Taemin waved at the tall figure dressed in casual clothes, whom he recognized at first glance. Putting on his best smile, he straightened his arms above his head and swung them around in the air. Not only did this catch the attention of the boy standing across the street, but also the curious glances of strangers.

Minho adjusted his cap with his eyes locked onto Taemin's. With ample steps, he jogged to the spot where his peer was waiting. Pulling at the hem of his T-shirt, he greeted Taemin with a hearty smile and a soft hello.

Taemin nodded in return and walked off to the cinema's front door. He pushed the door open and smiled at the lady behind the counter. He fished his wallet out and dug out a bill and handed it to the lady. He received a stamped ticket and moved along to the doors of the third theater, stopping for a moment to check on Minho who just received his ticket.

He smiled at Taemin who was waving him over and mouthing the words “hurry up”. He caught up to Taemin in seconds and nudged the doors to the theater open, letting the younger one in first.

Glancing at the rows of seats, he asked, “So where do you want to sit?”

Taemin ducked pass Minho's outstretched arm and pointed behind him.

“How about here? Just in the middle,” he suggested.

“Yeah, okay.”

The two of them shuffled along seats and sat at the center of the row. Minho slumped in his seat and relaxed but Taemin jumped upright when his bum was about to sit down.

He shouted, “We forgot to buy food!”

Minho gasped, “Right! You save our spots, I'll get it.”

Taemin stretched his body across Minho's seat and nodded.

“I'll be right here,” he assured.

Minho hummed in reply and took off to the food counter outside. He stood in line and scanned the wooden board on the side, deciding what to buy. Popcorn and two pop should be enough.

He made it to the front of the line faster than he had expected. He whipped out his wallet and pulled out some change.

“A large popcorn and two pops,” he ordered and handed the cashier the change.

“Thank you,” he mumbled as he took the money.

Minho leaned against the counter and watched as the guy scooped salted popcorn into a big red carton with a long face. Scoop after scoop, the carton filled up to the brim and before Minho even realized it, the guy was already preparing his drinks.

That was quick.

Minho had wanted some time to himself to think about how to act around Taemin. He still had the weird feeling from confessing to Taemin the other day. It felt so...surreal. It all just happened so fast.

He confessed. He got rejected. He's in the cinema about to watch the newest movie with the person that rejected him right now.

Taemin acted like nothing was wrong, but who knows what he could be thinking. He could very likely be just as uncomfortable and distracted as Minho. And truthfully, he was a little nervous inside. There was a stir inside of him every time their eyes played stubborn and stared for too a bit too long. Taemin knew that was not normal, so he avoided eye contact as much as possible while making sure it didn't seem obvious. It worked.

With his elbows on the armrest, he propped his head up on his fists and sighed. He looked over at the entrance and waited.

When will he be back...?

Sighing again, he dropped his head off his fists and lay still on the armrest. With a hushed voice, he sang randomly to himself. He hummed a melody he often heard on the radio and whispered the lyrics in a mellow tone, “What are words, if you really don't mean them when you say them?”

There was a short pause before he started humming again, trying to remember the next lines.

“And what are words, if they're only for good times, then they don't?” This line was sung with a deep husky voice—a voice Taemin was not capable of.

He lifted his head in surprise and his eyes met with Minho's. Unwillingly, there was that strange stir in his chest again. Taemin gasped and quickly averted his gaze. He straightened his back and sat neatly into his own seat.

Promptly, he started a conversation to distract himself and Minho. He stuttered, “Y-You like that song too?”

“Yeah, I guess. It's pretty emotional,” Minho commented. He placed his drink into his cup holder and passed the other pop to Taemin who did the same. Popping a piece into his mouth, he handed the carton of popcorn to Taemin too.

“I didn't think you'd actually say that,” Taemin admitted after a chuckle.

Minho frowned and looked over at Taemin. “Why?”

“Well...” Taemin picked up his drink and hid half of his face behind his cup as he look over timidly. “You just don't look like the type to be moved by songs and such...you know?”

Placing a hand on his chin, Minho thought of how he actually looked like to Taemin. He wasn't being self-conscious, no. He was merely curious.

He asked, “Then what do I look like?”

“Umm,” Taemin paused for a moment to think. Whatever his impression of Minho was, it was hard to put in words exactly.

He bit his lip and tapped his finger. “You give the impression of a manly guy who doesn't get get moved by things easily. You also look like the Frog Prince, not that it makes a difference."

“Oh.” Minho uttered. He turned to face the front.

“Is that good or bad?”

“That's probably good.”

Minho nodded a couple times and took a sip from his pop. Probably.

The lights dimmed and the silver screen came to life.

Taemin stuffed his mouth with a couple pieces of popcorn, getting ready for the horror that was to come. He grabbed a handful more and then passed the carton to Minho. When Minho's hands received the carton, his fingertips accidentally grazed across the side of Taemin's hand. The latter retreated his hand with a jerk. The place Minho's fingertips touched tickled with a persistent itch. He slid his hands under his legs and sat protectively on top of them, but the tingling feeling was still there.

Minho coughed softly into his fist then crossed his arms and leaned back. He acted as if he was just fine, but his head was reeling and eyes turned blank for the moment. Even though his sight was hazy, he looked nowhere but ahead and acted as if he could see perfectly. If it was his pride that was keeping him acting, it was all unnecessary because Taemin couldn't actually see him in the dimmed lighting either. Not to mention he was experiencing the mysterious stir in his chest once again.

And throughout the whole movie, they couldn't really enjoy it as much as they planned. They worried more about the awkward air that was building up between them, for they both knew how uncomfortable they were. Though they both chose to pretend.

When the two hours ended, they were more than glad to get out of the theater and leave.

Minho got up first and looked down at Taemin who got up also. He stretched his arms and and took a deep breath in.

“Let's go!” he exclaimed.

“Right after you,” Taemin filed out behind Minho, throwing his pop bottle in the recycle as he left. He reached for the other boy's bottle and threw it in too. As for the popcorn carton, Minho had already thrown that into the trash bin.

“Thanks,” Minho said politely. Taemin nodded and led the way out of the crowded cinema.

They stopped at the corner of the street and turned their head to look each other in the eye. Carefully, Taemin kept eye contact and waited for a conversation to naturally start.

Minho scratched his neck and looked down at the little bee hover about the curb. He brought his gaze back to the one in front of him and asked, “Should I walk you to the bus stop or something?”

Taemin shook his head and explained, “A hyung is gonna come pick me up, he's nearby.”

Minho's head tilt to a side and he asked, “A hyung?”

“Yeah, the one I was with last time. I can ask him to bring you home too,” Taemin said as he pulled his phone out.

Minho quickly raised a hand and stopped him. “No, it's fine! I live the other way,” he pointed to the left.

Taemin mouthed “oh” and he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Well, bye.” Minho pushed Taemin's shoulder gently and pointed to the car that just parked behind him.

Taemin pivoted around and indeed saw a familiar looking hyung behind the windshield. He took a few step away and turned back to way at his other hyung. He yelled out, “Bye!”

After Taemin got into the car and it sped away, Minho walked to the bus stop and waited for his bus to arrive. He sat on the bench and sighed. He scratched the nonexistent itch on the back of his neck and groaned.

Whipping his long fringe to the side, he mumbled to himself, “I like him more than I thought.”