6:00am.

Wonwoo opened his eyes and found himself exactly where he expected. In the center of his bedroom, he turned around and immediately smiled. Normally, he came home to everything as he left it, but there were those rare times when he saw this wonderful sight.

Sleeping and snoring softly, Minghao was sprawled across Wonwoo’s bed. He always looked like this when he stayed over. Wonwoo laughed to himself before jumping right on top of him.

“MINGHAO!” he yelled.

Minghao’s eyes flew open as he shook awake. Startled, he almost screamed until he realized what was going on. Laughing, he tried to push Wonwoo off. “Get off of me, loser!”

Wonwoo laughed and pressed down even harder. “Is that what you say to someone who lets you sleep in his bed?”

Fighting back, Minghao refused to be suffocated by the pillow Wonwoo started smothering him with. “Fine! Thank you for the bed!” Minghao shouted.

Satisfied with that answer, Wonwoo rolled off of him, letting his body rest against the wall beside his bed. Holding his head up with his arm, he watched Minghao readjust. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

“God, you do this every time,” Minghao groaned. “I should just sleep on the floor.”

Smiling, Wonwoo replied, “It’s good to see you, Minghao.”

“You too man.” Minghao yawned as he stretched out his arms and neck. Getting himself fully awake, he turned to his friend. “Hey, did you tell Chan I was here yet?”

Nodding, Wonwoo pulled out his phone. “Yeah, I told him a while ago. He was in Warsaw, so he’s had a long day.”

“Oh yeah, wow,” Minghao replied. “But Poland’s really nice this time of year.”

“I know. I was there last year. I actually haven’t been in a while,” Wonwoo commented.

“I guess you have no business there these days,” Minghao teased, playfully gripping his leg.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. “Yes, cause all of the places we do go to, we really have business there.”

Minghao laughed, just happy to be with one of his really good friends. “Well, I definitely had a good reason to be here.”

Grinning, Wonwoo knew what he was talking about, or who he was talking about. Just the thought of that boy made him even happier. “That’s right. So…,” he said, leaning forward. “What’d you think?”

“I think,” Minghao started, looking up at the ceiling, pretending to think over his words, “I think…” Wonwoo was on the edge of his seat. Seeing this, Minghao chuckled. “I think you were right to tell him.”

Wonwoo smiled even bigger. Hearing confirmation from someone he cared so much about was just so nice. “Really?” he couldn’t help but push.

Minghao nodded and explained. “Mingyu’s a really good guy. He seems very...genuine, like he won’t just hide his feelings.”

Wonwoo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Isn’t that true.”

Smiling, Minghao went on. “Yeah, we talked for a while and I even told him about me and Junhui.”

“Wait, really?” Wonwoo was definitely surprised by this. Based on what he knew of Mingyu, he would’ve hated hearing about someone’s story if it was anything like Minghao and Junhui’s. “You told him all that stuff?”

“It kind of just came out,” Minghao admitted. “But he was really understanding and he just listened. I don’t know, it even seemed like he sympathized.”

Trying to even imagine what the scene would be like, Wonwoo couldn’t. Mingyu had made it so clear that he hated everything about relationships. What made Minghao and Junhui’s different? Still, he was kind of pleased. “So, he wasn’t grossed out or annoyed when you talked about it?”

Shaking his head, Minghao said, “No, he actually complimented me. He liked how I didn’t tell Junhui and how I’m trying to play with fate on my own time.”

Wonwoo smirked and looked down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs. “That’s like the opposite of my approach.”

Minghao smiled and shoved his friend’s shoulder. “That’s what he said too.”

Smiling to himself, Wonwoo imagined how Mingyu and Minghao must’ve been getting along. It was a nice idea that his friends could also be Mingyu’s. It was even nicer to think about since Mingyu was so antisocial. He looked up at Minghao and asked, “So he wasn’t awkward or anything? Like, he actually talked to you?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Minghao laughed.

“Well, this kid’s not one to really talk to people. I told you. Most of his best friends are cats.”

“Then I guess he thinks of me as a cat.”

Wonwoo scoffed. “Trust me, if you were a cat in his eyes, then you’d get all the love in the world.”

Minghao smiled and leaned forward. Gripping his shoulder, he looked straight into Wonwoo’s eyes and said, “Be his cat, Wonwoo. Be his cat.”

Ready to smack his friend, Wonwoo made the motion with the back of his hand. “Aish, what do you think I’ve been trying to do?”

For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them tried to maximize the limited time they had left together. They were still talking about Mingyu when Wonwoo got a text.

Chan
HYUNG OPEN THE DOOR!!

Smiling, Wonwoo climbed out of his bed. He looked at Minghao and said, “Chan’s here.”

“Ooh!” Minghao exclaimed, following his friend’s lead. The two of them rushed out of the bedroom and threw the front door open.

Immediately, a young man with dark hair and a huge smile jumped onto Minghao. “Minghao!” he cheered.

Laughing hysterically, Minghao tried his best not to topple over. Trying to balance his weight and that of the boy latched onto him, Minghao struggled to say, “Hi Chan!”

All three of them knew they had to keep it down for the rest of the house to sleep, but it was hard to contain their excitement. It was really rare for three fourths of their Jumper posse to be together like this. It was even harder to get all four. Wonwoo lead his friends back to his room, letting Minghao drop Chan flat on the bed.

“How’ve you been, buddy?” Minghao asked, ruffling the boy’s hair.

Chan sat up and smiled. “I’ve been good! Poland’s so pretty. I want to go again.”

Wonwoo laughed and sat next to him. “Hopefully, you do.”

With a huge, toothy smile, Chan leaned over and wrapped his arms around Wonwoo. “Agh, I’m so happy to see you guys!”

It was unfortunate that Chan and Wonwoo didn’t get to hang out more often, even though they lived in the same city. But Wonwoo knew that Jihoon and Soonyoung had already seen them together several times. If someone somehow found out that Chan couldn’t go out after 6 as well, they’d have some big problems on their hands. It was just safer to stay distant. But still…

“You too, Chan,” Wonwoo laughed.

With his arms still around Wonwoo, Chan looked up at Minghao and asked, “What’ve you guys been talking about?”

“Wonwoo’s love interest,” Minghao blurted out, crawling back to where he was sitting before.

They all rearranged to sit comfortably as Chan exclaimed, “Oh my god, why am I the one who knows the least about this Mingyu?!”

Patting his back, Wonwoo replied, “Minghao just met him last night.”

“What?!” Chan cried out. “I live here and the kid from Shanghai got to meet him first?!”

With a smug look, Minghao smiled at their younger friend. “Looks like the universe just thinks I’m more important.”

“Aish! Hyung!” Chan complained.

“You’ll get to meet him, Chan. Don’t worry. Even I just met him, it’s only been a few weeks,” Wonwoo laughed.

Thinking it over, Chan knew he was right. “Fine. Wow, things have moved so fast for you guys if it’s only been a few weeks.”

“I guess you’re right,” Wonwoo said, shrugging.

“Does that freak you out?” Chan teasingly asked.

It freaks him out, Wonwoo thought. Thinking of Mingyu’s adorable face made him feel good all over. But then, he had to remind himself of what Mingyu said before. “It’s not gonna happen with us.” He’d forgotten all about that and his promise when he talked to Minghao and even now when Chan brought it up. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling this way. Feeling a little defeated, he smiled. “It doesn’t freak me out.”

“I really need to meet this kid,” Chan stated, taking off his backpack.

“I think Chan will like him,” Minghao commented. “Only thing is he’s really tall.”

Chan turned and glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

But before the two could banter anymore, Wonwoo laughed. “Fine, Chan. When do you want to meet him?”

Thinking it over real quick, Chan replied, “Are you busy later today? I can hang out after school. Seungkwan will probably want to come too.”

Minghao laughed and pushed Chan over. “Yah! You have school today and you still came over here! You’re not even in your uniform!”

Brushing off his shoulder, Chan said, “I wanted to see you! You should be flattered. And my uniform’s in my backpack. I’ll change after you leave.”

“Are you tired?” Minghao asked him, always happy when Chan came despite his schedule.

Batting the air, he told him, “I could do this my whole life.”

Wonwoo smiled. “I’ll walk you to school after, and sure I think you can meet him today, as long as he’s up for it.”

“Yes!” Chan exclaimed, punching the air. “So tell me more about him before I get to see for myself.”

“Well, normally I wouldn’t tell you to meet him like this,” Wonwoo explained, thinking about how not into people this kid was, “but Minghao said it went so well that I think it’ll be okay. He’s really...not into meeting people.”

“Aww, do you think he won’t like me?”

“No, he’ll love you, Chan,” Wonwoo reassured him. “So, you’ll bring Seungkwan? That means no Jumper talk?”

“If that’s okay.”

Nodding, Wonwoo thought that was a good idea. A small change of pace after only talking about Jumpers for a whole day. “Yeah, I think it’ll be good. Hopefully, yeah, he doesn’t feel too awkward.”

Pleased, Chan smiled to himself, but Minghao just squinted at him. “I don’t know Wonwoo, maybe Mingyu won’t like him.”

“What? Why?!” Chan quickly exclaimed. “Why wouldn’t he like me? What’s wrong with me?!”

Shrugging, Minghao said, “Mingyu loves cats, and you’re definitely a puppy in anyone’s book.”

Laughing almost too much, Wonwoo couldn’t contain himself while Chan just pouted. “I am not a puppy!”

“It’s okay, Chan,” Wonwoo tried to comfort him, hugging around his shoulders. “I’m sure he’ll get along with all things small and friendly.”

With Minghao laughing too, Chan squirmed out of Wonwoo’s grip. Wiping himself down, he snarled, “Aish! You guys make your jokes now. Wait till I grow and get even taller than you.”

Patting his head, Minghao playfully replied, “We’re all waiting for that day.”

Chan grimaced, but immediately smiled, okay with his friend’s teasing by now. Tilting his head forward, he asked, “So Junhui?”

Minghao couldn’t help but smile at his name, even if things weren’t going as amazing as he could have wished. “Still great. Still awesome. Still doesn’t know.”

Wonwoo sighed sympathetically, knowing what his pain must feel like. Holding in emotions was awful. “I’m sure he has feelings for you.”

“How would you even know that?” Minghao laughed. “You’ve never met him.”

“Why have we never met him, by the way?” Chan asked.

“I’ve told you. It’s too small of a window just before I jump if you guys are there,” Minghao explained. “I can’t be there for an hour and then just leave or something. It would be too weird and he’d be confused. And how the hell am I supposed to explain who you are and how you just popped up randomly? It’s just not a good idea.”

“You’re lucky he never questions why you’re away after 6,” Wonwoo pointed out.

Minghao smiled, thinking about what Junhui had said yesterday. “You never come with me.” “He doesn’t question it, but he definitely complains.”

Junhui and Minghao had been friends for a long time, and Minghao only ever had one excuse that he gave Junhui in the very beginning that never changed. In his family, Minghao’s father was the Jumper, so when he was little, his mom took care of him alone most nights. When Minghao started jumping, his dad taught him all the tricks and tips to making life a lot smoother. Growing up, every night, Minghao begged the universe to let him jump with his dad. He was always happiest when they were together.

The happiest time in his life was one week, when he was fourteen, when he and his dad jumped to the same place for seven consecutive nights. They got to explore different parts of the world together and it made Minghao fall in love with jumping, until the end of the week. After the seventh night, Minghao jumped alone. He got there and his dad was nowhere to be found. Twelve hours later, he got home and his dad didn’t. That night was the first time Minghao ever stopped jumping.

After four nights of no jumping and no dad, Minghao and his mom had to come to the conclusion that something terrible must’ve happened. Minghao never saw his dad again and no one ever found out what happened to him, even though he put his full effort in trying to find him.

Years later, when he met Junhui, that was Minghao’s excuse to him, and everybody else. He didn’t leave the house after 6pm because his father wouldn’t have wanted him too. He always told people his dad was killed on his way home around that time. And Junhui never questioned it. Ever.

Minghao was always extremely grateful for that. It was actually something that made him love the boy even more, his incredible understanding. After his dad died, Minghao had a really hard time doing anything with himself, but meeting Junhui changed all of that. The boy became his new hope. Junhui was the person who picked Minghao up after everything fell apart, even when he didn’t know the full situation. Minghao fell in love with him and realized that this boy was just too amazing; the universe had to realize that too.

“I really wonder if he knows how I feel,” Minghao said through his breath.

Wonwoo smiled and leaned over to grip his friend’s shoulder. Looking into his eyes, he said, “He will when the time’s right.”

— — —

“I don’t know. I wasn’t grossed out. It was weird.”

The grey cat said nothing in response to Mingyu, but he just sat along the railing Mingyu leaned on. It was noon and Mingyu just stood in front of their apartment, thinking things over with his friend. His mind was racing with everything that happened yesterday. Wonwoo’s family was so kind to him. But what he was really thinking over was what he talked about with Minghao.

It baffled him how okay it was talking about Minghao and Junhui. It was bizarre.

“I don’t get it,” he told his grey friend. “What Minghao was talking about...was actually kinda nice.” He turned and looked into his yellow eyes. “He and Junhui seem to have it really good.”

He sighed into his chest. “Maybe it’s cause he doesn’t know about this Jumper stuff.”

That was another thing that bothered him with Wonwoo sometimes, or just in the back of his mind. The fact that he told him so early on about who he was was kind of ridiculous. Mingyu not only hated that the boy once said he had feelings for him, but the reason behind it was annoying. If Wonwoo only tried to “love” Mingyu to stop jumping, Mingyu would hate him.

But Mingyu shook his head. He tried to not think of that stuff. It was behind them.

“Wonwoo’s a really good friend,” Mingyu said to no one in particular, though the cat was listening. “And we get along really well.” Looking back at the cat, Mingyu smiled. “Like we do.”

He didn’t respond.

All of a sudden, Mingyu had a flashback to the day that Wonwoo told him everything. Earlier, when he came to pick him up, Wonwoo was actually being kind of cute.

“You should call him Wonwoo.”

“Can I call you Wonwoo?”

He didn’t respond.

Laughing to himself, Mingyu turned to look back out at the view in front of him. “That’s what I thought.”

Before he could say anything else, Mingyu felt his phone vibrate. Taking it out of his pocket, he saw he got a text.

Wonwoo
Hey are you busy today?

The two of them had been talking in bits all morning, so this wasn’t really a surprise. He actually smiled.

Mingyu
No i dont have anything today
You wanna hang out?

Wonwoo
Wow someones presumptuous all of a sudden

Mingyu just rolled his eyes before saying anything back.

Mingyu
So you dont wanna hang out?

Wonwoo
No i was gonna ask that XD

Mingyu
Thanks for just being difficult lol

Wonwoo
Lol I’m wonderful and you know it
So youre free today?
Would you be up to meeting and hanging out with some other friends?

Mingyu paused. Wait, is this another Jumper friend? He said he only has one normal friend other than me so…

Mingyu
Are they jumpers?

Wonwoo
One of them is
His names chan
The other guys his friend seungkwan
Hes not so we wont talk about jumper stuff or anything

Mingyu
His friend doesnt know?

Wonwoo
No he doesnt
Lol Mingyu I wasnt kidding when I told you this was a huge secret

Mingyu smiled, but wiped it away. It still didn’t make sense why he knew then, but he let it go. Instead he thought of what it would be like meeting even more people. Just thinking about it made him feel nervous. This...is so not what I do. But he thought of Wonwoo then he thought of his family then he thought of Minghao. All the people he’d met recently were all really easy to talk to. Not even that, but Mingyu liked talking to them. It surprised him so much, but was he up to do it again? Well, this time it’d be even more normal. No talking about Jumpers. Did he want to go through that?

Any other day with any other person involving any other circumstance, the answer would’ve been just a flat no. But Wonwoo brought something out of him that even he didn’t realize he had. He didn’t mind human interaction if it involved Wonwoo all of a sudden.

Submitting to this weird feeling, Mingyu typed his reply.

Mingyu
What time

Wonwoo
Maybe around 3?
Chan and seungkwan are still in high school so we have to wait till they get out

Mingyu
Sure yeah I’m up to meet them

Wonwoo
Awesome! Chans gonna be so excited

Mingyu
Have you told all your friends about me?

Wonwoo
Umm yeah XD sorry i hope you dont mind

Depends in what context, Mingyu thought. If Wonwoo was talking about them as friends, then things were fine. But if it was anything more…

Mingyu
What do you tell them about me?

Wonwoo
What did Minghao say I said?

Mingyu
That I was tall and had brown hair
And that you mentioned our falling out
Thanks for that :P

Wonwoo
Oh yeah I guess that is a bit much
Im sorry if you didnt want me to tell anyone

Mingyu
No its ok
He also knew that Im not into relationships
Does chan know that?

Wonwoo
Yeah he does
But dont worry thats all they know
And that we’re friends

Mingyu hesitated. He wasn’t sure if Wonwoo was just saying that or if he really meant it. He tried not to look too much into it.

Mingyu
Cool
So where do you wanna meet?

— — —

“How are you sure I’ll like them?”

“They’re fun people, Mingyu,” Wonwoo assured him as they walked down the sidewalk. “Very energetic, as you’ll find out.”

Mingyu nodded along, trying to stay calm, but really he was kind of freaking out. Why the hell am I so nervous? They’re high schoolers. They’re not gonna eat me.

But still, even when Mingyu was in high school, he hated those his age. Well, it wasn’t fair to limit it to high schoolers. Mingyu didn’t really like anybody. Maybe the fact that he was treated so poorly in high school had to do with why he didn’t like that title. Those were dark ages without Seokmin or Seungcheol always by his side.

“So Chan’s like you?”

“Yep, but we don’t hang out too much because of Jihoon and Soonyoung,” Wonwoo explained. As they reached the coffee shop at the far end of town, closer to the boys’ school, Wonwoo turned to smile at Mingyu. “But today’s a special occasion.”

“Please don’t refer to me as special,” Mingyu bluntly responded.

But Wonwoo could tell it was a joke. He just smiled in return. “I was referring to Minghao being here last night, but sure, just think about yourself.”

A little embarrassed if that’s what he actually meant, Mingyu chuckled and tried not to show his blush. “I liked Minghao.”

“Yeah, he said you were great.”

“You’ve got some pretty cool friends, based on what I know,” Mingyu added.

Wonwoo laughed. “The only friends of mine you know are Minghao and…”

“Me,” Mingyu finished for him. “We’re both pretty cool.”

“Would you even say you guys are…” Wonwoo leaned in and raised an eyebrow at him as they stopped in front of the shop’s door. “...special.”

Rolling his eyes, Mingyu scoffed. “Not special. Just pretty cool.”

Wonwoo tried to hold onto his smile as Mingyu held the door open for him. They walked inside and could see immediately that this was definitely a place for high school students to hang out. It was so loud with all the young voices surrounding them. Glancing around, Mingyu could tell who was there with friends and who was on a date. Internally cringing like crazy, it took all his efforts not to duck out of there. But he couldn’t just ditch Wonwoo and his friends. The place was filled with laughter and uniforms and backpacks and youth. It was weird and Mingyu wasn’t sure he liked it. No, I definitely don’t like this.

As for Wonwoo, he didn’t really pay attention to what was happening around him. He’d mastered the art of blocking out white noise years ago. He was scanning around for Chan and Seungkwan.

“WONWOO!” he heard from all the way across the room. Both he and Mingyu turned around, Wonwoo smiling immediately. Sitting in a booth in the back corner were two teenagers in the same uniform, one with black hair and the other with brown. Chan and Seungkwan waved to the two people who were clearly out of place at this cafe. “We’re back here!” he called.

Making their way across the room, Wonwoo and Mingyu turned several heads as the older, more mature looking males that they were. Noticing, Mingyu stuck as close to Wonwoo as possible, kind of scared by how people were looking at him. That got some of the girls giggling even harder.

“Hey Chan! Hey Seungkwan!” Wonwoo said as he approached the booth. Twisting a little, Wonwoo smiled when he found Mingyu right behind his shoulder. “This is Mingyu.”

Chan and Seungkwan immediately slid out of their seats to greet the new boy. “Hi!” Chan exclaimed, reaching right over for Mingyu’s hand. Craning his neck a bit, Chan smiled up at Mingyu. “It’s so awesome to finally meet you! Wonwoo wasn’t lying when he said you were tall!”

Mingyu shyly chuckled as his arm was being shaken off. “Hi, yeah, nice to meet you too.”

Wonwoo was about to say something, but Seungkwan beat him to it. “Chan, don’t rip his arm off!”

Seeing what he meant, Chan let go. “Oh! Sorry! I guess I’m too excited,” he chuckled.

Mingyu couldn’t help but laugh back. For some reason, Mingyu found Chan very cute, kind of like a small animal. “It’s fine. My arm’s okay.”

Seungkwan smiled and reached over to finish introducing himself. “You really are really tall, Mingyu.”

“I get that a lot,” Mingyu said back with a smile.

Wonwoo was about to slide into the booth but he looked back and saw Mingyu nervously glancing around him. He was clearly not too comfortable. Wonwoo grinned. Cute. He stepped back and pushed Mingyu towards the inside of the booth.

Trying not to show his extreme relief, Mingyu nodded at him and took his seat, thankful to be safely blocked from those other people. Wonwoo slid in right next to him, acting as his shield.

Chan sat across from Mingyu and Seungkwan from Wonwoo. Smiling at their company, Seungkwan asked, “Are you guys hungry? We could order something.”

“Sure, I could go for something,” Wonwoo replied.

“We can go order at the counter real quick,” Seungkwan said, pointing over at the register.

“Ummm,” Wonwoo hesitated, looking to Mingyu. “Do you want anything?” In all honesty, he was uneasy about leaving Mingyu when he seemed so out of his element.

But before Mingyu could reply, Chan said, “I’ll stay with Mingyu. You guys go get food! The snowy ice is my favorite here. Get mine with red bean and grass jelly.”

“And extra condensed milk,” Seungkwan teased as he got up again.

Wonwoo smiled and looked over at Mingyu. “Want anything? I’ll buy.”

Looking from the cheery Chan to the joyful Seungkwan to the comforting Wonwoo, he couldn’t help but let a grin crawl to his lips. “Snowy ice, too.”

“It’s pretty big,” Chan added. “You wanna share one?”

“We can share,” Wonwoo commented as he stood up. “We’ll be right back.”

With a slight skip in his step, Seungkwan tossed his arm around Wonwoo and said something Mingyu couldn’t hear as they walked through the crowd. Mingyu turned back to find Chan glowing at him. “You and Seungkwan are good friends?”

“Oh yeah, we’re best friends,” Chan excitedly added.

Mingyu chuckled and thought of something. “Are you in love with him like Minghao?”

Chan nearly choked from laughing too hard. Trying to control himself, he said through his wheezing, “Oh my god, no! Trust me, we’re not all like him!”

Still cracking up, Chan’s laughter was contagious. Subtly joining him, Mingyu snorted. “Just making sure.”

Wiping away his tears, Chan chuckled, “Oh yeah, no, Seungkwan and I really are just best friends. I have no interest in him and his crazy.”

That made Mingyu feel really good for some reason. He had nothing against Minghao, but it was nice to hear about someone who had no other agenda when it came to friendship. “That’s cool.”

“Seungkwan and I have been friends for a while now. I don’t have too many close friends because…,” he gestured forward at Mingyu. “Well, you know why.”

Raising his eyebrows, Mingyu looked over his shoulder at Wonwoo happily chatting with the other youngster. “Yeah, I know.”

“Yeah,” Chan said with a smile as Mingyu looked back at him. “He doesn’t know about it, but he’s still my best friend.”

“Do you guys come here often?”

A little embarrassed, Chan chuckled into his chest. “Yeah, it’s the best place to come for high schoolers. Everyone kind of understands what you’re going through.”

Everyone understands each other, Mingyu thought. I wish I had a place like this in high school.

“That’s nice.”

Just observing him, Chan smiled. “Wonwoo told me you’re not really into meeting people too much, so thanks for agreeing to stop by.”

A little embarrassed himself, Mingyu felt guilty if he made someone like Chan feel bad in anyway. “Remind me to punch him for saying that.”

Chan laughed. “No, he didn’t say it in a bad way or anything. I mean, he’s put you out of your comfort zone a lot lately, is what I heard. I also wanted the chance to get to meet you, so thanks for coming.”

What is he telling these people that they want to meet me?

He thought the same thing when talking to Minghao, but he didn’t really ask. Wonwoo mentioned it earlier, but he wanted to hear from the listener. This time, with Chan, it seemed like a good time. “Can I just ask, what did he say that made you want to meet me?”

Taking a second, Chan tried to think of exactly what it was that Wonwoo said that made him so curious. Obviously, Wonwoo mentioned how special this person was, but what were his exact words. Chan grinned and looked up when he remembered, “He said that you didn’t scream.”

Confused, Mingyu squinted at him. “What?”

Chan scanned around to make sure no one was listening. He leaned over the table a bit and made sure to keep his voice down. “When he pushed you into that alley, the first time you two kind of met, he said that you didn’t scream. He said you seemed to...understand, or something. When he said that, and when he kept hanging out with you after that, I knew I had to meet you.”

Mingyu felt his shoulders relax. For whatever reason, Chan’s words made him feel better, like he wanted to meet Mingyu for who he was and not who Wonwoo may have made him out to be. It was weirdly nice to have someone actually interested in meeting him, even though it was never something he cared about. Mingyu smiled and sat back. “I still don’t know why I didn’t scream.”

Laughing, Chan replied, “Whatever it was, Wonwoo’s lucky you didn’t. Those s are always on his tail.”

Thinking about that, Mingyu looked around the cafe again. He didn’t see anyone he recognized, but they were probably good at blending in. “That’s why you guys don’t hang out often, right?”

Chan nodded as he took out some napkins for the table. “We weren’t as careful before. They saw us together a lot, so they definitely know who I am. Actually, Jihoon even came up to talk to me once. He asked me stuff and when I told Wonwoo, he said we should try to lay low for a while.”

Mingyu got a flashback to when Jihoon did that to him. “When was that?”

“Four years ago,” Chan answered somberly. “Since then, we only see each other every few months or if Joshua or Minghao are in town or if we Jump to the same place or…” He softly grinned at the boy who was much taller than him, “...for something special.”

Mingyu scoffed, thinking the same thing he talked about with Wonwoo. “I’m nothing special,” he said outloud.

“Maybe not to you,” Chan said, “But he told you, and that’s definitely something.”

Looking at Chan’s soft face, Mingyu could see something, but he had no idea what it was. He’d never been good at reading people, but Chan was something else. He’s so bright, Mingyu thought.

Before Mingyu could say anything more, he watched Chan’s eyes look over to the side. “Ahhh, yes!” he exclaimed.

Mingyu looked over to find Wonwoo and Seungkwan back with two large snowy ice desserts. With a huge smile, Wonwoo looked ready to devour the whole thing. “I got mochi, mango jelly, and red bean. I hope you don’t mind,” he told Mingyu.

Looking at the huge dessert, Mingyu chuckled as Wonwoo handed him a spoon. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Did you get the extra condensed milk?” Chan asked.

Seungkwan eagerly smacked a squeezy bottle of condensed milk onto the table. “I don’t know how all of your teeth haven’t fallen out.”

“Thank you, hyung,” Chan replied in a fake, cutesy voice. Without any hesitation, he started dumping the sweet syrup all over the snow.

Seungkwan looked over at Wonwoo and Mingyu as they started eating. He smiled and asked, “Hey Wonwoo, did you hear BTS’s new song?”

“Mmm!” he mumbled with his mouth full. Covering his lips, he swallowed before he answered, “Yes! Which one? Save Me or Fire?”

“Both!”

“SOOO good!” Wonwoo exclaimed. Mingyu watched the boy’s face light up as he started talking about the music. “God, they never fail to impress! I gotta say, Save Me’s my favorite! The entire album is flawless, but Save Me may have just killed me a little.”

Seungkwan looked so excited as Mingyu chuckled into his chest. He’d never seen Wonwoo like this before and it was kind of funny, but in a good way. Wonwoo turned to look at him. Seeing his face, he leaned in. “What?” Wonwoo laughed. “You haven’t heard of BTS?”

“I’ve heard a bit about them, but not much. Maybe I’ve heard their songs,” Mingyu meekly replied.

“What?!” Seungkwan uttered from the other side of the table, genuinely surprised. Chan just giggled and kept eating. “You don’t know BTS?!”

Wonwoo pointed his thumb at him. “He lives under a rock.”

“Clearly!” Seungkwan laughed back. “I bet you’ve heard their songs, you just don’t know it’s them.”

“Probably,” Mingyu said, shovelling in another spoonful. “What’s one of their songs?”

“They have a lot,” Wonwoo replied.

“But I bet you’ve heard I NEED U,” Seungkwan added.

“How’s it go?”

As if anticipating something, Chan and Wonwoo grinned and looked over to Seungkwan. “Um, it’s like…,” Seungkwan started before pausing to clear his throat. He proceeded to sing the chorus in a voice Mingyu wasn’t prepared for.

“I need you girl~wae honja saranghago~honjaseoman ibyeolhae!” Stopping just as abruptly as he started, Seungkwan opened his eyes and casually looked to Mingyu. “Something like that.”

Chan and Wonwoo were smiling from ear to ear, but Mingyu was just in awe. His jaw was dropped as he stared at Seungkwan. He could barely pull himself to speak, but he knew what he had to say. “Wow! That was really good!”

Blushing and embarrassed, Seungkwan took his spoon and poked the pile of snow. “Thanks,” he replied shyly.

Enamoured by Seungkwan’s powerful voice, Mingyu couldn’t help but add, “No, seriously that was so good! Do you sing?”

Seungkwan looked like he was about to say something, but Chan butted in. “Yes, he sings and he’s freakin amazing!”

“Yeah, wow,” Mingyu replied, still mesmerized. “Is it something you want to pursue?”

“That’s where the problem is,” Chan answered. “He’s so talented and he’s got the pipes and everything, but Seungkwan—”

“I have terrible stage fright,” Seungkwan interrupted.

A little shocked, Mingyu never would’ve guessed that based on what he saw of Seungkwan’s big personality. “Really? I never would’ve guessed.”

Nodding, Chan continued, “Yeah. It’s weird. But I keep telling him to work on that so he can really go for it.”

“So you do wanna sing for a living?” Mingyu asked.

Seungkwan sighed and nodded. “That would be the dream, but I don’t think it’s possible.”

“Anything’s possible,” Wonwoo interjected with a smile.

“We’ll see guys,” Seungkwan said. He turned back and smiled to Mingyu. “But thanks. It means a lot.”

“Ya know,” Chan said, still eating away. “I heard that new group SEVENTEEN’s looking for a main vocal.”

“Hey, I know them,” Mingyu involuntarily blurted out, which made Wonwoo chuckle.

But Seungkwan just scoffed with his mouth full. “Right, like I could be in a group like SEVENTEEN.”

“I’ll try out if you do,” Chan joked.

Seungkwan laughed and put on some more condensed milk. “Sure, Chan. Sure.”

And as the four of them continued to eat and chat away, from the other side of the shop, dressed in a school blazer and sitting with his laptop, Soonyoung kept typing away. Wearing a beanie that carefully hid his hair, he knew it was a good idea to follow Chan that day. Too bad he couldn’t hear anything they were saying. Taking out his phone, he typed up a message to Jihoon.

Soonyoung
Mingyu’s meeting Chan

It only took a few minutes for a reply.

Jihoon
Keep an eye on them

— — —

“Okay, you were right,” Mingyu admitted after leaving the cafe. Seungkwan and Chan had to leave a few minutes ago for a group project meeting. “I liked them.”

Wonwoo smiled as they walked down the sidewalk. “Told you.”

“Chan seems really smart for his age.”

“That’s what having a life like ours will get you,” Wonwoo joked. “Wisdom beyond your years.”

Mingyu chuckled and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I wish I knew people like them when I was in high school.”

“What? High school wasn’t the best time of your life?” he teased.

Smiling at the ground, Mingyu shook his head. “No, it definitely was not.”

Wonwoo could sense the slight sadness in Mingyu’s voice so he let him go on. For some reason, he felt like it was a good time to talk to Wonwoo about this stuff. “In high school, Seokmin and Seungcheol weren’t with me. They went to a different school. I didn’t have anybody around and I got bullied…” His voice trailed off as Wonwoo tensed up. “Consistently.”

Mingyu sighed and looked ahead. Wonwoo listened carefully. “It didn’t stop until I was in my last year when I shot up like a ing bean sprout or something. Before that though, I was the crazy, little kitty boy. The kids that bothered me would chase me and beat me up. They never let me forget that I could fit into their lockers.” Wonwoo felt his blood curdle. Hearing about Mingyu being bullied got him fuming on the inside. “But then I stopped fitting. They couldn’t beat me up anymore, but they kept teasing me. I didn’t really care though. Their words couldn’t mean less to me after all the crap they did.”

Sighing again, Mingyu looked over at Wonwoo. “People have never been my favorite.”

For some reason, that made Wonwoo loosen up. He smiled back. “Not all people are like that.”

“Yeah, I know. But there are definitely no cats like that,” Mingyu joked.

Wonwoo laughed as they kept walking. It was already 4:30 and Wonwoo knew Mingyu had a class pretty soon. The two would have to part ways. Not looking forward to leaving or jumping again, Wonwoo remembered something. “Oh!” he uttered as he fished something from out of his pocket. Holding it up, he handed it to Mingyu. “I forgot. This is for you.”

Taking it, Mingyu examined it. “What is it?”

Wonwoo smiled. “It’s a keychain. From Melbourne.”

Realizing that, Mingyu flipped it around. It was made of a hard plastic with a picture of a cartoon koala on it. Written down the center in rainbow letters was the word “Melbourne.” Mingyu chuckled. “You said you’d get me something cool.”

“That is cool!” Wonwoo retorted.

Mingyu laughed and held up the cute chachki. “Clearly your definition of cool is different from the rest of the world’s!”

Laughing back, Wonwoo pointed to it. “Fine! It’s cute though right?”

Mingyu took another look at the koala hugging the eucalyptus tree and couldn’t contain his grin. “It’s pretty damn cute.”

This time Wonwoo beamed at the boy with his present. Everything about Mingyu was becoming overwhelming. Words couldn’t describe what he was feeling, so he didn’t bother to try. He just grinned and softly said, “I know right.”

— — —

“Should we get another order?”

Mingyu looked over at Seungcheol aggressively staring at the restaurant's menu above the counter. They had already let three other customers cut in front of them as he decided what to get. Mingyu rolled his eyes. “Are you that hungry?”

“No, but you and Seokmin eat a lot,” Seungcheol replied, not taking his eyes away. Crossing his arms, he looked deep in thought.

Mingyu chuckled and shook his head. “You are thinking way too hard about this.”

“I don’t want to regret not getting more.”

“Then just get more.”

“But what else should we get?”

“Oh my god,” Mingyu muttered and pulled out his phone. “Just pick something.”

“Fine,” Seungcheol finally agreed. “I’ll just get double the noodles.”

“Sounds good.”

“Do you want anything specific?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Seungcheol nodded as the two of them stepped back into the line. There were only two people ahead of them. Having decided, Seungcheol turned back to talk to Mingyu. He looked over his shoulder and immediately saw who he was texting. He smiled. “How’s Wonwoo?”

“What?” Mingyu sputtered. “Oh.” He shoved his phone away and felt his hand rub against his new keychain in his pocket. He clutched it and replied, “He’s good.”

“Yeah?” Seungcheol had such a smug look on his face that Minyu could’ve slapped him.

“Yes, he’s good,” he replied, not giving him any more satisfaction.

“What’ve you guys been up to?”

“Umm, I got to meet one of his friends today.”

That was definitely not what Seungcheol was expecting. “Woah, what?!” he exclaimed. Clutching Mingyu’s shoulder, he stared at him with his mouth open. “You went to meet people?!”

“You act like the sky is falling.”

“It might as well be if you agreed to meet his friends,” Seungcheol teased.

Mingyu smiled back. Thinking about it made him kind of embarrassed. “I actually met his family too.”

Now Seungcheol was losing his . “What the hell, Mingyu?!”

Seungcheol being pretty loud caused some people to look over. Noticing, Mingyu whispered, “Keep it down!”

Ignoring the request, Seungcheol uttered, “Are you kidding me?! You met his parents?!”

“It’s not a big deal!” Mingyu insisted. “I met your parents didn’t I?”

Seungcheol scoffed and looked away. “Clearly not the same thing, but okay.”

“Hyung, Wonwoo and I are just friends.”

“I know, I know,” Seungcheol agreed, batting the air. “But still, I’m just amazed by what this friend of yours has gotten you to do already.”

It’s crazy to me too. Mingyu knew how insane it all was, but for some reason he was okay. Everything felt normal. Nothing felt weird. “I know.”

Seeing Mingyu so comfortable made Seungcheol smile all over. “I’m glad you met this kid. He seems good for you.”

“I guess,” Mingyu replied, not making it a big deal.

Seungcheol laughed and looked like he was about to say more when someone called out Mingyu’s name. “Mingyu.”

All of a sudden, Mingyu felt his heart drop. Somehow, he recognized the voice before he even turned around. When he did, that pink hair confirmed what he already knew. Panic rushing over him, Mingyu just watched as Jihoon approached him. “Yes?”

But Jihoon clearly didn’t take Mingyu’s tension as a reason to turn and leave. With his coat and laptop bag, he was holding a take out bag, which meant he was just there coincidentally. For Jihoon, it was lucky. For Mingyu, it was a nightmare. Smiling, Jihoon said, “Hi, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m—”

“Jihoon,” Mingyu interjected, coldly. “Yeah, I remember.”

Seungcheol was taken aback. He’d learned to read Mingyu a long time ago. Mingyu didn’t like this kid, but it was weird because Seungcheol had never heard that name before. Observing the situation, Seungcheol looked back to Jihoon.

He just smirked. “Right.” There was a pause as the two just stared at each other. “I asked you about Wonwoo that one time.”

Mingyu got a flashback to what Chan said earlier that day, that he and Wonwoo stopped hanging out as much after Jihoon talked to him. “Like I said, I remember.”

“How’s he doing?” Jihoon casually asked.

Mingyu did not feel good talking to him. “He’s fine.”

“You guys still just classmates?”

Mingyu felt his arm twitch. Jihoon knew he was lying. “We’re friends.”

Looking suspiciously, Jihoon nodded. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

There was another pause. Jihoon turned his attention to the quiet person behind Mingyu. He put on his best smile and stuck out his hand. “Hi. I’m Jihoon.”

Thrown off real quick, Seungcheol quickly replied and shook his hand. “Seungcheol.”

“You’re Mingyu’s friend?” he asked.

Mingyu felt so uneasy as this person spoke, and Seungcheol could tell. He let go and nodded, trying to be polite. “Yeah, we’re roommates.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jihoon said. Seungcheol didn’t say anything else. There was one more pause before Jihoon finally smiled at Mingyu. “Well, you two look busy. I’ll let you get back to your lives. Nice to see you, Mingyu.”

“Yeah.”

He nodded at the other. “Seungcheol.”

“Bye, Jihoon,” Seungcheol replied as the short, pink-haired stranger left the store.

Seungcheol watched him walk away through the storefront window. “What the hell was that?” He turned back and saw that look on Mingyu’s face. “You okay?”

Mingyu shook himself and tried to get his blood pressure down. He looked to Seungcheol and weakly smiled. He clutched the keychain a little tighter. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

But Seungcheol knew better. “Who was that?”

“Umm,” Mingyu rubbed the back of his neck as they moved forward in the line. “I don’t really know.”

Seungcheol squinted at him. “He asked about Wonwoo?”

“Yeah,” Mingyu tried to think things through before saying anything. “Jihoon’s someone...who just...gives Wonwoo a hard time.”

Glancing back to the window again, Seungcheol saw that Jihoon was out of sight. “And he knows you?”

Mingyu’s heart was pounding in his ears. “I ran into him once.”

Seungcheol memorized that smug, smiling face. Anyone who made Mingyu like this was not someone he was happy to meet. Seungcheol put his arm around Mingyu, as if protecting him. “I don’t like that guy.”

Seungcheol’s embrace helped a little, but Mingyu was still uneasy. “Me neither.”