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In Minho's last year of high school, a first year named Jisung confesses to Minho.
Jisung tells him he’s been in love with Minho since the beginning of the year, ever since he watched Minho perform as the center of their high school’s competitive dance team for the first year welcoming ceremony.
“You couldn’t have tried to talk to me before now?” Minho asks, not accusingly, just curious.
Jisung smiles sheepishly. “I was a bit shy. I thought you couldn’t possibly want to hang out with someone like me, but now that you’re graduating, I thought I’d shoot my shot.”
Minho appreciates Jisung’s honesty. He agrees to go on just one date with Jisung. They go to a cat cafe, to which Jisung admits he asked Minho’s dance teammates for a list of things Minho liked, the top of which was cats. Minho is flattered that someone would go to such lengths to learn about him, but he also feels bad that he clearly doesn’t know nearly as much about Jisung.
“It’s okay,” Jisung says cheerfully. “You probably didn’t even know who I was before I confessed to you, right?”
That’s not true.
Minho did know of Jisung before he confessed.
Minho knows Jisung as the loud kid who talks loudly about his big dreams of being a superstar, who’s only ever quiet when he’s alone in the library, listening to music through his bright red headphones. He’s watched Jisung bop his head along to music he can’t hear, watched Jisung scribble lyrics in notebook after notebook, humming just quietly enough to himself so that the librarian doesn’t shush him.
He had piqued Minho's interest many times throughout the year. Minho's stared at him in the library more often than he'd like to admit, but he never had the courage to go up to Jisung and ask him about the music he was creating in his head.
Minho doesn’t tell Jisung this. He has no reason to, even though admittedly he’s having a good time on their date. When the date ends at the town’s local cafe, where Minho watches Jisung cheerfully devour a slice of cheesecake, Minho finally turns Jisung down, while apologizing for not being able to accept Jisung’s confession.
“It’s fine,” Jisung says, though Minho can hear the slight disappointment in his voice. “I’m grateful enough that you agreed to go on this date with me, and I wasn’t expecting you to magically fall in love with me from just one date.”
“That’s not why I’m turning you down,” Minho says.
That makes Jisung’s ears perk up.
“Then what’s the real reason?”
Minho explains that the dance crew he dances with was chosen to tour with a famous idol group as their backup dancers. He’ll be out of the country for almost a year, and after that, he plans to move away to attend a dance university to be a choreographer.
“So you don’t want a long distance relationship with someone you don’t know too well yet, right?”
Minho nods. “Sorry Jisung. If the circumstances were any different, I’d go on another date with you, but I don’t want to give you false hope.”
He expects Jisung to deflate further, but his words seem to have the opposite effect. Jisung’s eyes are gleaming as he stares wide eyed and eager at Minho, as he says, “Do you really mean that? That you would’ve given me a chance?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you come back from the tour, will you go on another date with me?”
Minho hesitates. He’ll probably still be busy next year with school and moving, and who knows where Jisung will be?
“I’m sorry, Jisung,” Minho says, and Jisung’s expression falls. It tugs just so slightly on Minho’s heartstrings to see such a cute boy in front of him look so crestfallen. Before he can stop himself, he hears himself say, “I’ll tell you what. If for some strange reason, you still like me after five years, you can come and find me, and I’ll go on that date with you again.”
“Really?”
Jisung’s eyes are shining again. Minho’s never realized how weak he is to such puppy eyes, or maybe he's only weak to Jisung.
Whatever it is, Minho promises Jisung just that. It’s enough to make Jisung happy now, and enough time to let Jisung move on.
Or so Minho assumes.
He doesn’t expect Jisung to hold him to that promise.
Five years later, Minho almost doesn’t recognize the man who shows up on his doorstep. He’s wearing an almost atrociously flashy designer T-shirt that hugs his buff chest and arms, skinny ripped jeans, and platform shoes that are at least an inch thick. His eyes were hidden by the dark sunglasses on his face, but his hair is slicked back with hair gel and his ears are adorned with silver piercings.
Minho feels his heart skip a beat when the man takes off his sunglasses and reveals those same shining eyes that he saw on Jisung’s face all those years ago. He’s grown up now, buff, flashy, confident and overflowing with swagger, but his expression is still that same wide eyed eager look he fixed Minho with all those years ago on their first date.
“You actually came looking for me, Jisung,” Minho says.
“You remember me?” Jisung asks, a delighted smile spreading across his face.
“Of course I do. I see your name almost every day on the news. Congrats on your latest album release by the way.”
Jisung is beaming now. He’s still the same Jisung Minho spent that one date with, even though the Jisung of today is the superstar he always dreamed of being, a singer songwriter part of an independent hip hop group called 3RACHA that’s taken the world by a storm. They had just released their newest album after a world tour, making headlines week after week as they charmed the world with their music.
Minho has no doubt they’ll continue being world class stars, which is why he’s confused why Jisung, a man who must have millions of fans who adore him, is here on his doorstep, clearly trying to hold Minho to a promise he made on a whim five years ago.
“You seem surprised to see me,” Jisung observes.
“I admit I didn’t expect to meet you like this again,” Minho replies. “A normal person would’ve moved on from a high school crush, especially someone who’s so beloved as you.”
“Well thankfully I’m not a normal person,” Jisung laughs, eyes twinkling. “I could say the same for you, Minho. You’ve made quite a name for yourself as a choreographer and dance star. How do you know I’m not here to recruit you to perform for our next world tour?”
“Because I’d be speaking to your manager, not you,” Minho smirks, though internally he realizes Jisung is right. Minho’s not quite on the level of famous that Jisung, but Minho has made a name for himself in the industry, and Jisung wouldn’t be the first musician to show up on Minho’s doorstep with a job offer. The thought that he immediately assumed Jisung was here to make good on Minho’s promise flusters him, and he’s almost sure Jisung has picked up on it too from the way his grin widens.
In the lull of silence that follows, Jisung’s expression settles into something more somber. “Anyways, yes, I’ve still got a hopeless crush on you from high school. Try as I might, I can’t get you out of my head, so I’m here to shoot my shot again. I don’t want to be a jerk about it of course. If there’s someone you’re dating right now, or if you’re really not interested, I’ll give up for real, and maybe ask if we can be friends instead.”
Jisung’s voice betrays how hopeful he is. It makes Minho smile. Like before, he’s flattered by how Jisung has put in the effort to find Minho after all these years, and this time, he knows how to pay that favor back.
“You know you could’ve asked to be friends with me last time, right?” Minho jests, and Jisung turns scarlet at the thought.
“You’re right. I’m really not good at this friends and romance thing,” Jisung laughs sheepishly.
“Well you’re lucky then, Jisung. Because I’m not good at it either.”
Jisung’s ears perk up.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not dating anyone, because a certain someone has wormed his way into my head and refused to leave,” Minho says, smiling as the grin on Jisung’s face grows. “So how about it? Want to go on a date?”
“That depends on where you’re thinking of going,” Jisung teases.
“Well, there’s a cafe nearby called LoveSTAY Cafe. I heard they make a really good cheesecake. That’s your favorite, right?”
Jisung looks stunned for a moment that Minho remembers. When the biggest smile Minho has ever seen blossoms across Jisung’s face, Minho’s heart flutters, and with it comes a wave of relief.
He’s so glad the him of five years ago made that promise to Jisung, even if it was on a whim.
Because against all odds, it’s brought Jisung back to him.
And this time, he won’t be letting go.