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Few things could pull Minho out of his comfort zone. Said comfort zone being his apartment, under a warm, cozy blanket, with a good anime playing on the TV. After an exhausting week of classes and work, nothing could be more soothing than resting. And one of the few things that could pull him away from that perfect scenario, willingly, was going out with his friends.
At first, Felix had sounded casual when he brought up the idea.
The Arts Department had an agreement with the dance studio Minho worked on. Students and teachers were free to have a few practice rooms, and since the studio wasn't distant from uni, it was convenient for both parties. Felix had just finished practice in a room next to Minho’s, still a little out of breath from the crew's upcoming performance for the university’s festival. With his usual bright smile, Felix greeted him, complaining about how hard it was to spend time with Minho lately.
“Sorry. I still have one more week before I can wrap up this group, but after that I’ll have more free time.”
“Oh, what a coincidence!” The blonde exclaimed. “Might be just in time for a cafe opening nearby.”
“Hmm, maybe. Send me the details later? Gotta run now, sorry Lix.”
Minho hadn’t thought much of it at the time. He certainly hadn’t expected a Sanrio cafe. Let alone a place filled with oversized plushies, one of which featured his favorite character ever.
Minho didn’t talk about his interests. Ever. It wasn’t exactly shame (well, maybe a little), but more a sense of privacy. Anything remotely nerdy was forbidden from work or school. His bag was plain, no badges or pins of anything at all. If you didn’t know him, you wouldn’t know what he liked.
It helped that his two closest friends, Felix and Jisung, happened to share a few of his interests. That wasn’t why they were friends, just a lucky coincidence.
Minho only met Jisung when Felix was still in the early stages of awkward flirting, and Jisung couldn’t even look him in the eye with how flustered he felt. Felix was as important to Minho as his own cats, so he’d been very suspicious of Jisung at first.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t deny that, no matter from which circle of hell Felix had pulled Jisung from, the two were perfect for each other. Eventually, Minho realized that okay! Maybe Jisung wasn’t the worst person on Earth. When he and Felix (finally) started dating, it only made their dynamic smoother.
(Minho was tired of hearing both of them gush about each other separately anyway.)
When Felix had shown up one day with a pink bow in his hair and a few My Melody pins on his bag, Minho almost had a heart attack. It was reassuring, knowing Felix liked the same things as him, and it made Minho feel, for once, a little less ridiculous for loving them too.
His fascination with Kuromi had started back in high school, when someone jokingly said he looked like a bunny. At first, he brushed it off, but when others agreed, saying he had the personality of “an evilish bunny, just like Kuromi”, Minho was personally offended. Until he looked her up and found out that, well, she was an evil bunny. The cutest out there, though.
That started years of fanboyism, including a small collection of limited lucky-draw figures. Minho didn’t think that spending money on those was something he wanted for himself, so he only tried his luck occasionally. Still, adult life didn’t leave much room for hobbies, and it had been years since he’d added anything new to his collection.
Maybe that would change today. Jisung had told him there’d be an exclusive merch area, and Minho hoped to find a Kuromi item he liked enough to splurge on and finally feel some satisfaction at rekindling a hobby he’d loved.
Deep down, though, Minho was a little nervous. Kuromi didn’t make it into Sanrio’s top 3 this year, but she was still 4th place! He expected to be fighting off flocks of rabid 15-year-olds for even the tiniest branded freebie. And only he knew just how ruthless he could be when it came to his interests.
That included throwing dirty looks at any and all decorations related to his sworn enemies, the Sanrio dogs.
“Hyung, chill a little. I’m scared someone’s gonna beat us up,” Jisung whispered as they stood in the crowded line to order.
Of course the place was packed. Minho would’ve been shocked if it wasn’t. Felix had taken advantage of the long wait to slip away to the restroom, leaving him and Jisung alone in the meanwhile.
“Someone has to dethrone those dogs,” Minho muttered, scanning the line ahead of them. “We’ve suffered long enough.”
It was meant as a joke, the kind of playful ragebait he and Felix tossed around all the time. But Jisung, clutching Felix’s pink bag to his chest, looked like he was ready to jump ship at any moment.
It had been Felix’s idea that they dress in outfits inspired by their favorite Sanrio characters. That was a weak attempt to include Jisung somehow, since it was extremely hard to find any Kuririn merch.
The resemblance between the hamster and Jisung was uncanny. Felix helped him put together an outfit that loosely resembled Kuririn and gifted him a keychain plush of him (which Minho witnessed firsthand as Jisung nearly cried when he received it). An ochre jumpsuit, a matching knit beanie, and a few fake sunflowers stitched into the pockets, giving the impression that Jisung had just picked them fresh from a backyard garden. The keychain dangled from one of the jumpsuit’s straps.
The pink bag Felix had left behind clashed horribly with Jisung’s earthy palette, but it suited Felix’s own style perfectly: a white sweater with soft pink details, a matching skirt, and a cherry-pink crochet bucket hat perched on top of carefully styled hair. With the My Melody pins gleaming on his shoulder strap, there was no way anyone would guess him wrong.
Minho didn’t feel like he had the same youthful energy as his two best friends, so he simply hoped that his black clothes and purple hair would give away who he was a fan of. That and a few carefully arranged pins and buttons on a small black messenger bag. A small Kuromi plushie peeked out from his jacket pocket.
“Hyung, have you seen what Cinnamoroll's minions do online?” Jisung whispered, eyes darting around the crowd. “They leak IPs without mercy. There’s this one Twitter thread that’s just full of people saying they got doxxed for voting against him.”
Minho snorted. “Are you seriously scared of–”
“Shhh. Don't draw attention to us.” Jisung lowered his voice even more, eyes blown wide in fear. “You don’t know what they’re capable of.”
Before Minho could reply, Felix's familiar voice cut in the conversation.
“Hyung, manners. Dog slander is forbidden here, and not just because the teens might eat you alive.”
Standing beside him was someone new, a tall boy dressed head-to-toe in white and soft blue, like he’d fallen straight from a cloud. His hoodie had little wing details on the back, and a tiny bell jingled from a plush charm clipped to his sleeve. “Cinnamoroll will be avenged. Just wait. He’s reclaiming first place next year, I can feel it.”
Jisung lit up immediately. “Oh my god! Hyunjin! Long time no see!”
Without hesitation, he threw his arms around the taller boy, nearly knocking Felix's bag on Minho's face. Hyunjin laughed, catching him easily.
“Hyung,” Jisung turned to Minho with sudden excitement, “Remember that guy I told you about? The one I fought with on my first day at the studio? That’s him!”
“Oh, the ferret boy.” Minho said, bowing slightly in greeting. “I remember. I’ve seen you around. Nice to meet you properly, uh, Hyunjin, right?”
Hyunjin blinked, then grinned. “Wow. The Lee Minho in the flesh. What an honor.”
Minho raised a brow.
“What kind of reaction is that?”
“You are like, a legend. And don’t even try to deny it. All the teachers in the studio talk about you like you're the final boss of the dance department.”
That caught Minho off guard. He looked away, trying not to let the praise show too much on his face. “Ah, they're exaggerating.”
“Not even a little.” Hyunjin smiled, then added with a theatrical pout, “Though I am disappointed that our first proper conversation has you slandering Cinnamoroll.”
Minho laughed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to destroy your fantasy.”
Hyunjin, it turned out, was surprisingly easy to talk to. He spoke with dramatic flair and let out a hysteric laugh whenever any of them said something funny. He seemed to be a close friend of both Felix and Jisung, and Minho soon understood that they were all around the same age, which explained why the conversation looked seamless, flowing easily. Jisung already looked a little less anxious with the presence of more people he knew, even after Hyunjin mentioned the friend he was still waiting for.
The conversation quickly moved to an increasingly loud debate over the latest Sanrio character ranking.
Even if Minho had wanted to, he never really had the time to vote in the poll. On the days he did remember, he’d drop a single meager vote for Kuromi. Based on the preliminary results floating around Twitter, it seemed clear she was the best bet to break into the year’s Top 3 and finally shake the popularity of what Minho (affectionately) called the three horsemen of the apocalypse: Cinnamoroll, Pochacco and Pompompurin. From the very beginning of the uprising against Cinnamoroll, Minho knew he’d be in the trenches defending Kuromi as the best character that year, and it was almost funny to see everyone rally around the simple mission of not letting the white dog win — despite Pochacco and Purin still holding very high rankings. The anti-dog propaganda was fun while it lasted, although in the end it didn't even seem like a close call to dethrone them. Minho was sure that the election was rigged.
Hyunjin was still bitter about Cinnamoroll losing the crown after five consecutive years, although for a different reason.
“Seungmin's such a sore winner,” he huffed, checking the line’s slow crawl forward. “He talks too much for someone whose favorite characters were consecutive winners for at least two years before!”
“Never happened to me.” Jisung faux cries on Felix's shoulder where he’s slouched onto, probably a bit tired from the waiting time and all the noise around him (and probably still scared of being a potential target of crazy teenagers). Feliz chuckles slightly and hugs his boyfriend, loving the silly drama.
“Me neither.” Minho follows suit. He finds it interesting how Kuromi never got a 1st, despite being a close call a lot of times.
“What’s so special about Purin?” Hyunjin asked, mid-sip of his water bottle. “I like him too, don’t get me wrong, and God forbid Seungmin hears me— but I just find him a little plain sometimes.”
“He’s adorable, unlike your terrifying albino dog.” The voice cut in sharply from behind, dry as dust. Hyunjin whips his head to find whoever replied to him only to let out a groan, filled with annoyance.
“All that dog does is sleep and eat all day, Kim Seungmin!”
The boy was just slightly shorter than Hyunjin, although taller than the rest of them. (Not a feat in itself since Minho was used to him, Felix and Jisung being called ‘three apples tall’ by everyone around them.) The boy is dressed in a brown checkered jacket and matching trousers, all warm and autumn colors. His bangs were dyed a soft blonde, while the hair was a rich brown beneath. He wore a pair of perfectly round glasses that made him look a bit silly. But not in a bad way. Silly in a cute way, that made Minho blink once, twice, then hold his breath to control the cuteness aggression bubbling inside of him.
“That’s literally the dream, Hyune.” His tone was teasing, clearly showing the fun he had with the judgmental stare thrown at him.
“This is perfect,” Felix whispered to Jisung and Minho while the two friends went on and on with their banter. “It’s the ultimate fan showdown.”
Minho’s eyes didn’t leave Seungmin. He was a bit too cute to take it, speaking with the same nonchalance that Minho did when his only goal was to tease others. Hyunjin was as easy to rile up as Jisung, getting too far in a debate that wasn’t supposed to be taken that serious, but Seungmin didn’t seem bothered by it and knew how to push the right buttons. The irony in his words made even Hyunjin crack a laugh a few times. They seemed like really good friends.
Hyunjin turned to the others, giving the boy their names. “Guys, this is Seungmin. As you can see, he’s still 14 at heart and will be in the trenches against toddlers and their parents today.”
Felix waved, grinning. “Nice to meet you, Seungmin.”
“Not even toddlers are safe?” Jisung murmured in horror, still fused to Felix like a barnacle.
“Especially not them. I want at least a freebie today and I'm not leaving without it,” Seungmin’s attention was briefly diverted when his eyes landed on the keychain clipped to Jisung’s jumpsuit. His expression softened instantly. “Oh! Kuririn?” His voice went up an octave, like the sight of the plush had genuinely made his day. “That’s so rare!”
Jisung’s entire face lit up.
“Jesus, you might be the first person I meet that actually knows who Kuririn is.”
“I used to mistake him for Muffin all the time.” Seungmin gave a modest smile, clearly unused to the attention and oh. He has braces. He looks way cuter now, and Minho feels a flustered feeling overflowing inside of him before he can think straight. Seungmin continues a small ranting of his few headcanons about the two characters, and Minho gets lost in the way he talks excitedly about it, nearly missing when Felix pinches at his sides to tease him. Fortunately, Jisung, Seungmin and Hyunjin are too lost in their own world to pay them any mind.
Minho yelped, squirming slightly with Felix's action. “Stop, you brat.”
He knew he wasn’t nearly as threatening as he'd like to sound or look, given the playful grin Felix shot at him.
“Seungmin is so cute, right? Never seen you this smitten with someone, hyung.” Felix chuckled, tugging Minho closer into the conversation.
Seungmin, for his part, seemed entirely unaware of the effect he was having, tilting his head to pay attention to Hyunjin and Jisung in their little bubble.
Before Minho could stop himself from staring too long, Seungmin looked up at him.
“Nice hair,” he said simply, nodding at the soft violet tones of Minho’s hair. “It suits you.”
From somewhere behind him, a muffled giggle slips out, unmistakably Felix. Minho didn’t have to look to know the exact face he was making: both hands probably clasped over his mouth, eyes wide with delighted mischief, silently screaming. And Jisung is probably looking at him with doe-eyes and a confused face. Ugh, they're cute, Minho has to give it to them.
He is momentarily distracted when Seungmin points at a pin in his bag. “Is that from the limited collection of the Osaka Expo?”
Minho blinked. “Yeah. You know it?”
“Yeah! I really wanted her merch for that collection. Missed the restock by like five minutes.” Seungmin said with a pout. “We could’ve been twins.”
“You don't look, uh…”
Seungmin smiled, seemingly picking up on what Minho is trying to say. “At first she was my favorite character.”
“Oh. Really?”
“Purple is my favorite color. I thought she was so cute and every merch was purple, so I spent a good amount of money on a few bags and shirts.” Seungmin replied softly, looking at each pin on Minho's bag. “I still like Kuromi. I just have a big soft spot for dogs.”
Minho doesn't get the chance to answer him properly though, because just then the staff calls them out.
The counter is manned by a cheerful boy with almost white blonde hair and a Sanrio apron that matches the pastel decor. His name tag read ‘Ayen’, with a little hand-drawn fox beside it.
“Welcome! Do you know what you’d like, or need a minute?” he asks brightly.
“Ah, give us a minute, please,” Felix replied, already flipping through the laminated menu in a rush. “We’re hopelessly indecisive.”
As each of them began choosing their desserts, Minho stood slightly off to the side, scanning the menu with mild anxiety. Everything looked aggressively sweet, covered in frosting and pastel syrup and shaped like little mascots with sparkly eyes. The honey toast Jisung and Felix ordered give him cavities just by looking at it. They both discuss a little before settling on a Little Twin Stars deco, likely a small pastry shaped like the characters to be placed on the dish.
“Hyung,” Felix leaned toward him. “Still haven’t picked?”
“I’m scared I’ll get sick of it,” Minho admitted. “I like sweets, but this stuff looks like it was made for toddlers. I can feel the cavities forming just by reading the names.”
Felix smiled. “Everyone else already ordered, so it’s just you and Seungmin left. Need help choosing?”
“I think I got it.” Minho closed the menu and stepped up, nearly bumping into Seungmin, who was right behind him. He wordlessly gestured for Minho to go ahead, and Minho thanks him with a nod. The smiling attendant turns to him. “I’d like an iced americano and a mini pudding, please. Both Kuromi.”
The waiter nods attentively as Minho describes his order, but after a few taps on the tablet in front of him, his smile fades a little. “Ah… sorry. Kuromi pudding just sold out.”
Minho slumped.
“Do you still have any pudding at all?”
“We do have the Pompompurin custard pudding!” Ayen said brightly.
Hah. It would be funny if it weren’t tragic. Maybe the attendant senses Minho’s hesitation, because he chuckles softly at the face Minho makes. Ayen turns the screen around to show him how the pastry is. It was shaped like the yellow dog himself, lying flat like a squishy bean, his little beret slightly askew.
Minho let out a quiet sigh. “Fine. I’ll take that.”
Ayen’s smile widened as he entered the order, and Minho dropped a few bills into his tip jar on the counter. There was a glittery Chococat sticker pasted to the side, and Minho smiles at that.
“Okay!” Hyunjin called cheerfully from behind them. “Just Seungmin left to order!”
“I swear, finding a table here is gonna be the hardest part.” Felix added with a groan. “You know what to do, hyung.” He looked at Minho meaningfully.
Minho narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“Intimidate the students. There are tables with people just loitering around now.”
Minho opened his mouth to protest then closed it. He was tired. His feet hurt from standing in line for nearly an hour. Fine. With a groan, he peeled away from the group and started scanning the café. He’s not sure whether it’s a good thing or not that Felix was actually right, and he manages to get a table after (gently) asking a group of students if they were planning to stay much longer. Before leaving, two of the younger girls looked up at him, wide-eyed. Minho could faintly see a My Sweet Piano drawing on the plastic cup. “You’ve got a cool style!”
Minho offered a small smile, a little shy and nod before watching them go, waving to the others from across the cafe. A few minutes later, they all gather around the table, balancing trays between their arms. Well four of them did. Hyunjin’s drink and Seungmin’s pastries were still missing.
“The crowd’s too intense to expect the staff to bring everything to the tables now.” Felix sighed, carefully setting down his tray, while Jisung holds Minho's. “Poor things. We barely made it out of there with our own stuff. The rest is apparently too heavy to carry.”
Jisung slid into his seat right next to Felix without hesitation and immediately began poking at their sweet. “What couldn’t you bring?” he asked, already reaching for a spoonful.
“The tall dessert stand, and Hyunjin's cinnamon drink.” Seungmin answered as he returned behind them, lowering himself carefully into the seat beside Minho. It was the only spot left — Hyunjin had sandwiched himself with Jisung and Felix, clearly refusing to give up prime gossip real estate.
“That really expensive item on the menu?!” Minho asked wide-eyed.
Hyunjin looked at Seungmin. “Ohh, was it the one that qualifies for the lucky draw?”
“There’s a raffle for the top-priced items,” Seungmin explained upon Jisung and Felix's confused faces, glancing at the receipt in his hands. “If your number gets pulled, you get a voucher for the merch section. Could be a discount, first dibs on exclusive stock… I don’t know yet.”
“Ah, I see. You’re gambling high.” Minho said with a small smirk.
“Pretty much,” Seungmin deadpanned. Then his eyes dropped to the pudding on Minho’s tray. A slight grin tugged at his lips. “Wait. So it was you who sold out the custard pudding?”
Minho froze, spoon halfway to his mouth.
“It was the only pudding left,” he said, defensively pointing at it with the utensil. “And don’t look at me like that, it’s cute! Even I am not immune to that.”
Just then, Ayen returned to the table with a large tray in hand. He placed a brown, spiced drink in front of Hyunjin and carefully set down the dessert stand in front of Seungmin. It looked more like a sculpture than anything, with three tiers of pastel confections, covered with fruit, cream, and edible pastries shaped like Sanrio characters.
Minho blinked. “Hangyodon… and Hello Kitty?”
“I told them to surprise me.” Seungmin merely shrugged and began organizing the spoons and napkins that came with the tower. “No way I’m finishing all this. Feel free to help yourselves.”
Jisung was already digging in before Seungmin finished the sentence, stealing a fruit tart from the bottom tier. Felix followed shortly after, slicing a piece of sponge cake, while Hyunjin pretended to be above it all and then shamelessly reached for a mochi the moment no one was looking.
Ayen reappeared not long after, this time holding a small, colorful plastic pouch. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said cheerfully, directing his attention to Minho. “This was left out of your order earlier.”
Minho blinked in confusion as Ayen placed the pouch on the table beside his plate. It was shaped like a candy wrapper, the plastic shimmering in soft pastels.
“It’s like a freebie,” Ayen explained. “Whenever a customer doesn’t get the specific character they requested, we give a type of surprise gift as a little courtesy. There might be a finger puppet or a bag charm inside.”
“Oh,” Minho said surprised. “Thank you.”
“No problem! I hope you get a good one.” Ayen bowed slightly, then returned to the counter, already being summoned by another table.
Felix immediately clapped his hands. “I’m manifesting Kuromi for you, hyung.” He closed his eyes and waved his fingers around Minho’s hands like he's casting a charm.
“Manifest harder.” Hyunjin chimed in. “It might work if we all do it.”
Jisung pressed both palms together like he was summoning divine intervention.
Minho rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "I think all of you are just bringing me bad luck. All right, let’s see…” He turned the package over and carefully opened the plastic seal, fingers slightly fumbling from the group’s anticipation.
Out popped a plush charm, considerably big in size. It was about the same height as the small Kuromi in his jacket pocket. But instead of a purple-ish emo bunny, a white and black dog stared back at him.
Minho groaned, head dropping forward against the table. Felix burst into laughter as Seungmin spoke. “Whoever is haunting you today, I hope later comes for me too.”
Minho lifted his head slowly. Seungmin looked far too pleased. He was chewing on a piece of mango-peach tart, trying and failing to hide the soft laugh that escaped him. He glanced at the Pochacco charm again… and then, without much thought, held it out toward Seungmin.
“Do you want it?”
Seungmin paused mid-bite, confused. “Huh?”
“I mean, it’s one of your favorites, right?” Minho said, still holding it out. “I was just going to leave it in my bag or give it to some kid. Might as well go to someone who’ll appreciate it.”
Seungmin swallowed quickly, clearly flustered. “Ah, no, I was just joking earlier. You don’t have to–”
“I know you were joking,” Minho replied, voice calm. “But I’m not. It’s yours.”
There was a brief pause where Seungmin seemed unsure what to do. Then, quietly, “…Thank you, Minho-ssi.”
Minho offered a small smile, leaning back in his chair. “You’re welcome, Seungmin-ah.”
Felix let out a silent scream, grabbing Jisung’s hand under the table, his boyfriend still oblivious to whatever happened around them and only looking at Felix with a confused frown. Minho busied himself with his coffee instead, cheeks slightly warm.
After the desserts and coffee were gone, the five of them slowly made their way toward the raffle area, winding through the maze of themed booths and pastel streamers that fluttered overhead like kites. The staff had set up a small stage in the courtyard just outside the main cafe, where a few people in oversized Sanrio mascot costumes were dancing to pop songs playing through speakers. A roped-off line had formed for the raffle itself, crowded with kids gripping their receipts like golden tickets, and their parents hovering behind with tired patience.
The staff member overseeing the raffle wore light colors and a Hello Kitty apron, his name tag pinned slightly askew. Children gathered around him in messy little orbits, some pleading, others trying to talk over each other. His smile, softened by dimples, made him immediately appealing to the kids and judging by a few amused sighs, to the parents too.
Despite the chaos, he seemed entirely in his element. Minho, standing a few meters back with the others, couldn't imagine doing the same job. Not that he disliked kids, not at all. But it required a kind of social stamina he simply didn’t have.
“Okay, okay! Let’s settle down a little.” The staff member called out brightly, raising his voice just enough to be heard over the typical child noise. “Hi everyone, I’m Chan. I’ll be your MC for today’s lucky draw.”
The kids screamed as Chan held up the transparent urn of receipts. Minho remembered seeing it earlier near the counter, nestled beside the dessert menu, already half full even then.
“We’re going to draw five order numbers.” Chan continued, tapping the urn for emphasis. “Each number gets a different prize tier, so hang on to those receipts. And try to keep things quiet when I read them out, okay? Help me out here!”
“Are you really doing this?” Hyunjin leaned closer to Seungmin, looking around terrified for the parents controlling their kids.
“I didn’t pay such a price just to not see if I win.” Seungmin muttered.
“Manifesting again,” Felix said, hands pressed together in prayer. Jisung by his side does the same. “What are you aiming for, Seungmin?”
“Any is fine, I just want to feel like I didn’t waste money for nothing. And I want to at least take home one plushie.”
“Minho-hyung already gave you this charm, don’t be too greedy.” Hyunjin said, holding the Pochacco freebie Seungmin immediately hung on his messenger bag as soon as Minho gifted him.
Seungmin had a suspicious pink flush on his cheeks as he pinched Hyunjin's ribs. “If I get any Cinnamoroll I'm giving it to one of these kids right in front of you.”
“Yah!” Hyunjin scowled, pushing him slightly. They don't continue the banter only because they get distracted by the noise as Chan reaches into the box and pulls the first slip of paper.
“Here we go… Number 14!”
A pause. Somewhere behind them, a shriek.
Minho turned instinctively. A little boy had leapt into the air, waving his receipt while his mother tried to hold him still long enough to confirm the number.
“Hi there, champ.” Chan said as they reached the front. He bent slightly to the boy’s level, carefully comparing both receipts before giving the child a wide smile. “All good! Looks like you’re our first winner today.”
The boy was beaming, too giddy to speak.
“For fifth place,” Chan explained directly to his mother, holding up a prize sheet. “You’ll get a voucher for 25% of your order’s value and a 10% discount on merch for your favorite character. Who’s it gonna be?”
The boy hesitated, eyes darting to his mom. She nodded encouragingly. In a soft voice he whispered his answer so only Chan could hear.
“Tuxedosam? Excellent taste. Hope you get something cool buddy.”
Chan handed over a small voucher envelope and gave the boy’s head a gentle ruffle before waving back towards his mother.
“Okay, okay.” Chan said, shaking the urn again with exaggerated flair. “Next number…”
Seungmin rolled his neck slightly, eyes narrowed on the box like he was trying to will his number into existence.
“Number 9!”
No reaction at first, then a teenager near the back lifted her receipt tentatively, and her friend screamed before dragging her toward the front. Another prize was handed out, then another, until Chan finally reached for the last one.
“Final number! This is for first place: full voucher off your order, 80% off your favorite and non-favorite characters, plus a full 10cm plush set of some Sanrio stars.” Chan dipped his hand into the transparent urn again, stirred once, and pulled out the last receipt. He fumbles a little to properly read the number before exclaiming, “Number 22!”
There was a beat of silence before Hyunjin let out a short gasp.
“Wait— Seungmin, that’s you right?!”
Seungmin was already checking his receipt with shaking fingers. Then a small, stunned laugh left his lips.
“Y-Yeah… Yes, that's right!”
The group erupted in cheers. Hyunjin grabbed his wrist and shook it wildly, while Jisung shouted something about divine justice. Minho just smiled, watching Seungmin walk stiffly to the front, too dazed to worry himself with looking awkward. Chan greeted him like he had the others, but there was a brief pause as he took in Seungmin’s age (and perhaps the fact that he wasn’t jumping with joy like some of the kids before).
Still, he smiled. “Congratulations, lucky winner. Number 22, first place.”
Seungmin offered a polite nod and murmured a ‘thank you’ as he accepted the envelope, trying to avoid attention even as Chan handed him the voucher ticket and a plush set wrapped in a pink net bag.
“I never win anything,” Seungmin said, staring down at the prize voucher as if it might disappear. He had a soft smile as he spoke. “Feels weird.”
Hyunjin leaned in to peek at it. “You actually got it. That’s insane.”
“What do you have there?” Jisung asked from behind Felix, arms wrapped around his boyfriend's waist.
Seungmin rummages through the bag. “There's 5 plushies, uh… Pekkle, Wish Me Mell, Usahana, Pochacco and… oh, who is that?” He sounds amused as he dives his hand in, pulling the last with a smile. A purple head comes up and Seungmin smiles widely.
“Woah, didn't expect her to be there.” Felix said, surprised.
“Neither did I.” Seungmin said and then he turned to Minho. “Here.”
“Huh?”
“I’m giving this away to some of the kids.” Seungmin replied calmly. “But if you, or uh, any of you guys– w-want any of these, I can give it to you.”
“I'll gladly accept that Usahana plushie, thank you very much.” Felix is quick to answer, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
“You'll obviously keep Pochacco,” Hyunjin commented, rolling his eyes. “But I'll take Pekkle, thank you Minnie.”
Seungmin offers the last two plushies to Jisung but the boy smiles softly at him while declining.
Minho is still a bit startled.
“You're not only doing that because of earlier, right?” He asked carefully. “You said you still like her so–”
“I already have a voucher and a discount, I don’t need that much.” Seungmin held the plushie in his arms as he folded the voucher paper neatly and slipped it back into the envelope it came in. Then he handed it to Minho. “Just as you said, I’d rather it go to someone who’d actually light up because of it.”
“Well, uh… thank you, Seungmin.”
They started weaving back toward the main plaza. The crowd was looser now, some people drifting toward the merch booths while others lingered near the food stands. A blur of pink rushed past and in the next second, Minho felt a small impact against his side. A balloon’s string tangled around his wrist for a heartbeat before almost slipping away.
A little girl stumbled back from the collision, nearly losing her footing, but Seungmin was quicker, steadying her instinctively with a hand to her back.
“Whoa, hey.” He said gently, crouching slightly to her level. “You alright?”
The girl blinked up at them, her cheeks flushed with exertion and embarrassment. “Sorry, sir!”
Minho smiled down at her. “That’s okay. Just be careful, yeah? Are you okay?”
She nodded quickly, brushing the hair from her face.
“Minji!” A woman’s voice called out from a few meters away. A young mother came rushing over, her expression a mix of relief and apology. “I’m so sorry. She’s been a little hyperactive today…”
Seungmin straightened up, waving it off. “No harm done. She’s just excited to be there, right?”
The woman let out a breath, offering a sheepish smile as she looked between the two of them. “Thanks for understanding.”
Seungmin looked at the girl again, then down at the bag still clutched in his hand. He held it for a second, considering. Then without hesitation, he knelt back down and offered it to her.
“Here.” Seungmin said. “Pick one.”
The girl’s eyes widened, as if she wasn’t sure whether she’d heard him correctly, looking back at her mother before looking at Seungmin again. “Really?”
Seungmin’s expression softened. “Take good care of it, yeah?”
The girl pulled the small Wish Me Mell toy into her arms like it was her new favorite toy. Behind her, her mother was already shaking her head in disbelief. “Are you sure? That’s— I mean, you just won that…”
“It’s okay.” Seungmin cut in gently. “I just didn’t want it to go to waste.”
The woman blinked rapidly, clearly caught off guard by the gesture. She placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and murmured a quiet ‘thank you’, sincere and surprised.
“Go on Minji, thank him.” She urged softly.
The little girl looked up at Seungmin again, the stuffed toy squeezed tightly against her chest. “Thank you, sir.” She said, voice barely above a whisper with her eyes already turning glassy, tears threatening to spill.
Seungmin gave her a small nod. “You’re welcome.”
As they turned to leave, Jisung looked at Seungmin like he was the second coming of Christ. “You know you just ruined my perception of humanity, right?”
“How so?” Seungmin asked, head tilted to the side in confusion.
“Now I have no excuse for being selfish ever again!”
Minho chuckled under his breath, falling into step beside Seungmin. “You handled that really well.”
Seungmin shrugged, shaking his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. She will take good care of it, I'm sure.” Minho didn’t reply back, but he was still smiling by the time they walked away towards the merch area.
Jisung nudged Minho as they reached the merch area, trying to play off as accidental as he spoke to Felix. Minho narrowed his eyes, suspicious. “I just got baby fever from that.”
Felix laughed, looping an arm around Minho’s shoulder. “Ah, I think hyung too, right?”
Minho hissed at his best friends, both laughing and running away from him and towards the shelves, where Hyunjin already had distracted himself in awe.
Seungmin had wandered a few steps ahead as well, crouching slightly as he examined a shelf of tiny Pompompurin figures. Minho couldn’t resist peeking over.
“Hey, Minho-ssi.” Seungmin called without looking up. “Which one would you choose?”
Minho crouches beside him to analyse the two specific figurines Seungmin pointed at: one is a small wooden site, with the yellow dog sprawled in a rocking chair, a fan and a watermelon in his paws each. He has a serene expression, and beside him a small table with tea, alongside a small hamster eating a watermelon as well. The second figurine has Minho smiling a bit, with Pompompurin dressed as a farmer and holding a corn on his paw, while the same hamster is inside a small basket filled with corn right beside him.
“Who is the hamster? I don't think I know him.”
“That’s Muffin! Purin's best friend.”
“Oh? I didn’t know that.” Minho answers, and after thinking for a while, he adds, “I like the harvest season one. But, um, it's up to you.”
Seungmin nods, standing up while analyzing both figurines. He doesn't seem to reach a conclusion quickly, so Minho settles to look over the remaining figures in the shelf, surpassing each other in how cute they portray the characters. There’s an explosion of yellow in front of him, mostly because it's Purin's section, and he turns around to find that each character has a specific colored shelf. He faintly hears Hyunjin's voice growing clear, a sign he's approaching him and Seungmin. Jisung and Felix might be together as well.
“Do you… uh, want any? I think you might like some of these.”
Minho blinked at Seungmin's offer. “H-Huh?”
“Uh, I think Hyunjin was right, I was too greedy…” Seungmin chuckles, embarrassed. “Now that I look at everything here I can't even decide what I want, so… if anyone wants anything for their favorite characters, I can grab it for you. Just tell me which one.”
“Oh, really?” Felix’s eyes sparkled, bouncing on the balls of his feet as soon as he heard Seungmin. “You’d do that?”
Seungmin gave a small, modest shrug and Hyunjin clapped his hands together, excited.
“I doubt I’ll find anything here…” Jisung whines, already holding out his small keychain while looking around. “But I'll look around. If I don’t find any it's fine too.”
“You can ask the staff as well, just tell me if you find something you like!”
It was a bit chaotic until everyone picked their gifts, but fortunately everything went well. Seungmin was adamant that everyone picked whatever they wanted, since he had a big voucher to spend and little ideas on what to pick. Felix had the most trouble out of everyone choosing, so he just went with Jisung's suggestion of getting a blindbox. It was a guaranteed pull anyways, out of a MyMelody collection, so Felix would like it after all. The small figurine had the pink bunny in a blue dress and a big blue bow over her pink hood, with heart-shaped cherries by her side.
Jisung unfortunately hadn’t found anything for himself, but nothing he wasn’t prepared for. Minho expected him to get another character, but then Seungmin convinced him to get the small site that depicted Pompompurin and Muffin with the watermelons, with the promise he’d get the yellow dog so Jisung could have the small hamster all for himself. Minho laughed when Seungmin panicked after Jisung started crying, wondering if he did anything wrong, only to hear, “It’s tears of joy, Seungmin, it’s okay” from Felix, who hugged his boyfriend while he cried on his shoulder. Hyunjin by his side could only laugh as well, but with a bit more sympathy than Minho since he chose to caress Jisung’s back to soothe him a little.
Hyunjin had gotten only two keychains of random characters for himself, but Seungmin convinced him to take a small set of all of Cinnamoroll’s friends. More like, he was adamant that Hyunjin did that, since Seungmin probably noticed that his friend didn’t want to feel like he was spending more than what he was supposedly allowed to spend on.
Felix slightly picked on Minho’s pick.
“Why would you choose a crying Kuromi figure?”
“She’s cute even when she’s crying.” Minho answered with a smile, holding the small figure in his hand and showcasing it to everyone.
Seungmin laughed at him, earning him a few butterflies fluttering around on his stomach. Minho suddenly felt self-conscious before Seungmin told him, “It suits you so much.”
By the time everyone had made their final picks and the gift bags were filled, it was almost 5pm. The plaza outside was quieter now, and the late afternoon breeze made the pastel streamers flutter lightly in the air.
Hyunjin stretched his arms high above his head, whining in the process. “Well, that’s enough fun for a day. Minnie, shall we?”
“Yeah. My legs have suffered enough today.”
“Already leaving? But we were just getting started on debating which character has the worst lore.” Jisung pouted.
“Next time, Sungie. Let’s plan round two before the semester ends.” Hyunjin laughed, ruffling Jisung's beanie. He waved goodbye to Felix and Minho as well before tugging Seungmin gently toward the station entrance. The boy hesitated for a second, turning to Minho while adjusting his fake round glasses.
“Hey, Minho-ssi. Today was fun. We should do it again sometime.”
Minho blinked, caught off guard, then felt warmth creep across his cheeks. “Yeah,” he said simply, screaming at himself inside for sounding so dumb. “I’d like that.”
A small smile curved Seungmin’s lips before he reached into his bag and pulled out the little Pompompurin keyring he got for himself earlier. Alongside the dog's small figurine, there was also a bone and a pudding pendant, the pudding shaped like the yellow dog himself. Seungmin placed it in Minho’s hand, closing his fingers gently around it.
“For next time,” Seungmin said, still smiling. “So you don’t forget to show up.”
Heat spread up Minho’s neck so fast it made his ears burn. He could never imagine that with Seungmin’s nerd appearance he'd be so straightforward like this.
“U-Uh– yeah, I–” he managed. “I-I’ll be there.”
“It's a promise, then.”
Jisung elbowed Minho the second they were out of earshot. “Hyuuung,” he whispered dramatically, eyes shining. “Can't believe a nerd outdid you. Step up your game!”
Minho rolled his eyes and raised a fist, making Jisung squeak and hide behind Felix's laughing figure. But he couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his mouth as they walked away anyway, so maybe that was a good sign after all.