Choi Minho of Shinee

romance by shinee.

After two hours of morning practice before school started, Minho went to the shower to clean up. It was a heavy practice today as the soccer tournaments were nearing. The coach made them run many laps and repeat drills nonstop. The team also split up into two teams and played against each other as practice. By the end of the long, tiring practice, all the soccer athletes were drenched in sweat and exhausted.

After he freshened up, Minho changed into his school uniform. He wore the button up with the top buttons undone and wore his blazer on top. He checked his hair in the mirror before grabbing his backpack and heading to his classroom.

"KYAA! It's Minho Oppa!" a group of SM high school girls screamed. Minho, who was already used to all this attention and fame, gave them a polite smile before heading off. His kind, yet cool appearance perfectly reflected the charismatic aura that surrounded him wherever he went. No one could deny that his soccer skills, his good look, and kind charms made him the most sought after guy in this school. As he walked in the hallways, all the girls squealed and tried to look their best in front of him. All the guys tried to act close with him and greeted him with a "Hey, how's it going?" Minho just smiled back and greeted his fellow schoolmates before entering his class. He found his seat near the back of the classroom and sat down.

"How was practice?" his seat partner, Suho asked. 

Minho smiled at the school's number one student. Suho, who was the top ranked in academics, also happened to be Minho's closest friend. Even though both had busy schedules, one having to practice soccer endlessly and the other having to study endlessly, the two still made time for each other.

"Tiring. Coach is being hard on us. I might fall asleep during class," Minho said.

Suho chuckled. "I'll try to keep you awake." He then noticed a couple girls who entered the class, chattering endlessly. One in particular caught his interest, and he smiled at Minho. "Or maybe I won't. I think that's someone else's job."

Minho blushed upon seeing who Suho mentioned. He had a crush on this girl for his entire high school career, but the only person who knew of it was Suho. If the girls at the schools knew of his crush, it would be chaos because every single girl loved the school's star athlete and the team's captain.

"You know, this is our last year in high school. Afterwards, we'll all separate and go to different colleges. Are you sure you don't want to do something about it?" Suho asked.

Minho said. "You're right. I'm going to regret it, aren't I?'

His best friend nodded, giving him the honest answer. "Why not ask her to come to the game? I overheard that those girls were planning to go somewhere on the day of your game. Why not start there?"

Minho thought a bit until his thoughts were cutted off by the school bell. He patted Suho's back in gratitude. "Thanks, man. That's a great idea."

And with that, he spend the entire class thinking of how he should approach Park Aeri. Sure enough, it was her that kept him awake in class. Not that he minded, though.

It was true that he liked her for three years. On the first day of high school, she had bumped into him. He was a little exhausted from his first actual practice, as it was the first actual day of him being on the soccer team. He hadn't seen where he was going, and so when she bumped into him, all his workbooks dropped onto the ground.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" the girl in front of him said. Her words were purely genuine, and it was without a tint of annoyance. But what caught his eye was her perfectly proportionate face. She had medium sized eyes that were a deep brown. Her long, wavy brown hair reached down to her stomach. Minho, being one who never taken interest in girls, found himself captivated by this girl's beauty. She wasn't amazingly beautiful, but Minho found her to be very pretty. And she seemed very kind too.

"It's fine, I wasn't looking," Minho said. The two of them bent down to pick up his books. When all of them were picked up, the two standed up.

"I'm really sorry about that," the girl said again as she handed her books to Minho.

"It's really alright. Are you a first year, by any chance?" Minho asked. They slowly began walking alongside each other.

"I am! Are you as well?"

Minho nodded. "What's your homeroom class?"

"Class 1-3, how about you?"

Minho's eyes widened. "Me too!"

Aeri gave him a chuckle at the coincidence. "Let's walk there together then."

Minho was a bit fazed by her smile. Like he predicted, she looked cuter when she smiled. Her eyes crinkled up and she flashed her single dimple. And she laughed a laugh so genuine, not like the fake ones he heard girls laugh before. And since then, Minho found himself sneaking glances at her during class (for they were in the same homeroom for all three years) and attempting to muster courage to talk to her. And every time he talked to her, she was the same.

Pretty, kind, and genuine.

During lunch, Minho noticed that Aeri had separated from her friends momentarily, stating she had to drop by her locker. He watched her leave the classroom, and Suho gave him a look that said 'This is your chance.' Minho gave a quick nod before heading off, not before telling Suho, "I'll meet you in the cafeteria."

Minho was jogging lightly, wanting to catch up with Aeri. He was greeted by a couple of the students who he passed by, and he gave them a quick smile before continuing to jog after Aeri.

He finally saw her at her locker, putting away her heavy books. He took a deep breath to calm himself down from all that jogging and the anxiety he felt for approaching his crush.

"Hey Aeri," he greeted. He hoped that his smile would hide his fluttering heart.

Aeri looked up in surprise and saw Minho. "Oh, Minho! Hi! What brings you here?" she said cheerfully.

"I just wanted to ask if you were busy this Friday?"

Aeri thought a bit. "Hmm, I'm not too sure. Why?"

Minho took a breath, and his eyes shifted everywhere but Aeri's face. His eyebrows crinkled inwards and he was scratching the back of his head with his hand. In short, he was nervous. He was moving a bit to calm himself down, but then he see that the door of Aeri's locker was wide open. He bumped into it with his forehead, and he hit it. Hard.

"Ow!" Minho yelped in pain. He began to rub his forehead.

Aeri's eyes widened. "Are you okay?" she automatically asked, worried. She reached out her and and lightly touched the red area on Minho's forehead where he bumped into the locker door.

When Minho saw her hand reaching out, he felt his heart flutter, but when her hand came in contact with his forehead, he winced.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't too big of a bump. I think it won't leave a noticeable bruise," Aeri reassured him.

"G-good," Minho said. He was still shocked that she had touched him. He was also mentally scolding himself for being so clumsy in front of the gilr he liked. The girl he had to look good in front of.

"Now what were you asking?" Aeri said.

"C-can you come to my game this Friday?" he asked, stuttering a bit. "I-i mean, only if you want to!"

"Oh, it's the season's first game, right?"

Minho nodded.

"Well, I haven't been to too many of the soccer games," Aeri said, a bit shyly. She didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"It's okay! All you have to do is sit and watch the game. And cheer for me - I mean cheer for us! The team! Yeah! Haha..." Minho began to blurt out random things that came to his mind, but then he realized he was embarrassing himself even more. "Anyways, if you come, you can sit in the front row of the bleachers with Suho. That's only reserved for family and close friends. Suho will keep you company. He's very nice."

Aeri nodded. "Well, it does seem kind of fun! I've always wondered what the hype about soccer games were. I'll try to come if I can!"

Minho's eyes brightened. "Really? Will you come and cheer for me?"

"You mean the team?" Aeri said, raising one eyebrow.

Minho's eyes widened at what he said. "Yeah, I meant the team! Sorry."

Aeri chuckled at how he was acting today. For some reason, she found it kind of cute. "I'll cheer for just you, don't worry. We should head to the cafeteria before it's too late."

Minho nodded and starting walking with her, but he was still blushing. She said she'll cheer for me! Just me!

As they walked, they made small talk. Minho explained a little b