[One-Shot] A Want Versus A Need
Title: A Want Versus A Need
Author: Knowmonsta
Pairing: Choi Minho/Lee Taemin
Words: 2,560
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Summary: Taemin finds himself trapped in relationship with too much materialism for his liking.
Note: I've wanted to write 2Min for a while now. They're too friggin' adorable together. XD I hope you guys like it! SHINee Prompt Generator Prompt: All I Want Is Love.
From the outside the house looks to be two floors and an attic. It's painted white except for the blue on the window frames and the door. Taemin looks open mouthed at the property.
"This…is for me?" he asks in awe.
"Yep," Minho replies, smiling.
"It's my engagement present to you. Do you like it?"
"Of course I do!" Taemin says excitedly. "When do we move in?"
"Next week," Minho replies amused at Taemin's enthusiasm. "Come on, I'll show you around."
Taemin follows Minho inside and they start from the basement. It's a wide space painted green that serves as an entertainment center. There's a sixty inch plasma high definition television on the wall. Off to the left side are two doors. Behind one is a billiard table and behind the other is a stack of board games on the carpet and a dart board on the wall.
"I can't wait to beat you in every single game in this basement," Taemin says smiling.
"Good luck with that," Minho says smiling back.
They head to the next floor which is painted blue. Taemin sees that the kitchen is stocked with enough food to last them for months. Next to it is the dining room which has an oak table that seats fourteen people.
"Isn't this a little large for just the two of us?" he asks.
"There may be times when I invite people over for dinner," Minho says and Taemin nods.
The living room has a fifty-five inch flat screen television against the wall. There's a cable box and a DVD player in boxes next to it.
"That's a region all DVD player," Minho tells him and Taemin blinks.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Oh my God that's so cool!"
Minho laughs and leads Taemin upstairs. The walls are painted red. He opens the door to the bedroom. The bed is king sized. To the right of it is a glass door with orange drapes and a gold painted aluminum curtain rod. Minho opens the door in the left hand corner to reveal the bathroom. There's a sink with two faucets, a large tub, and a glass shower stall.
"You could swim in that tub," Taemin says amazed and Minho chuckles.
"And now comes the best part."
"You mean there's something better than the game room?"
"So much better."
Minho goes back into the bedroom and opens the sliding door to reveal a balcony. Taemin walks through and his eyes light up as he sees the beach just eight hundred feet away.
"It's so pretty," he says.
"You wanna take a swim?"
"Now?"
"Of course."
Taemin smiles.
"Yeah let's do it!" he exclaims.
At that moment Minho's cell phone rings. Taemin's smile falters.
"I have to take this," Minho says.
Taemin nods and watches as Minho goes back into the bedroom. The older boy talks to the person on the other end looking a little more irritated with every word spoken. Eventually he sighs and hangs up.
"My father needs me," he says. "I won't be able to swim with you."
Taemin forces a smile on his face.
"That's fine," he says. "I was feeling tired anyway. I should go home."
"I'll have a car come to get you," Minho replies as Taemin follows him back down the stairs. "Wait on the porch for it okay?"
Taemin nods and Minho gets into his car.
"I'll see you soon," he says and Taemin watches as he drives away. He sits on the porch and sighs.
"Will there ever be a time when his father doesn't need him?" he asks quietly.
In the next two months that follow, Taemin realizes that there wouldn't be.
It's one in the morning but Taemin's wide awake, curled up in ball on the left side of his king sized bed. Despite the fact that there's so much space, he doesn't move. The other half of the bed isn't his. He groans as he looks at the perfectly made up sheets and rolls over only to see the large oak vanity mirror against the wall. He lay on his back and frowns at the television and Sega Dreamcast staring back at him. He sighs, rips the sheets off of his body, pulls on his pajamas, and snatches his cell phone off of the nightstand next to his bed, slamming the door as he leaves the room.
He switches on the lights as he goes downstairs and into the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator and frowns as he sees a plate covered in foil, Minho's dinner. Under it are plates containing dinner from the past three nights, all untouched. He takes a bottle of sparkling water off of the top shelf, closes the refrigerator door, and sits in the living room on the couch with the lamp dimly lighting the room. He sips the drink and stares at the flat screen television in front of him. His eyes slowly move down to the cable box and the all region DVD player. All three are covered in a thin layer of dust. He refuses to touch them.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence he flips open his cell phone and dials Minho's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey it's me. I just wanted to know when you were coming home."
"I should be finished here in about thirty minutes, if I'm not interrupted."
"Alright."
"By the way did you get a package today?"
"Yeah," Taemin says frowning. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it. I'll see you later okay?"
"Okay. I lov -"
Click. Taemin sighs and closes the phone.
The package Minho referred to was currently sitting on the dining room table. Taemin gets up from the couch and opens it, scowling as he sees a Nintendo Wii and a note.
"I know there's one in the basement already but I thought having one in the bedroom would be nice too." - Minho
"How nice of you," Taemin mutters. "But I don't want it."
He grabs the Wii and stomps upstairs to the attic. He rips open the door and carelessly tosses the box on top of the twenty other packages from Minho. He returns downstairs and sits in the dining room. There are two large wooden cabinets, filled with glass plates, silver cutlery, and dozens of wine glasses.
Before he knows it, he's on his feet again, ripping open the cabinet and smashing everything on the wooden floor.
"Paper and plastic are far more reliable," Taemin says as he flings the wine glasses across the floor. "They don't break and they're cheap. So I hope your dinner guests don't mind if I get rid of these and replace them."
When he's finished he smiles and walks around the mess. He grabs his cell phone and heads back upstairs to his room, dialing another number.
"Hello?"
"Kibum it's me."
"Tae-ah what's wrong? Why are you calling so…where is he?"
"At work."
"When will he be back?"
"In about thirty minutes," Taemin replies as he sits out on the balcony. He sighs as he looks out at the dark sky. It describes his mood perfectly. "But I don't believe him.
"Doesn't he know that's it's rude to leave a person in the house alone for that long?"
"He can't help that he's busy all of the time," Taemin says defensively.
"Do you really believe that?" Kibum asks.
"Yeah I do."
"Taemin, he is the son of the company president. If he wanted to leave, he could and he would."
Taemin feel knots forming in his stomach.
"What are you saying?" he asks quietly.
"You know what I'm saying," Kibum says gently.
There's silence as Taemin processes Kibum's words.
"Tae-ah, why do you stay in that house? Why do you put yourself through this?"
"Because I...I love him."
Kibum sighs.
"Honey, I know you do," he says. "But love shouldn't be one sided."
"But he wouldn't have married me if he didn't have feelings for me!" Taemin exclaims. "Why would he spend the rest of his life with a person he didn't love?"
"Why do most rich businessmen marry a pretty partner? Because he doesn't have to see you if he gives you everything a person could possibly want. He thinks you'll be pleased enough with it not to bother him. That's a nice set up for him, don't you think?"
"I-I don't believe you," Taemin says softly.
"I'm not telling you this to hurt you."
"Really? Then what other possible reason is there Kibum?" Taemin asks angrily.
"Because you need to know what's going on!"
"You don't think I do?!" Taemin shouts. "You don't think that I haven't thought about this before tonight? He's never here! He gets up at seven o'clock in the morning every day and doesn't get back until after midnight. Every time I call he goes 'I'm so-rry'. And then the next day there's a gift on the front porch. I have a cell phone, a Blackberry, a laptop, every damn game system ever created, a car and now a house! It's a beautiful house, the kind of house most people dream about living in. And I hate it because I practically live here alone!"
"Taemin…"
"Do you know what that feels like?"
Kibum wonders how long Taemin has held it in.
"No," he says quietly. "I don't know."
"There's no one to talk to," Taemin whispers. "I eat at a large table by myself. I haven't had a good night sleep in weeks. I hear my footsteps echoing as I walk every single minute of the day. I'm so cold and so lonely that it's driving me insane. And what do I get for being lonely? A Play Station 3, as if that solves the issue!
"I'm not stupid, Kibum. I know that there's a possibility that I'm just a bracelet for his arm at social events. But I also know that there's a possibility that he does care about me. And I know that it's tiny but nevertheless I have to believe that it's true. I don't want to be with anyone else and that's why I'm still here. I can't believe you when you say he doesn't want me. So I don't."
Kibum sighs.
"Then you know that you can't keep talking to me whenever you have a problem with Minho right?"
"Yeah, I know."
Taemin hears the front door open and he sighs.
"I gotta go, he's here."
"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Tae-ah."
Taemin closes the phone and goes back inside. After securing the screen door he crawls back into his side of the bed and stares at the bedroom door until Minho walks inside. The older boy sends him a weak smile and then heads into the bathroom. When he gets out of the shower he slides into the other side of the bed and faces Taemin.
"I noticed that the dishes in the cabinet are shattered all over the floor. What happened?"
"I was reaching for a plate and I accidently tilted the cabinet when I pulled it out," Taemin says calmly. "The dishes started falling before I could stop them."
"I figured that was what happened," Minho replies. "But then I noticed that the dishes in the second cabinet were all broken too. If you already had a plate, there was no reason for the second cabinet too, was there?"
Taemin stiffens.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Minho asks.
"No," Taemin replies rolling over so that his back is to Minho.
"Well I want to."
Taemin rolls his eyes.
"Don't you have to go to work in like four hours?" he asks. "You should go to sleep."
"Is that why you did it?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Taemin says firmly.
Minho sighs.
"Fine. I'll ask the maid to clean up tomorrow."
"Perfect," Taemin says dryly. "She can do that and leave me another card board box. Problem solved right?"
"Taemin what do you want me to do?" Minho asks angrily.
Taemin twists around and glares at him.
"Do I really have to spell it out for you?!"
"That would help!"
"Alright then! I want you to have a regular work schedule like normal people. I want you to stop sending me these stupid gifts! I want us to do something together, and at this point I don't care what it is! An-"
Taemin's voice cracks. Minho sees the tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
"And if you care about me at all," Taemin says quietly. "I want you to show it. Okay?"
"O…okay," Minho says. "I will."
"Great," Taemin whispers. "Goodnight."
He turns around and pulls the sheets around him. A few minutes later he feels a hand gently squeeze his.
"Goodnight," Minho says softly.
The next morning Taemin wakes up to the smell of rice and fish and blinks. He looks at the clock: 10:00am.
"Well that's strange," he says to himself as he gets out of the bed. "Usually the maid is here earlier than this."
He jogs down the stairs and blinks as he sees Minho setting the dining room. Taemin notes the fact that the chairs are next to each other instead of at the ends of the table. He grins slightly.
"Good morning," Minho says.
"Good morning," Taemin replies. "What happened to the maid?"
"I called her and told her to take the week off," Minho tells him. "I cleaned the glass myself."
"Why?"
"I caused the mess, so I cleaned it. That sounds fair enough, don't you agree?"
"But that wasn't your -"
"- yes it was. If you weren't upset with me, this never would've happened."
Minho sits at the table and Taemin joins him.
"I'm so sorry," Minho says staring directly at him. "I didn't know you were so miserable here by yourself. And who knows how bad it could've gotten if you didn't lash out at me yesterday."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. I'm glad you did it."
He puts a hand over top of Taemin's and smiles softly.
"For most of my life I've dealt with people by using money," he says. "Friends, people I've dated, colleagues, even those that were higher up on the corporate chain had no complaints about my behavior as long as I put a wad of cash in their wallet. So when I started to have feelings for you and I realized that you were interested in me, I wanted to keep you around. I spoiled you and since you didn't complain, I figured you were just like everyone else; only interested in my money. I didn't bother to think about how you felt."
"You never needed money to keep me around," Taemin replies quietly.
"I know that now," Minho tells him. "Can you forgive me?"
Taemin smiles softly.
"Yes," he says nodding and Minho squeezes his hand.
"I called my father," he says. "I told him that I was taking the week off."
"Really?" Taemin asks excitedly. He then frowns. "He won't be too mad, will he?"
"He'll live," Minho replies and Taemin laughs. "Now let's eat quickly. I owe you a day at the beach."
The two start eating and Taemin notes the change of temperature in the house. It's a little warmer than it has been in the past couple of months. He looks forward to the day when the cold is gone completely.
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Author: Knowmonsta
Pairing: Choi Minho/Lee Taemin
Words: 2,560
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Summary: Taemin finds himself trapped in relationship with too much materialism for his liking.
Note: I've wanted to write 2Min for a while now. They're too friggin' adorable together. XD I hope you guys like it! SHINee Prompt Generator Prompt: All I Want Is Love.
From the outside the house looks to be two floors and an attic. It's painted white except for the blue on the window frames and the door. Taemin looks open mouthed at the property.
"This…is for me?" he asks in awe.
"Yep," Minho replies, smiling.
"It's my engagement present to you. Do you like it?"
"Of course I do!" Taemin says excitedly. "When do we move in?"
"Next week," Minho replies amused at Taemin's enthusiasm. "Come on, I'll show you around."
Taemin follows Minho inside and they start from the basement. It's a wide space painted green that serves as an entertainment center. There's a sixty inch plasma high definition television on the wall. Off to the left side are two doors. Behind one is a billiard table and behind the other is a stack of board games on the carpet and a dart board on the wall.
"I can't wait to beat you in every single game in this basement," Taemin says smiling.
"Good luck with that," Minho says smiling back.
They head to the next floor which is painted blue. Taemin sees that the kitchen is stocked with enough food to last them for months. Next to it is the dining room which has an oak table that seats fourteen people.
"Isn't this a little large for just the two of us?" he asks.
"There may be times when I invite people over for dinner," Minho says and Taemin nods.
The living room has a fifty-five inch flat screen television against the wall. There's a cable box and a DVD player in boxes next to it.
"That's a region all DVD player," Minho tells him and Taemin blinks.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Oh my God that's so cool!"
Minho laughs and leads Taemin upstairs. The walls are painted red. He opens the door to the bedroom. The bed is king sized. To the right of it is a glass door with orange drapes and a gold painted aluminum curtain rod. Minho opens the door in the left hand corner to reveal the bathroom. There's a sink with two faucets, a large tub, and a glass shower stall.
"You could swim in that tub," Taemin says amazed and Minho chuckles.
"And now comes the best part."
"You mean there's something better than the game room?"
"So much better."
Minho goes back into the bedroom and opens the sliding door to reveal a balcony. Taemin walks through and his eyes light up as he sees the beach just eight hundred feet away.
"It's so pretty," he says.
"You wanna take a swim?"
"Now?"
"Of course."
Taemin smiles.
"Yeah let's do it!" he exclaims.
At that moment Minho's cell phone rings. Taemin's smile falters.
"I have to take this," Minho says.
Taemin nods and watches as Minho goes back into the bedroom. The older boy talks to the person on the other end looking a little more irritated with every word spoken. Eventually he sighs and hangs up.
"My father needs me," he says. "I won't be able to swim with you."
Taemin forces a smile on his face.
"That's fine," he says. "I was feeling tired anyway. I should go home."
"I'll have a car come to get you," Minho replies as Taemin follows him back down the stairs. "Wait on the porch for it okay?"
Taemin nods and Minho gets into his car.
"I'll see you soon," he says and Taemin watches as he drives away. He sits on the porch and sighs.
"Will there ever be a time when his father doesn't need him?" he asks quietly.
In the next two months that follow, Taemin realizes that there wouldn't be.
It's one in the morning but Taemin's wide awake, curled up in ball on the left side of his king sized bed. Despite the fact that there's so much space, he doesn't move. The other half of the bed isn't his. He groans as he looks at the perfectly made up sheets and rolls over only to see the large oak vanity mirror against the wall. He lay on his back and frowns at the television and Sega Dreamcast staring back at him. He sighs, rips the sheets off of his body, pulls on his pajamas, and snatches his cell phone off of the nightstand next to his bed, slamming the door as he leaves the room.
He switches on the lights as he goes downstairs and into the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator and frowns as he sees a plate covered in foil, Minho's dinner. Under it are plates containing dinner from the past three nights, all untouched. He takes a bottle of sparkling water off of the top shelf, closes the refrigerator door, and sits in the living room on the couch with the lamp dimly lighting the room. He sips the drink and stares at the flat screen television in front of him. His eyes slowly move down to the cable box and the all region DVD player. All three are covered in a thin layer of dust. He refuses to touch them.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence he flips open his cell phone and dials Minho's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey it's me. I just wanted to know when you were coming home."
"I should be finished here in about thirty minutes, if I'm not interrupted."
"Alright."
"By the way did you get a package today?"
"Yeah," Taemin says frowning. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it. I'll see you later okay?"
"Okay. I lov -"
Click. Taemin sighs and closes the phone.
The package Minho referred to was currently sitting on the dining room table. Taemin gets up from the couch and opens it, scowling as he sees a Nintendo Wii and a note.
"I know there's one in the basement already but I thought having one in the bedroom would be nice too." - Minho
"How nice of you," Taemin mutters. "But I don't want it."
He grabs the Wii and stomps upstairs to the attic. He rips open the door and carelessly tosses the box on top of the twenty other packages from Minho. He returns downstairs and sits in the dining room. There are two large wooden cabinets, filled with glass plates, silver cutlery, and dozens of wine glasses.
Before he knows it, he's on his feet again, ripping open the cabinet and smashing everything on the wooden floor.
"Paper and plastic are far more reliable," Taemin says as he flings the wine glasses across the floor. "They don't break and they're cheap. So I hope your dinner guests don't mind if I get rid of these and replace them."
When he's finished he smiles and walks around the mess. He grabs his cell phone and heads back upstairs to his room, dialing another number.
"Hello?"
"Kibum it's me."
"Tae-ah what's wrong? Why are you calling so…where is he?"
"At work."
"When will he be back?"
"In about thirty minutes," Taemin replies as he sits out on the balcony. He sighs as he looks out at the dark sky. It describes his mood perfectly. "But I don't believe him.
"Doesn't he know that's it's rude to leave a person in the house alone for that long?"
"He can't help that he's busy all of the time," Taemin says defensively.
"Do you really believe that?" Kibum asks.
"Yeah I do."
"Taemin, he is the son of the company president. If he wanted to leave, he could and he would."
Taemin feel knots forming in his stomach.
"What are you saying?" he asks quietly.
"You know what I'm saying," Kibum says gently.
There's silence as Taemin processes Kibum's words.
"Tae-ah, why do you stay in that house? Why do you put yourself through this?"
"Because I...I love him."
Kibum sighs.
"Honey, I know you do," he says. "But love shouldn't be one sided."
"But he wouldn't have married me if he didn't have feelings for me!" Taemin exclaims. "Why would he spend the rest of his life with a person he didn't love?"
"Why do most rich businessmen marry a pretty partner? Because he doesn't have to see you if he gives you everything a person could possibly want. He thinks you'll be pleased enough with it not to bother him. That's a nice set up for him, don't you think?"
"I-I don't believe you," Taemin says softly.
"I'm not telling you this to hurt you."
"Really? Then what other possible reason is there Kibum?" Taemin asks angrily.
"Because you need to know what's going on!"
"You don't think I do?!" Taemin shouts. "You don't think that I haven't thought about this before tonight? He's never here! He gets up at seven o'clock in the morning every day and doesn't get back until after midnight. Every time I call he goes 'I'm so-rry'. And then the next day there's a gift on the front porch. I have a cell phone, a Blackberry, a laptop, every damn game system ever created, a car and now a house! It's a beautiful house, the kind of house most people dream about living in. And I hate it because I practically live here alone!"
"Taemin…"
"Do you know what that feels like?"
Kibum wonders how long Taemin has held it in.
"No," he says quietly. "I don't know."
"There's no one to talk to," Taemin whispers. "I eat at a large table by myself. I haven't had a good night sleep in weeks. I hear my footsteps echoing as I walk every single minute of the day. I'm so cold and so lonely that it's driving me insane. And what do I get for being lonely? A Play Station 3, as if that solves the issue!
"I'm not stupid, Kibum. I know that there's a possibility that I'm just a bracelet for his arm at social events. But I also know that there's a possibility that he does care about me. And I know that it's tiny but nevertheless I have to believe that it's true. I don't want to be with anyone else and that's why I'm still here. I can't believe you when you say he doesn't want me. So I don't."
Kibum sighs.
"Then you know that you can't keep talking to me whenever you have a problem with Minho right?"
"Yeah, I know."
Taemin hears the front door open and he sighs.
"I gotta go, he's here."
"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Tae-ah."
Taemin closes the phone and goes back inside. After securing the screen door he crawls back into his side of the bed and stares at the bedroom door until Minho walks inside. The older boy sends him a weak smile and then heads into the bathroom. When he gets out of the shower he slides into the other side of the bed and faces Taemin.
"I noticed that the dishes in the cabinet are shattered all over the floor. What happened?"
"I was reaching for a plate and I accidently tilted the cabinet when I pulled it out," Taemin says calmly. "The dishes started falling before I could stop them."
"I figured that was what happened," Minho replies. "But then I noticed that the dishes in the second cabinet were all broken too. If you already had a plate, there was no reason for the second cabinet too, was there?"
Taemin stiffens.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Minho asks.
"No," Taemin replies rolling over so that his back is to Minho.
"Well I want to."
Taemin rolls his eyes.
"Don't you have to go to work in like four hours?" he asks. "You should go to sleep."
"Is that why you did it?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Taemin says firmly.
Minho sighs.
"Fine. I'll ask the maid to clean up tomorrow."
"Perfect," Taemin says dryly. "She can do that and leave me another card board box. Problem solved right?"
"Taemin what do you want me to do?" Minho asks angrily.
Taemin twists around and glares at him.
"Do I really have to spell it out for you?!"
"That would help!"
"Alright then! I want you to have a regular work schedule like normal people. I want you to stop sending me these stupid gifts! I want us to do something together, and at this point I don't care what it is! An-"
Taemin's voice cracks. Minho sees the tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
"And if you care about me at all," Taemin says quietly. "I want you to show it. Okay?"
"O…okay," Minho says. "I will."
"Great," Taemin whispers. "Goodnight."
He turns around and pulls the sheets around him. A few minutes later he feels a hand gently squeeze his.
"Goodnight," Minho says softly.
The next morning Taemin wakes up to the smell of rice and fish and blinks. He looks at the clock: 10:00am.
"Well that's strange," he says to himself as he gets out of the bed. "Usually the maid is here earlier than this."
He jogs down the stairs and blinks as he sees Minho setting the dining room. Taemin notes the fact that the chairs are next to each other instead of at the ends of the table. He grins slightly.
"Good morning," Minho says.
"Good morning," Taemin replies. "What happened to the maid?"
"I called her and told her to take the week off," Minho tells him. "I cleaned the glass myself."
"Why?"
"I caused the mess, so I cleaned it. That sounds fair enough, don't you agree?"
"But that wasn't your -"
"- yes it was. If you weren't upset with me, this never would've happened."
Minho sits at the table and Taemin joins him.
"I'm so sorry," Minho says staring directly at him. "I didn't know you were so miserable here by yourself. And who knows how bad it could've gotten if you didn't lash out at me yesterday."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. I'm glad you did it."
He puts a hand over top of Taemin's and smiles softly.
"For most of my life I've dealt with people by using money," he says. "Friends, people I've dated, colleagues, even those that were higher up on the corporate chain had no complaints about my behavior as long as I put a wad of cash in their wallet. So when I started to have feelings for you and I realized that you were interested in me, I wanted to keep you around. I spoiled you and since you didn't complain, I figured you were just like everyone else; only interested in my money. I didn't bother to think about how you felt."
"You never needed money to keep me around," Taemin replies quietly.
"I know that now," Minho tells him. "Can you forgive me?"
Taemin smiles softly.
"Yes," he says nodding and Minho squeezes his hand.
"I called my father," he says. "I told him that I was taking the week off."
"Really?" Taemin asks excitedly. He then frowns. "He won't be too mad, will he?"
"He'll live," Minho replies and Taemin laughs. "Now let's eat quickly. I owe you a day at the beach."
The two start eating and Taemin notes the change of temperature in the house. It's a little warmer than it has been in the past couple of months. He looks forward to the day when the cold is gone completely.
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