Archive of Our Own

“You're my universe.. because I'm constantly revolving around you dizzily until you finally notice me.” Seungmin slurred out, lightweight and unsteady on his feet because of the two bottles of beer he chugged a few minutes prior.

Minho chuckled, his gaze sharp despite the subtle glow on the apple of his cheeks and ears due to the few sips of wine he had as he smirked-with that damn smirk that always knocked him off his feet.

“oh baby.. I always knew that. I was just waiting for you to see how my gravity was pulling you closer to me like two opposite poles of a magnet.”

Seungmin blinked, trying to clear his vision that kept spinning round and losing focus.

“Are you saying you bewitched me like a siren?”

Minho's eyes darkened, the slight glint in his eyes prominent through the flashing, multicoloured lights waving around the club, signalling the newcomers over like a beacon.

Thank god the music was not ear splittingly loud. His ears would not be able to bear it due to how it's already pulsing, blood drumming against his temple.

“That's exactly what I'm saying.” The older replied a few beats later, pulling him closer until he could feel his hot breath spilling against his shoulder, catching a whiff of red wine and vanilla laced with a Vetiver undertone on his sweater— Minho's perfume.

“A-are you hugging me lee minho?” Seungmin asked in the split second he managed to compose himself, licking his dry lips as he stared up at the blindingly flashy disco ball hovering over the ceiling.

Minho snorted in reply.

“No. I'm just making sure you don't hit the floor when you pass out.”

He distantly heard the man reply, but could not focus due to the kaleidoscope of light swarming around, making him disoriented.

“Wha-”

His voice tapered off as his brain shut down, probably overheating after having too much alcohol and too much interaction with Lee minho.

Curse him.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

“Kim seungmin. Go out to the club with me.”

Seungmin paused mid-writing, frowning at the crumbled up paper before immediately penciling a firm no underneath the writing, in all caps.

He immediately tossed it behind him, but not before giving a firm glare at Minho who was behind him, all smirks.

“And stop bothering me.” He mouthed at him, before abruptly turning around to listen to his English professor droning on about Shakespeare's sonnet 73. 

It was peaceful for a while, as Seungmin dutifully noted down what the professor was saying neatly—until he felt another disturbance behind him.

Minho was nudging at the foot of his chair repeatedly, in a way that is surely not accidentally.

his eyes twitched— but didn't give any other outwardly reaction as the older apparently takes great satisfaction in them.

It went on for a while, before Minho finally gave up after getting no reaction from him, earning a loud dramatic sigh which made his eyes roll.

‘Childish.’

He thought irritatedly.

Seungmin is so glad that he does not take any other class with Minho, as he would probably blow a gasket if he had to deal with the older for more than three hours. 

The only reason he even took English minor was electives— not mandatory as he is studying to become an astrophysicist. 

Even his academic advisor was quite reluctant with his decision,

but he knew he would be able to pull through as he is smart and can easily absorb information.

 (He was also slightly an overstiver and workaholic— blatantly obvious too as even his advisor stared at him knowingly when he suggested. It took quite a lot of promises before he finally got permission from her.)

But now he is questioning his decision, wondering if he should bother with just sucking it up and pulling through even if Minho got on his nerves.

The bell rang, signalling the next period as he inwardly sighed in relief.

‘Finally…’

Seungmin swiftly arranged his books neatly and placed them inside his bag along with his stationaries, eager to leave quickly before Minho could terrorise him.

But of course, fate was not on his side as when he decided to book it towards the exit- Minho decided to stop him by standing in front of him, blocking his way.

‘Why is he so fast?’

Seungmin groaned internally, cursing under his breath.

“It's not nice to curse at your hyung you know… Especially when he's trying to help you.” His soft melodic voice tinkled into his ears, making him look up to meet his piercing gaze with a stare.

“You're not my hyung. What do you want.” Seungmin hissed through clenched jaw.

“Trying to help you, dongsaeng-ah.” Minho repeated softly- like it was obvious, making seungmin snort disbelievingly.

“How is dragging me to a club going to help me? Sounds like you're trying to become a bad influence rather than a good one.” Seungmin asked sceptically, while watching the class gradually empty out from the corner of his eyes.

Minho paused as he seized up the way the younger was all cleaned fist and jaw- like he was trying to prove a point.

“To relax. It always seems like the word never existed in your vocabulary.” He replied before moving closer and gently touching his shoulders-like he was trying to loosen the tension from his shoulders.

“ You always look like you are carrying the world on your shoulder. I think it's time you finally relax." Minho whispered before lowering his hand away, his shoulders tingling at where he placed his hand.

Seungmin stood stunned, as he watched the older turn around and walk away, only to pause momentarily.

“And you're also worrying Felix too.” He replied before walking away.

‘Oh.’

And when he finally noticed the slight tinge of red adorning his cheeks after the older left- that was nobody else's business except Seungmin's.

‘Damn it.’

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

Waking up felt like he was emerging from the depths of hell, his throat parched like he ran around the Sahara desert— and worst of all— his head felt like someone was trying to smash it with a bat, hitting it over and over again like a bass.

‘God what did he do last night?— Is he having a fever or something?-’

Snippets of last night flashed through his head before it slowly pieced together, as he remembered the way he was dancing around Drunkenly, chugging a whole entire bottle of beer in one sitting for a dare— and oh god he even flirted with Minho.

He could only mourn about his ruined reputation and dignity for a split second, before the physical pain decided to make its presence.

Seungmin let out a silent curse as Curled up on himself, trying to ward away the ringing in his ears and the agitating headache blooming at his temple.

‘It is the worst kind of headache even.’

“This is why I don't go out to drink.” He mumbled under his breath, his eyes closed.

Damn you Lee Minho.

He promptly fell asleep again, only to wake up in the evening, streams of sunlight filtering through the thin flimsy curtain and casting dappled light on the darker corner of his cream coloured ceiling.

It looked nice..and aesthetic…. comfortable for his sensitive eyes as he lay on bed staring at the specific spot, trying to find the energy to be human again.

.

.

.

Shoot. He has a few assignments due today.

With that he sprang from his bed, hungover forgotten as he immediately reached for his glasses sitting on the bedside table.

Vision 4k—his eyes skimmed through the surprisingly messy room in surprise— how did he even get it this messy?— before scrambling to find his phone which was probably blowing up with notifications.

He found the discarded phone under some linen pants he chucked into the small space between his closet and wall—again, why did he do that?— before powering it on, only to be attacked by an inflow of messages pouring through.

Checking the important messages first, and keeping the unimportant messages later; like messages from takeaway app and a message from the lee minho—he entered the email app and drafted a detailed formal email about extending the deadline with an apology while mentioning the reason subtly, in a way that the professor wouldn't think that he was becoming a careless drunkard that could care less about his assignment.

And hopefully…. due to his smart, exemplary conduct and reputation as a hardworking— borderline overworking student— he would feel sympathy and extend his deadline. 

Besides, this would be the first and only time in years he would be asking for extension, as this is already taking a toll on his dignity.

He Crumbled onto his floor after hitting send— contemplating about his life decisions, before Felix—his sunshine roommate— burst into his room in an excited flurry, his doe eyes smudged with glitter and eyeshadow from last night whilst still donning the skimpy, slutty black outfit he wore last night— the one where it showed off his flawless milky white thighs and accentuated his almost nonexistent waist.

“Seungminnie. rise and shine~” the blonde singsang happily like he was not sporting a hangover— before noticing the way seungmin was sprawled out on the floor, and suddenly decided to make it his mission to annoy seungmin into getting up.

“Get up seungmin..I ordered Haejang-guk” Felix sat crisscrossed next to him on the carpeted floor and prodded his shoulder.

“Not now Felix.” He mumbled, eyes shut while swatting the older's hand away.

“No. Now seungminnie— and look at the state of your room, I've never seen it this way. Get up, get fresh, and if you are a good boy I'll reward you.” Felix said, making him gag at his choice of words.

“ Not in that way you Dumbo. I mean I'll take you out to eat miso soup and pho…unless you don't want to.” His voice trailed off teasingly as he got up dramatically, only to be trapped due to the vice grip Seungmin had on his ankle.

Hook. Line. Sinker.

“Fine fine I'm up.” He groaned, making Felix grin.

“Great! I'll be waiting in the kitchen.” With that, he skipped away while humming.

‘Such a sunshine he is.’

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

Lee Minho.

one of the most frequent words that came out of Felix's mouth, even as a child.

Being his childhood best friend, Seungmin always had to constantly hear about this mysterious Lee Minho that he never met— yet knows almost everything about him. Even his blood type.

Well. That was because Felix blurted it out at one of their playdates for no absolute reason other than the fact that he liked to share everything in his life. 

He's literally a chatterbox that never runs out of stories.

It was mostly endearing. Though he did not need to know that Felix's parents tried to do the tango while he was asleep one fine Friday because he wanted a baby sister that one time— nor that his neighbour, an old lady who was in mid 70s was a virgin because her ex-husband has an erectile dysfunction.

He still doesn't know where Felix heard it from, but he was inherently mortified when he told him about it. 

Seungmin did not want to hear about anyone's sex life, thank you very much.

Anyway, at one point seungmin finally decided to ask how he knows about Lee Minho—because even though Felix talked about almost everything he knew about him, he never ever mentioned how the older knew him.

Felix blinked at him, letting out a silent oh.

“ Okay! So.. hyung is basically my mother's step sisters, cousin’s aunt's relative’s uncle's step daughter's aunt's father's second aunt's mother's child— he is around the same age as us by the way.” 

Seungmin stared at the older, his brain malfunctioning while trying to connect everything.

“Come again?” 

Felix stared at him in amusement.

“Ugh. His basically just one of my distant relatives-” he summarised while whirling his hand around impatiently, before continuing

“-and he also has been living in Japan for quite a while even though he is ethnically Korean.

 My mum and his mum are pretty close— like best friends! We never ever met even when I lived in Australia, and we usually just talked on the phone everyday. 

Hyung is so nice, seungminnie!- I hope we meet him one day.” Felix rambled, making seungmin smile.

“ Yeah. I hope so too.”

He didn't meet the infamous Lee Minho until years later, when they were all grown and matured— because Felix had unfortunately lost contact with Minho and his mum for quite a while, which he also was very upset about…and in turn made seungmin upset too.

It was only one fateful day, when Felix finally found his Instagram page that they finally reconnected after so long. 

Apparently Minho became too busy in Japan after becoming 18, trying to find stability for him and his mum after his parents divorced.

He couldn't get his own phone until he had enough income, and his mum also changed numbers a few months after the divorce and forgot to inform Felix's mum. 

And to make matters worse, she accidentally deleted her number while trying to delete his father's number which was the actual reason why they couldn't contact her too. (She didn't remember her number either, much to her disappointment.)

Minho felt guilty while explaining it, knowing how upset Felix would be to lose contact with him.

And to owe up to it, he finally decided to move to Korea after so long as it would be more convenient for his mum and himself, and also because he wanted to meet and start university with Felix. (The only reason they even moved to Japan was because of his deadbeat father anyway.)

So when Felix finally had the tearfu

l reunion with Minho for his 18th birthday (he wanted to surprise him)— Seungmin finally got the chance to really meet Lee Minho.

And…. he was thoroughly disappointed. 

(Though Felix was adamant that they started off on the wrong foot.)

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

After freshening up with an icy cold shower that finally woke his brain up, he padded towards the kitchen with a grumbling stomach.

“Finally! Sit down and eat. I'm starving.” Felix said while drying his hair with a towel, his freckled skin glowing from the moisturiser under the kitchen light.

He didn't question why Felix hadn't started eating before him.

It was a simple unspoken ritual that was fixed into their routine—no matter how different it was— since Felix had trouble eating alone and needed someone next to him to silently ground him, and encourage him to eat.

It had been a hard journey to even get to this point, and Seungmin was so damn proud of him that he even managed to get this far.

Easing down on the chair opposite to Felix, who had his damp hair hanging loosely behind his shoulders with the towel now draped on the chair frame— he instantly took the painkillers perfectly placed besides the bowl of soup and metal Chopstick and swallowed it dry, earning a scolding from Felix who brought him a glass of cold water.

Seungmin took a sip of the soup after drinking water, Felix following suit.

The spicy, warm umami soup exploded into his mouth and warmed his soul— calming his headache to an extent whilst soft conversations floated in the air occasionally, as a comfortable silence washed over them. The domestic ambiance made him feel light and hazy; content.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

He didn't even know where they went wrong, but he guessed it was as soon as he saw Minho's stupidly gorgeous face and his stupid big mouth at Felix's party. 

Everything was going great at first. As soon as Minho entered—he greeted Felix with a pat and an awkward hug, talked to him in such a soft dulcet tone it made Seungmin's heart flutter— talked to literally anyone at the party so politely, so softly that when he finally locked eyes with seungmin, he already created this whole entire fantasy about his personality, how nice and gentlemen he would be—

“Oh.”

Seungmin freezed, as he heard the loud deliberate noise echo through the room like a gunshot— that even all the guests there took a double take, and even Felix paused and stared at them, frowning.

“What's wrong with you?” Seungmin immediately blurted out in retaliation, though it was more subdued than Minho's—his voice low enough that only the older can hear it.

Minho's shiny eyes immediately sharpened.

“What's the matter, Lino hyung?” Felix asked, so concerned that he somehow let the nickname slip.

Lino hyung?

“It's nothing.” 

Minho suddenly exclaimed, before turning around to Felix with a dazzling smile— a complete 180 from the complete blank look he was giving at seungmin the whole entire time, while Felix waited awkwardly like a mediator— pecking to see if there was a fight brewing.

“Yongbok!- I suddenly remembered that you made your infamous brownies. Why don't you show me where it is so I can finally try some.” Minho asked with hidden excitement laced in his tone, making Felix smile automatically— though he did throw a confused and nervous glance at seungmin to check if he was okay.

Seungmin only gave a hopefully not strained, perfect start smile at him before he got dragged away by Minho.

‘Asshole.’

Eventually, Felix did find out about their slight dispute from a begrudging minho who was forced to spit it out as the younger was relentless, and quite literally dragged the older to apologise— which he also did begrudgingly.

Definitely not from his heart.

It honestly did make seungmin hold a grudge for the longest time…until it eventually simmered down.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

Just like he promised— Felix tried to take seungmin out to eat miso soup later in the night, which he declined wholeheartedly after remembering his assignment that's still looming over his head like a noose. 

Not even the blonde's puppy eyes could sway him into going out, making him whine before he finally gave up—but only after seungmin convinced him that they can go out another time.

So now he is sitting on his chair, staring at his studying table spread with his notes and text book with his laptop in the middle of the chaos, undisturbed.

 His professor has luckily approved the extension and given him a new deadline— as in till 2 am in the midnight— which he will gladly take as to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Glancing at the digital clock beside him, 9:30 pm— he continued typing.

He was so absorbed in his little bubble that he didn't notice time flying by— that when he finally blinked and glanced at the clock the second time, it was already 1:30 am. 

He blinked blearily at the clock, shocked— before typing the last few words and hitting send to completely finish off the assignment, 

The sleepiness finally caught up to him while tidying up his space a bit— as he let out a yawn and slumped back on his chair.

He stretched his body and let out a grunt before flopping onto his bed. 

Staring at the ceiling, he waits for sleep to take over and drift him into dream land.

.

.

.

.

He got up after staring at the ceiling for hours, feeling restless all of a sudden. 

‘Why can't I sleep all of a sudden?’

He looked at the phone sitting innocently besides him, as it finally dawned on him.

‘No way…’

Seungmin groaned.

‘This is so pathetic.’

After glaring at the phone for a few minutes — a silent battle that went on for the longest time— before letting out a sigh of defeat, scrolling to the message app.

And there it was. The message Minho sent in the morning, still unread.

He hovered over, debating whether to read it or not, until anticipation finally won him over.

Clicking the message with sweaty fingers (since when did it get sweaty?) his eyes and lips moved in tandem to read the content.

Stranger 😺 

Hey you alive?

6:00 am

Drink water and eat well when you wake up.

6:15 am

And don't blame me for the stupid life choices you choose. I can literally hear your thoughts Kim seungmin-ah.

6:16 am

He stared at the messages, rereading it again.

He didn't know how to react. At first it sounded like he was trying to get a raise out of him—mocking him per usual. 

But the more he reads it, he notices the carefully articulated words that he usually won't banter with—shaping it softly, with more effort, and in a way that it sounded like he cared for him, tinged with an almost vulnerability.

Just thinking about it makes the complicated feelings he stamped down months ago bubble to the surface—and that's when he mortifyingly realises that his cheeks were flaming pink.

He slammed his phone down and aggressively ran his hand through his hair, trying to will away the blush spreading down to his neck and ears.

‘No. This is so stupid Seungmin—get yourself together!—he does not have a crush on you and you do not have a crush on him. You're just confused.’

He repeated it over and over again like a mantra— until his head felt like it was going to explode like an overheated fuse.

Kim Seungmin and Lee Minho. Cat and dog.  

The jock and the nerd.

 Two people with personalities that are completely different- that saying their name together just sounds wrong. 

Seungmin was someone who was a perfectionist— but not perfect, smart and hardworking to a fault, a huge bookworm, sarcastic with a weird unmatched humour—people pleasing yet won't take any shit you give him, introverted and quite— yet would speak up for the people he care… and extremely guarded when it comes to love, yet would give it all for those who loved. 

He was simple, down to earth.

 And then there is Lee Minho. Silent and introverted, yet loud. Hard to read. Mean yet softens on the edge when he's around someone he loves—loves like he has nothing to lose, outgoing and social when he wants to be, doesn't care about grades—yet effortlessly smart and hardworking when he wants to be, spends time on meaningless things he finds important, yet won't put the effort to do something he doesn't like to do— even if it's to please others, and extremely weird, yet not the same shade of weirdness that seungmin possesses.

 If there was a spectrum of weirdness, they both would be at the polar ends, never meeting.

In short- Seungmin was textbook definition, gray and monotonous, hard to read yet you know what's expected of him; it's perceived in the way he carries himself. 

And Minho….

Minho is complicated, you never know what to expect—which side of the stick you're going to get. 

He would be the one to go to the party and just silently enjoy, drink in the atmosphere- talk to his friends and just show up for presence.

 you wouldn't know that he is there (unless you're one of his friends) but you would know that he would come— while seungmin would just not show up, finding it useless to waste time on something he finds overstimulating and overwhelming when he can do something more useful.

But that doesn't mean he wouldn't be there if his friends convinced him. He may not like something but he would gladly suffer through it for someone he loves… even if he grunts and complains the whole entire way.

So…they were just too different. 

And being different makes it hard to gauge whether he's in Minho's friend list or in the enemy list: because he treats him all the same.

Okay not the same same because there are times where he visibly mulls over and softens subtly— but that could just be a one time thing or he was just misreading.

Well either way— it just won't work out. Seungmin is certain.

Because even if there was a teeny tiny chance of Minho having a crush on him, they were bound to be star crossed lovers.

The sound of his phone ringing interrupted his rumination as he blinked back to reality, grabbing his phone to check who was calling him at— he shot a quick glance at the clock— 2:05 am at midnight. 

His heart took a jolt as he stared at the id caller.

'Speak of the devil.'

His thumb drifted towards the answer button, biting his lips in contemplation before he took the call.

“What?.” Seungmin deadpanned in an annoyed tone, trying to hide how flustered he was.

“Kim seungmin.” Minho drawled out, his soft husky voice making him feel funny.

The line went silent, making him wonder if he simply left or if the older was playing one of his games on him again.

“What do you want?.” He asked impatiently, finally succeeded in calming himself down and returning back to the normal, bickering self.

“ You're not asleep.” Minho simply stated, making him stare at the screen incredulously, like the older can see his expression through the phone or something.

“And? Your issue? I didn't know you were my mother.” he replied sassily.

Minho let out a wayward, mocking hah.

“not your mother. But I can call her and say that her son is misbehaving.” 

Seungmin gave a deadpanned glare at the screen.

“As if she would believe you over her own son. And besides you don't have her number.” He countered, as the line promptly went dead.

before Minho could open his smart ass mouth again— he spoke,

“Anyway, how did you know I was awake?”

He heard Minho let out a hitched breath.

“You put me on to read.” He replied in a soft tone, making Seungmin's eyes widen.

Shit..was he waiting for a reply?

He could feel the blush creeping up again, but he shook his head firmly- and let out what he hoped sounded like a snort.

“What? Were you waiting for me to reply to you? You stalker?” He retorted 

“No. Just… an observation.” Minho replied flatly, his tone contemplative, as if he was assessing something he merely found interesting- not because he was actually interested in it.

It somehow made him feel disappointed.

But before he can scold himself for feeling disappointed for no absolute reason— minho spoke up.

“ Now tell me…why are you awake at midnight.”

And then he suddenly remembered how annoyed he felt at Minho for convincing him to go to the club when he was already swarmed with assignments.

He didn't know why he even decided to heed to his demand— when he was acting so annoying and irritable with that damn smirk of his.. oh yes! It was that damn smirk that swayed him into going. 

“ Well…it's because someone decided to drag me into a club when I told him that I had an important assignment to finish, but did not listen so now I had to stay up all night to finish it before the deadline.” Seungmin ranted angrily.

“Oops. My bad." Seungmin can literally hear the smirk in his tone, completely unapologetic.

“You deserved that anyway. But since you're making such a big fuss about it— and also because I'm a fellow nice hyung I will compensate for dragging you out to enjoy yourself for once.” Minho replied sarcastically, raising a “ I did not enjoy myself” from seungmin.

“ Anyway— get dressed and wait for me downstairs. We are going out to eat.” He replied, his tone serious like he meant it— before hanging up pronto.

Seungmin stared at the blank screen, processing.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

Of course Minho takes him out to a convenient store, that's just so on brand with him— not wanting to take the younger out somewhere expensive because he's too annoying and unworthy of something luxurious. (Minho's words. Not his. Apparently his expression gave it away.)

“So… What was with your emotional love confession you had at the club.” Minho asked offhandedly— completely unprompted while casually stirring his straw against the ice cubes. 

Seungmin instantly choked on his Oreo milkshake.

“I-w-what?-” he stammered while coughing in between his words.

“Yeah…you called me your universe or something-” he recalled blankly— like he was casually reading a receipt, while seungmin quickly spluttered out a “yes, yes I remember!-” mid-cough to shut him up.

Minho luckily got the hint as he patiently waited for his cough to calm down.

Once his coughing session ceased, after many many attempts of drinking water to try to will it away and also somehow earning a pat in the back from Minho—his face was flushed a vivid tomato red.

There was a sudden, awkward silence as seungmin gaped, not knowing what to say.

“It was nothing…” Seungmin mumbled out while answering the question he asked earlier, his eyes darting everywhere but Minho.

“I was just drunk and spilling out bullshit.” he added, because he was sure it was just that.

Minho stared at him for the longest time, the scrutinising gaze making him feel like he was going to unravel right before his eyes— almost as if the older one was figuring out something that even seungmin himself does not know.

The older hummed as he leaned back, finally backing off as he continued eating his packet of chips like nothing happened.

Seungmin let out a quiet sigh of relief.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

1 month after they met.

“Wait.”

Seungmin blurted out, his eyes widening as he immediately regretted it.

They were currently near the university gate, the cold fridge air encompassing the gloomy, turgid clouds hovering over the darkened sky.

A gust of wind tousled his hair and made him shiver, despite the heating pad that he was squishing and the layer of thickened coat over his hoodie and long sleeved shirt— but it also somehow caught him in the older's analysing gaze as he raked his gaze up and down, expression blank.

“What do you want?”

Minho asked curtly, after the younger didn't follow up with any answer.

Seungmin mustered up all his courage, despite his outward appearance showing nothing except a blank canvas— as he spoke, fog bellowing out under his breath.

“I think we got off the wrong foot…. And it's also making Felix slightly upset so— nice to meet you. I'm Kim Seungmin.” He said, not knowing how to word it any other way before offering his free hand for a handshake.

Minho just stared at his hands, extremely pale and dry from the cold— before staring at his eyes, slightly bewildered.

There was a sudden award silence—accentuated by the whistling of the wind as it started to pick up, ruffling at the thick pine trees sparse near the campus.

The older stared unblinking at his hands, slightly shaking from the cold— Before he looked up and let out mocking snort instead of offering any answer.

The younger could only stare at him, stunned at the reaction— as he watched the older turn on his heels before leaving him behind… a gust of cold air trailing in his wake.

Seungmin went home that day, feeling embarrassed and ridiculed— tossing all his clothes off into the floor in anger before going to bed.

He never told Felix about it. Because it was embarrassing and pathetic. 

Especially since he gathered all that courage when he started to realise the tendrils of unfamiliar emotions slowly curling around his heart—finding home in it.

A few tears were shed into his pillow, which he found mortifyingly embarrassing later on…

as he was crying over a love that never even bloomed anyway.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

The next time Seungmin met Minho was when he was ranting to Felix about Minho at a small bar (that was all Felix’s fault; he couldn’t resist the puppy eyes) when he was very obviously trying to avoid him after last time.

After Seungmin was done ranting, Felix fixed him with a certain analyzing gaze that made him feel slightly off-center.

“Look, Seungmin—I’ve been your friend for the past few years—and the way you are describing and explaining him is sounding like you have a crush on him, but with a little misunderstanding going on.” Seungmin immediately opened his mouth to retaliate, but Felix silenced him by raising his hand before continuing.

“And I know you’re going to argue against it, but I know how you are, Seungmin. I’ve been your best friend for the longest time and I know you inside-out. You’re just overthinking everything—so don’t try to deny it and just really think it through, okay?” Felix said before taking a sip of his red martini and circling his finger around the rim, which immediately caught Seungmin’s attention as he watched, entranced.

Felix paused with a smirk when he noticed the way the younger was following his fingers, letting out a quick “such a puppy” under his breath before continuing:

“I would say, though, that this is mostly Hyung’s fault too because he is as stubborn and strong-headed as you, so it’s going to take a while to smooth things between you two—and it will only happen if one of you steps up and tries to communicate.” He finished off as soon as he noticed Hyunjin entering the club.

Seungmin took a swig of his highball, annoyed for no absolute reason.

“So just—think about it, hm?” With that, he stood up distractedly and left, while Seungmin let out a frustrated sigh and mussed up his hair.

closing his eyes, he leaned against the leather seat with a loud exhale— the potent smell of cigarettes and alcohol diffusing into the sticky air and making his nose burn.

The slight buzz under his skin was the only reminder that he was intoxicated, the drink making him loosened up as he became slightly soft and pliable—but not overly so, as he made sure to be sober extra carefully this time.

Melting into the chair, he listened to the soft music that lulled him along with the cacophony of silent conversations mixing into each other, providing background noise that tethered him to reality.

He lowered his guard so much so that he didn’t notice the soft footsteps coming his way—until the person sat down on the chair that Felix had vacated earlier and spoke up after spending a good few minutes observing his tranquil state.

“You look blissed out. Can’t tell if it’s from a good time or just the booze.” The familiar voice tinkled into his ears like bells chiming. His voice felt melodic.

“It’s the latter,” Seungmin replied without any quip, making Minho raise a brow.

“No fight left in you? Usually you’re eager to start something,” 

he taunted, leaning his head against his arm as he watched Seungmin, who still had his eyes closed—with a smirk.

Seungmin snorted without answering, as he let the silence deliberately hang so he could continue listening to the background noise, feeling drowsy.

 He didn’t notice the way the elder’s smirk dropped, or the way his eyes softened perceptibly.

“Are you not going to order anything?” 

Seungmin finally asked, opening one eye to stare at the older man—who stared back—before leaning his head against the cushion again.

“No. I’m on babysitting-duty. Felix put me in charge,” Minho replied automatically, making Seungmin hum like it made sense.

The silence stretched on for quite a while, until Minho started to suspect that Seungmin was falling asleep as he wordlessly got up and grabbed his wrist gently to guide him towards the car.

And Seungmin…

 Seungmin allowed it without a question—like it was already planned. Like it was something they did every single day.

Like….. like it was perfectly normal for Seungmin to accept a ride to his dorm, or for Minho to offer it in the first place.

Either way, they never mentioned it.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

It was no surprise that Seungmin overworks himself. Literally everyone knows it, and they are not amused by his little habit. 

So it was inevitable for him to fall sick after his end-sem exam as he was obsessively studying for 3 weeks with no proper break all day, surviving on only ramen and coffee. (Felix was horrified and tried to drag him out for some proper food and vitamin D every once in a while. He did succeed sometimes.)

“You're sick. Aren't you?” Felix asked with his arms crossed, watching the way the younger was flopped into his bed like a star fish, his pale white skin glowing a subtle red from the fever.

Seungmin let out a loud raspy groan, confirming Felix's answer.

The blonde sighed, but did not say anything else as he left. the noise of keys jingling was heard before Felix announced that he was buying medicine. 

His fever immediately spiked after a couple of hours as he was thrown into a feverish haze, swimming between consciousness as everything felt surreal— like he was stuffed with cotton.

He only managed to snap out of it due to the dose of coldness that washed over his warm overheating body, making him sigh in relief as it felt like a reprieve from the burning heat.

Wait…why am I burning up?

The thought was immediately swallowed by the pounding headache that made him whine in pain.

“Shhh. It's okay.” Someone spoke quietly to not aggravate his headache as cold hands swiped through his hair, making him let out a sigh of relief as he pulled closer like gravity.

“Oh? You like that?” 

There was a melodic chuckle as he continued combing through his hair.

“Good puppy.”

He felt embarrassed to admit that he would have almost yipped in happiness- if only his consciousness didn't pull him under.

“-urning -up”

“-Hot-”

“-ospital?”

“-o. Let's -ait for a w-while”

“-ou -sure?-”

“-es.”

“- I -an drive -ou?”

“ t's fine”

Someone let out a loud groan, the loud noise reverberated through his skull as the conversation immediately stopped.

‘Shut up. Too loud.’

He didn't even register that it was he himself who made that noise, too busy trying to stay afloat while drowning in the thick feverish haze.

“Seungmin?”

That was the last word he heard in the slight moment of clarity that cut through the fuzziness, before he promptly passed out again.

The next time he woke, he was lucid and more coherent than earlier.

Squinting through the blurriness, his eyes immediately latched onto Felix who was sitting at the very edge of the bed, deep in thoughts.

Not having the energy to produce any sound— he blinked at the older rapidly so that he could hopefully read his mind and notice him trying to send signals.

Surprisingly, Felix did notice after a lot of connection failures later—(wow who knew that they possessed thelepathy) as he visibly lightened up before scrambling towards his side and grabbing the younger's warm hands.

“Are you feeling better now?” Felix worriedly asked, his eyes searching for any signs of pain.

Seungmin nodded, but immediately regretted it as his head started spinning.

Felix grimaced.

“Okay.. so I know you're gonna hate my suggestion, but I think it's time you hit the shower.” 

Seungmin glared at him, making him squirm.

“It's going to make you feel better! I promise,” Felix tried to convince the younger who wanted nothing more than to lay back down and sleep it off.

“Come onnn seungmin!- you'll only feel better once your temperature starts going down!- and a nice lukewarm bubble bath will help you.” He urged the younger, blinking up at him with sad pitiful eyes.

Seungmin could only let out a sigh of defeat before abruptly getting up, completely forgetting about his vertigo.

 His vision immediately tilted as his knees buckled— and if it wasn't for Felix who was besides him, he would have probably crashed face first onto the floor 

“Woah!-easy-”

“easy, seungmin… No rushing!-” the older scolded before taking some of Seungmin's weight by placing one of his arms around his shoulders and grabbing his waist.

It was quite a hassle to get him to the bathroom and to remove his clothes—but they made it work….

And Seungmin must admit, the bath definitely did help as his muscles loosened up to an extent, the latent fever flushing from his body- making him feel lighter and less lethargic.

Maybe Felix was right after all..

After spending a whole day bed resting to Recuperate from the fever— ( Felix's order.) he felt so much better than yesterday as he quietly sipped on his broth while watching a random k-drama that Felix mindlessly put on.

“By the way, Minho made it.” Felix innocently declared while motioning towards the bowl of soup curling with steam.

He almost choked on the broth.

“Wha-?” Seungmin asked, his eyes widened in shock.

He let out a disbelieving laugh.

“H-hyung made it? How did he even know I was sick?-"Seungmin asked curiously, his cheeks involuntarily turning a subtle shade of pink at the reminder.

'Just curious…no other reason'

Felix tilted his head.

“Huh? I guess you were really delirious then…

He was watching over you when I went shopping. It took a while for me to return because of the traffic jam— and I got worried about you so I called Minho to check up on you because he was the closest to our house.” he murmured absentmind

edly, while seungmin turned bright red at the revelation.

So that means….

The head pets, the cold hands. It was all Minho. 

And worst of all… he was the one who called him a “Good puppy”.

Oh god..

He almost yipped like a puppy. To Minho.

Seungmin wanted to shrivel up and die on the spot.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

2 days before going to the club.

“So?”

Minho asked while leaning against the wall, flashing the aggravating smirk that made Seungmin's heart thud against his ribcage. He was glowing under the fading light streaming on his face— the smirk enhancing his beauty.

“F-fine. I'll go to the club with you.” Seungmin spat out, the words slipping out as he tried to calm his racing heart. 

‘thought I was over this now…’

“Good choice.”

That was the only choice he had anyway.

 Because Seungmin would keep revolving around him no matter how hard he tries to pull away the magnetic force of attraction, pulling him closer.

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

Was Seungmin avoiding Minho again? Yes. Was it very obvious too? Apparently yes.

Because he is now cornered into a classroom by Minho, for that exact reason.

And he doesn't know why. Why he cares so much about it.

“Why are you ignoring me?”

Staring at the way Minho was standing in front of him finally made him snap.

“why? You're asking me why?-”

Seungmin let out a scoff that punched the silence.

“Since when did you care, huh?- I thought you hated me since the very beginning-”

He let out a sharp inhale, trying to calm himself down.

Minho stared at him confused, his head tilted to the side…like a confused cat- making his cheeks burn as he promptly averted his gaze.

“Hate you?-” Minho chuckled in disbelief .

“Since when did I ever hate you seungmin-ah?— 

sure, we started off on the wrong foot like you said…but I've-” he trailed hesitantly while staring at him so sincerely it burned, before cupping the younger's face oh so gently.

“I've never thought you were annoying…in fact— I've been feeling…these weird, unfamiliar feelings as soon as my eyes landed on you…at Felix's party—” Minho stammered, his gaze flickering from his face to somewhere else, struggling to get the words out.

“So I didn't know how to act around you…except be cold and indifferent…. like I am to strangers, even though you mean more to me than a stranger— because truthfully seungmin-ah, you drive me crazy—

 in the way you would always quip back something smart when I test your patience…. And with the way your damn puppy eyes lits up in excitement, that sometimes it makes me want to give you everything you love just so that you stay happy forever— or the way your eyes widen so innocently, or sharpens with anger— 

and even the way you're so kind and loving to Felix without being too loud about it, and with the way you care-” Minho cut off his rambling as he softly reached towards the younger's wrist, drawing circles on the soft skin to ground himself.

“It just- it just made me fall in love with you even more than I ever was.” He finally blurted it out, making seungmin gasp— his heart beating so hard it made his chest hurt. 

“Oh.”

Seungmin blurted, his throat giving up on him due to the influx of emotion running rampage.

It felt like everything suddenly clicked, his whole life trajectory suddenly shifting— trying to find semblance with the raw bare meaning behind his words— with the way Minho cracked himself open, just to prove the realisation that the younger one has been denying for so long.

Minho loves him. And he loves Minho too.

“And I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you never mattered to me. You mattered to me so much—even though I wanted you to see how much you meant to me— that I kept pushing you away, and it's all because I'm stubborn, stupid and so afraid… but now I know how that made you feel, so I promise to never do it again.”

Minho finished off, his eyes burning and his cheeks flaming bright red.

The deafening silence afterwards wasn't awkward—no, it was profound; echoing with the words that spilled out like wine, precious and ineffable to comprehend…. But ones that healed the younger's heart with undefiled hope.

It felt intoxicating, suffocating— the thought that such love can be reciprocated,Yet…… it also made it worth it ten fold with the happiness and relief that washed over him like gentle waves caressing against the sun kissed sand.

He was loved. And he wanted to be loved like this.

The startling awareness and acceptance felt like a weight was off his shoulders, settling down like dust after a storm.

“Minho….I love you too.” With that he gripped the older's hand tightly, a sudden confidence surged through as he pushed him into a rare hug and slotted their lips together, veins pumping with euphoria.

The contact solidified a thousand words— words that were so precious that only silence could replace it…. better to be unspoken than said out loud.

When they parted with a longing exhale, it felt like they had everything right here.

They had each other.

“You're an idiot by the way. Why would you be so mean to me when I tried to be your friend?” Seungmin complained sardonically, earning a flick on his forehead from the older.

“Yah!—respect me you brat, I'm still your hyung. And besides…I already apologised.”

“Really? Since when?” Seungmin asked sarcastically as they walked away from the abandoned classroom.

“Just now you brat!” Minho said, swatting at his ears, their voice warning away the farther they walked away from the classroom.