Chapter Text
Minseok did not notice anything particularly strange when he woke up that day.
He just got up, walked over to the coffee machine and sat by the dining table, waiting for his coffee to finish brewing.
“Three sets of scrims today, and one photoshoot,” Oner-Hyeon Jun said with a yawn, as he walked into the living area still in his T1-branded sweatpants. “You would think that they’ll go easy on us because we won the Kespa cup literally yesterday.”
“That’s just how things work here, you of all people should be familiar with it,” Minseok said, shuffling over to pick up his coffee. He held it up to his nose. Lovely.
“If anything, Sanghyeok-Hyung should be the one of all people to know it well,” Hyeon Jun muttered, grabbing a protein bar from the fridge before heading back to his room.
Minseok yawned once more and checked the time on his phone. He still had another thirty minutes before they had to set out - enough time for a bit of doomscrolling YouTube. It was the season for end of year music award shows, and between all their sponsor obligations Minseok barely had time to keep up with all the live performances.
“Minseokkie?”
Minseok looked up. It was their newest member of the team, their new maknae Suhwan.
“Oh, good morning, Suhwan,” Minseok said blearily, yawning.
Suhwan blinked at him slowly.
“Good morning,” he said quietly, turning back to leave.
“If you need the table, I can head back to my room,” Minseok offered, confused. Did Suhwan come here just to say good morning?
“No, it’s fine,” Suhwan said haltingly, fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. “I’ll head back to my room.”
“Did you want coffee?” Minseok asked, trying to be friendly.
“No, I-“ Suhwan murmured, biting his lower lip and looking away. He seemed very out of sorts for some reason. He sighed. “Well, since I’m here, I guess I’ll just get a cup.”
Minseok went back to scrolling YouTube on his phone, lowering his volume now that he had company around.
After awhile, Suhwan sat down in front of him, a cup of black coffee in his hand. Minseok raised an eyebrow.
“I thought you said you liked iced americano in the mornings,” Minseok observed.
Suhwan laughed, but it did not reach his eyes. “I guess I wanted something different for a change.”
“I see,” Minseok responded, not really seeing it. Because the jump from iced americano to black coffee was quite drastic, really, but Minseok supposed his new ADC’s inconsistent coffee tastes were something he would need to get used to, like everything else. Minhyung had been different, even though he liked to boast that he could eat anything and everything, he was a man of routine who started off every morning with a dark, black cup of coffee-
“Minseok… hyung, are you alright?” Suhwan called out, a concerned expression on his face.
Minseok blinked. “Yes, I’m good,” Minseok said, plastering a bright smile on his face. There was no point dwelling on the past. He had thought it would be hard to see Minhyung standing on the opposite side of the stage, to see Minhyung in a uniform that was not T1’s, but that had passed. They had played against each other, given their all (crazy flashes to catch the other included), and T1 had managed to win. Minhyung had looked a little teary, but was all smiles as he congratulated them.
Minseok should stop thinking about him.
The past should stay the past.
Minhyung had moved on, Minhyung was happy, and Minseok should be the same. Minseok was well aware of all the forums explode with ‘Zekayusi’ and all the fan edits of Minhyung with his new support and midlaner.
Minseok did not care. He was glad that Minhyung and the fans had found a new target to project their shipping tendencies on.
Minseok was happy.
Minseok was free.
“You did a good job yesterday, Suhwan-ah,” Minseok said, trying to focus on the ADC in front of him rather than his ex-ADC.
For some unexplainable reason, Suhwan winced. “Minseok-ah,” Suhwan murmured, fidgeting uneasily, “To tell you the truth, I-“
Whatever Suhwan was about to say, Minseok had no idea because Suhwan’s phone started to ring. Suhwan sighed. “I’ll have to take this, see you soon, Minseok-hyung.”
Just like that, Suhwan left with his cup of black coffee, leaving Minseok utterly and completely confused.
Minseok had caught a glance of the caller ID. It had been an unsaved number, but the numbers splayed across the screen had looked very familiar.
Why would Minhyung be calling Suhwan?