“What else can we do?” Won Woo asked after they finished watching an episode of a running kdrama. There was nothing else that exciting on the TV to watch afterwards, so he wasn’t sure what else they could watch or do, honestly. They planned on going to their second class of the day which doesn’t start until 2pm and it was only noon right now.

 

“Want to go out and do something?” Mingyu suggested. Surely they’d have enough time for that.

 

“You have anything in mind?” Won Woo raised his brows.

 

“Why don’t you pick a place to go?” He gave a cute smile. “Doesn’t matter what it is, I’m sure it’ll be fun!”

 

“I don’t know…” Won Woo looked unsure, but the cute look on Mingyu’s face made him cave. I should at least try to make an effort. He thought before something came to mind. “Well… there is one place I’d like to go.”

 

“And that would be?” Mingyu asked clearly interested.

 

…

 

“The library?” Mingyu asked after they got out of the car.

 

“Yeah…” Won Woo nodded with a slight worried expression, it was clear his idea of fun wasn’t the same kind of fun Mingyu had in mind. “Unless you want to go somewhere el-”

 

“No, here is fine! I was just a little surprised is all. I didn’t think you liked reading?”

 

“I do… just not in school.” He gave a cute laugh. “I hate textbooks.”

 

“Me too!”

 

“But are you sure? Since it’s the library, there’s no talking allowed.”

 

“That’s okay, words are overrated.” Mingyu joked. “I’m kidding, I’m sure it’ll be okay. Maybe I can try reading a few books and see what all the fuss is about?”

 

“I could recommend some books to you if you want?”

 

“Sure! I wanna see what you’ve been reading? Maybe romance novels?” Mingyu teased and Won Woo pouted and looked away with a bright blush. Why did he have to say that out loud with people were around?!

 

“Whatever, let’s go.” He muttered and headed inside and left Mingyu behind.

 

“Wait for me!” Mingyu sprinted after him.

 

…

 

“Here are some that I enjoyed.” Won Woo whispered after placing a few books in front of Mingyu on the table they were sitting at.

 

“Oh…” Mingyu looked through the three novels Won Woo fetched for him and grinned, “Love in the Carat Palace. I Adore U. When I grow up in the Diamond Life.”

 

“The titles are weird, but the stories are good.” Won Woo quietly said before pointing to the book shelves again. “I’m gonna go look for something to read.”

 

“Okay.” He nodded and opened up one of the novels directly to the middle of the book.

 

“Yah, you’re not supposed to start there!” Won Woo scolded. Mingyu just laughed at his reaction.

 

“Usually I skip to see if it’s even interesting.”

 

“You just end up spoiling yourself! You’re just like Soo Min, I swear.” He complained before leaving the table. Mingyu laughed it off before reading a few sentences because it did seem interesting enough for him to go to the beginning after all.

 

He read a chapter or two before noticing Won Woo hadn’t come back to the table yet. Where is he? He thought and closed the book. He wasn’t going to read the whole thing and besides, he still had two other ones to look at. He quietly got up and headed over to the book shelves to see Won Woo standing at the end of one, a book opened in his hand and he was reading while standing.

 

“Why don’t you come back to the table?” He asked after approaching him.

 

“I was just seeing if there were any interesting ones to even bring back to the table.” He sighed and put the one he was reading back in its place. “I haven’t found any good ones lately, maybe I already read all the good ones?” He muttered quietly. When he glanced up, his eye caught an interesting title on the top shelf. The book shelves weren’t that tall, but when he reached for it, he was just an inch off. Damn… I never noticed how tall these shelves were. He never really looked at the top row before, not until now. He could hear Mingyu laugh behind him and he turned to him with a pout but was suddenly backed up against the bookshelf when the TALLER stepped over to help.

 

He pulled the book that was pulled out a little forward when Won Woo tried to get it, he pulled it down with ease and looked down and handed it to Won Woo who stared up at him with a deep blush on his face. “What?”

 

“Nothing!” He quickly said and hugged the book to his chest and escaped back to their table. He remembered reading a cliché situation in one of the novels before… He never thought it’d happen to him but it just did! It never dawned on me how much taller he is than me. He’s so tall! Won Woo was so used to being the tall one among everyone else, he supposed he hadn’t really thought about it until that encounter just now, when Won Woo couldn’t reach the book but Mingyu could. He couldn’t help but feel flustered from that now.

 

Mingyu returned to the table shortly after picking out an interesting book himself and for the next fifteen minutes or so, they read the books they picked before Won Woo’s stomach growled.

 

“Oh, are you hungry again?” Mingyu asked, and held back his laugh when he saw Won Woo hiding behind his book embarrassed. “Let’s go get something to eat now?” Won Woo just nodded and got up to return to the bookshelf he got his book from.

 

Oh right, it was on the top shelf… he thought bitterly and looked for an empty space on the shelf in front of him.

 

“Need help?” Mingyu asked and took the book from Won Woo and again, backed him up against the bookshelf to put the book away.

 

“You don’t need to do that while I’m standing right here!” He complained and tried to keep his voice low. Mingyu only laughed in reply and placed his arms on either side of Won Woo, he trapped him in place. “W-What are you doing?” He asked and his face started to heat up at the smirk on Mingyu’s who looked down at him.

 

“Hey good looking, you come here often?” Mingyu said with a hint of laughter. “Such a cute bookworm I found here… maybe reading isn’t all that bad after all.”

 

“What the hell are you going on about?”

 

“You like books, huh? Would you like to feature in the next chapter of my life?” He smiled brightly.

 

Okay, that really got to Won Woo when he felt a bit weak in his knees and a smile slowly formed on his lips. This guy is at it again… he thought, the butterflies in his stomach fluttered.

 

“Sure. Is it an ongoing series?”

 

“I don’t know, but I hope you’ll check me out and forget to turn me back in. Keep me forever.”

 

“Okay, stop. I can’t handle this.” Won Woo looked away with a small laugh. “I don’t have the money for the late fee.”

 

“Your ears are so red!” Mingyu pointed out.

 

“Shut up! Let’s go already!” Won Woo pouted and reached for his hand.

 

“Okay, let’s check out together.”

 

“Seriously, stop.” Won Woo nudged him.

 

...

 

“Are you okay?” Min Ji asked to Soo Min once their class was over. Soo Min sat there and looked like she had been zoning out and in a bad way, like something was seriously bothering her, she looked pretty down during class but Min Ji had to wait until it was over before asking, for once they actually had a lecture instead of a free day. “Are you fighting with Jeonghan again?” She sure hoped not.

 

“No.” Soo Min frowned and shook her head after she snapped out of it. She figured it was a matter of time before her friend asked her what was the matter. Some of their other classmates had left the room to go eat since they had a few hours before their evening class would start up, it was a good time to possibly talk to Min Ji about what was going on but she wasn’t so sure if she really wanted to talk about it since she was still trying to process it completely herself.

 

“Jihoon?” Min Ji asked, she hadn’t heard a lot about the two’s situation since then.

 

“No, I’m not fighting with anyone.” Soo Min continued to frown. “Jihoon and I are fine now. Don’t worry.” She added on to clear that up. “Something else happened, and it’s a complicated story, honestly. I don’t want to talk about it right now, but I’ll tell you once things are figured out.” She added and spared her friend a promising glance.

 

“Okay, I understand.” Min Ji nodded and gave her a supportive smile and it really did help now that Soo Min managed a small smile back. “Well, don’t you think we should go and get some snacks while we have time?”

 

“Sure.” Soo Min was in agreement and the two got up to head to the student store. Their classmates from before had returned just in time so they could watch over their stuff while the two girls were gone. One of the guys mentioned they should have said something before they left or they would have went and got their snacks for them while they were out(of course the girls would have given their share of the money.)

 

“That’s okay, we need to get some fresh air anyway! It’s not healthy to sit in our chairs all day either.” Min Ji pointed out with a small laugh. “Hold down the fort while we’re gone!”

“Roger that yessir.” Their classmates saluted and earned a laugh from Soo Min who had been looking down again, they were glad to see her somewhat herself again after that. With that, they left their classroom and started their quest for their valuable snacks.

 

The start of their walk to the elevator was pretty quiet since Min Ji didn’t know what to talk about at the exact moment and was thinking of a topic. Soo Min on the other hand had been thinking about what happened earlier at Ren’s place and it was bringing her mood down once again. Then she had the urge to talk about. I should talk about it with Min Ji at least… maybe I’ll feel better since she’s somewhat of an outsider in all of this. “Okay, I guess I can sum it up just a bit, but it’s kind of intense, so…” she blurted out suddenly and watched Min Ji flinch from being startled. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine!” Min Ji assured her with a chuckle.”What is it?” It was obvious that her curiosity was getting the best of her and she reached out to touch her friend's arm so they would stop walking and pulled her off to the side so they wouldn’t get in the way of other students in the hallway. It was probably best if they stopped to talk instead of talking while walking.   

 

“... you know that model, Ren?” Soo Min asked quietly. “The one the paparazzi mistook me as?”

 

“Yeah?” The other girl tilted her head. “What about him?”

 

“Well…” Soo Min trailed off. She started to think about how she reacted to what Ren said and it made it hard to even say it. She still couldn’t believe she actually got some sort of answer this time. She really thought Ren wasn’t going to say anything significant that she didn’t already speculate, but he told her a lot more than she predicted and even showed some proof for half of the story. So, they’re brothers. It was still sinking in now after seeing that picture of Won Woo’s mother. It was just a matter of time before Ren finds the proof that her father is his father now. What a ed up coincidence, huh?

 

“Soo Min?” Min Ji snapped her out of it. She had gotten lost in thoughts when she started to think of what to say, she didn’t mean to get carried away. Damn. “You were saying something about Ren.” Her friend reminded her and she nodded.

 

“We might be half siblings.” She finally said and for some reason, it wasn’t as bad to say it out loud this time. Maybe the others were right, she would think of it differently later on. It’s been well over three hours by now since she left Ren at his house. She still had those conflicting feelings about it, but they didn’t seem as intense as before. If anything, she was feeling more guilty for hurting Ren like that after he said how bad he felt about being born. I’m a horrible person! A part of her wanted to return to Ren’s house and apologize, but another part of her was thinking it was too soon to see him like that. She had to worry about midterms and their trip to L.A soon, and besides… she wasn’t sure what she would say or do if she saw him now? Other than say she was sorry.

 

“What? Really?” Min Ji was shocked, as expected. “That’s so… cool!”

 

“Cool?” That comment caught her off guard, but then again she wasn’t really sure what she was expecting? It wasn’t like Min Ji would be angry about it, or negative about it, of course she was going to think it was cool. Her friend turns out to be the half sibling of a popular model, that was interesting and exciting to the outsiders, naturally.

 

“You might have a famous half sibling, I think that’s cool! I mean you already have a famous cousin… wow, I really envy you!” The girl said with a laugh. “Aren’t you happy?”

 

“Happy?” Soo Min thought about it again. Am I happy? That was hard to tell at the moment but a faint smile touched her lips. “Maybe…” she remembered earlier this morning when Ren helped her as well as all of the other encounters that they had, how nice it was. Even the thoughts she had, if Ren was actually her brother and how it would be nice, she thought that, but now… what happened to that flicker of excitement? Why did something nice turn into something negative? Why is she doing this to herself?

 

“I’m sure it’s shocking to hear you might actually have a half sibling you didn’t know about, but if you think on the bright side, after being an only child all your life, it must be nice to know you have a sibling right?” Min Ji’s right. “What’s wrong, you don’t seem happy?”

 

“I don’t know.” Soo Min sighed. There was a short silence between them after that. Maybe I will be happy about it soon? She couldn’t imagine how bad Ren felt right about now, and here he even apologized for being the cause of her stress. Now she was going to have to apologize to him! Will it be okay? She was worried now.  

 

“Maybe you’re just sad that it wasn’t Won Woo who turned out to be your sibling, is that it?” Min Ji broke the silence once she thought of why Soo Min seemed so upset about the situation. She knew how close those two were, if she didn’t know any better, she would say those two were siblings from the get go. It almost makes sense.

 

“Probably.” Soo Min gave a small nod and could feel the tears surfacing once more, but she didn’t want to cry again. “I think you’re right.”

 

“Aw, girl, don’t cry!” Min Ji frowned and quickly pulled her into a hug. “I mean, I get it… you’re overwhelmed, so just let it all out! It’s good to cry in times like these instead of keeping it in!”

 

“Thanks.” Soo Min managed to mutter before returning the hug. “I never really thought of it that way until you said that.”

 

“I’m glad I could help you understand your feelings!”

 

“I’m not sure what I should do now after this?” She said with a small sigh after they parted from their embrace. “You really helped me out with that, but now I don’t want to face Won Woo either.”

 

“... whoopsies.” Min Ji said with a worried laugh. “I mean… I understand. You just need time, don’t worry about it! Maybe you’ll feel better later when class is over?”

 

“Maybe…” Soo Min still seemed down about the whole thing and Min Ji felt bad for possibly making things worse.

 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Soo Min assured her with a small pat on her shoulder.

 

“Well, you know, you can always come over and stay the night at my place if you need to just get away for a bit. You might as well since you’re falling behind because of your absences, I can help you catch up!”

 

“Really? You’d do that for me?” Soo Min liked the sound of that. A chance to get away and collect herself.

 

“Of course! It’s been awhile since you stayed over, it’s long overdue!” Min Ji was getting excited about this little plan and it was clear.

 

“Okay. We can do that since it really would benefit me in the end. It’s a plan then.”

 

“Yay~! I’ll send a text to my mom so she knows to save another serving of dinner for later.” Min Ji pulled her phone out at the speed of light she nearly dropped it.

 

“Calm down!” Soo Min laughed at her excitement. “I’ll send a text to Won Woo and let him know I’m not coming home tonight.” She also pulled out her phone but not with as much excitement. Honestly she didn’t want to text him because of those new dejected feelings on the situation. Instead, she sent a text to Jihoon to pass the message off to Won Woo. When Jihoon replied with a simple “why?” she never replied to it.

 

“Let’s go get our snacks now!” Min Ji said once she was done contacting her mother. Soo Min nodded and they were on their way again.

 

…

 

“You got a salad this time?” Mingyu was surprised when he saw Won Woo return with their tray of food.

 

“Don’t act so surprised!” Won Woo complained while taking his seat. “I don’t always eat junk food!”

 

“Making good choices, I’m so proud.”

 

“Whatever.” Won Woo rolled his eyes before grabbing his fork and stabbed at his salad.

 

“What other healthy foods do you like to eat besides salads?” Mingyu asked.

 

“Uh…” the look on Won Woo’s face looked unsure and Mingyu frowned. “Just salads.”

 

“Yah, that’s not good.”

 

“I like vegetables?”

 

“What kinds?”

 

“Carrots.” He chuckled.

 

“Right, Love in Carrot Palace.” Mingyu teased.

 

“That wasn’t the title!” Won Woo pouted.

 

“It was close enough!”

 

“Forget it!” Won Woo stabbed at his salad some more. Mingyu just adored the angry pout on his boyfriend’s face, he just couldn’t get enough of it really that he pulled out his phone and took a picture. “Yah! What are you doing?!”

 

“My new wallpaper~!” Mingyu sung.

 

“Seriously?!”

 

“Go ahead and take a picture of me, I don’t mind.”
 

“I don’t want to!”

 

“I’m sure Soo Min still has a million high quality photos of me, ask her for some of them.” He continued to tease Won Woo.

 

“No way!”

 

“Aw, c’mon! By now we should be each other’s wallpapers, don’t you think?”

 

“I don’t want a photo of just you… I want a photo of us.” Won Woo shyly admitted, his eyes locked on his empty salad bowl in front of him.

 

“... then let’s get someone to take our photo!” Mingyu grinned, scanning the restaurant.

 

“Later!” Won Woo looked nervous and Mingyu understood. Maybe they could get their number one fan to take their picture later with her camera! “Let’s go back when we’re done?”

 

“Sure.” Mingyu didn’t know where else they could go before it they had to go back to campus, it was definitely short notice and unplanned, so he didn’t mind heading back to Won Woo’s shared apartment for a bit until they have to leave. He knew they could definitely do something in the privacy of Won Woo’s apartment… he had his fingers crossed.

 

…

 

“What’s wrong, Ren?” Rina asked with a worried smile. Ren didn’t say anything and only continued to stare at his untouched food on the table in front of him. He had changed shortly before she arrived and was now dressed in black sweat pants and a loose white t-shirt paired with a beige cardigan. His long raven hair was messily clipped up at the back and he had no makeup on, which showcased how tired he’s been and how much he cried earlier. He looked like he had been suffering a lot and it broke Rina’s heart. She knew something must’ve happened.

 

Minhyun had left to use the bathroom which left the mother and son alone in the dining area of the kitchen. She had brought food over for their little dinner she asked about earlier on the phone when she called, but Ren had yet took a bite and it’s been at least thirty minutes. “You don’t like pasta anymore?” She asked hoping he’d answer this time.

 

“I had it yesterday… with my brother.” Ren actually replied and she was a bit taken aback with that answer. So, he looked into it. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t think he’d do that after she slipped up the last time they talked. She gave away too much information and was regretting it now, only because it really wasn’t her business to say that much in the first place.

 

“I see.” She managed to collect herself and sat forward with a smile. In that moment she didn’t know what to say and Ren finally looked up at her. “Uh…”

 

“I’m going to L.A after midterms next week.” He said before looking back to his cold pasta.

 

“Really? What for?” She didn’t expect that, clearly.

 

“To find the truth.” There was a long silence that ensued after. “Since no one will confirm anything, I’m going to confirm it myself.” She could see he was set on it and she knew she shouldn’t stop him.

 

“I wish you luck, then.” She said softly. “I just hope you don’t get hurt in the process.”

 

“It’s too late for that.” He snickered when the tears started to surface again. “But things get worse before they get better, right?”

 

“That’s true.” She nodded while watching him wipe away a tear that fell a moment later. “I’m actually going to L.A next weekend as well.” It was probably a good idea to tell him this before it was too late. “I’ve been invited to a birthday party… I’m sure you know who it is, right?” If he’s been in contact with his half brother, she was sure that he knew about Won Woo’s father’s birthday at least. “Do you plan to meet with your birth mother while you’re there?”

 

“I don’t know. I haven’t decided.” Ren shook his head.

 

“Well, if you do decide, let me know… and I’ll help you, okay?” She gave him a supportive smile and it was enough to calm Ren’s emotions. She got up from her seat and walked over to pull him up into a tight motherly hug, a hug he really needed. Minhyun smiled from his spot around the corner of the kitchen entrance. He was glad he excused himself when he did, those two needed to talk. He just hoped Soo Min was getting some sort of comfort right about now like Ren was.

 

...

 

“We meet again.” Sebin smiled when he bumped into Soo Min on campus. She was lost in thought about everything once again and accidentally bumped into his shoulder after she and Min Ji checked out with their snacks. Sebin and his companion happened to be near the line looking at a display of school supplies. While Sebin wasn’t currently enrolled, his older companion was and he tagged along.

 

“Oh, hey.” She forced a small smile. “What are you doing here? Did you ever get anything to drink after you left that cafe earlier?” She asked while her friend just stood there frozen in the presence of her friends attractive acquaintances.

 

“Right, I forgot about that.” He gave a nervous laugh when he was reminded about that pink lemonade. Now’s not the time to get flustered about that! Then he noticed her expression. “Hey… are you okay?” He asked and she looked away with a sad snicker, it was clear she didn’t like being caught when she was down about anything.

 

“Excuse me, who are these two beauties?” Someone asked after turning around and joined the small conversation. He had bright neon pink hair and Soo Min flinched at the sight, her poor eyes couldn’t comprehend the color, it was so shocking and Min Ji was in awe.

 

“Are you okay?” Sebin asked for a second time and frowned when he noticed her struggle to look at his friend.

 

“My eyes… they hurt.” She muttered while shielding her eyes, the ceiling lights somehow intensified the guy’s hair color to the point it was too bright to look at.

 

“Never seen someone as gorgeous as me before, have you?” The pink haired guy grinned proudly. “My god like beauty is blinding, I apologize.”

 

“Hyung!” Sebin scolded and nudged him away.

 

“It’s okay! I can help!” He said before taking off his sunglasses and proceeded to put them on Soo Min’s face. She was startled but glad he didn’t poke her eye out! “~You can see clearly now, my godlike glow is gone~!”

 

“Thanks.” Soo Min almost laughed. He was an interesting character to say the least. She glanced to her left to see Min Ji had turned around completely and was possibly blushing by now.

 

“Woo Sung. Choi Woo Sung. Pleasure to meet you, beautiful.” He caught Soo Min’s attention and said with a flirtatious wink. Before Soo Min could say anything, she saw Sebin smack him with an annoyed expression.

 

“Tone it down, will you!” Sebin complained. “Sorry.” He then apologized to Soo Min who was quite amused.

 

“It’s okay.” She assured him. “We really need to get going, though. I’ll see you around.” She gave a small wave and headed off with Min Ji to head back to the computer lab... with Woo Sung’s glasses still on, whoops.

 

“There go my sunglasses!” Woo Sung laughed when he realized it.

 

“You’re so slow.” Sebin shook his head with a small snicker. “And you did that on purpose.”

 

“True. The most cliché move in the book, giving a reason to meet again. You should take notes!” Woo Sung said with a small pat on his shoulder. That really irritated Sebin just then.

 

“Trust me, you’re never getting those back.” He rolled his eyes and started walking away without him. How could they meet again unless they bump into each other in this store a second time? He hoped they wouldn’t after this. Chances were, Soo Min would give Woo Sung’s sunglasses back through him, and you know what he was going to do with those sunglasses? Never return them. That’ll teach him for being so vain.

 

“What’s with the bad attitude suddenly?” Woo Sung caught up to him a moment later after leaving the student store.

 

“Like I’d tell you.” Sebin muttered while he kept on walking.

 

“Wow, kids these days, so salty.” The older chuckled. He was two years older.

 

“Ugh, elders, so nosy!” The offended look on Woo Sung’s face would make anyone laugh for days. Instant Karma.

 

“Would you like to repeat that again?”

 

“What, didn’t hear me the first time halabeoji?” Sebin teased. It was clear Woo Sung wasn’t amused, but it was funny and he couldn’t deny that. He set himself up for it, how could he be mad?

 

They finally made it to the cafe area where they would be meeting up with their other friends and were the last to show up apparently. “Did you return the phone?” Sangho asked first once the two took their seats a few tables from another group of slightly familiar students.

 

“I did.” Sebin nodded.

 

“Good.” Sangho smiled with relief. “Did you get to talk to your friend like you wanted?”

 

“Almost.” Sebin seemed disappointed about it and it was expected after what he told Sangho last night when he was asked to pass off Mingyu’s phone for him.

 

---

Sangho held out Mingyu’s phone towards Sebin “Here.” He had stopped by at the younger’s house to give it to him after they exchanged texts about it. Shortly before Sangho had texted him, he had bumped into Soo Min’s father who mentioned about his lunch with his daughter. He went on to say how she’s made friends and mentioned Mingyu’s name. Sebin was asked if he knew that guy and he nodded and answered with a “kind of.” He didn’t think Sangho would be texting about Mingyu’s phone a few hours later, it was a crazy coincidence.

 

“You want me to return it?” Sebin asked while staring at the device.

 

“Well, yes. If you don’t mind.” He nodded. “Is there a problem?”

 

“I thought you might have wanted to return it yourself?”

 

“I really doubt Mingyu would want to see me after the way I left him two years ago.” The older said with a guilty smile. “Besides, it’s easier since you said your old neighbor is friends with him now. She’s the one you talked about before, right? The one you had a crush on? I’m sure it could strike up a conversation between you two or something?”

 

“That’s true.” Sebin nodded and smiled at the idea. He accepted the phone from Sangho and put it in his jacket pocket. “Though, I’m not sure what kind of conversation would come out of it?”

 

“You could ask about how school is going?” Sangho suggested. “Don’t stress about it too much, just talking to her is the first step in getting CLOSER, remember that.” He had a point. Sebin had been so shy growing up he never had the courage to properly speak to her. But now that he was older, it was different. He’s become less shy, or so he thinks he has. He supposed he just wasn’t the type that was straight forward about his feelings. He hasn’t heard a lot about her from her parents, he never heard if she had a boyfriend after her first relationship and that was probably what was holding him back. He didn’t know if she was single or not. She hadn’t said anything about it and he hadn’t asked about it. He was definitely looking for signs though.

 

“I’ll do my best. Thanks.” Sebin managed a small smile. “Did you have dinner yet?” He asked and gestured for him to come inside.

 

“I was just about to ask!” Sangho chuckled before heading inside.

 

---

“You mean that girl we just ran into on the way here?” Woo Sung asked and snapped him out of his memory. Sebin just nodded in reply before the older looked back to Sangho for a better explanation.

 

“She’s a girl he’s been crushing on for awhile now.” Sangho explained innocently, not even realizing that piece of information wasn’t supposed to be shared among their friends.

 

“Hyung!” Sebin frowned. He looked embarrassed once their friends started cooing at him about it, saying things like “little Sebin is crushing on a girl?!”

 

“Sorry!” Sangho apologized with a guilty laugh, he didn’t mean to do that.

 

“I get it now.” Woo Sung suddenly smirked. “In my defence, I didn’t know.” He added on. At least he was being nice about it. “May the best man win.” Nevermind.

 

“Win what?” Their oldest friend(Suhyun) asked while looking between the two. “Did I miss something?” He asked the others who shrugged. Even Sangho shrugged. Of course they wouldn’t know of the encounter they just had with Soo Min at the student store, the flirtatious god, the concerned neighbor and the damsel who seemed stressed.

 

“Whatever, let’s just eat already!” Sebin blurted out and looked over to the menu board on the wall.

 

“Tch. Kids.” Woo Sung muttered under his breath and looked at the menu for himself as well.

 

“Flamboyant elders.” Sebin said and blatantly glared at him. At least he could be straightforward with his feelings towards his annoying flamingo hyung.

 

“Oh, he’s talking about you.” The second eldest(Sangil) said with relief after looking between everyone at the table. Woo Sung was the only odd looking one out of the rest besides their friend Taewoong who had bleached his hair a while ago to a dirty blonde shade.

 

“But you’re older than me!” Woo Sung pouted and the table erupted into laughter.

 

Meanwhile, a few tables over…

 

“Hyung, what’s with the bitter look on your face?” Seungkwan asked to Jeonghan sitting across from him. “Did I do something wrong?”

 

“Not you…” Jeonghan shook his head before pointing with his eyes for the younger to look behind him. “The one with the stupid hair.” He added.

 

Soonyoung and Seokmin also looked over their shoulder when Seungkwan did and almost instantly the three faced forward again with a look of shock. “What’s wrong?” Seungcheol asked when he noticed that. “Is his hair that shocking?”

 

“Uhh…” the trio of friends seemed to be troubled and weren’t able to say anything in response for a whole minute while looking at each other. “Mingyu is still with Won Woo right?” Soonyoung asked to Seokmin who quickly checked his phone.

 

“Is something wrong?” Jisoo spoke up, he and the other three were confused now. Currently at the table were Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Jisoo, Soonyoung, Seokmin and Seungkwan. Junhui was gone and left campus for the rest of the day, Jihoon had left for class early and Hansol left campus for the day as well and had to pick up his younger sister from school. Soo Min had been in class, obviously, and came to get snacks. It was clear she didn’t notice them at the table and that’s why they already went back to their class building without stopping to say hi. Won Woo and Mingyu were missing, but they recalled Soo Min informing them that they were skipping classes and went on a date.

 

“Uh, guys?” Seungcheol asked and Mingyu’s friends finally responded.

 

“Eh, don’t worry about it!” Soonyoung said with a not so convincing smile. “That hair though…” he added to change the topic.

 

“Yeah! Did he lose a bet or something?” Seokmin wondered.

 

“Maybe it was an accident at the salon?” Seungkwan pointed out before the three looked towards the other three.

 

“I’m sure the color will fade in a few washes, maybe it was intended?” Jisoo looked to his friends and notice Jeonghan was texting someone… probably Soo Min and Seungcheol was reading what he typed, like he was monitoring it. Jisoo knew Jeonghan was probably bothered by what he saw at the student store and he hoped he wasn’t jumping to any conclusions right about now, but unfortunately something like this has happened before.

 

“Don’t send that.” Seungcheol muttered next to Jeonghan.

 

“What?” Jeonghan frowned and moved his phone away so his text couldn’t be read anymore.

 

“It’s okay.” Jisoo spoke up and rested a hand on Jeonghan’s shoulder. “Go ahead and send whatever you were going to send.” Jeonghan suddenly felt like he was in a cartoon with a devil and an angel on his shoulders telling him what to do.

 

“At least word it in a better way!” Seungcheol frowned when he heard Jisoo’s comment. “You sound too blunt in that text right now.”

 

“Why are you reading his texts? That’s rude.” Jisoo defended Jeonghan who was a little grateful but then again, Seungcheol was right. All his text was composed of was: Who was that pink haired guy you were talking to at the student store?

 

Even if it was just a question, it seemed so blunt coming from a boyfriend who got easily jealous. But then again, no matter how he words his questions, he was going to come off jealous either way. So, Jisoo had a point, too. Just send it.

 

“Consider what she was going through earlier. Can’t you ask her about it later when things settle down?” Seungcheol said right as Jeonghan was about to tap send. Instantly, Jeonghan felt like a jerk. He nearly forgot about that. This time Jisoo didn’t egg him on because he agreed, now wasn’t the time.

 

The whole time, the other trio of friends watched them and worried. They couldn’t help but be extra worried since they would have a situation on their hands as well if Mingyu and Won Woo were at the table with Mingyu’s ex boyfriend sitting a few tables away. Surely there would be more jealous feelings… that is, if Won Woo was the jealous type as well? It seemed weird since the group hadn’t seen Sangho’s group around since the semester started? Perhaps they were the kind who went off campus to eat, but since midterms were next week, maybe they decided to stay on campus today. They lucked out though since Mingyu wasn’t on campus today… there would be no bumping into each other or confrontations.

 

The table became quiet and everyone started to think about their current situations. Eventually Jeonghan was snapped out of it when his phone buzzed and he saw a text from his girlfriend.

 

Soo Min: I saw you at the table when I went to the student store! Sorry that I didn’t swing by, I was a bit distracted when leaving. I bumped into my old neighbor and his friend. You should have seen his hair, it was crazy! Neon pink! He tried to hit on me though and so I left as quickly as I could with Min Ji!

Soo Min: Just thought I should tell you before I forget… and if you happened to see it like last time a guy talked to me.

Soo Min:

because you have eyes everywhere, just kidding!

 

Well, he had to laugh at that. It seemed true in a sense… and he was glad she actually told him first instead of him confronting her and going about it in all the wrong ways, those jealous ways.

 

Jeonghan: Thanks for telling me. I did notice. I’m glad you

told me before I got the wrong idea again.

Jeonghan: I do trust you. You know that right?

 

Soo Min: I know! Don’t worry!

I trust you too!

 

Jeonghan:

Thanks. I love you! ❤

 

Soo Min:

I love you more! ❤

Soo Min: I have to focus on my project now

so I’ll text you again later!

 

Jeonghan: Good luck!

 

Jeonghan was definitely in a better mood now that it was cleared up and the rest noticed it. “So, who’s ready for midterms?” Seokmin asked and instantly everyone was groaning in despair. “It’s not that bad if you studied!” He laughed.

 

…

 

“What time are we leaving next week?” Mingyu asked to Won Woo while they were sitting on the couch watching some TV in WooMin’s living room again. The older had turned the TV on because he wasn’t sure what to talk about at that moment and Mingyu didn’t seem to mind it. They still had some time to kill before they return to campus.

 

“The flight leaves at 8pm Thursday night. So we should be there early in case anything comes up.” Won Woo explained with his eyes still locked on the TV across from them, the drama playing was pretty interesting to him.

 

“Right.” Mingyu nodded. He really hoped nothing would come up last second, that would probably make things really stressful but he was sure everything would go smoothly. There was more silence that ensued after that and Mingyu started to feel worried and bothered. Won Woo took notice and turned the TV off so he could face him.

 

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

 

“I’m just worried about you, that’s all.” Mingyu said softly. “I know it’s a stressful time for you… I just wish there was more that I could do to do help.”

 

“Just being by my side has helped.” Won Woo assured him with a small smile. “Don’t worry about it so much, okay?”

 

“I try, but it’s difficult.”

 

“I’m sorry that I don’t talk a lot, I’m still working on that.” Won Woo looked away for a moment. “Maybe once we’re in L.A things will be more fun. So let’s look forward to that, okay?” He was trying to be positive and it seemed to work now that Mingyu smiled.

 

“Okay.” He nodded. “Shall we make out now?” He laughed when he saw Won Woo’s expression sour and he looked away with embarrassment clear on his face.

 

“Don’t tease me like that!” He complained. “So I like kissing you, don’t make fun of me for it!” He had a feeling something like this would happen!

 

“I’m not making fun of you for it!” Mingyu cooed. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I didn’t expect it since you were saying how unsure you were about the affection part. I understand how you feel, trust me!”

 

“You do?” Won Woo looked over at him, a pout still on his face. “This is normal? It’s normal for me wanting to kiss you?” He asked and looked away out of embarrassment again. It seemed so different now that he was in the dating situation compared to seeing and hearing about other couples.

 

“Yeah!” Mingyu almost laughed. “Don’t you know that kissing releases endorphins, which makes you feel good. It even raises levels of oxytocin, the body’s natural calming chemical.”

 

“Really?” Won Woo seemed impressed to hear such scientific words come out of his mouth. He scored a smart boyfriend, too bad he needed help with math sometimes.

 

“It’s probably why you liked it. You felt good and it probably distracted you from everything else that was going on that’s been stressing you.”

 

“I didn’t realize that.” Won Woo looked mind blown. “How do you know all of that?”

 

“I looked it up after I had my first kiss with a guy. I was really confused about how much I liked it just like you.” Mingyu explained with a sheepish chuckle. “So it’s okay that you like kissing me, that’s good. Don’t ever think it’s bad, kiss me whenever you want, I would like that!”

 

“Of course you would.” Won Woo snickered.

 

“I’ll admit, even though I’ve kissed other guys before, I like kissing you more compared to the others…” Mingyu said with a sweet smile and Won Woo looked like he was caught off guard. “You’re like a natural despite you’re new to it and all… that’s probably what makes it more exciting.”

 

“I see.” Won Woo turned away with a small stutter. “How many guys have you kissed before me?” He honestly was curious about that, not like he was jealous or anything… maybe.

 

“I’m not sure.” Mingyu stopped to think about it. “Maybe a few, excluding boyfriends.”

 

“You’ve kissed outside of relationships?” Won Woo seemed confused, he hadn’t really heard about that before, only because he never really paid attention to romance that much during high school.

 

“Yeah, they were just in the spur of the moment kind of situations. It always didn’t work out so it was just a kiss and that was it.”

 

“I’m not sure I really understand, but okay.” Won Woo really seemed lost now.

 

“You know, when people flirt?” Mingyu started to explain. “Sometimes the flirting can escalate and they might end up kissing. Sometimes they decide if they should go on a date or not. After the first date they might also decide if they should keep going.”

 

“Oh…” it was adorable the way Won Woo was listening to him, like he was ready to pull out his notebook to take notes about the topic.

 

“It’s not always like that, though. I just happen to kiss some guys before going on a date. And I guess things haven’t changed since then.” He grinned at Won Woo who suddenly blushed. That was true, they kissed before they even went on a proper date! “But honestly, I wasn’t like some sort of playboy and went around kissing guys, okay?”

 

“I wasn’t thinking that!” Won Woo laughed.

 

“I’ve only had a few boyfriends during high school. The first two weren’t for very long and I actually have long forgotten about them, that’s how short our relationships were. But I did have one somewhat serious relationship before high school ended, but it didn’t work out because he was older than me.” He saw Won Woo frown at that and quickly tried to explain it. “He was two years older than me. So he was in university by the time we started dating. He was a senior at my high school when I first noticed him, but we barely talked. Before I started my senior year, I ran into him around the city and things just clicked and we started to get to know each other before we started to date. After a year though, comments from other people started to get to him about him dating a high schooler when he was a college student, so he broke up with me and moved back to his hometown.” Recalling the memory brought up those sad and bitter feelings.

 

“What the hell?” Won Woo seemed pissed after hearing that. He thought that was pretty lame. “Damn, that . I’m sorry.” He added on and that’s when Mingyu noticed he had gotten CLOSER while he was telling him the story and it made the younger smile when he rested a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

 

“It’s okay. It just told me that he must’ve really not loved me that much if he let a few comments get to him like that. I really didn’t think he’d flee back to his hometown over it, but at least it meant I didn’t have to worry about running into him again.” But then he was reminded of earlier, when Soo Min said her friend Sebin was passing his lost phone over on the behalf of Sangho. Did he come back to Seoul? It was clear since Sangho was mentioned. It wasn’t like Mingyu lost his phone in his ex’s hometown, how could that even be possible with the timeframe they had currently.

 

“True. I can’t imagine what that would be like if you had to run into your ex after breaking up like that. Soo Min had a boyfriend before Jeonghan in high school, but we haven’t seen him around since graduating. I still worry about bumping into him since well, he was a real jerk.” Won Woo looked bitter when he mentioned it.

 

“That’s worse, when there’s bad history.” Mingyu felt bad. He supposed Won Woo would also be upset if someone hurt his best friend like that, he didn’t need to date the guy to hate the guy. “Hopefully she won’t run into him for awhile.”

 

“I hope so, too.” Won Woo nodded in agreement. “I also hope you won’t run into any of your exes either… or I might have to kick some .” Mingyu wasn’t sure if he was being serious or joking but it made him giggle regardless, protective Won Woo was cute. “Sorry, didn’t mean for our conversation to get like this.”

 

“It’s fine. I feel better after telling you about it. I was going to tell you eventually because I know you might get curious about my past relationships.”

 

“Thanks for telling me.” Won Woo smiled. “I hope I can be a better boyfriend to you after this now that I understand how you were hurt in the past. I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling a bit nervous now. I hope I don’t up like they did.”

 

“I know we can’t tell the future, but I have a feeling you won’t.” Mingyu assured him and reached over to rest his hand on his. Won Woo gave a small smile and turned his hand so he could hold Mingyu’s. “But I know how you feel, I hope I don’t mess anything up either.”

 

“As long as we’re honest and open about everything, we should be fine, right?” Won Woo asked. He couldn’t help but notice a bit of hesitation on Mingyu’s side, but he didn’t want to say anything right now because he was sure he was just seeing things.

 

“Yes.” Mingyu nodded before he leaned over to kiss Won Woo on the cheek. This time Won Woo didn’t move, like last night, but he wanted to when he realized what was going on. When Mingyu pulled back, he stayed close and chuckled at Won Woo’s cute expression.

 

No words needed to be spoken and Won Woo leaned over a bit to meet Mingyu halfway for a kiss. It was short and sweet before Mingyu pulled Won Woo CLOSER and wrapped his right arm around Won Woo’s shoulders and curled his left hand around the nape of his neck so he could deepen their kiss, something they haven’t done yet and he could sense Won Woo was surprised but adapted quickly by resting his left hand on Mingyu’s chest and using his right hand to grip onto the wrist of the hand Mingyu had on his neck.

 

Won Woo was on cloud nine during their kiss and it was clear by the small soft moan that came out and translated to Mingyu that he was really enjoying it, it made him happy. He was forgetting about all the stressful things going on right now and he felt good, just like Mingyu explained earlier. He might have felt a little too good when he started to fight for dominance in their kiss, something Mingyu wasn’t used to and he parted with a small “uhm” as Won Woo got him to lean back a bit while he shifted his arms to hold Mingyu with his right and used his left to do the same action Mingyu did with curling his hand around the nape of his neck.

 

It forced Mingyu to rest his hands on Won Woo’s chest and he could feel his beating heart, it gave him butterflies suddenly and a small satisfied moan slipped out between their passionate kiss. Won Woo was making him feel so many things in this position and he honestly liked it more than he thought he would. He never thought he’d be in a submissive position in his relationships, but this was a first. He would be sure not to make a fuss about it in the future, that was for sure. He could live with switching it up every now and then, or every day even!

 

They continued to kiss like that for a few minutes until… “What?” Won Woo asked when Mingyu stopped.

 

“I want to show you something…” Mingyu said softly, a certain look in his eye, it made Won Woo feel extremely hot and nervous. What was he getting at? His eyes panned down to his neck and he leaned down to place a gentle kiss near the crook of his neck and grinned when Won Woo gasped at the new sensation he was feeling when he did that. “Do you like it?”

 

“...” Won Woo was too embarrassed to say yes.

 

Mingyu placed a few more kisses to his neck before finding a sweet spot when Won Woo reacted the most in that particular place on his flesh. He thought it was time to leave his mark on him, a mark to show that Won Woo was his and only his. He placed another kiss there and started to . The noises Won Woo made almost made him laugh.

 

“Oh my god! Stop!” Won Woo pushed him off a bit. His face was completely red and he looked so embarrassed from the moans that escaped his lips just now. “What was that?!”

 

“It felt good, right?” Mingyu just grinned. Won Woo’s heart was racing a million miles a minute when he felt Mingyu’s lips on his neck again. at the sweet spot once more, he let out another moan and quickly covered his mouth before heard Mingyu laugh. Several minutes passed and Mingyu was done marking him, Won Woo immediately sat up and covered his neck with his hand as if he had been bitten by a vampire. He pulled out his phone and pulled up his camera into selfie mode and examined his neck.

 

“What the hell?!” Won Woo exclaimed in shock and his fingers brushed lightly against the patch of irritated skin on his neck.

 

“Does it hurt?” Mingyu held back his laughter, Won Woo looked so innocent right now. “It’s called a hickey.”

 

“I know what a hickey is!” Won Woo groaned with a red face. As if he hasn’t seen those on his best friend’s neck a few times when she spent time with her beloved boyfriend. He just never really points it out or even paid much attention since it’s none of his business. But now the markings were on his neck and so noticeable to the world. “Damn it, Kim Mingyu!” Won Woo almost yelled. “Why did you do it where it’s so visible?!” He complained and covered it with his hand again. “Everyone’s going to tease me now!”

 

“Just ignore them.” He laughed. “You can give me one so we match.” Won Woo leaned away looking so embarrassed.

 

“No way!”

 

“Aw, c’mon!”

 

“Fine, here!” He reached over and pinched the out of Mingyu’s neck.

 

“Oooow~! That’s not how you do it!” Mingyu whimpered.

 

“That’s my way of doing it.” Won Woo laughed.

 

“So mean!” The younger pouted while rubbing the sore spot. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d like the new experience, I won’t do it again.”

 

“Don’t say that. I’m just shocked is all.” Won Woo frowned. “I overreacted. But it’s just too damn embarrassing to say I like it. Just don’t do it where everyone can see next time!”

 

“Noted.” Mingyu grinned. “I know of a few places to put them next time…”

 

“If there is a next time.” Won Woo warned him.

 

“Fine, I’ll wait.” Mingyu gave a cute smile. He could be patient with Won Woo, he has before.

 

“Wait for what?” Won Woo asked slightly confused by the loving look he was giving him. Perhaps Mingyu his brain out by accident. Mingyu just shook his head before rubbing at the sore spot on his neck where he pinched him. “Sorry about that. Need some ice or something?”

 

“No, just kiss it and make it better~!” Mingyu said cutely and watched Won Woo just look at him before getting up to get an ice pack from the freezer. He pouted on the couch until he was startled by the cold ice pack suddenly touching his neck when Won Woo returned.

 

“Are you hungry yet?” Won Woo simply asked after he returned to his seat. Did all that kissing work up his appetite again? Maybe.

 

“Not really.” Mingyu whimpered from the sudden cold treatment to his neck.

 

“Then what now?” Won Woo was drawing a blank on what they could do at the moment since they already missed half of their classes from being distracted with their talk and small make out session.

 

“We can make out some more!” Mingyu said with a silly grin and put the ice pack down before leaning over as if he was teasing him, but right away he was caught off guard when Won Woo also leaned towards him and initiated a kiss. It was clear he was in agreement. And it was clear he was going to get his revenge on Mingyu’s neck, you know, so they match.

---

Chapter forty...

 

Seungkwan: *That popular meme plays: I am… disgusted.*