Xu Minghao was simply not one of those people that could be ignored, or even denied.

    Perhaps it had something to do with that air of childish innocence that he seemed to have about him despite his age of eighteen, or those wide, puppy dog eyes of his. THere was never an ulterior motive behind his actions, solely genuine intents. The case seemed to be that his heart was fully in everything that he did. Whatever the reason was, though, it was an undeniable fact that one just could not say no to Minghao.

    Lee Jihoon would know this better than anyone else. After all, he had tried time and time again, only to come up with failure in the end regardless of the circumstances.

    Jihoon hadn’t quite known what to think of it the first day that Minghao had walked up to him with his hands behind his back and a shy yet giddy smile etched upon his face.

    “What’s up?” He asked, spinning around in his chair to get a more complete view of the Chinese boy.

    He was met with that sheepish grin, cheeks flushed ever so slightly pink as MInghao looked down to where Jihoon was sitting (which was quite far below him, as tall as he was). “I got you a present,” came his sweet voice.

    Jihoon blinked. A present? Christmas was still a ways off, and it was definitely too late to be a birthday present.

    Before he could ask any questions, though, Minghao spoke again, looking about ready to burst with excitement with every word that left his lips. “Close your eyes and hold your hands out, okay?”

    Jihoon complied without question, as always when instructed something by Minghao. Before long, he felt something soft plop into his waiting palms, and he hesitantly opened one eye before the other to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that Minghao had bestowed upon him.

    He was left even more confused as he looked at the gift. It was a small stuffed rabbit no bigger than Minghao’s hands (which, in hindsight, were actually quite large), a bright pink color broken up by black beads for the eyes.

    “What… what is it?” Jihoon asked, examining it as he tried oh so desperately to deduce the purpose behind it.

    “It’s a rabbit,” Minghao announced, never failing to state the obvious. “It reminded me of you, so I thought you might like it.”

    Jihoon raised an eyebrow, looking even more closely at the toy. How on Earth did that thing even remotely resemble him…?

    “I know your hair isn’t that bright anymore, but it was the same color when we did Adore U,” Minghao explained, seeing the doubtful expression on the composer’s face. “Do you like it? I can take it back if you don’t,” He added anxiously, noting that it had been a while since Jihoon had said anything.

    “I like it,” Jihoon said, mouth forming the words before his brain could catch up with it. “It’s cute.”

    Minghao looked completely and totally relieved, precious smile reforming on his lips. “I’m glad,” he said, and Jihoon swore he was nearly blinded by the radiance of his smile before the dancer turned around, all but skipping out of the room.

    Jihoon sighed, glancing at the toy once more before setting it atop his computer. There was just no denying Minghao.

    The next time it happened, the boys were on break from rehearsal, sitting slumped against the walls of the practice room with sweat all but pouring off of them. Jihoon had his eyes closed, head back as he breathed heavily, trying desperately to catch his breath. The last that he had seen, Minghao was sprawled out on the floor before him, lying on his stomach with his spindly limbs going out in each direction and his sweat soaked forehead pressed against the filthy hardwood floor. Jihoon would’ve reprimanded him, would’ve told him how utterly and completely unsanitary that was, but he didn’t think that he had the energy to say so much as a word of the spiel that was certain to follow such a statement.

    He quickly realized, however, that Minghao was no longer lying where he had previously been when he felt a heavy thud in his lap.

    Jihoon let out a low, panicked grunt and his eyes flew open, the weight falling dangerously close to a spot that he really, really did not want it to hit. He looked down, heart still racing, only to find a can of soda, soon joined by a hand towel thrown over Jihoon’s eyes. Upon removing the towel, he looked up to find Minghao standing over him yet again, a similar towel wrapped around his neck.

    Jihoon raised an eyebrow by manner of a question. He was, in fact, too tired to speak.

    “Thought you might be thirsty,” Minghao explained breathlessly, gesturing weakly to the can Jihoon now held.

    The shorter boy had to admit, the coolness of the can did feel nice against his burning skin. He flipped the can around, curious to see what the drink was, only to have a feeling of dread settle over him as he discovered that it was his least favorite. He didn’t think himself a particularly picky person. Especially during his trainee days, he would eat or drink anything placed before him. But if there was anything in this world he couldn’t stand to put into his stomach, it was that drink.

    Still, with minghao’s wide eyes watching him so expectantly, he knew that he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. He popped the can open with hesitant fingers before taking a deep breath and chugging a significant amount of it down in one shot. He did his best not to grimace at the flavor, keeping as straight of a face as he could as he looked up to Minghao and said “Thank you,”.

    That was enough to satisfy the lanky boy, smiling tiredly as he took a drink of his own soda, going off to speak with another member.

    Jihoon didn’t know why he continued to drink the wretched thing even after Minghao had long since left.

    The third time was in the dorm, well after the sun had gone down. A few members had gone off to bed, though a few remained in front of the television, mindlessly watching a Christmas movie. Jihoon in particular was not at all in his right mind, having been composing all day long. As such, he didn’t notice Minghao slipping out of the room, and the latter had to call out his name multiple times before he lazily looked up, finding Minghao brandishing a blanket, a pillow, and a teddy bear.

    Jihoon didn’t even have to ask; he already knew how this was going to end up.

    No words were exchanged as Minghao dropped his arsenal beside Jihoon before sitting down himself, crawling under the blanket and snuggling up beside Jihoon.

    Jihoon was not at all a snuggly person, and had it been any other member besides Minghao, he would’ve hit them, kicked them, done anything to end the peculiar torture. But since it was Minghao, he somehow found himself scooting even closer, cuddling up against the younger boy.

    “Minghao,” he asked suddenly, “why can’t I say no to you?”

    Minghao smiled, apparently pleased to hear such a thing. “Because I’m too cute,” he joked, puffing out his cheeks to add to the effect.

    What Minghao hadn’t been anticipating was Jihoon to slowly nod before smiling right back at him. “Yeah,” he agreed, “that must be it.”