Chapter 13- Sensitive Topics

“Shouldn’t we get started…on the assignment?” Mingyu asked as he watched Wonwoo lay flat on his stomach, surfing the net. As much as he asked the older to make himself comfortable and treat his dorm like his own, he didn’t expect Wonwoo to take it literally.

“I don’t actually feel like doing anything today…can’t we just hang out?” Wonwoo asked, turning his head over his shoulders to look at Mingyu.

“H-huh? What do you w-want to do then?” Mingyu asked, raising a brow at the older expectantly.

“…Hmm…let’s watch a movie online!” Wonwoo suggested, opening a new tab.

“You can pick a movie…I’ll go to the washroom for a minute.” Wonwoo said, passing his laptop over mindlessly. Mingyu took his laptop and as he was browsing through the movies on the site Wonwoo opened, his eyes wandered off to the other tabs that Wonwoo had opened. Right…he had been busy searching for something for the past hour here…and he’s being so secretive about it… Mingyu’s eyes widened, not knowing how to react when he saw what Wonwoo had been googling for the past hour.

“How do you ask someone about their crush in a not so obvious way…” Mingyu read aloud.

“Why do I feel disappointed when I hear someone speak about their new crush…?” Mingyu’s brows creased in a straight line. Why is he googling about such things…? He’s curious about someone’s crush…? But who? And he felt disappointed too. It can’t be…me right? But why would he be jealous of my non-existent new crush? He made it so clear earlier on that he didn’t like me. He quickly switched between the tabs when he heard the door knob turn, signalling that Wonwoo was back from doing his business.

“So have you decided which movie to watch?” Wonwoo asked, sitting next to Mingyu like it was the most natural thing to do. Their arms were touching, and Mingyu could hear Wonwoo breathing as the older moved over to look at the computer screen. That move alone made Mingyu freeze and his ears started heating up.

“Err…yeah…how about miracle in cell no. 7? The reviews seem pretty good.” Mingyu suggested while moving away from Wonwoo, leaving a small space between them.

“Sounds good…what is it about?” Wonwoo asked, closing the gap between them while pulling the covers over their bodies.

“Mmm…it’s about a father who is mentally handicapped and he was falsely accused of a crime and he was sent to prison. His daughter who is a law school student then fights to prove his innocence.” Mingyu read one of the summary off the internet.

“Ooh…sounds interesting…that’s probably going to be our future huh. I mean fighting cases…not proving our father’s innocence. Not that I had one to start with…” Wonwoo commented from the side, whispering bitterly towards the end.

“What do you mean?” Mingyu asked, clearly hearing Wonwoo’s soft whisper. But it was clear as day that Wonwoo didn’t want to talk about it. He took the laptop out of Mingyu’s grasp, playing the movie before settling it on the small table Mingyu brought out earlier. The movie started showing, Wonwoo was fully engrossed in the movie while Mingyu was switching between watching the movie and Wonwoo. He couldn’t concentrate fully on the movie, not when the person next to him was strangely attractive. When the movie was reaching its , Mingyu couldn’t help but turn and stare at Wonwoo when he heard soft sobs. W-what? Is he for real? He’s crying?! Over a freaking movie? Wonwoo could feel the burning stare, so he quickly used his palms to rub his eyes, wiping the tears away furiously.

“That’s stupid! Why is the lawyer not even trying to help him?! People who study the law should be helping the innocent! ING CORRUPT !” Wonwoo hissed, cursing at the computer.

“Calm down! It’s just a movie!” Mingyu said, pulling the laptop away from Wonwoo’s grasp when the older got up, wanting to close the screen. Despite Wonwoo being slightly angry at how the movie was going, Mingyu couldn’t help but grin a little when the sentence Wonwoo said replayed in his head. People who study the law should be helping the innocent…that’s true. I should never forget that… The movie continued with Wonwoo scooting a little further away from Mingyu, not wanting the younger to hear him crying. He predicted it to happen more often towards the end of the movie.

“Why! Why did they have to do this!” Wonwoo bawled, letting out loud cries when the father had his last hug with his daughter through the bars. Mingyu was thoroughly shocked, watching the tears flow down Wonwoo’s cheeks. A bright red painted Wonwoo’s cheeks as he sobbed, inhaling short breaths in between.

“Don’t cry…” Mingyu whispered, rubbing the older’s back as he paused the movie.

“Why….he didn’t even do anything wrong…and he loved his daughter so much…” Wonwoo cried, turning into Mingyu’s embrace. He hugged the younger’s figure tightly, tears staining Mingyu’s shirt. Mingyu on the other hand, merely sat there staring into space as he heard Wonwoo sob. It took him awhile to process the fact that Wonwoo was hugging him.

“W-why…did they l-leave m-me…?” Wonwoo asked, small hiccups coming out, signalling the close end to his crying jag.

“…Who?” Mingyu asked back, pulling away from their hug as his hand came up to wipe away the tears on Wonwoo’s cheeks.

“…M-My parents…” Wonwoo sniffed as he looked up at Mingyu with his tear-filled eyes. His voice was slightly raw from all the bawling. Mingyu was dumbfounded, only staring at Wonwoo with an empathetic look.

“Forget it…no one will understand…” Wonwoo scoffed, shaking his head as he buried it under his arms.

“You’re right…I wouldn’t understand…not now. But if you’re willing to tell me…I’ll be willing to listen. I’ll learn to understand.” Mingyu said, reaching out to hold Wonwoo’s shaking hands in his own calm and warm ones. Wonwoo looked up, pupils shaking a little as tears threatened to fall out once more. Before he could speak, Soonyoung barged into Mingyu’s room, ruining the moment between them.

“Mingyu-ah! S-Seokmin’s drunk at the pub…h-help?” Soonyoung panted, cheeks red as sweat dripped down the sides of his face.

“Huh?! What happened?” Mingyu asked, getting up from his bed, pulling his hoodie over his head, putting on his jacket at the end.

“H-He was saying something like…sorry for not caring about you…and like…I don’t know…just hurry!” Soonyoung pulled his sleeves, trying to drag the taller out of his room. He was obviously not aware of Wonwoo’s presence.

“Wait a minute! D-Do you wanna come along with us? I don’t think it’ll be nice to leave you here alone.” Mingyu said, looking at Wonwoo. The older nodded his head, putting on his jacket.

“J-Just leave it here first. We’ll come back anyways.” Mingyu stopped Wonwoo from picking up his bags. If he was being honest, he hoped the older got the message that he wanted him to stay for the night. And maybe possibly speak about the topic of his parents. He was really curious as to why the older was bawling his eyes out and speaking in such a bitter way. The three made their way to the pub nearest to the dorms and when they were there, Seokmin was just a few centimetres away from kissing a random guy.

“YAH! LEE SEOKMIN!” Soonyoung hollered, running over to his boyfriend’s side, pulling the younger away from the random guy.

“I leave you alone for a couple of minutes and you’re here creating more trouble?” Soonyoung sighed, trying to get Seokmin to sit on the barstool properly. His body was limp, limbs fla