“Minnie~” a voice called out.  The desired boy whipped his head in the direction of the call, fear etched on his flawless features.

                “Oh no,” he whispered.  The boy leaped up from the couch he was lounging on and raced for the hallway.  Must get away.  Must get away.  Must get away.  A few more strides and Minwoo found himself in front of his bedroom, wrenching open the door and rushing inside, slamming it shut behind him.  Gasping for breath, he leaned against the sturdy wood, trying to calm his racing heart.  Three seconds later, someone rapped on the door, vibrations shooting in all directions.

                “Oh, Minnie~” the voice came again.  “I know you’re in there.  Come on.  Come out.”

                Minwoo closed his eyes, silently praying that the young devil would go away.

                “Okay, I guess I’ll just go by myself,” the voice dejectedly sighed.  “I thought that you, of all people, would take pity on me and keep me company.  Guess I was wrong.”

                Minwoo knew what this person, this devil, was doing, but he couldn’t turn away from the guilt formulating in his chest.  Sighing in defeat, Minwoo pulled open the door, facing his opposition.

                “Fine, I’ll go play basketball with you,” Minwoo relented.

                “Yay!  Thank you so much, Minnie!” the sweet devil hugged Minwoo tightly, cutting off his oxygen supply.

                “Youngmin, can’t breathe!” the young boy gasped out.

                The dirty-blond kid pulled back, a sheepish smile on his face.  “Mian.  Now let’s go!”  He pulled at Minwoo’s arm, dragging him out to the basketball court.

                Minwoo dribbled the orange ball lazily, his calloused fingertips the only contact made with the rough texture.  Bright sunshine shone down warmly on his brown hair, tanning his fair skin.  No wind interrupted the dry air, leaving him and his partner sweating.  Youngmin lunged toward the ball’s captor, attempting to knock it out of Minwoo’s hands.  The younger boy dodged the attack, side-stepping and spinning out of reach, dribbling his way to the net-less hoop at the end of the outside court.  His worn sneakers scraped against the cracked asphalt, skidding and sliding.  Reaching his destination, Minwoo raised his arm, lightly jumping, toes springing from the ground, dropping the ball through the metal ring.  The sphere bounced once before it was caught by Youngmin who held it with both hands, signaling an end.

                “Let’s take a break,” he suggested.  Minwoo nodded once, following Youngmin to the grass where they had dropped their water bottles.

                Uncapping the lid, Minwoo brought the bottle to his lips, lukewarm water sliding past his tongue and down his throat.  The boys took a seat on the ground, heaving out exhausted breaths. 

                “So why did you drag me here again?” Minwoo asked, but he wasn’t really complaining.  He loved the dull ache of his body after a workout, the warm sweat dampening his skin, hair matted to his forehead, breath heaving in his lungs. 

                “Jin is out with Ara Cha doing who knows what, and Kwangmin is with Hyesoo,” Youngmin answered.

                “What about Hyunseong?  Or Jeongmin?  Or Donghyun?”  Minwoo listed the other guys that made up their group fondly named ‘Boyfriend.’

                “They’re no fun when it comes to basketball.  You’re as good as me, and it’s always more fun when it’s a challenge.”

                “So you like losing?” Minwoo smirked.

                “Psh!  Whatever!  I don’t lose –I take a break from winning,” Youngmin swung his head cockily. 

                “Oh, so you let me do that lay-up?” Minwoo grinned.  “Were you on break then?”

                Youngmin growled, “Shut up.”

                Minwoo chuckled and fell back onto the itchy grass, listening to the sounds around him as he stared into the wide expanse of blue above him.  Children shrieked and laughed as their little feet pitter-pattered around the playground.  Mothers scolded young ones for misbehaving, their stern voices carrying above the sound of fun the way darkness away the light when the sun of bliss falls behind the horizon.  Minwoo smiled to himself, glad that Youngmin had forced him to come outside and play a bit of sport.

                A flash of black and the sound of a shutter-click stole his attention.  Sitting up, he found a girl smiling at her camera, eyes turned up in twin crescent moons. 

                “H-hey!” Minwoo shouted at her.  “Did you just take a picture of me?”

                The girl looked up from her camera with a shameless face.  “Yep!  It was a picture perfect moment and I couldn’t just pass it up.  I mean, look at this, the natural pose of lying down on the grass, hands underneath the head, water bottle lazily propped up on the stomach, and a bit of basketball just slightly cut off on the outskirts of the photo.  It’s fantastic!”  She turned the camera towards Minwoo so he could see.  He had to admit that it was an expertly taken photograph, but it was done without his consent!

                “That doesn’t give you the right to just go around and take pictures of people!” Minwoo exclaimed indignantly. 

                “Oh, I know,” she chirped, still smiling at the display window on her camera.  “Actually, I’m not even working on people photography.  I’m doing a nature assignment, but I couldn’t let this opportunity slide by!  May I use this for a future assignment?  Please, please, please!  I promise it’s just for my class!” the girl let her Canon camera hang around her neck as she clasped her hands in pleading.

                Taken aback by this strange person, Minwoo fumbled for a response.  “E-eh, I guess.  If it’s for a class, then I suppose it’s okay.”

                The girl brightened even more, glowing eyes practically gone from smiling so much.  “Thank you!  I owe you one!”  She waved goodbye and left for the rose bushes that lined the perimeter of the park.

                “Well, that was weird,” Youngmin observed.

                “Tell me about it,” Minwoo agreed.  “How creepy is it to have some crazy person following you around with a camera without you knowing it, taking pictures of you?  I really hope that picture doesn’t end up somewhere bad.”  He started having second thoughts on whether he should have let her keep the picture.

                “Ah, don’t worry about it,” Youngmin waved it off.  “It’s not like it was incriminating.  Besides,” he glanced at the girl crouched in front of a blooming rose, camera aligned with the blossom, “she seems harmless enough.” 

                “Says the person who stayed out of harm’s way of the crazy chick with a camera,” Minwoo mumbled, picking himself up.  “Come on, ready for another round of me kicking your ?”

                Youngmin smirked as he stood up, facing his dongsaeng.  “In your dreams.”