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Walking out of the school building, the first thing Minhee noticed was how dark it had gotten.
“Jesus,” he mumbled, turning his head to face his best friend, Seongmin, “I didn’t realise how long we had been in the library until we got kicked out.”
Seongmin hummed in agreement, shoving his hands in the pockets of his uniform pants. He held back a yawn, the hours of studying catching up to him and draining his energy.
“Honestly. Time flies when you’re busy struggling with bullshit math homework.”
The pair laughed, both secretly happy to be going home even though they hadn’t entirely finished their work.
“What time is it?”
“I don’t know. Let me check.” Minhee pulled up his sleeve slightly so he could look at the watch on his wrist. He squinted, the clock hands being hard to see in the darkness. “It’s, uh... about 6:30.”
They had finally reached the end of the school gates, and Seongmin motioned to the bus stop across the street, all while keeping his hands in his pockets.
“I think the 12 comes in a few minutes. We could wait for it.”
Minhee nodded, knowing that Seongmin was just too tired to walk all the way home.
“Yeah, why not. I’m pretty tired too.”
They walked to the edge of the road, looking both ways to ensure they were safe to cross.
No cars were in sight, so they quickly ran over to the bus stop.
Seongmin immediately slumped down onto one of the seats within the shelter, taking his bag off his back and hugging it into his chest. He patted the other seat, as a way to ask Minhee to sit beside him. Minhee did so, placing his backpack on the ground by his feet.
Once he was comfortable, or as comfortable as one can be on a bus stop seat, Minhee looked at Seongmin, who was now using his bag as some kind of pillow to lay his chin on.
“Try not to fall asleep there. I don’t think I could carry you onto the bus with both of of our bags too.”
Seongmin scoffed.
“I’m not that tired, idiot.” Seongmin’s words caused a gentle smile to grow on Minhee’s face.
“I know, I’m joking.” His attention stayed on Seongmin, as the younger blinked frantically to try keep his eyes open.
Yawning loudly, Seongmin hugged his bag a little tighter, turning his head so his cheek was pressed against it.
“I’m cold.” He mumbled, a shiver racking through his body.
Without another word, Minhee started looking in his bag.
“What are you doing?” Seongmin sat up, watching as Minhee was trying to get something out from the very bottom of his bag.
“I have a sweater with me. My mom always makes me bring one to school.” Seongmin was about to object, but Minhee was already pulling the soft material out, being careful not to let any of the items that were previously on top of it fall onto the ground. “You can have it.”
Minhee shoved the clothing into Seongmin’s hands, and the younger shook his head.
“Nah, it’s fine. I don’t wanna take your stuff from you.” When Seongmin tried to give the item back, Minhee refused.
“Seongmin, come on, you’re cold. I’m giving it to you. It’s not like I ever wear it, anyway.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, of course. You don’t even have to keep it, just wear it for now so you don’t freeze.”
Seongmin reached over to softly ruffle Minhee’s hair.
“Thank you. You’re sweet.”
Minhee pushed Seongmin’s hand away with a grin.
“Don’t mention it.”
Seongmin put the sweater on, immediately feeling the extra warmth. Minhee held back a laugh at how Seongmin’s hair had gotten slightly messed up after he had pulled the sweater over his head.
“Warm?”
Seongmin nodded, noticing how the long sleeves covered up his hands entirely. He pulled them up slightly, just so his fingertips were visible.
And, for some reason, Minhee thought Seongmin looked extremely cute in that moment.
Before he could dwell on that thought, he saw a bright light appear at the corner of his eye.
“Oh, it’s the bus!” Seongmin shot up from his seat, and stuck his arm out so the bus driver knew to stop. “Come on, Minhee!”
Minhee stumbled up too, throwing his bag over his shoulder, while Seongmin rummaged through his for his wallet.
“Wait, shit, Seongmin... I don’t have fare.”
“No problem. I’ll pay for you to get on too. That’s what good friends are for.”
Minhee patted the younger on the shoulder in gratitude, stepping onto the bus behind him.
“You’re the best.” He whispered, as they came face to face with the driver.
“Hey, um, can we have two singles please?”
Seongmin placed a few coins down in front of the driver, who took them, printed off two tickets and handed them to Seongmin along with a couple of different coins.
Seongmin smiled, contrasting the slight frown on the drivers face.
“Thank you!” He crumpled one of the tickets in his hand, keeping the other intact for Minhee, striding up the bus to take the seat at the very back.
There wasn’t many others on the bus, aside from a young girl who was dressed up nicely, presumably on her way to meet friends, an older lady who seemed to be on her way home from work, judging by her uniform, and a man with a couple of shopping bags. Seongmin gave them all a nod of acknowledgment.
The bus began to move almost immediately after the boys had sat, Seongmin turning to look out of the window.
The warmth of Minhee’s sweater, combining with the movement of the bus, was making Seongmin feel even sleepier than he was before. So, instinctively, his head fell onto Minhee’s shoulder.
Minhee tensed up momentarily, looking down Seongmin. He smiled.
“Comfy there?”
“Eh, you’re kinda bony. But it’s better than nothing.”
Minhee found it amusing that Seongmin’s personality never changes even when he’s so tired.
“Wow, okay.”
From this angle, Minhee couldn’t see Seongmin’s face very well, but he could’ve sworn the younger’s face was slightly red. He assumed it was just due to being out in the cold earlier.
“Hey, Minhee?” The elder hummed, so Seongmin knew to continue. “What are you doing at the weekend?”
Minhee took a second to think.
“Probably nothing. Why, do you wanna hang out this weekend?”
Seongmin nodded his head.
“Yeah. We could call some of the others, too.”
Minhee watched as Seongmin adjusted his position, snuggling more into his side.
“Alright. Sounds good.”
For the next couple of minutes, the boys stayed quiet. Neither of them could think of anything else to say, and they were both comfortable with that fact.
The sound of Minhee quietly sighing was the first thing to break the silence.
“It’s almost my stop.”
Seongmin slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“Really? That seemed quick.”
Minhee raised an eyebrow at Seongmin.
“Probably because you were almost asleep.”
Seongmin playfully punched Minhee in the arm.
“Shut up.”
As they got closer to Minhee’s street, he started preparing to get off. After the stop just before his, he pressed the buzzer. He stood up, and looked back at Seongmin.
“Text me when you’re home, okay?”
Seongmin gave him a thumbs up.
“Thanks for letting me use you as a pillow for the last ten minutes.”
Minhee chuckled.
“Anytime. See you later.”
Seongmin sleepily smiled up at him.
“Bye.”
The bus came to a halt, and Minhee walked down the aisle, mumbling a thank you to the driver before he got off.
Before it left again, he saw Seongmin waving at him from the window. He waved back with a smile.
And, as the bus drove away, Minhee let out a small sigh.
“Do I have a crush on Seongmin?”
Minhee was relieved to see the entrance to the park not very far in front of him. He sped up his steps, even though he’d been walking rather quickly already, just so he didn’t have to keep his friends waiting for much longer.
It was Saturday, and as they agreed earlier in the week, Minhee and Seongmin had arranged to hang out, along with their friends.
But, in typical Minhee fashion, he slept in, resulting in him being late to meet everyone. When he called them to apologise, they weren’t too fazed, since it definitely wasn’t the first time.
However, it didn’t take him too long to arrive at the park they were meeting up in, since he doesn’t take much time getting ready, it isn’t too far from his house and his legs are long so he’s usually a fast walker.
The park’s entrance was surrounded by trees, some old and some just starting to grow. He passed by a few more trees, bushes, and tennis courts before he reached the playground. He could clearly see his four friends sitting inside one of the pieces of apparatus. When they noticed him, they all cheered, and scrambled up to greet him. Hyeongjun, instead of just hopping out via the climbing frame like the others, opted for coming down the slide.
“Hey guys. Sorry I’m late, again. I thought I would wake up in time but... I guess not.”
Wonjin was the first one in front of him.
“Don’t worry about it. Glad you’re here, sleepyhead.” Wonjin grinned at Minhee.
“Exactly, don’t worry! We love you for who you are, and who you are is a man who hates getting out of bed!” Hyeongjun commented, walking over and quickly wrapping his arms around the taller. Minhee patted him on the head. Taeyoung, who was right behind, snickered at the sight.
“In other words, we’re used to your shit by now.”
“Gee, thanks.” Minhee huffed.
The last to walk over was Seongmin.
“Finally, you’re here. I hope we didn’t interrupt a good dream by spamming you with texts.”
A small smile graced his lips, and Minhee mirrored it.
“Nah, you’re good.”
The first thing Minhee noticed about Seongmin was how pretty he looked right now, under the winter sun. The second thing he noticed was what Seongmin was wearing. Seongmin noticed how Minhee’s facial expression had changed.
“What’s up?”
Minhee pointed at Seongmin’s torso.
“Isn’t that mine?”
Seongmin looked down at himself.
“Oh! Yeah! See, I knew it would probably be cold so I wanted to grab something warm and this was right there so... I just threw it on?” He rubbed his neck nervously. “Sorry, I-I can give it back to you later.”
Minhee waved his hand.
“Nah, it’s okay. Keep it, it suits you.”
Seongmin quietly gasped.
“Really?”
Minhee simply nodded.
“Of course.”
Hyeongjun cleared his throat loudly, and both of the boys looked at him.
“Hey, you two! We’re thinking about going to the store for food so... Are you down?”
Seongmin clapped his hands.
“Ooh, yes! I’m hungry!”
Minhee laughed a little at Seongmin’s enthusiasm.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”
On the way to the store, Seongmin walked with Hyeongjun and Taeyoung, while Minhee and Wonjin walked slightly behind.
At a random point in the walk, Wonjin gently elbowed Minhee in the side.
“So, what was that little moment back there about, huh?”
Minhee’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, dude. You should’ve seen the way you were looking at him.” Wonjin pointed at Seongmin, who was cringing at a bad joke Taeyoung had told. “You think he’s cute, don’t you?”
Minhee took a split second to figure out what to say.
“What? No! I mean... Yeah, he’s cute, but, I don’t think he’s cute in that way!”
Wonjin rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, maybe you’ll start to believe it. Your performance is very unconvincing.”
Minhee would’ve stammered out more excuses to Wonjin, but the older had already walked ahead to be with the others. And, he couldn’t even lie, he knew Wonjin was right.
Seongmin was the cutest in his eyes.
The wind had started to blow a little stronger, so after they got back to the park, the group of boys decided to take shelter in amongst a few trees. Sitting in a circle, they were eating their different snacks, and talking about whatever came to mind.
Taeyoung took a swig of his energy drink.
“How long has it been since the last time we just sat and talked like this, boys?”
Hyeongjun threw a potato chip into his mouth.
“Way too long.” Wonjin attempted to steal one of Hyeongjun’s chips by putting his arm around the younger, and sneakily reaching into the bag, but Hyeongjun caught on and moved the bag out of his reach. The others let out a laugh at the scene in front of them.
“Okay, listen.” Taeyoung placed his can down on the bumpy grass. “Is it just me, or has Seongmin had his head in the clouds today?” After those words, everyone’s attention turned to the blonde boy, who was sipping on a can of coke.
“Um, what?” Seongmin chuckled nervously, since everyone had their attention on him.
“I’m thinking... You may have a crush you’re not telling us about?” Seongmin’s eyes widened.
“What? I don’t have a crush! What are you talking about?”
Hyeongjun raised an eyebrow.
“You know, you’re not a very good liar.”
Seongmin sighed heavily.
“Okay, fine! Maybe I have a tiny crush.”
Wonjin and Hyeongjun oohed. Luckily, nobody was looking Minhee’s way, because his facial expression dropped slightly. Of course he has a crush.
Taeyoung leaned closer towards Seongmin.
“Oh, now we’re talking! Who is it?”
Seongmin crossed his arms.
“I’m not telling!”
Wonjin groaned rather loudly.
“Oh, come on, we won’t tell them!”
Seongmin shook his head.
“No way.”
As much as Minhee loves his friends, he knows they sometimes don't know when to stop talking. This is one of those times.
“Come on, guys. If he doesn’t wanna tell you he doesn’t have to.”
Seongmin patted Minhee on the leg.
“Thank you Minhee. I’m glad somebody respects me around here.”
Minhee chuckled quietly.
“Okay, sorry, we’ll shut up. Anyway, I’m heading to the swings! Anybody coming?” Taeyoung stood up, once again clutching his energy drink. Hyeongjun gasped.
“Oh! We’ll come! Come on, Wonjie.” Hyeongjun and Wonjin slowly got up too.
Minhee raised his hand.
“I’ll come over in a little. I just wanna sit for a bit longer.”
"That's cool. Seongmin?"
Seongmin nodded towards Minhee.
"I'll stay with him."
Taeyoung shot finger guns at the two boys still sitting on the grass.
"Alright. See you in a minute!"
As Taeyoung, Wonjin and Hyeongjun walked away, Minhee immediately looked at Seongmin. The latter was trying his hardest to get the last few drops of cola out of his can.
"You know..." Minhee began, getting the attention of the younger. "You could've gone with them."
Seongmin shrugged.
"Nah. I didn't want you to be all alone."
Minhee grinned softly.
"That's nice of you."
Sitting here with Seongmin, Minhee felt... Nice. Comfy. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the weather, which was surprisingly sunny despite the wind, or just Seongmin’s mere presence.
From off in the distance, they heard a high pitched scream that could only have come from Wonjin. The sudden noise made Seongmin jump, but he burst out in laughter after a short moment.
“I wonder what they’re doing over there.” He questioned, a few laughs still escaping from him as he spoke.
“Who knows, honestly.”
Since they were alone, Minhee couldn’t help but think that right now would be a good time to tell Seongmin how he feels. If only it wasn’t for Seongmin’s stupid crush.
Even though he had reprimanded his friends for being too nosy before, Minhee felt like he needed to find out more about the mystery person who Seongmin liked.
“Seongmin? You know your crush?”
Seongmin groaned.
“Oh no, not you too... Didn’t you just scold the guys for trying to find out about them?”
Minhee threw his hands up.
“I know, I’m a hypocrite, but I was just curious if it was someone we knew.”
Seongmin nodded, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Yeah, you know them. In fact, I think you know them better than I do.”
“Oh, right.” Minhee pondered on that for a second. “It’s not Taeyoung, is it?”
Seongmin grimaced.
“Oh no, absolutely not.”
As if on cue, Taeyoung reappeared behind the boys, looking quite disheveled.
“Hey guys? Um, Wonjin tried to fit in the baby swing and he got stuck... So we kinda need help getting him out.”
Minhee and Seongmin both sighed.
“Do you want chocolate or banana?” Seongmin yelled out, his head buried in the fridge.
“Chocolate!” Minhee shouted back, getting comfy on Seongmin’s couch.
After hanging out as a group for a few hours, Minhee decided to head over to Seongmin’s house when the others had to part ways with them, since he had no reason to hurry home himself and Seongmin’s parents were busy and weren’t going to be back for a while.
“Here you go, one chocolate milk.” Seongmin placed a glass in Minhee’s hand.
“Thank you.”
Seongmin plonked down next to Minhee, reaching out to the coffee table to grab the TV remote.
"Alright. I wonder which terrible old sitcom is on today." Minhee weakly nudged Seongmin's shoulder.
"Hey, I like old sitcoms. My only problem with them is the amount of outdated jokes. They're usually either offensive or a reference to something I've never heard of."
Seongmin snickered.
“You make a good point.” He scrolled through the channels, eventually picking one that was showing some popular cartoon. "Man. I've already seen this episode." He grumbled, sitting back on the couch.
"Is this the one where he thinks his boss is a robot?" Minhee asked, taking a sip of his chocolate milk.
"Yeah. I've seen it hundreds of times." Seongmin pouted, pulling his knees to his chest. Minhee wasn't sure if he was genuinely upset or not, but he was cute either way.
"Oh, do you know when your parents will be home?"
Seongmin hummed.
"I'm not sure. Probably not for another few hours."
Minhee nodded his head.
"Want me to stay until they are? I know you get scared being alone, especially when it's getting dark."
Seongmin chewed on his bottom lip.
"I don't mind, but... It would be nice if you stayed."
Minhee scrunched up his nose.
"Okay, then I will."
Looking back at the TV, Minhee let out a small laugh at what the characters were doing on the screen.
Seongmin has always told Minhee he had a cute laugh, to which Minhee always replied Seongmin’s laugh was way cuter.
From the corner of his eye, Minhee noticed Seongmin shifting in his seat.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Seongmin exhaled heavily.
“Minhee, can I tell you the truth about my crush?”
Minhee sat up straight.
“It is Taeyoung?”
“No!” Seongmin ran a hand through his hair. “You know how I told you it was somebody you knew well?”
Minhee tilted his head to the side.
“Yeah...?”
Seongmin let out a snort.
"You didn't get what I meant by that, did you?"
Minhee shook his head.
"What are you talking about?"
Seongmin punched Minhee in the arm.
"It's you I like, idiot!"
Minhee was only able to blink as he processed Seongmin's words.
"...Oh." After a moment of the cogs turning in his head, Minhee broke out into a wide smile. “Can I tell you the truth?”
Even though he was scared, Seongmin nodded his head.
“Sure.”
Instead of saying another word, Minhee wrapped an arm around Seongmin’s shoulder, pulling him into his embrace.
“I like you too.”
Seongmin, too, took a second to really figure out what had been said to him. But as soon as he did realise, he giggled and threw his arms around Minhee’s waist.
“Really? You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
Seongmin smiled, looking up at Minhee.
"So, what does this mean? Are we dating?"
Minhee shrugged.
"I think so."
“Okay, cool.”
They shared some shy laughter, before Minhee leaned in and pressed a light kiss on Seongmin’s temple. He turned his head away quickly afterwards, in hopes his red cheeks would go unnoticed.
“Hey, idiot.” Seongmin mumbled, so Minhee turned to look at him again. “You missed.”
Before Minhee could ask what he meant, Seongmin was already cupping his face and leaning in closer to him. With a grin on his face, Minhee slowly began to lean in too.