imagine: minho finally reveals how he feels about you getting the credit he deserves
y/n's pov
these past few weeks, you were constantly being praised by your manager for the hard work you put into dance. minho taught you everything you needed to know, which is probably why he was so upset.
you'd been praised more in these past few weeks than he has in the past few years. it was understandable that he felt some way about it, but he'd never admitted that to you. at least, not until today.
"how was your meeting?" he pushed his sweaty hair back, rubbing his neck with the palm of his hand.
"it went well, i think."
"of course." he scoffed, dropping his head with his water bottle in his other hand.
"what's that supposed to mean?" you tutted, leaning against the wall. "do you find my meetings that interesting to listen to? you're always asking about them."
"you think i'm interested in your meetings?" a sarcastic smile widened on his face before dropping immediately, his head shaking at you.
"what's your problem?"
"work hard." he sighed, grabbing his bag and walking towards the door.
"hey, minho!" you grabbed his arm, pulling him back with a frown. "did i do something wrong?"
he snatched his arm from your grip, looking down frustratingly. "do you know how hard i work? do you know how long i've been working hard for? you have no idea."
"minho-"
"just let me talk!" he growled, watching as you flinched away from him. "remember when we first met? you approached me, about dance. you wanted tips, help, guidance, you wanted me to do everything for you!"
"i asked for your help. if you were so against my request, why didn't you say no?!"
he stayed silent, gulping and looking down. "because no one helped me. i had to get to this stage all on my own, with no help. i did it all by myself. if you started by yourself, it would take you years to get where you are now, but it's only taken a few months."
"so you're saying, without your help, i wouldn't be where i am now?"
"there's no way you'd be here, right now. give it a few years, then you'd be here." clearing his throat, he threw his towel over his shoulder, readying himself to leave.
"you helped me get to where i am, so why're you mad that i'm doing well? is this not what you wanted?"
"your hard work needs to be earned. you cheated your way through, which was my fault. you're right, to some extent. if i didn't help you, i'd feel bad and you wouldn't be too successful. if i did help you, i risked the chance of you getting my credit. i worked hard, you didn't."
"i worked just as hard as you did!"
"if you worked hard, you'd go back to the beginning, and you'd try again. with no help. by yourself. can you do that?" he raised his brow, rolling his eyes when you didn't respond. "you won't, because you're scared."
"you shouldn't have helped me."
"either way, i would have regretted my choice. you shouldn't have asked for help. was it too hard for you to do this alone?"
"i-"
"work hard. that's all i'm saying. work harder than you do, now. then it'll be fair."
