On Track | MINSUNG

5

It'd been over a week since Minho had taken Jisung to the café, and nothing had changed except Minho's thoughts. He'd caught himself smiling several times when he thought back to the café. He'd found himself with a slight blush when he walked into the café, sitting in the same place, remembering Jisung's smile, and that disappointed look when Minho had called them friends... Minho had even called it a date in his head once, a blush creeping over his face as he quickly corrected himself. It hadn't been a date. It hadn't. He hadn't gone on a date with Jisung. They were friends. Just friends.

With the self reassurance they were just friends, Minho sat opposite Jisung at lunch like normal, leaning forward. 'Do you watch Attack on Titan?'

'Yeah, why?' Jisung grinned, excitement in his eyes.

'A new season just came out. Maybe we could watch it together?'

Jisung beamed, his front crooked tooth showing. Minho's heart clenched. Jisung was so cute Minho wanted to hug the fuck out of him.

'Yeah! I'd love to! Are you free tonight? You could come over. If you want. If you're free.'

'Don't worry, sweetheart,' Minho said, leaning even closer. If he moved any closer their noses would touch. 'I'm free tonight, I'll be there.'

* * *

Minho spent the rest of the day thinking about it. When the last lesson approached, he sent Jisoo a quick text telling her he wouldn't be home until late.

Soon, after school study arrived. He took the bus with Changbin, as he didn't have English today. An hour of maths, followed by an hour of dance. Which wasn't all that bad usually, but today each second seemed to drag. He was barely aware of anything that happened in maths, and bumbled his way through dance, only getting shouted at by Wooyoung once.

As soon as dance finished, he hurried to change, then bounded to the school's main entrance to wait for Jisung. A few moments later, Jisung came running towards him.

'Minho! Hi. How long have you been waiting?'

'Not long. Shall we go?'

Maybe it was just a walking thing, Minho reasoned as they made their way to the bus stop, that made him want to hold Jisung's hand. And a bus thing. And a café thing. And a—okay, so Minho really wanted to hold Jisung's hand. But friends could hold hands, right?

On the bus, neither of them said much. Minho scrolled mindlessly through Instagram, sneaking glances at Jisung, who kept his eyes glued to the window as he fidgeted. After a while, he leaned across Minho to press the button to let the driver know. 'This is my stop.'

The bus slowed to a stop and they got off, Minho looking around him. They were in a neighbourhood a lot like Minho's, flats rising above them as they walked. Jisung stopped in front of one of the identical buildings, letting himself in. He held the door open for Minho, and they ascended several flights of stairs before Jisung stopped in front a door on the third floor.

'My mum's home,' Jisung said quietly. He let them in, calling 'I'm home.'

A fairly short woman with a bob of dark hair got out of an armchair, making her way to them with a smirk. 'Is this your boyfriend? Is he staying for dinner?'

Jisung flushed. 'Um, no, he's just a friend.' He turned expectantly towards Minho.

'Lee Minho, ma'am. I'd love to stay for dinner, if that's okay.'

'It's lovely to meet you. Come, come, I'll cook.'

'We're going to do some stuff before dinner,' Jisung told her, already leading Minho towards his bedroom. The flat was small, quite a bit smaller than his own, but it was homely, with pictures on walls and trinkets on most of the available surfaces. Minho stopped to look at a picture of a young Jisung. He couldn't have been more than about ten, smiling up at the camera as he stood in front of a glass wall, behind which stingray were swimming.

Feeling someone brush against his side, Minho turned to find Jisung looking at the picture with him. 'I was nine,' Jisung said. 'Mum took me to the aquarium in Busan. There were stingrays and penguins and so many fish...it was so beautiful. That was really when I started loving sea animals. I begged Mum for months for fish.'

'Did you get them?'

Jisung grinned. 'Wanna see?' He lead Minho into his room, where a large fish tank was sat on a chest of drawers. There were two fish, both with large, billowing fins. One was blue and red while the other was white and grey.

'Aren't they pretty?' Jisung cooed. 'My pretty, pretty girls. The blue one's called Mi-cha and the grey one's called Cheesecake.'

'They are very pretty,' Minho agreed. He found it cute how Jisung clearly adored his fish, and even cuter he'd named a fish after cheesecake. 'Mi-cha's my favourite, I like her colours.'

'I'm not allowed to have favourites, the other would get upset,' Jisung said, gently tracing patterns on the glass. 'They're betta fish. I got them three years ago, after I finally convinced Mum I'd be able to look after them.'

Minho chuckled. God, Jisung really was cute. 'They're pretty. You'll have to come round mine sometime so I can show you my babies.'

'What do you have?'

'Three cats.'

'Aw, I can't wait to meet them.' Jisung went to his bed, where his laptop sat at the end. 'Ready to watch the new season?'

'Hell yeah.' Minho tore his gaze from Jisung. He really shouldn't be looking at him this much. Instead, he let his eyes roam the room. There were posters of anime and sea creatures on the walls, and the wall his bed was against was painted a very pale blue.

Jisung sat down, settling back against his pillow and opening his laptop. He patted the space next to him without looking up. It was only a single bed, so they'd be sat quite close, but it wasn't like Minho minded. He lounged next to Jisung, their arms pressed against each other. They were so close, if they both turned their heads their noses would touch. Or maybe even their lips... No, what was Minho thinking? They were friends. Just friends, he reminded himself.

Minho snuck a glance at Jisung, who was scrolling through his account on some anime website that was probably illegal. And then Jisung turned to him and Minho was still looking at him, and their noses were touching, and if either of them moved their lips would touch.

So Minho leaned forward, pressing his lips firmly against Jisung's in a quick peck.

It shouldn't have been a big deal. It wasn't a big deal. But Minho's heart skipped a beat and he felt himself get hot. Jisung blushed, turning away.

'What?' Minho remarked casually. It was the opposite to how he felt inside. 'Friends can kiss, sweetheart.'

But maybe, just a teeny tiny, little bit Minho hadn't meant it as a friend.

'I—okay.' Jisung clicked play and they watched Attack on Titan with a heavy silence.

* * *

It was easy to say that dinner with Jisung's mother was awkward. At least, it certainly was internally. Jisung didn't say much, a blush threatening to stain his cheeks every time he looked at Minho. But Minho chatted casually with Jisung's mum, acting like nothing had happened.

It wasn't until Minho got home that he let himself fully think about it all. He'd kissed Jisung. He'd fucking kissed Jisung. And yeah, he'd said it was as a friend. But could friends really just kiss like that? If they were really just friends, surely Jisung wouldn't get so flustered when they were together? And surely Minho's heart surely shouldn't go haywire?

Minho lay in bed and overthought until a hazy, reluctant thought emerged in his mind. He didn't like Jisung as just a friend.

And that was fucking scary.