After Us

Chapter 10

The karaoke song in this chapter is Lee Know's solo song - Limbo

Chapter Text

Dragging his luggage toward the rental car lot Minho is debating if he should hop a flight somewhere and just disappear. A weekend in Jeju with his best friends had sounded amazing. A chance for the three of them to reconnect and reinforce their friendship. Still undecided if he should take the job in LA he figured it would help soften the blow if he does leave.

When Felix had just suggested the idea he'd been all in, that is until he was told the trip was free courtesy of 3Racha who would also be there. The fit that Felix had pitched when he'd changed his mind was one for the record books. He'd found himself in an impossible position. Either he could admit to Felix that Jisung was the reason he didn't want to go (not an option) or his friends would continue to be angry and think Minho didn't want to spend time with them.

He'd attempted to use 3Racha as the excuse while withholding certain critical details but every reason he'd given, Felix had countered. He didn't want to play "third wheel" to the couples, Jisung would be there to keep him company. He wanted to rest and not tire out his knee, they would sit on the beach and relax. He needed to stay behind and create a new routine for Lunar Eclipse, the new project didn't start for weeks and he should enjoy his downtime when he can.

After two days of arguing Felix had offered the one detail that had had him agreeing to go. 3Racha was flying to Jeju to work with a Western producer who was only on the island for a few days. The boys would be busy for the majority of the trip and it really would be just the three dancers spending time together. Reluctantly he'd caved, an all-expenses paid vacation is hard to pass on.

He doesn't know which member had ended up fronting the bill for his plane ticket but he hopes it wasn't Jisung. Things between the two of them are messier than ever, not that anyone but Minho is aware of this. The issue rests between his ears, centering in his mind. Since the previous Friday at open mic night, he'd been a whirling mass of irrational thoughts and tortured memories.

Something about that night had broken the floodgates inside of him and since then he hasn't been able to quiet the weeping of his heart. It could've been the man's singing or the shame Minho feels when faced with the fact that he'd argued with Jisung's ex out of jealousy, but he's a wreck. Divided he waffles between cornering the producer and forcing a conversation he knows he isn't ready for or packing his shit and hopping the first flight out of Korea. Half of him begs to stay, the other screams to go.

Jisung is... well, he doesn't actually know any more. Before returning to Korea if someone had asked about Minho's ex he would have listed a hundred different adjectives to define the cheating bastard but now... now Minho lays in bed at night trying to fit Thing Two inside the box he'd created for Thing One but he won't fit.

Worse yet is that the Monday after Jisung's performance in an attempt to prove to himself that he was NOT still hung up on the man he'd accepted Jungkook's invite to dinner. What should have been a fun date (and hookup) was spent chasing away thoughts of whether or not Jisung would like the sushi restaurant. Does the younger still like sushi? Had that fact been real or was it just another detail the man had faked? When the time had come to go to Jungkook's place he'd been so spun up in his mind that he'd pleaded a sour stomach and rain checked for a second time. What the hell is wrong with him??

"This is us." The lights on the back of a Genesis flicker as Felix clicks the key fab. "The guys should be getting to the Airbnb just before we do."

Hyunjin sets his suitcase in the trunk before grabbing Minho's. "I hate that they had to work at the studio right after landing. They won't have a chance to rest at all while we're here."