Jinwoo is an honest man, to himself and others. Despite being the quiet, introvert type, he is always straightforward in his actions. It helps that he is very keen on physical intimacy. That’s his way of expressing his affections and feelings without using spoken words. Those who know him well will always know what’s on his mind because he never attempts to hide them.

That’s why when he realized that his love for Mino was no longer platonic, everyone in WINNER knew about it, well, everyone excepted for Mino. It was during the 18 months hiatus in 2015 that Jinwoo started to acknowledge his affection for the young rapper had changed into something different. During that time when everyone worked on different solo projects, Jinwoo realized he missed Mino the most, not just his presence but also his touches. They appeared together less in public, so they didn’t have to perform any type of fan services, and Jinwoo noticed that he felt a craving for Mino’s physical contacts. He felt something inside him yearning for the younger’s affection, and that his heart started to feel a strange mix of relief and flutter whenever Mino touches him. The strange feeling started to build up inside him more and more day by day, until one night, Jinwoo just suddenly had that revelation moment that he is in love with Mino.

Being the honest man he is, Jinwoo just had to act on his feeling, he couldn’t help it. Jinwoo started to become clingier to Mino and used every opportunity he had to have physical contact with him. However, Mino never seemed to catch on to Jinwoo’s feeling. One of his excuses was that all of WINNER had grown accustomed to Jinwoo being touchy. Another excuse was because of their comeback with EXIT: E, Mino thought that those clingy moments were just fanservice. Mino was so oblivious to the fact that Jinwoo is in love with him that it began to drive Jinwoo crazy.

“ARG! Hoon-ah! Why is he doing that to me?” – Jinwoo threw the question at his best friend in frustration.

“I don’t know hyung. Probably due to the fact that he is a panicked gay and you’re a confident gay.” – Hoon just shrugged at Jinwoo’s disappointment. It was not his fault that Mino was so stupid. How could he not notice that Jinwoo basically threw himself at him? The man had been anything but subtle.

“What the heck are you talking about?” – Jinwoo looked up in confusion at the terms Seunghoon just said.

“I said that you are a confident gay, and he is a panicked gay.” – Hoon repeated the statement

“I heard what you said,”– Jinwoo snapped at the younger one, “I just don’t know what it means!”

“It means that you are the one who attacks him with your gayness, confidently, and he doesn’t know how to process that gayness, so he panicked. That’s why he always pulls away the last minute.” – Hoon said, preferring to those Sentimental moments on stage when Mino always backed away when Jinwoo initiated skinship.

“Are you saying that I’m scaring him away?” – Jinwoo suddenly felt afraid

“I’m not saying that hyung,” – Hoon rubbed his forehead, “What I’m trying to say is that his little brain can’t process that much information.”

“Then what should I do? I can’t keep doing this push and pull things with him. It starting to drive me crazy!” – Jinwoo despairingly ran his hands through his hair.

“How about you just tell him that you are in love with him, hyung? Like with your words and not just constantly attack him with your hugs and kisses. He is probably thinking you do that for fanservice. And it doesn’t help that you have always been the touchy type.” – Hoon shook his head at his best friend. It wasn’t like this conversation hadn’t happened before. He and Yoon grew tired at hearing the two members whining about each other to anyone but themselves.

“Well, if you said he panicked at my display of affection, how would he react if I actually said it?”

“He probably would pass out,” – Hoon recoiled himself at the deadly stare Jinwoo shot at him, “from happiness, hyung!”

“What if he’s not…,” – Jinwoo sighed, “…you know, like me like that? I’m afraid he would reject me. Then it would just be awkward.”

“He won’t reject you, hyung. He is just as smitten about you as you’re about him. He is just an idiot. He probably is afraid that you would reject him.” – Hoon placed a hand on Jinwoo’s shoulder, reassuring his best friend.

“I don’t know Hoon-ah. I don’t want to lose him.”

“Don’t stress out hyung, I know for sure he is in love with you too. I bet he is probably crying with Yoonie about how pretty you are, and how much your flirting is causing him confusion.”

 

Hoon, being the wise man he is, was right. At the other end of the apartment, Mino barked into Yoon’s room, screaming.

“GOD DAMN IT! I can’t take it anymore!!!”

“Let’s me guess, Jinwoo hyung is so beautiful and he was being flirty?” – Yoon said, did not even bother to look up from his composing book.

“Yes…” – Mino flopped down on Yoon’s bed defeatedly.

“Well, what’s new? You have been crying about that for months now.” - Yoon finally turned to give his best friend a disappointed look, “If it bothers you that much why don’t you just man up and confess to him?”

“Are you crazy? Look at him! He is an angel! He would never love me like that!”

“Then why do you think he flirts with you and being clingy to you?”

“I don’t know, just for fanservice maybe, and hyung’s personality is already clingy. He hugs and kisses everyone. He basically just cuddled with Taehyun on the couch earlier.”

Yoon could feel the jealousy laced in what Mino just said.

“It’s true that hyung is the touchy type, but you know that he is different with you, right?”

“He is not Yoonie-ah. Don’t give me hope, it hurts.” – Mino sounded vulnerable, completely different from his fierce image on stage.

“Why are you like this? Can’t you see that he basically throwing himself at you?” – Yoon stared at his friend in disbelief.

“He is not. It’s just fanservice.”

“Oh my god, Song Min-ho! Can’t you stop with this pity party? He loves you .” – Yoon flared up, unable to watch his best friend self-pitied himself any longer.

“He is n---”

“No, listen to me! He loves you just as much as you love him. Just stop this push and pull nonsense and confess to him.” – Yoon sighed, softened his voice, “Do you ever think that every time you don’t return his affections because you panicked, you’re hurting his feeling?”

“What if he rejects me? Then it would be weird between us.”

“I can bet Haute’s life that he won’t reject you.”

“That’s not even your dog!”

“Well, that’s beside the point. Just trust your best friend and confess to the man, or,” – Yoon put his hand up, stopping Mino from saying another word, “at lease pull yourself together and return his affections, you . You need to stop leaving him hanging.”

 

And Mino for once actually listened to his best friend, not to the confess part though. He slowly returned Jinwoo’s affections and stopped pulling away last minute. As he gained his confidence, Mino even initiated the skinship overtimes. The little touches, the tight hugs, and some cheesy flirting made both of them happy enough to stop whining to their best friends. However, as thing took a dark turn by the end of 2016, confessing was the last thing in their mind. They postponed their personal feeling to give all they have for the surviving of the group. It wasn’t until their comeback with Fate Number For that Mino and Jinwoo started to have the time and the mindset to continue to process their feelings for each other.

[Hyung~ where are you? At home?]

Jinwoo paused the drama playing on the TV to look at the text he just received from Mino. He immediately replied.

[Yeah, what’s up?]

The respond came back just seconds later had Jinwoo worried a little.

[Can you come to my studio now? I have something I want to tell you.]

[Is everything alright? Should I be worry?]

Jinwoo bit his lower lips, tried to think of all the reasons why Mino would call him to his studio this late. “He could need a hand hanging some art decors for his new studio, no, he would have contacted Hoony for that. I’m not as strong as him. Or, maybe he needs help with a song, but, then he would have called Yoonie…Or… Maybe he…” The reply came back interrupted his train of thoughts and made him even more confused than before.

[It’s nothing weird, hyung. Don’t stress out, ok?]

As he was typing his reply, he noticed something.

[Ok. I’ll be there in 15 minutes. And did you just use Really Really lyrics?]

[😉]

To say Jinwoo was confused was an understatement. He and Mino hadn’t spent time alone together for a while. The thought of being in the small studio, with just two of them brought up the strange feeling he had suppressed inside him. He had an instinct that this won’t be a group-related matter kind of meeting, and something inside him told him to dress up a little bit. He got out of his bed and changed his gray hoodie into a black t-shirt and white jean. After finished fixing his hair, he looked at himself in the mirror, took a deep breath and headed out to Mino’s studio.

As soon as he arrived at the small private studio, he knocked a couple of times but received no response. Worry grew in him as he took out the spare key and opened the door. He was taken aback by what greeted him the moment he stepped inside. The whole studio was covered in pretty little string lights, there were blue and red rose petals scattered on the floor. A bright happy song was playing in the background. It sounded familiar but Jinwoo couldn’t recognize it.

Want you to love me, love me

When you look at me

I want all of your smile

I know you want me

I think I like you more

Jinwoo stood silently listening to the words of the song when he felt a pair of strong, warm and familiar arms wrapped around him from behind.

“Mino-ah…”

“Shhh, just wait a minute, hyung…”

The song continued playing as Jinwoo could feel Mino’s heartbeat rising, and Mino could feel Jinwoo’s hands trembling.

I wanna be with you

You’re the only one

Love me love me more

As the song approached its ending, Mino inhaled deeply and slowly turned Jinwoo around. He gazed sincerely into Jinwoo’s doe-eyes.

“Jinwoo hyung. I want to be with you…” – he breathed softly.

“You are with me now Minho-ah.” – Jinwoo let a joke slipped passed his nervousness.

“I’m being serious, hyung.” – Mino said sternly, cupping Jinwoo’s small face. He took another deep breath, “Kim Jinwoo, I love---”

Before Mino could finish his sentence, he felt Jinwoo’s lips pressed against his own.

“I know… Me too.” – Jinwoo smiled sweetly

“Hyung, you should have let me finish my sentence.” – Mino pouted

“I couldn’t wait. Sorry~”

“It’s ok, I can always say it now. I love you. I love you. I love you so much.” – And with every “I love you”, he kissed Jinwoo soundly.

“I love you too, silly. Took us long enough, right?” – Jinwoo giggled a little bit thinking about how long it took for the two of them to finally confess their feelings.

“Sorry for making you wait, hyung. I was already planned to confess earlier, but then things happened. And now that everything is settled, I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“I don’t mind waiting for you. It’s worth every second.”

They slowly sat down on the sofa at the end of the room, not letting each other go.

“The song sounded familiar. Did you write that song?” – Jinwoo said, rested his head on Mino’s broad shoulder.

“With Yoonie and Seunghoon-hyung help. I and Yoonie worked with Future Bounce hyungs on the music together. You probably heard us playing it a couple of times at the dorm. Do you like it?” – Mino replied, playing with Jinwoo’s fingers

“I love it, maybe we can put it in our next EP.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, it would be a great song for the summer!” – Jinwoo stated excitedly.

“I trust you.” – Mino always has faith in Jinwoo’s instinct. He and the rest of WINNER know that Jinwoo has the “ears”, hence his approval means everything.

“Did they help you with this too?” – Jinwoo gestured the whole room.

“Nope, I did all of that myself.”

“Really? I didn’t take you for the romantic type~” – Jinwoo teased. He knew Mino is a er for romance despite his image on stage.

“Well, you are stuck with me now. So, brace yourself for candle-lit dinners and breakfasts in bed, accompanied with cheesy remarks and shower of hugs and kisses.”

“This is the high-quality content I signed up for.”

“Hyung, you are not even active on SNS, why are you talking like a meme?” – Mino surprised at the remark Jinwoo just made.

“Hoonie taught me~”

“You need new best friend hyung. Hoony hyung is a bad influence.”

“I’ll make sure he gets this message.”

“Hyung! Do you want him to murder your boyfriend?” – Mino acted shock, which made Jinwoo’s signature laughs emerged. Mino has never failed to make Jinwoo laughs with his silly humor.

They spend the night together, comfortable in each other’s presence and embrace. When they finally headed home, what welcomed them was the smug look from the other couple.

“It looks like that Haute’s life is safe.” – Yoon said teasingly.

“Still not your dog to bet on Yoonie!” – Mino retorted with a scoff.

“You bet our kid’s life on Mino?” – Hoon shockingly turned to Yoon, being extra as always.

“No, of course not. I bet it on Jinwoo-hyung. He is the only reliable one out of the two.”

“Hey, give me some credit here! I was the one who confessed first!” – Mino threw a pillow at Yoon’s direction, but Hoon quickly pulled him into his arms.

“Hyung, control your boyfriend. Don’t just laugh when he assaulted other people’s boyfriend like that!” – Hoon said as he tightened the grip around Yoon and kissed his hair.

“Ew… Hyung, let’s move out. I can’t stand this sight any longer.” – Mino snorted

“We are the ones who should be saying that!” – Yoon protested, “Having to watch you two flirts with each other for the past couple years.”

“Oh, don’t forget to mention the jealousy!” – Hoon chimed in eagerly, failed to notice another pillow flew his way from Jinwoo.

“What jealousy?” – Mino gave a confused look to his boyfriend.

“It.. It’s nothing!” – Jinwoo looked away, hiding his blushing face.

“How dimwitted can you be? What did you think when hyung never visited you while you filmed Body or never watched the m/v?” – Yoon shook his head at his best friend. He was still bitter over having to do the stupid reaction video so Jinwoo could have some ideas about the video and acted like he watched it.

“Wait! Hyung, you have never watched it?” – Mino gasped, “Wait, so that whole week when you refused to hug me and was being passive aggressive was because you were jealous??”

“What do you think dimwit?” – Jinwoo hid his face behind a pillow.

“Aww, you are so cute hyung!” – Mino cupped Jinwoo’s blushing, warm face in his hands.

“EWw!” – at the other side of the couch, Yoon and Hoon gave each other an offended look.

“Let’s move out Yoonie!”

And they did move out, or to be more accurate, Jinwoo and Mino moved out. It was not because the small apartment couldn’t hold so much love, but just simply because they all agreed that it was time for them to have more private space. The little apartment was getting too crowded with the two couples and their five “kids.” Now, sitting in their new home, Jinwoo lets out a sigh of content.

“Hyung~” – Jiwnoo turns at the familiar voice only to be greeted with the sound of camera snap, “You look so beautiful.”

“You need to stop taking picture of me every second, you gonna run out of films.” – Jinwoo scolds halfheartedly, reaches out to take the camera away.

“Ah~ hyung,” – Mino whines, “Can you blame me when even your breath is breathtakingly beautiful?”

“So cheesy~” – Jinwoo playfully hits Mino’s arm.

“Well, that is the high-quality contents you signed up for.” – Mino jokes, putting an arm around his boyfriend who is shaking his head, “When will your bed arrived?”

“Not for a little while. I guess I will have to sleep in your bed then.” – Jinwoo feigns disappointment.

“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy my cuddling and more~” – Jinwoo eyes open wide at the bold remark.

“EWW~” – They look up to see the dog house’s crumble faces, “Hyung, let’s go, my innocent ears are forever damaged!”

• The end