Chapter 9: He Dances Beautifully, Bro
stz gay kids
i.n._: so...
i.n_: my birthday is next month and you guys are like ... the only friends I have so...
i.n_: wanna do a get together for my birthday? i have mario party and i will be stacking up on snacks
hwa.hyunjin_: you know im always down innie!!
puppy_min00_: its the day the most precious bean was born, ofc im coming to celebrate!!
han_nie_: agreed! plus it'd be the first time we all hang out together!
felix_cious_: what day and time? im worried school and work would get in the way for me :(
i.n._: well... my birthday is the 8th, so i was thinking of doing it then? how does 5:30pm sound?
ch.binnie: ill be free that day. we have a shoot early in the day, but the rest of the day should be all clear
bg.chan: i will make sure im free that day
felix_cious_: one of my classes that day will run late .. i might be fahionably late, but i will head immediately over after class! send me your address?
i.n._: address sent to everyone just now!
i.n._: ...except for lee know
bg.chan: ohh.. ya know, he hasnt been online today :/
felix_cious_: yeahh, i noticed that..
han_nie_: do you guys know where he is at least?
bg.chan: oh, he's supposedly still at the studio, just told me now
puppy_min00_: is he stuck there doing extra work?
bg.chan: noo, i make sure not to give him too much.
bg.chan: i think he's working on a photography project?
han_nie_: photography project?
bg.chan: yeah! its a secret project of his, i have no idea what it's about
felix_cious_: oh wow! THE bang chan, minho's best friend, doesn't know something about him?
bg.chan: heyyy
bg.chan: i dont have to know everything about him..
***
Jisung wasn't one to be nosy, especially with strangers. However, often times, his friends business was always his business. So maybe that's why Jisung has decided to snoop in on Minho. They were friends right? ... Jisung was hopeful they were, anyway. Plus, he was already at SKZ, helping Chan with some errands, and now he was on break, so snooping was in order.
Jisung wandered around the studio hall peering his head into every studio, but not finding Minho as fast as he wanted to. Just as he was about to give up, Jisung peered into the second to last door on the left, when he finally heard some clicking of a camera. Finally! Jisung thought excitedly to himself. Sneaking in quietly, Jisung caught sight of Minho and hid behind a large rack loaded with stands for lights.
Minho was alone, yet he was taking pictures of something and Jisung couldn't quite see what it was. Jisung then noticed that Minho wasn't actually behind the camera, he had a timer and motion capture set up. Even more curious, Jisung pushed the rack forward a bit to see the other better. Now that Minho was fully in view, Jisung could see he was taking personal pictures of himself dancing.
At first he was just dancing quietly to music in his own head, reviewing a step before turning to his cell to play the song and start over. As he danced, the camera would click with almost every movement. Then, Minho would check the monitor to review the photos before he'd redo an action pose or redo an entire part.
To say Jisung was mesmerized ... would be an understatement. He became so distracted that he began to lose track of time and before he knew it, his phones timer went off, signaling to him that his break was over. Panicking, Jisung tried to dig his phone out of his pocket, but was failing. He began to lose his footing as he struggled with his pocket and tripped over one of the legs of the cart he was hiding behind.
Jisung kicked it hard, which caused him to trip and fall over, but before he could touch the ground, he face planted into someone's arms. The person quickly pulled Jisung out of the way, before some of the stands could fall on them due to the collision. As the stands crashed to the ground, Jisung panted lightly, holding tight to the person who's arms were still wrapped around him as well.
"Han! Are you okay?" That voice was familiar, and Jisung immediately knew who it was, feeling guilty to have been caught. Looking up, he was met with the worried eyes of Minho and a deep confused frown. Jisung almost couldn't speak, but realized that he was still in Minho's arms in this moment. "I-I'm so sorry, I was just on break and wanted to look for you a-and-" Jisung tried to pull away and maybe beg for forgiveness, even if he had to bow or get down on the ground.
Minho didn't let him go though, in fact he just held tighter and pulled Jisung just a little closer. His eyes softened a bit, his worry dissipating more now that he can see Jisung is okay. "You don't have to apologize, I can understand being curious, but why did you hide? How long have you been there? You could've gotten seriously hurt!"
Jisung didn't say anything, he was too conflicted. Minho was so .. different in real life. Instead of the grumpy and dismissive persona that Jisung sees Minho present himself with in their group chat or online, he was always so .. soft spoken and kind to Jisung. "I- Y-You're not mad?" Jisung said, hesitantly.
Minho smiled and laughed lightly, surprising Jisung even more. "Why would I be mad? I mean, I'm a little mad, you almost hurt yourself. If I wasn't here to catch you, that could've gone terribly." Minho said. "But .. you are always so ... grumpy online?" Jisung said, before clapping a hand to his mouth for being so blunt.
Minho laughed lightly again, moving Jisung's hand from his mouth, "I am that way because of that ungrateful walnut Chan and my annoying little brothers Felix and Seungmin ... and because of people i don't know that well." Minho admitted. "But you don't know me that well..?" Jisung said, still confused.
"That's true.." Minho said thoughtfully, "You are different though." Jisung tilted his head to the side, a confused look on his face. Minho had to contain the urge to pinch his cheeks and held his breath, lest his heart beat goes out of control. "I-I'm different how?" Jisung asked. Minho thought about it for a moment, questioning himself at this point.
"Maybe it's because you are ... cute?" Minho stated honestly, with a cheeky smile. Jisung's ears burned a little. "Maybe it's because you are incredibly thoughtful and you work hard at everything you do? Maybe it's because even if it's hard for me to make friends, you make it easy to want to get to know you." Minho said, holding Jisung closer just a bit more.
Jisung suddenly became very aware that he was still in Minho's arms, his hands gently gripping onto Minho's dark blue button-up. Their faces close, but not enough to make either go cross-eyed trying to look at the other. "You think that highly of me? Already?" Jisung said, more quietly than before. "What if the more you learn, the more .. uninteresting I am?"
"I doubt that .. but hey, I won't know until I try, right?" Minho said with a small shrug. Jisung couldn't figure out why he felt the way he did, his heart beating fast and his ears felt like they were on fire. Jisung shook his head a laughed suddenly, "You really are something else, Lee Know."
"Just call me, Minho, Han." Minho said, smiling again.
"Then you don't have to call me Han." Jisung countered.
"Ah .. So then, should I call you Jisung or..." Minho looked around, pretending to think aloud, "Hannie?"
"J-Just-" Jisung struggled there for a second, why does it sound so nice when he says it? "Just call me whatever, Minho."
Just as Minho was about to say something back, his heart fluttering, Jisung's phone began to ring. The two separated, as much as Minho found himself disappointed in that fact. Jisung saw the contact, then the time and panicked before answering as calmly as he could. "Oh! Chan! I-I'm so sorry, I lost track of time and-"
"What? Oh! You were on break, I remember now, but I didn't give you a time limit or anything! It's only been .. a little over fifty minutes! I was just calling to tell you that you can go home for the day. I have a doctors appointment to get to in an hour, so I'll be going home myself here in a moment."
"Oh- Has it really been fifty minutes?" Jisung facepalmed quietly, he meant to only be gone for forty minutes. "Well, are you sure there isn't anything I can do before you go?"
"No, no. You've been a great help already today Han, so thank you. Take the rest of the day to chill, yeah? I will see you tomorrow!"
"Ah, it's no problem. Good luck at your appointment!"
"Thank you again, Han, bye!"
"Bye!"
After Jisung hung up the phone, he realized Minho had gone back over to his monitor and camera set up. He walked over quietly, Minho's back faced him. Looking over Minho's shoulder, he observed the photos and their insane accuracy despite the movements. The angle was good for the sharp moves and only some were blurry, but even the blur didn't take too much away from the pose they captured.
"What did Chan say? You have to go now, yeah?" Minho spoke, without turning around or noticing the looming Jisung at his shoulder. Jisung just kept smiling at the pictures, not noticing his own self gently resting his chin on the shoulder he was looking over. Minho jumped slightly, but quickly took a breath to calm his heart, glad that Jisung didn't seem to notice. "You truly capture pure magic."
Minho smiled, feeling a bit of pride. "It's ... These are for a project I've been working on." Minho said, continuing to scroll through, albeit slower this time as to show Jisung more carefully. "What kind of project?" Jisung couldn't stop himself from asking.
"I will tell you .. but first, don't you have somewhere to be?" Minho said, stopping his scrolling, but not turning to look at the younger. Jisung tilted his head a bit, before he remembered his call with Chan. "Oh! No, he called to let me know that I can go home for the day. He said he has a doctors appointment in an hour."
"Chan finally has the courage to go to the doctor now? I'm impressed." Minho stated, nodding his head approvingly. "Does he usually not have the courage?" Jisung asked and Minho nodded. "It's not my business to give details, but he's had some trauma with the doctors before. I wonder what's gotten him to try again?"
Minho thought about it for a moment, but dismissed the thinking immediately. "In any case, since you're off for the rest of the day, do you want to help me?" Minho asked, finally standing up from the chair he'd been sitting in and turning around to look at Jisung. Jisung stood up straight and gave Minho a confused look.
"Help you with what, exactly?" Minho picked up his camera and checked some things before handing the camera to Jisung. "Well. This project is to develop a magazine under our own company. We have amazing models, writers, and a fantastic graphic design team, but I wanted to add our own SKZ twist." Minho stepped back and gestured his hands dramatically.
"The SKZ Dance and Music section. I want to start supporting our smaller artists and dancers of our community, specially highlighting queer music/dance wins. I have yet to pitch it yet, but I thought a magazine of our own would really help the company and our community flourish." Jisung stared in awe for a second, a shocked but intrigued expression on his face.
"Minho, that's brilliant. So you are making a .. prototype of what the section would feature?" Minho nodded, his smile growing. "Yes! Exactly!" Jisung smiled back too, "Ofcourse I want to! I would love to help you, where do you need me?" Jisung's excitement gave Minho an extra dose of confidence that he'd thought he was starting to lose.
"Okay! I just need you to stand here and..."
***
Felislayy
han_nie_: DUDE
han_nie_: CODE GAY, IM SO GAY AND I NEED TO GUSH
felix_cious_: ooooh 👀
felix_cious_: tea??????
felix_cious_: spill n o w
han_nie_: lee minho.
han_nie_: lee fucking m i n h o
felix_cious_: I KNEW IT
felix_cious_: i mean .. gross
felix_cious_: continue
han_nie_: BITCH. YOU DIDN'T KNOW SHIT
han_nie_: ANYWAY
han_nie_: how is it possible that he's actually just the biggest sweetheart?
han_nie_: we're on first name basis BRO
felix_cious_: OH
felix_cious_: ... he's already whipped, ji
han_nie_: NO
han_nie_: dont give me hope like thaaaat. he told me its hard for him to make friends but .. for some reason its easy for him to get to know me
felix_cious_: WHIPPED.
han_nie_: SHUSH.
han_nie_: its just friendly right now, and im afraid the more knows anout me, the more uninteresting i will be to him
felix_cious_: hanniieeeeeee
felix_cious_: dont say things like that, you are the funniest and most interesting person i know. youre sweet and passionate. what is there to not be interested in?
han_nie_: mmmmm
han_nie_: ANYWAY
felix_cious_: COWARD.
han_nie_: AGAIN, ANYGAY
han_nie_: did you know he's a dancer? he's a dancer and you didn't say anything?
felix_cious_: i mean
felix_cious_: minho is very particular about that part of him and who knows about it. he's sworn chan and i to secrecy. not even minnie knows!
felix_cious_: he used to study dance in college, it was his life passion .. but then
han_nie_: but then?
felix_cious_: he got terribly injured his junior year and had to quit. switching majors wasn't too difficult academically for him, but mentally it was the hardest thing he had to do.
han_nie_: i can only imagine ... that's just devastating
felix_cious_: yeah.. he lost a lot of friends around that time too
felix_cious_: youve seen him dance then?
felix_cious_: im totally jealous, i haven't seen him dance in years, but i wont ask why or how you got see him dance. im just glad to hear he's trusted someone to show his most brilliant talent with again
han_nie_: he dances beautifully, bro
felix_cious_: he was the best of his time, he deserved so much better
han_nie_: i couldnt agree more.
felix_cious_: ...
felix_cious_: WHIPPED
han_nie_: DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT YOU AND HYUNJIN NOW?
felix_cious_: SHUT YOUR MOUTH.
Lee Know just posted...
_leeknow Maybe blue is my color?
❤️liked by han_nie_, bg.chan and 10k others • 🗨 765 comments
han_nie_: i don't need to be a stylist to see it's definitely your color :)
↪️ _leeknow: id trust your judgement any day.
felix_cious_: wowww ... lee know posted? how many years has it been?
bg.chan: and the photographer is photogenic himself!
↪️ hwa.hyunjin_: REAL. it's insane how good he is at taking pictures and being IN pictures