Work Text:
Maybe if Jisung was having a better day, he might have noticed how the ground glistened with ice from last night’s rainstorm.
At work, he had dropped a mug, pink shards of ceramic flying everywhere. He cut his finger trying to pick one up before his coworker came with a towel. His headphones broke on his commute back, and he can’t buy another pair or else he literally cannot pay rent. And right as he walked in to buy himself a pick-me-up treat, the grocery store had sold out of his favorite cheesecake.
Overall, crap day.
It’s when he’s exiting the grocery store, grumbling and shuffling his feet, that he slips on a stupidly small patch of ice and knocks into someone.
Said someone is a man. A man with very big eyes, nice hair, and –
It’s Minho. The name flashes quick in his mind like a lone firefly at night.
“Woah, you’re Minho, right? I’m Jisung,” he says, pulling back a comfortable distance from him, “we went to the same high school!”
Jisung watches the man, who he is ninety percent sure is Minho, straighten out his pea coat before looking up. Wow. Minho looks just like how he did in high school. Maybe even better, and that means a lot considering Minho was already quite attractive back then.
“I know,” Minho chuckles. “Didn’t we used to study for chemistry together or something?”
“Biology, actually!” Jisung beams. So Minho does remember him, even if he doesn’t remember all the details. Maybe this day isn’t so bad after all.
“Right. Are you living here now?”
“Yeah, I just moved here!”
“No way, so did I, like a week ago.”
“I moved in a month ago.”
Jisung is still surprised that his parents let him move so far away. He always wanted to live in this city, with all the lights and scruffy dogs everyone seems to own. He finished college three months ago, and after finding nothing to do with his linguistics degree back in his hometown, he came here. His job as a barista also has nothing to do with linguistics, but Jisung is a baby-steps kind of guy. His parents assure him he doesn’t need to rush to find something huge each time he calls them.
It is a bit odd seeing Minho here, though. Minho is two years older than Jisung, so he might have moved here for a fancy job, or something close to that. It’s kind of amazing to see someone else from his hometown here besides his roommate.
He watches Minho put his hands in his coat pockets and move off the ice. Sensing a goodbye, something in his brain moves him to speak. “I can show you around, if you want?”
Minho tilts his head. “You’ve only been here longer than me for a few weeks — how much can you really show me?”
Jisung flounders. “Hey! Thousands of beetles can die three weeks!”
He doesn’t know why he said that. He stays up streaming the National Geographic channel way too much.
“What I'm saying is that I know a lot about this city already!” Jisung clarifies. “And I’m offering a premium service right now to let you in on the intel.”
Maybe he doesn’t know the city like the back of his hand, but he knows where the grocery store is. He knows where the two nearest laundromats are in case one of them is full. He knows the best Korean restaurant nearby and the best Chinese-American fast food place.
Minho sighs, the corner of his lips quirked up. “Fine,” he says softly.
Jisung is about to say something back, maybe a yay or a you won’t regret this, when he sees Minho pull out his phone. Minho taps the screen a few times, then hands the phone to him with a contact page pulled up.
He happily enters his number, saving his name with a squirrel emoji next to it.
They say bye, and all memories of cracked mugs and absent cheesecake have vacated the premises of Jisung’s brain.
<3
When Jisung gets home, he and Seugmin talk about their respective days over takeout Chinese. Seungmin tells him that he’s still learning the ropes at his law firm, how it’s going to be several more weeks of working under a supervisor before he can handle his own cases.
“You’ll be fine, Seungminnie – they’re gonna see how smart you are and let you start early.”
“Thanks, Jisung-ah.”
Jisung tells him about his crappy day, but then says he feels all better now. He chooses not to mention Minho, because a part of him is unsure if he and Minho are going to ever be seeing each other again. Minho still hasn’t texted him yet.
It’s when he’s is lying in bed that he truly takes the time to think about Minho.
Sure, he had been a little brazen earlier to offer Minho a tour of the city, but he really is genuinely happy that Minho is in the same city as him.
In high school, he remembers the way he wanted to do backflips and handstands whenever Minho did so much as smile at him. One time, Minho picked up his sparkly pink pencil for him, and Jisung spent all of lunch encasing the pencil in enough tape and plastic that his friends asked if he was shipping it off somewhere.
They only ever had that one biology class together, and Jisung immediately took the chance to ask Minho to study with him. They met up twice a week in the library after school, and even though it was only an hour each time, Jisung had amassed enough daydream material to make it seem like they spent days together. He watched as Minho swept his hair back and imagined it was him who was combing his fingers through the black strands.
After they graduated, Jisung was a bit sad to separate from his high school crush, but it wasn’t that big of a deal to him. Sure, he wouldn’t have anything else to fantasize about now. And maybe he cried a bit when he packed his bubble-wrapped sparkly pink pencil into a box under his bed. But that’s all Minho ever was – a crush he would inevitably grow out of like his high school bedroom.
<3
Minho does eventually text Jisung the next day — nothing special, just a short Hey this is Minho. City tour soon? And really, Jisung shouldn’t be as excited over the message as he is, but he can’t help the smile that blooms on his face.
Not only did Minho text him, he actually wants to hang out with him! Realistically, Minho probably just wants to become acclimated with the city he moved into and is taking up an offer so easily handed to him, but Jisung will count this as wanting to hang out.
It’s strange. Jisung has long gotten over his high school crush — he’s had two relationships in college (sadly, he had only dated losers) – so maybe it’s the idea of connecting with a friendly face from his past that excites him.
He and Minho agree to meet on Saturday at 11 am with Minho picking Jisung up at the front of his apartment building.
<3
Minho’s car is clean. There’s no stray litter and the lavender from the air freshener fills Jisung’s nose.
When Jisung opened the passenger door, he almost closed it. Minho is wearing sunglasses. And a black cardigan. Not a very good combination for Jisung’s heart because that’s his favorite look on all the celebrities he has a crush on.
“Here.” Minho hands Jisung an iced americano as he slides into the seat next to him.
“Wow, buying me coffee too? Are you trying to seduce me?” The words spill out of Jisung before he has a chance to stop them. He blames Minho’s stupid sunglasses for messing with his brain-to-mouth filter.
Minho scratches the back of his neck. “What? I'm just being polite, that’s all.”
“Well it’s working.”
“What’s working?”
“Your flirting.”
“Oh my gosh,” Minho coughs. “I’m starting to regret offering you a ride.”
Jisung grins and takes a sip of his coffee. He’s looking forward to this day.
<3
Jisung suggests that they check out the local attractions before moving onto the main touristy ones because the touristy ones will get less busy as the day goes by.
Minho agrees easily, and Jisung feels like someone gave him a gold star sticker.
At the Korean restaurant, Jisung orders for both of them. He’s a gentleman like that.
“These are quite literally the best kimchi burritos I’ve ever had, better than the ones in Seoul,” Jisung gushes after taking a bite.
Minho leans his chin on one palm. “And how many did you eat in Seoul?”
“Like one.”
“Alright.”
They get jajangmyeon at the Chinese restaurant next, then steal a mint from the laundromat.
“Did you really have to do that? We didn’t even bring any clothes to wash.” Minho protests. He doesn’t sound mad or anything, more like he’s just a bit curious about Jisung’s juvenile civility.
“Yes! They have the best mints on this side of town!” Jisung smacks his lips for emphasis. He will never be ashamed for pilfering mints.
He watches Minho shake his head before slowly popping a mint into his mouth. Jisung does an internal jump of joy.
The drive to the history museum is a bit farther now that they’re moving onto the touristy attractions, and Jisung finds himself fidgeting inside the car.
Minho’s radio is broken and he doesn’t have an aux cord (Jisung is seriously rethinking his decision to let Minho’s car be their main mode of transportation today), and the silence invites him to think. He ends up in the overthinking zone where he wonders if he’s being too annoying or, worse, uninteresting to Minho.
He looks over at the guy. Black sunglasses are perched on his perfect nose, and the cardigan sleeves are rolled up a bit to expose his forearms. He has one hand on the steering wheel and the other tapping his thigh.
Is he nervous? Is he counting down the minutes until he and Jisung will separate? Jisung’s inner monologue rambles on, and he decides he needs to put it to a stop.
“Minho.”
“Yeah?” He looks over at Jisung briefly before turning back to the road.
The best way to break an awkward silence is to make it even more awkward. “I have to fart really bad, but I’m holding it in right now because your car smells too good.”
More silence.
Then, Minho rolls down the passenger-side window. The action blindsides him, and Jisung lets out a surprised laugh.
“I’m not actually holding in anything,” he says after settling down. “I just wanted to see what you would do.”
Minho rolls the windows back up, shaking his head. “Nothing phases me. Not even a smelly fart.”
Jisung crosses his arms. “You know what, I’ll take the jab because it means we don’t have to sit in that weird silence anymore. Now we can talk.”
“Weird? I found it quite pleasant,” Minho says softly. Then he turns to Jisung, his sunglasses sliding a bit down his nose. He's smiling.
Jisung’s heart feels close to combustion. “Okay, fine. We can be silent.”
At the museum, Jisung quickly breaks his silence rule by making jokes about every structure or painting with humanoid traits.
“Oh, I bet he would’ve definitely tried to be my friend. He’s got that I-like-funny-and-gorgeous-men kind of vibe.”
It’s on his fifth one that he gets Minho to crack. Minho holds a curled hand up to his mouth and chuckles before walking onto the next painting.
His inner self preens.
When they leave the museum, Minho is full-body laughing at Jisung’s stupid antics, and Jisung feels on top of the world.
They drive to their last stop, the skyline observatory. It’s here when they learn that they’re both afraid of heights, and since they’ve already cracked the ice, Jisung isn’t surprised to see Minho speak a lot. Most of it is nonsense regarding how high they’re up.
“What would you do if you dropped this?” Minho says standing at least four feet away from the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding his phone up. Even with the distance, he still angles his body away from the view, like a last-minute protection measure. It’s kind of cute, Jisung thinks.
“Nothing,” he replies calmly.
“You wouldn’t try jumping after it?”
“No? I don’t like my phone that much. I could just use my laptop until I get another one.”
Minho raises an accusing eyebrow. “Not all of us can afford laptops, Han Jisung.”
“Minho, you’re literally making twice my salary.” Jisung has learned on the drive over that Minho is, as he predicted, an office worker at some big tech company.
“Doesn’t mean you’re not classist, though.”
Jisung squints his eyes. Part of him is giddy at the fact that Minho feels comfortable enough to poke fun at him, but another part of him refuses to be slandered. “I’m leaving you here.”
“Wait, no — it’s too scary up here alone!” Minho shouts behind him.
Jisung walks back to Minho with exaggerated reluctance. Then, something bright pink catches his attention. He points to a statue outside the window, on the outdoor part of the observatory. It’s a large pink heart, probably the largest statue in this city.
He remembers his first time coming here and thinking that even aliens would see it from space.
“Couples love taking pictures by that thing,” Jisung notes.
“Do they?”
Just as Jisung hums in affirmation, they watch three couples line up by the statue.
“Apparently, it’s one of the city’s best tourist attractions. That’s what I read online, anyway.”
“Huh.” Minho crosses his arms over his chest. “I should add that to my bucket list – ‘take a picture with the giant heart’ .”
Jisung laughs. “I can take one of you right now, if you want.”
Minho shakes his head. “I need to do it when I’ve become a couple with someone. That’s why it’s a bucket list item.”
Jisung laughs, shaking his head. “Whatever you say, Minho.”
When Minho drives Jisung home, he clears his throat while hitting park.
“Um, thanks. For today. I had a lot of fun,” he says, almost shyly.
Jisung nods his head and smiles. There goes all of his doubts from before. “What was your favorite place we went to?” he asks.
Minho chews on his lip for a few seconds before deciding. “The kimchi burritos. They were, surprisingly, super good.”
“Told you.”
They sit in silence for a bit. Minho looking relaxed, and Jisung feeling the awkwardness bubble in his fingers. Then, Jisung reminds himself that Minho likes silences, so he chooses to let it draw on.
The buzz of his phone breaks the moment. His mind scrambles to come up with a goodbye that is funny, low-commitment, but also high reward. So he settles for, “Well, see you next Saturday for kimchi burritos!”
And then, without waiting for a response, Jisung opens the door, closes it as quickly as he can without slamming it, and bolts for the front of his building. He runs up the stairs, because even the elevator is too slow, and body slams onto the couch when he makes it into his apartment.
“Woah, you okay?” Seungmin is peering down over Jisung’s frail form. “You look like someone was chasing you. Wait, was someone chasing you?”
Jisung watches as his roommate’s head swivels to the front door before flapping his hand around. “No, no. I just came back from my tour with Minho.”
“Wait, Minho? That guy you liked in high school?”
Shoot. Jisung forgot he was trying to keep Minho a secret.
Jisung rolls onto his side and grumbles into the back of the couch. “I did not like him!”
“I thought you were always talking about how hot the guy you studied physics with was! Was that not him?”
“Biology! We studied biology! And yes, it was Minho who I studied with. But! I did not always talk about how hot he was. Maybe the first one or two times…”
“Yeah one or two hundred,” Seungmin laughs before choosing to sit on Jisung’s legs.
“Seungmin!”
“Sorry, so you didn’t actually like him! Anyways, why did you come running in?”
“Well, he moved here like a couple weeks ago, and I offered to show him around when I saw him the other day. And then, while he was dropping me off, I didn’t want it to be an awkward goodbye, so I just shouted ‘See you next Saturday for kimchi burritos!’ and then ran.” He watches Seungmin’s eyes widen. “And now I feel so stupid because what if he actually doesn’t want to see me again or what if he was just pretending about how much he liked the burritos. Ugh!” Jisung screams into his hands.
Seungmin sighs. “Ji, you’re overthinking. You have his number right? Why don’t you just text him and say you were kidding about the burritos.”
Jisung doesn’t answer, still hiding behind his hands.
“Unless,” Seungmin’s voice takes on a mischievous tone, “you do actually want to go on that date with him!”
Jisung swats at Seungmin’s thigh. “It would not be a date! But also,” he fidgets with a loose thread on the couch, “it wouldn’t hurt to see him again for kimchi burritos.”
“Oh, Jisung.” Seungmin gives him a few slow pats on the head before getting up. “I’m going back to my room.”
Jisung twists around. “Hey! You can’t leave me like this!” He watches the door close behind Seungmin’s back. “Stupid Seungmin,” he grumbles to himself. And now his legs are numb from that deadweight.
He pulls out his phone, about to send Minho a text apologizing for his strange behavior, and stops when he sees that Minho has already sent him a text.
Can we do 6 pm this time? I have to do my laundry that day.
Jisung is confused. Was Minho actually taking him up on his offer?
Just to be safe, he types back, did u mean to send this to me?
Minho
Um, this is Jisung right? Aren’t we getting kimchi burritos on Saturday again?
Jisung slaps a hand across his mouth and screams into it. He thinks he kicks his feet in the air, too.
Jisung
YES
I mean
Yes this is me
And yes to the burritos too
Minho
Why are you acting so confused when you were the one who brought it up in the first place??
Jisung
Well
I didn’t think you would take me seriously
I kinda bolted back there
Minho
…
You’re right. I shouldn’t be taking you seriously. Nevermind, I’m busy Saturday.
Jisung
:(((
Heyyyyy
Don’t be like that
You’re making the baby sad
Minho
Baby?
Jisung
Yes, dear?
Jisung laughs. He is probably the funniest person within a five-mile radius.
Minho
…
You have probably about ten seconds to both save your reputation and the possibility of eating kimchi burritos ever again.
Jisung
[image sent]
Minho
LOL okay that was a good one. You’re safe.
Jisung reserves his picture of a fat cat in a plastic bag for moments exactly like these.
Jisung
See you at 6 on Saturday then, babe!
Minho doesn’t respond after that, but it’s not like Jisung expected him to.
<3
Jisung wakes up the next day with another text sent from Minho. It’s a link to an article about how cats aren’t meant to be inside plastic bags or else they risk suffocation.
Jisung
???
What am I supposed to do with this information
Minho
Stop abusing your cat, that’s what.
Jisung
I literally don’t have a cat Minho
That pic I sent you is something I stole off the internet
Minho
Oh.
Ok, nevermind. Sorry, for assuming. Here’s a pic of my cats as an apology.
[image sent]
Jisung squeals, hugging his hamster plushie closer to his chest. Minho is so cute for apologizing! He clicks the image to make it larger, and his jaw drops. Minho has three perfectly adorable, loaf-sized cats. Can he get any more cuter?
Jisung
:((
No fair. My one weakness is cuteness.
Minho
Good >:)
Even Minho’s emoticons are cute. Jisung sighs.
Suddenly, he sits upright. His train of thoughts is veering dangerously close to the ones he had in high school. But that’s odd because Jisung doesn’t have a crush on Minho anymore! And he’s pretty sure Minho doesn’t have a crush on him. Minho probably finds him endearingly annoying, like a cat with a squirrel toy.
Jisung nods to himself. Yeah, he definitely doesn’t have a crush on Minho. He just likes adorable things! That’s all.
Throughout the week, Minho sends Jisung more pictures of his cats to which Jisung responds with more cursed animal memes. It’s a conversation mostly in pictures, but Jisung doesn’t mind. He likes the feeling of waking up and going to bed with a text from Minho.
When Saturday comes, they decide to stop by a cafe first to get coffee because Minho says he’s so tired from doing laundry.
They’re standing in front of the glass case of pastries when Minho points to a brownie.
“This one with the coffee,” he says. He turns to Jisung with his eyes wider than usual, catching the fluorescent lighting and making them look a bit sparkly.
Jisung smiles at him. “Oh, you like chocolate?”
“Yep.”
“Nice.”
They stand in silence, waiting for the cashier to come.
Minho clears his throat. “So are you going to buy it for me?”
“What?” Jisung asks, raising an eyebrow.
No wonder why Minho looks so giddy – he’s trying to mooch.
Jisung puts a hand on his hip. “Is this ‘cause you got me coffee last time? I thought that was out of altruistic kindness!”
“Nothing in this world is made of altruistic kindness, Han Jisung.” Minho shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips. He sticks his hands in his pockets and sways back and forth.
“Not even you?” Jisung pouts.
Minho ignores him in favor of stepping out of the line when he notices the cashier come back.
“My coffee, Jisung. I’m getting sleepy.”
He laughs while Jisung reluctantly orders for the both of them.
They get their orders and head to the kimchi burrito place. Jisung teaches Minho how to fit the whole end of a burrito into his mouth, which only makes Minho laugh. He laughs so hard that Jisung gets annoyed and shushes him.
When Minho drops him off at his apartment, Jisung is full and sleepy enough for his brain-to-mouth filter to start wearing thin.
“This was fun. Would’ve been more fun if I didn’t have to pay for your brownie earlier, but that’s my fault for not being able to say no.”
Minho indulges him in his food-coma talk. “Why couldn’t you say no?”
“Because my weakness is cute things.”
Minho laughs, the sound too loud for the quiet of the street at this time. “Are you calling me cute, Han Jisung?”
Jisung is wide awake now.
“No? I was talking about…” His brain searches for something while he unbuckles his seatbelt. “The brownie! The brownie was cute. Okay, dinner was nice, bye!” He opens the door and bolts for his apartment for the second time in a week.
He talks about his day with Seungmin, showers, and lays in bed before checking his phone. He really isn’t looking forward to a text from Minho calling him out. But when he opens his messages, lo and behold, there’s a text
Minho
[image sent]
Can we go here next? I heard it’s really good.
It’s a picture of a cat cafe. Jisung sighs. Even if he hates how much he embarasses himself in front of Minho, how can he say no to a cat cafe?
Jisung
Fine, only because I am so gracious and kind
<3
“Why do you like biting your thumbs so much?”
“I definitely don’t do that,” Minho says while wiping his thumb on his pants and holding a piece of yarn above a small gray tabby’s head.
Jisung watches Minho watch the cat, Minho’s thumb still glistening from where he was biting it seconds ago.
“You know babies do that too?” Jisung says, dragging his chair closer to Minho’s. “Do you think maybe it was a leftover habit from when you were little?”
“I just said I don’t bite my thumb, there’s nothing leftover.”
“Okay, how about a rooting reflex?”
Minho sets the yarn down on the table, the gray tabby walking away. He turns towards Jisung. “What is that?”
Jisung brushes a hand down the left side of Minho’s face, his eyes lighting up from how soft the skin feels.
“Why are you stroking my cheek?” Minho asks. He looks disgruntled, but he also doesn’t move away.
“Because babies with a rooting reflex move their heads in the direction of the hand when their cheek is stroked!” Jisung tilts his head. “You didn’t do that, though.”
Minho squints his eyes. “Are you calling me a baby?”
“Yes,” Jisung giggles. “My cute, widdle baby, Minho! Come here, I’ll give you some allowance.”
Minho’s face flushes a bit. He glances around, making sure no one is looking at them. “Please stop talking.”
Jisung shrugs. “Fine, I’ll get you a pacifier.”
“You know, considering that I always drive you around, I think you’re the baby here.”
“Oh, so now you’re equating commuter dependency with parenting? Well, guess what, Minho, Han Jisung is no one’s sugar baby! You can’t win me over with just gas mileage and heated seats!”
“Jisung. Please stop— ”
“I mean, not that you need to do anything more for me – I’m quite appreciative of you driving me around, but I’m also not someone to be bought by –”
Minho closes his eyes. “Han Jisung, I am going to stuff your mouth with a napkin.”
Jisung backs his chair away. “Okay, fine.”
<3
“You hang out a lot with Minho these days,” Seungmin says one night when he and Jisung do their daily debriefings over takeout.
“Jealous I have other friends?” Jisung responds with a smug smile.
He knows he’s using a throwaway line on Seungmin, but every time Jisung is confronted with how much time he spends with Minho either by his roommate or his own brain, he does his best to avoid the subject.
He and Minho get along fine. Better than fine, probably. Minho laughs at all his stupid jokes, even when he tries not to. Jisung ends up laughing at Minho’s grumblings, which he can tell are exaggerated for comedic effect. Sometimes, when it’s quiet and Jisung is laying in bed at night, he wonders if Minho likes making Jisung laugh. Those are the nights when Jisung gets the least sleep.
Seungmin rolls his eyes, scooping some fried wontons into his bowl. “Actually, I made a new friend today.”
At this, Jisung smiles. “Seungmin, that’s great! Who is it?” From how much Seungmin complains about his job, Jisung didn’t think finding a friend would be possible.
“His name is Felix! He’s in the corporate sector.”
Jisung nods along. He rests his head on his fist, thinking. “Hey, maybe we can invite him over sometime? We need a way to secure your friendship – a game night or something.”
Seungmin pauses chewing and looks up with a furrow in his brow. “Game night with three people?”
“Four! I’ll bring Minho.”
“Of course you will.”
Jisung ignores Seungmin’s stupid giggles in favor of taking the last wonton.
<3
Jisung is a bit nervous, to say the least, for game night. He’s never invited Minho over to his place before. What if he thinks Jisung has terrible taste in interior design and hates the smell of the living room enough to never want to hang out again? Jisung scrambles to change out some of the slips on the living room pillows, trying to create a coherent color scheme. The smell thing, unfortunately, is impossible for him to detect because he’s too used to living with it.
Right as he’s finishing zipping up a navy case on one of their large square pillows, the doorbell rings. Jisung takes a deep breath as he listens to Seungmin open the door. He lets it out when he sees it’s not Minho by the door, but a man with a deep eye smile and really white teeth.
“Felix! Glad you didn’t get lost on the way,” Seungmin says.
Felix chuckles, his voice deep and rumbly. “You live, like, five blocks from work.”
Jisung walks over to the doorway to introduce himself.
“Felix, this is my roommate, Jisung!”
“Hi, it’s nice to–” Jisung gets cut off when Felix interrupts him with a warm hug, hands patting his back. Jisung laughs and hugs back. This Felix guy is sweet.
As they make small talk waiting for Minho, Jisung realizes that Felix’s personality is just as warm as his smile. He transferred to the law firm not long before Seungmin and quickly realized how frustrating the job was. When he realized that someone his age was in the non-profit sector, he baked a small dish of cookies and brought them to Seungmin during their lunch break. Automatic good guy points in Jisung’s book.
The doorbell rings when Felix is talking about that one time he had to defend some corrupt start-up from a plagiarism claim and tried his best to convince his client to just settle. Jisung goes to get the door, leaving the law nerds to geek out by themselves. He doesn’t think he’s ever said anything interesting enough for Seungmin to be nodding his head that much.
This is it, Jisung thinks. This is when Minho could possibly decide to cut off their friendship if he decides Jisung’s apartment and friends are not to his liking.
He opens the door and his eyes immediately latch onto the large, plastic tupperware in Minho’s arms. He eyes it curiously, and Minho must notice because he starts clearing his throat.
“Can I come in, or…?”
Jisung chuckles sheepishly. “Oh yeah, sorry.” He steps aside and closes the door behind Minho. Minho sets his box on the side table by the door and bends down to take off his shoes.
“Seungmin, Felix,” Jisung announces to the room, “this is Minho, my friend from high school! Minho, this is Seungmin, my roommate, and his lawyer-friend, Felix.”
When Minho straightens up, he and Felix both make a noise of recognition.
“Oh, hey Felix!”
Jisung looks between the two of them. “You guys know each other?”
Felix nods. “Yeah, I’m working on a case for Minho’s company.” He goes to hug Minho, and suddenly Jisung wonders if it’s normal for lawyers and their clients to be this close. Then again, Felix is pretty friendly.
Jisung offhandedly notes how he and Minho have never hugged before.
“I see,” he says.
When Minho steps back from Felix, he’s wearing a playful smirk. “Jealous I have other friends, Han Jisung?”
Jisung huffs. “Surprised, actually.”
“Do you guys have linked minds or something?” Seungmin says. “I swear Jisung said the same thing to me the other day.”
Jisung smiles to himself at the memory. It’s okay they haven’t ever hugged – they can have mind-hugs instead.
“What?” Minho says, confused.
Jisung tamps down his smile, not willing to expose himself. “Ignore him and his mumblings, I forgot to feed him earlier.”
Seungmin glares at him. “You’ve never once fed—”
“Let’s start game night!” Jisung claps his hands.
<3
Four glasses of wine and one and a half rounds of Monopoly later, Jisung is happily nibbling on one of the cookies Minho brought in his huge tupperware. He watches Minho and Seungmin bicker over the correct brown to white sugar ratio in chocolate chip cookies (it turns out they both have baking as a hobby) while Felix stacks the play money into a neater pile in the middle of the board. Their kitchen table is only meant to fit two people, so the edges of the board hang slightly over the edges, but they make it work.
It’s a good vibe. Jisung likes that everyone is getting along.
Minho asks Seungmin how long he’s been baking, and Seungmin tries to count on his fingers before shaking his head and giving up.
“I think I started in high school as a way to relieve stress.” He giggles then, as if remembering something. “Wait, Jisung, remember when I made you try all three batches of my matcha cookies? Then you threw up while we were walking to homeroom together.”
Jisung nods solemnly, a pout on his face. “It would’ve been a really good day – because who else gets to eat so many free cookies? – until that happened.”
“Wait – you also went to high school with Jisung, Seungmin?” Minho asks.
Felix scoots his chair closer to the table. “Woah, so you guys are all high school friends!” he says excitedly.
Seungmin nods. “Yeah, we also went to the same college.”
“And now we’re roommates!” Jisung holds a fist in front of him, speaking into it like a microphone. “Next season, watch Jisung and Seungmin become life partners.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were like that,” Minho says quietly.
Jisung’s eyes widen. “Hold on, we’re not–”
“Like what, Minho?” Seungmin asks.
“Dating.”
“Wait, you guys are dating?” Felix chimes in.
Jisung waves his hands around. “We’re not dating!”
“What if we were dating? How would you feel, Minho?” Seungmin’s eyebrows wiggle mischievously.
Jisung regrets bringing out the wine.
“I mean, I don’t think I would have a right to feel anything in that situation.”
Jisung pouts. “Nothing? Not even as the baby I’m raising?”
“You had no part in raising me,” Minho scoffs.
“Well, that’s a little hurtful, but as the parent, I will take the blame for your personality defects.”
“Defects?”
Felix clears his throat. His eyes have an eerily similar glint to Seungmin’s. “Minho, answer the question.”
“What question?”
“How would you feel if Seungmin and Jisung were dating?”
There’s silence as everyone around the table waits. Jisung takes a bite out of another cookie and joins Seungmin and Felix to stare at Minho. His ears are flushed red. He must be a lightweight, Jisung thinks. Minho’s hands are clasped in front of him and he’s hunched over looking at the board.
Jisung distantly wonders why it’s taking him so long to answer. Isn’t it just a silly question?
Minho inhales a quick breath before straightening in his seat. “I mean you guys are great people, but I don’t think it would work out?”
“Excuse me?!” Jisung crosses his arms in shock. “I’ll have you know, I am great at–”
“Say more,” Seungmin cuts in. He’s smiling so wide, Jisung feels like he can count all his teeth.
Minho scratches the back of his neck. “Well, Jisung’s personality and yours don’t seem that compatible. Romantically, I mean.” He clears his throat and continues. “Like I think Jisung likes to be taken care of, but Seungmin is a bit too independent to do that.”
Seungmin nods. “He’s right.”
Jisung watches Felix nod too, like they’re all in office hours listening to a professor explain a super difficult concept. He feels a bit offended.
“Hey! I can totally take care of people!” He points a finger at Minho. “I buy you coffee all the time!” He turns towards Seungmin. “I wake you up for work when you can’t hear your alarms!”
Minho raises an eyebrow at the outburst. “Okay, but who drives us everywhere? Whose jacket do you wear when you get cold?”
Is it Jisung’s fault that he doesn’t own a car and that he forgets to check the temperature on his phone? He huffs. “Fine.”
Seungmin angles his chair closer to face Minho more. “So,” he starts, “who do you envision to be Jisung’s perfect partner?”
Minho frowns. “Why do you keep asking me questions like this?”
“Just wondering!” Seungmin then turns to Felix. “Felix, who would your ideal partner be?”
Jisung shakes his head. Not smooth at all, Kim Seungmin. He looks at their now-forgotten game of Monopoly mournfully. His metal tophat was three squares away from the “Free Parking” space.
<3
“Sorry Seungmin kept asking you so many questions. He's, like, super interrogative when he’s tipsy. Probably some weird lawyer thing.”
They’re sitting in Minho’s car after Jisung had offered to walk him to it. They finished their second round of Monopoly much slower than the first, most likely due to all the intermissions Seungmin insisted on. Felix left first, saying he needed to wake up early for a meeting, and then Jisung turned to Minho with a small smile on his face in the hopes of spending an extra five minutes together.
Minho drums his fingers on the steering wheel where his left hand is draped over lazily. “Its all good.”
They’re quiet for a few moments. There’s snow outside, but it’s crushed and dirtied from car tracks.
“Did you and Seungmin ever date in high school?”
Jisung turns to Minho so quickly he feels his neck throb a bit. “Pshhhh, no! He’s like my annoying younger brother.”
“So you’ve never had feelings for him?”
Jisung almost wants to laugh at the absurdity of the thought. Seungmin and him? That would be like asking if the moon will ever leave the Earth’s orbit and crash into the sun. And based on that gravity TedTalk he stumbled across, the answer is no. Hard no.
Why does Minho even care? Did he have too much wine to drink? Or maybe this is something that friends who haven’t seen each other since high school ask. Jisung wouldn’t know – Minho is his only friend from high school whom he hasn’t kept in contact with.
“I don’t think so? He’s not my ideal type,” he settles on saying.
“What is your type, then?” Minho is watching him with curious eyes, his body now fully turned towards Jisung.
It’s strange, to be given the full weight of Minho’s attention for a question so personal. Jisung isn’t a hopeless romantic, but he does think about his future partner a lot. He doesn’t know why; it just comes to him in fleeting moments – when he’s making toast in the morning or brushing his teeth before bed.
But much less often, he’s never thought about it when spending time with Minho. When he’s with Minho, it’s like someone has put a giant leaf on a river for him to sit on and watch as his thoughts rush by without stopping to examine each one.
“Hmm, someone about my same height, but maybe a bit taller so he can give me forehead kisses. Someone with nice eyes, great jawline.”
“And like a crappy personality too?” There’s a stupid smirk on Minho’s stupidly perfect face.
“Hey! I was getting to that part. Hmm, someone who I like talking to. Someone who is so interesting and captivating that I can't help but want to keep learning more about them. I like talking a lot, so I want someone who makes me want to listen.”
He watches Minho’s eyes soften.
“That’s… that's really sweet, Jisung.”
Jisung smiles proudly. “Thanks. What about you?”
“Um,” Minho says while tilting his face up, eyes searching the roof of the car for an answer. “I like someone who makes me laugh. Someone who doesn’t take life so seriously to remind me that I don’t have to either. I think I would like being around someone like that.”
Jisung nods. What a great person Minho is describing. He hopes Minho can end up with someone like that one day.
But because he’s Jisung, he’s going to cut the sap.
“Awww, it sounds like you already have someone in mind! Does my widdle baby Minho have a crush?”
“I’m going to kick you to the curb now.”
They switch topics to the best game piece in Monopoly, then Jisung says goodbye and walks back to his apartment. Halfway there, he turns around and sees Minho still in his car, waving a hand for Jisung to keep walking.
Minho is so strange. He bakes cookies for Jisung and his roommate, hugs his company-assigned lawyer, and asks Jisung about his ideal type. If Jisung didn’t know better, he would think Minho is kind of sweet.
A honk comes from behind. He turns and sees Minho now waving with more impatience. Jisung nods and makes a gesture to mimic him running.
Nevermind. Minho is not sweet. Just strange.
<3
It has now been two months since Jisung crashed into Minho. Two months of them hanging out at all the trendy and weird places in this city they’ve both decided to call home. They’ve had a few more game nights since then, which has erupted into a group chat shared by all four of them.
An hour before their scheduled game night, Minho calls Jisung.
“Hey, I’m not feeling too well. I vomited like, just now. Gonna have to raincheck.”
Jisung shrieks, asks Minho to send his address, then tells Seungmin to have fun on his date with Felix.
Thirty minutes, a takeout container of chicken soup, and a taxi ride later, Jisung knocks on Minho’s door.
“Jisung?” Minho’s eyes are wide in shock.
But Jisung doesn’t care how surprised he is. He’s too busy looking at how red Minho’s eyes are, how sunken his cheeks are. The man is still in his flannel pajamas with only one sock on.
Jisung bursts into tears.
“Woah, why are you crying?”
He wipes his eyes with his sleeve. “Minho, what happened? Why are you s-s-sick?” Jisung can barely get the words out through the sniffling.
He lets Minho take the bag from his hand and guide him inside his apartment. Even sick, Minho is still so considerate. It makes Jisung cry even more.
They take a seat on the couch and Minho passes a box of tissues to Jisung.
“You really didn’t have to come all the way here, you know.”
Jisung lets out an affronted scoff. “Y-you can’t tell me to not come here when you’re here like,” he waves his hands in Minhos’ direction, “this!”
Minho rolls his eyes. “I’m probably one of the best looking sick people you’ve ever seen.”
“Still!” Jisung pauses to blow his nose. “You’re supposed to be the guy who drives and gives me jackets and drinks my coffee, so why are you throwing up?”
“What?” Minho laughs. “I know that you know you did not make any sense just now.”
Jisung blows his nose a few more times. He gets up and grabs the takeout bag from the kitchen, along with a spoon, and unpacks the contents on the coffee table in front of Minho. He hands Minho the spoon.
“Eat, you sicko.”
Minho grumbles something about bedside manners before dipping the spoon into the plastic container. After a few sips, he turns to Jisung. He smiles warmly.
“It’s yummy.”
“Uh-huh,” he crosses his arms, “and why are you sick?”
“What do you mean why– how would I know how I got sick?”
“You didn’t eat anything weird recently?”
Minho drinks more soup while thinking. “I mean, there was a two-week old burrito in my fridge. But I checked that it didn’t have any mold before eating it.”
Jisung’s jaw drops. Minho continues drinking the soup.
“Please don’t tell me there was guac in it.”
Minho nods excitedly. “Yeah, actually! How’d you know?”
“Because, dummy, rotting guac blends in with mold!”
“Well, there was no fuzz so I’m pretty sure I’m safe.”
Jisung grabs a pillow and slams his face into it.
“Hey, stop sobbing into my pillow. You’re gonna get snot all over it.”
He feels Minho yank the pillow away. Then a hand pats his head. He sighs. “Minho, please don’t ever eat two-week old burritos ever again. Next time, just call me if you’re hungry. I’ll buy you a new burrito, okay?”
Minho chuckles quietly. Even with his red-rimmed, sickly eyes, he still manages to look so soft and fond. Wait, is Minho looking fond?
Huh. Jisung smiles to himself, listening to the sounds of spoon against ceramic as Minho goes back to drinking his soup. Maybe Minho is touched by how yummy the soup is – it is Jisung’s favorite broccoli and cheddar, after all. Or, maybe, he’s just touched by someone bringing him soup while he’s sick.
Jisung thinks about his first time getting sick in college. It was his first time he had to heal himself without his mom’s rice porridge or her gentle nagging. It was scary.
Minho doesn’t have any roommates, and he’s as new to this city as Jisung is. Was he just going to putter around like a sickly log for the next few days? Jisung can feel his waterline swell with fresh tears.
“Hey.”
Jisung wipes his eyes quickly before replying. “Hm?”
Minho’s looking at him fondly again, which makes Jisung think about him feeling sick and bedridden all day, and now the waterworks are back.
Minho’s gaze turns concerned and he reaches out with a tissue to dab to at Jisung’s cheeks. “Why do you keep crying?”
Jisung shakes his head. “Sorry, I’m getting in my head a bit. What were you going to say?”
Minho hands Jisung another tissue. “Just, thank you. For,” he gestures to the setup on the coffee table, “all this. You didn’t have to come here, let alone bring me soup. But you did. So, thank you.”
Jisung nods, tries really hard not to meet Minho’s eyes. When he does, he bursts into tears. Those stupid, kind eyes.
“Okay, now you have to tell me what’s wrong.” Minho’s voice is soft, and more tissues are being dabbed onto Jisung’s face.
Jisung pouts and lets his tears be wiped away. “You’re just like a little…”
“A little?”
“A little kitten. I need to take care of you, or-or else you’re gonna get sick,” he says between sobs, “and die–”
“Die?!”
“– Because you don’t know how dangerous this world is!”
Minho puts the tissues down and sighs. “Han Jisung, I am–”
“But you’re also so kind and you always take care of me so well by driving me everywhere and buying stupid little things, but you don’t even know how to do the same for yourself!”
The room is filled with the sound of Jisung’s hiccups and sniffles.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll take care of myself better from now on. Happy?”
There was one time in high school when Minho came to class with his nose so red Jisung thought he had put makeup on it. When Minho sat down next to him, he realized that his nose was irritated from how much Minho kept blowing it. Jisung had asked him if he wanted to skip their study session that day, and Minho shook his head saying his cold was nothing.
Jisung now realizes that Minho just sucks at listening to his body.
He feels a student urge to hug. Not a comforting kind of hug, but a hug so tight he can feel Minho fold into his pores. He wants a way to keep Minho safe forever, away from all the bad germs in this world. He wants to make sure Minho is never miserable alone, ever again.
He settles on shaking his head instead. “No. Next time, just call me and tell me what you’re craving and I’ll bring it to you.” He crosses his arms resolutely.
Minho exhales in amusement. “Fine. Now please stop crying so that we can watch a movie or something.”
<3
There’s lots of sun today. Good weather for picnics, Felix declared when everyone was deciding what to do for Seungmin’s birthday.
They’re sitting on a mish-mash of flannel blankets and faded quilts that Jisung dug up from the back of the closet. Outside of the usual game night squad, Changbin and Chan, two other friends Seungmin made at his law firm are also squeezing onto the colorful patchwork.
It’s nice, Jisung thinks. The fluffy cake that Felix baked, the ease with which conversation flows between everyone, the way Seungmin smiles so widely, the tufts of grass that pass in between Jisung’s fingers – all of it makes warmth bloom in his chest.
He closes his eyes for a bit and breathes in the fresh air. Sometimes, he gets so caught up in the busyness of the city and his constant fear of never getting another job that he forgets he’s living in the place of his dreams. He forgets that spring is just beginning, and he’s finally settled into something he can call home.
A loud laugh next to him makes him open his eyes. Minho is doubling over and clapping his hands while watching Seungmin try to clean up the slice of cake that fell from his plate.
Minho. Minho is part of Jisung’s home now, too. Him and his crinkled eye smile, his front tooth slightly jutting out, his soft voice. The way he laughs at all of Jisung’s jokes and makes Jisung laugh with his own. The way he pretends he hates Jisung’s pickup lines while his ears still flush bright red every time.
The way he still manages to make Jisung’s heart flutter after all these years.
The park they’re sitting in is flowering and the sun is still warm when Jisung realizes that he has a crush on Lee Minho.
<3
He feels crazy. Jisung hasn’t liked anyone since junior year of college, and that didn’t turn out very well when he realized his boyfriend hated all his friends.
What if Minho doesn’t feel the same way?
“He clearly does, you big fool,” Seungmin says around a mouth full of cereal as Jisung laments his grievances while they’re having breakfast.
“How would you know? Do you have big, beautiful brown eyes and a birth certificate labeled ‘Lee Minho’ ?”
Seungmin scoffs and sets down his spoon. “He looks at you with Looney-Tunes heart eyes.”
Jisung puts his head in his hands. “Ugh, I can’t trust someone using Looney Tunes as their reference.”
“Whatever, you can wallow in your angst by yourself.” Seungmin then promptly gets up, cereal bowl and phone in hand, and heads to his bedroom.
Stupid Seungmin and his uselessness. Whatever. Jisung will figure this out himself and then rub it in Stupid Seungmin’s face when he does.
Minho is… a cool guy. If Jisung confesses to him, and he doesn’t feel the same way, surely they’ll find a way to go back to normal. Jisung can’t imagine Minho being awkward around him. The guy is unflappable, even during that one time Jisung admitted he had diarrhea and needed to make a pitstop at Minho’s apartment or else he would ruin Minho’s car. Minho just saluted him off and warned him to air out the bathroom after.
So getting rejected is not a big fear for Jisung. Sure, he will probably want to smash his head in with a coffee mug and beg Seungmin to buy him heaps of cheesecake, but after a few days, he’ll be fine.
The problem lies in how he’s going to confess. He wants it to be nice enough that Minho realizes Jisung’s feelings are real, while still being lighthearted enough that it still feels like them.
He wants it to be special. Because Minho is special. And he deserves a nice confession, even if he can’t reciprocate. Besides, maybe if Jisung makes it special enough, Minho’s heart might flutter too.
Jisung drums his fingers on the table, looking around the kitchen for ideas. Just as he thinks he’s onto something with a kitten-patterned spatula set, a loud horn blares through the apartment.
No matter how many months they’ve lived here, Jisung still gets so startled at how close the train tracks are to their apartment.
Wait! Trains.
“Seungmin!” he shouts as he barges into the man’s room.
“What?” Seungmin doesn’t even bother to look up from his phone.
“Tell me if this is a good idea.”
<3
Minho
Just checking
We’re meeting at Clark station
Right?
Jisung
Yes!!!!!!!
Minho
Why are you so excited
Remind me why you don’t want to take the car again
Jisung
Secret secret
Anyways
12:15 pm sharp!!!
Jisung finishes buttoning his shirt after putting his phone down. He looks in the mirror, tweaks his hair a bit, and deems himself quite dashing. Hopefully Minho thinks so, too.
After making sure everything is ready and packed in his leather satchel, Jisung does a few breathing exercises to calm himself down. This is it. He’s going to confess to Minho and maybe cause a rift in their friendship that won’t be readily repaired. But also. He’s going to let Minho know how great of a guy he is and maybe get a hug in return. Maybe.
“Someone’s looking quite dashing today.”
Jisung turns to look at Seungmin smiling at him from the kitchen table where he’s sipping coffee.
“You think so?” His hand reaches up to mess with his hair again.
“Yes. Now stop that or you’ll start to look like a bird nest.”
Seungmin walks over to where Jisung is standing in the middle of the living room, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly.
“No need to be so nervous. He totally likes you back.”
Jisung rolls his eyes fondly and makes his way to the door. “Yeah, yeah. Says you.”
“It’s true! I’ll say I told you so when you come back!” Seungmin shouts from behind before Jisung closes the door shut.
He sighs. Hopefully Seungmin is right.
<3
Three minutes until the train is coming. He checks the text from Minho – he should be arriving right now, but Jisung still can’t see him yet.
Just as he’s about to check the train times again, he sees a head of perfectly mussed, black hair.
“Jisung!” Minho smiles and gives a little wave.
He’s so adorable, Jisung thinks. How had he not realized that sooner?
He waves back excitedly, watches Minho pick up his pace to jog over to Jisung.
“Hey,” Minho says with a quiet smile.
“Hey.” Jisung bumps his shoulder against Minho’s and feels a fluttering in his stomach. He glances at the screen. One minute now.
“Are you ever going to tell me where we’re going and why we need to take the train?”
Jisung turns to look at him. His soft black hair, his dark green hoodie. He stares starstruck. This is the man he’s going to pour his heart out to.
“Um,” Jisung fidgets, “just wait a bit longer. I promise it’ll be good. Or, I hope it’s good. At least.”
Minho chuckles. “What’s gotten into you today, Han Jisung? You’re never this nervous.”
Jisung blows out a breath. “I’m about to do something really big and crazy.”
“What are you–”
The train comes, cutting Minho off. Jisung makes sure they enter an empty car, then instructs Minho to sit down on a bench facing the windows. Minho gives him a look when Jisung chooses to stay standing.
The train starts moving and they pass two, three, then four red brick buildings before the view of the skyline opens up. Jisung takes a deep breath. Okay, anytime now.
“Jisung, why are you standing over there?” Minho gets up and takes Jisung’s hand in his.
The contact almost makes Jisung jump, but then.
But then.
Afternoon sunlight floods the whole car.
He waits for the train to turn, getting closer to what he wants.
And there it is. The giant heart statue, now completely in sight, haloed by the sunlight. The same statue they saw from when they went to the observatory all those weeks ago.
He turns to Minho then, watching his eyes light up with awe at the sight.
“Minho, I’m going to do the crazy thing right now.”
Minho tilts his head toward him. There’s confusion evident in his eyes, but he still smiles encouragingly. “Do it, then.”
“I like you, Minho.”
Minho laughs and nods. “I like you, too. Now do the thing.”
“I am. This is me saying that I like you. Not just as a friend or the guy I like to hang out with. I like you.” He points to the statue. “I feel like my eyes are like that around you. I want to ride this train with you all day just to listen to you talk.”
Minho’s face morphs from confusion to a silent awe. His eyes widen, his lips part.
“You,” Jisung exhales, “are my big, crazy thing.”
“Han Jisung…”
Jisung decides to be a bit braver and holds his eye contact.
“Are we taking the train at 12:15 pm because you wanted to tell me you like me?” Minho asks.
Jisung nods.
“And you wanted me to see the heart statue, too?”
Another nod.
“Do you really like me that much?”
Jisung feels his face warm and looks down at the ground. He nods, feeling a bit raw.
“Can I tell you that I like you back?”
Jisung whips his head up quickly. His eyes feel like they’re about to bug out of his head. “You— you like me back?”
And then Minho laughs that wonderful, tinkling laugh of his and pats Jisung’s head. “How can I not like you? You’re like the nicest and funniest person in this world. And here I was, wondering how I was gonna ask you out after we got off the train.”
Jisung’s heart erupts into pink confetti. He feels the scattered pieces surge through his bloodstream.
“Minho,” he feels water well up in his eyes, “you really like me?”
Minho tickles his chin. “Of course.”
“You were really going to ask me out?”
“Duh.”
“Can I hug you?”
And then they’re hugging, and it’s warm and soft and big and pink, probably a bit like Jisung's heart. Wrapped in Minho’s hoodie-clad arms and burying his hands into soft, black hair, Jisung thinks he can stay like this forever.
“So where are we going?” Minho whispers into Jisung’s hair.
“Love,” Jisung sighs blissfully.
Minho chuckles. “Cute.”
They continue hugging, then Minho clears his throat.
“No, but like, did you have an actual destination in mind or…?”
Jisung pulls back with a pout. “I didn’t. Sorry, I should have planned that part out.”
Minho ruffles his hair, keeping his arms around Jisung’s waist. “That’s alright, let’s get off at the next stop.”
<3
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
Seungmin waves a hand in front of Jisung’s oblivious face until he gets his attention.
“Sorry, what?” Jisung looks up, his hands pausing in their movement.
“I was just asking you if I should wear my green or purple tie for the meeting tomorrow because green is more professional, but purple looks better with my light blue shirt, which is my only clean shirt left.”
“Why don’t you just do your laundry?”
“I just told you that I ran out of detergent!” Seungmin puts his head in his hands. “Okay, now I know you definitely weren’t listening.”
Jisung laughs quietly and goes back to embroidering Minho’s name onto the small heart pillow in his lap. “Sorry, I just really needed to make this because Minho’s coming over soon. Just use my detergent for now.”
“But you don’t have my favorite cotton scent.”
Jisung ties off a knot before looking up. “Kim Seungmin, that purple tie has little puppies all over it. I will not let you wear that thing to your big meeting.”
“But–”
“Enough. Wash a shirt that goes with your green tie.”
“Fine,” Seungmin groans. “Why are you making a pillow for Minho?”
“Because,” Jisung replies, fully concentrating on getting the little red heart right, “he’s just so cute and cuddly and perfect and–”
The doorbell rings just then. Crap, Jisung thinks. He must have underestimated how long it would take him to finish the pillow before Minho would arrive. Seungmin goes to let Minho in, and Jisung shoves the pillow between his back and the couch.
“Hey, Hannie,” Minho says with a warm smile. He’s wearing a t-shirt and jeans today, probably because the weather has gotten so warm.
Jisung wants to suggest that Minho sign up for a Calvin Klein campaign. “Hi,” he greets instead.
“What have you guys been up to today?”
Seungmin starts, “Well, Jisung has been making a–”
“Conscious decision on how Seungmin should dress himself!”
He turns to Seungmin and glares in a way he hopes conveys how much of a secret the pillow needs to be kept.
Minho makes an amused face. “Have you decided to become a stylist now?” he says to Jisung.
Jisung laughs nervously. “Something like that. You should help Seungmin pick out a shirt that goes with his green tie so he can wash it.”
“No, that’s all good. I already know which shirt I’ll do.” And then Seungmin retreats back to his bedroom, leaving Jisung with a pillow behind his back.
Minho sits down next to Jisung and puts an arm around his shoulders. Jisung makes a happy noise and snuggles closer, until he realizes that the pillow is now fully exposed.
“What’s this, Han Jisung?”
Jisung sighs. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Minho pulls out the pillow, cooing when he sees the almost-finished embroidery. “ ‘I heart Minho’ ? Jisung, this is so cute!”
Jisung watches Minho’s face scrunch into a wide smile, suddenly forgetting all about his ruined surprise.
“You like it?”
Minho nods excitedly, looking down at Jisung.
Jisung smiles back.
They stay staring at each other like that until Minho speaks. “Didn’t you give me a pillow last week, too?”
“Yeah, but that one said ‘Jisung x Minho’ . This one is completely different.” Jisung takes the pillow back and begins trimming the excess thread with some scissors from his embroidery kit.
Minho pecks Jisung’s cheek, causing Jisung to freeze.
“Sorry, did I mess it up?” Minho asks cautiously.
Jisung shakes his head, his hand coming up to touch the spot on his cheek where Minho’s lips were. “If you do it again though, my heart will probably beat out of my chest.
“You know, people do cardio to increase their heart rate and decrease the chance of cardiovascular disease.”
“So?”
“So, this will be good for you in the long-run.”
He pecks Jisung’s cheek again and again, until Jisung has to move off the couch to finish the pillow in peace.
Minho turns on the TV laughing as Jisung sits at the kitchen table. Seungmin comes out a few moments later to ask about which shoes he should wear. Everyone agrees on the dark brown pair.
Once Jisung’s done, he sets down the pillow to check his work. He looks over at Minho watching TV. The glare makes his face glow, his features more pronounced. Minho has always been beautiful, he thinks.
Minho laughs at something on screen, and Jisung watches on, feeling warm. He’s so happy that Minho is in his life. Even just watching him watch TV makes him feel like the luckiest person alive.
He’s going to call his parents tomorrow to tell them about Minho.
But before that, Jisung's going to give an embroidered pillow to his sweet boyfriend laughing quietly on his couch.