A/N: Haha whoops I decided to continue. I forgot in the last chapter to say the time of the recital and I was like... an excuse for them to talk again! Once again, I'm my own beta... and I'm honestly making this up as I go along. There are no drafts or outlining. Haha. //cries

Also I just realized that their ages are kind of ambiguous (HS or Uni?). I kind of thought them all as in HS, but you can make an argument for Uni.

===

Kibum lets him go with a smile and Minho has to resist the urge to punch the air. He feels like he's walking on clouds--and then he trips over the air. He doesn't hear Kibum laugh, so that's good, but he does see Jonghyun covering his mouth, shoulders quaking. 

"So, where are you going for your hot date?" Jonghyun asks once he stops in front of them, swaying his hips as puncuation for the last two words. Jinki turns away to hide his giggles. 

"Shut up," Minho says, bit he's smiling too. "He invited me to Taemin's recital." Then, realization dawns on him. "But he didn't give me the time." He furrows his brows as millions of what-ifs come rushing into his head. What if Kibum just invited him to be nice? What if he never gets the time? What if Kibum gets upset because he came too late? Or too early? 

"Maybe he wanted you to talk to him again," Jinki offers. He uses Jonghyun's arm as a rest, the other arm having a plastic bag hanging off of it. 

Minho shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't-"

Then Jonghyun groans. Loudly. Other customers either look at them with disapproving stares or quizzical eyes. "Minho, the guy asked you to go there--personally--and he had literal hearts shooting out of his eyes." 

"Hearts?" 

"Yeah, I mean... even Jinki saw that he was kinda into you." Jonghyun gestures at Jinki, to which he nods, smiling. "Now lets go. I don't wanna be kicked out for loitering."

===

"Just ask him the time, Minho. You're not asking him to marry you." He gives himself a little pep-talk, seemingly distracted from the rest of the world. Jonghyun's fingers sneakily reach to grab a sheet of nori. "Do you guys want to come too? Kibum said I could bring others. It's on Wednesday."

Jonghyun nods, a flake of nori clinging to the corner of his mouth. "If we weren't there, imagine the mess you'd make in front of your crush."

"Didn't you spill yogurt on Sekyung once?" Jinki asks, sounding as innocent as the day he was born. Minho bites back a grin.  

"That was 3 years ago! ...and she forgave me," Jonghyun sulks. He uses his chopsticks to grab at a strand of japchae, only for them to be slapped away with Minho's own. 

Minho waggles his index finger in the most ridiculous way. "I actually like the japchae here. Don't eat it. I'll go ask Kibum." He slaps the top of the table thrice before standing up, ignoring Jonghyun's whistle. 

He knows where Kibum sits, of course he does. What catches his attention is that there are bins far closer to Kibum's table than the one he and his friends sit at. Why'd he walk so far just to throw a milk carton away? Could it be that he walked all the way there just to see him? Was Jonghyun right? ...God, he has so many questions. And it seems the closer he gets, the faster his heart races.

His long legs allow him to reach Kibum's table fairly quickly. Kibum's talking to someone (Taemin, Minho knows) and Minho isn't really all that surprised. He stands there, awkwardly waiting for the conversation to be over before he butts in. 

Turns out he doesn't have to wait too long as Taemin locks eyes with him and nods his head, alerting Kibum to someone else's presence. 

Kibum turns to face him, and Minho isn't entirely sure if it's his imagination when Kibum's face lights up. "Minho! What's up?" 

"Uh, about the recital," he starts as Kibum nods, "you didn't give me the time."

", I knew I forgot something," Kibum mutters. "The recital starts at 5 PM, but Taemin doesn't come on until 5:45, and their part lasts for around 10 minutes, right Tae?" 

Taemin nods in confirmation. "You can come right before we perform, and you don't have to stay the entire time. Otherwise, it ends at 6:30," he adds. "I'm glad you're coming though. Kibum talks about you. I can't believe he finally got the guts to talk to you." Taemin snickers as Kibum elbows him in the side. 

"Don't listen to him. I'll see you Wednesday, Minho." 

As Minho walks away, he can hear as Kibum whispers something to Taemin and only gets more laughter in response. 

===

"So you're telling me that Lee Taemin, his best friend, said that he would talk about you?" Jonghyun asks as he idly flips through a sports magazine, lounging on Minho's couch. They're just waiting for Jinki to arrive and then they'll be heading to the recital. "That means something." 

Those words have been stuck in the back of Minho's head for a while. He puts his foot up on the coffee table. "I guess?"

"You know he comes to the soccer games, even if it's just because Taemin's a fan. And I know he looks at you when he thinks you aren't going to notice in class," Jonghyun continues. "Maybe he's like you. Long-distance crush thing. Can look, but never touch... ooh, I can make a song about that." 

"If you turn my love life into a song, I'm disowning you as a friend," Minho threatens, although the both of them know he doesn't mean it. 

"I'll call it 'Selene 6.23'," Jonghyun says, blatantly ignoring him. All he does is huff and sink down in his seat when the doorbell rings. 

Silence descends over the both of them for a few seconds, only for it to be broken by Jinki's muffled voice. "Guys? Are you gonna let me in?" 

"You're closer to the door, Jonghyun," Minho says matter-of-factly. 

Jonghyun closes the magazine with a discontent noise and trudges to the door, opening it for Jinki. It's hard for him to stay in a bad mood when Jinki smiles at him, though. 

"Are we going to go? It's 5:30," Jinki says as he steps inside. The side of his face is glistening... was he sweating? In this weather?

"Could've left earlier if you came on time," Minho teases. He grabs a face mask to protect his nose and mouth from the cold, along with the keys to his family's apartment. 

Jinki makes a disbelieving noise. "The elevator was out of order, and your apartment is on the 11th floor." He pouts. "I had to walk up here. The stairs are steep."

"I'm joking, Jinki." Minho walks past a doorway leading to a hall, placing one hand on the wall as he cranes his neck around the corner. "Mom! I'm leaving with Jinki and Jonghyun!" A female voice answers back, requesting for them to stay safe. 

"Let's go," Minho says as he turns back to his friends, a large smile on his face. He twirls the keys in his left hand. 

They stay huddled together like sardines as they venture down the sidewalk together. Thank god it's not snowing, but it's windy as hell. Minho is only barely listening as Jonghyun complains about his bangs getting in his eyes for the nth time. Jinki is complaining about having to walk again. 

Thankfully, out of the 4 Lotterias they know of, 1 is across a salon, and that salon has a dance studio above it. Minho can't help but to think that he should've asked Kibum for the address as well.

Their knees feel frozen solid as they climb the stairs, but they're grateful for any shelter from the wind. Jinki clings onto Jonghyun's sleeve because, quote, "If I fall down, I'm taking you with me." 

Minho opens the door as quietly as possible, pulling down his mask. He doesn't want to disturb the performance already taking place. People seem to be gathered in a circle, surrounding the dancers. Minho checks his watch. 5:43. Just in time. He looks at his friends. 

"I can put you on my shoulders, if you like," Minho whispers to a tip-toeing Jonghyun. That earns him a swift kick to the shin, and he covers his mouth to keep any noise from coming out. 

Jinki taps his shoulder, gaining his attention. "Is that Kibum?" he asks, pointing at a man in a familiar red sweater. 

Minho squints. The room isn't the brightest, what with most of the light being focused on the middle of the circle. He doesn't want to get the wrong person. "Yeah, I think it is. Do i look alright?" He looks down at the front of his blazer and smooths it out, picking off an invisible ball of lint. 

Jonghyun pats his back lightly. "Minho, you could be dressed in a potato sack and you'd still look good."

"Man, you really know what to say, huh?" 

Jonghyun can't help but to nod, confirming the validity of that statement. 

The music turns off and clapping comes from the crowd, a signal that the group is finished. Taemin is bound to go any second. He motions at his friends to join him as he walks towards Kibum. 

"I see you're wearing the sweater," Minho says as he comes to a stop besides him. 

"Oh, Minho! You're here! Okay, so, Taemin will be going in a minute. Hold this up for me, please?" He hands Minho a fan that says Taemin's name on it along with some stickers in the shape of stars. He looks at it with an eyebrow raised then back up at Kibum. "Don't judge me, just hold it up." 

"Did you just ask me here to help you be Taemin's cheerleader?" he asks, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. 

Kibum looks like he's never been offended so badly in his life. "No, of course not! I- ugh, he's going on soon, just-" he rummages in his backpack, and out comes two more fans, one with hearts instead of stars, and the other with sprouts. "Give these to your friends?" He gives Minho a pleading look as he shoves the fans into Minho's hands. 

As Kibum zips up his backpack (he has a fan of his own in his hands, and Minho realizes some people around them have some too. How many did Kibum make?), Minho hands the fans to Jinki and Jonghyun who look just as confused as Minho is. "Should we do a fanchant for him too?" Jonghyun jokes. Jinki swats at his shoulder. 

Minho feels a hand curling around his bicep. "He's coming on!" 

A song with a heavy, thumping bass line comes over the speakers. Minho can't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the salon located downstairs. 

Taemin is situated on the floor, his silver jacket glittering in the light. Minho has a feeling that it was Kibum who helped him pick out his outfit. 

As Taemin dances, Minho finds his eyes being drawn more towards Kibum than the boy in the center. Kibum just seems so enthusiastic and proud that it's actually kind of cute. 

"He's so good, isn't he?" Kibum excitedly asks, waving his homemade fan to the beat. 

Minho hums in acknowledgement. Taemin's moves are sharp, yet graceful. It's almost as if he's one with the music, simply allowing it to carry him wherever it goes. He can hear the impressed noises of Jonghyun behind him and the soft "wow" that comes from Jinki's mouth. 

At the end of his performance, Taemin gives the crowd a gracious bow, shyly smiling at the applause he recieves. He straightens up and gives one more bow before finally stepping out of the spotlight. 

He sidles up to Kibum and Minho. "They're gonna turn the lights on in a second, so-"

Jinki's groan echos as the lights suddenly turn on, blinding him temporarily. Jonghyun, the good friend that he is, laughs and allows Jinki to bury his face in his shoulder. 

Minho blinks rapidly, but Taemin and Kibum seem unaffected. Damn them. 

"You were amazing, Tae," Kibum compliments. A few people have handed back the fans to him, along with giving small compliments to Taemin. "You like what I made?" he cheekily asks, waving the fans in his hand. 

Taemin smiles and nods. His hair, having already been out of place due to him running his hand through it earlier, becomes even messier. "Thanks, Key. And you too Minho. I know you don't know me that well, so, you know... I appreciate that you came." 

Minho shakes his head. "It's not a problem, Taemin. You were awesome," he says. "And... Key?" 

"It's a nickname," Kibum clarifies. "Had it since I was little. I was good at puzzles and stuff, like a key. But only Taemin and my parents really call me by it."

"Ah, he was such a cute kid. I wonder what happened," Taemin snickers. Kibum frowns, and Minho tries to push away his thoughts of kissing it away. Taemin composes himself quickly and continues. "There's a break right now, also. The other performers will continue in about... 7 minutes? So, we can talk."

He looks over at his friends, who still have their fans. Jonghyun very unsubtly uses his head to point at Kibum, while Jinki makes little pushing motions with his hands  They're ridiculous, and he's incredibly thankful that Kibum doesn't follow his gaze. "Uh, Kibum? Can I ask you something?"

Kibum tilts his head to the side and stop being adorable, damn it, Minho thinks. "What?"

"Do you... maybe..." there's a lump in his throat and oh my, did it get hot in here? Kibum is still clearly waiting, and just spit it out Minho. Just do it. You don't have time. "Do you want to go out? Sometime?" Kibum is going to say no, he just knows it. Jonghyun and Jinki don't know anything. He's gonna have to avoid him for the rest of eternity-

"Sure." Wait, what? He hears Jonghyun make a choked off cheer in the back (his mouth was probably covered by Jinki). His surprise must also be evident as Kibum smiles brightly up at him. "I was actually going to ask you that," he admits sheepishly. 

And Minho is so incredibly glad that Kibum can't read minds, because if he did all he would've heard in Minho's is inarticulate screaming. "Really?" he manages to get out. 

Kibum slowly nods. 

"Hm. So you were just gonna use my dance recital as a platform to ask Minho out, huh?" Taemin asks, hands on his hips. 

"Taemin-"

"You know I'm joking, Key," he says teasingly. "I'm just glad you two stopped beating around the bush," he says. 

Minho speaks up. "So, you knew that I liked Kibum- Key?" he asks. I mean, he's always heard from Jonghyun and Jinki that it was painfully blatant, but... he wants to know. 

"Isn't it obvious?" is Taemin's short reply. 

===

A/N: So the fic name drop goes to... Taeminnie! This fic was around ~4000 words of pure self-indulgent, un-beta'd... fic. Maybe I'll write more in this universe, maybe not. I don't know, it really depends on the reception I get. 

Plus, I'm not... entirely sure on how to handle Jonghyun. I've had this short fic planned in my head for 3 years, and Jjong obviously plays a big part in it, what with being Minho's best friend, and I'm.... not too sure on how to continue this. 

But once again, thank you for reading!!! Thank you for giving my fic a little attention.