SHINee Sickfics

Taemin : Race Against The Clock

whumptober 2024 day 1

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There was a loud clanging in the air. Taemin was sure that it was the sound of a distant bell playing in his dream, but when he was awake enough to discern reality from fantasy, he quickly realized that it was actually his alarm going off.

With a groan, he got himself up off the couch and into the bathroom. He'd been so tired last night that he hadn't managed to make it to his bed.

All his actions seemed to be in slow motion. He knew that there was a long day ahead for him, filled with rehearsals, filmings, and meetings. Running on two hours of sleep and drinking concerning amounts of coffee wasn't going to work forever. Jonghyun had warned him about it once.

Once.

He shook his head. Sometimes, he would have a strong longing for the past, when he would remember how things used to be. Their old dorms. All the fights. He used to hate it, but now he missed it more than anything. Doing solo work was fun, and maybe it was the reason why he'd gotten into music in the first place - but teamwork was what made it fun.

Now he lived by himself, worked by himself, and only heard the others through the phone. And with someone's case, only through recordings.

The shower water interrupted his thoughts. Taemin tried to refocus on his day ahead. He shuddered, realizing that he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

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Dance stretched from seven to nearly twelve. They had a half-an-hour break in between, where the only thing Taemin wanted to do was curl up and sleep, but he was forced to socialize with the dancers.

It seemed like he was always supposed to be doing something. Either talking, being entertaining, performing, practicing, heck even resting. This constant categorization of his actions wore him down. He was tired.

The break ended by the sound of the clanging alarm on someone's phone. With that, Taemin had to rush back to work. Again, the music started, again, he mentally smiled at himself when he got the intro timing right, again, again, again.

The problem was the ending. He wasn't sure how long he had to stand in the center for. Doing that part was overwhelming. Every time he got it wrong, he would feel a bit more of his composure chip away until he was a bitter, dried-up husk. Taemin would give anything just to have some time to work on it by himself. Maybe push the deadlines back so he could take it a bit easier.

But no, everything was firm and fixed. The filming crews had been hired, the location was booked, and things couldn't be changed.

Just thinking about the amount of work that needed to be done nearly brought him to tears. Why was he always racing like this? Why had he been so ambitious about his projects, to the point where he felt choked by his own desires? No matter what, he always felt like he was drowning.

As the music continued to play, he tried not to show anything on his face. Usually, he  was more unfocused. He was going off the rails today.

They started drilling the part at the end. Over and over, the choreographer rewinded the music. She said the counts out loud. It wasn't that hard. Nothing was supposed to be hard for him. He was Lee Taemin, K-pop's star dancer who was able to do anything.

It was exhausting to have these titles.

He kept trying to count. Taemin had to walk to the center, stand there for three, and then turn on the "and". The turn was fast and he had to move while doing it though. If he stepped over with his left foot, he could do it faster, and then he would make it in time.