good parts ;; minsung

fourteen

Minho hated the eery silence of the night. He felt odd without Jisung in his apartment. He held his phone in his hand, glancing at Jisung's contact. He felt at extreme odds with himself. If Jisung and this old friend of his got together, he feared he'd be more scarce in Jisung's life. That potential partner would be his source of happiness, wouldn't he? Jisung would no longer need Minho for support.

Hanni was right — he was a weakling.

If Jisung was still in love with this old friend of his, Minho wondered if he was intruding by kissing his cheek — if every action up until then made him uncomfortable. Was he intruding rather than helping? Forcing Jisung to sleep over at his place probably wasn't the wisest of moves, then. What if he was too pressing?

Minho lowered his phone, staring into the pitch black darkness before closing his eyes. He didn't want to overthink it. Jisung meant a lot to him, but not enough to be insistent and annoying about it. He cared deeply for Jisung — but maybe it was just for his wellbeing the entire time.

•

"You're still asleep?"

Minho laughed as he allowed Soojin into his apartment, grabbing a beanie on one of the shelves and putting it over his messy hair. "Sorry, it's my day off, so I thought I could sleep in. Anything I can help you with, Soojin-ah?"

"Well, I have some good news for you," she began. "I know you're all moved in and settled, but... an apartment opened up four floors up. We got an application from a mother and father in their 40s with three kids, and she wanted an apartment on the lower floors. I came up to you personally and wanted to know if you're okay with moving upstairs."

Minho froze for a moment. "Upstairs? But they're much bigger upstairs, so wouldn't my rent increase...?"

"I know, it's a lot to ask," Soojin chuckled, "but they've got three kids and want to minimalise as many accidents as possible when it comes to the stairs. Two of them are below 6 years old. You can think about it, but I told them I'll get back to them tonight about an opening."

Minho sighed softly, and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Soojin, you're so inconvenient~!"

"You don't need to! I can ask the streamer next door to move upstairs, too," she said with a shrug. "We've gotten noise complaints about him before. I'm sure the upstairs neighbours won't mind — they're probably noisier than what he is. Actually... you're fine, Minho. I'll ask Jisung-ssi if he's willing."

Minho pressed out a quiet smile, deciding not to mention that he actually preferred Jisung beside him as opposed to a family of five. "Does the upstairs apartment have two rooms?"

"It does, but it's only a few square metres bigger than this one, so the rooms are quite... small," she said with a chuckle. "The rent upstairs will be bumped up by a mere ₩11,000 compared to this one just for the utility of a second room. I'm not sure if I can convince Han Jisung-ssi, so please think about it."

Minho nodded, bowing his head as Soojin left the apartment with a wave of her hand. Minho didn't want to create distance between himself and Jisung, but maybe it was a sign from the universe that it was time for space. It hurt him more to create distance than to admit to Jisung that he had feelings for him.

But Jisung saw him as a support system — he couldn't just leave.

Minho walked to his room, realising that Hanni was awake. She had clearly been listening in. "Are you going to take the upstairs apartment?"

"If your plan after high school is still to move in with me, then maybe the extra room will be useful," Minho replied, stretching his arms above his head. "You're growing up, Hanni. You're going to want privacy, and I don't want to keep sleeping on the couch in my own home."

"But... Jisung...—"

"He's a grown person, Hanni. He has his new boyfriend."

Hanni seemed disappointed. "Come on..."

"I should create some space to get over my feelings for him," Minho told her. "I'll still support him. I'll still be his friend, Hanni. I don't think I can be around him so often and move on at the same time."

"Then tell him how you feel," Hanni sighed heavily as she deflated her body onto the bed. "You're so frustrating. Honestly, I hope this new relationship of his doesn't work out. I hope his heart is broken and shattered, and he turns to you for comfort, and you finally kiss him because you're both madly in love—"

"Hanni!"

"I'm serious! That guy doesn't deserve him!" Hanni exclaimed, suddenly sitting up at the speed of light and pointing a finger at Minho dramatically. "He's supposed to be yours. Don't you like him?"

"Yes, but—"

"No buts! You're going on a date with him today!"

Minho just rolled his eyes with a sigh, picking his phone up from the carpet where he had dropped it the previous night. "Whatever. Just get done. The PC room is going to be full of LoL players before the afternoon, so if you want to make it, you better be done before 11am."

"Yessir," Hanni sighed, getting out the bed and picking her backpack up. "I'm showering first, then. It takes longer for me to do my hair. Tell Jisung that I want to start playing Genshin, so he needs to come with so that he can show me the ropes."

"Don't bother Jisung."

"I'll message him myself — I have his number."

"Hanni, get the hint."

"Oh, I got the hint — I just don't care."

"... just get done."

(i'm bored at work so i'm publishing these as i write them lol stan xikers)