Yalange

Wonwoo was puzzled after he got off the phone with Jin. What could have possibly come up now, right before they were supposed to meet, that’s so important that she had to ditch him for it?

Did she do it on purpose to give him and Mingyu alone time or something? That didn’t sound like something Jin would do though. Maybe Sena, but not Jin. Mingyu was convinced that this wasn’t the case.

It must have been an emergency then, Wonwoo thought. He hoped she was okay.

He wondered if Jin had told Mingyu that she would not make it or not. Perhaps she expected Wonwoo to tell Mingyu. He wasn’t sure. He texted her to ask, but she didn’t reply. She must have been busy.

He realized that he needed to tell Mingyu that the plans were canceled just in case. But he did not have Mingyu’s number yet. There was no way he could contact him.

Wonwoo made his way over to the bus stop where they had agreed to meet to inform him of what had happened, in case Mingyu did not know. He was nervous about encountering him again, as all people are with their crushes, but he tried not think about his rapidly beating heart.

He found Mingyu waiting at the bus stop, which told Wonwoo that Jin had indeed not told him.

“Bad news,” Wonwoo said as soon as they made eye contact.

Mingyu raised his head in response, curiosity etched across his face as he waited for Wonwoo to disclose this “bad news.”

“Something came up. Jin can’t make it.”

“Oh,” Mingyu’s face fell, “what happened?”

“I’m not sure; she wouldn’t tell,” Wonwoo shrugged, “but she would not have missed this if it was not important. I’m sorry.” Wonwoo bowed to him.

“Oh well,” Mingyu shrugged, but Wonwoo could tell that Mingyu was kind of hurt by it.

Wow. He really likes her, doesn’t he? Wonwoo thought. It was not only the way that Mingyu reacted to fact she was not coming that told Wonwoo that, but also the way he dressed. He was a lot more… handsome, than usual? He was wearing this white shirt with this blazer, and he looked very, very attractive all in all. He was probably dressing up for her, Wonwoo thought.

Wonwoo felt self-conscious of his own appearance. He didn’t really put much thought into what he was wearing, and to see Mingyu all dressed up for the occasion made him feel quite unsophisticated.

The bus that would take them to Itaewon came, and Mingyu stood in the crowd of passengers waiting to go in.

“Are you still going?” Wonwoo asked.

“Aren’t you?” Mingyu replied. “I already made the reservations, and I really want to try it. Come with me.”

Wonwoo hesitated. It felt weird to go without Jin, with only Mingyu. It was weird and not right and just… not how it was supposed to be. And he didn’t mentally prepare himself for it.

“Please,” Mingyu pled, “I don’t want to go there alone.”

Wonwoo felt a flutter in his stomach to know that Mingyu liked him enough to plead that he went with him. He couldn’t say no, and so joined Mingyu with the crowd.

The bus was packed. There was very little place to stand, let alone sit. As Mingyu and Wonwoo pushed through the crowd into the bus, Mingyu was able to use his tallness to reach out and grab one the handles above him. Wonwoo, however, found that there was no pole or handle within his reach.

The bus started to move and Wonwoo clumsily tripped and almost fell. Mingyu reached out and grabbed Wonwoo’s arm before he could.

“Thanks,” Wonwoo said, trying to avoid eye contact to hide his blushing face.

“Are you okay?” Mingyu asked Wonwoo, still holding onto his arm.

“Yeah,” Wonwoo replied, trying to pull his arm away from Mingyu’s grip thinking it was awkward. But just then, the bus took a sharp turn, and Wonwoo stumbled again. Mingyu held Wonwoo’s arm again.

“Just hold my arm,” Mingyu suggested, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if it didn’t make Wonwoo blush like crazy.

“Okay,” Wonwoo said sheepishly, feeling ridiculous as he grabbed onto Mingyu’s arm. He figured the ridiculousness of holding onto Mingyu’s arm is less than that of falling on his face the next time the bus takes a turn, and so he took the risk.

Why do I always look so dumb in front of him? Wonwoo thought as he groaned internally. This was such a bad start to this outing.

It was weird to be so proximate to Mingyu just then. They were practically stuck together now, and all Wonwoo had to to do was turn his head and look up at Mingyu’s face for the most awkward facial proximity Wonwoo had probably ever had. Wonwoo looked at the floor the entire time.

What am I doing here? Wonwoo thought. He was so unprepared for this. He had time to prepare for the prospect with Jin, but not alone. Wonwoo had already planned to confess, but now that Jin wasn’t there, Wonwoo wasn’t so sure that he was comfortable doing that anymore.

It was then that Wonwoo realized and dreaded something else: paying for the food. Jin had assured him that she would not let him pay anything, but now that Jin wasn’t there, he was left with the burden.

Wonwoo suddenly felt an uncomfortable pit in his stomach when he realized that he would have to spend a lot of money tonight, money he really couldn’t afford to spend. This whole outing was a mistake. Everything that was happening was a mistake.

Wonwoo was uncomfortable the entire bus ride. He was uncomfortable holding Mingyu’s arm. He was uncomfortable with the sweaty bodies bumping into him. He was uncomfortable with the claustrophobia he was experiencing. He was uncomfortable with the fact he made a fool of himself in front of Mingyu. He was was uncomfortable with the fact he was going to spend the next few hours alone with him. He was uncomfortable with the prospect of spending so much money on one stupid overpriced dinner.

Jin, I need you, he thought to himself. If Jin were here, it would have solved half the problems. He couldn’t even worry about Jin anymore because of how uneasy he felt about everything else.

When the bus finally arrived at Itaewon, Wonwoo was so glad to be out of that bus and breathing again. Most importantly, he was glad that he was not squished against Mingyu, stupidly holding on to his arm.

Mingyu immediately took out his phone and opened the navigation app.

“The restaurant is a seven-minute walk away,” Mingyu said.

And so Mingyu led the way through the streets, and Wonwoo trudged behind him. Not a word was spoken between them in the time that it took to get there. It was so awkward, and many times, Wonwoo considered telling him that he wanted to go back. He tired to think of some excuse, but he couldn’t.

“We’re here,” Mingyu announced, and Wonwoo realized that there was no turning back now.

The restaurant was on the second floor of a building. They walked up the stairs to the place. At first glance, Wonwoo knew it was expensive. It was lavishly decorated, and the entire setting had this oriental feel to it. There was Arabic calligraphy on the walls, and a strong scent of burning incense.

Mingyu talked to the waiter, and he directed them to their table.

Before they got their menus, Wonwoo prayed to the Gods he did not believe in that that the prices are not too excessive. Of course, though, there were no Gods to hear him, and the prices were crazy.

When Wonwoo saw them, his face fell. He really could not eat in a restaurant like this, not when this one meal would be worth one week’s of lunch.

“I don’t want to eat,” Wonwoo told Mingyu as Mingyu was looking through the options. “I’ll stay with you, but I won’t eat.”

Mingyu frowned, “what do you mean you’re not going to eat?”

He wouldn’t tell him that he couldn’t afford it. He just told him that he was not hungry.

“I’m sorry, you’re eating,” Mingyu insisted, “if you don’t order, I’m ordering for you.”

“I… probably won’t like it,” Wonwoo continued making up excuses, “I don’t do too well with foreign food.”

“That’s still no excuse, you have to at least try,” Mingyu said.

Wonwoo complained, but it seemed like Mingyu was not having it. In the end, Wonwoo felt like he had to come out with the truth or else he’ll be regret it when he actually had to pay.

“I can’t afford it,” Wonwoo finally confessed, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry but I just can’t. And don’t offer to pay for me, because I won’t accept it.”

“Oh,” Mingyu said softly, a look of recognition appearing across his face. “I should have realized earlier. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can eat, I’ll just keep you company,” Wonwoo said.

“I don’t know what half of these things are anyways,” he said, looking back into the menu. There were pictures and brief explanations of the dishes, but even the explanations had words that none were sure what they meant.

The waiter than came and asked if they were ready to order. Mingyu nodded, and started pointing to random pictures on the menu.

“Drinks?” the waiter asked.

“Two cokes please,” Mingyu told him.

When the waiter left, Wonwoo asked why he ordered two.

“One for you, one for me. It’s just a coke.”

Wonwoo eyed him, “I’ll pay you back.”

“Seriously?” Mingyu said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “I’ll take care of it. I made you come anyways; it’s only fair I repay you for your company.”

“Okay, fine,” Wonwoo agreed, “but only the drink.”

“Actually, I think I ordered enough food for ten people, so you’re eating with me,” Mingyu added casually, with a shrug. Wonwoo felt like his pride was being called into question.

“I’m not eating.”

“And I’ll stuff the food in your face if I have to. You’re eating, and it’s on me tonight. You can repay me later with another meal some other time.”

Wonwoo blinked, feeling that uncomfortable pit in his stomach again. He hated that he was so poor and how he was making Mingyu pay for food. He felt stupid and ashamed, not even able to look Mingyu in the eye.

“Wonwoo,” Mingyu called out, noticing how dejected he looked, “financial difficulty is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Somehow, Mingyu’s acknowledgement of the financial difficulty made Wonwoo feel even more ashamed.

“When I was growing up, I had a lot of financial difficulties too,” Mingyu said, “my parents lived in Anyang, and they only worked as lay monks in a Buddhist temple. So you can imagine…”

“Monks?” Wonwoo asked, intrigued.

“I knew that would pique your interest,” Mingyu laughed, “yes. My parents were monks. And I worked in the temple with them when I was younger.”

“So you are religious?” Wonwoo asked, remembering that he had once accidentally insulted religion in front of him before.

“Not really,” Mingyu shrugged, “but I do believe in it, I guess. You can’t really be raised by monks and not believe in some kind of transcendent reality.”

“What kind of Buddhist are you?”

“My parents belong to the Jodo sect. Do you know about it?”

Wonwoo nodded, happy that his major was actually useful to him for once. He was also kind of glad to know this. Buddhism is not as hostile to homouals like other religions are, and the Jodo sect is especially lenient in general for all aspects of life.

Maybe Mingyu would not hate for his preferences after all.

“What about you? Where are you from?” Mingyu asked.

“Changwon."

And so they talked about general things. Wonwoo learned more about Mingyu. Mingyu’s parents were actually dirt poor, their only source of income coming from the donations to the temple. They worked cleaning it and teaching others about the ways of Jodo.

Apparently, Mingyu had done so well in school, that he received a scholarship to study petroleum engineering in this university. He later also got this job with the modeling company and regularly does spreads for them. He also has an internship with some huge company.

“So your scholarship covers tuition? And you pay for housing?”

“Actually, my scholarship pays for tuition, books, housing, and it gives me a stipend for food.”

“Wow,” Wonwoo said, “that’s generous.”

“It really is. I would not have been able to afford it otherwise,” Mingyu said.

It took a while for the food to come, but when it did, the sheer amount of it was baffling. There were four large dishes and a bunch of smaller dishes, the only two that Wonwoo recognized being hummus and falafel. Other than that, everything looked strange.

“Where’s Jin to tell what all of this is,” Mingyu said as he picked up a piece of something with his fork.

Wonwoo took a picture of the food and sent it to Jin, just to see if she would respond. She didn’t.

Mingyu was the first to put something in his mouth. It was a sour leaf thing stuffed with rice and vegetables call yalange. Wonwoo waited for Mingyu’s judgment. Mingyu cringed, but swallowed it.

“Kind of slimy,” Mingyu said, “but not terrible. Try it.”

Wonwoo hesitantly took one and tried it. He loved it. He couldn’t hide how much he loved it, “oh my God, this is amazing,” he said, immediately reaching out for another one.

Mingyu laughed, “you can have them, I’m going to stick with the hummus.”

“Gladly,” Wonwoo took the plate and put it in front of him, stuffing his face with the rice-stuffed sour leaves that he never knew he needed.

Mingyu took a piece of the peta bread and dipped it in the hummus.

“What is this called?” Wonwoo asked Mingyu as he ate the slimy thing.

“Yalanje,” Mingyu said as he read the entry of the nearby menu.

“This is so good,” Wonwoo moaned as he ate another one, “it’s like sushi from heaven.”

Mingyu laughed, “well, I’m glad you like it. I’m going to try this cake thing.” Mingyu stuck his spoon into the plate in the middle. It was this light brown rice condensed and shaped into the size of a small cake. There was beef and some brown vegetable on the top of it. Mingyu put the spoon in his mouth, and his eyes widened. He was clearly satisfied with whatever it was.

“Try it,” Mingyu beckoned as he ate, “it’s better than those slimy leafy thingies.”

Wonwoo picked up his spoon and put the food in his mouth. It was good, but not as good as the yalange. “It’s okay,” Wonwoo said, but then went back to eat the last pieces of yalange left on his plate.

“It’s called makloubeh,” Mingyu said, reading from the menu, “and it’s commonly eaten with yogurt.” Mingyu tried it with yogurt, and clearly loved it.

“The yalange thing is so much better,” Wonwoo claimed.

“I beg to differ,” Mingyu argued, before eating another bite of the makloubeh.

They ate, and ate and ate. They tried all of the plates and argued about which ones are better. Mingyu insisted that the makloubeh was the best, and Wonwoo insisted it was the yalange.

Suddenly, all of the discomfort that Wonwoo had felt earlier completely subsided. He found himself act naturally in front of Mingyu, and Mingyu acted naturally in front of him as they jokingly argued about the foods they were eating.

By the end of it, they were stuffed. Wonwoo couldn’t even move from how much he had eaten, and Mingyu felt like he couldn’t even look at the food anymore.

“We should get this take-out and give it to Jin and Sena. They probably miss Arab food.”

Wonwoo nodded in agreement, “they would like that very much.”

Mingyu asked for the food to be packed. He opened the menu again, looking for something. Wonwoo assumed he was looking for dessert, which made him cringe.

“No more food please,” he groaned.

“I’m not looking for food. I’m looking for drinks,” Mingyu said.

“Alcohol?” Wonwoo asked, “you won’t find that here.”

“How did you know?”

“It’s a halal restaurant,” Wonwoo stated matter-of-factly.

Mingyu shot him a confused look.

“You don’t know what halal means?” Wonwoo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No…”

Wonwoo realized that maybe his theology major was not so useless after all. He had thought that was common knowledge, but it seems like even an engineering genius with a scholarship like Mingyu didn’t know it.

“Being halal means that Muslims can eat everything on the menu. Muslims can’t drink,” Wonwoo told Mingyu.

“Oh,” Mingyu said, “well, that’s a good thing to learn.” Mingyu settled for tea instead, not forgetting to get Wonwoo one as well.

“You know? You’re really interesting," Mingyu said to Wonwoo after he ordered, "I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who knows so much about religion but hates it. Why are you studying it if you hate it?”

Wonwoo stopped for a moment and considered honestly answering that question. He considered coming out with it and telling him Mingyu about his uality and what motivates his study of religion. But he was too chicken to actually come out and do it. All he could say in response to Mingyu’s question was: “I believe religion is a superstition that has stayed in this world for far too long, and I want to know why it has such power over our world today.”

“You hate religion, but you seem to get along with religious people. You’re dating one of them.”

“I love a lot of very religious people,” Wonwoo told Mingyu, “my parents included.”

Wonwoo didn’t know why he disclosed this information to Mingyu so effortlessly. He had not even told Jin about his parents yet, but somehow with Mingyu it was easy. Wonwoo hated talking about his parents, but he could see the curiosity in Mingyu’s eyes.

“My parents are strict Catholics,” Wonwoo revealed, “and they… don’t like…” Wonwoo hesitated. His parents hated that he was gay mainly, but he didn’t want to tell Mingyu that just yet. “They don’t like my views. Sometimes I feel like they hate me. They’re not poor though, but I never ask them for money because, well, I don’t feel like I’ve ever been a good son to them.”

“Your atheist views?” Mingyu asked.

“Yeah,” Wonwoo said with a shrug, “they let me come here to study theology because they thought it would bring me back to God or something. My dad is paying my tuition, but… I always feel guilty about that. Because I’m not being changed. I don’t believe in God, and no amount of studying can help me do that.” Wonwoo took a deep breath. Thinking about his parents always made him feel anxious and worried, and frankly, sad.

Mingyu looked sympathetic, “I kind of understand. My parents are also quite disappointed in my lack of religiousity.”

“My parents are on a whole other level, though.”

“They love you though. Your dad would not have paid tuition for you to study theology if he didn’t love you,” Mingyu replied.

Their conversation was getting quite deep very quickly, and Wonwoo wished that it would stop. Wonwoo was never good with deep conversations, which is why he never talked about his parents to anyone, even Seokmin and Jin. Thinking about his parents always made him feel angry with both them and himself. And somehow, he always felt his nose run and tears threaten to fall out at the thought of them. And he did not want to cry in front of Mingyu now, not after they had established such a comfortable atmosphere. And he did not want to be made a fool in front of him again.

“They don’t,” Wonwoo told Mingyu, “I know that they don’t.”

Mingyu, thankfully, didn’t push the subject farther. He just accepted it with a sympathetic smile.

The tea then came, which Mingyu started drinking enthusiastically, revealing that he loved tea. He told Wonwoo about how he used to make tea with his parents at the temple. He had to churn herbs and boil the water in a certain way and use a particular sieve.

“There’s an art to it,” Mingyu explained. “This tea is actually really bad compared to what we make at the temple.”

“Really? I like this actually,” Wonwoo said as he took another sip.

“You always want to argue with me, don’t you?” Mingyu laughed, “First you tell me that yalange is better than makloubeh, and now you’re saying that this crappy tea is good?”

“Not all of us have had fancy Buddhist tea before,” Wonwoo responded, amused at how offended Mingyu looked that Wonwoo thought the tea was good.

“Well, I’m going to make you try it one day, and after that you wouldn’t even think to call tea like this good,” Mingyu said. “I brought some of the herbs from home. You should come over one day, and I’ll make you the best tea you’ve ever tried in your life. “

“I’d like that,” Wonwoo said.

“Good. Does that mean that you no longer hate me?” Mingyu asked.

“I never hated you. I never even disliked you,” Wonwoo affirmed.

“What about when I was pursuing your girlfriend?” Mingyu asked.

Wonwooo blinked and bit his lower lip. He considered the consequences of at least telling Mingyu that Jin was not his girlfriend. He figured it won’t hurt.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Wonwoo admitted.

“Oh?” Mingyu looked at him curiously, “she’s not?”

“No. Jin is just helping me silence a few rumors, and so it’s just pretend,” Wonwoo revealed. Wonwoo knew that Mingyu had heard the rumors. Mingyu even witnessed someone call him a “.”

Mingyu opened his mouth to say something, but held back. Wonwoo could tell that Mingyu had put it together, and wanted to know if the rumor was actually true or not, but he didn't, realizing that they were treading personal ground.

“That’s nice of her,” Mingyu replied, thankfully not asking about the rumor.

Wonwoo nodded.

“I really like her,” Mingyu said sadly, “is it weird that I’m telling you this?”

Wonwoo shook his head, but he really didn’t want to hear about how much he liked Jin. It just reminded Wonwoo of how straight Mingyu was and how badly he was going to get rejected when he actually confessed.

Wonwoo considered confessing now and then. They had finished eating, and this outing was coming to an end. It was a good chance, and he had promised Jin that he would do it. He opened his mouth to do it, but stopped, realizing he was not prepared to ruin the comfortable atmosphere that had now developed between them. He wanted to enjoy this newfound friendship with Mingyu while he could, and a romantic confession would do exactly that.

“Jin… likes someone else,” Wonwoo told him.

Mingyu nodded, “I guess I’ll have to move on.”

“You should.”

“What’s Sena like?” Mingyu asked curiously.

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes, “Sena? You want to pursue Sena now?”

“I mean…” Mingyu said hesitantly, “I want to get to know her. I think I misjudged her earlier when I was helping you carry her back home that night. I ran into her once in the hallways, and she greeted me brightly, and I felt very bad for the way I judged her.”

“Don’t you bounce back fast,” Wonwoo said jokingly to mask his simultaneous surprise and disappointment.

“Another part of it is that I’m interested in the Middle East,” Mingyu added. “It’s part of the reason I wanted to get to know Jin. Sena lived in Jordan too, and so I feel like any one of them would give valuable insight into the culture.”

“Why are you interested in the Middle East?” Wonwoo asked curiously.

“You know how I’m studying petroleum engineering, well, the Middle East is the hub of petroleum. I might eventually move there. I already have a summer internship in Saudi Arabia. I’m also learning Arabic.”

“Wow,” Wonwoo said, feeling overwhelmed with everything he was learning about Mingyu.

“You can see why I wanted to try Arabic food so bad. So far, I’m not disappointed,” Mingyu said.

“When you come back from Saudi Arabia, make sure to pack me a lot of that yalange thing,” Wonwoo said jokingly.

Mingyu laughed, “You got it.”

As Wonwoo was thinking about it, he realized that maybe having Mingyu after Sena was not such a bad idea. He could prevent anything happening between her and Seokmin, which Wonwoo really wanted because he thought that Seokmin and Jin needed to be together. Mingyu could really help Sena lay off Seokmin, at least as long as it takes for Jin to confess.

“I think you and Sena are suitable for one another,” Wonwoo said, though it really hurt to say it. The thought of Sena and Mingyu together actually made him shudder, but anything for Jin. “Ask her out.”

“Really?” Mingyu said, “do you think she would say yes?”

“I don't know.”

They continued talking. They learned a lot about one another, realizing that they both had an interest in hip hop, and that both hardcore stanned idol group After School. Mingyu’s bias was Kaeun, and Wonwoo liked Raina. That led to an argument that lasted about 10 minutes, and they ended up laughing at themselves for actually having it.

Then it finally came time to pay. The waiter placed the receipt on their table and walked away. As Mingyu was taking out his wallet, Wonwoo glanced at the price.

“Don’t even think about it,” Mingyu warned, seeing that Wonwoo reaching for his wallet as well.

“Let me pay 25%, I have enough,” Wonwoo said.

“No!” Mingyu scowled.

“Please. Let me at least salvage some of my pride,” Wonwoo said, feeling ashamed.

“Nope,” Mingyu said as he snatched the receipt and paid himself.

“Thank you,” Wonwoo said silently.

Mingyu smiled warmly at Wonwoo, “you can pay me back by admitting that Kaeun is hotter than Raina.”

“If it helps you sleep at night,” Wonwoo replied, laughing.

They took the bus back to campus, somehow falling back to the argument about who was hotter, Kaeun or Raina. Later they argued about who was a better dancer. Mingyu insisted that it was Kaeun, but Wonwoo called him biased, because Nana was clearly the best.

When they arrived at their stop, Wonwoo thanked Mingyu again for the meal.

“Thank you for your company,” Mingyu said bowing in gratitude, “it was a fun date.”

Date?

“Also,” Mingyu added, “scold Jin for me next time you see her.”

“I will, don’t worry,” Wonwoo replied, still kind of bewildered that Mingyu called this outing a “date.”

They parted to their respective buildings, Wonwoo feeling strangely happy. This was not the outcome he expected. Wonwoo never expected that he would ease himself into this companionship with Mingyu. Wonwoo never expected to learn so much about Mingyu, and for Mingyu to learn so much about him as well. He never expected come out of this “date” as Mingyu’s friend.

A/N: Here's yalange (and it's delicious):