"Even Seungmin complained about it."

That was the only thing Minho heard while he was in the kitchen and that alone caused him to almost drop the cup he was holding.

"Seungmin did what?!"

He knew he was being loud, but he had a reason. Seungmin complained? So he heard them? So he knew? He knew about their relationship? It wasn't good, it was horrible.

Of course they were friends, they all trusted each other and have been in a band for years, but there were things Seungmin did not need to know. And one of those things was that Hyunjin and Minho were in a relationship.

Minho wasn't scared of not getting accepted, he knew Seungmin would never judge them for loving each other, but instead it would definitely lead to everyone finding out and their relationship getting leaked. Some things Seungmin was not good at. Seungmin was not good at keeping a secret — any secret at that. And the one Hyunjin and Minho shared was too important to accidently reveal. It'd ruin everything.

So as soon as he was able to react, he rushed to Seungmin's room and slammed the door open. "You're not telling a soul, Seungmin!"

It didn't surprise him that Seungmin looked unfazed, like he didn't care about it at all. Because he most likely didn't. It meant the world to Minho, but a look into Seungmin's eyes told him that he really did fuck up big time.

"Felix knew. Chan knew. But everyone else is not allowed to find out? Why are you two keeping something like that a secret?" He had been scared of that question. They never told anyone else because no one was supposed to find out in the first place, but they had been testing their luck. Clearly.

But then again.. Chan was their leader. He'd have to know at some point. And Felix? He had found out by himself! It wasn't Minho's fault at all.

"I don't get it. I am going to tell them, they don't deserve to be lied to. And you two clearly aren't planning on letting them in on your stupid little secret."

"Seungmin, you— you don't understand. You know we'd to tell you right away.. if we could." They both would never want to hurt the feelings of their friends, they were their family, they were everything to them. Though it was obvious Seungmin was not having any of it.

"But you didn't. I don't even care about the fact you didn't tell me, but you didn't plan on telling any of us! Do you not trust us at all? I'm done with this bullshit, Minho. I knew it the day you two started looking at each other differently. Do you think the little love letters you write for him go unnoticed? Do you think we're all that dumb and oblivious? We all knew! We were just waiting like fools to have the honor of being happy for you two!"

The male took a deep breath. "You're so fucking egoistic, do you know that? You're always judging me. I would have protected that secret with my life. We all would have. But you had to ruin it."

That was a lot to swallow. It made him think. Think about everything Hyunjin and he had done. Their relationship had gotten to the point where he knew nothing could possibly tear them apart. But were they both ready to risk losing their found family for the sake of their own happiness? Minho wasn't so sure about that, no matter how much he loved Hyunjin. Stray Kids meant everything to Minho, it had been his life for years. Going back to a normal life was nearly impossible. Them both leaving would split the band apart. It wasn't just about his future.

"Now you don't even know what to say? Maybe I'll have to go to your room and fuck the answers out of Hyunjin? Huh? He can go around moaning your fucking name day and night, but I wouldn't have thought that this would be enough to fuck the brain cells out of him."

That had been enough for him. Minho felt bad for making Seungmin feel betrayed like that, but enough was enough. There was a line no one was supposed to cross. He was a tolerant and not an aggressive man, at least not normally. But what Seungmin was doing was driving him absolutely crazy. In a very, very negative way. This was going to turn out very ugly for sure.

"You piece of shit. You're disgusting. Get lost. Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Minho was trying to stay calm. He really was. His voice wasn't getting louder, but it was as if he was spitting out every single word with as much hate as he held within his body.

It wasn't the right way to talk to Seungmin, yet he couldn't help but grab him by his shirt and pull him close enough to give him a punch straight to his face. There weren't any consequences to him in that moment, nothing that could possibly scare him enough to make him stop. It was impossible to think when anger had taken over his body entirely after having hit him once.

There were no thoughts, only a buzzing sound in his ears while he tried throwing another punch. Minho hadn't even noticed the yelling of other people, someone pulling them away from each other just a couple seconds after his body was starting to feel numb.

He hadn't thrown enough punches, he wanted to keep going. No, he needed to. It was deserved. It was revenge. It was necessary. Seungmin had disrespected him, his relationship and most importantly — Hyunjin. And no matter how much he cared about Seungmin, he'd never let anyone talk to his boyfriend like that. Just a couple minutes prior he was convinced he'd defend anyone with his life. But after that? He wasn't so sure about it anymore. Maybe Hyunjin really was the only one who understood him.

While being pulled away from Seungmin, he kept yelling, kept insulting him until his voice gave in, all while his ears still could hear nothing but a buzzing sound. Minho had forgotten whatever had happened after that. Maybe he had passed out, maybe he had gotten lost in his own thoughts.

"..yung.. hyung.. Minho? Min, just answer, you're scaring everyone!"

The voice of Hyunjin and his gentle touch on his shoulders was what brought him back to reality, back to where he was — in the living room. The entire band surrounding them. Not good.

When he looked to the left, he saw Felix patching up Seungmin and adding a blue bandaid to his cheek, while he also made sure to get rid of the blood on his lip. Only then did he taste the iron on his own tongue. Just when had Seungmin gotten the chance to hit back? The adrenaline that had had pumping through his body had done the job of not making him feel the pain.

Before he was able to say anything, Hyunjin had his arms wrapped around his neck, automatically making his body react and wrap his own around his waist, bringing their bodies close to each other. This is what he truly needed. There was just something so special about Hyunjin. The way he could tease him, annoy him, yet at the end of the day they'd love each other. Always. Of course he regretted hurting one of his friends, but he'd never regret defending the person he cared for so dearly.

"You're an idiot. I'm just glad you both are okay. We all are glad." Hyunjin let out a sigh of relief. He knew his lover got worried very fast, perhaps even overreacted sometimes, but he thought it was valid. He had been the one to overreact, he had been the one to punch Seungmin. And he felt terrible for causing such a scene and.. putting their friendship at risk.

His grip on the other male tightened and he buried his face in Hyunjin's shoulder, taking in the scent that made him feel so much better, so comforted and loved. It was the regular — definitely that expensive perfume he had complimented a long time ago. Frangipani, Ylang Ylang, Gardenia with a hint of vanilla — unique. Just how Hyunjin was to him. One in a million.

They stayed like that for a moment, until a voice spoke up.

"Minho, can you explain yourself? Don't even try to come up with excuses, everyone knows."

Minho looked at Hyunjin, who couldn't keep eye contact. Guilty look. It was obvious he had told the others about their relationship, most likely to somewhat be able to explain the situation, even if it was still a lot. Even if Minho had still done way too much. And Again, Hyunjin had to be the one to fix it all again. Just how was he ever supposed to repay him for that?"

"He disrespected Hyunjin, so I.. I don't know, Chan. I just thought.. I thought he was insulting him — he was insulting him.. I know I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"You're right, you shouldn't have reacted the way you did. I had given you two a chance to make it work. And now there's barely anything I can do. If I let you two be together, you'll lose your self control again. And if I separate you two, you're gonna be crying both my ears off."

He didn't know what he was expecting. But Chan's words still kind of hurt him. In a way. Usually Chan was there to comfort him at all times and he'd be his shoulder to lean on, but maybe that was what made it hurt so much.

Being the second oldest made Chan the ony hyung he could rely on, the only person he'd complain to because he couldn't possibly seem weak or not trustworthy. The remaining members needed their hyungs, needed someone to guide them through life even if the age difference wasn't big. The one between him and Chan wasn't big either, yet he had always felt like a good, big brother.

Their leader sighed. And Minho looked up at him with teary eyes. Just what was he planning? Was it all over? No, surely not.

"I think you two need a break. I don't want to force you to break up, I just want you both to calm down and get closer to the other's again. Because this right here is unacceptable. Look, I'm sorry–" But Hyunjin grabbed the hand that Chan was holding out to comfort Minho with and interrupted him. "I think Minho understands. It's temporary, we'll fix this."

Minho took a deep breath. And nodded.

It was for the better, probably. In that moment he was just glad Hyunjin had made sure he wouldn't end up craving Chan's comfort. In this situation, it wouldn't make things better at all.

Three days had passed. And things were starting to get difficult. Very difficult. And different.

skz

  hannie
< starving.

  jutdae
< are we ordering?

  yongbok
< minho hyung is
   making dinner

come. >

  hyung
< thank you, minho

He sighed. Good thing he had planned on inviting the others anyway so he was prepared to cook that much. And additionally that meant he'd get to sit next to Hyunjin again. While he wouldn't be able to kiss him all over and such, he was happy to just have him close and nearby. It was therapeuting either way.

It wasn't Hyunjin's body that he needed, it was his presence, his voice, his scent and all the little sounds he let out.

Dinner was done just in time when all the members arrived. Of course, the first thing Minho did was search for Hyunjin, his smile dropping when he was nowhere to be seen and Jeongin had already closed the door.

"Where's Hyunjin?"

Of course he'd ask, they knew more than he did. And it was driving him crazy.

"He went to some party, should be coming to dinner. Some of his friends talked about distract him."

Distracting him from what?

_______________________________________

[2030 words]