Jiyeon woke up the next morning wondering if all the events which happened last night were real. She was staring at the ceiling looking nothing in particular and she just lay there for about an hour before she forced her way to the bathroom where she spent the next 30 minutes staring at her reflection in the mirror and then another whole hour under the shower. She only finished bathing when she realized she was cold. Somehow, she managed to slip into something comfortable to wear. Then she sat on the bed while trying her best to put some sense into the fact that Taemin just became her boyfriend.

Taemin is now her boyfriend.

The words just wouldn’t sink in even after hours of contemplating and pondering. It wasn’t a dream right? She asked herself the same question over and over again. She was still mulling over the thought when she received a call from Yuri.

 “Jiyeon-ah! Are you alright? You’re not sick are you?”

“W-what? No…”

“Then why aren’t you here yet?”

It was then that she realized she was already late for work. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’ll go over there now.”

“Are you sure you’re not sick?” She has never been late to work so she couldn’t blame Yuri for being worried.

“No. I’m fine… I’ll be there in an hour. No, half an hour.” She decided to take a cab because it will be faster. She packed her things in a hurry without taking her phone away from her ear.

“Oh yeah, right. What happened last night? How did it go?” Yuri asked.

“I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Did you meet Taemin? What did he say?”

“He said…” She paused what she was doing and dreamily plopped back on the bed, the same exact position before Yuri gave her a call. “He said that we should give it a try.” Oh my god. He really said that, didn’t he? Finally the words are starting to sink in.

“Yuri… I think I just got myself a boyfriend.”

Jiyeon has just managed to move the phone a good distance away from her ear when Yuri suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream.

----------------------------

Meanwhile Minho is having one of the worst days of his life. The burning sensation in his mouth hadn’t left since Taemin poured the whole content of the hot sauce in his glass of carrot juice. He didn't see him do it but he was pretty sure it was Taemin because he had been playing tricks on him since he woke up that morning.

He finds Taemin's silly tricks quite amusing at first. From ignoring him when he was saying something to taking his coffee which he just finished making. Minho knew exactly why Taemin was playing childish tricks on him

"I didn’t kiss her if that's what drives you to mess my life".  He stared at his empty cup of coffee wondering how it tasted like. He wasn't able to take even a single sip because Taemin finished everything before returning the empty cup to him.

“I already figured that out.” That was his first words to him since that morning. Apparently he decided to start an ignore-minho-at-all-cost campaign. He was a little worried it would last for a whole day so he was feeling accomplished that he finally managed to make Taemin speak to him even if it was only a few words.

“Then why do you piss me off like what you did just now?” He was referring to the glass of carrot juice filled with hot sauce. That was the worst trick Taemin did so far and Minho was a little scared of what could happen next.

“Because I want to. It’s fun.”

“Making someone suffer is fun?” It has already been a while since he drank that awful mixture of carrot juice and hot sauce but his mouth still feels like it’s on fire. Since Taemin drank his coffee he decided to drink something else. He poured the juice in a glass and then left for awhile. Taemin took the opportunity to put hot sauce on his glass of carrot juice. The color looked the same so it was hard to tell. Without knowing, he took a gulp and it was already too late when he realized what Taemin did to his drink. His mouth burned and when he searched for the milk to help ease his pain he realized Taemin finished the whole box so he settled with water in which the effect was terribly slow. While Taemin thinks it’s fun, Minho felt like dying.

Taemin left afterwards without giving him some sort of response. Finally he can have a peaceful breakfast. He cautiously inspected his food before taking a bite of bacon and eggs. He smelled his newly prepared glass of juice just to make sure Taemin didn’t put anything weird in it again. He knew he was becoming paranoid and it was all Taemin’s fault.

Miho decided to get out of Taemin’s sight for a while. He made a mental note not to mess with Taemin ever again.

------------------

It was the first time Jiyeon experienced being stared at. Not the creepy kind but the adoring and admiring type. Taemin came to the café for reasons she didn’t know. He ordered a drink and spent hours doing nothing but stare which distracted her so much she couldn’t think properly.

Twice she made a mistake with a customer’s order and once she dropped a cup and spilled the coffee all over the floor.

“Can you not-like – stare please? It’s bothering me,” she told Taemin when she got the chance.

Taemin gave her a heart stopping smile and Jiyeon thought he looked so good when he smiles. It was the first time she saw it because Taemin did nothing but frown and when he smiles it wasn’t directed at her. It was nice to see the change for once. “I’ll try,” he replied.

Either he didn’t try to make an attempt as he promised or he was just not trying hard enough because Jiyeon swore he never tore his eyes off of her for even a second. It wasn’t enough that she knew it wasn’t just Lee Taemin but her boyfriend who was staring at her and Jiyeon still needs to get used to that fact.

“Jiyeon-ah, get some rest alright? Better yet, just go home. Just… let me handle this.” Yuri grabbed the tray of drinks from her hand before she could drop it again

“But…”

“You’re not much of a help around here anyway.” Jiyeon feels bad for all the trouble she was causing but she felt worse knowing she couldn’t do anything. So she tried to help although she was causing more trouble than getting things done. She knew Yuri was right. Maybe she should just get the rest of the day off.

Jiyeon sat in front of Taemin with a plop. She already changed from her uniform to a comfortable set of shirt and jeans. Yuri said she will make the excuse to their manager in case she came looking for her. It wasn’t a busy day so Jiyeon was confident Yuri could manage on her own.

“I got sent home.”

“That’s great then.”

“You wouldn’t say that if someday I end up getting fired because of you.”

“I wasn’t doing anything.”

“You were staring. That is something.”

He gave her a grin. “Sorry.”

Sometimes Jiyeon wonders if he was still the same Lee Taemin who ignored her for months and who insisted she wasn’t in love with him as if he knew her own feelings better than she does. This Lee Taemin is different but she loves him just the same.

“Take responsibility,” she told him.

“Alright.” He replied before grabbing her arm and dragging her to god-knows-where.

----------------------

Jiyeon found herself back in the amusement park falling in line to a ride she never imagined herself riding. It was higher than a roller coaster, slower than a roller coaster, and for that reason it was way scarier than a roller coaster. She could already imagine the view from the top and knowing she would be up there for an hour at most makes her knees shake and her hands turn cold. She was trying to formulate an excuse to skip the ride just like before but she couldn’t come up with anything that wouldn’t make her look like a coward. There were kids on the line behind them and it makes her wonder how they can be so excited to ride something so scary.

“Scared?” Taemin asked her and she had to lie because it was too embarrassing to admit she was scared of something as lame as a Ferris wheel.

“N-no. Of course not.”

Taemin bit back a smile. He had been there, at the same place although at a different time and he already knew what he had to do. Jiyeon would love the ride for sure- more than she thinks she would.

Just before they reached the end of the line, Jiyeon said, “On a second thought, maybe I am.”

“Give me your hand,” Taemin commanded and she complied. They held hands and Jiyeon realized there was calming effect with the way he entwined his fingers with hers. “Feeling better?”

She gave him a nod. The fear was still there and then something else. She found the courage to face whatever it was she was about to face. Knowing he would be there with her, holding her hand, suddenly the idea doesn’t sound so bad anymore.

She found herself doing what he tells her to do. When he told her to open her eyes, she did. And then her view of the world changed and everything turned colorful instead of black and white. When he lightly brushed his lips on top of hers, she could feel the frantic beating of her heart and for a fleeting moment she felt like flying and it didn’t scare her at all. It was exciting and wonderful. The gentle wind ruffles her hair, the clouds looked so pretty and the blue sky was magnificent. His kiss deepened and it lingered sending shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes savoring the feeling of the sweet torment he was giving her. It was too magical and too perfect. She never wanted to go back down again.

For once Taemin thinks he made the right choice. When he saw how happy Jiyeon was, the guilt from doing something selfish was slowly melting away, replaced by a kind of bliss he didn’t know possible.

He had been staring at her discreetly before but now he can do it openly without worrying about her finding out. Being honest with his feelings and letting her know how special she is, Taemin was happy that he can finally do it. The worry was still there at the back of his mind but seeing her happy makes everything all worth it.

2 years. That’s all he has left now. Somehow he knew the days would pass by so quickly. So he decided to make the most out of every day.

-*-

A/N: I hope you don't hate me for not updating in ages... I got stuck for a while but I think I'm back on track. I'll try writing more fluff before getting on the angsty parts. How is it so far? Good? Bad?