Chapter 1 (1/1)

It has been two years since Taemin disappeared.Minho had been pretty hard on himself. After the fateful night where Taemin called him up and said nothing but ‘sorry’, he fell asleep with an uneasy, creepy feeling lingering in his heart. He had told himself to go to the Lee’s first thing in the morning, but what greeted him when he reached there scarred him for life.  The front door was not even closed – the door was broken in half. The house was in a mess. It was as if an airplane had crashed on it or some sort. The furniture were upside down – some broken, shreds of glass and porcelain everywhere, but that was not what caught Minho’s eyes.Taemin’s cell phone was in the middle of the living room, the screen broken – as if someone had stepped on it. Fear started building up in Minho’s chest as he scanned the house – no sign of living person around.Praying that this was all a nightmare, Minho hurriedly check the whole house – Taemin’s bedroom, his parents’ bedroom and the bathrooms. All the rooms were the same – wrecked, messy, and torn – and there was no sign of anyone anywhere. The house was deserted.Minho stepped into Taemin’s bedroom, his heart thumping hard, tears building in his eyes. He was scared and worried – what had happened? Is Taemin okay? Is he alive? – All sorts of thoughts were running through his mind. But most of all he was regretting that he had not spoken to Taemin before last night – and how much of a difference would it make if he did not attempt to avoid the younger boy.Instinctively, he started searching for something – anything – a letter perhaps – around the room. After few hours, his search was fruitless and Minho – not wanting to give up – finally dialed the police.  “You look weird with your face all scrunched up like that.” Minho snapped out of his train of thoughts as he glared at the boy who just slumped down at the seat opposite of his. “Yah, Key, I never said that the seat was vacant.”“Oh please, if I’m not around who do you think will sit and eat lunch with you?”“I have other friends too, you know.”“So do I.”“Whatever.” Minho stirred his soup slowly. There was no point in arguing with Key because Key is a diva and he never loses an argument. They both had become very close friends ever since their freshman year (last year), and although their personalities were opposite of each other, Minho never wanted Key to change because he loves Key’s company like that. “I heard there’s a transfer student.” Key initiated a conversation. Minho was still playing with his food. “He is transferring as a sophomore, but he’s younger than us by 2 years. Nicole said she saw the boy at the general office and the Principal was talking to him about some kind of scholarship. He must be a genius to skip a year and get it.” “Hm.” Minho responded. “By the way, Key…”“Yes?”“Why are you telling me this?” Key rolled his eyes. “If it weren’t because of me, you will be an anti-social brat who knows no one and nothing about the whole school and believe me, you’ll thank me ten years down the road when we’re having a college reunion and everyone starts greeting you because you are Choi Minho, the Kim Kibum’s best friend.”“… Right.” They continued to bicker throughout lunch. It was always like that – Key and Minho arguing over nothing at all – but they both enjoyed the moment very much. After their lunch they bid their farewell (“You tall freak” “Pink freak” “YAH”) and went to their own classes.  Minho was reading through his notes when Mr. Kang – his lecturer – stepped into the laboratory with someone tailing him. He was pretty much uninterested until he heard the teacher saying something about the boy introducing himself as a new student in front of everyone. “I’m Lee Taemin. Nice to meet you.” Minho felt everything froze around him as he shifted his gaze up to observe the new boy. His heart skipped a beat. The new student was tall – shorter than Minho but still tall. He has a long auburn hair touching his shoulder, which was tied into a ponyt