Listen Before I Go

Chapter 8

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Third Person Pov

It was nighttime and Jisung had entered their shared dorm room. He was feeling guilty and awkward about running away earlier that day when Minho had asked him to hang out.

"Hey." Jisung said awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

Minho glanced up from his phone. "Hey," he replied, his voice emotionless.

There was an awkward silence between them, both not sure of what to say. Jisung fidgeted nervously with his fingers, unable to meet Minho's gaze.

Finally, Jisung spoke up. "I wanted to apologize for earlier today," he blurted out. "I didn't mean to run away like that. I just... got scared, I guess."

Minho sighed and set down his phone. "I get it, you're new to the whole gay thing. But running away like that wasn't cool."

Jisung cringed inwardly. Minho was definitely not making this easy for him.

"I'm really sorry," he said earnestly. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. I just... panicked."

Minho was quiet for a moment, studying Jisung's expression. "You know, you could have just said no, right?" He said finally.

Jisung looked down at his hands, feeling ashamed. "I know," he said quietly.

"I just wasn't expecting it, y'know? I've never had someone ask me out before, let alone a guy. I freaked out and that was the only thing I could think to do."

Minho raised an eyebrow. "So you thought running away like a scared little kid was a good alternative?" He said dryly.

Jisung's head snapped up, looking at Minho incredulously. "Of course I know that," he said defensively. "But I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I didn't want you to think I didn't like you or something."

Minho leaned back against the couch, sighing again. "You know, the fact that you even ran away like that says a lot about how you feel about me." He said bluntly.

Jisung's heart shattered. He knew exactly what Minho meant. "Look, I swear it's not like that," he protested. "I do like you as a friend. I just.. wasn't expecting it, ok? And I panicked. It doesn't mean anything."

"But friend's don't kiss."

Jisung's whole face was on fire. He couldn't believe that Minho had brought that up. "That was a mistake," he mumbled, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

"Was it?" Minho said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Because I remember you initiating it, not the other way around."

"I was just trying to shut you up!" Jisung protested, his voice rising in pitch. "You were being so annoying and I just... wanted to make you stop talking for a moment."

Minho laughed incredulously.

"So the only thing you could think of was to kiss me? You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?"

Jisung felt like his brain was melting. Minho was right, it was ridiculous but he wasn't ready.

To full on admit his emotions, it wasn't something he was ready for.