Chapter Three;

March 26
Tokyo, Japan

On Minseok's 29th birthday, he loudly declared that from then on, he was going to stop aging. 

"I'm just going to keep turning 29 from now on," he said with a little pout. "I don't want to be old."

"Easy for you to get away with, since your face doesn't seem to age," Kris grumbled. Kris was only a few months younger, but looked more his age than my Minseok. 

I had gotten Minseok a football signed by this favorite players for his birthday, but it was left behind in Barcelona due to our sudden trip. Still, Minseok's eyes widened in excitement at the picture I had on my phone, and leaned over to drop a huge kiss on my cheek. I had also gotten him new earrings, a simple black piece shaped in a diamond, simple but elegant. 

"It's just my style," he said, immediately taking out his M earring to put in the new one. 

"Hyung, this is the first time I've seen you take off that M earing since you got here," Chanyeol commented. 

Minseok just grinned, using his phone to check out his reflection. "Mina got it for me back in college," he explained. 

"Cute," Baekhyun teased. 

We all went out to lunch at a fancy place in Ikebukuro that Minseok picked out, before Sehun managed to drag Chanyeol, Minseok, Kyungsoo, Joonmyun, and me to Akihabara. 

"Sehun is obsessed with Akihabara," Joonmyun mumbled as we watched Sehun bounce around the street in excitement, a Mister Donut cruller in one hand and his snapback in the other. 

We spent the next two hours weaving in and out of the numerous anime figurine shops and playing arcade games, enjoying the flashy Akihabara area.  

"It was nice to play around like that," Minseok told Sehun on the train back. "I don't feel 29 at all. Thanks, Sehunnie."

Sehun smiled happily, even though I felt like he dragged us there for his own enjoyment, not for Minseok's sake.

For dinner, Minseok and I decided to have a private dinner, just the two of us. We booked a cruise dinner, and got to enjoy a nice meal on a little private boat sailing around the Tokyo Harbor with a beautiful view of the Rainbow Bridge. 

"I think after Barcelona, Tokyo is my favorite city," Minseok said, as we stood out on the tip's deck to snap a few photos of the bridge. 

"What about Seoul?" I asked, shivering a little from the night chill as I had left my jacket inside. Minseok noticed at once, and tucking me into his chest between the railing and his warm body. He took the wine glass I was holding out of my hand to cuddle me close, running the other hand up and down my arm a few time. "Thanks," I mumbled, even as he leaned down to drop a kiss on my cheek.  

"Seoul doesn't count because Seoul is home," Minseok answered. "Speaking of Seoul, do you still remember how we met?" Minseok asked, eyes dark as could be. 

I smiled, shuffling and turning around so I was facing him, still warm in his arms. "Of course, how could I forget? Introduction to Microeconomics, right? We sat together."

Our Microeconomics class was a large lecture of almost 200 students. I hadn't really noticed Minseok until half way through the first day of class, when my pencil rolled off my desk and the guy sitting in front of me bent down to pick it up. 

"Thanks," I'd mumbled. I meant to say more, but I was too busy staring into his eyes because there had always been some attraction. I remembered the way he had smiled at me, as if we were sharing a secret or something. At the end of lecture, he had asked for my name. My original seat was taken the next class, and I ended up in a different seat in the back of the lecture hall. Minseok had seen me as soon as he walked in, greeting me with a cheery smile and sliding into the seat next to me. After that, we just became friends, exchanging numbers, having study sessions and late night coffee runs together. 

"Actually, I have a confession to make," Minseok said, looking embarrassed. "That wasn't...the first time I'd seen you."
 
"What?" I asked, surprised. This was the first time I was hearing of this. 

"I saw you the day before, at orientation, but I didn't get to approach you." Minseok bit his lip, letting out a sheepish smile. "You were sitting in the lobby of Central Library, laughing silently over something on your phone like a goddess. I thought you were really beautiful, so when I saw you in econ lecture, I purposefully sat near you hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you."

I opened my mouth, but then closed it dumbly. All these years, and I never knew that our chanced meeting in class was in fact orchestrated after a chanced meeting at orientation. Instead, the only thing that came out of my mouth was,"You thought I laughed like a goddess?"

Minseok smiled, kissing me again. "Maybe just a little."

Although the food and wine in the boat was fancy and expensive, being the only ones on the boat meant we got to decide our own atmosphere. We'd decided to go casual, and Minseok was dressed in casual ripped dark jeans and crisp white button down, somehow looking like the brightest star in the sky.

As we got back to our table, Minseok pulled out the chair for me to sit down first, then headed to the front of the boat to tell the little old man who owned the boat and also cooked the delicious food that we were ready for him to start bringing out the appetizers. A few moments later, he returned, hands in his pockets in a easy walk. 

I couldn't stop staring at him, at his thighs in those jeans, a pair that was one of my favorites to see on him. Minseok still liked to play soccer with some other guys in the neighborhood every weekend, and those jeans seemed to hug ever muscle. As he sat down, I quickly gave my head a little shake, trying to get my mind out of the gutter. Two more glasses of wine and an entrée later, I decided that there was no reason to hide it.

"Seok-ah, I really like your jeans," I told him, tucking a finger into the rip at the knees under the table