ＴＨＥ ＯＴＨＥＲ ＯＮＥ

26

minho's car was parked at a hill, while minho and jisung were sitting on the hood of the car, silence surrounding them.

minho was looking at the sky, while jisung was looking at his fingers, not exactly sure where to start.

"so..."
minho started.
"...you did all of this to help your brother, right?"

"it was supposed to be a one time thing."
jisung said, guilt eating him up.
"my brother he...he's a good brother, most of the time. when he came up to me with the idea of me going on the date instead of him, I hated it. I didn't want to do it, I thought it was insane. but he really wanted to go...elsewhere, and I was his only option. he told me it would be just one night. he told me to act unlikable so you wouldn't be interested. I didn't like the idea, so he bribed me to do it. I thought that even tho it was insane, it wouldn't hurt anyone. it was just one date, and I would never see you again. you would never find out what happened, and everything would go to normal. if our parents found someone else, junho wound handle it."

"but...it didn't really go to plan, did it?"
minho said.

jisung shook his head.
"I tried to be unlikable. I tried to make you bored, flirt with you to make you uncomfortable, and do everything that I could. junho told me you would be spoiled rich kid, who would talk only about himself when asked. but you were interested in my life, in my hobbies, and favorite things. I was caught off guard, and somehow...I forgot about the entire plan. it was all just...so natural."

minho tilted his head to the side, looking at jisung.
"what happened when I suggested another date?"

jisung let out a quiet sigh.
"junho was mad. I fucked up the plan, and now, he had to continue going on dates. he was the one on the second date, in the coffee shop."

"now it all makes sense."
minho said.
"he was asking me such weird questions. something about smoking and drugs."

jisung buried his head in his hands, letting out a groan.
"sorry about that."

"so junho did come on a date with me."
minho said.

"yeah, but when he returned he told me it was too boring and I had to go on the dates. I refused, because it was supposed to be a one time thing, and I never agreed to go on more. he told me that this was my fault, that if I did better job, and didn't fuck up the plan, we wouldn't be here. and in a way, he was right. so I agreed to go on dates with you."
jisung sighed, looking down.
"I'm so, so sorry for this minho."

"when we were getting ice cream, and you said that you needed to tell me something..."
minho started.
"...did you want to admit what you and your brother have been doing?"

jisung nodded.
"yeah. I felt so, so guilty for doing this. especially because you're such a nice person, and I love spending time with you. I thought that this would go on for a few more months, and everything will go back to normal eventually, but junho told me that he wanted to continue doing this until he gets the group. I was flabbergasted. I didn't want to do that to you, and to me as well. we fought, and he said some things that just...didn't allow me to tell you everything."

minho let out a soft sigh.
"what was your plan on the long run?"

"we didn't have any plan in the first place. I just went on dates with you, and then gave junho the summary. I thought that junho would do what he said at the beginning, and eventually tell mom and dad that he doesn't like you, and I could tell you who I actually am. but I should have guessed that it won't be that easy. I think junho loves this situation. he doesn't have to worry about finding someone, and just depends on us getting along."

"what an asshole."
minho said.
"he forced you into this and then doesn't let you stop when you want?"

"at the same time I...did enjoy spending time with you. I don't exactly have a lot of friends, and I never felt so comfortable with anyone before. I always came second to my brother, and I was hanging out with someone who...kinda saw me for me, you know? even tho you didn't know who I really was."
jisung admitted.

minho pressed his lips into a thin line, looking at jisung with sad eyes. when he looked back now, he felt stupid for not figuring this out sooner. junho and jisung were so, so different. junho was confident, carefree spirit, who didn't care about anything. jisung was shy, yet a sweet person, who would sacrifice his life for a fly. he was quiet, and not comfortable with people.
the difference between their personalities was insane. minho wondered if this was the result of their parents different treatment.

minho gently took jisung's hand, making jisung look up at him, caught off guard.
"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for saying such mean things to you when I found out. I was confused, and I felt betrayed, because I really, really like you jisung. you're a nice person who I like being around, and finding out all of this was just...a bit overwhelming. but let's not destroy our relationship over this. you're still you, the only thing that changed is your name."

"so...you're not mad at me anymore?"
jisung asked sweetly, his eyes full of tears.

minho just sighed, a small smile on his face.
"come here."
he said, pulling jisung in for a hug and letting him cry in his arms, gently patting his back.

"there, there."
minho whispered.
"I'm not mad at you jisung."

jisung just cried louder at that, saying 'I'm sorry' all over again.
and minho let him, never pushing him away.