Song of the Morning (About You) - Minsung

3

Jisung first met Minho through Chan at the beginning of his junior year, who was showing him around campus as a new transfer student to the dance program. He was technically a freshman, even though he was born a few weeks later than Chan. Jisung shared his joy of him and Felix only being one day apart. Minho kept a straight face, but his eyes lit up for a brief moment. Not much else happened during that meeting, but it seemed like he kept running into Minho everywhere around the music building. Unlike Jisung, Minho loved performing in front of others, and quickly took to making choreographies to Chan's tracks as passionately as Jisung pursued making music alone.

A few months later, word eventually got around to Minho about Jisung's radio segment. It wasn't that Jisung hid 'Song of the Morning' from Minho. Well, not exactly. It was just...his own thing that he shared with however many people got excited as 5AM drew closer each shift. Chan knew. Felix knew. Some of his radio peers knew.

Why did Minho need to know?

"I heard your radio segment." Minho casually remarked one day as he and Jisung hung out at the cafe, as they did on the occasional weekend morning when Jisung was actually awake before noon. "It's pretty impressive."

"How?"

"I was finally awake early enough to listen to it."

"It's not that impressive really." Jisung brushed off the compliment, ears tinted red in embarrassment. "It's just a way to give structure to my show."

"You're really good at what you do."

"Min, stop!" Jisung slapped his shoulder playfully. "I'm not like you, you know."

Minho's laughter calmed down as he shot a quizzical look in Jisung's direction. "What do you mean 'not like you?'"

"You show your talent openly to the world. I just hide in a studio and lock the door behind me."

"You have fans though, right?"

Jisung nodded skeptically, wondering where this was going. It wasn't the first time Minho tried to challenge his beliefs about himself. "Yeah, and?"

"Someone mailed you a Christmas card."

"Okay..."

"You got an entire box of gum for Valentine's Day."

"Okay! One, I didn't tell him to do that. Two, I thought it was a joke when he suggested it. And three, it was kind of cree..."

"So how different are we really?"

Jisung glared Minho down in the moment, not giving him a response because he knew his friend was right. Minho always knew when to back off, which Jisung appreciated, but this time was different.

"Answer me." Minho held his gaze.

"I don't know, I'd have to think about it."

"Sung," Jisung couldn't read his expression, but felt a sudden warmth on top of his hand. "What is there to think about?"

"A lot."

"Tell me. I have time."

Jisung's mind and heart both froze. "I can't."

"Why? I'm here for you."

The sincerity of Minho's voice broke Jisung to his core. All he could feel was the pads of Minho's fingers and thumb moving lazily across his skin. His encouraging smile gave his usually stern face a beauty Jisung rarely saw, or perhaps never noticed before. Getting to know Minho over the past semester was as easy as putting together a song, or timing his talking over a song intro with the beginning of the lyrics.

But he couldn't face his past. Couldn't face the reasons why performing for others was so hard. Couldn't face the nagging at the back of his mind that Minho deserved a friend better than him. One who was constantly scared but could push through his fears anyway.

So he grabbed his bag and left without saying a word, ignoring Minho's pleas to come back.