m o o n r i s e

The first proper conversation he shared with her was through the receiver of his phone: the moment short, yet sweet.

Taemin was rarely phoned by someone other than Jongin and Ravi. Thus, when Luna had called to congratulate him for his successful solo debut, Taemin found himself at a slight loss for words. He didn't think to ask how the younger girl had acquired his number: particularly since he had lost his phone a few weeks back and only just got a replacement a few days ago. Nonetheless, he meekly thanked the vocalist for the call, his hand brushing the back of his neck as he did. 

"Kai-ssi had given me your number." Luna answered Taemin's unconscious thoughts, chuckling a little as she did. He noticed how she used both honorifics and his best friend's stage name to refer to the boy; Taemin assumed that Luna wasn't as close to either of them, and felt that the formality was an necessity. "I wanted to congratulate you in person, since it's more sincere that way..."

"No no, it's alright, I really appreciate you calling. It means a lot." The dancer wasn't lying: he felt somewhat touched that she had gone to such lengths to praise him, even though neither of them have openly approached each other in the past. She could have waited, or ignored him entirely. "And... you don't have to be so polite..." Taemin laughed, for Luna had used cordial speech the entirety of the time, despite the two being born in the same year, from his knowledge.

He almost felt her smile through the receiver. "Ah... okay. Taemin... oppa? I need to go for a schedule now so... I'll hang up first?"

"Sure." Taemin grinned. He'd always had a soft spot for cute personalities. "Thanks again, Luna."

The moment he cut the line, Taemin begun to question why he hadn't talked to Luna in the past. It was impossible not to smile in her presence.

...

He remembered why hadn't talked to Luna. Or any of the f(x) members, in fact.

"Sulli confirmed to be dating Choiza... wow... what a way to rub salt in the wound..." Jonghyun rather inconsiderably read the latest headline out loud, no sooner earning a glare in his direction from Taemin.

"I've already read it." Taemin tried to be nonchalant about it all of course: he hadn't dated Sulli since 2010. "I have nothing to do with her romantic life anymore." He bluntly concluded, returning to playing a useless game on his phone in an attempt to block out both Jonghyun and the thought of his ex.

"Sounds like you still have feelings for her." 

The younger boy didn't need to look at Jonghyun to confirm that he was smirking. "Sounds like you don't know when to drop a conversation." Taemin sarcastically mused back, rolling his eyes as he did. "Jinri and I don't have much in common anymore. That's it." Giving up on his futile effort to avoid the topic, Taemin tossed his phone aside, laying back on his bed out of defeat. 

"You know, Taemin..." Jonghyun begun, and Taemin immediately inhaled inwards; the elder boy was about to start one of his 'talks', and as much as he liked having deep discussions with the main vocalist of Shinee, Taemin would rather it wasn't anything to do with love, relationships, or basic interaction with the females within the entertainment industry. "It's unhealthy. Blocking yourself out from everyone like this."

"... I'm an introvert." Taemin told himself this often. He used the label almost as a justification to his actions, as a rationale to avoid anyone other than the Shinee members, Jongin, and a handful of others within the company. He was everything an introvert should be: he prefers the comforts of his room in comparison to large crowds of people: ironic as it sounds, when, as an entertainer, is required to face thousands of fans both on and off stage.

"There's a difference between being an introvert and plain asociality. Introverts just get drained talking to people, but you don't even try and talk to people other than me or Jongin, unless you're made to." 

Taemin loathed when Jonghyun was right. 

Jonghyun had an impeccable talent of being able to maintain a conversation without even looking up from his laptop screen. A talent in which Taemin was simply hopeless at doing, for his attention span was at least half of the elder boy's. "You shouldn't shut yourself off to everyone just because of one broken relationship." Jonghyun brushed his muted blonde hair out of his face with the flick of his head, revealing a raised brow at Taemin's solution for his parting from Jinri.

"No... it's not because of her..." Now Taemin found it tough to even convince himself, let alone anyone else, of why he cages himself away from human life. Was it because of Jinri? Or was he just afraid? "I just don't want to get too close to anyone... I'm only just going to get hurt again."

"No one is telling you to get too close with anyone. Just open yourself up a bit more." Jonghyun reassured, his toothy grin widening the more he spoke. "Your fans are even picking it up. You only hung around Jongin during last week's concert. Dispatch even thinks you're dating."

"We're not dating." Taemin mirrored Jonghyun's snort of disapproval. Yet, the more people mentioned it, the more Taemin found the assumption quite embarrassing. Perhaps Jonghyun was right, and that rumour wouldn't be the case... if he spent time with other people.

"... I'll think about it."

...

After much consideration, Taemin decided to take Jonghyun's advice. The opportunity had been flawlessly orchestrated for him: the next SMTown concert stop in Tokyo. Out of preparation, the dancer had even consulted his supposed 'lover' Jongin for help interacting with a wider spectrum of the artists under the company. The spotlights had blinded him from the audience, whilst illuminating the possible candidates to interact with, all of whom were floating around the arena.

"What about Hyoyeon? Soojung?" Jongin's arm was slung over Taemin's shoulder as he communed to him, recommending the various girls of SM as they passed the two by. The only 'interaction' Taemin gained from the two suggestions was a death glare from f(x)'s youngest member, the girl sauntering past them without a word. 

"Soojung's been giving me the cold shoulder since last year." The elder dancer furrowed his brows, chiseling in a smile in a weak attempt to conceal his obvious discontent. Through gritted teeth, Taemin continued to explain her situation. "She's closest to Jinri. I think it's her way of telling me to keep my distance."

Both dancers had begun to lose hope the longer the night dragged on, feebly waving light sticks and throwing winks at the various fans flailing near the edge of the stage. Just into the last ten minutes of the concert, Jongin had finally slapped Taemin's back, grinning widely as an idea struck to mind. "Taemin... what about Luna? She asked me for your number the other day."

"Luna...?" In plain honesty, the main vocalist of f(x) had not crossed Taemin's mind since she had congratulated him. The girl in question fell within Taemin's line of sight, facing away from him and towards the audience, her short, wild hair distinguishable even from the large distance between the two. She almost looked disorientated, glancing around and tossing bright smiles at the crowd whilst trying to find some company of her own.

If the fact that she was only a mere month younger than him wasn't enough of an excuse to approach Luna, nor the matter that she contacted him only the other week, then the fact that she was alone caused Jongin to shove Taemin encouragingly in the girl's direction. 

With a light stick in his hand, the dancer conjured a scheme to approach Luna in a playful manner. Nearing the raven haired girl from behind, Taemin tapped Luna's left shoulder with the tip of his light stick, immediately sliding to her right whilst a bewildered Luna craned her neck around in confusion. 

Taemin cleared his throat excessively loudly as she did, Luna darting her head in his direction out of mild surprise. "Gosh, Taemin oppa, you scared me..."

The dancer didn't know what he found more endearing: the fact that she got so startled by his little prank, or that she remembered to talk informally with him as he requested she should do. 

...

Taemin had never been fond of parties, considering how asocial he was. However, the SMTown after party revealed itself to be an exception to this distaste.

Sunmi's 'Burn' blared from the speakers scattered throughout the conference hall, the vast majority of the company's artists all gathered under a roof which wasn't an arena. Whilst many took to the 'dance floor' located at the centre of the room, Taemin opted to linger in the corner, an plastic cup of spiked punch left unconsumed in his hand. He could have always gone home, like Soojung had done from what he heard. 

The very girl who told him to stay behind had come into his view, weaving past unknown faces to greet the elder boy.

"There you are." Luna beamed, and Taemin struggled to resist flashing her a soft smile back. He found it extremely difficult to refuse the girl's suggestion of attending the after party when she had asked him during the concert; there was something about Luna's vibe that was charming and made it almost impossible to say no. Even if he was such the social hermit he claimed. "Not much of a party person I'm guessing?"

Taemin gave her a subtle nod, yet offering her a bright smile instead. "I don't usually come to these sort of things, but since you asked so nicely... I couldn't really say no." The dancer seized the opportunity to get rid of the untouched cup of punch he was swilling in his hand as a waiter walked by, placing it open the tray he was carrying before continuing his conversation with the girl. "I've been told by quite a few people that I need to socialize more, anyway."

Much to his surprise, Luna didn't criticize him for his dislike of social interaction like Jonghyun had done. "That's understandable. My older brother's like that as well." The vocalist leant against the wall beside Taemin, looking out at the congregation of entertainers prowling the room. "Parties can be tedious. Even I get a bit fed up of them sometimes."

"... Seriously?" Taemin found Luna's words hard to believe. "I didn't think you were that sort of person."

"A lot of people say that." Luna let out a light laugh, raising a brow up in the boy's direction. "Is it because I seem too lively?" 

Taemin didn't have a chance to ask her what she meant by not appearing lively, and he could only wonder if she wasn't as high spirited as her image had made her out to be. 

"I'm gonna go dance..." Luna informed the elder boy as she kicked herself away from the wall, facing Taemin with a lopsided smile. "You're welcome to join me if you want." Without giving Taemin time to answer, the short girl had disappeared into the horde of celebrities, leaving him with a choice without the pressure of disheartening her. 

She understood him, and he was thankful for that.

...

a u t h o r ' s  n o t e

This concludes chapter one! The fic will center mainly on how Taemin and Luna become closer to each other as time goes by. There will be romance later on (as suggested by the intro in the foreword lol), but I want to work slowly up towards it, so bear with it~ Don't forget to comment/subscribe, and stay tuned to see the progression of Luntae's relationship ♥