stars and whispers // minsung

chapter sixty two

"You look good."

Jisung glanced up and smiled at Jeongin. "I hope so. Is everything ready?"

Jeongin nodded confidently. "Yup. Chan's already at the booth. He's convinced he enjoys parties more when he's the DJ, so he's all set."

Jisung chuckled. "Good. What about our birthday boy?"

"Still asleep," Seungmin laughed as he leaned against the doorframe. "Honestly, I think you care more about his party than he does."

With a sigh, Jisung got up from where he had been sitting. "Well... I guess I'll have to be the one to wake him up, then."

"Careful," Felix teased from the doorway, flashing a grin. "You look so pretty you might just kill him!"

Jisung smiled and headed to Chan's dorm, where Minho was supposed to be resting while everyone else got ready. 

He pushed the door open gently. 

"Min?" he called softly. 

The lump on the bed barely moved. 

Minho was buried deep under the covers, or so Jisung thought.

Before he could get closer, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him off balance. 

Jisung yelped in surprise as Minho, laughing, tossed him onto the bed.

"Oh my god!" Jisung yelled, covering his face with his hands, breathless from the shock. "Minho!"

Minho chuckled, leaning over him, his hands planted on either side of Jisung's head. "Scared you?"

"Yes!" Jisung peeked through his fingers, his heart still racing. "I thought you were asleep!"

"I was," Minho shrugged, amused. "But then I heard you shouting about waking me up, so I thought I'd get the jump on you."

"You're evil," Jisung whined, shaking his head. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

Minho chuckled again, his voice low. "I also heard someone say you're so pretty you could kill me. Mind if I take a look?" He gently reached for Jisung's hands, but Jisung shook his head, still covering his face.

"Nope. I'm just here to tell you we need to leave if you don't want to be late for your own party."

Minho pouted playfully. "Come on. You're going to show your face eventually, whether it's now or later."

Before Jisung could respond, the door swung open, and Changbin appeared, his eyes wide in surprise. "Oh... am I interrupting? Birthday present, I suppose?" he asked, laughing at the scene before him.

"What? No!" Jisung shot up, pushing Minho off of him as his face flushed red. "It's not what it looks like!"

Minho, unbothered, just grinned, while Jisung scrambled to explain himself.

"He scared me! That's all!" Jisung insisted, brushing himself off as he stood up.

"Sure, sure," Changbin smirked. "Whatever you say. Anyway, are we heading out now? You two sure took your time."

"Yeah... I guess so," Jisung muttered, still embarrassed. He glanced at Minho. "Are you ready?"

Minho stood and stretched. "I'm good to go."

"Then let's get moving. We're already late," Changbin said, heading out of the room.

Jisung sighed, shooting a look at Minho as they followed. "This is exactly the kind of chaos you cause."

Minho grinned, draping an arm casually over Jisung's shoulders. "What? It was fun. Plus, I finally got you to uncover your face."

Jisung crossed his arms, still pouting. "Fun? My heart's still racing from the near heart attack you gave me."

"Is it?" Minho asked, his tone teasing as he suddenly placed his hand over Jisung's chest.

Jisung froze, feeling his face flush as Minho's touch lingered. 

They stood there for a moment, the air thick with something unspoken. 

Minho tilted his head, his expression softening. "You're right. Your heart's going at least 150 bpm. Did I really scare you that much?"

Jisung looked away, embarrassed, but nodded.

Yeah, but not just because of that, you idiot.

"Sorry," Minho whispered, this time sounding genuinely concerned.

They continued walking, catching up with the others as they headed toward the cars. 

Changbin, who had recently gotten his driver's license, split the group into two. 

Jeongin, Hyunjin, and Felix piled into his car, while Jisung, Seungmin, and Minho rode together.

As they climbed into Minho's car, Seungmin raised an eyebrow. "What were you two up to back there? Changbin looked like he walked in on something."

Jisung blushed instantly. "H-he always thinks he sees something. But nothing happened. Really."

Minho chuckled as he started the engine. "Of course... nothing."

Seungmin shook his head, laughing. "You guys are unbelievable. Just kiss already."

Jisung turned to look out the window, arms crossed. "Minho already did that anyway."

Minho winced, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "I'm sorry."

"You'd better be," Seungmin added, recalling how angry he had been at the time.

Jisung sighed, regretting he'd brought it up. "Let's just drop it. It was a long time ago."

Quietly, Minho reached over, his hand brushing against Jisung's thigh. 

He gave it a gentle squeeze. 

"I'm really sorry," he repeated, his voice soft.

Jisung glanced down at Minho's hand, then up at his face, and nodded. "It's okay."

Seungmin scoffed from the back seat. "Okay, correction: just get married already."

By the time they reached the Lee family house, the mood had lightened, and Jisung's nerves were starting to settle. 

As they walked up to the entrance, Jisung noticed something. "Looks like they added more flowers to the garden," he said, admiring the fresh blooms.

Minho glanced at him, curious. "You've been here before?"

Jisung smiled softly. "Yeah. The day I disappeared, Innie brought me here."

An awkward silence followed, but Seungmin quickly excused himself to catch up with another friend, sensing the moment between the two.

Minho's arm slipped around Jisung's shoulders again as they walked. "Felix was right, you know."

Jisung looked up, confused. "About what?"

Minho smiled and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on Jisung's head. "About you looking so pretty you could kill me."