Two more chapters to go^^;! This one D: hasn't been looked over by my beta~ so I will edit it when I hear back from her^^;;

ΞΘΞ

“Wait, what?” Jonghyun pressed his palm to Minho’s chest, making Minho want to shift back except he was already leaning against the wall. “Jinki tracked you down in the library and took your phone number?” Jonghyun blinked slowly before he shook his head, as if he found it hard to believe what Minho was telling him.   Minho sighed and nodded his head, biting his lip as he sat there in a daze.

“I think this is it, Sungjong-ah,” Jonghyun sighed, turning to look at Sungjong. “Minho’s finally lost the plot. He’s so delusional that he thinks Jinki-hyung wanted his phone number.” Jonghyun pouted, and Sungjong giggled when he saw the glare Minho directed at Jonghyun. Jonghyun reached for Minho’s phone, which was lying on the bed between them, when it began to ring. Jonghyun frowned and picked the phone up, gaping as he read the caller’s name.

“Wait, it actually says Jinki!” Jonghyun frowned, showing it to Sungjong, as Minho lurched forward, grabbing onto Jonghyun’s arm desperately. Minho wondered if Jonghyun was being serious or was he just playing with him? Minho could feel his mouth going dry, and he felt a little jittery. Maybe it really was Jinki?

“Are you serious?” Minho gasped out. “Really? Is it Jinki?” Minho tugged on Jonghyun’s arm harder, half-wrestling him in an attempt to grab his phone out of his friend’s reach. “Hyung! I am going to kill you!” Minho growled as Jonghyun flopped down on the floor with the phone under him. “Hyung, if you don’t give me the phone, I’m going to ing kill you!” Minho slid off his bed, towering above Jonghyun, who was now crouched down on the floor, half-sitting under the bed.

“Hi!” Jonghyun panted out, wriggling further under the bed to keep Minho away, “is this Jinki?” Minho growled again, louder, getting down on the floor to look under the bed at where Jonghyun was sitting in the dark. Minho blinked and then flopped down so he was lying on the floor, and he carefully began to slide under the bed, unable to stop glaring at Jonghyun. Only Jonghyun would go under the bed; of course he would do something that ridiculous. Jonghyun stuck his tongue out at Minho, making him even more determined to get that damn phone.

“Hyung! Give me the damn phone!” Minho cried out loudly, his hand outstretched towards Jonghyun and his face scrunched up in pain. Minho could hear Sungjong laughing from the bed, and it just made Minho feel even more wound up. Friends? What friends? The only friends he had were horrible, teasing jerks.

“Oh,” Jonghyun said, eyes widening as he forgot about Minho. “Um, sorry, I’ll just, ah, put him on.” Jonghyun looked stunned as he held the phone out to Minho. Minho swallowed and took the phone carefully, wondering when his heart would calm down.

“Hello?” Minho whispered, half-expecting it to be a prank, but then he heard Jinki’s cheerful voice on the other end. Minho bit his lip as he carefully crawled out from under the bed, his hand trembling as he held the phone to his ear. He sat back down on his bed, feeling his mouth go dry and he listened to Jinki’s soft melodious voice, trying to ignore the way Jonghyun and Sungjong were suddenly sitting right next to him, listening in to the conversation. Minho shut his eyes and smiled, listening to Jinki apologise.

“Hyung, it’s okay, really I didn’t mind. If I had minded, I wouldn’t have let you take my phone, so don’t feel bad about it.” Minho couldn’t stop smiling. He lay back on his bed, listening to Jinki talk. Minho in a deep breath and wondered how he had coped all this time, how he had existed without hearing that voice.

ΞΘΞ

Minhowas surprised that Jinki started to call him every couple of nights, always around the same time. Minho didn’t mind it at all; in fact he loved it. Minho would lie on his bed with his eyes shut, listening to Jinki talk about his day. It didn’t matter what Jinki had been doing, even if it was the most boring thing ever, it still made Minho smile.

“Today was pretty boring, Minho-ya,” Jinki would mumble softly. “I just spent the day researching in the library. It was dark when I finally left for home, but you know, Minho-ah, the sky was so beautiful when I came out. All the trees lining the library path lit up under the moonlight. Ah, I wished you’d been with me to see it; it was so beautiful. It was as if I’d been transported to another world, you know.” Minho would just squeezed his eyes shut and listen to Jinki’s voice, as he described everything he had seen that day.

“Sometime, Minho-ya, I’d love to come and play soccer with you. It looks like fun. I saw you earlier today, practicing soccer. I wanted to join you, but I had a meeting with my lecturer. You looked so lonely playing by yourself, but at the same time you looked like you were having fun. Sorry, I’m always talking… am I boring you, Minho-ya?” Jinki would sound unsure and nervous, and Minho would smile and just tell Jinki that he could talk as much as he wanted.

Minhofelt so special when Jinki asked him things, as if he was the most important person in the world. Sometimes, he wondered why Jinki was talking to him and not to his girlfriend.  But he pushed that out of his thoughts, focussing instead on how good it was to hear Jinki’s voice.

“Minho-ya, you’ve never told me what your favourite food is. I was just thinking the other night, when I was ordering dinner, I wouldn’t even know what to get you. I was thinking it would be fun to have dinner with you sometime.” Minho felt his chest tightening, and he had the urge to leap up off his bed and just dance around the room again, never mind that Sungjong would probably stare at him as if he had lost his mind.

“Um, I like everything actually.” Minho swallowed, glancing out the window and beaming out at the night sky. “I guess I like beef the best, or meat in general. I don’t mind chicken, hyung, and yeah, we should. It would be fun to have dinner with you.” Hyung, I like whatever you like! Minho inhaled slowly, trying to calm his screaming brain down. It was hard to sit still when Jinki was saying things like that to him. Minho tried to remind himself that Jinki had a girlfriend, that eating dinner with Jinki wasn’t a date, but it still made Minho feel so giddy and excited.

“You said you were going to the movies? What did you see, Minho-ya? I want to go and watch a movie too.” Minho wanted to ask Jinki to go with him, but before he could get the courage to ask, Jinki went on, “The last time I went to the movies, I dropped popcorn on the girl in front of me, and I spilt my drink down the front of my pants. It was embarrassing; Kibum said he would never go with me again. I was thinking it would be fun to go with you and your friends, but I guess you wouldn’t want to go with me either.” Minho felt as if his lips stretched from ear to ear, his mouth hurt from smiling so much. He wanted to laugh as he thought about Jinki with drink spilt on his pants.

“Hyung, I’d love to see a movie with you,” Minho immediately replied, hoping he didn’t sound too desperate.

“Really? That would be cool. What kind of movies do you like?” Minho noticed that Jinki would always ask many questions and details; he always seemed to want to know everything and anything. Sometimes it was easy for Minho to forget that Jinki even had a girlfriend, but once they hung up, reality would slap Minho in the face, and he would sigh and chew on his lip. Minho knew he shouldn’t be getting his hopes up, but it was hard not to.

ΞΘΞ

“Hyung, you’re pathetic,” Sungjong sighed as he flicked Minho with the edge of his damp towel. “Has Jinki-hyung called you yet? I seriously don’t get you two.” Sungjong rolled his eyes as Minho let out a faint sigh, pouting up at Sungjong.

“Not yet.” Minho nodded his head and glanced down at his phone. “I’m insane waiting for his call, aren’t I?” Minho sighed softly, glancing up at the ceiling as he lay there. Jinki, it seemed, had taken up permanent residence in his heart; Minho had this feeling that he was never going to get over Jinki. It had been one month since Jinki had bumped into Minho at the library, and then two weeks of Jinki phoning him every night. The phone calls were usually short, but Minho was touched that he still called every night to check how Minho was. Minho knew he could phone Jinki too, but he never wanted to disturb him and worried that Jinki would be with his girlfriend and that was something Minho would rather avoid.

As soon as his phone began to ring, Minho leaped for it. He answered it right away, smiling happily. “Hey hyung!” Minho said brightly, ignoring how Sungjong rolled his eyes and mouthed ‘pathetic’ at him. Minho frowned when he heard Jinki’s voice; he sounded different than usual. Jinki’s usually confident voice sounded quite shaky and weird. It made Minho wish he could put his arm around Jinki’s shoulder and tell him it would be okay.

“Um, sure, see you soon, I guess?” Minho frowned and looked down at his phone, before he breathed in deeply.  Minho turned to look at Sungjong. “He wanted to meet me instead? I don’t understand why Jinki-hyung wants to talk in person tonight.” Minho shrugged and tried to seem relaxed, but he felt so incredibly tense. Jinki had sounded off; something was clearly troubling him. Minho in a deep breath, telling himself to be calm, to just relax, that it wouldn’t be any different than usual. It would just be like the phone call, except in person, nothing to worry about.

ΞΘΞ

Minhowalked quickly to the field, breathing in deeply as he gazed up at the stars. The moon hung heavily; it was almost a full moon, which made Minho smile as he walked down a path of trees. Minho frowned when he saw that Jinki was already there, sitting on the grass. Jinki was crouched forward, wriggling his hands around on the ground. Minho hurried over, stopping and then sitting down next to Jinki carefully. It felt a little odd to be sitting there with Jinki again; it had been so long since they had done this. Minho couldn’t stop smiling, but when Jinki turned to look at him with a sad expression, Minho’s smile slipped.

“Yui broke up with me,” Jinki whispered, sounding so hurt and upset that Minho couldn’t help but gape in shock. Minho’s mind whirled as he tried to process that. He couldn’t understand why she had broken up with Jinki, and he hated her even more for hurting Jinki.

“I don’t get it,” Jinki sighed and bit his lip softly. Minho felt sick as he sat there, feeling so pissed off that she had dumped Jinki; it felt so wrong. Minho knew he should be happy, but gazing across at Jinki’s sad face, it made him want to punch something and just hold Jinki. Minho wished he could take Jinki’s pain away for him. It wasn’t right for someone like Jinki to be sad.

“I’m so sorry, hyung,” Minho said, biting his lip, shifting as he wondered if he should lean over and put his arm around Jinki’s shoulder. But then Minho thought, what the hell, and gently he placed his arm around Jinki’s shoulder, pulling him to rest against his side. Minho had no idea what else he should say, so after a moment, he asked, “Was there a reason she… um… broke up with you?”

Jinki pulled away, turning to look at Minho with sad eyes. “She said she was jealous of you.” Jinki shifted, rocking back and forth, frowning slightly. “I don’t get it. I really don’t. Why would she be jealous of you?” Jinki shook his head slowly, and Minho felt something tighten in his chest. Minho wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear those last few words since Jinki had whispered them, but he had heard them.

“Oh, did she say why?” Minho tried to ignore the way his heart was pounding so rapidly, and his insides were partying. Oh my god, maybe I was right and wow if she was jealous doesn’t that mean she noticed our connection too? Maybe he does like me? Minho coughed and tried to stop himself from being so excited.

Minho felt himself floating back down to Earth realising that she wasn’t jealous because Jinki liked him that way. She probably just felt jealous of him hanging out with friends that was all it was. Minho felt stupid and slightly pathetic for feeling so happy, although he still had that tiny bubble of hope that maybe his instincts were right about Jinki. But Minho knew this wasn’t the time to be thinking about whether Jinki could like him or not. Minho wanted to just comfort Jinki and make him feel better. Everything else was irrelevant.

“Well, she said I spent more time talking to you.” Jinki lifted his shoulders, soft sad eyes gazing up at Minho. “And she said that I seemed more excited about talking to you than her. She even implied that I liked you more than I should as a friend. I don’t get it, I really don’t. It’s crazy, we’re just friends.” Jinki frowned as he shook his head, and Minho felt the expanding hope inside him burst like a balloon.

Minhoswallowed the shards of pain and just nodded his head, dully repeating the words, “Yes, we’re just friends, that’s all we are.” That’s all we’ll ever be – just ing friends. Jinki beamed at Minho and then just nodded his head. Minho exhaled slowly, managing a faint smile when he saw how happy Jinki looked. Minho felt better seeing that smile, and he hoped that Jinki was going to be okay, because Minho couldn’t be truly happy unless Jinki was.

ΞΘΞ

“Hyung! Oh, I missed you so much!”

Minho barely had time to register the words before a skinny boy was in his face, arms wrapping firmly around his torso. Minho laughed when he recognised Taemin and hugged him tightly, glad to see his old friend again and not caring that everyone was staring at them for disturbing the peace.  

It always annoyed Minho how even when they were in gardens near the library, people expected you to be quiet. Sometimes it felt like there was nowhere that you could make any kind of noise. When they pulled apart, Minho was surprised to see that Jinki was staring across at them with a serious expression, which surprised Minho. Grinning, Minho waved at Jinki, who recoiled and then smiled back at Minho. Minho blinked, Jinki’s smile seemed off, from the distance it looked forced,  it made Minho worry just a little what was upsetting Jinki.

“Who is that, hyung?” Taemin asked as he grabbed a hold of Minho’s arm, sliding his arm through Minho’s. “He looks pretty cute.” Taemin looked up at Minho with a slight smirk. Minho hoped like mad he wasn’t blushing. He looked down at the grass, pretending to look at something so Taemin wouldn’t see how red he was.

“That’s Lee Jinki,” Kibum added a second later, surprising Minho when he appeared next to them. “He is cute. What else would you expect from one of my friends?” Kibum raised one manicured eyebrow as he looked across at Taemin, who just shyly smiled and then nodded his head. Taemin frowned, mouthing the name as he glanced from Jinki back to Kibum.

“Oh right!” Taemin exclaimed, finally making the connection. “Hyung, hyung, that’s the guy-“ Minho clapped his hand over Taemin’s mouth, frowning when he guessed what he was going to say. Kibum blinked across at Minho, before shaking his head and walking off. Taemin struggled against Minho slightly, glaring up at his friend and then tickling him until he relented.

“What did you do that for?” Taemin asked, pouting. “Are you that ashamed of your crush?” Taemin sighed when Minho grabbed his arm and started to drag him away from the garden and back towards the library instead. When Taemin was distracted Minho glanced over where Jinki had been, surprised to see that Jinki was looking in their direction. Minho told himself that Jinki would not be looking over him, he was crazy to think Jinki might be looking.

“I’m not ashamed, but he’s never going to like me back, so there is no point in going on about it,” Minho sighed as he dragged Taemin into the main library entrance. Taemin rolled his eyes and shook his head before he patted Minho’s shoulder lightly.

“Don’t be like that, you never know.” Taemin smiled brightly up at Minho. “One day he might like you back! You can’t just give up!” Taemin half-sang as he played with Minho’s arm, tugging on it lightly until Minho smiled back at him.

“I won’t give up, you should know that.” Minho grinned. “Oh, where are you staying? You’re all moved in, right? I’m sorry I couldn’t help you move.” Minho pouted, looking guilty until Taemin laughed and gently punched his arm.

“I told you it’s fine, hyung, stop feeling bad! Jonghyun-hyung helped me. It was fine, honestly.” Taemin laughed again when he saw Minho biting his lip and shook his head slowly. “Seriously, don’t be so hard on yourself!”

“Hyung, sometimes you’re so intense, you should relax sometimes.” Taemin poked Minho’s arm.

ΞΘΞ

Minhosighed as he lay back on the grass, spreading his limbs out and just gazing up at the stars. It was a beautiful evening. The stars were clear, and there wasn’t a breeze or cloud in sight. Minho let his eyes slide shut, until he heard familiar footsteps. He sat up halfway, leaning on one arm, smiling when he saw Jinki approaching. Minho pulled himself upright, gazing at Jinki as he stood there looking down at the grass and avoiding Minho’s eyes.

“Who was that guy today?” Jinki asked, still looking down at the grass, wriggling his foot as he stood there. Minho frowned, blinking as he stared up at Jinki, wondering why he was asking him that. “The one who hugged you at the field today.” Minho felt his jaw drop. Was Jinki jealous? Surely not, that wasn’t possible. There was no way Jinki would be jealous; Minho felt the urge to laugh for even thinking it.

“Why, are you jealous?” Minho teased, laughing as he shook his head, glancing across to see if Jinki was smiling or laughing. Instead he saw a serious expression on Jinki’s face, and Minho’s laughter died in his throat.

“Only joking, I mean, obviously you wouldn’t be jealous. Sorry. Um, he’s an old friend of mine, Taemin.” Jinki nodded his head stiffly, turning his head so Minho could only see his profile.

“Ah, I thought he must be your boyfriend. I was just curious,” Jinki mumbled. Minho felt something catch in his throat. Jinki’s voice sounded odd. Minho smiled and inhaled slowly, gazing up at the stars, and then he shut his eyes, lying back down.

“Don’t be silly, hyung, there is only person I’m interested in.” Minho shrugged, smiling as he lay down on the grass. “And since he doesn’t like me, I’ll just be single. Because there is only room in my heart for him.” Minho sighed softly, keeping his eyes shut as he stretched his legs and arms out.

“Really?” Jinki sounded so surprised that Minho opened one eye and glanced up at him wondering if he was joking. “Really, Minho-ya?”

“Yes, of course.” Minho sat up again. “My heart is still yours.” Minho smiled, knowing he was cheesy but he couldn’t help it. He let out a faint sigh when he saw how bewildered Jinki looked, which confused Minho because he had told Jinki so many times that he liked him. Yet judging from Jinki’s reaction, he seemed stunned, as if it were fresh news.

“Oh,” Jinki mumbled, “so you still like me then?” Jinki frowned, looking so startled that Minho wished he could just stand up and kiss him. “I thought you’d like someone else by now.” Jinki shrugged his shoulders softly and then just walked off. Minho had half a mind to follow him, but instead he lay on the grass watching Jinki walk away. Part of him wondered how Jinki could even think that way, but then Minho guessed it was because he had avoided Jinki for months, so in a way it was natural for him to assume Minho had moved on. Minho couldn’t help but think about Jinki had left so suddenly, was it because Minho talked about his feelings? Minho bit his lip, he couldn’t keep saying things like that, he just had to focus on being Jinki’s friend.

ΞΘΞ