Work Text:
It starts like this:
Jisung has just stepped out of his Finance lecture when Daehwi from his old Accounting class stumbles to a halt somewhere in front of him, lips stretched into a much-too-friendly grin. Jisung blinks and pretends he is (blissfully) unaware of the other boy’s presence, and then adjusts the books in his arms before quickly shuffling away. It’s not that he doesn’t like Daehwi, per se, it’s just that lately he’s been getting on Jisung’s nerves. This sudden disgruntlement, however, has absolutely nothing to do with Daehwi loitering around Seungmin every time Jisung crosses paths with his ex-boyfriend. It really doesn’t.
That’s what he tells himself, anyway.
Try as he might, though, he cannot escape the hurricane that is Daehwi – no one can, and only a few moments later, Jisung is once again accosted by him.
“Hi, Daehwi,” he sighs, and hopes the exasperation seeping into his tone is enough for the other boy to take a hint and disappear for an extended period of time. Forever, maybe. Jisung can only hope.
“Hey, Jisung!” Daehwi exclaims, almost blindingly bright. “Can I speak to you for a few minutes? It won’t take long, I promise!”
A few minutes is long , especially with Daehwi, who is the personification of an exclamation mark, Jisung thinks but doesn’t say, because he’s working on becoming a more tolerant person. It’s his New Year’s resolution, and not even someone as annoyingly persistent as Daehwi can dissolve it. So he musters an apologetic smile of his own and says, “I would, dude, but I’ve got um– History of Ideology right now? Yeah, I’ve got that, so. Sorry, man – later!”
Inwardly, he curses Daehwi for making a liar out of him, but he really, really doesn’t want to talk to him right now. Or ever, actually. He’s only managed to take two steps when Daehwi stops him again.
“Jisung, we have that class together. With Mr Yoon, right? It’s at 2PM tomorrow; not today,” Daehwi explains patiently, even though now there’s a very evident crease in his brow.
Jisung waits for the ground to open up and swallow him, but it doesn’t, so he forces out a laugh and says, “Right … right. Sorry, man, I’m like, such a mess right now. Are you sure you want to talk about whatever it is immediately? I don’t think I’ll be able to help you out, you know, considering how frazzled I am.”
Frazzled. What a word. Jisung is mentally two steps away from jumping off a cliff.
“Oh no, don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to ask you something. Like I said, it’ll only take a minute.” The smile on Daehwi’s face is bordering manic now, so Jisung eventually gives in to his wretched fate and miserably follows the other boy outside.
“So,” Daehwi begins, once they’ve settled on a bench in the courtyard, “Sorry if this is too sudden, but I just wanted to confirm if you and Seungmin were still dating. You’re not, right? Because honestly–”
“Wait, what?” The question only registers moments after Daehwi says it, and Jisung’s wrenched out of his reverie where he and Seungmin take a walk in the courtyard and a miserable Daehwi watches them from afar. Of all the things he had been expecting the other boy to spring on him (the weather, yesterday’s homework, someone’s untimely death– one could never be too sure with Daehwi) this had not been one of them.
In hindsight though, he should’ve seen this coming. Seungmin was, in every sense of the word, nothing short of perfect, and clearly Daehwi – and everyone else, probably, Jisung thinks bitterly – was smitten with him, so it was only a matter of time before he decided to make a move. As it was, Seungmin had a horde of freshmen from his photography club goggling at him every time he made an appearance on campus, anyway, even when he and Jisung were still dating. So really, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to him that after their break-up, people were already hoping to score a date with arguably one of the most renowned students in their university. Still, he can’t help the burst of jealousy that unfurls in his gut. And now that he thinks of it, he and Seungmin hadn’t even told anyone that they’d broken up, unless the former of the two had explicitly stated so. Jisung scowls at the thought.
“Uh,” Daehwi mumbles, taken aback probably both by the ugly look Jisung’s face had twisted into and his exclamation of unadulterated surprise. He dislodges the straw of his unnecessarily expensive box of apple juice from his lips in alarm and glances quizzically at Jisung. “Are you and Seungmin still dating…? I thought you guys ended things a while back.”
Technically, as a God-fearing, respectable member of society, Jisung should’ve just told him the truth and said “no, we’re not dating anymore”. The other side of him, the one that occasionally lets his tongue blacken with lies and is currently on the brink of madness, catches up to his brain first and instead asks, “Where did you get that from?” His voice is cool and completely devoid of emotion, which in turn makes Daehwi go rigid for a split second, his face morphing into a look of complete panic that would have had Jisung doubling over with laughter if he himself wasn’t in a state of both shock and utmost annoyance.
“Wait, you’re still together?” Daehwi stammers finally, cheeks aflame. “I’m so sorry, oh my god. I heard from one of his friends, I think? I’m so sorry–”
Jisung shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. What friend, he’s thinking. “No, it’s fine.” (It’s not.) “Why were you asking though?”
“Oh, um. Never mind, actually. See you around, Jisung,” Daehwi hastily gathers his things and all but races away, his shoes smacking against the cool concrete.
When he really thinks about it – and he tries not to, seriously – Jisung finds himself wondering if the break-up had actually been the right choice. At that time it had definitely seemed to be so – the best choice, even. Because surely, juggling a relationship alongside a rapidly increasing workload would be nothing short of foolish, right? It wouldn’t be fair to Seungmin if they didn’t even get to spend time together. What kind of relationship was that?
But here’s the thing; Jisung liked Seungmin a whole awful lot. Hell, he might have even loved him, despite only having dated him for four months, give or take a few days. Because Seungmin was– well, what was he not. He was smart and witty, endearingly quiet at times but also extremely hyper when he wanted to be. In some instances, he was almost reminiscent of a puppy; playful and waggish.
Then there were those little habits of his that Jisung still found himself smiling over like a complete moron; biting his lip while scribbling hastily in his notebook, brows furrowed in concentration, or how he would sulk quietly in a corner if he felt he wasn’t being given enough attention, and the spontaneous texts at midnight telling Jisung to go to sleep right now han jisung or so help me god i will come down there myself and knock you out with my fist.
also, did you have dinner [sticker]
Jisung even missed his lisp, which Seungmin would usually have a considerable level of control over but would become completely powerless to when he felt sleepy. Jisung thinks those moments might have been his favourite; when they walked around campus hand in hand, loose-lipped and heavy-eyed, but still just happy to be with each other.
The more he thinks about it, the more it bothers him, so he buries all thoughts of what was and what could have been and instead focuses on what he does have: Seungmin… as a friend. Which he supposes is better than nothing, because Seungmin is the type of person anyone would want to keep around forever. It’s actually a miracle, now that he thinks about it, that although he and Seungmin don’t meet up separately or hang out alone, they’re still on good terms and catch up with each other whenever any of their mutual friends plan a meet-up. In that aspect Jisung concludes he’s quite lucky to have an ex as understanding and sensible as Seungmin, who was still willing to maintain a semblance of friendship despite having broken up.
Then he ends up thinking about Daehwi, which immediately sours his mood and turns the butterflies in his stomach into a swarm of cockroaches. The prospect of Daehwi and Seungmin– no way, he can’t even think about it. He supposes he should feel at least a tad bit remorseful for very strongly alluding to the fact that he and Seungmin were still together when it had already been approximately three months since their break-up, but he finds that he really can’t bring himself to. In all honesty, he definitely thinks he’s done Seungmin a favour. Five years down the line when he and Seungmin would be practically married, Seungmin would kiss him and say, “I’m so glad you lied to Daehwi all those years ago,” and Jisung would smile and reply with something witty that would make Seungmin laugh.
Yep, that’s the dream.
Over the course of the next few days and with an impending pile of assignments to get through, Jisung finds himself forgetting about his little chat with Daehwi. It’s not until nearly a week later that he almost runs into him again on his way to Financial Accounting, except of course, beside him is a very happy, very content-looking Seungmin. Jisung smiles pleasantly at them while his mind conjures up ways to eliminate Daehwi from this particular scenario and every other one that was to follow.
Seungmin gives him a small wave with his usual friendly smile, while Daehwi–
“Where did Daehwi go?” Seungmin asks, looking around. The spot beside him is now mysteriously vacant. “He was literally right here, right? Like, literally a second ago?”
“Huh,” Jisung replies, “Weird.” He’s more focused on exactly how much Seungmin appears to be affected by his friend’s sudden and very unusual disappearance, since under normal circumstances the other boy would be clinging to Seungmin like a leech. Judging by the frown he’s sporting, Seungmin seems more perplexed than upset by his untimely absence. Jisung barely manages to hide a smug smile.
“Yeah, weird,” Seungmin agrees a moment later, confused. The slight crease in his brow is so cute, Jisung malfunctions for a second before he remembers he’s almost late to his lecture and his professor probably, definitely hates him and he desperately needs a good grade in that class. He mumbles a reluctant goodbye to Seungmin before dashing down the hallway to his classroom.
While his teacher drones on and on about something Jisung isn’t paying attention to, Jisung doodles mindlessly on his notebook, his stomach churning with unease. On his fifth attempt at an extremely lopsided giraffe that closely resembles a decapitated human being, Jisung gives up on focusing and starts thinking about Daehwi, which in itself was a symptom of some sort of illness.
Daehwi leaving upon Jisung’s arrival was unsettling him a lot more than he had expected to, which, if he’s being honest, wasn’t really that much. Sure, he didn’t much like Seungmin’s other friend, but he also didn’t want to give Daehwi that impression or unintentionally hurt him.
Cursing, he digs out his phone and shoots Daehwi a quick text asking him why he had left so quickly and if he was okay. The reply comes alarmingly fast:
daehwi:
it’s chill bro
thought id let the two love birds spend some time together seeing as u two have barely managed to hang out recently ;)
oh.. thank you?
also what makes you think seungmin
and i haven’t been hanging out lately
daehwi:
oh because he’s usually over at my place
i could be mistaken though !
my bad!!!
did you guys have fun after i left ;)
Jisung leaves him on read, feeling even worse than before. On one hand he’s relieved that Daehwi wasn’t upset because of him and had left of his own accord. Jisung is loath to admit it, but the reasoning behind it was quite sweet. On the other hand, however, the idea of Seungmin and Daehwi spending an excessive amount of time at his apartment was irking him slightly — or more than slightly. Maybe a lot. What if Seungmin likes Daehwi? The thought of it makes Jisung want to climb out of the window nearest to him and just die.
He’ll just have to deal with it later, he decides, as his professor threatens to hurl a piece of chalk at his face for not paying attention. Later for sure.
Later appears in the form of one Kim Seungmin, accosting him in front of the café Jisung would usually grab a coffee from on his way home. He’s standing by the door, dressed in a navy blue trench coat with a sweater and jeans underneath.
Jisung’s mouth runs unbelievably dry at the sight. Silently, he promises to go to church more often, because what was this if not a gift from God Himself?
“I need to talk to you,” Seungmin says before Jisung even gets to greet him properly. His voice is firm and almost scarily flat, and even though a mask obscures the lower half of his face, Jisung can tell his lips are pursed. He wracks his brain to come up with something that could’ve prompted Seungmin to finally initiate a one-on-one conversation with him, but ends up falling flat.
“Uh,” he says intelligently a moment later, a little terrified and simultaneously taken aback by Seungmin’s tanned skin glowing under the sunlight. His ex was seriously gorgeous.
Seungmin rolls his eyes at Jisung’s lack of subtlety. “Come on,” he sighs and seats himself at a table inside the café, waiting for Jisung to join him.
Only after they’ve placed their order – an Americano each with a slice of cheesecake for Jisung and that weird, green, bread-looking thing for Seungmin that he likes so much – does Seungmin finally begin to talk.
“So,” he starts, his large brown eyes fixed on Jisung, who hastily takes a sip of his beverage in an attempt to stifle his fear. He tries to remind himself that this is the same Seungmin who repeatedly cried about how his world was ending when Paris Baguette ran out of green tea Bon Delicious (whatever that was) and often fantasized about raising a puppy or taking care of a small plant. The memory consoles him greatly, and with a surge of newfound bravery he blurts out,
“Before you accuse me of anything, I have done nothing wrong. I do my laundry on time – I don’t even throw my clothes under the bed anymore, by the way, and I never leave dishes in the sink. My bed is usually always made, unless it’s Monday or Wednesday because that’s when I have my 9AM, and also my trash is always– ”
“Jisung,” Seungmin interrupts him, the corner of his lips twitching slightly, “this isn’t about your laundry– or anything else that you mentioned, but it is nice to know you’ve stopped living like a rat.”
“Hey,” is his feeble protest, but even he doesn’t have the heart to say much else in his defense because Seungmin’s almost smiling now, and suddenly everything else seems largely insignificant. He stops gnawing nervously on his straw and waits for his ex to continue.
“Jisung, I just wanted to ask you why Daehwi seems to be under the impression that we’re still together. Have you said something to him?”
Okay, Seungmin’s definitely smiling now, although he does attempt to hide it by taking a huge bite of whatever monstrosity he’s been obsessed with recently. (Not that Jisung’s been keeping tabs on him, of course. He’s totally normal and definitely not one of those obsessive exes that he’d seen in movies, thank you very much – even if Hyunjin wholeheartedly disagrees with this narrative). Jisung, on the other hand, is floundering his way through all five stages of grief in a remarkably short amount of time.
“Um… no?” he lies, subtly wiping his very clammy hands on his pants. “Actually, now that you’ve brought it up, don’t you think Daehwi’s kind of crazy? Like, do you see how he color-codes his notes in class. Who uses neon green for quantitative data–”
“Jisung, I color-code my notes in class, too, and that’s not even the point.”
“Well, you’re kind of crazy as well,” he replies petulantly.
“The point is,” Seungmin continues with a roll of his eyes, “that Daehwi is convinced we haven’t broken up yet, which is weird to say at the very least because I’m pretty sure he was about to ask me out until a few days ago. So, do you want to tell me what happened?”
Some of the coffee dribbles out of Jisung’s mouth and ends up on his shirt. “Daehwi was going to what?” he says with flaming cheeks as Seungmin wordlessly hands him a napkin.
“Ask me out. You’ve missed a spot right below your chin, by the way.”
“Oh, thanks,” Jisung mumbles. “What does Daehwi chickening out have to do with me, though?”
Seungmin frowns at this, his forehead creasing. “I don’t think he chickened out, I just think he was misinformed.” The unsaid “by you” hangs in the air between them, sounding a lot like an accusation and it makes Jisung shift uncomfortably in his seat.
“Well, um,” he tries, “I didn’t say anything of the sort to him.” There is a very interesting dent on the wooden table that Jisung finds absolutely fascinating and requires his immediate and undivided attention.
“Are you absolutely sure about that?”
Jisung is at least sure about the fact that Seungmin has narrowed his eyes. He panics, then does what he does best when he’s stressed out– flirt. Smirking as he meets Seungmin’s gaze, he says, “You know, Seungminnie, it seems like you want me to have said something to him.”
Seungmin’s cheeks turn a wonderful shade of pink, like cherry blossoms in spring. Bingo. “Wait, what? That’s not even– no. What.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Don’t lie to me, Jisung. He was fine with me before; now he avoids me like the plague.”
Well, shit. Jisung feels like he should be relieved that he’s successfully managed to erase Daehwi from the picture but he’s not that big of an asshole and the guilt comes rushing in within seconds. The truth wriggles its way right up to his throat, then stops somewhere at the back of his mouth.
“Okay, uh, I didn’t exactly tell him that we hadn’t broken up…”
Seungmin sighs in exasperation that is almost scarily reminiscent of his mother’s when he leaves all the vegetables on his plate completely untouched. “But?”
“But I might have implied it a little– ”
“Jisung.”
“I’m sorry, okay! I didn’t know he was seriously going to ask you out, I thought he was just a tiny bit interested.”
“Still, why would you do that?”
“I don’t know! It was a spur of the moment thing! The world is ending and we’re all going to die!” he reasons. Seungmin remains unimpressed, and Jisung sinks lower in his seat.
But well, here’s the thing: Jisung does feel a little guilty, but he can’t help but notice the very obvious glint of amusement in Seungmin’s eyes that makes him think maybe this isn’t as big of a problem as he feels it is. In fact, if Jisung looks further into it, he might even convince him himself that Seungmin almost seems to be enjoying this entire debacle. Still, he’s a somewhat decent human being so he apologizes again till Seungmin finally nods and waves his hands at him dismissively. Satisfied, Jisung digs into his cheesecake with more vigor than before.
Except, there’s this itch that he desperately needs to get rid of and even cheesecake isn’t a strong enough contender for this one.
“Wait,” he says suddenly, fork poised in front of his face mid-bite, “say Daehwi did ask you out, would you have said yes? You don’t like him, do you?” The hint of panic must be apparent even in his cheesecake-muffled voice because Seungmin is the one struggling to hide a smirk now.
“Why should that matter to you?”
“Because we’re friends,” Jisung blurts out and then cringes, “And also because, um, no offense, but you and Daehwi are not a good fit. He’s like, I dunno, the sloth from Zootopia. The annoying one, you know?”
Seungmin lifts a brow. “The sloth from–,” he begins, incredulous, then stops with a shake of his head, because in truth he’s probably still accustomed to Jisung’s odd way of putting things. This reasoning is very reassuring. “Never mind.”
They chew in silence for a while, until Seungmin says suddenly and very quickly: “If not Daehwi, then who?”
Jisung freezes, then wills himself not to spill his coffee all over him again. “Uh, what?”
“You said Daehwi isn’t a good fit,” Seungmin clarifies, leaning back in his chair, “so then who is? ” There’s a smile hidden somewhere under all that nonchalance, a shadow of it clinging to the corner of his lips.
Jisung has never been particularly good at reading people’s faces, but he does know Seungmin. Better than he knows the back of his own hand, even, because like any normal person he has spent more time examining his ex-boyfriend’s face than arguably the most frequently used part of his body. Which is why, judging by the carefully crafted mask of nonchalance on Seungmin has donned, he’s ninety-nine point nine percent sure that his ex is looking for a specific answer, one that Jisung will readily give out.
With a sudden burst of confidence, Jisung winks as obnoxiously as possible. “I think you know already, baby.”
Seungmin blinks slowly, once, twice and then thrice. Finally, he grimaces and says, “You know what, I might just ask Daehwi out myself.”
Laughter bubbles in his chest. “Hey!”
“You’re so annoying,” Seungmin muses, and when he lowers his head to take a bite of his dessert, Jisung preens at his rapidly reddening ears
“Hm.”
“Also,” his ex adds, setting his fork aside. The sudden seriousness in his eyes sobers Jisung up completely. “You do remember that you broke up with me, right? I’m not saying it to be mean or anything,” he adds hastily, probably seeing the crestfallen look on Jisung’s face, “but I just need to make sure you’re ready to be in a relationship this time. And preferably one that doesn’t end so abruptly.”
“I’m really sorry,” Jisung says honestly. His heart twists itself into little knots.
Seungmin’s lips curve into a gentle smile. “Again, I didn’t say it to be mean or spiteful. I just– if we’re doing this, I have to be sure that it works out, yeah?”
Jisung nods a little too eagerly, then flushes when Seungmin laughs. “Yes,” he agrees wholeheartedly. “One hundred– no, two hundred percent, yes.”
When Seungmin smiles, the world floods with light.
“No way,” Hyunjin says, when Jisung struts into their dorm later that afternoon with the dopiest grin on his face. “No way. Poor Seungmin…”
Jisung lets out a sound of extreme offense. “Excuse me,” he squawks in outrage, “why did you just assume that this was about Seungmin? Can’t I just be happy? ”
Hyunjin fixes him with such a withering look that Jisung relents embarrassingly fast. “Okay, fine,” he admits. “It does have to do with Seungmin.”
“Called it,” his supposed best friend replies in a much-too-satisfied voice. Jisung contemplates finishing his leftover cake in the fridge; that would teach him a lesson. “Poor Daehwi, though,” Hyunjin adds a moment later, blinking thoughtfully.
Jisung bristles immediately. “What about him.”
“Well, everyone thought he and Seungmin had something going on for a while,” Hyunjin shrugs, then hides behind a pillow in case Jisung chucks something at him. A wise decision, because Jisung was already looking for a slipper to hurl at his face.
“Who is everyone.”
Hyunjin lowers the pillow just enough so he can peek at Jisung from above it. Then with a sheepish grin, he says, “Me… and your roommate and um, me.”
“Go to hell.”
Hyunjin shrugs like this doesn’t bother him in the slightest. “Hell would be lucky to have me,” he muses, then collapses back on his bed.
It’s then that Jisung notes how very shirtless his roommate is. His eyes immediately scan his surroundings, landing on the extremely familiar pair of pants lying on the ground that belonged neither to him nor Hyunjin, one leg just sticking out from under the bed as if someone had attempted to shove them there last minute. How quickly Jisung puts two and two together is a testament to the amount of times he’s walked in on Hyunjin and his boyfriend going at it in their dorm. Jisung narrows his eyes then searches Hyunjin’s face, who blinks innocently back at him from his pillow. Too innocently.
Jisung feels his heart sink. “Where is Felix?”
Hyunjin smiles nervously. “Whaaaat… Why would Lix be here…LOL.”
“If I open the door to your closet right now, will I or will I not find Felix without his pants on, inside?”
“Um.”
“In my defense,” says the cupboard in a very muffled voice, “I am also against gay men being shoved into closets.”
“Oh, look,” Hyunjin says in a surprised voice, “my closet can talk.”
Jisung screams.
“I still don’t understand why Daehwi has to be here,” Jisung grumbles under his breath to an extremely amused Seungmin.
They’re at some party Seungmin’s photography club had thrown and Jisung had been asked to tag along so they could have dinner together afterwards. He had agreed because a) he would do anything to make Seungmin happy and b) he would rather die than miss out on dinner with Seungmin. He had, unfortunately, forgotten that Daehwi would also be present at the gathering.
“And I still don’t understand why you hate him so much,” his boyfriend replies, waving good-naturedly to a freshman who’d been ogling him for a good few minuten now.
Jisung scowls. What was so difficult to understand about Daehwi and his tendency to cling to Seungmin like a louse in greasy hair despite the latter having a very hot, very much real boyfriend. “Maybe because he’s all over you all the time. ”
Seungmin shrugs. “He’s really not – and even if you think he is, it doesn’t matter because at the end of the day it’s still you I’m dating, right?” he says in cajoling tones, gently patting Jisung’s arm. Jisung melts immediately. His boyfriend is so perfect; smart, astute, charismatic. “Also, Daehwi is just naturally affectionate,” he adds absentmindedly, eyes scanning the crowd in front of them. “So don’t be mean to him.”
Jisung feels his smile morph into something murderous. “I’m sweet, too.”
“Mhm, but you’re not being very sweet right now, babe.” Seungmin points out, and correctly so but from an extremely objective standpoint, Daehwi did not deserve Jisung’s kindness. Especially not with the way he was still shooting borderline flirtatious glances at Seungmin from halfway across the room. Jisung takes a sip of his drink and stifles his homicidal urges.
“Daehwi sucks,” he mumbles to calm himself down. “And I’m your boyfriend.”
“You are my boyfriend,” Seungmin agrees with a pleasant smile, like he’s dealing with a petulant child rather than a twenty-one year old man.
Jisung stills feels annoyed, though. “I’m telling you now, if Daehwi does anything remotely flirty I will make out with you in front of him for five minutes straight.”
“Jisung,” Seungmin exhales so heavily his shoulders heave, but the momentary twitching of his lips betrays his apparent exasperation.
He’s not kidding. “I’m not kidding, Minnie.”
“Okay, baby.”
Daehwi saunters up to them only minutes later, much too gleeful. Jisung prays the thunderous expression on his own face serves as a hint to the bane of his entire existence and he leaves promptly, but the other boy is none the wiser to Jisung’s brewing annoyance and wiggles his eyebrows at them, staying firmly in place. “Hello, lovebirds,” he exclaims. The nerve of this man.
Seungmin smiles his gentle, lovely smile. “Hey, Daehwi.”
“Hey, Daehwi,” Jisung echoes tonelessly, then takes a sip of his drink to stop himself from barking at Daehwi to get lost. Briefly he wonders if his anger is unjustified, but then he spots Daewhi standing way too close to Seungmin – seriously, hadn't he been standing a foot away literally a moment ago? – and his patience wavers for one dangerous moment.
“You’re amazing, Seungmin,” Daehwi is gushing when Jisung turns to face the two of them, his voice saccharine sweet. His boyfriend, bless his soul, blushes at the compliment before waving his hands modestly.
Jisung waits for Daehwi to say goodbye, leave them be, do anything but loiter around them like an oversized moth, but he just laughs and sidles up to Seungmin with a huge, dopey smile plastered on his face. Oh no, Jisung thinks, as Daehwi places an arm on Seungmin’s shoulder, their cheeks almost pressed together. Seungmin is pink all over now, his eyes wide as Daehwi giggles and giggles. You’re over, Lee Daehwi.
“What’s so funny,” Jisung all but snaps, forcing his glower into a semblance of a smile. He probably looks terrifying, what with the way Daehwi practically falls off of Seungmin’s shoulder, straightening up immediately. “Nothing,” he says quickly, then laughs and says in a voice that sounds panicky, “You guys are so cute.”
Seungmin looks between the two of them, clearly befuddled. “Um?”
“Babe,” Jisung croons, and then true to his word he grabs Seungmin’s face and kisses him square on the mouth right in front of Daehwi and his slackened jaw. Somewhere in the distance he hears Daehwi let out a small squeak before his brain stops registering everything but Seungmin altogether. It was incredible, really, how wonderful of a kisser his boyfriend was. Like everything else about him, even his kissing skills were nothing less than perfect. Jisung was so blessed, truly.
They break apart when Seungmin tugs at his sleeve, endearingly breathless. His lips are slightly swollen, cheeks flushed in the loveliest way possible and Jisung would kiss him again if he hadn’t just noticed the small crowd that had gathered around them, slack-jawed and gawking like they’d been starved of affection their whole lives.
“What the hell,” he mumbles quietly to Seungmin, who looks just as taken aback as him. “Can we get out of here, like, right now.”
“Yeah,” Seungmin replies breathily, then lets out a small laugh of disbelief. Before they can do much else, though, the crowd bursts into cheers, the people closest to them whooping with delight. “Yeah, Kim Seungmin!” someone hollers, and Seungmin’s entire face flushes bright red all the way down to his neck. Daehwi is nowhere to be seen anymore, but as they finally turn to leave, Jisung spots him lingering near the corner, still in a state of shock.
Jisung grins smugly and holds on to Seungmin’s hand just a little bit tighter.
“So technically, we owe our getting back together to Daehwi, right?” Seungmin asks later. The entire situation seems to amuse him greatly.
Jisung scowls and wonders if his boyfriend is purposely trying to ruin his life. “We don’t owe him jack,” he counters with the utmost conviction. What role did Daehwi have in all of this except aggravating Jisung at any given opportunity for no reason whatsoever.
Seungmin sighs, then pulls Jisung closer so his head is on Seungmin’s lap and starts running his fingers through his hair. Jisung closes his eyes and melts into his touch like a stick of butter butter on a warm countertop. Everything is perfect until Seungmin adds, “Still, don’t you think you’re being a little unfair? Daehwi’s genuinely a really good friend of mine, and sure, he might’ve liked me for a bit–”
“ Might’ve! ” Jisung scoffs in disbelief, eyes peeling open to flash Seungmin a look of pure incredulity. Seungmin blinks down at him, his expression a little bewildered. If Jisung wasn’t so worked up over Daehwi , he would’ve kissed the look right off of his face. “Minnie, don’t be surprised if I end up in a ditch somewhere two weeks later and Daehwi asks you out the day right after that.”
Seungmin’s fingers still in his hair as he quirks an eyebrow. “I hope you know how crazy you sound.”
“I’m only joking,” Jisung lies, because Seungmin genuinely seems a bit freaked out, then petulantly slides lower into his lap. His fingers start toying with the strings of Seungmin’s hoodie. “Half joking, anyway,” he amends. “But seriously, I guess Daehwi’s nice.”
“Mhm.”
“ Very nice.” The string goes limp in his motionless hand as he’s struck by an epiphany so alarming, it makes his heartbeat come to a halt.
“Jisung?”
He sits up in alarm, accidentally knocking Seungmin’s arm off his forehead. “Seungmin, he’s perfect!” There it is , he realizes in horror. Had that been it the entire time? Was he jealous of Daehwi and how well he and Seungmin got along, how much better Daehwi would be for Seungmin? He swallows and then shuts his eyes again, because Seungmin’s expression has turned much too sober for his liking. Oh no.
“Jisung,” his boyfriend says quietly. When Jisung ignores him in favour of mentally burying himself in a cave on a deserted island, Seungmin jostles him slightly. “Jisung,” he repeats, louder this time. “Why are you always so worried about whether Daehwi likes me or not?”
“It’s just–” Jisung begins, then wonders if he’s making a huge deal out of nothing. He probably is, but he says it anyway. “It’s not about Daehwi liking you… I just– Sometimes I think maybe Daehwi would be a better fit, after all.” The words come out in a shaky exhale, and he’s too scared to look at Seungmin in the eye so he just focuses on the lovely shade of blue that Seungmin’s duvet is.
It takes a few moments for Seungmin to reply. “If I liked Daehwi so much I wouldn’t be dating you again, would I?”
Jisung peeks at him through half-lidded eyes but doesn’t say anything. Seungmin’s face is a mix of exasperated, upset and fond all at once.
Wait, upset?
Jisung panics. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I love you and Daehwi is nice but he’s not your boyfriend and I’m your boyfriend and that’s all that matters. Right?”
As he says it, he means it, even though it comes out as a string of balderdash with how rapidly he spoke. He does love Seungmin and they’re dating. Daehwi had nothing to do with this, and Jisung was being extremely doltish by letting his unreasonable irritation towards Daehwi get in the way of his relationship. He waits for Seungmin to agree with all this, but to his horror, his boyfriend goes completely silent, gaping wordlessly at Jisung.
“Um, did I say something wro–”
He stops when he sees Seungmin shuffle nearer to him, closer and closer till their faces are only centimeters apart. “Woah,” he says, because Seungmin is always so beautiful up close but he is so very confused about the sudden turn of events. “Are you about to kiss me or kill me because I have no idea what’s–”
“Do you mean it,” Seungmin asks, a little breathlessly. His eyes are wide and there’s a hint of uncertainty in them, but he’s looking at Jisung like this is the most important thing in the world right now – like nothing else matters at all. A little unnerved by the sudden attention, Jisung malfunctions. “Mean what?” he babbles, too fixated on the curve of Seungmin’s lips, but Seungmin doesn’t budge. He’s still there, his minty breath fanning lightly over Jisung’s face, waiting for an answer.
“We are boyfriends, right?” He asks a little hesitantly, because that’s all he can remember saying earlier. “Unless… are you breaking up with me?” Even throwing that question out into the open makes his mouth taste like vomit.
For a moment Seungmin just stares at him in disbelief, like Jisung had said something totally ridiculous. Then he blinks and Jisung hastily inches backwards because Seungmin looks like he might punch him after all, but there’s just an audible sigh that resounds in the room before Seungmin falls back on his pillow and swears.
“I can’t tell if you do this on purpose,” he says a moment later. Jisung blinks cluelessly. “Do what?”
Seungmin gives him the look again.
“Seriously, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Was it something I said about Daehwi or…?”
“No. God, why is this so–” Seungmin stops, then swears again. This is a new record, Jisung realizes belatedly, because usually Seungmin just finds alternatives to express his frustrations in a more couth way. For a while, he just stares at the ceiling and Jisung gnaws on his lips, wondering what he’s gotten himself into again. Maybe if he could just shut up about Daehwi–
“Did you mean it when you said that you love me?” Seungmin asks finally, like he had to bear the weight of the whole world when he opened his mouth. He’s turned his head to face Jisung now, earnest eyes boring into his. Some of Jisung’s nervousness is mirrored on his face, and when he breathes, it wavers.
Jisung blinks in confusion. “Yes?” he says, then more firmly when Seungmin’s eyes become the size of a saucer, “I mean, yes . Have I not told you before?”
“No?” Seungmin replies. He looks a little shaken.
This time, Jisung can’t help the laugh that escapes his throat. He is so relieved, he almost feels giddy. “Is that really why you were so worked up before?”
Seungmin’s expression turns indignant as he finally sits up, his eyes alight with sudden emotion. “Yes because you– you are always so–! ” His hands flail as he tries to come up with the right words, and eventually when his brain fails him, he just slumps back into the pillows.
“So?”
“You just say things!”
Jisung feels his lips twitch in amusement. His boyfriend was unbearably endearing. “I say things?”
Seungmin stops, then straightens up again and regards Jisung for a moment. His forehead creases when he does so. “You’re making fun of me.” He concludes in a slightly upset tone.
“I’m not!” Jisung denies frantically, but he can’t stop smiling either, which makes Seungmin’s scowl deepen. “I’m really not. You’re just cute, that’s all.”
“See!” Seungmin declares like this has been the problem all along, then buries his face in the blanket. Jisung stares at his back, unsure of what “ see!” had meant and what exactly his fault is this time. “Um,” he says, before he notices the back of Seungmin’s neck and how incredibly flushed it is and that’s when he realizes. Oh.
A laugh of pure delight bubbles out of his chest before he can stop it and he hugs Seungmin from behind, who lets out a string of furious mumbles that Jisung couldn’t decipher even if he tried. “I love you,” he whispers into his hair instead, the words punctuated with a small laugh, and revels in the way Seungmin’s breath hitches for a second before a slightly muffled and very petulant, “I love you, too,” sounds in his ear.
Jisung feels like his heart is close to bursting at this very moment and thinks maybe he does owe Daehwi a thank you after all.
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