seventy-two

As Minho ran through the crowd, he found the bubble tea shop where Jisung had been in, but he wasn't there anymore. Only strangers were waiting in line. Where could he be and why hadn't he returned yet?

He was horrified as the pain in his chest grew due to his nervousness. His pulse accelerated and his eyes turned red as he glanced around frantically.

"Jisung!" He called, but he received no answer, just weird stares from the crowd of people. The situation gave him a painful sense of déjà-vu that only fueled his panic.

He ran into another alley, passed countless colorful rides, but he didn't see him anywhere. It was as if he had vanished.

Clutching the fabric of his jacket right where his heart was, his features distorted, showing his pain.  "Jisung!" He yelled, and again he received no answer.

He had to find him. He couldn't fail. He couldn't. Not again.

As he passed an alley, he stopped abruptly and turned around, thinking he had gotten a glimpse of Jisung. And indeed, there he was.

He was faced back, hidden in the shadow of a building, looking lost and lonely. HIs sobs were heart wrenching, their sounds making Minho run even faster.

"I found you," he said as he locked his arms around Jisung and tightened his embrace.

Jisung quivered and squirmed in his strong hold, attempting to free himself. "Let go!" He hissed. "What are you doing here?" He said angrily and stepped back.

"I was looking for you because you were gone for too long. What happened?"

"Shouldn't you know that?" He snapped. "As soon as I was gone for a few minutes you... you started flirting with some random woman... and you were even holding her hand."

Realization hit Minho and he took a step closer to Jisung. "I wasn't flirting with her. I told her to go, but she just wouldn't listen."

"It didn't look like that to me," he persisted, rubbing his tears with the sleeves of his sweater.

"Jisung, why would I flirt with some random disgusting human?" He replied, getting irritated. "That bitch wasn't worthy my time, so I told her off when she tried to touch me."

"You should know better than to doubt me over something so stupid. I would never cheat on you," he said sincerely and took another step towards Jisung. "Did you feel bad because of that?"

He brushed Jisung's tears away with his thumbs and took hold of his chin, raising it up. "You gave me a huge scare. I thought something bad had happened to you," he scolded. "Next time, don't run off."

Jisung froze. He had misunderstood the entire situation. Minho must've been looking for him in the whole park, thinking he had hurt himself. But he had never, not once, thought of that nor Minho's feelings.

"I'm sorry," he hiccupped. "It was my mistake. I ruined our date." He sniffled and hid his face at Minho's chest, his hands clutching onto his jacket. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "It's all my fault."

"Don't cry," he whispered. "No need to beat yourself up over it. And besides, our date hasn't ended yet. We still have plenty of time left to have fun."

"Minho, are you not mad?" He mumbled, tensing his shoulders.

"No. It was all just a misunderstanding. I want you to smile now," he said with a hint of stubbornness and proceeded to kiss Jisung's forehead, the tip of his nose, and then his lips.

"Okay," he said and the corners of his lip quirked up into a smile. "Can I get another kiss?"

"As you wish," Minho whispered and breathed a soft kiss on his lips. It conveyed a soothing warmth that chased away both of their negative feelings—the pain in their hearts were finally snuffled out.

To be continued...