I'm Seeing Angels | Minchan

13

Jisung brought Chan to a cute little cafe that was right down the road from the church. It was quiet and small inside with a few tables, but a majority of the seating was outdoors in the back where they had a small makeshift garden for the guests to enjoy. Jisung guided the priest to sit down at one of the small wooden tables under a tree after ordering their meals.

They set their drinks down as they sat, getting comfortable. It wasn't too hot out and there was a light breeze, making it the perfect weather for the peaceful lunch.

"So, what's been bothering you?" Jisung started, taking a small sip of his drink. He was concerned for Chan and hoped that he would be comfortable enough to open up to him about whatever was going on.

Chan hummed, not completely sure how to respond. Was he going to tell Jisung about Minho's feelings for him and potentially break his heart or lie to his face? He didn't know which was worse. He didn't want to do either, wanting to just push it off for a later time and change the topic altogether. "Nothing really. How'd you find this place?"

Jisung raised his eyebrows, disappointed in the priest's poor attempt to change the subject. "You're not getting around this. Tell me what's going on. I'm here for you like you were for me," he explained softly, reaching his hand out for Chan to take. Chan looked down at the limb, reluctantly placing his own hand on Jisung's.

He let out a loud and defeated sigh, realizing that there was no getting around telling Jisung the truth. "Alright. Listen... this is going to be hard for you to hear."

Jisung shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, ready for whatever was about to come. "I'm all ears."

Chan cleared his throat. "I guess, to start off. I, um... I know that you have feelings for me."

Jisung swallowed hard and slowly retracted his hand from Chan's. "Right..." he nodded his head nervously, not sure how to carry the conversation from here. His face started heating up, now embarrassed.

"I don't want to have this conversation, but I'm going to if I want to move on," Chan explained, biting his lip.

Just then, a waitress came up, interrupting their conversation. "A turkey and swiss sandwich for Bang Chan?" She asked. Chan held his hand up as she set the plate in front of him. "And I guess yours is the French onion soup?"

"Yep, that's mine," Jisung nodded, leaning back to allow her to set the bowl down.

"Alright. Enjoy your meals!" She smiled and walked back into the restaurant, leaving them to continue the uncomfortable discussion they were just having.

Jisung looked down at the bowl in front of him, no longer having an appetite, Chan not any better. They both stared at their food, not sure what to do now until Chan cleared his throat, understanding that he had to keep the conversation going and he couldn't just leave it where it was.

The thing was, Jisung already guessed where the conversation was headed. He knew that Chan didn't reciprocate his feelings, but he wasn't ready to hear Chan say it out loud to his face. He just wanted to stay in the small bubble where he could fantasize about a different reality where the two could be together. But that wasn't the case any longer.

"I'm sure that you know that I don't share your feelings," Chan started quietly, slowly gaining the confidence to turn Jisung down as softly as he could. "I do adore our friendship, more than anything. And I hope that even after this, we could continue to be friends. I don't want things to change between us just because of this."