V

Next In Line

The hug was a jump-scare. Seungyoon understood his mistake when Jinwoo jolted and placed his hand on his chest in aftershock.

“Crap, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Yoon was muttering as he sat down opposite of Jinwoo.

The elder shook his head, “It’s fine, it’s fine, just... Came out of nowhere.”

“I’m sorry,” Seungyoon apologized again, fidgeting with the sugar container. “I’m just a bit...” He trailed off in search for the correct word.

Jinwoo’s hand dropped from his chest, instead resting his cheek in his palm. He was smiling; he knew what Seungyoon meant. “You look happy. Something good happened?”

Yoon dropped his gaze with a timid smile and he nodded, his hair bouncing slightly as he did so. “Well I mean—It’s just been happening...” He ducked his head even more. “They kissed me yesterday... Just on the cheek! But, well, they’ve been more affectionate with me recently and I – I know it doesn’t have to mean anything, but...” He sighed and pressed his palms to his cheeks in a flustered manner.

Jinwoo listened, melting as his favourite feeling returned – the warmth and satisfaction, pride even, for someone else’s happiness.

“Whatever it means or doesn’t mean, it’s still beautiful. I’m happy for you Yoon,” Jinwoo said softly and reached over to ruffle his hair.

Seungyoon giggled briefly. He glanced to the side, keeping one hand on his face, perhaps still trying to hide. He sniffled, put his hands down on the table and said, “I kind of want to confess. It’s tearing me apart not knowing whether they feel the same, but... If I did, if they reject me, it’ll create a rift between us. You know, no matter how mature, the whole confession thing always makes things awkward.”

Jinwoo’s smile faded and he pressed his lips together. He understood where Seungyoon was coming from, but in reality had no personal experience in the matter. Before, he’d always been the one to lose patience and spill his guts, going all in and not caring about consequences.

Then again, this strategy hadn’t really worked well for him in the past so he wouldn’t advise it to anyone.

“I know impatience, believe me,” he said. “But I think you should wait. Not wait for them to say anything, just, wait until things are a bit clearer. What you have now, I don’t think it’s worth losing to impatience.”

Seungyoon nodded once, then again; he took a deep breath and straightened up. “You’re right. That’s what I wanted to do, but—” He let out a huff. “—I really hate not knowing.”

Jinwoo sighed in sympathy. “I know... Me too.”

In the silence that occurred, Jinwoo’s mind wondered back to his and Mino’s relationship. He was in a similar situation as Yoon – admittedly, he had gotten kissed; maybe the two of them had gone a bit further than Yoon and his person – but he was having a hard time resisting the urge to confess too early as he always had in the past all the same.

He figured he should take his own advice and wait, no matter how frustrating it was.

“I’ve wanted to ask you something,” Yoon said and Jinwoo stirred, blinking a few times to focus on him.

His demeanour had changed. Seungyoon now seemed anxious rather than giddy and excited as he had been a moment ago.

Jinwoo frowned. “You can ask me anything,” he assured.

There was the briefest pause before Seungyoon got his question out in one breath, “Is Song Minho your person?”

Jinwoo's first instinct was to deny it, to act as if he was grossed out and move on. But he went for the much more dangerous tactic of suspiciously changing the subject.

“Wh-at? How do you – how do you even know Mino?”

Seungyoon pursed his lips. “Instagram. My coworkers find him attractive.” He paused, keeping his gaze on Jinwoo, waiting to see if he’d say anything, perhaps return to Yoon's previous question.

But of course he didn’t. He just stared to the side.

For as insecure and possessive as Jinwoo was, it was surprising that he didn’t feel threatened by these coworkers. They didn’t know Mino; they weren’t even in the race, therefore weren’t his competition. As far as he was concerned, they were a fanclub.

As he moved on from this thought, something occurred to him.

Perhaps... Yoon's guess had been so spot on because he felt the same about Mino.

Jinwoo felt like he got punched in the stomach.

“Hyung, you can tell me,” Seungyoon started. “Would it help if I told you that my person is also a guy?”

As Jinwoo didn’t react, Yoon finally noticed the terror on his face, and figured that he should clarify,

“It’s not Mino! It’s someone else, but – but it’s a guy, so if your person is Mino, you can tell me.”

Jinwoo glanced up at him briefly. At least that issue was out of the way, but there was still the horror of coming out.

But it was Seungyoon. He’d already offered understanding and came out himself, so why shouldn’t Jinwoo tell him?

With a heavy sigh, he nodded. “Yeah... It’s Mino.”

Seungyoon smiled, shuffling a little. “I knew it! I mean—you two are really cute,” he hummed.

Jinwoo smiled faintly and nodded. He couldn’t say much, not when he himself wasn’t sure what was happening between them.

Thankfully Seungyoon soon stood up, “Well, I gotta get back to work. I’ll see you around!” He opened his arms, this time asking permission for a hug beforehead; and Jinwoo gave it.

* * *

Mino had been so kind as to invite Jinwoo to another one of his squad’s hangouts, though that one was much more casual. Not a party, just a bunch of them chilling at Dean’s place.

Jinwoo had been reluctant to accept at first, in fact he had turned the offer down before talking to Seungyoon who advised him to step out of his comfort zone and try new things – since the party had turned out quite well.

So once again Jinwoo had had to inform Mino that he’d changed his mind, and ask if he could still join.

Since Mino had said that it was alright, there was Jinwoo, cuddled up on Dean’s couch along with Mino and Pyo, who were chatting with the others.

Even though the party had turned out fine, Jinwoo had to admit that he liked this kind of hanging out better. Much better.

He was still clumsy to integrate himself into conversations, but seeing that he wasn’t the only one – even though everyone present were friends – made him feel a bit better.

Once the few of them – Mino, Pyo, Dean, Hyoseob and Jiho – started to get lost in the liquor cabinet, it sort of left Jinwoo exposed to more interactions.

It was Dongwook who made eye contact and decided to sit next to him. Seunghyun joined in soon after, the three of them being the only ones completely sober.

 

They talked for hours. If you asked Jinwoo now what they talked about he wouldn’t be able to tell you. The best answer would be “everything and nothing.” He only knew for sure that the conversation was pleasant and genuine, heavy at times, but never truly reaching core issues.

The talk was cut off, however, when Hyoseob stumbled over, draped himself over Seunghyun’s back and started babbling about how much he loved him. Seunghyun excused himself with a sigh and secluded himself in order to hold and comfort the drunken boy.

He seemed to be the only one who got emotional like that when intoxicated. The other four... Well, they were being very loud. Playing songs they knew one after another and yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs, the karaoke versions being played on the laptop that was connected to the speakers.

Dongwook and Jinwoo were left alone in a comfortable silence; a silence that made way for some thinking. It was something he’d thought about a lot: at first he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to accept the “different kinds of love” thing in practice, no matter how nice it sounded in theory. But after having watched Mino and Pyo’s interactions throughout the night, he found his slight feeling of jealousy fade into oblivion. He was starting to see the subtle difference between the boyfriend’s interactions and the qpp’s interactions. It somehow put him at ease.

Looking at them now, there was something else he was seeing. Jinwoo found himself unsettled by so many drunk people in one room. What’s more, they seemed to have been drinking much more than at the party.

He wasn’t sure how to word his worries, so he simply didn’t. But following his gaze, picking up on his discomfort, Dongwook decided to take a leap.

“You seem freaked out,” he said.

Jinwoo hugged his knees tighter, frowning as he watched. “Do they... Mino, does he... often...?”

Dongwook shrugged. “We get together every now and again. They like to drink and I guess it’s better to do it this way, when we’re together and we can look out for each other. There’s always someone who stays sober. It’s usually me, cause I don’t really like alcohol,” he lifted his soda can for emphasis. “So it all turns out fine. There’s not really anything to worry about.”

Jinwoo gave a tiny nod, but didn’t respond. Dongwook realized that there was likely more to Jinwoo’s question than he could see at the moment, but he couldn’t guess as to what it was. Instead, he tried to keep the conversation going.

“I mean it does , always being the one to make sure everyone gets home safely. Even now I’m thinking about it...”

“Mino’s supposed to be sleeping over at my place,” Jinwoo muttered.

Dongwook raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

Jinwoo gave a small nod, curling up.

Dongwook kept looking between Mino and Jinwoo, just trying to figure out what got the elder so stiff, so... scared. Jinwoo seemed scared.

And then something in the back of Dongwook’s mind clicked and he realized, suddenly he understood Jinwoo’s concern. A few things he’d said when the two of them and Seunghyun had been talking helped him make this realization, even though Jinwoo had been extremely careful not to reveal anything particular, just like all of them had been.

But Dongwook was finally able to put two and two together and he understood.

“I mean you don’t have to do that,” he said, shrugging. “Wouldn’t be the first time for Mino and Pyo to pass out at Dean’s.”

Jinwoo only stayed quiet. He was guarding himself, slowly sinking deeper under a protective mask, a coping mechanism he’d developed years ago – detaching himself from the situation completely and staying as emotionless as possible.

But before he could bury himself any further, Dongwook called his name.

Jinwoo’s gaze snapped up and he met Dongwook’s steady one.

“He’s not like that,” the other said.

Jinwoo blinked in confusion – although he knew exactly what Dongwook meant, he just didn’t want to accept it. “Like... what?”

Dongwook shook his head, dismissing Jinwoo’s question. “You know what I mean. He’s not like that.” He threw a glance over to where Mino and Jiho were hugging while singing. “I think he’d rather chop his hand off than ever hurt you.”

He wanted to believe it, he really did. Mino had never given Jinwoo a reason to think otherwise, but something deep inside was screaming at Jinwoo to be careful; to get away and distance himself from all of this.

Dongwook didn’t get a chance to say anything else because in the next moment his boyfriend was straddling his lap, nearly causing him to spill his soda.

“Fu—Jiho!” He whined. Soda was something Dongwook didn’t waste, but Jiho didn’t seem to care one bit. He had come for kisses and kisses he shall take.

With the two of them busy like that, Jinwoo was alone... Only for a second.

Mino dropped beside him on the couch and lightly plopped his head onto Jinwoo’s shoulder. Usually so observant, Mino was now oblivious to how Jinwoo flinched and stiffened, balling his fists at his sides.

Yet he said nothing.

Mino smiled and gently booped Jinwoo’s nose. “Hi.”

Jinwoo blinked in surprise, staring down at Mino with raised eyebrows. “Hey there.”

He shouldn’t have expected a conversation from someone in his state, but Jinwoo found the silence the least bit uncomfortable.

Mino’s gaze fell on Jinwoo’s lips, just for a second. It was nothing new at that point. Not even his next sentence surprised Jinwoo that much.

A quiet, gentle, slightly slurred, “Can I kiss you?”

In another situation Jinwoo would have said yes – but only because it was Mino asking. The truth was that in any other case Jinwoo would have said nothing.

Because his ‘no’ had never held much weight.

Through the chaos caused by fear, a tiny ray of hope made way. So far, it had all been different with Mino. Perhaps this too would be different.

“He’s not like that.”

Jinwoo really wanted to believe it.

Shuffling away the tiniest bit, he stuttered, “You know, I – I’d rather you didn’t—right now—” He held his breath.

For a moment Mino just stared at Jinwoo with his lips parted in an ‘o’ shape. Then he nodded and rested his head back on Jinwoo’s shoulder instead.

Jinwoo sighed a breath of relief. It wasn’t instantaneous, it took a little while, but he was able to relax and the feeling that he was in danger slowly withdrew.

The next time he looked at the sleepy Mino, he was able to see how endearing it was – for as much as he didn’t like drinking – Mino was just a big softie when drunk.

Dongwook had been right, and was Jinwoo happy that it was so.

 

It wasn’t long before Dongwook appeared next to them, with Jiho dropping his entire weight on his boyfriend’s smaller frame.

“If he’s sleeping that’s a sign we should go,” Dongwook said. “I can drop you off.”

Jinwoo nodded. He made sure to stir Mino awake before getting up. Dongwook was pleasantly surprised to see that they were going hand in hand – he hadn’t expected Jinwoo to change his mind so swiftly.

 

Dongwook was at the wheel with Jiho at the front, and Mino and Jinwoo at the back.

It was a bit of a struggle at first.

“Babe you can’t lean on me while I’m driving,” Dongwook was trying to rationalize with his extremely affectionate boyfriend.

“But—cheeks!” Jiho sulked.

Not without blushing, Dongwook swatted him away. “No, you can’t touch or kiss my cheeks while I’m driving. Now shoo. We’ll be home soon, so be patient.”

This was before he even started the car.

Thankfully, Mino was much calmer. Rested comfily against Jinwoo, he drifted off once again. Jinwoo nearly felt bad for having to wake him once they arrived, but there was simply no way he would have been able to carry Mino.

Before closing the door, Jinwoo called out a “thank you” to Dongwook.

He just threw up a peace sign and smiled, swatted Jiho away again and once Jinwoo had closed the door, drove off.

 

Getting Mino to bed ended up being easier than expected. He was coordinated enough to take his shoes off in the hallway and stagger to the bed. Once he fell on it, he said “Fluffy,” in a sleepy tone and didn’t move again.

Being the hopeless romantic that he was, Jinwoo had seen many stories where there’s only one bed and two people are forced to share.

But as much as he liked Mino, Jinwoo didn’t think they were quite on that level yet.

He changed into his pyjamas and washed his face because of the makeup he’d had on. Jinwoo curled up on the couch with his favourite blanket that he’d pried from under Mino.

 

Jinwoo woke up feeling surprisingly well-rested. He knew it was a trap though – being someone who often sleeps little or not at all, he knew that throughout the day the exhaustion would gradually be more noticeable.

No matter, because for the moment being he felt well. So well, in fact, that that morning he decided to make food.

Yes, Kim Jinwoo, who was usually either too lazy or too tired or too down to even eat, was going to make food.

This time was different. Because this morning when Jinwoo carefully and silently walked into his room and saw Mino sleeping on his bed, he got an overwhelming urge to recreate the morning aesthetics he liked to browse; he wanted to make them reality for when Mino woke up.

It surprised him how well it worked. Jinwoo didn’t cook often, but he was good at following instructions. Luckily for him, there were a lot of recipes for aesthetic breakfasts. When he was done his kitchen table looked like a pinterest board and it was perfect.

Mino woke up a little bit after Jinwoo had finished. He’d only had the time to read one page of his book before he heard shuffling footsteps.

There was Mino, standing at the door, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Did you make breakfast?”

Jinwoo nodded and put his book away. “I—well, I tried.”

“It looks good.” Mino paused. “Do you, uh, have any medicine? I got a pretty bad headache...”

Jinwoo smiled faintly and stood up. “Sure I do. Dummy.” Passing by, he ruffled Mino’s hair.

Mino muttered a small “thank you” when Jinwoo brought him the medicine. After he was all set, they sat down to eat.

They didn’t speak much and Jinwoo found it slightly unsettling, given that usually Mino was the one to start conversations and keep them going, yet now he was perfectly silent.

Mino suddenly looked up, leaving his food for the moment. “Listen, I don’t usually get blackout drunk, I really don’t. And it may have—it was probably too early for you to see all that—but I figure, you wouldn’t have brought me home if you hated me.”

“I don’t hate you,” Jinwoo reassured. “It was—everything was fine.”

Mino paused. “That didn’t sound very convincing.”

“It was fine.” Jinwoo had attempted a more confident tone, but it came out harsh instead, therefore he sounded more upset.

“Hyung... Did I do something stupid?”

Jinwoo wrapped his arms around himself and leaned back in his chair. He was looking to the side. “You didn’t.  You didn’t do anything stupid, you actually... You asked if you could kiss me and I said no.”

The gravely silence stretched out. “And did I?”

“No.”

Mino nodded. “Good.” He played with his food for a little while. When he seemed to collect himself, he went back to his usual chatting.

 

“I should probably be going...”

Jinwoo was very sad to hear these words. It wasn’t that Jinwoo couldn’t be alone – in fact it was quite the opposite. But since those past months he’d been around other people, things were starting to change. He once again needed company.

“You can stay, I don’t mind,” he said hastily.

Mino smiled and stood. “I’m not feeling so well and I don’t want to be a burden. Hey, don’t worry, I’ll probably message you tonight with a song recommendation.”

“Or a meme,” Jinwoo added, smiling. It was always like that; after they part ways Mino would message Jinwoo and they’d continue chatting about something they hadn’t covered while they were together.

Jinwoo saw Mino to the door. He waited for the younger to put his shoes and jacket on to get his goodbye hug. And a hug he got, and that was it.

Before Mino went out the door, however, Jinwoo called after him.

The younger turned around, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

Jinwoo shuffled a bit, he needed a moment to gather the courage to get the sentence out.

“You can—you can kiss me now...”

Mino didn’t even hesitate. With a happy little smile, he walked back inside and, taking Jinwoo by the waist, pressed a brief, goodbye kiss to his lips.

“I’ll see you around,” Mino said and gave a small wave before closing the door.

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closedbook7
#1
Chapter 13: This story is beautiful! I'm glad that I got the opportunity to read this..thank you for sharing it with us..♡ Next in line will always be close to my heart.... I loved everything about it...your writing style, character's development , friendships, minwoo's chemistry, their relationship, ambience of the story..and the list goes on... I hope to read more of your work in future. ♡
p.s. you made my day^^
tallytil #2
Chapter 13: Im really sad that this is over. This story is so beautiful it’s leaving me wanting for more!!! Great job! ❤️
sincerelykio #3
Chapter 13: This story was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! ???? The way you portray the everything in such a logical yet deep way is AMAZINGGGG <3 Hope to see more SongKim fics from you~
siomaiheart
#4
Chapter 13: Thank you for writing this story! One of the best ones I've read for songkim and I can't wait to read more of what you write in the future especially for songkim, hehe.
nanz126 #5
Chapter 13: I just want to say... thank you, thank you and thank you for making this masterpiece. This is the best songkim angst story that ive ever read.... i really really enjoy it and i always waiting for ur new updates. Thankyou and please make another songkim in the future. Hwaiting!
maetamong92 #6
Chapter 13: Thankyou for making this beautiful and great story ? can’t wait for another SongKim stories
dorkmino #7
Chapter 11: Love how jinwoo dumped the slushie on the 's head ? btw this is my first comment and i gotta say youve done a great job author, so well written. ill wait for more!!?
dadayaaah #8
Chapter 11: I love this story and how well you write them. I was so into the story. Thank you very much for writing this.
nanz126 #9
Chapter 11: read this story seems like im growing up with jinu's effort for getting out of anxiety. good job authornim.
Pawuuxxxi #10
Chapter 11: aaaaaaAAAA so proud of jinwoo!! my boy is getting brave now!!