“Hey baby, even though I hate ya I wanna love ya (I want you)

and even though I can’t forget ya I really want to (I want you).

Tell me, tell me baby why did you leave me?

‘Cause even though I shouldn’t want it, I gotta have it (I want you).”

~ Ariana Grande - Problem

 

A popular song played on Seungkwan’s phone at the table he was seated at in the cafe with his friends and agitated boyfriend. Because he tried to sing along to the song and didn’t get the notes right, he was embarrassed poor Hansol!

 

“Baby, give it a rest! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Hansol grabbed onto his wrist and pleaded for him to stop. He cringed when his boyfriend missed another note. It wasn’t that he was a terrible singer, he’s an amazing singer! It was just… this particular song never did him justice.

 

Seungkwan was always stubborn and brushed his hand off and rested his hand against his chest to prepare for the next set of lyrics. Hansol let his head drop and both Soonyoung and Seokmin cheered quietly for Seungkwan like he was doing great but in reality they were dying of laughter on the inside. Mingyu hid his face when Seungkwan tried to hit those notes again.

 

“Head in the clouds got no weight on my shoulder-” his voice cracked.

 

“Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! Please!” Hansol begged after covering his boyfriend’s his mouth.

 

“I should be wiser and realize that I’ve got!” Someone one sang next and barely made that last note. Everyone at the table turned to see Soo Min get whacked over the head by both Jihoon and Won Woo who were embarrassed when everyone at the other tables looked at them.

 

 

“We’ve got one less problem without you. Goodbye.” Jihoon muttered and motioned for Won Woo to follow him, and he did! They left Soo Min where she stood, she rubbed her head with a pout while her friends ditched her and headed to the counter to order food without her. Everyone at Mingyu’s table laughed at the sight and she made her way over to them.

 

“Nice try,” Mingyu held his hand up to high-five her.

 

“Thanks!” Her face lit up at his supportive comment and she slapped her small hand against his and almost missed which caused another fit of laughter to erupt from his friends. “Ariana Grande is one of Seungcheol’s favorites, I almost thought he was here since it was playing!” She took a seat at the table and pretty much invited herself, but the small group didn’t seem to mind, they were probably going to invite her anyway. She greeted them before she noticed an unfamiliar face and started to stared at him. “I’m sorry… have we met?” She asked and panicked for a second. Did she forget one of Mingyu’s friends already?! She never had good memory unless it was something important.

 

“No.” Hansol shook his head and she was a bit relieved now.

 

“Right! I’m so glad you’re here!” Seungkwan got excited suddenly and scooted his chair closer to Hansol’s and proceeded to wrap his arm around the guy. “Meet my boyfriend, Hansol!”

 

“Boyfriend?!” Soo Min almost shrieked, this was a new ship hitting the waters with a big splash.

 

“Please tell me you ship us together?” He laughed when Hansol got flustered in his hold and tried to break free.

 

She took a moment to stare at the two, and the longer she stared the more she died on the inside, they were adorable together!

 

“No! We’re not some kpop idols!” Hansol complained, he was getting shy now.

 

Soo Min sat there and bit down on her bottom lip and tried to keep calm when Seungkwan started to tease Hansol. “What did I do in my past life to deserve all this joy?” She mumbled with small whimper. Her fangirl heart was going into overdrive.

 

“You’re so funny.” Mingyu chuckled before he noticed Jihoon and Won Woo coming back from ordering food, it was clear that they were targeting the table near them before he spoke up. “You guys can sit with us!” He said after scooting his chair away to make room for Won Woo to sit next to him since Soo Min had been sitting next to him. Of course Won Woo was going to sit next to Soo Min, and he took advantage of that knowledge.

 

And just as he expected, Won Woo pulled his chair over to sit between Soo Min and Mingyu. He had a slight nervous look on his face, but he wasn’t as shy as he had been in past encounters, Mingyu took notice.

 

“Hey guys, nice to see you again.” Seokmin smiled once everyone was seated at the table.

 

“Again?” Jihoon asked and raised a brow a brow. “I don’t think we’ve properly met.”

 

“Right, he only visited our table briefly that one time.” Seungkwan pointed out. “In that case! Hi! I’m Boo Seungkwan! These idiots are Kwon Soonyoung and Lee Seokmin. This precious diamond here is my boyfriend Chwe Hansol, but call him Vernon ‘cause it makes him feel cool.”

 

“Yah!” Hansol nudged him and his cheeks to turned a light shade of pink.

 

“That’s so cute! Oh my gosh!” Soo Min squealed and hid behind Won Woo’s shoulder.

 

“I see,” Jihoon nodded, “nice to meet you all. The name’s Lee Jihoon.”

 

“Wah, that was such a cool introduction.” Soo Min clapped beside him and she yelped when he elbowed her in the side which earned a laugh from the others at the table.

 

“You shouldn’t be so violent, hyung!” Mingyu said in her defense while hiding his laughter.

 

“Ah, it’s okay, it didn’t hurt.” She laughed. “Just a small poke in the side.”

 

“That’s all it better have been! I will not allow anyone to hurt my King!” Jeonghan suddenly joined the conversation, grabbing Jihoon into a headlock. “She said you were cool, accept it!”

 

“Aish, you guys give me a headache!” Jihoon complained when Jeonghan let him go and wrapped his arms around Soo Min from behind to giver her a hug and a kiss to her cheek.

 

“King?” Hansol asked and watched the SooHan couple.

 

“Some royal theme going on between them and their friends, it’s cute.” Soonyoung explained. “It all started when Seungkwan was being a drama queen about something, cue flashback.” He snapped his fingers in the air.

 

“You guys are so embarrassing…” Hansol turned in his seat and shielded his face from the others, Seungkwan just laughed beside him.

 

“Then I suppose we’ll just have to continue being embarrassing in class.” Seokmin chuckled when he got up from his seat. “We should go, it was nice seeing you three!” He waved after he and Soonyoung left the table, that left Mingyu, Seungkwan and Hansol.

 

“I actually gotta go home.” Hansol spoke up shortly after and grabbed his bag.

 

“What? Already?!” Seungkwan frowned and held onto his boyfriend’s arm.

 

“I have to pick up my sister from school, I promised to take her out for ice cream this morning since she didn’t want to go to and was giving my mom trouble.”

 

“Can’t I come with?!”

 

“As long as you don’t get jealous like last time.” He laughed with a simple nod. “You were mad for three days just because I held her hand instead of yours while crossing the road.”

 

“I promise!” Seungkwan jumped up with a huge smile. “But hold my hand until we get there!” He held it out for Hansol to take, already prepared for the other to blush and reject him in front of their friends like usual, but today went a little differently as Hansol took his hand and interlocked his fingers with Seungkwan’s.

 

“Let’s go.” He held his hand tight with a smile on his lips.

 

Seungkwan glance at his friends sitting at the table, playing the flustered girlfriend so well just now it had Soo Min screaming on the inside. Yeah, that was probably all for her now, too…

 

“Eh, do we have competition now?” Jeonghan asked as he pulled Soo Min out of her seat to sit down, making her sit on his lap. “JiHan’s just a distant memory now?” He joked while hugging her from behind.

 

“Oh gosh, what’s their ship name?!” Soo Min asked Mingyu who seemed a little caught off guard by her question.

 

“Uhh, I’m not sure.” He thought about it for a minute.

 

“SeungSol?” Jeonghan pitched out there.

 

“That almost sounds like Seungcheol!” She looked over her shoulder with a small frown. She remembered that comment Seungkwan made about JeongCheol a while back.

 

“Did someone call my name?” Said person joined the table along with Junhui and Jisoo, they had food from the cafe. “Hey, Mingyu, good to see you.” He greeted him with a warm smile.

 

“Hello, hyung.” Mingyu waved, greeting the other two while he was at it.

 

“Who’s SeungSol?” Junhui asked, bringing them back to the topic at hand.

 

“She was asking what my friend’s ship name is with his boyfriend.” Mingyu answered, still thinking about it.

 

“I’m just going to call them Boonon because it’s cute!” Soo Min gushed, giggling to herself in her little fangirl world, Jeonghan only smiled and hugged her a little tighter with that adoring smile as everyone around them watched.

 

“Aish, go be fluffy somewhere else, we’re eating here.” Won Woo joked, reaching over to pull Soo Min’s matching beanie down over her eyes, earning a laugh from the rest of the table.

 

Soo Min sat there, eyes still covered with a pout on her lips. “Oh no, I’m blind.” She muttered.

 

“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll be your eyes!” Jeonghan exclaimed from behind her.

 

“Seriously, we’re eating.” Jihoon said with a twitch in his eye.

 

“Fine~!” She laughed, pulling her beanie off and proceeded to blindly fix her hair, Jeonghan helped her before placing her beanie back on. “Oh yeah, I was going to ask you guys something!” She suddenly faced Seungcheol and the other two. “Are you guys done with classes for today?”

 

“Yeah, why?” Seungcheol answered as they all nodded a yes to her question.

 

“Great, I need strong buff men to come help rearrange our apartment!” She gave two thumbs up.

 

“Strong and buff?” Jisoo held back a laugh.

 

“Ah, don’t worry, you’ll be keeping my Queen company in the meantime!”

 

“What? But I wanted to help! I’m strong and buff!” Jeonghan complained.

 

“Of course you are, babe, I just don’t want you breaking a sweat, let them do the work.”

 

“We’re not your slaves!” Junhui said in protest.

 

“I never called you that!” She laughed before glancing at Mingyu who was sitting there quietly. She briefly locked eyes with Won Woo who suddenly gave her a warning look. “Mingyu! You want to come help at the Royal Castle?! It’ll be a lot of fun!” She gave him a hopeful look.

 

Seeing the slight flustered look on Won Woo’s face just then made Mingyu smile. “Sure, I’d love to come help.” He replied, eyes locked on her shy friend now.

 

“Great! Then let’s get going!” Soo Min cheered, hopping off Jeonghan’s lap with a fist in the air.

“We’re not even done eating!” Junhui pointed out.

 

“Hurry it up!” Her cheery expression turned into an impatient one. And just like that, it was settled. Onwards to the Royal Castle!

 

...

 

On the way there, Jihoon excused himself as he had homework to do unfortunately, so he wouldn’t be joining in on their great adventures this evening. But it was all good, there’s always next time… maybe.

 

When they arrived to WooMin’s shared apartment, Soo Min wasted no time and started explaining to her helpers what she had thought about on the new layout. They were serious about it for the first part, moving the living room around before taking a break.

 

The King left off into the Royal Kitchen to prepare snacks for her hungry workers, the Queen’s Mistress offered his help in preparing leaving the Queen and the others in the room with Mingyu.

 

“Was this always here?” Junhui said randomly before getting up and headed to the other side of the room, staring at the not so important lamp. Seungcheol was confused at first before he saw Junhui flagging him over and he soon realized what was going on. Operation: Get Mingyu and Won Woo alone together was in play. He got up and headed over to join his friend and luckily the Queen caught on too!

 

“Guys!” He hurried over to them. “You should see the photobook of my precious King when she was a baby!”

 

“Baby Soo?! Where?!” Both Seungcheol and Junhui were truly interested.

 

“This way!” Jeonghan led the way to his girlfriend’s bedroom.

“Uhm, should they be going in there without her knowing?” Mingyu asked with a slight worried expression as he looked over to Won Woo.

 

“No, but we’ll just let her scold them later.” He muttered. His eyes were fixated on the coffee table in front of them. He was getting nervous knowing it was just them right now. He figured Soo Min and Jisoo were taking their sweet precious time in the kitchen too, they were probably in on the sudden ‘everyone but Won Woo and Mingyu leave the room’ plan. He should have seen this coming when she invited Mingyu along.

 

“I like your apartment.” Mingyu complimented after he looked around to admire the decor. “Did you both decorate together?”

 

“Kind of, Soo Min did most of it since well… it’s what she likes to do. It’s a part of her major, designing things.”

 

“I see… nice.” Mingyu nodded, looking around once more. He smiled to himself when he turned his head far enough knowing Won Woo wouldn’t be able to see it, he felt like a schoolgirl getting shy around her crush… literally.

 

“Sorry about my friends. I should have known they’d ditch us like this.” Won Woo sighed with a slight irritated look on his face.

 

“That’s okay, why don’t we just ditch them, too?”

 

“What?”

 

“Let’s go.” Mingyu smiled, pulling Won Woo up out of his seat, adoring the tint of pink on the older’s cheek at his sudden action. I wish I could tell you just how cute you are! He thought to himself with a small chuckle.

 

“Where?!” Won Woo asked, looking incredibly nervous by now.

 

“Anywhere! Anywhere you want to go.” He said while leading him out of the apartment. “I’ll go anywhere as long as you’re there, Won Woo.”

 

Turning around he saw the surprise look on Won Woo’s face. He said it before, he said he liked him, straight to his face too! So of course it wouldn’t be a surprise to have him making so many moves like this… but Won Woo couldn’t help but get shy and flustered about it.

 

“Really?” He asked, feeling his heart racing, there were those fluttering butterflies in his stomach again and the blush rising to his cheeks was trying to melt his face off. , what do I do?! My face is probably beet red by now!

 

“Yes.” Mingyu nodded while opening the front door. “I’d follow you till the ends of the earth.”

 

“Oh god, are you flirting with me?” Won Woo blurted out before quickly covering his mouth out because he wasn’t supposed to say that out loud and also, that was a stupid question, of course Kim Mingyu was flirting with him!

 

“Maybe?” Mingyu laughed at Won Woo’s embarrassed face.

 

Won Woo just stared at him for a long moment before shyly looking away. “Where are we going, again?” He asked, clearing his throat. It was too much, the feelings just now…

 

“For starters, let’s go to the arcade again?”

 

“... sure.” Won Woo nodded, a faint smile on his lips as they exited the apartment. He had so much fun the last time, he was sure going again wouldn’t hurt, despite what just went down a moment ago. Heart, you need to chill… Won Woo thought to himself as they left.

 

He swore he could hear Jisoo shouting ‘Code: RED, the King has fallen! Send help!’ inside his apartment before they turned down the corner of the hallway, it made him laugh to himself quietly just imagining Soo Min sprawled out on the floor paralyzed by her ship feels.

 

“What is it?” Mingyu asked with a soft smile.

“Nothing.” Won Woo shook his head. “Why don’t we go eat first before the arcade… I’m kind of hungry since my lame friends never served us the snacks they promised.”

 

“As you wish, dear Prince.”

 

“And just what does that make you?” He laughed in reply.

 

“The Prince’s admirer.” Mingyu grinned, causing Won Woo freeze mid-step. “Or perhaps his Knight in Shining Armor?”

 

“The light came on.” Won Woo mumbled, pointing at the crosswalk before heading off without him. He could hear Mingyu laughing as he caught up to him. Knight in Shining Armor, huh? He thought as he stole a glance from Mingyu while he wasn’t looking. He smiled softly before nearly running into a street sign!

 

“Careful!” Mingyu chuckled as he had one arm around his waist to pull him away from the sign. “You’re free to daydream about me, but please refrain from doing so when you’re walking!” He joked.

 

“Yah!” Won Woo jumped out of his hold. “As if I was daydreaming about you! Mr. Conceited!”

 

“My bad, Mr. Beet Red.” He tried to say with a straight face, but it was too funny, the small gasp Won Woo let out before turning away had him dying on the inside.

 

“Whatever, let’s just go!” Won Woo pouted before heading off without Mingyu again. He wondered how he was going to survive the evening if things kept up like this?!

 

...

 

“Gosh, you’re so handsome!”

 

“Thank you.” Mingyu smiled at the two girls who just complimented him as they were passing by the table.

 

They were waiting for their food at the moment and since then, it seemed like Mingyu was attracting a lot of girls to their table. Won Woo had been attracting some as well, but they were too shy to come to the table and instead watched from afar. He wasn’t used to it since whenever he was out, he was out with Soo Min and everyone always assumed they were a couple and all the girls always kept their eyes elsewhere. But Soo Min wasn’t around this time and he didn’t like how they kept staring at him.

 

“Won Woo?” Mingyu asked when he noticed his slight uncomfortable expression. “Is something wrong?”

 

“No.”

 

“You seem a little… bothered.”

 

“I’m not.” Won Woo lied while shaking his head. “I’m just… not used to all of this attention. I don’t usually go out and when I do, it’s with Soo Min.”

 

“Oh, I see.” Mingyu nodded before looking over his shoulder to see a pair of girls gawking at Won Woo two booths behind them. He shifted in his seat to block his companion from their view and grinned. “Better now?”

 

“... yeah, thanks.” Won Woo let out a small laugh at the proud look on Mingyu’s face when they heard faint complaints come from the girls at the table behind him.

 

“If there’s too many people around, we can always go somewhere else?”

 

“No, it’s okay… here’s fine.” Won Woo assured him before noticing a familiar face entering the building. Not a second later, he found his youngest friend latched to his side, surprising Mingyu across the table.

 

“Hyung! Hyung! Oh my god, it’s been awhile! How are you?! How have you been?! Hyung!” The smaller boy exclaimed while hugging Won Woo like they hadn’t seen each other in years when they actually saw each other yesterday, though it was brief.

 

“Chan, let go.” Won Woo mumbled, trying to pry the boy’s arms off of him and looked embarrassed as other people were staring at them now.

“But hyung, I missed you!” Chan exclaimed with a pouting lip. Only then did he notice the new face at his table. “Oh?! Who’s this?!” He asked excitedly and flashed a smile at Mingyu before waving.

 

“You’re so cute.” Mingyu chuckled and waved back. “I’m Mingyu, a friend of Won Woo’s.”

 

“Friend of Won Woo’s? Since when?! Oh my god, you got a new friend and didn’t tell me?! Hyung?!” Chan whined, shaking Won Woo in his seat. It was so adorable, like a younger brother annoying his older brother, it made Mingyu smile watching Won Woo turn to the kid and pinch his cheek.

 

“Yah, shut up for two seconds, will you?!” He sighed, making Chan sit properly next to him.

 

“... so why didn’t you tell me you got a new friend?!” Chan blurted out when the two seconds were up.

 

“Damn it, here!” Won Woo stuck the straw of his fountain drink in Chan’s mouth to occupy him. The boy started to drink the soda as if he were a baby who just got his bottle of milk. “Sorry.” Won Woo apologized before he faced Mingyu.

 

“It’s okay!” He laughed in reply.

 

“So, this is one of my friends… Lee Chan. He’s only 16 and basically still a kid, as you can see.” He motioned to Chan happily drinking up the soda with a smile on his face before his expression fell at Won Woo’s comment. “Where is your babysitter?” He then asked the boy.

 

“Hey! I don’t need a babysitter!” Chan pouted before up air.

 

“Why are you out alone?” Won Woo started to look around the place for any of his friends, hoping he hadn’t totally forgotten what they looked like by now.

 

“I was on my way to Seungcheol’s place since my parents left for the week for a vacation. I couldn’t go because of school. I got hungry along the way, so here I am!” He smiled.

 

“Why the hell didn’t you have Seungcheol come and get you?!” Won Woo scolded as he pulled out his phone to contact his friend. He never liked it when Chan was alone, because he knew what that felt like and he always wanted someone to be with him so he’d never get lonely, even if it was just to get to from place A to place B… “Yeah, Seungcheol?” Won Woo said when the line picked up. “Come get your kid. He’s bugging me and Mingyu.”

 

“Am not!” Chan leaned over to shout in the phone causing Mingyu to hold back a laugh, they were so cute together! They looked like a pair of brothers.

 

Won Woo explained where they were and in short time, Seungcheol arrived along with Jeonghan trailing close behind him.

 

“Mom! Dad!” Chan beamed as they approached the table. Mingyu’s jaw nearly dropped at how the younger boy addressed them. It was clear that he was only joking, but still! He couldn’t help but find it appropriate as Jeonghan welcomed the boy into open arms, hugging him dearly like any mother would… that long hair didn’t help either.

 

“Hey, son… heard you were causing trouble.” Seungcheol joked, ruffling Chan’s hair.

 

“I was not!” Chan frowned.

 

“Yes you were, now go and play house with your hyungs.” Won Woo chuckled.

 

“But I haven’t eaten yet!” The boy wined.

 

“Then, we’ll join you two.” Jeonghan grinned, leading Chan over to the other side of the booth. He sat by Won Woo as Chan sat to his right. “Go get the food, Papa.” Jeonghan laughed, motioning for Seungcheol to head to the counter.

 

“I’ll be back, my love and joy.” Seungcheol blew kisses to his pretend wife and child before leaving the table. Jeonghan played along and tried to catch them with a small giggle.

 

“I swear to god, you are such a .” Won Woo blurted out, making Mingyu burst into laughter as Jeonghan nudged him.

 

“Not in front of my kid!” He said with hints of laughter.

 

“Aunty Woo is so mean sometimes.” Chan pouted in his seat, looking at Mingyu who was wiping the tears from his laughter from his eyes.

 

“I love it!” Mingyu exclaimed. “I love it! It’s so cute!” He gushed. “Just like a real family!”

 

“At least someone knows how to laugh, it’s just a joke.” Jeonghan leaned on Won Woo who pushed him away in irritation.

 

“Excuse me, I need the bathroom.” Won Woo muttered before getting up to leave the table.

 

Once they saw him enter the restroom across the room, Jeonghan faced Mingyu with a huge grin. “Are you two on a date?”

 

“A date?!” Chan’s face lit up.

 

“Sadly, no.” Mingyu chuckled in reply.

 

“Really?” Jeonghan frowned with disappointment all over his face before he looked down at Chan who was mirroring the same expression. “Your aunt is so stubborn sometimes.”

“He’s just shy!” Chan softly smiled. “I don’t know everything yet, but he’ll come around! I’m sure of it!”

 

“Thanks, you two.” Mingyu gave them a small smile. “I don’t know what it is, but I fell for him pretty hard in such a short time. I’m taking it slow, but I can tell he probably likes me too.”

 

“No kidding, I think so too!” Jeonghan smiled. “Soo Min hasn’t told me much, I guess he hasn’t talked to her about it yet.”

 

“Your girlfriend tells you secrets?” Mingyu frowned.

 

“Not really, no, but she might.”

 

“How’s noona, by the way?!” Chan suddenly asked, an excited look on his face.

 

“She’s doing well. She’s back at her apartment with Junhui and Jisoo, they’re helping her move things around. When Won Woo called, I just had to come along!” He pulled Chan close to his side.

 

“I’m back~!” Seungcheol announced as he returned to the table with the tray of food, he ended up bringing Won Woo’s and Mingyu’s order from the counter. He had asked the female clerk if it was theirs and let her know he was joining their table. She handed over the food with a bright red blush on her face and ran off into the back to get away.

 

“Food!” Chan exclaimed when Seungcheol passed out their orders.

 

“Right, so Seungcheol and I have known Chan since he was wee little baby, oh my god he was so cute back then!” Jeonghan gushed as his older friend took a seat by Mingyu on the other side of the table.

 

“Hey~!” Chan blushed from the attention. “Weren’t you and hyung only 5 at the time?”

 

“We were,” Seungcheol nodded, “we still remember everything!”

“There’s photos, too! There’s no way we’ll ever forget!” Jeonghan ruffled Chan’s hair. “So as I was saying, he was so cute back then! He was so tiny, ugh! Why’d you’d have to grow up so fast?” He pouted, holding onto his smaller friend.

 

“Wow, hyung… I can see you’re really attached to him.” Mingyu said with a small laugh, he was practically fawning over the boy right now.

 

“Our families are close, so we grew up together.” Seungcheol explained. “He’s kinda like the younger brother we never got to have. We looked after him a lot so naturally our bond is strong.”

 

“That’s so cute.” Mingyu commented watching Jeonghan wiping away some ketchup off the corner of Chan’s mouth with a napkin, the boy was a messy eater sometimes and Jeonghan was always there to clean him up like… a mother. LOL

 

“Yeah, I’m not sure when it really started… with Jeonghan babying him like that, but it’s cute so no harm done.” Seungcheol laughed. “Chan’s parents are sort of the busy kind like Won Woo’s, Soo Min’s and Jihoon’s. Whenever they leave on business trips or even vacations, Chan stays with me or Jeonghan. But since we’re roommates now, he’s staying with the both of us.”

 

“What? You two live together? I didn’t know that.” Mingyu was a little surprised. He kind of assumed Jeonghan lived with Jisoo or both him and Junhui at least.

 

“Nope. Just us two.” Jeonghan shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking, Jisoo roommates with Junhui. Also, they recently took in a foreign exchange student from China, Xu Minghao, the other week… I think he just turned 18. They haven’t brought him around yet since he’s still getting used to Korea.” He looked to Chan at his side and chuckled. “I bet you’re dying to go play with him, right?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Be patient, Channie.” Seungcheol smiled. “You’ll get to meet him soon enough.” Then he suddenly remembered. “Hey, how older were your two younger lovebird friends?”

 

“Mine?” Mingyu asked. Seungcheol nodded. “Ah, they’re 18.”

 

“Actually, aren’t they a little too old to be playing with our Channie?” Jeonghan frowned.

 

“I’m not a kid!” Chan pouted.

 

“Don’t worry, hyung. I’m sure it’d be alright.” Mingyu assured him. “It’s only a two year difference. It’d probably be good for him, they probably could help him with school.”

 

“Eugh, school.” Chan sighed, his bright expression faltering a bit.

 

“It’s okay, son, we all feel that way.” Seungcheol gave him an understanding smile.

 

Just then, Won Woo returned to the table in silence and sat down in his seat while his friends were too busy talking to Chan to notice, but Mingyu did.

 

“Welcome back.” He smiled.

“Thanks.” He gave a small shy smile before looking down to see his order on the table. When he opened it, he frowned. It wasn’t what he ordered and right away he looked around the table to see Chan finishing up the cheese burger he ordered. “Hey.” He spoke and Jeonghan who jumped in his seat, completely startled.

 

“Oh my god, you scared me!” He exclaimed, clutching his chest. “When did you get back?!”

 

“Just now. And it appears you gave my food to your kid.” He replied, pointing at the chicken sandwich in front of him.

 

“Oh, sorry, that was my fault!” Seungcheol apologized. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention when I passed the food out. Sorry!”

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo shook his head.

 

“Won Woo?” Mingyu asked, picking up his untouched cheese burger, he had held off on eating since he was waiting for Won Woo to come back. “Want to trade?”

 

“Oh?” He looked up. “But, that’s yours…”

 

“I don’t mind chicken, go ahead and take it.” He smiled and stood up to switch them out.

 

“... thanks.” Won Woo said quietly, a noticeable tint of pink dusting his cheeks. His friends were trying to hold in their fanboying at the small interaction.

 

“Well, I guess we should go now.” Jeonghan said, gathering the trash from their meal onto the tray. “It was nice talking with you, Mingyu~! We’ll see you around!” He added with a small wave. “Chan, say bye to Mingyu.”

 

“Bye Mingyu, it was nice meeting you!” He waved over to him brightly before looking up at Jeonghan with an embarrassed look. “Stop treating me like a kid!”

 

“Awh, then I guess I shouldn’t take you out for ice cream…” Jeonghan feigned sadness.

 

“Ice cream?! Let’s go!” Chan tugged on his hyung’s arm.

 

“Bye!” Seungcheol waved as he followed the two away from the table with small laughter, those two were adorable around each other, too!

 

“Sorry about my friends… again.” Won Woo sighed once they were gone and alone.

 

“That’s okay, they were a really interesting bunch. I like them.” Mingyu smiled.

 

“Despite how I acted about Chan, he’s kind of special to me in some ways.” Won Woo admitted, staring down at his food. “He and I are kind of the same, we have busy parents. We were left home alone a lot and so we always relied on our friends. I don’t know how he’s able to smile so brightly like that regardless of the situation… and so I admire him a lot. He’s a strong boy and sometimes I wish I was a little more like him. I wish I could smile like nothing was bothering me, but it always comes out so fake when I do.”

 

“I see…” Mingyu felt bad for him.

 

“I suppose the reason he can smile like that is because he has something to smile for… like his hyungs. They’ve been there for him through everything and they apparently make him really happy… so he has something to smile for. He smiles because he’s happy. I do realize that must sound bad since I do have Soo Min who’s been there for me through everything, too. She understands me and looks out for me and it makes me happy but… I just don’t think it’s the same as it is for Chan. He’s still young, so maybe it’s easier for him…”

 

“True… though, I think someday you’ll smile just like he does. You will have something to smile for and I hope I’m around to see it.” Mingyu gave him a genuine smile. Whether I’m that something or not, I really want to see him happy one day. He thought as Won Woo stared at him before smiling a little.

 

Yes, he admitted to Jeonghan earlier that he’s fallen for Won Woo, he’d do all it takes to make the guy happy, but in the end… if it’s not him, he still wants to see Won Woo happy because before his feelings took over he also wanted to be a true friend for him, too. They finished eating shortly after that.

 

...

 

After they left the food joint, they both agreed on taking a walk instead of going to the arcade in the end. The sun was setting by now as it was almost 8pm now. It was still early, but Mingyu was going to walk Won Woo home after.

 

“Did you have fun?” Mingyu asked after they sat on an empty bench.

 

“Yes, I had so much fun eating food.” Won Woo chuckled, obviously teasing.

 

“Let’s eat together more often, then?” Mingyu grinned, and right away Won Woo started to get flustered.

 

“I’d… like that.” He muttered, looking towards the ground. “It’s nice to have someone to eat with.”

 

“Aside from Soo Min, I’ll be that someone?”

 

“Sure.” There was a faint smile on Won Woo’s lips when he looked up and that made Mingyu’s heart flutter, just by that one word.

 

“If you ever want to hang out, if there’s anywhere you’d like to go and don’t have someone to go with… I’m always available.” Mingyu said, looking up at the sky. “I know you probably don’t always want to drag Soo Min around, so I’m more than happy to go with you.”

 

“Of course, you’d even go to the ends of the Earth with me.” Won Woo chuckled.

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“No problem.” Mingyu smiled until something caught his eye in the distance. He saw a stray dog sniffing around the park, unleashed. It looked to be a pretty big dog and he instantly worried about Won Woo. “Hey, let’s go.” He nudged him before getting up.

 

“What? Why?” Won Woo asked suddenly confused. They just got there.

 

“Let’s walk around a bit more before I take you home.” He said calmly, trying not to draw attention to the dog getting that was getting close.

 

“But-” suddenly the dog spotted them and barked. Won Woo froze up immediately and Mingyu grabbed his hand.

 

“It’s okay, just relax. I won’t let it come near you.” Mingyu said quietly as Won Woo squeezed his hand tighter, obvious panic in his eyes. “Just follow me.”

 

Luckily, the dog didn’t find the pair that interesting and went on to searching for food as they left the park. Once they had gotten far enough, Mingyu let go of Won Woo’s hand but the latter still had a tight hold on his.

 

“The dog is long gone now, it’s okay.” Mingyu assured him.

 

“Oh… right.” Won Woo looked down at their hands, but made no move to let go.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“Are you sure?” Mingyu started to worry about him. He didn’t get a reply as Won Woo looked around the area with paranoid eyes. “Then… I’ll hold your hand till we get to your apartment, if it’ll make you feel safer?” This time, Won Woo gave a small nod. If he was bold enough, Mingyu would have given him a hug instead!

 

And just like that, they walked to Won Woo’s place, hand in hand. Mingyu didn’t mind at all and honestly he was probably doing back flips on the inside… he was holding Won Woo’s hand! But he still felt bad for him… he looked so scared earlier. Maybe he shouldn’t be so happy about the situation?

 

“Thanks…” Won Woo managed to say as they reached the apartment complex. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to act like such a scaredy cat…” he really was a cat person, wasn’t he?

 

“It’s totally fine, no worries!” Mingyu assured him, a huge smile on his face… he had just imagined cat ears on Won Woo’s head.

 

“What are you smiling about, huh?” Won Woo frowned.

 

“Nothing… I just uh,” Mingyu held back a small laugh, “you should wear some cat ears next time. It’d be cute!”

 

“Yah!” Won Woo pushed him in embarrassment.

 

“Sorry! I’m just glad you’re feeling better now.”

 

“Yeah, I am . Thanks.” He couldn’t help but smile when he saw the genuine relief on Mingyu’s face. “I guess… I’ll see you around.”

 

“You got it! Have a good night!” Mingyu waved happily at him and it made Won Woo’s heart flutter a little. That smile…

 

That smile looked like the smile he wanted to smile.

 

That happy smile...

 

He headed inside a moment later after saying goodbye to Mingyu once more and made his way up to his shared apartment. When he entered, he noticed everything looked the same as always.

 

“What happened?” Won Woo asked as he came over to Soo Min who was lying down on the couch.

 

“I hated the new layout even more.” She sighed, sounding exhausted.

 

“And you made the guys move it all for nothing?!”

 

“It wasn’t for nothing!” She frowned. “I kept that lamp over there. Remember it was by the front entrance?!” She defended, as if it made a difference!

 

“You’re so picky!” Won Woo laughed, flicking her on the forehead.

 

“I treated them to dinner after it all, so it’s not like their efforts were a total waste.” She sighed, not even having the energy to rub the sore spot on her forehead now. “So… how’d things with Mingyu go?”

 

“Good.” He simply answered, flipping through the channels on the TV.

 

“Just good?” She asked, resting a hand on his arm. He was sitting on the edge of the couch to the side of her stomach.

 

“We ate then went for a short walk after.”

 

“Almost like a date?!” She poked at him with excitement.

 

“No!” He frowned. “Just two friends getting something to eat and taking a walk.”

 

“Aish…” She looked up at the ceiling, totally disappointed. “I could have sworn by the flirting that was going on at the door, it was a date!”

 

“Nope.” He turned the TV off before nudging her to make room on the couch and he lied down next to her, staring up at the ceiling with her. “Though… we ran into a dog at the park.”

 

“Uh oh…” she gasped. “What happened?”

 

“He held my hand.”

 

“He what?!” She almost shouted and it made him laugh.

 

He raised his right hand up over his face to look at it and started to remember the feeling of Mingyu’s hand gently wrapped around his, how warm it was and how it made him feel so safe in the presence of that stray dog.

 

“Is that the hand?” Soo Min asked, her head resting on his shoulder as they both looked up at it with such serious expressions, like it was something they’ve never seen before.

 

“Yeah.” Won Woo answered. “He held it until we got here.”

 

“Awwwwwww~!” She cooed, imagining the two walking hand in hand.

 

“I don’t know, I think I’m starting to really like him now…”

 

“Think? You know you do.” She wrapped her arm around him to give a tight hug. “Oh my gosh, you’ve grown up so much, you like a guy now! I’m gonna cry!”

 

“Whatever!” He laughed as Soo Min fake cried on his shoulder. “By the way, every day is homework day from now on.”

“What?” She stopped and looked over at him, he only laughed at her confused expression. Of course she wouldn’t remember that, it was so long ago.

---

Chapter eleven!       

 

Won Woo: My best friend is annoying the out of me but I still love her…

 

Mingyu: *Not jealous*

~

ORIGINAL A/N FOR CH 16

 

ASLKFJSDLG lol

Boonon…

Oh gosh, I uh… might be crushing on you Choi Seungcheol >///<

You better watch it, Chae Soo Min, or I’ll steal your Queen…

Go ahead, that’s totally okay with me! *SPAZZ*

Really?

 

LOL IGNORE ME HAHA

I’m just HIGH on feels right now…

OTL

I plan to intro Minghao and Chan soon, so please be patient with me, Charmander!

*ALSKFJSDF HE’S SO CUTE, HELP!*

Until next time! (lol wtf?)

 

ORIGINAL A/N FOR CH 17

Yay! Channie got some air time!

Chan: I’m not a kid! *Serious*

Mingyu: Sure! *Spazzing on the inside*

Jeonghan: Don’t worry, Channie, Momma thinks you’re a big boy. LOL

Chan : *Mom, why the frick you lyin’? Why you always lyin’? Yeah, oh my god, yeah, oh my god, stop frickin lyin’~!*

Author-nim: Why’d I even put that, I’M SO SORRY XD

Won Woo: Not only is he a liar, but a …

Jeonghan: Man, why you always gotta point out the obvious?! (WTF LOL)

*Entertained*

Mingyu: They’re so fun to watch…

Vernon: Right?!

Jihoon: They all give me a headache…

Jisoo; Everyone loves Jeonghan, that’s all there is to it.

*Hiding his jealousy through a calm face*

Soonyoung: Gosh we missed a lot while we were at class, didn’t we?

Seokmin: That’s right, we did… let’s annoy them about it in the next chapter!

Soonyoung: Yaaaaaaas, let’s do it, honey!

Mingyu: Uh, please don’t…

Author-nim: The characters basically took over this A/N. I don’t even get a chance to speak?!

SEVENTEEN TAKING OVER, YO~!

Author-nim: Then I’ll just leave this gif here!

Haha Until next time!