TAEMIN

Taemin turned over in bed, frustrated that he couldn’t fall asleep. His bedsheets felt rough against his skin and he pulled them down. As soon as he did, a cold sensation invaded him and he decided to pull them back up.

Great. I’m too hot now.

He sighed in annoyance and got out of bed. He shivered as his feet touched the chilly floor and he slowly walked to the window. As he looked outside, he realized he had been right. Through the heavy rain, there was a full moon that night. That explained why his room looked so bright even with the curtains drawn.

He paced around his room and faced the facts—he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

As the mere thought of spending a whole night in his too-small apartment fully awake sent a shiver down his spine, he decided to go out. He always felt like he was suffocating while at his place, which was ironic since he used to share this small space with his ex-girlfriend.

He put on some clothes and grabbed his phone to book a cab, then headed downstairs. As soon as he was outside, the rain started pouring down on him and he brought his jacket over his head.

I should have taken an umbrella.

But the prospect of going back up four flights of stairs didn’t thrill him at all. And he just had to wait for the cab to arrive anyway.

MINHO

Minho slammed the front door of his girlfriend’s house and heard her shout something he couldn’t make out. It was probably better this way. He winced when heavy rain fell on him and he cursed under his breath. He started walking quickly and took his phone out of his pocket.

My phone’s dead. This night is amazing.

He spotted an old bus shelter and decided to stay there until the rain would thin out. He wasn’t sure what time it was exactly, but he knew it was too late for him to catch a bus. His only hope was that a cab would somehow turn up around here.

He shivered as the chill air got to him. He wasn’t dressed warm enough for the season, he knew that. But also, he hadn’t planned on going back home like this. His girlfriend was supposed to take him home.

Is she still my girlfriend? Do I even want her to be?

He let out a deep breath as the realization came upon him. He was better alone than with her. She was always so jealous when he was always telling her the truth. And—the worst in his opinion—she was manipulative and suffocating.

Breaking up with her was the best thing that could happen to him, even if it meant waiting for a miracle that would allow him to get home on this rainy night.

Minho looked up and saw someone walking up to him quickly. At first he was startled, then he realized that that person was probably looking for shelter as well, as they were already drenched.

The man gave him a smile as he shifted to the side to give him some space and he couldn’t refrain from smiling back. Somehow, his night wasn’t so bad anymore.

“Thanks,” the man said softly. “If you’re waiting for the bus, I think you missed the last one about an hour ago.”

“Oh, I’m not,” Minho answered with a chuckle.

“What are you waiting for, then?”

“A miracle, I guess.”

The man gave him a weird look and Minho felt his cheeks get warm. He knew how silly his answer was, but he couldn’t refrain from feeling proud for saying it out loud.

TAEMIN

“It’s so hard to get a cab at midnight on Friday,” Taemin mumbled after a while. “I booked one on my phone but it’s taking ages to get here.”

“Where are you going?” the man asked him and Taemin hesitated for a second.

“Downtown,” he finally answered.

“So am I.”

Taemin eyed him and his lips instinctively as a shiver went down his spine.

Should I ask?

“Why are you going downtown at such a late hour?” the man asked him before he could gather the courage to speak.

“I’m gonna get a sundae at that place on the 5th. They’re open 24/7,” he explained.

“A sundae at midnight in the middle of winter?” the man said with a chuckle.

“Well, it’s not snowing,” Taemin said with a shrug.

“True.”

Taemin shifted on his feet. He didn’t know this man at all, but talking to him felt nice. Liberating, even.

I can’t believe I haven’t actually spoken to anyone in all this time.

“I used to go there with my girlfriend. It’s my favorite spot,” he started to explain. “I haven’t been able to go back since we broke up. Too many memories.”

MINHO

Minho nodded at the man’s story. Breakups were never easy. As the minutes passed, he realized he was probably about to go through the same thing. He wasn’t looking forward to it.

“What about you? Why are you going downtown?” the man asked him.

“I’m going home. Hopefully,” he couldn’t refrain from adding.

There was a gush of wind and the rain shifted and started pouring inside the bus shelter. The man gasped and Minho was startled by the noise coming out of his mouth.

“Sit right here where it’s dry,” he told him and moved a little more to give him some space on the bench.

“Thank you,” the man told him and rushed to the bench as he held his arms around himself.

Minho looked at the man sitting next to him and took deep breaths as he saw him blow on his cold, red hands. His heartbeat quickened without any logical reason, but he welcomed the feeling.

Should I ask?

“Since you said you’re going my way—” he started.

“Maybe we should share a ride,” the man finished his sentence with a tiny smile across his face and Minho felt shy all of a sudden.

“It wouldn’t bother you?”

“Not at all,” the man whispered. “Taemin. My name’s Taemin,” the man said softly and extended his hand.

“Minho. It’s nice to meet you,” Minho said back and shook his hand.

TAEMIN

Taemin wasn’t sure if it was his heartbeat or Minho’s that he felt as their hands touched for the first time. He was frozen in place for a second, and he hoped the man wouldn’t find it weird that he held on to his hand a bit longer than what was usually expected of a handshake.

He wasn’t sure why he had offered to share the cab with the man. It wasn’t what he would usually do—he was more the type to never talk to strangers and keep everything to himself.

But then, this night was already weird enough, with the full moon shining in the sky, for the light only to be refracted through the raindrops falling all around them.

I guess anything can happen on a night like this.

His phone vibrated and he saw a pair of headlights coming up to them. His cab had arrived. Their cab. He got up quickly and opened the rear door and threw himself inside. When he didn’t see Minho, he looked back outside with a frown.

“Are you coming, Minho?”

Minho seemed to come back to reality and joined him inside the car. As he did, Taemin realized how tall he was, with his knees pulled against his chest because of the small space. He couldn’t refrain from laughing slightly at the situation.

“At least you’re not under the rain anymore,” he told Minho and the man gave him a look that made him breathless.

“Where to?” the cab driver asked them in an annoyed tone.

“Downtown, please,” Taemin answered him quickly.

“It’s gonna take a while, there is road work all over the place,” the driver explained.

“That’s okay,” Taemin said back and glanced at Minho.

MINHO

Minho looked back at him and felt like he was frozen in place, except for the fact that he was now feeling very warm. He tried to convince himself that it was because of the heater in the car, but deep down he knew it might be something else.

I wouldn’t mind if we caught every red light.

“—over that part of town?” Taemin asked and Minho realized he had been talking to him.

He shook his head slightly and his lips mechanically. He tried to fill in the blanks, but had no idea what Taemin had asked him.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” he apologized.

I was too busy looking at you.

Taemin chuckled and gave him a quick side-eye. Minho concentrated on the man’s slowly rising chest as he was about to repeat his question.

“You said you were going home downtown. So, what were you doing in that part