Love-ish~~ | | Hwang Hyunjin

29. We were definitely back

Jisung's pov

"Are you sure this speech isn't too much?" I paced back and forth in the empty hallway just outside the cafeteria, clutching a crumpled piece of notebook paper.

Minho leaned against the lockers, his arms crossed, looking entirely too relaxed for the magnitude of this situation. "Ji, you've rewritten it four times. It's fine. It's just our friends, not a press conference."

"But it has to be perfect!" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Things have been so weird and tense in the group for months because of us. We owe them a proper explanation. A heartfelt apology for the awkwardness. A grand declaration that the MinSung era has officially returned!"

Minho smiled, that soft, fond smile that still made my chest do a stupid little flip. He reached out and gently pulled the paper out of my trembling hands, folding it and sliding it into his pocket.

"We don't need a script," Minho said softly, stepping closer and resting his hands on my waist. "We just go in there, tell them we figured our shit out, and that we're back together. Simple."

I took a deep breath, letting his warmth ground me. "Okay. Simple. No dramatics."

"Exactly," Minho nodded. "Leave the dramatics to Hyunjin and Kari."

Speaking of those two, as Minho and I pushed through the cafeteria doors and approached our usual crowded table, they were already at it.

"I'm just saying, if you're going to steal my fries, at least have the decency to ask," Hyunjin was complaining, though he was making zero effort to actually move his tray away from Kari.

"I didn't steal them, I liberated them," Kari shot back, popping a fry into her mouth. "They looked depressed on your side of the table."

"You're depressed on my side of the table," Hyunjin muttered, which didn't even make sense, but Kari just rolled her eyes and kicked him under the table. Wait. Was she smiling? Ever since the library incident last week, those two had been acting... different. Less 'I want to murder you' and more 'I want to murder you, but affectionately.'

I shook my head. Not the time to analyze Kari and Hyunjin. It was our time.

Minho and I stood at the end of the table. Changbin, Felix, Seungmin, Ryujin, Jeongin, Zuha... everyone was here. The perfect audience.

I cleared my throat. Loudly.

Nobody stopped talking. Changbin was currently trying to convince Felix that he could bench-press him.

"Guys," Minho said, his voice carrying that sharp, authoritative edge that instantly made everyone freeze and look up.

I took a deep breath. My heart was pounding. This was it. The big reveal.

"Listen up, everyone," I started, putting on my most serious, sentimental face. "We know that the last few months have been... difficult. We know that our personal issues put a strain on the group dynamic, and for that, we are truly sorry. But after a lot of soul-searching, and some very long, emotional conversations on the school rooftop..."

I paused for dramatic effect, looking at Minho. He gave me a supportive nod, slipping his hand into mine for all to see.

I looked back at our friends, bracing myself for the gasps of shock. "Minho and I... are officially back together."

Silence.

Absolute, deadpan silence.

For three agonizing seconds, nobody moved. I expected Felix to squeal, or Changbin to cheer, or literally anyone to show a single ounce of surprise.

Instead, Seungmin let out a long, heavy sigh. He turned to Changbin and held out his hand. "Pay up."

Changbin groaned, digging into his pocket and slapping a crisp 10,000 won bill into Seungmin's palm. "I really thought they'd hold out until Friday."

"Wait, what?" I blinked, completely derailed. "You guys were betting on us?"

"I've been charging people to place bets on when you'd admit it," Seungmin said, adjusting his glasses casually. "Hyunjin owes me 5,000 won too, but he insisted you two wouldn't crack until midterms."

"I underestimated Minho's lack of self-control," Hyunjin muttered, sliding a bill across the table. Minho glared at him.

"Are you guys not... surprised?" I asked, looking wildly around the table. "I prepared a speech! I had bullet points about rebuilding trust!"

Kari stopped chewing her fry and looked at me like I was the dumbest person on the planet. "Jisung. We literally saw you holding hands under the table during study hall three days ago. You aren't exactly stealthy."

"And Minho practically threatened to bite my hand off yesterday when I tried to take a sip of your strawberry milk," Ryujin added, rolling her eyes. "He said, 'That's Jisung's, back off.' You guys have been acting like a married couple for a week."

"I was just protecting his hydration!" Minho defended, though the tips of his ears were turning a traitorous shade of red.

"Hyung, you literally walked him to the bathroom yesterday and waited outside like a bodyguard," Jeongin pointed out.

"Okay, fine!" I threw my hands up in defeat, dropping the dramatic speech persona. "So you all knew. And nobody said anything?"

"We were waiting for you to be ready," Felix smiled, his eyes turning into little crescents. He stood up and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "But we are really, really glad you finally said it out loud."

The collective tension that I hadn't fully realized was still hanging over our table suddenly vanished. Changbin reached over and ruffled Minho's hair (and narrowly avoided getting stabbed with a chopstick). Ryujin and Zuha were laughing, and even Kari gave me a thumbs-up.

"Honestly," Hyunjin sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It's just a relief. Now Minho can stop glaring at everyone who breathes in your general direction, and you can stop looking like a kicked puppy."

"I did not look like a kicked puppy!" I protested.

"You kind of did, Ji," Minho muttered, squeezing my hand again.

I shoved his shoulder playfully, but I couldn't stop the massive, uncontrollable grin from spreading across my face. I had been so terrified of making things awkward again, of upsetting the fragile balance of our friend group.

But looking around the loud, chaotic table as everyone immediately went back to bickering and stealing each other's food, I realized I had worried for nothing. The tension was gone. We were just us again.

"Hey, Seungmin," Minho said smoothly as we finally sat down in our usual spots. "Since you made a profit off our relationship, you're paying for Jisung's lunch."

Seungmin choked on his water. "Excuse me?"

"You heard him," I grinned, leaning my head on Minho's shoulder. "Cough up the cash, Kim."

Yeah. We were definitely back.

~

A/N how do you like the story so far?? We werent able to update the story too regularly but we will make sure to complete this story too soon...