chapter 13

Ju-woon smiled to himself—Min-ho was kind of cute when he was like this…

Wait, what the hell?

The thought made him freeze for a second before he shook it off and grabbed his bag and phone. He wasn't even going to bother changing out of his pajamas. At this point, he already looked embarrassing enough—what could be worse? He just wanted to get this trip over with.

Min-ho trailed behind him like an excited puppy as they left the apartment. He had his hands behind his neck, whistling as if they were out for a casual stroll instead of going on a run for alcohol.

They stepped into the elevator, and for a long, awkward moment, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the faint hum of the old machinery as they waited for the doors to open. Ju-woon kept his gaze fixed on the numbers above, counting down the floors.

Beep!

Finally.

As soon as the doors slid open, they stepped out into the crisp evening air. It was already getting dark, the last slivers of sunlight fading beneath the skyline. The city lights flickered on one by one, their glow reflecting in the windows of towering buildings. The streets weren't too crowded, just a few people here and there, but the distant hum of traffic filled the air.

Ju-woon took a deep breath. The cool breeze felt nice against his skin.

Min-ho, on the other hand, looked like he was getting bored. Instead of taking in the scenery, he pulled out his phone, mindlessly scrolling through some social media feed. Then, suddenly, he turned the camera toward Ju-woon.

"Ju-woon, smile for the camera!"

"What—?"

Before Ju-woon could react, Min-ho had already snapped the picture. Ju-woon barely had time to process it, but somehow, he still ended up giving a small, barely-there smile, while Min-ho had a big grin on his face.

"Oh, this one looks pretty good," Min-ho mused, tapping away on his screen.

"Wait—did you just post that?"

"Obviously."

Ju-woon sighed. He should've expected that. At this rate, who knew how many people would see it? But before he could complain, Min-ho slid his phone back into his pocket and turned to him with that familiar mischievous look.

by this time the two where already in the store, the store was nice and small so it was easy to find what they where looking for.

"Ju-woon~"

Ju-woon already knew Min-ho was about to say something stupid.

"It's so cold," Min-ho continued dramatically, rubbing his arms for effect. "Can I hold your hand?"

Ju-woon shot him a dirty look. "It's literally warmer inside than outside."

But before he could refuse, Min-ho had already grabbed his wrist.

Ju-woon froze

Min-ho's fingers slowly trailed down, his touch lingering until their hands met properly. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he interlocked their fingers.

Ju-woon's breath hitched.

Min-ho's hands were cold, sending an uninvited shiver up Ju-woon's spine. The sensation made something tighten in his chest—that weird, uncomfortable ache that he didn't want to acknowledge.

"Can you let go of my hand?" Ju-woon muttered, sounding more flustered than he wanted to.

Min-ho didn't even acknowledge the request. He just kept holding on as he led them toward the alcohol aisle like it was the most normal thing ever.

Ju-woon groaned inwardly. This guy was impossible.

They quickly picked out a few random bottles without much thought. Min-ho, as usual, was more interested in messing around than actually deciding on anything, so Ju-woon ended up making the choices himself.

When they got to the checkout, Ju-woon didn't even wait for Min-ho to ask—he just pulled out his wallet and swiped his card. He already knew Min-ho was going to make him pay anyway.

As he grabbed the bag, preparing to leave, Min-ho spoke up again.

"Hyung… isn't that heavy? I can carry it for you."

Ju-woon rolled his eyes. "I can handle a bag, Min-ho."

Min-ho, ignoring him completely, took the bag from his hand anyway.

Ju-woon sighed in exasperation and moved to smack him on the head, but Min-ho caught his wrist before he could.

"Ju-woon, don't hit me," Min-ho said, his tone lighthearted. "My face is delicate."

Ju-woon glared at him, but Min-ho just chuckled and finally let go of his wrist—well, one of them, at least. He was still holding Ju-woon's other hand like it was second nature.

The cashier, who had been watching the whole exchange, quickly looked away, trying to suppress a giggle.

Ju-woon groaned. Great. More rumors incoming.

The walk back to the apartment was much quieter. This time, Min-ho wasn't glued to his phone. Instead, he kept stealing glances at Ju-woon, his expression unreadable.

Ju-woon ignored him.

Or at least, he tried to.

But after a while, it got a little too obvious.

"…Why are you staring at me?" Ju-woon finally asked, his voice edged with irritation.

Min-ho tilted his head slightly, pretending to think. "Hmm… I dunno. You're just nice to look at?"

Ju-woon nearly tripped over his own feet.

Min-ho smirked, clearly pleased with the reaction.

Ju-woon clenched his jaw and focused straight ahead. He wasn't going to let Min-ho's nonsense get to him.

Nope. Not tonight.

But then Min-ho's grip on his hand tightened slightly, as if he had no plans of letting go anytime soon.

Ju-woon swallowed hard.

Yeah. He was definitely going to regret this night.

_________________________________________________________________________