His Precious

Seven:

A month and a half without Minho:

By this point, Jisung has a routine. He wakes up, goes to the studio, has lunch with his friends, works a little more, goes to the restaurant, and then has dinner with Yu-na and Su-ho.

His call with Minho about what happened never took place, the older boy having gotten busy and forgetting, and the younger boy being too scared to bring it up again.

The talks they do have are pleasant, sometimes even getting as much as an hour to themselves. 

With only about half of the time left until Minho comes home, Jisung is feeling a little bit better. 

Now that he has a routine, his thoughts have mellowed out a bit. He still refuses to slip, uncomfortable with anyone but Minho watching over him, and too sad to do so alone.

He's gotten better with eating and drinking, worrying his friends less and less.

Unfortunately, the one person he's trying not to worry is actually the most worried. As Chan has been giving him updates almost daily, Minho can tell that Jisung isn't at his best.

Not only has he not slipped, something that he used to be able to do on his own, but Minho is super worried about the younger boy working himself to a burnout. 

He tries to mention this to Chan, and the oldest sighs.

"Min, I tried. He won't listen to me. No matter how many times I tell him to take a day off, he's back here every morning, and goes to the restaurant every night. Maybe if you say something to him. He'll be mad at me for telling on him, but I can handle that. I won't be able to handle him burning himself out."

"I'll call him after practice."

"Thank you."

Minho sighs, resting his head against the wall. Practice doesn't start for another half hour, so he takes a deep breath and gives it a go. 

Jisung picks up on the second ring.

"Hyung!"

"Hey Ji, how's your day?"

"Good! How's yours?"

"It's been good. Listen, I hear that you're working everyday. Sweets, you're gonna burn yourself out."

"No I won't, I'm fine, I'm having fun and I'm perfectly okay, I promise."

"Precious-"

"No. Don't call me that." Jisung's voice breaks a little bit. The boy on the other end of the phone is taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout. It... I'm just at work and you know how that name makes me feel." 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh, um Chan tells me you haven't slipped at all. Do you want to set up a video call or something so you can?"

"No, I'm okay. I slipped last night by myself." Jisung lies through his teeth. Having Minho on the phone for it would make things worse, make the want for his caregiver to be there even worse. 

"Are you sure because-"

"I said I did, so I did. Why are you double guessing me when I tell you things?" He gets angry for no reason. Rationally it's because he knows he's tired and he knows he's aching for the boy to be home. 

Minho, on the other hand, gets quiet. 

"Listen. I gotta go, I have a shift to get to. I'll talk to you later." Jisung hangs up the phone without an I love you, and Minho feels his heart sink. He puts his phone away and goes inside, rushing passed Hyunjin and Felix, barely making it into the bathroom before the tears start to spill.

Three months without Minho:

"Hyung~"

"What's up, buttercup?" Jisung laughs at Minho's response, hitting the video button and showing him his hair.

"My hair is getting gross. I'm gonna have to dye it again soon." Minho laughs and turns his camera on, the silver being faded as well. 

"We can do it together when I get back, yeah?" 

"That sounds nice Min." Jisung says with a smile. 

Following Jisung's lashing out, the two had ignored each other for three days. When Chan finally confronted him about it, he had called the older two days later, after work, apologising profusely for being such an asshole. 

Minho forgave him, obviously, and now the two are back to normal. Jisung is beyond excited, one month left until the older comes home.

"Oh, I gotta go Hyung, we are training a newbie at the restaurant and boss wants me in charge of his training!"

"Okay sweets. Hey, when I get back, let's go on a vacation, just you and me. Yeah?"

"Definitely. I love you~"

"I love you too, Sung."

The call ends and Jisung smiles to himself, walking into work and greeting his coworkers, all of which have stopped questioning him for being at work everyday. He dawns his uniform and then gets ready to start the training. 

The new boy stands awkwardly at the counter as Jisung approaches him. The blue haired boy bows, then extends his hand.

"Hi! I'm Jisung!" The nervous boy bows back, accepting his handshake. 

"H-hi Jisung. I'm Josh."

"Ohhhh, an American name?" 

"Uh. Yeah. My parents split and so mom took me and brought me here. Sorry if my Korean isn't good."

"That's no problem. If you ever want to talk in English, for a mental break, let me know. I'm not the best English speaker, but I manage."

"Thank you."

"No problem. So I'm training you, and we're going to start in the kitchen. Less interaction so you can have a break in talking to people. Cooking is the best way to learn the menu. Shall we get started?"

♡ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ♡

A short(er) chapter, but important nonetheless! Next chapter is super angsty, so buckle up! No worries, Minsung will be together again soon! <3