Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If you were to ask Jisung his favorite season of the year, he’d answer with no hesitation: fall. When he was young, other kids would look at him like he was crazy. Obviously summer was supposed to be the best- no school, warm weather, swimming at the beaches- they live on an island for Christ’s sake. But that is exactly Jisung's problem. Maybe if he lived anywhere else, he’d bask in the glorious days of summer like everyone else, but living on a destination island meant that by the end of May each year, he’d be coming face to face with his least favorite thing in the world: tourists. Perhaps even worse than the tourists, for the next few months the island would be filled with snobby rich families staying at their massive beach houses, crowding the roads with their fancy cars and the waters with their loud obnoxious boats. 

Jisung looks up from his sweeping as a woman walks in with a large group of kids all crying out what ice cream they wanted. Just before close. Summer, Jisung decides right then, is the worst season of the year. 

By the time the screaming children and the woman who didn’t once try to scold them leave, it’s thirty minutes past their closing time, and it takes everything in Jisung not to flip them off as they exit the cafe. Instead, he just sighs and goes back to sweeping. 

“Hey,” his mom calls out from the counter, “quit groveling, Sungie. It’s part of the business, we never close on time.” 

“Can’t they read? The sign says 9 pm,” Jisung grumbles. 

“Don’t be rude. Look, that lady left you a big tip,” she says, holding out the cash. 

Jisung takes it, refusing to smile. He doesn’t want that lady’s money, but well… money is money. 

“Alright, sourpuss. How ‘bout I finish closing- you’ve got that glow thing tonight right?”

Jisung immediately cheers up. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Go have fun.”

Jisung quickly kisses his mom on the cheek and runs to the back to get changed. “I might stay at Felix’s,” he calls out as he bounds to the door. 

“Just remember you have to work the front tomorrow morning. Oh, that reminds me,” his mom says just as he’s about to leave. “I met a mom earlier today, she was with two boys around your age- Hyunjin and Minho. I told them you guys were throwing the party, so if you see them, be nice!”

“Sure, bye,” Jisung mutters with rolled eyes. His mom was always way too friendly with strangers, but she’s letting him leave early so she’s off the hook for now. 

Jisung races his bike to the small northside beach where Felix is setting up for their annual glow-in-the-dark beach party. The sun is almost fully set, Jeongin and Seungmin are tending to the fire, and Felix is crouched by the speakers. 

“Jisung, hey,” Felix calls out. “Go crack those glow sticks for me?” 

“On it.” 

Jisung throws his bag on the sand next to the several paint cans. Every year, all the local kids in town come and douse themselves in glow-in-the-dark paint, kicking the summer off with a bang. It started off as small back when Jisung was in high school- just him and his friends throwing on some glow sticks and getting wasted on the beach. But now he’s twenty and nearly every young local on the island shows up for the festivities. 

An hour later, the beach is full of glowing bodies dancing to the heavy bass, courtesy of Felix. Jisung is just barely tipsy when he sees two guys walk up, and based on their polo shirts, they clearly don’t belong. 

Felix drags him along to greet them. “Hey,” Felix says with a bright smile. Now that they’re closer, Jisung could see not only are they rich tourists, they’re hot rich tourists, which is almost worse. 

“Hi,” the taller one answers, scratching the back of his neck. “We heard there was a party? We brought White Claws.” 

“Ooo, my favorite, thank you,” Felix says, taking the box from the guy’s hands. White Claws are certainly not his favorite, but flirting is Felix’s second nature. “I’m Felix, this is Jisung.”

“I’m Hyunjin,” the guy says, sticking out his hand. His eyes sparkle when he smiles, a light blush reaching his cheeks as Felix takes his hand. 

The guy next to him keeps his hands in his pockets. “Minho,” he says shortly, his dark eyes unamused. 

Jisung suddenly remembers his mom’s words. “Oh, you’re the guys my mom invited.” He seriously needs to have a talk with his mom- how could she invite snobby tourists to their party? “I’m so sorry, the word stranger is not in her vocabulary.”

“No it was sweet,” Hyunjin says with a laugh. “So your mom works at the cafe?” 

“ Owns the cafe-”

“A lot of our parents own the shops downtown,” Felix interrupts sweetly, clearly trying to cover up Jisung’s attitude. “My family owns Buckeye’s.”

“Oh yeah, we’ve eaten there,” Hyunjin says, lightly hitting Minho’s arm. “The ribeye was so good, right?” 

“Yup,” is all Minho can muster. What an asshole. 

“That’s so cool you guys live here, we’re just here for summer- our houses are by Silverman Beach,” Hyunjin continues. 

Of course they are, Jisung thinks, but before anyone could respond, a voice is calling from a distance.

“Felix! Volleyball!”

Felix gasps excitedly. “You guys are just in time for the volleyball tournament, winning team gets the leftover booze.” They start making their way to the crowd. “Come on, we’ll paint you.”

Hyunjin seems happy to follow, but Minho stops him in his tracks. “Your mom will kill you if you get paint on those clothes.”

“It’s a shirt Minho,” Hyunjin rolls his eyes.

“It’s Burberry .”

Jisung doesn’t know what that means and doesn’t care. “Sorry, party rules. You gotta glow to play.”

Hyunjin looks between Minho and the party and sighs. “Paint our skin?” He takes his arm out of Minho’s grasp and peels his polo off. 

“Even better,” Felix says giggling, spreading a thick glob of paint across Hyunjin’s chest. 

Minho watches in horror, but follows in suit, taking off his shirt to reveal a large expanse of smooth skin and toned muscles. And if Jisung ogles for a moment, that’s between him and the devil. 

Jisung makes quick work of covering Minho in paint, eager to get out of his vicinity, spreading it over his chest, arms, abs, abs, abs- ok he needs to stop staring at that stupid six pack- hands, his back . Now that is something to look at. Jisung shamelessly takes a little extra time painting his backside. 

“You can join our team,” Felix says cheerfully, causing Jisung to whip his head.

“We already have a team.”

“You and Seungmin don’t even like volleyball.” As if on cue, their friends jog up to join them.

Jisung scoffs. “I like alcohol.”

“And with your skills, you won’t be seeing a drop of it,” Seungmin teases, receiving a light punch from Jisung. 

Jeongin laughs, shaking his head. “So you guys wanna join? Seungmin can sit out-” Seungmin raises a celebratory fist in the air- “and I’ll join another team. Maybe this year I’ll actually win,” he says with a cheeky smile, slapping a hand on Jisung’s shoulder. 

“I am not that bad,” Jisung whines. 

“Perfect,” Felix says, clapping his hands together, “let’s go, we’re up first.”

The games are 4v4, first team to fifteen points moves on to the next round. Their team manages to barely scrape by in their first match thanks to Minho’s serve, but loses pretty badly the next game thanks to Jisung’s inability to dive. You’d think the ball glowing bright green would help, but much to his embarrassment, nothing could cure Jisung’s terrible hand-eye coordination. 

The party continues into the night, the crowd getting louder and messier as time went on. Jisung takes a break from dancing to grab another drink, laughing at the feeling of the bass vibrating the sand beneath his feet. He’s just about to search for his friends when he overhears Hyunjin pulling Minho to the side. 

“Felix is so cute, seriously,” Hyunjin says just loudly enough for Jisung to hear. “And his friends are so fun, I mean we’ve been coming here for four years and this has been the best night by far.”

“They’re… rowdy,” Minho says coldly. 

“Oh my god, you are such a party pooper. What about that Jisung guy, I feel like you guys would get along. Plus he’s pretty cute.”

Jisung perks up hearing his name, though he isn’t sure how Hyunjin thought they’d ever get along.

Minho seems to share the same sentiments. “Please, he was glaring at us the second we arrived.”

“We do look out of place.”

“It doesn’t matter, he’s a jerk. And did you hear him during volleyball? He refused to admit he sucked.” Minho pauses. “And he’s not even that cute.”

Jisung crushes the can in his hand and throws it to the ground. That asshole . 

“Whatever, ok, listen. I really wanna get to know Felix so can you please be civil?” Hyunjin begs.

Jisung stomps away before he can hear anymore. He’s the jerk? They’re the ones who showed up in polos and boat shoes. Outsiders weren’t even supposed to know about this beach but they were welcomed in anyways. Jisung was right all along, he should’ve turned them away the second he saw them. 

He spends the rest of the party steering clear of Minho, hoping that after tonight, he’ll never see him again. 

Back at Felix’s house, Jisung and Felix are lying in bed as Felix drones on about Hyunjin. “He’s like the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and I swear he was into me. Am I crazy?”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “You’re not crazy, he was following you around like a puppy. I just don’t think we should associate with people like them.” 

“You’re too judgemental, Ji. You gotta give people a chance.”

“ You’ve gotta stop being so trusting. Sure, Hyunjin was nice, but Minho was a dick . He hardly talked to anybody, he clearly thought they were above us, and then insulted me ? He’s the worst.”

“I know, I know. But that was just one night. Maybe he was in a bad mood.”

Jisung drops the conversation, not wanting to upset Felix, but he knows nothing would ever change his mind. Minho is an asshole. 

…

To Jisung’s dismay, that night wasn’t the last he’d be seeing of Jerky McJerkface. A few days later, Hyunjin invites Felix and his friends over for game night, to which Jisung begrudgingly agrees to go after Felix gives him puppy eyes. 

The house is huge, the interior covered with nautical decor. Jisung kicks his shoes off next to the row of name brand sneakers and follows the other two to the living room, where Hyunjin and his friends are playing Mario Kart. It’s obvious some of the people are surprised to see them there, but Hyunjin greets them warmly, him and Felix falling into easy conversation. 

Jeongin and Jisung find their way to the kitchen, marveling at the grand-ness of it all. 

“I think this stove is worth my entire bank account,” Jeongin says. “They even have the bowl of lemons, it’s like TV.”

Jisung twists his face at the sight. If this is their beach house he can’t imagine what their actual house looks like. 

“Hyunjin seems nice,” Jeongin says carefully.

“He’s fine, I guess, it’s the others that piss me off. Did you see their outfits?”

“They’re rich, Jisung, they’re allowed to look like that.” Jeongin pulls two waters from the ridiculously nice fridge.

Jisung snatches one and takes a swig. “It’s fine if they're rich, they can be rich without the attitude.”

“Can they? I mean we might be just like them if we were born into those kinds of families.”

“Fine,” Jisung sneers. “But they can definitely be rich without insulting me behind my back.”

They join the rest in the living room, hopping in on a few games here and there. Jisung would be lying if he said he wasn’t having a good time, but he can’t shake the feeling that Hyunjin’s friends don’t really want them there. Something about their too sweet tones and shared glances whenever they talked. 

“Ugh, I’m craving lobster,” one of the girls, Jiwoo, announces. She has long black hair and shiny pink lips, wearing ripped jean shorts that show off her slender legs. “Let’s get some tonight.”

“Ew, I don’t like lobster. The texture is so nasty,” another girl chimes in. 

Jiwoo rolls her eyes and turns to Jisung and his friends. “What about you guys, do you like it?”

“Um, I like imitation crab in my sushi?” Jisung says hesitantly. 

“You’ve never had lobster?” she says dramatically, confirming his suspicions that it was exactly what she wanted to hear. “You have to try it sometime, it’s so good.”

“Minho likes sushi,” Hyunjin says sweetly, forcing Minho to finally join in on a conversation.

“Jisung is like the sushi connoisseur,” Felix exaggerates, “he can show you where to get good plates around here.”

Minho tilts his head at Jisung, and Jisung just knows he’s thinking I’m sure your sushi is nothing compared to my million dollar orders back home, you dirty little peasant. Or something like that.

Feeling a jab at his pride, Jisung scrambles to defend his honor. “Rice and Reel. Best there is.”

“Not the Orchid?” Jiwoo asks surprised, referencing the most high end restaurant on the island.

“Nope, Rice and Reel’s is better. Fresher fish.”

Minho gives a small smile. “You’ll have to take me sometime and show me what to order.”

Now Jisung knows for sure he’s being made fun of. There is no way Minho needs his help- in fact, there is no way a guy like Minho is ever going to visit a restaurant that isn’t exclusive. 

“I think you’ll do fine without me,” Jisung says with a smile, unable to keep the annoyed tone out of his voice. “Unless you don’t know how to read a menu?”

Felix whacks Jisung on the head. “He’s joking, let’s all go together sometime.”

The night winds down, so Jisung and his friends head out. They ride their bikes along the old roads, enjoying the chilled night breeze as they exit the neighborhood of extravagant houses. 

“I think I really like Hyunjin you guys,” Felix says giddily.

“Really? I mean he’s totally into you but you were kind of reserved,” Jeongin calls from behind.

“I’m playing hard to get! I can’t just show him that I like him.”

“Why not? He obviously likes you.”

“No I agree,” Jisung calls out. “We hardly know him, you can’t just show all your cards to a guy you’ve seen twice. Make him chase a bit.”

“I don’t know,” Jeongin sighs. “He’s just going to think you’re not interested and move on.”

“I’m still flirting with him, I’m just not being obvious about it. It’ll be fine.”

They pedal on, and all Jisung can think is that Felix’s infatuation with Hyunjin better be worth dealing with all those other assholes.

Chapter Text

A few days later Jiwoo is throwing a house party and invites Felix, who once again manages to get everyone to come along. Seungmin joins them this time, excited to witness the snarky attitudes Jisung had been complaining about so much. 

The house is packed with girls in short sun dresses and guys in polo shirts. Burberry, probably, Jisung thinks cynically. His friends get pulled onto the dance floor by Hyunjin while Jisung beelines to the alcohol. To his dismay, Minho is also in the kitchen, standing with some other guy who’s laughing at something Minho said. Jisung can’t imagine anything that jerk said could be that funny, but whatever. 

The guy notices him entering and perks up. “Hey, Jisung, right? Hyunjin told me about you guys. I’m Chan,” he says cheerfully. “Can I get you anything?” 

Jisung stumbles for a moment, caught off guard by the familiarity. “I’m ok, just looking for shots, thank you though.”

“Perfect, I was just making some.” Chan points to a tray of plastic shot cups. “Just half vodka, half lemonade, nothing crazy.” 

Jisung happily throws back two. 

“So where are your friends? Hyunjin’s been raving about them,” Chan asks. 

Jisung’s happy to hear Prince Charming Hyunjin sounds as nice as he seems, and is pleasantly surprised by Chan’s demeanor. Maybe it’s just stupid jerkface Minho that’s the problem. “They’re dancing- I should probably go join them.” 

“Oh well, I’m on drinks duty for the next half hour, so send them my way if they get the chance,” Chan says, glancing at Minho. “And y’know, if you’re looking for a dance partner, Minho’s really good.”

Minho points a glare towards Chan then looks blankly at Jisung. 

Jisung looks Minho up and down and flashes a fake smile. “No thanks,” he says before grabbing more shots and heading to the dance floor. He swears he catches the slightest look of shock on Minho’s face, which is a win in Jisung’s books.

It’s late when Jisung finds himself climbing up the stairs away from the noise. He can’t help it- something about the sweet taste of alcohol makes him want to explore. He stops to look at the many framed pictures along the hallway walls, showing a timeline of family photos taken each year, with each member dressed in white linens walking together at the beach. It’s easy to spot Jiwoo with her perfect long black hair. 

“What do you think?” a voice says behind him. 

Jisung snorts. “It’s a little much,” he says, turning to see none other than Minho, his dark eyes perusing the photos. His hair is sticking to his forehead with sweat, his cheeks flushed, and Jisung can see his long eyelashes flutter as he looks around. Goddamit , Jisung thinks, he’s way too hot.

“Yeah,” Minho says amusedly. “Thank god my parents aren’t into this kind of shit.”

“What kind of shit are they into?” 

Minho scrunches his face in thought. “Golf?”

“That’s it?” Jisung laughs. “Well I guess that’s fitting.”

He’s expecting some kind of snarky reply, but Minho just grins. “I hate golf,” he says exasperated. “You just hit a ball and walk around.”

Cute, Jisung’s mind feeds him. “Not even putt-putt?” he says teasingly.

“Mmm, I can do putt-putt,” Minho says with a smirk. “What about you, what do you like?” 

Jisung stares into Minho’s eyes for a moment. There’s something sweet and sincere in his tone, and even though Jisung knows he should just walk away, his feet remain planted. He’s just about to respond when someone rushes past them to the bathroom and begins loudly retching. Retching that sounds an awful lot like someone he knows. 

Jisung goes to the bathroom to find Seungmin crouched by the toilet. “Good aim,” he says amused, wincing at the sight of vomit floating in the bowl. 

“I’m fine,” Seungmin groans. “Just need a minute.”

“Lemme know if you need to go ok?” Jisung pats his shoulder and Seungmin just hums in response. 

He closes the bathroom door behind him, surprised to see Minho waiting. 

“Is he ok?” Minho asks. 

“Probably,” Jisung says, and before he can stop himself, he’s talking again. “I like to dance.”

Minho raises his eyebrows.

“You asked what I like, and I like to dance so…” Stupid, stupid, stupid. Jisung shuffles awkwardly in place. 

“Is that an invitation?” Minho says with a smirk.

Jisung figures he’s never seen someone so attractive in his life. Clearly he’s had too much to drink. “It can be.”

Minho looks him up and down, sending a shiver down his spine. Just as his heart starts to race, Minho flashes an evil smile. “No thanks,” he says, and walks off. 

Mortified, Jisung races back into the bathroom, slamming the door. “He is such a dick .” He looks down to see Seungmin passed out on the floor. “Oh shit.” 

From there it’s a blur of getting Jeongin and helping Seungmin into somebody’s bed. Jisung, filled with rage, continues to drink the night away and proceeds to black out. He wakes up in Felix’s bed with a pounding headache, the other teasing him relentlessly. 

“That was the craziest I’ve ever seen you,” Felix says between laughs. “What was up your ass last night?”

“Minho,” Jisung grumbles. 

“In a sexy way?” Felix gasps.

“In a bitch way. He’s a bitch stick with spikes on it.” 

Jisung swallows a couple Advil and takes a shower, returning to see Felix laughing at his phone. 

“Ji, oh my god, look what Innie just sent.”

Felix holds up his phone and plays a hazy video of the dance floor. From behind the camera, Jeongin could be heard shrieking, and suddenly it turns to show Jisung and Minho dancing together. They were both clearly drunk out of their minds, Jisung’s back flush with Minho’s chest, his hand holding Minho’s face to his neck, both grinding into one another to the terrible song blasting in the background. Jisung’s jaw drops as he watches in horror. 

“You liar, it was in the sexy way.”

Jisung groans, falling onto the bed. “I’m never drinking again.”

“What? C’mon, you clearly had a great time.”

“The last thing I remember is Minho being an asshole- how could you let me do that?”

Felix laughs. “I didn’t even see you with him, swear.”

“What, too busy with Hyunjin?”

“Shut up,” Felix grumbles, giving Jisung a shove. “But yes. Kind of. I mean we spent a lot of time together, at one point we went outside on the deck and had, like, deep conversations about our lives, and oh my god, he is just the nicest guy ever.” 

Jisung hums. He’s happy for Felix, really. Hyunjin does seem like a good person despite having the worst friends imaginable. 

“Speaking of…” Felix sings. “Hyunjin invited me to a party boat tonight. You in?”

“I’m never showing my face to that crowd again.” Certainly not to Minho.

“It’s really not that bad, who cares if you climbed their bookshelf?”

“I did what ?” Jisung shrieks. “Oh my god, tell me everything right now.”

“Well, you came downstairs and just started chugging. Then you told Jiwoo her hair was too perfect.” 

Jisung is going to off himself.

“I think she was actually really flattered cause you two started dancing together and she’s feeding you shots like you guys have been best friends your whole life. I don’t know what happened in between but at some point I walked into a room and you were climbing their bookshelf- the one that goes all the way to the ceiling?”

“Oh my god.”

“Jiwoo was cheering you on and Jeongin was begging for you to come down. Luckily we got you down before you got hurt, and you wouldn’t even tell me why you were going up there,” Felix explains, laughing the whole way through. 

Jisung covers his face with his hands. He can vaguely remember wanting something from the top shelf. Images start flashing in his mind, and the feeling of Minho’s body against his comes back. Jisung shakes his head and shudders. 

“Don’t be embarrassed, Ji, you were the life of the party!”

“Whatever, I’m still not going. My body needs like a month to recover from that mess, and besides I open tomorrow-” Jisung shoots up. “What time is it?”

“Eight thirty.”

“Shit, I gotta go, I’m late.”

Jisung quickly gathers his things and races to the cafe. Upon arrival he runs to the back, flashing an apologetic smile to his very disapproving looking mom. 

The rest of his day is normal, except for the memories of Minho replaying in his head no matter how much he tries not to think of them. It doesn’t help that his friends are spamming videos of him from last night to his phone. Jisung watches them during his lunch break, still horrified. He’s watching himself climb the bookshelf (honestly a little impressed) when he suddenly remembers what he was getting. “Yearbook!” he whispers to himself. 

It’s all coming back. Jiwoo said she had a yearbook on the top shelf, something about an embarrassing photo of- 

Jisung groans. Of Minho. He scaled a fucking bookcase for a photo of Minho. What was wrong with him last night?

Later that night, Jisung is lying in bed asking himself the same question. He wasn’t able to get Minho out of his head all day, and now he can’t sleep. He figures he shouldn’t be embarrassed, Minho danced with him too after all. Against his better judgement, he opens the video Jeongin had taken again, watching him and Minho dance. He holds the screen close, mesmerized by their movements, and he can feel himself blushing at the sight. 

Suddenly his phone starts buzzing, causing Jisung to jump, flinging his phone to the end of his bed. He quickly scrambles to pick it up, seeing it’s Felix calling. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Hyunjin’s voice answers. “I don’t know if Felix told you, but we were out on a boat tonight. He got really sick, so we took him back to my place, and I just thought I should let someone know.”

“Oh my god, is he ok?” 

“He threw up a bunch and still wasn’t feeling great so I had him stay in the guest room.” Hyunjin’s voice is laced with worry. “Would you wanna come over? I’m just thinking maybe he’d want someone he knows better with him?” 

“Oh um, yeah sure, I’ll leave now.”

“Ok, thanks Jisung.”

Jisung shoots a text to his mom and races out the door. Just his luck, it starts pouring halfway through the ride over, and he’s stuck biking through the rain. Once he arrives, the people inside are clearly shocked to see him drenched.

“You rode your bike here?” Jiwoo exclaims. “Don’t you have a car?”

“Um, no,” Jisung says, receiving looks of bewilderment. 

Hyunjin frantically brings him some towels and a change of clothes, apologizing profusely. He shows Jisung where Felix is lying and says he’s free to shower if he’d like. 

Jisung goes to Felix’s bedside and pats his head tenderly. “Hey Lixie.”

“Never go on a party boat,” Felix groans. 

They talk until Felix falls asleep, leaving Jisung to go shower. He’s grateful for the warm water, and has to admit that the towels are the softest he’s ever felt. 

Clean and warm, Jisung finds Hyunjin in the kitchen. “Hey, thanks so much for taking care of him, I think he’ll be fine.”

“Oh no, of course, I’m just glad he’s ok,” Hyunjin says, looking visibly relieved. “You should stay the night, it’s still raining after all. You can stay in the guest room with Felix if you don’t mind, or there’s a pull out couch in the basement.” 

Jisung wants to say no, this place gives him the heebie-jeebies, but he can’t just leave Felix like that. He agrees to stay in the guest room before getting dragged into the living room. 

Everyone seems to be doing their own thing, a few chatting, some playing Uno, and Minho, of course, sitting off to the side barely saying a word. Jisung sits stiffly next to Hyunjin, playing with the string on his borrowed sweatpants while he subtly listens in on the conversations. 

“I’m just not that into girly girls, I want someone I can relate to,” one guy says, throwing his hands up defensively. 

“If you met an actual tomboy, there’s no way you’d be into her,” Jiwoo teases. “You’d want her to be pretty.”

“Well duh.”

“So someone who’s feminine enough to get all dolled up, but masculine enough to like sports and… I don’t even know, fishing? Wrestling?” another girl, Kaylee, says. “You’re asking too much, she can’t be good at everything .”

“That’s not even bad, at least I’m not Minho.”

Jisung looks up to see Minho’s brows furrowed. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks.

Hyunjin scoffs. “Dude you’re impossible.”

“I’ve met a few people who fit my standards- it’s not impossible .”

“Well then, go on,” Jiwoo says cheekily, leaning forward. “What do you look for in a person?”

Minho sits up a bit. “Well, they should be smart. And not just good grades, they should really know things, like history, culture, all that. They have to be good at conversation, be able to hold their own with my friends and family, but not too social ‘cause I like quiet sometimes. I need someone with substance too, they should be adding something to the world. They definitely need to have some hobbies-”

Jisung snorts, despite his best efforts to remain neutral.

“What’s so funny?” Minho asks blankly.

“Nothing, it’s just- you’ll never date anybody at that rate. No one’s that perfect.”

“It’s not that outlandish,” Jiwoo huffs. “Just be well-knowledged, polite, and interesting, basically. Don’t we all want that?”

“Depends on your definitions,” Jisung replies thoughtfully, still keeping eye contact with Minho. He thinks he sees something playful cross over Minho’s face, but he quickly shakes it off as he stands from the couch. “I’m gonna go check on Felix. Thanks again for letting me stay.”

In the morning, Jisung wakes to his alarm blaring by his ear and reads a text from his mom: Oh no! Hope he’s ok! Don’t worry about the cafe, just come in before the lunch rush.

Jisung sighs, sinking back into the memory foam pillow. Felix mumbles beside him, throwing an arm over his body and snuggling close. “Morning, sunshine,” Jisung says softly. “Do you remember where we are?”

“Hm?”

“We’re at Prince Charming’s castle.”

Felix shoots up then, looking around with half-open eyes before falling back with a groan. “I hate myself.”

Jisung reaches over and ruffles his hair. “No, come on, I’m sure you were the ‘life of the party.’”

“Yeah, yeah, karma.” Felix digs his palms into his eyes. “I can’t believe he had to bring me here. I mean, I wanted him to but not like that! He totally saw me puke my guts out- oh my god, did he have to clean up my puke?” 

“I didn’t see anything, you were in bed by the time I got here,” Jisung says, shrugging. “Hey, even if he did, that means he likes you enough to go through all that.”

Felix just sighs in response. 

“Look, he even left you stuff,” Jisung points to the dresser where neatly folded towels, fresh laundry, some medicine, and bottled water sit. “Go shower, get cute, we’ll go out there and he’ll be swooning seeing you in his clothes.” 

“They’re his?” Felix says excitedly, jumping out of bed and racing over to the dresser. He lifts the shirt and takes a deep breath. “Oh my god, they smell like him.”

Jisung gags as Felix bounds to the bathroom. 

Twenty minutes later they’re headed downstairs, walking through the smell of bacon that had wafted up. 

Jisung messes with the waist of the sweatpants Hyunjin had given him. They’re just a tad too big, causing them to sag low on his hips. As they enter the kitchen, he swears he catches Minho staring at the sliver of exposed skin. 

“Good morning,” Felix says with a big smile. “I am so sorry about last night.”

“It’s fine, seriously.” Hyunjin stands at the stove, frying bacon and eggs. “Breakfast’s almost ready. The cinnamon rolls should be done cooling if you wanna grab one.”

“And you made breakfast ? How am I going to repay you?” 

Jiwoo suddenly comes walking in from the entrance wearing a long yellow dress. “Are you guys ready? We’re leaving in fifteen minutes.” 

“Ooo, big plans?” 

“It’s my mom’s birthday so we’re all going out on the boat,” Jiwoo says excitedly, snagging a piece of bacon.

“We were supposed to play for who gets stuck with driving duties, but he just haaad to make cinnamon rolls,” Minho huffs. He’s sitting at the table with a chess board in front of him, all the pieces perfectly in place and ready to go.

“I’ll just drive, I was gonna lose anyway,” Hyunjin says apologetically. 

“Jisung’s good at chess,” Felix chimes in. 

Minho looks over curiously. “You wanna play?” 

Jisung hesitates. As confident as he is in his skills, the last thing he wants is to give Minho another chance to look down on him.

“Helloooo,” Jiwoo interrupts. “We leave in fifteen, remember?”

Minho just waves her off. “I’ll beat him in five,” he says plainly, not even trying to be cocky, he just actually believes he’s that much better. 

Oh, it’s on. “Fine,” Jisung sneers, taking a seat. “You go first.”

Minho doesn’t acknowledge him, silently moving his pawn to E4.

“Careful Jisung,” Jiwoo says, sliding into the chair nearby. “Minho’s really good.”

Pawn to E5. Knight to F3. Knight to C6. Bite of a cinnamon roll. Bishop to C4. Bishop to C5.

“I mean seriously, I think he only likes to play just to show off,” Jiwoo continues.

Minho hums, pushing D3. “I like playing ‘cause I like chess.” 

Jisung smiles at the attempt for a trap and mirrors with a D6, earning a head tilt from Minho.

The game moves on briskly, pieces clinking softly on the board. Rook to E1, pawn to B4, pawn to H6.

Jisung shoves half a cinnamon roll into his mouth before pressing his knight to D5. He watches Minho’s mouth twitch, forced to exchange knights. Jisung continues to chew happily, pushing his pawn to F4. 

Jiwoo sighs loudly. “Well, Minho wins again.”

Minho frowns, eyeing the board for a moment before taking the bait and leaving his king’s diagonal exposed.

“I wouldn’t speak so soon,” Jisung mumbles, sliding his queen to H5. Gotcha bitch.

Minho visibly falters, and what a sight for sore eyes. Jisung wishes he could frame a picture of the stressed look on Minho’s face as he moves defensively to G6. 

Jisung swiftly moves his bishop to G5, pinning Minho’s knight. He watches Minho move to F6 with glee. “You’re panicking~” he sings, sliding his queen to H6. “Check.”

Minho only has one move: king to F7. 

Jisung buzzes as he moves his bishop to F6, trapping Minho even further. 

Minho scowls. “Again,” he says simply and begins resetting the board. 

“He won?” Jiwoo exclaims. 

“Told you he was good,” Felix teases, placing a large plate of scrambled eggs on the table. 

“I was just distracted by his disgusting eating habits.”

Jisung scoffs dramatically, bringing a hand to his cheek that’s already stuffed with egg. “You’re just mad that I’m better than you.”

They reset the board and eat breakfast as they played. 

“Minho always beats us,” Hyunjin speaks up, “He’s good at thinking and planning stuff out- I just wing it and hope for the best.”

“That can be admirable too,” Jisung replies. “Everyone needs a bit of spontaneity.”

Minho tsks. “Not when his spontaneity leads us to a rave in the middle of the woods. He doesn’t know how to say no.”

“Well you always say no,” Hyunjin whines.

“‘Cause I’m not a pushover.”

Jisung pushes his bishop to G4, hoping the conversation distracts Minho from noticing the trap he’s been developing. 

It does not, Minho ignoring the trap with ease. “I live how I wanna live, if I want to go somewhere, I will. If I don’t, I don’t,” he continues.

“Well then you’re missing out on things that are unexpectedly fun,” Jisung retorts. “And maybe Hyunjin is just being a good friend by being open to people’s invitations.”

“Please, he’s not being polite, he’s just looking for a good time.”

“Alright, alright, can we stop debating about me?” Hyunjin begs. 

Soon the others have to leave since Jiwoo refuses to be late, which luckily for Jisung cuts the chess game short, as Minho was probably going to win this one. 

Jisung smiles as he and Felix make their way home, deciding that he’ll never play that jerk again so he can always brag that he was better than Minho.

Chapter Text

There’s another game night a week later. Jisung closes up the cafe before heading over, arriving just in time to see Seungmin losing miserably at Just Dance.

His eyes can’t help but land on Minho at the end of the couch, leaning back with a thick blanket on his lap and eyes glued to his book. He probably didn’t even notice Jisung’s arrival, too busy making sure that everyone knows he’s smart and likes to read. Next to him is Jiwoo, who also has a book, but it’s pretty obvious that she isn’t really reading, just continuously glancing between her book, Minho’s, and Minho’s face. 

Jisung enjoys the spectacle, watching Jiwoo’s desperate attempts for Minho’s attention while the other remains completely unphased. Something interesting must’ve happened in his book, and his eyebrows raise just a fraction before returning to his typical void-of-emotion state. 

Eventually Jiwoo gives up, setting her book down with a loud sigh. “I wanna hot tub.” She begins stripping to reveal a small red polka-dot bikini. “Anyone else? Kaylee?”

“Sorry I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

Jiwoo’s eyes scan the room, and to Jisung’s dismay, they fall right on his swim trunks. “Jisung, c’mon, join me.”

Minho finally looks up from his book, watching Jisung begrudgingly pad over. 

He lifts his shirt over his head, feeling Minho’s dark gaze on his back. What is with this guy and his glaring? Does he really hate Jisung that much? To be fair, Jisung was probably glaring at him just a few minutes before, but something about being the subject of Minho’s attention makes him shudder. 

“Minho you coming?” Jiwoo says casually, receiving no reply. She looks to the mirror as she fixes her hair into a bun, twisting the long strands round and round, not a single one out of place. “Oh my god, I’m getting so fat,” she whines, turning her slender body to the side to get another angle of her obviously flat stomach. 

“Yeah, you’re huge,” Minho says unenthused. Jisung has to swallow a laugh. 

“Oh my god , you’re such an ass,” Jiwoo exclaims and shakes Jisung’s arm. “How do I even respond to that?”

He shrugs, uninterested in whatever flirting Jiwoo’s trying to do. “Diss him back.”

Jiwoo just rolls her eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that. Minho’s basically perfect at everything, just ask the parents.”

“That’s not true, I have my flaws.”

“Oh do tell, Mr. Perfect,” Jisung teases. He’s already getting pissed off seeing that Minho has to think about it.

“I hold grudges. Once you do something I don’t like, I don’t like you forever.”

Jisung winces. “Yeah sorry, you can’t really make fun of him for that- it’s just… sad.” He points a pitiful expression at Minho, who scoffs in reply. “I mean with your high standards for people it’s no wonder you’re such a grouch.”

“Well at least my judgments of people are grounded in reality.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“As soon as you saw us you thought we were just some dumb rich kids-”

“ Ok ,” Jiwoo announces. “I’m cold. Jisung, let’s go.”

In the hot tub, the two sit in silence. Jisung lets the heat un-tense his body, trying not to mull over Minho’s words.

“Do you think we’re all dumb rich kids?” Jiwoo asks, breaking the quiet.

“I… tend to not like tourists,” Jisung says slowly. “But not for no reason! I wouldn’t have judged Minho if he wasn’t an asshole in the first place. He was the one who was looking down on us first.”

“Minho’s hard to please,” Jiwoo says knowingly. “But once you get to know him, he’s a sweet guy.”

Jisung doubts it, but can’t muster a reply. He sinks further into the water, his mind replaying Minho’s coy smile during their conversation, his eyes raking over Jisung’s bare skin. Jisung’s face suddenly feels warm. Must be the water.  

…

Jisung and Jeongin lay in the sand, letting the sun dry them off. It was the first time that year they had gone out to surf, happy and exhausted after riding the waves for nearly two hours. 

“You haven’t complained about Prince Charming and his legion of knights,” Jeongin says curiously. 

“So?”

“ So it’s usually all you talk about. What gives?”

Jisung winces. It’s been a couple days since game night and he’s desperate to move on. He keeps getting a weird feeling in his stomach every time he thinks about Minho, which he is not a fan of, so ignoring the thought altogether is his best option. 

Luckily, Jisung doesn’t have to respond, as a guy begins approaching their space.

“Hey, sorry to bother,” the guy says cheerfully. “I saw you guys on the water, you’re like pros.”

“We’re not even close, but thanks,” Jisung replies, feeling shy at the sudden compliment. 

“I’m Evan,” the guy says, shaking both their hands. 

Jisung still feels awkward as they introduce themselves. 

“Nice to meet you guys. Do you know of any good food around here?” Evan asks, his extrovertedness reminding Jisung of his mom.

“We’re actually about to head back to town, we could show you the best stops if you’d like,” Jeongin says, getting up from his towel. 

“That’d be awesome.” Evan flashes another warm smile. 

And with that, they’re walking away from the beach with their new friend, making good conversation along the way. Once Jisung and Jeongin reveal that they live on the island, Evan asks all about local life, excitedly sharing how much he likes the island so far, it being his first time over. 

They show him around downtown, conveniently recommending their own family businesses for food. Jeongin and Jisung are just about to fight over who has better ice cream when they spot Hyunjin and Minho walking out of a boutique. 

Jeongin waves them over, but as they approach, Minho’s face seems to harden at the sight of Evan. Evan looks away from Minho’s gaze, looking uncomfortable for the first time that day. Jeongin and Hyunjin chit chat for a moment before Minho drags him away, claiming they have to meet someone for lunch. 

Jisung watches Minho stomp down the road, curious about his relationship with Evan. It doesn’t matter too much though, since anyone who doesn’t get along with Minho is a friend in Jisung’s books. “Do you know those guys?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah, we went to high school together,” Evan says, looking to the ground. 

“Was Minho as big of an asshole as he is now?” Jisung sneers to which Jeongin rolls his eyes.

Evan chuckles softly. “Yeah, well, he’s always been a character. We were kind of family friends, my dad worked for Minho’s.” He seems like he wants to say more but shakes his head. “I don’t wanna bring up bad blood or anything, it’s in the past.”

“No, please, you have to spill,” Jisung begs.

“Well his dad was always super nice to me- I wanted to be an engineer like him and we both play golf so we just got along. I guess Minho was jealous ‘cause his dad was kind of hard on him, and y’know I didn’t have as much money as the other kids, so he’d make fun of me at school, make sure I wasn’t included in things.”

“That’s awful.”

Evan shrugs with a solemn smile. “It’s fine, we’re all at college now so it doesn’t matter. It’s just awkward when I run into them, they clearly still don’t like me. Minho, Chan, and them- they’ve always been so judgey, they care too much about class and wealth.”

Jisung nods. He always had his opinion, but now he’s appalled. 

“They don’t all seem that bad though,” Jeongin says carefully. “Hyunjin’s always nice.”

“Well how great of a guy can he be if he’s friends with them?” Jisung retorts. 

They part ways with Evan, telling him to stop by their shops whenever he’d like. 

The next day Jisung recalls Evan’s story to Felix, but being naive as ever, Felix doesn’t buy it. 

“There has to be more to the story,” he says. “Sure, Minho’s a little hard to get along with sometimes, but that just sounds cruel.”

“Exactly! He’s the worst.”

“I don’t know, Minho doesn’t seem like the type to get jealous either. He’s too sure of himself.”

“Maybe that’s just what he wants us to think,” Jisung says exasperated. “I bet on the inside, he’s totally insecure so he overcompensates by being a dick to everyone.” It makes perfect sense. 

Later that night, Jisung dm’s Evan an invite to the next beach party, grateful to finally have someone on his side. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Evan was cute too, and the two of them had really hit it off. 

That’s why, when Evan doesn’t show up the night of the party, Jisung is just a tad disappointed. He brushes it off and instead has a great time with his friends, forgetting all about his promises to never get wasted again as he throws back drink after drink. 

He is so drunk, in fact, that when Minho approaches him and asks him to dance, he says yes. 

Despite bickering on the way to the dancefloor, Jisung still throws his arms around Minho’s neck and Minho’s hands find their way to Jisung’s waist as if they do this all the time. Instead of recoiling like he should, Jisung just presses further into Minho, reveling in the way it makes Minho’s grip tighten over his skin.

Maybe this is their new routine, Jisung figures. They hate each other’s guts, get drunk out of their minds, and release all the pent up anger through hot sexy dance time. Not a bad deal.

“Why are you here?” Jisung shouts over the music. 

“Felix invited us.”

“Of course he did.”

“I don’t see you complaining,” Minho says slyly. 

“Fine, I hate you and don’t want you here. Where should I file my complaint?”

“You really never let up,” Minho laugh. “You should try being nice for once.”

“I’m not going to change who I am for other people. They’ll either like me or they won’t,” Jisung replies, his brows furrowed. 

Minho sighs, his hot breath tickling Jisung’s ear. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“I invited Evan but he didn’t show,” Jisung says, perhaps a little too honestly. 

Minho stiffens, his eyes scanning Jisung’s face. “I gotta go piss,” he says quickly and walks off. 

He never comes back to dance, but that’s fine. It’s probably for the better- Jisung was doing a poor job at following his pact to never speak to the jerk again. 

At one point, Jiwoo pulls him to the side, a serious look on her face. “I heard you met Evan?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s bad news, Jisung. You seriously don’t want him around.”

Jisung nods to appease her, but he knows the truth. Jiwoo and Minho are both judgemental pricks, and Evan has been nothing but kind. 

The party completely devolves into chaos as a group of guys start challenging each other to jump over the fire. No one gets burned, fortunately, but Seungmin stumbles a little too close to the flames while cheering and catches his shirt on fire. It was a tiny flame, but he still has to stop, drop, and roll, which apparently made him a little too dizzy as he’s soon puking into the fire. They seriously need to work on Seungmin’s stomach. 

It’s around then that Felix is being lifted above the crowd, shirtless and chanting something about living forever. Jeongin also manages to get on someone's shoulders, and begins yelling out, “Jisung? Jisung, where are you? Jisungggggg!”

Jisung catches a glimpse of Minho watching the whole ordeal in disgust, and can’t help but feel mortified. 

…

Jisung hears the front bell chime, and looks up from the counter to see Evan walk in wearing a sheepish grin. “Hey Jisung,” he says sweetly. 

Jisung takes his order, and as Evan is paying, he speaks up. “I’m sorry I didn’t see you at the party. I actually stopped by, but when I saw Minho and his friends, I just figured I should leave.”

“Oh, it’s totally fine, I get it.” Jisung prays Evan hadn’t seen him and Minho dancing. That would be a little hard to explain. “I’m sorry you had to see them. I didn’t even know they were invited.”

“It’s all good,” Evan says, taking his change. “Well, I thought I could make it up to you. Are you free later today?”

Jisung can feel himself blush as they make plans to meet up that night. It’s nothing special, they just walk around and talk, but Jisung doesn’t mind. He loves to walk and appreciates the company. Another day, Jisung tries to teach Evan how to surf, and it goes about as poorly as expected, but they still have a blast. 

Jisung is just about to message Evan when Felix strolls into his room with a melancholy look on his face. 

“Hyunjin hasn’t texted me in days,” he says, flopping next to Jisung on the bed.

“He’ll reach out,” Jisung assures. “He obviously has a big fat crush on you. And if he doesn’t, it’s his loss.”

But as time passes, Hyunjin never texts, and with no buzz from any of the rich kid crew, Felix is feeling worried. He had opened Jiwoo’s story to see a photo of her, Hyunjin, Minho, and some other guy looking awfully close, which only made him more upset.

Jisung tries to console Felix, but really he’s just mad. He had held out some hope that Hyunjin would prove him wrong, but clearly the Prince Charming act was finally dropping. He figures those guys must’ve gotten sick of hanging out with the hometown peasants, though he doesn’t say that aloud to Felix. 

They spend their days the way they used to all the summers before, riding around with the other local kids with the occasional addition of Evan, who Jisung is starting to think might actually be interested in him. The fun times are a good distraction, but Felix eventually caves and messages Jiwoo asking if they want to hang out, too scared to ask Hyunjin himself. 

Jiwoo responds that they’d love to, but they’re really busy with family stuff and will have to let him know when they’re free next. 

Jisung knows it’s fake, and his suspicions are confirmed by the various social media posts that pop up over the next week of get togethers that don’t look all that familial. “They’re the worst,” Jisung spits.

“You’re being too harsh,” Felix says gently. “I’m fine.”

Despite his words, he looks completely downcast, and Jisung spends the next few days trying to cheer him up. He’s prepping a plate of pastries to bring Felix when he spots Evan through the cafe window. It’s been awhile since Evan last responded, and he’s walking past with his arm around some girl. 

Jisung thought he’d be more upset, but finds that he doesn’t really care. Maybe he didn’t actually find Evan all that interesting and was just excited for some attention. Oh well. 

Felix really likes the pastries, and Jisung figures he’d keep the ball rolling by getting him more of his favorite snacks. That night, he heads to the grocery store to pick up Hot Cheetos and chocolate caramels, dismayed to see the biggest jerk on the island perusing the chip aisle. 

He puts on a proud face and walks towards Minho, who of course is right in front of the Cheetos section. 

“Hey,” Minho says upon seeing Jisung, clearly caught off guard. 

Jisung grabs a family size bag with a huff. “Felix has been wanting to see you guys y’know.”

Minho shuffles uncomfortably. “Yeah, I know.”

“I’m just surprised, I thought Hyunjin would’ve invited us by now.”

The look on Minho’s face tells him everything he needs to know. They didn’t tell Hyunjin that Felix wanted to see him- Jiwoo and Minho probably convinced him Felix wasn’t good enough for them or something. “Whatever,” Jisung mumbles and walks off before he could get any more upset. If they’re going to be that way, then Felix is better off without them.

Chapter Text

Jeongin, Seungmin, and Jisung are hanging at the beach when a short, stocky guy named Changbin introduces himself and asks if they want to join him and his friends in volleyball. Before Jisung can say no, the other two are already agreeing. He rolls his eyes, knowing Seungmin probably only said yes so he could keep looking at Changbin’s biceps. 

They start playing, and Jisung actually manages to hit the ball a few times. Clearly the universe needed to balance out his good luck, as Minho shows up right as he trips over his own feet. 

Turns out Minho and Changbin are friends, and when Changbin asks him to join, Minho answers, “As long as I’m not on Jisung’s team.”

“Fuck you, I am not that bad,” Jisung yells, getting deja vu to the first night they met. “Why did he have to show up,” he says, turning to Jeongin. 

Changbin is standing nearby and laughs. “What, you two don’t get along?”

“He never wanted to, he refused to speak a word to anyone the first time we met,” Jisung begins explaining. 

“I’m not outgoing like Hyunjin is,” Minho says defensively, making his way to the other side of the net. 

“You could’ve tried , y’know. Practice makes perfect,” Jisung says with rolled eyes. “I bet if I played enough volleyball, even I’d be pretty good.” He ignores the way his words basically imply that he really does suck.

Minho just smiles. “Maybe, but I’m not going to change who I am for other people. They’ll either like me or they won’t,” he says with a wink. 

Jisung can feel himself blush, hoping he can play it off as a sunburn. How did that asshole even remember that? Even worse, how could he and Minho actually have something in common?

They spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach, with Minho paying more attention to Jisung than usual. It gives Jisung the creeps, and that weird feeling in his stomach comes back. 

“Has your mom always owned the cafe?” Minho asks after plopping down next to Jisung on the sand. Jeongin is napping in the shade and Seungmin is busy getting thrown into the water by Changbin. 

“Um, yeah, my parents run it together. It was my grandpa’s on my mom’s side.”

“Will you wanna run it in the future?”

Jisung scrunches his face in thought. “It wouldn’t be bad I guess, but I don’t know. I don’t think I wanna be stuck on this island forever.” He went to college on the mainland, and it only made him want to spread his wings ever further. 

“Where’d you wanna go then?” 

“Why do you care?”

“Just tell me,” Minho says, annoyed. 

Jisung wants to protest further, but something about Minho’s tone seems genuinely curious, so he gives in. “A big city, I think. I mean, that’s where all the opportunities are. I’m studying music production, so.”

Minho hums in acknowledgement. “I guess cities are enticing when you live in a place like this.”

“Well where do you live?” It occurs to Jisung that he has no idea where Minho is even from.

“We moved around a bit, but we’ve mainly lived in big cities. Seoul, Chicago, Amsterdam at one point. I went to high school in Chicago, that’s where I met Hyunjin and them.”

It’s Jisung’s turn to hum. 

“I guess growing up like that, I’ve always been drawn to places like this,” Minho continues, raising his hand towards the beach around them. “Everything’s slowed down, it’s quiet, the air is fresh.”

“Right,” Jisung says quietly, leaning his head against his knees.

“I think you’d like Nashville,” Minho says suddenly. “They’re all about music there.”

Jisung just looks at Minho for a moment, the sea breeze rustling his dark hair. It’s gotten longer since the start of summer, now hanging down his forehead in thin wisps. It looks soft. 

His gaze travels down Minho’s nose, strong and straight, over his sunkissed cheeks, and to his dark eyes that are looking right back at Jisung. 

Jisung opens his mouth to say something, anything, when Changbin comes running up, threatening to throw Minho in the water. The two run off, Jeongin wakes from his nap, and Jisung explains how weird Minho was being. 

Jeongin shrugs. “Maybe he likes you.”

Jisung doesn’t even respond to such a ridiculous suggestion. 

For the next hour, Minho goes back to his distant ways, his expression unreadable. Changbin in the meantime, is incredibly nice to Jisung and his friends, making sure they are always involved and having a good time. They eventually part ways, Changbin promising to treat Jisung to sushi sometime. 

“I don’t know,” Jeongin says as they walk along. “Maybe Changbin’s the one that’s into you and Minho’s just trying to be nice now that his friend’s interested.”

Jisung ignores the comment once again. If Minho was trying to be nice for anything, it would be out of guilt for being such an asshole this whole time.

…

A day later, Jisung is out walking on the less frequented east side of the island, hoping to clear his mind. The humid July air sticks to his skin, the usual sea breeze blocked by the trees. 

Jisung strolls through the path, unable to get Minho off his mind. He’s certain Minho was and is a dick, and suddenly seeing him act normal has thrown him for a loop. Jisung had thought all of those kids were assholes, but when he thinks about it, Hyunjin, Chan, Changbin… even some of the girls are pretty nice. 

Jisung never mentioned to Felix that Hyunjin probably didn’t even know he wanted to see him- he figured it was for the best and that if Hyunjin was willing to give in to his friend's opinions like that, then he wasn’t worth Felix’s time anyways. But if Minho is capable of being normal, if he’s maybe even a nice guy after all, then shouldn’t Jisung let Felix know and try to get everyone on good terms again?

Jisung doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know what to think of Minho at all. His mind slips to images of Minho smiling at the beach, reading on Hyunjin’s couch, sticking his tongue out in concentration over their chess game- clearly his good looks are clouding Jisung’s judgement. 

Jisung suddenly stops in his tracks, thinking for a second he might be hallucinating from the heat when he sees a person that looks just like Minho. He takes a step closer to the sitting figure, causing the person to turn and look his way.

“Oh, hey,” Minho says surprised, getting up from the ground and dusting off his shorts. He had been leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, looking more peaceful than Jisung had ever seen him before.

“Hey, sorry for disturbing.” 

“No it’s fine, um, I didn’t think anybody else would be out here.” Minho scratches his ear that was quickly turning red. 

Jisung chuckles, to his dismay, finding it cute. “I didn’t either.”

“I come here sometimes when I need a break from… y’know,” Minho says with a small smile. “Wanna walk together?”

“Sure,” Jisung replies hesitantly, unable to disguise his surprise. 

The two begin walking side by side, the sound of their feet crunching on the dirt filling the silence. 

“You like to walk?” Minho asks eventually.

Jisung smiles at the terrible attempt at conversation, but complies. “Yeah, it helps me think. I’ve walked around the whole island when I’ve gotten stressed before.”

“What else do you like to do,” Minho pauses, flashing an evil grin. “Besides dancing.”

Jisung winces at the memory of Jiwoo’s party, once again being reminded that Minho is a dick, through and through. Still, he refuses to show his embarrassment. “Jeongin and I surf a lot. I play guitar. I don’t know, we mostly just hang around, eat food.”

Minho just nods, going back to walking in silence. 

Jisung joins him in the quiet, confused as ever as to why Minho even asked. A tiny part of him wonders if Jeongin was right, that maybe Minho is gaining intel about Jisung to give to Changbin. But no, that would be crazy. 

“What’s your biggest fear?” Jisung asks suddenly.

“Heights, you?”

“Drowning.”

"Don't you surf?"

"Eh. Gotta face your fears right?"

They don’t speak another word for the rest of the walk, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. For the first time in a while, Jisung can feel his head clear, just watching the trees and listening to their footsteps. Minho seems calmer too, giving Jisung a nod when they finally part ways.

…

Jisung is dragging his surfboard to shore when he spots Changbin walking along the beach. Changbin gives a big wave and jogs over, joining Jisung on his towel. 

They chat casually for a bit before Changbin randomly changes topics. “Do you guys date amongst yourselves on the island or do people go for outsiders more?”

Jisung's heart drops. Was Jeongin right? Is Changbin really interested in him? “Um, well it’s a pretty small community so it’s not common for us to date here. Everybody knows everybody and all that.”

“Mmm, I get that,” Changbin says. “The last person I was talking to back in the city was fun, but my friends didn’t like them, so I took that as a sign and stopped seeing them. But I run into them all the time now and it’s so awkward.”

“Well, friend input is important,” Jisung replies, still unsure of where the conversation is going. 

“Exactly, y’know the guys were just saying that Minho recently convinced Hyunjin to stop talking to some guy- our group definitely takes that kind of stuff to heart.”

Anger boils up in Jisung’s chest. He figured Minho had something to do with the sudden distance, but after their conversations, Jisung was starting to think maybe it was all Jiwoo’s doing, or maybe there was some kind of misunderstanding. But no, Minho is the asshole Jisung always knew he was. How dare he look down on Felix like that?

“So,” Changbin says slowly after the awkward silence, “speaking of, is Seungmin seeing anyone?”

Jisung, relieved, assures Changbin that Seungmin is very single before leaving for work. Relief is soon overwhelmed with anger, and Jisung spends the rest of his shift groveling. He couldn’t believe he had started to fall for Minho’s tricks. 

He closes up shop with a huff, jumping at the sight of Minho outside the cafe door. 

“Hey,” Minho greets.

“What’re you doing here?” Jisung says shortly. He doesn’t care if he sounds rude, he just wants to go. 

“Tomorrow. Let me take you on a date, whenever you’re free.”

Jisung blinks. “A date?”

Minho smiles, scratching his ear. “I know we didn’t get along at first, but I like you and I think we have fun together, so…”

“No,” Jisung says firmly. He can hardly believe his ears. 

“...No?” Minho’s smile falters a bit. 

“Yeah, genius, I’m sure you’re not used to being told no, but you’re gonna have to get used to it.” Jisung starts walking off, but Minho grabs his arm. 

“Why?” His face is twisted in confusion.

“ Why? Are you serious?” Jisung yells, ripping his arm out of Minho’s grasp. “You tell Hyunjin I’m not worth your time the first night we met, you’ve clearly looked down on me ever since, you ruined Felix’s chance with Hyunjin,” he spits, “and not only are you a tyrant to me and my friends, apparently you’re an asshole back home too. Evan told me all about how you and your friends bullied him-”

“Ok, that guy deserved any kind of treatment he got,” Minho argues, looking incredulous. “As far as Felix goes, I was just looking out for my friend, and don’t act like you haven’t been insulting me this entire time.”

“Listen asshole, Felix is a great guy, Hyunjin obviously liked him, you changed his mind, and now Felix is heartbroken,” Jisung seethes. He takes a sharp breath, prodding his finger into Minho’s chest. “I’d rather drown than go on a date with you.”

Before Minho can say anything, Jisung grabs his bike and races away. The anger finally pops, and Jisung begins crying, wiping the tears away roughly as he continues to pedal. It only makes him angrier, knowing he shouldn’t be wasting tears on a guy like Minho.

Chapter Text

When Jisung walks into work the next day, puffy eyed and tired, his mom hands him an envelope. “Minho dropped it off this morning,” she says simply, kindly not questioning Jisung’s appearance. 

Jisung snatches the envelope and takes it to the back, ready to rip it to bits and pieces. He stares at it for a second before opening it up, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

Dear Jisung, 

I’m sorry for how things went last night. I’m not writing this to try to convince you to go on that date- I heard your feelings loud and clear, and I respect them. There were just a few things I didn’t get to explain in the heat of the moment, and even though there’s a good chance you rip this to shreds without reading it, I figured I’d still try.

It’s true that I pushed Hyunjin to stop going for Felix, but I honestly thought Felix had no interest in him. There have been a lot of people who have strung Hyunjin along just to get invited to places, and he’s been really hurt. Based on what I saw, Felix wasn’t pining the way Hyunjin was, so I suggested for Hyunjin to move on. I helped Jiwoo to keep them from seeing one another since I thought it would be best, but if Felix really did like him then I clearly made a mistake and I’m really sorry.

As far as Evan goes, I’m not sure what he told you, but we all used to get along until he got caught trying to get with Chan’s little sister, who was way too young and naive to know better. After asking around, we heard from other girls that he made them uncomfortable and that he even tried to roofie someone, so we started ostracizing him from our social circles. You can ask anyone else, they’ll tell you the same. We’ve never bullied anyone, but more importantly, I wanted you to know so that you and your friends stay away from that guy.

I’m sorry again for how things went. I do like you, and I’m sorry that my actions made you think otherwise. Regardless, thanks for the interesting summer Jisung, I won’t ever forget it.

-Minho

Jisung rereads the letter, thinking it can’t be right. But when he recalls his conversations with Evan, to Jiwoo’s warning, he realizes what an idiot he’s been. He had followed Evan blindly just ‘cause his words had matched his impression of Minho. He thinks back to when Felix said he’d play a little hard to get, and to all his interactions with Minho, suddenly seeing them in a new light. 

Jisung slams his head against the wall with a groan. Fucking dumbass. 

Over the next few days, he can’t help but suffer over thoughts of Minho and his letter. As much as his view on Minho had changed, he hopes to never see him again, too mortified by his own misunderstandings. Moreover, Jisung isn’t ready to confront Minho’s feelings for him, the feeling in his stomach exploding every time he remembers the other’s confession. 

He finally meets up with Felix and almost doesn’t spill the beans, seeing Felix is doing a lot better and not wanting to complicate things anymore. Still, he can’t keep anything from his best friend, and tells Felix everything over cheesecake. 

“Wow,” Felix utters once Jisung finishes. “That’s… a lot.”

“I’m sorry, I feel like I messed things up for you and Hyunjin too,” Jisung admits, hanging his head. He feels a hand grab his own, and lifts his eyes. 

“Hey, you just did what you thought was right. It’s my fault for not showing Hyunjin I liked him, I’ll figure it out. What about you?”

“I don’t know,” Jisung mumbles. 

Felix squeezes his hand. “That’s fine.”

Jisung suddenly perks up. “I think Changbin’s throwing something together. Hyunjin will probably be there, maybe you guys can talk.”

“I don’t know, do you think he still even likes me?”

“He’d be dumb not to,” Jisung says with a smile.

Later at home, Jisung is scrolling through Minho’s social media, so engrossed he doesn’t hear his mom come up behind him. 

“Handsome right?” she says, spooking him. 

He clutches his chest, and looks back at his phone. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Y’know my friend Jamie, the one with the fruit stand? She says Minho comes by all the time, so sweet, always gives her more money that he owes.”

“Huh,” Jisung mutters. He goes back to scrolling through his photos and wondering if Minho still even likes him after his whole outburst. 

…

Felix begs Jisung to come with him to Changbin’s party. “It’s my big reuniting with Hyunjin,” he had argued, “I need my emotional support.”

Jisung eventually agrees to go, but only after Changbin confirmed that Minho wasn’t going to be able to make it, something about a family event. 

But what if he does show up? Jisung thinks as he’s getting ready. He quickly changes into his favorite shorts, styles his hair, and throws on his best cologne. Not for Minho- that would be stupid- just… in case. 

It’s safe to say Seungmin and Jeongin are the only ones acting normal as they arrive at the house. Felix is constantly checking his appearance in any reflection he can find and Jisung can’t stop looking over his shoulder like he’s some kind of runaway. 

“I can’t do this,” Felix says, looking at himself in the brass door knocker. “I’m gonna puke.”

“That’s Seungmin’s job,” Jeongin retorts. He pushes Felix to the side and opens the door while Seungmin shoves them all inside, knowing the two scaredy cats were one second away from bolting. 

To Jisung’s relief, he doesn’t spot Minho anywhere inside. After the group splits up, Jisung finds himself talking to Chan by the stairs, and he also happens to be interested in music production. They have a lengthy conversation about their passions and idols, and what it takes to really make it in the music industry. Jisung admits that he doesn’t have much hopes for his music career, but Chan slaps him on the shoulder and makes him promise to always dream big. 

“How ‘bout this, if one of us gets in with a big company, he has to force his boss to hire the other.”

“Deal,” Jisung says with a toothy grin. 

There’s some commotion at the front door, and Jisung turns his head just in time to see Changbin yelling, “Minho! I thought you couldn’t make it.”

“I ditched,” Minho says with a mischievous grin. “I came straight here, obviously.” He’s wearing a button down dress shirt and slacks that hug his thighs just right. His friends cheer as he loosens his tie and begins unbuttoning his shirt, and Jisung is practically drooling.

Was Minho always this hot? Obviously he was attractive, but… woah. Suddenly Jisung has a thing for formal wear. 

“You good?” Jeongin says, suddenly appearing at his side. 

“I’m doomed.”

“Well I’ve got some news that might cheer you up.” Jeongin points to the other end of the room, where Felix and Hyunjin are talking in their own little world, looking happy as can be.

“Oh my god,” Jisung squeals, hitting Jeongin excitedly. He turns back to see Minho is now a lot closer than he was a second ago and heading his way. 

Minho gives him an awkward smile. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jisung responds breathlessly. He can feel Jeongin judging him, but what is he supposed to do? His brain is imploding. “I like your outfit.”

“Thanks,” Minho laughs, seeming a little surprised. “Hey Jeongin,” he says, shifting his attention.

“Hey, long time no see.”

“Right? Did your parents ever figure out the outdoor seating permit?”

Jeongin seems shocked at the comment, but quickly falls into an easy smile. “Not yet, the committee keeps sending in more paperwork and now they wanna do an inspection next week. It’s becoming a whole thing.”

Jisung glances between the two. Outdoor seating permit? He never heard anything about this.

“Well, I told Seungmin I’d be his pong partner, so I should go,” Jeongin says suddenly. “Nice seeing you Minho.” And he’s off. Leaving Jisung and Minho. Alone.

Jisung takes a big sip of his drink. “Since when are you and Jeongin all chummy?”

“We’re not,” Minho chuckles. “He was just complaining about that stuff awhile ago and I thought I’d… practice being social.”

“Well clearly you’re already the master. Was that so hard?” Jisung teases, internally overjoyed that Minho didn’t seem mad at him.

“Yeah, yeah, go easy on me.”

“Long night?”

“The longest,” Minho groans. “Too much adult talk.”

“Well it’s a good thing you ditched then.” Jisung grabs the end of Minho’s tie, rubbing it between his fingers. “You are a bit overdressed though.”

Minho takes in a quick breath and licks his lips, his eyes trained on Jisung’s. “Jisung I-”

Just then Felix comes running up looking like he’d seen a ghost, Hyunjin close behind.

“Lix, what’s wrong?” Jisung asks hurriedly, not used to seeing his friend look so serious. 

“It’s Olivia,” Felix cries. “My mom called and said she snuck out- apparently someone saw her get into Evan’s car.”

Jisung’s heart drops. He grabs Felix’s hands and tries to remain calm. “It’s ok, we’ll find her.”

Felix nods quickly, tears forming in his eyes. 

Jisung knows they need to act fast but he can feel himself start to panic. He turns to Minho with wide eyes. “His little sister. She’s only sixteen.” 

Minho’s jaw hardens. “We’ll split up. I can drive, I haven’t had anything. Hyunjin, go grab Chan, he said he was DD’ing tonight.” He places a soft hand on Felix’s shoulder. “It’ll be ok.”

Soon they’re outside headed in different directions- Jisung and Felix on their bikes, Chan in one car, and Minho and Hyunjin in another. Jeongin had agreed to stay back and ask around to see if anyone knows Evan’s plans for the night. 

Jisung and Felix pedal through the streets, looking around wildly for any sign of them.

“She left her phone behind too, that dumbass,” Felix groans. 

They turn a corner and scan the beach, but no luck. Felix slows his bike and begins breathing heavily. He stumbles off his bike, Jisung stopping quickly beside him. 

“I knew she was talking to a guy- I should’ve asked to see him,” Felix cries, holding his head in his hands. “I should’ve warned her the second you told me about him.”

“Hey, hey,” Jisung says gently, taking Felix in his arms. “You didn’t know. It’ll be ok, we’ll find her.” 

Felix nods through shaky breaths, quickly wiping his tears. Suddenly his phone starts ringing, and Jisung holds his breath as Felix answers. “Hello? …Oh thank god.” 

Jisung sighs in relief, his knees going weak. 

“Yeah, sounds good. Thank you,” Felix holds the phone from his ear, “It’s Chan, he’s got her. He’ll meet us at my house.” 

Twenty minutes later, they’re all standing in front of Felix’s house, Felix and Olivia hugging and crying and apologizing over one another. They all thank Chan profusely before heading inside and collapsing into bed, exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster.

…

The next morning, Jisung is working the register when Chan walks in and orders a coffee to go. He pulls out his card but Jisung waves him off. “It’s on the house, I seriously can’t thank you enough for last night.”

“Ah well, to be honest, it was mostly Minho,” Chan says sheepishly. “It was his idea to check the lookout, and once they saw his car, he called me. When I got there, Minho already had him by the collar and asked me to take Olivia home.” 

Jisung listens with wide eyes. 

Chan lowers his voice to a whisper. “I didn’t see anything but Hyunjin said Minho punched him, took his phone, and threw it in the ocean. I was told not to tell anyone, so.” He brings a finger to his lips. 

Jisung nearly swoons. Why did Minho have to show all his cool sides after Jisung rejected him? He clears his throat, realizing he hadn’t responded. “Well, you were still a big help, so it’s on me. No arguing.”

Chan looks uncomfortable, but takes the coffee with a smile. “Thanks Jisung, I’ll see you around.”

A few hours later, Jisung takes his lunch break, meeting Felix outside. They walk to the beach and recount the night before, Felix disappointed that he didn’t get to tell Hyunjin he liked him before the chaos had erupted. 

Just as they arrive at the beach, Jisung spots two familiar figures walking along the shore. “Hyunjin! Minho!” he calls out.

“What are you doing,” Felix hisses.

“You didn’t get to tell him last night, now’s your chance,” Jisung says excitedly. 

“But I’m wearing my uniform.”

“You look great.”

Felix takes a deep breath, then jogs over to boys who are already walking in their direction. Some words are exchanged, then Hyunjin and Felix head back towards the water, while Minho continues walking to Jisung.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

Jisung can feel himself blush. “Thanks again for last night.”

“It was nothing,” Minho says casually, scratching his ear. 

“Chan stopped by this morning,” Jisung remarks with a smirk. “Kinda sounds like you were our savior.” Minho opens his mouth to speak, but Jisung continues. “Olivia’s like a little sister to me, so seriously, thank you.” 

“Well, I’ve always wanted an excuse to punch that guy, so I’d say it was a pretty good night.”

Jisung laughs, and the two watch Felix and Hyunjin hug in the distance, looking happier than ever. 

“So, um,” Minho says shyly. “I still like you, y’know, and with those two getting together, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other pretty often. I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable-”

“I’m not.” Jisung feels his heart start to race as they turn to one another, Minho’s dark eyes blinking owlishly. “I’ve actually been wanting to tell you, I’m so sorry for everything. I totally misjudged you and all that stuff I said… I just, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, you were right to think that way. I was rude to you, and I was stupid to ask you out after acting like a prick. I’m sorry.” 

Jisung looks to the ground, fiddling his fingers. “You could always try again,” he mutters.

“Is… that an invitation?”

Jisung smiles. “It can be.” He watches Minho’s face light up, his ears turning a bright red. Cute.

“You wouldn’t rather drown?” 

“Shut up,” Jisung whines, nudging Minho’s shoulder. 

Felix and Hyunjin walk up hand in hand, smiling brighter than the sun. Lunch break is almost over, so everyone says their goodbyes and part ways. 

“I have a date tonight,” Felix squeals, looping his arm around Jisung’s.

Jisung smiles so hard his cheeks hurt. “Me too.”

…

Their first date was at Rice and Reel, and Minho agreed it was the best sushi he ever had. 

Sadly, their idyllic summer came to an end, and everyone was forced to say their goodbyes. Hyunjin and Felix were lucky- their universities weren’t too far apart- but Jisung and Minho were stuck doing long distance. Very, very long distance. 

After three months of phone calls and Zoom dates, Jisung, stubborn as ever, had a crazy idea. He met with his advisor, had a lengthy conversation with his parents, and filled out lots and lots of paperwork. It turned out to be worth the hassle, and he called Minho as soon as he got approval. 

“Hey, so, funny idea. What if I transferred to an arts school near you?”

“Well, that’d be great, but you can’t just transfer willy-nilly.”

“Right, so what if I… already did all the work and got approval? I haven’t finalized it but everything’s all planned out- I’d start next semester.”

“ What? ”

“Forty minutes from your school. Only if you want, y’know, ‘cause if you think it’s too much, I’ll just stay here, no biggie.” 

“Jisung,” Minho said seriously. “I need you here, like, yesterday. Of course I’d want that.”

Jisung jumped excitedly. “Ok good, ‘cause that was way too much work for you to say no.”

“You’re fucking insane, you know that?”

“Shut up, you like it.”

And so, their very, very long distance turned into a short drive away. 

They graduated two years later and got a place together in the big city. One day, Chan called Jisung out of the blue with big news. “Remember our deal?” he said slyly. “Well, I’m leading a big project. I’ve seen your stuff and you’ve got real talent, man. You down to co-produce with me?”

Jisung accepted, obviously. 

That “big project” was a full length album for an up and coming artist, and by some lucky strike, the title track became number one on global leaderboards, shooting Chan and Jisung into notoriety within the music scene. 

After five years of dating, Minho proposed during their walk along the east side of the island, receiving a smack from Jisung. “You asshole, I was gonna do it!” 

They each ended up with two rings.