Work Text:
🫧
New message from [내꺼💛]
[22:22 KST]
- today, I washed my face 3 times
- anyways it was fun!!!
- be careful on your way back home
Minho still remembers the kiss like it was brand-new.
The gritty surface of the mic near his cheek, the hot puff of breath from He Who Shall not be Named hovering, almost teasing. The eyes of one certain obnoxious Fudanshi (Bang Chan.) The eyes of STAY's, waiting, squealing in excitement. Everyone had a front seat ticket to his inevitable doom, watching with bated breath as Kim Seungmin prolonged the moment longer by laughing, crinkly-eyed and all, to draw anticipation.
Lee Minho should've known better. He should've known better the minute Bang Chan keke's his way into Bubble before following up with his infamous line of: Minho and Seungmin are gonna kiss lol. He should've known then. Had he known then he would've demanded compensation or maybe shoved Bang Chan and Yongbok's faces together so they smash lips and finally end the Great Chanlix Drought of 2026. Hasn't he done enough fan service to last him a lifetime?
Alas. It was never that easy with Stray Kids.
So Lee Minho didn't know better. Not even when he squeezed his eyes shut to file away Kim Seungmin's stupid face and the erratic pounding of his heartbeat. Not even when he felt it, for a millisecond to be exact, the brush of lips connected to his cheek and the kissing noise the dog poorly imitated afterwards.
Lee Minho wiped his cheek immediately, disgusted while Kim Seungmin fled away with his stupid scooter. As usual, the dog left him alone to pick up the mess. He bet Kim Seungmin wouldn't last a second if it was him kissing his cheek instead (What?). He really wouldn't.
Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting. Minho thinks, washing his face repeatedly in the bathroom. He hadn't lied when he said he washed it three times on Bubble to STAY's.
Han Jisung passes by him when the door is left open, he pauses mid-step and watches as Minho squeezes another dollop of face wash onto his palm.
“Hyung,” Jisung calls, blinking. “Didn't you wash your face earlier?”
“Yes,” Minho says. “And I'm going to wash it again.”
“For what? Hyung looks handsome already.”
“To get rid of the dog,” Minho says.
“The what?” Jisung says.
“The dog.”
It's not going through Han Jisung's head. He's got that blank look in his eyes and a crease to his eyebrows when he's thinking hard about what to say next. Minho isn't sure why Jisung isn't getting it. They only have one dog.
“We don't have a dog.” Jisung finally says.
Minho scoffs audibly. Wrong. Minho puts his hands on his hips and musters the Mom Look. The one he puts on display after learning about Jeongin's endeavors of drinking twenty-five energy drinks. The one he uses when Chan refuses to step out of the studio. One he especially uses whenever Kim Seungmin and Yongbok is even remotely close to the kitchen.
The silence must have dragged on long enough for concern to be settling into Jisung's expression, and just as he was about to relent and go back to washing his face, a lightbulb flickers inside Jisung's head the more he stares.
“Oh.” Jisung says, eyes lighting up. Minho huffs and resumes washing his face. “Ohhh! You mean Seungminnie? Hyung, I thought you were talking about a real dog!”
Kim Seungmin is a real dog, Minho thinks, rather irritated. Does nobody think of him as a real dog? STAY's make comparisons of him with a real dog (not that he was looking.) Kim Seungmin has been called puppy more times than he was called his real name (not that he was keeping count.) He responds to Minho's meong meong, juts his chin out whenever any of them asks for paw, has fluffy hair and a cute smile and the restless energy of a puppy. Kim Seungmin is a real dog!
“Kim Seungmin is a real dog,” Minho repeats, scowling. Fuck. Maybe some of the face wash got into his eyes. He quickly grabs a towel to dry his face, aggressively. “He got dog slobber all over my face.”
“Sure hyung,” Jisung drawls. “Is this about the cheek kiss?”
“What else could it have been about?”
“You're a little dramatic,” Jisung laughs because he thinks this is funny. Let's see how he would fare getting dog slobber on his face then. “Seungmin didn't even kiss you.”
What.
“What.” Minho says, eyes narrowing. “Yes, he did. I was the victim. I was there. He kissed my cheek.”
Jisung is watching him rather amusedly. There's nothing amusing about any of this. They had their fan meeting day 1, and before that, Chan keke'd to STAY's on Bubble about how they were going to kiss. A fan meeting happened. Chan's fudanshi dreams came true. They kissed. Well, Seungmin kissed him. Minho felt it. How could he have missed the goosebumps that traveled through his skin when Seungmin's breath fans over?
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Minho concludes, shoulders relaxing. Jisungie is funny. This is what happens when a Quokka is too busy chasing Yang Jeongin’s lips instead of leaves, they get delusional. “You were sitting behind me. Of course, you didn’t see.”
“I think sitting behind means I was able to clearly see what the audience didn’t—”
“You’re so funny, Jisung-ah.” Minho giggles, stepping forward to pat his cheeks. Han Jisung blinks up at him incredulously. If Jisung could get their maknae’s kiss after years of homosexual pining, who’s to say that a few hours ago Kim Seungmin didn’t actually kiss his cheek in front of an audience?
“I am pretty funny,” Jisung says before batting his hands away from his cheeks. “But Seungminnie really didn’t kiss you. He just made a kissing noise. You can search the fancams of it from a different angle if you want. I think gagwanz and 2min are currently trending right now, so it should be easier to find.”
“Twomin,” Minho echoes.
“It’s gagwanz but internationally.” Jisung provides. When Minho didn’t respond, Jisung followed up with: “Isn’t this a good thing, hyung? I mean, you don’t actually want Seungminnie to kiss you, no?”
Right. Minho thinks. Yeah. No. Of course not. Why would he voluntarily let the dog kiss him and get slobber all over his face? Besides, this was their thing. Their divorce concept. Lee Know and Kim Seungmin don't kiss. That’s something he would be assigned to do with Jisung, or maybe even Changbin. Not Kim Seungmin. They can hold hands at most, but a kiss is totally out of the question. What would the old hags in DIV1 think? What would Seungmin think? That cheek kiss was just fan service for Chan and STAYs. It was never going to be a real thing. No matter how much Minho has thought about brushing away Kim Seungmin’s soft bangs out of the way, about his glossy and thin, well-defined lips. Or that time he dreamt about pressing his own lips against the other’s, cradling his jaw as he wiped off that cocky smirk off his face before swallowing Kim Seungmin’s noise of surprise. Bet the dog wouldn’t see that coming. Who would get slobber all over their face now?
Wait. Minho blinks.
Wait what.
🐶
01.
Minho makes a big bowl of kimchi jjigae one sunny morning after finishing his training and heads over towards the Happy House while humming Ultra under his breath.
When he came home an hour ago, he was thinking about tip-toeing his way towards the kitchen to avoid a certain Han Jisung. Nothing funny, just that if he were to ever find out Minho is making kimchi jjigae in the morning, unprompted, Jisung would never shut up about it. And he needs him to shut up for once. Which is to say that now it feels like every corner of his apartment is infiltrated with the dog. So what if he wants to make kimchi jjigae out of his own free will? He can do that. He’s a grown man, making kimchi jjigae doesn’t mean anything. Kim Seungmin is not special. Kim Seungmin isn’t the only Korean whose favorite meal is kimchi jjigae.
It was a relief when he found out Jisung wasn’t home to abuse his position as one of Minho’s favorite dongsaeng. Not so much when he read the sticky note stuck onto their fridge talking about how he’d gone out to see Jeongin and experience his body rolls in real-time. To which Minho didn’t need to know. That was a TMI he’d rather forget.
Minho arrives in front of the Happy House's door in no time, the bowl of kimchi jjigae tucked to his side like glue. He knocks on the door five times. Three for good luck, two just to be a little shit.
Yongbok is the one to open the door after five consecutive knocks, rubbing his eyes out while holding his Changbin pillow on one hand.
“Hyung, what?” Yongbok's deep voice groans out. Minho smiles, jutting out his two front teeth. Poor Yongbokkie, he thinks. Dominating the job market isn't so easy after all.
Minho pushes past him, skipping the pretenses, immediately heading towards the living room. “Nice pillow, Yongbok-ah.” He compliments as he places down the bowl onto the coffee table. “I have brought nutrition to save the happy house from total annihilation. Put Changbinnie away and let's eat.”
“Hyung—”
“Did you know I walked all the way here while humming ultra under my breath? I think it's a funny coincidence. Ah, actually, don't put the pillow away. Changbinnie will get sad if we eat without him.”
“Okay?” Yongbok sounds confused. “Is that kimchi jjigae?”
“Speaking of Changbinnie,” Minho tries to feign ignorance, patting the empty seat on his left for Yongbok. “Is the dog around? I made the portion a little too big for a two-person meal and was hoping someone could finish the rest off. It would be a shame if it went to waste.”
“Awh, is hyung looking for me?”
Minho's left eye twitches. He knows that annoying voice.
“Oh,” his voice drops an octave lower. Monotone. “The dog is here after all.”
He doesn't need to turn around to see the face of the man. Not when Kim Seungmin is already skipping over towards the living room, a cheesy smile visible on his bare face as he sits on Minho's right side. The empty side because Yongbok sat on his left. The unoccupied but probably should've been occupied by Yongbok's Changbin pillow side.
He wishes Kim Seungmin would sit far and far away from his right side.
“You made kimchi jjigae,” Seungmin says.
Minho avoids his all-too-knowing stare. He chooses to distribute the rice Yongbok brought out from their kitchen into each of the three bowls.
“So what,” Minho says, handing over Yongbok's bowl to him. Yongbok accepts it easily. See, Kim Seungmin, this is good behavior.
“And then you're here,” Seungmin continues.
Minho slides his bowl to the dog, still ignoring his look. His ears burn.
“I poisoned the kimchi.” He says. “You will start to throw up within the span of three hours.”
“Hyung, this is so good.” Yongbok nearly moans, already reaching for seconds.
“Take them all, Yongbok-ah, don’t leave anything for the dog.” Minho mutters but his fingers have decided to work against him, using the spoon to transport half of the portion into Seungmin’s bowl. He stops when he accidentally catches sight of him, leaning forward in his seat with a glint in his eyes.
The spoon clatters to the side. Kim Seungmin can fuck himself.
“Have fun dying,” Minho says before taking a bite. Good. Obviously. His cooking will never lose its touch.
“Ah,” Seungmin starts. “Hyung would miss me too much. I’ll have to give him a kiss so he will have something to remember me by.”
Minho feels it before he hears it. The body weight pressing into his side. The little puff of breath and then—
The slightest brush of lips against his cheek, soft, barely recognizable.
“How was that, hyung?” Seungmin says, grinning from ear to ear, pulling away. “Do you think they might make us kiss on the lips next, too? Should we practice that one, as well?”
Minho's eyes start twitching.
THINK VIOLENT THOUGHTS. THINK VIOLENT THOUGHTS. JISUNG IN HIS DINOSAUR UNDERWEAR. JISUNG AND JEONGIN SMASHING LIPS. HYUNJIN EXPLODING THE TOILET AT A GAS STATION. KIM SEUNGMIN BARKING. KIM SEUNGMIN ON HIS KNEES, BARKING FOR HIM—-
Minho stands up abruptly. Nope.
“Hyung is red~” Kim Seungmin sing-songs, happily munching.
“Hyung is going to commit a murder,” Minho says.
“Can we not talk about murder in front of Changbin?” Yongbok interrupts, waving his hand towards the pillow comfortably positioned next to his thighs. Ah Changbinnie. “Hyung says he needs you to hit a high note on our upcoming song.” Yongbok says to him. Pauses. Then: “In English. Preferably not in jail.”
In English? Since when has their precious Changbinnie become a victim to such a horrid language?
“Tell Changbin-ah he will be next.” He says, stepping out of the living room (He ignores a certain dog’s cooing: “Does that make me your special first, hyung?”) Nope. Nope. Jisung is right. This was a terrible idea. The kiss wasn’t even real and Kim Seungmin still had the nerve to attempt another. “Goodbye.”
“Hyung, thank you for the meal!” Kim Seungmin shouts from the living room. “Can you make me budae jjigae next?”
Minho slams the door shut.
When he comes back to an empty dorm, he locks himself in his room and texts Jisung to buy the ingredients for budae jjigae.
한지성 🐿
?
Ok irinong
seen.
Ok
seen.
Why r u making budae jjigae hyung
Is it for seungminnie?
That’s so cute ㅋㅋㅋ
seen.
Give the maknae one last kiss before you go, jisung-ah
seen.
한지성 🐿 reacted: ❓
To the grocery store right hyung?
seen.
Hyung ?
seen.
HYUNG ??????
seen.
🐶
02.
At the end of the day, it really was Han Jisung's fault for planting the seed.
Who needs to be reminded that the kiss was fake? Of course, it was fake. They were in front of STAY's. There was a poor microphone smushed between them. Jaejae was getting a fat check for instigating every fujoshi and fudanshi's dreams. It's fake, Minho cries out in realization.
Ever since that first night, Minho was addicted. He opened X after months only to scour through the gagwanz or 2min mentions, eyes glued onto every post like if he'll blink he'll miss it. gagwanz kiss and 2min cheek kiss became his top two contenders. He's watched fancams. Hundreds of them. Finds other idol's fancams in the middle of it too. (like how he figured out that haobin neck kiss has about a billion fancams in different angles being released each week.) He found the other angles too, the one where he could see clearly through his fog-induced mind that Kim Seungmin, that fucking dog, did not in fact kiss him on the cheek. Just a fucking graze. Like he did in the living room.
Speaking of living rooms, apparently Yongbok had video evidence of that incident and has decidedly made his life a living hell by sending it into their group chat. He's seen it all. Another one of Chan's fudanshi dreams came true, (lucky bastard.) Jisung and Changbin keke-ing. Hyunjin crying. Something about a Daengmo. Jeongin sends gay as a response when he himself has decided to smash lips with a walking pride flag.
And worst, worst of all, Kim Seungmin didn't even reply. He just gave a heart reaction to the message as if Yongbok had sent him a video about a puppy playing around instead. Minho is seething. Isn't this what the dog is doing? playing around?
“Morning hyungs,” Jeongin greets, stepping into the practice room sipping on a suspicious white cup. Iced, Minho concludes, based on the noises when it rattles.
Hyunjin and Changbin, who was here with Minho, leaps onto their feet and marches together towards the maknae. “IYEN-AH!!!” Changbin shouts, tackling him from the front while Hyunjin lunges at his side.
“AH!” Jeongin shrieks, twisting his body to evade danger. Minho nods approvingly. This is what all those training sessions are for.
“OUR MAKNAE IS ALL GROWN UP!” Changbin cries into the air, where Jeongin was previously positioned before running to the other side of the room. Hyunjin ends up near the wall instead, slumping dramatically.
“Aegi, what do you mean you've seen Jisungie's dick? What do you mean you're actively choosing to see it! What happened to friendly camaraderie? What happened to brotherhood?” Hyunjin wails.
“Don't act like you haven't been shoving your tongue down Changbin hyung's throat every morning before practice,” Jeongin mutters, going over to his side.
Good maknae, Minho thinks, patting Jeongin's knees. Jeongin shoots him a look.
“But seriously, Jisung?” Hyunjin repeats, just as the hamster itself comes into the practice room.
“Are you still jealous, Hyunjin-ah?” Jisung teases, a smug grin on his face. “At the end of the day, I'm the one who's able to experience the hallucination body roll in real-time.”
“Please don't call it that,” Jeongin groans. “I will seriously consider evoking our relationship status.”
“You chose this life, maknae-yah,” Minho says to him. But he's not focused on the pair of newlyweds and the troubling wives currently hugging each other for emotional support. He's not focused on the members that aren't here either.
It's the cup in Jeongin's hands that catches his attention.
Minho must've been staring hard enough at the cup with ice inside. He must've been shooting little laser holes through his eyeballs, because as the seconds drag on, Jeongin turns his body towards him and raises a questioning brow.
“Is there something on my face?” Jeongin asks.
“There's something on your hand.” Minho says, still staring.
Jeongin looks down at his white cup, shaking it once. It rattles. He looks back up at him with weary eyes.
“It's coffee.” Jeongin answers the unasked question.
Minho relaxes, nodding his head. Okay. Just coffee. Nothing weird. Nothing bad.
“Can I have some?” Minho asks, batting his eyes, fingers creeping closer towards the cup. “Just a sip.”
Jeongin rolls his eyes but doesn't relent, which was unusual, he passes the cup of coffee towards him instead. Minho takes an apprehensive sip, letting the cold liquid touch his tongue. Oh. It's good, he thinks. The coffee is really good. It isn’t as bitter or disgustingly sweet, just the right amount.
“It's good coffee,” Minho says, taking another sip.
“Of course it is,” Jeongin agrees. “Seungmin hyung made it for me this morning.”
Minho chokes on his third sip, shoving the cup of coffee back to Jeongin's arms.
“Hyung?” Jeongin blinks repeatedly.
Of fucking course. Minho scowls, coughing hard. Coffee should've been his first hint. The dog is everywhere, haunting him. Of course Kim Seungmin had to make this coffee too.
Speaking of the dog, legend has it that if Minho says his name one time in his head to curse him out, the dog is summoned in real life. If Seungmin had a tail, it would be wagging by now.
Don’t think about Seungmin with a tail.
“Is hyungie sick?” Seungmin asks when he enters the room alongside the other members. He skips by the others and is heading straight towards him on the other side of the room. “Are you okay, Irinong?” Seungmin asks again, sincerity dripping from his words.
Minho scowls even harder.
“Hyung said the coffee is good,” Jeongin says, unprompted. Minho whips his head to look at him. WHAT.
He is genuinely considering murder. He will murder every single Stray Kid and burn this place to the ground. Whatever happened to Bro Code?
Seungmin brightens at the praise, smiling wide. “Is that so, hyung?” He preens. Minho will not give in to Kim Seungmin's ridiculous need to be praised like a Dog. He will not. He will stand strong. And he will— “Do you want me to make one later for you too?”
“The coffee tasted like shit,” Minho says quickly.
“Didn't you just say it's good coffee a few minutes ago?” Jeongin butts in. Fuck. Minho really needs to kill the maknae and get Han Jisung while he's at it. They can be the next Romeo and Juliet or whatever.
“So is it good coffee or shit coffee, hyung?” Seungmin asks. “Do you still want me to make you one?”
“I don't drink coffee.” Minho says.
“You had an Americano yesterday though,” Jisung says while stretching out his back.
Minho shoots him a glare. Han Jisung is the problem.
Jisung catches his glare and turns away, voice pitching high. “....Or not…” He retracts. “On second thought, I think I mistook your water bottle for an Americano. HAHA.”
“So hyung doesn’t want my coffee?” Seungmin asks again, blinking at him earnestly.
Kim Seungmin is the devil’s baby, he’s sure of it. One day, Minho will be twelve feet underground, surrounded by dirt and sleeping in a casket yet Kim Seungmin will still torment him even to the underworld. That bastard will laugh at his face and point out his red ears and jokingly brush his lips against his cheek like he did at the fan meeting before using his scooter to flee the scene.
And Minho will still want for more, like the fool he is.
“Fine,” Minho mumbles, taking off. “Impress me, Kim Seungmin.”
“I won’t let you down, hyungie~”
“What the actual hell,” Jeongin exclaims.
What the actual hell indeed, Yang Jeongin.
LATER. Much, much, much later, when Minho’s spent and ready to retire to his bedroom, Kim Seungmin comes over and hands him the coffee in his favourite Pochaccho cup with a shy smile. Kim Seungmin leaves before Minho could invite him in for dinner, muttering a flimsy excuse missing his baseball game. Minho looks down at the cup and sees a sticky note on the other side with a poorly drawn jereumi smiling and Puppym beside him sending a cheek heart. It is cute, Minho smiles to himself. The coffee is good.
Kim Seungmin is cute too.
🐶
03.
The next few days have been strangely… normal.
Almost as if the universe had peaked into his on-going list of miseries (Ex: Kim Seungmin. Han Jisung. Yang Jeongin. Han Jisung and Yang Jeongin. DIV1. Kim Seungmin.) and decided to give mercy. Not in the form of a break, unfortunately. (God forbid DIV1 has common sense for once.) Schedules are still relentless. Content never stops. Film this, film that, dance practice here, vocal lessons here, recording there.
No, mercy comes from the lack of Kim Seungmin tormenting his days.
Maybe it's visible as fuck on his face. The eyebags. The lack of bite in his responses. How docile he's become. Less fussy. Or maybe Kim Seungmin is just too tired to keep up the act. Another reason could be that Kim Seungmin is too observant for his own good. But that would imply an egregious amount of things, like: Kim Seungmin paying attention. Kim Seungmin paying attention to him. Which is not true. Far from the truth. Minho would've known.
This morning was just as peaceful. He woke up, posted a picture of Han Jisung drooling on his dinosaur plushie to the group chat, had a nice breakfast before he went out for lunch later with Hyunjin. Comes home in the evening with Hyunjin towing behind because his wife is too busy making fuck-me eyes at Bang Chan and Yongbok at the studio instead of coming home early. Minho sits Hyunjin down beside Jisung like they're a pair of twins, mutters something about getting drinks, and heads to the kitchen.
Minho opens their fridge, searching for a soda can only to find Puppym sitting in the middle row with a cup of pudding.
Minho closes the fridge and screams.
Hyunjin leaps out of his seat with widening eyes, Jisung whips his head around to look at him. “Hyung, what?” Hyunjin asks, alarmed.
“Who died in our fridge?” Jisung butts in.
My soul. My dignity.
Hyunjin takes a hesitant step towards the closed fridge, wary eyes scanning every surface. Minho could only stand still, traumatized.
What the actual fuck is going on?
Why is the stupid devil puppy in his fridge holding a pudding?
“Hyung, I swear if you're messing with us.” Hyunjin warns, hand on the handle.
“Do we need to call Channie hyung?” Jisung asks, standing behind Hyunjin. He sounds mildly concerned. “Or. Wait. Seungminnie? he's the closest to us right now—”
“NO.” Minho blurts out, horrified.
Kim Seungmin will be banned from entering the MinSung sacred space. Hyunjin, too. Because everyone knows Hyunjin is quite attached to Kim Seungmin and would probably make out with him if asked to. Hwang Hyunjin is a Kim Seungmin magnet ever since he whined about wanting a Daengmo from the devil dog itself.
And now the devil dog's son is sitting in his fridge. Is this how he's going to meet his end? murdered by Puppym?
This can't be it.
“No need to call Kim Seungmin,” Minho breathes out. He nods to Hyunjin. “Open the fridge, Hyunjin-ah.”
Hyunjin opens the fridge.
Jisung screams in terror.
Hyunjin screams along with him.
Minho closes his eyes and prays to God.
“HYUNJIN-AH I LOVE YOU—“ Jisung shouts before stopping halfway. “Oh. Wait. Is that Puppym?”
“And pudding?” Hyunjin mutters. “Hyung. We thought there was a dead body in there.”
“It might as well be.” Minho opens his eyes and watches as Hyunjin takes out the cup of pudding alongside the smiling Puppym. “What if it's a bomb in disguise?”
“It's Puppym,” Hyunjin deadpans. He looks down at Puppym. “Oh, would you look at that, a cute sticky note. Irinong hyung, i hope you feel better today, and if not I hope this pudding can make your day slightly better. Fighting! from your favorite dongsaeng.”
“Hyung, this is just a love letter from Seungminnie.” Hyunjin says after.
“What?” Minho asks.
Jisung sucks in a breath. “Ohh, don't say that too early, Hyunjin-ah. Minho hyung needs time to process things.”
“We've been at this for nearly eight years now, how much more time does he need?” Hyunjin mutters, shoving Puppym and the pudding into his hands.
“Do you want to die, Hyunjinnie?” Minho drawls slowly, blinking down at Puppym. It looks up at him evilly. Nefarious. The puppy is up to no good.
Hyunjin rolls his eyes as he closes the fridge, heading back into the living room. “Actually. Yeah. I hope I die young so I don't have to witness your emotional constipation for another year or so. Have you ever heard of this thing called talking, hyung?”
“What do I need to talk about?”
“See, this is the problem.” Jisung says. “Just eat the pudding, hyung.”
“I'm not going to eat the pudding,” Minho says, choking Puppym. “Kim Seungmin probably poisoned it.”
“Okay,” Jisung says. “Can I have the pudding then? It'd be a waste to throw such good pudding.”
Minho scowls and backs away from Jisung. “Obviously not.” Minho snaps. “Get your own pudding, Han Jisung. This is mine.”
“You said you weren't going to eat it.” Jisung states dryly. “Hyung, you can admit that you like him, it's okay. The people aren't going to witch-hunt you if you do.”
“I never said anything about liking anybody.”
“You don't have to.” Hyunjin quips. “Although we would like it better if you said it specifically to a certain someone.” Hyunjin coughs once. “Like to a dog. Or something.”
“Open your eyes and wake up,” Minho scoffs. “Kim Seungmin is trying to psychologically torment me. There is no like. There is nothing of the sort! Like is when Jeongin intentionally puts up with Jisung’s antics because he’s been dickmatized—”
“I do have a pretty awesome dick,” Jisung says.
“--- Or when Channie hyung looks at Yongbok like he created the universe as he trashes their kitchen with powdered sugar—”
“Yongbok did create the universe, hyung.” Hyunjin interrupts.
“Whatever Kim Seungmin is trying to do is nefarious,” Minho hisses. “I mean, why would he give me pudding and have Puppym hold it in my fridge like fucking Dr. Doofenshmirtz?”
“Now, who the hell is that?” Hyunjin wonders.
Jisung whips his body around to look at Hyunjin. “You don’t know Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz?”
“No? Is he some kind of important figure or…”
“WHAT. Ok, listen—”
Minho tunes the rest of it out. He has no intentions of informing Hyunjin about Phineas and Ferb when he has a perfectly good streaming app subscription under his belt. He’s rich. He can figure that one out for himself. Jisung has enough fervor in his explanations for both of them anyway.
He looks at his pudding.
It’s a good-looking pudding. Caramel flavoured. It’s the one he liked from Osaka. Kim Seungmin remembered it. Minho is worth remembering in Kim Seungmin’s eyes. Minho takes out a spoon, opens the cup, scoops some into his mouth. The tip of his cheeks are warm. Hyunjin and Jisung are still talking about Phineas and Ferb in the background. But it’s nice. It’s the nicest part of his day so far, even if he’s standing like a fool in the kitchen, smiling at a cup of pudding.
Today was a slightly better day than before.
🐶
04.
When Minho looks at Kim Seungmin, he doesn’t see the same aged-up dog everyone sees in the present. Not the one who barks, or the one who annoys the members to gain their attention (or Changbin’s manhandling.) Not even the Kim Seungmin that sings so beautifully under the stage lights, hitting his notes with such ease. Not the Kim Seungmin who sings Cinema with him in concerts, who acts nonchalant enough to hide his need to be seen.
When Minho looks at Kim Seungmin, he sees the person that he was the first time that they met. His first friend at JYPE Entertainment. The boy with good manners and a politeness to him that could outrival Bang Chan himself. The boy who clung to him like a puppy, used his pretty mouth to call him hyung with such a sweet tone that Minho ultimately always gave in to his requests.
It was easier back then, before their divorce concept became the block of ice that pushes them apart. They're never truly apart but there was a level of distance that was never there in the first place. But Minho is an idol, and he plays his part. He likes the concept because it gives him something to keep teasing Kim Seungmin about, to finally one-up him. He hates the concept because back-hugging him on camera now is considered rule-breaking. He likes the concept because it makes for better explanations to his actions. He likes the concept because he can hide behind them and act as if Kim Seungmin doesn't make him feel like his heart is about to burst at the seams.
Until now, he's never thought about it much. But he wonders, if maybe, all this time, Seungmin is trying to catch his attention in a way that is safer to play. Still within the concept, yet not enough to break the rules.
He wonders if the cheek kiss had been a part of that plan.
Minho recounts all of this — minus the feelings part, the Kim Seungmin part, the embarrassing parts that he will never recount or think out loud to anyone ever again — to Jeongin and Jisung in the dimples dorm on a Saturday over a boring romcom movie Jisung picked out.
“Again about the cheek kiss?” Jisung groans from where he's slumped over Jeongin's lap. Jeongin looks unamused, scrolling through his phone. “I thought we've been over this already. Who the fuck cares whether Seungminnie actually kissed you or not? ALL OF US KISSED! On day TWO!”
“You know it's different,” Minho argues.
“What? because you're not in love with the rest of us?”
“Hyung,” Jeongin cuts through. “Just a thought. Maybe instead of pestering us about this, you should just ask Seungmin hyung what he thinks?”
“Ask me what I think about what?” Seungmin says, emerging from out of the bathroom like an all-knowing being. Does he just get summoned whenever any of them mentions his name? Why is he everywhere?
“How are you even here…” Minho mumbles, terrified.
“Hi, Minho hyung.” Seungmin perks up, lips stretching into a smile. “I made something for you while I was in the bathroom.”
“What?” Jeongin asks faintly.
Seungmin shoved one of his hands forward to reveal toilet paper that had been recently abused by Kim Seungmin's fingers to form…something. It looks like it has ears. Minho's not really sure. He looks further down and sees something sticking out on the front of what is probably a body?
“Is that supposed to be a dick or…” Minho trails off, unsure.
“That's a tail.” Seungmin says.
“Hyung, what the fuck is that?” Jeongin says.
“It's Irinong!” Kim Seungmin had the gall to say, holding his creation high in the air.
When no one says anything, Seungmin prods some more. “It's a cat,” He says and then points to the little thing sticking out. “That's the tail. That's the ears. That's the face. It's cat hyung!”
Jeongin bores a look of disgust. “You guys are disgusting.”
“Wah!! so romantic, Seungminnie!!” Jisung exclaims, though muffled by Jeongin's lap.
“Did you make me while you were pissing?” Minho asks, blink-blink-blink-blinking.
“I got bored,” Seungmin says, sitting down beside Minho on the couch, close enough for their knees to touch. “Hey, don't deflect my question. Ask me about what?”
“Ask you about your ability to look stupid.” Minho fires weakly. fffuckkk. He's getting more pathetic every day. What will Kim Seungmin think of him now?
“That's lame,” Seungmin rolls his eyes. “Are you losing your spark, hyung?”
“Don't.”
“One point for effort.”
“Seungminnie…” Minho grits out.
When Minho opens his mouth the next time he wants to argue, he sees that Seungmin has gone quiet, looking at him in a trance. A wonder in his eyes. Minho snaps his fingers at his face.
Seungmin quickly comes back. “Oh,” he breathes out, looking away, neck flushing a pretty pink.
“What?” Minho asks.
“Nothing.” Seungmin says. “It's just… it's been a while since you called me Seungminnie.”
“Oh.” Minho echoes, shifting on the couch. His knees burn. He wants to get off. He wants to press closer and closer until their bodies melt together. Until nobody can tell where they start and where they end. Kim Seungmin surely does have a way.
“It's a good thing,” Seungmin continues. “I like the way you call my name.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm.” Seungmin repeats, giggling. He knocks his shoulder against his once. “Ask me about what?” He pesters again.
Minho sighs. “Leave it be, Kim Seungmin.”
“Not Seungminnie?”
“Shut up.”
“Hyung, hyung,” Seungmin annoys. Minho looks towards the other pair beside them in search of help. Jeongin pays them no mind. Jisung is snoring on Jeongin’s defined thighs. Fuck it. “Hyung. You can ask me anything.”
Minho raises his fist. “Can I ask if I could put my lovely fist on your mouth?”
“So I could kiss it?”
Never mind.
“I will kill you. I have the ability to kill you.” Minho says.
“Whatever happened to dying in a natural way?”
“It’s a little outdated.” Minho replies, standing up. Kim Seungmin looks at him through his fringe. “I’m going home. Goodbye Kim Seungmin.”
“Wha— But I just got here!”
“Good for you,” He hums, making his way towards the front door when a hand shoots up to catch his wrist, effectively stopping him. “What?”
“Stay, hyung.”
His voice was quieter than before, and when Minho turned to look at him, Seungmin had his eyes casted downwards onto the couch. Almost as if he was embarrassed to ask. To want. Minho swallows his words and complies easily. See, Kim Seungmin? He doesn’t make a fuss all the time. He sits down on the same spot, still closer to him than ever. Kim Seungmin doesn’t let go.
Minho doesn’t want him to let go.
“Sorry,” Seungmin coughs, taking his hand away from Minho’s wrist a minute later. His hand didn’t go far, it sits in the space between them, hovering. “I mean. You should stay. We can draw Jureumi on Jisungie’s face.”
“I heard that,” Jeongin says from his side.
“Like you weren’t the one who suggested the idea in the first place?” Seungmin shoots back, then to him. “Jeongin wanted to draw Hyunjin blowing the toilet. I made him compromise on Jureumi.”
“Is that what lovers do to each other these days?” Minho tuts. “Hyung raised you better than that, Jeongin-ah.”
Jeongin yawns. Ungrateful brat. “And Jureumi is better?”
“Jureumi is better.” Minho nods, inching closer to Seungmin.
Minho places his hands over Seungmin's on the dimples dorm couch for the first time since the divorce concept was created. He didn't budge, didn't even intertwine them. It sat there, palm on top of palm. There are no cameras around to hide behind, no illusion of something that wasn't true, it was just them, together.
They were Kim Seungmin and Lee Minho first before anything else. That was how they started.
The cheek kiss had reminded him slowly about what it was like before they were tied to their roles, how they smiled freely around each other, joked and laughed— and maybe loved easily.
Minho can't change the past, or the moments they were forced to live in, but he would like to change a little something about the present.
“Irinong hyung is holding my hand~” Kim Seungmin sing-songs in his ears.
🐶
05.
It happened during recording session number twenty-fifth thousand that Minho came to the stark realization that not a single person in JYPE Entertainment could be trusted. They were all foes.
Bang Chan turns his head around with the look of a guilty person who had just been convicted of killing a herd of stray puppies (which he could never do.) and the smile of someone who managed to nearly fumble a baddie once (Felix). Bang chan presses the red button. Minho blink-blink-blinks at him through the studio’s glass divider.
“What?” Minho asks.
“Minho-yah….”
“Spit it out, Bang Chan.”
“I know Changbin-ah made you do a high note in English for our title….and I’m not saying this isn’t as bad! But. You know.”
Minho presses his face on the glass and squints. “If I hear the word high note in that sentence—”
“It’s backing vocals! Just for layering!” Chan sputters. “There’s no English!”
Bang Chan is a foe. Han Jisung and Yang Jeongin are no better. Hyunjin pisses him off too. Changbin is a foe with aegyo as his weapon. Kim Seungmin is an enemy. The only person he could truly trust is Yongbok, even if he pulled that dirty move of sending the picture of Kim Seungmin kissing his cheek to their group chat. But still, he is an angel.
“Please, Minho-yah…” Bang Chan pouts— Minho will not let him aegyo his way out of this.
“I will tear your limbs apart,” Minho threatens.
“I have blackmail material of Seungminnie,” Chan offers. “Words spread fast. I’m not sure if you’re actually trying to get back at him or you want him to genuinely kiss you—”
“I do not want Kim Seungmin to kiss me anywhere, much less the lips.” Minho interrupts. “Fine. Let’s record the backing vocals.”
Chan grins maliciously. “Nobody said anything about lips~” Chan hums, happily, turning back to his pages of lines. “I’ll show you the demo first, and then we record.”
Minho puts his headphones back on to his dismay. Well played, Bang Chan. Well played.
For the next hour, Minho listens patiently to Chan’s instructions for how he wants the vocals to turn out. Use falsetto towards the end, Minho-yah. He said. Don’t be too precise with the pronunciation, He said. Make it short and match Jisungie’s timing, He said. Minho breathes air and produces the sound as best as he can into the microphone until Chan gives him the thumbs up of approval.
“We can add a little ad-lib to Seungminnie’s part.” Chan says. “I’m going to let you hear it.”
Chan presses the play button, and then Kim Seungmin’s voice trickles in on both ears— Melodic, smooth and captivating.
Minho gets his breath punched out of him.
He could hear it, the maturity lining in his voice, a far cry from the boy who became his first friend. Back then, he sounded shakier, unsure and so young. Looking back on it, Minho never noticed all of these little details before, he had been simply focused on debuting to notice. But he loved Kim Seungmin’s voice even when it was unrefined. After all these years, he’s grown to love it more. How steady his voice becomes, the technique he’s refined over the years through hard work, how each line that comes out of his mouth glides beautifully. Most of all, Minho notices the newly found confidence layered beneath.
Kim Seungmin is captivating, that is a fact.
Lee Minho would like to sing with him until they’re grey and old. (maybe Cinema was onto something.)
“Good, huh?” Chan hums out, stopping the track.
“Yeah,” He breathes.
“Let’s finish the recording.” Chan smiles at him like he knows. “Hyung will treat you to dinner after.”
“I’d like a tenderloin steak,” Minho cackles.
“Don’t push your luck, Minho-yah.”
They finish recording twenty-minutes later (yes, he counted) and Minho finally takes off the headphones and stretches his arms and back with a groan. He was joking earlier, but he could really use a well-made tenderloin steak right now. He wonders if he could out-aegyo Chan to get it for him.
Chan raises his eyebrows at him when comes out of the recording booth with a grimace upon his face. “Stiff shoulders?” He asks, packing his equipment.
“More than that,” Minho sighs. “My dongsaengs have been a pain in my ass as of recently. I need to make them fear me again.”
Chan laughs, swinging his backpack over his shoulder as he stands up. “Are you finally losing your touch, Irinong?”
“I am still capable of dismembering your limbs.”
“I’m sure you are.” Chan types quickly on his phone. Minho opens the door and waits outside. When Chan walks out, he looks up from his phone. “I know a place that makes really good pho, would that be okay? They sell a few Korean dishes there too.”
Minho hums, agreeing.
“I’ve texted manager-hyung already, he should be here soon.”
“Uh-huh.”
Minho pulls out his phone, scrolling through his notifications until his thumb hovers over one with a puppy emoji. Huh. When he opens the message, he sees that it was sent over an hour ago, while he was still in the recording booth.
강아지 🐶
irinong hyung, fighting ~
I wanted to send puppym to the studio for moral support
but hyunjinnie says you think puppym is out to get you
ㅋㅋㅋ
*puppy laughing sticker*
sent at 15:30 PM
seen at 17:10 PM
typing…
do you like pho
Minho blink-blink-blinks at the screen a few times until the grey checkmarks turn blue.
김승민 🐶
?
sure, i do
are you out with chan hyung?
seen
Ok
hyung will bring you some
김승민 🐶 reacted 🤍
bring one more for puppym
No
ㅋㅋㅋ
eat well, hyungie
seen
“Are you texting Seungminnie?” Chan asks, peering over from beside him. Minho quickly shuts off his phone. “Minho-yah… This is a judgement free zone!”
“I was texting Jisung-ah.” Minho scowls.
“With that kind of smile on your face?”
“When have I ever frowned at one of my favorite little dongsaengs?” Minho grumbles, pocketing his phone. “Go sniff your nose into someone else's business, Bang Chan. Like, for example, Changbin-ah. What is he doing with Hyunjin for starters?”
“They're dating,” Chan replies.
“Okay. What is Jisung doing with the maknae?”
Chan's eyebrows furrow. “Like, right now? fucking, maybe. Hopefully not in the living room.”
“They wouldn't. Jisung-ah doesn't like it when the couch's armrest digs into his back.”
“That's oddly specific.” Chan says.
“What are they doing overall?”
“Dating, obviously.” Chan mutters. “What's next? What are Felix and I doing? dating. We're dating. Changbin and Hyunjin are dating. Jeongin and Jisung are dating—”
“Why is everybody dating in this group?”
“So, what are you and Seungminnie doing, exactly? Because you're not in his house and he's not in your house but somehow I've been getting reports then and there about a puppy and a cat chasing each other's tails, trying to get the other's attention.” Chan finishes, then pauses. “And something about a fridge and a Puppym.”
“Puppym is the devil's child sent directly by the government itself, hyung.” Minho says. “Do not be fooled by its charms. Puppym will kill you.”
“Puppym is a dog plushie.” Chan deadpans. “See, this is why I told you guys to come to me whenever you're in a tough spot before doing anything else. We could've talked this out nicely, Minho-yah.”
“I harbor no malicious intent!” Minho argues. “I don't have anything to say.”
“I'm sure you do.” Chan gently says, eyes warm and inviting. Minho seals his lips shut until one of Chan's hands rests lightly onto his forearm. Then does it all come crumbling down.
Minho sighs, shifting his foot. Why is their leader so persuasive?
“I mean, I don't know.” Minho starts, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I don't know how to be anything else but this. Whenever I take a step back, he keeps looking for me. I can't tell him it's not what I want him to do, because it's not true. I do want him to keep looking for me, on his good days and bad days. I want him to keep looking for me forever. But I also know that this isn't what I should want for.”
“Why's that?” Chan lightly asks.
“It's the stupid concept,” Minho scoffs. “You've seen how it made us act. Even if we haven't fought, surely you can tell we've grown apart because of it. I don't want to have him only to be ripped apart because of something out of my control.”
“Minho-yah,” Chan interjects. “You're not the concept. Neither of you are. Even if it's become something permanent integrated into our content, it doesn't define either of you. Have you seen it lately? how hard Seungminnie is trying to make you realize that?”
It clicks into place. The textings. The playfulness. The pudding. All of it.
Seungmin has been trying to let him know in his own way, that what they have is still theirs. That the concept doesn't mean anything, that their images and curated personas are nothing but the pebbles you kick away during a long walk.
When did Minho lose sight of it?
“You're still Lee Minho and he's still Kim Seungmin,” Chan smiles sweetly, his presence ever grounding. “Just a lot older now.”
“Just a lot older,” Minho repeats, and the weight is lifted off his shoulders like that. How come Chan always knows the right thing to say? Minho is keeping him forever, just like how he plans to feed Seungminnie until he will never know the taste of take-outs ever again.
Minho doesn't say it out loud, but he is grateful for a lot of things in Stray Kids. Bang Chan and Kim Seungmin are two things out of many.
“Take care of each other well, Minho-yah.” Chan laughs just as manager hyung rings Chan's phone, indicating his arrival. “Well, how about we eat dinner, then?”
“Sounds good.” He smiles.
🐶
+ 1
Kim Seungmin walks out of the Happy House bathroom with a stuffed rabbit on his left hand and a puppy on his right, wandering into the kitchen as Minho cuts down the kimchi.
“Hyung, why is Puppym and Leebit making out on top of the toilet lid?” Seungmin asks, confused.
Yongbok, who is currently watching Transit Love on the TV, looks up at this. “They're what now?”
“I wanted to go pee,” Seungmin starts. “But when I came in, they were in a very provocative position and I had to split them apart. I mean, aren't they five?”
Minho stops cutting for a moment. “You thought the SKZOO's were toddlers?”
“Are they not? They even dress like one!”
“Puppym has committed a crime before, Seungmin-ah.”
“Puppym has never committed a crime.” Seungmin argues, shoving Puppym into his face. “Look at his cutieful face! That's an aegi. I will not tolerate indecency in my bathroom like this.”
“Our bathroom,” Yongbok corrects.
“Seungmin-ah,” Minho says, patiently. “Did anyone ever tell you to not bother someone holding a knife? hyung is busy right now.”
“Hyung is making shit,” Seungmin grumbles, taking back Puppym.
“Hyung is cooking.”
“Hyung is—” Seungmin squints. Minho meets his eyes right back. “Hyung has evil intentions,” Seungmin finishes. Minho holds back a smile that threatens to appear. “Why are you making dinner for us?”
“Because the happy house needs to eat real food for once,” He says, going back to chopping the kimchi.
“We eat real food.” Seungmin says.
“Debatable,” Yongbok comments.
“Sit down and stay quiet, Seungmin-ah. Do you want dinner or not?”
“No thanks, I'm not going to do that~” Seungmin annoyingly hums. Bothering him as always. Some things never change. “I still don't understand why Puppym and Leebit had to make out in our private bathroom though.”
“They say art imitates life,” Minho replies, adding the chopped up kimchi into the pot before letting it cook.
Minho spares Seungmin a glance.
“What?” Seungmin blinks, mouth agape. Ha. Take that Kim Seungmin. “But— I mean, we've never…”
“Not yet then,” Minho hums, moving towards the cabinets to take out the plates. He leaves behind a speechless Kim Seungmin with a feeling of triumph in his heart.
“Wow,” Yongbok exclaims. “Should I even be here in the first place?”
“Yes,” Seungmin and Minho said simultaneously.
“For moral support.” Minho adds, taking out Leebit and Puppym out of Seungmin's hands, who went slack, before shoving plates on them. “Take this to the table.”
“Okay,” Seungmin agrees easily, still dazed.
“Hmm. Good boy.”
Seungmin bumps both of his knees on the table.
Minho presses his lips together to avoid the incoming smirk of victory. Lee Minho: 1. With a poker face prepared, he slowly turns around to look at Seungmin to blink-blink-blink innocently.
“Hm?” He asks, noting the crimson red that colours Seungmin’s ears. Pretty. “Is something wrong, puppy?”
Somewhere in the back, Yongbok coughs loudly. “You know, I really shouldn’t be here—”
“No.” Seungmin and Minho said simultaneously. Again. Although Minho is having a much better time.
Yongbok does the sign of the cross before sitting back down.
“Hyung, I will break these plates.” Seungmin said, shying away, putting down the plates onto the table.
Minho checks the temperature of the pot on the stove. “That’s not very good of you, meong meong.”
“Will you stop calling me good?”
“But I thought you liked being called good.”
“SAYS WHO?”
“Me. Changbin-ah. Jisung didn’t outright say the word good but he said something along the lines of: ‘Hyung, I think Seungmin has a praise ki—-”
“STOP. STOP. Okay. Stop. Neither of you guys have credibility on that!”
“Yongbok-ah—”
“Do not bring my roommate into this!”
“I thought you wanted credibility?” Minho checks the pot, satisfied to find it cooked. He turns off the stove and uses a dry towel to bring the pot over to the table. “Yongbok-ah, Seungmin-ah, it’s time to eat.”
“Hyung, I’ve been here for the past few minutes.”
Minho hums happily, taking out a ladle from the cabinets. “Then sit down like a good boy, Seungmin-ah.”
“I will send an endless of Puppym armies into your apartment if you don’t stop—”
Minho crosses over the space between them to enter Kim Seungmin’s personal space and squish both of his cheeks together, creating a pufferfish. A puffermin.
“H’yong.” Seungmin says.
“Seungmin-ah, you’re so annoying.” Minho says, fondness bleeding through his words. “I will never let you touch takeout ever again, or the kitchen, because I am planning to smother you in Minho-cooked food for the rest of your life.”
Seungmin blinks. “Do ‘ay get a say on that?” Then, “Wha’f abo’t Yongbok-’ih?”
“I will feed Yongbokkie too. Of course, I will. Why would you think I wouldn’t?” Minho shoots back, a little bit offended. Yongbok is their biological daughter, why the hell would Kim Seungmin think he was cruel enough to starve him? “Also, no. You don’t get a say on this. It’s been predetermined. I will feed you.”
Minho finally releases both his cheeks, but his hands linger on Seungmin’s jaw, pressing gently.
“Okay,” Seungmin brightens up. “I will feed hyungie too.”
“That isn’t necessary. Please don’t feed me anything.”
“With love!”
“Oh.” Minho stares. “Sure. Yeah. Can I kiss you now?”
“Gee. I thought you’d never ask.”
Minho crashes his lips onto Seungmin’s. He doesn’t like to waste time or momentum. He’s been wanting to kiss Seungmin ever since the first day of that fuckass fanmeeting. No more grazes. No more cheek kisses. No more stupid fanservice. Minho finally gets to kiss him for real.
Seungmin’s lips were soft against his own, just as he thought it would be. Minho cradles his jaw and lets his fingers skitter around to memorize every inch. Seungmin’s hands drop to his waist, pulling him closer, until their bodies melt into one. Seungmin smiles into the next kiss, huffing out a small breathy laughter that Minho swallows down, chasing for more. And more. And more.
Until Kim Seungmin forgets what it was ever like to live without his kiss.
When they finally part to catch their breath, Seungmin nudges his nose onto his, crinkling his eyes as his pretty pink lips stretch into the widest smile he’s ever seen. Minho sees stars in his eyes. Is this what kissing Kim Seungmin has done to him? He could’ve done this ages ago.
“Hyung,” Seungmin huffs out. “I can’t believe we kissed in the happy house.”
“Did you have anywhere else in mind? This is your apartment, Seungmin-ah.”
“I was thinking we would kiss somewhere nice, like under the stars or something.”
“Have you been listening to raining stars by Han Jisung again?”
“It’s a really nice song.” Seungmin says. “When I listened to it, I imagined kissing you under the stars.”
“That’s cute, Seungmin-ah.” Minho says, laughing. He goes in for a small peck, to which Seungmin happily receives. “Hyung will take you somewhere cuter.”
“Like a baseball stadium?”
“I am not kissing you in a baseball stadium.”
“Not even once?”
“It’s a public space, Seungmin-ah. Do you want your face to be splattered all over Dispatch the next day? Or worse, pannchoa.”
Seungmin shivers in his hands. “Oh, you’re right. That’s terrible.”
“We can kiss while watching a baseball game, though.”
Seungmin gasps. “When the lotte giants win!”
The lotte giants will never win. Minho was thinking they could just kiss every time a team scores a goal or a home run. Do baseball games have goals?
“Sure,” Minho agrees anyway. “When the lotte giants win.”
Someone starts clapping in the background.
Seungmin and Minho turn around to face Yongbok standing behind them, clapping like a seal, nodding enthusiastically to the point where Minho gets concerned his head would fall off.
“Woah,” Yongbok says, a big grin on his face. “This is better than Transit Love. I was getting bored of watching that show, but you guys exceeded my expectations! Congratulations! I love you guys. Did I ever tell you I love you guys? I love you guys.”
“We love you too, Yongbok-ah.” Minho and Seungmin said simultaneously. For the third time.
“If you recorded a video of this, it’s best to delete and pretend it never happened.” Minho adds, for good measure. Yongbok is an angel. Yongbok is also terrifying.
“I didn’t record anything.” Yongbok argues.
“Cement our legacy, Lix!” Seungmin shouts.
“I understand English. Nobody is cementing anything.” Minho says.
Yongbok giggles into his hands, and Minho knows he needs a helping hand to get that video from Yongbok’s gallery. Maybe he will recruit Bang Chan. Take Yongbok’s phone away from him while they’re too busy making out. Yeah, sounds like a good plan.
“Okay,” Yongbok says, inching closer towards the table. “This is fun and all, I’m glad we’re finally confessing our deepest and most truest feelings—”
“Minho hyung didn’t confess shit.” Seungmin grumbles, stepping back from his embrace. But he catches Minho’s hands before they could leave, intertwining them.
“I literally said I wanted to feed you forever.” Minho states.
“That is not the confession of the year you think it is irinong—”
“CAN WE PLEASE EAT DINNER NOW?” Yongbok cries, reaching out for the ladle inside the pot. “I’ve been hungry ever since Minho hyung barged into our apartment while holding a knife and threatened to make us kimchi jjigae again, so can we pretty please with a cherry on top just sit down and eat real food or else I will go feral and finish everything by myself.”
Poor Yongbokkie. Minho sympathizes with him.
He nods, taking a chair out to sit as Seungmin does the same. Their hands still linked, hanging between them. A reminder that this is real.
“You’re right Yongbok-ah,” Minho says, watching Yongbok scoop up the rice into his plate before gobbling down his kimchi jjigae with rice. “This brat over here has taken up too much time. I apologize on behalf of him.”
Seungmin kicks him on the knee. Minho yelps as he takes the ladle out of Yongbok’s hands to grab some kimchi jjigae onto his plate.
Kim Seungmin is apparently still an enemy. (A sweet one)
“Says the guy who took too long to finally kiss me,” Seungmin says. “I don’t know, hyung. All I’m saying is that we could’ve been doing this since the KARMA era. Or, hell, maybe 5-STAR.”
“You’ve liked me longer than that,” Minho shoots back.
Seungmin shrugs. “Duh. But you were kind of stupid and angsty back then. If I had confessed, you would’ve punched me in the face.”
Minho makes a noise of offence. “I would never punch you!”
“Metaphorically.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I can’t even have a happy meal in this household,” Yongbok sighs.
Minho kicks him right back on the knee, earning a giggle. “You have upset the cat.”
“I thought he was our daughter?” Seungmin asks, smiling.
“Meow.” Yongbok says.
“Yongbok is our daughter and our cat,” Minho clarifies. “He can be anything.”
“Don’t forget moral support!”
Kim Seungmin laughs on his next bite, which makes him break into a smile too. Ah, he’s becoming contagious. There is a feeling he gets whenever his cats cuddle up to him— that warmth, tingly sensation. That second of comfort and happiness— He feels it here, now, at this very moment. At some point during the dinner, Kim Seungmin tries to spoonfeed him his portion, cooing at him with a giddy glint in his eyes. Minho lets him, takes Seungmin’s momentary surprise to reach forward and kiss him on the cheek. He’s only satisfied once he sees the red adorning his skin.
Kim Seungmin is an annoying brat plaguing his daily life, the constant bother that will give him headaches from time to time. But Kim Seungmin is also the cute trainee he befriended during his first week at JYPE Entertainment, and more than that, Kim Seungmin is the cute boy he has fallen in love with.
Minho is eternally doomed.
🐶
Three hours later
SKZ
이용복 🐥 sent a video
ㅋㅋㅋ
5 others reacted: 😨
한지성 🐿
Hyung!!! This is public indecency!!
What have you done to my puppy!!
양정인 🦊
Your puppy is 25 years old btw
한지성 🐿
Are you..perhaps….jealous maknae-yah 😋😋
양정인 🦊
Im logging out.
황현진 🥟
Are u joking Omg.
Ive been waiting to kiss seungminnie for YEARS
And lee minho argues with him and he kisses him dumb
Is that what I should be doing in the first place ?
방찬 🐺
Why are u two kissing in front of my boyfriend
Yongbok is our daughter
방찬 🐺 reacted: ❓
서창빈 🐷🐰
Nice
Are u gonna start calling each other wives now
강아지 🐶
Ew
Never in a million years.
🤢
서창빈 🐷🐰
Wow ok
You didnt have to say it like that
Is nobody going to congratulate us
Why is nobody happy
This is a happy day
한지성 🐿
Ok happy man
양정인 🦊
Eat shit
서창빈 🐷🐰
Hyunjinnie is crying
Of happiness? 🥰
황현진 🥟
NO
방찬 🐺
Are you trying to adopt felix
Yes
What about it bang chan
@강아지 🐶
Look at this
Nobody is happy for us 😥
강아지 🐶
What happened to camaraderie and brotherhood 😕
6 others reacted: 🥱