Growing Up Too Fast

Good Evening

After being in Sri Lanka for roughly a month, Taemin decided it wasn't as lonely as he thought it was. Yes, he missed his brothers, but he got opportunities here that he never would've gotten where he was.

All of his classes were online so he wouldn't have to worry about any language barriers, and he was kept busy by filming whatever the man in charge of him wanted. He was also given dance lessons, and he loved whenever he got to dance in a commercial.

On top of all of that, he learned he wasn't the only teenager in the mansion. There were four others that were employed by the man, and they had grown very close. Almost as if they were brothers. Onew, Jonghyun, Key and Minho kept him entertained when he wasn't focusing on his studies or dancing, and they simply made everything better.

They often filmed their commercial segments together or in smaller groups, and they've had to sing their own jingles for the company too. Taemin had been kept so busy that the only time he had free to worry about his brothers was right before he fell asleep each night. He had called them a total of maybe six times since he had left Korea, but all of that had been within his first two weeks here. He had no idea what was recently happening with them.

"Hey Tae, the chauffeur is in the front loop to take you to the dance studio." Key popped his head into the room, causing Taemin to quickly shut off his computer he was finishing schoolwork on and grab his dance bag.

"You coming with me?"

"No, Mister set me up with a fashion designer for our next assignment, so I have that to do." Taemin nodded, remembering that he had mentioned that earlier at lunch with full excitement.

Mister, as they all referred to him, let them do a lot of things. Onew was allowed to do piano lessons, Key was able to design clothes with a professional fashion designer, Minho was on a soccer and basketball team, and Jonghyun had his guitar lessons. They were kept busy, but it was a good busy.

"That's right. I'll see you later then." Key moved aside so Taemin could properly leave his room, and the fifteen year old watched him leave and disappear down the many hallways.

It had taken Taemin almost a whole week to figure out where everything was in the mansion without getting lost, but he still had no idea where anything was when it was dark and he walked around. 

Walking silently through the house had become a habit of his, and he always ended up in the same place, right on the side of the pool deck, staring up at the stars if they were visible. Whenever he could see them, he'd clutch his necklace in his fingers and wonder if any of his other brothers were looking at the same stars as he was then. That was when he felt the closest to them.

The other boys in the house knew of everything that had gone on for him to end up here. They had all actually been foster kids from different parts of Korea, and they loved when the youngest of them would tell stories of what it was like growing up in a family. Something they hadn't experienced before now.

"Are you ready, young sir?" The chauffeur asked once Taemin lowered himself into the slick, black vehicle, and he smiled.

"Always. Thank you for driving me." Within less than twenty-four hours, Taemin decided that the staff of the mansion were never thanked enough. He loved the smile that came onto their faces when he picked something up for them or thanked them.

"It's my pleasure." The driver pulled out of the front loop and started on the drive to the center of the city. 

A personal dance instructor had been hired from Korea to teach Taemin every Wednesday and Saturday, while on Mondays and Fridays he was taught in a group with kids from the area. It's a good thing that dancing doesn't require much communication, but he had learned enough to respond to a few questions.

"Do you have a phone I could use?" The driver immediately passed his own back without even saying a word or hesitating, and Taemin thanked him once again before dialing the number he had engraved in his mind.

"Sorry, we don't want to send you money."  Taemin smiled just at the sound of Taeyong's voice.

"That's a good thing I don't want to ask for any."

"Taemin hyung! Hold on! I'll go get Baekhyun hyung!"  Sounds of Taeyong running to get the eldest could be heard, making it obvious that their Mom wasn't currently home from work.

"Hello?"

"Hey! What's up? How are you?" Baekhyun sighed, causing a frown to form on Taemin's face. Sighs weren't good.

"Could be better. Have you heard from Lucas or Ten?"

"No... Why? What happened?"

"Mom sent them to boarding schools who knows where and they haven't called us yet."

"Boarding schools are better than foster homes or random countries. Am I on speaker?"

"Yeah."  Taeyong responded, just to confirm he was.

"You two need to stay together no matter what. I know you don't have much choice over that, but you have to. You're the home base right now. We all know where you two are even if we don't know where we are. Got it?"

"Don't worry. We're not going anywhere."