*This ch takes place after Ch 8 events, but has background story in it, hence the odd ch title ^^

Jinki agrees to meet with Minhyuk on a Wednesday for lunch. Minho’s in class and Kibum has a new project to work on, so he figures it’ll be something good to do. They meet at a diner close to the apartment; Minhyuk’s there waiting for him when he gets there.

“Hey! Glad you could make it. Was traffic bad?” MInhyuk asks as Jinki slides into the booth.

“I just walked since the weather was nice. Have you been waiting long?”

“Oh no, maybe five minutes or so.”

“That’s a relief.”

He sits down and orders a drink when the waiter passes by.

“I hope I’m not impeding on any prior plans of yours, Jinki.”

“Oh, not at all.”

“I just wanted to give you some details about the wedding and ask you a few questions that I’ve been wondering but just never get the chance to ask when we all meet up like normal.”

Jinki nods. He waits for him to continue, but they’re interrupted by the return of the waiter.

“So, I guess I’ll ask my wonderings first, that way if we need to make any plan modifications we’ll only have to talk about it once?”

“Works for me.”

“So, the thing I guess I’m most curious about is how you and Minho ended up getting together? I know you’ve said that he’s been understandably quiet about family, but did he know who you were, in terms of family, or-”

Minhyuk’s cut off by a phone ringing. He reaches for his phone, slumping a bit as he answers. With a sigh he starts getting out of the booth.

“I’m so sorry, I have to take this. I’ll be back momentarily.”

Jinki nods in understanding, watching Minhyuk walk outside.  He chuckles to himself a little: it was rather uncommon for people to ask specifically about his and Minho’s relationship. Normally all anyone wanted to know about was how a relationship of three works.

***

It was almost the end of the semester. Their big project wasn’t quite due yet, but it was definitely getting to crunch time. Seemingly against his own will, he found himself becoming fond of his projectmates. He was at a party, he didn’t even know who’s, when he ran into a familiar face.

“Jinki! Is that you, Jinki?”

“Minho! Hey dude.”

Minho beamed at the confirmation that it was in fact Jinki. By the rosy tint to his cheeks and the red solo cup in his hand, Jinki can tell that whether or not he’s old enough, Minho’s had more than a little bit to drink. Minho reaches out for his arm, and though it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, there’s something different about it today. Whether it’s because of Minho’s confession of feelings for him or because of the lost, lonely look on Minho’s face, Jinki feels concerned.

“Who are you here with?” Jinki asks, shouting over the music.

“I came with my roommate and his friend because their friend’s friend is the one who’s throwing this party but I can’t find them now.”

“Have you tried calling them?”

Minho shakes his head. It’s exaggerated, almost cute in a way. “I don’t know their numbers and my phone is dead.”

“Just stay with me for awhile, we’ll do a round around the place and see if we can find them ok?”

Minho nods and they start making their way through people. It’s a proper house they’re in and it’s rather packed, so Jinki lets Minho link their arms together. They finish searching the bottom floor to no avail before making their way to the second floor. When they still don’t see them, they make their way outside, to the backyard. The fresh air does Jinki good. He doesn’t know why he even came. Beside him, Minho’s starting to panic.

“I don’t have a ride home now I don’t know how to get back to the dorm I didn’t pay attention to the way we came what am I gonna do?”

Jinki can see where his car is parked and guides Minho towards it. He leans on the hood and gestures for him to do the same.

“Well, first we’re going to sit here until you calm down. There’s no need to panic. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

Minho nods and takes a deep breath; Jinki lets him continue holding onto his arm.

“I’m sorry you’re stuck with me, I know you’d rather be in there than dealing with me.”

“Actually I was thinking about leaving when you found me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I came with a friend but he’s much more life of the party than I am. I usually don’t go to parties. I guess it’s lucky for you I did though.”

Minho hums.

“How much have you had to drink, Minho?”

They both look at the now empty cup in Minho’s hand.

“Like....two of these? I think? But I don’t know what was in them, my roommate got them for me.”

“Have you ever drank before?”

“No.”

“How old are you?”

There’s hesitation and Jinki laughs.
“I promise I’m not a cop, Minho. If you’re of age, I was going to offer to drive you back to campus for you to try and find your way home.”

“I’m twenty.”

“Alright, so that’s out.”

“Sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, bud. I’ve done it too. It’s all part of the experience.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes. Jinki feels his phone going off in his pocket and unlocks it to five variations of “you left already?”

“Minho, did you feel ok at my apartment when you and Kibum came over to work on the project?”
He tilts his head, tries to take a sip from his empty cup. “Yeah, I felt okay there. Why?”

“If you want to, you can come crash at my place.”

“Really?”

*

“Here’s some clothes so you don’t have to put those back on after you shower or like sleep in them or anything. The underwear are new out of the package so you don’t have to worry about catching anything from me.”

Minho takes the clothes and pauses before shutting the door.

“Thank you for letting me stay, Jinki.”

Jinki sits on the couch and relaxes when he hears the water start running. He thinks back to Minho’s confession the week before. With projects and other homework due, he hasn’t had time to consider his own feelings. It’s been a while since he dated, been a while since he’s felt affection for anyone. Kibum had made a comment or two about Minho recently, concerning both his good looks and sweet personality. As he waits, Jinki weighs out the good and the bad points of Minho. Sure he could be a little dramatic and seemed to have more than a few issues on his plate, but even putting his looks aside, Jinki couldn’t help but feel fondness for Minho’s sweet and bright personality. He doesn’t realize that the shower’s done until he feels a dip in the couch and turns to see Minho sitting down next to him. He seems a bit more sober, though his cheeks are still pink.

“What are you watching?” Minho asks, pointing at the tv.

Jinki hadn’t even realized he turned it on.

“I just turned it on for noise, you can change it if you want.”

“Oh no, it’s fine.”

“What kind of phone do you have? I might have a charger you can use?”

“It needs a mic...micro...”

“MicroUSB?”

“Yeah! Sorry, technology isn’t my strong suit...”
“It’s alright, bud. There should be a charger in one of the outlets in the kitchen if you want to try it.”

Minho gets up and scurries away. Jinki looks at the tv, trying to determine what exactly he’s watching: the scene isn’t well-lit, but he can mostly make out what seems to be a couple kissing. He doesn’t recognize the name and checks the synopsis. Of course he would pick a period drama full of romance.

“Oh I love this story!”

“You recognize it? I can barely see it.”

Minho plops down and begins rattling off details about the story that Jinki truthfully couldn’t care less about. But the enraptured glee in Minho’s face? Jinki is very interested in that so he leaves the movie on and tries his best to focus on what Minho’s saying and not just the way he chews his lip as he thinks. It takes all his effort not to reach out for Minho, not to kiss him until he’s quiet; and yet for all his efforts that’s exactly what he finds himself doing.

But Jinki doesn’t have to share that part of the story. Nor the part later in the night when he finds out that it’s Minho’s first kiss. And especially not the fact that Minho spent the whole weekend. And the weekend after, and the weekend after, and the...

“Sorry, business stops for no man.”

Jinki’s mind snaps back to the present at Minhyuk’s words.

“Oh, no worries. I understand.”

Minhyuk smiles cautiously. “It is nice to know that at least one of you do.”

There’s a lull and the waiter comes back to take their orders.

“So, you and Minho. What’s the story? I know you two met in that class, but when did you two call it official?”

“Well, our first date as a couple was to this performance of a Christmas Carol at a historic home.”