𝒮ℴ𝓊𝓁𝓂𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓈 | 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓊𝓃ℊ |

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 V

The two walked hand in hand, stealing occasional glances at one another until they reached Jisung's apartment building. "You're okay with coming in right? I won't take no for an answer!" Jisung quickly added, how could Minho possibly say no. They made their way to the highest floor of the building, where Jisung's apartment was. 

"Come in" he grabbed Minho's wrist, pulling him into the apartment. It wasn't the biggest apartment, but it sure was cozy. "I'm gonna go shower, I'll be back super fast, you can sit wherever you want, or wait in my room!" Jisung's voice faded with every word spoken as he ran into his room. He took a quick shower, changing into a bear pajama set, giving himself one last look in the bathroom mirror. 

As he walked out, he was startled to see Minho sitting on his bed. The smell of vanilla filled the room due to Jisung's scented shampoo, making Minho crave him even more. He got off the bed, making his way towards his boyfriend. Jisung ran into the bathroom, causing Minho to stop in his tracks. Seconds later, he came out holding a towel, handing it to the elder, and slowly waddling over to sit on the ground directly in front of his bed. Minho let out a small chuckle, realizing what his boyfriend wanted. He went over to the bed, placing Jisung between his legs as he dried the younger's hair. 

"Hyung?" There had been a question on Jisung's mind he'd been meaning to ask, but the timing was never right, but now felt like a good time. "Hm?" Minho replied, gently drying the younger's fluffy hair. "The first day you came to the convenience store, why were you going to buy those things?". The gentle massage came to a stop, causing Jisung to look up at the disconcerted boy. This question was one he knew would be asked, and Jisung had every right to ask, but he didn't have an answer, at least that's what Minho had convinced himself to think. 

"And why did you ask me not to buy them?" Minho asked, genuinely curious as to what led the younger to stop him. Jisung turned his body toward Minho, resting his chin onto one of Minho's knees, drawing small circles with his finger on the elders thigh. "I was scared" he whispered. Minho ran his hand through the younger's hair, "Of?". "I was scared you'd do something to yourself. When I looked into your eyes I couldn't help but feel a connection. Despite being complete strangers, I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to you". Jisung's voice gradually grew smaller, recalling the memories of their first meeting. 

What if he didn't stop Minho from buying that stuff? That simple thought drove Jisung crazy. Minho picked him off the ground, placing the younger onto his leg. "Will you hear me out if I tell you?". Jisung gave quick nods, "I'll always hear you out hyung". Minho set him down beside him on the bed, intertwining their hands. For now he only planned on telling Jisung part of the story. 

"My mom died when I was around 10, and I was raised by my father after that. To put it simply, we don't have a good relationship. That day I came to the convenience store was her death anniversary. She meant the world to me, and never once did I feel anything since the day she left." Jisung ran his hand up and down the other's arm, letting Minho rest his head onto his shoulder. "I couldn't take it any longer, so I decided to join her". Jisung's breathing grew heavier as he took all that Minho said in. "Hyung..." Minho sat up, resting his hands on either sides of Jisung's face. "But then you came along, my angel".

Minho used his thumb to wipe away the falling tears from his boyfriend's soft cheeks. "You saved me Jisung". Jisung let out a sob, grabbing Minho's hands that were still on his cheeks. "Hyung...if I- If I didn't stop you there, you would have...I don't know what I would do". He could barely speak as the thoughts of the elder not being in this world flooded his mind. "Hey, look at me." Jisung slowly looked up, letting out a few hiccup-like sobs. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere". The younger of the two closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths repeating the words he's here in his mind. "Let's not waste our time thinking about things that didn't occur, hm?". Jisung put on a forced smile, nodding his head. 

"You can take a shower if you'd like, I'll make something to eat." Minho returned the smile, making his way towards the bathroom. Jisung sat on the bed for a few moments longer, blushing as the sound of the shower turned on. He let out a gasp, lightly slapping his face a few times as if doing so will rid his mind of such thoughts, before making his way towards the kitchen. Jisung settled on making ramen, since realistically that's all he really knew how to make. 

As if on cue, Minho stepped out the room just as he had finished making the ramen. "Foods ready-" Jisung stopped in his tracks as he turned around, noticing Minho standing there with nothing but a towel around his waist. "I don't have extra clothes". Jisung quickly turned to the side, "O-oh yeah". He let out a nervous chuckle, running past the elder into his room. Minho noticed his strange behavior, realizing the effect he had on the other. 

Jisung went through his drawers, trying to find something that would fit Minho's bigger build. As he was doing so, he felt a presence behind him. The flustered boy nervously continued going through the drawers, finding a large t-shirt and a pair of his baggiest sweats. When Jisung stood up, he realized he was trapped in between his boyfriend's arms who was leaning his hands onto the dressing table behind. Jisung fought all his urges in order to not look at the elder's body. He settled on looking at the ground, until his eyes fell upon the arms he was trapped in. 

There were many faded scars on them. Minho noticed the worried expression on his boyfriend's face, and followed his gaze only to realize he had forgotten all about those scars. "Hey, don't worry about those, they're old". Jisung took hold of Minho's right arm, gazing upon it, before gently kissing the faded scars and doing the same to the other. "Just because it's old doesn't mean it didn't happen, and I wanna love all of you hyung, including the you who was once hurt. I wanna love you when you're happy and when you're sad. I wanna love you when you're healed and when you're scarred, I wanna love the parts you show and the parts you hide". 

Minho's breath was once again taken away by the words spoken by the younger. "You really are something else Han Jisung" Minho muttered, tucking a few strands of hair behind Jisung's ear. His eyes finally landed onto Minho's toned body, causing him to gulp. Minho noticed this, putting on a smirk, "Like what you see?". Flustered, Jisung shoved the clothes towards his boyfriend, running out the room. He changed into the oversized black t-shirt and sweatpants before making his way towards the living room. 

A warm feeling rushed through Jisung seeing his boyfriend in his clothes. "Sit here", Jisung pat the spot on the ground next to him. Two ramen bowls were placed on the coffee table in front of them. "Is there anything you wanna watch hyung?", Jisung asked with a mouth full of ramen. Minho took one look at Jisung before letting out a loud laugh. Jisung could have sworn it was the prettiest thing he had ever heard, but ignored that fact and wondered what was so funny. "You really are the cutest squirrel ever, my cutest squirrel" Minho ruffled the younger's hair, taking a bite of the ramen himself. 

Jisung's furrowed his brows, confused as to what his boyfriend meant. "I thought I was your angel" he mumbled, turning away from Minho, who hugged the sulking boy's side. Even angry Jisung was adorable to him. "Leave me alone" Jisung pouted, trying to wiggle through his boyfriend's embrace. "Let's watch Your Name" Minho suggested, still hugging Jisung's side. The younger's eyes grew wide, as he slowly turned back towards his boyfriend. "You know about that film..?" Minho nodded his head. "You really are perfect, aren't you?" Jisung whispered, unbeknownst to the smirk Minho was trying to hold back.

He hadn't actually watched it, but knew Jisung liked that film due to the novel that was in his room. When Jisung was taking a shower, Minho had invited himself into the younger's room, trying to figure out possible hobbies and interests of his. He noticed the many poetry books which made sense since Jisung's choice of words were always beautifully phrased. The guitar which rested against the wall gave away that Jisung must know, or must be learning how to play it. There were a few psychology and astronomy books as well some romance ones, he must like to read, Minho figured. The plants and squishmellows scattered across the room seemed to fit in perfectly with Jisung's attentive and adorable nature.

The couple comfortably sat in each other's embrace as the movie played, and 2 hours had never passed this fast before. It was around 1am when the movie ended, and Jisung was exhausted. Having the warmth of Minho made him feel even more at ease. "Sleep here with me" Jisung softly spoke, letting out a yawn. Minho slowly laid Jisung on the inner side of the couch, placing himself on the outside. After getting settled, Jisung cuddled close into Minho's chest, as the elder soothingly rubbed his boyfriend's back. "Goodnight hyung". "Night Hannie". And with those exchanged words, the two drifted off into sleep, awaiting one another in their dreams.