“That literally makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Seokmin insisted. “Someone could just take anything back there and use it as a weapon.”

“For the last time,” Seungcheol groaned, “your coworkers aren’t gonna kill you.”

“How would you know that?!”

Seungcheol scoffed and opened the door to Mansae. “God there are so many reasons why I would know that,” he said. “The first one is cause you’re CRAZY.”

“MANSAE!” all the workers cheered.

Seungcheol gave them a polite nod as he headed towards the take out line. Seokmin was still going off. “You’re gonna regret this when you find me dead in an alley.”

Seungcheol took a menu and started reading. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”

Seeing his friend’s lack of seriousness, Seokmin looked around. “Why’d you wanna go here for dinner?”

Reading over the items, he replied, “Mingyu talked about it, remember. He said it was pretty good.” Flipping over the page, he handed it to Seokmin. “Here, help me pick something.”

As Seokmin glanced through and tried to decide what they should eat, Seungcheol took in his surroundings. He was about to go back to helping his roommate when something caught his eye. Or really, someone. Someone with very pink hair.

Seungcheol’s eyes grew wide and he paused. He found Jihoon’s back in a booth as he faced someone else with lighter colored hair. He couldn’t see the boy’s face, but he knew without a doubt that it was the creeper.

“Oh my god, Seokmin,” he frantically whispered, hitting his friend on the arm.

“Ow!” Seokmin flinched and rubbed his arm. Wincing, he asked, “What?”

“That’s Jihoon.”

“What?” Seokmin uttered again, this time in disbelief. His friend told him about the mysterious encounter with the boy who was up to no good. Being who he was, he couldn’t help but be uneasy with this notion, but at the same time he was incredibly curious. He turned to face the right direction, but when he saw who was across from the guy with the pink hair, he froze.

Seokmin couldn’t breathe. It was the boy he ran into at 10/10, the one he couldn’t stop thinking about. It was the cute boy with the slanty eyes his brain wouldn’t let him stop fantasizing over. It was the one person he didn’t suspect anything of because he was too busy daydreaming about him. He was with Jihoon. He’s one of the bad guys, Seokmin realized as his chest dropped.

“Oh my god,” he muttered, overcome with disappointment and disbelief.

But Seungcheol was just annoyed and incredibly bothered. “He and his friend, they’ve always given me a hard time,” Seungcheol recalled Wonwoo saying.

“Jihoon and his friend,” Seungcheol said. “Jesus Christ, they’re probably here trying to spy on Wonwoo and Mingyu or something.”

Seokmin turned and could see that Seungcheol was upset. “Are you sure that’s them?”

“Not a doubt.”

Seungcheol took another moment to just glare from across the room. The idea of someone harassing Mingyu was infuriating. He had to do something. “Come on,” he firmly said as he started heading over.

“Wait, what?!” Seokmin grabbed Seungcheol by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks. “What're you doing?!”

Seungcheol pulled his arm but Seokmin didn’t ease up. “I'm gonna confront them for being creepers. Come on.”

“What? What? You can’t just do that!” Seokmin stammered. He desperately did not want to speak to that person.

Seungcheol was surprised at his friend. Furrowing his eyebrows, he said, “You’re the one who’s suspicious about everybody. Come on, these guys are obviously bad news.”

Seokmin was not up for whatever Seungcheol had in mind, even if he didn’t trust anyone. This person was too ingrained in his head and speaking to him now would only further his embarrassment and, with this new information, deepen his shame. “You don’t just go up to the bad guys!”

Seungcheol rolled his eyes and yanked his arm away. “The one time we actually catch people with an agenda…”

“Wait, Seungcheol—!”

“What if these guys are actually trying to kill Wonwoo?” Seungcheol whispered intensely, filled with concern. “Huh? And now there’s Mingyu. What happens when they trail him? What if he really ends up dead in an alley?”

Seeing that parts of himself rubbed off on Seungcheol, Seokmin knew he was right. He took one glance over Seungcheol’s shoulder at the boy at the table. He’s one of the bad guys. Letting his fantasy completely shatter, Seokmin sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”

Seungcheol nodded and headed towards Jihoon and the person whose name they still didn’t know. Seokmin followed meekly behind. All he could think about was how he never imagined this to be the way he reunited with this stranger. He hoped with every fiber of his being that this boy didn’t remember him.

At the table, Jihoon was looking over a story his boss asked him to cover. He groaned and smacked his head down. “Another dog got stuck in an air duct.”

“Aww, that poor dog,” Soonyoung commented, reading over his own lackluster story.

Jihoon tilted his head up and glared. “That’s not the point.” He sat back up and tossed the papers aside. “I’m so done with these fluff pieces. We need to do something interesting already.”

Soonyoung was about to add something when he noticed who was heading towards the table. Seungcheol was in the front, but his eyes went straight to Seokmin. As a reporter, Soonyoung was used to keeping his cool, but right now his heart was pounding in his ears. “I think it’s about to to get more interesting.”

Confused, Jihoon quickly learned what he meant. As he approached the table, Seungcheol said, “Jihoon.”

As surprised as he was, Jihoon couldn’t help but smirk when this person stood in front of them. “Seungcheol,” he replied.

Trying to hide his annoyance just to be nice, Seungcheol weakly smiled. “Funny running into you again.”

“It’s weird how things work like that,” he replied snarkily.

“Yeah, yeah,” Seungcheol chuckled, tapping the table top.

Jihoon took this time to look over at Seokmin, who seemed more nervous. “Who’s your friend?”

Seokmin, Soonyoung recalled. Since they bumped into each other weeks ago, Soonyoung couldn’t forget that boy’s face. Even though he was supposed to stay hidden and keep his distance, there was a small part of him that wanted to really talk to Seokmin and meet him. This was definitely not how he wanted that first true meeting to go down.

“This is Seokmin,” Seungcheol said, seeing that his friend was still being weird. “But you probably already knew that.” As Seungcheol spoke, Seokmin did his best not to make eye contact with either of the two. Even though no one could read his mind to see why he was feeling so uncomfortable, he felt incredibly embarrassed.

“That name rings a bell,” Jihoon said just to spite Seungcheol.

And it worked. “Wonwoo told me about you guys,” he said, cutting to the chase. Turning over to Soonyoung, he finally acknowledged him. Sticking out his hand, he said sharply, “Hi, you definitely know who I am already but we haven’t formally met. I’m Seungcheol.”

Trying to hold back how uncomfortable he was seeing Seokmin, Soonyoung put on his colder demeanor like Jihoon. Even so, Jihoon had always been better at it. “Soonyoung.”

Seokmin twitched at finally learning the boy’s name. “Soonyoung and Jihoon,” Seungcheol repeated.

“What brings you guys here?” Jihoon asked.

“You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?” Seungcheol fired back. Seokmin was shocked at how abrasive Seungcheol was being, but he wasn’t kidding when he said he didn't want people bothering Mingyu. He was protective like that.

“We’re just going over some work stuff,” Jihoon calmly responded, unphased by Seungcheol.

“Right, you guys are reporters.”

Jihoon smiled. “So Wonwoo’s informed you. Did he tell you anything else?”

“Look, you obviously rub me the wrong way, if you couldn’t tell already,” Seungcheol asserted.

With a chuckle, Jihoon replied, “I thought we were getting along just fine.”

“Cut the crap and just listen,” Seungcheol said. Leaning forward on the table, he took Jihoon as the more assertive one. Staring him in the eyes, he said, “Don’t bother Mingyu.”

Raising his eyebrows, Jihoon said, “So it’s Mingyu you’re worried about.”

“Don’t harass him or Wonwoo,” Seungcheol continued. “I know you follow him and you need to stop. Whatever it is you want, just cut it out. Don't give them a hard time, please.”

“So we’re being polite now?” Jihoon sarcastically said to push Seungcheol’s buttons.

“I would’ve been polite from the start if you didn’t piss me off,” Seungcheol remarked. “Just leave them alone.” He turned over to Soonyoung with his serious stare. “Both of you.” Looking over his shoulder, he could see Seokmin was a little intimidated. He decided that was enough. “Let’s go,” he said as he was about to lead them towards the door.

“He’s hiding something you know,” Jihoon called after them.

They both turned around. That triggered something inside of Seokmin. For the first time in the encounter, Seokmin was himself and said something. “How would you know?”

Soonyoung continued to stay quiet, but Jihoon looked down at his watch. “It’s 6:05.”

“So?” Seokmin replied.

“So,” Soonyoung answered, looking up into Seokmin’s eyes for the first time, “you won’t find him.” It took so much for Soonyoung not to break his gaze, but Seokmin was too captivating.

Thrown off, Seokmin was stuck in Soonyoung’s line of sight. He was hypnotized. He couldn’t help but want to hear more from the boy. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just ask Mingyu,” Jihoon said, focusing his attention back on his work. “He probably knows more than we do.”

Just hearing Jihoon say Mingyu’s name was enough to get Seungcheol’s blood boiling. “Don’t ask Mingyu anything,” he told them before leaving for good.

“It was nice seeing you guys!” Jihoon hollered, enjoying being a nuisance far too much.

“Wish I could say the same,” Seungcheol muttered as they walked out of the shop. After the door shut, the two of them headed down the sidewalk as Seungcheol let out his frustration. “Dear God, I hate that guy! Did you hear the way he was talking to me? I wanted to punch him! If I ever see him around Mingyu or Wonwoo, I swear to God…”

Seungcheol was on his rampage, yelling and kicking the ground, when he looked over to get Seokmin’s reaction. But he looked like he was in a trance.

Seokmin still couldn’t believe that Soonyoung was the person stuck in his mind. He was probably at 10/10 to spy on Mingyu in the first place. Why? Why didn’t I figure that out? Not only was Seokmin disappointed with himself for not seeing this person as the leech that he was, but he was upset that Soonyoung was a leech at all. Why did he have to be so cute?

“Dude,” Seungcheol said, gripping his friend’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“What?” Seokmin shook himself and came back to reality. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.”

“What happened in there, Seokmin? I thought you would totally have my back on something like this,” Seungcheol said. “Those guys are the people you hate the most. They’re the bad guys who you constantly keep an eye out for. I thought you’d be just as upset as me for what they’re doing to our friends.”

Seokmin felt guilty that he wasn’t fully there with Seungcheol, but now that everything was hitting him, he felt the annoyance. “Hyung, trust me,” he said. “That bothered the out of me.”

“Soonyoung didn’t seem like he was as bad as Jihoon,” Seungcheol claimed. “God, that Jihoon was just so irritating!”

“Don’t let him get to you,” Seokmin told his friend. He was trying to help, but all he could think in his head was, One of them’s already gotten to me.

Back in the restaurant, Jihoon looked back up at Soonyoung and sighed. “Seungcheol seems passionate.”

“Seems to really care about Mingyu,” Soonyoung replied, his mind still clouded with this fresh image of Seokmin.

Jihoon nodded. “That’s for sure. He could end up being a problem.”

Soonyoung shook his head and tried to refocus on his fluff piece. “You’re gonna have to learn to deal with him.”

Cleaning up his papers, Jihoon scoffed. “Yeah, you give me the crazy one so you can have it easy with Seokmin. I don’t think so.”

Soonyoung paused at the idea of talking to Seokmin again. It got his nerves running. What the hell is wrong with me? This story comes before anything, especially some cute guy. Seokmin is Mingyu’s friend...who’s Wonwoo’s friend... And we need stuff from Wonwoo. That’s it. That’s why I need to think about Seokmin. But even after telling himself that, his mind started to wander.

Trying to shake those thoughts for the moment, Soonyoung asked, “You’re not scared of Seungcheol? He seemed pretty serious.”

This time Jihoon was so amused he let out a laugh. “He doesn’t scare me, my friend,” Jihoon asserted as he recalled that aggressive look on Seungcheol’s face. That expression would be at the back of his mind for a while. “Trust me, I can handle Seungcheol.”

— — —

“I can’t believe you, man,” Junhui declared as he slid into the booth.

Sitting across from him, Minghao had been waiting a few minutes. Shocked by the abrupt entrance, he asked, “What’re you talking about?”

Junhui scoffed and took a sip of the Sprite his friend already ordered for him. “Why didn’t you tell me about Wonwoo?” he asked. “Your Korean cousin?”

Catching on, Minghao chuckled and replied, “He just never came up.”

“Right,” Junhui retorted, not believing him. “Every time I talked about BIGBANG or MAMAMOO or SEVENTEEN, you just decided to leave out the fact that you had a relative living over there.”

Shrugging, Minghao was amused by Junhui’s slight annoyance. “Did you hear SEVENTEEN’s comeback?”

“Of course I heard it!” Junhui exclaimed. “It was fantastic! I would be making jokes about how it was very nice, but I was too preoccupied with you not telling me about Wonwoo.”

Minghao chuckled. “I guess I just never thought about him.”

“Wow, see that’s not very nice,” he teased. “Can’t believe you. I tell you about my friend in Korea all the time. He might come over here in like a week or something because of an assignment. Told him to buy me the Love&Letter Repackaged album.”

“That’s so cool. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Yeah, because I’m giving you a heads up,” Junhui said, really milking this. “It would’ve been nice if you returned the favor.”

Minghao rolled his eyes and leaned over the table. Looking at Junhui always reminded him of how cute the boy was, especially when he was being petty. “How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?”

“I’m just hurt,” Junhui insisted, getting an appropriate snort from Minghao. “I tell you all sorts of things, the least you could do is tell me about your cousin.”

Yeah, that really is the least I could do, Minghao thought, and that was even a lie. If only Junhui knew what he was really keeping to himself. “I’m sorry, okay,” Minghao reiterated. “But now you’ve met Wonwoo. I guess you two do have a lot in common.”

“That’s what I’m saying! We could talk about Kpop for ages!”

Minghao laughed, imagining what that would be like. He was glad Wonwoo made a good impression. “You guys would get along.”

“Can’t believe you didn’t introduce me earlier,” Junhui said under his breath as he looked over the menu.

Taking a second to just admire Junhui, Minghao remembered something. “Actually, you’ve seen Wonwoo before.”

“Really? When?” Junhui asked, extremely curious.

“There’s a photo in my living room,” Minghao said, picturing it in his mind. “The one just above my couch.”

It wasn’t hard for Junhui to locate it in his mental map. He remembered all of Minghao’s photographs. “In Tianzifang, right?”

Minghao smiled. “Yeah that one. Remember how there’s like one person in it. It’s the guy’s slight profile, but you can’t really see his face cause the camera was focused on the market. You just see mostly the back of his head. He’s wearing a beanie.”

Recalling all the details he mentioned, Junhui could see it. “Yeah, I always loved that picture.”

“Well that’s Wonwoo,” Minghao clarified.

“Oh, really?! I just thought that was some random guy.”

Minghao chuckled. “I took that years ago when he was visiting,” he lied.

“And even then you didn’t think to introduce me?!” Junhui complained.

“I don’t remember why you weren’t there!” Minghao exclaimed. “I think you went on vacation or something that week.” But really, Minghao clearly remembered meeting up with Wonwoo around that market because his jump landed him just a block from the area.

“A likely story,” Junhui scoffed.

“Again, I’m sorry. But now you can see Wonwoo whenever you want,” he joked.

“It’d just be nice to have a person who knew Kpop,” Junhui explained.

“He’d be perfect for that,” Minghao commented, weirdly happy that Junhui wanted to be in contact with one of his best friends.

Finally thinking his friend had enough of his complaining, Junhui asked, “So did you like the prints I picked?”

“Yeah, they were great thanks,” he replied. He couldn’t help but grin when he thought of something. “Wonwoo said you had a hard time narrowing it down.”

“That’s what happens when they’re all good,” Junhui asserted. Minghao knew the boy’s compliments to even be intense.

“You made a good impression on Wonwoo,” Minghao added. “He thought you were pretty cool.” He decided to leave out the part where Wonwoo was sure Junhui liked him back. That just made his heart race way too fast.

Junhui smiled and felt his pulse pick up when he remembered something else Wonwoo said. “He told me you said a lot about me.”

“Yeah, I told him how much you ,” Minghao teased. “Obviously he didn’t believe me.”

“Well no one’s gonna believe such an obvious lie,” Junhui said back. He tilted his head and kept his gaze at Minghao. “Everyone knows you love me.”

Minghao felt like he was going to pass out. Everyone except for you. But he’d gotten used to this feeling for years. He was able to hide his fluttery emotions. “It’s very little love.”

Junhui scoffed and went back to deciding what to order. “Sure, man. You keep telling yourself that.”

— — —

“And he’s from America?” Mingyu asked as he scrolled on his phone.

Wonwoo nodded and ate his frozen yogurt. “He’s from Atlanta, Georgia, but he moved out here like four years ago.”

“Wow, Eric Nam,” Mingyu said, reading through this artist’s Wiki page. “He seems really cool. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more about him.”

“He’s hopelessly underrated,” Wonwoo sighed. “But you definitely didn’t hear about him because—”

“Yes, I know,” Mingyu interrupted with a chuckle. “I live under a rock.”

Wonwoo smiled and kept eating. “I really like Eric Nam. He’s funny. He’s witty. He’s friendly. And he’s just so talented.”

“His songs are good. I really like his style,” Mingyu commented. “His newest album’s really good.”

“Right?!” Wonwoo exclaimed. He looked up to the sky and kept saying, “The whole Interview album is gold. Agh, he’s so...so…”

With a chuckle, Mingyu interrupted, “Okay, do you need me to get you a room?”

Rolling his eyes, Wonwoo laughed. “He’s really talented, okay? Learn to love him.”

“I’ll get there, I’ll get there,” Mingyu insisted.

Grinning into his chest, Wonwoo loved showing Mingyu new branches of his music. He kept eating as they went along. “Are you sure you don’t want any?” Wonwoo asked for the third time. Holding up a spoonful, Wonwoo scooched it closer to Mingyu’s mouth.

Mingyu glared down at it. “Aren’t you cold?”

Wonwoo smirked and fed himself. “It’s never too cold for froyo.”

Mingyu chuckled as they strolled through the park. He watched his friend enjoy something that he always had a hard time with when it was this chilly. Maybe he’s used to it because of where he jumps, Mingyu thought. Curious, he asked, “What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been?”

“Mm.” It took Wonwoo a second to think over all the places he’d been. He was always happy to tell Mingyu of his travels, especially since the boy always seemed excited to hear more. “Well, any European country in the winter is pretty bad. I think the UK was the worst one time when I went around Christmas,” he said. “Russia was bad too in January. Just anywhere in Russia during that time is freakin freezing.”

Nodding along, Mingyu imagined what it must’ve been like to be in those countries for such a short amount of time. It was still crazy to him how Wonwoo survived. “How the hell did you manage to not die?” Mingyu joked.

“I am incredibly skillful,” Wonwoo replied. “You just need to have more faith in me.”

Mingyu scoffed at his friend’s ridiculousness. “Come on though, Russia in the winter? That’s gotta be really hard.”

Smiling, Wonwoo appreciated Mingyu’s thoughtfulness. “When you do this for as long as I have, you learn to adapt. As you know, I have a way of getting people’s clothes right off their backs.”

“Isn’t that true.” Mingyu got flashbacks to the first time he met this boy. He chuckled remembering how scared he was. Who knew they’d be here now? Fishing for more, Mingyu asked a new question. “Okay, then what’s the warmest place you’ve ever been?”

Wonwoo paused. His brain was going off and he didn’t know what to say. He obviously knew which places were exceptionally warm when he went, but he felt like this question could imply something else. This is it. This is my chance to tell him.

Ever since Minghao clarified his feelings for him, Wonwoo was dying to say something to Mingyu. Well, ever since they became friends, Wonwoo had been wanting to confess something or another. Part of him knew that it was a bad idea. This boy left him after he just implied that something could happen between the two of them. How the hell would he react to a straight up confession?

But another part of Wonwoo didn’t care. The love infested part of him wanted to give it a shot. He was so in love with Mingyu, he was willing to put everything on the line. He also felt like they had grown a lot together. He’s better now. If anything, he won’t just leave...right? Just walking with Mingyu, Wonwoo was itching to finally spill his feelings, the feelings he hoped Mingyu shared. He said he felt something before. That means he has to be feeling this too.

“Um,” Wonwoo choked out as they passed their usual bench. Wracking with nerves, Wonwoo felt like this was his moment. He also felt like he was going to explode. “The warmest place I’ve been…,” he slowly said. Anxiously, he turned and grinned up at Mingyu. “...is anywhere with you.”

Mingyu stopped in his tracks. His expression dropped and he looked blank. Wonwoo was a few paces in front before he paused and just kept his gaze. Mingyu’s heart was beating like crazy, but he could also feel his natural reaction to these things creep up on him. Filled with confusion and rage, Mingyu didn’t say anything. Everything inside of him was going off and he didn’t know what to do.

“What?”

Wonwoo couldn’t help but smile at his stunned expression. This is definitely my chance. Wonwoo took a deep breath and wasn’t going to hold back. Something overcame him and his nerves, taking all control and throwing all reason out the window. All those times the universe interrupted him would be made up for right now. Nothing could stop him from telling Mingyu.

“I know you’ve run away before because of something like this…”

Just with those words, Mingyu caught on. His emotions stacked up. He knew what was happening. “Wonwoo, don’t.”

“But I seriously can’t not tell you…”

Mingyu felt his pulse pick up, but he wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or annoyance. He didn’t care. He just wanted it to stop. “Wonwoo, shut up.”

But Wonwoo refused to oblige. “Mingyu, I know you feel it too. You have to…”

Mingyu scoffed, feeling the frustration overpower all the other emotions. “The only thing I feel is the urge to beat the crap out of—”

“I love you.”

Everything stopped. The only thing Wonwoo could hear was a pounding in his ear. He realized it was his heart thumping harder than he thought was physically possible. His hands tingly and his knees wobbly, he froze.

The same happened to Mingyu. His body felt heavy, but he had no idea what it was that made him feel this intense. It was like someone put the world on mute. Either that or his brain just completely shut off. If Wonwoo had said anything in that moment, he wouldn’t have heard. Thankfully, they were both paralyzed.

They just stared at each other. One with a smile. One without. It wasn’t hard to guess who was who.

For a solid minute, neither of them moved. Neither of them said anything. Both were too busy freaking out.

For Wonwoo, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. He could breathe better all of a sudden and something just felt right, even if it also felt like panic was about to wash over. I told him. I did my part. He’s probably gonna yell at me now. For a few seconds, he just kept staring into Mingyu’s dazed eyes. His heart skipped a beat when he realized something. His smile got a little bigger. He’s not running away.

I should run away, Mingyu thought immediately after his mind went blank. But his feet were glued to the ground. There was no escape. He was completely and utterly at a loss for words. His emotions were running haywire, so he was just standing there, hoping one of them would take over. He didn’t know how to react. Time was crawling as he tried to feel something specific. He kept staring at Wonwoo and didn’t sense anything until he saw the boy’s smile get just a little bigger. Then he felt it: a wave of annoyance.

His lips dropped and Mingyu frowned. In his irritated and bewildered voice, Mingyu said, “I call bull.”

And for some reason, Wonwoo wasn’t even surprised. He got flashbacks to weeks ago when something very similar happened. “This sounds familiar,” he joked.

But Mingyu wasn’t having it. Furrowing his eyebrows and now glaring at his friend, he fired back, “Don’t try to be cute.”

“Oh, so now I’m cute?” Wonwoo smugly replied.

“God, I ing hate you,” Mingyu groaned as he rolled his eyes.

A few weeks ago, something like that would’ve cut right into Wonwoo’s heart. But he and Mingyu were friends, and he knew his friend. He’s not running away. “Mingyu, I just couldn’t—”

“Couldn’t what?” Mingyu interrupted, staring at him in disbelief. “You couldn’t just be my friend? You couldn’t not bother the crap out of me with something like this? You couldn’t hold in your damn feelings that probably aren’t even accurate?”

“Hey, my feelings are accurate!” Wonwoo replied, still wearing a huge smile.

Which just bugged Mingyu even more. “Why does your face look like that?!” he shouted, coming closer to Wonwoo. “Stop smiling like that!”

Wonwoo couldn’t help it. All his nervousness was gone. Now he was just weirdly enjoying himself. “I can’t. I just love you.”

“Ugh, and don’t say that!” Mingyu cried in frustration. He felt his insides cringe and his outsides burn. He felt like a vampire in the sunlight. It was torture and he was going to die. “You KNOW how I feel about crap like this! Why are you doing this to me?!”

“Mingyu,” Wonwoo chuckled, putting down the froyo and trying to reach out his arms to calm the boy down. “I’m not doing anything! I’m just telling you the truth!”

“The truth is gross!” Mingyu hollered, just dying in his ball of disgust. He turned away and started pacing. “God, Wonwoo! How could you let yourself fall into something like this?”

“What?!” Wonwoo laughed, just enjoying Mingyu’s delusion.

“Stop laughing!” Mingyu screamed. “I’m serious! How could you subject yourself to something so meaningless and repulsive and arbitrary and—”

“Real!” he interrupted. “I’m subjecting myself to something that is real, Mingyu!” Feeling the sweat on his brow, Mingyu turned to face Wonwoo. The boy just smiled back at him. “I didn’t choose for this to happen! I’m just in love with—”

“DON’T YOU ING SAY IT!”

“YOU!” Wonwoo shouted anyway.

Mingyu was in a fit. Throwing his hands by his ears, he turned away. “STOP SAYING THAT!”

Laughing, Wonwoo rushed over to him and removed his hands. “Mingyu! You’re being crazy!”

“No, you’re being crazy!” Mingyu argued. Staring into the boy’s eyes, he could see this shimmer. It was the same look Wonwoo always had in his eyes whenever Mingyu met them. Sometimes he would get trapped in them. But not now. Turning away, Mingyu said, “I told you! I told you that it wasn’t going to happen for us!”

“But it did happen!” Wonwoo contested, trying to get back into Mingyu’s line of sight. Holding the boy’s wrists, he said, “It happened for me!”

Mingyu pulled his arms away and stormed towards the bench. Plopping himself down, he buried his face in his hands. Wonwoo just watched him in amazement. He’s not running away, was all he kept thinking.

Still, Mingyu was thoroughly annoyed. “I cannot believe this!”

“Mingyu, this isn’t a bad thing,” Wonwoo tried to reason with him.

Mingyu flicked his head up and stared at him. “This is the worst thing possible for me!”

Wonwoo smirked and shook his head. “You know, I’m starting to feel a little offended,” he said sarcastically.

“Ugh,” Mingyu groaned again. “You know it’s not because of you!”

Wonwoo knew that, but it did feel better to hear Mingyu admit that. “Then stop complaining and accept my confession!” he declared, spreading out his arms.

Now Mingyu was even more confused. Squinting at him, he exclaimed, “What?!”

“Just admit that you love me too!” Wonwoo exclaimed, approaching Mingyu to embrace him. He had no idea where all of this out-of-context confidence was coming from, but it was making him want to just smother Mingyu. There truly was no turning back, so Wonwoo wasn’t going to hold back.

But Mingyu continued to be Mingyu. “No! Stop!”

“We could be amazing together!” Wonwoo said with a smile, dropping his arms to grip Mingyu’s shoulders.

“We’re amazing now!” Mingyu argued, staring right up at the boy’s face. Those eyes were still getting to him. “Why do you have to go and change that!?”

“Because I love you!”

Mingyu shoved Wonwoo’s arms down and held him by the wrists. “Stop saying that! I’m gonna vomit!”

Wonwoo managed to loosen Mingyu’s grip. Sliding his palms down, Wonwoo tightly held onto the boy’s hands. “Puke all you want, but it’s true!” Wonwoo felt Mingyu’s resistance but he wouldn’t let go. He stared deep into Mingyu’s soul and tried to calm him down. He’s not running away. You can’t let him want to run away.

And finally, after a long enough stare, it became too much. Mingyu submitted. He relaxed and Wonwoo felt the tension disappear from his hands. Dropping his gaze, Mingyu looked away and tried to collect himself. Wonwoo didn’t say anything. He wanted Mingyu to stay calm.

Mingyu closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Finally, he sighed and stared at the ground. “I cannot believe you.”

Even though he couldn’t see it, Wonwoo smiled. “Please believe me.”

He let out another puff of air. “How do you even know?” Mingyu asked, blankly.

This was the first thing that came out of Mingyu’s mouth that Wonwoo was not prepared for. “I just…do,” he replied, still holding Mingyu’s hands.

And he didn’t pull away. “And that’s enough to get me this annoyed?”

With a grin, Wonwoo let go of one of Mingyu’s hands so he could sit down and keep holding the other. Mingyu didn’t contest. He just sat as Wonwoo talked. “Mingyu, I knew it from the moment I met you. You were something special,” Wonwoo said gently, trying not to scare his easily scared friend. “And when we became friends, I could just feel it more and more. You’re...different. You make me feel different.”

Wonwoo looked at the side of Mingyu’s face to see if there was any reaction. There was none, so he went on. Clasping his other hand on top of Mingyu’s, he explained, “You’re not just my friend, Mingyu. Friends don’t make friends feel this way. And...I don’t know if you feel it too, but it’s…”

“Different,” Mingyu plainly whispered.

in his lips, Wonwoo smiled. I knew he felt it too, Wonwoo was proud to think. “I know that I’m in love with you, Mingyu,” he continued. “And I’m telling you despite how much I know you hate these things because…” He paused to catch his breath. All of a sudden, he got nervous again. “...we could be amazing. I know how you feel about relationships. I know how you look at couples, but I’m telling you, it’s not gonna be like that with us.”

Mingyu listened closely. He felt a chill run down his spine as Wonwoo spoke. “You just...need to let go of your preconceived notions and stigmas,” Wonwoo told him. “If you can just do that, you’d see how great we are for each other.”

“But why can’t we have that with what we are now?” Mingyu asked as he was wracking his brain. “Why do we have to be together to have something that amazing?”

Wonwoo tried to find the right words so the boy would understand. “Because...it’s like living inside.”

“What?” Mingyu turned to face him, utterly confused.

Wonwoo smiled. “A cat who’s lived its whole life outside will learn to survive and enjoy outside.” With that, he caught Mingyu’s attention.

“They won’t have a true home, but they will be as happy as they can be living on the streets.” He paused to grip Mingyu’s hand tighter. “Until someone who loves them a whole awful lot brings them inside. Inside, that cat’s groomed and fed and kept warm by someone who loves them. They may have enjoyed seeing that same someone outside before, but everything changes when they are given a home.”

As Mingyu listened, he was starting to understand. “And once they have that home,” Wonwoo continued, “they don’t want to leave. They love being loved. And thankfully, the person who brought them in is just as happy as they are.”

Wonwoo sighed and kept his grin as he looked into Mingyu’s soothing face. “I want us to have a home, with each other. Right now, I’m just looking from the outside. And I’ve been outside for a long time and I’ve been fine with it. We have fun outside together. But then I fell for you. You make me feel warm, Mingyu, and if you brought me in…” He chuckled and bit his lip. “...I’d make you feel just as warm.”

During this whole talk, Mingyu felt his heart rate slow down. Easing his mind, he was reminded of his conversation with Seokmin before. He’s like a cat, Mingyu once told himself. Everything Wonwoo said made perfect sense, but still…

“Wonwoo, you’re wasting your time.”

Wonwoo swallowed hard. He realized it was now his turn to listen. Mingyu looked into his eyes and softly told him. “Everything you’ve said...is pretty much right. I do feel...something when I’m with you.” Wonwoo’s heart picked up as the boy went on. “I can’t deny it, and you explained it perfectly. It’s different with us. It’s not like when I’m with Seungcheol or Seokmin. It’s just different and I’ve never been able to explain it.”

“But just because I feel something doesn’t mean I want something,” Mingyu explained. “My stigmas and whatever about relationships are there, but it’s not just the thought of them. I genuinely don’t have the desire to be in a relationship with someone. I have never wanted to be in a couple with anybody.” Almost reluctantly, Mingyu had to admit, “And that’s no different with you.”

“I just don’t want to be with anybody like that, Wonwoo,” Mingyu said with regret. He knew what Wonwoo was saying. He heard it loud and clear. But nothing in him was telling him to go along with it. He couldn’t force himself to do what he didn’t want to do.

Before, Wonwoo would’ve felt defeated at this point. Mingyu’s words would’ve stung him into submission. But something that Seungcheol told him was always ingrained in his head. “Don’t give up just yet.” “What about what I just said?” he asked. “What about how good we could be together?”

“I don’t want to be together, though,” Mingyu told him, not denying any of his feelings.

But Wonwoo didn’t think that was true enough. “Mingyu, come on. What if we got together and you just saw how amazing it was? Huh? What if the universe saw how amazing it was?”

Hearing those two words made Mingyu’s heart stop. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Of course. It’s the damn universe…”

“What? No,” Wonwoo quickly said, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, but you’re always thinking about it, aren’t you?” Mingyu definitely hated this part of Wonwoo’s feelings. This was something that would make him walk away. If Wonwoo was saying all of these things just to prove whatever to the universe, then Mingyu was even more annoyed.

“No, Mingyu, I’m not,” Wonwoo tried to recover. “I was just exaggerating. Can you just forget that I said that?”

“Already forgotten.”

Wonwoo sighed, afraid that all of his progress may have been washed away by that one little slip. He wasn’t doing this for the universe. At least, that’s what he told himself. “Mingyu, I just want to be with you...because I love you,” he said calmly, trying to reassure the boy of what he had said already. “Please, don’t think it’s because of anything else. You are amazing and we could be amazing.”

“You keep saying that,” Mingyu said, his voice also regaining its gentleness. He paused for a second. It wasn’t until now did he realize Wonwoo was still holding his hand. He didn’t pull away. With a sigh, he said, “I just don’t want that, Wonwoo. I’m telling you the truth.”

Wonwoo glanced back over at Mingyu and noticed that his gaze was falling to their hands. He grinned and rubbed his thumb back and forth. He’s not running away. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, Wonwoo decided that that was enough for now. “Okay.”

Surprised, Mingyu turned over to face him, but Wonwoo was still looking down. “Wonwoo, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize just yet,” Wonwoo said with a subtle smirk. He tilted his head up and met his gaze. “You haven’t rejected me.”

Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows. “What? Did you not hear what I just said? I don’t want to—”

“Yeah, I know that part,” Wonwoo interjected, returning to his playful banter. “But you never said you didn’t love me.”

Mingyu didn’t notice but Wonwoo was right. He didn’t say that. But even now that Wonwoo had pointed it out, he couldn’t pull himself to say it. Feeling a weird flutter inside him, Mingyu felt like his normal self around Wonwoo again. He smiled and rolled his eyes. “I guess you’re right.”

That made Wonwoo smile even bigger. “Alright then,” he said, finally releasing Mingyu’s hand. Instead, he threw his arm over the boy’s shoulder and held him tight. “I’m not gonna give up.”

“Wait, no, Wonwoo—!” Mingyu started to exclaim.

“Nope! You can’t stop me!” Wonwoo hollered over him, being his annoying self. “We’re still friends right?”

Awkwardly being held, Mingyu stammered, “Uhh, yeah? I don’t know! Where do you go from something like this?”

“Good,” Wonwoo said, ignoring his question. “Because as a cat on the outside, I need all the friends I can get.”

Taking a deep breath, Mingyu knew they were back. He rolled his eyes and said, “I hate you.”

“I love you.”

“Okayy,” Mingyu said, removing Wonwoo’s arm and standing up. Wiping himself off, he said, jokingly, “That’s all I can take for one day.”

Wonwoo burst out laughing as he watched Mingyu walk away. “Yah! You’re actually leaving?!”

Mingyu turned around and chuckled at his friend as he walked backwards. Oddly enough, he didn’t feel like vomiting. Everything still felt right. “You might have to leave by 6, but my limit is when it’s half passed bull o’clock,” Mingyu cried back. “I’ll see you again when you’re less love infested!”

Wonwoo laughed and cupped his hand around his mouth. “You realize that’s gonna be never!” he shouted even louder as Mingyu got further away. He watched as the boy smiled and turned to face the right direction. “I LOVE YOU!”

“SHUT UP!” With one final backwards wave, Mingyu strolled out of the park and out of sight. After going through all of that, Mingyu was feeling strangely good. He didn’t know how to describe it, but Wonwoo had done a good job of making those gross things a little less gross. I think I can handle it, Mingyu thought to himself. I don’t want to lose Wonwoo as a friend, so I can handle his grossness. I’ll put up with it until he comes to his senses. With that in mind, Mingyu smiled, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked home.

Wonwoo sat on the bench for a little longer after Mingyu was gone. He was smiling to nothing, but he could feel his heart beating like crazy. He did it. He told Mingyu. He didn’t run away, Wonwoo kept thinking to himself. That went weirdly well. Which was true. The whole time, Wonwoo couldn’t stop laughing or smiling or joking. He’d thought that he would’ve been anxious or more nervous, but it was almost like he was just having fun. It made no sense to him. Maybe Mingyu just does that to me, he reasoned.

But as Wonwoo continued to sit there, thinking over what had just happened, those predicted emotions were starting to show themselves. His smile started to fade away and it was replaced by the appropriate disappointment. That might’ve gone well, he thought. But it could’ve gone better. Nothing had changed. Mingyu still wouldn’t let him in. And it was finally starting to sting, like it was supposed to.

— — —

“Hey, look who’s home,” Seungcheol said from the couch.

Mingyu walked through the door and took off his shoes. He found Seokmin in the kitchen. “Hey guys.”

“Where’s Wonwoo?” Seokmin asked as he started prepping for dinner.

Mingyu slipped out of his coat and replied, “He’s out right now.”

“Is he gonna have dinner with us?”

“Uhh, no,” Mingyu said through his breath. “He can’t make it.”

Nodding, Seokmin tried not to think of the people he and Seungcheol ran into earlier. He refused to be suspicious of Wonwoo. The boy deserved his trust. Soonyoung did not. He was about to say more when he opened one of the cabinets. “Oh my god, Kiwi! Stay out of there!” Seokmin exclaimed as he found the furball crawling into one of the pots. Lifting her up and holding her by his face, he told her, “What if we accidentally cooked you?!”

Mingyu laughed as Seungcheol asked, “Mingyu, how long are they all gonna stay in here?”

“What?”

“I love them a lot, Mingyu,” Seungcheol said as Berry crawled up next to him. With a grin, he the boy’s head. “But they’re all gonna go back out soon, right?”

Mingyu paused. He didn’t want to think about that. “Uhh,” he muttered nervously. “No, hyung. Actually, I don’t know when.”

Seungcheol looked to him and understood. “Okay, I get it. You love it when they’re here.”

Mingyu smiled. All of a sudden, Wonwoo popped into his head. “Yeah. I do.”

With a nod, Seungcheol stood up and followed the boy to his room. “Okay then. Whenever you’re ready. Just keep them clean.”

“Thanks hyung.” Mingyu made it to his room with Seungcheol just behind him.

Normally, Seungcheol would help out Seokmin with dinner, especially since it was kind of his fault they didn’t buy food, but something had been bothering him. It wasn’t really a bother, but more of an itch. If anything, he just had to talk to his roommate about this. Two people had already instructed him to do so. “Hey Mingyu.”

Tossing his jacket on his bed, he twisted back around. “Yeah?”

Seungcheol crossed his arms and leaned on the door frame, trying to find the right words to say this without worrying him. “Um, remember when we ran into that guy Jihoon that one time?”

Mingyu tensed up. He hated hearing about this person. “Umm, yeah?”

Seungcheol could sense his uneasiness. “I talked to Wonwoo about him and he said he was a reporter.”

“Yeah, he is,” Mingyu said, his discomfort tickling his throat.

Seungcheol could tell so he cut to the chase. “Well when I asked Wonwoo why Jihoon follows him, he told me that you would know.”

Mingyu just stared.

“He said that you could tell me...if you wanted to,” he explained. Keeping his face soft, Seungcheol added, “That’s just what he told me, so I just thought I would ask, just in case you wanted help with anything somehow.”

Feeling his blood pulse through him, Mingyu heard Wonwoo’s voice. “You’re...different,” he recalled. Swallowing, Mingyu kept looking at his roommate. This is how much he trusts me. Just standing there, Mingyu got a better sense of what Wonwoo was saying earlier. He was starting to believe the boy’s bull.

Finally catching himself in his thoughts, Mingyu raised his eyebrows and choked out, “Umm, sorry hyung.” He looked right into Seungcheol’s trustworthy eyes. “I can’t tell you. But trust me, it’s okay if you don’t know.”

With that response, Seungcheol smiled and nodded. “I get it. Thanks man.” He stepped back and smacked the side of the door. “Come out for dinner when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Seungcheol,” he called back.

Seungcheol couldn’t help but be pleased with Mingyu and how he acted when it came to Wonwoo. He definitely feels it, Seungcheol liked to tell himself. But as that thought crossed his mind, Seungcheol was also reminded of the two people he didn’t want interfering with his friend’s new happiness. With the image of Jihoon’s face in his head, Seungcheol said, “Anything for you buddy.”

— — —

Joshua
CHAN!!
CHANNN ARE YOU THERE CHAN!

Chan
WHAT HYUNG WHAT

Joshua
I NEED YOUR HELP

Chan
WHAT IS IT
Wait hyung its not even 6 where you are yet
You havent even jumped what do you need me for

Joshua
UGH its a different kind of help i need

Chan
What is it??

Joshua
Ok
Youve met wonwoos friend jeonghan before right?

Chan
Just a few times
I dont really know him
Why? Isnt he staying with you?

Joshua
Yes hes literally in the other room right now

Chan
What do you need me for
Cant you just talk to wonwoo

Joshua
No i dont wanna tell him this
It might freak him out

Chan
…
Hyung
Whatre you saying…

Joshua
UGH CHAN
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE

Chan
Yeah with the long hair

Joshua
Yes the long hair and the nice smile and the pretty eyes

Chan
Oh my god hyung…

Joshua
DONT SAY ANYTHING TO WONWOO
I DONT WANT TO WEIRD HIM OUT
ITS JUST

Chan
Youre freaking out

Joshua
IM FREAKING OUT
Nobody warned me that he was so sweet
And charming
And funny

Chan
Oh my god
Everyones falling in love

Joshua
IM NOT FALLING IN LOVE

Chan
At this rate i’ll fall for seungkwan

Joshua
CHAN IM NOT IN LOVE

Chan
Im never gonna be able to finish a sentence with him

Joshua
NO CHAN STOP

Chan
My life is over

Joshua
NO CHAN JUST STOP TALKING
I AM NOT IN LOVE
I JUST THINK HES CUTE OKAY??
I just needed to talk to somebody about him

Chan
What about hansol

Joshua
I dont want it to be weird around the apartment
Ill tell him later maybe
But chan
I just needed to get this off my chest

Chan
Well im here if you ever wanna talk
Jeonghans really cool based on what I remember

Joshua
I can confirm that
He is really cool

Chan
Im sure wonwoo would be glad to hear youre getting along

Joshua
Ill let him know eventually
But for now I just needed to tell someone
How cute this boy is
Thats all

Chan
Wow hyung ive never seen you swoon like this

Joshua
I do not “swoon”
But he is very cute

Chan
Well i’ll be sure to come to your wedding
I can bring a plus one right?
Seungkwan loves weddings

Joshua
…
I hate you

im on time look at that! XD alright i think this new schedules gonna work lol i hope you guys enjoyed this very long chapter! as you can see we have a lot of story lines moving and i have no idea how im gonna tie them all together so we'll see where this all goes XD dont worry i kind of have a plan ;) but yes! more meanine and more china line and more jihan and more soonseok and more a lot of other things to come <3 next update in 2 weeks! if i get really good at keeping schedule i might push it up to every week XD but yes next ones gonna be...july 30th! TALK TO YOU GUYS THEN AND HOPE YOU LIKED THIS <3 THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR BEING AMAZING

PS i hope you enjoyed my eric nam shout out there XD it was just perfect timing that his new mv came out this week and vernon was in his stage just PERFECTION <3