escape call | minsung

xxi

minho smiled that morning as he recalled his date last night. well, it wasn't really a date — he had just stayed for longer with chaeryeong since they had stumbled upon a similar coincidence.

they both didn't want to go on dates and they both had an escape call.

chaeryeong's escape call was a woman named yeji — her girlfriend — and the similarity of their situations caused them to bond and talk for a while longer. a friendly date if you could call it that.

chaeryeong couldn't tell her parents about her current relationship, since they weren't very accepting, so she just ditched all of her dates for her partner and called it a 'failed night'. she had confessed to minho that she would like to have the courage one day to stand up for them and confront her parents, but that time was yet to come.

"yeji is super understanding about it. i love her for that reason and so so many more." she had said. minho could not forget the way her eyes sparkled as she talked, completely enamored by her partner.

it made minho think that he was quite similar, save for the fact that him and jisung were dating. he bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about it.

him and jisung, dating?

something in his brain supplied that it wasn't too bad of a scenario and the thought startled him.

it wasn't the first time he had thought about his best friend in that light and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. there was something about their chemistry that seemed to teeter a little too close to the border between friendship and something more.

he enjoyed their fun outings and exciting trips, but he also enjoyed their silences and intimate situations — those where it was just the two of them with no one's prying eyes.

jisung was bright. safety. home. he was everything minho could've asked for in a friend and he didn't know whether he wanted anything to change or ruin that. an unsettling weight sank in his stomach.

his train of thought carried him to the boy itself. how was he?

right, he was left alone in the library after minho told him that he would continue talking to chaeryeong.

wait. he was left alone in the library!

fuck, he messed up.

he had completely disregarded jisung and whether or not he had company, had eaten properly, was staying warm, or had reached home safely.

it made him mad at himself for treating one of the most important people in his life this way. he cursed himself under his breath for the nth time as he dragged a hand over his face, groaning while reprimanding himself.

opening his phone, he pulled up jisung's contact, guilt making his movements sloppy as he typed out a message in his haste.

private messages: hannie 🐿️

you
hey sungie, i'm so so sorry for not texting you last night
it was shitty of me to leave you hanging there without any follow up

i hope you got home safely and ate well
are you with seungmin?
seen

after a few moments, a little 'seen' popped up, letting minho know that jisung had read the messages. for a while, the three dots bounced up and down indicating that the other was typing. the seconds that ticked by felt like hours and minho's knee bounced in anticipation for a response.

then suddenly they stopped. jisung went offline.

something harsh tugged at minho's chest. that's strange, he thought. usually jisung would reply as soon as he's seen his messages, even if it's just something like "lol". furrowing his brows, he sent a follow up.

you
jisung?

this time, even after 10 minutes, jisung didn't read the message.

maybe he's busy — it is monday after all, minho thought. but still, he was on edge.

even as he sat at the kitchen table, scarfing down his breakfast, he couldn't take his eyes off the dark phone screen, praying it would light up with a notification from his friend.

it seemed his mother could sense something was wrong. "minho... you keep checking your phone with this worried expression. is something the matter? is there an emergency case?"

minho took in a sharp breath as he quickly slid his phone into his pocket, allowing his mother to help him into his coat.

"uhm..." he started, unsure of what excuse to make. "yeah, a stray was just brought in in a critical condition, so i'm waiting for any update from felix."

his mother gasped with wide eyes, nodding and speeding up her actions. "hurry hurry, then!"

minho nodded and tried a smile at her, though he knew it looked forced from the way his cheeks pulled uncomfortably. "i'm off."

1.2k reads holy shit guys thank uuu <3

also, i found out a way to add felix in — your welcome hehe :)