Chapter Five;

Taemin was still furious about the things that had happened in their old apartment but luckily, he didn't have to wait much for Jongin to appear after he left the flat. The boy tried to hide all of his anger away and plastered a smile on his face. The thing was, that his boyfriend tended to worry so much about him, he just wanted to prevent it. Also, he didn't want to burden him with these things, he had his own problems back in his dance studio.

Jongin returned the smile gladly as Taemin hopped into the car beside him. It was still raining heavily outside, and his clothes became wet. He was glad the younger could make it and pick him up. He was busy fastening his seatbelt when his boyfriend began to talk.

"Whose apartment were you in?" Jongin asked. Taemin knew the other well enough than to think this question had suspicion in it. It was just an innocent question to start a conversation with the boy. Jongin wasn't the jealous type of boyfriend.

"Minho's." Taemin hadn't told Jongin about his ex-boyfriend. Of course, he talked about him time to time but he's never mentioned his name before. He never really wanted to make him know about his past experience, but sometimes the words slipped out of his mouth.

"Who is Minho? Your co-worker?"

"Yes, you can say that." Taemin sighed; he didn't dare to look at his boyfriend. "Also, he's my ex-boyfriend."

He decided on being honest with Jongin. He didn't want to have secrets around him. He didn't want to be a second Minho. Jongin was precious, very much like a best friend for Taemin. He didn't want to lose him just because of some stupid secret. Especially when he didn't have things to hide.

"I see." Jongin said slowly. Panic started to rise in the boy after seeing the lack of reaction from his boyfriend. Would he became angry at him? Would he think Taemin was cheating on him?

"I'm not seeing him." Taemin added quickly. He stared out of the window until now, when the person beside him started to laugh loudly. Jongin patted his head in a comforting way.

"I know. I trust you."

The words hit Taemin hard, he felt breathless for a moment. He felt guilt building up inside him and he couldn't name it why. He hadn't done anything wrong. He might have thought about getting back together with Minho but eventually he stopped himself. He decided on not crossing that line. So why did he feel guilty?

"Thanks, Jongin." he pushed out the words of himself.

"There's no need to thank me. It's natural." Jongin smiled widely, stealing glances at his boyfriend. "How was your day?"

"Modelling is much more tiring than I first thought." the purple haired boy sighed lightly. Staying in different poses all day made every one of his limbs tired. He thought throughout the whole day and was thinking about what to tell Jongin. He didn't want to tell him about their bickering with Minho, neither Minho wholly. "Oh, I met Tiffany today! We were friends with her long time ago."

Taemin suddenly stopped his talking because something came into his mind. The party which he got invited by Tiffany. He quickly fished out the invitation from his back pocket and ran his eyes across it. It was truly a snob party as Minho said before.

"What's that?" Jongin curiously glanced at the white envelope Taemin was staring at. The boy was weirder than usual, stopping and changing the topics out of the blue from time to time.

"Tiffany invited us to her party." the boy looked up at his boyfriend. "It's a big party with a dress code. Min- I mean, her partner said, there will be a lot of people.  It'll be held on Saturday. Do you want to go?"

"It depends on you, she's your friend!" Jongin was really nice to him. He knew his boyfriend didn't really like elegant parties at all. He was always afraid there were problems with his manner.

Taemin fell quiet as he thought about it. He wanted to go because he wanted to meet with Tiffany. He wouldn't know if they would meet again so he wanted to make it happen. At least once. Also, deep inside, he wanted to ask her about the thing Minho didn't tell him. About the time she started to speak him again. Tiffany was strong in mind, she wouldn't open up easily to anyone again after she decided on leaving them. It must be a good reason, then.

On the other hand, he didn't want to meet Minho so soon after their quarrel. But after all, he'll have Jongin by his side and it'll surely scare the model away. He might or might not also want to show Minho that he had a fine life without him, too.

"I want to go."

Taemin didn't know what to expect when their taxi arrived to the place the party was held. He knew it would be fancy as hell. Five years ago, Tiffany talked a lot about if she made it into modelling and she's rich, she'll make big parties here and there because she's never got to attend one. Well, she made it. It made Taemin's heart swell to think his friend reached her dreams.

When they stepped out of the car, both of them were left in awe. He knew this party would be something big, but it was beyond his imagination.

The place was huge. Like really, really huge.

The boy wasn't sure if it was Tiffany's house or she just rented for one night but it was fancy. Suddenly, coming here didn't look like the best idea. He didn't even go in but he already felt left out.

They reached the entrance and Taemin turned to Jongin nervously.

"Do I look good?" he adjusted his white suit on himself. His self-esteem dropped down quite much as he realized where they were going to. He was usually a confident person but somehow his confidence disappeared right now.

"You look like someone who stepped out of a magazine." Jongin laughed at his boyfriend. He didn't seem affected by the thought of going into a party with gorgeous and unknown people around who might judge you by your appearance. He checked out the boy again. "White was a good choice."

"Please, I swear everyone will look like they've stepped out from a magazine. It's a place crowded with top models, for god's sake! I don't even know what we're doing here." Taemin was seriously thinking of calling the taxi back. He wasn't that nervous long time ago.

"Calm down, Taemin." Jongin put his hands on the other's shoulders. "If you won't feel good, we can still leave early, okay?"

"Okay." the boy sighed resignedly. After all, he wanted to talk with Tiffany. Let's call that as his priority. After he achieved it, they could leave if they wanted to.

They walked into the house, side by side. The boy guessed that they didn't even look like a couple. More like friends- some even said they looked like siblings. There was no hand holding, no sneaking arms around the other's body.

Physical contact wasn't their thing, really. Both of them were way too shy for it - especially in crowded places - and sometimes, it just didn't feel right. Jongin was so important for Taemin, but sometimes the whole relationship was too awkward to being with. They felt more comfortable in speaking out their feelings, and the boy thought that was the reason they were still together.

"Good evening, gentlemen!" They were stopped by an aging man in tuxedo. "May I see your invitations?"

Taemin quickly searched for the white envelope and showed it to the man. So it was really an exclusive party. He was afraid, thinking of all the famous people inside. The man smiled at them in a warm way, which did help Taemin calm down a tiny bit.

The man read the invitation and handed it back to Taemin.

"I wish you a good night." Both of them nodded at the wish. Taemin ran his eyes through the huge crowd, but he wasn't met with any familiar faces. He wanted to avoid making himself looking like a fool searching around for Tiffany, so the boy turned back to the butler.

"Can you tell me where I can find Tiffany?"

"Ms. Hwang is over there." the old man pointed towards the tables, and there they were. Tiffany and Minho in all of their glory. Taemin didn't understand how he couldn't notice the girl beforehand, since her pink gown was something that screamed of Tiffany's style. She was happily chatting with other girls, while there was an arm around her waist. It was Minho's, who looked completely bored by the event and looked like he was searching for someone in the crowd.

"Thank you." Taemin said, and walked to his boyfriend who was waiting for him. He wasn't really sure how would he manage to ask Tiffany about Minho with Jongin around. Maybe he could send him for some drinks. Or-

"Oh my god! Taemin, look!" Jongin whispered into the boy's ears with such a excited voice. He thought it was quite odd, because Jongin got excited only for dance. His boyfriend nodded toward a girl with long black hair and cute, protruding ears. "It's Kang Seulgi!"

"Who?" He was sure he hadn't heard her name yet.

"She was my classmate in high school before she became a model!" The excitement in his voice was so adorable, Taemin wanted to pinch his cheeks but suddenly, he remembered something. That was it. The reason to make Jongin go while he could speak with Tiffany.

Bingo.

"Then go, talk to her after I introduce you to my friends. It's always good to see old classmates, right?"

Jongin nodded with a smile spreading on his features as followed Taemin to the tables. He looked like he couldn't wait to talk with her and it made the boy happy. It was rare to see Jongin interact with other people. After all, he was almost always in his dance studio or with Taemin.

They walked to circle of friends, who seemed like they were having a good time together. Taemin was thinking about coming back later, because he didn't want to interrupt anything. There was Tiffany, deep in conversation, but when her eyes met with Taemin's, she immediately stopped talking. Her frown from the serious talk turned into a truly happy smile.

"Taemin! Come here!" Tiffany yelled with joy. She thought the boy wouldn't come after she heard about the quarrel with Minho. This time, on the other hand, she wasn't angry at her best friend since he was just telling the truth. He could've pretended being all friendly while he slowly drew Taemin closer to him, but he decided to stay clean, even though it was the harder way. This was something that made Tiffany really proud of having a best friend like him.

Minho's ears perked up as the name of the boy left Tiffany's mouth. His eyes followed  the place Tiffany was waving at. He was there. From now on, it was like the man couldn't see anyone but Taemin. He wouldn't admit it but it felt like he was one of the lead actors in a sappy, clichéd romantic drama. Taemin was wearing a white suit, as Minho told him to. Could it be because he wanted to impress Minho? He wasn't sure about it, but hey, a man can dream.

"Taemin! I'm glad you came." Tiffany was clearly excited to see Taemin here. The boy blushed because suddenly, he was centre of attention, thanks to Tiffany's loud greeting.

"I should be thankful for the invitation."

"It's really nothing. After all, I need someone who entertains me because Minho decided on being mute since I made him wear a less worn-out suit." Both Minho and Tiffany knew that was not the truth. The reality was that Minho was too busy looking for Taemin in the crowd to speak with his best friend. But it wasn't something to tell the boy about.

"My other suit is perfectly fine!" Minho complained, just to make the act more believable.

Taemin chuckled a bit before, he realized he shouldn't laugh so freely near to Minho. He was still angry at him.

No.

He was angry at himself. Because when Minho told him that he wants more than friendship, he wavered. His damn confidence he thought he had to reject Minho wavered. For the split time of a second, he thought about telling him he wanted the same. That he couldn't be just friends with Minho. And the thought scared him.

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