Enter you, 18 years old. 

Enter Taemin, 18 years old.

"Why don't you stay for dinner, sweetheart?" Mrs. Lee asked while she set the table. "It's been a while since we've had a meal together, as a family." 

It didn't matter if she saw her son every day on tv, or heard his voice over the phone, or saw pictures of him in magazines. For a mother, not being able to physically see or hold her son after a long separation hurt the most. Though she didn't show it, Mrs. Lee was hoping Taemin would say yes. Even though the hurt didn't show in her tone, she would have gone on her knees to ask her son to stay one night. 

"Ne, I just need to go to the toilet." he laughed, scratching his head. 

The moment his answer started with an n, Mrs. Lee's smile grew sweeter and sweeter still. She looked at you and called you over. "Would you like to stay as well? It's good for you two to spend as much time with each other, you know. Relationships are hard with distance." 

You had to blink again. "Umma," you shook your head, giggling a little. "We're not in a relationship!" 

"Oh? But Taesun told me..."

"...Taesun, huh." you nodded, readying your nails before opening the door to his room. "Pabooooooo!" you screeched while opening it. 

You stopped, seeing that he wasn't alone in the room. From earlier when Taemin was angry, he mentioned the name 'Nana'. That must be her name. The girl who sat so shyly next to Taesun was Nana, his girlfriend. 

"Hello," you bowed in humility. She laughed, her sweet, girlish laugh. 

"Taemin must be happy to have such an outgoing girl like you." she beamed. 

You flushed, shaking your head. "We... we're not in a relationship." 

"Oh? But before you two left for the movies... didn't you cry in front of him? I thought it was a really couple thing to do." she teased, biting her lip. 

Taesun grunted. "Mm. They're the pat bing soo couple." he laughed. 

"Who's the what couple?" intruded Taemin who didn't look as famous with his house clothes. He stood next to you, his head tilted in your direction. He peeked into the doorway but looked away. Taesun and Nana were sitting close to each other, so it was a little awkward. Plus it was his room, which really changed the mood of things. 

Nana laughed her soft, feminine laugh. "Taemin, aren't you going to ask her?" 

"Ya," you snorted, a little embarrassed. "Just because you guys just started dating doesn't mean you can press it on us!" 

"Come, let's go outside." Taemin suggested, as to move away from the lovebirds. 

The air was already chilly, so your ears were suffering from the bitter cold very quickly. 

"I... I have a present for you." he began, kicking the frosted front steps. "Can you wait here?" 

You nodded, even though you wanted to stay inside. Your feet were probably purple and your cheeks felt solid, but as long as it was Taemin who requested it, why not? You inhaled a big, cold biting breath of winter air before something warm was wrapped around your neck and mouth. You looked up, Taemin smiling down to you with a childish grin. "Happy belated belated belated birthday! I'm sorry this is so late..." 

"Ani," you shook your head, touching the soft material of the scarf. It was blue and thick, just the right warmth provider on a cold evening. "This is cute." 

"I have one too," he said, showing you his own and wrapping it around his neck. It was similar, so it was safe to assume that it was a couple scarf. 

Couple. 

The word kind of made you sad. Inside the house, Taemin's parents were a couple. Taesun and Nana were a couple. Your parents were a couple. Even MiYoung was a couple. Really, it was only you. 

Even so, you considered the pros and cons. 

First of all, his manager didn't allow him to date. 

Stupid manager. 

Keeping it secret was all the more difficult, and being caught made it a million times worse. 

Stupid rumors.

There were no openings for a relationship, no matter how much the facts were considered. 

You breathed into your scarf, a little lonely. 

"Hey..." Taemin nudged. 

You looked at him to ask, but was caught off-guard by his face so close to yours. "I'm sad about it too, you know." he said, his mouth also covered by his scarf. It made his voice a little muffled, so you just looked at his eyes, trying to read his expression. 

"You're cute like that." he whispered, his eye smiles showing. "I just want to..." he huffed, spontaneously removing the space between your faces and scarves. Your noses touched, and he pressed a little more. The scarf blocked both your mouths so the impact wasn't as great, but a kiss was a kiss, no matter how it's done. 

The heat rose from your cheeks to your ears, your vocabulary suddenly diminished from that moment. You removed your scarf, thinking that it was suddenly warm for this time of year. 

Taemin only laughed, putting his hand near his mouth to look modest. 

It was a kiss. It was definitely a kiss. 

It was just blocked by the scarves, that's all. But it was a kiss. No doubt. 

Stupid scarves.