Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Minho swayed slightly to the music, careful not to cut his fingers as he cut up the pieces of chicken thigh. It wasn't much, just a quick dakgangjeong he managed to whip together with rice, but he knew his little brother would appreciate his efforts just the same. Minho glanced at his watch. He had time, but barely, if he wanted to still change his clothes and drop off the lunch to his brother on the way to work. As soon as the food was finished, he quickly, but carefully placed all the food into a small container, almost forgetting to add the steamed broccoli. Did Yongbok even like broccoli? Minho doubted he ate any veggies since moving out on his own, so he threw in a few extra for good measure. Health is important, after all. Minho tossed in a few rice cakes on the top, then tied it all together in a plastic bag. He glanced down at his watch again.

Shit.

He sprinted down the short hall to his bedroom, grabbing a simple black shirt and changing into it quickly, then scanning his drawers for sweats. He couldn't find the more snug jogger-style pair he was looking for, but he didn't have time to continue searching. He settled on his slightly oversized, very faded dark gray sweats and ran his hands through his chestnut brown hair a few times. Minho glanced in the mirror as he left the bedroom; not his most professional look, but tonight was Thursday and that meant he was teaching the 4-to 7-year-olds. He didn't exactly need to be dolled up for them. Snatching the bag of food on the counter, he then grabbed his keys and tugged on his sneakers, called out a quick, ''Bye babies!" to his cats, then hurried out the door.

Minho cursed. Looked back at his watch, and then back at the bus. The bus that was driving away. He tilted his head back, looking up at the sky, wanting to scream. He glanced at his watch again, as if he were hoping it would magically change. But it didn't, and it wasn't going to.

He missed the bus.

Which meant he would have to walk three blocks down to drop the food off to Yongbok and then sprint about two blocks East of that to get to his dance studio. Well, not his studio, but the one he worked at. Owning his own was still a far-off dream. He reached down into his back pocket for his phone, and groaned. The phone was in his pants he was wearing earlier, while cooking. And these were the faded old sweats he changed into. He cursed under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose for a few seconds, trying to calm himself down. He had time, sort of. He could just jog.

Think of it as one hell of a warm-up.

So he did. Pacing himself the best he could, Minho began to jog down the street. Sooner than he expected, he saw the familiar Pet's Vet sign and even though his lungs felt like they might burst, and he was getting a horrible cramp in his side, he found himself pushing the front doors open to the veterinarian's office. Minho took a seat for just a second, grateful for the air conditioning. He'd been here many times, allowing himself to glance around at the familiar light blue walls. Each wall had small framed photos of different breeds of dogs and cats, a big Welcome sign in the shape of a paw print was hanging from the front desk. Minho finally felt that he could stand without a cramp now, and made his way over to the front desk.

"Hi, Minho-ssi!" said the blond receptionist. Minho had seen countless times, even had him over for dinner with Yongbok several times the past few months.

"Hyunjin, please drop the formalities, we're friends!" Minho replied, still a little out of breath, but smiled at him just the same. Hyunjin was pretty, so it made total sense to Minho why he was at the front desk. Tall, blonde, pretty face and perfectly molded lips. Minho doubted this man had ever had a pimple in his life, or even had a bad hair day.

"Where's—?"

"Hey, hyung! You made it!" Another blond man appeared, this being the one Minho was going to ask about. Minho waved the bag of food in front of the younger one, giving him an exhausted smile.

"Yongbokkie, you owe me for this one. I missed the damn bus." But the freckled blond just took the bag fondly, giving Minho a bright smile.

"Oh, I love my big bro's food bundles!" he chirped. "And again, please call me Felix, everyone else does! Wait, you missed the bus? Why didn't you call me? I'm going on break soon, I could've just met up with you."

Minho tried his best to hold back a scream.

"I left my phone at home. But if you wouldn't mind giving me a ride to the studio, I would love you forever," Minho said, trying to cover the desperate tone in his voice. He knew he could, but the idea of jogging again made him want to vomit. Minho didn't even address the name request. He was well aware that he preferred 'Felix', everyone else called him Felix, or Lix. But as his older brother, he preferred to call him his actual name. Plus, he secretly liked being the only one who did, especially since it was just the two of them. Minho reached over the front desk enough to ruffle Felix's hair when someone stepped out from one of the clinic rooms.

Minho's breath caught in his throat.

A beautiful man with jet black hair, cropped just around his ears and styled up off his forehead was glancing over a clipboard in his hand and talking to another employee. Minho recognized the second man as Seungmin, but he hadn't seen the other man before.

And trust him, he would have remembered him.

Thin silver-framed glasses sat perched on top of his perfect nose, the man's lips pursed together almost in a heart shape as he reviewed the forms in his hand again before handing them off to Seungmin and stepping towards the front desk area.

Minho was completely frozen, watching the man with his jaw practically on the floor, unaware that Yongbok was talking to him.

A few snaps in front of his face brought him back to earth, and the beautiful man entered the next door just before the front desk, sparing Minho the humiliation of being caught staring.

"Welcome back, hyung," Felix laughed, looking behind him to see who Minho was staring at.

"Who was that?!" Minho finally asked breathlessly, Seungmin now entering the front room with Felix and Hyunjin, handing off the clipboard to Hyunjin.

"Ah, I see we let anyone in here now. Such a shame, this place is going in the pits," Seungmin said, not looking up at Minho. Minho rolled his eyes.

"Not you, asshole," Minho muttered quietly, despite there not being any guests in the lobby. "Who was that guy you were with?" At this, Seungmin finally looked up, smirking.

"Don't even, Min. He's so far out of your league it's comical." And with that, Seungmin turned on his heel and went back down the hall to the other rooms. He didn't see Minho sticking his tongue out at him.

Yongbok laughed out loud, shaking his head.

"Black hair? Glasses? Absolutely gorgeous?" Yongbok asked, and Minho nodded vigorously, his mouth feeling dry. Probably from gawking, but he didn't care.

"That's Dr. Han, he's the new Vet that is working here. Dr. Min needed another person on hand while we go through and try to change out hours of operation," Yongbok informed him, but Minho was still only half listening, praying that if he leaned against the desk and craned his neck around, that he might be blessed to see the beautiful man again.

"I really don't know where we find these men, honestly," Hyunjin started, waving a hand lazily behind him, gesturing to the employees. "I didn't think we could find someone as hot as Yoongi, but then Dr. Han walked in and now I'm convinced there is a God." Minho snorted a short laugh, regaining what little composure he could. Dr. Han seemed too busy to be coming back anytime soon, and he still needed a ride to the studio.

"Do you mind heading out with me, Bokkie? I could really use the ride."

Preferably from that hot Veterinarian.

Oh God, was this how it was going to be now? Shut UP, Minho.

Having conversations in your head with yourself was normal, right?

Right.

The ride to the dance studio was short, Yongbok constantly poking fun at Minho for his absolutely flabbergasted deer-in-the-headlights look he had when he saw Dr. Han, but he was able to distract himself from the beautiful man at practice. One of the moms had stayed behind, asking Minho if he happened to offer any private or additional lessons.

"It's just that Soo Yun is having some trouble keeping up, and then when she practices at home, it's not right, so she keeps practicing the wrong thing and gets so frustrated," her mother explained, Soo Yun almost hiding behind her mother in embarrassment.

Minho gave her a heartfelt smile, and then glanced around for a notepad.

"I don't currently offer one, but I know Jeongyeon does, and she is wonderful. You'd be in great hands, and she knows all the routines that I do with the classes I teach, so there's no confusion. I can give you her information if you'd like?" Both Soo Yun and her mom nodded excitedly and Minho shared the number quickly, watching them leave shortly after and began to clean up the studio.

Minho reached in his pocket for his phone to let Jeongyeon know that he hadn't out her number to Soo Yun's mother, and groaned. He still didn't have his phone. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down from his frustration, and settled for leaving a note about it on her desk, hoping she saw it before Soo Yun's mother texted.

He headed home, locking the studio behind him, wishing he had his phone and headphones so he could dissociate on the way home like usual. By the time he reached his apartment, it dawned on him that he could've taken the bus home. Minho shrugged it off, too happy to be home to care. He toed his shoes off and went to shower. Sending a text to Yongbok letting him know he made it home, then a text to Jeongyeon about Soo Yun's mother, just in case she hadn't reached out yet, and then heated up some ramen. He settled into his couch, turning on a drama to watch before going to bed.

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It had been about a week since Minho took Yongbok food, and seeing Dr. Han, but that didn't mean that Minho hadn't been thinking of the Veterinarian every single day. Almost missing the bus two more times that week alone, Minho decided to buy himself a car. It was only a few years old, new to him, little black four-door Hyundai Sonata, and he loved it. And the timing was impeccable, because as Minho said his goodbyes to his cats, as usual, on his way out the door, he noticed Dori was sluggish. Dori didn't even meet Minho at the door upon his arrival home either, which was very unlike the tabby. It went on like this for another two days, Dori being slow and sluggish, but when he even turned down a can of wet food, Minho instantly called Yongbok to schedule an appointment to bring him in.

Of course, Minho wanted to look nice, despite being super worried about his precious tabby companion. And Yongbok must have picked up on this when Minho came in, purple cat carried in hand as he sported a simple light blue button-down shirt, fitted dark wash jeans and his favorite Nikes. Yongbok gave him a knowing look, to which Minho shrugged him off, explaining he simply didn't want to look like a sweatshirt bum like the last time he was there.

Hyunjin checked them in, and the waiting game began. It wasn't too long though, and Minho enjoyed smiling at another little cat who came in for a spay appointment.

He could go on for hours about how important it was to him to spay and neuter animals, how the shelters were overflowing and people needed to get their shit together. He had even devoted the better part of half a year the previous year trapping, fixing and releasing stray cats. It was quite a lot financially, but he felt it was worth it. Some of the cats still come around his apartment sometimes and Minho's heart swells whenever he sees them.

Eventually, Minho and Dori were called back, Seungmin taking the initiative at first to get vitals and ask the basic questions. Minho was surprised at first at how professional he was being, until they had just about finished up and Seungmin diagnosed Dori with "Sick of his owner" and laughed as he walked out of the room. Now Minho was fidgety. Yongbok had already told him that both Dr. Min and Dr. Han were working today, still trying to work out the plan for staying open longer. So he didn't know which attractive Vet he was going to get, but he prayed to any God that would listen that he got to see Dr. Han.

Turned out, there was a God listening after all. Dr. Han walked in and Minho felt his heart race. He was even cuter and prettier in person. Up close, Minho could see just how round and adorable his cheeks were. His oversized, thin-rimmed glasses perched on top of his perfect nose again. He was still looking over the chart in his hands, giving Minho just a second to compose himself. He could see the dress slacks and almost silky-looking button-down shirt under Dr. Han's white doctor coat and Minho felt his mouth go dry again. This perfect man had the hottest, tiniest waist Minho had ever seen. He forced himself to look up, not drooling over the waist anymore, and just in time to make eye contact with the cute Vet in front of him. Dr. Han gave Minho a warm heart-shaped smile and Minho felt like he would melt into a puddle.

"Hello! Good morning, I'm Dr. Han. Let's see what's going on with Dori, hmm?" he said happily, and even his voice was smooth and soothing. Minho nodded, muttering a quiet good morning, before opening the carrier again and letting Dori onto the table top. Dori just lethargically flopped over, lying down and nudging his head into Minho's hand. Minho quickly obliged, petting the poor ill tabby and Dr. Han felt around Dori's body. Listening here, massaging there, he finally put the stethoscope back around his neck and smiled at Minho again.

"Good news, nothing serious!" Dr. Han said, also taking a moment to pet Dori now. Minho watched as Dori leaned into Dr. Han's hand now, and had to hold back a laugh. Dori didn't like others much, so he chalked it up to Dori being really ill and not caring. But also, he was absolutely not jealous that his cat was getting affectionate pets from the hottest man Minho had ever seen. Because that would just be ridiculous.

But, on the other hand, Minho knew that Dori didn't like many people, so the fact that he seemed to enjoy Dr. Han's company so much must mean that he was a great guy, right? Minho would ponder about this for sure later.

"I'm guessing it's an upper respiratory infection, has he been extra sneezy at all?" Dr. Han asked. Minho paused to think for a moment, then shook his head.

"Not that I've noticed, but I'm gone a lot during the day. I teach dance. So he might be and I'm just not around. Is this contagious though? Because I have two more fur babies at home," Minho explained, eyes still locked onto Dr. Han's adorable face. Dr. Han wrote a few scribbles on the chart, looking it over again before petting Dori one more time.

"It is. Do you want to just bring them in if they start showing symptoms? I can let my guys up at the front desk know that you can take a priority time slow since we knew this could happen, the other kitties getting sick also." And Minho smiled, appreciating the kindness.

"I can bring them in as needed, that's fine. Thank you, Dr. Han." Minho started to put Dori back in his carrier and Dr. Han waved his hand in front of his face.

"Please, Jisung is fine. I'm going to give this to Felix and Hyunjin in the front and they should be able to help take care of you from here. I hope Dori gets to feeling better soon." Jisung wiggled his fingers in a small wave at Dori in the carrier.

"If he isn't feeling better with the antibiotics in three days, bring him back in. We can readjust the meds or do more scans, whatever we need to do. Does that sound alright Mr..." He looked over the chart again. "Mr. Lee?" Jisung almost sang, a soft question. It was Minho's turn to wave his hand, excusing the formality.

"Nah, Minho is fine, thanks. Really. My cats are my life, I appreciate you guys getting Dori in as quick as you did."

Jisung smiled. "We're working on expanding our hours so we can help even more fur babies. Hopefully we won't need to see you again soon, but we're here if you need us."

It wasn't even a full ten days later, Minho ended up calling Yongbok to bring Doongie in this time, his little orange nose getting runny and sneezy. His symptoms seemed far more noticeable than Dori's, and Yongbok offered to try and see about getting Minho an antibiotic without having to bring his third cat in.

"Nonsense, that's not professional," Minho had retorted back, making himself some chicken salad.

He heard his little brother laugh on the other line.

"Bullshit, hyung. You just want to come in and see Dr. Han again, that's all. You'll pay any office visit fee if that means you get to see doctor sexy." Minho was so grateful that Yongbok couldn't see his flushed face, dicing up the chicken and tossing it into a large salad bowl.

"I'll pay any amount for my babies to feel better. They're your nephews, do you not care about the well-being of your own nephews, Yongbok-ah?" Minho teased back, hearing the younger now backtracking.

"I can get you in on Friday, right before lunch, but honestly do you want me to put you down for Doongie and Soonie? By then he might have it, too, and then you can just bring them both in. Saves a bit of money, and your time, not waiting for the other to get sick and bring him back in. Unless you really want to see Dr. Han that bad," Yongbok teased again, but Minho just rolled his eyes.

"It's fine, just Doongie for now. And since you're being so nice to your hyung, maybe I'll bring you lunch that day, too. How about that?" Minho asked, smiling to himself. Yongbok of course agreed to lunch.

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Yongbok was thrilled to see Minho walk in with the carrier and a big bag of food containers, coming from around the front desk to assist bringing the food bags in.

"I figured if you're off, we can have lunch together? I have mine in the car still, it's unfortunately more mild than I wanted it to be, but I guess I ran out of spices. I'll have to go to the store after work tonight," Minho explained, watching Yongbok open the containers and reveal the delicious-smelling tteokbokki. Yongbok's eyes sparkled, shaking his head.

"This is perfect, hyung! Thanks so much!" Hyunjin threatened to steal a few bites as well, to which Minho informed him that he brought some for him and Seungmin as well. Hyunjin bowed politely, thanking him profusely, and Seungmin peeked around the corner of the door frame.

"Does Minho miss me so much that he thought bringing me food would win me over?" Seungmin flashed him an almost evil grin, but then saw the containers and knew it was homemade.

"Well, since you worked so hard to make it, I might as well indulge. Still can't win my heart back just yet though, Min," was all Seungmin could say as he was handed his own personal container of lunch. Minho smiled warmly at them, not even able to think of a sassy remark back as he went to sit back in the lobby. He heard someone walk up to the front desk.

"WOW! What smells absolutely divine?!" Dr. Han asked, almost sang. Minho refrained from whipping his head around and jumping up and down, declaring it was him and offering to cook for him for the rest of their lives.

Thankfully, Hyunjin spoke up first.

"Oh, Minho hyung made us lunch today!" he said proudly, and Minho could see Yongbok's blond head bobbing in agreement over the top of the desk.

"I don't mean to brag, but my big brother is the best chef, seriously," Yongbok added, clicking away on the computer.

Minho felt his ears get hot, sticking his fingers through the carrier to try and pet Doongie to distract himself.

He heard the door to the office open, and Jisung stuck his head out.

"I didn't know you were brothers?!" Jisung called to Minho, also beckoning him into an exam room. Minho got up and followed quickly, carrier in hand, laughing softly.

"Ah, yeah, poor thing. Stuck with me his whole life. I can cook though, so I guess that's why he tolerates me."

They talked about Doongie, coming to the conclusion that he, too, had an upper respiratory infection that he got from Dori and prescribed him medications as well.

"Well it smells absolutely heavenly, I'm sure they'll all enjoy it. So thank you for feeding them today." And Jisung bowed at Minho, who blushed, hard.

"Oh please, really it's nothing!" And as if on cue, Minho could hear Jisung's stomach growl.

Jisung looked at him, horrified, hoping to try and distract himself with Doongie's chart.

Before he could even realize what he was doing, Minho blurted out "Oh, I have extra in my car! Would you like some?"

Jisung's perfectly adorable round cheeks were an even more adorable shade of pink and he shook his head.

"I couldn't take your food, but thank you so much."

But Minho held his hand up, carrying the carrier with Doongie inside with the other.

"Really, it was extra! Please, I insist!" Minho lied, adjusting the carrier into his other hand and smiling brightly.

"Well, I appreciate it, Minho. I'd be stupid to turn down free food, especially when it smells so amazing."

Minho beamed, heading back to the front desk for the prescription and then left Doongie with Yongbok while he ran back to his car for his container of food he was now going to give Jisung. He didn't need dinner later anyway, not when this beautiful man could eat it instead.

The staff closed up the entire office for half an hour while they ate together, only opening earlier than an hour to take the next client at 1:30, but Minho couldn't complain. He kept Doongie in his carrier at his feet as they all gathered around the somewhat small breakroom table.

"We need a bigger table if we're all going to have lunch together. Minho, you'll be a doll and bring lunch every Friday, right? So we should invest in a larger break room table. And maybe a better coffee pot. This one kinda blows," Seungmin said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the small white coffee pot in the corner. Jisung sat last at the table, shrugging his coat off and sitting beside Felix.

Across from Jisung, Minho laughed into his hand, passing around chopsticks from his bag and setting the other container from his car in front of Jisung.

As everyone started eating, Yongbok gave Minho a funny look. A knowing look. Like Yongbok knew he had had his own lunch box but now he was the only one without, and Minho gave him a don't-you-fucking-dare-say-anything look and Yongbok stayed quiet. But it wasn't long at all until Jisung realized Minho didn't have a box, and reached his across the table.

"Eat," he said, or tried to, with a mouth full of food.

"It's ok, really," Minho said politely pushing the box back to Jisung.

"It's ok, you eat! YOU EAT!" Jisung said again, a bit loudly, grabbing a big bite with his own chopsticks and offering it to Minho.

Minho swallowed thickly, telling his pathetic brain to not overthink this incredibly cute man feeding him food in front of everyone. Minho flushed, taking a bite quickly and bowing his head in thanks.

Felix gave him another look and Minho was quick to kick his shin under the table. Jisung offered more food, this time Minho had his own chopsticks, and he made sure not to make eye contact with Yongbok for the rest of lunch.

Eventually, lunch was devoured, and the guys all had to return to work, Minho staying back and offering to help clean up and Yongbok shoving Hyunjin out the door in front of him to leave Minho and Jisung alone.

"Thank you again, Minho. This was wonderful," Jisung said as he helped wipe down the table. Minho smiled brightly, waving his hand around again.

"Seriously, it's nothing. I'm just glad everyone enjoyed it."

"I demand it every Friday or we will get divorced, Minho!" they heard Seungmin call from down the hall, and Jisung gave a puzzled look over to Minho as he pulled his coat back on. A shame, hiding that waist from the world.

Minho chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

"It's an ongoing joke, between Seungmo and I. Since we were kids, he hasn't let it go that we had a wedding ceremony at recess once. So we throw it at each other at every given opportunity." Minho grabbed the carrier, starting towards the door. "He just keeps me around for the food, though."

Jisung seemed to like that response, humming and nodding.

"Well, I don't know about every Friday, but if you wanted to bring food by, I most definitely wouldn't complain. Or I can see about a catering fee that the office could pay for even just a Friday a month or something, if that sounds alright with you?" Jisung pondered, cleaning his glasses with his coat before readjusting them on his nose.

Minho watched him in awe. He knew his time in the office was once again running short, and he couldn't help himself.

"If you'd like me back more often, you just have to ask." He cocked an eyebrow at him, causing Jisung's ears to turn pink.

"Well to be fair, you can also come in and see me without claiming to have ill cats, Minho."

Minho felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. The way Jisung said his name was sweeter than music to his ears. His traitorous heart was threatening to jump out his throat. He almost felt dizzy. Did Jisung say it so sultrily on purpose? Was it too early to start planning a date? A wedding? Minho hoped his hair covered his ears enough to hide how red they must have been. He cleared his throat, walking down the hall next to Jisung as he headed out towards the front door.

"Well, I still have one cat left, Jisung, so luckily for you, I might be back in sooner than you think anyway." He waved goodbye to the boys at the front desk, Yongbok's mouth curved into the most mischievous grin he'd ever seen, then headed back to take Doongie home before Jisung could respond.

It was somewhat of a blessing and a curse that Soonie never ended up getting sick. Minho of course was grateful that his precious baby wasn't sick, but also was now out of his third option to go visit the vet clinic again. But honestly, it was probably for the best, as he had quite the busy schedule lined up for the studio.

Jeongyeon and Mingi both had asked Minho to come in and help cover or teach their classes, both of them alternating getting sick. Somehow Minho avoided getting sick as well, but he was also meticulous about spraying the rooms down after every practice.

It had been almost a month since Minho had seen Jisung at the clinic, Yongbok reminding him that they did have two veterinarians now, so they alternated schedules. Minho was good on his word though and brought homemade lunch for the entire staff that Friday, even making extra for Jisung in case he came in late. Dr. Min offered his thanks, but Minho didn't stay this time, and Yongbok and Seungmin had plenty of teasing to give him about that, but he also really was working extra hard at the studio.

So you could imagine that Minho was less than impressed when Mingi decided to drop the bomb on Minho and Jeongyeon that he was going to quit.

"What the hell do you mean, you're going to quit?" Jeongyeon snapped at Mingi in the parking lot that following Thursday evening. Minho just stood off to the side, equally upset as Jeongyeon, but also still trying to process it all.

"It's just not that fun anymore for me. My passion is drying up I guess. The kids are cute but come on, I need something more stable if I'm going to get married and start a family." Mingi's words struck something deep in Minho's chest. He understood, to a degree. He really did. He was the older brother who was still doing things at a slower pace than his baby brother, and he hated it. He felt like he could afford things a little easier now with how much his schedule had picked up, but it still wasn't his dream.

He wanted his own studio.

And he wasn't seeing anyone, let alone in a committed relationship like Mingi was, so he could see where the appeal would be in finding something more stable and higher paying right off the bat.

"I'm not going to say it's a good call, 'cause we will miss you like hell here," Minho started, patting Mingi on the shoulder. "But I mean, I get it. You gotta do what you gotta do. You're incredible, and you'll be incredible wherever you go."

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes at Minho, clearly not a fan of him taking Mingi's side in this.

"Well, where are you even going to go anyway?" she asked him, dropping the snarky tone she had previously. Both men could tell she was now just sad about losing her dance buddy. Mingi smiled softly at her.

"I've got my degree in business, and finance as well. My uncle said he would help me at his job if I ever needed it, so I got the degrees right out of high school as my backup plan. This is what I wanted to do at the time, but it just isn't anymore. So, I gotta put my big boy pants on and be an adult." Minho frowned at that.

"You can be an adult and enjoy teaching dance. I would kill to have my own studio and teach at like, a college level," Minho stated, and Mingi nodded in agreement.

"Sure, sure. And that's an awesome dream to have. It's yours though, not mine."

The conversation seemed to fizzle from there, and they all helped lock up the studio and headed to their cars. Minho got in the driver's seat, rolling his mind over what Mingi had said when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was a text from a number he hadn't seen before. Opening the text, his eyes widened.

:Hi, Minho! This is Jisung from the clinic! I just wanted to say thank you for the food again, it was seriously outstanding! I know it's a little late, but I just got in and got to dig in, and it was sublime!

:Also, how are Dori and Doongie doing? I take it the other fur baby is alright since I didn't see you bring them in.

:Hope you're having a good night.

:Oh, I got your number from Felix, he mentioned needing to talk to me about food, or the food. Or something. Anyway. I'm rambling now, sorry.

:Have a good night. Hopefully I'll see you around the clinic soon. :)

Minho felt like he could pass out. Jisung had his number. Jisung, the hot veterinarian, was texting him and thanking him for the food he made. Jisung, the incredibly adorable man he was crushing hard for, was checking in on his cats. He made a mental note to punch Yongbok the next time he saw him, but also maybe make him brownies. Should he wait to respond until he got home? Was texting Jisung back right now way too obvious and needy?

He ran a hand through his messy hair, contemplating. He most definitely didn't want to seem too eager, especially when they were flirting the last time they saw each other, which was what? Over a month ago now? And they were flirting, right?

There was also the fact that Minho didn't know if Jisung was really flirting or just teasing. Just being nice with the guys. Minho didn't know if Jisung was even into him, and that started to eat away at Minho, too.

Was Jisung even into guys? Was Minho just so deluded in his wants, he was starting to act delusional? His crush on his brother's boss deluding him into thinking there was flirting and possibly reciprocated feelings? Rain started drizzling on Minho's windshield, snapping him back into reality. He sighed to himself, convincing himself that replying when he got home would be the safest option.

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What Minho hadn't expected was that Jisung would respond back immediately. And Minho also hadn't expected that they would text each other almost every day after that. It started with Minho's reply to the initial text that Jisung sent, and then Jisung replied back within minutes, wanting to work out some sort of compensation for more of Minho's cooking but the conversation bled into the next morning as they argued over not needing to be paid, and taking food requests. Then it shifted into I-saw-this-and-thought-of-you TikToks that Jisung sent Minho, which was a compilation of silly cats.

It made Minho's heart swirl around and suck all the oxygen out of his lungs whenever his phone lit up with a new text message from Jisung, but in the best way. So when Jisung sent Minho a text a few weeks later, inviting him to the Grand Re-Opening of the clinic, Minho could hardly contain himself.

"If you hook up with him, do you think you could convince him to give us another raise?" Yongbok joked on the other line, laughing at his own words. Minho had his earbuds in, trying to focus on the cheesecake he was making for the re-opening.

"I'm not hooking up with your boss, Yongbok-ah," Minho said sternly, but the mental images of them sprawled out on the bed together, legs tangled in each other, sent a shiver down Minho's spine.

"Sure sure. You only text each other all the time, make him food and cheesecakes and get invited to employee-only dinner events," Yongbok retorted, gaining a silent grin from the elder. It was true, and Minho loved to hear it out loud. It helped ground him a little, hearing others point it out. Minho's brain could be cruel at times, anxiety getting the best of him, so he enjoyed when others pointed out things that Minho couldn't deny.

Minho had spent most of the week perfecting cheesecake recipes after Yongbok let him know that it was Jisung's favorite dessert, and the rest of the week he spent convinced it was all in his head and he was delusional to think Jisung liked him.

"Listen, he's hot. He's funny, really smart and I think he's into you," Yongbok said, crushing buttons on whatever Nintendo game he was playing. "And you're obviously down bad, so just shoot your shot. Show up tomorrow looking hot as hell and just confess." Minho blushed, finally happy with how the cake turned out and carefully put it in the refrigerator.

"And Hyunjin told me to let you know that you should absolutely wear those black slacks that hug your ass. His words, not mine!" Yongbok snorted, hearing Minho all but sputtering a response on the other line. But as flustered as Minho was, he wanted to look good for Jisung, so he caved.

"Ok, fine. But with what top?"

Minho was carefully loading up the cheesecake into his car, along with two large bowls in his front seat. One red bowl with a red label for spicy, one white bowl with a green label for mild. Hyunjin had found out that Jisung didn't care much for spicy foods, so Minho took that as an invitation to create two different tteokbokki, and also bring along a tray of extra sides of rice and kimbap. He knew it wasn't a huge gathering, it was really just the employees, but he still wanted to ensure that everyone ate their fill.

Despite the cloudy weather, the decorated front lawn of the clinic was adorably filled up with balloons and signs. The large glass front doors were both open, revealing an even more decorated lobby area. They had gotten a larger table for the break room after all, which was now in the center of the lobby with tablecloths and balloons all around the chairs. Someone somewhere had a speaker that was playing dancey music, thankfully not too loud, so people could still converse casually.

Minho came in, greeted by Yoongi and Seungmin first, who helped him bring in the food and set it on the table. It was a little odd at first, seeing everyone in casual clothes in the office. He was used to white coats for Yoongi and Jisung, but always scrubs for Seungmin, Yongbok and Hyunjin. Minho couldn't help but feel a little extra grateful for the casual attire though as he watched Jisung come back into the lobby from down the hall.

Jisung was wearing dark wash denim jeans and a low cut v-neck black shirt with a super soft-looking beige cardigan over it and small heeled boots. It also seemed like he must have ditched the thin-rimmed glasses for contacts today, which would have made Minho frown if not for the fact that now he could really admire Jisung's perfect boba brown eyes. Minho felt his heart race and he swore it was going to beat right out of his chest as he made eye contact with the younger. Jisung gave him a bright, perfect heart-shaped smile and came almost sprinting over to Minho's side.

"Wow, you look really, really nice," Jisung said softly, eyeing him up and down before fidgeting with his hair. Minho gulped. He did end up wearing the form-fitting dress slacks that Hyunjin and Yongbok told him to, he couldn't help it! If they thought he looked good in them then maybe Jisung would, too, and that was what he cared about.

Was he possibly a tad bit overdressed? Maybe.

But so far he heard no complaints, so he didn't care. He had paired the slacks with a slim-fit white button-down and loose-fitting tie, his shiny black dress shoes giving him an extra almost three inches in height.

"Oh, thanks. You do, too," Minho said, hoping he sounded less shy than he felt. His eyes wandered to the lobby, hoping to see his brother soon. "It looks great, you guys did a fantastic job," Minho continued, smiling back at Jisung. Jisung nodded, waving a hand over to the table.

"The guys really worked hard, I didn't— OH MY GOD," Jisung all but yelled, scaring Minho half to death.

"Is that CHEESECAKE?!" Jisung asked wildly, rushing over to the box on the table. Minho chuckled, nodding, following the younger man over to the box.

"It is. I made it for tonight." Minho would have to make extra food and desserts for Yongbok as a thank-you for letting him know that it was Jisung's favorite dessert. Seeing Jisung light up like this was well worth the money he spent on all the cheesecakes that didn't survive the trial-and-error week. Only Minho knew that there were three other failed attempts, and, well, that was Minho's business.

The larger table gave them all more space to spread out, Hyunjin passes out beers to those who wanted one and Seungmin tossed chopsticks to everyone. Despite there being so much food, it didn't really stand much of a chance. It was enjoyed and devoured pretty quickly, and the room buzzed with chatting again as Minho started to box up the leftovers again. His hand was met with a hand slightly smaller than his own, and Jisung shook his head at him.

"I'm not letting you cook and clean, hyung. Absolutely not."

Minho felt fuzzy, like he was going to short circuit.

Hyung?!

Were they on a hyung basis now? Minho knew there was no hiding how red his entire face was, so he hurried himself with the boxes and turned away from Jisung to pretend to throw trash away.

This was fine. He could remain calm.

But when he turned around and saw Jisung smiling at him, so fond and sweet, well, Minho was certain he was going to simply combust. He didn't think he had a hyung kink, but he would have to address that thought later.

"Cat got your tongue, hyung?" Jisung asked, flashing Minho an award-winning smile, making the urge to kiss him stupid very real.

Minho clicked his tongue, trying to regain his composure.

"Oh aren't you cute, Sungie. But I'm older than you and I'm going to clean if I want to clean."

Jisung flushed at that, but somehow still kept eye contact as Seungmin walked back towards the table to toss out an empty cup.

"Now, now, children, the cheesecake should be sweet enough without all the flirting. We don't want cavities now, do we?"

That shut both of them up, both huffing and visibly red, but cleared the table quickly. Yongbok helped divvy up the dessert to everyone, Jisung and Yoongi both ooh-ing and bowing their heads in thanks to Minho, and Seungmin closed the front doors as it started to rain.

All in all, it was a decent dinner party, and everyone seemed to hang back to help clean, which helped Jisung out, who was staying at the clinic for a few more hours.

"I signed up for the first late shift," he explained to Minho, walking him to his car with the leftovers. "It's just a few hours, and there's no real work to do unless someone comes in, so it isn't too bad. Honestly."

Minho loaded the food in the back seat, but handed the cheesecake to Jisung.

"Just keep it, Sungie. You just said you're going to be here late. Enjoy it."

I made it for you anyway.

Big boba brown eyes sparkled up at Minho, whose throat felt very dry all of a sudden, and the urge to kiss the younger man was stronger than ever.

"You're my favorite, thanks hyung," Jisung said softly, all but cradling the cheesecake as he took it back inside.

The rest of the group seemed to have left, or was in the process of leaving, Yoongi making sure Jisung knew that he appreciated him taking the first new shift. Minho stayed behind for a few more minutes, talking to Jisung about the new animes they were starting, and then he finally headed home.

[Jisungie]: Let me know you made it home safe hyung. The weather is super gross

Minho felt his heart swirl around in his chest, making sure to text him back the second he parked his car in front of his apartment.

The next day Minho had two classes in the morning and three between lunch and closing, so he was pretty well spent by the time he got to close up shop. Jeongyeon had joined in on the last two classes, helping with the five-year-old's, but she was also tired by the end of the hip-hop class for the adults. He did his usual spray down of the studio, not missing a single door knob or locker handle. Jeongyeon rolled her eyes at him, but he simply reminded her that he had yet to get sick, and she stayed quiet about it the rest of the evening.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

He hadn't really planned on seeing Jisung again this week, or going to the clinic, but it turned out that fate had other plans.

Driving a bit slower than usual in the rain, Minho had his music turned down to focus. Windshield wipers going side to side, Minho leaned in towards the steering wheel as if that would help him see better, but the rain just wasn't letting up. All of a sudden, a small-sized dark truck cut him and another car off, swerving all the way from the left lane to the side of the road, Minho cussing and swerving his car out of the line of fire.

He tried to pull over also, wanting to ask the driver what the hell their problem was, when he saw the passenger door fly open, and a white blur fly out. Minho sat, shocked, as the truck then cut off another car and sped off down the street. He looked back at the road, confused as all holy hell, but took a deep breath and began to get back on the road when the white blur moved. Was it not a trash bag?

Oh no.

It was a small white dog. That asshole just dumped a dog on the side of the road. In a freaking thunderstorm. Minho could feel his pulse in his ears, hoping to hop out and catch the dog, and hopefully the truck driver too. But the terrified dog started running after the truck, and Minho panicked again. It was hard enough to see in the rain, no one was going to be able to see that tiny dog in the road. Minho shut his car off, jumping out and hoping to catch the dog before...

Minho wanted to vomit.

He knew it was going to happen, it was too dark to see. Too hard to see the dog in the rain. And someone just didn't swerve out of the way in time.

Minho looked around, watching the car that hit the tiny dog just take off.

"Fucking asshats!"

He searched his car, finding one of his hoodies crumpled up in the back seat. Minho shook it out as he ran towards the dog, trying to be as careful as possible as he wrapped it up and carried it back to his car. Minho gingerly placed the tiny white crying dog on the passenger seat, trying not to think too much about all the blood on the poor thing's back leg. He was already soaked, angrily wiping his hair out of his face and slicking it back, he fumbled to find his phone.

"Oh, hey hyung! What's up?" Minho heard, but he was already turning the car around and heading back on the road.

"You're at the clinic tonight, right?" Minho asked, a bit shaken up. The poor dog seemed to be having a hard time breathing, and now so was Minho. He was pissed. He was cold. He was so worried about this poor tiny dog that did nothing wrong.

"Yeah, til 11:30, why?"

"Meet me out front in like five minutes, it's bad. I'll explain when I get there."

By some miracle, Minho had been able to calm down enough to explain the situation to Jisung, who was waiting by the front doors as promised. Seungmin was there, too, thankfully, and he got to work immediately. Minho just waited in the lobby, not wanting to get in the way, but he also wanted answers.

Oh how he wished he had a dash cam in his car, he wanted to find the truck owners so bad. As upset as he was with the car that didn't stop, he couldn't exactly hate them. The rain was horrific and they aren't the ones who dumped a dog on the side of the road in a storm.

Even just thinking about it, Minho was getting all worked up again. He was trying so hard to keep calm, but now his stomach was reeling. Minho's mind playing the accident over and over in his mind, he was getting queasy.

Oh God, no. Not here.

His brown eyes darted around the room in panic, desperate to find a trash can. Thankfully, there was one beside the chairs opposite him, so he hurried over to them, thankful he moved so quickly as he emptied his stomach contents into the trash can.

Well, this is embarrassing.

It was a good twenty minutes before Jisung and Seungmin came back to talk to Minho.

"There's nothing else we can do for him right now, unfortunately," Jisung started, Seungmin right behind him.

"But he'll be alright! Broken leg and he might need surgery but he should pull through. He will rest up tonight for possible surgery tomorrow, but he will be alright. He seems tough," Seungmin added.

Minho sighed in relief, nodding.

"Good. Poor thing. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Fucking assholes." He sat awkwardly, waiting until Seungmin made eye contact with him before handing him the soiled trash can.

"I'm so sorry, Minnie. The whole thing was just a lot. I don't know what happened, but I can take it back there and clean it. God, I'm so sorry."

Seungmin, much to Minho's surprise, didn't make fun of him at all. He actually didn't even say a word, just shook his head at Minho and took the can to the back office. Jisung carried on as if nothing happened, asking Minho to sign a few papers stating he found the dog and brought him in, and then sat down beside Minho.

"You're really cool, you know that?" Jisung asked softly, scratching the back of his neck. Minho swore his face was pink, and he desperately trid to hide it as Seungmin walked back into the lobby.

"Me? The one who just puked in your trash can?" Minho asked, handing the clipboards with the forms back to Seungmin, who eyed them curiously, but then sat down in the chairs opposite them.

"Oh, that's nothing. We deal with fluids all the time. Plus, that's a natural response to what you experienced, and the adrenaline wearing off," Jisung chuckled.

"What I meant was, you didn't have to stop. You didn't have to try and catch the poor baby, especially not in this storm. But you did. You probably saved his life, to be honest. So yeah, you're cool." Minho flushed, attempting to slick his still-wet hair back out of his face again.

"Well, if I'm being honest, I really just wanted to fight the guy. But he took off and before I knew it, the little thing got hit and I panicked." He smiled at Jisung, who turned around in his chair to face Minho, making him that much more nervous.

"I guess it's a good thing you guys extended your hours, huh?" Minho chuckled, bumping his shoulder into Jisung's. Jisung nodded, grinning, that perfect heart-shaped smile again.

"He's comfortable, medicated and sleeping. I'll fill Yoongi in, since he's got the morning shift tomorrow. There's nothing else we can do for the little guy tonight, and it's about closing time, so we should probably head out," Seungmin said, almost sounding like he was reporting. Jisung glanced out the window, flinching at the thunder roaring above them.

"Hopefully it lets up soon, it's still not entirely safe to drive out there," he added, getting up and out of the chair and offering a hand to Minho. Minho smiled back, taking his hand eagerly and then brushing himself off. Now he was starting to feel cold from the rain, but his hand was still hot where he touched Jisung.

It didn't take them long to lock up, Seungmin being the first one to head out to his car. He waved goodbye, leaving Jisung and Minho alone. Jisung held the door open for Minho, the cold air sending a shiver down his spine. Jisung eyed him curiously, before taking a step back and placing a hand on Minho's forehead. Minho sucked in his breath, frozen.

"Oh hyung, go straight home and warm up! I'd feel terrible if you saved the dog, just to get sick! Take care of yourself, alright? Will you let me know if you need anything?" Minho hummed in response, involuntarily, wanting to melt into the touch. But Jisung's hand slowly fell from Minho's forehead and oh did Minho have to fight the urge to kiss him. He blinked down at Jisung a few times, his mouth opening slightly, and then closing it again, not trusting himself to form a coherent sentence.

"I will, jagiya, don't worry. I don't usually get sick-sick anyway. This was just a fluke thing," he said, waving at nothing, but hoping that Jisung understood that he meant the soiled trashcan.

"But, I do appreciate you caring so much about me," Minho finally managed to say, not allowing himself to process the 'jagiya' that slipped from his lips. And Jisung was still holding onto his forearm and Minho desperately wanted to know what that meant. Jisung smiled up at him, finally closing the distance between them, wrapping his arms around the older in a hug.

"Good. Because if you get sick then I won't see you as often, and I really enjoy seeing you, Min," Jisung said softly, almost a whisper. If the rain had been any louder, Minho might not have heard it.

But he did.

He felt like his face was on fire. He was hugging Jisung. Jisung was hugging him, and he was sure if his heart beat any faster it would burst straight through his chest. Minho snaked his arms around Jisung, returning the hug. It caught him a little off guard how perfectly they just slotted together. How perfect they seemed to be, how perfect it felt to hug him. He didn't quite know what to make of it all, just maybe a huge giant crush. Maybe he hadn't realized just how much he liked Jisung?

But how? How could he have already developed such a fondness for the younger man? It hadn't been that long since he first saw Jisung and noticed that he was unearthly attractive. They had become fast friends, sure. Texted each other multiple times a day, spent more and more time together and time and schedules allowed. But this feeling swirling around in his chest was something entirely new for him. So intense and overwhelming, stealing the oxygen out of his lungs and making him feel like he could float all at the same time. And yet, it felt familiar. Normal, like they'd hugged before, a thousand times.

Natural, safe.

Jisung rested his head in the crook of Minho's neck, inhaling deeply. Like this interaction was therapeutic. And maybe it was, for both of them. The rain seemed to slow, but it was still a beautiful background song for the moment, their moment. That was, before Seungmin came driving around to the front of the building, whistling at them.

"If you wanted alone time, you just had to say so!" Seungmin teased, window rolled down despite the rain to stick his tongue out at them as he drove off again.

They separated somewhat quickly, and chuckled awkwardly to each other as they began finally heading out towards their cars.

"Let me know you made it safe, Min-hyung!" Jisung shouted from his window, waving wildly at him as he drove out of the parking lot.

Minho just laughed, nodding and waving back, suddenly just a tad bit less angry at the lame truck driver from earlier.

Both Minho and Jisung had reported to the other that they had arrived home safely, and Minho asked when Jisung's next morning shift was. The rest of the weekend Minho was slammed with classes, but thankfully his schedule seemed to line up with Jisung's on Tuesday.

Minho came into the clinic, coffees in hand for everyone there. He handed the drink carried over to Yongbok, who passed the drinks out and then handed Minho a small Polaroid camera.

"What's this, Yongbokkie?" Minho asked curiously, looking through the lens at his little brother.

"We were thinking it would be cute to create a collage of all our clients. So when they come in, we thought we could take their picture and tack it on the wall over here." Yongbok pointed over at the now blank wall that had a solid black tape outline of a paw print.

"Oh, I love that!" replied Minho, looking through the lens again and snapping a picture of Yongbok giving him a finger heart. It took a moment for the camera to print the image, Minho shaking it excitedly to help it process faster. He set the camera back down on the desk, mentally making a note not to forget it, as Jisung opened the door from the back office.

"Thanks so much for the coffee, hyung!" He beamed at Minho, who smiled back shyly.

"Oh! I have bagels in the car, too! Hold on!" And he headed out to his car, Jisung right on his heels.

"I'll help!" he offered, causing Yongbok and Hyunjin to smirk at each other.

As the two came back in, both carrying bagels and laughing about the anime they were talking about on the trip out to Minho's car, they heard a click, and saw Yongbok taking their picture with the camera. Minho's face flushed a bright red, hurrying to put the bagels down and hopefully hide his face, but Jisung didn't seem to mind at all.

"Should've given us a heads up, Felix! I would've posed!" Jisung chuckled, cocking his hip out to the side and giving a very dramatic finger heart. Minho laughed, rolling his eyes in disbelief. This man was too cute for words.

"Well, here. Let's redo it!" Yongbok offered, waving his hand to Minho for him to scoot back closer to Jisung. Minho swallowed thickly, his throat dry again, but Jisung again seemed unphased.

"You guys need to get closer together to fit in the frame," Yongbok said, but Minho could tell by his smile that he was full of shit.

Jisung took a side step closer to Minho, holding his hand out in a half heart. Minho held up his hand in a half heart also, completing the shape and smiling shyly again. Jisung smiled his bright heart-shaped smile, exclaiming that he wanted to see the picture the second it was developed, before rushing back into the office as they heard the door open.

Minho glanced at the clock, and realized it was officially operating hours, which meant clients were coming in. He said his goodbyes, making sure to take the camera and the picture of him and Jisung with him. Once he got in the car, he was a little disappointed to see that he swiped the first photo, where they were carrying the bagels in, and not the second heart one. But he loved it just the same, placing it in the visor of his car before driving off to the studio for the day.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

By Friday, Minho was entering the clinic at the end of the day, printed polaroids of his cats in one hand and the borrowed camera in the other. Hyunjin smiled at him as he entered, hand already extended for the photos.

"Oh such precious babies, they can go over here by Kkami," he said proudly, showing Minho the growing collection of animal photos. Kkami was right at the top of the paw print, and he tacked up Sooni, Dori and Doongi right by the long-haired chihuahua, taking a step back to beam at his handiwork. Minho noticed another dog photo beside Kkami and pointed. "Aw, who's that?"

Hyunjin glanced over again, and smiled.

"Oh! That's Berry! My friend Chan's dog. You'll meet him tomorrow—Chan I mean. Not Berry, she's at home I'm sure." He laughed. "But Chan, yeah! He's meeting us at Topline!" Minho gave him a quizzical look, and Hyunjin frowned. He leaned over the front desk, looking for Felix.

"Lix!" Hyunjin raised his voice a bit, but was careful not to actually yell for Felix. "You did tell Minho about tomorrow, right?!" he asked, still watching Minho's confused face. Yongbok's bright freckled face popped up from around the corner, and then his eyes went wide.

Hyunjin sucked in his lower lip, eyes narrowing on Felix.

"Lixie!" Hyunjin almost whined, smacking the other's shoulder. "How did you forget to invite your own brother?!"

Minho's eyes caught Yongbok's, the younger's full of remorse.

"We're going out for drinks tomorrow, at Topline. We want you to be there, too!" Yongbok said softly, still clearly embarrassed he forgot to mention these plans sooner... Minho feigned offense.

"My own baby brother, my only family, forgetting about me like trash." He held up a hand dramatically to his forehead, like he would faint. Hyunjin giggled at this, but Yongbok rolled his eyes.

"Maybe this is why you weren't invited." Seungmin appeared by the front desk, handing a chart to Hyunjin and swapping it for another one beside the computer. Minho just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Well, since Seungminnie obviously misses me, and would be simply devastated if I didn't attend, what time tomorrow?" Yongbok laughed at this, taking his seat back at the desk, happy that Minho didn't appear to actually be upset with him.

"Tomorrow, Topline downtown, 7:00," Yongbok said, as if he were reading a script. Minho pursed his lips in thought.

"Ah, tomorrow's Saturday so I have classes until 8 anyway, but I can swing by after that if you guys will still be there." Hyunjin just nodded aggressively.

"We can just bump it back to 8, then we've got all night!" Hyunjin beamed, and Yongbok seemed just as excited. Minho tried to hide his concern. He wasn't that much older than them, sure. But he also didn't exactly have a desire to pretend to be 21 again. Not when he was still teaching dance lessons in the mornings also.

"I can pull away from my busy schedule for a few hours, I'm sure. I'll be there." Minho swore he could hear Seungmin's eyes rolling at the back of his head as he left.

Despite having later classes, Minho wasn't tired. His whole body was practically buzzing, excited to get out for a little and break away from the norm. Sure, clubs weren't exactly his cup of tea, per se, but Yongbok had informed him that all the clinic staff had agreed to make it tonight, except Yoongi who was working the shift that night.

Which meant Jisung would be there. And Minho would be there.

It wouldn't be at the clinic, they'd be meeting up in a public space. It was absolutely not a date, and Minho knew that, but it didn't stop him from getting home and scrubbing every inch of himself down in the shower, twice.

Then after spending almost 15 solid minutes debating on his clothes, he settled for his dark dressy slacks that seemed to fit almost like leather pants and Minho was not complaining. But he didn't want to seem plain, and he didn't want to wear anything that he seemed to have worn before. He did want to stand out, but not have it seem like he was trying to stand out.

Minho wanted the attention, but only from Jisung. He scoured through his closet again, before smiling triumphantly. He pulled the black shirt out from the back of the closet and over his head and then glanced at himself in the mirror. He would never admit it out loud, but he was thrilled. The black shirt he wore had most of the back cut out and open, the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, and the neckline was almost encasing his neck but not fully.

There was still room to show off a thin black choker, so he did. Minho searched through his jewelry box, finding two small silver hoops and his stacked silver chain necklaces. This was absolutely coming together, and he loved it. Just a small smudge of eyeliner on his eyelids, and a swipe of mascara and a shiny apple-flavored gloss, and he felt attractive.

He styled his hair up and off to the side, exposing his forehead, and he couldn't remember the last time he had shown off his forehead. Was that a thing? Would Jisung like his forehead?

He mentally laughed at himself, trying to pull himself together. Tying the outfit together with his tall Dr. Marten's boots, he couldn't help but be pretty impressed with himself.

It didn't take him long to use his phone and order a taxi to the club, not wanting to take his car if he was planning on drinking. He was a responsible adult and an older brother after all, and before he knew it, the taxi was dropping him off at Topline. It took him a few minutes to get through the line, get carded and then make his way into the club.

The club itself didn't look like too much on the outside, but Minho's mouth hung open slightly as he entered the building. It was chic, edgy, and classy all at once. High ceilings with black and red walls, so many lights dancing and flashing around the room. He could see towards the back was a long bar, and off to the side of that were a few rooms, VIP would be Minho's guess. Long velvety red ropes blocked off two of them, one just had a simple black door.

To the right were tons of bodies all crowded and dancing together in front of a large black stage, currently occupied by a DJ. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves already by the looks of the dance floor, so Minho made his way over to the bar. He pulled out his phone, sending Yongbok a text that he was finally there, when he saw several familiar faces on the stools beside him.

"Hey! You made it!" Hyunjin shouted, bringing Minho in for a side hug. Minho could smell whatever drink Hyunjin had in his hand, chuckling as he gave the younger blond a hug in return. He waved over at the bodies on the stools, and noticed some at the table to the right of the bar as well.

"I think everyone's here now, well, except I haven't seen Chan yet," Hyunjin told him, pulling Minho by his arm and plopping him down on a stool. A black-haired man came over from behind the counter, flashing Minho a toothy grin before asking, "What would you like?"

Minho blinked several times, staring at the bartender.

"Are you old enough to serve drinks?" he asked incredulously, and the bartender just laughed.

"I get that a lot." But he didn't seem upset or offended.

"If I wasn't legal, I wouldn't work here. There's no way in hell Bin would let the place get in trouble over something so dumb." Minho shrugged, humming in agreement even though he wasn't heard over the music.

"Fair enough. Can I just get a beer for now please?" The younger black-haired returned moments later with a beer and a smile, and then helped the other guests. Minho took that as his cue to follow Hyunjin over to the table where he assumed the others would be, and beamed over at Yongbok. His brother smiled back, before scooting over in the booth so Minho could join them. Before Hyunjin could sit down, he checked his phone.

"Oh! That's him, hold on, I'll be right back!" And he took off through the crowd of bodies. Minho sat, glancing around the table, softly smiling at everyone as he took a swing of beer, trying so hard not to be obvious that he was looking for Jisung. 

He felt someone kick at his shins from the side of the table and turned to see Seungmin sitting on the stool beside him. Minho rolled his eyes at him, but Seungmin wasn't paying any attention. Instead, he was talking to the younger bar tender. Minho watched them for a few seconds — did they know each other? Yongbok nudged Minho, ready to ask him about his day at work when Minho watched Yongbok's jaw drop open. 

"Guys, this is Chan-hyung! Chan-hyung, this is everyone!" Hyunjin introduced, waving his hand around at the group. Minho smiled as the brunette smiled and bowed his head politely. 

"Nice to meet you guys, finally! Jinnie has only been talking about you all for ages!" Minho smiled, but his eyes were fixed on Yongbok, whose mouth was still hanging open.

"This is Minho, Felix, Seungmin. You know Jeongin. Oh, and here's Jisung," Hyunjin said, gesturing to them one by one. Minho's head swung around at the mention of Jisung's name, and then he felt like he might just sit there with his mouth open.

Jisung was walking back from what looked like a VIP area, wearing very tight dark pants, and a 3/4 sleeve black shirt that was stylishly ripped all over, a small black undershirt barely visible underneath it, covering his chest, and platform converse. Jisung was wearing his thin-rimmed oversized glasses again, that matched his earrings and a small silver chain around his neck. His hair looked soft and fluffy, perfectly styled so that his bangs just sat on his eyebrows. Minho wanted to eat him whole.

"Is that an Australian accent?" Minho heard someone ask, and Chan grinned, nodding excitedly. Turned out, it was Yongbok who spoke. He was standing up now, pushing past Minho to get closer to Chan.

"It is!" Chan exclaimed happily, offering a hand to Felix to help him get out of the booth. Minho didn't move — he was still gawking at Jisung.

"My dad studied there when I was little. Oh, it's gorgeous there!" Felix said, both of them heading over from the table to the open area of the bar. Hyunjin slid in next to Minho as Jisung sat across from him.

"I knew they'd hit it off," Hyunjin said casually, taking a large gulp of whatever drink he had in his hand.

"I give them two weeks before they're sucking face in front of us all," Hyunjin laughed, Jisung's face turning pink. Minho finally snapped out of his Jisung trance, smiling over at him.

"You clean up good, Dr. Han!" Minho said loudly over the music, now finishing off his beer. Jisung grinned at him sheepishly.

"I don't look like a nerd?" he asked shyly, pointing his beer at his glasses. "I ripped my last contact, I'm stuck with the glasses until my new ones get here." Jisung sounded embarrassed, and Minho shook his head, fighting the urge to shake Jisung's shoulders. Did Jisung seriously not know just how hot he was? How was that even possible?

"Hey, nerds are hot too!" Hyunjin interrupted and Jisung laughed again. Minho tried his best not to glare at Hyunjin, who was now winking at Minho. Why? Why was Hyunjin such a natural flirt? Did he have no self-respect? That was his boss.

Although, then again, here was Minho, with a big fat crush on his little brother's boss, so he guessed he wasn't much better. Hyunjin got up to dance as Minho went to get another beer, noticing Seungmin was still with the bartender.

"You gonna go join Hyunjin on the dance floor, Seungmo?" Minho asked him, grabbing the beer he was handed. Suengmin shook his head.

"I'm cool just hanging out with Innie. I don't dance and I don't... people," he emphasized, waving his hand at all the dancing bodies.

"Jisung was just asking about you though," Seungmin stated. "I guess Hyunjin forgot to tell him that they pushed it back from 7 to 8, so he's been here drinking longer than the rest of us. Asked about you at least 3 times before you got here." Minho felt his ears get hot, and Seungmin eyed him curiously.

"What's with you two anyway?" The question caught Minho slightly off guard, but he steeled his emotions and played dumb.

"What's the matter, my sweet puppy dog? Afraid I'll get a new friend and forget about you?" he teased, but Seungmin made a gagging noise and pretended to jam a finger down his throat.

"Please don't go around telling people I'm your friend, Minho. Please God don't tell them I know you." Minho snorted, nodding at the bartender, who Seungmin informed him was Jeongin, and got another beer before sitting back at the table. Jisung swayed over to him, sitting beside him now.

"I didn't know Hyunjin and Felix knew Channie-hyung," Jisung said, his voice low against the loud music. Minho shivered involuntarily, but shrugged. 

"Hyunjin just introduced Chan hyung and Bokkie took off." Minho glanced around the dance floor, trying to see if he could spot him, but with no luck. Jisung hummed to himself, swaying slightly in his spot.

"Do you dance?" Minho asked him, watching Jisung's slightly delayed reaction. Boba eyes locked onto his and he feigned a cough to break away from the intensity. 

"Nah, too many people. I prefer animals," he joked, still swaying in his seat. Minho couldn't tell if he was really that tipsy, or if that was his way of dancing. Either way, it was adorable, but also, Minho wanted to see him dance.

"Well, would you dance with me?" Minho asked, leaning in so Jisung could hear him. His breath tickled the shell of Jisung's ear, which immediately turned red, but Minho figured that was just the alcohol.

"I mean, sure? Do you just want to laugh at me?" But Jisung was already getting out of his seat, chugging whatever was left of his drink as Minho got up and drank a good amount of his new beer before leaving it with Seungmin. 

The music got louder as they made their way to the dance floor. Minho grabbed Jisung by the wrist and practically dragged him, but neither seemed to really mind. The floor was shaking with the bass, bodies sweaty and slithering on towards the others, Yongbok still nowhere in sight.

Minho mentally shrugged, before turning his attention back to Jisung. The younger looked like a deer in headlights, panic written all over his face as he tried to give the other dancers room.

"You're fine, Jisungie. Here, just stick with me!" Minho shouted, and Jisung gave him a nervous nod.

Minho fought the urge to dance on and around Jisung, not wanting to add to his anxiety, and danced beside him instead. He let go of Jisung's wrist to dance more freely, but felt a tug on his own wrist shortly after.

"Don't wanna lose you, hyung," Jisung tried to yell, but was so shy and meek that Minho wanted to melt.

And who was Minho to stress the younger out further?

"No problem, here I am." Minho smirked, Jisung smiling back at him before he pulled Jisung close to him.

They danced together, Jisung being a much better dancer than he originally let on, and Minho could see Jisung's anxieties start to melt away. As Jisung slid a hand around Minho's waist, Minho took that as an invitation to do the same, snaking his hand around that sinfully tiny waist, tugging him closer to him.

Chest to chest, face to face, both men grinned, continuing to all but grind on each other. Minho watched the younger twirling him around and laughing, then sliding his hand down Minho's thigh. Minho threw his head back in a chuckle, but was also hoping to hide his eyes rolling back in his head for a moment. A hand was on Minho's back and he spun around, hand on Jisung's thigh now as he saw Yongbok.

"Having fun there?" Yongbok teased, eyes darting from Minho to a clearly tipsy, but having the time of his life Jisung who was now twirling around Minho, hand still holding Minho's other hand.

"Could ask you the same thing," Minho retorted, nodding his head over at Chan as he came into view. Yongbok blushed, before waving his hand as if to shoo the comment away.

"Chan-hyung and I are actually gonna head out in a bit, he wanted to talk more about Sydney," Yongbok said, still flushed. Minho couldn't really tell if his brother's face was red from dancing, or from embarrassment, but he let it slide.

"Yeah, sure. Sydney," Minho chuckled back, twirling Jisung around him again. Jisung bumped into Felix and giggled.

"I'll see you, Jisung!" Felix said loudly, leaning in to make sure he heard him. Jisung pouted.

"Are you leaving already?" he almost whined and Minho had to suck in his laugh. It was just too cute. Jisung then turned to face Minho, faces dangerously close together.

"Are you leaving too?" he asked, almost sounding heartbroken. Minho would have died on the spot rather than break Jisung's heart.

"Nah, I don't mind dancing with you if you want me to stay," Minho said softly, and Jisung almost purred. Yongbok's eyebrows raised, watching Jisung then Minho, before laughing and waving them both goodbye, Chan's hand never leaving Felix's waist as they left.

"I'm thirsty, let's get a drink and then go dance some more. I'm crushing it out here." Jisung laughed, dragging Minho by the hand back to the bar. Once he got his drink back from Seungmin, Jisung ordered another drink, and a shot. Downing the vodka first, he hissed, then started on his beer. Jeongin watched him, then his eyes went to Seungmin, who just shrugged at him.

"Well you two seem to be having fun," Hyunjin said, sliding onto the stool beside Seungmin. Seungmin was doing something on his phone, a game from what Minho could see, and then looked over at Jisung.

"If by 'fun', you mean they've been grinding on each other all night, then yes. They've been having a blast," Seungmin said dully, eyes not looking up from his phone. Hyunjin laughed, then he looked at Minho.

"Oh! Min-hyung, this is Changbin-ssi. Bin-hyung, this is Minho-hyung." A man stepped out from behind Hyunjin's stool. He was just a tad shorter than he was, but his arms were huge and he had shiny black curls that balanced out intimidation and pretty. Minho stuck out a hand, nodding his head in a slight bow.

"Pleasure to meet you," Minho said politely. Changbin's hand rested on Hyunjin's knee, but the tall blond didn't seem to notice.

"This is Bin-hyung's club, he knows everyone. He knew Chan-hyung I guess already, too." Hyunjin beamed at him, and Changbin winked back at him. Minho made a mental note to ask Yongbok about that later.

"Oh yeah, Chan-hyung just left with Felix. They're cute aren't they?" Hyunjin asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Minho. Jisung laughed, working on his beer. Minho rolled his eyes.

"I don't care what or who my brother does, Jinnie. We've been over this. I'm just glad he's going home safe." Hyunjin chuckled, nodding. Jisung's eyes went wide.

"Wait, you're not going home, right Min-hyung?" Jisung asked, his eyelids heavy, swaying into Minho's side. Minho gulped. Was Jisung really this drunk already? He remembered Seungmin saying that he had arrived before anyone started drinking earlier, but Minho hadn't seen him drink enough to warrant this since he got here. Was he a bit of a lightweight? Was he actually just dancing and grinding because he was drunk?

Minho felt his stomach doing flips, but not because of the alcohol. He gave a confused glance to Seungmin, but he wasn't paying him any attention. Minho sighed, forcing a smile as he looked over at Jisung, his big boba eyes glittering up at him.

"No, I'm here. I was going to stay for a bit longer. Then I'll just taxi home. I didn't bring my car," Minho explained, sweetly. But his own buzz was starting to wear off with the realization that Jisung probably wasn't into him, he was just alcohol happy. But Jisung smiled, nodding once.

"You can just go with me," Jisung said happily, taking Minho's hand and twirling himself around again. Seungmin looked up at this, now suddenly very amused. 

"Go on the dance floor?" Minho questioned, pretending not to notice Seungmin. He wanted his help a second ago, but now Minho felt that the menace was doing it on purpose. He did always enjoy watching Minho suffer. Jisung shook his head, twirling once more before nuzzling into Minho's side, catching Minho off guard and slightly off-balance.

"You can just go home with me. Your car is too far. I mean your house. You have a house? Yeah. Just ride with me so I'm not alone, ok?" His voice wasn't slurred, but he was rambling, and Minho felt even worse.

"Well, I knew that was coming," Minho heard Seungmin say behind him, and he turned to face him.

"Meaning?" Minho asked, trying to remain calm. If Seungmin could be of any help, Minho would be grateful. Sure, just a second ago he was spiteful, but now his stomach was doing backflips, and his heart was arguing with his brain over what all this meant.

"Meaning just what I said." Seungmin coughed a laugh, eyes wandering from Minho to Jisung, then back to Minho.

"Do you think my boss just goes around dancing with anyone?" he said quietly, almost as if he didn't want Jisung to hear. But Jisung was resting his head on Minho's shoulder now, and Seungmin's comment just made Minho's head spin more.

So was Minho not reading too much into this then? Was this obvious flirting, and it wasn't just Minho's wishful delusions? He looked back at Seungmin to elaborate, but he was already focused back on his phone. He looked at Jeongin, who just shrugged, taking the empty glass away.

"Could we just get two waters, please?" Minho called after the young black-haired, who nodded. Moments later, two waters appeared and Minho took them, and a now very clingy Jisung, to the table they were at previously.

"Drink up, Ji," Minho said, wiping his brow and taking a swig of his own. Jisung frowned slightly, an adorable pout if you asked Minho, but he complied.

"I want McDonald's," Jisung whined, checking his pockets. "If I buy, can we get fries?"

Minho blinked, once, twice.

"You sure you don't want to just go home?" Minho asked, eying him curiously as Jisung seemed to have found his wallet in his back pocket.

"No, I want fries and a burger." He pouted again, putting his wallet out on the table before sitting back down and drinking his water.

Minho pursed his lips together, thinking.

"Drink your water and we can go get fries. And honestly, we should probably get you some hangover juice before we get home, too. I know 7/11 usually has them." Jisung listened, humming to himself and drinking more of his water before laying his head on the table.

They stayed like that for a while, Jisung only raising his head about ten minutes later when Hyunjin joined them. The tall blond was flushed, sweat literally pouring off him, his white shirt clinging to his torso.

"You guys already done?" Hyunjin asked, nodding over at Jisung. Minho nodded, Jisung waving his fingers at Hyunjin.

"Minho-hyung said he'd go to McDonald's with me!" He beamed proudly, a crease in his forehead from where he had it on the table moments earlier.

Hyunjin chuckled, poking Jisung's cheek. "Well that's awfully nice of him," Hyunjin said, smiling back at Minho. Minho just shrugged, hoping his heart and mind would make up their minds on what all this meant. Minho felt his ears get hot as Jisung nodded excitedly.

"He is nice," Jisung said sternly. "He's so nice. That's why he's going to go home with me. Because he is just so nice. So I want to be nice. My house is closer." Jisung hiccuped and Minho laughed again. Hyunjin gave Minho a confused but entertained look, before sitting over by Seungmin.

"Yeah, let's make our way out of here, I'm hungry too," Minho said, hoping the food would also help sober Jisung up a bit. Thankfully, the club was nicely located in central downtown, so despite not having a car, the walk to McDonald's wasn't that far. Jisung also seemed to be sobering up more in the cool night air, so by the time they got inside and ordered, Minho was pleasantly surprised to see Jisung eat as much as he did.

"Hey, we danced our asses off, don't you judge me," Jisung sneered, laughing as he took another massive bite of his burger. Minho just shook his head.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied, finishing off the rest of his meal. Now that Jisung seemed to be sobering up, Minho was even more confused. Did Jisung still want him at his house? Did he even remember saying that? How hung-over would he be tomorrow? Would he feel weird if he remembered they were dancing and grinding on each other? 

Minho felt slightly dizzy, but chalked it up to the alcohol leaving his system. He refused to deal with his own emotions right now.

Jisung seemed almost entirely sobered up by the time they finished eating, now heading to the nearest gas station for the hangover medicine.

"I'll be fine, honest," Jisung said, pulling out his phone. It didn't take him long before he informed Minho that he ordered them a taxi.

"I really don't mind going home," Minho said softly, scratching the back of his neck, his back feeling chilly in the night air. He didn't want Jisung to think he didn't want to go home with him, but he also didn't know what to expect anymore either.

Minho wasn't the kind of guy who just assumed that an invitation back to their place was an invitation for sex, and he most definitely wasn't going to make a single move on him while he wasn't sober enough to consent to anything. He knew his feelings for Jisung were just growing but he still didn't know where Jisung stood. And the last thing he wanted to do was mess up their friendship with his silly little unrequited feelings. But were they unrequited?

"It's not far," Jisung said, looking back at Minho. Jisung's voice snapped him back into reality, swallowing hard. He would absolutely love to take Jisung back home and have his way with him. He looked even more attractive somehow, outside with the city lights reflecting off his eyes. His hair messy from sweat and dancing, outfit still a bit disheveled. 

But Minho still didn't know where they stood, feelings wise or sobriety wise, so he wasn't going to push it. Minho pulled out his own phone, now ordering his own taxi.

"Really, it's ok. Another time, though. We can watch that anime we were talking about the other day," Minho said softly, not thrilled with his decision but ruffling Jisung's hair. Jisung pouted up at him again.

"Fine, but we watch the anime at my house for sure," Jisung said, huffing and folding his arms. Minho laughed lightly, relieved that Jisung didn't seem too offended at Minho's decline.  But was it too easy for him to decline? Minho's thoughts were driving him mad.

"And then we can watch Howl's Moving Castle at mine. You wanted to check on the cats, remember?" Minho reminded him, and Jisung shot him a bright smile.

"Oh yeah!" Jisung exclaimed, watching a taxi pull up and slow down in front of them.

"Well, this is me," he said, sounding disappointed. Minho inhaled sharply, not wanting their night to end. He couldn't stop himself, he grabbed his wrist, pulling him into a side hug. Minho couldn't help it, Jisung was too adorable. Jisung hummed happily, enjoying the closeness before pulling away.

"Just let me know you made it home safe," Minho said against his ear, and Jisung paused. Minho looked at him, his smile fading into confusion. Eyebrow raised, he waited for Jisung to explain what he was waiting for, but Jisung just continued to slowly lean in. 

Minho's eyes widened, his heart racing a mile a minute.

Was Jisung going to kiss him?!

He instinctively licked his lips, a weird combination of nerves and excitement took over his body as he slowly leaned in, too. 

But then Jisung's eyes widened, mouth agape. He looked at the taxi, and then back at Minho, then back at the taxi again.

"Um, ok so bye!" Jisung blurted out, hurling himself into the taxi and slamming the door shut behind him. Minho watched the taxi drive off, blinking rapidly, trying to process it all.

Was Jisung trying to kiss him? He looked around his surroundings, as if to check for a witness. His heart was doing backflips. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think. 

Jisung did drink a lot, and was tipsy. But he seemed to sober up once they left the club, right? Or was he still so tipsy he tried to kiss Minho? Minho felt lightheaded again, leaning against a light pole for support as he tried to calm his heart rate.

If he did kiss Jisung, would he have been ok with that? Why did Jisung pull away? Why did he even initiate if he was just going to chicken out? Did that mean that Minho would've taken advantage of him when he was drunk if he did kiss him?

It all made his stomach hurt, and he was beyond grateful when he saw his own taxi pull up beside him a few minutes later. Minho tried not to think too much about the fact that Jisung hadn't texted him that he had arrived home. He bit his lip, debating on texting Jisung or if that would be weird. Was it even anything to be weird about?

These thoughts plagued Minho's mind the entire drive home ,not even realizing he had arrived back at his own apartment until the driver cleared his throat to get Minho's attention.

Finally, Minho sent a text as he threw himself on his bed, wanting nothing more than to scream into his pillow.

[Min-hyungie]: Made it home, hope you got home safe :)

Minho watched intently as it went from delivered, to read, but Jisung didn't reply.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The ride home for Jisung was pure hell. He had gotten so worked up about the almost kiss, he thought he was going to vomit. He asked to roll down his window, hoping the fresh air would help him. He took slow, deep breaths. He counted backwards from ten. He tried to ground himself any way he could, but Jisung couldn't turn his brain off.

He kept glancing down at his phone, checking to see if Minho had texted him.

Would Minho text him? Would Minho be pissed at him for trying to kiss him? Why did even want to try and kiss him?

He felt like he had sobered up quite a bit, but even still, he wanted to kiss Minho. 

His best friend.

His male best friend.

Jisung groaned, throwing his head back against the headrest of the taxi until he got home. He fumbled out of the taxi, muttering a quick 'thanks' and bowing before taking off up the stairs and into his apartment.

He needed to breathe. He needed to think. He changed out of his club attire and scrubbed his face, hoping that would help clear his thoughts.

Nope.

Now he just felt half-clean. Jisung groaned at himself, deciding on a shower. He scrubbed his body raw, his entire body pink and aggravated by the time he was done. Jisung threw on a pair of boxers and sleeping shorts, skipping a shirt and going straight for his favorite oversized hoodie before nestling himself on his couch.

He inhaled sharply, grabbing his phone. Exhaling, he opened up his search bar. Jisung didn't know what exactly he was looking for, or what he was even doing, not really.

Did he need validation? Did he need to see it right in front of himself to believe it? Was this even a thing?

He didn't like men. He had only ever been with women, and he had broken it off with his last serious girlfriend almost a year ago. Was that what this was? Was he just touch-starved?

Jisung pursed his lips in thought, but shook his head.

No, he wasn't some horny teenager who just needed to sleep with someone. 

He did like Minho.

He liked Minho a lot.

They became fast friends and talked every day. They made plans for movies and they saw each other all the time. They hung out with the same group of friends a lot, so maybe that was what all this was? He just really enjoyed hanging out with Minho.

'So then why did I want to kiss him?'

His own thoughts loud and booming in his head again, he tossed his phone in frustration on the couch and started pacing his apartment. Jisung thought about getting water, but the idea of eating or drinking anything right now just added to the stress-induced nausea.

He glanced around his cabinets for crackers, thinking it might be a safe option, but then realized he wasn't actually hungry because he had dinner with Minho.

That wasn't a date, right?

Jisung vaguely remembered asking Minho to go with him, but did Minho even want to go?

'Oh God, I drug him out in the middle of the night to eat food with me. He probably didn't even want to go, he probably just wanted to go home because I embarrassed him at Topline.'

Then his heart started racing again. He was remembering just how much drinking and dancing he had done and now he was really fighting the urge to vomit. 

How had he been so bold?! He knew he was all but grinding against the older, but also holding onto his thighs and twirling him around.

'God, his thighs.'

Jisung ran to the sink and dry heaved, but nothing came up.

He scanned the room for his phone again, now pacing with it in his hands. He was shaking. His breathing was becoming uneven again and he knew he was having an anxiety attack. But he still managed to pace around his apartment and search up 'I think I like my boy best friend' and 'I tried to kiss my friend, am I gay?'.

He didn't find much to go off of, and the quiz he found was really lame. But he saw a text come through and he yelped, feeling like he got caught, and threw his phone down on the couch again.

Jisung liked women. Women were pretty, soft, and nice. Jisung could easily and casually talk to women. Women were sweet, thoughtful. 

But as he finally grabbed his phone again, hands shaking, he sat down and his eyes got wide.

He realized that Minho, too, was pretty.

Minho, too, was soft and nice.

Jisung had been casually and easily talking to Minho for months now, still remembering when he brought food in and his sick babies. How Jisung felt like he wanted to talk to him instantly. Find out more about him, make sure his cats were taken care of. Sure, that was his job, but he also wanted Minho to keep coming back. Not with sick cats but just to sit and chat with Jisung.

He just enjoyed seeing Minho.

Minho, too, was sweet and thoughtful. Bringing in food and coffees for the staff. And Jisung's heart skipped a beat remembering Minho's face as he came barreling into the clinic late that night with the tiny white dog who got hit.

Jisung could feel his face becoming hot, slowly putting the pieces together.

Whether he wanted to say it or not, label it or not, Jisung liked Minho.

Not just in a 'cool hyung' way, which Minho absolutely was, but in an 'I'm gonna try and kiss you before I get in this taxi' way. Jisung didn't quite know how to feel about it.

Was he bisexual then?

Could he even be bisexual if he liked women and only Minho when it came to men? Was that even a thing? He got up and paced again, needing to move. Minho was the prettiest boy Jisung knew, and he knew Hyunjin and Felix.

His eyes widened.

'Do I think they're hot, too?!'

Jisung went back to the sink, feeling like this time he wouldn't be so lucky. Hunched over the sink, he retched, the McDonald's and whatever else he had eaten coming back up.

After a few minutes, the vomiting ceased, and he slowly slid down to the floor. 

He thought about it again, now that he was done puking. Sure, he thought his staff members were all attractive. But he didn't want to kiss them. Again, that made Minho special in Jisung's mind, but he still didn't know how to feel about it.

But then a new thought hit him. What if he had kissed Minho? Would it have freaked Minho out? Would they still be friends, or would Minho hate him? Was Minho even interested in him? But also, what if it was the best kiss in his entire life and he just missed his only opportunity?

Jisung did his breathing exercises again, slowly pulling himself off his kitchen floor and dragging himself to his bedroom. This was all way too much for him.

He wasn't going to mess up his friendship over some weird fluke feeling he had while drinking at the club. 

Because that had to be it, right?

He thought Minho was pretty and had enough alcohol in his system to feel bold enough to kiss him.

But he didn't actually want to kiss Minho, right?

Jisung plugged his phone in, setting his alarms and trying his very best not to cry himself to sleep over this.

He was not successful.