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“Oh, so you’re Seungmin’s boyfriend,” Felix says brightly, upon seeing Minho standing awkwardly in the doorway of Seungmin’s chemistry lecture, lab report in hand. “Wow. I didn’t expect that, actually.”
Minho furrows his eyebrows. “Huh?”
“He spent all of our last class complaining about how he left his lab report at his boyfriend’s place, and only shut up about it after announcing that his boyfriend would come by later to bring it for him.” Minho doesn’t know why Felix keeps saying boyfriend like that. “I didn’t know you were the boyfriend he was talking about.”
Minho didn’t know it was that big of a deal. Seungmin had texted him, terse and succinct as usual, asking if he could bring Seungmin’s lab report on his way to his own class. If not, he could just print it out at the student center. Minho had opened his email to a beautiful message from his professor announcing class was cancelled before texting back, also terse and succinct as usual, that he would bring it.
“Seungmin usually doesn’t forget his homework,” says Felix, before his face splits into a mischievous grin. “Were you distracting him last night, hyung? Ooh, naughty.”
Minho frowns. He’s only been in this conversation for a minute and it’s already making his head hurt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The only reason Seungmin was over at his place last night was because he didn’t have a printer and the library was closed for repairs, so Minho had generously offered the use of his personal printer. Then Minho had seen the bags under his eyes and force-fed him chicken broth before aggressively tucking him into his own bed. If Seungmin’s suddenly scatter-brained enough to leave his things behind at Minho’s place, well. That’s hardly Minho’s fault.
Unfortunately Felix seems determined on persisting with his incorrect idea. “Corrupting our little Seungminnie, hyung? How could you?”
Minho opens his mouth to argue because if anyone is doing the corrupting in this relationship it’s certainly not him, but is cut off by Seungmin stumbling into the seat next to Felix. “Hi, hyung,” he says, rubbing at his eyes. Still drowsy. “Did you bring it?”
Minho slaps the report down onto the desk. Then squints at Seungmin’s bare arms, hairs raised and goosebumps dotting the skin. “Did you forget your jacket too?”
Seungmin blinks, as if he’s just realized. “Oh, I guess—”
But Minho is already taking off his jacket and wrestling Seungmin into it, grumbling under his breath. “I told you you should’ve kept your alarm on, it wouldn’t have woken me up, and even if it did I could just go back to sleep afterwards, see what happens when you wake up late, you forget everything—”
“You never go back to sleep afterwards,” Seungmin says mildly, watching Minho zip him up into the jacket. “Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy having me in your bed for a little longer.”
Minho scoffs, crossing his arms once Seungmin is firmly bundled up. Ridiculous. Trust Kim Seungmin to insinuate the most impossible notions. “Are you busy tonight?”
“No.”
“Good. Because dinner is on you.”
Seungmin just smiles sleepily. “Okay. See you later, hyung.”
But Minho was unfortunately blessed with the gift of extraordinary hearing, because he still manages to catch part of Seungmin and Felix’s conversation as he stalks away, accidentally scaring some random first-year with the force of his glare.
“... that’s your boyfriend?”
A content sigh from Seungmin. “Our two-year anniversary is coming up.”
Unfortunately the topic doesn’t die immediately after and comes up at dance practice later. Minho’s going through his cooldown routine when Felix whispers to Hyunjin, much louder than he thinks he’s being, “Hey, are Minho-hyung and Seungmin actually dating?” and Hyunjin lets out the most dramatic and devastated sigh before responding, equally as despondently, “Yeah.”
“I don’t know why this is so hard for you to believe, Yongbok,” says Minho, hopping over in the middle of stretching his quads.
“I don’t know, you guys just don’t seem like a typical couple,” Felix says defensively. “Like, I would’ve had no idea if Seungmin hadn’t said anything.”
Hyunjin, Seungmin’s self-proclaimed soulmate, best friend since childhood, together since the womb and together till the tomb, looks incredibly displeased by the turn of the conversation. “It’s because hyung doesn’t treat him right.”
Felix looks taken aback. “Whoa, that’s a little much, isn’t it?”
“Ignore him,” Minho advises him. “He just thinks no man will ever be good enough for Kim Seungmin except him.”
“Because it’s true!” Hyunjin wails. “I mean, no offense, Minho-hyung, I love you like 99% of the time when you’re not threatening to stuff tissues in my mouth or cook me in an air fryer. But Seungminnie deserves the best. I just want him to be with someone who does big romantic gestures for him and sweeps him off his feet and keeps the romance alive,” he says petulantly, peppering his spiel with random hand gestures that make no sense. “All you do is call him stupid.”
“Because he is,” Minho says flatly. Only stupid people purposely turn off their alarms and make themselves late for class just to avoid waking someone else up. Kim Seungmin is the biggest idiot Minho knows. It’s a wonder he’s managed to convince everyone otherwise.
Hyunjin just looks more distraught. “See!”
Felix looks back and forth between the two of them, visibly confused. “Hyunjin, do you like Seungmin?”
“As if,” says Minho, at the same time Hyunjin says, “not like that.” It’s true. If someone could be platonically head over heels for someone, that would be Hyunjin for Seungmin, but Hyunjin has zero interest in dating Seungmin. What he does have is too much interest in scaring off whoever is dating Seungmin. Unfortunately for him, Minho is not so easily intimidated.
“Then I don’t see what the problem is?”
“There is none. I’m the one dating Seungmin, not Hyunjin,” says Minho, a little too viciously. But it’s true. If Hyunjin’s so concerned about Seungmin being treated right then he should do it himself. But he’s not. Minho is.
Hyunjin just makes a loud harrumphing sound, crossing his arms. “For now. When Seungmin breaks up with you, you’ll see.”
“Hey, where were you last night?” asks Chan, shuffling behind Minho to get to the fridge. “You didn’t say you weren’t coming back.”
Minho glares balefully at the ramen in the pot, willing it to cook faster. “Anniversary date.”
Chan pauses with one arm stuck inside the fridge. “That was yesterday? You didn’t mention anything about it.”
Minho grunts noncommittally, rolling his neck. It still hurts from last night. He’s never sleeping on the floor of anyone’s dorm room again, no matter how cute they might be.
“Well, what’d you do?”
“Watched a movie.”
“At a theatre?”
“In his dorm.”
Another pause. “Is that it?” Chan asks.
Well, that wasn’t supposed to be it. Minho had pooled together all his savings and cashed in a favor to make a reservation at that fancy new restaurant he’d caught Seungmin sighing wistfully at before adding it to his Yelp bookmarks and never mentioning it again. But then Seungmin had gotten sick, and what was he supposed to do? Let him go out like that? No way. The idiot was running a 40 degree fever and still whining about all the effort Minho had put into making the reservation, like that was the most important thing and not how red his face was. Minho had to sit on him to prevent him from going anywhere before he finally relented and agreed to spend a quiet night in instead.
They’d set up Ghibli movies on Seungmin’s laptop, and the kalguksu Minho ordered arrived halfway through Spirited Away. Seungmin had whined at the ginger tea Minho made him drink, but he downed the whole thing anyways. He’d fallen asleep before the ending of Totoro and Minho had quietly put the computer away, spending the rest of the night placing damp towels on his forehead before falling asleep with his head pillowed at the base of Seungmin’s bed. But in the morning Seungmin’s fever had broken, so all in all Minho considers it a successful night.
But yeah, that was it. Minho says as much, frowning when his noodles fall apart as he strains them. He’d let them cook for too long.
“Well, I hope you had fun,” Chan says, sounding awfully uncertain about it.
Minho snorts. “I don’t really think he did,” he says truthfully. Chan frowns. “What?”
Chan sighs, shutting the fridge door. “Look, Minho. I’m saying this as both your friend and Seungmin’s friend. It’s… dude, it was your anniversary. And I didn’t even know it was happening, and I’m sure no one else did. Don’t you think you should put a little more effort into these kinds of things?”
Oh no. Minho crosses his arms defensively. “Don’t tell me Hyunjin got to you too.”
“Hyun— what? No, wait.” Chan makes a face. “What does Hyunjin have to do with this?”
“That’s what I wanna know!” says Minho. Okay, so maybe Minho might be slightly more intimidated than he previously thought. Not that he’ll ever admit it. “Tell me the truth, did he ask you to interrogate me?”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know!”
Minho only realizes how riled up he’s gotten when both of them fall quiet and his harsh breathing echoes in the silence. He sticks a forkful of ramen in his mouth and screws his face up when it hits his tongue. It’s already gone cold.
“Look,” says Chan, doing his best to sound controlled, “it’s not really my place to say anything.”
“Then don’t.”
Chan gives him a look. “All I’m saying is, don’t you think you should be sweeter on him?”
“He’s kinda got a point,” says Jeongin, when Minho offhandedly mentions the incident with Chan later.
Minho stares at him, betrayed. “Not you too.”
When Minho had cajoled him into studying together at the local coffee shop because he missed his favorite dongsaeng, promising to treat him, he wasn’t expecting another interrogation about his relationship. God, don’t his friends have anything better to talk about?
“I mean, that’s part of it,” says Jeongin. “Last time someone asked who your favorite dongsaeng was, you said everyone but him.”
“Because he’s a brat!” says Minho, exasperated.
“He’s your boyfriend,” Jeongin emphasizes, as if this isn’t the whole crux of the issue.
“What am I supposed to do, play favorites?”
“If anything, you play anti-favorites.”
“What’s this about anti-favorites?”
Judging from the voice it’s Jisung who has his chin hooked over Minho’s shoulder now. Minho absently reaches over to pat him on the head, regretting it when Jeongin’s eyes lock in on the motion.
“See,” says Jeongin. “I’m pretty sure you touch Jisung more than you touch Seungmin. In fact, you probably touch the rest of us more than Seungmin.”
“I touch Seungmin plenty!” Minho says, at the same moment the hustle and bustle of the coffee shop just happens to die down.
Jisung snickers when they start to catch a few weird looks. “You didn’t have to say it so loudly, hyung. We all know.”
“Well apparently not everyone knows, because apparently I don’t do it enough,” Minho says meanly. “Do you all want me to start groping him in front of you all or something?”
Again it goes dead silent when he says that. Minho flushes, shoving Jisung off when he barks out a laugh.
Jeongin twists up his face. “Please don’t.”
“Not to encourage indecency in public, but the kid’s right,” says Jisung, pouting when Jeongin knocks away his hand from ruffling his hair. “It’s not like either of you are super cuddly people, but you both touch the rest of us more than you touch each other.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
Jeongin raises an eyebrow. “When you’re dating?”
Well, how is Minho supposed to explain that touch carries so much more intention when it comes to Seungmin? That the lightest of kisses still makes his heart jam into his throat two years down the road? That he becomes vulnerable under Seungmin’s touch in a way he wants to keep between the two of them?
Yeah, no. He’d rather die than say all that out loud.
Minho grabs a random drink off the table and chugs it all down, ignoring Jeongin’s noise of protest. He paid for this drink, even if Jeongin has terrible taste in coffee.
“What? Are you kidding?” Changbin says through a mouthful of jjajangmyeon. An identical box to the one Changbin has on his lap sits next to Minho on the couch of the studio, but he doesn’t have the heart to do anything more than pick at it. “You and Seungmin are perfect for each other.”
“No one else seems to think so,” Minho says bitterly. Maybe if it were just him he wouldn’t care so much about what other people thought. But this is Seungmin they’re talking about.
“Come on. Seungmin loves you,” says Changbin. “Isn’t that what’s most important?”
“You sound so certain.”
“Because I am,” Changbin stresses. “Look, if you don’t believe me, just hear me out first. I got Seungmin to help me record vocals for one of my tracks, and he was having trouble getting the emotions right. It was a sad song, by the way. So I tell him, okay, imagine Minho-hyung’s breaking up with you. And he actually started crying in the middle of the session!”
Minho blinks at him, aghast. “Was that supposed to make me feel better?”
Changbin’s face is dead serious when he nods. “It was the saddest song I’ve ever heard in my life. Best vocals I’ve ever gotten out of him. It was good, I’m telling you.”
“How is that good?” asks Minho, trying not to shriek. “You’re telling me I make him cry!”
“Did you even hear anything I just said?”
“God, maybe I am bad for him,” says Minho. He rubs his face with his hands. “Should I break up with him?”
“Please don’t,” says Changbin, sounding mildly horrified. “I don’t want him to cry for real in our next session. Crying is hard to edit out, you know.”
“So what’s this about you trying to break up with me?” asks Seungmin.
Minho flinches away from where their bodies are pressed together under the blanket. Changbin. Minho will get him for this. Later.
When he turns to look at him, Seungmin just looks amused for the most part. But there’s an undercurrent of worry in his eyes that makes something in Minho’s chest twist. All he does is give Seungmin grief. Maybe they were right.
“I’ve just been thinking about it,” he says lightly, over the sound of his own heart breaking. “Maybe it would be for the best.”
Seungmin’s face visibly falls. Minho tries not to panic. “Is that… is that really what you think, hyung?”
No. “Yeah,” he says, as softly as possible.
“Oh. Okay.” Seungmin’s voice sounds so small as he inches away from Minho and tries to retreat into himself. Minho aches to reach out for him, but he shouldn’t. Stay strong, Lee Minho. This is for Seungmin’s sake.
Oh, this is terrible. He doesn’t want to break up with Seungmin during movie night. Couldn’t Changbin have waited until after the weekend to tell Seungmin? Maybe a Monday? Everyone’s always cranky on Mondays, it wouldn’t have been too bad. Minho doesn’t want to break his heart on a Friday of all days.
Really, this is all Changbin’s fault. Minho’s definitely getting him back for this.
“I’m sorry,” Minho offers, at a loss for anything else to say.
“No, I’m sorry,” says Seungmin, rubbing at his eyes. Each little hiccuping sound he makes cleaves Minho’s heart further down the middle. “I know I’ve been— difficult lately—”
Hold on, what? “Seungmin-ah,” says Minho, gently pulling Seungmin’s hands away from his face. “What are you talking about?”
Seungmin stares back at him with red eyes. “Isn’t that why you’re breaking up with me?”
“Of course not,” says Minho. “What makes you think you’re the problem?”
“Then what is it?” asks Seungmin, sniffling belligerently. “You can’t just break up with me without telling me.”
“Stop saying break up,” says Minho, pained. God, this is so much harder than he thought it would be. “Look, I just— don’t you want to be with someone better for you?”
Seungmin stops hiccuping. “What do you mean?”
Minho makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “I mean— don’t you think you deserve someone who does big romantic gestures for you? Someone who sweeps you off your feet? Someone who’s sweeter on you, who isn’t so cold? Someone who’ll kiss and hug you and tell you they love you all the time?”
And there it is. Forget whether or not their friends think Minho is good enough for Seungmin—Minho doesn’t know if he’s good enough for Seungmin.
“Oh, hyung.” Seungmin moves closer, tucks a strand of Minho’s hair behind his ear. “Is that really what you think?”
“All our friends just want the best for you,” says Minho, looking down at his lap. “Including me. And if that can’t be me, then we should break up.”
“Hyung. Minho-hyung.” Seungmin links their hands together. “Hey, look at me.”
Minho keeps his gaze firmly trained on his lap. Seungmin tilts his chin up.
“Do you think you’re not good enough for me?”
Minho purses his lips. “I think you could do better,” he admits, finally.
Seungmin hums lightly, swinging their hands together. “I could have someone who does big romantic gestures,” he says, and Minho tries to stifle a pained noise. “Someone who’s sweet to me.
“But then I wouldn’t have the person who worries about how much I’m sleeping, and brings my homework for me when I forget. I wouldn’t have the person who makes reservations at restaurants that I don’t tell him about and stays up all night to take care of me when I’m sick. I could have someone who kisses me all the time in public, but then I wouldn’t have the person who kisses me when he thinks I’m sleeping.”
Minho stiffens up at the end. “That last one. I don’t know what you mean.”
“Sure you don’t,” says Seungmin, pinching one of Minho’s ears between his fingers. Damn it.
“You could have someone who does all of that,” Minho argues weakly.
“I could,” Seungmin agrees. “But I don’t want that. I already have what’s best for me.”
Minho tightens his grip on Seungmin’s hand. “I don’t want to break up.”
“Me neither.”
“I’m sorry.”
Seungmin’s eyes glitter. “How will you make it up to me?”
Minho looks at him, and his face is so open. Vulnerable in a way he only ever is with Minho.
Minho already has what’s best for him, too. He loops his arms around Seungmin’s neck and meets him halfway.