Taemin sat on the dining table in Juhyeon’s kitchen as she cooked some steak for lunch. He was watching how she did it like a pro; like a mom. For someone so young, she was so good at what she was doing, that even though Taemin wanted to lend a hand, it seems like she doesn’t need it. Besides, she already knows her way around the house and Taemin’s horrible cooking skills may mess up her flow. Nostalgia slaps Taemin as he sat there watching her cook. He felt like he was at his old home in Dongbong-gu, waiting for his mom to serve him his favorite meal after a long day at school. He enjoyed this setting more than the continental breakfast he has with SHINee during their international schedules. Juhyeon then shut down the stove, and put one steak each on two plates. She took the plates to the table and handed Taemin his serving.
“Jeongmal kamsahamnida” thanked Taemin.
“Neh~ i hope you like it” replied Juhyeon as she started to slice her steak.
“This is actually my favorite” said Taemin.
“Jinjja?”
“Neh”
“Oh…that’s great then”

…

…
…

“Bae Juhyeon-ssi?..”
“Mmm?..”
“Do you live here alone?” asked Taemin curiously after swallowing a piece of savory steak. He was bothered by how deafeningly quiet Juhyeon’s house was.
“Ah? Neh..” replied Juhyeon.
“And you’re not bothered by letting in a stranger and making him stay alone with you?”
“I can’t just leave a person in need. I wasn’t raised like that”
“Yeah, but didn’t you think ‘Oh maybe I shouldn’t let him stay because he might be a crook or something’. Didn’t you feel it was dangerous?” asked Taemin. He wasn’t asking this because he was ungrateful that Juhyeon let him stay. He asked because it was unusual for a girl like her to bravely let a man she never knew to stay alone with her.
“A crook couldn’t afford such beautiful hair” replied Juhyeon.

….

…..

“Plus, you looked like you didn’t know where to go” added Juhyeon.
“I actually don’t. I asked the ajhumma from the Chimek stand if there were inns around the area and headed there as soon as possible. I was stupid to not plan ahead, I nearly had no place to stay for the night. I overslept on the bus and lost my phone, which was supposed to help me get around”
“Aigoo, that must’ve ...”
“Gwenchana, it’s better this way actually”
“Mwo? How come?”
“Um…uh…life is simpler without the phone, I guess. And a nice house like this seems more comfortable than an inn”
“Well, if you need to use a phone to contact someone you could always borrow mine. I don’t use it much”
“Oh…kamsahamnida..” replied Taemin.
“I’ve never heard of a Seoul boy wanting to live such a simple life” said Juhyeon as she finished up the rest of her steak. It took Taemin a while to come up with an answer because he didn’t want to spill out how big his life was back in Seoul.
“I just wanted to get away from the busy city life and find a quiet neighborhood outside Seoul. To experience a more laid-back life I guess..” replied Taemin as he took another bite.
“I see… I love simplicity. I find joy in trivial things, that’s why I like to stay home” replied Juhyeon. These days it was pretty rare to find a girl who prefers such a peaceful life. Most of the young women Taemin met recently lavishly spend their money on a lot of clothes and makeup. They buy way more than what they need and loved to party; this irked Taemin. It intrigued him how this girl finds joy in such simplicity. Knowing these things about Juhyeon just makes Taemin more comfortable with her.
“Don’t you find it lonely living alone?” asked Taemin.
“I’m used to living alone”
“You don’t get bored?”
“I keep myself busy. I watch a lot of movies and dramas alone. If I need company, my friends are always around”
“Where are your parents?” asked Taemin. Upon hearing that question, Juhyeon flustered. She looked down and held her hands together. The way her long black hair covered her face showed so much sadness. Taemin felt bad for asking.
“.…my omma died when I was in middle school. When she died, appa needed more money to support my studies and me, so he worked in another country and sent money regularly. My aunt stayed here with me until I could actually take care of myself. Later on, news came that my dad died of a sickness he resisted for years without telling me. We found out from his coworker that he left it untreated as he thought it wasn’t so serious. But he did so in order to send me more money, so that I could go on with life without having to worry about him. He didn’t want to pain me more, as it was already deeply painful for me to lose omma. When he died, I didn’t know what to do. I was so heartbroken. I couldn’t believe I was an orphan. I wasn’t able to finish schooling to save more money. Fortunately, there was enough money in our savings left for me and that my aunt and her husband agreed to pay for my bills. They sometimes lend me money when I need a few won. They never complained about supporting me so I always made sure never to disappoint them. Their care and generosity were some of the things that helped me get through” Juhyeon’s beautiful eyes filled up as she told her story. She lightly patted on her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed a little; even the way she cries was peaceful.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Bae Juhyeon-ssi…” said Taemin, feeling heavy. He didn’t mean to make her cry. He felt painful for her; that such a kind soul had to go through such a lonely life.
“Gwenchanayo…starting then I learned to live a simple life alone. I learned to live independently and now I work in my aunt’s flower shop once a week. I’m not used to talking a lot with people but I have 4 younger friends that I’m most confident with. I’ve known them since I was very young. They helped me get by. They see me as their eonnie, and because of that I wanted to rely less on people to grow up to be the eonnie that these kids could rely on. And someday, I want to repay auntie for all her kindness. Because they helped me so much, I wanted to help others as much as I can” said Juhyeon as she forced a smile. Taemin wanted to comfort her but didn’t know how. He stared at her as she continued to wipe the remaining tears in her eyes. Somehow, Taemin wanted to support her like how her auntie does but in his own way. He thought that he was already greatly blessed; maybe it was now time for him to bless others. It’s been a long time since he last felt that much mourning. These past years, all he had been thinking of was just himself and how he will become better as himself. Hearing Juhyeon’s story made him see that he indeed was starting to become cold towards others because he had focused too much on himself. He realized that he grew insensitive. Then suddenly, Taemin remembered the realizations he had on the road to daegu.
“Bae Juhyeon-ssi…I had to go through a lot of pain too….I had to endure challenges in order for me to learn to stand up on my own feet…trials and different pains would teach us a lot and help us grow stronger if our heart is willing to fight. But lately, I realized that there was something more to pain than just that..” comforted Taemin, catching Juhyeon’s attention. She stared at him intently with her misty eyes and listened carefully to what he was saying.
“I learned that sometimes we have to go through ugly happenings in order for us to appreciate the beautiful ones..” continued Taemin. These words captured Juhyeon’s heart. As she focused on this thought more and more, the chills of sadness started to melt away. She came to realize the same thing. She thought of how much life was more beautiful when she learned to take care of herself; how she was easily contented with the simplest of things after losing a lot; how joyful she was to take care of her friends as their eonnie. Maybe she wouldn’t learn to appreciate even the littlest things in life if she didn’t go through hardships; maybe it would be harder for her to find happiness if her life was easy. Nobody has ever told her something as beautiful as what Taemin had told her (maybe because she doesn’t really talk to people a lot). These words showered her with so much strength. Hearing these from Taemin made her feel safer around him; and no man has ever made her feel safe except her father. She couldn’t help but to smile, wider and wider until her teeth showed.

 Seeing her smile this way, Taemin felt like he successfully took the first step in supporting her. After hearing her story, Taemin now didn’t want to repay her just because he felt like a burden but because he started to care for this girl genuinely. He started to realize why Juhyeon was kind enough to take him in; she didn’t want others to experience her pain and loneliness so she wanted to be stronger to be able to help people. If she hadn’t taken him in, he would’ve bled to death on the sidewalk. She saved his life and Taemin wanted to somehow save hers too, step by step.

“Lee Taemin-ssi…”

“Neh?...”

“Komawo…thank you….very much”
 

“Neh...himnae (be strong)” Taemin replied and gave her a wide grin.

“Do you believe this? TaeMan is finally smiling again? Is our Taeminnie back?” Taemin heard Jonghyun’s voice in his head. He started to realize that in the past 5 years, he hasn’t given anyone a smile as wide and as real as that.  Maybe now he had a real reason to smile again or was it just the fulfillment of being able to motivate a person who had to endure a lot? He wasn’t sure why. He had surprised himself yet again.

Juhyeon started to giggle at the sight of Taemin’s grin. He didn’t know why but there was something about her giggle that both tickled and stabbed his heart at the same time. It reminded him of a giggle he used to hear a lot back then but he can’t remember nor recall how he heard it before. Taemin tried to shake off this thought by continuing to talk to Juhyeon.
 

“Wae?” asked Taemin with a smile.
“You looked like doraemon” replied Juhyeon and giggled a bit more. She wondered to herself how she was so comfortable with Taemin right away. It normally took her long to warm up and engage in such conversations with someone she just met but not with him. She knew that if her friends find out about this, they themselves would be surprised. Even her friends found it hard to befriend her at first because she doesn’t smile at people right away. It felt weird, but Juhyeon liked it. She was never this close with a guy and thought that it was good that she was learning how to make a guy friend. This wasn’t normal for her; maybe because Taemin wasn’t normal. It also relieved her that Taemin was a nice companion. He doesn’t seem to be like the other guys around the area who didn’t have a nice outlook in life. She doesn’t know what more will happen but she liked what’s happening now.

“ungghh Chinguya!” Taemin tried to do a Doraemon impression but failed to make it convincing.
“Aniya aniya, it’s like this….Uuungghhh! Chinguya!~” corrected Juhyeon, perfectly imitating Doraemon.
“Omo!” Taemin’s jaw dropped after hearing Juhyeon’s accurate impression. Juhyeon covered her face as she silently burst into laughter.
“Aigooo…” muttered Irene in an ascending tone while her face was buried in her tiny hands.
“Juhyeon-ssi, how old are you really?” asked Taemin, eager to know her age because he really couldn’t tell how old she really was.
“W-w-wae?” asked Juhyeon stutteringly.
“Do I have to guess?” asked Taemin.
“I’m 24” responded Juhyeon quickly, saving Taemin from the inconvenience of guessing because he probably will guess she’s in her teens. Taemin was in utter shock. He couldn’t believe her age. Now he felt more embarrassed that he thought she was a kid earlier.
“J-jinnj-ja?? You’re not kidding?” asked Taemin, wanting reassurance.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” replied Juhyeon with a blank face.
“Heol…..I’m very sorry for thinking you were a kid…noona..” replied Taemin as he facepalmed to this realization.
“You’re younger?” Juhyeon was shocked as well. Sure Taemin looked young but she thought he was older than she was. She thought that even though she was older he can’t be THAT young.
“So how old are you?” asked Juhyeon.
“I’m 22” replied Taemin.
“Ah. Thought so, hehe..” said Irene.
“So he really wasn’t so young after all” Juhyeon thought to herself.
“Wae? How old did you think I am?” asked Taemin.
“I thought you were a bit older than I was, at least by a year or two” answered Juhyeon. Taemin liked what he heard. He felt manlier. He felt more confident.
“……wanna call me oppa?” Taemin said without thinking as his self-esteem rocketed through the roof. These are the times when Taemin becomes awkward in his expressions. Times when he gets too comfortable or confident that he ends up saying things he don't mean or things he want secretly. But this kind of thing hasn’t happen in a long while for Taemin as he was very busy with his work. He doesn’t know what he feels right now, Juhyeon makes him feel like he’s a kid again and he’s not so sure whether he likes that or not.
“W-what?...W-wae?...That’d be weird, I’m older” said Juhyeon.
“Um uh, nevermind that…..” said Taemin, covering his mouth with his fingers.
“Why did you say that?? Pressed your luck too much, pabo!” Taemin thought to himself.
…

…

...

“But okay…o-op-oppa-ya…”