002: Topophobia, Pt.1
Title: Topophobia, Pt. 1
Authors: sakuranbokissx & fangnicole
Pairing: 3min (Changmin/Minho/Taemin), side!JongKey, HoSu, &JaeChun
Rating: PG-13 (Maybe NC-17 later?)
Summary: After tragedy occurs, Taemin finds himself unable to enter an auditorium, much less perform on a stage. And then Minho and Changmin come along. Will they be able to coax the dancer to conquer his fear and perform once again?
Authors’ Notes: Hello~ This is Nicole! We're back with our collabs again. Happy birthday, Prince Taemin! You're finally no longer noona bait! XD I hope everyone enjoys this, and please don't forget to leave a comment! ^^
TOPOPHOBIA
Pt.1
Sometimes, he could still hear the screams inside his head. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through his veins, heady and addicting and mind-blowing. He could feel the beat of the music through his skin, through his nerves, sinking down into his bones and blending inside of him to create something heart stopping. He could remember his vocal chords straining, veins popping out of his neck. That feeling was amazing, had always been amazing.
More times than naught, Taemin could still hear the screams inside his head. On that one day, he had lost everything. The music had gone out, the flame extinguished, and the passion for what he used to love was held under a strong current of fear. The shots from the gun still rang in his head, solidifying his nightmares into his reality. What was real, and what was not?
He couldn't remember what it was to be truly happy.
--
"Now, we're going to do some problems," his teacher said up at the front. "I hope you remember them, because I feel lazy today. Good luck kids."
Around Minho, everyone muffled groaned. As if they remembered those problems from last year. Minho said nothing, glancing up from his eye lashes to watch a freshman (the only freshman, in fact, to get into this high level class this year) copy down the notes and quickly work through them. Minho sighed and did the same; sometimes he was still a little bitter about being outsmarted by someone a year younger, but it wasn't unusual for dongsaengs to be in upper level classes. He himself was one of them, after all.
"Psst," someone hissed at him from beside him. Minho rolled his eyes over to glance at Changmin, a junior and someone the same age as him. Minho always did feel bad for the guy. Changmin had gone straight to a higher level course and had gotten easy A's as a freshman and sophomore, but some professors, students, and parents complained about him skipping up too many classes, so the guy had to go to the level under it a year later. Changmin hadn't only skipped three classes, but jumped a whole year after showing the teachers how smart he was.
Minho would've gotten competitive in studies with Changmin, but let's face it, the guy had brains flowing from his ears. Minho knew a grudging loss when he saw one.
Raising an eyebrow to show his hyung he was listening, he continued working on the problems. Changmin grinned at him, wiggling his eyebrows as he jerked his head at the freshman. Scowling, Minho ignored the slight heat on his face and turned back to finish his stuff. Changmin shouldn't even be suggesting that.
Curious about why? It was simple, really. Changmin, in all his snarky, irritating glory, was his boyfriend. Yes, his boyfriend. Not that Minho was gay or anything. It wasn't so much that Minho liked guys, but it was more of the fact that the junior had a very profound affect on him, enough for him to make a big impact on Minho's life. Though the older guy didn't know it (or maybe he did), Changmin had helped Minho pull through the hardest time in his life. And through such, Minho had fallen hard for the guy.
They were let go by their professor a few minutes later. Changmin, who had apparently finished the problems in the blink of an eye, got up and pulled Minho out with him silently. When they passed by the freshman, Minho glanced down to see why it was taking so long and realized the kid was doodling, long done with the problems. The brunet looked up, meeting his gaze straight on. A thrill shot through him, and he forced himself to turn away and hurry after Changmin.
Only problem was, Changmin seemed to have ditched him once Minho got out of the room. Sighing in exasperation, Minho walked down a hallway, stretching. Someone snatched his jacket as he passed by a darkened part of the hallway, and he found himself pressed against the wall and glaring up at his ditcher.
"About time you got out," Changmin murmured huskily, smirking. There was a slightly possessive tinge in his eyes though. Minho felt the bricks of the wall digging into his back, and the hard body of his boyfriend on his front. "You're going to make me jealous one day, Minho. You should really stop eying that guy when your boyfriend is around. Better yet, let's satisfy that curiosity, have a threesome, and forget about him."
Minho gave the older a droll stare, trying his best to ignore the half-hard bulge Changmin was pressing into his thigh. "We both know that you wouldn't do that. Besides, isn't that a little harsh?"
"Changmin, will you stop hanging around dark hallwa-Oh my God, my eyes!"
Blinking, Minho turned his head to stare at where Junsu, their senior, was squatting down, covering his eyes as if he'd burned them. Maybe he had, but really, they hadn't even been making out. Changmin scoffed in his ear, moving away. Minho contained a sigh of relief and very slight disappointment. His boyfriend really needed to gain control of his hormones - Minho didn't know how long his poor heart could hold out if he kept on getting randomly jumped.
"God, this is not funny," Junsu said, sounding very much like he was praying. "Why the hell are almost all of my friends gay? Did you want to torture me or something for what I did in a past life or something?" Junsu's voice wavered and Minho had to give it to the guy - no wonder he was majoring in acting. He was almost fooled…almost, if not for the fact that Junsu was a closet homo in love with another senior named Yunho.
"Su," Changmin rasped out, his voice sounding somewhere in the range of a low growl. Minho had to stop his shiver; Changmin's angry voice and sex voice sounded the same. "Why the fuck are you here?"
"Are you done?" Junsu demanded first, not getting up or taking off his hands from his eyes. Minho glanced at a clock near them. It was almost time for the period to be over. Already, some other students were walking by, all giving them strange looks from the corners of their eyes. He sighed internally. Was he doomed to always be around childish people?
"Yes, you fake prude," Changmin snapped. "Now tell me why you're here before I start molesting Minho again." Minho, hearing this, made sure to step into the hallway, putting more distance between him and his boyfriend.
Tentatively, Junsu took his hands off of his eyes and, eyes brightening after seeing the two lovers separated, stood up quickly. "The plans for the town's festival need to be gone over again, and then we need you to find some people to perform, or dance instructors."
Changmin huffed and Minho let a smile cross his face at how quickly the man turned childish. The junior only showed this side to close friends, and a warm glow settled in his chest. He was happy that he was included in that circle of friends.
"And why are you telling me this?" his boyfriend snapped, looking even more irritated. "Why aren't you telling the president of this committee, huh?" It was useless asking though; they both knew that Junsu couldn't look at Yunho in the eye without being nervous. While Minho felt sorry for his hyung, it really was a good stress reliever to see Su acting that way. The guy was normally a very self-confidence person, so seeing him so fidgety was definitely amusing.
Minho snorted out loud. Junsu glared at him, but Changmin smirked.
"You know why, you-"
The bell rang, and the flow of students increased suddenly. Minho and Changmin caught sight of a something (or rather, someone) that made them share a grin. Minho looked and smiled at Junsu, who observed the two of them warily, like he knew they were plotting something. Which they were, but Minho wasn't about to tell his hyung that.
"Hey, Yunho-hyung!" Minho called out suddenly. His nostrils flared in trying to keep in the laugh when Junsu immediately turned red, shoulders slouching as if to try and make himself less noticeable.
Yunho was the golden boy of their school. Everyone knew him. He was good-looking, and had apparently been a model when he was in high school and as a freshman and sophomore; he was talented, his dancing and singing above average; he was smart - he held the first rank in his class in high school even with all the college courses he had been taking; even people in the town knew him too, because of how much he volunteered for service hours.
Spotting the person who called him name, said golden boy flashed a smile at them, waving slightly as he made his way to where they stood.
"Su, you should stop looking like that since your crush is coming over here," Changmin murmured, smirking. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the nervousness that was coming from his hyung. Minho's lips twitched. His boyfriend was evil. If Minho wasn't careful, he would end up corrupted by him.
"You know what?" Junsu muttered back, clearly irritated with the two of them. "You should shut up, dongsaeng. How dare you!"
"Oh please," Changmin said, rolling his eyes just as Yunho reached them. "You know that I live to torture you guys."
"Changmin!" Yunho admonished as he caught onto the topic they were talking about. "Have you been picking on Junsu again? You know that isn't something you should be doing to your hyungs."
"If I'm smarter than my hyungs, they aren't my hyungs," Changmin said, his matter-of-fact tone making Minho snicker. Seriously, Changmin really liked picking on their elders. He didn't know why the tall man did pick on them (it probably was for fun), but whatever the cause, it was funny nonetheless.
Glancing down the hallway, Minho's eyes widened when they made contact with brown eyes he knew all too well. He lost track of the conversation happening next to him as Taemin glanced at him, light surprise evident on his flawless face. A man was walking next to Taemin, and Minho watched as he said something, snapping Taemin out from their stare to smile at the guy. Minho frowned, not liking the tinge of possessiveness that came to him, forcing himself to tune back into the conversation.
Junsu and Yunho were talking to each other now. Minho glanced up to see Changmin giving him a look full of a raised eyebrow and couldn't help pressing his lips together.
He couldn't help the slight guilty feeling that came to him, either.
--
Minho was walking back to the dorms when he heard faint music echoing from the athletics hall. He debated going to check it out, since Changmin was waiting for him back in their room probably gobbling up all the food, but his curiosity overran his need to eat. Besides, he could always make more food for himself.
Cautiously making his way down the darkened hallways, he finally drew to a stop when he found the door where the music was coming from. Of course it was from a dance gym. He shouldn't have bothered. But while he was turning, he caught a glimpse of something that made him do a double take, blinking dubiously at the window to the gym.
He backpedaled enough to watch what had gotten his attention and felt his jaw drop in astonishment when he realized who was dancing. Was that really…Taemin?!
But it had to be. Minho squinted his eyes to make sure he wasn't just mistaking someone, but no, that long, silky brown hair, thin long neck, and small hands definitely belonged to Taemin.
Currently, the man was doing a familiar dance to a boy group named SHINee. It was amazing how he got his body to move like that, Minho thought, clearly dazed. Taemin popped at intervals to make points in the dance and flowed at some points in the song and Minho just really couldn't believe his eyes. He'd never seen such potential.
Suddenly the music changed and Taemin broke out into free-styling, doing some of his own moves before doing other moves that looked familiar. Probably other boy group dances, Minho thought, but then Taemin started going into the girl group dances and it became a little too hot as Minho stared, transfixed, on the way Taemin was managing to sway his hips.
He turned red in the face soon after he realized what he was doing, blinking his eyes and turning away from the gym's window. He was scolding himself all the way back to his dorm room.
He never realized the way Taemin's eyes watched his departure the window through the mirror suspiciously, a small frown on the dancer's face.
--
"So what you're saying is that Taemin's actually a dancing prodigy?" Changmin questioned around a mouthful of noodles. Minho sighed at his boyfriend, reaching over to poke the taller man's cheek in an effort to remind him not to talk while he was eating. It was useless though, he knew.
"Yes," Minho confirmed quietly, using his chopsticks to masterfully pick up a mushroom to eat. He continued thoughtfully, "It was really unexpected. It seems like he knows all the dance moves to every dance that's been used on stage."
"And why are you telling me this, hm?" Changmin asked, just about ready to eat another big bundle of noodles. Minho opened his mouth to say why but Changmin seemed to catch on, holding up a hand quickly to silence Minho, who scowled at him. "Let me guess. You want me to ask Taemin to be one of the participants of the festivals annual choreographed dance."
"I think it would help, yes," Minho said, raising an eyebrow daring Changmin to argue with him. "If you still don't believe me, maybe you should check him out yourself before you make up your mind. He's amazing, hyung. Really."
Changmin narrowed his eyes at Minho, a small strip of jealousy easy to distinguish in those chocolate brown orbs. "I'll think about it," the taller man said after he finished chewing. "But let's not talk about this now, okay? It's supposed to be our time together, not let's-talk-about-how-amazing-other-people-are time. If we have to talk about the amazing, then let's talk about me, okay?"
Minho could only sigh in exasperation.
--
Changmin and his friend Jaejoong were running some errands when he realized that people were practicing in the dance gym again. He glanced over at the gymnasium area curiously until Jaejoong caught his gaze and nodded.
"We really should start scouting for people now," Jaejoong murmured, eyeing the doors with interest. Changmin looked at his friend before silently nodding; that was a good excuse for him to see if Taemin was there or not, and if he was any worth like Minho said.
Changmin knew that his boyfriend liked the freshman college student to an extent. He wasn't stupid, and he happened to know that he himself liked the freshman enough to consider a one-night stand. He hadn't been joking when he told Minho to have a threesome. But he was sure that's all his feelings were - nothing but a curious lust. And he was sure that Minho was feeling the same thing. They were the same kind of person, after all. They could only start liking someone after getting to know them well enough.
"I wonder why Yunho isn't in charge of the dancers," Jaejoong muttered next to him as they tried to peer into the window, ignoring the weirded-out looks from the students coming and going to the other gyms.
"I think he already has enough things to deal with besides the dancers," Changmin responded idly, trying not to show how impressed he was by what he was seeing.
He didn't only find Taemin, but two other boys who seemed to be having dance-off (one seemed to be having trouble though). He blinked again when he realized that Taemin was smiling happily as he and the two boys challenged each other with their eyes. He wondered why it made his heart beat erratically, why he felt so light being able to see Taemin smile for once without any restrictions and realized how little he knew about the boy. The freshman never talked in their advanced course.
"Excuse me," someone said behind them, sounding suspicious. Changmin and Jaejoong jumped in surprise, shooting looks to each other before turning slowly to look at the boy behind them. The guy had a weird hair cut (blond tipped brown hair) that he tried not to eye and Changmin gave the man a nervous smile, moving away from the door so the guy could get in. However, the man didn't move, looking at them incredulously. "Did you guys need something?"
Changmin was going to deny it quickly but Jaejoong elbowed him hard. "Actually, we do," the blond said smoothly, grinning charmingly. Changmin grumbled as he rubbed at his side. "Do you think we can get their names?"
"If you're trying to ask them out, two of them are out of the playing field already," the short guy said, still frowning suspiciously up at them. Changmin felt a flash of irritation and forced himself not to glare down his nose at the student. He got the urge to ask, "Which ones?" but quickly pushed that thought out of his head.
"We wanted to know if they could join in the dancing part of the festival," Jaejoong explained politely. Changmin contained his eye roll.
“Oh...” the guy said, looking sheepish and grinning at them in guilt. “Sorry about that. I can introduce you to them if you want. I’m Kim Jonghyun.” And a hand was promptly stuck in front of Changmin’s nose. Changmin shook it after looking at it warily, and Jaejoong shot off a blinding smile that made Changmin wonder if the pretty man was going to cheat on Yoochun.
“We would love that,” Jaejoong accepted, bright smile still playing on his face. Jonghyun didn’t seem blinded though, which Changmin took in with awe. Even he had been distracted by Jae’s smile at first.
Jonghyun led them inside the studio without an ounce of awkwardness, going up to a sophomore standing next to Taemin and giving him a light kiss. Oh, Changmin though. So that was why Jonghyun didn’t take his hyung’s bait like he should have.
“Jaejoong-ssi, Changmin-ssi,” Jonghyun said, ushering the three dancers to stand in front of the two older students. Changmin blinked when Taemin came directly into his line of vision, cheeks flushed and a pretty sparkle in his eyes that made him want to cuddle with his dongsaeng. His heart started to beat fast again but he made sure to keep a slight smirk on his face. Taemin caught sight of him quickly, face flushing a little more and turning away. “This is my boyfriend, sophomore Kim Kibum.”
Jonghyun continued the introductions even when Kibum interrupted to say, “My name is Key, Jonghyun. Key.”
“The next one is first year Lee Taemin,” Jonghyun said, reaching over Key to ruffle the brunet’s hair fondly. “If you want anyone to perform, it’s-” Key interrupted Jonghyun again, elbowing the blond hard in the ribs - exactly like Jaejoong had done to him. Changmin wasn’t paying attention to it though; he was too busy watching how the blood seemed to drain out of Taemin’s face when Jonghyun mentioned performing. Was something wrong?
“Anyway,” Jonghyun said, looking sheepish after Key glared at him for a good two seconds, “The soft-looking guy is a junior. His name is Lee Jinki but everyone calls him Onew. He’s actually not a dance major - he just likes to intrude every once in a while because he’s nosy.”
Jonghyun, Key and Jaejoong all started to laugh when Onew yelled indignantly, arms flailing and a pout threatening to override everything else on his face. The room got louder when Onew started to chase them around, tripping every once in a while.
Changmin studied Taemin closely, watching the way the younger tried to even out his breathing and calm his clearly frazzled nerves. A frown on his face, he let out a cautious, “Are you okay?”
Taemin jumped, eyes shooting up to look at Changmin in the face. From the expression Taemin painted, it looked like he didn’t realize that someone, least of all Changmin, had been watching him. Changmin’s frown deepened a little when he saw Taemin force a polite smile onto his face, his heart squeezing for some very odd reason. Why did it hurt to see Taemin lying to him?
“Ah yes,” Taemin said, looking up at him with big eyes. “I’m just fine, thank you.” They held eyes for a second before looking away. They watched in bemused silence as Onew tripped, this time falling but catching Jonghyun on the shoe, causing a domino effect. Jaejoong, of course, dodged Key as the dancer reached for him, resulting in him being the only one left standing. Changmin snorted. How did his hyung always manage to get out scratch-free?
Beside him, Taemin let out a small laugh, and Changmin found himself looking back at the pretty male, once again locking gazes with Taemin.
Why was he suddenly having second thoughts about everything?
--
Once everyone had settled down, the air around them was warmer, not in the least bit hesitant or cold like it had been earlier.
“So, why are you two here anyway?” Key asked suddenly, wiping a little sweat off of Jonghyun’s face before flicking the other sophomore’s nose lightly.
“Oh that,” Jaejoong said, sounding surprised that he had forgotten. “So, I’m sure you all have heard about the upcoming festival, right?” He waited for their confused nods before continuing. “Changmin, myself, and a few others were assigned to find some people to dance during the break of performers. Someone hinted that this dance gym was used by good dancers so we decided to check it out.” Jaejoong shrugged, smiling. “We’d like it if you accepted helping out.”
An uneasy silence rang through the gym suddenly, causing the two scouters to look at each other, confused at how the other boys were looking at each other worriedly. Key kept shooting concerned glances to Taemin, who had gone still and silent, not looking up at all.
“Do you mind giving us a little time to think about it?” Key asked, giving Jaejoong and Changmin a look filled with anxiousness and his brow furrowed. There was a discomfort in Key’s eyes that made it clear that something was going on between the four friends.
“That’s definitely fine,” Jaejoong agreed, shooting Changmin a look. “But we definitely have to get the list of participants soon and start with the choreography, so if you could decide quick, we’d like that.”
And as they left, Changmin decided to find out exactly what secrets Lee Taemin was so obviously trying to hide from him.
Authors: sakuranbokissx & fangnicole
Pairing: 3min (Changmin/Minho/Taemin), side!JongKey, HoSu, &JaeChun
Rating: PG-13 (Maybe NC-17 later?)
Summary: After tragedy occurs, Taemin finds himself unable to enter an auditorium, much less perform on a stage. And then Minho and Changmin come along. Will they be able to coax the dancer to conquer his fear and perform once again?
Authors’ Notes: Hello~ This is Nicole! We're back with our collabs again. Happy birthday, Prince Taemin! You're finally no longer noona bait! XD I hope everyone enjoys this, and please don't forget to leave a comment! ^^
TOPOPHOBIA
Pt.1
Sometimes, he could still hear the screams inside his head. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through his veins, heady and addicting and mind-blowing. He could feel the beat of the music through his skin, through his nerves, sinking down into his bones and blending inside of him to create something heart stopping. He could remember his vocal chords straining, veins popping out of his neck. That feeling was amazing, had always been amazing.
More times than naught, Taemin could still hear the screams inside his head. On that one day, he had lost everything. The music had gone out, the flame extinguished, and the passion for what he used to love was held under a strong current of fear. The shots from the gun still rang in his head, solidifying his nightmares into his reality. What was real, and what was not?
He couldn't remember what it was to be truly happy.
--
"Now, we're going to do some problems," his teacher said up at the front. "I hope you remember them, because I feel lazy today. Good luck kids."
Around Minho, everyone muffled groaned. As if they remembered those problems from last year. Minho said nothing, glancing up from his eye lashes to watch a freshman (the only freshman, in fact, to get into this high level class this year) copy down the notes and quickly work through them. Minho sighed and did the same; sometimes he was still a little bitter about being outsmarted by someone a year younger, but it wasn't unusual for dongsaengs to be in upper level classes. He himself was one of them, after all.
"Psst," someone hissed at him from beside him. Minho rolled his eyes over to glance at Changmin, a junior and someone the same age as him. Minho always did feel bad for the guy. Changmin had gone straight to a higher level course and had gotten easy A's as a freshman and sophomore, but some professors, students, and parents complained about him skipping up too many classes, so the guy had to go to the level under it a year later. Changmin hadn't only skipped three classes, but jumped a whole year after showing the teachers how smart he was.
Minho would've gotten competitive in studies with Changmin, but let's face it, the guy had brains flowing from his ears. Minho knew a grudging loss when he saw one.
Raising an eyebrow to show his hyung he was listening, he continued working on the problems. Changmin grinned at him, wiggling his eyebrows as he jerked his head at the freshman. Scowling, Minho ignored the slight heat on his face and turned back to finish his stuff. Changmin shouldn't even be suggesting that.
Curious about why? It was simple, really. Changmin, in all his snarky, irritating glory, was his boyfriend. Yes, his boyfriend. Not that Minho was gay or anything. It wasn't so much that Minho liked guys, but it was more of the fact that the junior had a very profound affect on him, enough for him to make a big impact on Minho's life. Though the older guy didn't know it (or maybe he did), Changmin had helped Minho pull through the hardest time in his life. And through such, Minho had fallen hard for the guy.
They were let go by their professor a few minutes later. Changmin, who had apparently finished the problems in the blink of an eye, got up and pulled Minho out with him silently. When they passed by the freshman, Minho glanced down to see why it was taking so long and realized the kid was doodling, long done with the problems. The brunet looked up, meeting his gaze straight on. A thrill shot through him, and he forced himself to turn away and hurry after Changmin.
Only problem was, Changmin seemed to have ditched him once Minho got out of the room. Sighing in exasperation, Minho walked down a hallway, stretching. Someone snatched his jacket as he passed by a darkened part of the hallway, and he found himself pressed against the wall and glaring up at his ditcher.
"About time you got out," Changmin murmured huskily, smirking. There was a slightly possessive tinge in his eyes though. Minho felt the bricks of the wall digging into his back, and the hard body of his boyfriend on his front. "You're going to make me jealous one day, Minho. You should really stop eying that guy when your boyfriend is around. Better yet, let's satisfy that curiosity, have a threesome, and forget about him."
Minho gave the older a droll stare, trying his best to ignore the half-hard bulge Changmin was pressing into his thigh. "We both know that you wouldn't do that. Besides, isn't that a little harsh?"
"Changmin, will you stop hanging around dark hallwa-Oh my God, my eyes!"
Blinking, Minho turned his head to stare at where Junsu, their senior, was squatting down, covering his eyes as if he'd burned them. Maybe he had, but really, they hadn't even been making out. Changmin scoffed in his ear, moving away. Minho contained a sigh of relief and very slight disappointment. His boyfriend really needed to gain control of his hormones - Minho didn't know how long his poor heart could hold out if he kept on getting randomly jumped.
"God, this is not funny," Junsu said, sounding very much like he was praying. "Why the hell are almost all of my friends gay? Did you want to torture me or something for what I did in a past life or something?" Junsu's voice wavered and Minho had to give it to the guy - no wonder he was majoring in acting. He was almost fooled…almost, if not for the fact that Junsu was a closet homo in love with another senior named Yunho.
"Su," Changmin rasped out, his voice sounding somewhere in the range of a low growl. Minho had to stop his shiver; Changmin's angry voice and sex voice sounded the same. "Why the fuck are you here?"
"Are you done?" Junsu demanded first, not getting up or taking off his hands from his eyes. Minho glanced at a clock near them. It was almost time for the period to be over. Already, some other students were walking by, all giving them strange looks from the corners of their eyes. He sighed internally. Was he doomed to always be around childish people?
"Yes, you fake prude," Changmin snapped. "Now tell me why you're here before I start molesting Minho again." Minho, hearing this, made sure to step into the hallway, putting more distance between him and his boyfriend.
Tentatively, Junsu took his hands off of his eyes and, eyes brightening after seeing the two lovers separated, stood up quickly. "The plans for the town's festival need to be gone over again, and then we need you to find some people to perform, or dance instructors."
Changmin huffed and Minho let a smile cross his face at how quickly the man turned childish. The junior only showed this side to close friends, and a warm glow settled in his chest. He was happy that he was included in that circle of friends.
"And why are you telling me this?" his boyfriend snapped, looking even more irritated. "Why aren't you telling the president of this committee, huh?" It was useless asking though; they both knew that Junsu couldn't look at Yunho in the eye without being nervous. While Minho felt sorry for his hyung, it really was a good stress reliever to see Su acting that way. The guy was normally a very self-confidence person, so seeing him so fidgety was definitely amusing.
Minho snorted out loud. Junsu glared at him, but Changmin smirked.
"You know why, you-"
The bell rang, and the flow of students increased suddenly. Minho and Changmin caught sight of a something (or rather, someone) that made them share a grin. Minho looked and smiled at Junsu, who observed the two of them warily, like he knew they were plotting something. Which they were, but Minho wasn't about to tell his hyung that.
"Hey, Yunho-hyung!" Minho called out suddenly. His nostrils flared in trying to keep in the laugh when Junsu immediately turned red, shoulders slouching as if to try and make himself less noticeable.
Yunho was the golden boy of their school. Everyone knew him. He was good-looking, and had apparently been a model when he was in high school and as a freshman and sophomore; he was talented, his dancing and singing above average; he was smart - he held the first rank in his class in high school even with all the college courses he had been taking; even people in the town knew him too, because of how much he volunteered for service hours.
Spotting the person who called him name, said golden boy flashed a smile at them, waving slightly as he made his way to where they stood.
"Su, you should stop looking like that since your crush is coming over here," Changmin murmured, smirking. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the nervousness that was coming from his hyung. Minho's lips twitched. His boyfriend was evil. If Minho wasn't careful, he would end up corrupted by him.
"You know what?" Junsu muttered back, clearly irritated with the two of them. "You should shut up, dongsaeng. How dare you!"
"Oh please," Changmin said, rolling his eyes just as Yunho reached them. "You know that I live to torture you guys."
"Changmin!" Yunho admonished as he caught onto the topic they were talking about. "Have you been picking on Junsu again? You know that isn't something you should be doing to your hyungs."
"If I'm smarter than my hyungs, they aren't my hyungs," Changmin said, his matter-of-fact tone making Minho snicker. Seriously, Changmin really liked picking on their elders. He didn't know why the tall man did pick on them (it probably was for fun), but whatever the cause, it was funny nonetheless.
Glancing down the hallway, Minho's eyes widened when they made contact with brown eyes he knew all too well. He lost track of the conversation happening next to him as Taemin glanced at him, light surprise evident on his flawless face. A man was walking next to Taemin, and Minho watched as he said something, snapping Taemin out from their stare to smile at the guy. Minho frowned, not liking the tinge of possessiveness that came to him, forcing himself to tune back into the conversation.
Junsu and Yunho were talking to each other now. Minho glanced up to see Changmin giving him a look full of a raised eyebrow and couldn't help pressing his lips together.
He couldn't help the slight guilty feeling that came to him, either.
--
Minho was walking back to the dorms when he heard faint music echoing from the athletics hall. He debated going to check it out, since Changmin was waiting for him back in their room probably gobbling up all the food, but his curiosity overran his need to eat. Besides, he could always make more food for himself.
Cautiously making his way down the darkened hallways, he finally drew to a stop when he found the door where the music was coming from. Of course it was from a dance gym. He shouldn't have bothered. But while he was turning, he caught a glimpse of something that made him do a double take, blinking dubiously at the window to the gym.
He backpedaled enough to watch what had gotten his attention and felt his jaw drop in astonishment when he realized who was dancing. Was that really…Taemin?!
But it had to be. Minho squinted his eyes to make sure he wasn't just mistaking someone, but no, that long, silky brown hair, thin long neck, and small hands definitely belonged to Taemin.
Currently, the man was doing a familiar dance to a boy group named SHINee. It was amazing how he got his body to move like that, Minho thought, clearly dazed. Taemin popped at intervals to make points in the dance and flowed at some points in the song and Minho just really couldn't believe his eyes. He'd never seen such potential.
Suddenly the music changed and Taemin broke out into free-styling, doing some of his own moves before doing other moves that looked familiar. Probably other boy group dances, Minho thought, but then Taemin started going into the girl group dances and it became a little too hot as Minho stared, transfixed, on the way Taemin was managing to sway his hips.
He turned red in the face soon after he realized what he was doing, blinking his eyes and turning away from the gym's window. He was scolding himself all the way back to his dorm room.
He never realized the way Taemin's eyes watched his departure the window through the mirror suspiciously, a small frown on the dancer's face.
--
"So what you're saying is that Taemin's actually a dancing prodigy?" Changmin questioned around a mouthful of noodles. Minho sighed at his boyfriend, reaching over to poke the taller man's cheek in an effort to remind him not to talk while he was eating. It was useless though, he knew.
"Yes," Minho confirmed quietly, using his chopsticks to masterfully pick up a mushroom to eat. He continued thoughtfully, "It was really unexpected. It seems like he knows all the dance moves to every dance that's been used on stage."
"And why are you telling me this, hm?" Changmin asked, just about ready to eat another big bundle of noodles. Minho opened his mouth to say why but Changmin seemed to catch on, holding up a hand quickly to silence Minho, who scowled at him. "Let me guess. You want me to ask Taemin to be one of the participants of the festivals annual choreographed dance."
"I think it would help, yes," Minho said, raising an eyebrow daring Changmin to argue with him. "If you still don't believe me, maybe you should check him out yourself before you make up your mind. He's amazing, hyung. Really."
Changmin narrowed his eyes at Minho, a small strip of jealousy easy to distinguish in those chocolate brown orbs. "I'll think about it," the taller man said after he finished chewing. "But let's not talk about this now, okay? It's supposed to be our time together, not let's-talk-about-how-amazing-other-people-are time. If we have to talk about the amazing, then let's talk about me, okay?"
Minho could only sigh in exasperation.
--
Changmin and his friend Jaejoong were running some errands when he realized that people were practicing in the dance gym again. He glanced over at the gymnasium area curiously until Jaejoong caught his gaze and nodded.
"We really should start scouting for people now," Jaejoong murmured, eyeing the doors with interest. Changmin looked at his friend before silently nodding; that was a good excuse for him to see if Taemin was there or not, and if he was any worth like Minho said.
Changmin knew that his boyfriend liked the freshman college student to an extent. He wasn't stupid, and he happened to know that he himself liked the freshman enough to consider a one-night stand. He hadn't been joking when he told Minho to have a threesome. But he was sure that's all his feelings were - nothing but a curious lust. And he was sure that Minho was feeling the same thing. They were the same kind of person, after all. They could only start liking someone after getting to know them well enough.
"I wonder why Yunho isn't in charge of the dancers," Jaejoong muttered next to him as they tried to peer into the window, ignoring the weirded-out looks from the students coming and going to the other gyms.
"I think he already has enough things to deal with besides the dancers," Changmin responded idly, trying not to show how impressed he was by what he was seeing.
He didn't only find Taemin, but two other boys who seemed to be having dance-off (one seemed to be having trouble though). He blinked again when he realized that Taemin was smiling happily as he and the two boys challenged each other with their eyes. He wondered why it made his heart beat erratically, why he felt so light being able to see Taemin smile for once without any restrictions and realized how little he knew about the boy. The freshman never talked in their advanced course.
"Excuse me," someone said behind them, sounding suspicious. Changmin and Jaejoong jumped in surprise, shooting looks to each other before turning slowly to look at the boy behind them. The guy had a weird hair cut (blond tipped brown hair) that he tried not to eye and Changmin gave the man a nervous smile, moving away from the door so the guy could get in. However, the man didn't move, looking at them incredulously. "Did you guys need something?"
Changmin was going to deny it quickly but Jaejoong elbowed him hard. "Actually, we do," the blond said smoothly, grinning charmingly. Changmin grumbled as he rubbed at his side. "Do you think we can get their names?"
"If you're trying to ask them out, two of them are out of the playing field already," the short guy said, still frowning suspiciously up at them. Changmin felt a flash of irritation and forced himself not to glare down his nose at the student. He got the urge to ask, "Which ones?" but quickly pushed that thought out of his head.
"We wanted to know if they could join in the dancing part of the festival," Jaejoong explained politely. Changmin contained his eye roll.
“Oh...” the guy said, looking sheepish and grinning at them in guilt. “Sorry about that. I can introduce you to them if you want. I’m Kim Jonghyun.” And a hand was promptly stuck in front of Changmin’s nose. Changmin shook it after looking at it warily, and Jaejoong shot off a blinding smile that made Changmin wonder if the pretty man was going to cheat on Yoochun.
“We would love that,” Jaejoong accepted, bright smile still playing on his face. Jonghyun didn’t seem blinded though, which Changmin took in with awe. Even he had been distracted by Jae’s smile at first.
Jonghyun led them inside the studio without an ounce of awkwardness, going up to a sophomore standing next to Taemin and giving him a light kiss. Oh, Changmin though. So that was why Jonghyun didn’t take his hyung’s bait like he should have.
“Jaejoong-ssi, Changmin-ssi,” Jonghyun said, ushering the three dancers to stand in front of the two older students. Changmin blinked when Taemin came directly into his line of vision, cheeks flushed and a pretty sparkle in his eyes that made him want to cuddle with his dongsaeng. His heart started to beat fast again but he made sure to keep a slight smirk on his face. Taemin caught sight of him quickly, face flushing a little more and turning away. “This is my boyfriend, sophomore Kim Kibum.”
Jonghyun continued the introductions even when Kibum interrupted to say, “My name is Key, Jonghyun. Key.”
“The next one is first year Lee Taemin,” Jonghyun said, reaching over Key to ruffle the brunet’s hair fondly. “If you want anyone to perform, it’s-” Key interrupted Jonghyun again, elbowing the blond hard in the ribs - exactly like Jaejoong had done to him. Changmin wasn’t paying attention to it though; he was too busy watching how the blood seemed to drain out of Taemin’s face when Jonghyun mentioned performing. Was something wrong?
“Anyway,” Jonghyun said, looking sheepish after Key glared at him for a good two seconds, “The soft-looking guy is a junior. His name is Lee Jinki but everyone calls him Onew. He’s actually not a dance major - he just likes to intrude every once in a while because he’s nosy.”
Jonghyun, Key and Jaejoong all started to laugh when Onew yelled indignantly, arms flailing and a pout threatening to override everything else on his face. The room got louder when Onew started to chase them around, tripping every once in a while.
Changmin studied Taemin closely, watching the way the younger tried to even out his breathing and calm his clearly frazzled nerves. A frown on his face, he let out a cautious, “Are you okay?”
Taemin jumped, eyes shooting up to look at Changmin in the face. From the expression Taemin painted, it looked like he didn’t realize that someone, least of all Changmin, had been watching him. Changmin’s frown deepened a little when he saw Taemin force a polite smile onto his face, his heart squeezing for some very odd reason. Why did it hurt to see Taemin lying to him?
“Ah yes,” Taemin said, looking up at him with big eyes. “I’m just fine, thank you.” They held eyes for a second before looking away. They watched in bemused silence as Onew tripped, this time falling but catching Jonghyun on the shoe, causing a domino effect. Jaejoong, of course, dodged Key as the dancer reached for him, resulting in him being the only one left standing. Changmin snorted. How did his hyung always manage to get out scratch-free?
Beside him, Taemin let out a small laugh, and Changmin found himself looking back at the pretty male, once again locking gazes with Taemin.
Why was he suddenly having second thoughts about everything?
--
Once everyone had settled down, the air around them was warmer, not in the least bit hesitant or cold like it had been earlier.
“So, why are you two here anyway?” Key asked suddenly, wiping a little sweat off of Jonghyun’s face before flicking the other sophomore’s nose lightly.
“Oh that,” Jaejoong said, sounding surprised that he had forgotten. “So, I’m sure you all have heard about the upcoming festival, right?” He waited for their confused nods before continuing. “Changmin, myself, and a few others were assigned to find some people to dance during the break of performers. Someone hinted that this dance gym was used by good dancers so we decided to check it out.” Jaejoong shrugged, smiling. “We’d like it if you accepted helping out.”
An uneasy silence rang through the gym suddenly, causing the two scouters to look at each other, confused at how the other boys were looking at each other worriedly. Key kept shooting concerned glances to Taemin, who had gone still and silent, not looking up at all.
“Do you mind giving us a little time to think about it?” Key asked, giving Jaejoong and Changmin a look filled with anxiousness and his brow furrowed. There was a discomfort in Key’s eyes that made it clear that something was going on between the four friends.
“That’s definitely fine,” Jaejoong agreed, shooting Changmin a look. “But we definitely have to get the list of participants soon and start with the choreography, so if you could decide quick, we’d like that.”
And as they left, Changmin decided to find out exactly what secrets Lee Taemin was so obviously trying to hide from him.