“... and I just don’t get it, how can they be so supportive of everything I do but the moment I want to step outside of the house without the entire army looking after me, they go crazy!” Minki rambled, hugging the purple pillow.

Minhyun sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of Minki’s face.

“You know what I think?” Minhyun said, trying to poke Minki’s cheeks, but the younger was swatting him away.

“That I should stop complaining because they’re just worried and I should be thankful for everything they’ve given me?”

Minhyun paused. “You should be thankful, definitely. But the line is thin between worry and total manipulation.”

“Then what should I do?” Minki asked grimly.

Minhyun hesitated. He stopped trying to poke Minki’s face and lay back on the bed.

Minki sat up, looming over him. “Hyung? You have an idea, don’t you?”

Minhyun shook his head. “It’s not exactly an idea, just an opinion. But I shouldn’t—I shouldn’t be such a bad influence.”

Minki sat on his knees and nudged Minhyun. “Speak!”

He sighed and sat up, settling across from Minki. “I just think that... You need to be in control of your life. You can’t stay locked up just out of respect for your parents. Like the first time you went out for coffee. Your parents didn’t find out and you didn’t die. All I’m saying is; stay safe but live a little.”

Minki pursed his lips in thought. “I would need you and Cheolsu covering for me all the time, I can’t ask that of you.”

“I’ll be happy to help,” Minhyun said with a smile.

Just as Minki thought it was a sweet moment with his best friend, the elder added,

“—to help my friend get laid.”

Minki whined and swung a pillow at Minhyun’s face. “You ert!”

He fell down, laughing like crazy.

 

Minki took Minhyun’s advice. Not the talk about getting laid, but for once doing what he wanted to do.

It may have taken him two hours and four pep talks, but in the end he called Jonghyun.

“Oh, Blondie!” His voice was cheerful.

Minki puffed his cheeks at the nickname. “Hi, yeah, it’s me. I was just wondering – if you’re not doing anything this weekend maybe we could—“ Minki felt his courage slowly slipping away he had to get it out fast or he would never say it. “I just thought we could go out, if you want,” he rambled.

“Does that mean we’re now seeing each other without one owing something to the other?” Jonghyun inquired teasingly.

“Well—Why not?” Minki said irritably.

Jonghyun chuckled. “I thought you said you have no other reason to see me!”

Minki didn’t know why he was getting so heated. He grabbed a random book to fan himself. “You know what, forget it! I actually thought—ugh!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Of course I want to go out, Minki. Do you want me to come over or go out as in... Out?”

Minki put the book down and took a deep breath. “Out as in outside.”

“What about your parents?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“In that case I’ll have to make sure you’re perfectly safe.”

“I don’t ask that of you,” Minki mumbled.

“Well I’m doing it anyway. I’ll make sure you’re safe and we’re having fun. Oh yeah—I have an idea where we can go, is that okay?”

Minki shrugged. “I wouldn’t have an idea anyway.”

“When do you want me to pick you up?”

 

It was difficult to dress for the occasion when he didn’t know where they were going. Jonghyun had said that it was something casual, but Minki was still unsure.

So casual he went; black skinny jeans with a plain black skirt over them and a white dress shirt. He pulled a hoodie over it all simply because he didn’t want his parents to notice that he dressed up for supposedly going to sleep over at Minhyun’s.

He had told Jonghyun to wait farther down the street where he’d dropped him off after their first date.

Minki took off his hoodie and fixed his braid before getting inside.

“Hey,” Minki greeted.

Jonghyun just went for it. He leaned in and pecked Minki’s cheek before starting the car.

“Hello beautiful,” he hummed.

Minki pressed his palms to his cheeks, trying to cool down. “Where are we going?” He asked, not wanting to dwell on the moment.

“Wait and you’ll see,” Jonghyun hummed.

“Still? You don’t need to be that secretive!” Minki complained.

“I just want it to be a real surprise!” Jonghyun defended himself.

Immediately upon exiting the car, Minki looked around to figure out where he was. The tall glass building was difficult to miss. The sign reading “Seoul Sky” reflected in Minki’s eyes.

He gasped and skipped over to Jonghyun. “You’re taking me stargazing? You’re so cheesy!” Minki said, smiling brightly. He didn’t even mind.

Jonghyun’s smile was faint. He slipped his hand into Minki’s. “You like it?”

Minki nodded, now dragging Jonghyun towards the entrance. “Let’s go, let’s go! I’ve always wanted to come here~”

Minki oddly felt like a child. He ran for the entrance, looking around in awe. He turned to look at Jonghyun and saw him aggressively chewing on his lip and glancing around himself as if expecting to be attacked. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what the problem was.

Minki lightly squeezed Jonghyun’s hand, mind racing to find him something to do. “Hey—Uh, why don’t you check the exhibitions, it may be a while until we get on the elevator.”

Jonghyun was suspicious, he didn’t want to let go of Minki’s hand but did so in the end. When Jonghyun walked away, Minki ran off by himself to get the tickets. Jonghyun was done more quickly than Minki and he went looking for the younger.

But by the time Jonghyun found him, Minki had the tickets. Jonghyun’s expression was an odd mix of relief and shame. Minki took his hand and led him to the exhibition zone. He started rambling out his opinions about the different artworks, wanting to get over the slightly uncomfortable moment.

Jonghyun was quieter than usual, holding Minki’s hand as if it was his lifeline. Minki wasn’t sure what else to do to help him relax. He only had one more idea, although he wasn’t sure if it would work or if he could even pull it off. Furthermore he was hoping to save it for the sky deck, but he would have to compromise.

Standing in front of an abstract piece that neither Minki nor Jonghyun really understood, Minki brought their hands up and pressed a small kiss to the back of Jonghyun’s hand.

This was enough to get Jonghyun’s attention. He blinked a few times in surprise, looking between their intertwined hands and Minki. Before Jonghyun had the time to say anything, Minki leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Minki had had something more in mind, but a small peck was all he had the courage for at the moment.

Jonghyun pressed his free hand to his cheek, hiding his face because of the blush that threatened to give him away.

On their way to the elevator, Jonghyun pulled Minki a little closer and mumbled, “I could have taken it, you know. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I couldn’t.”

“I know. But I can’t just let you take care of me, I have to return the favour,” Minki explained, pulling Jonghyun along to the corner of the elevator by the mirror.

Jonghyun wasn’t a hundred percent convinced, but maybe Minki clinging onto his arm helped a little. At least it took both their minds off of the subject.

“You’re okay?” He asked, carefully Minki’s hair.

Minki nodded, resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder. “Yeah, just... Small spaces.”

“It’s okay. We’ll be there soon,” Jonghyun said softly.

Minki was a bit dizzy upon exiting the elevator and he kept clinging onto Jonghyun for balance. Jonghyun took him to a table and Minki perked up as soon as he became aware of the magnificent view.

The sun had just set. The stars were still a bit faint, but they likely wouldn’t be very bright because of the shimmering lights of the city anyway. Still, it was breathtaking.

Minki was beaming. He stared out the window hardly blinking, trying to take all of the scenery in.

“It is as beautiful as they say,” Minki whispered.

Jonghyun nodded absently. He was hardly looking at the view, his gaze was fixed on Minki.

Minki whipped out his phone and started taking landscape shots for his ridiculously aesthetic instagram. Then he turned his phone to Jonghyun.

It took him by surprise. He couldn’t hide his face in time.

“Delete those!” Jonghyun said even before seeing them.

Minki looked up from his phone with a pout. “I won’t post them if you don’t want me to... But let me keep them, please?”

Jonghyun frowned and leaned in to check. Just as he was about to give some bitter comment about his own face, Minki muttered, “Beautiful.”

Jonghyun couldn’t argue with that. He leaned back in his chair and finally looked at the view, just to avoid Minki’s gaze.

They both relaxed a bit more when their drinks arrived. The casual chatting, however, was cut off by the buzzing of Jonghyun’s phone.

“I’m sorry, just a second...” He muttered before picking up. “Hello? No, I won’t. I’m with Minki didn’t I tell you? Yeah... I know, but we’re doing something.” He blushed faintly and rolled his eyes. “No, okay, just—I won’t be able to make it, that’s all. Sorry, some other time.” He sighed as he hung up.

“What’s up?” Minki asked and sipped on his milkshake.

“My friends, I had to ditch them for this date,” Jonghyun said dismissively.

Minki felt a sting of guilt and put his glass down. “You didn’t have to... We could have pulled it off some other time.”

Jonghyun smiled faintly. “I’m not so sure about that. It was a whole production to get you here today.”

Minki bowed his head, shrinking into himself. “Yeah, I guess so...”

“It’s okay. It’s just a gig, some local band. They make those all the time.”

Minki sipped his milkshake sadly until he thought of something. “We could—if it’s okay with your friends—we could join them,” he suggested timidly.

“We could, it’s no problem. It’s just that, I thought about it and I’m not sure it’s a good place for you,” Jonghyun said gently, reaching for Minki.

He pulled away, gripping his glass and frowning. “I’ll be fine. I’m not that fragile.”

“Minkiah. The elevator earlier...”

“I’ll be fine!” Minki insisted “I’ve never been to a concert small or big, I really want to go. It’ll be okay, I... I’ll be with you. If anything happens you’ll help me,” he mumbled.

Maybe Jonghyun was just weak to the confession of trust, but after that he agreed. “It’s not until later tonight, so we’ve got enough time.”

 

When they appeared, the group of people Minki didn’t know cheered. They went in for a group hug and he stepped away to let the friends reunite.

He stood on the side, wrapping his arms around himself. Just as he was starting to regret agreeing going somewhere with a bunch of people he didn’t know who were his date’s friends, Jonghyun appeared by his side and pulled him close by the waist.

“Everyone, this is Minki,” Jonghyun said. He didn’t add a clarification, “my friend”, “my...”

Minki’s own thoughts made him blush. “Hey everyone.”

He didn’t remember all the names right away. He remembered Dongho, the only one who seemed responsible. There was Aaron, the other guy and Eunbyul and Hayeong but he couldn’t really tell them apart.

As the venue started to fill up, Minki started to see Jonghyun’s point about this not being a good place for him. But he didn’t back down. He just tried not to cling onto Jonghyun too much not to give himself away. Minki didn’t want him to worry.

The lack of air, the smoke from hispters’ cigarettes, everyone shoving each other and the noise aside, it was pretty fun. Minki quickly realized that a concert has a mind of its own. It’s a place where you don’t need to hold anything back. You can jump, dance, sing, scream as much as you won’t without anyone telling you to keep it down. It’s where you get to connect with people on a different, odd level; without any words, just the music to carry you.

In between songs while Minki was trying to catch his breath, he felt arms wrap around his waist and was delighted to hear Jonghyun’s voice in his ear as the next songs began.

“Do you want a drink?”

Minki nodded, smiling brightly.

“Come with me.”

Minki pouted. “I can stay here,” he said; he had to shout over the music.

“I said I’d take care of you, I won’t leave your side,” Jonghyun replied.

Maybe this touched Minki and made him come along. Whatever. He wasn’t that whipped.

They held hands while moving through the crowd. The bar was no less crowded than the rest of the venue, even more so as everyone tried to get a refreshment. As soon as they had their drinks, Jonghyun pulled Minki to a corner where it was a bit calmer.

They spent the next few songs while finishing their drinks resting against the wall. The plastic glasses were dropped as there was only two bins for that entire space and they were nowhere near them.

“Oh, I love this song,” Jonghyun exclaimed and immediately sang along.

Minki’s gaze softened and he leaned in to listen. Difficult to hear over the music and Jonghyun himself was fighting with the noise, but he still sounded amazing.

Minki absentmindedly wrapped his arms around Jonghyun’s neck, leaning against him.

Jonghyun’s singing faded.

It was all too easy.

The lights were bright, but constantly moving, the crowd was mostly in the dark and they were far from the stage. They were in the calmest area of the venue, where hardly anyone would watch them.

Both of them were hesitant to lean in. In the end Jonghyun was the one who closed the gap and Minki completely lost himself. He wasn’t even sure what to do. Jonghyun scooped him up and pressed him against the wall, cupping his cheek to lead the kiss. Minki was shaking under his touch.

For the moment everything he’d read about, all the romantic movies and dramas he’d seen got erased from his mind because he was sure of it – this was the best first kiss ever.

On their way back, Minki came down spiralling from his high. He stumbled after Jonghyun, who was looking through the crowd for his friends.

Minki’s ears were buzzing, he was feelings lightheaded. “Hyung,” he called, but his voice was too small to be heard.

Jonghyun noticed something was wrong when he felt Minki’s grip loosening. He managed to catch him just before he hit the ground.

 

Minki woke up with a backache. As he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings, he realized why; he was at the backseat of a car. Jonghyun’s car.

The guy who wasn’t Dongho – so, Aaron – was by the opened door. He smiled when he saw Minki stirring.

“Hey, you’re awake! He’s alive everyone!”

Aaron helped Minki out of the car. A second later he was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by Jonghyun.

“You’re okay! You had me worried there,” he said, smiling brightly.

Minki smiled back, weakly. “I’m okay.” He looked around, seeing that their group was incomplete. “Where are... the others?” He asked as the two names escaped him.

“Still inside,” Dongho said. “You probably shouldn’t return though.”

Minki’s shoulders slumped and leaned against Jonghyun, trying to hide himself. “I’m sorry, guys. I messed up your night.”

“You didn’t,” Jonghyun said softly. “You’re okay and that’s all that matters.”

“Seriously, it’s fine,” Aaron added and lightly ruffled Minki’s hair.

Seeing as his hairstyle was already messed up, Minki let his hair out of the braid.

“I should take you home,” Jonghyun said. “You need to rest.”

Minki played with a strand of his hair and shrugged. “Sorry again.”

“It’s fine,” Dongho said with a reassuring smile. “It was nice meeting you.” He tossed Jonghyun the car keys before leaving with Aaron.

Not that it was important, but it crossed Minki’s mind that that car wasn’t actually Jonghyun’s.

“You should take me to my friend’s place. The cover story was that I’ll sleep over there.”

Jonghyun followed the directions and pulled up in front of Minhyun’s place. A much more regular house, even though still impressive.

“I had a blast,” he told Minki and reached out to tuck a stray strand of blonde hair behind his ear.

“I did too.” Minki sighed. “I’m sorry about—“

“Stop apologizing. Everything turned out fine,” Jonghyun said.

Minki gave a small smile. “Thank you for everything. This is the most fun I’ve had outside the house – ever.”

Jonghyun’s eyes turned into crescents as he grinned. “You’re welcome! Take care Mango.”

Minki gave him a kiss before he left.