The five individuals enjoyed their time at Starbucks, laughing and chattering away, not caring about the looks they were gaining from other people that sat near them. They could not hear their hate over their rambunctious laughing.

While yammering to Chanyeol about some (uninteresting) heated basketball game that had recently happened between Yixing and Jongin, Sehun throws an arm over Junmyeon’s shoulders as if there was nothing at all wrong about that. Sehun was so confident about the move that it was almost like he just knew that his arm belonged there around her. Junmyeon shoots him a scowl but she did nothing to push him off her. Luhan hides her grin because even though Junmyeon claimed Sehun to be some cockroach that had an unnecessary presence in her life, it was obvious that she liked him in her own little way.

“Well, guys, I guess I better head off.” Chanyeol stands up with the stretching of his upper limbs.

Taozi pouts, hating to see her favorite oppa leaving so early. “Where are you going?”

“Um... to go ask out Minseok. That’s why I’m here.” He gives an anxious chuckle to calm his nerves.

Taozi also shoots up out of her seat. “I wanna go!”

“No way! Sehun is going to come with me! If I show up in front of Minseok with you, she’s going to think something’s up!”

“What?? No, she’s not. You’re just being melodramatic, oppa!”

“Huang Taozi, everyone knows that you are mischievous and sneaky. Minseok has been suspicious of you and everything you do since you pranked her at her 21^st birthday party.”

Taozi glances in Luhan’s way and sees that the girl’s doe eyes were watching her carefully, and suddenly, Taozi feels embarrassed in front of her crush. Luhan, Taozi’s goddess, should not hear that she was sneaky and mischievous, or whatever it was that Chanyeol just called her. Taozi stomps her foot before slumping back into her chair, sipping on her iced coffee to stop her from cussing out her senior with colorful words that would make a sailor blush.

Chanyeol sees how Taozi’s joyous mood has been killed so he pats her head affectionately. “Sorry, Taozi. I just… I’ve been waiting for forever to ask Minseok out, and I just want everything to be perfect.”

Sehun throws in, “He also doesn’t want anybody to see him get rejected by Minseok, the ice princess.”

Chanyeol waves farewell to his friends and is off to find Minseok and Baekhyun.

Taozi is still sulking when Chanyeol leaves and Luhan feels sort of awkward. Sehun was playing with Junmyeon’s long hair while every once in a while she’d bat away his hands.

“What happened at Minseok’s 21^st birthday party?” Luhan decides to ask to kill the awkward silence. She expects Taozi to speak but Taozi hangs her head, flushing immensely.

Sehun snorts and opens his mouth, but Junmyeon pinches his thigh to silence him and also for her enjoyment. Sehun muffles his yelp and frowns at her, his arm still around her shoulders. Junmyeon smirks victoriously, and Sehun just knew how to wipe that smug look off her face.

Sehun leans in dangerously close and Junmyeon’s eyes go wide at the proximity of his face. Sehun’s lips are inches away from her ear and he sultrily whispers, “That’s not where I want you to touch me, noona.”

Junmyeon pulls back, disgusted with his games. Sehun chuckles, leaning back in his chair. Oh, he and Junmyeon are going to have a happy life together.

(-)

“Baek, do you really need to try on the lingerie right now?” Minseok groans as she leans against a bathroom stall. “In a public bathroom?” Minseok wrinkles her nose at the dirty tile floor and whitewashed mirrors.

In the bathroom stall Minseok was standing in front of, Baekhyun was on the other side of the door, changing into an outfit of lingerie that she just bought from Naughty Enterprises. She bought two outfits for her boyfriend, Yixing, and she wanted to make sure they fit. She has been gaining weight the past several months.

Ever since she and Yixing moved in together, they didn’t feel the need to eat out restaurants. Yixing was already a great cook and he fed Baekhyun all sorts of dishes he has been dying to get her opinion on. She was delighted that her boyfriend can cook so well, but her heart shattered when she realized that she had put on eleven pounds of just living with him for one month.

She was so self-conscious that she was putting on weight, but Yixing assured her that he didn’t care. He was chubby when he was younger and saw that extra weight on Baekhyun made her look cute and squishy. And plus, the extra weight made her body look more curvy than before and he loved that. He hugged her every chance he got because now she was ‘soft’ in all the places where he could feel her bones before the weight gain.

“Hey, might as well since we are still in the mall.” Baekhyun unclips her bra and slides off her before sliding into a passion red babydoll dress. Baekhyun unlocks the door and lets Minseok have a peek inside. Surely Baekhyun needed to have her best friend’s opinion before anything else. “Whatcha think?”

Minseok fans herself with a grin. “You’re gonna blow Yixing’s socks off.”

Baekhyun smiles widely. “You think? It’s a little tight though in the chest area.” Baekhyun motions around her s. Thank God she was no longer a Size A cup. Due to her weight gain, she was a proud B cup.

“Yeah, but your s look great.” Minseok comments. “And it’s not like you’re going to be in this outfit for very long.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Baekhyun giggles. “Yixing is an eager beaver whenever we have se—“

“Whoa! Okay, no need to finish.” Minseok interjects quickly.

Baekhyun shakes her head at Minseok, all the while laughing at Minseok’s innocence. “Hey, you wanna get yourself some lingerie while we’re here?” Baekhyun adds a playful wink to her question.

“Uh, no.”

“C’mon, you’re not going to be a forever. Buy one and save it for whenever you’re ready. Don’t let your first time be a bad one. Make it y and exciting with some ty underwear.”

Minseok is about to shoot her down when they hear someone clearing their throat. Minseok and Baekhyun look at each other in panic— they didn’t even hear anyone come in. Wordlessly, Baekhyun pokes and shoves at Minseok to leave the stall first, but Minseok shakes her head, slapping Baekhyun’s sides for shoving and pushing her around.

Baekhyun mouths, ‘please, please, please’ and Minseok groans internally at Baekhyun’s incessant whining. A whiny Baekhyun is never a good thing. Better to leave now before the stranger begins to think they’re doing something suspicious and illegal in there.  Minseok glares at Baekhyun before slowly unlatching the door.

Luhan leaves her new friends in Starbucks to tend to some business in the bathroom. She enters the women’s bathroom and is about to wash her hands when she hears two voices. She thinks nothing of it until she hears the phrase ‘… but your s look great.’

What in the world kind of conversation is that to have in a public restroom?

Luhan knows it’s wrong but she eavesdrops on the conversation, peeking around the corner to see that the two ‘girls’ were in a bathroom stall together. She laughs inside her head because of how lucky was she to witness a conversation that was something one doesn’t come across every day. Apparently one of the girls was a . She decides to make her presence known so she clears after one of the girls suggests the other to buy some ‘ty underwear’.

The two girls become incredibly silent and Luhan is holding back her laughter. These must be high school girls or something, or else they wouldn’t have become so silent as if they have just been caught in the middle of something horrible. Grown women wouldn’t have minded if someone else was in the restroom; they would’ve went on with their business.

The bathroom stall door creaks open and a youthful feminine figure steps out. Luhan has a hard time seeing her face because of the wild, curly hair that hid most of her face. The girl was dressed in a simple black t-shirt and distressed pink capris with a pair of running shoes. A necklace with a ring attached to it hung from the girl’s milky white neck.

The girl looks up with parted, as if she was going to say something— perhaps an explanation or an apology— but she stops once her eyes meet Luhan’s. All thoughts about lingerie and ies escaped both of their minds. Staring directly at one another, both of the girls lost their voice and will to speak.

God, she is beautiful, Luhan coos mentally. How does one like her even exist? Does she know she is invaluable? Is she even aware that the entire universe is held together with her presence? And that we are all her servants? “Hi…” Luhan says.

“Hi… I’m sor—… I’m Minseok.”

Minseok? Could this perhaps be Chanyeol’s Minseok?

Deep down, Luhan wishes not. 

Author's Note

Yay! The moment everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived! Minseok and Luhan finally meet!