The days passed a little faster than before, and it was inevitable for Minho not to follow Jisung around because he still couldn't find a way to tell him that he also felt something for him and that his feelings were mutual.

While Minho was distracted playing with his sandwich, his gaze drifted to where Jisung was, and he sighed. He liked him a lot. Each time he saw him focused on his studies or admiring the sky, his heart beat hard.

Every night, before going to sleep, he imagined romantic scenes where he and Jisung were the protagonists, scenes where they hugged or simply enjoyed each other's presence. He felt like he was rushing a bit with the things he imagined. After all, they weren't even friends yet. But he couldn't help it. His feelings were too strong, and he longed to be with him more than anything in the universe.

However, he didn't know that Jisung didn't have feelings like that for him. In fact, Minho didn't even know that letter wasn't for him. He didn't know anything about that, so he was creating false illusions about the person he liked.

Minho was so captivated by his thoughts of a boy in love that he didn't realize his friends were looking at him with amusement.

"You should stop chasing that boy. He looks like he hates you," Changbin commented with a mocking smile, making him look ugly. "I'm being honest. Besides, you still haven't told him you like him."

"It's not that I don't want to tell him. I just haven't found the way or the right time to do it," he whined falsely, hearing Chan's laughter join Changbin's. He sighed and dropped his head on the table, feeling frustrated.

Suddenly, his friends' laughter stopped, which made him look up with confusion, wondering what had happened. That's when he noticed that Seungmin had sat next to him. Minho settled in his seat and took a moment to observe him.

"Your mother told me I could ask you for help when I needed it, and I need you to help me study for my next Biology exam. I don't want to fail," Seungmin said with a pleading look that sparkled with hope, making him sigh and want to roll his eyes, although he couldn't act like a rude person in front of him. "Come on, Minho, I helped you when we were younger." He began to throw a tantrum like a little child, making the others shrink in his place as he saw too much attention on them. He was really uncomfortable.

"Couldn't you have told me by message or at home?" He looked at him ugly but then relaxed his expression. "Okay, I'll help you."

Seungmin uttered one of his typical exclamations of happiness and hugged him effusively. Then, he got up and returned to the table with his friends.

Jisung, sitting near them, watched the scene with some sadness. He wished he was the recipient of that hug that Seungmin had given Minho, but he knew it was something that would never happen. He sighed deeply and lowered his head.

As for the letter that the messengers didn't deliver to the boy Jisung liked, he spoke with them. The guys told him that although they wanted to investigate, they couldn't do it, so the messengers believed it had gone missing.

Despite everything, Jisung still wanted to send him another letter but gave up because Valentine's promotion had ended, and he would have to spend a lot of money, equivalent to his monthly expenses. He certainly wouldn't go himself to deliver it since talking to Seungmin had already embarrassed him enough.

His sneeze interrupted his thoughts, and he realized he had a cold. His roommate kept throwing noisy parties every night, and he slept outside. Although his blanket was cozy, it couldn't protect him from the terrible cold.

Jisung got up from his seat and threw the empty box of apple juice he had drunk to the nearest trash can. He headed to the infirmary because he felt awful about his cold and sad thoughts. Sometimes, Jisung felt lonely, something he liked to some extent, but at the same time, he longed to have large groups of friends like the ones he saw at school. He felt envious and only longed to have people who appreciated him besides his mother.

He remembered his first days at that school, when many students who received a scholarship, like him, tried to approach him to be his friend. But Jisung pushed them all away, convinced he couldn't trust anyone. Then, he regretted making that decision, as he felt very lonely.

On the other hand, Minho got up immediately and left the dining room because somehow he choked on the attention he hated having. He felt that by receiving it, everyone saw his actions with great attention, being able to criticize him for anything he did, and he didn't like having to worry about that. Finally, Minho reached an empty hallway of the establishment and sat on the floor, leaning back against the wall next to the lockers.

From a very early age, Seungmin had been the boy adored by his family. He was perfect, charismatic, cheerful, adorable, and all the similar qualifying adjectives. He had an exceptional ability to play numerous instruments and sing with an impressive voice that left everyone breathless.

Quite different from Minho.

Although his childhood was happy and carefree, everything changed when he turned eight and realized that he was nothing compared to his cousin. He never learned to play an instrument and was told that his voice wasn't for singing, and when he wanted to prove them wrong, that he was good at something, that he was good at dancing, they didn't care.

His parents' preferences soon became more marked by Seungmin: "You should be like Seungmin-ah, Minho" or "You should learn from Seungmin" were common phrases that he still heard to that day, and he supposed something had changed in his life when he realized that he would never be enough for them. No matter how hard he tried to be the best son and student, they would never be proud of him.

He lifted his gaze when he heard footsteps and saw Jisung walking by. Although he noticed his presence, he didn't get up or follow him with his gaze. Minho didn't want to give up on getting his attention but needed a break.

Jisung was going to ignore him and walk past, but he noticed that Minho seemed to be going through a sad time. His face, which used to be lit by a smile, was overshadowed by sadness. He ignored that he was getting sick and sat next to him, hugging him. He wasn't good with words, but he hoped that that show of affection would make him feel a little better. Besides, he felt warmer doing that, so he didn't think of letting go. He was like his blanket, only much better.

Minho, for his part, looked away without understanding his attitude since he seemed not to want him around, and at that moment, he was by his side. Despite trying to be optimistic and maintain a positive attitude, he knew that Jisung didn't like his presence and couldn't help feeling insecure about the letter he had received. He didn't understand it, which confused him even more.

"Why are you sad, smiley boy? I don't like seeing you like this." He put his head on his shoulder, still hugging him, and closed his eyes.

Minho smiled, but there was some sadness in his eyes. He felt a bit discouraged, and although on another occasion he would have jumped for joy for that nickname, at that moment, he didn't have the mood to do it.

"I'm not sad, just a little nostalgic. I remembered things that made me like this, but it doesn't matter anymore." His presence was warm, and he wanted to hug him too, so he did, feeling too good in his arms. "Thank you, Sung..." He thanked him because he had remembered the letter. Maybe he was too shy to show what he felt, but thinking that he felt something for him made him feel loved.

Jisung snorted and opened his eyes to look at him better. He had never paid much attention to his physical appearance, but at that moment, he realized that his brown hair was soft, his lips were a bit fluffy and beautiful, with a pink tone that made them stand out, and his eyes shone like stars.

"Don't remember those things," he said with a face. "And it does matter. You matter."

He coughed a little, feeling a sharp pain in his throat, but he didn't care and apologized to the other. Minho, however, moved away a bit and then brought one of his hands to his forehead, looking at him with concern.

"You have a fever... Come on, let's go to the infirmary." He had to separate from the hug completely, making Jisung sad because he felt warm. The two boys stood up, and the younger one hugged him again with his eyes closed while Minho caressed his hair calmly, sighing.

Jisung suddenly felt sadder than he already was, missing his mother. She called him to ask how he was, but he never answered fearing that she would realize he didn't feel good in that place.

He felt totally inferior and discouraged because his classmates often mocked him. They insulted him by calling him an "Idiot" and made him feel excluded by constantly pointing out that he couldn't buy whatever he wanted, unlike them.

"I'm tired..." He let out a heavy sigh. "Can I go to sleep?" He looked at him again and gave him a forced smile, trying to make him believe he was fine. There was nothing that a good nap of several hours couldn't solve.

"Jisung, do you sleep well in your room?" Minho asked, worried about his well-being. It was no news that the dormitories of the scholarship students were a mess. He knew they were chaotic and they often organized illegal parties in which the police intervened to end them.

Some parties were small, like the ones held in Jisung's room. But others were so big that they ended up with several students punished for drug and alcohol consumption. Although this also happened at the parties of the millionaire students, they didn't receive any punishment.

"I can't even sleep in my room." Jisung let out a fake giggle. "You're like my blanket," he finally admitted. He felt weird but supposed it was because he was a little sick.

The bell rang in the hallway, so the younger one's ears hurt. Minho sighed softly but didn't move away from him but brought him closer, enjoying having him near.

"We could... buy something to eat after school and then go to my house, but we won't be alone, surely my cousin will be with his friends." He made a face.

Jisung was scared when he heard that proposal. Why did he want to take him? Recently, he found out that Minho and Seungmin were cousins, and he didn't want his classmates to see him as someone who took advantage of Minho to be close to one of the unattainables, specifically the boy who made his heart beat like crazy. Jisung liked Seungmin a lot, but he would never do something like that. He didn't take advantage of people. Jisung couldn't do it.

His mind was so full of negative thoughts that he began to tremble from fear and the cold. Without saying anything, he just walked away and went to his classroom. Minho, for his part, let out a sigh with some guilt. It seemed he had ruined everything by only wanting to make him feel good.

He began to question whether Jisung really felt the same for him and if the letter he had received was just a joke. This concern was beginning to torment him, making him feel uncomfortable. But despite everything, he couldn't help feeling a special connection with him, something he had never experienced before with anyone else.

Anyway, despite that connection, he didn't understand, or rather, he didn't know how to make Jisung feel comfortable because it seemed that anything he did end up ruining everything.