The day took forever to turn into night. But also, it seemed to fly by all at once. Taemin had to force himself to take a nap around two o’clock; he was so desperately tired, even through all his nervous excitement. Why did it feel like a first date? He wouldn’t even know what a date felt like. But, he imagined it felt something quite close to this. Would Minho really show? He wouldn’t stand him up—not really? Right? He started to get increasingly nervous over the possibility...

            They had planned to meet at seven o’clock, but knowing Choi Minho, he’d be late. And Taemin wanted to be extra early. So, once half past five rolled around, he knew it was time to get more organized. Organized? He hadn’t fully plotted this out—and he was too afraid to ask Jinki anything now. He’d just have to do his best...

            He carefully packed all the necessary “ingredients” into his backpack—the essential gear for turning into a girl. The girl that caught Minho’s eye, of all ridiculous things. Just why was he doing this again? He’d never felt so nervous or unconfident in his life.

            Why is that? It’s just Minho-hyung. It’s just Minho-hyung! Get it together.

            He was still wary of his lurking umma, who was always so inquisitive and knowing. If Key knew what sorts of things he was hiding in there, he’d never hear the end of it. Quietly, he snuck out of his room, nothing but a simple click of the handle settling back into its groove as he shut it.

            “You going now?”

            The voice startled him. But he did not look behind him. He knew who it was soon enough. “Hm,” he muttered and, with a nod of his head, hoped to shake Jinki with such small gestures.

            “Good luck.”

            He continued to look in the opposite direction. He couldn’t stand to look at him yet... he was still terribly, terribly embarrassed. “Uh... yeah. Thanks, hyung...”

            Taemin then made his way reticently down the hall, carefully avoiding any attention from Jonghyun and Kibum, who were sitting in the living room watching a movie. Key waved at him, strangely, and Taemin smiled nervously, and it was then that he heard the leader call out behind him:

            “Oh, and Taeminnie? I hope you find who you’re looking for.”

* * * 

             In the end, for no better idea, he went to the same place he went to last time in order to change—the subway bathroom. It was easy enough for him to waltz into the girls’ bathroom without the getup, so no one really notice when he came out of it, wholly changed; his face was lightly painted (he really didn’t need a lot of makeup, as there was not a lot to make-up for), his wig securely fastened, and his skirt, only marginally wrinkled from being stuffed in his bag. The black leggings showed off his svelte form, so of course adding the heels only made his line all the more convincing, and he even went as far as to put on a bra this time (though he had a hard time explaining to umma what the mysterious brown package was for when he had it shipped to the dorm), giving his chest a subtle curve that he otherwise was without. The last thing—a simple sweeping of gloss over his plump lips. Then, he made his way to the platform and waited for the train that would take him to Daehango. That would take him to Festival—to Minho.

            Taemin didn’t really notice the leering boys on the train, or the snickering girls. But he could tell that no one pinpointed him as Lee Taemin. Thankful for his preserved anonymity, he pushed his earbuds deeper in and bowed his head, investing his gaze into the book that he’d packed along.

            He crossed his legs, ladylike-style. After wearing skinny jeans for years, this was nothing. It didn’t hurt at all. The closer they got, the crazier his heartbeat. What was he doing? What was he going to say? What if Minho didn’t even notice him at all?

           Maybe that was the real problem anyway—maybe Minho didn’t notice him. At least, not like that... He’d never talked about uality with his hyung before. And though he knew that Minho was sleeping with guys, he’d never officially come out to say that he was gay—and Taemin never asked. Likewise, Minho never