Nam Taehyun made his way to the hospital trying to find the correct ward number. He could feel a slight headache and nausea building up as he inhaled the pungent scent of medicine and sanitizers that filled the hospital air. He managed to finally locate the correct ward number and as he stepped in he heard a soft wheezy sound.

“Taehyun-ah, you finally came to see me?”

“Halmoni, how are you? Are you feeling better?” Taehyun hurried over to take the Grandma Song’s hands.

“Bad Taehyunie! Why have you not come to see me? It is only when I am on a hospital bed that you young people come to see me?!”

“I am sorry Halmoni. I just got caught up with so much work that I have not found the time to see you. But I am here now.”

“You have grown thinner, Taehyun-ah. Are you not eating well enough? My poor child. Has Mino been ill-treating you?”

“I am so sad to know that is how my favourite grandmother thinks of me.” Mino muttered as he came out of the bathroom carrying a bowl of fruits.

“Look at how skinny he is where will he find the energy to chase after another great grandchild?” Granny Song huffed.

“Halmoni, Euna is still too young to have another kid. Besides,  you should just focus on getting better and not about another great grandchild.” Mino answered.

“I know I know. Can’t an old lady make jokes?” Granny Song muttered. Her expression was like a little girl being denied of her candy.

“No hello kiss for me?”

Mino laughed and bent down to give his grandmother a kiss.

“Doesn’t Taehyunie get one too?”

“Halmoni, Taehyunie gets one all the time.” Taehyun smile and as he caught Mino’s eyes, he could not help but to feel guilty at the both of them keeping things from her.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Thanks for coming over to visit her. You did not have to.” Mino told Taehyun gratefully as they left the ward so that his grandmother could rest for the day.

“It is okay, she is still my Halmoni no matter what happens.”

“I hope you don’t mind to keep pretense for a little while more. I will inform when the time is right.” Mino asked as they made their way to the parking lot.

“It is fine, we don’t have to tell her. Let’s keep things this way until she recovers.” Taehyun felt a little painful tug at his heart. Why is Mino so insistent on cutting off ties with him?

“Come on, I will drive you back to your place.” Mino said as they walked to his car.

The drive to Taehyun’s place was long and there was almost no conversation. Both of them were too engrossed in their own little insecurities and were not willing to speak up.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Mum! Dad! I am home!” Mino announced as he opened the main front door of his home in Busan. The sound of feet running on the second floor could be heard.

“My son! You are home!” A petite Mrs Song came running down the steps to engulf Mino in a huge hug. His father followed suit and gave his son a hug as well.

“Mum and Dad, this is Nam Taehyun.” Mino step aside to introduce Taehyun was standing behind him holding his hand tightly.

“Hello, I am Nam Taehyun. It is really nice to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Song.” Taehyun greeted and offering a polite bow.

“You are Taehyun? I have heard so much about you! Call me Ommoni. Mrs. Song sounds too old and formal. Bring his thing in, Mino” She smiled she like this boy instantly.

“Am I sleeping in your room?” Taehyun asked as he followed Mino up the stairs to the bedrooms.

“Yes, I told them we are at the stage where we are sleeping together.” Mino replied and he instantly earned himself a smack on his arm.

“Yah! How could you tell your parents that? What are they going to think of me now?” Taehyun muttered exasperatedly.

“It is only sleep and nothing else! I swear! I emphasized it to them. Really! But if you really hate the idea then you can take my sister’s room though it is very messy and a little dusty.” Mino could not help but chuckled at how cute his boyfriend is.

“It is ok then.” Taehyun murmured and Mino could not help but smile some more. He knew very well that messy and dusty were Taehyun’s personal pet peeves. But hey! It is just sleep. Nothing more.

The family brought Taehyun out to have Busan’s famous fresh seafood. Mino watched how Taehyun was so fascinated with the different types of seafood even strange ones that one would never find while in Seoul.  By the end of the day, Taehyun and his parents were talking as though they were old friends who have known each other for years to the point where his mother started showing embarrassing pictures of Mino as a child.

“Hyung, I did well today right?” Taehyun muttered as they settled on Mino’s bed for the night.

“They are totally in love with you more than me it seems now.” Mino pouted cutely.

Taehyun laughed and gave him a smack on his shoulder before he cuddled against Mino and drifted towards sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyun stepped at the entrance of the ballroom where the reception. With Bom noona’s incessant pleas, he finally gave in and attended Seunghoon hyung’s company function. He figured that it would not do any harm in making new friends. He took a deep breath, checking his hair, smoothing his shirt before he entered.

“Taehyunie!” Taehyun turned at the sound of his name being called. He was just in time to see Bom coming towards him with a smile on her face.

“Noona, you look beautiful.”

“Don’t lie to me maknae. I had a breakdown today at home because I cannot fit into any of my dresses and it is all his fault!” Bom explained with crestfallen expression.

“Ermmm… mine?” Seunghoon coughed.

“Yes if it was not for you I would not be pregnant!”

“Do I have to remind you that it takes two hands to clap and do you still remember how that happen?”

“Oh god, too much information! I don’t have to know this!” Taehyun covered his ears.

“I am sorry. Anyways, let us go have fun. You don’t know how boring this gets once they start talking.” Bom commented and pulled him along to the one person she wanted Taehyun to meet.

“I cannot believe you both are still so in love after so many years.” Taehyun muttered with a tinge of sadness in his voice. Bom knew what he meant and referred to when he made that comment but said nothing except to continue dragging her maknae along.

“Mrs. Lee!”

“Oh it is Key-ah!” Bom smiled happily at the guy that was approaching them. “Taehyun, this is Key, he is one of Seunghoon’s top sales consultant.”

Key held out his hand and a smile on his face. Taehyun took his hand and shook it slightly, smiling in return.

“Nice to meet you, Key-ssi. I am Taehyun”

“Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you Taehyun-ssi.”

Bom found Key to be the most eligible men present in this company function that night. Key was just 3 years older than Taehyun and was one of the most reliable people she knew.  Seunghoon had always told her that if he needs to assign something important to someone he can trust, that person would be Key.

Graduated from Dongguk University and an avid traveler, Key was one of the most sought after bachelors.  He was around the same height as Taehyun  and of the same slim build as him as well. Key’s family came from a line of doctors but he wanted to pursue banking instead.

“I see you all have met. Are you going to sweet talk again Key? My wife is going to start comparing and I may end up sleeping on the couch tonight.” Seunghoon came over to make sure Bom was okay.

“I would not want to do that. Besides Mrs. Lee just have eyes for you.”

“Don’t call me Mrs. Lee I am not that old. Just Bom will do. Seunghoon-ah, I am hungry I need to eat.  Help me take care of my maknae okay?”

“Sure.”

~~~~~~~~~~

"So Taehyun-ssi, you are Bom's brother? I am sorry but you really do not look alike." Key started the conversation, it was getting a bit awkward with all the quiet pauses.

“She is just my best friend. We are really close like siblings so I am sorry for the confusion.” Taehyun smiled. Normally he did not really like to interact with people he do not know but Key gave him a comfortable feel.

“No wonder but both of you look really good.”

"Thank you. I have not heard someone say that in a while." He smiled, it was very easy to engage in conversation with Key.

"The people around you must be blind then." Key joked and successfully cajoled a small laugh from Taehyun.

As conversation flowed, Taehyun realized that Key and he had several similarities. They both played instruments, while Taehyun's expertise was on a piano, Key's on a violin. They both like classical music and enjoy reading. It was very easy to talk to him and understand his humour. They also discussed about work and explained what they did. Taehyun told him briefly about the music school while he shared his experience in banking.

It was quite some time since Taehyun found someone whom he can talk to so easily and he was grateful for that. Taehyun's circle of friends was small to begin which was just he best friends. Other than a hand picked few he has very little friends, after today, he thinks he may have found one more.

"We are back!" Bom's happy voice rang from behind him. "Did you two have a good time?"

“Yes, we are getting along pretty well. Sharing about what we do for work.” Key answered.

The rest of the reception went on well. Taehyun and Key continued to talk to each other and seemed to enjoy each other's company, much to Bom's pleasure. She knew her maknae would not be over his previous marriage anytime soon, or if he ever would but Bom hoped that at least a new friend will bring him good distractions. Bom has not seen Taehyun smiled and talked so happily in a while so seeing him like that really does make her happy.

“A penny for your thoughts?” Seunghoon asked when he saw Bom drifting on her thoughts

“Nothing much, just that I have not seen Taehyun laughed so happily like that for a while now.” Bom smile and leaned against her husband as Taehyun laughed at something Key said.

They continued like that for a while until Seunghoon spoke up again, "Yeobo, doesn't that person look familiar?" he pointed to a man who was talking to some of his colleagues a few tables in front.

Bom sat herself straight and squinted a bit,

“Yes, he does look familiar."

The height, the frame and the way he was dressed. She wanted to get Taehyun who was back facing the person to help identify him, but the words got stuck in when the man turned around.

Before she knew it, Song Minho was walking towards Seinghoon and herself.

“Seunghoon hyung.” Mino calld out.

Bom could see how Taehyun’s back stiffened.

"I should have known that you'll be here, one of my associates got an invitation so I came." Mino then turned to Bom, "Hello Bom noona, how have you been?"

“I have been good. Nice to see you, Mino." Bom greeted, in her mind she was praying for him to go away since he could not see Taehyun from this angle.

But Seunghoon chose the wrong time to speak, "Mino, let me introduce you to Key." He gestured to him, "He is one of the best consultants I have seen and als- oww! What was that for?!"

There was nothing Bom wanted to do more than to cover her husband's mouth shut but she opted a less obvious method by pinching him. But before she could say anything to salvage the situation, Mino had already made the first introduction.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Key-ssi. I'm Song Minho, a friend of Seunghoon." He bowed politely and introduced himself.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Minho-ssi." Key held out his hand and shook Mino's.

All these while, Taehyun had his back towards Mino but painfully aware of his presence.

"And this guy," Mino gestured to the guy beside them who up till now has not spoken a word or made his presence known, "is your date for the day?"

"Oh, unfortunately no. I just got to know him through Bom but it would be my greatest pleasure if he would agree to be my date." Key tapped lightly on the shoulder of Taehyun. "Taehyun, meet Minho-ssi."

Bom and Seunghoon looked on with abated breaths when Taehyun as though in slow motion turned around and smiled, "Annyeonghaseyo, Minho-ssi. I am Nam Taehyun."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Annyeonghaseyo? Minho-ssi?" Minho spat out in disgust as he slammed his glass of beer on the table.

"Yah, that's my table you are slamming on!" Jiwon spat out in an equally disgusted tone. Hanbin will kill him if he sees his table in shambles when he comes back from his holiday.

Jiwon folded his arms and looked at his friend intently, he has not seen this good friend of his behave like that since... since when? Oh yes, the day he signed his divorce papers. As expected, there can only be one person who affects him like that.

"Take pity on me ok? I'm a divorced man who feels miserable that my husband has moved on. I need sympathy." Mino slurred, that was the third bottle of beer after a round of soju earlier.

“Ex-husband.” Jiwon pointed painfully.

“Shut up.” Mino retorted and downed the rest of his beer.

"Man I do not know what you are pissed about? Aren't you the one who agreed to the divorce?" Jiwon shook his head.

Jiwon knew Mino since high school, back when he first moved to Seoul to study. How time flies, he thought, they are now both married with kids, not to mention competitors at work as well. Jiwon works as an executive producer in one of the rival music companies, his expertise were rap like Mino’s.

"You do not know how fragile he looked like when he asked me." Mino made an action to take another bottle, only to have Jiwon move it out of his reach.

"My Taehyun, he would never look like that, the pain in his eyes, the disappointment. I know I failed him. It was as though getting a divorce was the only way to get him out of this misery. How can I not agree to it if it was the only way to free him? I miss Taehyun so much, I pretend like its nothing but it hurts every time I see him."

"Do you still love him?"

"I never stopped loving him."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Great grannnnnnnnny!" Euna’s kiddish voice calling out for her great grandmother as she ran into the ward brightened up what was originally a stifling environment.

"Oh my goodness, is that my favourite girl?" Mino's grandmother smiled widely at the sight of her great-granddaughter.

"Euna, lower down your volume." Taehyun admonished lightly as he walked in after Euna, with Mino trailing behind him.

Today was the first time the two of them met after that company reception of Seunghoon's where they bumped into each other coincidentally. He knew that Mino was still holding a grudge against him for pretending to not know him. Honestly, he did not know what made him do that. It just seem like the only thing that made sense at that point in time.

“Taehyun?”

“Yes? Sorry Halmoni, I was thinking about something.” He turned and smiled at the old lady.

"I was asking Mino how come the both of you could make it today? Don't you have work?" Granny Song asked as she took a cup of water from Mino.

"Oh, we took a day off to bring Euna here. Baby," Taehyun turned to his toddler who was following her other father up and down the ward, "Tell great granny how much you miss her?"

"Great granny bogoshiposo!" baby Euna ran to stand on the chair beside the bed with the help of her Appa. "Taehyun appa said great granny sick because never eat properly."

"Yes, my Euna-ah, great granny will take care of myself better from now." she smiled at the baby's antics.

"Pinky promise!" Euna held out her fist then put her little finger out.

"Promise!" the old lady linked her finger with hers and promised. She then turned to the two adults standing in different corners of the room, "Mino, Taehyun ah, did you two have a fight?"

“What? No, Halmoni.” Taehyun was quick to answer. He wondered if it was that obvious.

“What gave you the idea?” Mino came out from the bathroom with fresh fruits.

"You two, do you think you can hide this from Halmoni? I have eaten more salt than you had rice!" Granny Song insisted as she helped Euna to settle in beside her on the bed. "What happened?"

"It is nothing Halmoni, just a simple misunderstanding." Taehyun walked towards the old lady and adjusted her pillows.

"It is natural for couples to have misunderstandings, but they must always talk to each other to know what is wrong. Otherwise, things will only get worst, understand?" Granny Song advised while looking at them in turns.

"Ne, Halmoni. Don't worry, Taehyun and I will be ok." Mino assured his grandmother.

“Good. Go take a walk. I want you two to come back with the misunderstanding settled.” She then turned to Euna to see what she was drawing.

Sulkily, Mino strode out of the room, Taehyun followed closely behind.

"Mino," Taehyun called out a little breathlessly as he struggled to follow his pace. "Mino, wait!"

And Mino stopped.

"Why are you being like that?" Taehyun asked earnestly, he needed a reason for his aloofness since this morning when he picked him up from his apartment to the hospital. Wait, his aloofness since the day they met at the party.

"Yes Taehyun-ssi?" Mino emphasized on the last syllable.

"I'm sorry! I really did not mean to do it, I thought, well I thought you would not want people to know that we were married, since there were potential business partners." He blurted out all at once, looking at anywhere else but him.

"Oh really? I thought we were friends! Or mature adults who could handle this current status of us properly." Mino retorted, a tinge of edge in his voice.

Taehyun felt insulted, was he mocking at the way he handled things?! They were divorced! For goodness sake, why is he behaving like a jealous husband here!?

"You should have known that there was a possibility for us to not make it as friends the moment we agreed to the divorce." Taehyun gritted out the words, the familiar sensation of tears welling up in him eyes assaulting.

Mino felt offended; by the way Taehyun reacted and by the things he said.

"So that's what you really wanted right? Nothing to do with me and all ties cut?" He was going to regret what he said, but his impulse got the better of him. "Well then Taehyun-ssi, I am sorry I approached you at the party and spoilt your date with Key-ssi when it was clear you wanted nothing to do with me."

"I did not! Do not twist my intentions!"

His heart felt a hard pang at the sight of Taehyun but once again, his ego got the better of him. "If we cannot be friends, fine by me."

With that, he walked away, not bothering to hear him explain.

~~~~~~~~~~

It has been three weeks since that little fight they had at the park of the hospital. Taehyun left immediately after and he had lied to his grandmother about him having to rush off to help with school registration for the summer.

He knew his choice of words was wrong and was constantly looking for a way to apologize. Unfortunately, Taehyun did not seem to care for one. He still texted him whenever he wanted to see his baby but that was it. They did not talk after that. Not even hi and bye.

When visiting Halmoni, Taehyun will pretend that they are fine, laughing and smiling in front of the old lady. But the moment they left the ward, he would head immediately to the direction of the lifts. Mino gave himself a wry smile, more than likely, he has jeopardized all sorts of chances he ever had to win Taehyun back.

Mino was taking a break from work when he received the call from Seungyoon, to say he was surprised was putting it mildly.

"You are finally here." He pulled Mino along to where his friends were. "I'm really sorry I have to trouble you, he's a little tipsy- okay, scratch that, he is drunk and I can only think of you. I would have brought him home but I got to handle this two here as well."

Sandara and Jinwoo were sprawled across his living room, mumbling incoherent sentences that neither guy could decipher.

"It's ok Seungyoon ah, I will bring him home." Mino nodded and looked Taehyun, who was lying across the couch with Dara on top of him.

"Give me a moment, I will get you the address of his apartment. It is not very far from our music school." Seungyoon's voice got softer as he went into his room.

Seungyoon heaved a sigh of relief after sending off Mino with Taehyun on his back. 'Think of this as my last shot for your happiness, maknae ah.' He thought and went to attend to the other two in his living room.

The journey to Taehyun's new apartment took about 20 minutes. He was totally out cold and did not even stir one bit when he accidentally hit his head on the car as Mino got him in. In his defense, it was just a very light bump, hardly any feeling.

Taehyun's new place was a small estate that was a 10 minutes walk away from his music school. Mino was silently glad when he saw that a security was situated at the entrance that allowed only residents and authorized visitors. There was a little garden for the community and a recreational area where people could host small parties. All in all, it looked like a simple and harmonious estate.

Once parked, Mino carried Taehyun out on his back and took his bag along on his right hand with difficulty. The hard part was not piggybacking Taehyun up, it was having to rummage through his bag which was dangling off his arm for the keys while balancing him on his back.

Mino clicked on the light switch of the apartment and was met with a soft warm glow. He took a look around and adjusted Taehyun on his back. Taehyun's place was indeed Taehyun's. There were two large bookcases on the right that housed all his favourite reads, a small couch for two was placed in the middle with a coffee table and a television. It was not a big place, but it felt cozy. The windows had soft yellow curtains that framed it, pictures of various sizes adorned the empty spaces in the living room. They were of different people and his heart did a little flip when he saw that Taehyun had one with Euna and him on the mantel.

A soft murmur from Taehyun brought him back to his senses so he went towards the passageway that branched off the living room and led to his room.

Taehyun's room was decorated in simple and comfortable colors comprising of beige and light brown. There was a dressing table and the wardrobe on one side. His double bed took up most of the remaining space, a small chaise lounge was placed by the windows, on it were several books he was currently reading.

Gently, Mino put him down on the bed and pulled the covers up. He was preparing to get up and leave the room when he heard him.

"Y-you, you look like," Taehyun coughed a bit, "Mino hyung. No no, he is Minho now."

"I do?" Mino replied him gently and used the warm towel that he prepared earlier to wipe his face.

"Yeah, you really do." He mumbled softly, "but he is not mine now. My Mino is not mine anymore."

"Why?" he continued to answer him.

"We di-hic-vorced." He hiccuped again and started to tear, startling Mino. He immediately held out his hand to clean his tears. "He doesn't lo-love me -hic- anymore."

"How can he not love you?" Mino asked softly, holding Taehyun up as he continued to sob lightly. To his surprise, his little sobs turned into louder cries the moment he sat him up.

"I hat-e him! -hic- nappeun namja!" He continued through his cries, oblivious to the fact that the subject that he was talking about was holding him. "How cou-ld he have agre-ed to the divorce? Pabo hi-m! And he said -hic- he said nono, he did not -hic- give me a chance t-to explain the party incident!"

At this point, Taehyun started to hit Mino, "maybe he thought you didn't love him anymore." He held onto his hands to prevent them from coming down at him. "Or you were miserable married to him."

"I-if he -hic- had loved me so much, he wou-ld not have agreed..." Taehyun started to cry on his chest, grateful for a form of support. " If he had lo-ved me sooo much he would have -hic- listened to my ex-planation"

"Yo-you know, -hic- I still -hic- love him, eve-even though it hur-ts. He-e must have hated me f-for pretending to n-ot know him..."

Mino held him closer, he has not been in such close proximity with Taehyun since the divorce, and now, knowing that they both still loved each other, he wanted to hit himself. For stupidly agreeing and thinking that it was for the best. If he could, he would make time go back and rejected Taehyun’s idea the moment he brought it up, he would make things work, rather than not speaking and thinking there was no way out.

Mino did not think his words hurt him so much, so much so that Taehyun had to drink to make himself cry without restrictions. Mino felt miserable at the sight of him crying. Even at his most vulnerable, it was still him that Taehyun thought about. Mino smoothed his hair and wiped his tears. Then after an intense internal battle, Mino placed a soft yet lingering kiss on his forehead, indulging himself in the familiarity that was Taehyun.

Taehyun stopped crying, leaning himself further into the embrace of the person holding him. After a few quiet minutes, the sobs that subsided turned louder once more, his hands started to hit Mino again, although lighter this time. "Nappeun -hic- namja Song Min-hic-ho. Nappeun saram!" And with repeated mumblings of that sentence, he fell asleep in Mino arms that were circled around him.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Owwwww! Lighter hyung! It really hurts.” Taehyun hissed.

“Hurts? Serve you right!” Mino asked with a lift of his eyebrows.

“Lighter please!”

“Fine. See if you still go running without warming up first.” Mino agreed and finally slowed his pace, earning a satisfied sigh from the younger guy.

“I did not expect to twist my ankle.” Taehyun whined a little bit. He really did not mean to tell him.

"That is what happens when you do not include me." He took the small bag of ice that he had set aside and put it on the strained area. "Does it still hurt?"

"Yes!" He nods fervently, the ice was numbing the pain Taehyun felt but it still hurt like crazy.

"Bear with it for a while, it helps to make the pain go away. Let me look at your lips," Mino said in commanding tone as Taehyun showed him his lips. By some weird series of unfortunate events, he managed to also cut his lip when he fell and he did not know how it even happened.

Mino looked at the way he bit his lips lightly and then the whole of him. They were in the living room of his place. Taehyun's leg was propped up of the coffee table as he leaned on the sofa. "Here, Hyung will rub it for you."

Taehyun looked at the boy who was attending to him attentively, he was holding onto an ice cube and rubbing the cut on his lips. His Mino hyung had nice long lashes and big eyes, just like his. His brows were furrowed as he dab the ice cube over the affected area repeatedly. He could not stop himself and reached out his hands to smooth the crease between his forehead.

“I am sorry for making you worry. I will not do it again. Promise!”

"Look at me," Mino used his index finger to lift his chin up. "Do not run around, literally, without me by your side again, got it?"

Taehyun nodded his head vigorously with a look of remorse

Mino chuckled, this guy, how is he so cute even when he was injured? He shook his head lightly and looked back at him, who was looking a little confused now.

"Hyung, why are you smiling?"

"Because," without warning, he moved in to give Taehyun a quick peck on his lips. "You're too cute."

"Ow!" Taehyun gasped at the sudden pressure on his lips. "That hurt!"

"What?" Mino pretended like its nothing while his eyes shot daggers at him. Mino laughed as he pulled Taehyun towards him lightly. "Come, I'll bring you up to lie down a bit."

Carefully, Mino pulled his arms around his neck and hoisted Taehyun up on his back without touching anywhere that was hurting.

"Hyung," Taehyun mumbled against his neck as he took smaller and slower steps than usual to his room upstairs. "Thank you."

"Glad you know." Mino purposely loosened his hold on him a little so that Taehyun will hold on to him tighter. And he did.

"Song Minho," Taehyun hissed again as he tightened his arms around him. "If I fall again, we are going down together, you hear me!?"

“Yes sir!” Mino stopped suddenly and called out halfway up the stairs making Taehyun laughed softly.

“Dumb Mino!”

“Clumsy Taehyun!”

It continued all the way up.

~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyun admits that even if he was not a morning person, he is a disciplined person. He would condition himself to wake up at 7.15am. When the clock strikes 7.15am, he will wake up. If there was nothing for the day, he will go back to sleep. If there is something, then he will go prepare himself.

Taehyun wakes up at 7.15am, no matter what time he slept or what he did the previous night. Yes, even when he was drunk and dead to the world.

~~~~~~~~~~

The morning sun gave out a soft warm glow to the room. Outside, it has not fully risen and a tinge of orange still dyed the skies.  Inside, the two figures on the bed slept on peacefully. Until the very disciplined guy fluttered his eyes open slowly when the clock ticked 7.15am.

Taehyun blinked once, then twice, followed by a thrice. The majority of his brain was still fuzzy and only registered the word sleep, but the little headache that was growing was making it hard for him to do so. He tried to turn, and the moment he did it gave him a reason to be immediately jolted awake.

Taehyun’s eyes grew larger when he realized the pair of arms around his waist. By the sense of familiarity more than anything else, he knew it was him, there was no doubt about it. Taehyun's drowsy state of mind went into operational mode within three seconds.

What happened last night? What did he do? Why could he not remember much? How did he get home? Where were his friends? Last but not least, how did he end up in bed with Song Minho?

He was thinking of a way to squirm out of his embrace when wait hold it, Taehyun took a deep breath. Who changed him? He was in his usual sleepwear that consists of a cotton tank top and shorts. Wait again. Is that Song Minho in his undershirt and boxers!?

His thought process was abruptly interrupted when Mino pulled him in closer and snuggled. His head was at Taehyun’s neck, the slow but steady tempo of his breath hitting his collarbone repeatedly.

Taehyun closed his eyes, for a moment, he suddenly felt like they were back to the loving couple that they once were. It was as though the divorce was just a horrible nightmare. He realized how much he missed his presence and overwhelmed with so much emotions, he started to tear at the fact that he might never wake up to mornings beside Mino again.

He will give himself one more minute, if only to remember how it feels like to be held by him.

"Are you crying?" Mino's soft, coarse voice whispered into his ears.

Mino was up the first time Taehyun tried to turn. Not wanting to ruin the moment, Mino hugged him closer under the pretence of sleep. He thought it worked well, until he heard little sniffs from Taehyun.

He shook his head lightly but his hands quickly went up to wipe away the tears that dropped unknowingly. Mino sighed and held on to his hands, slowly, he turned Taehyun over so that he now faced him or his chest, to be more specific. Taehyun kept his eyes closed, he did not think he had the courage to look at Mino now. Mino knew what he was thinking so instead of forcing Taehyun to face him, he held him closer.

Taehyun buried his face into his chest and started to cry. This moment, Taehyun forgot about how they were on a cold war, how they were not together anymore and how they had lost what they had. The single action of him holding him brought back vague memories of how he sobbed out his confession last night.

This was the first time he cried so hard after the divorce. Taehyun had used so much effort to make himself look okay in front of the people around him that he did not give himself a chance to grief over the situation. It struck him right there that Song Minho was the only person he allowed to see him breakdown like that. He cried in front of his best friends but never once like that.

Mino held on to him, smoothing Taehyun’s hair repeatedly and muttering soothing words. "Shush Taehyun-ah, I am here."

Mino moved him a bit and saw his tear stained face, his eyes were all red and puffy and his cheeks were wet. It took him a second of thought before he bent down lightly to kiss Taehyun’s eyes, kissing all his tears away drop by drop, slowly. His mouth continued to whisper soft comforting words, punctuating his equally soft kisses.

Mino kissed his way down his face slowly, from his eyes to take away his tears to his forehead, back down to his nose then his jaw line and slowly inching towards Taehyun’s lips. Mino placed a light kiss on the side of his mouth and went back to his jaw, then back to the corner of his lips. Taehyun stopped crying, he did not know when or how he stopped but this moment Taehyun just wanted to receive his affection and kisses.

With that thought in mind, he felt how Mino slowly kissed his tears away before moving up to his forehead and down to his nose. The little kisses Mino placed on his jaw line was hypnotizing and when he inched towards Taehyun’s lips and placed his on the corner of Taehyun’s, he gave a little sigh.

That little noise was a trigger, it was as though the line that kept them in place broke. Mino moved from the corner of Taehyun’s lips to his lips proper. In a second, it became a battle of the human lips. Maybe it was because after so long or maybe because they just needed to vent out how they feel, but everything was fast and urgent. They were a messy tangle of limbs. Taehyun’s legs were around his waist and Mino’s hands under Taehyun’s top. It was bound to end up with one result, until an untimely ring of the phone.

Mino reached out his hand and made the phone go on vibration mode. He put his attention back to the guy who was underneath him. Taehyun's hair fanned out on the pillows, his eyes were still red but not as puffy anymore. His lips were tinged pink and slightly swollen, the way he liked it. Mino made an action to kiss him again, eager to continue where they had left off, only to have Taehyun move his head away. Mino attempted again and was met with the same reaction.

"What's wrong?" He asked Taehyun gently, pushing a lock of his hair behind his ears.

Taehyun just looked away and did not speak a word.

"Look at me?" Mino asked.

Taehyun still did not budge.

Mino sighed and then using his fingers, he tipped his chin and made Taehyun look at him.

Taehyun stared into his eyes before looking away again with his eyes closed.

"Tell me," Mino put his head beside his, "What's wrong?"

There was a few seconds of silence until Taehyun spoke up. "This. We should not be doing this. We are not together anymore."

Mino turned him and made Taehyun face him.

"Do you feel that this is wrong?" He asked and kissed his cheek. His smile widened when Taehyun shook his head.

"Then why not?"

"Because it will only complicate things further!" Taehyun stated, looking at him now and realized how compromising their positions were. "We are divorced."

"We still love each other." Mino retorted. What was there to hide?

"Love is not everything. What if everything becomes a vicious cycle? What if scenarios like that keeps recurring in the future?" Taehyun paused and looked at him, "We cannot just go back to everything from nothing, Mino. We need to build it up from where it toppled."

Mino sighed again, "Why are you so methodical Taehyun-ah? Fine, let’s give each other time. We will build this from where we left it again. We will make it work this time." Mino said with a determined look.

"And you can call me Mino, or hyung, but never Minho, got it?" He paused before continuing, "unless the context is 'Minho-ah' when we are in bed."

Mino gave Taehyun another squeeze and got up. Looking straight into Taehyun eyes, he confessed, "I love you, I loved you before and I still love you now, got it? From now on I'm going to do everything i can to make things right again. I was wrong before but I am going to work hard for you because you deserve it."

Mino kneeled down beside him by the bed and gave Taehyun a peck on the lips before telling him that he was running late for work and had to leave.

"I love you, always." Mino muttered on his lips before leaving the room.

Taehyun could only nod.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hihi the next chapter update! no silent readers please... Happy saturday!!