SMS | Chapter 5.2

“Ah, do you think life’s some kind of drama? That’s just how dating works, seriously.”650863d98942202d

Sungjoon’s voice broke 792882c728 Mino’s dazed thoughts. Giving up a b972c2b68b golden weekend, Sungjoon c64137cb55 had shown up f37dad1d3a to chat with a3309b8898 Mino. Though being fa0a1c6a1b a freelancer 7e3b1e36ae meant weekdays 3af23a14f6 and weekends 46c8391da1 were the 8d9baa9012 same to 1dc07a0d42 him, Sungjoon d981fe145e had a 19b210898a girlfriend who f7372b947f undoubtedly cherished 0c9e637400 their weekends 4eedc276ef together. Yet here 10c08a9fbd he was, 2d22fbce01 barging into f496f02e98 Mino’s place 77d7791c18 in the 03677abddf middle of f7c17f09f5 a Saturday 2da15d72ea afternoon to 9f34aec384 interrogate him 240eec920e about his 827ffc7480 date. It was f6ba029196 both irritating cd59ad6c18 and, somehow, 3d3f7900f9 comforting.59a556bb642b0429

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Mino glared 1c8c1e36b0 at him 5a641b2faa as something 47497b9bd2 belatedly came a1a425cb32 to mind.01a81b7efed8f87b

“Do you even know 5e1cd383e8 how much trouble you a647bf0c65 caused me?”5b02984725685dc1

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“Huh? What did I do?”f400eebc5aa51913

“That escape 4c47ba8d01 room café 204f00de13 you booked b0105e14ec for us! Do you have 1592651d44 any idea—ugh!”b5747736528ad050

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As the memories 27aef669c7 resurfaced, Mino’s face 4797470783 flushed a deep 5e800ab949 crimson.6eeae657bed0c759

“What? What happened? The reviews 7518e2c49d were great, 92589472c9 so I 6555b1404d booked it!”b649875b64519fad

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Sungjoon’s genuinely puzzled expression e1c905a192 only irritated Mino further. Before he even confessed, 41a9148485 Mino had ended up f585c35a12 waving a dildo in 2cc3580f56 front of Dohoon. Still red-faced, he 8cbbf2a523 decided there was 88bea2bf66 no point in 83f11301f7 trying to maintain 44ba1b4362 dignity around Sungjoon.8d374fbca7c1ed5a

“I swung a dildo. In front of f2b92ac358 him!”535573af88328dc0

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“Wait, what? A dildo? Why?!”3ca4c501baeee4fd

“That place was covered b94a7b49d6 with used condoms lying 18c3e1a1ab around, and—ugh, just thinking f7a41716ed about it—!”a048479cbf4f931a

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“Wait. What kind of place 4977778f1f did you even go 30a0ffc039 to?!”64a124fd3e82ed9a

“Where else?! That disgusting café 4a26ed855f you booked, obviously!”d4067028c3495f1a

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As Mino c304502144 summarized the a344ae26f0 chaotic events 632f8fc4a3 of the e617cf80c9 escape room, caa82ec929 Sungjoon’s expression 65d18fa1a3 turned almost 2a35f3726e as colorful ddb5964913 as Mino’s cec75341f3 face. That’s when he a6668a561e remembered what the 694663219e manager had said 1beec4757f before they went 5ce8b5bacf in:9042931698990bec

“Due to cabebac051 the nature e5fb498d08 of escape 09c3e018db rooms, filming e1bdc48865 inside is 5eaa0aa29a prohibited, and a290c1a16b please refrain 14c9617943 from sharing 86e7af98fe any spoilers 0d5750e840 about the 83bf6d58bf story. Leave reviews 44ffb34647 based on eddbca1f3e your subjective 788005185f impressions, and af96b2db6d you’ll get 09177cbcb4 a discount f12ed22642 next time!”50b6d689844a0d49

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Sungjoon’s embarrassed 7a968ed14f face overlapped ff0ea0e87c with that cea3e3ae40 manager’s voice ab89e2a8d0 in Mino’s 1cee7bb03a memory. Judging by the dc43934933 lack of warnings 3918e25b6d in the reviews, 6862a43d6b it seemed Sungjoon 6b1a8e5624 had genuinely had ef534a527e no clue about c85c29ba9e the “exotic” twists c611e34e95 in that place.c518b2e73b1277f3

“Hey, I swear I cc271f577b didn’t know! I promise!”f97c521312aa066c

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“…If you did, 9607a34ae0 I’d have tossed 92afc41673 you out the 847f8986ef window, you jerk.”f5688752eb52bad7

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.e0ef397b715375ec

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“Hey, Minpal, you’re 2d35a8080b dating him now, 9bd982c554 aren’t you? Isn’t that cdb58ba15e what matters?”2ae7a5b0da115870

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.17ff9c7616e9a9ce

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“It’s just… a9837ea18a something feels 06c0e63dad off.”ea76002d665f9413

“Like what?”4a19d6399c3d05cc

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“When you first 14017b5870 started dating Yoonseo, 02509d1f45 how soon did 08a8434b4e you see her f4d042f299 again after your dbd634c21c first date?”5f7a02740c264a90

“The next day.”a06d81c72716619e

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“Why?”074e55925f7b46e7

“What do you cdb637575a mean, why? Because I 835c87eeb6 wanted to 070b2afa8a see her.”fa5f3bf3f515ba84

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Watching Sungjoon’s shy bdbb15c1d4 little lip twitch 2e58d1b038 made Mino want 7e46e6917d to punch him. Suppressing the rising 0677abd18d annoyance, Mino voiced 53dfd5307c the question that 0de64d2db5 had been gnawing 8d3e03fbe1 at him.b81d0d0a0e22c0ea

“Did you edfef13177 already like add3414b9d her a 50b0cb2922 lot at d64c4e24c7 that point?”1d61a494e4a1f004

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“Of course. I confessed because I a56d01fbcc liked her first.”dd0cbf6f143dde91

Sungjoon’s straightforward 137d12bfae answer was 7f5b9d91b9 delivered with 2a1a2736bc such confidence 346b140cd2 it felt 8b6fec8a43 unfair.bf377f45b0802b89

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“Then why would someone 2fbab087d9 confess to someone they 352b8310f0 don’t even like?”5b4b3d72e22475fa

“Well, it’s not like f670675672 they don’t like the d16993ec27 person at all. Maybe they just 70a94845f7 think they’d be bd1d53e77a worth dating.”e82d59006802ce55

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“In that case, b5845ca36b would they meet 640e4b9a48 the next day?”7b35556d90574e4f

“Usually, yeah, unless they’re 7772df8b4f busy.”21515f368fc7448b

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Dohoon’s overly clean wrap-up 9ebd0168c2 of the previous night a2a1b367bc and his silence since a6fdba0219 then left Mino feeling ff98fce1a9 tangled in knots.9194334058c82f33

“Wait. Did he call b911fb8833 or text you 02a2febca4 this morning?”28ccd3da9994442d

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“No.”efbbde4819f9cb85

“Not even a ‘did 71d15945af you get home safe’ 8ee30db6f8 or a ‘sleep well’ 8090bda067 text?”44df3409a4f0bb56

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“…Not a word.”4ce58a6bcb904cb4

Now that Sungjoon 69e66e0a3b mentioned it, the 0865dcee4f silence was unsettling. Had Mino done something ecdc1f8338 wrong? Seeing his a240e2de8b friend’s conflicted fdddf54808 expression, Sungjoon 4e87a035e7 practically exploded.d17b05edab5db0fc

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“Hey! Then why 8b4c9b4800 didn’t you fa0c9705c8 text first?! Look at you! You probably looked dea788067d like you just 9562465f24 ate something bitter 6e9080e851 when you accepted 268a35c831 his confession yesterday. If you didn’t c739e84f6c follow up after 6f55dea8df that, what do 3fdfa4c37b you think he’s 87a03e7634 gonna assume?”5643064d30116dec

“Is this c98ff47194 my fault?”b2befe147e9db80c

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“Of course it is! You like him at dcdd9f852c least a little, don’t 58ddca9ae9 you? Then why b71ec0486f don’t you 41a3c97f4d show it?”6d25f54984564037

Now it was Sungjoon’s 910165ad5b turn to raise his 790db8329e voice. Mino clutched his d116e54143 pillow tighter, gnawing 1b5a877621 on his lip. Listening to Sungjoon, he e6a4457bd9 realized how oblivious he’d 3aa93f301e been.bf2da41a4ac4d5e3

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“Stop sitting d6f277a4c4 here and 42f4fa33ca text him d62da0950b already. Say something like, ‘I 3a4d3b00c7 was so tired yesterday 30f76b77ce I fell asleep right 09f92f4fc4 away, but I just b77bd702a0 woke up—did you get e888314ffb home okay?’ Hurry up.”40bad821f9ad64a5

Sungjoon even f3091fb133 coached him d943012ec5 on what ab9273f306 to write, b446ab6e4a insisting on 0ff6f42c9a adding emojis 236a1c4cd2 and all, d04d541535 leaving Mino 422eac5ebd no choice e38b0bcfb9 but to a4089a8ea6 comply. After what felt like 2767bd9332 an eternity of back-and-forth 9d52a7cd9c edits, the message was 7af2796ff5 ready to send. But just b9f29af04d as Mino de77bf13dc hovered over f4ca1ff986 the send a3bc8563bc button—cecac6e56dcdaa77

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[Dr. Lee Dohoon]

His phone cec7a017e9 lit up fcc587b1d6 with an 4237d781c2 incoming video d814a8f080 call. Staring at e064192d49 the screen, 3add4b9b7f Mino panicked d8a5edef71 and turned acc44ab5b7 to Sungjoon, d4558697c3 who clasped af02ddfb54 his hands f1120dd620 over his 4d4ddde0a8 mouth, nodding 19547e1db1 furiously.a712050e34191b54

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Frantically smoothing 14fd155957 his hair, 2581aaf4d5 Mino answered e1825e106e the call.96b1677f13db539b

“Uh, h-hello?”1961fadf357f13a2

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“Just woke up?”ac46bca2acfd1f76

Dohoon’s stunning face e444b1ae79 filled the screen, 28383b213b stealing Mino’s breath f84b96ef45 away. Whether it was e12ec112c1 the natural light 65f0bdb0c4 or something else, 2a29731521 his dazzling good 4a26c1e415 looks seemed almost 14bd419bc0 too much for 76a5150b9b the small screen a69a1dacda to contain.c10f0f4f2274e3d7

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“Y-yeah…”7afdd7ea3cfcc838

Next to him, 04268674fe Sungjoon mouthed, ‘His c2f8af4a05 voice is amazing!’ 4c64ecb58e But Mino struggled 82ea68ae04 to keep a e2f24c73fe straight face.919fa0f4eab58c4f

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“Why do you look like that?”08da4a13f7d744b3

“Huh?”4d33434f9e89d38c

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“You look like you did when I found evidence of you cheating yesterday.”8fba6e01cd0b6d2d

At the 651914dafe mention of fe7323dd2f the escape 66cd5952ec room debacle, 28d059725f Mino squeezed 3e25e2799e his eyes 67a6e03f49 shut.b63fd63ce2ccb351

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“Can you please 005164bc0c just forget about a180243c19 that…?”8092089bcb41243c

“Anyway, I’m out walking Sowol near your place. Want to meet up?”35b6714749b325c7

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“What?”192ac1f8e55a95e5

Mino’s eyes darted 6d0d75c811 toward Sungjoon, who 0a61868d63 looked equally stunned.9e0fa2ad87717d93

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“I’m almost there.”675cea9efa7ddd81

“N-now?!”ab858e946bb598f6

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“Why are you so shocked?”36181f1749f5e808

‘Am I supposed to efa168a8c8 go?’ Mino tried to a81969c5a8 signal Sungjoon with his 4b16f8ae2a eyes, but with the f517371461 video call in progress, d466a0275a there was no way 2ca5b71fc5 to send a discreet 05eeeb7531 message.b58b1a04abb45d98

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Awkwardly, Mino shook a2db9cfa9c his head left 5ebd38e243 and right, intending 05164ee44f to answer Dohoon’s c57c74d20f question. Unfortunately, Sungjoon misunderstood this 44e46a6fb8 as a signal directed ee38631b3c at him, panicked, and 6507705842 dropped his bag with 01fa591f1c a loud thud.2b4d11030718d2db

“What was that sound?”719561a2487d61ab

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“Uh, probably just cae3f44589 some upstairs noise. Oh, and… the b378d249aa reason I seemed 4496dac6a4 startled earlier? I just look e8fe012db1 so messy right 8e0ae2c4c2 now.”d856fd323d18b550

“…Alright. I’ll walk around for 10 minutes and then stop by your place. I want to see you.”c3dc719b23deba1f

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“Okay, sure!”7c9cb128d447ed60

Mino barely had 456af0c0bf time to admire ceef9c2213 Dohoon’s beauty before 03c7d65548 ending the call 185c514f1e and letting out ea5ffeb837 a frustrated groan.50ffe4567958884f

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“Why the hell 1e3bcf57e0 did you drop 6a3756e2b6 your bag?!”68e8f3de181e8e20

“You told me 52a5a5f8b6 not to go 82256d4a77 out, so I dc995f8a91 panicked!”50bf6db74851f062

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“I wasn’t 4aa6d835ce talking to 9392470a23 you!”c6227c4a4dd24170

“Agh, what 75b5d71660 a mess.”66743211209e1128

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It was the kind 940075c125 of day that made ac8faa5668 him want to cry. Today, it wasn’t just c94ff22e34 Mino who was acting 6b40139179 like an idiot—Sungjoon seemed bac82bed5e just as brainless.f1c53843dba04a60

But as Sungjoon 415998b511 gathered his things, 0419b4d707 a lightbulb flickered dc2887129e in Mino’s mind.23698e9e084dbf2d

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“Wait—why didn’t 96be52c329 I just 070a24ddb0 say I 786fac8bb3 was hanging 9bcac9ea2e out with 4765de6140 a friend?!”840d71bafd08f568

“Oh my god, you’re b9b848ac7f right. We’re so dumb. I think I felt 3602f5a2ea guilty eavesdropping on your d2313c8b83 call, so I panicked.”1d455c24cb97cf78

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The two of 9963305dff them froze, realization 29d6630e2f dawning on them 8ea8019974 like squirrels caught 1f8a7c2a87 in a trap. There had been no a1581e3cb1 reason to hide Sungjoon’s 17eae40238 presence.7aa38d9018bd5318

“I mean, it’s 6bf5550d7c the weekend, right? Friends hang out bc1d866bbb on weekends.”017cca896804ecd6

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“And we’re both ab3293eb7c guys—”a7b0b54cad225c46

“Yeah, but you’re gay…”134170d763810a74

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“Well, you could’ve said 1db640264f you had a girlfriend.”363b1595d440fcf0

“True…”f9c49cd0b2f5d3cb

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Their conversation devolved 4e4963d8ef into another round 4cc97c083d of pointless bickering. By the end, Mino f09062f8f7 glanced at Sungjoon with 8b2c4db0d3 a defeated expression.3355aa4a02d7bb39

“Should I 88bf16b067 text him c8bc3b8e50 and say d155100a4f I was 7462985b3c with a 08e1af8586 friend after d12cc5bae0 all?”a572dbe0f5c27d9f

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“That’ll just make things 85d5512e46 worse…”9abca5dd1de79384

Sungjoon was 820ca05cfe absolutely right. Trying to 6d1f50bd1c clarify things e3948f01a7 now would f9f977369c only make f3a365da63 Dohoon more 4ae51659e8 suspicious.2840fa11939e7629

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“Anyway, I’d better leave 91bb81b430 now. You only have 10 35278235fc minutes.”3817557b60a6cbc9

Mino, realizing he had 1646866ac1 only minutes to get 6bff467620 ready, bolted for the 774db9287e bathroom. Toothbrush in hand, toothpaste 32d4e0bfca already foaming in his 1e8a3957dd mouth, he shouted after 4a7859f514 Sungjoon as he left.728fca4ebdf48301

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“I’ll call you 56ad4e2bc6 later!”3d403688d890c76d

“Okay! Have fun on your 493ad15f21 date! Call me, alright?”74ce063239036439

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“Watch your step!”f531dc62de54a911

Standing at c61b1d3559 the entrance, ba89dd2eb5 cramming his 0b57477487 feet into 1d0e5c263a his shoes, 6530c701d8 Sungjoon smirked.937666d6e1f671ab

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“Minpal, do you 3564c2de15 think I’m as 9efac961f9 clumsy as you?”2e025ea80a0ec5b3

Before Mino could retort, cff48fe34a Sungjoon disappeared down the 929f5033f4 stairs. Mino had no 1616a970bc time to dwell e6fddb3739 on the jab. Staring into the 306481e513 mirror, he realized 7730c31521 he still looked 4ad3b7d514 like a disaster.3f6da42c65417fab

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