Author's Note: Thanks for subbing/commenting/reading(:

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For a moment there, I was happy. Happy without the familiar touch of wooden keys.. or the feel of metal strings under my fingertips. The only thing I heard was the in-and-out sounds of our breathing; the rhythm of our sneakers against concrete; and oh, you know, the noise of traffic moving along on the street.

Taemin stopped abruptly, pulling my hand. I turned to find him nose pressed against the display window of an ice cream shop. His eyes twinkled behind his sunglasses. What a chick. I rolled my eyes, smiling as I followed him inside.

Taemin led me around inside, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the many buckets of ice cream behind the counter.

"A chocolate and strawberry double scoop." He requested cheerily. "You want anything?"

"Just an original Bubble Tea." I smiled, pulling out my wallet.

"Sonny-ah!" Taemin interjected, slamming money down in front of the cashier before I had the chance to even pull out a bill. "I got this!" He picked up the ice cream and plastic cup, stealing a sip before handing it to me.

"Yah!" I whacked his shoulder as we walked to a table. "Just because you paid for it doesn't mean you have to contaminate my drink with your saliva."

He laughed as he pulled out one of the chairs, gesturing for me to sit. "You didn't have a problem with my saliva before." He said cheekily, referring to earlier. He flopped onto the seat across from me, his ice cream.

I turned my head to look away, feeling the heat rush to my face. His silent laughter shook the table.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

My eyes met his when I turned back to face him. This kid! I sipped my Tea slowly. He already finished his ice cream, now he's up to the waffle cone?!

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Taemin smiled as he finished the last bite. "New York, huh?"

I  nodded.

"So are you, like, American?"

... Really? I snorted, resulting in me breathing in a little of my beverage.

"Okay, okay. Sorry, stupid question." He laughed, wiping my mouth with a napkin. "But you are Korean, right?"

I nodded, letting him pat my mouth dry.

"From your mom?" Taemin added, staring curiously into my eyes. Aherm. At my eyes.

"Yeah." I sat back, a little creeped out.

"What about your dad?"

"Well," I yawned. "He was half Filipino half French."

"Oh.." Taemin murmured. "Was?"

I looked up questioningly, swirling the contents of my drink with the oversized straw.

"Was," He repeated, gazing at me from behind the tint of his shades. "You said was. What is he now?" Taemin laughed teasingly. His laughter died down when I didn't join in.

"He got shot." I said simply before resuming my drink. "Now he's dead."

Taemin's face became clouded with concern. "I'm sorry."

"Not a big deal." I waved it off.

"Oh?" He frowned, placing his hand over mine on the table. "Your eyes tell me otherwise."

I smiled sadly, wiping away the moisture that started to gather in my eyes.

[Listen to: Boom Boom Boom by FT Island]

"Oh! Look!" Taemin dragged me into a clothing store. "They have matching shirts! Let's go get a few!"

I strolled in after Taemin, gazing at a few couple's shirts as he bustled around the shop. I smiled inwardly, "Oppa, you're such a girl!"

"So does that make you lesbian?" He turned from the racks.

I giggled, sticking my tongue out.

"What about these?" He held up a pink shirt and a blue shirt. The pink one, for girls, had Saranghae! (I love you!) in blue writing. And the blue shirt, probably for boys, had Nado Saranghae! (I love you, too!) in pink writing. "I think they're cute! We should totally get them!"

I guess they are cute, but it's a little earlier for that, isn't it? I smiled, shaking my head. "I don't like pink."

He pouted, putting the shirts down.

"Oh!" Taemin picked up two other shirts: one, black; the other, white. Both of them had You Are My Color In This Black And White World written on across the front in script in the opposite colors. "I like it! And it's not pink!" He threw the white over my face and shoved me into a changing room. "Let's try it on!"

I took the shirt off my face and I began ing my layered shirt. I turned around, leaving on my tank-top out of pure laziness, to find Taemin.

In front of me.

Shirtless. 

"OHMAHGUHBOYWUTYOUDOIN—" I screamed, pointing at his bare chest.

"Changing." He said simply, putting on the black shirt. "Are you gonna put yours on or what?"

"Oh." I scratched my head, looking down. "Yeah, well."

"Don't worry." He laughed, watching me self-consciously tug on my tank-top. "If I wanted to do something, I would've brought you back to the dorm, not a changing room." He laughed teasingly, pinching my crimson face.

We looked at our reflections in the mirror.

"Uhm." Taemin started, pulling up the low-rise v-neck collar. "This is tight in all the wrong places." He pulled on my shirt, watching it poof back to my shoulders. "And yours is too baggy."

We traded shirts, laughing at our stupidity.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I poked Taemin's shoulder. "The Yin&Yang symbol!"

He blinked, "I thought Yin meant light?"

"No, that's Yang."

"Yin."

"Yang."

"YIN."

"YANG."

"Excuse me," someone knocked on the door. "But will you lovebirds take this outside, this is the only open changing room and there's already a line."

"Mianhamnida! (Sorry!)" Taemin laughed, pulling off the store's shirt.

"And for the record, sir." That someone continued. "Your girlfriend is right."

"Told you." I nudged his , changing into my shirt. "And you call yourself a Korean."

"Yeah. Yeah." Taemin put his sunglasses back on and re-adjusted his beanie. "Whatever." He slung the two shirts over his shoulder and we resumed browsing.

Taemin.. remained walking around the store and picking up random matching shirts, or whatever, in our sizes.

Our. I giggled, pacing on the sidewalk outside. I paused mid-step, noticing a little jewelry store across the street. I wonder.. I followed the crowd across the crosswalk, and strolled inside.

"Annyeonghaseyo!" The lady behind the counter greeted me. "May I help you?"

"Annyeong," I twiddled my fingers. "I'm looking for couple's rings."

The lady smiled, pulling out a display of matching rings. She left me to look at them.

And I found the cutest pair! I actually squealed. They were thin silver bands, and if you put the little lilac colored gemstones next to each other, it forms a heart. The lady came over with a little box to hold the rings in my excitement, and immediately, I threw money down and ran back across the street before Taemin noticed I wasn't waiting outside anymore.

I stood by the corner, putting the rings into the box and shoved the whole thing into my pocket just as someone's hands covered my eyes.

"Yo, kid." Taemin whispered into my ear. "Gimme your lunch money!"

"NEVER." I laughed, pulling away his hands and giving him a hug.

"Where'd you go?" He asked, starting us into a walk down the street. "I didn't see you outside earlier."

"Oh," I contemplated about telling him what I did. "Just to the store."

I glanced at him. Taemin's eyebrows went up, expecting more. I sighed inwardly, the rings can wait.

"OHOHOHOHO!" Taemin pulled me to a halt, pointing at a Noise from the Basement music store. "Let's go!"

He didn't need to drag me inside this time. I actually skipped with him towards the door, which he gentleman-ly-like opened for me.

"Oh.." I walked inside, taking in the sight of guitars hanging on the far wall.

"My..." Taemin added, looking at the array of drum-kits in the glass sound-proof room on the right. His eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

"God." I finished, gazing at the piano displays in front of us.

The store was so freaking big, there was a map near the entrance.

Percussions on one side, strings on another. Brass and winds upstairs. Oh, sweet mother of GOD. This is a musician's haven!

I hopped a little, taking Taemin's hand as I led us to the acoustic guitar selection.

"Ryu Sonny-sshi?" Someone called.

Eh? Whodat? I turned to find the voice's owner.