‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, Taemin. You’re a great friend,’ Minho said. He was sitting on the floor of Taemin’s new place, with his plate of homemade food placed on the coffee table in front of him. ‘But I feel like you are trying to poison me, right now.’

‘I don’t understand. I followed Kibum’s video perfectly,’ Taemin replied, sitting in front of him, his own food lying untouched.

‘Did you?’ Minho asked doubtful, an eyebrow shooting upwards.

‘A hundred per cent. I watched it over and over.’

Minho snorted. ‘Humph. I know you did. I’m not sure you paid attention to the recipe, though.’

Taemin pouted. ‘What do you mean? I do pay attention.’

‘Yeah. To his face.’ Minho chuckled. ‘You should find a cooking channel by someone you find less attractive.’

‘That would be boring, though?’ Taemin said, making them both laugh. He took one more look at his own food and decided he wasn’t feeling up to the challenge either. ‘My mom came the other day, she left me some food in the fridge. Let’s heat that up.’

Minho nodded. ‘Yeah, let’s do that. Anyway, are you getting a real table anytime soon?’

Taemin sat up from the floor, grabbing both plates of inedible food and emptying them in the open rubbish bag by the sink. ‘My mom said she was going to order one.’

‘You can’t let your mom do everything for you. This is your place.’

‘It’s not like I asked her to,’ Taemin said, grabbing a few plastic boxes from the fridge and fixing them in the microwave. ‘I just told her I thought I didn’t need a table. It’s just me after all, why do I need a table?’ he shrugged. ‘She insisted.’

‘Good gracious. Bless her patience and whoever is gonna have you one day,’ Minho sighed.

Taemin leaned against the counter as he waited for the food to heat up, his eyes darting across his open kitchen and living room. ‘I really don’t know anything about interior design, but I’d like to make this place feel like it’s mine little by little. I don’t think a table is that important though. You know, Kibum has all these cool art pieces in his apartment. I like that.’

‘I think your priorities are a bit skewed,’ Minho said. ‘Also, how do you even know Kibum’s apartment? Didn’t you say it’s a cooking channel?’

Taemin rolled his eyes. ‘That’s just one of his channels. He does vlogs and other stuff, you should know that.’

‘No, I should not know that, you know I barely watch Youtube,’ Minho complained. ‘You’re just filling me with unnecessary information about this random guy. He sounds annoying, and he has a weird laugh.’

‘He’s funny and interesting, your laugh is annoying too, and you have no taste.’ Taemin carefully grabbed the steaming food from the microwave and brought it back to the coffee table.

‘I don’t want to be lectured about taste by you ,’ Minho retorted, laughing. ‘Are you going to make me eat out of a plastic box?’

Taemin chuckled. ‘Hyung, you’re not invited here anymore.’

*

It had been a few weeks since Taemin had moved into his new apartment. It was neither big, nor in a particularly fancy area, but Taemin was proud he had managed to buy an apartment at all, considering the current financial hardships his generation was going through. His music producing talent had garnered some attention while in university, which had helped him get an internship at SM. Working at SM while still studying had been hard, and incredibly stressful at times, but his hard work was finally rewarded with a stable and well paid job right after graduation, his job interview with the people he had worked with for the past few years a mere formality. 

However, Taemin came to realise that financial independence was very different from real independence. Finally living alone, little by little he discovered that a house required a lot more care than previously thought, and that, no matter how much he hated to admit it, he couldn’t live off pre-made food only.

That is how he came across the Youtube channel of a guy named Kibum.

On a day off from work on an early summer afternoon, he decided to look for a recipe to start his cooking journey and found a video for beginners that, even though it was a bit dated and with questionable camera work, he thought he could easily follow. The recipe was simply a way to enrich a plain ramyeon, adding vegetables, meat, and an egg to make it look like the ones served in restaurants.

As the recipe went on, however, rather than focusing on the instructions, Taemin found himself focusing on the guy explaining them. Hair bleached silver, multiple piercings decorating his ears, sharp eyes. His face was too pretty to be just a regular guy, Taemin thought, his mind going to some of the average-looking idols he worked with. But most of all, Taemin couldn’t help but focus on the guy’s low and a little raspy voice, and the small dimples that appeared every time he smiled.

Taemin clicked on different videos recommended from the same channel, noticing Kibum’s hair colour changing throughout the years, piercings reducing in number, while the range of different contents and the quality of the camera and video editing improved drastically as the channel’s popularity increased. Taemin got caught watching the most recent videos out, where Kibum seemed to have settled for a simple black cut that framed his face perfectly, and, before he knew it, the sky had become dark, and he ended up ordering take away.

*

Taemin grabbed his phone as he wrapped up his work and left the studio for the day, only to find a bunch of notifications, the contents of which he couldn’t understand. Trying to figure out what was happening while moving around was difficult, so he chose the easiest option as he walked to his bus stop, and rang Minho’s number.

‘Hello?’

‘Hyung, what’s that that you posted? Why are you exposing me like this?’

‘Didn’t you see Kibum’s post?’

‘I just got off work, I haven’t seen anything. And see, you like Kibum too.’

‘You’re the one that made me follow him though? His posts just appear whenever I open Instagram!’

Taemin bit his lips, trying to suppress a chuckle. ‘Whatever, what is it then?’

‘It’s a contest. They’re going to choose a fan to participate in a filmed cooking workshop with him, you just have to send a convincing reason. I thought you might like that.’

‘Are you crazy? No way, I don’t want my fantasies of my perfect guy to be destroyed by meeting him.’

‘You’re weird.’

‘Going by what you wrote they’re never gonna choose me anyway,’ Taemin said. He heard Minho laugh from the other side of the phone. 

‘I guess I just wanted to vent.’

‘I hope you’re happy now.’

‘I am.’

‘Anyway, you won’t believe this. You-know-who has postponed you-know-what . Again. People have been apologising left and right all day.’ Taemin changed the conversation, careful to censor himself as he boarded the bus crowded with people coming off work.

‘Holy …’

*

A week later, Taemin found a strange notification on Instagram about something he had almost completely removed from his mind. 

Kibum’s Youtube channel had contacted him. 

He had won the contest.

*****

Taemin stopped at the entrance of a tall office building. He had been corresponding with someone who managed Kibum’s channel, and had been directed here to complete the necessary paperwork before filming. Reaching this office area only via public transportation and foot, he had arrived slightly out of breath with no time to idle around. He checked his message once again to confirm the floor number, and finally went through the glass doors, walking straight towards the elevators in front of him and thanking the existence of air conditioning.

When he finally reached the floor, he found himself in an airy lounge, comfortable-looking sofas and coffee tables scattered in a random but calculated manner. The glass walls gave a nice view of Seoul, despite the humid heat and cloudy weather outside.

‘Mr Lee Taemin?’ an unfamiliar voice called out. Taemin turned his gaze to find a man walking up to him with a smile.

‘Yes?’ Taemin replied.

‘Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jinki, the one you corresponded with by email,’ the man said, reaching out his hand for a firm handshake.

‘Nice to meet you,’ Taemin said, smiling. The man emanated genuine friendliness. Taemin followed him to sit by one of the corner sofas, facing the view outside.

‘I already mentioned this in our emails, but I am a manager of sorts for Kibum. We’re not a big team so we all do a little bit of everything,’ Jinki explained. ‘Usually we don’t really need this sort of documentation, but since it’s a cooking episode we need some sort of insurance. Did you bring your ID and seal?’

Taemin nodded, taking out his wallet.

‘Perfect. It will only take a minute, you can wait here. There’s some coffee and tea over there, you can help yourself. If you need, the toilets are on that side, to the right. I’ll be back soon.’

Taemin watched Jinki leave through the corridor at the back of the room and then got up, suddenly feeling fidgety. Somehow, the realisation that this was really happening was downing on him only now. 

He walked to the toilets Jinki had pointed out for him and examined himself in the mirror. He had kept his brown hair down, his bangs almost reaching his eyes in length, and, taking in consideration that he would be cooking, he had chosen a comfortable outfit: washed-out jeans and a tucked black t-shirt. Jongin, who had been updated on his situation, had helped him make sure they were a good fit that highlighted his proportions.

After checking that everything was still in order, Taemin went back to the lounge to find Jinki had already returned with a couple of papers. He walked Taemin through every point of the documents.

‘You’ll have to put your seal here, and here. I’ll give these papers back and then we can go.’

Taemin took out his seal and stamped the documents and before he knew it, he and Jinki were leaving the building together and getting into a car, Jinki sitting by the driver’s seat.

On the way, he ran Taemin through the way they were going to film the episode, although Taemin had already received some information about it. 

It would be about twenty minutes long; they would film everything but most of it would inevitably be cut, so not to worry if he needed to take a break at any time, and to just let them know if there was anything he was uncomfortable with sharing on Youtube and they would edit it out. 

They would start filming before Taemin entered the building, in order to capture his first meeting with Kibum. They would have a small chat so that Taemin could introduce himself and then they would start the cooking. Kibum would take the lead, so not to worry if he was feeling nervous. 

Jinki explained everything very clearly, making sure Taemin knew he would be in a safe environment. ‘There really are no particular rules,’ Jinki said. ‘Just follow Kibum, have fun, and everything will go well.’

Jinki finally parked when they reached a nice area in Cheongdam. They got out of the car, and a guy holding a camera appeared from a building when Jinki sent a text.

‘Honestly, I would have asked you if you wanted to check yourself before starting, but you look like a model, I don’t think you need it,’ Jinki said. ‘But really, do you need anything before starting?’

‘Thanks, I’m alright.’ Taemin replied, slightly embarrassed by the unexpected compliment.

The man that had come out of the building introduced himself, before looking at Taemin with an encouraging smile. ‘Camera shy?’

Taemin chuckled. ‘I don’t mind them much, actually.’

‘Well, that only makes my job easier. Let’s go,’ the man said, turning on his small but expensive-looking camera and pointing it at him.

‘Let’s go!’ echoed Jinki, behind him.

Taemin walked into the building, the sensation of a camera on him strange, but not unfamiliar; Jinki’s comment hadn’t been too far from the truth, as he had also done some minor modelling jobs while studying, and was still called occasionally.

Jinki pushed the elevator buttons, and once they reached the floor, he pointed him to the right door.

Taemin walked up to the door, taking a deep breath. Jinki gave him a word of encouragement, mistaking his action for nervousness. But Taemin wasn’t nervous. He was excited. Similar to what he felt when he was about to ride a rollercoaster, or about to jump from an aeroplane, anticipation was one of his favourite feelings.

He finally rang the doorbell.

The voice that answered him from the other side was one that he had grown to be very familiar with, although he had never heard in real life. And, despite convincing himself that meeting a person he admired wouldn’t affect him much, it’s only another regular human after all , when the door opened to reveal Kibum’s face, welcoming him with a smile, Taemin lost his words for a few seconds. 

He gave a polite bow, spluttering a ‘hello’ with it and feeling embarrassed by his own reaction, hoping that the heat he felt in his face wouldn’t appear on camera, cheeks red as he imagined they might be.

Kibum moved to the side to let Taemin enter the apartment, decorated with warm lights and an industrial but cosy looking design, then guided him to the couch at the other end of the room, numerous cameras positioned all around them.

Taemin watched Kibum as he walked behind him, observing for the first time the real man in the flesh rather than the one inside a screen. He was taller than he thought, with a lean figure. His outfit was not too different from Taemin’s own but with a colourful Hawaiian shirt instead, and his hair was still black and styled the same way as the most recent videos Taemin had watched. 

As Kibum turned around to sit on a sofa next to him, looking at him with an interested smile, Taemin had to stop himself from staring too much, mesmerised by how perfect every feature on Kibum’s face appeared to be in real life, even more so than on video. Even what would usually be considered flaws, the famous eyebrow scar or the smaller teardrop scar on his cheek, were only enhancing Kibum’s appeal and the unique style he was known for.

‘Nice to meet you,’ Kibum greeted him once more, grabbing a jug of water from the low table in front of them and filling two tall glasses. ‘Could you introduce yourself for us?’ Kibum pointed at the camera in front of them.

Taemin followed and started talking to the camera, blinking a few times as the lights hit his eyes. ‘Hi, my name is Lee Taemin. I’m 25 years old and I work in the music industry.’

‘So you’re 199...3?’ Kibum briefly paused mid-way as he made calculations in his mind.

‘Yes,’ Taemin nodded, turning back from the camera to face Kibum. ‘Kibum-ssi is…?’ Of course Taemin knew Kibum’s age, but he refrained from exposing it.

‘1991. Just call me hyung. Is it okay if I just call you Taemin?’

Taemin nodded as Kibum kept smiling at him, his heart skipping a beat.

‘Before we proceed I want to specify to my subscribers that when we picked this guy we really didn’t know he would look like this,’ Kibum said towards the cameras. ‘If we had known, we wouldn’t have chosen him, he’s gonna distract all my female viewers,’ he added, in a jokingly annoyed tone. Taemin laughed with a hand in front of his face, embarrassed.

‘That said, let’s get to the reason why you’re here.’ Kibum turned to talk to Taemin again. ‘I told my followers on Instagram to tag me in a picture of their dish and a reason why they should be picked to participate in a one to one workshop episode with me. Funnily, it wasn’t you that sent a picture but your friend… can we say his name? Choi Minho?’ Taemin nodded to confirm before Kibum continued. 

‘We thought it must really be bad if it’s your own friend begging us for help,’ Kibum said, chuckling. ‘Here’s what your friend wrote to us.’

Kibum unlocked his phone and started reading. 

‘ @bumkeyk Hello. I am writing on behalf of my best friend @lm_____ltm. He’s such a big fan of your cooking videos, he even secretly stole my phone to subscribe to your channel from my own account. Now Youtube won’t stop recommending me your videos even though I have no interest in them.’ 

‘I’m not sure I like your friend, Taemin,’ Kibum paused to say, before continuing.

‘Do you see this picture? Can you guess what it is? He cooked it while following your directions. Any ideas yet? It’s chicken stew. You’ll ask, how did it get to that colour? Well, don’t ask me, I don’t know. Pretty sure he doesn’t know either. I’m not a picky eater, but please save me. I just don’t wanna be poisoned the next time he invites me to lunch. -Choi Minho’

‘Now, there were many entries that we could have picked, but being the charitable soul that I am, I thought rescuing a life here was a priority.’

Taemin giggled. Kibum was so naturally funny, one of the things Taemin admired about him.

‘But honestly,’ Kibum continued, ‘I’m trying to think of how your chicken stew could have turned into this disaster but I can’t wrap my head around it. Do you have any explanations you want to give?’

Taemin pursed his lips in thought. ‘I really don’t know either. I swear I was following the directions, one second it was fine and the next it was like that.’

Kibum looked at him with suspicious eyes. ‘Right. Well, I did some digging of my own and looked through your Insta pictures. Your taste can be questionable. What is this?’ Kibum showed him another picture taken from his Instagram account.

‘Ah. Onion and meat go well together, don’t they?’ Taemin brought a hand to his mouth to cover his giggling.

‘The vegetable onion yes, not onion chocolate cereals!’ Kibum laughed, but with a shocked expression. ‘And why are you laughing! Do you do this on purpose?’

‘No, no.’ Taemin replied quickly. He didn’t want Kibum to think he was a liar. ‘It’s because I had woken up late and it was lunchtime, but I still wanted to eat breakfast at the same time… that’s really it.’

Kibum brought his hands to his face, looking at him with amused horror. ‘That’s your real justification? That’s something else.’

Kibum leaned forward, hands leaving his face to pat his own thigh lightly. ‘I can try to help you fix your cooking skills, but when it comes to taste…’ he snorted, and got up. ‘Shall we get to it? Let’s see if we can at least not poison your best friend anymore.’

Taemin got up and followed as Kibum took him to the kitchen counter where all the ingredients were lined up. 

‘So, I thought the best thing we could do was to make chicken stew again, and hopefully you’ll be able to recreate it once more on your own. The key is practice,’ Kibum said, gently.

He showed each ingredient one by one to Taemin and the camera, then guided him through every step of the cooking process, watching over Taemin closely as he handled pots and pans. Taemin could hear Kibum’s tone slowly changing from exasperation to resignation as Taemin moved around, following the instructions. He, on the other hand, was having fun.

‘Watch your hands! You almost spilled the whole salt bottle there!’

‘Stop! Are you trying to get us killed? Pouring water on boiling oil, seriously...’

‘Why are you using that knife to cut vegetables, you’re just making life more difficult for yourself.’

‘... do you even know how to cut vegetables?’

Taemin tried to follow Kibum’s directions as he handled the spring onion, but his hands didn’t seem to want to cooperate, and he could hear Kibum’s exasperated noises next to him. 

‘Hyung! How am I supposed to know this stuff if nobody explains them to me beforehand!’ Taemin whined loudly.

‘Oh my. Maybe I should consider making videos from the very basics of holding a knife,’ Kibum said with a serious tone. Taemin glanced at him, worried that he might be coming off as too annoying, but saw an amused smile on Kibum’s face instead.

‘Here, let me show you.’ Kibum grabbed Taemin’s hands and showed him the motions, pressing gently on them as they finished cutting the onion together.

‘Your hands are so small,’ Kibum pointed out, casually.

‘Yeah…’ And yours are so big , Taemin thought, deciding better not to vocalise it. ‘Not the most useful when the piano is your main instrument.’

‘Right, I saw you playing on Instagram.’ Kibum gestured with a finger to throw the cut onion inside the pot. ‘You’re really good.’

Taemin grabbed with both hands the tiny slices of onion, making them fall into the pot together with the other veggies that were already simmering in wine and herbs. 

‘Of course bigger hands are desired when playing the piano, but small hands can play just as well. It just requires a little bit more effort,’ he said. His nostrils caught a whiff of the simmering sauce as he hovered his face over the pot. ‘This smells delicious. It’s completely different from the one I made.’

‘Doesn’t that mean that a pianist with small hands is even better than one with big hands?’ Kibum pointed out. ‘And yes, I sure hope it’s different from yours. This is how it should smell.’

‘Hyung, you’re amazing. This is like magic. I feel like I’m in potions class.’

Kibum gasped. ‘Is that a Harry Potter reference?’

Taemin giggled. ‘Are you the potions teacher?’

‘Snape? No, I’m Draco Malfoy,’ Kibum said, mimicking an evil smirk.

‘Ooh, you should get a platinum blond haircut! I bet it would look good on you. Very evil.’ Taemin laughed.

Kibum pointed his wooden spoon at Taemin. ‘Watch out, I might really do it. I’ll come curse you!’

*

Talking with Kibum turned out to be much easier than expected; at some point, Taemin had started to forget they actually were in front of cameras as they talked about different subjects in between their cooking. Kibum looked like he was having a lot of fun as well, seemingly enjoying scolding Taemin for his carelessness and laughing out loud at his antics. 

They finished their cooking by carefully frying the chicken, Kibum making sure Taemin got the importance of timing in this passage, and finally adding the chicken to the sauce. Taemin watched in admiration as Kibum effortlessly put together a beautiful plate for a camera closeup; Kibum asked him to replicate it and Taemin tried his best, trying to channel his artistry, only to hear amused giggles from Kibum. Oh well , Taemin thought. As long as he managed to entertain Kibum, he did not care about the results.

‘And we’re done! Here are our plates…’ Kibum talked to the camera. ‘The food doesn’t look poisonous so I think we’re one step ahead already. How was it? Are you ready to try it?’ he asked Taemin.

‘Oh, I have learned so much. I’m very curious, to be honest. It smells really good so I’m confident,’ Taemin replied with a big smile.

Kibum set up the table nicely with cutlery and wine glasses, and they sat facing each other, plates ready steaming hot in front of them.

‘Shall we try?’ Taemin asked, with a chuckle.

‘Bon appetit,’ Kibum replied with a hesitant smile.

Taemin grabbed a forkful of his food, the saltiness immediately jumping to his taste buds. They had tried, but obviously failed to remedy his initial clumsiness with the salt. Apart from that, Taemin thought this was probably the best thing he had ever cooked, even if it had taken some help. He chewed slowly, appreciating the arduous fruit of his work, and glanced at Kibum who seemed to be deep in thought.

‘It’s not that bad. Better than expected. But that’s because I basically made it for you.’

‘Hyung, don’t say that. I really tried my best. Look, I worked so hard I’m sweating too.’

Kibum looked at him for a moment, then chuckled. ‘You’re funny.’ He turned around to the filming crew. ‘You guys want to try?’ 

His question was met with silence. 

‘I didn’t ask you to sacrifice your firstborn, stop looking like that.’

The guy Taemin had talked to earlier, Lee Jinki, stepped out and walked up to the table. ‘I’m sure it’s fine, I’ll try.’

Kibum handed him a clean fork and Jinki took a mouthful. 

‘Well?’ Kibum asked him.

Taemin watched as Jinki swallowed the food with a blank face. 

‘I’m impressed, honestly.’ Jinki said, after a second.

Taemin sat up a bit straighter at Jinki’s words. He hadn’t been expecting compliments.

‘I’ve had Kibum’s chicken stew a few times before and I’m impressed by how you managed to give a completely new flavour to it. Even though not a particularly good one. I still feel like we found some kind of talent here.’

Taemin and Kibum burst out laughing at Jinki’s words, as the man himself ran back behind the cameras.

‘Would you like some wine?’ Kibum asked Taemin, grabbing the bottle without waiting for an answer.

‘Sure.’

Kibum poured the wine, and with a cheer and clinking of glasses, the filming was brought to a close.

*

‘Please, let me help.’ Taemin said, watching Kibum and Jinki clean up the place as the camera crew packed up all their equipment and said their goodbyes.

‘Don’t worry, we’re not doing much really. Someone will come to clean properly tomorrow,’ Jinki said, closing a rubbish bag with a knot. ‘Sorry for making you wait, we’re coming down too so we can you to the exit. How are you going back home? Do you need a ride?’

‘I’m fine, there’s a bus stop about five minutes from here.’ Taemin paused. ‘I really enjoyed the filming, thank you for the opportunity, really,’ he said, standing awkwardly while the other two moved around busily.

Kibum chuckled. ‘You’re really something. Actually…’ Kibum stopped moving for a second, giving a quick glance to Jinki. ‘We’re meeting up with a friend at a Japanese izakaya near here. Would you like to join us? We couldn’t really eat the food we cooked and I can’t let you leave on an empty stomach. I feel like you’ll write a bad review of your experience if not.’

‘I’ll tell all about how horrible you guys are.’ Taemin had picked up on Kibum’s humour by now and joked back, but was he really being invited to dinner here?

‘Our friend is a musician too, I feel like you’ll get along. Don’t you think, old man?’

‘Sure.’ Jinki answered with a smile. Taemin guessed “old man” was his nickname. ‘Actually there is something I’d like to ask you, Taemin, but if you join us we can talk about it on the way,’ Jinki added.

Taemin was left stunned for a second. He hadn’t been expecting this situation. ‘Oh, I don’t know, I don’t want to intrude…’ he said, not sure how to answer appropriately. Of course he wanted to go, but he had to downplay his excitement.

‘No, please, these guys are boring, you’d only be doing me a favour,’ Kibum insisted.

Taemin chuckled. ‘The food better be good or I’ll still leave a bad review of you guys, then.’

‘You’re the last person who should complain about bad food!’ Kibum laughed out loud. Maybe he’d get along with Minho too , Taemin thought, memories of Minho’s similar words echoing in his head. 

‘My taste is great anyway, so you’re welcome to write whatever you like.’

*

The izakaya they had agreed to meet their friend at was on walking distance, and Taemin let himself be guided by the other guys through the unfamiliar streets of Cheongdam, chatting lightly about the filming and work. 

Taemin had initially felt awkward at the idea of spending time with Kibum outside of what agreed to by the contract. He obviously knew a lot about Kibum already, having followed his videos, and was scared to come off as creepy if by accident he revealed he knew so much. 

But there was a reason he had been so attracted to him and his personality. He had always thought that, given the chance to meet in the real world, they would have gotten along. And that was exactly what had happened. Throughout the filming, he kept thinking he and Kibum could easily be friends if he hadn’t been just a regular fan with a time limit placed over their interactions. And while he was grateful for the opportunity to meet Kibum, he hadn’t been able to help but feel sad at the thought he wouldn’t get to interact with him again. 

But maybe Kibum had felt the same.

All the awkwardness he had felt with the end of filming now gone, their conversation flowed without interruption. Plus, it seemed like Kibum found him very funny, considering the number of times he cracked up at Taemin’s words. Watching Kibum laughing and smiling because of what he said, was making Taemin feel giddy, his heart sparkling with energy.

Getting to know Jinki had also been a nice surprise. The man was a lot less serious than what he had believed on his first impression, occasionally blurting out terrible puns, and had an overall gentle aura about him.

‘That’s right,’ Taemin remembered suddenly. ‘Did you have something to ask me, Jinki hyung?’

‘Oh.’ Jinki paused for a second. ‘I was forgetting, again.’

‘It’s the old age, forgive him,’ Kibum said.

Jinki nodded, not denying Kibum’s words. ‘It’s about your friend, Choi Minho.’

Taemin tilted his head in question. ‘Hm?’

‘We used to be in the same sports club, back in high school.’ Taemin mouthed an ‘oh’ in surprise, and Jinki continued. ‘I was already in my last year so I only got to know him briefly, but I remember him well. The name on the post he wrote for the contest caught my attention, so I checked his profile and it was really him! He seems to have changed a lot, so I was wondering how he was doing these days.’

‘He changed?’ Taemin thought aloud. ‘I met him in university and he’s been the same loud and nagging person forever. He was really bright and extroverted so when he started job-seeking he had tons of offers everywhere. He works in PR at my same company now, he’s doing really well. He had to travel to Beijing for work last week, I think he came back just yesterday,’ Taemin said. ‘How was he in high school?’

Jinki chuckled. ‘He was definitely a bright kid, but it was hard to get him talking, he was pretty quiet.’ He paused a moment, in thought. ‘Though, he was very passionate and competitive while playing sports, so I can see how his personality might have blossomed that way.’

‘Should I call him and tell him to come over? It’s a school reunion,’ Taemin said, jokingly.

‘Do it, do it, I need to tell him to stop hating on my videos,’ Kibum said annoyed, as he remembered the post that got Taemin to win the competition, making Taemin laugh.

‘Oh, why don’t you do it, really? If he’s free, of course. It would be nice to meet him again, now that there’s this coincidence with you,’ Jinki said.

‘This is funny, let me ask him!’ Taemin said enthusiastically, a hand to his face to partially cover his big grin. He took his phone out with the other hand and typed away.

Hyung! You came back from China, right? Are you free right now?

Yes, why? Minho replied right away.

Do you want to come grab some food? I want you to meet someone.

Sure. Did you get a boyfriend or something?

6v6

What’s that supposed to mean?

Whatever, where do we meet?

*

The izakaya’s interiors reflected the neighbourhood they were in, small and fancily decorated with quality wood, lights dimmed at a comfortable level for the eyes, nothing like the bright and cheap looking places Taemin had visited with his friends during their trip to Tokyo, the year before.

Kibum waved at a guy with hair bleached platinum sitting at a table by the back of the room. It wasn’t until they got closer that Taemin realised who it was, getting another small shock, as if today hadn’t been surprising enough already.

‘Hey Jjong, this is Taemin. Taemin, this is Jonghyun,’ Kibum introduced the two.

‘Hi, nice to meet you. I love your music,’ Taemin said timidly. 

Jonghyun was another YouTuber Taemin was subscribed to, though his content was completely different from Kibum’s and he hadn’t expected the two to be friends. Jonghyun’s channel had grown thanks to his song covers and now he had enough fans to mostly do his own music.

‘Nice to meet you too,’ Jonghyun said with a pleasant smile. ‘Another YouTuber?’

‘Ah, no, I’m just a regular person,’ Taemin replied.

‘He got selected to participate in a cooking workshop with me, we just finished filming,’ Kibum explained as he sat down next to Jonghyun. ‘The food was so bad we couldn’t eat it.’ 

‘So you just met today?’ Jonghyun said, with a slightly surprised face. ‘Interesting,’ he continued with a smirk. ‘You know, Kibum doesn’t invite just anyone out, if it’s not for work.’ Jonghyun glanced at Kibum who didn’t seem to find his words amusing, choosing to ignore him.

‘He’s a music producer,’ Kibum said.

‘Is that so? Freelance?’ Jonghyun asked.

‘No, I work for SM,’ Taemin answered.

Kibum gasped loudly. ‘SM? BoA’s SM?’

Taemin laughed. ‘Yes, BoA’s SM.’

‘How could you fail to tell me this until now?’ Kibum said annoyed.

‘Ooh. How do they treat you?’ Jonghyun asked, looking interested.

‘It has its ups and downs,’ Taemin replied honestly. ‘Working with idols just brings… drama, you could say. But it can be really fun.’

‘I worked for a company before youtube, but it wasn’t for me. Too many limitations and expectations, it’s hard to stay original,’ Jonghyun spoke softly.

‘I can definitely relate,’ Taemin replied.

*

As they looked through the menu deciding on the food to order, Taemin’s phone lit up, informing him that Minho had arrived. He waved at the door as he saw his tall friend enter through the door and Taemin got up to meet him and do the introductions.

‘These are Kibum hyung and Jonghyun hyung.’

‘Nice to meet you.’ Minho paused, looking confused. ‘Have we met each other before?’

‘No, but it will click for you soon, I think,’ Kibum said, stifling a laugh.

Jonghyun leaned towards Kibum while looking at Minho. ‘How do you get to know only hot people, Kibum-ah,’ he asked, earning an elbow to his stomach.

Taemin continued the introductions. ‘And here, you should know him too.’ 

Minho looked for a second before uttering, ‘Jinki hyung?’

‘Minho, it’s been a while!’ Jinki said with a huge grin.

‘Wow, not just a while. Years! How are you?’ Minho replied, excited, taking a seat next to him.

*

The dinner went spectacularly well. Once he and Minho had gotten over the initial awkwardness of introductions and realisations, the five of them fell into comfortable chatting as if they had known each other for years. 

As the conversation divided and Taemin got to know Kibum more as they talked one to one, he realised how similar their taste in music, films, and food was; how many experiences and expectations about the future they shared, how easily Kibum seemed to know how to get him to open up his feelings. And when they were busy in other conversations or eating, Taemin would sometimes catch Kibum staring at him from across the table, at which occasion Kibum would either chuckle it away, or turn his eyes away pretending he hadn’t been looking.

The night ended as they realised it was becoming too late. It was a weekday so everyone had things to attend to the next morning, except for Jonghyun, who managed his own time and usually worked through the night.

Minho and Taemin, who lived in the same area, called a taxi to share and left the rest of the group, but not before sharing phone numbers and promises to meet again. Taemin felt a strange sensation in his stomach as he waved Kibum goodbye, before climbing into the car, Minho following behind him.

‘He likes you.’

Minho’s voice was almost a whisper inside the car, careful not to get heard by the sometimes not-so-kind ears of the taxi drivers.

‘Don’t joke,’ Taemin replied annoyed, but feeling his face heat up. He was glad for the darkness of the car so that he could avoid his best friend’s teasing.

‘I’m not. It was obvious, he couldn’t take his eyes off you, please.’ Minho laughed. ‘I can’t believe this happened, it’s funny. But I guess you were right about him.’

‘About what?’ Taemin asked.

‘He’s interesting. I couldn’t get why you were so obsessed with him, but I can see now that your characters match well.’

‘I wasn’t obsessed,’ Taemin said, obviously lying. He fiddled with the car window’s buttons as he mulled over Minho’s words, head full of Kibum’s many faces. ‘We don’t even know if he’s… you know.’

Minho snorted. ‘If that guy is straight, I’m gonna eat my shoes.’

Taemin chuckled, despite his sudden uncertainty at the whole situation. ‘We’ll see, I guess.’

*****

The next day Taemin woke up to a new follow to his personal Instagram. His brain, still struggling to process the situation as it slowly woke up, took a whole minute to realise the username on his screen.

Kibum.

It’s not like Taemin wasn’t used to being close to celebrities. As a music producer for an idol company, he was exposed to many well-known faces every single day. His other best friend, Jongin, was an idol himself after all. So Taemin didn’t necessarily panic because Kibum -the YouTuber- had followed him back. He panicked because it was -Kibum the regular human he had got to know yesterday and, maybe, he really liked- that did.

He quickly scrolled through the pictures and videos on his phone gallery, getting the sudden impulse of posting something to show off. He locked his screen and resisted it. He knew he tended to make mistakes when he rushed things like this.

And so much he postponed posting anything and getting in touch with Kibum, that a whole week passed without any contact from either side. 

Taemin got swallowed in work; and the times he stopped and thought of sending a message, the guilt of not having sent one right away made him want to avoid writing at all.

But on the evening of the seventh day, Taemin got a notification.

New video is out now! Check out how the contest winner @lm_____ltm did at my cooking workshop!

Taemin had to suppress his excitement as he was still at work, putting his phone down and trying to focus on his job until closing time. Once the time arrived, he rushed through the studio closing procedures and jumped on the bus, instead of taking the usual walk home he did when the weather was nice, wanting to get home faster to enjoy the video on his TV screen. He was sitting on the bus, resisting the temptation to start watching the video right there and then, when he received a call from Minho.

‘Did you watch the video?’

‘Not yet, I’m on my way home now. Did you?’

‘Yeah.’

‘How is it?’

‘Exactly as I thought,’ Minho said, laughing. ‘You guys are funny.’

‘I saw it’s only about 20 minutes long. We were there for much longer than that.’

‘You can’t expect them to make such a long video with a stranger as a guest, people would be less interested to watch it,’ Minho said. ‘But I have a good feeling, you should look at the comments after.’

‘Oh?’ Taemin was unsure of what Minho meant.

‘Did you speak with Kibum?’

‘… not really.’

Minho stayed silent for a moment. ‘Did you at least send him thanks?’

‘Uuh…’

‘Taemin, are you crazy?’ Minho sounded angry, and not in a joking way. ‘Get your on the phone with Kibum as soon as you watch the video. I’ll call you later.’

Taemin dropped all his stuff on the floor as soon as he got past the door of his home, immediately going for his TV remote control and connecting to Youtube. 

He watched the video intently, sitting on the edge of his sofa. He couldn’t help but laugh embarrassed at the zoom-ins of his mistakes, or the captions that pointed out his cute awkwardness. 

But at the same time, he couldn’t take his eyes off Kibum, noticing the way he would react to Taemin when Taemin himself hadn’t been able to see him, hiding smiles even when Taemin had thought he was just being scolded.

Taemin finished watching the video feeling weird. It was funny, well shot and edited, but it was just strange to see himself and Kibum interacting from an outside perspective. Knowing himself, his crush for Kibum was obvious on camera, though thankfully a lot had been edited out. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through the comments like Minho had suggested.

>Their chemistry, woah

>He’s handsome and cute at the same time?

>Make more videos with him

>They feel like old friends, they’re funny

>I wanted to win ㅠㅠ I’m jealous ㅠㅠ

>They look good together

>Does he have Insta?

>>Kibum tagged him on his story

Taemin quickly checked his Instagram to find out he had gained quite a bit of following since the video had been released. He was surprised at the response, until now he had only focused only on the outcome of the video, and the thought that people would comment and have opinions on it had escaped his mind. He closed the app, and taking courage he did what he should have done a week ago.

Hyung, sorry for taking so long, work became really busy all of a sudden but thank you for last week, I had so much fun.

Taemin sighed, worried about how Kibum would reply to him, if he would reply at all. His heart beat a little faster when he realised Kibum was already typing back.

You’re alive, uh?

Sorry ㅠㅠ I was even sleeping over at the company a few days ㅠㅠ

SM overworking you? lol 

Did you watch the episode?

I did! It was funny, I really like how it came out 

Though, it’s a bit embarrassing to watch myself

It’s okay, it seems like you’re a big success with my subscribers

I will make my own channel and steal them all from you lol

Don’t

That might really happen

I won’t forgive you again

Did I get forgiven for something already?

Scroll above and look where you wrote sorry and I still replied to you

Hyung ㅠㅠ

Taemin couldn’t stop giggling. He couldn’t understand why he had hesitated writing to Kibum so much. He had been an idiot.

By the way hyung, I discovered your secret

????

The food we made looked really good on video, didn’t it?

Yeah

All the food you make always looks so good on camera, but it might still taste bad, how can viewers know lol

Ya!

You’re not denying it lol

My food is perfectly fine

… most of the time

I knew it 6v6

You’re annoying lol

It’s just certain types of cuisines that are not my forte

Like what?

*

That night, Taemin fell asleep with his phone in his hand, his screen occasionally lighting up with Kibum’s name on his unread message notifications.

*****

Over the next few days, Taemin and Kibum had taken to writing to each other regularly, and a permanent smile had appeared on Taemin’s face, which only grew bigger every time he noticed he had received a reply.

You’re always on the phone, why don’t you post anything on your Instagram? Kibum wrote to him one afternoon.

But I have nothing interesting to put

Uh? 

Just put anything

A selfie, your work

Aren’t you playing that game too? Something like that 

You should think about building up your brand

My what?

Anyway, I guess I’ll try

Taemin scrolled through his pictures, thinking about what Kibum had said. He found a snap of a lunch he had cooked two days before, following another of Kibum’s recipes. He had been pretty proud of it, he felt like he’d been improving since Kibum had taught him some basics. He decided it was the perfect picture to post.

Tried following one of @bumkeyk ’s recipes again, am I getting better? Hehe

After a few minutes, the type of response he got was pretty mixed, from encouraging messages to straight up laughing. And, of course, Kibum’s own reply.

Next time remind me to teach you not only how to cook but also how to take pictures of food

Taemin’s heart lightly danced in his chest at the words ‘next time’.

*

Taemin had offered to make errands and buy food for everyone at the studio, a convenient excuse to take a breather from work and disconnect his brain, even if it was only for the five minutes it took to reach the convenience store around the corner.

He was about to go past the building’s main doors, sun shining brightly into his eyes, almost blinding him, when he heard a familiar voice calling him from behind.

‘Taemin!’ Minho called, catching up to him in long strides.

‘Hey. What are you doing here?’ Taemin asked.

‘I work here, need I remind you?’ Minho said, looking mildly irritated. ‘I haven’t seen you in forever.’

‘It’s been just about two weeks since the dinner. And I’ve been incredibly busy here, stop looking like that.’

‘Right.’ Minho turned to look up as if in thought. ‘Incredibly busy texting Kibum at all times of the day, from what a little bird told me. You didn’t even answer me yesterday.’

‘Ah.’ 

‘Are you coming or not, then?’ Minho asked, cutting the small talk short.

‘We’re recording today, I honestly don’t know what time we’re gonna finish.’ Taemin instinctively checked the hour on his watch. ‘I’ll let you know when I’m done and I’ll reach you guys, but I might not stay much.’

‘Good,’ Minho said, putting a hand on Taemin’s shoulder. ‘Jinki hyung just told me Kibum has confirmed he's gonna come too, so don’t waste too much time.’

‘Oh.’ Taemin felt the blood rush to his cheeks. ‘It’s not like Kibum being there is gonna make the girls record any faster. We haven’t even started yet. I’ll come when I can.’

After waving Minho goodbye, Taemin finally walked out of the building, the sudden temperature change from the comfortable chill of air conditioning to a scorching summer heat making his head hurt a little. But he thought of the possibility of seeing Kibum that night, and shook his headache away, humming a little song along the way.

*

Taemin grew fidgety as he watched Irene exchange places with Yeri inside the recording booth. The girls had been recording at intervals, switching every once in a while, disappearing and reappearing in what seemed to be an endless recording session. It was well past eleven at night when their work was abruptly interrupted by a sudden change of schedule for the girls, and everything was put on hold until the next day.

I just finished, where are you? Taemin texted Minho.

We’ve already finished eating, we’re at noraebang. I’ll send you the location.

Taemin sighed at the mention of noraebang. If there was one thing he had had enough of today, it was people in a small room singing.

The recording had left Taemin somewhat exhausted, both physically and mentally. Watching the tired faces of the girls saying goodbye and following their manager as they all left the studio, Taemin briefly wondered if he would ever be able to give up his freedom the way they did. Of course, there were restrictions in the work he had to do for the company, he had to suppress a lot of his own ideas and thoughts, but it wasn't comparable to what they went through. He thought of Jongin, who was on tour in Japan. He hadn’t heard from him in a while as they'd both been busy. He promised himself to call him soon.

Taemin left the building and took a taxi to the location Minho had sent him, only the thought of seeing Kibum again fuelling him. He sent a text again when he reached a tall building.

Floor 9 Minho texted him back and Taemin got into the lift. Coming out on floor 9, he found himself in the lobby of a place not particularly expensive-looking, but clean and tidy, blue walls with cushioned grey chairs along it for people to sit while on the waiting list, and a shiny silver counter behind which a couple of employees looked busy.

‘Taemin!’

For the second time that day, someone unexpectedly called his name. Taemin had imagined Minho would come to pick him up, but the voice greeting him was someone else’s. Taemin’s stomach was empty, so he blamed hunger for the butterflies he felt fluttering inside.

‘Kibum hyung,’ Taemin greeted with a small rigid bow, the surprise making him act formal as a reflex.

Kibum chuckled at Taemin’s sudden stiffness. ‘Hey, is it the same guy that was telling me all about his bowel movement history just yesterday?’

‘Texting and talking face to face are two different things,’ Taemin pouted. ‘And you asked me about it, I wasn’t the one who started.’

‘I didn’t ask, I was teasing you,’ Kibum said, serious.

‘Oh my god.’ Taemin buried his face in his hands. ‘Please, forget everything I told you,’ he said, his voice muffled by the palms of his hands, at which Kibum laughed out loud.

‘Sorry, I was joking now. For real! Don’t be embarrassed, you didn’t say anything wrong.’

‘Hyung!’ Taemin whined. ‘Stop messing with me like this.’

‘That will be impossible, I think,’ Kibum answered.

‘Uh? Why?’ Taemin asked.

Kibum snorted. ‘Because you look cute when you’re embarrassed.’ He paused, looking at Taemin who was left speechless for a moment. ‘See? This is what I’m talking about.’

‘... Are you messing with me again?’ Taemin wondered out loud. He wasn’t sure if his brain was keeping up with the conversation properly, after almost thirteen hours of work and barely any time to eat.

‘Oh, yeah. You look terrible, to be honest. Have you eaten anything?’

‘Not really…’ 

Kibum put his hand on Taemin’s back and pushed gently, guiding him to the main counter where a small food and drinks menu was on display. ‘There’s nothing fancy, do you have a preference?’ Kibum asked him.

‘Must be edible.’

‘Drink?’

‘Are you guys drinking?’ Taemin asked, not wanting to ask for alcohol if the others weren’t.

‘I’m driving, so I’ve only had a little at dinner. But the others…’ Kibum nodded vehemently.

Taemin laughed. ‘Alright. I’ll have some soju then.’

Taemin watched as Kibum called for an employee, gave the room number, and ordered a few different things, taking charge of the food decisions without further consultation. Taemin was left a bit surprised, but it didn’t bother him; on the other hand, he was grateful to Kibum for giving his brain some more rest. He trusted him to choose well, and it gave him some time to look at him without worry, to observe the way that everything Kibum did seemed casual but chic, from his clothes, to the way he moved.

After Kibum was done, he walked with Taemin to their room number, stopping in front of the door from which a muffled sound of music and voices could be heard.

‘They’re just a bit drunk,’ Kibum warned him.

Taemin laughed nervously, as Kibum opened the door and they entered the room, loudness invading Taemin’s ears. Jinki was passionately singing an old love song, standing in front of the screen; Minho and Jonghyun, who were sitting at the back, appeared to be in the middle of a heated discussion, Jonghyun almost standing with his feet on the seat.

‘Oh finally! What took you so long?’ Minho exclaimed when he saw them enter.

‘Ordered some food. This boy is hungry and his digestive system is too fast,’ Kibum said.

‘You already know about that? That’s something,’ Minho laughed. Taemin couldn’t wait for his soju to arrive.

‘Hey! Don’t ignore me!’ Jonghyun yelled to Minho, grabbing his arm and shaking it. He looked visibly red in the face.

‘What’s going on here?’ Kibum asked, letting Taemin take a seat next to Jonghyun, and sitting next to him after.

‘Me being right and Jonghyun hyung refusing to admit it. That’s about it,’ Minho said, confidently.

‘That’s not it at all, you really- oh, Taemin.’ Jonghyun said, seemingly noticing Taemin for the first time. 

Taemin chuckled. ‘Are you all right, hyung?’

At that moment they heard a faint knocking on the door, and a young man brought in a tray with the first batch of the food Kibum had ordered, along with Taemin’s drink.

‘Here, try this.’ Kibum shoved a bowl in front Taemin’s face. Taemin took the bowl from Kibum’s hands, putting it down and taking some chopsticks to mix the ingredients together. ‘The bibimpap here is decent,’ Kibum continued.

‘It’s good,’ Taemin confirmed, mouth full.

‘Taemin-ah, I really liked your samples, you know?’ Jonghyun said, and Taemin turned to him.

‘You did?’ Taemin asked smiling, still chewing on his food.

‘Don’t talk with your mouth full, Taemin,’ Minho said.

‘Sorry,’ Taemin replied, his mouth still full.

‘You sent Jjong your samples?’ Kibum asked Taemin.

‘We should totally collaborate,’ Jonghyun said. ‘He’s got such a nice voice, have you heard him?’ he asked Kibum.

‘No. I haven’t heard anything,’ Kibum said, eyes looking away. ‘My song is coming up next. That was a long song, old man.’

‘Hi Taemin!’ Jinki said, passing the microphone over to Kibum, the last notes of his song still playing in the background.

‘He always chooses the longest songs just to show off,’ Jonghyun said, smirking at Jinki.

‘I don’t show off. I like that song, and that’s just how I sing,’ Jinki said, sitting down next to Minho.

‘See how he shows off?!’ Jonghyun said looking at Taemin, exasperated. ‘“That’s just how I sing” he says. And he doesn’t even want to feature on my channel?!’

‘You have crazy fans, I’m fine behind the camera,’ Jinki retorted.

‘My fans are perfectly fine,’ Jonghyun said, insisting.

Taemin laughed at his hyungs’ antics, finally feeling more alive after filling up his stomach and sipping his soju.

‘Ehm, ehm.’ Kibum cleared his throat. ‘This is a full performance from me, take your cameras out and enjoy,’ he said. 

A familiar chant of “la la la la la” started, making Taemin jump on his seat.

‘Ah! Red Velvet! Taem, you know how to dance this one, don’t you?’ Minho yelled at him.

‘You know it?’ Kibum asked him quickly, before starting to sing and dance along with the first verse.

Taemin waved in negation. ‘Only the chorus!’ he yelled over it, and as the chorus approached Kibum grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him next to him. Thankfully Taemin had rehearsed the moves recently, since he had been listening to the girls’ voices a lot, in preparation for the new recordings. 

He danced along to the chorus with Kibum, unable to suppress his big grin, and sat down again to hear his rap, amazed but not surprised just by how many things Kibum seemed to excel at. He got up voluntarily for the last chorus, joining Kibum as they danced face to face, Taemin feeling himself smile like an idiot and Kibum almost laughing his words instead of singing.

As the song ended they sat down still giggling, Kibum hanging to Taemin’s shoulder for support.

‘I took a video of you guys,’ Jonghyun said, turning his phone towards them, video playing on the screen.

‘That’s cute, send it over. I’ll put it in my stories,’ Kibum said immediately. ‘You didn’t tell me you can dance to Red Velvet,’ he added, giving Taemin a light push.

‘Weren’t you working with them literally today?’ Minho said casually, not taking his eyes off the tablet where he was browsing songs to sing.

‘What.’ Kibum froze. ‘You have time to tell me everything about your metabolism but not to tell me this key information about your job?’

Taemin chuckled. ‘I’ve just learned to avoid the topic in general, since people just ask me to get them autographs.’

‘Totally understandable,’ Kibum replied, serious. ‘But can you get me their autographs?’

‘No,’ Taemin said with a teasing smile.

‘Wow. I went through so much trouble for you, only to be repaid like this,’ Kibum said, looking affronted, making Taemin laugh heartily.

‘What trouble? I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he replied, pretending innocence, while Kibum was pursing his lips to keep a serious face and failing.

‘Turning Kibum down, laughing at it, and Kibum still not being mad at you? What am I seeing here?’ Jonghyun commented out loud. ‘What is this favouritism, Kibum-ah!’

Kibum reached over to give Jonghyun a light slap on the arm. ‘You didn’t breathe the same air as Red Velvet today, shut up. Minho, can you decide on a key and stop restarting your song please?’

*

As the night proceeded, and the small burst of energy the food and alcohol had given him wore off, Taemin felt his initial tiredness return to him all at once. He sat on the side, watching silently and smiling as the other guys sang the latest radio hit, huddled together to sing, or almost yell he would say, into the only two microphones available to them.

A yawn came to him and he let it out freely, squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a hand in front of his mouth. Kibum chuckled, sitting down next to him.

‘Are you tired? I know you don’t drink much, but would you like something else?’ Kibum asked him, gently.

‘Thanks, but I’m working tomorrow again, so I’d rather not. I think I’ll go home soon.’

‘You’re working on a weekend?’ Kibum asked, sounding slightly surprised.

‘I’m not doing a regular office job, we have to accommodate the idols’ schedules. Things got delayed today so…’ Taemin shrugged. ‘I’ll be working in the afternoon so it’s no problem really, I have time to sleep.’

Kibum hummed, understanding. 

‘I was thinking…’ Kibum grabbed his empty glass of water and played with it. ‘When will you be off next?’

Taemin paused to think for a second. ‘If everything goes well tomorrow, I should still have Sunday off.’

‘Come over for lunch on Sunday, then?’ Kibum asked him, giving light pats to Taemin’s knee as if to persuade him. ‘I’ll make some food that will revive you.’

Taemin didn’t need the bribe of food. He was already persuaded.

‘And so you can stop annoying me with your conspiracy theories about my food tasting bad,’ Kibum added.

‘Should I help you out with the cooking?’ Taemin asked, smiling wide.

‘Oh no, Lord help me. You just stay put. Let’s leave that mess for another filming for my channel,’ Kibum said, smiling back at him.

Taemin laughed. ‘That’s a deal, then.’

They sat in comfortable silence, as they watched Jonghyun, Minho, and Jinki argue over who had been singing off-pitch. Taemin couldn’t suppress another yawn.

‘You want to go now? Do you need a ride?’ Kibum asked him.

‘I’ll go now, I think. I can get a taxi.’

‘I’m with my car today, I can get you home,’ Kibum said, and before Taemin could protest he added, ‘It’s no trouble, I think I’m ready to go home too. I can’t keep up with these guys’ energy without alcohol in my veins.’ Kibum chuckled.

Taemin looked at Kibum, a funny feeling in his stomach. ‘Alright then.’

They got up announcing they were going home and said goodbye to the others, who replied nonchalantly. Maybe a little too nonchalantly. Taemin chose to ignore it.

He followed Kibum out of the building and into a small silver car. Taemin gave his address, and Kibum typed it, waiting for the directions to load on his GPS. He watched as Kibum started the car and turned the wheel to leave the parking spot, silently admiring his profile. There was something about seeing him driving that made Kibum look even more handsome than usual.

‘Hyung… oh my god. Hyung. We need to go back.’ Taemin said as he realised something suddenly.

‘Uh? Why?’ Kibum asked.

‘We forgot to pay!’ Taemin said in a panic.

Kibum glanced at him for half a second before starting to laugh. ‘It’s okay Taem, calm down! I already paid for everything earlier.’

‘Really? When?’ Taemin looked at him, still worried.

‘When I went to the toilet. But either way, even if I hadn’t, Jinki hyung would have taken care of it. He usually does, since he’s the oldest.’ Kibum chuckled. ‘Not that it matters, since he makes money off me.’

Taemin sighed in relief. ‘Once I accidentally stole all my groceries at the supermarket.’

‘What? How did that happen?’ Kibum asked, curious.

‘You know the self-serving machines where you pack your own bags? I scanned all my items and somehow forgot that I needed to pay. I grabbed all my bags and walked away like that.’ Taemin laughed softly. ‘I realised that I had missed the most important step of grocery buying only when I reached my front door. I went back to the supermarket and told an employee there “Excuse me, I accidentally stole these two bags of groceries.” You should have seen her face.’

Kibum laughed out loud. ‘Wow.’

‘In my defence, it had been a long day.’

‘I’ll believe you.’ Kibum chuckled.

‘That’s why, thank you for today,’ Taemin said, chuckling too. ‘Or it would have been the same as that time.’

Kibum waved his hand dismissively. ‘Anyway, I have an idea of what I want to prepare on Sunday, but do you have anything in particular you’d like to eat?’

Taemin pursed his lips in thought. ‘Ox bone soup?’

‘Ya! Lee Taemin you traitor. I told you I’m not good with Korean dishes,’ Kibum protested loudly, freeing a hand from the steering wheel to give Taemin’s thigh a slap.

‘But I wanna try your bad tasting dishes.’ Taemin laughed.

‘You haven’t even tasted my good ones yet!’ Kibum complained.

‘Okay then, after you make me a good one on Sunday, I expect to taste a bad one another time,’ Taemin said.

‘Wow, I’m suddenly regretting everything,’ Kibum said, but Taemin could see a smile that contradicted his words.

‘Sorry I’m so high maintenance, hyung,’ Taemin said, making them both laugh.

*

Kibum parked the car as the GPS said they had reached their destination. ‘Is it here?’

‘Yeah, I live up there.’ Taemin pointed towards his floor in the apartment block across the street. ‘Not fancy like Cheongdam, but I like it.’

‘Cheongdam is overrated anyway. Groceries are too expensive, I’ll end up stealing like you,’ Kibum said, joking.

Taemin chuckled, unbuckling his seatbelt. He could feel his heart beat hard in his chest. ‘Thank you for the ride.’

‘No problem.’

He looked at Kibum who was immersed in the shadows, only the outside street lights giving him enough vision to know that Kibum was looking at him too.

‘Hyung…’ Taemin gathered his courage. ‘Can I kiss you?’

Silence followed Taemin’s question. ‘Uh?’

Taemin’s heart sank all at once.

‘I’m sorry. That was a weird thing to ask. I must have… please forget about it,’ Taemin said, chuckling nervously.

'Wait, Taemin, no I… that was just very straightforward and I got surprised,’ Kibum said, laughing. ‘Did you mean it?' Kibum asked.

‘If you want to... I did mean it. If you don't want to, I didn't mean it.' Taemin answered evasively.

'What if I told you I want to kiss you too?' Kibum asked, his voice low and quiet.

Taemin could feel his heart pulsing on his fingertips. 'Then… I totally meant it.'

They looked at each other for a second, before breaking into giggles.

Kibum unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face Taemin properly. 'You're such an idiot.' he said, reaching with his hand to fix the back of Taemin's hair, which must have gotten messy from laying against the headrest.

Taemin pouted. 'I think hyung is a bigger idiot than me.'

Kibum answered with a smile. 'I might be. But you're just too cute.'

Kibum gently pushed the hand that was resting on the back of Taemin's head, closing the distance between them and softly pressing their lips together.

Taemin immersed himself in the feeling, his shoulders relaxing as he released the tension he had been building up inside. He could feel the bow of Kibum’s lips against his own, the sensation making his heart flutter with happiness. 

'That sounded nice, but I feel like I got dissed somewhere in there,' Taemin said when they gently broke their kiss.

'Don't worry about it,' Kibum said, before pulling Taemin into another kiss, their mouths meeting less hesitantly now.

'Are you kissing me… to silence me?' Taemin said, in between a taste of Kibum and another. 'Because it's working.'

Kibum laughed against Taemin's lips. 'Not enough, clearly!'

Kibum pecked Taemin's lips one last time, decisively, as if to put a final dot to their activity. 'You need to rest. Do your best tomorrow, and come over for lunch on Sunday.'

'Understood,' Taemin replied, reluctantly letting go of Kibum's hand, which he had naturally found during their short make-out session. 'Thank you for today. And for the ride. Get back home safely,' Taemin said, getting out of the car and talking through the lowered window.

'I will. See you on Sunday.' And with one last smile, Taemin watched Kibum start the car and drive off.

*

Did you get home? Taemin texted Kibum, sitting down on his bed.

I just did now, why aren’t you sleeping yet?

I’m about to, but I think I got a disease or something

???

I can’t seem to stop smiling

Wow

I just got goosebumps, that’s so cringy

Goodnight hyung

Goodnight Taem

*

It was around noon when Taemin rang the bell of Kibum’s place, one he had seen many times on video, but was seeing for the first time in real life. He shifted on his spot as he heard the sound of shuffling feet and paws behind the door. He’d been racking his brain all morning on what would be the most appropriate way to greet Kibum now. Should he play it coolly? Should he go for a kiss? A hug?

However, as soon as the door opened and two dogs barked happily at his feet while Kibum immediately ran back towards the kitchen, he realised he needn’t have worried that much.

‘Sorry, I left something on the stove! Come in!’ Kibum yelled.

Taemin closed the door behind him and took off his shoes, entering the open living room and crouching down to pet Kibum’s dogs. ‘Oh, finally I meet you! Your dad wouldn’t stop sending me your pictures, I feel like I’m meeting celebrities now.’

Kibum turned around wiping his hands on a cloth, seemingly done with the cooking.

‘What’s that?’ Kibum asked, pointing at what Taemin had been carrying with one arm.

‘Can’t you tell? It’s a plant.’ Taemin said, standing up and showing it to Kibum.

‘Why do you have a plant?’

‘Ah.’ Taemin felt his cheeks grow warm. ‘I was thinking of getting flowers, but I felt awkward,’ he giggled. ‘Apparently, this kind of plant is really easy to keep alive, and it’s a great air purifier. It’s called a spider plant.’

Kibum looked at him with an amused smile.

‘... it’s for you, if I hadn’t made it clear,’ Taemin added.

Kibum laughed, taking the plant from Taemin’s hands and putting it by the window next to the lunch table. ‘Come sit, the food is ready and it tastes better when it’s hot.’

*

‘Hyung, you know. Sometimes when I see you posting this dish on Instagram I think “Won’t he cook something else already?”’ Taemin said, slurping the last cockle out of its shell. ‘But now that I’ve tasted it, I know why you cook it so often. This was delicious.’

‘Did I just get dissed or praised here?’ Kibum asked, amazed, making Taemin chuckle.

‘It’s my revenge for the last time.’

‘You mean when I called you cute?’ Kibum replied.

‘I mean when you said you were an idiot for wanting to kiss me,’ Taemin said, pouting.

‘You were the one that called me an idiot first!’ Kibum said, laughing.

‘Was I? I can’t remember anymore,’ Taemin said, laughing along.

Taemin took advantage of a moment where Kibum went to the toilet to clean up the table and start washing the dishes accumulated in the sink. He still felt a bit unsure on how to approach Kibum, since they hadn’t initiated anything physical today, but the atmosphere was nice, and Kibum hadn’t avoided talking about the other night, so Taemin didn’t feel uncomfortable. If Kibum needed time, Taemin didn’t mind.

‘Taem, you don’t need to,’ Kibum said, as he noticed Taemin scrubbing the dishes away.

‘Let me appear nice and mature at least on our first date,’ Taemin said and heard Kibum laugh. He turned around for a moment to look at him. He had a hand in front of his face, hiding an embarrassed smile. ‘I promise to make a fuss about not wanting to clean the dishes in the future,’ Taemin continued.

Kibum snorted. ‘But still, you must be tired from work. You looked really tired the other day.’

Taemin shrugged. ‘I enjoy my job. It wouldn’t be so tiring if things didn’t get delayed, then rushed because of the company’s own internal politics. But I can’t complain, the idols themselves are the ones ending up bearing the full weight of these struggles, they definitely have it tougher.’

Kibum hummed in thought. ‘I envy you though.’

‘How?’ Taemin asked, confused.

‘Having one specific job you’re passionate about. Going through with studying and perfecting it over the years. You might know from my videos, I try a lot of different things but I rarely keep them going. I feel like I’ll never perfect anything. Or like there isn’t a common denominator to anything I do.’

Taemin thought over Kibum’s words for a moment.

‘I don’t see it like that at all, though,’ he finally replied. He turned off the running water and dried his hands, cutlery and plates cleaned and only the pots and pans left to soak with soap. He went to sit next to Kibum at the table, reaching over to pet CommeDes, who was lazily napping on Kibum’s lap.

‘Maybe you cannot see it yourself, but as a fan, I can definitely see your common denominator.’

Kibum looked at him with a curious frown.

‘I might be a music expert, but much of my work revolves around creating music on commission. I spend so much time thinking about what sounds would fit a certain singer, or a certain concept, that I am not sure of what kind of music I would create for myself anymore.

‘But all your work has something in common, and that is, you . It’s your self-expression. Your own creativity. Some people do it through a single means like painting, or playing an instrument, but you explore and express yourself through everything you do and try. It’s like everything you touch becomes yours. And I think that’s amazing. You inspire me so much to look for my own individuality.’ Taemin felt his face get a bit hotter as he finally put to words the reason he had been so infatuated with Kibum all this time.

‘Taemin,’ Kibum said, and Taemin took his eyes off CommeDes to look up at him, meeting his intense stare. ‘Taemin, kiss me.’

And Taemin did.

*****

‘Ah! Hyung, I actually have something else for you.’

‘Hm?’

Taemin got up to grab his small bag he had left on the sofa and sat back down by the table. He smiled wide with the anticipation of seeing Kibum’s reaction. He took the autographed Red Velvet album out of his bag and handed it to Kibum.

‘Is this...? The other day, that was a joke… are you serious? And so fast?’ Kibum looked at it with an incredulous expression. 

‘It’s missing Joy’s because she had already finished recording the day before yesterday, but I thought you might appreciate it anyway.’

‘Yeri even signed my name!’ Kibum gasped as he looked carefully at every signature.

Taemin laughed. ‘She asked me who it was for. When I said your name she immediately asked me if it was the YouTuber Kim Kibum. Apparently she's a subscriber.’

‘Really?’ Kibum said, looking at Taemin with wide eyes, then smirking. ‘Jonghyun is going to be so jealous! He’s such a fan of hers, he calls her his little sister.’

‘She said she wants to see a video with us together again,’  Taemin said, chuckling.

‘If Yeri asked for it, then we have no choice.’ Kibum laughed. ‘What do you want to cook next?’

‘Ox bone soup,’ Taemin said, grinning wide. 

Kibum pushed his fingers against his temples, as if to try to dispel a bad headache. ‘Oh my, what did I get myself into.’