ＴＨＥ ＯＴＨＥＲ ＯＮＥ

29

jisung passed a corner, and opened the door of his favorite bookstore. he had recently finished every single book he bought, and he needed some new material.

besides, his mood was a bit down, and buying a new book would bring his spirit up.

making his way through the aisle, he looked at some books that had interesting names, or that he had heard of before, and were recommended to him. nothing seemed to catch his attention tho.

just as he was passing the corner, he collided with someone, almost making him loose his balance.

"oh I'm so-"
a familiar voice said.

jisung's eyes widened.

"-sorry."
minho blinked a few times.
"uhm, hi."

"hi."
jisung said, looking down.

it felt a bit...awkward.
they haven't seen each other since the family dinner, and it has been a couple of weeks- it's going to be may soon.

"how...how have you been?"
minho suddenly asked.
"it's been a while."

"yeah."
jisung breathed out.
"I'm doing fine, thank you for asking."

"mhm."
minho nodded.

silence fell on top of them. and it wasn't exactly pleasant either.

jisung pointed at the exit with his jaw.
"uhm, I should-"

"wanna go grab some tea? and cheesecake?"
minho quickly said.
"I don't know...catch up?"

jisung blinked a couple of times, before slowly nodding.
"y-yeah, sure. you're paying tho."

minho chuckled.
"of course."

•~•

jisung was mixing his tea with his spoon, looking at it as if it was the most interesting thing ever, while Minho took a sip of his coffee, neither of them knowing how to start the conversation.

"so, uhm..."
minho started.
"...any interesting news? something you'd wanna share?"

"I mean...not really."
jisung shrugged.

"any new songs you written?"
minho asked.

a small smile appeared on jisung's face.
"I mean, I just finished the lyrics, and now I'm trying to figure out the rest. you know, the chords, rhythm and everything."

minho tilted his head slightly.
"what's the song about?"

"love."
jisung said.
"somehow it's the easiest emotion to write about. it's weird, I was never truly in love."

minho took a sip from his coffee.
"you know...I haven't gotten a lullaby since...I found out about everything."

"oh."
jisung blinked.
"uhm...should I continue sending them?"

"why would you ever stop?"
minho asked.

"I mean...you did tell me that you didn't want to do anything with me."
jisung looked down, taking a sip from the cup.

sighing, minho closed his eyes.
"I didn't mean that. well, at the time, yes, but-"

"I know."
jisung gave him a small smile.
"we already talked it out. but when you said what you said, it just didn't seem appropriate to send you any more voice messages."

"I understand that."
minho said.
"but you know...you can start again."

jisung chuckled quietly.
"I will. if you want."

"I would very much like it."
minho smiled.

"but you actually did stick to your promise, didn't you?"
jisung raised his head.
"telling your parents that you don't want to see junho again."

"I didn't."
minho said.
"when it happened, I was just numb. and when I finally had the time to talk about it with them, they left on their trip."

"so...they don't know?"
jisung asked.

"no."

"and that means that as soon as they come back, they would want you to go on more dates with junho?"

"you mean with you."
minho chuckled slightly.

jisung looked down.
"since the cat is out of the bag, junho will be the one who's going to be going on the dates. that was the deal from the start."

minho's eyes widened slightly, ignoring the sting in his chest.
"does that mean that...I will never see you again?"

"not necessarily."
jisung said.
"when you're going to come to our house on another family dinner, I will probably be there. and if you and junho actually hit it off, we're gonna see each other at family gatherings and-"

"you don't get it, do you?"
minho whispered.
"I don't like spending time with junho. now when I know how everything is, all of the dates I have been with junho on were terrible, and I felt uncomfortable. I like spending time with you, jisung. not with junho. if it won't be you I'm going on the dates with, then I won't be going on them."

jisung's eyes were doe. he was caught off guard.
"I...I'm sure that maybe now that you won't be confused, you and junho can start over, turn to a new page. there was a reason why you two have been set up. you might discover something that you didn't have the chance to do so yet."

"jisung please."
minho breathed out.
"if you don't want to go on the dates anymore, I can't force you. I know that it's hard, and that it's stressful. but don't make me go on dates with junho. don't make me stay, if it won't be you. because you know that I'm going to do whatever you say."

jisung looked down. the guilt would soon eat him up. he had already hurt minho once, and it was the worst feeling ever.
doing it for the second time?
he couldn't imagine that.
"you can stop going on the dates all together, if you want. my parents will probably find someone else for junho, and you can explain to your parents that it just didn't work out between you two."

minho closed his eyes, looking down.
"I'm gonna do what you wish for. but don't let this be the last time we see each other. let's meet up once in a while, chat about what is happening, maybe give each other some book recommendations. please, don't act like I never existed."

jisung stayed silent for a few moments, before nodding.
"I promise."

"and make sure to send me recordings of the songs you're going to create."
minho added.

"I will."
jisung gave him a small smile.
"so you're gonna tell your parents that you and junho didn't work out?"

"once they get back, yes. they decided to stay in Europe for a little longer then planned."
minho said.
"I will probably have to go on a few more dates to make it more believable, but I will tell them soon."

jisung nodded.
"okay."

"okay."
minho repeated.

"well...should we part ways for now?"
jisung asked.

"sure."
minho said.
"see you here...next month?"

jisung gave minho a small smile.
"you better not forget."

minho returned the smile.
"I could never."