Work Text:
Look, Minseok firmly believes he’s not a clueless person by nature. He’s the legendary genius monster of T1 who reads and analyzes game plays. He knows how to read the room and situations. So the fact that Minhyung’s nonchalant admission that he likes him takes him by surprise, solidifies Minseok’s belief that our brains do not work the same way in the presence of our crush.
“What do you mean you like me?” Minseok asks in a shrill voice as he looks up at his ADC who’s currently standing in his streaming room.
Minhyung shrugs lightly, places both hands on his pockets and tilts his head down to give Minseok a soft smile as he says, “I like you, for a while now, actually. And I, um, tried showing it to you by actions for the past two weeks or so.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well, I thought about how to go about it, telling you how I feel, I mean. And well, I know you aren’t a confrontational person by nature so I tried showing my feelings in actions or whatever they call it. Small gestures here and there and well— I wasn’t sure if I was successful because I didn’t know it’d take you this long to get it.”
Minseok feels the heat creeps into his face and he tries to remain a calm composure but how the hell is he supposed to do that when the man he’s been crushing on (well, if he’s being honest with himself, he’s in love with Minhyung) basically just confessed and apparently likes him back! And did he hear Minhyung right? He was trying to show him his feelings through actions? Minseok thinks back on all the times he was with Minhyung the past two weeks and he can’t pinpoint a specific moment or action.
“What, where, when, and how do you mean you tried to show your feelings?” Minseok demands rather than asks in one breath.
“Well, it started that night where I waited for you so we could get back to the dorm together. Ever since then, a couple situations arose that gave me the opportunity to show my feelings.”
“Lee Minhyung, you have to tell me everything from the start because I will not stand for the fact that the man I've been in love with for the past year apparently likes me back and I was too oblivious to even notice!” Minseok grabs Minhyung’s hand and pulls him to sit on his chair as he stands in front of the taller man and looks him straight in the eye as he demands, “Tell me, now.”
The first time: Minhyung waits for Minseok to spend time together, alone.
Minseok stifles a yawn as he stretches his arms, gets up from his chair and glances at the clock for the time. It’s 1AM and he just ended his stream. It was a little later than usual but he got carried away talking to the fans and got way too excited playing Overcooked. Even though he felt good and energetic during the stream, he felt exhausted the moment he turned off the PC. He can’t wait to get back to the dorm and sleep.
He grabbed his backpack to put his stuff away when a knock on the door of his streaming room startled him. Minseok frowns because who could still be around at this time? Before he could move to open the door, it gently swung open and Minhyung came into view. Minseok’s eyes widened in surprise because he knew for a fact that his stream ended at 10PM (not that he was checking or anything).
“Minhyung? What are you doing here?” Minseok asks in a surprised tone.
“Hi Minseokie. Are you done for the day? Let’s go home.”
“Uh yeah, I just have to pack my things but what are you doing here? I thought you ended your stream earlier.”
“Yeah I did, but I wanted to wait for you. Figured we could walk home together.”
“You waited for me to end my stream? You- you waited 3 hours?”
Minhyung shrugs lightly, “I wanted to spend time with you. Maybe we could grab some tteokbokki from your favorite stall on our way back.”
Minseok opens his mouth then closes it as he tries to think of what to say. It’s not the first time Minhyung waited for him but he certainly has not waited for as long as 3 hours. Minhyung would usually drop him a text to let him know he was waiting to which he would then reply back with an estimated time and Minhyung always goes first if it’ll constitute more than an hour of waiting.
He clears his throat and says, “Oh, um, yeah sure. Just give me a minute and I’ll be right out. I’ll see you in front of the elevator?”
Minhyung nods, turns to leave and closes the door halfway when Minseok thinks his eyes must be playing tricks on him because just for a moment, he thought he saw Minhyung’s face was red– as if the taller guy was blushing.
Minseok shakes his head to chase those thoughts away. His eyes are definitely playing tricks on him. As he slings his backpack on his shoulder, he does a quick sweep on the room to ensure he left nothing behind. He pushes his chair towards the table, turns off the lights and AC and closes the door.
He pulls out his phone to check for texts and immediately clicks on Wooje’s as he makes his way towards the elevator.
22:05 Wooje: Hyung, I’m going home first. See you later.
23:07 Wooje: Can you grab banana milk on your way home? Apparently, Hyeonjun-hyung is craving it.
00:30 Wooje: Are you still streaming? Don’t stay up too late~
Minseok types out his replies to the younger.
01:08 Minseok: I just finished. Do you still want me to buy banana milk?
01:08 Minseok: Also, Minhyung’s still here and he was apparently waiting for me???? He wanted to walk home together.
Minseok’s phone vibrates as Wooje’s replies come a second later but chooses to ignore it as he walks towards Minhyung. The taller man must have heard his footsteps as he looks up from his phone and shoots him a grin.
God, Minseok can die happy now, thank you very much. Why does Minhyung have to look so good when he smiles? It really should be illegal at this point because it’s not good for Minseok’s heart.
“Shall we get tteokbokki on our way?” Minhyung asks as he presses the elevator button.
“Yea, I’m down for it! I’m actually hungry.”
“Oh, should we just grab a meal instead? We could go to the 24-hour bibimbap restaurant across the street.”
“Nah it’s fine, he tteokbokki will be more than enough. And besides, my face gets puffy in the mornings if I eat too much the night before.”
“You’ll still look cute anyways,” Minhyung says cheekily.
Minseok feels the tips of his ears burn as his brain registers what Minhyung just said. He opens his mouth to say something but he’s saved by the bell, literally, as the elevator arrives. Being the gentleman that he is, Minhyung gestures for Minseok to get in first. He wanted to protest but Minhyung lightly placed his hand on his lower back and steered him inside the elevator. The touch lasted for less than a second but Minseok swears he could feel the heat from Minhyung’s hand seep through his clothes as warmth spread throughout his body.
As the elevator reached the lobby, the duo made their way towards the exit and they fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way towards the tteokbokki stall a few blocks away.
Minseok glanced at the taller man and asked, “Why didn’t you send me a text to say you were waiting? You usually do that.”
“I didn’t want to pressure you into ending your stream early. And besides, you looked like you were really enjoying playing Overcooked.”
“But you waited for so long and— wait, you were watching my stream earlier?”
“I always watch your stream, Minseokie.”
Minseok abruptly stops and turns to look at Minhyung because what the hell. He might actually faint and die from this spot with how fast his heart is beating. As he looks at his ADC who looks back at him with a slight tilt on his head and confusion on his face, Minseok blurts out the first thing that comes out of his unfiltered mind, “I watch your streams too.”
Minhyung laughs and it immediately spreads warmth throughout Minseok and he’s down bad for this man god help him.
“I’m glad you watch my streams. Gotta get that viewer count, you know?”
Minseok scoffs as he resumes walking, “It’s also fun seeing your face whenever you lose your matches in the games you play. I mean, you even spilled your water on yourself once!”
“Ah, you wound me, Minseokie. Is that the only thing you look forward to when you watch my streams?”
“Of course, why else would I be watching?”
“And here I thought it was because of my good looks and amazing carry skills as the World’s best ADC.”
“Why do you ADCs have such high egos?”
Minseok sees the frown on Minhyung’s face as he asks, “You watch other ADCs?”
He rolls his eyes at the taller man and purposefully does not reply because really, Minhyung should know the answer to that question by now. As they reached the tteokbokkie stall and ordered one serving each, they tried to wrestle each other's hand away as both tried to pay. Minhyung won as he grabbed Minseok’s right hand with his left and passed the cash he was holding in his right hand with lightning speed to the ahjumma manning the stall.
Minseok tries not to feel disappointed when Minhyung lets go of his hand.
As they wait for their food, he turns to Minhyung, “Did you really wait for me because you wanted to walk home together?”
“Yes, is that so hard to believe?” Minhyung replies as he takes their food. They move to the left side of the stall to take a seat in one of the empty tables and chairs.
“Well, it’s not that it’s hard to believe. It’s just that I would have ended the stream earlier if I knew you were waiting.” Minseok says with his mouth full.
Minhyung waves his concern away, “I knew you’d do that if I told you and that’s precisely why I didn’t and besides, like I said, I wanted to walk home together and spend some time alone. I would have waited no matter how long it took.”
Minseok blushes at the words and he refuses to make eye contact with the taller man and directs his focus on his food instead. They ate together in comfortable silence and as much as he wanted to say something or to start a conversation, he wanted to bask in the rare moment where it’s just him and Minhyung. Where it’s just Minseok eating a midnight snack with the guy he likes.
They finished their food and slowly made their way back to the dorm with idle chat between them. The dorm was quiet and dark when they arrived so they quietly made their way to their rooms.
Minseok stops in front of his room and turns to face Minhyung to wish him goodnight when he freezes as the taller man pulls him into a quick hug and whispers, “Goodnight, Minseokie. Sweet dreams.” He then let go and walks towards his room leaving Minseok staring at his back, dumbfounded and at a loss for words because what the fuck was that? That was definitely not usual Minhyung behavior and Minseok is so confused.
He walks dazedly into his room, flops down on his bed and stares up at the ceiling as tries to calm the beating of his heart. He can’t explain it but he feels that something definitely shifted in their dynamics tonight. If he fell asleep with a smile on his face as he remembers how Minhyung’s body felt pressed against his own, no one has to know.
The second time: Only Minseok gets to wear Minhyung’s hoodie. [Or that one time where Wooje forgets his hoodie and he asks Minhyung if he could borrow his but he says no and then proceeds to give the same hoodie to Minseok.]
They were on the way to have dinner as they just finished filming promotional shots for their sponsors in anticipation of the upcoming Worlds series. The team’s energy was high and everyone was in a great mood as the shoot went as smooth as it could go, no one lost anything and no one got left behind so it was definitely a win.
Minseok leaned his head back on the seat, closed his eyes and tried to get some shuteye. He accidentally set his alarm at 5AM instead of 8AM this morning and when it rang, he could not go back to sleep. He powered through the day with energy drinks and coffee and now that it was close to being 7PM, he could feel that his body was ready to crash and burn. He tries to fall asleep but Wooje and Hyeonjun’s bickering makes it impossible to do so.
“Ah, I forgot to bring my hoodie!”
“Are you stupid? Who would forget to bring their hoodie in this weather?” Hyeonjun pipes up in-front of him.
“ You’re stupid and at least I forgot my hoodie, not my phone.”
“I forgot my phone one time , Choi Wooje, and that was a long time ago. Your comebacks are getting old.”
“At least I’m not old like you,” Wooje retorts.
“Old?! I’m only 2 years older than you, you brat! And why are you speaking informally? Sanghyeok-hyung, Wooje is being disrespectful again.” Hyeonjun whines.
Sanghyeok doesn’t even look up from his phone as he speaks, “Wooje, don’t use informal language. Hyeonjun, stop riling him up.”
Minseok snorts softly at their banter but he really wishes they could keep it down so he can get some rest.
“Minhyung-hyung, can I borrow your hoodie?” Wooje asks out of the blue.
“No.” Minhyung replies immediately.
“Why can’t I?! I saw Minseok-hyung wearing your hoodie before.”
Minseok opens his eyes and shoots a glare at the youngest because there is literally no reason for Wooje to expose him like that.
Well, the one time he wore Minhyung’s hoodie was actually an accident. He woke up late and was rushing to be on time for their scheduled scrims with KDF so he grabbed the nearest hoodie he could find before sprinting out of the dorm. He was not aware that the hoodie belonged to Minhyung and he only found out later when Wooje approached him to ask why he was wearing his hoodie. He honestly wanted to dig a hole and bury himself but he held his head high and acted as if he wasn’t aware he was wearing his ADC’s hoodie. When Minhyung finally approached him at the end of the day to ask about it, Minseok was proud of himself that he was able to look the taller man in the eye and reply calmly that yes, he is aware he is wearing his hoodie (though he felt like dying of embarrassment inside).
Anyway, that situation does not apply to Wooje’s current plight. Minseok didn’t ask to wear Minhyung’s hoodie, he accidentally took it and he made sure to voice out his thoughts for everyone to hear.
“I didn’t ask to borrow his hoodie and you know that! I accidentally took it.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. The fact that he didn’t ask for it back immediately only means that Minhyung-hyung is a kind soul who will definitely give his warm hoodie to the youngest who’s currently cold, right?” Wooje asks slyly.
“No. Hyeonjun will lend you his hoodie.” Minhyung answers.
“But–” Wooje starts to protest but gets cut off as Hyeonjun throws his hoodie on his face. “That was so rude of you!”
“Oh my god, seriously? I gave you my hoodie and instead of being grateful, you call me rude! Give it back.”
“No,” came Wooje’s muffled reply as he quickly wore the hoodie. “I’m all warm now, there’s no way I’m giving it back.”
Minseok notices that the tips of Wooje’s ears were red as he adjusts the hoodie and jams his hands on the front pocket. Well, that’s interesting. He makes a mental note of his observation and decides to ask him about it some other time.
He makes another attempt to close his eyes when Wooje ruins it, again.
“I guess it’s safe to say only Minseok-hyung gets to wear your hoodies huh, Minhyung-hyung. Aren’t you being too nice to him?”
Minseok blushes and he is seriously going to kill Choi Wooje and he wouldn’t mind going to jail for it. He opens his mouth to say something when Minhyung’s voice cuts through the air. “If I can’t be nice to Minseok, who am I supposed to be nice to? And wasn’t there a saying that goes, ‘Whatever belongs to the ADC, belongs to the support as well’? I’m sure that applies to hoodies as well. So, uh, yes.”
Minseok thanks all the Gods that he chose to sit behind Minhyung because his face is on fire and if anyone were to look at him right now, it would be obvious just how affected he is by Minhyung’s words. Everyone, including Minhyung knows that there’s absolutely no saying like that. He definitely came up with that on the spot and it baffles Minseok because for what? Just so he could say that only he gets to wear his hoodies? All traces of sleepiness are gone as the words sink in. Only he gets to wear Minhyung’s hoodie. He should not be so happy with that oh but he is, he really is. He feels like he’s on cloud nine.
Hyeonjun snorts as he turns to Minhyung and says, “You know there’s no such saying. You literally came up with that. You and Minseok need to stop flirting in front of everyone.”
Wooje agrees and fake gags, “Exactly! It’s gross and inappropriate.”
Before Minseok can come up with a retort, the van suddenly stops, signaling that they’ve reached. They file out of the van one by one and walk towards the restaurant. It’s no one’s surprise they ended up at Hai Di Lao because of course this is where Sanghyeok chose. That man is addicted to hotpot and Minseok thinks he’s not getting better any time soon.
As they wait at the hostess stand for their table to be ready, Minseok stands beside Minhyung and says cheekily, “So, I’m the only one who gets to wear your hoodies huh?”
The taller man nods, offers him a soft smile and leans down to whisper so only he can hear, “Yes, Minseokie. Only you.”
“Well,” Minseok looks up at him, raises an eyebrow and says (he honestly does not know where he gets the confidence from but here he goes), “I’m cold. I accidentally left my jacket in the car, can I borrow your hoodie?”
Minhyung’s face splits into a grin and is that a slight tinge of blush on his cheeks or are Minseok’s eyes playing tricks on him again? The taller man says nothing as he swiftly removes his hoodie and Minseok might have gotten distracted with the sliver of flesh he caught a peek of when Minhyung’s t-shirt rode up slightly. The next thing he knows, he’s grabbing the hoodie from Minhyung’s outstretched arm and he puts it on.
It’s too big on him and he has to pull up the sleeves, if not it goes past the entire length of his arms but it feels so comfortable on his skin. He can’t help but grin as he looks up at Minhyung, feeling giddy, happy and so so in love.
Wooje teases him endlessly the moment he sees Minseok with the hoodie and even though Minseok felt a little faint at one point during the dinner because he could not stop blushing and his face was seriously overheated, it was worth it given the fact that Minhyung couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of him the entire night.
It was only natural for him to keep the hoodie after that because what was it that Minhyung said? Ah. Whatever belongs to the ADC, belongs to the support as well.
The third time: Minhyung describes Minseok as his ideal type on stream.
Minseok is currently in his streaming room waiting for Minhyung, Hyeonjun and Wooje to finish and head out for dinner. He doesn’t have a stream scheduled today so he should be at the dorm, resting or lazing around but he was bored. He may or may not want to watch Minhyung’s stream but that’s neither here nor there.
Minseok clicks on Minhyung’s stream as soon as he logs into AfreecaTV. As Minhyung’s stream pops out on the screen, Minseok is left speechless by how good he looks. Seriously, it should be illegal to be this good looking because it is not good for Minseok’s brain and heart with how hot Minhyung is. He’s wearing a plain white tee with his hair styled up and he’s wearing his glasses. Look, Minhyung is a ten any day but when he wears his glasses? He’s a hundred in Minseok’s book.
He’s currently playing solo queue on League and is complaining about his bot duo. The chat floods with remarks like: ‘Well, you can’t expect a Keria on solo queue!’ and ‘Don’t we all want a Keria in our lives?’ and ‘Play duo with Keria.’
Minhyung is clearly monitoring the chat as he says, “Minseokie is resting right now. Well, it’s hard for me not to expect anything since he’s literally perfect in everything he does.” He pauses and concentrates on a 2v5 as the opponent team comes down to bot side and ganks him. As he easily achieves a penta kill, Minhyung continues speaking, “Ah, I can’t play duo with Minseokie. The reason is that I would want to play duo with him the entire day and not want to stop.”
Minseok snorts at that because it’s true, it has happened before. He had to physically storm into Minhyung’s room and tell him that he’s done for the day. He cannot and will not play another round.
The familiar sound of a subscriber sending a balloon plays over the speakers and Minhyung mumbles his thanks as the AI prompter reads out the question, ‘What is Gumayusi’s ideal type?’
Minhyung smiles shyly and shakes his head a little as he registers the question. “Ah, my ideal type? Why are you guys curious all of a sudden?” He proceeds to read the chat and laughs as it floods with the remarks like: ‘I could be your type!’ and ‘You’re so good looking so we are naturally curious as to what you like’ and ‘What if it could be me?’
He ponders for a moment before he speaks, “Well, my ideal type is someone shorter than me, 168cm to be exact. Someone who’s good at playing League because we have to have fun together. Someone who keeps me on my toes, who can motivate me to become the best in what I do. Oh and, someone who has moles on their face. Specifically, under their right eye. That’s really attractive to me.”
The chat goes crazy and Minseok’s not surprised when he finds his name there because what the fuck? Minseok doesn’t think that he’s Minhyung’s ideal type but he somehow fits the bill? He's 168cm in height (the tragedy), he’s great at League, he told Minhyung that he wants to be the world’s best support with the world’s best ADC and well, he has a mole under his right eye.
Could he be–? No, Minseok stops his train of thought before he goes down the rabbit hole of pining over Minhyung. Just because he finds similarities in his ideal type does not mean Minhyung likes him or finds him attractive. That would be crazy, right? And besides, if Minhyung was attracted to him even in the slightest, he would definitely notice it.
He feels a pang of jealousy and hurt in his chest so sudden that he had no time to brace for it. It’s fine, Minseok tells himself. It’s perfectly normal for Minhyung to have an ideal type and maybe he even likes someone. As long as he gets to stay by his side and as long as he gets to play as his support– Minseok will be fine. Even though he’s been in love with Minhyung for a little over a year now, keeps thinking about him and the way his chest gets tight whenever he’s around Minhyung, Minseok will be fine. He has to be.
So if he was a little subdued during the dinner, a little quieter than usual, no one has to know the reason.
Minhyung stuck close to him the entire night, who kept asking him if he’s okay or if he’s tired and wants to go home. Minseok waves his concerns away with a fake cheer and a fake smile and reassures him that he’s fine .
As Minseok stares up at the ceiling later that night, his phone vibrates with a message and feels around the bed to pick it up. It’s a text from Hyeonjun and he sent a clip of Minhyung’s stream earlier where he was describing his ideal type with an added text below:
00:30 Hyeonjun: Hello, Mr. Gumayusi’s type.
Minseok immediately types out a reply.
00:31 Minseok: I’m not his ideal type? Just because we have similarities doesn’t mean it’s me.
Hyeonjun’s reply comes a second later.
00:31 Hyeonjun: Are you kidding me? Everyone who knows the both of you can clearly tell he’s describing you.
00:32 Hyeonjun: Don’t tell me you can’t see it.
00:33 Minseok: I don’t want to think about it. I’m going to bed. Goodnight Hyeonjunie.
00:34 Hyeonjun: Wooje says you’re being dumb.
00:34 Hyeonjun: He also says that you should trust your instincts more.
Minseok rolls his eyes at the message and leaves him on read. He might be dumb but he’s not blind.
The fourth time: Minhyung spends 6 tries on a claw machine to get what Minseok wants. [Or: what Minseok wants, Minseok gets.]
“ It’s been so long since I’ve been to an arcade!” Hyeonjun exclaims as he makes a beeline for the basketball games as Wooje excitedly trails behind him with their tickets in hand. Both of them immediately started a game and it turned competitive in less than 5 seconds. Minseok can already tell they’re going to run out of tickets fast.
He turns to Sanghyeok and asks, “What would you like to play first, Sanghyeok-hyung?”
“Ah, I’m not playing since I’m not a big fan of arcade games. I’ll be at the snack corner, reading, if you need me.” And with that, Sanghyeok makes a beeline for the empty snack corner.
He feels a soft nudge on his right shoulder and he looks up to find Minhyung smiling down at him. “What would you like to play first?”
Minseok shrugs noncommittally as he scans the arcade games. He’s not a big fan of arcade games either but they can all agree that the only reason they were here was because of Wooje. He kept going on and on about how he has not been in an arcade for the longest time and that if they don’t bring him to one right now, they’re basically robbing him of his childhood. He’s dramatic but he has all four of them wrapped around his finger so, here they are, at an arcade on a Wednesday afternoon.
“Well, I’m not very interested in the games but I do like to win prizes from the claw machine.” Minseok replies.
“Sure, let’s go with whatever you want.”
Minseok raises an eyebrow at that and looks at him. “And what if I want a 20ft Cinnamoroll plushie?”
“Then, you’ll get a 20ft Cinnamoroll plushie.”
Minseok snorts as he breaks eye contact with Minhyung. He was looking at him so intensely as if he really wanted to bring a 20ft Cinnamoroll plushie to life. Minseok was just joking anyway. As he makes his way towards a claw machine filled with Sanrio characters, a Cinnamoroll keychain plush catches his eye.
He feels Minhyung press his chest lightly at his back as he stands behind him and he has to control his breathing because he needs to calm down . He feels the taller man’s words rumble on his back as he asks, “Which one do you want? I’ll get it for you.”
Minhyung scoffs at that and deposits a ticket into the machine slot. “I’m an expert at claw machines. Watch and learn,” he says confidently.
He grabs the joystick with his right hand and slowly maneuvers it at the exact position he wants it at. After checking multiple times that the claw is right on top of the Cinnamoroll keychain, he presses the button with his left hand and watches with rapt attention as the claw slowly makes its way down, making a weak attempt to grab the keychain before it starts ascending. Minseok could feel Minhyung laughing silently behind him and his competitive strike switch turned on with the claw machine because that was obviously a fluke.
So he tries one more time, repeats the same thing that he did but he fails, again. Minseok does not give up because he’s not a quitter, so he tries again for the third time only to be met with the same result.
He gave out a grunt of frustration and was about to go for a fourth try (what can he say? He is not a quitter) when he feels Minhyung wrap his arm around lower back and pat his right hip softly.
“Come on, Minseokie, let me try.”
Minseok turns to look at his ADC and he couldn’t help but pout and whine when he says, “This machine is clearly rigged! Did you see how the claw didn’t even try to pick-up the keychain? There’s clearly something wrong!”
“It’s illegal not to let you get what you want, so let me try. Maybe the machine likes me better.”
“It’s all about luck and skills! If I can’t get it, what makes you think you can?” Minseok asks as he steps aside to make way for him.
Minhyung moves towards the console and deposits a ticket into the machine. He smirks at Minseok and throws back the words he said earlier, “I’m an expert at claw machines. Watch and learn.”
Minhyung confidently moves the joystick and places the claw above the keychain that Minseok has been targeting. He taps the button and watches with rapt attention as the claw slowly makes its way down. It briefly catches onto the keychain before it drops it and comes back up empty. Minhyung glares at the machine as if it personally offended him.
Minseok laughs at his expression and says, “I told you! This machine is clearly rigged. It wants to eat all of our tickets so we spend even more money.” He tugs at Minhyung’s hand once, “Let’s go play something else. This isn’t worth it.”
Minhyung shakes head and turns around to face him. “I want to continue playing this until I get one. We have 7 tickets left so I’ll keep trying until I run out.” He takes out his wallet from his back pocket and hands it to Minseok, “You can get new tickets since I’ll be taking everything. Sorry about that.”
“Are you serious? You don’t have to keep playing this stupid claw machine, Minhyungie. And no, it’s okay. I’ll take Sangheyeok-hyung’s tickets since he’s not playing.”
“Oh okay. Don’t worry about me, go ahead and play whatever you want. I’ll try this again and if I don’t get anything by the time the tickets run out, I’ll stop.”
“You promise?”
“Yea, I promise.”
Minseok sighs as he realizes he can’t win with Minhyung on this one. “Well, okay. But just so you know, this machine is clearly rigged so you have to stop when you run out of tickets okay?”
Minhyung nods his head and reaches out to lightly ruffle Minseok’s hair, “I know, Minseokie. I’ll come and find you once I’m done, okay?”
“Okay. Have fun!” Minseok says teasingly and turns around to find Sanghyeok. He was still at the snack bar with his head buried in a book.
“Hey, Sanghyeok-hyung”, he greets as he sits across from him.
“Oh you’re back. Is Minhyung not with you?”
“He’s still stuck at this stupid claw machine! It’s clearly rigged but he kept insisting that he would get one.”
Sanghyeok spares him a glance and chuckles, “Minhyung must really like the item to keep on playing.”
“He doesn’t even like Cinnamoroll!”
Sanghyeok raises an eyebrow at that. “Well, if he doesn’t like Cinnamoroll, why is he still playing?”
“Exactly! He probably felt competitive with me since I said it was what I wanted but I couldn't get it. Now he’s trying to prove that he can. I don’t understand him sometimes.”
Sanghyeok carefully puts his book down, looks at Minseok in the eye when he says, “So, you’re telling me that Minhyung voluntarily chose to keep playing on a claw machine that might or might not be rigged, for a character that he doesn’t even like, because you said you wanted it?”
“I mean yeah, I told him that there weren’t really any games I wanted to play so I went over to the claw machines. I saw a Cinnamoroll keychain plush that I like and went for it. It seems like he’s going for it now, too.”
“You do know that he’s only trying to get it for you, right?”
Minseok frowns because that does not make any sense but before he could reply, Minhyung interrupts their conversation when he runs over, stands in-front of him and proudly shows the Cinnamoroll keychain plush in his hand.
“Oh my god! You actually got it!” Minseok exclaims excitedly as he takes the keychain and examines it closely. “How many times did it take?”
“Six times,” Minhyung says proudly.
“Six?! That’s crazy.” Minseok says as he hands the keychain back to Minhyung who only looks at him confusedly.
“What are you doing?” The taller man asks.
“What do you mean? I’m giving it back to you.”
“I don’t even like Cinnamoroll. I don’t want it.”
“What do you mean you don’t want it? Why did you even get it in the first place then?!”
“Well– I won it for you. Since you said you wanted it.”
Minseok stares up at the taller man as he takes the words in. I won it for you. Since you said you wanted it. He tries to say something, to ask why because what does that mean and no one would make that much effort just to get one tiny keychain for someone—
“Seriously, Minseokie, keep it. It’s for you.” Minhyung interrupts Minseok’s train of thoughts as he gently closes his hand over Minseok’s that’s holding the keychain. “I know it’ll be a good addition to your ‘small’ everything and anything Cinnamoroll collection.”
Minseok swallows the lump on his throat because how did he know. How did Minhyung know exactly what to say? And as he looks up at this gentle giant who’s holding his hand so gently, Minseok can no longer run away from the fact that he’s fallen for him.
“Thank you,” he says softly.
“You’re welcome, Minseokie. Whatever you want, you get.”
Present time: The fifth time (and the one time Minseok gets it): Minhyung says yes to Minseok’s suggestion to choose Xayah-Rakan for their Worlds win champion skins.
Minseok storms into his streaming room and lets out a frustrated sigh. He just came back from a meeting with Riot to discuss which champions they’d like to choose for their Worlds win skins and it did not go well, for him at least.
“You okay, Minseokie?”
Minseok startles and turns around to see Minhyung behind him.
He sighs as he flops down on his chair, “I’ll be fine. Since I can’t choose Lux, I'll just have to pick another champion.”
Minhyung winces at that. “I’m sorry you can’t pick Lux.”
“I mean, as much as it sucks, those are the rules. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I really wish we had at least a Game 4 with Weibo Gaming, I would have definitely chosen Lux then.”
“Well, you can consider Renata or Bard?”
Minseok groans at that despite the fact that he would probably choose one of them. He just really wants his Lux skin. He decides right there and then that if he has to win another Worlds to get it then he will.
He looks up at Minhyung and asks, “What about you? Which champion are you going to choose?”
Minhyung shrugs, “I haven’t chosen yet. Might go with Jinx or Varus.”
“Must be nice to be able to choose your favorite champion,” Minseok sighs.
“Don’t worry about it too much, Minseokie. I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
Minseok really wasn’t thinking when he said, “Hey, maybe we could have matching Xayah and Rakan skins. We’re the world's best bot duo, after all.”
Once the words came out of his mouth, he hurriedly said, “I’m just joki–”
“Sure, why not?” Minhyung replies.
He looks at Minhyung in shock with his mouth wide open because he must have heard wrongly. There was no way he would pick Xayah as his champion for the skin.
Minseok shakes his head at the taller man, “No, no way! It was just a joke, Minhyung. And there’s no way you’d pick Xayah as your champion. You’ve been talking about a Jinx skin for so long.”
Minhyung shrugs as he rubs the back of his neck, “I– well, if it makes you a little happier by choosing a champion you would like to have a skin for, then I wouldn’t mind. It doesn’t matter if I get a Jinx skin or not, I would rather you be happy.”
This is the part where Minseok’s soul ascended to the heavens. He can only continue staring at his ADC as if he’s grown two heads. He blurts out, “Why would you do that? Do you like me or something?”
Minseok immediately blushes from embarrassment the moment the words come out of his mouth. Why is he so stupid to say that and now Minhyhung’s going to be weirded out and why can’t his brain be normal around this man. He takes a deep breath and was about to apologize when Minhyung cuts him off and surprises him, again.
“Yes, I do like you,” Minhyung confesses.
Minseok is really going to faint and he’s probably never going to recover from the shock as he processes what he just heard.
“What do you mean you like me?” he asks in a shrill voice as he stands up and looks at Minhyung with wide eyes.
Minhyung shrugs lightly, places both hands on his pockets and tilts his head down to give him a soft smile as he says, “I like you, for a while now, actually. And I, um, tried showing it by actions for the past two weeks or so.” He then proceeded to recount all of the times he tried to show Minseok his feelings.
As Minseok stood there and listened, he felt mortified by how stupid and blind he had been! He wanted to run away and escape because how could he look Minhyung in the eye after being so clueless and— wait. Minhyung likes him. Minhyung likes him. The man he’s in love with likes him back.
A million different emotions flood through him as the realization sinks in but the feelings of happiness and being in love is forefront and center. Minseok has no control of his body as he rushes towards Minhyung, wraps his arms around his waist and buries his face on his chest. He feels Minhyung wrap his arms around his back and pulls him tight. Minseok does not know how long they stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, breathing each other in but what he does know is this— he never wants to let go.
Minhyung pulls away first and Minseok was this close to letting out a whine but the taller man cups his face on his hands and says cheekily, “So does that mean you like me back?”
“I like you, Lee Minhyung. A lot.” Minseok’s face splits into a grin as he replies and he knows Minhyung can see the blush on his cheeks but it doesn’t matter because he likes him back!
“Can I kiss you?” Minhyung asks breathily.
Minseok does not bother replying as he closes his eyes, surges up on his toes and presses his lips against Minhyung’s. His lips were warm and soft and perfect. He starts to pull away when without warning, Minhyung pulls him back in and his mouth is back on him and he kisses Minseok fiercely, completely unyielding. As if he was pouring out all of his affection into this kiss, as if he was trying to let Minseok know what words could not convey.
They pull apart to breathe and Minhyung knocks his forehead gently against Minseok’s as their bodies stay pressed against each other. Minhyung gives him an eskimo kiss and he can’t help but giggle at the intimate action. He steps back from the embrace to wrap his arms around Minhyung’s neck and pulls him down for a kiss again just because he can. The taller man eagerly kisses him back and he feels Minhyung’s hands on his waist, slowly making their way down and he feels the heat of his hands on his bare skin as he grips Minseok’s waist under his shirt. The kiss turned heated but was immediately interrupted when they heard the door open.
“Oh my god! Seriously?! You guys chose to make out here in all places?” Wooje screams as he covers his eyes with his hands.
Hyeonjun claps his hands as he takes in the scene before him. “Finally! It only took you guys forever.”
“I’m going to be traumatized forever,” Wooje says as he moves behind Hyeonjun. “Please never make out in-front of us. We don’t want to see it.”
Minseok flushes in embarrassment. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We wanted to check on you,” Hyeonjun replies. “You looked really frustrated during the meeting with Riot.”
“Oh. Um, I’m okay now.” Minseok replies sheepishly.
“Yes, we can see that. Must be nice being comforted by Minhyung’s lips huh.”
Wooje groans loudly at that and turns to leave, pulling Hyeonjun with him. “I swear to God I will puke if we don’t leave right now.”
Hyeonjun barks out a laugh as he follows Wooje out. He looks at Minseok and Minhyung over his shoulder with a smirk and says, “Just so you both know, we all saw this coming.”
Before Minseok could move to shut the door, Minhyung wraps his arm around his waist and pulls him backwards. With his back pressed against the taller man’s chest, he shivers as he feels Minhyung’s lips on his ear as he says, “I like you, Ryu Minseok.”
Minseok feels giddy with the confession and he twists his head so he could look at Minhyung.
“I like you too,” he replies.
“Well, I liked you first.”
“Uh, no. I’m pretty sure I liked you first.”
Minhyung scoffs at that. “There’s no way that’s true. I liked you the moment you stepped into T1.”
“Well, so did I!” Minseok protests. “In fact, I–”
He gets cut off as Minhyung leans down to kiss him. Minseok melts into the kiss and he finds that he doesn’t mind getting interrupted by Minhyung’s kisses. In fact, that should happen more often from now on. Minhyung is his boyfriend now.
Later that evening
They are currently on Minhyung’s bed, lying down on their side and facing each other. They have spent the last hour talking about their feelings, reminiscing about how they met and laughing at themselves for not seeing the signs of their mutual feelings when it seems so glaringly obvious now. As their conversation dwindled, they fell into a comfortable silence as Minhyung gently traced his hand over Minseok’s eyes, nose and lips.
Minseok’s eyes fell shut due to the gentle ministrations and he shifted closer to Minhyung to bury his face on the crook of his neck. He gives out a contented sigh as Minhyung pulls him tighter against him. There’s no place he would rather be, Minseok thinks as he drifts off to sleep. Minhyung is love, Minhyung is happiness, Minhyung is home.