(I really love this chapter, I hope you do too.)
As the boys are watching the movie, Minho notices Jisung slowly creep up onto him more and more. He lets out a quiet laugh as the younger hides his face in Minho’s shirt when the fight scene gets a little too gorey for the youngers’ liking. Jisung had never been the one to enjoy bloody scenes, he prefered superhero movies where the characters would usually die out of frame. Minho meets eyes with Hyunjin and he can see the other smirk at him which earns the boy sends a playful glare before both turn their focus back on the movie.
At the end, the main character comes up victorious as it pans to them returning to their every day life. He hears Jisung let out a sigh and feels the younger remove himself from their touch. Action must’ve been a little too uncomfortable for him, perhaps? Minho writes a mental note to remember that for the next time they hang out.
“Man, that movie was sick!” Felix says and Hyunjin quickly agrees. “Right?! The fight where the eyes got gauged out, oh my fucking god!”
“I thought that shit was nasty.” Seungmin chirps in and Jisung furiously nods his head in agreement. “I thought it was alright.” Minho adds on, “It wasn’t the best movie ever, but pretty damn enjoyable nonetheless.”
“Enjoyable? What part of a human being ripped to shreds is enjoyable? I still get chills thinking back.” Jisung says as his body literally shakes for a second. The boys laugh at him being do dramatic.
“So, now what?” Hyunjin said, bouncing up and down his chair. He had a very short attention span,especially if he had consumed any form of caffeine. He had drank two iced americanos that evening, nearly spilling some on his shirt the second time, already having too much energy from the first one.
“This might sound lame, but how about truth or dare? We’ve only been a solid group for a week now, it might be nice to get to know each other a little more through some games like these?” Chan suggested. Everyone agreed it seemed like a good idea and they made themselves more comfortable. Seungmin’s brother Wonpil came downstairs to get a drinkn at that exact moment, but he declined the offer to join the game. He was quite tired from his job, so he decided to head on over to bed a little early. The seven remaining boys promised him they’d try to keep it down, but no promises were made.
“Okay, who goes first?”
“I go first, I go first!” Hyunjin exclaimed, happy to move on from just sitting still for the past two or so hours. “Jeonginnie! Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Hmm, what do I want to know from you…? Oh! Have you ever been arrested?” Felix nearly spit out his drink as he started laughing, not having expected such an opening question to their silly little game. “You need to know if your boyfriend has a clean record?”
“I mean, always good to know.” Hyunjin snickered. Jeongin laughed and shook his head. “I have not. I did get a ticket though for illegally riding the metro.”
“A crime! A monster!” Seungmin announced, acting dramatically in the process.
“No! I forgot my card and I had to get to an exam on time! I had just turned 18 so I couldn’t get away with it for being underage either…”
“But did you make it on time for the exam though?” Jisung asked, pointing at the younger as if to validate his point. “I did indeed!” The boys applauded him and called it ‘worth it’, before Jeongin chose the next person.
“Jisung hyung! Truth or dare?”
“I’ll go with truth as well.” He heard Hyunjin shout ‘lame’ and got nervous, but when he looked at the olders’ expression he noticed he was just kidding as the boy seemed excited to hear from his new friend.
“What is something you recently did that you regret?” Jisung’s eyes widened a little. Minho immediately shot him a concerned look, but it went unnoticed by everyone. Minho thought about the events that had happened on wednesday, however Jisung could only think about the weekend for the most part.
‘Where to even start?’ He thought to himself. ‘That I tried to kill myself and failed? That I didn’t send a text to Changbin pretending to be sick? For promising him I wouldn’t do it again but then nearly doing it the following day? For dissapointing my father? For leaving my paranoid drunk father? For lying to Minho? For self harming? Losing my job? Damn. This list is endless.’
“Earth to Jisung?” He heard Felix say and he snapped back to reality. He let out a quick fake smile before answering.
“Sorry, I had to think about it for a moment. I’d say… I regret lying to someone close to me.”
“Whaaaaaat? That’s so cryptic.” Hyunjin pouted, not very satisfied with the answer. “Well, it’s the truth.” Jisung smiled before quickly asking Seungmin to choose truth or dare next, praying it would divert the topic away from him. Thankfully, Hyunjin noticed the boy didn’t want to elaborate on it any further and moved on from the topic as well. Changbin had mentioned to the boys when Jisung hadn’t been at their lunchtable yet, that he had a tough time opening up and asked if the new friends could respect that. Like the awesome people they are, of course they would be mindful of it.
“I’ll spice it up and go with dare.”
“Jump in the kiddy pool.” There was no hesitation in Jisung’s voice, which only made the others burst out in laughter. Seungmin argued that the water would be super cold but he was forced to do it anyways. He had gone to get a towel from upstairs as well as some dry underwear before all 7 boys went outside to witness Seungmin jumping into the ‘pool’.
“I love you mom!” He shouted dramatically before jumping in the atrocity that they called a ‘pool’. It was one of those big plastic blue sacks that was held up by a frame, assumingly very cold as there was no heater in it either. None of the others could stop laughing as they watched. Seungmin resurfaced to the top and quickly made his way back to the exit. Chan put the massive towel around the boy as they all made their way back into the house. As much as it was funny that he was shaking from the cold water, none of them wanted him to catch a cold.
“If I’m a squirrel, you look like a drowned puppy!” Jisung laughed softly, earning a glare from the wet younger.
“Not drowned, that means he’d be dead!” Jeongin gasped and gave a sad expression, probably imagining a dead puppy or a dead Seungmin. Neither were a fond image to have.
The next three rounds moved rather quickly. Felix had chosen dare and was forced to upload one of the worst TikTok challenges onto his main account which had 213K followers. After the embarrassment the question had moved onto Jeongin who had chosen dare. Felix had dared him to give Hyunjin a kiss that lasted at least 3 seconds. Neither felt awkward about it and just did it, earning some ‘aww’s’ from Chan and Jisung. Hyunjin had been up next and had chosen truth. He was asked what his favorite animal was. There were protests from Seungmin and Felix, saying the question was too easy.
“Well, we do get to know each other like this. Wasn’t that the whole point?” Hyunjin had said before sticking out his tongue, then answering ‘fox’ to the question.
“So, Chan. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” The oldest said, ready for whatever was going to be thrown at him.
“Do you have a crush on someone?” He sighed, thinking to himself how he should have anticipated such a question from Hwang Hyunjin. He didn’t even know how to answer, so he decided to just say what was on his mind without revealing too much. It wouldn’t be lying, it would just be bending the rules just a teeny tiny bit.
“I’m not sure, maybe? Stupid answer, I know. But I’m just not sure. I only started thinking about it recently.”
“Fair enough, it isn’t always black and white.” Minho said to which Chan agreed. Minho had immediately brought attention to himself though, making him the next one to have to choose.
“Dare?” He answered.
“Text your crush now.” Chan said, which earned a big grin followed by clapping from Hyunjin and a frown from the one having to do it. Jisung was literally right next to him. How was he going to do that? They would all know. Yet, he couldn’t say no so he just pulled out his phone. It earned some gasps from the boys scattered through the living room, all slightly surprised Minho even had a crush. Although to be fair, knowing he did have a crush, most of them could put two and two together, some not so subtly glancing at Jisung.
“It wasn’t said to reveal who my crush is, so you all better look away. If I see any of you stare at my screen, it’s on sight.” He threathened and the others just raised their hands in defense. “It doesn’t need to be a confession, you didn’t say that.” Minho quickly added. Chan hit his head, realising the missed opportunity. Minho typed up a quick message to send to the boy who was right next to him, heart beating in his chest just a bit faster than before.
‘Funny how you crept up on me whilst watching the movie tbh. Didn’t want to call you out and embarrass you in front of everyone. It was real cute though’
“Sent!” He said with a heavy heart right as he pressed the button. It would be over for him. At any point the notification would go off on Jisung’s phone and that would cause everyone, including the aforementioned boy, to know who Lee Minho was crushing on.
“Let me see to confirm, I know your crush already anyways!” Hyunjin sang excitedly as Minho allowed him to view the message. Hyunjin laughed loudly and nearly sank through his knees in enjoyment.
“You’re so hilarious, hyung. And yes, I can confirm he sent it to his crush.”
Jisung had become quite gloomy throughout the whole ordeal. Not enough for anyone to notice, but it sure did effect him. Minho had a crush on someone and he would be sure it wasn’t him. There is no way Minho could have a crush on him this soon after meeting one another. Jisung felt his heart get crushed. He had fallen too deeply for the other after being shown appreciation and acknowledgement from someone other than Changbin. He felt too comfortable around the older too quickly and now he was causing his own heart to break. He mentally called himself stupid for even thinking he had a chance.
Minho as well as Hyunjin stared at Jisung for a little bit as Felix was doing his next dare. Both shared a look of confusion, not knowing why Jisung’s phone hadn’t alerted when he received the message. Neither of them knew Jisung had turned his phone off, not wanting to potentially have his father ruin the night and call him again.
“Jisung! Truth or dare?” Felix asked. To everyone’s surprise, Jisung chose dare.
“Hmm… jumping in the pool was already done… hmmm. Oh. Take off your hoodie for the next 15 minutes!” Jisung’s expression darkened as his face seemed to become slightly paler. Minho knew, but there was no way Jisung would open up to the others about his self harm. It was a wonder he had been open to Minho, even if him revealing his destructive tendencies was something that he hadn’t planned to share up until he slipped up. He was wearing a shirt underneath the hoodie, but it only had short sleeves.
“I’m not doing that.” He just said. Everyone except for Felix seemed to realise that he had seemed slightly angry for the first time since any of them had met him. His almost birthday twin didn’t get the hint though and pressed on a little more, completely forgetting the boundaries Changbin had layed out for them.
“But it’s the game! Come on, we’re all guys anyways and the gays in this room are already taken as well… well, most of them… Anyways, it’s just a game but it’s the rules!” He said again. “Felix.” Was all Jisung said. It was enough for him to finally feel the mood change in the room. His eyes widened a little bit, but then he got agitated himself. To him, this was the easiest dare he has ever heard in his life.
“What? If you’re not comfortable with something as little as this then why are you even choosing dare! This is nothing compared to what I could’ve made you do! You made Seungmin jump in the pool, how is you daring him to do that better than this.”
“Felix, stop. I don’t want to do it. Pick something else, please.” Jisung said again, his anger slowly dissapearing and turning more into nerves mixed with desperation. He started picking at his nails anxiously as he hoped the situation would pass by after that.
“You’re boring!” Felix said. He hadn’t ment it as an overall statement but more in terms of the game and how he didn’t want to follow the simplest of rules. That didn’t seem to be understood by the rest of the room though and especially not by Jisung, who’s heart sank a little.
“Felix, that’s enough. It ain’t a big deal, just pick another dare and we can move on.” Chan spoke up, hoping that as the oldest he could put the final nail in the coffin. Him and Seungmin had of course known Jisung longer than the other 3 and knew it was hard for him to get out of his comfort zone. He didn’t want him to feel pressured but it seemed like Seungmin took Felix’ side.
“If it ain’t a big deal then it shouldn’t be that hard of a dare to do?” Seungmin didn’t say it as forcefully as the sentence sounded. Whilst he thought similarly to Chan, Seungmin thought this might be good for Jisung to get more comfortable around them. They’d known each other for a year and a half and he still didn’t know a lot about the older.
“I’m going home, I really can’t do that. I’m sorry.” Jisung said, standing up. He had gotten way too upset at the entire ordeal. He hadn’t felt too good all day and this conversation was leading his thoughts straight back to Depressionville with a stop in Anxietytown. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be sad and unwell for the whole weekend again. He didn’t want to have to rely on his friends again, them having worries and lives of their own. Mentally, he kept on apologizing for being a bad friend. He couldn’t even do the simplest of things and now he had ruined the whole sleepover. It finally seemed to dawn on Seungmin and Felix that they had crossed the line.
“Wait, Jisung. Sorry. I should’ve stopped when you said no. Please don’t go home, it isn’t so serious?” Felix started. Seungmin also apologized, but Jisung’s mood was already ruined.
“Apology accepted, but it’s still better for me to go home. It clearly is something serious to me and I don’t think I’m in the right mood to stay the night anymore. Again, I’m not angry, I just feel like I’ll ruin the mood after this.” He said as he went to grab his bag and pillow which still layed in the corner of the room. Minho stood up and walked over to him.
“I’ll take you home.”
“No need, you should stay here and enjoy the night. I’ll be fine.” Minho knew what ‘fine’ ment. He knew Jisung wasn’t fine and he wasn’t about to let him go home and do whatever he was thinking of doing. Even if the boy had no intentions to actually doing the things Minho’s mind was thinking off, he still wasn’t going to let Jisung go. He would not want to regret his decisions later on, no matter what.
“I’m taking you home whether you like it or not. It is way too late to be walking around outside alone.”
After a little bit of argueing, Jisung gave up and agreed. Minho grabbed his stuff as well and the two boys bid the others goodbye. They did clear up the situation before they left, but Jisung just couldn’t stay the night anymore. They agreed there was no bad blood between them and Felix understood his reasoning for wanting to go home, secretly upset to have caused Jisung that much distress. Thankfully, the remaining five boys had talked a little after the two had left, Chan making sure Felix was feeling okay as well.
As the two walked out of the front garden, Jisung was about to turn left to walk to his house when Minho grabbed his hand. Jisung turned to him with a blank expression, mind still numb yet racing due to the stress he had felt moments earlier.
“Lets go to my house and have a mini sleepover there. No dumb games.” He said with a sheepish smile. Jisung couldn’t help but finally break out in a smile as well before they turned around and made their way towards Minho’s aparment, not letting go of each others’ hand the entire way through. When they arrived, Minho and Jisung went straight to his bedroom, putting their bags down onto the bed.
“So, are you okay Sung?” Minho started as he rummaged through his closet to find another pair of bedsheets.
“I don’t know.” The younger said softly after a few seconds of silence. Minho paused his actions before turning his head to look at the other. The younger had sat down on the floor, staring at nothing as his hands brushed over his arms softly. He felt sad as he saw the deepened expression on Jisung’s face, not being able to imagine what the boy must be thinking right now. Minho stood back up and made his way over to the younger before sitting down next to him.
“Tell me?” He said softly. Jisung sighed as he put his head on Minho’s shoulder.
“I’m worried about Changbin’s grandma and Binnie himself. I’m worried that I ruined the friendship I was building with the others. I’m worried they think I’m a freak and I’m worried that they’re on to me. I’m worried about my dad, I’m worried about my future as I lost my job and I’m worried about how I can ever fix all these worries that have been making me anxious this entire day.” Minho stayed quiet for a second, not sure of what to say.
“That sounds like a lot of worrying, not going to lie.” Jisung chuckled bitterly, wrapping his arm around Minho’s back. “That’s what I was thinking as well.”
“So. I for sure know they won’t see you as a freak, they’re not the type to just judge a person. I think they’re worried themselves about how you’re feeling. So you can stop worrying about that as well as that your friendship is now gone. It’s not. Friendships have their ups and they have their downs, I’m sure it’s fine. You’re still getting to know each other, I’m sure in the future things like these won’t happen again. They just have to understand who you are as a person and what you limits are. I understand your worry about Changbin and his grandmother, but it won’t do you any good. Quite frankly, she already fell and there is nothing you can do about it. Instead of worrying, maybe hope for her recovery. As for your job… I’m sure you can get a new one soon enough. You’re very likeable even if you’re introverted and I’m sure your work experience will make them want to pick you up as well. Don’t give up, it will all work out, it might just take a little longer than you’d like.”
Jisung sat quietly, his gaze low but his head was still rested on Minho’s shoulder. Suddenly, he turned and hugged the older. Minho smiled and returned the hug, a warm feeling releasing in his stomach.
“T-Thank you hyung.” Minho just hummed in response and nuzzled his head into Jisung’s neck. They stayed like that for some time until the younger broke away. Minho smiled as the younger yawned, getting up and walking back to his closet in order to find the sheets.
“I’m just going to brush my teeth real quick.” He heard the younger say before responding with a simple ‘ok’. He finally found the sheets he had been looking for and placed them on the other side of his bed. He kept them folded as he didn’t want to pressure Jisung in sharing a bed with him again, giving him the option of taking the couch this time around.
Minho just finished changing as Jisung came back into the room, now wearing his own pyjama pants. He had been cursing at himself in the bathroom, appearing to have forgotten his long sleeved shirt as he had been hurrying that afternoon to get out of the house. “Hyung.” He said quietly and Minho gave him a questioning look. “I don’t want to sleep in my hoodie as it’s quite warm in here… I uhh, have a short sleeved shirt and uhh…”
“I will try not to look at your arms Jisung. And even then, I will not judge you for what I see. I promise.” Jisung gave him a reluctant look before he nodded and smiled slightly. It wasn’t a smile that showed happiness, more a smile of appreciation.
“Thank you… for being honest. ‘Cause I know you’ll look regardless, that’s just human nature. To be curious.” He said as he took his hoodie off, now only in blue pyjama pants and a white shirt. As expected, everything was extremely visible and Minho had a quick glance before he looked back at his soulmate, staring at his pretty eyes.
“Well, I will not be staring because it’s not who you are, how about that?” Minho said with a smile which Jisung could only return. “Now, are you getting in bed with me or are you taking the couch? I could take the couch as well but… yeah.” Minho walked over to his bed before sitting down on it. Jisung followed quietly as he grabbed the covers Minho had prepared for him, sitting down beside Minho.
“I like it here, but you don’t need to leave. We have our own blankets anyways.” Jisung said, Minho nodding in agreement before getting under the covers on the other side and turned off the light. Minho stared at the ceiling as a thought he had earlier that evening came back to his mind. He had wanted to make sure the boy was okay, before dropping the ‘I like you’ bomb on top of him as well.
“Hey Jisung? Why do you have your notifications turned off?” He asked, a small smirk on his face. He was planning to make Jisung look at the text but when he got no reply, he realised the younger had fallen asleep. ‘He must have been exhausted.’
“Oh well, he’ll see it tomorrow anyway.”
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The way I wanted them to kiss 3 chapters ago and it still hasn’t happened I CAN’T BELIEVE MYSELF.
My brain just kept getting ideas as I was typing, hence the delay of said kiss. Idek when it will happen now HSJSHSJ THIS BOOK IS SO SLOW BURNING AHAHHA. But at the same time, it had only been two weeks for them and Jisung is an introvert with issues (is this my new trademark holy shit) so yeah. I already think some things are going too fast OOPS ANYWAYS BYE.
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