Bookstore Wars (Minsung)

Flirting/Fighting

Strangely, Minho was excited for the next book club meeting. He had made it about halfway through The Song of Achilles and so far he was enjoying it more than he thought he would. The descriptions were a little more poetic than he usually preferred, but he didn't find it overly flowery. He was trying to pace himself because he knew he gave Jisung a pretty long book.

He got there a little too early, so he stopped by the cafe. While ordering himself an americano, Minho remembered that Jisung said the best way to shut him up was to feed him cheesecake. So he decided to get a slice as a preventive measure. Jisung did seem to be more pleasant when he was eating cheesecake.

The others started to arrive, first Hyunjin, then Seungmin.

"Oh, cheesecake," Seungmin said. "Can I have some?"

"It's not for you" Minho pulled the plate away with a glare.

Chan and Jisung arrived together.

"Are you done reading?" Jisung asked, taking a seat next to Minho and rifling through his backpack.

"Done?" Minho asked. "No, not yet"

"Ah, then I guess I'll wait to give you my review," Jisung said, placing Crime and Punishment on the table.

"You finished?" Minho was taken aback.

"Well, I thought that's what you wanted," Jisung said with a casual shrug.

"There's no way," Minho said suspiciously. Not only was it a long book, but it was decently complex. He didn't think someone who exclusively reads romance would be able to consume a book like that, especially that quickly.

"He's telling the truth," Chan confirmed. "He barely talked to me all week because he wouldn't look up"

"Impressive" Minho admitted despite himself.

Jisung had a triumphant smile on his face, elated by the fact he overrode Minho's pride. His eyes drifted to the plate Minho seemed to be protecting.

"For me?" He asked hopefully.

Minho followed his gaze and then nodded. "Consider it my apology for not finishing my book on time"

"No need to be sorry," Jisung replied, taking the plate. "Thank you"

"Yeah" Minho said slowly, wondering why his heart suddenly hurt a little bit. There wasn't any time to go into that, because Chan started suggesting some books that they could read as a group.

Hyunjin rejected a few for seeming too sad, Seungmin said no to a few without explanation. Minho and Jisung seemed to be in their own little world throughout the process.

Eventually they landed on one that Seungmin was weirdly adamant about reading.

"I just think it sounds interesting," He said vaguely. Chan shrugged.

"Alright, are we all in agreement?" Chan asked. Seungmin raised his hand, then hyunjin.

Chan cleared his throat. "Minho? Jisung?"

"-I'm telling you, the guy is a psychopath" Jisung said, moving his hands to emphasize his point.

"You're missing the whole point of the book!" Minho sighed as he rubbed his temples to prevent a headache.

"Hey, lovebirds," Hyunjin teased. "Chan wants to know if you guys like this book"

"Yeah, yeah" Minho said dismissively.

"It's perfect" Jisung said without taking his eyes off of Minho. "Now, back to what I was saying..."

Chan shook his head and laughed quietly. "Come on, let's leave those two to their debate. We can go buy the books"

Seungmin and Hyunjin followed Chan.

"Those two are an interesting pair" Hyunjin commented once they were far enough away from the two so that they couldn't hear.

"They sure are," Seungmin nodded. "I knew they would butt heads but I didn't expect them to become so... close"

"It's better than last week," Chan said, picking up 4 more copies of the book. "I'm going to go pay for these real quick"

"Like hell you are" Seungmin crossed his arms. "There is no way we're letting you pay for all of them"

"It's not a big deal," Chan responded.

"Nope," Hyunjin said, popping the p. "Not happening"

Chan narrowed his eyes. "And how do you plan on stopping me"

Seungmin and Hyunjin looked at each other, hoping the other had some type of plan.

Hyunjin leaned in and whispered in Seungmin's ear. "Go get the other gym bro"

Seungmin nodded and returned quickly with a slightly confused Jisung. Minho wasn't far behind.

"Why did Seungmin drag me out here?" He asked Chan.

Chan rolled his eyes. "He just won't let me pay"

"Yeah, because you shouldn't" Jisung took the books from him and distributed them to the rest, skipping Minho. Chan accepted defeat; this time.

"Where's mine?" Minho asked as the others departed for the checkout counter.

"I'm paying for yours," Jisung said matter-of-factly.

Minho looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Absolutely not. Why would you do that?"

"You bought me cheesecake" Jisung hugged the books close to his chest. "I have to show you how much i appreciate it so you'll do it more"

"I believe that you appreciate it already" Minho took a step forward. "So no need to pay"

"I've actually already made up my mind," Jisung said. "Try again next time"

Minho glared down at Jisung. "Give me the book, Jisung"

Jisung smiled and looked at Minho. "This whole intimidation tactic you've got going on is really impressive, but it doesn't work on me"

"Are you guys done flirt- I mean fighting? Seungmin asked.

Minho turned to argue with him, giving Jisung the chance to slip away and pay for the book before Minho could stop him.