It had all started with a tumblr post.

Jongdae happened to be scrolling through his feed when he saw a post. THEE post.

Hey if any of you guys wanna dm me i wanna make some friends :)

Such a cute innocent post from a guy he followed. Jongdae had to think if he had any online friends. The answer was no. It was weird how he never communicated with anyone on the internet considering he spent most of his waking hours on Tumblr or Instagram. So, he decided to give it a go.

He had replied with a simple, “Hi :3’. It was simple enough where no one could take it wrong way, but it also had a cute lil emoticon that he thought resembled the way he smiled sometimes. A few seconds later, Jongdae began to think if this was a bad idea. MinMeowMix quickly replied, and the two hit it off.

Jongdae blinked and it was early morning. He glanced at the windows of his dorm, surprised by how dark it was and how frazzled he looked in his reflection in the glass. MinMeowMix (aka Minseok) and himself had been spamming each other for the past 3 hours. Minseok was Korean, living in Seoul, and he was studying anthropology at a university there. It was 2 pm in Korea - Minseok explained their time zone difference.

Jongdae had just finished explaining what Lunchables were and which were his favorites when he mentioned how late it was. Immediately Minseok sent a text scolding Jongdae for staying up that late with a fuming emoji, but Jongdae sensed the playful tone underneath the words.

MinMeowMix: good night !!

You: good night☺️

Jongdae closed the app and huffed a tired sigh. Maybe this was a good idea.

Four weeks later, Minseok asked Jongdae would be comfortable skyping him. Jongdae almost choked when he read the message, but agreed willingly. His heart was beating erratically in his chest when he saw the words ‘connecting..’ on top of the screen. Suddenly a face filled his screen. Jongdae almost screamed. Minseok’s eyes looked liked a cat’s, matching his lil button nose. Jongdae noticed he had a tiny mole on his lip - Jongdae almost fawned. Minseok had a kind face, Jongdae decided. Very very cute, too. His round cheeks grew in size as Jongdae saw Minseok grin for the first time and squeal as he hid his face with a blanket in embarrassment. Minseok mumbled a shy ‘hi’ followed by a laugh. Cute cute CUTE.

The awkwardness thankfully disappeared after a few sessions facetiming. Soon, the conversation between them became as easy as drinking water. Now the only obstacle was the cursed time zone. Too many times Jongdae would be saying something and glance at the time in the corner of his laptop, to see that it was way past midnight. They would say their goodnights after Jongdae gave Minseok a proper scolding and lecture on the importance of sleep. Minseok always seemed more amused by his Ted Talks than he was serious and listening, but what could Jongdae do about that?

Jongdae was frickin famished after class. On his bike ride home, all he could think about was the cup of ramen waiting in his cupboard for him. When he stepped into his apartment, he dropped everything and began boiling water. Once his ramen was ready to eat, he then thought about showing Minseok a meme he saw that day. Something with a frog on a bicycle, or something. For some reason it really made Jongdae giggle, and he felt he had to share the same giddiness with his friend.

So there he was, ramen in his mouth, ‘dat boi’ raised to the screen facing Minseok. All it took was a look from Jongdae, and his friend turned white. Jongdae’s smile faltered and he put down his chopsticks.

“You ‘kay cowboy?” Minseok honestly looked sick. Worry began to gnaw in Jongdae’s stomach. The latter repeated his question.

“Yeah I’m good.” Minseok yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Just a bit tired from work, that’s all.” That would have passed in Jongdae’s mind, but it was only 9pm.

“Really? It’s only 9 - you never go to bed before 11.” Even though Jongdae know Minseok worked too much, it’s true he never slept before 11 a day in his life. He was going to ask if he was tired about work when he was interrupted.

“Yeah! Yeah just going to call it a night.” Minseok seemed flustered. Jongdae squeezed out a confused ‘goodnight’ before he was cut off from his friend with the slam of Minseok’s screen.

What just happened. Did I do say something? Jongdae tried to text the other to try to see what was going on, but he didn’t reply. Oh boy. He probably just needs his space right now. He restrained himself from texting further, and instead decided to start his homework to distract himself.

Jongdae realized how much he talked to Minseok when he couldn’t talk to him. He curled up in his bed that night, imagining Minseok there with him. They were the same height, which was munchkin height. If, no when, they saw each other for the first time, what kind of hugger would Minseok be. He wondered if his friend even liked hugs. Jongdae stared at his wall and pictured them cuddling. Minseok would definitely be the big spoon - wait. Oh no oh no. Was this a crush? Did normal friends think about cuddling? What’s even the definition of a crush?

Jongdae mentally self analyzed. Did he like Minseok? That question was too broad - will come back to it later. Did he see himself walking down the street with Minseok, holding hands? Mm yes. Did he want to kiss Minseok? I mean that’s kinda weird cuz I haven’t really seen him in that way but I wouldn’t be impartial about it. He quickly looked up definition of crush.

What’s the difference between crush and love?

A crush is very short-lived; it wears out. 2.Love can be described as a feeling towards a person depending upon the relationship shared between two people. ... Acrush is infatuation; it refers only to the concept of being physically attracted to a person.

Well . This wasn’t crush territory, this was love territory. Jongdae didn’t know much, but whatever he felt for Minseok wasn’t short-lived. ed, he was ed. Maybe he should just burn his computer and jump out the window with any dignity he had left. If Jongdae didn’t even think that was bad, his next thought made him want to shrivel up and die a horrible death.

What if Minseok’s avoiding me because he knows that I like him. Immediately his stomach churned and Jongdae got full body goosebumps. It wasn’t like that idea wasn’t qualified in the realm of possibilities, because it was. He had no recollection of ever showing any feelings with Minseok, but maybe that’s because he never consciously did them. This was all his fault.

Honestly what was even time. The week passed but it felt like it didn’t. Constant worry plagued Jongdae’s mind at every waking moment. He couldn't help but assume the worst and that that was the last interaction they’d ever have. He missed Minseok’s voice and his stupid face. He missed the way his eyes would light up when their facetime connection came through and they saw each other through the screen. He missed Minseok.

A ding woke Jongdae from his trace of brushing his teeth. His moved his gaze from his mirror to his phone. It was a notification from Minseok. Wait what. He did a double take, even a triple take. Jongdae in a breath before letting it out in an ear-splitting shriek that was sure to make his neighbors concerned. The mint in his mouth was burning his tongue so he rinsed his mouth and discarded his toothbrush. Jongdae gingerly picked up his phone like it was a rare diamond. The man was sure his was about to die with all the anxiety that was building up, but he carefully unlocked the message.

Hi jongdae. As you can probably tell, i’ve been sort of avoiding you for the past week. I have to confess something-

Jongdae’s eyes were glazed over when he finished reading the text. His first reaction was ‘oh.’ That was a confession text, this was a confession text. Minseok said he liked him. Minseok said he liked him. Jongdae quick re read the text he was sent. Oh my GOD- he may have screamed and jumped around a little a little too much. Jongdae almost couldn’t type a response he was shaking so bad.

And now he waited.