The Calm After || Minsung

The Calm After

It was a new day, and Stray Kids were on their way to Music Bank, for another performance of their new song, S-class.

Jisung felt exhausted, he didn't remember promotions being this tiring, it wasn't like that for their previous comeback, maxident, so why was he so tired?

Jisung tried to hide it, he really did. He didn't want to worry STAY, but most importantly, he didn't want Minho to know. But, as always, he failed. He was so stupid, he let it show, how tired he was. And now, after the performance, the members were giving him pitiful looks. Especially Minho. How could he be so stupid? He should've hidden it better, should've tried harder, should've been better, so stupid, so useless, so dumb.

Suddenly it got harder to breathe, it was as if someone was choking him, forcing the air out of his lungs, pushing him down into the ground, his body was shaking, he felt the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill. He needed to get out of here, out of the burning gaze of the members. After all, all he knew how to do was run away, he could never actually face his problems.

As he had done many times before, he went to the bathroom, legs shaking as he walked. He barely closed the stall door before the tears started spilling out, smudging his pretty makeup. He let out a choked sob as more tears spilled out. He felt so useless, so stupid, so dumb, so worthless, so-

"Jisungie? Are you in here?" A warm and familiar voice said, and everything stopped, the voices inside his head stopped, being replaced with a bittersweet feeling, he didn't want Minho to see him like this, vulnerable, weak, but at the same time, he needed him, needed someone to soothe him, to make the overbearing anxiety inside of him go away.

Minho was met with silence. Almost. A small sob betrayed Jisung, making his presence known. Minho slowly walked over to the stall where the sob came from and softly knocked.

"Jisung, I know you're in there, can you let me in?"

After a few moments of silence, the door in front of him opened slowly, revealing a sight that made Minho's heart clench in his chest. Jisung's eyes were red, his makeup smudged, his body still shaking.

He was looking up at him with his beautiful brown eyes, now full of tears. The sight made Minho want to cry as well, the sight of his Jisungie so vulnerable, so hurt. "Jisungie..." he said, voice almost breaking.

Jisung couldn't say anything back before he was being held by Minho, the embrace pulling more tears out of his eyes, broken sobs filling the space they were in. They stayed like that for a while, just Minho holding Jisung until he began to calm down, his sobs now whimpers. "Can you tell me what happened now?" Minho said with his honey-like voice, the sound made Jisung remember the situation he was in, Minho had seen him crying, in his most vulnerable state. The panic came back as he desperately tried to get out of Minho's embrace.

"You weren't meant to see me like this. This wasn't supposed to happen. God, I'm so stupid. I'm so so so sorry hyung."

"Don't apologize" "You do that a lot. Apologizing when you haven't done anything." "What are you even sorry for?"

"I'm sorry you had to see me like this. Vulnerable."

Those words broke Minho, did Jisung think he didn't want to help him? That he would be uncomfortable with Jisung expressing his emotions to him? His worries? "Oh..." his voice almost broke. It pained him that Jisung could ever think that, that he wouldn't want to help him, listen to him, support him. "Jisung-ah...I don't want you to think that you can't talk to me, I don't mind listening to you, I don't want you to keep things to yourself. You can talk to me."

"I don't want to burden you. I don't want you to suffer just so you can help me."

"Jisung-ah..." His soft hand began to stroke his cheek, still wet from the tears. Jisung leaned into the touch, his body yearning the contact. "I love you, I want to help you, nothing you could ever tell me would feel like a burden. I love you, nothing can ever change that, literally nothing." He smiled softly as he said this. Minho's hands cupped the nape of Jisung's neck, slowly pulling him closer until their foreheads touched, their breaths mixing, their mouths latching together in a tender, soft way.

Jisung started crying again, he didn't really know why, maybe all the emotions that he had pent up had finally came out or maybe the soft and tender way Minho treated him is what made him burst. It didn't matter in that moment, nothing really mattered in that moment only the way Minho's lips felt on his, the hand on his neck, the soft words he said to him. Only Minho mattered to him. Only him. No one else.

Epilogue

As the days went by, Jisung opened up more about his worries to Minho and he actually felt a lot better, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

As the S-class promotions ended, Jisung's and Minho's relationship got deeper, it's like their bond only got stronger, thing they thought was impossible, but it did. Both of them where now completely comfortable sharing even the most random thought or feeling with each other, not fearing judgement from the other. Minho made Jisung forget about the feeling of being a burden, being as caring as always, always listening, always offering a helping hand when Jisung felt like he was drowning, reminding him that he wasn't alone. That he was always there for him. That he would never leave him alone. That it would be them two forever.