#t;p

[kxmlxx]

{Closed AU Para}

Riiing, Riiing.

Taemin groaned as he flipped over, raising a hand to slam down on the blaring alarm clock. He was exhausted; maybe he should have went to bed earlier last night instead of staying up and watching a whole season of a criminal show that was playing last night. Taemin squinted his eyes at the mocking red numbers as it read 5:30 am. “If the sun isn’t even fucking up, why should I be.” He muttered to himself as he let his eyes flutter close. “Five more-- minutes.” He said to himself sleepily as he dozed off again. Just five more measley minutes won’t hurt. School doesn’t start until 7:30 anyways. Just why did he set his alarm so early? Ah, well.

What supposedly was to be five minutes, turned into an hour and a half. Loud banging was heard on the other side followed by yelling. “Taemin! You piece of shit, we have to leave for school in ten minutes! Are you still sleeping?” Ah, Jongin. He’s so annoying. “Shut up. You’re too noisy.” Taemin muttered softly, snuggling deeper into his covers. Sometimes, he wonders why he decided to move in with his younger cousin. Jongin was a piece of work sometimes, almost made Taemin want to suffocate him in his sleep with a pillow.

“Get up Taemin! You were already late to your homeroom 5 times already! You’re going to get detention.” Oh yeah, Morning like this happened quite often. His homeroom teacher had been very lenient for Taemin for some reason but she did warn him that the next time he was late, she would definitely assign him to after school detention; and that time was this one. “Fine, I’m up. Make me breakfast.” He demanded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he slipped out of bed and made his way over to his closet. “I had cereal for you but it got all soggy so you’re just going to have skip today.I made lunch for you though! You know, you should be grateful you have me! I do all these things for you, I’m a great cousin!” “More like a great wife.” Taemin retorted back as he slipped his uniform shirt on, a smirk stretched on his face as he heard a sigh of frustration on the other side of the door followed by a “I’ll meet you in the car you idiot”. Taemin laughed and shook his head as he slipped on his uniform pants and socks, casting a glance at his clock. 7:20 am. Right on time.  He glanced down at himself and scoffed. “I’ve always hated this uniform. Where did we get the money to go to a private school?”

Time flew by fast; one minute Taemin was in the car with a nagging Jongin, then the next he’s already in homeroom --safe from his teacher’s nagging-- and the bell already rang, signaling to go to their next class. Taemin and Jongin walked side by side; Jongin blabbing on and on about who knows what and Taemin ignoring him as always. Taemin’s bored eyes scanned the halls as he passed different faces of the students until his eyes landed on a certain someone. 

Song JooHee, goes by Alice. 3rd year student and Class President. The most popular student in the school. How could she not be? Straight A student, Class President, involved in all school activities, the grace, looks and attitude of an angel, the perfect model student. There’s no way you could not like her. And just like every boy on campus, she was the center of his affections. He just didn’t throw himself at her like the rest of those idiots; he preferred to admire her from afar. Taemin watched as she waved goodbye to her friends and entered a classroom. That’s my class. That’s right, we have the same chemistry class. He turned his head to his cousin who still kept running his mouth and nudged his arm. “Alright, Alright. Save that talk for some who cares Jongin. I’m going to class now and you should too. Later.” And with that, he walked off leaving a confused and slightly irritated Jongin. “You weren’t even listening to me! Wait-- Since when are you so eager to go to class?”

As soon as Taemin entered the class, he spotted Alice sitting at her table. She was seated at the front-- of course-- taking out the things she needed for class. So organized as usual. It’s amazing that she can keep everything in order. Taemin was too busy admiring her to notice that someone had bumped into him, shoving him a little to the side. “Whoa! Sorry dude!” It was just a guy from his class. “Uh, yeah. No problem.” He replied back in a smooth tone before looking back at Alice, until the bell rang. Well, there goes trying to talk to her. Taemin shoved his hands into his pockets as he lazily made his way to his seat at the back of the class, which he didn’t mind at all since he didn’t like interacting with people. 

After a minute or two, the teacher finally strolled in. “Alright class! It’s lab day! So you know the drill; everyone get a partner, it can be anyone you want as long as you two work, get your safety goggles from the cabinet and remember not to mess around! We’re working around some really strong chemicals and burners, so be extra careful. Now, everyone go find a partner and find a lab table to sit at, then once everyone is seated I’ll explain in further detail what exactly it is we’re messing with.” As soon as the teacher finished, everyone jumped from their seats to try and find their partners. Taemin stayed seated, head propped up by his hand leaning on the table as he glanced around. his eyes managed to find Alice again to see that she as well was seated and seemed to be looking for a partner. Maybe now’s my chance, I could ask to be-- His thoughts were cut off when about three boys raced over to her. And, of course. Guess I’m working alone again. Shocker. Taemin was used to this. It’s not like people hated him, at least that’s what he thought, but it just seemed that they were intimidated by him or something like that. People seemed nervous when they spoke to him. There were even rumors about him being an ex thug member after he beat up a couple of guys after school; in his defense, they were making fun of Jongin so Taemin couldn’t just sit there and listen to them. He put them in their places is all. 

Well, whatever. At least I won’t have to worry about some idiot mixing the wrong chemicals together. 

[strxae-blog-blog]

— traditions.

she has a headache. what was that thing that is supposedly good for headaches? like, natural medicine. taehee nods no herself. yes, this time is official. she’s leaving behind all the industrialized goodness and the foul company that... that made pills. they are no good for your body. natural things are. like... 

she opens the little door of her kitchen’s counter and then looks to her fridge. 

like nothing she had at home.

taehee sighs and takes some money. it doesn’t take a lot of time for her to arrive to the department store. the fruits section is a place she visits regularly. she likes to see, touch and smell fruits, but usually she doesn’t take them home. once in every two or three weeks she comes there and takes three bags of fruits and vegetables. she spends half of a week eating healthy like she said she would do and for the rest of the weeks until the moment to go there again arrives, it stays there rotting until taehee is too embarrassed to keep them. but this time, she thinks to herself, this time it will be different. she wouldn’t let them rot anymore! no, she is definitely going to do this, this time. 

“hi!” taehee says, smiling. she hopes the guy doesn’t recognize her. well, she was blonde the last time she came and now she has pink hair, so maybe that will confuse him. “what fruits do you, um, recommend?”

[strxae-blog-blog]

— pink fever.

“miyoung-ah!” the short woman flies through her apartment door. her hair was still humid because god knows taehee isn’t the most patient of them all. looking at her blonde strands some days ago, she thought some kind of change would be nice. taehee always wanted to try different hair colors, however, she never had such chance when she was younger, and by the time she grew older, she thought pink hair wouldn’t be appropriate for her age. but then again, when something about her life seemed appropriate? her mother wasn’t a great example and taehee’s temper isn’t something people appreaciate. so she put aside whatever people could say and bought everything she needed to dye her hair pink. 

and because it was pink, taehee wanted it to be a surprise to her best friend. and that’s why the shortie stands in front of her neighbor’s door with an excited smile on her lips. she doesn’t know if miyoung was home or not, but she wishes she is. of course, taehee could always send the younger - who’s obsessed with pink - a picture of her brand new hair color, but what’s the fun in that? taehee wouldn’t be able to see her reaction and how she would smile with her eyes. when the door is being opened, taehee quickly put her hands over miyoung’s eyes, laughing. “let’s go inside! i have a surprise, don’t peek” she says and when they arrived to miyoung’s living room, taehee uncovers her eyes and holds her own hair up, showing off the pink and blonde strands. “ta-da!”

[strxae-blog-blog]

— almost lovers.

                                                                                     (backtracked to 2004)

“we’re leaving”

the young girl doesn’t look the only friend she has in the eye. rather, she looks down - to some place that wouldn’t hold her attention at all in other situations. what she hates more is there. goodbyes. to a fourteen year old who moves at least twice every year, you would say she’s used to it. but taehee is not. every goodbye is painful and sometimes she would nourish the idea of leaving without a word - or maybe she would leave behind a sole letter, much like mr. darcy did when he left rosings park. there was a clear explanation, but the goodbye never met the eyes. except that she just couldn’t do such thing to hyunki. 

“let’s not say goodbye, though” she completes, nodding. hyunki is her only friend - and that’s precisely why the feelings she has for him are turbulent. when everyone turned her back to her, even her mother who was busy taking care of her brand new boyfriend, he came to her and became her friend. she appreciated that. and that’s why she couldn’t be hyunki’s mr. darcy. “uh, thank you. like, very much. my japanese is better because of you!” she chuckles nervously and hits his arm lightly. “i really li... i mean, um, you’re really important to me. thank you for being my friend” she finishes awkwardly and her arms wrap around his neck. the hug probably lasts long than it should, but taehee refused to say goodbye. “um, i need to go. mom’s growing impatient.” the girl lets go of him and flashes him a last smile before racing towards the car where her mother waited for her. “see ya!” 

she would not say goodbye. 

taehee gets in the car and sits on the back seat. her mother looks at her with eyebrows up because taehee would only sit there when she was upset about something. the woman sighs and fixes the rear mirror. “sweetie” her mother calls taehee and even though the young girl doesn’t look back at her, her mother knows she’s listening. “there are nice boys everywhere. let’s go in another adventure, huh? i bet we can find a nice boy for both you and me” 

taehee rolls her eyes and looks back. normally she would make an acid remark, but she wasn’t feeling like it right now. 

“let’s just go, mom”

[kxmlxx]

Another bright flash of lightning illuminated the sky, followed by a loud struck of thunder that caused Taemin to cower in fear as he covered his ears with his hands. He was in his room, curtains closed on the window as he was slumped against his wall. Taemin shook slightly as he tried to calm his breathing. Unfortunately for him, Jongin wasn't there to provide a distraction for Taemin and all the animals were doing their own business somewhere in the house. Taemin was alone. He was always used to Alice being there to comfort him during storms like this, but this happened to be a really nasty one. His eyes shut tightly as he heard another roar from the heavens above and bit his lip to keep from making any noises. He was scared. It seemed irrational, but he was fucking terrified. Taemin was too lost in his thoughts to notice a little body that entered his room, waddling over to him with a pair of headphones attached to an MP3 player. The little boy gently tapped Taemin's knee, startling him as he looked up to see the boy. "H-Hyun..." He choked out. Taemin cursed at himself internally, he didn't want his son to see him like this. So vulnerable.. So weak. He reached out to pet the boy's head gently, feeling a little relax to have his presence here. "What's wrong? Do you need something?" The little boy smiled and shook his head before moving closer to Taemin, raising his arms to place the headphones over his ears. "Hyun, what are you---" He was cut off by the sound of orchestral music playing, sounded like Bach. ...Oh. Taehyun then brought his hands down to wipe Taemin's tear stained cheeks gently, still smiling at him softly. He knew of his father's fear and would see how his mother comforted him before. He wanted to do the same for him. The little boy then waddled over to his father's bed and pulled the thin, dark blue blanket from it then made his way back to Taemin and threw it over his head. He giggled slightly as he watched Taemin struggle to adjust the cover. Said man smiled at his son's attempts and felt his heart swell. He opened his arms for the little boy, who gladly ran into them and snuggled against his chest. Soon after, the storm had calmed and so had the beast. Only the sounds of light rain falling and slow breathing of the two sleeping figures propped against the wall.