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Jisung had been peacefully working on his music theory assignment when the sensation of being watched made his skin crawl. He turned his head slightly—and there Minho was.
At the next table over, arms folded, head tilted just enough to be eerie, Minho was staring . Not blinking. Not reacting. Just… staring.
Jisung tried to focus on his notes, but Minho’s presence burned into his periphery like a horror movie entity. He peeked again. Still there. Staring. Menacing. Plotting, probably.
He’s definitely planning something. My days are numbered.
Jisung’s hand trembled as he highlighted a passage in his textbook. Maybe if he ignored Minho long enough, he’d just disappear like a bad dream.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Why is he still staring? Jisung’s eye twitched. He slammed his book shut, making an exaggerated show of stretching before standing up. He wasn’t running away—just relocating to a safer zone. Preferably one with witnesses.
As he gathered his things, Minho finally moved. Oh no.
Minho’s chair scraped against the floor. His slow, deliberate steps echoed in the quiet library. Jisung's survival instincts kicked in. If I bolt, I might make it to the exit in time.
Then, Minho leaned down, close enough that Jisung could smell his cologne. With a voice so soft it sent shivers down his spine, Minho murmured, "Careful, Jisung-ah."
Jisung swore he felt his soul leave his body.
He whirled around, nearly knocking over his chair. "Careful?! Careful of what?! Are you threatening me?!"
Minho blinked, looking mildly amused. "Just… careful."
Then, without elaboration, he turned and walked away, leaving Jisung standing there, clutching his chest as if he’d barely escaped a near-death experience.
Minutes later, Jisung stormed into the cafeteria, slamming his tray onto the table where Chan and Changbin sat. "He’s escalating."
Chan didn’t even look up. "Who’s escalating?"
"Minho! He’s haunting me!"
Changbin groaned. "Oh my god, what did he do now?"
Jisung took a deep breath. "He whispered in my ear. In the library. Said 'careful, Jisung-ah' in that voice. You know, like he’s my villain origin story."
Chan finally looked up. "...And?"
"And?!" Jisung repeated, scandalized. "That’s serial killer behavior!"
Changbin facepalmed. "Or, hear me out, maybe he just likes you."
Jisung snorted. "Likes plotting my demise, maybe."
Chan sighed deeply, already regretting his life choices. "I give up."
Changbin, however, wasn't done. He set down his spoon with a dramatic clatter and leaned forward, eyes sharp. "Alright, Jisung. Let’s play detective. If Minho were actually planning your murder, don’t you think he’d be a little less obvious?"
Jisung frowned. "Not if he’s taunting me. He wants me to know my time is almost up."
Chan groaned. "You’ve been watching too many thrillers."
Just then, Minho entered the cafeteria, tray in hand. As if drawn by instinct, his gaze immediately landed on Jisung. His lips curled into that unreadable smirk.
Jisung panicked. "Oh god, he’s here. What do I do?"
Changbin sighed. "Eat your food and act normal."
Minho approached, setting his tray down right next to Jisung’s without asking. Jisung flinched, gripping his chopsticks like a weapon.
Minho, completely unbothered, picked up a piece of meat from his tray and placed it onto Jisung’s plate.
Jisung’s jaw dropped. "W-what was that?"
Minho rested his chin on his palm, eyes twinkling. "You looked like you needed more protein."
Jisung turned to Chan and Changbin with wild eyes, whispering, "See? Poison. He’s poisoning me."
Changbin dropped his head onto the table. "I hate you."
Jisung barely survived lunch.
After Minho’s cryptic behavior in the cafeteria, he decided he needed to take extreme measures. That meant avoiding Minho at all costs. If it required ducking behind vending machines or dramatically throwing himself behind Chan whenever Minho appeared, so be it. Self-preservation came first.
It worked for approximately four hours.
Jisung had successfully gone about his day without any suspicious encounters, but when his evening class ended, he stepped out of the lecture hall and nearly screamed when he found Minho casually leaning against the wall outside, arms crossed.
Jisung’s heart slammed against his ribs. He’s waiting for me. This is it. My final moments.
Minho pushed off the wall, taking slow, deliberate steps toward him. The hallway was quiet, most students having already left. Jisung clutched his bag straps like a lifeline.
"Are you avoiding me?" Minho asked smoothly.
Jisung let out a nervous laugh. "Avoiding you? Pfft. No, no way. Haha. Why would I do that? Hahaha."
Minho raised an eyebrow. "You just walked into a door trying to get away from me."
"Coincidence!" Jisung squeaked.
Minho hummed, clearly unconvinced. "Then walk with me."
"What? No, I—"
Minho grabbed Jisung’s wrist and started walking, pulling him along. Jisung nearly tripped over his own feet. This is it. I’m being taken. I should have made a will.
"Where are we going?!" Jisung demanded, trying to pry himself free.
"I figured we should talk," Minho replied calmly, dragging him down the hallway.
"About my untimely demise?!" Jisung yelped.
Minho sighed, finally stopping outside the campus convenience store. He let go of Jisung’s wrist and turned to face him fully.
"You’re ridiculous," Minho muttered, shaking his head. "I’m not plotting your death. I just… like seeing your reactions. You’re entertaining."
Jisung blinked. "Wait. What?"
Minho smirked, stepping closer, enough that Jisung could feel the warmth of his presence. "You’re cute when you’re flustered."
Jisung’s brain flatlined.
Minho reached out and flicked Jisung’s forehead, making him stumble back. "Relax, Jisung-ah."
Then, as if he hadn’t just fried every single one of Jisung’s brain cells, Minho walked into the store, leaving Jisung standing there, staring into the void.
Jisung grabbed his phone and, with shaking hands, texted Chan and Changbin.
Swag Skrrt: HE’S NOT KILLING ME, HE’S FLIRTING WITH ME. I THINK. HELP.
Within seconds, they responded.
Needs sleep: Finally. We were waiting for you to figure it out.
Gymbro: Took you long enough.
Jisung let out a strangled noise.
His life had just become exponentially more complicated.
Jisung was not okay.
He spent the entire night lying awake, replaying every single interaction he’d ever had with Minho. Every stare, every smirk, every vaguely threatening but oddly affectionate comment. He had spent months convinced he was dodging an assassination attempt when, in reality—
Minho had been flirting.
"I’m an idiot," Jisung groaned into his pillow.
"You’re our idiot," Changbin corrected from across the dorm room. "And you’re very loud."
Jisung shot up. "I don’t know how to talk to him now! What do I do? Do I flirt back? But what if I do it wrong? What if I misread everything and he actually was trying to kill me? This could all be an elaborate long con."
Chan, who was lying on the other bed, turned over and rubbed his eyes. "Jisung, it’s almost 2 AM. Go to sleep."
"Sleep?!" Jisung screeched. "Do you think Minho sleeps? He’s probably up right now, plotting his next move!"
Changbin sighed. "Yeah, his next move is probably trying to figure out why you keep running from him like a terrified chihuahua."
Jisung flopped back onto his bed, groaning dramatically. "I can’t deal with this. I need a plan. A strategy. I need to act normal."
Chan snorted. "You don’t know how to act normal."
"You’re right," Jisung mumbled into his blanket. "I’m doomed."
The next morning, Jisung arrived on campus fully committed to Operation Act Normal. Which meant avoiding Minho at all costs until he figured out what normal even looked like.
That plan failed immediately.
As soon as he stepped into the campus courtyard, Minho was already there, sitting on a bench, sipping coffee. His gaze flickered up, meeting Jisung’s, and the smirk that curled onto his lips made Jisung’s stomach flip.
Abort mission. I repeat, abort mission.
Jisung spun on his heel to escape, but before he could make a run for it, Minho called out, "Jisung-ah."
His feet betrayed him. He stopped. Turned. Minho beckoned him over with two fingers, expression unreadable.
Jisung swallowed thickly before slowly approaching. "Uh. Hey. Hi. Hello. What’s up? Haha."
Minho just stared at him for a moment, then gestured to the seat next to him. "Sit."
"I’d rather stand."
"Sit, Jisung."
Jisung sat.
Minho sipped his coffee, watching Jisung squirm in silence for a full ten seconds before finally speaking. "Why are you acting weird?"
Jisung let out a nervous laugh. "Weird? Me? Nooo. This is just… how I always am. Haha."
Minho raised an eyebrow. "You’re a terrible liar."
Jisung inhaled sharply. "Okay, fine! Maybe I’m acting a little weird, but that’s only because you’ve spent the last few months acting like a villain in a psychological thriller and I just found out you were flirting instead! Do you know how emotionally damaging that is?!"
Minho blinked. Then, he had the audacity to laugh .
Jisung gaped at him. "Why are you laughing?! This isn’t funny!"
Minho took another sip of his coffee, clearly enjoying himself. "It’s a little funny."
Jisung groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I hate you."
Minho hummed. "No, you don’t."
Jisung peeked at him through his fingers. "...No, I don’t."
Minho smirked. "Good. Because I’m not done flirting with you yet."
Jisung felt his brain short-circuit.
Jisung had a plan. A brilliant plan.
A plan so genius that Chan and Changbin both groaned when he explained it to them over lunch.
“I’m going to flirt back,” Jisung declared, stabbing his fork into his food with conviction. “But! I’m going to do it in a way that makes Minho uncomfortable. He’s going to regret ever messing with me.”
Chan looked unimpressed. “You? Flirting? That’s already a disaster in the making.”
Changbin shook his head. “And making it weird on purpose? Jisung, this is going to backfire so hard.”
“You guys have no faith in me.”
“No, we don’t,” they answered in unison.
Jisung had ignored them both. He was a man on a mission.
The next morning, Minho was greeted by the sight of Jisung leaning against the lockers, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded in what could only be described as the world’s most unsettling attempt at ‘seductive’.
“Hey, Minho,” Jisung drawled, voice dropping an octave too low to be natural.
Minho blinked. “Uh. Morning?”
Jisung took a slow step forward. “Did you know,” he said, tone suspiciously smooth, “that human bones are about five times stronger than steel?”
Minho raised an eyebrow. “Okay…?”
Jisung smirked, tilting his head slightly. “That means If I want to snap you in half I would need a hydraulic press.”
Minho stared at him.
And then he burst out laughing.
Jisung deflated instantly. “ Why are you laughing?! That was supposed to be off-putting!”
Minho wiped at his eyes, grinning. “Oh, Jisung. You can’t win this game. Not even close.”
Jisung groaned, dramatically covering his face. “This is harder than I thought.”
Minho patted his head. “Cute effort, though. Do try again.”
Jisung grumbled something about how Minho was impossible before stomping off, already planning his next move.
Attempt 2 happened in the cafeteria.
Jisung slid into the seat across from Minho, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “You know, Minho,” he purred, “if you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber .”
Minho blinked. “What.”
Jisung smirked, leaning in. “But if I had my way… you’d be a dead-cumber .”
Silence.
Then, from the next table, Chan groaned, dropping his head onto the table. “Please, for the love of everything good, stop .”
Changbin took a slow sip of his drink. “This is physically painful to watch.”
Felix, meanwhile, had fully turned away, shoulders shaking with laughter.
Minho, for his part, was grinning widely. “Are you… trying to flirt or threaten me?”
Jisung huffed. “Both! It’s supposed to be unsettlingly attractive!”
Minho leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. “Oh, it’s unsettling, alright.”
Jisung groaned. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Minho smirked. “Immensely.”
Jisung let out a strangled sound before aggressively stabbing at his food. Minho just watched, utterly delighted.
The final straw happened later that afternoon when Jisung cornered Minho near the library.
He slammed his hand against the wall beside Minho’s head, successfully trapping him. “You’re trapped now,” he murmured, eyes narrowing. “No escape.”
Minho, completely unfazed, tilted his head. “Oh?”
Jisung smirked. “You’re all mine, Lee Minho.”
Minho, the absolute menace that he was, just leaned closer and whispered, “Then take responsibility, Han Jisung.”
Jisung.exe had stopped functioning.
His hand dropped. His soul left his body . He made some sort of inhuman noise before bolting , leaving Minho standing there, victorious.
Across the hall, Jeongin snorted. “I think he just short-circuited.”
Seungmin nodded. “That was painful to witness.”
Hyunjin wiped a fake tear. “Our boy tried so hard.”
Felix grinned. “And failed so spectacularly .”
Chan sighed. “Maybe now he’ll stop.”
Minho chuckled, sipping his coffee. “Oh, I really hope he doesn’t.”
Jisung flopped onto his dorm bed, groaning into his pillow. “It’s over. I give up.”
Chan sighed in relief. “Good.”
“I can’t beat him,” Jisung mumbled. “He’s too powerful.”
Changbin smirked. “We could’ve told you that.”
Jisung groaned louder, fully accepting his defeat.
The next afternoon, Jisung was minding his own business in the library, peacefully waiting for his next class, when a chair scraped against the floor next to him. He didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
Minho.
Jisung sighed dramatically, resting his cheek on his hand. “What, want another weirdly off-putting pick-up line?”
Minho chuckled, low and warm. “As much as I would love that, no.”
Jisung finally glanced up—and immediately regretted it. Minho was looking at him, not with the usual teasing smirk, but with something softer. Something… fond.
“I just wanted to tell you something,” Minho said, voice gentler than Jisung had ever heard it.
Jisung swallowed. “Oh. Uh. Okay?”
Minho exhaled softly, glancing down at his hands for a moment before looking back at Jisung. “The first time I saw you, you were crossing the campus, balancing two coffee cups and somehow still managing to scroll through your phone. You nearly ran into a pole.”
Jisung’s eyes widened. “That was you ? The guy who laughed?”
Minho smirked, but it was laced with something more tender than usual. “Guilty. But, in my defense, it was adorable. And I don’t know why, but I just—” He paused, his gaze never wavering. “I couldn’t stop looking at you. You had this energy, like… like the sun, warm and impossible to ignore.”
Jisung’s face was definitely red now. “Oh.”
“And when I found out we had mutual friends?” Minho chuckled, shaking his head. “I was so happy, you have no idea. It meant I had a reason to be around you, to get to know you.”
Jisung fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. “So all those times you were just… staring at me like some horror movie antagonist?”
Minho groaned playfully, rubbing his forehead. “Okay, yeah, I might’ve been a little intense.”
“A little ?”
Minho laughed. “Fine. A lot. But only because I like you, Jisung.”
Silence.
Jisung’s brain stalled. His face heated up so fast it could probably fry an egg. He found himself suddenly fascinated with the table, avoiding Minho’s gaze like his life depended on it.
But, unfortunately, Minho had no intention of letting him escape. “Jisung.”
Jisung sighed, forcing himself to meet Minho’s eyes. Warm brown orbs stared back at him, steady and unwavering.
Minho reached out, nudging his hand slightly. “Go on a date with me. A real one.”
Before Jisung could respond, a very loud gasp came from behind them.
“Oh my God, is this happening?” Chan whispered dramatically.
Jisung whipped his head around to see Chan and Changbin peeking from behind a bookshelf, both looking way too invested. Felix was right beside them, clutching his chest like he was about to cry, while Seungmin and Jeongin stood unimpressed.
“I swear, this is like watching a budget rom-com in real life,” Seungmin muttered.
“Shh!” Changbin smacked his arm. “This is an important moment!”
Jisung groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Why are you all here?!”
Felix sniffled. “For emotional support.”
Minho, completely unfazed, was just watching all of this with an amused grin. “Jisung, focus.”
Jisung slowly turned back to him, still mortified.
Minho smiled. “Date. Friday, 7 PM. Yes or no?”
Jisung, still short-circuiting, opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Finally, in the most eloquent way possible, he blurted out, “Yes.”
A chorus of quiet cheers erupted from their friends. Felix literally jumped up and down, while Changbin fist-pumped like his favorite sports team just won.
“I can’t believe this,” Jisung muttered, sinking lower in his seat.
“Believe it, buddy,” Chan said, clapping him on the back. “You’re in too deep now.”
Minho, ever the menace, winked. “See you Friday, Jisungie.”
And with that, he walked away, leaving Jisung frozen in place as his friends cackled around him. One thought echoed in his mind.
Is this actually a shitty rom-com?