trust me
title: trust me
pairings: 2min
rating: g
wordcount: 1000
summary: On a spur-of-the-moment trip to the mountains, a harmless hike takes a strange turn for Taemin. (AU)
a/n: what even. written for challenge 017 at shawol_haven .
It had been Minho's idea - persistent Minho, persuasive Minho. Six years had passed since the five of them had last gone up to stay at Minho's father's cabin in the mountains; didn't they miss it? Didn't they want to go back? Didn't they want to get together one last time before Jonghyun got swamped with album promotions again? Because once Jonghyun began promotions, they wouldn't see him for months. He'd been lucky to get six weeks off in the middle of the summer; this was the last time they'd all be able to get together for a long while.
Jonghyun had been onboard with the plan at once, with Kibum quick to follow. Jinki had consented with the stipulation that they stay only four days, because he couldn't very well drop everything and leave his job for longer than that. Taemin had agreed last, and only after Minho promised not to push him into the lake again.
And so, after a whirlwind of hastily made plans and last minute detours and mind-numbing word games and petty arguments, they arrived at the cabin. Unpacking their things was a slow, drawn-out affair, due to frequent bursts of overwhelming nostalgia ("Hyung! It's the sketch journal you kept from the second time we came here! Look, look, let's look through it!") and Kibum's constant, shouted instructions on what improvements they needed to make to their living accommodations ("Yah! Youngest, scrub the floors. Jonghyun, take care of the cobwebs and dust. Jinki, the bathrooms. I'll tackle the kitchen."). They ended up staying inside the entire first day, and spending the first night playing video games, singing loudly to Jonghyun's karaoke machine, and commiserating about their jobs, their girlfriends, their lives.
The hike the next morning was Minho's idea - tall Minho, athletic Minho. They had nothing better to do and it was a gorgeous day - why not hit the trails?
"But there've been bear sightings lately," he added. "Even some attacks. So be careful. We have to stick together. You hear that, Taemin-ah? No wandering off."
"Yeah, yeah," Taemin grumbled. He may have been the maknae, but he wasn't a baby. When would they get that through their heads?
So it was that Taemin set out on the hike with something to prove. He very quickly left the other four in the dust on his furious ascent, ignoring Minho's yells of "Taemin-ah! Wait up! Wait for us!" If a bear had chosen that day to attack Taemin, the creature would undoubtedly have come to regret that decision. But, as it was, Taemin made it to the top of the mountain unmolested.
"Guys!" he shouted back down the trail from the peak. "Check out this view!"
In response, he heard the crashing of foliage, a ferocious roar, and several panicked voices, including Minho's: "RUN!"
And so Taemin did just that. He ran, straight back down the trail and toward the mayhem. It sounded like a bear, but it couldn't be that, it couldn't possibly be a bear, because that would mean that his friends had been attacked, which could mean that his friends were injured, or even dead, and that was just impossible. They couldn't be dead. They weren't dead. Taemin would make sure of it.
That is, he planned to make sure of it, but before he made it to the other four, he lost his footing and went careening off the trail and down through the brush, falling head over heels, unable to call for help because his breath was being pounded out of him, until, for a brief moment there was nothing but air beneath him and he inhaled sharply. Then there was beneath him something very solid indeed (a branch? a tree? he couldn't tell) and his head was slammed against something hard and his vision went black, red, black. It was almost a relief to have fallen unconscious.
When he awoke he knew he had landed in a tree, for he found himself draped uncomfortably across one of its upper branches. He sat up, inspected himself; despite his rather long and painful tumble, his body seemed to be unharmed. He looked around; surrounding him was nothing but green leaf and brown limb. He had no idea where he was.
"Minho?" he called hopefully. "Jinki? Anyone?"
He received no response, save the soft, ambient rustling of the ever-moving forest. Sighing, Taemin supposed he had better get down and figure out how to get back to the cabin. He vaguely remembered being worried about his comrades earlier, but the exact reason eluded him. He frowned. Was he concussed and losing his memory?
But it didn't matter, because upon reaching the ground he saw the bridge. It extended before him, suspended by thick, brown ropes, closing the gap between two paths with a kind of perfect, symmetrical finality. At once Taemin felt compelled to cross it; he stepped slowly onto the thin wooden planks, worn and weathered by countless other travelers.
"Taemin!"
At the sound of that voice, Taemin was running, sprinting, flying across the bridge, all inhibitions forgotten. He knew he wasn't lost: Minho was here.
"Minho!" he yelled gleefully, the word echoing loudly in the space around him. He must have been quite high off the ground, but it didn't matter: Minho was here.
Taemin pushed past the gate at the end of the bridge and found a grinning Minho waiting for him.
"You made it!" He wrapped Taemin in a strong hug.
"Where are we?" Taemin asked, turning to look back at the bridge. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of brown fur on the other side, but it vanished as Minho spoke.
"We're on the mountain, of course."
"Where are the others?" Again, Taemin remembered worrying about the others; again, he could not remember why.
"They'll come soon enough," Minho assured him.
Taemin smiled, his eyes full of trust as he turned his back on the bridge and followed Minho into the cool, dark shade.
a/n: some clarifications, because i feel they are necessary....
Taemin fell off a mountain and died.
Minho was mauled by a bear and died.
The other three lived.
oh, and in this universe Minho's family is filthy rich and he's a soccer player, Jonghyun's a singer, Jinki is an accountant, Kibum and Taemin are still in school.
other than that, you can make of it what you will lol.
pairings: 2min
rating: g
wordcount: 1000
summary: On a spur-of-the-moment trip to the mountains, a harmless hike takes a strange turn for Taemin. (AU)
a/n: what even. written for challenge 017 at shawol_haven .
It had been Minho's idea - persistent Minho, persuasive Minho. Six years had passed since the five of them had last gone up to stay at Minho's father's cabin in the mountains; didn't they miss it? Didn't they want to go back? Didn't they want to get together one last time before Jonghyun got swamped with album promotions again? Because once Jonghyun began promotions, they wouldn't see him for months. He'd been lucky to get six weeks off in the middle of the summer; this was the last time they'd all be able to get together for a long while.
Jonghyun had been onboard with the plan at once, with Kibum quick to follow. Jinki had consented with the stipulation that they stay only four days, because he couldn't very well drop everything and leave his job for longer than that. Taemin had agreed last, and only after Minho promised not to push him into the lake again.
And so, after a whirlwind of hastily made plans and last minute detours and mind-numbing word games and petty arguments, they arrived at the cabin. Unpacking their things was a slow, drawn-out affair, due to frequent bursts of overwhelming nostalgia ("Hyung! It's the sketch journal you kept from the second time we came here! Look, look, let's look through it!") and Kibum's constant, shouted instructions on what improvements they needed to make to their living accommodations ("Yah! Youngest, scrub the floors. Jonghyun, take care of the cobwebs and dust. Jinki, the bathrooms. I'll tackle the kitchen."). They ended up staying inside the entire first day, and spending the first night playing video games, singing loudly to Jonghyun's karaoke machine, and commiserating about their jobs, their girlfriends, their lives.
The hike the next morning was Minho's idea - tall Minho, athletic Minho. They had nothing better to do and it was a gorgeous day - why not hit the trails?
"But there've been bear sightings lately," he added. "Even some attacks. So be careful. We have to stick together. You hear that, Taemin-ah? No wandering off."
"Yeah, yeah," Taemin grumbled. He may have been the maknae, but he wasn't a baby. When would they get that through their heads?
So it was that Taemin set out on the hike with something to prove. He very quickly left the other four in the dust on his furious ascent, ignoring Minho's yells of "Taemin-ah! Wait up! Wait for us!" If a bear had chosen that day to attack Taemin, the creature would undoubtedly have come to regret that decision. But, as it was, Taemin made it to the top of the mountain unmolested.
"Guys!" he shouted back down the trail from the peak. "Check out this view!"
In response, he heard the crashing of foliage, a ferocious roar, and several panicked voices, including Minho's: "RUN!"
And so Taemin did just that. He ran, straight back down the trail and toward the mayhem. It sounded like a bear, but it couldn't be that, it couldn't possibly be a bear, because that would mean that his friends had been attacked, which could mean that his friends were injured, or even dead, and that was just impossible. They couldn't be dead. They weren't dead. Taemin would make sure of it.
That is, he planned to make sure of it, but before he made it to the other four, he lost his footing and went careening off the trail and down through the brush, falling head over heels, unable to call for help because his breath was being pounded out of him, until, for a brief moment there was nothing but air beneath him and he inhaled sharply. Then there was beneath him something very solid indeed (a branch? a tree? he couldn't tell) and his head was slammed against something hard and his vision went black, red, black. It was almost a relief to have fallen unconscious.
When he awoke he knew he had landed in a tree, for he found himself draped uncomfortably across one of its upper branches. He sat up, inspected himself; despite his rather long and painful tumble, his body seemed to be unharmed. He looked around; surrounding him was nothing but green leaf and brown limb. He had no idea where he was.
"Minho?" he called hopefully. "Jinki? Anyone?"
He received no response, save the soft, ambient rustling of the ever-moving forest. Sighing, Taemin supposed he had better get down and figure out how to get back to the cabin. He vaguely remembered being worried about his comrades earlier, but the exact reason eluded him. He frowned. Was he concussed and losing his memory?
But it didn't matter, because upon reaching the ground he saw the bridge. It extended before him, suspended by thick, brown ropes, closing the gap between two paths with a kind of perfect, symmetrical finality. At once Taemin felt compelled to cross it; he stepped slowly onto the thin wooden planks, worn and weathered by countless other travelers.
"Taemin!"
At the sound of that voice, Taemin was running, sprinting, flying across the bridge, all inhibitions forgotten. He knew he wasn't lost: Minho was here.
"Minho!" he yelled gleefully, the word echoing loudly in the space around him. He must have been quite high off the ground, but it didn't matter: Minho was here.
Taemin pushed past the gate at the end of the bridge and found a grinning Minho waiting for him.
"You made it!" He wrapped Taemin in a strong hug.
"Where are we?" Taemin asked, turning to look back at the bridge. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of brown fur on the other side, but it vanished as Minho spoke.
"We're on the mountain, of course."
"Where are the others?" Again, Taemin remembered worrying about the others; again, he could not remember why.
"They'll come soon enough," Minho assured him.
Taemin smiled, his eyes full of trust as he turned his back on the bridge and followed Minho into the cool, dark shade.
a/n: some clarifications, because i feel they are necessary....
Taemin fell off a mountain and died.
Minho was mauled by a bear and died.
The other three lived.
oh, and in this universe Minho's family is filthy rich and he's a soccer player, Jonghyun's a singer, Jinki is an accountant, Kibum and Taemin are still in school.
other than that, you can make of it what you will lol.