Higher Society (6b/?)
Title: Higher Society
Main Characters: SHINee (+minor appearances from TVXQ/JYJ and other kpop groups)
Main pairing: Jongkey/2min/others
Chapters: (6b/?)
Genre: AU/School/Angst/Life
Rating: R [up to NC17 later on]
Warnings: Liberal teenagers, language, substance usage/abuse, the story is slow-paced so it takes a while to see your pairing appear. x) DARK FANFIC IS DARK. K
Forewords: Plain and simple, we’re young and indestructible. When you’re young, bored, and have money to spend, what is there left to do but live your moment while you can?
Disclaimer: This fanfic does not reflect any of my own views. I don’t approve substance abuse, neither do I want to justify it. This is just a story about the mistakes/experiences that kids these days go through. I don’t own the characters, settings etc. The idea of this fic may be inspired by existing shows/books etc, and any similarities to other fan-fics are purely coincidental. The events that occur don’t represent the actual places mentioned. This is a work of pure fiction.
A/N: This story does not take place in Korea. Shinee are all Asian Americans here. This is my first fic, I hope you don't hate me. D:>
Trailer | Prologue | 1 | 2a | 2b | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6a | 6b
Chapter 7: Party
“I like what you’re wearing” Key complimented with a smile, as he pulled out of Jonghyun and Taemin’s driveway. Taemin had changed into a white crewneck sweatshirt with a large picture of a city with black buildings that were only separated by bright, multi colored borders. (Outfit: Here He also wore black skinnies that weren’t exactly as form fitting as regular skinnies should be, yet was form fitting enough to look stylish along with clean white high tops. Taemin offered a shrug and a small ‘thanks’ but he honestly didn’t find his own clothes very interesting. (Actually, he only wore this because it was the only decent-looking outfit that he had unpacked so far) But it didn’t matter in the end since it’s not like he was that interested in what he wore anyways.
“Min, I hope you don’t mind if we stop by my house first. I need to change too, because I smell like sweat. We have a lot of time anyways,” Key had said after a few seconds.
“Oh no, I really don’t mind,” Taemin replied with that smile of his that turned his eyes into little, happily-curved slits. Key couldn’t stop himself from smiling back.
“Taemin, why are you so adorable?” Key asked, not being able to decide from watching the road and watching Taemin being adorable.
“I don’t know, I guess I was born that way, hyung,” Taemin joked, causing Key to laugh.
“Oh, Min Lee, how did I ever live a life without you?” Key shook his head. They both began talking about dancing the rest of the way and by the time that the conversation had died down, they’d already reached Key’s house.
The exterior of the house didn’t look too special, as it was cluttered with a mess of various plants. The excessive amount of trees and the large garden caused the house itself to look smaller, although it definitely wasn’t. The property itself was pretty big, considering that Key had his own little concrete parking space under some trees within the garden (pretty much the whole yard) itself. Granted, the space wasn’t huge, but the fact that it was there was still impressive. Once Taemin and Key exited the car, they followed the small amount of concrete to the stone path that leads to Key’s front porch. Obviously, the gardener didn’t want anyone anywhere near the grass. The porch looked old, but in an antique way. It was rather large, wooden with a tin roof and wide handrails that were neatly covered with sunflower pots. (Porch is similar to: This) The looked plain for the most part, until Taemin noticed that the door knocker was very intricately designed and looked as if it were made by solid gold. Key took out his house Keys and finally opened the door (all the while immediately reminding Taemin to remove his shoes) and revealed two, fancy looking, wide staircases at each side of the wall. The whole room was dedicated to the stairs; a foyer of some sort. The walls were covered with white and brown wallpaper and the stairs, matching the floor and railings, were a dark brown. Between the staircases was a door-less frame that seemed to lead into a rather large living groom. To the right, just in front of one of the large staircases, was another door-less frame that Key explains, lead to the kitchen and dining room. To the left, was apparently a library/entertainment room. It was obvious to Taemin, now that Key was quite a fortunate fellow. As much as Key was eager to give Taemin a tour of the house, he was a lot more eager to get dressed, so he pulled Taemin up the stairs on the left and lead him to his own room. Taemin took a quick look around Key’s bedroom before jumping in his large bed.
“Ohhhh my gosh. And I thought my bed was comfortable,” Taemin sighed, snuggling into Key’s luxuriously soft pillows. If you haven’t noticed by now, Taemin, just like his cousin, has a thing about beds and jumping into them. Key chuckled at the sight.
“No seriously, can I adopt you?” Key asked, walking to his own closet. Taemin hummed as a sign of approval.
“Hyung, this room doesn’t look like it belongs to you,” Taemin said honestly, sitting up and looking around more. He got up and walked to Key’s paintings, “Or at least, it’s not what I expected from the impression you give off,” he stated, picking a painting up of a happy bird family. The way that Key chose to color his paintings was very interesting though, since everything was bright and clashing.
“Oh?” Key asked, truthfully not so surprised, “Really? I guess I have two personalities then, because I thought that this room reflected me very well. What did you expect?” He asked, genuinely interested, picking out a few articles of clothing.
“I expected your room to be like the rest of your house. You know, elegant, classy-”
“Oh, you mean like, boring?” Key asked in amusement.
“Not boring, but definitely not this lively,” Taemin said.
“I don’t seem lively?” Key asked, almost offended.
“It’s not that, it’s just that you seem really into that classy stuff,” Taemin replied. Key stayed silent, making Taemin worry, “I mean, I don’t mean that in an offensive way, I just meant that…uh, it’s just that the colors are so vibrant, well…I guess your car is too but…I mean it’s a good thing…that you’re lively I just-ugh this is why I shouldn’t talk so much, maybe this is why I didn’t have friends-”
“Taemin!” Key laughed, “Calm yourself, boy. I was just thinking about it, and I agree with you. This room is really…really different from what you see isn’t it? But trust me; this place describes me better than anything else ever will,” Key laughed more, but it came out so distant, like he was thinking of a fond memory.
“Oh…”
“And, no friends? Why no friends? How can anyone not want you as their friend?” Key asked, finally looking at Taemin who was pretending to look through his art, although he was actually still panicking about the thought of offending Key.
“I don’t know umma, they thought I was weird I guess. I don’t usually start conversations with strangers,” Taemin confessed. Key laughed.
“Umma? I like it. Well, they’re stupid for not getting to know you, but you should make the first move sometimes too, you know,”
“Yeah, Jonghyun hyung says that too,”
“Jonghyun is a wise kid, don’t tell him I said that, but he’s wise,”
“Ew,” Taemin replied instantly to the compliment that was directed to his cousin, “Just kidding, but yeah, I guess,”
“I know it’s scary,” Key smiled knowingly, pausing his scavenger for the perfect outfit, “But you have nothing to lose. You only live once; might as well take a few risks, or else you’ll never know, right?” When Key put it that way, Taemin understood more. Nobody ever worded things the way that Key has. Taemin never thought about the fact that by speaking to someone, he had nothing to lose. Always being told to ‘just do it’ always made Taemin feel even less confident, not knowing exactly what it was that they wanted him to do, but putting a reason why to do it like Key had, made him think twice about trying. It’s funny how a few words could change so much. Taemin retreated to the bed and Key soon pieced together his perfect outfit. Even after putting everything on, there was an hour and a half left before the party. (Key’s outfit: Here)Since being early was lame, Key laid down beside Taemin and they wordlessly rested until the clock read “7pm”.
*****
Taemin could only describe himself as nervous once Key’s car pulled over to an unfamiliar house. It was a two story house, not as big as Key’s, but large nonetheless. They saw that colorful cars were already parked all over the neighborhood, and so had difficulty just looking for a place to leave Key’s expensive vehicle. Finally finding a space three houses down, they exited the car and made way for the venue of the night’s events.
[Playlist: HERE]
Taemin could already hear the pulsating beats of modern-day pop music from 20 feet away. Key wrapped an arm around Taemin’s shoulders, noticing his state of discomfort, and lead him along the way. They stopped right in front of the door, dark blue with gold painted accents. Key texted the owner of the house to announce their arrival, and soon a talk, dark and handsome guy opened the door, wearing a black t-shirt with neon colored monsters and acid washed jeans.
“KEY, You’re here,” The guy said in a startlingly deep voice, shoulder-bumping with Key.
“Hey, Taecyeon. This is my new protégé-slash-son, Min,” Key introduced.
“Hey Min. Um…how old are you?”
“He’s a sophomore. Can we come in? It’s damn cold,” Key answered for Taemin.
“Right, right. Sorry, my bad your highness,” Taecyeon moved aside and let both boys enter. Taemin was speechless upon entering. The place looked like a set for a T.V show; every single person was pretty beautiful or at least, carried themselves well. Once you enter the house, you’ll find couches, a staircase, a doorframe and a t.v. Through the doorframe was the kitchen/dining-room. The music in the house was terribly loud, but the teenagers within it were louder, all laughing and conversing. The living room was already full of gorgeous people. He spotted Amber on the couch with Nicole and some guys that Taemin was not familiar with. Actually, he technically only really knew Key. Taemin was suddenly very uneasy. Nicole got up, upon spotting Key and gave him a short hug before sitting back down. Key lead Taemin through the crowd of people, into the dining room; everyone greeting Key along their way. Taemin began wondering what it felt like to be like this; to be loved and adored by everyone. Taemin couldn’t help but desire and imagine it, but he laughed quietly and darkly, remembering who he was. He was Taemin Lee, and Taemin Lee was nothing similar to Key Kim. In the end, Taemin figured that it wouldn’t hurt to dream.
Between the staircase and the back of one of the couches was an open space that was occupied by a group of people dancing to the music. Key was surprised that the dancing was still slightly appropriate, but then he remembered that the bumping and grinding will begin once the party gets going; it was still early. Reaching the dining-room/kitchen and there, they found Minho and Onew sitting around a round dining table, playing “Uno”.
“Minho, stop being so abnormally competitive,” One of the girls yelled, getting frustrated.
“Shut up, get on my level,” Minho replied, not caring about what she was saying.
“You know what; you’re a bitch!”
“LALALALALALA SOMEONE’S A SORE LOSER,” Minho covered his ears. These two were definitely providing the entertainment in the kitchen/dining-room, causing laughter from everyone all around.
“Min! Key! You guys are here!” Onew smiled, waving them over. Key and Taemin stood behind the group and watched them play cards.
“Min, you don’t mind staying here for a while right? I’m just going to go talk to Nicole,” Key asked politely.
“Oh, no problem,” Taemin smiled.
“Taemin, do you want to play?” Onew instantly offered as Key left the room.
“Sure,” Taemin accepted. Onew got up so that Taemin could take his spot. Minho greeted Taemin and they started a new game of Uno. The girl that Minho was arguing with was apparently Jessica, Krystal’s sister from Chaerin’s story. Taemin thought that she seemed really nice because when Key and his girlfriend came to watch, she was friendly to both of them. It was almost like they were just good friends, making Chaerin’s story less and less relevant.
After a few games, two rowdy boys suddenly barged into the dining-room/kitchen through the back door and they were carrying what seemed to be very heavy boxes.
“Taecyeonnie, we’re here,” They called, walking over to the table that they were all sitting at. They set down the boxes at the middle of the table.
“Hey, asshole! We were playing a game here,” Jessica yelled.
“Calm yourself girl,” One of the guys laughed, “Get your asses up, we’re not here to play Uno!” The group that was playing groaned and complained, yet everyone got up, anyways. Taemin noticed that the bottles were obviously alcoholic beverages. There were cans and bottles of ‘Budweiser’, ‘Heineken’, ‘San Miguel’ and also bottles of Absolut Vodka, Grey Goose, Hennessey, and hard lemonade. More boxes contained things that Taemin didn’t even recognize. He saw glass tubes and what looked to be like some type of plant.
“Wow, you guys are really going light tonight, aren’t you?” Onew asked, half sarcastic and half disappointed.
“Of course, silly. The school year just started. We still need most of our brain cells,” One of the guys answered. Everyone walked to the living room, and Key walked beside Taemin.
“Min, if you’re not comfortable with drinking or weed, you don’t have to do any of it. I’m assuming you don’t, but I’m curious…”
“I don’t. I’ve never drank or smoked before,” Taemin admitted, “But…I’ll have to try sometime right?” He added in a small voice. Key smiled at him.
“No need. Don’t feel pressured to do it, we’re here to kick back, not to try stupid things,” Key laughed.
“I really want to,”
“…really? Well…I don’t know about…”
“No, Key, really! I want to try it. Please? It’s better if I tried it now, while you’re supervising me rather than getting it elsewhere, right?” Taemin pleaded. Key sighed, not really knowing if he should corrupt Taemin so quickly. Mostly, he was afraid of what Taemin’s family would think of him, since they did trust him with Taemin throughout the duration of this party.
“Wait…I need to ask Jonghyun first. I’ll be back, please don’t do anything while I’m gone,” Key said, giving Taemin a stern look.
“Okay…” Taemin answered, looking at his own feet. Key messed up his hair, endearingly, and walked to a quieter area to call Jonghyun. He didn’t expect Jonghyun to answer his phone so quickly, since he was spending time with his dad, but Jonghyun picked up within two rings.
“Hello? Key?” Jonghyun asked.
“Hey, Jjong. Um…you see, just as you have previously predicted,” Key annunciated, “Some guys brought some drinks and uh, how do I say this? Well, your cousin wants to drink. I know you already said to let him try, but really, are you sure?”
“Well…” Jonghyun sighed loudly, “damn, I really want to say ‘no’ but, I don’t want him thinking that we think that he can’t take it or something. He’s really sensitive, and he hates it when people think that he’s too young or anything; nothing makes him angrier than that. Just…let him have some but don’t give him too much, okay?”
“SHIT, JJONG. How am I supposed to feel, you’re not even sure, yourself!” Key panicked. Jonghyun laughed.
“How cute,” He mocked, “I’m sure. I don’t want to over-protect him. Let him make his own mistakes, you know? Again, just don’t let it get too far,”
“Yeah, yeah, ‘kay,” Key sighed, “Well, I’m off to teach your cousin how to massacre his own liver with alcohol,”
“Have fun,” Jonghyun replied, Key could hear his smile.
“I wish you were here though. You’d probably handle this better,”
“I’m sure you do. I wish I was there as well. Just kidding, not really. I have to go now,”
“Alright, bye,”
“See you,” the line died and Key walked over to Taemin, informing him that he was allowed to try. Key has corrupted many kids before, but he was so unsure about Taemin. He really did feel like the kid was his own son, although the reason was beyond him, since he usually doesn’t get too attached to people whom he’d just met. Key led Taemin to the kitchen and decided to give him something light. Meanwhile, some tall, a giddy group consisting of Taecyeon and the two guys from earlier was pouring vodka into a bowl of jellybeans. Key laughed at them and began mixing a random bottle of beer with Coca-Cola in one of those red cups that always seemed to be present at the parties that they showed on t.v.
“Start light, we’ll see where we’ll go from here,” Key smiled, handing Taemin the cup. He watched intently as Taemin brought the cup to his lips. Taemin felt self-conscious as Key stared him down, it didn’t help that some of the other kids in the kitchen were eying him curiously, too. Taemin took a deep breath and finally sipped the drink. It was soda; bitter soda, but still soda. Taemin lifted the cup to stare at it. What was the big deal?
“So, how is it?” Key asked.
“It’s…okay. Um…how am I supposed to feel?” Taemin asked. Key laughed at him.
“I take it that you want to try the real deal, don’t you?” Key shook his head. Taemin smiled slightly, he couldn’t really deny it. He’d already made up his mind.
“Do you want to try hard lemonade first?” Key asked.
“No, hyung,” Taemin smiled one of those smiles again. Key began seeing him as a tad bit cheeky, and he liked it. Minho and Onew walked in, just as Kibum was handing Taemin a can of Budweiser.
“Woah, min; you drink?” Minho asked, reaching over for his own drink of choice. Onew looked worried, though he still reached for his own bottle of beer. Taemin took a big gulp of his drink, before anyone else could doubt him. Taemin let out a satisfied sigh and grinned, hoping that he didn’t have to answer the previously asked question. Minho laughed at Taemin’s expression and reached over to mess up his hair. Onew gave a small smile, obviously amused by the boy, and Key looked proudly as he poured himself a bit of his favorite flavored vodka.
“Let’s get on the floor, yeah?” Minho urged, swinging one arm around Taemin and another around Onew. Key, let them go on their own and stayed behind to hang out with Taecyeon.
The lights were dimmer, the living room was fuller, the music was louder and Taemin wondered when all these people got here. Minho, wearing glow-in-the-dark red framed boxy sun glasses, lead Taemin into the middle of the crowd that was moving to the music. Nobody sat on the couch anymore. Everyone was up, dancing, smoking or talking loudly with others. The bumping and grinding had definitely begun. Taemin took another gulp of his drink and felt lighter already. He smiled, satisfied again, not minding the awful bitter taste and his own burning throat. He began moving naturally with the music and Minho was beside him, amping up the party by howling and making other loud noises. Everyone seemed to cheer along with him, and Taemin really thought that this guy was really cool. Taemin could hardly believe that he and Minho were the same age since he handled the crowd so well. Taemin was still moving, but he was holding back a lot, and Minho noticed this.
“Come on Taemin, I know you can do better than that!” Minho encouraged, too close to Taemin’s ear. Taemin shivered, still finding Minho ridiculously attractive, as he had the first day that he saw Minho outside of Jonghyun’s car window. Taemin, already out of his normal state-of-mind, didn’t hesitate to begin dancing with more effort. Minho encouraged him and they continued this until they were both dying of exhaustion.
[Stop Playlist]
*****
Jonghyun entered one of the Hospital rooms, a slightly older nurse trailing behind him. The intern was supposed to teach Jonghyun the ropes of nursing, but he found no need. The intern allowed Jonghyun to be the nurse for the day, supervising him as he allowed him to do the simple things. Jonghyun felt butterflies in his stomach, even though this was already the fourth room he had visited. By doing simple things, I mean that Jonghyun did REALLY simple things. He pretty much just gave patients physicals, checking their height, weight, blood pressure, sight etc. and asked them some questions that needed to be answered depending on their reason of being in the hospital. Mostly, it was just kids with fevers and a few teenagers getting their physical for sports activities. Although Jonghyun was allowed to feed people medicine, nobody trusted him to actually give people shots, but Jonghyun was happy to watch as the guy that supervised him did that part. Jonghyun wasn’t really sure if he wanted to puncture people’s skin yet, neither.
Jonghyun was really beginning to enjoy this whole nursing thing. He felt really happy as he felt like he was helping the sick children. When he needed to, he carefully fed them their medicine and talked gently to all of ‘his patients’. The man who followed him around saw Jonghyun’s potential. Jonghyun was kind, patient, and accepting to all of his patients, and those were important traits for any nurse to have.
“Now, I need you to say ‘ahhh’ so that I can check if anything is hiding in your mouth,” Jonghyun instructed the little girl that sat in the hospital room. She sniffled and co-operated.
“Ahhh,” She said in a cute little voice. Jonghyun chuckled and gently pressed one of the tongue depressor on the little girl’s tongue.
“Good,” Jonghyun smiled, “Now, there’s no monsters in there, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Jonghyun stated. The little girl sighed in relief, causing Jonghyun to chuckle again. The kid’s mother smiled at Jonghyun’s silliness. He completed her check-up and gave her some medicine.
“This will taste a little yucky at first, but I want you to drink all of it,” Jonghyun instructed seriously. The little girl nodded and Jonghyun fed her the medicine. He held his breath, afraid that sooner or later, one of these kids would throw up. Luckily, she drank her medicine like a champ, “Good girl!” Jonghyun smiled proudly, patting her head. He gave the girl the strawberry lollipop that he promised her, and began talking to her mom about the medicine that her daughter would need. Although he looked professional on the outside, Jonghyun was just bouncing off the walls on the inside, feeling like such a professional. The mother and daughter thanked Jonghyun, and left the office. Jonghyun sat down and sighed happily.
“That was fun!” Jonghyun smiled. He didn’t get to rest for long when a lady in her fifties walked in, ready for a check-up. The guy supervising Jonghyun had to take this one, since she needed a shot, and as always, Jonghyun observed. Until his phone rang, that is. The guy supervising him allowed Jonghyun to answer the call. Jonghyun walked into the hallway and was surprised to find that Key was the one calling him. He was half pleased but half worried seeing that this call was probably about Taemin. Jonghyun answered as quickly as he could, and Key started panicking about Taemin wanting to drink. Jonghyun was confused on what changed Key’s mind from this morning when he seemed so excited to corrupt Taemin. Jonghyun half-heartedly allowed Key to give Taemin alcohol, trusting Key entirely. Jonghyun hung up the phone hoping that he wouldn’t regret this decision.
-----------------------------------------
A/N: Oh Taemin. Sawwwrry for Party Rocking. Yeah the songs on the playlist are boring xD This is because there will be a bigger and smecksier party later. So I'm saving the smecksie songs for later. This is really late because, I'll be honest, I'm lazy. xD Thank you all for still being here~ I'll try to update again soon ahah. iloveyouguysalot.
<--Prev(6a)||||| Next[Ch.7]-->
Main Characters: SHINee (+minor appearances from TVXQ/JYJ and other kpop groups)
Main pairing: Jongkey/2min/others
Chapters: (6b/?)
Genre: AU/School/Angst/Life
Rating: R [up to NC17 later on]
Warnings: Liberal teenagers, language, substance usage/abuse, the story is slow-paced so it takes a while to see your pairing appear. x) DARK FANFIC IS DARK. K
Forewords: Plain and simple, we’re young and indestructible. When you’re young, bored, and have money to spend, what is there left to do but live your moment while you can?
Disclaimer: This fanfic does not reflect any of my own views. I don’t approve substance abuse, neither do I want to justify it. This is just a story about the mistakes/experiences that kids these days go through. I don’t own the characters, settings etc. The idea of this fic may be inspired by existing shows/books etc, and any similarities to other fan-fics are purely coincidental. The events that occur don’t represent the actual places mentioned. This is a work of pure fiction.
A/N: This story does not take place in Korea. Shinee are all Asian Americans here. This is my first fic, I hope you don't hate me. D:>
Trailer | Prologue | 1 | 2a | 2b | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6a | 6b
Chapter 7: Party
“I like what you’re wearing” Key complimented with a smile, as he pulled out of Jonghyun and Taemin’s driveway. Taemin had changed into a white crewneck sweatshirt with a large picture of a city with black buildings that were only separated by bright, multi colored borders. (Outfit: Here He also wore black skinnies that weren’t exactly as form fitting as regular skinnies should be, yet was form fitting enough to look stylish along with clean white high tops. Taemin offered a shrug and a small ‘thanks’ but he honestly didn’t find his own clothes very interesting. (Actually, he only wore this because it was the only decent-looking outfit that he had unpacked so far) But it didn’t matter in the end since it’s not like he was that interested in what he wore anyways.
“Min, I hope you don’t mind if we stop by my house first. I need to change too, because I smell like sweat. We have a lot of time anyways,” Key had said after a few seconds.
“Oh no, I really don’t mind,” Taemin replied with that smile of his that turned his eyes into little, happily-curved slits. Key couldn’t stop himself from smiling back.
“Taemin, why are you so adorable?” Key asked, not being able to decide from watching the road and watching Taemin being adorable.
“I don’t know, I guess I was born that way, hyung,” Taemin joked, causing Key to laugh.
“Oh, Min Lee, how did I ever live a life without you?” Key shook his head. They both began talking about dancing the rest of the way and by the time that the conversation had died down, they’d already reached Key’s house.
The exterior of the house didn’t look too special, as it was cluttered with a mess of various plants. The excessive amount of trees and the large garden caused the house itself to look smaller, although it definitely wasn’t. The property itself was pretty big, considering that Key had his own little concrete parking space under some trees within the garden (pretty much the whole yard) itself. Granted, the space wasn’t huge, but the fact that it was there was still impressive. Once Taemin and Key exited the car, they followed the small amount of concrete to the stone path that leads to Key’s front porch. Obviously, the gardener didn’t want anyone anywhere near the grass. The porch looked old, but in an antique way. It was rather large, wooden with a tin roof and wide handrails that were neatly covered with sunflower pots. (Porch is similar to: This) The looked plain for the most part, until Taemin noticed that the door knocker was very intricately designed and looked as if it were made by solid gold. Key took out his house Keys and finally opened the door (all the while immediately reminding Taemin to remove his shoes) and revealed two, fancy looking, wide staircases at each side of the wall. The whole room was dedicated to the stairs; a foyer of some sort. The walls were covered with white and brown wallpaper and the stairs, matching the floor and railings, were a dark brown. Between the staircases was a door-less frame that seemed to lead into a rather large living groom. To the right, just in front of one of the large staircases, was another door-less frame that Key explains, lead to the kitchen and dining room. To the left, was apparently a library/entertainment room. It was obvious to Taemin, now that Key was quite a fortunate fellow. As much as Key was eager to give Taemin a tour of the house, he was a lot more eager to get dressed, so he pulled Taemin up the stairs on the left and lead him to his own room. Taemin took a quick look around Key’s bedroom before jumping in his large bed.
“Ohhhh my gosh. And I thought my bed was comfortable,” Taemin sighed, snuggling into Key’s luxuriously soft pillows. If you haven’t noticed by now, Taemin, just like his cousin, has a thing about beds and jumping into them. Key chuckled at the sight.
“No seriously, can I adopt you?” Key asked, walking to his own closet. Taemin hummed as a sign of approval.
“Hyung, this room doesn’t look like it belongs to you,” Taemin said honestly, sitting up and looking around more. He got up and walked to Key’s paintings, “Or at least, it’s not what I expected from the impression you give off,” he stated, picking a painting up of a happy bird family. The way that Key chose to color his paintings was very interesting though, since everything was bright and clashing.
“Oh?” Key asked, truthfully not so surprised, “Really? I guess I have two personalities then, because I thought that this room reflected me very well. What did you expect?” He asked, genuinely interested, picking out a few articles of clothing.
“I expected your room to be like the rest of your house. You know, elegant, classy-”
“Oh, you mean like, boring?” Key asked in amusement.
“Not boring, but definitely not this lively,” Taemin said.
“I don’t seem lively?” Key asked, almost offended.
“It’s not that, it’s just that you seem really into that classy stuff,” Taemin replied. Key stayed silent, making Taemin worry, “I mean, I don’t mean that in an offensive way, I just meant that…uh, it’s just that the colors are so vibrant, well…I guess your car is too but…I mean it’s a good thing…that you’re lively I just-ugh this is why I shouldn’t talk so much, maybe this is why I didn’t have friends-”
“Taemin!” Key laughed, “Calm yourself, boy. I was just thinking about it, and I agree with you. This room is really…really different from what you see isn’t it? But trust me; this place describes me better than anything else ever will,” Key laughed more, but it came out so distant, like he was thinking of a fond memory.
“Oh…”
“And, no friends? Why no friends? How can anyone not want you as their friend?” Key asked, finally looking at Taemin who was pretending to look through his art, although he was actually still panicking about the thought of offending Key.
“I don’t know umma, they thought I was weird I guess. I don’t usually start conversations with strangers,” Taemin confessed. Key laughed.
“Umma? I like it. Well, they’re stupid for not getting to know you, but you should make the first move sometimes too, you know,”
“Yeah, Jonghyun hyung says that too,”
“Jonghyun is a wise kid, don’t tell him I said that, but he’s wise,”
“Ew,” Taemin replied instantly to the compliment that was directed to his cousin, “Just kidding, but yeah, I guess,”
“I know it’s scary,” Key smiled knowingly, pausing his scavenger for the perfect outfit, “But you have nothing to lose. You only live once; might as well take a few risks, or else you’ll never know, right?” When Key put it that way, Taemin understood more. Nobody ever worded things the way that Key has. Taemin never thought about the fact that by speaking to someone, he had nothing to lose. Always being told to ‘just do it’ always made Taemin feel even less confident, not knowing exactly what it was that they wanted him to do, but putting a reason why to do it like Key had, made him think twice about trying. It’s funny how a few words could change so much. Taemin retreated to the bed and Key soon pieced together his perfect outfit. Even after putting everything on, there was an hour and a half left before the party. (Key’s outfit: Here)Since being early was lame, Key laid down beside Taemin and they wordlessly rested until the clock read “7pm”.
*****
Taemin could only describe himself as nervous once Key’s car pulled over to an unfamiliar house. It was a two story house, not as big as Key’s, but large nonetheless. They saw that colorful cars were already parked all over the neighborhood, and so had difficulty just looking for a place to leave Key’s expensive vehicle. Finally finding a space three houses down, they exited the car and made way for the venue of the night’s events.
[Playlist: HERE]
Taemin could already hear the pulsating beats of modern-day pop music from 20 feet away. Key wrapped an arm around Taemin’s shoulders, noticing his state of discomfort, and lead him along the way. They stopped right in front of the door, dark blue with gold painted accents. Key texted the owner of the house to announce their arrival, and soon a talk, dark and handsome guy opened the door, wearing a black t-shirt with neon colored monsters and acid washed jeans.
“KEY, You’re here,” The guy said in a startlingly deep voice, shoulder-bumping with Key.
“Hey, Taecyeon. This is my new protégé-slash-son, Min,” Key introduced.
“Hey Min. Um…how old are you?”
“He’s a sophomore. Can we come in? It’s damn cold,” Key answered for Taemin.
“Right, right. Sorry, my bad your highness,” Taecyeon moved aside and let both boys enter. Taemin was speechless upon entering. The place looked like a set for a T.V show; every single person was pretty beautiful or at least, carried themselves well. Once you enter the house, you’ll find couches, a staircase, a doorframe and a t.v. Through the doorframe was the kitchen/dining-room. The music in the house was terribly loud, but the teenagers within it were louder, all laughing and conversing. The living room was already full of gorgeous people. He spotted Amber on the couch with Nicole and some guys that Taemin was not familiar with. Actually, he technically only really knew Key. Taemin was suddenly very uneasy. Nicole got up, upon spotting Key and gave him a short hug before sitting back down. Key lead Taemin through the crowd of people, into the dining room; everyone greeting Key along their way. Taemin began wondering what it felt like to be like this; to be loved and adored by everyone. Taemin couldn’t help but desire and imagine it, but he laughed quietly and darkly, remembering who he was. He was Taemin Lee, and Taemin Lee was nothing similar to Key Kim. In the end, Taemin figured that it wouldn’t hurt to dream.
Between the staircase and the back of one of the couches was an open space that was occupied by a group of people dancing to the music. Key was surprised that the dancing was still slightly appropriate, but then he remembered that the bumping and grinding will begin once the party gets going; it was still early. Reaching the dining-room/kitchen and there, they found Minho and Onew sitting around a round dining table, playing “Uno”.
“Minho, stop being so abnormally competitive,” One of the girls yelled, getting frustrated.
“Shut up, get on my level,” Minho replied, not caring about what she was saying.
“You know what; you’re a bitch!”
“LALALALALALA SOMEONE’S A SORE LOSER,” Minho covered his ears. These two were definitely providing the entertainment in the kitchen/dining-room, causing laughter from everyone all around.
“Min! Key! You guys are here!” Onew smiled, waving them over. Key and Taemin stood behind the group and watched them play cards.
“Min, you don’t mind staying here for a while right? I’m just going to go talk to Nicole,” Key asked politely.
“Oh, no problem,” Taemin smiled.
“Taemin, do you want to play?” Onew instantly offered as Key left the room.
“Sure,” Taemin accepted. Onew got up so that Taemin could take his spot. Minho greeted Taemin and they started a new game of Uno. The girl that Minho was arguing with was apparently Jessica, Krystal’s sister from Chaerin’s story. Taemin thought that she seemed really nice because when Key and his girlfriend came to watch, she was friendly to both of them. It was almost like they were just good friends, making Chaerin’s story less and less relevant.
After a few games, two rowdy boys suddenly barged into the dining-room/kitchen through the back door and they were carrying what seemed to be very heavy boxes.
“Taecyeonnie, we’re here,” They called, walking over to the table that they were all sitting at. They set down the boxes at the middle of the table.
“Hey, asshole! We were playing a game here,” Jessica yelled.
“Calm yourself girl,” One of the guys laughed, “Get your asses up, we’re not here to play Uno!” The group that was playing groaned and complained, yet everyone got up, anyways. Taemin noticed that the bottles were obviously alcoholic beverages. There were cans and bottles of ‘Budweiser’, ‘Heineken’, ‘San Miguel’ and also bottles of Absolut Vodka, Grey Goose, Hennessey, and hard lemonade. More boxes contained things that Taemin didn’t even recognize. He saw glass tubes and what looked to be like some type of plant.
“Wow, you guys are really going light tonight, aren’t you?” Onew asked, half sarcastic and half disappointed.
“Of course, silly. The school year just started. We still need most of our brain cells,” One of the guys answered. Everyone walked to the living room, and Key walked beside Taemin.
“Min, if you’re not comfortable with drinking or weed, you don’t have to do any of it. I’m assuming you don’t, but I’m curious…”
“I don’t. I’ve never drank or smoked before,” Taemin admitted, “But…I’ll have to try sometime right?” He added in a small voice. Key smiled at him.
“No need. Don’t feel pressured to do it, we’re here to kick back, not to try stupid things,” Key laughed.
“I really want to,”
“…really? Well…I don’t know about…”
“No, Key, really! I want to try it. Please? It’s better if I tried it now, while you’re supervising me rather than getting it elsewhere, right?” Taemin pleaded. Key sighed, not really knowing if he should corrupt Taemin so quickly. Mostly, he was afraid of what Taemin’s family would think of him, since they did trust him with Taemin throughout the duration of this party.
“Wait…I need to ask Jonghyun first. I’ll be back, please don’t do anything while I’m gone,” Key said, giving Taemin a stern look.
“Okay…” Taemin answered, looking at his own feet. Key messed up his hair, endearingly, and walked to a quieter area to call Jonghyun. He didn’t expect Jonghyun to answer his phone so quickly, since he was spending time with his dad, but Jonghyun picked up within two rings.
“Hello? Key?” Jonghyun asked.
“Hey, Jjong. Um…you see, just as you have previously predicted,” Key annunciated, “Some guys brought some drinks and uh, how do I say this? Well, your cousin wants to drink. I know you already said to let him try, but really, are you sure?”
“Well…” Jonghyun sighed loudly, “damn, I really want to say ‘no’ but, I don’t want him thinking that we think that he can’t take it or something. He’s really sensitive, and he hates it when people think that he’s too young or anything; nothing makes him angrier than that. Just…let him have some but don’t give him too much, okay?”
“SHIT, JJONG. How am I supposed to feel, you’re not even sure, yourself!” Key panicked. Jonghyun laughed.
“How cute,” He mocked, “I’m sure. I don’t want to over-protect him. Let him make his own mistakes, you know? Again, just don’t let it get too far,”
“Yeah, yeah, ‘kay,” Key sighed, “Well, I’m off to teach your cousin how to massacre his own liver with alcohol,”
“Have fun,” Jonghyun replied, Key could hear his smile.
“I wish you were here though. You’d probably handle this better,”
“I’m sure you do. I wish I was there as well. Just kidding, not really. I have to go now,”
“Alright, bye,”
“See you,” the line died and Key walked over to Taemin, informing him that he was allowed to try. Key has corrupted many kids before, but he was so unsure about Taemin. He really did feel like the kid was his own son, although the reason was beyond him, since he usually doesn’t get too attached to people whom he’d just met. Key led Taemin to the kitchen and decided to give him something light. Meanwhile, some tall, a giddy group consisting of Taecyeon and the two guys from earlier was pouring vodka into a bowl of jellybeans. Key laughed at them and began mixing a random bottle of beer with Coca-Cola in one of those red cups that always seemed to be present at the parties that they showed on t.v.
“Start light, we’ll see where we’ll go from here,” Key smiled, handing Taemin the cup. He watched intently as Taemin brought the cup to his lips. Taemin felt self-conscious as Key stared him down, it didn’t help that some of the other kids in the kitchen were eying him curiously, too. Taemin took a deep breath and finally sipped the drink. It was soda; bitter soda, but still soda. Taemin lifted the cup to stare at it. What was the big deal?
“So, how is it?” Key asked.
“It’s…okay. Um…how am I supposed to feel?” Taemin asked. Key laughed at him.
“I take it that you want to try the real deal, don’t you?” Key shook his head. Taemin smiled slightly, he couldn’t really deny it. He’d already made up his mind.
“Do you want to try hard lemonade first?” Key asked.
“No, hyung,” Taemin smiled one of those smiles again. Key began seeing him as a tad bit cheeky, and he liked it. Minho and Onew walked in, just as Kibum was handing Taemin a can of Budweiser.
“Woah, min; you drink?” Minho asked, reaching over for his own drink of choice. Onew looked worried, though he still reached for his own bottle of beer. Taemin took a big gulp of his drink, before anyone else could doubt him. Taemin let out a satisfied sigh and grinned, hoping that he didn’t have to answer the previously asked question. Minho laughed at Taemin’s expression and reached over to mess up his hair. Onew gave a small smile, obviously amused by the boy, and Key looked proudly as he poured himself a bit of his favorite flavored vodka.
“Let’s get on the floor, yeah?” Minho urged, swinging one arm around Taemin and another around Onew. Key, let them go on their own and stayed behind to hang out with Taecyeon.
The lights were dimmer, the living room was fuller, the music was louder and Taemin wondered when all these people got here. Minho, wearing glow-in-the-dark red framed boxy sun glasses, lead Taemin into the middle of the crowd that was moving to the music. Nobody sat on the couch anymore. Everyone was up, dancing, smoking or talking loudly with others. The bumping and grinding had definitely begun. Taemin took another gulp of his drink and felt lighter already. He smiled, satisfied again, not minding the awful bitter taste and his own burning throat. He began moving naturally with the music and Minho was beside him, amping up the party by howling and making other loud noises. Everyone seemed to cheer along with him, and Taemin really thought that this guy was really cool. Taemin could hardly believe that he and Minho were the same age since he handled the crowd so well. Taemin was still moving, but he was holding back a lot, and Minho noticed this.
“Come on Taemin, I know you can do better than that!” Minho encouraged, too close to Taemin’s ear. Taemin shivered, still finding Minho ridiculously attractive, as he had the first day that he saw Minho outside of Jonghyun’s car window. Taemin, already out of his normal state-of-mind, didn’t hesitate to begin dancing with more effort. Minho encouraged him and they continued this until they were both dying of exhaustion.
[Stop Playlist]
*****
Jonghyun entered one of the Hospital rooms, a slightly older nurse trailing behind him. The intern was supposed to teach Jonghyun the ropes of nursing, but he found no need. The intern allowed Jonghyun to be the nurse for the day, supervising him as he allowed him to do the simple things. Jonghyun felt butterflies in his stomach, even though this was already the fourth room he had visited. By doing simple things, I mean that Jonghyun did REALLY simple things. He pretty much just gave patients physicals, checking their height, weight, blood pressure, sight etc. and asked them some questions that needed to be answered depending on their reason of being in the hospital. Mostly, it was just kids with fevers and a few teenagers getting their physical for sports activities. Although Jonghyun was allowed to feed people medicine, nobody trusted him to actually give people shots, but Jonghyun was happy to watch as the guy that supervised him did that part. Jonghyun wasn’t really sure if he wanted to puncture people’s skin yet, neither.
Jonghyun was really beginning to enjoy this whole nursing thing. He felt really happy as he felt like he was helping the sick children. When he needed to, he carefully fed them their medicine and talked gently to all of ‘his patients’. The man who followed him around saw Jonghyun’s potential. Jonghyun was kind, patient, and accepting to all of his patients, and those were important traits for any nurse to have.
“Now, I need you to say ‘ahhh’ so that I can check if anything is hiding in your mouth,” Jonghyun instructed the little girl that sat in the hospital room. She sniffled and co-operated.
“Ahhh,” She said in a cute little voice. Jonghyun chuckled and gently pressed one of the tongue depressor on the little girl’s tongue.
“Good,” Jonghyun smiled, “Now, there’s no monsters in there, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Jonghyun stated. The little girl sighed in relief, causing Jonghyun to chuckle again. The kid’s mother smiled at Jonghyun’s silliness. He completed her check-up and gave her some medicine.
“This will taste a little yucky at first, but I want you to drink all of it,” Jonghyun instructed seriously. The little girl nodded and Jonghyun fed her the medicine. He held his breath, afraid that sooner or later, one of these kids would throw up. Luckily, she drank her medicine like a champ, “Good girl!” Jonghyun smiled proudly, patting her head. He gave the girl the strawberry lollipop that he promised her, and began talking to her mom about the medicine that her daughter would need. Although he looked professional on the outside, Jonghyun was just bouncing off the walls on the inside, feeling like such a professional. The mother and daughter thanked Jonghyun, and left the office. Jonghyun sat down and sighed happily.
“That was fun!” Jonghyun smiled. He didn’t get to rest for long when a lady in her fifties walked in, ready for a check-up. The guy supervising Jonghyun had to take this one, since she needed a shot, and as always, Jonghyun observed. Until his phone rang, that is. The guy supervising him allowed Jonghyun to answer the call. Jonghyun walked into the hallway and was surprised to find that Key was the one calling him. He was half pleased but half worried seeing that this call was probably about Taemin. Jonghyun answered as quickly as he could, and Key started panicking about Taemin wanting to drink. Jonghyun was confused on what changed Key’s mind from this morning when he seemed so excited to corrupt Taemin. Jonghyun half-heartedly allowed Key to give Taemin alcohol, trusting Key entirely. Jonghyun hung up the phone hoping that he wouldn’t regret this decision.
-----------------------------------------
A/N: Oh Taemin. Sawwwrry for Party Rocking. Yeah the songs on the playlist are boring xD This is because there will be a bigger and smecksier party later. So I'm saving the smecksie songs for later. This is really late because, I'll be honest, I'm lazy. xD Thank you all for still being here~ I'll try to update again soon ahah. iloveyouguysalot.
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