It was the night before Taemin’s graduation and he couldn’t sleep. He eyelids were heavy with fatigue and his body screamed for rest but Taemin’s mind would not be at peace.

It had been a long four years in Seoul’s National School of the Arts and while Taemin wants nothing more but to leave, a heavy sense of sentiment holds him back.

Taemin’s small apartment was cleared out. Boxes were neatly packed and stacked on the far wall, ready to be moved out the next morning.

Taemin made his way to the open window, the bustling nightlife of Seoul still prominent on the streets.

Taemin looked to his left and was greeted with the sight of a plain, off-white coloured wall. It looked so empty without his rugged couch there. The emptiness of the space created an emptiness in his heart. The memories spent on that couch seemed to have been packed away with it.

--

“Hyung, watch Despicable Me with me,” Jongin called, flopping onto the worn couch.

He had already put the DVD in the player and was currently pressing play on the menu screen.

“You’re such a child,” Taemin said, rolling his eyes but he smiled anyways.

“You just don’t appreciated the beauty of Gru’s luscious bald head,” Jongin retorted with a straight face.

“tell me, why are we friends again?”

--

Spinning abruptly on his heel, Taemin stalked towards the kitchen, seating himself on his empty counter top.

His spinning high stools had also been packed away, leaving Taemin’s kitchen looking more spacious than ever.

--

“Jongin, stop spinning on that stool, you’re going to get dizzy,” Taemin warned, watching the younger boy with a wary eye.

Jongin ignored him, cackling with glee as he spun around and around.

“I dance ballet Taemin, I wouldn’t get dizzy,” Jongin replied, whooping as he spun with his hands in the air.

Less that a minute later, Jongin was on the ground, spewing nonsense about how the world was spinning around him and Taemin just shook his head, smiling to himself only when he knew the other wasn’t looking.

--

Frustrated, Taemin hurriedly walked to his bedroom in an attempt to just forget.

The room was as empty as the rest of his house. He had packed his bed away and shipped it off to his new apartment already. For the past few night he had been sleeping a futon on his floor.

--

Both boys were a little past tipsy, bodies pressed flush together as they shared a heated hiss, a battle of dominance.

Jongin was the one who pushed Taemin onto the bed, a surprise to the both of them.

Taemin had always been the one who was more confident in his actions.

The night had gone by in a flurry of fleeting touches and passionate exchanges.

--

Taemin let out a pained grunt as he made his way towards his only pair of shoes left on his rack, angrily shoving them on before leaving his apartment, slamming the door behind him.

--

“KIM JONGIN, WHAT ABOUT YOUR FUTURE,” Taemin yelled, Jongin cowering back slightly at Taemin’s harsh tone.

“This life is too restricting. What am I doing, learning the proper techniques about dancing only to get a job and what? Get paid to flaunt my smooth skills to the world? That’s not what I want Taemin hyung. I want the world to appreciate who I am just as I am, I want to learn from those who appreciate dance as a lifestyle…I want to be free,” Jongin said softly.

“Jongin, you’re being rash, stop and think about the mistake you’re going to make,” Taemin pressed on angrily.

“I…I don’t expect you to understand hyung. But this is my decision and I won’t change my mind.” Jongin replied stiffly.

There was a moment of heavy silence before Jongin picked up his tattered dance bag.

“I guess…this is goodbye,” he said before he turned around and walked out the door.

--

Two years have passed and Taemin had not seen Jongin since the argument. There has not been a day where Taemin had longed after the other, regretting his harsh words.

Now, as Taemin made his way to the subway he longed for Jongin more than ever.

The ride to his stop was a tormenting one, memories that he had suppressed while studying suddenly crashing over him like a never ending hurricane filled with deadly waves.

When he reached his stop, he trudged up the stairs, and onto the sidewalk, feet dragging and shoulders slumped.

He walked for a good 15 minutes before he reached his destination.

The chilly night air was even colder near the shoreline and Taemin shivered, pulling his hoodie tighter around his thin frame.

There was no one on the beach and as expected for 2 AM in the morning.

Taemin walked along the shoreline, the air soothing his troubled mind.

In the distance, Taemin saw a figure move and he rubbed his eyes. In his delirious, sleep deprived state he was become delusional. But the figure was still there.

As Taemin walked closer, he realized that the figure was dancing, their smooth and sure movements oddly familiar.

When Taemin was within hearing range, he recognized the soft melody.

Have you, you, you lost your way again
The night air is still cold, get up
So, baby, hold on I’m worried of leaving you alone
I leave the road and follow behind you
 

“Kim Jongin,” he whispered, not believe what he eyes were seeing.

Jongin finished his routine with one last pose, his body unmoving aside from his accelerate breath.

“I thought you’d never come,” he said, turning to face Taemin with a small smile.

Taemin stared, mouth slightly agape. It was not true. He was not real. Jongin was not standing in front of him.

Regardles, tears welled up in Taemin’s eyes as he ran to Jongin.

He collided with Jongin’s chest, the other’s arms embracing him.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered tears soaking through the other’s shirt.

“It’s okay hyung. I forgave you the moment I walked out the door.”

“Never leave me again.”
“I promise.”