Chantheman:
Everyone wish Wonwoo
good luck on his interview
today!!

Mother:
Good luck Wonwoo. You'll
do great.

Haoaboutno:
Good luck buddy

Hotchocolate:
im shakingggg

Ho:
YOU GOT DIS WONIO
I BELIVE IN YUH

Hotchocolate:
its going to go awful

Jispoon:
on the bright side, at
least you can spell better
than soonyoung

Ho:
HEY!

Sock:
hi soonyoung!!

Chantheman:
when is someone gonna
tell Seokmin that Soonyoung
isn't actually saying hello?

Scoops:
Good luck Wonwoo!

Mingmong:
Wonwoo, you got this baby.
Just breath and relax because
they're gonna love you. Good
luck. I believe in you 💞💞💞

Jispoon:
wRETCH

Haoaboutno:
i just threw up in my cereal

Seungswan:
Minghao that is literally so
disgusting

Chantheman:
not as disgusting as mingyu

Mingmong:
just a quick reminder that ur
all still single so clearly im doing
it right.

Haoaboutno:
wonwoo is just dilluded

Mingmong:
i will drown you in ur cereal

Haoaboutno:
I dare you

Junberella:
that was so hot

Haoaboutno:
so dont touch or you'll
get burnt

Junberella:
awooo my heart

Chantheman:
jun is so whipped for
you dude

Haoaboutno:
;))

Mingmong:
Wonwoo looks so good
in a suit. is it hot in here or
is it just me?

Mother:
I think we can all agree that
Wonwoo looks so good in
general

Mingmong:
back off he's mine

Haoaboutno:
im just gonna have to trust you
guys on that one

Hotchocolate:
I'm ready to go now, Mingyu

Mingmong:
okok. bye guys

Jispoon:
hope you stub your toe on
the way out

Mingmong:
that was so uncalled for.
i hope you fall off the curb
to your death

Wonwoo rolled his eyes before switching off his phone and leaving Mingyu's apartment. For the past week the two boys have been almost glued to their phones. If they weren't on a cute date or kissing on the sofa they would be texting on the group chat.

"It's cool how friendly everyone is now." Mingyu opened the passenger door so Wonwoo could climb in.

"They're all so funny." Wonwoo smiled as Mingyu sat in the drivers seat beside him.

"When you get the job we should all have  a party to celebrate."

"Don't you mean if. There's definitely no guarantee."

"No, I mean when. You will get it."

Wonwoo sighed and shook off the hope. He didn't want to become too expectant because that's what makes the rejection hurt the most. "You've said that about every job and I've been turned down for all of them."

"But this time you won't be turned down."

"You're wrong."

"As if. When have I ever been wrong?"

"Well-"

"Don't start." Mingyu turned a corner then stopped abruptly. "I took the wrong turn."

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows.

"Shutup."

"I didn't say anything!" The elder laughed.

The building where the interview took place was a lot less intimidating than the majority of buildings Wonwoo had visited beforehand. He felt considerably more calm as he strolled towards the receptionist with Mingyu. The atmosphere was a lot less formal too; everyone seemed so layed back and casual making Wonwoo feel slightly out of place in his dress-shirt and tie.

Wonwoo entered the interview room alone. Mingyu said he would wait in the car and despite the raging sea of anxiety that rumbled in his stomach, Wonwoo let him go. He sat down opposite a very skinny woman with stern eyes that stared holes into his skin. The sea was now spitting salt water up into his ribcage and lashing at sharp rocks in his esophagus- he was terrified.

"Hello," Wonwoo spoke but he was barely audible.

The woman raised her hand above the table top; pale skin stretched taute over sharp bones. Wonwoo thought she was about to write something down in the notepad before her: "Too shy, inconfident" maybe, but then she spread her lanky fingers and waved her hand outwards as if she was clearing the air or wiping a window: sign language for hello. Wonwoo instantly relaxed, his smile said it all. The woman's stern eyes turned soft as Wonwoo signed a reply.

"Hello. My name is W-O-N-W-O-O."

The woman wrote down his name at the top of the notepad and put down her pen.

"Hello. My name is S-E-O-H-Y-U-N. I've heard so much about you."

The interview was a breeze, by far the easiest Wonwoo had ever had and he left the building with a wide smile.

"So, it went well?" Mingyu asked as Wonwoo almost bounced into his seat with excitement.

"Yes. It was great!"

"I knew you would do well." Mingyu started the car and began to drive the opposite way from his apartment.

"Where are we going?"

"To celebrate."

"But I dont know if I have got the job yet."

"So? I like seeing you smile so we're going to do something fun."

Wonwoo smiled at the happy bubbling in his stomach. He felt so lucky to have someone who treats him just for the sake of treating him. Buildings on the other side of the window turned into incoherent blurs as the car sped up to then be replaced with pictures of a new part of town Wonwoo had never visited.

"How are we celebrating?"

"A double date with Jeonghan and Joshua if that's ok with you?"

"I'd love that. Are they dating now, then?"

"No, I'm still trying to set them up but Joshua seems pretty into him already." Mingyu turned a corner before honking at the car infront who was driving too slow.

"And what are we going to do?"

A final turn in the road lead them to an enormous grey warehouse. Mingyu parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Paintballing!" He grinned and threw his hands up in the air.

The two piled out of the car and hurried towards the building. Mingyu was a lot more excited than Wonwoo who had never been before but didn't mind since as long as it made his boyfriend happy he was okay with it. Joshua and Jeonghan were already waiting in the front hall both looking fairly awkward in eachother's presence. Jeonghan nodded when Wonwoo caught his eye and Joshua waved.

They all turned to the front desk where Mingyu paid for their kit; a protective vest each, four paintball guns, ammunition and a helmet. To Wonwoo it all seemed a little extreme and he was afraid he was at risk of getting concussion somehow during the game. He grinned and bared it though, pushing the worry far back in his head.

"What are the teams going to be?" Joshua asked once they had piled into the changing rooms.

Mingyu smirked at Wonwoo "Boyfriends against boyfriends?"

"Yes!" The latter said and clinged to Mingyu's arm. He thought (or more so knew) that Mingyu would woop his if he was on the rival team and since he had no experience with paintballing he wasn't ready to take that risk. Plus Mingyu was the only person he could hear and that had to be a bonus, right?

"Ok. And the losers buy lunch!" Joshua smiled and glanced at Jeonghan.

"Mingyu, me and Josh aren't boyfriends." Joshua's smile faded.

"Yet." The taller winked before turning to the entrance, gun in hand. "MOVE OUT!"

Their battlefield was a vast, dark room with luminescent green and pink barriers and tunnels. The walls had neon remains of paintballs from the last fight splattered across them. As soon as they entered Wonwoo instantly regretted agreeing to do this. In addition to that, for the first time ever, he wished he couldn't hear Mingyu.

"THE ENEMY ARE ADVANCING. TO YOUR STATIONS!" The tall boy must have had lungs the size of an ox, his yelling could have been heard from miles away.

"Mingyu be quiet! They'll hear us."

"ROGER THAT!"

"Seriously. You're going to make me go deaf all over again."

"Sorry." The latter grinned apologetically as they both ducked behind a barrier.

"Did it ever occur to you that I can't hear Jeonghan or Joshua coming?"

"...no."

Wonwoo sighed. He was glad he had a gun in his hands to prevent him from facepalming his brain out of the back of his head.

"Great. If I die it's entirely your fault."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Mingyu leaned forward and kissed his nose.

Wonwoo thought it was cute and sweet and was so ready to dig in further; to kiss him longer and see how far he could get with Mingyu behind their little barrier that was until Mingyu screamed "WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED. ABORT MISSION!" and threw himself into a tunnel.

Wonwoo was taken by surprise and it took him almost a second too long to register what was going on. A paintball exploding on the barrier right above his head bought him back to his senses and he clumsily tumbled into the tunnel too.

"So much for protecting me."

"Sorry, I panicked."

They began crawling around in the dark. Mingyu was way too large to fit in the confined space and the elder wondered how he wasn't panicking from the claustrophobic situation. A green light signalled the end of the tunnel and the clambered out only to be greeted by the clicks of two guns and a sly "Caught you" that only Mingyu heard. Oblivious to the sounds Wonwoo stood up and jumped a metre in the air when Joshua caught his eye.

"Oh my God you scared me so much." Wonwoo bent down so his hands were on his knees and breathed heavily as if he was trying to calm a beating heart little did they know about his real reason for doing this. Jeonghan laughed a little and Joshua gave him a confused look, luckily this destracted them long enough for Mingyu to take a shot at Jeonghan's foot and bolt the opposite way, Wonwoo on his tail.

"YES!" Mingyu laughed and yelled as he jumped excitedly. "Did you see that?! Did you see how cool that was?"

Once the two had found another hiding spot Mingyu kept watch as the elder tried to catch his breath.

"Of course I saw it Mingyu. I was right there."

"That was so awesome! You were like "Wait" and I was like BOOM, then we were like AAH!!" Mingyu grinned whilst making exaggerated hand movements to reenact the moment.

"I know, I know." Wonwoo contemplated going to the gym once in a while so he wouldn't end up so out of breath after running short distances but dismissed the idea as quickly as possible.

"I'm so proud of you man. We should do this again sometime"

"We really shouldn't" Wonwoo's feet hurt and so did his chest. He was tired and ready to curl up under Mingyu's bedcovers and go to sleep.

"Don't tell me you're tired already?"

"Tired? I think I might collapse from exhaustion. How can you run for so long and not die?"

"I play soccer." Mingyu crouched down opposite his boyfriend and put his hands on his knees, "I'll tell you what..."

"What?"

"I'll make you some nice hot chocolate as soon as we get home and we can curl up together on the sofa and read. But only if we win."

Wonwoo was hopeful until Mingyu said the last sentence. Having him on the team was an automatic loss even when someone like Mingyu was playing too but it was worth a try.

"Ok. But this time-"

"MOVE OUT!!"

___

a/n: To those who thought the chapter title was suggesting that Wonwoo was going to move in with Mingyu:

Don't lose hope

-Liv