Chapter Text
Seungmin was twelve when Minho told him he was in love with him.
“I have a crush on you, Minnie. I like you.”
“Hyung, it’s not April Fools. What are you talking about?” Seungmin choked on the water he had been downing after a sweaty baseball practice session. His shirt was clinging to his chest, and all Seungmin wanted to do was rip it off and take a cold shower. Minho’s attempts at pranks only added fuel to the younger’s annoyance.
Seungmin laughed in his face. The idea of Lee Minho, Seungmin’s friend since they were kids fighting at the sand lot, romantically liking him was outrageous in itself. So Seungmin laughed to his heart’s content as he stuffed his equipment in his duffel bag.
He made his way to the exit of the changing room when he realised Minho’s absence, “You coming?”
Minho’s eyes were dark when Seungmin turned around, and there was no hint of humour on his face.
“What?” Seungmin shrugged.
When Minho didn’t reply, Seungmin’s heart dropped to his ass. He wanted to retch his insides out. He could feel knots forming in his stomach, and a hot liquid filled his guts. Minho’s face made Seungmin sick. The urge to distance himself from Minho bubbled in the deepest pits of his mind, and he considered giving up all kinds of worldly pleasures to become an ascetic in the Himalayas.
‘Seungmin and Minho’ doesn't even look good on paper, Seungmin thought.
“C’mon, hyung, stop joking. It's not funny. Let's go back.”
Minho’s glasses reflected the setting sun as he walked up to Seungmin to stand right in front of him, “I like you, Kim Seungmin. I’m not joking.”
“No,” Seungmin choked out. The setting was way too cinematic for Seungmin—the older boy was standing way too close, and if any of them had taken a step further, they'd both be touching lips. “You're my friend. My best friend.”
And the moment broke right then and there. Right after Seungmin had uttered ‘best friend’, the contrast of their surroundings went down, while the air in the locker rooms became colder.
Minho, to Seungmin's surprise, smiled. He took Seungmin by the hand and dragged him out of the enclosed space that smelled of soap and deodorant to the school grounds. The two boys raced each other to Seungmin's house. He waved Minho goodbye and opened the door with a hammering heart. It was beating at a dangerous rate, and Seungmin didn't know if it was because he had run for fifteen minutes straight or the weight of Minho’s confession, crushing him like an anvil.
Seungmin hoped for Minho’s crush to waver away quickly. He wished for Minho to give up on the idea of them ever being a thing. Seungmin and Minho. Minho and Seungmin.
★
Seungmin was thirteen when Minho kissed him.
They were sitting on a stone slab in an abandoned lot. The place was a sacred spot for the two boys; it had seen multiple fights over Beyblades and candies since they discovered it. Seungmin was showing Minho his new Pokémon cards and the rare one he had pulled when Minho, out of sheer boredom, landed a kiss on his cheek.
Poor Seungmin took an entire minute to register what had happened to him. His face grew warmer by the second, and Minho, being the shameless brat he was, laughed like a maniac at Seungmin’s misery. Despite his putting on a brave façade of nonchalance, his ears were clearly turning a deep shade of crimson as well.
Before Seungmin could cognise his situation, Minho ruffled his hair and placed another kiss on his other cheek.
Seungmin was appalled. He had never thought of Minho as a romantic of this degree. Minho was giggling and adjusting his glasses, which kept sliding off the tip of his nose.
Seungmin shoved his cards into the case he kept his others in and got off the slab to leave. He couldn't be around Minho. Not today. Not ever. He tried his best not to pay heed to Minho calling him back…and how his stomach was doing somersaults at a grave speed.
Seungmin decided he would not talk to Minho until he apologised for crossing boundaries that Seungmin decided to draw the very moment Minho had placed another kiss on his already red cheek.
★
Three weeks later, Minho flirted with Seungmin in front of his sister.
It was a lazy afternoon, and Seungmin had decided to accompany his noona to the supermarket. He had finished his schoolwork, and there was only so much television one could watch.
His sister busied herself with items that didn't strike Seungmin's fancy. He tried to find vegetables interesting, but when your sister takes ten minutes to pick out the best kind of bell peppers and spring onions, you have to give up on being the obedient kid who helps their elder siblings with chores.
Seungmin loitered towards the aisle where his favourite snacks were lined up when out of nowhere he heard Minho’s voice; the loud, rather pitchy sound sent shockwaves up Seungmin's spine. It seemed like Minho had companions. Seungmin sneaked a look at the party that paraded towards the ice cream freezer. There was a heated debate among the members about why mint chocolate was a flavour people pretended to like, only because they craved attention.
“I’m telling you, Jeongin-ah! Don’t listen to Minho hyung, all he ever does is lie about his eccentric tastes.” It was Minho’s close friend, Han Jisung. The third guy, the youngest of the group, was Yang Jeongin, who, in Seungmin’s opinion, was too young to be hanging out with a duo like Jisung and Minho.
Seungmin didn't know when his sister had tottered into the aisle right in front of the ice cream freezer, but he took notice of the same when he saw Minho’s gaze land on her, and then, almost on instinct, search past her to look for him.
The younger boy had no choice but to reveal himself when his sister called him to check whether she was buying the correct brand of rice. Seungmin begrudgingly made his way across the aisle, with his favourite bag of chips clutched in his hands like a shield. He pretended not to notice Minho, who sauntered up to them with mischief playing all over his face.
Seungmin busied himself with the patterns on the floor tiles once he realised the intent behind the older guy’s actions. As if on cue, Minho struck up small talk with his sister, who immediately recognised him and doted on his appearance as if she were his sister, not Seungmin's.
Blah blah blah, when did you get glasses? Blah blah blah, middle school.
It was all white noise to Seungmin, really—until Minho looked past his sister to stare at him. Seungmin was busy assessing the technique behind the grouting. Not too shabby.
“You look really pretty today, Seungmin.”
Seungmin thanked every deity of every religion at that moment; his sister paid no attention to their conversation. She was busy reading nutritional facts on a chart taped to the meat shelf. His stomach convulsed, and he felt heat rise to his face. He lifted his gaze to glare at his older friend, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
The damage didn't last long, and soon he and his sister were out of the damned store, hands full of bags brimming with groceries.
★