MY SUNSHINE stray kids

4 - if only you could see

Kyo watched Minho for a moment, the weight of his friend's exhaustion evident in the slump of his shoulders and the hollow look in his eyes. The room around them felt heavy, the air thick with the unspoken tension that hung between Minho and Jisung. It was as if the entire dorm was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.

"Have you tried talking to him again?" Kyo asked softly, his voice careful and measured, as if any sudden movement or loud sound might shatter the fragile silence.

Minho let out a bitter laugh, the sound harsh and grating in the quiet room. 

"Talk? We do nothing but talk, Suns. It's the same thing every time. I tell him I love him, that I care about him, and he says he understands, but nothing changes. He still thinks I'm pulling away. He still thinks I don't want him."

"But you do," Kyo pressed, his gaze intense as he searched Minho's face for any sign of hope, any flicker of resolve that hadn't been extinguished by the endless cycle of arguments and misunderstandings.

"I do," Minho replied, his voice barely above a whisper, as if the admission itself was a fragile thing that might break if spoken too loudly, "But I'm scared, Kyo. I'm scared that one day I won't be enough for him anymore. That one day, he'll wake up and realize that he deserves better. That he deserves someone who isn't afraid to hold his hand in public, who isn't afraid to show the world that he loves him."

"Minho," Kyo began, his tone firm yet gentle, "You are enough. You've always been enough. It's just... Jisung is scared too. He's scared of losing you, of not being loved the way he wants to be loved. But that doesn't mean you're not enough. It just means you both need to figure out how to make it work."

Minho sighed deeply, the sound filled with years of accumulated frustration, fear, and doubt, "I don't know how to fix this, Sunnie. I don't know how to make him see that I love him more than anything."

Kyo scooched closer to Minho on the bed, placing a comforting hand on his friend's back, rubbing slow circles as he spoke, "Maybe it's not about fixing it. Maybe it's about understanding each other better. You've been through a lot together, but that doesn't mean it's always going to be easy. Relationships take work, and sometimes that work is painful. But it's worth it, right?"

Minho nodded slowly, his head hanging low. 

"Yeah, it's worth it. It's just... exhausting. I feel like I'm always on the edge, waiting for something to push us over."

"You're not alone in this, Minnie. You've got us, too. We're here for both of you, no matter what happens. And maybe..." Kyo hesitated, trying to find the right words, "Maybe it's okay to admit that you don't have all the answers right now. Maybe it's okay to take a step back and just breathe, to focus on what you have instead of what you're afraid of losing."

Minho didn't reply immediately. Instead, he stared at the wall in front of him, his thoughts a jumbled mess of emotions that he couldn't quite untangle. He knew Kyo was right. He knew he needed to step back, to stop obsessing over every little thing that could go wrong. But it was hard—so damn hard—when all he could think about was the possibility of losing Jisung.

Finally, Minho sighed, his shoulders slumping further, "You're right. I just really don't want to mess it up completely, Kyo. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I let the best thing in my life slip away because I was too scared to hold on."

Kyo nodded, understanding the depth of Minho's fear. He squeezed Minho's shoulder gently, offering what little comfort he could. "You won't lose him. Not if you keep fighting for him. And I'll be here to help you every step of the way."