"Guys, come see this!" Taemin called from the back room.

All five of us got up out of our seats without a second thought and made our way behind the counter and into the large storage room behind the shop to see Taemin kneeling on the floor holding a tiny kitten in his arms. Leeteuk and his wife were standing beside him, watching him in an amused fashion as the young boy fed the kitten from a bottle.

"Look at him!" Taemin exlaimed once we'd all entered the room. "Leeteuk-hyung said they found him on the street last night and they're going to keep him."

"So cute!" Jonghyun cried, dropping to his knees so he could get closer to the adorable little bundle of fur in Taemin's arms. There was a short jingling of bells, signaling the cafe had another customer, and the couple took that as their cue to leave the storeroom to attend to the shop, leaving the rest of us behind. Taemin gently laid the kitten down on the makeshift bed that Leeteuk and his wife had made for him before standing back up.

"I think we should name him Cat..." Taemin said, with an adorable innocent smile that made everyone's hearts melt. We all laughed at the funny name Taemin had made up. "I think that's a great idea, Tae," Key told him and he led us all out from the back room and to our table. 

"We should probably get going," Onew announced. "Tae, aren't you supposed to be home at a certain time?"

"Actually, he's out of town this weekend, he left yesterday," Taemin answered as we all got ready to leave.

Perfect opportunity... "Wonderful, would you like to walk with me? I want to go to the park but it gets lonely by myself," I proposed, hoping I didn't sound too hopeful or desperate. Taemin looked to his friends as if asking for permission, and when he got the okay, he turned back to me, grinning widely. "Sure, Kai, that'd be great."

With that, Taemin pulled out his wallet to pay for his drink and poured a few coins out in his hand. When I saw this, I simply couldn't stand for it- he was counting coins to make sure he had enough money for a drink. No, I don't look down on him because he's poor, but rather... I'm happy, because this way, I can pamper him even more.

"Let me pay for it, hyung."

"Oh no, Kai, you don't have to, I was just-"

"Please, hyung," I asked, giving him big eyes to guilt him into letting me pay for his drink.

"Really, Kai, it's alright, I've got this."

"Too late!"

I ran to the counter and handed Leeteuk several bills, enough to pay for both orders, and the older man smiled at me, as if thanking me for being so kind to Taemin. "Let's go now," I said, motioning for Taemin to follow me out the door while the rest of the guys made their way up to the register. The hot air hit us as we left the shop, and Taemin immediately stopped me.

"Kai, thank you, by the way. That was very nice of you..."

I smiled and kept moving, headed for the park. "It's nothing, honestly."

I was glad the park was rather far away, so that Taemin and I could spend even more time together- just the two of us. It was quiet, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It meant that both of us were comfortable enough around one another that conversation didn't have to fill all the time we passed. I took the time to mentally prepare myself- I was going to ask him out... I wasn't going to chicken out, and I would have a new boyfriend by the end of this little trip to the park. I had to make such promises to myself to make sure I actually go through with my plans...

As soon as the familiar trees came into my sight, I was actually beginning to feel... nervous. I was afraid he would say no. I know that his friend told me that he liked me, but it wasn't all that reassuring at this point anyway. Of course I was happy to hear that, but I was still irrationally anxious.

"Taemin-hyung..." I said, inviting him to join me on a bench. "I was wondering what you would think of.. of maybe... maybe going out on a date with me sometime..."

There we go, best to get it all out as soon as possible.

"W-what?" Taemin stuttered, staring at me with wide eyes. Now, this is the part where I got rather confused- I couln't quite tell if he was looking at me in the good kind of shock or the bad kind. If it was joy or horror.

"I- Well I mean... I like you, hyung. I want to go on a date with you..."

He made me wait in awful mental torture while his features were completely unreadable. "Kai, we've hardly just met... It's been just two weeks, and... and yes, I... I do like you, but two weeks is-"

"I know," I interrupted. "But we could take it really slow, you know? Like, in the beginning, we can just use our time together to get to know each other better, right? It'll be our own special thing... So Taemin... Will you be my boyfriend?"

I was trying to look into his eyes, but he was making it hard the way he averted his gaze completely down to his lap while he pondered my question. "Yes, Kai..." he said simply, finally looking up to me. I was near ready to jump from the bench and skip around squealing in happiness, but his voice stopped me before I was able to make a fool of myself like such. "But you have to promise that you will take it slow. You're okay with that, right?"

"Of course, I'm absolutely 100 percent okay with that," I replied in total honesty. I'd go as slow as he wanted as long as I got to call him mine. 

"Thank you, Kai, I'm really happy..." The grin on his face didn't betray his words; he looked like he'd just won the lottery or something and his eyes shone with real happiness. I was smiling too, but it only intensified once I saw that look on his face. I wanted to keep him truly happy rather than that fake smile he usually wears, and this is it. This is the smile I wanted to see.

"It's getting close to evening, though, you should probably get back to your house," I advised, not liking the darkness that began to creep up on us so suddenly. I hadn't realized it was already past dinner time.

"Of course. Let me walk you home?" he offered, standing up and offering me his hand to help me up. I accepted the hand and smiled gratefully at him. "Ah no, it's okay, I don't live far," I assured, not wanting him to have to go out of his way for me.

"But it's no trouble," he insisted. "Now let's go."

Well, that left no room for further objections. I nodded my head and smiled as we began walking, loving the fact that we hadn't let go of each others' hands from when we stood up. I was comfortable with it, and if he was too, then I say let it be. I led him in the right direction of my apartment complex, neither of us separating from one another.

Once again, we walked in a complacent silence. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, signalling I had a text. Reluctantly, I used my free hand to pull it out and check to see a message from D.O.

'Hurry home, the guys are still here and we're having a movie night ^^'

I grinned at his cute text, but didn't feel the need to respond since we were only a block away from home anyway, and I'd see him soon enough. However, I was suddenly reminded that I didn't even have Taemin's number.

"Oh, hyung, I don't even have your cellphone number!"

"Well I should hope so, I don't have a cellphone," he answered comically.

"Really?" I asked incredulously. Everyone in this day and age had a phone. It was just... a given. "Yes, really. I-I can't afford a phone," he answered, sounding somewhat ashamed of the fact now. "Don't worry, it's no problem," I assured quickly, hoping I didn't make him feel bad for not having enough money to buy himself a phone. I didn't even bother asking why his parents didn't just buy one for him, because it didn't really matter. They were probably just a poor family, but that was okay.

He smiled a little, but I could instantly tell it wasn't the genuine smile like he'd given me earlier. "Well do you have a house phone?" I asked him, wanting at least some form of contact with him over the weekend so we could talk or make plans to hang out.

"N-no, we don't..." The smile disappeared once again.

I noticed, we had just reached my building, so I stopped him outside the front doors. "That's okay... But here, my apartment is room 342. Visit me any time; my mom is coming home tomorrow so I'll be moving back in there. I'll see you Monday if not before then."

"Thanks, Kai. I'll see you later," he said with another grin as the two of us turned away to go our own ways. I sighed as I took the elevator up to D.O.'s apartment, feeling quite content with myself. In fact, content is a vast understatement. In reality, I couldn't keep this stupid smile off my face and it made me look like an idiot. A happy idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

Dragging my feet down the hallway, I'd completely forgotten that our friends were already there in the room I was headed to- my memory of that having been wiped completely by talking with Taemin just a bit more, making his voice and his face all I could focus on at any given moment. I even fumbled with the keys to get inside, laughing at my own actions. I was acting like a lovesick kid.

"Dude, what's up with you? You look like a lovesick kid..." D.O. commented the moment I got the door open. 

Surprisingly spot on...

I laughed at our corresponding thoughts before closing the door behind me. D.O. was taking a huge bag of chips to the living room area, where I looked over to see the rest of the gang sprawled out across couches and the floor, eyes focused on the previews to some movie.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically in response to his observation, the smile still not leaving my face.

"Come on to the living room, we were hoping you'd get here before we started," he said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along. "Guys, Kai's here," he announced. I threw my backpack down in the corner of the room before throwing myself onto the floor and rolling onto my back with my head right to Sehun's.

"Hey, Kai," came the many greetings, but I felt like I didn't have enough breath to respond. I still felt the overwhelming desire to squeal like a fangirl... And I guess Sehun noticed that.

"KAI, YOU ASKED HIM OUT, DIDN'T YOU?!" Sehun screamed, pushing himself up so he was sitting over me, staring at me with wide eyes and a huge knowing grin on his face. I only laughed in response.

"Who asked who out?" Suho asked, now holding full interest, just like everyone else all of a sudden.

"What's going on?" Baekhyun asked, his mouth still full of chips.

"Kai, you so should have texted me the second it happened!" Sehun continued, hitting me in the face with the pillow on which his head had previously been resting. "What happened, what happened! Give me every detail!" He pulled the pillow back into himself and hugged it, biting his lip as he stared at me expectantly, waiting to hear my story.

"There's not much to tell except.." I started, finding my words once again once the need to brag about Taemin hit me. "I've got a boyfriend~" I sang, sitting up as well.

Chanyeol crawled off of his place on the sofa to sit beside Sehun. "Woah, who?" he demanded, as the others also came closer to hear the name. I glanced at Sehun, since he already knew who it would be and winked at him, signalling him to tell.

"Lee ing Taemin- Kai is dating Lee Taemin, one of the most popular- and attractive- boys at school!" Sehun cheered, clapping his hands excitedly. I'd never seen him like this before, and it made me laugh.

"No way!" D.O. exlaimed. "Dude, you've been here for two weeks and you're already in a relationship- and with one of them?" he asked incredulously. "Guys, I think we can all learn something from Kai over here. Please, teach us your ways master!" he joked.

"Yeah, how'd it happen, anyway?" Suho asked.

I sighed, not really knowing where to start. "Well, I was out for coffee with him and his friends today after practice- which reminds me! Sehun, you said those guys were really nice, right? Yeah, well not to me!" I complained, pouting uncharacteristically.

Sehun cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? Those are the nicest guys in school! It was Onew, Jonghyun, Key, and Minho, right?"

"Yes," I replied simply.

"What the hell, how do you say they're not nice? What'd they do?" Baekhyun interjected.

I snorted in laughter. "They were threatening me! They were all 'if you hurt him I'll kill you' and like that. And I think they were completely serious, too! Not even just like when you don't approve of your friend's boyfriend, it was like, the stereotypical father with the shotgun meeting his daughter's prom date for the first time or something."

They all laughed at my analogy before coming back. "I did say they were protective too, right? Remember when I told you what they did to the guys who made fun of Taemin in middle school?" Sehun answered. I nodded. "Well then that's not them being mean, it's just them protecting him."

"He's almost a grown man, though, he doesn't need that kind of protection- I think that's over the top," Chanyeol gave his opinion, looking like he was in thought. "It sounds so unlike them, too. I remember one time I had forgotten my money so I could pay for my lunch, so Minho bought it for me, and we had never even talked before."

"He was the worst," I groaned. "God, he wouldn't stop glaring at me!"

Suho laughed at my frustration. "Don't worry about it. As long as you don't break the kid's heart, you should be fine. Now bring it here!" he demanded, raising his hand for a high five. "Nice job, man."

I slapped his hand and smiled at his praise. I guess it was a really big deal to be with one of those guys (even though the others seemed mean >.<) so I felt even happier to be with Taemin now.

Dreams really can come true.

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Author's Note:

Here's your next update(: Oh, and thank you (you know who your are) for informing me of your 'gentlemanness.'

Well, I am proud to announce (to those of you who actually care ;D lol) that I am now the newest aerial trapeze artist / Lyra-cist (lol, I love that name) / contortionist / body balancer of the cirque that I auditioned for! Thanks for supporting me, I'll continue working hard both on my new job as well as on these stories of mine(:

So now, ladies AND gentlemen, unleash your comments! (I'm so lame) Thanks for sticking with this story, it makes me happy, and I love reading all of your supportive comments. Did you know this story has more subscribers than any of my others- even my favourite :P so idk, spread the word XD thanks, guys.