NOISE

30.

Minho:

Jisung’s angry voice pulled him out of sleep and he groaned, trying to adjust his eyes to the brightness in his room. Dori was rolled up next to him and he gently caressed his little head before sliding out of bed, trying to find Jisung. He walked through the hallway, finding Chan in the kitchen. “What’s going on?”, he asked, seeing Chan’s pigments dance around his head. Annoyance and innocence. He had no clue. Chan shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee, handing him a cup with steaming hot tea. “Thank you”, he mumbled and welcomed the warmth in his hands. “He was in there yelling into his phone before I even woke up”, Chan said after a while and grimaced. “Sorry”, Minho said and put the cup on the kitchen counter. He opened the fridge, scanning through the shelves. “Scrambled eggs and toast?”, he asked Chan, having the older one nod in confirmation. Jisung’s angry voice echoed through the entire room and Seungmin stood in the kitchen not much later. “I swear to god Minho, if he doesn’t stop”, Seungmin groaned groggy and glared at him. Minho gave him an apologetical smile and handed him the bag with toast, signaling him to put the slices in the toaster. He cracked a bunch of eggs into the pan and stir fried them quickly before seasoning them.

“Good morning”, he heard Jisung’s small voice from the corner of the room and glanced over his shoulder, giving him a worried smile. “What made you so angry?”, he asked and grabbed a stack of plates, handing them to Chan. Seungmin placed the toast on another plate and followed Chan out of the kitchen. He heard Jisung mumble an apology and frowned at him. “Can you just-”, Jisung started and opened his arms, making him smile. He closed the distance and pulled him into a hug. “My uncle called me and said he wants to rebuild the business”, he mumbled into Minho’s hair, making him tense up. “What?”, he asked and pulled back a little, trying to find Jisung’s eyes. “I told him that he can’t do that. He doesn’t have a base to build it on and we had a fight. My uncle is so stubborn”, Jisung said angrily. “But I think I gave him enough facts to make him change his mind. I know he’s not stupid and he’s also not like my father. He’s too soft to be like him. He agreed on staying out of it for now.” Minho slowly nodded and let go of Jisung. He took the pan and a towel and followed Jisung into the living room, placing everything on the table.

“Next time I’ll stuff your mouth with socks”, Seungmin said and put scrambled eggs on his plate, making Jisung chuckle. “I wanna see you try”, Jisung answered and placed the palm of his hand on Minho’s thigh as soon as they settled on the chairs. “Were you able to fix the issue?”, Chan asked and Jisung shrugged with his shoulders. “For now”, he said and put food on Minho’s plate. Minho smiled at him and took a bite. He didn’t notice how hungry he was since he had to leave the restaurant so quickly and heard his stomach rumble. “What are your plans for today?”, Minho asked and intertwined their fingers on his thigh. “I have to meet up with a real estate agent and then I have to start packing. I also have to talk to my lawyer again because he said he’s sure that I have to go to court sooner or later”, the younger one answered and Minho swallowed. He knew that this was how it would go, but he didn’t think it would happen so soon. “Do you need any help?”, Chan asked and Jisung shook his head. “I probably have to clean up all the blood and-”, Jisung stopped himself and Minho felt him tighten his grip around his hand. “Hannie”, he said and turned to face him. “We can hire someone to do that.”

Jisung shook his head. “I have to do it”, he answered after a while and pushed his plate away from him. Minho watched him get up and walk out of the room without a word. “He’s really bad at accepting help”, Seungmin stated and shook his head in disbelief. Minho noticed pigments of pity in the younger one’s eyes and got up to follow Jisung. “Jisungie”, he said, finding him on his bed, breath going fast. “Do you want me to come with you?”, he asked and sat next to him, carefully wrapping his arms around him. “I don’t need you to see the crime scene”, Jisung mumbled and rested his head on Minho’s shoulder. “You don’t need to see it either”, he insisted and caressed his waist comfortingly. “You really should stop putting more weight on your own shoulders. It’s not what you deserve.”