“Can’t you just tell me where we’re going, hyung?” Taemin whines. He’s got a blindfold on, which is causing quite a few of the passengers on the crowded bus to give him sidelong looks – not that he can see them with the blindfold on.

Minho, his fingers firmly laced through his boyfriend’s, only chuckles. “You’ll see when we get there. You have to learn to be patient.”

Taemin pouts, his grip on Minho’s hand tightening. “Patience has never been my strong suit.”

“Don’t I know it,” the elder cracks. “But you don’t have to wait much longer. This is our stop.”

The bus driver watches, half exasperated and half amused, as Minho leads Taemin down the steps and off the bus, slowly so the younger doesn’t trip and fall. Then the doors swish shut and the bus leaves, and Taemin and Minho are left on the sidewalk in the spring sunshine.

“So where are we?” Taemin demands. “Can I take off my blindfold yet.”

“Not yet,” Minho grins, leading his boyfriend towards their destination. “You have to guess where we are.”

“Well, we’re obviously outside,” Taemin says, straining to listen. “And I hear a bunch of children shouting, so we must be near a play park.” He chews on his bottom lip as they walk, stepping from sidewalk to grass. Taemin notices the change beneath his sneakers. “We’re not on the path anymore. We’re on grass.”

Minho’s grin widens. “So do you have any guesses where we are, then?”

“The park?” Taemin asks.

Minho’s cheeks hurt because he’s smiling so much. “But which park?”

Taemin lets out a little gasp as it comes to him. “Yeouido Park?” he asks, ripping the blindfold off without waiting for permission. He lets out an excited squeal when he sees that his guess is correct. “We haven’t been here since we first started dating! Hyung, you’re so sweet!”

Minho lets Taemin throw his arms around him, his grin widening even more. “I hoped you would like coming back here.”

“Like?” Taemin repeats incredulously. “I love it. I’m so surprised!”

“Will this surprise you even more?” Minho asks, waggling his eyebrows comically as he holds up the picnic basket he’s kept hidden from the blind-folded Taemin throughout their long bus ride.

Taemin’s eyes light up eagerly, pearly white teeth flashing as he grins. “Let’s go find a good spot to eat!”

Because it’s the first really nice Saturday they’ve had in a while, the park is crowded with other people. The playground equipment is crawling with children, shrieking and screaming their delight. Mothers are walking around the paved track, pushing their prams and gossiping with other mothers. Couples much like Taemin and Minho are sitting on benches or on blankets spread under the blossoming trees. Luckily the two manage to find a nice shady spot under a tree – recently vacated by a couple who decided, upon finishing their own lunch, to find some ice cream at a nearby store – and Minho spreads the blanket out while Taemin unpacks their picnic lunch.

“You really pulled out all the stops, hyung,” Taemin gushes as he pulls item after item out of Minho’s picnic basket – each thing one of Taemin’s favorites.

Minho uses his bag to weigh down the edge of their blanket so the wind can’t catch it. “Of course. It’s our anniversary.”

Taemin blushes. “I almost thought you forgot.”

“How could I forget?” Minho demands, dragging Taemin in for a quick hug. “It’s been an entire year since we started dating.”

Taemin sighs contentedly, leaning into his boyfriend’s embrace. “I can’t believe it took you so long to work up the courage to ask me out.”

Minho smacks him playfully. “Hey! Give me some credit here! For one thing, you were still in middle school. Baby-faced and everything.”

“I’m still baby-faced,” Taemin teased.

Minho wrinkles his nose. “I didn’t even know if you swung my way, you know. I had to do some digging just to know that you wouldn’t run screaming in the other direction if I asked you out.”

“So you asked around about me?” Taemin demands, pleased.

Minho grins lazily. Taemin has heard the story about a billion times in the year that they’ve been together, but it never seems to bore him. “Yeah, I asked around. Everyone thought I was crazy asking about a middle schooler, but I asked. They all told me you were an immature little brat.”

Taemin squawks indignantly. “They did not, you big liar!”

Chuckling, Minho soothes him by shoving a dumpling into his mouth. “No, they didn’t. They told me you kept to yourself and spent all your time in your school’s dance studio. So I started volunteering in the studio so I could have an excuse to run into you.”

“Still, it took you too long to actually ask me out,” Taemin says through his mouthful of dumpling. “You should’ve asked me out right in the beginning.”

“And ruin my chances of dating an angel?” Minho teases, leaning in for a quick kiss. “No way.”

Taemin blushes even as he says, “God, you’re such a cheeseball.”

“You love it,” Minho accuses, leaning in for another kiss.

And Taemin doesn’t deny it.