The Perfect Mistake COMPLETE

Just a little longer

"Jonghyun, it's awkward," Key said honestly.

"You're right. I don't know what's going on."

"Until this morning we could talk normally, couldn't we?"

"Maybe we're just confused because the situation is unusual."

"I think you're right. Well then, let's restart. Have you ever been on a blind date?" Key asked.

"Yes, a few times."

"Ok, then I'm going to the toilet. And when I come back, we meet for the first time. No wedding and no honeymoon. How does that sound?" Key offered.

"Count me in."

"Great," Key said and disappeared right after.

Jonghyun hadn't pictured this evening to turn out this way. Actually, he had never thought that any of this craziness could ever happen. The first date with his husband? And now a blind date with a "stranger?" Within the past 48 hours, he had gotten himself into more unconventional situations than in his whole life. Of course, with the exception of the wedding and the day he "ran away" from home with his sister. Maybe he was more spontaneous than he wanted to admit.

Key took longer than expected and once again Jonghyun's pessimism played pranks on him. He began to imagine every possible worst-case scenario. Key went back alone. Worse. Key left for good and never came back. Worse. Key had been injured. Worse. Key was kidnapped. Worse. Key was kidnapped by aliens. "Now that's a bit implausible," he said to himself. He was about to check on Kibum when he spotted his date coming back.

"Hello, are you Kim Jonghyun?" Key asked as he reached the table.

"Yes, I am. And you're Lee Taemin, I suppose." Jonghyun finally could calm down.

"Please call me Key," the younger boy said and sat down.

"Excuse me?"

"Key, K.E.Y, that's my nickname. Everybody calls me that." And it wasn't even a lie.

"Oh, I understand. Is there a story behind it? For such an unusual name, there must be one."

"Not really. My best friend called me Key and somehow it caught on. She is friends with half of our hometown, so it wasn't really a surprise. But in her defense, I agreed to that name," He lied.

He couldn't tell Jonghyun that Goeun called him Key, because it sounds like Ki from Kibum, right? And why it spelled KEY? Because before he had admitted that he preferred men, he had slept with dozens of female schoolmates. He was like a key, which still hadn't found the right lock; that was what he told Goeun repeatedly. Theoretically, he could tell Jonghyun this story. If he were crazy.

"Sounds like a very interesting woman."

"Yes, she is. But back to you. Tell me something about yourself."

"Let see. What can you say about myself? I'm 25. I'm working at Hongik University as a research assistant and I'm doing my Ph.D. in organic chemistry," Jonghyun said. Once he was told by a date that he talked about his work too much. Since then, he tried to mention only the necessary. That reduced his conversational topics to books and politics. His life was neither an action movie nor a comedy. Nothing exciting, nothing you could tell on the first date. "Luckily, there were rarely second dates," he thought.

"Wow, I'm impressed. You must be really smart. What exactly are you researching?"

"Oh, believe me, you probably don't want to listen to me talking about my boring job."

"I'm not an expert, but I'm sure it's not boring." Key was persistent. He hadn't faked the interest like people usually did on first dates. To be honest, he first thought Jonghyun would make some CSI stuff. But in the end, Jonghyun's research was for-real interesting, at least the parts Key understood. However, he didn't mind listening to the other parts as well. He loved how Jonghyun spoke so passionately about his work. In addition, Key had always had a weakness for intelligent men. That was also why he had a crush on his English teacher, and on his biology teacher, and later on, the young medical student who had done an internship at his family doctor's office.

"I bet he looks hot in his nerd glasses and his long, white lab coat," Key thought and didn't notice that Jonghyun waved at the waiter. They had finished eating and were waiting for the bill. Jonghyun had suggested a walk and Key welcomed the idea. Most people wouldn't think that he had eaten a lot, but for him, it was twice as much as usual. No, he didn't suffer from anorexia and he wasn't on a diet. He was simply one of these people who didn't eat a lot at a time but have several meals a day. Besides, he didn't have to pay attention to his weight; he was able to eat anything he wanted and somehow he barely gained weight. He had inherited the slim figure of his mother, his "uncle" used to tell him that – he wasn't his real uncle but an old business partner of his father. His own father never spoke of his mother. He acted as if she had never existed. As if Key'd crawled out of a rabbit hole.

"Hey Jong, what about your mother? Oh, Can I call you Jong?" Key asked as they walked along the beach.

"Why do you ask?" As Jonghyun looked at him with a hint of confusion, he explained.

"I just thought Jonghyun sounds so formal."

"No, I mean my mother. And of course, you can call me Jong. "

"Oh, I just noticed that you only speak of your father and your sister." Jonghyun was silent for a moment and Key could guess what was coming.

"She died when I was 13".

"I'm sorry... It must have been very hard for you. "

"Yes, but it was much harder for my sister. She had just turned 10. She was really attached to mom. Because of mom, she wanted to be a lawyer ever since she could remember," Jonghyun said.

"Your mother was a lawyer?"

"She was a prosecutor. She was an incredibly intelligent woman. She even won against my father when he was still working for a law firm. She said they couldn't stand each other for a while. Every time mom was mad at our father, she told us the story of how she beat him."

Key could hear the pain in Jonghyun's voice, though the older boy tried to laugh at the story. Even after 12 years, his mother's death still seemed to hurt him badly. She must have been a wonderful mother. Key could only remember his own mother in fragments. Nevertheless, all his memories of her were happy ones. She was gentle and loving. She had wanted to protect him from everything. She had warned him about every danger. Sometimes he wondered whether all mothers were like that.

Key reached for Jonghyun's hand. At that moment he didn't know what else to do to console Jonghyun. He wished he might tell Jonghyun that he could empathize with his pain. However, whoever could use a search engine wouldn't need more than one minute to find out that Lee Taemin had a happy family. A picture-perfect family without a dead or a runaway mother.

"I'm sorry I spoiled the mood," Jonghyun apologized.

"No, you didn't."

Then they changed the subject. They talked about everything. Key told Jonghyun about his trip to London, only leaving out its reason. Jonghyun told Key about his study at King's College and they realized that they both had been in London at the same time. They both had dogs. Jonghyun got a Shiba Inu for his 12th birthday. He named the puppy after a Nestlé's drink, Milo; because both were sweet and had the same color. Key had been a proud owner of a Welsh Corgi Pembroke. Sadly, because of cancer, he had to euthanize his dog two years ago. It had broken his heart. Goeun told him he should get a new puppy, but he didn't have the heart to do it.

On the way back, everything was different. Time was passing too fast. All of sudden the island became a romantic paradise. Had it always been like this or had they simply not noticed the atmosphere?

"I really enjoyed the evening. Thank you for taking me home, such a gentleman," Key joked as they arrived at the beach house.

"I must admit I was hoping to be invited in," Jonghyun played along.

"Well, I'm not that kind of man."

"I'd even sleep on the sofa."

"Oh, if that's the case, please come in," Key said, smiling, and Jonghyun entered the room. Key closed the front door and somehow he knew the day wasn't over yet.