Chapter Text
If someone asked Han what his biggest mistake had been in the past few months, he would probably say that he forgot his wallet at home one morning
It was a safe answer.
No one needed to know that his real mistake had black hair, sharp cat eyes, and was named Lee Minho.
“I swear, you’ll fall down the stairs one day because you’ll be staring at him instead of in front of you.”
Felix’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Han blinked and finally looked away from the end of the hallway.
“I wasn’t looking.”
“Sure.”
“Indeed.”
Felix smiled amusedly.
“So tell me… why did you just stop in the middle of the hallway?”
Han opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
This is a trap.
“Because… I was thinking.”
“Hmm.”
“Above life.”
“Hm.”
“Above the future.”
“Jisung.”
“Okay!” he breathed out in defeat. “Maybe I looked in his direction for two seconds.”
Felix laughed.
“For two seconds? You looked at him for so long that three people walked past you and one freshman even asked if you were looking for a classroom.”
Han hid his face in his hands.
Please, let the earth swallow me up.
“You know what the worst part is?” he muttered.
“Tell me.”
“That he doesn’t even know about me.”
Felix wasn’t joking this time.
He just glanced briefly in the direction Han had been looking a moment ago.
Lee Minho was walking down the hallway with headphones around his neck. Changbin was walking beside him, talking excitedly. Minho only nodded or smiled occasionally, but otherwise he seemed as calm as ever.
He was a strange type of person.
He didn’t have to do anything.
And he was still drawing attention to himself.
“You know…” Felix began cautiously. “You’ve been watching him for quite a while.”
“One hundred and twenty-seven days.”
There was silence.
Felix slowly turned his head.
“Please?”
Han froze.
Excellent. I didn’t have to say that out loud.
“I… um…”
“Are you counting?”
“No!”
“Jisung.”
“Okay… maybe a little.”
Felix rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“This is getting unhealthy.”
“I know.”
“Have you ever talked to him?”
“No.”
“Did he talk to you?”
“Neither.”
“So… you just stared at him without saying a word?”
Han leaned back against the wall and sighed softly.
“It sounds awful when you say it like that.”
“Because it sounds awful.”
Yeah... thanks for reminding me.
But in his defense, there was only one thing he could say.
He hadn’t planned it.
He never woke up one morning and said, “Today I’m going to find someone who doesn’t know about me, and I’m going to fall in love with them.”
It just happened.
At first, he only noticed Minho occasionally in the hallway.
Then he saw him in the school cafeteria.
Sometimes he would catch a glimpse of his name on the bulletin board by the dance hall when his group won another competition.
And then...
He suddenly found himself automatically searching for a single person in the crowd.
And that was a disaster.
Because Lee Minho obviously had no idea that someone like Han Jisung existed.
“Hey…” Felix suddenly said, nodding toward the bulletin board.
“What?”
“Didn’t they post a list for the trip?”
Han shrugged.
“Maybe.”
“Come on then.”
A group of students were already standing around the bulletin board. Everyone was trying to find their name among the dozens of others.
Han scanned the first column.
Then the second.
And finally found theirs.
Han Jisung – confirmed.
He smiled.
At least something came out today.
But a second later, his gaze slid down.
And the smile immediately froze on his lips.
Lee Minho – confirmed.
His heart skipped two beats.
“Felix…”
“Hm?”
“He’s going too.”
Felix looked at the list.
Then at Han.
And then he started laughing so loudly that half the hallway spun around after him.
“No.”
“Yeah.”
“You won’t survive this.”
Han covered his face with his hands.
I'm really not going to survive this.
Han was already starting to think that he was going to give up on the trip, and that he wasn't going to make himself impossible in front of LEE MINHO himself. He was close to having a panic attack, he stared at the name and kept telling himself that it wasn't true, everything that happened now was just a dream and he made it up.
Felix looked at him and said.
"Hey bro, don't panic, take it positively, at least you'll finally get to know him and maybe you'll FINALLY talk."
He finished and gave him two thumbs up in support.
Han wasn't listening to him, he was still hypnotizing the paper and he was slightly, but really only slightly, thinking that he was eating the paper just so he wouldn't have to see it anymore. He sighed.
"Felix, how the hell am I going to get over this????!!!!!." He felt like yelling at the whole school to let everyone know how frustrated he was. He would rather spend a week locked in a room full of insistent vacuum bag salesmen than go on that damn trip where he would probably brutally embarrass himself in front of everyone and find out what a loser he really is.
"Don't worry, I'm going there too, so I'll help you, if the cliché like in movies or fanfictions happens that you two would have a room together." Felix said and started to laugh at his joke and wiped an imaginary tear. Han's eyes widened. That can't happen, he could just fall into the ground and stay there forever.
"Well, we're not going to discuss it anymore, we're not going to come to anything anyway and I know you'll mention it at least three times anyway." He knew he was right, so he just sighed sadly and added. "Thanks Felix, what would I do without you."
"I'm wondering that too." Felix said and smiled.
He started to tell himself that the trip wouldn't be so bad, that nothing would go wrong.
But he didn't know yet that it would change everything.