Almost perfect (or so I thought) 

Chapter five: "Something's Changing, Isn't It?"

Minjae escorted Mirae out of the study lounge, clearing his throat before speaking.

"The bell's about to ring. Don't be late to your next class," he said, his voice calm as always.

Mirae couldn't help but smile to herself. 

Why does he always clear his throat like that? It's like he has something stuck there. She shook the thought away and focused on what really mattered — teasing him.

"Minmin, don't worry about me." She grinned, lightly tapping his shoulder.

Minjae indeed was worried about her because later, he caught her out of the corner of his eye, sprinting down the hall after realizing she had entered the wrong classroom. He chuckled as he watched her constantly making wrong turns.

He muttered, "Wrong turn.." but not loud enough for Mirae to hear.

Taeyang walked up to Minjae as if he were a ghost, startling him as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Hyung, didn't you hear my footsteps?" Taeyang looked up ahead and saw Mirae looking for her next class.

"Oh, Mirae!" Minjae called out, making an exaggerated 'O' shape with his hand as he pointed to the right.

Without missing a beat, Mirae took off running in that direction, shouting, "Thank you!" over her shoulder.

Minjae turned to Taeyang with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression. How on earth did Taeyang know exactly where Mirae was supposed to go?

Taeyang smirked, clearly pleased with himself. "Wondering how I know?" he teased. "We're in the same class, of course."

He seemed proud of this little confession — until it hit him what he'd just admitted. They were both late to class. His smug grin faded, and suddenly he was sprinting after Mirae like a kid trying to cover up a mistake.

Minjae watched them go, hands in pockets, shaking his head with a small, amused smile. "Sometimes, I wonder how dumb those two can be," he muttered to himself.

——

The day came to an end, as usual. Mirae had the afternoon free, so she talked to the group at the bus stop to see if anyone was up for a karaoke night.

"Sorry, I can't make it," Jiho replied with a shrug. "The seniors have an important exam coming up, so I need to study."

Nari chimed in with an exaggerated pout. "I'd love to come, honestly! But I promised to help my little brother with his homework. And trust me, he's not taking 'no' for an answer."

That left only Minjae and Taeyang available.

"Great, Mirae thought, feeling a little disappointed. "Looks like I missed my chance to have some alone time with Minmin..."

"You're seriously going with him?" Nari scoffs and points to Taeyang.

"What do you want from me?" Taeyang steps up close to her, their bodies not too far away from each other.

Nari moves in closer, closing the gap between them. She then headed on her tiptoes and puffs out her chest and stood her ground.

Before Mirae could respond, Nari latched onto her arm. "I'm tagging along for this one."

Taeyang blinked, amused. "Wow, that was fast. You sure you're not following me?"

"In your dreams," Nari snapped, but her face was heating up slowly.

——

The four of them spent the night singing their hearts out — especially Nari and Taeyang. Nari sang her heart out the most when they played BLACKPINK. She loved rapping and always thought she could be a songwriter one day.

Minjae spent most of the time sitting down, quietly watching everyone. Especially Mirae, of course. When the others noticed he wasn't doing anything, they forcefully made him sing.

"Minjae-yah! Come sing with us," Mirae said as she dragged him up from his chair. He stumbled slightly, taken aback by the sudden move.

Love Language by TXT started playing on the TV. Everyone was excited to hear Minjae's voice — but Taeyang decided to join him too.

It was chaotic. Too chaotic. With the girls singing over each other and Taeyang's horrible voice mixed in, the whole thing was completely uncoordinated. But they enjoyed every second of it. Especially Mirae, who watched Minjae with the biggest smile on her face.

"Minmin is so good at singing," she thought, giggling to herself.

Then, a slow song came on. Thankfully, Taeyang wasn't singing this one — he had stepped out to grab soda for the group. The song playing was 19 by Stray Kids. It was about growing up, and everyone could relate.

The "everyone" Mirae cheered with? Yeah... it was just her. Nari had fallen asleep. Literally snoring in the background.

After the song ended, Mirae jumped up and threw her arms around Minjae.

"Minmin... you're so good at singing!" she grinned.

Minjae stood frozen, his brain went blank while his heart panicked. He didn't even get a second to react before the door flew open.

Taeyang burst in. The hug broke apart instantly.

Before Mirae could say a single word, Minjae spoke up first — his voice was low.

"Taeyang, take Nari home. You two live close."

He grabbed Mirae's arm and stormed out of the room, not giving Taeyang a chance to process what just happened.

Taeyang blinked in surprise. Then sighed. He turned to Nari, still slumped over the couch.

"Hey, loser..." He nudged her arm. Nothing happened.

"What the heck? Is she a deep sleeper or something?"

He leaned in a bit, trying to see if she was faking. Just as his face got too close for comfort, Nari's eyes shot open.

Their faces were inches apart.

They both jumped away from each other. Nari and Taeyang stood up, casually acting the same as usual.

Taeyang looked at her before speaking. "There was a pimple on your face. Don't take it the wrong way." Then he stormed out of the room.

Nari scoffs in disbelief, knowing that she scanned her face well before coming to school. "Hey! Taeyang! Is there actually a pimple?!" She runs after him, trying to catch up.

Mirae peeked back inside just in time to see Nari chasing after Taeyang, shouting about imaginary pimples. She couldn't help but laugh at their chemistry together.

"What's with everyone today?" She whispered to herself, still smiling.

But when she turned to Minjae walking beside her, her heart skipped just a little. He wasn't smiling, nor was he flustered. He looked... serious.

"Minmin...?" she asked softly.

He glanced at her, his ears redder than usual. His heart was beating faster, and his actions spoke louder than his words.

"C'mon, let's get you home." He held her hand.

And just like that, the teasing ended.

For now.

**END OF CHAPTER FIVE**

*book inspired by 'When I fly towards you'*