the view | minsung

16

ever since jisung left the room, minho found himself growing increasingly bored. not even his phone could entertain him anymore. he decided to stand up from his place, changing into more suitable clothes before leaving his shared hotel room.

as he entered the lobby, his eyes immediately landed on jisung conversing happily with the flight attendants from their flight. seeing jisung happily conversed with the others, minho felt an unfamiliar sensation welling up inside him once again.

with little else to do in the lobby, he wasted no time and made his way over to the group. as he approached, he began to catch snippets of their conversation.

"that's okay! just tell us who's the most handsome person you've seen around here," one of the girls in the group was saying.

minho paused in his tracks, not taking another step as he became curious to hear the topic they were discussing.

"alright, i have an answer," he heard jisung announce.

'are they discussing the most handsome crew members from the airlines?' he wondered, intrigued by the topic of conversation.

continuing to eavesdrop, minho overheard jisung add, "by the way, this is just based on my opinion. it doesn't mean anything, okay?"

minho had positioned himself at a moderate distance from the group - not too far away to be unnoticed, yet not too close to intrude on their discussion. he watched and waited, his heart fluttering with a mixture of hope and trepidation. part of him wished that jisung would choose him, while another part felt a sense of embarrassment at the thought.

"captain hwang hyunjin," was the answer jisung ultimately provided.

upon hearing that response, minho couldn't quite fathom the emotions surging within him. as if driven by an invisible force, he took a few steps closer to the group. the flight attendants noticed his approach, their attention drawn to him.

minho stood there, his eyes fixed on jisung, waiting for the younger to recognize his presence just behind him.

"what...?" he heard jisung ask.

sana then suddenly pointed at minho, and at that, minho saw jisung flinch, likely having sensed the presence behind him. but before jisung could even turn his head, minho opened his mouth, "not me?"

jisung felt like his soul dissipated due to minho's sudden appearance behind him. startled, he rose from his seat and bowed to greet minho, his words stumbling over each other, "h-hello, captain lee. good morning."

minho simply inclined his head slightly, indicating with a nod that jisung could sit back down. jisung returned to his chair, his movements cautious and unsure, the awkwardness of the situation palpable.

an uncomfortable silence settled over the group, the flight attendants exchanged knowing glances, pressing their lips together, afraid that even a slight slip of the tongue might lead the captain to kick their ass off the flight during the return trip.

breaking the silence, minho turned his attention to jisung with a question laden with concealed sarcasm, "so, jisung, why hyunjin?"

the flight attendants exchanged more meaningful glances, the tension in the room increasing. jisung felt as if he were being interrogated, his mind racing to find the right words under minho's scrutiny.

"well... he's undeniably handsome, so i guess..." jisung's voice trailed off, his response hanging in the air.

minho's gaze bore into jisung, his eyes seemingly penetrating the younger's thoughts. in the midst of the tense atmosphere, minho's voice cut through like a blade, his question direct and unfiltered, "do you like him?"