Taemin’s manager didn’t like fansign events because they bored him out. But Taemin quite liked them. True, it was tiring to fancily sign his name on and on for hours but he got to see his fans up close- what kind of people they were, where they came from. From the little conversations he held, he sometimes found out interesting things about them. Like how they grew to like his music. Or some inside joke of his fanbase. He found meeting his fans... quite heartwarming.

His fanbase was mostly girls and it was understandable. Maybe that was why the male fans stood out to him more. Although he saw quite a good number of them during concerts, there were only three that somehow had been embedded in his memory because he saw them frequent most of his local fan events.

One was a young man maybe in his early twenties, who came to his events along with his girlfriend. They both liked his music and the guy often stood in the queue for his girlfriend if she got tired or had to use the restroom. When they came to get their copies signed, Taemin couldn’t help but smile at how sincerely they liked his music, especially the guy, who obviously wasn’t very much into his music as much as his girlfriend was but despite that he supported her interests so passionately, with no malice or jealousy in his demeanour towards Taemin.

The second one was a man in his late thirties. He usually came with his daughter who was around thirteen or fourteen. During one of the times he had signed their copies, he got to know that the man had become a fan all because of his daughter playing his songs in the car and at home; and though he cannot remember much of the music videos, he had lyrics of most songs memorized. Taemin had asked him what his favorite lyric was and when the man mentioned it, Taemin wrote it down along with a message and his sign on his copy. Taemin couldn’t help but take a little extra step towards fans like these who enjoyed his music so deeply, fans that enjoyed his music despite having so many reasons to not.

The third was a young guy. He was tall. Almost as tall as Taemin. He had short hair when he first saw him. He was kind of lanky too, with good features and doe eyes. He was shy and quiet and had only stuck to polite greetings. Taemin had wanted to remember his name but it had slipped his mind in how quick he had to turn to the next fan. The second time he saw him, he was in a school uniform and Taemin figured he was in high school. He was being stared at and it was making him uncomfortable. Taemin wrote a little encouraging message with lots of gratitude and good wishes for his exams before looking at the name tag on his school blazer and confirming if he had the name right. Choi Minho. The third time he saw him, he had long, messy hair that was tied up in a small ponytail. Taemin had subconsciously stared at it for a while before clearing his throat and shifting his gaze back to the guy’s face. He was smiling more freely this time and his voice was a lot more confident than how it sounded last time. He was still embarrassed when Taemin spoke to him, asking if he wanted something special he wanted him to write other than his autograph and name.

“Any-anything is fine!”

“Do you like someone?”

Minho nodded.

Taemin wrote below his autograph “Wish you lots of luck in your love life! Come with your girlfriend next time~”

Taemin watched Minho’s eyes follow his , smiling. When he was done, he handed the album to Minho and the boy took it, bowed and got ahead in the queue before he opened it and read the message properly. He smiled and hugged the album, walking off.

Taemin sighed, turning back to the fan who was before him, thinking to himself as he smiled, Cute.

Taemin was part of a show where one of their fans are randomly chosen through a lottery system and got to participate in a game show with their idols. Taemin had a very sturdy fanbase but was not as popular as the other idols involved (there was a boy group that was immensely popular amongst teenage girls nowadays and two of their members were participating) and hence he knew his screen time would probably be less. But despite that, he was looking forward to the shooting because he always liked meeting his fans.

When the lucky fans were being revealed and it was Taemin’s turn to see who was the fan that was chosen, he sat up, waiting for the fan to enter. When the person walked into the scene, Taemin was taken aback because he knew who the fan was. Choi Minho.

He had grown slightly taller since the last time he saw him and now was a bit taller than him. His hair was still on the longer side but it was cut and styled properly. Taemin could see how conscious he was of himself as he walked towards him, greeting everyone that he passed. He finally greeted Taemin and stood beside him, responding to the questions the host asked. He was quite witty and his answers were intelligent, though he didn’t spoil the fun and gave funny responses to some questions, letting the host’s attempt at making a joke succeed.

The rest of the shoot was everyone following the scripted games. Minho was good at them and surprisingly they won most of them since their movements and speeds matched so well.

When the shoot was done and everyone was bidding goodbye, Taemin asked Minho to have something warm to drink with him before heading out. So there they were, watching the shoot wrap up from a distance, sipping on some coffee.

“You stopped coming to the fan events,” Taemin started, “Did you move somewhere far...or...oh you might have had exams.”

“I...I didn’t have,” Minho began his words becoming a murmur, “...a girlfriend.”

Taemin blinked, his sentence taking a while to trigger his memory. “Oh!” He smiled, “In my hurry, I just wrote what came to my mind. I remember regretting it later on...that I should have written boyfriend instead.”

Minho’s eyes widened, “How-How did you know?!” He asked, his voice low yet still filled with astoundment, “Even I...Even I wasn’t sure at that time.”

Taemin chuckled, “Hmm,” He hummed thoughtfully, “I guess that saying’s right in this situation.” He looked at Minho, “It takes one to know one.”

Minho was silent for a long time, staring at his coffee. Before Taemin could break the air with more conversation, Minho spoke up, “Taemin hyung, do you really think I can get a boyfriend?”

“Of course!”

“Would you... date someone like me?”

Taemin laughed softly, “There is no reason not to. You are handsome and from what I see, kind and–”

“Will you date me?”

Taemin was caught off guard by his sudden question and he just stared at him, who was still staring at his cup, his cheeks flushed.

Taemin couldn’t help but find him cute. He got up, drinking the last couple of sips of his coffee in one go. Smiling, he ruffled Minho’s hair, “Ask me again when you are eighteen.” He couldn’t help but smile a bit wider at how embarrassed Minho got at his words and gesture, “Do you have a ride home? If not, I can drop you off.”

“Tha-Thank you,” Minho said, his voice slightly shaky, “But my father is waiting outside the building.”

“Okay,” Taemin said, “Goodbye, Minho.”

Minho got up and bowed. Taemin returned the greeting and began to walk off when he heard Minho call out loudly, “See-see you again soon!”

Taemin turned, chuckling, “Right! See you soon!”

Three years had passed since that day. Taemin’s activities shifted focus to Japan where he released some music before beginning to work in both musicals and dramas. He came back briefly to Korea time to time and had had a concert in between there, along with some special performances of his musicals but that was it. Finally, his contract with the Japanese agency he had signed with was ending and he was returning to Korea to prepare for a proper album.

The moment he landed, he went home, met his family and then some friends. They had gathered at an expensive bar that was far away from the city and was the safe haven for most celebrities. They ate and drank a bit but his friends had work the next day so they left early but promised to meet up again later in the week.

Taemin got up from the table and headed to the counter, his eyes meeting the bartender. The bartender was also his friend. He often used to talk to him before when he came out for a drink and had no friends to drink with. It had been over three years, but the bartender smiled and greeted him like no time had passed.

“Surprisingly, blue hair suits you really well, Sir.” The bartender complimented and Taemin laughed, running his fingers through his hair. He had dyed it for his drama. He was planning to revert to black for his 25th Birthday. It was only a couple of months away.

“Would you like the custom drink you always had?”

Taemin smiled, “Yes, please... it’s been so long I tasted that blend.” The bartender began making his dr