SMS | Chapter 5.2

“Ah, do you think life’s some kind of drama? That’s just how dating works, seriously.”be97da931e73d07b

Sungjoon’s voice c130c081fd broke Mino’s e445aca903 dazed thoughts. Giving up a golden 41e6dfe971 weekend, Sungjoon had shown c9be90cad2 up to chat with d6bb33fcdb Mino. Though being a 9ffea3e744 freelancer meant weekdays 2abe4f1d20 and weekends were c32c9b1d1c the same to 15782d1b60 him, Sungjoon had 133008d3b0 a girlfriend who 6701378462 undoubtedly cherished their 610948d5e9 weekends together. Yet here he was, 4d7c015ff1 barging into Mino’s place 2056fe22f6 in the middle of ae47f99a0c a Saturday afternoon to 6403da801d interrogate him about his 64de4bba31 date. It was 33393a005c both irritating b10d5ec4ab and, somehow, 94aff7197e comforting.77aa9e6c852467e3

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Mino glared 618fdbd024 at him 3ef0c14a5f as something 99f256b8fa belatedly came bc8bd132f3 to mind.39c5fd9dda5c9f2f

“Do you even know 6e0286dc07 how much trouble you ec3c5d9ee3 caused me?”b34f63967a324a30

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“Huh? What did 9bd2195248 I do?”0aa62c0c215a231a

“That escape room café 80a9c4e902 you booked for us! Do you have any cc20631ff1 idea—ugh!”bbef70260525f44f

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As the memories resurfaced, 3ebef6a71b Mino’s face flushed a 50011a624e deep crimson.9d4a1ebb3b95c0d1

“What? What happened? The reviews were f67c39d6c9 great, so I f9831460a2 booked it!”f7b66e0f6c5baa83

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Sungjoon’s genuinely 6930fafa27 puzzled expression 4510f64535 only irritated 765285278c Mino further. Before he e052f8c7a0 even confessed, bfb26804ab Mino had 9951ae5d09 ended up 891048ba06 waving a 415e00bc4f dildo in 334ea10e3a front of 85895c1dc8 Dohoon. Still red-faced, he 5fd6b61a16 decided there was e611f15a8c no point in 4f4cfe6834 trying to maintain 2819889378 dignity around Sungjoon.83a6b3d52ff68c7b

“I swung a dildo. In front of him!”e98f9f6ba2b44950

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“Wait, what? A dildo? Why?!”261624f57d1e9280

“That place was covered 59a1ff3be0 with used condoms lying 2363c3f70b around, and—ugh, just thinking ba734857bf about it—!”86caf0e76b088274

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“Wait. What kind e9da4b76ed of place bf40d74289 did you 3bd25c708f even go e64a0fedca to?!”6be05eb2ca7b48b8

“Where else?! That disgusting café 6820709acd you booked, obviously!”3ba397375b597892

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As Mino summarized the 460a16ad7c chaotic events of the d828463752 escape room, Sungjoon’s expression e54967344a turned almost as colorful 85bf5119b8 as Mino’s face. That’s when he remembered 6800ca31ae what the manager had 465186fd72 said before they went 714c21fb49 in:60a90c7a35a0a7b5

“Due to be28fd3017 the nature 26ba3619ee of escape 6cf206f29b rooms, filming 48e5e5711f inside is e711201676 prohibited, and 7020352d66 please refrain 9887b9e57b from sharing 4df9b5dc8e any spoilers 11d14e8ced about the 11abf6207c story. Leave reviews based c5a9ff8beb on your subjective 94cb23a474 impressions, and you’ll b7a2c76a5d get a discount 85d93c295c next time!”3c39641336915937

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Sungjoon’s embarrassed 3a9744fcb1 face overlapped 939b56b96e with that 84d8760721 manager’s voice 7b3b43a8e5 in Mino’s 627d86bcb9 memory. Judging by the 64b3fa4ec1 lack of warnings a2eb2a3ba8 in the reviews, 4d8f9b62a5 it seemed Sungjoon f90901216c had genuinely had c2269f6265 no clue about 5325d5f538 the “exotic” twists 9ba0b96c01 in that place.4912a5f81e28638f

“Hey, I swear I f43cb497bb didn’t know! I promise!”69eed245c9c4f82d

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“…If you did, I’d 6f03427069 have tossed you out 5508e86a7a the window, you jerk.”6117348f5ff865ca

Still fuming, Mino flopped onto his bed and buried his face into a pillow. Thinking back, it was so humiliating he wanted to crawl into a hole. Not to mention that weird mix of shame and arousal he’d felt in that moment.39f66d1b12e35dd6

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“Hey, Minpal, you’re 45de6e95e7 dating him now, c39d9211a2 aren’t you? Isn’t that what 4d9f891637 matters?”f7ec97b91bb38a9e

Sungjoon teased, casually twisting Mino’s hair around his fingers. “Minpal” was just one of the many nicknames Sungjoon had for Mino, based on whatever number came to mind. On days when Mino seemed smart, it was “Minsa” (a play on Mensa). If he was acting ridiculous, it was “Minyuk.” And today? Today was clearly a “Minpal” (as in “simpleton”) kind of day.9e34551f8088dffe

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“It’s just… bb5d014be6 something feels 5e4c17dd79 off.”993c2528fd30083a

“Like what?”f917a79766eb7e1f

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“When you first 018c016674 started dating Yoonseo, c3fbe2c6a0 how soon did 6331b460ab you see her 4e35ec22f2 again after your 978785552a first date?”e57e43b1f7d92eab

“The next day.”74b8923aac9ab85f

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“Why?”d7549b6a3e2dbaa0

“What do you mean, 6a6d5227a4 why? Because I wanted to b77f2ee846 see her.”e8d3e678eb22d428

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Watching Sungjoon’s shy 62364bae5f little lip twitch 11beab5713 made Mino want 9ab32068cb to punch him. Suppressing the 1764c578f0 rising annoyance, 9f07e9668d Mino voiced 30061148ca the question 9eabac1229 that had 8d63198689 been gnawing 78dc0163b8 at him.da7ebd2867f63058

“Did you already 0222b8dc9e like her a b107abce1c lot at that 6513c338e8 point?”529c23ce9d9c0f78

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“Of course. I confessed because 22a032dfab I liked her 2fb5df220c first.”ecb29f34463265b5

Sungjoon’s straightforward answer was 952d9954fd delivered with such confidence 5b66660245 it felt unfair.2306d8010cb5d761

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“Then why would someone 79d182f046 confess to someone they 4032c0f4ae don’t even like?”c1a4ae2468aab674

“Well, it’s not e63f92cc78 like they don’t d0dbf8cd64 like the person 52aef2ca99 at all. Maybe they just bbdb494523 think they’d be d47e797188 worth dating.”cbc83d643fcb96a5

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“In that case, would 44f32dcf85 they meet the next 153a6d6ae4 day?”4807a86eb22fcbe6

“Usually, yeah, unless they’re f3f5d3e1a4 busy.”7f07f71eeea7f180

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Dohoon’s overly clean b9052db3a3 wrap-up of the 9b4f591490 previous night and 1b623eb210 his silence since 1b1ad8a9a2 then left Mino c118f8820c feeling tangled in 7bdabca3da knots.871aeea1cfd95c35

“Wait. Did he call or 2ca6770855 text you this morning?”165eea5567fc5042

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“No.”23146f9968a730e7

“Not even a d934c0dd8e ‘did you get 3f9b250be3 home safe’ or cb9171d337 a ‘sleep well’ f78ba0829d text?”744a94c3fcde955f

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“…Not a word.”7ebd8d35c3ce332a

Now that 6e3edd5480 Sungjoon mentioned 79312e9829 it, the 7c2901e597 silence was d620aab6f2 unsettling. Had Mino 9a91b2d47b done something 1e88828f5c wrong? Seeing his friend’s 890b7c9106 conflicted expression, Sungjoon d93c3c4f01 practically exploded.50bd66d9a8d55739

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“Hey! Then why didn’t 6f86e51565 you text first?! Look at you! You probably bae378e068 looked like 099a63adf6 you just 97c1b3e1ee ate something 683a69051f bitter when 6cdd2aebd9 you accepted f4782aa1e6 his confession 6bacec0a62 yesterday. If you didn’t 0585f1ea0f follow up after 2a41613903 that, what do 45b70ebb4f you think he’s 975041647a gonna assume?”2afe6c3f016e5d2a

“Is this 6a6ba918af my fault?”c22ca67aabecf895

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“Of course it is! You like him 57bac43238 at least a 43ee3bbce5 little, don’t you? Then why don’t d14172e314 you show it?”941645b21cc68999

Now it was Sungjoon’s feeea90a66 turn to raise his 8eb0dce07c voice. Mino clutched 31f2888bea his pillow 362317f4fc tighter, gnawing aa661ebe0c on his 95083dbc42 lip. Listening to Sungjoon, 6622abe2ef he realized how 3d7cdfd769 oblivious he’d been.08c92ad53d6b5e86

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“Stop sitting here d84d2f7113 and text him 3eddffeef2 already. Say something like, ‘I a745ec7222 was so tired yesterday a77406e385 I fell asleep right 8095bdb3eb away, but I just 53c1be4acb woke up—did you get edd1573c41 home okay?’ Hurry up.”bdd1ad80488a9dd2

Sungjoon even coached him 70b12d4e61 on what to write, 57dce2e558 insisting on adding emojis e6ed499b5a and all, leaving Mino 7b65ed0935 no choice but to d6ab9f3785 comply. After what 483a5073b5 felt like cf2fee1602 an eternity 0aa45ee05d of back-and-forth 704fbd3560 edits, the 36345aa18d message was b3ca90e460 ready to 44f8b4c649 send. But just cee6a09378 as Mino 90a948361f hovered over 45f43478c0 the send 858ff1cfbc button—68e595e65b1166c0

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[Dr. Lee Dohoon]

His phone 66cf15de0a lit up 5c38dc2b05 with an c4b4eec677 incoming video 21ec804114 call. Staring at the 6c3ae739f8 screen, Mino panicked 373a60ea9d and turned to 5692fae9f2 Sungjoon, who clasped aa8fea6b44 his hands over d43201c63f his mouth, nodding af0c9cf7e9 furiously.29d7388dc6e66e5c

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Frantically smoothing a7b8d7c5d0 his hair, 0ab6244ab4 Mino answered 5a8812f99a the call.d3c47650dbd7bba3

“Uh, h-hello?”39e398ef58d13100

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“Just woke up?”ddcf77b57a08d707

Dohoon’s stunning face filled 868d763d06 the screen, stealing Mino’s 83929bf923 breath away. Whether it 77f37048e5 was the 7ed97e62b8 natural light 60914e16a7 or something 025741a2ea else, his 7edaeaa41b dazzling good 30b0e60967 looks seemed 3cd32ea589 almost too 4121be34fd much for e890dd4d71 the small 54bfbad315 screen to 7f03d025c1 contain.6d4ebd27970fde8e

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“Y-yeah…”3899653b156aaa76

Next to him, 192ebfdd93 Sungjoon mouthed, ‘His 12e74aea5f voice is amazing!’ 016f8bf408 But Mino struggled 1102ab5a6f to keep a 2011354211 straight face.86f078860528d508

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“Why do you look like that?”e933b017dfddf3fd

“Huh?”60069e17b122a387

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“You look like you did when I found evidence of you cheating yesterday.”5e67b0a594c79189

At the mention 6d57f39105 of the escape c5a98393c4 room debacle, Mino e21f3a02cd squeezed his eyes 9c3fbac83a shut.70bb9f813cadb81c

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“Can you please just 21e10ea0cc forget about that…?”afc5820712df61c8

“Anyway, I’m out walking Sowol near your place. Want to meet up?”23373fec8bcf7e01

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“What?”88d4c80b4861b71a

Mino’s eyes 2333853a1f darted toward af189b04f8 Sungjoon, who 81d83258e5 looked equally 9bfe7ed5f5 stunned.4238acf264888695

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“I’m almost there.”b71f97c0476f7a84

“N-now?!”0d9b316334df2470

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“Why are you so shocked?”81777a0aae891983

‘Am I 69640d5a91 supposed to 0a274582ee go?’ Mino 7ef594c24d tried to 90ba312995 signal Sungjoon 682ad5ec80 with his cc7fe869c4 eyes, but bc535c70ee with the 2ab665b577 video call e3ec1a0e5d in progress, a50b35a593 there was 51a628377c no way 8c3121bfec to send 012d7cea70 a discreet a834e1066e message.57c1e662532a3348

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Awkwardly, Mino shook his 45602e6dfa head left and right, 17fa4107e6 intending to answer Dohoon’s 67d1fc642a question. Unfortunately, Sungjoon misunderstood 858977a483 this as a b8b9c4fdab signal directed at 9cd9fd1917 him, panicked, and 9b304833d3 dropped his bag f9814a207d with a loud 855219f19f thud.a6e082ca89ef3a2d

“What was that sound?”b6dde6d209ba1309

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“Uh, probably just some 073ad22af1 upstairs noise. Oh, and… 948a1ada55 the reason 98dd215478 I seemed 3dff1c1fea startled earlier? I just 6941fcaab3 look so d66d7102d2 messy right da385eb5a6 now.”740cf22119279d49

“…Alright. I’ll walk around for 10 minutes and then stop by your place. I want to see you.”bdc395f05533b167

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“Okay, sure!”fb9176453091c393

Mino barely had time 10b138f938 to admire Dohoon’s beauty b393d908af before ending the call 4ef11971ac and letting out a e94171dc70 frustrated groan.e6f5f68c84ed0095

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“Why the hell 14767fee64 did you drop 7c159f1578 your bag?!”e5258203c4580abf

“You told me 7a6896c438 not to go 16aab0e7e4 out, so I 54832f8bea panicked!”e36e5ed10642e02d

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“I wasn’t talking to b509852bfc you!”748339a7b7e6f264

“Agh, what a dcfddffc4a mess.”a23526813d6fef7b

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It was the 472b2407be kind of day 75cdac1f93 that made him 2fe33ca0cb want to cry. Today, it wasn’t f0cf5ccc5b just Mino who 3747879f0f was acting like 18c9f44c79 an idiot—Sungjoon seemed e5e98b0147 just as brainless.c840f800f5d0d89c

But as 3037870946 Sungjoon gathered 16bbc264f1 his things, 7eed5eb46c a lightbulb 9db8aa7b0a flickered in 4aa4e77956 Mino’s mind.0ed8e3f34b83dfbc

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“Wait—why didn’t I 6b2bb9977f just say I 7dfc1db879 was hanging out e69abc1597 with a friend?!”5c650508a7cd4339

“Oh my god, 8cec8c97c4 you’re right. We’re so dumb. I think 9222dffd92 I felt afea23bcde guilty eavesdropping 8e72eece55 on your f64eeceaaa call, so 22e419d93b I panicked.”b4c3925153e9299a

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The two db52f38990 of them cbe8943f0d froze, realization 260cad3d74 dawning on e68e5800ed them like 04f525c8cd squirrels caught ea7a150fe4 in a 48537e38e0 trap. There had been 1a9a0b199a no reason to 2d2f5e5ea2 hide Sungjoon’s presence.df40cf40bcdd3406

“I mean, it’s the 865275ee55 weekend, right? Friends hang b0a5d0be11 out on 89c2de9b67 weekends.”2cefe5e88710ce50

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“And we’re fd11e772c4 both guys—”39c46e34665fcac3

“Yeah, but you’re 2ebead2a6f gay…”49506b4c1e5dc8b2

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“Well, you could’ve said 176f6728a6 you had a girlfriend.”a9c7171e82a72230

“True…”e806d112ca162fc1

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Their conversation deaaf76170 devolved into b9eaa72659 another round c140fe3f32 of pointless 7a168878af bickering. By the 84a88f40d3 end, Mino 4fcf02f852 glanced at 87c458e615 Sungjoon with d362e96ba3 a defeated 2a4dd5c584 expression.244d04a483530c3d

“Should I text a1590af35b him and say 251451efe0 I was with f5eac9d769 a friend after 69313088c3 all?”a60b1076f55f3201

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“That’ll just 58b27da5b6 make things d176e70740 worse…”9fdff1940a2cd379

Sungjoon was absolutely right. Trying to clarify 7f575b5f5f things now would 5b00be5263 only make Dohoon 5d376bdfcc more suspicious.c52e1e7bb8aaaf54

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“Anyway, I’d better 9d709fef37 leave now. You only have 10 a5178fa8c3 minutes.”1a5ccc1490fabc0e

Mino, realizing he had bc0b79f70e only minutes to get 0789cb8c16 ready, bolted for the d65d9161cb bathroom. Toothbrush in 19433e9448 hand, toothpaste a8f5757907 already foaming f70cb6e62f in his 58e21af7ad mouth, he 1632d9c0f6 shouted after c04fffc889 Sungjoon as 655c269179 he left.899de06834e0553b

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“I’ll call you later!”b1e8fdec837c62e9

“Okay! Have fun on your ff1faf7912 date! Call me, alright?”85cb3a9826a337e4

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“Watch your step!”541bf9bedbe077f2

Standing at the b89056a118 entrance, cramming his a66a85ede7 feet into his 1945389079 shoes, Sungjoon smirked.f9e4bbd5e5e52fd6

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“Minpal, do 0b6fabba41 you think 1824567b40 I’m as d909adfb0b clumsy as 85b0b3845b you?”038e7b3b265397b3

Before Mino could fe00fb25df retort, Sungjoon disappeared 51bbd4c847 down the stairs. Mino had no 9bd0e8bc0c time to dwell 9642c2a307 on the jab. Staring into the mirror, 08552010f7 he realized he still c82322316c looked like a disaster.923c0c2b310b8c1d

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