19 | minsung

13

the group was now at the arcade, watching hyunjin make agonizing sounds while trying to nab the last remaining dumpling plushie from the claw machine.

"yah! let me try, hyunjinnie," changbin interjected, pushing the mentally drained hyunjin aside to test his luck with the claw machine.

as changbin made his attempt, with hyunjin cheering him on, chan nudged minho, whispering, "wanna play basketball?"

minho perked up at the invitation and eagerly nodded, "sure," he agreed.

"guys, we're heading to the basketball game," chan announced. however, the declaration fell on deaf ears as the group was making a racket due to changbin's efforts at the claw machine. he was on the brink of successfully grabbing the dumpling plushie; all that was left was to drop it into the hole.

chan let out a sigh and flashed minho a small smile. "let's just go," he said, minho chuckling before following chan to the basketball game.

-----

"yah! old man, shoot your shots properly!" minho exclaimed, focusing on tossing the basketballs into the hoops.

chan laughed in response, his eyes squinting and dimples showing.

a loud sound then came from the machine, indicating they couldn't achieve the necessary score to continue.

minho grumbled as chan patted his back, laughing. "sorryyy," he cooed, nudging minho's side.

minho shifted his attention to chan, looking flabbergasted. "ew, stop that, hyung. come on, let's find the others," he said, grabbing chan's arm and leading him around the arcade to search for the rest of their friends.

after a while of wandering through the arcade, they finally spotted a crowd outside the karaoke booth. the two approached, finding hyunjin proudly displaying the dumpling plushie that changbin had won for him, while seungmin covered his ears due to the loud noise emanating from the booth.

"WHO'S SINGING SO LOUDLY?!" minho shouted over the cacophony while covering his ears.

seungmin nodded toward the booth, indicating that minho should have a look. minho stepped forward, peering inside to see a suffering felix and changbin, who was passionately belting out the song at the top of his lungs.

"oh god," chan mumbled, facepalming himself. he then approached the booth and knocked on the door. "changbin, stop screaming!" he protested.

however, changbin appeared oblivious to his plea, continuing to passionately sing-scream the song, leaving them to endure until the song came to an end.

when the song ended, changbin stepped out of the booth, letting out a huff. "whoo, that felt good," he said while everyone glared at him disapprovingly.

"you busted our eardrums," seungmin remarked.

"skill issue," was changbin's reply.

"who wants to sing next?" hyunjin asked, looking around the group.

felix then directed his gaze at minho, grinning. "let us hear your voice, hyung!" he exclaimed, and everyone voiced their approval.

"i'm not really a good singer..." minho replied in a quiet voice, his words trailing off.

chan shook his head at minho's self-deprecating remark. "come on, min. even if what you say is true, it's just us here," he encouraged.

minho gulped before entering the booth, with felix still sitting inside. the latter handed him the remote to let him choose his song.

minho carefully studied his options before settling on a song he thought would be the best for this moment. he entered the number with slightly trembling hands, feeling nervous about how his new friends would react to his singing voice.

as he entered the number and the song title was displayed, felix let out a gasp. "hyung, this song is high!" he exclaimed, his hands flailing for emphasis.

minho nodded, saying, "it's a song i'm most familiar with," before clearing his throat and beginning to sing.

right from the first sentence of the song, everyone's attention shifted to the male singing. minho's voice was like a conductor's baton, guiding the song's message through a symphony of melodic and powerful notes.

minho's singing remained steady and confident until the song ended. when it did, he heard applause from his friends.

somersaults of emotion began within minho, flushing his cheeks with the delicate hues of a blooming rose.

"hyung! you said you can't sing!" hyunjin exclaimed, his eyes shining with admiration for minho's voice.

"i'm not very confident with my singing," minho replied bashfully.

as everyone continued to praise minho's singing, he noticed the male sitting beside him had spaced out. so he called out, "felix?"

felix immediately flinched, looking at minho with wide, fear-filled eyes. "y-yes?" he stammered.

"are you okay?" minho asked, concern evident in his voice. at this point, everyone's concerned eyes were also on felix.

felix's gaze darted between the group, as if silently asking for their assistance. chan looked at him sympathetically and gave him a small smile to offer encouragement.

"i was just reminded of something. it's nothing too important, don't worry," felix tried to reassure.

minho's forehead began to crease as he replied, "okay," not fully convinced by felix's explanation.

sensing the tense atmosphere, changbin interjected, "how about we go to the mall next? the arcade is getting crowded, and i'm getting hungry," he suggested, already turning toward the exit.

hyunjin and seungmin immediately followed him, with minho trailing behind, while felix and chan remained in the booth for a little while.

"are you okay, lix?" chan asked, approaching felix and placing a comforting hand on his back.

felix replied, "yeah, it's just that... minho reminds me of him," which immediately caused chan to frown.

"felix..." chan began but already knew what would follow. he immediately embraced the younger, rubbing his back to console him.

"was it really the right decision, hyung? hiding him from minho as if he didn't exist, as if he wasn't one of us," felix continued with tears flowing like glistening rivers from his quivering eyes, while his voice cracked, revealing the profound depths of what he felt at that moment.

"it'll be hard to explain it to minho, lixie. he might not understand us," chan replied in a soft voice, careful not to hurt felix further.

felix continued to sob on chan's shoulder. "minho hyung's voice, hyung. it reminds me of him. the song also reminds me of him," he continued to ramble.

meanwhile, minho, who noticed that chan and felix were not following them, announced, "guys, i'll go check on chan and felix. they're not following us."

the others shot glances at each other, almost stopping minho, but he had already sprinted back to the arcade.

he returned to the karaoke booth, where he witnessed an unexpected sight. 

felix was crying heavily on chan's shoulder.

minho realized that something had been bothering felix earlier, but he had no idea it was something this serious. it was so severe that it made felix's body shake as he cried on chan's shoulder.

minho decided to keep his distance, not wanting to disturb them. however, his forehead creased, and his lips turned downward as he thought, 'they're hiding something from me,' noticing the group's suspicious actions from time to time.

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ji's notes!
let me hear your guys' theory :]