-

Taemin can't sleep. He's been in bed, tossing and turning for more than half an hour, but even though his eyes are closed, he still can't go to sleep. After all the long hours he's been working in the past few months, his body isn't used to sleeping early. All the energy in his body is begging to be let out—his schedule didn't allow it today, being a lot more relaxed than usual.

The screen of his phone lights up next to him, showing all the notifications he's ignored since he tried to go to bed, and the time. It's a little past midnight. Normally, he would just be getting out of work at this hour, with long days of rehearsals and recordings filling his schedule to the brim.

To think he was actually glad that he could get home early and sleep. Now he's not even sleeping; he's just home early and boring himself to death instead.

Rolling over for the umpteenth time, his mind wanders. Going back to the studio to practice is one option. It's not like he doesn't do that all the time. Or he could go to the gym. His manager will probably get mad at him, though—he has a long rehearsal tomorrow.

Or he could wake someone up to suffer with him.

Jongin is probably free now. Jongin's been so busy the whole day he didn't have time to call or text him. No thanks to all the meetings and photoshoots and rehearsal he got scheduled into.

Scrunching his face at the thought of packed schedules, Taemin reaches for his phone once again, deciding that texting Jongin is a good idea.

Jongin 

Jongin-ah 

Jonginnie 

Delivered 00:24

Jongin doesn't reply his first few texts. He's definitely still awake, though. He's probably ignoring him. Taemin rolls his eyes at the thought—although it's really not a problem. Taemin has never been someone who gives up easily.

Jonginnnn 

Kim jongin 

Kai-ssi? 

Nini? 

Read 00:26

Jongin

What 

00:27

Taemin chuckles when Jongin finally replies him. A stupid grin automatically plasters itself on his lips, just as he's reading Jongin's curt one-word reply and typing his own.

Ok 

You responded to Nini 

I'll call you that from now on 

Read 00:27

It's not funny. He can practically see Jongin rolling his eyes while judging his sense of humor. Despite that, though, his grin is just getting wider and wider. There's really no helping it.

Instead of a reply, Jongin's name appears on the screen instead, signaling a call coming through. Taemin doesn't even have to think before pressing the green answer button.

"Hey—"

"What do you want?" Jongin asks, even before Taemin finishes greeting him.

"Let's go get coffee," Taemin says. "I can't sleep."

"Yah, you know what time it is?" Jongin complains. "I literally just got home."

"That's why I'm calling you now , not earlier," Taemin rolls his eyes. "So? Do you wanna get coffee with me or not?"

Jongin huffs into the phone. "I don't even like coffee."

"I know. Who doesn't know that baby Jongin doesn't like coffee?" Taemin sniggers, much to Jongin's chagrin. The younger man's cursing is very audible.

"We can go for a walk instead," Taemin offers, after a while. "I just need to get out. Come with me. Please?"

The line goes silent.

Then Jongin sighs. If it stayed silent just a little longer, Taemin might have suspected that his phone died.

"Fine. Pick me up."

Taemin cheers inwardly, then he gets an idea. A smug grin starts to form on his face. "I will. It's a date!"

Jongin balks. "Wait. What?"

The 'date' thing was improvised on Taemin's part, but at least Jongin is coming out with him. And this will give him a chance to get the upper hand in their little game.

"Get ready. Bye." Taemin laughs and hangs up before Jongin could bail.

Now that that's settled, all he needs to do is change his clothes.

And maybe figure out where he put his car keys.

-

The first thing Jongin does, after snapping himself out of the reverie induced by Taemin's sudden 'date' declaration, is find an outfit. Purely on instinct, he looks himself over on the full-length mirror in his room, and decides that his face looks decent enough. His outfit, however, is a mess—he was in the middle of changing into his sleepwear when Taemin texted him.

If it's a 'date' then he has to look nice. He can't look like he literally just rolled out of bed. Shuffling through his drawers, he finds himself a nice, plain t-shirt to wear, and puts the jeans he just took off for bed back on.

Now he needs a jacket.

The problem is, he can't find the jacket he wants, even after rummaging through the closet in his room  and the shared closet outside. Not the best time to be losing his stuff.

"Are you going out?"

Junmyeon's voice sounds from the living room, where he's been watching Jongin walk back and forth between his room and the dorm's shared closet for the past ten minutes.

"Gonna see Taemin for a bit," Jongin answers absentmindedly, still going through the closet. He might have missed it while looking. "Hyung, do you know where my nice jacket is?"

"You have a ton of nice jackets, which one are you looking for?"

"Ah, I don't know anymore." Jongin pulls out the first black hoodie he sees and puts it on. He walks into the living room, snatching a baseball cap on the way, before stopping right in front of Junmyeon. "How does this look?"

"It looks fine," Junmyeon offers, an eyebrow lifted, "Aren't you just going to see Taemin? What's the fuss?"

Jongin stills.

Taemin probably didn't mean anything when he said that it will be a date. The most likely scenario is he was joking around and messing with him. And it's just for the game.

Which means it's not a real date.

Plus, it's just Taemin. Knowing him, the man himself would probably wear something that makes him look like he just pulled whatever he can find in his closet and threw it on.

But then again, he has never been out on a supposed 'date' with Taemin. He has no idea how to act.

"Are you sure I don't have to change?" Jongin asks, just to make sure. "Should I wear glasses? Or no glasses?"

He starts walking to his room again to grab his glasses. "Or should I wear my beanie instead of the cap?"

"Are you really just going to see Taemin?" Junmyeon eyes him with suspicion. "You're acting like you're going on a—"

"It is not a date," Jongin cuts off before Junmyeon even says the word.

"I was gonna say it's fine as long as you let me know. If it was a date." Junmyeon shrugs, "But since you're just going on a  'not-a-date' with Taemin… I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

Right on cue, Jongin's phone vibrates in his pocket. Taemin must be downstairs. He rushes to the shoe cabinet.

"Okay, hyung, I'm going on a not-a-date  with Taemin," Jongin says as quietly as possible, as he slips into his go-to pair of sneakers. He doesn't even bother to put it on properly. "And if I don't get back in time for our schedule tomorrow just pick me up at his house. Bye!"

Jongin is already closing the door when Junmyeon says 'be careful' behind him, and rushes into the elevator, not wanting anyone else to notice him leave.

A familiar white BMW is waiting right outside the lobby when he walks out; Jongin bolts right inside, entering the car before anyone could see him. He almost missed seeing the drink carrier on the passenger's seat in his hurry, almost sitting on it—he's lucky he noticed it before he spills drinks all over the place.

"Hey," he greets, completely out of breath. Taemin looks at him from the driver's seat, lips quirking up at his scramble to get in the car.

"Wow, were you that excited to see me?" Taemin teases as they leave the driveway. Even Jongin's glare doesn't succeed in wiping the smug grin off of his face. "I got you drinks, if that isn't obvious."

Jongin looks down at the two cups of drinks in the carrier he's holding, and glances at the iced americano tucked safely in the cup holder next to Taemin.

"You got me two drinks?"

"Bought something new for you to try," Taemin answers nonchalantly without even looking at him. "And also got you iced tea, just in case."

Jongin hums and takes out the so-called 'new' drink. The liquid is light brown with white swirls from slightly uneven mixing, and a couple cubes of ice floats just below the lid.

"...Is this coffee?" Jongin glances at Taemin, suspicious. Taemin stays mute. Having known him for a decade, he knows his refusal to answer is basically a confirmation. "You know I don't like coffee."

"Just try it," Taemin insists. "You'll like it. I swear."

Jongin eyes the light brown liquid in the cup again, still unsure if he's going to die of poisoning after taking a sip. He shifts his eyes back to Taemin. "What do I get for drinking it?"

Taemin takes a quick glance at him before redirecting his gaze to the road in front of him. His silence is half a beat too long; Jongin half-wonders if Taemin didn't hear him.

"What do I get?" Jongin repeats.

"Wait, I'm thinking," Taemin rolls his eyes at his impatience, "Let's see…How about a kiss?"

Jongin stiffens. "What?"

An awkward second that feels like forever passes before Taemin lets out a tense chuckle.

"Just kidding," Taemin justifies himself. "And the game, remember?"

Jongin ends up taking a sip of the mysterious drink while trying to distract himself from the sudden hint of self-consciousness he's feeling, and it's… surprisingly good. And he's still alive after drinking it, which means it isn't as poisonous as the types of coffee he's familiar with.

He takes another sip.

Taemin notices, and starts snickering. "It's latte. You like it, don't you?"

Taemin doesn't stop laughing. He looks so smug about it; if he wasn't driving, Jongin would probably hit him. Playfully, of course.

"Wow. Jongin is drinking coffee," his friend continues, still having fun at his expense. Jongin keeps drinking, if only to stop himself from cursing at his friend for making fun of him. "This is big news. Should I ask the company to make a press release?"

Good thing they were at a red light. Jongin snaps and lightly punches Taemin in the arm. Taemin reflexively dodges his attack and shoots him a pout.

"Jonginnie, you hurt me," Taemin whines, the pout just getting more pronounced with every word.

"Shut up and drink your own coffee," Jongin grumbles.

Taemin bursts into another fit of laughter, and this time Jongin doesn't even bother trying to stop him.

-

Taemin ends up taking the drive towards the Han River. He parks his car at a nearby lot, and takes Jongin on a walk along the river. The normally packed area is quiet, so late in the night. Nobody is around; the only things accompanying them are the trees swaying with the wind and the city lights they can see from afar.

Unwilling to ruin the perfect stillness of the scenery, they walk mostly in silence, and they only talk in hushed voices, about mundane, everyday topics. For others, it might be boring, but Taemin has always found this— a nice and quiet walk with Jongin—to be a nice break from the fast-paced lives they live as idols in the entertainment industry.

Jongin's arm somehow finds its way to his shoulder, pulling him closer. Taemin shifts a little to accommodate the change in posture; the wind is a little strong and Jongin's warmth is a welcome comfort. Jongin probably shares the sentiment.

A while into their walk, Taemin suddenly remembers their game, and realizes the normality of this 'date' they are on. The game is supposed to make them do things that is  outside of what is 'normal' betwelen them, and while Taemin likes spending time with Jongin  normally , he also needs to win a game.

"We should give each other real nicknames," Taemin says.

"What kind?" Jongin's voice is soft yet clear in his ears; the lack of distance between them making it much easier to talk quietly but still be heard. Somehow, this makes it really hard for Taemin to stay casual about this situation.

"Something other than babe , definitely," Taemin jokes, hoping his nervousness doesn't show. "Everytime I say it I feel like cracking up."

"Then use darling or honey instead," Jongin suggests with the most serious expression.

Taemin has no clue if he's joking or not. He may be playing a game, and he's willing to try his hardest to make Jongin lose, but he's not going to call anyone  darling .