M
"i'm han jisung. twenty one. nice to meet you." jisung breathes out, extending a hand to minho courteously. minho smiles, playng along. he will take any chance he gets to start over from the travesty that was their reunion.
"lee minho. twenty three. it's a pleasure to meet you too." minho replies, savouring the moment with jisung's hand in his. rough, calloused, gentle.
minho looks up at the red and orange shades streaking across the sky from the luminescent ball of light. much as he envisions jisung, the sun is warm, welcoming and when minho looks back at jisung, he finds him transfixed by the beauty of the scene above them.
"i am sorry." minho says slowly, gaze falling back to his sweaty palms as he claws for words to say, for a way to articulate his regret, hopefulness and gratitude to jisung.
"hey sorry, i'm dad." jisung says, breaking the sorrowful mood and getting a laugh out of minho. he lightly shoves minho's shoulder, looking away in embarrassment immediately.
"oh shut up." minho retorts, but he lets the relief of a joke bleed into his composure. he relaxes, slumps his shoulders, hunching his back, and finally, he knows what to say.
"i don't hate you, jisung." he chooses to say. the simplest way to let him know. a look of relief flashes across jisung's face, and he offers a weak smile in response.
"i hoped so." he replies, shading his eyes from the blinding, golden rays of light. "i don't hate you either." he adds, and minho interprets it as a reassurance.
"we have work to do then, i guess."