good parts ;; minsung

twelve

It was as if the trajectory of their relationship had changed overnight, because that one moment of vulnerability from Jisung caused the two's bond to strengthen almost immediately. Jisung clearly trusted him more than ever — it was just obvious in his eyes as they glanced at one another with sleepy gazes.

"Do you have work today?" Jisung croaked, clearing his throat immediately as he sat up from the bed. He lied back down when Minho shook his head silently. "Oh, so we can sleep in."

"I'd agree, but I have laundry to do," Minho chuckled as he got up. "You can sleep. I'm just gonna take a quick shower and then check my uni forum."

"Got any plans?"

"Shopping for dinner," Minho replied, tossing the duvet off himself and getting out of bed. "Any ideas? I was thinking of udon and... pork."

Jisung nodded, stretching his arms above his head. Minho walked to his kitchen, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Jisung reached under his pillow, checking his social media while Minho got ready for the day. Jisung glanced at a message from an unknown number, frowning as he checked the preview in his notification bar.

'hey, jisung — it's me.'

He stared at the message with confused eyes, eventually tapping into it. It was sent at almost 2 in the morning, which was an unusual time to message someone. To be fair, Jisung was usually awake at 2am, but things changed when he began sleeping over at Minho.

'Who is this?'

Jisung put his phone down, not expecting an immediate response, but as soon as he dropped his phone onto the pillow beside him, it dinged with the arrival of a new message.

'it's hyunjin :)'

Jisung stared at the message for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and putting his phone down. "Fuck..."

"Something wrong, Sungie?"

Jisung looked up at Minho, holding his breath at the curious look in his eyes. He contemplated telling the other everything, but maybe spilling everything that had ever happened in his life wouldn't be wise. Jisung feared losing Minho's support — he was the only one there for him. His painfully tragic life would only make Minho pity him further.

"... N-no, nothing's wrong."

Minho hummed, walking over to the other and sitting on the edge of the bed. "From what I've learnt about you, that's a lie. Come on — what's bothering you, Jisung?"

Jisung bit his lips together nervously as he sat up from the bed. "I just got a message from... an old friend. I say old friend, b-but... it's actually an embarrassing story..."

"I'm all ears."

Jisung held his breath for a moment as he prepared himself mentally to talk. "Hwang Hyunjin and I... knew each other in high school. I think we liked one another, but when I tried to tell him how I feel because it was getting kind of serious, he... left. He started at an art school in another part of the country and I never saw him since. I fell out of love, b-but... he just contacted me."

Minho hummed as he nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. "This could be an opportunity for you."

"An... o-opportunity...?"

"Well, maybe getting to know someone romantically will be a step forward in emotional recovery!" Minho suggested with a grin. "If you get a boyfriend, then maybe it'll be an... extra source of happiness."

Jisung looked down at his lap. "But I don't...— yeah. Maybe."

"So talk to him — catch up with him. At least be his friend," Minho said as he stood up. "You clearly don't have many friends. Maybe... meeting up with one will be the first step forward."

"What if he thinks I'm a weirdo now? I wear cat ears on the internet, hyung," Jisung scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Should I tell him im a Twitch streamer...?"

"Whatever makes you comfortable, Sungie," Minho said with a shrug. "Hopefully he doesn't mind — I don't, but I'm generally very accepting, so I'm an outlier in outside opinions."

Jisung lowered his body to the bed with a sigh, lifting his phone quietly. Minho's smile fell as he stopped in the bathroom, closing the door behind himself and leaning against it quietly. He had no idea why he didn't fight. Even after admitting to himself how he felt about Jisung, he gave him off so easily.

"Idiot..."

•

"Jisung has a boyfriend?!"

Minho rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he leaned against the shopping cart. "He doesn't have a boyfriend, Hanni. He just... he's meeting up with someone he used to have feelings for."

"Minho..."

"What? Are you pitying me, Hanni?" Minho laughed, turning to face the teenager. Hanni's eyes were no longer playful and instead displayed real sympathy. "Hanni, it's... it's okay. I just want him to be happy."

"But didn't you want to be part of his journey to recovery?" Hanni asked softly. "It's going to be so sad if after you help him, he'll just... leave to be with someone else."

"I didn't want him to fall in love or whatever," Minho said softly, his tone becoming more weak as he matched Hanni's seriousness. "Yeah, I... like him, but... I just want him to eventually find purpose. Jisung doesn't like himself very much, and I wanted to change that so that he could at least tolerate himself."

"You should tell him how you feel before he... leaves," Hanni said, placing a hand on his arm. "I know this is going to hurt you more than you'll ever show, and I don't like it when you're sad. It's extremely rare and I don't want you to... hurt yourself so that someone else can be happy. It's not like you. Please — be a little more selfish, okay?"

"Hanni, it won't be the end of the world if he dates someone that isn't me," Minho chuckled. "Anyways, go choose a snack. The meat's gonna defrost at this rate."