Even as mid-February and Valentine’s Day are approaching, Kibum hasn’t made any successful attempts at contacting his best friend. Perhaps it’s stubbornness as Jonghyun had suggested, or he’s scared of what reaction he’ll be met with.

After all— Taemin hasn’t made any attempts at contacting him either. 

“Wait— you have a date? With whom?” Jonghyun sounds surprised on the phone and it prompts Kibum to roll his eyes. 

“Jinki.” He says as if it’s common knowledge. “And it’s not a date. We’ve been talking a lot these past couple of weeks so we decided to meet up for dinner on Monday. You know, as friends.” 

“Kibum… there’s no such thing as ‘meeting up for dinner’ on Valentine’s Day. It’s a date.” 

“Okay, then maybe it’s a date. What’s so wrong with that?” 

“Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair? From what I can tell Jinki has a genuine interest in you. I believe he deserves more than being a distraction.” 

“A distraction from what?”

“Do you really need to ask questions you already know the answer to?” 

Kibum emits a long sigh. “Then what am I supposed to do? I have to get over him somehow and I had a crush on Jinki long before everything with Taemin even took place.” 

“As long as you’re doing it for the right reasons.” 

Jonghyun’s words stay with Kibum for the next couple of days as he contemplates whether he should cancel his ‘date’. But ultimately standing someone up on Valentine’s Day seems far too cruel. 

As the day in question arrives it doesn’t turn out as sour as he had initially feared. He meets Jinki at an Italian restaurant, clad in a medium grey suit bedazzled in an even pattern of shiny silver beads and a plain black polo shirt. It isn’t all that different from their previous encounters. Excluding the fact that Kibum is less nervous and doesn’t hopelessly stammer his own words. He enjoys it and as far as he can tell from their smiles and lively conversations, so does Jinki. Therefore, the elder’s expression and words as they’re leaving and are set to part ways surprise him. 

“I had an amazing time with you today, Kibum-ah, but I am also aware this is as far as we’ll go.” He says and although the words are bittersweet, a smile stays on his lips as their eyes meet. “You don’t need to look apologetic, as saying this doesn’t pain me. Was I interested in you? Of course, I was. It would be difficult not to be.” He chuckles. “Nonetheless, I know better than to engage in a losing battle.”

“Hyung, I — ” Kibum begins, immediately feeling defensive and as if he has the need to explain himself but Jinki raises a hand to stop him. 

“Kibum, please don’t insult my intelligence. While you may have not acknowledged it yourself, I know your heart belongs to someone else.” As Kibum lowers his head and emits a sigh, Jinki takes a step forward and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Now, I don’t know what happened between you and Taemin, but whatever it is, I am certain you two can resolve it if you talk to each other. And do so before you regret it. What would you do if holding a grudge now leads to him exiting your life entirely? Would that make you feel better? Are you fine with losing someone over pride?” 

Kibum looks up as he weighs his options and quickly shakes his head. Feeling that his heart was already being torn at the mere thought of not having Taemin in his life. 

“Then there is your answer. Don’t waste more precious time because life is too short to hold onto a grudge or drown in denial.” Jinki finishes his unexpected advice talk with a kind smile, his hand still squeezing Kibum’s shoulder before he slowly lets go. 

Although they part ways as friends, it’s with no hard feelings towards one another. And while it isn’t how Kibum expects his night to go, he’s thankful for Jinki’s thoughtful words. 

On the subway, with hands clutching onto his cell phone, Kibum finally gathers enough courage to call Taemin. He then waits anxiously. So anxiously he can hear the other annoying ringtone, which is the default one since of course, Taemin was the kind to never bother changing it. But then it suddenly hits him that it’s not merely his imagination, for when the call is cut, so is the ringtone. 

Kibum calls again as he stands up and carefully follows the sound to the next car.

Although the signal is cut again it doesn’t take long for his eyes to find Taemin’s familiar figure. The younger is occupying a row of seats all by himself, head hanging low, ha