Jihoon felt a pang of guilt as Minji's words hit him like a punch to the gut. He hadn't realized how much Minji had been holding in, how deeply he had been affected by the wall Jihoon kept between them.
"Minji," Jihoon started, his voice quieter now, "it's not that you're nothing to me. It's not that at all. I just… I didn't know how to let go of TaeHyun. He was my first love, and I've been so scared of replacing him, of forgetting him, that I didn't see what was right in front of me."
Minji wiped at his tears, his frustration and pain spilling over. "But I'm not asking you to forget him, Jihoon! I never was. I just wanted you to see me too, to realize that I'm here, that I care about you, and that I'm not going anywhere."
Jihoon stepped closer, hesitating for a moment before reaching out to touch Minji's arm. "I know. I know you're here, and I know I've been pushing you away. But that month apart—" He paused, struggling to find the right words. "You were in my head the whole time too. Even when I didn't want to think about you, I did."
Minji sniffed, still not looking at him. "Then why does it still feel like I'm second place? Why does it always feel like I'll never be enough to pull you out of your memories of him?"
Jihoon clenched his fists, frustrated at himself. "I don't know how to change that overnight, Minji. I've spent so long stuck in the past, it's been hard to move forward. But…" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to be vulnerable in a way he rarely allowed.
"But I don't want to lose you. Not like this."
Minji looked up at him, his eyes searching Jihoon's face for sincerity. "Then what do you want from me, Jihoon? Because I can't keep waiting for you to figure this out. I can't keep waiting for you to decide if you want me or not."
Jihoon's heart raced as he took in Minji's words, realizing just how close he was to losing him. He reached up, gently cupping Minji's face, his thumb brushing away a tear. "I want you," Jihoon said, his voice soft but sure. "I want you here, with me. I just didn't know how to admit that before."
Minji blinked, taken aback by Jihoon's sudden honesty. He wasn't sure if he should believe him, but the rawness in Jihoon's voice felt real, like something had finally broken through his defenses.
"Do you mean that?" Minji asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Jihoon nodded. "I do. I've been scared of what it means to move on, but I'm more scared of losing you now."
Minji's breath hitched, his heart conflicted between the lingering hurt and the glimmer of hope Jihoon's words sparked. For the first time in a long while, it felt like Jihoon was truly reaching out, offering him something real.
"Then stop running away," Minji said, his voice steadier. "If you want me, show me.Don't push me away again."
Jihoon nodded, his eyes locked on Minji's. "I won't," he promised. "Not anymore."
Minji smiled and pulled Jihoon in for a kiss
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The next day at the Kim family mansion:
As Jihoon parked his car he turned off the engine and got out, "Good morning young master." A guard greeted him as he entered the gates.
Jihoon nodded and continued walking, as he got in the house he could hear noise coming from the kitchen. He figured that it was Hyeon and the others, so he just headed up to his room.
As he reached the top of the stairs Quinn stopped him, she looked at him her arms crossed and her eyes roaming his whole. "I'm tired, can you please move." Jihoon told her.
"Not until you tell me where the heck you were last night, you just disappeared out the blue." She said, "Couldn't you at least answer your phone!" She added.
"I had to take care of something with a friend, that's all." Jihoon responded letting out a huge sigh.
"Wait, what the heck is this on your neck?" She asked as she pulled down his collar. "Are these Hickeys?!" She exclaimed.
"Come now, personal space Quinn." Jihoon added covering his neck.
"It's not even one, they are literally all over your body." She remarked, "did he not have enough of you?!" She said.
Suddenly she gasped, "wait, you're a bottom?" She whispered.
"Stop making stupid assumptions Quinn, now get out of my way." Jihoon said slightly pushing her out of his way.
Quinn narrowed her eyes as Jihoon brushed past her, clearly irritated by her teasing. "Oh, come on, Jihoon! You can't just drop a bomb like that and expect me not to ask questions!" she called after him, her tone a mix of playful curiosity and genuine concern.
Jihoon sighed again, not bothering to respond as he headed straight to his room. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he leaned against it, taking a deep breath. His mind was still reeling from everything that had happened the night before. The tension between him and Minji, the raw confessions, the way they had crossed a line neither of them had expected. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling the weight of it all pressing down on him.
He walked over to the mirror, pulling down his collar to inspect the marks Quinn had pointed out. A flash of memory from last night—Minji's lips against his skin—made his heart race again. Jihoon quickly buttoned up his shirt, trying to push the thoughts away. He wasn't ready to deal with the aftermath yet, especially not with his family around.
Just as he sat on the edge of his bed, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. He picked it up and saw a message from Minji:
"I hope you made it home safely."
Jihoon stared at the message for a moment, unsure of how to respond. He wanted to text back, to say something reassuring, but he couldn't find the words. Instead, he put his phone down and let out a frustrated breath.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Jihoon? Can I come in?" It was Hyeon's voice this time, sounding far less playful than Quinn's.
"Yeah, come in," Jihoon replied, sitting up straighter.
Hyeon stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He looked at Jihoon with a knowing expression, his eyes flicking to the unbuttoned collar for a brief second before he sat down on the chair by the desk.
"You look like hell," Hyeon remarked, his voice calm but direct. "Rough night?"
Jihoon shot him a tired look. "You could say that."
Hyeon leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Want to talk about it? Or are you going to pretend nothing happened like usual?"
Jihoon rubbed his face, feeling the exhaustion in his bones. "I told Minji how I feel."
"That's great!!" Hyeon rejoiced.
"No that's not great, I didn't want any of this to happen." Jihoon said, "I'm scared, I'm scared of hurting him. I don't want this to go any deeper before I actually know that I'm over everything."
Hyeon's expression softened as he leaned forward, his excitement fading into understanding. "I get it, Jihoon. You don't want to hurt Minji, but keeping everything bottled up isn't going to help either. You've been dragging this around for too long."
Jihoon sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It's not just about me, Hyeon. Minji's been through enough. I don't want to add to that. I thought pushing him away was the best thing, but now I'm just making everything worse."
Hyeon nodded thoughtfully. "Pushing him away hasn't exactly worked out, has it? Look, I'm not going to pretend to know everything, but maybe it's not about whether or not you're fully 'over' everything. Maybe it's about figuring things out with Minji, not apart from him."
Jihoon frowned, staring at the floor. "How do I do that without dragging him into my mess?"
"You can't protect him from everything, Jihoon. If he's still here after all of this, it's because he wants to be." Hyeon leaned back in his chair again. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but you care about him, right?"
Jihoon nodded slowly. "More than I want to admit."
"Then talk to him. Be honest. Minji's not as fragile as you think he is. He can handle the truth, even if it's messy."
Jihoon let out a long breath, the weight of Hyeon's words settling on him. He knew his brother was right, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. Letting Minji in, being vulnerable, meant risking everything—his fears, his unresolved feelings for Taehyun, and the walls he had carefully built around himself.
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Later that afternoon:
"Omg, I can't believe I'm going to a movie set. I always see Uncle Minho on tv, but I can't believe I'm going to see him live in action!" Quinn rejoiced.
"I just want to go and roam around Seoul." Jay added.
"Do you know any good clubs around here Hoon?" Mike asked.
"DO I?!" Jihoon smiled.
"We're not going to any Clubs, we're going to see uncle Minho." Quinn stated.
Jihoon chuckled at Quinn's stern tone, shrugging playfully. "Fine, no clubs—for now. But don't act like you're not tempted."
Quinn rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Whatever. You guys can party after we visit Uncle Minho. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm not missing it just because you all want to act wild."
Jay smirked, nudging Jihoon. "She's right. Besides, you'll probably embarrass yourself in front of all the actors if we go to a club first."
Jihoon scoffed. "I don't get embarrassed, Jay."
"Sure you don't," Quinn teased. "But try not to look like a total fanboy when we meet Uncle Minho, alright? He's cool, but you've got to stay composed."
Mike laughed. "I don't know, I think Uncle Minho's used to people fangirling over him. I'm just here for the behind-the-scenes action."
As they piled into the car, the excitement was palpable. Jihoon leaned back in his seat, his thoughts drifting. He was looking forward to a distraction, something to pull him away from the complicated mess of emotions he had been juggling lately. Visiting the set was the perfect escape—even if just for a few hours.
"Are we actually going to get to meet the actors?" Quinn asked, turning in her seat to face Jihoon.
"Of course we will, he never misses a chance to show off his twin nephews" Jihoon replied. "I and Hyeon have met a lot of famous actors and actresses when ever we visited him, so this won't be any different."
Quinn squealed in excitement, and Jay gave her an amused look. "Relax. It's not like you haven't met famous people before."
"Yeah, but this is different! It's Uncle Minho, and we get to be on a movie set!" Quinn said, practically bouncing in her seat.
Jihoon couldn't help but smile. It was nice seeing Quinn so excited, and he figured a day of fun with his siblings and cousins might be exactly what he needed to clear his mind.
"Alright, next stop: Uncle Minho's set," Jihoon announced as they drove off.
TBC