They never talked outside the club. Asked about that, Wonwoo would say it was because there was no need. Their relationship was just their loneliness always finding release in the same person, and maybe laughing at each other’s bad jokes after one too many beer. That, and Mingyu progressively and more desperately trying to pick Wonwoo up.

Asked about that, Mingyu would say it was because Wonwoo was ashamed of who he was, and scared of being associated with Mingyu. He wasn’t exactly the best person to be seen around of, having the reputation of an aggressive idiot from a bad neighbourhood, and he couldn’t blame Wonwoo for wanting to have nothing to do with that sort of gossip. Or for shutting down Mingyu’s attempts at hitting on him.

Mingyu wanted to be angry with Wonwoo’s antics - kind of turning him down while at the same time never being too rejective - but he couldn’t. He understood why Wonwoo did that, after all. Mingyu had all the worst fame to his name, and even if he didn’t, they didn’t have that much in common.

That was also one of the reasons they never even really tried to meet each other under other circumstances. Mingyu was in his last year of school, and Wonwoo was finished. Mingyu picked all the wrong friends and had debts in all the wrong places, and Wonwoo tried to live his life with no enemies, even if sometimes that meant no friends. The more Mingyu continued thinking, the more differences between them he saw, and slowly, he almost started doubting he and Wonwoo could ever get on the same page.

And yet, there he was. Once again they had been talking for god knows how long, and once again despite not letting Mingyu make a move earlier, Wonwoo was listening to his rambling with their legs interlocked by their ankles under the table they were sitting at. And he kept listening, even if Mingyu being the sloppy drunk he was, got a bit carried away with the sob story of his life. But how could he not?

Truth be told, as of lately, his life had been nothing more than a series of unfortunate events, and it didn’t look like it was about to change any time soon. His father had kept himself out of his and his mother’s life, until recently when Mingyu had gone and ed everything up. In his impulsiveness he beat up one kid too many, and his father took interest in him, and while he was rich, and the money helped, he was also affiliated with all sorts of wrong people in a way that wasn’t exactly discreet. Cue Mingyu’s reputation of an aggressive mafia heir around his school, and his bad situation with his mother. She didn’t deserve any of this, Mingyu thought sincerely, and groaned.

“Honestly, drugs and mafia? I can see why my mother wanted to break up with him,” Mingyu groaned, and tried to not think about his little sister, already getting dragged into this.

“Well, this is rather ty.” Wonwoo nodded his head sympathetically, trying his hardest to not seem as cold as he knew he sometimes came off as. It must have not worked, because Mingyu looked up from where he was pressing his forehead against the table.

“You don’t say,” he groaned once again.

“No, really. This is terrible. I’m just bad with words.” Wonwoo shook his head, making his crimped hair fall into his eyes even more than before.

“That, or the fact that you’ve heard this story, like, five times already. I’m terrible. And repetitive,” Mingyu complained again. Even drunk, he realized he was terribly boring. When sober he at least tried to make jokes to make himself seem funny. Honestly, out of them two, he was far worse with words, Mingyu thought. Wonwoo may have been a bit silent, but at least he didn’t yap endlessly like Mingyu did.

“I kind of got used to this,” Mingyu groaned. “You know. It can’t get much worse.”

Wonwoo shook his head. “No, no one should ever feel like…” he gestured in Mingyu’s general direction, almost hitting the tower of empty shot glasses from the Jagermeister & blackberry vodka shot line Mingyu pressured Wonwoo into buying him. “Like this.”

“You’re making it sound too dramatic.” Mingyu rolled his head against the table. Wonwoo was ready to bicker back, but with the corner of his eye he spotted Jun approaching their table. With a cheeky smile, the guy gently slapped Wonwoo's arm, nudging him to move over. Wonwoo reluctantly shifted deeper into the booth, and Jun groaned in exhaustion, sitting down next to him.

“So, you’re cooped up in here again, hm?” Jun didn’t really believe in greetings. He only passed Mingyu a gaze and a tiny nod, but with his old friend Wonwoo, he didn’t even bother with as much.

"Is that your idea of a party?" Jun’s eyes sparkled as he took the drinking straw out of Wonwoo’s beer and chucked a mouthful of it. He was visibly panting and sweating, and it wasn't an unusual thing for him. Jun loved just about any sort of physical activity there was. Martial arts, team games, dancing, you name it. Especially dancing, though. But being a part of the OMG Team wasn’t enough to him, and he frequented the parties at Pledis even more often than Soonyoung, who was considered a regular.

“Hello to you too, Junhui,” Wonwoo muttered with an eyeroll. Despite this cold welcome, there was a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “It’s not a party, we’re just hanging out,” He retorted, and Mingyu nodded, finally getting up from the table.

“Then let’s go downstairs and change it!” Jun suggested with an eyebrow wiggle.

The club was separated into two sections. First section - the ground floor, where the bar was located, was scattered with booth and tables, and the music played there was mainly indie rock, or punk rock, or old rock. The interior design was industrial with a touch of vintage rock, nothing too fancy. That was also where the stage was located, and where most of the events took place.

The second section was downstairs. On the left side of a rather narrow, cement staircase, was a hall leading to staff-only areas, toilets, cloakrooms and such. On the right side, thought, at the end of another short corridor, was the part of the club designated for dancing. With a bar of its own, it was mostly dancefloor and a few table booths, all dimly lit, with scattered blue or UV lights. The location in basement provided some natural chill for the heated bodies, and excellent air conditioning provided ventilation. Music played there was faster, louder, and kept either trance or techno style, though occasional changes happened, as Pledis was happy to let new faces in the DJ world try their strength in there.

All in all, the club was the perfect solution for those not sure what they want to do on the evening, or for groups for people that couldn’t reach an agreement. And while Wonwoo prefered to spend his time upstairs, with music that he could talk over with ease, Junhui and the rest of OMG team were more commonly found in the basement, dancing their heartbeats off.

“Come on, don’t make me ask twice!” Jun nudged Wonwoo with his shoulder, and shifted his gaze to Mingyu. Jun loved dancing, true, but he always loved it more when he had someone to dance with. Either Hoshi or Minghao must have passed up on him, if he was trying to get Wonwoo out.

“Maybe you don’t know it, but our little Wonwoo here is actually a pretty decent dancer!” Junhui nudged Wonwoo yet again, and the latter finally responded with a playful shove.

“Oh, I know that pretty well.” Mingyu snickered, which came off as meaner than he expected it. Jun only raised an eyebrow, and reached for Wonwoo’s beer bottle again, but Wonwoo moved it away before Jun got a chance to grab it.

“How so?” He inquired, and Wonwoo groaned.

“I had the pleasure of dancing with him a couple of times.” Calling it dancing was overestimating. All they really did was messily move their bodies to the rhythm while pretending Mingyu wasn’t grinding on Wonwoo’s . Recalling this memory, Wonwoo cleared his throat loudly.

“Did you come here just for that?” It was now his turn to nudge Jun, who comically hissed and grabbed his side. Mingyu laughed at that, the short outburst sounding a bit like dog’s barking.

“No. I also came here to make you buy me a drink.” Junhui fluttered his eyelids to make the effect better. It didn’t work on Wonwoo, who just chuckled.

“ my ,” He replied, and grabbed his beer more securely, as to not get it stolen again.

“Right here? People are watching!” Drunk Junhui exaggerated all supposed-to-be comedic accents even more, and Wonwoo detangled one of his legs from where it was joined with Mingyu’s to kick Jun’s shin.

Mingyu really wanted to join in on the joke, call Junhui a ert or a weirdo, and laugh with them - this silence wasn’t like him at all. But a thought hit him, about how Wonwoo seemed just so very comfortable in Jun’s presence, and how he, Mingyu, would like to have Wonwoo so comfortable around him too. Half terrified, half bewildered by this realisation, he decided to just shut up altogether.

Jun went through the stacked shot glasses trying to find at least a tiny bit of alcohol in there, but he failed, and just to be careful, Mingyu moved his own beer away from Jun’s reach.

“If I buy you the goddamn drink, will you go away?” Wonwoo asked, somewhere between amused and actually annoyed.

“No. To be honest I ordered a line of shots to this table. Let’s drink this and seriously.- come dance.”

“I hope you ordered enough shots for me too,” Mingyu finally spoke up, hoping that it seemed playful enough.

“Actually, I did. You’re welcome.” Jun’s breathing had gone completely normal, and he relaxed against the back of the booth.

“I am.” Mingyu nodded, trying to think of Jun as not that bad. They had met before, but never talked much, and Mingyu wasn’t too inclined to change it. Then, Wonwoo spoke up and Junhui laughed, and out of reflex Mingyu let out a chuckle, and he didn’t catch himself not listening until the waitress coming with six shot glasses on her tray snapped him back to reality.

“What did you get?” asked Mingyu, not recognising the drinks at the first glance. Jun thanked the pretty waitress with an even prettier smile.

“Honestly just cherry vodka. What? I like it!” defended Jun, when Wonwoo shot him a disapproving look.

“Two for everyone. Let’s drink, hm? Let’s cross arms.” Jun suggested, but Wonwoo shook his head laughing.

“No way, dude. You’re not getting Mingyu any more hammered.” He quickly stole a shot from where Jun moved two in Mingyu’s direction, and downed it swiftly. It was sweet, almost sticky, and even if it still burned, he didn’t feel the need for a chaser.

Mingyu didn’t like that, though, and with a loud holler of disapproval, he stole both drinks from Wonwoo’s side, drinking one after another, and putting the empty glasses in front of him, upside-down, with a little bit more force than necessary. He made a face like a satisfied toddler, which Wonwoo thought of fitting. Since Mingyu seemed rather possessive of his remaining drink now, not wanting to be lacking, Wonwoo quickly stole a shot from in front of Jun, taking advantage of Junhui’s sudden coughing fit.

Seeing Wonwoo chuck his shot and wince, Jun suddenly realised his alcohol was being stolen, and calmed down instantly. First he covered his remaining drink, and then stole the compensation from Mingyu, who didn’t even oppose all that much. After all Jun bought them and was willing to share out of the kindness of his heart, so not getting him his fair share would be just rude. Junhui tried to drink the two shots quickly, but he winced strongly after first.

“Why does this have to be so gross?” His face twisted in disgust, and then as if opposing himself, he drank the other, and smacked his lips. “At least the aftertaste is cherry.” At that, both Mingyu and Wonwoo chuckled.

Mingyu didn’t even notice when in all of this, their ankles unhooked completely, but now his legs were free. He didn’t like that feeling, and he hated himself for feeling that way.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Jun already got up first, and gestured at Wonwoo to follow his lead. On his way to the staircase, he pulled Mingyu’s arm, and tried to get him out of his seat. Mingyu spared last look to the table, checking for any of his belonging that he might have left (he didn’t leave any), and not finding any more excuses, he got up and followed Jun, making sure Wonwoo was coming, too.

As soon as he got up, Mingyu realised he shouldn’t have drank those two additional shots. They quickly went to his head, and he had to pull his brows together to focus on whatever was happening. Still, his mind aimlessly drifted towards what he’d mentioned before - him and Wonwoo dancing together. The first time they met, they only talked for a while before taking things to the dancefloor, where Mingyu tried to get into Wonwoo’s pants for the first time, and quite literally so. The situation repeated itself a few times before one evening neither of them got up and went downstairs, and they discovered they actually talking with each other, and not only messing around under the strobing lights.

After this, it seemed they reached an unspoken agreement not to dance together again. Every time they did, things always got heated up, and Wonwoo would always… But that was before, Mingyu reassured himself. Now things will go differently.

“I gotta take a leak, don’t wait for me. I’ll find you.” Mingyu excused himself as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“At least give me the coat. Jihoon and the boys are there in a booth, they’ll watch it.” Junhui gestured for Mingyu to give him the clothing, and Mingyu realised that while upstairs it didn’t really make a difference, it could possibly get really hot, trying to dance in the long, dark coat. He quickly slipped it off and passed it to Jun.

“On the right from the bar,” Jun hollered, already leaving, and bouncing slightly to the rhythm. Wonwoo passed Mingyu one more stare before following Jun.

“Don’t take too long.”

Mingyu didn’t realise he really had to piss before he entered the restroom. But really, he only needed the time to think and give himself a pep talk. Whatever, Mingyu. You’re drunk and overthinking the stupidest . Just whatever. It’s just a guy and this is just a dancefloor. He splashed his face with water after washing his hands, and instead of wiping them with a paper towel, he used the moist to slick his ashy blue hair a bit more up, and wiped the rest on his jeans.

As he approached, he started feeling the beat in his stomach, and it got darker. Suddenly, everything made sense, and instead of being disorderly, started pulsating to the beat. The alcohol hum in his head was drowned out by the rhythm, the uncertainty of his step became ease of swaying to the beat, and the wandering, aimless thoughts found their target as soon as his eyes got locked on Wonwoo.

Wonwoo looked gorgeous, messing up his own hair, and shaking his head to the rhythm. He didn’t take off his leather jacket, and now it was pulled up, exposing just a bit of his hipbones and stomach, and the band of his boxer briefs since his trousers - was it real leather? - were hung low on his hips. He must feel hot in this jacket, Mingyu thought briefly, before he noticed the band of Wonwoo’s underwear again, and all other thoughts got out of his brain.

Mingyu approached Wonwoo, and only then he noticed that the older male was actually dancing with Jun. Then, with the corner of his eye he noticed someone waving. It was Jihoon. Mingyu changed his path, and walked up to the table Jihoon, Soonyoung (Jun’s dancing friend, Mingyu mentally noted), and some more guys he briefly knew were sitting at.

Jihoon hollered a welcome, and extended his hand for a high five. Soonyoung, or rather Hoshi made motions inviting Mingyu to sit down and talk, probably, but it was far too loud for that and Mingyu had something entirely different in his mind. He only shook hands with Hoshi, and some other guy with long hair he briefly recognised, and then walked back to the dancefloor.

Jun was lost in his own world, dancing as if he tried hard enough he could stop existing and become one with the music. His wrist glowed, and Mingyu figured it was one of the famous UV shoelaces the OMG Team owned. With a snicker, he passed his gaze to Wonwoo, who seemed to also have fun, but his eyes were open and he was scanning the room from time to time. He only blinked in acknowledgement when their gazes locked. Mingyu felt the need to say something, but then the beat dropped, something low and primary, and he decided to just close his eyes and follow the beat.

It was hard, focusing on dancing, when Wonwoo was just in front of him. His all black attire made it even easier to see the little drops of sweat that appeared on his neck, somewhere between purple and white in the UV light. Right, sweat. The leather jacket must have been making it worse for him. Mingyu found his own hands grabbing the collar of Wonwoo’s Jacket and pulling the boy closer by it, while simultaneously pushing the leather back.

“Take the jacket off, it’s hot,” He tried to explain himself. He wasn’t sure if Wonwoo nodded or shook his head, but he removed the jacket himself, and put it between Soonyoung and the blonde man in the booth nearby. This action reminded Mingyu just how close to the booth and bar they were. As soon as Wonwoo turned back to him, Mingyu grabbed his wrist and pulled him deeper, in the direction of the DJ table on a slight elevation, but not right next to the loudspeaker. He forgot about Jun completely by this point.

Wonwoo followed easily, and even nodded a few times, as if glad Mingyu chose that place. He must have pulled them closer to the source of UV light, since now every single drop of sweat on Wonwoo’s body was even more vivid. Briefly, he wondered how he looked himself.

It was hard, but Mingyu was restraining himself from doing anything inappropriate. He focused on the beat and getting lost to it, refusing to think about how great Wonwoo looked when he bit his lips and threw his head back, following the music and moving messily to the rhythm. To help himself, he tried to keep his eyes closed. Alcohol circulating in his bloodstream made it easier.

His eyelids flew open, though, when he felt a pair of hands around his neck. It was Wonwoo, resting his forearms on Mingyu’s shoulders and hooking his index fingers behind Mingyu’s neck, so his arms didn’t slip off. He closed his eyes, and was still moving to the rhythm.

There it is again, Mingyu thought. Just like the first day. Wonwoo would approach Mingyu directly, touch him, maybe even pay a compliment if he was really drunk. But maybe this time it wouldn’t end like it usually did, Mingyu hoped.

Following his most natural instinct, he grabbed Wonwoo’s hips, and let his arms be swayed to the rhythm by them. Once again he was almost shocked by how thin Wonwoo’s hips were, how small his waist was. His thighs must be small too, and the must look gorgeous when Mingyu lowers his head between them-- No. Before the thoughts got really dangerous, he shook himself back to reality.

He didn’t want to press Wonwoo’s hips to his. He really didn’t. But Wonwoo moved closer, and their belts almost hooked on each other, and Mingyu couldn’t stop himself. He pressed Wonwoo closer, grabbing at the top of his buttocks. Wonwoo half-groaned and half-moaned, and rubbed their groins together again, and Mingyu wanted to scream in frustration, because most of the sound Wonwoo made got drowned by the music.

He waited several beats before doing that again, before pressing Wonwoo closer again. The way Wonwoo rubbed against his crotch sent sparks straight to his , and he barely stopped himself from grabbing Wonwoo’s firmly. But if he took it slowly, maybe this time he could finally…

Wonwoo moved even closer to him, and now he had nowhere to put his head other than rest it on Wonwoo’s. He attempted to, but instead of letting him, Wonwoo raised his chin up and pressed his face to Mingyu’s collarbone briefly before curling one arm around Mingyus’s neck and resting his own head on the other arm. His hair was now irritating Mingyu’s adam’s apple, and his nose was brushing against it occasionally, when either of them fell out of the rhythm for a second.

Wonwoo wasn’t rocking his hips anymore, but he was definitely very close. Mingyu waited and waited for what seemed like eternity, and finally the song changed, rather seamlessly, into a more high-pitched one. Then, between one beat and another, he heard Wonwoo’s breath, and felt it against his neck, and decided to try his luck. He run his hands up from Wonwoo’s hips to his waist, excruciatingly slowly, slipping them under Wonwoo’s black shirt.

Mingyu’s hands travelled up until his thumbs pressed on Wonwoo’s lower ribs, and he could feel them expand with each breath the boy took. He didn’t want to push his luck too much, so he stopped the hands there. He soaked all the feelings in. How thin and firm Wonwoo’s waist was, how hot his skin felt, how his muscles stretched under Mingyu’s hands. If only Wonwoo didn’t react, if only he would be alright with it, maybe finally he could try something more…

He felt Wonwoo’s slip his hands from where he had them on Mingyu’s shoulders, and instead put them on Mingyu’s own hands. Their digits intertwined briefly, as Wonwoo pulled Mingyu’s palms off his waist, and dropped them to the boy’s sides. Mingyu cursed in his head, because that was what always happened. And he would understand that all, he would understand that if Wonwoo only wanted to be friends and nothing more. So for a while, he danced with his hands down, refusing to look anywhere but at the dancefloor and Wonwoo’s calves.

But then he felt Wonwoo’s hands slip around his own waist, and he couldn’t keep his calm, even if he desperately tried to for two repeats. But then the beat dropped yet again, and he groaned in a low voice.

Mingyu grabbed Wonwoo’s waist, and turned him around swiftly. He lowered his hands to the tops of Wonwoo’s hipbones, and grinded into him a couple of times. Wonwoo didn’t even protest, he only put his own hands on top of Mingyu’s. Afraid of crossing some invisible line, Mingyu slowed down for a brief second, and even if it lasted only for a couple of heartbeats, Wonwoo didn’t do anything else than throw his head back. So he pressed Wonwoo’s against his crotch again, and rubbed the outline of his against Wonwoo, only then realising he already got hard.

Wonwoo moaned again, and for a second Mingyu hoped that this time, after all, was the time when he would get somewhere with Wonwoo. But then just after pressing himself against Mingyu’s groin, Wonwoo peeled Mingyu’s hands away from him, and pushed himself off, and turned back to face him.

“Mingyu, don’t…” Wonwoo trailed off, and rested his palms against Mingyu’s chest, as if trying to keep a distance. He didn’t stop dancing, though. All Mingyu could focus on was how beautiful his name sounded all of sudden when it was half-moaned loudly with a raspy voice.

“Don’t what?” Mingyu inquired honestly, but Wonwoo only shook his head.

He stayed silent for a couple of repeats, still dancing, and then he slid hands off Mingyu’s chest.

“I need to go,” He muttered, and left.

Mingyu stopped moving completely for a second, following Wonwoo with his eyes, and then he walked away from under the stage himself. He needed a smoke, and needed one fast, and to do that, he needed his coat. The smoking area was as well-ventilated as it could be, which meant it was also frigid at this time of the year, and he was pretty sure he left the cigarettes in the pocket of his coat anyway.

The dark, wool coat was stuck under a bag next to the long-haired man he barely recognized. Mingyu tapped his shoulder.

“Could you fetch me my coat?” Because of the loud music he had to repeat the question twice, and the blonde had to stand up a bit and lean over the table. After a bit of pointing, the blonde passed him the coat finally, and Mingyu could swear he did it with a flirty wink.

Walking to the smoking room, he dug the cigarette box out of the pocket, and felt it up for a lighter - present. He passed another corner, and caught a glimpse of a figure in the cloak room. He immediately identified it as Wonwoo.

While he didn’t really wish to talk with Wonwoo - or rather, he suspected Wonwoo didn’t want to talk with him at all - he was glad to know where the man was and that he was, in fact, all okay. Just to make sure, Mingyu stepped back a bit to get a better look at Wonwoo, and that’s when he spotted Junhui next to Wonwoo.

Wonwoo seemed distressed, or just in deep thought, sometimes it was hard to tell with his natural expression, but Junhui was visibly not bothered by that. He moved closer to Wonwoo, grabbed his arm, they seemed to be talking intensely about something that Mingyu had no way of overhearing. Jun moved even closer, pulled Wonwoo’s hand, and tugged at the flap of his jacket. Wonwoo responded with an unsure smile, and bit his lip. And that’s when it hit Mingyu.

The two suddenly seemed to be leaving the cloak room, and Mingyu decided there was no way he would pass them on his way to the smoking area when he could feel the bile in his throat and fire in his gut. He took a sharp turn right and climbed a small flight of stairs he knew led to a staff only zone, on the far right which was a door leading to an outside patio.

The area was accessible from the street, one had only to circle around the block Pledis was located in, but nobody really did. The area had no impressive greens and was too small for a parking lot, and half of it smelled like nicotine smoke due to the vent outlet from the smoking area. Mingyu decided he preferred this small area over the smoking room by a lot. He sat on a small ledge securing the basement window well cover, on the opposite edge of the outlet.

He wasn’t really a smoker, but he liked the smell of the cigarettes - somehow, it calmed him down. And he decided right now was just when he needed some calming. The lighter wouldn’t work for a while, and the first time he got it to light up, his hands were shaking too much and the cigarette in his lips didn’t get to light properly. He was more careful the second time around, and right after inhaling the smoke, he threw the empty lighter as far as he could.

It was always like this with Wonwoo. First Wonwoo would not deny Mingyu, grind against him, let Mingyu handle him however he wanted. Just a second later, he would push Mingyu away, shake his head as if it was an answer to all the questions, and disappear, leaving Mingyu with a hard-on. Asked about it, Wonwoo smiled like a smartass, and never answered. Mingyu never understood, never knew why, and Wonwoo would never tell him anything, and it was frustrating to no end. But today Mingyu finally understood.

Wonwoo’s got a thing for Junhui, and he, Kim Mingyu, is a blind idiot. The way they played around, Wonwoo’s suggestive jokes, their closeness. It all made sense now. Maybe they had even been dating already, and Mingyu just never ing asked. Fortunately, now everything seemed crystal clear, and he was furious with himself for realizing that so late. Mingyu inhaled the smoke deeper into his lungs, and coughed. Nope, still not a smoker.

A gust of wind blew through the patio from in-between the blocks, and Mingyu shivered. His black sweater was thin, and was no protection from the cold, and underneath that he was only wearing a tank top. He got up and put on the coat he’d thrown over the ledge before, and sat back down.

He liked to smoke slow. Get a bit of the smoke into his mouth, hold it there for a while, inhale, stare into the ground. Feel his anger and his die down. Halfway through the smoke, he was almost ready to admit defeat and go back to club, but he wasn’t willing to abandon the cigarette he struggled so much to light. Slowly, Mingyu was able to make himself stop thinking about how Wonwoo’s trousers were real leather after all.

The only reason Mingyu heard the footsteps from the distance was that he actually zoned out enough to get lost in trying to pick out the sounds of the electronic music from below him, barely audible through the window behind him. First it was fast tapping against the sidewalk, and then crunching of gravel, and then it was right next to him. Mingyu looked up, and felt half of his anger come back when he saw none other than Wen Junhui.

“I saw you dash out, and I wondered where you went.” Once again, Jun didn’t really believe in welcomes. Mingyu nodded, and let out the smoke he had in his lips. There was no need to answer, really. Besides, why did Jun care?

“We go a way back, me and Wonwoo. I don’t even remember how we started talking after all this time, can you believe?” Ah, so Jun came to torment him, Mingyu thought.

“The point is- you’re not even smoking properly, give me that,” He demanded, and extended a hand to get the cigarette from Mingyu, who handed it over. Jun took a proper drag, and continued.

“The point is, he’s a close friend of mine. And I’d rather not have you him up, you get it? Don’t go breaking his heart.” He exhaled, and gave Mingyu the cigarette back as if he didn’t just make his jaw drop.

“What?” Eloquent, Mingyu.

“I have no better words for this.” Junhui grimaced, and Mingyu almost bit his own tongue for insensitivity. It was easy to forget Jun was still learning the language when most of the time he was speaking fluently.

“Just don’t break his heart.”

A silence weighed the air down for a while, and Mingyu tried to inhale smoke, ever so gently, and the harsh feeling in his lungs was delicate enough for him not to cough.

“Aren’t you two together?” Was everything Mingyu managed to force out of himself as an answer. Jun laughed.

“No, not at all.”

“Doesn’t he have a thing for you?”

“God, I hope not, it would be gross.” Junhui chuckled again.

“But…” Mingyu trailed off, because honestly, what could he ask? But why then doesn’t he with me? Nope, not a good thing to say.

“But what?”

Mingyu just shook his head, and silence fell once again.

“Listen. I can see that you want him, hell, I’d have to be blind to not see it. But…” Junhui kicked a stone and inhaled deeply. “But you like him too, don’t you?”

Mingyu didn’t want to ask about the ‘too’, neither he wanted to answer, even if he couldn’t just stay silent. Just as his stalling for time was starting to get suspicious, he felt heat at his fingertips, and was violently reminded of his cigarette. It had almost burned down. Mingyu tried to take one last drag, and failed. Instead, he flicked it somewhere in the direction of where he’d previously chucked the lighter.

“Why?” He asked, when he felt Jun’s stare drill a hole in the side of his head.

“Why do you have to know ‘why’?”

“It’s important.” Well, he wasn’t lying.

“Wonwoo is not very…” Jun fell silent, and Mingyu looked over to see him grimacing. He decided a smug smirk fit Junhui better. “Just don’t break his heart. That’s all.”

Junhui got up and dusted off his , and that’s when Mingyu noticed he was only in his dark tank top and jeans.

“Aren’t you cold?” Mingyu asked on a spur. Junhui shook his head.

“Nope. I’m drunk. And I’ll head back.” He turned away and left, circling around the lonely delivery van, and back to the club, through the main door. Mingyu wondered if that was because he didn’t know about the always-open staff door, or if Jun had an ulterior motive in that.

He fixed his gaze on some random fragment of the blackness in front of him, half-heartedly trying to make out objects of the blurry shapes. He noticed a brighter dot, only visible if he really focused on it - the half-extinguished of his cigarette.

Everything made sense just a while ago, but then Junhui came with his revelations. Now Wonwoo’s actions made even less sense to him, and he felt incredibly lost, almost small in the midst of everything. Jun’s question echoed in his head once again, and he shook it with a frown.

He didn’t- he couldn’t like Wonwoo, it was just about , and there was no worrying about breaking any hearts. People had all the time, so what if he wanted to have some with Wonwoo? He suddenly missed his smoke, but he’d dread to ask anyone for a lighter. After feeling up his pockets and checking if he had his phone and wallet still in his pockets, he decided he was good to go.

He took a few steps towards the staff door, and then his heel, and walked straight back home, suddenly not seeing any sense in returning to Pledis.

Ahh, I said I won't do author notes, but I'm doing them anyway! As I promised, now the update was quicker, and it wasn't even short... Actually, this is 5,8k words, can you believe? Longer than both previous chapters together. I don't know how that happened OTL Anyway, thank you all for reading! Remember to subscribe and upvote if you enjoyed the story! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one so make sure to leave comments!