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It starts with a joke.
A dumb one.
Chan’s half-asleep on the dorm couch when he hears it.
“Bro, imagine if Minho and Jisung were actually dating,” Seungmin says, a grin tugging at his lips. He’s watching the two bicker in the kitchen over who used the last of the strawberry jam.
“They’d kill each other in like… a week,” Felix snorts.
“I give it three days,” Hyunjin chimes in, dramatically flopping across the floor like this is theatre. “No way they could be in a relationship. They fight over who breathed too loud.”
Chan hums. “Yeah, they’d be cute in theory. But in real life? Disaster. Absolute dumpster fire.”
Han Jisung, who is literally Minho’s boyfriend, pauses mid-reach for a knife and glances back at the living room.
“…Seriously?” he mutters.
Minho’s standing beside him, calmly putting away the bread. His face is unreadable, but the small flick of his eyebrow speaks volumes. A twitch of disbelief.
This isn’t the first time.
It’s the fourth time this week.
They’d been dating for eight months.
Eight.
And not one of their members seemed to have noticed. Not when they shared late-night ramen bowls in Minho’s room, not when Jisung kept stealing Minho’s hoodies like they were oxygen, not even when Minho had kissed him goodbye before music shows—twice.
At first, it was funny. Cute, even.
Now?
Now it was war.
“Why do they think we’d kill each other?” Jisung grumbles later, curled on Minho’s bed like a particularly pissed-off cat. “I’m literally in your bed. All the time.”
“They think we’re sleepovers,” Minho deadpans, towel-drying his hair after a shower. “Like we’re twelve.”
“Well I’m not a sleepover, I’m your boyfriend,” Jisung snaps. “A whole damn boyfriend!”
Minho smirks. “A loud one.”
Jisung throws a pillow at his head.
It hits the back of the door because Minho ducks expertly.
“…Seriously though, what are we doing wrong?” Jisung asks, softer now. “Do we not look couple-y enough?”
Minho shrugs. “Apparently not. Or maybe we’re too subtle.”
“Subtle? We made out in the dance room once.”
“We locked the door.”
“Yeah, but the mirror—!”
Minho leans over and silences him with a kiss. Gentle. Familiar.
“You’re cute when you’re mad,” he whispers.
Jisung goes very quiet.
“…I’m not mad,” he mumbles. “Just mildly offended that my own best friends don’t know I’ve been dating the love of my life for nearly a year.”
Minho laughs.
“Then let’s show them.”
The next morning, Operation We’re Literally Dating begins.
Phase 1: Affection (But Make It Obvious)
Minho starts first.
He walks into the kitchen, wraps his arms around Jisung from behind, and rests his chin on his shoulder.
Hyunjin blinks at them from his cereal bowl.
Minho kisses Jisung’s cheek. “Morning, baby.”
“Morning,” Jisung says, biting his lip to keep from grinning. “You want eggs?”
“Mhm. I’ll eat whatever you make.”
Silence.
Hyunjin nods. “Cute. You guys would make a great couple.”
Minho’s smile twitches.
Jisung’s eye twitches.
“We are a couple,” he says pointedly.
Hyunjin shoves a spoonful of cornflakes in his mouth and says, “Yeah, yeah. You should act more like one.”
Minho takes the pan off the heat. “I literally just kissed him.”
“Doesn’t count,” Hyunjin replies, mouth full. “You kiss everyone.”
“I DO NOT—” Minho inhales. “Okay. Fine. Next phase.”
Phase 2: PDA in the Living Room (A.K.A. You Can’t Unsee This)
Jisung climbs onto Minho’s lap during movie night. Minho doesn’t even blink, just wraps his arms around him like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
It is. For them.
But not, apparently, for everyone else.
“You good?” Chan asks, raising an eyebrow as Minho presses a kiss to Jisung’s neck.
“Yeah, he just gets clingy,” Minho says, smiling softly. “It’s cute.”
“You let him sit on you like that?”
“…He’s my boyfriend,” Minho deadpans.
Changbin laughs. “Yeah right. He’d never date you.”
“…I’m sitting right here,” Jisung mutters, face buried in Minho’s hoodie. “And we’re literally dating.”
“Sure, sure,” Changbin says, waving him off. “Anyway—”
Jisung turns his head and kisses Minho full on the mouth.
Like, full-on, no hesitation, kiss-kiss.
The room goes silent.
Seungmin drops his popcorn.
Hyunjin’s mouth is hanging open.
Felix actually squeaks.
Then—
“…okay, maybe they’re doing a challenge,” Chan says quickly. “Like, for TikTok.”
“I’M GONNA PUNCH A WALL,” Jisung yells.
Phase 3: Jealousy (Kind of)
It’s not their proudest moment.
Minho walks into the dorm lounge to find Hyunjin casually draped over Jisung’s lap.
He stops.
Jisung grins at him. “Hey, babe.”
Hyunjin blinks. “Babe?”
Minho’s smile is razor-sharp. “Move.”
Hyunjin laughs, thinking it’s a joke.
Minho doesn’t laugh.
Hyunjin ends up on the floor.
“I don’t like sharing,” Minho says sweetly, pulling Jisung back into his arms. “You should know that by now.”
“Oh my god, you’re serious,” Hyunjin mutters. “Wait. Wait wait wait—are you actually—?”
“YES,” Jisung says. “WE’VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR MONTHS.”
Seungmin walks in and says, “If you guys are still pretending to be together for attention, it’s getting kind of desperate.”
Jisung lunges.
Minho holds him back. Barely.
Phase 4: The Group Meeting
Jisung’s had it.
So has Minho.
So, they gather everyone in the living room.
They stand in front of the TV like they’re giving a presentation. Chan’s already suspicious.
“You’re breaking up the group, aren’t you?” he says.
“No,” Jisung grits out. “But we are breaking your brains.”
Felix gasps. “Wait—you’re pregnant?”
Minho sighs deeply.
Jisung nearly screams.
“Listen,” Minho says, very calmly. “We are dating. Like, together. In a relationship. Have been for eight months.”
He holds up his phone and shows them his lock screen—it’s a picture of Jisung kissing his cheek.
He opens his notes app—it has a grocery list that starts with “get almond milk for Ji, he’s cute.”
He opens his photo gallery—selfies, dates, pictures of Jisung sleeping in Minho’s arms.
He opens his texts.
🐿️: I miss u
🐱: you just left the room 3 mins ago
🐿️: yeah and it was awful i need ur arms
🐱: needy. come here.
Silence.
More silence.
And then:
“Oh,” says Seungmin.
“Oh,” says Hyunjin.
“Wait, are you serious?” says Changbin.
Chan stares like his world is collapsing. “I thought the hoodie sharing was a friendship aesthetic.”
“You are all so stupid,” Jisung hisses. “So incredibly dense. I kissed him in front of your FACES.”
Felix raises a hand. “Okay but… are you sure you’re not just close friends?”
Minho walks over and kisses Jisung again. This time, it’s slow. Intimate. A hand on his cheek. A thumb brushing his jaw.
The room explodes.
“OH MY GOD—”
“GET A ROOM—”
“I WAS SITTING THERE—”
“THAT WAS KIND OF HOT—wait no never mind ignore me—”
Minho and Jisung pull apart, smug and satisfied.
“You believe us now?” Jisung says sweetly.
Seungmin groans. “Unfortunately.”
Hyunjin looks mildly betrayed. “So he gets to date Minho?”
Chan just lies back on the couch, face covered with a pillow. “I need a drink.”
Felix smiles. “You guys are cute together though. Finally.”
Minho glances at Jisung, who’s red-faced and trying not to beam.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “Took you long enough.”
That night, after the chaos dies down and the teasing starts (because of course it does), Minho and Jisung are curled up on Minho’s bed again.
This time, the door’s open.
Minho kisses Jisung’s forehead. “You feel better now?”
Jisung hums. “Mhm. Now everyone knows I’m yours.”
“You always were,” Minho says, smiling.
Outside the door, Changbin fake-gags. “Ew, gross, I’m moving out.”
“THEN DO IT,” Jisung yells back.
They laugh.
And this time, no one mistakes it for anything other than love.