Author's Note: Hello again, I'm back ^^ Let's get right to finding out who has caught Taemin and Baekhyun (doing... nothing lol)

The voice had Taemin turning around, heart thumping in surprise. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, Jongin was staring at the two of them – looking mad for some reason. It wasn’t something Taemin was used to seeing, though Jongin’s anger didn’t seem directed towards him. Baekhyun looked over at him too, and Jongin fully glared, making Baekhyun blink in return. Then Taemin processed how close Baekhyun was to him – the two of them with their backs to the door, Baekhyun’s arm around him, talking quietly together. Not that it was necessarily anything suspicious, but Jongin didn’t seem to be able to think clearly when it came to their friend, and his mind seemed to have immediately jumped to ill intentions, judging by the way he was shooting daggers in Baekhyun’s direction.

Baekhyun pulled up his phone, checking his timer with a frown (and apparently utterly unbothered by the way Jongin was eyeing him). “You still have like… five minutes left,” was all he said.

“So? Were you planning to use that time to hit on Taemin again?” Jongin asked coldly. “I told you to back off.”

“First of all, I wasn’t even doing anything, and second-”

“Shut up. Get away from him,” ordered Jongin snappily. If there was anything funny about it before, that disappeared when Taemin heard the way Jongin was talking to Baekhyun (who had already endured enough abuse tonight). Not wanting the two of them to fight, Taemin crossed over to Jongin and shook his head, about to tell him that he had misunderstood when Jongin added to him, “Can I talk to you? Alone?”

Beneath his annoyance, there was just a little bit of hurt in Jongin’s voice. Talking would definitely be best; Taemin needed to explain things, because he couldn’t handle the thought of Jongin being upset over nothing like this. So he quickly nodded, and Jongin tugged him down into a bedroom, closing the door and locking it behind them.

“What was that all about?” Jongin asked him, voice quiet, arms crossing over his chest.

So silly. Taemin was really going to have to tell Baekhyun to let up on the making Jongin jealous thing. “Jongin, it wasn’t anything inappropriate, I promise,” he began softly, looking the younger in the eye as he spoke. “I- I was upset about you… going off… so I went to the kitchen, and then Baekhyun saw and was trying to make me feel better.”

“How? Because he was awfully close to you…” Jongin wasn’t glaring at him, but the corners of his lips were tugging down and his eyes were a little distant, no doubt still imagining the way he had seen the two of them together a moment ago.

In response, Taemin reached for his wrists, uncrossing Jongin’s arms and gently taking his hands. “He basically just told me not to worry. He wasn’t trying anything, just comforting me as a friend,” he assured. And it was effective enough, Jongin deflating a little and pouting, but at least seeming to relax.

“Okay,” Jongin mumbled, a little sulkish (though it was rather cute). “I don’t like how he is around you…”

Taemin was going to laugh and suggest they break the news of their relationship to Baekhyun – considering the only reason Baekhyun acted this way was to get under Jongin’s skin and it was doing too good of a job – but then he noticed something about Jongin’s pout. It was unusually red. Unnaturally red. Smeared with something… with someone’s lipstick.

Thump. His heart sank into his stomach. Jongin had kissed her. Taemin didn’t even know her name, but he could see her face in his mind – the long, blonde hair, her cold, black eyes and full, pouty lips – that were the same colour as the smudges on Jongin’s mouth now. Jongin had kissed her.

“Taemin?”

Jongin’s brow was furrowing, his hand moving to touch Taemin’s cheek. When Taemin didn’t answer, he spoke again. “Are you okay? You look pale…”

He felt nauseous. It didn’t make sense. They’d hardly been in there two minutes together – though Taemin supposed that was more than long enough to kiss someone. His heart pounded in a slow, prominent way as he thought it over, and when he opened his mouth, he didn’t even know what he was going to say.

“Her lipstick…”

For a second, Jongin frowned harder. Then realization hit him, and he wiped at his lips, glancing to his hand to see the residue. In an instant, his face turned to a scowl – then his eyes widened and he looked to Taemin.

“Oh – you must… sorry, I was going to explain,” Jongin told him hurriedly, and now he was the one taking Taemin’s hands. “I just got distracted by Baekhyun. I didn’t kiss her, Taemin…”

And as much as the evidence blatantly pointed otherwise, Taemin asked weakly, “What happened?”

Jongin took a deep breath, pulling Taemin closer to him. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, able to hear quite clearly how hurt Taemin was. He couldn’t even hide it. “Baekhyun put me in there, tied some stupid scarf over my eyes. I sat down and waited, then someone else comes in. They immediately crawled into my lap, and I was hoping it was you, but they were too small. Plus, it smelled like girls’ perfume. So I grabbed the stupid scarf and pulled it down, and was gonna tell her not to touch me, but before I could say anything she was leaning in…

“I’m sorry, Taemin. I pushed her off me right away and yelled at her, and then she tried to defend herself so I just got up and left,” he went on, glowering as he recounted the details. “But I didn’t kiss her back, at all.” Taemin’s eyes were watering by this point, still somewhat wounded by the idea of someone else kissing Jongin (and suddenly understanding much more clearly why Jongin was so bothered by Baekhyun; the idea of someone else stealing Jongin was agonizing) though he was mostly relieved that that was all it had been. In response, Jongin cupped his cheeks in his hands. “I’m really sorry. Don’t cry, I need you to kiss me a hundred times and get rid of the gross feeling she left…”

This at least made Taemin giggle weakly, sniffling and blinking back his tears. He reached up, thumb wiping at Jongin’s lips to rub off the offensive colour. And then Jongin – already a bit tipsy and rather sensitive to the delicate touch – pressed Taemin back against the door and connected their mouths, first in another wordless apology, then in desire at the familiar rush the older’s lips gave him. In return, Taemin did his best to fulfill Jongin’s wish of a hundred kisses, dutifully trying to kiss away any remainder of what that girl had done. Mine, he thought. Only mine…

After a few moments of kissing and giggling to each other, Jongin eventually pulled away, forehead resting against Taemin’s. He kept Taemin crowded against the door, body heat radiating off of him and making the other feel a little weak-kneed.

“This is better,” Jongin mumbled, letting his hand slide down to Taemin’s neck, where his pulse was discernible. “They should’ve just sent you after me. Would’ve been a much happier ending for everyone…”

The reminder of everyone made Taemin flush a little. “Oh- we should probably go back. They must be wondering…”

“Mm, but your lips are all red now.”

Were they? Taemin’s eyes glanced to Jongin’s mouth, which was admittedly all pink and properly pouty now. His own must not have been much better, then. Jongin was very… firm when he kissed him, so he wasn’t too surprised that it left blood rushing to his lips. (Truthfully, though Taemin would never admit it, it sometimes – just sometimes – sent blood in other directions, too.) Not sure what else to do, Taemin decided to take the chance to go to the bathroom, sending Jongin to get their drinks from the kitchen and telling him to take his time returning to the group.

*

“You're a bit of a dickhead, you know that?”

Jongin had been happily minding his own business in the kitchen, searching for his and Taemin’s lost cups (which had disappeared, apparently). Had been.

“What?” he wondered as he looked around to see Baekhyun standing in the doorway. In the other’s hand were two cups. Jongin made a face, stepping in his direction. “Why-?”

Baekhyun stood his ground, not holding out the drinks even when Jongin got close enough. “The way you are with Taemin. Letting him sit in your lap and cuddle you and acting all flirty.”

“When was I flirty?” Jongin wondered next, holding out his hands. He knew the drinks Baekhyun had were theirs. Yet Baekhyun still didn’t relinquish them. He had a point to make, it seemed. One that Jongin didn’t really care to listen to, though it was a little bit funny. But really, when had he flirted?

“Oh please. you think that's how friends talk?” Baekhyun shot back at him, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “I'm not stupid.”

“You sure?”

Baekhyun’s eyes squinted. Normally the biggest jokester, he apparently wasn’t in the mood for humour at the moment. Part of Jongin appreciated it, knowing he was looking out for Taemin and feeling glad he had his back. Another part felt annoyed. The only one who needs to be possessive here is me.

“You know,” Baekhyun muttered, glancing around the hallway. It was empty in both directions. Still, he kept his voice low. “I know you know.”

“Know what?”

“...He told you. I know he has.”

Jongin was genuinely confused. Taemin had told him a lot of things, and though Baekhyun was probably right, he had no idea which thing he was referring to. “Told me what? What are you talking about?”

After another cautious glance around, Baekhyun gave a more hesitant answer. “About... his feelings.”

Oh, duh. Jongin wasn’t sure what else he would have meant, honestly. “Oh, for me. Yes, I know.” He had to hold back a grin, because Baekhyun didn’t know that Jongin returned those feelings, and that Taemin was aware, and that they were quite happily in a relationship. Looking smug would probably not be very favorable for him right now. Instead, he reached for the drinks, but Baekhyun pulled them away.

“Then why are you toying with him?” he demanded, glaring up at Jongin. It was no doubt a valiant attempt at being intimidating, but Jongin thought he was about as frightening as a puppy. “Do you honestly think that's okay?”

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Jongin lied smoothly, grabbing at the cups and spilling them a little as he forced them out of Baekhyun’s hands. “But mind your own business.”

As he pushed past, Baekhyun tried to grab and stop him, but Jongin just shook him off. “No! You’re a . Stop stringing him along-”

Jongin just ignored him, hiding his grin in his cup.

*

After spending a few moments in the bathroom, patting his cheeks in hopes of sending the blood to them and away from his lips, Taemin finally decided it had been too long and he needed to go back. As he made his way back down the hall toward the living room, though, Taemin found his worries to be completely unwarranted – as the living room had dissolved into darkness. They’d moved on to watching a movie a couple moments earlier, and it was too dark for anyone to see anything amiss with Taemin’s lip color. Oh. Well then.

He carefully navigated his way over to Jongin, who was balancing their two drinks on his knees at the end of the couch but quickly moved them out of the way when he spotted Taemin coming. Baekhyun was noticeably absent (and so was Chanyeol, though Taemin didn’t notice this), so Taemin softly asked Jongin about him. For some reason, Jongin gave a mischievous smile.

“Oh, he’s gone with Chanyeol to get pillows and blankets for everyone,” Jongin explained casually, still grinning. Taemin stared at him wordlessly, an eyebrow raised as he waited – because there was clearly more. Seeing it, Jongin leaned in to speak in his ear. “Do you wanna tell Baekhyun about… us?”

What? That hadn’t been what he’d thought was coming. Then again, he’d been thinking about asking Jongin as much earlier himself, feeling like Baekhyun should be in the loop. “You… want to?”

Jongin nodded. “He’s mad that I'm playing you.”

He said it teasingly, and it had Taemin chuckling. So that’s it, then. Baekhyun not knowing really was starting to cause drama for them, so Taemin nodded, knowing it was necessary. “Okay. should I?”

“Please…”

As Jongin nodded, Taemin moved to get up. Then he was off again, passing a huge heap of blankets in the hallway that seemed to be being carried by Chanyeol. He was so buried under them that Taemin didn’t actually see his face, but Baekhyun wasn’t that tall, so he could safely assume. Taemin just kept going, finding Baekhyun soon after, piling a stack of pillows.

“Hey,” Taemin said casually. He was only on his third glass of beer, but it was obviously working to boost his confidence, because he didn’t even hesitate as he added, “I heard you were mad at my boyfriend.”

Baekhyun dropped the pillow in his hands, sending a couple on the top of his pile tumbling over. His eyes were wider than Taemin had ever seen when he straightened up. “What? No way.”

“Hm?” Taemin wanted to act cool, but the pride was practically leaking off of him.

“You.. you two..?” Baekhyun questioned, still in disbelief.

Nodding, Taemin beamed. “He asked me out this week.”

Perhaps in shock, Baekhyun’s only rational response was to hit Taemin with a pillow. He didn’t even catch Taemin’s whine though, because he was too busy shouting. “Oh my god!” Then he looked past Taemin down the hallway as Taemin put a finger to his lips, dropping his voice though his excitement levels remained. “How did that happen?!”

Taemin wished he knew the answer to that one. “I don’t really know,” he admitted. Not that it really bothered him in the slightest, and Baekhyun could surely tell. Taemin was practically glowing at this announcement. “But I think you helped,” he added gratefully.

“Me?” Baekhyun scoffed, glancing down the hall as Chanyeol appeared on the other end, voice lowering yet again. “I didn't even do anything. But damn, what a glow-up. Remind me to apologize to your boyfriend,” he whispered, then shut himself up as Chanyeol came within earshot. The two of them couldn’t stop grinning though, and Chanyeol absolutely noticed.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing,” assured Baekhyun hastily, throwing some pillows at Taemin. He caught none of them. “Here, Taemin, help us take these. Thanks!”

And Taemin just laughed as he gathered a few pillows and returned to his boyfriend.

*

Over the duration of the movie, a couple of the partygoers ended up seeing some action. The first were Chanyeol and one of the girls – the one with the slicked-back ponytail and the most intimidating aura – who disappeared off to his room for a while. The movie was loud enough that no one heard them, but the girl’s lack of ponytail when she returned was telling. Another pair went off a little while later, and Taemin was really surprised at how casual the whole thing was. Not just that they were bold enough to do it, but that no one seemed remotely affected by it happening.

But what surprised him the most was Jongin.

The two of them had gotten cozy under a blanket together, Taemin remaining in Jongin’s lap and Jongin’s arms around his waist since there was no one to see them now. They were sitting furthest from the TV, no one even looking their way (except Baekhyun, occasionally, who couldn’t help peeking their way and smiling to himself). Combine this with the alcohol they’d been drinking, and it seemed that Jongin was getting a little bold. It started out innocent, with Jongin pulling him in to lean back, which Taemin obliged; but then Taemin was having to hold in a gasp as he felt the warmth of Jongin’s lips on his neck.

What are you doing?!

They were in public. There were people around. But that made it a bit thrilling, honestly. And he was so warm and cozy there, and Jongin’s lips felt so soft…

Taemin let out a shaky breath, his head tilting back to rest on Jongin’s shoulder while Jongin pressed quiet kisses to his skin. His mouth trailed its way unhurriedly up to Taemin’s ear, and then he whispered a soft ‘Love you’ that had Taemin shivering. But this was far from the end of his boyfriend’s attack. Another few minutes and Jongin’s hands were sliding down the sides of Taemin’s waist and then over his thighs, which evoked another, bodily shiver from Taemin.

“You like that, hm?” Jongin breathed. Taemin decided now would be a good time to back the rest of his drink, unsure he could handle this at the level he was currently at. No one ever touched him there, and he was rather sensitive to it. But Jongin wasn’t wrong; Taemin liked the way it felt.

“Be good,” Taemin whispered in return, wondering why this side of Jongin was coming out now rather than in the privacy of their very own room. (Jongin did touch him at home, but never quite so intimately.)

He could hear the smirk in Jongin’s voice when he replied. “Is that an order?”

Taemin didn’t say anything more, feeling flustered at Jongin’s cockiness and unable to formulate a proper response as his hands started ghosting up and down his thighs again. The touches were soft, gentle, slow; not ual but still intimate, sending tingles rushing through him. Tantalizingly, his fingers inched towards Taemin’s inner thighs, and before long Jongin was kissing down his jaw, barely seeming to care about the rest of the world.

It was hard not to give in, hard to stay quiet and aware of the way they weren’t alone. If other people could be having in another room, who would care about Jongin caressing him and kissing him just a few feet away? At least it wasn’t nearly as inappropriate. And something about Jongin made him not want to care in the slightest whether it was right or wrong, or what others might think of him. Taemin was so lucky to have him; and the way his touches were melting him like this, the rest of the world meant nothing to him…

But before he knew it, the movie was coming to an end and people were starting to move. The lights remained off, the glow of the TV providing all they needed as couch pillows were thrown onto the floor to make a more comfortable sleeping space. It was decided that the girls would sleep in Chanyeol’s room – to Baekhyun’s greatest offense, but he was very quickly appeased when Chanyeol told him he could share the bed in his parents’ room with him – and the rest of them would be on the living room floor. After pillows and blankets were laid out for everyone, they all started slumping onto the floor, some falling right asleep.

Jongin’s hands finally retracted (to which Taemin had to swallow down a whine), instead pulling Taemin to the floor. They kept their blanket to themselves, Taemin mumbling how the cushioned floor reminded him of his old bed with a chuckle. At this, Jongin was dragging Taemin to lie on top of him instead, pressing the most subtle of kisses to the top of his head. Jongin’s arms s around him to keep him securely in place, gently rubbing his back in a way that could have lulled Taemin to sleep in an instant if it weren’t for the movement and chatter around them. When the TV was finally turned off, things settled down quickly though. The two whispered some goodnights to each other, and then fell asleep holding one another as they always did, like they were the only ones in the world.

*

In his typical fashion, Taemin slept like a log. Once he found a comfortable position, he didn’t tend to move – and Jongin proved to be an excellent pillow. As such, when morning rolled around, he was still very cosily resting on Jongin’s chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world. (Funnily enough, sleeping on each other wasn’t a common occurrence for them, but their bodies fit together with ease, both content as they slept.)

Some of Jongin’s other friends woke up before them, though they were too sleepy to be attentive to the way Taemin and Jongin were cuddling. It was only when the girls started to come out of the bedroom that anyone noticed them. Two of the girls spotted them as they made their way to the couch, immediately not-so-quietly talking about it.

“What is up with Chanyeol’s friends lately?”

“It’s probably Baekhyun’s fault. Bringing his weird friends over…”

The boys who were awake didn’t miss the way they spoke, and others were even woken by them. Jongin and Taemin earned a few glances as they slept on, peaceful and unaware of the sudden spotlight on them. In fact, they remained asleep as everyone else gradually stirred around them. It was only when Baekhyun came in and started smacking their legs with a pillow that Taemin finally looked around with a quiet whine and Jongin kicked at Baekhyun grumpily. Still, they remained unaware of what the girls had been saying until a third girl came in.

“Looks like the one you liked swings that way,” her friend – the one Chanyeol had definitely hooked up with the previous night – noted, gesturing towards Taemin and Jongin. Taemin’s mind was still booting up, hardly processing what was said as the girl with bangs (who had been sitting beside him for at least some portion of the night) stepped over them to get to the couch. Unlike the other two – who were fresh-faced and had thrown their hair into loose ponytails – she looked a little more done-up, as though hoping to impress.

Hearing the comment, Baekhyun straightened up and dropped his pillow, shooting the girls a glare. “What are you talking about?”

“Not you, that’s for sure,” the girl who Taemin only knew as Chanyeol’s bed-buddy (having not caught – or cared to catch – a single one of the girls’ names) retorted.

“None of us would ever like you,” her friend replied, the two of them laughing together. Taemin lifted his head to look at them in both confusion and annoyance, catching the one with bangs seeming to be looking his way – though she averted her eyes the moment he saw her. Their words slowly processed. Were they talking about him? Did she like him?

Don’t be silly, he told himself. They must have meant Jongin – understandably, considering how gorgeous he was. Taemin laid his head back down on Jongin’s chest at that, pressing himself a tad closer just a little smugly. Too bad he’s all mine. When Jongin gave him a gentle squeeze, it only made Taemin feel that much better.

Soon Taemin’s stomach was rumbling, letting him – and those around him – know that he needed to be fed. Baekhyun offered to show him to the kitchen for breakfast, and when Taemin got up Jongin moved to follow. “I’ll bring it to you,” Taemin said immediately, soft but bright, in a way that made Jongin’s heart flutter before he left. The girls heard it too – and it had them scowling.

“You need to make Chanyeol stop hanging out with him,” the blonde who had been in the closet with Jongin told Chanyeol’s -buddy.

“Yeah, no wonder that one didn’t want to kiss you.”

They weren’t even being subtle. Jongin could hear their every word, see the way the girl nodded in his direction. It was cleared that they were annoyed – for what, he and Taemin sleeping close together? Did that inherently mean they were in a relationship? (It didn’t, right? Jongin fretted that it might have been too obvious. But then…)

“All five of you were just sleeping in a single bed together, and you’ve got a problem with me?” Jongin shot at them, a little annoyed that no one else was remotely taking his side. Maybe they were all wondering the same thing – Are Taemin and Jongin gay? “We were sleeping. It’s not that deep.”

“Then why’d you run away when you were in that closet yesterday?”

Jongin could feel his blood pressure rising. Where was Taemin? It shouldn’t take that long to grab something to eat – was he helping Baekhyun cook a proper meal or something? Jongin needed him to help keep him level-headed…

“Definitely not because you’re a rude ,” Jongin snapped back sarcastically before he could stop himself. “Damn, I don’t like one girl because she’s a complete snob and you assume my whole uality based on that?”

The comment merited some snickers from the boys, though the girls looked much less than happy. Suddenly, something changed in them though – like a switch, Jongin noticed their entire aura go from frigid blue to something more…  faux-innocent. The way their eyes lifted to a spot behind Jongin, he knew someone must have just walked into the room, and even without turning around he could guess it was Chanyeol. The only one the girls acted differently around.

“Wha’s going on?” Chanyeol mumbled, sleep still prominent in his voice. The center girl’s eyes fell to Jongin pointedly, then returned to Chanyeol. Jongin looked around to see Chanyeol frowning at him, largely in confusion.

And he wanted to explain, but Jongin realized he was already making this into a bigger deal than it was. It could raise suspicions to be too defensive of his relationship with Taemin. The more bothered he acted by it, the more people would wonder, and he did not need them looking too closely. So instead, he gritted his teeth and chose to drop the subject.

“Nothing,” he said icily. Just seconds later, Taemin was finally reappearing carrying two bowls of cereal, helping melt all the tension around Jongin. And though the girls went on whispering to each other, he and Taemin ignored them after that.

It was only when they were about to leave that the girls – or at least, one of them – tried to talk to them again. Most of the boys headed out soon after waking up, but Taemin was there helping to clean up and put everything back in order the moment he finished eating. Even though Chanyeol assured him he didn’t have to do anything, Taemin continued on without hesitation.

“Taemin, really,” Chanyeol said as Taemin started collecting cups and bowls from around the room.

“I’ll just take these to the kitchen,” Taemin replied innocently, making his way towards the door while precariously balancing an armful of things.

“Then we’ll get going,” Jongin added. Taemin hummed in acknowledgement of this, wondering if Baekhyun would leave too or if he would wait for the girls to go first. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like with just Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and those girls alone together.

As he carefully stacked the dishes in a neat order by the sink, Taemin imagined Chanyeol as some sort of referee while Baekhyun fought with each girl. Every time he took down one, another would be thrown into the ring (which would be Chanyeol’s pillow-covered living room). This had him chuckling to himself. Poor Baekhyun, he thought. Maybe they should invite Baekhyun to leave with them.

Taemin was so caught up in these thoughts that he didn’t realize someone else was there until all of a sudden he was hearing a voice behind him.

“That’s awfully nice of you.” Taemin jumped and looked around, seeing the girl with bangs standing just inside the kitchen doorway. For a minute, he thought she had been reading his mind, confused to what she was talking about. But then she clarified, “Helping clean up, I mean.”

Oh. That made more sense. Taemin gave a light-hearted shrug. “I helped make the mess, I figure I should help clean it too.” He offered a tiny smile out of politeness, not really sure what else to say to her, and then continued sorting the dishes absentmindedly. Before he knew it, she had sauntered over to the sink, standing just out of reach but still rather close for Taemin’s liking.

What was she doing? Maybe she wanted to help. It seemed laughable, but he tried not to judge too harshly. He couldn’t really remember her specifically saying anything horrible, although just being friends with the other girls was bad enough. Still, he would try not to judge her too much based on the rest.

“You’re not really… gay, are you?” she asked him quietly. It didn’t sound judgemental, but almost… hopeful. Even so, it made him nervous. He glanced up at her, noticing the subtle shimmery browns around her eyes that definitely weren’t natural and wondering again if she had done it for a reason, starting to feel more curious if it was in fact him it was for. But he was more worried about her question. How was he supposed to answer that?

Part of him wanted to say yes, not wanting to lie. As much as Taemin wasn’t ready to come out to the world, he equally felt a lot of pride in being Jongin’s boyfriend, and part of him wanted to show off. But then, he and Jongin hadn’t talked about it yet, so he knew it wouldn’t be fair to go ahead and out the pair of them. Thus, he shook his head and quietly said, “No, I’m not…”

(It didn’t sit right with him, probably because it was a lie and Taemin didn’t like to lie. But this was a lie he would have to get used to telling, he supposed. At least until he and Jongin were comfortable telling people.)

The girl smiled. “And you don’t have a girlfriend?” she prodded.

“Oh, definitely not,” Taemin replied, not having to lie about that one. He nearly laughed; as if he could ever get one. That was alright though, because he had Jongin, and that was significantly better.

His thoughts distracted him too much, yet again, and he didn’t notice the step she took closer. “I think you’re really cute,” she admitted, drawing Taemin’s attention back to her. Huh? Me? He felt certain he had misheard her. Was this a confession? Taemin wasn’t used to those, having no idea how to respond. “Can I get your number? I’d like to see you again.”

The way she spoke was simultaneously shy and commandingly confident, leaving no room for him to say no. It was the nicest Taemin had heard any of these girls be, but the look in her eye oozed a kind of certainty – she was asking, but not really asking. It was an expectation. And Taemin had no idea how to reject anyone, so instead he gave an awkward nod.

“O-oh, sure…”

Then he watched as she reached for her pockets, wishing Jongin would come in and save him right now because he really didn’t want to talk to her or any of her friends again. Instead, by some luck, she frowned as she patted at her empty pockets. “I don’t have my phone… Why don’t I give you my number?”

And Taemin didn’t think this was much better, but he took out his phone and wrote down her number anyway. At least this way, he could choose whether or not to text her (and he would definitely be choosing not).

This seemed to be her only mission, and after exchanging names she left just as quickly as she had come. Taemin put his phone away, staring at all the dishes for a minute as he tried to process what had just happened. As his mind whirred with thoughts, he zoned out his surroundings, which was why he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt arms wrapping around his waist from behind.

Twisting around, he looked below his own eye level, expecting that girl to have come back (very boldly, apparently). However, all he saw was shoulder, lifting his eyes until he caught sight of Jongin’s blessed face, grinning down at him before he leaned in to peck Taemin’s lips.

“Scare you?” Jongin teased at Taemin’s clearly surprised reaction. “Were you expecting someone else?”

“Sort of,” Taemin said truthfully, chuckling when Jongin’s face fell into an immediate frown. “I’m glad it wasn’t her, though. I’ll explain later,” he added as Jongin squinted questioningly.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jongin replied firmly, tugging on Taemin. “You have tea to share, by the sounds of it.”

Taemin laughed, nodding and letting himself be pulled towards the door. After saying some quick goodbyes to their friends, they were gone, Taemin telling Jongin everything that had happened on their ride home. By the end of it, Jongin had convinced him to delete the girl’s number (not that Taemin needed much) and was muttering about how he never wanted to see any of them again. Taemin quite agreed, but he adored Jongin’s jealousy just a little too much to say so.

(And when they got home, Jongin spent at least an hour kissing him and running his hands all over Taemin’s body, so all things considered, Taemin thought it had worked out rather favourably.)

Author's Note: So Jongin kissed someone else, but! He made up for it, right? And he was also ready to risk it all there during that movie... They aren't kids anymore 😅 Plus, Taemin's out here winning hearts too. Too bad there's only one he wants ♡ Baekhyun's in on the secret now too, but how long do you think it will be until they go public? Let me know your guesses~ ♡