a cell all day,” Minho responded dryly. He didn’t like this guy, he decided…there was something all too weird about the way he spoke to Minho. Too familiar.

 

          “Actually, I think you can help.” he said. “It’s about Lee Taesun.”     

 

          “Oh God, of course it is.” Minho ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He didn’t know who this guy was, or how he knew Taesun, but he had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a simple favour.

 

          “Y-You know him, then?”  Joon asked, his eyes searching Minho’s face for some sort of confirmation.

 

          “Unfortunately. Get to the point, please.”

 

          “Right, well. You haven’t told the police the truth yet, have you? Otherwise they’d have done something about it. And he hasn’t been arrested.” He was whispering, obviously trying to prevent the guard who stood at the door from hearing.

 

          Minho’s eyes widened and he leaned forwards in his chair. He tried his best to remain calm. “So you know everything.”

 

          “You can’t tell them. The police. You can’t tell them it was him.” Joon’s tone was pleading, now, softer. Minho shook his head in disbelief.

 

          “Why the hell not?”

 

          “Because…because it was your fault, too! And you’re going to get in trouble anyway. So you might as well just leave him out of it…”

 

          Minho couldn’t take much more of this.

 

          “Get out.” he said coldly. “Why did you even come here? Did you think I’d…I’d actually consider…”

 

 

          “Please,” Joon said. “It’s the right thing to do. He’s just started to build a life for himself, for his brother. You know who I mean. You’re in love with him, right?”

 

          Minho clenched his fists under the table, and suddenly he remembered where he’d seen Joon before. “You’re the guy who came back with…with Taesun’s brother when he was late home that night!” All of a sudden Taemin’s name stuck in his throat, he just couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. “That’s how I know you! But what were you doing with him? How do you know…?”

 

          “That doesn’t matter. What matters is his life, now, what it will be like with a brother to support him, he’ll finally be happy, carefree…do it for Taemin, Minho! You know that’s what’s best for him!”

 

          “No,” he replied, his tone icy. “What’s best for him is to know the truth. He can’t spend his whole life living with that…that monster. Just knowing what he’s capable of…I can’t let this happen. I won’t.”

 

          And just like that Minho made up his mind. He would tell the police everything, even if it meant himself going to jail. He would do it for Taemin.

 

          When he looked up he was surprised to see tears in Joon’s eyes. “Th-There’s no way I can persuade you? What about money? When you get out, I could pay you, or something…I’ll do anything…”

 

          “Why do you care, anyway?” Minho asked, for no reason other than he was genuinely curious. “Who is Taesun to you?”

 

          “Just…no one.” Joon muttered, and then seemed to change his mind. “Oh what the hell, it’s not like keeping secrets matters anymore. I love him. I love Lee Taesun!”

 

          He looked slightly hysterical and suddenly Minho was overcome with sympathy for the handsome-yet-scruffy boy who sat opposite him. After all, Minho knew what love was like, didn’t he? Joon was just trying his best to protect Taesun, like Minho was for his younger brother. “I’m sorry,” Minho said softly. “Really, I know it must be hard for you. But I can’t do anything to help.”

 

          “I know,” whispered the other boy. “I understand, and I’m…I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have come here. , I shouldn’t even care…I should’ve stopped caring a long time ago.”

 

          They stared at each other in silence for a long moment until Joon stood and left the room without a word. He walked down the corridor, tears blinding him as they filled his eyes and spilled over onto his cheeks. He let out a cry of frustration and kicked the wall, ignoring the pain that shot through his foot. He was sobbing uncontrollably now, he’d stopped noticing the weird looks he was getting from members of the public and police officers alike; he’d stopped noticing anything as he collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. A kindly female officer reached out a hand to help him up but he shouted at her to leave him alone and she stumbled backwards warily. Suddenly there were two male officers restraining him, leading him forcibly out of the building and practically throwing him onto the pavement outside.

 

          That was when he sobered up and pulled himself together, cursing himself for being such a mess. He got to his feet shakily and wiped his eyes, making his way over to an empty bench and sitting down. He remained there for what could’ve been an hour or more, his mind blank, staring straight ahead as people passed him, coming in and out of the busy police station and giving him strange glances. He didn’t care; he couldn’t allow himself to think, to remember, or he’d break down again. And he didn’t know what he’d do if he lost control once more.

 

          He thought he was hallucinating at first when a figure approached him, a figure he recognized all too well. “T-Taesun-ah?”

 

          “Joon? What’re you doing here?” Taesun asked, seeming surprised to see his friend.

 

          “That…I mean…what are you doing here?” Joon replied, suddenly scared. “You’re not here to… oh God, please tell me you’re not here to confess?”

 

          Taesun gasped. “You know?”

 

          “Of course I ing know! Did you think I was stupid? You may be able to fool your brother but I know you too well. Now answer the question.”

 

          “My…how did you know he was my..?” Taesun shook his head. “Never mind, we’ll talk later. I have to go and-”

 

          “Don’t you dare.” Joon said in a low voice. “You can’t. You can’t confess.”

 

          “Joon-ah…I have to.”

 

          “No you don’t! For God’s sake, Tae, get a grip! What about your dongsaeng? What about Taemin?”

 

          “That’s exactly why I have to. Did you know he’s in love with Minho? What kind of brother does that to the guy his dongsaeng loves?”

 

          “He told you that?”

 

          “Not exactly. I heard him last night, talking in his sleep. He…he said the same name over and over again, ‘Minho’. And then, ‘I love you’. I suppose it makes sense, I mean he was living with the guy. Anyway, I realized he’s better off without me. I should just turn myself in…”

 

          “No! No, you can’t, please…” Joon was becoming desperate now. He couldn’t just let him go like that. His eyes filled with tears again and he knelt to the ground, grasping Taesun’s hand in his. “I’m begging you, don’t go in there. You don’t have to. We can run away together, please, just think about this…”

 

          Taesun put a hand on his arm and hauled him to his feet, a defeated look in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Joon-ah. Maybe it’s best if you just forget me. Forget we were ever friends.” he turned away and walked into the police station, without so much as a glance over his shoulder. Joon shook his head sadly.

 

          Forget you? But that’s impossible…

_

 

          Taemin woke up late that morning, light streaming through the curtains as he sat up and stretched, yawning loudly. He got dressed and stumbled into the kitchen, expecting to find his brother sitting at the table reading a newspaper as usual. When he found no one, he made his way to the living room, then the bathroom, checking the whole apartment until he realized he was alone. He wasn’t too worried; Taesun had probably just gone out to get some bread or something. He poured himself a bowl of cereal with milk and carried it into the living room, switching on the TV as he sat down.

 

          He flicked through the channels but there wasn’t much on – a couple of game shows, three children’s films and too many dramas to count – so he decided on the news. It was about time he found out what was going on in the outside world. He regretted it, however, when a news item about the stock market ended and an all-too-familiar image of Kim Heechul’s ruined house appeared on screen. His instinct was to change the channel immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to reach for the remote. Part of him wanted to hear what they had to say.

 

          “Investigations into the bombing in one of Seoul’s suburbs are still ongoing. Police say they are making progress and so far they have one suspect, a young man who was present at the scene of the crime. They also say there are possible links between the bombing and a terrorist organisation based in Japan. An inside source told us that the police are currently looking into the possibility of forged identities. Meanwhile, we would like to ask, if anyone has seen or heard anything suspicious relating to the bombing then please call this number…”

 

          Taemin could’ve sworn he felt his heart stop. A terrorist organisation based in Japan…there was only one person he knew that had recently returned from Japan. And his brother hadn’t said anything about what he’d been up to while he was abroad. In fact, he had actively avoided the question whenever Taemin had brought it up.

 

          But he couldn’t allow himself to think like that. It was stupid. After all, the bomber was Minho, right? The police had taken him into custody and everything. And Minho would’ve denied it if he’d had no part in the incident. Taemin would’ve dismissed the news report completely…if it wasn’t for the conversation he’d overheard the previous night. If Minho and Taesun knew each other, and of that he was positive, then could it be that they were working together?  

 

          He couldn’t take this. It was too confusing…his head was beginning to hurt. But he knew what he had to do. There was only one person he could ask.

 

          He found his mobile lying on the kitchen counter where he must’ve left it when he was making breakfast. He dialled Taesun’s number and brought the phone up to his hear shakily, suddenly unsure what to say. Almost to his relief, however, there was no answer. After dialling one more time he called Joon – it was unlikely, he knew, but maybe his brother’s best friend would know where he was?

 

          “T-Taemin-ah? Is that you?” Joon’s voice was quiet and shaky, as if he’d been crying. Taemin was about to ask if he was okay but stopped himself. He had called for a reason.

 

          “Do you happen to know where Taesun hyung is? I know it’s kind of a weird question, since we only met the other day, but I really need to ask him something…”

 

          “I do know where he is, actually,” Joon sniffed bitterly. Again, he sounded like he was holding back tears, but Taemin didn’t ask. “He’s gone to the police station.”

 

          “Oh.” So there it was. Taemin had his answer, but now that he knew, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with the information.

 

          “Taemin?”

 

          “Yeah?”

 

          “I know everything. I just thought you should know. About the two of you being brothers, and stuff…I know it all.” Joon said sadly. When there was no response, he said, “And Taemin?”

 

          “Y-Yes?”

 

          “In case you had any doubt left…he’s gone to confess.”

 

          Taemin hung up and hurled his phone at the wall, feeling a slight satisfaction as it smashed to pieces before he left the apartment for the last time.

_

 

          “So it was you, then.” Taemin’s voice was oddly calm. In fact he felt calmer than he had in a long time, which was weird, seeing as he was face to face with his brother in the visiting room of the local police station.  He figured there was no point getting emotional over this stuff anymore. He had to be the unluckiest kid in the world right now, but crying wouldn’t solve anything, would it?

 

          “I can’t say how sorry I am, Taemin-ah,” was his brother’s response.

 

          Taemin scoffed. “That’s it? You’re apologizing?”

 

          “No. I’m glad you came here. I owe you an explanation.”

 

          “Now he tells me,” Taemin said dryly.

 

          Taesun sighed and sat up straight, his hands resting on the table. “I’ll start from the beginning,” he said tiredly. “You know that I left Korea because I needed to get away from our parents, and that I went to Japan. What I never told you is that I didn’t leave the country as Lee Taesun. I wanted a fresh start…new name, new country, new everything. So I paid a guy from my high school to switch identities with me. It seemed like he needed a new start as well, although I didn’t ask why.”

 

          “Minho,” Taemin breathed.

 

          “Yes. It’s kind of a coincidence that you met him, I guess. Anyway, we found some guy who swapped the photographs on our passports and I left the country to begin my new life as Choi Minho…but when I got to Japan it was harder than I expected. I couldn’t get a job. It seemed like no one wanted to employ a Korean, but maybe it was just because I had no qualifications.

 

          “I always wanted to come back for you, Taemin. My only regret was that I’d left you behind. But I needed money for that. So I started working for this organization, a criminal organization, just doing small jobs at first – delivering drugs, house robberies, the usual – but it paid extremely well. And then they had this job that came up, and they wanted a Korean to do it…they told me about a government official called Kim Jung Woo who they thought needed ‘teaching a lesson’. They told me about their plan to blow up his house.”

 

          “So you just said ‘okay, I’ll go and kill a bunch of teenagers if you want me to, but I’ll need a pay rise’? Is that it?”

 

          “No! I mean, I refused at first! And I didn’t know the kid was going to have a party, I swear. They told me the house would be empty that evening. They threatened me…they said if I didn’t do it, they’d never let me return to Korea…I couldn’t just leave you.”

 

          “You’re disgusting,” Taemin said quietly. A single tear left his eye and trickled down his cheek but he wiped it away quickly. “I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

 

          “Taemin-ah, I need you to understand,” said Taesun pleadingly. “I did it for you! For us!”

 

          “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Taemin shouted, resisting the urge to hit his brother. “It’s my fault that those people got blown up, is it? I killed my best friend? Is that what you’re saying?”

 

          “Of course not. It’s all my fault. And I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to you or them.”

 

          “What did you tell the police?” he asked suddenly. “Did you tell them everything?”

 

          “Everything that I told you,” he said. “Well, not the part about paying Minho-ssi. I said that I took his name without his knowledge…I made them promise that they’d let him go. A female officer informed me that he was released about an hour ago.”

 

          And that’s when it hit Taemin. He had been so focused on getting to the police station, so wrapped up in what his brother had done, that he hadn’t realized the most important thing of all. If Taesun was the bomber, then that meant…

 

          Minho was innocent.

 

A/N: So, there it is, an explanation! Wow, this chapter was hard to write, and I know it took me ages to update...again. I'm sorry ;_;

GUESS WHAT? I HAVE 50 SUBSCRIBERS! I love you guys all so much, really <3

So, Taemin finally knows the truth! I hope you're relieved. I know I am XD There will be one more chapter, and then possibly an epilogue, so please be patient with me :')

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