curiosity kills | lee minho

f o u r t e e n

"Resumé."

Right, of course.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

There was silence. He did not say anything else. Gyeoul had to see her screen twice to check whether he had hung up. The lack of conversation had Yeji pressing her ear on the other side of the phone. Gyeoul waited a few more seconds before speaking again. "Well, did you call to listen to me breathe or what?" She snapped, more curious than pissed.

The soft chuckle on the other line made her heart jump. Probably from the coffee she had. Last Tuesday.

"You forgot something." Minho finally said.

Yeji violently shook Gyeoul by the shoulder, already knowing what her friend meant. She mouthed the words 'your answer'.

Gyeoul had to stand up to get away from her vibrating roommate. She walked over to the door to get some distance. She began to pace. "About that, I-"

"Your pencil."

Her words died down in her throat. Her steps halted, hearing his words. "My what?"

"Pencil. You left it at Areum's room."

Gyeoul blinked thrice, meeting Yeji's inquisitive eyes. "Uh, alright. I'll just pick it up tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Good night."

And the call ended.

Gyeoul being confused was the understatement of the year. She was fucking floored.

"What did he say?" Yeji asked, seeing her expression.

"Turns out, I'm missing a pencil."

Yeji shook her head, seeming to expect it already. "Ah, Minho. Always the charmer." She mumbled, giggling.

•••

The next day, Gyeoul was dead set on clearing things with Minho. She found it annoying that she was letting the matter affect her so much. If he was serious, fine. But if it was merely a joke, even better. Maybe. At least her mind would finally be at peace. At least she finally had her answer because atop of the things she hated was leaving her curious. She found people who leave things unsaid more maddening than people who say too much.

As a routine, Gyeoul called out a 'hey' as an acknowledgement to a now crutch-free Seungmin. He gave a small wave with a matching grin before going back to the novel in his hands.

She paused as reached the top of the stairs, seeing Minho's back turned to her. He was on the phone.

"You love me still, Miso." He snickered.

Gyeoul's brow subconsciously raised.

Miso?

Minho scoffed. "Fine. See you later. Bye, strawberry."

Strawberry?

Okay. Gyeoul had seen enough rom-com films to be able to assess whether overhearing a phone call is a misunderstanding.

First, she had already met his entire family and no one was named 'Miso' so relative was out. Second, his voice was neutral enough without the unnecessary kissy noises so animal pet was out. And lastly, he literally called the anonymous person by a –not so original– pet name.

Gyeoul was confident that Minho was talking to his girlfriend. She was so damn proud of herself. She found her reasoning skills flawless. As she drew her conclusion, Minho finally noticed her presence. "Hey." He said, stalking closer.

"Hey." Gyeoul was able to echo, passing his figure to enter Areum's room.

Her initial agenda was wiped clean after hearing the phone call. The small conversation that was exchanged was enough explanation for her. However, she did not know why there was a foreign feeling at the pit of her stomach.

"Wait." Minho grabbed her by the wrist, preventing her from walking any further. "I wanted to talk about–"

Gyeoul pulled her hand back. "Yeah, I know. It was a joke." She drawled out.

Minho was evidently confused. "What?"

Gyeoul clutched her folders closer to her chest. "It's fine. It was a harmless joke, let's just forget about it." She was able to let out a laugh. If believable, she wasn't sure.

"A joke." Minho repeated. The word seemed to sting his tongue, his voice lacing with disgust. There was silence again. That deafening silence. It seemed to always follow them. His head tilted to the side in wonder. "Would you have agreed?"

She met his eyes. There was a crease between his eyebrows. He looked almost angry even. But the expression was gone as quick as it had appeared.

She did not know what got into her but she let out a laugh. "Please." She attempted to sound condescending but seemed to sound hysterical at the very least.

Before he could say anything else, Gyeoul was able to slip inside Areum's room. She ignored the hammering in her chest and the pounding in her head.

Maybe some things were better left unsaid.

(a/n: whaTS UP it is 5:30 am my head is aching bUt heres a chapter for yall hihihi oh btw i made a twt acc @/hjsiconicmole just sharing also a lil life update a covid patient was tested positive in our building oh dear everyone stay safe and healthy !!!)