Chapter 8: Beginning

Mino had been looking forward to the birthday bash his friends decided to throw for
him. He did not know the magnitude of it or how the party was going to turn out, but
he was excited as it's his first birthday after going to college, and he'd get to invite
Taehyun.
He had been agonising over the end of the project he shared with Taehyun. If there
was no more partnered work he might not get a chance to be with him again and he
dreaded it. The past few weeks had been all sorts of surreal to him, and he very much
liked that he got to know so many things about the boy. He would replay their
conversations in his head, willing time to go slower but it just seemed to go even
faster. The possibility of Taehyun having a boyfriend did not help at all. Everytime the
subject of Bobby comes up Taehyun would deftly change the subject and Mino would
not even realise it until he got back to his room and replayed their conversation,
realising that he did not get any confirmation from Taehyun at all. He could not go to
his friends for help, he felt they had done enough and he wants this thing with
Taehyun, whatever it was, to be on his terms. He would feel too incompetent
otherwise. The fact that he'd never really had a serious relationship before did not do
much to help his confidence though.
He had invited Taehyun to the party as casual as he could, in his head he was pleading
with the boy, but he felt he did a pretty good job of convincing him to come without
sounding like a pathetic fool. Maybe this way they could at least remain friends even
though they are not forced to talk to each other anymore.
He had played various scenarios in his head before the party started. If Taehyun comes
maybe with the help of alcohol in his system he will ask if he's single. He remembered
his heart leaping in his chest when Taehyun told him he likes guys. He wanted to
continue the conversation, asking him about Bobby and who he was to Taehyun. But for
some reason the words stuck in his throat and their conversation had already moved on
to other things.
He liked the way Taehyun finished his sentences for him. Mino knows he is like an open
book and that he was easy to read, and if it were anyone else he might feel a little
naked when people answer his un-asked questions, but with Taehyun it felt right. He
only wished Taehyun was easy to read as well, but to Mino he's like those diaries with
locks that teenage girls favour, and he could never seem to find the key. For the time
being he had to satisfy himself with the few peeks he sneaked in while Taehyun was not
paying attention. He realised Taehyun has a very expressive face as well, very much
unlike the stony face he portrays in class. Like how the boy could not hide his

disappointed expression when Mino pointed a flaw in his plan; the way he bit his lower
lip when he felt he's giving away too much personal information or the way he'd cover
his mouth with his fingers when he smiles, hiding his almost bunny teeth which makes
Mino wonder if he's shy.
Even after the party started Mino still wondered if Taehyun would actually show up, not
knowing that he was not the only one who invited Taehyun. If he knew how many
people had informed Taehyun about the party he might have thrown a fit or two in
embarassment. And when Taehyun finally did show up, Mino was disappointed to see
he actually came with Bobby in tow. Mino did not have anything against the skinny
American boy, but Bobby would be on top of his "People to avoid" list if he turned out
to be Taehyun's boyfriend.
Mino happily showed off the gift Taehyun had got for him. He found it cute that
Taehyun had felt it necessary to get him one, and the way he hid his face in
embarrassment made Mino want to kiss him silly, but he stopped himself in time even
though he was already tipsy. After finding out that it was Taehyun's first college party
he decided to show the boy around the dorm building and that's when Mino's feelings
started spiralling out of control.
He thought he heard Bobby calling Taehyun 'cousin' when they were in his room, but
the music was too loud and he could not be sure. But the second time on the roof-top,
there were no distracting sounds and he knew he heard correctly.
"Cousin?" he asked Taehyun.
"Yes, he's my cousin brother," Taehyun replied and Mino felt like that piece of
information was the best birthday present he could ever get. He almost could not
formulate a proper reply and he was saved from being a stuttering mess by his friend
who informed him of a new attraction. Of course no barrel, no matter how big, was as
interesting as Taehyun to Mino. Okay, so he might be a little bit interested in the beer
barrel, but he also needed to get away for a while, to gather his thoughts and formulate
his next plan of action. He did not expect to get so soon the anwer he had been
wanting to ask for so long.
He ran down the stairs following his friends, greeted the newcomers, who were actually
foreign exchange students, and after sufficiently fawning over the beer barrel he rushed
off to find his friends, anyone of them would do, because he could not deal with this
important moment by himself. He looked around and saw Seunghoon talking to Minzy,
who was leaning her back against the wall and Seunghoon had one hand on the wall
near her head, and a drink in the other. Minzy was playing with her hair. their body

language told him that they were flirting and maybe about to start something new
between themselves. He did not want to ruin his hyung's game with his problems so he
went off in search of another friend.
His roomates were nowhere to be seen, not even Krystal and Sulli. Finally when he
entered the game-room he saw the JinYoon couple sucking face in the corner,
completely oblivious to their surroundings, not even stopping when everybody in the
room had drunkenly wished Mino a happy birthday for the umpteenth time. He was
about to leave them alone too when he remembered that incident in the coffee shop
when the couple barged in on his alone time with Taehyun, and Jinwoo almost spilling
the beans about his crush before Mino kicked the stupid boy in the shins under the
table.
"It's payback time," he muttered under his breath and went straight to the couple,
pulling them apart by the collars of their shirts in each hand. "Bobby is his cousin!" he
shouted right at their faces before they even realised what hit them.
The couple looked at him strangely, wondering what the hell this maniac was talking
about. Jinwoo blinked his big deer eyes in confusion while Seungyoon's reddish mouth
moved open and close like a goldfish.
"I said Bobby is Taehyun's fucking cousin. He is not Taehyun's boyfriend!" he shouted
again, his heart beating fast because of the adrenaline. He wanted to scream out his
happiness.
"Good for you," a person behind him shouted.
"Yeah, I knew it," another person joined in.
Mino turned around to see almost everyone had stopped their games and were looking
at the three of them.
"Really? That's great news," Jinwoo said finally understanding the situation.
"Yeah, that's great! How did you find out?" Seungyoon asked.
"Taehyun just told me, on the roof" Mino replied seating himself between the couple,
stopping them from more skinship.
"And where is Taehyun now?" Jinwoo asked.

"Still on the roof," Mino replied and his words were followed by a loud thwack to his
head. "What was that for?" he complained to Seungyoon who had hit him.
"You left him alone on the roof to come and tell us this? You stupid little shit"
Seungyoon scolded, another thwack to his head, it was Jinwoo this time.
"Seriously Mino. Go run back to him and ask him if he's single," Jinwoo commanded.
"I...I didn't think..." Mino did not know what to say.
"Thank god we invited him to your party for you," a girl announced to the stunned
Mino, Bee or something, Mino remembered from the opposite Girls' dormitory.
"What? You invited Taehyun?" Mino asked stupidly.
"Most of us did. And look how great it turned out. You gained a valuable piece of
information. Now you can make your move," another person spoke and Mino realised it
was Baekhyun, Mino wondered when in heaven's name did he even come into the
room.
"The hell, how do you even guys know Taehyun, and that I have a crush on him?" Mino
wanted to know.
"Bro," Jinwoo tsk'd and then sighed at Mino's naivety. "Number 1, you're friends with
Krystal. number 2, you're friends with Sulli. Number 3, you're friends with Minzy..." he
said counting with his fingers.
"Enough, shut up. Fucking shit, if you all invited him then I guess there will be no doubt
in Taehyun's mind that I have a crush on him right?" Mino asked. He has to remember
to kill those loudmouth girl-friends of his the first chance he sees them.
"Yes, and the fact that Taehyun still came means that he must not have hated the idea
of you liking him, so why the hell did you leave him on the rooftop you stupid ass,"
Seungyoon scolded again.
"What do I do now?" Mino asked for advice.
"What do you mean what do I do? Go up there and confess you naive little shit,"
Baekhyun scolded and was followed by a chorus of "Yeah's".

Mino got up quickly then, making his decision. Yeah! he's gonna confess, Yeah! he's
gonna tell Taehyun how he feels about him, and Yeah! he's gonna ask him out on a
date.
"Okay, I need a drink," he announced, for added courage. Bee offered him her cup of
beer. Mino drank the whole thing in big gulps and crushed the paper cup screaming
"YEAH!" thumping his chest as if he's in the Sparta movie and about to go off to battle.
"Yeah!" the people in the room echoed.
"Just get up there before he decides what a stupid prick you are," Baekhyun said
shoving the over-dramatic Mino with a hand to his head and Mino took the advice and
hurriedly made his way out the room.
He came back a second later, peeking in the door. "What if he turns me down?" he
asked worriedly.
"Just go!" everyone screamed at him, annoyed now. So Mino finally ran up the steps to
go to the roof.
Taehyun was nowhere to be seen on the terrace and Mino felt his heart getting heavy,
he asked around the people sitting in the roof but nobody could tell him where the
lovely boy was. He called out tentatively, "Taehyun," but no answer came. His eye
roamed around and saw a secluded area at the corner with three walls around it.
"Taehyun-ah," he tried again and saw some movements so he moved closer, his heart
skipped a beat when he finally spotted the boy he was looking for.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said as he calmed his racing heartbeat.
"Hey~" the boy greeted him with a smile and Mino was again lost for words.
"So...." he started as he moved closer to the still smiling boy.
"So...." Taehyun replied in a husky voice, reducing the space between them even more.
"So Bobby is your cousin," he stated and mentally slapped himself as soon as the words
left his mouth. He could imagine Seunghoon hyung laughing at him and telling him 'You
can do better than that, Mino-ya.'
"Yes," Taehyun replied, his eyes seemed to dance with mirth.

"And you're..." he started to ask but Taehyun had cut him off with"Yes, I'm single."
He was about to ask the question he had wanted to ask for so long but they had to be
disturbed again by someone calling out for him. Mino whisked his head around to tell
the guy to fuck off when Taehyun's hand suddenly covered his mouth, stopping him
from speaking. Mino's heart pounded in his chest, his half-drunk mind telling him
Taehyun wanted this as much as he did. The guy finally left and Taehyun removed the
hand from his mouth, and Mino already missed the warmth.
"Wha....."
"When the hell are you planning on asking me out?" Taehyun cut him off. Mino'e eyes
opened wide, a little shocked at Taehyun's bluntness.
"You knew," Mino sighed. It was not a question. "How long have you known?" It was a
question.
"Is that important now?" Taehyun asked, sounding impatient.
"So you'll say yes if I ask you out?" Mino still wasn't sure.
"Isn't that obvious?" Taehyun cheekily replied but with an unsure laugh. Mino could not
hold it in anymore and he rushed to wrap his arms around the boy and his head moved
to kiss him lightly on the lips. Taehyun's arms went around his neck in response. It was
a chaste kiss. He wasn't sure why he did that, but Taehyun's lips were so inviting and
he was just too happy he could not not express it in words.
"This is the best birthday ever!" he claimed as his lips left Taehyun's but with their
foreheads still pressed together. He took back what he thought before when he found
out Bobby was his cousin. This was an even better birthday gift.
"You still haven't technically asked me out yet?" Taehyun whispered with a smile, eyes
still closed.
"Nam Tae Hyun, will you go out with me, and also be my boyfriend?" Mino whispered
back.

"Well, I don't know about the boyfriend part, but I will definitely go out with you on a
date," Taehyun replied opening his eyes at which Mino pulled his head away from the
boy but his arms would not leave his waist.
"What? Are you planning on going out with me for only one date?" Mino asked,
appalled.
"Let's see how well you perform on our date and I'll think about it," Taehyun said
giggling a little.
"Oh I will blow your mind, just you wait," Mino said with a huge grin, pulling the boy
close again to his body.
"I'm not so sure, since I kinda had to force the words out of you," Taehyun joked
looking at him in the eyes.
"If you had waited ten more seconds there won't have been any need," Mino
complained, pressing their foreheads together again.
"I'm not a patient person. And aren't we supposed to kiss only after the first date?" he
challenged back.
"I guess I'm not so patient either," Mino laughed.
"Since we had our first kiss already......" Taehyun started.
"I thought you'd never ask," Mino replied, quickly lifting the lighter boy up with his
arms and Taehyun jumped onto Mino's body, wrapping skinny legs around the larger
boy and their lips met again, this time with more fervor, more desire, more confident
with the knowledge that the other person returned their feelings. Their teeth clashed
and their tongues danced, exploring new found territory and Taehyun seemed to melt
into Mino's body as his arms held on tighter around the boy's neck while Mino moved a
little forward to rest Taehyun's back against the wall and grabbed hold of Taehyun's
thighs holding him up.
Both of them noticed a flashlight focussed on their closed eyes at the same time and
looked towards the wall opening. Someone was recording them making out with a
phone camera and the flash was on.
"Awww don't stop," the person complained and they realised it was Bobby, who quickly
stopped recording and moved away from them.

"Shall I go after him?" Mino asked Taehyun who was still clinging onto his body.
"As if you need to ask," Taehyun replied as he planted both his feet on the ground.
Mino raised an eyebrow in question. "GO!" Taehyun almost screamed at the slow boy
who quickly scrambled away at Taehyun's word to chase after Bobby.
Mino caught up with the laughing Bobby at the bottom of the stairs and barely
managed to snatch the phone from him.
"I'm sending this to my phone first before I delete it from yours," he said to the culprit
as he connected their bluetooths. Taehyun had caught up with them by that time.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked the two boys who both looked at him guiltily.
"Are you sending it to your phone?" he directed the question towards Mino.
"Hey, our first kiss has been documented. Of course I would want a copy," Mino said
defensively.
"You are unbelieveable," Taehyun said shaking his head in disappointed but he could
not but smile at the boy's enthusiasm.
"There. Done. And I deleted it from your phone. Thank you, but don't ever do it again
you hear me? Next time you won't be so lucky," Mino warned Bobby, handing his phone
back to him.
"Not even your first lovemaking?" Bobby couldn't help himself.
"The hell Bobby! Don't you fucking dare!" Taehyun warned, balling his fist at the
amused boy.
"How are your videography skills?" Mino asked Bobby instead but Taehyun punched the
two of them before they could continue their stupid conversation.
"Kidding, kidding. I'm sorry. Come, let's go somewhere else," Mino apologised taking
Taehyun's hands in his.
"I don't do hand holding," Taehyun said pulling his hand away. Mino pouted at the boy,
sticking out his lower lip. "No," Taehyun said laughing, wagging his finger at Mino who
believed he was doing his best puppy face in the world. "That won't work either,"
Taehyun was adamant, walking ahead of Mino.

"Fine," Mino gave up. "But I gotta do this one thing," he said putting an arm around
Taehyun's shoulder as they reached the corridor where there were some people moving
about.
"Everybody! I have an announcement to make," Mino shouted at the top of his lungs.
Taehyun quickly disengaged himself from Mino's arms.
"What the hell are you doing?" he angrily whispered trying to cover Mino's mouth again
but Mino was faster as he moved behind Taehyun and imprisoned his arms while backhugging him. "Let me go," he fought against the restraint but Mino was quite strong
and did not pay him any heed.
"This awesome boy, Nam Taehyun, has agreed to go out with me so he's off limits you
hear?" he shouted again. Some scoffed at him while others laughed, and the rest were
not even paying attention but that did not stop the stupid, drunk Mino. "I see some of
ya'll looking at him with desire but from today he's mine okay? MINE!" he finished but
everybody had stopped listening. "Why are you all ignoring me? I'm the birthday boy!"
he demanded stomping his foot.
Taehyun had managed to escape Mino's hug finally. "They are ignoring the birthday
boy," he complained to Taehyun.
"Come on, I'll give you my full attention," Taehyun soothed the sulky boy, grabbing
hold of his hand to lead him downstairs. "But don't you ever pull that shit again ya hear
me. I just might have second thoughts about going out with you," he warned and to
Bobby who was still behind them, Taehyun shooed him away with his hands. "You left
me alone before so now I'm going to leave you alone. Tell me when you want to leave,"
and with that they made their way down the stairs.
"But I have to show you off to my friends too," Mino protested.
"Song Min Ho, I am not a prize that you can brag about," Taehyun scolded him.
"But how can I not boast about the fact that the most amazing, most beautiful boy had
agreed to go out with me?" Mino could not give up.
Taehyun smiled at Mino's words, flattered, but he had to stick to his words.
"No," he repeated.

"Okay, but please say my name again," Mino pleaded with a smile.
"Wha..why?"
"You never call me by my name, not once during the three weeks we worked together
on the project. Only that first time," Mino remembered.
"Aish, okay, Mino... Mino-ya....Song Min Ho" Taehyun said with forced sweetness,
stopping in his tracks and looking at the adorable boy in front of him. "Is that okay?" he
asked with a big smile on his face.
Mino nodded his head enthusiastically. "And you're also holding my hand," he said and
Taehyun looked down to see their hands linked together. He quickly let go of it,
embarrassed. They were standing in the middle of the crowded corridor, though nobody
really paid attention to them.
"Nope, you already did it now I'm not letting go," Mino stated and took Taehyun's hand
in his again, leading him down the hallways, down the steps to his dorm room which
was still filled with people drinking and dancing. They moved inside to Mino's bedroom
after shooing away the previous occupants and Taehyun went and sat down on Mino's
bed.
"Shall I get you something to drink?" Mino asked Taehyun who answered in the
affirmative. When Mino came back with two drinks in hand he saw Taehyun standing
beside his study-desk and flipping through what looked like his sketchbook. "Nooooo,"
he screamed almost spilling some of the drinks in his hands as he rushed the small
distance towards the stunned Taehyun.
Mino quickly deposited the cups on the table and snatched the book away from
Taehyun's hands.
"What's wrong? Is there something in there you don't want me to see?" Taehyun asked,
curious at Mino's strange reaction.
"Yes, I mean, no. I'm just a little embarrassed, that's all," Mino lied.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? You're an art student, and from the little I
saw, I think you're pretty good at it," Taehyun said settling back on the bed.
Mino was still standing, clutching onto his sketchbook. "Nah, it's nothing," he denied.

"Come on, don't be modest. I sketch a little too," Taehyun confessed.

"I know," Mino said and then realised his mistake when Taehyun raised his eyebrow in
question. "I mean, I thought that you did, I think I've seen you, once, drawing
something," he continued stumbling on his words.
"Umm hmmm," Taehyun knowingly smiled.
"Okay, I've watched you all right, in class," Mino confessed. "Might as well admit it now,
you're gonna be my boyfriend anyway," he finished with a smirk.
"Well, that has not been decided yet. But do tell me more," Taehyun suggested patting
the space next to him requesting the boy to sit down. "Exactly how long have you been
'watching' me?" he seemed amused and not at all creeped out but Mino was still a little
wary.
He gingerly moved to sit next to Taehyun who had taken his shoes off to sit crosslegged on the bed. He handed the cup to the boy.
"Why are you acting like this is my room and not yours?" Taehyun asked smiling.
"Why are you so perfect?" Mino blurted out causing Taehyun to laugh.
"I don't know about perfection, but I gotta admit I'm pretty damn awesome," Taehyun
joked making Mino smile. "And you are pretty damn fine yourself," he flirted hiding his
face behind his cup.
Mino wanted to grab the boy and kiss him silly again at his words but he stopped
himself. He can't be too eager when they haven't even officially started dating yet. "I
guess I'll have to be if I'm gonna be dating someone like you," he flirted back instead.
"So, this is your room huh?" Taehyun asked looking away, suddenly feeling a little shy.
"Yep, this is it. This is where normal college students live. What do you think?" Mino
asked.
"What do you mean? I'm not normal?" Taehyun wanted to know.
"Not a lot of people can afford their own apartments like you," Mino explained.
"A lot of students do," Taehyun disagreed.

"Uh-huh, name one person," Mino challenged.

"I can't, I don't know anyone here, but I see a lot of vehicles in the students' parking
lot," Taehyun did not want to lose.
"I do know a lot of people but they all stay at the dorms, except the ones staying with
parents," Mino argued.
"Aish, whatever, doesn't make me abnormal though," Taehyun said getting up and
padding across the floor barefeet, sneakily trying to take a peek at Mino's sketchbook
again. The curiosity was killing him.
"What are you doing?" Mino asked, eyes following Taehyun's movements and quickly
got up from the bed when Taehyun got a hold of his sketchbook from the desk.
Taehyun jumped up on the solo chair in the room so that Mino could not reach him as
he held the book up high above his arms to see the contents. Mino tried climbing up too
but he was scared to make Taehyun fall. He figured a safe Taehyun was better than an
embarrassed Mino.
"Awwww, you drew me?" Taehyun asked looking down to Mino who was staring at the
floor. The carpet pattern has never been more interesting to Mino than this moment.
Taehyun jumped down from the chair and stood in front of Mino.
"Where's my face? Should I model for you? There's only my hair," Taehyun asked the
boy who was still studying the floor intensely.
Mino finally looked up to see Taehyun who was biting his lip nervously looking like he
was regretting his impulsive action.
"You don't mind?" he asked, unsure.
"Why would I mind? I could be an artist's muse," Taehyun joked.
Mino could not help himself anymore. This boy was just too flawless, too amazing. He
pulled at Taehyun's hand bringing him closer to his body. "Forgive me for this but I'm
not really sorry," he said as he claimed those perfect lips once more.

A/N: So, guys, I was scrolling down the namsong tag in tumblr and guess what I found? Someone has made a post about this story and it got like
13 notes. Tell me who you are right now! C'mon, I know you're reading this. Tell me so I can give you the biggest virtual hug ever and send you
interwebz cookies. Do you know how happy you made this little newbie writer? I was staring at my computer screen smiling and blushing for a
whole ten minutes. And to all those who reblogged it, words are all I have to thank you so tell me what do you want. Should I give you guys a
Christmas oneshot namsong smutfic to express my gratitude? Tell me, gosh Emie is spazzing all over the floor. Tell me in the comments below,
who you are and what you want, but you have to promise me you'll comment on the one-shot if I do write it.