Chapter Text
Jisung wasn’t that close to the other boys besides Felix (and how he was friends with Felix in the first place? that’s a long story of friends of a friend, but maybe because of the almost shared birthday, they ended up connecting immediately) and it’s true that Hyunjin was warming up to him from dating little sunshine, but still, Yongbokie was the only reason he would get dressed up and go out on that April 29th.
The early spring chill wasn’t as bad as winter’s but still too far from summer for him not to put on something with long sleeves. They were going to watch the boys' performance and hang out at Felix and Hyunjin’s place afterwards, so his favorite striped sweater would suffice.
The teachers of Laventer Performing School had this tradition of presenting to an open audience around the end of the academic year, to inspire their pupils in their own performances that happened in mid-June. Today, it was dancing, so Felix, his boyfriend and their friends, were getting ready backstage as Jisung and the rest of the friend group gathered in the audience.
Jisung went backstage with Chan before the performance to try and calm Lixie down, but he was in fact nervously checking his pulse when they got there.
“You good, bro?” sometimes Chan would switch to English when speaking to Felix, and Jisung couldn’t help but wonder if that was a strategy to make him feel at home – in a sense, to make both of them feel at home.
“Oh, it’s so nerve wrecking to go on stage” the blond boy replied in Korean, probably not to alienate Jisung and Hyunjin, who was rubbing his back.
“I know, yeobo, but remember, this is just for the kids to get inspired!” Hyunjin said in a soothing way Jisung had never seen before – see? That’s exactly how he was warming up to the guy, pabo or not.
“You guys make me feel extra single” was what Jisung went with in the end and Hyunjin’s head shot back while he clapped, although Felix’s low laughter sounded funnier than anything Jisung could say.
He and Chan left the boys and walked up to their seats. The whole performance lasted for about an hour and a half and it was mesmerizing, all of the teachers put on a show. Jisung knew some of them from hanging out with Felix, such as Minho (the closest to them), Momo, Yeonjun and Hoseok, but even the ones he had never seen before were incredible.
Jisung, Chan and Changbin arrived at the Hyunjin and Felix’s home after stopping to get some celebratory booze. The place was small but the doors to the balcony were left open, with fairy lights decorating it.
“Congratulations, you guys, that was amazing!” Chan said, leading the way inside as he pulled Hyunjin into an embrace [against his will].
“Yeah, I don’t get how you can do all that and not break your neck”, Jisung joked as a greeting and got a scoff back, but he could see a smile peeking.
“C’mon, get inside, you can leave the bottles at the counter, also, the food is there as well” Felix responded, appearing out of nowhere and saying the last part to an animated Changbin.
As he stepped inside, Jisung looked around, noticing it was just the usual eight of them. Seungmin (another teacher at Laventer, except he gave singing lessons) was on the couch, crowded by Jeongin (his closest friend and also a vocal teacher) and Minho. The three of them were having what looked like an intense conversation, but Jisung could hear their laughter as he moved to the kitchen.
He grabbed some pizza, a beer and hung around his closest friends, as he didn’t know how to approach Jeongin nor Minho so he tried to play it cool.
As the night went on, everyone seemed to get progressively drunk so Jisung went out on the balcony to catch some evening air and tried to get his mind cleared.
“Did you enjoy it?” Minho said from behind him, stepping into the little balcony.
“What? The performance?” That felt like so long ago, but the older just nodded, his dark brown hair falling in his eyes, “Yes! I mean, you guys were unbelievable”.
“Thank you, Jisung-ah”, he replied. He had dropped the formality without asking long before, which wasn't bad, just odd.
A comfortable silence fell on them, as they both looked up at the stars.
“Do you want something to drink? I heard Seungmin made some cocktails that I have yet to try”, without tearing his eyes from the night sky, Minho agreed.
The orange cocktail was sweet when Jisung sipped it, but the soju afterburn felt dangerously subtle. Minho carefully grabbed his own glass, brushing his hand on Jisung’s, and somewhere inside of the younger, he could feel that touch lit a fuse. In all honesty, there wasn’t much needed to ignite the attraction that was dormant.
The rest of the night was a blur, as the both of them drowned in the menacing pink drinks and exchanged funny stories, the touches becoming more and more frequent. At some point, Jisung found himself with his arms around Minho’s shoulders, they were on the couch looking at pictures and videos of Minho’s cats. Chan and Changbin were out getting more beer, Hyunjin and Felix were nowhere to be seen (probably making out somewhere around the apartment), and they could hear Seungmin’s voice from the kitchen, as Jeongin swallowed the rest of the pizza in a couple mouthfuls.
Jisung’s head was spinning from the proximity. He could feel the air around them charged with electricity, although the thought of Minho, with his angelical face and puzzling eyes, wanting him back felt impossible. But still, the crooked lips seemed to be calling Jisung, so he got up abruptly and rushed to the balcony for some more fresh air.
“Jisung-ah? Is everything ok?” he could still smell the peach in his breath and that was maybe worse than before.
“Yeah, just the cocktails making me dizzy”, he answered quickly in a slurred way, looking back at what was actually making him dizzy.
“I’d offer you some pizza, but I’m pretty sure Jeonginnie aspirated it as usual”, he chuckled and it was adorable. Jisung noticed how his right eye closed more than the left one, which shouldn’t make him more attractive. He let out a soft laugh in return, a beat too slow.
“I guess I should probably head home soon”, he said as his mind raced over how to get Minho to go with him. The drinks before were a good idea, because it led them to spend more time together but now he was considerably more drunk and having good new ideas was getting harder.
“Oh. You’re right, me too” was his answer.
Damn it.
“Do you live in this part of town as well?”
Minho’s eyes sparked with curiosity as he said “No, not really, it’s a little far from here actually”.
Checkmate, he couldn’t lose.
“My apartment is just a few blocks away, if you’d rather, uh, sleep there and go to your place tomorrow, when you’re sober again” he said before losing courage.
Minho’s head tilted while he blinked before smiling.
“Ok.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Jisung offered as they stepped into his apartment. It was a one bedroom place, the kitchen and living room integrated by the lack of a dining room in the small setting. The couch was spacious enough for a small person to sleep on and the only bathroom was in the same hall as the bedroom.
There wasn’t much of a decoration, except for the Calcifer ornament on the coffee table, most of the furniture were simply wooden, but there was a pretty rug under the couch and Jisung had painted the walls a light forest green.
Minho hummed in agreement as he took off his shoes and looked around the apartment, making Jisung feel slightly exposed.
“I have red wine, water and some tea”, he said as he looked through the fridge, he was sure there was some juice in there as well.
“Wine is fine”, the older answered from the living room.
He set their glasses and the bottle on the coffee table and lit up a lamp next to the couch, so the direct lights wouldn’t wake them up. Even if neither of them had to work the next morning, it was around 1 a.m after all.
Minho sat next to him on the couch and, as Jisung moved to grab his own glass of wine, the older moved at the same time to look at the Calcifer and accidentally splashed his wine into Jisung, who could feel the blood rush into his cheeks.
Minho’s ears looked equally scarlet.
“Jisung-ah! I’m so sorry!” he said with wide eyes and small hands launching into Jisung as if that could undo it.
“There’s no problem!” he rushed to say but Minho looked at him in disbelief, “Really! I bet somewhere on Google I’ll find how to remove wine stains” he replied trying to ease Minho, heading towards his bedroom to change his sweater for something else.
After changing into a plain black tee with the sleeves rolled (so what he wanted to show off that Changbin was kidnapping him to the gym everytime he could? It had to be worth for something!), he convinced Minho there was no need for him to pay to get it professionally cleaned, distracting him by asking about his cats.
After the incident, the two of them fell back into the easy banter and Jisung did catch Minho looking at his arms, so maybe it wasn’t all that bad that his favorite sweater was probably ruined.
Jisung doesn’t know how it happened, they were sitting on the couch talking and five seconds later he was kissing Minho, his hands pulling the soft brown hair and their lips impossibly close.
All he remembers is that there was a pause in the conversation and Minho’s eyes had sparkled at him while he gave Jisung one of his beautiful smiles and, before he could think, Minho had closed the gap between their mouths and he felt the older’s smile on his own lips. He could feel Minho’s hands running over his back and settling on his waist, squeezing and pulling their bodies closer.
They were supposed to be just friends, but he wasn’t even sorry.
It’s not like the other guys would mind, but Jisung still felt the anxiety rising. No amount of alcohol was able to stop it.
He had to address the elephant in his mind.
The thing is, Jisung would get these infatuations that made him feel like he was on cloud nine. He would adore the other person and let himself get consumed. But he also knew that that wouldn’t last, he would get bored eventually.
The last time he let it get out of his control, he almost got himself married to a girl he wasn’t in love with. He knew that she was a good person, and it hurt him to break her heart ‘cause she was nice. But she wanted to be a bride and he was still making his own name, he had just started producing with the boys so 3RACHA needed his full attention.
That’s when he learned how selfish he can be, how his ambition came before love to him. After her, it happened time and time again, he went back to wanting people who wanted nothing ‘cause they were easier to manage, he’d just switch them and ghost. But how would he do that to Minho, who has been a constant in their group for years now?
He unglued their lips and looked at the man, the night was so starry behind him, making his hair seem lit from within and Minho looked even more angelic than usual. A part of himself questioned how he had known this man for so long and managed not to make a move sooner, and then he remembered how annoyed he was when they had first met.
It was three years ago, Minho had been a teacher at Laventer for just a year at that point. Jisung was there to meet up with Felix and Seungmin ‘cause they were going to karaoke night with Chan and Changbin. While waiting, he saw him.
He looked like a sculpture, his nose was perfect enough for Jisung to question if the guy was human. He also looked completely unimpressed, just politely nodding when he caught Jisung starring. It was so infuriating to see someone objectively hotter than himself that when Seungmin finally showed up he immediately asked who the mysterious guy was.
“Oh, that’s Minho-ssi, he’s a dance teacher with Felix”
“Really? I had never heard of him”
“Well, I don’t think they’re close. Although he’s been here for a while now, he is very reserved”
Somehow, after that day, the random encounters became more frequent, as Minho got closer to Felix and the other teachers, but that had made Jisung quickly get used to his looks. Tonight, he felt just as starstruck as that first evening.
“I’m sorry, Minho-ssi, I just…” the way Minho stared at him, eyes completely focused with dilated pupils and parted lips, looked tempting.
“Hyung is fine” Minho managed to say, but Jisung was set on powering through.
“I just wanna make it clear what this means”
“Huh?” Minho blinked at him.
“The kissing, and whatever else happens… No expectations with it, right? Just taking it easy and seeing where it goes”
“Yeah, sure, no pressure, I just wanted to kiss you” he said that last part looking at Jisung’s lips.
“Yeah? ‘Cause I wanted to kiss you, too, hyung-ah” he chuckled, finding his way back to Minho’s lips.
This time, both of them seemed to slow down, deepening and exploring more. He nibbled on the older’s lower lip and got a soft huff in response, which only encouraged him to keep exploring, kissing Minho’s jaw and neck. The hands on his waist squeezed tighter, one of them moving to his thigh and, next thing he knew, Minho was straddled under him.
Slowly, Jisung moved his hands to remove Minho’s light pink cardigan, still focused on kissing him and feeling encouraged when the other didn’t try to stop him and instead moved on to squeeze his butt.
“Finally, I’ve been wanting to do this” Minho murmured in his mouth and he could feel the smirk against his lips.
The night went on like this, wherever Jisung looked, Minho was there blurring out his periphery. Nothing had felt this right before, no one else had, Jisung should’ve known better but the God’s honest truth is that even the pain was Heaven.
It felt so good to have Minho inside of him, he didn’t want the night to end, but maybe they’ll see each other out some weekend – depending on what kind of mood and situationship they get in, and what's in their system.
Turns out there was nothing in their system on the second time.
Jisung went into Laventer Performing School that afternoon with the sole purpose of meeting Felix for some coffee (mostly for cheesecake, if he’s being honest), but while he waited for Yongbokie’s class to finish, he ended up stumbling upon Minho – the last person he wanted to see.
Truth is, that first night was great for both of them, but Jisung felt too much and Minho was too close to everyone else and he didn’t want to ruin everything. So, he decided to let him off by slowly ghosting him, but the odds weren’t in his favor and not even two weeks after their first time, there he was: Lee Minho.
“Jisung-ah! What are you doing here? Missed me already?” he said it so casually with his mischievous smile.
“Ah, I’m here to see Felix, actually”
“But his class won’t be over in 15 minutes…”, Minho blinked his long lashes at him which Jisung found unfair “Do you wanna come see what I’m preparing?”
And well, what was he supposed to say? “No”?
“Sure, lead the way”
Now, going along with this was dumb and Jisung knew he was a goner the minute the first chord started. It was “Charmer”, a new song by EXO that didn’t have a choreography yet, but whatever Minho came up with should be their official choice.
The way his little hands made the whistling movement and his torso seemed disconnected to the sound of the beat was… something.
He sure knows what he’s doing, Jisung thought to himself.
“What do you think? I’m still working on it but I think I’ll submit it to them” Minho said, not even panting.
“Minho-ssi, I-” but before he could finish his thoughts, Minho interrupted him.
“I told you to call me ‘hyung’” he said so temptingly “I thought you had learnt it the first time”
So yeah, he was alcohol-free this time but there was no way he wouldn’t take this opportunity to kiss the smugness away from Minho’s stupidly handsome face, so he just scoffed and pulled his hyung by his shirt.
And that’s how Felix found them: aggressively making out in one of the studios.
“Jisu- AH!”
They stopped kissing and turned to the door to find a pair of wide eyes that was quickly followed by a warm smile.
“Minho-hyung! Such a surprise to see you here” Felix tried to recover.
“I work here…” Minho said quietly, now definitely panting.
“I was looking for you but you were still in your class, so Minho-hyung, uh…” Jisung attempted to explain but that wasn’t the actual story.
“Oh, it’s fine! I’ll give you two some time, you can meet me in the lobby” Felix said, giving him an easy way out.
He closed the door and Jisung looked back at Minho who started laughing at his distraught expression.
“Hyung, don’t laugh at me!” he pouted.
“Ah, so cute” Minho said, poking his cheek, “When will I see you again, Jisungie? Next time I want you to come pick me up and not Yongboggie”
He could be so blunt sometimes but Jisung liked it, it made it easy for him to know which page they were on.
“Depends… When are you free, hyung-ah?”
The minute they stepped out of the school, Felix turned to him with expectant eyes and a shit eating grin.
“Minho-hyung, huh?”
“Ah, don’t start”
One of Felix’s eyes closed as he laughed maniacally.
“Wait until Hyunjin-”
“NO! You cannot tell your boyfriend!” Jisung stopped in his tracks to interrupt him.
He didn’t want anyone knowing about the two of them, but if anyone had to then it was good that it was Felix. On the other hand, Hyunjin was a gossip that would tell everyone and their mothers about it. He’d also tease Jisung endlessly.
“Agh, but this would be so much fun to share with him!”
“That’s precisely the problem” Jisung couldn’t help but laugh as he said it and Felix seemed to agree.
“Ok, promise.”
“...can I tell Chan?” he said after they got into the café.
“No… It’s too soon to tell, you know? But if this keeps happening I will tell him myself”
“Since when has this been going on, by the way?”
Jisung felt the tip of his ears turning red.
“Uh… since… the performance” he managed to say.
“What?! How did that happen and I didn’t see it?” Felix said as they waited in line.
“It didn’t happen in your house, pabo, he went to my place to spend the night”
“Minho-hyung went to your place to spend the night?” for some reason, he seemed suspicious.
“Uh, yeah” Jisung answered but it almost sounded like a question, “…that’s what I just said”
The mischievous glint in Felix’s eyes was making Jisung nervous.
“Oh, my God, he is so into you! Who made the first move?” but before Jisung could open his mouth “Wait! Don’t tell me, I already know: Minho-hyung did it”
That was getting more and more suspicious, but it was their turn to order.
“I don’t understand why you’re like this, like how did you know it was him?” Jisung said as they sat down with their order.
“I know you two, I know that he’s way too sincere and he does what he wants to, and I also know that you’re a little bitch that would never make the first move even if he asked you to kiss him” he said simply, filling his face with brownie.
“You’re not giving me enough credit here! I was the one who invited him over, ok?”
“Yeah, but that is a low commitment, you probably tried to disguise it somehow”
That was getting too eerie for Jisung’s taste.
“Ok, mister know-it-all, then where should I take him for our next date?”
Felix’s eyes looked like crescent moons as his face lit up with the question.
“Take him for sushi, you both love it”
And so Jisung did it.