Remembering Romance (TaEun Fanfic) [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 6: One Step At A Time (Naeun POV)

Chapter 6: One Step At A Time (Naeun POV)

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Jinja, the park we were at was just beautiful. In all my years as a child and a teenager, I have never seen such a magnificent open space with a spectacular view. Hmm...actually maybe I've seen so many of such views I probably thought everything was nice. I don't know...

Taemin oppa said he came here because he could get better inspiration for writing his story. I must say, he picked a very good place indeed. My hands were edging to pick up some paper and do some drawings~

He found us a bench that overlooked the lake and we settled down to do our respective jobs.

I got engrossed almost immediately despite the sweltering heat of the day. First, I sketched out a smooth but defined outline of the landscape and outlined the lines with thick pencil marks. Even though web design is my part-time job and profession, we still had to learn how to draw the conventional way.

Sometimes, I glanced over at oppa and his face had on a focused expression as he typed away his story. He too would glance over and look at my artwork, always returning a broad smile. Wow, is my artwork that appealing?

But as much as I was appreciating his company, I could not help but feel worried for him. Especially after what the other SHINee oppas told me this morning...

(Flashback)

After we woke Taemin oppa up, he awkawardly introduced the SHINee members before he went to his room to get ready.

Of course, the SHINee members were both surprised and shy to see a yeoja in their dorm. What could I say? Didn't Taemin invite himself into the Apink practice room when the other members were there too? Omo, it was so embarrassing that time...I got no end of questions from Eunji unnie...

But that aside, I was well aware that SHINee had become rather unsettled this morning. Was it because of Taemin oppa? What happened?

"Minho Oppa," I asked him since I was seeing him regularly in dramas and music shows, "did something happen to Taemin oppa? You all were looking rather worriedly at him..."

"Ne..." he nodded and the other members agreed with him. "I found him crashed out on the couch and I tried to wake him up so that he could sleep in his room, but he was unwilling to get up. Perhaps he was a bit tired from staying up last night. But when I touched his forehead, he was literally sweating...as if he was in fear."

Onew oppa was next to testify, "Yeah. We initially thought he had a terrible nightmare...which was common for him these days, especially after he started with his story. Wait, has he not been telling you this?"

"Aniyo..." I replied a little confused as to why Taemin kept me in the dark about this. Then again, I did warn him about whether he wanted to remember that girl...

"Speak to him about it later," Key oppa suggested. "Maybe he'll say something."

"Say what?" I heard Taemin's voice. He just came out of his room. Boy, he's fast.

"Nothing, oppa. I was just talking to the SHINee members...and they were...um...telling me you were a responsible maknae..." I tried to cover up.

Somehow, I needed answers from him...

(Flashback End)

Now as I thought about it, Taemin's smiles towards me were a little...forced? What kind of pain was he feeling?

"Oppa," I asked him. "Your group mates said that you were breaking out cold sweat this morning. Did you sleep ok?"

It must have caught him by surprise because he jumped from his seat.