“Make sure it’s taro. That’s your grandma’s favorite.”

Wonwoo nodded even though his mom couldn’t see him over the phone. Holding his arm up, he tried to shield from the light rain that was starting to fall. “Don’t worry, mom. I won’t mess this up.”

“That’s not what I meant, dear,” she softly replied.

With a faint chuckle, Wonwoo said, “I know. I’ll be home soon.” After she said goodbye, Wonwoo hung up and opened the door to the bakery. He was greeted by a familiar smile and a surprised look that he should’ve expected.

“Wonwoo!” Seungkwan cheered as he stepped in.

Gently smiling, Wonwoo stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Hey guys,” he said, trying to stay friendly. His sadness was weighing down his ability to interact with people properly.

Not expecting to see the person Mingyu was hurting for, Seokmin simply said, “Hey Wonwoo.”

Oblivious to any sort of somber atmosphere, Seungkwan eagerly hopped on the register. “What can we do for you?”

Wonwoo smiled and tried to ignore his pain. Looking at the cakes in the display case, he said, “I’m getting a cake for my grandma’s birthday.”

“Tell her I say happy birthday,” Seungkwan said.

With a grin, Wonwoo replied, “She’ll be happy to hear it.” Finding a nice cake, Wonwoo pointed at it through the glass. “Is this one taro?” he asked.

Seokmin didn’t get a chance to answer since Seungkwan was so quick. He walked over on their side and pulled it out. “Yep! And it’s delicious.”

Wonwoo nodded as he pulled out his wallet. “I’ll take that one.”

“Nice choice,” Seungkwan said. “Do you want us to write anything on it?”

Thinking it over, he replied, “Actually, yeah. Can you write Happy Birthday Grandma?”

Seungkwan smiled and quickly nodded. “Sure thing.” Walking with the cake past Seokmin, he told him, “I’ll take this to the back. Can you ring him up?”

Slightly nervous about being alone with Wonwoo, Seokmin didn’t want it to get in the way of him doing his job. “Yeah, you go do that.”

As he disappeared behind the door to the back, Seungkwan told Wonwoo, “I’ll get this done for you!”

“Thanks, Seungkwan,” Wonwoo called after him.

Seokmin watched anxiously as he approached the counter. It wasn’t until now could Seokmin see that sad look on Wonwoo’s face, that look of someone suffering from a broken heart. He looks like Mingyu.

“That’ll come out to 34 dollars,” Seokmin said.

Wonwoo nodded as he handed over his cash. “Thanks.”

As the two let the sound of the register fill the background, Wonwoo asked the question that made him choose this bakery for his grandma’s cake.

“How’s Mingyu?”

Seokmin looked up to find Wonwoo’s concerned, glassy eyes. Like his usual self, Seokmin wasn’t sure if he could trust the person in front of him. This was someone causing Mingyu a great deal of pain, and he had no idea why. But at the same time, he thought of how he let his guard down with Soonyoung. Who am I to judge? he thought.

“He’s...not good,” Seokmin admitted. Even though he could’ve probably guessed, he asked, “How are you?”

“Just as bad,” Wonwoo replied.

Seokmin nodded as he handed him his receipt. They both could hear the rain getting harder as they waited for Seungkwan.

Wonwoo was still a mess of emotions with all that was going on with Mingyu and everything else. He felt like his world was falling apart, but all he could think about was Mingyu. He missed seeing the boy and just talking to his best friend. And hearing that Mingyu was doing bad too made him feel even worse.

“Can you do me a favor, Seokmin?”

Seokmin turned to look at him. He didn’t answer. He needed to know what the favor was first.

Wonwoo took a deep breath and quietly said, “Can you make sure Mingyu’s okay?”

Seokmin felt the tension release in his shoulders. Hearing Wonwoo say those words reassured him that Mingyu was still right to trust him.

With a gentle smile, Seokmin nodded. “Sure thing.”

— — —

Joshua
Bangkok

Chan
Hong Kong

Wonwoo
Manila

Joshua
Damn so close but so far

Chan
As always OTL

Joshua
Ugh stay safe guys just lay low but dont get into too much trouble

Wonwoo
Lol isnt that what we always try to do

Joshua
You know what I mean

Chan
Thanks hyung
I wish you guys were here
I landed in a really sketchy place

Wonwoo
Be careful

Chan
Im trying

Joshua
Sigh
I wish we were all together too

Wonwoo
Same
Hey wheres Minghao?
He should know where he is by now

Joshua
I don’t know he’s been pretty quiet
Yeah I hope he’s okay

— — —

Minghao ran down the familiar streets of Seoul. The sun had already set, but the darkness was the least of his troubles. The rain definitely wasn’t helping. Splashing and sprinting to each cross walk, he read the street names and tried to remember.

Where did he take me? Oh my god, where did Mingyu take me?

Wracking his brain, Minghao went with his gut at every turn. Unlike his usual jumps to this city, Minghao wasn’t looking for his way to Wonwoo’s house. He had another place he needed to be.

Think! THINK!

It had been so long since Minghao met Mingyu for the first time. Actually, it was the only time they had ever met. That one night they got to talk and get to know each other, they walked down so many different streets, but Mingyu did take the time to point out his apartment building when they passed it.

Where is that building?!

Trying his best to retrace his steps, Minghao eventually made it to the boba shop they went to. Trying to keep the rain out of his eyes, he kept running.

It’s not too far from here.

Running down unfamiliarly familiar streets in the rain, Minghao turned a few more corners and ran a few more blocks until he stopped in front of the apartment building. He couldn’t fully remember if this was it. Trying his best, he flashed back to that conversation so long ago.

“That’s my place over there,” Mingyu said, pointing to the tan, five story building. It was an outdoor apartment structure, so they could see everyone’s door.

Sipping his boba, Minghao just glanced over his shoulder as they kept walking past. “Nice place.”

Mingyu shrugged. “It’s not too bad.”

Getting soaked, Minghao stood in front of a five story, outdoor apartment structure. Scanning from door to door, reading all the different numbers, he realized something else.

! He didn’t say which apartment number!

Frustrated, Minghao wracked his brain for anything else Mingyu might’ve said.

Mingyu shrugged. “It’s not too bad.”

But, seemingly out of nowhere, he cracked a smile and added, “The cats are the best part.”

Immediately, Minghao’s eyes shot to an apartment on the second floor. Just in front of the door were three cats, a grey one, a black one, and a white one. Minghao smiled.

Bingo.

Sprinting up the quick flight of stairs and down the hall, Minghao startled two of the felines with his footsteps. The grey cat seemed unphased. Careful not to step on anyone, Minghao stopped in front of the door and rapidly knocked.

Knock!Knock!Knock!Knock!Knock!Knock!

“Mingyu! Open up! Mingyu!” he shouted.

He didn’t stop knocking until he opened the door. A tired-looking, but shocked Mingyu revealed himself. “Minghao?!” he said out of pure surprise.

It wasn’t until now did Minghao realize he was so out of breath. Panting, he clutched his stomach under his wet clothes and leaned over. But he still managed to smile at the boy he was looking for, the boy he desperately needed to talk to.

“Hey,” he said, like an old friend would.

His mouth hanging open, Mingyu couldn’t believe who he was looking at. The last time he’d seen Minghao...was a while ago. Beyond shocked, Mingyu could only think to say one thing. “What’re you doing here?”

Minghao straightened up and let out a sigh. Dripping wet and looking into Mingyu’s eyes, he said, “We need to talk.”

— — —

“Thank god you’re here,” Seungcheol said as he quickly got onto the bus. His clothes were sopping wet as he dragged himself on.

The bus driver smiled at him as he shook off some of the water. “You really weren’t prepared for today,” she teased.

Seungcheol stood up straight and smiled back. Brushing the raindrops off his face, he chuckled. “I didn’t think it would come down this hard.”

Closing the doors behind him, she replied, “Nobody ever does.”

With a nod, Seungcheol grinned and swiped his bus pass. “Thank you.” But the moment he turned his head to find a seat, that smile disappeared.

Towards the back of the bus, on the left side as Seungcheol looked back, Jihoon was sitting against the window, just idly watching the rain fall. With a thick black raincoat on, he had his earbuds in. It was almost 5pm, so the sun was close to setting. With the rain, the entire world looked grey.

Still, his pink hair stood out. Having yet to move, Seungcheol glared at him. Jihoon hadn’t seen him yet, so Seungcheol was prepared to make another one of his surprise, stalker encounters. But something was different today. Seungcheol’s eyebrows unscrunched as he looked at the boy. He watched him just stare out at the rain. Confused, Seungcheol thought, Why does he seem different today? Then it hit him. Jihoon wasn’t working.

The only times Seungcheol had ever run into the boy, he was doing something with his work. But here he was, just on a bus like the handful of other people around them, not bothering anyone, not noticing anyone. That weirdly stuck with Seungcheol and it made him question whether he was justified in bugging him. Seeing Jihoon without his work brought Seungcheol back to that moment a couple days ago. He was reminded of that weird instance that Jihoon seemed human. As the bus pulled out of the stop, Seungcheol realized he hadn’t taken a seat. With a softer expression, he made his way down the aisle and took the seat right next to the boy who still didn’t notice him.

Jihoon finally turned his head, expecting to see some stranger who randomly chose that spot. His face was gentle and different from what Seungcheol had ever seen. But the second their eyes met, he became his typical, cold self. Pulling out his headphones, he slammed his hands on his thighs. “Are you ing kidding me,” he grumbled.

But for some reason, Seungcheol wasn’t in the mood to retaliate. “Hey,” he said, like an old friend would.

But Jihoon was still annoyed. Falling back into his seat, he returned to looking out the window. “How the hell do you keep doing this?”

“Your hair tends to give you away,” Seungcheol teased.

Unamused, he replied, “Wow.”

Ignoring his spitefulness, Seungcheol said, “You’re not working.”

Jihoon scoffed, “I’m always working.”

Seungcheol looked around the bus as the scenery passed by through the windows. He looked at Jihoon’s empty lap. “I don’t see Wonwoo around. You don’t have any notes out. You’re not on the phone.”

Jihoon rolled his eyes. “Fine. Maybe I’m not working right now.”

“Then I’m not working either.”

Genuinely thrown off, Jihoon twisted back to find Seungcheol looking at him. They just stared at each other for a moment. Jihoon didn’t look carefully before, but now he could see that Seungcheol’s expression was a lot softer than usual. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t glaring. It was different.

And Jihoon still didn’t like it. “Whatever.”

For a bit, the just sat and let the bus’s engine along with the pouring rain fill the silence. Seungcheol was surprised at himself. He never thought he’d be able to sit so calmly next to this horrible person, but here he was, and he had no motivation to change the atmosphere. What’s the matter with me? This guy’s ruining Wonwoo and Mingyu.

He recalled how broken his friend looked all the time now. But none of that was Jihoon’s fault. As much as Seungcheol hated him, Jihoon was not to blame here. He wasn’t sure who was.

He’s not doing anything wrong right now, he justified. Breaking the silence, Seungcheol eventually asked, “Where are you headed?”

“You’d like to know,” he said scornfully, putting one earbud back in.

Seungcheol nodded, expecting just as much from the boy with the pink hair. Glancing over, Seungcheol noticed it was a little darker because it was wet. “I’ll tell you where I’m going.”

Jihoon didn’t respond.

“I’m on my way home,” Seungcheol said as he stretched out his arms, getting comfortable. “I was in the library all day studying for a midterm. Multivariable calculus. Kicking my , but I should’ve taken it earlier.”

Jihoon listened but didn’t show any interest. He just watched the rain fall like he did before Seungcheol got there. He always liked the sound it made when it hit the roof.

Trying to get a better look at him, Seungcheol leaned over a bit. “You’re not gonna tell me?”

With a groan, he answered, “Nowhere.”

“Look, I’m not calling you an right now,” Seungcheol said, trying not to fall back into their normal antics.

“No, really,” Jihoon said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Confused, Seungcheol watched the side of the boy’s face as he watched the raindrops and, apparently, was going nowhere. “What?”

Jihoon sighed and closed his eyes, placing his forehead on the glass. “Are you that dimwitted?”

“Sorry,” Seungcheol said. “So, you’re just...on the bus?”

He opened his eyes. “Is there something wrong with that?” he grumbled.

Dazed, Seungcheol didn’t know what to make of what was happening. How...am I sitting next to him...without wanting to strangle him? Nothing made sense, and the weirdest part was that he didn’t mind. Oddly enough, seeing Jihoon this way made Seungcheol want to...talk more.

“Let’s play a game.”

Having no idea where this was coming from, Jihoon turned back and stared. “What?”

“Let’s play a game,” Seungcheol repeated, this time showing a soft smile.

Jihoon had no idea what was happening. Seungcheol had never smiled at him before. For a second, he didn’t respond. Jihoon had to look Seungcheol up and down to make sure he was the right person. This was the strangest Seungcheol had ever acted around him, and this was the only time he’d ever felt nervous around him, simply because everything was so different. “What?” he repeated.

“It’s called The Honesty Game,” Seungcheol went on. “Rules are pretty simple.”

Still unable to process everything, Jihoon asked, “Why would I want to play a game with you?”

“I don’t know,” Seungcheol said, shrugging. “We’re not doing anything and...I don’t really know you, Jihoon. I mean, I know you can be a conniving little —”

“Wow, we’re being honest already then,” Jihoon snarkily interrupted.

“Okay, yeah, I’m sorry about that,” Seungcheol said, “But I was going to say that you can be like that, but...I don’t know. I haven’t really given you the chance to prove me wrong.”

Jihoon watched as Seungcheol spoke and, for some reason, he believed him. It felt genuine, but he didn’t want to give in. “No, you’re right. That’s how I am all the time,” he flatly replied.

Weirdly, that made Seungcheol chuckle, which made Jihoon freak out even more inside. “Come on, I’m calling for a cease fire.” Seungcheol glanced past Jihoon and nodded towards the window. “Just while it’s raining.”

Jihoon blinked a few times, completely puzzled. The only thing keeping him sane was the rain bouncing off the roof. “Fine,” he finally said. “How do you play?”

“We just answer each other’s questions honestly,” Seungcheol told him. “But with some limitations.”

“Like what?”

“Nothing work related.”

Jihoon frowned. “Then why would I want to play.”

“Because this is how you get to know people, and not just one part of them that you can put in a headline.”

As a reporter, Jihoon was used to interviewing people and trying to get them to talk, sometimes when they didn’t want to. He wasn’t used to speaking with someone so freely on a normal level. Seungcheol’s words made sense, but it felt strange hearing them from Seungcheol. Jihoon was still hesitant to engage, but he had to admit that it did breach his curiosity. Last time he’d seen Seungcheol, he asked about making human connections. Is that what he’s doing?

“Okay.”

Satisfied, Seungcheol grinned. “I’ll start.” He looked over at Jihoon and tried to figure out a good place to start. It was then he noticed that Jihoon still had an earbud in. “What’re you listening to?”

“That’s your brilliant question?” Jihoon scoffed.

“Yeah, so you should answer it,” Seungcheol fired back.

Oddly enough, that familiar tone made Jihoon loosen up. Lighting up his home screen, he showed Seungcheol. “A Lie,” he answered, “By B1A4.”

“Oh, I love that song,” Seungcheol said.

“It’s really pretty.” Jihoon nodded and put his phone away. He took out his headphones and wrapped them up. “Soonyoung showed me it the other day so I got the album. It really fits the rain.”

Seungcheol nodded back, glad that Jihoon was a lot more pleasant this time around. “You can ask me something now.”

Thinking it through, Jihoon realized he didn’t have a lot of questions lined up that didn’t involve Wonwoo or Mingyu. Nothing unrelated was coming to mind. Looking out at the grey world, he finally asked, “What’s your favorite color?”

Seungcheol chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s your brilliant question?”

“I don’t know!” Jihoon replied, slightly embarrassed, throwing his arms up. “You’re not someone I actively think about to have questions prepared for!”

Laughing harder, Seungcheol was amused with Jihoon’s outburst. “Okay! Okay! Glad you’re being honest though,” he said. Not having to give it much thought, he said, “Red and white are my favorite colors.”

“Wow, how lame.”

“You have stupid, pink hair. Who are you to tell me those colors are lame?” Seungcheol teased.

Jihoon blinked a few times. “Fine.”

Seungcheol smiled. “Is that your favorite color?”

“What? Pink?”

Seungcheol nodded.

Jihoon scoffed, a smirk coming out from the corner of his lips. “Nah,” he said easily. Glancing outside, he said, “ My favorite color’s grey.”

“Grey?” Seungcheol said out of surprise.

Jihoon nodded. “I really like rain,” he admitted. “I just...like watching it. I take the bus all over town just to watch it. The way it falls, the way it swirls, the way it whips around from the wind. And hearing it too is nice. Right on the roof, it just sounds good. Like music, but not. I don’t know. It’s just nice. And it makes everything grey, so it’s my favorite color.” His words left him so naturally, he almost forgot who he was talking to. Turning over, he said to him, “If we’re being honest.”

Dumbfounded, Seungcheol stared back with his mouth slightly hanging open. Somehow, Jihoon mesmerized him with his words, his easy mannerisms. The way he spoke so simply and so genuinely...shook Seungcheol. It was different, and it was nice.

Lost in this new feeling, Seungcheol couldn’t hold back. “Hey, can I ask you another question?”

Jihoon raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the point of this?”

Seungcheol smiled and gently asked, “Why are you a reporter?”

“I thought you weren’t gonna bring up work,” Jihoon said with a frown, being brought back to their typical interactions.

But Seungcheol was stuck in this weird bubble of theirs. Oddly enough, he had no intentions of leaving. “I mean, what made you want to pursue that? You said that you look for the truth. That that’s what you’ve vowed to do right?”

Jihoon was surprised that Seungcheol remembered his words so clearly. “Yeah.”

“I’m just asking why you have decided that that’s so important to you,” Seungcheol said softly. “It has nothing to do with Wonwoo or even Mingyu. I just want to hear from you.”

Jihoon blinked a few times. It wasn’t until now did Seungcheol notice that this was a habit of the boy’s. He would widen his eyes just a little, stare, and blink, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

Jihoon had this look whenever he had to stop and think. He wants to know why...just because he’s interested in my answer? Jihoon looked closely at Seungcheol, searching for any essence of foul play, but there was none. His heart was weirdly beating faster because of that.

Coming to his senses, he decided disclosing this to Seungcheol could do no harm. Looking down at his lap, Jihoon fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. “I didn’t have a lot of friends when I was a kid,” he calmly said. “Actually, I didn’t have any friends. And when I was a kid…, I got picked on a lot. I got made fun of for being short or for being quiet or for...not having any friends.”

He sighed and went on. “It went on for years of them bullying me. I would come home all black and blue and hide it from my parents. They already had their own problems, so I didn’t want to bring them into mine. I was all alone until I met Soonyoung, and the only reason we met was because he got bullied by the same kids. He always had a thing for photography and they would take his camera or just break it out right. We were thrown into the same dumpster one day.”

Jihoon shuddered at the memories. “And every time they did this to us, every freakin time we were tormented, I just wanted so badly for them to stop. These kids were downright evil and I needed any sort of power that the universe would grant me to make them stop.”

Seungcheol listened closely as the boy went on. “One day, after getting locked in the girls’ bathroom, Soonyoung and I managed to get out and follow that group to someone’s house. We hid out there all night, for whatever reason. I don’t know what we were trying to do, but around midnight, a lot of kids from the neighborhood were heading to the basement. Long story short, we found out they were running some illegal dog fighting competition.”

“What?” Seungcheol said under his breath, not meaning to interrupt.

But Jihoon just let out a deep breath. “Yeah, I don’t know. It was ridiculous. They were just really bad people. So with a few shots that Soonyoung took, we told our principal the next day and the kids were expelled.”

“Woah.”

Jihoon nodded, but there was no sense of victory in his voice. “The bullying stopped, but what I took from that was way beyond just how I benefitted. It was then that I realized...the truth always needs to come out.”

Blinking a few times, Jihoon let it all out. “The truth means something to me. It was the only thing that gave me power when I had...none. But it’s just so much more than that. People...any people...deserve to know what’s happening behind closed doors. Whether it’s something as awful as what those kids were doing or as important for people to know as what’s going on in our government or just something we didn’t know, the truth matters. So, I vowed that I would always go after it. And that was that.”

The rain fell rapidly on the roof as the two sat in silence. It wasn’t until after he spoke did Jihoon realize he’d actually never told anyone this before. He and Soonyoung had a mutual, unspoken understanding of what they were doing, but Jihoon had never said it. It was strange since Jihoon’s job was to but truth into words, yet he had never done that with himself. And the person who got him to do it was Seungcheol.

Seungcheol had no words. Listening to Jihoon’s story, he was reminded of Mingyu and when they first met. That little kid who got picked on...sounded so familiar, it made Seungcheol’s arms tingle. That feeling he had when he saw Mingyu all black and blue came back as he imagined Jihoon that way. It was then that Seungcheol realized his and Jihoon’s causes weren’t all too different. Unfortunately, they were still on opposite sides.

But Seungcheol could let that go today.

“Can I be honest with you?” Seungcheol asked, looking at the side of Jihoon’s face and interrupting their quiet atmosphere.

For whatever reason, that made Jihoon smile. He decided to leave out any snarky comment that involved the obvious answer to that question. “Go ahead.”

Seungcheol blinked a few times. Raindrops streamed down the window just beside Jihoon’s soft features, features Seungcheol never noticed before.

“Your hair’s not that stupid.”

Jihoon froze. He felt his heart pick up.

Seungcheol froze. His pulse was raising.

Jihoon gently turned to face the only person he’d ever truly opened up to. He could barely look the boy in the eyes, but the tiniest smile formed from his lips.

“Thanks.”

— — —

Mingyu closed the door as he watched Minghao walk in and slip out of his soaked shoes. He still couldn’t believe it. “Minghao, how the hell did you find me?”

Taking off his jacket, Minghao tried his best not to get Mingyu’s apartment all wet. He rested it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “Your cats were helpful. Do they usually hang outside when it’s pouring like this?”

Mingyu felt a pang in his chest. It was just yesterday that Mingyu let the cats back outside. Their company indoors wasn’t helping his inner turmoil. “Yeah. They’re usually out there.”

Minghao nodded and let out another breath. “We really have to talk, Mingyu,” he said, cutting to the chase.

Seeing that intense look on his face, Mingyu didn’t know what to feel. “About what?”

“What do you think?”

“If this is about Wonwoo…” It still hurt to say his name.

“I’m sorry, Mingyu,” Minghao said, being as sympathetic as he could. “I’m being really honest when I say I feel for you. I know what happened with you and Wonwoo, and neither of you are in a good place. I’m so sorry that this happened.”

Mingyu looked into Minghao’s soft eyes as water still dripped from his hair. His heart was pounding so hard. He didn’t know it could do that while it was broken. “It’s his fault this happened,” he said unapologetically.

Minghao sighed. He knew it would be hard to defend his friend when he was in the wrong, but Wonwoo was worth the effort. “Wonwoo loves you a lot more than you think.” Mingyu scoffed and walked towards the couch. “And before you argue that he’s forcing it all, you have to know that Wonwoo’s desperate plea to stop is not because of you.”

Mingyu slumped into the couch and had a very uncertain look as he stared at Minghao. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Minghao came over and stood before him across the coffee table. “You know Jihoon and Soonyoung right?”

Not expecting that, Mingyu became even more uncertain. “Yeah.”

With a sigh, Minghao collected himself before recounting that terrible situation. “Well, they’re onto us.”

“What do you—”

“It’s a really long story,” Minghao interjected, throwing his hands on his hips. “But all you have to know is they were in Shanghai at the same time me, Chan, and Joshua were.”

Mingyu had never met Joshua, but he knew very well that he was another one of their Jumper friends. He listened closely as Minghao went on. “They know that I say that I don’t go out after 6pm, but…” Minghao stuck his tongue in his cheek, trying his hardest not to explode in anger from knowing what they did. “But they broke into my house. So they know I’m not there.”

“What?” Mingyu couldn’t hold back from uttering.

Minghao bit his lip. “It gets worse,” he continued. “Chan and Joshua were there while they searched the place. Luckily, they somehow stayed hidden, but…” Incredibly annoyed, Minghao quickly ran his fingers through his hair. Staring into Mingyu’s eyes, he told him, “They know too much.”

Mingyu could easily the frustration and desperation on Minghao’s face. It reminded him of what Wonwoo looked like the last time they saw each other. Minghao didn’t have to say much else about what was going on. He could tell it was bad. “When did this happen?”

“The night before you and Wonwoo had your falling out.”

Mingyu felt his heart sink. “What.”

With another sigh, Minghao walked around and sat next to Mingyu. Leaning over his knees, he looked over his shoulder to tell him. “We told Wonwoo the next morning...and he freaked out. The last thing he told us all before he left was that he had to stop.”

This new information was hitting Mingyu in ways he was not prepared for. So Wonwoo saying all of those things...wasn’t just because of me. Jihoon and Soonyoung know too much. He couldn’t imagine how angry that must’ve made Wonwoo, how scared it must’ve made him. Still though, Mingyu felt the pain from how Wonwoo couldn’t separate his feelings from his problems. He looked at Minghao and asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

“So you don’t misunderstand why Wonwoo acted the way he did,” Minghao clarified. “Mingyu, Wonwoo desperately wants to stop, because part of him feels like we’re all in danger if he doesn’t. He’s so afraid of what will happen if we’re found out that he’s losing all sanity. And his only beacon of hope at that moment, that moment where he felt so incredibly defeated, where he felt like he truly couldn’t do anything else…” He took a breath. “...was you.”

“Great,” Mingyu said, tired of hearing this over and over. Falling back into the couch, he rubbed his face. “I was his way out.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Minghao said.

“It’s not what you mean, but that’s how he feels.”

“So what?” Minghao said. “What if that’s how he feels? Does that change how he feels for you?”

“Yes, it does!” Mingyu argued. The rain was coming down really hard now. “He thinks I’m his way out so he’s forcing himself to love me! If he loves me enough, the universe will answer all his wishes and make him stop! That’s all he wants!”

Listening carefully, Minghao could hear Mingyu’s pain. And he could understand it. He had no idea how awful he would feel if he thought Junhui was only friends with him to get something out of it. But he was here to help clear up the fact that, for Wonwoo and Mingyu, that wasn’t true.

“Wonwoo wants to stop more than anything in this world,” Minghao admitted, not sugarcoating just how badly he knew his friend wanted this. “But your ability to do that for him is not what he bases his love for you on.”

Mingyu paused. Those words seeped into his brain as Minghao further explained.

“Wonwoo never had an ultimatum with you two,” he calmly said. “Yeah, he wanted to stop, and yeah he thought maybe you could be the person to help him do that, but he never thought he would stop loving you just because that didn’t happen. He fell so hard in love with you. And I know for a fact that all of that pain he expressed around you, all those times he seemed down because you two weren’t together, was because he just wanted you to love him back. He wasn’t sad because he couldn’t use you to stop. He wasn’t upset because he needed you to love him for the universe. He wanted you to love him because that’s what you do when you love somebody.” Thinking about his own love story, Minghao spoke from the heart. “You just want them to love you back.”

And this is where Mingyu realized he had faltered.

I hate relationships, Mingyu thought. I always have...and I said that I always would.

Mingyu’s hatred towards being with someone clouded his judgement.

I don’t know what it means to fall in love with someone…

The past few days, Mingyu had been living in his feelings. He was drowning in his pain from how he felt about Wonwoo. Nobody could help him and it had felt like nobody was there for him. He didn’t know what to do. He was wallowing because he thought Wonwoo didn’t have the right feelings for him. His heart was so broken. It wasn’t until now did he see…

The only thing I want…is for Wonwoo to feel for me…the way I feel for him…

Mingyu softly asked, “You think that’s all Wonwoo wanted from me?”

Gently smiling, Minghao nodded. “Wonwoo wants to stop, and he wants you to love him back. Those things might be happening simultaneously, but that doesn’t mean they’re connected. It just so happens that if one were to work out, maybe the other one would too.”

It was all starting to make sense to Mingyu, and for the first time in days, he could breathe a little better. Still, he couldn’t help but sigh, feeling exhausted. Slumping into the couch, he groaned, “Why couldn’t he do it the way you’re doing it?”

Confused, Minghao crinkled his eyebrows and chuckled, “What?”

Mingyu glanced over at him. “Why did he have to tell me so much? Why couldn’t he let everything happen without getting all of this stopping involved? Like you’re doing with Junhui.”

Minghao smiled, touched that Mingyu even remembered what they talked about so long ago. Leaning back in the couch with him, he looked up at the ceiling. “Wonwoo and I are very different people who have very different approaches to the same kind of thing. And honestly, I don’t think either of us is doing it better than the other.” He paused as he thought of the boy he was waiting to stop for. “I’m someone who doesn’t mind waiting. But Wonwoo isn’t like that. You definitely know, he’s a take-charge kind of guy. He doesn’t like it when he can’t have a say in what happens. He probably told you everything...because he thought that would give him the best chances with you. He didn’t want to hide anything. He wanted you to know what happened to him, because he loves you so much.”

Staring up, Mingyu could hear the rain bouncing all around them. “Then why hasn’t he stopped yet?”

“Why haven’t any of us stopped yet?” Minghao asked back. Closing his eyes, he said the only thing he could tell himself every time he was forced to jump again. “The universe doesn’t think we need to.”

— — —

“Seungcheol, this is weird.”

Seungcheol chuckled as he and Jihoon walked up the stairs of their apartment complex. “You said you weren’t going anywhere. What’s wrong with me inviting you over?”

Jihoon scoffed as they made it to the second story. The sun had set, so they were walking under the building’s lights. It was still pouring. “It’s just weird.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” While they were talking, Seungcheol missed where he was supposed to get off and had to stay on the bus way longer than anticipated. When he finally made it to his stop, he and Jihoon were still in the middle of their game. It was like the world had faded in the rain around them. He didn’t want to stop talking, so he did something he never thought he would with Jihoon: he invited him over. It was different, and it was weird.

The two of them walked up to Seungcheol’s apartment. Glancing at the three cats on the ground, Jihoon said, “Wow, Mingyu really does love cats.”

Then, Seungcheol was hit with a wave of realization. Mingyu. In the time that he was with Jihoon, he had completely forgotten his broken hearted friend and where he might’ve been. Frozen, Seungcheol couldn’t put the key in the lock. Collecting himself, Seungcheol glanced back at the calm Jihoon as he bent down and pet Boba, the black ball of fur. Seungcheol smiled and asked, “Is it okay if you wait out here for a second? I forgot to check if anyone was home.”

Jihoon looked up and nodded. “Yeah. I’ll wait,” he said, crouched on the ground just beside the door.

With one last look at him, Seungcheol unlocked the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind him, he was surprised to find Mingyu and somebody else inside. “Mingyu?”

Mingyu and Minghao’s eyes shot to the front door. Both of them were on their feet immediately. “Hyung!”

Seungcheol glanced back and forth from the two boys in front of him. He wasn’t sure what was more shocking: the fact that he hadn’t seen Mingyu this alright in days or the fact that he was with someone Seungcheol had never seen before in his life. He stood by the door and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know if you were home.”

“Yeah,” Mingyu nervously replied. “I’ve been here all day.”

“Cool,” Seungcheol said as he turned his attention to Minghao. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

Mingyu could feel the sweat forming on his neck. Luckily, Minghao was a lot better at this kind of stuff. He immediately stuck out his hand and went to Seungcheol. “No, we haven’t.” He smiled and shook the boy’s hand. Weirdly though, as he stepped closer, Minghao got a really strange feeling. “I’m Mingyu’s classmate. We’re working on a project together.” He very carefully chose to leave out his name.

And it was a good thing. Just outside, Jihoon was right by the door. Not meaning to eavesdrop, his ears perked up at the sound of an incredibly familiar voice. All of a sudden, Jihoon’s journalist instincts came out and he was back to his antics. He couldn’t help it. Standing up, he pressed his ear to the door and listened.

Seungcheol shook the boy’s hand, getting a weird feeling from the whole situation. “Nice to meet you,” he said, still trying to be polite. “I’m Seungcheol, Mingyu’s roommate.”

Minghao smiled and let go, still not giving any of his identity. “Nice to meet you too.”

On the other side, Jihoon’s eyes grew wide. He knew that voice. Is that...Minghao?

Mingyu looked over at Seungcheol. “Sorry I didn’t tell you I was gonna have people over.”

“It’s fine,” Seungcheol said. Remembering why he checked the apartment first, he added, “Just give me a second.”

Mingyu and Minghao glanced at each other as Seungcheol went back to the door. Cracking it open, he stuck his head outside.

Luckily for Jihoon, he had moved away from the door just as Seungcheol popped out.

“Hey, I’m really sorry,” Seungcheol told him, looking pretty sympathetic. “But I think I’m gonna have to send you away.”

And Jihoon could understand. He saw that soft look in Seungcheol’s eyes. He didn’t want their strange evening together to end, but he couldn’t argue. Besides, he had his own plans now. “Yeah, no worries. Another time.”

Seungcheol smiled and nodded. “It was nice talking to you.”

Jihoon raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we still being honest?”

Seungcheol chuckled. “I’ll always be honest with you.”

Feeling his heart beat even faster, Jihoon felt kind of bad that that wasn’t true on his end. “Bye, Seungcheol.”

“Bye then.” Seungcheol gave one last smile before he was gone.

But Jihoon still hung around. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened carefully.

Seungcheol stepped back into the room and said, “Sorry, I was just with Jihoon. I had to send him away.”

Immediately as he said “Jihoon,” both Mingyu’s and Minghao’s eyes grew five times in size. Minghao knew it was right for him not to say his name. Not trusting anything that had to do with that boy, Minghao glanced at the door. He had to go somewhere else. He leaned into Mingyu and whispered, “Which way’s your room?”

Still shocked, Mingyu didn’t know what was happening. “Down the hall. On your right,” he quietly answered.

Without another word, Minghao patted him on the back and disappeared towards the boy’s room, leaving Mingyu there with an even more confused Seungcheol.

“Mingyu, is everything okay? You didn’t tell me you were working on a project,” Seungcheol said with concern. “Why’s your classmate acting all weird?”

“He’s not exactly a classmate,” Mingyu told Seungcheol, unable to fully lie to his best friend.

Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows. “Who is he then? Mingyu, is everything alright?”

“I—” Mingyu stopped his own words as he tried to figure out how to explain any of this. He tried to think of a way to tell Seungcheol that Minghao was Wonwoo’s friend and that he was involved in what Jihoon and Soonyoung wanted to know more about. But he couldn’t. Not if Seungcheol was just about to bring Jihoon into their home. That was confusing on it’s own, but he didn’t have time to question him. “I can’t tell you.”

Seungcheol felt a pit form in his stomach. “Mingyu, you know you can trust me with anything.”

Slowly backing away towards his room, Mingyu said with regret, “Hyung. I’m sorry. But right now, I can’t.”

And just outside, the very reason Mingyu couldn’t do that right now was still trying to listen.

Jihoon silently leaned against the door, waiting to hear that voice again. But as he was trying to hear everything, one of the cats outside really didn’t want him too.

“Ow!” Jihoon uttered under his breath. He looked down and found the grey cat scratching his ankle. Moving his leg away, Jihoon tried to stay focused.

But that was not happening.

“MEOW!” Clawing at Jihoon’s jeans, the grey cat was being so loud that Jihoon couldn’t hear a thing.

Annoyed, Jihoon pushed him away. “Stop that!” he screamed in a whisper.

But the persistent feline would not let up. Climbing up Jihoon’s leg, it was clear that he wasn’t going to stop until Jihoon left.

Frustrated, Jihoon took one last glance at the door as he pulled the cat off. “Fine!” he said, putting him down and backing away. Glaring at the cat, he was overly annoyed that he was foiled by someone who couldn’t even talk.

Unable to get the information he wanted, Jihoon turned away and headed for the stairs. His hands in his pockets, he tried to replay that voice he heard. I swear that was Minghao.

But while that was going on, Jihoon also imagined Seungcheol’s voice and was brought back to their bus ride together. Looking out at the rain, Jihoon took in a deep breath. It had been a long time since he’d felt so refreshed. Making his way back to the bus stop, Jihoon was grateful that, that day, he had been going nowhere.