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Minho really didn’t like Seungmin. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Despite being in the same friend group, some people just don’t click. Minho had long since accepted that. Seungmin just pissed him off too much.
They didn’t fight. Not really. They just weren’t friends either. They hung out with the same people which was fine even if Minho had been friends with those people first.
Seungmin and his dry remarks. Seungmin and his too bright smile. Seungmin who invaded their friend group.
Seungmin who looked at his feet even when walking with friends.
Which, by the way, who did he think he was? Minho was raised well if he did say so himself. You make eye contact when talking to people. Seungmin just kept his eyes glued to the floor as if the ground was more important than anything his best friends had to say.
Seungmin just grated on Minho’s nerves and seemed to have his every pet peeve. It was like he was cultivated to be Minho’s opposite. The dog to his cat.
He pissed Minho off. He pissed him off so bad.
Needless to say, they didn’t hang out. They could be civil during movie night and in their group setting, but they never said more than a few words to each other (usually in the form of a sarcastic quip).
All of this made it even more unfortunate that they shared a class. English 2000. It was the second level English course that Minho had put off so of course Seungmin just had to take the class ahead of time. So out of their friend group it would be just the two of them. No Chan as a buffer. No Jisung as a distraction. Just him and Seungmin.
Typically, this would not be a problem. They didn’t sit next to each other and there was no pressure to do so. Their teacher had assigned seats as if they were high schoolers and not full grown adults who had to pay rent and get jobs. The awkward part came after class.
By some miracle, every Tuesday and Thursday their friend group was free for lunch. Their schedules aligned just right so that they could all meet up without work or school getting in the way.
Minho would head to lunch right after his class: English 2000.
Seungmin would head to lunch right after his class: English 2000.
Shit.
It would almost be weirder if they didn’t walk together so here Minho was. Stuck with Seungmin by his side for their 20 minute walk across campus.
The first two times they went together, Minho didn’t bother to say anything. It’s not like Seungmin was paying attention to him anyways. His eyes focused on the sidewalk. They spent their time in uncomfortable silence until they could meet up with their friends.
By the second week of classes, things began to change. In reality, it all could be blamed on their English teacher Mr. Park. He had lectured all class and ended it with something about people being sticky. Minho had almost wondered if he had walked into the wrong class because this obviously wasn’t an English course.
But sat across the room was Kim Seungmin, looking just as confused. They both packed up their bags and escaped through the doors in step with each other.
Seungmin lasted maybe two seconds before he burst out laughing.
“Oh my god. What was that even about? Do you think Mr. Park even knows English?”
Minho couldn’t help but snort along with him.
“Well he is certainly fluent in stupidity.”
“Like you?” Came the instant reply. It was second nature to tease in their friend group but Minho couldn’t remember a time their teasing had sounded this friendly. Seungmin had a cheeky smile pointed at the floor.
Taken aback, Minho could only shout out a “Yah” and reprimand him about respecting elders.
Maybe these walks wouldn’t be that bad. Seungmin still had his eyes on the ground but their quiet bickering persisted through their whole walk.
…
Minho prided himself on being an observer. He could be loud but he had always been an introvert.
Seungmin was also an introvert, he learned. They still had quiet walks sometimes but they had become less awkward and more peaceful.
These quiet walks were where Minho noticed the pattern. Seungmin always kept the same pace as him but his strides were always uneven. One long. Two short. Another long. Another short.
Minho followed Seungmin’s eyes to the floor. Each step, each stride was measured. Every plant of the foot was with intention.
Minho watched as his own feet stepped on a crack. Seungmin took a long stride right over the same crack. He then took several smaller steps and avoided the next. And the next. And the next.
In their 20 minute walk, Seungmin didn’t step on a single crack.
…
Minho had noticed Seungmin’s little game. Even when they were talking, Seungmin never slipped up. His uneven strides were consistent and his game was never impacted by their bickering.
Minho was never one to lose, especially to Kim Seungmin.
Minho began to watch the ground, too. He fell into step with Seungmin. It was a little awkward because of the height difference. A large step for Seungmin would be a bit more of a reach for Minho, but Minho wouldn’t falter.
Suddenly, it became their thing. Minho had briefly looked up and saw Seungmin’s pleased little smile at their matching steps. Two grown men with their eyes on the ground avoiding sidewalk cracks like school children.
Minho hated to admit it, but he had really begun to like their walks. He felt like he could finally understand Seungmin a bit more. His pet peeves had suddenly become endearing when it was Seungmin.
He liked their bickering. He liked the walking habits. He liked Seu- Oh shit.
…
Everything was fine, really. Yes, their friends had stared at them a little odd when they had purposely sat next to each other at lunch. Hyunjin had even offered to switch seats to which Minho responded by pulling a tissue pack out of his bag and setting it on the table. That shut him up pretty quickly.
So it was fine. Minho could handle it. He could handle it when their 20 minute walks became the highlight of his day. He could handle when Mr. Park scrapped the seating chart and Seungmin immediately sat down next to him. He could handle it when seeing each other Tuesday and Thursday became hanging out every other day.
They began walking to one of their apartments after lunch just to be together longer. They began going out on weekends, just the two of them. They were friends. Friends who went on what were seemingly dates and held hands like once or twice.
Minho wasn’t delusional. Yes, he had been called emotionally constipated, but he wasn’t dumb. He saw the direction this was going in. He had his feelings under control, though. Or at least he thought.
“Hyung, why do you walk so weird?”
Minho stopped mid step and turned from his view on the ground to his best friend Jisung.
“What do you mean?” It was a pointless question. Minho knew what he meant. Why did he walk with his eyes on the floor. Why were his strides so uneven.
“You keep falling behind or going ahead of me. It’s pretty weird.” Jisung reiterated.
“Just a habit.” was his reply. He chose not to elaborate. Just a habit he had picked up from Seungmin. Just a habit he subconsciously does when he thinks about a certain guy, which is a lot because he might be in lo-
Minho was so screwed.
Maybe that was okay though, because it wasn’t long before Seungmin told him that he was screwed, too.