19 | minsung

18

felix eased the dorm room door open with a gentle touch, taking care not to attract his roommate's attention with any noise. he tiptoed into the room, his steps as light as possible.

upon entering, he immediately noticed that hyunjin's door was slightly ajar. curiosity getting the best of him, felix approached the door and peeked inside the room. inside, he saw hyunjin engrossed in his drawings, humming soft tunes to himself.

felix decided to withdraw quietly and made his way to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. his throat had been sore from the earlier bouts of sobbing.

while pouring the water, his mind drifted to jeongin's hurtful words, causing him to lose focus and overflow the glass.

hyunjin, who had noticed felix's presence earlier, headed to the kitchen, where he assumed felix would be. seeing his roommate, hyunjin hurried over, gently taking felix's hand when he noticed the glass overflowing with water.

"hey, are you okay?" hyunjin asked with gentleness, relieving felix of the jar and setting it on the counter. he took note of felix's trembling hands and his swollen, red eyes.

in response to hyunjin's question, a torrent of tears spilled from felix's eyes, prompting hyunjin to envelop him in a comforting embrace.

"it's okay, lix. it's okay," hyunjin reassured, offering solace and support to his distressed roommate.

-----

minho rushed towards his dorm building, using his hand to shield his eyes from the heavy downpour. his class had just ended, and as he left the classroom, he was met with a torrential downpour. unwilling to wait for the rain to stop, he decided to sprint to his dorm.

the sound of puddles splashing accompanied minho as he ran, reminding himself not to forget an umbrella next time.

a smile of relief brightened minho's face as he approached their dorm building. he continued to run for a few more seconds, almost slipping when he reached the lobby.

running his hand through his wet hair to slick it back and away from his face, he then flicked the excess water from his hands before taking off his cardigan. the cardigan had shielded him from the heavy downpour, so he wasn't completely drenched.

feeling that he wasn't too wet, he made his way to the elevator and pressed the button for his designated floor. as he reached the fourth floor, he used his arm to shield himself from the cold air that sent shivers down his body.

now standing in front of his dorm room, minho fished the keycard from his pocket with shivering hands, eager to get inside and change into dry, warm clothes.

when the door swung open, the familiar aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted him. he stepped inside, trembling from the chilled breeze blowing from the AC, which only added to the coldness.

as minho headed toward his room, he caught a glimpse of jisung by the kitchen counter.

jisung glanced up from the book he was reading when minho entered the room, offering him a small smile. however, the smile quickly faded as he noticed minho shivering.

"i'll go change first," minho said through gritted teeth, a clear indication of how cold he was feeling.

jisung nodded in understanding, recognizing the severity of minho's discomfort.

once inside his room, minho closed and locked the door, grabbing his mint green towel to dry himself off. he then selected a hoodie and sweatpants to change into before returning outside.

minho walked over to the kitchen, where jisung was engrossed in his book. "ah, that reminds me, i haven't finished your book yet," minho mentioned, pouring himself some much-needed coffee.

"it's okay, you can keep it for now," jisung replied, closing the book and placing it on the kitchen counter, his full attention now on minho.

"by the way, what did you want to talk about?" jisung added, moving towards the living room and motioning for minho to join him on the couch.

minho followed suit, placing his steaming coffee on the coffee table. he took a deep breath, raised his feet onto the couch, and crossed them, facing jisung.

"look, i-i don't know if you meant it, but i was hoping you could tell me the reason you've been avoiding me. i haven't seen you for days," minho began, his nervousness evident in his voice, while his gaze remained fixed on his fidgeting hands in his lap.

jisung was taken aback by minho's directness, blinking a few times as he searched for an explanation for minho's words.

sensing jisung's lack of response, minho raised his head, his hands flailing around as he rambled, "y-you don't need to tell me the reason if it's anything personal, but—" however, his words were cut short when jisung finally spoke.

"minho," jisung began, making minho purse his lips, as jisung wasn't referring to him with honorifics, indicating that this might be a serious conversation.

"i'm sorry if that's what you felt, but i have my own reasons, i swear. not only that, but i was incredibly busy with my studies, so i apologize if it appeared to you that i was avoiding you," he added, looking straight into minho's eyes with his own sparkling orbs.

minho listened intently to jisung's words. the way those words rolled off his tongue was so gentle that it dispelled any lingering anxiety minho was feeling.

"i hope you won't think that again, minho. there's absolutely no reason for me to avoid you, so don't think there's anything wrong with you. i don't want you to self-deprecate yourself again," jisung scolded, his gentle eyes filled with concern.

"i was just trying to understand my feelings, minho. for some reason, i feel complete when i'm with you, when i talk to you. you're making me feel these... emotions that i thought i would've never felt again," jisung continued, making minho perk up, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of what might come next.

"you're a person i found myself immediately attached to, which worried me. so, i decided to test myself and avoid you, but... my heart continued to yearn for you, minho. in those days i couldn't see you, my heart kept looking for you, wanting to hear your voice and wanting to touch you," jisung's voice was filled with sincerity as he confessed, his eyes glossy with the genuine depth of emotions he was feeling towards minho.

minho, however, felt like he might faint at that moment. he was still trying to process everything jisung had said when the younger spoke again.

"i like you, minho," jisung confessed, lowering his gaze as he felt shy about admitting his feelings.

minho choked on his spit at jisung's confession. he had expected many things, but this, he would never have anticipated. jisung confessing to him just a few weeks after they'd met was completely unexpected.

seeing that minho wasn't responding, jisung gave him a small smile and said, "i'm not expecting you to like me back. besides, it's only been a week or so since we met, so any form of response is okay with me. don't force yourself to sugarcoat your words," he added, his voice gentle and tinged with sweetness.

minho immediately shook his head at jisung. "it's not like that, sung. you're right; it's been really fast, but i do like you too. i don't know yet how much i like you, but that's for me to find out," minho admitted, his cheeks tinged with a pink blush.

"what do you mean by that?" jisung replied, his voice filled with hope.

"what i mean is, maybe we should take it slow. we've only known each other for a few weeks, and i don't want to rush into a relationship that i'm not sure about. for now, let's be friends, okay?" minho responded, cringing at his choice of words.

however, jisung didn't seem to mind as he smiled warmly at minho. he gently took minho's hand, placing it on his cheek as he nuzzled into it. "i'm fine with anything as long as it's with you, min," he mumbled.

minho felt butterflies within him at jisung's words. he rubbed his thumb in a circular motion on jisung's cheek and gave him a warm smile. "you're so cute," he cooed, making the younger giggle.