(I just realized that the cover says "By:LetsWhisper". It's because I had this story on Wattpad first, and that's my SN on there.)

We walked casually down the street despite being fully aware that people were staring. It was a littler nerve racking for me at first, but I know that this was something that they were used to and something I would need to get used to.  We were walking towards a large building that I couldn’t see the sign for, but it seemed like a pretty busy place as a lot of people were headed in the same direction.  When we finally got there and stepped through the doors, even the smell of it gave it away. The strong scent of an infinite amount of perfumes all mixed together basically screamed that it was a mall.

My heart raced when I saw the amount of people inside, especially the amount of younger people. Yes, I know I’m still a teenager, so I can’t really say much in that department, but I have a rational thinking process…most of the time…unlike other girls my age. I was afraid that this wasn’t a good idea. Though, the boys didn’t seem too concerned.  I felt a jolt on my right side and I quickly jerked my head to see Key jump up and down, clapping his hands.

“We have to take her there!” Key exclaimed, pointed to a clothing shop a few stores down.

“You take her to that one. I want to go and look for something,”  Jonghyun said and I saw Key’s upper lip snarl.

“Fine, just ditch her. More Ryver for me,” Key bragged.

I put my hand up to silence him and then spoke, “I won’t lie and say that this place makes me nervous for reasons you’re probably well aware of, so, for my own sanity, can we not split up for too long?”

Onew nodded and smiled, “Of course.”

“Also, can we split up evenly? Just so nobody ends up missing?” I suggested and then it seemed like the boys were picking sports teams.

Minho immediately jumped over to Jonghyun’s side while Onew and Taemin battled it out to go with Key and I. Eventually Onew gave in and took his place and Jonhyun’s other side. I rolled my eyes and let out a chuckle.

“Just please meet back here in at least an hour. Everyone has their number in my phone?”  I asked.

“Ryver, calm down. We’re all adults here. I think we know how to navigate a mall,” Minho joked.

“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about myself and that I’ll get lost and never be found,”  I said in a dead-serious tone.

They all laughed a little and then we separated. I slipped my right pointer and middle finger through one of Key’s belt loops, something I used to do with my dad when I was younger so that I wouldn’t get lost in the Wal-Mart. If he ever felt me let go of his belt loop, he would know that I’d stopped following him.  Even though Key didn’t know this and probably thought this was a little strange, he didn’t say anything or even skip a beat. He pulled me into the clothing shop, Taemin following close behind.

“You need some new clothes, Ryver,” Key said as he stopped abruptly to look at a shirt.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“I went through your bags. All you have are three pairs of nice pants and some nice shirts. The rest is just your dance clothes. I can’t let you go out into public in dance clothes every day, Ryver,” He explained and I laughed.

“Really, dude?” I said, unable to find a suitable Korean statement for my feelings.

Key whipped his head around to look at me. “Yes, really, dude,” He remarked, putting particular emphasis on ‘dude’.  

He hurriedly pulled shirts and pairs of pants off of their racks, not even asking my opinion on them. I laughed a little but followed him around the store as he did this. We were walking past a section of the store with shoes and he started pointing at different pairs as a clerk came to get them for him since his hands were full. Soon enough he had pushed me into a dressing room, refusing to let me out until I tried on everything.

I sighed, shaking my head and then looked in the full body mirror as I undressed and picked up the first outfit. Denim shorts and a Run DMC tank top. Maybe Key did know a little bit about my tastes. I picked up a random box of shoes and slipped them on.

“Alright, Key. Open the door,”  I said and he excitedly pulled open the door.

“Perfect,”  he said and then slammed the door in my face again.

I stood there and blinked a few times before sighing and turning to change again. Each time, he opened the door, said something like “perfect” or “gorgeous” and then slammed the door in my face again. I was finally coming to the bottom of the pile of clothes when something else came falling from the sky. I winced and then looked down to see a polka-dotted dress lying on the floor.

“Really, Key? A dress?”  I asked through the door.

“I didn’t pick it out. Taemin did,” He said and slid another box of shoes underneath the door, “These too.”

What am I? A Barbie doll? I shook it off and picked up the dress, taking it off the hanger. I slipped it on, zipping it up. Then I reached for the box of shoes, pulling out a pair of black heals with little bows on them. I put them on and turned to look in the mirror.

I’m not going to lie. Even though I felt like Minnie Mouse, this was actually very flattering on me. It was just short enough to show off my legs, but long enough to cover my . I ran my fingers through my hair and then sighed before ordering for Key to open the door. He pulled it open and looked me up and down.

“Not bad at all, Taemin,” he said and I stepped out of the small room. Taemin was sitting in a chair just outside the dressing room.

“You like it?” I asked.

“I think it looks nice,” He smiled.

“I don’t usually wear dresses for anything more than dance because I think it give others a false idea that I’m lady like and proper. I actually can never even remember to sit with my legs crossed, or at least closed,” I laughed.

“You don’t have to get it if you don’t like it. I just saw it and thought it was cute. I wanted to see what it looked like on a person,” He said, trying, and failing, to hide his true intentions. He’d seen it and thought it would look nice on me.

I smiled warmly, “No, I like it. I think I want it.”

You could see his eyes light up even though he forced himself to keep a straight face. I turned back towards the dressing room, excited to put my clothes back on.

By the time I was finished, Key had already taken everything to the counter. I came up behind him, pulling my wallet out of my bag.

“I got this, Key,” I said.

“No. I’m paying for this. Think of it as a gift,” I said.

I rolled my eyes, knowing it would be useless to argue. I walked away, seeing Taemin standing by the entrance. Quietly, I came up behind him and poked his sides. He jumped, making a slight squeaking noise as he turned to look at me, who was now giggling.

“You’ve been quiet today,” I said, coming to stand next to him.

“You think so?” He asked, his voice sounding monotone as he stared out into the mall, watching people pass by.

I nodded and noticed that he was vaguely paying attention. So, I did a side step and turned to face him. He was almost a whole head taller than I was, so I was forced to crane my neck to look up at him. He continues to stare forward, looking right over my head.

“Is there something wrong, or are you just going this to tease me?” I asked and saw the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

“Taemin, at least look at me when I’m speaking to you,” I went on.

“Or what?” He retorted and I knew he was doing this to get a rise out of me. But I was willing to play his game.

“Do I have to beg?” I asked and he shrugged. “I don’t know, do you?”

I furrowed my brow as I stared up at him who wouldn’t even look down at me, “Please?”

He didn’t budge, so I spoke again, “Pleeeassse?” Still nothing. I thought for a second before something came to mind. I saw it in a Korean show when I was studying the language. I wonder if it would work, I thought to myself. Wouldn’t hurt to try.

So I put my arms around his thin waste and rested my chin on his chest, still looking up at him, “Oppaaaaa…,” I whined. Finally, he started laughing and he looked down at me.

“That was too funny,” He said, “But still, kind of cute.”

“Thanks. I try,” I boasted just when Key came to the entrance, his hands full of bags.

“Come on, we have to hurry. We’re late meeting the others,” He said and rushed us out of the store.

We hurriedly walked towards the area where we’d told the others to meet us. I could already see Jonghyun leaning against the railing. They caught site of us and started walking to meet us.

“Wow, Key. Don’t you think you have enough clothes at home?” Minho said, staring at the bags with wide eyes.

“This isn’t mine. It’s Ryver’s,” He said just as Jonghyun pushed past Onew and Minho with an excited yet mischievous look on his face.

“You’ll never guess what we got you,” He said, digging into the bag he was holding.

“No, I probably would never guess,”  I agreed.

He pulled out a small rectangular looking package, laughing a little. The other boys seemed to be stifling their own laughter. Jonghyun turned the package around and instantly Key and Taemin started giggling with the rest of them.

“What is this?” I asked, snatching it from him.

“Training chopsticks,” Jonghyun laughed.

“We even got the one with the pink rabbit on them,” Onew said as he chuckled.

“If you think I’m just going to keep these as a souvenir and not use them, you’re wrong,” I challenged, “You can expect to see me and my new training chop sticks at dinner tonight.”

We all laughed for a second before Key started motioning for us to move on.