Enter you, 18 years old. 

Enter Taemin, 18 years old.

"Mmmm." he nodded, continuously sipping his drink while stealing glances toward you every now and then. 

After watching the movie, the two of you headed to the park near home. You both sat at the bench near the same big tree from your younger days. It wasn't any larger and its big trunk was defiled, but the memories remained. When you spoke, your breath came in short, misty wisps. The autumn air was bringing a wonderful winter scent.

"Ne, and I make a lot of friends in my lectures." 

"Guys?" 

"Ne." you nodded.

He stopped drinking and scanned your eyes for any hint of lies. "Why don't you befriend girls?" 

"It's hard to talk about girl things with them. They all have boyfriends and say cute things about them, but I only have you and Taesun to talk about—,"

"Why don't you talk about me, then? I'm handsome, aren't I?" he snickered, inching closer to you. 

"...but you're famous, so they won't believe me. Or they'll keep bothering me about your autographed pictures. Guys are better." you smiled in return, looking at the big tree's bark. "They don't care at all."

You looked at him after he didn't respond. He was gazing down at the grass, nodding with a feeling of regret. "It's not dark yet." he laughed, looking up at the reddish sky. "Let's hang out a little longer." 

You joked, gently pushing his arm. "You want to run away?"

He looked at your knees, and then at you. His gaze looked apologetic. "If I could, yeah. Mmm. I'll buy you dinner, is that okay?" 

"Won't Taesun worry?" you asked him. Of course he would. They were brothers and brothers always stood up for each other, no matter how annoying, or how inconvenient. "Why don't you call him? Just let him know we won't be going home yet." 

"It's okay, it's not like we're staying out till midnight, right?" he shrugged. 

"But even then, Taesun's your brother... at least call him so he can tell your pa—,"

"Stop it." he said with an annoyed tone. "Why do you keep talking about Taesun so much?"

"What?" you said, unsure. 

"Even before the movie played back there, all you kept talking about was hyung. Hyung did this, hyung did that. Hyung does everything, it seems like. Why didn't you beat Nana to asking him out, if he's the only person you ever think about, anyway?" 

You shook your head in disbelief. Is he really being serious right now? He was sweet one moment, and then angry the other. He was like a girl, if anything else. Unbelievable. "He was there for me."

"And you think I didn't try?!" he blew up, getting off of his seat to turn angrily towards you. "Do you know how jealous I get when you mention his name instead of mine? How much it hurts when he gets to walk you home and protect you while I'm miles away? Do you have any idea how much it kills me inside for him to be able to hear your sleepy voice over the phone in the evening, or call you first thing in the morning so the first thing you hear is his voice?" 

"But it means nothing." you retorted, balling up your hands into fists. "It means nothing to him, it means nothing to me. It means nothing to anyone. You want to know what means something? And what really kills?" you began. You didn't give him any time to even respond before you fired your reply. "Taemin, Minnie. Pabo. You're famous. You're the maknae of one of the most famous groups in all of Korea. Everyone knows that. Everyone knows exactly who you are. You know what the problem with being famous is? Fans. They ship people together. Do you know what shipping is? And you might think it means nothing, but it does to me." 

He only looked at you, furrowing his brows together because he didn't understand. "Did you know some fans ship you with Sulli from f(x)?" He shook his head, about to reply, but you didn't let him start. No, not at all. "Do you know how good you two look together? When you appeared in Star King during the Halloween special. Do you remember when she leaned toward you? You might not think it's anything. You might not find meaning in that small moment. But did you know I was boiling with jealousy, too? If I could, I'd have a dartboard of her face in my room. Do you know how greedy I am about you? Whenever I see you, I want only me with you. I want only me to be able to hold you. To hug you. To dance with you. But that's not possible, right? Because you're so famous, right? Because you're living your dream, right?" you cocked your head to the side. Did he get the idea? 

"But Sulli and I aren't—," he stated. 

"You can't belong to anyone else, Taemin! You absolutely can't!" You almost yelled. Your ears were feeling so much warmer. People who were passing by could probably hear you loud and clear. "I don't care how much you think I like Taesun. For me, there's only you, so you have to feel the same! You have to!"

He chuckled. "You're an idiot, aren't you? You're a really selfish idiot." he showed his handsome, sideways smile. "Of course I only have you." 

Wasn't this usually the time where 'I like you's and 'I love you's were exchanged? But it's okay. Just like how saying the sun will rise from the east, or how dogs bark, or how the ocean is blue, there was no need to say something that was so obvious.

You were undeniably, unequivocally in love with him.