“I got the tickets earlier,” Taemin grinned, “Since I had to pay for Minho-hyung, I figured I would pay first and you guys could pay me back later.” He shrugged, and Jinki flapped around trying to avoid Minho as he pulled his wallet out. He grabbed some notes and handed them to Taemin, his fingers shaking slightly because he could feel Minho watching him. He tasted something sour in his mouth, and he wondered why Taemin always paid for Minho, it felt wrong to him.

“Um, I’ll pay for all the tickets.” Jinki mumbled out, he didn’t want Taemin to pay for Minho, he ignored the way the three others stared in surprise at him. “What?” He frowned, “It seems fair to me,” He shrugged again, handing Taemin a bigger wad of cash.

“Hyung, this is too much,” Taemin frowned handing Jinki some of the cash back.

“You don’t need to pay for everyone,” Minho added a moment later, “why don’t we go to that café, and have a drink while we sort the money out.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but grabbed a hold of Taemin’s arm and dragged him off quickly, leaving Kibum and Jinki to follow.

Jinki felt uncomfortable when they arrived outside the café, it was obvious Taemin and Minho had had words, from the way they ignored each other and stood separately. Jinki tugged on Kibum’s sleeve, pouting, he didn’t like this, he felt like it was a mistake to come. He tried to drag Kibum away to talk privately, but before he could Taemin latched onto Kibum.

“Hyung, let’s go and get a drink!” Taemin grinned, and Jinki gaped in surprise, as Kibum and Taemin swiftly disappeared into the café. Jinki gulped and looked cautiously at Minho, he breathed out softly, hating himself for being so pathetic. He could stand in front of thirty students and talk, and yet here in front of one person, he could not even summon up enough courage to say a single word. Feeling abandoned by his friend, and ashamed by his clothes, Jinki turned to just leave.

“Jinki-hyung, where are you going?” He looked like a deer caught in headlights when he turned to see Minho staring at him, “Come on,” Minho smiled softly, “You weren’t going to leave were you?” He frowned and smirked slightly, as he opened the door and motioned for Jinki to go in with him. “After all we have to sort out the money,” he shrugged slightly.

“I guess.” Jinki nodded his head firmly, “But if you feel uncomfortable with me being here, we can sort out the money and I’ll go.”

“Why would I be uncomfortable with you here?” Minho frowned and shook his head, “Why would you think that?”

“Because,” Jinki looked down, avoiding Minho’s eyes, “You think I hate you.” He whispered, as he walked right past Minho into the café. He could feel his heart racing as he kept walking towards the booth where he could see Taemin and Kibum sitting. Minho grasped his elbow, effectively stopping him from moving forward, but he refused to turn and see his face.

“Oh,” Minho’s voice sounded strange, unusual, “you heard that.”

“Yes,” Jinki whispered, wishing this was not so awkward. Minho’s fingertips were warm on his elbow, he really wanted to turn and look at him. But he didn’t trust himself just yet, he was worried he might just say something silly, or reveal how he really felt about him. “Y-yes I heard that, I don’t hate you.”

“But you did in high school,” Minho whispered in reply, before he pressed his other hand to Jinki’s other arm, forcefully turning him so he faced Minho now. Jinki was aware of Minho’s eyes roaming across his face, studying him intently. “You hated me in high school, didn’t you?” Minho repeated slightly louder, not caring if the whole café, or whole damn world was staring at them.

“No,” Jinki swallowed and shook his head, “I-I never hated you.” He yanked his arm free and walked away quickly, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. He cursed Taemin and Kibum for sitting next to each other, he gingerly sat down, wincing slightly as Minho sat next him. He felt so incredibly awkward, he didn’t it was possible to feel more out of place then he did right then. It made it worse because he could see how Kibum was deliberately trying to set him up.

*

Jinki could barely concentrate on the movie with Minho seated next to him, in the darkened cinema he traced his profile with his eyes. His gaze lingering over Minho’s beautiful features, he only looked away when Minho turned to look at him. Jinki’s stomach churned and he felt uncomfortable the whole time, he wished he could just sink into the ground and disappear from sight.

When the movie finally finished, Kibum and Taemin left so quickly, Jinki winced because it was so painfully obvious. He got up slowly, dusting off his jeans, waiting for Minho to leave because he didn’t want to go until he had gone. But Minho just stood there, glancing across at Jinki strangely, until they were the only people left in the cinema.

“Jinki-hyung, I’m not going to hurt you.” Minho whispered, “you don’t need to be so tense, or nervous around me.” He flashed Jinki a brilliant smile, reaching out to grab his arm lightly, “I’m really sorry about this,” He added with a nervous laugh, “Taemin seems to think we like each other.” He smiled apologetically, “He’s trying to set us up, I understand how you feel about me, so I’m sorry about this.”

“Wh-what?” Jinki looked flabbergasted, he was stunned to hear Minho say it so clearly. At first he didn’t really think about what Minho was saying but he felt even more mortified, he didn’t know where to look.  He was in a state of shock as Minho led him out of the cinema, warm gentle fingers cupping his arm lightly. Jinki kept looking up at Minho, surprised at why he was doing this, when he clearly didn’t like Jinki.

“I’m sorry,” Minho mumbled when they walked out of the cinema, into the crowds of milling people, “I thought you realised that this was a set up, and that was why you felt uncomfortable.” Minho stopped walking, turning to look at Jinki with serious eyes, “I’m so sorry, I-I thought you were aware.” He gulped visibly, and Jinki’s head swam slightly as he stared at Minho. Sure he knew it was a set up, but it felt more awkward hearing Minho say it.

He didn’t even reply, instead he tugged his arm free from Minho’s hold and pushed his way through the people until he spotted Kibum and Taemin talking over by a window. Jinki scowled and just grabbed a hold of Kibum’s arm dragging him, without even letting him say goodbye to the younger male.

“Hyung, hyung!” Jinki ignored the way Taemin and Kibum called out to him, he felt too embarrassed to stick around any longer. The way Minho had casually mentioned it was a set up, it made Jinki feel sick knowing that Minho knew how he felt and yet he could casually talk about it like Jinki’s feelings were nothing, or that was how Jinki felt. It never occurred to Jinki that there was another possibility.

“Jinki, what the hell,” Kibum snapped, “Stop ing walking right now,” he spoke louder trying to get the older boy to stop holding his arm, to stop him from dragging him away. Jinki however was determined to run away, and only when they reached the train station did he stop for a moment. Kibum glared up at Jinki, his hands on his hips for the way Jinki had just roughly dragged him through the streets.

“What the is your problem?” Kibum snapped, his eyes narrowed down in anger.

“Minho knows everything,” Jinki sounded depressed, “He knew it was a set up, he realised I liked him. I felt so embarrassed, I couldn’t stay there like that, he obviously just wanted to humiliate me.” He swallowed, glancing around nervously, unaware that Taemin and persistent Minho had tailed them to the station.

“What the ,” Kibum frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “first you tell me that Minho thinks you hate him, and now you say he knows you like him? You’re not even making any sense.” Kibum grabbed Jinki’s arms and began to shake him lightly, “Hyung, I’m starting to worry about you, I just want you to be happy.”

“I don’t know, bu-but he said about it being a set up, and something about people trying to get us together, and stuff.” Jinki swallowed, “I don’t know, I’m confused. Can we please just go home?” He asked, looking so dejected and sad that Kibum could only nod his head in reply. He glanced up catching sight of the other two, but Kibum put his arm around Jinki’s shoulder, and led him towards the train platform they wanted.