Mingyu spent the remainder of the week getting ready for his first year of university, From getting new clothes, shoes, and bag, to making sure he knew where all of his classes were. He didn’t have the time to hang out with Wonwoo, but Wonwoo didn’t seem to be home anyways. With the walls so thin, Mingyu could hear when Wonwoo was there or not. He wondered where he went for so long.

His first day of school came, and it was very overwhelming. Coming from a high school with a relatively small population, the university campus seemed huge. There were just so many students, and it was impossible to tell how old anyone was. Only in his classes was he more confident on people’s ages, his reasoning being that they were taking the certain class in the first place

By the second day, things were better. He was able to get over the initial shock of such a large school. He was even able to make a new friend in his biology class. Chan was very cheerful and bright. Mingyu almost thought he was younger than himself at first, but realized that no one could be younger than a freshman. The two exchanged phone numbers in case either needed help on their homework that was already assigned. Mingyu was satisfied with this second day of school, being a lot more confident that he could handle it.

Later than night, Mingyu was on his desk, diligently working on his homework. The subject was the ever-so-dreadful calculus. He was always good at math, but math at the college level just seemed harder. He was done with a large majority of the assignment, but was stuck on a question that was impossible to solve.

School only started yesterday. Why is there so much to do already?

There was a knock on the door, and Mingyu was grateful for the distraction. He opened it and saw Wonwoo standing there. He looked very casual, but not more casual than Mingyu, who was in his home-wear.

“Hey,” greeted Wonwoo.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing?”

Mingyu groaned. “Calculus.. if I could be doing anything else, I would…”

“Then… do you want to go for a walk?”

It was dark out, and a little chilly. And Mingyu still needed to do his homework. But he couldn’t say no. He felt like following Wonwoo wherever he chose to go.

“Wait here, I’ll go change.”

Mingyu came out with more appropriate clothes, and the two went off. Mingyu wasn’t sure where Wonwoo had been the whole week, but he was sure it wasn’t at his apartment. The walls were thin enough that Mingyu could hear his neighbor as if only cardboard separated the two. So where had he been? He couldn’t ask the question he was dying to know the answer to. Instead, the two walked in the comforting silence they were now used to.

They walked to a park, which was dimmed because some of the street lights were broken.

“It’s almost ominous, isn’t it? But the darkness only leads us to another source of light.”

Mingyu was confused, but he refused to show it. Wonwoo noticed the slight raise of his eyebrow though, even in the dark setting. He chuckled.

“Look.” He pointed to a water fountain that was lit with colorful lights. It wasn’t very bright, but the lack of streetlights made it more noticeable.

Wonwoo started running in the direction of the fountain.

“Wonwoo, wait up.” Mingyu ran to catch up with him.

Wonwoo didn’t slow down when Mingyu thought he would. He kept going, straight into the fountain.

“What are you doing! Is that even allowed?” Mingyu asked, unsure of what to do.

“At times like these, just follow my lead.”

Wonwoo dropped to his knees, then leaned back into the water. His arms were outstretched, and his eyes closed.

“Is this what freedom feels like?”

Mingyu sighed, but followed him into the fountain. The water was cold, but it wasn’t unpleasant. He sat down in front of Wonwoo, facing him. Instead of copying what Wonwoo was doing, he just watched. Wonwoo looked so at peace. But just what was going through his mind?

“You have to get your hair wet.” said Wonwoo, keeping still.

“No.”

“Come on, it’ll feel good”

“...”

“You know you want to.”

Mingyu reluctantly put his hair in the water. A chill went through his spine, and he gasped. He received a chuckle from Wonwoo.

“Feels good, no?”

“... I guess.”

After less than five minutes, they exited the fountain and instead laid down on the grass in the park. They were side by side, looking up at the stars. Their wet bodies were shivering slightly, but neither complained. Mingyu knew it was impossible in such weather, but he swore he was developing frostbite. He felt something touch his fingers, but they were so numb he couldn’t be sure what it was. It wasn’t until Wonwoo interlocked their fingers that Mingyu realized it was Wonwoo holding his hand. Without words, they kept looking at the sky, sparse of stars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mingyu was one of the first few people who got sick. It was early for flu season, but falling asleep outdoors while wet was probably not a good idea. Chan was worried since his cough came so suddenly, but Mingyu dismissed his suggestion to go to the hospital. Mingyu was in his right mind, not influenced by impulse like he was the night before. Why didn’t he go home and take a shower? Why did he fall asleep? Why was Wonwoo not there when he woke up? Needless to say, he was a little irritated that morning.

He managed to stay in school all day, but exhausted himself doing so. He got to his apartment complex, went up the stairs, and walked down the hall. When he grabbed the doorknob, he noticed there was a plastic bag hanging off of it. If it didn’t make any noise, he probably wouldn’t have realized it was there. He took the bag inside with him and looked at its contents. It was cold medicine, tea, cough drops, and a handwritten note that said Get well. A concise message. He knew exactly who it was from. His friendly neighbor.

He took some of the cold medicine and decided to just sleep for the day. He didn’t have the will to deal with homework. He laid down on his bed and drifted off.

He was woken up by the sound of the door opening. Did he forget to lock the door? No, it wasn’t his door. It was Wonwoo’s door. Ah, so Wonwoo’s back. Mingyu smiled, still half asleep. Welcome home Wonwoo.