chapter 3

“Taeyeon, I’m really sorry,” Minho said, trying to sound as sincere as possible. He was sorry for a lot of things: sorry that he left Taeyeon when she was his date, but mostly he was sorry that he was too much of a wimp to just ask her out already.

Taeyeon gave him a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I understand Minho, don’t worry about it.”

“I feel terrible. I mean, you bought that dress for the dance right? But you didn’t even stay for the entire thing…”

“Minho, I said it’s okay.” Minho was so nervous that every one of his senses were on high alert, and it sounded to him that Taeyeon slammed her locker shut a little too loudly. “Really.”

Maybe Minho should have stopped apologising and forcing Taeyeon to exonerate him out of obligation, but he just felt so ty, and Taeyeon hadn’t really smiled big at him, and he knew that she was still a bit mad despite what she said.

The bell rang and Taeyeon started walking to her next class. Minho followed her, apologies still falling from his lips because he didn’t know how else to make things better and he didn’t think he was in a position to hug her.

“Taeyeon… I’m sorry. You know I would have liked to spend the entire night with you.” He would have liked to spend a lot longer than just one night with her if it were up to him.

Annoyance flared through Taeyeon at Minho’s words.

“Minho, I get it, okay?” Taeyeon snapped, coming to an abrupt stop to turn to him. “I heard you the first time.” She immediately felt guilty when Minho stopped speaking mid-sentence and looked at her with wide eyes. On any other day she would have said sorry. But she wasn’t sorry, and despite the fact she had told Minho it was okay several times over, she was upset and hurt.

“I’ll see you later,” she said, turning away from Minho and rushing to her next class.

She wasn’t really sure what she was expecting from Minho. She knew that Minho was in a committed relationship and only asked her to the dance because Yuri couldn’t go with him. And yet she still dipped into her savings to buy a dress she thought Minho might like. Remembering the way Minho looked at her last night, she couldn’t help herself from falling even harder for Minho.

Minho groaned, his forehead hitting the lockers with a thud as soon as Taeyeon turned the corner. “Good ing going, Choi,” he grumbled to himself. He couldn’t remember the last time Taeyeon raised her voice at him.

* * *

Taeyeon slid into her seat with a sigh. She unpacked her books, setting them down before her and then dropping her head to her desk. She was glad that class wouldn’t start for the next few minutes or so. It would give her some time to collect her thoughts and wallow in guilt.

She felt a light breeze on her bare arms and got that familiar whiff of cologne.

“Hey, you alright?” Jongin asked, taking a seat beside her.

Taeyeon rested her cheek on her forearm, turning to look at Jongin. Taeyeon felt even more guilty when she saw how tired Jongin looked with his red-rimmed eyes. Despite her protests, he had stayed with her until midnight after her failed semi-date with Minho. He even walked her home, much to her embarrassment, especially when her mother greeted them at the door with a raised brow. She no doubt wondered what happened to Minho.

“I yelled at Minho.”

Jongin shrugged. “About time. He deserved it after what he did last night.”

“But he apologised and I basically told him to stuff it,” Taeyeon said with a sigh.

Jongin laughed. He folded his arms on his desk and mirrored Taeyeon’s position by resting his head on his hands. He nudged her. “I don’t believe you. You’re too nice for that.”

She wiggled in her seat, noticing the way her classmates looked at her and Jongin as they streamed in. She didn’t blame them—Jongin seemed to attract attention everywhere he went. Taeyeon now stood in the spotlight by association.

“I just feel so guilty. It wasn’t really his fault,” Taeyeon mumbled. “I should apologise, shouldn’t I?” She knew as soon as she asked that question she would be apologising anyways.

“Let him suffer,” Jongin said, grinning at her in that boyish way of his. “Make him fight for you.”

Taeyeon turned pink and buried her face into the crook of her elbows. “You’re lame—”

“Taeyeon, Jongin! If you two are done talking, I’d like to start the class,” their teacher called out and Taeyeon straightened immediately, reaching for her pencil, embarrassed at being put on the spot.

* * *

Of all days, why did it have to be today that Jongin had to work on a project with his friends during lunch?

Taeyeon walked hesitantly towards the table where Minho was seated. She was almost tempted to eat by her locker today, but she didn’t want to estrange him even further.

“Hi,” Taeyeon greeted, taking the seat opposite to Minho.

Minho waved at her, swallowing a bite of his sandwich.

She wanted to act normal and pretend nothing happened, but for some reason, she couldn’t remember what it felt like to act normal. She stared at her lunch, torn between wanting to spend more time alone with Minho and wishing for the others to join her soon.

“Um, Taeyeon…” Minho started and Taeyeon glanced up at him. “I got you a muffin. You like blueberry, right?” Minho slid a blueberry muffin towards her and Taeyeon cracked a smile around her spoon and the obvious peace offering.

Way to make me feel even worse, Minho, Taeyeon thought. “Thanks, Minho.” Taeyeon beamed. The apparent relief on Minho’s face was much too endearing. She was just about to apologise for this morning when she saw Minho look over her shoulder with a coy twist of his lips that only meant Yuri.

“Can I talk to you after lunch?” Taeyeon asked quickly before Yuri could arrive.

Minho blinked at her, then nodded.

Taeyeon didn’t think it was something she would get used to anytime soon, the way Yuri sang Minho’s name and kissed Minho’s cheek in greeting. To make things even worse this time, Taeyeon saw Yuri’s eyes flit towards her.

Taeyeon’s gut twisted. Yuri knew. Taeyeon’s promises that she didn’t like Minho, that their relationship was strictly familial, had not convinced Yuri in the slightest.

Oh, god, please don’t tell Minho, Taeyeon thought, busying herself with her food.

She spent the entirety of lunch on the edge of her seat. Everytime they lapsed into silence, she wondered if Yuri was going to pipe up with, “Hey, Minho, did you know Taeyeon likes you?” She almost wished that Yuri did. It would save her the trouble of getting her feelings out there herself, but the moment never came.

* * *

“You wanted to talk to me?” Minho prompted, leaning against their lockers while Taeyeon gathered her belongings.

Taeyeon nodded. She held her books over her chest, finding comfort in the weight. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry—”

Minho cut her off. “Don’t be, Taeyeon. It’s not your fault,” Minho said. He rubbed the nape of his neck nervously. “I know you don’t want to hear this again, but I really am sorry.”

“Me too,” Taeyeon said. She continued before Minho could apologise over her again, looking everywhere but at Minho. “I knew that Yuri would be there, and you would be dancing with her… But I was still upset because I thought we would be spending more time together..” Taeyeon flushed, hoping that Minho wouldn’t read too much into her words and take it as a confession. “Sorry for being a jerk this morning.”

Taeyeon finally risked a glance at Minho, finding him smiling at her and she let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“I think the real jerk was me.”

Taeyeon felt relief wash through her. She laughed, rocking back and forth on the balls on her feet. “We’re never going to stop apologising to each other, are we?”

Minho grinned at her. “I’m not stopping until you do.”

“Let’s just call it even before we’re late for class,” Taeyeon said, grinning back, and everything felt right.

* * *

Minho felt—or rather, he knew—things had been tense between him and Yuri ever since Spring Formal.

He was at Yuri’s house, and they were curled up against each other, doing a Disney movie marathon. Well, Yuri was, anyways. She was Disney’s ideal audience, laughing and crying and frowning at all the right times. Minho on the other hand? He stared at the TV screen, eyes glazed over and unseeing.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like movies—he just couldn’t bare to sit on his for hours. He needed to move, but Yuri would give him piteous looks whenever he stood up to pace around the living room. When he had to use the washroom, she would chirp. “Hurry back!” And maybe it would be endearing if he liked her as much as she liked him, but the problem was, he didn’t.

He heard his phone chime with a distinct jingle that meant Taeyeon had texted him. He immediately put his phone on vibrate because he didn’t want Yuri to wonder why one of his contacts didn’t have the default ringtone. He felt a bit guilty after doing so, thinking that it shouldn’t be something he had to hide; Yuri knew that he was close to Taeyeon. But the guilt faded when he read Taeyeon’s text and he couldn’t hold back a smile: Hi minho i haven’t talked to you in like hours so i just wanted to say hi.

He loved that about their relationship—they were close enough to send each other meaningless texts, and wasn't it strange that it was the menial texts like these ones that made him feel even closer to Taeyeon? He couldn’t imagine himself texting Jonghyun, saying, hey man it’s been like 3 hours, just wanted to say hi.

Yuri shifted beside him. “Who are you texting?” She rested his chin on his shoulder, trying to get a better look at his phone.

“Taeyeon,” he replied. No point in lying; his screen was right in Yuri’s line of sight.

“Oh, her,” Yuri said, and the way she enunciated her made it very clear that she did not like Taeyeon the slightest.

His first thought was to defend Taeyeon: Yes, her. Got a problem with Taeyeon you’d like to share with me? But instead he settled for raising a brow. “Yeah.”

“I don’t like her.” Yuri slipped her arms around his torso and gave a big sigh. “She’s always hanging around you...”

“That’s not true,” he said, starting to feel annoyed by the direction this conversation would inevitably take. How many times had Yuri given him the silent treatment because he was laughing a bit too hard at Gwiboon and Naeun’s jokes? (He couldn’t help it—they were funny.) How many times had Yuri scrunched up her nose and asked him, Who’s that girl? “I hardly hang out with her now. I’m always with you.” And of all the ways he could have phrased that sentence, it had to come out accusatory. Yuri pursed her lips and frowned.

“I think she likes you,” Yuri said, and Minho felt his heart skip a beat. He wanted to take Yuri by the shoulders and shake her and ask, Oh my god, really? You think so? What makes you think that? but there was no need, because Yuri kept talking:

“Like, she always stands super close to you, and she’s always looking at you when you’re not looking, and she acts super flirty with you and touches you all the time,” Yuri listed off one-by-one, counting on her fingers, and Minho’s cheeks heated up with every word Yuri said. Could it be true? Did Taeyeon like him?

“She was trying to impress you with her makeup and hair that one time…”

Oh, that’d be adorable if she did that for me, Minho thought. But didn’t Taeyeon claim she was dressing up for Jongin? Minho frowned. If Taeyeon liked him, then why was she dating Jongin? Though he supposed the question could go both ways: why was he dating Yuri when he liked Taeyeon?

“She’s always texting you,” Yuri commented, reaching over for Minho’s phone. Minho had to force himself to keep from slapping her hand away. He held his phone out of reach, and Yuri pouted. “What are you trying to hide?”

“I’m not trying to hide anything,” Minho said, and he wondered if he truly believed that.

Yuri frowned at him. “If you aren’t hiding anything, then why won’t you let me look through your phone?”

“Seriously, Yuri? I just don’t like people looking through my phone.”

“Because you’ve got something to hide?” Yuri asked again and Minho clenched his jaw in frustration. He was sorely tempted to snap at her and say, Oh yeah. Got a bunch of nudes on my phone—can’t let you see those.

“Fine, look through my phone then.” He tossed it into her hands, and then added with a grumble, “if you’re going to make such a big deal about it.”

“I’m not making a big deal out of it. I’m just curious.” Yuri said, but began looking through his texts all the same. Minho sighed, resting his head against the sofa. He wondered what she was going to say about the texts he sent Taeyeon, and how their familiarity could border on flirtation, which it did on his part, sometimes.

“You guys talk a lot,” Yuri said finally. Minho thought it was an understatement, given the fact that he probably texted Taeyeon three times as much as he texted Yuri. She handed him back his phone and looked at him sadly and Minho felt his stomach clench with guilt.

“She’s my bestfriend.”

“Minho…” Yuri started, sounding exasperated. “But do you have to talk so much? It would make me feel a lot better if you didn’t. I just don’t want to lose you.”

Minho remained silent. What could he say in this situation, anyways? Yuri couldn’t really expect him to give up his friend of ten years for a relationship that was two months in and already starting to feel strained, though he did admit that it was partially his fault. And well, suppose he did stop talking Taeyeon. Would Yuri expect him to let go of his friendships with females in the future too? He didn’t think he could thrive in such a stifling relationship.

“Can you… not talk to her so much?” Yuri blinked at him. “For me, please?”

Minho thought about how he little he saw Taeyeon as it was and how he only heard her voice in between classes or during lunch. He took a bit too long to respond.

Yuri sat up straight on the couch, staring at him and Minho started to feel unnerved.

Minho cleared his throat, pushing himself off the sofa. “I think I’m gonna go home, Yuri,” Minho said. He didn’t want to do anything he would regret. It would be the best for both of them if he took his leave.

“If you step out that door, we are over,” Yuri said, voice hard and cold.

Minho looked at Yuri impassively and her face crumpled.

* * *

It felt like a year had passed since Minho last walked home with Taeyeon, but it had really only been a few weeks. When they weren’t together, Minho thought about all the things he could tell her, but now that they were actually in each other’s presence, all words seemed to elude him. He didn’t mind that they spoke little, though; he was much too focussed on the way Taeyeon’s hand would brush against his every so often, and how even the most feather-light of touches would have him shivering.

“Any plans for this weekend?” Minho asked her.

Taeyeon hummed. “I have to babysit Yoogeun tomorrow. The carnival is in town, so I was thinking I might take him there.” Taeyeon giggled when Minho perked up immediately at the mention of Yoogeun’s name.

“Really? Yoogeun?” Minho asked, looking at her excitedly.

Taeyeon nodded, laughing. Minho was a complete pushover for the boy.

Minho his lips. “Just you and Yoogeun?” he asked, chanting please not Jongin over and over against in his head. If it were just the two of them, maybe Minho could ask to tag along…

“I think so.”

Minho had to control himself from letting out an audible sigh of relief. “Can I join you guys?”

Taeyeon looked surprised. “Y—yeah! Of course! I’m sure Yoogeun would love that.”

“When should I come get you guys tomorrow?”

“Is 9AM okay?”

“9AM is perfect,” Taeyeon said, pretending to be fascinated by a real estate sign so Minho wouldn’t see her cheeks blazing with a combination of excitement and embarrassment. Maybe they could even go out for breakfast… Taeyeon steeled herself, and then asked all in one breath: “Want to go out for breakfast?”

Taeyeon almost wilted in relief when Minho said, “Sure.”

* * *

As soon as Taeyeon opened the door, Yoogeun launched himself at Minho’s legs, wrapping his small arms around Minho’s calves. “Minho!” the boy cried, his voice muffled by the fabric of Minho’s jeans. “I missed you!”

Minho laughed, untangling himself from Yoogeun and then picking the boy up and throwing him over his shoulder. “Missed you too!”

It was really endearing, Taeyeon thought, how good Minho was with kids and how much he liked Yoogeun. It made Taeyeon feel warm inside.

Yoogeun slid from Minho’s arms to run back to Taeyeon and take her hand.

“Morning Minho,” Taeyeon said.

“Morning, Taeyeon.” Minho smiled at her. “I like your dress. Is it new?”

Taeyeon swallowed. Ever since their less-than-ideal spring semi-formal, Minho had been showering her with compliments as a sort of repentance. Even knowing that, Minho’s words still set her cheeks on fire. “Yeah, it is. Thanks,” she said, smoothing down the imaginary wrinkles in her dress.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Taeyeon said, helping Yoogeun put on his knapsack.

Taeyeon locked the door behind her, taking Yoogeun’s hand while Minho took the boy’s other hand.

They made their way to a nearby diner that made the sweetest and fluffiest buttermilk pancakes with brown butter nougats. Yoogeun didn’t stop talking the entire time, jumping from the friends he made, to his really nice and pretty first grade teacher, to the new toy his parents bought him. It wasn’t before long they arrived at the diner, the chiming of bells signaling their entrance.

“Table for three, please,” Taeyeon said.

“Right this way!” The hostess chirped, tucking a set of menus under her arm. She guided them to their table, laying down their menus. Taeyeon sat in front of Minho with Yoogeun to her side.

“I’ll be back to take your orders in just a bit,” she said. “In the meantime, can I guys get you a drink to start?”

“Just water for now, thanks,” Minho answered for them.

Taeyeon opened the menu for Yoogeun, encouraging him to order whatever he wanted.

Minho glanced up from his menu when he felt eyes on him. He turned his head to see a old woman looking at them. She was with a middle-aged man, presumably her son. Or a lover; Minho doesn’t judge. He gave her a small smile, wondering what he had done to attract her attention.

“Is that your son?” she asked curiously, gesturing towards Yoogeun with her chin.

Minho looked at her with a blank expression.

“You two are a bit young to have a child, aren’t you?” she asked again when neither he nor Taeyeon said a word.

“Mom!” the man cried. “You can’t say that to people!”

Minho’s jaw dropped at the comment, feeling himself heat up from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not at what she was insinuating. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. He looked at Taeyeon, finding her in a similar state: eyes wide in shock and cheeks pink. Yoogeun hummed, swinging his legs back and forth. The boy was looking through the menu, oblivious to it all.

The man turned towards them and bowed. “I’m so sorry—my mother, she can be a little too nosy for her own good,” he said quickly, sounding as embarrassed as Minho felt. He continued to babble on, “She’s a bit traditional, you see, but she doesn’t mean any harm. Right, Mom?” He fixed his mom with a glare, only to received a shrug. He turned back to them, a sheepish smile on his face, and Minho snorted in amusement.

“You three are lovely,” he said, giving them another quick bow. “Sorry again!”

Taeyeon was the one who found her voice first. “Uh, it’s okay,” she stammered. She placed a hand on Yoogeun’s shoulder. “But he’s actually my nephew.”

The man flushed pink, stumbling over his words. “Oh—oh, sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Taeyeon managed a giggle, still looking terribly uncomfortable.

Minho squirmed in his seat. , now the idea of him and Taeyeon being a married couple was going to haunt him for the rest of the day. Minho thought some people really should check on their internal censors.

* * *

Minho wasn’t spending as much time with Taeyeon as he thought he would be. He barely slept last night, preoccupied with his daydreams. He thought he would be making his way through fun houses with Taeyeon and Yoogeun at his side, going on rides designed for families, such as the Twirling Tea Cups. Somewhere along the way, Yoogeun faded from the picture and it was just him and Taeyeon at the amusement park, riding roller coasters (Taeyeon obviously pressing herself against him), and visiting haunted houses (obviously clutching each other’s hands for dear life).

Instead, he’s waiting in line for the next ride Yoogeun wanted to go on, Yoogeun’s knapsack and hat in one hand and Taeyeon’s tote in the other. Minho sighed, adjusting his belongings. He couldn’t help but curse Yoogeun in his head. The boy didn’t want to wait in line; he just wanted to go on one ride after another, so Minho was stuck lining up in advance while Taeyeon and Yoogeun enjoyed themselves. If Fast Passes weren’t so expensive, he would have gladly handed over the money so they could skip the waiting.

Minho wiped away the sweat that had formed at the nape of his neck, adjusting his cap to block out the sun. Impatient little brat, Minho thought again. He immediately felt guilty—Yoogeun was only a kid after all. He apologised to Yoogeun in his head.

The line started moving and Minho craned his neck over the crowd, wondering if Taeyeon and Yoogeun were finished, or if he should let a few people jump in front of him. Arms around his waist and a head buried in his stomach told Minho that he was looking the wrong way.

“Hi, Minho,” Yoogeun mumbled into his shirt. “Thanks for lining up!”

“No problem.”

“Sorry, Minho, you must be bored,” Taeyeon said, squeezing into line behind him. “I don’t think this is what you had in mind when we decided to go to the carnival.”

Minho shrugged. Minho was thinking about something entirely different when he asked to join Taeyeon and Yoogeun at the amusement park, but he could never tell Taeyeon that. “I’m alright. They’re just kid rides anyways.”

“Why don’t you take this ride?” Taeyeon asked. She ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to smooth out the tangles. “I’ll line up.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” He turned to Yoogeun, squatting down so that he was eye-level with the boy. “Which ride next?”

Yoogeun’s reaction was immediate: “Bumper cars!”

Minho laughed, giving Yoogeun’s hair a ruffle. The kid was lucky he was so cute—Minho wouldn’t be wasting his Saturday like this otherwise.

And besides, waiting in line wasn’t so bad. Not when Taeyeon was clearly enjoying herself if her glowing cheeks and big smile were anything to go by.

* * *

“Is it time to go home yet, Yoogeun?” Taeyeon asked, starting to look rather tired.

“No!” Yoogeun took Taeyeon by the hands and tugged her in the direction of their next destination. “Time for the Ferris Wheel!”

Taeyeon laughed, letting herself be dragged along. Minho fell into step with her.

“Are you okay?” he asked her quietly. It was only when Taeyeon turned to him that he realised how close they were. He only had to dip his head forward just the slightest to capture Taeyeon’s lips in his own. Taeyeon turned away quickly and Minho wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the setting sun, but he could have sworn her cheeks were pink.

“I’m okay. Just a bit sleepy.”

It took Minho far too much effort to swallow. It felt like all the butterflies in the world had taken up residence in his stomach. Seeing Taeyeon smooth Yoogeun’s hair down with a soft smile on her lips and the way she held his hand made Minho’s stomach feel funny.

It was cooler now that the sun was beginning to set, and the lines of early morning had dwindled to only a few people so that Minho could finally go on a ride.

They handed over their tickets to the ride conductor before taking a seat. Yoogeun clutched the metal bar, bouncing up and down in the seat as the employee locked them in place.

“Please don’t do that, Yoogeun.” Minho turned to Taeyeon only to see her shoulders hunched and clutching the safety bar for her life. “You’re scaring me.”

Naturally, Yoogeun rocked the seat even more, grinning at Taeyeon. Minho laughed. Taeyeon was a lot more startled by rocking Ferris Wheel seats than roller coasters.

“Scared?” Minho teased, leaning back against the seat. Taeyeon only glared at him miserably, drawing another laugh out of him. He ruffled Yoogeun’s hair. “Hey, stop the rocking.”

“Okay!”

Minho caught Taeyeon rolling her eyes and how easily Yoogeun agreed to his request.

When the Ferris Wheel started moving, Minho felt close to throwing up. The entire day had been torturous for him because his imagination kept feeding him thoughts of him and Taeyeon and Yoogeun as a happy family, of him and Taeyeon as a married couple.

Minho threw his arm over the back of the seat, setting his hand on Yoogeun’s head and playing with the soft locks. Minho stared at his lap, his heart rate picking up. The three of them were sitting so close together that if he just reached over, his arm could be around Taeyeon.

Minho his lips, racking his brain for an excuse to put his arm around Taeyeon. He reached into his pocket for his cellphone. “Taeyeon, want to take a picture?”

“I want to take a picture!” Yoogeun cried and Taeyeon laughed, agreeing with him immediately.

Minho raised his cellphone before the three of them, trying to fit all of them into the picture.  He didn’t try very hard. He lowered his arm and turned to Taeyeon. “Taeyeon, why don’t you put Yoogeun on your lap? It’ll be easier for me to take a picture.” Minho’s heart slammed so furiously against his ribs he was sure Yoogeun, whose ear was right by his chest, could hear it.

“Sure.” Taeyeon pulled Yoogeun into her lap and Minho scooted closer, wrapping an arm around Taeyeon’s shoulder. Minho hardly dared to breathe, but even then the smell of Taeyeon’s shampoo filled his nose—a subtle scent of tropical fruits. He felt Taeyeon tense against his side and his gut clenched just the slightest in panic, but then she was relaxing back into his arms and Minho couldn’t help it when he gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“Are you going to take the picture?” Taeyeon asked, looking down at Yoogeun on her lap, and Minho was a hundred percent sure her cheeks were pink this time and it had him grinning wide from ear to ear.

“Yeah, of course.” He raised his arm again before them, leaning into Taeyeon and smiling big. He had to force himself to look right at the camera rather than Taeyeon’s image. “Smile!”

Minho lowered his phone after snapping several pictures. He kept his arm around Taeyeon, pretending to be engrossed with the pictures on his phone and the texts he had received throughout the day even though the only thing on his mind was how close he was to Taeyeon and how good it felt to have her pressed against his side.

He wanted to scream. Wanted to yell at the top of his lungs and announce to the whole amusement park, I can’t believe I’m holding my crush like this! Instead he held his breath, hoping that Taeyeon wouldn’t pull away. He barely noticed the view of the sun sinking below the horizon when they stopped for a moment at the peak. He did, however, notice the way Yoogeun wiggled in his seat in excitement, how it rocked the seat, and how Taeyeon made a small noise in the back of and stiffened.

The ride was much too short. Hell, the entire day was too short, and it felt like only an hour had passed since they left that morning before he was standing in front of Taeyeon’s house again.

“Thanks for spending the day with us,” Taeyeon said, shifting Yoogeun’s weight in her arms.

“Yeah, thanks Minho,” Yoogeun mumbled sleepily, tightening his arms around Taeyeon’s neck and burying his face in the crook of her shoulder.

“It was a lot of fun,” Minho said and Taeyeon smiled that breathtaking smile of hers. There was a lot of things he wanted to say to her. Mostly, Want to do it again sometime? Except maybe just you and me... but he could only stare at her, grinning stupidly, no doubt.

Taeyeon lingered on her front porch and Minho hoped that she was as hesitant to leave as he was. He wondered when it would be a good time to bring up his breakup with Yuri, wondered how long he would have to wait before he could make a move without giving Taeyeon the impression that she was just rebound.

“I guess I’ll see you later then?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yeah.” Minho took a step towards Taeyeon under the guise of ruffling Yoogeun’s hair, but the entire time, his eyes were on Taeyeon and he couldn’t stop smiling.

* * *

It had been almost a week since Minho went to the amusement park with Taeyeon and Yoogeun, and he still woke up in the morning high on emotion. He didn’t remember the hours he spent standing in line or the sore feet he had the next day. He only remembered the one ride they had together, their goodbye at the end of the day, and the warmth that lingered even days later.

He was determined to ask Taeyeon out now. The Saturday he spent with Taeyeon was sort of a revelation—it finally sunk in that if he didn’t at least try to ask Taeyeon out, he would regret it, especially when he would be going to university next year and it could possibly put a strain on their relationship.

It was kind of hard when Taeyeon and Jongin were still dating and it didn’t seem like they would be breaking up any time soon. They still sat close together during lunch on the same side of the table; Jongin still did all the things that Minho wanted to do.

But at least he could walk Taeyeon to school now that he was no longer with Yuri. Minho saw Taeyeon leaning against her fence as he turned the corner into her neighbourhood. He jogged towards her, smiling when Taeyeon caught sight of him and pushed herself to standing.

“Good morning,” Minho greeted.

“Good morning to you, too,” Taeyeon returned. They made their way to school, striding in rhythm.

Minho was happy to just enjoy the cool spring mornings and Taeyeon’s company, knowing that soon enough, he would be spending his hours studying in the library, looking longingly out the window.

Taeyeon cleared . “Not that I dislike spending time with you… But where has Yuri been lately?”

Minho froze for a second before resuming walking. “I didn’t know how to bring this up, but we’re not together anymore. Broke up about a week ago.”

Taeyeon in her breath in shock, turning to him with wide eyes. “Oh, Minho, I’m sorry. That .”

Minho shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “It’s alright. I don’t think we were compatible, anyways.”

“You seem to be coping well,” Taeyeon commented. “But I’m here for you if anything, okay?”

Minho smiled, taking her words as an invitation to throw an arm around Taeyeon’s shoulder and give her bicep a squeeze. “Thanks, Taeyeon. You’re the best.”

Taeyeon laughed, bumping his side with her shoulder. “I try.”

* * *

Even though Minho had broken up with Yuri and there wasn’t much point in making him jealous enough to leave her, Taeyeon and Jongin still hadn’t ended their pretend relationship. Jongin never brought it up, and a part of Taeyeon thought it would be strange for her to break up with Jongin not long after Minho’s own break up. She was a bit terrified by it all, and it was safe remaining in a relationship with Jongin; she would never have to tell Minho the reason why she and Jongin started “dating” in the first place.

Taeyeon and Jongin sat on the same side of the table at the back of the library, doing their homework. She was working to finish up her math problems while Jongin rested his head on the table, using his arm as a pillow. She turned to him when she felt his eyes on her.

“What?” Taeyeon laughed, feeling self-conscious the way she always did when people looked at her face for too long. “You’re making me feel nervous.” She smoothed down her bangs.

“Do I?” Jongin asked, grinning back at her.

“Yes. Quit looking and finish your homework,” she said, turning back to her own work. Jongin hummed noncommittally. They fell into a comfortable silence, broken only by the scratching of pencil on paper and the ticking of the clock.

“You’re really pretty, you know that?” Jongin said eventually, and while his voice was barely above a whisper, it sounded far too loud in the quiet of the library.

Taeyeon felt herself flush red. She glanced at Jongin and then looked back at her notebook.

“T—thanks,” she mumbled. Really? Jongin thought she was pretty? She couldn’t see it herself, and while she knew that people tended to be oblivious to their own beauty and much too hard on themselves, she wondered what he saw in her plain face and hair and clothing and plain everything. She tried to focus on the equations before her, but the numbers and letters weren’t making sense and she was reading the same problem over and over again without a word of it ever processing.

Jongin laughed, noticing the way she stared blankly at her page when she was writing so furiously on it just seconds before. “Would you…” Taeyeon heard him swallow, and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “Would you consider dating me? Like, for real?”

Taeyeon could only gape stupidly as her brain rushed to process Jongin’s question. She felt her cheeks heat up alarmingly fast and she ducked her head, looking away from Jongin. “Um—wow, I... “ Taeyeon trailed off. Long answer short, no. It wouldn’t be fair to Jongin, not when she had liked Minho for as long as she could remember, and still did. “What brought this up?” she finally managed, not giving Jongin a direct answer.

Jongin’s expectant smile slipped, replaced by a sad look that had Taeyeon’s gut churning with guilt and confusion. But the frown was gone a mere second later and Taeyeon blinked, wondering if she had imagined it. She hope she did.

“Nothing, really. I just thought we got along well together,” Jongin said, sitting up and straightening his shoulders.

“I think so too,” Taeyeon said before falling quiet. Suddenly the silence they shared just moments earlier wasn’t comfortable anymore. Or maybe she was the only one who felt uncomfortable and thought the feeling was mutual. She couldn’t tell. She rolled her pencil between her fingers nervously, racking her brain for something to say.

Jongin broke the silence first. “Just for the record, I don’t think Minho deserves you. He’s an , leading you on like that,” Jongin said, referring to the almost-kiss they shared at the semi-formal Taeyeon had told him about.

Taeyeon’s first thought was to defend Minho, but then she sighed. Jongin never believed her when she said that Minho didn’t know the effect he had on her anyways.

Jongin continued when Taeyeon said nothing. “Are you going to ask him out?” Jongin asked and Taeyeon turned pink.

“I—I don’t know. Should I?” She had imagined confessing to Minho countless times before—after all, as the old adage goes: visualisation was the first step to success—but it never made things any easier.

Jongin nodded. “Yeah, of course. He’d be an idiot to say no.”

Taeyeon laughed, patting her heated cheeks. “Maybe…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Jongin smiled at her. “I’ll help you. That’s what I’m here for, right?”

* * *

When Minho slammed his locker shut the next day and turned to leave for the day, the last person he expected to see was Jongin, much less a Jongin without Taeyeon.

They stared at each other for only a few seconds, but a few seconds felt too long when you were looking at a person you didn’t necessarily like and the hallways were empty. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“Was thinking I’d help you,” Jongin said. Jongin leaned against the locker, silent for a moment and refusing to look at him.

“How are you and Taeyeon?” Minho asked. He figured that the only reason why Jongin would talk to him willingly was because of Taeyeon.

Jongin took his time answering. “We broke up. I guess.” Jongin shrugged. “Though I suppose we weren’t ever really together.”

Minho blinked. He squashed down the hope rising in his chest, unwilling to celebrate so soon. Dozens of questions came to mind: variations of ‘What do you mean We broke up, I guess’ or ‘You weren’t together?’ but he was so dazed by the announcement that he couldn’t articulate himself. He settled for, “Wait, what?”

“I offered to be Taeyeon’s boyfriend to help her make you jealous,” Jongin said, lips twisting into a bitter smile. “Did it work?”

Minho ignored his question, heart pounding furiously in his chest. Jongin and Taeyeon were only pretending to date to make him jealous? Did that mean Taeyeon liked him? He had to ask to make sure: “So you guys didn’t really like each other?”

“You’re a . Would I offer to be her pretend-boyfriend if I didn’t like her?” Jongin rolled his eyes. Any retort on the tip of Minho’s tongue died with Jongin’s next sentence. “I asked her to be my girlfriend. She said no.

“Look, I’m only telling you this because I know Taeyeon won’t tell you herself. But you should ask her out. She likes you a lot. Honestly, I don’t know what she sees in you. You’re only average at best...” Minho zoned out, Jongin’s words fading into the background.

She likes you a lot.

Minho kept repeating that sentence over and over again in his head, not quite comprehending, not daring to hope. It felt so surreal that he wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up to the blaring of his alarm clock, but the obnoxious ringing never came.

“...and it’s obvious you like Taeyeon, too. I think you’re an for using Yuri like that and hurting Taeyeon—”

Minho cut Jongin off. “Jongin, I get it. I’m a piece of .”

“At least you know it,” Jongin scoffed.

“Jongin, thanks for letting me know man.”

“That you’re trash? Anytime.”

Minho almost laughed, but quickly caught himself. He couldn’t go around laughing at Jongin’s jokes just because the guy did one nice thing for him. He rolled his eyes. “I meant for telling me that Taeyeon liked me.”

Jongin sniffed. “Well, someone had to do it.”

Minho couldn’t even find it in himself to be annoyed by Jongin’s words. The only thing he could think about was the possibility that Taeyeon liked him too.

Tomorrow. He would tell Taeyeon tomorrow. Hell—he didn’t know if he could even wait that long. He wanted to meet up with Taeyeon right now and tell her that he had liked her for so long, and he wanted to apologise for hurting her, but he knew he would only make a mess of it. He had to practice first.

* * *

Practicing his confession in front of his mirror didn’t help in the slightest. In fact, it made things worse. Minho lingered on all his physical imperfections—was his nose too big? Were his eyes too frog-like? God, he looked stupid when he tried to look sincere and loving. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that would go wrong. He had a feeling in his gut that he was going to up terribly. He was almost tempted to just text Taeyeon, but he didn’t want to diminish the significance of his confession. Taeyeon deserved to be told face-to-face.

Minho wanted to get it out of the way first thing in the morning; he knew that it would gnaw away at him for the entire day if he left it, but as soon as he saw Taeyeon, his knees went weak and he backed out.

He knew that Taeyeon had caught onto his strangeness. She asked him why he was being so quiet during their walk to school, and looking back on it now, Minho was certain he didn’t even give her a coherent answer. She asked him several times in between classes if everything was okay, looked at him with concern during lunch.

At the end of the day Minho waited nervously for Taeyeon by their lockers. If he didn’t tell her he liked her during their walk back home, he wouldn't be able to focus on his homework nor would he be able to sleep that night. He replayed in his head what he was going to say to Taeyeon. Just something short and sweet, because he didn’t want to scare Taeyeon off by professing his love for her right off the bat:

Taeyeon, I’m sort of really into you and I have been for a really long time. I’d like to take you out on a date—if you’d let me—and maybe we could be something more…

Minho let out a cry of surprise when he felt a hand on his arm. He thumped his chest with the flat of his palm, trying to calm the thundering of his heart.

“Taeyeon,” Minho breathed, embarrassment setting his cheeks afire. “You scared me.”

Taeyeon laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Taeyeon hiked her bag onto her shoulders. “Let’s go home?”

Minho nodded, throat too dry to speak. He meekly followed Taeyeon, trailing a step behind her. Would it be easier to tell her about his feelings if she wasn’t looking at him?

“You’ve been so out of it today,” Taeyeon commented as they left the school grounds.

“Sorry,” Minho mumbled. He made no effort to elaborate, and he was grateful when Taeyeon didn’t push him.

Each minute seemed to pass in a blink of an eye and they were drawing closer and closer to Taeyeon’s neighbourhood. Minho panicked, looking for a way to stall for time. At that moment, he heard the tune of an ice cream truck.

Minho and Taeyeon looked at each other at the same time.

“Ice cream?” Minho asked, and Taeyeon nodded, grinning at him.

In a moment of boldness, Minho grabbed Taeyeon’s hand, pulling her towards the ice cream truck. He broke stride from a walk into a run, fingers tight around Taeyeon’s and it felt like he was running over clouds, not concrete. The grin on his face only got wider when he heard Taeyeon laughing behind him.

They skidded to a halt in front of the truck, trying to catch their breath after the run. Minho didn’t let go of Taeyeon’s hand while they waited behind a little boy and his mom. He just held his breath in his cheeks and stayed silent, hoping that Taeyeon wouldn’t pull away. He smothered the spark of confidence that flared in his heart when Taeyeon’s fingers remain curled around his own. He wasn’t quite ready to believe that Taeyeon liked him back.

The boy left the line, excitedly showing his mom his Pikachu popsicle, and Minho and Taeyeon stepped up to take his place. Minho had to consciously keep himself from squeezing Taeyeon’s hand when she pulled away to dig through her bag for her wallet.

After getting their ice cream—a scoop of vanilla for him, chocolate for Taeyeon, both in waffle cups—they sat on the edge of the sidewalk. They went through the customary ritual of offering each other a taste of their chosen flavours, though Minho said no to Taeyeon because he knew how much Taeyeon loved her ice cream. He bit back a laugh when Taeyeon looked relieved.

“Your loss,” Taeyeon shrugged, and then she was spooning her ice cream into nonstop. Not even five minutes later, Taeyeon’s eyes were on his less than half-eaten treat.

“Here,” Minho handed over his ice cream with a laugh. Taeyeon tried to protest, but he pushed his dessert into her hands, insisting she take it. Taeyeon eventually relented, thanking him over and over again.

Come on Choi, just say it, Minho screamed at himself. Taeyeon, I’m sort of really into you— but all his words left him and his brain went blank when Taeyeon looked at him.

“Minho?” Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows. She popped the last of the waffle cup into and wiped her hands on her jeans.

Minho swallowed when Taeyeon’s tongue flicked out to pass over her lips. Minho planted a hand on the concrete behind Taeyeon. He gazed into Taeyeon’s eyes, wondering what happened to the air to make it so thick and so hard for him to breathe. He couldn’t hear anything but the roaring of the blood in his ears, saw nothing but Taeyeon’s eyes on him.

Eyes half-lidded with desire, Minho dipped his head forward slowly, and how was it that the foot between them felt more like a chasm to be crossed? Just as he was about to kiss her, Taeyeon turned her cheek and his lips met the plush skin of Taeyeon’s cheek.

Minho pulled away immediately, a fire engine red and feeling sick to his stomach. “—Taeyeon, I’m so sorry, I thought… ,” he rambled, trying to think of something to say that would save their relationship. “God, I completely misread that, didn’t I?  I thought you liked me, . Taeyeon, I’m really sorry.”

Jongin lied to him, and Minho wanted to disappear.

“Please say something, Taeyeon,” he begged. He couldn’t bear it if he ruined their friendship.

Taeyeon’s cheeks were a deep red and it only made Minho want to kiss her even more. The second of silence from Taeyeon felt longer than a season.

“Do you like me?” she asked quietly.

There was no point hiding it now; he had nothing to lose.

“God, yes, I like you so much,” Minho breathed, leaning into Taeyeon again from the gravity of his attraction.

Taeyeon squeaked.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. Oh, Taeyeon, please let me kiss you…” Minho all but mouthed the words against her lips and Taeyeon clenched her eyes shut and made a small strangled noise. She was painfully aware of Minho’s body in relation to hers: the way his warmth enveloped her, the way his breath fanned across her lips, the way he raised both of his hands to curl his fingers around the crook of her neck.

She felt Minho move just the slightest, and she forced herself to speak before he moved away and she lost her chance.

“Okay.”

If Minho weren’t already sitting down, he would have fallen to his knees in thanks. Minho closed the space between them, shyly pressing his lips full against Taeyeon’s, and god, they were as soft and plump as they looked and his heart was throwing itself all over the confines of his rib cage so furiously he feared it would beat right out of chest.

Was this really happening?

Was this really Taeyeon? Not a figment of his imagination?

Minho pulled away to check, grinning when he opened his eyes to find a flustered Taeyeon.

“Sorry, was that bad? I’ve never—I mean… Jongin and I, we weren’t actually—” Taeyeon stumbled over her words, looking pained, and Minho rushed to soothe her.

“Shh, Taeyeon. It’s okay. I know,” Minho said, eyes still on Taeyeon’s lips. He saw the way they parted in shock at his words. Minho swallowed. He would explain later, but for now… “Can I kiss you again?”

“Yeah… Kiss me.”

END

a more appropriate title for this fic: the cheese factory

wtf why did this end up being so long? whatever, i’m glad it’s over so i can work on other things. i was half of mind to scrap this entire fic because i didn’t like where it was going, but i was convinced otherwise. i hope you guys enjoyed the read ^^ lots of love!