Enter you, 18 years old. 

Enter Taemin, 18 years old.

"It's small, so you have to make some space yourself. All my hyungs are home." he apologized, stopping at one of the many doors in the eighth floor hallway. He knocked on the door expecting someone to reply, but no response came. "Hyuuung." he blinked, waiting for another response, but it didn't come. 

"Are you sure they're home?" you asked. The bottom of the door showed no light, so they were most likely gone. 

"I told them I was inviting you over, so I don't know why they'd suddenly leave..." he said, fumbling around in his pockets for keys to the dorm. He opened the door to a dark, over-heated room. No wonder he only wore a tank-top leaving the dorm. It was too damn warm; it was almost like summer. "Hyung?" he called around again. Taemin was right when he said their dorm was small. His one call rang around the walls fairly quickly. Did their manager really just leave them in this small cramped place? 

"CHA-JAN~" voices boomed in the bedroom. The lights flickered on and revealed four of the shinee boys with black marker on their faces. Key, whose hair resembled Taemin's fading blonde, had kitten whiskers and a dot on his nose. He appeared first from the bedroom, with his other kittens Jonghyun and Minho following behind. The last to leave was Onew, who also had kitten whiskers on his cheeks but strangely also bore a monocle on his left eye. He explained to Taemin, "I'm the higher class cat. Higher class cats can't see very well so they have one-eye-glasses." 

Onew shifted his attention to you, and bowed. "Hello, newcomer cat. You look like you don't have whiskers yet." 

"Wae? Cats should have whiskers!" Jonghyun remarked from the living room. 

"Ya, who told you to come here without whiskers?" Key added. "Come here let's grant you a whisker-ritual!" 

Without another word you were being led by Monocle-Cat Onew to the living room, where the mother cat held a washable marker at arm's length. For reassurance, you looked back at Taemin, who only laughed by the doorframe. 

Minho finally spoke up, the most awkward of the cheerful group. "Just because you're the one who brought her here doesn't mean you don't get whiskers either! Come here, you!" He jolted and in four easy strides, he had Taemin in his arms, wrestling to break free. 

Meanwhile, Key held your face carefully as if the art of whisker drawing was delicate and traditional. His two other aristocats Jjong-meow and On-Myu watched intently, like good whisker drawing students should. He drew a nose on you again and again, probably because he wanted the shades to be equal. To be honest, you didn't mind. Key was good looking. Hell, all of them were good looking. You didn't care if he was drawing a mustache or vulgar words or a million moles. Staring at them all staring back at you was the most intoxicating form of fanservice. 

"You're all done. Kitty cat!" Key squealed in delight. He your hair before turning to Min-nyan and uttering in a malicious tone, "Give him to me." 

Like a good kitten, Minho brought the ever-struggling Taemin to him, holding his arms behind his back so he couldn't fight back. It was hard to believe that the SHINee boys really weren't related. 

"Don't move, runt of the litter Tae-kyu," Onew nodded while his fluffy, blonde hair. "Listen to umma." 

Key didn't take half as long as he did with Taemin. In fact, he just scribbled on some whiskers and a dark nose and he was good to go. "Let's introduce ourselves formally." he said to you, standing up and fixing his cardigan.

"We didn't say hello properly the last time we met." Minho added, looking away shyly. It was true. The last time that you met all the SHINee boys together was when they sang to you in school, and they did it just to cover up for Taemin's departure for their Japanese debut. 

"That's right," Jonghyun clasped his hands together. "So we'll do it properly this time." 

"Annyeong haseyo!" they all bowed in sync. "We are SHINee!" they called triumphantly while thy each raised one of their arms. 

"I'm Key!" mother cat said first. 

"Even though you are the mom, shouldn't the leader say his name first?" Jonghyun laughed, pointing the polite hand at Onew.

"Dad cat!" Onew said out loud. 

Everyone looked at him, ensuing an awkward air. 

"Whatever he does, it's Onew's Condition~" Jonghyun sang, clapping his hands in a beat. 

After all the little moments, they were finally able to introduce themselves formally. It wasn't hard to get along with them, though some members were easier to get along with than others. 

"...ha-na-bi." Key taught you, his japanese fluency very apparent. "It's fireworks."

"Ha...na—,"

"Omo, wait!" Taemin interjected. "You have to make me pat bing soo!"

You turned to him, furrowing your brows and puffing your cheeks. "I did make you some! But it all melted and got ruined because you took so long!"

"No, no, not that." he said, helping you up by grabbing your hand.

"AIGOO, IT'S SKINSHIP!" Jonghyun turned away to Minho, hiding behind his shoulder.

"Hyung! I thought you were the king of skinship!" Minho retorted, also turning away from you and Taemin's linked arms. 

"Our maknae is so manly~" Key observed nodding as he watched you being led to the kitchen. 

As the name calling and constant teasing continued, Taemin pulled out the bag he brought back with you to the dorm. He took out a bunch of familiar ingredients, such as the red beans, the preserved fruits, and some fresh, small ones, too. "I called your mom and told her I was gonna be late, but I told her not to tell you... instead I tried really hard to let her say yes to you coming over to the dorm." 

You stared at him unpacking all the materials, unable to give a response. "She got really mad at me too 'cause she said you made really good shaved ice..." he said, folding the small bag and tucking it away in a drawer. "So I asked her to pack some of the ingredients in a bag so you could make it for me again. We have the ice cream here, and some coconut jelly, too. Your mom only had to pack some of the stuff we don't usually have." 

"Is she making it for us, too?" Onew suddenly appeared behind the two of you, looking at all the ingredients laid out on the counter. "We could all eat pat bing soo while watching a movie." 

"Omo, omo, pat bing soo?" Key overheard, rushing over immediately. "I'm really good at arranging the ingredients to look nice."

Soon enough, all five of them were crowding around you, looking through all the ingredients and turning the jars to and fro to see the contents swimming in the sweetener.

"Minho!" Key turned around. "Let's go rent a movie." 

"I thought you wanted to help me, Key-sshi!" you spoke up, turning around to look at Key dragging not only Minho, but Jonghyun and Onew as well. "Key-sshi!" 

"We're going to rent a movie!" Key announced behind his back as the four of them gathered their jackets and left the dorm. 

You were stuck with Taemin, it seemed. You looked at him, a little shy because his hyungs seemed to think that you two were a thing. "I... I need bowls." you said, your voice croaking a little. 

"N-ne," he replied equally, turning to the shelves to find six bowls. It was a little awkward to talk to him, even though it was just.. him. 

The two of you continued like this, just preparing the rest of the pat bing soo quietly and leaving the ice cream to the end because the dorm was too warm to do otherwise. Unable to do much else, you sat down on their couch and tucked your knees under your chin to wait. It wasn't long until Taemin followed along, mimicking your pose. 

You looked at him, his figure a little small for his age, and tugged at the hem of his pants. 

He didn't ask you if anything was wrong. In fact, he just sat there looking back at you. The material of his pants were stretchy. His tank top looked thin. His arms, devoid of the sweater he wore earlier in the car, had a slight build. When did he change so much? you wondered, the fleeting thought barely escaping your lips. Where did my silly childhood friend go?

"Why is it so hard?" he asked you all of a sudden.

"What?" you asked, suddenly alarmed. You looked away from Taemin just in case. Just in case. 

"No, not that!!" he said, picking up on why you shifted your gaze. "I mean... I was trying to call you 'Jagiya' earlier, but I couldn't."

You sighed, resting your head on your crossed arms. "Pabo." you smiled. 

"Ne." he laughed. "I guess that's all we have." 

"Taemin," you said, somehow wanting his attention on your face instead of anywhere else. "Can I hold your hand?" 

He laughed his boyish laugh, his eye-smiles showing. It was a weird request, that was for certain. All the other times you ever held his hand was when he initiated it first, so it felt natural. But this time, you wanted to see if the same feeling would come when you initiated the skinship. You held your arm out, your head still resting on your other one. Across from the couch, Taemin silently reached his hand out to interlace his fingers with yours. The touch of his skin, a little warm but altogether comforting, was electrifying. At first you thought it would be like how you held MiYoung's hand back in graduation where it really didn't matter, or like how you held your mom's hand when you went grocery shopping together, but this was different. 

You wanted to lean on him, like how girls lean on their lovers. You felt nervous, happy, and proud at the same time. You were holding your childhood friend's hand with a feeling more than just long time acquaintances. You held the hand of your best friend as if you depended on him—as if you co-existed with him. You were holding Lee Taemin's hand: the handsome, maknae of SHINee. And without a doubt, he was holding yours. All in all, it felt different.

You squeezed his hand a little, making him trace his gaze from your fingers up to your eyes. 

"Lee Taemin." you mouthed, a small smile on your face. "I really like you."