Chapter 20- Clearing Doubts

“C-Chan-ah…M-Mingyu?” Wonwoo stuttered, watching both of them from the corner of his eyes. Silence engulfed the room as Mingyu wordlessly dabbed his bruises with medication while Chan stared blankly at the ground beneath his feet.

“P-Please…say something? You’re both scaring me…” Wonwoo sighed, reaching his hand out for Mingyu’s, but the younger glared straight into his eyes, as if daring him to lay his hand. What did I do wrong again this time? Mingyu packed up the first aid kit, leaving the room to return it back.

“I swear I did nothing to start a fight! Why can’t anyone believe me for once?” Wonwoo scoffed in disbelief when he was left alone in the room with Chan.

“It’s hard to believe because of how you were acting. Not letting Jun hyung know who was coming over.” Chan finally spoke up, his eyes a little red. He might have gotten a little emotional seeing the bruises littered all over Wonwoo’s face.

“I had my reasons…I just…didn’t need him to know yet.” Wonwoo hesitated. Truth to be told, other than Hansol, no one knew why Wonwoo was keeping his relationship a secret.

“It’d better be a god damn good reason.” Chan rolled his eyes, waiting for Wonwoo to spill.

“Do I really have to do this here?” Wonwoo groaned, his eyes subconsciously going to the door. Mingyu doesn’t have to hear this….We’ve barely started…I don’t need the trust between us to be broken so early…

“What’s so hard? Just hurry say it and get it done and over with.” Chan complained, nudging Wonwoo’s shoulder.

“Fine. It’s all because of that stupid Jihoon past….” Wonwoo started, shaking his head as the memories refreshed in his mind once more.

“I don’t understand….that was over so long ago. Besides, what’s it got to do with Mingyu hyung?” Chan questioned, eyebrows furrowed together. He never understood the way his hyungs’ minds work. They were confusing, sometimes even complicating a situation more than needed.

“Jun is just afraid of the same thing happening. Everything is happening too fast. Even I’m afraid of the same thing. Mingyu’s…different. He may seem like a really bright and happy kid, but he’s been through so much. I don’t want to hurt him and make him go through awful things again.” Wonwoo fumbled with the edge of his shirt. Even the great ol’ flirt gets nervous at topics like this.

“I think you need to talk to Mingyu hyung about this…it’s not exactly a good idea to keep things from each other. With the way Jun hyung acted just now, Mingyu hyung would think that he’s being hated. I wouldn’t be surprised if he would want to break up with you.” Chan shrugged nonchantly.

“Why would he break up with me?! Wait Chan! You can’t just leave like that!” Wonwoo called out.

“Just explain before it happ-” Chan stared at the towering figure before him as he opened the door. Mingyu.

“H-Hey Mingyu hyung…” Chan stuttered, smiling awkwardly as the older before him had a blank look. Wonwoo leaped up, rushing towards the door when his ear picked up on the mentioned name.

“H-How much did you hear…?” Wonwoo asked as he pulled Mingyu into the room, both of them sitting down on the bed. Mingyu stared at his hands blankly, keeping silent.

“Baby…what’s wrong? You haven’t been talking ever since…” Wonwoo interlocked his fingers with Mingyu’s. Mingyu’s hand was limp in his grip, and he pulled it away seconds after.

“You can’t just walk away like that! I don’t even know what’s wrong if you’re not going to talk!” Wonwoo shouted, making Mingyu flinch as he stopped in his steps. He’s scared. Don’t. You’re not supposed to scare him. You’re supposed to love him and make him happy.

“M-Mingyu…please…” Wonwoo begged, tone evidently softer than before. He tightened his grip around Mingyu’s wrist.  

“I c-can’t…I don’t want to do this…not if your friends hate me and don’t want me around you…” Mingyu whimpered as he tried to pull his hand back weakly.

“They don’t…l-let me explain. Please?” Wonwoo begged once more. His heart was bleeding with pain at the sight of Mingyu acting like that. I need you more than anything now…I can’t have you leave me… He let out a sigh of relief and pulled him in for a hug when the younger nodded.

“Promise you won’t leave until I’m done explaining everything?” Wonwoo asked, looking into Mingyu’s eyes. The younger bit on his lower lip. It must be something serious… He blinked away the tear drops prickling his eyes, and he could only give in, nodding his head once more as Wonwoo gently wiped away the tears.

“This story actually goes back quite a long time…an incident happened between me and Jihoon.” Wonwoo started. He told Mingyu the entire story behind Jihoon and him, not leaving a single detail. He couldn’t take any chances.

“Because of that, I was actually afraid of how I felt with you. And I was so scared of hurting another person. There was no way I could possibly do that again. Jun is acting this way because of his protective nature. Trust me, he doesn’t hate you at all. He just needs me to prove that I truly like you, not just playing games like with Jihoon. And no one can hate you. Because you’re such a lovable puppy.” Wonwoo looked at Mingyu as he finished explaining himself.

“But he doesn’t want us to be together…he even hurt you…” Mingyu whimpered, his hands gripping on Wonwoo’s shirt tightly.

“Silly…he probably just wanted to test me…to see if I would really stay with you no matter what it takes. And I will.” Wonwoo ran his fingers through Mingyu’s hair, gently patting the back of his head.

“Will…will you ever leave me?” Mingyu asked hesitantly, his voice gentle but vulnerable.

“I doubt. Unless you ask me to. Will you?” Wonwoo questioned back, slight tease in his tone.

“I wouldn’t ever.” Mingyu shook his head, quick to respond to Wonwoo’s question.

“Then I wouldn’t.” Wonwoo assured with a firm smile, as he closed the gap between them, placing his forehead against Mingyu’s.

“Promise?” Mingyu pouted, still in doubt. I’m not very sure if we’re doing the right thing… But I really feel happy when I’m with him.

“Yes baby.” Wonwoo grinned, leaving a wet kiss on Mingyu’s nose.

“Eew! Jeon Wonwoo!” Mingyu whined, wiping away at his nose profusely.

“What? I was just showing you how I truly feel.” Wonwoo chuckled, moving Mingyu’s hair that was covering his eyes.

“Now that I’ve promised you that I’ll never leave…can you promise me something too?” Wonwoo asked, slipping one of his arm under Mingyu’s head, acting as a pillow.

“What is it?” Mingyu raised a brow, playing with Wonwoo’s pinky finger.

“I don’t want you shedding anymore tears for me. You gave me a really bad scare. Can you promise me that?” Wonwoo held onto Mingyu’s hand, bringing it up, resting it on his chest.

“B-But…I just…it hurts me so much to see you injured. And I can’t promise you that. What if you do something stupid, like kill yourself? Or what if you break your promise and leave me one day? I know I’m going to sound super needy and even clingy at this point in time, but I really can’t imagine not seeing you anymore.” Mingyu went off, getting more agitated as he thought of the things that could possibly happen.

“Ssh. Baby. Stop. Don’t think of those unpleasant things. Firstly, I will never kill myself. And secondly, if I were to be a stupid, idiotic jerk to even break up or leave you. You should never ever cry. I should be the one crying because it would be so stupid of me to let go of someone so precious, so important and rare.” Wonwoo placed his index finger on Mingyu’s lips, shutting the younger up temporarily. Mingyu’s cheeks started burning up as the rosiness painted a bright red on them. He shyly buried his face in Wonwoo’s chest, not wanting the older to as always.

“Baby. Don’t try to avoid the promise. I won’t let go until you say yes. And acting cute is against the rules!” Wonwoo let out a hearty laugh when he heard Mingyu’s whines from on top his chest.

“Yah…are you falling asleep? This kid….I’m leaving.” Wonwoo threatened. He knew the younger was avoiding him, so he had to say something.

“Try leaving Jeon Wonwoo.” Mingyu swore he never got up this fast in his entire life, as he gave Wonwoo the deadliest stare.

“Hehe…I’m not. I swear.” Wonwoo held both arms up, surrendering. His puppy was still as feisty as their first encounter.

“I-I’ll try my best…not to cry…but…you know how affected I get by you…” Mingyu pouted when Wonwoo gave him a knowing look.

“Hey hey! I said no acting cute! Aish…fine…but you’ll get a punishment each time you cry because of me. That’s final.” Wonwoo folded his arms, giving in to Mingyu as the pout deepened.

“Punishment? Why? Why do I get a punishment?!” Mingyu exclaimed, as his mouth formed the ‘o’ shape.

“Lalalala~ I’m tired after getting my thrashed by Moon Junhui, so I’m going to rest.” Wonwoo stuck his fingers in his ears, blocking out Mingyu’s upcoming questions and whines. He pulled the curtains before jumping back into bed.

“Wonnie…” Mingyu called out.

“Wonnie?