Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After years of working at a local, obscure bookstore, Lee Minho has seen very few people who have captured his gaze. Much less anyone who has even struck up a conversation longer than anything about the weather or a local football game. Of course, that had to change at 2 pm on a random Tuesday afternoon. And yes, he knew the time and day, so sue him?

Halfway through stacking a row of returned books in the non-fiction section, he hears the doorbell chime.

"Welcome in," he sighs, not too happy to be getting a customer because, in all honesty, who is?

When he gets no response back, he turns around to get a look at the customer and make sure he isn't needed at the counter. When he sees the guy, he is zooming around, looking at the section names like a frazzled little hamster.

"Do you need help with finding anything today, sir?" He asks, but to no surprise, he doesn't get an answer back.

This makes him a little irritated, seeing as the guy definitely does need help. By the time he finally gets the rest of his books put up and starts walking towards the guy, the dude is already sitting down, staring up at him intently. Once he makes eye contact with the man who's already staring at him, it's like his whole world explodes. He hasn't seen anyone this cute in a long time, much less talked to someone who meets his standards. None of his past relationships or even crushes could even compare to this guy. And yet, this guy sitting in the corner of the bookstore holding a volume of the 'Fruits Basket' manga is everything he could hope for and somehow more. Just as Minho is about to speak, the guy cuts him off.

"You come here often?" He asks while still staring at Minho like he was some kind of dessert.

"Yeah, I do, seeing as I work here," Minho responded while holding his nametag out for the guy to read.

"Oh my bad... Minho?" The guy says, but phrases it like a question for some odd reason.

"Yep, that's my name, says it right here on the tag. What's yours, cutie?" Minho asks.

"Ji-Jisung. It's Jisung." The guy stutters out. Minho finds this oddly enduring and decides to play along and mess with the younger-looking guy.

"Hi Ji-Jisung, nice to meet you." Minho all but laughs out as he walks up to Jisung and shakes his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too. Actually, do we know each other? You seem really familiar." Jisung says without managing to stutter again.

"No, I don't think so, but I feel like I know you, too. This meeting must have been meant to be." Minho laughs it off while walking over to sit in the chair next to Jisung.

Little did they both know this meeting in the bookstore was the first of many incidents in the past where they were supposed to meet.
This meeting was the first time when love struck two people at the same time just by eye contact.
This meeting must have had Aphrodite laughing and blessing them with love beyond what they could comprehend.
And it was this meeting that started an unbreakable, everlasting bond between these two boys.

Chapter Text

"Minho, you just graduated, don't you want to go have some fun?" his bright-eyed, angel faced best friend spoke.

"Can we please just go home and do something more chill, like... I don't know, play Mario Kart or something, Lix?" Minho replied.

"No, Minho. I- we've had enough of you being locked in your room all day. You need to go out and meet people. Plus, Changbin will be there."

"Oh, so now you want to ditch me with strangers just so you can go give mouth-to-mouth to that buff freak," Minho muttered, albeit the last part was under his breath.

"Hey! He's not a freak! But... goddamn, he is buff though," Felix said dreamily, his mind clearly wandering off to something Minho does not want to know. 

"Okay, enough of that. I'll go as long as Chan, Seung, or Innie are there. I need to be around someone I know, not follow you around like a lost duckling."

"They will be! You definitely won't regret your decision. No take-backs!" Felix laughed as he started dragging Minho a little faster down the street to their apartment.

"Wait, why are we heading back to the apartment? I thought we were going to Bin's dorm?" Minho asked, still being pulled along.

"Well, his other roommate-the one we've never met-is working on a song. Apparently, having people around, including Chan and Changbin, in the dorm is too distracting for him." Felix explained.

"Wow. That's annoying. Don't they have a studio? Getting kicked out of your own apartment for that is lame." Minho scoffed.

"Yeah, but I kind of get it. Chan and Bin do get really loud when they aren't working on their own songs. Plus, I heard he's really weird, like nerdy weird."

"He might not like talking to people; I'm the same way." Minho pointed out. 

"Yeah, but you're hot. It makes up for you being weird and quiet and introverted... and short..." Felix muttering on, continuing to ramble as he walked ahead to unlock the apartment door. 

"Wow. Okay. Ouch. Thanks for that, I guess?" Minho said flatly.

As Minho walked to his room, he noticed the door was already cracked open. When he stepped inside, his jaw dropped- clothes were scattered everywhere, and his dresser drawers were all left hanging open with clothes spilling out. 

"Lix, what the hell happened in here??" He yelled down the hallway, facing Felix's door.

"Oh! That! Umm, I decided while you were gone earlier to find you a party outfit, since you have no style. But then I had to meet you at the cafe, and I didn't have time to clean..." Felix's voice trailed off. 

"You already knew I was going to say yes to the party?" Minho called back, suspicious.

"Well, I thought it would take more convincing," Felix admitted. "But I knew eventually you would say yes! Also... I heard that Chan and Changbin are trying to convince their roommate to come-you know, the weird and nerdy one. He sounds like your type."

"Yeah? And what exactly is my type?" Minho asked, narrowing his eyes kind of cat-like. 

"Uhhh, shorter than you-which is hard-cute, quiet, absolutely nerdy, adorable, blah blah blah. The list goes on, dude, we've all seen your exes."

"Well, most of my exes don't count. They were all high school flings," Minho shot back.

"Oh yeah? What about Hoshi? That was just two years ago-you were a college Sophomore." 

"He doesn't count. We decided to stay friends," Minho shrugged.

"Yeah, after y'all fucked." Felix said with a smirk.

"Okay, enough, Felix. Go get changed while I clean up the disaster you left in my room," Minho muttered, a blush creeping up his neck.

"Make sure you look pretty for tonight. Who knows? You may just meet your soulmate," Felix teased as he ducked into his room.

"Yeah... if only he existed," Minho thought to himself.

Chapter Text

Before heading back to their apartment, Minho and Felix had just come from a cute, dainty little cafe in their college town. Not much ever happens in that town, but they'd made a cozy little life for themselves there - simple, but theirs.

 Minho had met Felix before either of them were able to form a comprehensible sentence. While Minho's parents were fully consumed by long work hours and late-night shifts, Felix's grandparents, who had a house that always smelled like cinnamon and an unrecognizable candles, became a second home. In those early years, Felix and Minho became inseparable, finding a friendship between themselves that will never be beaten. For most of their lives, they did everything together-but college was the first thing that separated them. 

In college, they'd made a bunch of new friends - and, for better or worse, some relationships too (even though it was clear that only one of them could actually keep a relationship going). 

Minho now worked at a quiet, discreet bookstore tucked away in a hidden corner of town. Not many people visited, but the environment was everything to him - soft, still, comforting. The owners, being Felix's grandparents, had practically raised him since he was a kid and had even offered him an apartment above the store on the condition that he helped out when needed. It was a win-win. He'd already planned on working there anyway, and now he got to live with his best friend, Felix, and his two cats, Jiji and Yuki. 

Felix, on the other hand, works at the front desk of a gym that most of the college students frequent. He claimed it was because he liked the energy and atmosphere, but Minho knew better - it was just an excuse to stare at all the buff men and women entering and exiting. Some may call it creepy or weird, but Felix preferred "smart" and "logical". 

It was at this gym that he met his boyfriend of one year, Changbin. The two had hit it off fast - way too fast for it to be considered normal - but that's just how they rolled.

Minho had become friends with Chan at the beginning of their junior year, and that's when he discovered that Chan and Changbin not only knew each other, but were pursuing the same major. This is how their little, kind-of-dysfunctional friend group was created.

Minho met Seungmin and Jeongin towards the end of his junior year. The two were still sophomores. All three of them were going for the same major and really hit it off in the studio - long hours will do that to you. Somehow, it took Minho almost an entire year to realize that Seungmin and Jeongin were actually dating; those bitches never once mentioned it. When Minho asked them why they never said anything, Seungmin just blinked and said, "You never asked".

Living in an apartment off campus felt like living in luxury compared to a dorm. Anytime Felix wanted, or in his words, "needed" to dye his hair, he didn't have to worry about the cheap dorm tubs. And when one of Minho's cats decided to scratch up the side of the couch, he didn't have to pay a fee to the residential life. All in all, it was a much better choice for them because they could also have their friends over without being cramped in a tiny dorm living room or squeezing a couple of bodies onto two twin-sized beds.

With Minho's cooking and Felix's baking, their apartment became the hangout spot. Sure, there was the minor inconvenience of Bin and Lix morphing into each other like Power Rangers every night and being so loud that he has to cover his cat's ears, but living with Felix has been one of the best decisions he'd ever made. 

Second to working at the bookstore. 

Working at this little bookstore that smells like old pages and cedar wood is where he meets his soulmate, a brown-haired, starry-eyed boy named Jisung. 

Chapter Text

As Minho walked toward his bed to see the outfit Felix had laid out for him, his jaw dropped and his hand flew dramatically toward his chest.

”surprise…” Felix said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

”oh no. NO. FELIX. I’m NOT wearing this,” Minho shrieked.

“C’mon man, you’re going to look so good! Even better than you do right now,” Felix said while giving Minho a once-over with his eyes.

“Lix, this looks like it would fit you, not me. And how the hell am I supposed to sit in these?”

“Sure you can fit! I seriously don’t know about the sitting problem though… that will be a you problem later on,” Felix said while slouching on Minho’s gaming chair, while fiddling with a bottle of his ‘Ocean’ cologne.

What lay on Minho’s bed was a sight any sane person would pay to see: a pair of skin-tight leather pants and a black, mesh, see-through top. Off to the side on the ground sat a pair of smaller-heeled, black boots.

“Minho, I promise these pants will make your thighs look delectable, and the top will show off your tattoo. If said nerdy boy makes a guest appearance tonight, he’ll eat that tattoo up. Figuratively and literally.” Felix said with a smirk.

“Okay, first off, for the love of God, do NOT call my thighs delectable. Lix, that’s just weird. Second, why do you keep trying to hook me up with this mystery man that you’ve never even met?” Minho retorted

“Well, from what Changbin has said about him, he just seems perfect for you! And he’s apparently a nerd, so maybe—just maybe—he’s a Studio Ghibli and romance anime fanatic like you.”

“Well, that would just be my luck. A cute guy, nerdy, obsessed with Studio Ghibli and romance anime… what else? He loves cats, too?” Minho rolled his eyes at his own words.

“Who knows, maybe he’s the one for you. Maybe you don’t believe in fate, but I do—and I’m secretly wishing the best for you. God, I sound sappy. Get your ass up, Minho, and get dressed so I can do your makeup,” Felix says the last part as he’s walking out of the room to go get dressed in his own.

“All right, all right, fine.”

As Felix left the room, Minho started picking up each article of clothing, examining how slutty they looked together.

“God, this better work,” He muttered to himself.

After he’s done squeezing into the cold, tight pants and putting the shirt on, he began moisturizing his tattoos to make them shiny and stand out under the light. He really hoped that if this supposed guy who was “just his type” showed up, that he’d think his tattoos are hot and not cringy as hell. On his left pec, he has one of Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle looking up at what was supposed to be Howl, but he didn’t want to get it finished. On his right arm, he has a little side-by-side of Yuki from The Cat Returns and Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service. In total, he has only three tattoos, but he loves the subtlety of the collection.

The shirt left little to the imagination, while the pants squeezed his thighs just right. The perfect combination, if you ask Felix. After getting dressed and moisturizing, he decides to work on his hair while Felix is finishing up on himself. He goes for a lazy, bedhead kind of look and only combs through it twice. After throwing on some tiny silver hoops, a smaller black choker, and a couple of rings, he trudged lightly to Felix’s room.

Once he was settled in Felix’s desk chair and looked at all of the makeup he had laid out, he closed his eyes and let Felix get to work. He knew Felix was amazing at makeup, so he decided to trust him tonight and hopefully come out looking hotter than before. He sat back and listened to the sounds of the makeup brushes clanking and Felix humming. Once Felix was done, Minho got up and looked in the mirror. Felix went simple: a Smokey eye with black eyeliner on the waterlines and a little wing on his eyelids. There was a little bit of black glitter on his eyelids and a light blush on the apples of his cheeks.

“Goddamn Lix. Not to be narcissistic, but if he doesn’t fall in love with me, then someone at that party definitely will,” Minho said while gazing at himself through Felix’s desk mirror.

“Dude, if I didn’t have a boyfriend, I would totally hit. You know… maybe Changbin would want to join?” Felix trialed off.

“NO. No, that’s disgusting, Lix, but thank you, I guess.”

Looking back in the mirror, he noticed the shine of glitter on his collarbone and shoulders.

“Wow, I never thought I’d look good with glitter on too,” Minho says while picking up the tube of glitter.

“It’s edible?! Dude, why do you need edible glitter?” Minho asked, but then immediately realized that he may not want to know the answer.

Felix just wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk and walked towards his door.

Chapter Text

Han Jisung was a really intelligent man. Truly. Just ask him. But whatever you do, don’t ask his best friend, Hwang Hyunjin. Because if you did, Hyunjin would roll his eyes so hard they might just fall out of his head. He would say...

“Han Jisung? Smart? Please. Sure, he’s adorable, and funny, and super nerdy in that weird, endearing way… and maybe... no, definitely... all over the place, but intelligent? Not really. He kind of relies on me for that.”

The truth? Well… the truth was that neither of them were exactly winning any academic awards anytime soon. In fact, between the two of them, they maybe shared a single brain cell, and even that was probably not used most of the time. They were what you might call pretty, charismatic, and hopelessly egotistical. Looks receiving a 10/10, and IQ, well, hanging on by a thread.

So, when they both made it to their junior year of college, it was a great achievement. The kind that warranted a celebration, a group hug, and probably a commemorative plaque. For them, it felt like climbing a mountain. A very confusing, poorly labeled mountain where neither of them remembered bringing water or checking the map, they just hoped the last two years won't feel like traversing down the mountain the same way.

Jisung, despite his scatterbrained energy, had managed to find something he was passionate about: music. He’d been working with his two closest friends, Bang Chan and Changbin, at a small, scrappy production company tucked away a few bus stops from campus. It wasn’t a real job; they didn’t make much money from it, but it gave them something better: experience, a studio to create in, and a space where their ideas could come to life. They called it a job, but really, it was more of a second home.

Jisung’s music was messy, emotional, and full of chaotic energy, just like him, but with Chan’s focus and Changbin’s drive, they made a good team. Maybe even a great one. The three of them spent countless nights hunched over soundboards, arguing about patterns and lyric flows, eating corner store cup ramen at 2 a.m. while sleep-deprived and over-caffeinated on vending machine Monsters.

It was through Jisung that Hyunjin met Chan. And the moment he did, he knew he was doomed.

Hyunjin had never been the type to crush easily; he liked attention, sure, and he knew he was pretty enough to get it. But Chan was different. Chan was focused, calm, and mature in ways that made Hyunjin’s heart do embarrassing flops in his chest. He was the kind of guy who remembered deadlines, set alarms, and used calendars. He radiated competence. The exact opposite of Hyunjin. It was devastating.

Not that Hyunjin would ever admit that, of course. In fact, he actively avoided doing so. Anytime Chan came around while he and Jisung were hanging out, Hyunjin would immediately go stiff, stammer some barely coherent excuse, and disappear faster than a child running from an angry parent. His cheeks would flush a violent shade of red, practically radiating heat, and he’d refuse to make eye contact for the rest of the day. Jisung, of course, noticed. He always noticed. And he never let him live it down.

"Oh my God," he'd laugh every time Hyunjin bolted out of the room. "Literally, how did you disappear so fast? You basically evaporated." Hyunjin would come back grumbling, cheeks still burning.

The thing about Jisung and Hyunjin is that they've been joined at the hip ever since their college freshman orientation. The universe had a death wish that day, throwing the two of them together.

They met in the line for free pizza, of all places. Jisung was mentally complaining about how cheap and cardboard-like the pizza looked when Hyunjin spoke the thought into life. Jisung laughed for the first time during that whole orientation, and that was that. They became inseparable.

Even though Jisung was really shy and reserved, Hyunjin brought out a side in him that not many get to see. Hyunjin was tall and elegant, with sharp cheekbones and a ridiculously perfect fashion sense, but he had the attention span of a goldfish. Jisung was shorter than Hyunjin, with cheeks that squish up and make him look like a hamster, a smile that makes you want to hand the world to him, and the fashion sense of an angsty teen boy. They complemented each other perfectly.

Jisung met Chan and Changbin in a music theory class in his sophomore year; though technically, it was Changbin's junior year and Chan's senior year. Before the long nights in the studio, fueled by caffeine and cheap ramen, there were hours of their life spent on the final for their music theory class. The class itself was sort of beginner-level, something Chan and Changbin were taking just for credits, but they never looked down on Jisung for being younger and newer to it all.

What began as a randomly assigned trio for a group assignment turned into a team, built beat-by-beat and chord-by-chord.

Chan had the vision and maturity, Changbin had the fire and drive, and Jisung had the spark; his unpredictable creativity producing beats and melodies even in the middle of showers or lectures. They balanced each other like a three-legged table, wobbly and uncertain at times, but somehow still standing.

When the three of them started working more and more, it stopped being about the class. Music became their shared obsession. They managed to rent a small studio a couple of train rides away from campus and started investing in second-hand equipment for recording and producing. Nothing official was started, but they weren't trying to become famous. They just wanted to create music that sounded like them. Full of emotion and rough around the edges. something real.

That music theory class was how 3racha was formed, the music production group that will be carved into pieces of the most iconic songs in the industry.