There is a lot of confrontation in this chapter, along with themes about a car accident that resulted in the death of a loved one. Please avoid reading further if these topics are sensitive to you.
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Three weeks pass in the form of avoidance and stillness.
Minho devotes his mornings to talk with Chris on the phone while on the way to work or to the gym, avoiding all discussions about the gala and the events that took place with Jisung. Minho acted as if nothing was wrong, but Jisung could see the difference within him. He was colder, more reserved; just different. However, Jisung knew that Minho was likely dealing with a lot, so he kept to himself, ignoring his pent up feelings for the better part of the last few weeks, doing his best to be as unbiased as he could be. Jisung also partially knew about the phone calls Minho would make to Chris, but really hoped that Minho wasn't confiding everything in Chris only.
Jisung spends most of his time working on new music, finding the silence oddly peaceful. Their relationship seemed nearly unaffected by all of this new tension, but neither of them chose to fix any of their unspoken issues. Minho would go to work and come home several hours later to find Jisung in nearly the same spot he had left him in. They talk, eat dinner together, watch a movie and head into bed as if nothing had changed. They still loved each other, but failed to realize the damage that they were doing to their relationship the more they left the situation pinned above them, dangling right in front of their eyes. Yet, neither of them wanted nor dared to acknowledge the growing distance between them.
Today in particular, Minho left earlier than normal. Jisung was asleep when Minho had left, eyes scanning the apartment for life as he rolled out of bed just shy of nine in the morning. The cats had been fed, now off somewhere snoozing the morning away and out of sight, leaving Jisung alone as he walked towards the fridge in search of sustenance.
It's only then that he thinks to check his phone for a text, and to his surprise, he finds one.
Minho ♡
Got called in early. I'll be home in time for dinner.
Jisung groans. The text was dry and he hated how distant Minho had seemed. Out of worry, and doing his best to be a good boyfriend, Jisung decides to text him back.
Just woke up. I was sad to see you gone already. I'll see you when you get home.♡
With his phone discarded to the kitchen counter, he takes it upon himself to continue looking for food, reaching for left overs from the night before so he could avoid using too much energy when he was still groggy. To his surprise, yet again, his phone buzzes. He honestly was not expecting another message from his partner, assuming that the conversation was well over. Curious, Jisung walks over and taps the screen, spotting another message.
Minho ♡
Sorry, Ji. I can bring food home with me if you want?
Jisung raises his gaze away from his phone in contemplation, tilting his head slightly in both directions as he internally debates the options ahead of him before he replies back.
What do you have in mind?
Minho ♡
I can always stop by that barbeque place that you like.
That's a bit out of your way. Are you sure?
Minho ♡
It's not a big deal. If you want it, I can go get it after work.
Well, then that sounds good. Do you remember what I get?
Minho ♡
Of course. I'll see you later. ♡
Jisung sighs, leaning away from his phone. He knew Minho was trying (in his own, weird Minho-type way), he just wished he wasn't so damn stubborn. But, just before he's about to shut his screen off, another text rings through.
Minho ♡
I love you.
I love you too. ♡
Have a good day at work!
Jisung sighs with relief, feeling some of the tension drift away for now, hopeful that it will stay that way.
So, he continues on with his morning like normal, eating his left overs and heading right to his desk to stare at his monitors for the inevitable next several hours, working away diligently until he hears the front door click open. Jisung takes off his headphones, putting his computer tower to sleep before leaving the bedroom to see Minho by the front door taking his shoes off.
"You're home." Jisung smiles, walking closer to him and being welcomed into a hug once he's close enough.
"I am. And I brought food." Minho says tiredly, locking the front door behind him.
"Did you have a good day?"
"Mhm. Did you?" Minho watches as Jisung leans back and nods, eyes relaxed and fond.
"I just worked at my desk all day, so I'd say so." Minho scoffs at him lightly, leaning down to kiss him once, almost pulling away, but lingering to kiss him one more time.
"Still hungry for barbeque?" Minho asks quietly, barely leaned away from Jisung's lips.
"Looking forward to it, actually." Jisung kisses him again, hands drifting to hold Minho by the sides of his jaw, almost unable to break away until he parts for air.
"What's up with you recently, Ji?" Minho asks quietly, raising his brow. "Not that I'm complaining, just. . . noticed that you're clingier than usual."
"I just missed you." Jisung forces a smile, hoping that Minho doesn't notice the sadness accompanying his tone. It was true, he did miss him, but he missed him in more ways than he can describe. He missed how natural their relationship felt, how forcefree it was, and he misses the Minho he fell in love with. This Minho was colder, harder to reach, and at times incredibly distant. To be honest, Jisung was surprised that Minho even bothered to text him this morning with how hot and cold he had been.
Jisung just wanted his Minho back. He just wasn't sure where to find him anymore.
Minho eyes him for a moment, and Jisung is suddenly afraid that his admittance would be met with some form of a rebuttal, but instead, Minho replies with, "I missed you, too."
Jisung smiles at him, leaning away to head towards the kitchen counters. Minho follows closely behind, watching the younger reach into the totes holding their food within plastic containers.
Jisung hands Minho his container before grabbing his own and heading towards their usual eating spot; the couch. They talk minimally as they watch a random cooking show they've recently been invested into, cleaning up their mess shortly after.
They spend the next couple of hours sitting on the couch, resting against opposite ends, but with their legs slightly tangled together. It wasn't much, but it was the attention Jisung wanted and easily received.
"I think I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed." Minho says quietly after their show ends, reaching for the remote.
"Ready for bed already?" Jisung raises his brow, sitting up from his leaned position to eye his boyfriend better.
"Yeah. Long day. Coming with me?"
"I'll come to bed, yeah." Jisung fixes the pillow that was behind his head as he stands from the couch, listening to Minho turn off the television and set the remote back down. Jisung strolls into the bedroom with Minho not too far behind, wandering to his side of the bed before pulling back the comforter. Jisung carefully watches as Minho tosses his phone onto the mess of blankets before walking into the bathroom and closing the door without a word. He eyes Minho's phone weirdly, raising a curious brow as intrigue fills his mind, but he ignores it, settling into bed without issue.
He reaches for his own phone, beginning to scroll through Twitter endlessly. His mind was stuck on the idea of what clues could be hidden within the depth of Minho's phone, but he ignored the urge to look. He's not that type of boyfriend. He trusts Minho whole-heartedly, but he wanted to know this unknown secret that Chris had the pleasure of knowing and he didn't more than anything else. Purely out of concern, of course.
Yet, he digresses. He chooses to ignore it still, trying his best to enthrall his mind into the wondrous world that is Twitter and its obscurities. But, Minho's phone buzzes. Curiously, Jisung steals a glance, noticing an unfamiliar contact name present itself on his screen. Jisung eyes the bathroom door, still hearing the shower turned on and active, so he grabs Minho's phone and sees that it was his father reaching out by coincidence.
Dad
I wanted to reach out and personally apologize for our argument at the gala. It was not my intention to belittle you and corner you the way I did. I was under a lot of stress and pressure from the company to make sure all went well and I took it out on you. I also wanted to apologize for my behavior towards your friend, if that is even what he is. I didn't mean to interrupt you both talking on the balcony like that. I was concerned and curious, and as your father, I couldn't help myself because I worry about you. I know we don't speak as often as I'd like us to, nor are we on communicable grounds, but I wanted to sincerely apologize to you. We are all we have now. My wife, your mother, is gone, and I'm sure that that alone has been hard enough on the both of us. I want to repair our relationship before I lose you too. Please contact me whenever you're willing. I'm just a call away.
"What's that?" Minho says, snapping the band of his joggers to his waist. Jisung had no idea how long Minho had been standing there and watching him read his text messages like a nosey, untrusting boyfriend, but Minho didn't seem to care that much. Jisung's gaze tilts towards Minho, gently tossing Minho's phone towards the edge of the bed.
"Your dad." Jisung says quietly, treading carefully on bumpy grounds. "He apologized."
"Yeah, I don't believe it." Minho rolls his eyes, reaching for his phone. He's quiet for a moment, face emotionless as his eyes scan through the text message carefully. Jisung watches him worriedly, nervous that he'd reject the text or simply ignore it, but he still had no idea what exactly his father was even apologizing for.
"What a fucking douche." Minho tosses his phone away, turning back towards the bathroom, tossing the towel he had discarded to the floor inside.
"Minho–" Jisung glances at his phone for a second, almost wanting to grab it again. "I think you should hear him out."
"There's nothing to listen to." Minho sighs. "He's lying through his teeth. He's an asshole."
"I know I don't know what happened, but I really think you should hear him out."
"Jisung, I don't want to talk to him, okay? I don't want to see him and I don't want to be around him right now." Minho walks towards his side of the bed, pulling the comforter back.
"He sounds like he's really sorry. . ." Jisung's voice trails into a whisper, almost scared of Minho's reaction to his statement.
"He's never been sorry for a single thing in his entire life, and he sure as shit wouldn't start saying sorry now." Minho remarks as he climbs into bed, adjusting his pillows slightly before laying down on his back, staring up into the ceiling. Jisung looks at him sadly, afraid to say anything else. "He only wants me to come crawling back because he wants to use me again for his own gain."
"Minho, I don't wanna overstep, but he genuinely sounds sincere. I just wish you'd tell me what's been holding you two apart or even about what happened that night."
"I don't want to fucking talk about it, Jisung. Please leave it alone and let it go." Minho snaps suddenly, voice raising slightly as he speaks. Jisung winces visibly, sitting upright in bed, gaze falling away from Minho dejectedly. He only wanted to help, but he was unaware he'd press so many emotional buttons with a few statements.
Jisung puts his phone on the charger that was next to his bed and lays down on his side, back facing Minho as he stares out of the large uncovered windows. Jisung wishes he could understand the gravity of their situation fully before placing too many hurt feelings into the evening. But, the cityscape is calming, eyes watching the dark nightsky and counting the amount of office lights still on as businesses rushed to close and people stayed late to finish their work. It was enough to distract him from letting his incoming anxiety destroy his emotional state at the moment, letting his eyes wander around the sight ahead of him. But, before he can think of anything else, Minho's arms wrap around his waist timidly, almost on the verge of retreating.
"I'm sorry." Minho apologizes quietly, pressing a kiss to the back of Jisung's shoulder. "I didn't mean to raise my voice at you."
"You can just tell me that you don't want to talk about it without yelling at me." Jisung says quietly, biting back more words that threaten to spill over as jealousy lingers. He knew Chris was his best friend, but he still felt as if he deserved to know just as much as Chris did. He couldn't help but feel left out.
"I know." Minho sighs. "I'm just on edge recently and I keep pushing you away. I'm not being fair to you."
Ah, Jisung breathes in calmingly. There's a hint of the Minho I know.
"I just want you to talk to me. I don't want you to feel like you have to hide stuff from me."
"I don't feel like that. What happened at the gala is just. . . not great. It's not worth bringing up anymore. But if you wanna know, I'll tell you."
"Of course I wanna know." Jisung turns around in Minho's arms, facing him and pulling the comforter up further towards his torso. "We're dating, Minho and I live with you. I wanna know everything that you want to tell me. I hated seeing you so off. You just weren't yourself for so long and you still aren't. I just wanna know that you're okay."
"I pulled myself back because of what he said about you. I was resentful of him for a while and I was so angry and I really didn't want any of that to come off in my attitude towards you."
"Okay, but you haven't been treating me the same for almost a month. You only kiss me when you leave for work, if I'm awake when you leave, then you come home and we do the same shit every night. We eat, watch anime or something, then go to bed and avoid talking about it."
"I know. I suck at communicating, Jisung. I really do. When I get in my head like this, it becomes hard to understand what I truly want so I tend to just shut down."
"It's okay to shut down temporarily, but don't shut me out." Jisung pleads quietly. "I'm here for you regardless of what he said about me or about us, I don't care. I know he might've seen us holding hands at the gala, I'm not blind. What he said doesn't matter to me. I don't care if he's mad at me for dating his straight son because of some stupid image, I just want you to tell me what happened."
"That's not it. . . well, not exactly." Minho says softly, trying to get Jisung to relax. "He said that he was disappointed that I didn't show up with a woman. He didn't outright say that he hated that we were together, but he was also upset that I just didn't outright introduce you that way because he's known about you living here for some time. I guess the fucker watches the cameras in the lobby and has seen us leaving at the same time and coming back. Plus us moving in your computer desk and whatever else, so. . . the gig was up before it even began."
Minho takes a steadying breath, eyes avoiding Jisung for a second. "When he said he was disappointed in me, I lost it. It was the one thing I didn't want. He is allowed to call me anything and say whatever he wants to me, but, the second he said that, I don't know, it felt like my world was crushed."
"Minho–" Jisung says sadly, now finally realizing why Minho had been so hesitant. "God, I'm sorry."
"So, this apology from him means shit to me. I just don't want it right now. I don't want anything from him right now."
"Okay." Jisung nods, reaching his hands over to move strands of wet hair from Minho's sleepy gaze. "I understand one hundred percent. I'm sorry for being so nosy, but I'm really thankful that you told me."
"You deserved to know way sooner than this. I was just scared, not that it's an excuse or whatever."
"No. It's okay. I'm not mad or anything, I was just really worried about you. When I said that I missed you earlier, I meant that broadly. Not just today or just because you were at work. I meant it in general. I missed talking to you like this, I missed holding you and I missed hearing your voice or seeing you smile–" Jisung swallows his tears as his voice slightly breaks, keeping them at bay, feeling nothing except guilt pooling in his stomach for being so unspokenly resentful. "It just hurts to see the one person I love more than anything struggling, especially when it feels like I can't do anything to fix it."
"I'm sorry." Minho uses his hold on Jisung's waist to pull him towards his chest, pressing kiss after kiss into Jisung's hair. "I'm so fucking sorry."
"It's okay. I'm just glad I have you back. I've really missed you."
"I'll do better for you." Minho promises quietly, hugging Jisung tighter. "You deserve better."
"I don't want better." Jisung mumbles. "I just want you."
"Okay." Minho mutters, closing his eyes. "You can have me. All of me."
Jisung holds him closer, listening to Minho's breaths suddenly hitch and deepen, struggling to keep his composure. "Don't cry, jagi."
"I just feel bad." Minho sniffles, kissing Jisung's head again. "I get so caught up in myself that I don't realize how blind I'm being."
"Minho–" Jisung leans away, reaching his hand up to cup the side of Minho's face. "I'm not gonna leave you."
"That's not what–"
"Hey." Jisung interrupts quietly, thumb stroking Minho's cheek warmly. "I know you won't say it outright. But I can tell that you were worried that I was gonna pack up and leave."
"I hate how you can see right through me." Minho smiles at him weakly, and Jisung feels his heart shatter.
"Tortured souls, remember?" Jisung wipes away another tear, voice gentle as he speaks again. "I'm not going anywhere. You are unfortunately stuck with me, Lee Minho. Like it or not, I'm obsessed with you. I'm not going to abandon you when you're at your lowest and struggling to be yourself because of your father and circumstances that have nothing to do with me. I just want you to be honest with me, that's all."
"I'll work on it." Minho says calmly, eyes searching Jisung's gaze for something he couldn't quite place. "I really love you, Jisung. So much that it kinda scares me sometimes."
"I know. Me too. I love you more than I think you realize." Jisung watches Minho visibly relax, tears slowly drying the calmer he gets. "Feel okay to sleep now?"
"Yeah." Minho applies pressure into Jisung's waist, pulling slightly. "C'mere."
Jisung willingly moves back to rest against Minho's chest, arms snug around his waist.
Minho falls asleep soon after, turning away to roll onto his opposite side at some point during the night. Jisung wakes from the sudden movement, peeling his eyes open groggily to eye Minho. He wasn't sure what time it was, nor did he remember even falling asleep, but he wills to move closer, wrapping his arms around Minho again, pulling the elder into his chest. He presses a soft kiss to the back of Minho's neck, unwilling to let him go. He knew Minho was trying to fight off his demons the best he could, but just needed some patience in doing so. Jisung would wait. He'd wait an eternity if he had to.
"Hey," A voice stirs Jisung awake, pulling him away from his dreamscape as he hums a response.
"Hm? What?"
"I got called in again. I'm heading out now." Minho says quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed, hand moving to rest on Jisung's covered hip.
"Oh–" Jisung blinks a few times before his eyes focus on Minho, smiling the minute he sees him. "Be home for dinner again?"
"I'll be home earlier than that. I'll let you know when I'm on the way back."
"Don't rush your work day because of me, Minho." Jisung says adamantly, but Minho shakes his head.
"I want to. I wanna spend more time with you and make up for being so absent."
"Minho–" Jisung whines, but is cut off by Minho kissing him.
"Just let me make it up to you." Minho smiles. "Get some sleep. I love you, and I'll be back later."
"I love you too." Jisung smiles back, watching Minho rise off of the bed and head out of the bedroom.
Jisung doesn't know how he falls back asleep, but he does, waking up almost four hours later with his phone ringing.
His eyes peel open again in a rush, searching the bed for his phone, reaching for it once he spots it. He doesn't bother to look at the contact, sliding it open and answering it in a rush, trying to wipe the sleep away from his eyes.
"Hello?"
"Hey, did I wake you?" Chris asks quietly.
"Yeah, but also no. I probably needed to get out of bed." Jisung blinks twice before realizing that Chris of all people was calling him, which was extremely strange behavior. "But, what's up?"
"Minho is very cryptic with me sometimes, so I just wanted insight on how he's actually doing."
"Well. . . he's not himself right now. He's been avoiding talking about everything until he broke down last night."
"Sounds like textbook Minho." Chris sighs. "Did he finally tell you what happened at the gala?"
"Yeah. He told me what his dad said about wishing he brought a girl with him."
"I've been begging him to just be honest with you. He was afraid of your reaction to hearing that was all."
"I don't really care what his dad wants. As far as I'm concerned, Minho loves me. That's all that matters."
"I told him that you'd say something like that, but he disagreed with me."
"But even still, on top of that, he was avoiding me. Ever since that night, he was barely touching me, barely kissing me, only saying bye to me in the morning and not doing our normal ritual. It was weird. I was afraid that I did something wrong, but it wasn't like he was pushing me away, he was pulling himself away, more like. He apologized to me, though. He said he sucks at communicating, which is an understatement, but he's trying."
"That was the driving wedge between him and Seungmin, remember. Minho didn't communicate and Seungmin had always hated that about Minho. I'm glad you stuck around through all of that. Minho just needs a little patience sometimes because he gets so into his head that he forgets to breathe."
"I found out a while ago that he's been calling you in the mornings to talk," Jisung mentions lightly. "Not gonna lie, I was a bit jealous of him confiding in you."
"I know. I harbor the guilt of doing that, but he needed to talk and I couldn't convince him to go to you. He was insistent because I knew about everything that had happened in the past. He doesn't have to relive the trauma of his mom's accident in explaining it to me. He just talks and I can refer to what he's talking about because I went through it with him."
"Do you think he'll ever tell me?"
"To be honest, I don't know if he ever will. His mother's death is a really sensitive topic, but it's also partially because he doesn't remember all of the details. Minho spent a few months in therapy dealing with it, but his memory from the accident never came back, so a lot of the details are foggy to him."
"I can't imagine Minho going to therapy." Jisung scoffs. "It's not like him."
"It was more like damage control. He spent the time forgiving himself for what happened, but learned unhealthy habits from toxic relationships he got himself into. His horrible communication skills stem from the bullshit his father put him through. Even his therapist couldn't get through to him on that."
"He's trying, though. That's all that really matters to me. I don't care about what he did in the past or what he didn't do. We're well past that now. I just. . . I wanna know what happened, y'know? I hate feeling left in the dark about all of this."
"He should tell you at his pace, but, because of how closed off he's been as of late, I don't know that you're ever going to hear the answer that you want to hear."
"Can you tell me then?"
"Jisung–"
"I just wanna know. I know that I should hear it from him, but I don't think he's going to tell me and I'm going to be stuck not knowing something that he obviously doesn't want to tell me."
"I can't imagine feeling like that."
"I just wanna understand." Jisung sighs. "I just want to be able to help him."
"Well–" Chris hesitates, suddenly stopping in his words as he ponders. Jisung waits, breath catching in his throat as he listens to Chris speak again. "Okay. If you want to know, then I'll tell you."
"Thank you." Jisung says with a bit of relief.
"It's not fair for you not to know, and though I wish you'd wait for Minho to tell you himself, I understand where you're coming from."
"I'll apologize to him later."
"Well, what exactly do you wanna know?"
"How did his mom pass?" Jisung asks timidly, eyes casting down to look at his free hand as it tangles the comforter and sheets between his fingers.
"Car accident."
"Minho, he–" Jisung's brow furrows. "He has a scar on his stomach. Is that related?"
"Yeah. They were headed out somewhere, just the two of them. When she crossed an intersection, another driver t-boned their car. Minho doesn't remember anything after this. He doesn't remember the hospital or the ride there in the ambulance, but from what I know, his mom was dead on impact. The other driver hit her driver's side door. Minho survived the accident, but not without injury."
"Jesus." Jisung says quietly, eyes closing. The thought of all of that made his heart hurt, and now he suddenly understood why Minho didn't want to tell him any of it, nor try to remember it.
"Minho never told me how he got the scar, not that I bothered to ask either. I'm assuming he doesn't want to talk about that part of it, especially if he won't even tell me."
"I feel so bad." Jisung shakes his head. "I can't imagine going through that."
"He doesn't remember a lot of it. He and I were friends at the time, so when it happened, I found out almost immediately afterwards. I know Minho says that his dad probably resents him because his mom passed and he didn't, but it couldn't be farther from the truth."
"He really hates his dad as of late."
"Oh trust me, I hate the guy too. He hasn't been a very supportive father for him in the last few years, especially after he got remarried. But, I know that his dad was just as afraid of losing Minho the way he lost his wife."
"The text he sent him last night was really sad, Chan." Jisung says quietly. "Did Minho tell you what he said?"
"No. I'm assuming I'll find out when he's on his break."
"He apologized. About everything, well, I think everything. He wanted to meet Minho somewhere to talk so they could fix their relationship, but Minho just seems really unwilling."
"His dad has done some shitty stuff to him lately. I'm not surprised to hear that Minho is hesitant, but he really should hear him out. I don't approve of his dad and his dad's ideas, but he's still Minho's father. I just want whatever Minho wants."
"I just want him to be himself again." Jisung's hand grips the comforter tighter. "I've seen a version of him I've never seen before more than I've seen a glimpse of the person that I love. It's scary sometimes, even though I know he's dealing with some shit right now. That's why I just wanted you to tell me. I wanted a glimpse of what he's going through and what he's dealing with so I can help him better."
"He's really lucky to have found someone like you, Jisung. You're exactly what he needs in his life. As much as I care about Seungmin and wish that what had happened between them didn't happen in the first place, they just weren't right for each other like the two of you are."
"I feel like he's my person, y'know? Seeing him like this kills me."
"I know. He's gonna walk out the otherside of the darkness and be himself again. Just be patient."
"I'm trying to be. You telling me all of this helps a bunch."
"He's probably going to be mad that I told you, so prepare yourself for that. But it was for the best that you knew, so now he can go to you, too. Just try to ease into the conversation as gently as you can because he's really sensitive about it. If you don't want to tell him, I can, but it might be better coming from you."
"No, no, I'll tell him. Thanks for calling me, Chan. Thanks for checking in on him too. I know he won't say it, but he does love and care about you."
"I know he does. He just shows it in weird ways." Chris says with a subtle laugh, which in turn earns a smile on Jisung's lips.
"I'll let you know how it goes tonight. He said he's gonna be home a bit earlier than normal, so I don't really know when to expect him."
"Ah, that's fine. I have the day off. Feel free to call me if you ever need me. We're friends now too, Jisung."
"Glad to be." Jisung hums. "Talk soon."
"Yeah, talk soon."
Jisung lingers in bed for what feels like another thirty minutes, simply processing everything he had just heard. He felt guilty about digging into Minho's past, but the answers he spent so long searching for finally made sense of the puzzle he was trying to complete. He just hoped Minho wouldn't hate him for being so rash.
Minho ♡
On the way back. Be home in a few.
Okay. :)
Jisung sets his phone down, eyeing the time carefully before he does so. It had been around three hours since he had talked to Chris last, now finally in on the unknowing secret that Minho held so tightly to himself. The incoming conversation wasn't going to be a fun one, but it was one they needed to have. He isn't completely sure how Minho was going to react, but given their situation, Jisung just wants his boyfriend to be happy again.
Before he knows it, the front door unlocks and Minho walks inside.
"Jagiya–" Minho hums happily, a tone Jisung hadn't heard in weeks.
"Hi," Jisung smiles at him while he sits on the couch, facing his gaze towards the front door as he watches Minho approach after kicking his shoes off. The cats follow curiously, meowing and purring as they greet Minho in each of their own ways. "How was work?"
"Tough." Minho sighs, sitting down on the couch next to Jisung, patting his lap as an invitation to a looming Dori that was looking to jump onto the couch. Dori does as asked, hopping right up without hesitating, rubbing his face onto Minho's stomach with gentle purrs.
"Lots of dancing?"
"Lots of everything today." Minho huffs lightly. "But it's done and over with. I'm just happy to be home. What did you do all day?"
"Not too much," Jisung feels his heart thump against his chest as the phone call from earlier lingers anxiously. "I did get a call from Channie though."
"Oh?" Minho eyes him curiously. "That's strange of him."
"He wanted to check in on you because he doesn't think you'd be honest on how you're actually doing."
"Well, he's not wrong. I don't want to make him worry. What did you tell him?"
"I told him a bit about what happened last night." Jisung watches Minho's gaze fall away, expression falling unreadable. "He said that it was classic behavior from you."
"Yeah, he's not wrong."
"But he– uh. He also told me something else."
"Like what?"
"He told me about your mom." Minho doesn't move nor speak for a long two minutes. Jisung felt like he had just dropped a bomb of some kind, almost like he had just stepped on a landmine in the middle of their apartment and couldn't step off without destroying everything in its wake.
"What about her?" Minho's voice is even, smooth; careful. He's curious, but treading lightly.
"He told me the story, Minho." Jisung breaks his eyes away, looking down at Dori who was sitting peacefully on Minho's lap. "A-About the car accident."
"Wait." Minho's brows furrow. "He just told you outright? Just out of nowhere?"
"No, I. . . I wanted to know."
"Jisung–" Minho's voice is harsher, coated with irritation.
"No, jagi, please listen to me. I wanted to know so I could understand you better. I want to be able to help you but I don't feel like I'm any help right now."
"You had no right to ask him that." Minho shakes his head. "Why wouldn't you ask me? Why the fuck would you go to my best friend and ask him instead?"
"I didn't think you'd tell me." Jisung's voice trembles, watching Minho gently push Dori off of his lap so he can stand up from his seat.
"I told you that the memory of that is fucking painful. I told you that I didn't want to talk about it and so you decided that the best idea would be to go and find out from my best friend and try to talk to me about it anyways?"
"I didn't want to lie to you!"
"I wish you fucking would've." Minho bites, walking away from the couch and towards the entryway. "Why did you ask? Besides wanting to understand me, why else? There's gotta be another reason."
"The text from your dad–"
"Give me a fucking break, Jisung." Minho rolls his eyes, walking even further away. "I trusted you. I trusted you to give me the time and the space I needed to deal with all of this shit and you completely ignored me."
"Minho, no, please– this isn't how I wanted this conversation to go."
"How was it supposed to go? Was I supposed to be happy to talk about my mother dying in a fucking car accident?"
"Minho–" Jisung's eyes are leaking with tears, standing from the couch as he wills to approach his boyfriend, but hesitates in doing so. Minho stands at the front door, putting his shoes back on and grabbing his keys, reaching for the door handle. "Where are you going?"
"Doesn't matter. Just leave me alone."
"Minho–" Jisung calls after him, listening to the door slam shut without another word.