Hey, deskmate ; minsung 𖦹

25.

The school buzzed with a kind of energy that Minho hadn't felt in a while. Everywhere he turned, students whispered excitedly, exchanging glances and bits of conversation about the upcoming school trip. The air was thick with anticipation, like a cloud of eagerness that settled over the campus.

"Did you hear?!! Our whole year group is going on a 3 night & 4 day trip!!" a girl yelled from the corner of the stairs.

Minho walked through the halls, hands stuffed in his pockets, trying to ignore the flurry of excitement around him. It wasn't like he particularly cared about the trip, but the fact that it was all anyone could talk about was starting to get on his nerves.

"Hey, did you hear?" Felix caught up to him, eyes bright with curiosity. "We're going on that big residential trip next week."

"Yeah, I heard." Minho muttered, trying to brush it off. He had heard about it more times than he cared to count. The teachers had been going on about it for the past few days, and now the students had taken over.

"You know what's funny, though?" Felix grinned. "We're gonna have to split into groups for the dorms. Like, groups of four. And they're making Jisung organize it."

At the mention of Jisung's name, Minho's jaw tightened. Of course, they'd pick the model student to handle the dorms. He could picture Jisung now, walking around with a clipboard, politely asking everyone where they wanted to sleep, trying to make sure everyone was comfortable. It made Minho's blood boil just thinking about it.

"Figures," Minho grunted, his voice gruff. "They always make him do stuff like that."

Felix raised an eyebrow at Minho's tone but didn't say anything. He had noticed Minho's weird tension lately when it came to Jisung, but he wasn't about to poke at it. Instead, he just shrugged and gave Minho a pat on the shoulder. "Guess we'll just have to let him know which dorm we want to be in. Should be fun, right?"

"But, we're 5, like.. our friendgroup??" Minho shurgged.

"We could.. split into 2 and 3??" Felix suggested, his smile fading as he took in the informstion.

"No, you guys be together. I have a different plan." Minho chuckled.

"Like.. what?"

"You'll see!" He exclaimed.

—

Later that afternoon, Minho found himself standing in the hallway with Seungmin and Jeongin. The conversation was light and easygoing, but Minho's attention kept drifting. Across the hall, Jisung stood with his present clipboard, diligently collecting names and groups for the dorm assignments. He went from group to group, his expression professional and serious as he jotted down their answers, making sure everyone was sorted.

Minho tried not to watch, but his eyes betrayed him.

Jisung was good at this kind of stuff. Too good. It almost irritated Minho how competent he was. The teachers probably adored him for it, trusting him to handle these little tasks that were clearly beneath someone with his brainpower. But Jisung, being Jisung, never complained. He just did it.

Minho's lips curled in a silent scoff. Perfect Jisung. Always so responsible.

Eventually, Jisung made his way over to them, still clutching the clipboard. His eyes flickered briefly toward Minho, but there was no recognition or acknowledgment. Minho could tell that Jisung was just treating him like everyone else—one more name to cross off his list.

"Hey," Jisung greeted the group, his tone polite but neutral. "I'm getting the last of the names for the dorm assignments. You guys in a group already?"