R2; Can I Be the Sun to Your Flower?
Pairing: Xiumin/Kris
Rating: G
Word Count: 5.2k
Warnings: None
Summary: Minseok, a shy introverted clown who volunteers at a hospital meets a despondent and very much injured basketball player, Yifan. He slowly starts to realise maybe it's okay to not hide behind a mask anymore.
Author's Notes: Hello lovely seokminions! I tried to base Minseok's character on his Falling in Dojeon character but writing a shy character was harder than I thought. Anyway I hope you enjoy the fic and thank you mod for being so patient :)
A wave of a hand. A flurry of sparkles. The children cheered as Minseok whipped the cloth away to reveal a balloon flower now transformed into a real rose. He handed it to a little girl right in front of the tiny crowd and she squealed in delight. The children looked at Minseok with such wonder in their eyes that he normally would have flushed under such scrutiny, if it weren’t for his clown makeup. Hiding behind his pierrot facade was the only time Minseok ever felt confident enough to face a crowd. It helped that the crowd only consisted of little children (which he thought were infinitely less scary than adults - they were less judgemental, after all. He’d much rather interact with them over adults any day) and he chose to ignore the group of nurses standing a distance away, giggling at his antics.
“Mister clown, can I have a flower too?” A tiny voice spoke up with her hand raised, tiny little fingers wiggling in the air. Following her, more hands shot up with the children echoing “me too!”, “me three!”. Minseok laughed as he raised his hands to placate the children and they clapped in excitement while he went about inflating more balloons.
By the end of the session, each of the children had a flower of their own and Minseok’s fingers were cramping from the number of balloon flowers he has made. He packed up his stuff slowly, in no hurry now that his job was done. The children have been ushered back into their wards by their nurses and Minseok was able to enjoy the peacefulness of the garden. The sun was setting when he was finally ready to leave, painting the garden in a beautiful orange glow. Letting his eyes wander, he noticed the profile of a man sitting in a wheelchair not too far away. He squinted at the silhouette, finding it oddly familiar. The figure turned his head and oh- Wu Yifan. His school’s star basketball player, the hotshot that everyone talked about in the hallways, the man that everyone thought would be a shoo-in for the national team. Minseok vaguely remembered his best friend Lu Han blabbering on about how Yifan had injured his ankle in a match. Apparently he had to sit out this season which was a huge blow because scouts were going to be present, or something like that. Minseok hadn’t really paid attention to Lu Han’s ramblings, he usually zoned out when Lu Han started on his long spiel of school gossip.
Minseok stared at Yifan’s silhouette hesitantly, unsure whether to approach the man or not. After all, they weren’t close. In fact, the man probably had no idea of Minseok’s existence even though they were in the same faculty. Minseok tended to keep a low-profile at school, sticking to a small close-knit group of friends. His grades were not too outstanding but he wasn’t failing either, nothing that called for attention and that was exactly how Minseok liked it.
Minseok continued to observe Yifan as he contemplated on approaching the man. He wasn’t one to initiate conversation, especially not with some popular school kid. Even as a child, he preferred the company of his toy cars rather than the other children. Only Luhan, a kid who had paid no heed to his introvert tendencies managed to squeeze his way into Minseok’s heart.
But then again, hiding behind his clown face did give Minseok a boost of confidence that he normally lacked. It helped that no one could recognise him in his clown make-up, he could embarrass himself and no one would know. Taking a deep breath, Minseok approached the basketball player.
Yifan seemed rather subdued, Minseok noticed, the sunset making the picture more melancholic. Minseok felt his willpower wavering but before he could change his mind, Yifan looked up and locked eyes with him, eyebrows furrowed quizzically. Minseok could feel his insides trembling slightly when he made eye-contact with Yifan. He couldn’t believe he was about to talk to a somewhat-stranger-slash-schoolmate, but then again he wasn’t going to be talking exactly, it was one of the rules as a clown. Talking would spoil the magic of characters. Yifan doesn’t know you, he chanted in his head as he pulled out a brown balloon from his pocket. With a few twists, he waved his hands with a flourish and presented Yifan with a dog. He awaited nervously for Yifan’s reaction, thinking that maybe he would get a confused look or be mocked at for being weird. Out of every possible reaction, he was definitely not expecting that gummy smile to sprout from Yifan face. The smile did weirder things to Minseok’s stomach and it felt like it was churning more than it was before.
“Is that supposed to be me? A little puppy?”
Minseok merely smiled and shrugged. He then held up a finger and proceeded to create another balloon figure - this time a basketball.
Instantly the smile disappeared off Yifan’s face and Minseok’s heart dropped. Shit what had he done? All he wanted was to cheer up the man with something he liked. He didn’t mean to remind the man of his injury. He berated himself mentally and frantically tried to think of a solution to brighten the mood.
“How did you know I play basketball? Did Chanyeol send you?”
Minseok shook his head furiously at the question, shaking so hard that his wig nearly detached from his head.
“Then… are you from my school?”
Minseok nodded his head once, twice.
“I see.” Yifan hummed contemplatively. “I should be going back in soon. I’ve been out for awhile. You should drop by again some day.” With that, Yifan shot him a smile so bright, so beautiful that not even the sunset he just witnessed could compare.
It was two weeks before Minseok saw Yifan again. Their second meeting was very much like the first, with the sunset embracing the garden in its warmth after his session with the kids, but this time, Yifan was the one who beckoned Minseok over.
Minseok approached slowly, unsure as to why Yifan would want to talk to him again. He ran through a few tricks in his mind. At least if things turned awkward he could always show Yifan a couple of magic tricks, no matter how silly they were.
“Hey.” Yifan greeted when Minseok stopped in front of the man. Minseok gave a tiny wave in response and immediately cringed to himself. What kind of awkward greeting was that? But it wasn’t like as if he could actually verbalise his greeting so it was just as well.
Instead of the laugh that he was expecting from Yifan, the latter merely smiled wider and said, “I’ve got something to show you.”
Minseok tilted his head slightly to the side to show his curiosity and Yifan pulled out a five hundred won coin.
“I’m going to make this coin disappear.” He declared.
Minseok watched in amusement as Yifan covered and coin with a piece of paper and waved his hand, exclaiming, “Abracadabra!”
The coin disappeared and Minseok couldn’t help but let out a laugh at Yifan’s smug look. “So, am I good enough to be your assistant yet, Mr Clown?”
Minseok knew that trick. He had seen it before and performed it countless of times on his own but he gave Yifan an over-exaggerated impressed look and clapped his hands enthusiastically. When he stopped clapping, there is a lull in the (very much one-sided) conversation and Minseok watched Yifan from the corner of his eyes as Yifan gazed at the sunset. He was startled when Yifan’s eyes turned to meet his but if Yifan had noticed him starting, the basketball player made no mention of it. Instead he cleared his throat a little awkwardly.
“So, now that I know you can laugh, do you actually talk?”
Minseok shook his head, the bangs of his wig falling annoyingly into his eyes and he let out a huff to blow it away.
“Hey I’ve got another trick to show you. Give me your phone.” Yifan said suddenly.
He handed over his phone, intrigued with what Yifan had up his sleeves this time. He had never used a phone to perform a trick before. Did Yifan know something that he didn’t? He watched as Yifan fiddled with his phone before he heard a faint tinkle coming from the back of Yifan’s pocket. When Yifan returned his phone, his contact list was displayed with the name ‘Wu Yifan’ sitting innocently amidst all the names. His phone then vibrated with a new notification and he opened the new text message with a tap.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:49]
well if u cant talk u can at least text right?
[To: Wu Yifan 17:50]
Well… I guess
That night as Minseok lay in bed, his phone lit up in the darkness of his room and he squinted his eyes against the screen.
[From: Wu Yifan, 00:14]
why dont u talk anyway?
It takes away the magic ;) Minseok typed out.
He massaged his lower lip with his teeth as his thumb hovered over the send button. Was the smiley face too much? Too forward? It was only their second meeting after all. Was his reason too lame? Too childish? While it was true that performers weren’t supposed to talk, that was only a quarter of the reason why Minseok refused to speak. In actuality, Minseok was just shy. Things were less awkward when he didn’t have to speak - he was way too socially awkward.
He hit send eventually and told himself he wasn’t disappointed when his phone remained quiet for the rest of the night.
When Minseok wasn’t volunteering at the hospital, he worked part-time at a preschool near his house. Minseok liked children, they were easy to get along with and they were such precious little angels (most of the time). Kids he could do, adults he could not.
“Minseok oppa! Look at what we did in class today!” All Minseok heard was a shrill screech before little arms enveloped his legs. He plucked the sheet of paper out of the little girl’s hand and hummed in mock serious consideration.
“Hmm, is this me? Or is it Jongdae?” He teased and the girl stomped her feet. “No!” She huffed, pouting.
“Just kidding. It’s you isn’t it, Seulgi? The drawing’s really good. So pretty, just like the real Seulgi.” Minseok patted Seulgi’s head and the girl beamed at him.
“Jongdae oppa taught us how to draw ourselves today. Come and look at the other drawings! Wonho’s drawing is really good too but Sehun made himself look like a slice of pizza.” Seulgi chattered excitedly and Minseok allowed himself to be tugged by her little hand to the classroom where all her other classmates were.
“Got a new girlfriend?”
Minseok jumped in his seat and nearly dropped his phone if it weren’t for his quick fingers.
“No,” He mumbled to Jongdae who was propped against the doorway when he gave Minseok the fright of his life, “why do you say so?”
“Well, I rarely see you texting, if at all, and now you’re smiling at your phone.”
“Oh no, it’s just… school stuff.” Minseok said lamely. He could tell Jongdae didn’t believe him from his co-worker’s raised brow but Jongdae didn’t press further.
“Anyway, I just popped by to ask if you wanted to go for a meal after this? Joonmyeon says he’s buying. Kyungsoo’s coming along too.”
Minseok felt a little uncomfortable being on the receiving end on Jongdae’s hopeful eyes. He didn’t understand why the man hadn’t given up when he had never accepted any of his invitations to a co-workers gathering. Did he mention he hated socialising?
“No, sorry I’ve got plans tonight.”
Jongdae sighed, very loudly, probably in another attempt to guilt-trip Minseok into going and Minseok fiddled with the hem of his sweater uncomfortably. “Well, if you ever change your mind, just drop me a text.” Jongdae tried one last time before he reluctantly left his spot by the door.
Minseok returned his attention to the phone and realised that he sent a whole string of gibberish when Jongdae surprised him and he quickly typed out an explanation.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:06]
??
[From: Wu Yifan 17:06]
u alright thr man?
[From: Wu Yifan 17:11]
hellooo? mr clown?? u didnt get kidnapped or sth did u? do i need to call the cops?
[To: Wu Yifan 17:24]
Sorry about that. My co-worker scared me and I nearly dropped my phone.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:26]
sounds like an asshole
[To: Wu Yifan 17:27]
Nah, he just wanted to ask me to dinner.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:27]
oh am i bothering you rn? i can msg u later
[To: Wu Yifan 17:28]
No it’s okay, I rejected him.
Minseok didn’t know what came over him that made him type out the next message. He didn’t usually confide in people like this, with Luhan being the exception. Somehow he felt comfortable with Yifan even though they’ve only started exchanging texts over the past few days since Yifan had entered his number into Minseok’s phone.
[To: Wu Yifan 17:28]
I don’t really like socialising with my co-workers. Or people in general. It’s awkward.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:30]
u seem 2 b doing a pretty good job w me
[To: Wu Yifan 17:31]
You’re different. You don’t know who I am. Not really.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:35]
ouch. its ok i will get to know more abt u evntually. look at us now, progress!
Sometimes when Minseok felt like it, he would leave his clown costume back at home while he volunteered at the hospital. None of the children knew he was the very same clown that entertained them of course, but they still flocked to him whenever he visited the children’s ward bearing little gifts.
“Sooeun ah, how is my princess doing? Is Dongwook still bullying you?” Minseok gave the boy in question a mock glare and Sooeun giggled.
“No oppa, he’s very nice to me now. He even shares his lunch with me.”
Minseok pinched Sooeun’s little button nose and said, “Well if he ever steals your toys again, you have to tell oppa, alright?”
“Yes oppa!” Sooeun’s reply was replaced by squeals as Minseok proceeded to tickle the little girl.
“Hey Minseok, dinner tonight?” Minseok looked up from the stack of worksheets he was sorting out to be greeted by Jongdae’s hopeful eyes.
Minseok chewed his lips anxiously as he considered the invitation. You should go out with your co-workers sometime. Open up a little, I’m sure he wouldn’t keep asking if he didn’t like you, Yifan had told him. While Minseok knew that this was true, he was still worried that he’ll make a fool out of himself or worse still, cause the whole atmosphere to be awkward for Jongdae and the rest.
“It’s okay if you’re busy. We can have dinner another-” Minseok guessed that Jongdae could sense his discomfort but he cut Jongdae off before the latter could continue.
“Okay.”
“-day. Wait, what?” Jongdae’s eyes widened in surprise. Minseok flushed and averted his eyes but he doesn’t change his mind.
“I said okay. Let’s go for dinner.”
Minseok sighed as he stepped into the comforting confines of his room. Socialising was tiring and he was glad to be home. He dropped his bag into the nearest chair and all but threw himself into bed. He groaned when he landed on something hard and realised that it was his phone in his pocket. He held his phone up against the light, inspecting it for damage and absently tapped the screen. Strange, why did he feel oddly disappointed when he saw that there was no new notifications? Shaking his head, he shoved the feeling to the back of his mind and thumbed the envelope icon instead.
[To: Wu Yifan 22:03]
Guess what?
[From: Wu Yifan 22:03]
what?
Minseok could not hold back his grin at Yifan’s fast reply. Lucky for him, Jongdae wasn’t around to tease him again.
[To: Wu Yifan 22:05]
I went out with my co-workers today.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:06]
so how did it go?
[To: Wu Yifan 22:07]
It wasn’t too bad I guess… though there were some awkward moments but it wasn’t as bad as I imagined. Jongdae was really surprised that I accepted his invitation, you should have seen his face.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:08]
good job im proud of u. u shld continue 2 hang out w them, things will get better i promise
[To: Wu Yifan 22:08]
:)
[From: Wu Yifan 22:12]
so….
[To: Wu Yifan 22:13]
?
[From: Wu Yifan 22:18]
will u ever show me ur face?
Minseok froze when he saw the text displayed on the screen. He knew that Yifan would ask eventually but that didn’t made the thought of revealing himself any less frightening. He considered ignoring Yifan but that wouldn’t be fair to him. Minseok tossed his phone aside in frustration, wincing when it slid off the bed with a loud clatter. He tried to calm his mind to formulate a reply but he drew up a blank. Hesitantly, Minseok picked up his phone and brushed his finger across the screen.
[To: Wu Yifan 22:27]
Sorry...
[From: Wu Yifan 22:29]
can i ask why?
[To: Wu Yifan 22:39]
You’d probably find me boring if you knew the real me. You know how much of an awkward turtle I am in reality.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:40]
r u saying u’ve been acting in all the msgs we hv been exchanging over the past wks?
[To: Wu Yifan 22:40]
No, of course not.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:42]
then i definitely know the real u and i dont find u boring
[To: Wu Yifan 22:45]
Thanks. Maybe someday…
Yes, maybe someday, Minseok muttered under his breath. Maybe someday he would gather up the courage to reveal his identity.
“Minseok hyung, will you tell me another story? Pleaseee?” Minseok was visiting the kids at the ward again, this time bearing toys and storybooks. The boy pouted cutely along with his request and Minseok chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair apologetically.
“Sorry Minhyuk ah, hyung has to head to class now. I’ll read you a story some other time, alright?” Minhyuk reluctantly nodded but instantly brightened up when Minseok handed him a red dinosaur figurine.
“For you.” Minseok told the boy. He left the rest of the toys behind as gifts for the kids but gathered the books in his arms. He made a mental note to drop by the library on the way to school so that he could return the books as he fumbled with opening the door with his hands full. All of a sudden, the door was pushed open from the other side, sending Minseok stumbling slightly backwards and the books tumbling out of his hand. One barely missed his foot and Minseok grimaced at the close call. He crouched on the floor, picking up the books one at a time, grumbling under his breath about careless idiots.
“Sorry. You okay?”
At those words, Minseok went rigid. It was a familiar voice, one that he heard frequently of late, one that belonged to none other than Wu Yifan. Hesitantly, he slowly raised his head, finally noticing the wheels that stopped right in front of him.
“Hey, are you alright?”
Minseok’s eyes shot up at the question, meeting the gaze of Yifan. He realised that he had yet to answer the other man’s question and quickly blurted out a “yes” before jerkily ducking his head. Minseok haphazardly scooped the books into his arms, no longer caring about arranging them into a neat pile and hurried out of the door, heartbeat thudding loud in his ears. He was well on his way to make a swift escape when he heard Yifan call out to him. “Hey, you’re a volunteer here right? Do you happen to know the person who volunteers as a clown?”
Minseok shook his head, not daring to turn around lest Yifan recognised him, even though he knew that was quite unlikely since he was usually caked in makeup. Without giving Yifan a chance to ask another question, Minseok strode away, only slowing his footsteps when he turned the corner. Ignoring the weird looks people shot him, he slumped into a chair and let out a long sigh. What would he have done if Yifan actually recognised him? He wasn’t ready to meet the man as himself yet. He would probably make a fool out of himself and Yifan would never talk to him ever again. Looks like he had to be on the lookout for Yifan. Luckily, it was unlikely that Yifan would be at the children’s ward again, it was probably a coincidence that he was there today but somehow, Minseok didn’t feel very comforted by his own words.
Minseok was wrong. Not only was Yifan back at the children’s ward again, it was the fifth time he had bumped into him since the previous fateful day. “It gets boring on my own so what better way to spend my time than to spend it with the kids?” Yifan had told him when he saw Yifan in the children’s ward for a second time. When they had their second meeting, Minseok nearly fled the room right then and there but there was no way he could abandon the kids.
“Hello, Minseok.” Yifan greeted him with a gummy smile, already engaged in a game of Uno with the children.
“Hi.”
If you told Minseok a few month ago that he would be on talking terms with Wu Yifan, he would have called you crazy. Now, it seemed like they might even be friends. Yifan had spent the past few visits trying to coax Minseok out of his shell, and Minseok thought it might be working slowly, but surely.
Minseok sat himself down on the bed next to Minhyuk and whispered conspiratorially in his ears, “Do you want to know what cards Yifan has?”
Minhyuk nodded eagerly so Minseok whispered once more, “He has a wild card, a yellow seven, a reverse card….”
“Hey that’s cheating!” Yifan shot Minseok an exaggerated outraged expression, making all the kids giggle.
“It isn’t cheating when I’m not in the game, right Minhyuk?” Minseok winked to the boy, ignoring the way his heart steadily thumped when he spied Yifan’s pout from the corner of his eyes.
[From: Wu Yifan, 13:01]
will u be coming over to the hospital today?
Minseok was surprised when he found the message on his phone one day after school. It had been a long day, with him skipping lunch to rush his assignment, professors calling on him to answer questions and finding out that he has not one but two group upcoming group projects, which meant interacting with more people. In short, Minseok was hungry, tired and grumpy but the message from Yifan did make him feel a little better. Just a little.
[To: Wu Yifan, 15:34]
Sorry, I was at school earlier. But no, why? I don’t have a session today.
[From: Wu Yifan, 15:40]
its just… i could rly use some company
[To: Wu Yifan, 15:45]
Okay I’ll be right there.
Minseok felt a little silly, decked out in his clown outfit when he didn’t have a performance that day. But he couldn’t show Yifan his face, so there he was, face coated with makeup and wig in place. He found Yifan in the garden, sitting at his usual spot and Minseok slid into a seat next to him. This time, he had a notebook ready in hand.
“Oh hey, you’re here.” Yifan seemed startled to see Minseok, as if he didn’t notice Minseok making his way to him. “How’s your day?”
Could have been better, but nothing serious. What’s wrong? Minseok scribbled, neat strokes painting over the paper.
“It’s just… my basketball team visited me today.” Yifan sighed and Minseok nodded encouragingly, waiting for the man to go on. “Seasons are starting and I can see that my friends are really excited about it, even though they tried not to bring it up that much. I know I should be glad that my friends remember me and even bother to keep me updated on team news but I can’t help but feel that they are moving on without me. They have a player to replace me already, pretty soon I’ll just be a benchwarmer on the team… even when I do return, it’ll take me months to get back to the standard I was at, I don’t think the coach or the team would want a player like that.”
I’m sure it’s not like that. They’re your teammates, people that you’ve suffered with, they wouldn’t forget all of that just because you’re out of the court temporarily. If they had really forgotten about you, they wouldn’t even have visited you. I’m sure they’re all eager for you to return to the team. Yifan didn’t look too convinced so Minseok sketched a cute little stick figure at the corner, holding up a sign that read “cheer up!”.
Yifan plucked the pen out of Minseok’s fingers and started to draw. He handed the notebook back to Minseok, now with an addition of a dejected looking boy sitting on the floor, with a ball next to him. Minseok’s lips twitched at the drawing, it looked horribly distorted and seemed more like random shapes and lines. The only reason why he could even tell the picture was of a human was because Yifan labelled the figure with his name. After thinking for a bit, Minseok brought the pen down on the paper, taking his time to sketch properly before handing Yifan his notebook.
Right next to the downcast figure of Yifan, Minseok had drawn a clown wrapping his arms around the former. “Smile!” The speech bubble next to the clown had read.
There’s still two years, you’ll get your chance at seasons. Besides, we still have a long life ahead of us, there’ll be more opportunities for you to play. What’s important is that you don’t give up now, otherwise you’re giving up the chance to play even before fighting for it.
Wordlessly, Yifan intertwined his fingers with Minseok before whispering a soft, “Thank you.”
[From: Wu Yifan, 9:05]
hey mr clown
[To: Wu Yifan, 9:05]
?
[From: Wu Yifan, 9:07]
u know thr’s this guy called minseok who volunteers at the hospital, i dont know if u’ve met him? he’s pretty cute, do u think he’ll accept if i were to ask him out?
[To: Wu Yifan, 9:12]
You’ll never know until you go for it.
[From: Wu Yifan, 9:12]
you’re right as always. thanks!
Minseok was jumpy. He didn’t know if Yifan noticed but ever since he received the text, he had been terribly nervous around Yifan. Despite Yifan saying he would confess, he never did so, even though they have met a few times since the message. That didn’t made Minseok any less tense though - he had avoided eye contact each time, eyes darting nervously and he pulled away whenever Yifan came too close.
This time, Minseok was accompanying Yifan back to his room after their session with the kids. Thankfully, he didn’t have to make eye contact since he was pushing the wheelchair from behind but the air was filled with an awkward silence that didn’t like. This wasn’t normal for them. Yifan would normally be filling the silence, chatting away as he attempted to pry more out of Minseok, making him reveal more about his life.
“We’re here.” Minseok announced, albeit redundantly, when they stopped outside the doors of Yifan’s room. “You-”
Before Minseok could go on any further, he was interrupted by a ear-piercing scream, followed by sobbing. “No! I don’t wanna see the doctor, it hurts! I want to go home!”
A little boy was screaming tearfully, face full of defiance as he sat on the floor. The nurse looked on helplessly as the boy’s mother tried to coax him to get up from the floor.
Without thinking, Minseok approached the boy, squatting down next to him and looking into his tearful eyes. He pulled something out of his pocket and within a few seconds, he had a smiling balloon sunflower presented to the boy.
“Don’t cry. Mr Sunshine here says it’s bad to cry.”
“Balloons are for girls!” The boy yelled, pushing the balloon away.
“No they’re not, they’re for brave kids. Don’t you want to be a brave kid too?” Minseok waved the sunflower in the boy’s face, making cute sounds as he did so. Hesitantly, the boy took the balloon and sniffled. “B-but it hurts! I hate the doctor.”
“The pain won’t last for long, you have to see the doctor to get better. After you get better, I’ll take you to eat all the ice-cream you could eat. We’ll have fun at the arcade too, deal?”
“Really? Promise?”
“Yes, really.” Minseok hooked his little pinky with the boy’s, sealing their deal. “What’s your name?”
“Changhyun.”
“Well, go get your jabs Changhyun and I’ll see you when you’re well.”
It was only when Changhyun and his mother was well on their way did Minseok remember he had an audience.
“You’re good with kids.” Yifan drawled.
“Well, I volunteer at the children’s ward.” Minseok replied awkwardly. Surely, he didn’t suspect anything?
“You’re good with balloons too.” Yifan gave him a knowing smile and suddenly, Minseok was filled with terror. He knew. He knew that Minseok was the clown.
“Relax, I can see you panicking. It’s pretty obvious you know, I already realised a long time ago.”
“When?” Minseok whispered, voice a little hoarse.
“From our first meeting. You don’t think my recognition skills are that bad did you? Just because you didn’t have makeup on didn’t mean I can’t recognise you.” Yifan’s tone took on a teasing lilt and Minseok flushed.
“But, what about- what-” Minseok stammered, flustered. He wanted to ask why didn’t Yifan ask him out. In fact, why did he even send him that message if he knew? But Minseok wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer either.
“Are you talking about the message where I said I like you?” Minseok nodded, keeping his head down in apprehension. He heard Yifan let out an embarrassed laugh and Minseok resisted the urge to look up. “It’s true, I do like you. It’s just, you’ve been acting weird ever since I sent you that message so I thought maybe you didn’t feel the same way.”
“That’s not true!” Minseok blurted out, he could feel the tips of his ears burning now. He felt Yifan taking a step closer and he mumbled, “I was just nervous…”
Yifan took another step towards Minseok, causing the latter to look up and Yifan pressed his lips together, attempting to look solemn but Minseok could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. “If so, will you let me be the sun to your flower?”
“What?” Minseok unintentionally let out a snort. The line was so unexpected and cheesy that he couldn’t help it.
Yifan took Minseok’s hands in his and tried again, “What I’m saying is, will you go out with me?”
“Yes, you dummy.”
Rating: G
Word Count: 5.2k
Warnings: None
Summary: Minseok, a shy introverted clown who volunteers at a hospital meets a despondent and very much injured basketball player, Yifan. He slowly starts to realise maybe it's okay to not hide behind a mask anymore.
Author's Notes: Hello lovely seokminions! I tried to base Minseok's character on his Falling in Dojeon character but writing a shy character was harder than I thought. Anyway I hope you enjoy the fic and thank you mod for being so patient :)
A wave of a hand. A flurry of sparkles. The children cheered as Minseok whipped the cloth away to reveal a balloon flower now transformed into a real rose. He handed it to a little girl right in front of the tiny crowd and she squealed in delight. The children looked at Minseok with such wonder in their eyes that he normally would have flushed under such scrutiny, if it weren’t for his clown makeup. Hiding behind his pierrot facade was the only time Minseok ever felt confident enough to face a crowd. It helped that the crowd only consisted of little children (which he thought were infinitely less scary than adults - they were less judgemental, after all. He’d much rather interact with them over adults any day) and he chose to ignore the group of nurses standing a distance away, giggling at his antics.
“Mister clown, can I have a flower too?” A tiny voice spoke up with her hand raised, tiny little fingers wiggling in the air. Following her, more hands shot up with the children echoing “me too!”, “me three!”. Minseok laughed as he raised his hands to placate the children and they clapped in excitement while he went about inflating more balloons.
By the end of the session, each of the children had a flower of their own and Minseok’s fingers were cramping from the number of balloon flowers he has made. He packed up his stuff slowly, in no hurry now that his job was done. The children have been ushered back into their wards by their nurses and Minseok was able to enjoy the peacefulness of the garden. The sun was setting when he was finally ready to leave, painting the garden in a beautiful orange glow. Letting his eyes wander, he noticed the profile of a man sitting in a wheelchair not too far away. He squinted at the silhouette, finding it oddly familiar. The figure turned his head and oh- Wu Yifan. His school’s star basketball player, the hotshot that everyone talked about in the hallways, the man that everyone thought would be a shoo-in for the national team. Minseok vaguely remembered his best friend Lu Han blabbering on about how Yifan had injured his ankle in a match. Apparently he had to sit out this season which was a huge blow because scouts were going to be present, or something like that. Minseok hadn’t really paid attention to Lu Han’s ramblings, he usually zoned out when Lu Han started on his long spiel of school gossip.
Minseok stared at Yifan’s silhouette hesitantly, unsure whether to approach the man or not. After all, they weren’t close. In fact, the man probably had no idea of Minseok’s existence even though they were in the same faculty. Minseok tended to keep a low-profile at school, sticking to a small close-knit group of friends. His grades were not too outstanding but he wasn’t failing either, nothing that called for attention and that was exactly how Minseok liked it.
Minseok continued to observe Yifan as he contemplated on approaching the man. He wasn’t one to initiate conversation, especially not with some popular school kid. Even as a child, he preferred the company of his toy cars rather than the other children. Only Luhan, a kid who had paid no heed to his introvert tendencies managed to squeeze his way into Minseok’s heart.
But then again, hiding behind his clown face did give Minseok a boost of confidence that he normally lacked. It helped that no one could recognise him in his clown make-up, he could embarrass himself and no one would know. Taking a deep breath, Minseok approached the basketball player.
Yifan seemed rather subdued, Minseok noticed, the sunset making the picture more melancholic. Minseok felt his willpower wavering but before he could change his mind, Yifan looked up and locked eyes with him, eyebrows furrowed quizzically. Minseok could feel his insides trembling slightly when he made eye-contact with Yifan. He couldn’t believe he was about to talk to a somewhat-stranger-slash-schoolmate, but then again he wasn’t going to be talking exactly, it was one of the rules as a clown. Talking would spoil the magic of characters. Yifan doesn’t know you, he chanted in his head as he pulled out a brown balloon from his pocket. With a few twists, he waved his hands with a flourish and presented Yifan with a dog. He awaited nervously for Yifan’s reaction, thinking that maybe he would get a confused look or be mocked at for being weird. Out of every possible reaction, he was definitely not expecting that gummy smile to sprout from Yifan face. The smile did weirder things to Minseok’s stomach and it felt like it was churning more than it was before.
“Is that supposed to be me? A little puppy?”
Minseok merely smiled and shrugged. He then held up a finger and proceeded to create another balloon figure - this time a basketball.
Instantly the smile disappeared off Yifan’s face and Minseok’s heart dropped. Shit what had he done? All he wanted was to cheer up the man with something he liked. He didn’t mean to remind the man of his injury. He berated himself mentally and frantically tried to think of a solution to brighten the mood.
“How did you know I play basketball? Did Chanyeol send you?”
Minseok shook his head furiously at the question, shaking so hard that his wig nearly detached from his head.
“Then… are you from my school?”
Minseok nodded his head once, twice.
“I see.” Yifan hummed contemplatively. “I should be going back in soon. I’ve been out for awhile. You should drop by again some day.” With that, Yifan shot him a smile so bright, so beautiful that not even the sunset he just witnessed could compare.
It was two weeks before Minseok saw Yifan again. Their second meeting was very much like the first, with the sunset embracing the garden in its warmth after his session with the kids, but this time, Yifan was the one who beckoned Minseok over.
Minseok approached slowly, unsure as to why Yifan would want to talk to him again. He ran through a few tricks in his mind. At least if things turned awkward he could always show Yifan a couple of magic tricks, no matter how silly they were.
“Hey.” Yifan greeted when Minseok stopped in front of the man. Minseok gave a tiny wave in response and immediately cringed to himself. What kind of awkward greeting was that? But it wasn’t like as if he could actually verbalise his greeting so it was just as well.
Instead of the laugh that he was expecting from Yifan, the latter merely smiled wider and said, “I’ve got something to show you.”
Minseok tilted his head slightly to the side to show his curiosity and Yifan pulled out a five hundred won coin.
“I’m going to make this coin disappear.” He declared.
Minseok watched in amusement as Yifan covered and coin with a piece of paper and waved his hand, exclaiming, “Abracadabra!”
The coin disappeared and Minseok couldn’t help but let out a laugh at Yifan’s smug look. “So, am I good enough to be your assistant yet, Mr Clown?”
Minseok knew that trick. He had seen it before and performed it countless of times on his own but he gave Yifan an over-exaggerated impressed look and clapped his hands enthusiastically. When he stopped clapping, there is a lull in the (very much one-sided) conversation and Minseok watched Yifan from the corner of his eyes as Yifan gazed at the sunset. He was startled when Yifan’s eyes turned to meet his but if Yifan had noticed him starting, the basketball player made no mention of it. Instead he cleared his throat a little awkwardly.
“So, now that I know you can laugh, do you actually talk?”
Minseok shook his head, the bangs of his wig falling annoyingly into his eyes and he let out a huff to blow it away.
“Hey I’ve got another trick to show you. Give me your phone.” Yifan said suddenly.
He handed over his phone, intrigued with what Yifan had up his sleeves this time. He had never used a phone to perform a trick before. Did Yifan know something that he didn’t? He watched as Yifan fiddled with his phone before he heard a faint tinkle coming from the back of Yifan’s pocket. When Yifan returned his phone, his contact list was displayed with the name ‘Wu Yifan’ sitting innocently amidst all the names. His phone then vibrated with a new notification and he opened the new text message with a tap.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:49]
well if u cant talk u can at least text right?
[To: Wu Yifan 17:50]
Well… I guess
That night as Minseok lay in bed, his phone lit up in the darkness of his room and he squinted his eyes against the screen.
[From: Wu Yifan, 00:14]
why dont u talk anyway?
It takes away the magic ;) Minseok typed out.
He massaged his lower lip with his teeth as his thumb hovered over the send button. Was the smiley face too much? Too forward? It was only their second meeting after all. Was his reason too lame? Too childish? While it was true that performers weren’t supposed to talk, that was only a quarter of the reason why Minseok refused to speak. In actuality, Minseok was just shy. Things were less awkward when he didn’t have to speak - he was way too socially awkward.
He hit send eventually and told himself he wasn’t disappointed when his phone remained quiet for the rest of the night.
When Minseok wasn’t volunteering at the hospital, he worked part-time at a preschool near his house. Minseok liked children, they were easy to get along with and they were such precious little angels (most of the time). Kids he could do, adults he could not.
“Minseok oppa! Look at what we did in class today!” All Minseok heard was a shrill screech before little arms enveloped his legs. He plucked the sheet of paper out of the little girl’s hand and hummed in mock serious consideration.
“Hmm, is this me? Or is it Jongdae?” He teased and the girl stomped her feet. “No!” She huffed, pouting.
“Just kidding. It’s you isn’t it, Seulgi? The drawing’s really good. So pretty, just like the real Seulgi.” Minseok patted Seulgi’s head and the girl beamed at him.
“Jongdae oppa taught us how to draw ourselves today. Come and look at the other drawings! Wonho’s drawing is really good too but Sehun made himself look like a slice of pizza.” Seulgi chattered excitedly and Minseok allowed himself to be tugged by her little hand to the classroom where all her other classmates were.
“Got a new girlfriend?”
Minseok jumped in his seat and nearly dropped his phone if it weren’t for his quick fingers.
“No,” He mumbled to Jongdae who was propped against the doorway when he gave Minseok the fright of his life, “why do you say so?”
“Well, I rarely see you texting, if at all, and now you’re smiling at your phone.”
“Oh no, it’s just… school stuff.” Minseok said lamely. He could tell Jongdae didn’t believe him from his co-worker’s raised brow but Jongdae didn’t press further.
“Anyway, I just popped by to ask if you wanted to go for a meal after this? Joonmyeon says he’s buying. Kyungsoo’s coming along too.”
Minseok felt a little uncomfortable being on the receiving end on Jongdae’s hopeful eyes. He didn’t understand why the man hadn’t given up when he had never accepted any of his invitations to a co-workers gathering. Did he mention he hated socialising?
“No, sorry I’ve got plans tonight.”
Jongdae sighed, very loudly, probably in another attempt to guilt-trip Minseok into going and Minseok fiddled with the hem of his sweater uncomfortably. “Well, if you ever change your mind, just drop me a text.” Jongdae tried one last time before he reluctantly left his spot by the door.
Minseok returned his attention to the phone and realised that he sent a whole string of gibberish when Jongdae surprised him and he quickly typed out an explanation.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:06]
??
[From: Wu Yifan 17:06]
u alright thr man?
[From: Wu Yifan 17:11]
hellooo? mr clown?? u didnt get kidnapped or sth did u? do i need to call the cops?
[To: Wu Yifan 17:24]
Sorry about that. My co-worker scared me and I nearly dropped my phone.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:26]
sounds like an asshole
[To: Wu Yifan 17:27]
Nah, he just wanted to ask me to dinner.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:27]
oh am i bothering you rn? i can msg u later
[To: Wu Yifan 17:28]
No it’s okay, I rejected him.
Minseok didn’t know what came over him that made him type out the next message. He didn’t usually confide in people like this, with Luhan being the exception. Somehow he felt comfortable with Yifan even though they’ve only started exchanging texts over the past few days since Yifan had entered his number into Minseok’s phone.
[To: Wu Yifan 17:28]
I don’t really like socialising with my co-workers. Or people in general. It’s awkward.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:30]
u seem 2 b doing a pretty good job w me
[To: Wu Yifan 17:31]
You’re different. You don’t know who I am. Not really.
[From: Wu Yifan 17:35]
ouch. its ok i will get to know more abt u evntually. look at us now, progress!
Sometimes when Minseok felt like it, he would leave his clown costume back at home while he volunteered at the hospital. None of the children knew he was the very same clown that entertained them of course, but they still flocked to him whenever he visited the children’s ward bearing little gifts.
“Sooeun ah, how is my princess doing? Is Dongwook still bullying you?” Minseok gave the boy in question a mock glare and Sooeun giggled.
“No oppa, he’s very nice to me now. He even shares his lunch with me.”
Minseok pinched Sooeun’s little button nose and said, “Well if he ever steals your toys again, you have to tell oppa, alright?”
“Yes oppa!” Sooeun’s reply was replaced by squeals as Minseok proceeded to tickle the little girl.
“Hey Minseok, dinner tonight?” Minseok looked up from the stack of worksheets he was sorting out to be greeted by Jongdae’s hopeful eyes.
Minseok chewed his lips anxiously as he considered the invitation. You should go out with your co-workers sometime. Open up a little, I’m sure he wouldn’t keep asking if he didn’t like you, Yifan had told him. While Minseok knew that this was true, he was still worried that he’ll make a fool out of himself or worse still, cause the whole atmosphere to be awkward for Jongdae and the rest.
“It’s okay if you’re busy. We can have dinner another-” Minseok guessed that Jongdae could sense his discomfort but he cut Jongdae off before the latter could continue.
“Okay.”
“-day. Wait, what?” Jongdae’s eyes widened in surprise. Minseok flushed and averted his eyes but he doesn’t change his mind.
“I said okay. Let’s go for dinner.”
Minseok sighed as he stepped into the comforting confines of his room. Socialising was tiring and he was glad to be home. He dropped his bag into the nearest chair and all but threw himself into bed. He groaned when he landed on something hard and realised that it was his phone in his pocket. He held his phone up against the light, inspecting it for damage and absently tapped the screen. Strange, why did he feel oddly disappointed when he saw that there was no new notifications? Shaking his head, he shoved the feeling to the back of his mind and thumbed the envelope icon instead.
[To: Wu Yifan 22:03]
Guess what?
[From: Wu Yifan 22:03]
what?
Minseok could not hold back his grin at Yifan’s fast reply. Lucky for him, Jongdae wasn’t around to tease him again.
[To: Wu Yifan 22:05]
I went out with my co-workers today.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:06]
so how did it go?
[To: Wu Yifan 22:07]
It wasn’t too bad I guess… though there were some awkward moments but it wasn’t as bad as I imagined. Jongdae was really surprised that I accepted his invitation, you should have seen his face.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:08]
good job im proud of u. u shld continue 2 hang out w them, things will get better i promise
[To: Wu Yifan 22:08]
:)
[From: Wu Yifan 22:12]
so….
[To: Wu Yifan 22:13]
?
[From: Wu Yifan 22:18]
will u ever show me ur face?
Minseok froze when he saw the text displayed on the screen. He knew that Yifan would ask eventually but that didn’t made the thought of revealing himself any less frightening. He considered ignoring Yifan but that wouldn’t be fair to him. Minseok tossed his phone aside in frustration, wincing when it slid off the bed with a loud clatter. He tried to calm his mind to formulate a reply but he drew up a blank. Hesitantly, Minseok picked up his phone and brushed his finger across the screen.
[To: Wu Yifan 22:27]
Sorry...
[From: Wu Yifan 22:29]
can i ask why?
[To: Wu Yifan 22:39]
You’d probably find me boring if you knew the real me. You know how much of an awkward turtle I am in reality.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:40]
r u saying u’ve been acting in all the msgs we hv been exchanging over the past wks?
[To: Wu Yifan 22:40]
No, of course not.
[From: Wu Yifan 22:42]
then i definitely know the real u and i dont find u boring
[To: Wu Yifan 22:45]
Thanks. Maybe someday…
Yes, maybe someday, Minseok muttered under his breath. Maybe someday he would gather up the courage to reveal his identity.
“Minseok hyung, will you tell me another story? Pleaseee?” Minseok was visiting the kids at the ward again, this time bearing toys and storybooks. The boy pouted cutely along with his request and Minseok chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair apologetically.
“Sorry Minhyuk ah, hyung has to head to class now. I’ll read you a story some other time, alright?” Minhyuk reluctantly nodded but instantly brightened up when Minseok handed him a red dinosaur figurine.
“For you.” Minseok told the boy. He left the rest of the toys behind as gifts for the kids but gathered the books in his arms. He made a mental note to drop by the library on the way to school so that he could return the books as he fumbled with opening the door with his hands full. All of a sudden, the door was pushed open from the other side, sending Minseok stumbling slightly backwards and the books tumbling out of his hand. One barely missed his foot and Minseok grimaced at the close call. He crouched on the floor, picking up the books one at a time, grumbling under his breath about careless idiots.
“Sorry. You okay?”
At those words, Minseok went rigid. It was a familiar voice, one that he heard frequently of late, one that belonged to none other than Wu Yifan. Hesitantly, he slowly raised his head, finally noticing the wheels that stopped right in front of him.
“Hey, are you alright?”
Minseok’s eyes shot up at the question, meeting the gaze of Yifan. He realised that he had yet to answer the other man’s question and quickly blurted out a “yes” before jerkily ducking his head. Minseok haphazardly scooped the books into his arms, no longer caring about arranging them into a neat pile and hurried out of the door, heartbeat thudding loud in his ears. He was well on his way to make a swift escape when he heard Yifan call out to him. “Hey, you’re a volunteer here right? Do you happen to know the person who volunteers as a clown?”
Minseok shook his head, not daring to turn around lest Yifan recognised him, even though he knew that was quite unlikely since he was usually caked in makeup. Without giving Yifan a chance to ask another question, Minseok strode away, only slowing his footsteps when he turned the corner. Ignoring the weird looks people shot him, he slumped into a chair and let out a long sigh. What would he have done if Yifan actually recognised him? He wasn’t ready to meet the man as himself yet. He would probably make a fool out of himself and Yifan would never talk to him ever again. Looks like he had to be on the lookout for Yifan. Luckily, it was unlikely that Yifan would be at the children’s ward again, it was probably a coincidence that he was there today but somehow, Minseok didn’t feel very comforted by his own words.
Minseok was wrong. Not only was Yifan back at the children’s ward again, it was the fifth time he had bumped into him since the previous fateful day. “It gets boring on my own so what better way to spend my time than to spend it with the kids?” Yifan had told him when he saw Yifan in the children’s ward for a second time. When they had their second meeting, Minseok nearly fled the room right then and there but there was no way he could abandon the kids.
“Hello, Minseok.” Yifan greeted him with a gummy smile, already engaged in a game of Uno with the children.
“Hi.”
If you told Minseok a few month ago that he would be on talking terms with Wu Yifan, he would have called you crazy. Now, it seemed like they might even be friends. Yifan had spent the past few visits trying to coax Minseok out of his shell, and Minseok thought it might be working slowly, but surely.
Minseok sat himself down on the bed next to Minhyuk and whispered conspiratorially in his ears, “Do you want to know what cards Yifan has?”
Minhyuk nodded eagerly so Minseok whispered once more, “He has a wild card, a yellow seven, a reverse card….”
“Hey that’s cheating!” Yifan shot Minseok an exaggerated outraged expression, making all the kids giggle.
“It isn’t cheating when I’m not in the game, right Minhyuk?” Minseok winked to the boy, ignoring the way his heart steadily thumped when he spied Yifan’s pout from the corner of his eyes.
[From: Wu Yifan, 13:01]
will u be coming over to the hospital today?
Minseok was surprised when he found the message on his phone one day after school. It had been a long day, with him skipping lunch to rush his assignment, professors calling on him to answer questions and finding out that he has not one but two group upcoming group projects, which meant interacting with more people. In short, Minseok was hungry, tired and grumpy but the message from Yifan did make him feel a little better. Just a little.
[To: Wu Yifan, 15:34]
Sorry, I was at school earlier. But no, why? I don’t have a session today.
[From: Wu Yifan, 15:40]
its just… i could rly use some company
[To: Wu Yifan, 15:45]
Okay I’ll be right there.
Minseok felt a little silly, decked out in his clown outfit when he didn’t have a performance that day. But he couldn’t show Yifan his face, so there he was, face coated with makeup and wig in place. He found Yifan in the garden, sitting at his usual spot and Minseok slid into a seat next to him. This time, he had a notebook ready in hand.
“Oh hey, you’re here.” Yifan seemed startled to see Minseok, as if he didn’t notice Minseok making his way to him. “How’s your day?”
Could have been better, but nothing serious. What’s wrong? Minseok scribbled, neat strokes painting over the paper.
“It’s just… my basketball team visited me today.” Yifan sighed and Minseok nodded encouragingly, waiting for the man to go on. “Seasons are starting and I can see that my friends are really excited about it, even though they tried not to bring it up that much. I know I should be glad that my friends remember me and even bother to keep me updated on team news but I can’t help but feel that they are moving on without me. They have a player to replace me already, pretty soon I’ll just be a benchwarmer on the team… even when I do return, it’ll take me months to get back to the standard I was at, I don’t think the coach or the team would want a player like that.”
I’m sure it’s not like that. They’re your teammates, people that you’ve suffered with, they wouldn’t forget all of that just because you’re out of the court temporarily. If they had really forgotten about you, they wouldn’t even have visited you. I’m sure they’re all eager for you to return to the team. Yifan didn’t look too convinced so Minseok sketched a cute little stick figure at the corner, holding up a sign that read “cheer up!”.
Yifan plucked the pen out of Minseok’s fingers and started to draw. He handed the notebook back to Minseok, now with an addition of a dejected looking boy sitting on the floor, with a ball next to him. Minseok’s lips twitched at the drawing, it looked horribly distorted and seemed more like random shapes and lines. The only reason why he could even tell the picture was of a human was because Yifan labelled the figure with his name. After thinking for a bit, Minseok brought the pen down on the paper, taking his time to sketch properly before handing Yifan his notebook.
Right next to the downcast figure of Yifan, Minseok had drawn a clown wrapping his arms around the former. “Smile!” The speech bubble next to the clown had read.
There’s still two years, you’ll get your chance at seasons. Besides, we still have a long life ahead of us, there’ll be more opportunities for you to play. What’s important is that you don’t give up now, otherwise you’re giving up the chance to play even before fighting for it.
Wordlessly, Yifan intertwined his fingers with Minseok before whispering a soft, “Thank you.”
[From: Wu Yifan, 9:05]
hey mr clown
[To: Wu Yifan, 9:05]
?
[From: Wu Yifan, 9:07]
u know thr’s this guy called minseok who volunteers at the hospital, i dont know if u’ve met him? he’s pretty cute, do u think he’ll accept if i were to ask him out?
[To: Wu Yifan, 9:12]
You’ll never know until you go for it.
[From: Wu Yifan, 9:12]
you’re right as always. thanks!
Minseok was jumpy. He didn’t know if Yifan noticed but ever since he received the text, he had been terribly nervous around Yifan. Despite Yifan saying he would confess, he never did so, even though they have met a few times since the message. That didn’t made Minseok any less tense though - he had avoided eye contact each time, eyes darting nervously and he pulled away whenever Yifan came too close.
This time, Minseok was accompanying Yifan back to his room after their session with the kids. Thankfully, he didn’t have to make eye contact since he was pushing the wheelchair from behind but the air was filled with an awkward silence that didn’t like. This wasn’t normal for them. Yifan would normally be filling the silence, chatting away as he attempted to pry more out of Minseok, making him reveal more about his life.
“We’re here.” Minseok announced, albeit redundantly, when they stopped outside the doors of Yifan’s room. “You-”
Before Minseok could go on any further, he was interrupted by a ear-piercing scream, followed by sobbing. “No! I don’t wanna see the doctor, it hurts! I want to go home!”
A little boy was screaming tearfully, face full of defiance as he sat on the floor. The nurse looked on helplessly as the boy’s mother tried to coax him to get up from the floor.
Without thinking, Minseok approached the boy, squatting down next to him and looking into his tearful eyes. He pulled something out of his pocket and within a few seconds, he had a smiling balloon sunflower presented to the boy.
“Don’t cry. Mr Sunshine here says it’s bad to cry.”
“Balloons are for girls!” The boy yelled, pushing the balloon away.
“No they’re not, they’re for brave kids. Don’t you want to be a brave kid too?” Minseok waved the sunflower in the boy’s face, making cute sounds as he did so. Hesitantly, the boy took the balloon and sniffled. “B-but it hurts! I hate the doctor.”
“The pain won’t last for long, you have to see the doctor to get better. After you get better, I’ll take you to eat all the ice-cream you could eat. We’ll have fun at the arcade too, deal?”
“Really? Promise?”
“Yes, really.” Minseok hooked his little pinky with the boy’s, sealing their deal. “What’s your name?”
“Changhyun.”
“Well, go get your jabs Changhyun and I’ll see you when you’re well.”
It was only when Changhyun and his mother was well on their way did Minseok remember he had an audience.
“You’re good with kids.” Yifan drawled.
“Well, I volunteer at the children’s ward.” Minseok replied awkwardly. Surely, he didn’t suspect anything?
“You’re good with balloons too.” Yifan gave him a knowing smile and suddenly, Minseok was filled with terror. He knew. He knew that Minseok was the clown.
“Relax, I can see you panicking. It’s pretty obvious you know, I already realised a long time ago.”
“When?” Minseok whispered, voice a little hoarse.
“From our first meeting. You don’t think my recognition skills are that bad did you? Just because you didn’t have makeup on didn’t mean I can’t recognise you.” Yifan’s tone took on a teasing lilt and Minseok flushed.
“But, what about- what-” Minseok stammered, flustered. He wanted to ask why didn’t Yifan ask him out. In fact, why did he even send him that message if he knew? But Minseok wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer either.
“Are you talking about the message where I said I like you?” Minseok nodded, keeping his head down in apprehension. He heard Yifan let out an embarrassed laugh and Minseok resisted the urge to look up. “It’s true, I do like you. It’s just, you’ve been acting weird ever since I sent you that message so I thought maybe you didn’t feel the same way.”
“That’s not true!” Minseok blurted out, he could feel the tips of his ears burning now. He felt Yifan taking a step closer and he mumbled, “I was just nervous…”
Yifan took another step towards Minseok, causing the latter to look up and Yifan pressed his lips together, attempting to look solemn but Minseok could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. “If so, will you let me be the sun to your flower?”
“What?” Minseok unintentionally let out a snort. The line was so unexpected and cheesy that he couldn’t help it.
Yifan took Minseok’s hands in his and tried again, “What I’m saying is, will you go out with me?”
“Yes, you dummy.”