You adjusted the shoulder strap of your bag. It had begun to dig into your skin uncomfortably. You checked your phone with a sigh for the fifth time since you'd been standing outside.

8:17 was the time.

AM.

Your friend and classmate, Lee Taemin, promised that he would be there to pick you up at 8. You remembered the conversation the two of you had the evening before.

                                                                                         ***********************************************

“Who are you giving chocolates to for Valentine's Day tomorrow?”, he had asked as both of you walked from the Humanities class you had together at Seoul University. It took you a second before you understood what he was asking. February 14^th in Korea was different than Valentine's Day in North America. It was a day on which girls give chocolates to all the men in their life, especially the ones they are romantically interested in. A month later on March 14^th was the guys turn to give chocolate and flowers to the girls, but only the ones they were romantically interested in.

“Well, tomorrow is Saturday so I won't be seeing any of the professors. And I don't have to go into the pet store so I won't be seeing my boss.” Siwoo- the owner of the pet store you worked at- had good-naturedly allowed you the day off to hand out your chocolates. “And there's no one that I'd go out of my way to give chocolates too”, you concluded.

Taemin smirked and playfully elbowed you. “What about Taekyung sunbaenim?”

You felt her ears get hot. “He probably gets a box of chocolates from every girl at this school.”

Oh Taekyung, with his devilishly good looks, was undoubtedly considered swoon-worthy of every female student at Seoul University.

“How many girls do you think he gives flowers and chocolates to next month?”, Taemin asked.

“Pshht, probably no one from school. I bet he has a string of models and female idols lined up for his taking as well”, you replied, a tone of amazement in you voice.

“Shameful”, Taemin sighed, with a tone of disgust in his.

“Eyy, don't be like that. I bet you get more chocolates than Taekyung sunbaenim does!”, you retorted, with a side glance at Taemin. He was, after all, Lee Taemin- the maknae of the Hallyu idol group, SHINee.

He shrugged his shoulders and said with fake humility, “I usually give all but one box to the trainees.”

You stared at him slack-jawed.

“What?” he laughed.

“Shameful”, you replied, copying the tone of disgust he had used previously.

Taemin ruffled your hair jovially before asking, “No really though, what are you doing tomorrow?”

He took your elbow and guided you around the stream of people leaving the lecture room that the two of you had walked by.

“Well, we were just assigned eight chapters to read for the week, so I think I'll just start on that,” you answered after the crowd had passed.

You could feel Taemin staring at you.

“What?”

“Shameful”, he commented, with a shake of his head. You laughed out loud as 'shameful' had become the word of the day.

“Well, what else should I do?”

“Who does homework on Valentine's Day?”, he retorted, ignoring your question.

“Umm...me. And you should too.”

You and Taemin were interrupted by the sight of your friend, Sohee, making her way through the crowd towards the two of you .

“Omo, Ji Min-ah, guess what?”

Sohee did not give you a chance to guess and just continued on.

“I just passed Taekyung in the hall and he was surrounded by all these girls giving chocolates too him and you know how I don't really like him because I think he's too cocky and shows off too much, right? Well I just walked passed him quickly and then I hear someone call 'Sohee-ssi' and I turn around and it's him! And all the girls are giving me this dirty look, but I ignore them and I'm like 'Neh, sunbae?' and he's like 'You'll be giving me chocolates tomorrow, right?' and all the girls looked at him then back at me like they wanted to cut me or something and OH MY GOSH WHAT DO I DOOO?!?”

Sohee finally took a breath, her chest rising and falling quickly. You heard Taemin chuckling to himself. Sohee obviously heard as well. It seemed like she hadn't noticed him beside you until then.

“Annyeonghasaeyo, Taemin oppa,” a flustered Sohee bowed at almost ninety degrees.

“Sohee-ssi, you don't have to do that,” Taemin protested.

Sohee was one of the many people at school that weren't yet accustomed to Taemin being a student at the same school as them.

You ignored their exchange and responded to Sohee. “Wow, he's such a player, Sohee-yah. In front of all those girls too.”

“I know right?”, she replied frantically.

“Just give him a box of chocolates from the store. They don't cost that much”, you suggested with a shrug.

“You're telling her to buy him chocolates when all the other girls made theirs?” Taemin suddenly interjected.

“Well, yeah. It's not like she likes him. You don't like him, do you Sohee?”, you reasoned with Taemin, then turned back to your flustered friend who shook her head quickly.

“Hey, people are trying to learn here!” A guy sitting on a nearby chair shouted at your group.

“Joseonghamnida”, the three of you bowed politely then turned back to each other.

“I know he's not getting any chocolates tomorrow”, you muttered under your breath so only Sohee and Taemin could hear you. They nodded their agreement.

The crowds of people began to stir around you three. A sign that the break was over. The three of you began to go your separate ways.

“Tell me how things go”, you patted Sohee's shoulder consolingly. She smiled gratefully and began to walk away.

You turned to enter your class room, which was conveniently across the hall from where you were currently standing. Then you heard Taemin call your name.

“Ji Min-ssi!”

You turned around, a tad confused. He hasn't used the ending “-ssi” for you in quite some time now.

With an Oh Taekyung air, Taemin raised an eyebrow and asked, “You'll be giving me chocolates tomorrow, right?”

You didn't quite know how to respond to that. You felt your pulse change rhythm and a weird stirring in your stomach.

Taemin grinned and stuck his tongue out playfully.

“Yahhh!” you exclaimed, not knowing what else to say and swatted at him. He held his arm, faking pain.

Chuckling slightly, he asked, “No really, do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

You scrunched your nose, “Don't you have rehearsals tomorrow?”

“Yes, but I forbid you to study tomorrow”, Taemin scolded cutely.

“Really?” you challenged.

“Yes. Really”, Taemin replied, not letting up. “I'll pick you up at eight.”

“Why so late?”

“In the morning, Ji Min-ah”, Taemin scoffed.

“Ahhhh, why so early!” you whined.

Taemin ignored your complaint and began to walk away backwards.

“Oh,” He added with a raised finger, “Chocolates aren't required!”

You shooed him away with a wave of your hand and entered the classroom.

                                                                                     *******************************************************

Even though he had said that chocolates weren't required, you spent your free time after school making them. The grocery store near you apartment carried a plethora of different kits and supplies for chocolate making. You had picked up a few and spent the night experimenting with them.

You grimaced as you remembered the mess you'd have to clean when you came home. Your phone vibrated gently in your coat pocket. You looked at the caller I.D, expecting it to be Taemin.

“Oh, Sohee-yah, what's up?” you chirped into the phone, slightly dissapointed that it wasn't Taemin, but happy to hear from your friend nonetheless.

“Min-ahhhh, hellppp meeeee~” Sohee whined.

“Why, what happened,” you asked, adjusting your bag handle again.

“I bought the chocolates.”

“Anndd...?”

“What do I now?”

“Umm...I don't know...maybe take them to him?” you suggested “helpfully”, a sarcastic tone undoubtedly present.

“But...but but...I don't wanntt tooo!!” You could imagine your friend pouting over the phone.

“Sohee”, you interrupted gently, “ Do you like Taekyung sunbaenim?”

“Noooo”, Sohee answered with pitiful sniffling.

“Then just give him the freaking chocolates!!” you not-so-gently suggested.

“Wow, am I thankful to have you for a friend Min Ji”, Sohee not-so-gratefully stated.

“Likewise”, you replied with a sarcastic smile.

“Who are you giving chocolates to?” a curious Sohee asked, forgetting about her Taekyung problems momentarily.

You sighed, “No one really. I'm hanging out with Taemin today, so I just made him a few.”

There was a moment of silence on the other line.

“Hello? Sohee?” You checked your phone to see if the call had dropped.

“You made him chocolates?!?” Sohee finally asked incredulously.

“Well, yeah. I've always wanted to try it.”

“But you told me to buy Taekyung's chocolate!!” Sohee began to whine again.

“Gosh, Sohee-yah, it's not like you even know him that well. How would you know what extra things to put in or how to decorate it? Plus, we both know that your culinary skills leave something to be desired.”

“Okay, Okay I get it”, Sohee admitted blandly. “Wait, but why are you waiting for Taemin oppa so early?”

“Well, he has training today. I brought my Humanities textbook that I can read until he has a break.”

Once again there was a pause on the other side.

“Oh my gosh, Sohee if you keep doing this I'm gonna hang-”, you began, but were interrupted.

“Ji Min, I'm sorry, but WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

You held the phone away from your ears and waited for the ringing in them to subside.

“Um...excuse me?”

“You, my friend, Park Ji Min, are going to SM Entertainment Studios...and you're bringing your Humanities textbook...to read?”

Saved by the horn.

A familiar small, silver car began to pull up in front of your apartment complex.

“Wish I could talk more, but Taemin just got here, Sohee”, you waved at the car while ending the conversation with your friend.

“Seems like I'll be eating jajangmyeon by myself on next month,” Sohee muttered.

“What are you saying? We always eating jajangmyeon together,” you reminded her.

“Not this year!” Sohee sang.

“Whatever Sohee, Talk to you later! Good luck with Taekyung!”

“If you see Kai, can you get me an autograph?”, was the last thing your friend said before she hung up.

You scrunched up your nose at Sohee's question. You loved your friend and all, but the thought of asking Kai of Exo for his autograph was a bit odd to you. Especially since he was Taemin's best friend.

You looked up and waved at Taemin through the car window. He waved back enthusiastically with a grin and hopped out of his car.

“Sorry I'm sooo late, you should have seen the amount of people on the streets”, he apologized while opening the passenger door for you.

“Chincha?”

You settled into the passenger as Taemin walked around to the driver side.

He began to pull away from the curb and chuckled with a shake of his head ,“Yeah, there were so many girls especially.”

You glanced over at him and noticed his playful smile.

“I bet all of them are on their way to the SM building right now.”

He scoffed, “Not true.”

After a pause he added with a smirk, “Maybe only half.”

You huffed in feign disgust and reached to change the radio station when you noticed a two familiar products in the cup holder.

Banana milk.

With a laugh, you picked up the one by your hand.

“Is this for me?” you asked.

Taemin nodded then gestured at the can with one hand, “There's a note on it.”

You turned the can around and then saw the pink, heart-shaped sticky note. Happy Valentine's Day, it read.

“I figured I'd give February 14^th a try the American way,” he explained with a grin.

“Gomawo Taemin oppa,” you smiled gratefully, hugging the banana milk to your chest.

“But”, you added, “Guys are supposed to do nice things for girls they like, not their normal friends.”

You waited for a response.

Taemin turned his head away from you, apparently checking the oncoming traffic before making a left turn. You thought you heard him say something but it was muffled out by the surrounding noise of a busy morning in Seoul. You shrugged your shoulders and turned the volume up on the radio.

 

 

                                                                                       ********************************************

 

Like you had predicted, there were crowds of girls outside of the SM building. Thankfully there was a back entrance which allowed you and Taemin to enter the building with no encounters with the dedicated fans. On the inside, SM studio seemed no different than any other office building. However, there were many levels and you noticed the flight of stairs and a hall of elevators to access the floors. The foyer seemed relatively empty, with only a few receptionists at the front desk. Everyone was probably in the practice rooms you concluded.

Taemin spoke briefly to a receptionist. He introduced you as a school friend and the receptionist kindly handed you a guest pass.

Taemin guided you with a hand on your back and said, “I only have to go to the next floor up, so I usually take the stairs. Is that okay?”

You smiled and nodded silently. Being in SM Entertainment Studios was a bit overwhelming.

The two of you began to walk up the stairs when Taemin gently took your bag off of your shoulders.

“What do you have in here?” he exclaimed.

You breathed a sigh of relief and rolled your shoulders.

“Just our Humanities textbook.”

He looked at you blankly, “Are you serious?”

“Well, we do have eight chapters to read,” you replied and took a sip of banana milk.

Taemin shook his head in unbelief.

“I should have known you would have brought it.”

You squinted your eyes together and gave him a toothy smile.

Eventually the two of you reached the second floor. Unexpectedly, Taemin threw his arm over your shoulder and massaged the area where your bag had been pressing into your skin. A blush crept up your cheeks. Taemin was always a sweet guy, but he was being unbelievably so today!

“Are you sure you're fine?”, he asked with sincerity.

You looked at him and nodded. It seemed like all you were doing that afternoon was nodding. You privately scolded yourself for being so uncommunicative.

“I'm tempted to take your book and not give it back to you until the end of the day,” he said, looking down at you with a mischievous smirk.

“Don't!” you blurted with wide eyes. You instinctively reached for your bag, which was on his shoulder that was farthest from you. He laughed and turned away, making it harder for you to reach it.

Just then you heard something fall to the ground. You looked down to see the box of chocolates you had made for Taemin. Your mouth dropped open as you realized that the cover had come off and chocolates had spilled out.

Hastily you bent down and reached for the box. A sigh of relief escaped your lips. There was still a lot of chocolates left. However, you were slightly disappointed. You turned the box over to its right side and put the decorated cover back on it. You started to pick up the spilled chocolates when you felt Taemin's presence bend down in front of you. You brushed away the hair that had fallen into your face and looked at him. He had a bright smile on his face.

“Ji Min-ah, did you make these for me?”

You opened your mouth to say something but all that came out was, “Uhh...”

Your face turned red and Taemin chuckled.

“Well..yeah..I guess,” you managed to stammer out.

Taemin took the box out of your hand and opened it. He picked one and popped it in his mouth.

“I didn't even officially give it to you yet”, you muttered, scrunching your nose at him.

He swallowed and replied, “I thought you only gave gifts to guys you like on Valentine's Day?”

You opened your mouth again, but was interrupted by an enthusiastic-

“Hyung!”

Taemin looked up and you turned your head to notice Kai walking towards you two. You quickly stood upright. Taemin took your elbow, helping you up, and stood as well.

“Jongin-ah!” Taemin exclaimed, excited to see his favourite dongsaeng.

Jongin looked like he was going to greet Taemin with a hug, but then noticed that he saw Taemin was still holding your elbow.

You casually stepped a tad to the side and allowed Taemin's loose grasp to slip. However, Kai- or Jongin- stopped in front of you guys and looked from Taemin to you.

Then he bowed and greeted you.

“Oh, yes, Jongin-ah this is Ji Min...a friend from school,” Taemin introduced.

A silent conversation take place between the two boys and a look of realization dawned on Jongin's face.

“Oh hyung, you didn't tell me she was pretty,” Jongin smirked, then looked at you with a welcoming smile.

You laughed shyly as Taemin pretended to throw a punch at Jongin.

“Let's go, Ji Min-ah”, laughed along, guiding you, yet again, by the elbow around Jongin.

“Hyung aren't you going to offer me some chocolate?”, the playful dongsaeng asked as you two began to walk away.

Taemin turned around and gently shook the box, teasing Jongin.

“You've gotten enough from fans.”

“So have you!” the dongsaeng retorted.

Taemin stuck out his tongue in response. You couldn't help but giggle at their playful exchange. Jongin averted his gaze to you and pointed cutely, “Yah, Ji Min! Next time bring me chocolates too, arrasso?”

Before you could respond, Taemin interrupted.

“Tch- this babo. Why are you talking to her so disrespectfully?!”Taemin raised his voice, feigning anger. Jongin shrunk back with a mock look of fear on his face. You laughed out loud again. Jongin smile at you.

“It was nice finally meeting you Ji Min-ssi. I'll leave you two now.”

Taemin led you farther down the hall after waving Jongin off. The doors to practice rooms lined the sides increased. He stopped at one and reached for the handle.

“I'm sorry to leave you, but I have to teach a class to some trainees before the other hyungs get here,” He informed you regretfully, “If you walk down this hall a bit more, there's a lounge area.”

“Don't worry about it,” you assured him, “I have some reading to do.”

“Oh right, I was going to take that from you”, he grinned.

You protectively clutched your bag and glared at Taemin, which caused him to laugh.

You saw the trainees through the glass door and noticed they were paying more attention to you two than they were to their warm ups.

“You better get in there.”

“Oh right, I'll see you in a bit,” he smiled.

Like Taemin had informed you, there was an area with a few couches, coffee table and magazines. There were posters of Super Junior, SHINee, TVXQ, BoA, SNSD, Exo, and even some of the rookies plastered around the wall. You settled into a couch and pulled out your textbook, hoping to get a good hour or so of studying done.

 

                                                                                       **************************************

You brushed at the strange poking sensation on your cheek. You heard light laughter and groggily opened your eyes to see Taemin standing over you. Your disorientated state lasted for all of five seconds.

“So much for studying,” Taemin teased. He smoothed your mussed hair and sat down beside you.

“You're finished already?”

He laughed, “What do you mean 'already'? It's already noon Ji Min-ah.”

You gasped. The last thing you remembered was walking down the hall to find a bathroom. On the way back you saw BoA and Yunho in a practice room rehearsing a couple dance for a special stage. You watched them for a bit then returned to the lounge area. There was no way you could have been sleeping for that long.

Taemin's face however indicated otherwise.

“I'm already done recording and everything,” he informed. He seemed to be getting amusement out of your confusion/embarrassment.

You closed your apparently useless textbook and packed it back into your bag.

“Are you hungry?”, Taemin asked, standing up.

“ Kind of,” you admitted. Besides the banana milk he had given you earlier, you hadn't eaten anything for the day. Unless a few pieces of 'ruined' chocolates counted.

“Good,” he grinned.

The two of you began to walk down the hall. Instead of continuing on to turn down the main hall, Taemin stopped at the studio door you left him at earlier. He probably left something in there, you thought. However he held the door open for you to follow him in.

“I thought we were-”, you began, but your words left you when you saw the set up before you.

On the floor was the most elaborate, in an simple kind of way (if that makes sense), picnic that you had ever seen. There was a jug filled with orange juice, a bowl of fresh fruit, croissants, a cheese plate, and bacon. Where did he get bacon from?!?

You looked at Taemin, mouth agape. Looking quite proud of himself, he took your hand and led you to the blanket. He made sure that you were situated comfortably, and took your bag away, before taking a seat himself beside you. Taemin picked up a remote that was beside him and pressed a button. Soothing music flowed from the many speakers placed around the room. There was nothing you could do but stare at the guy in front of you.

“What? Is it too much?” he asked, a bit worried.

“No, no, no,” you waved, reassuring him, “It's just I wasn't expecting it. But it's beautiful. Everything is wonderful.”

“Good,” he smiled. Taemin then gestured for you to begin to eat. He poured you a glass of juice and handed it to you. At first you took very peckish amounts, being self-concious, but then your hunger took over and the two of you ate in silence comfortably.

After taking one last bite of a strawberry, you leaned back on your palms.

“Gomawo, oppa. Really, today was a lot of fun.”

“Wait, it's not over yet,” he grinned.

Taemin reached under the nearby table and pulled out a package.

He removed the paper from around it to reveal a bouquet of white carnations.

He presented it to you with both hands and said somewhat solemnly, “Happy Valentine's Day, Ji Min-ah.”

An amazed breath escaped your lips. You lightly brushed the silky petals of the flowers on your cheek. They were soft enough to sleep on.

“Gomawo...oppa”, you said, in a whisper this time. You looked up at him, hoping that your eyes would relay your gratefulness better than your mere words could.

“Wait, one more thing, I promise”, he smiled.

Taemin picked up the remote and skipped through the tracks until he found the song that he wanted. You recognized the song as the same one that Yunho and BoA were rehearsing earlier that morning. Taemin stood up and held his hand out to you.

“May I have this dance?”

You laughed nervously and took his hand.

“I'm not a very good dancer,” you confessed to him.

Taemin turned in front of you and held both of you hands.

“Don't worry, I'm a very good partner”, he assured you with a bright smile.

Your cheeks warmed as Taemin guided your movements with his capable hands. Your eyes were glued to the ground, making sure that your feet were doing the right thing. Taemin briefly loosed one of your hands and lifted your chin up so that your eyes met his.

“You can look at me,” he encouraged. The tone in his voice was more serious than you expected. There was nothing you could do to slow your quickening heartbeat.

Soon you got the hang of things and the two of you moved comfortably. You became confident enough to even make conversation.

“I really enjoyed today oppa,” you grinned, looking up at him, “but, what was this all for?”

“I told you I wanted to try Valentine's Day the Western way,” he replied sincerely.

You laughed, “But what are you going to do next month?”

Taemin answered confidently, “I'll just have to think of something better.”

“Lucky girl,” you murmured.

Taemin squeezed your hand, “You mean lucky you.”

Your eyes widened, “Me? You're supposed to do something special for the girl you like.”

“Exactly,” he chuckled.

You attempted to repress the palpitations of your heart. To make sure that Taemin was saying what you thought he was saying, you tried to conjure something clever to get him to say it outright. Nothing came to mind. The song came to an end. You lost confidence without the background music to support anything you would say.

Yet in the dead silence you heart Taemin's voice speak out.

“I like you, Ji Min.”

The sensation in the pit of your stomach that you felt yesterday came back. You smiled shyly and looked down to your feet. Taemin's feet were toe-to-toe with yours. Once again, he lifted your chin up with his index finger. Then he smoothed your hair that had fallen over your face.

“You can look at me,” Taemin repeated solemnly.

Looking at him confidently, you nodded with a slight smile.

“So, does this mean that we're doing this again next month?”, you asked playfully. He laughed. You were surprised and proud of yourself at how chill you were handling this.

Taemin winked, “I have other plans.”

Before you could say something in response, Taemin adjusted his grasp on your hands, intertwining his fingers in yours. He leaned his head down to meet yours. Your eyes fluttered closed as his lips met yours. He slowly, softly kissed you. You tilted your head up, accepting it. You felt him smile and slowly begin to pull away. You opened your eyes slowly, scared that if you opened them too fast, that moment would have only been a dream.

However, there was Taemin standing in front of you, with a broad smile on his face.

“Happy Valentine's Day, Ji Min.”