“Taemin, magic isn’t real.”

Taemin pouted.  “But hyuuuung~” he whined.  “I know it is!  I’ve seen it!”

Minho looked at him skeptically.  “Yeah, in movies and books.”

“No, I mean I’ve seen it for real!”

“Stop dreaming.  Magic doesn’t exist.  You should know better.”

Taemin let out an exasperated sigh.  He was so tired of having this conversation.  This was, what, the twelfth time they’d discussed it?  He’d lost count.  “Minho-hyung, haven’t you ever seen it before?”

“Taemin, grow up!” Minho snapped, losing his patience with the younger boy.  Taemin almost thought he saw a vein popping out of the rapper’s forehead.  “You aren’t a kid anymore; you’re almost eighteen!  Don’t you think it’s time to face reality?”  He stood up and stormed out of the room, leaving Taemin by himself, pouting at his own feet.

Why didn’t his hyung believe in magic?  Magic was everywhere.  Magic was the colors in a rainbow.  Magic was the beauty of a butterfly.  Magic was what happened when two people fell in love.  Why couldn’t Minho believe that Taemin had seen it?  He must have been blind to not see it himself.

“Living life blind to the magic around you,” Taemin thought aloud, “that…must be a sad life.”  He couldn’t bear the thought of Minho living such a sad life.  He would just have to find a way to educate his hyung.  Besides, since he was so determined not to believe what Taemin told him, it couldn’t hurt to teach him a little lesson, right?  Taemin’s lips twisted into a smirk as his mind began formulating a plan.

The next day, Taemin helped Key make dinner before the three oldest hyungs had to leave for various reasons.  Once he and Minho were the only ones remaining in the dorm, Taemin made sure to avoid letting Minho see him.  He hid under the table and waited for the rapper to eat his dinner.

After the maknae had been waiting impatiently for quite a while, Minho finally left the computer room to eat the dinner that Key had set aside for him.  “Taemin?” he called out, wondering where the dancer was.  He hadn’t seen him since he and Key had been making dinner.  There was no answer.  He shrugged and started to eat.  He would just find Taemin after he finished.

Once he had eaten everything else, just as Taemin expected, he stared down at his vegetables with a frown.  Deciding he didn’t want to face Key’s scolding if the older rapper discovered he hadn’t eaten his salad, he speared some lettuce on his fork and ate it.  Just as he was reaching for a mushroom, he heard a quiet voice.

“Don’t eat me!”

Minho paused.  He looked around the kitchen, but he was still the only one around.  Deciding he had imagined the sound, he reached for the mushroom again.

“Please, don’t eat me!”

Minho blinked.  That was Taemin’s voice, wasn’t it?  Why did it seem like it was coming from his plate?  “Taemin?” he asked, gently picking up the mushroom.  “Is that you?”

“Yes,” the voice replied.

“The mushroom?”

“Yes!”  It sounded despaired.

Minho’s eyes widened in disbelief.  “How did you end up like this?!”

“Magic, duh!  Are you stupid?”

“But…!”  Minho gulped.  “Can you turn back?”

“Do you believe me now?” the small voice questioned.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“What?  I can’t hear you.”

“Yes!  I believe you!  Just tell me, how do we turn you back?”

“I don’t know…can we?” Taemin’s voice wondered.

“What?!”  Minho panicked and jumped to his feet, still clutching the mushroom lightly in his hand.  “What do you mean you don’t know?!  Does that mean you could be stuck as a mushroom forever?”

“Yup.”

“Taemin!  How are you so calm?”

“I dunno.”

Minho groaned.

“Well…actually, I know something we could try.  I don’t know if it will work though.”

Minho bit his lip, anxiety steadily growing inside him.  “What is it?”

“It might not work.”

“Let’s try it!  Tell me Minnie, what is it?”

“You have to give me a kiss.”

“A kiss?  Like this?”  Minho brought the mushroom to his lips.

“You have to close your eyes too.”  Minho closed his eyes tightly.  “Keep your eyes closed and stay reaaaaaally still.”

While he stood there waiting, Taemin sneaked out from under the table, moving quietly so he wouldn’t give himself away.  It was hard not to laugh when he saw Minho standing there so still, with his eyes closed and his lips pressed to a small mushroom.  Thankfully, he managed to sneak up to the the rapper without making any noise.  In one swift movement, he grabbed the mushroom, pulled it away, and pressed his lips onto the taller boy’s.

Minho’s eyes flew open as the younger boy’s lips started to move against his.  When he realized the maknae was standing before him and was just fine, he wrapped his arms around him tightly and deepened the kiss.  He realized then that he had been tricked, but he wasn’t angry, because he was too relieved that his Minnie was safe.

“Taemin, what is it that makes you so sure magic is real?” Minho asked when their lips parted.

“Because, hyung…when you fall in love, that’s magic.”  He looked up into Minho’s eyes.  “I’ve experienced magic myself.”