HELLO! Long time no see, neh? I'm so sorry I've been away. School is back in, so I'm so busy with homework and projects.

Also, something pretty important, is that I'm auditioning for the KBS KPop Star Search in the US. The song I'm auditioning with is "Quasimodo". If anyone would like to hear me practicing, let me know. Haha. But please support me in that! My application's due next Friday, and I'm rushing to get everything done!

This chapter kinda . I didn't edit it as much as I wanted to. But I've deprived you all of chapters for way too long. So here's one to attempt to make up for it!

~~~~~

Minho's POV

When I open the door to my apartment, my brother immediately jumps up from his seat on the couch and rushes over to me. I bite my lip, already knowing what's to come.

"How'd it go? Was it awkward? Did he have a good time? What was he wearing? Did he blush a lot? Did you guys kiss?"

I sigh and walk past him towards the kitchen, robotically making myself a cup of tea. "I think it went pretty well. Taemin seemed to really enjoy the movie. I offered to take him somewhere for a quick meal, but he wanted ice cream. He seemed to enjoy that too."

"Is he a chocolate or a strawberry?" Siwon asks, leaning his elbows on the counter and resting his chin in his palms. Does it really matter?

"Actually, he's banana," I say, flinching at Siwon's squeal.

"Wow! He's so interesting. That means he's truly unique!" Siwon's face is glimmering with joy. "Did you walk him home?"

"I wanted to, but his dad doesn't know he has a tutor, so I'm a total secret. So we walked all the way to the complex, and then he walked the rest of the way by himself."

"Did you kiss him?"

I bite my lip and shake my head. I wanted to. God, how I wanted to...

"You should've," Siwon smirks. Damn his older brother telepathy! "It's the only true way to tell if he likes you."

I shrug, getting a little frustrated. If I had kissed him, what would he have done? Would he have kissed back? No. Probably not. He'd probably slap me. Or run. He'd hate me. He'd be scared of me. I'm supposed to be his tutor.

"So where's your jacket?" Siwon slices through my thoughts. I look down and finally remember.

"Taemin was freezing to death, so I let him borrow my jacket. I had him take it home with him so he wouldn't freeze. He can always give it back on Monday."

"Aigoo, it's like something out of slash fiction! You must really love him," Siwon coos.

"I just genuinely care about him," I grumble with another sigh. Speaking of that, did he get home okay? I decide to pull out my phone and check while I wait for my water to heat up.

To: Taemin

From: Minho

Hey. Please let me know if you made it home okay. I worry about you!

I close my phone and return to making my tea. Suddenly, Siwon jumps up with an idea.

"Hey! Why don't you invite Taemin over for dinner on Monday? I mean, you're tutoring hom that day, right? Just bring him over here and tutor him, and then have him stay for dinner."

"I can't cook," I sigh, stirring my tea. "So if he came over here, we'd be eating takeout."

Siwon scoffs. "Dude, I can cook. With this body, I can do anything," I roll my eyes. But I must have still looked skeptic because Siwon quickly adds, "Come on, Minho. This will be a great way for you to really get to know him more. Plus, the best way to the heart is through the stomach, right?"

I shrug, not quite sure how I like this idea. Taemin's never going to want to have dinner with me. He will probably run from me the second I ask him to come over. God, why am I such a creeper?

I sip my tea, eventually finishing it while Siwon rambles on about how perfect Monday night will be. I look down at my phone, painfully aware that Taemin has yet to respond to my text message. The hair stands up on the back of my neck and I bite my lip with fear.

Did he make it home?

~~~~~

Taemin's POV

I sit down on the couch nervously, already biting my lip. There's several things Appa could be mad about. What is it that he knows?

"Yeobo, please come down here," Onew appa calls towards the stairs. But don't be fooled. His words might have been polite, but his tone is not the sweet, tender tone he usually used when talking to Umma.

Key umma descends the stairs in his usual chipper manner. "Neh, baby? Did you need-" Umma ceases at the bottom of the stairs when he's greeted by the glare on Appa's face and the fear I'm sure he sees in my eyes. Umma walks by Appa solemnly and sits down next to me.

"Where were you tonight, Taemin?" Onew appa growls, crossing his arms. I feel Umma's eyes on me.

"I went out to eat with the Kims. I thought Umma told you that before I left," I gulp.

"He most certainly did," Onew appa nods. "But he lied, didn't he? And you just lied as well."

I look at him, trying to twist my face into confusion. But his glare burns into my soul.

"Jonghyun called while you were out. He wanted to ask you about doing something tomorrow. He tried calling your cell phone, but you didn't answer. He was afraid he had made you mad from a previous conversation."

I blink, lowering my head. Appa's fury seems to rise as he raises his voice.

"So let me ask again, Taemin. Where. Were. You. Tonight?"

I look over at Key umma, whom is on the brink of tears. I reach out and take his hand, squeezing it to reassure him.

"I was out tonight...with my girlfriend."

Key umma gasps and tightens his grip on my hand, tears beginning to stream down his face. I return my gaze to Onew appa, who looks like he's about to explode.

"I've had a girlfriend for a few weeks now. Umma knew about her, but he kept it a secret," I blurt as Umma whimpers beside me. "I just had no idea how you would react to finding out I'm straight."

Onew appa's anger becomes incomprehensible. He strides over to me with such fume that I think he might slap me. Instead, he reaches an empty hand out to me.

"Cell phone," he spits the words, causing me to flinch.

"Appa, you can't punish me for having a girlfriend. That's my choice," I protest as I look down at my phone and notice a text message from Minho. I quickly delete the message without reading it.

Onew appa snatches the phone from my hands. "I'm punishing you for lying," he says shortly. He then moves to Key umma and whispers something in his ear. Umma immediately straightenes up and looks over at me with a weak smile.

"You'll get this back when I feel you deserve it. You're also grounded until further notice," Onew appa suddenly sighs, and his face softens. "You're such a good kid, Taemin. You've never lied to me. Why start now?"

I notice this is a rhetorical question as Onew appa helps Key umma up off the couch and holds on to his hand. "Go to bed, Taemin."

I nod at Appa's command and stand up, letting Umma kiss me goodnight. I then wait until my parents leave the room, Umma being practically dragged to his punishment. I shudder and almost puke at the memories of Umma's last "punishment" just for making dinner late.

I sleep with my iPod on full volume.

~~~~~

Minho's POV

I park a few blocks away from the school and check my watch. Five minutes until school lets out. Just enough time for me to walk over there. My skin practically tingles with anticipation of seeing Taemin again.

I really hope he's okay. He never texted me back on Saturday, and his phone was shut off on Sunday. A wave of chills hits me again as I think of the possibilities. If something happened to Taemin that night, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. It would be all my fault. I should have walked him home.

I shake my head clear of those terrible thoughts and continue walking. As I approach te school, I hear the bell ring. Students begin filing out the doors, and I keep my distance.

My eyes immediately scan the mob of students, looking for that beautiful mass of auburn hair. The crowd starts thinning, and I become extremely worried. Finally, I let go of a stored away breath as I see Taemin walk out the door and start heading across the courtyard. My eyes twitch as I see three former teammates approach him with sly looks on their faces. I shift a little closer to hear better.

"Hey, little . Where are you going?" one of them sneers. Taemin keeps walking, completely ignoring them.

"I'll tell you where he's going. To hell!" another one shouts, causing the others to errupt into laughter. "You know God hates trash like you, right?"

I ball my hands into fistas as I watch the bullies continue to pester Taemin. More than anything. I want to rush over there and kick their asses. I'm just about to when I see Jonghyun cross the courtyard.

"Hey, you damn bastards, why don't you get away from my best friend before I beat the out of you, neh?" Jonghyun yells, cracking his knuckles. He looks so pissed off; I wouldn't mess with him.

The other guys, however, just errupt into laughter again. "Okay then! One sticking up for another! You guys, it's not called 'best friends' if you're ing!"

Suddenly, Jonghyun slams a fist into a shorter one's face. The guy staggers backwards, holding his bloody, possibly-broken nose. The other two guys surround him and glare at Jonghyun.

"Take your and get out of here," the tall one spits. "Next time it's going to be your blood." He gives one last shove to Taemin, knocking him to the ground, and then walks off with his companions.

Jonghyun walks over and helps Taemin up, and it's only then that I realize Taemin's staring at me. How long has he known I'm here? Taemin turns and exchanges a few sentences with Jonghyun before the latter walks off in another direction. Taemin waits for a moment and then crosses over to me.

"Minho! What are you doing here!" his voice makes my heart dance. His smile flashes cutely as he stops in front of me.

"Just thought I'd be kind and pick you up," I answer, ruffling his hair. This little gesture seems to be a replacement for a kiss (which I really want to do, but I'm way too nervous to even attempt it). "And if you're interested in, umm, a change of scenery, I was thinking we could do today's session at my apartment."

I brace myself for his scream. His slap to the face. His pepper spray. Anything to tell me I'm a total pedo, even though I'm only a couple years older than him.

"That sounds great!" Taemin squeals with a genuine smile.

I chuckle and nod. "Okay, well, my car's around this way, so let's go!"

We walk to my car in silence, except for Taemin mumbling to himself. I wonder what he's beating himself up about. Is he okay?

When we get to my car, Taemin looks up at me and I clear my throat. "You know, Taemin. I was, umm...I was pretty worried about you.  I texted you Saturday night to make sure you got home okay, but you didn't answer. And then I called you about five times yesterday and they went straight to voicemail. So I was just...I was scared that you..."

Taemin leans in and suddenly embraces me, and I could swear my heart stops. He presses his nose into my shoulder as I cautiously wrap my arms around him too.

"I'm so sorry for making you worry," Taemin whispers into my shoulder. "I got in trouble that night, and Appa took my phone."

I frown and push him back to our eyes meet. "It wasn't me, was it?"

He nods and I sigh, but he offers me a smile. "Don't worry. I made an excuse. But I'm still on restriction."

I nod again as he walks around the car and gets in the passenger seat. I get in on my own side and drive off to my apartment. The ride is awkward, both of us not speaking a word. Taemin, however, seems to be in his same inner battle.

"Gwaenchana, Taemin?" I ask as we finally arrive.

"Neh!" Taemin flashes me with one of his signature smiles. "Just a lot on my mind. Mianhae."

I nod as I lead him up the stairs to my third story apartment. I hear him struggle for his breath behind me and mentally scold myself for not suggesting the elevator.

"Here we are," I call out, opening the door. I bring Taemin into a breathtakingly spotless apartment. Siwon...

"Welcome home, brother!" Siwon chirps, emerging from the kitchen with a huge grin on his face. He gasps suddenly. "And who is this?"

"This is Lee Taemin, the student I tutor," I say, taking Taemin's jacket and hanging it by the door. "Taemin, this is my older brother Choi Siwon."

"Pleasure to meet you, Taemin-ah," Siwon shakes Taemin's hand. Taemin beams at him and offers him a nod before turning back to me.

"Come on over here," I say to Taemin, bringing him to the couch. We both sit down and Siwon brings over some banana milk for Taemin.

"Ah, my drug of choice!" Taemin giggles. "Kamsamnida, Siwon-ssi!"

Siwon smiles in my direction and bows. "Really, it was Minho. He bought an entire case this morning!"

Taemin's eyes grow wide. "But you don't like banana milk, hyung."

I chuckle softly. Aigoo! I totally regret not asking him to call me hyung! "I just wanted you to be happy. You're my guest; I'm not gonna give you something you don't like."

Taemin smiles one of his heart-melting smiles. He thanks me again, and I resist the urge to just squish him to death.

"So what do we have for today?" I ask, trying to bring us on topic while Taemin happily drains his milk container.

Taemin suddenly pouts. "Fractions," he mutters as if someone stole his teddy bear.

"Fractions are easy!" I announce, but upon seeing Taemin's cute glare, I add, "Well, they will be, when I'm done helping you."

Taemin giggles and we begin our lesson, attempting to ignore Siwon's squeals.

~~~~~

Taemin's POV

"And that's about it!" Minho flashes me a powerful smile, making my insides melt. "Do you understand now?"

"A little," I admit, returning his smile.

"Well, we'll work more on it tomorrow, okay?" MInho chuckles, helping me to my feet. As I study his absolutely flawless face, something seems to click in his head, and he turns me.

"I talked to your Umma and he said that it is fine with him, so if you'd like, I mean...umm, if you want to, umm...would you like to stay for dinner, Taemin?"

He closes his eyes immediately after blurting out the question and grits his teeth, almost as if he was anticipating a slap to the face. Why does he do that? Does it bother him to ask such questions?

"Is that what you want, Minho hyung?" I ask sweetly, knowing I'm laying the aegyo on pretty thick. But sometimes it's just natural.

Minho opens his eyes and looks at me, his face twisting into sincerity. "Taemin, I would love to have you stay for dinner, if you want to. But if you don't want to, I completely und-"

"I would love to stay," I answer, hugging Minho's waist. "I want to to stay for dinner."

Minhi gasps quietly before his muscles relax and he ruffles my hair. "If that's what you really want, then fine. I'm sure Siwon's made plenty."

"Minho-hyung," I breathe. I have to know. I have to know what's bothering him so. Am I doing something? Do I bother him?

"Neh?" he pulls me back to face him and I immediately freeze at the locking of our eyes.

"DINNER!" Siwon-ssi calls out, happily setting plates out on the kitchen table. Minho and I awkwardly separate ourselves and walk towards the table.

"This one's yours, Taemin-ah," Siwon points to a plate on one side of the table. He then points to one across from it. "And this is Minho's."

Minho and I sit down, almost in sync. I look down at my steamy plate. Vegetables. Lots of vegetables. Dude, where's the meat? I look up at Minho, who meets my gaze. A sudden wave of realization flows across his face.

"Oh God, Siwon, we're being so rude!" Minho cries, looking at me sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Taemin. We're vegetarians."

"Oh," I say with a blink. I didn't know that. It isn't really a big deal, though.

"I'm so sorry. You don't have to eat it. I'll take you out to get so-"

"Sit," I say as Minho begins to rise from his chair. I quietly begin eating my food. "I like vegetables." I'm not lying. I really do. Minho's totally overreacting.

Minho sits and starts eating while Siwon turns to me. "So, Taemin-ah. What do your parents do for a living?"

We spend the rest of dinner talking about me. I've never really had a full conversation about myself before, but Siwon seemed to be really interested in hearing what I had to say. Minho did too. In fact, Minho never even took his eyes off me. It made me feel...squishy?

"Thanks so much for the dinner, Siwon-ssi! It was so good!" I slide my jacket on as Minho opens the door for me.

"Thanks so much for eating it, Taemin-ah," Siwon-ssi chuckles, pinching my cheeks. "You're so cute. Please come back and visit anytime you wish!"

"Kamsamnida!" I bow, heading out the door. Minho follows behind me, closing the door after him.

"So, you enjoyed dinner?" Minho asks as we walk slowly down the hall and down the stairs.

I nod and Minho smiles, walking closer to me. My body tingles all over as his warmth spreads to my chilly skin. Minho suddenly takes in a gulp of air and rests a hand on my shoulder.

"Taemin, what were you thinking about in the car earlier?" he asks. He's being rather pushy...

"What were you thinking when you asked me to stay for dinner?" I counter, causing Minho's cheeks to turn pink. Omo! How cute!

Minho sighs. "Sometimes I worry that my words will drive you away," he says softly, shivering absent-mindedly.

"Why would you ever think that?" I ask as Minho looks down at me.

"Sometimes I feel like...like a creeper or something. Because I always want to spend a lot of time with you and we barely know each other. I don't...I don't want to freak you out, Taemin."

"You don't freak me out, Minho-hyung," I whisper, throwing in that last part to turn his cheeks that beautiful shade of pink again. "I really love spending time with you."

Minho's eyes widen. "Jinja?" I nod. "That's such a relief, Taemin. Thank you!"

I smile at Minho, but raise an eyebrow when he gestures his hand towards me. "What?"

"I told you, so now you have to tell me!" Minho smirks.

I bite my lip. I can't tell him. I can't tell him what I'm thinking. I'm not sure why I can't. I just feel like he wouldn't approve.

"I was just thinking about how happy it would make me...if I could call you my friend," I shy away, hiding in my lie. Of course, it would make me happy to be his friend. But that's not what's been bothering me.

"Aww, Taemin, you can totally call me your friend!" Minho looks genuinely happy as he reaches over and hugs me close to him. "I can do the same for you, right?"

I nod and return Minho's embrace. So we're friends. But I feel like that's not what I truly want.

"I should get going," I say, crossing my fingers that Onew appa is working late.

Minho releases me, but his eyes meet mine with concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Promise," I gulp with a smile, my heart aching at my consistent lying. "I'll see you tomorrow, Minho-hyung!"

"Bye, Taemin-ah," he smiles as I walk away. I keep my own smile until I'm out of his sight.

Minho, what would you think if I told you my lie to my Appa? Would you be happy? Would you think I'm stupid? Would you never want to see me again?

There's one thing I know for sure, though. And I'm not ready to tell Minho yet.

I need to get a girlfriend. And soon.

But I don't want a girlfriend.

I want Minho.

~~~~~

Do you guys hate me yet? Okay.