Taemin was sweating, which he hated, but he really had no choice. His large, brimmed summer hat cast a shadow over his face and shielded his neck from the rays of sunlight; not that it mattered though, due to the white scarf he had wrapped around his neck, anyway. He was making his way down the street to the corner shop he knew sold the best iced coffee he'd ever had because it was burning outside but Taemin would be damned if he was going to take off any clothes.

His shoes clicked softly on the sidewalk as he walked, his loose-fitting pants swishing as his legs moved with each step, the soft fabric rubbing against his smooth legs. He adjusted his shoulder bag, which proved a little difficult given the small finger gloves he had on, and fought the urge to roll up the sleeves of his heavy sweater. Eventually he made it to the corner shop, relishing in the gust of cool, air-conditioned breeze that welcomed him as he stepped inside the shop, hastily removing his hat and moving his soft locks of white hair behind his ears before making his way to the counter.

"Hey Taemin, long time no see?" Jonghyun was a friendly barista and always served Taemin whenever he stopped by. He was probably Taemin's favorite hyung and the two had become friends quickly and easily.

"Oh, shut it you, I was here two days ago. The usual, please." His bright smile accompanied his order and Taemin sat in one of the stools at the counter awaiting his icy cold drink, "it's incredibly hot outside today, isn't it hyung?"

Over the whirring of the coffee machines came his reply, "not really...it's pretty moderate today, just lots of sunshine. It's because you wear so many sweaters, kiddo," he said, walking over and handing Taemin his freezing beverage, scooping up the change Taemin slid across the counter.

"Aw hyung, but I have to, you know how I get when I don't wear...." When Taemin trailed off, Jonghyun looked up from wiping the counter, following Taemin's line of vision, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. Taemin was staring at a customer who'd just walked in the door, his long lean legs gracefully guiding him to a table in the corner by the window where he pulled out a laptop and began to type away. "He's a looker, isn't he?"

Taemin snapped out of his reverie, sheepishly ripping his eyes away from the stranger, "I've just never seen somebody who looked like the total opposite of me, you know? I mean, he's so tall, and so...y'know, good looking and...well, y'know" Taemin stressed. Jonghyun chuckled at him.

"I know, I know. Hey, tell you what. He comes in here every day and sits at that same spot, I think he's new in town and this is the only place to get cof- well, good coffee for like a mile," Taemin snickered and smacked his hyung's arm, eliciting giggles from them both, "he orders so I mean we let him hang around, it's a free space, so why don't you talk to him sometime?" Taemin's eyes widened and a very very faint pink color blossomed across his pale cheeks.

"Hyung, no way, I can't do that, I mean look at me, and look at him, and there's just no way and- hey, stop laughing!" Jonghyun's shoulders shook with delight at seeing Taemin get all riled up.

"C'mon Tae, I said he comes in every day, right? You don't have to do anything rash, just start coming in regularly too and try to get him to notice you. Then try to talk to him, strike up a good one, and who knows where things'll lead, right?" Jonghyun raised his eyebrows suggestively, causing Taemin to roll his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Am I hearing relationship advice coming from a guy who can't hold a steady girlfriend?" He teased. Jonghyun smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I say? I'm an Aries, we at going steady." And with that, he made his way to the employee's room leaving Taemin on the stool by himself at the counter. Taemin sipped his drink, elated at finally being able to cool down, and the seams on his sweater until some stiches came loose. He tried to focus on the soft jazz playing from the speakers in the shop but eventually couldn't hold himself back anymore and risked a glance at the corner table.

The stranger was still there, still as handsome as ever, this time with a cup of something steaming hot accompanying him. Taemin watched his fingers type agilely across his keyboard. He was quite a sight; tall, dark,and handsome. He was the complete polar opposite of Taemin who stood at a staggering five foot five inches and wore heavy sweaters and hats to cover his milky skin. Taemin sullenly turned his attention back to his icy drink.

Polar opposites. There was no way it could work, right?

***

Taemin sometimes cursed how well he could predict the future. After returning to the shop every day for the next week, he had confessed to Jonghyun that he really didn't think their scheme to make the handsome stranger fall for him was going to work. Jonghyun had chided him for giving up so easily saying all it would take was patience and a little dedication and "we'll get somewhere in no time, trust me!" but it seemed like the only progress Taemin had made was that he now opted to sit at the closest possible counter stool to the corner table. The table was still at least a good nine or ten feet away, but at least he was at least a little closer to the stranger even if he had yet to even introduce himself to the guy.

"I can put in a good word for you, you know?" Jonghyun had commented casually one day while drying a glass in Taemin's company, "it might help things get a move on." Taemin had effectively choked on his frozen cappuccino.

"W-What?! No, hyung, you can't do that!" Jonghyun stilled his drying to dramatically place a hand on his hip.

"And why not?"

"Because, hyung! That's like...cheating, isn't it? I want him to like me for me not because you said he should."

"Taemin, I'm not going to say he should like you, I'm just going to strike up a converstion and maybe casually mention you, and how you come here often, and how you're a socially inept hermit and need some help breaking out of your shell." he smirked. Taemin gasped, and reached over the counter to slap Jonghyun's shoulder.

"Stop teasing, hyung...am I really that lame?" Jonghyun's barking laugh made Taemin smile.

"Of course not, Taemin. But the offer's still on the table incase you ever want some help." Taemin nodded and mulled over Jonghyun's words as he watched his friend smile and move to the other end of the counter to attend to another customer. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea letting Jonghyun introduce him to the stranger. But wouldn't that be awkward? How many employees just randomly introduce their best friend to another customer? Taemin shook his head and sighed, taking another long sip of his icy drink. He reached up to dab at his perspiring forehead with his heavy sweater sleeve wishing just for once - at least during the hottest times of the year - he could just wear a t-shirt and shorts outside like normal people do. He sulked silently to himself, unbeknownst to the pair of eyes watching him from above the rim of a coffee cup.

***

Taemin was late today. Normally he'd meet up with Jonghyun in the morning at the shop, go about his business during the day and sometimes stop by the shop again in the evening just before Jonghyun finished his shift, if he had time. But he never missed a morning. Never.

But today, Taemin was late, and there were only 20 minutes until the shop's morning rush and Taemin usually left then because Jonghyun had no time to talk, and if he missed the window where there was virtually no one in the shop and he could hang out with his hyung, he wouldn't get to see Jonghyun today at all because he didn't have enough time to come back in the evening and Taemin never went a day without seeing him and-

"Oof!" Taemin crashed headfirst into another person in the doorway of the shop, landing flat on his on the ground. In his desperation to reach the shop on time, he hadn't even bothered to watch where he was going, his summer hat flopped over his face concealing his vision, "I'm so sorry, I hope you're alright, I wasn't watching where I was going!" Taemin sheepishly exclaimed.

"It's alright, let me help you up," a smooth voice replied. Taemin graciously accepted the hand extended out to him, rubbing at the scuffs on his pants as he rose to his feet.

"I'm sorry about that, really, it's just that my frien-" Taemin stopped blabbing when he looked up to see who he'd bumped into and words left his mouth when he saw that it was the handsome stranger. The man was looking down at him expectantly, obviously waiting for him to continue. Taemin gulped and quickly rushed out a "-needs me right now so I gotta go, sorry again!" and bolted into the shop. His face felt heated and he was sure it wasn't because of his sweaters this time.

He found Jonghyun at the counter, busily prepping machines and unstacking cups for the onslaught of customers that would fill the shop in about 15 minutes, and ran up to him, slamming his hands down on the counter, making Jonghyun jump.

"Taem, what the hell?" Jonghyun rubbed at the goosebumps that had appeared on this arm, "you scared the out of me, man."

"I met him and it was terrible and it was so lame and I didn't even ask for his name, or tell him my name, and I actually knocked myself into him, that's not romantic at all, and I actually fell over, I fell over, hyung, I'm such a loser, my plan to get him to notice me is ruined!" Taemin rushed everything out in a quick breath, inhaling a lungful of air before slumping over the counter, letting his hair fan out around his head like a halo. Jonghyun chuckled at his friend's antics, reaching over to a machine and filling a small cup with water before handing it to him.

"Drink this, it'll help you cool down. Running and working up a sweat in this heat isn't good for anyone, especially you in your parka over there," Taemin glared but accepted the cup, sipping it and sighing contentedly as the cool liquid slipped down his throat, "now, care explaining to me again, in english, what just happened?" Taemin let out a deep breath and downed the rest of the water before launching into a dramatic recount of the horror that had befallen him less than 7 minutes ago. Jonghyun was amused and let him drawl on about how he'll never find a boyfriend now, and he really had no hope anyway, I mean, who'd date someone like him? He looked like a near ghost and he had no chance with someone as handsome as that guy. When he was finished, Jonghyun patted his shoulder and forced him to look up.

"Alright, listen you melodramatic loser," Jonghyun chuckled, "it was just an accident, it's not like you're suddenly gonna be single for the rest of your life. The only thing stopping you is you right now. Tell you what, the guy usually orders chai, just come in a little earlier tomorrow than usual to make up for your late today, and I'll give you his usual. You already know where he sits, right? He usually comes in and sits down for a bit before ordering, so just let him come in and get comfy and before he orders, take the drink over to him. Just tell him you paid for his regular as a peace offering, apologize properly for running into him, and sit down and introduce yourself, got it?"

"But hyung," Taemin whined, "there's no way I'm gonna have enough courage to do that..."

"Listen Tae, I have like 5 minutes before this place gets crowded, so do me a favor and actually listen to me for once," he chuckled, "besides, I'm not gonna make you your weird icy coffee-sugar blend concoction anymore until you get a date from that guy," Taemin's eyes widened in horror.

"Wait! Wait, hyung, that is not okay!" But Taemin's groans were quickly overpowered by the jingling of bells from the front door indicating the start of morning rush and Jonghyun immediately ran to the cash, ignoring Taemin's protests. Taemin buried his face in his arms on the counter and sulked until Jonghyun eventually shooed him out the door to start his own schedule for the day, but even as Taemin walked back down the street, pulling uncomfortably at his scarf, he wondered how he was going to show his face to the stranger again tomorrow.

***

As soon as Taemin woke up the next morning, he showered. Taemin didn't usually shower in the morning, rather, he preferred to take night showers because he worked up such a sweat in his heavy clothes all day that there was almost no point in getting freshened in the morning only to return groggy again in the evening. But today was an exception. Today was the day Taemin followed Jonghyun's instructions.

He told himself it was because he needed to be successful today since there was no way he was going more than a day without his iced-coffee-frappé-with-extra-whipped-cream-and-sugar-on-top-extra-ice-hold-the-honey-but-don't-forget-the-caramel, but he knew deep inside it was because he secretly just really wanted to impress that stranger.

So Taemin showered and dressed in the lightest clothes he could find that still securely covered every inch of himself, and he combed his hair. Now, Lee Taemin did not comb his hair for just anyone. He was always wearing hats of some sort, so he never found a reason to make his hair look great since it was covered 24/7 anyway, but he was making a lot of exceptions today, so why not? He ran a brush through his thick, white hair, playing with different styles before he gave up, just shoving some stray strands behind his ears, embarrassed at the fact that he'd been trying to make his hair look good for a stranger who's name he didn't even know.

He examined himself in his mirror before he left, appraising his appearance before grabbing his shoulder bag and ambling out of the house and down the street. He checked his watch as he entered the shop, taking a seat at the counter as he waited for Jonghyun to finish up with a customer. He was exactly 15 minutes early, just enough time to steel himself for what he was about to do. He looked up as Jonghyun made his way over to him, a low whistle escaping his mouth as Taemin looked on, embarrassed.

"Lookin' good there, Taem, big day?" He teased.

"Quit it, you jerk, I'm doing this for my iced coffee." Jonghyun laughed, mumbling a 'sure you are' as he slid a steaming cup of chai tea across the counter to him. Approximately 2 minutes later, the stranger walked in and took a seat at the counter, according to plan. Taemin watched him take out his laptop and begin typing away, according to plan. Taemin got up and casually made his way over to the table, according to plan. The stranger looked up and Taemin meekly waved, eliciting a small smile from the stranger, and an offered seat. Taemin, sat down trying to calm his nerves because he had no reason to be nervous right? This was all still totally going according to plan.

Until Taemin got so nervous that to fill the silence, he accidentally took a sip of the chai tea he was supposed to be giving the guy, totally not according to the ing plan.

Taemin stared in horror at the offending cup in his hands wondering why the he did that because now he can't be all smooth and suave like Jonghyun said and tell the guy he paid for his order and apologize to him and make some cute joke about being a clutz and the guy would say 'oh no, you're not clumsy at all!' and then the two would fall into polite conversation, and now none of that could happen because Taemin didn't follow the plan and he fricking drank the tea himself.

At this point, Taemin was panicking a little because he had no idea what to do, so he quickly grabbed his phone to text Jonghyun under the table to tell him he ed up and that he needs another chai stat for the guy, but he paused when the stranger looked up from his laptop.

"Is that chai tea?" The stranger asked politely, "I love chai, I didn't know we had the same taste." Taemin laughed nervously, playing with the handle of the cup still in his hands.

"Yeah, well...me either..." he said, lamely. He had no idea how to make this conversation go on so he figured he should just apologize for slamming into the guy, "hey, about yesterday? I'm really sorry about that..." Taemin could feel an embarrassed heat pricking up his neck and he just hoped the rest of this conversation could go smoothly because he didn't shower and comb his hair for this to fail.

"Oh, don't even worry about that, you were the one that took the fall. I was actually hoping to apologize to you myself today, you were gone before I could properly say I was sorry yesterday." He spoke so smoothly that Taemin began to relax into the conversation a little.

"Oh, no don't even mention it," Taemin smiled, "I'm Taemin by the way, and you?" He made to sip the drink again because it would be weird if he didn't drink the drink the guy thought was his own drink but he made a face when he brought the hot liquid up to his lips. Taemin liked chai tea...in the winter. It was scalding his mouth right now and was definitely not helping cool down his body temperature like his icy goodness normally does. He cringed as he took another burning sip.

"I'm Minho," he said, "and I'm guessing you probably don't actually like chai tea?" He chuckled as Taemin's eyes shot up from the cup, "your face is very expressive. It doesn't look like you're enjoying it too much." Taemin was embarrassed but Minho was still smiling so he figured he should just explain it and get it over with.

"I do..but in the summer I guess I prefer cold drinks. I get too hot fairly easily."

"Well I'd assume so, why don't you wear something more comfortable? It's blazing out today." Taemin shyly looked down and mumbled something incoherent, "pardon? I couldn't hear yo-"

"I said I can't because I have to stay covered," Taemin spoke up, looking up and directly into Minho's eyes for the first time, "because I have albinism." Taemin's gaze didn't falter as his deep pink eyes bore straight into Minho's. The latter held his gaze and smiled fondly at the other boy, causing Taemin to avert his eyes, "I know it's probably weird," he continued, "I mean, you don't see a lot of people around here with white hair and red eyes, huh?" He grew more embarrassed as each silent second ticked by, as he waited for Minho's response.

"No, you don't," came his answer, finally, and Taemin's shoulders sunk until Minho continued, "but you don't see many people like me either, so I guess we're just two odd ones out, huh?" Taemin's head shot up to look at him and he took in Minho's graceful smile, his dark hair, his dark skin that contrasted so heavily with Taemin's alabaster...

"You're not Korean, are you?" Taemin asked. Minho chuckled.

"Sort of, my mother is only half Korean, and half black. And my father is black." He smiled at Taemin, his deep brown eyes glittering, "these double eyelids didn't come from nowhere, you know?" Taemin tried to suppress his giggles as Minho smiled again, raising his hand to order. Jonghyun sauntered over, notepad in hand, ready to collect Minho's order, eyeing the now-cooling cup of chai tea clutched between Taemin's hands with amusement. Taemin blushed under his friend's knowing look as Minho ordered another chai. When Jonghyun left, Minho turned back to Taemin, "you know, I think your skin is really nice," he said, elbow rising to rest on the table, his hand cradled by his palm, "you should never be embarrassed about it, it's very beautiful."

Taemin shyly thanked him, saying "I think your skin is amazing too, I mean, I've always wanted darker skin, it's such a radiant color, you know? And besides,  sometimes being so white literally hurts," he laughed, recounting a particularly painful sunburn on a day he'd forgotten to apply enough sunscreen. Minho chuckled before taking a long sip of his tea, and the two fell into a comfortable silence until Minho spoke up again.

"I was wondering..." he began. Taemin looked up expectantly, pale eyelashes fluttering over his red irises, "since the sun is a problem for you, is it easier to go out during the evening? After the sun sets?"

"Yeah, actually, it's just annoying because I need to get all my things done during the day while the sun is still up so by evening I'm usually just at home."

"Oh, because I just figured if I took you out on a date, it would be better to do it in the evening, no?" Taemin spluttered taking a sip of his drink, while Minho calmly set his cup down on the table, laughing at Taemin as he reached a napkin across the table to gently dab at the corner of Taemin's mouth, "of course, it's up to you, I just think it would be an honor to take you out, angel boy." Taemin flushed, hiding behind his cup.

"A-Angel boy?"

"That's what I thought when I first saw you. Angel boy. It seems fitting, don't you think?" Minho said, "so, about that date...?"

"Yes, a million times yes!" Taemin said, biting his lip. Minho chuckled, reaching over to tuck a stray lock of white hair behind Taemin's pale ear, pausing to just gently caress the side of his face.

"Great, then I'll give you my number, and you can call me anytime." He said, quickly scribbling down his name and number on the nearest napkin and handing it over to Taemin. Taemin folded the napkin neatly, placing it in his pocket, "I'll wait for your call, angel boy," Minho said, gathering his things and leaving some change on the table for Jonghyun to collect later. Taemin watched his retreating back until he was out the door, immediately rushing up to Jonghyun and planting his hands on his friend's shoulders, shaking him vigorously.

"I got a date, hyung, he asked me out, we have a date!" Jonghyun laughed ceremoniously at his excited friend, quickly reaching behind the counter and grabbing a freezing cold cup of Taemin's beloved icy concoction.

"To celebrate!" Jonghyun said, grinning cheesily as Taemin accepted the drink, holding it high in the air.

"To celebrate!" He cheered, taking a long-awaited sip from the cold beverage. It tasted sweet, but not as sweet as his anticipated date with the bronzed god himself, Minho. Taemin gulped the drink down, relishing in the cooling sensation as he thought 'angel boy, huh? I like that.'

Taemin never felt subconscious about his pale skin ever again.
 

Hey guys, LifeisSHINee, here! Backstory for this fic: I know in Korea the beauty standard is very pale skin, and I've seen stylist noonas use makeup to lighten many idols' skin even if their true color is darker. Now, I personally find tan skin on people be pretty endearing and it's sad that they think it's not beautiful or it's something to be teased over, but I think in Korea they take the teasing lightheartedly. I've watched many variety shows where idols are the subject to teasing based on looks but they always seem humored by it (I obviously don't know what occurs off camera, I'm merely stating that it's a common occurrence to be teased based on looks, or for idols to tease themselves based on looks, so it doesn't seem like they get too hurt over it). SHINee is of course one of my bias groups and I've always found Jonghyun and Minho especially to be much tanner than the rest of the group; Taemin himself was quite tan in his youth (to be fair, almost every predebut photo I've seen of SHINee has them ALL looking tan, I have no idea how they got so pale after debut) and I wanted to honor it. A lot of fans feel sad that the beauty standard is so strict, that even handsome idols aren't considered very beautiful because of tan skin, and well, I think they all are! So in this fic, I kept Minho part Korean (I mean his name IS Minho, and I'm not too fond of changing big details when fic writing) but I worked around the "tall, dark, and handsome" notion to make him literally dark. I really liked writing this because although the two in the fic were polar opposites in terms of appearance, they still got along and had a romantic attraction and showed that all skin types are gorgeous! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this fic, I apologize for rambling in the A/N, and take care!