Chapter Text
For as long as Han Jisung could remember, his best friend, and favorite person in the world, had been Lee Minho. He could almost remember the day they’d met when they were kids like it was yesterday; it was one of his earliest memories, after all. He’d been building a fairy house in his backyard next to the garden where his mother was working, when a bright orange blur zoomed past him, knocking over the admittedly very flimsy beginnings of the house’s twig-based frame in the process. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the stick pile, questioning whether or not he even wanted to bother redoing all that work again.
“Come back! I just want to give you treats!”
Jisung looked up to find a boy standing at the edge of the treeline, clearly trying to catch his breath. He couldn’t have been much older than Jisung himself, with short, dark hair, feline eyes, and a tiny mouth pulled into a disgruntled pout. Something in his chest fluttered when the boy looked around the yard, and their eyes met, his cat-like features shifting into something fond as he walked over to where Jisung was sitting.
“Hi hi,” the boy murmured. His voice was soft and melodic, and, even though they didn’t know each other, Jisung found it oddly comforting. “Are you crying?” He hesitated, then nodded, doing his best to blink the tears out of his eyes. Careful hands pulled his glasses off, then cradled his cheeks, the other boy’s thumbs wiping his tears away gently. “Did that mean kitty knock over your… is that a fairy house?” Jisung felt his cheeks heat up– at the question, of course. Nothing else. Because what other reason could there be? He nodded, trying to avert his gaze, but the boy just ducked down to stay in his line of sight. “Can I help you fix it?”
The fluttering in his chest returned as he looked at the hope in the boy’s pretty brown eyes. “You want to help me?” He whispered, not trusting his voice to come out normally.
The boy grinned, and his hands dropped from Jisung’s cheeks– making him immediately miss the warmth– but then the boy was holding his hands and swinging them gently back and forth. “I would love to build fairy houses with you. I’m Minho.”
Jisung couldn’t hold back a smile anymore. “Jisung.”
Minho’s smile widened, and he pulled Jisung to his feet. “Come on, Jisungie. We’re gonna need more sticks than that if we’re going to build a fairy castle!”
He giggled, happily following his new friend to the edge of the woods.
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Jisung was nine the first time he had his heart broken. He cried that day more than he ever remembered crying before, and no matter what his parents did or said, he remained inconsolable. It wasn’t his fault– they were the ones moving their whole family to Malaysia and ripping him away from his best– and only– friend in the entire world.
“You’ll make new friends!” His mother insisted, but he knew she was wrong. No one in Korea other than Minho liked him, and he’d seen the way people reacted to people who had come from away.
“You’re ruining my life!” He’d screamed before running out the back door and making his way through the woods, knowing the trail to Minho’s house even in the dim evening light from how many times he’d walked it.
When he finally broke through the trees, he made a beeline for Minho’s window, tapping urgently, but carefully, on the glass. The eleven-year-old– Jisung had learned Minho was two years older than him– opened the window, but as soon as he saw Jisung’s tear-streaked face, he helped the younger boy inside and pulled him into a hug. Minho let him cry, shushing him when he tried to apologize for the inevitable tears and snot he was sure he was getting on the older boy's shirt. Eventually, he calmed down, and pulled back to look up at Minho.
“Can I live here with you?” Jisung asked once he’d explained to Minho what was wrong. “I promise I won’t get in your way…”
Minho smiled sadly at the boy whose cheek was squished against his chest. He’d managed to coax Jisung to lie down with him while they talked, which he was grateful for since he could feel the exhaustion setting in. “As much as I would love that, Jisungie, I think your parents would miss you too much.”
“I don’t care if they miss me,” he grumbled, hugging his best friend tighter. “I’ll miss you more.”
Minho chuckled and rolled to face him, pulling the younger boy into his chest and running his fingers through his hair. Jisung melted, letting himself go lax in his best friend’s arms. It was becoming harder and harder to keep his eyes open. “And I’ll miss you most. But you still have to go.”
Jisung shook his head rapidly. “I don’t wanna lose you…”
“You’ll never lose me. Ever.” Minho hooked their pinkies together, squeezing gently and shaking their hands back and forth. “Pinky promise.” The older boy’s face turned serious. “And you know how serious I am about pinky promises.”
Jisung giggled as Minho bumped their foreheads together. “I know, hyung.”
“We’ll facetime every day, okay? And you can show me your new house, and your new room, and tell me about all the yummy new food you get to eat…”
He playfully smacked Minho’s shoulder before snuggling back into his arms. “Aish, it’s always about food with you, hyung!”
Minho’s smirk turned mischievous. “Well, if I don’t have enough snacks, Jisungie, I’m gonna have to eat you!”
Jisung squealed as Minho started to tickle him, making chomping noises near his cheeks. “Hyung– okay, okay, I surrender! Food is good!”
The older boy pulled him back into his arms, hugging him tight. Jisung was just about to drift off when he heard Minho murmur, “No matter what happens, you’ll always have me, bug. I promise.”
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True to his word, Minho had made sure they facetimed every single day, making it their nightly routine to brush their teeth, jump on facetime, and share about their days, or watch anime together. It wasn’t uncommon for one or both boys to fall asleep like that, though more often than not it was Jisung who passed out first. Minho never hung up, though, keeping the call running all night long so that neither of them was alone.
When Jisung was fourteen, his parents gave him the best news of his life: they were finally moving back to Korea. He’d broken routine and called Minho immediately, the two making plans to have a sleepover the day he got back. Summer was almost over, and Jisung would be starting at the same high school as Minho at the end of August. He was nervous to be in yet another new place, but he knew that with his favorite hyung by his side, he could handle anything.
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