overpopulated ▪︎ minsung

chapter 4; ruby red

The day of Jisung's birthday arrived and Minho was a shaking mess. Despite having reassured his boyfriend about this terrifying day the past three months, he couldn't contain his own nerves. Jisung couldn't end up like Woojin, he would never allow it.

"Sungie, did you put the cake on the table?" Minho asked as he dried his hair off with a My Little Pony towel. His sweatpants hung loosely around his waist, his boxers peeking above the gray fabric playfully. He wasn't a fan of shirts directly after a shower, mainly because of the way it would stick to his damp skin like a pesky mosquito.

He furrowed his brow when he didn't get a response from his usually loud boyfriend. He quickly discarded the towel on the bathroom floor (Jisung would yell at him later for it) and walked to the living room.

"Baby?"

"Yes, honey?" A high-pitched voice answered, clearly trying to imitate Jisung.

"What the fuck!" Minho yelled when he noticed the seven other boys sitting around his living room.

"Damn, Minho, looking sexy," Felix wolf-whistled, winking in Minho's direction. Jisung sat on the couch in between Chan and Hyunjin with a scowl on his pretty face.

Unfortunately for Minho, the only open space was on the loveseat next to Felix, who was drooling over his body. Of course, logically, Minho should have put on a shirt, but with the jealous way Jisung glared at Felix, he really didn't want too. He sat down next to the freckled boy and leaned back into the seat cushion. Felix stared in awe at his abs, having never seen Minho without a shirt before. Sure, he had seen Minho sweaty tons of times, and it really was so undeniably hot, but without a shirt? Oh god, Changbin might need to hold him back.

Felix poked Minho's stomach childishly, laughing as the muscles contracted from the ticklish feeling.

"Hey! I wanna feel, too!" Hyunjin protested. His plea was soon followed by several others, and before he could even blink, Minho was crowded by four touchy boys. Chan, Changbin, and Jisung hung back, attempting to hide their amusement, but failing miserably. The hands placed across his exposed torso made Minho shiver and cross his arms over his chest.

When Jisung noticed Felix start to tease Minho for Mario underwear, snapping the band back against Minho's skin, he seethed. He wiggled his way through his friends and crawled into Minho's lap, covering the man's chest with his body. He slapped Felix's hand away and wrapped his arms around Minho's neck.

"Aw, little Sungie is jealous," Felix cooed.

"Shut up and get away from him," Jisung hissed, pecking Minho's cheek.

Minho chuckled and pulled Jisung into a comfy hug. "Happy Birthday, cutie."

"Thanks, Min. Now please go put on a shirt." Jisung smacked his boyfriend's chest and stood up so he could leave.

"Fine." Minho kissed Jisung's lips softly and left the room, Felix hitting his butt on the way out. Minho heard Jisung's scream and then Felix's yelp before he shook his head, smiling, and changed into proper attire.

When the party finally came to end, everyone with bellies full of cake and this weird pasta concoction Chan made, Jisung was a crying mess. Each of his friends wished him a happy birthday one last time and gave him their reassurance. Felix left with Changbin after throwing a flirty gaze in Minho's direction (to which Jisung almost strangled him again).

"Sungie, you know what that means," Minho purred, lips taunting Jisung with every breathy syllable spoken against his sensitive neck. Minho's hands rubbed down Jisung's sides and across the curve of his back, before spinning Jisung to face him.

"What does it mean?" Jisung asked innocently. He knew damn well what it meant, having waited for the day he turned eighteen since he started dating Minho.

"Oh, kitten." Minho clicked his tongue disapprovingly and leaned in to bite the shell of Jisung's pierced ear. "I'm going to make you scream." He whispered.

And scream Jisung did.

"Jesus, Minho. How the hell am I supposed to walk around my school looking like I got mauled?" Jisung prodded gently at the dark hickeys littering his neck and chest, some even forming on the insides of his thighs.

"Happily. Maybe you can even brag about your hot older boyfriend." Minho winked and pulled a shirt over his stained torso.

"Ew, at least clean it off." Jisung scrunched his nose in disgust and wiped the sticky substance off of his boyfriend's stomach. Minho couldn't keep the smile off of his swollen lips, and Jisung loved the look on him.

"You're so beautiful, Min."

Minho's eyes twinkled with fondness. "Likewise, mi amor."

The sincere moment was broken by Jisung's phone timer that was set to go off at 11:30 PM. Minho's smile faltered, Jisung noticed, but he tried to play it off naturally.

"Minho, no matter what, I'll be okay," Jisung paused to stare into Minho's conflicted eyes. "I'll be okay."

"Yeah, but, I won't. That's why you're going to live because I need you to live and the system can't kill both of us." Minho could barely see Jisung through the sheen of tears that covered his eyes like a fog.

"Minho, I-"

"We have thirty minutes, let's not think about it for now, okay?"

Jisung nodded, although he wanted to say more. Minho grabbed his hand and sat him on the bed.

"Hang on, I haven't given you my present yet," Minho said, rummaging around the room for where he hid the pink bag.

Jisung scoffed. "Min, this has already been the best birthday ever."

"Well, it's about to get better. Let me look in the kitchen real quick."

While Minho left to find his present, Jisung checked his phone. He had quite a few text messages from his more distant relatives and a few from his mother. Most wished him a happy birthday, followed by the occasional "we need to see each other soon!" (No they didn't, Jisung thought).

His mother's texts caught him off guard, however. The strained relationship between them hadn't allowed for much talking, but her texts seemed genuinely concerned for him, telling him that she would be there for him if need be and she hoped he never had to reach the same fate as his friend. He glanced at the clock on his phone and cringed. 11:45 PM.

"Aha!" Minho cheered, running into the room. "I found it."

Jisung took the bag from his hands and dumped out the contents inside. It was a simple book, but when Jisung flipped it over, he realized it was his favorite book. Not only was it his favorite book, but it was also signed.

"How did you get this?" Jisung smiled and flipped through the worn pages. "She literally died."

"I have my ways, baby."

Minho sat down next to him and brushed his bangs away from his smiling face.

"I love you so much!" Jisung squealed, throwing himself into Minho's arms. He spent the next fifteen minutes tucked into Minho's chest while reading To Kill A Mockingbird aloud.

And when the clock struck twelve, and he noticed the ruby red stain from the corner of his eye, he didn't stop reading. The tears flowed with his words and Minho's own sobs.

"Suddenly she spoke," Jisung read with his voice and hands shaking. “'Don’t fret, Jem. Things are never as bad as they seem.'”

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