Jinki shifted, face pressed into his pillow as he let out a rather loud groan, blanket pulled up over his head as the minutes ticked by into early morning. His mind couldn't wander from Minho when the other had caught him his heart began to beat much too hard, blood rushing to his face whenever the other came back to mind. It caused his heart to sink, he thought he had moved on. That his heart had settled far enough away from the male but it seemed that it wasn't a fact. 

It was stupid, he was angry still and he refused to give in. Minho was cruel, had hated him until Jinki met his standards of purity or whatever that was. It caused his lips to pull into a thin line as he grabbed the edges of his pillow and pulled it closer to his face. He couldn't give in, he refused to. However when he thought that the image of Minho's cheeky grin flashed to mind and he let out a small whine. His heart still beat faster and his stomach curled in anticipation, they had agreed that Minho would come over later that day, around two o'clock, to play video games and eat dinner. Jonghyun had been invited as well but he would be showing up later due to a date he had with some bartender? Jinki was completely sure what the other had said but didn't feel like asking more questions and let it slide. 

His body jerked upwards when his phone went off, fumbling for the device which was somewhere beneath his sea of blankets and groaning when he saw the name that was lighting up his phone. Choi Minho, of course, the man wasn't pleased with just possessing his thoughts. He huffed before hitting the green button and holding the phone up to his ear, trying to mask his apprehension, "Hello?"

On the other side of the line, he heard a small chuckle that had his chest tightening for a split second. "Jinki, so- apparently I have a family obligation around four so I was wondering if you'd like to hang out earlier?" Minho asked, Jinki pursing his lips at the question partially wishing that the other had just canceled, the other part of him happy that Minho still wanted to make sure they had time to hang out together. 

"That sounds fine, what time?" He asked, squirming to free himself from his blankets before hopping off of the bed, pillow slipping off with his motions and falling onto the floor. "And why are you up so early?" 

"I was thinking around eleven, and it's nine am, that's not too early," Minho responded with a chuckle before clicking his tongue, a sound that was odd over the phone but Jinki didn't comment. It was kind of cute in an odd sort of way. 

He agreed to the time before hanging up and tossing his phone back onto the bed, grabbing the outfit that he picked the night before and walking into the bathroom. He needed to get through the day, what happened at the arcade was a fluke, he didn't like Minho in that way anymore.

"Why is he coming over again?" Taemin asked, leaning over the counter in their kitchen as Jinki dug through the fridge for a juice, he didn't want water or soda, but it seemed that his brother had finished all their other options. He groaned before slowly standing back up and grabbing a water bottle from the door of the fridge and closing it behind him. 

"Because we're hanging out," He responded, grinning as the bell rang before sticking out his tongue playfully and walking over to the entranceway, pulling it open. Minho beamed down at him, stepping inside when Jinki stepped aside, sliding off his shoes before groaning and following the other into the living room. "You alright?" Jinki asked, flopping onto the couch and watching as Minho sat on the recliner across from him. 

"Yeah, I just hate driving when there's traffic," he muttered before humming when he looked towards the TV stand which held a ton of games and systems that Jinki and Taemin spent most of their time playing. "Anyway, which game do you want to play?" Minho asked, pushing off the small talk for something that they both found more interesting. His mind had been on their small interaction at the arcade as well but he had much bigger fish to fry, something that had his mind whirring even as Jinki hurried to pick a came from the many available. Setting it up before tossing a controller to Minho who caught it easily before glancing towards the screen and groaning when he saw the Mario Kart logo appear. "Are you kidding me?" He asked as Jinki laughed before hitting start and picking his racer. 

It didn't matter the game, he had something important to do that day and he wouldn't be happy unless he succeeded. His gaze flickered back to the screen, picking Bowser as Jinki had claimed Toad. "Are you ready to lose?" The shorter male asked, eyes curling with his grin which caused Minho's heart to skip a beat before he had a chance to crush the sudden gush of emotion. 

"I can promise you that I will not lose," he retorted before looking back up at the screen as Jinki picked the track and leaned back, holding the controller and focused solely on the screen. Minho's eyes darting between the other and the screen before taking off, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth. He wasn't sure how to bring it up without upsetting the other man, but he knew he had to. He couldn't let the situation drop, he refused to. 

The two took off on the track, weaving through the obstacles and laughing when either got hit by a shell or when they would fall off the track. Large smiles on both of their faces before Minho spoke up again, causing Jinki's face to fall flat almost immediately. "I saw Mr. Shen the other day..."

Jinki was tense, the controller falling into his lap as he looked down at his lap, breathing in deeply as he did his best to calm himself before speaking, voice trembling. "Why would you bring him up?" The male asked, strain obvious in the tone as he shifted slowly, moving away from Minho whether it was conscious or not. 

Minho didn't move as he sighed and set down the controller, not reacting to the positive music that was playing from the paused screen, feeling rather guilty even as he reminded himself that this was for the best. Fingers lacing together and pulling tight, he was scared that the fragile relationship he had begun to build with Jinki would fall apart just with this conversation. "I hate that he gets to keep walking around after what he did to you Jinki, we all do," he whispered, voice uneven as he reached out to rest his hand on Jinki's arm at an attempt at comforting the male. "You need to press charges, why should he get away with what he did to you?" He pressed, cringing on the inside when he saw tears pooling in the other's eyes. But he didn't pull away and to Minho, that was somewhat of a win in his book. 

"I don't want to see him again, I don't want to have to hear his voice or remember what he did to me! I already have nightmares about it, he made me feel disgusting and I don't want to give him another chance!" Jinki hissed through his teeth, hugging his knees to his chest, a defensive position that had Minho groaning. He felt terrible listening to the other, wishing that he hadn't been so stuck up, that he had reached out a hang to Jinki before things turned so bad. 

He took a deep breath, squeezing the other's arm and causing Jinki to look up at him, their eyes locking for a moment before Jinki's snapped closed again. Looking away as a tear fell from his lashes and onto his cheek, "If you do this you'll be making him suffer Jinki, you're getting justice and taking whatever he stole from you right back." Minho's voice was soft, he didn't want to push too hard, just wanted to ensure that Jinki knew it was important. "Why should he be happy?" He added, tensing when the older male turned and shook his head, fingers wiping away his tears quickly. 

"He shouldn't be but I-... I don't want to face him!" He pleaded, fingers trembling as they searched for Minho's hands, holding onto them tightly as a source of safety. Minho wasn't shaking, he was strong and Jinki knew that he was only saying these things because he cared, yet even that made him uneasy. He couldn't focus on his own feelings for the other while also battling the demons that Shen had left inside of him. 

It was true that he would wake up at night from nightmares of what the man had done to him, tremble when he heard a voice that sounded similar and tear up when he recalled the happy times that he had spent beside the other. Minho kept quiet, reaching out to hug the other, keeping him close as Jinki allowed his tears to flow free. Not that long ago he would have begged to have Minho's arms around him and yet he would rather not have such a moment at all, he didn't want the pain that had made a home within his chest. He did not want the sadness to take hold over him to haunt the corners of his mind and make him feel as though his body wasn't his anymore. 

"I'll do it..." He whispered after a moment, voice muffled against Minho's chest as he in a shaky breath. "I don't know what I have to do but I'll do it," he repeated as Minho squeezed him gently, rubbing small circles onto his back before he let his grip loosen and pulled back slightly, gazing down at the other with an unidentified emotion in his eyes. 

"Jinki, this is for the best, I promise," he mumbled before chuckling dryly as Jinki dove back into his arms. 

It didn't matter to him if Jinki ever felt the same way about him again, he just wanted Jinki to smile without any regrets and wanted the male to feel free. 

is it good?? I hope so! haha
Also-- I wanted to make the point to say..
That I will be keeping Jonghyun in the story and he will be appearing in the next chapter.
I'm sorry if this upsets any of but to me it is a way to honor him
Thank you all for understanding.
Thank you for reading! <3