stray kids ; minsung | no.4419✦

07 : dead president

0:22 ──⊙──────── 2:59
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"see you tomorrow!" i waved back at the trio of hyunjin, felix and changbin who marched off in a different direction, their silhouettes soon enough disappearing behind the shadows of the swollen night.

seeing them out of sight, i dropped my eyes and shivered, digging my chin into my coat that did just as much good as my paper-thin uniform.

my fingers were long gone with the numbness, and my nose was a sniffling mess.

"i can't look at you when you're like - this," minho averted to my state, "take my hat at least," he pulled his beanie off and handed it to me.

"it's o-okay," i smiled as my teeth clattered, hands shoved deep down into my pockets.

"mhm sure," minho raised an eyebrow at me, retrieving his hand as i continued shuffling from foot to foot.

the two of us were standing (wobbling in my case) by the bus stop near our school, waiting for the 4419 that was due in the next few minutes.

the oncoming traffic was unbounded, your typical scene in a sleepless city, while the buses were spare, leaving barely anyone wandering around so late out.

my eyes often found themselves lost, nothing in my mind until suddenly, minho stepped out to stand right in front me.

i figured my puzzled face must have been a funny sight, because the boy immediately broke out into a gummy smile that made his eyes shine.

his hands reached out before i could even utter a word, and with a gentle haste - he pulled his beanie hat over my head, and slid it over my ears - letting his fingers falter and stop just there.

i couldn't breathe with him being so close, it paralysed me whole.

"don't even try and fight me, you're absolutely freezing," he slipped his fingers to hold my cheeks, the sudden warmth spreading through my skin but still leaving me with trembling goosebumps.

i didn't know how to reply, i think i was too busy panicking.

"you alright?" minho tilted his head, concern lacing his voice.

i wanted to nod but i was afraid it would frighten his fingers away, "y-yeah," i croaked out in a whisper instead.

"good," he smiled a cat-like smile, small and treasurous, his eyes glittering but then suddenly averting, "oh look it's our bus," he momentarily broke off, his hands fading down away from me and reaching out towards the vehicle to halter.

and i wasn't going to deny that it felt like my skin was partly torn away, leaving the coldness to overwhelm me again.

but i shook those thoughts away, focusing on the headlights of the bus that approached and stopped as it slid its doors open.

i stepped on with minho following suit, artificial heat swallowing me whole as my eyes watered from the sudden change in temperature.

i waddled in and towards my favourite seat a few rows from the back - flopping by the window like a routine. and to no one's surprise, minho dropped right beside me, just like he always did, no matter the fact that every other seat was empty.

but hey, i wasn't complaining.

"so, jisung," he faced me as snuggled even deeper into my coat, "what did you think of today?"

i eyed him for a second, still too cold to answer, and so i just shrugged my shoulders.

minho's eyebrows furrowed, his expression humoured, "is that good or bad?"

i shrugged again.

and he laughed.

and that moment i thought, if something as simple as shrugging my shoulders was a way of making him laugh - i was willing to shrug my shoulders till the rest of my life.

"but honestly though," he was looking straight at me, recollected.

i felt myself melting under his gaze as i dug my chin out of my layers and muttered, "i-i actually learned something-g, so pretty g-good."

minho chuckled, agreeing with a nod, "changbin will be happy to hear that, now give me your hands."

"w-what, w-why?" i stuttered.

but the older boy merely took my hands into his own and started molding my skin out from the ice that it became.

the numbness began to fade away slowly, followed by a tingling on the ends of my fingers as the warmth overtook in comfortable stirs.

"t-thanks," i mumbled, redness spreading on my cheeks, and not from the fact that it was marked as negative on the thermometer.

"anytime," he reluctantly put my hands down, his eyes running low as if he was giving out to himself for acting in such a haste.

i couldn't help but wonder, all these small gestures and touches, small talks and smiles in the past day, all caused by my sleeping head tumbling onto his shoulder earlier this morning as it sparked an accidental conversation.

even though for almost two months we've sat in silence next to one another, every single morning.

how easily this wall between us broke.

"well i've to get off now.. so," minho stuttered into my thoughts as i felt a sinking feeling in the depths of my stomach, "see you tomorrow?" he got up to leave, eyes on me.

i pursed my lips, restricting a small smile that i couldn't help but let escape, "you're not getting rid of me anytime soon, lee minho."

"sounds good," he nodded before turning around with a smile on his own.

i watched him halt the stop button and hold onto the rail as the bus gradually faltered, eventually paused, and slid its doors open. the older boy waved at the driver and slipped out into the night, straight out of my sight.

with the doors shut close again and the engine rummaging beneath my feet, i pulled out my earphones and shuffled through a few of my playlists, awfully feeling HYYH ("the most beautiful moment in life") album that minho endlessly praised earlier on.

and it was that moment i realised that i still had minho's beanie hat sitting on my head and keeping my ears warm.

i shook my head with a laugh, "this guy," i whispered to myself in disbelief, "-is just something else."

2:59 ──────────⊙ 2:59
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✎ published: december 19, 2018

⟡ thank you, kim jonghyun.