Feathers and Carnations

Chapter Fourteen

Jisung laid staring at the ceiling. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt Minho's lips on his again, and he had to shake the memory away every time. He couldn't stop replaying that moment in the hall over and over. The kiss came out of nowhere at the height of emotion, and he wasn't sure what to think of it.

He avoided thinking about Minho in that way as much as he could, so he was a little confused as to why he was so drawn to kissing him in that moment. Now, with actions mixing with thoughts, he had a few things to consider, namely, how he really felt about Minho.

Lee Minho was the definition of good-looking, he was powerful, confident, and strong. While Jisung appreciated all that, he was more drawn to what made Minho Minho. He cared about a lot of things, even things that didn't affect him. Like the Yuns. He spared Sang just because Kwang loved his nephew. He was a ruthless mafia boss that took his jobs and his members very seriously, yet he felt uneasy around blades and knives at times. He was a deadly machine, but he got overly flirtatious when he was exhausted.

He's like a Sour-Patch Kid. Jisung thought with a small laugh.

Just as he was fading to sleep, something in his mind snapped into place, waking him up completely.

The moment the white door closed, Jisung grinned at ML-32. "I got us something." He tossed one of the oranges he had swiped while passing one of the guards' break rooms.

ML-32 caught it, his eyes lit up. "How did you manage that?"

Jisung started peeling his own orange. "My escort today isn't the brightest, so I took advantage. You know, this," he held the fruit up, "is half of a perfect breakfast to me."

"What's the other half?"

"A lemon poppy-seed muffin. It sounds like a weird combo, I know, but man, it hits the spot in the mornings."

ML-32 smiled. "That's a lot of citrus."

Jisung shrugged. "It's healthy, right. Hurry and eat that up. You can toss the peels to me and I'll stash them out of here."

"They'll still smell the orange."

"If they do, they'll find the evidence on me, so I'll be rightfully punished. You'll be fine. Now dig in."

ML-32 gladly did so. "What are your other favorite meals?"

"If we were free or from here?"

"If we were free."

Jisung thought about it for a moment. "Why do you want to know?"

"Cause it's my job to know."

"Why is it your job?"

A subtle blush dusted ML-32's cheeks. "As your best friend, it's my job to know what your favorite foods are."

Jisung's chest grew warm. A best friend. He grinned. "Well as best friends, we should know each other's names."

ML-32 beamed. "My real name is Minho. Lee Minho."

"Minho. A handsome name. I'm Jisung. Han Jisung."

"Jisung."

The memory tasted of oranges and new beginnings. The restlessness in his body settled down a bit more just like with the last memory.

Jisung finally relaxed, snuggling into the comfortable, black covers of the guest bed. Technically, the bed was his now, but it he wasn't really used to that yet. He allowed every memory he had with Minho to play in his head as he fell asleep.