“Our first participant for this season is one of the city’s most sought after bachelors, a very successful interior designer who has designed many of today’s modern apartments and condominiums. Let’s give it up for the brilliant Song Mino!” The announcer boomed through his mic with an enthusiasm that startled Mino.

Mino stepped through the cardboard doors that slid up, revealing the studio set of the well-loved dating show, “Test the Waters”. Mino felt foreign to his surroundings, inevitably causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up, luckily hidden by the collar of his black suit. Mino was interviewed briefly, being asked about his current activities and his reasons for joining of which he answered according to the script he was given.

He was baffled that his parents were so desperate to have him literally test the waters and throw himself back into the world of dating, what with them constantly nagging at him to “finally settle down before we die and your gets all sad and wrinkly”—the exact words of his father. He knew they had a point. He was finally successful and had his own company after having suffered rejections from other companies, reasoning that his ideas were simply too “out of this world”. Mino agreed to join anyway, simply because it was a way to pass the time as a workaholic and hopefully forget about things that still gnawed at his brain on some nights. Mino wanted some fun.

Mino held back a yawn, not because the other contestants were boring but because—okay, maybe they were. The next contestant after him was a florist and drama addict. He had these eyes that resembled a deer’s; doe-eyed and watery. But that was all. The next contestants after him were pretty much a blur, save for a few such as that one man who claimed his talent was to split a watermelon perfectly using his bare hands and a woman who looked like she put her make-up on whilst horribly intoxicated.

Mino thought he was going to be okay as long as he kept to himself; keep up his pristine image as a perfectionist and move on with his life after the show pretending that it never happened.

That was before Kang Seungyoon was announced as the last participant.

“And finally, our last participant for this season. He is what you would call someone with a lot of success behind the scenes. He has produced many of the hit songs of artists such as Nam Taehyun, yet not many know of him due to his reserved and quiet nature. Please welcome the musical genius, Kang Seungyoon!”

Mino saw Seungyoon step out into the studio just like he did earlier on, dressed in a plaid, navy blue polo shirt haphazardly tucked into black skinny jeans. Seungyoon smiled shyly, introducing himself once more as the cameras continued to roll. The announcer asked a similar set of questions; Seungyoon’s answers no more than two sentences each time.

It was obviously dumb of Mino to not have looked at the list of participants properly because he did not remember seeing a Kang Seungyoon in the list. (Did he even see a list?) Mino refused to look in Seungyoon’s way, afraid that their gazes would meet and that he would be the first to crumble under the other’s stare.

Mino’s eye twitched the way it always did when something bothered him. Mino was mad. Secretly for now, of course. Seungyoon had finally moved on. Of course he had for he wouldn’t be on this show otherwise. It meant that Seungyoon was ready to accept someone else, to take Mino’s place which he had regrettably lost five years ago. Wait—why should Mino have regrets? It was Seungyoon who lost him. He was rich now. He was successful. He could get anyone he wanted. (Yet here he was on some lame dating show, hoping for someone to fill the void that he knew was always going to be there unless something he knew was impossible happened.)

Mocking Seungyoon and laughing bitterly inside, Mino desired to have Seungyoon make a fool of himself on this show. Perhaps it would be good if Seungyoon were to be paired up with that one contestant who owned an exotic pet store that consisted of various species of spider. Seungyoon hated anything with more than four legs.

He could feel someone’s eyes on him, and this time it wasn’t just someone who thirsted to have someone like Mino in their life because of his luxurious lifestyle. It was that familiar feeling of when Seungyoon would stare at him for no apparent reason, sometimes lasting a good ten minutes before he snapped out of it. Mino could no longer bear the thought of feeling the like the loser so he looked up at last. Surely enough, Seungyoon was looking his way, sporting the same expression of confusion that Mino had managed to more successfully conceal earlier on when Seungyoon had first appeared. Mino looked away immediately. He didn’t want to stare too long, afraid that Seungyoon’s eyes would his soul into them, causing him to want to actually analyse the other’s emotions—curious about how the other felt after not seeing each other for five whole years.

Much to Mino’s dismay, the pairings had been decided by a relationship psychologist, a person who claimed to have analysed each participant’s lifestyle and personality based on the information given upon applying.

The psychologist thought it was a good idea to put Mino and Seungyoon together. The psychologist said Mino would go great with someone with the likes of Seungyoon. The psychologist said that the both of them had the most potential among all the couples paired up in the season. To quote the psychologist’s exact words, “I see a spark between them. I think their relationship is something that could go either way without anything in between—they could either go really well… or end really badly.”

Mino should’ve added more detail to his application if he knew this was the consequence of having half-assed his application form. If he could turn back the time, he would’ve written “Please pair me up with anyone but my ex-boyfriend. Anyone but Kang Seungyoon” in bold.

-

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Song Mino-ssi.”

Mino wanted to laugh hysterically. Mino wanted to cringe at the use of such formalities, at the audacity of Kang Seungyoon to act like a stranger when five years ago Mino’s name was a name that slipped out of Seungyoon’s (still beautifully attractive cherry) lips like it was second nature.

“The pleasure is mine, Kang Seungyoon-ssi.” Mino replied through gritted teeth, his disgust obvious not only through his tone of voice but his expression that was a cross between eternally pissed off at the show and eternally pissed off at Seungyoon.

Seungyoon sensed this without a doubt, and so his pleasant smile disappeared soon after; replaced with a trace of a scowl. Mino knew that Seungyoon was probably thinking along the lines of “if you’re going to play like that, then two can play the game”. Mino smirked at this because he was determined to make Seungyoon’s life a living hell.

“Your way of talking is very attractive.” Seungyoon remarked sarcastically upon which Mino picked up on almost instantly afterwards.

“I could say the same about you. The politeness is very flattering. Let’s settle with something more comfortable. How does bastard sound?” Mino smiled all too sweetly, even managing a chuckle that was way too out of character.

“What the ?”

“CUT! Cut it, cut it!” The producer shrieked all of a sudden, startling the whole filming crew as the cameramen moved to prevent the cameras from rolling any further as instructed by the producer.

Everyone fell silent with a few distant murmurs from some of the crew at the back, the tension so thick that Mino felt suffocated. But of course the thing that was more suffocating than any other was the man that was sat in front of him, his hair falling in front of his face and covered a bit of his eyes that sent daggers flying towards Mino’s direction.

“What is wrong with you two? You look like you’re about to bite each other’s off. This is not how I want my show to go. This is not the way to encourage more people to go on my show. Loosen up a little—actually you both need to loosen the hell up,” the producer ranted from his chair located a few feet away from them, “you know what, that’s enough tension for the day. Let’s wrap it up from here.”

Both Mino and Seungyoon sighed in relief, only to have their joy cut short by the producer who walked over to where they were, pointing his finger at them sternly, “But not for you two. You two are going to spend time together and sort yourselves out. Don’t even think about lying to me because I’m going to be expecting a picture as proof of you two spending time together.”

“But—” Both Mino and Seungyoon tried to intervene, the mere fact that they spoke the same word at the same time making Mino want to barf.

“No buts! I beg you. Please don’t ruin my career with your lack of cooperation.”

The more Mino thought about it, as much as he wanted to embarrass Seungyoon, his reputation was at stake too if he were to disobey and drop out for no good reason. As much as he wanted to think that he didn’t want to be anywhere near Seungyoon or even hear of his name was a reasonable excuse, Mino had his limits with being delusional. Mino’s expression this time was a cross between eternally pissed off at the show, eternally pissed off at Seungyoon and eternally pissed off at the producer.

He lifted his eyes to glare at Seungyoon, though despite expecting the same expression of unwillingness and hatred, Mino realised that there was worry in Seungyoon’s eyes. Mino ignored what he saw.

Maybe he looked into Seungyoon’s eyes for a little too long.

-

The task set by the producer was simple. It was to spend at least two hours together, straighten things out and take a picture as proof. However, it proved to be the world’s hardest job when you had to do with someone you had no intentions of seeing, let alone try and make small talk with (which Mino was incredibly good at if he put the effort in).

“They told us to agree on a place. I’m hungry, let’s eat here.” Mino said coldly, motioning towards the restaurant in front of them that didn’t look all too appealing but he couldn’t be bothered looking elsewhere—no way in hell would he put effort in with Seungyoon around.

Mino was about to walk in, only to turn around and realise that Seungyoon was still standing there with his arms folded over his chest, his lips pressed firmly together to show his disapproval. “I can’t eat seafood and you know that.” Seungyoon grumbled.

Mino remembered. Now he did. But what right did Seungyoon think Mino had to remember his likes and dislikes if he had the guts to pretend he was a stranger earlier on? Mino scoffed, raising a brow challengingly at the other. Besides, he wouldn’t mind seeing Seungyoon choke and gag on the seafood he hated more than anything else. “Well what do you suggest? I’d like to get these two hours over and done with as soon as possible if you haven’t realised.”

“I don’t really care. Just not seafood.” Seungyoon shrugged, his indifference so apparent that it would be hard to say he was the same person in front of all the cameras just a few hours ago.

“Uncle Terry’s it is.” Mino began to walk towards another restaurant, Seungyoon quickly following behind him to retort and give Mino a piece of his mind.

“I got food poisoning the last time I ate there, don’t you remember? Are you purposely trying to kill me?” Seungyoon yanks at Mino’s arm, causing Mino to instinctively pull away rather harshly. Mino refused to acknowledge the hurt look that Seungyoon gave him, quickly averting his eyes to avoid looking into Seungyoon’s eyes for too long yet again.

“What if I am? I don’t know you and you don’t know me—I could even be plotting your death right now and you wouldn’t know.” Mino glared at Seungyoon, the only expression he could manage in order to look into Seungyoon’s eyes without having to waver and reveal the hurt and fear he felt deep inside.

“I know you’re not. You’re not that type of person.” Seungyoon replied softly, catching Mino off guard because he expected something more hostile; something more provoking that Mino would more than gladly retaliate to—it was the only way he could express himself in front of Seungyoon, the person who broke up with him five years ago.

Mino cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. “Where do you want to eat?” He asked, changing the topic and avoiding anything that had to do with their past.

“The restaurant next to the train station.”

Mino looked up, taking in Seungyoon’s shy form as the latter nibbled on his lower lip, almost as if he knew he was risking things with his suggestion. Of course he was. Mino remembered this, too. The restaurant next to the train station had been where they first met and a place they frequented whilst they were still dating. It had been like their little thing; to eat together after university classes before going their separate ways at the train station and a peck on the lips to say goodbye with promises of seeing each other the next day. Mino knew that good things had to come to an end, but he never thought that Seungyoon would be one of them. The day of kissing each other goodbye without the promise of seeing each other the next day eventually came. Or at least Seungyoon never promised that day.

“Let’s go.” Mino finally replied once he thought he came back to reality, realising that he’d been reminiscing the past way too much at that moment.

Seungyoon smiled lightly, relief falling over his expression and Mino’s heart skipped a little. He saw the exact same expression of when Mino had asked Seungyoon to finally be his boyfriend after months of courting.

-

Mino didn’t know it was this hard.

Mino looked on in disgust as he watched Seungyoon in all his messy eater glory, a total contrast to how he himself ate. He admitted to himself that as quite the perfectionist, he had to of course eat in a way that reflected this. He hadn’t eaten with Seungyoon in so long that he almost forgot he ate like a gorilla.

The nineteen year old Mino would have loved it and found it endearing, but the twenty-four year old and infinitely more mature Mino definitely did not. Maybe Mino did find it cute for at least a second, biting back a chuckle at how Seungyoon’s cheeks would puff as he shoved spoonful after spoonful of rice into his mouth. But definitely not when Mino noticed how Seungyoon’s nostrils were twitching and he just knew that Seungyoon was going to sneeze.

“Don’t you dare explode, Kang Seungyoon. Swallow what’s in your mouth first. Please!” Mino pleaded, the chair scratching against the floor as he backed away from his impending doom.

Seungyoon’s whines were muffled by the rice still inside his mouth, his cheeks puffed and his nostrils flaring as his breathing stilled to brace himself for the incoming sneeze.

“Seungyoon, no—”

Mino was covered in rice before he knew it. He refused to open his eyes, afraid that he’d lose his composure upon realising that he was covered in Seungyoon’s saliva.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, Mino!” Seungyoon’s eyes widened after his sneeze, charging over to Mino’s side to quickly rid of the rice stuck all over him, only causing Mino to become more increasingly irritated by Seungyoon’s touches.

Mino flinched, his eyes sharp as he made sure to make Seungyoon feel guilty for sure. “Couldn’t you have sneezed with a little more elegance?” He complained.

“Who does that?”

“Clearly not you. Jeez, Seungyoon! This is disgusting.” Mino continued to voice out his disgust, brushing off the rice from spots that Seungyoon missed.

“Please, it’s not like you’ve never been covered by my saliva before.” Seungyoon said casually and went back to his seat, shoving more rice into his mouth accompanied by a bit of meat as if nothing chaotic ever happened between them just a few seconds ago.

“Stop right there.”

“Why? What were you thinking?” Seungyoon raised a brow, his expression smug.

Mino wanted to dig a hole, bury himself in it and only come out once he was sure that Seungyoon would never catch him off guard ever again. (Never.)

-

The both of them walked around the train station after the meal, making no effort to talk to each other because they both knew it would just lead to more conflict, far away from the producer’s intentions in having them spend time together.

But the unspoken thought was that talking would only to lead to them thinking about the past, because the more they talked the more Mino would be inclined to ask for answers to questions he’d been intending to ask Seungyoon for five years. As much as Mino didn’t want to see Seungyoon simply because he was still mad at what happened to them, it didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about what could have been if they never separated; about whether he was allowed to say all the things he never got to say to Seungyoon considering it didn’t look like Seungyoon would care anyway.

“Why are you on the show?” Mino’s mouth made a decision to move on its own, the question already having left his lips before he could take it back and reabsorb himself back into thinking that not talking to Seungyoon was for the best.

Seungyoon let out a sigh at the question and Mino could see a hint of gratefulness in his eyes. Whether it was because he was grateful for Mino speaking up first, he didn’t know. But Seungyoon’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I figured it’s about time I got over this break-up I had.”

Mino’s heart dropped. Of course. It had been five years already. Of course Seungyoon would have found someone else. Of course Seungyoon would have found someone else to pine for, to kiss, to embrace, to eat ice cream at the park in the dead of winter with, to have late night heart to heart talks with, to have his heart broken by and to think about even after separation.

He was one lucky bastard.

Mino tried his best to look unaffected, smiling and nodding as if he understood. He replied with a “same here” when Seungyoon had asked him the same question afterwards, implying that he’d only recently broke up with someone; leaving out the truth that his last break-up was five years ago—with the person that was currently walking beside him, blissfully unaware.

They continued to make small talk just to pass the time until their two hours were up, but these series of talks died as soon as they came, with the both of them realising there was no point in trying to salvage anything—this was all for a dating show that would end sooner or later anyway.

Seungyoon stopped walking and Mino lifted his gaze to stare at Seungyoon in confusion. “What’s wrong?” Mino asked, his brows furrowed.

“Look, it seems as if we’ll be stuck with each other for a while. I honestly didn’t think they’d pair us up but I guess luck just wasn’t on our side,” Seungyoon began.

“I can see that…”

“My point is that let’s just cooperate. For the sake of your own reputation and mine. Put up with me and I’ll put up with you. Pretend I’m the love of your life on camera. This dating show only lasts two weeks. At the end of it we can just call it quits and never see each other again.” Seungyoon continued, his tone of voice somewhat professional that it jabbed at Mino’s heart.

Mino’s pride was at stake. If he were to disagree then it would only confirm to Seungyoon that Mino still had feelings for him, leaving Mino at a disadvantage yet again with the short end of the stick. If he agreed, he was going to agree to a no strings attached kind of relationship, proving that the Mino now didn’t back down from anything—that Seungyoon was now merely someone he couldn’t care less about for he was just an on-screen partner who he followed the script with.

Mino put on his most indifferent expression, shrugging his shoulders as he lifted a brow to accentuate how he couldn’t care less about never seeing each other again after the show. “Fine with me.”

“It’s good that we’ve finally come to agree on something today.” Seungyoon grinned, causing Mino to laugh because he couldn’t have been more right.

“Let’s take the picture?” Seungyoon asked furtively, pulling out the camera they’d been given out of his bag. Mino smiled at this. Seungyoon was still using the bag he always used even before they broke up. Despite Seungyoon being somewhat messy and unorganised compared to Mino, Seungyoon took care of things dear to him very well.

“Yeah, let’s take it.”

Mino held his breath when Seungyoon leaned in to press the side of their heads together as he held the camera up, his scent—somewhat fruity yet not overpowering—riding up his nose that he couldn’t help but have a wave of nostalgia wash over him because it was a scent that screamed familiarity. Mino mirrored Seungyoon’s smile; faint but hopeful.

But what exactly was Mino hoping for?

-

Neither of them had been kidding when they agreed to put up with each other. But of course it was an agreement that was harder to fulfil when put into practice; what with their clashing points of view—with Seungyoon’s way of handling things on impulse and on the spot which went in total contrast to Mino’s precise way of planning; detailed and scheduled.

But the filming crew noticed a significant change in their dynamics after some time, the snarky comments dwindling down to sarcastic banter from time to time, with both Seungyoon and Mino ending up in soft laughter afterwards – much to the producer’s delight because everything just seemed natural between the two.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to find out you two dated in the past. You seem to know each other very well already.” The producer had once commented, his cup of coffee against his lips to take a sip from it, only to scald his tongue and let out an ungraceful string of cuss words.

Seungyoon and Mino could only look at each other briefly and then back at the startled producer tending to his throbbing tongue, clearing their throats to brush off his comment that caused awkwardness to rise in the air. Thankfully, however, the cameraman announced that they were ready to have the cameras rolling once more and it was yet again time for both Seungyoon and Mino to put up an act of getting along well.

Was it even really acting anymore though?

Sometimes Mino would catch Seungyoon’s smile linger on his lips even as the cameras had stopped rolling and he himself would be unable to let his own smile die down simply due to the fact that Seungyoon’s smile felt genuine – as if they were going five years back when everything was still blissful with them. When it was still just them.

On other times, it was Seungyoon’s turn to think Mino was being weird. Weird in a sense that Mino would stick close to him even off camera, though of course he didn’t have the heart to point this out in fear that Mino would back away. At first that was all he wanted Mino to do. Strangely, it was now the exact opposite of what he wanted Mino to do. He didn’t want to tackle this growing problem just yet, blaming it on the show that was forcing them to act all lovey-dovey to the point that he wished everything were true.

Kang Seungyoon was in trouble.

-

The couples were given missions. Missions meaning being given a place to carry out a date at, and it just so happened that Mino and Seungyoon’s were at a theme park. Mino was ungrateful all the way through the journey to the said theme park, muttering under his breath about things such as the theme park being ‘clichéd’ and ‘childish’.

As far as Seungyoon knew, Mino was afraid of heights. Mino was afraid of being on anything that moved that wasn’t his car. Because of this, he simply basked in the amusement Mino brought to him by pretending to be bothered about the bad choice of location when he knew deep down that it was really due to his fear of heights.

And it just so happened that another mission given to them was to ride the largest roller coaster in the park, much to Seungyoon’s joy and to Mino’s utter dismay. Seungyoon at this point no longer held back his laughter (neither did the production crew), with Mino childishly dragging him away from the line that led to the ride. Seungyoon resisted and tightened his grip around Mino’s wrist.

As much as Mino was begging to have them let him off from the ride, he sort of liked the feel of Seungyoon’s hand enclosed around his wrist. Mino was again transported back in time when Seungyoon used to drag him to various places, Seungyoon’s quietness and often wordless company (save for the times when he was surprisingly witty and sarcastic) compensated for by his death grip that Mino swore he wouldn’t mind dying in.

It surprised Mino how such statement still held some truth in it.

Song Mino was in trouble.

-

“Seungyoon, please—tell them I can’t do this. Tell them I’ll die if this ride starts with me still on it. Tell them I have a company to manage. A business meeting I need to attend after filming. A cat waiting for me at home.” Mino begged continuously, anxiety written all over his face but Seungyoon knew Mino well and long enough that Mino was going to be okay. (Seungyoon was there for him too anyway.)

“You have a cat?”

“That’s not the point!”

“Then what is your point?”

“That I’m going to die if—, , ! Seungyoon, we’re moving, we’re ing moving!” Mino rasped out when they began to move, the wheels underneath them making mechanical sounds against the steel rail that assured Mino that he was indeed going to die.

“Relax, we’re going to be fine.” Seungyoon chuckled softly. Softly. Mino thought his ex-boyfriend was insane.

“Fine? How is this fine?! We’re a thousand feet off the ground, I feel like I’m about to throw up and I’m—”

Whatever Mino had to say, he felt his words (and also his breakfast) shoved back down his throat because before he knew it, Seungyoon had slid his death grip around his wrist down to his hand, where instead of it feeling like a wrath, it was more of a caress yet he knew it was more than that. It was the kind of grip that conveyed every kind of reassurance that Mino wanted at that moment. Seungyoon soon moved his hand so that their fingers interlocked, the trembling in Mino’s fingers dying down to just small quivers within Seungyoon’s hold.

Mino turned his head to look at Seungyoon in confusion, but Seungyoon simply smiled knowingly, his thumb brushing over the back of Mino’s hand repeatedly. Fleetingly.

Mino soon completely forgot that they were on a rollercoaster.

(But of course that was until the big drop. Mino definitely did not scream like a girl.)

-

Their next mission was the ‘telepathy mission’. The couples were given half an hour backstage to talk and get to know each other as much as they could and after the thirty minutes were up, they were asked numerous questions about their partner within a three minute time limit.

Mino was having a bad day. He’d just lost one client that he thought could potentially have been a stepping stone into upgrading his company. The last thing he wanted to do was to have a conversation with someone for half an hour and be asked questions about said person afterwards. His expression was sour and unwelcoming; his brows furrowed and his eyes a lot sharper than usual. Seungyoon seemed to have sensed the tension that Mino gave off because Seungyoon didn’t speak.

Instead they were sat in a room with no cameras to be given a chance to speak for half an hour, their sofa chairs facing each other and with silence as the loudest speaker amongst them.

Seungyoon had never wanted to break the silence so badly. He was actually starting to itch under Mino’s stare that he couldn’t read, and despite knowing that something had probably gone horribly wrong during Mino’s day, there was a glint in his eye that he couldn’t quite figure out.

Gulping, Seungyoon shifted in his seat and fidgeted with his fingers on his lap, fully aware that he was still under Mino’s watchful eye. He was actually tempted to return the stare, since this was pretty much like an invitation to having a staring competition—and in this way perhaps it would be deemed as appropriate to secretly undress Mino with his eyes. (Not that he would tell anyone. Definitely not Mino.)

Twenty minutes dragged by and Seungyoon was fed up at this point. He couldn’t believe that he’d spent the majority of the time half trying to discern Mino’s mysterious stare and the other half looking bashful as he remained silent. Seungyoon was angry because Mino knew that Seungyoon wasn’t the type to initiate conversations, yet he was making no effort to do so when they both knew that they had to at least try to save face in front of the camera.

This anger resulted in Seungyoon shooting his head up, courage filling him up so that he was returning Mino’s piercing stare—whatever the stare meant. They eyed each other for what felt like the whole day, with Seungyoon fulfilling his greedy desire of undressing Mino with his eyes and he wondered if Mino had been doing the same the whole time.

There was another kind of tension wafting in the air, the kind that didn’t need slicing with a knife that consisted of small talk—but rather actions that neither of them were prepared to do. Or at least that was what Seungyoon thought because after blinking, he opened his eyes to Mino standing up and striding towards him, swooping down to kiss him square on the lips.

And as if Seungyoon had been wishing for it the whole time, he responded to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Mino’s neck. Mino seemed to have taken this as some sort of green light because he pulled Seungyoon up to his feet, taking a few steps backwards without disconnecting their lips until the back of Mino’s leg hit the edge of the sofa chair he’d been sitting on just a moment earlier before deciding to kiss Seungyoon out of the blue.

Mino ended up sitting back down on his seat, Seungyoon following after as he straddled Mino. Seungyoon was settled comfortably on Mino’s lap, their mouths moving against each other’s in a way that they should. Heck, they hadn’t tasted each other in half a decade—they figured they both had the right to do at least this with each other despite it being horribly wrong because they weren’t talking. To them, it felt as if it made up for the lack of talking, their mouths talking to each other without actually uttering a word.

Mino was the first to take it to the next step; his tongue venturing out to prod at Seungyoon’s cherry-like lips (it even tasted of cherries, Mino pointed out), causing Seungyoon to part his lips and in turn give permission for Mino’s tongue to enter. Mino was desperate to taste more of Seungyoon, his tongue roaming around Seungyoon’s mouth which he’d honestly missed. Mino, however, was not the only one feeling such sentiments as he wasted no time in returning Mino’s enthusiasm with his own; Seungyoon nibbling on Mino’s upper lip which caused Mino to let out a moan Seungyoon hadn’t heard in what felt like forever.

Mino’s hand slid under Seungyoon’s shirt, causing it to ride up and expose Seungyoon’s milky skin that he hadn’t seen nor felt in half a decade. His hand busied itself with running up and down Seungyoon’s side whilst his other rested on Seungyoon’s chin to angle him better, with Seungyoon’s hands placed behind Mino’s neck as his arms were still around him; the ghost-like touch of Seungyoon’s fingers causing the hairs on the back of Mino’s neck to stand up.

Neither of them pulled back to catch their breaths, feeling it was unnecessary when they’d already pulled back enough for five years. Neither of them had imagined their first kiss to be this ing good—or that they’d even ever kiss again. It felt wrong but so right at the same time. It was like going back to familiar territory that had been destroyed a long time ago, only to find out that there was still a possibility of it coming back to life and being restored. The sense of familiarity was overwhelming; even more so was the sense of belonging to each other.

Just when they thought they’d found something rightly theirs, the door swung open to reveal one of the camera crew calling them up into the studio, her initially surprised expression transitioning into a knowing one, smug smile in place.

Mino and Seungyoon broke away from each other instantly, their lips swollen and their breaths heavy. They both looked up at the woman, half-lidded and out of it, only to snap out of it when she mentioned having them ushered into the studio in less than a minute.

They both scrambled up to their feet, straightening their clothes but with no intention of wiping their lips to rid of the other’s taste. Instead they at their lips, secretly elated by how they could still taste the other inside their own mouths.

“Crap, we haven’t talked at all!” Seungyoon gushed, his eyes wide in panic.

“Just say whatever comes to mind. You know me.” Mino assured as he straightened his collar.

“But we didn’t—”

“You know me.” Mino reiterated, his gaze and attention this time focused on Seungyoon, his hand gripping onto Seungyoon’s arm, squeezing it affectionately.

Mino had been right. That day, they’d managed to get every question correct.

-

Mino must have been losing it the moment Kang Seungyoon unexpectedly wandered back into his life. He thought he’d finally lost it when one day he found himself calling Seungyoon in the middle of the night just to hang out with no cameras following them around; which was strange in itself because he never was the type to do anything like that, especially not with his own ex-boyfriend. But he did anyway, and surprisingly Seungyoon had agreed without any hesitation.

They ended up strolling the city as they made pointless conversations—not small talk but actual conversations that despite some of them never making sense, it was comfortable. It was the kind of comfortable that they’d both been unknowingly craving.

Seungyoon would laugh out of the blue and Mino would stare at him, dumbfounded, only to be told that “your face is just funny”, yet unbeknownst to him it was Seungyoon trying to cover up the fact that he’d been staring at Mino more than he should have been—staring in a way that was dangerous and addicting to the point of no return.

Finding refuge on a bench that overlooked the whole of the city, they sat down and made themselves comfortable, an awkwardly big distance between them. Seeing as they’d been (forcibly) stuck to each other like glue for the past week and a half, any kind of distance longer than an arm’s width was weird at that point.

Then it was as if Seungyoon had decided to even out their scores, with him scooting closer as if to make up for Mino being the one to make the call earlier on. Mino had to bite back a smile when Seungyoon had attempted to subtly move closer to him while Mino himself had to pretend that he didn’t notice, afraid that Seungyoon would retreat and they’d go back to square one as strangers—scalded from trying to do something that they shouldn’t have been.

“I think this is the quietest we’ve been the whole night.” Mino pointed out, clearing his throat in the process. Seungyoon nodded, chuckling in agreement.

“Yeah… It seems as if we’ve run out of things to talk about.” Seungyoon sighed.

“Not really. You still haven’t told me about your job as a producer. What’s it like?” Mino shifted his full attention to Seungyoon as if it was the first time he was fully paying attention to him that night, which was a lie of course.

Seungyoon chuckled, rolling his eyes in a playful manner that reminded Mino of the old Seungyoon who would do the exact same thing as a reaction to one of Mino’s “stupid questions” before answering them anyway. “Thought you’d never ask. I love it. Kind of stressful when dealing with not-so-friendly singers but you know I’ve always loved music.”

“Not-so-friendly singers?”

“Yeah, which is funny because these not-so-friendly singers are the ones who are actually tone deaf and rely heavily on technology to make them sound… human.”

“Ooh, harsh. That sounds a lot like me. Tone deaf who thinks he’s quite the great singer.” Mino snorted.

He squinted his eyes at Seungyoon who only shrugged before replying with the unexpected, “But I like your voice. Remember when I used to ask you to sing to me over the phone all the time?”

Mino laughed softly at the fond memory, suddenly reminded of all the excruciatingly embarrassing times he would sing to Seungyoon over the phone, his once lovesick self having no shame whatsoever because he knew Seungyoon was head over heels for him at the time—but then again, so was he for Seungyoon.

“That was your job mainly though.” Mino replied.

“Did you like it?”

“Yeah, yeah I did. I love your voice, Seungyoon.” Mino quietly admitted, his breath catching in his throat upon realising that this was the first real compliment he had given Seungyoon ever since their paths crossed once again. Mino could tell that Seungyoon was flustered due to this very reason, with the latter’s eyes wandering all over the place except towards Mino’s direction.

Mino couldn’t help but stare longingly at his past that was right in front of him. At some point Seungyoon’s eyes landed right back on Mino as well, with them taking in each other’s details the longer they stared at one another. They were details that were so familiar yet distant at the same time, such as the way Seungyoon’s lips would part ever so slightly when he was nervous as well as the wavering of his pupils that told Mino he was thinking deeply about something.

But Mino didn’t want to think with his mind anymore. For once he wanted to think with his heart which inevitably made him end up face to face with Seungyoon, the gap between them on the bench disappearing. Seungyoon took in a sharp breath before eventually closing the gap between their lips, the expected desperation like the last time they had kissed nowhere to be found.

Gently, tenderly and lovingly, their mouths moved against each other’s. Mino’s hand came up to rest by Seungyoon’s hip, his thumb gently caressing the fabric of his shirt, hoping Seungyoon would still feel it. Seungyoon on the other hand had his palm resting on the back of Mino’s neck, pulling him closer in order to deepen the kiss.

Just like that, they relived the moment back in the dressing room as if they continued where they left off, everything occurring so naturally that it took all they could to break away from each other. Seungyoon sighed ambiguously as Mino fluttered his eyes back open, not realising that he had shut them in the first place.

“You know, these are the times when I miss that person.” Seungyoon shattered the silence with words that Mino never expected to hear in a situation like this.

“What?”

“I miss that person.”

There was a kind of fire that was ignited inside Mino upon hearing Seungyoon’s words. If all he felt was bliss during their kiss, all he could feel now was anger and betrayal. Of course Seungyoon had been thinking about that person.

“So I’m just a rebound now?” Mino spat bitterly, pulling away completely as the gap between them on the bench reappeared.

“No, that’s not it—”

At this point, Mino couldn’t hear anything else but the voice of betrayal inside his head. He couldn’t see anything else but the face of someone he was so sure of loving again.

“I knew it, Kang Seungyoon. Everything was too good to be true.”

“No, Mino. You’ve got it all wrong—” Seungyoon reached out for Mino’s arm, only to be flinched away in the most heart-breaking of ways. Seungyoon could no longer see that gentleness that he had re-discovered in Mino.

“Yeah, I got it all wrong. From the very beginning. Everything was all wrong. You’re throwing me away just like you did to me in the past.”

The next thing Mino received was a fist to his face, a brooding Seungyoon standing up to make himself taller in front of Mino. Mino automatically reached up to touch his jaw, shooting daggers at Seungyoon with his eyes as if he wasn’t already doing so.

“I did not throw you away. I broke up with you so you could pull your together. And so I could too. Look at us now, Mino. You’re wanted by everyone, you’re successful and you’re happy. I did it for you. I was holding you back.”

Bull, was what Mino thought.

“Who are you to decide what makes me happy and what doesn’t?” Mino retorted spitefully, his voice ringing loud and clear in the air.

There was a long silence that ensued after—it was the agonising kind; the kind that rendered you helpless because you knew nothing could be done to solve the situation. Just as quickly as Mino’s hopes of fixing something he should’ve a long time ago came, it went and not only crashed this said hope but it also managed to reopen the wounds he had once thought were nearly healed.

Seungyoon didn’t speak. Mino took it as his cue to leave.

-

Mino was suffering from a hangover. And the strangest thing was that he had not even a tiny drop of alcohol the previous night. He knew it was because of what had transpired the night before, his jaw still throbbing a little every time he spoke or moved it.

It would be a lie to say that Mino didn’t hope for anything to happen. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But who was he to blame but himself when all along he knew that Seungyoon had been struggling to get over someone else? It was a long and agonising night to spend trying to hold back from redialling Seungyoon’s number, and the fact that the following day was the day they were to decide if they wanted to stay on the show and carry on “dating”, Mino felt helpless.

His emotions flitted from overwhelming sadness to anger from the thought of Seungyoon leading him on; from wanting to ask Seungyoon for another chance to wanting to punch Seungyoon for making him think he actually stood a second chance.

As if on cue, speak of the devil as they would all say, he looked up to see Seungyoon barge in through the door and into Mino’s dressing room, eyes narrowed and lips pressed firmly into a thin line.

“What are you doing h—” Before Mino could finish, Seungyoon had already pinned him against the nearest wall and kissed him square on the lips, automatically making Mino’s jaw feel like it was being bashed on by a rock, not having fully recovered from the punch the night before.

But of course Mino wasn’t going to say a word. If anything, he let Seungyoon’s lips work their magic on their own, his heart fluttering and his chest lightening when they really shouldn’t be. Mino was so determined to not have Seungyoon play with his feelings anymore, but it was hard to deal with something he had no control over; like going against the current of an angry river with nothing but half a paddle and boat that had seen better days.

Mino was speechless when Seungyoon pulled away, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the other man in complete shock. He couldn’t exactly move his body either, as if someone had locked every single joint in place just to have him look at Seungyoon who still seemed angry—for reasons that Mino just did not know.

“ you. you and your habit of making assumptions. you for thinking I was heartbroken over someone recent when it’s you whom I haven’t forgotten for five years. Yes, I’m telling you that I’ve been afraid of telling you all along because it seems as if now the tables have turned and it’s me wanting you back so badly. I still love you and it feels like I will until the day I stop breathing.”

Mino blinked. Seungyoon breathed.

Was Mino hearing right?

He didn’t even get time to gather his thoughts because Seungyoon was out of the room before he could even blink again.

-

“And now on to our next couple, the dashing, successful interior designer and the humbly successful producer. The most-loved couple of this season, Song Mino and Kang Seungyoon!”

Mino tried his best to flash a smile at the camera but lying really wasn’t his forte. All he could manage was a smile that was jittery at the edges; his mouth dry and his jaw still aching. He briefly let his eyes wander over to Seungyoon, quickly stealing a glance and then process everything in his mind once he had looked away.

From what Mino had seen in those milliseconds… Seungyoon’s eyes were on him. Seungyoon was looking at him. Seungyoon was looking at Mino. Mino’s heart was palpitating and doing all sorts of somersaults, his throat drying and his palms turning sweaty.

“It’s time for you both to decide if you want to keep seeing each other. If you say yes, this would mean that your feelings for the other person are positive and that because of this you want to carry on with the show.” The announcer explained, his bowtie awfully distracting because it was too big for his neck.

That was when Mino realised that this dating show was a load of bull.

“Kang Seungyoon-ssi, please turn over your board to reveal your answer.”

Seungyoon turned his board over which revealed a ‘yes’ carefully written on it, clear and concise with a miniature heart after the word (that only Mino could spot because Seungyoon always had that habit even back then).

Mino examined Seungyoon’s expression. All he saw was love.

“Song Mino-ssi, please turn over your board and reveal your answer.”

On Mino’s board was a messy ‘no’ that took up most of the board, the writing almost indecipherable if not for the fact that it was only two letters long. Seungyoon’s face faltered, the love in his eyes still just as strong but the hurt was too much for Mino to bear. The palpitating of his heart turned into a kind of tightening that made Mino breathless—not exactly in the nicest of ways.

Mino simply couldn’t wait to have this show over and done with.

-

“What do you want?” Seungyoon spoke dejectedly, avoiding Mino’s gaze when Mino had walked into Seungyoon’s dressing room minutes after the filming had ended.

“I want to start over.” Mino said firmly, not taking his eyes off Seungyoon as he was determined to have Seungyoon look at him.

“But you rejected me. This show is over for us.” Seungyoon spoke matter-of-factly, briefly looking up at Mino in the most nonchalant way he could manage before busying himself with packing his things again.

“Me rejecting the show doesn’t mean I’m rejecting you.”

Seungyoon’s head shot up, eyeing Mino in confusion—that same expression Seungyoon had when Mino had first asked him out on a date all those years ago.

“I want us to give each other another chance without the pretence of a lame dating show,” Mino replied as he took a step closer towards Seungyoon, “I still love you too.”

Seungyoon’s eyes began to water and the second after Mino found himself inside Seungyoon’s embrace, chuckling as he forgot just how tightly Seungyoon could hug— and also how warm it was being inside Seungyoon’s embrace after spending all his time convincing himself that being inside Seungyoon’s arms was not the right place for him.

“Idiot.” Seungyoon muttered, burying his face into the crook of Mino’s neck.

“What did I do?” Mino asked scandalously, lifting his arms to wrap them around Seungyoon’s just as tightly.

“You didn’t have to make it look as if you were really cutting off all ties with me.” Seungyoon mumbled.

“I guess we’re even then. My jaw still hurts.”

Seungyoon pulled his head back immediately, eyes widening as he looked at Mino with a kind of concern that he hadn’t seen in years. “What?! Really? Did I really punch that hard?”

“Apparently you did,” Mino chuckled and simply raised a hand to place Seungyoon’s head back to have him lean against his neck but Seungyoon resisted.

“What are you doing?” asked Mino in confusion when Seungyoon didn’t move or even blink an eye and then suddenly just leaned back in to press soothing kisses along Mino’s jaw.

“Nursing you.” Seungyoon replied midway through pressing another kiss, this time on the corner of Mino’s mouth.

“I should get beaten up more often, huh?” Mino laughed in amusement, leaning into the touch of Seungyoon’s lips against his skin, his hand resting on the back of Seungyoon’s neck.

Seungyoon responded with a light on Mino’s skin just underneath his ear. “Shut up and just let me kiss you.”