All week long, the excitement kept up. His classmates all still suddenly wanted to be besties with him, sit with him and such. Good thing he had Jongin there to threaten to bite the hand off of anyone who even tried to replace him. He was very possessive, which Taemin supposed was working in his favor.

The market, the bank, the mall; most places Taemin went, he would be greeted by fans who, usually upon introduction, would either ask Taemin do part of the dance or try to do it themselves. Taemin much preferred the latter, as it was much more amusing to see a ten year-old try to dance like him. Something about it was really... endearing. To think, a little child saw his video and instantly wanted to be like him. That thought made Taemin warm inside. 

Come to think of it, that’s even how Taemin himself became so taken with dancing. As a child, he’d watch TV and see Michael Jackson and Bi Rain dancing. And just like the kids who wanted to be like Taemin, Taemin wanted to be like them. And that was okay with him.

Taemin was slowly realizing that all this whole experience, this being viral was maybe something to get used to. He wanted to be a professional dancer after all. This was a good vision into what his future would be like if he actually became a star. And once he got acquainted with the slight lack of privacy and personal space, it wasn’t so bad. It was actually kinda nice. Well, mostly.

Taemin had expected all the attention to die down after about a week. It didn’t.

Minho and Taemin were out at a dinner at a nice restaurant in the city. They were all dressed up and looking like a beautiful couple. It was a nice distraction from the commotion that had been following Taemin lately. Only it wasn’t.

While on their date, Taemin had been approached on three separate occasions and asked to have pictures taken, sign autographs, do dance moves (the last of which he really had to deny as to 1. not draw EXTRA attention to himself and 2. not rip his new slacks).

Taemin felt guilty. He knew in his head that Minho didn’t mind and perhaps was even accustomed to Taemin’s newfound fame, but he believed that since he was on this date with Minho, all his attention should go to Minho.

”Do you want to leave?” Taemin asked, tapping his foot.

”No. We already ordered. Do you want to leave?” Minho tilted his head, confused.

”No, it’s just,” he leaned in, “People keep noticing me here.”

Minho smiled, realizing what this was about. ”People have been noticing you everywhere.”

”Do you really not mind..? We’re on a date and you keep having to take pictures of strangers next to me.” He pouted, fiddling with his fingers. He could understand if they were just hanging out doing nothing, but this was supposed to be an intimate time for the two of them.

”It’s fine, Taemin. Don’t worry. Look. There’s no one bothering us now.” Minho looked around, seeing no one approaching them.

“But...” Taemin objected.

“The next time someone comes over, I'll get rid of them for you.” 

“Mm... Okay.”

Luckily the rest of the evening went off. Minho and Taemin were brought their food, and they quite enjoyed it. They were laughing, having a good time when suddenly, halfway through their meal, Taemin felt a tiny tap on his shoulder. 

“E-Excuse me?” A soft voice squeaked. Taemin turned to see a little girl in a cute, purple dress. She couldn’t have been more than 5 years old and she was clearly starstruck. Her volume was barely above a whisper. “A-Are you the D-Dancing Machine?”

Taemin turned to look at Minho, who just shrugged and cleared his throat. 

“LISTEN HERE, LITTLE GIRL.” Minho bellowed with his base voice, making both Taemin and the girl jump, wide-eyed. “YOU CAN’T JUST INTERRUPT-”

”Minho!” Taemin cut his hyung off from continuing. He turned back to the girl. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. What’s your name?”

”H... Hyejin.” Her face was a deep red, she was very flustered. She held up a pen and a clean napkin, probably given to her by her guardian who was nowhere in sight. “C-can I... Can you...”

”You want me to sign that?” He gingerly took the items from her as she nodded rapidly. He placed the napkin on the table, and wrote a sweet message on it as he spoke it aloud: “Always dance with all your heart, Hyejin. Love, The Dancing Machine.”

He handed the note back to her and patted her head gently. Much to Taemin’s surprise, she wrapped her little arms around his neck in a hug. Minho smiled at the sight.

”Your bodyguard is scary.” she whispered before running off, making Taemin smile. Luckily, Taemin could see that her parents were actually nearby, just two tables away. She beamed at them, showing off her new autograph.

”Awwww. So sweet. I think she had a little crush on you.” Minho cooed after she was gone.

Taemin spun to face Minho, irked. ”Yah, that’s not what I meant when I said ‘send them away’, Pabo