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Ten smiles at the staff member, explaining the situation and how this will work. They’ll hang up and in ten seconds, Lee Taemin will take the fan sign call and he’ll have five minutes to talk to his idol.
Ten nods, listening to all the rules, nervous excitement curling through his veins. He agrees to the rules, he quickly sends his address to the staff on the link he’s told to so that his signed album can be sent to him and then he leans back in his chair. The screen cuts to black and he takes a slow breath, trying to keep himself calm.
His screen stays black, a buffering circle flickering. He sighs, heavily. He doesn’t know how he’s going to get through five minutes of Lee Taemin staring at him, talking to him, all his attention on Ten. He’s so nervous and he grips his jeans, tilting his head back to groan at the ceiling. Time ticks on and Ten shivers, chewing on his lip. This was probably a bad idea - with his raging crush on the dancing ace, he’s bound to make a fool out of himself.
The time that it’s meant to take ticks on and on and expires and Ten sighs in frustration. Is it so hard to ask to see a handsome man when he’s supposed to, get a signed album and absolutely pass away over it for the next three months?
“Lee Taemin, you’re goddamn homophobic.”
“Uh? I am?”
Ten’s head shoots down staring in horror at his phone, connected. The screen shows Lee Taemin staring at him with his mouth in a very confused o. His eyes look so sad, puppy dog eyes staring at the phone wounded.
“No! No, it was just. Stan language. Fan Twitter language.” Ten laughs, awkward, hoping Taemin really doesn’t think he’s calling him that.
“Oh.” Taemin smiles, tilting his head. He immediately seems to brighten, tension leaving him. “It’s Ten, right?”
Ten smiles, shyness starting to hit him. He suppresses a shiver and nods. His voice sounds good in Taemin’s voice, he can’t lie. “Yeah, Ten.”
“How are you, Ten? My manager said you’re in Thailand? We were debating doing a larger Asian tour leg, it would be fun to come to Thailand for a day or two.”
“I’m good! I’m really good, how are you, Taemin-hyung? That would be amazing! Even Malaysia would be doable for a lot of Thai Shawols - ah, if the Malaysian fans can get tickets and we take the spare, of course.”
“I’m doing wonderful, it’s lovely to meet so many fans. We usually don’t get to meet so many international fans and it makes so much difference to us.” Taemin nods, smiling a little wider, more genuinely rather than a casual fansign smile. “Malaysia would be fun; I go there a lot on holiday, it has some wonderful diving spots.”
“It does… Thailand does too! You should come sometime, even for a holiday.”
“I’ll definitely have to look into it.” Taemin pauses, uncapping the pen lid. “What do you want me to write in your album?”
Ten hums a moment, tilting his head and pursing his lips. “Something that would make it special for you as well as me."
“Alright,” Taemin smiles up at the camera and Ten feels his heart beating a little quicker. “I think I can do that.” He focuses, writing for a moment before looking back up.
Ten smiles, clenching his fists against his thighs. He hates how pretty this man is, really. “Taemin-hyung, I just wanted to thank you before the call ends. You’ve been a massive inspiration in my own dance and choreography. I’ve found since I started being a fan my own skill and dedication has gone much higher than it was before. My troupe is struggling to keep up with me.”
“Oh, you dance? What’s your troupe called?”
“I do.” Ten tries not to babble, not to squeal - he’d be almost embarrassed but, then again, this is the Lee Taemin asking him about his dancing . “My dance troupe is called WayV, we’re on YouTube. We do a lot of K-Pop style stuff but with Chinese music.”
“I’ll look it up for sure. That sounds really interesting and it would be really cool to see the way you guys are inspired by me… Ah, before we end the call, I have to go shortly - what did you mean?”
“Hm?” Ten tilts his head a little, wetting his lips. “What did I mean by what?”
“Earlier, you said I was homophobic but said it was just fan language… What does that mean in fan language? It’s a new one to me.”
Ten feels sweat bead on his back and forehead. His vision goes a little spotty and he tenses his hand, almost ripping through his jeans. “I uh… it’s… you’re pretty and kept… kept me waiting.”
Taemin blinks a little, face blank and Ten can swear he sees the cogs in his brain working.
“Oh. You have a crush and I kept you waiting?”
Ten feels his cheeks burn red hot, throat drying as he nods. “It wasn’t actually calling you homophobic, I’m so sorry, Taemin-hyung.”
Taemin bursts into laughter, bright and loud, waving his hand and Ten laughs, a dry almost-pant as he smiles.
“I see, I see. No offence taken, there’s no need to apologise. Something special for you and me, huh?” He stares down at the album before looking up at a voice calling to him from the side. “I have to go now, Ten; it was wonderful to meet you, Tennie-yah! Don’t go cheating on me with other idols now!”
Before Ten can respond, his phone screen goes black and he groans into his hands.
How could he have been so ridiculous and not check before he opened his mouth. Taemin probably thinks he’s weird, marking it down as one of the worst fansign calls he’s had, maybe even thinks Ten is an anti . That could not have had a worse start. He’s going to be that one fan Taemin tells his friends about that weird fan call.
He wants to curl up in a hole and pretend he doesn’t exist.
For the next two weeks, Ten avoids every topic of the fan call with his friends. They ask questions about Taemin and he answers them as generically as he can.He tells his troupe mates he told Taemin about their group and maybe he’ll watch, he doesn’t know. He sounded genuinely excited about it but he doesn’t know - some idols will promise that and will, and some will just say it to make a fan happy.
He doesn’t post clips onto Twitter and Tiktok like other fans do and he avoids watching others' more successful fan calls with him.
When he gets home, on Friday of the second week, he finds an official package on the kitchen table, labelled for him. He takes it upstairs, heart heavy in his chest, knowing from the return address that it’s his album from the signing. He sits on his bed, holding it in his hands and staring at it.
He opens it, flicking through the pages before he finds the scrawled message.He can’t help but smile a little.
Something special, Tennie-yah, have WayV do something based on my upcoming solo song! I think you’ll like the discography. You guys dance well! I’m impressed! I’ll have to come see you guys live sometime.
Apparently, Ten didn’t leave that much of a bad impression.
It warms him, his soul soothed as he flips through the album. His fingers freeze, stopping as a piece of paper falls into his lap. He picks it up, digesting the text, his heart suddenly pounding in his ears.
Something extra special. I kept you waiting so it’s only fair I take you for a coffee, right, Tennie-yah? I’m coming to Thailand in June for a short break with my friends! Text me and we’ll make a plan. It’s a date 6v6
Ten stares and reads it.
He reads it again.
He stares.
He starts laughing in shock as he realises what he’s reading, the scrawl of numbers finally registering in his head as Taemin’s personal phone number. He laughs, still, as he opens his phone and messenger app, keying in the number and shooting a quick text message.
My friend, Kun, works in a little coffee shop near our dance studio. It’s a quiet place, very reserved and no one would think otherwise of seeing a celebrity there or dates. The staff are very good about privacy. I’ll see you there?
Ten smiles, reading his message back before chewing his lip, typing quickly.
I forgot to add on, this is Tennie-yah, hyung!
He watches, waiting. The message is marked as read but no reply comes through. Anxiety thrums through his veins and he realises that Taemin probably thinks he might be a sasaeng. He should have led with the introduction.
Three minutes tick by and, suddenly, there are typing bubbles.
I see your album got to you, Tennie~ I’ll see you June 5, I’ll count down the days. And don’t keep me waiting 6v6
Ten laughs, collapsing on his bed.
You kept me waiting, so surely I should be able to keep you waiting for at least two minutes
That’s unfair! I can’t hang around in public. You can sit alone in your bedroom!
Ten laughs, shaking his head and curls up.
They chat throughout the evening. Ten takes his dinner in his room, tapping away at his phone, laughing at Taemin’s messages. He feels his heart swell everytime he sees the notification, the ping that notifies him Taeminnie-hyung 💙 has messaged him.
Ten can’t help but smile at the complaints about schedules and how tired Taemin is and how he really needs a coffee. Ten asks for an address and struggles with the applications for a moment, but after twenty minutes, Taemin sends a photo of the take out Americano with a heart pasted on the image.
Next time you’re late home from dance practice and don’t have energy to make dinner let me know; I’ll send you some good Korean food. Or Yuxiang shredded pork, have you ever had that? It’s one of my favourites 6v6
Oh, you should also get Chex! Chex is good for the soul! Very nutritious!!
Ten bursts into laughter, shaking his head.
Are you just saying that so they send you more free boxes?
……..Yes! 6v6
Taemin disappears around eleven pm, and Ten realises it’s one in the morning in Korea.
Taeminnie-hyung, you should go to sleep. It’s so early for you.
I’m just about to go home from work; I’m stopping to get food and then going home with a lot of chicken! I’m going to be driving… I’ll call you
Ten stares at the message,frowning a little, confused. He’ll call? When he gets home? Ten will likely be asleep then. Suddenly, his phone vibrates in his hand and Ten stares at the incoming call notification.
Ten answers, shaking a little. “Taemin-hyung?"
“Tennie-yah!"
“Taeminnie-hyung!”
“Why the formality?" Taemin pouts, Ten can hear it down the phone and he laughs.
“I wanted to make sure it was you. How was your day?”
“Very busy! My choreographers made me work extra hard because I’ve got so much to do. I almost didn’t get lunch. I had to get Jinki-hyung to be extra scary so I got some time.”
“They can do that?”
“They’re not supposed to, but as long as we keep up our nutrition and we don’t get hurt, then the odd day here and there can happen. But they can’t do it a lot… Ah, it feels good to hear your voice again, Tennie-yah.”
“You missed me that much? From one homophobic phone call?”
Taemin bursts into laughter. “Yes! The managers said that the albums would take about a week to go out and I got really scared that the wrong fan got your album. But that was for domestic delivery not international. My heart felt funny when I saw your text. Ah, one moment Tennie-yah, I’m at the restaurant.”
Ten blushes, putting his earphones in and his phone on charge, curling up under his duvet. He listens to Taemin in what seems like a drive-through, ordering… way too much chicken for one person. He smiles, waiting, listening to bags rustling and the sound of the engine revving as Taemin starts driving again.
“I’m back!”
“That is a lot of chicken.”
“I’m very hungry. I’ll wake up hungry too and it will be a nice breakfast with my Chex.”
“You cannot eat chicken with Chex!”
“I can and I will!” Taemin whines, giggling. “It’s a good side dish!”
Ten shudders, laughing softly. “You really are a menace.”
“Enough about me,” Taemin giggles. “How did you feel opening your album?”
“I thought I’d fallen asleep and was dreaming. I couldn’t really believe it. It took me eight attempts to read it to figure out what the numbers were… I felt dizzy but in a good way, my crush likes me back type dizzy.”
“You’re so cute, Tennie-yah.”
“My dancing today was exhausting, just like you. We’re trying to choreograph a whole dance to a song some friends made directly for us… The song is called Moonwalk and we had to learn the Michael Jackson moonwalk all day. My legs hurt a lot.”
“That sounds really tiring but so much fun, I can’t wait to see it. Your dances are really well and you dance so well, the whole troupe does, but you look so amazing. You’re eye-catching. You should audition for some places, Tennie-yah, really.”
“Hm, maybe in the future. I’m very happy where I am right now… I’m so happy. I thought I messed up the fan call. I thought you didn’t like me and thought I was weird.”
“That’s understandable… No. You made such a good impression. You’re very pretty and I was really distracted by it, it’s why I seemed so in idol mode, my brain couldn’t think properly with you there.”
Ten laughs. “There’s no way!”
After Taemin insists it’s the truth, the talking ends up casual small talk; Taemin seems to notice that Ten is tired and takes control of the conversation. He keeps his voice soft, talking about how tiring his new song’s choreography is, but the outfits are really fun and Ten will like the crop top. He talks about how he told SHINee about Ten and they had cooed and said they wanted to meet Ten too.
Ten doesn’t register much else Taemin says, slowly falling asleep to his voice. He doesn’t realise he’s falling asleep until the sound of the car door slamming on the other end jerks him out of it, making his eyes flicker open.
“Taeminnie-hyung?”
“I just got home. You fell asleep there for a moment. Are you alright?”
“It’s late, hyung. We’re two hours behind you.”
“Go to sleep, Tennie-yah, I’ll text you in the morning.”
“I will… Eat well and sleep well, Taeminnie-hyung.”
“I will, fighting! Sleep well, Tennie-yah.”
The call ends and Ten doesn’t move. He’s curled up tight, soft and warm in his blankets, and he smiles, heart light and mind still blown. His brain mentally tells him it was eighty-five days until Taemin comes to Thailand, and it’s now just gone past midnight, roundabout, so now it’s eighty-four. He hugs his legs to his chest, yawning as his consciousness starts fading, relaxing into his mattress.
SM Entertainment’s Lee Taemin has a crush on him too and in eighty-four days, will take Ten out for coffee. He falls asleep, heart on cloud nine, brain numb from happiness - soon, he’ll get to hold Taemin’s hand and giggle face to face with him.
Tomorrow, he’ll get to call him again and talk more and fall even more in love with him.
Maybe, just maybe, this is the start of something amazing.