“Mino! Hey, wait up!”

It’s hard to hear anything over the deep bass that’s been blasting into his ears for the past six minutes as he makes his way across campus, but Mino has something of a sixth sense when it comes to a particular classmate of his. Mino stops and looks over his shoulder to see said classmate, Taehyun, awkwardly jogging towards him with his hand held behind his back. “Oh, hey. What’s up?” Mino smiles as the younger man finally catches up to him.

“I’ve been calling you for almost a minute. I even sent you a text message,” Taehyun scowls, looking like a grumpy cat.

Mino reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone to see a black screen. “Whoops, looks like my battery died,” Mino chuckles, shrugging sheepishly. Taehyun huffs in frustration. “Sorry. By the way, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Taehyun’s eyes narrow for a moment before he speaks. “Facebook tells me that today is your birthday. Happy birthday,” he nods. 

Mino blinks in surprise. “Thank you,” he smiles. He’s about to ask Taehyun what else he has on his mind, because there is no way he ran after him just to say that. At this point, he notices that the younger man now has both his hands held behind his back. 

Taehyun’s shoulders draw together closer as he follows Mino’s gaze. “Also…” he mumbles.

A slow smile stretches across Mino's face as comprehension dawns on him. "You got me something for my birthday?" Taehyun shrugs casually and looks off to the side, but Mino can see the slight upward tugging of his lips. "You did? Oh wow, thank you! I'm so touched," Mino bounces a bit on the balls of his feet. He figured he'd been making progress with getting the younger man to let him in, but he didn't realise he'd achieved this level.

"It's no problem. I actually don't know if it even counts as a present since I benefited from it as well," Taehyun shrugs again.

Mino shakes his head fondly. "It counts. Can I see it?" He leans to the side to catch a glimpse of whatever it is Taehyun is hiding behind his back.

"Hold on," Taehyun leans with him, shielding his gift from Mino's prying eyes. "That's not how I want to do it. Close your eyes and hold out your hands," he nods his head at Mino who tilts his head in curiosity. "Do you want your present or not?"

"Alright, alright," Mino chuckles as he complies. "Ready," he says, his hands held out.

"Hold them closer together, like you're cupping something. And make sure you don't drop it. I'll never forgive you if you drop it," Taehyun says sternly. Mino nods obediently. "Okay, here it is," Taehyun announces before something warm and furry is deposited in Mino's hands. "Ta-da!"

Mino's eyes fly open when a warm, wet tongue his wrist. Sitting in his palms is a small dog with short-cropped, dark brown fur and huge brown eyes. Its tiny tail wags slightly and it's pink nose wriggles as the pup takes stock of his new owner. "Oh. Wow," Mino blinks in shock as he shifts his hands to hold the dog by its middle.

"You hate it," Taehyun frowns.

"No, no," Mino shakes his head, his voice cracking slightly. Taehyun's frown deepens. "No, really. I love dogs!" He moves the puppy so that it's laying on the palm of his left hand and he scratches its ears with his right hand.

"You don't have to pretend to like it," Taehyun says sulkily, his face turned away, partially obscuring the frown etched onto it.

"I truly do love dogs," Mino insists. Taehyun doesn't react, so Mino holds the dog close to his chest with one hand and reaches out the other to squeeze the other man's shoulder. His nose is starting to itch, but he ignores that for now. "I'm not lying to you," he catches Taehyun's gaze and beseeches him to see the truth in his eyes.

Taehyun chews on the inside of a cheek that's turning light pink. "Okay, but then what was with the bland reaction?" he mumbles.

"I was caught off guard," Mino shrugs. "A puppy was the last thing I was expecting as a gift, so my mind kind of went blank. Plus I was trying to figure out if my apartment complex has a rule against pets or not."

"Shouldn't you be used to your mind being empty of thoughts after twenty one years?" Taehyun says with a cheeky grin.

"Ah, this kid," Mino rolls his eyes, but he's glad to feel the tension leaving Taehyun's shoulder.

"So, you like it?" Taehyun asks almost shyly.

"I love it," Mino beams.

"Oh, cool," Taehyun nods, his lips pressed firmly together to hide his grin. "I guess I'll see you in class," he waves before he turns and heads off.

"See you later, and thanks again," Mino waves back. He waits until Taehyun is out of earshot before he finally relieves the pressure that's built up behind his nose. "Achoo!" The puppy jumps and turns its head to stare up at his new owner in confusion. Mino runs his fingers over its head, rubbing behind its ears to soothe it. "I love dogs," he moans in nasally voice, "I do, but my nose doesn't," he sniffs.