It didn’t take much effort for Minho to meet Kibum on the third time since Minho himself had planned for it to happen. Things were definitely not over between Kibum and him, especially when Minho was now sure of how he felt towards him. He never did stop loving him, he only simply pushed his feelings aside, forcing himself to bury them and not think about Kibum. And Minho did just that, for almost three whole years, but all it took was one random meeting with Kibum for his feelings to return like it never faded away. So now that Kibum was back in his life, Minho wasn’t going to let his stubbornness and his pride stop him from fixing their relationship. He knew there might be a chance that Kibum didn’t feel the same way about him anymore, that nothing but a one sided relationship between them remained but getting back together was not as important as rebuilding their friendship, that special bond they shared even before they became lovers. Essentially, Minho owed it to Kibum – a proper apology, the effort that he took to make it along with his sincerity when apologising.

And with a little sniffing around, starting from the common friend that had invited both of them to the party, Minho managed to get hold of Kibum’s current address. This explained why he was currently standing in front of the door to Kibum’s apartment and waiting for said person to answer the door. It only took Minho a couple of knocks before he heard shuffling of footsteps coming from inside. The next thing he knew, Kibum had entered his vision. However, in the next second, Minho was about to lose sight of him since Kibum had every intention to slam the door on his face. And he would have slammed it shut successfully if it wasn’t for Minho’s quick reflexes as he raised his hand to stop the door from closing. Much to Kibum’s displeasure, Minho even managed to squeeze his body into the apartment when Kibum was distracted by Minho’s sudden opposing force on the other side of the door. Everything had happened too fast for Kibum to react and so, he could only glare furiously at the rude intruder in his apartment.

“You’re not welcomed here, Choi Minho.” Kibum hissed, unable to contain his anger. “Don’t force me to kick you out. And i mean it literally.”

“Look, I’m sorry, Kibum, for everything that I’ve done and didn’t do.” Minho knew he didn’t have the luxury of time to beat about the bush with Kibum practically on combat mode, all ready to get him out of the apartment and so the words came tumbling out of his mouth almost as fast as a bullet train.

“I can’t list out all the things I’m sorry for, because I know you wouldn’t have the patience to hear me out, but what I regret the most is letting you go… that I didn’t treasure what we had and it’s killing me, Kibum, knowing that I made no effort to hold on to you because the truth is, you’re the only one I will ever love. I know sorry doesn’t cut it but I’m hoping whatever I said is enough for you to give me a chance to be in your life again.”

Minho took in a deep breath after speaking his heart out but in the next moment, his breath got knocked out of him when he felt a blow to his stomach and Minho was sent stumbling back until he hit the door. Truth be told, Kibum did not use his full strength when he threw the punch at Minho but the fact that he had caught the other completely off guard made the punch more powerful than it was. Almost on the verge of wheezing, Minho coughed repeatedly and instantly clutched his stomach in pain as he stared wide eyed at an emotionless Kibum, silently demanding for him to explain his actions.

“You’re right, sorry doesn’t cut it but at least that made me feel a little better.” Kibum clarified with a nonchalant expression.

“You could have given me a heads up!” Minho reasoned, slowly recovering from the pain in his stomach and now looking at Kibum begrudgingly with a slight pout.

“It wouldn’t be the same.” Kibum simply said.

“Are you happy now?”

Kibum shrugged, his face indifferent, as he looked anywhere but Minho.

Standing back upright, Minho sighed, taking a step closer to Kibum. “Would hitting me another time make you feel just that tiny bit better then?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Kibum muttered, and then took in a breath as he finally locked eyes with Minho.

“You know, you didn’t have to make it sound like it’s entirely your fault that we ended up like this.  It takes two to make a relationship and two to work on that relationship. I’m not unreasonable, Minho, I know I’m to blame as well. So if you’re apologising, I should apologise too. But all the should haves and if onlys don’t matter anymore. We were just too young and hot headed to fully treasure what we had... and we lost it. Whether we can find back what we lost, well, I guess time will tell.”

Slowly digesting Kibum’s words, Minho blinked a couple of times before a smile grew on his face. And before he could stop himself, a low chuckle escaped from his lips.

“Don’t get too happy so soon.” Kibum warned, but the funny thing was, his lips were curved upwards in just that slight but noticeable bit. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

With Kibum’s smile as an encouragement, Minho couldn’t hold himself back from reaching out to pull the other into his arms for a hug that felt like home... like he was returning home.

“No Kibum, it means everything to me.” Minho tightened his hold around Kibum’s stiff body. “Thank you.”

Minho couldn’t see it but a faint blush had stained Kibum’s cheeks. And if that meant anything, it could only mean good things were to come.

*

“This is unhealthy.”

“What is?”

“Us meeting too many times a week.”

Minho placed his cup of Americano back down on the table and the residue off his lips before looking at Kibum with a smirk on his face.

“Well, you’re not exactly doing anything to discourage me from asking you out.”

Kibum threw a used paper napkin towards Minho, annoyed by his smug attitude, and retorted spitefully. “Perhaps I should, from now onwards.”

“Oh come on Kibum.” Grinning, Minho pushed the plate of New York cheesecake towards Kibum as a peace offering. “You know you don’t want to.”

“Please, just shut up.” Kibum rolled his eyes and picked up the fork to indulge in the large slice of creamy, rich and smooth cheesecake that Minho was treating him to, putting their conversation on hold for the time being.

Minho didn’t even bother to hide the tender smile on his face as he openly watched Kibum savour bite after bite of cake. There was just something absolutely adorable about the way Kibum’s eyes crinkled in a smile when he savoured the taste of the sweet treat he was enjoying so very much. Minho also couldn’t get enough of the way Kibum hummed in satisfaction with so much delight on his face that he could just sit and stare at Kibum all day even if they didn’t say a single word to each other. And in that very moment, Minho wished he could buy Kibum all his favourite desserts just because he really loved him like this... and he loved him all the time.

The loving smile on Minho’s face said it all. In fact, Minho’s intention had been obvious right from the start. As much as he was thankful that he was back to being friends with Kibum, he also wanted them to be back to being something more. It wasn’t just a want, but it was a need. The truth was, Minho needed Kibum to be his other half. There was no one other than Kibum he wanted so badly, this was a fact he knew from the very beginning when they first started dating. Thinking back, Minho could never understand how he ever let Kibum go, and he would never forgive himself for that. But as Kibum always said ever since they reunited, the past is the past and there was no such thing as a time machine so they should just let it be. Minho agreed, and that was why he never once requested for them to pick up from where they left off. Instead, he wanted them to start afresh, to have a new beginning, to create a new love story written on a fresh page. This was why he and Kibum rarely talked about the past, they rather focused on the now, the future, and Minho enjoyed this. Although he was grateful they had a past (he would never forget the memories he made with Kibum before), Minho was very much enthusiastic about their future together. That’s if Kibum allowed them to have one, of course.

It had been a month since that fateful day he found himself at Kibum’s apartment and every day since then, Minho had been doing whatever he could to spend time with Kibum and get to know him all over again. Without holding back one bit, he took the initiative to contact Kibum, to arrange dates with him, to meet at his convenience, to bring Kibum to places that he knew Kibum would like and sometimes even surprising him with gifts that didn’t necessarily cost much but was to Kibum’s liking. So as long as the chance came along, Minho would spoil Kibum in every way possible. Of course, he knew Kibum needed his space so Minho made sure he hadn’t gone too overboard with his efforts, not wanting it to come to the point where he came across as desperate or clingy.

Minho didn’t know if Kibum still had feelings for him but he honestly couldn’t be bothered to find out because whatever the answer was, Minho was determined to make Kibum fall in love with him once more, if not, even more. And looking at how things were progressing between the two of them, Minho was more than happy with where his efforts had brought him so far because for one, he knew Kibum wasn’t turning him down whenever he asked him out (Kibum would ask him out as well) and two, they always parted ways with smiles and anticipation for their next date. In one month, they had managed to catch up with the three years they had missed out on each other’s lives. And now, Minho was very much tempted to take things further with Kibum. He just suddenly didn’t know how to go about it... especially since the stakes were so much higher now. One wrong move and he could just screw things up completely and never be able to be part of Kibum’s life again.

“Minho, we seriously need to stop visiting such good cafés.”

Minho snapped out of his thoughts and focused his attention back onto Kibum who was apparently ready to chat with him. “Why?”

“My jawline is beginning to disappear.” Kibum pouted as he felt the sides of his face and looked guiltily at the now empty plate that had only crumbs of the cake remaining.

“It isn’t, Kibum.” Minho reassured his friend with the truth because he honestly couldn’t see what Kibum was seeing in the mirror. “And even if it is, you still look perfectly fine.”

“Fine?” Kibum smiled and asked playfully. “That’s all?”

Minho paused and eyed Kibum, trying to figure out what precisely the other was expecting as a reply. He didn’t miss the glint of mischief in his eyes and Minho knew Kibum wasn’t being serious so he decided to play along.

“Come on Kibum, you obviously know i always think you look stunning... gorgeous enough to always take my breath away, especially when i look at you and all i see is myself in your eyes.”

Okay, so Minho didn’t exactly play along. He ended up saying how he honestly felt, just in a not so serious manner. Kibum knew MInho long enough to know this, to know that Minho was saying this for a reason that was so blatantly obvious he would be stupid not to see where Minho was getting at. The mischief in Kibum’s eyes was gone and Kibum was back to having a blank expression on his face. That was his defense mechanism and Minho recognised this. He was even certain Kibum could tell what was about to come...

“Kibum, I-”

“Don’t.” Kibum cut Minho off as he shook his head. “Please don’t ruin what we have now.”

“We could be something more.”

“What’s wrong with how we are now?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” Minho answered, still calm and collected. “In fact, i’ve never been happier.”

“Exactly!” Kibum couldn’t help but raise his volume a little. “So why do you want something more?”

“Because although i’m happy, it’s torture, Kibum.” Minho let out a breath, throwing his hands up in defeat and then gesturing wildly towards Kibum. “You’re right in front of me but i can’t hug you, i can’t kiss you, i can’t touch you, i can’t call you mine, i can’t ing do anything except be your friend! Do you how frustrating it is to be so close to you yet feel as if the Great Wall of China is keeping us apart? I can barely stand the fact that we’re just friends!”

Kibum looked down and stared at the table top for a minute or so, seemingly sorting out his thoughts, before he looked up at Minho and said. “I can’t talk to you right now. We need a time out.”

And before Minho could process his words, before he could understand if that was something to be taken positively or negatively, Kibum grabbed his backpack and walked off, once again leaving Minho by himself. It was then Minho swore he would never let Kibum walk away from him ever again, not in this lifetime.

Author's Note: took me a while to update because i was so busy during the week but finally, the new chapter's up! i hope it's worth the wait! thank you all for subscribing and lots of hugs to the lovely readers who commented! really appreciate that there are people actually reading this so thank you! :) i'll probably complete this story in the next chapter, i'm still working on it so till then, enjoy! ^^