Chapter 14

The cafe is elaborately set up for the day, with glowing reddish-orange lanterns hanging from meticulously thought out positions on the ceiling and several paper cut outs of hearts placed on the walls. Candles were positioned in the center of the tables to add to the 'date' effect. The cafe had a cozier feel than usual, what with the romantic vibe floating around. It is date night, after all.

"Date night? When did we start hosting date nights in this cafe?"

"Oh shush, dear nephew. I'm only really doing this for you." Jung Juri crosses her legs and arms as she watches her employees set up the cafe for the event tomorrow.

"And how is this supposed to help me?" Taemin gestures vaguely to the room at large as he sweeps the floor where Jo Kwon and the others were diligently putting up the designs after having been told off by the manager several times to stop fooling around.

"You want to confess to Sulli, right?" The manager asks rhetorically and continues to explain excitedly, "A date night would be the perfect opportunity for you to tell her how much you love her and how much you want to marry her and be the father of her babies..."

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH," The boy temporarily lets go of the broom he is holding and raises his hands defensively, "I never said anything about any babies. I'm going to confess to her, and that's it."

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to— Confession, babies, same thing. But wouldn't it be the perfect setting for the beginning of your romance?" The woman's eyes were practically sparkling as she went up to him and held his hands excitedly, "There'd be a stage and a live band and all that jazz so maybe you could sing for her. You have such a delicate singing voice and we wouldn't want that to go to waste now, would we? And oh! Oh! Oh!" She is bouncing in her place now and Taemin could feel the blood circulation in his hands being cut off, "You could even play the piano for her!"

Just then, a certain dinosaur flamboyantly butts into their conversation, leaving Onew to carry the tables by himself, "Did anyone say the words live band and singing? I don't want to brag, but--"

"No one asked for your opinion, Jonghyun. Now be a good boy and go help Onew with the tables." The manager didn't even bother to look at Jonghyun as she said this in a monotone. 

"Yes, ma'am," and he walks away dejectedly.

"So what song will you be singing for her?"

Taemin is still busy laughing at his hyung's antics so he was caught off guard by the sudden question. He stares at her for a few seconds before he gets an idea and a knowing smile graces his lips, "You'll see."

ATTEMPT #2: “Unni always says that she really likes guys who can sing, right?”

The mood is set and everyone is busy attending to the couples cozying up to each other in their seats. Jonghyun has taken the stage with Onew and the live band, and as Taemin watches them from afar, he has to admit that Jonghyun wasn't just all talk. The way he looks as he sings along with the piano's melody and the way his voice beautifully melds with Onew's captivate most of the females in the room. Taemin almost feels sorry for the males accompanying the distracted ladies, for the powerhouse duo has apparently stolen both the show and their dates.

But the two men of the singing pair weren’t the only ones catching the attention of the ladies. The staff was provided with elegantly cut suits for the day’s event, both for female and male, courtesy of Taemin’s mother. All of them successfully pull off the suit ‘look’, exuding airs of class and romance. Victoria looks even more graceful than she usually does in her perfectly cut ladies’ suit and Key looks absolutely flawless in his own outfit. But Taemin— he is a different story. The ensemble assigned to him is simple – black on black— black long sleeved shirt, black tie, black vest. But the way the suit hugs his body and accentuates his lean frame has most of the females drooling at the very sight of him.

But he pays them no heed, because in comes the apple of his eye with the biggest eyesore of his life. He tries not to glare at Minho as he sees how the tall man’s hand is delicately placed at Sulli’s back, silently leading her to their reserved seats. They look perfect together, and that’s what makes Taemin hurt the most. But seeing how happy she was when she had asked the manager for permission to go on this date night with Minho after having been asked out by the said man, Taemin just couldn’t stay angry. He ponders on whether or not he should continue pursuing the girl, because she already looks happy enough with the man beside her. But then he remembers what Amber and Krystal had told him about her feelings for him and her lack of self-consciousness to realize them, and he is fueled with determination once again.

So he restrains the urge to yank Sulli away from the competition and signals to his two hyungs that ‘Plan Seranade Sulli’ is now in action. Jonghyun and Onew charismatically excuse themselves from the audience with a scream-worthy wink from the former and Taemin is left to take the stage. He makes sure that he does not do anything to draw any attention to himself just yet as he seats himself in front of the grand piano. He also makes a mental note reminding himself to tell his aunt not to go so far as to rent a grand piano next time they host a date night. He feels the stares of the people burning into him, but they do not sway him in the least.

The melodic sound of the piano slowly fills the whole room, and everyone is mesmerized as Taemin’s fingers dance over the piano keys. A few notes later, his smooth voice soon follows.

When I act like this, I realize I’m actually young

She’s right in front of me but I don’t know what to do

How do you start love?

People who have loved, please tell me

Will there be a day when I hold her hand?

Will there be a day when I kiss her above her closed eyes?

Hello, hello, I acted confidently

Hello, hello, I want to talk to you for a moment

Hello, hello, I might stutter a little, though

Who knows, we might actually be good together?

His voice is heard throughout the establishment, and by the end of the first chorus, all ladies present are giving him the googly-eyes. They are all dreamily watching Taemin from seats, shamelessly forgetting their dates for the time being. Taemin doesn’t mind the excessive attention he was receiving, but what does bother him is that Sulli has yet to notice his playing. He is looking right at her as he sings, but it seems impossible to catch her attention while Minho is in her company.

But as Taemin starts the second verse, the ‘I love you Taemin-oppa!’’s and the ‘Oppa, father my babies!’’s begin to get louder and louder, and the boy could not help but feel amused. He figured that since he is already on stage and all, he might as well give the audience a show. He throws a brief wink and a very charming smirk toward the general direction of the shouts, and that served to increase the volume of the hollers. That must have done the trick, because upon hearing the screaming, Sulli and Minho start to crane their heads to see what all the fuss is about.

“Is that… Taemin?” Minho answers Sulli’s query with a quiet, “Oh, your cake friend?” but she does not answer back. She is too distracted by the enigmatic figure elegantly playing away at the piano, who no doubt, is her usually childish, certainly-not-elegant best friend.

She stares at him for what is longer than necessary, and she just can’t help but think back to when they were children. She remembers how Taemin used to sing to her whenever she was sad or would get really sleep and how she’d fall asleep with her head on his lap. She remembers how she would watch on in awe whenever Taemin used to play for her during the rare times that she got to visit his mansion. Yes, that mellow, gentle voice is no doubt Taemin’s.

She does not realize that Taemin is looking into her eyes as well until she sees him smile at her as he sings the second chorus. She blushes, and she cannot figure out why. As she looks down at her lap to hide her blush from the dubious look Minho was giving her, Taemin shifts his eyes to his aunt’s direction. She had been standing by the side lines all along, and she nods her head slightly at the boy.

“Go on— go get her.”

Taemin nods back. He stands from his seat while grabbing the microphone he had been singing into, letting the remaining background instruments continue on with the song’s melody.  

Hello, hello,

Please give me a chance

I don’t know how you’re feeling now,

But who knows, we might actually be…

He slowly steps down from the stage with purpose. His eyes are set on the girl of his dreams, and although she is near, she still seems so far away. He is determined to tell her everything there is to say through this serenade. Nothing can stop him— not even Minho, not even the inexperienced flower delivery guy, not even a crowd of screaming fan girls currently flocking towards him.

….

“TAEMIN-OPPAAAAAA!”

But it seems that a crowd of screaming fan girls can in fact stop him.

The girls are dragging him to every which way, and Taemin doesn’t know where he is supposed to go anymore. He desperately tries to locate Sulli’s table, but with all of the females and their hormones jumbled up around him, it is impossible. He sighs tiredly as he is being mobbed because he knows that once again, his attempt at confessing has failed. He also fails to see the dejected expression that Sulli has on her face as she watches the commotion.

“Hey,” she feels a warm hand land on top of hers, “Do you want to get out of here? It’s pretty noisy, don’t you think?” She almost melts at the amused smile that Minho gives her. She agrees to Minho's request. But she is a tad hesistant in doing so, because honestly, she still wanted to hear more of Taemin's voice. More of the voice she had come to love as child, and even until now.

So as Minho gently places his hand at her back to lead her out, she sadly glances back at her best friend. Taemin catches this fleeting look, and the damage incurred to his ear from the girls’ screaming is nothing compared to how much damage his heart is experiencing now.

The song Taemin is singing is Hello, one of my favorite songs from them. (I'm imagining it as how he sang the song with IU, piano and all.) I just felt that the song was pretty fitting in his situtation, haha. I'm sorry for the late update. 2 or 3 more chapters to go! And don't worry about Taemin -- third time's the charm, right?