-Same night, back to Minsung-

The two boys had been walking for 20 minutes, which seemed much longer to Minho due to his exhaustion after his long day of work. Though Jisung caught on to this and reassured him they were almost there.

Though Minho questioned where "there" is exactly. He still had to ride the bus to get back home.

"Ahh we're here, can you close your eyes?" Jisung turns to face Minho, smiling brightly.

"... That's suspicious.. that's weird." Minho doesn't return the smile, if anything it's more of a frown. He really did not enjoy surprises.

"Please." Jisung puts on a more serious expression, wanting Minho to go along with it.

Minho sighs and closes his eyes, though not without a bit more arguing over it.

Jisung takes this time to reach for Minho's hand, almost retracting it back when he could feel the warmth from them almost touching. He intertwined their fingers and started to slowly lead the older boy down the path. They were still in the city of course, actually not that far from the company. Jisung decided to bring Minho to his favorite place to write his lyrics. It's a smaller not so well-known park which is right by a river.

"Okay, open."

Minho slowly opened his eyes and almost audibly gasped. He could see many stars in the bright night sky, with a beautiful full moon mixed with it all. The most beautiful part of it all was the way the moon's reflection bounced off the water, lighting up the area just a bit more.

"Beautiful." Minho whispered to himself, which Jisung heard and smiled to himself.

"It is. This is where I go when I need a break or just want things to slow down." Jisung looks out on the water remembering when he first came here. It was when he and Changbin were in their pre-debut days and were the closest of friends. It was Changbin's idea to even go to the park late at night, he just wanted somewhere to smoke. Jisung tagged along to be out of the house, he had no interest in the older boy's smoking. Thankfully the boy stopped smoking once they debuted by the orders of Chan. All those years ago, there was no one else at the park as the teens made their way there. The second Jisung saw how clearly you could see the stars, he fell in love. Ever since then, it's been his and Changbin's place. They went there countless times together after that and countless times alone. They both used it as an escape.

"Why did you want to come here?" Minho now looks at Jisung and realizes their hands are still intertwined. He pulls his hand away slowly, and Jisung's adorable chubby cheeks immediately turn a shade of pink. He had a habit of grabbing Minho's hand and not realizing he didn't let go. It may have been a subconscious sign from his body that he liked Minho, though neither of the boys picked up on that.

"As I said, this is where I go when I need a break or just an escape. You can use this place as that for yourself as well." Jisung looked out at the water as he said that. Jisung knew he would get complaints from his best friend for taking Minho here considering younger Jisung and Changbin agreed to never show anyone they know this spot. They wanted it for their own escape. Though Jisung felt that Minho needed an escape when he saw the way he was hunched over his laptop just a bit ago.

"I see." Minho sighs slightly and enjoys the view of the night sky. He could definitely see at least 60 or 70 stars which was rare to see when living in the city. 60 stars may be considered a small amount compared to the rest of space but those 60 stars made Minho genuinely happy, which also brought a smile to Jisung's face.

Jisung was actually worried that Minho might be annoyed with him for trying to surprise him just for it to be a spot where he occasionally comes to relax and write lyrics. Though seeing how Minho's eyes slightly lit up while looking at the open sky, Jisung felt accomplished. He felt like he did something right and knowing how content Minho looked made him want to do everything in his power to keep that feeling going for the older boy.

"Minho?" Jisung says in an attempt to switch the older boy's attention back to him.

"Yeah?" Minho looks at Jisung, his smile still apparent on his face.

"Do you want to spend the night with me?" Jisung questions, though quickly realizes he used the wrong wording with how wide Minho's eyes got within a second. There were two ways to take that question and of course, Minho went straight to the more explicit version.

"No, no, I mean do you want to stay the night at my place? I don't live too far from here and it's going to be late soon." Jisung fiddles with his fingers a bit, not knowing where to look or what to do.

"Hmm, sure." Minho says after thinking about it for a second. There was no reason not to, Minho didn't feel like riding the bus anyway, too many people.

Jisung smiles at Minho as both boys turn to look out at the view again, enjoying their time.

..

It was now 1:30am, and the boys were watching a movie on Jisung's couch. Well, Jisung was on the couch and Minho was sitting on the floor right next to Jisung's legs. He was right the last time he was over here, the couch is not comfortable for him. Jisung didn't mind it at all, he knew he picked the wrong couch for his living room but he was not going to go through a hassle to get a new one, at least not right now.

This was the boy's second movie of the night. The first one they watched was a Marvel movie called Thor Ragnarok per Minho's request. Jisung had no idea the older boy was into these types of movies, especially because Minho wanted to watch it in English which led to Minho asking a million different questions about the movie because of Jisung's understanding of English. Jisung asked him if he wanted the Korean voiceover instead but Minho insisted on the original. Though Jisung was not complaining about having the older boy's attention on him.

Then, when that movie ended, it was Jisung's turn to pick one. He scrolled through all of his streaming services with no luck of any movie that piqued his interest. He doesn't like horror or thrillers that much, comedy is in a certain mood type of thing for him. There were so many options but he really could not choose.

He opted for Netflix, which made Minho sigh, getting slightly impatient.

"I'm sorry Minho, I'll pick within the next few I see." Jisung reassures the boy, not wanting to waste any more time.

Minho looks at the television and reads off the names of the first four movies he sees.

"A Silent Voice"

"Joker"

"Spiderhead"

"Wish You"

Jisung looked at each option, considering which one the older boy would enjoy most. Jisung saw the trailer for A Silent Voice and automatically decided against watching that seeing as it seems deeply upsetting. Joker was a no because Jisung knew his limits and Joker could be a challenging movie to get through mentally. Jisung never saw Spiderhead before, but again decided against it for the same reason as Joker.

The last option was 'Wish You'. Jisung looked at the description, and his eyes widened upon seeing it is a boy love movie.

"I want to watch this one." Jisung points to Wish you so Minho can clearly see which movie he is talking about.

"Wish You?"

Jisung nods and looks down at Minho who is still sitting on the floor in front of him. Jisung prepares himself for the worst, for a homophobic comment, maybe a scoff and a roll of the eyes. Though none of that was sent his way, Minho threw his head back to look up at Jisung and smiles brightly, seeming excited.

"It seems good, let's watch it!" Minho then brings his head back down and grabs the remote to play the movie.

"You really don't mind that it's.. a boy love movie?" Jisung was hesitant to ask, but really wanted to know the answer. For.. research purposes? Sure, research purposes.

"No, I don't mind it at all." Minho says as he stares directly at the television, watching the movie start.

Jisung sighs and feels his body automatically relax. He didn't realize how tense he got while asking Minho that question. He knew exactly why his body had that reaction though, and he knew why he decided on watching Wish You. He wanted to see Minho's reaction. He wanted to know if there was even a slight possible chance Minho would accept him as gay.

Jisung was barely able to contain his smile. He felt amazing knowing that Minho would hopefully not judge him if he came out to the older boy.

The movie began, and for the first 20 minutes, it went decently slow. That was always something Jisung admired about a lot of K-dramas and Korean movies, the progression is shown in more detail and characters take a bit longer to bond with each other. That way you could feel and see the connections being made between the characters. (not all Korean movies or K-dramas are like this, I know)

Minho lightly sighed, showing a sign of how at ease he felt. He was leaning his back against the lower side of the couch, with Jisung sitting right behind him on the couch curled up under a blanket.

Another 5 minutes went by and the boy's movie was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Jisung looked around to see where exactly the sound was coming from.

Minho sighs and pulls his phone out of his pocket and furrows his eyes brows upon seeing who is calling him.

"Sung?" Minho asks as he keeps his eyes locked on his phone.

"Yeah Minho?" Jisung looked down at the older boy and couldn't help but notice who was calling him.

"You can take it Minho, you can go on the balcony."

Minho hummed and immediately got up, going onto the balcony connected to the living room, slightly closing the door but leaving it open enough to not lock himself out.

He answered the phone within a second of being on the balcony, worry dripping from his voice.

"Hyun, what's up?"

Minho listened for a few seconds, not hearing anything on the other side.

"Hyunjin?" He sighed, assuming the boy butt-dialed him.

"Hyung?" Hyunjin finally answered, not able to hide his voice cracking.

"Hyun, are you okay?" Minho asked, feeling that there was definitely something off.

"Not really.." Hyunjin sighed, he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again but he fought them off to the best of his ability.

"Are you home now, Hyung? I rode the bus to your place without calling you first. I'm sorry."

Minho sighed upon hearing this, he could hear how Hyunjin was holding back tears.

"I'm still at Jisung's, why didn't you call first? Did something happen?"

Hyunjin choked on a sob, still trying desperately to forget his entire night. From the moment Felix didn't answer his door, to the moment he ended his phone call with Seungmin. He wanted to forget it all and if that meant he would have never met his new friend, so be it.

"Hyung, can you please come here? I need you." Hyunjin let out a shaky sigh, trying to calm himself down.

Minho took note of Hyunjin saying he needed him, not just someone, he needed his best friend with him. Minho felt his heart crack hearing his best friend like this.

"Of course, Hyun, can I bring Jisung? I was supposed to stay the night here but we can all just stay at my place tonight and watch some movies. We can talk about what's bothering you if you want, but if not that's okay as well. Would that be alright?" Minho made sure to keep a light tone to his voice so there would be no thoughts of guilt in Hyunjin's mind for pulling Minho away from his friend.

"Please.. If Jisung is okay with it." Hyunjin slightly smiles at the thought of spending time with his friend and Jisung.

"Yeah, I'll ask him. I'll get there as soon as possible, okay? Stay put." Minho says as Hyunjin hums in response, ending the call.

Minho puts his phone back in his pocket and sighs, looking up at the night sky for a minute. He looks at the barely visible stars as he hears the balcony door open up a bit more.

He turns to see a shy-looking Jisung standing in the doorway.

"Is everything alright?" Jisung asks, concerned for Minho's friend. He doesn't know him at all, but from the few encounters he has had with Hyunjin, Jisung hoped the best for the boy, he seemed energetic yet respectful when he needed to be. He seemed like a good friend to have.

"Yeah, it was Hyunjin calling. He told me he's at my apartment building but didn't let me know he was showing up beforehand. Would you be okay with us spending the night at my place instead? Hyunjin will probably stay over as well."

Jisung nodded, not needing to question it more.

"Sounds good, I'll pack some things." Jisung turns to go to his room to get an extra pair of clothes, as well as his toothbrush, phone charger, wallet, and keys.

..

It had already been an hour since the boys arrived at Minho's apartment. A movie was playing on Minho's laptop due to him not having a tv of his own. Minho was laying on the floor, his attempt at getting as close to the laptop as possible. Hyunjin and Jisung warmed up to each other rather quickly, especially with Jisung's gentleness towards Hyunjin after seeing his tear-stained face. This led to the two somewhat cuddling. Hyunjin was laying on his back on the couch with a sleepy Jisung laying on his chest.

Jisung felt the entire mood change to a positive one once there was a movie playing, pizza being heated up (that the boys already hungrily ate), and the boys being able to rest.

"No, what? That's so stupid.." The two boys heard the oldest mutter under his breath. Jisung realized in that moment that no matter what movie is playing, Minho will most likely get immersed into it. Jisung had no idea what movie was currently playing due to his sleepiness, but he was really happy Minho was enjoying it.

Jisung felt Hyunjin let out a heavy sigh, which brought him out of his drowsiness for a minute.

"Hyunjin?" Jisung whispered, barely audible in hopes he wouldn't be disturbing Minho.

"Yeah, Jisung?" Hyunjin whispered back, not taking his eyes off the movie.

Jisung bit the inside of his cheek, wondering how to ask the boy what he is thinking.

"I..."

Hyunjin looks down at Jisung and sees the conflict going on behind the younger boy's eyes.

"What's up?" Hyunjin questions a little bit too loudly, causing a glare from Minho to be sent his way.

"Sorry..." Hyunjin whispers then throws a side-eye towards Minho once his back is turned towards him again.

"Can we go talk?" Jisung looks between Hyunjin and Minho, trying to make a point. Hyunjin picks up the hints he is dropping down and nods. The two boys slowly get up and tiptoe into the kitchen. Hyunjin opens the fridge to pull out a pitcher of water and pour a cup for himself and (J.)one for Jisung.

Jisung sits down on one of the chairs at the island in the middle of the small kitchen area. He takes a sip from his cup that Hyunjin just poured and sighs.

"Jisung.. are you okay?" Hyunjin asks as he's about to take a sip from his water.

"Hmm, I am."

Hyunjin notices how Jisung hasn't looked up from the kitchen island since he sat down. Though he doesn't want to push Jisung considering he was the one that wanted to talk.

"Whatever it is, I am a good listener." Hyunjin adds as some reassurance in case this wasn't something as lighthearted.

Jisung sighs and lays his head on the island, which Hyunjin takes as a sign that this is something he may want to sit down for.

"I have a lot going on in my mind, and I don't want to bring you into it but.. a lot of it is about myself, and Minho.." Jisung trails off for a second and brings his head up to look at the boy in front of him. Hyunjin nods as a sign to keep going.

"I don't really know how else to say this besides... I'm gay? and I didn't know that Minho could possibly be accepting of me until tonight. We watched a boy love movie earlier and he was enjoying it and he said he really didn't mind watching it." Jisung catches his breath a bit after his ramble, wanting to get the words out as fast as possible before he decides to not say anything.

"I see.." Hyunjin takes another sip of his water and takes a look behind Jisung to see Minho still heavily into the movie that was playing.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm bringing this up to you when you seem like you've had a long night. Do you want to talk?" Jisung asks, bringing his eyes back up to Hyunjin's again.

"Hmmm, it's really okay. I would rather talk about what's going on with you rather than my stuff. I don't really want to think about it in all honesty.."

Jisung nods, "I understand, but if you want to talk about it, you can, okay? I am a good listener too." Jisung adds with a silly smile plastered on his face.

Hyunjin smiles at Jisung's adorableness and takes another sip of his water.

"Thanks, you can go on."

"Ah, I actually just wanted to ask you.. if you know, uhm, Minho's sexuality?" Jisung now avoids eye contact, scared of what Hyunjin will say. He wanted to hold onto that little bit of hope in his heart of the possibility of Minho liking him back, but he also had a gut feeling he wouldn't like the answer he is about to receive.

"Hmm, Jisung." Hyunjin looks to Jisung and gets his attention.

"Hmm?"

"I'm really sorry, but that isn't my place to tell. I suggest you talk to Minho about that. If he really is okay with you being gay, which I'm sure he will be because I'm his best friend and I am bisexual and he supports me, then he will let you know."

Jisung looks down at the island again, feeling a bit guilty for bringing it up. Hyunjin was right, if he wanted to know so bad he should talk to Minho directly about it.

"I- Yeah, you're right." Jisung sighs.

"I am." Hyunjin downs the rest of his water and gets up to put his glass in the sink. He turns around to lean back against the counter.

Hyunjin looks over at Minho again, catching a glimpse of the older boy very obviously now paying attention to the two boys in the kitchen.

"You know, I think you guys would look really cute together." Hyunjin says as he focuses his attention back on the boy in front of him.

Jisung takes in a quick breath, "Really?" He whispers.

"Yeah, Minho doesn't usually hang out with anyone besides me and Felix so seeing him with you is very refreshing. Plus with how good-looking you both are, I don't know how either of you hold back from flirting with each other."

Jisung's mouth is slightly agape, mind wandering, not knowing what exactly to respond with.

Hyunjin laughs to himself as he looks back into the living room to see that Minho witnessed that part of their conversation.

"You're welcome." Hyunjin says as he struts back into the living room, leaving Jisung flustered and just a bit too giddy after hearing that he and Minho could possibly look good together. He smiled to himself and put his head in his hands.

He sighs and reminds himself..

You need to get yourself together, Jisung.

A/n slow burn is definitely slow burning