EX // Minsung

41. Defeated

"My dad never visits me." Minho stated once Lewis had finally convinced Jisung to visit Minho.
Now Minho sat in bed while the two other boys were seated around the bed. Lewis at one side, Jisung at the other.

"That's why it's odd." Minho continued. "He purposely put me in a room at the end of the building. So he wouldn't have to see me."

Lewis leaned back in his chair. It slightly creaked trying to support Lewis's muscles.
That's right, Jisung thought to himself while observing Lewis, Wooyoung is lucky to have a guy like Lewis.
But of course we all knew that. Lewis was handsome, muscular, attentive, caring and a good friend.
The only thing he lacks is height. Jisung chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Minho snapped at Jisung. Immediately the boy's furrowed eyebrows softened and the edges turned down. "I'm sorry."

Minho was getting better at that. Checking his own behaviour. And apologising for it.

"I'm sorry too, my head wasn't with the conversation." Jisung admitted.

"Okay back to the point." Lewis waved his hands to bring the attention back. "Why was Minho's dad in his room on this particular day?"

Minho sighed and fumbled with the bedsheets, thinking about what the reason might have been.
Jisung noticed and reached out to Minho. Wrapping his own fingers around Minho's to comfort him.

"The only time my dad ever really pays attention to me is when..." Minho squeezed Jisung's hand. "when he wants to get me away from boys."

"But still that wouldn't make any sense." Jisung protested. "He couldn't have known."

The three boys sat in silence for a couple of minutes, theorising to themselves what could have happened.
The obvious was that Minho's dad must have somehow found out the boys were together. But they could have been at Jisung's place or have gone off campus.

"Do you think one of the girls tattled?" Lewis finally said.

Minho shook his head. "Probably not, just like Wooyoung they promised to keep it to themselves."

They sat in silence, somehow waiting for the answer to come to them. For a moment Jisung thought of letting it go, but then he looked at Minho again. Minho's face was still swollen from the knuckles to his face he had taken. The sunshine that came from through the window, softly shone onto Minho's face. He looked bruised and beaten, but never ugly. Minho could never look ugly. He was one of the most handsome boys Jisung had ever met.

No. He wouldn't let this go. He would find out what the reason was Minho's dad came to find them that day and make sure no good deed goes unpunished.

"It must have been someone who knew Minho and I would be together that evening." Jisung concluded. "If it was no one from the party, someone must have been stalking the hallways that night."

"Normally I would ask if anyone here has a grudge against you," Lewis looked at Minho. "but you're so well liked, I doubt it."

"There is one person though." Minho's face turned sour. Sour in the way you know a lemon is sour before you bite into it, but tasting it already. "Yeonwoo."

"True, but let's be real." Lewis said. "Why would he be in the hallway at four in the morning?"

"Does it matter?" Minho asked. "He hates my guts and he would do anything to rat me out."

Angrily he ripped the covers from himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "FUCK. He exposed me to my dad before, he wouldn't hesitate to do it again."

From behind, Lewis put his hand on Minho's shoulder and pressed him against the bed again. It looked easy enough for him, but Jisung could see Lewis's fingers firmly curling around Minho's muscles.

With defeat Minho let himself fall onto the bed again and sighed.

"Can't it just go right for once?" Minho wondered out loud. Jisung felt for him. How long he must've been lonely or felt empty and then when he finally came to terms with his sexuality and got into a loving relationship, it all backfired again.

In this way, Jisung often wondered if Minho's life would've been easier if he wasn't in it. What if they never met at the library? What if Lewis and Minho were never friends or if Jisung never got paired with Lewis as roommates? What if Minho had just continued to date girls?

"Jisung, you okay?" Lewis asked and waved his hands in front of Jisung's vision.

"I'm sorry what?" He didn't even realise that he had spaced out. He must have had a sad expression on his face for Lewis to ask about him. Jisung couldn't help it, in moments like these he did feel sad. Sad for Minho, sad for Lewis who had to constantly solve their problems and a little sad for himself. Jisung felt like he was constantly causing problems for Minho.

"You look a little pale." Lewis noted. When Minho looked at Jisung too, he grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry Jisung, I won't let anyone hurt you." Minho caressed the back of Jisung's palm with his thumb.

Jisung looked at their hands. Minho's knuckles weren't bruised, they showed no sign of struggle. He hadn't fought back. Now that Jisung thought about it, all he had heard was yelling and someone landing a couple of hits. Looking at Minho's state, it probably wasn't him who did the beating. That meant that Minho had just let it happen. To protect Jisung.

"It's not that." Jisung shook his head. Tears were already forming in his eyes, he didn't mind that it showed. "I feel like I'm hurting you just by being with you."

"Jisung..."

"Do you ever think things would've been better for you if we never met." The words came out so honestly painful, it was felt in the room.

Lewis stood up, pushing the chair back. "Maybe I should leave the two of you to talk for a little. Call me when you need me, I'll stay in the hospital."

Jisung nodded and Lewis left.

When Jisung looked back at Minho, Minho was already looking at him. Without a sound, wet drops escaped the corners of Minho's eyes and rushed down his cheeks.

"Minho-"

"Don't ever say that again. I don't even want to imagine my life without you. We've gone through so much, I don't want to lose you." Minho kept looking at Jisung. Their eyes laser focussed on the other, not being able to escape the other's gaze.

"You're being a real hypocrite." Jisung chuckled through his upcoming tears. "Last time you tried so hard to push me away, but now you're not letting me go."

But Minho didn't laugh. Losing Jisung wasn't a joke to him.

They sat in silence and let the air around them become heavy. So heavy it pressed on their mouths and throats. Neither one of them knew what to say to the other to make it all feel better.

Then Minho's fingers curled around Jisung's hand and squeezed tightly. He didn't need words for Jisung to understand.
They were going to solve this problem and they were going to solve this together. No one should stand in the way of their love.

Now all they needed was a plan.