“Hey Jonghyun I need you to come shopping with me, it’s Taemin’s birthday this weekend and I have to get a gift."

“Why do you need me to come with you, Minho? Can’t you pick a present on your own?”

“I want it to be perfect, so I need you to come help me pick something out."

“Fine, but don’t expect much"

“Thanks! I’ll see you in a bit.”

Minho had picked up Jonghyun from his house and driven them to a department store. The two friends started browsing the store looking for something that Tae would like. Jonghyun would occasionally pick something up and show it to Minho but he would always shake his head saying it didn't feel like the perfect present; after almost an hour of searching Jonghyun got a phone call from his boyfriend, Key. His real name was Kibum but preferred the nickname Key.

"Hello?"                                                                                

"Jjongie, I'm soo bored. Want to see a movie or something?"

"Sorry Key, I can't right now. I’m at the department store helping Minho pick out a present for Taemin's birthday."

"What? He asked you for advice on a present for Taemin? I know him so much better. He should have just asked me to help. Have you found anything yet?"

"Not really. We're still looking for a gift."

"Are you at the store down the street from my house?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Good! Hand the phone to Minho; I know exactly what he should get for Taemin."

"Umm...okay, hold on a second.” Jonghyun looked around for Minho. ”Minho, Key wants to talk to you. Where did he go?” Minho had wandered off; he had spotted a cute pair of frog earrings that Taemin might like. He remembered Taemin telling him that his first impression of Minho was of a frog. Minho thought it would make Taemin happy and was about to purchase it when Jonghyun came up behind him holding out his phone saying “Here, Key wants to talk to you.”

Minho pressed the phone to his ear "Hey Key. Jonghyun said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Finally! What took you so long?” Minho was about to answer but Key cut him off “Never mind. Why would you ask Jonghyun to help you pick out a present for your boyfriend?” Key continued talking, again, not even giving Minho a chance to respond. “If you need help with getting a gift you should have just called me. Especially for Taemin, I know him best. You want the perfect present don’t you?”

“Of course I do, why, do you know the perfect present for Taemin?”

“When was the last time you took him on a real date? I know how the two of you are, completely content with just hanging out. Take him on a nice date at a fancy restaurant and treat him like a star for once. Get him a really nice necklace or some earrings. Don’t be cheap either, buy him something expensive.” Minho wasn’t sure about Key’s plan. Taemin had always been a simple and humble person and always appreciated the little things he had. he didn’t really like to spend money unless he had to. Bringing him to a fancy restaurant and buying him expensive things didn’t seem like the right thing to do for him.

“Minho, why are you so quiet, don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, but are you sure Taemin would really like that? I feel like it would be a bit much for someone like Taemin.”

“It’s his birthday; even Taemin wants to be fawned over once in a while.” Key sounded so confident in his words that Minho just had to agree.

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I am completely sure. Don’t go anywhere I’m on my way. I’ll help you pick out a necklace.”

Ten minutes later Key was at the department store. When Minho had showed Key the frog necklace he had wanted to buy Key said “You can’t get Taemin something so cheap for his birthday!” Minho had also seen a simple sapphire necklace but Key had turned that down too in favour of a much more extravagant pearlescent sky blue necklace and earring set which was very expensive. Minho was from a rather well off family, money had never been a problem for him so he didn’t mind having to spend so much, especially if it was for Taemin. But he couldn’t help but feel that Taemin wouldn’t like it as much as Key had thought.

Minho had done as Key instructed and reserved a table for two at the nicest restaurant in town. On Taemin’s birthday the couple had spent the entire day together just hanging out at Taemin’s house. They would cuddle on the couch watching TV or just talking with the occasional chaste kiss. Taemin hadn’t really expected anything more so when Minho had told him that they were having dinner at such a nice restaurant she was surprised.

When they got to the restaurant Taemin was already feeling slightly uncomfortable, knowing the food would definitely be expensive.

“Order anything you want, don’t worry about the bill.” Minho said to Taemin, sensing his unease. Taemin agreed but still ordered the cheapest thing on the menu. They had finished their meal and Minho paid the bill. Minho dropped Taemin off at his house and handed him the gift Key had picked out.

“Happy birthday, Tae” Minho said with a smile as he gave Taemin his present. Taemin took it and opened it and really didn’t know what to say. He just looked at the gift almost afraid to touch it for fear of breaking it.

“You don’t like it, do you?” Minho sighed.

“No, I love it! It’s beautiful, but it’s a bit-“

“Expensive? Extravagant?” Minho offered.

“Yeah, just a bit.” Taemin said with a shy, slightly guilty smile.

“You didn’t like the restaurant either.” It wasn’t a question, Minho knew Taemin was uncomfortable in the fancy restaurant.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just feel a bit overwhelmed and out of place there.” Taemin explained trying to make Minho feel better about the date.

“I should have gone with my instincts. It’s okay if you don’t like it. Key picked out the gift and told me to bring you there. I didn’t really think you’d like it but Key kept insisting that you would and that he knows you best. I wanted to get you this cute pair of frog earrings and this pretty blue necklace. It was really simple and not all that expensive, I think you would have liked it,” he sighed. “I really wanted this to give you the perfect present but I completely messed it up.”

“You didn’t completely mess it up, I still had fun just being with you, and knowing you tried so hard to get the perfect present is so sweet.” Taemin said, reassuring Minho. “And somehow, I’m not surprised Key planned this date,” Taemin laughed

Minho laughed with him, glad that she wasn’t upset. “It really does have ‘Key’ written all over it. Tomorrow I’ll take you on a real birthday date; we can do something fun like go to the amusement park or something. I’ll return the necklace and earrings too and get the ones I wanted to get before, okay?”

“That sounds perfect.”

 

Yay, my first actual story written by me!! Just a quick note, when I was writing this Taemin was supposed to be a girl that's why Minho got him earrings. Yeah, I guess I didn't realize how awkward that would be once I put it up on AFF.Oh well. I'm fairly satisfied with what I wrote but I'll probably reread it in a week and hate everything about it. If you actually read through the whole thing tell what you think in the comments and tell me where I could have done etter. I'm serious, I want to know how I can improve and I can't really do that without a bit of friendly criticism.

This is the jewelry I used in the story in case you were too lazy or uninterested to click on the links: