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The closet is walk-in, thankfully. It’s full of clothes, as a closet generally is, and there’s plenty of space in here for two people to sit comfortably. So I wonder—what did Chan think would happen? That we’d start making out?
”I wonder why we got singled out,” Seungmin wonders, echoing my own thoughts.
“Probably because we’re the only sensible people at this party,” I remark dryly. I shift so that I’m hugging my knees, my face firmly planted in my own arms.
”Seven more minutes,” Seungmin mutters. He seems awfully antsy. “Then I can go home.”
”You can go home anytime,” I grouse. “No one is stopping you from leaving. The closet door doesn’t even have a lock. The only thing keeping you here, really, is peer pressure.”
”You’re as insufferable as always.” There’s no heat behind his words. Seungmin and I are friends, as weird as it sounds to say it. I am the type of student who is perfectly happy with a C, and he’s the freaking president of the Student Council, but for some reason, it just works. He has a nice sense of humor that keeps me grounded, and I serve as a reminder that not everyone is fastidious with their schoolwork.
And in case it isn’t clear, we were forced into a closet in an impromptu game of “Seven Minutes in Heaven.”
“I think Chan ships us.”
”Does he?” Seungmin huffs. “That’s weird.”
”What kind of exciting thing is supposed to happen inside a closet?” I say aloud to nobody in particular.
“People are so obsessed with kissing and sex,” Seungmin mumbles. “Just the prospect of it is probably making all the guys out there get a boner.”
“Do people actually have sex in here?” I whisper-yell, aghast. “No way.”
”I mean, I think seven minutes is more than enough time,” he says with a smirk and a small, strained giggle.
”Fuck you.”
”You wish,” he counters.
I shoot him the middle finger and lean against some bins that house boxers and socks. This is Chan’s closet, so it’s his stuff.
“Were you hoping to be in here with someone specific?” Seungmin asks. “You seemed a little disappointed when the bottle landed on me.”
Someone noticed? “I was disappointed because you’re a douchebag,” I hiss, but of course this isn’t true. Or… not true enough. It’s difficult being in a friend group with your crush and knowing full well they don’t want you.
“Call me a douchebag all you want. It won’t make Jisung go for you.”
”Hey. C-can you shut up?! That’s so unnecessarily cruel.” I hide my face once more. “Seriously, you’re the worst. Why am I friends with you?”
”Because I tell it like it is. And he’s been dating Minho, like, forever,” Seungmin points out very unhelpfully. “There are single guys in this friend group, you know. What about Jeongin? Or hell, even Chan?”
”It’s more your friend group than mine,” I say shortly. Seungmin is so busy with student council duties, he doesn’t know how rare it is for me to get invited to Chan’s parties. He's invited everywhere, but I’m just there to fill up space, half the time.
”So? You can still date one of them. I’m sure they’d be honored if you asked. And hey.” He leans in closer. “If you did manage to get in here with Jisung, what were you expecting to happen? He wouldn’t kiss you, even in here.”
”Yeah, I get it. No one is ever going to kiss me,” I growl. “Just let it go.”
”Hey—“
”Let it fucking go, Seungmin.”
We are silent. For a full minute, probably. I check the timer and realize it’s already been four minutes. Three more to go.
“Have you kissed anyone?” I challenge. “Other than the principal’s boots, of course.”
”No.” Seungmin’s gaze darkens. It looks like I hit a nerve.
”Of course not. You’re too busy for it. Or maybe too contrarian,” I say with a snicker.
”I don’t think of anyone that way.”
”Yeah, yeah. I get it. Aromantic people exist. But don’t shame me for not kissing anyone if you yourself haven’t either.”
”I didn’t shame you for not kissing anyone. I shamed you for liking a taken man.”
“I can’t control my feelings!”
”And I can’t control mine, either!” He throws his hands up in the air, like an oncoming tide. He recedes when he draws back into himself, suddenly unable to look at me at all.
”Who do you like?” That sounded an awful lot like a confession.
”I like someone who never liked me and will never like me.” Seungmin sighs. “You… you’re always making me say things I shouldn’t. Just forget I said that, okay? What happens in this closet stays in this closet.”
“If I’m always making you say things you shouldn’t, then how about you tell me the name of the person you like.” I don’t actually care too much, but it would be wonderful ammunition to use on him later.
Seungmin does a crazy thing—he blushes. It makes his face look very charming, especially in the dim light from the closet lightbulb. I’m struck by how handsome he is, even in his stupid tweed “I’m the smartest kid in school” jacket. It’s a shame he doesn’t… do anything with it. “No one.”
”No one, huh?”
”Yeah, no one. Actually, wait. I’ll tell you this.” His gaze smolders as he turns to face me. “The person I like is awful. Terrible, in fact. They always insult me and abuse me. And for some reason, I like it and keep coming back for more. They distract me from my work with thoughts of them. They make me angry, but then two seconds later they make me laugh. If I was going to fall in love with anyone, it would be them.”
The timer is down to two minutes left.
”This person sounds horrible,” I whisper.
”It’s you, dumbass!” The garbled, passionate confession sounds like it’s been ripped out of him. He nearly collapses on the floor, completely deflated.
Huh?
”Me?” I stare, agape. “Why?”
”I just told you why. God, you’re so stupid. It’s really cute.” He’s blushing so hard that even his long-fingered hands can’t hide it.
The tension in this closet reaches palpable levels. There is barely one minute left, and I’m completely blindsided by the idea that Seungmin, my friend, the student council president… likes me. Me. Me who barely cracks open a book, who has never once gotten straight As.
But maybe that’s not what he’s looking for.
”Hey,” I whisper.
He peers at me through the cracks between his fingers. “What.”
”Come here,” I say. “I wanna kiss you.”
He balks. “What? Now?”
“I want to know what it feels like.” It’s a very heartfelt statement, because it’s true. I do want to know what it feels like… and I want to know what it feels like with him.
There’s less than a minute left.
Seungmin screws up his face and leans in closer.
When our lips touch, there are no fireworks. There is no rousing orchestral music. There isn’t even any tongue. But for some reason, it feels right. Like a puzzle piece fell into place.
My world suddenly floods with light, and Chan stands above us, smirking.
”Seven minutes is over, lovebirds!”
We spring apart, both of us blushing heavily and eager to decry what just happened. But unfortunately, our friend group surrounds us, and we can’t get away.
”I knew it!” Changbin crows. “I knew it!”
”It was only a matter of time,” Felix adds.
All I can do is shake my head. Seungmin gives me an embarrassed look, but as we head to the couch for another round of another stupid party game, it’s morphed into a lopsided smile.
”Are you ready for Uno?” Chan shouts.
A chorus of yells indicates that we are ready. And somehow, in the middle of the game, I find the courage to take Seungmin’s hand. He doesn’t pull away.