The Way You Stayed | MinSung FF

\#\6\#\

The dorm room was buzzing with life — though none of it was Jisung's.

Hyunjin and Seungmin had taken over his bed, sprawled across the blankets in a tangle of limbs as though Jisung's space belonged to them by default. Seungmin was reading through notes with a highlighter, his head resting casually against Hyunjin's shoulder, while Hyunjin toyed with his boyfriend's hair like they had all the time in the world.

Jisung sat cross-legged on the floor with his guitar propped against his knee, but his fingers hovered uselessly over the strings. Every time he tried to settle into a rhythm, his thoughts drifted away — not to the melody, not to the lyrics he'd been working on, but to a pair of brown eyes behind neat glasses and a soft voice that carried more weight than it should.

Minho.

It had been days since their last encounter, yet the image refused to leave him. The way Minho's brows had furrowed in exhaustion when he left the café. The way he'd stood a little straighter whenever people looked at him, even though he clearly wanted to disappear. The way his laugh — small, reluctant — had slipped out when Jeongin teased him.

Jisung strummed a chord absentmindedly, frowning. This wasn't like him.

⸻

"You're sulking," Hyunjin announced suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts.

Jisung blinked. "What?"

"You're sulking," Hyunjin repeated, smirking. "Your eyebrows do this thing when you're moody." He demonstrated by furrowing his brows in an exaggerated pout.

"I'm not sulking," Jisung muttered, strumming louder to drown him out.

Seungmin didn't even look up from his notes. "You are. You've been off for days."

Jisung scowled at both of them. "Not everything has to mean something. Maybe I'm just tired."

"Mmhm," Hyunjin said, unconvinced. "Or maybe..." He sat up straighter, eyes gleaming. "You're thinking about someone."

Jisung froze. The chord he struck came out sharp and wrong.

Seungmin finally glanced up, one brow raised. "Oh?"

Jisung looked between them, heat creeping up his neck. "No."

Hyunjin gasped dramatically, clutching Seungmin's arm. "He is! Look at that guilty face. Jisung has a crush."

"I don't have a crush!" Jisung protested, voice cracking embarrassingly.

Seungmin smirked. "That was defensive."

"Because you're both being ridiculous," Jisung shot back, setting the guitar down with a sigh.

But even as he tried to sound annoyed, the truth sat heavy in his chest. Maybe they weren't so wrong.

⸻

Jisung ran a hand through his hair, leaning backward. "Fine. It is someone. But it's nothing."

Hyunjin nearly vibrated with excitement. "Minho? Tell us everything. Have you talked to him since the grocery store fiasco? Was he still ravishing as ever?"

Seungmin flicked his forehead lightly. "Calm down. Let him talk."

Jisung hesitated, words tangling in his throat. He'd never had trouble talking about crushes before — usually it was all surface-level stuff, harmless and fleeting. But this felt different. Rawer.

"I walked him home," Jisung said finally, his voice quieter than usual. "He works at a café nearby."

Hyunjin tilted his head. "That's vague. Go on."