✦ ⌇ Red string theory ！

But there was something comforting about how they always knew where to find each other.

If Minho was having a bad day, Jisung would show up with bubble tea, no questions asked. If Jisung had a panic attack before an exam, Minho would sit next to him on the bathroom floor, quietly humming the Pokémon theme song until Jisung could breathe again no matter how cringey he found it.

And sometimes, when the city lights dimmed and the world felt a little too heavy, they’d sit on the rooftop of their dorm building with music playing softly from Minho’s speaker, saying nothing at all.

𓍯∞

It was a sunny afternoon. The kind that made the campus trees look like they were glowing, green leaves catching every ounce of golden light. Most students were scattered across the quads and cafes, soaking up the warm breeze after a hellish week of quizzes and pop presentations.

Jisung, however, had only one plan.

“Come over,” he texted Minho, all lowercase, because punctuation felt too formal for someone who already knew how dramatic Jisung could be.

Minho: again?
Jisung: yes again. shut up.
Minho: you’re obsessed
Jisung: and you enable me. i need Howl and snacks. bring snacks.

Minho didn’t reply. Which, for Jisung, meant he was on his way.

Fifteen minutes later, Jisung heard the knock. He didn’t bother answering. just yelled, “It’s open!” and shuffled his blanket across the bed to make room. The movie was already queued up on his laptop.

Minho walked in holding a plastic bag in one hand and a cold bottle of peach soda tucked under his arm. His hair was still messy from his nap, and his hoodie sleeves were pushed up, revealing the faint tan line on his wrists from biking around campus last weekend.

“Your royal request has been fulfilled,” he announced, tossing the bag onto the bed. “Sweet and spicy chips, gummies, and-” he held up the soda like a prize. “your favorite overpriced sugar water.”

“You’re the best,” Jisung said, flopping backward into his pillow pile.

Minho snorted. “You’re so dramatic.”

But he sat beside Jisung anyway, their shoulders brushing as he leaned over to help connect the laptop to the little Bluetooth speaker on the nightstand. Familiar music started playing a soft piano intro that felt like home.

The screen lit up with the opening of Howl’s Moving Castle.

They watched in silence at first, their usual commentary muted by the soft hum of spring air through the cracked open window. Minho reached into the chip bag and offered it without a word. Jisung took one absentmindedly, eyes fixed on Sophie and Howl as they floated above the rooftops.

“You know what I love about this scene?” Jisung mumbled through a mouthful of chips.

Minho glanced sideways. “What?”

“She’s scared, but he makes her feel safe. Even though she just met him. Like.. she trusts him, instantly.”

Minho paused, fingers still in the chip bag. “Yeah. It’s kind of beautiful.”

“Mm.”

There was a beat of silence.

Jisung shifted slightly, curling his knees up so his sock covered toes brushed against Minho’s thigh. It wasn’t on purpose. Probably. But neither of them moved.

The movie played on. But suddenly, Jisung was hyper aware of the distance or lack of it between them. Of how warm Minho’s arm felt against his. Of the way his voice had softened when he talked about trust.