12: Fragile

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[I'm running out of non-gendered greetings for all of you. Anyhow, welcome to chapter 12! It's starting to come to a close but I can't wait to write what I have in store for chapter 15.

Have you ever seen such graceful beauty? We have been bestowed, blessed even, to be alive at the same time as Choi Minho.]

March 20th 2009

3rd Person POV:

It must've been around eight months since Jonghyun and Taemin had gone on their first date. Some pieces of that night were blurry, as if he was looking at his life through rippling water, but Taemin knew it had been a date.

They hadn't been on one since.

Taemin understood how hectic their lives were and finding time for one another was never going to be easy, but he was beginning to feel uneasy. He was never very confident in himself when it came to dating, mostly because he hadn't dated anyone before. Taemin had slept with a few people, but nothing serious ever became of it.

He was scared that this was going to go the same way. Him and Jjong had had sex once since they had met, but that was over four months ago. They had performed a number of scandalous activities when they were at the resort, but nothing felt permanent.

Taemin could feel his heart physically aching at the thought of his relationship with Jjong being nothing more than a fleeting interest.

The evenings that Taemin had sneaked meals into the sound booths between Jjong's vocal recordings, the nights where they had shared each other's warmth, bathing in one another's company; that was all for nothing.

The sensation he felt when he and Jjong kissed (which had also been four months ago) was something he had never experienced before.

This couldn't be it.

Taemin was going to fight for this. There was no way he was going to idly watch his happiness walk on by. He marched up the wooden stairs, determined to take control of his love life. He was going to tell Jjong how he truly felt.

"I guess I'm just scared." A soft voice had reached Taemin's ears. It was Jjong's voice.

"Scared of what? Taemin?" Key questioned, his voice unmistakable to Taemin.

He glanced towards the door to their room, but didn't dare go in. He placed his ear flat against the wood, desperate to hear what they were discussing. The pace of his heart quickened and he could feel his secondary pulse.

"Not of Taemin. But what I could do to him. I don't want to break him."

Taemin aggressively ran his hands through his unwashed hair, slightly annoyed that Jjong could believe Taemin was so predictable. His perspective of Taemin's personality was one of many overused clichés; a fragile adolescent who relied on his partner for daily gratification.

"Taemin is going to take that as you not wanting to touch him. He's going to think you aren't attracted to him anymore."

"I'm afraid to touch him. What if I go too far? What if I hurt him?"

Taemin heard Key heave a tremendous sigh before covering his face with his small hands. His cherry red hair fell limply over his fingernails and his pink lips separated. He was also overtly annoyed with Jjong's comments.

"Jjong, please stop. Taemin isn't some delicate teenager. He's a 21 year old man! You should treat him as such."

Taemin saw Jjong scrunch his nose and cock his head in disagreement.

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