Chapter Text
Han Jisung knew he was in trouble, but not yet aware of how MUCH trouble, when his best friend Lee Minho made his sudden declaration on a rainy Tuesday night.
“I think I’m going to start dating.”
Jisung burst into laughter - the kind of laugh where his mouth was wide open and he got really loud and couldn't stop.
He finally took a deep breath. “Ah, good one hyung. That was funny.”
Minho gave him one of his patented death glares. They had long since lost their intimidation factor - Jisung knew better, he had seen Minho coo over one too many stray cats to ever really be intimidated by him anymore - but as Minho continued to stare, dead faced, Jisung slowly stopped smiling.
“Wait, are you serious? You really want to start dating?”
They were in Jisung’s room, curled up on his bed and watching videos on his phone, after completing their work schedules for the day. They were arguing about which anime to watch; Minho advocating for One Piece while Jisung argued in support of Hunter x Hunter. After not being able to come to an agreement, Jisung found shipping videos on Youtube involving Stray Kids members, and they started watching and laughing.
When Minho made his declaration, the two of them were laughing over a Minho and Sullyoon shipping video. Jisung thought Sullyoon was pretty and sweet; they'd met quite a few times over the years as her girl group NMIXX was in JYPE, along with their boy group, Stray Kids. She had also appeared on the show Music Core with Minho, back when they MC'd together every week.
The entire video was heavily slowed down snippets of the two idols within the same room or vicinity, whose eyes may or may not have briefly met - all overlaid with the sappiest song the poster could find. Since the two worked together on Music Core, there was quite a lot of footage of them standing next to each other. Jisung found the entire video hilarious. The more slowed down these videos were, the sappier the background music choices tended to be, and the more ridiculous he found the shipping-industrial complex.
Minho shrugged, his arm jostling Jisungs. “I’m in my mid-20s - it’s not weird?”
That’s not what Jisung meant at all. “No, of course it’s not weird. You just always said you wanted to focus on work. Even when the dating ban ended you said that - I mean - Sullyoon though? You shouldn’t shit where you eat hyung.”
Minho scrunched his nose. “I hate that saying. And no, I don't want to date Sullyoon. We worked together. And I don’t like her like that. And I wouldn’t date anyone from NMIXX. Remember when Chan-hyung said on live he didn’t understand the rumors of Stray Kids with NMIXX?”
“Ha, yes Channie-hyung was so weirded out.” He tried to think about Mihno dating Sullyoon for real and couldn’t picture it. “She is a little young, anyway, besides working with her.” But then he thought about what Minho said. “You wouldn’t date another idol?”
“No, I’d date another idol. But not someone I work closely with. So no one at Music Core.”
“And no one in Stray Kids?” The moment he said it, Jisung wondered why he had even said that out loud.
Stray Kids wasn’t a girl group.
Minho gave him a long look, feline eyes unblinking. “Who would I date in Stray Kids?”
“Uh, I mean. You know. A staff member. A backup dancer. Someone we collab with? I don't know.” He bit his lip to keep himself from rambling.
“Oh, no. Don’t want to shit where I eat, right?” At this he smiled, all teeth, and Jisung gave him a weak slap on the shoulder.
“But why now?” It came out whiny and petulant and he wasn’t sure why.
“Why not? I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I think it’s time.”
Jisung didn’t know what to say to that. “Hmmm. Ok.”
“I’ll still have time to argue over which anime to watch with you, you big baby, if that’s what you’re worried about. I know how much you enjoy my company.”
“Shut up, you have it all backwards. I tolerate your company,” Jisung laughed, but a small part of him felt a hint of relief.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
Minho slapped him back, slightly harder than necessary. “You’ve never thought about dating?”
“Um. Well. Ah.” They never talked about dating, this was uncharted territory and Jisung didn’t know what to say.
The thing is… the thing is he had thought about dating. A lot. Like, probably an unhealthy amount. He was a Virgo with a natural predilection towards wistful romanticism, with an admittedly emo aesthetic.
When the dating ban ended he was twenty in international age - now also Korean age. But he only thought about dating in the abstract. Jisung imagined holding hands while walking along the Han river, sharing cheesecake in a cute cafe, kissing and whispering secrets in each other's ears, and everything that dating entailed. But the person he pictured doing all this with was faceless, merely a blur. No defining features or personality, simply an abstract shadow.
And the reality of dating as an idol - he couldn’t imagine dating outside the JYPE bubble. He felt comfortable with his members, his staff, and the other idols at JYPE. But at the same time he couldn’t picture himself with anyone there. And dating outside the bubble - that meant getting NDAs signed and being even more secretive.
It all felt overwhelming and exhausting.
“I don’t... I don't know,” was all he could say.
“Hannie.” Minho smiled gently at him. “If you don’t want to date, that’s fine. If you’re not ready. If you’ll never be ready. That’s fine, too.”
“I, I know. I do want to date it’s -” He paused, chewing on his lower lip. “You know how idols will say, oh, that song idea - I got it from watching a k-drama, or a movie, or an anime. And they say that shit because they can’t admit to actually being in a relationship? Or, dating, or whatever? Well, I’m being honest when I say that.”
“I know.”
Jisung thought about his group members. When the dating ban was lifted, most of Stray Kids resorted to casual hooks and even more casual dates. The only ones who had relationships were Changbin and I.N. How Changbin managed with how busy all of Stray Kids, but especially 3Racha were, remained a mystery to Jisung. The more successful their group became, it was a double edged sword - more idols were interested in dating their members, but it became more and more difficult to make sure discretion was implemented. That’s why dating within the same company was so much easier.
But Minho - Jisung had never seen or heard anything about him hooking up, let alone dating. Of course he didn’t know everything Minho did, but they spent so much time together outside of official schedules that at the very least he knew Minho had not been in any serious relationship.
The silence stretched on until Minho nudged him. “You can start small? You know? Like, going on a date with a JYPE backup dancer or something? That way there is no pressure, it’s within the company. Less hassle. And it doesn't need to be serious.”
Jisung sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He wanted to change the subject. “Let’s watch One Piece.”
“Now you give in?” Minho laughed. “Ok but let’s watch it on your ridiculous tv. It hurts my eyes to watch it on the phone.”
“Whatever you say, old man.”
Minho went to punch his arm and Jisung shrieked and dodged him.