Past Me was a Fool (2min)

Priorities

It does not seem to be that long since his father came by when his doorbell rang. Somehow, the sound cut through the thick haze that surrounded him as he worked on his revision. He blinked at the dimly lit room, trying to strain his ears and there it was again, two consecutive times this time.

His father would never come back once he achieved his objective and Hyunjin is not a person who would ignore Seungmin's needs of being alone, even if it kills him to stay away. So who could it be?

Seungmin rubbed his bleary vision before bringing himself to the front door. Thankfully, he did not bump into any furniture and turned on the lights once he reached the switch. There was another bell, rang thrice this time and a frown made its way to his forehead.

Opening the door after a quiet 'coming', Seungmin inwardly guessed he might have been too in his head for him to not consider the possibility of this person coming to his apartment.

"Minho."

There was tension filling up the atmosphere around them almost immediately when Minho simply remained silent, even after Seungmin moved them to the living area. He managed to catch a glimpse of Jisung outside his door before it closed. Seungmin understands why the assistant wore a concern look, since he knows he did do something to warrant this cold silence from Minho.

However, he does not have enough fight in him to bring anything up. Even more so when everything that has been happening are still weighing his mind and heart down. He may have talked with Hyunjin, but his tongue feels heavy now that he has to properly talk with Minho. Is he being selfish and childish by choosing to not say anything first? Maybe.

Not to mention, the encounter with his father not too long ago has his system glitched even worse.

Seungmin is too in his head again to hear Minho calling his name. The way he stares into nothing earned him a locked jaw from the older, who then, called Seungmin's name even firmer.

"Kim Seungmin," that brought the younger's attention to him. "Do you have nothing to say to me?"

"At the moment?" Seungmin let his eyes stray to the coffee table that separates them. "No."

Minho's gaze hardened, "You're acting like I wronged you. We agreed to get along, Seungmin. We agreed to be more considerate and you're not doing your part."

There was no need for elaboration. Seungmin understood what Minho is talking about. However, he wants to laugh at the part where the older mentioned consideration since that is one of the reason he has bawled his eyes out to his best friend. If failing to inform Minho that he was not coming back calls for not being considerate, then Minho talking about Chan all the time should also be considered inconsiderate, should it not?

And he was sick. He passed out, according to what Hyunjin said. While Minho? He seemed to be so enthusiastic every time he shared his mind, shared his plan on overthrowing Chan. Over meals, over their tea times. Hah. He is acting like Minho wronged him? Seungmin cannot actually said it is untrue.

"I gave you intel on my brother. Does my absence bothers you?" he settled on saying, no resistance in his tone. "Stuff happened, and I need some space to study for my exam now. I'm not planning on stabbing you in the back, so go back and rest, Minho."

Don't worry, he did not dare to say.

It must have been close to three in the afternoon. Usually, Minho would be having hi-teas or short breaks so seeing him here at his apartment instead of taking his supposed rest, is worrying him. The agenda that he had read through just few days ago briefly popped up in his mind; many red slots meant back-to-back works.

"That's not what I–"

"Minho."

The brief silence was laced with heavy tension but Seungmin continued, "I promise, once my last paper is done, we'll talk. Please...?"

"Would it have killed you to at least–" Minho abruptly stood up, but he cut himself off from finishing that sentence. Seungmin would have missed the way Minho's eyes traced his face if he was not looking at the older. And then, the hardened expression he had, became an indifferent one."Fine. Do as you please."

And he left.

Seungmin should feel more at ease but why is his chest hurting more now? Cradling his head in his hands, he chanted to himself quietly that this was for the better. Him putting distance between both of them is the best choice for them right now. Forcing to talk when their heads are all over the place, at least his is, would just makes things worse.

Besides, both of them have different priorities at the moment. He needs to do well on his last paper and he will not be able to do that if he indulges Minho with his plan that surrounds Chan and his family– not when they are the main reason he is in this state in the first place.

Knock, knock.

He whipped his head towards the door, felt his heart rate picked up. It was not even ten minutes since Minho left. Taking a deep breath, Seungmin shot up and head over to the door. Without much thought, he swung it open.

"Seungmin-ssi," it was Han Jisung, with a brown bag in his arms. The assistant gave him a gentle smile as he handed him the bag. "Yours."

"Thank you..."

When he looked back up to the other, Jisung extended his hand that holds a white handkerchief. Still puzzled, Seungmin just took it and thanked him again. He watched the assistant strode away after he bowed his head, wondering what the bag holds and why he was given the nicely folded, soft fabric.

Only when he opened the bag, having the warm kimchi stew and green tea bon delicieux staring back at him, did Seungmin realise he is crying. A fresh set rolling down his cheeks, blanketing the dried tear tracks that he is sure were the reason Jisung lent him the handkerchief for.

There was a small card tucked beside the green cake that he almost missed and once he read it, Seungmin felt stupid.

Eat. I didn't poison them.

"Lee Minho..." he wetly chuckled and hurriedly wiped the newly formed tears, preventing them from staining his cheeks further.

Seungmin is a stupid, weak man.

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A/N

Writing this is like a short escape from reality.
Thank you so much for still reading this story despite the inconsistencies in updates and puzzling storyline :')

Enjoy!