Cheesy cheese cheese; enjoy!

Taeyeon waited by her locker for Minho, glancing at her cellphone every so often. She sighed, slipping her phone into her bag. Minho had been taking longer and longer to return to his locker at the end of the day because he would pick Yuri up from class first, then wait by her locker while she gathered her belongings, before coming to his own locker.

She was half of mind to just leave. She could always text Minho goodbye, but she was hardly able to see Minho as it was, and she would at least like to talk to him in person one last time before she went home for the day. She kicked Minho’s locker glumly, wishing for the days when they would walk to school and then back home together. But Minho did that with Yuri now, not her.

“Taeyeon!”

Taeyeon looked up to see Jongin jogging towards her. She felt her cheeks turn red. She used to sit by Jongin in class (or rather, he would take a seat by her, because she was always one of the first to arrive), but ever since the day Minho had forced his name out of her, she had been avoiding him.

“Hi,” she greeted.

“Hey. I’ve been trying to catch you after class, but you always leave so quickly,” Jongin said, smile on his face.

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jongin said. He didn’t say anything for several seconds, just looking at her, and Taeyeon started to feel unnerved.

“Um… Can I help you?” she asked, wincing at how curt her words sounded

Jongin seemed to snap out of a trance, straightening his shoulders. “Yeah, I—I overheard you and Minho talking the other day,” Jongin started and Taeyeon groaned immediately, hiding her face in her hands. Jongin laughed. “What?”

Taeyeon patted her cheeks lightly, wondering how she should approach this. “Jongin, it’s not what you think it is.”

“Oh? I got the impression that you liked me.”

Taeyeon felt her cheeks heat up even more and she shook her head furiously. “Minho wouldn’t stop tickling me unless I told him who I liked and, well. You were passing by at the moment so I just said your name,” she said in a rush. When Jongin only blinked at her, she added, “Sorry.”

Jongin chuckled, running a hand through his hair and giving it a ruffle. Taeyeon found herself thinking that Jongin was really handsome—though not quite as handsome as Minho, but she was biased. She had never really looked at him before, much too focussed on lecture, but she can see why most girls in her grade liked him.

“And let me guess, you like Minho?”

Taeyeon’s lack of response must have given her answer away, because Jongin let out a small laugh.

“How did you know?” Taeyeon asked quietly, looking around her and over Jongin’s shoulder to see if Minho had somehow managed to creep up on them.

Jongin shrugged. “You’re pretty obvious,” he said, and Taeyeon bit back a groan. Could that be part of the reason why Minho didn’t talk to her nearly as much as he used to? Because he knew that she had feelings for him?

“It’s kind of cute,” Jongin said and Taeyeon’s eyes dropped her her feet. She was flattered, but it was too bad Jongin wasn’t the person she wanted to hear those words from. And, well, Jongin was quite liberal with his compliments; she had heard him calling many girls pretty.

"Want help?" Jongin asked, looking far too excited and bouncing up and down on his heels.

"Sorry?" Taeyeon asked hesitantly, not sure where Jongin was trying to go with his comment.

"We can pretend we're going out," Jongin said, a grin spreading across his face. "We can make him jealous. It'll be great."

Taeyeon stared at him, three problems with the plan already coming to mind: 1) she didn’t feel comfortable enough with Jongin to carry out something like this, 2) she didn’t want Minho to think she was taken in the off-chance he liked her back, but most importantly, 3) Minho had no reason to be jealous.

“I’m not sure if that will work…” she started. Jongin looked like he was about to insist otherwise when he was cut off.

“Taeyeon!” Both Jongin and Taeyeon look up to see Minho walking towards them.

Jongin turned back to her, giving her a small smile. “Think about it, okay?” He patted her arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Minho’s eyes narrowed when he turned the corner only to see Jongin standing far too close to Taeyeon to be friendly. He called out her name, hoping to distract them from whatever it was they were talking about. Taeyeon as usual, smiled at him, while Jongin only stared. He clenched his jaw when Jongin leaned forward to pat Taeyeon on the arm, fingers lingering for a second too long, before walking away.

“Hi, Minho.” Taeyeon waved at him. “I was waiting for you. I wanted to say bye to you before I left.”

Minho immediately felt guilt churn his stomach. Taeyeon had stopped asking him if they could walk home together or spend time with each other after school, probably because ever since he started dating Yuri, the answer had always been ‘no’.

“Hey.” He swallowed, wondering if he should ask about Jongin. He did so anyways, before he could talk himself out of it. “I didn’t know you were friends with Jongin.” He tried to keep his tone light, but he sounded a bit jealous to his own ears.

“We’re not really.” Taeyeon shrugged. “We just have a lot of classes together.” Minho tried not to panic at the implications of her words, especially when he had been spending less and less with Taeyeon (which possibly meant more time for Taeyeon to spend with Jongin).

“Do you want to walk home together?” he asked, feeling like he had to somehow redeem himself. And wasn’t it silly that he felt like he had just asked Taeyeon out on a date? It was just a walk home, for crying out loud—they’ve done it for a decade. But since he had been going home with Yuri for the past few weeks, it felt foreign and exciting and terrifying to him all over again.

“Really” Taeyeon perked up, eyes crinkling into half-moons in a smile.

Minho nodded, taking deep but quiet breaths to calm his heart. “Yeah. We haven’t walked home together in a while.”

“What about Yuri, though?” Taeyeon asked and Minho noticed her smile slip just a millimetre. And rightly so, because Minho would invite her to places, only to tell her that Yuri would be tagging along as well.

“She has cheerleading practice,” Minho lied

.

“Okay! Okay great, let’s go.” Taeyeon sounded excited and Minho laughed softly, thinking about what a terrible friend he had been.

He pulled out his phone, angling it away from Taeyeon’s line of sight. ‘Sorry Yuri, I can’t hangout with you today. Something came up. I’ll text you, okay?’

“How have you been?” Minho asked, looking at Taeyeon from the corner of his eyes. They made their way to the exit and Minho rushed ahead to hold the door for Taeyeon.

“The usual,” Taeyeon started, and then she was chattering away and Minho loved the way she got excited about her art projects. She’s really beautiful, Minho thought, when Taeyeon made hand wavy motions to accentuate her points. He didn’t realise how close he had gravitated towards her until their shoulders were touching. He felt his cheeks start to heat up, but when Taeyeon didn’t move away, he didn’t either.

Taeyeon was either oblivious to his state, or she didn’t care, because she was swinging her arms back and forth and their hands were brushing every so often, and these small touches were driving him crazier than Yuri’s kisses. He probably should not have thought that, because his mind started to drift away. He thought about how it would feel to kiss Taeyeon’s pretty lips, how soft her hair would feel between his fingers, how her body would feel pressed up against his.

* * *

Minho clenched his jaw when he saw Jongin hanging around Taeyeon again, standing a mere inch behind her while she gathered her books. He saw the boy dip his head forward to whisper something into Taeyeon’s ear and the corners of Taeyeon’s lips twitching upwards in response. Minho felt jealousy curling in the pit of his stomach. In a moment of boldness, he walked right into Jongin, smacking shoulders.

“Sorry,” he sneered, not sounding sorry at all.

Jongin raised a brow. “Don’t worry about it.”

Minho sniffed, wondering how Jongin could be so calm. He was hoping Jongin would shove him back then he could show Taeyeon who was better.

Taeyeon either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the tense aura, greeting him with a big smile that coaxed one out of him too.

“Minho! Guess what!”

“What?” Minho asked, smile turning into a grin. Taeyeon was adorable when she was excited. His fingers twitched at his side, desperate to reach out and brush her bangs aside.

“Jongin and I are dating,” she announced, smiling at Jongin all the while doing so. Jongin smiled back, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her even closer.

For a moment, Minho’s smile remained frozen on his face as the gears in his brain whirred furiously to make sense of what Taeyeon just said. Surely he misheard?

“Sorry, what?” he choked out.

“We’re dating,” Jongin answered for her. And then he said again more slowly, as if talking to a child and Minho wanted to smack him upside the head for being so patronising. “Taeyeon and I. We’re dating.”

Minho swallowed thickly, smile faltering. He looked at Taeyeon uncertainly and Taeyeon was looking at Jongin and that was all the confirmation he needed.

“O—oh,” he forced himself to say, feeling his stomach twist. “Congratulations.” He didn’t even try to sound sincere. Why did it hurt so much when he realised that Taeyeon probably didn’t even notice? Because Jongin was leaning into Taeyeon to press a kiss against her temple and Taeyeon was giggling softly into her hand.

Minho wanted nothing more than to slam Jongin against the locker. Instead he clenched his fists and swayed in spot. He was torn between stomping his feet childishly and stomping on Jongin, because he knew Taeyeon had never had a boyfriend before, and that meant Jongin was going to be her first kiss and Minho had sort of really been hoping her kiss would have been with him.

The bell rang and he watched Taeyeon and Jongin walk away from him, hand-in-hand. He wanted to go home and lay in bed.

* * *

“This would be really funny if it weren’t so pathetic,” Taeyeon said, leaning with one shoulder against the kitchen entrance.

“Are you kidding?” Jongin asked, his voice muffled by the fact that he had his head inside the fridge. “This is an amazing idea. Minho is going to be so jealous.”

“I’m only a mediocre cook,” Taeyeon said modestly. But Jongin’s excitement was rather infectious and she couldn’t help the smile from spreading across her face.

“And that’s why I’m here!” Jongin placed a jar of kimchi and sausages and rice on the counter, then started rooting through the spice rack. “I work part-time at a restaurant.”

Once he had everything laid out, he beckoned for Taeyeon. “Come help me.”

“All right,” Taeyeon mumbled, too sleepy to argue. Jongin texted her last night telling her that he had a wonderful idea to make Minho jealous. He then promptly invited himself over at 6AM the next morning, an entire hour earlier than her usual waking time.

Jongin didn’t make her do much—just hold a spoon or give the veggies a toss here and there—while he bustled around the kitchen.

“What in the world are you adding to the rice…” Taeyeon glanced over Jongin’s shoulder. The boy was humming to himself and adding a variety of herbs that did not belong in kimchi fried rice.

“Taeyeon, don’t worry, I got this,” Jongin said, and Taeyeon was thinking Jongin definitely didn’t got this.

Taeyeon shrugged. “You realise you’re the one who has to eat this, right?”

Jongin chuckled dismissively. “I cook for myself all the time.” Taeyeon couldn’t help but wonder how messed up Jongin’s taste buds must be. She refrained from commenting, not wanting to be a nag.

“This is going to be delicious—”

“Jongin! Stop!” Taeyeon’s hand shot out to grab Jongin’s wrist before the boy could add an entire teaspoon of sugar to the fried rice.

“What?” Jongin asked, wide-eyed and genuinely confused.

“You know that’s sugar right?” And even if it were salt, who adds an entire teaspoon of salt to cup of rice?

Jongin’s mouth formed a comical ‘O’. He nodded and then obediently dumped the sugar back into the jar.

Taeyeon hadn’t been able to stop smiling since they started, and it was starting to make her cheeks hurt. She shook her head. “I thought you part-timed at a diner. You’re worse than me!”

“I do!” Jongin insisted. “Taking orders and stuff.”

"That was a very important detail you left out there..."

Taeyeon took a spoon from the drawer to taste Jongin’s concoction. Edible, she thought, so Jongin had that going for him at least. But it was still terrible because all she got in the bite was the overwhelming taste of herbs that belonged in an Italian dish, not traditional Korean ones.

“Just… Let me do this OK,” Taeyeon managed after swallowing the rice. “Can you… uh—” She racked her brain for something Jongin possibly couldn’t mess up, “—cut some fruit or something?”

Jongin sighed sadly. "On it, coach.”

So naturally, Jongin messed it up entirely. He looked at her with big eyes, as if seeking for approval. Taeyeon bit her lips, stifling a laugh and wondering how anyone could mangle apple slices so terribly. But then she caught sight of the nicks on his fingers and she didn’t know if she should laugh harder or feel sorry for him

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jongin grumbled. “Don’t say it.”

Taeyeon graciously obliged, and ran to the bathroom to grab bandaids.

“If I’m the one supposed to be making the bento, then how come you’re the one with all the cuts?” Taeyeon teased as she finished wrapping the last bandaid on Jongin’s fingers.

Jongin waved away her question. “No problem. We’ll just put bandaids on your fingers too.” He tore open a bandaid and took Taeyeon hand in his own. He gave her hand a gentle pat when he was finished placing the bandaid on her.

They went back to cooking, and now that Taeyeon was the one doing most of work, things were admittedly much smoother. After doing the dishes—not without a little splashing at each other—they stand in front of their attempts at lunch.

“Do you remember the plan soldier?” Jongin asked with a mock-sternness that had Taeyeon snorting in amusement.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes, but snapped to attention and saluted all the same. “Sir yes sir!”

“OK. Repeat it so we can make sure we have all the details down.”

Taeyeon laughed. “Oh my god, Jongin. It’s not that hard to remember.” But then Jongin started pouting and Taeyeon started to feel guilty, so she complied anyways. “You’ll text me when Minho arrives at our lunch table. I’ll come rushing in looking excited and stuff and I’ll present you with the bento I made.”

“Yes, perfect! This is going to be hilarious,” Jongin said, looking far more excited than Taeyeon felt. “Now let’s go before we’re late.”

* * *

Minho made his way to the cafeteria, finding Jongin sitting at their table already. He sighed, blowing the bangs from his face. He liked lunch when it was just him and Taeyeon (and Jonghyun, Gwiboon, and Naeun). But then he started dating Yuri, and that meant he had to sit beside her and not Taeyeon, and then Taeyeon and Jongin started going out and he hardly had any time alone with her after it all.

While he didn’t want to sit anywhere near Jongin, he did want to talk to Taeyeon. She must have came late this morning, because he hung around her locker for a while before classes started, hoping they could chat for at least a minute. She never came, even several minutes after the bell rang.

Minho urged himself to be civil. “Hey,” Minho greeted, sliding into a chair. He let his backpack slip from his shoulder and rooted through his bag for his lunch.

“‘Sup.” Jongin hardly spared him a glance, fixated on his phone.

Minho hoped someone joined them soon, because it had only been about thirty seconds and he couldn’t stand the awkwardness already. The moment he thought that, he found Taeyeon making her way to their table, clutching a lunchbox in her hands. Minho perked up in his seat, his sour mood fading when Taeyeon smiled at him.

“Hi Taeyeon,” he greeted. “Where were you this morning?”

“Hi, Minho!” Taeyeon slid into the seat beside Jongin. “It took me a bit longer than usual to make lunch. Hope you didn’t wait around for me...”

Minho decided to remain silent.

Taeyeon turned to Jongin, smiling shyly and Minho wished that Taeyeon would look at him like that. He squashed the spark of jealousy before it could develop any further.

“I made you lunch,” Taeyeon said, pushing a lunch box wrapped neatly in a checkered kerchief towards Jongin. His eyes were drawn to Taeyeon’s fingers wrapped in bandaids and he clenched his jaw. He couldn’t believe that Taeyeon would wake up early to make lunch, because he knew that Taeyeon was an incredibly heavy sleeper and tried to squeeze in every last second of sleep she could get. She must like Jongin a lot, and Minho was thinking he had lost his chance with her.

“Oh, Taeyeon, you shouldn’t have!” Jongin said, accepting the bento all the same (Yeah, Taeyeon, you shouldn’t have, Minho thought). When Jongin slid an arm around Taeyeon’s torso to pull her into a hug, he was half of mind to get up and leave.

Jongin pressed a kiss atop Taeyeon’s head. “Thanks, you’re amazing,” he mumbled into her hair.

Minho had never been so grateful for Yuri’s arrival.

* * *

There are lots of ways to tell someone ‘I love you’, and for Minho, that meant sharing his food.

Minho wasn't one to share food—he was a growing boy that spent more hours playing sports each week than he cared to admit, so he was hungry around the clock. But he always shared with Taeyeon. So it was strange that of all the things to be upset about, Minho found that he missed Taeyeon taking food from him.

He liked the feeling of familiarity when they sat in the food court facing each other and Taeyeon was stealing his fries (he hated fries, by the way. He couldn’t stand greasy and nutritionally-empty foods. He only ever got them because he knew Taeyeon liked them). He would mock-scowl at her, and Taeyeon would roll her eyes in response, popping the fry into anyways.

Right now he was wondering why the hell he agreed to a double date with Taeyeon and Jongin. When Taeyeon had asked him if he wanted to go to the mall, he thought she meant just him and her. He obviously jumped at the chance, since they had little time to themselves in between school and their relationships. He didn't expect for Taeyeon to chirp, "Great! Invite Yuri too. We can make it a double date."

Minho grinded his drinking straw between his teeth, trying to focus on his burger and fries. His eyes kept wandering to Taeyeon who was picking onion rings off Jongin’s tray, and Jongin who was smiling at her and pushing the rest of his onion rings towards her.

He stared glumly at his own untouched fries, wondering if Taeyeon would reach over to eat one. And then a hand that was far too pale to be Taeyeon’s was reaching over to steal a fry and with the same swiftness he displayed in his basketball games, Minho’s hand shot out to grab Yuri’s wrist without thinking, because he didn't goddamn like sharing his food.

The moment his fingers curled around Yuri’s wrist, all rational thought came rushing back to him and he wondered what the hell he had just done and how he was going to get himself out of this one.

“Minho?” Yuri called his name, voice soft and uncertain.

Minho still held her wrist in his hand, staring at it dumbly for far too long. He finally turned to her, forcing himself to smile. He let Yuri’s hand go, taking a fry and raising it to Yuri’s mouth. “Let me feed you,” he said.

Yuri beamed at him. She took his hand in her own and guided it towards . Her lips lingered on his fingers and Minho hoped that his smile looked more genuine than it felt. He glanced at Taeyeon from the corner of his eyes, wondering if Taeyeon was jealous just the slightest. To his disappointment, Taeyeon was looking at her lap and smiling at whatever Jongin was whispering into her ear.

“Don’t look,” Jongin said, “but Minho looks so mad right now it’s really funny.” Taeyeon started to look up instinctively, but Jongin took her hand and squeezed it. “Oh my god Taeyeon,” he laughed quietly into her ear. “I just told you not to look!”

“I can’t help it!” Taeyeon whispered back furiously. She peeked at Minho anyways from beneath her bangs, unable to keep the frown from her face when she saw him feeding fries—his fries—to Yuri. It shouldn’t have mattered—they were dating after all, but Minho had always been rather protective of his food, and she had never seen him feed his own food to his previous girlfriends. She liked it when she was the only one who could eat off his plate.

She didn’t know what she was thinking when she told Minho to invite Yuri along. If it weren’t for Jongin trying to come up with ways to make Minho jealous, it could have just been her and Minho today. She tried not to be upset; Jongin was only trying to help, after all.

* * *

“Minho…” Yuri started tentatively as they walked home, hand-in-hand. “Can you promise not to get mad at me?”

Minho glanced at her and shrugged. There was literally nothing Yuri could do to make him mad, except maybe talk smack about Taeyeon like he knew she did with her friends when he wasn’t around. “I promise,” he said.

“I can’t go to spring semi-formal with you,” Yuri said, biting her lips and fiddling with the hem of her mini-skirt. “I promised Nickhun I would go with him at the beginning of this year—as friends of course!” she said with a wave of her hand when Minho raised a brow at her. “You understand right? I mean, we didn’t start dating until about a month ago, but a lot of people have been picking dates for grad events and stuff earlier…”

Minho gave her hand a squeeze and smiled at her. He was right—it was nothing to get mad over. “Don’t worry about it, Yuri. I understand.”

Yuri beamed at him, throwing her arms around his shoulder and rising to her tippy toes to press a kiss full against his lips. “I knew you would understand!”

Was it bad that while he was kissing Yuri, he was thinking about spending the night of spring semi-formal with Taeyeon? Truthfully, he was relieved when Yuri told him she had arranged to attend with Nickhun, because then he had an excuse to not go.

Yuri pulled away. “But you’ll still come right?” she asked. They resumed walking, swinging their hands between their bodies.

“I don’t think so. I don’t have anyone to go with.”

Yuri puffed up her cheeks into a pout. “But you have to! It’s your last year.”

Minho grinned at her. “It’s not really a big deal to me. There’s always prom.”

“But Minho…” Yuri whined. “I want to dance with you. I can ask my friends if they still need a date if anything.”

If Yuri was still talking, then her words were going right over Minho’s head, because his mind started drifting to Taeyeon. He could ask her, right? As far as he knew, there wasn’t a rule barring a senior from bringing a date a year below.

“Okay, sure,” he said a bit too loudly. “I’ll come along.”

Yuri cheered, giving him a peck on his cheek. They stopped in front of her house and said their goodbyes. Minho promised to text her when he got home, but rather than heading home, he found his feet taking him in the direction of Taeyeon’s house.

He didn’t know how long he stood in front of Taeyeon’s porch for, taking a step forward and raising his hand to ring the doorbell before dropping his arm and shaking his head. He only had to say less than ten words: “Want to go to spring semi-formal with me?”, but he couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways in which he could mess it up. He ran his fingers through his hair and ruffled it in frustration.

“, come on, Minho,” he muttered to himself, clenching his fist. “Just ask her man, it’s not that hard.”

He took a deep breath, chest expanding outwards. “Okay. Okay, I’m gonna do it.” Just as he was about the ring the bell for the nth time, the door swung open and Minho jumped in fright.

“You scared me!” he said, clapping his hand to his chest. He was painfully aware of how red he must look, if the heat he felt in his cheeks was anything to go by.

“You scared me!” Taeyeon laughed. “I didn’t realise it was you at the door. I just saw a shadow that wouldn’t go away. Anyways, what are you doing here?” Taeyeon looked at him curiously, brows raised and lips quirked into a smile.

“Uh. I was in the neighbourhood,” he mumbled, trying not to stare at Taeyeon. She was wearing pajama shorts and an off-shoulder shirt two sizes too big for her. Minho turned red when he imagined her in one of his own shirts after a night of—

“...Minho?”

Minho shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “Oh, yes?”

“Want to come inside?”

“Yeah, sure,” Minho said, toeing off his shoes and stepping inside. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“No, I already finished my homework anyways.”

Minho followed Taeyeon into her living room. While Taeyeon flopped onto the sofa, Minho sat down rather stiffly.

“Are you okay?” Taeyeon asked him.

“Um, yeah…” Come on, Minho, do it! Minho closed his eyes, very much away of the pounding of his heart against his ribs and how hot his cheeks felt. He gathered up all his courage and before it could leave him, he blurted out, “Will you go to Spring semi-formal with me?”

“Not going with Yuri?” she asked. If Minho were not staring at his lap with a certain determination, he would have seen Taeyeon’s mouth fall open in shock and her cheeks flush pink.

“She already agreed to go with Nickhun.” Minho peeked at Taeyeon.

Taeyeon shrugged, looking the very epitome of calm when Minho was decidedly not. “I’ll ask Jongin if he’s okay with it,” she said, reaching to grab her phone off the coffee table.

One heart stopping minute later (Minho didn’t even dare to breathe while Taeyeon texted away on her phone), Taeyeon looked up at him with a smile.”Sure, I’ll go with you.”

Minho perked up. “Really?” he asked, not daring to hope. “Really?” he asked again. Holy , holy .

Taeyeon laughed at his disbelief. “Yeah, why not? We’re friends aren’t we? I could never let you go alone.”

Even the use of the word ‘friend’ couldn’t penetrate the sheer joy bubbling up in Minho’s chest, because holy —this was going to be the closest thing to a date they’ve ever had and oh my god, Minho was terrified out of his wits.

“O—okay,” he choked out. “Thanks Taeyeon!”

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Taeyeon gave herself one last look-over in the mirror. She brushed her bangs to the side and fluffed up her curls. Her mother had done her hair and makeup this time, and she had to admit, it looked about ten times better than when she did it herself. She could hardly recognise the girl in the mirror with her soft locks and pink cheeks and painted lips and long lashes. She smiled big, her eyes crinkling. She did a little twirl, the ruffles of her chiffon skirt billowing outwards like a flower in bloom.

“Taeyeon!” she heard her mom yell her name from downstairs. “Minho is here!”

Taeyeon jumped. “Be right there!” She grabbed her clutch and slipped on her new pumps before bounding down the stairs (both hands firmly gripping the banister). She almost missed a step when her eyes landed on Minho, who was leaning with one shoulder against the doorframe.

Minho's heart skipped a beat when Taeyeon came bouncing down the stairs, both hands on the banister and yet still wobbling in her heels.

“Hi, Taeyeon,” Minho greeted, pushing himself off the wall and making his way towards her. God, Minho, please be cool at least once in your life.

“Minho! Hi!” Taeyeon chirped. She took a step, nearly stumbling, and Minho rushed to her side, taking her by the elbow to steady her.

“Not used to heels?” Minho asked, unable to keep the smile from creeping over his face.

“Oh, shush,” Taeyeon grumbled.

Minho swallowed when Taeyeon straightened her shoulders and looked at him with a shy smile on her face. She was gorgeous.

Taeyeon insisted on going dress shopping by herself and he had no idea what to expect. The only hint he had was Taeyeon texting him later and asking if he could get a pastel green dress-shirt so they could match (Like a couple! he thought excitedly).

He almost wished he saw Taeyeon's dress before this night, because he was left speechless by how stunning she was in a heart-shaped bodice encrusted with jewels that fell away to layers of soft green ruffles. How stupid he must look, gaping at her and instinctively reaching up to play with the curls in her hair. He gulped, mouth far too dry and cheeks far too red.

"You look amazing," he managed to choke out. He was much too aware of Taeyeon’s warmth seeping into him. While Taeyeon’s eyes dropped from his, she made no effort to step away, so neither did he.

He’s just being friendly, Taeyeon told herself, but she grinned at her feet all the same. “You look good too,” she said. What an understatement—Taeyeon had never seen anyone so attractive in her life.

Minho was wearing a pastel green dress shirt to match her own dress. He had left the first two buttons undone, offering a tantalising view of his collarbones. The sleeves were folded at his forearms and he had his shirt tucked into black, pressed slacks. Was this really her best friend? How could he be so attractive? And of all the girls, why did he choose her as his date?

Her shoulders instinctively curled inwards in a moment of self-consciousness. She thought she looked pretty tonight, but Minho? Minho was drop-dead handsome.

“So, uh.” Taeyeon cleared , aware that Minho’s eyes were still on her. Minho was probably in shock at her appearance; she hoped it was the good kind of shock. “Let’s get going?”

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah.” Minho offered her his arm and Taeyeon threaded her arms through Minho’s, trying to ignore the butterflies rampaging in her stomach.

* * *

They missed the first hour where boys and girls stand at opposite ends of the gymnasium. Some brave soul must have already crossed the invisible line separating the two genders, because by the time they arrived, the dance was in full-swing.

It’s okay. She’s my date, Minho reasoned when his arm slipped from around Taeyeon’s shoulder and slid down to her lower back. He hardly dared to breathe, somehow hoping that if Taeyeon didn’t notice him breathing, she wouldn’t notice the hand at her hip, either (stupid, he knows, but he’s always been a little bit stupid when it came to Taeyeon).

He looked around discreetly for Yuri, and when he caught sight of her across the gym, he guided Taeyeon to the refreshments on the other side.

“Thirsty?” he asked, not really waiting for an answer and pouring a cup of punch for Taeyeon anyways.

“Thanks,” Taeyeon said, taking the cup with both hands and sipping slowly. Minho couldn’t take his eyes away from her the entire time. Was this really Taeyeon? Because wow. Taeyeon didn’t even dress up for her middle school graduation. While the rest of the girls in her grade were wearing dresses and gathering their hair into buns and applying a light layer of makeup, Taeyeon stuck to a shirt with gaudy sequins that had Minho laughing at first, and then staring at Taeyeon for the rest of the ceremony because he thought she was adorable.

Before he even realised what he was saying, he blurted out, “Did I already tell you that you look really good tonight?”

Taeyeon laughed, and Minho could see her eyes curving into a smile. “Yes, thank you Minho. You look very handsome yourself.”

Handsome! Taeyeon thought he was handsome, and Minho had to look away to hide his pink cheeks and stupid grin

.

Taeyeon turned around when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She came face-to-face with Gwiboon and Jonghyun.

“Oh my god, Taeyeon!” Gwiboon squealed, jumping up and down and then pulling her into her arms. Taeyeon laughed, wrapping her arms around Gwiboon’s waist.

"I hardly recognised you!" Gwiboon cried. "You look so pretty!" She turned to her date, Jonghyun. "Right Jonghyun?"

"Yeah, wow." Jonghyun gaped and Minho instinctively stepped beside Taeyeon, snaking an arm around her waist. He just about died when Taeyeon moved even closer to him.

"Are you guys dating now?" Jonghyun asked. When Gwiboon said "Finally!" with a huge sigh, Minho turned red but refrained from commenting. "What about Yuri and Jongin?"

It was a good thing Taeyeon spoke up, because Minho was tempted to shout out, Yeah! We’re dating! as a joke and worry about the repercussions later.

“Ah, no... “ Taeyeon said quickly. “Yuri already agreed to go with Nickhun so Minho asked me to come with him.”

Gwiboon looked at her pointedly and Taeyeon shook her head just the slightest. She didn’t want to talk about it right now—she just wanted to enjoy the night with Minho. Gwiboon must have understood, because she winked at her and said bye and dragged Jonghyun into the crowd, leaving them alone.

"Wanna dance?" Minho asked, holding his hand out for her. He smiled at her in encouragement, inclining his head towards his hand, an indication for her to join him.

Taeyeon blinked, cheeks warming up. "I don't really know how..." she said, but she took Minho's hand all the same, shivering when her fingers came into contact with Minho's warm palm.

Minho laughed. “No one here does. Don’t worry.”

He guided her to the dance floor. They lingered at the outskirts of the crowd, and Taeyeon had never felt so nervous in Minho’s presence in her life, because right now, she felt like they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and she wasn’t Minho’s last resort because Yuri had already agreed to attend semi-formal with Nickhun.

The upbeat pop music had Taeyeon bobbing her head and bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet inadvertently. She sniffed when she saw Minho cracking a smile at her awkward movements from the corner of her eyes. Before she could come up with a retort, he was taking her by the hands and spinning her around in circles.

“Minho! No!” she cried, legs trembling from being unaccustomed to heels. She squeezed Minho’s hands tight, heart beating furiously as she stumbled about in a way that was not even a semblance of dancing. “I’m going to fall!”

“I’ve got you,” Minho said. He took a step closer to her, hands moving up her forearms to hold her by the elbows.

Taeyeon’s eyes dropped to Minho’s chest, nerves tingling where his bare skin met her own. She hardly dared to breathe—how different it felt to touch him without any clothes muting the sensations!

Then with little warning from the DJ, the music changed into something slow and sensual.

“Guys, grabs your ladies!” came the DJ’s voice, followed by catcalls from the boys and nervous giggles on the part of the girls.

Taeyeon immediately stopped moving, looking up at Minho, wondering if he was going to sit down. She was torn herself; while she loved the idea of being close to Minho, she also felt like she was going to spontaneously combust at any moment and she’d like to save herself the embarrassment.

“Um…” Taeyeon started, glancing at the sidelines.

“Something wrong?” Minho asked, frowning. “You don’t want to dance?”

“No? I mean, yes?” Taeyeon wasn't sure how to answer the question, brain short-circuited from being in Minho’s presence. “Nothing’s wrong. I don’t mind dancing,” she said.

They were just friends, right? But then Minho was beaming at her, hands sliding from her arms to come around her waist, and she was giving him a small smile back, raising her hands and resting them on his shoulders. They swayed in tandem, and Taeyeon couldn’t tear her eyes away from Minho, because Minho was smiling like someone just gave him the world and given how much her cheeks were hurting, she could only imagine how big the smile on her own face must be. At that moment, it felt like the rest of the world had dropped away—no people, no lights, no sounds. Just the two of them.

She was gone in over her head for Minho, and she was thinking that Yuri must be the luckiest girl in the world. She wasn’t even dating Minho and he made her feel like she was the only girl left in existence with the way he looked at her with bright, honest eyes. Her eyes fell to his lips of their own accord, and she so desperately wanted to kiss him.

She didn’t realise that somehow, they were moving closer and closer together until her arms were wrapping around Minho’s neck and Minho was tilting his head just the slightest. His lips were parted and she couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the strobe lights, but it looked like he was leaning in and about to kiss her and Taeyeon felt like all the oxygen in her body had left her.

“Minho?”

The moment shattered. They leapt away from each other, brushing imaginary dust off their outfits and looking everywhere but each other.

, , , Minho thought, gulping. He stepped reluctantly away from Taeyeon to stand by Yuri. He felt terrible, knowing that he was disappointed not because he got caught, but because now he would have to spend the rest of the night with Yuri and he was just this ing close to kissing Taeyeon. He wasn’t sure when he would next gather up the courage to try again.

“Hi,” he said, still not quite making eye contact with Yuri. He threw his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close and placing a kiss on her head out of obligation. “I didn’t see you.”

Taeyeon frowned at the floor, suddenly pulled back to reality. For a moment, she was so certain that Minho liked her, so certain that she wasn’t the only one who felt this connection between them. But then Yuri came along, and Minho was immediately returning to her side and kissing her atop her head and Taeyeon came to the realisation that all this time, she was projecting her own feelings onto Minho’s actions. Minho wasn't leaning towards her to kiss her; it was just a trick of the light. Aside from friendship, there was no other connection between them.

“Minho, can you go get me a drink?” Yuri asked, eyes on Taeyeon.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Punch?”

“Just water, thanks.”

Minho shuffled off, leaving Yuri and Taeyeon alone. Taeyeon wilted under Yuri’s gaze, shoulders curling inwards.

“What’s going on between you and Minho?” Yuri asked, getting straight to the point knowing that Minho would be back in less than a minute.

“N—nothing,” Taeyeon mumbled.

Yuri scoffed. “That didn’t look like ‘nothing’ to me. You guys looked awfully cozy.”

“Really! We’re just friends, I swear.” Taeyeon insisted. She fumbled with the hem of her skirt, racking her brains for more assuring words. Yuri didn’t deserve to feel insecure about her relationship with Minho just because Taeyeon liked him. The last thing she wanted to do was get in the way of an established relationship. “I’m sorry we gave you that impression,” Taeyeon said as sincerely as possible, willing herself to look at Yuri. “Minho and I have known each other for a long time, so we’re quite close, but we’re just like siblings. I promise.”

Yuri wrinkled her nose. She opened to speak, but Minho returned with a cup of water.

Minho handed her the cup, giving Taeyeon a small smile and Taeyeon couldn’t find it in herself to return it.

“Thanks, baby,” Yuri said, giving Minho a peck on the lips all the while smirking at Taeyeon and Taeyeon was  thinking she needed to leave right now before things became even more awkward.

Yuri took Minho by the hand, tugging him to the middle of the dance floor. “Dance with me,” she said.

“Yuri—” Minho started, glancing frantically at Taeyeon, but Yuri didn’t allow him time to talk, pulling him away.

There wasn't much Taeyeon could do except stand by herself and think that the money she had spent on this dress was not worth the thirty minutes she wore it in Minho’s presence. She clenched her jaw, ignoring the looks sent her way. There was no point sticking around here any longer, she figured.

She took her phone out of her clutch and texted Jongin: Minho left me.

His reply came a mere second later: Wait there. I’ll come get you.

Yuri smiled at him and looped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. Minho smiled back weakly, resting his hands on her hips. He wondered if she was going to bring up Taeyeon, but she didn’t, to his relief.  

“My boyfriend looks so handsome tonight,” Yuri sang and his heart didn’t jump in his chest like it did when Taeyeon called him handsome.

“You look amazing too, Yuri,” Minho said.

Yuri hummed and tucked her head beneath his chin, resting her cheek against his chest. Minho took the opportunity to look for Taeyeon, craning his neck over the heads of students, but Taeyeon was nowhere to be found and Minho felt panic rising in his throat.

Minho reached into his back pocket to pull out his phone and ask Taeyeon for her whereabouts. Just as he unlocked his phone, Yuri’s hand fell over the screen.

“Who are you texting?” Yuri asked and Minho’s split-second silence was apparently far too long for Yuri, because her hands were curling around his own and pushing his phone back into his pocket. “Can you not? Just… Dance with me, please?”

Minho swallowed, willing himself to be patient—this was his girlfriend, after all. “Yeah, of course.”

So while he held Yuri, he let his mind wander to Taeyeon. He thought about they way they slow danced for a mere minute, and how he had rested his hands on Taeyeon’s waist and how right it felt. Taeyeon had smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. They were so close to each other that he was sure she could hear the slamming of his heart against his ribs.

His eyes were on Taeyeon the entire time, and it didn’t slip his notice when Taeyeon’s eyes fell to his lips. Before he could talk himself out of it, he was leaning in towards Taeyeon, and he could have sworn she was leaning into him, too, and it would have been perfect, kissing Taeyeon at that moment when the world around them felt muted.

He felt Yuri shift in his arms. Yuri looked up at him. “How does my makeup look?”

“You look good. As always,” Minho said, and it was true. Yuri did look amazing tonight, but the problem was… She just wasn’t Taeyeon.

Yuri giggled, giving him a quick peck. “I’m going to the washroom real quick. I feel like I’ve messed up my lipstick…”

Minho nodded, arms dropping away from Yuri. Yuri gave him a small wave and then throwing her hair over her shoulders, made her way to the washrooms. As soon as Yuri was out of sight, Minho dug into his pockets.

He dialled Taeyeon’s number and then raised his phone to his ear, covering his other ear with his free hand. “Hey, where you?” he asked as soon as Taeyeon picked up, without first offering a greeting.

“Oh, I left, sorry.” Taeyeon’s voice sounded rather flat, and Minho felt his stomach clench.

“Taeyeon, I’m really, really sorry,” he said, glancing in the direction of the washrooms. “Are you home right now? Did you get home okay by yourself?”

“Taeyeon, they didn’t have blueberry muffins so I got you a chocolate chip one instead…” came a far too loud voice. Minho clenched his jaw when he recognised it as Jongin’s.

“I’m okay, Minho,” Taeyeon said, and Minho thought she didn’t sound okay at all. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? Have fun!”

Minho hardly had time to say goodbye before Taeyeon hung up on him. Minho groaned, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He hated the idea of Jongin and Taeyeon spending time together, even more so when Taeyeon looked absolutely stunning. How many times had Jongin kissed her? God knows Minho wouldn’t be able to stop showering Taeyeon with kisses when she looked like a princess.

“,” Minho sighed under his breath. He slipped his phone into his back pockets just as he saw Yuri returning. He forced himself to smile when she made her way through the mass of dancing students back towards him.

Minho didn’t leave the school until about 1AM. He dropped Yuri off her at house, and it wasn't until 1:30 AM that he finally returned home. The first thing he did when he stopped the engine of his car was check his cellphone. He frowned when he had a goodnight text from Yuri but not Taeyeon. Taeyeon always texted him goodnight, because she slept earlier than him, and he always texted Taeyeon good morning, because he woke up earlier than her. 1:30 AM was past her typical bedtime, and Minho hoped that at the very least, she was in bed and not still with Jongin.

Good night Taeyeon! he texted her. He sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He made his way into his house and then to his bedroom, working off the buttons of his shirt and letting it fall from his shoulders. He threw himself on the bed, clad only in boxers.

God, he was a mess. The five hours he spent in Yuri’s presence felt closer to a year, because he couldn’t goddamn stop thinking about Taeyeon.

He lost track of how much time he spent just laying in bed, staring up at his stucco ceiling and thinking about all the what-ifs. If Yuri hadn’t interrupted, would they have actually kissed? Minho liked to think so. What if he and Taeyeon had attended spring formal as boyfriend and girlfriend, not as friends? He’d like to make her blush and smile that brilliant smile of hers. He’d hold her so close, kiss her forehead, then her nose, then her lips over and over again because he didn’t think he could ever get enough. Whisper in her ear: Hey, let’s just go home…

Minho groaned and rolled over in his bed, burying his face into his pillow. Such thoughts would only lead to madness.