Beautiful Sin | TaeKai

|Chapter Nine|

Prepare yourself for some Taemin feels :3 If you remember what happened last time, now it's your chance to read about how it affected Taemin!

I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to comment, vote and follow us for more!

~C.Y. Hawkins

The icy cold water beat over his shoulders as he sat, huddled in the shower. Taemin had fled to the usually quiet area to calm his thoughts after hearing those heart breaking words from his brother's lips, but had found the place filled with trainees. He had ducked into the shower and turned it on so they wouldn't be able to hear his sobs.

He knew his clothes were getting wet, and he'd probably catch a cold from the freezing temperatures of the water. He began to shiver and his teeth started to chatter, but he still refused to move. It was taking his mind off of Kai and every little bit helped.

His heart felt... numb. Like someone had hit the pause button on a remote control and wasn't going to click play anytime soon.

Taemin sat in the shower for a long time before he heard a gentle knock, "Taemin, are you in there?"

He went to say yes but realised he couldn't. His jaw was locked and he knew if he opened it, he would let out every loud sob he had been holding back.

"Taemin?" the voice asked again. "Anyone?" There was some muttering about a key and then suddenly the door opened. There stood Minho and Onew, both looking down at him in concern.

Minho knelt down at Taemin's level while Onew turned the water off, "We were worried," the rapper said softly, pushing Taemin's hair out of his eyes. "When you didn't know up for practice, we knew you were in here somewhere."

"We checked the gym and all the dance rooms first," Onew added, grabbing several towels from a bench and throwing them over Taemin to try and warm him up.

When Taemin didn't say anything, Minho glanced up at Onew, "Should we take him to the hospital?"

Before Onew could answer, Taemin slowly shook his head from side to side. No, he didn't need to go to the hospital. What he needed was for his brother to love him. But wasn't that considered sick? Maybe he did need some sort of medical treatment.

Minho sighed and picked Taemin up, carrying him out of the room, "We're going home. You don't need to tell us what happened, but we want you to speak to someone you can trust. Okay?"

Onew kept adding more towels on top of Taemin, "I know a great psychiatrist. He works with a lot of people and always keeps their secrets."

Taemin nodded slightly before resting his pale face against Minho's chest. Minho let out a soft gasp at the sensation of the boy's skin, "Taemin, you're too cold. This isn't healthy." He set Taemin down in their training room and grabbed his hands, rubbing them between his own. Taemin cried out as they began to tingle painfully, shooting heat up his arms.

"I'm sorry," Minho murmured. He gazed at Taemin's face, his own stricken in worry for his friend. What would have set Taemin off like this? He's never seen such a look of pure agony on a person's face.

"Are you sick?" Onew asked softly. "Because the-"

"I'm not sick," Taemin finally rasped, allowing his tongue the freedom to move in his mouth. "I'm just... I'll be fine." He pulled his hands away from Minho and stood up unsteadily. "I need..." Before he finished his sentence he began wobbling out of the room.

Minho frowned, "Taemin, wherever you want to go, we can take you."

It's not where I want to go, Taemin thought to himself, it's who I want to be with. But obviously he doesn't want to be with me. I was so sure... Sometimes he got a look in his eyes like he wanted me...

"Taemin!" Minho snapped, grabbing his arm. "You're not going anywhere by yourself. You're staying here until we think you're alright."

Onew began dutifully draping towels over Taemin's shoulders.

Taemin slid down the wall as huge tears began to roll down his cheeks. He was trying not to cry in front of his friends, but it wasn't really working.

"Taemin?" Minho's voice turned to one of surprise. "Are you hurt?"

Taemin let out a loud sob as Onew wrapped his arms, and another towel, around him. Taemin turned his face into the crook of Onew's neck and allowed himself to let out a loud sob of pain.

Minho watched as his bandmember and friend let out cries of pain. He and Onew locked eyes and for once his leader looked serious and contemplative rather than ready to do something silly. Taemin being sad changed everyone's attitude in the room. He was glad Key wasn't here or he'd be crying as well.

Taemin slowly began to wear himself out and finally fell into a restless sleep against Onew's body.