SHINee Duets 2012: justangel & twenty3eleven (Part One)
Title: Opposites Attract
Authors: justangel & twenty3eleven
Pairing: Minho/Taemin
Rating: PG
Warnings: -
Authors’ Notes: Inspired by the book of the same name by Mary Hooper
“Taemin-ah… Taemin-ah…”
The high-pitch call from Sunny echoed inside the small house and Taemin could hear it loud and clear. Yet, he chose to ignore it and crawled deeper into the closet. He managed to close the door behind him, just in time when he heard footsteps inside the room. Sunny had come upstairs to search for him.
“Weird, I thought I saw that brat coming home from school…” Taemin heard his sister mumbled to herself.
Sunny left the room soon after, but Taemin did not dare to move or even carelessly breathe. The only daughter of the Lee household was known to have a devil’s ear, and Taemin could not imagine the wrath he had to deal with if Sunny found out that he was hiding.
“Dongho, where’s Taemin?” Sunny was shouting from the top of the stairs.
“I don’t know. Haven’t seen him.”
“Well then I guess you should go to the grocery store in his place. We run out of Gochujang and anchovy for the seafood noodle soup.”
Taemin almost chuckled when he heard his younger brother groaned loudly. “But Noona, I just came home! Can't you ask Jinki-hyung?”
“Jinki is busy right now. He’s studying with Kibum for the entrance exam.”
“Yeah right…” Taemin could almost picture Dongho’s eyes rolled in sarcasm. “Studying human biology, I’m sure.”
“Yah, this brat-do you want to have dinner or not?” Sunny raised her voice.
“Fine, fine! I swear I’ll kick Tae-hyung if he shows up later!”
Taemin sighed in relief as soon as he heard both of his siblings went downstairs, still bickering along the way. The house was finally getting quiet, but Taemin did not consider getting out of his hiding place. Instead, he pushed some boxes aside and crawled deeper until he reached a hidden compartment behind a jumble of unused things, with the space big enough to occupy his body.
The place had been Taemin’s secret hiding place since the first day his family moved into the house. Taemin had always been a quiet and a rather shy boy who preferred solitude to the crowd. It was unfortunate that the family he was born into was the exact opposite of his character. The relatively small house of the Lee family was constantly filled with laughter and bickers from the three children (besides Taemin), a cousin, and constant flow of visitors ranging from relatives, friends and acquaintances.
The discovery of the space inside the closet had been one of the few good moments Taemin considered to ever happen in his life. He always looked forward to spending his time crouching inside the space that could barely fit him after his growth spurt. It had become his safe haven, where he could find transient peace inside the cramped house, away from his siblings and cousin’s constant bullying. It was also a place where Taemin felt safe to let his mind wander away to the thoughts of Yunho.
Jung Yunho.
Even the name already gave Taemin a pleasant tingling along his back. The senior student had been the main occupant of Taemin’s daydreams and nighttime reverie. Taemin had known Yunho since his first day in high school, when the senior gave a welcoming speech as a freshly elected president of the student body. But it was upon his admission to volunteer at the school’s library that Taemin learned more about him - how gentle, kind-hearted and smart he was.
It was almost too easy for Taemin to fall in love. Yunho spoke to him softly; he remembered Taemin’s name, and never forget to say thank you-simple acts of courtesy which were surprisingly rare for Taemin to encounter with other library users. Yunho treated him as an equal, and not as a petty underclassman whom he could boss around. He also greeted Taemin whenever they met in the hallways in between classes or in the cafeteria during lunch.
Taemin could go on and on talking about Yunho. Sometimes it made him forget the course of time, to the extent when he left the space inside the closet, Sunny was already setting up the table for dinner, and Taemin would feel guilty for not helping her. The time he spent inside the closet was his daily dose of happiness; it made him felt somewhat stronger and prepared to face whatever he had to encounter.
When Taemin came down the stairs, the kitchen was already full of people-his siblings, cousin, and friends. Sunny was almost done with the cooking; Kibum had helped, of course, for Sunny could never make such pretty grate on the octopus. Jinki was sitting on the dinette, books opened and such while occasionally glancing at his boyfriend who was donning a salem apron. He was also expecting a visit from his friend Minho. The youngest in the family, Dongho was playing against the cousin, Jonghyun on the XBOX 360 console.
“Hey hyung, where have you been?” Dongho looked up at him suspiciously as he strolled into the kitchen.
Taemin shrugged. “Upstairs, studying for a quiz tomorrow.”
“Bullshit! I didn’t see you-”
Before Dongho could finish his sentence, Sunny raised her voice to scold him on his improper use of language. The youngest shouted back; not long after, the both of them were bickering while Jonghyun was trying to appease the situation. Taemin was then left to join Jinki and Minho at the dining table.
“Hey cutie!” Minho grinned at him, pushing a chair out from under the table for Taemin.
Taemin rolled his eyes. “No sane dude is happy to be called a cutie, hyung.”
“I won’t mind if only I’m as cute as you.” Minho winked at him.
Taemin responded with a glower, before he lowered his head to rest against the table. He released an audible sigh and closed his eyes, trying to block all the noises his siblings and the loud television had created.
“Hey, what’s up? You look tired.”
Taemin peered sideways and realized that Minho was staring back at him with a concerned look.
“Just how am I not supposed to feel tired in the middle of this-chaos?”
“Hey!” Jinki raised his eyebrows. “This is our house, okay? Dad said all of us are entitled to do whatever we like as long as it’s legal and not harming ourselves.”
Taemin threw him a dirty look and Minho laughed.
“Come on, it can’t be that bad. I prefer this to my empty apartment.” Minho’s parents were always busy with work and he had the apartment to himself most of the time.
“Will you ask your parents if they’re willing to adopt me?” Taemin asked only half jokingly.
Before Minho could answer, Kibum was shouting loud as the dinner was ready. They exchanged helpless glances and stood up from their seats to help Jinki with his scattered books, for the table would be served for the dining purpose. People were taking their places, with Sunny bustling around placing cutlery and dining sets. It was in the middle of such crowd that Taemin felt light shoves against his shoulders.
“You know what, I better go now.” Minho said.
“You’re not staying for dinner?” Taemin asked, sitting back on the chair he abandoned earlier.
Minho shrugged. “I’ve got a date.”
“He just got himself a girlfriend.” Jonghyun informed proudly. “A senior who is seriously too perfect, and she dates Minho simply because he’s the captain of football team-”
“-and not to mention she’s 10 centimeters taller than you.” Minho stood up, his height towering over Jonghyun. The smaller boy shrank away, grunting in defeat and settled down on his seat, sulkily scooping soup into his bowl.
“Wait…” Sunny joined them quickly at the table. “So you guys are not going out?”
“Obviously not.” Taemin rolled his eyes in disgust.
“You should have asked him out back then when he was available, Taeminnie…” Sunny gave him a knowing look.
“Noona!” Taemin groaned. “I don’t even like Minho hyung!”
“That’s right,” Dongho intervened. “Tae-hyung has a huge crush on a senior at his school. Someone named Jung Yunho or something. Hyung even doodled that dude’s name on his notebooks.”
The comment had raised a sudden rush of interest around the table.
“THAT Yunho?” Jonghyun exclaimed. “Taemin, he’s like the richest, coolest, smartest dude in school!”
“I don’t have a crush on him!” Taemin waved his hands to wave off these accusations. “And how do you know this, Dongho? Were you digging into my stuff again?”
The whole table was soon engaged in passing chatters, with Taemin’s new love interest being the hot topic for that night. Jinki, Jonghyun and Kibum were giving out information to the whole family about Yunho. Taemin’s desperate attempts to make them stop with the gossip were ignored, and he was soon forced to leave the table in order to avoid further and unnecessary questions.
“Now you know why I’m so tired…” Taemin helplessly told Minho. The older boy chuckled.
“They simply care about your happiness Taeminnie. Anyway… don’t you like me?” Minho feigned a hurt expression.
“Oh hyung, not you too!” Taemin groaned.
Minho chuckled and patted Taemin’s head. “Jung Yunho, huh?”
Taemin hesitated for a moment, but in the end he shyly nodded. “I’m gonna kill you if you tell anybody about this, but…yeah.”
Minho patted his back reassuringly. “Tough luck, kid. He’s one lucky bastard with an endless line of girls and boys vying for his love.”
“I know…” Taemin could already feel hot tears stinging the back of his eyes. “It’s not that I’m expecting anything out of this.”
“Hey…don’t say that okay? Yuri-noona and I-I wouldn’t have thought that we could ever go out too. I mean…we’re so different. She’s smart, beautiful, goes to private all-girl university, and never takes the public transport. Her father also provides her with a car and chauffeur, even to our dates.”
Taemin sighed. “Hang in there, Hyung. I feel you…”
“Yeah I know.” Minho smiled. “I guess we’re dealing with the same problem here, huh?”
Taemin answered him with a silent nod. He took a glance at his watch. “I guess you’ll want to leave right away. Got a date, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Minho adjusted the strap of his messenger bag. “I’ll see you around, cutie.”
“Yah! I told you not to call me that!”
Minho’s reply was but of his merry mirth, before he kicked off his bike and disappeared at the corner of the alley where the Lee family lived.
The hallways were already bustling with students as soon as Taemin exited the classroom. Students huddled into their typical cliques as they scattered across the long hallway, slowly making their way towards the cafeteria while immersing in light and floating conversations.
Taemin stood in front of his locker, twisting the lock combinations in place before opening it to stash his heavy books inside. He smiled faintly to himself; finally realising there was only a couple of hours left to the end of the school day.
Not long after, when he shut the metal door closed, he glanced to his right.
Even if there were so many students filling up the hallway, Taemin could still recognise that tall figure and the brown eyes a distance away. With such a charismatic persona surrounding that male, it was like magnet to everyone’s eyes - he was that attractive. The uniform - consisted of a white collared shirt underneath a deep navy blue with red trimmings and the school crest embezzled the right breast on the blazer, complete with a pair of matching pants - no one carried it out as well as Yunho himself. He was wearing his signature broad smile which showed his pearly whites; Taemin’s heart fluttered a little inside. It was the same smile that he had fallen for when he first saw him in his freshman year.
“Taemin!”
He heard his name being called, immediately blinking to snap out of his reverie. Yunho waved his hand high, still wearing that flashy smile and eyes glinting at the brunette. Taemin’s quickly gave a tiny wave at his hyung, nervously trying to calm his erratic heartbeat while watching Yunho walked towards his direction.
“Hey, I almost miss you.”
Yunho naturally flung his arm around the back of Taemin’s shoulder, and nudged the boy to walk with him. Little did he know how the innocent gesture had made Taemin’s heart cartwheeled.
“W-what’s up Sunbae-nim?”
“Do you have some free time after school tomorrow?”
Taemin almost could not believe his ears. Did Yunho just ask him if he had free time? “E-excuse me hyung?”
“I wonder if you can spare me a little of your time tomorrow after school. I need some help with the student committee. It’s regarding the school magazine, and the librarian suggested that I ask for your help.”
“Oh.”
Half of the happiness in Taemin’s chest vanished instantly. Of course, he thought, Yunho would have had some business with him. Otherwise, the senior would not casually approach him like that.
“Well, I do have library duty. And it’s my turn to cook dinner tomorrow.” Taemin replied.
“You cook? For your entire family” Yunho raised his eyebrows.
“Well, my sister who usually cooks for the family takes an extra shift at her part-time job tomorrow. Also, the rest of my family can’t really be relied on cooking, so…” Taemin blushed, feeling embarrassed.
In addition, he was also dazed because here he was, the quiet library volunteer, talking to the most popular boy in school about making dinner and his family.
“That’s admirable, Taemin. Listen, if you don’t have time, we can always arrange for another day-”
“No, no! I’m fine, really!” Taemin interjected. “As long you don’t mind me coming slightly later. Sunny-noona usually prepares the ingredients beforehand so it won’t take too long.”
Yunho’s expression of mild amusement derived from the younger’s eagerness. “Why, yes of course! Take your time. So I’ll text you the address to my place later. If you have a problem finding your way, you can call me and I’ll pick you up right away.”
The truth is, Taemin felt like he could find Yunho’s house even with his eyes closed. They lived quite a short distance from each other. Sometimes when Sunny asked him to go to the market, Taemin would take a detour and walked past Yunho’s house, hoping that he would catch a glimpse of the older man’s silhouette in one of the tall, French windows.
At that moment however, he was contemplating if he should pretend to be lost and ask Yunho to pick him up, only to have a brief moment of being alone with the older boy.
“Sure.” Taemin nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, hyung.”
The house was unusually quiet when Taemin arrived home on the day he was supposed to visit Yunho. There was no usual bickering or noise from the television; just the occasional household clatters. Surprisingly, the only person he met was Minho, who sat alone in the kitchen and looked more than happy to see him.
“Hey there!” The older boy greeted with a huge smile. “I was just thinking if I’m going to have to cook the dinner. Sunny-noona had already prepared the ingredients.”
“Hey hyung, how long have you been here?” Taemin took off his bag and uniform blazer, and went straight to the counter. “Did you catch noona before she left?”
“Nah, I just arrived here about fifteen minutes ago and only saw Jinki-hyung. But there’s a note on the fridge saying that today’s dinner is tangsuyuk and kimchi jigae.”
Taemin, upon the mentioning of his older brother, briefly looked around. “Now where’s Jinki-hyung? Is he out?”
“Nah, he’s home. Just - engaged.” Minho blushed sheepishly as he searched in his mind for the proper words to explain. “Kibum was here, and when I arrived they were-you know-and Kibum soon dragged him upstairs too-you know. So-yeah…”
Taemin looked away in embarrassment as soon as he realized what Minho had implied. “I bet it was awkward.”
“Yeah,” Minho chuckled. “Key threw daggers with his eyes at me, and said if anyone should go upstairs while they’re in their business, he’ll castrate me with Jonghyun-hyung’s metal solder. Jinki-hyung’s face was flushed beet red. I would have laughed if Key wasn’t being so threatening.”
Taemin laughed along.
As soon as he was done with the cooking, he joined Minho at the dinette while allowing the dish to simmer. “They’re such a weird couple. Sometimes I wonder how they could even end up together, being so mismatched like that.”
“Well,” Minho smiled. “Opposites attract. It’s not always the similarities that bring people together. Sometimes it takes the differences as well-you know, like Jinki and Kibum, they sort of complete each other.”
“I know what you mean. Jinki hyung used to be so clumsy and nerdy, and Kibum hyung sort of unwound him-he was beginning to be responsive towards the world that goes outside his head.”
“And I hope…” Minho raised his eyebrows. “The same thing will happen to us as well. You know-you and I aren’t exactly different towards our objects of affection.”
“You’re right. Yunho-hyung and I couldn’t be anymore different.” Taemin sighed. “By the way, hyung, how was the date?”
Minho shrugged. “Well, Yuri-noona was mad because I was late. We ended up bickering all the way until she finally called it a day and went home in a cab.”
Taemin was worried. He remembered that he held Minho back for his date that night. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you that day.”
“Eh, it wasn’t your fault, really.” Minho smiled at him. “My motorbike refused to cooperate when I rode along that nasty steep road near my apartment. Anyway, it wasn’t the first time I was late on my date, so she was kind of pissed off. I’m thinking about apologizing by buying something for her. Take a look at this-”
Minho rummaged through his bag and fished out a velvet box. Inside, Taemin saw, was the most beautiful, vulnerably intricate chain of white gold he had ever seen.
“Wow! That’s…cool! I mean, I know Sunny noona would cut her limb to get a present like that!” The boy’s hand moved to touch the chain. He felt a pang of envy, wishing that it was him who was being treated the same way by the person he liked.
“Really? You think Yuri-noona will like it?”
“Well, I don’t know if she’s gonna like it or not, but it makes a good present. I mean, shouldn’t she appreciate whatever you give her?”
Minho leaned back and sighed, stuffing the box back inside his bag. “Well, I’m pretty sure Yuri-noona had received more beautiful presents before.”
Taemin stared at the boy who sat across him. “Hyung, really, I don't know why you wouldn’t be confident about yourself. I mean…who wouldn’t like you?”
“Taemin…” Minho raised his eyebrows playfully.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell me-you like me, don’t you?”
Before Taemin managed to squeeze out a reply, Jonghyun appeared into the kitchen. The cousin of the Lee’s dropped his bag on the floor with a loud thud, while putting on an expression of exaggerated surprise.
“Here I am, coming home from class and my part-time job, hoping that there would be nice, warm meal to welcome me home. But all I found is my young cousin flirting with the neighbor boy!”
“What the-” Taemin stood up. “What are you saying, hyung?”
“Oh come on, Taeminnie, the look on your face when you’re staring at Minho. It can’t be any more obvious.”
“I’ve been trying to tell Taeminnie that it’s useless to deny his feeling for me.” Minho played along. “Come on, Taemin. I’m fine with you having a crush on me.”
Taemin’s mouth was wide open as he stared furiously at the two older boys in front of him. “You guys are unbelievable!”
He took off his apron and stormed out of the kitchen to his room upstairs. Ten minutes later, he was seen walking down the stairs looking freshen up and had a change of clothes. When he returned to the kitchen to fetch his bag, Minho and Jonghyun were having bites of the dish Taemin had cooked earlier on.
“Where are you going? We’re about to have dinner. Sunny noona is on the way back, and Dongho will be home from school anytime soon.”
“I’m going to Yunho-hyung’s house.”
“Ooh! So you got a date with him?” Minho looked interested.
“It’s not a date! I’m helping him with some student committee matters.”
“Will there be other people there? ‘Cos you know, Kibum is in the student committee as well, and I’m pretty sure that he’s involved in something.”
“How would I know? Yunho-hyung invited me to his house, and I agreed to come. That’s all.” Slipping into his shoes, Taemin quickly dashed out of the house.
“I thought…” Jonghyun looked surprised. “Dude, I seriously thought that my cousin has a crush on you.”
Minho laughed and took another bite of the tangsuyuk, while casually mumbling. “I wish that’s what happened, hyung…”
Taemin stared in awe at the house, or rather, a huge mansion in front of him. Despite the fact that he had frequented a stroll or bike ride in front of the house, it was still different to see it from the other side of the gate. It stood majestically on the huge acre of land, with pine trees aligned on both sides as they narrowed down to a large compound where the front porch was. His mouth gaped open carelessly, drinking in the sights of the lush greeneries and the solid white paint of the mansion.
Even before he could walk up to ring the doorbell, the tall doors opened, to reveal a familiar face behind it.
“Taemin! You’re here!” Yunho greeted him with a smile, with a hand still clutched onto the handle. He left the door open, leaving enough room for Taemin to pass through. Taemin grinned in return as he entered the house with a mumble of thanks to Yunho.
This is what royalty feels like, Taemin thought to himself, as he scanned through the entire expanse of the house - from the floor to ceiling at that one spot. His eyes could not take in everything that he saw: from the grand wide chandeliers hanging from the tall ceilings to the amount of gold spotted on every inch of this house, and even the oil paintings of the Renaissance period gracing the cream beige walls. It bore a huge contrast to the living space he lived in his entire life back home. He never thought he would step into this world that easily.
Yunho sensed that Taemin was getting drowned by the luxury his home had to offer. He chuckled lightly to himself with eyes boring onto the back of the younger’s head. How he seemed to appear dazed and confused as he walked down the hallway, Yunho found it adorable. It was as if his legs had a mind of his own to explore this wonderland he had stepped into.
It was until Taemin felt an arm snaking across the back of his shoulders, drawing his attention to the person behind him.
“Shall we start on the planning?” Yunho sounded he was a little guilty for pulling him back into reality, because he could not miss that little subtle frown Taemin’s lips had made. He made a mental note to himself to give Taemin a personal tour of the house once they were done with that day’s agenda.
“So, I was thinking maybe we can ask the students to give their feedback on the school’s administration. For example…”
Taemin was half listening to what Yunho had to say, because he could not take his eyes off him, even though his attention was supposed to be on the drafts spread across the coffee table.
Giving an occasional nod and attentive eyes was enough to mask that little fluffy cloud - where Yunho would settle safely in the space in his mind. Even if he was there right now sitting at an arm’s length away, he would never thought that he would be spending time alone together with his crush. Taemin could not even hide the red flush to his cheeks when Yunho’s hand grazed across his when he reached for a paper near his. He swore his heart was beating so fast that Yunho could even hear it through the space between them.
The classic doorbell rang as it resonated throughout the empty hollow house. Yunho dropped his pencil on the table, politely excused himself to get the door while Taemin obediently read the notes the other made on the scraps of paper. Flows of chatter could be heard down the hallway from the living room, and Taemin turned his head towards it. There, another male had just entered the house appeared to still be in light conversations with Yunho.
Taemin took in this stranger’s form. He was dressed in a white polo T-shirt and dark skinny jeans, along with a pair of expensive looking white canvas shoes. Taemin could imagine how his body would have looked like under all those clothing, judging by the muscles bulging through his top.
“Taemin,” Yunho and the new guest stopped about a metre away from Taemin. “This is Jaejoong. He’s a friend of mine and he volunteered to provide ideas for our committee, so I hope you don’t mind…”
“Oh not at all!” Taemin smiled in return.
As the three of them continued on from where they had left off, Taemin’s eyes sneakily shifted to Jaejoong. He was seated diagonally across from him, so he had a good view of him. His features caught Taemin first, for he was blessed with a beautiful jaw structure. He’s gorgeous, he thought, swiftly turning back to Yunho who was in the midst of explaining some new ideas to them.
Along the way, Taemin sharply noticed subtle hand gestures or secretive passing looks across the both of them. Jaejoong seemed to touch Yunho more on the arm, giving a light comment or two on his ideas. Yunho on the other hand, tend to indulge more in secretive conversations between the two of them by whispering into each other’s ears.
Rising surges of jealousy rushed through Taemin’s veins. He had never see Yunho acted this way towards him before. Did it mean there was something more between them?
This connection Jaejoong and Yunho shared was uncomfortable to Taemin, causing him to fidget in his seat. He was left ignored on the other side of the coffee table, exposed to the secretive games the others were playing.
Coincidental, or purely by accident, Taemin knew the line was crossed when Yunho stretched his arm across Jaejoong’s shoulders in a playful manner, like what he had previously did to Taemin. He did not expect to see Jaejoong leaned close to his face and…
“I have to go,” Taemin announced quickly to the two supposed lovebirds; the crack in his voice gave it away that he was not feeling really well. His gaze was pointed downwards, ashamed to look up to the intimate scene before him. “We’ll discuss this on another day.”
Immediately, Taemin rose to his feet while stuffing his bag pack with his stationery and papers. Without saying a goodbye, he dashed out of the house.
He did not realise that fresh hot tears were streaming down his face. The further he got away from the majestic house, the bigger the urge for him to cry his heart out.
“Taemin… Taemin, wait!”
The boy quickly blinked his eyes to get rid of any possible tears and turned around. He saw Yunho jogged lightly towards his direction, and raised his eyebrows.
“What are you doing here, Sunbae?” He asked as soon as Yunho was of comfortable talking distance from him.
Yunho smiled, adjusting his pace with Taemin’s stride. “It’s late. I feel bad for sending you home at this hour so I figure I will walk you home. God knows what kind of mischief can happen to such a cute handsome boy like you.”
Taemin felt thankful that the street was dark, so the furious blush on his cheeks was not too visible. “No I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Jaejoong-ssi is the handsome one, not me.”
Taemin felt stupid as soon as he mentioned the other person’s name. He knew it was a childish bout, but the overwhelming mix of emotions had eaten him from the inside. Still in the end, when he saw the discomfort underlying in Yunho’s guilty expression, Taemin quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry, sunbae. I shouldn’t have said such a thing.”
Yunho smiled and patted the younger boy’s head in reassurance. “It’s alright. I shouldn’t have invited Jaejoong over. We must have made you uncomfortable.”
“Is he-is Jaejoong-ssi your boyfriend?” Taemin could not hold back his curiosity. He watched Yunho’s face slowly turned into an obvious shade of red, and felt his stomach sank deeper.
“We’re not going out or anything, but…I’ve liked him since forever. I think he feels the same way about me, but we have yet to confront it. I don’t know; it’s rather hard to step out of the comfort zone and confront your feelings.”
Taemin took in the words and contemplated, before he finally mustered up the courage and said, “You know I like you, don’t you Sunbae?”
Yunho stopped dead in his tracks; Taemin turned around and stared into the dazed senior’s eyes.
“Taemin, I thought of you as my own little brother. And no, it’s not just an excuse or a polite way to say that I don’t like you that way. You see…” Yunho’s words dropped into a whisper.
“I was Jinki’s classmate for two years, and I’ve been working with Kibum in the committee for a while now. I’ve literally known you before we met, having heard both of them talked about you so many times. I’m an only child, and my parents aren’t home most of the time. So I’ve always envy Jinki for having a big family. He is especially fond of you; he said that you’re very responsible and kind. And I agree with him...”
Somehow, hearing the truth from Yunho did not hurt as much as Taemin thought it would be. It was probably since Yunho was merely confirming the doubt Taemin had-especially with all the plausible evidences he had seen that afternoon.
“Well, I guess being your little brother isn’t halfway bad…” Taemin shrugged, trying to keep it cool between them and loosen the awkward tension.
Yunho’s shoulder was visibly relaxed after hearing the statement. He smiled at the younger boy and patted his back. “You’re really a good kid. I wish you were really my brother.”
“Yeah, I’d love that too. I mean, not that I hate my family or anything, but living in a small house with five other people can be frustrating sometimes.”
“Why? Is it that bad?” Yunho asked.
“Well-yeah, especially with everyone bringing friends and significant others over. Sometimes I even have to hide in my secret place to find some peace.”
“Secret place?” Yunho’s face was lighted with interest. “Tell me about it?”
“Promise me you won’t laugh?”
“Well, I will try.” Yunho grinned playfully.
“You see…there’s a space hidden inside the closet in my room. It has been there since my family first moved in, and no one else knows about it except me. Sometimes, when my siblings are quarreling or I simply want to have some privacy, I crawl into the closet and stay there for hours. No one will be able to find me, and the closet sort of muffles the noises my family makes.”
“A…closet?”
“Umm… yeah.” Taemin lowered his head in embarrassment.
The next second, Taemin looked up and watched in dismay as Yunho broke into little peals of laughter. It took a moment for the older boy to calm himself down. The sight - knowing that his tiny secret was already exposed to someone he liked but not taken seriously by the other - infuriated Taemin a little.
His smile still freshly lingered on his lips when Yunho managed to compose himself and spoke to Taemin again.
“Really Taemin… the closet?”
“I thought you said you wouldn't laugh.” Taemin said dejectedly while wearing an obvious frown.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. Besides, if I recall correctly, I said I would try not to laugh. So technically I didn’t break any promise.”
Taemin bit his lip and looked away, resuming his walk away from Yunho. He began to regret telling the older boy about his space. If only he had known that the senior would laugh at him. What was he thinking? Yunho spent his entire life living in such an enormous mansion, owning a room almost as big as Taemin’s living room. Yunho would not have known how it was like to crave for a piece of privacy in such a small house.
It was not before long, the slow walk came to an end as they reached the curb near Taemin’s house. The boy could already hear the usual commotion from the front yard. Taemin turned to Yunho and smiled-half reluctantly.
“Here we are,” Taemin pointed at his house. “Thank you for walking me home, Sunbae.”
“My pleasure. I’ll see you around in school, I guess.” Yunho smiled back.
“Sure.”
Taemin waved goodbye as Yunho turned around and disappeared behind the tall hedge of his neighbor’s house. He shoved his hand into the pocket of his sweatshirt and walked towards the front yard, where he saw Jonghyun and Minho squatted by an old motorcycle that belonged to the neighbor’s boy.
Minho looked up upon his arrival and smiled in greeting, a messy blotch of black motor oil smeared on his handsome face.
“Hey there, cutie!”
Taemin rolled his eyes. “Don't you have somewhere else to be, hyung? You’ve been here all day.”
“Nah, I just came here half an hour ago.”
“Who were you talking to?” Jonghyun chimed in. “I swear I heard a stranger’s voice a while ago.”
“That was…Yunho-sunbae.” Taemin answered half-heartedly, knowing that his cousin would make fun of him, as always. “He was worried that something bad might happen if I go home alone since it’s late.”
“So…why didn’t you invite your boyfriend over and meet us?” Jonghyun rubbed his oily hands on his work gear.
“God hyung, no! We were never together and never would be, okay?” Taemin’s chest cavity constricted; the rush of emotions threatened to escape his eyes as the series of events happened earlier that day replayed in his mind. “Just-leave me alone!”
Taemin ran into his house, almost knocking into Sunny who was carrying around a basketful of clean laundry from upstairs. He ignored his sister’s quick rambles and went past the living room, where he saw Jinki and Kibum on top of each other and engaged in a heavy lip locking session.
“Oh for God’s sake, get a room you two!” He screeched.
A small cushion lying within an arm’s reach was fiercely thrown towards the couple on the couch, hitting the back of Jinki’s head. The harsh contact caused Jinki to end abruptly, as he swiftly turned towards Taemin, looking up perplexed with bruised lips and disheveled brown hair.
Instant guilt seeped into Taemin’s system; he should not have taken out his anger towards the couple, who had always doted on him. However the state he saw them in right now was making him awfully bitter, and he was suddenly reminded of that afternoon.
Without even apologizing, Taemin ran upstairs, slammed the door of his room hard and crawled into his closet.
Part Two