Jinki kind of regretted not going to Minho’s party later that evening, because the music shop was actually pretty empty that evening. He supposed it was dull because most people with free time were probably going to Minho’s party.

Except Taemin, that is. Taemin would rather chew his toes off one by one than go to a party- no matter whose it was. Even if it were Jinki who were throwing the party, Taemin would just flip his middle finger and return to the dance studio.

Sometimes, Jinki didn’t understand how Taemin was so popular. Yes, the younger boy was bright and did a lot of aegyo when he wanted, but Taemin was also quite feisty and sometimes had an attitude that had people running down hills.

It was his cuteness, Jinki always told himself. The fact that Taemin always got caught doing cute things was the reason why he was so well liked in their school and their neighborhood.

He met Taemin when he first moved into his neighborhood, after his grandmother was hospitalized. He didn’t want to separate from her, of course, but he had to because she didn’t want him to stay by her as she took her last painful breaths.

So when he moved in, he hated the world quite a bit. That all changed when Taemin knocked on his door. His mother and father weren’t filthy rich, but they had made the effort of inviting Jinki for dinner. Jinki didn’t want to be rude, and he also didn’t want to face the fact that he was really living alone ever since then, so he agreed to have dinner, and he and Taemin bonded instantly.

He told Taemin his parents moved to the States but he decided to stay behind because he was already in high school. Taemin had no sympathy for the male, forcing the elder to hang out together whenever he spotted Jinki.

Thankfully, Taemin’s parents thought Jinki was a good influence on him, and even helped him find a job when he was low on cash, so he owed the family a lot. Sometimes, he even felt like he was a burden to the family- which Taemin would sense what he was feeling immediately and slapped him each time the elder looked like he was beginning to feel like a burden.

The bell chime for the door dinged suddenly, and Jinki immediately stopped thinking about his brother-like younger friend to see who was at the door, his eyes widening in surprise.

Who wouldn’t feel