“So,” Minah began as she boarded the taxi “are you going to tell me what happened and why you flipped out on Jongin?”. Ari looked straight out of the window as the sun rose, the two had signed up from a puppy adoption drive at the recreation center a month ago and now they were heading there to honor that commitment.

“Let’s just say the whole reconciliation didn’t go too well.” Ari mumbled as Minah looked at her, nodding to indicate that she continue “he still flirts with other girls in the class...and he’s on Tinder. Minah, he’s on ing Tinder. Isn’t that indication enough that he isn’t serious?”

Minah leaned back in her seat and sighed “how do you know he’s on Tinder?”  she fiddled with her t-shirt. This was the last time she was going to buy something off the rack without trying it because it was cheap. This t-shirt was loose as hell and she was starting to worry that she would flash the next person if she bent down anytime.

“I saw him on Tinder…” Ari replied, looking uncomfortably at Minah’s fidgeting.

“You saw him use the app?” Minah quirked her eyebrow.

“No...I saw him when I was using the app…” Ari began feeling Minah’s eye boring into her.

“Did you ask him about it?”

“You saw what happened.” Ari replied quietly as Minah fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“You didn’t let him explain did you?”

“Well, he’d been giving me a lot of mixed signals, what did you expect me to say?” Ari grumbled as Minah turned to her.

“You do realize that you being on Tinder and using it while being annoyed with him for using it is a little unfair don’t you?” she reasoned as Ari turned to the defensive.

“My friends at the office loaded it on my phone! I was just using it for the fun of it.”

“What if it was the same with him?” Minah replied, looking straight at Ari who responded with silence. “Could you please talk to the man? You know, like you guys used to and not overthink all his actions? He’s a friendly guy, he was probably helping a student out and not flirting with her. His friends probably loaded Tinder on his phone. You won’t know until you ask him Ari. So just please talk to him.”

Ari remained silent as Minah sighed, Ari just needed time and a little nudging, Minah knew that. Which was why she chose to ask Ari right before they got to the center and see what was going on. She was jolted out of her thoughts when Ari cleared .

“Taekwoon told me he spoke to you.”

Minah relaxed back into her seat and stared straight ahead burning a hole in the back of her seat. She knew Ari would now flip her lid at her. Pursing her lips she sighed “Yeah, we spoke. We cleared it up...sorta.”

She watched Ari’s eyes light up briefly before her face switched it a frown “explain ‘sorta’.”

“I said no to going out with him.”

“You said what?!” Ari spun around to glare at her friend who turned back to her, expressionless.

“I said I liked him, but I didn’t want to jump into anything without him being sure about what he feels.”

“He knows what he feels!” Ari thundered.

“I sure as hell don’t Ari. No one knew he liked me. Not Jongin, not me, not anybody.”

“That’s really not indicative of anything. I knew he liked you.” Ari said, now wondering why her friend had lost her sanity.

“Because he told you he liked me. Ari, he’s awkward with feelings. As am I. He told me he liked me. I was terrified. Especially after what just happened. I told him I wasn’t ready yet. Is that really wrong? You were upset with Jongin too for taking me out, especially after he was quite obvious about his affections for you. I was standing in a quagmire of mixed signals when Taekwoon asked you to that football match and I still am.” Minah babbled as Ari resisted the urge to facepalm. Of course Minah was terrified of committing to someone who showed the emotional quotient of less than a teaspoon. Who was she to blame Minah? She herself was so unsure about what to make of her relationship with Jongin.

She really needed to talk to Jongin. The taxi came to a halt as the two got off, thanking the driver before walking into the recreation centre in silence.

“Where were they holding the drive again?” Minah asked as Ari pointed to the sign board and followed the arrow. Pushing the door open Minah held back the urge to squeal when she noticed a pen full of squirming puppies, she gripped at Ari’s arm only to see her friend looked as elated as she did. They were so many different puppies running around the pen that nearly made her dizzy with excitement that she nearly missed Jongin and Taekwoon standing by the table where the organisers sat wearing the adoption drive hats.  Minah nudged at Ari, indicating that she go talk to Jongin.

Ari looked at Jongin hesitantly as Minah approached the desk with a smile. For a moment she admired her friend’s ability to act like everything was normal. Collecting her hat, she stood waiting for her instructions.

“Ari, please join Jongin in the next room. I think Taekwoon and Minah can manage here.” Hyorin, one of the organizers, said looking up from her sheet. Minah shot Ari a meaningful look as she nudged at Jongin with a grin.

“Go have fun you guys, don’t steal any puppies.”

“If they do, they’d better pay for it.” Hyorin piped up making the group laugh awkwardly before Ari and Jongin headed out of the room. There was an awkward silence between the two as Ari sighed. Jongin snuck a peek at Ari wondering whether it was okay to start any form of conversation with her without her blowing her top. Sure, there had been a misunderstanding of sorts, but he wasn’t sure how much time to give her either.

“I guess this is the room.” Ari said stopping at the door with the sign on it. Jongin pushed it open, holding it for her to enter to another pen of squirming puppies who barked almost in greeting. Ari held back a squeal as she turned to Jongin who looked at the puppies with a grin as the two hurried into the pen. They weren’t sure exactly when they should broach the topic but with no customers, there was no point sitting in silence.

“I just wanted to say that whatever happened yesterday was a misunderstanding.” Jongin began as he joined Ari sitting in the middle of the pen with the puppies now crawling over them. Ari looked down, scooping a squealing puppy up as it curled up against her.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about blowing up yesterday...but it’s just that I saw you on Tinder...and I just jumped to conclusions.”

“Well...my friends uploaded the app on my phone, I have never opened it, honestly,” Jongin replied “except I didn’t know what you were doing on Tinder…” he quirked his eyebrow at her as she mentally wished for the earth to swallow her then.

“I...uh…”

“You?” Jongin asked, running his hand gently over a puppy that seemed to be made entirely of fluff.

“Was jealous…” Ari exhaled and mumbled as Jongin strained to hear the words.

“You were what?” he asked, now smirking as Ari glared at him.

“Don’t make me say it again!”

“Oh, so what could that even mean?” Jongin wondered out loud, looking at a spotted puppy almost like he was asking it the question. Ari placed her hand on his knee to get his attention back. Sure, he was being a smug but she knew why.

“Do you really have to make me say it?”

“Why yes your highness, you must.” Jongin chuckled as Ari fought the urge to whack him.

“I like you; you stupid smug er.”

“Not sure what to make of that.” Jongin continued, still grinning as Ari delivered a whack on his knee.

“I like you. A lot. Now stop being so smug about it, you like me too.” Ari glared at him as he held back a laugh, his hand reaching down to hold onto hers which was still resting on his knee. The door flew open and people began filing in, causing the two to let go and stand up, ready to get to work.

Taekwoon looked awkwardly at Minah who was still listening to Hyorin rant about something. After yesterday, he was certain he wanted to be more affectionate towards her, but her words was what made him cautious. Except when she turned to him with a dazzling smile straining to get away from the other lady, Taekwoon was momentarily stunned before quickly rushing to her rescue.

“Ah yes, Minah I needed to ask you something.” he said, leading her away from Hyorin and towards the pen.

“Thanks, you saved my there.” she let out a sigh followed by an ‘oh’ as she hurried towards the gate of the pen. Taekwoon felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the sharp tongued smart woman turn into an endearing child as she cooed at the puppy. Her usual stoic tone turned into baby talk as she followed the puppy that had escaped the pen.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” she cooed “we’ll get you back in.”

She could hear Taekwoon let out a chuckle as she turned around to look at him as he looked back at her with soft eyes that made her extremely aware of her actions and a blush to creep up her cheeks.Taekwoon watched her look down at the puppy which was now running around her feet as she bend down to pick it up, giving him a view he was pretty sure was the reason for his quickly drying throat.

Kim Minah wore extremely cute bras, Jung Taekwoon learned that day. Pretty white and blue patterns with a tiny ribbon in the center. She had nice collarbones too and the swell of her s under the bra were...appealing. Taekwoon forced himself to look away and she held the puppy to her chest to prevent his heart from flying out of his chest. Minah had never been overtly ual, but this was dangerous territory and with things the way they were, Taekwoon was very close to crying. He wasn’t sure whether it was out of embarrassment or his inability to do anything.

Minah stood, clutching the puppy completely unaware of what she had triggered.  All she had noticed was that Taekwoon had suddenly turned away from her and she shrugged, placing the puppy back within the pen only to have a large piece of fabric being placed on her head. Looking up she noticed Taekwoon, now rid of his hoodie, holding it over her head as she stood up, looking at him baffled and realizing that her t-shirt was nearly hanging low again.

Well .

“Thank you.” she mumbled reaching out to it and slipping it on only to have it hang loosely on her, nearly engulfing her in it. She tried not to eye the strong arm muscles Taekwoon owned now in her vision thanks to the lack of his hoodie leaving him in his sleeveless workout clothes. Sometimes she wondered if he was even aware of how attractive he was, but knowing that he had his own tiny fanbase within her college, she was sure someone would have made him aware of it.

“Yeah, not a problem.” Taekwoon on the other hand now cursed his luck at how attractive he thought Minah looked in his clothing. He pictured different scenarios in which this was a possibility causing a heat to rise up his cheeks. The doors now opened for the public as the two entered the pen as per the instructions given to them.

They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other.

Neither could Jongin and Ari in their dance classes that followed the drive. The moment Ari told Minah about what had happened, Minah cheered and said.

“I'm sure the puppies helped!”

Jongin and returned to partnering with Ari through the class leaving Taeyong rather baffled by the sudden extreme protectiveness over her. Jongin could be aggressive when he felt like it and this was one of those times.

Ari's progress in the dance class was no joke either. She was passionate and having a loving teacher like Jongin helped greatly as he loved dancing as well as being with Ari. They often stayed back in the dance room and went over routines till Ari would realise that it was indeed time to leave. Not that it meant parting from Jongin. They were back to riding home together.

Even when she did get back home, or when she was at work, they would text each other frequently in the goofiest manners that would often leave Ari gasping for air as she tried her best not to laugh at the goofy man who had won her affection. Every now and then, he would send her texts very indirectly asking her to tell him she liked him...just to soothe his desire for affection. Sometimes Ari would return the favour, just to mess around with him. Sprawled on her chair after work, she sent him a text.

Ari 7:45 PM : Hey, do you have someone you like.

Jongin 7:46 PM : Yeah, you

Jongin’s reply made her blush. He was straightforward as ever and she adored that about him. But her mood at this point was mischievous; fingers flying over the keys of her phone as she bit her lip, she sent him a response.

Ari 7:47 PM : Ummmm, I have a boyfriend you know?

Jongin 7:47 PM : Yeah, you?*

Ari gaped at the text and burst out laughing before quickly typing out another message.

Ari 7:48 PM : Ooohhhh, good save!

Jongin 7:48 PM : Why thank you u_u

Ari sighed, she could only hope that things were going just as well for Taekwoon and Minah.

Taekwoon had decided that he was going to prove his affections to Minah, and when he decides on something, he delivers. He had been showing up to her practices everyday now. He even started to bring his own racket and managed to scare off Minah’s doubles partner, which lead to a surprising turn of events where he made Minah teach him how to play. Taekwoon was being completely sincere when he asked her to guide him through the game. However, he picked up quickly and was pretty soon rather good at the game even if he began exaggerating his errors to get Minah’s attention. He was courteous on and off court, he’d listen to things she’d say and remember them. Like how she wasn’t a big fan of grand gestures of affection, how she thought daisies were pretty but didn’t like being given flower bouquets. How instant noodles and orange ice popsicles made her extremely happy so he’d treat her to them to her every now and then as a gesture of ‘thanks’.

Minah wasn’t entirely sure as to how to deal with Taekwoon’s excessive attentions to her.  They had exchanged numbers and texted every now and then to decide on timings to meet for his tennis lessons and her every now and then boxing lessons. Taekwoon took advice on how to show affection from his friends who were extremely affectionate one such friend being Lee Jaehwan who he had met in summer camp back when they were kids.

“Woo her,” Jaehwan said sipping on his juice as he invaded Taekwoon’s apartment in an ‘intervention to save Taekwoonie’s love life’  “call her a cute nickname!” Noticing Taekwoon taking no action, he picked up Taekwoon’s phone from the coffee table and handed it to him, urging him to send her a text.

Taekwoon sighed, staring at the phone screen before opening the chat between him and Minah. What would be a good nickname for her? What would his R&B heroes call their loves? Shawty? Sounded too crude. Sweetcheeks? She’d hate him for that. Finally narrowing down on something sufficiently cool he typed in the message.

Taekwoon 1:13 PM :What’s up baby gorilla?

Panic flooded his system as he attempted to rectify the error.

Taekwoon 1:13 PM : baby girl***

Minah 1:13PM :Nothing much, just monkeying around. :3

Taekwoon 1:14 PM: Sorry that was a bad idea to begin with, I don't know why I said that. I was trying something someone told me...nevermind

Taekwoon gaped at Minah’s response and let out a chuckle. Only she would come up with an actual response to being called a baby gorilla. Jaehwan whistled, peering over the screen.

“You’re so whipped.”

Minah stared at the message. She knew something was off when Taekwoon sent her the corrected version of it. When she read his explanation, she laughed.

Minah 1:15 PM : You’re a funny man. Don’t listen to that someone :P I quite like baby gorilla.

Taekwoon 1:15 PM : I shall keep that in mind. I’ll be joining you at the courts tomorrow so don’t partner up with someone else and abandon me.

Minah 1:16 PM: Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow then.

“So ing whipped.” Jaehwan muttered avoiding the cushion which was thrown at him.

Minah didn’t know what to do with Taekwoon now making an effort to toy with her feelings. He was always there, listening, talking, comfortingly there. He had his humorous moments often which she appreciated. She was attracted to him for sure, but the more he showed himself to her, the more she felt drawn into him.

So, when he didn’t show up for practice the next day so she had to partner up with her old doubles partner. She wondered what could've kept him busy. After going home that evening, she thought she would text him. They were friends after all, and friends wonder when they don't see each other at practice, right?

She reached for her phone and tapped his name.

Minah 11:45 PM :Hey, you didn't show up for practice today, everything okay?

She groaned and hit backspace. Why did something have to be wrong for not showing up. Maybe he was done with her. She fell back on to her bed and the fatigue of the practice suddenly hit her. She felt her eyes go heavy and vision go dark as sleep consumed her.

She only found out next morning about the events that unfolded during the time that she was asleep. She unlocked her phone to find a bunch of messages from Taekwoon.

Taekwoon 1:20 AM: Are you asleep?

Taekwoon 1:23 AM :Okay, you're either asleep or you're ignoring me but I'm going to go with the former.

Taekwoon 1:23 AM : In case you were wondering, I didn't come to the practice today because I had some football stuff I needed to attend to...I didn't ditch you or anything... Not that you care I guess...

Taekwoon 1:25 AM : Anyway, sorry again. Goodnight!

Minah rolled over in her bed and sighed. He was as worried as she was. After spending enough time with him she could figure out this much.

Minah 7:45 AM : It’s alright, I understand. Want to meet up for coffee?

Rolling off her bed, she sighed. She wondered what she would say to Taekwoon. Ari had told her she would be going to the recreation centre along with Jongin earlier. Minah smiled, at least things had uncomplicated themselves for Ari and she was glad.

Ari was excited as she sat beside Jongin. Ever since they'd cleared things up, Jongin had been very open about his affections to her outside class and quite subtle about it in class. But today he'd officially asked her out to lunch after their class and she couldn't wait.

Even the class felt like a blur. The warm up, group dance, acid behaviour towards Taeyong went about mechanically. But time seemed to slow down the moment she got out of the locker room to see Jongin waiting for her with a smile on his face.

“You look great,” he grinned, nudging her side as she joined him “are you ready?”

Ari had been careful about what she wore that day. Putting a little more thought into it and now she was flushing at the compliment and she nodded and followed Jongin out of the recreation when she spotted Taekwoon settling down in front of Minah at through the cafe glass and she grinned.

“Well, looks like they're doing pretty okay too.” she said as Jongin subtly caught hold of her hand.

“They'll be fine. For today, let's just not worry about them.” He said leading her to the car and they climbed in.

Lunch felt too short so they ended up going to a local fair and somehow that extended way into the night so they ended up having dinner together. She liked how their fingers interlocked over the gear even as he drove. Sometimes they'd intersperse their comfortable silences with conversations about anything. That bonsai stall at the fair, why the hell did Freud have to talk about es and so much, comfort food, the puppies at the drive, how Jongin had applied nail paint to his lips thinking it was lipstick (Ari found that particularly funny). She enjoyed it, there was that nervous heartbeat around him, yet there was calm.

However, when they neared their apartments, things started to heat up. Ari could feel the tension in the air. Jongin looked nervous as well. He smiled when their eyes met but when he looked away he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and his lips. It was a cold day and she could see their steady huffs of air as they breathed. She bit her lip not knowing what to do next. She decided she sat there awkwardly long enough before she decided that it was time to leave.

Just when she had unbuckled her seatbelt, he turned around to give her a brief kiss. He stayed there, just like that; his lips hovering hers. It seemed like he was waiting for a reaction, and so she gave him one. Only when he felt her grip at the collar of his shirt he pressed a little closer, feeling her balmy lips against his as they dragged against each other creating a heat that made him sigh into the kiss. She felt his tongue drag over the seam of her lips and smiled into the kiss. She gasped when he nibbled at her lower lip, coaxing her tongue to drag against his as his fingers tangled in her hair.

Breaking apart to breathe she leaned her forehead against his as they smiled at each other.

“Goodnight.” She breathed out.

“Goodnight.” He nodded back.

She kissed his forehead “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Jongin felt a blush creep up his cheeks “Yeah…”

He watched her leave the car with a giddy smile on his face. He didn't mind this at all.