Jinki was right about the reporters being everywhere. Each day, when Jonghyun dropped Taemin off at school, there was already a horde of newscasters waiting for him. Jinki had hired a few guards to walk Taemin into the school without being disturbed by the journalists, creating a sort of human barricade to prevent them from giving him another panic attack. Many of their vans would try and follow him to and from Jinki’s house, so the guards had to surround Taemin’s limousine with their own cars every time he was out on the road.

Not that inside the school was any better. Half of the students, who had never cared about him before, were suddenly up to him, hoping to get money or publicity or whatever the they wanted. The other students despised him for no good reason, pushing him around in the hallway or knocking his books from his hands. He usually just brushed them off, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t get on his nerves.

Living at Jinki’s mansion turned out to be way better than expected. In Taemin’s free time he would explore the inside of the house or the gardens, and he more or less knew where to find each room now. He had a room dedicated to his video games that Jinki’s workers had put together, complete with a movie theater sized television screen. His private bathroom had an acrylic tub with water jets, and each evening he ate supper prepared by professional chefs with his mother and uncle. Taemin now understood why Minho was so excited for him to be rich.

At the moment, his royalty lessons were essentially none at all. Jinki went over some simple table manners at dinner, and Jonghyun would go over the basics of public speaking for a half hour after school each day. He’d had Taemin standing at a podium in a sea-foam sitting room for the past four days, so when Jonghyun led him to a round room with marble floors, Taemin was somewhat relieved for the change.

Jonghyun fiddled with a speaker in the rightmost corner of the room as Taemin sat cross legged on a red, velvety chair, filling the room with an uncomfortable silence. They had hardly spoken after Taemin embarrassed himself to high hell a few days previous, besides casual pleasantries and official business. Taemin couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, because they had just started getting close…

Slow, rhythmic music filled the room and Jonghyun turned to face Taemin. “So,” he began, “public speaking is getting kind of dull, so I thought we’d take a break and do something fun today.” He grabbed Taemin’s hand and gently led him towards the center of the room. “Once you move to Aellyn, you’ll take part in quite a few parties. And, of course, one of the most important things you’ll do at a party is dance.” He slipped his arm around Taemin’s waist, which was a little awkward due to their height difference. They gradually began swaying to the music. “Ideally, you’ll be the one leading, but for the purpose of today’s lesson, I’ll take the lead for now.”

“Um, hyung…”

“Now, you may want to watch your feet movement for now, but in the future…”

“Hyung?”

“…you’re going to have to look at the person you are dancing with and-” Jonghyun was cut off by suddenly being twirled around and dipped towards the floor.

“I already know how to dance.”

Jonghyun stared back up at him with wide eyes, shocked by the sudden change in power. Taemin pulled him back upwards, gracefully taking the lead and gliding with Jonghyun across the floor. The instructor looked off to the side, somewhat embarrassed and blushing lightly. They both became increasingly aware of Taemin’s arm around his waist, of their fingers interlacing with each other’s, their bodies pressed together…

And then Taemin’s alarm clock went off. He took a moment to remember where he was before reaching over and turning it off. He stretched, groaning as his limbs popped, wondering why he even had a dream about dancing with Jonghyun because that’s weird as … whatever. Time for french toast.

“Please, uncle Jinki? It’ll just be this one lesson, I swear.”

Taemin was pleading at the dinner table with puppy dog eyes to go to his school’s senior party. It was the one school event he was actually looking forward to, even though he completely forgot about it until two days prior.

“It’s not the lesson I’m concerned about, it’s the other students…” Jinki replied, voice laced with concern. “I suppose I could send a few bodyguards with you…”

“Uncle Jinki, please don’t. I just want to go to a regular old party.” He knew that his classmates would bother him the entire time, but he wanted to feel like a normal teenager for one night. That, and the bodyguards would baby him the whole time. Adults .

Jinki pursed his lips in thought. “What if Kibum accompanied you?”

Taemin scoffed. “Uh, no offense, but what good would he be?”

“Lee Taemin, watch your mouth.” His mother scolded from across the table. He rolled his eyes.

“Well, I’d imagine he’s young enough for you not to feel awkward, and I trust him enough to keep you safe.” Jinki smiled. “Plus, he’s fun when he’s drunk.”

Taemin whined. “Isn’t there anyone else who could come with?”

“Sorry Tae, it’s either Kibum or five bodyguards.” He gave his nephew a sympathetic smile. “He’s really not that bad once you get to know him.”

Taemin sighed in defeat. “Fine, as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Jinki nodded and called a waiter to his side, asking him to relay the news to Kibum. A few seconds after the waiter had left, the three of them heard a loud “PAAAARTAAAYYY” resounding from the hall. Taemin groaned and slumped in his chair, questioning his life choices.

Like the loyal chauffeur he is, Jonghyun drove the two friends (+ an overenthusiastic Kibum) to the beach for the celebration. It was about a half hour from Jinki’s place, and Kibum insisted on playing his music through the speakers at an ear-splitting level the entire drive there.

“ARE YOU READY TO ING PARTY?!” Kibum shouted from the passenger side.

“No.” Taemin mumbled, crossing his arms.

“I COULDN’T HEAR YOU SO I’M TAKING THAT AS A YES!”

“OH MY ING GOD, THIS ISN’T EVEN YOUR SCHOOL!”

Kibum just raised both his middle fingers up the air as a reply. At least Minho seemed to be enjoying himself, because he had been on his 2DS the entire trip. Every once in awhile he’d scream a curse out loud and make Taemin jump, before getting absorbed in his game once again. Jonghyun, on the other hand, was just as composed as always. Kibum turned his music down slightly and rubbed his cheek against Jonghyun’s shoulder.

“Hyuuung, why don’t you stay for the party? You know you waaant tooo~” He sing-songed. The plan was for Jonghyun to drop them off and pick them up when Kibum texted him, but Kibum wanted none of that. “It’s stupid to drive all the way to a party and then leave,” he insisted. “Stop acting like someone stuck a pole up your .”

“First of all, that sounds painful. Second of all, I’m simply acting as a chauffeur slash designated driver. I don’t really want to get in the way of these high schoolers and their ‘special night’.” Jonghyun replied.

“But what if Taemin needs extra protection, hm? What if the other kids harass him? Wouldn’t you want to stay for the show?”

“I CAN STILL HEAR YOU.” Kibum ignored Taemin in the back seat, instead staring at Jonghyun with puppy-dog eyes and pursed lips.

Jonghyun snorted at Kibum’s expression. “You look disgusting when you make that face.”

Kibum shot back, mouth hanging open in mock offense. “Is that any way to speak to your mother?!”

“You are such an idiot, Kibum-ssi.” Jonghyun chuckled. “Still not going.”

“I have ways of persuading you.” Kibum said, voice suddenly lower. A smirk spread across his face as he began plotting his methods of persuasion.

So apparently Kibum’s “persuasion” was getting Minho, Taemin, and himself to pull Jonghyun from his arms out of the car.

“RIP HIS SHOULDER BLADES OUT, BOYS!” He commanded as the three of them dragged Jonghyun onto the cement ground. Despite himself, Taemin found himself giggling as they all “tortured” Jonghyun. Kibum barking out orders like he was a squad sergeant instead of an idiot playing around with a bunch of other idiots was almost funny. Almost.

“Told you Kibum was fun.” Minho whispered to Taemin, all catching their breath after that relentless workout. Jonghyun brushed the dirt off his backside as he stood up.

“Come on hyung. Party central. They got alcohol. Swimming. Awkward teenagers struggling with hormones. Come on.” Kibum bounced in place as he waited for Jonghyun’s reply.

“You hurt my .”

“You can’t hurt what doesn’t exist. Come on.” Kibum beckoned with his hand.

Jonghyun chewed the inside of his mouth. “I’ll stay for five minutes.”

Kibum squealed like a schoolgirl. “Last one there is Taemin’s left sock!”

They all ran after Kibum, sand sinking in between their toes as they made it to the beach, when all four stopped to take in their surroundings. There were ten folding tables, each showcasing all sorts of snacks. To the left was a sort of playground, with tennis nets, soccer goals, and basketball hoops. But the main attraction was the large, wooden stage, complete with speakers and a band set. Currently, there were five blonde girls on stage singing with a large banner hanging behind them that read “Karaoke Contest!”

“Sooyoung really outdid herself, huh?” Minho said, nudging Taemin with his elbow. Taemin nodded, unconsciously swaying to the music.

“So are you just gonna stand there like a bunch of flaccid are you gonna party?” Kibum interrupted, swinging both arms around Taemin and Minho’s shoulders and leading them towards the crowd of people. Immediately, a few kids turned to see who it was and scowled.

“Aw look, it’s the who thinks he’s better than everyone else.” One kid murmured. A few others around him snickered behind their hands.

A body pushed right past Taemin, forcing him aside. He was about to yell at them, before realizing it was Kibum walking towards the group of students.

“Hi, do you know Taemin?” Kibum said sweetly, addressing the boy who called the young prince out.

“Huh? Yeah. I mean, of course I do.” The kid replied, eyes darting around in confusion.

“I’m Kibum. Nice to meet you.” He took his hand out and waited for the student to do the same, before wrenching the kid’s hand behind his back. He whispered lowly into the boy’s ear;

“I’m also in charge of taking care of him,” Kibum pointedly looked at Taemin, “for the night. Which means if you try and pull any , you’ll have to answer to me. Got that?” The kid gulped and furiously nodded his head, trembling slightly from the pain Kibum was inflicting on him.

Kibum released him and gave the other students a sickly smile. “Anyone else got anything to say about Taemin?” They all just stared back at him with wide eyes. He smirked. “I didn’t think so.”

“But hyuuung, I wanna go swimming~” Kibum whined at Jonghyun again, the Kibum who had threatened the other students was long gone and the needy diva Kibum was back in full force.

“My five minutes are already up. Besides, I don’t even have a swimsuit.” Jonghyun replied, struggling against the hand dragging him towards the shore. Taemin and Minho were following close behind, already changed into their t-shirts and trunks.

“Do I need to get Minho and Taemin to throw you into the water? You know I will.” Kibum said, still struggling to pull Jonghyun into the ocean.

“Right, cause we just automatically do whatever you ask.” Taemin snorted.

“Yeah, don’t bring the kids into your problems, Kibum-ssi.” Jonghyun said. Kibum gave one last pull, before letting go and frowning at Jonghyun.

“Fine,” Kibum sighed, “if you really want to go…”

“I really do.”

Kibum stretched his arms out. “Give me a hug first?” He asked, gross puppy-dog eyes full blown. Jonghyun rolled his eyes before wrapping his friend up in his arms. Before he even knew what was happening, Jonghyun’s checkered button-down was being forcibly pulled over his head.

“WHAT THE HELL, KIBUM?!” Jonghyun shouted at Kibum, who was knee deep in the water and waving Jonghyun’s shirt like a flag.

“If you want it, you gotta come get it!” Kibum taunted.

“Come on, I still have to go back to the estate!” Jonghyun whined, self-consciously covering his chest with his hands. Kibum just danced around in reply.

“Um, hyung? Would you like me to go get it for you?” Minho asked, pointing over his shoulder.

Jonghyun sighed. “You can try.” Minho splashed into the water, approaching Kibum. It didn’t take long for Minho to reach him and start tugging the shirt from his hands. However, Kibum’s stubborn and won’t give up that easily, and eventually turned it into a childish tug-of-war. One particularly strong pull from Minho’s end sent Kibum falling forward, screaming, but as Minho started to head back to shore, the elder grabbed him from behind and sent him tumbling into the water. Jonghyun stood there dumbfounded at their little water fight, his shirt forgotten as the waves began carrying it away. He didn’t even notice Taemin taking his own shirt off until it was nudging against his shoulder.

“Here, hyung, just borrow mine. I was gonna go swimming anyway.” Taemin said, refusing to meet Jonghyun’s eyes.

“Thank you, Taemin.” Jonghyun replied, graciously accepting Taemin’s shirt. It was a pretty tight fit, what with his huge arms and shaped pecs and beautiful abs, but it would have to do for now.

Once Taemin was submerged in the water he immediately sunk his head down, desperately trying to cool his burning face.

Jonghyun never got a chance to leave the party. Kibum kept coming up with different ways to make him stay, be it stealing his car keys or dragging him into a game. Minho whipped their asses almost every time, but it was still fun to play along. Although he would never admit it, he was actually glad Kibum forced him to stay.

That is, until the DJ started picking out random audience members to come sing on stage. Apparently there weren’t enough willing participants, so she took it upon herself to search the crowd using the spotlight, and whoever it landed on had to sing a song.

And, of course, the light landed on Jonghyun.

He tried to decline, but the students around him began pushing him forwards until he was already at the steps to the stage. It didn’t help that Kibum did nothing to stop them, instead just drunkenly yelling out “THAT’S MY FRIEND!! I KNOW HIM!!”

The petite girl stood next to him, her hair sticking out like a palm tree. “You know, someday you might thank me for this.” She said, turning back towards her equipment. Jonghyun could barely make out her mumbling “Or not,” as she fiddled with the buttons.

Jonghyun stood in front of the center microphone, eyeing the projector in front of him. His heart ever-so slightly rose out of the bottom of his stomach when he realized the song playing was actually one he knew. He took a deep breath and began quietly,

Oh it feels like I’ve gone blind, oh my

It’s obvious I’ll be ruined by your beautiful trap

Don’t you know? Don’t you know?

Your laugh is dangerous

Don’t you know? Don’t you know?

The crowd settled down a bit, began listening to the angelic voice pouring from the speakers. He smiled shyly, and sang a bit louder,

“I told you so”

They tell me not to get close to you,

even your attractive eyes

“See, she targeted him again”

They say I’ll get hurt if I give her all my heart

The funny thing is, the pathetic thing is

Even when you’re being cunning

You’re so attractive, it’s so fatal

By then, everyone was entranced by Jonghyun’s performance. Some people just stared on in awe, others chose to clap along. Each verse that went by, he got more and more passionate, until he was basically making out with the microphone. Each note was executed with such perfect pitch and emotion, it almost felt like the song belonged to him. Minho and Kibum were whooping and hollering during Jonghyun’s performance, the singer occasionally throwing them a shy smile in reply. Taemin, on the other hand, just silently stood there, eyes fixated on on the way Jonghyun furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, how his pelvis would sometimes roll towards the stand, how…wait, did he just wink? , that’s kinda hot. Taemin thought, before furiously trying to rid that idea from his mind. The alcohol must be doing weird to my brain…better drink some more…

sorry this took so long, college is kicking my ....updates will probably be slow from here on out :(