Mingyu fiddled with his fingers as he searched for the private reading area; he's never been there before. Sure, he'd spend his time in the library once in a while, but never has he gone to the rendezvous where Woozi had told him. Also, he hasn't visited since the school moved the location of library to the other building, another place Mingyu has never entered before.

 

After a series of empty hallways, turns, and staff-questioning, he arrived at 4.49PM; it took longer than he expected. He finished his last class at least an hour and a half ago. He was starting to worry that the elder would have already finished and decided to leave him as he looked around, frantically searching for a blonde head.

 

As if his prayers were heard, Mingyu spotted the blonde haired senior strolling around the shelves and running his fingers ever so gently across the row of books. 

 

Just as he was about to part his lips, the other had already figured he was here. "I know you're there." The older declared without facing him and chuckled to go along with it.

 

Mingyu slightly pouted at Woozi's actions, staying still from where he was standing. "H-How would you know?"

 

Woozi turned around at the younger's question with a grin plastered on his face, "I don't know. I could always sense if you're near me somehow. Is that a bad thing?"

 

Mingyu shook his head almost vigorously, displaying clear disapproval. "N-No, it's not. I l-like it, even."

 

A smile painted Woozi's lips at Mingyu's tiny confession as he approached the younger. "Good that." 

 

Woozi clapped his hands eagerly once before continuing. "So! Do you know why we're here?"

 

"T-To research? I'm h-here to accompany you, right?" 

 

Woozi grinned as he shook his head. "Nah, finished that while you were gone." He made his way to one of tables and sat down, his chin resting on intertwined fingers as he continued. "Try something else."

 

In fact, there was no need to research at all.

 

Mingyu unfroze himself somehow and sat across the elder hesitantly. "I d-don't know."

 

Woozi lightly chuckled before announcing their purpose there. "We're here for you to practice speaking."

 

Mingyu's eyes has never been so wide before. They were literally saucers right then. "W-What? S-Speak?"

 

The blonde's eyes turned into crescent moons as an even wider grin was taped to his face. "Yeah. I noticed you stutter a lot, so I wanted to help you."

 

Partly, Woozi thought. I just wanted to spend my time with you, you dense little kid, he resumed in his mind. It was a good thing he was careful not to think out loud.

 

"Y-You would?" Mingyu's eyes twinkled with hope. He was so happy; he'd tried alone before, but it never worked.

 

"Why not? We're friends, right?" A hint of hurtfulness was evident in the elder's smile; he wanted to be more than friends. He was just afraid of how his junior would think of him. He had an image.

 

Which he was sure having an image to keep is why almost half of the world's population couldn't be happy.

 

And very little did the blonde know that Mingyu was feeling exactly what he felt. He nodded slowly, "Yeah."

 

"Alrighty! Let's see what we got." Woozi beamed as he flipped open a few pages of the book he was holding.

 

Mingyu shifted in his seat, not knowing what to say. 

 

"Okay, let's try the first method." The elder looked up from his book with a sincere smile painted across his lips. "Relax your body. Release the tension in your back, arms, and neck. Let them sink down to a natural level." Woozi gestured his words gently.

 

Mingyu nervously took a deep breath and exhaled as his body obliged to what Woozi has commanded. He was starting feel better. Even Woozi decided to do it together with him.

 

"Nice. Now buzz your lips." The blonde continued after taking a quick glance at the book. 

 

Mingyu gave him a questioning look, it was starting to get weird.

 

The elder sighed, "just do it." 

 

Mingyu started to produce a buzzing sound from his mouth to vibrate his lips as he noticed that his senior did so too.

 

"And...stop." 

 

The younger stopped.

 

"What's next..oh, okay. Relax your mind." Woozi let out a dramatic hand gesture with his eyes closed as he spoke just as dramatically, causing Mingyu to stifle a laugh. The senior opened one eye at Mingyu's muffled laugh, slightly annoyed. But he was happy enough to see the other laugh. Even if it was just a little bit. "What? I'm trying to help you here!" 

 

Mingyu released what he has been holding in, bursting into loud fits of laughter. The older loved the way he laughed; it was really attractive and contagious, but not disgusting at all. 

 

He decided to join the other as he was simply in joy of the accomplishment. 

 

After a few moments, Mingyu decided to stop first. He wanted this to be serious. "O-Okay, okay. We need to continue."

 

Woozi cleared his throat before changing his facial expression to a serious one in approximately one second. "You're right. Okay. It's gonna get a little weird from here though."

 

Mingyu shook his head, "I'm in for anything it is."

 

Another grin was taped on his face at the younger's statement. "Good that. So, you're gonna have to..." Woozi prolonged the last word as he swiftly checked the book. "Tell yourself, 'I'm bigger than this stutter; this stutter is not bigger than me.' Do it."

 

Mingyu stared at the elder in disbelief; it was way too embarrassing. 

 

"I know what you're thinking, just do it." 

 

Mingyu sighed before doing as he was told, not forgetting to take a deep breath as this would be very embarrassing. "I-I'm bigger than this s-stutter. This s-stutter is not b-bigger than me."

 

Woozi clapped in appreciation as an encouraging smile painted his lips, pure with sincerity on helping the younger. "Good, good! Only this time, do it without stuttering. Just try."

 

The other nodded slowly as he closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing pattern. "I'm bigger than this stutter. This stutter is not bigger than me."

 

Woozi clapped louder this time; Mingyu really did a great job. Although slowly, but at least he didn't stutter one bit. The elder knew Mingyu was trying really hard.

 

"There you go! See, ain't that hard, shrug head." Woozi congratulated as he took another look at the book.

 

"Now..okay." Woozi drove his attention back to the black haired as he resumed. "Don't tell yourself it's a life or death situation. Stuttering is annoying, but it's not that much of an issue to other people as it probably is to you. Let this thought relax you, Mingyu."

 

Mingyu nodded throughout the advice, even finding it very useful. 

 

The taller boy was overwhelmed at the kindness his senior was showing him; no one has ever initiated to do such things for him.

 

And maybe, just maybe, he found something else. He found and felt affection and love radiating from the shorter blonde.

 

And maybe, just maybe, he wanted to develop the same love and affection towards Woozi.

 

He knew it was wrong of him to fancy someone with the same gender, but he dared to bet that no girl could ever make him feel the same way he does with Lee Jihoon.

 

"Okay. I think it d-does relax me." Mingyu nodded as his lips stretched from ear to ear. 

 

"Alright then, next step. Stand in front of a mirror and imagine the person in the mirror being someone else. That's not gonna be possible 'cause we don't have a mirror around here." The elder looked up once again from his book after finishing his sentence. "Just imagine that I'm your reflection and that I'm that someone else."

 

"But that won't b-be the same. It's h-harder." Mingyu whined as he slumped his shoulders lower than it was before.

 

"Exactly. Now, c'mon. Just talk about usual stuff like how my day was, and so and so."

 

The younger took yet another deep breath and relaxed his body into the normal position. "O-Okay. So how w-was your d-day?"

 

"Slow down, slow down. We're not on a race, shrug head." Woozi gestured his hands as he warned so.

 

"Okay, okay. So how..was..your day?" Mingyu said slowly, yet steady and clear.

 

The blonde nodded, "That's it! Keep it up." He cleared his throat before continuing his role. "It was fine, really. You?"

 

The conversation went on and on, drifting from one topic to another for nearly an hour, until a certain somebody decided to change the subject —further than Mingyu expected.

 

"Mingyu? Have you ever liked somebody?"