Work Text:
The sun is beating down on his face when Minho comes to.
It’s warm, but there’s a chilly breeze along with it as well, making him shiver slightly. The air smells floral. His clothes are light and flowy, and he can’t really remember ever owning these. What kind of clothes did he own? Where was he?
When he blinks his eyes open, his questions don’t get answered. It’s weird. The grass and trees and everything around him is pink– and the sky is teal. He’s dressed in all white, and there’s not a single other color in sight. What the fuck.
Right.
He stumbles a little when he gets up, feet padding on the floor with rushed steps. He doesn’t feel panicked – It’s calm. His mind is at ease, but he’s just confused.
The air is warm despite the breeze. He doesn’t know where he fucking is– all he knows is his name. Lee Minho. It feels like he doesn’t know anything else beside that, not even where he came from. There are no memories of a place before this, only remnants of nasty feelings in his chest like a wound he hasn’t quite healed from, but he doesn’t know where that’s from either.
There’s sounds of a river nearby, and Minho follows it with unsure steps. If you don’t know where you are, follow the water. He’s probably read that in a magazine somewhere. It sounds like a him thing to do.
There are hills and mountains in the distance, all pink. What the fuck. He doesn’t know where he came from, but he knows for sure it wasn’t like this.
The river appears in sight, the water a crystal blue and clear. It rushes past, but as Minho get’s closer to it he doesn’t feel like he’s in any danger. The water won’t drag him away, It’ll embrace him. He knows that for sure.
There’s a boy sitting by the river when Minho gets closer– he’s dressed in all black, and his hair is a bit curly. Minho thinks he’s pretty. Does he know this boy? He thinks he does– Where’d he find friends this pretty?
He stumbles towards him a little, the grass crunching beneath his feet alerting the other and making him turn around until his eyes land on Minho. His cheeks are soft and round and his irises are sparkling despite the bags under his eyes. He looks tired, but not sad.
“Hi…” He murmurs once he’s close enough, making a small smile appear on the other’s face. He’s cute.
“Hi, Minho.” he greets back, and Minho frowns.
“How do you know my name?”
The other boy doesn’t reply, just holds out his hand to Minho and smiles. “Walk with me, hyung?”
Minho hesitates for a split second, but eventually takes his hand. He helps him up from the rocks he’s sitting on (once again– pink ) and doesn’t question it when he doesn’t let it go, and instead follows along when the other boy leads them down the path next to the river, hand in hand.
“Who are you?” Minho asks, turning his head towards the other.
he glances back at Minho, still with that soft smile on his face. “I’m Jisung, remember?”
He wants to say that he doesn’t remember anything, but now that he’s mentioned it, he indeed does know Jisung. He knows the name and the person, but still…
“Where am I from? Why am I here?” He asks, feeling troubled at the lack of memories. “Where even is here ?”
Jisung strolls ahead relaxed as ever, squeezing his hand once. “Don’t worry too much about where you came from– It’s not important for today.”
Jisung raises his head towards the sun, closing his eyes. “This place is called the burning world. Time doesn’t exist here– it’s a place of calm and serenity.”
Minho doesn’t exactly know what all those words are supposed to mean, but he nods along anyway. Walking with Jisung is peaceful. He has a feeling that anything with Jisung is peaceful.
“Why are we here?”
“People get sent here when they need a break from everything.” He simply answers, making Minho frown again. Why would he need a break?
The same bad gut feeling crawls up again, but he pushes it down because he doesn’t even know why it’s there.
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? It’s one of my favorite places.” Jisung continues, one hand in the pocket of his jacket and the other intertwined with Minho’s. “Come lay with me.”
Minho doesn’t really get time to answer when he’s suddenly pulled down into the grass next to him, until they’re laying side by side and looking up at the cloudless teal sky. The grass feels soft around them, and Jisung’s hand is warm in his.
“Do you choose to come here?” Minho turns his head towards the other, but Jisung is only staring up at the sky with one arm behind his head. The sun lights up his olive skin, and he’s beautiful.
“No.” He answers shortly, voice soft. “I just need a lot of breaks, is all. Our lives are quite hectic, baby. The feelings and deadlines and thoughts get to me a lot.”
The calm and soft atmosphere suddenly feels a little choked, Minho’s chest constricting with unsaid and unknown feelings. “”What do you mean?” He whispers, making Jisung turn towards him. “How do we know each other, Jisung?”
Jisung smiles at him again, still soft. “We found each other, hyung.” He squeezes Minho’s hand. “You can call it fate, but I like to believe we created everything ourselves.”
He rolls over, properly facing him now. Jisung rests his head on his hand, idly playing with their intertwined fingers.
“Why do I need a break?” Minho murmurs, eyes fixed on Jisung’s chocolate ones.
A sad expression crosses Jisung’s face, squeezing their hands. “You hide your feelings.” He whispers, scooting a bit closer. “It bottles up until it’s too much– I hate when you do that.”
It feels like Jisung’s words have opened up a new door in his brain that leads him to exactly that– opening up the memories of bad feelings and all the times he’s disregarded his own thoughts of insecurity in favor of helping the others. The previously unidentified feelings crawl back up once they’re recognized and make a lump grow in his throat, a lump that consists of he’s not good enough and he needs to do better and and and –
“Breathe, baby.” Han’s fingers are gliding through his hair softly, his thumb rubbing under Minho’s eye and collecting the dropping tears. “It's okay, hyung. This happened to me the first time too. It’s disorienting, but you just gotta breathe.”
Minho sucks in air in shallow pants, having tightened his grip on their joint hands. “I feel so lost– ” He chokes out, blinking as fast as the memories hit him. “I try so hard but I’m failing constantly and everyone’s telling me to do things differently or–”
“You’re perfect as you are.” Jisung whispers back, sounding slightly pained. “We see how hard you try, baby. It’s okay to feel like this. You don’t have to be like everyone else–”
“It’s not.” Minho whispers back, tears falling down relentlessly. He wants to go back to not knowing– Doesn’t want to think about all that he lacks. “I don’t even have a proper reason why I’m sad.”
“Which is perfectly okay.” Jisung soothes again, sitting up and letting Minho lean against his shoulder. “I’ve been in your position too, baby. Life just gets like that sometimes.”
“It’s my own fault.” He murmurs back, furiously wiping at his eyes. “If I was more open– If I wasn’t like I was–”
“Stop that,” Han gently chides him, taking his hands in his own again. “You’re amazing, Lee Minho. You astound millions with your talent and mean so much to those around you. You’re one of the backbones of our team.”
Minho feels his heart swell a little for the man in front of him, squeezing his hands once in appreciation. “It just feels like I’m always one step behind everyone else.” He admits quietly, casting his eyes down. “I’m always doing things the wrong fucking way.”
Han brings up one of his hands, tucking a blonde strand behind Minho’s ear. “One step behind what?” He asks gently, but it’s a rhetorical question. He leans forward and plants a small kiss on Minho’s forehead, making his cheeks heat up slightly but Jisung goes on, unwavering. “There’s no such thing as a communal pace, hyung. Everyone goes at their own speed.”
“I don’t do well enough in certain aspects–” He’s shaking his head and his emotions are getting the better of him again, and he doesn’t even want Jisung to see him like this. He’s supposed to be strong, supposed to be their pillar.
“But you excel in dance.” Jisung cuts him off, now cupping his face and looking at him so adoringly Minho wants to melt in it. “Your rap and singing is amazing.”
“I’ve been trained to do these things–” He tries, but Jisung isn’t having it.
“You trained to build up your already existing skills. You’re a natural talent– but that’s not all, hyung..” Han sighs a little wistfully, and the twinkle is back in his eyes. “You take care of us amazingly. We can lean on you whenever we need and you’re overall an amazing person, baby.”
Minho feels himself heat up again, but the tears are still fresh on his face. “That’s exactly why I don’t want any of you to see me like this.” He whispers, but Jisung is quick to pull him to his chest and run fingers through his hair again.
“Don’t think like that.” His voice sounds a bit thick too, but he pushes through anyway. “You can lean on us as well– Baby, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ll do everything to repay you for being in my life.”
Minho lets out a wet laugh, burying his face in Jisung’s face. “You’re so poetic.”
“Anything for you.” Jisung responds seriously, kissing his forehead. Minho feels so red, he must be matching the pink grass by now.
“I just… I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I wanna be there for you guys.” He murmurs, shoulders relaxing in Jisung’s hold.
“You are.” Han reassures, stroking a hand down his back. “But you need to let us be there for you as well– god knows I know exactly how you feel.”
“How did you deal with it?” Minho questions, keeping his head in the crook of Jisung’s neck.
Jisung swallows, Minho feeling the motion. “You don’t… you don’t get rid of it.” He answers. “You learn to grow around it and live your life despite the feelings, that no matter how you feel, time doesn’t stop and you have to keep going forward.”
Minho shuts his eyes against his chest, listening to Jisungs’s heartbeat. “I’m glad you’re here with me.” He only responds.
Jisung kisses the top of his head. “Me too. It’ll be over soon, baby. You just gotta push until you see the ending. You’re strong, you can hold on.”
Minho brings up a hand, lacing it with his. “Will you hold my hand when I do?”
Jisung’s grin is bedazzling when they make eye contact, eyes sparkling with the same fondness they always do whenever he looks at Minho.
“Always.” He whispers back.
Minho is so in love. He’s so glad he’s got all his people around him that he can lean on. Even if his journey doesn’t lead to anywhere special, it won’t matter if he gets to stay with his team.
He lets himself settle into Jisung’s chest properly, breathing softly and eyes roaming the beautiful fields around them.
“It’s truly gorgeous.” He murmurs. “I hope I can return sometime.”
He means it as well, and he knows he’ll be able to. The burning world will have him whenever he needs, as long as he keeps pushing through everything. As long as he makes it and sees the ending with his own eyes.
Jisung keeps stroking his hair, and Minho feels more at ease than he has in weeks. He feels calm, like everything will be okay.
His mood doesn’t change when he notices the flames burning up the mountains and approaching. It’s in the name, he supposes. Burning world. If you need a break, this place gives you one until it’s over.
“How long will it have been when we return?” Minho yawns against Jisung, feeling his eyes droop.
Jisung shrugs, leaning back on one hand and watching the flames. “I don’t think it’ll be too long… maybe a few days.”
Minho nods slowly, nuzzling his throat and landing a kiss there. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Don’t have to thank me, hyung.” Han murmurs back. “I love you. Please trust us with your feelings once in a while, okay?”
“I will.” He yawns again, curling up in his chest.
He closes his eyes when the heat engulfs them, feeling like he’s wrapped in comfort and security.
꒰ ♡ ꒱
When Minho wakes next, it’s to an armful of Han Jisung and vague recollections of a dream.
He blinks blearily. The clock reads seven in the morning, The sun is starting to filter through the blinds. He usually doesn’t wake this early– but he’s not groggy, not tense like he’s been the last few weeks. He feels more relaxed than ever, heart light.
His dream is blurry in his mind, a mix of pink and teal and blue and orange– was there someone else there with him? He can’t really remember the details that well.
Jisung shifts in his arms, letting out a sleepy hum and burrowing his face in Minho’s chest like a cat. It makes him snicker quietly, but his voice is laced with fondness and his eyes sparkle with love.
(It’s disgusting. But it’s for Han Jisung, so it’s okay.)
He sighs softly and lands a kiss in Han’s hair, playing with it slowly and melting into their embrace.
He doesn’t know why he’s suddenly not tense anymore– why the bottled up emotions of the last weeks have disappeared, but Minho finds it doesn't really matter. Not when he has Jisung right here in his arms and a team five minutes away to run to when he needs it, a hyung and younger ones to fall back on.
Minho finds the burdens on his shoulders weight a little less when he sees all the people willing to take care of him.
He watches fondly as his boyfriend rolls over and plasters his back to his chest this time, lacing their fingers together over his softly breathing stomach.
yeah, he’ll be okay in the end. He’ll make it. Minho is sure. If only to have more lazy and perfect moments like these.