14: Perspectives.

“Minho, how do people court each other here? How do you even do that, when all the ladies are kept separate? Is it all arranged marriages?” Jisung asked one day.

They were somewhere in the back of the mountain, enjoying the cooling days in nature. Everything had taken on a reddish-orange hue, with autumn gradually approaching. Minho predicted that it would pass quickly and give way to the chilly winter months.

They had settled by a stream that appeared to be ideal for fishing. But Minho would not let him; killing animals was expressly prohibited here. Instead, they sat there, Minho on his knees, holding a book, and Jisung stretched out on his side, twirling his newly acquired daegeum.

It was pretty and black, freshly polished with a red tassel at the end. Jisung thought Minho might’ve ordered it with him in mind, judging from the colours.

The question had Minho rigid. “Why does Jisung ask?”

“Curiosity.” Jisung wiggled his eyebrows, which earned him an unimpressed look.

"Other sects do not practise as strict segregation as we do. Within our clan, the sexes see each other during night hunts and while travelling to other sects," Minho said stiffly, as if reciting from a textbook.

“What, a couple sees each other once and then they get married?”

“They will start a formal courting period, during which meetings with a chaperon are possible. After an appropriate time, their families make a binding agreement. Then the wedding date is decided.

“So, can they back out of it during the courting period?” Jisung wrinkled his nose as he considered all of the unsuccessful dates he had gone on, trembling at the idea of being compelled to wed them nonetheless.

“It is uncommon.” Minho said. "However, outside of clan-arranged unions, forced marriages are uncommon."

“Wait, so there are arranged marriages?”

“Mn.”

“Huh!?” His modern sensibilities recoiled, but he had once read in a history textbook that most arranged marriages were fairly happy or the people probably weren’t thinking about it like modern people.

Romance probably came second to survival and social advantages.

“Minho, do men ever get married to each other?” he asked then.

It took a few heartbeats for Minho to answer. "This is not unusual."

"Right, I read about cultivation partners in a book, but I was not sure if the meaning was the same," Jisung replied. “That’s good. More options.”

“Options.” Minho echoed, voice dry.

“Haha, I mean, isn’t it good? That it’s not limited, right? Especially when you have this strange situation where there are no women." Jisung waved the flute in a circle. "You can get to know someone before asking them the question. That is the way things are done in our world.”

“How?” Minho wasn’t looking at him, but Jisung could see he was listening intently, head tilted towards him.

“Well! We start by making small talk to see if the other person is interested. We ask the other person out, then we go on a couple of dates. Date a few months. Maybe move in together with each other if you’re liberal, but older people are still weird about that so often people wait until marriage before they get an apartment together. In the west, it’s not as frowned upon, though.”

“It is a long process,” Said Minho, less judgmental than Jisung guessed.

“Sure! Usually, people date around before they get married. You know, to see what’s out there. To figure out their match,” Jisung explained. “My brother, Jeongin went out with so many girls at one point it was incredible. Like, his standards were insane! I still don’t know if he actually tried to find a match his mother would’ve approved or if he just wasn’t into romance in general.”

Minho nodded.

“I always asked him if he wanted to share notes to have more success the next time, but I don’t think he was interested in success at all, haha.”

Minho frowned at him. “You have ‘dated’ people, then.”

“Yep. I’ve had a couple of girlfriends. One boyfriend.”

He did not mention that those were the kinds of shaky adolescent relationships that always ended in the first few months. To be honest, Jisung had very little experience with romance.

He had not had a real relationship during his college years, unless you counted a few dates that did not go anywhere after the first.

Sure, he’d kissed plenty of people, properly made out with a few. He was not technically a virgin anymore, because he would have been given a handjob once, which prompted him to respond with the world's most awkward blowjob.

The good news had been that he had practically no gag reflex. The bad news was that he wasn’t very good at making sure his teeth didn’t scrape anywhere they shouldn’t. He’d practised afterward with a dildo, and he thought he was better at it now. Not that he’d ever gotten to verify that. Not that he’d really even wanted to, in the past few years, until…

Jisung glanced at his conversation partner and felt himself stiff. Minho's glare could have frozen the lake.

“Now what’s with that face?” he groaned.

“One must not commit acts of promiscuity,” Minho cited, tone harsh.

“Promiscuity? Minho, it was only dating! It’s very common in our world.” Jisung defended.

“So there was no physicality?”

Jisung blushed, partially embarrassed by the stupidity of the situation, and partly indignant at having to defend what was, in reality, a very limited experience. “Well, I mean, our morals are pretty different there. Kissing your girlfriend is a completely normal thing to do.”

“Indecent.” Minho said.

“Oh, that’s just childish. I bet you guys are just the same here; everyone's just being a hypocrite about it," Jisung argued back. "Everyone appears nice and chaste, but I bet they are kissing their crushes behind the dorms when no one is around to see it."

The glare sharpened. “There is such a thing as self-control.”

Jisung turned to face Minho, the man who seemed to have never shown interest in anyone before and who preferred to be kept at a distance and not be touched. He snorted.

“Right, like it’s the same when there’s no temptation at all." 

Minho felt as though everything about him became tense, like a toy automaton gone haywire. Jisung swallowed. Under those eyes, which appeared to have darkened in a way he had never seen before, Jisung was frozen in shock. 

“Jisung knows better about temptation, then?” Minho asked, voice low.

“Well, I have kissed a lot of people,” he replied.

“Mn. No control.” Jisung fake-gasped, but felt insulted. "Perhaps it is the abundance of willing partners."

“Jisung often goes around flirting.” Minho stated, eyes narrowing. “Perhaps he seems available to many.”

This made Jisung burst into surprised laughter. “Minho! Are you calling me easy? That’s so mean! Can’t we attribute any of that to my handsome looks and boyish charms?”

Minho, clearly still resentful, turned his gaze away. “These do not cancel each other out.”

“Well, I guess hot and easy is better than average and easy,” Jisung pondered, which seemed to infuriate Minho even more.

“Lascivious.” the man stated. “Indecent. Shameless.”

“Fuckable.” Jisung responded and received a pair of bright red ears as his prize.

Minho’s eyes were red-rimmed, furious. He appeared to be at a loss for words, so instead of responding, he shook his head and turned away, as if disappointed in himself.

“Minho~” Jisung whined. “Don’t be so mad at me. Those rowdy days are behind me, yeah? I’ve been nothing but a proper little guest during my stay in Geumgangsan. My loose morals stayed back in Seoul. It has been so long since my virginity has practically gone."

This, evidently, was the wrong thing to say. Minho stayed absolutely still for two breaths, and then promptly stood up and marched off, white robes flowing behind him with righteous indignation.

Jisung was left to stare after him, eyes wide and mouth agape. He swore he heard a crashing sound far in the forest like someone had punched a tree, but that was ridiculous.

He’d definitely gone too far. Something twisted in the bottom of his stomach at the recollection of Minho’s face. Jisung would have to apologise.

------

StrayKids WKorea photoshoot is just 😩🤌🔥💅