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An an idol, day offs come sparingly in between their busy schedules, so Minho makes sure to spend it the best way he knows how: by lazing the whole day away in bed, the dark curtain fully drawn as a clear indication for Do Not Disturb.
He's got his earphones in for good measure, mindlessly scrolling through Youtube after already catching up on his subscription list, one of which is a faceless Youtuber who dedicates their channel to roaming around an island overpopulated with friendly cats.
Just as he's considering a video call with his mom (watching all those cat videos made him miss his own babies), a thumbnail in the suggested videos catches Minho's eye.
Why Lee Know and Seungmin Can't Be In The Same Room, the video title reads, along with a picture of them in one of their photoshoots, faces crinkled with laughter as Minho holds Seungmin in a chokehold from behind.
Minho frowns— he doesn't usually watch these types of videos, much less anything that has to do with Stray Kids regardless of how many Hyunjin had sent to their group chat. He's caught Chan and Felix watching some too, although the videos are clearly made by foreign fans with the way most of the jokes and editing completely fly over Minho's head.
Before he can talk himself out of it, however, Minho ends up tapping on the video, which turns out to be a compilation of their past interviews and Vlives.
There's one from that online meet and greet where they were both blindsided by Jeongin and the staff, bringing up video "evidence" to refute the divorced couple concept. Next is a Vlive where Minho had listed every member in the 00 line as his favorite except for Seungmin. Another is a radio show guesting where Minho had exaggerated his reaction before reading a comment about how cute Seungmin was.
All these moments, stitched together in a loop that has Minho's stomach churning, uncomfortable even when there's clearly no reason to be. It's all for pretend, something to keep the fans entertained, and yet Minho can't help but stare at Seungmin in each clip, a heavy weight settling like lead at the pit of his stomach when he catches the downcast of Seungmin's face.
It's a sobering reminder of how easily Minho gets carried away, whether it's dancing or working out or playing around with the other members, but at the same time it's unfair. It's unfair to all those other moments, private and discreet as they are, where Minho lets his affection seep into an encouraging clap on Seugmin's back, a warm bowl of ramen on the rare occasion Seungmin sleeps in, his tireless diligence in helping Seungmin learn their newest choreography.
Because surely all of that has to amount to something, right? And surely Seungmin understands, even without words, that this is the language of Minho's heart.
...Right?
His gut tightens at this afterthought, but before this tiny seed of doubt can fully fester, the curtain is suddenly drawn back to reveal a freshly-washed Seungmin, his damp hair sticking to his forehead as he smiles widely, belatedly saying "Ding dong!" in greeting.
Minho quickly lays his phone flat on the bed, not giving Seungmin any room to bother him about it as he bristles, "Yah, Kim Seungmin, what did I tell you about knocking?"
Seungmin already has his palms flat on the bed, one knee digging into the mattress as he counters, "You can't knock on a curtain, hyung. We've been over this before."
"Well, it's the principle of the thing," Minho snaps back, yet he scoots over to make room for him anyway. It's only when Seungmin's finally settled beside him does he bother asking, "what are you doing here anyway?"
"Just saying hello to my favorite hyung." The sarcasm isn't hard to miss, but where Minho would usually deflect with a raised eyebrow or snarky comeback comes only a slight tension to his jaw, his hand closing into a fist around his phone.
For all of Minho's scathing sass and dry humor, he now finds himself struggling to keep the banter up, pixelated snapshots of Seungmin's despondent expression flooding his mind at the most inopportune time, with the actual Kim Seungmin sitting inches away from him, their knees touching in the shadowed privacy of his bed.
Words don't come easy to someone like Minho; someone who prefers to curl into the safe ambiguity of actions, the double-sided face of a coin when he flips No but does the exact opposite anyway. This approach has always been particularly easy with Seungmin to the point that it's the only way Minho's known how to express himself and that... that isn't fair at all, is it?
For all the times that Seungmin has understood the language of his heart, Minho supposes it wouldn't hurt to return the favor. To speak the words so Seungmin doesn't have to spend a lifetime deciphering them— if he was planning to stay that long, that is.
"Kim Seungmin," There's the barest hint of a tremor to his voice, but Minho doesn't let that deter him. "you know I don't always mean what I say, right?"
The silence he's met with isn't unexpected; Seungmin always takes his time stewing in his thoughts and calculating his actions, so when Minho chances a glance he expects to find that familiar pensive expression, but instead what he's met with are soft, rounded eyes and a broad smile.
"That's a shitty way of starting a love confession, hyung." Minho can hear the laughter coloring his voice, but it's the warm, easy kind. Laughter that stems from witnessing your most special person making an utter fool of themselves just to say three simple words. "Because if you don't always mean what you say then you tell me you love me the next minute, you're just giving me mixed signals."
Minho's ears burn hot like a furnace at the onset of winter, pinking so much he's sure they're glowing in their secluded little corner. "Quit being a smart ass." he grumbles, ripping his gaze away to glare at the pile of clothes collecting at the foot of his bed instead. So much for speaking the language of his heart. Or attempting to, anyway.
But then Seungmin moves in closer, his leg now lined up with Minho's, his peppermint breath caressing the ridges of Minho's pink-stained ear.
"Hyung," Seungmin says it in a way that can only translate to Please look at me, so Minho does, and feels his heart capsize under the tidal wave of affection he finds in those eyes full of liquid light. "I have no idea what brought this on, but I do. I do know. So you don't have to explain anything. You don't even have to say a word. I'll look at you, and I'll just know."
The next time Minho speaks, he's aware that his voice is shaking yet again, but this time it's simply because Seungmin has a way of causing tremors along the rib cage housing everything that makes him tender.
"Wow, Kim Seungmin. You're quite the smooth talker now."
"Of course, hyung." Seungmin speaks with the surety of someone who's unraveled the string tying those flimsy words together, reaching up to place a hand on the center of Minho's chest. "I did spend years reading what's in here."
Then he leans in in in, with Minho's eyelashes fluttering closed like a butterfly greeting Seungmin with a hushed Hello, and suddenly there's no need for words.