I like it| Minsung

3

The tension in the car was thick, and Jisung fidgeted awkwardly in his seat as Minho continued to drive, the only sound in the car was the hum of the engine.

"Where did this whole crush thing come from?" Minho asked again, his tone still cold.

Jisung couldn't bring himself to meet Minho's gaze, already regretting his earlier words. He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for the conversation that was about to unfold.

"Is there really a crush?" Minho continued, making eye contact with Jisung.

Jisung took a shaky breath, trying to stay composed under Minho's intense gaze. He knew he had to tell the whole truth if he wanted to avoid further misunderstandings with Minho.

"No..there is no crush," Jisung admitted, his voice low.

Jisung, his heart racing, gathered his courage and continued, "The truth is..." he swallowed hard, knowing he was about to expose himself even more, "I lied to Felix and Hyunjin when I told them about the crush I have. There's no crush. I lied to cover up our... our situation."

Jisung took a deep breath and continued, "They were starting to catch on... I could tell. They were asking a lot of questions, and I just got so flustered that I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. I told them I had a crush, even though... even though it wasn't true. I didn't know what else to say. I just wanted them to stop asking questions and drop the subject, so I lied."

There was a moment of silence as Jisung's words hung in the air between them. He couldn't look at Minho, too afraid of what he might see in his eyes.

Minho finally spoke up, his voice a mix of anger and disappointment. "So you lied to them... to cover up whatever this is between us?"

Jisung nodded, feeling a mixture of shame and fear as he admitted, "Yeah... and they also assumed... assumed I was... gay, which I don't know why they thought that, but it made me angry, and I just blurted out the girl crush thing so that they would stop asking questions."

Minho's anger flared, his voice rising slightly. "And what's so wrong about being gay that you felt the need to deny it so vehemently? Did you really think pretending to have a girl crush was better than just admitting what you are?"

Jisung's heart was racing, a mixture of shame and anger coursing through his veins. "I'm not... I'm not gay, okay?!" he exclaimed, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks.

Minho, his own anger still apparent, gave Jisung a pointed look and retorted, "And what do you call it when two guys do what we did last night? There must be a name for that."

Jisung felt the heat rise in his face, the reality of their situation hitting him again. He mumbled something under his breath, unable to meet Minho's stare.

"I didn't catch that," Minho said, his voice cold. "Repeat what you just said."

Jisung cleared his throat, his eyes still fixed on the floor. "That... it's a 'friends with benefits' thing..." he muttered, not daring to meet Minho's intense gaze.

There was a tense silence as Minho let Jisung's words hang in the air. Finally, he spoke, his voice laced with anger and frustration.

"A 'friends with benefits' thing, huh? That's all this is to you?"

Jisung, realizing his mistake, quickly tried to backtrack. "I- I didn't mean it like that, Minho. That's not... that's not what I meant. I just... I didn't know how to explain us, so I said the first thing that came to my mind."

Minho's grip on the steering wheel tightened once more, his anger clear. "Yeah, you and your little lies. That seems to be your go-to move. First lying to the other members about having a crush, and now calling what we do a 'friends with benefits' thing. You're just great at hiding the truth, aren't you?"